Photo: Google

I adjusted to Google I / O this year while keeping privacy in mind. Chalk it up to the most recent drama of Facebook exec-became-Apple-employees-became-unemployed-employees Antonio Garcia Martinez, who said famous in 2018::

“Here’s the reality: most people don’t care about privacy. Media elites take care of it, underemployed eurocrats take care of it. And the entire data protection industrial complex – there are a number of very loud voices that keep beating the drum and building media careers. “

He’s right, but I wouldn’t take such an accusatory tone. It’s true, most people haven’t really thought much about privacy, just because they haven’t been made to think about it. They would reuse passwords anywhere because they didn’t know how to better create and store them. They wouldn’t log in to receive notifications about compromised accounts, having no idea they could. They didn’t care who was doing what with their data as long as they could surf the web, read email, and play games without interruption. But it changes.

I’m glad that more and more mega-platforms are putting privacy first, but there is still so much more to be done to hold the hands of those who just use their devices without really thinking about data security or privacy. So that’s the lens – not the Google lens, that’s something else – through which I viewed today’s I / O keynote. And I found some interesting tidbits that were worth discussing (beyond the usual PR of how Google keeps your data on the device whenever possible and doesn’t sell your data to companies, etc.).

Lock pictures in Google Photos

It’s great that Google is bringing the concept of locked folders right into Google Photos. I wish they had also added that they plan to “roll back our decision to wipe your Google Photos free storage” back to their suite of announcements today, but they didn’t. Oh.

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This means that you can now create a kind of “private folder” where you can store any photos that you don’t want other apps to touch. These photos will also not appear in your photo feed in the app. So you no longer have to accidentally stumble upon something you didn’t want to show, such as showing your best cat pictures to your friends.

I leave it to your imagination what types of photos to reserve for this new, protected space.

Already use a password manager (and change compromised passwords on the fly).

Google is adding a new import tool to its Chrome-based password manager that allows you to save logins to a CSV file in the tool. We’ve got to the point where you don’t have a good reason not to use a password manager, and this should make it easier to start with (or switch from something else).

What’s more, Google’s password manager now makes it even easier to change your compromised passwords – with one caveat. If the password manager allows it (not all websites and services are supported) you can skip straight to the password reset page if you have a less secure account. Google won’t change the password for you, unlike the always helpful password change tool that you can find in the paid tool Dashlane App. Even so, it’s just another way to get people (you) to do something important (change your broken passwords) with minimal effort.

Quickly delete what you just did on google-dot-com

Screenshot: David Murphy

In the Google Search app, you’ll be able to quickly tap your little profile icon in the top right corner and use an option to debut to clear the last 15 minutes of your activity online. If you have an extensive history that you want to clear, you have to do it the old fashioned way (or remember that incognito mode exists).

I assume this is true for both Android and iOS, but Google didn’t have any details to share.

Adjust privacy settings while apps are using them

Screenshot: David Murphy

Another nice addition that Google is adding to its apps is a clearer reminder of when apps are using features that may put your privacy sensors on alert. For example, consider when Google Maps uses your location history, for example to suggest places to check out. A small icon will now appear on the maps that allows you to toggle location history on and off. You don’t have to search through all sorts of settings menus to find them.

Google only shared this one example on I / O, but I’m curious to see what other privacy options will be added to the other apps (and how much time it will take to trigger them).

Control your microphone and camera from the quick settings on Android 12

I love that Google basically built a kill switch for your device’s camera and microphone right into Android 12 (now in a beta preview). Basically, you will now see two new options in Android’s swipe-down quick settings:

Screenshot: David Murphy

Tap either option to prevent all apps from using your camera or microphone, regardless of what permissions you’ve given them previously. Disable the setting and your permissions will continue as normal.

On top of that, Android 12 gets this beautiful new privacy dashboard that shows you exactly when and which apps have accessed various data (including Google’s built-in apps).

Screenshot: David Murphy

Leave that unwanted moment behind with Google Photos

Ah, memories. Who doesn’t like it when an ex shows up on one of these “remember that day”? Prompts you get on the social web? At least in Google Photos, you will soon be able to either erase entire memories (if you particularly hated them), change the name of the store, or remove individual photos in a store in case you liked everything about that great trip you’ve been on but the one Person you went with.

It’s hard to argue that most of us are lying around a little too much, but getting rid of your things can be difficult. Perhaps you have developed a personal bond with certain items, or you really believe that one day you will have a practical use for them. Most of the time, however, “personal worth” means “guilt” and “some day” never comes.

We’re not talking about going ultra-minimal here, we’re trying to keep only the things in your life that you use that are actually important to you. To do this, you need to know how to identify the crap in your home, how to get rid of it (so you don’t just throw it in a landfill) and most importantly, how to keep unwanted crap out of the way.

Step 1: Identify the Recycle Bin

Crap is just rubbish, like a company t-shirt from five jobs ago or a birthday card from 1994 that your grandmother will ask for the next time she visits. If you still have things like that, stop reading this post and dispose of it right away: recycle the cards (or put them down for safe keeping), tear off the shirts for rags, and in general, do what you need to do to get it The garbage got done first.

Now that you’ve got rid of your easily identifiable crap, we can start with the rest and decide what can stay and what can go.

Step 2: cut down on excess material

First, narrow your focus by sorting your clutter into categories. These categories should include things like books, clothing, cables and gadgets, as well as any hobby-related clutter that you may have a lot of. For each category, sort each item into one of three piles: items to keep, items to throw and tie. Be Inconsiderate: When was the last time you used that bulky electric juicer? Are you actually going to use it in the future? If the answer is “probably not,” then you should probably get rid of it.

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When you’re done sorting, go through the pile of items that you are not sure about and remove as much as you can. If you have duplicates (or triple duplicates), choose what you like best and remove the rest.

Step 3: reset everything

Now that you’ve messed up your home by throwing your things on the floor, it’s time to put it all away. First, put whatever stuff you’re getting rid of in a carton, trash bag, or whatever you prefer – as long as it clearly moves on to the next life. Next, put all of the things you keep where they belong (and admire all of the storage space you have created). Finally, take the things that you are not sure about and move them to a different place, such as the bathroom. B. on one side of your closet or in a separate drawer. For the next month, keep an eye on how often you use that “undecided” stuff: if you barely touch it, it’s time to let go of it.

Step 4: Repeat steps 1-3

No, not right away – you just had to part with a number of things that are important to you that you may not be emotionally ready to part with your possessions again. Wait 30 days and try again. After a month, when things have settled down, you will find it much easier to let go of even more things that you don’t need. You might even like it.

Step 5: tackle the unique pieces

By now, you’ve probably got rid of most of your unnecessary junk, leaving behind things that you don’t have a lot of but that still take up unnecessary space in your home. Do you have an electric guitar that you never play or an elliptical trainer machine that you mostly use as a clothes rack? You must go.

Step 6: Get Unwanted Items Out of Your House

When the time comes to get rid of all of this crap, you have three basic options: donate, sell, or trade. (Technically, “The Dump” is the fourth option, but hopefully you’ve gotten rid of your literal junk by now.)

Always make sure potential donations are clean and in good condition before attempting to get rid of them. Goodwill and the Salvation Army are fine, but your old things are much more likely to be used if you keep them locally. Many homeless shelters and other aid agencies list their most needed donations on their website. Check if any of your products qualify, then bring it over. Your local Buy Nothing group on Facebook and the free Craigslist section take care of almost everything else.

Selling or trading items with higher tickets on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, or / or eBay can help you get some cash back, but it does take some work – so save it for things worthwhile. If you have outdated electronics that aren’t being sold, check to see if the manufacturer or retailer has a trade-in or recycling program. Amazon, Samsung, and Apple All of them do, to name a few.

Step 7: digitize if possible

You can also free up space by optimizing your physical recordings. Files, photos, invoices, bank statements and other documents can take up a lot of space. digitize what you canBack up everything and throw away any physical copies that aren’t special or valuable to you. Going paperless is quite a processbut more than worth the effort.

Step 8: keep it up

Scratching your entire home is a tremendous hassle, but all of that effort is wasted if you can’t wait for it. To do this, you will need some rules, guidelines, and tricks to stave off the excess things that once plagued your life.

You may have heard that you should toss it if you haven’t used it in the last year. This works great – for people who don’t tend to hold onto things they don’t need. If you have this tendency, your guidelines should be a little stricter:

• Set up a one-in-one-out policy: If you want something new, you have to get rid of something old. It doesn’t have to be the same type of item, but it should take up roughly the same amount of space (or more).
• Set expiration dates for infrequently used content: Give yourself a certain amount of time to use an item, then set a calendar reminder. When the date comes and goes and you haven’t touched it, say goodbye.
• Sleep on it – twice: Don’t buy new things until you’ve thought about it for 48 hours (or more). If you still think it’s a good buy, go for it.
• Put your things where you can see them: The FIFO principle does not only apply to kitchens. If you organize your things so that you can see what you have, then you can actually use them.

The troubleshooting process isn’t exactly fun, but chances are you’ll love the extra space more than anything that was there before. Hopefully this guide will help you get your crap under control and get away from home.

This article was originally published May 2011 and was updated with new information on May 18, 2021 to be in compliance with Lifehacker style guidelines.

Photo: EmirMemedovski (Getty Images)

How do you know if you’re doing too much in the gym or not enough? We talked about it how to manage the intensity of your exercise, but what about the actual time you measure during a workout? The optimal length of a workout depends on your goals and what exactly you are doing.

When you really don’t have the time

If you’re asking this question because you don’t know when to find an hour to work out, for example, I have good news for you: any workout is better than no workout.

The American exercise guidelines included a rule that the only exercise that counts if you do it for 10 minutes or more. you dropped this rule in 2018, so the shorter stuff counts too.

Do you need ideas? Aside from a short walk around the block, you can also try partaking in “fitness snacks” like one of these 5 minute ideas. Or work on a target movement like pull-ups by greasing the groove and Spread your reps across the day.

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If you want to improve your cardio fitness

Let’s talk about what to do when you have time for a more traditional type of exercise. For example, how much should you budget to improve your aerobic fitness and reap all of these? heart healthy benefits?

For stationary exercises like jogging or cycling, consider at least 20 minutes for a focused workout session. 30 minutes is likely the sweet spot for something you plan on several times a week – three sessions of 30 minutes means a total of 90 minutes, which falls within the range US recommendation for 75 to 150 minutes of weekly cardio training. Five sessions of 30 minutes also give you a nice weekday routine.

However, you don’t have to limit yourself to 30 minutes. Many fitness classes are 45 or 60 minutes long, and that’s great too. Between 30 and 60 minutes is solid cardio workout that most of us can find or can find time for.

Do you want to go any longer? Low-intensity cardio exercise (like hiking or light running) for 90 minutes or more will add to your cardio fitness. Workouts of this length are typically done once a week. For example, if you have a program in progress, you might want to do 30-minute runs and then 90-minute runs a few times a week long term Saturdays.

What if you’d rather get your cardio in as short a time as possible? High-intensity interval training (HIIT) can do the job while it is real HIIT and not just a YouTube video marked as such. The puke Tabata protocol only takes four minutes. Other HIIT protocols typically reach 10 minutes or less. Once you’ve added a five minute warm up and cooldown, watch out for 15 to 20 minutes for the whole thing.

When you lift weights

The length of the workouts will vary depending on your goals and the way your program is set up.

If you are a beginner, a 30 minute workout three times a week is likely enough to see results. If you are more experienced, you may still prefer to break your workout up into 30-minute sections every day rather than doing longer workouts a few times a week.

When you lift heavy If you are aiming for the greatest strength gains, your workout will typically take longer per exercise. You must Warm-up kits to prepare for the day’s work weight and you need 3–5 minute break between sets for large compound exercises like squats and deadlifts. Add that all up and a day’s squats can take half an hour on their own. So these types of workouts can last anywhere from an hour to two.

So we have a range of 30 minutes to two hours to lift workouts, depending on what you’re doing. If you want to spend less time in the gym, check out two exercises and work on reducing the amount of rest between sets.

Not only is cardio good for your heart, but it can also improve your body’s ability to recharge faster between sets. Don’t expect to be able to lift back to back with a two minute break. However, improving your condition can help you reduce rest times from eight to five minutes, or do isolation exercises like curling with just a minute break instead of two or three.

This saves you time without shortening your training

We have a few too Tips on how to save time in the gymif you find that your workouts are taking longer than necessary.

Don’t forget that you can combine lifting and cardio – even on the same day – to get a little more of each. If you can schedule an hour to exercise, consider doing a 30-minute workout and 30 minutes on the treadmill.

It can also be worthwhile to look at all of the other things you do during your exercise time to see if you are using your time appropriately. If you have a long drive to the gym, and afterwards have to shower forever, and hang out with your gym buddies between sets, it may take you three hours to do what is really just a 90-minute workout.

Be honest with yourself about your schedule, but realize that there is no need to be ruthlessly efficient unless you’re under tight deadlines. Perhaps chatting with your gym friends is the best part of your day. Perhaps you could make more progress if you allowed yourself a full hour in the gym instead of trying to squeeze it all into 45 minutes.

Photo: Dan Kitwood (Getty Images)

Knowing the life cycle of your plants is critical to creating a healthy garden. Some plants grow all year round, like Evergreens (hence the name) while others only sprout once a year, like Geraniums. It can be difficult to keep track of which plants come back every year (perennials) and which only live one cycle (annual). And then there are biennials that grow on a completely different schedule. What is the difference between these plant life cycles and how can this knowledge help you curate your garden? This is how the life cycle of a plant can help you create your planting plans.

Yearbooks don’t come back every year

Annuals and perennials are often confused because of their similar names. We are used to hearing the word “annually” applied to something that happens every year. In this case, however, it means that these plants will only grow once. After an annual plant dies in your garden, it will need to be replanted the next year. The house and garden Garden design offers the pros and cons of planting annuals. One advantage is the beautiful plumage: many annuals have colorful flowers that give your garden a striking aesthetic. Confusingly, some annuals, if planted properly, can even flower for a range of seasons – beans, for example longer growing seasonsand can grow up to 95 days.

The disadvantage of a garden laden with annuals is maintenance: they require a lot of attention in the form of fertilization, watering, and pruning. To make sure your annuals last as long as possible, plant them wide apart so they can reach their full size. Garden design recommends adding a Slow release fertilizer to give the plants a strong foundation and a longer lifespan. Immediately after planting, water the plants and install mulch to regulate humidity and prevent weed growth.

Perennials remain

Unlike annuals who die after the first frost never to return, Perennials will dormant and sprout again in the next growing season. The perennials include flowers such as hostas or daisies, as well as vegetables such as asparagus and rhubarb. Investing in perennial plants will help improve the overall health of your garden. Sustainability side Small footprint family explained: “[some] Perennial vegetables provide themselves and the neighboring plants with fertilizer by binding nitrogen in the soil. “Planting could extend the life of the annuals around them.

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In order for perennials to thrive, how should they be properly prepared before planting? This means cultivating the soil and adding compost to each planting hole. Planting site Garden gate suggests planting on a dry but cloudy day to avoid another shock. When the soil is ready, dig a wide and shallow hole for the plant to grow. Dig “a wide hole, at least twice as wide as the pot, so the roots can quickly penetrate the loosened soil to collect moisture and nutrients,” advises Garden Gate. They recommend checking the planting depth with a yardstick. Note that it is better to “plant the crown a little too high than too deep”. Water the plant’s leaves right after planting to prevent them from sagging. Sufficiently moist soil will keep the plant hydrated for at least a week. Spreading mulch around your plants will help keep the soil moist and keep insects out.

Biennials take time and patience

A biennial sounds like a plant that grows twice a year, but it actually means they are taking two years to grow after the first planting. The roots are formed in the first year; in the second year the plant begins to bloom and sow. Biennials can be annual depending on the local climate. According to Garden know-howLocations that are unusually cold can “influence whether the plant is biennial or annual”. Or maybe the plant will bloom flowers in a year but won’t produce edible vegetables or fruits until the next year. Biennial plants are beets, carrots, and celery.

Since location matters, use the USDA hardiness card to decide which plants are most likely to grow in your area. Like annuals, biennials need regular watering and pruning – these are the things that will keep you in on the long run. Water, feed, and weed your garden as often as possible and be patient. Community activist and gardener Ron Finley suggests keeping a garden diary so that you can “note when and where you planted your vegetables, whether pests are disturbing and all relevant details about the development and health of your plants.”