🇺🇸 Happy Fourth of July! Remember, treason is the reason for the season! Let’s start with trivia. Every July 4, there’s a significant spike in a certain type of smartphone activity in the U.S. Is it … calls to 911, texts, photos or listening to “God Bless the USA” by Lee Greenwood? Answer’s at the end, friends.

❓ Need help? I’m here for you. Drop me your question here and we might talk on my national radio show!

Because getting tech know-how never takes a day off, neither do we! And I’d love for you to try out our podcasts with the extra time you have today. Perfect for drives and hanging out! — Kim

Amazon's infamous Prime Day is July 11 and 12, 2023. From smart electronics to housecleaning essentials, there's a little something for everyone. With so many deals and steals to take advantage of, it helps to go in with a game plan. 

I rounded up some of the best deals live right now. I’ll share more once the official Prime Day sales begin!

• Fix your spotty Wi-Fi for good: A mesh router makes a huge difference if your internet service isn’t the best. This one’s great for homes up to 3,000 square feet; for larger homes, pick this one.
• Make your front door safe: This is a steal. Right now, get a Ring video doorbell plus an indoor cam for under $80. 
• Fix dark areas outside your home: These outdoor wireless, motion-activated LED lights are 50% off. Nice. They’re weatherproof and easy to install, too.
• Make your hair instantly thicker: Vitamin B, biotin and collagen make your hair look and feel thicker and healthier, and this shampoo packs them all for under $7.
• Kiss dust goodbye: If you haven't tried dust cleaning gel yet, you're missing out. Grab some and remove crumbs from even the tiniest spaces in your keyboard or car.
• De-grime and safely clean your phone: When's the last time you really cleaned your smartphone screen? These MiracleWipes work wonders.
• No more battery attacks: Never run out of battery again with this portable phone charger. Not into wires? Grab the wireless version. 
• Lowest price on AirPods: The 2nd generation AirPods come with 2x noise cancellation and enhanced audio. Snag them for under $200. 
• Get Wi-Fi where you need it: Wi-Fi not reaching every corner of the house? Use this extender to boost it up to 1,500 square feet. Bonus: It connects up to 30 devices.
• Rosie’s here to do your bidding: Put your cleaning routine on autopilot. This voice-controlled robot vacuum is over 30% off (and under $100!).
• Get in your steps: These lightweight, ultra-comfy walking shoes are my favorite, and they come in so many fun colors. 
• Catch some Zs: Sleep soundly with a cooling, plush pillow. Grab a two-pack for under 20 bucks.
• Binge your shows: An HD smart TV for a little over $100? You really can't beat it. The 32-inch Amazon Fire TV is an early Prime Day steal.
• Take your news, pods and tunes with you: Jam out by the pool or on the patio with a Bluetooth speaker. This model is waterproof and lasts 20 hours per charge. 
• Breathe easy: Whether you live in an area impacted by wildfires or just want cleaner air in your home, this air purifier has you covered. Oh, and it's under 100 bucks.
• Lighten up without an electrician: Need more light under the counter or in your closet? Grab some motion-sensor LED lights for 50% off.
• Key keeper: Leave an extra set of keys in an Iron Lock lockbox. The waterproof design keeps items safe from the elements … and burglars. 

✅ Amazon is launching new deals all the time. Here’s a special page that’s hard to find on their site that lists them. I check out my past orders to see what’s on sale, too.

🚨 Data leak alert: Insurance company USAA suffered a data breach, revealing the personal info of around 19,000 members. How? Third-party call center employees shared access. Yeesh. USAA is offering two years of identity theft protection for those affected. 

Twitter rations: Elon Musk is causing a stir at Twitter by making it harder to tweet to your delight. Paying $84 a year for Twitter Blue lets you read 6,000 tweets a day. Free accounts get to read 600 tweets, and newbies can read just 300 tweets. Seriously, if you’re reading 6,000 tweets a day, something’s def wrong with you.

🌯 Extra rice, no problem: It’s annoying when you order food through an app and there’s no way to customize your order. When the Chipotle app wouldn't let a quick-thinking woman add extra rice to her order, she changed her name to “Extra Rice Please.” It worked — she got extra rice! What a smarty.

Streaming moolah: Google is adding a new shop tab on Android TV. Browse, buy and store movies from multiple streaming services in one place. Yes, some people still … pay for movies. Shocking concept, I know.

Upgrade time: Apple just increased the trade-in value for some old iPhones. Got an iPhone 13 Pro Max? Expect up to $640. iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 are now valued at $530 and $430, respectively. Why? New iPhones are coming in September.

🎨 Give the kids (and yourself) some culture: Bank of America customers get free admission to museums nationwide for the first weekend of every month. Speaking of … Why did the art thief’s van run out of gas as he drove away from the museum? Because he had no Monet to buy Degas to make the Van Gogh. (Good one, right?!)

Moving day: HBO shows like “Insecure,” “Band of Brothers,” “Six Feet Under” and “Ballers” are all on … Netflix! It’s part of Warner Bros. Discovery’s plan to make your life easier. Just kidding, they want to make more money.

📺 You need to watch this right now: A Nebraska family caught this crazy scene on their SimpliSafe home cam last year — I’ve never seen anything like it. Thankfully, no one was injured. Be very careful this Fourth of July!

Sound like a tech pro, even if you're not one. Try my award-winning, daily podcast. Search for my last name with "K" wherever you get your podcasts and "Go Komando!"

Listen to my podcast, Kim Komando Today, here.

They’re mesmerizing, a little magical and … pretty dangerous. That’s why a handful of cities are going high-tech this year, replacing their Fourth of July fireworks with drone shows.

Look to the sky

In California, Lake Tahoe, La Jolla and Ocean Beach are going the drone route this year. The same goes for Salt Lake City, Utah, and Boulder, Colorado. That’s not surprising, given how dry those states are. Utah is one of the states most prone to wildfires, with 800 to 1,000 yearly. 

It’s not just fire

In 2022, about 10,200 people went to the ER with fireworks-related injuries, and 11 of those died. So sad.

• 38% of injuries were burns, and 29% of those were to the hands and fingers. Legs and the head/face/ears accounted for another 19% each.

Then there’s the matter of where they’re from

Surprise, surprise: The vast majority of bottle rockets, Roman candles, firecrackers, sparklers and all the rest come from China. In 2020, Americans spent $370 million on Chinese fireworks. The next biggest source? Spain, at $3.61 million.

With drones, there are no huge booms, no debris and no smoke. Once you get past the tradition of it all, drone shows sure do make a lot of sense. Ever seen one in person? They’re beautiful!

Let’s vow to skip the shaky videos and blurry fireworks pics this year. I’ll be focused on the show, but if you must take pics, do it the right way. Here are three tips:

• Stability is key. Use a tripod or find a solid surface to keep your smartphone steady. This will give you sharp, pro-level images.
• Auto-focus can struggle with fast and unpredictable firework movements. Use manual focus instead. Set it to infinity or tap on a distant object before the fireworks start. 
• Adjust your shutter speed down to one to six seconds. This long exposure setting captures mesmerizing light trails and bursting fireworks. Yep, pictures actually worth sharing.

🎆 Why are fireworks so cool? Because they’re lit.

🛑 Now, before you post those pics — and all the ones you took of your kids — read this.

Hang out with the cool kids and me at the Komando Community. I’ll give you 30 days to try it for free! For starters, whenever you have a tech question, just head over to the Q&A Forum to get expert, easy-to-understand help and product recommendations from me or my team of IT geniuses, John and Jeremy. No more frustrating Google searches or buying junk tech for you!

Plus, you get my national radio show as a commercial-free podcast. That’s right, no annoying commercials. And you have three full months of archived shows, too.

Use this link to get your 30-day free trial, then it’s just a couple bucks a month to support our show. Senior citizens, active-duty military, police or firefighters get 10% off as my thanks.

How do you know you bought good fireworks? The guy at the store gives you a high-four.

📸 The answer: Photos. The number of photos taken spikes every July Fourth as people across the U.S. celebrate with fireworks, parades and barbecues. So, remember to charge your phone!

😂 One more for the road you can share with folks today: A guy from Jersey bought a search engine and some fireworks. He bought-a-Bing and bought-a-boom.

If you've got a friend or two interested in upping their tech game, consider this your invite to spread the love. Share this newsletter with them so they can join in on being tech-savvy like you. Here’s wishing you a fantastic and memorable Independence Day! — Kim