My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: The Apple Watch Series 10
via Lifehacker (author: Daniel Oropeza)
via Lifehacker (author: Daniel Oropeza)
Telegraph
My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: The Apple Watch Series 10
We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Ever since Apple released the latest Apple Watch Series 10 earlier in September, it has been steadily dropping in price; it's currently…
What Fruits and Vegetables Are in Season in April (and How to Prepare Them)
Fresh produce is probably one of the greatest gifts we can enjoy from nature. Call me a tree-hugger, but plants are seriously incredible. I don’t have a proper garden at the moment—it’s a north-facing potted plant set-up on my balcony—but if you’ve ever grown vegetables or even flowers from seeds, you know what I mean. Plants make gigantic blooms and fruit out of dirt and sunshine. That’s magic, and we reap the benefits. In this monthly article, I'll take a look at the fruits and veggies coming into season and some recipes you can use them in.
As for this month: It's been spring for a while but it finally feels like it. And after a long winter, greens and a few fruits are coming back into our markets.
Why you should buy seasonal produce
Any chef and serious home cook will be interested in cooking seasonally (using in-season produce for your particular locale). Using seasonal produce often comes with a cheaper price tag; it will likely be more abundant in your region; and the produce exhibits the best possible flavor profile since it doesn’t have to travel great distances to arrive at your market.
When you're buying in season, you’ll possibly see a greater variety of certain items, like tender greens and fruits that don’t travel out of state well. I often see green chard on the shelves—but when rainbow chard shows up I suddenly feel like making Swiss capuns again.
What’s in season right now
The produce shelves in late February to early April are always less robust on this side of the hemisphere. But as soon as the frost ends, new fruits and veggies start to show up. For those who are growing their own food, keep up with our Home and Garden section for tips.
The produce to check out right now:
● Asparagus
● Beet greens
● Parsnips
● Lettuce
● Radishes and their greens
● Rhubarb
● Spinach
● Turnips
● Chard
● Arugula
● Escarole
● Snap peas
● Snow peas
Produce to look forward to:
● Apricots
● Strawberries
Keep in mind that your particular region may be warmer or cooler—so don’t despair if it’s not quite rhubarb season for a few more weeks in your area, and if you’ve had strawberries for a week already, hooray for you!
What to cook with your spring bounty
You might have noticed that the greens and root vegetables are the stars of spring. It’s a great time to pack this nutritious foliage into your savory meals before we get obsessed with fruit in a couple of months.
One of my favorite things to do with leafy greens like spinach, chard, beet and radish greens, and escarole—not to mention mustard greens and kale—is to chop them up and wilt them down in a lightly oiled frying pan with some salt and garlic. Then I can use them in any number of ways, like filling omelets, stirring them into soups and stews, as a pizza topping, and mixing them into rice dishes.
I adore blanched asparagus with eggs (hard boiled, scrambled, omelets—all eggs), but if you're using it as a side dish, try asparagus treated in this simple and savory way. Roast your turnips and parsnips easily in the air fryer. Bulk up your warm salads with arugula, snap peas, and leaf lettuce, and toss snow peas into savory stir fries.
Rhubarb is a special stalk. It has a tart flavor and brilliant rosy color when cooked, and I do recommend cooking them or treating them in the following ways. They’re far too sour when used raw. The leaves are toxic so cut those off and compost them if they are still on your stalk. Use your rhubarb in pies, pickle them, make this rhubarb cake, or try rhubarb-infused vodka.
Fresh apricots and strawberries will be on their way shortly, so keep your eyes peeled at the local farmers markets. You’ll know summer is around the corner when you see those seafoam green containers with loads of wee strawberries filled to the top.
via Lifehacker (author: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann)
Fresh produce is probably one of the greatest gifts we can enjoy from nature. Call me a tree-hugger, but plants are seriously incredible. I don’t have a proper garden at the moment—it’s a north-facing potted plant set-up on my balcony—but if you’ve ever grown vegetables or even flowers from seeds, you know what I mean. Plants make gigantic blooms and fruit out of dirt and sunshine. That’s magic, and we reap the benefits. In this monthly article, I'll take a look at the fruits and veggies coming into season and some recipes you can use them in.
As for this month: It's been spring for a while but it finally feels like it. And after a long winter, greens and a few fruits are coming back into our markets.
Why you should buy seasonal produce
Any chef and serious home cook will be interested in cooking seasonally (using in-season produce for your particular locale). Using seasonal produce often comes with a cheaper price tag; it will likely be more abundant in your region; and the produce exhibits the best possible flavor profile since it doesn’t have to travel great distances to arrive at your market.
When you're buying in season, you’ll possibly see a greater variety of certain items, like tender greens and fruits that don’t travel out of state well. I often see green chard on the shelves—but when rainbow chard shows up I suddenly feel like making Swiss capuns again.
What’s in season right now
The produce shelves in late February to early April are always less robust on this side of the hemisphere. But as soon as the frost ends, new fruits and veggies start to show up. For those who are growing their own food, keep up with our Home and Garden section for tips.
The produce to check out right now:
● Asparagus
● Beet greens
● Parsnips
● Lettuce
● Radishes and their greens
● Rhubarb
● Spinach
● Turnips
● Chard
● Arugula
● Escarole
● Snap peas
● Snow peas
Produce to look forward to:
● Apricots
● Strawberries
Keep in mind that your particular region may be warmer or cooler—so don’t despair if it’s not quite rhubarb season for a few more weeks in your area, and if you’ve had strawberries for a week already, hooray for you!
What to cook with your spring bounty
You might have noticed that the greens and root vegetables are the stars of spring. It’s a great time to pack this nutritious foliage into your savory meals before we get obsessed with fruit in a couple of months.
One of my favorite things to do with leafy greens like spinach, chard, beet and radish greens, and escarole—not to mention mustard greens and kale—is to chop them up and wilt them down in a lightly oiled frying pan with some salt and garlic. Then I can use them in any number of ways, like filling omelets, stirring them into soups and stews, as a pizza topping, and mixing them into rice dishes.
I adore blanched asparagus with eggs (hard boiled, scrambled, omelets—all eggs), but if you're using it as a side dish, try asparagus treated in this simple and savory way. Roast your turnips and parsnips easily in the air fryer. Bulk up your warm salads with arugula, snap peas, and leaf lettuce, and toss snow peas into savory stir fries.
Rhubarb is a special stalk. It has a tart flavor and brilliant rosy color when cooked, and I do recommend cooking them or treating them in the following ways. They’re far too sour when used raw. The leaves are toxic so cut those off and compost them if they are still on your stalk. Use your rhubarb in pies, pickle them, make this rhubarb cake, or try rhubarb-infused vodka.
Fresh apricots and strawberries will be on their way shortly, so keep your eyes peeled at the local farmers markets. You’ll know summer is around the corner when you see those seafoam green containers with loads of wee strawberries filled to the top.
via Lifehacker (author: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann)
Instagram Is Using AI to Automatically Enroll Minors Into 'Teen Accounts'
Meta is getting serious about the teens who use its services. Last year, the company rolled out "Teen Accounts" for Instagram, which add a number of restrictions, limitations, and features for users under the age of 18. Earlier this month, Meta rolled out Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger as well, and expanded some of those restrictions on Instagram specifically.
If your teen had a standard Instagram account when Meta started rolling this out, their account was automatically changed into a Teen Account. Of course, that only worked if they had their real age attached to the account: If a teen said their birthday made them 18 or older, no Teen Account for them.
Meta's AI is snitching on Instagram teens
In response to this loophole, Meta is tasking its AI with rooting out teens purporting to be adults on Instagram. The company announced the experiment on Monday, revealing that tests will begin in the United States that same day. Meta is brief on the details here, but they do say that if the AI finds a standard account it suspects to be a teen, it will automatically switch them to a Teen Account—even if that account has an adult birthday.
This also isn't Meta AI's first rodeo. The company has used an AI model trained to identify whether a user is underage since 2022. The AI model looks for behaviors associated with teen users, as, according to Meta, people in the same age group react similarly to specific types of content. (Think about all those memes you don't understand.)
One interesting "tell" comes with birthday posts: The AI looks at how users interact with an account on their birthday, and can make a determination from there. If the AI is seeing a lot of "happy 17th birthday" posts and DMs, that's going to be quite obvious, but even if the messages track with how users under 18 tend to wish each other a happy birthday, the AI will get suspicious fast.
What happens if the AI gets it wrong?
There are probably many parents out there that have no issue with Instagram automatically changing their kids' profiles to Teen Accounts. But this tech is driven by AI, and AI doesn't always get it right: As such, there's a good chance that the AI accidentally flags adult accounts as teens by mistake, locking users 18 and older into restrictions meant for minors.
That means your account will automatically take on some pretty drastic restrictions: You'll go private if you aren't already, and adult users won't be able to see your posts or DM you without following first. You won't see "violent" content, or posts promoting cosmetic procedures. (Perhaps no loss there.) Instagram will also warn you whenever you use the app for 60 minutes in one day, advising you to stop. And while you don't need to, your account will enter "sleep mode" between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., muting alerts and sending auto-replies to DMs. (To be fair, perhaps many of us adults would benefit from these restrictions.)
If Instagram thinks you're 16 or 17, you'll be able to manually disable some of these limitations, but that's not really the point. If you're an adult, you shouldn't expect Instagram to change the parameters of your account because its AI bot got it wrong. Meta knows it, too. As the company says it its blog post: "We’re taking steps to ensure our technology is accurate and that we are correctly placing teens we identify into protective, age-appropriate settings, but in case we make a mistake, we’re giving people the option to change their settings."
The company hasn't said exactly what those mitigation steps are yet, so I'll update this piece once we know for sure. My guess, however, is there will be an option in settings to verify your age and transfer your account back to an adult account.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
Meta is getting serious about the teens who use its services. Last year, the company rolled out "Teen Accounts" for Instagram, which add a number of restrictions, limitations, and features for users under the age of 18. Earlier this month, Meta rolled out Teen Accounts to Facebook and Messenger as well, and expanded some of those restrictions on Instagram specifically.
If your teen had a standard Instagram account when Meta started rolling this out, their account was automatically changed into a Teen Account. Of course, that only worked if they had their real age attached to the account: If a teen said their birthday made them 18 or older, no Teen Account for them.
Meta's AI is snitching on Instagram teens
In response to this loophole, Meta is tasking its AI with rooting out teens purporting to be adults on Instagram. The company announced the experiment on Monday, revealing that tests will begin in the United States that same day. Meta is brief on the details here, but they do say that if the AI finds a standard account it suspects to be a teen, it will automatically switch them to a Teen Account—even if that account has an adult birthday.
This also isn't Meta AI's first rodeo. The company has used an AI model trained to identify whether a user is underage since 2022. The AI model looks for behaviors associated with teen users, as, according to Meta, people in the same age group react similarly to specific types of content. (Think about all those memes you don't understand.)
One interesting "tell" comes with birthday posts: The AI looks at how users interact with an account on their birthday, and can make a determination from there. If the AI is seeing a lot of "happy 17th birthday" posts and DMs, that's going to be quite obvious, but even if the messages track with how users under 18 tend to wish each other a happy birthday, the AI will get suspicious fast.
What happens if the AI gets it wrong?
There are probably many parents out there that have no issue with Instagram automatically changing their kids' profiles to Teen Accounts. But this tech is driven by AI, and AI doesn't always get it right: As such, there's a good chance that the AI accidentally flags adult accounts as teens by mistake, locking users 18 and older into restrictions meant for minors.
That means your account will automatically take on some pretty drastic restrictions: You'll go private if you aren't already, and adult users won't be able to see your posts or DM you without following first. You won't see "violent" content, or posts promoting cosmetic procedures. (Perhaps no loss there.) Instagram will also warn you whenever you use the app for 60 minutes in one day, advising you to stop. And while you don't need to, your account will enter "sleep mode" between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., muting alerts and sending auto-replies to DMs. (To be fair, perhaps many of us adults would benefit from these restrictions.)
If Instagram thinks you're 16 or 17, you'll be able to manually disable some of these limitations, but that's not really the point. If you're an adult, you shouldn't expect Instagram to change the parameters of your account because its AI bot got it wrong. Meta knows it, too. As the company says it its blog post: "We’re taking steps to ensure our technology is accurate and that we are correctly placing teens we identify into protective, age-appropriate settings, but in case we make a mistake, we’re giving people the option to change their settings."
The company hasn't said exactly what those mitigation steps are yet, so I'll update this piece once we know for sure. My guess, however, is there will be an option in settings to verify your age and transfer your account back to an adult account.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
Google Photos Now Lets You Convert Standard Photos to Ultra HDR
Ultra HDR is a cool image format. Like traditional HDR, this format packs more image data into each media file, which translates into brighter highlights, darker shadows, and more vibrant colors. However, Ultra HDR files also contain the standard dynamic range (SDR) version of the image as well. That way, you can share Ultra HDR files with friends who don't have HDR-compatible displays, and the image will show up just fine.
But there's a difference between being able to display an Ultra HDR image on a non-HDR display and converting an SDR image to HDR (or Ultra HDR, for that matter). Traditionally, the latter has been a more complicated endeavor, and not something offered through easy means to consumers. If you wanted your images to have a high dynamic range, you needed to shoot in HDR from the start.
As it happens, Google Photos is changing those rules. Android Authority reported that Google is now rolling out an option to its default photo app to let users upgrade their SDR images to Ultra HDR. Here's how it works.
How to convert images to Ultra HDR in Google Photos
There are two things that need to happen before you can try out the new option. First, you need to be running Google Photos version 7.24.0.747539053 or newer. Second, Google needs to update your app with the feature itself. This is what's known as a server-side update, as the feature isn't something necessarily contained in a specific software version. If you're running the right version, Google can then update your app on its end, and include the option for you to use. In other words, if your Google Photos app is fully updated and you still don't see the new option, wait a bit for the update to roll out.
Once the feature does land on your version of Google Photos, open an image, then tap Edit launch the editor. Here, scroll left on the tools along the bottom of the display, then tap Adjust. You'll find the new "Ultra HDR" option in this menu, replacing the "HDR Effect" option that was previously available in the editor.
In Android Authority's testing, the image is clearly labeled as "Ultra HDR," which you can find adjacent to the photo's resolution and size information. Speaking of file size, Ultra HDR images may end up smaller than the original image you were working with, since the gain map (very simply, the HDR data of the image) is smaller than the original photo. If you want to make sure you preserve the full information of the image, it might be a good idea to save the original photo after applying the effect—even if it does cost you a bit of storage.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
Ultra HDR is a cool image format. Like traditional HDR, this format packs more image data into each media file, which translates into brighter highlights, darker shadows, and more vibrant colors. However, Ultra HDR files also contain the standard dynamic range (SDR) version of the image as well. That way, you can share Ultra HDR files with friends who don't have HDR-compatible displays, and the image will show up just fine.
But there's a difference between being able to display an Ultra HDR image on a non-HDR display and converting an SDR image to HDR (or Ultra HDR, for that matter). Traditionally, the latter has been a more complicated endeavor, and not something offered through easy means to consumers. If you wanted your images to have a high dynamic range, you needed to shoot in HDR from the start.
As it happens, Google Photos is changing those rules. Android Authority reported that Google is now rolling out an option to its default photo app to let users upgrade their SDR images to Ultra HDR. Here's how it works.
How to convert images to Ultra HDR in Google Photos
There are two things that need to happen before you can try out the new option. First, you need to be running Google Photos version 7.24.0.747539053 or newer. Second, Google needs to update your app with the feature itself. This is what's known as a server-side update, as the feature isn't something necessarily contained in a specific software version. If you're running the right version, Google can then update your app on its end, and include the option for you to use. In other words, if your Google Photos app is fully updated and you still don't see the new option, wait a bit for the update to roll out.
Once the feature does land on your version of Google Photos, open an image, then tap Edit launch the editor. Here, scroll left on the tools along the bottom of the display, then tap Adjust. You'll find the new "Ultra HDR" option in this menu, replacing the "HDR Effect" option that was previously available in the editor.
In Android Authority's testing, the image is clearly labeled as "Ultra HDR," which you can find adjacent to the photo's resolution and size information. Speaking of file size, Ultra HDR images may end up smaller than the original image you were working with, since the gain map (very simply, the HDR data of the image) is smaller than the original photo. If you want to make sure you preserve the full information of the image, it might be a good idea to save the original photo after applying the effect—even if it does cost you a bit of storage.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
Google Still Hasn't Fixed This Dark Mode Bug on Pixel
Dark mode has saved many of us from eye pain when using our smartphones at night. The difference between a black display with white text and a blinding white screen with black text is immeasurable when your phone is the only light source in the room—especially when you're opening your eyes for the first time in a while.
While many Android users prefer to use dark mode all the time, others prefer it exclusively in the evening and night. That's where the "sunset to sunrise" schedule comes into play: On many devices, such as Google's Pixel phones, you can choose to schedule dark mode from sunset to sunrise. After the sun rises, your phone stays in light mode, so your content is bright alongside the light outside. But after sunset, when the light starts to dim, your phone conveniently switches dark mode. It's the best of both worlds—when it works.
As reported by 9to5Google, users are experiencing issues with scheduled themes on Pixel devices. The problems seem to have begun with the March 2025 Pixel update, and remains unpatched following the April update. It can be frustrating, especially when you're expecting your phone to look a certain way at a certain time of day. There are a few workarounds, but they're not a permanent solution.
Workarounds for the dark mode bug on Pixel
Back in March, when the issue first popped up on Pixel devices, users discovered a quirk that appears to trigger the glitch: manually enabling dark mode.
Typically, when you have this schedule enabled, you're still free to toggle between themes whenever you want. Android would simply override that decision during the next schedule change. For example, if light mode kicks in after sunrise, but you still want dark mode, you can manually enable it, and Android will preserve that setting until the following day's sunrise. Then, it switches back to light mode.
It appears that part of the bug has to do with this practice. If you manually toggle dark mode on in this situation, Android won't switch to light mode during the following sunrise. The same goes the opposite way: If you enable light mode after sunset, dark mode won't kick in the following sunset.
For now, one of the best workarounds is to simply not touch the toggle if you want to keep your theme schedule active and automatic. That's not a great workaround, by any means, but it seems to be the one with the most success.
Some users saw success in setting up a custom time for dark mode (Settings > Display > Dark theme > Schedule) then switching back to the "sunset to sunrise" option after the fact. However, others say the bug returns in time—indicating there is something broken in this particular schedule function. You could also try setting up a Bedtime mode rather than relying on this schedule, though that would affect more of your phone's function than usual.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)
Dark mode has saved many of us from eye pain when using our smartphones at night. The difference between a black display with white text and a blinding white screen with black text is immeasurable when your phone is the only light source in the room—especially when you're opening your eyes for the first time in a while.
While many Android users prefer to use dark mode all the time, others prefer it exclusively in the evening and night. That's where the "sunset to sunrise" schedule comes into play: On many devices, such as Google's Pixel phones, you can choose to schedule dark mode from sunset to sunrise. After the sun rises, your phone stays in light mode, so your content is bright alongside the light outside. But after sunset, when the light starts to dim, your phone conveniently switches dark mode. It's the best of both worlds—when it works.
As reported by 9to5Google, users are experiencing issues with scheduled themes on Pixel devices. The problems seem to have begun with the March 2025 Pixel update, and remains unpatched following the April update. It can be frustrating, especially when you're expecting your phone to look a certain way at a certain time of day. There are a few workarounds, but they're not a permanent solution.
Workarounds for the dark mode bug on Pixel
Back in March, when the issue first popped up on Pixel devices, users discovered a quirk that appears to trigger the glitch: manually enabling dark mode.
Typically, when you have this schedule enabled, you're still free to toggle between themes whenever you want. Android would simply override that decision during the next schedule change. For example, if light mode kicks in after sunrise, but you still want dark mode, you can manually enable it, and Android will preserve that setting until the following day's sunrise. Then, it switches back to light mode.
It appears that part of the bug has to do with this practice. If you manually toggle dark mode on in this situation, Android won't switch to light mode during the following sunrise. The same goes the opposite way: If you enable light mode after sunset, dark mode won't kick in the following sunset.
For now, one of the best workarounds is to simply not touch the toggle if you want to keep your theme schedule active and automatic. That's not a great workaround, by any means, but it seems to be the one with the most success.
Some users saw success in setting up a custom time for dark mode (Settings > Display > Dark theme > Schedule) then switching back to the "sunset to sunrise" option after the fact. However, others say the bug returns in time—indicating there is something broken in this particular schedule function. You could also try setting up a Bedtime mode rather than relying on this schedule, though that would affect more of your phone's function than usual.
via Lifehacker (author: Jake Peterson)