Techish

HOW TO: Break up with your phone a little

  ·

The average American spends around four hours a day on their smartphone, according to the latest string of surveys. That’s more than a month and a half of time each year —  glued to our screens.  So much for all of our “no time” to exercise, cook more meals at home, or spend more time with friends and family excuses. Seriously, Imagine what you could do with just getting half of that time back. Isn’t it ironic that we’re a nation of people who covet freedom, yet so easily and willingly give it up for our devices? To put it another way: In just six years, a single tech device has gone from obsolete to an object people would be willing to give up food, sleep, and sex for, according to a ... Read more

CES 2020: This magic wand “prints” makeup on your face, and I LOVE it

  ·

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_7WXHJE8qM https://youtu.be/xtrW2H-_MzQ P & G OPTE DEVICE This is quite possibly the coolest beauty gadget I’ve ever seen. It’s P&G Ventures Opte device. It’s like an inkjet makeup printer for your skin. It uses a tiny HD camera with blue LED lights to help it hunt down tiny dark spots that your human eye might miss. Once it finds a blemish, scar, whatever you want to cover, the Opte uses 120 thermal inkjet nozzles to dispense a precise amount of tinted serum with mineral pigments — to instantly camouflage imperfections. The idea is that instead of smearing makeup all over your face, you’re using next-gen technology to put a precise, ... Read more

CES 2020: Make tech less annoying by putting it in your underwear and other wild ideas

  ·

*This story originally aired/ran in USA Today 01/07/2020* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiPiM_sqtfY In the age of oversharing, the last thing I want is a smart, connected sensor on my skivvies. I mean, I’m already worried about my smart home speakers, connected TV and mobile devices eavesdropping on my every word. Can’t my privates be the one thing I keep ... private? Not if Myant’s new Skiin wearables take off. The high-tech textile company is showing off a new line of connected apparel – underwear, bras, shirts and sleep masks – at CES this week in Las Vegas. Company president and founder Tony Chahine gave us an exclusive look ahead of the show. “The whole point is that tech should ... Read more

CES DAY TWO: Finally, someone reinvented the wheel

  ·

Back here on day two, yes, I've seen 8K TV’s in every shape and size and yes, they are amazing. But unless you're a bazillionaire, you won't buy one this year.  Or next. Or maybe even the next year after that. They cost an insane amount of money and there's no real content for them yet. Let's talk about what you will buy. There are smarter home-everything's, a huge run on new wellness gadgets, and new tech fixing old problems. Jetson's Level Laundry Day: Let’s start with a good ole’ washer and dryer reimagined for a Jetson’s level laundry day: LG’s TurboWash 360ºFront-Load Washer/Dryer Pair with its ThinQ AI Platform — using artificial intelligence to detect fabric types in each ... Read more

CES 2020 DAY ONE: These are the gadgets you’ll want to buy this year

  ·

If you caught me on TV this morning - here's what I was likely talking about (updated 1/07/2020) While the rest of the world is just getting over their holiday hangover, every gadget-loving tech enthusiast on the planet is glued to what’s going down in Las Vegas right now. The world’s largest consumer electronics show — CES — is underway and while flying cars,  8K rolling TV's, curvy laptops, and crazy-futuristic-everything get a ton of buzz, the tech we need and use the most — are getting significant upgrades too: SAMSUNG'S SWANKY NEW GALAXY CHROMEBOOK Samsung just unveiled its swanky new Galaxy Chromebook. The aluminum body is less than half an inch thick, and weighs just over ... Read more

What to do if your package didn’t arrive on time:

  ·

Special from: Michael Bonebright, consumer analyst with DealNews.com What to do if part of your order was not included, but the shipment claims its complete Amazon orders are typically shipped from different fulfillment centers, which is why you'll often receive multiple packages from the same order. What's more, delivery services may mark your packages as "delivered" up to 48 hours prior to their actual arrival. If you still haven't received your entire order after that 48-hour window has passed, you should contact Amazon customer service to request a replacement item or a refund. What to do if your packages arrive late for Christmas – or year-round To qualify for guaranteed delivery ... Read more

Tech that pays you back (in saved money, time and sanity)!

  ·

https://youtu.be/TS3xnKYziTY Sometimes you have to spend money to save money down the road, and that’s especially true with many smart tech upgrades. Here are some of my favorite tech buys that can actually pay for themselves -- by letting you keep more of your hard-earned money in the long run -- or by creating more “me” time right now. Smart thermostats There’s a “smart” version of just about every appliance these days, but some are downright genius for saving you serious cash. Smart thermostats from well-known brands like Nest, Honeywell (Lyric T5 $150) and Ecobee ($199) can save you time, money, and worry. Google’s $169 Nest Thermostat E (or $249 for the newest version of the ... Read more

How to keep pesky ‘Porch Pirates’ from pilfering your holiday packages

  ·

In the next few weeks holiday shoppers in the United States are expected to spend a whopping $136 billion for all kinds of great gifts online. That means more packages will sit out on doorsteps and front porches than ever before, tempting pesky “Porch Pirates” to strike. If you haven’t had a delivery stolen yet, odds are pretty high you will. More than half of online shoppers reported at least one missing package in the last six months according to research analytics firm Clutch. But surveys also show there are ways to slow the thieves down that don’t cost a fortune or require a whole lot of work on your part. Here are the simplest ways to protect yourself — and your precious holiday buys ... Read more

These are the Black Friday, Cyber Monday shopping secrets retailers don’t want you to know

  ·

https://youtu.be/OvztNWwBNcI I would rather lick a dirty sidewalk than camp out all night for “doorbuster deal” on Black Friday. Okay, that’s a bit dramatic and totally gross — have you heard what’s on the sidewalks in my area?! — but you get the point. Holidays are for precious family time, not for combat couponing with sales-rabid, sharp-elbowed strangers. Is there any way to get in on doorbuster deals without the chaos of the holiday crowds? This year, more than ever, the answer is an emphatic “yes,” according to several people “on the inside.” We spoke with current and former employees of Target, Walmart, Best Buy, GameStop, and even eBay, to get a handful of holiday shopping secrets ... Read more

People Share Rules for Screens and Sleep

  ·

THIS POST IS SHARED WITH PERMISSION FROM DR. DELANEY RUSTON, MD, FILMMAKER OF SCREENAGERS. Read more of these articles on Dr. Ruston’s site: Tech Talk Tuesdays Recently a group of eighth-graders was discussing Screenagers NEXT CHAPTER, and a few of them told the teacher how surprised they were to learn in the film that almost 40% of youth and teens with mobile devices in their room report that they wake up and check it at least once a night. *I like to keep stats to a minimum in my films, and I was happy these teens got the significance of this recent data. A new study from a survey of 12,000 teens in the U.K. who were asked about their social media use and sleep found that teens who use ... Read more

WIRED WELL: New tech gadgets get senior moment and the results will make you cry (in a good way).

  ·

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp1yQzH6KAY ***This story and video originally ran/aired on USA Today. It's reposted here with permission.*** Brooklyn resident Marilyn Stone* isn’t your typical early tech adopter. She’s 95 years old, can’t see or hear very well anymore, and grew up in a time when the hottest new gadgets around were toaster ovens and zippers. Today? She’s not sure what she would do without her Amazon Echo smart speaker. “Alexa has been a miracle,” the spirited senior tells me over the phone, “I ask ‘what is the weather,’ and get an answer. Alexa turns on my lights, tells me what time it is, and when to take my pills.” Stone is now one of the 16.7 ... Read more

Worried your kids are addicted to screens? Help is here.

  ·

https://youtu.be/qga2yuPYVd4 My daughter is off to college, yet I still have some of the same worries about her tech use as my friends with kids in middle school: Is she safe? Is she on social media too much? Does she put her smartphone down long enough to have meaningful connection and communication in real life? Tech-centric worry is the new norm and makes up a lot of what we parents are talking about these days: Safety, screen-time, device distraction, and making sure our kids get the right balance of necessary tech tools — along with real-life skills — to succeed. How do we handle modern technology the “right” way, especially when so many of us are overwhelmed by it all ... Read more

Rinsta vs. Finsta: Why do teenagers often use more than one Instagram account?

  ·

THIS POST IS SHARED WITH PERMISSION FROM DR. DELANEY RUSTON, MD, FILMMAKER OF SCREENAGERS. Read more of these articles on Dr. Ruston’s site: Tech Talk Tuesdays It is very common for teens to have two Instagram accounts or even three or four. Their main, public-facing one is referred to as their Rinsta (as in Real + Instagram). Their second account is called their Finsta (Fake + Instagram) and is in addition to their main account. Teens use their Finsta as a place to post pictures and videos meant only for their closest friends to see. Since teens’ main accounts generally have a lot more people following them, including adults, the posts on them are curated whereas Finstas offer teens a ... Read more

No Epic Plans For Labor Day? These New Apps Have Got Your Back(pack):

  ·

No plans for this Labor Day weekend yet? Don’t worry, thanks to a handful of new apps that go all-in with the sharing economy, you could throw an epic pool party, rent a speedboat, or even go glamping on your own private paradise. Let’s dive in. SWIMPLY If you don’t have a pool of your own — and let’s be honest, most of us don’t — and don’t want to fight the crowds at the local public swimming hole, Swimply will come to your rescue. It’s like Airbnb, but for pools: You search for nearby private pools, pick a time that works for you, and then pay based on how long your group wants to swim. It’s insanely simple, and there are no strings attached, just tap, swim, and ... Read more

Sharing, Not Scaring, is Key to Managing Screen Time

  ·

***THIS POST IS SHARED WITH PERMISSION FROM DR. DELANEY RUSTON, MD, FILMMAKER OF SCREENAGERS*** Read more of these articles on Dr. Ruston's site: Tech Talk Tuesdays As a society, we often give information to others hoping to elicit some fear with the goal of getting a desired behavior. Think for example of schools teaching kids about cyberbullying and sexting and having police officers deliver the message so it is clear that they should be scared, really scared of consequences. Unfortunately, scare tactics for long term behavior change have proven to not be very effective. Let me give one example. Massive public health campaigns designed to combat smoking that showed images of damaged ... Read more

HOW TO: Keep creepers off your smart home gadgets!

  ·

A recent spate of high-profile smart home gadget hacks has a whole lot of us wondering what we can do to keep the creepers out. Easy to guess passwords? Oh hell no. Unsecured Wi-Fi networks? Gone. These are things I've been warning you about for years, but have you actually taken steps to make you and your family as safe as possible? Likely, the answer is, "no," and that's okay. It's not easy, and that's why we're here to help! “A smart home gadget is no different from your phone or your computer,” says Kelvin Coleman, executive director for the National Cyber Security Alliance. “If it’s vulnerable to being hacked, there are basic good housekeeping practices that should become second ... Read more