Technologies
Send Surprise Gifts to Everyone Using This Amazon Trick
Send gifts to everyone without their address with just a few easy steps.
Here’s a dilemma: You’ve found the perfect gift for someone but you don’t know the correct address to send it to. You don’t want to text them to ask for their address because that would give away the surprise — but if you don’t ask then you’re left with a great gift and no address to mail it to. Unfortunately, while the internet can solve most problems, a correct address can be hard to find. But if you’re shopping for a gift on Amazon, all is not lost. There’s an amazing Amazon shopping feature that makes it possible to send a stealthy gift with just the recipient’s phone number or email address.
Here’s how to send gifts to friends who may have moved and whose address you don’t have on file. Just note, however, you need to be a Prime member and there are a couple other caveats. (Here’s how to sign up for a Prime membership if you don’t have one. If you’re already a member, there are plenty of perks you probably aren’t using, like free Grubhub Plus food delivery for a year.)
Is there a catch to sending Amazon gifts without an address?
Yes, here are the puzzle pieces needed to make this convenient shopping hack work. You must:
- Be an Amazon Prime member.
- Have the recipient’s email address or mobile phone number.
- Use the mobile app to send the gift without a specific shipping address. (The new shopping feature won’t work with Amazon.com, only the mobile app.)
- Ship and receive the gift to the continental US — sorry, Hawaii and Alaska.
Important note: Not every gift is eligible. For example, we couldn’t send the baby clothes we picked out for our colleague’s newborn this way, but we were able to select a pair of $36 Amazon over-ear headphones (not currently available) to send to a recipient without a physical address on hand.
How does the Amazon Prime gift option work?
We’ll share more details in the step-by-step below, but in general, as the gift-giver you just have to send a gift receipt and select the new delivery option. The recipient will then be notified to accept the gift by providing their address. If they decide to not accept the gift, they can exchange it for an Amazon gift card. Amazon says it won’t tell the person who picked out the gift if the recipient chooses a gift card instead.
How to send a gift on Amazon without knowing the recipient’s address
If you just picked out a gift for your family member or friend on Amazon, here’s how you can send it to them through text or email:
1. Add the gift to your cart using Amazon’s mobile app.
2. Tap Add a gift receipt for easy returns and then tap Proceed to checkout.
3. Once at checkout, select the option to Let the recipient provide their address and tap Continue.
4. Enter the recipient’s phone number or email address. This is where you can also add a custom message sent alongside your gift. You can also select gift wrapping at this stage. (Note that this typically costs another $5 for an Amazon gift bag.)
5. Place your order by clicking Continue. The recipient will then be notified and asked to accept the gift.
How to accept an Amazon gift
If you have been sent a gift through Amazon, here’s how to accept it (or get a gift card instead):
1. Click on the text or email notification from Amazon and tap View and accept your gift.
2. Tap on your present to unwrap it and watch an animation of your gift being revealed.
3. Once you’ve virtually unwrapped your gift, you can choose to Accept and provide an address or Exchange for an Amazon gift card.
4. If you choose to accept the gift, you will be prompted to provide your delivery address. After you enter your address, tap Deliver to this address and then Accept the gift.
5. Amazon will then ship your gift to you with free Prime shipping.
For more, check out how to use Amazon subscribe and save to buy your favorite products at a discount. Plus, you can bypass shipping fees with this shopping tip.
Technologies
Grammarly Pushes Beyond Proofreading With AI-Powered Writing Guidance
Grammarly dropped agents to spot plagiarism, cite sources and maybe even boost your GPA.
Grammarly is expanding beyond its grammar-checking roots. The company has announced the launch of several specialized AI «agents» and a new writing tool called Grammarly Docs, designed to help students and professionals with everything from drafting essays to polishing workplace emails.
It’s another example of generative AI expanding beyond general-purpose chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini into more specialized domains. Other examples of gen AI in educational circles include Google’s NotebookLM and OpenAI’s new study mode for ChatGPT.
AI agents are digital helpers that go beyond traditional chatbots to understand context and assist in reaching your goals. Grammarly’s AI agents assist by offering feedback, predicting reactions, finding sources and more to increase efficiency in workflows.
Read also: Grammarly AI: This Free AI Tool Will Easily Fix Your Grammar
What’s available now for Grammarly AI
The update introduces nine agents that move Grammarly into a more collaborative role. Instead of just correcting grammar or suggesting phrasing, the agents are intended to actively work alongside users. One predicts how a professor or manager might respond to a draft. Another offers an estimated grade based on an uploaded rubric. Others handle citation generation, proofreading, paraphrasing, plagiarism checks and AI detection. The tools are built directly into Docs, a «distraction-free» writing environment where all the agents can be summoned in context, according to the company.
As students head back to classrooms and colleges, Grammarly is looking to position itself as a study companion and writing coach rather than merely a browser extension. The company cites research showing that while only a small share of students feel confident using AI in professional settings (18%), most employers expect AI literacy from job candidates. By emphasizing skill-building and responsible use, Grammarly says it wants to bridge that gap rather than simply automate assignments.
«The launch of our new agents and AI writing surface marks a turning point in how we build products that anticipate user needs,» Luke Behnke, Grammarly’s vice president of product management, said in the company’s press release. «We’re moving beyond simple suggestions to intelligent agents that understand context and actively help users achieve their communication goals.»
For professionals, Grammarly is marketing the tools as a way to tailor communication for different audiences. The Reader Reactions agent, for example, can highlight whether an email comes across as too vague or too blunt. And the Expert Review tool provides industry-specific feedback without requiring specialized prompts.
The launch also marks the debut of Docs as a standalone writing hub. Until now, Grammarly has functioned mostly as a browser extension layered on top of other apps, like Chrome or Google Docs. Grammarly Docs signals a push to keep users inside the platform’s own environment, though the company says it will expand agent functionality to the more than half a million apps and sites where its tools already appear.
The new features are rolling out immediately for free and premium subscribers, though plagiarism and AI detection remain locked behind the paid plan. Enterprise and education customers will also gain access later this year.
Early reactions to Grammarly’s AI agents
Early reactions suggest strong interest from students and educators alike as the company shifts from a grammar checker to a productivity platform. Educators have noted the potential benefits and risks of tools like the AI Grader. Some users on social media welcomed the update as a way to cut through the anxiety of essay writing, while others questioned whether it might make students too dependent on machine feedback.
The launch comes just months after Grammarly raised $1 billion to fuel its AI pivot and acquired the email startup Superhuman. Together, those moves point to an ambitious strategy for the company: one that seeks to transform Grammarly from a background utility into a full-fledged productivity suite powered by AI.
Technologies
Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Aug. 20, #1523
Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle No. 1,523 for Wednesday, Aug. 20.
Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Today’s Wordle puzzle is a fun word. Two letters repeat, so don’t forget once you find a correct letter, you can reuse it in another spot. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.
Today’s Wordle hints
Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.
Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats
Today’s Wordle answer has two separate repeated letters.
Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels
Today’s Wordle answer has one vowel, and it’s one of the repeated letters, so you’ll see it twice.
Wordle hint No. 3: Start letter.
Today’s Wordle answer begins with L.
Wordle hint No. 4: Animal kingdom
Today’s Wordle answer is an animal.
Wordle hint No. 5: Second meaning
Today’s Wordle answer is a domesticated pack animal of the camel family.
TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER
Today’s Wordle answer is LLAMA.
Yesterday’s Wordle answer
Yesterday’s Wordle answer, No. 1,522 for Aug. 19, was ROWDY.
Recent Wordle answers
Aug. 15, No. 1,518: LEVEL
Aug. 16 No. 1,519: MATTE
Aug. 17, No. 1,520: LOUSY
Aug. 18, No. 1,521: ISSUE
Technologies
Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Aug. 20, #801
Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle No. 801 for Wednesday, Aug. 20.
Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.
Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is a real headache. The NYT puzzle writers are really pulling some obscure connections out of the air, and I did not do well today at all. Need some help? Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.
The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.
Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time
Hints for today’s Connections groups
Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.
Yellow group hint: Ebony and ivory.
Green group hint: They go together.
Blue group hint: Spinning.
Purple group hint: There’s a bend in these.
Answers for today’s Connections groups
Yellow group: Black-and-white things.
Green group: Pairs of rods.
Blue group: Things that rotate about a vertical axis.
Purple group: Rods that curve at one end.
Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words
What are today’s Connections answers?
The yellow words in today’s Connections
The theme is black-and-white things. The four answers are domino, piano keys, yin-yang symbol and zebra.
The green words in today’s Connections
The theme is pairs of rods. The four answers are chopsticks, claves, knitting needles and ski poles.
The blue words in today’s Connections
The theme is things that rotate about a vertical axis. The four answers are barber pole, carousel, ceiling fan and lazy Susan.
The purple words in today’s Connections
The theme is rods that curve at one end. The four answers are candy cane, crochet hook, crook and crowbar.
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