Category Archives: Blog

Broke college students, rise up. Sign up for a Prime Student membership and get all of these free and discounted perks:

• BEST FOR AVOIDING THE DINING HALL: Get a free Grubhub+ student membership when you sign up for Prime Student — Save $9.99 per month

• BEST FOR STAYING MINDFUL: Prime Student subscribers get a three-month Calm premium membership for free — Save up to $61

• BEST FOR HELP WITH HOMEWORK: Get one free month of Course Hero with your Prime Student membership — Save $30.04 per month

Ah, college. The time of your life when eating instant ramen every night is acceptable, and being broke is the norm. But just because you’re a student doesn’t mean you don’t deserve nice things. Luckily, Amazon just unveiled a slew of amazing new perks for all of their Prime Student members (and a solid discount on the membership itself, too). As of Aug. 5, students can get a six month free trial of Amazon Prime Student, and when the trial is up, pay only $6.49 per month.

Of course, you’ll get the fast, free delivery that Prime is known for. So order your required reading, dorm decor, or a new backpack via Prime, and they’ll be delivered to your door faster than you can sign up for next semester’s classes. There’s also no-fuss textbook rental and access to tons of Amazon-exclusive entertainment.

If you still need some incentive to try out Prime Student, check out all these bonus deals that you can participate in once you sign up for your membership. With everything from free food delivery for those late night study sessions to free guided meditation to help you unwind after long days Prime Student has you covered.

BEST FOR AVOIDING THE DINING HALL: Free Grubhub+ student membership

Dining hall food isn’t known for being gourmet, and sometimes you just have too much homework to even bother cooking. As long as you’re a Prime Student member, you’ll have access to a free Grubhub+ subscription, which gives you unlimited free deliveries for off-campus orders over $12. You’ll also earn 10% Grubhub+ Cash on pickup orders, which you can use on all your future food runs.

BEST FOR STAYING MINDFUL: Free three-month Calm premium membership, then annual membership for $8.99

College is stressful, and if we’ve learned anything from Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka, it’s that mental health should come before all else. Prime Student members get a free three month trial to Calm Premium, giving them guided meditations, sleep stories, and music tracks designed for focus, sleep, and relaxation. If you enjoy the free trial, you can also score an annual membership for only $8.99 — a $61 discount.

BEST FOR HELP WITH HOMEWORK: One free month of Course Hero, then $9.95 per month

Sometimes, you just need help with your homework — no shame. Course Hero lets you read textbooks, practice problems, and expert tutors, so you can strive to make the Dean’s List every semester. Normally $39.99 per month, this Prime Student deal gives you a one month free trial, then a monthly subscription for under $10 after it’s over.

MORE GREAT DEALS:

Get up to 10% off travel with Student Universe

You only have so many breaks during college, so make the most of them with a budget-friendly trip. Prime Student members will get an extra 10% off already-discounted flights and hotels from Student Universe, so spring break abroad will be way more price-accessible.

Premium Prime Video channels — $0.99 per month

When you sign up for Prime Student, you’ll also be able to subscribe to premium Prime Video channels like SHOWTIME, EPIX, ALLBLK, Sundance Now, Acorn TV, Lifetime Movie Club, History Vault, Pantaya, and Motortrend for only $0.99 per month each. Given that some of these channels normally cost up to $10.99 per month, this is a slick deal for all the movie and tv buffs out there.

Amazon Music Unlimited — $0.99 per month

Normally $7.99 per month for Prime members, Prime Student members can get an Amazon Music Unlimited subscription for less than a dollar per month. Compared to Apple Music and Spotify’s $4.99 per month student price tag, opting for Amazon Music Unlimited is kind of a no-brainer.

Explore related content:

• Looking for love on campus: Best dating apps for college students

• Best laptops for students: See where the MacBook falls on our list

• 13 of the best laptop backpacks, based on Amazon reviews

The Echo Show has been around for a while, along with Amazon products made specifically for kids, but the Echo Show 5 Kids is a newbie on the scene that made its debut with the revamped 2nd gen Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 8. It has the same features as the new Echo Show 5, but with a cool chameleon look, a free year of Amazon Kids, and some beefy parental controls.

And since I’m just a boring 30-year-old who spends her days hunched over a desk, I decided to enlist the help of a true expert for the purposes of this review: My 5-year-old son, a Fire tablet devotee and Sonic the Hedgehog superfan.

I knew he’d be all about figuring out the Echo Show 5 Kids for me, so I let him take the lead. His verdict?: “I really like it!”

What parents will like about the Echo Show 5 Kids

With Amazon Kids installed, this device is made for learning and fun. After just a few minutes of tinkering, my son settled on a Skill (the Echo Show’s version of apps) all about learning the periodic table. Can’t complain there.

As far as safety and security go, there’s a physical camera shutter right on top (just like the standard 2nd gen Echo Show 5) that you can toggle on and off. You can also use the device as a security camera to check in on things from the Alexa app as long as you’ve got a WiFi connection — perfect for checking in at night without subjecting your big kid to a baby monitor.

Its aesthetic is basically dino scales.
Credit: amazon

Video calls and drop-ins are available and really easy for kids to do themselves, but only to approved contacts and other devices in your home. Doting grandparents everywhere will love it. All you have to do is add contact phone numbers through the Alexa app (available for iPhone or Android) on your phone.

The parental controls are super intuitive and thorough, and your purchase comes with a free year of Amazon kids and a 2-year worry-free guarantee.

Finally, Alexa can answer those endless questions your kids have, which is arguably the very best thing about the Echo Show 5 Kids (especially if your kid, like mine, is both chatty and curious). Share that burden, parents!

When I asked Alexa to name the planets, she rattled them off and even gave a brief, kid-friendly explainer on why Pluto is no longer considered one.

The stuff kids will go crazy for

The chameleon look is adorable and according to my son, it’s “dinosaur scales” — which boosts the cool factor in his eyes to approximately infinity. And the Echo Show 5 is the perfect size for tiny hands — the larger Echo Show 8 would be a little too cumbersome for younger children.

Alexa is a great listener, too, so the Show 5 is really easy for kids to use. My son got a kick out of talking to Alexa and happily listened to books and played on his own thanks to her helpful prompts. We love impromptu dance parties at my house, and it was nice to know that my son could DJ for us all by himself using his Echo Show 5 Kids without accidentally stumbling across explicit music. (BTW, our latest jam has been the Sonic X theme song on repeat — “Alexa, play the Sonic X song” every five minutes.)

One of the best features of the Echo Show 5 Kids is that Alexa can read your kid a book. All they have to do is say, “Alexa, read me a story” to have a Disney story read to them. And if you have an Audible membership, Alexa can also play Audible audiobooks that you’ve shared with your child’s profile. For youngsters whose reading skills haven’t yet caught up to their big imaginations, this is a great way to get more reading time in.

It can stream video from all the major streaming services, too so it’s great for entertaining the kids while freeing up the TV so you can watch something.

The few games available on the device are super interactive and seem to be mostly learning-based. They kept my son entertained for a while, and if he got stuck on something he’d just say, “Alexa, it’s not working!” and that usually seemed to fix the problem. Regardless, while it’s great for streaming video and reading audiobooks, it’s not really a gaming device — so don’t buy it with that expectation.

While Amazon’s app selection is pretty limited, Alexa’s is even more so. The Echo Show is limited to a select handful of apps known as Skills. While there are a few game options, it’s not gonna impress a kid who wants it mostly for games. Thankfully, however, most of the kid-friendly Skills are made available through the Amazon Kids subscription (which also makes it much easier for your child to navigate to those Skills) so it’s a good idea to keep the subscription until your child outgrows the device.

The camera is easy to access by asking Alexa to open it, or swiping left on the screen. It features a super streamlined video option so kids can record their own videos, and doesn’t every kid these days want to be a Youtuber? He also loves that he has his own device to make and receive video calls on, instead of having to use Mom’s phone.

Overall, it’s been totally magical for him, but he did get antsy after playing on it for a short while — which is normal for a 5-year-old. He understands that it’s not really a toy, but seems really excited to have a “grown-up” device that still looks like a T-rex.

Who shouldn’t buy it

The Echo Show 5 Kids probably won’t have the same appeal to older kids. The content on Amazon Kids is heavily targeted towards younger kids. BUT if you want the parental controls for your older kids and tweens, you can try it without the Amazon Kids subscription. If they’re not crazy about the juvenile look of the Echo Show 5 Kids, you can always make any Echo Show device a dedicated children’s device during setup to access expanded parental control options.

Unfortunately, the fact that it’s not mobile is also a drawback for a kids’ device. My son was fine sitting in one spot to play with it for a little bit, but he prefers something that can go where he goes. He also thought the cord was such a major hassle. If he only knew!

And if your kid’s not an Alexa user or wants to use the device mostly for games, the much more portable and kid-proof Fire 7 or Fire 8 Kids Edition tablet might be a better option. The same inexpensive Amazon Kids membership allows access to hundreds of fully functional games on an Amazon Fire tablet, while the Echo Show 5 Kids is basically just a tiny little TV-slash-radio with internet connectivity.

Plus, the tablet has the same parental controls and Amazon Kids functionality — and it can go anywhere and is housed in a drop, throw, kick, and bite-proof case. Go ahead, ask me how I know it’s bite-proof.

Add to cart?

The Echo Show 5 Kids has major appeal for kids, and it’s perfect for your technologically inclined kid, especially if they use Alexa regularly. Parents (myself included) love the souped-up parental controls and included Amazon Kids subscription.

But kids will probably outgrow the Amazon Kids content on the Echo Show 5 Kids fairly quickly, and it’s also not a worthwhile purchase if your child is an avid gamer or doesn’t use Alexa much (or insists on toting around their fave device everywhere they go).

Regardless, it’s a great piece of tech to keep your kid connected (and protected).

Save $751.99: The Sony 75-inch X90J Bravia full-array LED 4K TV is now down to $1,848 at Amazon as of Aug. 5.

Congratulations if you’ve managed to get your hands on a new PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X. Now it’s time for a new TV.

Prepare for a gaming upgrade with a Sony 75-inch X90J Bravia XR full-array 4K TV, which is on sale for $1,848 at Amazon. This $751.99 discount drops the price down to the lowest we’ve seen on this TV so far — and it beats out Walmart by $50.

The Sony X90J features HDMI 2.1 ports that allow for an optimized gaming experience for the new consoles. On top of 4K and 120Hz gaming, the Bravia Game Mode allows for increased frame rates and further reduces the input lag for more responsive controls. But even if you’re not a gamer, it’s still a good choice for your other entertainment preferences.

The Sony X90J even works with Alexa for voice controls and includes Google TV, so you can browse your favorite content on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, and other top platforms.

Explore related content:

• Best 4K TVs for gaming: Samsung QLED, LG OLED, Sony, and more

• 7 of the best gaming chairs to maximize your gaming experience

• The best 4K TVs: From OLED to QLED, Samsung to TCL, and more

Every so often a website that analyses Spotify data blows up on Twitter and it is all we see for the next 24 hours. Then it’s just as quickly forgotten. But these websites are still valuable if you want to analyze your listening habits.

We’ve scoured the corners of the internet and collected our ten favorite websites that analyze your Spotify data.

But there is a caveat. Each of these websites requires you to login to your Spotify and allow the website to access your Spotify data. So if that’s not something you’re OK with, you may want to sit this one out.

But if you’re the type of person who spends your days counting down to Spotify Wrapped or need your listening habits analyzed more than once a year, check out these websites that analyze your Spotify data.

1. Stats for Spotify

Stats for Spotify is your classic Spotify data analyzer. It shows you your top tracks, artists, and genres organized by the previous four weeks, last six months, and all time. It also shows how your top tracks, artists, and genres have changed since the last time you used Stats for Spotify.

2. How Bad is Your Spotify

How Bad is Your Spotify is an AI that judges your music taste. It gained popularity in December 2020 for its snarky roasts of users’ listening habits.

Don’t judge me.
Credit: screenshot: how bad is your spotify

3. Obscurify

Obscurify tells you how obscure the music you listen to is compared to other Obscurify users. The best feature is that it shows you your top five obscure artist. It also rates your music’s happiness, danceability, and energy and compares it to other users. Another fun feature of Obscurify is it shows you your top songs of each decade.

4. Zodiac Affinity

If you’re an astrology lover, you’ll appreciate Zodiac Affinity. It chooses which five of your liked songs align with different star signs and no we have no idea what the criteria is here.

5. Discover Quickly

Discover Quickly sorts your playlists, top songs, and top artists by different criteria like popularity and danceability. It also lists all of Spotify’s crazy specific genres like deep metalcore, acid house, and charred death. If you click on a genre it will make you a playlist of songs of that genre. You can also select “random genre” and it will generate a playlist of songs of a random genre.

6. MusicScape

MusicScape generates a landscape based on your recent listening. The landscape takes the mood, mode, energy, and key of your recent listening into consideration to create the landscape.

What does your musicScape look like?
Credit: Screenshot: musicscape

7. MusicTaste.Space

MusicTaste.Space is fun because it allows you to compare your listening with another Spotify user. Just send a friend the link on the homepage and it will show you all the overlap between your top songs and top artists.

8. Receiptify

Receiptify puts your top ten tracks on a trendy receipt. You can choose your top tracks of the last month, last six months, or of all time.

Receiptify gives you an Insta Story ready list of your top songs.
Credit: screenshot: Receiptify

9. How NPRcore are you

How NPRcore are you analyzes how closely your music taste aligns with NPR music. It tells you what percent NPRcore you are and which of your top tracks and artists are most NPRcore. Like on other websites you can choose which period of listening you want it to analyze.

10. Moodify

This AI generates a playlist for you based on the mood of the song you’re currently listening to.

After you’ve had your fun poking around these websites and annoying your followers with your music taste, you can unlink your Spotify from these websites by going to Spotify app settings and selecting “Remove Access.”

Dreaming of that trip to Paris or finally buying a new car, but wondering how you’ll be able to save enough money? Mint has the solution.

Mint is one of the most popular budgeting apps out there right now. Mint is free and available on iOS on the Apple App store and in the Google Play store for Android. It syncs your accounts, automates the budgeting process, and helps you save by allowing you to set saving and spending goals.

Creating goals can make saving and conquering debt more manageable.

Follow the steps below to create a goal on Mint.

1. Open Mint App

2. Select “Monthly” on the bottom of the screen

Tap “Monthly”
Credit: screenshot: mint

3. Scroll down to “Your Goals”

4. Select “Create Goal” or “Set a goal”

Tap “Create Goal” or “Set a goal.”
Credit: screenshot: Mint

5. Scroll through the many goal options and select the goal you want to set

Select the kind of goal you want to set.
Credit: screenshot: mint

The steps for each goal depend on the goal, but they are all very user-friendly.

For example if you select “Save for a rainy day” it will prompt you with questions like “how much do you want to save” and “when do you need it by.” Then it will give you easy steps to reach your goal.

Ethically, the power to covertly track things with AirTags is a doubled-edged sword.

The tiny Bluetooth devices from Apple are notoriously creepy. However, according to the Portland Tribune, they also helped one Portland, Oregon, lawyer prove that a city contractor was illegally sending unhoused people’s property to the landfill.

Michael Fuller, a lawyer working to stop city-sponsored sweeps of homeless encampments, reportedly attached 16 AirTags to personal items belonging to people living in Portland’s Laurelhurst Park. He did so with the people’s permission, hoping to show that a city contractor conducting the sweeps was dumping those possessions at the Recology Oregon waste transfer station instead of moving them to a warehouse, as required by law, for people to later claim.

“Due to the tracking technology, we have proof positive that Rapid Response broke the law and took property that was perfectly clean and sanitary, and belonged to homeless people, and took them to the dump,” Fuller told the Portland Tribune.

AirTags, which Apple unveiled in April of 2021, have been problematic from the start. The small Bluetooth-powered discs can be discretely attached to everyday items, and, via the collective power of Apple’s Find My network, enable people to locate their lost possessions with relative ease.

As privacy advocates like EFF Director of Cybersecurity Evan Galperin have pointed out, AirTags offer unparalleled opportunities for abusers looking to keep tabs on people.

Tweet may have been deleted

Notwithstanding Apple’s belated efforts to make it harder for would-be stalkers to misuse their products, AirTags remain a cheap and effective tool for abuse.

Fuller, it seems, was able to briefly flip the script — using AirTags to help the vulnerable at the expense of the powerful. And it doesn’t sound like he’s going to stop any time soon.

SEE ALSO: AirTags are scarily good at tracking items and…people. I know because I tried.

“We’re going to keep doing this as long as these sweeps continue,” he insisted to the Portland Tribune.

In the internet is eating itself news, TikTok is apparently launching a new feature: Stories.

Yep, the app that has caused every other social media company to scramble and create short-form video TikTok clones is now copying the last thing those other apps really had going for them.

As spotted by social media consultant Matt Navarra, some TikTok influencers appear to have gotten access to the ephemeral “Stories” feature. The screengrabs of the new feature posted by Navarra describe stories as “a new way to interact with your fans,” prompting users to “share daily highlights that disappear after 24 hours.”

What. the. hell.

Tweet may have been deleted

TikTok first confirmed the news to The Verge, and when reached for comment, a spokesperson provided Mashable with the following statement:

“We’re always thinking about new ways to bring value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience. Currently we’re experimenting with ways to give creators additional formats to bring their creative ideas to life for the TikTok community.”

We’re just as surprised as you are that this is legit, folks. But it’s not too widespread yet. Apparently, TikTok is doing small tests of stories outside of the U.S.

Even if TikTok stories are only part of a limited test for now, let’s ponder this timeline, shall we?

• Snapchat launches stories (2013)

• Snapchat/popularity of stories threatens Facebook empire (2015)

• Instagram copies stories (2016)

• TikTok begins global domination (2019 – present)

• Instagram launches TikTok competitor Reels; Snapchat launches its version, Spotlight (2020)

• TikTok introduces stories (2021)

Just beautiful.

Tweet may have been deleted

Ok, we’re gonna let this sink in and try to stop imagining the visual of a snake eating its own tail. Will this test disappear in 24 hours? Who can say.

Seeing a dozen different types of cheese congeal between the rhinestones on Paris Hilton’s serving spoon, I felt closer to the heiress-turned-influencer than ever before. Not only did I learn we both have an affinity for overly decadent macaroni and cheese, but using an obviously decorative utensil in a way sure to ruin it is the kind of kitchen shenanigan I relate to deeply.

And watching Paris shrug off the incident like it hadn’t happened at all? That’s just pure fantasy.

In Netflix’s Cooking with Paris, an unconventional cooking show that sees Hilton invite guests over for meals she only sort of knows how to make, self-confidence is key. Where the Food Network might dazzle us with a dish’s ease, speed, or creativity, Cooking with Paris boasts things made by Paris Hilton — period. The show’s purpose, Hilton repeatedly explains in the series’ intro, isn’t for Paris to become a professional chef. She just wants to “mix it up” so she’s “expanding her repertoire” with these new recipes, created by her and her friends.

Theoretically, you could join Hilton as she cooks alongside Kim Kardashian West, Demi Lovato, Nikki Glaser, Saweetie, Lele Pons, and sister Nicky and mom Kathy Hilton. But it’s immediately apparent the point of this show isn’t so much to learn from Hilton, as it is to hang out with her. Even as helpful cooking tips like “These are tongs!” fly across the screen, it’s Hilton’s kaleidoscopic personality that keeps the show feeling like a high-budget version of her YouTube show genuinely worth binging.

Between the edible glitter and aimless internet searching — “What is zest lemon?” Hilton earnestly asks Google in episode 2 — the pop culture icon lets her unique personality pull you into the fun of this Barbie Dreamhouse-meets-Nailed It! hybrid. In each of Cooking with Paris’ six episodes, Hilton invites over a guest who helps her cook (or try to cook) a meal that is later served against an extravagant, themed backdrop, with Hilton sporting an outfit made to match.

These culinary experiments have mixed results. But what actually happens in the series’ all-too-brief first season is fairly predictable. The Frosted Flake-encrusted french toast works great, because how could it not? Hilton breaks an industrial-grade blender, because how could she not? These hijinks are enjoyable if you’re someone fully onboard with Hilton’s brand of celebrity, but if you’re someone looking to be newly won over by the former The Simple Life star you won’t have much luck. From the jump, Cooking with Paris assumes you want to be “cooking with Paris” — and considering the star’s tumultuous Hollywood history that may not be true for all viewers.

If you are someone who wants to like Cooking with Paris, you will need to understand Hilton’s evolving personal history and complicated relationship to the modern fame economy. Her self-produced documentary This Is Paris, which was released last year free on YouTube, offers a first-hand account of Hilton’s experiences with childhood abuse and toxic celebrity that provide essential context for understanding her as a pop culture figure. With that knowledge, watching Hilton crack jokes with Whitney Cummings or talk motherhood with Kardashian feels less like a flagrant display of privilege than a pleasant next chapter for a complicated person.

Tragically, this series doesn’t play ‘Stars Are Blind’ even once.
Credit: KIT KARZEN/NETFLIX

Though Hilton’s theatrical personality can feel grating on occasion and her bedazzled collection of pandemic-era face masks a bit on the nose, Cooking with Paris is a cutesy cooking show Hilton fans will appreciate. Above all, it lets Paris be Paris — paving the way for messy cooks with completely impractical fantasies of jeweled cookware everywhere.

Cooking with Paris is now streaming on Netflix.

Wait, is everyone going to space now? NASA sent dozens of baby squid into space in order to collect information for improving human health in space during long missions.

Ready to feel old?

He’s All That, Netflix’s gender-swapped reimagining of She’s All That (1999) will star TikTokker Addison Rae. Rae plays Padgett, a high schooler and beauty influencer who catches her boyfriend cheating on her mid-livestream. To recover from her viral humiliation, Padgett takes on a bet: make over unpopular classmate Cameron (Tanner Buchanan) and get him to win prom king. Of course, hijinks ensue when Padgett finds herself falling for her pet project.

He’s All That‘s first trailer puts Rae front and center and includes an unfortunate (but maybe romantic?) trip to a stable, a whole lot of social media references, and, of course, the central makeover. Directed by Mark Waters (Mean Girls), He’s All That is the first major film to star a TikTokker, perhaps ushering in a new wave of social media movie stars…we’ll see.

He’s All That is on Netflix Aug. 27.