Here’s to a fine Friday! For today’s brain teaser, which generation shops on Amazon the most? Is it … Gen Z, millennials, Gen X or baby boomers? You’ll find the answer at the end.

🫡 It’s a packed newsletter, so let’s get down to business. If you learn something, smile or slap your forehead over one of my jokes, think about who in your life needs this tech know-how and send them your referral link at the bottom of the newsletter. Thanks! — Kim

A few years ago, a family member posted on Facebook he’d been diagnosed with a terminal illness. My mother replied with, “LOL.” She thought it meant "lots of love," not "laughing out loud." She was so embarrassed.

I know what you’re thinking: “OMG, here comes another text or post filled with abbreviations I have to pretend to know.” You can’t just LOL your way out of this.

Instead of saying WTF, check out this cheat sheet of the 10 most confusing acronyms — and some science behind why we use them. You'll definitely want to save this one for L8R.

U R A1, BFF? ROFL, JK, SRSLY, B MY BFF!

Language learning platform Preply looked at 49 of the most commonly used abbreviations and discovered which ones Americans searched the most. Have any of these stumped you, too?

SMH racked up more than 100,000 monthly searches over the last two years. POV confused 70,000 fine folks a month.

Btw, here's a breakdown of that heading above:

Sure, abbreviations help us communicate much faster. They've also helped create new words and phrases, like FOMO (fear of missing out) and YOLO (you only live once).

Is it making us dumber?

Some say acronyms, abbreviations and even emojis have led to a decline in spelling and grammar skills. Eh, if you want to blame anything for that, it's autocorrect.

Still, they're relatively informal. At a more buttoned-up workplace, leave the abbreviations at the proverbial door. Hint: If you think, "Hmm, should I send this?"… don't. I think that applies to just about everything.

😂 It’s not just acronyms. Last Christmas, I had to tell my husband, Barry, he wasn’t texting a wreath to 500 of his closest friends. He was saying “Merry Christmas” with a salad. 🥗

iPhone 14 lifesaver: A family in Maui found themselves trapped in their car surrounded by flames and without cell service. They were saved by Apple's Emergency SOS satellite service. They texted emergency responders, and in just 30 minutes, firefighters came to their rescue. Thank God for this tech!

Musk’s smooth moves: Grimes says Elon Musk wooed her on their first date by driving hands-free with his eyes covered, letting autopilot take the wheel. Love is blind. The date also included a "Lord of the Rings" quiz and an exchange of animal bones. Yup, that's as weird as I pictured.

🍕 Don’t trust AI chefs: New Zealand grocery chain Pak'nSave’s AI meal bot app has been recommending killer dishes — poison bread sandwiches, bleach-infused rice and aromatic water mix (that’s chlorine gas). Yikes!

Move over, "Oppenheimer": Researchers at California's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory just did something incredible not once but twice. They've made nuclear fusion produce more energy than it consumes. Why it's cool: Energy from nuclear fusion is much safer than what we use now. Share this with a friend and they'll think, "Dang, you're smart!"

🍸 Shaken, stirred or baked at 350? The latest trend on TikTok is to plop classic movie scenes right over YouTube how-to videos. For instance, the famous James Bond train scene split screen with a cake baking in the oven. They’re called “dual videos.” Why? I have no idea.

Attn. website owners: If you put any of your work online, you should know Google’s AI is now mining publisher’s content. Here’s the deal: You can (and should) stop this by adding the robots.txt protocol to your site. The instructions are here. Don’t let AI reap the benefits of your hard work. I opted out and you should, too.

💬 Stop the hassle: Want ChatGPT to respond in a particular way all the time? OpenAI released an update to make that possible. Click Custom Instructions under your name, and you’re golden. Note: This is the kind of tip I share in my Current Tech Hacks newsletter each afternoon. Subscribe here. You’ll love it, I promise.

Got a few spare minutes during your drive? Or maybe you're chilling at home? Sounds like the perfect time to tune in to The Kim Komando Show podcast!

I keep it real, breaking down the latest tech trends, cybersecurity tips and gadget reviews into snack-sized, easy-to-understand episodes.

👉 Download an episode today!

I have so many listeners and readers in Hawaii. I also lived in Maui for years. It’s heart-wrenching to see lives lost, homes destroyed and the devastation. We won't know the full extent of the loss for some time.

Scammers are ready to take advantage of people's kindness in times like these. If you're thinking of helping out, you need to know who to donate to.

A list of trustworthy organizations

🩷 Hawaii friends, my prayers are with you right now. You're my ohana.

Oh, that sinking feeling. It’s unfortunate how many folks have felt it. Maybe you just bought a product that doesn’t do anything — or perhaps your entire bank account is drained.

Here’s a place to start if it happens to you:

🤝 Don’t go it alone. Here’s a more in-depth guide to help you (or a loved one).

Feeling like technology is leaving you in the dust? It's time to bridge the digital gap with my podcast.

I make the complex world of tech simple and approachable. From explaining the latest gadgets in plain English to offering easy-to-follow cybersecurity advice, I’ve got you covered. My podcast is easy to listen to at home or on the go — perfect for those quiet moments with a cup of coffee or while taking a walk.

Are you a fill-it-at-¼-tank person or like the rest of us monsters?

The answer: All right, you know how some folks like to throw shade at millennials for all sorts of things? They can't knock how they love Amazon. They're shopping like pros, outdoing the baby boomers by a whopping 2-to-1 ratio.

😀 Millennials, the first generation to grow up online, should’ve been called Gen E. But “Forrest Gump” ruined it.

🙏 Hey, you. Do me a favor and follow me on social. I’m on Instagram, X, YouTube, Facebook and everywhere else, too! — Kim