Life Hacks – Spoken Edition

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How to Access Facebook's New Redesigned Desktop Site With Dark Mode Now May 20, 2020

Show notes

In March, Facebook started rolling out its new redesigned desktop site as something you could choose to opt-into once it was available to you. Friday the company announced that the rollout is complete and that the new site is available for everyone globally. While it will eventually become the default for everyone, you can go ahead and proactively make the swap to the new design now if you’d like, a swap that comes with a new “Dark Mode” option.

This is the Smartest Zoom Hack We've Seen Yet May 18, 2020

Show notes

Leave it to a bored adolescent to come up with one of the most ingenious ways to appear “present” in a Zoom chat I’ve ever seen—especially if the chat is on the larger side and someone isn’t paying much attention to your webcam in the grid view. Now that we’re in week who-knows-what of the quarantine for most people, I feel like most of us would rather do just about anything else than suffer another videoconference.

How to Facetime a Bunch of Adorable Eels May 15, 2020

Show notes

The Sumida Aquarium in Japan is inviting people to have a short Facetime call with their tank of garden eels. This is no livestream; it’s a two-way call, and they specifically want the eels to see your face. The aquarium writes that the eels are normally very shy, and hide in the sand, but that in their tank they are used to seeing visitors pass by. Now that the aquarium is closed to visitors, the eels are starting to get shy again.

Dictate Your Messages Using This Mac Keyboard Shortcut May 14, 2020

Show notes

Mac users who like to multitask: there’s a keyboard shortcut to turn on text dictation so you can talk instead of type. Just place your cursor where you want to enter text (it’ll work in any app where you can type), double-tap the Fn key, and start talking. The microphone icon will pop up to let you know that dictation is active. When you’re done with your message, double-tap Fn again. You can also click Done below the icon or press Return.

Duplicate Your Items in Animal Crossing, Because Nothing Matters May 13, 2020

Show notes

I don’t think it’s possible to cheat in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Or, rather, I don’t feel any guilt whatsoever about taking advantage of the game’s quirks to outfit your single-player island however you want. From time-traveling to Turnip Exchanges, there are plenty of methods you can use to circumvent the game’s slow, methodical intentions—including a brand-new duping hack that lets you clone as many items as you want. Again, do I feel bad? No.

Get Your Nest Devices Ready for Mandatory Two-Factor Authentication May 12, 2020

Show notes

Google is about to turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) for all Nest users. That’s a good thing! Most people shouldn’t experience any difficulties with this security-enhancing measure, but there are a few quirks you should know about. Nest users will need to authorize who they are each time they log in to Nest using a verification code sent to the email address linked to their Nest account.

What Actually Happens When You Block Someone on Your iPhone May 11, 2020

Show notes

Have you ever wondered what happens when you block someone on your iPhone? What really happens? You can block contacts through your Messages, FaceTime and Phone apps. Blocking a contact in one app will block them across the board. However, blocking doesn’t prevent someone from trying to reach you. They won’t get a pleasant “your number has been blocked” notification from Siri, but they might start to wonder why you aren’t answering their messages.

How to Adjust the Audio Sensitivity of Your Google Home Device May 08, 2020

Show notes

Accidentally summoning an AI helper like Google Assistant by inadvertently speaking the wake word (or something that sounds enough like it to fool a computer) has become a fact of life ever since Siri was first introduced. It can be a chronic problem too, depending on your living situation and how you use your smart devices: Sometimes the things can be... overzealous in their desire to serve you and will assume any vocalization means you’re trying to activate them.

How to Create a Watchlist Directly in Google Search May 07, 2020

Show notes

Now that we’re all spending a bit more time streaming television shows and movies at home, maintain a robust “what to watch” queue is more important than ever. If you’ve signed up for a few new streaming services to keep you entertained in quarantine, it might also be a lot harder to manage—but a new feature in Google’s mobile search can help make the process easier. Sure, assembling a list of things you’d like to see is simple when you’re just using one streaming service, but if you’ve doubled down on your options or have taken advantage of a free trial or two, keeping track of what interests you on all of them can be a bit overwhelming. Yesterday, Google added a new feature to its mobile search that allows you to create a watchlist as you browse the internet: Now when you search for a movie or TV show on Google on your phone, you’ll see a “Watchlist” button beside it in search results. Tapping on it will add the program to your own personal Watchlist within the search engine. Next time you’re looking for something to watch, you can just perform a Google search for “My watchlist” to pull up all of the options you’ve put together. If you’re looking for help figuring out what to add to the queue, last year Google launched a TV and movie recommendation engine within Search that can help with a few suggestions. To get recommendations, search for “what to watch” within Google. The first time you try it, click the “Providers” link at the top of results to specify what streaming services you subscribe to. Google will save your settings and recommend things going forward based on what services you use and, now, what movies and television shows you’ve added to your watchlist. If you already know what you want to watch but just don’t know how to watch it, I’m a big fan of the app Just Watch, which allows you to type in the name of movie or television show you’re trying to watch and discover what services are currently offering it for free or where and how much it will cost you to rent it.

Learn About What You're Drinking From Flaviar's 'School of Spirits' May 06, 2020

Show notes

Staying at home more and the pandemic, in general, has changed a lot of our habits. Maybe you’re taking an ivy league course online, or working out on your exercise bike a little more. Or, maybe you’re like me and you’re just drinking a lot more than you usually do. If you’ve been making a few trips to that essential liquor store over the past few weeks, Flaviar is offering a free way for you to learn a little more about what you’re shopping for.

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