Studying abroad is a valuable and enriching experience, and a smartphone can be an essential tool to have on hand while exploring a new country. It can help navigate foreign streets, translate languages, find the best places to eat or shop, and decipher tricky public transportation systems.
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Not worried about someone hacking your smartphone? From 2015 to 2016, mobile device malware infections jumped 96%, and mobile ransomware surged 415% in 2017. Smartphone infections currently account for 72% of all mobile virus infections.
Take a moment and think about what a person could learn if they had access to your phone. From bank details to family photos, important emails to social media accounts — an hour with your phone and someone could effectively gain access to all areas of your life.
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Smartphones give you the ability to get things done no matter where you are, and they are quickly becoming an essential part of conducting business. But distracting notifications can take your attention away from what you’re doing and make it difficult to focus.
A study by the University of Texas at Austin found that the mere presence of your smartphone reduces “available cognitive capacity and impairs cognitive functioning, even though people feel they’re giving their full attention and focus to the task at hand.”
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Do smart homes save energy? Are all our cool, connected gadgets really going to rescue the planet, one iconic design at a time? It’s an often-touted benefit of ditching your old, plastic white gadgets in favour of shiny new black ones. But is it accurate? Yes and no.
The sustainable living movement and the smart home have come of age together over the last few decades, enjoying a beneficial but sometimes uneasy partnership. Yes, smart home devices can save resources. No, not all of them will. Some, such as always-on smart speakers and connected cameras actually use more, because they’re not replacing an energy load, they’re adding one (although not a significant one). Others, including smart thermostats and AI-powered water and energy monitoring systems, are forging a path to a brighter, greener future – and saving us some cash along the way.
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Do most people really want a smart home, they just don’t know it yet? That’s what Lennar, one of America’s largest homebuilders believes, and that is why the 65-year-old company announced last year that it would outfit all its new homes with home automation tech as standard.
Those new homes – equipped with Wi-Fi Certified home design, Alexa voice control, and a starter kit of smart home tech – have now started to roll on to the market. We went to check one out in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
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Whether you’re looking to completely revamp your apartment’s living space or simply want to freshen up a few pieces of your home décor, your phone can offer the insight and inspiration you need to nail the look you’re going for – all for much less than what an interior designer might cost.
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![House Hunting](https://www.thehousedesigners.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Home_Search_Magnifying_Glass_Coins-768x512.jpg")
Whether you’re looking to buy or build a new home, just starting your home search, or deep in the process of finding your forever home, your phone can be a portal to all the information you need. From honing in on the perfect location to getting alerts when new listings hit the market, these tips for digital home searching can help you find your perfect home from the palm of your hand.
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As WiFi becomes more a part of our everyday lives, figuring out how to fix it when it’s “broken” is crucial. Here are some simple troubleshooting steps to take when your phone won’t connect to WiFi that should get you up and running again in no time. Enjoy WiFi access on the go with millions of free Xfinity WiFi hotspots nationwide.
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Programmers are very familiar with the phrase “If This, Then That” when it comes to building software, but did you know that you can also use these four words to run your everyday life, all through your smartphone?
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Smart doorbells are fast becoming the gateway drug to the smart home. Easy to install, insanely useful, and conveniently bypassing the privacy and security concerns of many smart home devices (because they’re outside the house), there really isn’t a good reason not to get one. So, the question is, which one?
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And people are shockingly unprepared, despite high-tech solutions
Extreme weather events are on the rise. Last year, the U.S. suffered 16 major natural disasters — up 33 percent from the year before — with collective recovery costs of over $300 billion. The seemingly relentless mix of hurricanes, wildfires, blizzards, floods, tornadoes, and droughts racked up the highest bill in history. And it's predicted that this upward trend will continue.
A recent study by Esurance revealed that the vast majority of U.S. residents have experienced at least 1 major weather catastrophe in the past 5 years. And although 80 percent of respondents expressed concern about the increasing pace of these events, less than half believe that their communities are getting better at handling them. Furthermore, only 17 percent felt they were personally prepared for an unexpected natural disaster.
In our analysis, we discovered that people continue to leave themselves and their homes vulnerable to Mother Nature's wrath, despite all the powerful tools that are now available to help. But if we can start to take advantage of what tech has to offer, we could better weather the storms.
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Offering new conveniences, energy savings, safety, and security, pre-installed home automation devices are quite appealing to buyers.
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My essay on prefab homes and their advantages when it comes to automation was published in Dwell's August/September issue.
Read it online here.
My article on my favorite smart home gadgets that I use in my home was published in Dwell's August/September print edition.
Read it online here.
The synergy between the smart home and the sustainable home is a beautiful thing. Technology brings conveniences, and by reducing our consumption of water and energy, sustainability brings savings. Put these two powerful features together, and you have the sustainable smart home. This is a home that saves its owner money and the planet precious resources—by automating many of the things we forget to do, don’t know how to do, or don’t realize we need to do.
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Thanks to our smartphones, we’re always connected: We can keep in touch with the office from the beach, check our email in the school pick-up line, or post a picture of our lunch to social media just for fun. But what about the rest of our devices? When we’re not connected to our office or home Internet, how do we get our laptops and tablets online? Here we’ll look at how to use WiFi hotspots and smartphone tethering to make sure that wherever you go, whichever device you want to use, you can always stay connected.
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Handing your child their own cellphone is a big parenting step. It can open up a whole new world to your kids (one which requires much vigilance on your part), but it can also be just a simple tool to help you stay in touch. The right cellphone plan for your child will depend on what they use it for. Here’s an age-by-age guide to choosing a phone and phone plan for your child.
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Phone “plans” have completely changed. Today, we consumers have multiple choices, lots more flexibility, plus the freedom to get a new phone when we want one, not on someone else’s timetable. Here are the new rules of switching carriers, plus the simple five-step way you can make a switch.
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Me chatting about the Nest Protect - one of the smartest smart home products you can buy. Watch the video here.