...

March 29, 2025

🖥️ Windows 11 update: Microsoft dropped an optional update packed with 38 changes. What’s new? Live captions and real-time translation for over 44 languages on Copilot+ PCs with AMD and Intel CPUs, plus a fix for random blue screen crashes. Go to Settings > Windows Update > Check for Updates > Download and install.

No vacancy: Next time you book a hotel, scroll past the random sites you’ve never heard of that pop up first in your search (paywall link). They’re resellers that slap on hundreds in extra fees. Some even look like the real hotel site, so double-check the URL. If you’ve been duped, click here to file an FTC complaint.

🛒 Aisle see you: I want to try this! Instacart will pay you to video store shelves while you shop. It’s called Store View. This is just the start. Their Caper Carts will one day update stock levels every hour with built-in cameras.

00Heaven: Meet the big guns producing the next Bond film. Amazon picked Amy Pascal from Spider-Man and David Heyman, who’s behind Harry Potter. This’ll be the first time the Broccoli family won’t take charge since Amazon MGM got the rights from them. Who do you want as the next Bond girl? Sorry, I’m way too busy.

👶 Birth rates are declining: If you’re wondering why no one’s settling down anymore, here’s a stat for you: Over half of 18- to 34-year-olds in the U.S. aren’t in a steady relationship. Blame tech. Folks are spending more time on social media, video games and TV than hanging out with each other. Can’t date if you’re glued to a screen!

Microsoft Excel World Championship: Yup, it’s a real thing. Contestants get a data-loaded spreadsheet and create formulas to solve challenges and rack up points. Want in? Sign up here. For the rest of us, Microsoft’s pushing Copilot in Excel, so you can just tell it what to do and ask for pre-written formulas.

💅 Feel like a spy: Put a smart NFC chip (paywall link) under your manicure. It’s a neat party trick to share social media links, send texts or open apps with just your finger. Here’s one on Amazon, but they don’t always work smoothly. Fun but could use a bit more … polish (I know you laughed).

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

🐣 Not a practical yolk: Ever seen a chicken hatch from an open egg? A Japanese student actually pulled it off, and the video’s racking up thousands of upvotes on Reddit. The clip shows him cutting the egg open and injecting things into the embryo. After 21 days, a chick pops out. Strange but amazing.

30

Age of the world’s oldest cat, Millie. To celebrate three decades, her owner Leslie got a cake made with Millie’s face on it, complete with 30 candles. The secret to her long life? Lots of treats, cuddles on the sofa and Buxton water. Let’s purr-ty!

$207 million

Sale price for the infamous Napster. Yep, the same one that let people pirate music before getting shut down. Its new owner wants to turn it into a virtual 3D space where fans can attend concerts and listen to music together. I’m glad I don’t have my money wrapped up in this!

Microsoft Copilot’s getting smarter: Better late than never, I suppose. Look for two new deep reasoning agents in April. Researcher can dig through multiple sources and pull insights from third-party tools like Salesforce, while Analyst can turn messy data into clean spreadsheets.

🚀 The Fram2 mission: I’m sure you’ll see news about this on March 31. Astronauts are going to orbit both the North and South Poles for the first time ever. The crew will fly in a SpaceX Dragon capsule and spend up to five days in space. Oh, and they’ll be taking the first-ever X-ray of a human body off-planet.

🛒 AI add to cart: Amazon is testing “Interests AI,” so you can chat to find things instead of typing in the search bar. Check if you have it by opening the Amazon app > Me tab (person icon) and tapping Interests. Of course, that data will help train Alexa+ with generative AI. Never stops.

🎭 IRL dubbing: Imagine watching (and understanding!) a play in a foreign language. An off-Broadway theater in NYC is doing it with live AI translations for its longest-running play, Perfect Crime. Scan a QR code, pick from 60 languages and listen with your headphones. The cost to the theater? About $100 per hour. Something to consider if you’re live streaming a church service or something similar.

Trust your gut: Amelia Mandeville-Marinaro had just given birth when her husband, Pete, received a call from their “bank.” Yikes, their money was in danger, and they had to move it immediately. Amelia shared on TikTok (3.2 million views) that alarm bells were going off in her head the whole time. So many scammers out there. You gotta be on your toes!

2 hours

Into an Air France flight, the plane made a U-turn back to Paris. A passenger boarded the plane with his phone but somehow couldn’t find it anywhere during the flight. Phone batteries can start a fire, so airlines don’t take chances. My guess: He flushed it. That’s something we never said in the ’80s … “I lost my phone.”

🚨 It’s not from Apple: There’s a phishing text going around that claims your Apple ID was used to approve a transaction, usually with a dollar amount included. Don’t click the link or call the number. Real Apple account alerts come through iOS push notifications or official emails, never texts.