Apple ID Website Receives 4/5 ‘Good’ Score in Dashlane’s 2017 Password Power Rankings

Password management app Dashlane has enlisted a group of researchers to assess and rank the password policy and security of 37 consumer and 11 enterprise websites. The study examined five password security criteria to result in a point-based ranking system, with points awarded for the following categories: requiring 8+ characters, needing alphanumeric passwords, including a password strength assessment indicator, passing brute force attack simulations, and supporting 2-factor authentication.

Based on these data points, the Apple ID sign-in page scored a 4/5 and earned a “Good” ranking. Apple passed on all criteria except for the brute force attack test, where researchers said they were never presented with a security warning (“such as a CAPTCHA code or the account automatically locking”) after entering incorrect credentials 10 times in a row. Dashlane mentioned that the study was completed during the week of July 5 – July 14, 2017.

“We created the Password Power Rankings to make everyone aware that many sites they regularly use do not have policies in place to enforce secure password measures. It’s our job as users to be especially vigilant about our cybersecurity, and that starts with having strong and unique passwords for every account,” said Dashlane CEO Emmanuel Schalit. “However, companies are responsible for their users, and should guide them toward better password practices.”

Above Apple with perfect scores were GoDaddy, Stripe, and QuickBooks, but at the very low end with a score of 0/5 were Netflix, Pandora, Spotify, Uber, and Amazon Web Services. Dashlane said that in total 46 percent of consumer sites have “dangerously lax” password policies, while 36 percent of enterprise websites face the same issue.

The researchers said that some of the more troubling findings related to being able to create a password using nothing but the lowercase letter “a” on Amazon, Dropbox, Google, Instagram, LinkedIn, Netflix, Spotify, Uber, and Venmo. The Apple ID sign-in page was one of six sites that did not have a policy to prevent brute force attacks, also including Dropbox, Google, Twitter, Venmo, and Walmart.

Visit Dashlane’s website here for more information on the 2017 Password Power Rankings, including a few infographics. Dashlane has performed similar studies of password security policies in years past.

Tag: Dashlane
Discuss this article in our forums

LG will enable the FM radio on its future smartphones with NextRadio partnership

Why it matters to you

Looking for a new way to listen to music on your phone for little or no money? LG is enabling the FM chip built in to its future smartphones.

Smartphones are pretty impressive little devices — but there is one feature that has evaded them over the years — the FM radio. Of course, that is not because of a lack of hardware — in fact, all smartphones actually have FM radios built right into them, but not too many manufacturers actually enable them.

LG is changing that, through a partnership with NextRadio. The company announced that NextRadio will become a native platform on some of LG’s top phones in North and South America. With NextRadio, users will be able to listen to any local radio station, as they would any other radio — which is not just convenient, it is a way for those without streaming services to still experience new music without having to download MP3s. With the partnership, not only will LG phones have their FM chips enabled, but phones will come pre-installed with the NextRadio app.

“We are proud and excited to partner with one of the world’s leading smartphone providers to continue our mission of connecting and exposing users to a fully immersive radio experience,” Paul Brenner, President of NextRadio, said in a statement. “This alliance will give millions of consumers the opportunity to receive real over-the-air FM radio through their phone.”

It is certainly interesting that LG is interested in bringing the radio to its smartphones. Many consider broadcast radio, in general, to be a dying medium, especially with the rise of music streaming and even internet radio. Many will consider it a nice addition to the smartphone, though some might not like the idea of an extra app coming pre-installed on their phone.

So why do phones have FM radio chips in the first place? It’s actually included in the chipset of most smartphones. Qualcomm, for example, bakes FM functionality into its LTE modems. While manufacturers can activate the chips, as LG seems to be doing now, the decision often rests on the shoulders of the carrier. The reason most phones do not have those chips enabled is the fact that carriers have no incentive to activate them — they make money from customers streaming and using up their data. On top of that, many manufacturers have their own music streaming services, so they also do not have any incentive to enable the chip.

It will be interesting to see if the demand for FM radios grows but in the meantime, if you really want that functionality, you will soon be able to get an LG phone with it.

The best mobile hotspots from your carrier for Wi-Fi access everywhere

These days, everyone is on the go and wants constant access to the internet, but some people need to stay more connected than others — and that’s when a mobile hotspot comes in handy. Mobile hotspots provide Wi-Fi access to any of your devices by using data from a cellular network. If you’re a frequent traveler, you’ll probably want to find out about the best mobile hotspots for you and your next destination.

It’s important to note that mobile hotspots will only work on some carriers and networks, unless you buy an unlocked device. You might want to check out the best unlimited data plans and best family plans to find your ideal carrier.

Verizon – Jetpack AC791L ($200 retail, $50 with contract)

Where the Jetpack shines the brightest is through its battery life. With just one full charge, the AC791L can last for 21 hours, and it can support up to 15 devices. You can put that battery power to good use by using one of the Jetpack’s convenient ports to charge your other devices.

Its aesthetic and capacitive buttons look and feel archaic compared to current tech designs, but its 5GHz bandwidth and strong LTE speeds overcome any of the Jetpack’s minor flaws.

Buy one now from:

Verizon

AT&T – Netgear Unite Explore ($50 with contract)

If you need a mobile hotspot that’s just as durable as your phone, then the Netgear Unite Explore’s rubber exterior and splash resistance will work great for you. What will also work great is the nice set of features, including the 18-hour battery life and dual antenna ports to help this hotspot go even further.

There’s really nothing bad to say about the Unite Explore, other than you have to use AT&T’s pretty pricey services to get it working. If your carrier fees are on your company’s dime, then you’re in the clear, but if you’re looking to get a mobile hotspot on your own data plan, then you might want to switch carriers first.

Buy one now from:

AT&T

T-Mobile – Alcatel Linkzone ($48)

The Alcatel Linkzone is hands down the best mobile hotspot you can get for T-Mobile, but that’s because it’s the only one. Its features are pretty limited, but it’s light, has reasonable battery life at nearly 8 hours, and there’s even a MicroSD card slot.

What’s noticeably lacking is its speed. Unlike all the other hotspots on this list that work at 5GHz, the Linkzone only works at 2.4.GHZ.

Buy now from:

T-Mobile

Sprint – Netgear Zing ($90)

The Netgear Zing from Sprint takes something as plainly designed as a mobile hotspot and turns it into an intuitive piece of technology that’s actually a joy to interact with. Along with its touchscreen display, the Zing also comes with an app that lets you manage your hotspot settings from your phone. The Wi-Fi range isn’t as good as other hotspots in its price bracket, but the dual antenna ports make that an easy, cheap fix.

Buy now from:

Amazon

International – GlocalMe U2 ($140)

Originally an Indiegogo project, GlocalMe U2 has turned into the best alternative to a carrier-provided mobile hotspot. It has a lot of standout features like an integrated app, the ability to work with all the top cell phone carriers, and slots for both full-size and Micro SIMs, but its most impressive feature is its cloud SIM technology, which allows you to get online in more than 100 countries without inserting a SIM card.

There are a variety of payment plans for the cloud feature, and they’re all pretty reasonable, but the price of the U2 itself is pretty high, especially compared to carrier-provided hotspots. The GlocalMe U2 isn’t a good fit for most business travelers, but for the avid tourist, this device is definitely worth the investment.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1920X and 1950X Review

Research Center:
AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X

Buying a processor used to be boring. For years, Intel dominated the market with better per-core efficiency, better prices, and chips in every pre-built system from the cheapest used PC to the most expensive battle station.

Then the Ryzen 7 chips showed up, and turned AMD from the plucky underdog, to a leading candidate for your next system. With Ryzen Threadripper finally here, the company’s transformation from runner-up to contender is almost complete.

This supercharged desktop CPU maxes out at 16 cores and 32 threads, with support for quad-channel DDR4, 64 PCI Express 3.0 lanes, and a swath of under-the-hood improvements built for insane speed and impressive multi-tasking.

You’d better be willing to pay for the performance. While less expensive then Intel chips with similar core counts, the Threadripper 1920X starts at $800, and the 1950X is a cool grand. This isn’t budget hardware.

Does Threadripper pour fuel on the fires of AMD’s glorious comeback, or serve as proof there’s more to performance than core count?

XXX-L

Packing in so many cores takes up a lot of space, and the Ryzen Threadripper chips bear a closer resemblance to the oversized AMD Epyc line of server chips as a result. Even after handling Intel’s oversized Core X-Series CPUs, the Threadripper chips have a commanding presence. While Intel chips are labelled with small, functional text, the AMD option bears the name Threadripper in big, stylized letters right across the face.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

However, the AMD chips do have one similarity with their Intel peers. The contact pins are on the motherboard, rather than the processor, which is the opposite of what we’re used to seeing from the red team.

Installation has changed, and now follows a process that resembles the similarly beefy AMD Epyc server chips. The box includes a Torx T20 screwdriver with a ratchet calibrated to exactly the pressure needed to properly seat the chip. While the size of the chip may make it seem intimidating, we found it no harder to install than Intel’s competing processors. Both are easy to install, and include fool-proof features that make damage during installation unlikely.

AMD’s Threadripper processors are hilariously huge. Even Intel’s Core i9 is dwarfed.

Users have their pick of four air cooling options, or 20 all-in-one liquid cooling options, at launch. That’s thanks to a special bracket included with each chip, designed to work with Asetek coolers. Asetek doesn’t sell coolers, but instead sells designs to most of the major manufacturers, and the bracket should work with most coolers that have a circular block on the CPU end. It won’t cover the whole chip, which may unnerve you, but AMD says the coverage on existing AM4 compatible AIO coolers is enough to sap the heat off the processor dies. We didn’t have an issue with heat during our tests.

Aside from the gigantic CPU, a Threadripper system will look like any other high-end PC. There are already X399 motherboards from Gigabyte, ASRock, Asus, and MSI, and all of them are tricked out with every feature in their respective OEM’s arsenal. They’re currently only available in ATX form factors, and we wouldn’t expect to see ITX, or possibly even mATX, any time soon, considering the physical size of Theadripper.

More threads than you can handle, perhaps literally

All three Ryzen Threadripper chips have an unlocked multiplier, allowing users to push the chip’s base clock past its stock settings — 3.4GHz for the 1950X, and 3.5GHz for the 1920X. That said, if you choose not to overclock the chips, they’ll run in their normal mode, which allows the clock speed to push another 200MHz past the normal boost clock when thermal overhead allows.

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Because 16 core chips are still on the cutting edge for home desktop applications, AMD has added another set of switches to the Ryzen Master overclocking utility, which help ensure compatibility and perfect performance for the situation. Users looking for a simple explanation can find one in the new preset profiles, Gaming and Creative, which optimize the CPU for either a spot of gaming, or the more demanding work tasks the chip is really meant for.

Choosing one of those presets affects a pair of settings under the hood. The first is what AMD calls Legacy Compatibility Mode, which simply turns off half of the chip’s cores. While that’s bound to hurt multitasking and CPU bound performance, it also may help games that can’t handle a full 32 or 24 threads. As noted when Ryzen first appeared, some older titles do not handle it well, and may even refuse to run – though that is very rare.

Creative mode enables all threads, and distributes the memory access to allow for more total bandwidth when working with large data sets and demanding tasks. It’s the mode AMD recommends for almost everything, and in our testing, there was basically no reason to flip over to game mode unless an application simply wouldn’t run with a full set of 32 threads.

Chip, set, match

As with any high-end CPU, the chip itself is only half of the equation. The X399 chipset, which powers Threadripper compatible motherboards, can handle a swath of premium components and features. It’s competing with Intel’s highest-end consumer computing platform, X299, but there’s a key difference between the two. With AMD, the platform determines the level of component and memory support. With Intel, the CPU can limit the features, such as the number of PCIe lanes you have access to, how fast memory can run, and whether you can overclock the chip.

Make no mistake — the Threadripper chips are a force to be reckoned with.

That means no matter which Ryzen Threadripper CPU ends up in a system, it will offer 64 PCI Express lanes, which is 20 more than Intel’s highest-end Core i9 chip offers. On the Intel side, you’ll find the Core i7-7820X only supports 28 lanes, with more budget friendly chips continuing to slash that number.

AMD provided many examples for what users could potentially do with 64 PCIe lanes. It’s more than enough for a pair of GPUs at full x16, plus two more at x8, with overhead to spare for some PCIe NVMe drives and even a network add-in card. That’s an extremely versatile set of options for extra components, and with storage solutions and complex rendering cards moving towards the standard, it’s more important than ever.

The Threadripper platform also supports Error-Correcting Code (ECC) memory, and quad-channel DDR4 memory up to 3,200MHz out of the box. The Core i9-7900X, meanwhile, supports 2,666MHz without overclocking, and without the bonus of ECC. This won’t matter to most people, but those building a workstation might want the extra memory features and performance that Threadripper offers.

The competition

The Ryzen Threadripper family consists of three chips, the 1950X, 1920X, and newly announced 1900X — which arrives in late August, a few weeks after the first chips. The 1950X will run users a cool $1,000, while the more modest 1920X shaves $200 off for an $800 price tag. The 1900X sits at a much lower $550 price point with 8 cores and sixteen threads.

These chips sit in direct price opposition to the Intel Core i9 Extreme Edition offerings recently fleshed out by the other team. The highest-end offering there is the 10-core, 20-thread Intel Core i9-7900X, which retails for between $1,060 and $1,120, and packs in ten cores, twenty threads, and a 3.3GHz base clock.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1950X Compared To

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1920X

AMD Ryzen 5 1600X

AMD Ryzen 5 1500X

AMD Ryzen 7 1700

AMD Ryzen 7 1800X

Intel Core i7-7700K

Intel Core i7-6950X

Intel Core I7-6700K

AMD A10-7870K

Intel Core i7-5960X

There are more high-end chips on the way from Intel in September 2017, including the Intel Core i9-7980XE. That chip will have 18 cores and 36 threads, beating Threadripper, but it will also have a much higher $2,000 price tag.

Packing more cores into a chip often comes with a sacrifice to single-core clock speed, an issue all the high-end Intel and AMD chips suffer from. The Threadripper 1950X may have 16 cores, but each only runs at a 3.4GHz base clock, and a 4.0GHz boost clock. Cutting four cores for the Threadripper 1920X only brings the base clock up to 3.5GHz, and leaves the boost clock untouched. The Intel Core i9-7900X has a similar 3.3GHz base clock, and 4.3GHz Turbo Boost, with just ten cores.

Hold on to your butts – benchmark records are about to break

Still, higher cores at a lower clock speed is good news for these CPUs, as workloads become increasingly capable of spreading resources around to more cores. Our tests reflect that, with almost all our practical tests representing well distributed, scalable workloads. We built all new test rigs for both the high-end Intel offerings, and Ryzen Threadripper, that we feel represent a premium desktop, albeit with limited storage space, for obvious reasons.

We built both systems into Thermaltake Suppresor F31 ATX mid towers, with Thermaltake 360mm AIO coolers. Both systems are rocking 32GB of DDR4 memory, with 3200MHz Corsair Vengeance in the Intel rig, and 3200MHz G.Skill TridentZ in the Threadripper station. Both systems are equipped with PCIe NVMe SSDs as their only form of storage, for simplicity’s sake.

Now, it’s the moment of truth. Are the threads ripped, as promised?

Whoa.

Aside from the Geekbench single-core test, these scores are by far the highest results we’ve seen from any computer, and it’s no small victory. The Cinebench rendering test result doesn’t just clobber Intel’s Core i9-7900X, it’s almost 500 points higher than the world record AMD’s Ryzen 7 1800X set in February 2017.

The Handbrake 4K conversion is particularly telling, as the Threadripper 1950X managed to shave more than a minute off the Core i9-7900X’s already short run time of three minutes, 32 seconds. Video encode and decode workloads are becoming an increasingly common task for high-end machines.

The 7-Zip benchmark only confirms what the other tests have told us — the Threadripper chips are a force to be reckoned with. Even the more modest Threadripper 1920X manages to sneak a win past the Intel Core i9-7900X, a chip that costs $200 more. The 1950X picks up the benchmark and body-slams it with flair. The processor’s combined 7-Zip score of 72,028 is about 30 percent quicker than Intel’s Core i9-7900X.

These numbers are ridiculous. In Handbrake, for example, the 1950X just about doubles the typical result we see from a high-end, overclocked Core i7-7700K desktop like the Origin Neuron.

Threadripper’s manhandling of our benchmarks means it’s likely to endure even heavy daily use without breaking a sweat, and capable of gaming, encoding, rendering, and computational work, all at the same time. Intel’s most expensive Core i9-7900X didn’t slouch, but it flinched.

Game on

While there’s nothing stopping Threadripper from taking on a few rounds of Overwatch, that’s certainly not what it’s built for. Our testing has shown that even the Ryzen 3 1300X won’t bottleneck mid-range GPU options like the RX 580, and the Ryzen 7 1700 is more than capable of handling any single GPU setup you throw at it. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with gaming on Threadripper – but you’d be spending three times more than you need to.

As you can see from these graphs, there are diminishing returns for high-end CPUs. Graphics cards are by far the biggest determining factor when it comes to frame rates, so the difference between our MSI Gaming X+ RX 580 and Zotac GTX 1080 Ti AMP! Edition are far more dramatic than those between the chips.

The Threadripper 1950X and 1920X both break the mold a bit in the Civilization VI benchmarks. The turn-based strategy game tends to be more CPU-dependent, which gives the extra cores a chance to strut their stuff. The Threadripper 1950X manages to pull ahead there in a meaningful way.

They still fell into the trap of a GPU bottleneck when playing Deux Ex: Mankind Divided with the RX 580, a solemn reminder you should reach for a less expensive chip if the only goal is mid-range gaming.

Our Take

AMD’s show-stopping Ryzen Threadripper 1950X and 1920X don’t just push high-end performance, they redefine it. Both chips clobber the Intel offerings at the same price point, and provide a much better platform for high-end computing. At $800 and $1,000, they don’t come cheap, but they are more affordable than Intel’s alternative.

Is there a better alternative?

As we’ve said before with these high-end components, not everyone needs this sort of overwhelming power, and anyone who does need it, should know exactly what they’re buying it for. That’s doubly so for $1,000 or more chips like Ryzen Threadripper, and Intel’s Core i9 offerings. If your goal is anything other than serious workstation tasks that must be completed as quickly as possible, a chip like this is overkill. On the other hand, if you do need this sort of power, nothing slower will do.

The Intel Core i9-7900X is the most obvious competitor, at just over $1,000 depending on the retailer. It has fewer cores, 20 less PCIe lanes, and lacks support for ECC memory. None of those are necessarily detrimental, until you realize the Threadripper 1950X is about $50 less. That makes it extremely difficult to recommend the Intel offering.

Intel’s chip does have one edge, and that’s in per-core performance. That’s why it scores so well in Geekbench’s single-core test. However, if per-core performance is what you want, you should look at a different class of chip. Threadripper and Core i9 are designed for maximum multi-core results.

How long will it last?

Though the winds of computing requirements may change on a whim, the Threadripper and X399 platform are built to weather the storm. Most users will find themselves with extra PCIe slots and lanes, extra slots for memory, and plenty of cores to handle increasingly complex workloads. These Threadripper chips will be very relevant for years to come.

Should you buy it?

Yes. For those who need this sort of a horsepower to render videos and 3D scenes, work with raytraced lighting, or handle major encoding tasks without having to hand over their entire system, the choice is clear. The high-end Threadripper chips offer better multi-core performance, more unlocked and under-the-hood options, and a much better platform for the same price as the Intel offering.

Best iOS app deals of the day! 6 paid iPhone apps for free for a limited time

Everyone likes Apple apps, but sometimes the best ones are a bit expensive. Now and then, developers put paid apps on sale for free for a limited time, but you have to snatch them up while you have the chance. Here are the latest and greatest iOS app deals available from the iOS App Store.

These apps normally cost money and this sale lasts for a limited time only. If you go to the App Store and it says the app costs money, that means the deal has expired and you will be charged. 

Thankful for

Studies show that people who regularly practice giving thanks are happier. Give thanks on a daily basis with this helpful reminder app.

Available on:

iOS

Happy Hypnosis

Lift your spirits with an encouraging and uplifting hypnotherapy session by Rachael Meddows Hypnosis. Don’t forget to snap out of it!

Available on:

iOS

Breathe Pro

Breathe in and out to relax with gorgeous scenes from around the world and measure your stress resistance with your iPhone camera.

Available on:

iOS

Shake!

Shake for a flashlight and swipe for a compass. Shake! is your friendly outdoor companion that also displays weather data for your current location.

Available on:

iOS

Stress Guide

Developed by stress experts, the app is made to help you quantify your level of psychological or physical stress. The app will also help you manage your stress levels.

Available on:

iOS

Spanish Vocab Builder

Spanish has never been more attainable than with this app. Learn new words, review past words, manage word lists, and more.

Available on:

iOS

First-time flyer? You can now rent drones and VR cameras from Lensrentals

Why it matters to you

Drones and VR gear are expensive. Now, you can get your hands on them for a fraction of the cost, but you’ll have to send them back.

The largest camera and video rental company in the U.S. is going airborne. On Thursday, Lensrentals announced the addition of drone and virtual reality cameras to its equipment list. Photographers and filmmakers can now rent drones as well as VR cameras and accessories.

Lensrentals is testing the service nationwide after a successful local test. As users request the new drones and virtual reality equipment, Lensrentals will continue to improve the packaging, maintenance, and supply, the company says.

“With any new photo and video rental categories, we need ensure we’re maintaining our high standards for providing ‘like new’ equipment to enable our customers to capture the best quality imagery,” said Lensrentals co-owner Drew Cicala.

“As drone technology has improved, especially stability control reducing the chances of accidental landings, and VR gear quality has increased, we’re more confident that we can maintain an inventory of professional equipment that can be rented repeatedly throughout the U.S.”

Lensrentals now includes the DJI Mavic Pro, Phantom 4 Pro, and DJI Inspire 2, as well as a number of accessories. The Orah 4i 360 VR camera, a 4K 30fps VR camera capable of live streaming, has also been added to the inventory, as well as the more consumer-oriented Nikon KeyMission 360 action camera along with several mounting options.

The drones and 360 gear are also part of the Lensrentals Keeper program, through which users can buy the equipment they rent and apply the rental fees toward the purchase. For those who aren’t sure exactly which gear they’d like to buy, the program offers a try-before-you-buy option.

Users who rent drones will be directed toward the pilot airman certification at checkout, in order to comply with FAA guidelines, Lensrentals says.

The new drone and VR inventory also comes with a website refresh. Lensrentals says their platform now offers a better layout and a smarter shopping cart. Navigation is also improved to help photographers find what they are looking for quickly, despite the expanded inventory.

Providing gear rentals through all 50 states, Lensrentals is the largest photography rental company in the nation. After launching in 2006, Lensrentals now has over 150,000 photo and video items in its inventory.

Best smart thermostat for Amazon Echo

It’s a trick question! If there’s a Skill, there’s a way. But it’s still worth knowing what you can (and can’t) say to Alexa to control your thermostat.

One of the things you need to know about Amazon Echo — actually, I’m talking about Alexa here — is that in a good many ways, it’s hardware agnostic. You can hook all sorts of things into Alexa via Amazon’s “Skills,” and, for the most part, it shouldn’t really matter what sort of hardware it’s hooking into.

A thermostat is a thermostat. You turn it up and down. Lights are lights. On, off, color, whatever. Sprinklers turn on and off and run on schedules. The brand and exact hardware really shouldn’t matter — you build in functionality through the API, or Application Programming Interface, which we all know and love here as a “Skill.” (Google has “Actions,” Nest has “Works with Nest,” etc., etc.)

Exactly what you can say to a particular device may vary a little bit, but by and large Alexa is going to be smart enough to figure out what it is you’re trying to do without requiring too many specific keywords. (That gets us into the whole natural language processing thing, which is another post for another time.)

So what’s the best thermostat to use with Amazon Echo? Whatcha got? I’ve used a Nest ($248 on Amazon) in my home and an ecobee ($249 on Amazon) in the office. Those are the two more popular smart thermostats, and each has its merits. There’s the design of the actual thermostat itself. (I tend to prefer Nest there for its simplicity and the dial over a touchscreen.) There’s the design and usability of the app that goes along with it. (Again, Nest wins out here for me because ecobee seems like it’s trying a little too hard.)

But those are personal things. The good news here is that if you like ecobee more than Nest and want to use it with Alexa, it’ll work just fine. One really doesn’t work any better for me than the other when it comes to using your voice to control them.

One major caveat here, though, is that the ecobee 4 has a really neat feature in that Alexa is already built in. The thermostat has microphones that are waiting (and willing) for you to use your voice to control it. So you don’t even need an Amazon Echo to control it — the thermostat takes care of everything. That’s pretty cool.

All that said, let’s take a look at what you can actually say to each thermostat through Alexa.

What you can tell Alexa to do with Nest

First, Nest says to make sure you know the name of your Nest. If you’ve named it “Living room,” you’ll tell Alexa to “change the living room to 72 degrees.” You won’t say “Set the thermostat to 72 degrees.” And that’s fine. “Thermostat” is a silly name.

And with that, here’s what you can actually say to it.

• Ask what the temperature is at the thermostat?
• Ask what the thermostat is set to.
• Set the Nest to a specific temperature.
• Increase or decrease by a specific number of degrees. (You can say “warmer” or “colder,” too.

There are third-party skills, too, that let you add even more functionality. Check out Voice Thermostat Controller for even more.

See Nest Thermostat at Amazon

What you can tell Alexa to do with ecobee

Like you’ve probably guessed by now, using ecobee with Alexa is pretty much the same as using it with Nest. Here’s what’s available via your voice:

• Ask for the current temperature at the ecobee.
• Ask what the ecobee is currently set to.
• Set the ecobee to a specific temperature.
• Increase or decrease the temperature by a specific amount.
• Or just say “increase (or decrease) the temperature” to move it by 2 degrees.

See ecobee at Amazon

Pretty simple for both devices. For more (and because things change), be sure to check out the individual skills at the links below.

• ecobee Skill for Amazon Alexa
• Nest skill for Amazon Alexa

Amazon Echo

• Amazon Echo review
• Echo Dot review
• Top Echo Tips & Tricks
• Tap, Echo or Dot: The ultimate Alexa question
• Amazon Echo vs. Google Home
• Get the latest Alexa news

See at Amazon

Most popular Bixby Voice commands

Commands can let Bixby do all sorts of things for you.

Bixby Voice for Galaxy S8 brings an assistant to your pocket. There is plenty that Bixby is capable of doing by using commands, from playing music from your favorite app, to adding items to your calendar. We’ve got the details on the most awesome commands to aid you in your Bixby adventures!

• Navigation
• Music
• Camera
• Calendar

Navigation

When it comes to making it from point A to point B, many of us use our phones as maps and get turn-by-turn directions for them. If you end up needing to use Maps, you can interact verbally by getting Bixby to help you out.

• Navigate to location.
• Start/Stop Navigation.
• Change destination to location.

Music

Bixby is able to connect with a few different music services, including Pandora and Google Play. This means that once you know how to ask, you can have your tunes in just a few words, rather than having to manually open the app and find what you want to listen to. While there are a variety of different commands available depending on which music service you’re using, there are a few that are pretty universal.

• Play Music
• Stop Music
• Pause Music
• Play Music from specific album

Camera

There are times when trying to get the perfect angle for your selfie and managing to hit the shutter button without ruining it is an effort in futility. For those of us with small hands, this is even worse thanks to that super tall infinity display that the Galaxy S8 is rocking. Thankfully, there are a solid handful of camera commands you can use with Bixby. These are especially handy for getting group shots without losing your balance or for getting that perfect angle.

• Take a selfie
• Set the timer for x seconds
• Rotate the camera

Calendar

The calendar on your phone can be used as a powerful tool to keep track of everything going on in your busy schedule. Bixby can read off what is coming up on your calendar, as well as add items to your itinerary. That makes it handy to add things when you’re busy, without having to type anything out.

• Add an event to my calendar.
• What is on my calendar for x date?
• Do I have anything on my calendar for x date?

Questions?

Do you have a favorite command for use with Bixby Voice? Did we miss an excellent command or set of commands that ought to be here? Let us know about it in the comments below!

Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+

• Galaxy S8 and S8+ review!
• Galaxy S8 and S8+ specs
• Everything you need to know about the Galaxy S8’s cameras
• Get to know Samsung Bixby
• Join our Galaxy S8 forums

Verizon
AT&T
T-Mobile
Sprint
Unlocked

Make an unlocked LG V20 (refurb) your next phone for $260

Our friends at Thrifter are back again, this time with another great phone deal!

The folks at Daily Steals are now offering an unlocked refurbished LG V20 for just $259.99 with coupon code THRFTRV20. This is a savings of $20 from Daily Steals’ regular selling price, and $80 cheaper than you’ll find one at B&H Photo or Amazon. This is the Verizon version (VS995), but it is fully unlocked so you can use it on the GSM carrier of your choice, or Verizon.

It comes equipped with 64GB of internal storage, so you don’t have to worry about filling it up too easily taking pictures with its awesome dual-camera setup. The V20 also has a 5.7-inch main display, as well a secondary display above it that shows some useful information. You get a 90-day warranty on the refurbished LG V20, and Daily Steals offers a 30-day return policy.

Daily Steals is also offering an unlocked, refurbished Google Pixel XL for $415, so be sure to check these deals out before they are gone!

See at Daily Steals

More from Thrifter:

• Tips for becoming an expert eBay seller
• How to save money and pack healthy lunches for work

For more great deals be sure to check out our friends at Thrifter now!

Amazon Fire Tablet: Which storage size should I buy?

Spoiler: You want as much as possible. Always.

Nobody ever wakes up in the morning and says “Ya know, I really wish I hadn’t gotten more storage for my tablet.” It just doesn’t happen. (We’ll leave for another time the fact that most folks are normal and don’t think about this sort of thing at all.)

No, when it comes to your phones and tablets and pretty much any electronic device, you can never have too much storage. Because not only will you need it for things like apps and movies and pictures and videos, but the system itself takes up a good chunk of the capacity you’ll see listed on the side of the box.

That last part is key. When you buy a “16GB” tablet, you’re not actually getting 16GB of storage to work with. So the basic rule of thumb is this:

Always buy more storage than you think you’ll need.

If that’s good enough for you, great. Max out the specs and go to town. But let’s break down the different Amazon Fire tablets and take a look at where things stand.

Fire 7: 8GB or 16GB?

This is one of those times when you need to heed the warnings. Because remember that the Fire tablets are built on Android, and 8GB of storage is the absolute minimum of anything that should be on sale in 2017. And even then, I don’t recommend buying anything with that small amount of storage.

That part above where I mentioned the operating system taking up some space? On the 8GB Fire 7 tablet, it’s only going to leave you with 4.5GB of storage for things you want to use. That’s about 56% of the available storage on the Fire 7 gone as soon as you hit the power button.

Yes, the Fire 7 with 8GB of storage starts at just $49, but pony up the extra $20 to get 16GB of storage. You might well bump up against the ceiling at some point, but that Andrew Jackson is going to go a long way, leaving 11.6GB — or about 72% — left for you to use. That’s a much better use of your money.

See at Amazon

Fire HD 8 — 16GB or 32GB?

Now we’re starting to get into an area in which the math matters a bit more. The Fire HD 8 — which is one of the few tablets I’d actually buy a youngster — starts at $80 for the 16GB model and hits $120 for the 32GB model.

The smaller of the two storage options — that’d be the 16GB model — leaves you 11.1GB available at first boot, or about 69%. The 32GB model has 25.3GB left over for your priceless pics, or about 79%.

That’s not nearly as much of a difference, but it is still a goodly amount of storage. Again, the rule of “buy as much as you can” applies here. But if you want to go the 16GB route, you’ll probably be OK.

See at Amazon

Fire 7 Kids Edition and Fire 8 Kids Edition

Let’s lump the kids’ editions of the tablets (they’ve got a beefier exterior and a more kid-friendly user interface) into one section here because you don’t actually get a choice of storage. The Fire 7 Kids Edition sports 16GB of storage, with 11GB available to your kiddo. The Fire 8 Kids Edition (in addition to being an inch larger) comes with 32GB of storage, and 25.3GB available at boot.

There’s a $30 difference between the two — and a pretty big psychological difference going from $99 to $129. But keep in mind that the 8-incher has a slightly better screen and bigger battery, in addition to having more storage available. That’s the route I’d go.

See at Amazon

What about a microSD card?

Good question. All of these tablets let you stick a microSD card in them to increase the available storage. And you should do that if you’ve got one laying around.

Does that mean that adding a 16GB microSD card to a 16GB Fire tablet gets you the same thing as if you had a 32GB tablet? Not quite. microSD cards aren’t as fast as having all that storage built in. And then there’s the chance of the card being removed and lost. (Or worse, as kids tend to love the taste of microSD cards. Which isn’t so bad, until you try to retrieve it later. But I digress.)

So, yes. Feel free to add in a microSD card. In fact, you probably should.

See memory cards at Amazon

Amazon Fire tablets

Amazon has one of the more affordable — and better! — lines of tablets you can find. That is, they’re really good considering none of them breaks the bank. Here are the Amazon Fire tablets worth considering:

• Amazon Fire 7
• Amazon Fire HD 8
• Amazon Fire 7 Kids Edition
• Amazon Fire 8 Kids Edition

See more at Amazon