Techish

THE BEST: Fun (and frightening) apps to celebrate Halloween!

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The scariest part of Halloween these days might just be how much we’re all spending on it. American’s are shelling out more than nine billion dollars for all the costumes, candy, decorations and parties this year, according to the National Retail Federation. If the high cost of it all gives you the creeps, these apps deliver big fun for free. SPOOKY SELFIES My new favorite app for not too gross and slightly sexy Halloween selfies is the free Photo Lab app (iOS and Android). I've been playing around with it all morning and wow, it's packed with photo fun generating - awesomeness. It has more than 800 awesome effects for your photos, and it's super simple to use. There's No need for ... Read more

Did you just butt-dial me? How to end those annoying butt, pocket, and purse dials for good.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFF3Pe3QVM8 I cannot figure out why my parents both pocket-dial me so much. It happens a few times every week. And while their butt-dials are mostly sweet — I get to eavesdrop on a tiny snippet of their day — I can’t help but wonder why this still happens as often as it does. In all fairness, I butt-dial an awful lot of people myself, too. And it's not just me. It turns out some 30% of calls to 911 are accidental, according to a study by Google researchers of San Francisco emergency calls, which was echoed in other locations. Accidental emergency calls not only strain the 911 system, they’ve even popped up in some high profile court cases in recent years ... Read more

iFrustrated: iOS 11 killed my battery life. Here’s how I finally revived it and you can too:

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An hour after upgrading to iOS 11, my iPhone 7 Plus phone was at 30%. It was 11am and I had barely used it. An hour later, another update came out - 11.0.1. I updated again, so then it made it until about noon. If you just upgraded your iPhone there's a really good chance you're noticing a serious battery drain problem too. According to security research firm Wandera, early updates of iOS 11 took an average of one hour and 36 minutes on average to drain iPhones completely, compared to the iOS 10 update, which took about four hours. I scoured Apple’s help site, and the internet for the fix and only came up with the same old no-real-help advice. Like, “look at what apps are using ... Read more

HOW TO: Host a Super Cool Virtual Book Club

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This fall bring us tons of highly-anticipated novels from some of the most well-known authors and public figures out there—Toni Morrison to Hillary Clinton—which means it’s the perfect time to start a book club. But any busy mom like knows will tell you right now, in-person meetups can be a pain. The fix? Host a virtual book club. They’re a great way to discuss the latest reads, without any heavy lifting. In time for National Book Month (October), here are five pain-free ways to host a virtual book club: 1. Pick the place: Create a WhatsApp group chat for discussions. Designate a time for people to chat, and if they can’t make it, no problem! People can just scroll up to see what they ... Read more

8 Genius NEW Ways to Repurpose Your Old Smartphone

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 The new iPhones are almost here, which means that 6, 6s, or 7 in your pocket is probably not looking as fresh and fun as it once did. But just because you’re about to order the hottest new tech doesn’t mean yesterday’s iPhone (or any smartphone for that matter) can’t still make your life better in a totally new way. Here are eight genius ways to squeeze a bit more life out of that dated device. A Poor Man’s HomePod It’s not just iPhones on Apple’s fall release schedule; the HomePod, a Siri-equipped smart speaker is also on the way to compete with the Amazon Echo and Alexa virtual assistant. It’s going to cost around $349, but if all you really want is a way to summon Siri from your ... Read more

Printers are the worst, here’s how to fix them (or at least not throw them out the window)

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https://youtu.be/SUqFS2Lshm4 I recently chucked a two-year-old printer out a third story window. Watching it smash on the bricks below — a spray of glass, pop of plastic, and jerky bounce of mangled metal — was the most satisfying part of ever owning that stupid thing. https://youtu.be/uWjc42WRRJ0   In the time since I first bought it and now: The wireless networking rarely connected without a fuss It ran out of ink all the time — usually when something super important was due The ink was crazy-expensive Speaking of ink, those auto ink refills were hit or miss — rarely here when we really needed them — though the monthly charges to our credit card were like ... Read more

How to make the most money selling your old iPhone

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__kQ_WKv9fs&t=12s The next-generation iPhones are almost here, and when Apple takes the stage on  Tuesday to show them off to the world, you better have a plan. I’m not talking about a sneaky blueprint for snagging the first spot in line on iPhone launch day, I’m talking about how to get the most cash when confronting all the tricky buyback, trade-in or sell-on-the street options. I searched high and low for the best prices on iPhone trade-ins, comparing the likes of eBay, Amazon, Gazelle, Swappa, NextWorth and even Apple itself, and I’ve got my plan in place (spoiler alert: it’s eBay). So buckle up as I run down your options and next steps so you can snag ... Read more

Common fixes for printer problems: wireless connectivity issues

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Wireless connectivity issues - part of our printer problem-solving series:  Most of the time  connection woes come down to your computer and your printer not being on the same page (pun intended). Get the basics out of the way first: restart both your printer and computer, and update your drivers. The best way to do this is:  On a Mac, click the apple logo in the upper left hand corner and click “System Preferences.” Choose the “Printers and Scanners” icon. Make sure your printer appears on the list and has a little green dot next to it. If it doesn’t appear at all, check to see that your WiFi is on, and that your computer and your printer are using the same WiFi address. If ... Read more

How your smartphone can help in an emergency

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The catastrophic events caused by Hurricane Harvey put smartphones to the test, raising the question about what our trusty mobile companions can do to help in crises like these. After all, we rely on these pocket-sized supercomputers for much of our lives, in a normal state, so surely they can be useful during natural disasters, among other grave situations one might find themselves in. Your survival plan should include your smartphone, and there are a few things you can do in advance for emergency preparedness, but you won’t be able to rely on your mobile device for everything. Some thoughts, tips, and tricks to consider for the future: Cell service not a given According to the ... Read more

Everything you Need to Know to send Animated (GIF) via Text

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Have you seen short animations on Facebook and wondered what they are? They are called GIFs and here is the lowdown: Way back in the 80s, Steve Wilhite invented a graphics format that was better than what was at the time. Being a nerd (he coded for the now-defunct, then Internet startup Compuserve), he called it Graphics Interchange Format (GIF). This format is so old now that most software understands it, making it readily usable for all. GIFs have lately enjoyed wild popularity because -- among other things -- it's so much fun to send baby goat GIFs to your daughter/spouse/sister via text. (Seriously. It is.) The big controversy around GIFs is not over whether creating and sending ... Read more

How to fix smartphone photos that are too dark or too light

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This is the part of a series of tips and tricks for our 2017 Smartphone Photography Tips guide, so be sure to check back for more!  We might all fancy ourselves smartphone photography masters, but if we're being totally honest, the majority of our camera rolls are filled with total junk. I just recently got back from a photography workshop in Cuba, and I brought back some genius tips with me that will give your photos professional flair, regardless of whether you're an iPhone fan or an Android enthusiast. The Problem: Blown-out photos First on our list is fixing blown out photos — you know, when you capture what you think is a solid snapshot but it ends up being way too dark or light. ... Read more

Smartphone Photo Hacks: How to take great group photos and actually be in them

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This is part of a series of tips and tricks for our 2017 Smartphone Photography Tips guide, so be sure to check back for more!  Ever swipe through your smartphone camera roll and come across some vacation photos only to find that you aren't actually in any of them? I recently realized that I was almost never alongside my husband, daughter, and vacation friends because I'm always wo-manning the camera. Those self-timers built in to most phones give you just a few seconds to actually get in position, and selfie arms are a no-go, so I'm usually stuck behind the lens. That's when I learned a trick that I'll never, ever forget. Time Lapse You'll probably never find a time lapse app while ... Read more

7 Genius Smartphone Photo Hacks: snap pics like a pro

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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

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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

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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

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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