Techish

7 Genius Smartphone Photo Hacks: snap pics like a pro

  ·

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9KH5csUvqs It should be easier than ever to take gorgeous, frame-worthy photos right from your smartphone. That’s what Apple’s giant “Shot on iPhone” billboards suggest. If that’s the case though, why do so many of the nearly 20,000 photos I’ve shot on my own iPhone over the past few years mostly suck? Because the very people who took those billboard shots have a few genius MacGyver-esque tricks up their snapshot sleeve. “It’s not like you just ‘point and shoot’ your cell phone and end up with a billboard,” says National Geographic photographer Renan Ozturk. He should know. He snapped this stunning photo of his wife, Taylor Rees, that’s featured ... Read more

How to use your smartphone in the bright sun

  ·

How’s this for irony: you reach for your phone to capture fun summer moments outside, but you can’t see the screen clearly enough to take the photo. Or you get an important email from the boss while walking the dog, but you’re squinting horribly just to make out the words. Worse, your phone overheats while at the beach, so you can’t use it at all until it cools down. Bottom line: Smartphones and tablets don’t generally work well in bright environments. But there are a couple of things you can do to make them easier to use while outdoors on a hot, sunny day. Increase brightness The brighter you can make your screen, the better you’ll be able to see it in sunlight. Both iOS and Android ... Read more

How to Set up a Better (Distraction-Free) Homework Space

  ·

Just when you think you have this whole back-to-school routine down to a finely oiled machine, you get a note from a teacher informing you of missing homework. All those innocent claims of “I’m doing my homework!” shouted from behind a closed bedroom door might not have been – in the strictest sense – lies. We live in distracting times. Turn on a computer and the option to watch Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime make perfect sense over the prospect of writing a book report. We know all too well, just how easy it is to lose hours to wildly entertaining procrastination. Take a proactive approach and create a homework space in a place in the house that it’s easy to keep an eye on. Set up ... Read more

How to download everything you’ve ever posted to Facebook

  ·

Facebook recently announced that it has two billion monthly users — and yes, that's billion with a "b" — making it by far the largest social network on the planet. To put that in perspective, there's only about 7.5 billion people, period, which means over one quarter of the entire world is on Facebook. So, there's a really good chance you have a Facebook account, and if you have a Facebook account there's an equally good chance you have years and years of photos, videos, posts, and memories that you'd hate to lose. Here's how to download every single thing you've ever posted to Facebook, all at once. Facebook makes it incredibly easy to download everything you've ever put on its site. The ... Read more

How to download YouTube videos

  ·

You can right click on just about any image on the internet and save it to your computer, so it might seem a bit confusing that you can't just download any video you want, too. After all, YouTube billions and billions of videos, and more are uploaded every single second, so there's has to be a way to save them forever, right? Well, you're right, there is, and here's how. Just so you know... Before we dive into the tools you can use to download YouTube videos and save them forever, it's important to mention the messy legality of all of this. YouTube isn't particularly keen on people downloading videos from the site, and there's a couple of important reasons for that. First, the content ... Read more

8 Clever Mom Hacks for Driving with Kids

  ·

  Does it seem as if a big chunk of your family time happens on the road? Considering that Americans spend, on average, 290 hours a year driving, that's not just frustration talking. This is a reality. That is more than seven work weeks, spent in the car. And, if you have teenagers, this might even be the only time you spend in one-on-one conversations where they can't storm away and slam a door. Here are some hacks for making that time the best family time it can be. Maybe you can turn this modern, mobile moment into some of the best time you have together. Make the Car a Rule-Free Zone Whatever rules you have about limiting time spent gaming or accessing the Internet at home? ... Read more

The 10 Best Amazon Prime Day GADGET Deals 2017

  ·

Here are the best deals we've seen yet on all things gadget-y and techish during Amazon Prime Day 2017: Amazon Echo Devices Amazon has plenty to offer when it comes to deals on its own products. The the standard Echo will go for $89.99, a 50% discount off its regular price, while the smaller Echo Dot will cost $34.99 instead of $49.99. A few bundle deals are available as well, with Amazon offering a $75 discount when purchasing an Echo Show and Arlo Security camera. The Echo Show usually costs $229.99, while a single Arlo camera is priced at $169.99. Shoppers can also get an Echo Dot (usually $49.99) and Sony XB10 portable Bluetooth speaker (regularly $58 on Amazon) for under $70. A ... Read more

Deleting this one app can literally double your iPhone’s battery life

  ·

Last week, I deleted Facebook from my phone and literally doubled my battery life. Not just overnight, but instantly. You can too--or, if that's too extreme a reaction, there are a few simple things you can do to minimize Big Social's impact on how often you need to recharge your phone. As an electric vehicle owner, I'm familiar with "range anxiety." But I bought an iPhone 7+ specifically so my phone's battery would last through the entire day. I'd only have to charge it once a day, or so I hoped. Recently, however, it wasn't even lasting most of the day. So I checked which apps were draining the battery with Apple's built-in tool. Shockingly, Facebook accounted for 47 percent of ... Read more

DEALish: Tech Deals July 2017: The Best Of Tech, For Less!

  ·

Between the parades, fireworks, and one too many hot dogs, the 4th of July week is just the start of your chance to score super hot deals on some of the best tech on the planet. Here's our pick for the top 10 so far this month: 1) Samsung Galaxy S8 The Samsung Galaxy S8 is the hottest smartphone around right now, and you can score one and get a super sweet summer bonus on top of it. For now until July 15th, Samsung will throw in a huge $200 gift card when you purchase a Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8 Plus. 2) Amazon Prime Day Amazon Prime Day — starting July 10th at 6pm (or 4pm if you have the inside scoop) — is like a Black Friday event right in the middle of the year, and this ... Read more

AMAZON PRIME DAY: How to get the very best deals before anyone else!

  ·

Amazon's third annual Prime Day is coming up on July 10th and 11th. There are huge deals to be had but, in years past, the best ones sold out super fast. Of course they did -- this is Amazon's answer to Black Friday after all, where people get trampled to death trying to score a bargain. So, you don't have to worry about death and mayhem with Prime Day, but you do have to know what you are doing -- unless you want to be stuck holding the dregs. If you think there won't be crowds because there were grumblings about lame deals and TVs selling out immediately in past years, think again. DealNews surveyed shoppers and found that while consumers haven’t yet reached consensus on whether they ... Read more

5 fantastic time-saver apps for super busy moms

  ·

Between work, sports practice, school plays, and exactly one million errands every single week, I'm not sure how moms these days even have time to blink! Carting kids around and managing time to live your own life is a challenge every mom shares, but if you're looking for just a tiny bit of sanity in an insane schedule, here's a few time-saving apps that are my secret weapons for catching a break. Navigate smarter One of the easiest ways to save time during a busy schedule is to streamline your trips. Google Maps is fine for bare bones directions, but Waze (iOS/Android) is the ultimate trip planner, whether you're just jetting across town or dropping the kids off at a sleepover out ... Read more

The scenes on that dusty VHS will make you cry: here’s how to save your old photos and videos

  ·

Every time I declutter my house, I find myself in a showdown with several boxes of videotapes I made when my kids were little. The tapes are covered in dust. They stare back at me, daring me to throw them away. I haven’t owned a VHS machine since the late 90's so I can’t watch them. In their current form, I will never be able to. I am sure they are loaded with impossible cuteness. But I’m not blessed with an overabundance of spare time. So, even if I had the technology, I am unlikely to find an afternoon to hook a VHS machine up to a computer, find an adapter, and figure out how to transfer those memories to a digital format that will allow me to view – and share all over social media – ... Read more

Reader Question: what’s the best portable battery pack to keep my phone from dying on vacation?

  ·

Reader Gail F. asks: Hi Jenn, I just got back from New York and my iPhone was dead every day by about 2pm. I used to have a charging cover/case. But now that I have a new phone, it doesn't fit. What's the best way to get power on the go? Will any [portable chargers] make my iPhone last all day/night? Hi Gail, I so feel your pain! If I'm doing a lot of sightseeing, snapping photos, listening to music, etc., my iPhone battery dies in a New York minute too. We all need a little extra power every now and again — and no, I don't mean an afternoon cup of coffee. I'm talking about portable battery power for everything from your smartphone to your laptop and all the gadgets in between. But ... Read more

Reader Question: How Do I Track the Time My Son Spends in Snapchat?

  ·

While pouring through our virtual mailbag here at Techish, I happened upon this fantastic question about coaching a kid to self-regulate phone use. Tamara asks, “What are some good apps to track the amount of time spent on a phone? I want to help my son become more aware of the hours Snapchat is sucking up.” Teaching kids to regulate their media intake is an important part of parenting in the digital age. But, given recent data from Nielsen that shows smart phone users spend 65 percent more time each month using apps than just two years ago, this might be a case where managing a media diet could become a family affair. Either way, awareness is the first step. Especially when you are ... Read more

7 of the best high-tech tools for keeping tabs on kids:

  ·

When my son turned eleven, he announced, “I want to stay home alone!” And that was a new phase in parenting. It started with the question, “At what age is it okay to leave the kids home alone?” And it won’t end until I am sitting on an empty nest. In between, there have been (and will be) more questions, worries, unplanned events, proud moments, messes, broken trusts, and parties that any parent ever wants to stop and add up. Modern times, though, bring some slick tools that do more than their intended purpose. No, you can’t turn your microwave into a camera. But some technologies – even those you already have  -- do double duty as robot babysitters for kids who are ready to stay home ... Read more

Best online tech tools to help get into college:

  ·

My son was overwhelmed by the college choice portion of life. I suspect anyone who doesn’t miraculously already know where they want to go to college and what they want to study is. One day you are too young to stay home alone, the next day the entire world is asking, “You are grown up! What are you going to do?” These are big questions. It’s a good idea to give them some serious thought. I let him flounder for a bit, then I sat him down in front of a computer and suggested, “You ask Google where to eat dinner. Maybe the Internet can help with this, too?” It can. We found many valuable resources and – even better – answers. What’s Best for Me What’s Best for Me is like a canned ... Read more