Quick Links Smart speakers are useful all year round, but even more so at Christmas. Alexa tricks and routines can make life a little easier or more magical, and keep the kids entertained while you get on with all of your other Christmas tasks. 1Ask Alexa How Many Days Until Christmas One of the simplest but most effective holiday tricks you can do with Alexa is to ask how many days there are until Christmas....

Quick Links Need an email account and don’t want to pay for it? Sometimes “free” means great features, less hassle, and exactly what you need without the fluff. Here are six free email services to check out, ranked from best to still great. About Our Ranking If you search the web, you’ll find plenty of lists of the best free email accounts. Of course, the truly best choice is subjective to the reader, except perhaps if you’re ranking by one particular attribute of the service, like ease of use, security, or platform support....

Quick Links When you read about Linux, you probably see a lot of talk about commands to use in the terminal. The command line can seem intimidating if you aren’t used to it, which is understandable. But what if we told you you don’t have to worry about that? Can You Use Linux Without the Terminal? The short answer is yes—you canuse Linux without ever touching the terminal, assuming you have a good desktop environment installed....

Quick Links Summary Shopping for a new central processing unit (CPU) can quickly become confusing. However, naming schemes are something you just have to learn to make an educated purchase. Thankfully, AMD’s naming conventions are pretty straightforward. After AMD launched the Ryzen line of processors in 2017, they refreshed their naming conventions. They took some inspiration fromIntel’s lineupand came up with something similar to their Core i3, i5, i7, and i9 model names....

Summary Sharing a phone plan with friends and family can be a great way to save money. However, it can also be a hassle to split the bill. AT&T’s new SplitPay feature makes it much more convenient to do that. With SplitPay, the account owner can assign a person who is responsible for paying for each line. At the end of the month, AT&T sends a text to each person with a secure link to pay for their portion of the bill without needing to sign in to anything....

Summary Near the end of 2023, JEDEC, the organization that sets computer memory standards, released the Compression Attached Memory Module (CAMM2) standard that aims to ultimately replace Small Outline Dual In-line Memory Modules (SO-DIMM). Here’s how CAMM2 differs from SO-DIMM, and why people are so excited about it. CAMM2 RAM: What You Need to Know So, what’s CAMM2RAM? In a nutshell,CAMM2 is a new memory module standardthat should ultimately replace the good oldSO-DIMMthat has been used for about 25 years now....

Quick Links I’ve been using WhatsApp as my primary communication app for years, and in that time, I’ve encountered my fair share of awkward situations. But I learned from each experience, and here are a few tricks I use to keep from falling into them again. Edit Your Messages, Don’t Delete Sometimes, when I’m texting, my fingers move faster than my brain, and I’ve already sent a message before I think better of it....

Quick Links Electricity isn’t a luxury these days, it’s a necessity. Even short power outages can ruin our day because virtually no home appliances work. However, this is exactly why products like theEcoFlow DELTA 2 Portable Power Stationexist. They can provide electricity when and where you need it most. I am very much one who tries to plan for the worst-case scenario even in the best moments of my life. Because of this, the fact that I own things likeweather radiosand first aid kits should surprise no one....

Summary Things move fast when it comes to wireless earbuds. Edifier’s NeoBuds Pro were released in 2021, but that is ages when it comes to technology. Now the company has released a sequel in theEdifier NeoBuds Pro 2, and like Apple’s latest AirPods Pro, it’s a solid evolution of an already-good product. Like the originals, these are true wireless earbuds that feature active noise cancellation. Unlike the originals, these have a new trick up their sleeve in the form of spatial audio, a feature typically only found in higher-end earbuds....

Quick Links Remember Fuchsia OS? There actually seems to be a lot happening recently with Google’s mysterious OS. Positioned as a potential successor to both Android and Chrome OS, Fuchsia represents Google’s bold vision for the future of operating systems. We’ll catch you up on what Fuchsia has been up to. What’s Fuchsia OS, and Where Does it Come From? Development onFuchsia OSbegan in earnest in 2016, starting as a mysterious project before its more public unveiling in subsequent years....

Summary Do you often find yourself unlocking your phone and then opening Google Maps to check directions? You can save yourself some trouble by using glanceable directions. But what exactly is the glanceable directions feature, and how do you enable it? Here’s everything you need to know. What Is the Glanceable Directions Feature in Google Maps? Glanceable directions is a newfeature in Google Maps, and it’s one of the best features that has been added to the app in a very long time....

Quick Links Smart home gear isn’t just for showing off to friends and automating your life. It’s also really handy for making your home look occupied when you’re away. Here’s how to use your smart home gear to fool burglars. Can You Really Fool Burglars With Smart Home Gear? Before we dive into all the clever ways you may use smart home gear to mimic a human presence in your home, it does beg the question: does mimicking a human presence in the home actually deter criminal activity?...

Available today, the newHisense C1 Laser Mini Projectoroffers 4K Dolby Vision video with a maximum screen size of 300 inches. It’s the only Hisense projector to support 300-inch screens, and while the $2,300 price tag is a bit eye-searing, customers may be swayed by the C1’s cutting-edge features and relatively compact build. Oddly, retailers currently list the Hisense C1 at $1,998. The Hisense C1 uses a TriChroma triple laser system to achieve 110% BT....