Subscription Creep

Stop Subscription Creep

How to stop subscription charges for good

Vendors love subscriptions because people forget to cancel them (so charges keep going). They can even make it hard to cancel. Part of the problem is that it can be a big hassle to regularly audit all your payment card statements to find the ones you no longer need or want. Another part of the problem is that it can be hard to jump through the necessary hoops to cancel. Fortunately, there is a simple, effective solution.

A related problem is that vendors can record and keep your card numbers for future transactions that you may not actually authorize. 

The "Nuclear" Option 

The simplest, most reliable solution is to force‑expire every payment card once a year. Ask your card issuers to replace your cards with new numbers but without Card Updater Service.*

When that happens, every subscription dies automatically and all saved card numbers are invalidated. You then just need to give your new card numbers to those subscriptions and vendors you want to keep.

No need for spreadsheets, audits, “subscription manager” apps.

* Card Updater Service means that your issuers will cheerfully switch your zombie subscriptions to your new card numbers, defeating the Nuclear Option.

ThinkPad Lock on Leave can work

ThinkPad Lock on Leave

Lock on Leave for the ThinkPad P14s Gen 4 is well hidden!

• Windows Presence Sensing is not supported.
• Instead, Lenovo provides its own Lock on Leave feature.
• Locking may not be reliable in some environments, like noisy cafes!
• Lenovo documentation is not correct! 
• Expanded How To in Lenovo Community.
• Likely applies to T14 Gen 4, P14s Gen 4, T16 Gen 2, P16s Gen 2.
• It may also apply to P14s Gen 5 and P16s Gen 3.

How to enable Lenovo Lock on Leave

1. In BIOS Settings → Security → Intelligent Security → enable User Presence Sensing.
2. In Commercial Vantage (from Microsoft Store) → Device Settings → Smart Assist → enable Zero touch lock.

Windows Settings 

1. Use Default settings in Windows Balanced Power Plan.
2. Set Screen Saver to (None) because it is redundant and possibly counterproductive.

What actually happens

• ~20 seconds of no presence → screen dims
• ~10 seconds later → screen blanks & locks
• No wake‑on‑return, but Windows Hello can activate and unlock on a keypress
• Invisible: no tray icon, no indicator, no tuning

How it works

• Uses speakers to emit ultrasonic pulses
• Uses microphones to read reflections
• Elliptic’s AI model decides “present” vs “absent”
• No dedicated hardware sensor, no FRU

Side effect
Some users can hear the ultrasonic chirps due to:

• speaker distortion
• harmonics
• individual high‑frequency sensitivity

If you hear it, you’re not imagining it.

Guest Network Isolation

Guest Network Isolation

Guest Network Segregation May Be Just Theater

• Guest Network matters.
• Never give your local network credentials (password) to guests. 
• Guest Network must be true isolation,
  not just a 2nd network name (SSID).
• Without isolation:
• The very real threat is credential sharing (which often happens casually).
• Guest network can give the world access to all your networked devices.
• That can facilitate identity theft, accidental or deliberate.
• ASUS gets this right:
• Guests cannot access your local networked devices.
• Guests cannot see each other.
• Guests cannot cross sub-networks.
• If your router does not enforce that, then it does not have a real guest network.

How To Safely Share a Wireless Printer

• Tell your guest to use AirPrint or Wi-Fi Direct.

How to Safely Share a Wireless TV

• Tell your guest to use AirPlay or Miracast. 

How To Test Guest Network Isolation

1. Power on all devices (computers, printers, phones, smart home) on your local network (wired and wireless).
2. Connect to your Guest Network with an Apple or Android smartphone.
3. Install and Run Fing from the appropriate app store (Apple, Google, Microsoft).
4. If you see more than 1 device (your phone) in the Devices tab, the Guest Network is not isolated.

 

Powered Toothbrush Bargain

Li-ion Rechargeable AA Batteries

Li-ion rechargeable AA battery is the secret!

There are many different powered toothbrushes on the market, ranging from inexpensive battery powered to expensive rechargeable models.

In truth, there is no meaningful difference in cleaning action between the best inexpensive battery powered models with fresh batteries and the expensive rechargeable models. The principal difference is the power source.

Inexpensive battery powered toothbrushes typically use disposable AA or AAA batteries, an ongoing cost and waste issue. Worse, as the disposable battery discharges, the voltage drops and the toothbrush slows down.

Oral-B 3D Battery Toothbrush

The solution is to use the latest Li-ion technology in standard AA format, ideally with USB-C recharging!

• Constant battery voltage = constant brushing power 
• High battery power capacity
• Long battery life (1,000 recharges)
• Quick, convenient battery recharging 
• Li-ion tech is superior to older NiMH (and NiCd) tech

Recommended Products

1. Oral-B 3D White Battery Toothbrush 
2. CARDIENS AA USB rechargeable batteries 
3. Toothpaste Worth the Money 

Moral: Why spend $100-$200 instead of only $10-$20?!

Toothpaste Worth the Money

Colgate Optic White

The Toothpaste Gimmick

Most "whitening" toothpastes on the market are a marketing illusion. They don't bleach away stains—they just clean with mild abrasives.

Colgate Optic White (Advanced & Pro Series) is what actually works:

• Real Whitening: Uses hydrogen peroxide to safely bleach away stains.
• 5% Pro: Powerful starter. One tube is all you need.
• 2% Advanced: Perfect for ongoing use.
• No Oral Health Compromise: Includes cleaning agents and cavity protection.
• Smart Tube Design: Engineered to keep out air for better product and less waste.

Moral: Pay for actual chemistry and tube design, not marketing fluff.

p.s. Don't fall for the Colgate Optic White Pro Series Powered Toothbrush—
it's not as good as the Oral-B 3D White Battery Toothbrush.

Amazon Pricing Alert

Amazon Pricing

Amazon pricing is increasingly a ripoff

Real example: Mann engine air filter for 2008 Volvo S60 2.5T:

• FCP Euro: $18.43
• Amazon:*  $24.95 (35% more)

 * Sold and shipped by Amazon, not a 3rd party. 

Amazon's Dynamic Pricing 

• Demand pricing: Boosts prices for return buyers or strong demand
• Location pricing: Charges more if you are in an affluent area.
• Prime premium: Folds shipping cost into prices. 
• Project Nessie: Secret testing of how much it could charge. 

Moral: Always price check!

 

USB-C Cable Conundrum

USB-IF logo

USB-IF Certification is Important

You need a new USB-C to USB-C cable, but you don't want just any old cable. You want:

1. Soft and flexible
2. Solid and reliable 
3. 60W fast charging

And you don't want it to crap out quickly. 

The problem is that so many reasonably priced USB-C cables not only fail to measure up to those criteria, but also that so few (even top brands) are certified USB-IF (USB Implementers Forum), important because it ensures that cables meet strict performance and safety standards.  If a cable doesn't have the official USB-IF logo on it, it's not certified.

The good news is that you can easily find certified USB-C cables on Amazon under Amazon Basics branding, e.g., Amazon Basics USB-C to USB-C 2.0 Fast Charging Cable, 60W, 480Mbps Speed, USB-IF Certified

• USB-IF Certifed 
• Various lengths 
• High quality 
• Low cost
• Black or white

Important Notes:

1. Watch out for counterfeits, especially no name cables. You can check here.
2. Watch out for "fast charging" cables that are only 15W.
3. 60W cables are powerful enough for most purposes and tend to be more flexible than 100W.
4. Faster cables (> USB 2.0) tend to be less flexible and may not be needed. 

Best Free AI in 2026

Best Free AI in 2026

Free Artificial Intelligence Tools

The free tiers of today’s AI tools vary wildly in reliability. Some are excellent for fast lookup and synthesis, others collapse under multi‑step reasoning or lose context. These are the ones that consistently deliver value without a subscription:

Copilot (Microsoft, free tier)

• Pro: Good on small reasoning tasks and rewriting text; Microsoft integration.
• Con: Chat responses are often generic or shallow; can hallucinate.

Duck.ai (free)

• Pro: Model choices; good for privacy-focused quick factual answers and short summaries.
• Con: Not suitable for long‑form reasoning or multi‑step tasks.

Perplexity (free tier) 

• Pro: Best-in-class for grounded answers with citations.
• Con: Free tier now requires login to chat.

Gemini (Google, free tier)

• Pro: Strong at multimodal tasks (images, screenshots, UI reasoning).
• Con: Repeats mistakes unless tightly constrained; often hallucinates.

Pick the best tool for the task:

• Accuracy: Perplexity
• Reasoning: Claude Haiku 4.5 (via Duck.ai)
• UI/multimodal: Gemini
• Autocomplete: Copilot
• Privacy‑first quick answers: GPT-4o mini (via Duck.ai)

Save & Sync Passwords

Safe Cross-device Password Sync

Safe Cross-device Password Sync

So you've smartly avoided closed-source proprietary password managers in favor of a good free open-source (FOSS) password manager, and you now need to safely sync your passwords between your devices. The best way to do that, given Internet access, is to store securely-encrypted password data in the cloud, which also provides essential backup. (You just need to memorize one unique secure password for that task. All other passwords are available in your password manager.)

My recommended approach:

Computer 

Setup Google Drive to Mirror (or Stream) between your computer and the cloud.
This approach is also supported by other cloud providers (e.g., OneDrive, Dropbox). 
Save your password file there locally and it will be automatically synced to the cloud.
Makes it easy to access with your computer password manager (e.g., KeePass). 

Android

Directly access your password file using Android Storage Access Framework (SAF), which
supports Google Drive and other cloud document providers (e.g., OneDrive, Dropbox).
making it securely accessible to standard Android apps (e.g., Keepass2Android).

Tips

1. With Google Drive set to Stream, be sure to set "Available offline" on your password file.
2. KP2A Tile is a handy app that launches Keepass2Android from a Notification Tile. 

<<>>

Keep Windows Apps Updated

UniGetUI

UniGetUI (formerly WingetUI)

Windows Update keeps your Windows updated, but not your Windows tools and apps, which are left to fend for themselves, making for a big chaotic hassle. There are command-line tools to facilitate updates, but they are too painful for ordinary humans. Fortunately there is a good GUI tool to manage and automate the command-line tools: UniGetUI. It's not perfect, but it can be quite helpful in keeping your system updated.

UniGetUI Highlights

• Install, update & remove: One-click install, update, and uninstall. 
• Update options: Automatically update packages, or be notified when updates become available.  
• Bulk operations: Bulk-install, update, or uninstall multiple packages at once.
• Discover & filter packages: Search and filter packages across all supported managers. 
• Export & backup: Export package lists to import on another machine. Backup your setup to recover in seconds when migrating.

Important Tips 

1. Rely mostly on Winget (official Microsoft source) as a package source.
   Other sources should be used only in special circumstances.
2. Be careful to select only the best package for a given app. Quality can and does vary. 
3. Do not install updates automatically. Check carefully before updating.
4. Do not use it to update apps that can update themselves (e.g., Web browsers).
5. UniGetUI works best for newer 64-bit apps, is not safe for many older Win32 apps.
6. Uninstalls can leave debris or broken apps. Just use UniGetUI for updates. 

Fixing Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds

Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds

Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds

Almost perfect:

• Outstanding sound quality
• Exceptional noise canceling 
• Clear calling
• beamforming microphone
• bone-conduction sensor
• IPX42 Water resistance 
• Up to 8 hours battery life with noise canceling

What makes it "almost" is that last bullet, because the WF-1000XM4 quickly became notorious for battery problems, with dismal battery life and unequal earbud charging. 

ZeniPower Z55H CCC battery

The good news is that the battery problem can be fixed by replacing the batteries with genuine ZeniPower Z55H batteries. (Be sure to get the ones marked CCC,* not a generic alternative.) Then:

• DIY: Sony WF-1000XM4 Wireless Earbuds Battery Replacement - iFixit Repair Guide
  -or-
• Have a good electronics repair place install them.  

When complete, you'll have outstanding battery life to go along with the outstanding performance!

Note: There are now Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds without the battery problem, but the user interface and form factor are not as good as the XM4 and the other changes are too minor to matter. Stick with the XM4.

 * CCC‑marked ZeniPower Z55H cells use a revised formulation with slightly lower nominal capacity (270 mWh vs 290 mWh) but with more reliable life and stability. 

Bluetooth Mouse by Lenovo

Lenovo WL300 Bluetooth Mouse

Lenovo Bluetooth Silent Mouse WL300

It's surprisingly hard to find a good (responsive, comfortable) Bluetooth mouse at a decent price point, but the Lenovo Bluetooth Silent Mouse WL300 fills the bill:

• Convenient Bluetooth connection with SwiftPair
• 5-button mouse with silent left and right clicks​
• Sculpted grip for all day comfort
• Sleek and compact 
• 3-level DPI adjustment: 800, 1200, and 1600 DPI 
• Works on many surfaces​
• Long-lasting durability and consistent performance 
• Available in both grey and white color
• Powered with a single AA battery 

Tips

1. Use a Lithium USB-C Rechargeable AA battery
2. Adjust button behavior with X-Mouse Button Control
3. Currently less than $20 on Amazon

Shared Web Hosting

KnownHost

KnownHost Gets Top Marks in Shared Web hosting!

I got so fed up with my Web hosting provider (who will go nameless) that I decided to switch the hosting of my websites, and I'm glad I did!

After a careful, thorough search I settled on KnownHost, in part because it's fiercely independent, not part of a big conglomerate, and my experience has been stellar:

• Migration was free, fast and efficient, even my tricky legacy apps.
• Support has been outstanding, fast and responsive. 
• Performance has been spectacular. My websites have never been so fast!
• Ownership means they prioritize customers, not shareholders.  

Bottom Line: Premium hosting at a reasonable price point, ideal for those who value quality over the lowest cost. Highly recommended.

Lithium USB-C Rechargeable AA Batteries

Lithium USB AA Batteries

At last, AA batteries that maintain constant 1.5 volts!

A big problem with alkaline AA batteries is that cell voltage decreases with discharge, so motors run slower and lights get less bright. Standard rechargeable NiCd and NiMH AA batteries suffer from lower cell voltage to begin with. But the latest lithium technology solves both problems:

• Constant voltage: The best ones maintain a constant 1.5 volts until near depletion, when they step down to 1.1 volts to signal that it's time to recharge. Motors and lights thus deliver peak performance.
• Convenience: The latest version recharges rapidly though a USB-C socket, which makes recharging super convenient.
• Options: In addition to AA, lithium rechargeable batteries are also available in AAA, D and 9V form factors with the same great benefits. 

But beware marketing hype. Many of the less reputable batteries on the market make exaggerated, misleading claims. CARDIENS earns my Best Product rating by not making such claims.

Best Consumer VPN 2025-2026

Private Internet Access VPN

Why you need a Virtual Private Network (VPN)

• Encrypts your internet traffic, making it harder for others to read.
• Hides your IP address and approximate location.
• Helps protect your privacy from ISPs, advertisers, and other trackers.
• Adds extra safety on public Wi‑Fi, where networks are easier to snoop.
• Can help you access content or services that are region-locked while traveling.
• Can help bypass censorship in places where websites or apps are blocked.

Why Private Internet Access (PIA) is my current favorite consumer VPN

• Strong privacy: Independently audited no-logs policy and open-source apps.
• Security features: Kill switch, strong encryption, split tunneling, and ad/tracker blocking. 
• Large server network: 90+ countries.
• Unlimited device connections: One subscription can cover all your devices.
• Streaming and torrenting: Streaming-optimized servers and port-forwarding. 
• Extra privacy tools: RAM-only servers and multi-hop options. 
• Solid value: Affordable. 

Caveat 

• Ownership: Kape Technologies conglomerate which is now private.

Best Car Charger 2025-2026

AINOPE Car Charger

AINOPE 67.5W Car Charger USB-C & USB-A

Finally a powerful car charger that fits nearly within the lighter socket!

• USB-C and USB-A ports 
• 67.5W simultaneous fast charging:
• PD3.1 PPS 45W USB-C 
• QC3.0 22.5W USB-A 
• USB-IF and Qualcomm certified
• Advanced heat control 
• All-metal body 

Electric Shaver Lubricant

Squalane Oil

Squalane Oil

To maintain your electric shaver in top condition it's important to regularly clean and lubricate it. The most common recommended lubricants are made from refined mineral oil, but they have two drawbacks:

• Mineral oil can cause skin irritation.
• They can be hard to clean up.

The secret lubrication alternative is squalane, a natural plant-derived oil that's good for your skin in addition to being good for your shaver, with high heat stability and viscosity. Plus it's inexpensive, available for only about $10 (e.g., at Target).

Android Alarm Routine Fix

Android Alarm Routine

Calendar Events and Task Announcements

As a result of Google messing with Android Tasks and Calendar Events, the presets for announcing them in an Alarm Routine may no longer work.

The work-around is to remove the presets and replace them with Try adding your own custom actions:

• Tell me about today's calendar
• Tell me about today's tasks

Note: The two Adjust Media Volume settings in my example are to first set the volume to 50 for a quiet room, and lastly to set the volume to 85 for normal daytime operation.

 

Motor Oil in a Box

Havoline Motor Oil

Havoline 5w30 PRO-DS Lifelong Full Synthetic Smart Change Motor Oil, 6 Quarts

What makes this so special: 

• Full synthetic (for maximum protection and life) 
• Protects up to 10,000 miles or one year  
• Latest technology: 
• API SQ
• ILSAC GF-7
• Suitable for turbos and hybrids 
• Boxed, not canned:
• 70% less plastic
• Fast, glug-free pour  
• 6 quarts 

AI Threats to Privacy and Security

Duck.ai by DuckDuckGo

Perplexity AI Now Requires Login

Should that concern you? Yes! Because your login facilitates harvesting and selling your personal information. It's called monetization, a sign of growing pressure on AI companies to stanch the flood of red ink.

Fortunately, there are a number of good AI alternatives that are less concerning from a privacy and security standpoint. Arguably the best of them is Duck.ai by DuckDuckGo. Private AI Chat. Free. Not only is it privacy-focused, like DuckDuckGo itself, but it also provides useful AI model choices. See Best Free AI Models You Can Run in a Browser Without Login.

If you want to use Perplexity as a guest to avoid the login, either:

1. delete site cookies (to reset the guest allowance), or
2. use it in a private/incognito browser window.

Google Pixel 9 Pro

Google Pixel 9 Pro

Beauty that's only skin deep 

The Google Pixel 9 Pro is a study in contradictions. On the outside, it is one of the most refined, premium-feeling Android phones ever. On the inside, it is powered by a chip that would be more at home in a $500 mid-ranger than a $999 flagship, that's further handicapped by an out-of-date memory interface.

The heart of the Pixel 9 Pro is the Tensor G4. On paper, it is an 8-core processor built on Samsung’s 4nm node. In reality, it is a chip that barely outpaces its predecessor and gets crushed by the competition in raw power. It only has roughly half the multi-core power of a modern Snapdragon or Apple A-series chip.

Worse, to extend battery life, Google has resorted to aggressive power management, especially of background tasks. The result is a phone that lacks the responsiveness and smoothness of a high-end phone. It's particularly noticeable on speech-to-text, where phone struggles make it painful to the point of being unusable.

It also falls down on AI tasks. Google is pushing its Gemini AI to manage the phone, but it lacks the quick and predictable response of the old algorithmic Assistant (which is fortunately still available).

Is there a better phone? Not if you value the compact size. The better phones are bigger. 

Bottom Line: It's a decent phone if you get it on sale, tune it carefully, and don't push it too hard. 

Note: There is now a Pixel 10 Pro, but it's not much better than the Pixel 9 Pro. 

Best Wall Charger 2025-2026

Anker Prime Charger

Anker Prime 67W GaN Wall Charger (3 Ports)

What makes this wall charger so special:

• Fast Charging for 3 Devices
  With 2 USB-C ports and 1 USB-A port, effortlessly charge your phone, tablet, and notebook all at once from a single charger. Connect a single device to charge up to 67W.
• 65W Max Two-Port Charging
  Whether you use both USB-C ports or a combination of USB-C and USB-A ports, enjoy fast and efficient charging with a maximum output of 65W.
• Ultra-Compact Design
  Experience exceptional power in a remarkably compact charger that is 51% smaller than the original 67W MacBook charger—ideal to bring anywhere you go.

Most current laptops will comfortably charge at 60 watts, but if you need more power:

• Anker Prime Charger (100W, 3 Ports, GaN)
• Anker Prime Charger (160W, 3 Ports, Smart Display)

 

Best Power Laptop 2025-2026

ThinkPad P14s Gen 4 AMD

ThinkPad P14s Gen 4 AMD

What makes this machine so special:

• Powerful, but relatively thin and light
• AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 7840U processor
• 8 Zen 4 cores, 16 threads beast
• Light on battery
• Stunning 14" 2.8K (2880 x 1800) OLED display panel
• HDR 500 TB color
• 100% DCI-P3 coverage
• 400 nits bright
• Anti-Glare/Anti-Reflection 
• Powerful integrated AMD Radeon 780M graphics
• Generous ports including Ethernet (RJ45)
• Wi-Fi 6E 
• Bluetooth 
• Fingerprint reader 

Yes, there is now a Gen 5 AMD, but the Gen 4 AMD is still the one to get.