Articles by Jeramy Johnson

Since many of us are working from home these days anyway, why not utilize the devices and services we have lying around to get the job done? Thanks to a partnership between Google and Zoom, you can now start, join, and receive Zoom calls on your Nest Hub Max smart speaker. To get started, you need to connect your accounts to the Google Home app. We’ll walk you through how to do just that in the steps below.

How to use Zoom on the Nest Hub Max

Open the Google Home app on your smartphone.
Tap on your profile icon/avatar in the top right corner.
Scroll down to Services, and tap on Voice and video calls.

Tap on Video & Voice Apps.
Tap on Zoom to create or link your account.

Tap Link Account.

Tap to Authorize linking of your accounts.
Now, simply ask your Google Assistant on your Nest Hub Max to “start a Zoom call.”

The Google Assistant will give you the option to start a new meeting, join with a meeting ID, or join a meeting that is already scheduled on your calendar. Th…

Some of our favorite smart speakers and smart devices use the power of the Google Assistant to make our lives more entertaining and generally easier. Having the Assistant recognize you and know what information that you want (even in advance) is powerful, but there are times when you might not want such a personal connection to your devices. Perhaps you want to ask a query that you don’t want to resurface later in your search results, or maybe you’re having a (post-pandemic) party and know that a bunch of people may be interacting with your device. For those times, there is Guest Mode for Google Assistant, and we’ll show you how easy it is to enable on your smart speakers.

How to use guest mode on a Google Assistant speaker

At a reasonable distance from your Google Assistant speaker, say “hey Google, enter Guest Mode.”

When you are ready to exit Guest Mode, simply say, “hey Google, exit Guest Mode.”

That’s all there is to it! There are no toggles that you have to tap or mana…

Remember the days when you had to either memorize your contact’s phone numbers, or you had them written down in some sort of, you know, phone book? Maybe you’re too young for that, but I was absolutely thrilled when I could start storing contact information on my phone so that all I ever had to do was search for a name to call or message someone. However, the ease at which we can do this will change slightly due to some new FCC regulations, and it will affect millions of people and their corresponding contact information. We’ll talk about what is going on, when it’s happening, and how you can edit your contact’s phone numbers to accommodate these new FCC area code regulations.

What is happening to my contacts, and why?

In mid-July 2020, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission adopted the 988 prefix as a universal code that anyone in the United States could dial to automatically reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. However, for this shortcut to work for everyone in the…

If you’re like me, you’ve probably been using some of the more common social media apps less and less these days. However, just because you aren’t crazy about following the craziness on Facebook or Reddit doesn’t mean that you don’t still crave that human connection and community, right? Well, the good news is that one of our favorite messaging platforms — Telegram — has just the kind of social component you’re looking for in the form of its channels. We’ll show you how to find and join the Telegram channels that match your interests.

How to find and join Telegram channels

Open the Telegram app.
Tap on the magnifying glass/search icon in the top right corner.
Type a word, phrase, topic, or media outlet you’re interested in.

When you find something of interest, tap on the channel.
At the bottom of the message thread, tap Join.

If you wish to mute the channel or leave it altogether, tap on the three line menu in the top right corner, and then tap on the option you prefer.

…

When Google announced the Pixel 5 and Pixel 4a 5G, it didn’t just launch two phones with impressive cameras. It introduced new Google Photos editing features as well. Improvements to machine learning, artificial intelligence, and user interface mean that users will now be able to do more with light and portrait mode after taking photos. They will also have access to more granular manual controls. We’ll show you how to use the Google Photos editor with all its new features that will make your pictures look even better.

Products used in this guide:

New flagship: Google Pixel 5 $699 at Amazon
Penultimate Pixel: Google Pixel 4a 5G $410 at the Best Buy

Jump to:

Manual controls
Portrait lighting effects
Editing vids
AI suggestions

How to use the new Google Photos editing features: Manual controls

Once you receive the Google Photos app update, editing your photos (whether you just took them or they are already in your archive) is easier than ever. All you need to do is tap o…

The most useful Alexa automotive accessory yet.

As much as I’ve begged and pleaded for a truly mobile version of Alexa, the track record of Amazon and third-party accessory makers to bring the voice assistant out of our homes and into the wider world has not been all that great. Whether it was a half-hearted first-party attempt like the Echo Auto or a wearable version of Alexa found on devices like the Fitbit Versa 3 and Sense watches or the Wyze Band, the experience was never as fully-featured or useful as I’d hoped it would be.

That’s why I kept kicking the can down the road on this iOttie Aivo Connect review; I honestly didn’t have high hopes for it. But once I finally took it out of the box and set it up in one of our older vehicles, I immediately realized I’d misjudged this gadget. Even if you don’t use Alexa all that much on your phone, I will wager that if you pick one of these up for your vehicle, you’ll quickly agree that it is one of the best Alexa devices around right no…

The Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen) was already an amazing smart speaker that could do a lot of cool things in your home. From serving as a smart home monitoring station to an entertainment hub, there’s not much this device couldn’t already do. However, Amazon took the next logical step and partnered with video conferencing giant Zoom to bring the popular service to our homes. I’ll show you how simple it is to set up and use Zoom on your Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen).

How to use Zoom on the Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen)

Amazon has made it so easy to start or join a Zoom meeting from the Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen). All you have to do is make sure that the calendar your Zoom meetings are scheduled with is connected to your Amazon account. Here’s how to get that setup:

Open the Amazon Alexa app on your smartphone.
Tap on the More button at the bottom right of the screen.
Tap on Settings.

Scroll down and tap on Calendar & Email.
Tap on Accounts.
Tap on Add Account to add the calendar…

UV Index info on Wear OS can help save your skin.

What you need to know

Google is updating the weather app on Wear OS.
It will now display the UV Index for your location.
This information can help Wear OS users to know the optimal time for outdoor activities.

Say what you will about the pace of software development on Wear OS, but Google has steadily continued to iterate on the product and has been dropping occasional updates to its users. As a case in point — today, the Wear OS team announced via its Twitter account that the weather app on Wear OS will now start including the UV Index for your location.

Stay safe while catching rays. ☀️Your Weather app on #WearOSbyGoogle now includes the UV Index for your location. pic.twitter.com/8KXDzTq1cV— Wear OS by Google (@WearOSbyGoogle) April 8, 2021

Why is the UV Index information so important? Knowing the UV Index levels for your area can help you decide the optimal time to take your dog for a walk or to get some fresh air…

Fitbit looks to continue adding useful health monitoring features to its product lineup.

What you need to know

Fitbit is currently investigating the possibility of measuring one’s blood pressure from its wrist-based trackers.
It is currently conducting a study to determine if its existing sensors can be used to measure this data point.
It’s not clear if Fitbit will unveil this option with new products or extend it to current devices.

Fitbit has always been a fitness-focused wearable company, but it has really stepped up its health-tracking game with all kinds of new sensors, devices, and features over the past year or so. According to a recent post on the company’s blog, we may soon be able to track a new health metric — our blood pressure.

Fitbit is currently undertaking a study through its Fitbit Labs research arm to see how some of its existing Fitbit devices might be used to track a person’s blood pressure. The study will try to determine if the sensor array on the Sense…

Have you ever thought back to a particularly witty quip one of your friends made in a text, but you can’t remember how long ago it was? Or have you struggled to find important meeting details like schedules or addresses in a chat thread, but you can’t find it because it’s hopelessly lost in the ether of your message app? Ever the feature-packed messaging app, Telegram is once again here to the rescue! Not only can you pin those important chats to a secure place, but you can also save the most important messages in their own folder. I’ll show you how easy it is to bookmark and save important messages from within the Telegram app.

How to bookmark and save messages in Telegram

Open the Telegram app on your phone.
Tap on the chat thread with the message you want to save.
Press down firmly on the message you wish to save.
Tap on the Forward button at the top right or bottom right of the screen.

Tap Saved Messages. Your message will now be saved in a Saved Messages chat folder.

Repe…