The Current + Snake TV, dangerous Chrome bug, free iPhone upgrade and great alternative to Notes and Keep - In partnership with ExpressVPN | š„³ Itās Friday, friend. Ever notice how the smallest things make the biggest waves? Take the barcode. Just a little stack of black lines, right? But in 1974, one tiny beep at a grocery store changed the way the world shops. This unsung hero now gets scanned millions of times a day without even a thank-you. Hereās a fun trivia twist: What was the very first product ever scanned? A) Candy bar, B) Canned soup, C) Pack of gum or D) Box of cereal. Answerās waiting at the checkout. šš» I need your help. Iām switching email systems, and this means Big Techās sneaky algorithms need training to know Iām not spam. How? Add me to your contacts or mark this email as a favorite, so you donāt miss a thing. It only takes a sec and makes a huge difference if everyone does this. Thanks a ton! ā Kim š« First-time reader? Sign up here. (Itās free!) | TODAY'S DEEP DIVE Buzzword bingo, anyone? Image: ChatGPT Itās Friday, and while I have my usual mix of news and tips to keep you tech ahead and not tech left behind, letās have some fun, too. Iām sure you know that companies toss millions of dollars into the marketing volcano, hoping to birth the next āJust Do It.ā More often than not, what erupts is something between corporate poetry and an AI freestyle rap battle gone wrong. I rounded up five tech taglines, some ripped from legit boardroom history, others completely fabricated during my passion fruit tea-fueled spiral. Can you tell which are which? No Googling! Scroll down for the answers after you lock in your picks. š Fake or real? 1. āDo no evil.ā Is this a real tech tagline, or did I riff it? 2. āIt just works.ā Did this come from a launch event or a copywriterās imagination? 3. āBuilding the future, one click at a time.ā Sounds slick, but is it legit? 4. āMove fast and break things.ā Startup wisdom or bumper sticker material? 5. āThink smarter, not harder.ā Corporate motto or something I came up with when my glutes were screaming in Pilates. šÆ Ready for the results? 1. āDo no evil.ā ā
Real. This was Googleās infamous unofficial motto until they quietly buried it deep in the fine print. 2. āIt just works.ā ā
Real. Straight from Steve Jobs. It became the Apple gospel, and we still expect it to be true every time we open the box. 3. āBuilding the future, one click at a time.ā ā Made up.But if some startup wants to use it, I accept payment in stock options. 4. āMove fast and break things.ā ā
Real. This was Facebookās early rallying cry before regulators (and grown-ups) got involved. 5. āThink smarter, not harder.ā ā Made up. Though I could see it on a productivity app or a mug in a WeWork. š Howād you score? 5/5: Youāve been to one too many keynotes. 3ā4: Sharp as ever, someoneās paying attention. 0ā2: Letās just say youāre not getting the branding bonus this quarter. If youāve been to enough product launches to qualify for hazard pay, this tagline trivia might have been a walk in the park for you. This is your chance to send this to a smart friend and flex your wits. |
THE KIM KOMANDO SHOW Trapped in a Waymo Mike Johns got stuck in a robotaxi on the way to the airport. I talk to him about what happened. Plus, why kids are losing it over the Minecraft movie, how AI just took over prompt engineering, and new updates on Kim Kardashianās 2016 robbery. Listen on Komando.com ā |
WEB WATERCOOLER šØ Chromeās audio bugged & dangerous: If youāre running Google Chrome 136 without the latest patch, youāre leaving your digital front door wide open. A fresh vulnerability (named CVE-2025-4372) surfaced in Chromeās WebAudio API that lets hackers run malicious code remotely. No user privileges required, just a quick visit to a rigged web page, and boom, theyāre in. Update now. Surprise, iPhone 13 users: You just got a freebie. Appleās iOS 18.5 will unlock satellite connectivity for iPhone 13 models. No hardware changes, just a software update. Itās carrier-dependent, so your provider might still hold you hostage, but itās free to enable. Finally, you can ignore texts from space, not just Earth. Excelling in email: Microsoftās new Outlook rules will put you in a bad mood if you send over 5,000 emails a day and arenāt squeaky clean with SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Now, instead of spam folders, your email marketing will be basically just shouting into a canyon. Instead, use a free option like Mailchimp. š« No ban, no problem: TikTokās execs are telling advertisers to relax, promising the appās staying power despite that little thing called a federal ban potentially kicking in next month (paywall link). With 170 million U.S. users and Super Bowl ad ambitions, TikTok says itās too big to flinch. Netflix is updating its home screen: Well, they should for what we pay them every month. Live events like NFL games will be easier to spot so you donāt miss them. Youāll start seeing labels like āEmmy Winnerā right on show images. And theyāre adding AI to search, so you can type stuff like āsomething scary but also funny,ā and itāll suggest movies and shows that actually fit. Neat. š Polestar recall: The EV maker no one really knows about is recalling over 27,000 Polestar 2s due to a rearview camera issue. In some models, the camera might not show anything when reversing. FYI: It affects 2021 to 2025 models. A fix is coming via software update. Expect a letter with details by June 19. But since you get my free newsletter, you know now. |
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DAILY TECH UPDATE Staying in is the new going out Friday night celebration? Nah. Weāve got food delivery and streaming. You can thank Wi-Fi for that. Listen on Komando.com ā |
DEVICE ADVICE ā”ļø 3-second tech genius: Going overseas? Use WhatsApp or Signal for free messaging over Wi-Fi, and skip roaming fees entirely. Sluggish internet? Donāt ignore it. Someone could be freeloading off your Wi-Fi. Click here for my tips to check whoās connected to your network. If you spot a gadget you donāt recognize, it could be a Wi-Fi moocher. Your signal isnāt a community service.* š§³ Get that job: Donāt send the same resume everywhere. Ask your favorite chatbot to tailor your skills for each role. Just say, āUpdate my resume for the [Title] role at [Company] by focusing on key skills from the job description.ā Copy and paste your current resume and the job listing. This helps you beat those application tracking systems. No āregertsā: Donāt tap all over your screen to fix a typo. Hereās a better way. On your iPhone, press and hold the spacebar until your keyboard goes away. Without letting go, slide your finger until your cursor lands where you want it. If youāre using Gboard on Android, do the same thing. šø DIY stickers: Instagramās Cutouts lets you turn your photos into custom stickers. Start a new Story or Reel, tap Stickers (square smiley face icon) > Cutouts > choose a photo or video with a clear subject. Instagram will create it for you right away or save it for later. FYI, you can only pick one object at a time. š Instead of Google Keep or Apple Notes: Try Notesnook. Itās end-to-end encrypted and lets you export to other apps. Unlike some companies, Notesnook wonāt use your stuff to train an AI chatbot. Are you on track for retirement? Dreaming of retirement but not sure if you are on track to meet your goals? This calculator from Clark.com will help you see the real numbers to determine if you can retire comfortably. Subscribe to Clark.comās free newsletter to receive more must-have tips every day. |
BY THE NUMBERS $68,000 The salary offer a high school junior has already locked in for after graduation. Elijah Rios isnāt heading to college. Heās heading to the welding shop (paywall link). In a world where internships are unpaid and āentry-levelā means three years of experience, Riosā gig, $24 an hour with overtime, a 401(k) and benefits, feels like spotting a unicorn. About 2,000 runners Took on the Atlanta Marathon, with some hoping to punch their ticket to Boston. But the course came up 554 feet short. Yep, someone goofed the route. That teensy error threw off finish times by up to 87 seconds, making them invalid for qualifying. So yeah, months of training ⦠down the drain. Race organizers, you had one job. $10 million Has already been bet on one unregulated site over whoāll become the next pope. Gambling on religious events is banned in Italy, so locals are placing $20 pizza bets instead. As for front-runners? Cardinals Parolin and Tagle. Because nothing says divine intervention like odds-making and mozzarella. |
WHAT THE TECH? | Image: Colorado Rattlecam Livestream |
| Coloradoās latest star isnāt a ski resort or a craft beer, itās a āmega denā of rattlesnakes live-streaming their slithery sitcoms. Project RattleCam launched the ultimate slow-TV experience: dozens of pregnant prairie rattlers sunbathing, shedding and snuggling up in real time. This mesmerizing den of mom-to-be vipers is basically The Real Housewives of Reptilia. Viewers are tuning in by the thousands to watch snakes. Finally, more reality TV you can nap to. |
LOGGING OUT ... š¤ The answer: C) Pack of gum. Specifically, a pack of Wrigleyās Juicy Fruit was the first item ever scanned with a barcode on June 26, 1974, in Troy, Ohio. One small *beep* for gum, one giant leap for checkout lines everywhere. One for the road: What is a flat eartherās least favorite flavor of gum? Spheremint. Oof. āļø If you laughed or learned one thing today, you can thank the #1 tech newsletter in the United States for that. I appreciate you being here. Tomorrow, how to fix your social media algorithms so you see what you really want to see and not what they want to push on you. Youāre gonna love that! Remember: You + curiosity + this inbox = pure magic. Catch you next time. š
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