June 8, 2023 |
In partnership with SimpliSafe |
Welcome aboard the Komando Tech-tastic Thursday Express! Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, worth $132 billion, owns 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai. On the island, was he … upset because he couldn’t get dinner reservations, ticketed for running a stop sign or stranded because there wasn't enough gas for his jet? The answer’s at the end! 🎶 Getting to know you … Hey, quick favor. At the end, when you rate this issue, tell me in the comments what you do and who you work for. This helps me give more of what interests you in these free newsletters. TY! — Kim 📫 First-time reader? Sign up here. (It’s free!) IN THIS ISSUE
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TODAY'S TOP STORYBest tools to check the air quality where you liveLive in Quebec, the Northeast or the mid-Atlantic? I'm thinking of you right now! Smoke from more than 150 Canadian wildfires is causing a big plunge in air quality across the U.S. It's not just gross to breathe in — poor air quality can cause health problems, like asthma, allergies and heart disease. Anyone with health issues should limit their time outside. Tiny particulates from wildfire smoke can enter the lungs and bloodstream. You need to watch what you're breathing in right now. That's why I wanted to tell you about these free tools. PurpleAir gets you real-time air quality data from sensors located all around the globe. You can even set up alerts for specific locations, like your city or town. Try the free PurpleAir map here. AirNow is run by the U.S. government and gives real-time air quality information for over 500 cities in the U.S. Download for Android here or download for iPhone here. Don’t want to download something new?You can monitor air quality on Google Maps. Just search for your location. Press the layers button in the top right under the search bar to bring up the layers menu and select Air Quality. So handy. Where are things the worst?At one point on Tuesday night, New York City had the worst air quality of any major metro area — ahead of New Delhi, India; Doha, Qatar; and Baghdad, Iraq. Most of New York state and all of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Vermont are under an air quality alert. Detroit, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Boston, Hartford, Providence and Montpelier, Vermont, are being hit hard, too. Kids, older adults, and people who are pregnant or have cardiovascular or respiratory diseases must be cautious. Rule of thumb: If you can see or smell smoke, you're exposed. ✅ Spread the intel. Be sure to share this important health information with anyone you know who lives in an affected area. It’s simple — just use the icons below. |
DEAL OF THE DAY
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WEB WATERCOOLERLock down your profiles: The FBI warns you should remove any publicly visible photos. Yes, even your social media profile pic. Criminals are using them to deepfake p*rn images and blackmail victims. Steps to go private here. Serious stuff, folks. 😋 Delivery, I just can’t quit you: Amazon Prime members, you can get another year of Grubhub+ for free and skip delivery fees on your food. Go to amazon.com/grubhub, hit Activate Grubhub+ and sign in or make an account. FYI, after a year, it’s $10 a month, so set a reminder to cancel. Don’t buy a Samsung phone: At least not yet. The company’s next Galaxy Unpacked event, where it shows off all the shiny new phones, is in late July. Existing phones will get cheaper and new models are coming. ❓ Mystery man: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the guy behind ChatGPT, says the company won’t go public any time soon. Why? He doesn’t want conflicts. “The chance that we have to make a very strange decision someday is non-trivial.” Willing to bet it’s not paint colors at OpenAI HQ. Tucker Carlson is trending: His first 10-minute Twitter-exclusive episode broadcast from his home in Maine popped up after being fired from Fox News. It got 27 million views in the first four hours. Elon Musk tweeted, “Would be great to have shows from all parts of the political spectrum on this platform!” As leader of the pizza party, I would like a show. 🚑 Thanks, Alexa: A 69-year-old Texas woman says Alexa’s emergency contact feature saved her life. She collapsed and didn’t have her phone on her. She said, “Alexa, call 911.” The Echo called her daughter, who then called paramedics. Set it up right now if you haven’t already! Recall alert for parents: 3.3 million Boppy newborn loungers recalled in 2021 have been linked to at least 10 deaths. The Original Newborn Lounger, the Boppy Preferred Newborn Lounger and the Pottery Barn Newborn Boppy Lounger are still showing up on resale sites like Facebook Marketplace. Warn your family. 🔑 Your car stolen without your keys: Maybe you’ve heard you should never post a picture of your car or house key online because someone can duplicate it just from the pic. Myth or reality? Spoiler: Yes, it’s true! Watch this vid to see how it works. |
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TRENDINGApplying for jobs? Don’t make these mistakesThe world (and I) can’t shut up about all the brand-new things AI can do. But it’s not exactly new in the HR and hiring world. In fact, a 2019 study shows three of four resumes were never even seen by a person. A whopping 99% of Fortune 500 companies use bot job application filters — that’s about 83% across all businesses. The million-dollar question: How can you keep yours out of the AI black hole? Don’t make these mistakes:
True story. The HR manager at a big company I once worked for had a stack of resumes, took half and threw them in the trash. I said, “Why would you do that?” He said, “I don’t want to hire unlucky people.” ⭐ Searching for a job or maybe you know someone who is? Pass along these tips and I bet you’ll make their day. |
DEVICE ADVICEDo this before movie nightI watched the movie “BlackBerry” last night. It’s super interesting how that company grew — but when the first iPhone came out, BlackBerry got into a real jam. Want to watch a movie just as its director intended? There’s a setting for that on your TV. Big names like James Cameron, J.J. Abrams and Martin Scorsese all say Filmmaker Mode is the way to go. Lots of TVs have fancy features that are supposed to make your binge-watching better. Turns out they can make movies and TV shows look worse. Filmmaker Mode cuts out all the extra processing. Currently, Filmmaker Mode is exclusively available on TVs from Hisense, LG, Philips, Samsung and Vizio.
🍿 How about some free movies? I put together a great list of 10 ways to watch movies for free. |
Don’t take chances on cheap camsHome security is no joke, and you can’t rely on cheap junk you find from who-knows-who online. I trust SimpliSafe, and you can, too. You build the perfect system for your home online (no annoying salesperson), and it’s shipped right to your door. Set it up yourself, and you’ll be up and running in no time. It’s easy enough for anyone to do. SimpliSafe’s professional monitoring agents make sure you get priority police response — even if you're away or unable to respond — for under $1 a day. That’s less than half the cost of ADT’s traditional professional installed plans. |
BY THE NUMBERS10% The percentage of people who sleep in the “optimal position” to reduce back pain. Yep, flat on your back. About 74% of people are side sleepers and 16% snooze on their stomachs. Sleeping on your right side may be better for your heart, and sleeping on your left side can reduce heartburn. The more you know! $159,999 The cost for a 4x4 called the Super Truck that might just survive the end of the world. This beast from Apocalypse Manufacturing sits on 40-inch tires with 22-inch rims and is nearly 7 feet tall. Oh, and it’s got a modified Hellcat V8 engine with 850 horsepower. Vroom! Speaking of, I saw a truck with a bumper sticker that said, “I’m a vet, so I drive like an animal.” I then realized how many proctologists must be on the road. $1.94 Revenue per download for AI images in the Adobe Stock photo platform. Compare that to $1.22 per image for those created solely by humans. Sorry, photographers. AI is coming for you. |
WHAT THE TECH?Why’d the chicken go to the séance? To get to the other side. |
UNTIL NEXT TIME ...🛑 The answer: Larry Ellison was ticketed for running a stop sign while driving his orange Corvette. He also didn’t have his driver’s license. Here’s the officer’s body cam video of the stop. I’ve been to Lanai several times. It’s incredibly beautiful! I’d buy it, too … if I had an extra $300 to $600 million lying around. Just a reminder: Rate this issue and tell me what you do and who you work for. I don’t need your name or email address. This way, I know a little bit about you when putting these free newsletters together. Unlike Big Tech, I don’t steal your data. Thanks for reading! Glad you’re here and sharing important tech news with the people in your life. I appreciate you. — Kim |
How'd we do?What did you think of today's issue? |
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