Barbara Krasnoff
The Verge
United States
Contact Barbara
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Past articles by Barbara:
How to send books to your Kindle — even if they’re not from Amazon
Getting a non-Amazon book onto a Kindle used to involve attaching it to an email and sending it to your individual Kindle email address. However, Amazon’s Send to Kindle service is now a simple process. → Read More
Are you finally thinking of exiting Evernote?
After a variety of fee increases, the 15-year-old note-taking app’s new owner, Bending Spoons, has announced that it’s laid off most of what remained of the US staff and is moving the operation to Europe. Nothing against Europe, of course, but when a longstanding app loses most of its longstanding staff, I, for one, start to get nervous. If you’re also considering a move, here’s how to export… → Read More
When you buy a new phone, don’t just toss away the old one.
It’s good to be environmentally aware, but sometimes it’s just so difficult — especially when you’re getting rid of older tech, clothing, books, or other items. So we’ve put together some ideas of how you can sell or trade in or just give away all the stuff you don’t need anymore, giving them a second life and not just adding them to another pile of trash. → Read More
If you’re buying new Apple devices, do you really want to keep your old ones?
Apple recently announced a lot of nifty new hardware, and if you’re preparing to update your equipment, you may want to make room by trading-in your old Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Watch. We have a guide for how to wipe your device, and where you can trade it in for credit or cash. → Read More
How to trade in your MacBook, macOS desktop, iPhone, or iPad
If you want to trade in your Apple device, be it an iPhone, iPad, or Mac computer, we’ve run through the steps required to get the best return back on your investment. → Read More
How to tell everyone on Gmail if you’re in — or not
The chat availability notification tells anyone who you’ve used Chat with that you’re at your computer (or phone) and available. You can change it to say whether you’re here or not. → Read More
Remember that app that you hooked up to your Google account five years ago?
You don’t? Then maybe you should check to see if it still has access to your Gmail or other Google data — along with any other apps and services you may have forgotten about. Here’s how to check to see which apps, services, and extensions have permission to access your Google account, and how to disconnect them. → Read More
Google Docs can take you back in time.
No, really. If you’ve made some nasty mistakes in your essay or just want to see what has changed since you started your new novel, you can use Google’s version history feature to see all the tweaks that were made over the lifetime of your document — and retrieve an older version if you need to. We explain how. → Read More
How to check your version history on Google Docs
While Google Docs automatically saves your documents every few minutes, it also keeps a record — a version history — of what has been done in the document since it was created. → Read More
Easily replaceable phone batteries might be back, and I’m here for it
In a few short years, any phone sold in Europe will have to be designed so that its battery can be easily replaced by the person who owns it. Will that affect the world market? → Read More
What the heck is meant by refresh rate anyway?
One of the specs that are always mentioned in reviews of phones is the display’s refresh rate. For those who have been secretly pretending to know what it means, here’s a quick rundown of how refresh rates affect your phone, and how to tweak them if you need to. → Read More
Transcriptions are better with speaker labels, but if you’re using Google’s Recorder, sometimes they don’t appear.
Google’s handy Recorder app will not only record and transcribe conversations, but (if you’ve got a Pixel 6 or later) add speaker labels. If this handy feature is supposed to work on your phone, and doesn’t, we’ve got a fix. → Read More
Quick fixes: have Google Recorder add speaker labels on your Pixel phone
I thought it was time to try Recorder out and see how it compared to Otter. However, during a couple of test recordings, the app did not show any speaker labels — and when I went to the app settings, I could not find any options to turn it on. It was enormously frustrating. → Read More
Even if you haven’t reached the lofty heights of iOS developer, you can still try a developer beta.
Apple has now made it possible for anyone to play with the developer beta of iOS 17. We tell you how to register for and install the latest version of the mobile OS beta. But at this point, it’s probably a good idea not to install it on your main phone — just in case. → Read More
How to install the iOS 17 developer beta
Be the first on your block to see what’s new in iOS 17. → Read More
If your iPhone’s battery is running out too quickly, it could be your apps.
If you’re wondering why your iPhone is running out of power before the end of the day, the answer may not be that your battery is ailing. We’ve got a bunch of suggestions to help you find out whether one or more of your apps is responsible, and how to handle the problem. → Read More
Windows 11 lets you tweak your right-click menu — as long as you’re comfortable with changing regedit.
It’s not really that difficult to personalize your right-click Windows menus. We offer some examples of what you can do, including getting rid of that “Show more options” selection and adding shortcuts for your favorite apps. Just remember to back up your Registry Editor first. → Read More
Google’s 2FA app now syncs with your account — but what if you don’t want it to?
Authenticator, which enables you to protect your apps with 2FA, now syncs with your Google account so that it’s a lot easier to switch phones. But what if you don’t want it to? And what if you change your mind later? Here’s how to enable or disable the new sync feature, and how to move your Authenticator codes to a new phone if you chose not to sync. → Read More
Is your phone’s battery bad, or is it being drained by your apps?
It’s really frustrating when your phone or laptop hits that 15 percent mark halfway through the day. But don’t always blame the battery — the responsibility may lie with the apps you’re using. Here’s how to check to see which apps are pulling the most power, and how you can (maybe) fix things. → Read More
How to turn your phone screen to grayscale
Grayscale is easy on the eyes and helps discourage you from spending the night watching videos. Here’s how to switch the displays on your iPhone, Samsung Galaxy phone, and Android Pixel to grayscale. → Read More