Share:
🎨 Feel like Bob Ross: Thanks to the Imagen 2 engine, Google’s Bard chatbot now does AI art. It’s free to use, and Google is adding watermarks to avoid AI image drama (ahem, Taylor Swift pics).
My car insurance just went up 32%. Did I have an accident or get a few tickets? Nope. Since 2020, car insurance rates in the U.S. have risen by a whopping 37%. The main reason? High-tech vehicles — aka anything remotely new — cost way more to repair. And you don’t need to have a high-tech car to feel the pinch. It’s hitting everyone.
Whenever something new that can help protect your security pops up, you can count on me to make sure you know about it. Good news. Amazon just got on board the passkey train. Passkeys replace your (probably not that strong) password with something no one can hack: Your fingerprint or face ID.
This is for folks who wear them, of course — compared to those who regularly skip putting in their hearing aids. What studies haven’t examined is the why.
Bluetooth uses a radio frequency to share data over a short distance. It’s baked into just about every smartphone you can buy nowadays. But, as with any connection, it has its vulnerabilities.
My advice: Turn off Bluetooth when not using it. Keeping it active all the time makes your device more vulnerable. Plus, you’ll get more battery life.
⚠️ You’d be surprised what someone can do if they break into your phone via Bluetooth.
I ran into an acquaintance I hadn’t seen for a few years, and she’d lost a ton of weight. I asked her, “Did you start an exercise program?” Nope. She’s taking supplements she heard about on TikTok. That bothered the heck out of me, so I did some research.
Where’s the safest place to store data? If you said “the cloud,” go a little higher. Nope, higher than that.
The ultimate backup is literally out of this world. I recently chatted with Chris Stott, CEO of a Florida-based startup called Lonestar. Alongside NASA, Lonestar is about to send backup servers to the moon. This is so fascinating to me, and I thought you’d like to hear more about it, too.
Five of the biggest programs account for 5.5 billion fewer plastic bags per year. This is your reminder to put the reusable bags in your car.
Color me shocked. I knew you’d like the CES updates about new tech coming down the pipeline, but wow, I got so many notes about how much you enjoyed it.
I aim to please, so here we go with the rest of the gadgets, gizmos and updates you’ll want to know.
