The generation of new car deniers

June 20, 2024

The average age of cars in the U.S. is now over twelve and a half years, the oldest ever. I’ll explain why people aren’t buying new ones. Plus, police using AI for surveillance, a warning about AirTag stalking, and how to use your Amazon Echo as an intercom.

Tags: AI (artificial intelligence), Amazon, Amazon Echo, Apple AirTags, buying, car, cars, download, intercom, Now, open, Plus, Police, stalking, Surveillance, U.S, warning

This week in 1997, a group of hackers cracked code written in Data Encryption Standard, which was designed to be impenetrable. Oops. How long did it take the hackers to crack? Was it … A.) Five days, B.) Five weeks, C.) Five months or D.) Five years?

Find the answer here! →

Stop leaving it up to chance: Today’s hackers have more tricks at their disposal than ever to fool even the savviest person. Protect your devices with a solid antivirus solution. It’s def worth $19 a year — trust me.

12 years

Spent on our phones. Yikes. The average person spends about five hours a day scrollin’ — exactly what app developers want. That’s one reason flip phone sales are up 15,369% in the past year among Gen Z and younger millennials. Time to dust off the old pink Razr …

🥵 He’s lucky he didn’t get boiled alive for a social media pic: A 21-year-old tourist at Yellowstone National Park got seven days in jail and a $1,500 fine for trying to sneak a close-up of the world’s largest geyser. He blew past all the warning signs and got within 15 feet of Steamboat Geyser’s steam vent. What a dope.

38% of millennials and Gen Z

Love travel agents. Turns out, planning a trip takes a lot of work. After nearing extinction, travel agents are making an unexpected comeback. Only 12% of Gen X and 2% of baby boomers felt the same. I hear you: “I need six months of vacation twice a year.”

Want your FB page back? Ask your local TV station for help. An Indianapolis man got his hacked Facebook account back after the local news investigated “shallow fakes.” That’s where scammers use your videos to pose as you on social. Might be a strat for you to try.

The “perfect meal” has three things: Caesar salad, fries and an ice-cold martini. Social media is calling it the “NYC happy meal.” I call it the “magic eraser,” guaranteed to delete the stress of the week. What’s your perfect food and bev combo? Reply and let me know!

🪄 You need a magic wand: The FCC says Adobe has predatory subscription billing practices. When you try to cancel Creative Cloud, Adobe charges you half of your leftover subscription, and they make it nearly impossible to cancel without calling. Caught in their web? The FCC put out a guide to help you dispute your charges.

Celebrity catfish: Kate Beckinsale just called out a scammer who used her identity to con an elderly man out of thousands. His kids reached out to the actress, begging her to prove that she wasn’t the one contacting him. He was convinced she proposed to him via text.

Cold case victim identified: A human skull discovered in 1983 has finally been identified, thanks to Facebook. In 1979, Maritza Gean Grimmet filed for divorce. Then, she disappeared. When investigators posted renderings of her on an FB group for missing women in 2023, her daughter immediately came forward. They’re still investigating the cause of death. I wonder where the husband’s hiding out …