Laden...
September 21, 2023 |
In partnership with ExpressVPN |
Welcome to your Thursday tech-life upgrade! My iMac gave me the dreaded spinning rainbow-colored beach ball of death this morning. Yup, these things even happen to me. The fix: Re-index Spotlight's cache and life is good again. β Quick tip: On a computer? Take a look at the top of your browser. You know what the refresh, back and forward buttons do, but what about the rest? The padlock icon indicates whether the site you're connected to is secure. The star is a shortcut to bookmark a page. If you see a little globe or shield, that indicates your VPN is on. Now you know! β Kim π« First-time reader? Sign up here. (Itβs free!) IN THIS ISSUEπ£οΈ Voice text pro tipsβοΈ YouTube editor appπ LastPass warning |
DEAL OF THE DAY
|
YOU SHOULD KNOWπΉ Make better videos: YouTube's new app, YouTube Create, includes a bunch of free, easy-to-use tools to make Shorts and longer vids. Add your clips, use the editing tools, trim everything, add stickers, GIFs and whatever else you want. It includes royalty-free songs, too. It's in beta for Android. Bummer, no iPhone version yet. Powering down: The iPhone 15 has a sweet new feature. In the settings, you can see when it's time to replace your battery. You'd have to get deep into your phone's analytics to do that on an older model. Makes sense to me. Apple would much rather you buy a new battery than just charge your phone more. Artist in your browser: The latest version of the text-to-image tool DALLβE will create results right within ChatGPT. You can use DALLβE to create works inspired by past artists, but it'll no longer allow you to copy a living artist. Copyright laws, anyone? The update drops next month. Still using LastPass? After all its privacy and security trouble in the past year, I'd say it's time to jump ship. But if you're sticking around, LastPass says all master passwords must now meet a 12-character minimum. The fact that passwords less than that were still allowed is kind of mind-boggling. πΆ Upgrade your earbuds: The second-gen Apple AirPods Pro are $50 off right now on Amazon. They come with a MagSafe charging case and a USBβC option, so no more looking for another one of those Apple Lightning cords. They just came out, so 20% off is a pretty sweet deal you should scoop up now before itβs over. |
ποΈ Simplifying tech in bite-sized minutesSay hello to my Daily Tech Update podcast. In the first minute, get the latest tech news distilled down to its essence. In the next, learn a practical digital trick that can make your life easier or more fun. |
TECH LIFE UPGRADESποΈ The great outdoors: Campsites at top-tier national parks book out months or even a year in advance. If you want to snag a cancellation, check out the website Campflare. It scans bookings at national parks, state parks and national forests every 45 seconds. Mmm, sβmores. Quit snoopinβ: Use your face or fingerprint, not a passcode, to unlock your smartphone. Criminals are taking advantage of people in bars, restaurants and anywhere they can watch while you type in your code. That handsome stranger might be waiting to snatch your phone. Catch them in the act: Use Gmail? Next time you sign up for an app or online service, put a plus sign (+) and a word after your username, before the @ symbol. Itβll look like this: username+app name[at]gmail[.]com. Youβll receive the email like normal, but it also allows you to check if that service shared that email address with anyone else. Smile for the camera: The sweet spot to mount your video doorbell is 48 inches from the ground. Most doorbell cams have a wide scope, so you don't need to put them any higher. If you do, you might get notifications every time the sun crosses your porch. π Goodnight, moon: If you live in a city, it's difficult sometimes to see the beautiful night sky through all the bright lights, buildings and smog. Try Dark Site Finder to find the best places near you to view stars away from city lights. Bonus points for downloading an astronomy app like SkySafari Legacy so you know which constellation, planet, star or potential UFO you're looking at. |
Take back your privacy in one clickA virtual private network, or VPN, is a great place to start. A VPN encrypts your data and hides your IP address, giving you an extra layer of protection from snoops, advertisers and Big Tech companies looking to profit off you. Some VPNs slow your connection or, worse, track your internet activity and compromise your security. Not ExpressVPN. ExpressVPNβs servers run on RAM, or volatile memory, thatβs cleared each time the server is reset β meaning they donβt save your data. You can connect in just one click from a Windows PC, Mac, iPhone, Android, iPad, you name it. π¨ Deal alert: Get an extra THREE months free since you subscribe to my newsletter. |
ASK ME YOUR QUESTIONSHelp me list my biz
β Have a question for me? Drop it right here, or leave me a voicemail at 602β381β8200 ext. 290. |
FREEBIE OF THE DAYFree file encryptorYou're sending a document you don't want just anyone to open. Encrypt it. It's easy with Hat.sh. Drag in your file, set a password and then download the encrypted version. Now, you only need to share that password with your recipient. |
BYTES OF HUMOR: LOADING LAUGHSI fought the lawn and the lawn won. π Phew, that was a lot of tech know-how you just gained for free. If there's something you want to learn, get better at or understand, I'm here for you. Reply to this email or drop a comment when you rate this newsletter. Thank you for letting me in your inbox with the best tech newsletter in the USA! β Kim |
Komando Referral ProgramShare this newsletter β Earn prizes!Step 1: Copy your unique referral link:https://www.komando.com/friends/?referralCode=0rvmdp6&refSource=copy Step 2: Share your link!Post it on social media, send it in a text or paste it into an email to a pal. If they sign up using that link, you get the credit! |
How'd we do?What did you think of today's issue? π Fantasticπ Just OKπ Waste of time |
π« Was this forwarded to you? Sign up free here. ποΈ Want to listen to my show? Find your local radio station. π Thinking about upgrading? Try the Komando Community free for 30 days. π² Looking to advertise in this newsletter? Contact us. |
Photo credit(s): Β© Roman Samborskyi | Dreamstime.com, Twitter.com/ilovefamiIyguy |
Laden...
Laden...
Β© 2024