cloud Archives

Reader question: 'What can I use instead of QuickBooks?'

If you’re a business owner, you don’t need us to tell you that running a business is tough. Don’t let QuickBooks and spreadsheets slow you down, making things more complicated than necessary. It’s time to upgrade to our sponsor NetSuite.

Stop paying for multiple systems that don’t give you the information you need when you need it. Ditch the spreadsheets and all the old software you’ve outgrown. Now is the time to upgrade to NetSuite by Oracle – the world’s No. 1 cloud business system.

NetSuite gives you visibility and control over your financials, HR, inventory, e-commerce, and more — all in one place, instantaneously. Whether you’re doing a million or hundreds of millions in revenue, save time and money with NetSuite.

Join the over 37,000 companies using NetSuite! Let NetSuite show you how they’ll benefit your business with a free product tour at NetSuite.com/kim. Schedule your free product tour while you’re thinking about it!

Best ways to save your phone’s photos before it’s too late

Have you ever lost your phone? There’s that sinking feeling when you realize it’s nowhere to be found.

There are better ways to find a lost phone than getting someone to call it for you. Tap or click for methods to find your misplaced smartphone, even if it’s powered down.

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Weird-but-cool buys for under $10

Yeehaw, hydration! Little cowboy hats to cap your Stanley tumbler (or any other travel mug), now four for $7.
Thin Mints superfans, sprinkle Girl Scout cookie-inspired seasoning (under $5) over vanilla ice cream, yogurt, popcorn …
Fungi-tional! Cable ties that look like little mushrooms, on sale for $8.
When bumps and bruises need a sense of humor, emoji bandages will do the trick.
This magnetic cloud can help you keep track of your keys in small spaces for under $8.
Love the everything but not always the bagel? Sprinkle everything-bagel-inspired seasoning on wraps, cottage cheese, salads, toast — the sky’s the limit!

We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

🦄 Two’s company, but three’s a cloud: Duplicate photos eat up so much storage on our phones. They might be exact duplicates or pics so similar, they might as well be. There are built-in ways to clear them out on your iPhone and Android.

Big tech's big lies: Part II

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I’ll break down how streaming, ride-shares, and cloud services have failed to deliver on their promises, costing you more than you bargained for.

🪄 You need a magic wand: The FCC says Adobe has predatory subscription billing practices. When you try to cancel Creative Cloud, Adobe charges you half of your leftover subscription, and they make it nearly impossible to cancel without calling. Caught in their web? The FCC put out a guide to help you dispute your charges.

$50,000 spent on AI

By the Secret Service. They won’t say why (national security and all that), but we do know the money went to Microsoft Azure and OpenAI cloud services (paywall link).

Free up space on your Android by updating a single app

No matter the size of your Android phone’s internal storage capacity, ensuring enough space can be complicated. As applications and mobile games grow, so too does their size. Tap or click for eight simple tips to speed up and clean out your Android phone.

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Cellphone and tech clues that your partner is cheating on you

People underestimate intuition. If your gut tells you something is off, don’t ignore it.

Stalkerware is surprisingly easy to plant on someone’s phone, and trackers follow you online and offline. Tap or click for signs whether you’re being watched or just paranoid.

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Breathe new life into an old laptop or PC: Install ChromeOS Flex, a free, cloud-based operating system. With processing done on Google’s servers and a bare-bones interface, you’ll get surprisingly good performance. Your PC will need to meet these minimum specs: x64 CPU, 4GB RAM, 16GB storage and a USB port for installation.

I wonder why: Microsoft brought back its official guide for Windows 10 and 11 users wanting to switch from a cloud account to a local one. They pulled the steps from their site in June, probably to push folks toward the more ad-focused version. Want to go back? Here are the steps (at the bottom).

Free AI test drive: Nothing has changed our lives quite like AI has — and will. That’s why you need to start using AI in your business before it’s too late. Take a free test drive of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure now at Oracle.com/kim. No one does data better than Oracle.

👊 Close the Windows: There are pros to having your Microsoft and Windows 11 accounts tied together, but if you want to stop Microsoft from sharing your data with advertisers, disconnect from the cloud. Move to a local account with these steps: Open Settings, then Account > Your Info > Sign In. Log into a local account, then confirm your changes.

Start saving up now: Laptop tech has been stagnant for years, but the times, they are a-changin’. Computer makers are using chips that allow laptops to run large-scale AI models directly on the device. You’ll get better performance, tighter security and less reliance on the cloud (paywall link) — but expect laptop prices to skyrocket.

Are your nudes safe in the cloud?

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Is it safe to store sensitive docs in the cloud? Here’s my answer, in one minute.

5 free alternatives to Microsoft Excel

When Excel first hit the market, businesses flocked to use it for their management needs. But it’s far from the only option. There are many free alternatives to Microsoft Excel you should know about.

Many people are so married to Excel they won’t consider other spreadsheets. At first glance, it seems like the perfect one-stop-shop for scheduling, accounting, compiling data, tracking sales and more. Tap or click here for three tips and tutorials that help you make the most out of Excel.

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Store 100,000 songs for free in the cloud

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Do you have a bunch of vinyl records, CDs or cassettes lying around? Listen to this one-minute podcast for a free way to put them in the cloud so you can listen to them wherever you go.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Add a little ambiance to your home with these 13 upgrades

When you look around your home, does it make you feel relaxed? Comfortable? Maybe you’ve finally reached a point where you’re living in the lap of luxury.

No? Well, saddle up because all it takes is a new set of curtains here and an area rug there to make your home look radiant.

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How to get that like-new computer speed back

Your PC is likely full of files and programs you seldom or never use. There are apps you used once or twice before forgetting about them. Then there are registry files, failed downloads and bloatware that sneaks onto your computer without your knowledge. In addition to taking up storage space, all that clutter slows your computer down.

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