Do the math

March 10, 2024

Do the math: On Amazon, go to a favorite product and you’ll see how many times you’ve bought it — and when you click, you’ll see how much you paid before. This is worth doing now and then to see if your favorite hair conditioner has doubled in price — like mine did!

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

Tags: Amazon, hair, math, price, product

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Airlines collect a lot more data than you realize

The future of flight is here and it’s not jetpacks — it’s in-air surveillance. If you thought the most invasive thing that could happen on a plane was the person in front of you reclining, I have some bad news, friend.

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3 quick and easy ways to speed up your browser

Gotta be honest. I don’t have a lot of patience for spinning wheels and loading progress bars. I’m busy! I know you are, too, so let’s fix your slow browser.

Whether you’re a Chrome lover or a Firefox fan, you’ve got options. These tips are fast and easy, too. You can thank me later — and use all your saved time to do something else … like forwarding this email to a friend!

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Don’t buy a Surface tablet: Microsoft is dropping the first “AI PCs” on March 21. The OLED Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 are decked out with next-gen processors, upgraded displays, and all the AI bells and whistles. Copilot essentially turns everything you do on the PC into something you can search for later. Feature or flaw? That’s up to you.

‘Hey, have you landed yet?’

Don’t wait for them to call or text. There are better ways, friend!

My favorite option is FlightAware. Type in the flight number and you’ll see where that plane is in the sky. You’re not limited to tracking their flight; you can even see if rain might delay them with the weather radar overlay. Try it on the web or your phone.
Flightradar24 is fun. Open your camera and point it at any airplane. You’ll see its flight number, departure point and destination. It’s powered by ADS-B receivers and can get signals from the aircraft. Download it here.
For the basics, Google Flights gets the job done. Search for a flight number on Google and a box with details like arrival time and gate info will pop up.

Is the Amazon Influencer Program worth it?

Want to make extra money while the kids are at school? Need to save for an upcoming vacation? Say hello to the Amazon Influencer Program. Today, 37% of Amazon’s traffic is driven by influencers. That’s a lot of eyes and ears!

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

No loans, no monthly payments: An easier way to tap your home equity

We’ve all been there — you’re watching HGTV and suddenly you’re deleting walls and installing Moroccan tile in your mind. But unless you’re cash-ready for that reno, you’re considering tapping your home equity.

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Bon appetit: GE Appliances’ Cookcam AI recognizes your dish and automatically sets the cooking mode. Surprise, it’s not even an upsell! If you have a GE Profile or Café model equipped with in-oven cameras, it’s a free software update. What’s on the menu? Turkey, cookies, pizza, cakes and brownies for now.

Quick cybersecurity step to take now

Spyware is malicious software that works quietly in the background, tracking almost everything you do. These sneaky downloads leave digital clues if you know what to look for.

FYI: If you see a name you don’t recognize, search for it online to see what turns up. Sometimes, these programs and background processes are legitimate and of no concern, even if you don’t know the name.

If you use a PC:

Open the Task Manager by holding down Ctrl + Shift + Esc. Under the Processes tab, you’ll see the apps and background processes running on your PC.
To close an app or process, right-click and hit End task. Check again later to see if it’s running again.

If you use a Mac:

Hit Cmd + spacebar to open Spotlight Search. Then, type Activity Monitor and press Enter. Check over the list for anything you don’t recognize.
Double-click to close out a program or process, then hit Quit.

Guests staying with you? Keep ‘em from prying

A spouse, roommate or friend can’t snoop on your phone if there’s no opportunity to do so. Here are a couple of simple precautions you can take.

Lock it down — Just like with your computer, you need to set a password. You may choose to use a passcode, a fingerprint, a pattern or your Face ID. The key is to actually use them. Touch and Face ID are great ways to boost security, as they can’t be guessed. They’re easy to enable, too, so you won’t feel like you’re stuck entering a code all day long.

Hide your notifications — Notifications are tempting to read and can reveal a whole lot. You can hide them from your lock screen.

For Android: Head to Settings > Notifications, then tap on the gear icon and select On the lock screen. You’ll have the options here to not show any notifications, show all notifications or hide just sensitive notifications.
For iPhone: Open Settings > Notifications, and select Show Previews. Here, you can choose to show them always, when the phone is unlocked or never.

1-minute tech changes for more privacy

You’re shopping for a gift or doing something personal, and oops! Someone waltzes into the room. No problem — just hit Command + M on a Mac or Windows + M on a Windows PC to instantly minimize the program you have open.

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