Blog

Have you ever ordered something on Amazon that you’d rather keep private, like a surprise gift for a family member? Or maybe you’re just someone who likes a clean and organized order history. If you’ve ever clicked the “Archive Order” button, you might have found yourself later wondering where those purchases disappeared to. They aren’t gone for good, but they are tucked away in a separate section of your account.

Finding your archived orders is a simple process, whether you’re using the Amazon website or the mobile app. Let’s walk through the steps so you can easily view or unarchive any of those hidden purchases whenever you need to.

How to View Archived Orders on the Amazon Website

Start by going to Amazon.com and logging into your account. Hover over “Accounts & Lists” in the top right corner and select “Your Orders.” This will bring up your recent order history. Look just below the main search bar for your orders; you should see a filter option. Click on the dropdown menu that likely says “Last 3 months” or “Past 30 days.” Scroll down in this list, and you will find the “Archived Orders” option. Select it, and your complete list of archived items will appear.

Locating Archived Orders in the Amazon App

If you primarily use your phone, open the Amazon app and tap the three-line menu icon. Go to “Your Account” and then select “Your Orders.” At the top of the Orders screen, you’ll see a “Filter” button. Tap on it, and a menu will pop up. From the list of order statuses, choose “Archived Orders” and then tap “Apply.” The app will now display only the orders you have chosen to archive.

Bringing an Order Back to Your Main History

What if you need to return an archived item or simply want it to show up in your main order list again? When you’re viewing your archived orders, you’ll see an “Unarchive Order” button for each item. Clicking this will immediately move the order back to your standard “Your Orders” page. This is perfect for when you no longer need to hide a past purchase.

So, the next time you can’t find a specific order, remember to check the archived section. It’s a helpful feature for keeping your shopping history organized and just a few clicks away.

Ever wondered what really moves off the digital shelves on Amazon? It’s a question that sparks the curiosity of millions, from casual shoppers to aspiring entrepreneurs. The answer isn’t a single magic product, but rather a collection of categories that consistently capture our attention and wallets. Knowing what sells can help you make smarter shopping decisions or even guide you if you’re thinking about starting your own online business.

The Everyday Essentials That Dominate Sales

When you look at the sheer volume of sales, everyday items are the undisputed champions. Think about the things people constantly need to replace. Electronics and accessories are a massive category, with items like phone chargers, headphones, and USB cables selling in incredible numbers. Similarly, health and personal care products, from vitamins to shampoo, are always in high demand. People appreciate the convenience of having these essentials delivered to their door, making them repeat purchases that fuel Amazon’s sales engine.

Finding Your Niche in Popular Categories

While electronics are huge, you don’t need to sell the latest gadget to find success. Many of the best-selling items are simple and address a specific need. Home and kitchen gadgets are a perfect example. Think air fryers, coffee makers, and organization tools. The books, movies, and music category also remains a steady performer, especially with the rise of Amazon’s own devices like the Kindle. The key is to find a product that solves a problem or brings joy into a customer’s daily routine.

What Makes a Product a Best-Seller?

Beyond the category, successful products often share common traits. They typically have a strong value proposition, meaning they offer good quality for a reasonable price. They also benefit from having clear photos and detailed descriptions that answer a customer’s questions. Perhaps most importantly, they accumulate positive customer reviews. Shoppers rely heavily on the experiences of others, so a product with many good reviews is far more likely to become a top seller.

Ultimately, what sells the most on Amazon are items that make life easier, more enjoyable, or more convenient. By focusing on proven categories and the qualities that customers love, you can navigate the vast marketplace with a clearer sense of what drives its incredible success.

Imagine you need to set up a new computer. Instead of spending hours installing the operating system, your programs, and all your settings, what if you could just push a button and get a perfect, ready-to-go copy? That’s essentially what an Amazon Machine Image, or AMI, is for the cloud.

An AMI is a pre-packaged template that contains all the information needed to launch a virtual server, known as an instance, in Amazon Web Services (AWS). It acts as a master blueprint, specifying the operating system, application server, applications, and any other necessary software. When you launch an instance, you simply select an AMI, and AWS creates a new virtual machine that is an exact replica of that template.

The Core Components of an AMI

Think of an AMI as a recipe for your server. This recipe has a few key ingredients. It includes a template for the root volume for the instance, which is like the main hard drive containing the operating system. It also holds launch permissions that control which AWS accounts can use the AMI to launch instances. Finally, it specifies block device mapping, which determines the storage volumes to attach to the instance when it’s created.

Why Using an AMI Saves You Time

The biggest advantage of an AMI is consistency and speed. If you need to run multiple instances of the same web server, you can launch them from an identical AMI, ensuring every environment is the same. This eliminates configuration drift and manual setup errors. It also makes scaling incredibly fast. When traffic to your application spikes, you can automatically launch new, identical instances from your trusted AMI to handle the load.

Creating Your Own Custom AMI

While AWS provides many pre-configured AMIs with popular operating systems, the real power comes from building your own. You can start with a basic AMI, install all your application’s specific software and dependencies, configure security settings, and then save this configured system as a new, custom AMI. This becomes your own golden image, allowing you to replicate your perfect server setup in seconds, anytime you need it.

In essence, an Amazon Machine Image is the foundational building block for computing in the AWS cloud. It provides a reliable, repeatable, and efficient way to deploy your applications, turning a complex setup process into a simple, one-click operation.

Have you ever wondered how companies get thousands of images tagged or large amounts of data sorted quickly? Often, the answer lies with a global, digital workforce powered by a unique platform called Amazon Mechanical Turk, or MTurk for short. Think of it as a massive online marketplace for work, but the tasks are small, digital, and completed by people all over the world.

At its core, Amazon Mechanical Turk connects businesses and researchers, known as Requesters, with a vast pool of remote workers, called Providers or Turkers. These workers perform small, computer-based tasks that are surprisingly tricky for artificial intelligence to handle but are simple for human intelligence.

What Kind of Tasks Are on MTurk?

The variety of tasks, known as HITs (Human Intelligence Tasks), is quite broad. You might be asked to identify objects in a photo, transcribe a short audio clip, complete a quick survey for a university study, or categorize products for an online store. Each task is designed to be completed in minutes, and workers are typically paid a small amount for each one they finish accurately.

Who Uses This Platform and Why?

Requesters use MTurk because it provides access to a scalable, on-demand workforce. For a researcher needing data from hundreds of participants or a startup company labeling thousands of images, MTurk offers a fast and cost-effective solution. On the other side, workers use the platform to earn a little extra money in their spare time, develop new skills, or even as a flexible primary income source.

Getting Started as a Worker

If you’re curious about trying it out, signing up is straightforward. You’ll need an Amazon account to create a worker profile. Once you’re in, you can browse the available HITs and choose ones that match your skills and interests. It’s a good idea to start with simple, low-paying tasks to build your reputation and accuracy rating before moving on to more complex work.

Amazon Mechanical Turk has created a unique ecosystem that powers everything from academic research to machine learning projects. It demonstrates the continued, invaluable role of human judgment in our increasingly automated world, connecting human effort with digital needs in a simple, effective marketplace.

Imagine having a helpful assistant in your home, ready to answer questions, play your favorite song, or turn off the lights, all without you lifting a finger. That’s the magic of Amazon Alexa. At its heart, Alexa is a cloud-based voice service that powers a family of smart devices, the most popular being the Amazon Echo smart speakers.

You interact with Alexa simply by saying a wake word, typically “Alexa,” followed by a command or question. It’s designed to make daily life a little easier and a lot more connected, bringing the concept of a smart home to life for millions of people.

What Can Alexa Actually Do For You?

Alexa’s capabilities are constantly growing, but its core functions are incredibly useful. You can ask it to set timers while cooking, add items to your shopping list, or get a quick weather update. It’s a fantastic entertainment hub, allowing you to stream music from services like Amazon Music and Spotify, or listen to audiobooks and podcasts. For smart home control, Alexa can become the central command for compatible lights, thermostats, and plugs, letting you manage your environment with your voice.

Bringing Alexa Into Your Home

Getting started with Alexa is straightforward. You’ll need an Alexa-enabled device, such as an Echo Dot or Echo Show. Plug it in, download the Alexa app on your smartphone, and follow the simple setup instructions. The app is your control center for connecting music services, discovering new “skills” (which are like apps for Alexa), and managing your smart home devices.

Making the Most of Your Voice Assistant

To have a smooth experience, speak to Alexa clearly and use natural, direct commands like, “Alexa, play some jazz music,” or “Alexa, what’s on my calendar today?” Don’t be afraid to explore the thousands of skills available in the app to add new functionalities, from guided workouts to interactive games for the family. For better privacy, you can use the mute button on your device to electronically disconnect the microphone when needed.

Amazon Alexa is more than just a speaker; it’s a versatile tool that simplifies tasks and adds a layer of convenience to your daily routine. By starting with a few basic commands, you can gradually build a more connected and efficient home environment.

You’ve filled your cart with amazing Amazon Black Friday deals, but the clock is ticking. That feeling of urgency is completely normal, as these incredible discounts don’t last forever. Knowing exactly when the sale ends is the key to securing those items on your wishlist before they sell out or revert to their original prices.

While the exact dates shift slightly each year, the general timeline for Amazon’s Black Friday event is fairly consistent. The sale doesn’t just happen on a single day anymore; it’s more of an extended shopping season.

The Official End of Amazon’s Black Friday Deals

Officially, Amazon’s main Black Friday sale typically concludes at the end of the day on the Friday after Thanksgiving. However, it’s crucial to think of this as a soft deadline. Many of the most popular doorbuster deals, especially on high-demand electronics like TVs and headphones, can sell out within hours or even minutes of going live. For these lightning deals, the countdown timer on the product page is your most reliable guide.

Don’t Stop Shopping Just Yet

Just because the main Black Friday event is over doesn’t mean the savings are. Amazon seamlessly transitions from Black Friday into its Cyber Monday sale, which often runs through the entire following week. This is fantastic news if you missed a deal, as some discounts are extended or even repeated. Think of it as a second chance to grab what you wanted.

How to Stay Ahead of the Clock

To make sure you never miss a deadline, a little preparation goes a long way. Adding items to your wishlist ahead of the sale makes them easy to track. Enable notifications for the Amazon app so you’re alerted when a wishlist item goes on sale. Most importantly, keep a close eye on those countdown timers on individual deal pages—they provide the most accurate end time for that specific offer.

In short, while the official Black Friday sale wraps up on Friday night, the spirit of the sale continues right into Cyber Monday and beyond. By watching those timers and staying vigilant, you can shop with confidence and secure all the deals on your list.

For centuries, the source of the mighty Amazon River was one of geography’s greatest mysteries. Early explorers searched deep into the South American jungles, following the river’s immense flow backwards in an attempt to find its beginning. Today, we know the answer, though it might surprise you that it involves a debate settled not so long ago.

The Long-Held Answer: The Marañón River

For much of modern history, the headwaters of the Marañón River in Peru were considered the true source of the Amazon. This powerful river surges from the Andes mountains and contributes a massive volume of water. If you were to look at a map from a few decades ago, you would likely see the Marañón named as the primary starting point. This origin point set the river’s length at an already impressive 6,400 kilometers.

A New Contender in the Highlands

The story changed in the 1990s and early 2000s thanks to advancements in satellite technology and GPS. A series of scientific expeditions proposed a different source. They identified a much more remote and tiny stream, high in the Peruvian Andes, as the furthest point in the entire Amazon river system. This stream is born from a simple trickle of melting snow on a peak called Nevado Mismi.

The Official Source Today

So, where does the Amazon actually begin? The scientific consensus now points to the headwaters of the Apurímac River on Nevado Mismi. This tiny spring, over 5,000 meters above sea level, is the most distant point from the Amazon’s mouth that water flows from. By starting the measurement here, the Amazon’s length was recalculated, making it the longest river in the world, even surpassing the Nile.

It’s a fascinating journey from a small, icy trickle in the high Andes to the colossal, freshwater powerhouse that empties into the Atlantic Ocean thousands of miles away. This humble beginning reminds us that even the greatest forces in nature can start from the smallest of places.

Imagine having the perfect present for anyone on your list, no matter their taste or age. That’s the magic of an Amazon gift card. It’s a simple and versatile way to give someone the freedom to choose exactly what they want from the vast selection on Amazon. Whether it’s for a birthday, a holiday, or just to say thank you, this little card holds a world of possibilities.

How an Amazon Gift Card Works

An Amazon gift card is essentially a pre-loaded amount of money that can be spent on the Amazon website or app. You can purchase them in physical form at many retail stores or as a digital code sent instantly via email. The recipient then enters the claim code during checkout to apply the balance to their purchase. Any unused funds stay in their Amazon account for future use, making it a gift that never goes to waste.

The Many Benefits of Choosing a Gift Card

Why are these gift cards so popular? For the giver, it takes the stress out of shopping. There’s no need to guess sizes, colors, or preferences. For the receiver, it’s the gift of choice. They can put it toward a new book, a kitchen gadget, a video game, or even save it for a larger purchase. It’s also a fantastic last-minute solution that feels thoughtful, not rushed.

Tips for Giving and Using Your Card

When you give a digital card, you can often schedule the email to arrive on a special day. For physical cards, it’s a nice touch to pair it with a small, personal gift. If you receive one, remember to check the balance and keep the code safe. You can use it all at once or a little at a time. It’s your personal shopping fund for whenever you need it.

In a world full of choices, an Amazon gift card is a wonderfully simple and appreciated gift. It’s a small token that says, “I want you to have something you’ll truly love,” and that’s a beautiful message to send.

Finding a great movie to watch can sometimes feel like a challenge, but your Amazon Prime Video subscription is a fantastic place to start. With a constantly rotating library of films, there’s always something new to find, from recent blockbusters to beloved classics. Let’s look at how you can find the perfect movie for your next movie night.

Finding the Latest Hits on Prime Video

Amazon Prime Video frequently adds popular movies that were recently in theaters. You can often find major studio releases and acclaimed independent films. The service also produces its own high-quality original movies, which are available exclusively to subscribers. A quick browse through the “Featured” or “Movies” section on the main page will show you the newest and most talked-about titles available to stream right now.

How to Search for Specific Genres

If you’re in the mood for something specific, using the genre categories is your best bet. Prime Video organizes its library into easy-to-navigate sections like Action, Comedy, Drama, and Thriller. This makes it simple to find a movie that matches your mood. You can also find curated collections for holidays, family movie night, or even films that have won awards, helping you narrow down your choices quickly.

Tips for Finding Hidden Gems

Beyond the big hits, Prime Video has a deep catalog of older films and lesser-known independent movies. To find these treasures, try using the search bar with a favorite actor or director’s name. You might be surprised by what you find. The “Included with Prime” filter is also essential—it ensures you’re only looking at movies that are part of your subscription, so there are no surprises.

With a little bit of browsing and these simple tips, you can easily find a movie that’s just right for you. Your next favorite film is likely waiting for you on Amazon Prime Video right now.

Imagine having a tiny device, no bigger than a pack of gum, that can turn your ordinary television into a full-fledged smart entertainment hub. That’s the magic of an Amazon Fire TV Stick. It plugs directly into your TV’s HDMI port, connecting to your Wi-Fi to open up a world of movies, shows, music, and apps right on your biggest screen.

Your Gateway to Streaming Services

At its core, the Fire TV Stick gives you access to all your favorite streaming platforms. Whether you use Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, or YouTube, you can download their apps and watch everything in one convenient place. It also integrates deeply with Amazon’s own services, making it simple to rent or buy movies from Prime Video or listen to your favorite albums on Amazon Music.

Going Beyond Movies and TV Shows

This little stick does more than just play video. You can use it to view your personal photos and videos on the big screen, play casual games with an optional remote or game controller, and even listen to music through services like Spotify. Some models support 4K Ultra HD and HDR for a stunning picture, and with Alexa voice control built into the remote, you can simply say what you want to watch.

How to Get Started with Your Device

Setting up a Fire TV Stick is straightforward. After plugging it into your TV’s HDMI port and a power source, you’ll use the remote to connect to your home Wi-Fi network. From there, you just sign into your Amazon account and start downloading the apps you love. The interface is designed to be intuitive, offering personalized recommendations based on your viewing habits.

In short, the Amazon Fire TV Stick is a simple, affordable key that unlocks a vast universe of digital entertainment, making your regular TV much, much smarter.