Latest news with #Editors'Choice
Yahoo
09-08-2025
- Yahoo
Apple Maps
After years of playing catch-up, Apple Maps is close to parity with Google thanks to improved city-based Guides, cycling navigation, and satellite imagery features. In fact, Apple Maps comes out on top in one essential area: user privacy. It's still missing a few capabilities and doesn't go as deep in some areas as Google Maps, which remains our Editors' Choice winner for navigation apps, but it's clear that Apple is on the right route with its focus on protecting your data. Availability: Primarily for Apple Devices Apple Maps is free and comes preinstalled on every Apple Watch, iPad, iPhone, and Mac. It's an Apple-exclusive app, so Android users can't download it on their phones and tablets. Conversely, Google Maps is available on Apple's platforms. Unlike Google Maps and the driver-focused Waze, Apple Maps previously lacked a browser-based version. Apple now offers a beta version of web maps for the Chrome, Edge, and Safari browsers on iPad, Mac, and PC. This is a significant upgrade that helps close the Google gap, but Apple's web maps are still missing key public transit and street view features. Apple has also released the MapKit JS code that lets web developers add Apple Maps services to websites. For example, the privacy-focused DuckDuckGo search engine now uses it for map-related searches and route planning. Interface and Ease of Use: Clear Design and Business Listings Apple Maps has a basic skeleton map that's similar to Google Maps, with clearly labeled interstates, local businesses, and street names. The interface also features a button to reorient to your current location, an icon that opens the app's Settings section, a search bar, and a widget that showcases your search area's air quality and temperature. In the Settings section, you can toggle between map, public transit, and satellite views, as well as toggle real-time traffic indicators. Like Google Maps, Apple Maps has voiced turn-by-turn directions. Apple Maps syncs with your region's day and night cycle, presenting a Light mode during the daytime and a Dark mode at night. Google Maps has this option, too. However, we couldn't find a way to toggle this behavior within Apple Maps. It's based on your device's system settings, so it can be a bit annoying if you prefer one mode over the other. Apple Maps does a slightly better job of highlighting major businesses and stores in your area than Google Maps. Say you have Best Buy, Home Depot, Walmart, and Wegmans all nearby; Google only shows the first three unless you zoom into the map. I'd hazard that the app is prioritizing sponsored businesses, as they come complete with unique logos and nameplates. In our tests, Apple Maps displayed all the local, major businesses at a glance. It also showcased highly rated hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants. Location Details: Searches, Guides, and Look Around When you search for a specific address or business in Apple Maps, the app takes you to the location, gives you the distance from your current location, pulls reviews from Yelp, and offers directions. Location cards highlight business hours, phone numbers, relevant Yelp photos, and other helpful information (such as whether it accepts credit cards or provides free Wi-Fi). For certain cities, Apple Maps displays Guides, a curated list that highlights a city's recommended destinations. For example, Guides showed us Los Angeles' best flea markets and local beaches after we searched within the city. These guides are spotty, though, as they're from third-party sources. Unfortunately, not every city has accompanying Guides; Cincinnati and Detroit lack adjoining Guides as of this writing. Apple Maps can give directions regardless of whether you are traveling by bicycle, car, foot, public transportation, or ride-sharing services. The app shows multiple route options, and color-codes traffic by severity. Although Apple Maps defaults to finding directions based on your current location, creating a different starting point is easy. You just tap the current starting location to bring up a search bar. It's a far more intuitive search solution than what Waze offers. That app makes you jump through hoops to select a different starting point. Apple Maps might also soon gain more natural language search options. Although Apple has a fleet of camera-equipped cars to scan the world, Google still has more robust maps. Using Google Maps, I viewed the internal layout of a local Best Buy. In a more useful illustration, Google Maps let me switch between multiple floors within the Washington State Convention Center. Likewise, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has internal maps with multiple floors highlighting bathrooms, escalators, and phones. This type of internal mapping is an area where Apple Maps falls short. Apple lets you see indoor maps of select areas like airports and shopping malls, but Google simply offers more. The app put up a good fight in smaller towns. A search for Gorham, New Hampshire, gave me a clear, concise look at the town's local businesses. Google Maps knows where the businesses are when you search for them, but their listings aren't quite as clear. You might have to zoom in a bit to see everything. Apple's cool Look Around feature recalls Google's Street View. I enjoy its implementation, as it gives you 360-degree location views and a side-by-side map for additional context. On the other hand, Google's Street View is a full-screen affair that's somewhat cumbersome. That said, Google is working with more data. Google Maps Street View has an internal location view option. It also covered more of the town in our Gorham search, whereas Apple's Look Around feature offered nothing. International travelers will find even less information: Look Around is available only in 35 countries, with limited coverage in each nation. Google Maps tops it by offering Street View in more than 80 countries. Navigation Tools: Fly All Over the World Apple Maps fully integrates with Siri, which lets you ask Apple's voice assistant for directions. The commands work well, though we found that asking for directions to a location wouldn't immediately present us with a route. Instead, it gave us a series of route buttons, including one based on our current location and other recent searches. I wish it would just automatically create a route like Google Maps. The app's satellite view is a little odd, adding a more intense angle to its terrain photographs. This makes sense, however, when you see Apple's absolutely stunning 3D Flyover view. Apple Maps combines satellite imagery with 3D models to create a truly impressive view of major cities. These flyover maps resemble tiny dioramas, and I could spend days looking at them. Apple Maps lets you set home and work locations for frequent commutes. You can also save locations as favorites, making it easy to find directions at the press of a button. Apple's app caches routes when you look them up. You can also save maps for offline use (perfect for hiking routes) as you can with Google Maps. That's one of the many reasons to give Apple Maps a try. It's worth noting that Apple's maps are vector-based, which keeps their data size lower. Does Apple Maps Protect Your Privacy? Apple's commitment to privacy extends to its mapping app. Apple Maps keeps most of its data, such as directions and recent searches, on your device. It also ties data to random identifiers that reset over time, leaving no history of your travels—an excellent touch. Google falls short in this regard. Google Maps does let you delete the data it collects, but it hides those options.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Save Up To 76% on the Editors' Choice-Winning Nord VPN and Get Free Amazon Gift Cards
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing. NordVPN doesn't need any help selling its service. The company has become ubiquitous in the virtual private network space by offering constantly-improving connectivity and features, and in our review it earned an Editors' Choice award, with our analysts noting that, despite facing stiffer competition than ever before, Nord still holds the lead with a diversified product that not only gives you fast, seamless private browsing from anywhere in the world, but also a password manager, antivirus software, and an encrypted file locker. Even at retail price, it's a bargain. But who wants to pay retail price? NordVPN is making it even easier for you to make the switch with a combination of massive discounts and free Amazon gift cards. Starting today, with selected two-year pre-paid subscriptions, you'll get instant Amazon cash to spend, depending on the plan you select. Sign up for a NordVPN Plus plan ($4.39 / mo) and get a $20 Amazon gift card Sign up for a NordVPN Complete plan ($5.39 / mo) and get a $40 Amazon gift card Sign up for a NordVPN Prime plan ($7.39 / mo) and get a $50 Amazon gift card Need to know more about the differences between these plans? Here's the quick and dirty rundown. Every plan, including NordVPN Basic ($3.39 / month, but no Amazon gift card offer) gives you unrestricted access to Nord's full VPN service, along with 1GB of eSIM data. NordVPN Plus adds a password manager along with Threat Protection Pro anti-malware, including an ad and tracker blocker and advanced browsing protection, and ups the eSim data to 5GB. NordVPN Complete expands on that with 10GB eSim Data, along with 1TB of securely encrypted cloud storage for you to keep your files in. Finally, NordVPN Prime gives you everything in the above as well as the terrific NordProtect service, featuring identity, social security and credit monitoring and alerts, including up to $1 million in identity theft insurance. Given the vulnerability of data right now, that's a pretty safe bet to take. Whichever plan you pick, you'll get an industry-leading virtual private network with up to six simultaneous devices, multi-hop connections, split tunnelling, and servers in 111 countries. We unequivocally recommend NordVPN as one of the best VPNs on the market, and at this price it's unbeatable. Sign up before the gift cards are all gone. Surfshark VPN for $2.19 Per Month + 3 Months Free (87% Off 2 Years Starter Plan) Norton VPN Standard for $3.33 Per Month for 5 Devices (50% Off 1 Year Plan) NordVPN for $4.39 Per Month + 5GB eSIM Data (70% Off 2 Years Plus Plan) ExpressVPN for $4.99 Per Month + 4 Months Free (61% Off 2 Years Plan) Want to save even more on top tech? Head over to our deals page for the scoops.
Time Magazine
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
Augustine Sedgewick
Sedgewick is the author of Coffeeland, winner of the 2022 Cherasco International Prize and a New York Times Editors' Choice selection. His latest book is Fatherhood: A History of Love and Power
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Best Web Hosting Services for 2025
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing. Grappling with the complexities of building a website is stressful enough without the added confusion that comes from choosing a web hosting service. We've tested web hosting services for more than 10 years, and can steer you in the right direction. For example, HostGator, an Editors' Choice winner, has excellent shared hosting plans that make it ideal for small projects. Larger businesses should consider Liquid Web, another Editors' Choice winner, for its robust VPS plans and managed hosting. We've selected 11 services for this list, all of which are excellent. Read on for our picks, followed by the key factors to consider when choosing the best web hosting service. Web hosting services offer varying amounts of monthly data transfers, storage, email, and other features. Even how you pay (month-to-month vs. annual vs. prorated payments) can be radically different, too. So, taking time to plot exactly what your company needs for online success is essential. Many of these companies also offer reseller hosting services that let you go into business by offering hosting without spinning up your own servers. You should also familiarize yourself with the many available web hosting tiers. In your research, you'll find shared, virtual private server (VPS), dedicated hosting, and WordPress hosting plans. Each tier offers different specs and features that you should take the time to analyze. We break them down below. Shared hosting is web hosting in which the provider houses multiple sites on a single server. For example, Site A shares the same server with Site B, Site C, Site D, and Site E. The upside is that the multiple sites share the server cost, so shared web hosting is generally very inexpensive. It's cheap web hosting. In fact, you can find an option for less than $10 per month. Free web hosting is an option if you're willing to make some functionality sacrifices. You could think of the sites that share your server as your roommates; there's really not that much separating you from them. Sure, you can close the bedroom door, but they can still cause nightmares for you in the kitchen and the bathroom. In web hosting terms, all the sites share a single server's resources, so huge traffic spikes on Site A may impact the neighboring sites' performances. It's even possible that another site could take down the shared server altogether if it crashed hard enough. VPS hosting is similar to shared hosting in that multiple sites share the same server, but the similarities end there. In housing terms, VPS hosting is like renting your own apartment in a larger building. You're much more isolated than in the roommate situation mentioned above; it's still possible that a neighboring apartment could annoy you, but far less likely. In web hosting terms, Site A's traffic surge won't impact Site B or Site C nearly as much. As you'd expect, VPS hosting costs more than shared hosting. Expect to pay roughly $20 to $60 per month, depending on the service. Dedicated hosting, on the other hand, is both powerful and pricey. It's reserved for sites that require an incredible amount of server resources. Unlike shared or VPS hosting, dedicated hosting makes your website the lone tenant on a server. To extend the housing metaphor, having a dedicated server is like owning your own home. This means that your website taps the server's full power and pays for the privilege. If you're looking for a high-powered site—an online mansion for your business—dedicated hosting is the way to go. That said, many dedicated web hosting services task you with handling backend technical issues, much as homeowners have to manage maintenance that renters generally leave to their landlords. Dedicated hosting will set you back close to $100 per month, and that number skyrockets if you opt for high-speed servers and huge RAM and storage totals. Many web hosting services also offer managed hosting. In this type of hosting, the web host acts as your IT department, handling a server's maintenance and upkeep. This hosting option is typically found with dedicated servers, so it's a business-centric addition. Naturally, it adds a few bucks to the hosting cost, but nothing that should break the bank if you have the resources for a dedicated server. WordPress hosting is for people who want to build their sites on the back of the popular WordPress content management system (CMS) from This free, open-source blogging and site-building platform has multiple ways to set up shop. You gain the most web-building functionality if you create a self-hosted site. This typically involves transferring the free WordPress CMS to the server or signing up for a web host's optimized WordPress plan. With an optimized plan, the host automatically handles backend stuff, so you don't have to worry about updating the plug-ins and CMS, and enabling automatic backups. In these instances, the WordPress environment typically comes preinstalled on the server. In most cases, this shouldn't cost much more money than a web host's shared or VPS hosting plans. You can also host your website on but that's different from the kind of hosting mentioned above. uses the same code from but hides the server code and handles the hosting for you. In that sense, it resembles website builders. It's a simpler but less flexible and customizable way to approach WordPress hosting. Cloud hosting services use a network of virtual and physical servers to store and maintain your website. This means that your site is hosted across a multitude of servers, potentially located worldwide. As a result, cloud hosting is generally much more flexible than traditional hosting, which is limited to physical servers rented via data centers. Cloud hosting has numerous benefits, including impressive scalability with storage and RAM resources. Speed and performance are excellent as well because cloud hosting distributes workloads across several servers. Cloud hosting services are extremely reliable, and they can provide fantastic data backup and recovery for the same reason. Cloud hosting is all over the map in terms of pricing, with some companies offering prorated payment options. If you're a web hosting novice, there are several key factors to consider when committing to a web hosting service. Many web hosts offer limited features in their starter packages and then expand the offerings (sometimes tremendously) for higher-tier plans. However, a few services, such as Bluehost and HostGator, are the best web hosting services for beginners due to their prices, feature sets, and ease of use. Read the small print to ensure the plan you select offers what you need. If you don't want to code the site yourself, make sure that the web host you pick comes with a website builder. Many require you to pay for the builder as a separate add-on. Website builders usually don't cost a lot of money, but if you can find a web host that includes one for free, that's money in your pocket. And if it's integrated with your hosting service, you're more likely to have a smooth, supported experience. Remember, you want a web host with 24/7 customer support—if not by phone, then at least by chat. Forums, knowledge bases, and help tickets are useful, but sometimes, you just need to communicate with another human to get things ironed out as quickly as possible. That said, not all 24/7 customer support teams are equal, which we confirmed in our in-depth web hosting reviews. Ease of use and strong uptime are important, too. If you're unsure of the hosting type your business needs, you might want to start with low-cost shared or WordPress hosting. You can always graduate to a more robust, feature-rich package like VPS hosting or dedicated hosting in the future. Unfortunately, some hosts don't offer all hosting types. Consider how much you expect your website to grow and how soon before you commit to anything longer than a one-year plan. It's worth spending the time up-front to ensure that the host you select can provide the growth you envision for your site, as switching web hosting providers midstream is not a trivial undertaking. Once you decide your price range, you need to consider how long you'll need web hosting. If it's a short-term project—say, less than a month or two—you can typically receive a refund if you cancel your hosting within 60 days. Some companies offer 30-day money-back guarantees, and others offer 90-day guarantees. Once again, it's beneficial to do your homework. You've come to the wrong place if you're looking for free web hosting. Our list here includes the best web hosting services overall, and they're not free. Check out for our top picks in the category. When it comes to server operating systems, Linux is typically the default option. Still, some hosts offer a choice of Linux or Windows. Don't let the idea of a Linux host intimidate you. Nowadays, most web hosts offer a graphical interface or a control panel to simplify server administration and website management; you click easily identifiable icons instead of tinkering with the command line. If you have specific server-side applications requiring Windows, such as SQL Server or a custom application written in .NET, you must make sure that your potential web host offers Windows hosting. Windows hosting is often more expensive than Linux hosting, especially in the dedicated server area (you'll typically see the price difference as you explore the options before checkout). While that's not always the case, you should be aware of it as you shop around. There are many reasons to use managed hosting services, but convenience is at the top of the list. Managed hosting providers handle server monitoring, security, and website backups, giving your site vital firewalls, intrusion detection, and file-scanning functionality to keep it safe and up to date without your input. Managed hosting usually comes with extensive technical support, so you can contact your provider whenever you encounter a website problem. On the other hand, unmanaged web hosting is a great option if you're comfortable handling server management duties. With unmanaged hosting, you are entirely responsible for server administration, including the initial setup, ongoing maintenance, and security. This may be a tall order if you're unfamiliar with these tasks. However, if you have a strong technical background, these responsibilities also come with great flexibility. You can customize the hosting environment, such as installing a preferred control panel or security tools. When it's time to set up shop, look for a web host that offers the aforementioned dedicated servers, advanced cloud server platforms (such as Amazon Web Services or Google Cloud), custom server builds should you need them, and 24/7 customer support. Depending on your focus, you may want a web host that can handle pageviews or visitors that rank in the thousands or millions. Many busy hosting plans also offer an onboarding specialist who can help you get started. If you're planning on selling a product, look for a web host that offers a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate because it encrypts the data between the customer's browser and web host to safeguard purchasing information. You're probably familiar with SSL; the green padlock appears in your web browser's address bar as you visit an online financial institution or retail outlet. A few companies toss in an SSL certificate free of charge; others may charge you roughly $100 per year for that extra security layer. If you aim to have a web presence, you must have email. It's a convenient way for potential customers and clients to send you a message, Word document, or other files. Thankfully, most web hosts include email in their hosting plans. Some web hosts offer unlimited email account creation (which is great for future growth), while others offer a finite amount. You, naturally, should want unlimited email. That said, not all web hosts offer email. WP Engine, for example, does not. In such instances, you must sign up for email accounts from a company other than your web host. GoDaddy, for instance, sells email packages starting at $5.99 per user per month. That might sound like a hassle and just one more thing to keep track of, but some webmasters feel that separating your email hosting and web hosting services is smart. That way, one provider going offline won't completely bork your business. All the aforementioned features are valuable to the web hosting experience, but none match the importance of site uptime. If your site is down, clients or customers cannot find you or access your products or services. That can cost you money. No matter how good a service's pricing, specs, and features are, it can't score well overall if it doesn't have rock-solid uptime. Accordingly, we compare each web host's uptime guarantee so you can understand what to expect before signing up. In reviewing the services listed here (and many more), we learned that even though the packages are similar, they are not identical. Some are more security-focused than others, offering anti-spam and anti-malware tools at every price tier. Others offer a variety of email marketing tools. While most of the hosts we've reviewed have built-in e-commerce tools, you may want to consider using a more robust, third-party e-commerce platform, such as our Editors' Choice winners, Shopify and Wix Stores. Finally, if you're just getting started in web hosting, make sure to check out our primers, six essential tips for building an online presence and how to register a domain name for your website. Jeffrey L. Wilson contributed to this article.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Best Cheap Web Hosting Services for 2025
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing. Building a website is a terrific way to establish your brand, promote your business, or simply share ideas with the world. However, budgeting for one can be a stressful endeavour, especially when operating on a small scale. Cheap web hosting is the answer, and we're here to help you in your search. PCMag has covered web hosting services for more than 10 years, so you can count on our expertise to steer you in the right direction. For example, Editors' Choice winner AccuWeb Hosting has helpful customer service and feature-packed plans for budget-conscious site builders. It isn't your only choice, though. Read on for the top cheap web hosts we've tested, followed by what to look for when selecting a low-cost service. We look at pricing here based on companies' regular annual prices, with no discounts applied. Our cutoff for inclusion? A web host must charge no more than $99.99 per year. It means some of our top choices for best overall web hosts, such as A2, GoDaddy, and Hostwinds, don't make the cut. We avoid web hosting services with initial cheap prices that go up after an introductory period. This is true low-cost web hosting! Web hosts offering monthly and annual plans are judged in both areas. Naturally, if a web host only offers monthly or yearly plans, we adjust our expectations accordingly. A web host is a company with servers you use to store and deliver the files that make up your website. Large businesses can spend hundreds of dollars each year on dedicated web hosting or virtual private server (VPS) hosting. Still, plenty of web hosts are designed specifically for very small businesses (and personal use, too). Setting up a website with your domain is easy, and most importantly, it doesn't have to be expensive. Do you need email, blogging software, basic email marketing (not marketing automation), e-commerce, and file sharing? Many of these features are included with cheap web hosting plans. Also worth highlighting is the service's customer support. While it's nice to have FAQs and forums, when it's 3 a.m. and your website is inexplicably down, you want someone available immediately. Look for 24/7 customer support. Cheap web hosting excludes the powerful and relatively pricey dedicated and VPS hosting options. Instead, you'll need to pick a shared hosting or WordPress hosting plan. Shared hosting is a setup in which the hosting company runs multiple websites on a server along with your site. Don't let the "shared" bit worry you, though, since you can't peek into anyone else's files and no one else can touch yours. The benefit? Sharing the server space translates to cheap prices for everyone. The downside? Neighboring sites that consume too many resources may cause your site to run at less than peak performance. Optimized WordPress hosting services let you set up and run a WordPress blog with minimum fuss. If your business website's primary function is blogging, do your wallet a favor and don't bother with shared hosting plans or other types of web hosting. One thing we learned while reviewing web hosting services is that reading the fine print matters, especially if you are concerned about keeping prices low. Many web hosts have several service tiers, with introductory features in starter packages and expanded offerings in higher-priced plans. Don't get swayed by the big fonts touting the monthly fee: Make sure that a particular tier offers what you need. Some hosts charge extra for the tools you might use to design your website. Other hosts require you to commit to a three-year hosting agreement to get that low per-month price. Or the price is an introductory one; after a month, you will revert to a higher price. Don't commit to annual plans until you know what features you need and how quickly you plan to grow. The aforementioned features are valuable to the web hosting experience, but none match the importance of site uptime. If your site is down, clients or customers cannot find you or access your products or services. Every customer turned away is a potential sale lost and traffic not monetized. So, look for a web host's uptime guarantee before signing up. Look for a service with a high uptime promise (like 99%) to keep your site online consistently. If your primary goal is cheap service, there's another option: website builders. If you simply want a good-looking website without any extras—a brochure-ware site, for example—you can skip traditional web hosting and check out website builder services, such as Gator and Wix. If you don't care about owning a domain and don't want to do a lot of behind-the-scenes tweaking, you should consider one of these online website builders. They let you create surprisingly attractive and functional sites hosted under their domains. Furthermore, these services can be incredibly cheap: Some offer free plans, which generally means you'll have branding on your site for the website builder's company. You can often pay for a domain, and that typically removes the branding, as well. Web hosting is the way to go if you need control over your domain and a little more functionality. Not all cheap web hosting services are created equal. For example, some have data transfer allotment and storage caps worth investigating. Read the fine print for the unlimited offerings, too, as gotchas that might sneak up on you later. Other services limit the applications or plug-ins you can use. The web host you select depends entirely on how you plan to use it—and your budget. If you are ready to choose a great web hosting service that's also cheap, click the links in the charts to check out our in-depth reviews of the best names in the space. If you're just getting started in the web hosting game, check out our primers: 10 Easy But Powerful SEO Tips to Boost Traffic to Your Website, 5 Things You Need to Know Before Signing Up for Web Hosting, and Linux vs. Windows: How to Pick the Best Server OS for Your Website. Jeffrey L. Wilson contributed to this article.
