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This may forestall you from shedding cash on previous present playing cards

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Image for the article titled It's Time to Check Out Your Gift Cards

Photo: jadimages (Shutterstock)

According to a new Bankrate survey, 73% of US adults have unused gift cards that they haven’t redeemed in the last year, leaving an average total of $ 116. The problem with gift cards is that if you don’t spend them in the first year, they won’t be issued, whether because you forget them over time or the balance is consumed by inactivity fees. If you hate the idea of ​​putting money on the table, an annual gift card review will make sure you dump your unused cards once and for all.

Why you should always use gift cards right away

While there are state safeguards in place to prevent gift cards from expiring for five years from the date of purchase, companies can still charge “inactivity fees” to the card certain states if the card is not used within one year. These fees typically range from $ 2 to $ 5 per month and can be billed monthly until your gift card balance is depleted.

It also comes down to the fact that our habits overwhelm us: As reported by The Hustle, 70% of all gift cards are redeemed within six months of purchase, but after a year the redemption rate remains stagnant at 80%, with the likelihood of cards being redeemed decreasing over time. As soon as the cards are no longer in the foreground, we all seem to simply pay again with cash or credit.

So do a gift card audit

If you are serious about not letting your gift cards go to waste, you need an actual plan that includes the following steps:

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  • Find all of your gift cards wherever they might be – in your wallet, purse, desk drawer – and put them together in one place.
  • Check each one for an expiration date.
  • Confirm the balance of each gift card using the website or phone number on the back of the card. Write this number in sharpie on the face of the card.
  • Discard any cards with a zero balance so they don’t get mixed up with the good ones.
  • Set a calendar reminder for the end of the week or month to serve as a deadline for your cards to be dealt – and make it an annual reminder so you’ll have to do the same 12 months from now.

The final step is to redeem the residual value cards – but that’s easier said than done, especially if you have a low value card for a dealer you don’t visit often. With that in mind, consider these options:

  • Topping up your low value cards: If you have multiple cards with only a few dollars between them, consider topping them up to $ 10 or $ 50 and giving them away as gifts.
  • Sell ​​your cards: There are reputable gift card resellers who will buy your cards from you, albeit for a fraction of their value – their portion can be anywhere from 7% to 53% of the total value of the card (depending on demand for cards of a certain size). Retailers). It’s a good option when you don’t have an imaginable use for the card and just want some cash. This Lifehacker post guides you through the steps.

Hong Kong’s Cling Seng Index extends losses after two days of defeat

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SINGAPORE – Asia Pacific stocks were lower in trading Wednesday morning, with Hong Kong stocks struggling to recover from a two-day loss.

In Wednesday morning trade, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.28% after rising more than 1% earlier. This was followed by a decline of more than 8% in two days earlier this week, sparked by regulatory fears surrounding sectors such as technology and private education.

Analysts at Bespoke Investment Group pointed out that there was only one other period in 2011 when the Hang Seng fell more than 7.5% for two days. Since then, they have written: “There has not been a single two-day decline since the financial crisis that has exceeded the extent of the past two days.”

Hong Kong Chinese tech stocks, which were hardest hit by the recent sell-off, were mixed in trading Wednesday morning.

Hong Kong internet giant Tencent fell 4.39%, while Alibaba was down 1.39% and Meituan was down 2.22%. The Hang Seng Tech Index was down 0.54%.

Shares in private education companies, another sector hit by regulatory scrutiny, rebounded with New Oriental Education & Technology Group up 9.3% while Koolearn Technology rose 8.12%.

Mainland Chinese stocks also continued to decline: the Shanghai composite lost 1.28% while the Shenzhen component lost 1.153%.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost 1.21% in morning trading while the Topix index was down 0.83%. South Korea’s Kospi lost about 0.1%.

The S & P / ASX 200 in Australia lost 0.5%.

MSCI’s broadest index for Asia Pacific stocks outside of Japan was down 0.63%.

Stock clock

Mitsubishi Motors stock in Japan rose about 8% in trading Wednesday morning after the automaker raised its operating profit forecast for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022 by 33.3%.

CNBC Pro’s Stock Picks and Investment Trends:

Currencies and oil

The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback versus a basket of its competitors, hit 92.454 after falling over 92.7 recently.

The Japanese yen was trading at 109.83 the dollar, stronger than the 110.4 levels seen against the greenback earlier this week. The Australian dollar changed hands at $ 0.7361 above the below $ 0.732 level hit last week.

Oil prices were higher on the morning of Asian trading hours, with international benchmark Brent crude oil futures rising 0.54% to $ 74.88 a barrel. US crude oil futures rose 0.64% to $ 72.11 a barrel.

That you must replace your iPhone, iPad, and Mac gadgets now

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Image for article titled You Need To Update Your Apple Devices Now Update

Make sure you get the latest system updates for iOS, iPadOS, and macOS Big Sur immediately to fix a dangerous security hole that hackers are actively exploiting in the wild.

The iOS and iPad updates also fix an annoying bug that is preventing some iPhone users from unlocking their Apple Watch using their phone’s Touch ID. The key point, however, is that all iPhone, iPad, and Mac users need to install the updates immediately to keep their devices and data safe from the latest security vulnerabilities.

The patch notes for the iOS / iPadOS 14.7.1 and macOS 11.5.1 Updates list the error as CVE-2021-30807. It is a “memory corruption problem” in the IOMobileFrameBuffer component, found on all three affected operating systems, which allows malicious apps installed on the device to gain elevated privileges and execute attacks using arbitrary code.

Unfortunately, both bug reports confirm that Apple has received an anonymous “report that this issue may have been actively exploited” and Reporting from ZDNetNet indicates that a proof-of-concept attack has occurred online. In other words, unpatched Apple devices are open targets.

For anyone interested in a more technical breakdown of the problem, Saar Amar of the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) wrote a detailed blog post on the topic. Amar actually discovered the bug nearly four months ago and was working on a full bug report before Apple self-disclosed the problem, and his explanation gives us a deeper look into the bug than we would ever get from Apple.

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Here’s how to install the updates on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

The updates are available for all iPhones with iOS 14, iPads with iPadOS 14 and Mac desktops and Macbooks with macOS Big Sur. To check the operating system version of your device:

  • iOS / iPadOS: Go to Settings> General> Info, and make sure you are using iOS 14.7.1 or higher for iPhones or iPadOS 14.7.1 or higher for iPads.
  • Mac OS: click “About this Mac” from the Apple menu. Make sure you are running macOS 11.5.1 or later.

And this is how you update your devices:

  • iOS / iPadOS: Go to Settings> General> Software Update> Download and Install Then follow the instructions on the screen.
  • Mac OS: Of the Apple menu, go to System Settings> Software Update> Update Now and follow the instructions.

Half of the good British warships out of motion as a consequence of lack of funds for repairs

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HALF the large British warships are out of action for repairs, it was announced last night.

Of the 18 frigates and destroyers in the Royal Navy’s fleet, only nine are operational, the rest are in dock, the Ministry of Defense has announced.

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Former naval chief Admiral Lord West says it is a “national shame” that half of Britain’s large warships are out of actionPhoto credit: PAOnly nine of the Royal Navy's 18 frigates and destroyers can operate

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Only nine of the Royal Navy’s 18 frigates and destroyers can operateCredit: EPA

Former Navy chief Admiral Lord West of Spithead said, “It’s a national shame.

“New ships are not built fast enough and there is not enough money for repairs.”

Only one of the Navy’s £ 1 billion destroyers, the HMS Defender, is currently at sea. She accompanies the Carrier Strike Group on its maiden voyage around the world.

Her sister ship HMS Diamond had to give up the 10-ship task force after it broke down in the Mediterranean and limped into an Italian port.

The other Type 45 ships, HMS Daring, HMS Duncan and HMS Dragon are serviced in the UK.

While the HMS Dauntless is slated for sea trials after a £ 160 million engine upgrade.

‘COMPLETELY UNSATISFIED’

Of the 12 Type 23 frigates, only eight are classified as “operational”.

Lord West added: “It is utterly unsatisfactory that the nation should land at sea with this number of warships.

“The frigates are in the dock because we are operating them longer than expected, because the construction program for new ships is taking so long.”

The Sun announced that the escort fleet will sink to historic lows, sinking below 10 for the first time in Navy’s history in 2026, before growing again after 2027 when the first of 13 new frigates enter service.

The Prime Minister promised to recapture Britain’s place as “the greatest sea power in Europe”.

Defense Department figures also showed that at least 12 surface vessels, including mine hunters, amphibious transporters and dropships, are undergoing maintenance.

The Department of Defense said the frigates were “the core of the frontline fleet”.

A spokesman said: “You play a key role in the Royal Navy’s carrier strike capability and make a tremendous contribution to the defense of Britain and our international partners who value you greatly.

“All ships in the Royal Navy go through planned cycles of operation that include routine maintenance, repair, training, deployment, vacations, major modifications and upgrades, and will therefore be in varying levels of readiness according to defense requirements.”

File footage from the USS Benfold as China warns US destroyers entering controversial islands in the South China Sea

Chrissy Teigen introduces a brand new addition to the household with John Legend

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Luna Simone and Miles Theodore can go aside – there’s a new addition to it Chrissy Teigen and John Legend‘s family.

Chrissy shared a new Instagram post on July 27th introducing the newest “kid” to her family: pearl! Chrissy’s new pup starred in her post, posing in selfies with Chrissy, sitting on John’s lap and strutting through her kitchen like it was a catwalk when Chrissy said, “Come here! Come here! Hi!”

Said Pearl had officially come to their home, the model joked, “We love this little girl so much, but I’ll admit she definitely dated John first,” Chrissy told her French Bulldog penny is similarly “obsessed with her”, noting that it was “fun watching the adventures of Penny and Pearl”.

Chrissy said she was familiar with Basset Hounds like Pearl because she grew up with the breed: “I can’t wait for John that bouncy, boneless jelly skin to grow into the stubborn love blocks I love so much. ” She added, “Excited to see this new little heart bring love to our home. Swipe for ear magic!”

In line with the CDC, many people ought to be sporting masks once more

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Image for the article titled Many of Us Should Start Wearing Masks Again, According to the CDC

Photo: DavidCarpio (Shutterstock)

The CDC announced today that students and teachers in K-12 schools should all wear masks, whether they are vaccinated or not. And people who are vaccinated should wear masks indoors again if they are in an area with “significant” or “high” community transmission.

Who has to wear masks again?

Among the changes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

  • Once fully vaccinated, cover yourself indoors if local transmission is significant or high.
  • If you are fully vaccinated and have unvaccinated or at-risk people in your home, you may want to mask yourself regardless of the level of community transmission.
  • Everyone in K-12 schools, including teachers, staff, students, and visitors, should wear a mask whether or not they are vaccinated.
  • People who are fully vaccinated should still get a COVID test if they know they’ve been exposed.

To check if the transmission in your area is significant or high, Use this tool from the CDC and search for your county. (Major means 50 new cases per 100,000 people per day and high means 100.) Much of the southeast and western United States fall into this category; the northeast is mostly in the “moderate” transmission area. However, given Delta’s trajectory, cases may soon increase. So keep checking the numbers in your area.

Why the change?

The changes are reflected by new data on the Delta variant. The vaccines are still largely effective against Delta and still protect against death and hospitalization, but officials note groundbreaking cases (less than 3% of COVID cases, according to previous data). Officials mentioned in a press call today that people who are fully vaccinated and infected with the Delta variant of COVID-19 carry just as high levels of viral loads as those who are not vaccinated. That means they are just as likely to be able to pass the virus on to others as a sick, unvaccinated person.

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This was not the case with the alpha variant, which was responsible for most of the US COVID cases earlier this year, nor with the original strains of the virus. CDC officials said that when they made the previous recommendations that anyone – including school children – could go maskless, they expected cases to fall and vaccination rates to rise. Thanks to Delta, cases are picking up again, and about 30% of Americans seem disinterested in ever getting a COVID vaccine.

Will we then wear masks forever?

“Masking is a temporary measure,” CDC officials said at the press conference. “What we need to do to curb the transmission is get people vaccinated.”

People who are fully vaccinated are for the most part protected from contracting the virus and from symptoms. If enough people are vaccinated in your area, the cases will be low. And when cases are low and most people are vaccinated, it is rare that you will come across someone who can infect you.

In the meantime, masks are a helpful way to reduce transmission. Yes, it’s a shame we have to put them back on once we’ve gotten used to doing without them, but this is a stopgap that can come in handy until more people are vaccinated – provided enough people are willing to get vaccinated.

Right now, children under 12 are not eligible to be vaccinated, and only 30% of teenagers. It therefore makes sense to reintroduce the mask requirement for schools. It is now up to the federal states, schools, communities and institutions to decide whether to follow and enforce the new guidelines.

Prime U.S. Medical doctors Say Youngsters Will Want Masks And Social Distancing In Faculties This Fall

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School children mop and test themselves for COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the classroom of the South Boston Catholic Academy in Boston, Massachusetts, Jan. 28, 2021.

Allison Dinner | Reuters

Students should wear masks and practice social distancing in school to ensure safe face-to-face learning this fall, leading U.S. doctors said Tuesday.

Only 30% of 12-17 year olds in America are fully vaccinated, and younger children are unlikely to get the vaccinations until well into the school year. That worried the American Academy of Pediatrics and other top doctors that the Delta variant could break through US schools when kids return to the classroom this fall.

“I think that masking requirements or universal masking should be enforced in school … there are still many very vulnerable people who attend school in person,” Dr. Tina Tan, a professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University, said on a call Tuesday hosted by the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Tan also said that there are many teachers and school staff who are unvaccinated, “and one way to really protect these people from contracting Covid in school would be to enforce a mask mandate until a higher percentage of these people can be vaccinated . “

For children under the age of 12 who are unable to get vaccinated, “you will need to refer to the protection protocols we used prior to the vaccine becoming available until they are eligible for vaccination,” Tan said.

Their call for masks in schools comes as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced new guidelines for indoor masks for fully vaccinated individuals on Tuesday.

“The CDC recommends that everyone in K to 12 schools indoors wear a mask, including teachers, staff, students and visitors, regardless of vaccination status,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on Tuesday.

The CDC relaxed its mask instructions for children at summer camp in May, saying at the time that fully vaccinated children did not need them.

Vaccine eligibility for children under the age of 12 could come by the end of this year or early 2022, vaccine manufacturers predict.

To reduce the spread of Covid this fall, schools could keep desks at least three feet apart and teachers could be assigned smaller class sizes, experts say.

Returning to face-to-face learning is also important for children, “given the significant negative impact of not attending school in person in the past year,” Tan said.

Going to school online has resulted in a lack of motivation, problems in some children, and feelings of isolation in children.

Almost 25% of parents whose children attended virtual school reported deterioration in mental or emotional health, compared with 16% of parents whose children attended school in person, according to a CDC study.

The trend also applies to parents: 54% of parents with children who participated in virtual learning reported emotional distress, compared with 37% of parents with children who attended school in person.

According to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation, only about 27% of parents of children under the age of 12 report having their child vaccinated. 27% say they will “definitely not” get their child vaccinated.

About half of the parents surveyed in the KFF data say they are concerned about possible side effects of the vaccine.

“We have to do more than just say, ‘Go vaccinate,’ and I don’t know if the incentives have worked that well, but mandates drive people,” says Dr. Preeti Malani, chief health officer at the University of Michigan, said on the call.

According to Kaiser’s data, around 61% of parents of children under the age of 18 are against vaccination regulations in schools.

With most school-age children unvaccinated, masking and social distancing remain the best options for face-to-face learning, according to doctors.

“If there is no mask requirement at school or the school has made masks optional, you must send your child to school with a mask on,” said Tan.

So begin your Alexa routines with totally different phrase units

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Image for article titled How to Start Your Alexa Routines with Different Sentences

Photo: ekokat (Shutterstock)

Custom routines are one of the most convenient features of Amazon Echo – you can use them to start a cascade of home automation actions before bed, or play specific media every morning – all in response to a single request. And now Alexa can Respond to up to seven unique sentences per routine (as opposed to just one) so that you can trigger the same series of actions whether you say “Alexa, good night” or “Alexa, it’s bedtime” or “Alexa, go to sleep” etc. You can also use formulations Completely independent of the actual routine – Alexa doesn’t know the difference.

To set up your custom phrases, open the Alexa app, go to More Menu and select the routine you want to edit. Among “WhenYou will see an option to view or edit your trigger phrases. Tap that and on the next screen enter the wording you want to use – don’t enter “Alexa” separately as this will be automatically added to each custom phrase.

After you’ve saved your custom expressions, you should test each one to make sure that all actions within the routine are triggered properly.

This is probably not a feature you need per se, especially if the phrases your custom routines are already starting up are simple and specific. However, programming multiple sentences can be useful when your children can remember certain words more easily, or when you simply want to converse with obscure or absurd phrases.

Plus Alexa supports multiple languages and can switch between them automatically. (Up to two can be activated at the same time, such as English and Spanish.) So, if you and your family are multilingual or want to practice speaking a different language, you can set up trigger sets for each of your custom routines in either activated set of languages.

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What Matt Damon Ben Affleck writes amid the romance of Jennifer Lopez

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Like so many of us Matt Damon is caught in the whirlwind romance of Bennifer 3.0. There’s only one difference: he can write BFF Ben Affleck about it.

“Well, I mean, it’s real life stuff,” Matt told People of his text message with Ben. “We all have a whole mess of kids. We pretty much write about everything. There’s so much in the press about him that I usually just review the things I read. ‘Did that happen?’ He says, ‘No, that didn’t happen.’ “

The latest wave of headlines with Ben revolved around his French yacht excursion Jennifer Lopez for her 52nd birthday. During the festivities, the duo reconstructed a moment from their music video from almost 20 years ago when they first met when Ben touched bikini-clad Jens in the clip “Jenny From the Block”.

“All of the pictures that came out are the same as what you see,” Matt continued. “I don’t know anything you don’t know.”

Nothing from OnePlus founder Carl Pei rivals Apple in Ear 1 earphones

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LONDON – The co-founder of the Chinese smartphone manufacturer OnePlus is challenging Apple with a cheaper alternative to the technology giant’s popular wireless earbuds.

Carl Pei helped develop OnePlus with his ex-colleague Pete Lau in 2013. OnePlus attracted a following by making cheap Android phones with attractive specifications. Pei left the company in October.

Now, Pei is back with a new hardware company called Nothing that aims to create a range of smart devices connected through an app. On Tuesday, the London-based startup unveiled its first product, a line of wireless earbuds called the Ear 1.

The headphones are “really wireless”, ie they are connected to each other without cables. They have active noise cancellation, similar to the AirPods Pro. But at $ 99, they’re a lot cheaper than Apple’s mid-range earbuds, which cost $ 249, as well as Samsung’s $ 200 Galaxy Buds Pro.

“We saw that the real wireless market grew pretty fast this year,” Pei, 31, told CNBC. “It felt like a place where we can make a difference.”

True wireless earbud sales reached 233 million units in 2020 and are projected to exceed 300 million units this year, according to Counterpoint Research.

Pei’s company faces tough competition. Apple made up almost a third of the market last year, while China’s Xiaomi and Samsung were the second and third largest players by market share.

However, Pei believes that most consumer technology today feels “cold” and believes there is ample opportunity for an aspiring player to break into the market.

“There’s a general lack of interest in consumer technology,” Pei said. “Instead, there are a lot of negatives about technology – tech companies are monopolistic, privacy issues and so on – and when you look at products it becomes more iterative and less fun.”

Design quirks

Nothing hopes that a few quirks in Ear 1’s design can help it stand out from the competition. For one, Nothing’s earbuds show the user the magnets attached to the case, which are usually hidden inside most wireless headphones.

The unusual requirement to make the magnets visible resulted in two Nothing factories separating because they were viewed as too small, Pei said.

The housing of the Ear 1 is also transparent and has a recess between the two buds to make it easier to hold.

Another unusual design choice with the Ear 1 is the lack of the letters “L” and “R” to indicate to the user which earbud is on the left and which is on the right. Instead, the right earbud has a red dot while the left one has a white dot.

According to Pei, the color “red” would translate as “correct” for many hardcore audio fans. For example, on RCA audio cables, red usually represents the correct audio channel.

Design quirks aside, nothing says the Ear 1 can play up to 5.7 hours of music on a single charge and up to 34 hours with its case – longer than the AirPods Pro. Each bud weighs 4.7 grams.

It comes with three different microphones, two of which collect ambient noise while the third focuses on the voice. Nothing says it also uses machine learning to block out different types of background noise.

The buds are connected to an app that has four different equalizer settings and three noise-canceling modes, Pei said.

Availability

A limited number of Ear 1 units will be shipping on July 31st, Nothing said, while open sales begin on August 17th. In the UK, the headphones will be available from the luxury Selfridges department store.

Nothing auctioned 100 limited edition engraved versions of the Ear 1 on the StockX marketplace last week, with one unit grossing a staggering $ 1,029.

The exclusive character of the Ear 1’s debut is reminiscent of old OnePlus phone launches, which were often by invitation only.

Nothing has raised over $ 20 million to date from investors like Alphabets GV, iPod inventor Tony Fadell, and YouTube star Casey Neistat. The company plans to raise funds again either late this year or early 2022.

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