Phones in Gear

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Getting a Message Out When There's No Signal

Your phone's GPS still works with zero bars. Its maps don't. That gap is where people get into trouble, and here's what actually fixes it.

GuideGadgetsDean Shaw23 Sept 20265 min

Why the text message code is the weakest lock on your accounts

Six-digit texts feel secure and aren't. A practical ladder from SMS to hardware keys, plus the backup step almost everyone skips.

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Pressure-test my business idea

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GuideGadgetsDean Shaw23 Sept 20265 min

What to buy when your kid needs a phone, not a smartphone

Four categories that actually work, the network trap that kills cheap flip phones, and the group-chat problem nobody warns you about.

Delicious.com — Nine thousand recipes and a plan for tonight

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Gadgets5 min read

Make Your Next Phone Last Five Years

Most phones get replaced long before they stop working. A few decisions at purchase, and a few habits after, change that completely.

Poll

Where does your phone charge overnight?

GuideGadgetsDean Shaw22 Sept 20266 min

Three copies of every photo you would grieve losing

Most family photo archives are one dropped phone or one dead drive away from gone. Fixing that takes an afternoon and about an hour a year after that.

GuideGadgetsDean Shaw22 Sept 20266 min

Back up everything so a lost phone is just a bad afternoon

Photos are the easy part. The thing that actually ruins your week is losing the ability to log into anything you own.

CancerDefying.com — The research, protocols and reading in one place

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GuideGadgetsDean Shaw22 Sept 20266 min

When a new phone is worth it and when to skip a year

Most upgrades buy you a slightly better camera and a fresh battery. Only one of those is worth paying full price for.

Quiz

Does your wardrobe actually fit you?

Five questions, honestly answered, and a plan for the next fortnight.

GuideBRO for HerNina Castellan2 Oct 20266 min

The test for control is what happens when you say no

Sharing money and phones is normal in a marriage. Control is when the sharing runs one way and saying no costs you. How to tell the difference early.

GuideFamilyCal Brennan1 Oct 20266 min

Phone-free dinners start with the phone in your own pocket

Most no-phones-at-the-table rules die by Wednesday, and the kids aren't usually the ones who kill them. How to start it so it sticks.

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Rehearse the raise conversation with me

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GuideMomsNina Castellan1 Oct 20266 min

Start the Teen Screen Reset With Your Own Phone

The fight over your teenager's phone usually isn't about the phone. Change who goes first and most of the war never starts.

Coconut.com — Tell us when. We find where the sun is.

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GuideDadsSam Ortiz1 Oct 20266 min

Your kids can't tell work email from scrolling

To a seven-year-old, every look at your phone is the same look. Change what they see, and the house rules start to stick.

Poll

How often do you see your closest friends?

GuideBRO SeniorsMarcus Vale1 Oct 20266 min

Your life story, two minutes and one question at a time

Forget the grand family documentary. A phone, a window and one small question a week will leave your grandchildren something they'll treasure.

GuideFamilyNina Castellan1 Oct 20266 min

Print one family photo book a year, before your phone buries it all

Your camera roll isn't an archive. It's a landfill. One book every January keeps the year your kids will actually want back.

Dude.com — 16 advisers who listen, talk and pray with you

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GuideDadsSam Ortiz1 Oct 20266 min

Let your teenager write the first draft of the phone rules

The family tech agreement that survives past October is the one your kid wrote half of, with one clause in it about you.

Quiz

Is your money actually in order?

Six questions. No email required, no sales pitch at the end.

BRO Seniors6 min

The Best Family Code Word Is a Wrong Answer

Family6 min

The twenty-dollar Saturday your kid will still talk about at forty

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Build me a revision plan that I will actually stick to

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GuideCouples in BusinessRay Okonkwo26 Sept 20266 min

Hand off the phone calls years before you hand off the shares

Ownership is the last thing to move in a family business. Authority, customers and your own Monday mornings have to go first.

Names.com — The name is the first thing you sell

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BRO Seniors7 min read

Your Phone Came Set Up for Someone Else's Eyes and Ears

Bigger text, louder calls and fewer fake alarms are already built into your phone. It takes about twenty minutes and a pen.

Poll

When did you last ask for a raise?

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