Cheers to a terrific Thursday! You’d better have your thinking cap on for today’s tech trivia. Which company sells the most smartphones … Apple or Samsung? You’ll find the answer at the end. Bonus points if you also know the percentage difference. (Hint: It’s less than 10%.)

👋 Every day, I bring you this free newsletter that contains the most important tech news you need to know. No Big Tech algorithms here. Read on and expand your know-how! — Kim

The internet is moving past "quiet quitting." That’s when someone does the bare minimum at work, putting in only the effort required to get the job done.

Gallup’s latest worker poll found nearly six in 10 employees are “quiet quitting.” Less than a quarter of workers are truly engaged — 23% is a record high. It’s no surprise, then, employee stress levels are also at record levels.

But it's time to move over, quiet quitters. The latest movement is the "lazy girl job." The term went viral thanks to a TikTok video with millions of views — and it doesn't mean exactly what you think.

This is what a ‘lazy girl’ really is

The premise of a “lazy girl job” is simple: Low stress, low effort, lots of flexibility and freedom. These jobs are remote, require no overtime, are physically safe and there's minimum to no supervision.

TikTokker @gabrielle_judge defined them as jobs with laid-back bosses and comfortable salaries that pay the bills but don’t require a chaotic work schedule. It’s the antithesis of the “girl boss” movement or “leaning in” — constant hustling and long hours to climb to the top.

What kind of jobs are we talking about, exactly?

Searches for "lazy girl jobs" are up 1,267% over the past month, according to Workamajig. Gen Zers, especially, are interested. It's even popular enough to have its own Wikipedia page.

Workamajig crunched the numbers (TikTok search volume) to find the most popular lazy girl roles. Together, #lazygirljob and #lazygirljobs have a combined 25 million-plus views. Here are the top 10. (I guarantee those of you with these jobs will be annoyed to read this!)

1. Cloud engineer
2. E-learning assistant
3. Translator
4. Customer feedback analyst
5. Data entry specialist
6. Accountant
7. Freelance writer
8. Data analyst
9. Informatics nurse
10. Museum assistant

Maybe it’s the branding

Most complaints about the term come from those who say it paints a bad picture. Would the term have gone so viral with a more acceptable phrase, like "work-life balance?" No way.

Remember, there's no reason to be angry at lazy people. They didn't do anything.

Read receipts: If you order through Instacart, you don’t get the original grocery store receipt. Here’s why: A woman paid $513 for groceries through Instacart — and got her hands on the receipt that showed the actual cost was $435. Almost every item was marked up (like the $6 alcohol fee), adding up to $78. That’s in addition to a $74 service fee. I’m in the wrong business.

💔 Use divorce, Luke: Artificial intelligence (AI) has no emotions or empathy, so Google’s giving Bard personality when you ask for career, life or relationship advice. Google says Bard’s responses aren’t medical, legal, financial or other professional advice, of course — and I’d bet you’d get a better answer from Reddit. If it’s something tech, drop me your question here.

Tracking lawsuit: Two stalking victims filed a class-action lawsuit against Life360, claiming the company actively marketed its Tile trackers as a way to find someone. Tile trackers have fewer safety features than Apple AirTags, even after a decade in business. Tile says its devices are for theft prevention, so disabling anti-stalking tech is tricky. Gee, thanks.

🔑 Forget a lock: Now, you can buy an entire smart door, complete with a lock and video doorbell built in. The price for the sleek Masonite M-PWR ranges from $4,000 to $7,000. Give it some time before you spring for this upgrade, folks. Prices will come down.

Spied-her-man: A viral TikTok video shows a total creep following a woman around Barnes & Noble — and now he’s behind bars. The woman who uploaded the video wasn’t his only target. Calese Crowder was arrested (his ears!) after he was found prowling around a home and peeping inside.

Not my type: Check your HR handbook to see if they can monitor your activity. A woman in Australia says she was fired after 18 years because she wasn’t typing enough. Her excuse? She was reading emails, using other devices and checking documents. The company said too bad, as did the judge who threw out her lawsuit.

Better than EVs: Another gasoline alternative gets no love — hydrogen fuel cell. BMW’s iX5 prototype runs on hydrogen and emits only water. A fuel cell system combines hydrogen from storage tanks with oxygen from the air. Oh, it gets 313 miles and refuels in four minutes. No, the hydrogen won’t explode. So, why are we talking about electric vehicles (EVs) so much? Follow the money train, folks.

🥑 Avocado toast to Gate 13: JFK in New York, Chicago’s O’Hare and other major airports have a new perk — food delivered right to your gate, Bloomberg reports (paywall link). You scan a QR code, order, pay via phone, then swagger to your gate to wait for delivery. I’ve been thinking about opening a food delivery for zombies called HelloFlesh.

In my no-nonsense, straight-talking podcast, I serve up everything tech in digestible, fun-sized pieces. New to the tech scene? Or maybe you're a pro? Doesn't matter. I’ve got you covered.

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Every time you see her at the office, Jan from accounting is just lovely. She asks about your family, compliments your hair and is always smiling. In emails, though, she's a total jerk.

This happens more often than you'd think. Tutoring company Preply surveyed 1,000 people, and 65% say their otherwise friendly coworkers are passive-aggressive over email.

Let's look at how, so you're not that person.

Top 5 types of passive-aggressive communication:

1. Unnecessary reminders
2. Ignoring or giving very minimal responses
3. Overly formal language
4. Negative tone
5. Non-humorous sarcasm

Specific phrases that really get under someone’s skin:

1. “Per my last email …”
2. “Correct me if I’m wrong …”
3. “As previously mentioned …”
4. “Just a gentle reminder …”
5. “Going forward …”
6. “Thought I’d bring this to your attention.”
7. “I might be mistaken, but …”
8. “Thanks in advance.”
9. “Just to clarify …”
10. “Please advise.”

It's all in how they translate. "Per my last email" means, "Uh, can you read? I already said that." Most people who say, "I might be mistaken, but" actually mean, "You can't really be saying something that dumb, right?"

Oh, and over half of those surveyed say when a coworker dishes it out, they're going to dish it right back. Not a healthy cycle, people!

⌚ My email rule: If what you need to tell me takes longer than one minute to type out, whether it’s about a problem or a project, call me.

You can't just turn up at national parks like Yellowstone, Yosemite or the Grand Canyon and expect to camp. The high-demand campsites are snapped up months or even a year ahead.

Get this: Even though campsites are touted as "fully booked" nationwide, they're often only partially filled due to no-shows. Wondering how to snag these openings? Cancellation alert services.

• There's a savvy website and app called Campflare that scans national parks, state parks and national forests for cancellations every 45 seconds. Score.
• Another app, CampScanner, keeps tabs on cancellations listed on Recreation[.]gov. You can get updates every five minutes for 15 choice locations, but it’s $79 a year. Hardcore campers only!

🎣 Reminds me of that old adage: Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you get rid of him for the whole weekend.

It’s not enough to have strong passwords and watch what you click. Malware is harder than ever to spot. Antivirus software isn’t optional. You need it.

My pick is TotalAV. It’s simple to install and use, and they’ve received the VB100 award for detecting more than 99% of malware samples for the last three years in a row.

Best part: You get an entire year of protection on five devices for just $19!

It wouldn’t be funny if it wasn't true.

The answer: Apple, but not by much. Per Statcounter, as of the end of July 2023, Apple owns 28.36% of the smartphone market. Samsung is at 24.23%.

Speaking of … The founder, Sam, was told not to sing. But Samsung, anyway.

I sure appreciate you being here with us. Now, do me a favor and follow me on social media. I’m on Instagram, X, YouTube, Facebook and everywhere else! By the way, I post personal photos and vids on my Instagram. — Kim