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Summary Amazon Prime Day is July 16-17th! I learn all about Rufus as the AI takes me Amazon shopping for toys, a Chromebook, and a fancy power station. If you want to grab the best deals, you’ll want to get familiar with this helpful bot too! Who Is Rufus? The originalRufus (1994-2009)was a beloved Welsh Corgi who seems to have morphed into a bit of a legend at Amazon and is credited with starting Amazon’s dog-friendly workplace culture....

Quick Links Summary You can make a heart by using the emoji keyboard on Windows and Mac. For Windows, press “Windows+.” to access the keyboard. For Mac, press “Command+Control+Space” to access the emoji keyboard. You can also use the Alt+3 keyboard shortcut on Windows if you have a numeric keypad. As language and communication have evolved, emoji have become a part of our daily conversations. One of the most commonly-used emoji is the heart....

Summary A slip of the thumb doesn’t mean permanent deletion of your iPhone voicemail messages. Here’s how to get your messages back. Recovering Deleted Voicemails Accidentally deleting a voicemail on your iPhone, or deleting one on purpose and then changing your mind, isn’t that big of a deal. Just don’tsync your iPhonewith your computer (doing so will clear out the cache of deleted messages) or wait too long (as some carriers will automatically get rid of any deleted messages after a set amount of time), you should be fine....

Quick Links Summary Tap the menu button in the upper left corner of the Signal app, tap “Settings,” tap “Stories,” and then tap “Turn Off Stories.” Restart Signal after changing this setting. The popular secure messaging platformSignalnow has “Story Time,” the company’s version of the stories you see on Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms. Here’s what they are and, if you like to keep your secure messaging simple, how to turn them off....

Quick Links GitHub Actions is a powerful CI/CD tool for running automated builds from your GitHub repository. The last step of this process is deployment, which involves uploading the build artifacts somewhere they can be accessed easily. AWS S3 is the storage of choice for many people, and is easy to integrate with Actions scripts. Why Use AWS S3 Buckets For Deployment? It’s worth noting that GitHub Actions does have abasic artifact storage system, however, you won’t want to use this in production....

The first season ofThe Last of Uswas not only a fantastic video game adaption, it was also one of the best shows of 2023. The second season, which is currently airing weekly, is shaping up to be equally good—it’s gripping, shocking, and emotional. If you’re finding the wait between episodes excruciating, I’ve rounded up the best shows for fans ofThe Last of Us. These will satisfy your itch for high-quality entertainment, whether you want more zombie action or Pedro Pascal....

Summary The gulf in quality between a Blu-ray disc and even the best mainstream streaming services is vast. It’s not just something video nerds notice! Which is why I always advocate buying your favorite shows and movies on disc, but for most people, convenience seems to trump all. However, what if you could get a similar level of quality downloading over the internet? Like the video version of hi-resolution audio? Well, itispossible, but it may throw the convenience factor out that streaming and digital downloads are meant to offer in the first place....

Summary When shopping for a new pair of headphones, one of the most important choices you’ll make is whether to go with an open-back or closed-back design. This key difference greatly affects how your headphones sound and feel. So, which type is right for you? What Are Closed-Back Headphones? Closed-back headphones have a completely closed design on the back (outer) side of the earcups (housing). You can recognize them immediately because, unlike the perforated design of open-back headphones, these headphones are fully enclosed....

Quick Links Private Internet Access (PIA)is one of the more venerable VPN services out there. Founded in 2010, it’s practically a dinosaur compared to some of the other services out there. I took PIA, as it’s better known, out for a spin to see if it still has what it takes. In short, it does. I’ve tested Private Internet Access many times over the years and it has managed to stay consistently decent....

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch lineup is about as good as it gets for a Wear OS-powered smartwatch, especially if you have a Samsung phone to pair it with. Samsung’s close collaboration with Google on Wear OS gives the company’s smartwatches an edge over competitors, and now the Galaxy Watch 7 is taking that a step further. Samsung has announced the latest addition to its smartwatch lineup, the Galaxy Watch 7. It was just announced right alongside theGalaxy Watch Ultra, but that doesn’t seem to be a “premium” version of this smartwatch at all, and Samsung doesn’t seem to be doing Pro or Classic variants of this smartwatch....

Quick Links Summary As a bona fide tech enthusiast, I appreciate the constant stream of new tech gadgets that are emerging. However, one gripe I have with these gadgets is that they want to replace my smartphone, but regardless of what they promise, my smartphone isn’t going anywhere. Smartphones Are Nearly Perfect Already Smartphones are the greatest thing since sliced bread. They’re versatile, fit in our pockets, and pack pretty powerful hardware....

Quick Links Spring is just days away, and we’re ready to leave the cold weather behind with a fresh batch of hot new deals. This week, you can get a free trial ofSetappwith access to 240+ powerful apps for iPhone, Mac, and iPad, plus all-time-low discounts onAirPods Pro,Samsung T7 SSDs, and more. Try Setapp for Free for 30 Days Make the most of your Mac, iPhone, and iPad with Setapp, a robust subscription service that unleashes the power of 240+ premium apps for one easy monthly payment....

Read update While the default band that comes with theGoogle Pixel Watchis great, you may be looking to expand your collection to suit your needs. There are bands best suited for exercise or different wrist sizes, and some can even dress your Pixel Watch up for a night out. UPDATE: 05-07-2025 We’ve reviewed our recommendations and these are still the best Google Pixel Watch bands you may buy. Miimall Metal Google Pixel Watch Bands What to Look for in a Google Pixel Watch Band in 2024 Google’s first in-house smartwatch, thePixel Watch, was unveiled in 2022 as a complimentary device to yourGoogle Pixel phone....