The Current Plus: Smart highways coming; MacBook payout; bye-bye, free browsers | In partnership with Oracle | | I’ve got that Friday feelin’, friend! I just got back from Hawaii, and it was a beautiful trip. If you’re itching for a vacation, here’s an out-there option: Stay at Prince’s “Purple Rain” house. Take your best guess at how much the stay is per night at Prince’s palace. Keep in mind prices don’t drop till August. Leave your guess in your rating response for this newsletter below, and I’ll pick one person to win a $25 gift card. ▶️ Today’s free newsletter is brought to you by Oracle. Don’t let your business fall behind. They’re the go-to if you want to get AI into your operations. Now, on to the tech smarts! — Kim 📫 First-time reader? Sign up here. (It’s free!) IN THIS ISSUE 📸 Picture perfect 😳 NSFW YouTube ads 💻 MacBook payday |
TODAY'S TOP STORY Take better family pics It’s happened to me, and this holiday weekend, it might happen to you: You finally get everyone together and it’s the perfect time for a pic. Before you snap that first shot, I want to pass along insider tricks you’re going to want to remember. Use your phone’s timer Both iPhone and Android have built-in photo timers. By using a timer, you don’t have to ask some random stranger to take a pic, which could lead to something worse. My friend handed her phone to someone to take a pic of her and her daughter, and the guy ran away with her phone. For your iPhone: Open your Camera app and tap the arrow at the top. Scroll to the right in the menu, tap the clock icon, and pick the 10-second delay. After the countdown, your phone will automatically snap a 10-photo burst. Go to the photo and tap Select in the bottom right to choose the keepers. On Android: Head to your phone’s camera app, select Timer and turn it on. Select your delay interval (two, five or 10 seconds), then it’s time to shine! Stability, people Tripods are one pro secret to getting amazing shots. No more balancing your phone on something and hoping it stays. This inexpensive option is both a tripod and a selfie stick, and it comes with a wireless remote. This top-of-the-line version has a stabilizing gimbal and is good enough for pro-quality video footage. Get one now so you never miss the perfect shot. Get better smiles “Say cheese” is the classic photo prompt, but it can result in fake-looking smiles. Your best bet is to make a joke about eight seconds into that 10-second timer to get everyone to smile. I like this one: “I love to go Komando!” Otherwise, try a word that ends with an -uh sound, like “yoga.” Clean up your pics At a family barbecue? You might not want that beer bottle or red plastic cup spoiling your pic. Facetune (iOS, Android) is the big app everyone’s using these days — so much so that when people think a pic is edited, they accuse it of being “Facetuned,” not “Photoshopped!” Pro tip: If you’re on a Mac, a touch-up tool is built right into the Photos app. Open the pic, then select Edit > Retouch. Adjust the brush size > click and drag the brush over the object you want to erase. On a PC, you can use the new Generative Erase tool in the Windows Photos app. (I included steps in yesterday’s newsletter. Here’s a link in case you missed it!) 📸 The last time I brought a professional photographer to an event was a nightmare. He was a real loose Canon. (I crack myself up sometimes writing this newsletter!) |
WEB WATERCOOLER 🚫 NSFW ads on YouTube: A Redditor spotted ads for a p*rn game. Somehow even worse, the sketchy footage was stolen from a different p*rn game. Talk to the kids about not clicking these ads. Funny how YouTube is slow to remove this kind of garbage but quick to disable ad blockers. Priorities, eh? No more free web browsers: Most lack the essential security businesses need, and app integration generally stinks. Enter the new genre of enterprise browsers (paywall link), built to be secure and productive. You'll have to pay to play, of course. If you have a biz, it’s something to consider. It might even reduce your cyber-insurance costs. Get your head out of your apps: America’s first smart highway is coming to Interstate 94 in Michigan. This three-mile stretch will have sensors and cameras to alert drivers of traffic jams, accidents and obstacles. The tech will connect to most modern cars with built-in navigation features. No one’s talking about data tracking. 🤑 The check is in the mail: Payments are on the way for folks who bought a MacBook between 2015 and 2019 with a defective butterfly keyboard. If you filed a claim, you’ll get $50 to $395 soon. Woohoo! You sweep me off my feet: The classic puzzle game Minesweeper is now on Netflix. This colorful, reimagined version features an ocean-like setting where you find underwater mines in locations around the world. No in-game ads, no in-app purchases and no extra cost to play. Check out the trailer here. How to spot AI: A new study shows AI tends to overuse specific words, making it easier to detect. “Delves,” “underscores” and “showcasing” are a few “less common” words now increasing in popularity since we all got our hands on chatbots. Delete them from your work! Everything’s bigger in Texas: A San Antonio man listed a Stealth Bomber aircraft on Facebook Marketplace for $2.9 million. The description includes, “Don’t ask me how I got it” and “You couldn’t imagine the hoops I had to jump through to get this.” The Air Force confirmed the post is, of course, bogus. Using free or outdated security software? That’s not smart. You need antivirus software that offers real-time protection against viruses, spyware and other online threats. Use my pick that’s just $19.* |
LISTEN UP | | Top eBay seller makes $25M a year – Here's how Want to start your own eBay side biz? Don’t miss this! Linda Lightman started selling her sons’ video games on eBay in the ’90s. Fast forward to today, and she owns a 100,000-square-foot warehouse where she employs a small army of people. Play Now • 49:22 ▶ |
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TECH LIFE UPGRADE 🏈 Huddle up: Clear space on your phone screen by putting apps into folders by category or how often you use them. To make a folder on iPhone or Android, long press and drag an app icon on top of another. Pro tip: Put all your distracting apps in one folder. Out of sight, out of mind! Want to grow your small biz on social? Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts are now better than TikTok (paywall link) for growing your audience. In 2023, brands spent 700% more on YouTube Shorts creator partnerships than the year before. Gotta go where the money is! Quick reminder, now that it’s hot: In the car, keep your phone in the shade. When you have it plugged in for directions, it can overheat in minutes if it’s directly in the sun. If your computer’s running hot, check out my guide for fixing that issue. ⚙️ Fast access: Find hidden shortcuts from the Start button on Windows 11. Press Windows key + X or right-click the Start button to reveal a list of shortcuts, including Settings, Task Manager and the Run prompt. Drag and drop: In Gmail, your mail is divided into categories: “Primary,” “Promotions,” “Social” and “Updates.” If you always want to see emails from a certain sender (ahem, like me!), just drag an email from that sender into the “Primary” tab. Now, emails from that sender will get the all-star treatment. |
DEALS OF THE DAY Power bill-saving moves, all under $30 Create a schedule for your appliances or an auto-off timer with a pair of these smart plugs, on sale for $14. Bonus: Enable the “Away mode” for that hall lamp to fool bad guys while you’re on vacation. These LED bulbs are super versatile and dimmable with five options for brightness. Get four for under $10. Install a door sweep if you have gaps between areas where you’re air conditioning and not. This one is a steal at $9.93. This rechargeable table fan can move around the house, keeping your cooling bill down. A few colors are available too, at $12. Blackout curtains can save you money by keeping that sunny room cooler. They come in tons of colors and are on sale for $18. |
BY THE NUMBERS 6% of your paycheck The latest default 401(k) contribution. Companies auto-enroll employees at twice the rate they did a decade ago to encourage more people to save (paywall link). It’s working: Last year, the average employee saved almost 12% of their pay in a 401(k), an all-time high. $300 more revenue Per month, if you offer extras with your Airbnb. Owners are tacking on things like airport transfers and local tours to boost their Airbnb incomes with almost no overhead. Oh, and be smart with your pricing; folks expect to pay a little more during peak seasons. $214.53 per person To charter an Uber Yacht in Ibiza. Yeah, seriously. Starting July 26, Ibiza travelers can prebook a yacht for up to eight people, which includes pick-up and drop-off, use of a personal skipper, champagne, snacks, and goodie bags. Uber will launch “limo boats” in Venice and Greece later this month. |
WHAT THE TECH? We need to start thinking about what kind of world we’re going to leave for Keith Richards. |
UNTIL NEXT TIME ... I bought Prince’s “Greatest Hits” album the other day for $20. Then, I partied like it was $19.99! (Oh, come on … It wasn’t that bad!) Just a reminder, review this newsletter below, and the person closest to the nightly rental rate on Prince’s “Purple Rain” house gets a $25 gift card. ❤️ If this newsletter made you laugh, shake your head or shout, “Whoa! I didn’t know that before!” share it with a pal. Every new reader around here means we can provide even better free tech-life advice. See you tomorrow with a tip based on a question I get all the time: “Kim, I was part of a data breach. What do I do now?” Until then, stay your awesome, smart self. — Kim |
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