The Current Plus: Tom Hanks warning, hang up if you hear this, DJI’s tiny new drone | In partnership with Oracle | | 🇺🇸 Hello to a wheeling-and-dealing Labor Day, friend. The first Labor Day was on Sept. 5, 1882, and it was created to recognize the importance of workers' rights. So, for today, let’s do some Labor Day shopping-related trivia. Delivery drivers make the most money per hour working for which service: A.) Amazon, B.) FedEx, C.) UPS or D.) USPS? Make your guess, and you’ll find the answer at the end of this newsletter. ⭐ Be like Bob: Smart Bob won an Apple iPad, and you can win great stuff, too! How? At the bottom of this issue, find your unique referral link, and send that link to others in a text, email or DM, or on your social media feed. When pals sign up, you’ll get credits toward some awesome prizes, including $1,000 in cash! — Kim 📫 First-time reader? Sign up here. (It’s free!) IN THIS ISSUE 🤑 Add to cart 🏃 Tom Hanks deepfakes are back 💰 Find lost money that’s yours |
TODAY'S TOP STORY Best Amazon Labor Day deals Ah, Labor Day — time for burgers, poolside relaxation and unbeatable deals! Whether you're in the market to upgrade your tech, add smart home gadgets or finally score that item you’ve been eyeing, I’ve got you covered. Below are the top Labor Day sales you can’t afford to miss. Ready, set, scroll! Tech and smart home NETVUE Birdfy AI smart bird feeder: Solar-powered camera and auto AI that captures each type of bird (25% off). REVLON One-Step Volumizer: This combo hairdryer and brush means you can dry, style and volumize in one step — and for way less than a Dyson hair tool (48% off). Apple AirPods Pro (2nd-gen): Wireless earbuds with better noise canceling, plus Transparency mode for when you’re somewhere busy and need to hear what’s around you (24% off). Apple MacBook Air with an M3 chip: The latest and greatest model of Apple’s 15-inch laptop works with the new Apple Intelligence and has 16GB of unified memory and 512GB SSD storage (15% off). LEVOIT top-fill humidifiers: Soon, winter will take its toll on your skin. Fix that dryness with a quiet, easy-to-fill humidifier large enough for any room in the house (25% off). Roku Express 4K+: If your streaming device is about to bite the dust, grab this one while it’s on sale. It comes with a voice remote and supports high-quality content (27% off). Blink Mini 2 plug-in smart security camera: HD night view, a built-in spotlight, two-way audio and motion detection (25% off). iHealth no-touch forehead thermometer: A nice upgrade if you use the stick-under-your-tongue kind. Infrared, big LED numbers and ultra-sensitive sensors (56% off). Anker USB-C hub (5-in-1): A must if you use a laptop and have lots to plug in. This includes a 4K HDMI port, a 5 Gbps USB‑C data port, two 5 Gbps USB‑A ports and a 100W PD-IN port (29% off). Anker Prime power bank: Powerful enough to charge a 13-inch MacBook Air with an M2 chip 1.28 times or an iPhone 14 about 4.67 times (17% off). Everything else Chom Chom roller pet hair remover: A reusable lint roller that works on furniture, carpet, clothing, bedding and anything (and everything) else (29% off). Eddie Bauer cotton percale bedding set: The kind of sheets that look crisp and feel cool (28% off). Kitsch satin pillowcase: Good for your skin (fewer wrinkles) and hair (less frizz) and they zip up (17% off). TubShroom tub hair catcher: Gross, I know, but not as gross as pulling a hairball out of the drain (25% off). Hydro Flask 40 oz. tumbler: Everyone is carrying those big insulated tumblers because they’re great at keeping your drinks cold all day (25% off). Columbia hiking boots: They’ll last you for years. Both women’s and men’s styles are on sale right now (up to 52% off). Be sure to check out sales on Amazon devices (think Echo, Kindle, Ring, Fire Sticks and all kinds of TVs), Ninja small appliances and cookware, and customer favorites. Have a few minutes to browse all the deals? Here’s your link! |
WEB WATERCOOLER His password is 1Forrest1: Tom Hanks is warning fans about online ads promoting “miracle cures and wonder drugs” using an AI-generated Tom. The vids are fakes, of course, created without his permission. This isn’t the first time scammers have stolen Tom’s voice; last October, a deepfaked Hanks was promoting a dental plan online. 🤖 Want a job in AI? Recruiters want candidates with a technical background and degree in data science, computer science, mathematics and applied science (paywall link). You also should be proficient in a few programming languages, starting with Python and JavaScript. Bonus points if you’ve taken a course in AI ethics. If you crash this, you’ll see a drone man cry: Chinese drone maker DJI is about to drop Neo. This tiny drone fits in the palm of your hand, weighs less than one-third of a pound and shoots 4K video. Expect a price starting around $230. 🗣️ Alexa’s makeover is going to cost you: This is interesting. Amazon’s in-house Alexa AI software struggled, sometimes taking seven seconds (a digital lifetime) to reply. Now, they’re using Anthropic’s Claude AI. Amazon invested $4 billion in Anthropic. A smarter Alexa is coming in October, costing $5 to $10 a month. Stop blabbin’: Dropbox’s AI may share your files with OpenAI and other third parties. Don’t remember signing up for that? Me, neither. To turn it off, log in to Dropbox, hit your Account icon, go to Settings, find the Third-Party AI tab and toggle the switch to Off. Good thing you get this newsletter so I can alert you to these shenanigans. 📸 Heartwarming moment: A middle school assistant principal in North Carolina had to be at work early on the first day of classes, which meant missing out on her son’s first day of school … again. This year, though, she got a Ring notification on her phone just as he was heading out the door. Mom got to say hi, see his outfit and snap a photo before he left. The video is adorable. Zip it: If your phone rings and someone says, "Can you hear me?" or "Is this [your name]?" hang up. Scammers record your "Yes" to create voice authorizations for bank account access. Bonus points if you report shady numbers to the Better Business Bureau’s Scam Tracker. |
TECH LIFE UPGRADES Before you toss your headphones because they won’t pair: Turn them off and switch off Bluetooth on your phone. Here’s the trick: Be patient! Wait 30 seconds so everything can fully disconnect, then you’ll get a fresh start. 📶 Myth, busted: Bars measure signal strength, not quality. You may get clearer calls with fewer bars if you’re on a less-crowded frequency. For consistent service, consider Wi‑Fi calling in areas with spotty reception. U.S. states are holding onto $70 billion in unclaimed assets: Visit the National Association of Unclaimed Property online to find the link for your state’s treasury website. Pro tip: If you have a frequently misspelled name, go by a nickname or have any former names, check those, too. You never know — I helped one listener find $25,000. No, I didn’t get a cut. 🔦 Light it up: Your iPhone’s flashlight has more brightness levels than the default like-the-sun mode. Hold down the flashlight button and drag the slider up or down. Sweet. Btw, you can also say, “Siri, turn on the flashlight” when you need it (and tell her to turn it off, too). Quick Android refresh: Hold the power and volume-up buttons simultaneously to do a soft reboot. Think of it as a fast way to end processes and speed up your phone. |
LISTEN UP | | The smishing scam Received a message from FedEx or UPS about a package you didn’t order? Don’t fall for it — clicking that link could put your personal and financial information at risk. Play Now • 7:22 ▶ |
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BY THE NUMBERS $1,000 a night Cost of a wellness retreat for new parents. They’re popping up in fancy hotels across the U.S. (paywall link). For that kind of cash, you’ll get access to a 24/7 nursery staff so you can have a full night’s sleep. One hotel’s $800-per-night rate includes lactation consulting, scalp and hand massages, foot rubs, and hot towel rubs. 190 Gbps Speed reached in 6G Wi-Fi tests. The new standard is so fast that you’ll be able to download an entire season of your favorite show in a few seconds. But it’s not coming for another couple of years. 12 hours per week How much kids should read for a better adulthood. Researchers analyzed 10,000 kids and found the earlier they started reading for fun, the better their learning, memory, speech and mental well-being. Looking for recommendations? These are the bestselling kids’ books on Amazon. |
WHAT THE TECH? Oh, the groovy 1970s!
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UNTIL NEXT TIME ... The answer: C.) UPS, averaging $30 to $45 per hour. Their drivers tend to earn the highest hourly wages because of a strong union presence. As for the others, Amazon drivers make between $17 to $25 per hour, FedEx drivers average $20 to $35 an hour, and USPS drivers earn between $19 and $30 hourly. 🍌 I had to fire my fruit delivery driver today. I hate to let the mango but he was driving me bananas. (Was that a groan I heard?) Labor Day deals on things you already buy on Amazon: Check this secret link to see if your regular purchases are on deep discount today. Now, time for me to settle down and browse a few more Labor Day deals. I know, I can’t help it. 🎄 See you back here tomorrow with another issue of the best tech newsletter in the USA! I’ve got details on when you need to book your holiday travel. I can’t believe it’s time to think about that already! — Kim |
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