Tech news roundup, paid Twitter, speed up your computer

November 12, 2021

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Get the tech news of the day in just a few minutes with Kim, Allie and Ben. Would you pay for Twitter? The social media site sure hopes so and we’ve got the details on what you get. Plus, how to speed up your computer in just a few clicks. And Matt has the slang Gen Z kids are using to help you decode your upcoming Thanksgiving conversations.

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Secret text codes you can use with your carrier

Your smartphone is capable of more than you think, and your carrier knows how to unlock all of its secrets by pressing just a few buttons. These codes, called Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), can be used to scan networks and activate service right from your phone’s dialer.

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Want to know where a product was manufactured? Check this site

During the pandemic, virtual travel gained traction when flights were restricted, and countries implemented quarantine or outright bans to travelers. You can go online and take virtual tours around the world without leaving your home.

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You have to see this: A YouTuber built an elevator for his 20-year-old cat

You would be hard-pressed to find a cat owner who wouldn’t do anything to make their feline friend’s life a bit easier. From elaborate cat castles to complex toys, cats genuinely enjoy a good, relaxing life. Unfortunately, they can struggle as they age.

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A big reason you should stop using Google Chrome on your smartphone

Google’s Chrome browser is one of the most powerful tools available to surf the internet, but it has several flaws. Tap or click here for a free, fast test to see how much private info your browser is leaking. For one, Chrome needs a lot of RAM to operate properly.

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Dress up your phone! 6 sites to find great seasonal wallpapers

Are you ready for the holiday season? Ready or not, Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Tap or click here for five sites to find Thanksgiving recipes to impress everyone at the table.

But if you haven’t tapped into the holiday spirit yet, why not let tech lend a hand? One fun idea is to add holiday-themed wallpaper to your phone.

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Careful! Crack your new iPhone screen and you lose a major security feature

Smartphones can be fragile. It’s easy to assume that a device costing nearly $1,000 would be built a bit more robustly. But as anyone who has ever dropped an iPhone will attest, the first thing to break will be the screen. Tap or click to find out how much it costs to fix a broken iPhone 12.

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The life-saving signal every girl and woman in your life must know

Reality is often scarier than fiction. And not all stories have a happy ending like this one. A kidnapped girl from North Carolina used a distress signal she learned on TikTok to alert nearby drivers she needed help.

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Alexa just gained a handy new music trick, but say goodbye to another longtime feature

Smart assistants like Amazon’s Alexa are great at telling you what your day will be like. It is also helpful as a music player, allowing you to listen to anything your ears desire. If you have an Echo with a display, music videos will accompany the tunes. Tap or click here to solve one of Alexa’s most annoying problems.

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On the hunt for the season's hottest toys? Don't fall for these scams

Many parents dread the holiday season shopping, as there are always new hot toys that kids want but are hard to find. Not content with last year’s trends, many children want the latest and greatest things in their stockings. Tap or click here for details on a holiday decoration scheme going around.

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Cool trick to get your iPhone to warn you right before it rains

There are plenty of weather apps available with varying degrees of functionality. Most of them will give you basic information like the temperature, humidity and the forecast for the next few days.

But what if you want to receive alerts when it’s about to rain? Well, if you have been looking for an app just like that, you don’t have to search very far. You already have one on your Apple device. A little-known update in the latest version of iOS 15 is there to help.

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