{"id":5385,"date":"2023-06-27T16:17:31","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T16:17:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/advisorator.com\/members\/?p=5385"},"modified":"2023-06-27T16:17:31","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T16:17:31","slug":"6-27-2023-stop-emailing-yourself-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/advisorator.com\/members\/2023\/06\/27\/6-27-2023-stop-emailing-yourself-2\/","title":{"rendered":"6\/27\/2023: Stop emailing yourself"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Seven ways to transfer stuff<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Plus: More LastPass problems, better-sounding calls, and a killer Eero deal<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Jared Newman<\/div>
|<\/div>
June 27, 2023<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
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Image generated with Bing\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We’ve all done it before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In times of desperation, it’s all too tempting to send files, links, or text snippets to yourself in the form of an email. While it’s not the tidiest or most efficient method for flinging data around, at least you know it’s going to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, there are even faster and better ways to send information between your phone, tablet, and computer (or to other people nearby), ones that will spare your poor inbox from even more clutter. Keep these handy little tools in mind, and you’ll never have to email yourself again:<\/p>\n\n\n

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Read the full column<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Hey folks, I’m having an anniversary sale<\/strong> on the paid edition of Advisorator, which recently turned five years old! Sign up to get your first year for $40<\/a> or your first three months for $9<\/a>. You’ll also get a four-week free trial to start<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a paid subscriber, you’ll get an in-depth advice column every week\u2014including this week’s column on alternatives to emailing yourself\u2014plus bonus deals, online archives, and a growing collection of guides<\/a>. Cancellation is super easy, so you can always switch back to the free edition if it’s not for you. Thanks for your support!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Amazon’s cancellation comeuppance:<\/strong> The Federal Trade Commission is suing Amazon over its Prime subscription practices<\/a>, arguing that it tricks people into signing up and makes cancellation needlessly difficult. As the agency notes, Amazon even internally named its cancellation process the “Iliad Flow,” in reference to Homer’s Greek poem of epic length.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reading about the lawsuit, I instantly thought back to my newsletter on how tech companies try to trick you<\/a>, and the screenshot I received from a reader<\/a> in response:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Not only does Amazon put an obnoxious Prime ad at the top of its checkout flow for non-subscribers, it also auto-selects paid shipping options and promotes Prime as a free alternative, even though the order is also eligible for free shipping without Prime. Whether Amazon is legally in the wrong or not, I can’t muster much sympathy for the company in this case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More LastPass problems:<\/strong> LastPass is still dealing with the fallout from last November’s catastrophic security breach<\/a>, in which hackers made off with users’ entire vaults, including encrypted passwords. As Bleeping Computer reports<\/a>, the company recently required customers to reset their two-factor authentication setups as part of a related security overhaul. Only for some users, the reset process locked them out of their accounts and left them unable to contact customer support, which is only available for logged-in users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a mess. I switched from LastPass to Bitwarden<\/a> a couple of years ago and continue to be happy with that decision. Moving your passwords over is probably easier than you think<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pixel Tablet review:<\/strong> Over at Fast Company, I reviewed Google’s Pixel Tablet<\/a>, a $500 Android slate with an 11-inch screen, plus a magnetic speaker dock that effectively turns it into a smart display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My review appears to be more critical than most<\/a>. While the tablet itself is fine, in docked mode it’s less capable than the beloved Lenovo Smart Display in my kitchen. I’m also not sold on the entire concept, because the dock is worthless when there’s no tablet attached to it. Unless you make a conscious effort to keep your tablet docked, you’re better off buying a dedicated smart display along with whatever tablet you want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tip of the moment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Sound better on calls:<\/strong> Over Father’s Day, I was having a pleasant Facetime conversation with my dad when my daughter bopped over with a lot to say, per usual. There was just one problem: He could barely hear any of it, even with her sitting right next to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I quickly realized, at some point I had enabled the iPhone’s Voice Isolation<\/strong> setting, which makes your voice sound clearer by reducing the noises around you. Switching this setting back to “Standard” instantly made my daughter audible again. While this feature was once exclusive to Facetime, it also expanded to regular voice calls with iOS 16.4 back in March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To turn Voice Isolation on or off, just open Control Center during a Facetime or voice call. Tap the “Mic Mode” button, then select between Standard, Voice Isolation, or Wide Spectrum. (The latter intentionally captures surrounding sound, for instance if you’re trying to play music for someone.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about Android?<\/strong> While Android doesn’t have a voice isolation setting for all phones, Google’s Pixel 7-series phones have a “Clear Calling<\/a>” feature that works the opposite way, enhancing the voice of whoever you’re talking to. Enable it under Settings > Sound & Vibration > Clear Calling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Now try this<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

More private browsing:<\/strong> After launching on MacOS last year, DuckDuckGo has brought its web browser to Windows<\/a>. It blocks trackers, uses DuckDuckGo’s private search engine by default, and can load YouTube videos in its own “Duck Player,” which keeps Google from collecting your viewing data (and often blocks YouTube’s ads in the process).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s otherwise a pretty basic browser, though, with no extensions, vertical tabs, or ability to switch default search engines. (The Mac version’s Bitwarden integration<\/a> is also missing.) But if you just want a simple browser with a focus on privacy, it’s worth a shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Around the web<\/h2>\n\n\n\n