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Gardening is a satisfying hobby for so many reasons—your outdoor space looks great, you’ve helped cultivate new life, and you even get some crops or flowers in return. We’ve checked out the best subscription boxes for gardeners so that your green finger endeavors are even more successful.

Every gardener has different aims in life. You might be keen to make it your main way to spend your free time throughout the year, or you might prefer to simply dabble in the pastime. We’ve got different subscription boxes in mind for such occasions. There’s also room for those enthusiasts who don’t have the space at home to cram everything in, and those that are more avid chefs than they are gardeners.

Here’s our pick of the best subscription boxes currently out there.

Best For The Seasonal Approach: PlowBox ($45 per quarter) PlowBox

If you’re keen to maintain your garden all year round, even though the cold months, then PlowBox is perfectly geared towards your needs. Each quarter, it provides subscribers with relevant items that suit the time of year well.

Simply tell the service your garden’s climate and things are well attuned to your requirements. There’s even a handy explanation of what’s meant by a cold climate or even a tropical climate, so you don’t have to think too hard about what PlowBox could mean. Boxes contain things like seeds, informative guides on how to maintain your land at that time of year, as well as little extras like soaps or tools.

All the seeds are organic and come from Seattle Seed Company so you know you’re getting high-quality products. There are also member discounts for other products throughout the year.

Subscribe to PlowBox Best For The House Plant Gardener: House Plant Box (From $12 per month) House Plant Box

Are you a keen gardener but you don’t actually have a garden to maintain? Subscribe to House Plant Box and you can feel like you’re part of the action. Each month, you’re sent in-season houseplants specially chosen from the company’s greenhouses. Depending on which type of subscription you choose, this can be a selection of indoor house plants, air plants, or some succulents.

$12 per month gets you the basic package with premium monthly plans available for $30 per month and providing a larger assortment of plants. In all cases, you get detailed care guides, plus occasional surprises like fertilizer, planters, or terrariums. Pet owners can also opt to receive only pet-friendly plants each month so there’s no risk there.

It’s an ideal service if you want your home to look great but you don’t have the time (or inclination) to go looking for plants yourself.

Subscribe to House Plant Box Best For The Gardener With Limited Space: Urban Organic Gardener ($9.99 per month) Urban Organic Gardener

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Josh Hendrickson

Waking up can be hard, but Alexa can make it easier. Alexa won’t make you any less sleepy or drag you out of bed, but it can make your morning routine much more efficient.

Routines For Weather, Traffic, Lights, and Snoozing

If you’re like a lot of people, you wake up (eventually), try to catch some news, check your email, get dressed, figure out weather and traffic conditions, and get coffee (maybe even breakfast!) before leaving for work. It’s a lot to get done, and it probably doesn’t help that you hit the snooze button three or four times—even though you swore yesterday was the last time you would ever do that again.

What if you could at least make your mornings more productive? Instead of having to pull out your phone to check news, then weather, and then traffic, you could have a routine take care of all of that. If you have smarthome tech, you could even consider rolling in routines to bring up the lights, turn on the coffee maker, and warm up (or cool down) the house. With a few delayed routines, you can even bring up lights slowly, like a sunrise clock.

If you want to take things a step further, you could add Echo buttons to your routines and give you a physical object to slap that will snooze Alexa, like alarm clocks of old. We’ll show you how to put together some morning routines to make getting out of bed more bearable—or at least save yourself some time in the morning.

Putting the Routine Together

Creating morning routines will follow similar steps to any other routines you’ve created. Open the Alexa app, and then tap the hamburger menu.

Tap “Routines.”

Tap the Plus (+) button in the upper right-hand corner to create a new routine.

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What Subtle Message Does Mars Rover Curiosity’s Wheels Leave Behind?

1. (JPL) Jet Propulsion Lab
2. (RDB) Ray Douglas Bradbury
3. (CES) Carl Edward Sagan
4. (NASA) National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Think you know the answer?

Jason Fitzpatrick

I really love wireless charging, but I don’t love packing multiple wireless chargers when I travel. The Unravel travel charger from Ampere makes it simple to pack light. Now that AirPower is dead, it’s an even more compelling product.

At CES 2019 I got a chance to take a peek at the Unravel in person and was really impressed with the design. While everyone was waiting for AirPower to arrive, here was this company with not just a triple charging pad but one that could fold up to pack and even transform. With the hot-off-the-press news that Apple’s AirPower project is dead, the Unravel looks better than ever.

The project was then a successful Kickstarter gearing up for distribution and is now available for purchase on Amazon so everybody can get in on the clever design without a trip to CES or playing the Kickstarter lottery. But should they get in on it? Let’s take a look at the design and features of the Unravel.

What It Is: A Jacob’s Ladder for Your Gadgets

When you first unpack the Unravel it looks a lot like a Jacob’s Ladder toy, folded up and waiting. Like a Jacob’s Ladder the design is pretty clever (but far more useful for our modern needs).

The charger is three separate 10w wireless charging panels all hinged together and powered by an included 60w USB-C charger. All three panels offering Qi wireless charging which you can use with any Qi compatible phone including the iPhone 8 and above, the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S10 lineups, the Google Pixel 3, as well as Qi-compatible accessories like these wireless AirPod cases and Apple’s own wireless charging case. In addition to that, one of the panels is not only a general Qi-compatible charging pad but will also charge your Apple Watch.

In the most compact form, it looks like this:

Jason Fitzpatrick

When completely folded up as it is in the photo above the charger is still fully functional, but only the top charging pad is operational. This position is handy if you don’t need to use all the pads or you want to drape your Apple Watch over it (if you’ve got a particularly stiff curled band that just won’t lay flat). Speaking of that, it’s a great design choice to put the one panel that supports the Apple Watch at the top of the stack like this so you’re able to use the charger, in the “single stack” mode, the way you want.

Jason Fitzpatrick

The second way you can use the charger is to completely unfold it flat. In this position, you can charge three devices be it three different phones or a mix of phones, an Apple Watch, and other accessories like the AirPod wireless charging case.

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Apple first announced AirPower in 2017 with a projected release in 2018. But that time came and went with nary a word from Apple. Now, despite several reports and rumors to the contrary, the project has been canceled.

In a statement to TechCrunch, Apple Senior VP of Hardware Engineering Dan Riccio cited the inability to meet Apple’s strict standards the reason for the cancelation.

After much effort, we’ve concluded AirPower will not achieve our high standards and we have cancelled the project. We apologize to those customers who were looking forward to this launch. We continue to believe that the future is wireless and are committed to push the wireless experience forward.

The timing on this is pretty wild because just two weeks ago speculation was running wild about when—not if—Apple would finally announce its release. Some sites even went as far as to speculate that it would be released on March 21st or 22nd, at the end of a long week of Apple announcements.

It’s clear that Apple had every intention of releasing the product because it was referenced on product packaging as late as the newly-updated AirPods, which were released just last week. Crazy.

Nintendo, WD, Samsung

It’s Friday, and the weekend is just a day away. If your last few weekends have been filled with daydreams of external storage devices and Nintendo Online, then you should take a second to comb through these deals.

In case you’re unaware, March 31st is World Backup Day, an (un)official global holiday. This historic holiday is dedicated to those who routinely back up their files on external drives and cloud storages devices. It just so happens that we have a couple of great deals on at-home cloud storage devices, like the $90 3TB WD My Cloud Home and the $510 8TB Synology DiskStation.

If you aren’t interested in backing up your files at a discount, that’s fine. We’ve got some other killer deals that should tickle your fancy. Right now, Twitch Prime and Amazon Prime members can get 12 months of Nintendo Online for free, which is pretty ridiculous. If you’re in the market for smartphones and smart accessories, you should check out the $200 Galaxy S8, or the $200 Apple Watch Series 3.

Laptops, External Storage, and Computer Accessories

Need a new laptop? Some external storage? A new keyboard? We’ve got the deals for you.

• HP Touch-Screen Laptop, $400 ($130 off) [Best Buy]
• Huawei Matebook D Laptop, $530 ($100 off) [Microsoft]
• Lenovo Legion Gaming Laptop, $1460 ($85 off with coupon EXTRA5) [Lenovo]
• Dell Alienware Notebook, $1099 ($450 off) [B&H]
• Up to 64% off Logitech Keyboards and Mice [Amazon]
• Synology DiskStation 8TB External Storage Device, $510 ($40 off) [B&H]
• WD My Cloud Home 3TB External HDD Refurbished, $90 ($69 off with coupon code STARTSPRINGWD) [WD]
• CrazyTalk Animator 3 Pro, $60 ($120 off with coupon code DN25) [StackSocial]
• NETGEAR R6700 Dual Band Wi-Fi Router, $89 ($41 off) [Amazon]
• Samsung 1TB SSD, $133 ($35 off with coupon code EMCXTWVE2) [Newegg]

Phones, Headphones, and Smartwatches

Grab a new phone, some AirPods, and an Apple Watch at a discount.

• Samsung Galaxy S8 Unlocked Refurbished, $200 ($200 off) [eBay] (Editor’s Note: Make sure to read the fine print on this one)
• Moto X 4th Gen Unlocked, $130 ($80 off) [Amazon]
• Google Pixel 1 32GB Unlocked, $105 ($495 off) [Walmart]
• Apple Watch Series 3, $200 ($100 off) [eBay]
• Apple AirPods With Charging Case, $136 ($114 off) [Massgenie]
• Bose QuietComfort 35 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones, $260 ($90 off) [Massgenie]
• JBL Everest 310 Bluetooth Headphones Refurbished, $48 ($152 off) [JBL]

Video Games

Grab your free Nintendo Online subscription, or buy a discounted copy of a popular game.

• Nintendo Online 12 Months Free w/ Twitch Prime/Amazon Prime Membership [Twitch]
• $60 Nintendo eShop Gift Card, $55 ($5 off) [Newegg]
• Valkyria Chronicles 4 Nintendo/PS4/Xbox One, $35 ($65 off) [Amazon]
• Dead or Alive 6 PS4/Xbox One, $50 ($10 off) [Best Buy]
• Metal Gear Solid V PS4, $12 ($8 off) [PlayStation Store]
• Psychonauts PlayStation, $2 ($8 off) [PlayStation Store]
• Risk of Rain 2 PC BOGO, $20 ($20 off) [Steam]
• TCL 32″ 720p LED HD Roku Smart TV, $125 ($42 off) [Walmart]

Everything Else

Need a smart light switch or a Dyson fan? We’ve got the deals for you.

• Pelican Rechargeable Flashlight, $40 ($35 off) [B&H]
• Bestek 350W Smoothie Blender, $16 ($24 off with coupon code FORPRO60) [Bestek]
• imuto Echo Dot Battery, $38 ($24 off with coupon code STPR5HUG) [Amazon]
• LIFX Mini White Wi-Fi Smart Bulb, $3 ($20 off with coupon code SMART10) [Amazon]
• TP-Link Kasa Smart Light Switch, $30 ($10 off) [Amazon]
• InnoGear 150ml Aromatherapy Diffuser w/ 6 Essential Oils, $17 ($10 off) [Walmart]
• Dyson Pure Cool Fan Refurbished, $160 ($139 off with coupon code DYSN40) [Rakuten]

Good deals don’t last forever. If any of these deals catch your eye, be sure to jump on them before it’s too late.

By default, PowerPoint slides use a widescreen format in a 16:9 ratio. If you’d like to change it to the standard format (4:3 ratio), or even create a custom size, PowerPoint provides a quick and painless way to make this happen.

Resizing PowerPoint Templates

Resizing the slides in PowerPoint will affect the way they appear during the actual presentation and how they appear on the handouts. Go ahead and open up the presentation that we will be resizing and select the “Design” tab.

Next, click the “Slide Size” button.

A menu will appear, allowing you to choose between the “Standard” format (4:3) or the “Widescreen” format (16:9). If you’re switching over to the standard format without any other changes, you can select it from the menu, and the changes will take effect. If you want to do a little custom tweaking to tailor the size to your specific needs, then select “Custom Slide Size.”

In the Slide Size window that appears, clicking the box under “Slides sized for” (1) will open a menu with several different options. Choose the one that best matches your needs. Alternatively, you can customize the dimensions of the slides by entering the slide size in the “Width” and “Height” boxes (2). Finally, you can choose the orientation of your slides and handouts by selecting “Portrait” or “Landscape” (4) in the respective section.

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Happy Friday, guys and gals! While Apple and Microsoft have been quiet for the last day, there’s a little bit to talk about in Google-land. But the biggest news? Office Depot has been duping users. And it makes me sad.

Google News: Gmail on iOS Finally Gets Gestures

Google has a new game, Gmail on iOS gets gesture-ized, and Photos is getting some document storing chops. All this and more!

• YouTube TV is available in every US TV market now. Despite getting off to a rocky start, this is now a fantastic streaming TV solution that’s insanely simple. [Engadget]
• Google has a new offline Easter Egg game. It’s like Flappy Bird, but also not. Spoiler: There’s a cloud involved. [Android Police]
• If you’ve ever used Gmail on Android, you know it has some incredibly useful swipe gestures. Until now, those have been missing on iOS. [The Verge]
• Photos is getting document cropping, which should make it easier to store receipts and other important things without a bunch of clutter around the edges or in the background. [XDA Developers]

When it comes to choosing a good streaming service for your needs, it’s a challenge. There are a handful of good providers out there all duking it out for your hard-earned dollars, and each of them as its own set of benefits.

That said, it’s hard to beat YouTube TV when it comes to pure simplicity—it’s one price and one package. That’s it. You can add a few extra channels if you want, but otherwise, it’s about as simple as it can get. It’s available on basically any device you could want it on, too. That makes for an even better (and simpler) experience, as it most likely works on what you already have.

I’m currently in a position where I’m considering switching my Sling package, but after taking a closer look at YouTube TV, it appears that it may be an even better fit for my family. If you haven’t looked at it lately, it may be worth a shot for you, too.

Other News: Office Depot, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

Office Depot has been duping users to make money off of PC repairs. Verizon launched its service for free spam blocking. Prime members can get a free year of Switch Online. There’s some cool stuff to talk about today.

• Office Depot has been rigging PCs—even new ones!—with tainted malware scans to upsell virus and malware removals services. It got busted, and now it has to pay $25 million monies to the FTC. [Ars Technica, Gizmodo]
• Amazon Prime members can get a free year of Switch Online by way of Twitch Prime. Just create a Twitch account, connect it to Amazon, and you’re in. That’s a deal you can’t beat. [Ars Technica]
• Verizon launched its free service for blocking spam calls. No extra payment, no bullcrap. Just fewer spam calls (we hope, anyway). [The Verge]
• Speaking of spam calls, the FCC has fined robocallers $208 million since 2015 but has only collected $6,790 of that. Why is it not surprising that anyone engaged in this shady garbage wouldn’t be willing to pay up? [Ars Technica]
• In other troubling news, there’s a serious flaw in the Magento e-commerce platform that puts it at a much higher risk of card skimmers. A patch has been released, but vendors still have to install it. Tread carefully, my friends. [Ars Technica]
• A 24-year-old “security researcher” plead guilty to hacking into Nintendo, Microsoft, and Vtech. He barely avoided prison time for the intrusions. [The Verge]
• Alexa for Business will let companies create special Alexa skills just for their employees. That’s…pretty cool, actually. [Engadget]
• Sony handed over majority ownership of Crackle to Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, and the pair plan to reboot it as Crackle Plus with a lot more content. All still free, of course. [Variety]

I can remember spending a lot of time in Office Depot as a young man. It was the best place in my town to buy anything computer-related, but I would mostly go in there just to look and mess with the computers I couldn’t afford to buy.

Of course, with the rise of online shopping, stores like Office Depot have been struggling to keep up. It’s not the go-to source it once was, and apparently desperate times call for desperate measures. It’s really a bummer to see it go down this path of dishonesty, but it’s also not surprising.

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Microsoft Flow is a trigger-based system for creating automated workflows. There are lots of templates available, but if they don’t fit the bill for you then here’s how to create a brand new Flow from scratch.

You’ll need a free or paid-for plan to use Flow, so go ahead and sign up for one if you haven’t already. Head to the Office 365 app launcher (the nine dots in the top left corner) and click Flow to launch it.

Step One: Create a New Flow

The front page throws you straight into the templates, but we’re going to create a Flow from scratch, so click “My Flows” in the menu on the left-hand side.

If you’ve never created a Flow before then this page will be blank; otherwise, it’ll contain any flows you’ve previously created. Click New > Create from blank to start a new Flow from scratch.

You’ll be given the option to start from a popular trigger, but we’re going to start from nothing, so click the “Create from blank” button.

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Keeping your family photos safe from device failure is the primary reason backups exist. iCloud claims to back up all your photos “in the cloud,” but the way it works varies depending on what settings you have enabled.

My Photo Stream vs. iCloud Photos

“iCloud Photos” does what you’d expect—it stores all your photos in iCloud. Whenever you take a picture on your iPhone, it immediately uploads to iCloud where it’s backed up even if you break your phone. iCloud Photos will also send all the photos you’ve taken to your Mac, and any other device you have connected to iCloud so that everything is synced up. This is assuming everything is connected to the internet, and you haven’t turned off iCloud Photo Library using cellular data.

iCloud Photos is great but has a major issue: storage space. The free iCloud data plan only gives you 5 GB of storage, which is extremely small, even compared to other free storage plans from services like Google Drive. You can fit about 1600 pictures in 5 GB of space, but that doesn’t include videos and everything else you have stored in iCloud.

When your storage is full, iCloud Photos will stop working. It fills up fast, and when it does, you’ll be pestered with notifications asking you to upgrade.

“My Photo Stream” tries to solve this issue. It will only store the first 1000 pictures taken in the last month, and remove old pictures from your Photo Stream. This gives your Mac or other devices enough time to sync with iCloud, backing up your pictures on your other devices. Your pictures won’t be stored in the cloud, but you won’t have to back them up to your computer manually. If one of your devices breaks, you’ll still have all your photos on your other devices.

So as long as you don’t break all of your devices at once, My Photo Stream will still ensure you have copies of your photos. The main problem with it is that when you get a new device or upgrade your phone, your pictures won’t automatically download to that device, because My Photo Stream only stores the most recent photos. You’ll have to manually load the photos onto your new phone from your Mac, and if you don’t have a Mac, you’re out of luck unless you have enough space in iCloud to turn on iCloud Photos.

Which Should You Use?

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Taking your Nintendo Switch on the road with you? Then you need these accessories for your road trip and Switch to happily co-exist.

Now, some of these accessories will come in handy when you’re traveling on public transport but the main focus here is assuming that you’re sitting in your car and you’re in dire need of a Stardew Valley or Super Mario Odyssey fix. Obviously, alas, the world of gaming on the road is not for drivers, but if you’re the passenger (or you’re at a rest stop) then go nuts. Here are the best accessories for making car time more like Switch time.

A Carrying Case: Orzly Carry Case ($14) Orzly

A carrying case is an important essential no matter where you’re taking your Nintendo Switch, even if it’s just between rooms in your house. It’s all too easy to scratch or drop your beloved console.

The Orzly Carry Case is a good combination of solid and dependable, while still comfortable to carry around. It has a hard EVA shell exterior with a soft inner material to keep your device scratch-free. The main section comfortably fits the console and Joy-Con controllers with an upper section offering room for extra Joy-Cons, up to 8 games, and other cables. There’s a carry handle too so you can easily carry it around with you.

Buy on Amazon A Car Charger: HORI Nintendo Switch High Speed Car Charger ($18) HORI

The 9V car charger socket is useful for so much, and that includes charging up your Nintendo Switch. The HORI Nintendo Switch High Speed Car Charger plugs in and recharges reasonably quickly, even while you’re playing on the console. Because yup, it’s possible to keep playing. This car charger has a 6-foot cable so you don’t have to worry about keeping too close to the car charger. As the Switch only has a battery life of a few hours, it’s the perfect way of making sure you never run out of juice.

The charger also charges any mobile phone of yours that has a USB-C connector, making it extra useful. Oh, and it’s officially licensed by Nintendo so you don’t have to worry about any problematic electrical issues either.

Buy on Amazon A Portable Charger: RAVPower 20100 Power Bank ($54) RAVPower

There is a pricier but more convenient solution to your charging issues than buying a car charger. That solution is a power bank. Something like the RAVPower 20100 Power Bank is a great way of giving you extra power while on the move. Its capacity big enough to charge the Nintendo Switch 2.5 times with the power bank charging in a mere 4.5 hours when using the QC3.0 charger (available separately) or 10.5 hours with the 5V/2A charger.

Besides boosting your Switch play sessions, it also works with anything else USB-C based like a 12 inch MacBook, Google Pixel 2, Samsung Galaxy S8 and so forth. If you travel often, it’s a useful standby accessory to have just in case you can’t charge via your car or hotel room.

Buy on Amazon For Flat Gaming Surfaces: HORI Switch Compact PlayStand ($13) HORI

If you have a dropdown table or flat surface somewhere in the car (such as a neat car desk), you can use the Switch’s kickstand to prop up the console while gaming. A far better solution is to use a full stand like the HORI Switch Compact PlayStand. It’s an inexpensive way of propping up your console while you play, and you can even use it while charging too. There are rubberized grips for stability, as well as an adjustable angle so you can get your pose just right.

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This week saw a lot of Samsung news (as usual), with more details about the Galaxy Fold starting to trickle out. Xiaomi also showed off its 100w charger that can juice a 4,000 mAh battery in just 17 minutes. And more!

Samsung News: Watching the Fold Fold

Let’s start with the Samsung stuff this week, shall we?

• Samsung showed off how it tested the Galaxy Fold’s seam durability. It can fold 200,000 times. [Android Police]
• All versions of the Fold will reportedly ship with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855. Not surprising. [Android Police]
• The Fold will be released in 15 countries in Europe starting at €2,000. That’s so many €. [Android Police]
• The Galaxy A90 was teased, with Samsung saying it will have a “Notchless Infinity Screen.” Curious! We’ll find out more on April 10th. [The Verge]
• If you can’t wait for the A90, however, the A70 was released this week. [Samsung]
• NBC used a Galaxy S10+ to shoot an entire episode of The Tonight Show. I wonder how much Samsung had to pay for that? [Engadget]
• The March security update was pushed to the S10. That’s…pretty much up to date! [9to5Google]
• The Galaxy A6+ Android Pie w/ One UI updated started rolling out. [XDA Developers]
• The Galaxy Note Fan Edition also started getting Android Pie with One UI. Hey, that rhymes. [XDA Developers]
• Sprint’s S8, S8+, and Note 8 are all getting Pie with One UI. [Android Police]
• In slightly weird news, some Samsung device owners were concerned when the “Notification” app got updated. Yeah, it’s nothing. Just a Samsung thing. [Android Police]
• If you’re not into the S10’s hole punch camera cutout, a new app called Energy Ring may change that. It moves the battery indicator to around the camera. So clean. [Android Police]

I’m honestly kind of shocked to see this much talk about the Galaxy Fold. I don’t see Samsung moving a lot of Fold units this year—and I don’t think it expects to, either—but the fact that it’s being talked up this week proves that the company believes in this foldable design overall. Still, $2,000 is a lot of money for a phone (or for anything, really), so unless a more affordable way to manufacturer foldables comes out, they’re still not going to have much of a future.

Google News: YouTube’s Monster Mobile Traffic

Google I/O is getting close, and the schedule is out. YouTube draws a crazy amount of mobile traffic. You can use Google Assistant to get a Play Store refund. Wait, did you know you could use Google Assistant to get a Play Store refund?

• Google I/O starts on May 7th with the opening keynote at 10:00 AM PST. Get hyped. [9to5Google]
• Need a refund for a Google Play purchase? Just as Google Assistant! [Android Police]
• The Pixel Launcher in Android Q is testing Digital Wellbeing integration to let you pause apps directly from the home screen. Also, did you know you can pause apps with Digital Wellbeing [XDA Developers]
• YouTube accounts for 40% of all mobile web traffic. Out of all the websites on this planet, YouTube gets nearly half the traffic. It boggles the mind. [9to5Google]
• Google Fit got some nice enhancements that bring back elevation data and sleep tracking info from third-party apps. [Android Police]
• Android Auto was also updated with support for widescreen display. You can run two panels on the same screen! [9to5Google]
• When Google announced the Pixel Slate, there was a $599 version with a Celeron processor and 4GB of RAM. But that version never actually made it to release—and it likely never will. [9to5Google]
• Advanced call blocking abilities may be coming soon to a Google Phone app near you. The phone tweaks are the main thing I miss about using the PIxel line. [Android Police]
• YouTube TV is now available in every US TV market. [Engadget]

There are two main times of year I look forward to: Christmas and Google I/O (which is kind of like Google Christmas). Even though I’ve moved away from covering just Android and Google products, I’m still “an Android guy” in my heart of hearts, and I look forward to I/O every single year. This year is no different.

Google I/O is the time of year when we get a glimpse of everything Google has planned for Android, Chrome, Chrome OS, and beyond. It gives all users something to look forward to in the coming months. All of the company’s coolest innovations and ideas are shown off at I/O.

And I love it so much.

Other News: Xiaomi’s Crazy 100w Charger

Have you ever had a dead battery and thought to yourself “man, if only a way existed to charge this battery completely in like 17 minutes”? If so, Xiaomi has some good news for you.

• Xiaomi showed off an insane 100w charger that will charge its 4,000 mAh battery to 100% in just 17 minutes. I can’t fathom how hot it gets in the process. [Liliputing]
• Xiaomi also teased its foldable phone in a new video. What if—and hear me out here—it can fold and get a full battery in 17 minutes? [The Verge]
• The Huawei P10 and Honor 8x are both getting Android Pie. [9to5Google]
• Also! The P30 and P30 Pro were officially announced. [XDA Developers]
• In other Huawei news, the CFO didn’t even carry a Huawei device, but an iPhone instead. 

Yanawut Suntornkij/Shutterstock

Ever wondered why that hotel doesn’t have a 13th floor, or why you’re supposed to throw salt after you spill it? Here’s the history behind some of the most common superstitions.

Some superstitions are so common that it’s easy to forget they’re kind of strange practices. If an alien were to visit Earth, not many people would be able to explain to them why we reflexively say “Bless you” when somebody sneezes.

But whether you adhere to these traditions or not, it’s certainly fun to find out where they come from. Each one has a story behind it, so keep reading for some cool trivia that will impress your friends!

Why We Knock on Wood

The first recorded evidence of people saying “Touch wood” (the British version of “Knock on wood”) comes from the 1800s. However, the practice is much older than that, and there are a few conflicting origin stories as to where it came from.

Some believe it’s a pagan tradition from the Celts, who thought trees were the homes of gods and spirits. They might have knocked on wood to thank the good spirits or to drive the evil spirits away.

Others attribute the practice to Christianity since wood was also sacred in Christian cultures as the material of the cross. However, it’s also possible that the superstition isn’t that deep: some old children’s games involved knocking on or touching wood to become immune to losing.

Why We Throw Salt Over Our Shoulder Aaron Amat/Shutterstock

If you spill salt, you might suddenly feel the need to throw some over your shoulder—and if you don’t, someone might remind you to do it. They might even tell you that you need to throw it over your left shoulder, not your right.

A possible explanation for this comes from the fact that salt used to be super expensive. If you spilled it, that was surely the devil’s work. Throwing a little bit over your left shoulder was thought to blind the devil that made you spill it (Christians once thought that the devil hung out behind the left shoulder).

One of the most famous links to this superstition is in da Vinci’s painting The Last Supper. Look closely, and you’ll see that Judas has spilled the salt. Judas is the famous betrayer of Christian tradition, so this depiction connected spilled salt to lying, betrayal, and the devil.

Why We Say “Bless You” When People Sneeze

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Do you have WinRAR installed on your Windows PC? Then you’re probably vulnerable to attack. RARLab patched a dangerous security bug at the end of February 2019, but WinRAR doesn’t automatically update itself. Most WinRAR installations are still vulnerable.

What’s the Danger?

WinRAR contains a flaw that would let a .RAR file you download automatically extract an .exe file to your Startup folder. That .exe file would automatically be started the next time you sign into your PC, and it could infect your PC with malware.

Specifically, this flaw is a result of WinRAR’s ACE file support. An attacker simply needs to create a specially crafted ACE archive and give it the .RAR file extension. When you extract the file with a vulnerable version of WinRAR, it can automatically place malware in your Startup folder without any additional user action.

This serious flaw was found by researchers at Check Point Software Technologies. WinRAR contained an ancient DLL from 2006 to enable support for ACE archives, and that file has now been removed from the latest versions of WinRAR, which no longer support ACE archives. Don’t worry—ACE archives are very rare.

However, unless you’ve heard of this “path traversal” flaw already, you may be at risk. WinRAR doesn’t automatically update itself. We’re also extremely disappointed that WinRAR’s website doesn’t highlight information about this security flaw and instead buries it in WinRAR’s release notes.

WinRAR reportedly has 500 million users worldwide, and we’re certain most of those users haven’t yet heard of this bug and updated WinRAR.

While an update was released back in February, this story is still picking up steam. Security researchers at McAfee had identified more than 100 unique exploits online by mid-March, with most users attacked being in the USA. For example, a bootlegged copy of Ariana Grande’s album “Thank U, Next” with the filename “Ariana_Grande-thank_u,_next(2019)_[320].rar” available online is being used to install malware via vulnerable versions of WinRAR.

How to Check If You Have WinRAR Installed

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Which Punctuation Mark Didn’t Have A Dedicated Key Until The 1970s?

1. The Comma
2. The Apostrophe
3. The Question Mark
4. The Exclamation Point

Think you know the answer?

There are many reasons you might want your email to arrive at a particular time, like wanting your mail at the top of someone’s inbox when they start work. You can do this in Outlook by scheduling your messages.

Before we go any further, we need to add a couple of caveats. First, sending an email at a particular time does not guarantee that it will arrive in your recipient’s inbox at that time. There are many steps between you sending an email and the email appearing in someone’s inbox. While you can generally assume that a message sent at 8:30 am will be in someone else’s inbox within a minute or two, don’t rely on it for critical delivery. The second caveat is that this only works for the desktop Outlook client, not the Outlook web app.

How to Schedule a Message in Outlook

With that out of the way, let’s schedule a message in Outlook. The good news is that you don’t need a 3rd party add-in to do this; it’s baked right into the Outlook client. Create your new mail as normal, then in the ribbon click Options > Delay Delivery.

This opens the Properties windows. We’re looking for the “Do not deliver before” option.

Set the date and time you want your mail to be sent, and click the Close button. And that’s all there is to it. Send your message, and it will sit in your Outbox until the date and time you chose. Outlook will then send the message.

An important thing to remember: Outlook can only send emails when it’s open. If the date and time you’ve chosen rolls around and Outlook is closed, Outlook won’t send the message until the next time you open Outlook. But if you work in Outlook all day and you want to schedule a message within working hours, this isn’t a problem.

Amazon

Even if you have a portable battery, carrying around a charging cable can be a bit of a hassle. Thankfully, you can use a small keychain charging cable to make on-the-go charging much more convenient.

Keychain charging cables are small, portable, and a lot more convenient than a rolled up six-foot-long charging cable. They can be attached to your key ring or to your backpack for emergencies, or long trips away from home.

While keychain charging cables probably won’t become your dedicated charging method (they’re usually about an inch long), they’re pretty useful when you’re away from home without a proper charging cable. Thing is, it can be difficult to find the keychain charging cable that’s right for you. That’s why we’ve taken the time to find the best keychain charging cables, for everybody’s needs.

Keep in mind that these are just cables. They aren’t portable batteries, and they aren’t thumb drives. That being said, these cables pair well with a good portable battery pack, and you probably don’t need to carry a thumb drive anyway.

Power4 USB 3-in-1 Cable ($9) Amazon

If you tend to carry around a variety of devices, then there’s a good chance that you’d like a keychain charging cable that can work with micro USB, USB-C, and lightning ports.

The Power4 is a great 3-in-1 keychain charging cable. It’s small, affordable, and easy to use. You simply choose the cable type that’s appropriate for your phone, and plug it in. Since the Power4 is magnetically attached to itself, it’s easy to take off your keychain and plug into your phone.

If you don’t actually need a 3-in-1 cable, then you might want to get one that’s dedicated to your device. Although the Power4 is durable and easy to use, it’s held together with two magnets, and it could come loose in your pocket. This is a small complaint, but it’s worth keeping in mind if you don’t genuinely need a 3-in-1 keychain cable.

Buy on Amazon myCharge PowerCord Micro USB Cable ($8) Amazon

If you phone has a micro USB port, then you should check out the myCharge PowerCord keychain charging cable. This tiny charging cable is so small that it won’t bulk up your keychain, and it securely plugs into itself, so you don’t have to worry about it coming loose in your pocket.

Some keychain charging cables are stiff and short, and they don’t give your phone a lot of flexibility while you’re charging. Thankfully, the myCharge PowerCord is made with a soft, flexible rubber. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a short cable (that’s the name of the game here), but it gives you some slack while you’re charging.

Buy on Amazon Gee Gadgets Tassel Lightning and Micro USB Cable ($9) Amazon

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Google Chrome lets you automatically translate a webpage not written in your browser’s default language. Like most online translation software, though, it can be a little unreliable. If you don’t need it—or if you use a different translation service—here’s how to turn Chrome’s off.

How to Turn Translation On or Off

The first thing you want to do is fire up Chrome, click the menu icon, and then click on “Settings.” Alternatively, you can type chrome://settings/ into your address bar to go directly there.

Once in the Settings menu, scroll down to the bottom and click on “Advanced.”

Scroll down a little bit more until you see the Languages heading, then click on “Language.”

By default, Chrome has translation enabled. If you want to disable this feature, click the toggle button into the off position. If you’re going to continue to use the translate feature, do nothing.

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Apple finally acknowledged that there are issues with the MacBook keyboard, Samsung showed off how it tested the Galaxy Fold for durability, and the FTC is cracking down on robocalls. And so much more!

Apple News: Sorry ‘Bout that Keyboard!

The third-generation MacBook keyboards have been getting heavily criticized for a while now, and Apple finally said something about it.

• In a comment to The Wall Street Journal, an Apple spokesperson said they’re aware that a “small number of users” are having issues with the keyboard. They went on to say they were “sorry.” [Engadget]
• WatchOS 5.2 is out, bringing ECG functionality to Europe and Hong Kong. [MacWorld]

As Engadget points out in the linked piece, companies that focus on breakdowns and repairs (like iFixit) have found the system in the new MacBook keyboard to be fragile and a design flaw. That makes it’s something that affects all users (or probably will eventually)—not just a “small number of users.” Still, the fact that it was finally acknowledged does say something, and in typical Apple fashion, I bet we can expect to see a redesigned system in the next MacBook. It’ll fix the issue without having to admit that it’s, you know, an actual issue.

Google News: The I/O Schedule is Out

Google I/O is one of the most exciting events of the year, as it’s when we get an idea of everything Google-related that we’ll be talking about for the upcoming year. It starts on May 7th.

• Google released the I/O schedule, which highlights the opening keynote on May 7th at 10:00 AM CT. My calendar is already marked. [9to5Google]
• Not surprisingly, there’s going to be a heavy focus on Stadia, Assistant, dark mode, and Linux apps on Chrome OS. The thing that’s missing? WearOS. Because of course it is. [Android Police]
• In other news, Google is killing the Drive plugin for Microsoft Office. Expect it to be deprecated on June 26th. [Techdows]
• The long-rumored Pixel 3a has leaked again, this time in purple. And it’s really purple. [9to5Google]
• The potential Pixelbook successor, internally known as “Atlas” also leaked. A little bit, anyway. [AboutChromebooks]

Many of us expected to see the “Pixelbook 2” launched at last year’s Pixel event alongside the Slate. That has long since passed without more than a murmur of the PB2, especially from Google itself. The recent Atlas preview shows that the device looks to still be on the roadmap, which is likely a relief to many who were concerned after Google reportedly disbanded its Create division—the one that’s responsible for laptops and tablets.

So, what happens after the Atlas release? Your guess is as good as mine, but I can tell you that I hope it’s not the last Google laptop we see—I have the Pixelbook and it’s one of the best laptops I’ve ever owned.

Samsung News: Folding the Fold, Physical Buttons, and…A Fire Extinguisher?

Samsung doesn’t always get its own section in the news roundup. Today, it earned it.

• Ever wondered how many times the Galaxy Fold can be folded before it will fold no more? Apparently, it’s 200,000 times. [Android Police]
• The word on the street is that the Note 10 may ditch all physical buttons. That means no power, no volume rocker. But…why? [Android Police]
• On a different note, Samsung made a vase that’s also a fire extinguisher. You, um, you throw it at the fire. I’m still curious if this is an early April Fools’ prank. [The Verge]

Let’s talk about that Note 10 rumor for a second. First of all, it’s only worth mentioning because it’s pretty outlandish—as Android Police points out, it’s pretty speculative right now. But at the same time, it’s also Samsung, so you never know.

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Amazon

Have you invested in any new hobbies this year? Now might be the best time to adopt an unending obsession with VR, 3D printing, or Nintendo gaming at a steep discount.

Right now, there are some killer deals on Amazon, Massgenie, Best Buy, Woot, and B&H. These deals range from discounted Surface laptops to a $46 Opolar air purifier, to the $1 Skullgirls collection. But our absolute favorite deals are the $180 SainSmart 3D printer, the $200 Oculus Go VR headset (this thing costs less than a PlayStation), and the $47 pre-order for Yoshi’s Crafted World.

If you aren’t interested in gaming or 3D printing, there are also some great deals on laptops, premium phones (like the $330 Galaxy Note 8), and smarthome products.

Laptops, Software, and Computer Accessories

Need a new laptop, external hard drive, or 3D printer? We’ve got the best deals right here.

• SainSmart 3D Printer, $180 ($60 off) [Amazon]
• Microsoft Surface Laptop, $724 ($575 off) [Best Buy]
• Dell Inspiron Laptop, $307 ($238 off with coupon code VOSTRO40) [Walmart]
• Dell XPS 13 Laptop, $850 ($460 off) [eBay]
• Huawei Matebook D Laptop, $800 ($300 off) [eBay]
• Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 14, $330 ($320 off) [Newegg]
• NPET 8-in-1 USB C Hub, $24 ($24 off with coupon code K34KXK9M) [Amazon]
• WD Elements 3TB External HD, $70 ($20 off with coupon code BACKUPSRP) [B&H]
• Microsoft Office 365 Home 12-Month Subscription w/ Free $50 Amazon Gift Card, $99 [Amazon]

Phones, Tablets, and Mobile Accessories

Grab a new phone, or invest in a stylish Fossil smartwatch.

• iPhone X 64GB Unlocked, $850 ($50 off) [Best Buy]
• iPad 32GB 2018 Model, $239 ($60 off) [Massgenie]
• Galaxy Note 8 Refurbished, $330 ($230 off) [Woot]
• Moto X 4th Gen, $130 ($70 off) [Amazon]
• Yootech Wireless Charging Stand $14 ($3 off with coupon code ZD25HNUT) [Amazon]
• Up to $50 off Fossil Smartwatches [Fossil]

Games and Consoles

You could grab a discounted Oculus Go, but there are also discounts on the Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

• Oculus Go VR Helmet 64GB, $200 ($50 off) [Amazon]
• Nintendo Switch Console + Yoshi’s Crafted World, $300 ($75 off) [Massgenie]
• Super Smash Bros Ultimate Nintendo Switch, $43 ($17 off) [Massgenie]
• Yoshi’s Crafted World Nintendo Switch Preorder, $47 ($9 off with coupon code SNG9) [Rakuten]
• Fire Emblem Warriors Nintendo Switch, $25 ($7 off with coupon code PERFECT3) [eBay]
• Xbox One S 1TB + 12 Months Xbox Live, $221 ($60 off) [Massgenie]
• Red Dead Redemption 2 + TItanfall 2 Xbox One, $37 ($43 off) [Massgenie]
• PlayStation 4 Pro Console, $346 ($134 off) [Massgenie]
• Skullgirls Complete Bundle PC, $1 ($24 off) [Fanatical]

Smart Home Products

Grab a new smarthome controller or a home security kit.

• Samsung SmartThings ADT Home Security Starter Kit, $100 ($450 off) [Amazon]
• Xiaomi Aqara Mi Magic Cube Zigbee Controller, $11 ($19 off) [Joybuy]
• Swann 16-Channel Smarthome Security System, $480 ($120 off) [Swann]

Everything Else

Need a Bluetooth speaker, an air purifier, or a projector? We’ve got the goods.

• AmazonBasics Bluetooth Speaker, $12 ($8 off) [Amazon]
• AKG K 702 Open Back Headphones, $150 ($200 off with coupon code VELVET) [B&H]
• Sony Wireless Noise Cancelling Earphones, $230 ($120 off) [eBay]
• Mueller Vacuum Sealer, $40 ($20 off with coupon clip) [Amazon]
• LG MiniBeam Projector, $300 ($200 off) [Best Buy]
• IPETTIE Neko Cat and Dog Water Fountain, $17 ($11 off with coupon code PINK40OFF) [Amazon]
• Opolar Air Purifier, $46 ($44 off) [Opolar]

Good deals can’t last forever, so don’t wait too long to grab something that catches your eye.