Experienced gardeners in parts of the country with cold, potentially snowy winters don’t mess around when it comes to frost. Over time, they figure out when to plant certain fruits and vegetables so they’re ready to harvest well before the first frost of the season.

These gardeners also know that there are hardier vegetables that have a more flexible schedule and can stay in the ground a bit longer. Whether the first frost happens unusually early, or they want to harvest their crops gradually instead of having to store all of them at once, the following veggies aren’t bothered by a bit of winter weather. In fact, some of them taste even better after the first frost. Let’s dig in.

Which vegetables can be harvested after a frost?

This will depend on a variety of factors, including your local climate—which traditionally has dictated the types of vegetables that have been grown outdoors—and the increasingly unpredictable weather patterns. In other words, a plant that’s able to survive a frost in one part of the country may not make it in another. But generally speaking, here are some examples of veggies that can be harvested after a frost, broken down by category:

Root vegetables

Because vegetables like carrots, parsnips, turnips, rutabagas, and beets grow (mostly) underground, they have some protection from the frost, Gretchen Voyle, a horticulture educator at the Michigan State University Extension, writes in a university news release. While frost itself only affects the garden’s surface, things change after the ground freezes. Once that happens, these root vegetables will be damaged, if not killed.

The other factor to consider is the moisture of the soil, Voyle explains. These veggies are fine if the ground is damp and not frozen, but if the soil is too wet, they can rot.

Also, don’t worry if the green tops of root vegetables like carrots, parsnips, and beets don’t survive a frost, says Jim Myers, a plant breeder and researcher at the Oregon State University Extension Service. They may die, but as long as the ground doesn’t freeze or get too wet, the actual roots—the main parts we eat—will still be alive.

Potatoes

Spuds are a special case, according to Voyle, because while they can be harvested after a frost, they must be removed from the garden almost immediately after they are dug. If potatoes are left sitting on the soil’s surface for even a short amount of time, they may start developing a poisonous chemical called solanine, which also turns them a sickly green. If someone eats enough solanine, Voyle says it could lead to gastrointestinal and neurological disorders.

Greens

While leaf lettuces won’t survive a frost, hardier greens like kale, collards, and Swiss chard will, Voyle explains. Not only that, but they may get slightly sweeter following a light frost.

You can also harvest red and green ball cabbages, as well as their cousins kohlrabi and Brussels sprouts, after a frost—though you may need to remove some of the outer leaves if they’re damaged, according to both Voyle and Myers. Similarly, if you realize that the leaves of any of these greens have gotten tough to chew, cooking will soften them up.

Source: LifeHacker – You Can Still Harvest These Vegetables After a Frost

Spotify first released the option to make collaborative playlists back in September of 2020, but a lot of people still don’t know how to use it. Thankfully, the process isn’t difficult. With this tutorial, you and your friends can get started making playlists together in no time.

How to make a collaborative playlist in Spotify

Whether you’re creating a playlist from scratch or looking to invite friends to add to one you already have, the process to create a collaborative playlists on Spotify is actually very easy, though it doesn’t seem to be available on the website. Instead, you’ll need to open up the Spotify desktop or mobile app.

Next, tap Your Library and find the playlist you want to collaborate on, or create a new one. (If you want to create a brand-new playlist, you will need to make it first, and then share it with your friends.)

From the Playlists section of your library, tap or click on the playlist that you want to collaborate on, then find the button that looks like a person with a plus beside it. This is how you’ll invite others to collaborate on your playlist. How you share the link to this playlist will vary slightly depending on which app you’re using—if you’re on mobile, you’ll be able to share it directly using your phone’s share function. If you’re on the desktop app, though, it’ll just copy the link to your clipboard, allowing you to paste it wherever you want. From there, anyone who clicks the link and adds the playlist to their own Spotify library will be able to add songs to it, allowing you all to collaborate quite easily.

Apple also recently added the option to create collaborative playlists in Apple Music, so now is a great time to start sharing your favorite music, podcasts, and other audio with your friends.

Source: LifeHacker – How to Make a Collaborative Playlist on Spotify

It’s time to update your Apple devices yet again, but not for new features. Rather than adding things like collaborative playlists or the ability to change your default alert tone, this latest update patches two zero-day security vulnerabilities within iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

What’s new with iOS 17.1.2 and macOS Sonoma 14.1.2

Apple dropped the updates, iOS 17.1.2, iPadOS 17.1.2, and macOS Sonoma 14.1.2, on Thursday. Interestingly, each patches the same two issues, so the Mac update is essentially the same as the iOS and iPadOS updates.

The two zero-day vulnerabilities concern WebKit, the underlying platform that powers Safari. The first, tracked as CVE-2023-42916, leaves users vulnerable if they process malicious web content, which can disclose sensitive information to bad actors. The second, tracked as CVE-2023-42917, potentially allows for arbitrary code execution when the user processes malicious web content. That means a bad actor could potentially inject your system with their own code, and take control over your machine.

What makes these two vulnerabilities zero-days are that they may have been exploited against users. Apple acknowledged this in its security notes, specifically for versions of iOS before version 16.7.1. That implies that versions of iOS (and macOS) since aren’t necessarily affected by the zero-day, but may in the future if bad actors figure out how to exploit the vulnerabilities on these versions. In any case, it’s critical that all Apple users update their devices as soon as possible.

These updates come on the heels of Tuesday’s Chrome update, which patches one zero-day affecting Chromium-based browsers, like Chrome, Edge, and Brave.

How to update your iPhone and iPad

To update to iOS and iPadOS 17.1.2, open Settings > General > Software Update. Allow your iPhone or iPad to look for the new update. When available, follow on-screen instructions to download and install the software on your device.

How to update your Mac

On macOS, open System Settings > General > Software Update. Once the update appears, follow the on-screen instructions to download and install it.

Source: LifeHacker – You Need to Update Your Apple Devices Now

Meta’s just-released Quest 3 virtual reality headset features some serious upgrades from the Quest 2: and probably the most notable is its array of front-facing color cameras. This allows better pass-through video than the grainy, black-and-white of the previous generation. Better pass-through cameras means better mixed reality; and better mixed reality means a new kind of porn. In other words: The Quest 3 lets you invite virtual naked people into your home. Whether you actually want to invite porn stars into your home is a different matter.

The Quest 3 is not the only headset with cameras in front. PC-based headsets like the HTC VIVE Pro 2 and others have front-facing cameras, and the not-released-yet Apple Vision Pro will probably crush all others when it comes to augmented reality, but the release of the relatively inexpensive Quest 3 is leading to more pass-through porn production. But the genre is in its early days, and like any early innovation, it can be fairly complicated to get right. You may have to spend a little money, too. Below is a step-by-step guide to watching augmented reality VR porn on a Meta Quest 3 headset.

How to watch virtual reality porn on a Meta Quest 3

There are basically three “levels” of porn-viewing on a VR headset. The first two—simply streaming video, and streaming “immersive” 3D video—work the same on the Quest 3 as on any other VR headset. I covered the basics of how to stream VR porn here. Below is how the new kind of porn—mixed reality, or augmented reality porn—works on a Meta Quest 3 and other VR headsets with decent front-facing cameras.

• Get the right VR headset: I have a Quest 3, so this guide is based on that that, but the general ideas apply to any headset with cameras out front. Scroll down for some suggestions on headsets.

• Make sure you have a fast connection: In order to work, streaming VR video requires huge files to transfer to your headset. I have a cable modem and it worked great, but a slower connection will require you to down-rez the content or result in buffering (probably at inopportune times).

• Download and install DeoVR. You can download this app either directly from your headset or through the Meta Quest app on either Google Play or Apple’s App store. This free VR video player and browser can be used for any type of content, but the largest creator of pass-through porn uses this for streaming its videos. Which brings me to:

• Sign up for a membership to a site producing pass-through porn content. At the time of this posting, there aren’t many companies creating this kind of content. The industry leader in this niche is Sexlikereal, which requires a subscription. I realize that paying money for porn is very 2003, but for something as new as this, you have to shell out for a monthly subscription for the full experience. But you could try some other free sites, and there might be dribs and drabs available.

• Use DeoVR to navigate to the website of your choice.

• Click “Pass Through” on the search panel to your left.

• Select a video and start streaming.

• Congratulate yourself: You are now on the cutting-edge of porn-viewing.

If you’ve had to patience to jump through these hoops, you should now have a virtual version of a your porn of choice in your home. But to really get the most out of your experience, you have some work to do.

Suggested VR headsets for streaming pass-through porn

• Meta Quest 3

• Apple Vision Pro (expected to be released in 2024)

• Pico 4 All-In-One Virtual Reality Headset

• Valve Index VR full kit

How to get the most out of augmented porn

It looks like they’re right in my house—kind of.
Credit: Sexlikereal/Stephen Johnson

If you were hoping that pass-through enabled pornography would instantly make it seem like your porn-star-of-choice was actually in your home, you are no doubt disappointed. Convincingly integrating live video and pre-recorded 3D content is so technologically difficult, I give producers props for even trying, but my results have been mixed at best. Still, I gave this the best shot I could, and here are some tips.

• Have a wide open area: You’ll need a fair amount of open space to make this work.

• Make sure it’s brightly lit: Current pass-through cameras aren’t great, but they work better with more light.

• Assume the correct position: VR porn is generally shot from a static camera, so the POV is standing, lying down, or sitting. If you’re not in that same position it will look wrong. Clicking the pass through button (it looks like an eye) to see the scene without the blue screen being stripped out can help. It will look like this:

  

  How the VR porn sausage is made.
  Credit: Sexlikereal/Stephen Johnson

• Align the video content: Try to connect video elements with real-world furniture and body parts. This content, generally, involves simple items like tables and chairs, so have some ready to put in the right places. I found that the simplest thing to make work was content of people standing in front of me.

• Work with the settings: DeoVR allows you to mess with all kinds of settings, from the size of images to their position, pitch, hue, and more. How these should be set depends on your device, your house, the video that was shot, and too many other factors to tell you how these setting should be, so the only thing you can do is experiment. DeoVR’s guide is helpful, but ultimately, it’s a trial-and-error thing.

No one said virtual sex was going to be easy.
Credit: Sexlikereal/Stephen Johnson

• Avoid the floating sausage effect and giant people: Much pass-through porn is shot with a blue-screen suit covering the actor with the exception of a body part. If your video isn’t positioned in the right place, said part will appear to float in space. This is low-key hilarious, but can be avoided by lining up the video and jiggering with its size and position until the sausage is where the sausage belongs. Another problem: scale. Get it wrong, and you’ll have a giant on your dining room table.

Do not do it like this. Unless this is what you’re into.
Credit: Sexlikereal/Stephen Johnson

Is augmented reality porn worth it?

Your mileage may vary, but I found this experiment in cutting-edge porn to be mainly a chore—a lot of effort for little result. Part of the issue is that the content itself must be rigidly controlled to work within the narrow parameters needed for VR porn. The camera has to be locked down in only one of a few positions, and one half of a coupling (almost always the male half) has to stay perfectly still most of the time. The result is a static, lifeless feeling made worse by the fact that the “action” doesn’t really fit together with the setting.

Any change in camera position requires you to change positions physically to try to get the “you are there” effect, and you’ll probably have to monkey with 15 menus to try to match everything up again. Trying to make it “look right” is an interesting challenge, but it’s about as far from “erotic” as you can get.

Source: LifeHacker – You Can Watch Augmented Reality Porn on a Meta Quest 3

For most of us, resetting our PC or tech is simply a last-ditch effort to fix some annoying and troublesome issue that has been plaguing our computer. But resetting your PC in December or January can actually make a huge difference going into the new year: Not only does it resolve any of those tech hurdles you might be dealing with, but it gives you a clean slate, and that technical and mental refresh can feel great.

Why you should reset your PC every year

For many of us, much of our work and personal lives revolve around what we can do with tech. Whether you’re watching movies with friends, playing games, or spending most of your time writing and creating for work, your computer is an important tool in your technical arsenal.

As useful as computers can be, though, they can also pick up a lot of junk over the course of the year, especially as you download new apps, images, and other files. Sure, you could go in and erase all of that individually. But, sometimes, apps leave extra data behind, or they create changes in your computer’s system files that can lead to other issues down the line, like corrupted files and even performance problems. One way to avoid all of this is to reset your PC every year. While the tediousness of the process might be enough to turn most people off, I’ve got three reasons why you should always reset your PC at the end of the year.

It’s a technical and mental refresh

If you’re anything like me, the more junk you have on your computer, the more overwhelming it can be to deal with. Trying to find a particular image when you already have hundreds or even thousands saved on your computer is a huge hassle. As someone who writes hundreds of articles a year, my Documents folder is chock full of articles I’ve written, and while I love keeping track of all that, it really starts to build up over time.

Sure, you’re going to want much of this stuff, which is why things like OneDrive and Google Drive exist, allowing you to easily sync that data up with the cloud. When it comes to the rest of the junk you don’t need, though, it can be exceptionally freeing to just delete it all.

Additionally, storage drives aren’t designed to hold all of your data forever—even those large multi-terabyte ones. For those who don’t know, solid-state drives are much better than older mechanical hard drives. They don’t have moving parts, so they don’t generate as much heat. But, they do have one significant problem: The fuller they are, the slower they work. So it’s important to always keep your SSD from filling up too much.

Not only is a yearly PC reset mentally refreshing, but it also helps clear out those unneeded apps and files you don’t need anymore. This enables you to get your storage space back, giving your PC a technical refresh as well.

It can solve performance issues and glitches

One of the main reasons most people reset their PCs or tech is because of performance issues and glitches. Sometimes, things just go wrong. Files get downloaded incorrectly, corrupting them, or if you’re on Windows, some program you downloaded makes a change to the Registry that just doesn’t work out in the long run.

No matter what the tech hurdle is, a full reset to factory settings can often help overcome it. And if you haven’t reset your PC in a long while, you’re probably carrying around a lot of extra junk you just don’t need. Resetting your PC every year can help ensure that you don’t get a lot of this buildup. It helps clean out the old and make room for the new.

Sure, you still might encounter some issues throughout the next year, but you’re less likely to run into performance issues relating to registry changes from apps or programs you installed and then uninstalled years ago if you reset at the end of ever year.

It’s a lot easier than it used to be

Resetting your PC used to mean losing everything. Now, though, things are a lot easier. We’ve got services like iCloud and Google Drive, which let you sync up important files, like photos, videos, and documents. You can pick and choose what you want to sync up, and you can even use external hard drives to back things up, too. (It’s important to have at least a second backup for all your important data.)

Microsoft and Apple have also made it easier than ever to reset your PC. You used to have to go through all the trouble of resetting and reinstalling using a CD or a USB drive with the correct files. Now, though, Windows lets you reset back to basic settings without setting up any kind of external media drive. You can still reinstall Windows from scratch, but this new way is really handy, and it makes the entire process a lot easier than it was on older versions of Windows. Apple also offers a similar option for Mac users. You’re missing out if you don’t take advantage of this easy way to refresh your tech and give yourself a clean slate each year.

It’s not just your computer that needs resetting, either: Here’s why you should factory reset the rest of your older tech.

Source: LifeHacker – Why You Should Reset Your PC for the New Year

When it comes to maintaining a home’s exterior—from the house itself, to the driveway, sidewalk, deck, and patio—pressure washers can shave hours off of an otherwise time-consuming, tedious job. For example, if you’re restoring your wood deck, you could spend countless hours scrubbing stains and old paint with a stiff-bristled brush or broom—or use a pressure washer, and get it done much faster. 

In that particular DIY scenario, and many others, using a pressure washer—rather than a power washer—makes the most sense. That’s right: Though the terms are often used interchangeably, they’re not the same piece of equipment. Here’s a breakdown of the difference between pressure washers and power washers, and when to use each.

The difference between pressure washers and power washers

Both pressure washers and power washers use highly pressurized streams of water to clean exterior surfaces. The main difference is that pressure washers use cold or room temperature water (whatever comes out of the hose), while power washers heat the water to temperatures up to 311°F before blasting it out. But that heat comes at a price: While a pressure washer will set you back between $100 and $200, power washers start around $2,000.

Recommended products:

• Homdox Cordless Pressure Washer ($119.99)

• PowRyte Electric Pressure Washer ($119.99)

• Kärcher Cube Electric Pressure Washer ($82.90)

• Westinghouse WPX3200 Gas Pressure Washer ($292.41)

Here’s some more information on both types of equipment, including when to use each:

Pressure washers

• Cheaper

• More versatile

• Lighter and easier to move and maneuver 

• Can be powered by gas or electricity

• Gas-powered: Louder, more powerful, fumes, can move around without being plugged in

• Electric: Quieter, not quite as powerful, no fumes, some must be plugged into an electrical outlet, while others have rechargeable batteries

• Typically connected to a hose, but can be attached to a sink faucet (with an attachment) and use hot tap water (which typically gets up to between 105°F and 140°F

• Remove dirt, leaves, moss, and other yard debris from driveways, sidewalks, patios, decks, outdoor furniture

• Safe for concrete, brick, softer stone surfaces, other masonry, vinyl siding

• Using the fan attachment and lower pressure, it’s safe to use on wood (e.g., decks, platforms, walkways, and docks), windows, vehicles, tile, and painted surfaces

• Better for getting into tight spaces and crevices

• Requires less water than power washer

Power washers

• Much pricier to purchase, but can be rented from hardware stores and equipment rental companies for $150 to $400 per day, which is still cheaper than hiring a professional

• Can be used to sanitize surfaces, getting rid of germs, bacteria, fungi (including mold and mildew), and other types of organic growths

• Cleans surfaces faster than pressure washing

• Surfaces dry faster than they do after being pressure washed

• Better for removing grease and oil

• Gets the job done with less detergent 

• Heat + pressure can damage surfaces softer than concrete

• Better for larger surface areas and commercial projects 

Pressure washers to consider

Given the high cost of power washers—and the versatility of pressure washers—it typically makes more sense for homeowners and DIYers to purchase a pressure washer. Here are some of our favorite models:

• Homdox Cordless Pressure Washer ($119.99): Weighing in at seven pounds, this rechargeable electric pressure washer has a battery that lasts for up to 80 minutes when fully charged. It does need to be connected to a water source, but its 20-foot hose doesn’t need to hook up to a spigot: It can draw water from a bucket, pool, river, or anywhere else the hose can reach. It’s easy to assemble and use, has a 6-in-1 spray nozzle, and can get up to 960 PSI.

• PowRyte Electric Pressure Washer ($119.99): This powerful pressure washer has a max PSI of 3800 and comes with four nozzles, and a foam cannon that turns ordinary detergent into a shaving-cream-like consistency. It’s electric and must be connected to an outlet, but does have a 20-foot-long hose.

• Kärcher Cube Electric Pressure Washer ($82.90): This highly rated, easy-to-use pressure washer operates at 1800 PSI, but can get up to a max PSI of 2250. It’s lightweight, compact, and has a 20-foot cord, making it a good option for most exterior household projects, as well as washing vehicles. 

• Westinghouse WPX3200 Gas Pressure Washer ($292.41): If you’re leaning towards a gas-powered pressure washer, consider this one from Westinghouse. It’s quick to set up, simple to operate, and can get up to 3200 PSI. Its solid construction will withstand wear-and-tear, but if it doesn’t, it comes with three-year limited service, labor, and parts coverage.

If you’re still on the fence and need to clean yours, you can also rent a pressure washer for a day for between $25 and $100.

Source: LifeHacker – The Differences Between Pressure Washers and Power Washers (and When to Use Each)

Housing has become pretty expensive—rent is super high all over the country, and mortgage rates have shot up 4.6% since just last year. So it’s not really all that surprising that more adults are entering into roommate situations in order to afford their housing. A roommate can magically turn an apartment that makes you choose between rent and groceries into an affordable home.

Roommates, of course, come with downsides—especially if you’ve lived on your own for a while and thought your days of sharing space and splitting bills were long over. And it’s one thing to take on a roommate when you have the actual bedroom to offer; it’s something else entirely when you’re living in a studio or one-bedroom apartment and need someone to split the rent. There are a lot of relatively easy and affordable ways to create a second private space in your apartment, but most of them either don’t offer true privacy or require you to be able to actually renovate your place, which a landlord probably isn’t excited about.

So what can you do if you want to add a wall to your place without endangering your lease or your security deposit? You can install a pressurized wall.

Under pressure

So what’s a pressurized wall? It’s a freestanding wall that uses tension to hold itself in place. They are non-load-bearing and not permanently attached in any way, but resemble real walls in every superficial way. These walls can even have doors or windows built into them, and can have soundproofing added to enhance their privacy features. These walls typically have to be ordered custom from a company that makes them, but the upside to that is that they can be customized to match the apartment’s decor and style so they blend in pretty seamlessly. And best of all, they can be completely removed when the time comes to move out, leaving no trace behind.

The cost of having a pressurized wall installed in your apartment depends on the size of the wall needed and the features you want included. A typical price range is between $800 to $2,000, though you can spend much more on very large or super-fancy walls. Still, if the cost is split with your roommates, it can be an affordable solution because it can turn a large bedroom into two bedrooms in a way that looks professional and natural.

Legalities and downsides

Unfortunately, you can’t just order a pressurized wall off the Internet and install it whenever you want. Because a pressurized wall changes the layout of the apartment you, have to follow certain basic guidelines when installing them:

• Get permission. Your first stop is your landlord, who may or may not allow pressurized walls in the building. Some buildings have specific posted policies concerning pressurized walls, so if you’re apartment hunting and looking for a bargain you can target studios or one-bedrooms in buildings that explicitly allow them. Otherwise, you’ll need to get permission.

• Permits. You also might need to get a permit from the Department of Buildings or another entity that issues certificates of occupancy. Many jurisdictions consider pressurized walls to be the same as any other wall, which means installing one is treated similarly to any major renovation.

• Follow the law. Wherever you live, there are laws pertaining to bedroom size and shape, ventilation, window access, and fire escape routes. When adding a pressurized wall to your apartment to create a new bedroom you’ll need to follow all of those rules whether you had to pull a permit or not. The company you order your wall from should be able to assist in the planning, but you might need to hire an architect or other contractor if not.

• Strength. Since these walls aren’t true walls, you may not be able to attach anything heavy to them, like bookshelves. You should check with the manufacturer about the load they can handle before you plan to attach anything to them.

Most companies that manufacture these walls will lease them to you for a period of years, so you don’t have to purchase them outright if you’re renting. This is good because you can simply end the lease and give the wall back if and when you move, but if you stay in the apartment for a long time you might end up paying more in leasing fees than you would have if you bought the wall.

A pressurized wall isn’t right for everyone, but if you can swing one it can add rooms to your apartment with a finished feel and a real sense of privacy without damaging anything. It’s certainly better than trying to convince potential roommates that your spacious walk-in closet is actually a second bedroom.

Source: LifeHacker – Pressurized Walls Can Embiggen Your Crowded Apartment

Attention Chrome and Chromium-browser users: Your internet activity is vulnerable to cyberattacks, unless you update to the latest version of your browser.

On Tuesday, Google announced on the Chrome Releases blog that a new version of Chrome, 119.0.6045.199 for Mac and Linux and 119.0.6045.199/.200 for Windows, is available, and patches seven different security vulnerabilities. All of these discovered issues are rated as “high” in severity, but Google only names six of them:

• High CVE-2023-6348: Type Confusion in Spellcheck. Reported by Mark Brand of Google Project Zero on 2023-10-10

• High CVE-2023-6347: Use after free in Mojo. Reported by Leecraso and Guang Gong of 360 Vulnerability Research Institute on 2023-10-21

• High CVE-2023-6346: Use after free in WebAudio. Reported by Huang Xilin of Ant Group Light-Year Security Lab on 2023-11-09

• High CVE-2023-6350: Out of bounds memory access in libavif. Reported by Fudan University on 2023-11-13

• High CVE-2023-6351: Use after free in libavif. Reported by Fudan University on 2023-11-13

• High CVE-2023-6345: Integer overflow in Skia. Reported by Benoît Sevens and Clément Lecigne of Google’s Threat Analysis Group on 2023-11-24

While all vulnerabilities are important to patch, it’s the last one, CVE-2023-6345, this is the most concerning. Google confirmed it is aware an exploit for this vulnerability exists in the wild, which means bad actors either know how to use it against users, or they already have.

We don’t know much about the issue, other than that it’s an integer overflow flaw in Skia. Skia is an open source 2D graphics engine, while an integer overflow occurs when the result of an operation doesn’t fit the respective amount of memory the system sets aside. While not all integer overflow flaws lead to vulnerabilities, this one does—which means bad actors may be able to use it to take over the system.

This update follows a Nov. 14 update that patched four security flaws, as well as a Nov. 7 update that patched one. The last update that patched a zero-day security flaw was issued Sept. 11.

How to update your browser

As this flaw affects the underlying code used in Chrome, all Chromium-based browsers should be updated to patch this issue. That means Chrome, of course, but also browsers like Edge, Opera, and Brave.

Your browser may be set to update automatically, but you can trigger an update manually if the update hasn’t been installed yet. Usually, that’s in the browser’s settings. In Chrome, for example, you can click the three dots in the top-right corner of the window, head to Help > About Google Chrome, then allow the browser to look for an update. If one is available, follow the on-screen instructions to install the update.

Source: LifeHacker – You Should Update Chrome Right Now (Again)

Apple continues to improve the accessibility features available for all of its devices, and the Mac is no exception. macOS Sonoma ships with a few accessibility features that launched earlier in iOS and iPadOS, but never on the Mac. This version of macOS comes with unique and useful features, such as the ability to create and store your own voice—invaluable to people who are at risk of losing their voice. Let’s take a look at the best new accessibility features on the Mac.

Easily set up custom font sizes for Apple’s apps

macOS Sonoma has a new accessibility feature which lets you force apps to use a larger or smaller size depending on your preferences. You can check this out by going to System Settings > Accessibility > Display > Text Size. This page allows you to set a default text size for all apps and lets you customize preferred sizes for some Apple apps. You can also adjust the font size in any app by pressing Command + or Command –.

Create your own voice

If you’re at risk of losing your voice entirely, you can now use your Mac to create a voice that sounds like you. Apple allows you to use this voice with the Live Speech accessibility feature on phone and FaceTime calls that you answer on your Mac. Go to System Settings > Accessibility > Personal Voice to set this up. You can check out our guide for this feature on iPhone to see how it works.

Use your voice on calls

To use the voice you’ve created with the Personal Voice feature, you should enable the Live Speech feature too. You can go to System Settings > Accessibility > Live Speech and enable Live Speech. This will allow you to type out your replies and your Mac will convert it to speech in your voice. 

More natural sounding voices for VoiceOver

VoiceOver is essential for people who live with low vision. With VoiceOver enabled, your Mac will read out descriptions for all items on the screen and allow you to use the computer much better if you can’t see the screen clearly. In macOS Sonoma, the Siri voices that are used with VoiceOver sound far more natural particularly at high rates of speech.

Customize Siri voices for VoiceOver and Spoken Content

For VoiceOver and Spoken Content—a new macOS feature that lets you ask Siri to read articles out loud—you can set up AI voices to your liking. macOS Sonoma allows you to tweak the pitch range. You can adjust these for Spoken Content by going to System Settings > Accessibility > Spoken Content. Similarly for VoiceOver, you can go to System Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver and click Open VoiceOver Utility. Go to the Speech tab and hit Edit to make the changes you need.

On a related note, Apple also claims that navigating your code in Xcode is now a much smoother experience with Voice Control.

Enhanced Voice Control features

Controlling your Mac with your voice is becoming easier with Sonoma. When you fire up Voice Control, your Mac will give you tutorials to learn how to make the most of this feature. You’ll also notice that text editing with Voice Control is more accurate as you can use phonetic corrections to pick the correct word from a list of similar-sounding words.

Animated images are paused automatically

Some people find it hard to look at continuously looping GIFs and macOS Sonoma has a solution for that problem. Animated images will no longer loop forever in Messages and Safari. They pause automatically and you can click these images to keep viewing their animation.

Set a custom zoom level for each monitor

For those who use multiple monitors, macOS Sonoma has a new feature that allows you to set up a custom zoom level for each monitor. This will allow you to make text easier to read on the monitor you use for reading, without affecting the UI elements on other monitors.

Switch Control lets you create a virtual game controller

Gaming is pretty difficult for people who have motor control challenges. You can use the Switch Control feature in macOS Sonoma to turn your facial expressions or other actions into controls on a virtual game controller. You can configure this by going to System Settings > Accessibility > Switch Control.

Source: LifeHacker – These Are the Best New Accessibility Features in macOS Sonoma

Rusted tools, cars, bolts or even your stainless steel appliances can often be salvaged—if the rust is caught early enough. At those early stages, rust is more of an aesthetic issue and an annoyance. But rust is a process of corrosion that will eventually render its victims unusable and unrepairable, making any effort to clean them up and protect them against further ruin a waste of time. The trick is knowing when rust has won and you’re better off replacing that car panel, old power tool, or kitchen utensil.

Stages of rust

The first thing to know is that rust goes through several distinct stages as it quietly consumes your beloved stuff:

• Surface rust. The earliest stage of rust shows up as isolated reddish-brown patches, often quite small. This surface rust is generally harmless and doesn’t penetrate below the surface of the metal, so it can be scraped away pretty easily—and if you take steps to protect the metal by keeping it away from moisture and adding a coating of lubrication (WD-40 will work), it will be just fine.

• Scale rust. If left to its own devices, the rust will keep eating away at the iron in your tool or component. The brown, dusty discoloration will spread—but more importantly, pitting will start to show up. These tiny pinpricks in the metal are where the rust process has started to invade below the surface. Your stuff can still be saved, but it’s going to take more work.

• Structural rust. At this stage, literal holes have begun to appear in the metal. In sheet metal, like a car panel, this usually means the metal is thin and papery, and might have been eaten away entirely. In thicker components, the structural integrity may still be viable, but the pitting is probably so severe that any attempt at repair will be futile.

If the rust is very severe, you can often tell visually—at a glance—that the thing you’re trying to save is a lost cause. But with more complex things, like tools, it sometimes takes a bit more investigation.

Assessing rust

When it comes to rusted stuff, the “lost cause” stage often depends on its role. Car panels, for example, are usually designed more for aesthetics than safety or strength, and thus can often be filled in, sanded, and painted, and still perform their basic functions. Stuff like metal furniture that gets badly rusted can often be salvaged by applying a rust-specific primer that stops the oxidation process.

For anything that requires a high level of strength, like a car’s rocker panels or tools, however, cosmetic repairs won’t be sufficient. A few considerations:

• Pitting. If the metal is visibly pitted and etched by rust, the process of reduced structural integrity has already begun. If the component is intended to be load-bearing or needs to apply a lot of torque (like a wrench or power drill), severe pitting is a sign that it probably needs to be replaced.

• Thickness. The use and thickness of the metal is a factor, too. A hammer that’s suffered a lot of rust may still be usable as long as a stable core remains in the head and you repair it properly. A badly rusted drywall knife, on the other hand, might not be salvageable at the same level of damage.

• Power tools. If rust on a power tool has compromised its moving parts, it can be dangerous to operate even if you manage to remove the caked-on surface rust and get it moving again. A good rule of thumb is if the power tool won’t initially work due to thick rust deposits, it’s probably best to just replace it unless you’re willing to put in a lot of work to salvage it.

Source: LifeHacker – How to Tell When Rust Has Won

You may have heard ads promising that professional bill negotiation services can help you save big money on your medical bills, credit card statements, cable bills, and more. While it’s a promising offer, the truth is negotiating bills on your own is simple, effective, and most importantly: free. You may be surprised at how willing many companies are to reduce your rates, especially for long-time loyal customers. With some preparation and persuasive negotiation tactics, you can trim hundreds of dollars from your annual expenses. Follow these simple steps to start saving—without paying any unnecessary fees.

How to lower your bills for free

Bill negotiation works because companies have incentives to keep customers happy and retain business. It costs more for them to acquire new customers than to keep existing ones. As long as you make reasonable requests and politely threaten to take your business elsewhere, many service providers will offer discounts or perks.

Contact service providers yourself

Don’t wait for a third party to step in—contact providers directly to dispute problematic charges or rates. Call their billing department about discrepancies or overcharges on your statements, armed with your notes from reviewing the itemized bill. Ask about applying for hardship assistance programs or discounts. Service representatives are often authorized to make adjustments to retain you as a customer.

Know your stuff

Request an itemized bill from any provider to scrutinize the charges in detail. Identify overcharges, duplicate charges, and services you did not receive. Federal law also allows you to request interest rate reductions on credit card bills.

Send formal dispute letters

If a phone call yields unsatisfactory results, follow up with a formal dispute letter stating which charges you disagree with and why. Provide evidence of errors or unfair rates by including notes from researching reasonable costs or comparing with past statements. Request that the disputed charges be removed and clearly communicate you expect a response by a specific date.

Use free templates and tools

Instead of paying steep sign-up and commission fees for bill negotiation services, use free scripts, online dispute letter templates, and cost-of-living calculators to bolster your case. Seek form letters specific to cable bills, hospital bills, credit card statements, phone bills, etc. to save time and effort.

How to tell if a bill negotiation service is worth it

Of course, negotiating your own bills is not nearly as effortless and appealing as downloading an app that does all the work for you. The thing is, bill negotiation services aren’t worth it if their fees exceed the savings you get from lowered billed. To evaluate if an app is going to be worth it for you, compare the fees with the potential benefits.

For most these apps, the fees will be any combination of the following:

• Service fees (monthly, one-time, or annual)

• Membership fees (usually annual or recurring/monthly)

• Bill negotiation fee (percentage of your savings)

Let’s take a look at an example of how these services make money while cutting down your bill costs: BillShark is one that negotiates monthly bills and doesn’t charge customers upfront fees. Instead, it charges a one-time fee of 40% of the savings it creates. If you don’t have time to hop on the phone and negotiate your bills yourself, that 40% may be worth it. Otherwise, that’s a decent chunk of savings that could be all yours, if you use the tips above. The bottom line is before you pay for these services, remember that you have the power to effectively negotiate your own bills without an expensive middlemen.

Source: LifeHacker – Bill Negotiation Services Are a Waste of Money

The holiday travel season is in full swing and more people are hitting the roads than ever, so if you haven’t already reserved your own rental car, it’s time to do so.

We’ve written before about why you should book your rental car early to lock in your rate, because you can (usually) cancel and rebook with no penalty if prices drop. But regardless of when you reserve and how rates fluctuate, there are a number of strategies for saving money on both base rates and fees (such as upcharges for young or additional drivers) when you book so you don’t wind up blowing your whole travel budget on your rental car.

Shop around for the cheapest rate—and get creative about it

You should obviously compare prices across rental companies to get the cheapest option, especially if you aren’t a member of any loyalty programs, and include rental car alternatives like Turo and Getaround. AutoSlash tracks rental car rates—for free—so you can set up an alert for your reservation.

But go one step further than just comparing companies. your rental company has multiple locations in your area—both in-town and at the airport, for example—check for price differences if you pick up and drop off at one versus another. Downtown pickup is cheaper on average than airport locations, according to NerdWallet. However, you should also factor in convenience (taking a rideshare to a location further away could offset any savings) and business hours, as well as available inventory and one-way fees if you pick up at one location and drop off at another.

Sign up for a membership club with an auto discount

AAA is perhaps the best-known auto club to offer car rental discounts, but there are a handful of membership programs with similar perks:

• AARP: up to 30% off base rates

• BJ’s: up to 30% off base rates

• Costco: up to 30% off base fares

• USAA: up to 25% off

• Sam’s Club: up to 25% off

Each of the above contracts with certain rental car companies to offer discounts to their members, so if you prefer a specific provider, you should check the specifics before joining. Note that other than USAA (which offers membership only to military service members and their families), these clubs have fees to join that range from $12 to $110, and you may have to book your rental through the club’s portal to take advantage of your discount.

But if you use this perk (and others) often, the money you save could quickly offset the price of admission.

Book with your travel credit card

As The Points Guy lays out, there are a handful of travel credit cards—the Chase Sapphire Reserve, The Platinum Card from American Express, and the United Club Infinite Card, for example—that have solid rental car benefits, such as discounts, waived fees, free upgrades, and priority service.

Another potential perk of using a travel credit card to book your rental is that insurance coverage such as damage waivers may be included, so you don’t have to purchase costly coverage from the rental company or file a claim with your personal insurance in the event of a collision. (Obviously, you should check what’s covered with your card before declining any additional insurance options.)

Go through your travel loyalty program

Hotel and airline loyalty program members may be able to score rental car discounts with partner companies and earn bonus points or miles on the booking. For example, Alaska Air offers 35% off Avis and Budget rentals and up to 1,250 miles for its Mileage Plan customers who use their membership number when booking, while Marriott has a partnership with Hertz to offer discounts to Bonvoy members.

If you use rental cars frequently and/or have a preference for a certain provider, you may want to consider joining their rewards program, which can earn you points that can be redeemed for rate discounts and upgrades.

Use your company or school perks

Ask your employer about a corporate code for rental car discounts (just be sure you understand any restrictions, such as using it for personal vs. business travel). Similarly, some universities have partnerships with rental companies to offer discounts and perks to students and alumni. Union members may also have access to car rental benefits through UnionPlus.

Note that you may have to show proof of employment, enrollment, or membership to qualify for your discount.

Source: LifeHacker – These Are The Best Ways to Save Money When Renting a Car