How I Roll Out Perfect Pie Dough Every Time

Every time I feel a new season roll in, I think to myself, “It’s pie season!” Summer? Yes. Winter? Yes. Spring? Let’s have pie! Now that summer is going strong, we’ll start seeing plenty of strawberries, blueberries, apricots, and cherries grace our grocery store shelves and farmer’s markets. All of these gorgeous offerings can benefit from a flaky, buttery crust—which is often the only thing stopping us from our goals.

Maybe you already have your favorite pie dough recipe memorized, but it’s when we get to rolling out the crust that we meet a host of problems—it keeps springing back, the dough breaks apart, the middle is completely stuck to the counter, it’s paper-thin on one side—it’s enough to make you scrape everything into a ball and roll it out again (a move worthy of the pie crust hall of shame). But if you execute a few of these strategies, you’ll nail a successful crust roll-out.

Let it rest—but not too long

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Many crust recipes instruct you to wrap up your freshly mixed pie dough and put it into the fridge for anywhere from 45 minutes to hours. This is a great idea if you make your pie dough in advance and need somewhere to keep it for a few days, but if you’re making pie that same day, ditch the cold for long periods of time. The fridge temperature solidifies the fat and makes the crust mixture more likely to crack and break if it gets too chilly. This could be important for slack dough in the summer or you have a hot kitchen, but 20 to 30 minutes will likely be plenty of time to firm up the dough. Keep in mind that the other important takeaway from all that resting-in-the-fridge hype is not the fridge part—it’s the rest time.

Your goal is to take this two-by-four-inch disc of butter and flour and convince the gluten to willingly stretch out to three times its original area. The gluten needs rest. Without it, it gets cranky and will keep pulling back despite your best moves. Once you’ve mixed your dough, wrap it and let it sit on the counter or fridge for 20-30 minutes. Then, roll away. The dough will be less likely to crack or crumble, and the gluten should be sufficiently relaxed.

Flour the dough, and the counter, and the pin

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

And your hands. You know what? Do it again for good luck. Dusting with an adequate amount of flour is the one move that will make every other step easier. It is definitely better to use too much flour than too little. Many of us have experienced rolling out a perfect circle of dough, only to lift the edge and find the entire center has merged cells with the counter. A substantial dusting of flour under your pastry will ensure there is no chance of sticking.

The same goes for the top: Flour the surface of the crust and your pin to create a barrier while you roll. With every turn of the pin, the outer surface gets pushed out and a little more of the buttery inside becomes exposed. Those parts will either meet more flour or find a surface to stick to. It’s likely you’ll need to apply additional flour two or three times to both the top and bottom of the pie crust before you reach the desired diameter and thickness. Don’t be shy; it’s almost impossible to over-flour. Just keep a pastry brush handy so you can dust away the excess before you transfer the dough to the pie plate.

Roll out from the thick parts

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

If you’re facing a mound of pie dough for the first time, it’s a natural response to start flattening out the edges. After all, they’re the most malleable and exposed. Resist! Rolling out from the thinnest parts (edges) will almost surely lead to ultra-thin areas or sticky, melted butter edges. Instead, roll from the thickest parts outward. In the beginning, this will always be the center. Think of it as a delicious pie dough reservoir to draw from. As you roll out from the center, try not to roll off the edge of the dough. Stop just shy of the end and go back to the center to roll out in a different direction. If you crush the edges down, you’ll notice your dough becoming extremely thin in those areas and starting to stick.

After your dough is about 90% rolled out and the center is no longer the thickest point, you can look around for thick spots and do some precision rolling to even everything out.

Rotate your dough

Sometimes you don’t know you’re doing extra work until someone asks you why you’re doing it. I’ll be her. Why are you twisting around your body when you roll out pie dough instead of twisting the dough? My theory is that, until pie crust confidence is gained, we’re all a little bit scared of pastry—scared of ripping it, wrinkling it, ruining it. Instead of handling crust with conviction and risking a tear, we’d rather just work around it. The hard truth is, the less you command the dough, the more likely you are to tear it. So let’s build up your pie crust confidence.

Roll the dough out by placing the rolling pin in the center and pushing forward, away from your body. Put down your pin, grab the disc of dough with both hands and give it a quarter turn. Now a thick part is in front of you and you have seamlessly spread a little more flour around underneath. Pick up your pin, roll from the center out, and twist the dough a quarter turn again. Repeat, adjusting the turns to accommodate thick dough spots. Aside from making the rolling action easier on your spine, lifting and turning the dough allows you to regularly check for any sticky areas, gives you the opportunity to add additional flour underneath, and allows you to feel the dough for uneven thickness.

The next time you stroll into the produce section of your grocery store, allow yourself to be inspired by the juicy berries and fruits tumbling in—don’t hesitate to buy a few pints and show off your big pie dough energy.

from News https://ift.tt/zQ0yVmU
via IFTTT

Here’s a Sneak Peek at the Next Batch of Emoji Coming to Your Device

What's up, besties? It's World Emoji Day, which means it's time to look at some new emoji (or is that emojis?). In a post on its blog today, the Unicode Consortium, the nonprofit behind the standardized set of emoji across you see across all your various devices and apps, previewed its next set of icons and expressions. The group says there's still "a lot of paperwork" to do on these, so they might not hit your phones and tablets until sometime around 2026, according to an email Unicode's Erik Thompson sent to The Verge.

But what a batch it is: We've got a musical instrument. We've got treasure. We've got one of those old-school cartoon fight clouds. And of course, we've got a cryptid. While new emoji have proven surprisingly political in the past, this update seems more focused on crowd-pleasers, and I'd say it's doing a good job of it.

The list below isn't everything from the final Unicode 17.0 release, but this is what we know of so far:

• Trombone

• Treasure Chest

• Distorted Face

• Hairy Creature

• Fight Cloud

• Apple Core

• Orca

• Ballet Dancers

Credit: The Unicode Consortium

Personally, my favorite is probably the orca (I love a cetacean), but I want to give special attention to "Distorted Face." It kinda looks like an extreme .5 selfie, but if you watch any amount of anime, there's a good chance you've seen it before—it looks a lot like that one downward angle, fish eye close up shot that a lot of directors use to show a character in the middle of a mental breakdown. So, you know, use it when the fast food place forgets your curly fries or whatever.

I should also probably say what we're all thinking: Yes, "Hairy Creature" is Bigfoot, right down to the pose. I'm not sure what if there are copyright concerns for a character like that (it should be public domain, but "Bigfoot" is also a brand name), but it's not the first time the Unicode Consortium has been purposefully vague when making a deliberate reference. The Goblin emoji, for instance, actually depicts a Tengu mask, a real-life part of Japanese culture that itself represents a being from Japanese folklore.

Then there are the "Ballet Dancers." We only see one in the preview, but given how emoji have depicted different jobs and hobbies in the past, we're likely to get a few iterations of this basic design at launch.

In the meantime, the Unicode Consortium is actually encouraging you to send in your own proposals for emoji. Just know that it may take a while for an idea to get approved, and that you'll need to go through your own mountain of paperwork first.

from News https://ift.tt/2NlUDK5
via IFTTT

Sign Up for Nintendo's Secretive Online Playtest Before It's Too Late

Nintendo is re-opening playtests for what is likely a Minecraft-style MMO, and you'll need to act fast to get a chance to try it out. The company is taking 40,000 total applicants this time around, up from 10,000 in the last playtest session, but based on how quickly spots filled up last time, I still wouldn't expect them to last for more than just a few seconds.

The playtest will begin on July 28 and last through Aug. 10, and will work on both the original Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch 2. While Nintendo is being secretive about the playtest, and asking players to do the same, the company did say that this test will be of the same software "for which we performed a test in October of 2024."

Technically, players were bound to secrecy during that test as well, but that didn't stop leaks from hitting the internet. Nintendo has used copyright strikes to attempt to put the genie back in the bottle, but searching Reddit still shows footage for the software in question. While it seems pretty rudimentary at this point, it appears to be an MMO in the vein of Minecraft, with multiple players able to team up to move blocks around a digital world.

Supposedly, according to datamining performed by a Bluesky user named Sky, the game is being developed by the same team that made the Nintendo Labo, and the final version is set to include minigames, mechs, a character creator, and PvP.

If that sounds like something you'd like to try out, you might want to rearrange your schedule for this evening. Applications for the playtest open tonight, July 18, at 6 pm ET and 3 pm PT. Technically, you're able to submit an application up through Monday at 7:59 am PT, but since Nintendo says "applicants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis," don't expect slots to be there for you if you dawdle.

To submit an application, visit Nintendo's form and click the "Advance to Application Creation" button at the bottom of the screen once the gates open. You'll need to have had an active Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack membership as of yesterday, July 17, as well as have been at least 18 years of age by the same deadline. Your account must also be registered to one of the following countries:

• Japan

• United

• United Kingdom

• France

• Germany

• Italy

• Spain

• Canada

• Brazil

• Mexico

That's pretty strict, but if you're planning to play with friends, Nintendo is throwing at least one bone your way: Instead of everyone filing an application individually, you're able to apply as a group. You'll need to elect a representative, then have that person create an application and send an invitation URL to everyone in your group, where they can then log in to complete the process. Everyone will need to belong to the same region, but it's one potential way to get around trying to load what is sure to be a busy website later tonight.

from News https://ift.tt/vMOBf6N
via IFTTT

Eight Settings I Changed to Have a ’Dumb Phone Summer’ With My iPhone

I am often inundated with articles and videos trying to convince me that switching to a dumbphone is the key to living a balanced, fruitful life—so much so that I really considered getting one. You might have seen these articles, too: It is a "dumbphone summer," after all: It seems many of us want a digital detox, and these simple devices seem like the way to do it.

As I've thought about the matter, though, I've come to the conclusion that a dumbphone solves a few problems while introducing many more.

Switching might free me from endlessly scrolling my social media accounts, but I'd lose access to a high-quality camera that's always with me. I wouldn't need to deal with notifications from apps that only care about maximizing my screen time, but I'd also lose my personal GPS. And I'd still be able to call and text, but I'd miss tools like iMessage and FaceTime that are critical for staying connected. I'm not ready to give all that up.

It's true that the dumbphone market is adapting to take care of some of these weaknesses, offering devices with features like cameras, navigation apps, note-taking apps, and more. But why bother dropping a considerable amount of money for a device like that when I already have a device I can make adjustments to instead?

So, that's what I did—I took my very smart, very addicting iPhone, and made it dumber. Here are the steps I took, plus some extra tips you can try yourself (while the instructions may vary, these tips will apply to Android phones as well).

I deleted as many apps as possible

Apps accumulate on my phone like cables in a junk drawer. I only use a handful of them, but after testing apps on my phone for years, they've added up. Making my phone dumber provided an opportunity to clean house.

My advice is to be as brutal as possible here. The first app on my list, AdGuard, stays: I need an ad blocker to make the modern internet usable. (Yes, I want a working internet on my dumb iPhone, and one that blocks predatory apps to boot.) But Amazon? Bye. Bluesky? Adios. ChatGPT? Lol.

The priority is to eliminate apps that distract you or suck you in for hours of meaningless activity. Social media is a prime target, but even that gets dicey. Can you really ditch all social media on your smartphone? Some can, but others will find that extreme, or borderline impossible. (More on that in the next section.)

Here's a helpful tip: If you can access a social media site in a web browser, do that instead, and delete the app. Don't keep Facebook's predatory app on your iPhone, and if you must visit Meta's flagship platform, do so on Safari. That way, you'll have better privacy protections against Meta's tracking, and you'll have a worse experience, since the Facebook web app is terrible. Good—that means you'll spend less time on it.

I set Screen Time limits for any apps I can't delete

As much as it wastes my time, I can't delete Instagram. While 90% of my use involves mindless scrolling, the other 10% is legitimate socializing that I would very much miss should I ditch the app entirely. There are other apps on my iPhone I feel similarly about, and it's been a daily battle to use them responsibly.

If you have a similar crop of apps you can't part with, I highly recommend setting up Screen Time limits. It's easy to do, and lets you choose the amount of time you can use an app each day. For example, I have Instagram set to 35 minutes of daily use, but I could choose to give myself more time on weekends, or any day that I feel like. You can also enable this feature for websites, so if you are accessing Instagram via Safari instead of the app, you can set limits for there too.

With this App Limit set, Instagram will run like it usually does until that 35th minute. Once the time limit is up, the app is replaced by a blank screen, letting me know that I've used my time allotment for the day. Hopefully, I then decide to do something else with my time (maybe put away my phone?), but I don't have to: The feature gives you the option to extend the time limit by one or 15 minutes, or disable it for the rest of the day. It's not the best solution for anyone lacking willpower, and I've definitely been guilty of extending my time limits again and again. But more often than not, the lock-out screen gets me to leave Instagram for the day. If I only burn 35 minutes watching reels instead of two hours, that's fine by me.

You can get started setting Screen Time limits via Settings > Screen Time > App Limits.

I disabled notifications for everything

Smartphone notifications are out of control. These alerts should tell me whether I have a new message or when some critical update needs my attention. If you use system notifications to let me know your app has an amazing sale going on, I'm instantly deleting it.

But even when notifications are appropriate, they're too much. Likely part of what you hate about your iPhone are the constant distractions and disruptions from system alerts—not only are the unnecessary ones annoying, the legitimate ones steal your attention, too. Before you know it, you've wasted another hour scrolling on Instagram just because someone replied to a message with a thumbs-up.

You don't need a dumbphone to eliminate these distractions, though: just disable as many notifications as you can. Any time you download a new app—which you should do sparingly on your new dumb iPhone—don't allow any notifications. For apps already on your phone, go to Settings > Notifications and disable notifications en masse. You can also attack them as the notifications come in: Swipe left on alerts in Notification Center, tap "Options," then choose "Turn Off All Notifications."

This too is challenging. I keep notifications on for my chat apps, since I don't want to miss important (or funny) updates from friends and family. I did manage to disable Instagram notifications, which has its pros and cons. I'm not sucked into each and every alert I get, but I frequently miss DMs from friends. There are always tradeoffs when prioritizing your time.

I made my Lock Screen uninviting

Apple has made it easy to make your Lock Screen look awesome. The consequence, however, is that your iPhone looks a bit too inviting each time you pick it up. There's an easy solution to that: Make it look boring AF.

I set my Lock Screen wallpaper to black—no graphics or colors catch my eye. I allowed myself to add some Weather widgets, including current conditions, UV index, and sunrise/sunset, as I figure having the weather on my Lock Screen means one less reason to unlock my iPhone. (I used to have a News widget there instead, but it often caused me to open my phone in reaction to crazy headlines, which are in no short supply in 2025.)

My Home Screen is dead simple, too

Following suit, my Home Screen is also as bland as possible. I use the same black wallpaper, and I've abstained from widgets. As much as I like the aesthetics of the calendar and clock widgets, I don't want to spend any more time on this page than I have to.

As such, I've strategically placed the apps I use most (and which, notably, aren't brain-rot traps) on the Home Screen. I could keep this page totally blank, but why not keep the boring, useful apps at easy reach? That way, my brain doesn't have extra time to think, "Wait, maybe we should just open YouTube instead" as I swipe to the App Library.

In my dock live my Phone, Messages, Camera, and Music apps. In two layers above it live Notes, Reminders, Maps, and Libby. (My hope is that keeping Libby in sight at all time will encourage me to read more, rather than scroll, scroll, scroll.) For all other apps, I rely on the App Library, which is only a swipe away.

You can get creative with this. Through different apps or hacks, you can emulate the experience of dumbphones like the Light Phone, which simply shows you a list of app titles to choose from instead of wowing you with graphics and animations. Dumb Phone is one such app: After installing it, you select a group of apps you want to see on your Home Screen, and Dumb Phone lists those in a widget one-by-one. Change the color of your wallpaper to match the widget, adjust a few settings, and presto—you own faux Light Phone.

This isn't really my cup of tea—I still enjoy a traditional home screen/app icons experience—but if you think you'd prefer the look, give it a try. (Just make sure to hit the "X" in the top right corner during setup if you don't want to pay for the subscription.)

Go grayscale, baby

If there's one tip to take away from this piece, it's that you should turn your phone to grayscale. This color filter makes everything on your smartphone, well, gray—wiping away all of the bright, fun colors that make it engaging and welcoming to use.

This has been common advice for combating smartphone addiction for years, and while it's certainly not a cure-all, it helps. Scrolling on Instagram isn't nearly as addicting when everything looks washed out, and it certainly doesn't make me want to spend time watching shows or movies on my phone. If you've eliminated notifications entirely, you won't notice the benefit in how a gray notification badge is far less intriguing than its bright red counterpart—but then, you've won that battle already.

As always, a caveat: I like my dumb iPhone, but I don't want to punish myself. If someone sends me a video, or if I see something cool online that deserves to be seen in color, I'll switch off grayscale temporarily. Does that defeat the purpose of my dumb iPhone? Possibly, but I'm making my own rules here.

Set a greyscale shortcut

The best compromise I've found is to assign the grayscale filter to the power button's accessibility shortcut. You'll find this under Settings > Accessibility > Accessibility Shortcut. Choose "Color Filters," then triple-click the power button any time you want to toggle grayscale on or off.

Other ways to make your iPhone dumber and less fun to use

The above is what I've done to make my iPhone less addicting, and, overall, it's helped. I'm not sure if it's the changes themselves, or how the changes constantly remind me to use my device with intention, but, either way, I've been reducing my screen time, and making what remains more productive. That's a win-win.

There are other ways you can make your iPhone less appealing to use, and, thus, reclaim your screen time as well. Here are some suggestions:

• Use a matte screen protector: These screen protectors cut down on glare, but also emulate the experience of an e-ink screen. That might help any other Libby users out there who want a more soothing reading experience.

• Disable Face ID/Touch ID: Remember the days of punching in your passcode each and every time you unlocked your iPhone? It sucked. Force yourself to do it again. Knowing that you'll need to enter your passcode any time you want to check your phone might break the habit of mindless pickups. (Better yet, set an alphanumeric password. That'll show you.)

• Keep Low Battery Mode on at all times: If you have a Pro iPhone, your display has a buttery-smooth 120Hz refresh rate. Turning on Low Power Mode drops it down to 60Hz, which, while standard for many iPhone users, looks choppy after you're used to 120Hz.

Will I keep my iPhone dumb forever?

Am I committed to my new dumber iPhone lifestyle? I'm not sure. If I could wager a guess, I think what's going to happen is this: I'll eventually switch off grayscale, add a nice Lock Screen and a well-curated Home Screen, but keep my minimal notifications and limited app selection. I like the idea of maintaining a "normal" iPhone experience, but without many of the things that make it a distraction—even if that means ditching some of the more extreme dumb-phone-like measures.

Knowing that, I'm thus far happy I did not spend hundreds of dollars on a dedicated dumb phone. Something tells me that I would be itching to switch back to my iPhone in a heartbeat.

from News https://ift.tt/Q1yGK69
via IFTTT

I Recommend This Craftsman Tool Kit for Basic Home Maintenance, and It’s 30% Off Right Now

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

While I’m obviously a tool enthusiast, I realize that not everyone needs an array of power tools, saws, drills, and drivers. However, everyone should have a decent quality, basic tool kit for incidental maintenance and repairs. Even if you live in an apartment and you have no ambitions to become a DIY expert, you might eventually need to open a light fixture to change a bulb, or hang a picture yourself, and if you’re in that camp, there’s a one-and-done, simple Craftsman toolkit you should have.

CRAFTSMAN 57 Piece Mechanics Tool Set

$38.23 at Amazon

$54.98 Save $16.75

$38.23 at Amazon

$54.98 Save $16.75

This Craftsman 57-piece mechanics home tool set is a good tool kit for anyone who thinks they don’t need a set of tools, but might have discovered that they need a screwdriver to remove a vent cover to clean it. If you realized too late that the “no tools required” label on your child’s assemble-it-yourself toy was a lie, and you actually need a hammer and a hex wrench to get the job done, this is the tool kit you need. It’s the perfect size for apartment living, and it’s on sale for $38.23, 30% off its usual price.

If acquiring this tool set sparks a desire to learn more DIY skills, you've got a good foundation to build a larger kit on. The ratchet, sockets, and bits are a standard size, so they’re compatible with other bits and attachments. These tools can be used on more advanced projects, like putting up shelves or swapping out a light fixture, they will be useful for that as well. I use a lot of these tools every day in the shop. If you want to start trying some slightly more advanced projects to test your interest and skills, this kit is a good jumping-off point.

What’s included

The Craftsman 57-piece mechanics home tool set includes a set of screwdrivers, including a changeable driver handle with multiple bits. This part of the set will allow you to drive almost any standard screw type. While most screws tend to be Phillips or flathead, sometimes you’ll encounter a star drive or a square head.

It also comes with a ¼-inch ratchet with a range of socket sizes for turning nuts and bolts. It's got a set of Allen keys that—among other things—will come in handy when you’re disassembling the flat-pack bed you bought five years ago and lost the hardware for.

Other basic tools included are a tape measure, a hammer, a pair of pliers, a utility knife, and a tool box. The box is small enough to fit in a closet or cabinet—you won’t need your own home shop for this set—and the compartments will help you keep all your bits and sockets organized so you’ll be able to find them when you need them.

from News https://ift.tt/JMOuGsr
via IFTTT

My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: This Like-New Amazon Kindle Paperwhite

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

It's not often I find sales on the Kindle Paperwhite, especially the newest version—but right now, the 12th Gen, 2024 "like-New" 16GB Kindle Paperwhite is $106.99 (originally $143.99). That's the lowest price this device has ever been, according to price-tracking tools. These deals on used Kindles usually sell out fast, so get one sooner rather than later if you're interested.

Like-New Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (16 GB)

7" glare-free display and weeks of battery life

$106.99 at Amazon

$143.99 Save $37.00

$106.99 at Amazon

$143.99 Save $37.00

The Kindle Paperwhite is the most popular reading tablet from Amazon, and it's the best for most people, according to PCMag's "outstanding" review. It offers many improvements over the 11th-generation version from 2021—mainly a larger 7-inch display and a much faster boost in performance. It still retains all of the great attributes that made the previous version great, like a fully waterproof design with an IPX8 rating, enough storage to hold more than 10,000 books (not that anyone can read that many), and unlimited cloud storage.

If you're not sure if this is the right Kindle for you, you can see if the Colorsoft version is a better fit for you. It offers color, so it can make reading manga or comics more lively. We also have a breakdown of every kind of Kindle to help you make a good decision. If you already own the 11th generation, there might not be enough here to warrant an upgrade, unless you really just want the latest Amazon has to offer. However, any devices older than that may be worth an upgrade for features like Bluetooth compatibility, which is great for audiobooks.

The screen features a 300 ppi (pixels per inch) display with 16 levels of background lighting, and optional warm lighting as well. I use this feature a lot to read before bed and not strain my (or my partner's) eyes. I also love the absurdly long battery life. This one is estimated at up to 12 weeks on a single charge, depending on your use and brightness settings.

from News https://ift.tt/YxioZU0
via IFTTT

These Cars Will Soon Support Apple Wallet's Digital Car Keys

If using your iPhone as your car's key seems like the future, you haven't been living in the present. There are a number of car brands that support digital keys in general, some of which have included the option on all models released since 2020. Apple's Wallet app supports the feature, and has for about five years now, but adoption has been relatively slow—although it's soon to pick up.

How Apple Wallet's car keys work

If your car supports car keys through the Wallet app on iPhone or Apple Watch, you'll be able to control your vehicle in three different ways—depending on the model. Some cars let you lock, unlock, and start your car with "passive entry": As you approach your car with your device, it will lock; once inside, you can start it; and as you leave your car with your device, it locks.

Other cars support a "proximity" version of this feature instead. In that case, you hold up your device to a sensor on the door to lock or unlock it. Then, you hold your device to a key reader to start the car.

Finally, there's the remote option, which lets you lock, unlock, or start your car from the Wallet app itself.

You can learn more about how to set up the feature from our guide here.

Cars that already support car keys in Apple Wallet

Apple doesn't make it easy to find official stats on the cars that support Wallet's car key feature at this time. Where you'll find that info is in Apple's list of CarPlay-compatible cars. Apple says there are "more than 800 models to choose from," but that's just as far as CarPlay is concerned. Cars that support Wallet's car keys have a key icon next to their name, which requires you to scroll through the entire list of 800+ cars to identify them all. From my scrolling, that includes the following:

BMW

• 2021 - 2024 1 Series

• 2021 - 2024 2 Series

• 2021 - 2024 3 Series

• 2021 - 2024 4 Series

• 2021 - 2024 5 Series

• 2021 - 2024 6 Series

• 2021 - 2024 8 Series

• 2021 - 2024 X5

• 2021 - 2024 X6

• 2021 - 2024 X7

• 2021 - 2024 X5 M

• 2021 - 2024 X6 M

• 2021 - 2024 Z4

• 2022 - 2024 i4

• 2022 - 2024 iX

• 2022 - 2024 iX1

• 2022 - 2024 iX3

• 2023 i3

• 2023 - 2024 i7

• 2024 i5

BYD

• 2022 - 2024 HAN

Genesis

• 2023 - 2024 GV60

• 2023 - 2024 G90

• 2024 G70

Hyundai

• 2023 - 2024 Palisade

• 2023 - 2024 IONIQ 6

Kia

• 2023 - 2024 Telluride

• 2023 - 2024 Niro

• 2024 Seltos

• 2024 EV9

Lotus

• 2024 Eletre

• 2024 Emeya

Mercedes-Benz

• 2024 E‑Class

RAM

• 2025 RAM 1500

Vehicles that will support Apple Wallet car keys "soon"

Apple lists a number of new vehicle brands that will adopt this digital key feature "soon." Unfortunately, there isn't a set timeline here, but at least we know which brands are coming next. In all, there are 13:

• Acura

• Cadillac

• Chery

• Chevrolet

• GMC

• Hongqi

• Lucid

• Porsche

• Rivian

• Smart

• Tata

• Voyah

• WEY

from News https://ift.tt/aK1ecqm
via IFTTT

This 2nd Gen Google Nest Cam Just Dropped $50 on Amazon

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

The 2nd Gen Google Nest Cam is a versatile smart security solution for indoor and outdoor use, and right now, it’s 28% off on Amazon. This battery-powered camera is ideal for people already in the Google ecosystem who are seeking dual functionality. Here’s what you should know if you’re considering taking advantage of this deal.

2nd Gen Google Nest Cam

$129.99 at Amazon

$179.99 Save $50.00

$129.99 at Amazon

$179.99 Save $50.00

With built-in intelligence features that distinguish between people, animals, and vehicles—sending accurate notifications via the Google Home app—this indoor/outdoor cam is weatherproof and can function in temperatures from –4°F to 104°F. It installs with a magnetic mount, making it a hassle-free alternative to wired cams (though if you want to wire it, you can purchase a weatherproof cable separately). It also comes with a wall plate so you can mount it to a brick wall, if desired.

The video quality is 1080 HDR with night vision capabilities, though unless you have a paid subscription, it only saves three hours of event video history. While a subscription isn’t required, this time frame can be extended with a Nest Aware subscription. If you lose your Wi-Fi connection or there’s a a power outage, the device stores up to an hour of recorded footage. 

To use a Nest Cam, you’ll need the Google Home app and a free Google account, as it isn’t compatible with the Nest app or site, which may be problematic if you use the Nest app for your other cameras and devices. Additionally, while most users are happy with the battery life, some say it needs recharging every few days, and others report that the continuous recording function can be glitchy, and motion alerts are occasionally missed.

If you need long-term video history and don't want to pay for a subscription, consider Eufy or Ring cameras, which offer better battery life and more reliable recording. Still, at $50 off, the 2nd Gen Google Nest Cam is a flexible smart security option.

from News https://ift.tt/1DFlpR4
via IFTTT

The Public Beta for iOS 26 Might Drop Next Week

Apple has been beta testing iOS 26 since announcing the update at WWDC, so the tech world has had plenty of chances to see what changes the company is cooking up for the fall. The thing is, this beta is only supposedly to be for iOS developers—though that hasn't stopped the general public from installing the update. While I've strongly discouraged non-developers from running these betas, I have good news: The public beta is nearly here.

According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, who has a track record for accurate Apple reporting, Apple is planning iOS 26's public beta "around the 23rd" of July. That would put it sometime next week, if you're reading this piece at the time of publication. That isn't surprising, seeing as Apple previously announced the public beta would drop in July—the company's usual month for public beta releases. iOS 18's public beta dropped in mid-July last year, as did iOS 17's, so iOS 26's public beta would actually be a bit late if it drops next week.

Public betas vs. developer betas

While betas can be a fun way to try out new features before the general public, I always advise that users exercise caution before installing them on their main devices. This is prerelease software that Apple is putting through its paces, which means there could be bugs and glitches that wouldn't be present on an official release.

If you are dead-set on beta testing iOS 26, however, I'd recommend waiting for this public beta. Apple's developer betas are particularly prone to instability, since they are still in the earliest stages of testing. They're designed for developers to see how their apps respond to the software. By the time the company releases a public beta, they've sorted through most of the worst bugs and glitches, which makes it safer for individuals to try it out if interested.

Those following the beta journey thus far will know how much things can change. Just look at Liquid Glass, Apple's big redesign. The company continues to adjust how transparent that glassy effect really is—to the point where, with the third developer beta, it hardly looks like the original design. Who knows what Liquid Glass will look like once the public beta drops?

Signing up for the public betas

iOS 26 won't be the only software with a public beta, either. Next week, you should also be able to install the public betas iPadOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, and tvOS 26, HomePod software 26, and AirPods Firmware, if you wish. To do so, you'll need to enroll your Apple ID with the Apple Beta Software Program.

from News https://ift.tt/Ih9MBJ7
via IFTTT

I Used My Merach Steppers During a Movie to See How Quiet They Really Are

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

When I first unboxed my Merach mini stepper and the Merach stair climber (the latter still on sale post-Prime Day), the manufacturer's claims about "whisper-quiet operation" seemed too good to be true. As someone who lives in a small apartment with thin walls and equally thin patience from my neighbors, the noise level of any exercise equipment is a make-or-break factor for me. So I wanted to do a proper test: I would use these two steppers during an entire movie to see just how quiet they really are.

Merach mini stepper

$44.99 at Amazon

$44.99 at Amazon

Merach Stair Climber

$95.99 at Amazon

$149.99 Save $54.00

$95.99 at Amazon

$149.99 Save $54.00

The setup

My original plan was to test these machines while my partner was sleeping, but then I realized that he's such a deep sleeper my findings would be inconclusive. Instead, I chose a Monday night for my experiment, settling in to watch "The Grand Budapest Hotel." I wanted something with enough dialogue and quiet moments to make any exercise equipment noise glaringly obvious. My living room setup is fairly typical: hardwood floors, a couch positioned about six feet from my TV, and walls that seem to amplify every footstep from the apartment upstairs.

I tested both devices, since they're pretty exchangeable in my eyes, as I explain in my reviews here and here. Both fall under the category of "steppers." One is mini and focuses more on your calves, while one is more of a climber and targets your glutes. Neither are "serious" pieces of exercise equipment, but they beat sitting on the couch doing nothing.

I started with the stair climber, placing it in front of my couch, keeping the TV volume at my usual level (around 30% on my sound bar). After about 30 minutes, I switched machines.

I promise I did watch a movie and did not stare at a blank screen. Credit: Meredith Dietz

As the opening credits rolled, I took a second to get the stepping motion smooth and controlled. At this point, the most prominent sound was actually my own breathing. The stair climber itself produced only a subtle mechanical sound—comparable to an office chair swiveling back and forth. On that note...

Real-world noise assessment

To put the noise level in perspective, I compared it to other household sounds throughout the evening. The steppers are on par with:

• My refrigerator's compressor cycling on

• The dishwasher running in the kitchen

• Rain pattering against the windows

• My upstairs neighbor's normal walking around

The only time I became hyperaware of the stepper's mechanical sounds was during the movie's most silent moments—those dramatic pauses where even the film's background music faded to nothing.

The most impressive aspect for me wasn't just the minimal noise, but the lack of vibration transfer to the floor. Despite my apartment's creaky hardwood floors, there were no additional squeaks or vibrations that would travel to neighboring units. The stepper's rubberized base effectively isolated any movement from the floor beneath.

Any sort of rapid stepping, however, naturally produced more noise. With the mini stepper in particular, the hydraulic system produces a whooshing sound that does not go well with a quiet movie.

The verdict

After nearly two hours of continuous use, I can confidently say the Merach mini stepper and stair climber live up to its quiet operation claims. These devices successfully passed what I now consider the ultimate apartment-friendly test: the ability to exercise during a dialogue-heavy film without missing a single witty exchange. Plus, after an hour of stepping (some mini, some climbing), I can safely say I got a surprisingly good low-impact workout.

So, will the Merach mini stepper and stair climber transform your body? No. But will they disrupt your movie? Also no. And for anyone living in close quarters with neighbors, thin walls, or simply wanting to exercise while watching TV without disturbing others in the house, that absence of noise is definitely a feature worth celebrating.

from News https://ift.tt/PqaWN9b
via IFTTT

Is WeTransfer Using Your Content to Train Its AI?

Perhaps the biggest user privacy issue of our time has to do, of course, with AI. AI models have an insatiable appetite for data, as the only way to improve them is to feed them new, high-quality information. As such, companies that develop these models turn to the most convenient pool of data they have access to—which, unfortunately, belongs to their own users.

WeTransfer is the latest company to come under fire for the practice. You may have seen the discourse already. On social media sites like Bluesky, angry WeTransfer users are blasting the company for a recent change in its terms of service. It's not hard to see why: The language in the new terms appears to clearly say that the company reserves the right to use your content to improve its AI models.

Bye forever, WeTransfer.[image or embed]

— Rami Ismail (رامي) (@ramiismail.com) Jul 14, 2025 at 7:57 PM

"You hereby grant us a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licenseable license to use your Content for the purposes of...improving the Service or new technologies or services, including to improve performance of machine learning models that enhance our content moderation process." There aren't many other ways to interpret that.

WeTransfer is changing its tune

Apparently, though, we did "misinterpret" the situation. A WeTransfer spokeswoman told BBC News as much, stating, "We don't use machine learning or any form of AI to process content shared via WeTransfer, nor do we sell content or data to any third parties." WeTransfer claims the wording in the new terms of service was meant to "include the possibility of using AI to improve content moderation," as well as identify "harmful content." Sure, Jan.

Following the backlash, the company has changed the terms, and has "made the language easier to understand." By that, they must mean removing all references to using your content to train AI models, because that language simply doesn't exist anymore.

Unrelated to AI use, the original terms also appeared to give WeTransfer the right to do whatever they want with your content. "Such license includes the right to reproduce, distribute, modify, prepare derivative works based upon, broadcast, communicate to the public, publicly display, and perform Content. You will not be entitled to compensation for any use of Content by us under these Terms." This language has been changed as well, to the following: "You hereby grant us a royalty-free license to use your Content for the purposes of operating, developing, and improving the Service, all in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy."

Interestingly, the original language around licensing (but not AI training) does appear in regard to feedback you may provide WeTransfer. (Sure, WeTransfer, take a royalty-free license to do whatever you want with my feedback with no expectation of providing compensation. Just don't take my content to train your crummy AI.)

WeTransfer's new terms go into effect Aug. 8, unless you're a "new user." Time will tell how many users, old and new, decide to ditch WeTransfer over the scandal.

from News https://ift.tt/9YemVt3
via IFTTT

Six Roblox Games You'll Actually Like Playing With Your Kids

This week, I'm contemplating camping out at my nearest Best Buy to score a Nintendo Switch 2. Meanwhile, my kids have zero desire to encourage me in this pursuit, because the only gaming platform they truly care about is Roblox (my son also committed the sacrilege of calling Mario Kart "boring.")

If you've somehow never heard of Roblox, you probably don't have kids yourself (the first time my daughter asked me if she could try it out, sometime during the early part of the pandemic, I thought she was calling it "Road Blocks"). It's not a gaming system, or even a game, but an online platform/social hub that allows players to access any one of thousands of independently developed, (sort of) free-to-play games I'd mostly describe as both ugly and asinine. Kids, who famously have no taste, love it—40% of the platform's 85 million daily users are under 13.

My first impression of Roblox was that all the games look terrible (they're all built on the same blocky gaming engine, which doesn't foreground visual complexity, to put it nicely) and played worse. The controls tend to be laggy and cumbersome on both a laptop and a mobile device, and the gameplay is often barely that. Many games seem to be variations on the concept of a "skinner box," where the entire point is to play them long enough to level up and get better items to unlock harder challenges that will require you to play long enough to level up and get better items—which is fine if the gameplay is satisfying. But "games" like Sword Simulator don't require you to do anything but walk around and slash at enemies that can't hit back, building experience as you move. You can even set them to "AFK Mode" (that's "away from keyboard") and they will play themselves. Progressing in these games often involves taking shortcuts that cost "Robux," the in-game currency you buy with real-world dollars. Fun.

For a long time I found my kids' obsession with Roblox both mystifying and annoying—especially when they'd refuse to play real video games (Mario) with me instead. Finally, I decided to put in a good-faith effort to figure out why so many kids like Roblox, and not only because I was worried about reports that its a place where minors are often scammed and exploited, or worse; aside from those larger, and certainly pertinent, issues, I also just wanted to try to bond with them over something they liked instead of expecting them to share my own views about what games are fun (Mario).

After some trial and error (Roblox is hardly intuitive to anyone who didn't grow up fused to an iPad), I was heartened to discover that some Roblox games are...actually kind of fun to play with your kids, or even by yourself after they go to bed. They don't conform to my concept of what a video game should be, but they aren't universally terrible, and now I'm sometimes actually willing to say yes when the kids ask if we can play them together. Here are six Roblox games our family has enjoyed (and to be fair to my kids, they also have played a lot of Mario with me).

---

Grow a Garden

Credit: Screenshot / Joel Cunningham

You know a Roblox game has escaped containment once The New York Times starts writing about it—and Grow a Garden is one of the most popular Roblox games ever in terms of concurrent users, surpassing the daily average users of the likes of Fortnite. You can think of it as Roblox's answer to that old Facebook mainstay Farmville, and it's my family's current group obsession. The gameplay involves a pretty simple progression loop—you buy and plant seeds and sell the resulting fruits and veggies for cash to buy more seeds, eventually building up a bank account large enough to afford rarer seeds that yield yet more valuable produce—that quickly grows addictive: Once you have enough money to cultivate a good crop, you can set about spending your excess funds oh tools and upgrades to make your garden look cooler and enhance the value of your crops via "mutations" that can make them grow huge or multi-colored (random in-game weather events can also trigger mutations, which encourages you to keep playing, as you must be online to benefit).

New seeds are introduced periodically, and to keep things interesting in-between weekly moderator events, there are crafting, pet-raising, and pet mechanics. The best part of Grow a Garden is that it is satisfying to play even if you never spend a cent on Robux—you can use the in-game currency to skip quests and avoid waiting for plants to grow or pets to mature, but otherwise, they're mostly unnecessary. (This doesn't stop my son from asking for more Robux anyway.)

Play Grow a Garden

---

Toilet Tower Defense

Credit: Screenshot / Joel Cunningham

This is probably my son's (and my) favorite Roblox game, but it has a high barrier to entry, in that it's built on the back of the "Skibidi Toilet" phenomenon, which is probably too much to get into here. (Luckily, Lifehacker's Steven Johnson has digested it for you.) But once you've accepted the fact that your goal in the game is to build up an army of robots to defend your base against waves of attacking toilet monsters, it's actually a pretty fun twist on the "tower defense" genre of gaming. Gameplay is a mix of active battles in which you deploy your resources and upgrade them before your forces are overcome by toilets, and quests/commerce/trading, which is how you can obtain better battle units.

To really do well, you have to spend a lot of time playing, but you can also spend some real money on Robux or gems, two distinct types of in-game currency that can earn you stronger fighters. That said, you can also play it without spending any money at all, and it's a great co-op experience, as all players in a match work together toward the same goal.

Play Toilet Tower Defense

---

Dress to Impress

Credit: Screenshot / Joel Cunningham

My daughter would prefer she never have to hear about Toilet Tower Defense again, but she loves Dress to Impress, and everyone in the family gets a kick out of playing it together. It's a far simpler concept, not unlike playing dress up with Barbie dolls: Each round has a theme (from "Beach Day," to "First Date," to "Classic Goth"). You have a few minutes to navigate your avatar around a dressing room and select garments and colors and patterns that match the prompt, and modify your hair and makeup. It ends with a runway walk where you can rate other players' outfits, but in my experience, no one takes the judging very seriously, so it all feels very low stakes.

I do have a few nitpicks with this one: The standard wardrobe options are somewhat limited, and you'll need to pay about $7 in Robux to unlock "VIP Status" if you want more variety. You can choose a male or female avatar, but they can't share clothes, and the male options are pitiful. (There's also a weird bit of in-game lore about the NPC nail tech that creeped my son out, but that's neither here nor there.)

Play Dress to Impress

---

Mega Hide and Seek

Credit: Screenshot / Joel Cunningham

If your house is too small for a real game of hide and seek, this game takes it online. Players are shrunk down and thrown together into one of a dozen or so familiar environments, from a classroom to a child's bedroom, and assigned the role of either a hider or a seeker (duh). They must then navigate their mouse-sized avatar around the room, looking for or avoiding the other players, before the timer runs out. Different game modes spice things up, from a winter mode that makes everything slippery, to a "zombie" variation in which everyone the seeker tags is infected and becomes a seeker too.

That's basically it—I appreciate Mega Hide and Seek because you can do basically everything in the game without buying Robux, which only earn you the right to choose the map and game mode.

Play Mega Hide and Seek

---

Murder Mystery 2

Credit: Screenshot / Joel Cunningham

This one probably isn't the best choice for parents who feel iffy about their kids hunting one another down with knives, but the name implies more scares and graphic violence than the game actually delivers. In practice, it's actually not all that different from Mega Hide and Seek: Players are assigned a role—Innocent, Murderer, or Sheriff—and dropped into one of a handful of random maps and given a few minutes to survive. The Murderer has to hunt other players, the Sheriff has to kill the murderer, and everyone else just has to stay alive. Rounds are fun and fast, there's no blood or gore involved, and it all plays out like a simplified version of Among Us. (Incidentally, this is an update to a game called Murder Mystery—hence the "2"—but you can no longer go back and play the original.)

Play Murder Mystery 2

---

Epic Minigames

Credit: Screenshot / Joel Cunningham

We play a lot of Mario Party as a family, but given large age differences and varying emotional regulation skills, it doesn't always go well. A few rounds of Epic Minigames delivers the same flavor of gameplay—everyone competes frantically in a series of brief, simple challenges that last a minute or two each—with less of the board game trappings that can lead to hurt feelings. The challenges are usually pretty mindless (stand on a colored square and hope the floor doesn't drop out from under you, run away from giant spikes before they can slam into you, etc.), but they don't take much dexterity and are over before you have a chance to get bored. Plus, there's really no need to buy Robux to play it—though of course, the game developers are happy to let you spend them on stuff like in-game pets and special death animations if you really want to. (I do not.)

Play Epic Minigames

from News https://ift.tt/LovOST4
via IFTTT

These Are the Biggest Rumors for the Next Generation of Meta Smart Glasses

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

As a devotee of Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses (seriously, I love the things), I've been squinting at every leak and offhand Zuckerberg comment to try to figure out what's coming next—though not all developments are equal. The Meta Oakley smart glasses, which are currently available to preorder, will have a longer battery life and a better camera, but that's more like a 1.5 upgrade than a next generation leap. So, let's dive into the most intriguing leaks, educated guesses, and flat-out wishes for next-gen Meta smart glasses.

Meta's going in two directions with its smart glasses: audio-focused glasses made in partnership with eyewear brands like Ray-Ban and Oakley, and the more cutting edge, augmented reality glasses. I've compiled rumors about both.

Orion: Meta's Prototype AR smart glasses

Let’s start with the big swing: Orion. Officially unveiled in September 2024, Orion is Meta's prototype smart glasses platform aimed at combining AR and AI in a pair of comfortable-to-wear spectacles. The goal is to "bridge the physical and virtual worlds," and if Meta can delivers on the promises of its demo videos, Orion (or something like it) would be a legitimate challenger to smart phones as a whole.

But that's a huge "if." Judging from the current cutting-edge of consumer AR smart glasses, there are major hurdles to overcome before anything like Orion is viable, affordable, and at a store near you. Meta has shown off the glasses to journalists, as you see in the video below, but there are no plans to release them in their current form:

Orion's possibilities are obvious—picture needing to get to a gate in an airport and having a dotted line to follow, or designing something in 3D and crawling under it to get a look at the bottom—but the tech has some big shoes to fill. It's meant to replace eyeglasses, technology so good, it's been essentially unchanged since the 13th Century. After the "whoa, cool" factor wears off, would Orion's benefits be worth the tech-hassles that come with it?

I wouldn't wear Meta Ray-Bans if there was any effort involved in "operating" them: You charge them right from the case, and put 'em on and go. For something like Orion to be mass-accepted instead of a gadget-head novelty, I think it would need to be that easy to use. (Right now, Meta's concept for interacting with the glasses involves a smart wristband you wear at all times.) Either way, we could be years away from "true" AR glasses being widely available, but Meta's Hypernova smart glasses are right around the corner (supposedly).

Meta's Hypernova smart glasses

There is (probably) a pair of Meta smart glasses with a display coming out soon. Meta is rumored to be releasing glasses with a built-in screen as early as the end of this year. Supposedly called "Hypernova," these would do everything Ray-Ban Metas do, but also run apps and display photos on a small screen projected onto one of the lenses. They will supposedly come with a “neural” wristband controller for gesture control, much like the one shown in the Orion demoes. The supposed price: between $1,000 and $1,500.

Though not confirmed, this rumor seems plausible. Hypernova feel like a logical link between pie-in-the-sky concept glasses Orion and the Ray-Ban Meta glasses we already have. There's really nothing preventing Meta from making these: Smart glasses with HUD type displays and HD virtual screens, like the XReal Pro, have been around for a few years. While those "replace your monitor" style AR glasses aren't designed for everyday wear, all that's keeping Meta from putting out glasses with a modest display in a daily loadout frame is the company's business plan.

In most cases, I think a small HUD on a comfortable pair of glasses would be more useful and less hassle than something like Orion, in the same way sending a text is usually more useful and less hassle than making a Zoom call. A potential sticking point, though, is battery life. My main issue with existing Ray-Ban Metas is that they're too heavy and the charge doesn't last long enough. Adding the extra draw of a HUD seems like it could make both problems worse. If that's solved, and they're as easy-to-use as Ray-Ban Metas, I'd be first in line for a pair.

What can we expect from next-generation Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses?

Let's get away from the lofty, speculative, phone-less future, and "maybe it'll happen" video glasses, and talk about where existing, audio and AI-based Meta smart glasses are likely to be going in the near future.

Last week, renders of the supposed next-gen Ray-Bans hit the web. While there isn't any compelling reason to think these renders are legit—anyone can mock up a picture and call it a leak—the supposedly leaked features that go along with the renders probably are legit, but only because of how obvious they are. According to the report, the next generation of Meta smart glasses will "have significantly better battery life and enhanced AI features, including real-time object recognition and scene understanding," which is like predicting the next Apple phone will have a better camera. Who would have seen it coming?

A more detailed and interesting rumor comes by way of tech site The Information. According to its sources, Meta is adding facial recognition into its upcoming generation of glasses. There's nothing technologically stopping Meta from implementing facial recognition now. In fact, it was supposedly planned as a feature with the current generation of Meta glasses, but scrapped due to privacy concerns. It's easy to understand why facial recognition would set off alarm bells for privacy advocates. But for others, including me, who aren't as concerned with privacy but regularly forget the names of people they meet, you can imagine the appeal.

Speaking of dystopian-sounding features, Meta is said to be planning to include live monitoring and analysis of everything users are doing in its next line of glasses. The AI will stay on and just watch through your eyes, so Meta AI could say things like, "You parked in space 6G" or "You forgot to close the garage door."

As a person with ADHD, I really want this. I have nagging doubts about the wisdom of offloading literally every intellectual task to a machine, and I'm not crazy about letting computers controlled by Mark Zuckerberg judge and exploit everything I do, but, the first time my glasses helped me find my lost car keys, all would be forgiven.

from News https://ift.tt/m5bzYwv
via IFTTT