Articles by Jeramy Johnson

Ring is one of the most well-known home security solutions providers and offers a massive variety of products to consider. That’s why we’ve rounded up the best Ring products to help you fill out your smart home. Ring continues to make some of the best home security devices around. In recent months, the company has done a much better job of responding to and addressing the increased demand for additional data privacy controls and promises additional customer controls. With regular releases and new products coming to market all the time, our list of best Ring products can help you pick the best of the best.

Best Ring products: Video doorbell

Ring – Video Doorbell Pro 2 Smart WiFi Video Doorbell Wired

Staff Pick

Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2 might require hard-wired power to keep it going, but hooking it up is well worth the effort. Incredible video quality, a super-useful head-to-toe aspect ratio, and radar-powered 3D Motion round out a sleek and attractive product.

$227 at Dell $…

Ring video security cameras and the Ring Neighbors app remain fairly popular today. But multiple security breaches in Ring’s history have made plenty of people cautious about entrusting their home’s security to them. Ring recently improved its internal security practices to protect users better, but given its history, you may want to consider other security companies without all the baggage. Thankfully, the best Ring camera alternatives offer most of the same perks you’d get with Ring, plus some other perks added in.

Best overall

EufyCam 2 – Wireless Home Security Camera

Staff Pick

The EufyCam 2 is a one-time purchase, which means you don’t have to subscribe to any cloud storage plans if you don’t want to. This two-camera kit comes with a hub with 16GB of EMMC storage so that you can store all of your recordings locally. It even supports person detection without requiring a subscription. Plus, you can still view your camera’s live feeds and recordings in the Eufy app or via y…

We’ve researched, tested, and reviewed dozens, if not hundreds of devices and have come up with the following list of what we consider the best Alexa devices. If you don’t already have an Echo smart speaker, we recommend you pick up the Amazon Echo (4th Gen) to get started. It sounds great and comes in at a reasonable starting price. But, of course, if you already have an Echo and want to see what else is available, well, we’ve got you covered there too.

Best Amazon Alexa smart speaker: Amazon Echo (4th Gen)

The original Amazon Echo that debuted in late 2014 gave us our first introduction to Alexa, and we’ve been hooked ever since. What started as a stark, black tube has evolved over three generations to a softer, gentler-looking Alexa vessel and has spawned an entire line of other Echo devices.

This “regular” Echo (4th Gen) is the best of the series yet. It boasts an improved sound architecture over the first three generations, one that is borrowed from the more expensive Echo …

I’m sure I’m not alone here, but aside from losing a child momentarily at the supermarket, I’ve never been more scared recently than when I thought I lost my phone. You may think that’s hyperbole or a ridiculous commentary on modern times but just think about all that is on our phones these days: credit card and banking information, family photos, business information, and more. Thankfully, big players like Google and Samsung have built-in features that let you locate your phone, ping it, and even erase its data if need be. I’ll show you how to use both Samsung’s Find My Mobile, SmartThings Find, and Google’s Find My Device to keep tabs on your devices so that you have control, even when they’re out of your possession.

How to set up Find My Mobile and SmartThings Find on your Galaxy phone

If you want to know how to use Find My Mobile to locate your lost Samsung Galaxy phone, I strongly encourage you to make sure that you have enabled Find My Mobile and SmartThings Find on your Gala…

Being the default messaging app has its advantages.

What you need to know

We asked our readers if they’ll start using Google Messages more now that Verizon is adopting it as its default Android messaging app.
Over 50% said that yes, they would use Google Messages more because of this move.
Fewer than a quarter said that they wouldn’t use it more.

Earlier this week, we got word that Verizon will start including Google Messages as its default chat app on all of its Android phones, starting in early 2022. We think this is a great move, but we wanted to hear how our readers felt about it, so we put out a poll. The results were quite interesting!

Over 50% answered that yes, they would use Google Messages more now that the big three wireless carriers (T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon) have all committed to making Google Messages their default Android messaging app. Nearly 1/3 said that they’d keep using the app about as much as they currently do, while fewer than a quarter of responde…

Whether you’re building a completely DIY home security system or you just want a single outdoor cam to protect your yard, consider carefully what features you’ll actually need. Do you want a spotlight to scare off intruders or subtler IR night vision? Wired, battery-powered, or solar power? Is 1080p resolution enough? And is one security brand better than the rest? We’re here to help you decide, starting with the best outdoor security cameras on the market right now in every category.

Bright floodlights

Ring – Floodlight Cam Plus Outdoor Wired 1080p Surveillance Camera

Staff Pick

The Ring Floodlight Cam is a good pick if you want a quality security camera/lighting combination with great Amazon Alexa integration. When motion is detected, the floodlights come on, you’re notified, and the camera rolls. There’s 2-way audio to speak to whoever is on the other side of the lens and the ability to activate a siren to ward off intruders. The two floodlights shine at 1,800 lumens, cast…

We’re all familiar with video conferencing apps these days. Zoom calls and Google Meet sessions have become the new normal for conducting business and staying in touch with friends and family. As powerful tools for connection, apps, and services like Google Meet can bring intimate groups closer together, they can also spread a message with a broader audience. We’ll show you how to use Google Meet to live stream your next virtual event so that more can join in on the fun.

Why live stream via Google Meet?

Why might you want to live stream a Google Meet session? Perhaps you want to share orientation or training materials and information with prospective employees or students. Maybe you want to host a virtual event or conference. Whatever your reason, Google has built the functionality into Meet to allow for live streaming, so you might as well learn how to use it!

As we’ve previously covered, Google Meet has traditionally only been available to paying Google Workspace customers. As a…

Best answer: We spoke with various education experts, and we believe that yes, Chromebooks are appropriate for kindergarteners — with a few caveats.

Is a Chromebook appropriate for a kindergartener?

If you’re wondering whether or not Chromebooks are good for kindergarteners, we’ve got you covered. You’ve already read our answer to this question, but we wanted to qualify it based on feedback that we received from educators, administrators, policymakers, and product manufacturers. The general consensus was that, yes, Chromebooks could be good computing devices for students as young as kindergarteners. With long-lasting batteries, durable construction, and age-appropriate software, these devices are purpose-built to withstand the demands of a younger student. Still, it’s important to consider what you want your youngsters to accomplish on a Chromebook. Will it be their primary conduit to their school, supplemental learning while at home, a safer child-friendly entertainment device, …

Over the past year, many disgruntled Google Photos fans have faced a dilemma: Should they stick with their beloved service and pony up extra cash for high-quality backups, or should they test other waters? I’m not here to definitively recommend or push one photo backup service over another, but I do think it’s worth your time to consider all options and even have “backup” backup services lined up. After all, what if something horrible happened to your online photo collection? What would you do then? One of our favorite Google Photos alternatives is Amazon Photos. Here’s how to transfer your Google Photos albums to Amazon Photos in just a few easy steps.

How to transfer your Google Photos albums to Amazon Photos

We’ve covered the basic process of how to export your photos from Google Photos before. Still, just in case you haven’t read through that article, we’re including those steps below, starting with familiarizing yourself with Google Takeout.

Open Google Takeout in your deskt…

Third-party browsers are catching up to Chrome.

What you need to know

We asked our readers which browser they preferred to use on their Android phones.
As expected, the top vote-getter was Google’s own Chrome browser.
Several third-party browsers are virtually tied for second place.

When we asked our readers earlier this week which web browser they preferred to use on their devices, we didn’t think the results would’ve turned out quite the way they did. Of course, Google’s Chrome browser, the default baked into every Android phone, was the most popular choice, but there were several others you might not suspect which were not all that far behind.

As you can see from the chart below, Google Chrome took the top spot in our poll with nearly 28% of the vote. But second through fifth positions were virtually tied between Brave, Firefox, Samsung Internet, and “other.” Finally, DuckDuckGo and Opera brought up the rear, each with around 5% of the vote.

Which is your web browser of ch…