Whether your current mouse is giving you chronic wrist pain, or you just want to try something different, this 4.3 star rated wireless ergonomic vertical mouse from Anker is only $16 today, or $4 less than usual. In addition to the clever design, it even comes with three adjustable DPI settings and forward/back buttons, which are pretty rare at this price level.
Self-care is important to your productivity and mental health, but it’s an easy thing to overlook. Shine is a free app that sends you daily reminders to take care of yourself.
You don’t need to download Shine to use it. Just send them your phone number to get started. The never sell or share your data and you can opt out anytime by texting them “QUIT.” Once you opt in, you’ll get a text that asks you a couple of questions about your mental health goals: being more present, confident, or creative, for example. The app will then check in with you every day with a practical task or exercise to complete. For example, my first exercise was to write down or talk about anything that was worrying me at the moment.
You can also track your progress toward more specific goals like “journal more often.” Personally, I’ve found the app to be a helpful reminder to simply take a moment to focus on self-care. You could just as easily create a notification on your phone to meditate or go for a walk, but I like that the app gives you a specific exercise. I’m more likely to take the time when it’s a specific task that changes every day. To check it out for yourself, head to the link below.
Photo by Kaboompics.
Shot here by Natalie Lowe sunbathing on the roof of its convertible, a fox relaxes before evening's activities come due. Below, a fox pop takes a trip on the London Underground, as observed by Stephen Ebert. Check out the full gallery at Londonist. A common sight in London, foxes moved in after World War II and have become a symbol of the city. They're mostly harmless, but the tabloids there love to run fox-ate-my-baby stories.
Folk metal is a distinctly unique genre, combining the harsh, aggressive sound of heavy metal with the homespun traditions of folk music. This week’s playlist celebrates that fiery fusion.
The playlist, curated by Spotify user 4eire, features tracks from folk metal that echoes European mythology. It features artists including Amon Amarth, Wulfgar, Korpriklaani, and a host of other bands whose names would make fearsome battle cries as you charge into legend.
Welcome to our Featured Playlist series. Each week, we’ll share a new themed playlist, embedded for your convenience! You can copy the track list to your service of choice, or listen right here. Have a sweet playlist of your own? Share it with us in the comments below!
Web: Facebook’s privacy tools are notoriously complicated and constantly changing. Stalkscan is a third-party tool that can find and highlight any information that’s publicly visible for a particular profile.
Despite its creeptastic name, Stalkscan is perhaps best used as a self-audit tool, rather than a way to track someone else. For starters, you need the full link to a person’s profile. Enter the profile URL in the search box and the site will give you quick links to a bunch of searches for things like that person’s pictures, videos, or likes.
While it sounds scary, all of this information is drawn from public Facebook searches. In other words, if you go to Facebook right now and search for “Pictures of [X person]” you’ll get the exact same results as if you click the Pictures link on this site. You’ll only see photos that are visible to your privacy settings. So, if you’re searching for the profile of someone you’re not friends with, your results will be very limited.
This is most useful if you want to discover what others can see about you. I tried it out on my own profile and found pictures that I don’t remember from a long time ago. It also gives you links to searches you might not have thought to hide, like future events or places you’ve been tagged in. If you’ve never audited your public Facebook info, this is a good place to start.
As long as you have an awl or even a large nail in your home, you can easily add an extra hole to your belt. If you want to make sure it blends in with the others, create a template with some painter’s tape.
As how to site ManMade DIY demonstrates, to create a hole template for your belt, place a piece of painter’s tape along the belt over the hole. Use a nail or even a pen to poke through the tape where the holes in the belt are. Once you’ve done this for all the holes, peel the tape off and shift it down the belt by one hole. The last hole in the tape should perfectly line up with where your new hole should be.
Once you have your template in place, you can use a leather hole punch, an electric drill, or even an awl or nail and a mallet to punch the new hole. It’s a relatively easy leather modification that lets you keep your favorite belt, even if starts to get too loose. Check out the post below for the full instructions on how to add another hole to your belt.
How to: 3 Ways to Punch a Hole in a Leather Belt | ManMade DIY
Google has announced that it will cease allowing 30-second unskippable preroll ads on YouTube videos from next year, reports Campaign.
Google explained that its aim is to provide a better advertising experience for online users. “As part of that, we’ve decided to stop supporting 30-second unskippable ads as of 2018 and focus instead on formats that work well for both users and advertisers.”
While it’ll be great to lose the most unpopular ad format, it isn’t all good news …
Earlier this month, we shared an overview of the ways we keep you safe, on Google and on the web, more broadly. Today, we wanted to specifically focus on one element of Android security—Potentially Harmful Applications—highlighting fraudsters’ common tactics, and how we shield you from these threats.
“Potentially Harmful Applications,” or PHAs, are Android applications that could harm you or your device, or do something unintended with the data on your device. Some examples of PHA badness include:
As we described in the Safer Internet post, we have a variety of automated systems that help keep you safe on Android, starting with Verify Apps—one of our key defenses against PHAs.
Verify Apps is a cloud-based service that proactively checks every application prior to install to determine if the application is potentially harmful, and subsequently rechecks devices regularly to help ensure they’re safe. Verify Apps checks more than 6 billion installed applications and scans around 400 million devices per day. If Verify Apps detects a PHA before you install it or on your device if, it will prompt you to remove the app immediately.
Sometimes, Verify Apps will remove an application without requiring you to confirm the removal. This is an action we’ll take very rarely, but if a PHA is purely harmful, has no possible benefit to users, or is impossible for you to remove on your own, we’ll zap it automatically. Ongoing protection from Verify Apps has ensured that in 2015, over 99 percent of all Android devices were free of known PHAs.
Verify Apps is just one of many protections we’ve instituted on Android to keep billions of people and devices safe. Just as PHAs are constantly evolving their tactics, we’re constantly improving our protections. We’ll continue to take action when we have the slightest suspicion that something might not be right. And we’re committed to educating and protecting people from current and future security threats—on mobile and online in general.
Be sure to check if Verify Apps is enabled on your Android device, and stay clear from harmful apps by only installing from a trusted source.
The New Yorker made then then-and-now split screen video of Los Angeles. On the left side, LA as it was 70 years ago. On the right, LA as it is today.
[via]
When you’re faced with making a decision that involves yourself, it’s difficult to be rational because you’re trapped in your own world and biases. One way to get past these is to ask yourself, “If this was about someone else that I love and care about, what would I tell them?”
In the video, Dan Ariely, a psychologist and author of Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions, says that when you deal with someone else’s problems, you are removed from their emotions and can offer real, straightforward advice. So take that idea and use it on yourself. When you imagine you’re an outsider, your advice to yourself could end up being different from your first gut reactions.
A Simple Mind Trick Will Help You Think More Rationally | Big Think
Inevitably your computer slows down. You try to open a website and it grinds to a halt, or read an email and it churns along sluggishly. A slow computer, in many ways, is worse than a broken one—or at least infinitely more frustrating.
If you’re going to have any chance of reversing the serious slowdown that’s affected your computer, you’re going to have to work out what’s at the root cause of the sluggishness. Don your detective’s hat and identify the source of the problem with the help of these tools and tricks.
A good place to start is with the apps currently running on your machine and the ones that try and load themselves at the same time as your operating system. For that we need Task Manager on Windows or Activity Monitor on macOS.
Task Manager, which has gotten a lot more user-friendly and useful over the years, can be found by right-clicking on a blank part of the taskbar and choosing Task Manager. Over on macOS, launch Spotlight (Ctrl+Space), then type out “Activity Monitor” and select it when it appears.
In both utilities you can see exactly where your CPU time, disk cycles and RAM are all going, so look out for bad actors hogging more than their fair share of system resources (a quick web search can help if there’s anything you don’t recognize).
If you come across something that does seem to be making more demands than it should, you can close and restart it, or uninstall it from your system. If you really can’t live without something, check for a newer version, which may have optimizations and improvements for whatever version of the OS you’re on.
Some kind of trial and error approach is usually the best way of working out which apps make a difference to overall performance—shut one down, then carry on working, and see if you notice any improvements.
Even if you don’t uninstall apps, you can at least make sure they’re not booting up with the operating system: on macOS, from System Preferences choose Users & groups, click your name, then choose Login items to see the programs this applies to. Click an item then the minus symbol to get rid of annoying apps. On Windows, switch to the Start-up tab in Task Manager, where you can review and disable entries.
Again, disabling apps one by one is the best way of working out which programs have gone rogue and started slowing your system down.
There’s a bonus utility for Windows users in the form of Performance Monitor. Type “perfmon /report” into the search box on the taskbar, hit Enter, and after a minute you’ll see some detailed data on just how well or otherwise your system’s running.
If you’re still struggling to find the root cause of your system’s sluggishness then a malware or virus problem could be to blame (more likely on Windows but not unheard of on macOS). Run a thorough scan using your antivirus software (and preferably using a standalone scanner on top of that) to make sure nothing untoward has harnessed your computer’s resources for a new botnet or anything else.
If you’re low on hard drive space then your OS won’t be happy about it and you may well see an overall slowdown as it swaps around files to try and cope—you can check if this is your problem from Storage under System in the Windows Settings app, or by choosing About this Mac from the Apple menu in macOS.
There are no magic tricks for getting more space on your local drive: it’s just a question of deleting files and apps you don’t need any more. Prime candidates for removal could be anything you’ve got backed up elsewhere (like iTunes movies or photos) as well as programs you haven’t used for months (or years).
Windows and macOS are ready to help if needed. Search for “Disk Clean-up” in Windows to identify files that can be safely removed, or click the Manage button on the About this Mac dialog in macOS to clean up clutter and maybe shift some of your files to iCloud.
If you need even more details on what files are taking up what kind of space Disk Inventory X for macOS will give you an big easy to read graphic that also helpfully takes you right to the storage chugging files you want to delete. A nice alternative for Windows users is Windows Directory Statistics.
Even if there’s plenty of spare space, a rapidly failing disk or two can cause system slowdowns for pretty much every program on your system. If you’re using a traditional (non-solid-state) hard disk in Windows, free applications such as CrystalDiskInfo and HDD Health will tap into the diagnostic info being reported back by your installed drives and let you know if there’s anything untoward to know about.
This is less of a problem on modern-day Macs, which tend to use SSD drives. SSDs have diagnostics of their own, but they work in a different way and you need to use a utility that specifically supports SSDs otherwise you risk getting false readings—DriveDx is one of the better options for macOS, though it’s expensive.
Both Windows and macOS have built-in disk checking tools which will scour locally installed drives for obvious errors and patch them up if possible. On macOS, search in Spotlight for “Disk Utility”; on Windows, right-click on a drive in File Explorer, then choose Properties, Tools and Check. If there are physical issues beyond repair then you might just have to fork out for a new hard drive.
If your slowdown issues only seem to happen when one particular app is running, there may be ways to streamline it. The obvious example is your browser: uninstalling and reinstalling it is one trick you can try, which should be enough to clear out most of the temporary junk that’s accumulated over the years.
You can do a manual clear out too, though it might not make a huge difference to the overall speed of the browser: head to Show advance settings then Clear browsing data on the Settings tab in Chrome, or select Clear Recent History from the History menu in Firefox, for example.
You should try and keep the number of browser extensions down to a minimum, useful as they can be. Culling the extension herd will involve diving into the add-ons page for your browser of choice and disabling or uninstalling anything you can live without.
Again there’s going to be an element of trial and error as you try and work out what’s behind the slowness you’re seeing. If a complete uninstall and reinstall doesn’t fix it, it’s likely that the problem goes deeper than one individual program.
There’s always a third-party app or two out there to help you in your cleaning: give the likes of CCleaner (Windows and macOS), System Mechanic (Windows), or CleanMyMac (macOS), a look if you’re continuing to have problems and want some professional help. These tools automate a lot of the processes we’ve already talked about and give you a user-friendly interface to manage everything too.
All of which should give you some leads on identifying sources of slowness on your computer. If even those don’t help, and you’re computer isn’t terribly old, than nothing beats a clean reinstall—whether on Windows or macOS. On Windows you can often restore the device to factory settings without even pulling out a Windows OS disk. Open Settings, navigate to Update & Security, click on Recovery, and finally choose Reset This PC to wipe and reinstall the OS.
Things are a little trickier on a Mac. You’ll need to download the OS from the App Store, grab a USB drive, and then build your own boot drive. After a clean install you will very likely find yourself with a zippy machine.
U.K. startup PawSquad is expanding coverage for an on-demand service that brings vets to pets — offering convenience and reduced stress for pet owners willing to stump up a little more than they’d pay for a check-up at a bricks-and-mortar vet. Read More
I'm chronicling my journey with my first Chromebook, the Asus Chromebook Flip. Join me.
In spite of my obvious allegiance to Android, the truth is that I've never owned or operated a Chromebook. Between two MacBook Pros and a Windows PC, I hardly had a reason to adopt a not-quite-a-desktop laptop. But now that Android apps are a big part of Chrome OS, I'm ready to see what that Chromebook life is like.
I bought the 12.5-inch Asus C302CA-DHM4 Chromebook Flip, based on a suggestion from my colleague, Android Central's own Jerry Hildenbrand. I was initially planning to hop on the bandwagon and pre-order the Samsung Chromebook Pro before it was even out, but I'm grossly impatient, and thus is the story of my life.
So it's time to buck up. I'm strapping myself into my boots and plugging the power adapter into my first Chromebook. I'll be chronicling my days with the platform all this week. Tune in, ask me questions, give me advice — this is what makes technology so fun.
I have no doubts that I'll soon be met with "back in my day!" comments after writing this column. I know that, like Android, Chrome OS's nascent days ran like one long testing phase. But I also know that people love it precisely because it's a pure implementation of Google's services.
I expected that Chrome OS would be heavily centered around the Chrome Browser, but I didn't expect it to feel so familiar. And though Chrome OS employs similar interface elements from other operating systems, like using an app dock that's similar to Windows 10, it's actually the nuances of the interface, the color palette, and the font style that keep me grounded in the notion that I'm using a Google product.
Sometimes that familiar feeling isn't so welcome, however. The app launcher in Chrome OS, for instance, feels uninspired, and I'm curious why Google decided to keep it so simple as opposed to implementing a full blown application dock, akin to Windows' Start menu. That's the kind of experience I'm used to, and though it may seem antiquated, there's an element of depth that comes across in the Start menu that you don't get from the Chrome OS app launcher. What's behind my Chrome OS desktop? Is there a computer system waiting to be explored and unearthed? Or is it merely one big front for the Chrome Browser?
I plan to delve further into the Chrome OS app experience later this week. I spent the last few days setting up my Chromebook, but I'm still figuring out which apps are worth downloading, and whether most of the Android apps I enjoy using on my Galaxy Tab S2 would transfer over smoothly, at least in terms of usability.
Here are a few other items of note from the first few days with my new Chromebook.
I'm incredibly pleased with the look and feel of Asus' Chromebook hardware. It's sleek, it's light, and it feels just as durable and steady as the many, many MacBooks I've owned over the years. The handy fact that I can flip over the screen and immediately launch into tablet mode is neat, too, though this is not the only tablet device you want on you if you frequently use a tablet while traveling. The Chromebook Flip is not light enough to cuddle with in bed, and will require a bit more handling than a dedicated tablet device. But the ability to have more granular control over the interface, and compatibility with Android apps, adds more worth to the Chrome OS operating system as a whole.
I'm also impressed with the Chromebook Flip's battery life. It lasted through about three nights worth of usage, from Friday afternoon to Monday morning, where it was at about 19 percent. I've been using it mostly for correspondence and research thus far, though I plan to get a little more serious with it now that we're back in the work week. Also, man, this thing charges fast.
Does anyone else feel like Chrome OS is a really fancy looking Linux distro? Quite frankly, it acts like it, too.
I'm finding that I continually default to the gestures and commands I'm so used to on Windows and macOS. I like that Chrome OS implements those longstanding ones, like copy and paste (obvi), but it took me an embarrassingly long while to figure out how to take a screenshot. And yes, that was even post Google search.
The keyboard on this thing is great and offers a softer typing experience than that of my last-gen MacBook Pro. However, there's something inherently finicky about where the CTRL button is placed. I feel unnatural holding it down to implement a command. Maybe it's because it's new and I haven't gotten into the routine of typing long narratives on it, but it's a humble reminder of how different the experience is between laptops based on the manufacturer.
Jerry sent over this helpful extension that's a text expander for Google Chrome. I'm setting it up to help me with work matters this week and it'll be especially handy when I'm writing emails.
Next up, I'll be exploring what it's like working on Chrome OS, including editing the photos that you see here on Android Central. Stay tuned.
Facebook's auto-playing videos are about to get much more annoying.
If you're not a fan of Facebook's auto-playing videos, get ready to be annoyed. Starting today, videos will auto-play with the sound enabled by default. If you don't have your phone set on silent, every time you scroll past an auto-playing video, you'll now hear the audio associated with it.
Facebook says that it introduced the change after receiving "positive feedback" from a beta test conducted last year:
Videos in News Feed have previously played silently — you tap on a video to hear sound. As people watch more video on phones, they've come to expect sound when the volume on their device is turned on. After testing sound on in News Feed and hearing positive feedback, we're slowly bringing it to more people. With this update, sound fades in and out as you scroll through videos in News Feed, bringing those videos to life.
Although videos will now play with the sound enabled, you'll be able to turn it off via settings:
If your phone is set to silent, videos will not play with sound. If you never want videos to play with sound, you can disable this feature by switching off "Videos in News Feed Start With Sound" in Settings. We'll also be showing in-product messages to tell people about the new sound on experience and controls.
You can now minimize a video and scroll through your News Feed, with the video continuing to play in the corner of your screen. Facebook is also making changes to the way vertical videos look on Android and iOS, including larger previews. Finally, Facebook's video app will make its debut on Amazon Fire TV, Samsung's smart TVs, and Apple TV.
Audible is the biggest name in audiobooks, but even if you’ve spent hundreds of hours listening, there are some tricks hidden beneath the surface. Here are some of the best ways to get the most of your Audible experience and even save some money in the process.
While you can buy audiobooks from Audible outright, the service also offers a subscription that costs $15/month. With it, you get one credit for a free book each month. If you listen to a lot of audiobooks, that might be a good deal. However, if you can stretch a single audiobook out over more than a month, then you can save a bit of money. Audible has a hidden Silver plan that costs $15 every two months, instead of every month. You still only get one free credit every time your subscription renews, but if six books a year is enough for you, then it’s a no brainer.
The catch is, Audible doesn’t advertise the Silver plan. You can’t even sign up for it without asking for it. If you want Audible Silver, head to this support link. In the first section, select My Account. In the second section choose “Change or cancel my membership” for the first drop down, then “Upgrade/downgrade my membership” from the second drop down. This will help make sure you reach the right person. You can then contact Audible by chat, phone or email there. Keep in mind, since Silver isn’t an advertised plan, you might get turned down but Audible is usually pretty accommodating.
When there’s a lull in between your favorite book releases or you don’t have time to listen for a while, it’d be nice to stop paying for all those credits you aren’t using. If you cancel your subscription entirely, you’ll lose your credits. Before you get that far, though, Audible will offer to let you put your account on hold.
Audible allows you to put your account on hold once a year for a period of up to three months. During that time, you can still listen to your library of books, spend your existing credits, and get discounts in the store. However, you won’t generate any new credits. It’s a handy way to take a temporary break or save a little extra cash for a while.
WhisperSync is one of Amazon’s best features for both Audible and Kindle. If you have both the ebook and audiobook versions of a title, you can sync your place between them. So, for example, you can listen to a few chapters on the ride home from work, then pick up where you left off when you pick up your Kindle for some light reading before bed. However, you have to buy both versions first.
Amazon Matchmaker can scan your Kindle library to find out which books have an audiobook counterpart. Head to this link and sign into your Amazon account. It will automatically scan your Kindle library, find any matching audiobooks, and show you the discounted price for each. Amazon won’t give you the option to use your Audible credits through this method, though you may not want to anyway. Remember, you get a discount for buying the audiobook counterpart to an ebook you already have. You may be better off saving those credits for expensive audiobooks that you don’t get a discount on.
The Audible player has a handy button that lets you jump backwards or forwards 30 seconds at a time. However, if you dive into the app’s settings, you can change how far these buttons jump. To edit these buttons, tap the menu button in the app, tap Settings, and choose Playback Settings. Here, you’ll see two separate options to change the Jump Back and Jump Forward buttons. You can change this value to anything from one second to five minutes.
By default, Audible will download the lower (or “Standard”) quality version of the audiobooks you buy. Most of the time, you might not notice the difference, but some audiobooks have high production quality with music and top-quality voice overs. In those cases, you might want a better audio source.
To get the better version, open up the settings in the Audible app and tap Download Settings, then tap Download Format. Finally, choose “High Quality.” If you’ve already downloaded your audiobooks, you may need to remove it and download it again it to get the higher quality version. Keep in mind that higher quality audio will result in larger downloads, so make room on your device for the files.
Audible, like most audio apps, will automatically pause when you unplug your headphones. However, you can also set it to resume playback when you plug them back in. It only works when the app is running, so it’s mainly designed at situations like if you unplug your phone from your car while you run in the gas station, or if your headphones accidentally get pulled out of their socket. To enable this feature, open up Audible’s settings and tap Headset & Lockscreen Settings. Enable the toggle that reads “Resume Playback.”
No cats were harmed in the making of this tumblr and we certainly don’t encourage anyone to throw a cat ever, let alone on their wedding day. Still reading? Well one last time, seriously, this is fake.
The island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean has remarkable geologic formations, but one of the most stunning is Torrent de Pareis, a meandering stream that cuts through a steep gorge, emptying into the ocean at Sa Calobra. Max Winter captured this lovely drone footage. (more…)
Since the neoliberal reforms of the Reagan era; the rollback of trade unions; the elimination of defined-benefits pensions (in favor of "market-based" SIPPs and 401(k)s); the termination of national minimum wage increases and real earnings collapse for working people; the finance-industry fraud that stole so many working peoples' homes during and after the subprime bubble; the massive increases in healthcare costs, the possibility of retiring after 45 or 50 years in the workforce has been snuffed out for nearly everyone. (more…)
Cats who work for their food seem to be happier and healthier, so stuffing food into a toy isn’t just a hobby for you. It’s a way to reduce your cat’s stress and keep them from getting bored. Need ideas? Food Puzzles for Cats is here for you.
The website has tons of ways to challenge your cat. Some are reviews of products you can buy at a pet store—like the Brain Mover with multiple moving parts. Others are homemade, and range from 3D printed cityscapes to simple ideas like putting a bit of wet food into a mug lying on its side. Check out the link below for more.
Etsy just announced what it’s calling its first marketplace in 11 years — Etsy Studio, where businesses can sell supplies to other Etsy users.
CEO Chad Dickerson told me that while craft supplies were already available through the existing Etsy website, “It was a category that we didn’t focus on.” Then, about a year ago, the team started to work on the idea of… Read More
Saving money is fun! Just kidding, it’s honestly pretty annoying since it requires a delicate amount of personal control and the temporary surrendering of your cash. But don’t worry. Your computerphone can help.
There’s now a small cottage industry of apps that essentially do the work of saving—and even investing—for you. None of them are perfect. In fact, some of them will actually make you lose money sometimes. These free apps are, nevertheless, better than nothing if you use them wisely. After about a year of testing out over a dozen savings apps, I picked my favorites. Now, here’s a guide to help you save money and avoid anxiety attacks.
This is the service that turned me onto smartphone savings apps. Digit actually started out as a text message-based service that would connect to you bank account and use some artificial intelligence to make small withdrawals based on your balance. If you’ve got a lot of money in your account, the service takes out a few bucks a day. If you’re broke, it’ll be a few cents.
Digit is now a full-fledged app, but the basic premise remains the same. You can send commands through the app or via text to save more, deposit money into savings, or send cash back to your bank account. The app also makes little withdrawals so that you keep saving without any effort. You can also get daily texts reminding you how much money you have in your account and, henceforth, how far away payday feels. [iOS, Android]
Full disclosure: Acorns is my favorite. The app not only saves when you’re not looking with a stupid simple feature that rounds your purchases up to the next dollar and saves the extra pennies in your Acorns account. Some banks do this, too, but Acorns actually invests those pennies in financial products like stocks and bonds. I’m currently enjoying gains of over 4 percent on those little investments, and it feels like free money.
You can also set up recurring deposits through Acorns and set aside, say, $20 a week that will also get invested. These small deposits add up quickly, and the fact that you’re actually investing the money means that your balance will climb nicely without much effort. Then again, you always run the risk of a crappy market chipping away at that balance, though I’ve largely seen gains. [iOS, Android]
This is where the savings-versus-investing line starts to blur. Stash works a bit like Acorns insofar as the app let’s you set up regular deposits and easily invest that money in stocks and bonds. There’s no round up feature, unfortunately, and it takes a little bit more effort to pick your investments, since Stash lets you choose between packages like “Roll With Buffet” or “Slow and Steady.” If you’re like me and don’t know shit about investing, there are some little tutorials to help. I’ve honestly never read them, but they’re there!
All that said, the effort does pay off. My Stash account is currently up a little more than one percent which is not quite hedge fund money, but it’s still slightly better than your average savings account. Stash also lets you project your gains based on how much you’re depositing which makes me feel closer to death but also optimistic about retirement. [iOS, Android]
If you’re trying to save and invest a whole lot of money, Betterment appears to be the app for you. It’s a self-described investment and wealth management service, so if you’re like me and try to use Betterment the same way you use Acorns and Stash, you’re gonna get boned. At least, I did.
I deposited a few dozen bucks into a Betterment account, and as a result, I’ve actually lost a handful of bucks. This seems to be the result of paying fees for a service I don’t use very aggressively. To be specific, I’m down a little over 1 percent—which isn’t the worst thing in the world since I saved a bunch of money instead of spending it on beer and vintage sneakers. Betterment also charges a 0.25-percent annual fee that gets hiked up to 0.40-percent if you carry a balance of $100,000 or more. If you’re carrying a balance of that size, though, please stop reading this blog, and take a bath in gold coins. [iOS, Android]
Despite its objectively bad name, Qapital is one of the more interest (and confusing) automated savings apps I’ve tried. Much like Acorns, you can set it up so that Qapital rounds up purchases to the nearest dollar and saves the difference. You can also assign certain rules so that you deposit money to Qapital when you shop at certain stores, get your paycheck, or make big purchases. I prefer a simpler approach, but extra options are always fun.
What I really like about this app, though, is that you can create savings goals and share them with friends. So if you and your best bud wants to save up for a clubbing trip in Berlin (no judgment), you can both make deposits into that account through Qapital. The app also offers some neat IFFT features that let you create recipes that save money when you do certain things, like check in on Foursquare or tweet something dumb. This is a good way to learn how to stop tweeting dumb stuff. [iOS, Android]
This is not a savings app, but if you care at all about your personal finance, you should download Credit Karma. The premise is simple: you can keep an eye on your credit score, and the app will tell you how to improve it. Credit Karma will also tell you if you have outstanding accounts, which is very handy when you’re trying to avoid late fees or delinquencies. After all, saving money is all about not spending money you don’t need to spend.
Just don’t sign up for any new credit cards. That’s a terrible way to save money. [iOS, Android]
Welcome to the roundup of the best new Android applications and live wallpapers that went live in the Play Store or were spotted by us in the previous 2 weeks or so.
Looking for the previous roundup editions? Find them here.
Android Police coverage: YouTube Go is offline-centric and available now [APK Download]
YouTube is a fun place to watch online videos.
Read More12 new and notable (and 2 WTF) Android apps from the last 2 weeks (1/31/17 - 2/13/17) was written by the awesome team at Android Police.
Is your bucket list etched in your memory, or scribbled on a dozen post-it notes scattered around your home? Have you ever promised out-of-town guests an email full of your favorite spots, only to never get around to clicking send? Starting today, you can create lists of places, share your lists with others, and follow the lists your friends and family share with you—without ever leaving the Google Maps app (Android, iOS).
Getting started is easy. Simply open the Google Maps app and find that BBQ spot you’ve been wanting to try. Tapping on the place name and then the “Save” icon adds the place to one of several pre-set lists like “Want to Go” or “Favorites.” You can also add the restaurant to a new list that you name yourself, like “Finger Lickin’ BBQ.” To recall the lists you’ve created, go to Your Places (in the side menu) and then open the saved tab. Icons for the places you’ve saved to lists will appear on the map itself, so you’ll always know whether one of your must-try BBQ spots is nearby.
Because sharing is caring, we made it easy to share lists like “Best Views in SF” via text, email, social networks and popular messaging apps. Whenever friends and family come to town, tap the share button to get a link and start flexing your local knowledge muscles. Once you send a link to your out-of-towners, they can tap “Follow” to pull up the list from Your Places whenever they need it. Here’s how it all works in real life:
The lists you follow are with you wherever you take Google Maps and are viewable on mobile and desktop—and even offline. Next time you're on a trip, download offline maps of the area in advance and you'll be able to see all the places you’ve added to lists on the map itself.
With the millions of landmarks, businesses and other points of interest in Google Maps, there’s no shortage of places to try. Now that we’ve got the world mapped, it’s your turn to map your world with Lists—from local hotspots to bucket list destinations worlds away.
Google Maps is today rolling out a new feature to all users on iOS and Android devices that will allow you to make lists of places that you can star, save and share with friends. There are three different lists types built in at launch – “Favorites,” “Starred Places,” and “Want to Go” – the latter which is designed to serve as a… Read More
You’re in a groove at work and everything feels about as normal as it could—and then suddenly, you find out that your list of responsibilities is changing dramatically. It’s jarring, I know.
This post originally appeared on The Muse.
When this happened to me a few years ago, I had no idea how to process it. Because I’m the poster child for impostor syndrome, I took it as a clear indication that I was doing a terrible job at work. But after spending nearly three more years at the company, I realized that I was being ridiculous.
Still, it’s completely understandable to freak out a bit when this happens to you. So before you jump to any conclusions, take these steps.
I’m not always the best at taking a beat before responding to new information, especially when it comes to my job. But I’ve realized that when I’m intentional about stepping away for a few minutes, even if it’s just to grab a cup of coffee, I’m able to communicate how I’m feeling much more effectively. And I get it—sometimes you just want to jump up from your seat and say, “This is insulting! I demand more information about why my role changed overnight!”
But trust me, there’s a lot of value in giving yourself a breather. When my responsibilities suddenly changed a few years ago, I took a short stroll around the neighborhood to clear my mind. And while it didn’t necessarily solve any of my problems, it kept me from lashing out in a way that wouldn’t have been productive for anyone involved.
After all, it’s only natural to want to flip your desk (oh? Only me?) when you learn your day-to-day is about to change. But instead of panicking, take a quick walk—it’ll make a difference, I swear.
How often do you hear something is changing at work and immediately assume that it’s because you’re being demoted? I’m sure there are some of you out there who don’t jump straight to this conclusion, but I’d be lying if I haven’t landed on it more than once over the course of my career. And even though this fear might be based on reality, you won’t know that until you take some time to evaluate what’s changing.
Here’s what I did when that previous job of mine changed over the course of a weekend. I took out a pen and pad and wrote down each one of my new responsibilities. I didn’t try to analyze them too deeply. I just wanted to write them down so I could look at them in an easy-to-read list.
And once I did that, I realized that not much about my life was changing. Sure, I was moving to a different team, but the work I’d be doing lined up with my skills in a more practical way. Of course, depending on your situation, the results of this exercise will vary. However, knowing just how drastically your day-to-day’s changing will give you a better idea of what to expect and whether this can be considered positive growth or a red flag as to your current standing at the company.
At the end of the day, change is hard. On top of that, it’s challenging not to brace yourself for a period in which you’re miserable and can’t see a way out.
While a lot of people in your life will tell you to “Be a trooper” and just roll with the punches, it’s also important for you to evaluate whether or not this still aligns with your career goals. Sure, you might find that even though things changed overnight, your job is still relevant to what you want to be doing for the long-term. But if you realize that your role changed overnight and no longer leads you down the path you want to be on, that’s perfectly OK.
If you’re able to be transparent with your boss, don’t be afraid to discuss how you feel with her. But if you work for someone you know wouldn’t want to hear about it, you’re not breaking any rules by considering new jobs that put you back on the career path you want.
Change at work is never easy for anyone, even if it ends up meaning exciting things for your career. It’s especially difficult for most people when it happens overnight. But before you act on any of your initial feelings, take a second to evaluate the situation. Of course, you might confirm your fears about what’s happening. But you also might discover that it’s a boost to your skill set.
And either way, being patient and thinking through the situation will help you proceed in a much more productive way.
What to Do When Your Job Changes Overnight | The Muse
Richard Moy is a Content Marketing Writer at Stack Overflow. He has spent the majority of his career in talent management, including a stint as a full-cycle recruiter and hiring manager. In addition to the career advice he contributes to The Muse, he also writes test prep and higher education marketing content for The Economist. Say hi on Twitter @rich_moy.
Bullies are notoriously hard to deal with because they don’t act rationally or with respect. However, in a workplace setting you can still take charge of the situation by asking them to explain what their issue is.
As advice site Barking Up the Wrong Tree explains, workplace bullies are a bit more nuanced than the ones you encountered as a school kid. Rather than using physical violence or calling someone names, workplace bullies are more likely to get into verbal confrontations to push you around. If things get heated, try asking them to slow down and help you understand:
Again, a totally reasonable and polite request. You’re the rational problem solver. And no accusations are being made...
If they keep yelling and you keep calm, who looks like the one in control? Who looks like the crazy person? Which of these people is leadership material? Exactly. You’re calm and in control. They have to stop yelling or risk looking like an insane person. You’ve done nothing to insult them or fan the flames.
In this case, asking them to explain is more for the benefit of those watching, rather than the bully. If you’re calmly asking them to explain what they’re upset about and try to understand their position, you look more in control. In some cases, they may even calm down if you sound like you’re listening to their side. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to do what they ask, but hearing them out makes you look more like the calm, collected person that everyone else in the office wants to look up to. Check out the source article below for more tips to deal with workplace bullies.
This Is How To Overcome Bullies At Work: 7 Expert Secrets | Barking Up the Wrong Tree
Photo by Jerzy Kociatkiewicz.
YouTube thinks I love frozen lakes after posting about walking on clear ice, so here is a video of a nearly exhausted moose saved from drowning by two cool Norwegian folks. (more…)
First spotted in testing last month, Instant Tethering automatically and seamlessly shares a cellular data connection through Wi-Fi. The feature is now more widely rolling out, but at the moment exclusive to the Pixel line and recent Nexus phones and tablets.
Make your Android phone interoperable with your PC.
Getting your Android phone to seamlessly connect to your PC isn't as daunting as it used to be. There are several services that let you mirror notifications, reply to messages, and sync data between your phone and PC. Here are some of the best options currently available on both platforms.
Pushbullet is the easiest way to send files between your Android phone to your PC. The app started out as a way to "push" links, files, and documents between devices, but has since evolved into a robust messaging platform. Along with the ability to mirror notifications from your phone onto your PC, Pushbullet lets you view and send text messages from your computer.
Pushbullet also lets you send files and links to your friends. All you need to do is add the email ID your friend used to register for the service, and you'll be able to share messages, links, and files with ease. Then there's the Channels feature, which offers notification feeds across categories, including news, sports, gaming, entertainment, and tech.
Pushbullet is available as an extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera, and you can download the Android app from the Play Store. The browser extensions let you access most of the functionality that Pushbullet has to offer, but if you want to access files on your computer remotely via your phone, then you need to install the Windows client.
Pushbullet is still the service to beat for notification mirroring and seamless transfer of files.
Using the native Windows client lets you remotely access files on your computer through your phone, and vice versa. Setting it up is easy: all you need to do is enable Remote Files access on both the Windows client and Android app, and you'll be able to access files on your computer through your phone.
The service is now offered in two tiers — a free option that has most of the features you're likely to use, and a pro version that costs $4.99 a month or $39.99 yearly that comes with universal copy and paste across all your devices, actionable notifications, and increased storage and file transfer limits. The free tier lets you send files up to 25MB in size and has a storage limit of 2GB, while the paid service lets you transfer files up to 1GB and offers 100GB of storage. You'll also be able to send unlimited SMS messages on the paid plan, whereas in the free tier you're limited to 100 per month.
Of all the pro features, the one that stands out is actionable notifications, which lets you reply to WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or Allo messages directly from your computer. Regardless of the tier, Pushbullet offers end-to-end encryption using AES-256 for notification mirroring, SMSes, and universal copy and paste.
Pushbullet offers tremendous value, and while its pricing leaves a lot to be desired, the free tier should be adequate for a majority of users interested in transferring files and syncing notifications between devices.
Download Pushbullet (free/$4.99 monthly)
Join is very similar in functionality to Pushbullet, with the service also offering notification mirroring, the ability to reply to notifications from your computer, send and receive texts, share links, files and documents, as well as a universal clipboard. Tasker and Google Assistant integration is baked in as well, letting you extend the functionality of the service.
Join also offers end-to-end encryption, and you can locate your device remotely by making it ring. Join is available as a Chrome extension, a Windows 10 native client, and an Android app.
The main difference is that unlike Pushbullet's yearly or monthly subscription plans, Join requires a one-time fee of $4.99 to unlock all the features. If you'd like to take a look, Join offers a 30-day trial with all the features enabled.
Download Join (free for 30 days)
Syncthing is similar to Lenovo's ShareIt in that both services let you transfer files across devices. That's where the similarities come to an end. Syncthing is a decentralized file sharing service that relies on an open source framework and encryption to secure your data.
With Syncthing, you essentially set up a server, and use it to connect to other devices. For instance, you can run a server on your phone, and connect to the server from your desktop computer to sync files between the two devices. Best of all, Syncthing is a free service, and its interface isn't riddled with ads. You don't even have to create a user account with the service, as it relies on unique identifiers for each device. Just enter the ID of the device you want to connect to, and you'll be able to transfer files between the two with ease.
Cloud storage services are different from utilities like Syncthing in that they act as centralized repositories of data. You can pick from a multitude of services based on your needs, including the likes of Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, OneDrive, and so on. Each service has a free tier that gives you a certain amount of storage, and you can upgrade your storage quota by paying a monthly or annual fee.
A free Dropbox account comes with 2GB of storage, and Dropbox Pro offers 1TB of storage for $9.99 a month or $99.99 yearly. You get 15GB of free cloud storage with Google Drive, and you can increase your quota to 100GB for $1.99 a month or $19.99 yearly. If you have more storage requirements, you can get 1TB of storage for $9.99 a month or $99.99 yearly.
All services mentioned above have robust native clients for Windows, as well as feature-rich Android versions. If you're looking for a hassle-free way to sync files across several devices, a public cloud storage service is a good place to start.
What service do you rely on to transfer data from your Android device to your computer? Let us know in the comments.
