Love watching Netflix for hours on end? There’s a lot more you can do with it if you spend just a few quick minutes in the settings section. You can improve your binge-watching weekend by customizing subtitles, home screen previews, download settings, and more. Here are 11 of the best Netflix tips and tricks.

Download your shows and movies offline

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Like every other popular streaming service, Netflix lets you download movies and TV shows for offline viewing. Ad-free plans can download up to 100 items per device, while ad-supported plans can download 15 items. As long as you go online once every 30 days, you can keep that media on your device.

To adjust quality, open the Netflix app, go to your Profile, tap the Menu button at the top (the three horizontal lines), then go to App Settings > Downloads > Video Quality. Here, choose between Standard or Higher based on your storage space or network.

Now, just tap the Download button next to an episode, season, or movie to download it. You’ll find downloaded media in the Downloads section in your Profile tab, where you can watch and delete shows.

Sign out of one, or every other device

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Netflix has an option that lets you log out of any device from the website. This will include all the devices that all the members of your account are using. So if you want to knock off TV access for a friend, or someone who's not part of your shared plan, this is the place to go.

Click the Profile icon and go to Account. Here, switch to the Devices tab and choose Access and devices. Here, find a device you want to log out from and click Sign Out. You can also click the Sign Out of All Devices button to log out all devices together.

Stop Netflix from sharing your private date to third parties

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Netflix has an obscure setting that's so weirdly worded that you'd never take it to be about data collection. Netflix, by default, shares your privacy-protected contact information with third parties to display ads on third-party services. That is something you should disable, and it's done on a per-profile basis.

Click the Profile icon, go to Account, switch to the Profiles tab, choose your profile, and go to the Privacy and data settings option. Finally, disable the Allow matched identifier communications feature. Repeat this for all the profiles on your account.

Transfer your profile to a new account

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Netflix's password sharing crack down is in full swing. If you cannot get around it, it might be time to create your own account. But that doesn't mean you need to start fresh with the algorithm. Netflix has a feature called Transfer Profiles that can help you take all your data from an old account to a new one.

Open the Netflix website and choose your profile. Then, click the Profile icon at the top and go to Transfer Profile. This will open up a new wizard. Click Start Profile Transfer and choose if you want to transfer to a brand-new account or to an existing one. Netflix will help you set up a new account with all your data. If you're transferring to an existing account, you'll need to know the email and the password for the account. Follow the instructions to transfer your profile to a new account.

Get rid of unwanted content from your watch history and recommendations

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Want to get rid of an embarrassing title from your watch list? Or perhaps a title that you’re never going to finish? The only way to clear your Watching List (and the subsequent recommendations) is by removing a title from your Viewing Activity.

Go to Netflix’s Viewing Activity page (you can also get there from Account > Profiles > Your Profile > Viewing Activity).

Click the little Hide button next to the title that you want to remove. Confirm in the next step, and the title will disappear from your watching list.

Enable smart downloads for your mobile devices

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If you watch Netflix on the way to work, or if you have a spotty internet connection, the Smart Downloads feature definitely helps. Once enabled, this will automatically delete completed episodes and will replace them with subsequent episodes when you’re back on Wi-Fi. You can also turn on "Downloads for you," which automatically downloads content Netflix thinks you'll like. You can enable these features on the iOS and Android apps from Profile > Menu > App Settings > Smart Downloads.

Stop Netflix from using too much of your mobile data plan

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If you like watching Netflix when you’re out and about, it can eat into your mobile data plan pretty easily. Netflix’s data saver mode can help. In the Netflix app, go to Profile > Menu > App Settings > Cellular Data Usage. Here, disable the Automatic feature, and switch to the Save Data option. This will adjust quality while off wifi to allow for about six hours of playback per GB of data.

Make sure you’re watching in HD or 4K

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It would be a shame to pay the 4K plan but only watch in 720p because you didn’t adjust your settings. Go to Netflix’s playback settings page, and from the Data Usage Per Screen option, switch to the High option. Now you’ll get the best quality for the device or screen that you’re on.

Stop Netflix from automatically playing next episodes and previews

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Netflix loves autoplay. Whether it’s playing the next episode or movie right after you’re done watching something, or playing previews on the home screen, it can get pretty annoying.

You can disable both features on a profile-by-profile basis. After opening the Netflix website, go to the Profiles screen. Here, click the Manage Profiles button and choose the profile where you want to disable these features.

Now, uncheck Autoplay next episode in a series on all devices and Autoplay previews while browsing on all devices. Click the Save button to save your preferences.

Customize your subtitles to be way better

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Finding the default subtitles too hard to read? You can change the subtitle font, color, and size. From the Netflix website, click the Profile icon and choose Account. Here, switch to the Profiles tab and select your profile. Now, choose the Subtitle Appearance option.

From here, you can change the subtitle font, text size, shadow, background color, and window color. Once you’re done, tap the Save button to save your settings.

Choose original dubs in your shows and movies

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When you’re watching a foreign language film, Netflix has a habit of defaulting to English language dubbing. Sadly, there’s no setting to stop Netflix from doing that, but there’s always a way to switch to the original audio in the Netflix player. When you’re watching something, go to the Subtitles menu, and from the Audio section, switch to the Original audio.

Lock your profile to keep it private from other users

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If you share your Netflix account with your friends or family members, your profile isn’t exactly private. Others can see what you’re watching, and they can also use your profile and mess up your recommendations.

If you want to protect your profile (especially if you share your account with your kids), click the Profiles icon and choose the Account option. Switch to the Profiles tab, choose your profile, and go to the Profile Lock section. Enter your account password, and from the next page, enable the Require a pin to access (user) account option. Then enter the four-digit pin and click the Save button. The next time you open Netflix, you’ll need to enter this pin to access your profile.

Block adult content, if you want

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If you’re sharing your Netflix account with your kids or teenagers, you might want to block adult content. To do this, go to the Profiles tab in your Account and choose your profile. Here, go to the Viewing Restrictions section and enter your account password.

From the top, you can change the maturity rating (7+ to 18+). If you want, you can also turn the current profile into a children’s profile, only showing content suitable for children. From the bottom, you can choose to block a particular TV show or a movie. Once you’re done, click the Save button.

Your Kindle reading experience can go far beyond what's available on the Kindle store. If, like me, you've only been buying your reading material from Amazon (or borrowing e-books from your local library), it's time to explore what your e-reader can really do.

Amazon has a dedicated program called Send to Kindle that you can use to wirelessly send articles, word documents, PDFs, and copyright-free e-books right to your Kindle, no cable required. But there's plenty of other options now, too. Here are some of my favorites.

How Amazon's Send to Kindle program works

You might not know it, but your Kindle has its own email address, which can be used to send documents directly to your device.

This technology has been around for over a decade. But now, there are many more options to send articles, documents and e-books to Kindle. These include Chrome extensions, desktop apps, and built-in support for the feature in the Kindle apps for iOS and Android. Here, you don't even need to worry about remembering and finding your device's email address (although I do like the simplicity of the email method).

Before you start sending over your files, a word on format support. Amazon won't let you send .MOBI files (which is one of the native file formats for Kindle), but it will happily take your EPUB file, and will run it on both on your Kindle and in the Kindle app. In fact, it will even sync the read position between your Kindle and your iPhone app, just like if you'd bought a book from the Kindle Store.

Kindle devices support .DOC, .DOCX, .HTML, .TXT, .PDF and .EPUB file formats.

Send e-books using your Kindle email address

Sometimes, the old-fashioned ways are the best. Not everyone wants another service or browser extension.

For this, all you need to do is to find your Kindle's email address. You can do this from your Kindle itself. Open Kindle Settings and go to Your Account. Here, at the bottom, you'll find your Send-to-Kindle email address. Make a note of it.

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Now, after downloading the e-books or documents you want to your non-Kindle device (it doesn't matter if it's your computer or your phone), open your email app and create a new email. Add this Kindle address to the To field. Make sure that you're using the same email as the one you used to create your Kindle account.

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Then, attach the documents or e-books to the email, leave the Subject blank, and send the email. Amazon will process the files on its servers, adding them to your cloud account, and will send the files to your Kindle as well, all in just a few moments. The book will show up in your Kindle, as illustrated by the screenshot below.

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If this doesn't work for you, it might be because you are using a different email address. That's fine, but you'll need to approve this additional email in your Kindle settings before you can use it to send files to your Kindle. Frustratingly, this can only be done on the Amazon website.

Navigate to the Content and Devices section on Amazon. Here, choose the Preferences tab at the top of the page, and go to Personal Document Settings.

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Scroll down to the Approved Personal Document E-Mail List section and click the Add a new approved e-mail address button.

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Here, add the email address that you want to use to send documents to your Kindle.

Send any document or e-book using the Send to Kindle website

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This is a great option if you just need to send a document every now and then. Visit Amazon's Send to Kindle website and log in with your Amazon account. The website automatically figures out your connected Kindle devices, so there's nothing else to do other than drag and drop files. Click the Send button and wait for a couple of minutes for the documents to show up on your Kindle.

Send documents on the go with the Kindle app

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Sending documents to your Kindle using your iPhone or Android is easier if you already have the Kindle app set up. The Kindle app doesn't support web articles, but it will do a good job with .EPUB and .PDF files.

First, locate the file in the Files app of your choice, open the Share menu, and choose the Kindle app. This will open up a Send to Kindle menu. Tap the Send button and wait for the e-book or document to show up on your Kindle.

Send articles using the Chrome extension

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Let's say you've come across a long article while browsing that you'd like to read on your Kindle later on. The best way to do this is by using the Send to Kindle Chrome extension.

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In the extension, log in with your Amazon account and navigate to a page you want to send to your Kindle. Click the extension, and choose the Quick Send option to send a distraction-free version of the website to your Kindle. It will be free of ads and formatting.

Use a third party Send to Kindle service

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Amazon's Send to Kindle extension only works on Chrome, and has very few customization options. Thankfully, there are a plethora of third-party extensions that can help you send articles to your Kindle. Push to Kindle is a customizable option, but the free plan limits you to 10 articles a month (unlimited plan costs $2.99/month). I prefer using Push to Kindle because it does an impressive job at text formatting, and it has an option to remove all images.

If you're looking for a completely free option, Reabble is a good choice. You can also use read-later apps like Pocket or Instapaper to send articles to Kindle.

They all work in the same basic fashion. You can either use their browser extensions, or their Bookmarklet, which can also work on mobile browsers. You'll first need to add the service's email address to your Amazon account's Approved Personal Document E-mail list. I explained how to do that in the e-mail section above. Next, provide the service the email address to your Kindle (again, covered above), and send it along. The service will do the part of converting the article to an e-book for you.

Best Kindle devices for reading non-Kindle documents

To take advantage of any of these tips, you're going to need a Kindle. Here's a few good options for reading any kind of document on a Kindle, especially those not from the Amazon store.

Amazon Kindle Scribe

$339.99 at Amazon

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The Kindle Scribe is Amazon's first take on an e-note, meaning it comes with a stylus that you can use to mark up your documents. If you're sending schoolwork to your Kindle, it's a great choice.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2021)

CA$159.99 at Amazon Canada

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CA$159.99 at Amazon Canada

Otherwise, the Kindle Paperwhite is a great standby. More affordable than the Scribe, its ability to control color temperature is good for late-night reading, making it a more comfortable way to read long articles from the web.

There are many ways to find interesting books to read, maybe on your Kindle or Kobo. Thanks to the advent of BookTok and BookTube, suggestions for books can come even when you aren't looking for them.

But just because book influencers are talking about a book doesn't mean you'll like it, or even want to read it. Thankfully, there is another way: joining an online book club.

Join a book club using the Fable app

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Fable (available for iPhone and Android) is a place for readers to get together and talk about their favorite books. It's an all-in-one platform where you can track books, buy them, read them in tandem with other book club members, and then discuss the books in a forum-style interface that's redesigned for the smartphone.

But most importantly, it's a place where you'll find a plethora of book clubs, some extremely niche, some more mainstream, that are all run by real, passionate readers. A good book club that's based on a genre or a theme can both help you discover books that you want to read, and help you form a habit of actually reading through those recommendations.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite

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Book clubs in Fable pick a book to read each month, which are voted on by the book club members themselves. You can join any book club you want, and join multiple book clubs as well. The app search feature can help you narrow down on specific genres, too. For example, I'm really getting into cozy fantasy right now, and Fable was an easy way to find a couple of fascinating book clubs and book picks.

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The core of Fable's interactive experience can be found in the Discussion and Schedule sections. The Club Lobby is a chat for the entire group, where you can get a Discord-style chat room for everyone in the club to contribute and ask questions, discuss books, and pick upcoming titles. The sections below these are defined by the book club owner and can be used to discuss particular chapters or sections of the book.

If you're not the kind who likes discussing books, you'll still find value in Fable book clubs because of the Schedule feature. Here, the book club owner can set a pace and milestones for the book, helping you stay on track. The milestones (finishing chapter six by May 10th, for example) are only suggestions—you're free to read at your own speed.

Storygraph is a Goodreads alternative book club app

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Storygraph earned its reputation by being the antithesis of Goodreads. The app is free of ads and is run independently. Plus, it has features like half stars for more nuanced ratings, and reviews can be far more detailed than in Goodreads. Now, Storygraph has also added book clubs to the mix. You can now run or join a book club directly from the website or the app.

Storygraph has native support for picking books and voting on them. The book with the most votes gets selected, and the book club manager can create a meeting for discussion of books or particular parts of them. There's also a forum interface where people can discuss the book and ask questions.

While the book clubs feature is live, it's not added to the main website yet. You can join and create book clubs, but it all happens via links. You can't search for book clubs like you can in Fable, but that shouldn't stop you from exploring. This Reddit megathread has plenty of great Storygraph book clubs to join.

Find a book club on Discord

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On Discord, you can find a community for anything, including books. You can use the book club tag on the Disboard website to find all publicly listed Discord servers related to book clubs. If you're looking for a specific genre, use the Search field. Discord book clubs are organized in channels, and they are a great place to discover and discuss books with like-minded people.

Join in-person and online book clubs with the Bookclubs website

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The Bookclubs website is dedicated to book clubs, both virtual and in-person. Here, you can find hundreds of clubs that meet in-person once a month. If there's nothing around you, don't worry: You can still join online groups for monthly meetings. There are also some clubs that don't do virtual meetings, too, preferring to discuss using the website's forum.

Kobo Elipsa 2E

$399.99 at Amazon

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One of the first things I do after I set up a new Mac is install Itsycal, a small yet mighty calendar app that stays docked in the menu bar. I use it to replace the Mac's more limited default calendar, and it serves as a quick and accessible calendar whenever I need to plan something, confirm a date for a deadline, or look up the day's events.

Itsycal is tiny, free, and open-source. While there are other options out there when it comes to Mac calendar apps and menu bar utilities (Dato being a popular option), they are either paid or quite complex. If you want something simple and delightful, set up Itsycal.

Customizing Itsycal

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Itsycal's default setup will show you the date in the menu bar icon, an overview of the current month, and the current day's calendar appointments. But there are a few tweaks that will make the app even better.

First, let's customize the menu bar icon. Open the Itsycal app (it's only a menu bar utility, so you won't see a full-screen app), click the Settings icon, and switch to the Appearance menu.

Here, enable Show month in icon and Show day of week in icon. Much better. If you have the date or day of the week enabled in the system clock, you can disable it from System Settings so you don't see it twice. Go to Control Center > Clock Options and choose Never for the Show date option, then disable the Show the day of the week feature. Now the system clock will only display the time.

While you're editing Itsycal's Appearance, I would also suggest you make the Calendar size bigger and use the Highlight feature for Saturday and Sunday, to differentiate the weekend.

From the General section, you can choose the First day of the week, and switch it to Monday if you'd like. Here, you can also connect to the Calendar app and choose which calendar events show in Itsycal.

You can also record a keyboard shortcut for Itsycal here, so that you can open the calendar without even touching your mouse.

In sync with the Calendar app

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The default Itsycal settings only show the current month, but I like to look ahead. You can grab the little Separator icon below the calendar and drag it down to reveal one more month.

Itsycal works quite well with the native Calendar app on Mac, so events created in the Calendar app will show up instantly in Itsycal. And you can click the Plus button in Itsycal to create a new event using the native Calendar app input (complete with video call links, and calendar selection). Clicking the Calendar button at the bottom will even open the macOS Calendar app.

I'll leave you with one last tip: If you press the Pin icon in the bottom bar, Itsycal will now float on top of the screen, and will stay there no matter what you do. I find this indispensable when planning a trip or trying to coordinate with someone on a meetup or an event. You can use it to refer to your calendar or upcoming appointments without pressing the menu bar icon each time.

Headspace and Calm are the juggernauts in the meditation apps sphere, and both have done an impressive job bringing mindfulness-based meditation to the masses. Their apps make it easier for anyone to pick up the skills they need to help them relax, and even deal with more pressing issues like anxiety and depression.

But at $100 per year, they certainly do cost a lot. And because they are so popular, their programs can be quite generic.

If you’ve tried Headspace or Calm before and found they didn’t work for you—or you simply found them too expensive for what they offer—there is a whole world of niche meditation apps for you to explore. Here are eight of my favorite alternatives, so you can test them out and see which one works best for you.

Smiling Mind

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If you’re looking for a free alternative to Headspace, start with Smiling Mind. It’s developed by an Australian not-for-profit organization, and the app is completely free (there’s not even a premium tier on offer).

The app offers structured programs for learning mindfulness meditation, sleep, relationships, stress, eating, and more. The “Intro to Mindfulness” course is a great place to start. You can also use one-off guided meditations that include breath and sounds meditation, body-scan meditation, sleep meditation, and more.

Smiling Mind is available for iOS and Android.

Pros:

• Completely free, run by a non-for profit organization.

• Great collection of basic, repeatable meditations that you can depend on.

Cons:

• Design can be slightly convoluted, and occasionally hard to use.

• The app's programs library isn't as extensive as some of the other apps on the list.

• New feature additions are quite rare.

Plum Village

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Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese monk who started a monastery in France called Plum Village. He is also the author of many popular mindfulness books, including No Mud, No Lotus. Plum Village has hosted many mindfulness programs, workshops, and talks.

The Plum Village is a completely free app that lets you explore this wealth of information from your smartphone. You get access to meditations (some by Thich Nhat Hanh himself), talks, text resources, and videos.

The Plum Village app is available for iOS and Android.

Pros:

• Mindfulness bell helps you bring yourself back to the present, across the day.

• A huge library of programs led by monks and nuns from The Plum Village.

• Meditations are easy to follow.

• Free!

Cons:

• The app is quite unreliable, and suffers from freezes and random shutdowns.

• Practices are limited to only the ones taught in the Plum Village tradition.

Medito

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Medito is another popular free option. It, too, is run by a not-for-profit organization and has a zero-ads policy. The app starts you off with a Medito course that can help you learn mindfulness, compassion meditation, and insight meditation. There are also options to learn gratitude practice.

The app also has a whole section dedicated to Sleep, featuring sleep meditations, sleep stories, and music. Medito also offers a simple silent meditation timer.

Medito excels in its simplicity: The app only offers programs, lists, and meditations. That is all: No need for an account or a complicated UI. The downside though, is that means you can't really bookmark anything or create your own lists of exercises you find helpful.

Medito is available for iOS and Android.

Pros:

• Completely free, no ads.

• Incredibly straightforward, and fast app.

• Covers beginner meditation, compassion practice, and sleep meditation.

Cons:

• No way to bookmark or save meditations.

• The catalog, while simple, is quite limited.

Insight Timer

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Insight Timer is a community-based mindfulness meditation app and website. In an app like Headspace, you essentially have access to one or two meditation teachers. On Insight Timer, there are thousands of meditation teachers to choose from. You can even enroll in communities that practice mindfulness and meditation together.

The free version of the app offers more than 100,000 meditations,with access to live events where you can practice mediation with people from around the world. The app organizes meditations in different categories, and you’ll find different meditations for dealing with anxiety, stress, sleep, and so on.

The best thing about Insight Timer is the fact that it doesn’t restrict you: You can explore and find teachers and courses that suit your current needs.

The "Timer" part of the name comes from the fact that the app has a neat meditation timer built-in. If you're moving on to non-guided meditation practice, the timer can help you with interval bells and custom timers. They have a really nice collection of bells, gongs, and chimes as well.

Insight Timer has a Member Plus program that gives you access to more than 1,000 exclusive courses and offline downloads for $60/year, but it’s not necessary to pay to get a lot out of the app. (Unfortunately, you'll see a lot of ads for it during regular use.)

Insight Timer is available for iOS and Android.

Pros:

• Plenty of free, community guided meditations.

• An intuitive and customizable non-guided meditation timer.

• Easy to use interface.

Cons:

• Too many promotions for the Member Plus program.

• The sheer number of programs, teachers, and meditations make it overwhelming, and time-consuming, to find something that will work for you.

Ten Percent Happier

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Ten Percent Happier is not a cheaper alternative to Headspace or Calm, exactly—the annual membership is $99—but it’s certainly better than both of those options when it comes to targeted meditation training. The app curates a selection of diverse teachers, that help you practice mindfulness. There are more than 500 guided meditations in the app.

What makes this one stand out is its 1:1 meditation teaching program. If you tried Headspace but weren’t able to meditate, perhaps learning directly from a meditation teacher can help.

Ten Percent Happier is available for iOS and Android.

Pros:

• A good place to start with stress management and improving sleep.

• Live group classes offer time for Q and A.

• Easy to use app, with media and helpful videos.

Cons:

• Membership cost is still high, falling between Headspace and Calm.

• Not that helpful for advanced practitioners.

Waking Up by Sam Harris

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Waking Up by Sam Harris is a different kind of meditation app. It’s actually more like a meditation course. It’s based on Sam’s book of the same name, in which he talks about awakening your spirituality even if you are not religious.

Waking Up takes the elements of Buddhism, Stoicism, and mindfulness meditation to create a 28-day long course. All you have to do is spend 10 or so minutes on the practice every day. The $99/year membership is not cheaper than Headspace, but if you’re trying to explore the mindfulness meditation space, you can try out the 28-day beginner’s course—you can use the program for one month for $14.99. The membership also includes multiple programs taught by many reputable teachers in the field of mindfulness and psychology.

Waking Up is also quite good with supporting people in need, so if you can't afford the app, write to them to see if you can get it at a discount, or even for free.

Waking Up is available for iOS and Android.

Pros:

• A great beginner-friendly program.

• Fully secular, and scientific approach to mindfulness meditation.

• A easy-to-use app, and variety of programs to deepen into the practice.

Cons:

• The only downside is the price.

Zenitizer

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After you've learned a few mindfulness techniques, the best way to practice, and grow, is to do so on your own, without any guided audio—but you still might want to set a timer, and perhaps add a nice bell to start and end the meditation, or add interval bells. It would be nice if there was a daily streak too, just to keep you motivated.

Zenitizer is an app from an indie developer that can help you with all that. The app is minimally designed, and there are no ads, even in the free version. In my experience, it works more reliably than Insight Timer.

You can set a custom timer, interval bells, a warm-up, a start sound, and an end bell sound. The free version comes with a couple of presets, but if you choose to pay for it, you can create your own presets, and you get access to interactive widgets. The Zenitizer Premium costs $19.99 per year, or $2.99 per month. You can buy a lifetime subscription for $79.99.

Zenitizer is available for iOS.

Pros:

• Minimal design, easy to use, and no bloat.

• Custom routines, support for Shortcuts automation.

Cons:

• Many of the customization features are behind a paywall.

• Lack of guidance can be alienating for beginners.

YouTube

Don’t want to pay for an app subscription to meditate? You don’t have to. YouTube is filled with wonderful resources to help you meditate. Just search for meditations for relaxing, anxiety, or stress. YouTube is also a great resource for learning breathing techniques, and for listening to mindfulness talks.

Reddit has some advice for finding good channels, and here are some of our favorites to help you get started:

• Samaneri Jayasāra - Wisdom of the Masters

• MindfulPeace

• Insight Meditation Center

• Plum Village

• Tara Brach

• Yoga with Adriene

Pros:

• Free and easily accessible.

• Variety, and better chances of finding something that will work just for you.

Cons:

• YouTube ads can dampen the mindfulness experience.

• Too many choices can be overwhelming.

Kanban boards help you find the flow in your work: Instead of a simple list of tasks, your large tasks can be broken into different stages (in columns), and as you move from one stage to another, you can drag the task over to the next section. Kanban boards are useful when you're collaborating with team members, or when you're dealing with tasks that take two or more steps before they're actually done. Until now, Kanban boards were only found in the nerdiest of productivity software (Trello being a famous example.)

But slowly, Kanban boards are making their way to many consumer products. They're a staple in the Todoist app, and even Google added Kanban view in Google Tasks. The most surprising place you'll find them, though, is the Reminders app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.

How Apple Reminders app does Kanban

Apple Reminders takes a simplified approach to Kanban, as you'd expect from an Apple product. Apple doesn't even call them Kanban boards, and there's no special place to go to create one. Instead, you create a reminder list with multiple sections, and you switch to the Column view. And suddenly, a Kanban board appears. Your tasks are now broken down in different columns, visually distinct from each other.

Apple's system works similarly to Todoist, where it's creating a custom view of an existing list. Instead of a list broken down in sections, you now see them as columns, making it visually easy to drag and drop tasks as you move forward on your process. This is better than what Google Tasks has recently implemented, where each column shows tasks from a particular list. To make Google Tasks work like a real Kanban board, you'd have to create different lists for each column, which is pretty tedious. Apple's process is far more seamless, and unlike Google Tasks, it's available on all platforms (running macOS Sonoma, iOS 17, iPadOS 17, or higher).

How to create a Kanban board in Apple Reminders

I'll walk you through the Mac app first—I feel like this is where the Kanban feature really shines (though it's just as useful on the iPhone). From the sidebar, click the Add new List button to create a new list. Give it a name, emoji icon, color, and stick with the Standard list option. Then click OK.

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Your list is now ready. From the top toolbar, click the Add a new Section button, and give the section a name.

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This will become the column heading. Repeat this until all your column headings are done.

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Then, from the menu bar, go to View > as Columns.

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Your list will instantly transform into a Kanban board. You are now free to add tasks like you usually do (complete with due dates, notes, images, attachments). And you can easily move tasks from one column to another using drag and drop.

On the iPhone, tap the Add List button to create a new list. In the new list, go to the top Menu button, and choose the Add Section button. Add new sections that you want. Then, tap the Menu button again and choose the View as Columns option to switch to the Kanban view.

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On the iPhone, you'll see one list at a time, but you can scroll horizontally to see all the columns. Here, too, you can drag and drop tasks between lists.

The File Explorer in Windows 11 has been having a rough time. The initial redesign from Windows 10 displaced familiar features and the right-click menu was truncated, as were the options in the ribbons menu.

A couple of updates later, things have improved somewhat, and Windows 11 finally added tab support in File Explorer. But if you’re annoyed by the lack of consistency in File Explorer, there’s a free, open-source, community-supported alternative that's a lot more customizable. It's simply called the Files app.

How to download the Files app for free

You can buy the Files app from the official Microsoft Store for $8, but it's also available completely free of cost from the developer's website, though it's a bit hidden: After opening the link, click the Classic installer button at the bottom of the page to start the free download.

But before you do that, I suggest you create a backup of your computer and all your important files just to be safe, given this is an app with permissions to directly edit all files on your computer.

The Files app wins with its design

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There's no shortage of File Explorer alternatives (XYPlorer being a popular choice), and this was the case even before Windows 11. But none of them feature as modern or polished a design as the Files app. It takes its cues from Microsoft's Fluent design system, and looks even better on Windows 11 than Microsoft's own File Explorer, which feels like a cheaply re-skinned version of the Windows 10 File Explorer.

This emphasis on design continues with its customization options, of which there are plenty. You can choose from a couple of default themes, or have fun choosing color and transparency effects that work for you. And the dark mode is divine.

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If you're looking for a form factor closer to macOS, you can switch to the Column view. Like Finder on Mac, this app also has a quick preview feature that allows you to peek into photos and PDFs by pressing the Space bar (doing this in the File Explorer requires a third-party app.)

My favorite part though, is the fact that you can make the icons and previews extra, extra large, so you can see what's in an image, or a PDF without even going through the quick look menu —something that's just not possible with the native File Explorer app.

The Files app is a great file manager

The intuitive UI in Files app also translates to the functionality. The tabbed browsing is fast and easy to navigate, and it has Dual Pane support (you can add a pane to a tab from the Menu button). This feature splits every single window into two. The second pane shows quick shortcuts, and allows you to browse to any folder. From there, simply drag and drop files, rearrange, or edit however you like.

The dual-pane layout makes transferring files a breeze, and you won't need to worry about window management either. The Details button is yet another nice touch. The sidebar can show a preview, and details of the selected file.

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As mentioned above, the Column view is another useful way to navigate deeper into a complex folder structure without losing context, as you can see the parent folder to the left.

Another macOS Finder feature that works well in the Files app is Tagging support. Tags can be created from the sidebar, and multiple tags can be assigned to an single file. When you open a tag from the sidebar, it will show all the files related to the tag. This is a great way to pool in files from different folders, without actually moving them.

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The Files app works with OneDrive and Google Drive by default, you can see all the files stored in your cloud storage account, and it can preview and unzip files. You can add support for other services like iCloud Drive and Dropbox.

Added functionality comes at a cost

From the Advanced settings, you can make the Files app your default file management app if you like. It can be used to open folders from Search, and even when downloading files. (Because of a Windows limitation, it can't be used when you're uploading files in the browser, but it can be the default file manager all everywhere else.)

But the question is, should you use Files as the default app? That will depend on your computer. The Files app is modern, and feature-rich, but it can also be a drag on your resources. It's slow to boot up the first time, and it can be really slow when you're batch-renaming files. But if you have a fast enough desktop PC, you won't feel the pinch.

Overall, its intuitive design, added navigation features, and the fact that it's available for free (competitive apps in the space usually cost $25), makes it well worth trying out—and a lot better than the Windows 11 standard.

The Windows 11 taskbar is one of the new operating system’s best features—elegant, minimalist, and visually distinct. Even still, it could use some improvement. For example, by default, you can’t move the taskbar to any position you want, or even change its size. But you don’t have to live with it as is—there are ways to play with your settings to set up the taskbar exactly the way you want it.

Disable Microsoft Copilot and other junk

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The Windows 11 taskbar comes with a lot of buttons you're (probably) never going to use. On the left edge, there's the Widgets button that loves to show news updates and ads. On the right, there's the new Microsoft Copilot button that you may or may not find useful. And in the middle, next to the Start icon, is a big old Search bar. Thankfully, Microsoft was forced to remove the Chat button in the Windows 11 2023 update, so there's some solace there. But you'll be surprised how much better the taskbar becomes when you remove all these unnecessary features. It becomes minimal, sleek, and far more sensible.

To hide the features you don't want, right-click any empty area of the taskbar, and go to Taskbar settings. In the Taskbar Items menu, make sure to disable the Widgets, Task View, and Copilot features. In the Search menu, choose the Hide option.

Pin any app to the taskbar

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Windows 11 doesn’t yet support the taskbar drag-and-drop feature from Windows 10, which let you simply drag an app icon to dock it within the taskbar. As a workaround, go to Start menu, right-click the app of your choice, and click the Pin to Taskbar button. You can pin any currently open app by right-clicking the app icon and choosing the Pin to taskbar option.

Align taskbar icons to the left

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Missing the Windows 10 taskbar layout? Microsoft lets you change the alignment of taskbar icons. Right-click the taskbar, go to Taskbar Settings, and from Taskbar Behaviors, choose the Left option in the Taskbar alignment feature.

Customize the taskbar behavior (auto-hide, badges, and more)

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Windows 11 has a separate section that lets you customize how the taskbar behaves. Right-click the taskbar, click the Taskbar Settings button, and select the Taskbar Behaviors section.

If you’re using a touchscreen laptop, or a small screen device, you might want to hide the taskbar for more screen space. If so, enable Automatically hide the taskbar. Now, the taskbar will only show up when you move your cursor to the bottom of the screen or when you swipe up from the taskbar area.

Similarly, you can disable the badges on taskbar icons using the Show badges on taskbar apps feature. If you don’t like when icons flash in the taskbar, disable the Show flashing on taskbar apps feature.

If you use multiple displays, use the Show my taskbar on all displays feature to enable or disable the taskbar across all your monitors.

Put the taskbar at the top of the screen

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Microsoft has docked the taskbar to the bottom of the screen and won’t let you move it willy-nilly. It is impossible to put it on the left or the right sides of the screen, but you can move it to the top of the screen using a registry hack.

Open Start > Registry Editor and enter the following location in the top bar:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\StuckRects3

In the StuckRects3 folder, double click the Settings file. This will open the Edit Binary Value window where you will see a table full of values. Go to the second row, and find the fifth value from the left. By default, this reads “03.”

Place the cursor to the right (end) of this value, press Backspace once, and change the value to “01.” Click the OK button and exit the Registry Editor app.

Next, open the Task Manager app and restart Windows Explorer.

Make the taskbar smaller or bigger

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Another big change in the Windows 11 taskbar is the fact that you can’t easily resize it, whether you want it to be larger or smaller. But again, although there is no settings menu where you can change this, you can do it using a registry hack.

Go to Start > Registry Editor and enter the following location:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Right-click in the empty space and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. A new entry will be added to the bottom of the Advanced folder. Rename it to TaskbarSi.

Double click the TaskbarSi file. In the Value Data field, enter “0" if you want a smaller taskbar and “2" if you want a larger one (“1" being the default option). Click the OK button.

Restart your PC, or restart Windows Explorer from the Task Manager. You should see your taskbar appear at its new size.

Bring back the Windows 10 taskbar

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If you've tried all the customizations and you're still not satisfied, we have one last recommendation for you: Ditch the whole enterprise and go back to the Windows 10 taskbar. Or, at least, bring back some of the Windows 10 elements.

You can use a free and open source app called ExplorerPatcher to bring back the entire taskbar, and the Start menu from Windows 10. All it takes is to install the app, and it will instantly revert you back to the good old days. The best part about the app is that you can go into the Settings and customize each and every part of the taskbar. For instance, you can go back to the apps view from Windows 10, while still keeping the system tray and flyout menus from Windows 11.

The customization really is the key here, as it will even let you revert back to menus from Windows 8 era. We have talked about ExplorerPatcher in much more detail in our dedicated guide, so make sure to follow the instructions there for a perfect taskbar setup.

Google's AI heavy Google I/O keynote has ended, but Gemini has a long way to go before it can turn Google's AI dreams into realities. While many of Google's AI features are months down the line, the AI Overviews feature is already live for all US users.

Google is only going to be adding more AI features to the Search page going forward. This includes the ability to ask longer, more complex questions, or even to organize the entire Search page in different sections using AI. If that sounds like too much for you, there's something you can do about it.

Turn off AI in Google Search

While releasing all its new AI features, Google has also introduced something that will help you go back—way back. There's now a new, easy to miss button at the top of the search results page simply called "Web." If you switch to it, Google will only show you text links from websites, just like the good old days (although these can include sponsored ads).

The irony of needing to press a button called Web to get results for a web search is not lost on me. Nevertheless, it will be a useful feature for anyone who prefers the old-school approach to Google Search, the one that only showed you the top results from the web, made up of trusted sites.

The Web filter is rolling out on desktop and mobile search globally starting today and tomorrow, and you should see it in your searches soon. If you don't find it in the toolbar, click the More menu, and it should be there.

Credit: Google Search Liaison (via X)

When you switch to the Web filter, your search results will also get rid of any kind of media or pull-out boxes. You won't see sections for images, videos, or Google News stories. Instead, you'll just see links (which themselves can point to YouTube videos, or news stories), according to Google Search Liaison's post on X.

Google has also confirmed to The Verge that the Web filter will stay like this, even as Google continues to add more AI features to the main page of Google Search.

There's no stopping AI

While the Web filter is a nice touch, it's not the default option, and you'll need to switch to it manually, all the time (like you do when you switch to the Images or Maps filter). This step has also made something else clear: Google is not offering a way to turn off AI search features in the default Search page. Perhaps we will eventually see Chrome extensions that can alter the Google Search page, but for now, the only escape Google Search's AI is to switch to the Web filter.