It’s a fabulous Friday, my friend! Apologies this is hitting your inbox so late. We had technical difficulties getting this email out. Let’s jump in with fun out-of-this-world trivia. In August 1991, astronauts sent the first email from space to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Was the closing line … A.) “Hasta la vista, baby,” B.) “To infinity and beyond!” C.) “Houston, we have an email,” or D.) “Catch you on the flip side”? Answer’s at the end!

🤓 Now, today’s top story is admittedly a nerdy one. But I’ve heard from so many folks over the years who lost everything on their computers because they weren’t prepared. I don’t want you to become one of those people! — Kim

Nine times out of 10, if you’re having issues with your computer, you or an IT expert can find a way to recover your files. That 10th time? It’s an SSD issue. Translation: You’re screwed.

🤓 Nerdy fact: Today’s solid-state drives (SSDs) run on silicon chips versus the old magnetic disks in hard disk drives (HDDs). They don’t have any moving parts, so they’re faster, quieter and have a longer lifespan than HDDs.

But solid-state drives don't last forever. About one in every 100 SSDs fails by year four. If yours goes kaput, so do your files.

5 signs the end is near

1. Random crashes: If your computer regularly freezes or shuts down, it might be a failing SSD. Bonus red flags: Crashes happen while you’re saving or opening files.
2. Bad data: You get popups notifying you that your files are corrupted or can't be opened like normal. Your SSD’s ability to save and read data is going wonky on you.
3. Slow motion: If it takes a super long time to save files or launch apps, or if your OS is sluggish in general, you should be concerned.
4. Startup woes: If you can eat breakfast in the time it takes your computer to start up, it might mean your software can’t pull data from the drive quickly enough.
5. No support: If you can’t run the latest OS, your SSD might not be long for this world. Check if your Mac or PC is still getting updates here.

The scariest part? Unlike hard drives that click and whirr when they’re on the fritz, SSDs often fail with no warning at all.

You need to act quickly

If your drive is on the way out (even if you’re not sure!), take a few steps you won’t regret:

• If you have an external drive: Connect it and turn on Windows Backup (search from the Start menu) or macOS Time Machine (search in Spotlight) to set your backup.

Alternatively, you can sync your apps and files to the cloud using iCloud, OneDrive or Google Drive (full steps on my site).

Once everything is backed up, make sure you can reinstall your apps from the web. If you’re using an old app you can’t find online, convert the format of any files it handles so a newer app can open them (how-to here).

Start working on a replacement

If you like DIY tech projects: Swap out the internal drives yourself. Your first step should be to see what kind of disk you have (full steps here).

More than likely, though, you’ll need a new laptop — especially if your computer is more than five years old. Here’s a solid MacBook choice, and our IT Genius, John, likes this Windows laptop.

🪵 I had a sculptor carve me a beautiful SSD out of mahogany … but it was all bark and no bytes. Ba‑dum‑tss!

• This BPA-free straw device can stop your hiccups in just a few seconds. Better than holding your breath or asking someone to scare you.
• Make your own lattes at home with a handheld frother (25% off). Works great with cold liquids, creamers, and oat or almond milk, too.
• I hate ironing. A steamer is fast, easy and way harder to mess up. This one holds lots of water and works on both heavy and delicate fabrics.
• If your closet, laundry room or storage area is a dark cave, you need an LED motion-sensor light. This one has three color options, runs 24 hours on a charge and is easy to install.
• This popular Wi‑Fi extender from TP-Link is deeply discounted. It covers up to 1,200 square feet and connects to as many as 20 devices. Plug it into an outlet and set it up in two taps.

🚨 FBI crypto warning: Cybercriminals are posing as cryptocurrency exchange employees. They try to convince you your account was hacked or at risk and then ask for your login details so they can transfer all your money to their wallets, all as you watch. No one legit will ever, ever ask for your login details or seed phrase.

When you don’t excel, people spreadsheet: On Tuesday, Outlook was stalling, the Starbucks app crashed and Office 365 was down for eight hours. We now know a cyberattack took down the cloud computing system Microsoft Azure and a ton of apps and services with it. D’oh! Microsoft’s attempts to stop the attacks actually made the outages worse.

AI + Chrome: Check out the new stuff rolling out with the latest Google Chrome update. Lens lets you select part of a page or tap on an object in an image to ask questions about it. Tab Compare gathers product data from your open tabs into one table. And you can search your browsing history using normal language, like “What’s the Mexican restaurant I ordered from last week?” Update your desktop app to get these features.

⚕️ Proceed with caution: Epic Systems, the huge health care software company that makes roughly $5 billion annually, says you'll soon be able to import your medical records to apps of your choice using your Epic credentials. Sounds convenient, but think twice: You can’t control who these apps will sell your data to. Next thing you know, your life insurance premium skyrockets.

Talk to me: OpenAI’s advanced voice mode is coming to some ChatGPT Plus subscribers. This is the same feature that debuted with a Scarlett Johansson-like voice. They hired voice actors instead of, you know, stealing a celebrity likeness.

🌮 Yo quiero taco bots: The next Taco Bell drive-thru you visit might be AI-operated. Over 100 U.S. Taco Bells already use voice AI, but now it’s going nationwide to hundreds more by the end of the year. During its pilot stage, they say the tech boosted order accuracy, reduced wait times and lightened employee workload.

Dawn of the dead: A German startup, Tomorrow Bio, wants to bring you back from the dead for a “cool” $216,500. They’ll freeze your body in liquid nitrogen immediately after you die and revive you when (if?) the technology catches up. Seriously, 650 folks and pets are already signed up. If you can’t swing that price, they'll freeze just your brain for a mere $80,000.

✅ Say goodbye to QuickBooks already: Discover why thousands are switching to NetSuite’s* superior all-in-one solution. Don't settle for less. Experience real-time insights and streamlined processes, and make decisions based on data, not your gut. Take a free product tour right now!

Finding the best candidate is crucial for your business success, but hiring can be a royal pain in the butt. That’s where LinkedIn steps in.

As the professional network with literally millions of job seekers, LinkedIn is loaded with skilled individuals actively seeking new opportunities. We’ve tapped into this rich talent pool to build our standout team — essential to producing this very newsletter and all our other projects.

Don’t get bogged down sorting through mismatched resumes. Use LinkedIn’s advanced tools to efficiently pinpoint the perfect fit, giving you more time to focus on what really matters.

Your GPS for your tech life, guiding you through the twists and turns: If you have an issue, problem or question about your tech, digital life or business, I’d love to help you out. Ask me your questions here on my site. I read every single note, even if I can’t respond to each one.

Nice change on Reddit: You can now opt out of political and religious ads. Log in from the app or your desktop, then head to this preferences page.

🤢 Clean your smartwatch: Researchers randomly tested watch wristbands and found 95% were contaminated with harmful bacteria, including E. coli and MRSA. Plastic and rubber hold the most junk. Makes me want to chuck all my stuff in this.

Secret button in your Windows 10 and 11 taskbar: Clicking it will minimize everything you have open. It’s located in the bottom right corner of your screen, past the time and notification icon — a tiny sliver. Click it again to bring your stuff back. Good one!

Google trick: Type filetype: at the beginning of your search when looking for a spreadsheet or other document. Want a PDF? Write filetype:pdf and then your keyword. For an Excel spreadsheet, type filetype:xlsx and your keyword. Anything publicly available is a few clicks away.

Eye-opening read: Sometimes scammers are victims, too.

Fly like an eagle: Barry loves his drones. Want one? Here are my picks for any budget.

I’ve been using my iPad for notes: Here’s a keyboard shortcut secret.

The answer: A.) “Hasta la vista, baby.” Astronauts James Adamson and Shannon Lucid wrote, “Hello Earth! Greetings from the STS‑43 Crew. This is the first AppleLink from space. Having a GREAT time, wish you were here,...send cryo and RCS! Hasta la vista, baby,...we'll be back!”

🤣 Speaking of … What does Arnold Schwarzenegger call a colonoscopy? A Cameron Diaz. (Now, if you don’t get that, say it slowly!)

Share me! Hit that “Forward” button and tell one person they need tech smarts. I’ll be back tomorrow with my tips to track down a business contact, old friend or long-lost relative. Until then, the next time you see yourself in the mirror, I want you to smile big, as in the biggest one ever. Life truly is good. — Kim