digital Archives

Say goodbye to your passport stamps (and hello to fingerprint checkpoints)

ChatGPT

I love looking through the stamps in my passport. It’s proof that yes, I really did spend three hours at Charles de Gaulle waiting for my lost luggage.

Sad news. Europe’s pulling the plug on those little inked-up souvenirs and going high-tech.

Starting Oct. 12, 2025, when you enter the Schengen Area, you’ll face the new Entry/Exit System (EES), a fancy name for biometric border control. Instead of a stamp and a friendly “bonjour,” you’ll head to a kiosk where your face and fingerprints will be scanned, and your entry digitally logged into a giant EU database.

Yup, it’s basically like checking into the world’s fanciest club, except instead of bottle service, you’re getting your digital identity recorded for up to three years.

🏙️ Smile, it’s border time

This is important if you’re flying into popular European spots like France, Germany, Italy or Spain after mid-October. You’ll need to build in extra time to make a connecting flight.

You see, under the new system, you’ll need to do the full scan, i.e., passport, face, fingers and all. And here’s the sad kicker: no more passport stamps. That’s right.

Once the system fully rolls out in April 2026, border agents won’t stamp your passport, even if you ask nicely.

🚊 Not just in airports

Planning to take the Eurostar from London to Paris? Driving through the English Channel? Biometric border processing will be there, too.

Even if you’re coming in by ferry from the U.K., you’ll be scanned. The EU isn’t playing around with this digital gatekeeping.

📱 Back to the States?

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Cleaning hacks you’ll actually use

⚡ My pick: Electric spin scrubber (33% off)

Hate scrubbing? Same. With eight brush heads, a digital display and a long handle, this makes tackling grime feel less like CrossFit.

📱 Phone screen cleaner (40% off): It’s like a lint roller for your tech. No sprays or wipes, just roll away the smudges.

🧼 Washing machine descaler (15% off): Because a clean washer = clean clothes. 4.6 stars and 137K+ reviews.

🚗 Car cleaning gel (11% off): Yes, it’s slime, but it’s also a dust magnet. More satisfying than popping bubble wrap.

💚 Refrigerator deodorizer (11% off): Way better than baking soda. Drop it in, and get a decade of freshness. So smart.

✨ The sparkle doesn’t stop here: I’ve got 25 more little game changers waiting for you on my Amazon storefront.

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

Turn AI into your personal assistant

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Imagine a 24/7 digital assistant that never sleeps. AI can break down contracts, create presentations, summarize data, draft posts, and write Zoom follow-up emails. Here’s how to make AI your ultimate work sidekick.

📱 Talk to the dead: By 2030, visiting graves will be outdated. A Cambridge researcher predicts AI avatars of dead loved ones will be in our phones, ready for conversation 24/7. From Replika chatbots to funeral apps that let you “attend” your own service, the “digital afterlife industry” is creeping in. Btw, I’m going to share a story about this with you here on Sunday and ask for your advice.

$2,000 a week

What some parents pay for digital detox summer camps to help kids kick their screen addiction. Spoiler: It’s just regular camp activities. The real headache? Fixing their messed-up sleep schedules and actually getting them to talk to each other. Unplugging is way harder than it looks.

⌚ Keep your Apple Watch screen awake longer: If the display goes dark too fast, press the Digital Crown and go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Wake Duration. Change it to Wake for 70 Seconds. Now, when you tap the screen, it’ll stay on long enough to actually finish what you’re doing.

Fire up your Labor Day kitchen

🔥 My pick: COSORI 9-in-1 air fryer (25% off)

Healthy, easy, crispy food! I’m an air fryer gal. If you’ve been waiting to jump on the bandwagon, this is your sign.

🍓 Digital food scale (30% off): From meal prep to portion control, this beats the old “eyeballing” method.

🌡️ Meat thermometer (20% off): Save your BBQ dinners. No more “Is this done, or am I risking salmonella?”

🍵 Milk frother wand (17% off): Café vibes at home. Get barista-level foam without the upcharge.

🍾 Champagne & wine sealer (39% off): Keep your “special occasion” drink fresh for days.

😋 ICYMI: I rounded up 25 more Labor Day deals you’ll love. And if your cart’s not full, swing by my Amazon shop for even more holiday steals.

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

Digitize handwriting the easy way

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Old family letters don’t have to stay stuck in the past. With just your phone, you can turn cursive handwriting into digital text you can save, edit, and share in seconds.

Still saving passwords in your browser? It’s time to upgrade. NordPass stores your logins securely and fills them in instantly. No more password headaches. Get 52% off and take control of your digital life the smart, safe way! P.S. If you’re using Dashlane for free, they’ve killed the product. This is a great deal.

⌚ Save battery on your Apple Watch: Push the Digital Crown, go to Settings > Battery and toggle on Low Power Mode. You can also go to Settings > General > Background App Refresh and turn off the apps you’re not using. FYI: The Apple Watch SE (2nd gen) is 32% off right now.

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

😭 This made me pause and think: Jim Acosta just interviewed an AI version of Joaquin Oliver, created by the parents of the Parkland shooting victim. It aired on what would’ve been Joaquin’s 25th birthday. The digital Joaquin discussed gun control, movies and grief. His parents emphasized it’s not about resurrection but making sure he’s not silenced again. If you were in their position, could you do this?

Fitness granny falls in love with ChatGPT

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Could you fall in love with a chatbot? Influencer and author Andrea Sunshine did, but her digital romance came to a sudden end when her chat logs were deleted. She shares how the relationship began, what it feels like to connect deeply with AI, and what she’s doing to get her chatbot lover back.

Fix the Apple Watch app mess: That honeycomb layout looks cool until you’re jabbing the wrong app. To switch it, press the Digital Crown, swipe down and tap List View. Now your apps are in alphabetical order. Want those tiny icons back? Scroll down again and tap Grid View.

🔥 Today is the last day: Microsoft is killing off password storage in its Authenticator app. Your logins were migrated to Edge in early July, and the rest, like payment info, is toast tomorrow, Aug. 1. Passkeys are sticking around, but this is your sign to switch to a new password manager before your digital pantry gets cleaned out on Microsoft’s schedule. I use and recommend NordPass.

🪞 Try it on now: Google just dropped a new virtual try-on tool in Search, Shopping and Images. Upload a full-body photo, pick an outfit, and boom, you’re your own digital mannequin. Bonus: You can now set exact price alerts for that dress you’ve been stalking. Can’t wait to catfish myself in 4K.

Left your iPhone behind? Your Apple Watch can let you know. Press the Digital Crown > go to Find Devices > select your iPhone > tap Notifications > Notify When Left Behind, then toggle it On.

Blue screen, black soul: Remember the Windows blue screen of death? It just went goth. The QR code? Gone. The frowny face? Dead. Instead, you get a sleek black screen and a new Wi-Fi-powered quick machine recovery feature that can resuscitate your dead PC like digital CPR.

🧨 Microsoft’s China copilot: Microsoft’s finally getting rid of communist China-based engineers on U.S. military cloud projects after a ProPublica report triggered a Pentagon freak-out. Turns out so-called “digital escorts,” security-cleared U.S. babysitters, didn’t understand the tech they were supposed to be safeguarding. Now the defense secretary’s ordered a full supply chain scrub. Microsoft swears it disclosed everything. The military is now triple-checking everything for leaks and spies.

100,000+

That’s how many accounts Chess.com bans every month for cheating. Turns out a lot of people need engine assistance to lose with dignity. With 20 million games played daily (13,000 per minute!), the site’s 30-member Fair Play Team is part detective squad, part digital janitor and very busy. No rookies allowed.

💰 Meanwhile, retirement changes: Trump’s planning an executive order to let 401(k)s tap into crypto, gold, private equity and other alt assets. Long locked in stocks and bonds, opening up the $9T retirement market could be a windfall for digital assets and a whole new playbook for savers. If this passes, your financial adviser might start wearing Yeezys.