Oy, original Oculus owners

Oy, original Oculus owners: If you have an Oculus VR headset you haven’t used in the past year, you may lose all your games, data and purchases unless you act ASAP. Create a Meta account by March 29 to keep your heirloom VR headset kicking.

Tags: data, Meta


Make your smart home smarter with a smart lock 

Today the average home has 10 times more technology than NASA used to land humans on the moon. That’s a lot of tech to secure! That’s why we’re sharing the Ultraloq U-Bolt Pro Smart Lock to upgrade your Apollo 11-era keys. 

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Trivia

What percent of e-waste — old computers, phones and other tech — gets recycled? Is it … A.) 50%, B.) 90%, C.) 20% or D.) 10%?

Find the answer here

1,000% increase in online searches for Airbnbs

From people looking for places to stay in the path of the solar eclipse. Dallas, Waco, Fredericksburg and Austin are a few trending cities in the path of totality for the April 8 eclipse.

Measure your heart rate with your phone

Fun fact: You don’t need a smartwatch to measure your heart rate. You can check your ticker with just an app.

It’s neat how these work. Put your index finger on the back camera, and the app measures your heart rate by detecting color changes. Be sure to hold your phone steady and keep still.

Just remember, apps aren’t a replacement for seeing a medical professional or talking to your doctor, especially if you’re not feeling well.

❤️ Some people say a rapid, irregular heartbeat isn’t a big deal. Sorry, but that’s a-fib.

$10K for baby photos

That’s what some parents pay for over-the-top newborn photoshoots. From Disney-themed to “Game of Thrones,” no vision is too wild. Photographers report (paywall link) making custom-made props, importing tiny furniture and creating elaborate costumes.

$22M payment sent to hackers

For the Change Healthcare ransomware attack. For 10 days and counting, pharmacies and hospitals haven’t been able to get people their prescriptions. Turns out all it took was an enormous bitcoin payment to stop them.

80% drop in readers has Meta saying, “So long” to Facebook News

It’ll disappear from Facebook in the U.S. and Australia in April. After regulators said Meta would have to start paying publishers for news stories, the Big Tech powerhouse is routing its money into content like short-form videos.

61% of Americans are on their phones within 5 minutes of waking up

And one-third of us open our phones within one minute! I usually talk about avoiding phone use at night as the reason to keep your phone out of your bedroom, but let’s add this to the list.

42,324 people laid off 

Big Tech’s “contribution” to the U.S. workforce so far in 2024. Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Discord, Salesforce, eBay and PayPal have all cut jobs, even as the overall economy is booming. So far, this number just about tracks with last year’s total tech layoffs — 263,000. Ouch.

Trivia

The first Google Doodle was created in 2000 when founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin asked intern Dennis Hwang to make a drawing to commemorate a holiday. Was it … A.) The Fourth of July, B.) Bastille Day, C.) Chinese New Year or D.) Diwali?

Find the answer here