💲 If you put a Ring on it: Ring’s raised its Basic video doorbell subscription costs from $3.99 to $4.99 a month. Always something, huh? More than ever, getting SimpliSafe to protect your whole home is a smarter and cheaper choice.
How to find and stop hidden fees
When I’m booking air travel, it seems like the price goes up with every click. By the time I pay to check a bag or two, that “great deal” isn’t looking so, well, great.
So of course airlines are fighting the Biden administration’s “junk fees’” rule, which would make them show their fees upfront for checking bags, carrying on a bag, and changing or canceling a reservation.
Virtually every major airline (American, Delta, United, JetBlue, Alaska and Hawaiian) is suing to stop this rule. Yeah, and they probably don’t want you to know their checked-baggage fees are going up again (at least, for American).
Airlines aren’t the only ones
It’s called price obfuscation, and I bet it’s happening in your online shopping carts all the time. You see one price when you hit “buy,” and as they tack on more fees, you’re less likely to notice them.
Concert tickets are some of the worst offenders, with service fees, order processing fees, delivery fees and facility charges.
The price obfuscation for concert tickets got so out of control, some states finally made Ticketmaster show “all-in pricing” — your actual ticket cost — instead of the ticket price you think you’re paying.
- 🎶 How to avoid it: When you can, buy tickets at a physical box office to avoid some of the fees.
Hotels stays: Many hotels tack on a “resort fee” they claim is for amenities. Some local governments charge a tourism tax, too. It can add up!
- 🧳 Ask about the charges: If your hotel’s “resort fee” is for a closed pool or a gym you’re not using, politely ask if it can be removed from your bill.
Online shopping: That outfit was a good deal … until you saw the shipping and handling fees.
- 🛍️ Do your own legwork: Literally. If you’re purchasing online for a store with a brick-and-mortar shop in your town, get it shipped there for free and pick it up.
📮 Stick with me, and we’ll go places: The prices for U.S. first-class postage stamps are going up to $0.73 in July, and lots of fake postage stamp sites and social media ads are popping up. PSA: There’s no such thing as half-price stamps. It’s a scam.
How does in-flight Wi-Fi work?
I wondered and thought you might be curious, too. It’s changed a lot since you could first connect on a plane — and yet I’m still surprised at how often in-flight internet stinks.
Someone leaked a shot from the new Captain America movie and Marvel is ticked — they’ve filed a subpoena to get the poster’s identity. Which platform are they going after? Is it … A.) Facebook, B.) Reddit, C.) TikTok or D.) Instagram?
75% of weddings
In 2024 will be phone-free. Unplugged weddings fix that problem of everyone looking at the ceremony through their cam and ruining expensive professional pics. Smart.
Really remote: SpaceX’s Starlink system for cellphones can now handle video calls. A demo shows an employee linking their smartphone to the satellite service and connecting to another phone on a regular cellular network. The image quality is grainy and the clip brief, but it’s still pretty cool. Don’t expect it till later this year.
Just sell it: Nike, Ralph Lauren, Levi’s and Zara are taking over resale sites like Depop and eBay. Easiest to sell? Brown, beige and multicolored outfits and Nike shoes, which are the No. 1 sellers. Check your closets and make some summer travel money now!
It went data way: Soon, you can send files directly from Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive to ChatGPT rather than saving them to your desktop and uploading them to the AI assistant. There’s a new ChatGPT feature to make sweet interactive charts and tables from your spreadsheets. And there goes another job because of AI.
But wait! There’s more: Microsoft Edge will soon use AI to offer real-time video translation on sites like YouTube and CNBC — dubbing and subtitles included. And you can create fancy AI apps that respond to images, voice and text prompts with GPT‑4o in Azure AI Studio. Fancy, fancy.
🤦 Baby, don’t Hertz me: Get a load of this — rental car giant Hertz got caught charging Tesla renters hundreds for gas. They blame a system glitch that added a “Skip the Pump” fee to EV invoices. Refunds are rolling out. Are they sorry? Yup — you get one free EV rental day. I’ll pass.
Another health care data breach: WebTPA provides admin services to health benefit plans and insurance companies. Hackers stole the names, contact details, birth and death dates, Social Security numbers and insurance info of 2.4 million people in April 2023. Yes, it happened over a year ago and we’re just hearing about it now. The company’s CEO basically said, “It’s no big deal.” Yeah, not for you.
40% quieter
A new leaf blower invented by college students. Engineering brainiacs at Johns Hopkins University designed an electric leaf blower that cuts the noise levels nearly in half and practically erases the most obnoxious whirring sounds most leaf blowers emit. Black & Decker will start selling them in the next two years!
🌐 My prediction from two years ago is coming true: Web traffic is dying. On Google Search, Gemini AI is spitting out answers with its AI Overview, meaning no clicks are required. Of course, publishers are making zero money from AI results. If you get any revenue from website searches, it’s time to pivot your strategy, like, yesterday.
Uber’s new shuttle service: Each one will hold between 14 and 55 folks. Schedule shared rides and reserve up to five seats ahead of time in busy areas. Another change: Costco members (who don’t want the $1.50 hot dog deal) ordering through Uber Eats get discounts.
😱 The truth is out: Earlier this year, Raffaela Spone was accused of creating a deepfake video of her daughter’s cheerleading competitor vaping. The community turned on Spone, complete with death threats. Fast-forward — the video turned out to be real and the investigation was botched. Yeah, Spone’s suing for $20 million.
Update your iPhone, too: iOS 17.5 is here and it’s a big one — 1.5GB, to be exact. What’s new? An offline mode for Apple News+ and a notification when an unknown Bluetooth device is traveling with you. And you can finally send your phone in for repairs without having to turn off Find My — nice! Hit Settings > General > Software Update, and tap Download and Install.
Patch Tuesday: Updates for Windows 11 versions 23H2, 22H2 and 21H2 just dropped. Top of the list? A fix for that annoying bug that caused VPN connections to fail. Your PC should handle this update automatically, or go DIY if you’re feeling antsy: Start > Settings > Windows Update > Check for Updates.
Mac attack: A new macOS malware called “Cuckoo” is targeting older Intel-based Macs and newer models with Apple chips. It steals passwords and takes over your system. It’s spreading via websites and apps that convert streaming music into MP3s. Stay safe: Use TotalAV to protect your tech — it’s just $19 for a year.