 |
|
|
|||||
I love FM radio. Its okay: You can call me a Luddite. My alarm clock is the local public radio station. I love toggling between a few music stations while driving, or even while reading at home. And during a road trip, theres nothing quite like discovering a community station with random locals curating their own playlistsit gives you a sense of where you are that no Spotify playlist can match. The problem: Its hard to know what stations exist locally, even in your own town but particularly while on a road trip. You can explore the dial, which has a certain serendipity, but what if you just want to . . . know? And be able to tune in with or without an actual traditional radio in front of you? This tip originally appeared in the free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. Get the next issue in your inbox and get ready to discover all sorts of awesome tech treasures! Old-school listening with a modern twist This exact problem is why I like Radio Locator. Its a free website that lets you enter any city or zip code and find all the terrestrial stations that are available for that area. Itll show you a list of every FM and AM station in any U.S. city or zip code. You can also browse international radio stations by country. And it all takes just a few seconds to do. The Radio Locator site is free and as simple as can be. This is a rare service that isnt cluttered with ads or upselling. Just open the site, type a place, and youll see a list. Stations are sorted by frequency, but youll also see the call sign, the distance to the tower, and what format of radio station is offered. (Im personally always looking for public radio or alternative stations, but you can figure out what you want for yourself.) You can find info about all sorts of stations, in any geographical area. Of course, all of this only applies if youve got an actual-factual FM radio on your hands. What if youre more of a computer-and-phone kind of person? Easy: Just click through on any of the stations on Radio Locator, and theyll generally take you to a website where you can stream the station. Or, if you prefer a dedicated tool for the job, theres Streema. Its a free site that makes it easy to search for and stream just about any radio station imaginable, anywhere in the world. A few stations redirect to websitesbest I can tell for legal reasonsbut the overwhelming majority of the time, you can just search for a website and start listening. Streema makes most on-demand radio listening a swift click or tap away. Either way, you can find and listen to old-fashioned radio stations anytime. Again: I recommend finding public and community stations, as those tend not to have ads, but take the time to explore. Its nice to get away from the algorithm sometimes. You can open Radio Locator and Streema directly in your web browser on any device. Streema also offers an app called Simple Radio for both Android and iOS, if youd rather go that route. Radio Locator and Streema are both free in the browser. Simple Radio is free with on-screen ads or you can get an ad-free version for $6 a month. Neither site requires a login or any real personal data, but you can opt to share your locationif you want. Treat yourself to all sorts of brain-boosting goodies like this with the free Cool Tools newsletterstarting with an instant introduction to an incredible audio app thatll tune up your days in truly delightful ways.
Category:
E-Commerce
Two months ago, Apple released iOS 26 for the iPhone. The new operating system includes several productivity and other enhancements, but the main feature is a new design language called Liquid Glass. The flat, minimalist look of iOS that lasted for more than a decade is gone, replaced by a transparent interface of toolbars and buttons that mimic how light bends and warps as it passes through glass. Those who appreciate the new look of iOS often praise Liquid Glass as refreshing and unique, saying it gives the iPhones software a sense of fluidity that other touch interfaces lack. Others argue that Liquid Glasss transparent elements make the device harder to use, as the content behind iOS 26s buttons and toolbars often obscures the symbols or text that label the interface elements. If you fall into the latter group, theres some good news. Apple is increasingly providing options to tone down the most controversial aspects of the Liquid Glass design. Here they are: Option #1: Turn on the tint This week, Apple released its first major update to iOS 26: iOS 26.1. This update fixed numerous bugs while also adding new features; it expanded Apple Intelligence and AirPods Live Translation features to new countries, added new swipe controls to the Music app, and overhauled the alarm clock interface so you dont accidentally tap snooze and miss your meeting. The new clear (left) and tinted (right) options for Liquid Glass. But as Fast Company previously reported, iOS 26.1s best new feature is a toggle that lets users tone down Liquid Glass’s design. It does this by allowing users to choose between two different Liquid Glass interfaces. The Clear interface is the default Liquid Glass, with interface element transparency at a maximum. The Tinted interface option reduces this default transparency to give Liquid Glass elements a more frosted look. This can greatly improve the readability of button and toolbar labels by increasing their contrast. Turning on the Liquid Glass tint is easy, as long as you have iOS 26.1 installed on your iPhone: Open the Settings app. Tap Display and Brightness. Tap Liquid Glass. Tap the Tinted option. As you can see from the screenshots above, the “tinted” Liquid Glass option brings a frosted look (right) to the default transparency (left). Option #2: Increase the contrast If youre still on iOS 26.0 or just want to eliminate the default look of Liquid Glass even more on your iPhone that’s running iOS 26.1, you can tone down Liquid Glass in three other ways. The default look of Liquid Glass (left) versus Liquid Glass with the Increase Contrast Accessibility option enabled (right). The first is by enabling the Increase Contrast Accessibility option on your iPhone. This feature is designed for users with sight issues, but anyone can enable it, and many have found that doing so makes Liquid Glass more palatable. As Apple notes, enabling this setting helps Increase color contrast between app foreground and background colors. Heres how you turn it on: Open the Settings app. Tap Accessibility. Tap Display & Text Size. Toggle the Increase Contrast switch to ON (green). As you can see in the screenshots above, enabling the Increase Contrast option (right) adds a slight outline around interface borders and adds a grey smokiness to transparent elements, which makes text and buttons easier to see than they are in the default Liquid Glass design (left). Option #3: Reduce the transparency A third way to tone down Liquid Glass is to enable another Accessibility option on your iPhone called Reduce Transparency. The default look of Liquid Glass (left) versus Liquid Glass with the Reduce Transparency Accessibility option enabled (right). This option tones Liquid Glass down even further than the Increase Contrast option, greatly reducing its transparency. As Apple notes, this option helps Improve contrast by reducing transparency and blurs on some backgrounds to increase legibility. To enable the setting: Open the Settings app. Tap Accessibility. Tap Display & Text Size. Toggle the Reduce Transparency switch to ON (green). As you can see in the screenshot above, enabling the Reduce Transparency option (right) virtually blocks any background content from bleeding through buttons and toolbar elements. Option #4: Outline buttons for easier visibility A final way to tone down Liquid Glass is to force iOS 26.1 to show borders around buttons and other UI elements. This is done via the “Show Borders” Accessibility option. Enabling “Show Borders” (right) can help make some buttons easier to see in Liquid Glass. This option forces outlines to appear around “prominent UI,” according to Apple’s iOS 26.1 notes. To enable the setting: Open the Settings app. Tap Accessibility. Tap Display & Text Size. Toggle the Show Borders switch to ON (green). As you can see in the screenshot above, enabling this option displays a thin outline around buttons and other UI elements, helping them stand out more on your screen. Liquid Glass isnt going away The new look of iOS 26 isnt temporarynor should it be. While there have been some vocal detractors to the new design, a large majority of iPhone users seem to love the refreshed look. After Apple spent years developing that new design, theres no way they would go back to the old one. But Apples addition of a new tint option for Liquid Glass via a dedicated control in the iOS 26.1 Settings app shows that the company is listening to feedback from all its users and is not averse to giving individuals more control over how Liquid Glass looks to them. So, while you may not be able to turn off Liquid Glass, you now at least have three ways to tone it down.
Category:
E-Commerce
You really have to stand up for yourself. Thats the message Shark Tank star Barbara Corcoran sent loud and clear in a recent interview she gave LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky. The interview is full of powerful lessons from Corcorans life, but one story stood head and shoulders above the rest: The time Shark Tank fired her, before she taped a single episode. Corcoran said she received a call from a woman asking her to be on a new show called Shark Tank. Ecstatic, Corcoran agreed. She immediately went on a shopping spree, buying new outfits and autograph-signing materials. Im going to Hollywood! she excitedly told her friends. Then, Corcoran got a dreadful phone call telling her they changed their mind and had decided to give her seat to another woman. I just couldnt believe it, said Corcoran. It was the equivalent of [my ex-boyfriend] telling me he was marrying my secretary. After hanging up the phone, Corcoran says she was crestfallen. But after taking a minute to feel sorry for herself, she took matters into her own hands. Corcoran wrote an email directly to Shark Tank creator, Mark Burnett. Dear Mark, I consider your rejection a lucky charm, Corcoran says. Everything good happens to me after I get rejected. Corcoran then detailed multiple stories as evidence, including the time Donald Trump told her shed never collect a penny of her $4 million commission, after which Corcoran says she sued Trump and got every penny. Corcoran says she ended the email like this: I expect to be on that plane on Tuesday. And I hope you let me compete for the seat. Shortly thereafter, Burnetts secretary wrote Corcoran telling her she would have the chance to compete for the seat. The rest is history. Corcorans actions teach a powerful lesson in emotional intelligence, the ability to understand and manage emotions effectively. Lets break down three valuable takeaways from Corcorans story and see how you can apply them to your own business. (If you find value in this lesson, you might be interested in my free emotional intelligence course, which provides a new tip for building emotional intelligence every day for a week.) Dont dwell on negative emotions Corcoran credits her employees for teaching her a lesson that helped her at this crucial moment. I learned from my salespeople over the years that the greatest salespeople [spend] less time feeling sorry for themselves, Corcoran said. They take the hits like everybody else but they dont give themselves much time. I mimic them in my own personality. And I really credit their example [for] what I did to Mark Burnett. Its not just effective salespeople. Everyone experiences failure. Everyone has bad moments. But instead of dwelling on negative emotions, emotionally intelligent people have the ability to process them and move on. As its been said: You may not be able to stop a bird from landing on your head, but you can keep it from building a nest. Use negative experiences as motivation Instead of throwing herself a pity party, Corcoran used Burnetts rejection as motivation. She then channeled those feelings and emotions into her email. It worked. Not only did Corcoran motivate herself, her quick action, confidence, and masterful storytelling convinced Burnett to change course and give her a shot. Corcoran says she learned that lesson when her ex-husband told her he was leaving her for her secretary. Consequently, Corcoran split the business she ran with her ex in half, and he told her shed never succeed without him. When he gave me that curse leaving, Ill tell you, I knew I was going to be successful, Cocoran said. Just to prove him wrong. Negative emotions can be useful if you learn how to harness them. But to do that, you have to consciously decide what youre going to do with them. Be like Corcoran and use negative emotions as a catalyst for positive action. Focus on what you can control Corcoran realized she couldnt force Burnett to change his mind. But she could stand up for herself, which would prove beneficial for her mental state. And by getting on that plane and showing up, Corcoran gave herself every opportunity to get on Shark Tank. This teaches a final powerful lesson: You cant waste time on things you cant control. But you can focus on what you can control and take action accordingly. Dealing with a customer who refused to pay an invoice? Offer them a compelling reason to pay. Got an employee whos lost their drive? Give them a listening ear and think of how you can support them. The key is to ask yourself: What can I do to make this situation better? So, the next time youre frustrated by someone elses actions, take a page out of Barbara Corcorans playbook and: Dont dwell on negative emotions.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||