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☆ Can a $400 Box Keep Your Packages Safe from Porch Pirates?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( Sal Vaglica | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

NEARLY ONE in seven Americans had a package snatched from their house in the first 10 months of 2022, according to a C+R Research report. Now, some homeowners are turning to a new spin on an old classic: adding Wi-Fi smarts to a beefy lockbox. These package receptacles, such as the Eufy SmartDrop S300 and Yale Smart Delivery Box (with keypad), are powered by batteries that last between three and six months depending on how often you get deliveries. Just connect the device to your home network, then choose an access code and, every time you buy online, enter that code as the second line of your address and/or in the “preferred delivery instructions” section. That equips delivery drivers to key the code into your box, pop its lid and leave your package inside, assuming you haven’t bought a 12-foot ladder or a hippopotamus.

Persons: haven’t Organizations: Yale

☆ The Best Way to Sharpen Your Knives—for Novices, Know-It-Alls and Everyone in Between
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Sal Vaglica | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/tech/personal-tech/best-way-to-sharpen-knives-for-novices-know-it-alls-and-everyone-in-between-f77a14d

Persons: Dow Jones, f77a14d

☆ The One Tool You Need to Make Your Lawn Look Superb This Fall
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Sal Vaglica | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

LAWN AND ORDER The head of the Ryobi 40-volt HP Brushless 15-inch Carbon Fiber Attachment Capable String Trimmer Kit can be swapped out with several other types of tools, making it an extremely capable gardening companion. Illustration: Fernando CabeloIF YOU BELIEVE a once-over with a mower on Saturday is all the maintenance a front lawn needs, you might be an average American suburbanite. When pro landscapers dragoon your neighbor’s turf, mowing is just part of the plan. It’s all the other things—string trimming around fence and mailbox posts, edging next to sidewalks, blowing clippings off the driveway—that elevate a green lawn into the envy of the neighborhood. Those actions can create a mantle of striped emerald so manicured you feel unfit walking on it, like your grandma’s freshly vacuumed carpet.

Persons: Fernando Cabelo Organizations: YOU

☆ 3 Reasons to Buy a Dashboard Camera for Your Car—and 4 Reasons Not To
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Sal Vaglica | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

I SPY The footage taken by a dashboard camera can prove helpful if you end up in a crash. Illustration: Richard BorgeHOMEOWNERS CAN add a video doorbell to confirm deliveries have arrived or to rebuff persistent evangelists and their pamphlets. It’s that kind of digital eye that Tim McCullough wishes he’d had in his vehicle during an incident five years ago. “It was just a fender bender,” said the 44-year-old supervisor at a pool service company in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. “But I had detectives show up to my office.”

Persons: Richard Borge, Tim McCullough, he’d, ” Organizations: CAN Locations: Rancho Cucamonga, Calif

☆ The Splashy New Headphone Feature You Might Want to Avoid
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Sal Vaglica | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

CASE CLOSED Two new wireless headphones have emerged with a novel feature: a touch- screen case. Our intrepid writer put them to the test. Illustration: Dan PageENEMIES OF screen time, beware. Earlier this year, two sets of wireless earbuds arrived on the market with cases that sport touch screens to control the headphones. The JBL Tour Pro 2 ($250) features a color display comparable in size to that on certain Apple Watches while the Poly Voyager Free 60+ UC ($330) has a slightly smaller screen.

☆ Robot Lawn Mowers Are (Finally) Getting Good. But Are They Worth the Hefty Price Tag?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Sal Vaglica | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

SUBURBIA IS apparently filled with masochists—evidenced by the fact that each Sunday I wake to the sound of all my neighbors concurrently grooming their lawns. I feel compelled to join them, though I hate the two-hour chore. At least it makes my Apple Watch’s pedometer happy. You could outsource the task to an expensive landscaper, of course. Those who work at home will have to deal with the sonic blitzkrieg.

☆ The 15-Minute Fix: Replace Your Showerhead With One of These Superior Sprayers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Sal Vaglica | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WHAT MAKES for an excellent shower? Some say it is about when you get soaked: in the morning or at night. Others say it depends on temperature, how long you spent in the spray, even whether you use bar soap, shower gel or no soap at all. But few people, I find, point to what I consider the true key to a high-quality suds-up: a great showerhead. They simply don’t know what they’re missing.

☆ Shaken or Stirred? Let Your New Robot Bartender Decide
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Sal Vaglica | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PUT IT ON MY TAB The Bartesian Professional can produce a staggering range of beverages, from a delicate Martini to a boozy Sazerac. BONA FIDE holiday revelry is often linked to a good mixed drink. Parties where decadent cocktails flow befit the season, especially when those behind the bar know what they are doing. Result: Manhattans with too much whiskey, martinis made hastily with sweet vermouth and too much astringent lemon concentrate. Over the past few years, cocktail machines have emerged that promise to do the difficult work of remembering recipes more capably than a designated bartender who’s had a few tipples herself.

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