Techish

HOW TO: Score awesome gifts on your own social media feeds!

  ·

The holiday season is officially in full gear and it's the most mobile shopping season yet. But is it really possible to swipe, scroll, and tap your way through a stress-free holiday? Yep, it sure is -- especially if you know how to train your social media feeds to do most of the work for you. You know those ads that pop up when you’re scrolling through your Facebook or Instagram? I used to just ignore them, but then my mom got the whole family those Bombas socks that kept popping up in her news feed. She liked them because you buy a pair and they donate a pair to a homeless person. And it was the perfect “something for everyone” gift. It also got me thinking about my own holiday ... Read more

HACK THE HOLIDAYS: tech tools to do all the hard stuff for you!

  ·

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_PPPqPOQ7I&t=10s *This story originally ran in USA Today, as part of my syndicated series for USA Today and Gannet. I just used an eyebrow brush to brush my teeth. Nope, not an accident. It was pretty genius life hack, if you ask me, since I forgot my toothbrush on a work trip, had only three hours to get any sleep (so no time to hunt a real one down). And it worked quite a bit better than the free plastic one the hotel offered up. See — we harried, hurried, busy working parents are pretty darn resourceful when we need to be. Cue the holidays. Every year I love to think that I’ll have enough time to organize, plan, cook, clean, decorate, shop, mail ... Read more

THIS IS THE BEST: iPHONE X + Animoji Karaoke = winning the internet

  ·

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HgYkXFIyqo Okay, the iPhone X might be the best smartphone to land on planet earth all that jazz, but seriously? Animoji Karaoke wins the internet. Thanks to writer Harry McCracken, using the new Animoji for ultimate lip-synching battles might be the best thing I've seen all year. Not even kidding. Bohemian Rhapsody is the best, but it's followed pretty closely by a bunch more. Here are my favorite so far. What's yours? Be sure to share your own creations and add to the fun via our social media channels! Smash Mouth All Star https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_Nwu3RqZyo   Despacito https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp9AE9SAYvg   The ... Read more

FIX IT: The iGlitch driving you nuts? Here’s how to get your “I’s” back on iOS

  ·

Have you noticed that overtime you try to text an "I" it's replaced by a question mark, or an "A?" It hasn't happened to me, but I sure saw it a lot this past weekend on people's posts to Instagram and other social. Here's the quick fix. Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement Tap . For Phrase, type an upper-case "I". For Shortcut, type a lower-case "i." Funny. Annoying. Weird. And of course, it's what everyone's talking about. ... Read more

HACK THE HOLIDAYS: How to find, use, and pay for the Holiday Season’s most coveted gear

  ·

The Holidays are coming at you fast. Did you save? Make a list? Check it twice? Of course not. We live on the eve of Amazon drone delivery. Everyone is expected to take care of life in time we once wasted staring into space at stop lights. In the face of unreasonable modern expectations, we offer these hacks to help you do it, use it, and even pay for it. Don’t give up and buy everyone a bottle of gin. You’ve got this. Get the Ungettable Gear You know it’s coming, the first question at every holiday party. “Did you get an iPhone X?” Apple co-founder Woz may not be buying but everyone else is. Preorders sold out in 10 minutes and the line keeps getting longer. With Apple (maybe) ... Read more

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

  ·

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.

  ·

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:

  ·

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

  ·

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

  ·

 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)

  ·

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

  ·

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

  ·

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

  ·

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

  ·

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

  ·

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