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October 5, 2025

❌ ICE app blocked: Both the Apple App Store and Google Play pulled ICEBlock, the app that flagged ICE agents nearby. DOJ said it endangered officers, especially after the Dallas shooter allegedly used the app before killing a detainee and injuring two. Whatever your views, when an app puts lives at risk, including those of law enforcement and civilians, it becomes a matter of public safety, not politics.

🤖 These are my bot confessions: Police say Missouri State student Ryan Schaefer smashed 17 car windshields, then bragged about it to ChatGPT. His typo-filled chats (“qill I go to jail?”) were found on his phone. Spoiler: yes. Now he’s facing felony charges and thousands in damages. Reminder: AI isn’t your diary, it’s potential evidence.

🕵🏻‍♂️ Keep your email private: Free email providers like Gmail and Yahoo track what you do. I use StartMail because it keeps my inbox secure, stops spam and keeps my personal info private. Try it free for 7 days, and when you sign up, you’ll get my 60% off deal for the first year!*

🤖 Keep your distance: iRobot founder Rodney Brooks (aka the Roomba guy) says stay 10 feet back from humanoid bots. Why? If one tips, it’s a 150-pound steel giraffe doing a trust fall. Also, video-only training won’t teach them real dexterity. Don’t let yourself become a YouTube tutorial with bones.

📸 Back to basics: Kodak is doing something it hasn’t done in over a decade … selling its own film. Like, actual 35mm. Remember those yellow rolls in every junk drawer? Same stuff. Kodak’s cutting out the middleman to bring prices down. It’s a quiet comeback from a brand that basically shot every ’80s birthday party you’ve ever been to.

🛞 Smart rubber: Pirelli and Bosch are cooking up “Cyber Tyres” that talk to your car through Bluetooth tiny sensors that measure contact patches, pressure and acceleration, then beam lifesaving data like grip loss before aquaplaning. These Fitbits for wheels were spotted on a $2.5M Pagani, but hitting normal cars in ~3 years. Imagine explaining to your great grandpa, “The tire’s Bluetooth says slow down.”

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💾 You’ve got no mail: Goodbye forever, dial-up. AOL finally shut down this week when traffic is up 20%. The AOL brand will live on with Italy’s Bending Spoons, who are buying it from Yahoo for $1.4B because it still pulls in ad money and subscription cash. And to honor AOL’s modem sounds, a nod to my geeky readers. Watch this video about how one guy literally daisy-chained 12 dial-up modems into a 668kbps Frankenline. Incredible.

Reset Kindle reading time: At the bottom left, tap to see how long’s left in a chapter or the whole book. If you fall asleep or leave it open, the estimate gets thrown off. To fix it, tap the Search icon at the top, type ;ReadingTimeReset and hit Enter. It’ll say no results, but it works.

AI chat ad trap: Meta’s creepy AI chats will fuel even creepier ad targeting. Starting in December, anything you tell the chatbot, “best hikes in Sedona” or “I have IBS,” could shape your ads and feed. One billion users, one giant data grab. So yeah, maybe don’t trauma-dump to the algorithm unless you want an ad for probiotics.

⚠️ Your identity is at risk every day. NordProtect monitors the dark web for your personal info, sends instant alerts for suspicious activity and helps you recover your identity if it’s stolen. Protect your finances, credit and peace of mind for just $5.22/month.

It’s a mail-dominated industry: Remember yelling, “Just need to drop this off!” in the post office line? USPS heard you. They’re trying to cut wait times by 40% by redesigning 2,600+ locations with techy lobbies, 24/7 lockers and kiosks. But, yes, it still smells like paper and stress in there.

🕹️ You buying this thing? The Xbox Ally X is here Oct. 16, with a $1,000 top-tier version. Scalpers are charging $2K for, get this, a device that’s still in stock. May your dreams be as bold as theirs. It’s good for the hardcore handheld gamer who wants PC-level power on the couch, but probably overkill if you just play Stardew.

Porsche dream gone wrong: Michael Foley thought he’d scored a vintage Porsche 911 in Europe. Instead, he wired $20K to scammers with a fake listing, forged docs and promises of a Euro road trip. Now he’s got no car, no cash, just the memory of telling his scammer, “Thank you, I’ve wanted this car for years.” Ooof.

😳 Salesforce, meet Failforce: Imagine waking up, checking your email and realizing all your data and info about every single one of your clients, contacts, vendors and more are in a hacker group’s hands because it was stored on Salesforce. That’s what’s happening at 700+ organizations including Google, Allianz, Toyota, Disney, FedEx, Workday, Qantas, Marriott, McDonald’s, Walgreens, Adidas, Stellantis, Saks, TransUnion and the list goes on and on. Hackers say they have 1 billion to 1.5 billion records and are demanding a huge ransom. If there’s even a dotted line between you and these organizations, hackers have your info. I’ll keep you posted on this one. Salesforce says it’s fine. Blink twice if it’s not.

😳 Gullible little robots: Want AI to pick out the perfect item for you? Don’t. These new AI browsers like Perplexity’s Comet are total suckers. In tests, they clicked scam emails, typed bank logins into fake sites and even downloaded viruses if a page asked nicely. Basically, they’re your friend who still believes email from Nigerian princes. Stay away.

Apple’s October drop: Rumors say we’re getting a new Apple TV 4K, HomePod mini 2, M5 iPad Pro, AirTag 2 and maybe a Vision Pro refresh. Toss in possible M5 MacBook Pros and new Studio Displays and it’s basically tech Black Friday but without the discounts.