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

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

HOW TO: Spot a cyber scammer before it’s too late

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Cyber scammers have gotten so good at ripping us off in recent months, I no longer trust any text, call, or email message from a company — even when it’s legit. That might sound extreme, but I get at least one scam text, a handful of calls, and nearly a dozen fraudulent emails every single day.  I’m far from alone in battling this constant barrage.  A new AARP cybercrime study estimates that 229 million adults in the U.S. — roughly nine out of every 10 people — experienced an attempted fraud in 2020. Of those, nearly one in seven (33 million) lost money. (My own mom was among them earlier this year too.) The FTC and BBB report similar statistics. To make matters worse, I’ve come ... 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

High tech beauty tweakments? What the tech?

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***THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN USA TODAY*** After staring at our own faces on Zoom calls for what seems like the past bajillion years, there’s a major boom in high-tech beauty “tweakments.” That’s the latest term used to describe non-surgical cosmetic fixes for crow’s feet, worry lines, double chins, “tired-looking" skin, and even the dreaded resting “bored” face (to use the rated “G” definition). “The Zoom boom is a real phenomenon,” SkinSpirit CEO and Co-Founder Lynn Heublein tells me – over yet another video call – from her home in the Silicon Valley. “Our company revenue has doubled year over year. We’ve opened new locations and have seen a steady stream in pent-up demand,” she ... 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

11 easy ways to get extra income renting out your stuff

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Looking for a side gig or a source of income that does not require you to learn a new skill, get up at dawn, or work for The Man? Look around your life. There might be something you aren’t using much that could easily become a second income.  With the help of a little technology, you can rent out everything from your boat to your truck to your backyard. Some of it will earn you hefty returns. Here are 11 ways to easily make money renting out your own stuff. 1. Your driveway If you live somewhere where parking is a challenge, you can rent your driveway or parking spot on Curb Flip and make money off of that situation. You can rent the spot out all the time or only when you aren’t using ... Read more

Amazon’s newest gadgets (a robot!), features, and privacy promises:

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The robots are coming! And so is a new connected gadget or feature to every nook and cranny of your home — if Amazon has anything to say about it that is. Amazon just announced a treasure trove of new devices and services that they say "brings ambient intelligence to life." What's that even mean? According to Amazon PR, it  "unlocks new experiences for customers—enabling devices and services to work seamlessly together, offering more than any single product could." The company also promises these new features will let us all be more present with the people and things most important to us. But how do we feel about letting a tech giant into even more private places in our home? That's ... Read more

Are your bad manners on email, text, and social media pissing people off?

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So much socializing happens virtually these days – via text, email, chat, social media, and phone – that using these tools badly might be pissing people off. Those late-night texts, the rude comment you left on someone’s social media post, the text shortcut you are using wrong, even the angle of your camera in a Zoom call might be doing your reputation in your social world more harm than you know. “Technology makes communication so easy, immediate, and convenient — available anywhere, from airline seats to toilet seats — that it unfortunately also makes it just as easy and immediate to be unintentionally rude,” reads Emily Post's Manners in a Digital World: Living Well Online by Daniel ... Read more

iPhone 13: Buy now or wait?

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***A version of this article originally ran in USA Today*** We can count on a few things to happen every September: The start of a new school year. Leaves change color. A new iPhone – heck all the newest flagship smartphones – typically hit store shelves and land in the hands of eager early adopters. Those of us who cover tech can also count on getting the question, “should I upgrade now or wait?” The simplest answer is this: If you can afford it, then, by all means, preorder it now or get it in stores after Sept. 24. The iPhone 13 lineup is Apple’s best yet and sure to be the envy of many trying to "keep up with Phoneses." But, if your current smartphone still meets your needs, there’s ... Read more

How to get a disposable email address and phone number (and why you’ll want to)

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You know that moment when you want to claim that discount for giving up your email address but aren’t sure you want to subscribe to whatever SPAM that site plans to send you? Or when you want to send an email to someone but wish you could do it without giving them your email address? There is an easy solution to both of those dilemmas and many more: Get a burner email address. Or maybe you want to give out your phone number to that hottie you just met but fear you'll end up with a stalker if that goes south? Or maybe you are selling on Craigslist and don't want that random couch buyer to be able to call you later. A disposable phone number, one you can shut off at any time without losing ... 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