Techish

Getting Venmo’d money for your side hustle? The IRS wants to know:

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Tax Day is April 18th this year, but the IRS is throwing a few curveballs already. It recently introduced important new tax laws relating to payments for goods and services through mobile apps like PayPal, Venmo, and the Cash App, along with online marketplaces like Etsy and even Airbnb. These new laws come as quite a change for tens of millions of self-employed gig workers and people with side hustles. So here's the important info for anyone and everyone who uses these apps (which is pretty much ALL of us these days!) WHAT'S THE CHANGE? Starting January 1st, 2022, Venmo, PayPal, and all the other payment apps must tell the IRS if you make more than $600 for the sale of goods and services. ... Read more

CES2022: Check out this latest wellness tech, including a sanitizing light for your cell phone

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***A version of this article and video originally ran in USA Today*** https://youtu.be/Nnhn7P1Vt3o Someone asked me if CES 2022 has offered “a fix for Covid,” yet. After all, it is the epicenter of future tech – chock full of all kinds of innovation, inventions, and wild ideas – that just might become one of the top gadgets of its time. Past shows brought us the first home VCR, Tetris, Oculus Rift, and who could ever forget the toilet-paper delivery robot? Alas, there was no new magical device to cure COVID this year – or even help get rapid tests to areas overrun with omicron – which now includes Las Vegas, too. But there was a cute little plushy robot that nibbles on your fingers to ... Read more

CES2022: HANDS-ON WITH TOP TECH

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**A version of this article and video originally ran in USA Today.*** https://youtu.be/NRzQsdbQELk Tens of thousands of tech enthusiasts were in Las Vegas last week for CES 2022 – the annual consumer electronics show – one of the most influential gadget trade shows in the world. But even more notable? How many people opted to cover all the latest tech unveilings from a distance for the second year in a row, thanks to the current spike in COVID-19 cases. Attendance was down more than 70% according to the CTA, the group that organizes the tradeshow. As Mike Snider reported in USA TODAY's preview, several big companies such as Amazon, Google, Lenovo, GM, IBM, and Microsoft pulled out of ... Read more

GIFT GUIDE: Last minute gadget picks for the whole fam

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So you blinked and now it’s December — and you haven’t done any of your holiday shopping yet. In case you haven’t heard, this is NOT the year to put it all off until the last minute. Here are handful of affordable picks for all ages. ***You can buy the gadget directly from the BUY IT NOW links below, and Techish.com might get a small commission on the sale, however, recommendations are independently chosen by Techish editors.*** Samsung Galaxy Buds2 Wireless earbuds are a perfect go-to gadget gift and these Samsung Galaxy Buds2 are a perfect fit — literally — they just nestle right into your ear. Whether you want to listen to holiday music, dial into a conference call, or tune out your ... Read more

GIFT GUIDE: Tech toys that teach, screen-free fun, and lessons to last a lifetime!

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***A version of this article and video appear in USA Today*** https://youtu.be/aBYIdXbl_9E It’s hard enough to pry myself away from a screen these days, but when it comes to kids? Forget about it. It seems like babies are now born with the swipe, pinch, and tap reflexes ready to go out of the gate. Paired with the pandemic, many parents feel like screen time — theirs and their kids’ — is totally out of control. Which leads us to this years’ hottest toy trends. This year is all about screen-free fun, tech toys that teach, and perfect pets (all the fun, none of the mess). Here are some of the best I—and my team of young reviewers—have tried out first hand. STEM GETS AN “A” STEM — ... Read more

You’ll want to change Facebook privacy setting right this second

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If you haven't been using the Off-Facebook Activity privacy feature, now's the time to start. The tool, introduced by Facebook in 2019, lets you see and control data that apps and websites share with the platform -- and monitor the kind of information third-party apps can access. With the privacy feature, you can clear the history of apps and websites that have shared your data. You can also turn off future Off-Facebook activity, which tells Facebook to disconnect any information the company has shared from your account. Or you can selectively choose which companies you want to stop sharing your activity with, and it'll stop showing those targeted ads. Here's how to get a better grip ... Read more

GIFT GUIDE: Hot holiday gadgets and ways to save

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A worldwide computer chip shortage combined with major shipping delays means many Christmas shoppers won't be able to find the items they're looking for and have them delivered before December 25th. If you typically wait until Black Friday and Cyber Monday to do the bulk of your shopping, you definitely want to get started now, especially since we're already seeing some of the biggest discounts on some of the hottest gadgets already. Here are some of my favorite finds so far, along with advice on ways to shop smart and save big: SWEET SMARTPHONES Samsung’s new Galaxy Z-series foldables are two of the newest and most striking pieces of tech on the planet.  The Galaxy Z ... Read more

This smart tech can save your life:

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***A version of this story first ran in USA Today*** SKIN CANCER: EARLY DETECTION AND TRACKING Minneapolis-based electrical engineer and mom of two, Emily Riggs, was just 34 year old when she noticed a “different looking” mole on her back.  “I saw it and just had a sense of dread,” Riggs said over the phone. “It wasn't 100% out of left field. I had an uncle I was close with diagnosed with a late stage of melanoma, and he unfortunately didn’t live much longer after the diagnosis.”  Riggs had also just moved to a new town, but says she “started Googling dermatologists and was lucky to get an appointment right away.” Sure enough, the suspicious spot was melanoma, a serious form of ... Read more

Google now lets anyone under 18 get images of themselves off the internet. Here’s how:

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You know how parents love to show off the most embarrassing photos of you? That was bad enough when I was growing up, and they had the awkward perm years front and center in a family photo album. Now? Photos from the first grainy sonogram to toddler tantrums, potty-training, and everything in between live on the internet, and many young adults are fighting back to get control of their images. For the first time, ever, Google is giving minors, or their guardians, a form to fill out to have photos taken off search results. "We know that kids and teens have to navigate some unique challenges online, especially when a picture of them is unexpectedly available on the ... Read more

Sharenting: What it is and why we all need to stop doing it

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***This article originally ran in USA Today*** I love talking about my stunning, brilliant, cherished-beyond-measure, 20-year-old daughter. Oh sure, there are moments I overdo it a little, and maybe even gush, embellish, or overshare. I’m an insanely proud mom. I can’t help it, that’s just who I am (insert shrug emoji). But it’s not who my daughter is. And that last part? That’s what really matters here. In this day of living so much of our lives on social media, where do we draw the line in the sand(box) with regards to what we share about our kids – especially when they’re too young to have any say in the matter? It’s a question at the center of a growing debate and many teens and young ... Read more

Mind your digital manners: 7 surprising deadly (or at least discourteous) digital sins in 2021

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***THIS STORY ORIGINALLY RAN IN USA Today*** It’s 2021, and by now most of us know it’s rude to talk on our cellphones in a public restroom, restaurant or at the checkout counter. We understand that texting and walking can be hazardous to your health – though it sure makes for hilarious GIFs (pronounced JIF, btw) and viral videos. We even totally get that WRITING IN ALL CAPS is the digital version of yelling. What about all the new rules on digital engagement? There are thousands of unspoken social norms most of us at least try to follow every day, but when it comes to our online world, it's tough to keep up. Here are seven – if not deadly, then at least discourteous – digital sins you ... Read more

Are we facing an epidemic of repetitive stain injuries?

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When I started working at PC World in the 90s, the art department had recently made the transformation to working on computers and every art person I met was wearing wrist braces. The editorial department had made this transition a few years before and our most prolific writer had just had experimental carpal tunnel surgery and an editor had quit to go on disability because the pain, numbness, and weakness in her hands was crippling. That editor was unable to lift her own child and never regained full use of her hands. Less than a year later, my hands hurt constantly. This was happening in newsrooms all over the world and was being called the Carpal Tunnel Epidemic. Time magazine ran a ... Read more

This new tech is revolutionizing how we buy and sell homes!

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***See more of this article and video @ USA Today*** https://youtu.be/nNHSiaB0KD0 The first time my husband and I made an offer on a home in the spring of 2018, we agonized over it for days. The house itself was tiny – a two-bedroom, one bathroom, 1,000 square foot little postage stamp of an abode – but the yard was big by San Francisco Bay Area standards and we saw potential. The home was listed for $699,000. We made our offer: more than $200,000 over the asking price. (You read that right. And yes, it is totally crazy. And totally common where we live.) We crafted the perfect letter to the kind widower selling his lifetime home (a practice that's now discouraged because it can lead to ... Read more

7 Great Masks for to Go Back to School

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New backpack? Check. Number two pencils, composition books, and scientific calculator? Got it. Supply of face masks because the delta variant has brought back mask mandates and parents are terrified? Oops. It seems like just weeks ago that we were tossing our masks and running free and vaccinated in the streets. (Because it was, literally, last week.) But mask mandates are back in many states and the CDC “recommends universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to schools, regardless of vaccination status.” Whatever your current situation, you probably need to add masks to your back-to-school shopping list because, as the delta variant surges, school ... Read more

Are your smart home devices spying on you?

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As we approach – or pass – the dates of some of the dystopian futures predicted in the science fiction I read as a child, I’m looking around my home wondering if any of it came true. Are robots replacing humans? Are we living on spaceships? Do we have flying cars and replicants? Mostly, the answer is no. But there is one fantasy future that gives me pause: Terry Gilliam’s Brazil predicts a world where bureaucracies know everything about us and make life-altering decisions based on that data. In this fever-dream film, the bureaucracies make terrible mistakes and citizens are helpless to correct them. I frown at my smart TV, Amazon Echo, Google Assistant, and Siri and think, “Well, that’s ... Read more

AS SEEN ON TV: Great deals on back-to-school gadgets

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Here are even more (!) of the best gadgets, bargains, and tech tools to save time, money, and stress during this "anything but ordinary" back-to-school season and beyond: Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE The Galaxy Tab S7 FE (Fan Edition) brings fan-favorite features and 5G connectivity to power your productivity and play. A large 12.4-inch display enables users to take their entertainment, creativity and multi-tasking to the next level —all at an affordable price. Packed with key features including a S Pen, a Multi-Active Window (where you can open up to three apps at once!), Book Cover Keyboard and a long-lasting battery to keep you powered up. Price: Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 FE Wi-Fi ... Read more