What the Tech

What the Tech? App of the Day: Lichess

There are two types of people: those who play chess and those who want to learn how to play chess. Since “Queen’s Gambit” hit Netflix last fall, millions of people have purchased chess sets, books, instructional DVDs, apps, and subscriptions to either learn or improve their game. Several chess apps have become popular for iPhones and Android devices. Chess.com naturally…

What the Tech? Secret Texting Codes Your Children May Be Using

For as long as there have been smartphones there have been people trying to hide things from their parents or significant others. Teens and pre-teens are particularly skilled at sending text messages in secret codes just in case their parents want to check their phones. Emoji have been used for these secret messages for years but parents have discovered some…

What the Tech? How Misspelling Website Names Can Expose Your Children to Danger

The pandemic has been a difficult time for all of us but for sex predators, it’s opened a big opportunity to lure children into a dark online world. The National Centers for Missing and Exploited Children released its statistics from reports of online child sex exploitation and the results are a staggering and frightening reminder that children are not safe…

What the Tech? More Children Exploited Online During Pandemic

We’ve all been spending more time in front of screens in the past year. Our kids have too. Many times teens and pre-teens are on their devices in their bedrooms, silently connecting with friends and strangers online. National Centers for Missing and Exploited Children spokesperson Callahan Walsh said sex predators have been spending more time online too, looking for children….

What the Tech? App of the Day: Skiplagged

It’s nice to begin thinking about taking a vacation again. As COVID cases continue to drop many people are planning a vacation for later this year. Of course, we all want to find the best deals and a controversial smartphone app claims to search for and discover deals you’d never find otherwise. Skiplagged searches for “Hidden Cities” or deals on…

What the Tech? How Social Media Raises Money for Texas Storm Victims

Social media and payment apps are making a difference as Texans continue to deal with the aftermath of a devastating winter snowstorm. Actress and supermodel Crissy Teigen tweeted to her 13.7 million followers to help her and others find organizations and non-profits that need assistance. “Please list some good ways to help Texas here-for me and for all of us,”…

What the Tech? Which Travel Website Is the Best?

Now that the numbers of COVID cases are going down and much of the country is dealing with frigid cold weather, many people are dreaming of summer vacation. These days almost all vacations are researched and booked using popular travel websites such as Expedia, Travelocity, Trivago, Hotels.com, Kayak, and many others. Is one better than the others? I tried to…

What the Tech? Should You Lie on the Internet?

Teenagers have been lying about their age for generations. Younger kids are lying about their birth date now more than ever as they lie to get an account on TikTok, Snapchat, or any of the other social media accounts that require users to be 13 years old or older. Adults should be lying about their age online as well but…