Author Archives: Carol Edwards

When it comes to business, working from home, and working on the go, a good laptop can make or break your work day. While you tend to get what you pay for when it comes to your laptop, that doesn’t mean that you should only look toward big-ticket computers (we see you, MacBook Pro). 

Here’s what you need: A machine that offers enough battery to get you through conference sessions and long meetings, a CPU that’ll deliver great performance even with a (couple) dozen tabs open, and something light enough to easily stash in a carry-on or tote. Everything else? That’s kinda up to your own personal preference.  Read more…

More about Microsoft, Lenovo, Huawei, Laptops, and Macbook Pro

IMAGE: Walmart

BEST HYBRID

Dell XPS 15 2-in-1

Here’s the lowdown: The Dell XPS 15 2-in-1 is one of the best laptops for getting serious work done in a business and office environment.

• Storage: 512GB PCIe SSD
• Memory: 8GB/16GB
• Features: four USB-C ports (two Thunderbolt 3, two USB-C), microSD slot, FHD 1920 x 1080 touch screen, Intel Core i5-8305G, Radeon RX Vega M GL Graphics with 4GB HMB2 Graphics Memory

$1,500 from Walmart

IMAGE: Amazon

BEST BATTERY LIFE

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon

With hardly any trade-offs in design, the powerful Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon has a whopping 15.5 hours of battery.

• Storage: 256GB PCIe SSD
• Memory: 8GB/16GB
• Features: two USB 3.0, two USB-C (Thunderbolt 3), HDMI port, microSD slot, 14-inch 2560 x 1440 pixels IPS anti-glare touchscreen display, Intel Core i5-8350U, Intel HD Graphics 620

$1,300 from Amazon

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BEST FOR CREATIVE PROJECTS AND PRESENTATIONS

Lenovo Yoga Book

With its clever design and second screen, the Lenovo Yoga Book is useful and versatile machine at a very inexpensive price point.

• Storage: 64GB/128GB SSD
• Memory: 4GB
• Features: one USB 2.0, one Micro USB, one Micro HDMI, 10.1-inch full HD IPS touchscreen display, Intel Atom x5-Z8550, Intel Atom

$530 from Amazon

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BEST DESIGN

Apple MacBook Pro

A stylish and sleek laptop that’s considered the gold standard for professionals and creatives alike.

• Storage: 128GB/256GB SSD
• Memory: 8GB
• Features: two USB-C (Thunderbolt 3), 13.3-inch 2560 x 1600 LED-backlit display with IPS technology display, Intel Core i5 with Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz, Intel Iris Plus Graphics 640

$1,989 from Amazon

IMAGE: Amazon

BEST PC

Huawei MateBook X Pro

A total MacBook Pro copycat, the Huawei MateBook X Pro has a sleek and sexy design that will turn heads, while also making it easy to get work done.

• Storage: 512GB SSD
• Memory: 8GB/16GB
• Features: one USB 3.0, one USB-C (Thunderbolt 3), one USB-C 3.1, HDMI port, VGA port, 13.9-inch 3K 3,000 x 2,000 LED with touch panel display, Intel Core i7-8550U, Intel UHD Graphics 620, Nvidia GeForce MX150 graphics

$1,170 from Amazon

IMAGE: Dell

BEST PORTABILITY

Dell XPS 13

A stellar laptop that’s designed for business with its ultraportable build and powerful performance with Windows 10 Pro.

• Storage: 256GB PCIe SSD
• Memory: 8GB/16GB
• Features: two USB-C (Thunderbolt 3), one USB-C 3.1, microSD slot, 13.3-inch, Ultra HD 3,840 x 2,160 UltraSharp InfinityEdge display, Intel Core i5-8250U, Intel UHD Graphics 620

$1,520 from Dell

IMAGE: Amazon

BEST FOR COMFORT

Microsoft Surface Laptop

The Microsoft Surface Laptop is a reliable machine that will keep you focus-oriented and productive during your workday.

• Storage: 256GB
• Memory: 8GB/16GB
• Features: one USB 3.0, mini DisplayPort, 13.5-inch 2256 x 1504 PixelSense display, Intel Core i5, Intel HD Graphics 620

$715 from Amazon

IMAGE: Walmart

BEST FOR WORK IN THE FIELD

Dell Latitude 7212

The Dell Latitude 7212 is built for rugged environments and extreme durability on the job. While you might not be able to take it to the boardroom, the laptop is capable of completing tasks at a construction site, the dock, and in the field.

• Storage: 128GB/256GB SSD
• Memory: 8GB/16GB
• Features: two USB 3.0, one USB-C, microSD slot, 11.6-inch, 1920 x 1080 Full HD LCD WLED touchscreen display, Intel Core i5-7300U, Intel HD Graphics 620

$1,994 from Walmart

Every so often your camera roll needs to take a dump. That sounds gross, I know. But it’s actually quite beautiful. 

When I was bored out of my mind in quarantine, mindlessly scrolling Instagram for hours a day, I found unexpected joy in photo dumps posted by friends and celebrities. 

What the heck is a photo dump? Glad you asked. My dear friend and Instagram expert, Harry Hill, defines a photo dump as “a series of five or more photos that are seemingly unrelated, plucked from an overabundant camera roll in an attempt to share multiple vibes at once.”

Photo dumps can include anything your heart desires. They allow you to post a selfie showing off your new haircut, a photo of a Chipwich you stress-ate over your laptop, a shot of your TV paused on a scene from Ted Lasso, the Louvre-worthy breakfast sandwich you ate two weeks ago, and a screenshot of a meme all at once. You can use dumps to illustrate a single event — such as a party or get-together with friends — but you can also use them to sum up entire days, weeks, months, or years of your life. I did the latter by posting a 2020 throwback photo dump to ring in the new year. It featured a post-cry Election Day selfie, my best quarantine meal, and a Cameo from Connie Britton. Read more…

More about Instagram, Culture, and Web Culture

In May of last year, I canceled my Amazon Prime membership.

The pandemic had just devastated New York City. Some Amazon warehouse workers protested their working conditions, demanding hazard pay and adequate sick leave. Two Amazon engineers spoke up in solidarity — and were fired. 

Enough was enough. And so, after being a Prime member since 2014, I quit. 

One year later, I don’t miss any of it. 

Do I still buy shit I don’t need on other websites? Sadly, yes. But let me tell you, that $119 Prime membership fee is an anchor. Once you fork that over, any product that doesn’t include “free” Prime shipping seems like a waste of money.  Read more…

More about Amazon, Amazon Prime, Tech, and Big Tech Companies

Google unveiled a new super-speedy way to get rid of your most recent search history during Google I/O, its annual developer conference. 

In case you missed the keynote event, here’s exactly how to clear the last 15 minutes of your most recent search queries. The feature is currently live for iOS users in the Google app, and will be rolling out on Android in June. 

Step 1: Navigate to your menu

All you have to do is click on your profile icon in the top right-hand corner of the Google app. Easy peasy! Read more…

More about Google, Tech, and Consumer Tech

The board is back, baby!

John Krasinski’s long-awaited A Quiet Place sequel finally hit theaters on May 28. In addition to Krasinski’s character Lee pulling a Jack Pearson and returning in the form of flashbacks, fans were blessed with another unexpected callback to the first film: Lee’s infamous whiteboard.

That’s right, the absurd, downright comical dry-erase whiteboard from A Quiet Place — which featured words like “CREATURE” and “SURVIVE,” asked questions like “How many in Area??” and “What is the WEAKNESS,” and noted observations such as “Blind” and “Attack sound” — makes a brief cameo in the second film. Thank the lord. Read more…

More about John Krasinski, A Quiet Place 2, Entertainment, and Movies Tv Shows

Who’s that girl? Who’s that girl? It’s Olivia!

Yes, the rumors are true. Teen singing sensation and actor Olivia Rodrigo appeared on an episode of New Girl back in 2017, and we’ve got the clips to prove it.

As fans of Rodrigo obsess over her newly released debut album, Sour, they’re learning that before the singer starred in High School Musical: The Musical: The Series she shared the screen with New Girl stars Zooey Deschanel (Jessica Day) and Jake Johnson (Nick Miller).

Rodrigo played Terrinea — a young fan of Nick Miller and The Pepperwood Chronicles — who appeared in the “Young Adult” episode of the comedy. The series is currently available on Netflix, but thanks to the streaming service, you don’t need an account to see Rodrigo’s cameo. Read more…

More about Netflix, New Girl, Entertainment, Celebrities, and Movies Tv Shows

Anyone who works from home on a regular basis knows this all too well: Laptop speakers just don’t cut it most of the time.

Sure, for a Zoom call or the occasional YouTube video, they’ll get the job done. But for jamming out to music or streaming your favorite TV shows or movies, a real set of desktop speakers goes a long way. At just $40 and with a cool design, strong bass, and the simplest setup imaginable, the Creative Pebble Plus is a strong contender to round out audio on your home desktop.

(Just make sure you have a healthy tolerance for cable management.) Read more…

More about Audio, Pebble, Tech, and Consumer Tech

Cereal is in a rut and John Oliver is coming to its rescue.

The host of Last Week Tonight took Memorial Day week off and went on YouTube to wax poetic on a topic he’s especially passionate about: cereal. 

“I’m aware that there’s a lot going on in the world right now, but instead of focusing on any of that I’d like to raise a subject that is near and dear to my heart, and that is, there simply aren’t enough cereals,” Oliver stated in a fiery seven-minute video.

The host went on to voice his concerns about a lack of new cereals, exciting cereal-related news, and good cereal commercials in the past decade, though he did shout out one good Frosted Flakes commercial starring Shaquille O’Neal. Read more…

More about John Oliver, Last Week Tonight, Culture, Food, and Movies Tv Shows

Sextech is bringing a much-needed cultural shift in how we view, talk about, and sell sex. Ushered in by a wave of women-led startups combining sex and technology to disrupt historically male-dominated sectors, this burgeoning multibillion-dollar industry champions inclusivity through innovative sex products created for and by more marginalized perspectives, bodies, and identities. 

Yet while everything from high-tech sex toys to online sex education platforms are more inclusive than ever, a huge and diverse population remains excluded from this sextech revolution that’s supposedly promoting pleasure for all: people with disabilities. Read more…

More about Disability, Sex And Relationships, Sextech, Feeling Yourself, and Culture

The Hubble Space Telescope is one of the most illuminating and awe-inspiring inventions, capturing the beauty of the universe with its massive lenses as it orbits the Earth day in and day out.

The telescope run jointly by NASA and ESA has been almost constantly in operation since it launched in April 1990, taking in galaxies and nebulae and all sorts of far-away space objects. No matter when your birthday lands on the calendar (except if it’s on Leap Day, sorry), Hubble has an impressive image that it captured on one of those days over the last 31 years.

In 2020, NASA published a page on its site where you can input a month and a date and it serves you a spacey image captured on that day.  Read more…

More about Nasa, Hubble Space Telescope, Science, and Space