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Bird nerds: Bird-watching apps are making it easier than ever to track, identify and record sky dwellers. One of the most popular, Merlin Bird ID (iOS and Android), uses AI to identify birds by their calls. Just be careful what you post. One woman spotted a rare bird, and over 700 people showed up outside her house to see it (paywall link). Yikes!
Tags: apps, bird-watching, birds, Merlin Bird ID, nature
I’m a cheapskate. There, I said it. I go digging for ways to save money in my tech life, and I’m happy to pass them along to you, too.
1. Use a tool to find coupons: Searching online leads to codes that don’t work or, worse, malware-infected sites. I like Honey. It runs in the background to look for deals on what you’re already buying. CamelCamelCamel will alert you if there’s a price drop on something you’re eyeing on Amazon.
Small business owners must build trust, set trends and share their customers’ values. Connecting with customers is one of the most important ways to make money.
Success starts close to home. Before connecting with customers, you must build strong bonds with your teammates. Tap or click here for five leadership secrets every small business owner should know.
Keep your battery level over 0%: Letting your phone die does more than leave you without a way to play Wordle. It can also degrade your battery over time. Keep a portable charger on hand and power up before you hit 0%.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
Cool new Google search trick: Open your camera, point it at something (like a tree), ask a question (e.g., “What fruit is this?”) and Google Lens will find the answer. To use it, opt into AI Overviews here. Yeah, they’re desperate to keep up with OpenAI.
📱 Gloom and doomscrolling: In case you didn’t know, doomscrolling is when you get caught in a cycle of viewing negative posts on social media. You can set time limits for certain apps, but those are easy to bypass. I have a phone-addicted friend who has her husband hide her phone after 8 p.m. Weird but it works!
Enter your “Pa$$word!”: I’ve done this for years — abbreviate a sentence into a password. So, “I ate three peanut butter sandwiches today!” could become “I83pbsammies2day!” Whatever you do, just promise me you won’t use “123456” or “password1.”
😴 Enable this on your Apple Watch: Sleep apnea is seriously dangerous, and the Series 9, Series 10 and Ultra 2 can spot the signs. Open the Health app on your iPhone, search for “breathing disturbances,” then tap Set up. Follow the directions on screen and you’re good to go.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
When you get stuck in Reply All hell: Instead of muting every single email that comes through, mute the entire thread. In Gmail, for example, look at the toolbar at the top of the email. Click the three dots, then Mute. Ah, sweet silence.
🤐 Keep it hush-hush: If you need a new Incognito or Private mode browsing window, press Ctrl + Shift + N (Windows) or Cmd + Shift + N (macOS). Firefox does this differently; here, swap the “N” for P. Keep in mind these modes don’t make what you do truly private; they just stop it from becoming part of your algorithm and saved searches.
⏸️ Cheapskate pro tip: When you’re out of town for an extended period, pause your internet and/or cable package. This is so much better than paying full price for those services when you’re not even using them. Get specific steps for your provider here.
