A happy tech Tuesday to you! Let’s go back in time for today’s trivia question. How does the computing power of your smartphone compare to the guidance computer aboard the 1969 Apollo 11 lunar module? Is a smartphone … A.) About as powerful, B.) 120 times more powerful, C) 12,000 times more powerful or D.) 120,000 times more powerful? Answer’s at the end, friends.

🎙️ “Kim, my radio station stopped carrying your weekend radio show. Can I get it as a podcast?” That’s a bummer, Randy in Ohio. Yes, you can get my show as a podcast on Apple and Spotify. Listen to it when and where you want — commercial-free, by the way. Now, let’s do this. — Kim

I got a call from Jim in Sacramento about a new friend he met on Facebook. She messaged him out of the blue, and they hit it off (just as friends — he’s married). Now, she’s introduced him to her aunt, who happens to be great with crypto.

“The aunt showed me three trades where I made 15% with a $500 investment in 10 minutes while I watched on WhatsApp. I have lost no money at this point. Before I give the aunt $10,000, I wanted to know your thoughts.”

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news

This is a classic pig-butchering scam. I know it seems like things just fell into place, and that’s the point.

How am I so sure? What’s happening here follows the exact script these criminals use. I’ll outline it for you:

• Cold outreach: It starts with a random text, friend request, DM or comment. They’re friendly and chatty.
• Feeding time: They want to know about your life, maybe send you photos and tell you about what they’re into, too. After a while, the topic of money comes up. It’s usually under the guise of an investment opportunity.
• Fattening the pig: This is where money changes hands — but only a tiny amount. They’ll ask you to test with a small investment. Surprise, your money is growing already!
• Slaughter: Now you’re convinced and have invested even more. At this stage, victims can be in for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. You may realize something’s wrong and ask to withdraw your money. By then, it’s way too late.

Jim, you’re the pig, and you’re getting greedy. Keep it up, and you’ll be slaughtered.

🚩 Red flag 1: A random woman messaged you out of nowhere and wanted to be friends. Sorry, but that never ends well.

🚩 Red flag 2: This stranger just happens to have a relative who made it big in crypto. Who shares that with someone they just met? I sure wouldn’t.

🚩 Red flag 3: Your initial investment went gangbusters.

You need to walk — no, run — away. Document everything first, though. Take screenshots of your conversations, the websites these people have directed you to, your bank statements, all of it. This is important evidence for if or when you try to get your cash back and everything hits the fan. Once you’ve gathered everything, it’s time to unfriend and block your new pal.

🤑 Know someone who should read this? Use the buttons below to share. Let’s protect the folks we care about from slimy scammers!

⌨️ Your keyboard needs cleaning — I can just tell (because mine does, too). Here are a few clever ways to get the job done.

Li’l vac: Oh, this thing is sweet — a little, blue box that vacuums up crumbs, dirt, dust and glitter from between your keys. It has a detachable nozzle so you can use it on your desk, too, and it charges via USB. It’s 15% off ($10.70).

Li’l brush: “Sweep up” this retractable laptop brush from OXO, which makes useful stuff that lasts. It has a built-in microfiber pad for polishing your screen and a cap to keep the brush clean when you throw it in your bag.

Big can: Grab a can of air to clear out every nook and cranny with a miniature windstorm. I love this stuff, and it’s cheap. This one is 20% off ($7.99). Whoosh!

Stranger danger: Thousands of new moms in Facebook support groups got duped by "Cathy Marie Chan," a so-called lactation consultant. They sent her nude breastfeeding photos and videos for "assessments,” and then “Chan” deleted her accounts and disappeared. Those pics and vids are probably for sale online somewhere.

The big reveal: Apple's iPad event starts today at 10 a.m. Eastern, streaming live on YouTube, their website and the Apple TV+ app. It's all tablets everything, with rumors of a new OLED iPad Pro, a better Apple Pen, an updated Air and maybe onboard AI. Hey, we might even get a teaser for a 20-inch, foldable iPad that’s expected in 2025. No time to watch? I’ll update you!

A grainy and corny story: Two brothers used their YouTube earnings from playing Farming Simulator to buy land in Barnes City, Iowa. Turns out, real farming is tougher than the game. But hey, good neighbors came to the rescue to teach them everything about soil, seeds and sowing.

🔊 AI takeover: Audible now has over 40,000 AI-voiced audiobooks. Good way for self-published authors to save on costs and add a voiceover to their books. Humans are watching their gigs disappear, and I’m really not a fan of that AI monotone.

Coming to a cruise ship near you: TY‑3R is a Chinese drone that turns into a lifebuoy to rescue drowning swimmers. It spots trouble with a 720p camera, lands on water, transforms into a flotation device and then signals rescuers. It's also pretty strong — it can take off in heavy winds and support up to two adults at once.

Pay for YouTube? Premium subscribers are getting an AI-powered "Jump Ahead" feature to skip to the best parts of videos. Enable the feature, double-tap to skip as usual and hit the new button that appears. Get it on Android devices only (for now). You’ll know about it first because you get my free newsletter!

When smart turns dumb: After 16 years, Ecobee is phasing out its oldest thermostat models, the EB‑STAT‑02 and EB‑EMS‑02. After July 31, 2024, they'll still work as basic thermostats but will lose all server-linked features. Have one? Check the support page to see if you’re eligible for 30% off a newer model.

Libraries make “shhh” happen: You know those little libraries where neighbors give a book or borrow a book? "Free Blockbuster" neighborhood boxes work the same way, except you can give or borrow VHS tapes and DVDs for free, no strings attached. With over 200 locations, I love this idea!

🔋 A better battery life: It’s a fact of smartphone life — your battery’s performance will worsen over time. But there’s an easy trick to improve your Samsung Galaxy’s battery: Go to Settings > Device Care > Optimize Now. Now, save yourself the trouble of doing it again by toggling on Auto Optimize Daily.

Find a mentor: Founded in 1964, the nonprofit SCORE organization has over 11,000 volunteers ready and willing to help you take your small business — or career — to the next level with free, expert mentoring and resources.

Google Docs trick: This one’s perfect for when you want to share a doc as a template, but you don’t want other people messing around in your file. Click on Share, then change the link settings to Anyone with the link and choose Editor. Before you hit Send, replace the text in the URL that says “edit” with “template/preview.” It’ll force recipients to make their own copies and edits, leaving your original under your full control. So cool.

Echo sound muffled? You’ll know — it’s like your smart speaker is underwater. To fix this, unplug the Echo, wait 30 seconds, then plug it back in. The magic restart trick! Yep, it works.

Breaking out your bike for summer? Get a smart lock. No key to carry or combo to remember — unlock it right from your phone. Or you can hide an AirTag or Tile tracker in your bike's frame, wheel or seat. You can keep an eye on your bike from an app and see where it goes if someone takes it.

Finding and canceling all your subscriptions is a major pain. Rocket Money is an app that does it for you. It hunts down subscription services and makes it super easy to cancel the ones you don’t use. I did it and saved $456.76.

It only takes a few minutes and you’ll finally get rid of that nagging feeling that you need to cancel all the stuff you’re not using.

Save yourself time and trouble and use Rocket Money. It’s worth it.

There’s no red in this picture — it’s entirely light blue, black and white. Your brain automatically recolors the Coca‑Cola can. Don’t believe me? Zoom in and see! Amazing, right?

🚀 The answer: D.) Modern smartphones have about 120,000 times the processing power of the computer that landed on the moon in 1969. Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon, while Michael Collins orbited overhead in the command module.

🤣 Did you hear about the first restaurant to open on the moon? Great food but no atmosphere.

That’s a wrap. See ya back here tomorrow with a look at how you can learn more about your history and genealogy without handing over your DNA data. You don’t want to miss it! — Kim