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If youre in the market to lease a brand new car, youre probably dreading the day-long negotiations, the feeling of uncertainty and dealing with smooth-talking salespeople. For the last month, my husband and I have been experiencing all of those stressful scenarios. With my husbands current lease ending in five months, we wanted to shop for prices earlier rather than later. Last time, we made the mistake of waiting until the lease was over and then felt rushed into deciding on a new car. Since my husband knew which specific car model he wanted, our focus was entirely on price.

To make sure youre comfortable with the price you end up paying for your leased car, try these five steps that worked for us:

Timing. You often hear people talking about the best time of year to get a car. The truth is that you can get an amazing deal all throughout the year with a few tips. If youre currently in a lease situation, make sure you start looking for a car soon because you will have more insight into pricing and wont feel rushed. If you walk into the dealership a few days before the end of the month, the salespeople and manager will be more flexible in giving you a great deal to meet their monthly goals. For example, we were offered $369 plus tax at the beginning of the month but got $349 plus tax at the end of the month for the exact same car.

Shop around. Sounds like a given, right? Youd be surprised how many people walk into a dealership and get so wrapped around those dealers fingers that they end up walking out with a new car at the first place they go to. Try to follow the three dealership rule. Make sure you go to at least three dealerships and work out the pricing so that you can compare. Being a good consumer is all about researching and comparing prices. Why pay more if you dont have too?

Scan your offers. Make sure you walk into a dealership with a fully-charged phone. Almost all dealers will come to you with a price sheet which outlines the price and your monthly payments, including taxes, along with the model and make of car. When you get some alone time, take a picture of it or use a scanning app on your phone to capture it. This can be your biggest bargaining tool when you go to other dealerships because once they see the numbers they will try to beat it.

Walk out. If youre not happy with the deal the dealership offers you, dont waste your time. Just stand up and walk out. When the dealership knows that you are not happy with the deal, they will either try to get the manager for a final attempt or a, "Sorry, we couldnt help you" exchange. Once you make the decision to walk out, be prepared for multiple follow-ups by the dealership. Since they know you already want the car, its an easier sell to work with you on your pricing rather trying to convince Joe-Shmoe whos just shopping around with five different makes in mind. They will try to negotiate via phone and email to get you the best price possible.

Try smaller leasing companies. After taking steps one though four, if you still dont have the right price for the car of your dreams, give a smaller leasing company a try. Theyre not a dealership. They work for you. They will do the haggling for you, kind of like real estate agents for the automotive industry. You tell them the make and model and price you would like to get for the car and off they go. Once they have a good price, they will come back to you and you just have to say "yes" or "no!"

Following these tips will help ensure you take out a lease that you feel good about, and that youre driving a car that you love.

Susan Yoo-Lee is the editor of Savings.com personal finance blog and founder of Mommas in the House blog.

Perhaps youve treated yourself to a brand new Nexus 5, or youre eagerly awaiting the moment when the latest flavour of Android hits your handset. However you get hold of Android 4.4 KitKat, youll notice some new features to get to grips with -- if theyre not all to your taste, heres how to undo the changes Google is keen to force upon you.

1. Replace Hangouts as the default SMS app

Hangouts is now Googles all-encompassing messaging solution, covering Web chats, SMS and MMS. Much like iMessage, however, the experience is not quite as smooth and user-friendly as it should be. This being Android, you can set any app you like as the default SMS handler. First of all, download a new app from Google Play -- Chomp SMS and Handcent SMS are two of the most popular choices, but there are plenty to pick from.

Next, choose your default app from Settings > More > Default SMS app -- Hangouts will gracefully relinquish its text messaging duties and stick to instant messaging instead. Make sure you configure the notifications of your new app accordingly to avoid missing any important texts (or getting multiple notifications for every SMS).

2. Reclaim your home screens

KitKat brazenly installs Google Now as the default left-hand home screen (making it one swipe away from your main home screen). There are two ways to get rid of it: one is to switch off Google Now entirely. Tap the menu button (three vertical dots) underneath all of your cards, choose Settings and then turn off Google Now. This means you wont be able to access Google Now from anywhere -- itll be gone completely from your phone or tablet unless you enable it again at a later date.

The other option is to install an alternative launcher. In the same way Android lets you install alternatives for texting, browsing, playing music and doing anything else, you can choose a different app to handle home screen and app-launching tasks. Most of these launchers are free and simple to use, and you can easily uninstall them again if you change your mind: Nova, Apexand Themer are among the most popular options, while KitKat Launchermimics the KitKat look without the Google Now panel. All of these apps have prominent options to enable you to set them as the default launcher on your device. If you install multiple launchers, Android adds a new Home option to the Settings app to help you manage them more easily.

3. Turn off Caller ID

When someone calls you who isnt in your contacts list, KitKat tries to work out who it is, primarily by scanning phone numbers for nearby places on Google Maps. Starting from next year, it will be able to identify individuals too, if those people have agreed to let Google associate their mobile number with their Google+ page and identity.

If you dont want Google to try and identify whos ringing you, open the Settings page from the Dialer app, tap Caller ID by Google and switch it off. The setting to stop people finding you through your mobile number is on the Web: log into your Google Account page, click the View option by the Phone numbers heading, and untick the option to help people find you.

4. Enable lock screen widgets

For variety, heres how to bring back a feature that KitKat disables rather than the other way around. The lock screen widgets popular with many users are switched off by default in Android 4.4, which means you cant immediately add handy widgets for tasks, emails and such-like to the lock screen (though the swipe-right camera shortcut is still in place).

Bringing them back isnt difficult. Choose Settings > Security and then tick Enable widgets -- this refers to the lock screen widgets rather than the standard widgets you add to your home screens. With the feature enabled again, you can swipe in from the left edge of the lock screen to add the widgets of your choice.

5. Not okay, Google

At the moment, shouting "OK, Google" to launch the search function on your KitKat device only works if you have your language set to US English. Presumably it will eventually roll out to UK English in due course.

If you dont want to have the feature available (it can use up battery life for one thing, and be hijacked by a passer-by for another) head to your Google Now Settings page. Untick the Hotword detection option and your handset is then immune from an "OK, Google" call to action.

Computers used to be all about expandability. Essentially you owned a box that could be tailored to your needs as your requirements evolved. A popular upgrade path was storage, adding new hard drives as your files grew in size and number. But with Apples touchscreen revolution, everything changed.


The iPhone, iPad and iPod touch are more like appliances than traditional computers - theyre sealed boxes that forever remain as they were the moment you purchased them. You can no more extend their storage capabilities than you can add a new compartment to your fridge-freezer.

A quick look at Apples modern hardware suggests its entire line-up is heading in the same direction, but iOS devices are more restricted than Apples desktops and notebooks. After all, if you need more storage for a MacBook Air, you at least have the option of offloading large documents to an external hard drive (and, of course, then sensibly backing up that data along with the internal drives, either locally or to an online service such as CrashPlan).

But iOS devices arent designed that way. They dont have a USB port or a user-accessible file structure. The intention is that you store everything on the device itself (well, almost everything - services like iTunes Match enable you to grab your music from the cloud).

Therefore, an important tip when it comes to better iOS device storage and management comes at the moment of purchase: buy the model with the most storage that you can afford, unless youre absolutely convinced you wont need it.

Even then, reconsider; be mindful that as technology evolves, demands for storage increase. Retina screens require larger applications, and iOS cameras can shoot HD video, which requires a huge amount of space.

Also, demands on iOS devices are increasing purely on the basis of what they can now do. People frequently shoot and edit video, work with photography, read magazines and compose music on iPads and iPhones. All these things require lots of storage.

If your device gets really full, it alerts you. Also, things stop working. You wont be able to install new apps or shoot video new footage. You may find that updating apps becomes problematic, because the device doesnt have enough space to download, unpack and install updates before deleting older versions.

We offer advice for dealing with such a situation, along with managing iOS storage in general. Note that this isnt intended as a start-to-finish walkthrough, more a series of ideas that can be utilised to free up space.
As ever, we should stress the importance of back-ups before making major changes to iOS devices. Even if youre backing up to iCloud, make the occasional local back-up (select your device in iTunes and click Back Up Now on the Summary page).

Local backups are also useful when it comes to dealing with app data, because you can later use iExplorer to fish out settings and other documents from such a backup, even if those things have long been removed from your device. Also ensure before making any major changes in terms of deleting content that you dont only have said content on your iOS device.

For music, sync your device with iTunes to transfer tracks to your Mac (although you can grab previous purchases from iTunes, if necessary). For photos and movies, transfer them across by attaching your device to your Mac via USB, launching iPhoto, selecting the device and clicking the Import button.

How to manage iOS device storage

1. Check device capacity in iTunes

Although iOS devices no longer require iTunes, Apples desktop app remains useful from a device management standpoint. Connect your device (via USB or over Wi-Fi) and select it from the Devices button. Across the bottom of the window, you see a chart detailing whats taking up room: audio, photos, apps, books and other.

If storage is an issue, you could free some up. For example, if youve lots of music or photos on your device, select the relevant tab, uncheck the sync box and then sync your device. The relevant media is removed. You can then perform updates and manage your apps, perhaps free up more space, and later restore your media by resyncing it.

Occasionally, you might find the other section becomes massive. In our experience, this is usually down to you having a lot of in-app data (see Step 3) or failed app updates, which can happen on trying to update without enough free space. Resyncing should help; if not, a restore from a local backup.

2. Discover app sizes 

Apps can be massive. Sizes are shown in iTunes and the App Store, but thats the size of the compressed download. Once installed, an apps size can balloon.

In iTunes, check app sizes by clicking on the Apps tab and selecting Sort by Size from the pop-up menu at the top of the apps list. Peruse the list, and if there are apps or games you no longer use, consider deleting them. You can do so by clicking Remove in iTunes; when youve done so for all apps youd like to delete, click Sync.

Alternatively, tap-hold an app on your device to make all the icons jiggle and, for each, tap the cross icon and then Delete to remove it.

3. Examine app data

Open the Settings app on your device and in the General category, select Usage. You see available and used storage and a list of apps. These are ordered by the total amount of space they require, including app data.

Newsstand and similar apps tend to be storage-hungry. Their containers might be small, but the actual magazines rarely are. If you want to see how much space an apps data is using, tap the app in the list and look at the Documents & Data figure.

If youve several such apps taking up loads of room you need, consider deleting data. For example, if you subscribe to magazines, delete old issues from within each app. You can usually redownload issues later if you need to. If you fancy taking a speedy option and dont have a capped broadband connection, deleting a Newsstand app takes all its data with it. You can then download a fresh copy from the App Store and the latest issue.

Magazine and book apps arent the only storage culprits, note. Dropbox can (optionally) store documents locally (by flagging them as favourites) and some video apps have download capability, so check those too.

4. Back-up app content

Should you no longer use a game or creative app, but think you might one day return to it, download its data to your Mac using the free version of iExplorer (macroplant.com/iexplorer).

Connect your device to your Mac via USB, select Apps from iExplorers sidebar and select the app in question. Select the Documents and Library folders, Ctrl-click and select Export to Folder. (Alternatively drag them to a Finder folder.)

The contents of these folders can later be sideloaded into a fresh install of the app, meaning you wont lose your progress in a game that doesnt support iCloud, or could get saved compositions from a music-app back to your device with a minimum of fuss.

5. Use last-chance folders

If you tend to frequently download new apps, chances are some fall out of favour, but you might not necessarily know which. Create date-based folders (07-2013, say) and place apps within that you dont think you use any more. If you find yourself using one, rescue it from the folder. Otherwise, delete the folders contents after a few months, first backing up app data as necessary.

(Note: if you dont download apps to iTunes on your Mac, sync with it before deleting the apps, so youve a back-up you can later install to your device. You can of course redownload apps from the App Store, but only if they are still made available to you.)

This is a fairly ruthless app-management method, but its useful for keeping installs current and ensuring you have space.

The timing of tweets is the major clue as to whether they are authentic or not, new research suggests.

Scientists determined the difference between human tweeters and automated Twitter accounts based solely on the timing of tweets.


The researchers, from Imperial College London, found that they could easily tell if humans were responsible for tweets, without even looking at their content, based on when the user’s tweet was posted.

Their technique also enabled them to distinguish between individuals and those accounts managed by groups of people.

Surprisingly, they found that there was not an obvious pattern for automated Twitter accounts, which were more random than humans in terms of the timing of tweets.

The technology behind the research could provide a new way to verify the authenticity of Twitter account users.

The study, published in the journal PloS One, is also providing fresh insights into how our brains operate when using social media tools.

Study author Doctor Aldo Faisal, said: We found that it does not matter whether you are a model in Sao Paulo or a student in Beijing; it seems that we all share something very similar in our tweeting pattern that dictates the timing of when we send out messages.

Why is this important to know? Well, it suggests that there is something fundamentally similar in the wiring of our brains that comes into play when we use twitter to communicate.

Since its creation in 2006, Twitter has accrued more than 200 million active users worldwide, producing 400 million tweets per day. 

The researchers analysed 160,000 tweets from around the world using computer programmes that they developed to spot complex behavioural patterns in Twitter users.

By analysing the timing interval between tweets the team were able to determine that personal accounts holders tweeted more evenly throughout the week and, on each day, more tweets were recorded during typical waking hours of 7am to midnight.

Managed accounts, run by people in corporations, were more active during the five working days and during working hours between 8am and 8pm.

However, tweets from automated accounts were less easy to predict using their method because they were random in terms of when they were sent out.

Dr Faisal added: I am a Twitter user and this project was born out of my curiosity in wanting to know who I’m actually tweeting with.

Sure, there are methods for verifying account holders, but are they fail-safe methods? Are we really speaking to a Member of Parliament on Twitter or a PR representative or a machine? We have now developed a method that can help us determine who it is we are actually tweeting with.

The HTC One is a massively popular phone -- so popular that its manufacturer is struggling to keep up with demand. Should you be lucky enough to own this blisteringly fast Android powerhouse, then youve no doubt already marvelled at its terrific screen, punchy stereo speakers and solid build quality. If all of the Ones built-in features are still not enough to satisfy you, then perhaps youre ready to take your handset to the next level -- and that means getting root access.


Root access allows you to do all kinds of amazing things, such as installing custom firmware, removing stubborn applications and generally gaining more control over your device. Like so many things in life, rooting isnt without its risks. Tampering with your phones software invalidates your warranty, and if something goes wrong during the procedure you could end up with an expensive paperweight. As always, we can take absolutely no responsibility for any damage or loss of data that may occur from following this guide.

Mercifully, the process outlined below is pretty foolproof and weve already tested it ourselves, so assuming youre still brave enough, lets get down to business. The guide assumes youre using a Windows-based PC.

1. Back up your phone 

To root the HTC One youll need to unlock the phones bootloader. This wipes everything on the handset, so make sure youve already backed up all of your valuable data, such as photos, videos and audio. Once you move onto the next step, youve got to be prepared to lose it all.

















 

2. Unlock the phones bootloader 

Before you can do any rooting, youll have to unlock the HTC Ones bootloader. Visit HTCs dev site and register, if you havent already. Follow the steps provided to place your phone into Fastboot mode and request the device ID token required to perform the unlock. Youll need the latest version of the Android SDK to do this, so make sure youve downloaded it beforehand.

Once youve got the token, youll need to input it into the HTC dev site, after which point youll get the code used to unlock the phone, plus instructions on how to do it. During the unlock process youll need to place all related files in a folder. Make sure you place it on your desktop, as youll be putting more stuff in there as part of the next step of the guide.

3. Download TWRP recovery 

Grab the latest version of TWRP recovery (currently 2.5.0.0) and place it in the same folder where you downloaded the previous files.

4. Open up a command prompt 

Youll need to regress to the world of MS-DOS for this next bit, which might bring back unhappy memories for anyone over the age of 30. Open up the Start menu in Windows and type "cmd" and press enter, then use "cd/desktop/xxxxx" (with the "xxxxx" being the name of the folder) to navigate to the folder where you previously downloaded all the files.

5. Place your HTC One into fastboot mode 

Youre prepped PC-side, but now you need to make sure your HTC One is ready for the rooting process to begin. Place the phone into Fastboot mode by turning it off completely and then holding down the Power and Volume Down buttons. Select Fastboot using the volume rocker and press the power button to select it. Now connect your phone to your PC using a Micro-USB cable.

6. Flash TWRP recovery to your HTC One 

In the command prompt, type "fastboot flash recovery twrp.img". The TWRP recovery will then be flashed to your phone. After this has completed, restart your phone.

7. Download and install SuperUser 

Download the SuperUser application from here and copy it to the root of the phones internal memory. To install it, youll need to boot the phone into recovery mode. Switch off the handset and hold down the Power and Volume Down buttons again. Navigate to Recovery and press the power button. From the next menu, tap Install and then select the SuperUser.zip file you copied across earlier. Once that process is complete, reboot your freshly rooted HTC One and enjoy.