Life Style

Recently, I made the choice to buy a Kindle Paperwhite, but not register it to my Amazon account. Doing so is as simple as avoiding connecting to a wifi network during setup. The Kindle itself will still run just fine; it just won't connect to the internet or link itself to your Amazon account. I made this choice on purpose, because I am tired of being locked into Amazon's ecosystem to purchase books. Luckily, whether you register your Kindle or not, there are alternatives.Usually, the ebooks you buy for your Kindle have DRM (Digital Rights Management) included, which forbids you from legally copying the book to other devices. Big ebook publishers and retailers often use DRM to ensure that you can't make backups of ebooks you've already paid for. When you have a DRM-free ebook, though, you...

I never used to consider myself a "walking" kind of girl. I skipped the "hot girl walk" trends on social media and never took "mental health walks" during the pandemic lockdown. In fact, I long thought walking—one of the first milestones we reach as babies—had received a little too much PR hype, especially after learning that the much-ballyhooed "10,000 steps" we're supposed to take every day is an arbitrary figure invented to market pedometers. If I am going to do cardio, I reasoned, I'm going to do cardio: cycling, running, swimming, or playing sports. If I'm not sweating, what's the use? But after trying out Peloton's guided walks, available in the at-home fitness giant's incredibly versatile app, I have discovered the utility of the "very slow run." I am now, finally, a walking girl. I...

There are a lot of podcast apps out there, but the easiest one to use is the one that comes built into your phone. For Android users, that was Google Podcasts—that is, until last year, when Google killed off its flagship podcast app. Again, you have your choice among alternatives, but if you go with Google's choice, you might've found your way to YouTube Music. Like Spotify, Google's music app offers podcast support—though it's a bit more limited. If you're used to the polish and feature set of a dedicated podcast app (or, frankly, even Spotify), YouTube Music might be a tough adjustment. There are signs that things are changing, however. Google hasn't totally abandoned progress for the podcast side of YouTube Music. In fact, it's bringing a feature that was lost in the transition from Goo...

From the moment I first launched Windows Movie Maker, I've been on the hunt for a good, free video editor. Not a perfect one, mind you. Not one that could replace a professional workflow, just one that's good enough. After giving up on "free" and learning Premiere Pro, I thought my dream would remain dead. Then I found DaVinci Resolve.For the uninitiated, DaVinci Resolve is a free video editor from camera and production gear manufacturer Blackmagic Design. While the software has an optional Studio version ($300 for a lifetime license, though many of Blackmagic's products come with free codes), the free version is so robust and powerful that most users probably won't need to upgrade until editing becomes a full-time job.At first, I was hesitant to jump ship from the Adobe suite. Sure, Premi...

If you use an ESR power bank to charge your phone, you may need to stop doing so right now. Several models of the company's HaloLock wireless power bank are being recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission due to the risk of the lithium-ion battery overheating and catching fire. Nine incidents have been reported so far causing $20,000 in property damage. Here's what you need to know about the affected models—and how to get a refund if yours is one of them. Which ESR power banks are being recalled? The recall includes ESR HaloLock wireless power banks with model numbers 2G520, 2G505B and 2G512B, which you can find printed on the right side of the bank. The two former models have kickstands. All were sold in dark blue, light blue, gray, black, and white and have five circular LED dis...

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Credit: Illustration by Zain bin Awais. Logo images courtesy of Max, Amazon, Apple, Disney, Hulu, and Netflix. Streaming services have basically come full circle: What started as a cheap alternative to cable TV has become an expensive monthly cost in its own right, as price hikes and crackdowns on password sharing have made subscribing to multiple streaming services just as expensive, if not more so, than some conventional cable plans. Luckily, there are often discounts, deals, and loopholes to exploit that can make streaming more affordable—and sometime...

If you have a Meta Account, you have Meta AI. Meta's proprietary chatbot is built into its most famous products, including Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, not to mention its own app. While you aren't forced to interact with it, the AI is always there, and always available to chat. That goes for teen accounts, as well. That's why it's quite concerning to learn what Meta found acceptable for its AI technology to say to kids and teens. Reuters was able to obtain an internal Meta document titled "GenAI: Content Risk Standards," a list of standards that developers should refer to for "acceptable chatbot behaviors" when working with Meta's generative AI technology. The document, which exceeds 200 pages, acknowledges that not all of the standards listed here are "ideal or even preferable," but...

If you've backed up your iPhone photos to iCloud, you're already doing better than most people. Keeping an online backup of your photos means it's easy to retrieve them if something happens to your phone. But even then, it shouldn't be your only solution. Photos stored in the cloud can come and go more easily than you think—for example, if you delete a synced photo on any one Apple device, it's also deleted from your iCloud account.For this reason, it's always a good idea to back up your photos to a second location, preferably offline. Apple doesn't make it very easy to do that, as I learned the hard way last year, when a close family member passed away. My family and I were trying to save a copy of their photos, and before we could even properly register our grief, we found ourselves jugg...

We are constantly being bombarded by scam texts—often impersonating trusted organizations—containing phishing links that aim to collect personal information, from account credentials to credit card numbers. The majority of Americans receive such texts at least once a week, and 20% of Americans are spammed on a daily basis. It's best practice to ignore unsolicited communication in any form and never, ever click included links—so it's confusing when a company you do business with actually does text you about your account security. T-Mobile users have received text messages with a link to update their PIN and other account details. As reported by Android Authority, this text, though suspicious, is actually legit, but you don't need to click the link. What the T-Mobile account security text sa...

Netflix isn't all that complicated to use (unless something breaks, that is). You log in, scroll through the selections, and pick something to watch. Of course, like all services, there's more than meets the eye here. Netflix has a handful of hidden features and settings under its sleeve, including a rather iconic secret code system—at least, it's iconic for those in the know.Netflix’s secret codesOne of Netflix's best secret features is its hidden codes, and that's really just because they're fun. Unbeknownst to many subscribers, the company uses a system of codes to denote different categories of content. Each broad category has its own code, but within each of those categories exists a number of hyper-specific categories with their own codes. For example, Netflix’s “Action & Adventu...