Techish

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

HOW TO: Hack back to school routine-rage with Alexa!

  ·

For busy parents, back to school means back to juggling schedules, long school supply lists, and competing priorities. Luckily, Amazon's Alexa can help parents get back into the routine during that back to school transition. Here are few things to try:  ●      Stay stocked on back to school essentials and last-minute household items with Dash Buttons for things Ziplocs and Bounty. Click the button when you’re running low, and the product will be delivered right to your front door. ●      Don’t forget about that upcoming field trip, permission slip, or fundraiser. Just say “Alexa, remind me that I’m chaperoning a field trip next Monday at 8 am.” ●      Set a custom Routine for you and ... Read more

Back to School Gadgets: As Seen on Good Day New York

  ·

Here are some fun gadgets to tech kids out: 1.   Go-To Safety Gadget: Relay - For Ages 6-11: (starting at $99, plus $6.99 monthly data charge) This is a screen-less, water-resistant device that works like a walkie-talkie and puts you in direct contact with your child, but with the connection of a smartphone. You can connect to your child’s Relay whenever you want from either an app on your smartphone or from another Relay device, and they can contact you by pressing the large button in the middle of the gadget. The Relay uses 4G LTE connectivity so you can check on them, and talk with them, whenever you want – from anywhere you want. 2. Nokia “Candy Bar” 3310 3G Phone ($60) Iconic – and ... Read more

PRIME DAY HACKS: Use these tools to save even more!

  ·

Black Friday might be the biggest shopping day of the year, but Amazon's Prime Day is quickly becoming a "Black Friday in July" for shoppers looking to score stellar deals. The (admittedly made-up) retail holiday is now upon us, and there's a whole lot of price cuts and discounts to be found in every corner of Amazon. But not everything is always as it seems. Some shady sellers jack up the price of their items just to discount them during Prime Day so that it looks like a lower-than-usual price. So, how do you know if you're really getting a good deal? There's an app for that — actually, there's several! CamelCamelCamel CamelCamelCamel is a handy site will sniff out the price ... Read more

These High-Tech Home Gadgets Will Instantly Upgrade Your Life

  ·

If you own a home, there’s a good chance you’re working on some kind of fix-up project right about now. Americans spend more than $400 billion a year on residential renovations and repairs, according to a recent report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University — and June is one of the busiest times of the year for upgrades. Whether you’re fed up with a leaky washing machine, or trying to figure out which neighbor’s dog is using your lawn as a personal porta-potty, here are a handful of impressive, new AI-powered gadgets that can do most of the thinking — and even some of the heavy lifting — for you. TAKE A LOAD OFF Short of hiring a maid to do your laundry — we can ... Read more

Mattel announces ‘Hot Wheel id’ toys with built-in digital sensors and an all-new app

  ·

I'm calling them Hot Wheels 2-point “oh wow." The little toy cars have been all the rage for, well, pretty much forever. Over the years we've gotten so many new additions to the Hot Wheels lineup that it would take a day just list them all, but with its latest update, Mattel just made Hot Wheels smarter than they've ever been. "Hot Wheel id" is the biggest overhaul of Hot Wheels toys ever, giving them a digital makeover with app connectivity, ridiculously cool stat tracking, and other virtual goodies. The biggest news here is that Hot Wheels id cars can actually, seriously, race. The classic die-cast toys now have built-in NFC tags and work hand-in-hand with the new Hot Wheels ... Read more

GIFT GUIDE: Impress Pops With These Awesome Dad’s Day Gadgets!

  ·

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haPuMC6Vm_0 Impressing dad is easy if you’re a kid. Just ride your bike off a three-inch ramp without crashing and more likely than not he’ll be beaming with pride. But impressing pops as a full-fledged wage-earning adult is a whole other story. Lucky for us though, new gadgets are coming out at a faster pace than ever before, and this year, some budget-friendly choices are still unique, memorable, and even super helpful too. Here are my top Father’s Day gift picks for all kinds of dads. A BETTER WAY TO RECHARGE Sometimes the simplest gifts end up being used the most, and this 3-in-1 charging station ($29) will be dad’s gadget go-to when he’s ... Read more

GIFT GUIDE: Great gadget gifts for grads that they’ll totally love!

  ·

***This story is from Jennifer's weekly columns and video segments for the USAToday Network.*** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xooy3Gg8csk Think back to your graduation, do you remember who gave you cash? I don’t. (And not just because I graduated a million years ago.) This cap-and-gown season, Americans are expected to spend more than $5.5 billion on gifts for high school and college grads. Cash in a card remains one of the most popular gifts, but it’s not the most memorable or even most useful in the long term. With my daughter graduating from high school this month, the pressure’s on to gift beyond cold, hard cash – and to find something truly meaningful, useful and just plain smart. ... Read more

Apple WWDC 2019: Here’s everything Apple announced today!

  ·

Apple's annual WWDC developer conference kicked off today and, as usual, the company's biggest names took the stage to tell us everything we can expect for the months ahead. We saw new features for the Apple Watch, Mac, iOS, and more, so let's get started! Apple started things off with tvOS 13, the latest and greatest software update for the Apple TV. Along with the new multi-user account feature (great for families!) we saw new music features like synced lyrics so you can follow along with your favorite songs, and support for PlayStation and Xbox game controllers for Apple TV downloadable games. On the Apple Watch front, a new "Activity Trends" feature lets you see your own ... Read more

Dyson — the vacuum company — is making an SUV, and here’s what it’ll probably look like

  ·

Dyson is best known for its top-of-the-line vacuums and other assorted high-tech home gear. The last thing you'd expect to see with a Dyson logo is a car, but that's exactly what the company is planning on building, and it actually seems kind of... awesome? Dyson's automotive aspirations stretch back quite a while, but new patents show us what Dyson's designers are aiming for with their new all-electric SUV. Here it is: Carwow took the patent drawings a few steps further, turning them into 3D renders of what the car might look like when it finally hits the road: The four-door SUV depicted in the drawings is an all-electric vehicle powered by Dyson's own electric motors. With ... Read more

#GiftingGoals for Mother’s Day 2019: Epic Gifts For All Kinds of Moms

  ·

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpfUxJsk7Vc Most moms I know “live in service and sacrifice to their children” 24/7. (I didn’t come up with that, Oprah did, see #7 on this list.) So it never hurts to go the extra mile to make her feel loved and appreciated. Of course, she’ll love your homemade card. And cry a few happy tears if you clean the bathroom without being asked. But if you — like more than 8 out of every 10 Americans — plan to spend a record amount of money on Mom this Mother’s Day, starting with this list is a genius move. #MomLife #TechLife Why? I’m a Mom who tests gadgets for a living. I also polled thousands of other Moms across social media, and then tried every single one ... Read more

HOW TO: Kondo your E-Clutter and Spring Clean Your Digital Mess

  ·

Thanks to decluttering diva Marie Kondo, Spring Cleaning is expected to hit an all-time high this year. A recent survey by the American Cleaning Institute shows a record 77 percent of households plan to clean-up, clear-out, and address the mess of our modern lives. Since e-waste is the world's fastest-growing trash stream, there’s an even stronger sense of renewed responsibility to declutter your e-clutter. #1. CLEAR-OUT BEFORE YOU CLEAN-UP One of the key trademarks of the “KonMari” method is to start by clearing-out everything unwanted and unused. Think about how much tech junk you have – that drawer full of dusty cell phones, charging cable chaos, and old earphones you haven’t ... Read more

Celebrate Earth Day with sustainable, Earth-friendly products from responsible companies

  ·

Today is Earth Day, which means there's no better time to take some time out of your day to enjoy the world around you. It could be anything, like a walk through the park or even just a few moments kicking back in your yard and enjoying the warming weather of spring. It's also a great time to remember that every purchase you and I make can potentially impact the environment, and seeking out companies with sustainable, Earth-friendly approaches is one way we can all help to do our part to keep the planet from falling apart. Here's a few that I've come across. Soma   Soma makes durable, long-lasting mugs and bottles out of glass and ceramic — like the awesome Brew Bottle ($40) ... Read more

USA Today: Cruising into the future of travel with smart wearables, avatars, and lightening-fast WiFi

  ·

This story originally ran in USA Today as part of Jennifer's on-going Tech+Culture column. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL90Fw_T5oE A year ago, boarding a cruise ship at the Port Everglades dock in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was an exercise in patience as passengers waited in blocks-long lines to check in. Pens and paper in hand, anxious vacationers hunched over suitcases or used walls as a hard surface to scribble down important personal information, sometimes waiting hours just to set foot on board. Today, those lines are gone – at least in front of the Caribbean Princess. That’s the first sign that a new wearable gadget aimed at fixing common travel hassles, is working. “Look at ... Read more

Apple just launched a pair of new iPads, and you’re going to love them

  ·

Apple is well known for its flashy, scene-stealing events where it shows off all its new products and causes a major buzz in the tech world. It's rare that the company updates one of its signature product lineups without making a big deal out of it, but that's just what it did this week, revealing both a new iPad Air and iPad mini out of nowhere. Both the new iPad Air and iPad mini get huge processor upgrades which means more powerful hardware for apps, games, and everything else you do with the tablet. On top of that, the new iPad Air even gets a bigger 10.5-inch display. The iPad mini retains the same 7.9-inch display that it already had, but the extra bump in power will ... Read more

Keeping Up With The Phoneses: State of Smartphones 2019

  ·

It’s time for mobile makers to put up, or shut up. We need to see revolutionary — not just evolutionary — upgrades. We need better battery life, and we need it yesterday. We need our most relevant must-have gadget to be drop-dead simple to use, unhackable, unbreakable and less expensive. Oh, and how about less addictive too? We need our smartphones to WOW us again. State of the Smartphone 2019   The first batch of 2019’s shiny new smartphones — Samsung’s S10 line — landed on store shelves and in people’s hands across the country today. It kicked off a new year of flagship phone launches hoping to invigorate sagging sales. Samsung felt the pinch with the Galaxy S9, which worried ... Read more