screen Archives

Another one fights the dust

👇 Here’s your go-to team for keeping things spotless and sane.

This gooey dust gel cleaner ($7) gets those crumb-filled crevices.
Grab a small sink plunger (12% off ) that really packs a punch.
Can’t reach it? This microfiber duster ($26) extends over 8 feet.
Keep your cleaning stuff out of the way with a wall mount ($17).
Over 33K folks gave this screen cleaner (21% off) five stars on Amazon.

⚡ Germ-zap: Parents, check out a mini UV case (5% off) that sanitizes pacifiers in just 59 seconds.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

🔘 Car buttons are coming back: Studies show touch screens slow your reaction time more than driving drunk or high. Back in the day, changing a setting took 10 seconds (paywall link). Now with touch screen menus? Try 45. Europe’s stepping in first.

130 million

U.S. viewers now watch Prime Video, with ads. Amazon’s ad-supported Prime Video tier has more than a third of the country tuning in, commercials and all. 88% of them also shop on Amazon, so those pause-screen ads? Basically product placement with a buy button. Wow.

Split screen on iPad: Want two apps open at once? Turn your iPad sideways and open the first app. Tap the three-dot menu at the top and select Split View. The app will move to one side. Swipe up to open the Dock and drag the second app over. Now use the divider to adjust space between them.

Affordable portables

🧳 You’ve got places to go. My picks are built to come along for the ride.

Kick back, relax and save on a folding camping chair (14% off).
Take a quick rinse anywhere with a portable shower (20% off).
This handy 3-in-1 vacuum (43% off) can also dust and pump air.
Charge up with the sunshine with a solar power bank (20% off).
Tiny screen? Grab an extra monitor (33% off) to double your real estate.

🐶 Fur real safety: Snag a belt leash (15% off) to keep your pup strapped in while you’re on the road.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

🔒 Auto-lock your PC: Don’t want anyone snooping? Set Windows to lock after a minute or two of inactivity. Go to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen > Screen saver settings. In the pop-up, choose a screen saver, check On resume, display logon screen, set a Wait time, then hit Apply and OK.

🔋 Make your laptop battery last longer: Windows 11’s Dynamic Refresh Rate adjusts how often your screen updates for simple tasks. Go to Settings > System > Display > Advanced Display > Choose a refresh rate > Dynamic.

On the grid: Turning on the grid on your phone’s camera helps you line up your shot. Using the rule of thirds, it splits your screen into nine boxes. On iPhone, go to Settings > Camera and toggle on Grid. For Android, open your Camera app > Settings (gear icon) > switch Grid lines on.

⌨️ Shrink your iPad keyboard: Hate how the keyboard takes up half the screen in apps like Messages? You can make it smaller. Just place two fingers on the keyboard and pinch inward. It’ll turn into a smaller, floating keyboard you can drag anywhere. Want it back to full size? Pinch outward with two fingers.

📵 Virginia limits kids’ screen time: A new law will ban anyone under 16 from using social media for more than one hour a day. Apps will verify age, and parents can adjust if their kids get more time. Once they hit the limit, the app is supposed to block access … though it’s unclear how that’ll work.

🏊 Pool safety tip: Drowning is the top cause of death for kids ages 1 to 4. Sadly, 88% happen with an adult nearby. That’s why the Y-M-C-A launched Phones Down, Eyes Up. Take their pledge and get a free lock screen reminder, pool safety tips and a “Water Watcher” lanyard for the grown-up keeping watch.

No “regerts”: Don’t tap all over your screen to fix a typo. Here’s a better way. On your iPhone, press and hold the spacebar until your keyboard goes away. Without letting go, slide your finger until your cursor lands where you want it. If you’re using Gboard on Android, do the same thing.

🖥️ Cut to the shortcut: Here’s how to screen record in a snap. On a PC, press Windows + G to open the Game Bar. Then, hit Windows + Alt + R to start and stop recording. For a Mac, it’s Shift + Cmd + 5, then click Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion at the bottom. Tap the Stop icon in the menu or Cmd + Ctrl + Esc when you’re done.

Lock up your library: Want to keep your guilty pleasure reads private? Add a passcode to your Kindle. From the home screen, tap the three dots (top-right corner), then go to All Settings > Device Options > Device Passcode to set it up. Because not every book is meant to be shared.

Watchful gestures: Get around the YouTube app faster with these tricks. Swipe up in the video player for full-screen mode, then swipe down when you’re ready to exit. Head over to my YouTube channel and give it a try (I know, shameless plug).

Read me: Getting to your home screen on Kindle can be tricky. If you have a book open, tap the top of the screen > back arrow > Home. From the Kindle store, hit the X icon > Home. FYI, if your Kindle is older, look for a house icon (top left) or a physical home button.

📱 Seeing double: Need to check your notes while writing an email? Android lets you use two apps at once. Go to Recent Apps, press and hold the first app you want, then choose Split screen. Tap your second app, and a black bar will separate them. Done? Drag the black bar to the app you want to close.

🖥️ Full frontal: If you want to screenshot a long web page, check out the free GoFullPage extension (Chrome and Edge). It captures the whole page, not just what’s on screen. Just click the icon, and it scrolls, snaps and stitches everything into a new tab. You can save it as a PNG, JPEG or PDF.

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: PC lagging? Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to skip the Ctrl + Alt + Del screen and open Task Manager immediately. Or just scream internally like the rest of us.

✋ Hands off: Don’t let slippery fingers fast-forward your YouTube binge. Lock the screen and keep your place. In the YouTube app, tap the video player and hit Settings (gear icon) > Lock screen. When you’re done watching, tap anywhere and press Tap to unlock. Head over to my channel and give it a try. It’s like baby mode for adults who aggressively snack.