The Current + Elvisā guitar car, Amazon tariffs, Metaās new AI, Fuji rescue fail and more tech smarts - In partnership with Oracle NetSuite | šāāļø Happy Wednesday to you, friend. Kids say the darndest things, like, āCan we stop the TV, so I can potty?āInstead of saying, āHoney, thatās not how it works,ā the dad said, āSure.ā That tiny parenting moment turned into a massive shift in how we watch TV. Can you guess what now-standard feature was born from one kidās real-life bathroom emergency? A) Fast-forward commercials, B) Record multiple shows at once, C) Pause a show, or D) On-screen TV guide. The answer is waiting for you at the end. Just donāt fast-forward, or youāll miss some really good stuff! š Know someone who reads reviews like itās a trust fall? Forward this. AIās got them surrounded, but Iāve got their back. ā Kim š« First-time reader? Sign up here. (Itās free!) | TODAY'S DEEP DIVE Be everyoneās tech hero Image: ChatGPT When youāre the tech-savvy friend, itās basically your job to fix everything that plugs in. Who saves the saviors? Me! Now, depending on your OS, model, updates and general tech karma, your screen might not match mine exactly. Donāt panic, just keep moving forward. Youāve got this! Secret Windows restart trick A simple reboot can fix most computer issues. Instead, try a Shift shutdown to close all processes and apps and clear the RAM completely. Hold down the Shift key before you hit Restart. Keep holding it until your PC powers down. Choose Continue when it turns back on. ā»ļø Did you know ⦠Windows is more environmentally friendly than macOS? Windows puts your deleted files in the Recycle Bin; macOS just throws them in the Trash. (Bet you never thought of that before!) Wipe your location from photos Your phone is a snitch. Every photo you snap is packed with metadata, the time, camera settings and location (hello, stalkers). Hereās how to turn it off. On iPhone, open the image you want to share and tap the share button (square with an arrow pointing up). Next, select Options and toggle off Location. On Android, open your Gallery, select the photo, then go to More options (three dots) > Details > Edit > click Remove location information (red minus icon) and tap Save. Fix your phoneās call audio Letās say youāre on the phone with a pal, and your background is so noisy that your friend canāt hear you. Good news if you have an iPhone: Thereās Voice Isolation mode. Place your call, and when your recipient picks up, swipe down from the top right of your screen to access the Control Center. Tap Phone Controls at the top. Under Audio & Video, choose the button labeled Voice Isolation. On a Samsung phone, open Settings > Sounds and vibration > Sound quality and effects. Here, youāll see Adapt sound. You can customize this or choose a preset option. Super easy. Have a newer Google Pixel? Go to Settings > Sound & vibration > Clear calling. Toggle on Use Clear Calling. Remote in like an IT pro I know how frustrating it can be to walk someone through tech steps. Try Googleās Chrome Remote Desktop. Install the free browser extension on both your computer and the computer of someone youāre helping. When itās time to remote in, go to the Remote Desktop site. Easy! Opt out of ad tracking Just say no to personalized advertising on your phone. This is the best tip on this list, donāt you think? On iPhone, open Settings > Privacy & Security. Scroll down and tap Apple Advertising. Toggle left on the switch next to Personalized Ads. On Android, tap Settings > Privacy > Advanced > Ads, and toggle the switch for Opt out of Ads Personalization. š§» Go ahead and share these tips to make yourself look like a genius. A real one, unlike the guy who invented one-ply toilet paper. Iād never shake his hand. |
THE KIM KOMANDO SHOW Psychiatrist falls for $500K pig butchering scam A doctor who lost half a million says greed got the best of him. Melinda Gates finally talks Bill, Epstein and trust. Plus, an Uber driver drives off with a sleeping child, and my go-to tip to lock in the lowest hotel price. Listen on Komando.com ā |
DEALS OF THE DAY Another one fights the dust š Hereās your go-to team for keeping things spotless and sane. This gooey dust gel cleaner ($7) gets those crumb-filled crevices. Grab a small sink plunger (12% off ) that really packs a punch. Canāt reach it? This microfiber duster ($26) extends over 8 feet. Keep your cleaning stuff out of the way with a wall mount ($17). Over 33K folks gave this screen cleaner (21% off) five stars on Amazon. ā” Germ-zap: Parents, check out a mini UV case (5% off) that sanitizes pacifiers in just 59 seconds. |
WEB WATERCOOLER š Amazon carts get heavier: Thanks to new tariffs on Chinese imports, Amazon sellers have jacked up prices on nearly 1,000 products by an average of almost 30%. The White House is blasting Amazon for planning to add a ātariff costā display price to products affected. Your $14 impulse buy just became a $27 mistake. Tariff relief? More like tariff thief. If you spot ads on Facebook for things like a $750 ātariff relief credit,ā donāt click on them (paywall link). These bogus posts trick you into filling out forms or calling a number that steals your info. Everywhere you turn, thereās another scam. š¤ Llama mia: Meta just launched a stand-alone AI app (iOS, Android) to compete against ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Claude and all the others. Itās the same chatbot youāve used inside Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp, built on their Llama model. Iāll report back after Iāve used it for a bit. šÆļø Lights out: Spain and Portugal got power-washed into the 1800s on Monday. The entire grid collapsed in 3.5 seconds, and power was out across entire countries for several hours. Spainās thinking the massive blackout is sabotage. Some blame Russia. Others say freak weather. Either way, lights are back, but answers are not. Scammers are deepfaking finance pros: Theyāre posting videos impersonating experts like Abby Joseph Cohen, promising to make you rich fast. All you have to do? Join their WhatsApp group for āundervaluedā stock tips. Please donāt. Anytime a complete stranger promises you wealth or love and wants to use WhatsApp for a conversation, that is a major scam red flag. š» Double rescue on Mount Fuji: A 27-year-old had to be saved twice in just four days trying to scale the mountain. Yep, twice. First, he lost his crampons (those spiky things for walking on ice) and couldnāt climb down. Rescuers got him back to the parking lot. There, he realized he did not have his phone. So he hiked back up to find his phone and got altitude sickness. Maybe just take the L next time, dude. š Maybe a blindness cure: This is amazing! Scientists just figured out how to reverse retinal damage by blocking a protein that stops our eyes from healing themselves. The tech is still in early trials, but human tests could start by 2028, giving new hope to millions with glaucoma, macular degeneration and other vision loss. Btw, itās been almost two years since my corneal transplant. It didnāt heal exactly the way I hoped because initially I had 20/20 vision. But hey, Iāll take it: 20/100 vision is a whole lot better than 20/400! Know this about LinkedIn: The best days to post are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Aim for early mornings (around 8-10 a.m.) or around lunch (12-1 p.m.) in your local time zone to capture the most engagement. Use my special link to post a job for free on LinkedIn.* |
DAILY TECH UPDATE How make $1 million reselling junk Two teens started flipping discarded items from landfills. Now they run a seven-figure resale business. Listen on Komando.com ā |
DEVICE ADVICE ā”ļø 3-second tech genius: UWB = Ultra-Wideband. This tech powers super-precise location like AirTags knowing exactly which couch cushion your keys are under. Use that to impress your family and friends. Deepfake red flags: Hereās how to spot if someone on a Google Meet, Zoom call or Teams meeting is really an AI bot. Ask them to wave their hand across their face. This can trigger a glitch. Watch for their lips not matching what theyāre saying, changes in lighting, robotic movements or if they say, āAI is my master.ā āļø On the dotted line: Sign PDFs fast without extra apps. On a Mac, open the PDF and select Show Markup Toolbar (circle with a pin icon) at the top. Hit Signature (cursive icon) to sign with your trackpad or camera. For Windows, open the PDF in Microsoft Edge and click Draw (pen icon) in the toolbar to sign. Lock down your device security: If youāre still browsing, shopping and working online without antivirus software, youāre making a mistake. My trusted pick is $19 for the first year.* š Deets in the sheets: Want free feedback? Whip up a survey on Google Forms. Just drop the link into your receipts, emails or even texts, and track responses in Google Sheets. Itās an easy way to hear from your customers, and an easier way to turn strangersā opinions into a personality crisis. šļø Donāt pay full price: When stores clear out their inventory at the end of each season, thatās your chance to save. Type āend of season clearanceā into Amazonās search bar and use the filters on the left to find what you need. And check out Amazon Outlet for overstocked and off-season deals. |
BY THE NUMBERS 2,700 Thatās how many parts are inside an iPhone, sourced from 28 countries. Less than 5% are made in the U.S., and most of the rest come from Asia. Only 30 out of 187 suppliers have no presence in China. āDesigned in Californiaā is different when the screws are from four continents. 186 mph Thatās how fast a 22-year-old YouTuber was clocked on a highway. The helmet-cam footage of him speeding on a Connecticut highway at nearly 3x the speed limit went viral but also got him arrested for reckless driving. Heās since been released on a $5K bond, and grounded by the internet. $74,000 Thatās how much a guy has made renting out his yard. His secret? An app called Neighbor, which connects people who need parking or storage with folks who have extra space. He has about 21 spots for things like RVs, boats and buses, renting for anywhere between $90 and $200 a month. BRB, measuring my driveway. |
WHAT THE TECH? | Image: https://www.ebay.com/itm/297243907963 |
| The King of Rock didnāt just shake hips, he shredded pavement in a literal Guitar Car. Elvisā 1970 Cadillac Eldorado, wildly chopped and stretched into a six-string fever dream by custom car legend Jay Ohrberg, is now for sale on eBay after being found abandoned in France. Unclear if baguette crumbs or chicken fingers were in the glove box. (Get it, āLove Me Tenderā?) Originally powered by a 500-cubic-inch V8, the Guitar Car is now a non-running, fiberglass-finned monument to madness. It needs a full restoration, or a priest. Bidding starts at: āSeriously, honey, itās collectible, but more importantly, itās art.ā I never understood how Elvis got so overweight. He ate nothing but a hound dog. (Oh, tough crowd today!) |
LOGGING OUT ... šŗ The answer: C) Live pause on DVR. Yep, TiVoās most iconic feature was born because a curious kid just wanted to press pause to run to the bathroom. Her dad, TiVo cofounder Jim Barton, realized that maybe TV didnāt have to be a hostage situation. From Elvis to this: What makes Miley Cyrusā toilet so special? Itās a potty in the USA! Well, thereās another edition of the best tech newsletter in the USA in the books. Tomorrow, Iāve got more smart stuff youāll accidentally quote in conversation. See you there. Consider yourself tech royalty. Long may you reign. šš»ā Kim š£ Donāt keep me a secret: Share this email with friends (or copy URL here) | |
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