Today’s Wordle Hints (and Answer) for Sunday, September 1, 2024

If you’re looking for the Wordle answer for September 1, 2024 read on. We’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Today’s puzzle is easier; I got it in three. Beware, there are spoilers below for September 1, Wordle #1,170! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Wordle game.

How to play Wordle

Wordle lives here on the New York Times website. A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight, your local time.

Start by guessing a five-letter word. The letters of the word will turn green if they’re correct, yellow if you have the right letter in the wrong place, or gray if the letter isn’t in the day’s secret word at all. For more, check out our guide to playing Wordle here, and my strategy guide here for more advanced tips. (We also have more information at the bottom of this post, after the hints and answers.)

Ready for the hints? Let’s go!

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Does today’s Wordle have any unusual letters?

We’ll define common letters as those that appear in the old typesetters’ phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Memorize this! Pronounce it “Edwin Shirdloo,” like a name, and pretend he’s a friend of yours.)

There are three letters from our mnemonic today. One is pretty common, one is less common.

Can you give me a hint for today’s Wordle?

A quality you probably don't want your vegetables to have.

Does today’s Wordle have any double or repeated letters?

There are no repeated letters today. 

How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?

There is one vowel and one "sometimes" vowel.

What letter does today’s Wordle start with?

Today’s word starts with M. 

What letter does today’s Wordle end with?

Today’s word ends with Y. 

What is the solution to today’s Wordle?

Ready? Today’s word is MUSHY.

How I solved today’s Wordle

I started with RAISE and TOUCH. Instead of eliminating remaining letters, I decided to guess a solution: MUSHY. This would have helped narrow down answers, including letter placement and letters found in other possibilities, even if it hadn't been correct.

Wordle 1,170 3/6

⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛
⬛⬛🟨⬛🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

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Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle was medium difficult. The hint was “found on a teapot” and the answer contained four common letters and one pretty common letter.

The answer to yesterday’s Wordle was SPOUT.

A primer on Wordle basics

The idea of Wordle is to guess the day’s secret word. When you first open the Wordle game, you’ll see an empty grid of letters. It’s up to you to make the first move: type in any five-letter word. 

Now, you can use the colors that are revealed to get clues about the word: Green means you correctly guessed a letter, and it’s in the correct position. (For example, if you guess PARTY, and the word is actually PURSE, the P and R will be green.)

• Yellow means the letter is somewhere in the word, but not in the position you guessed it. (For example, if you guessed PARTY, but the word is actually ROAST, the R, A and T will all be yellow.)

• Gray means the letter is not in the solution word at all. (If you guessed PARTY and everything is gray, then the solution cannot be PURSE or ROAST.)

With all that in mind, guess another word, and then another, trying to land on the correct word before you run out of chances. You get six guesses, and then it’s game over.

The best starter words for Wordle

What should you play for that first guess? The best starters tend to contain common letters, to increase the chances of getting yellow and green squares to guide your guessing. (And if you get all grays when guessing common letters, that’s still excellent information to help you rule out possibilities.) There isn’t a single “best” starting word, but the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot has suggested starting with one of these:

• CRANE

• TRACE

• SLANT

• CRATE

• CARTE

Meanwhile, an MIT analysis found that you’ll eliminate the most possibilities in the first round by starting with one of these:

• SALET

• REAST

• TRACE

• CRATE

• SLATE

Other good picks might be ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO get more vowels in play, but you could argue that it’s better to start with an emphasis on consonants, using a starter like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose your strategy, and see how it plays out.

How to win at Wordle

We have a few guides to Wordle strategy, which you might like to read over if you’re a serious student of the game. This one covers how to use consonants to your advantage, while this one focuses on a strategy that uses the most common letters. In this advanced guide, we detail a three-pronged approach for fishing for hints while maximizing your chances of winning quickly.

The biggest thing that separates Wordle winners from Wordle losers is that winners use their guesses to gather information about what letters are in the word. If you know that the word must end in -OUND, don’t waste four guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; combine those consonants and guess MARSH. If the H lights up in yellow, you know the solution.

One more note on strategy: the original Wordle used a list of about 2,300 solution words, but after the game was bought by the NYT, the game now has an editor who hand-picks the solutions. Sometimes they are slightly tricky words that wouldn’t have made the original list, and sometimes they are topical. For example, FEAST was the solution one Thanksgiving. So keep in mind that there may be a theme.

Wordle alternatives

If you can’t get enough of five-letter guessing games and their kin, the best Wordle alternatives, ranked by difficulty, include:

• Wheeldle, which lets you play one puzzle after another

• Dordle and Quordle, which ask you to play two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles at the same time, with the same guesses. There is also Octordle, with eight puzzles, and Sedecordle, with 16.

• Waffle, which shows you several five-letter words, scrambled in a grid; you play by swapping the letters around until you solve.

• Absurdle, which changes the solution after each guess, but needs to stay consistent with its previous feedback. You have to strategically back it into a corner until there is only one possible word left; then you guess it, and win.

• Squabble, in which you play Wordle against other people with a timer running. You take damage if you spend too much time between guesses; winner is the last one standing.

• Antiwordle, in which you are trying not to guess the day’s solution. You’re required to reuse any letters that you (oops) guessed correctly, so the longer it takes you, the better you are at the game.

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If Your Sewing Machine Isn't Working, Check These Common Issues

A sewing machine is a fantastically useful thing to own, but too often sewing machines end up languishing in a closet because something wasn't working quite right the last time you tried to use it. Fortunately, a lot of common sewing machine glitches are things you can fix yourself in just a few minutes.

Let's do a quick checkup of your machine, and you may be able to get it running smoothly again without a trip to the repair shop. Once you get a sense of where the problem seems to be, there are tons of tutorials and blogs out there that will walk you through specific fixes on your model of machine. And always remember to look up the manual for your machine! Every model has its own controls, and quirks.

Adjust the thread and bobbin tension

If the thread keeps bunching up or if the stitching just looks wrong, chances are something’s too tight. A standard sewing machine uses two threads: one that unwinds from a spool on top of the machine and goes through the needle, and one that comes from a tiny spool, called the bobbin, underneath (it often looks something like these). When the machine is adjusted correctly, these two threads wrap around each other to create each stitch.

If one of those two threads is tighter than the other, it can pull the resulting stitch out of whack. For example, if the bottom of your fabric looks like one tight thread with a bunch of loose little loops running around it, either your bobbin thread is too tight or your top thread is too loose.

So check both threads. Did you run the top thread through all the places it’s supposed to go when you were threading the machine? Did you load the bobbin correctly? If those both seem okay, check the tension settings for both threads. The top thread will have a tension selector—often a knob on the front of the machine. The bobbin thread’s tension is usually adjusted with a screw on the bobbin case (righty-tighty, lefty-loosey). Your machine probably came with a tiny screwdriver that fits; if not, consider picking up a sewing machine repair kit.

Check your needle

For a needle to sew smoothly, it has to be straight, sharp (unless you're choosing to use a ballpoint needle) and installed correctly. Check that the needle is not bent, and replace it if you can’t remember when you last changed it. One side of the needle is flat where you attach it to the machine; usually that side should be toward the back, but it depends on your machine. When in doubt, check the manual.

Different fabrics require different needles, so make sure you’re using the correct one. (If the machine keeps skipping stitches, there’s a good chance you’re using the wrong needle.) Machine needles come in different sizes, and some are sharp while others are ballpoint. It’s hard to tell just from looking at a needle which kind you have, so check the package it came from. It's a good idea to keep a variety of needles on hand--maybe grab a variety pack like this one--so you can try a different size or type when troubleshooting.

Make sure the settings will allow you to sew

If the machine won’t sew at all, you probably forgot to flip a switch somewhere. First, check the obvious things: is it turned on? Is the pedal connected? Is the presser foot down?

If the machine hums and whirs but the needle doesn’t move, you may have your bobbin winder turned on. This is a feature that lets the machine’s motor wind a bobbin for you instead of sewing, and it deactivates the whole sewing apparatus while you do that. On a modern machine, look for a switch to flip. On an older machine, you may need to turn the wheel that’s inside of the hand wheel on the side of the machine.

If the needle moves up and down but the fabric doesn’t feed through the machine, check the feed dogs. These are the spiky bars underneath the needle that move to slide the fabric along as you sew it. There’s a switch that turns them off; you may have hit it accidentally, so just turn it back on. The feed mechanism also relies on the presser foot providing an appropriate amount of pressure, so check that setting as well, and make sure you're not trying to stuff too many layers of fabric through at the same time.

Actually clean the darn thing

There are always more things to check (again: read your machine's manual!) but we’ve been through the big ones. One final thing to consider: If the machine is working more or less okay, but just acts a little weird sometimes, clean it! Open up the bobbin case and any other area that’s reasonably accessible, brush out the lint, and apply a few drops of machine oil as the manual instructs. (By the way, "sewing machine oil" is mineral oil; it’s not WD-40.) A cleaning kit with brushes and tweezers may come in handy.

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The Four Signs You're Dealing With a Garage Sale Vulture

Many of us love a garage or yard sale. It was once estimated that there were about 165,000 such sales every single week in this country, and while the rise of online marketplaces may have cut into those numbers in recent years, the old-school garage sale still has some advantages. You don’t have to deal with shipping or arranging pickups, for example, and you might clear out your entire unwanted inventory in one hectic day instead of spending the next few months of your life selling things one item at a time.

There is one big downside to a garage sale, however: vultures.

Garage sale vultures are people who bring a ruthless professionalism to shopping garage and yard sales. They’re often resellers who identify stuff of real value, buy it cheap from unsuspecting people hosting a sale in their yard, and then resell it for a big profit online. They may also be collectors who know that rare video games, comic books, or other items are often sold for pennies at garage sales.

There’s nothing illegal about being a garage sale vulture, but they go against the spirit of a yard sale, which is usually a friendly, casual affair. It’s useful to be able to identify them, however; when a vulture invades your garage it usually means you have something worth more than you think—maybe a lot more. If you spot a vulture, you might want to rethink your pricing strategy.

They're weirdly aggressive

If you’ve ever organized a garage sale or let your kids set up a few tables outside the house in an exercise of junior capitalism, you know they tend to be sleepy events. If you advertise a little, you might get a few folks from around the neighborhood, but everything’s usually pretty calm.

Vultures tend to harsh that vibe. The day of the sale, they show up early and wait impatiently outside your house. They jump gates and can be very pushy because they’re worried someone else is going to figure out that you’ve got valuable merchandise and scoop it up before you can.

They bring professional equipment

Most of the people who show up to browse your garage sale will be neighbors and curious passers-by. If they buy something, it’ll be based mostly on vibes, or because they spot something with specific meaning to them. Those sales are a win-win—everyone is happy.

Vultures aren’t there for the vibes. One sure sign you’re dealing with one is that they brought professional equipment to assess your offerings—a jeweler’s loupe to look at what you thought was your grandmother’s costume jewelry, or reference books to look up the valuations of your ancient baseball cards. They came for the profit margin, not the thrill of finding something cool for cheap.

They ask for previews

If you’re ambitious and advertise your sale ahead of time, online, or via the tried-and-true “flyers stapled around town” method, vultures may pore over any information you post and contact you ahead of time. They may call days before the sale and ask if they can come look at something you mentioned in your ad or that they spied in a photo you posted. They know something is valuable, and they want to try to get their hands on it before someone else carries it off—or clues you in. Being contacted before the sale even begins is a clear sign you’re being targeted by a vulture.

They buy in bulk

Collectors and resellers often try to save time by simply buying your entire inventory of something for a low price—boxes full of old comics or unsorted jewelry, or that entire plastic tray of ancient video game cartridges. The offer is often presented as a convenience for you, as they’ll take everything off your hands for a few bucks. This spares them the trouble of determining if any of it is actually worth something right then and there. They can toss your stuff into the garbage later if nothing pans out.

Your purpose in hosting a garage sale is to get rid of junk you don’t want and make a few bucks in the process, so selling something to a vulture may not matter to you. But vultures can make a fun day less pleasant if they’re aggressive, and their presence often signals that you have something worth some real cash, so being able to spot them before they invade your yard is a useful skill.

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Why You Need to Check Your Garage for Leaks Now

If you have a garage, shed, or other outbuilding, now is the perfect time to check it for leaks. Leaks can develop in warmer weather as the materials your structures are made of expand and contract with changing temperatures. In the summer, a small leak might not be such a big deal, but moisture can wreak havoc once the weather cools down and water freezes and expands inside of cracks. Getting ahead of any small issues before they become big ones can save you a lot of money on repairs. Here are a few simple steps you can take now to prevent damage down the road.

Look for wet spots

Begin by inspecting the floor, walls, and ceiling for any wet spots. It’s best to do this soon after it rains, before any moisture dries up. Water that’s leaking from the roof might not collect immediately under a leak but could run down the roof beams to the walls, so look for wet spots at the base of walls where they meet the floor. Another common place water can get into your garage is under the door. A shed door can also be a source of potential leaks.

Check the roof

The roof of your garage can be damaged by wind or falling branches from storms. Look for dislodged shingles or any place where the roof looks disturbed. You should also look for any clumps of leaves or debris, as these can trap moisture close to the roof, causing damage from freezing water once the temperature drops. A good blast from the hose usually works to dislodge clumps of leaves. If you find a gap in the shingles, you might be able to do a DIY repair if only a few are loose, but if there is more extensive damage, it’s a good idea to get a professional involved.

Check your slab

Now is also a good time to inspect the concrete slab that your garage or shed sits on. If you notice any small cracks, you can use a concrete repair sealer to fix them and prevent water damage. If you notice larger cracks or see that your slab is moving, you might need to have a professional come take a look.

Check weather stripping

The weatherstripping around doors and windows can wear out over time, allowing drafts as well as moisture to get in. You can use a garage door weather-stripping kit to seal around a roll-top door, and you can also find weather stripping for windows and regular doors. If you have an issue with water coming in under the door, you can replace the under-door seal to keep water out or you can add a threshold strip under the door to keep water from running in when the door is open.

Check your drainage

If you have water collecting on the outside of your shed or garage, it could be a problem with grading or your downspouts might not be working properly. To address issues of grading, you should make sure that the ground around your structure slopes down at a rate of about one inch to every one foot of distance away from your structure for about five to 10 feet. To address issues with your downspout, try clearing it of leaves or using a downspout extension to aim water away from the building.

Cut back vegetation

Bushes and trees that touch your structure can keep moisture close to the walls, allowing ice to form in areas it shouldn’t. In addition to increasing the risk that a brush fire could jump to your garage, having plants in close contact with walls can cause water damage over time. Pruning back shrubs and trees at least 18 inches from walls can increase the lifespan of your siding and prevent damage from ice as the weather changes.

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These JBL Earbuds Are up to 50% Off

All three models—Tune Buds, Tune Flex, and Vibe Beam—deliver JBL’s core signature bass sound. They all feature wireless Bluetooth connectivity for tangle-free listening and include smart ambient features that let you converse without removing your earbuds. And right now, all three are on sale for up to 50% off.

At $49.95 (down from $99.95), both the Tune Buds and Tune Flex give you noise-cancelling features and sound quality. JBL says the Tune Buds have a battery life of 10 hours when noise-cancelling is engaged. However, as noted by a user, these earbuds need to be removed from the case to power on. It’s not a dealbreaker, but if you’re in a rush and leave the case behind, it could be an inconvenience. The Tune Flex, on the other hand, offers six hours of battery life but adds some extra perks, like four mics for clearer calls. With an IPX4 rating, they’re also sweat-proof and water-resistant. On the downside, some users have reported issues with the earbuds not charging properly over time. Read PCMag's detailed review of the JBL Tune Flex for more information.

For those on a tighter budget, the Vibe Beam at $29.95 (down from $49.95) offers eight hours of battery life and durability with splash- and dust-resistance. However, one reviewer noted that the earbud's EQ tends to flatten the bass, and its presets don’t do much to improve it. At this price, they’re a decent option, but don’t expect earth-shattering bass.

Comparable options on the market, such as the EarFun Air Pro 3 or Anker's Soundcore P40i, make for good alternatives but come with slightly higher price tags at $79.99 and $59.99 (down from $69.99), respectively.

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How to Share Your Wifi Password From Any Device

Sharing your wifi password is an annoying process that's probably better off automated—especially if you have people coming over frequently. You can either print your wifi password and tape it to your fridge, or join us in the 21st century and use one of these clever ways to automatically share your wifi with your guests. But if these aren't an option for you, then you can easily share your wifi password from pretty much any device.

Share your wifi password from your iPhone or iPad

Credit: Pranay Parab

Apple makes it pretty easy to share passwords with other Apple devices. You can use your iPhone to share wifi passwords with anyone else in your vicinity who's using an iPhone, iPad, or a Mac. First, check the following things:

• All devices are updated to the latest available version of iOS, iPadOS, or macOS.

• On your iPhone or iPad, you're signed in to iCloud with your Apple ID.

• All devices have Bluetooth and wifi turned on.

• Personal hotspot is turned off on all devices.

• Your iPhone or iPad and your guest's Apple device are near each other.

Once this is done, ask your guest to connect to your wifi network. When they see the prompt asking them for the password, you'll see a pop-up on your iPhone or iPad, asking if you want to share the wifi password with them. Tap Share Password to complete the process.

As smooth as this is, there are times when this pop-up doesn't show up. If you encounter such a situation, or if your guests are Windows or Android users, you'll have to manually share your wifi password with them. To do this, go to Settings > Wi-Fi and tap the i button next to your wifi network's name. Tap Password and use Face ID or Touch ID to reveal your wifi password. You can now share it with your guests.

Credit: Pranay Parab

If you have iOS 18, which is technically still in beta, there's another way to easily share wifi passwords with friends. Apple's Passwords app, which is a free password manager that ships with iOS 18, stores wifi credentials, too. Follow these steps to share saved wifi passwords in iOS 18:

1. Open the Passwords app on your iOS 18 device.

2. Tap the WiFi button. This will open a page that shows all saved wifi networks.

3. Use the search bar to find any stored wifi networks on your device. If you're already connected to the wifi network, then it will show up at the top of the list.

4. Once you've selected a saved wifi network, tap the Show Network QR Code button. This will display a QR code that others can scan from any device.

5. Alternatively, you can open a saved wifi network in iOS 18's Passwords app and tap the Share button in the top-right corner. This will open the share sheet, where you can send wifi network details using any app on your iPhone. This method sends the wifi network name and password in plain text.

You can also take a screenshot of the QR code and print it out for your guests, so you don't have to keep going back to it.

Share wifi password on a Mac

Credit: Pranay Parab

As long as you have macOS High Sierra or newer, and your guests have Apple devices running relatively recent versions of iOS, iPadOS, or macOS, you can easily share your wifi password from your Mac. This method works well between Apple devices. Just go through the small checklist I highlighted above and ask your guests to connect to your wifi. You'll see a pop-up on your Mac asking if you want to share your wifi password. Tap Share to send it to your guests.

If this doesn't work, or if your guests don't have Apple devices, you can easily find and share your wifi password manually. To do this, click the Apple logo in the top-left corner of your Mac's screen and head over to System Settings > Wi-Fi. Click the three-dots icon next to your wifi network and select Copy Password. You can then paste this password in any app and send it to your guests.

Share wifi passwords on Android

Credit: Pranay Parab

Go to Settings > Network & Internet > Wi-Fi and tap the gear icon next to your wifi network. Hit the Share button to reveal a QR code and the wifi password. Some of your guests will be able to scan the QR code to connect to your wifi, depending on which device they're using. Others can use the wifi password that's written in plain text below the QR code.

Share wifi passwords on Windows

Credit: Pranay Parab

Windows, unfortunately, doesn't allow you to easily share wifi passwords with others. You'll have to look up the password on your computer and send it to others manually. Fortunately, this process is pretty easy. On Windows 11, find saved wifi passwords by going to Settings > Network & internet > Wifi > [YOUR WIFI NETWORK]. Now scroll down to View Wi-Fi security key and click the View button next to it. You'll see the wifi password in a pop-up.

With Windows 10, you can do the same thing by going to Settings > Network & Internet > Network and Sharing Center. Click Connections: NETWORK NAME and select Wireless Properties. Go to the Security tab and check the Show characters box under Network security key. You’ll be able to see your wifi password on your computer.

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How to Test the AI Capabilities of Your Computer

Artificial intelligence, and generative AI in particular, are now such prominent technologies, they'll often get mentioned before anything else at product launches—from the Pixel 9 series to the Microsoft Copilot+ PC range. These devices are getting more AI features, and more components dedicated to AI tasks. If you're wondering just how well your computer can handle the most common AI tasks of the moment, turn to the newly launched Geekbench AI 1.0, from the benchmarking experts at Geekbench.

For those of you new to benchmarking, it essentially stress-tests your hardware with specially designed tasks, to help you get an idea of how powerful your system is—and how it compares to others. You can benchmark many different components of your computer, but for this situation, we're specifically interested in testing for AI performance.

What AI benchmarks are actually testing

Geekbench AI will give you three final scores. Credit: Lifehacker

Run an AI benchmark such as Geekbench AI, and it will look at how well your computer can perform tasks that are normally handled by AI: detecting objects and faces in pictures, generating a new image based on the style of an existing one, or translating between languages. You might use web apps for these jobs, but these benchmarks tell you how well your computer can handle them locally.

These different tests utilize different types of AI, including machine learning (training models on vast amounts of data) and deep learning (a more complex version of machine learning). They also measure different aspects of AI performance: how quickly AI tasks can be processed, for example, as well as how accurate they are.

Modern-day systems now often have dedicated Neural Processing Units (NPUs), processors built for processing AI tasks. These tasks often require different types of calculations and workflows than more general computing processes, so having hardware components made specifically for them can speed everything up (in the same way a GPU or Graphics Processing Unit is designed specifically to handle visuals).

Geekbench AI produces three scores at the end: Full Precision, Half Precision, and Quantized. Full Precision reflects AI tasks where high levels of accuracy are required and most demands are placed on the system, whereas the other two compromise a little on accuracy versus speed (often required if efficiency is important).

"Just as CPU-bound workloads vary in how they can take advantage of multiple cores or threads for performance scaling (necessitating both single-core and multi-core metrics in most related benchmarks), AI workloads cover a range of precision levels, depending on the task needed, the hardware available, and the frameworks in between," explains Geekbench's John Poole in a blog post.

How to run Geekbench AI on your computer

Geekbench AI on macOS. Credit: Lifehacker

Head to the Geekbench AI download page to find the packages for Windows, macOS, and Linux (as well as links to the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store if you want to run benchmarks on your mobile devices). All of these programs are straightforward to use, even if you have no experience running benchmarking software.

The main Geekbench AI interface on the desktop shows some information about your system first of all, including the operating system you're running and the processor you have installed. You then get a description of what the benchmark is going to cover. (Note that it'll take several minutes to complete.)

You then get drop-down menus to configure the benchmark. First is the AI Framework, which is essentially the AI toolset you want to use for the test: The ones you'll see will depend on your system, and may include ONNX (the open-source Open Neural Network Exchange) and Core ML (the AI framework used on Apple hardware).

Then there's the AI Backend, which means the system component you want to test the AI capabilities of. This will depend on what's inside your computer, but you will see CPU, and perhaps GPU and NPU (or Neural Engine) too. On some systems, you'll also see an AI Device option, which lets you switch between available processors.

When you're happy with the way the benchmark is configured, click Run AI Benchmark to set it in motion. Your system's results will pop up in a web browser, and you can check out other results posted from other devices through the same portal. Note that scores are calibrated against a baseline of 1,500, which reflects the performance of an Intel Core i7-10700 processor. Higher scores indicate more capable AI handling.

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You Can Hide Your Mac’s Yellow Dot Without Sacrificing Security

The yellow dot (or maybe orange, depending on how you see it) is one of the best privacy and security features on your Mac. It's a simple indicator that lets you know that an app is using your Mac's microphone. When it's live, you'll see the yellow dot in the menu bar, right next to the Control Center icon. Even though I love this feature, it can be rather distracting sometimes, but fortunately there's a way to find a balance between aesthetics and security using a free app called YellowDot. It changes the yellow privacy indicator to black (or other colors) and lets you dim a few other menu bar system icons, too.

Why to change the color of the Mac's Yellow Dot

When I'm writing, I use my word processor in full-screen mode so I can focus on writing. If I'm logged into an online meeting and taking notes, the yellow dot appears in the top-right corner of the screen. This is the opposite of the distraction-free writing experience I'm looking for, since my eyes keep drifting towards the dot from time to time. 

I also deal with migraine problems and one of the symptoms is sensitivity to bright lights. It's why I use dark mode on every device I can and I try to use neutral or dim colors whenever I'm staring at a screen for any length of time. This is how I found YellowDot, and it's been really helpful.

What YellowDot does and how to use it

Once you download and install YellowDot, you'll have to give it access to Screen and System Audio Recording permissions. This allows it to tweak the appearance of items in your menu bar. With this set up, YellowDot takes care of the rest. The app will automatically change the privacy indicator to a different color, but you can click its menu bar icon and go to Dot color to change it to other colors. You can choose one of the following options:

• Black

• Default (yellow)

• Adaptive

• Dim

• White

The default choice is Adaptive, which dynamically adjusts the color of the privacy indicator based on your activity. I changed it to Black because I find that to be aesthetically pleasing, and it doesn't distract me. You'll notice that YellowDot also dims a few other menu bar icons that can't otherwise be dimmed, including location and screen recording indicators. This can be very useful when you're presenting something on your Mac and don't want everyone to be distracted by bright icons in the menu bar.

While you're at it, check out Unclack, which automatically mutes your Mac's mic while you're typing.

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You Should Run a Privacy Audit on Your iPhone

Apple has made it harder for iPhone apps to get away with collecting data about what you do on the internet. Still, it's good practice to occasionally review what kinds of privacy permissions each app has access to and revoke unnecessary ones. Does Instagram really need access to your contacts? Could you do just fine if you deny TikTok your location data? It takes less than a minute to review and reflect on questions like this, but your online footprint will thank you.

That's because most people end up giving apps way too much access, and it's not really their fault. Each time you install a new app, it likely bombards you with permission pop-ups requesting to access your location, notifications, contacts, camera, photos, yada yada yada. If you’ve been granting these permissions without much thinking much, the leaks can add up.

Unsurprisingly, Facebook-owned apps are particularly egregious when it comes to asking for more permissions than they need. For instance, Instagram tries its best to gain access to your iPhone's camera, microphone, and the entire photo library, even though you can use the app just fine without giving it any of those permissions. Other apps, like Uber, work well even if you don’t grant them location access—as long as you’re willing to manually select your location each time you need picked up.

While it's a good idea to deny apps access to permissions they don’t need, you shouldn’t be under the illusion that will somehow magically keep your information out of the clutches of the data mining industry. Advertisers and service providers have tons of ways to access your data and create a unique profile of what you do on the internet, and you can only control a small part of this machine by revoking these permissions. But it’s still worth doing—your smartphone is loaded with private data no one should access without your explicit permission. Changing these settings will also have a positive impact on your phone’s battery life, as multiple apps won’t constantly be accessing your location or other sensors.

And with that, here's how to give your iPhone a privacy audit.

Stop apps from tracking you

Credit: Pranay Parab

Your iPhone lets you stop apps from tracking you. You can refuse to allow apps to use your device ID, a unique advertising identifier, or your email address track you across both the app and on the web.

Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking and disable Allow Apps to Request to Track. Be aware that developers whose business depends on tracking you will probably find ways to track you anyway, but disabling this permission will make them have to work harder at it.

The fastest way to revoke privacy permissions on iPhone

Credit: Pranay Parab

Going through multiple pages of privacy permissions is tedious, even if it's the most foolproof way to do a privacy audit. Fortunately, Apple has made this easier via a feature called Safety Check. To use it, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Safety Check > Manage Sharing & Access. Now, go trough the on-screen instructions to conduct the privacy audit. The first step mostly highlights your shared calendars and notes, so you can skip this for now. The second step allows you to quickly review app permissions, so just select all the apps that don't need access to privacy permissions, and tap Stop App Access. Alternatively, select the Information tab in the second step and tap any of the displayed permissions such as Location, Contacts, etc., and then stop apps from accessing that data. Afterwards, tap the Quick Exit button in the top-right corner to exit Safety Check.

Review all important privacy permissions on your iPhone

Credit: Pranay Parab

You can also track the apps that access private information by going to Settings > Privacy & Security. Tap each option on this page and review if a given app really needs access to the sensors and data mentioned here.

Tap Location Services and select any app that shows up. This will tell you more about what the app can access. Under Allow Location Access, you should change the permission for most apps to While Using the App or Never, depending on what the app does with your location data. If you deny Instagram access to your location, it won’t be able to give you quick location tags to add to your stories, but if you don’t need that feature, it's best to deny location access to the app. Denying location access to Google Maps, on the other hand, will render it largely useless.

Another option to reduce the data you give to apps is to disable Precise Location on the same page. Doing so means your phone will tell apps that you’re approximately somewhere in New York, instead of telling them that you’re inside your apartment.

While here, also review your Contacts, Microphone, Health, and Camera, and deny access to the apps that don’t need it. Do the same thing for every option on this page to ensure you’re not giving apps access to more data than they need.

Limit the amount of data Apple collects

Credit: Pranay Parab

Although Apple itself is nowhere near as egregious with its data collection as developers whose business model is to spy on you, the company does collect some data about you. There’s a way to limit this, though there is no way to disable Apple’s ads on the iOS App Store.

A solution may arrive in the future, but until then, you can limit the other types of data that Apple collects. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security and scroll to the bottom of the page. Tap Analytics & Improvements and disable Share iPhone & Watch Analytics to stop sending Apple diagnostics and usage data. This page is full of settings used to improve Apple products and services, but you’re under no obligation to give them this information, so feel free to disable all options.

Go back to the privacy settings page and tap Apple Advertising. Here, disable Personalized Ads to stop Apple from using your data to deliver relevant ads to you. Finally, you can stop Apple from listening to your Siri commands, too.

Check which apps have been tracking you

Credit: Pranay Parab

Your iPhone includes a nice feature that gives you a weekly report of which apps have accessed important information about you, such as your location. At the time of writing, this feature is hidden in iPhone settings, but it’ll be more available in an upcoming update. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > App Privacy Report and enable App Privacy Report to start logging the data your favorite apps access. Come back after a few hours to see your log's progress.

What else can I do to limit tracking?

Credit: Pranay Parab

For most people, the steps mentioned above are good enough. However, if you want to go a step further, there are a few other things you can do to reduce tracking on the internet. Most privacy experts will tell you to determine what you hope to accomplish before deciding the right set of privacy measures for you. For most people, the goal is stopping advertisers and your internet provider from tracking you, and for that, there are some simple measures that you can begin using right now.

For starters, you might simply stop using apps that track you excessively. If you’re not totally ready to abandon them entirely, try opening their mobile websites using privacy-friendly apps like DuckDuckGo and Signal so you can use their services with reduced tracking. You can also follow good privacy practices such as not using the same email address on every website, using a good password manager for security, and generally reducing your dependence on giant conglomerates such as Facebook, Google, and Apple.

Consider switching to an encrypted DNS such as NextDNS to limit how much your ISP can track you. Apple provides a few other tools, such as iCloud Private Relay and Mail Privacy Protection, that limit tracking—enable those, too.

A strong VPN app such as Mullvad will also allow you to restrict trackers from accessing your information, because it comes with a built-in tracker blocking feature. Even if you follow every step above, you’ll still be sharing more data with companies and advertisers than you’ll likely ever know. But it’s a good start.

 

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These Bathroom and Kitchen Fixtures Are up to 90% Off Right Now for Labor Day

Whether you're planning to gut and redo your kitchen, or you're just looking for a new faucet, you know how expensive bathroom and kitchen fixtures can get. Luckily for you, Labor Day sales are upon us—so there's no need to completely blow your DIY budget.

Kitchen fixture sales

The right fixtures can transform your kitchen—but getting just the right set-up can be expensive. Here are some deals on kitchen fixtures for a DIY upgrade you can be proud of.

• The Forious brushed nickel pulldown sprayer faucet is on sale for $39.90, 50% off its regular price. The fixture is compatible with a one or three-hole sink, so it’s likely to fit your existing sink.

• The Basdehen matte black pulldown sprayer faucet is on sale for $31.99, 47% off its typical price. This fixture has a 10-inch mounting plate to cover a one or three-hole sink.

• The Frigidaire ¾ HP corded garbage disposal is on sale for $119.36, 40% off its normal price. This unit mounts underneath a kitchen sink. You’ll need some tools for installation, but if you're an intermediate-level DIYer, you can manage this.

• The Tobusa Sputnik chandelier is on sale for $27.99, 60% off its typical price. This kitchen ceiling fixture is semi-flush mounted to allow for free space below it.

Forious Kitchen Faucet with Pull Down Sprayer

$49.88 at Amazon

$79.99 Save $30.11

$49.88 at Amazon

$79.99 Save $30.11

Bathroom fixture sales

Upgrading your bathroom can add value to your home in addition to making it more comfortable. While moving plumbing and other major renovations shouldn’t be a DIY project, you can install new fixtures yourself with a little know-how. With these deals, you can upgrade your bathroom without blowing your budget.

• The Pfister Weller matte black bathroom sink faucet is on sale for $90.71, 43% off its typical price. This faucet is compatible with a single or triple-hole sink.

• The Kingston Brass Restoration four-inch bathroom faucet is on sale for $57.16, 56% off its usual price.

• The Aquacare high-pressure, 8-mode shower head is on sale for $29.98, 63% off its regular price. It comes with a mounting bracket and can be hand-held as well for use as a shower wand.

• The Zarbitta three-light vanity light fixture is on sale for $39.99, 43% off its usual price. This fixture is 17 ½” wide and can illuminate a standard-sized vanity mirror.

Aquacare high-pressure, 8-mode shower head

$29.98 at Amazon

$79.99 Save $50.01

$29.98 at Amazon

$79.99 Save $50.01

Spa fixture sales

If you have the space and the inclination, why not set up a spot for self-care at home? Fixtures for a home spa are generally expensive, though. Luckily, there are some good deals on home spa fixtures currently on sale.

• This 129-gallon cold plunge tub is on sale for $95.99, 90% off its regular price. The recovery tub is designed to be filled with ice or cold water to help soothe sore muscles. The tub is collapsible for storage and comes with a lid for if you choose to use it outdoors.

• The Lanhado dual-head rainfall showerhead is on sale for $39.99, 40% off its regular price. The dual head has one large rainfall shower head as well as a hand-held shower wand.

• The Megeem 25-liter towel warmer is on sale for $79.99, 92% off its typical price. The towel warmer has an automatic timer with three settings and can accommodate larger linens like bathrobes and blankets.

129-gallon cold plunge tub

$95.99 at Amazon

$999.99 Save $904.00

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How to (Remotely) Help Your Family Members With Their New Tech

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/different-modern-devices-on-color-background-1875797689

If you're the type of person who regularly follows tech news online, you probably know what it's like to be the "techie" to your friends and family. It's quite likely that people reach out to you for tech support, and being the nice person that you are, you try your best to help them out. This can be a fun excuse for a get-together if you live near your loved ones, but not everyone has that privilege, leading to all sorts of frustrating calls where you have to remotely troubleshoot your friends and family's gadgets. Luckily, you have plenty more options nowadays than just sighing into your phone.

Walk them through their tech issues with a video call

If at all possible, don’t rely on a regular phone call when fixing tech issues. It might be natural for someone to call you up with their questions, but only having their voice to go on can quickly turn into a problem of its own.

Don’t get me wrong; plenty of tech questions can be solved on a phone call. But often, it’ll be much faster for you to figure out what’s going on if you can see what you’re working with. You can ask your dad, “Is there a port on the back that says HDMI 1? It should be, I don’t know, next to all the other ports...” Or you could have him point his iPhone at the back of the TV and show him which port is which.

If your family has questions about their new smart TV, speaker setup, smartwatch, or something of that nature, it’s likely be easiest to help them using a video call. Often, a FaceTime or other smartphone video call will be the simplest way to do this, since they can easily move the camera around to show you what they’re looking at.

Have them share their screen

Video calls are a great resource for tech support, assuming something isn't wrong with the device you'd normally call on. If your loved one has an issue with their smartphone, tablet, or computer, instead of having them point a camera at it, you can have them simply share their screen.

Screen sharing used to be more complicated than it is today, but thanks to the prevalence of video conferencing apps, the feature is now easily accessible from essentially all modern devices. Your friend can share their laptop’s screen to your phone, their phone’s screen to your tablet, and their tablet’s screen to your laptop. You have multiple options to work with, as well, depending on the device in question.

For Apple users, FaceTime’s SharePlay might be the best route. The feature, first introduced with iOS 15 a few years ago, allows you to share your screen with other FaceTime participants. With iOS 18, SharePlay is expanding to include screen sharing and the ability to hand over control of your screen to others. Whether your friend is having trouble with their iPhone, iPad, or Mac, they can jump into a FaceTime call, share their screen, and you can help them through their problem. If you and the other person have Macs, you can ask them to share their screen using the Messages app, too.

But whether your friend uses Apple, Android, or Windows, there are plenty of other screen-sharing solutions. Popular apps like Zoom, Discord, Teams, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger have this feature built-in; all you need to do is make sure they download and set up the app in question (same on your end), then initiate the screen share.

Zoom has a very obvious “Share Screen” option in its video call window; have your friend click it, then click “Desktop,” and “Done.” Teams and Skype have a similar feature; have them click the box with the arrow, then “Desktop,” “Share,” or “Start Sharing.” From here, it’ll be much easier to give directions.

Make a screen recording to help them out

Credit: Keystro

If you don't live in the same time zone as your loved ones but still want to help them out, you could try linking them one of our in-depth guides to commonly faced challenges such as how to take screenshots on an iPhone or on a Mac. However, if you can't find the solution online, or if you prefer to provide a personal touch, you can make a screen recording. You can easily create a screen recording on both Android and iPhone, and even on a Windows PC or on a Mac, to explain how to access certain features.

Especially if you have a Mac, there's a way to make your screen recordings even more useful. Apps such as Keystro ($6) and Cleanshot X ($29) allow you to overlay your keyboard button presses on to your screen recording. This will allow your friends and family to see which buttons to press to faithfully follow your tutorial.

Use an app for remote access

Sometimes, the easiest fix is one you do yourself. Yeah, yeah, teach a man to fish and all that, but nobody is going to be learning to fish if the tech support session devolves into frustration.

If you’re feeling up to the initial challenge, gaining remote access to your friend’s device can greatly simplify tech help on your end. Of course, that involves setting up remote access remotely. You’ll need to use one of the above methods to set up and install your remote access program of choice, and your family member or friend will need to follow your directions. Good luck!

Unfortunately, remote access is mostly only possible on Mac or PC. For iPhones and Androids, most of the “remote access” solutions you’ll find are actually glorified screen-sharing tools. Even the app I'm about to recommend, while available on mobile, only offers screen mirroring when trying to share access to a phone.

There are many methods to gain remote access to a Mac or PC, but the simplest is through an app like TeamViewer. TeamViewer boils down remote access to a unique ID and password; your friend will give you that information, and in seconds, you’ll have access to their entire computer, from your own computer, smartphone, or tablet.

You should definitely do a screen-share session while setting this app up, since it can be complicated to explain over the phone.

How to use TeamViewer to access a computer remotely

Have your friend go to teamviewer.com, and click “Download for free.” You should do the same, or, if installing on mobile, download TeamViewer Remote Control for iOS or Android. Have them install the program like they would any other. On Windows, installation is pretty simple; just choose “Default installation,” “Accept - next,” then allow TeamViewer to make changes to your device.

If they’re on Mac, there will be three different security settings to enable. Luckily, TeamViewer shows a pop-up explaining exactly which settings you need to enable; Screen Recording, Accessibility, and Full Disk Access. If you don’t see the pop-up, you’ll find all three options under System Preferences > Security & Privacy. After clicking on each setting, enable TeamViewer. If you don’t see the option, click the (+), then choose TeamViewer from your applications.

Credit: Jake Peterson

At this point, your friend will have a unique ID and password for their TeamViewer app. Enter that ID in the “Control Remote Computer” field on your TeamViewer app, then enter the password when prompted. You should see your friend’s computer screen in a window on your own device! There are plenty of settings here you can mess with, but essentially, you now have control over their computer.

When you’re done with the tech support session, click the (X) in the TeamViewer window. You also want to be sure no one else has access to the ID and password you entered earlier. Remote access is very useful, but it can be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. Try to hammer that point home; you don’t want your convenient remote session to spawn into a cybersecurity debacle.

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I Quit Twitter Two Years Ago (Here’s How It Went)

Twitter was an important part of my life; for a decade it was the main place I hung out online. I made friends there I still talk with daily. I met the people who would become my editors, which is how I built my career. I felt a sense of community with other internet weirdos around the world. It's a major part of why I am who I am today.

And I haven't used it in two years. In 2022 I quiet-quit Twitter. I still post, but not really: I have an automated script that pushes links for my articles there. I also set up Beeper so that DMs still get to me, which I recommend—I can stay on top of that without ever logging in.

Other than that, though, I'm gone. I don't scroll, I don't reply, and I don't see ads. At some point, I assume, Beeper and my automation will break, at which point I'll delete my Twitter account.

If you're reading this, and still on Twitter (which is now, of course, X), it's probably because you're thinking of doing the same thing—but something is keeping you there. I'll share what I was thinking before I left; maybe it will help you decide. I'll also talk about where I've found community online since leaving.

Twitter is already dead

Twitter was important to a lot of people for a lot of reasons, and many of them have left. I'm writing this two days after XOXO, a conference full of idealists who believe the internet can be a force for good in spite of everything. The collective mourning for Twitter at the festival was palpable.

And that makes sense: Twitter was a website where people could hang out, crack jokes, build things, and possibly even solve problems. There are so many beautiful projects and friendships that started on the site, not to mention valuable activism. But that was all a long time ago. The truth is that Twitter has been more bad than good for most people for a long time—way before whatshisname bought it.

I am not here to glorify the early days of Twitter. The truth is that the site, and the community around it, has always had problems. At some point, though, the negatives of the site outweighed the positive. The exact time this happened is going to vary from person to person, but for me I think the shift began around 2014. If you don't know what Gamergate is, great: Keep living your life. But something about that particular harassment campaign destroyed my ability to assume goodwill. Going viral shifted from being a reward to a punishment, and in general everything felt less fun.

And you know what? There's no good reason to stay on a social network that isn't fun. The exact time that shift becomes necessary might differ for you—there are a lot of factors—but I encourage you to at least pay attention as you're scrolling. Are you enjoying yourself? Or learning things? Or are you just generally feeling kind of bad?

My brain works better now

In 2020 my therapist asked me if I needed to have Twitter for my job. We'd only done two sessions together and she already knew that the website was bad for my brain. This was during the depths of lockdown, when the thought of giving up one of the tools I was using to feel in touch with the world felt impossible.

She was onto something. When I left Twitter in 2022, I noticed rather quickly that I felt less anxious. I think a big part of this is that I'm no longer exposed to a constant stream of negativity. At some point, the main thing on Twitter became people intentionally saying horrible things to get attention and people who should know better giving them attention by dunking on them. And sure, sometimes those dunks were funny, but the thing about spending all day making fun of terrible people is that you're spending a good chunk of your day giving attention to terrible people.

The things you pay attention to shape your brain. Twitter, for me, was shaping it to be worse. I was astounded at how much less anxious I felt after leaving, and how much easier it became to focus on work and enjoy hobbies. I don't know if the same benefits await you, but I believe there's a good chance you'll be surprised.

I found new (and better) online spaces

The past few years have been about slowly teaching myself to enjoy the internet again. I primarily hang out on Mastodon right now, and I enjoy it a lot. I've reconnected with some of my favorite people from Twitter and met plenty of new ones. I also find that people there that actually click links, read the articles, and respond to specific points in the article instead of just reacting to the headline. The fact that this felt surprising only goes to show how terrible a place Twitter became, and how low my expectations for online interaction had gotten.

An even bigger revelation, though, has been starting Connectivity, my newsletter. It's not huge at this point—only 300 people or so—but it's given me more of a feeling of community than any social network has in a long time. People write back to me. Some are friends, some are family, and some are strangers, but plenty of good conversations have started there.

These approaches may or may not work for you—you may need to try something else. My point is that you can rebuild online community in other places, and putting in just a little bit of effort can remind you why online community is valuable in the first place.

Sometimes things end and that's okay

Multiple XOXO speakers, not to mention people I talked to, referred to the social network as "zombie Twitter," which is a great descriptor. The soul of Twitter is gone, and has been gone for a while. What remains is a husk of the thing that was, walking the earth long after the end of its natural lifespan.

There's a moment in most zombie movies where a character needs to kill or abandon the zombie of a loved one, usually while another character says that the loved one in question is already dead. And that's what I'm here to say: Twitter is already dead. I'm grateful, in a way, that whatshisname rebranded the site, allowing us to separate the site that was from the site that is.

Twitter is dead. We can mourn that, and we should. But part of mourning is moving on.

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