Amazon privacy alert

March 17, 2025

🚨 Amazon privacy alert: Starting March 28, if you own an Amazon Echo speaker or smart display, all your voice commands will automatically be sent to Amazon for “processing.” They say it’s to improve their AI. Turn the option off and Voice ID is bricked. No more getting Alexa to do things like share calendar events, reminders, music and more. Wow.

Tags: Amazon, Amazon Echo, Music, privacy, voice commands

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Stop making these AI mistakes

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If you’re not using AI in your business or professional life yet, guess what? Your competitors are and they’re getting ahead. Time to change that.

The secret to making AI actually useful? Asking the right questions. A lazy prompt gets you a lazy answer. A smart one is where the magic happens. Here are three power-packed AI prompts to start using today.

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Meet your future robot coworker

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Humanoid robots have come a long way. In 2000, Honda’s $2.5 million ASIMO could barely shuffle along at 1 mph. Now, robots are running, flipping and handling customer service. Let’s dive into the robot revolution.

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$1 million

Royalties Spotify paid nearly 1,500 artists in 2024. You need over 20 million streams a month to earn that. Guess who is the number one earner on Spotify? Yup, it’s a “Tay Day” pay day for Taylor Swift who made an estimated $79.8 million to $133 million from 26.6 billion streams.

Stop your devices from listening

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What’s the obvious downside for always-on devices that constantly listen for commands? They’re always listening. Voice-activated tech uses microphones that listen for wake words, meaning they can hear personal conversations you don’t want them to hear. Don’t worry, you can stop it.

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The future of laptops

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My job is to keep you ahead of the curve, so you know what’s worth your hard-earned money and what’s just hype. One reader recently asked me: Where are laptops going next? Let’s break it down.

As AI gets better, imagine a bot that automates boring laptop tasks like booking flights, ordering groceries or organizing your files. Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs promise to do just that.

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

17%

Lower risk of dying early by swapping butter for plant oils. A big Harvard study tracked over 220,000 Americans for 33 years. Swapping just two tablespoons on your bread makes a difference. The kicker? Baking with butter doesn’t have the same risk. No margarine for error here.

25%

Americans feel burned out before they turn 30. Many Gen Z and millennials say they’ve hit “peak stress” at 25. That’s way younger than the average of 42 years old when most folks start having a midlife crisis.

Over $1 billion

In unclaimed tax refunds from 2021 will expire in four weeks. If you didn’t file your 2021 tax return, act fast or that money goes straight to the U.S. Treasury … forever. The average refund is $781, but some could get as much as $6,728! The deadline is April 15, 2025. See if you’re eligible on the IRS website.

$16 per month

Gets you access to Snapchat Platinum, including its new AI video Lenses. Think of it as a filter where you can see yourself cuddling up with cute virtual animals on screen. So far, there’s a raccoon and fox, plus spring flowers. People need to cool it with the age filter. It’s getting old.

100 days

How long an Australian man lived with an artificial titanium heart while waiting for a transplant. It’s the longest anyone has survived using the technology, which is still in trials. If it keeps proving successful, this could be the answer for people with heart failure.