Digital life

Digital life

While testing angles, I thought: When did this become normal? Then I did something even worse. Or more practical. Or both - I can't tell the difference anymore. I used an AI tool to "enhance" the photo. Adjust the lighting. Add a studio background. Give it that more "professional" look. I literally asked an algorithm to tell me what my face should look like. And the most depressing part wasn't doing it. It was that it worked. The photo was "better." More presentable. More performative.

Everybody's dreaming about being a digital nomad these days, especially since so many of us got a taste for remote working during and after the pandemic. While there are certain spots that are more popular for those dreaming of a change of scenery - Bali, anyone? - more and more countries have been launching their own digital nomad visas , giving remote workers far more options than were available just a few years ago.

The company said the expansion will create regional employment opportunities, including construction workers, installation technicians, sales and marketing staff, and community engagement personnel. Ezee Fiber also plans to establish a regional office in Salem. "I'm proud to bring Ezee Fiber's multi-gig internet service to homes and businesses in Oregon," said Matt Marino, Chief Executive Officer of Ezee Fiber. Marino said customer support has contributed to the company's growth over the past two years. The company reports a 4.9-star Google rating and thousands of five-star reviews.

Here's the sad truth about sports score apps: Most of them aren't all that interested in actually telling you the score. After all, where's the money in providing straightforward information like that? The modern sports score app has to do more. It must bombard you with banner ads and betting odds, implore you to create an account and opt into notifications, sell you some tickets, and show some videos to keep engagement up. The scores themselves are an afterthought.

Landing a job that allows you to work from home is a significant game-changer for your finances and overall well-being. No longer will you be subjected to that brutal morning commute or get stuck in traffic after work. Plus, numerous remote jobs exist that pay well and don't require an advanced degree. If you're starting your professional life or seeking a way to move beyond living paycheck to paycheck, here are 12 entry-level jobs that can be done remotely.

"Mr. Watson, come here, I want to speak to you." With these words, Alexander Graham Bell revolutionized communication. They were the first words to be intelligibly transmitted over distance the first telephone call. On February 14, 1876, Bell applied for a patent for his invention, signaling the rise of spoken communication as the primary way people stay connected. Real-time, long-distance communication stunned those experiencing it for the first time.

Spectrum below 1 GHz could significantly boost 4G and 5G coverage in rural areas, according to the report from GSMA Intelligence. Rural areas depend heavily on low-band spectrum because it allows signal to travel further and penetrate better through barriers such as buildings. Rural residents spend twice as much time connected to low bands as their urban and rural counterparts.

If you are the kind of person who might still occasionally open X, you were probably bombarded this week with a ton of tweets that appeared to be a bunch of gobbledygook. "Clavicular almost caught a CAREER-ENDING cortisol spike after a LARPMAXXED stacy tried jesterfying him on stream by calling him a good boy while he was mid-mog between 2 LOW-TIER NORMIES at ASU," read one such post.

As Sierra shared in her video, an analog bag is simply a tote filled with your favorite tactile activities - such as crosswords, novels, journals, or knitting tools - to keep you from reaching for your phone. When I began curating mine, I thought about activities I liked and went from there. Since I primarily work from my apartment, my goal was to create an analog bag that would help me decompress at home after a long day on my computer and phone.

Ever since Mosaic, the first web browser introduced in 1993, browsers have included bookmarking features that let users quickly return to favorite sites. Today, bookmarks are even more important, especially on PCs and Macs, where the browser has become the most frequently used software. It serves as the gateway to email, news, entertainment, video calls, shopping, banking and even word processing, graphic design, tax preparation and much more.

Romance scams used to feel like a cliché. Everyone pictured an email from an overseas "prince" that was poorly written and full of typos and pleas for cash. Now, that cliché is dead. Today's romance scams are industrial-scale operations. Attackers use artificial intelligence to clone voices, create deepfake video calls, and write scripts with large language models (LLMs). In 2024 alone, the Federal Trade Commission reported that financial losses to romance scams skyrocketed, with victims losing $1.14 billion.

Think about how many emails you receive each day. Then how many of those include the phrase "please find attached" in the body. One X user has made a plea to retire the phrase, a relic leftover from a time when business communication relied on typewritten letters posted in envelopes, which actually included attached documents to be found. The post quickly went viral, gaining nearly 15 million views since it was posted earlier this week.

YouTube is expanding its test of variable channel subscriber notification frequency, which reduces the amount of push notifications that are sent to subscribers if they don't regularly engage with a channel's content. YouTube originally launched its variable notifications as a test last March, with the aim of reducing overwhelm, which can often lead to people switching off push notifications entirely. And that experiment has obviously gone well, because now, YouTube is expanding it to more subscribers.

There are a couple of conditions to keep in mind. Using Recovery Drive resets Windows back to its initial factory state. Specifically, the recovery stores all built-in Windows files, any updates installed when you set up the drive, and any customizations from the PC maker. Your customizations, personal files, and any apps you've installed are not included, so you'll want to make sure you have separate backups of those items.

Storytelling is shaped by the way we engage with it. In the past, narratives unfolded slowly, giving the audience time to reflect and analyze at their own pace. Classic games, podcasts, and films provided the audience with time to settle into the narrative, and for emotions to build up gradually. These slower forms of media created room for reflection and engagement, allowing audiences to process narratives thoughtfully.

People who prefer texting over phone calls aren't broken or antisocial. In fact, they often possess unique strengths that phone-lovers might actually envy. I discovered this firsthand during my freelancing stint after getting laid off. Without the constant barrage of office calls and impromptu meetings, I found myself gravitating toward written communication. And something interesting happened: my work got better, my relationships became more intentional, and my anxiety levels dropped significantly.

"I get just enough to cover my rent a month," she told the . "It's not enough to be a career and this is a full-time job."

Their very existence is proof of something not working. And so, in a way, their project is to exist, to be seen, to be popular. That's why he's going to say the N-word on stream. That's why he's going to read the humiliating text from his father on stream. It's a total commitment to that project. Because I think his existence just sort of proves that the gatekeepers are gone.

I remember stepping out of Austin-Bergstrom Airport last July, and the heat hit me like opening an oven door. Not the dry, manageable warmth I knew from Southern California, but something thick and heavy that made my shirt cling to my back before I even reached the rental car. That moment was my first real hint that moving from California to Texas would be more than just a change of scenery.

On the veranda of her family's home, with her laptop balanced on a mud slab built into the wall, Monsumi Murmu works from one of the few places where the mobile signal holds. The familiar sounds of domestic life come from inside the house: clinking utensils, footsteps, voices. On her screen a very different scene plays: a woman is pinned down by a group of men, the camera shakes, there is shouting and the sound of breathing.

Picture this: Your phone rings. The caller ID shows your local hospital. The voice on the other end sounds professional, maybe a bit urgent. They're calling about Medicare coverage changes that could affect your upcoming procedures. They just need to verify some information to ensure your benefits continue uninterrupted. Sounds legitimate, right? Here's the thing - it probably isn't. And that's exactly what makes modern phone scams so dangerous.

You know that friend who always texts back within seconds, no matter what time of day? I used to be that person. My phone would buzz, and before I'd even consciously registered the notification, my thumbs were already typing. It took me years to realize that my lightning-fast response time wasn't just about being helpful or friendly. It was broadcasting something much deeper about my relationship with boundaries.

Don't make me have an account for everything.

Leveraging your skills on freelancing platforms like Upwork, Fiverr or Freelancer can be a quick way to earn cash. Whether it's writing, graphic design, programming or social media management, these platforms connect you with clients looking for specific skill sets. Start by creating a compelling profile and bidding on projects that match your expertise.