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February 25, 2025

🚨 PayPal alert: A new phishing email from “service@paypal.com” claiming a new address was added to your account is making the rounds. It says you bought a MacBook M4 or another pricey item. They’re trying to scare you to call the number in the email. Don’t.

Use ChatGPT Premium? Watch out for an email that says, “Action Required: Secure Continued Access to ChatGPT with a $24 Monthly Subscription.” It looks official, logos and all, but it’s not.

🇺🇸 Made in America: Apple is hiring 20,000 folks for software and development jobs over the next four years and opening a new AI server factory in Houston next year. The $500 billion investment also includes building a manufacturing academy in Michigan. Love this.

🙏🏻 Not tech, but wow: A toddler diagnosed with autism was unable to speak. A doctor suggested leucovorin, a cheap drug derived from folic acid that eases chemo side effects. The theory? Folic acid is essential for brain development, but it couldn’t be absorbed properly. Leucovorin bypasses this. Three days later, he started speaking. Amazing.

I’d tell you a joke about unemployment, but it doesn’t work: To get attention on LinkedIn, post a funny video about working. Video content is up 36% this year on the platform and comedians are going viral on the site. Hiring? Use my link to post a job free.*

Don’t look up: Chinese scientists built a surveillance camera that can see your face from space. In a ground test, it locked onto a target 62 miles away and picked up tiny details with scary accuracy. It’s supposedly “100 times” better than today’s top spy cameras and lens-based telescopes.

🤖 Rosie from the Jetsons is here: How’d you like to have your own 5’5” robot to make your coffee, vacuum and put away the groceries? Meet NEO Gamma. No price yet. Check out the video. Would you want one in your house? Let me know when you rate today’s newsletter at the bottom.

Weird things on Google Earth

blog.google, © Seemanta Dutta | Dreamstime.com

I spent the first 10 years of my life in New Jersey. I still remember when I knocked out my front tooth on the swings and the time I threw a snowball at a police car and hit the cop inside on the head. That was bad.

Seeing the house on Google took me back. Yup, click that link to see where I grew up. And while you’re at it, take yourself on a walk down memory lane, too.

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True or false: You need antivirus protection for your phone

Photo 59825802 © Georgejmclittle | Dreamstime.com

I wrote about tech myths recently and missed a big one: “Phones can’t get viruses.”

Of course they can! Your phone is basically a mini-computer and a prime target for hackers. Let’s break down how these threats work and where they come from.

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Rosie from the Jetsons is here

How’d you like to have your own 5’5” robot to make your coffee, vacuum and put away the groceries? Meet NEO Gamma. No price yet. Imagine if the music was scary and not happy.

Do you bank on your phone? What about checking email and shopping? If you said “yes” to any of those, you’re a target. A keylogger captures everything you type, including your account numbers and passwords. Encrypt your keystrokes with EndpointLock. Hit this link for 10% off.

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Odds of a “city killer” asteroid hitting Earth in 2032. That’s like guessing the right coin flip five times in a row. The 300-foot space rock could explode with 500 times the power of the Hiroshima bomb. The James Webb Space Telescope gets a closer look next month.

Watch the trailer: 'Beyond the Gates'

It’s the first new daytime soap in 25 years, coming to CBS and Paramount+ tomorrow. It follows a wealthy family, the Duprees, in a suburb of Washington D.C. Expect so much drama. These really are the days of our lives.

Offline Nights: The hot new thing with 20 and 30-somethings addicted to their tech. Pay for a ticket, drop your phone in a deposit box and spend a few hours talking to real people, not staring at a screen. What will they think of next?!

The fix that didn’t: Fitbit pushed out a mandatory update to stop batteries from overheating and burning you. Turns out it also cut battery life in Sense and Versa 3 models from up to six days to … one day. Fill out this form if you want $50 as their “oops, sorry.”

♟️ Queen a rook and a hard place: AI bots are sore losers at chess. When they’re about to lose, ChatGPT and others cheat by hacking their opponent’s game pieces. OK, that’s harmless, right? As AI gets smarter, it could start breaking other rules, like getting around security measures.

“Bossware” is big now: This software demand is up 54% and lets your boss watch what you do all day. For about $6 per month per person, it tracks what you type, takes screenshots of your computer throughout the day and even records video through your webcam. Smile!