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If you follow much tech news, youve probably read about the Reddit theory of search. The Reddit theory is the idea that the best info you can get from Googling anything these days comes from Redditand the power of crowdsourced wisdom. You want to find the best portable battery pack? Or uncover the secret to getting Sharpie off your skin? See what scores of Redditors have settled on and save yourself the trouble of trying to dig up a definitive answer from any single source without all that extra perspective. Its become such a popular tactic, in fact, that Google inked a major deal to feature Reddit info more prominently in its results. But you still never know exactly what youre gonna get for any given search, and finding anything close to a consensus of opinions is often easier said than done. My friend, Ive found a better way. Allow me to introduce you to the search-supplementing supertool you never knew you needed. Psst: If you love these types of tools as much as I do, check out my free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. You’ll be the first to find all sorts of simple tech treasures! Answers, answers, everywhere All rightso here it is: Few mere mortals who arent Reddit regulars realize it, but Reddit recently launched its own interactive search system for finding worthwhile info across the site. Its called Reddit Answers. And Ive legitimately been blown away by how useful and effective of a resource it can be. Youll only need about 20 seconds to see what it can do. Just open up the Reddit Answers website, then type any question or general search query into the box in the center of the screen. Reddit Answers offers up a single search box where you can ask anything. [Screenshot: Reddit Answers] The key here is to think about this as a specific sort of supplement for your standard searching. Reddit probably isnt the place to turn for objective facts, definitions, or any other such info. But it is an unmatched repository of genuine human opinion on a huge range of topics, and Reddit Answers helps you navigate that sea of sentiment better than any other tool Ive tried. So, for instance, if youre seeking out a new smart lock for your home, you might find it helpful to see a big-picture view of opinions from relevant Reddit discussions on the subject: You can get instant summaries of opinions from all across Reddit without any time-consuming searching. [Screenshot: Reddit Answers] Or if youre planning a trip, you might benefit from browsing through stacks of firsthand opinions on different neighborhoods within a certain city: Reddit Answers pulls info from numerous threads and sums ’em up for easy skimmingand further probing, too, if you want. [Screenshot: Reddit Answers] What makes Reddit Answers especially interesting for me is not only the info it gives you but also the way in which it structures it. Instead of just serving up scattered answers, it shows you smart summaries along with links to specific threads for more detailed reading. Its like a gateway into a wild and often unapproachable jungle of popular perspectivesa starting point that makes it infinitely easier to explore that info without having to scroll through a zillion different pages and put it all together on your own. Reddit Answers works entirely on the web, in whatever browser you like. Its free. And you dont have to sign in or share any sort of personal info to use it. That being said, you will be limited to 10 queries a week if you dont sign in (and a regular Reddit account is free and easy to create). Ready to rev up your productivity even further? Check out my free Cool Tools newsletter for an instant introduction to an incredible audio app thatll tune up your days in some truly delightful waysand another off-the-beaten-path gem in your inbox every Wednesday!
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E-Commerce
The Chevrolet Corvette has been the icon of U.S. industrial power since 1953. It also symbolizes the great ideal of Americaa dream of individual freedom that was ultimately embodied in big roaring cars and endless highways. This gasoline-fueled dream might lose its gasoline smell forever, as General Motors experiments with a fully electric Corvette. GM created this car in its new design studio in Royal Leamington Spa, about 20 miles from Birmingham in the U.K. And, although the company insists that it is not a confirmed production model (concept cars are never production models), it marks the beginning of a path already taken by rivals like the Ford Mustang and the Dodge Charger. This concept is purely a design exercise involving GM’s existing design studios in Los Angeles, Detroit, and the U.K., Chad Lyons, head of Chevrolet PR, tells me via email. The concept has no production intent, and is not a signal of future Corvette design language but rather a futuristic and exploratory design exercise only, intended to push the envelope of design and technology. In my mind, an all-electric Corvette is all but inevitable. As GMs president Mark Reuss stated back in 2022, the electrification of this American icon is a priority. Reuss didnt say whether it will be a variant of the gasoline model or a completely new design standing on its own, but it will happen. And this design is the first spark. [Image: Chevrolet] Symbol of Americas golden age Ford and Dodge already made the transition to fully electric models in 2019 and 2024 respectively. But, while the Mustang and the Charger are icons in their own right, none of them carry the power of the Corvette as a symbol of Americas industrial might. You can easily argue that the Corvette reached peak car status in pop culture like no other car ever created in the U.S. If America was ever great, the Corvette represented that greatness like no other. A 1953 Corvette on display, circa 2012 [Photo: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images] Like most American celebrated inventions, the Corvette was born as an experiment. The genesis of the Chevrolet Corvette lay in the vision of Harley Earl, the head of GM’s Styling Section, who aimed to create an American sports car to rival the growing popularity of the glamorous European models by Ferrari, Jaguar, and Masserati, which appeared after World War II. Dubbed Project Opel, the initial concept debuted at the 1953 GM Motorama fair, showcasing a revolutionary fiberglass body. The materialwhich was completely new at the timeoffered lightness and a unique aesthetic compared to the typical steel bodies. The design was influenced by U.S. fighter jets and the sleek lines of European sports cars like the Jaguar XK120. While the early six-cylinder models didn’t immediately match the performance of their European counterparts, the Corvette’s striking design and dream car appeal quickly captured the public’s imagination. It was not until 1955, with the arrival of its rumbling V8 engine, that the Corvette found its literal and figurative voice. Then in 1963, it cemented its place as the most desired car in America with the C2 Stingray. This marked a pivotal moment in its design evolution. While the overall direction was under legendary American car designer Bill Mitchell, the stunning and instantly recognizable design comes from designer Larry Shinoda, a first-generation American whose parents immigrated from Japan. He translated Mitchell’s Stingray racer concept into a new era for the Corvette. 1963 Corvette Sting Ray convertible and coupe [Photo: General Motors/Wiki Commons] Working within Mitchell’s Studio X special projects group, Shinoda was instrumental in shaping the sleek new appearance of the C2. Its rear split-window coupe, though only produced for a single year, became an instant icon on its own right, symbolizing the bold and innovative spirit of American design during the time NASA took humans to the moon. Compared to other cars of the era, the Stingray offered a unique blend of American muscle and sophisticated futuristic styling that set it apart from both European sports cars and traditional American automobiles. The Corvette became synonymous with the American automotive industry. It represented American industrial prowess, showcasing the country’s ability to produce high-performance machines that could compete on a global stage. It was at this time when the car turned into a towering cultural icon of the Space Age era. It wasnt only about its sci-fi looks, but also about who was driving it. Starting with Alan Shepard, the first American in space, many Mercury 7 astronauts and those who followed were offered the opportunity to lease Corvettes for a nominal fee. Each crew of the Apollo missionsincluding Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collinshad matching Corvettes, which they used o get around Houston and on the roads near Cape Canaveral. This association forged an indelible link between the Corvette and the image of American innovation, speed, and pushing the boundaries of what was possible. The Corvette became a symbol of the nation’s technological ambition, mirroring the achievements of the space program. [Photo: John Keeble/Getty Images] The C3 generationbuilt from 1968 to 1982became an even stronger visual icon. Often referred to as the Shark due to its curvy design, heavily influenced by the Mako Shark II concept car created by Shinoda under Mitchells direction, it continued the Corvette’s dramatic styling. It had a long, low profile, a curvy Coca-Cola bottle shape, bulging fenders, and pop-up headlights. [Image: Chevrolet] Reinventing an icon All this to say that it is a strange feeling to see a new electric Corvette prototype coming from GM’s U.K. Advanced Design Studio. Even more so when you consider how much closer it was to Mitchell and Shinodas sensibilities than the current Corvette. The team took the 1963 Stingray’s split rear window and made it the central element of the design, turning it around and splitting the windshield in a concept they call Apex Vision. The singular vertical central spine is not just for looks; it is a structural element, according to Julian Thomson, who leads the design studio. The British prototype is actually a hypercar with 22-inch front and 23-inch rear tires, a car that can run on the road and on the racing track. At 15.1 feet long, 6.9 feet wide, and a height of 3.4 feetlower, wider, and longer than the current C8the design has two distinct parts. The upper section presents classic Corvette elements in a futuristic style, like Apex Vision, while the lower half focuses on functional technical design. That includes embedded EV battery technology and aerodynamic elements designed to channel air efficiently without traditional wings or spoilers. Instead, the prototype uses active ducts that redirect airflow depending on the driving mode. On a regular road, they optimize range by channeling air under the chassis; on a race track, they deploy aerodynamic surfaces that increase grip. The bodywork is made using additive manufacturing, its creators say, also known as 3D printing, to reduce weight and assemblies. The concept also incorporates aviation-inspired elements in its sculptural forms and functional aspects, along with full wrap-around side glass and powered gull wing doors. All of that makes the electric Corvette a very attractive design. It feels ready to run the 24 hours of LeMans. There have been positive reactions in the press, but met with mixed reactions from fans. Whether purists will accept a Corvette without the roar of a V8 engine is anyones guess. [Image: Chevrolet] The rise of the all-electric muscle car Its direct competitors have had mixed results in the market. Sales of the Dodge Charger Daytona EV have not been good, with only 2,115 units sold in the first quarter of 2025. On the other hand, the Ford Mustang Mach-e has had a great start of the year, becoming one of the best selling EVs in the first quarter of 2025, reaching 22,550 units (an 11% increase over the previous quarter). GM already markets the Corvette E-Ray, a hybrid variant, which only sold 1,447 units in its first year. Its not a promising sign. But then again, the E-Ray is not a very attractive car. It feels blah. Michael Simcoe, senior VP of global design at GM, says that the U.K.-designed concept is part of a global initiative where multiple studios were tasked with developing hypercar concepts that pay homage to Corvette’s heritage while showcasing unique creative interpretations. The concepts will appear through 2025, perhaps a strategy to whet the fans for an all-electric model. But its likely that, at one point in the very near future, the company is getting ready to drop that roaring combustion engine. While the current Corvette doesnt have the same design magnetism and pop culture symbolism as the ones from the 60s and 70s, it still carries the torch of a time long gone, a heavy heritage that nobody can ignore. The moment the gas roaring turns into a silent buzz of electricity, it will truly be the nd of an era for a whole industry and the entire country. Thats not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, perhaps everyone in the U.S. should be hoping that its most iconic car can successfully turn into the icon of a new era for the country. Looking at the electric supercar tsunami coming from China, Im not so hopeful for its future. But this concept car gives me some hope that they may pull it off.
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E-Commerce
Recently, after decades of paying high fees for the aging photo-sharing site Flickr, I finally moved all my images to Google Photos. It saved money and offered advanced features, like very accurate search results. But uploading years of pictures triggered the dreaded warning that I was approaching the storage limit of my Google account, which also holds Gmail, documents, spreadsheets, and other files. Cloud storage (be it Google Drive, iCloud, or Dropbox) is just one more in a growing list of subscriptions we all face, such as video and music streaming services, online magazines or newspapers, newsletters, Patreon sponsorship, and often just the right to keep using software. It’s especially frustrating to pay for photo storage when you know that most of those pictures and videos may be less than stellar. Google provides 15GB of free space per account. Beyond that, it charges $1.99/month for 100GB (my current plan), $2.99 for 200GB, then a pricey jump to 2 TB for $9.99. Its hard to resist capturing pictures and videos, and easy to resist weeding them. But tidying up Google Photos can be a nice money saver. Google offers cleanup tools for Photos, Gmail, and Drive, though how they workand how helpful they areisnt always obvious. Heres how to make sense of them. Manage storage Start at Manage storage, accessible via the cloud icon labeled Storage at the bottom of Google Photos left sidebar. You’ll see your current usage, an estimate of when youll run out, and an offer to upgrade. If space is tight, look at the Review and Delete tools. Large photos and videos This section can offer considerable savings, especially if you have large videos you can part with. My biggest file was a six-and-a-half-minute, 1.2GB video from a trip to Egypt last year. While viewing each video to decide if it’s worth deleting, also click the i icon in the upper-right to see the resolution. This helps when deciding whether to use the Storage Saver feature, which well discuss in a bit. Gmail and Google Drive Return to the Manage storage page, skip the next few sections and jump down to Gmail and Google Drive. All your Google apps share storage space, so clearing out Gmail and Drive makes more room for photos. (Roughly half of my 71GB glut came from Gmail, Drive, and other apps.) Click Review items, then scroll to Clean up by service. Under Gmail, you can delete emails with large attachments. This is where youll likely save the most space. Clearing out spam and trash helps, too. Then choose Google Drive and click the List view icon in the top-right to see file sizes. I found huge video and audio files I hadn’t needed for years. Deleting them reduced my Drive usage from 21.2GB to just 760MB. Recover storage Back on the Manage storage page, check out Recover storage: Convert existing photos and videos to Storage saver. This powerful tool lowers the resolution of large videos and photos to save space. Just note: Its irreversible, and applies to your whole accountwith no way to selectively shrink specific files. Storage saver converts videos over 1920 x 1080 down to that resolution. It also slightly reduces quality, even for videos shot at or below 1080p. This helps if youve shot a lot in 4K ultra HD. In my test, a 1-minute 4K, 60fps video shrank from 798MB to 30MBa 96% reduction. I noticed just a slight softening in a reduced iPhone 13 video of a room with ornate furniture and paintings. I viewed it at full screen on my 2000 Macbook Air with Retina Display at the top resolution of 1680 x 1050. (The default is 1440 by 900, and a clip in a web browser would display even smaller.) Storage saver also shrinks photos above 16MP down to that size (and it compresses larger formats, such as TIFF, to JPEG). I used Storage saver to reduce a 40 megapixel, 11MB JPEG photo down to 16MP and 2.3MB. I couldn’t spot differences on screeneven when zooming in. Google says that 16MP photos print well up to 24 x 16 inches. You can toggle Storage saver on or off for future uploads. On the web, click the gear icon in the upper right (next to your profile pic) to open Backup Quality. In the mobile app (in Android or iOS), tap your profile picture, then Backup, then the gear icon, and finally Backup quality. Dont forget to switch back to Original quality for uploads you want at full resolution. Screenshots Skip the Screenshots section and instead click Documents in the left sidebar. It shows screenshots plus other categories of nontypical photos with potentially short shelf lives, such as event tickets and receipts. Delete them individually, or select a batch by clicking the first, holding Shift, and clicking the last. To automate cleanup, toggle on Archive after 30 days, which moves items to the Archive folder, where you can delete them in blk anytime. Blurry photos This category may not help much. Googles blurry threshold is pretty low. If you delete all of them, you might lose some cherished soft-focus memories. And since blurry photos probably dont take much space, combing through them might not be worth the time. After decades of shooting, I had only about 300 “blurry” photos taking up 373MB. Other apps Heres another section you can probably skip: media taken with or shared through apps like Instagram or WhatsApp. You probably care more about whats in the pictures or videos than the source. Also, this section doesnt show file sizes, making it hard to know what to delete. Unsupported videos These are videos that Google Photos can’t play for some reason. They may be in an oddball file format; although Google supports such a large list of video (and photo) formats, that it’s unlikely the upload from your phone or camera won’t be covered. They may also be sub-one-second clipspossibly from accidental button taps: I found several in my account. Unsupported videos may be viewable after downloading. Both macOS and Windows (10 and later) have an app called Photos that can play videos, as well as extract a still image if you’d like to convert that tiny clip to a picture. Empty the Trash Deleted files go to the Trash folder, where theyll hang around for 60 days unless you clear them manually. To remove them permanently, click Trash in the left sidebar, then Empty trash in the upper right. Limiting Phone Uploads Android phones have a space-saving feature for new photos and videos you shoot. (It doesn’t affect what’s already been uploaded.) In the Photos app, tap your profile pic, go to Photos settings then Backup then Back up device folders, and toggle on or off image types to upload, such as screenshots or WhatsApp shares. iPhone users beware: The Free Up Space option in the Google Photos app doesnt reduce cloud storage. It simply deletes media from your phone thats already been uploaded (automatically) to Google Photos. If you also have iCloud Photos enabled, Free Up Space will remove files not only from your phone but also from your iCloud account.
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E-Commerce
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