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Black Friday bargains are here and this season’s top tech is not gonna fit under the Christmas tree. Find out what the XXL present is in this short podcast.
Ah, the wide world of tech myths. I’ve heard ‘em all:
Macs are immune to viruses. Stick a wet phone in rice and it’ll be as good as new. Always run your battery down to 0% before you charge.
😲 The No. 1 show on Netflix right now: “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” dives into the true story of two brothers convicted of murdering their parents in 1996. The newly elected Los Angeles District Attorney says, “I will have to review the confidential prison files for each brother, the transcripts from both trials, and speak to the prosecutors, law enforcement, defense counsel and the victims’ family members. Only then can I make a decision.” I don’t think much will happen at their resentencing hearing on Dec. 11.
😲 The No. 1 show on Netflix right now is “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.” It dives into the true story of two brothers convicted of murdering their parents in 1996. They said a lifetime of abuse drove them to it; prosecutors argued it was all about inheriting the family fortune.
Manufactured by Anova, it uses an internal camera to recognize your food and tell you how to cook it. It uses both wet and dry heat, like ovens in restaurants. In the future, the Precision Oven 2.0 will spot cooking mistakes before a dish is ruined.
Microsoft Paint and Notepad are getting AI features: Rewrite in Notepad will rephrase sentences, adjust tone and tweak content. Paint will feature a generative fill option to add an image with a prompt, while a new generative erase tool removes parts of a picture and blends the space left behind. That’s kinda like putting high-octane gas in a Mini Cooper.
Speaking of energy: AT&T and Voltpost are turning lampposts into internet-connected EV chargers across Michigan. Since they’re using existing streetlights, they can get ‘em up and running in under two hours. The downside? Slow charging speeds. Still, not bad if you’re parked at the office all day.
😅 6G could be 9,000 times faster than 5G: But it’ll need tons of power. Some suggest visible light communication may be the solution, though it leaks tons of energy. Enter Bracelet+, a mini antenna that captures lost power. Researchers tried it on walls and phones, but guess what worked best? The human body.
What the big print giveth, the small print taketh away: Big companies like Walmart are using bots to handle contract negotiations with suppliers. These bots analyze a contract’s terms based on company data and market trends, then they submit their findings to a human or reply with a counteroffer.
🗳️ Did you vote? In many states, that’s public information, but you have to file a request or pay a fee to obtain it. A new website, VoteRef, allows anyone to look up your name, address, age, party affiliation and whether you voted. Not all state info is there … yet. This feels like harassment just waiting to happen.
Not exactly brag-worthy: The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is tooting its own horn for no successful hacks during the U.S. election. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t interference. Russia ramped up its disinformation campaigns on social media, and several bogus bomb threats made at polling stations were traced back to them. And don’t forget China hacked phones belonging to President-elect Trump and JD Vance.
