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The day the cloud caught a cold
If Zoom wouldn’t connect, YouTube froze or your smart home went dumb yesterday morning, it wasn’t just you. Over 11 million people reported issues with more than 2,500 big name apps and services.
The reason? A huge outage at Amazon Web Services, better known as AWS. Let me explain what all this means in plain English.
📦 So what is AWS?
Think of AWS like the engine under the hood of your favorite apps. You don’t see it, but it’s running everything.
When a company like Netflix, Zoom, Snapchat, Fortnite, Coinbase, Ring, Signal, your smart fridge or even Alexa herself needs a place to store data or run software, they don’t build a bunch of servers in their basement. That’s expensive and complicated.
Instead, they rent computing power from AWS, Amazon’s cloud. It’s kind of like how we don’t all own water wells anymore. We simply turn on the tap, and water flows. AWS is the tap for the internet.
💥 What went wrong?
One of Amazon Web Services’ major data centers on the East Coast had a meltdown. Because AWS is the backbone of so much of the internet with $80 billion in annual revenue and 23 million big-name customers, that one failure set off a domino effect.
The root cause? It came down to a glitch in the system that checks whether AWS’s internal tools are running smoothly. Major hiccup.
On top of that, add a DNS problem. DNS is the internet’s phone book. It translates web addresses into the behind-the-scenes numbers that tell your browser where to go. When that breaks, your device can’t find anything, even if it’s still there.
So with AWS’s tools out of sync and DNS stumbling, thousands of apps and websites went down or slowed to a crawl. Talk about a full-on cloud migraine.
🧺 Why this matters
From stubble to sparkle
A few upgrades can take the edge off your morning routine (literally).
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We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
Your camera roll deserves a cleanse
I remember my parents saying, “Kim, stop wasting the film.” Oh, yes, this was back when we’d put film in a camera, take up to 36 pictures, then wait for the roll to get developed to see if any of the shots were good. Those days are long gone, fortunately.
Ask ChatGPT to fact-check: You can have ChatGPT verify info by asking it to search the web. For example, prompt, “Is this factually correct as of today? Search the web to confirm.” It’ll pull recent sources, summarize what it finds and share links so you can compare answers from different sites.
GM’s hands-free future: Are you tired of driving? GM’s 2028 Cadillac Escalade IQ wants to let you fully check out, literally. The next-gen Super Cruise drives itself (on approved highways) with lidar, radar and cameras, and the dash glows turquoise when it’s safe to let auto drive take over. Oh, and Google’s Gemini AI will chat with you, because silence is awkward.
Did someone hack your toilet?
Kohler’s Dekoda camera snaps onto your toilet to analyze your, let’s call it, daily download. I’d say that’s a little too smart for comfort.
The Amazon outage that broke the internet
Amazon’s cloud crashed and took half the internet with it. Snapchat, Ring, Venmo, even banks went dark. I’ll break down what happens when the web’s backbone fails. Then I talk to one business owner who caught scammers stealing her online brand. Plus, the Louvre heist, a New Jersey “UFO” update, and a smart ChatGPT trick.
Mirror Android to TV: Sharing your phone screen on a smart TV is easy as long as both are on the same Wi-Fi. On your phone, go to Settings > Connected devices > Smart View, then select your TV name > Full screen > Start now.
How to find something good to watch
You open Netflix, stare at the screen for 20 minutes, and still end up watching nothing. Let’s fix that.
💻 Delete this now: If you see ads or blogs pitching the “Universe Browser” as the fastest and safest one ever, don’t fall for it. Researchers found it secretly routes your data to China, logs keystrokes and installs hidden programs. They probably should have called it “Internet Exploiter.” Millions downloaded it, thinking it was legit. If you’re one of them, I hate to say it, but you need to wipe your system and reinstall the OS. This thing digs in deep.
Get spooky for under $20
You’ve got seven days. These steals won’t haunt your wallet.
🕯️ Smells like sweater weather: Scented candle (35% off)
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Trick-or-treat comms: Walkie-talkies (30% off, two-pack) keep your kiddos connected while they roam the neighborhood.
💧 Ghost your makeup, not your skin: Face paint? Fake blood? This makeup remover (26% off) erases it all without a trace.
Cover your coffin (er, table): From snack tables to potion stations, black tablecloths (29% off) hide spills and look chic.
💡 Lights that slay: Purple and orange floodlights (41% off) are a quick and easy way to transform your porch.
🎃 Freaky-fast finds: Need candy or a last-minute costume? Grab ’em all here.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
The best locks for every door
From your front entrance to your hotel room, I narrowed it down to the standouts.
✅ My pick: Yale’s Assure lock (20% off) unlocks when your hands are full and automatically latches up for you. Fingerprint scanner? Works in just half a second. Plus, manage two-factor authentication and biometrics right from the app. No need to call a locksmith, either.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
💄 Google Meet’s AI makeup is rolling out: You can now add virtual makeup during video calls, with 12 options to choose from like eyeliner, lipstick, blush and more. Go to Backgrounds and effects > Appearance > Makeup to try it out. The best part? The filter moves with your face, so it won’t slide off when you sip your coffee. I tried it and looked marvelous!
Lunatics, start your remotes: Amazon relaunched Luna, its cloud service that streams games over the internet. You’ve got it for free if you have Prime. Sign in on your phones, and play against each other on the TV. It’s finally time to settle the score with your aunt.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
Use WhatsApp on your iPad: Yes, it finally works. Download WhatsApp from the App Store, open it and get a QR code. On your phone, go to Settings > Linked devices > Link device and scan the code. Your chats and contacts will sync so you can message or call right from your iPad.
Meta’s AI trains on your private photos
Facebook wants to scan your camera roll. Yes, the pics you never posted. Creepy? Plus, one caller wants to stop his kid from looking at naughty things on the internet. Then I get into Amazon’s robot army, why being mean to AI work, and how to pay less for subscriptions.
Geocaching turns 25
In this AI-powered podcast, go treasure hunting in the real world with geocaching, then get nostalgic for old school gadgets. Plus, some wild AI fails and helpful tech tips.
✋ Stop Google Photos auto backup: On Android, you can stop Google Photos from quietly uploading every picture you take. It saves some cloud space and keeps your private (or spicy) photos off the internet. Open Photos, tap your profile icon (top right) > Photos settings > Backup, and toggle it off.
📦 Surprise package season: It’s not your lucky day. USPS says if you get a random package this holiday, don’t celebrate too fast. It’s probably a “brushing” scam, where fake sellers send cheap stuff to your address so they can post bogus “verified buyer” reviews. Basically, you’re an unwitting five-star accomplice.