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Have you ever wanted to sign up for an online service but you didnt want to provide your real email address as part of the process? Theres a good chance your email address has your actual name in it. Or perhaps you want to avoid the risk of getting spammed. What if youd rather just sign up privately and have a quick no more emails please button? Thats precisely where a reliable email forwarding service can save the day. It empowers you to create a special disguised email address and then use it when signing up with a new app, services, or website. Youll still get any emails sent to the anonymous email address in your normal email inboxbut the service you sign up with wont ever see your real address, and you can turn off the incoming emails whenever you like. Most such services require a payment, and they aren’t all trustworthy. But Ive got a great exception to recommend. Unearth all sorts of fantastic tech treasures with my free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. A useful new discovery in your inbox every Wednesday! Protect your privacy with anonymous email addresses The best email-masking service for casual, everyday purposes is SimpleLogin. Its owned by Protona reputable company with a history of trust around the privacy-focused ProtonMail and ProtonVPN services. With a free SimpleLogin account, you can create up to 10 disguised email aliases for free. You can then use them wherever you want online to shield your real email address. You can get started in about 30 seconds: Go to the SimpleLogin website and sign up for an account. Just provide your real email address (here, at least, lest you be unable to receive any of your fake-address forwarding messages)then choose a password and click a link sent to your real email account to confirm. Click Random Alias on the SimpleLogin dashboard to create your first new random email alias. (There are other options, tooand a nice little tutorial.) Provide that email alias to any website while creating an account instead of your actual, real address. ~simplelogin.pngSimpleLogin makes it easy to create and copy privacy-minded masked addresses.~ Thats it! You can manage email addresses on the SimpleLogin sitefor example, you can click a switch and stop receiving new emails sent to the alias. Its very helpful for avoiding spam. SimpleLogin is available on the web as well as through an Android app and iPhone app, if you’d rather. The service is free for up to 10 aliases. For $36 per year, you can get unlimited aliases and more features, including the premium version of the Proton Pass password manager. SimpleLogins privacy policy looks great. The service says it never keeps your emails, and it does not log your IP address. Treat yourself to even more tech treasures with my free Cool Tools newsletterone new off-the-beaten-path gem in your inbox every Wednesday and an instant introduction to an exceptional audio tool to start!
Category:
E-Commerce
A few years ago, DEI pledges and conversations about allyship were everywhere. But with the second Trump administration, many companies have either explicitly cut these programs or let them fade away quietly. Yet, the issues that made DEI initiatives necessary in the first place have not vanished and minority groups continue to face discrimination in the workplace and beyond. How can individualsboth managers and employeescontinue to be allies at a time when it isnt at the forefront of the conversation? One potential source of inspiration is Lady Gaga, who has been a consistently staunch advocate and ally to the LGBTQ+ community. Recently, shes been using her platform to speak out on behalf of trans people as their rights and lives are under attack. Lady Gagas Grammy Speech and Interview with Zane Lowe This February, the 67th Grammy Awards aired shortly after President Trump issued an executive order declaring the U.S. only recognizes two sexes (despite overwhelming scientific evidence). So when Lady Gaga won the award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with Bruno Mars, she took her moment on stage to validate the trans community: I just want to say tonight that trans people are not invisible, Gaga said. Trans people deserve love. The queer community deserves to be lifted up. Music is love. In March, Lady Gaga sat down with DJ Zane Lowe to chat about her upcoming album, Mayhem. During the interview, she reflected on her Grammy speech and affirmed that the attack on trans people is ongoing. What trans people are being faced with in this world is completely unfair, wrong, and theres this violence thats taking place on a daily basis in their lives, Gaga said. I think that we all need to support trans people and each other to know that they deserve to be supported and loved and protected and lifted up. Lady Gagas Legacy of LGBTQ+ Advocacy Gagas recent remarks are not the first time shed advocated for the LGBTQ+ community. In 2009, when Gaga first rose to prominence, she immediately became subject to rumors that she was assigned male at birth. Rather than denying the claim, Gaga instead told Anderson Cooper that maybe the rumors were true and Would it be so terrible?a response that was highly impactful to trans fans at the time. Gaga also spoke out against Dont Ask, Dont Tell, bringing four LGBT soldiers who had been discharged to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards and headlining a rally calling for the act to be repealed. In 2024, trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney received online abuse for an International Womens Day post; Lady Gaga responded on her own Instagram, calling out not just those attacking Mulvaney, but also the medias framing of their actions as backlash rather than hatred or violence. Lessons in Advocacy and Allyship from Lady Gaga There isnt one definition or way to be an ally to the LGBTQ+ (or any) community. However, a survey of LGBTQ+ individuals about how they define allyship identified a few common themes, and Lady Gaga lives out many of them. Advocacy and allyship require action. Accepting, validating, and respecting the identities of LGBTQ+ people is foundational to being a strong ally, but its not enough on its own. A good ally takes action through public statements, advocacy, and education over the long term. From the beginning of her career, Lady Gaga has taken action on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community, whether it’s validating trans people at a time when they feel attacked and alone in 2025 or speaking at the National Equality March on Washington in 2009. A good ally respects all lived experiences and never stops listening and learning. In her interview with Lowe, Gaga talked about how, as an ally, its essential to continue learning and understanding the stories of others: What every community that is oppressed goes through is different. It’s all unique experience, and then there’s individual people and everyone’s individual experience is different. Gaga called learning peoples stories a great gift that has taught her a lot about oppression and what she can do to help. An ally uses their privilege to help others. Gaga regularly recognizes her privilege as a cis woman and as a person with a platform, and uses these advantages to help challenge systemic injustices and advocate for others. In 2011, following a fans death by suicide, Lady Gaga met with President Obama to urge him to do more to protect children against bullying. In 2012, she and her mother founded the Born This Way Foundation to connect young people to mental health resources and destigmatize mental health. Most people dont get a chance to tell a roomful of musicians and television viewers all over the world whatever they want, so when all eyes were on Lady Gaga at this year’s Grammys, she used her moment to speak out for trans people. Lady Gaga shows that true allyship is not performative but an ongoing, active commitment to justice.
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E-Commerce
Did everyone get the Microsoft 365 rate-hike notice? The personal plan is going from $70 a year to $100 a year. According to the email, my financial commitment is getting me secure cloud storage, advanced security for your data and devices, and cutting-edge AI-powered features, among other goodies. But the real reason I subscribe? Microsoft Word. We’ve all used it and many of us rely on it. But many people even arent using all the bells and whistles that come with Word and the larger Microsoft 365 package. So as Microsoft hits us with a price hike to go along with all the other price hikes consumers have been facing in the past year, now might be the perfect time to explore some excellentand completely freealternatives. Google Docs [Photo: Google] You probably already have a Google account, which means you already have access to Google Docs. That’s likely the most frictionless switch from Word. And just because Google Docs is free and easy doesnt mean its a slouch. Its cloud-based, has excellent collaboration features, plus real-time editing, voice typing, auto-saving, and seamless integration with other Google services. If youre looking for collaboration, sharing documents with multiple people, and quick document creation that wont feel vastly different from Word, this is it. LibreOffice Writer [Photo: LibreOffice] If you prefer a desktop application, need advanced formatting options, and want a powerful, feature-filled Word replacement, check out LibreOffice Writer. Its part of the LibreOffice suite, an open-source alternative to Microsoft Office, so if youre also looking to replace the desktop versions of Excel, PowerPoint, and the like, youre covered. Though LibreOffice Writer can feel a bit outdated compared to some modern options and theres an initial learning curve for those used to Word’s interface, this is a tried-and-true alternative for grizzled word-processing pros. WPS Office Writer [Photo: WPS] If youre looking for a Word-like experience without the price tag and don’t mind occasional ads, give WPS Office Writer a look. Its got a similar interface to Microsoft Word, good compatibility with Microsoft Word formats, and nice extras such as free templates, cloud saves, and mobile apps. And though it contains ads in the free version, theres an affordable $36 per year premium subscription that removes ads and throws in some extra features you may or may not use. Give the free version a fair shake first, though: The ads arent super intrusive and the feature list is plenty full for what you get.
Category:
E-Commerce
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