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Exciting news, emoji lovers. Unicode announced this week the final picks for the newest emoticon release, which will bring 157 new characters to your phone’s keyboard. For Emoji 11.0, Unicode had a plethora of possibilities to choose from, as the finalists were announced at the end of last year. Website Emojipedia has helpfully imagined what the new emojis might look like, using Apple’s familiar styling.

Sorry, creepers: Instagram is once again “borrowing” a feature from Snapchat. The photo app is reportedly testing a screenshot alert notification for Stories, so you can no longer save photos undetected. The feature was reported yesterday by TechCrunch when people took to social media to share the new feature. Good bye freedom to screenshot IG stories. ? Thank you, Instagram for the warning. pic.twitter.

In stuff you didn’t know you needed but totally do, there’s now an Alexa-assisted board game called When in Rome. Instead of arguing over the rules with that pesky player who loves to find questionable loopholes, you’ll be able to leave the dirty work to the Amazon Echo device. Alexa is in charge of laying out the game guidelines, tracking scores and keeping players in line (that means you, cheaters).

We need to talk about Alexa. The Amazon virtual assistant seems to have taken a dark turn in recent days, emitting an evil-sounding laugh to some avid users, Buzzfeed reported on Monday. While it may seem harmless, imagine being curled up in bed about to doze off when a sinister laugh comes out of nowhere—not the most reassuring sound. One Twitter user was able to capture the strange laugh from Alexa on video.

Few things are as basic and integral to the safety of a home as the humble smoke detector. Everyone has to have one and you should stay on top of making sure all of the batteries are still good and that you didn’t forget to screw it all the way back in after burning your brussel sprouts. The US Consumer Product Safety Commision recently recalled Kidde dual-sensor smoke alarms for failing to detect smoke.

Is it just me or does it seem like astrology is everywhere? Not that I’m mad about it—I check about four different sites every Monday and look forward to our Home Horoscopes every month. I was talking to my friend Emily the other day, a true astrology believer, about getting back into the online dating game when she whipped out an astrology card to check on my compatibility with a guy I’d matched with.

So far, technology has introduced the world to robots that dust, vacuum and lull you to sleep. Now there’s been some major progress made in the form of a robot that assembles IKEA furniture, proving that the momentum of these multi-tasking machines and their automated functions is progressing faster than it takes to memorize the entire IKEA catalog.

Sir James Dyson, the ingenious inventor who gave us both the indispensable Dyson vacuums (I have two!) and those intense Dyson hand dryers, is gracing us with some new wisdom. The forward-thinker spoke to Recode about his ideas on design, devices, and which uber-common home feature will soon be a thing of the past. Speaking about the home of the future, Dyson waxed poetic when explaining how and why our houses are going to become much more than simple shelters.

The surest sign you’ve entered a millennial apartment isn’t the fiddle leaf fig or the Edison light bulbs (although those make great options on the Millennial Apartment bingo board), it’s the phone chargers. Now that we carry our smartphones as if they were surgically attached to our limbs, our living rooms have evolved to grow cords that emerge from outlets and tangle across the floor or creep over the backs of couches. That’s what my living room looked like, anyway.

Bookworms rejoice: There are tons of ways to read your favorite books online for free. From old-school classics to brand-new bestsellers, the web is brimming with books you can binge read from your smart device free-of-charge. We’ve rounded up some of the best places you can find books online for free. From Amazon to the Library of Congress, check out these seven awesome websites where you can read books for nothing—from the privacy of your own sofa.

Move over, Roomba. There’s a new way to terrorize, I mean, follow your furry friend’s every move when you’re not home. It’s the world’s first mobile pet camera—complete with a built-in treat dispenser. The VAVA Mobile Pet Camera claims to give pet owners increased peace of mind while helping to “end pet boredom and separation anxiety.

As a freelance writer, I spend the better portion of my week staring at screens. Add in my post-dinner social media scroll ritual and my weekly Netflix binges, and I’m pretty much a walking blue-light zombie—which isn’t necessarily a major concern, in and of itself. During the day, the wavelengths emitted from computer, TV, and phone screens can actually boost attention, reaction times, and mood.

Parenting is hard. It’s also a lot of other things, but a truer three-word sentence has never been uttered. We’re all learning as we go—reading parenting books as we encounter the challenges that make us realize why we need parenting books, and spending every evening after the kids are (mercifully) in bed wondering if we’re doing it all wrong.

When it comes to sleep, there’s a reason technology gets a bad rap. Excessive screen time before bed can disrupt the body’s circadian rhythm by suppressing melatonin production—which means you might be better off delaying that late-night Insta-scroll until the daylight hours (or investing in a fancy pair of blue-light blockers). But there’s one tech trend that could have the opposite effect: Apps and products that use technology to help you sleep better.

There’s always that friend. You know, the one with 76 unheard voicemails, 150 unread texts, and—gulp—15,964 unread emails in her inbox. (Or maybe that “friend” is you.) Either way, keeping your inbox uncluttered or even reaching Inbox Zero can feel like impossible feats of #adulting. But digitally cleaning house doesn’t have to be your least favorite chore.

While email is a quick and convenient alternative to other forms of communication (especially if you dread phone calls), digital conversations come with their own unique inconveniences. If you’ve ever sent an email before you’re done writing it, replied all when you meant to reply to just one person, or copied your entire office on a juicy, personal email, you know exactly what we mean.

Q: So, the only spot for my TV in our living room is in front of a wall that has a brick fireplace under the drywall. As much as I’d love to break that sucker out, we aren’t financially or emotionally ready for that project. Since I can’t drill into the wall and hide my cords, what’s a girl to do?

Here’s my favorite new home gadget of 2017 so far. When Jonathan Frankel, the CEO and Founder of Nucleus, came to our offices here in NYC to show me his new home intercom system, I was immediately impressed. His inspiration was clear and simple, he wanted an affordable, easy to use home intercom to connect him to his three kids, whether he was downstairs or at the office.

If a visit to the IKEA showrooms is the opposite of your idea of fun, how about a Pokemon Go-style experience for furniture buying instead, where you can sit at home and place IKEA furniture around your house — possibly without even leaving the couch? Thanks to Apple’s upcoming ARKit, that time is here. Co.

Day 15: Tuesday, January 22 Assignment: Wrangle your cords Cords are necessary, of course, but even though they’re highly functional they look like clutter. No matter how well organized an area is otherwise, if there is a visible mess of wires and cords, things look unfinished and visually chaotic. Take a quick twirl through your home and see if you can spot some cord trouble spots and, if you do, work on getting them under control.

You might be surprised.

The clock is ticking on Prime Day, with less than a day left to shop all of Amazon’s deals. Even if you’re not ready to spring for a new vacuum, there are still lots of bargains to be found that won’t break the bank. You can keep an eye on lighting deals, but if you don’t have the patience, there’s tons of stuff that’s currently marked way down. Here are three of our favorite deals for under $10–a.k.a.

Ready for some (really) early back-to-school shopping? Amazon is currently offering $550 off a iMac desktop for the rest of Tuesday, June 19. Originally priced at $2,000, you can get it for $1,450 for the next few hours. (Since its a timed deal, you do technically have a bit longer than just today—the deal runs to exactly 2:55 a.m. EST, June 20) Getting really technical, the deal is on a Apple iMac All-in-One Desktop MK482LL/A 27″. That means a late 2015 model with a 27 inch display.

With the holidays coming up, you may find yourself considering a break from the internet or a digital detox. If your want is stronger than your will, this browser extension is here to help. With one simple download, Nothing on the Internet will remove the content from whatever web pages you’re looking at, leaving only blank shapes and colors.

Decreasing the amount of energy you expend at home isn’t just good for the environment—it can be good for your bank account, too. According to a study from SaveOnEnergy, the average American spends a whopping $1,460 a year on electricity and $421 on natural gas; numbers that are expected to rise by 2 percent in 2018. Luckily, there are plenty of simple ways to reduce your daily energy use.

Do you miss the days when phones were for calling people, batteries lasted more than four hours, and the only distraction available was playing Snake? Good news, luddites, because Nokia is bringing back their beloved 3310, the dumb phone to end all dumb phones. “Serial leaker” Evan Blass announced on Twitter that Nokia would be debuting the resurrected 3310 later this month at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, along with a few Android-based smartphones.

Arm yourself with these six nuggets of knowledge (that actually matter), and some comfort around the jargon, and you'll be set to buy the perfect set.

I’m not one to linger on the good ‘ol days of yore, wishing for simpler times and a past where change plays no part. But the advancement of smart phones and other devices inevitably alter our lives — sometimes for better, sometimes for worse, and sometimes without us realizing it. What were once comfortable rituals that grounded and provided structure to our home life have gone by the wayside. Instead we get the information and entertainment we need, right when we need them.

Last week’s much debated and nicely reader participated discussion on whether a single mother of a 7-year old child should get rid of her land line sparked some important discoveries – several important points about landline telephones during an emergency were brought to light. Here are some of the great reader comments and important points to keep in mind when using a landline telephone service in an emergency situation at home.

You might already use your email or notes apps on your smartphone to keep track of little everyday reminders. But your camera app and photo album can be just as useful as a memory aid. Here are a few things that can easily be remembered with a quick snap of your camera phone’s shutter button: • A reminder of where you parked. Parking in the city is no joke. • Your printer cartridges. Make sure you can see the refill numbers. • Your family members’ clothing sizes.

When it comes to absolutely waking up for an important date, taking a chance on missing your alarm clock is not an option. But by setting up multiple alarms and customizing the alarms themselves, you can wake up in stages and make it to that appointment that just can’t be missed.1.

Around February 2011 I picked up an Apple 27″ LED Cinema Display for my home office, as a way to help upsize the screen real estate on my 2008-era MacBook Pro. I loved it, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with it when the Thunderbolt Display came out, so I didn’t think anything of it. Then I bought a 13″ MacBook Air, and next thing I know, I’m putting the original 27-incher on Craigslist…But why would I do that?

Last night we were confronted with a predicament we never could have imagined possible: we went to use our desktop computer and our mouse was gone! Immediately we remembered that we had brought the mouse to school for a presentation but left it there overnight. But what were we to do? Our laptop was also at school which left us only with our iPhone. It was quite a paralyzing experience to be sure! But not for long.

The spookiest thing to happen in our house this past Halloween weekend was a toaster oven that mysteriously turned itself on. Was it a visit from a long deceased Bagel-Bites-loving ancestor? Probably not. It turns out that it’s part of a sporadic phenomenon that popularly plagues small appliances like toasters, microwaves and coffee makers. Has it ever happened to you?

Ah, the internet. Where else would we find answers to all of our random questions? Our latest internet research: Whether or not your cell phone can help you identify leaks in your microwave. The legend says that if you place your phone in a microwave and close the door, it will only be able to receive an incoming call if there’s a leak. But is that true?Paranoid about cell phone radiation? You’re not the only one.

From Gmail to Microsoft Word, here are our favorite computer software. We use these programs daily and have generally try to keep them updated as much as possible. While it can get costly for some of them, they are definitely worth keeping.1. Microsoft OfficeNo matter what people say, I’ve gotten to used to using MS Office, especially MS Word. Even though some people dislike it, I find that it works well, no matter what I plan on writing.

One of the best ways to protect your home while you’re away is to appear you never left. Leaving a light on in the front window doesn’t cut it any longer and sometimes you need a little extra believability to help others think you’re still home (though anti-social) while away on vacation.Here’s a few of our favorite choices for making your home a little brighter when you’re away. Do you have a favorite that didn’t make the list?