All posts tagged: Apps

Watch Duty Is Adding Flood Alerts to Its Wildfire App

Watch Duty Is Adding Flood Alerts to Its Wildfire App

Published by skeptic

Watch Duty, the wildfire alert app, is introducing flood alerts to its popular disaster-awareness service. This is the second disaster type to be broadly included, after wildfires; it’s available as a free update. If you have the app, allow it to track your location, and happen to be near a flood zone, Watch Duty will send you a push notification with more information about the flood. The nonprofit started in 2021 with a focus on California’s wildfires. The app has since expanded to the entire US, where it uses a combination of paid employee “reporters” and many more volunteers who monitor emergency responder radio channels and translate that information about disaster zones to app users. Watch Duty became a critical resource during the Palisades and Eaton fires in Los Angeles last year, providing real-time information about the fire’s movements that users came to rely on. In the year since, Watch Duty has capitalized on that increased recognition and brought in thousands of new users and partnerships, including one with Amazon’s Ring cameras that lets people …

I drove with Apple CarPlay for over 25,000 miles last year – these apps were the most essential

I drove with Apple CarPlay for over 25,000 miles last year – these apps were the most essential

Published by skeptic

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways CarPlay makes iPhone apps easier to use in the car. Keep your focus on driving, not apps. Most CarPlay apps mirror the apps on your iPhone. I like driving, which is a good thing since I live in a rural area. Whether it’s work trips or traveling to some remote trailhead to get a few days away from it all (my latest obsession is section hiking Hadrian’s Wall), I spend a lot of time behind the wheel. Over the past 12 months, I’ve covered more than 25,000 miles. That’s a lot of time in the driver’s seat, and plenty of time to find the very best apps to help make whatever trip I’m on as quick, easy, and painless as possible. Also: Your car’s USB port is seriously underrated: 5 creative ways I’m using mine Since I’m an iPhone user, my platform of choice is CarPlay (except for the few times when CarPlay decided that it just wasn’t going to work, …

I drove with Apple CarPlay for over 25,000 miles last year – these apps were the most essential

I drove 25,000 miles with CarPlay last year – here are the apps I used most (and why)

Published by skeptic

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways CarPlay makes iPhone apps easier to use in the car. Keep your focus on driving, not apps. Most CarPlay apps mirror the apps on your iPhone. I like driving, which is a good thing since I live in a rural area. Whether it’s work trips or traveling to some remote trailhead to get a few days away from it all (my latest obsession is section hiking Hadrian’s Wall), I spend a lot of time behind the wheel. Over the past 12 months, I’ve covered more than 25,000 miles. That’s a lot of time in the driver’s seat, and plenty of time to find the very best apps to help make whatever trip I’m on as quick, easy, and painless as possible. Also: Your car’s USB port is seriously underrated: 5 creative ways I’m using mine Since I’m an iPhone user, my platform of choice is CarPlay (except for the few times when CarPlay decided that it just wasn’t going to work, …

Beyond Instagram: Introducing the next generation of social apps

Beyond Instagram: Introducing the next generation of social apps

Published by skeptic

For years, our social media experiences have been dominated by Big Tech players like Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp), Google (YouTube), Snapchat, TikTok, and X. But a growing number of startups are taking aim at these giants by building new, often smaller and more personal social networking experiences to connect people with friends, interests, and tighter-knit communities. If you’re looking for a way to extricate yourself from the grip of traditional social media and Big Tech products in general, there are a number of interesting alternatives available. Many of them cater to Gen Z and younger, a group that’s often more willing to build their social networks within new spaces compared to people with well-established networks that sit on aging platforms. Below are some of our favorites, all of which are worth a download. Retro Image Credits:Romain Dillet / TechCrunch Retro is a thoughtfully designed photo-sharing app focused on building connections with friends in a more private format. Created by two former Instagram team members, Nathan Sharp and Ryan Olson, the app offers simple ways to …

Anti-Vax Dating Apps Are Going IRL. People Are Mad as Hell About It

Anti-Vax Dating Apps Are Going IRL. People Are Mad as Hell About It

Published by skeptic

As a crowd of 60 anti-vaxxers squeezed into the upstairs dining area of Jonathan’s Grille in Nashville on a recent Monday night, a moment of pride washed over Scott Armstrong. Years ago, he had been let go from his job as a drug and alcohol counselor for refusing to get vaccinated. Now, unvaccinated people from all over the country were piling into the sports bar to meet others like them. There was a woman who flew in from New Jersey and another from Philadelphia. One group drove up from Florida. They were there to attend a mixer hosted by Unjected, an anti-vaccination dating app that, according to its website, is “built on creating health-conscious relationships.” It was the second stop on Unjected’s four-city “Summer of Love” tour meant for singles who oppose the Covid-19 vaccine. “We’re still some of the most persecuted people in society right now,” Armstrong, who now owns a video production company and helped organize the event, tells WIRED. “People still express this absolute hatred for us and for our beliefs in …

I built a smart home dashboard for and deleted three smart home apps

I built a smart home dashboard for $5 and deleted three smart home apps

Published by skeptic

As the number of smart home devices in your house grows, you’ll find yourself constantly making ecosystem decisions. Devices from different manufacturers don’t talk to each other, and before you know it, you’ve got half a dozen apps on your phone that you barely touch. Setting up Home Assistant can eradicate this problem. I built a smart home dashboard using an old phone, and the days of fumbling through multiple apps were behind me. Then, I spent a weekend and a few dollars tinkering with an ESP32, an OLED display, and a few buttons, and I had a tiny smart home dashboard that never needed me to interact with another device to control my home in the first place. Related I turned my old tablet into a smart home dashboard, and it’s perfect I use my 1st-gen iPad Pro as a smart home dashboard Smart home apps are convenient—until they aren’t The frustration of juggling multiple ecosystems and interfaces Screenshot by Yadullah Abidi | No Attribution Required. Each smart home device comes with its own …

Innovative Android Apps You Need to Download This June

Innovative Android Apps You Need to Download This June

Published by skeptic

Are you ready to enhance your Android experience this month? June 2026 brings an exciting lineup of apps that blend functionality, customization, and productivity. These tools are designed to simplify your daily tasks, personalize your device, and help you maintain a balanced digital lifestyle. Let’s explore the top 15 Android apps making an impact this month in a great new video from HowToMen. App Discovery and Management Navigating the vast world of Android apps can be daunting, but these tools make it easier to find and manage apps that suit your needs: Voxil Apps: This third-party app store is a treasure trove of free and open-source apps. With features like smart APK detection and automatic translation of app descriptions, it’s an excellent choice for discovering global app options tailored to your preferences. Florate: A sleek F-Droid client with a clean material design interface, Florate prioritizes privacy and transparency. It simplifies the discovery and management of open source apps, making it a must-have for users who value control over their digital environment. Customization and Gestures Transform …

Wave Cash App’s Magic Wand to Pay for Stuff

Wave Cash App’s Magic Wand to Pay for Stuff

Published by skeptic

Have you ever wanted to wave a magic wand at something and make it yours? Well, now you can, so long as you have enough money in your debit account to pay for it. Cash App, the digital payments service operated by Block, has offered its users the ability to use free physical cards since 2017. Now, anyone with a Cash App card can pay $25 to turn that card into a pearlescent, sparkly magic wand. Anywhere you can use tap-to-pay with your phone or card, you’ll be able to buy something with a tap of the wand instead. The wand is a whimsical way to introduce Cash App Tags, the company’s new hardware product. Tags are NFC-enabled physical devices that will eventually come in an array of shapes and sizes. They don’t have to connect via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. To link one to a Cash App account, you can just hold the device to the back of a phone, and it will link the wand to the account. (You’ll need to register a Cash …

I turned my Android Auto setup into a gaming hub with 4 free apps – and don’t regret it

I turned my Android Auto setup into a gaming hub with 4 free apps – and don’t regret it

Published by skeptic

Artie Beaty/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Several mobile games are compatible with Android Auto. The games all have simple touch-screen controls. These are slow-paced, short-burst games.  If you spend downtime in your car waiting for school pickup or during a lunch break, there’s a good chance you pass the time with mobile games. Here’s what you probably didn’t know: You could be playing some of those games on your car’s screen instead. A handful of popular mobile games are compatible with Android Auto, meaning you can play them in your car.   Also: 4 Android Auto developer settings that make driving so much easier – how to enable them You might have browsed your Android Auto apps and already seen the Gamesnacks app, which hosts several dozen light games that are not unlike early internet flash games. However, these games are more robust; they’re the same games you’d play on your phone, just on a bigger screen. The catalog of Android Auto-compatible games isn’t huge, but …

I stopped installing apps the slow way on Windows

I stopped installing apps the slow way on Windows

Published by skeptic

Setting up a new Windows PC can feel like a chore. When you are simply trying to find the fastest way to install Windows apps, the traditional method is nothing but frustrating. For me, the routine looked like yours probably does. You open a web browser, search for the software you need, navigate through the maze of download buttons, get the EXE file, and install it, one by one. But things don’t end there. You also have to mindlessly click through Next, Next, I Agree, and Finish through multiple installation wizards. I used to waste hours getting my Windows laptop ready for my use. But then I realized there is a fundamentally better, faster, and more secure method built right into Windows. And that completely changed the way I manage my computer. Related Here’s how I deep clean my Windows PC I spend one day each year to keep my Windows PC running like new. The end of the “Next, Next, Finish” era Winget is your answer Screenshot by Bob Sharp – No attribution required …