Technologies

5 Things That Helped Me Survive a Massive 24-Hour Power Outage

One of them was a toy frog.

My family was among the 367,000 PG&E customers hit by a massive power outage in the San Francisco Bay Area this week. High winds brought down trees and power lines, leaving us without electricity, internet access and heat for exactly 24 hours.

It sucked.

The outage made me appreciate just how awesome power and internet access are, and how critical they are for modern living. Working from home, hearing from schools and the power company, coordinating with my wife — it all was squeezed through a woefully insufficient mobile phone network connection.

But a few things helped me through this rough patch. Some of them were pretty high tech, but there’s still a place for pre-internet products in your emergency kit. Here’s what I turned to.

Tethering

Connecting my laptop to my phone to take advantage of its mobile network was crucial to getting through the power outage. I’m amazed how much a person can get done with a smartphone these days, but in my case, everything seems to go at least two times slower than with a laptop. Some tasks, like complex photo editing, require a laptop. So for me, tethering was essential.

Unfortunately, the networks my phones use (I have a Google Pixel 7 Pro and an iPhone 14 Pro) aren’t terribly fast, and with so many others’ internet access down during the power outages, I suspect the networks were overtaxed. I remember the crushing feeling when my browser estimated it would take 40 minutes to download a 4.2MB photo file.

Pro tip: On Android, you can tether with a USB-C cable that can be more reliable than Wi-Fi and that keeps the phone charged, too. It works with iPhones and Lightning cables as well. This approach is where the term «tether» came from, of course, but mostly I tether with Wi-Fi these days because it’s simpler and more flexible.

a screenshot of Google's extreme battery saver mode, which dramatically cuts power usage — I used the extreme battery saver mode on my Google Pixel 7 Pro to dramatically cut down on its power usage during a power outage.

Screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET

Phone battery saver modes

I love my phones’ battery saving modes and use them often when I’m at all-day conferences, out on a long hike, or am uncertain when I’ll be able to charge. I long ago customized my iPhone’s Control Center with the low power mode toggle.

I like my Pixel phone’s approach better, where you can set battery saver mode to engage automatically when the battery charge reaches a particular percentage. I have it set to turn on at 60%, but during the power outage, I just left it on all the time.

Android goes a step farther with extreme battery saver, which shuts down all apps except some core ones and the ones you specify. You can launch anything and use it, but unless you add it to the exceptions list, extreme battery saver will shut it down again. Overnight, my Pixel’s battery charge dropped only 2% during the power outage.

Anker's 535 PowerHouse, a large portable battery, with its front-facing LED light strip turned on — The Anker 535 PowerHouse has a bright LED light on its front face along with four USB ports and four power plugs.

Stephen Shankland/CNET

Anker 535 PowerHouse battery

The Anker 535 PowerHouse is one of a host of hulking batteries that, although expensive, can be really useful in a power outage. I used it to charge my laptop and phone, to use an LED lamp, and most crucially, to run my broadband modem when I needed my fast network. The display helpfully told me that my network equipment required 26 watts of power, which is more than I’d like, but the battery is big enough to last hours.

The PowerHouse also has its own built-in LED light strip. It’s pretty bright, and I’d have preferred a dimmer option.

This model comes with conventional power plugs as well as one USB-C port (not enough) and three USB-A ports (too many). You’re better off charging your devices directly from the USB ports if you can: plugging a charger into one of the battery’s power plugs means you’ll suffer efficiency losses converting from direct current to alternating current and back.

A flashlight toy with hundreds of glowing fiber optic strands glows in the dark — This fiber optic flashlight toy proved useful during a power outage.

Stephen Shankland/CNET

My kid’s frog flashlight and other LED-lit toys

Our kid likes little toys as much as any other elementary school kid does, and I was delighted when he realized at night that he’d brought home a couple of LED-lit party favors. I’m not sure what to call them, but they have a glowing cylindrical handle with a brush of plastic fiber optic strands sprouting from one end. They’re meant to be novelty products but turned out to be handy flashlights, too.

My kid's frog flashlight toy has a lever behind its head; pushing it down opens its mouth and turns on an LED light — My kid’s frog flashlight.

Stephen Shankland/CNET

I was happier with another gimmick, though, the frog flashlight we got him at REI to try to cajole him into camping trips. Its carabiner design let me clip it to my belt loop, and it was great for quick lighting at bedtime.

A candle

Candles are millennia-old technology, and you know what? They still work. More than 10 hours into the power outage and with no idea when it might end, I was eager to save any battery power I had left.

I pulled some mushy ice cream out of our not cold enough freezer lit a candle from our emergency kit, and had a late night dessert.

a candle on top of a can of tomatoes — I dripped some wax onto this tomato can to give this candle a safe, sturdy perch.

Stephen Shankland/CNET

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Dec. 26 #663

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for Dec. 26, No. 663.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a fun one, but you might struggle at first to see a connection between the words. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Please hold.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Cats love these more than they love expensive toys.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

BOXING, CHEAT, HEAT, SMOCK, MOCK, LATE, TEAM, MEAT, TEAMS, LOOT, TOLE, BALL, BALE, KALE, TALL

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

GIFT, SHOE, TOOL, LUNCH, MATCH, PIZZA, BALLOT, TACKLE (All are words that can be placed in front of «box.»)

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is BOXINGDAY. To find it, start with the B that’s four letters down on the far-left row, and wind across and then down.

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Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for Dec. 25, #1650

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for Dec. 25, No. 1,650.

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 has some tough-to-guess letters. 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 no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

Today’s Wordle answer has one vowel.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with P.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends with M.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to a geometric figure.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is PRISM.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, Dec. 24, No. 1649, was SPOOL.

Recent Wordle answers

Dec. 20, No. 1645: WHITE

Dec. 21, No. 1646: QUILT

Dec. 22, No. 1647: CONCH

Dec. 23, No. 1648: GLINT

Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

Don’t be afraid to use our tip sheet ranking all the letters in the alphabet by frequency of uses. In short, you want starter words that lean heavy on E, A and R, and don’t contain Z, J and Q.

Some solid starter words to try:

ADIEU

TRAIN

STARE

NOISE

Technologies

This Two-Faced Watch Band Lets You Hide an Apple Watch Under Your Rolex

The $418 Smartlet literally bridges the gap between your elegant analogy and your nerdy smartwatch.

The Consumer Electronics Show is never short on ambitious ideas, but Smartlet may be one of the more unusual ones this year: a modular watch strap that lets you wear a traditional mechanical watch and a smartwatch on the same wrist, simultaneously. One on top of the other.

The Paris-based startup announced Smartlet at the 2026 CES in Las Vegas, pitching it as a solution for people who love the look of an analog watch but also want the practicality of a smartwatch for notifications, fitness tracking and mobile payments. Instead of choosing between the two, Smartlet’s system lets you mount an old-school timepiece on the front of your wrist while hiding a smartwatch or fitness tracker on the underside.

The stainless steel strap starts at $418 and doesn’t include a smartwatch or a mechanical watch. What you’re really buying is the strap system, which is compatible with most major smartwatches and fitness trackers, including Apple Watch, Samsung Galaxy Watch, Google Pixel Watch, Garmin models, Fitbit Charge devices and Whoop. On the analog side, it supports watches with lug widths from 18 to 24 mm, which includes high-end models from brands such as Omega, Tudor, TAG Heuer and Rolex.

The idea comes from founder David Ohayon, who says he was tired of having to play favorites every morning, choosing between his analog and Apple Watch. Smartlet, in theory, offers the best of both worlds, letting you toggle from fitness nerd to polished executive with the flick of a wrist.

In practice, it raises some serious questions, the biggest one being bulk. Smartlet says the system adds between 9 and 12 mm of height to the underside of the wrist once a connected device is attached. As someone who already manages to scratch watches without trying, the idea of strapping a second device to the underside of my wrist, where it regularly comes in contact with desks, armrests and tabletops, sounds like a walking nightmare.

There’s also the aesthetic. Smartlet is clearly aimed at what it calls the «modern gentleman,» with marketing language that leans heavily into luxury watch culture and phrases like «from the boardroom to the weekend.» Translation: This is a watch for wealthy men who want to show off their investment piece without sacrificing their gym gain tracking.

And while it may not be the most practical, or budget-friendly solution for most people, Smartlet is one of those highly niche, standout products that had us doing a double take at this year’s CES.