Plus: Bad Windows update, Anker recall, grocery prices tied to your data | In partnership with LinkedIn | | Hello on a delightfully techy Monday, friend. “I love meetings,” said no one ever. Jeff Bezos has a unique rule about meetings at Amazon. Is it … A.) Hold meetings only on Mondays at 8 a.m., B.) Share the presentation with everyone 10 minutes before a meeting, C.) Serve lunch with two cheese pizzas or D.) Include a warehouse manager? Make your best guess, and you’ll find the answer at the bottom of this newsletter. 🛑 Please stop texting me. No, not you — political groups. If you’re sick of the onslaught, we put together a quick video to walk you through stopping them. You’re welcome! I'm here to make sure you’re cruising down the tech highway at full speed, not stuck on the shoulder waving for help. — Kim 🆕 Today's podcast: Turn your business idea into reality with Airbnb cofounder Nathan Blecharczyk ⏱️ Daily Tech Update: 6G is coming 📬 Was this email forwarded? Sign up here for free |
TODAY'S TOP STORY Life made simple Ever wonder why you didn’t get that alert from the city telling you your water usage is high, or from your streaming service about a price increase (again), or from the landscaper, who needs your OK to replace the dead plants? In most relationships, one person handles certain things and the other picks up the rest. For example, I order the groceries, handle all financial matters and, of course, oversee the tech in our lives. Barry deals with the contractors working around the house, our insurance for everything and our car collection. When you live with someone, there are tons of decisions you make together — big ones, like “Should we buy a new house?” and smaller ones, like “Do you want chicken or salmon for dinner?” Then, there’s the question that lands somewhere in the middle: “What’s the login for Netflix again?” The solution: A joint email account for shared services This works great for us, so I wanted to share it with you as a way to simplify your tech life. Creating a joint email account is an easy way to make your shared life smoother. Here’s how it works: Pick your email platform. The where is up to you. If you’re both Gmail fans, go for that. Prefer Outlook or Yahoo? They work, too. Make sure to pick a platform you’re both comfortable using. Create a new email address. Choose a name that’s easy to remember and identifies the account as being for you both. It could be something like "LucyAndRickyHome" or "TheRicardoHousehold." You can also go for a shared interest or inside joke both of you would recognize instantly. Set up forwarding and notifications. Make sure you both have access to this joint email account. You can set up forwarding rules so emails sent to the shared address are forwarded to your personal accounts, too. This way, you won’t miss important messages, even if you forget to check the shared inbox. When to use the joint email Shared services: Subscriptions and memberships you both use, such as streaming services, grocery shopping and meal deliveries. Household accounts: Utility bills, mortgage payments, home maintenance services and anything else related to running the household. Finances: Bank accounts, loan information and credit card accounts where both of you need access to receive statements and notifications. School or kid-related accounts: If you have children, use this joint account for school communications, extracurricular activities and medical appointments. Caregivers: If you’re caring for an older adult or disabled family member, consider using one email account for pharmacy orders, medical updates and calendar notifications. Keep your personal emails separate While the joint account is handy for shared matters, it’s still important for you to have your own personal email account for individual interests and professional needs. Whether you’re catching up on Lucy’s job at the candy factory (wasn’t that the funniest skit?) or choosing who manages home insurance, you’ve got an email setup that works for everyone. A little Lucille Ball wisdom to leave you with: “A man who correctly guesses a woman’s age may be smart, but he’s not very bright.” 😂 |
WEB WATERCOOLER 🛒 You’re paying more: Grocery chain Kroger is working on electronic shelf labels that can adjust prices in real time based on factors like demand or the weather. It gets worse — they're also planning to use facial-recognition cameras to serve shoppers more tailored ads. The real worry? Over time, Kroger could build customer profiles and figure out the maximum price you'd be willing to pay. Yikes. 🔥 Anker recall: I mentioned this last month, but two people have already suffered burns from faulty power banks that can explode. Affected models are the Anker 334 MagGo Battery (PowerCore 10K), Anker Power Bank and Anker MagGo Power Bank, with the model numbers A1642, A1647 and A1652, respectively. These were sold between Jan. 3 and Sept. 17, 2024. If you own one, fill out the recall form. 👁️ Eye see the point: A new device from OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, called the Orb will scan people's eyes to provide biometric identification, helping to fight the growing deepfakes (paywall link). The goal: To have an Orb in every home to scan our eyes for verification when banking online and other similar transactions. Interestingly, Altman’s AI is pushing the very tech used in developing deepfakes ... I’m watching this: Mats Steen suffered from Duchenne muscular dystrophy and passed away at 25. His parents thought he lived an isolated life, but they were so wrong. After his death, they received hundreds of emails from people who’d known him through the game World of Warcraft, revealing he’d found both friends and romance online. A new documentary about Steen’s story is coming to Netflix on Oct. 25. A coffee bean: That’s the size of hearing aids now. The FTC just ruled all hearing aids have to work with smartphones in the future. The Horizon IX hearing aids already do, letting you take calls, listen to shows and enjoy your music. Get the scoop on a 45-day free trial now.* Broken Windows: The latest Windows 11 24H2 update is crap, so skip it. Think Blue Screens of Death, disappearing mouse pointers, internet connection issues, unresponsive fingerprint sensors and more. Since the update is rolling out to everyone, it’ll pop up on your Windows Update screen. Don’t worry — I’ll let you know when it’s safe to install. 🎈 Not just a lot of hot air: Sir Richard Branson plans to copilot the world’s first stratospheric balloon flight in 2025. This balloon is nearly as tall as the Eiffel Tower and will float 20 miles above the earth’s surface for amazing views. If they pull it off, it could kickstart space-like tours for regular folks … well, regular folks with $125,000 lying around for a six-hour trip. |
DEALS OF THE DAY I’ve changed for the better 🎴 Since moving into our new home, I’ve turned into an organizing maven. No more messes for me! Pick up this package of drawer organizers for your bathroom, kitchen, garage or wherever ($19.98, 25% off!). For your desk or kitchen counter, these letter-sized organizers are perfect for paperwork, mail, prescriptions and more ($24.99, 17% off; be sure to click the box for an extra $3 off!). I have these durable great-sized clear bins underneath the kitchen sink, in my closet, garage, laundry room and pantry. You can load them up with anything! ($32.99, 33% off!) Everyone needs a 24-pair shoe organizer that comes with large or extra-large pockets ($8.87, 37% off!). The best one of all: Forget bed sheets folded and sets all mixed up. I love these bed sheet organizers and have them stacked in the laundry room and bedroom closets ($27.99 for a 4-pack, 22% off). Btw, if you find any old tech when organizing, send it to Amazon through its Trade-in Program and get a gift card for the value. It doesn’t even need to work! |
TECH LIFE UPGRADES ☮️ Peace among us: Windows 11’s Phone Link lets iPhone users send and receive messages via iMessage, make and receive calls, and see any app notifications on a PC or laptop. Quick privacy tip: Task Manager on a Windows PC and Activity Monitor on a Mac can give you an overview of everything happening on your machine. On a PC, hit Ctrl + Shift + Esc. Click the Processes tab. On a Mac, hit Cmd + spacebar to open Spotlight Search. Then, type Activity Monitor and press Enter. See anything weird? Google it before you panic. Security system flaw: Most systems alert you after a break-in occurs. SimpliSafe* uses live guard monitoring to detect intruders before they enter your home. So smart. Use my link to save 50% on a new system right now. 🔦 Search works: You’re in Microsoft Word and, for the life of you, you can’t remember how to insert a table. Don’t waste time digging through the menus. Tap the search bar at the top and type in “table” or whatever you’re looking for. It’ll pop right up. This trick works in Excel, too. Nifty shifty: Ctrl + Shift + T reopens the last closed tab in your web browser in Windows. This is so incredibly useful, especially if you accidentally close a tab. On a Mac, it’s Cmd + Shift + T. I use this shortcut a lot. |
BY THE NUMBERS $40,000 selling price For art created by robot dogs. Artist Agnieszka Pilat is teaching Boston Dynamics’ bots Basia, Vanya and Bunny to paint by holding brushes in their “mouths.” He just sits back and watches. Pretty farfetched, eh? 400,000-plus signatures On a petition delivered to the Kellogg’s HQ about its Froot Loops cereal. An ex-FDA food expert says those colorful rings are linked to organ damage, cancer, behavioral problems and worse. Need more proof? The Red 40 and Yellow 5 dyes in it are banned in other countries. Def not grape news. 81 years old The age of a Georgia woman who recently voted for the very first time with the help of her niece. Her husband said she didn’t need to vote … or even learn to read or write. Now that he’s passed away, she’s doing things she’s never done before. Good for you, Betty! |
WHAT THE TECH? “The Devil Wears Prada?” More like “The Astronaut Wears Prada.” The luxury brand worked with Axiom Space to keep astronauts stylin’ on the upcoming Artemis III mission. There’s a ton of tech included in these suits, from cameras and biometric sensors to regenerable CO2 scrubbing. Details here. |
UNTIL NEXT TIME ... The answer: C.) 🍕🍕. Jeff Bezos instituted the two-pizza rule to keep meetings small and efficient and give everyone a chance to meaningfully contribute. It works! I’ve been using this idea ever since I heard about it years ago. Speaking of … I love homemade pizza, but, unfortunately, I burned my Hawaiian pizza the other day. I should’ve cooked it at aloha temperature! (Mahalo for laughing!) Are you following me on social yet? On Instagram, I post behind-the-scenes shots like my golden retriever, Abby, in her Halloween costume. But wait, there’s more! I’m on YouTube, Facebook and X, too. I’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow morning with the best tech newsletter in the USA! — Kim |
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https://referrer.komando.com/8818309c/3 | In "50 Smart Ways to Use AI," Kim shares helpful prompts for today's most common AI chatbots. Whether you're tackling spreadsheets, planning rainy-day activities or developing a wellness plan, let AI handle the heavy lifting for you! | |
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