The Current Plus: US water under cyberattack, fake obituaries, Bluetooth finder and more | In partnership with Oracle | | A tech-tastic Thursday to you, my friend! “I gotta debug your computer” — the classic IT line. But did you know it originated with an actual bug? Engineers troubleshooting an early computer malfunction found a dead bug on the circuit board. Was it a … A.) Cockroach, B.) Fly, C.) Moth or D.) Silverfish? Make your best guess, and you’ll find the answer at the end. Calling all business owners: You want to introduce AI into your operations but have no idea where to start. I’ve got your back. Go to Oracle.com/kim* to take a free test drive with the company that can handle all the tricky parts for you. More below! First, let’s jump into today’s newsletter! — Kim 📫 First-time reader? Sign up here. (It’s free!) IN THIS ISSUE 🌼 Spring has sprung 🕵🏼 Glassdoor spilled the beans ⚖️ Big Tech on trial |
TODAY'S TOP STORY Amazon is spring cleaning You know I love a deal. Amazon’s Big Spring Sale is running through March 25. A ton is on sale, but I’m partial to tech (ya think?), so that’s where I focused my scrolling. I pulled big discounts I thought you’d want to know about, plus products I always recommend. If you’ve been on the fence about a gadget, now could be a great time to buy. Oh, and one last thing — these deals are for everyone, not just Prime members. Happy shopping! Amazin’ deals on Amazon tech Fire Sticks galore. Alexa, play “Planet Earth!” The 4K model is fantastic for streaming the easy way. Amazon Echo smart speakers for every room! I can’t believe how cheap some of these are ($22!). They’re a fun way to set up a home intercom system. Certified refurbished Ring doorbells, cameras, sensors and kits. Same warranty as a new device but a lot cheaper! Replace your clunky router with this eero mesh router for homes up to 1,500 square feet or this one for homes up to 3,000 square feet. Nab some Echo Buds at their lowest price ever. Home goods and gadgets Score a great deal on a new Keurig (love that red one), or refresh your K‑Cup stash. For ground bean devotees, the Ninja coffee maker with a built-in milk frother is 30% off. This high-tech humidifier is usually $200 — grab it for just $40. A dimmable digital alarm clock can finally help you get your phone out of the bedroom. Nab this highly rated air purifier just in time for allergy season. A simple smart plug that is easy to set up and use to make anything it plugs into controllable by an app. Phone goods and gadgets If your phone is still caseless, take this opportunity to get an OtterBox, the gold standard among clumsy folks. Phone shoppers, this unlocked Google Pixel 7a for $374 is a great deal. This adjustable stand fits phones and tablets. An Anker portable charger for under $20 — total bargain. If you’re an iPhone user, upgrade to the magnetic Anker MagGo. Big savings on the Apple Pencil, too. Clean your house and car This gob of blue goo gets dust out of vents and off your car’s dashboard. Clean carpets, couches and car seats with this upholstery cleaner (20% off). The Pink Stuff cleaner bundle! Folks, it really is a “miracle” product. Car-detailing supplies from the brand used by the pros. (The soaps smell so good.) This fabric shaver is a real sweater saver that also makes upholstered furniture look like new. Maybe a settee saver? 30% off a cordless wet/dry vac for spotless hardwood floors. A safety box cutter to make opening packages and breaking down boxes easier and safer. Clean yourself up nice The top-of-the-line electric toothbrush I use is just $82. Offset your coffee, soda or tea habit with surprisingly effective whitening strips. If your porcelain throne doesn’t have one of these, you’re missing out. You deserve it. Do something about that crick in your neck with this massage gun — just $25! This top-selling weighted blanket is over half off. A friend swears hers is better than NyQuil for getting her to sleep! A hot air brush to cut your hair-drying time. 🍽️ How can you tell the difference between spring rolls and summer rolls? By their seasoning. (Yes, you have my permission to steal that one!) |
WEB WATERCOOLER Seriously frightening: The White House warns the nation's water systems are a big target for foreign hackers. Case in point: Iranian hackers recently targeted a Pennsylvania facility. Their advice? Beef up cybersecurity by changing default passwords and ensuring software is up to date. Uh, ya think? I recommend keeping a few cases of drinking water on hand. 🕵🏼 Glassholes: That’s what I call the folks who leave nasty anonymous reviews of their former boss on Glassdoor. Those days are now over. Glassdoor is outing posters with names and locations alongside spicy reviews. This means a business can subpoena Glassdoor to get real names to sue. Finally. Dead giveaway: Deborah Vankin, an LA Times journalist, stumbled across her own obituary online, alongside other death announcements and tribute videos. Why? It's a clickbait scam. "Obituary pirates" use AI to create believable yet bogus obits and memorials to rake in ad bucks. This scam is spreading like wildfire now. 🍆 Born to swim: Single ladies and LGBTQ+ couples are scrolling for sperm donors on FB groups and dating apps to skip sperm bank fees and find a personal connection. It's not all baby showers and rainbows, though, compared with the doc-approved way. Let's just say this has a real DIY vibe involving car backseats and motel rooms instead of clinics. Nostalgia is pricy: The late-1990s Nikon COOLPIX digital camera is making a comeback. The hashtag #nikoncoolpix has racked up over 47 million views on TikTok alone. It’s not the specs turning heads, by the way. It's all about that pink aesthetic, baby. Want one? Prepare to shell out $180. ⚖️ Big Tech on trial: A New York judge greenlit lawsuits against YouTube, Facebook and Reddit in connection with the 2022 Buffalo school shooting. They accuse the companies of profiting from hate-filled content that may have radicalized the shooter. Despite their "We're just platforms!" defense, the court's not having it. I’m watching this one very closely. Flying under the radar: The FCC bans radio frequency jammers, but you can find them on Amazon for less than $30, pitched as privacy must-haves or drone blockers. So why should you stay far away? These illegal gadgets could block your calls to 911 or mess with airport navigation systems. ☕️ He likes me a latte: At Muji in Hudson Yards, NYC, there's a new barista in town, and it's not human. Jarvis, named after Iron Man's sidekick, makes your coffee, shakes its metal booty, shoots compliments … and asks for tips via tablet. I’m all for tipping service workers, but this is ridiculous. |
LISTEN UP | | How to spot fake supplements on Amazon Is that vitamin C safe to consume? Here's what you need to check for. Play Now • 6:54 ▶ |
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DEVICE ADVICE If you’re always misplacing things When you drop an AirPod, Apple’s Find My feature helps you find it fast. But for non-Apple earbuds — and all the rest of your Bluetooth gear — it’s not so simple. That’s why you need a Bluetooth-finder app on your phone. It works a bit like a metal detector. Pick your Bluetooth-using gadget (e.g., Raycons,* Oura ring or Fitbit) from the list. The closer you get to it, the stronger the signal will be from the app. Ding-ding-ding! There’s your earbud — under the couch, right where you left it.💡 Our IT genius, John, recommends this option for iPhone and this one for Android. |
TECH LIFE UPGRADES Stop trying to remember your passwords: It’s a losing game, folks. Skip the freebies and use a trusted product for your logins. I tested out Keeper Security* and negotiated a deal just for you. Get 50% off a personal plan (or 30% off for businesses) at KeeperSecurity.com/Kim. Keeper has over 275,000 five-star reviews — and mine, too. Big(ger) screen viewing: Stream music, movies or whatever’s on your iPad to a larger screen. Just tap the ApplePlay icon in the Control Center and select your ApplePlay-compatible device. Score. 🤫 Secret menu in Windows: Right-click on the Start menu button and you can jump to all kinds of places on your PC. You can’t order animal-style fries through this secret menu, but it’s a fun trick! Declutter your Mac: Go to Spotlight Search and type Storage Management. It’ll help you Marie Kondo your Mac storage with recommendations like iCloud and Mail storage, and you can see the biggest files cluttering your computer. You know that old Zip drive does not spark joy! 🕹️ Old-school brain break: Get in a quick game of Atari Breakout without downloading a thing. Type Atari Breakout into Google and hit Enter for a fun, playable version of the classic. |
BY THE NUMBERS $61 monthly on streaming Is what the average American spends. That’s up 27% from last year. Half of those surveyed said a $5 increase is enough to make them cancel. I just dropped a service we weren’t watching! Felt great. 20 minutes of searching On Facebook to buy an endangered monkey. In other words, it’s way too easy. Business Insider reported the listing (and others like it) to Meta, which took them down. A watchdog org says traffickers are “easily and openly operating on the platform.” It can’t be that hard to stop this stuff. 84% of ‘repetitive’ tasks Completed by government workers could be done by AI. The idea is that delegating “complex but repetitive transactions” to AI would simply free up humans to do other things. Sure … I smell budget cuts. |
WHAT THE TECH? His name is Carl, but you can call him Jack. |
UNTIL NEXT TIME ... The answer: C.) Moth! In 1947, Harvard engineers discovered a moth was the cause of their error-prone Mark II. They removed it — a literal debugging! Speaking of debugging, if you’ve got moths in your pantry instead of your PC, you need these moth traps. They’re effective and disgusting — you won’t believe how many moths they catch. That’s not a tech tip; it’s a blech tip. Help keep this newsletter free to you and check out our sponsors. If you want to get AI in your business, take a free test drive at Oracle.com/Kim. 🤗 Thanks for being here. Want to see something specific in this newsletter? Need my help? If it’s anything digital, I’m your gal! Drop me a note or reply to this email. I’ll see you back here tomorrow with the scoop about the next eclipse. It’s totality worth it! — Kim |
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