Save $230 on a portable washing machine that's great for small spaces

SAVE $230: Bring the (mini) laundromat to you with the Costway Full Automatic Washing Machine and Spinner, which is on sale for $229.99 at Walmart as of Jan. 31.

Sick of lugging your laundry up and down the steps of your fifth-floor walk-up? A portable washing machine could be a good investment.

As of Jan. 31, the Costway Full Automatic Washing Machine and Spinner is on sale for just $229.99 at Walmart. If you're willing to do small loads of laundry, it could save you many trips to the laundromat.

Perfect for small spaces like apartments, dorm rooms, RVs, and tiny homes, the portable machine from Costway is just 2.5 feet tall and 1.4 feet wide. It has wash, rinse, and spin cycles, which means it'll wring moisture from your clean clothes so they dry faster on your drying rack or clothesline.

This machine connects to a sink with the attached hose to filter water in and out, but it can be wheeled back out of sight once your laundry cycle is complete. It can fit 7.7 pounds, which may not be near as much as a typical washing machine, but it'll definitely help you keep clean clothes on deck. And it'll definitely stop you from running out of clean underwear.

One caveat: If you want to buy a portable washing machine for your space, make sure that your building allows it first.

Credit: Costway

Costway Full Automatic Washing Machine and Spinner

$229.99 at Walmart (save 50%)

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Ditching Spotify? Playlist transfer tools can help save your favorite music

Switching audio streaming services is a pain.

Whether you're saving on subscription fees or taking a stand against platform policies, changing from one music app to another almost always means losing part of your library.

Yes, you can manually rebuild your current collection on your new app of choice. But not every track is available on every service. You'll rarely be able to achieve a 100 percent recreation. What's worse, you can waste hours, even days, trying to make the impossible possible if you've curated a lot of content.

So save yourself the time, heartache, and sore thumbs by taking advantage of a "playlist transfer tool." Here's how to use the third-party apps, including both desktop and mobile options, that save your favorite music and (sometimes) podcasts before you delete Spotify, Apple Music, or whatever audio streaming service it is that you're planning to pause.

What are playlist transfer tools?

You can make your transition between two streaming services easier by turning to a third party for help. Playlist transfer tools are usually free services that facilitate the transfer of audio collections between streaming services. Here's how they generally work.

Most of the options start you out by having you select and sign into both the service you want to transfer your library "from" and the service you want to transfer your library "to." You're then prompted to select the specific playlists you want to transfer. The app may also make some suggestions of its own automatically.

Users' "liked" or "loved" collections are typically treated like playlists and can be transferred, meaning most of your library will be brought over that way. Playlists you follow — as opposed to the ones you've authored — can also be transferred; this may even include playlists curated by the service you're leaving (think Spotify's various "Moods" playlists or Apple Music's trending selections). Though it's worth noting that these transfers merely copy the playlist at the moment the copying happens; so if you're transferring a playlist that is updated with any regularity, you'll need to manually add new tracks moving forward — or just re-transfer the whole thing.

Podcast feeds are harder to copy, but if they're put in playlist form they can sometimes be brought over. Depending on how many podcasts you follow, however, it may be easier to just find the show on the new app. Broadly speaking, playlist transfer tools work better with music.

Once your "to" and "from" are connected, the playlist transfer tool will cross-check all of the tracks against what's available on the new service and recreate as much of each transferred playlist as possible. This process can take minutes or a few hours, depending on the transfer service you go with, your connection, and the size of your library.

How do you choose the right app to transfer your library?

There are a lot of audio streaming services, and seemingly just as many playlist transfer tools. Reviews indicate they mainly vary in terms of accuracy and speed. But some are also better for certain services, phones, and content types.

Your best best for finding the right fit for your collection will be researching options available to you via your phone's app store. SongShift, FreeYourMusic, Playlisty, Soundiiz, and Tune My Music are among some of the most popular options. There are plenty to choose from and they largely do the same thing.

Most playlist transfer tools are free or offer an upgraded version for a minimal subscription fee. Keep yourself subscribed if you switch services a lot, but more likely than not you can make it a one-time thing.

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Twitter stopped caring about 2020 election lies just two months after it was all over

When Twitter banned Donald Trump after the Jan. 6 riots, many rejoiced at finally being rid of relentless misinformation at the hands of the former president. Then, when Twitter then actively enforced its civic integrity policy against further misinformation about the 2020 election, the platform felt a little safer — but apparently that only lasted until two months later, when the platform stopped enforcing the policy against 2020 election lies at all.

Twitter spokesperson Elizabeth Busby recently told CNN that the company has not been enforcing the civic integrity policy in relation to 2020 election lies "since March 2021." Busby also maintained that this change in policy enforcement has been known since June 2021, as reported in a New York Times article. However, the referenced article only mentions that Twitter had "loosened its enforcement since March," while Busby's statement makes clear there has been no enforcement happening at all.

According to Twitter, the civic integrity policy exists to provide guidelines around "directly harmful types of content," mainly targeting false claims on how to participate in civic processes, intimidation or suppression of civic processes, and false affiliation. In Sept. 2020, Twitter expanded this policy to allow labeling or removal of "false or misleading information intended to undermine public confidence in an election or other civic process."

In the two months following the Jan. 6 riots, this policy allowed for any mention of election rigging, ballot tampering, or uncertified election results claims to be labeled with a content warning or taken down entirely. It also implemented a clear strike system, where repeat offenders could be punished with varying degrees of account suspension and, eventually, deactivation. By ending enforcement so soon after such calamitous events, Twitter undermined its so-called transparency and strike-based process, sending the message that misinformation only needs to wait patiently before it can be spread to the masses.

Twitter stands by this decision, telling CNN that the policy was only designed for use during an election, and that "the 2020 U.S. election is not only certified, but President Biden has been in office for more than a year."

While that may now be true, President Biden had only taken office shortly before Twitter's policy enforcement ended. Halting the policy allowed tweets mentioning a rigged election or fake results to run rampant at a time when the country had just been upended by an attempted insurrection. That's one reason why Trump's "Big Lie" about a stolen election in 2020 continues to reverberate around social media.

Tweet may have been deleted

Today, various high profile politicians continue to commandeer the same ideas that still proliferate on Twitter. Donald Trump, though he remains banned on Twitter, still perpetuates the idea that he unfairly lost the election and maintains that this will affect future elections. Billy Long, Jim Lamon, and Bernie Moreno, all running for Senate seats, mention a rigged 2020 election in political ads that ran just this past week.

While Twitter doesn't allow such ads on its platform, the lack of enforcement regarding 2020 election results will let discussion of these ads' messages or prominent political figures' views run unchecked, further fanning the flames of misinformation ahead of the 2022 midterm elections. By not acknowledging the effects of 2020 election lies beyond the scope of President Biden's election, Twitter is allowing for further potential harm – and effectively confusing its users on what is and isn't allowed on the platform at the same time.

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You're not a true 'Wordle' connoisseur until you start with the scientifically proven worst word

If the daily five letter word guess has gotten too easy for you, may we suggest a new challenge? Try starting your Wordle with the scientifically proven worst first word.

What is that word, you ask? Why, it's the consonant-laden "xylyl," of course!

TikTok user @crvlwanek, whose name is Chris, wrote and ran a computer script that helped determine the most terrible way to start a game of Wordle. Inspired by user @linguisticdiscovery – who recommends in his own video that the best starting word is "irate" – Chris actually wanted more concrete proof of the best first move.

"I copied over the entire [word] list into a JSON file," said Chris in the video. "And then I made a quick script to load all the words, calculate the frequencies of each letter, score each word based on the frequencies of the letters in the word, and then calculate the most optimal starting word."

Credit: Screenshot: TikTok/@crvlwanek

Credit: Screenshot: TikTok/@crvlwanek

The script found that the proven optimal first word is actually "later." But in discovering the best word, Chris also found the worst word. While he doesn't address "xylyl" in his first video, data fans quickly asked for the update, prompting him to scroll to the end of his calculated list for the big reveal.

A "xylyl," in case you were wondering, is "any of several isomeric monovalent radicals C8H9 derived from the three xylenes by removal of a hydrogen atom," according to Merriam-Webster.

Other data-minded viewers also called out Chris's initial calculation method, noting the need to account for letter position as well as frequency. Chris amended his script, and has made several versions that use both the sum and the product of frequency and position in order to find the best and worst word.

In these scripts. the best word seems to be either "saree" or "sooey." He also mentions "soare" to be a good candidate, as it appears highly in all versions. The other worst word candidates include "imshi" and "aflaj."

Regardless of best word controversy, it seems pretty certain that "xylyl" will not lead you down a quick road of success. But hey, if you do choose to start with it, you're gonna look pretty incredible the one day it's actually the word.

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Joni Mitchell joins Neil Young in having her music pulled off Spotify

Joni Mitchell is riding her "Big Yellow Taxi" far, far away from Spotify.

The famed Canadian singer-songwriter who's been turning out hits we all know — like "The Circle Game" — since the '60s has officially joined Neil Young in calling for her music's removal from the streaming service. Like the "Heart of Gold" writer and singer, Mitchell is fed up with Spotify's willingness to support podcasters like Joe Rogan who perpetuate lies and incomplete truths about COVID-19, among other things.

Rogan's podcast has been kicking around since 2009, but it notably became a Spotify exclusive in Dec. 2020. That's why the recent pushback against Spotify has so squarely centered the controversial actor-turned-influential blowhard.

"I’ve decided to remove all my music from Spotify," Mitchell wrote on Jan. 28 under the headline "I Stand With Neil Young!" in a brief post on her website. "Irresponsible people are spreading lies that are costing people their lives. I stand in solidarity with Neil Young and the global scientific and medical communities on this issue."

While she doesn't single out Rogan by name, the post does conclude with a link out to "An Open Letter to Spotify." The document, which is signed by "a coalition of scientists, medical professionals, professors, and science communicators" that includes more than 250 people, repeatedly points to The Joe Rogan Experience podcast as a source of COVID misinformation throughout the pandemic.

Young called on Spotify to remove his music from the service in an open letter of his own posted on Jan. 26. He wrote at the time that Spotify "can have Rogan or Young. Not both." The streaming giant chose the former, and now all of Young's solo albums are missing from his artist page. The bulk of Mitchell's catalog is missing as of Saturday afternoon as well; all that's left are four albums from the '80s and '90s — Mitchell's only four released under the Geffen Records label — and Shine from 2007, released by the Starbucks-owned Hear Music.

That still leaves many of Mitchell's most famous works, including the albums featuring hits like "Big Yellow Taxi," "The Circle Game," and "A Case of You," out of reach for Spotify listeners.

Young's demand to have his music scrubbed from the service became the most high-profile step taken by an artist following the coalition-authored open letter to Spotify released earlier in January. Now, Mitchell has followed suit, people are canceling their subscriptions in such great numbers that the system seems to be overloaded, and Spotify's shares have dropped far enough to wipe out $4 billion from the company's market value. It sure doesn't seem like this issue is going to just disappear overnight.

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Why these are the best VoIP services for calling family and friends

Looking for the best residential VoIP services can be a tricky proposition when there are so many options out there. While, traditionally, business VoIP services are most popular, seeking out a residential VoIP provider is increasingly popular. That's because how we use a home phone service has changed over the years, and a residential VoIP can prove much more convenient than a regular landline.

At its simplest, a VoIP provider works kind of like FaceTime or Skype, allowing you to make calls through the internet rather than having to rely on traditional landline or your cell phone. Many services also offer additional features as part of your subscription or for a small fee. Generally, a VoIP phone service is far more advanced and specialized than something like FaceTime. You need to know precisely what you require from a residential VoIP service, so you don't end up spending more than you need to.

Most VoIP services involve a subscription fee on a rolling basis, but they often end up saving you money in the long term by providing you with free or low-cost calls for your home phone as part of a bundle deal. That's particularly the case if you require international calling or unlimited calling services. Caller ID and great customer service are things to look for too, and VoIP services are often far more reliable.

If you're looking for the best phone service for you, read on while we guide you through the best VoIP solution for your needs. We're also here to solve some key queries about how the phone system works and why VoIP isn't just for small businesses anymore.

Why are VoIPs necessary?

While you can still choose to use a landline to call loved ones, using a VoIP is typically far more reliable and also often cheaper. By transmitting your conversation through the internet, calls are usually crisper and more clear, meaning you can feel more in touch with the loved one than dealing with old-fashioned phone lines. Costs are also often much lower, especially when dealing with regular calls made long-distance or when taking an international call.

If you want to enjoy extra features like recording your calls, that's often an option, too, through VoIP services. Basically, a residential VoIP gives you more functionality and flexibility than an average landline. Throw in better savings and it can be a more valuable alternative to the traditional method.

What's the difference between a residential VoIP and a business VoIP?

Simply put, there isn't really any difference. Most VoIP companies offer features that benefit both residential homes and businesses. It's down to you to know what to look for and what is excessive for your home needs. Not that there isn't some overlap in features that can be useful for both scenarios.

For instance, while unified communication might seem like an option only a business VoIP system needs, it can be useful when collaborating as a family and setting up a form of community phone network so you can all share messages, calls, and even files easily. However, there's not much need for an auto attendant receptionist who answers your calls, so make sure to avoid those features when signing up for a home phone service.

What to look for when buying a VoIP service

It's essential to think about what you need from your VoIP service. Do you simply want cheap calls with high quality? Or do you need voicemail features and automatic call recording? Would a mobile app help you or would desktop-based VoIP software suffice? It's even possible to set up multiple phone numbers if you want but it's unlikely to be needed when buying a residential VoIP service. With so many different VoIP services out there, it's crucial to have an idea of what you want so that you don't spend too much on unwanted features.

Another thing to consider is your budget. It's possible to spend a lot on a VoIP service with many residential users rarely needing the advanced features that heftier subscriptions provide. Don't overspend on features you don't need. Some services may suggest adding an IP phone to your account but you may not need this if you feel comfortable using VoIP software on your smartphone or desktop instead.

Is there a free VoIP service?

There are quite a few different free VoIP software options out there. These include Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Skype, Viber, and many other popular messaging apps that include voice and video calls.

They serve a valuable purpose if you simply need to make occasional voice or video calls. Anyone can sign up for them and they can accommodate some conference calling for family gatherings.

However, they also lack customer support, and often, you can't dial phone numbers for free via them. Instead, you're restricted to calling people using the same VoIP app as you. That means these aren't exactly replacements for your regular landline. Consider it a good backup option but not a full solution compared to your home phone.

Is Google Voice a VoIP service?

Yes, Google Voice is a fairly cost-effective VoIP solution from Google. The idea behind it is that you can use it to consolidate all your phone numbers, such as your personal cell phone, landline, and even office landline, to one singular number under the Google Voice platform.

It simplifies how you call people as all your calls come from your Google Voice number. Free SMS messaging is included with the service. On the starter paid plan, your voicemail is automatically transcribed into a text message too. It's also possible to set up call forwarding rules and record calls.

Most Google Voice calls to the U.S. and Canada are free but other countries require subscribing to the starter price plan or above. However, it's not as comprehensive as some other dedicated residential VoIP services but it can be a good starting point.

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The best tax software for freelancers doing their own taxes

Freelancing isn’t all sweatpants and snooze buttons.

Well, sometimes it is. But most of the time, it’s cabin fever, caffeine withdrawal, fickle cash flows, and fierce competition for clients.

When you boil it down, being your own boss is really hard work — and no time is that more apparent than during tax season.

Compared to those with a typical 9-to-5 job or even small business owners, freelancers and self-employed workers face a unique set of challenges in terms of filing an annual income tax return. For one thing, you need to maintain thorough records of all your business-related expenses throughout the year so that you’re organized once it’s time to start prepping your return. Then, you have to compile all of your tax documents — from your 1099s to your Schedule Cs — and mind all your Ps and Qs. You’re also responsible for completing relevant paperwork on your own while hoping-slash-praying that you haven’t missed any deductions or tax breaks. And, since the money isn't automatically deducted from your paychecks throughout the year, you'll have to make and keep track of your estimated tax payments each quarter, too.

Perhaps most frustratingly, instead of getting a tax refund like the 9-to-5 crowd, you may actually need to cough up extra money to cover the year's taxes in the case that your quarterly estimated tax payments were a little low. (Or even be penalized if you neglected to pay them altogether.)

Oh, and don’t forget about the federal self-employment tax you’re required to pay. Sure, it goes toward Social Security and Medicare which is cool for Future You — probably maybe? — but not so fun for Current You.

Do you really need tax preparation software?

If your head isn’t already swirling from all that tax talk, consider the fact that a 2018 QuickBooks survey of 500 freelancers found that doing one’s taxes is among the most difficult challenges facing modern self-employed workers. It’s an obnoxious, tedious ordeal — so obnoxious and tedious, in fact, that more than a third of freelancers don’t even bother paying taxes, according to the same poll.

Since tax evasion is sort of a felony, filing your return every year is in your best interest. However, simply filing your taxes is not enough. If you try to figure it all out on your own, you could still be hit with costly penalties and interest if you make a mistake. On the other hand, you could always go to a CPA and have them take care of your income tax return for you, but their high fees could burn a hole in your pocket, too.

Fortunately, tax prep software offers a happy medium between the two. After all, there’s no reason to make the tax filing process harder on yourself than it needs to be when this modern convenience exists — especially if you've just begun freelancing or are newly self-employed.

What is tax software?

Tax software is a type of software program that’s designed to guide users through the process of preparing and filing their returns, and help them comply with tax laws while identifying any and all tax deductions and credits that may be available to avoid paying more in taxes than necessary. Essentially, it’s software that makes it less taxing to do your own taxes.

Back in the day, tax software came in the form of a CD-ROM so it could be downloaded to your desktop computer. (Groovy.) Nowadays, you can just download a program from a trusted tax prep company’s website. Or, even better, some tax preparation tools are available completely online or via mobile app for maximum convenience.

What should you look for in a tax software program?

As someone who’s freelancing or self-employed, you need to keep your eyes peeled for a few specific features whilst weighing your tax software options. These include:

• A simple, user-friendly interface

• Some sort of accuracy guarantee

• Solid customer support

• Access to a tax expert, if needed

• A thorough review process or tool with intuitive, guiding questions that helps you find all possible tax deductions

Don’t forget that you’ll also need to file your state taxes in addition to your federal taxes. Some tax software providers will include one state for free, but most will charge you per state where you need to file. With the growing popularity of remote work, that can really add up.

Also keep in mind that the cheapest tax software option isn’t necessarily the best tax software option. The program you choose should be robust enough to handle complicated income tax returns since those of freelancers and self-employed workers tend to be pretty involved. It should also be capable of promising a high-ish level of protection in case you’re audited. In other words, now’s not the time to get stingy: you want to get your taxes done, but also done right. That’s not to say you should pay for features you don’t need, but just make sure your bases are covered, you know?

What’s the best tax software for freelancers?

That depends. Do you want to file on a mobile device? Do you want to take a chance with free software? Are you filing last-minute? Decisions, decisions.

If you have a pretty straightforward tax situation or you already have a few years of filing as a freelancer under your belt, you may be able to get away with a very low-cost or even free tax filing service like Cash App Taxes or FreeTaxUSA. However, if you need a little outside help as you suss out more in-depth stuff like itemized deductions and child tax credit, then a more budget-friendly accounting software, like TaxAct or TaxSlayer, may be up your alley.

On the flip side, if you have a more complicated tax filing situation or are a little overwhelmed with the thought of even beginning your income tax return, it may be worth it to choose a higher-cost tax software option from the most trusted tax professionals, such as H&R Block and TurboTax.

There's a lot to consider across the many options out there and we know you probably have enough on your plate already, so we’ve done the research for you. Here are the best tax software programs for freelancers and self-employed workers that you can use to start preparing your taxes today.

Porsche Taycan demolishes Kia's EV charging record

A Porsche Taycan drove from Los Angeles to New York City in record time — at least in terms of charging the EV.

On Friday, the German carmaker announced it broke the Guinness World Record for shortest charging time to drive across the U.S. in its $87,030 battery-powered car: 2 hours, 26 minutes, and 48 seconds.

Juicing up for the record ride. Credit: Porsche

Last year, Kia set the record (and grabbed it from Tesla) with a 7 hour, 10 minute, and 1 second charging time while making the 2,834-mile journey in its soon-to-be-released EV6. As recently as this week, Kia had been touting its now-defeated fast-charging achievement.

Now the title belongs to the Taycan, Porsche's first EV, which used Electrify America's ultra-fast chargers across the U.S. on the cross-country trek. Those 350 kW chargers (sometimes referred to as Level 3 charging) can take the car from empty to an 80 percent charge in under 25 minutes. Slower Level 2 charging, which is the more common charging speed available at public charging stations, can take more than six hours to fully charge an EV. Not all EVs can handle fast-charging, but clearly it's not a problem for the EV6 and Taycan.

Porsche didn't just break Kia's record... it shattered it.

Behold, the power of K-pop stans: Andrew Wiggins is now an NBA All-Star starter

I've worked, and practically lived, on the internet for a decade, and I've learned one irrefutable fact: Never, ever, ever underestimate the power of K-pop fans. When mobilized, they can make literally anything happen online.

Case in point: Andrew Wiggins, NBA All-Star Game starter.

NBA fans were a little flabbergasted last night, Jan. 27, when it was announced the Golden State Warrior would be a starter, meaning he was effectively named one of the five best players in the Western Conference. To be clear, the former No. 1 overall pick is a good player and has done a heck of a job shedding his previous reputation as somewhat of as a draft bust. But uhhhh, All-Star starter felt like a bit much to a lot of fans.

Tweet may have been deleted

Tweet may have been deleted

Tweet may have been deleted

Wiggins stats are good — if not great — and he's been a wonderfully valuable player, but by almost no experts' estimations is he cracking the top 10 in the NBA. Look at his stats vs. a player who wasn't even close to earning a spot.

Tweet may have been deleted

But here's the thing. All-Star selections are not totally left to the experts. The starters are determined by a weighted voting system: 50 percent to the fans, 25 percent to media voters, and 25 percent to player votes. Wiggins made his hay with the fans, in large part thanks to K-pop stans. Just four media members voted for Wiggins — in comparison, 98 voted for fellow starter LeBron James. Just 46 players voted for him — less than teammate Draymond Green (58 votes) and Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert (52 votes), who were not chosen as starters.

Yet Wiggins got 3,452,586 fans votes, which easily put him in third place for Western Conference frontcourt fan voting. Clippers forward Paul George, who came in fourth, trailed by more than 600,000 votes.

And for that, you can thank K-pop stans. No, really.

It mostly comes down to a couple posts from BamBam, a K-pop artist from Thailand and massive global star. You might not have heard of him, but he's a huge deal. Like HUGE. He has nearly 10 million followers on Twitter and more than 15 million on Instagram. BamBam, who also happens to be a huge Steph Curry fan, was named the Warriors global ambassador just a few weeks ago.

Acting like a good ambassador, BamBam, a member of the band GOT7, tweeted in support of Wiggins' All-Star Candidacy in early January. The post went super viral, racking up some 40,000 retweets, 3,000 quote retweets, and 68,000 likes.

Tweet may have been deleted

Each tweet with the official All-Star hashtag and a player name counts as a vote. Retweets count, too. It's difficult to fully quantify the impact of BamBam's post but, as SFGate pointed out earlier this month, the only other NBA All-Star post with even comparable engagement was... aa tweet from BamBam about Steph Curry. And that's not even taking into account how many K-pop fans then tweeted their own votes after being inspired by BamBam.

Now, to be clear, this is funny as hell and amazing. People getting legitimately upset about Wiggins starting the All-Star Game need to go outside for a bit and take a deep breath. Touch some grass. It's a game.

Tweet may have been deleted

But it also goes to show how the internet makes everything connected. K-pop and U.S. professional basketball are just one superfan away from being inextricably linked.

It also goes to show that, yet again, K-pop fans can do literally anything online. They've overwhelmed Q-Anon followers with fancams. They effectively shuttered a snitch cam aimed at arresting protesters. They took their power of amplification and redirected it from K-pop groups to promoting the #BlackLivesMatter movement after the murder of George Floyd. Online, K-pop fans can make anything happen — from the good to the bad to the downright chaotic, like disrupting All-Star votes.

So yes, it is a bit silly that Wiggins is now an All-Star starter. And sure, it's hilarious that one person has this much influence. But you've got to hand it to the Golden State Warriors: It's kind of genius to co-opt BamBam's power.

The franchise seems to understand a universal truth: Never underestimate K-pop stans.

Best dating sites for men: Whether you're looking to hook up, find love, or something in between

So, it's a new year and you're ready to hop back into the online dating scene. Easier said than done. A lot of pressure comes with keeping up a conversation with someone you don't know anything about (other than the fact that they are hot) — if you even had the patience to swipe or scroll enough to find someone worth chatting with, that is.

Why is online dating so hard?

One aspect of online dating dynamics poses a challenge for both men and women, but from different angles: If it's a lady you're pursuing, chances are she's received more than a few unsolicited messages already. For women, maneuvering around creeps is often more work than it's worth. For men, the responsibility to not be one of those guys can add a heightened intimidation factor.

Don't be a creep

The internet is plagued with tales of nasty messages and whack opening lines from men. Avoiding the creep factor with someone you just matched with shouldn't be hard — simply don't be pushy about sexting, getting their number, or meeting up, and definitely don't harass someone about not wanting to hang out during a pandemic. (Just don't be pushy about anything, really. It's as simple as that.) As for devising an opener that will grow into a nice conversation, the harmless intent to be funny or flattering can go south quickly. Choosing the right dating app can make all the difference for men who are a little rusty or generally shy about messaging first. Bumble, the app where only women can make the first move, is an obvious safe choice for the latter.

For men who need a point in the right direction when it comes to conversation starters, dating sites with user profiles more extensive than a rushed Tinder bio could make a world of difference. The ability to see someone's hobbies, favorite movies, career goals, or even political views before even talking to them opens up a wealth of clever ice breakers. Bonding over how you both thought Solo: A Star Wars Story was actually good, is one million times better than telling a woman that you "think you saw them somewhere." (That is not endearing. Never do that.)

Be honest about what you want

Tinder can be the right app for some singles. But if you find yourself constantly deleting it and re-downloading Tinder every other month despite the fact that you hate the app, a different site might make better use of your time. What is it that's not working about your current dating site of choice? Is it too entrenched in hookup culture? Is it not focused on hookups enough? Do you find yourself getting intentions mixed up with people who aren't looking for the same thing? Each dating site serves a different purpose, and things are a lot easier when you're mingling with people who want what you want.

What are the best dating sites for men?

Here are the best dating sites and apps for single men looking for a date, a movie buddy, a friend with benefits, or even love and commitment.

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Kristen Bell and 'The Woman in the House...' cast test their thriller knowledge — Know Your Role

The stars of The Woman in the House Across the Street From the Girl in the Window go head-to-head to see who knows more about thrillers.

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Apple just patched some major vulnerabilities and it's time to update (again)

You'll really want to make time for this one.

On Wednesday, Apple released a series of major security patches for iOS (15.3) and macOS (Big Sur 11.6.3, Monterey 12.2, Catalina) designed to fix critical flaws in the operating systems. And yes, this seems to be happening a lot lately.

The updates affect Safari, macOS, tvOS, iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS. There are a multitude of issues addressed by Wednesday's patches, and Apple makes clear in its documentation that many of them are quite serious.

"A website may be able to track sensitive user information," reads one description of a problem with Safari. "Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution," reads another. That's bad.

In other words, a sketchy website designed to exploit this vulnerability could make your computer run whatever code the hacker wanted.

But wait, it gets even worse. That's because Apple says these vulnerabilities aren't just theoretical, but that someone — aka hackers, governments, or who knows — possibly took advantage of at least one of them in the real world.

"A malicious application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges," Apple writes, regarding an issue with iOS and iPadOS. "Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited."

Thankfully, when it comes to the apparently Sisyphean task of keeping your iPhone and Mac free from zero-day vulnerabilities, hitting "update" goes a long way — even if you have to do it over and over again.

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Preorder 'Pokémon Legends: Arceus' for $5 off (and get an exclusive in-game outfit)

PREORDER: The highly anticipated Nintendo Switch game Pokémon Legends: Arceus comes out this Friday, Jan. 28. Reserve a copy through Amazon ahead of time and you'll get $5 off the game (from $59.99 to $54.99) plus an exclusive in-game outfit.

The reviews are trickling in for Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Game Freak's upcoming action RPG for the Nintendo Switch — and from the sound of things, it's one of the finest Pokémon games we've gotten in years (albeit a little "messy" at times):

• "It stumbles often on its way to innovation (it’s trying to evolve a nearly 24-year-old series, after all) and brings equal parts brilliance and frustration in its updated systems," writes Polygon's Ryan Gilliam. "But the good bits in Pokémon Legends: Arceus outweigh the bad, rounding out a successful first attempt at an action-centric Pokémon game."

• Per Steve Watts of GameRant: "Once Pokémon Legends: Arceus finds its stride ... it's the most daring and inventive the series has been in years, breaking apart the staid core and creating something new and exciting from its pieces."

• CNET, meanwhile, deemed it "Breath of the Wild, for your Pokémon." (They had our curiosity; now they have our attention.)

If that's enough to sell you on Arceus, you still have time to pre-order a copy on Amazon ahead of its release this Friday, Jan. 28. Doing so will save you $5 and nab you an exclusive in-game Garchomp Kimono outfit inspired by the powerful, pseudo-legendary Generation IV Pokémon.

Part of what makes Arceus so compelling is that it's set long before other modern Pokémon games like Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, which saw people and pocket monsters living side by side. Players will actually be tasked with compiling the ancient Hisui region's first-ever Pokédex to better understand the mysterious wild creatures that roam its lands, from brand new beasts like the Wyrdeer to regional variants of classic Pokémon. (PSA: Hisuian Growlithe are simply adorable.) If you're lucky, you'll even catch a glimpse of the mythical Arceus.

Note that Walmart has the game on sale for the slightly better preorder price of $54.88, but Amazon is the only place where you'll get both a skin and a discount for reserving a copy — grab one ASAP, as its offer expires today (Jan. 27).

Credit: Nintendo

'Pokémon Legends: Arceus'

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Investigating the digital wealth gap between users and the tech giants in control

Imagine social media as a giant factory where the foremen are billionaires. A handful of workers are getting a respectable living wage. Some are scraping together a living only if they hustle hard enough and tolerate a lot of uncertainty and risk. But by far the vast majority are simply working for free. The bosses would probably expect a strike at any minute. A strike if they're lucky.

And OK, a factory is an imperfect analogy for the social media apps and sites we like to call "the attention economy," because, in theory, we're using them for fun, but that's been getting less and less true for years, and it feels more like we're just stuck with them. Meanwhile, the companies own what we produce there: our data. And they make vast sums of money off that data by selling targeted ads and otherwise eroding our privacy. It's becoming more apparent every day that this tradeoff isn't working out for one of the parties involved. It leaves normal users at a serious disadvantage, and in some cases even the celebrities and influencers who actually see a monetary benefit aren't happy with the deal either.

So the fight to solve the problems with social media is going to fall along a new divide: the people who benefit heavily from the attention economy versus the users.

"We're willing to kind of give up parts of our privacy, parts of our self-determination, because there's something that we get in return and that's typically security," Sandra Matz, an associate professor of business at Columbia University told Mashable. "That's typically convenience, that's service, that's something that makes our life better. There were always these trade-offs between keeping information private to ourselves versus putting it out there and getting something in return. The problem with the new tech world or digital world is that the balance is just totally off."

Matz said this gap is growing larger and larger every day because giving away our data in order to use products online is the status quo — most of us don't even think about it. Instead, what's happening is social media users are actually engaging in labor of some form or another by posting on the platforms and giving tech giants the data they need to sell ads, and users aren't being compensated for that. 

Philip Napoli, a professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy, told Mashable that we create monetizable data every single time we create content, post something, react to another post, or share anything online. For instance, Instagram might see that you've been interacting with a lot of fitness influencers. The company can then sell that data to advertisers, and start feeding you ads for workout clothes. Using Instagram and interacting with accounts and influencers is a kind of labor that generates data, which generates money. But you don't reap any of those monetary benefits. "All that is essentially a labor that generates the data that is monetizable and fuels that economy," he said.

"I don't think people have a sense of how valuable this data really is," Matz said. "That leads to this class divide where people don't understand and that's part of the reason why they don't ask for compensation."

You might legitimately enjoy, say, exchanging messages with people on Facebook, or accumulating Twitter likes, so you might not see this as some form of unpaid labor. But, as Napoli said, "what gets lost in that individual calculus are any notions of the collective good."

If we own our data, and are allowed to do with it what we see fit, we could take the money tech companies make from our data and put it directly into our own pockets. This is an attractive thought, but we wouldn't actually make a ton of money individually from our own data — probably just a few dollars, Napoli said. That's why it's important to see this as a collective issue instead of an individual one.

"It's in the aggregation that it's worth so much," Napoli said. "And so it's that collective thinking about how our labor, how the data we generate fuels this ecosystem, that falls by the wayside."

And that's exactly what continues to drive the massive gap between users and tech platforms. 

Similar to the wealth income gap, there are fluctuations in how much power people have in the lower rung of the attention economy. For instance, influencers make their living off of the attention economy, and it would be pretty easy to blame them for part of this gap. Celebrity social media users are accessible, and make good targets for criticism precisely because they're ubiquitous, and have human faces, unlike a massive, untouchable corporation like Meta or TikTok. But they still have no power over the tech itself and have no control over their own data. And tech companies reap huge benefits from influencers.

There's some apparent effort by platforms to close that gap, at least for influencers. They aren't giving them control over their own data or bringing them into the decision-making process, but they're offering services that can help compensate them to keep them making more content.

Tweet may have been deleted

Twitter introduced a "tip jar" that allows people to send money to other users, and you can "Super Follow" tweeters by paying them for bonus content. On TikTok, creators with at least 10,000 followers can join the Creator Fund, which pays them based on the views of their videos. Instagram is launching a paid subscription service for creators similar to Twitter's Super Follows, too. But all of these tools are specifically targeted towards influencers — regular users will likely not reap any of those benefits.

"Who accumulates the money and power from the attention economy? It is gathering at the top, it's gathering at the tech companies," Emily Hund, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, told Mashable. "But that's not to say that there aren't other parties involved who benefit. Advertisers benefit, some influencers benefit too."

Influencers rely on these platforms, but Hund says the relationship can be rocky. At any moment, a platform could decide to completely change — like Instagram adding Reels and Twitter adding Spaces.

"There is a sense that it can all be taken away from them at a moment's notice by a platform changing their algorithm, changing their terms of service, with no warning," Hund said. "That can have a huge impact on influencers' livelihoods. And so they are really not the ones in control."

Just look at when OnlyFans banned sexually explicit content, disrupting entire streams of income for influencers on the platform. They later backtracked, due to collective backlash from creators, but the threat is constantly looming over their heads.

"There are no formalized communication channels between influencers and the platforms on which they work, which is just wild to me and needs to change immediately," Hund said. 

Influencers may be the most productive employees in the factory, but they have to nimbly change their job descriptions or fall into ruin overnight. A person who find success in one area may have to suddenly become a photographer, a videographer, a podcast producer, or a talking head at a moment's notice if they want to stay in the game.

Influencers are beginning to recognize the work they do to keep platforms afloat. In 2021, SAG-AFTRA began covering social media influencers and content creators in their 160,000-member union. But they need to do more, Hund argues, by seeing the true value of what they bring to these platforms: data.

"Can we imagine a system where our contributions could be better used to leverage responsibility as far as minimizing the harms? That's one possibility I haven't really thought through," Napoli said. "Can we imagine some scenario where we receive some kind of compensation? I think that's much less feasible, and I don't know how you would manage it." 

Napoli looks to Section 230, a law that protects tech companies from lawsuits related to what users post on their platforms. CEOs of Facebook, Google, and Twitter have all been open about making changes to it. In its inception, the decades-old law created a default business model for the internet, which is to host a bunch of third-party content. People wanted to share stuff with their friends and family, and there was rarely a reason to think about an audience larger than that. But that's not the case anymore. If it isn't Section 230, Hund argues that "some sort of legislation related to transparency for tech companies is necessary."

Beyond federal regulation, we can look to the private sector, where companies are working to close the gap, like MePrism, a marketplace for data. 

"Your virtual footprint can really only be used by monetizing some form of economic value about you," Tom Daly, the founder of MePrism, told Mashable. "Mine can only be used about me, and if that's the case, it really seems crazy that 300 million U.S. consumers have no idea that their property is being bought, sold, for how much, for what purposes, and by whom. When, on the other side, there's a handful of corporations who do know exactly what they're paying for and how they're using it. We fundamentally believe that that is a major massive contributor to income inequality."

And we can look at users, too. Some creators themselves are fighting back in the only way they can: by going on strike and unionizing. 

"The incentive structure broadly speaking is broken, and the fixes will come from people who are working in the industry, people who are users, and government bodies in some form," Hund said.

But that requires millions of people to organize and act collectively, which isn't an easy feat. Overall, most experts agree that we need to educate people on "basic digital literacy." That way, users will know how and what they're contributing to the attention economy — and their inherent power.

"It would be great if some of that collective value that we are essentially seeding to these platforms could be leveraged into them being more socially responsible and how they operate these platforms," Napoli said.

In the end, a lot needs to change. Maybe we create some kind of users bill of rights, or a Facebook oversight board that actually works, or a rewriting of Section 230, or new legislation altogether.

"If you combine all of these puzzle pieces, then we might be getting a little bit closer," Matz said. "But closing the gap? I don't think we ever will. If we can shrink it, instead of widening, which is probably what's going to happen if we don't intervene, that would already be a success."

Anti-vaxxers are funding their movement with Instagram Stories and link stickers

With so many online platforms prohibiting anti-vaccination misinformation, how are anti-vaxxers funding their dangerous movement?

Instagram Stories is one major outlet, according to a new report from Media Matters.

The report uncovered "dozens of examples of users" weaponizing the Facebook-owned platform's Stories feature to sell products, promote events, and even funnel Instagram users to their alternative social media platforms, where they are less likely to get banned.

One specific feature the Media Matters' report focuses on are "link stickers," which Instagram rolled out to all of its users late last year.

Link stickers provide users with the ability to add a link to a third-party website to their Stories content. For years, Instagram avoided allowing off-platform links, aside from the one link it allowed users to add to their profile page. Link stickers finally provided users with this function, as well as giving anti-vaxxers a way to profit off of their accounts.

According to Instagram's terms of service, the platform will remove an account's ability to post link stickers if they "repeatedly share things like hate speech and misinformation, or other content that violates our Community Guidelines.”

However, being that Instagram Stories are ephemeral, disappearing after 24 hours, anti-vaxxers, conspiracy theorists, and nefarious users are able to disseminate harmful misinformation and links to their followers before it can be reported.

On top of that, some anti-vaxxers deploying these methods on Instagram are using backup accounts that they realize are likely only temporary anyway. Doling out suspensions, feature removals, or other punishments for violating Instagram policies may work with most good faith users, but anti-vaxxers aren't operating in good faith. Many are already evading bans and using accounts set up strictly to spread anti-vaccination misinformation via Instagram Stories and link stickers as quickly as they can before their latest Instagram account gets shut down, too.

Mashable has reached out to Instagram for comment and will update this post when we hear back.

Instagram has struggled over the years in dealing with anti-vaxxers on their platform. The company had taken some action against anti-vaccine misinformation, such as banning anti-vaxxer related hashtags, well before even the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet Instagram continues to provide some of the most prolific anti-vaxxer influencers in the movement with a platform. Instagram Stories and the link stickers feature provide a lifeline to these users, even if Instagram has already banned their main accounts.

Stories and link stickers being used to spread anti-vaccine misinformation is just another example of how anti-vaxxers will utilize whatever tools are at their disposal to tell the stories they want to tell — regardless of the truth.

Apple granted restraining order against alleged Tim Cook stalker

Apple has accused a Virginia woman of stalking CEO Tim Cook for more than a year. On Thursday, Apple requested a restraining order against her and, on Friday, a judge in Santa Clara County granted it, according to court filings first reported by the Mercury News.

Cook apparently found out about the 45-year-old woman because she was tagging him on Twitter, using the last name "Cook." She was claiming she was married to him and that he was the father of her twins. She allegedly emailed him some 200 times, escalating to a "threatening and highly disturbing" tone, according to the application.

One of the emails was an application to be his roommate in Cook's Palo Alto condo; another email, according to the New York Times, included photos of a handgun and ammunition, along with comments like, "My new gun will never return it at this time before I shoot!" The woman also allegedly registered fake corporations naming Cook as a corporate officer, director, or agent.

In October, the woman showed up to Cook's home in her car and asked to speak with him. Security sent her away, but she returned minutes later, the Times reported. Police officers stopped her and searched her car, but didn't find any weapons. They towed her car because of an expired license, and she allegedly told them that she "could get violent."

The court order prohibits the woman from possessing guns after Apple's application said the woman "may be armed and is still in the South Bay Area and intends to return to [Cook’s] residence or locate him otherwise in the near future." The woman also can't approach any Apple employees, including Cook, enter Apple property, go to Cook's house in Palo Alto, or contact him on social media. The hearing on whether to extend the order is scheduled for March 29.

This isn't the first time Apple has had to get a restraining order against an alleged Cook stalker. In February 2020, it was granted a temporary restraining order against a man who allegedly trespassed on Cook's Palo Alto home twice, according to the Mercury News.

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Sexy Valentine's Day gifts guaranteed to spice things up

You know what? We're just gonna say it: A lot of Valentine's Day gift guides are just plain boring.

Now, "gifts for him" and "gifts for her" aren't inherently boring searches. There are a lot of really sweet, unique ideas out there that truly show you've been paying attention to your partner's wants or needs. But what if your partner's needs are more... primal? It's pretty archaic to assume that heart-shaped jewelry or engraved whiskey decanters are the peak of romance.

It's time to wake up and accept the fact that Valentine's Day is the sex holiday. Sometimes spicing things up in the bedroom is the most romantic thing you can do.

We've scoured the internet to find the sexiest gifts on the market. Whether your boo is into BDSM, toys, or is just one of those people who gets turned on by food, there's bound to be a gift option that satisfies their nether regions and their heart.

NSFW warning: Before you scroll any further, we'd suggest making sure your screen isn't visible to bosses, children, or conservative family members. However, if you're in public with just randos behind you, it's your call as to whether you want to be that person shopping for vibrators in Starbucks.

We apologize in advance for using the word "penetration" so many times. No matter how sex-positive you are, that word sucks.

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The best unique gifts for the woman in your life

Picking out gifts for a woman in your life is a special opportunity to show her just how much you care about her.

Taking the generic route sends the opposite message. A gift for the lady in your life should be just that: A gift for her. Specifically.

There’s a wealth of unique gift items littered across the internet, but having too many choices isn’t always helpful. Sometimes, product overload can trick you into impulse-buying something your special person may not even want. Consider how a mug looks to someone whose mug shelf is overflowing or how a heart necklace looks to someone who never wears mushy jewelry.

We’ve put together a comprehensive guide to get you started on your important mission: Finding the gift of all gifts for the lady in your life, filled with classics and items you've never even heard of.

Divers discovered a pristine coral reef deep below the ocean surface

Unesco divers found a coral reef 30 meters below the water's surface off the coast of Tahiti that avoided damaging bleaching events that harmed nearby reefs. 

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From the road to the sky in minutes, this convertible car is now certified to fly — Future Blink

Developed by Klein Vision, the AirCar is a convertible hybrid that transforms from a car into an aircraft in just under three minutes.

Now, after about 70 hours of flight tests, the vehicle has been issued a certificate of airworthiness by the Slovak Transport Authority, effectively allowing it to fly across European Union airspace.

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For your mood music needs, the Beats Studio3 headphones are half off

SAVE 50%: The Beats Studio3 Noise-Canceling Over-Ear Headphones have stellar sound — and they're half off at Amazon as of Jan. 25. Get them for just $174.95 instead of $349.95.

Plenty of us want to minimize distractions these days, and a good pair of noise-canceling headphones can help you tune out the noise for a while. Or, you know, at least listen to podcasts without having to go back constantly.

The Beats Studio3 Wireless Noise-Canceling Headphones have adaptive noise cancellation, which means that external noise is actively blocked. If you do choose to let some sound in (maybe if you overhear some particularly juicy gossip?) you can toggle into transparency mode.

These headphones have a battery life of up to 22 consecutive hours (40 without noise cancellation), and their ergonomic design ensures that you won't end up with your ears feeling squashed.

Convenient on-ear controls mean you can take calls, control audio, and activate Siri with ease. All these features, paired with high performance in the most important one — audio quality — make these headphones a solid choice.

Their only downside is that you'll miss out on conversational gems like the ones featured in @overheardnewyork, but on the bright side, your music or podcast of choice is probably better to listen to than someone's dating woes.

Credit: Beats

Beats Studio3 Wireless Noise-Canceling Over-Ear Headphones

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Save 31% on an enormous version of 'Uno'

SAVE 31%: The UNO Giant Family Card Game is on sale for $13.85 at Walmart as of Jan. 24. It's just like regular Uno, except it's very big.

For whatever reason, the giant versions of childhood games — like Jenga and Connect Four — are much more fun than the originals.

Another game that's super-sized itself? Your favorite matching card game: Uno. As of Jan. 24, you can grab it on sale for $13.85 at Walmart — 31% off its usual price. (You can also find the same deal at Amazon for a limited time.)

Giant Uno is the same game you might know and love from childhood, but three times its normal size. You still race to get rid of your cards by matching a card in your hand with the top card on the discard pile. And you still yell "Uno!" when you have a single card left. But with larger cards, there's more to love.

You'll get 108 oversized cards in a pack, including a handful of customizable wild cards. That means you can make up your own silly rules. Up to 10 people can play at a time.

Credit: Mattel

Giant Uno

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Netflix's 'Murderville' trailer sets up a killer comedy

Being a homicide detective is hard enough without a celebrity partner.

In the trailer for Netflix's Murderville, Senior Detective Terry Seattle (Will Arnett) gets to work solving homicides, each time with a different celebrity partner — who has no script and no context.

In Murderville's premiere season, written and executive produced by Krister Johnson, Arnett is joined by Ken Jeong, Annie Murphy, Kumail Nanjiani, Sharon Stone, Conan O'Brien, and Marshawn Lynch. Each of them is playfully pushed to keep up and keep it together as they crack the case. Haneefah Wood, Lilan Bowden, and Phillip Smithey round out the main cast, with Iain Morris and Brennan Shroff directing the six-episode series.

Murderville premieres on Netflix Feb. 3.

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How Spot the mouse is helping to cure baldness

Spot the mouse, for that is her name, lived a hairless life — until nine months ago, when she suddenly gained a tuft of human hair on one side. 

Spot is a test subject for Silicon Valley startup dNovo, a YCombinator company that set out on a mission in 2018 to find a cure for baldness. According to dNovo, the underlying cause of baldness is that your body stops generating new hair cells, which — like all cells — get their marching orders from stem cells. It claims its proprietary "reprogramming technology" can convert existing cells taken from your blood or another personal sample into new hair stem cells.

In theory, a procedure similar to Spot's would graft those cells onto the area you might have been covering with a hat or comb-over. The graft then causes dormant hair cells to kick back into gear, and voila, your luscious locks are back again.

Three weeks after dNovo researchers grafted hair stem cells that had grown onto Spot and her fellow "hair deficient" mice, the pioneering rodents started sprouting patches of human hair. (The company first shared photos of Spot with the MIT Technology Review's look at high-tech baldness treatments; we're the first to bring you her name).

The result is… well, perhaps not the most visually pleasing location the researchers could have chosen. If they're not going to go for the traditional top-of-head location, why not the chest? That way, Spot could make the most of the rest of her brief two-year life by rocking a gold chain.

Thankfully, dNovo founder Ernesto Lujan assures us that Spot "seems to be enjoying her hair with no notable adverse reactions." 

Time for a visit to the barber shop! Credit: dNovo

Lujan's technology is all patent pending, and the description of the procedure on the company's website says "we can potentially generate your own personalized hair stem cells that are compatible with your immune system." That "potentially" means the proof may be on the mouse, but it's not an ironclad indication of the future.

"This is only the early step towards our potential cure for hair loss," Lujan says when asked how long of a journey it is from mouse tuft to human mane. "Finding a treatment for baldness itself is a pretty daunting task."

When considering the relative importance of that treatment, you'd be forgiven for noting how pharmaceutical and biotech companies hop right on solving very male problems, such as erectile dysfunction, while many health issues that affect women remain understudied and even taboo. But Lujan stands by his mission of applying stem cell technology to a seemingly superficial problem — one that can in fact cause a lot of internal strife, and not just for men.

"Much of the stem-cell research has focused on tissue engineering and regenerative medicine," Lujan says. "All these pioneers lay the groundwork for what we are doing now. Hair loss is a very prevalent problem that affects almost one in two men, and one in seven women, above the age of 35. We believe our work will improve the lives of many people, and this is what we are focused on."

Hats off to Spot, then, for her part in bringing baldness another hair's breadth closer to its cure.