5/3/2022: Become a Wi-Fi wizard
While my Wi-Fi advice has largely held up over the past couple of years, technology never stands still, and so I thought it was time to bring that story up to date.
Advisorator Archives
4/26/2022: Be a master multitasker
While I love that Windows and MacOS let you juggle a dozen apps at once, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all those open windows, or to waste time reshuffling and resizing them all.
4/19/2022: Tracker blocking options
Although I’ve written about tracker blocking in bits and pieces over the years, I think it’s time to compile the best anti-tracking options in one place.
4/12/2022: Do more with your AirPods
Setting up a pair of AirPods is so simple—just open the case, tap “Connect” on your phone, and plug them in your ears—that you can easily miss all of the extra features and customizations they offer.
4/5/2022: Neat notes and to-do lists
Plus: Wyze’s fall from grace, quick timers in your browser, and a whole lot of Apple deals.
A wave of new apps are offering a fresh spin on the old idea of jotting things down.
3/29/2022: Why passwords won’t die
Plus: The new OLED TV wars, Zoom’s animal avatars, and deleting your Google searches
While passwords are far from perfect, they also have lots of advantages that won’t be easily replicated by passwordless systems.
3/15/2022: An $18 AirPods Pro alternative
Plus: New Apple gear, Android’s text message upgrade, and iOS’s best new feature
While I’m not going to argue that budget earbuds are just as good—or even almost as good—as the AirPods Pro, the differences aren’t as dramatic as you might think given the gulf in cost between them.
3/8/2022: The problem with built-in password managers
Plus: Apple’s next event, tweaking Google’s app launcher, and hiding faces in photos
I have a borderline obsession with not being permanently tied any particular device or computing platform, and these built-in password managers can ultimately be another mechanism for lock-in.
3/1/2022: The smart speaker music matrix
Plus: Clearing desktop clutter, Amazon’s missing robots, and deep Mac discounts.
Features like multi-room audio room audio, phone control, and TV speaker output can vary from one platform to the next, and the support for various streaming music services can be wildly inconsistent. To make sense of it all, I decided to make a chart.
2/22/2022: 10 essential browser tips
Plus: Google Docs’ new view, remote computer control, and more tech tune-up advice.
You needn’t be a tech whiz to know the basics of how to visit a website or search the web. Even the notion of opening, closing, and rearranging browser tabs is pretty straightforward. But behind those basics are all kinds of powerful features that make web browsing more efficient.