Tag: Google

🤖 Don’t replace it yet: Gadgets make old tech feel new

Inside: 10 add-ons give older TVs, laptops, cars and other tech modern features without a major upgrade.

Researchers tested 17,000 apps for secret eavesdropping. What they found instead should change your settings tonight.

It’s America’s most-argued tech question. You mention dog food once, and the ad shows up an hour later. Scientists tested 17,000 apps and found zero secret recordings. But one media firm bragged about “Active Listening” tech, Apple paid $95 million over Siri misfires, and 2,230 companies are quietly feeding Facebook your shopping habits. The way ads REALLY find you is creepier than a hot mic. Plus the 5-minute settings fix.

🏠 How to search rentals and book apartment tours with AI

Zillow is a connected app on both Gemini and ChatGPT, so you can find listings and schedule tours just by asking. Here’s the 60-second setup, the prompt to try first and the privacy catch.

5 things tech pros do in their own homes that they rarely tell customers

Techs know the “dead” TV usually isn’t dead, the phone that won’t charge just needs a toothpick and the check engine light can be decoded before you ever call a mechanic. Five trade secrets pros use at home but rarely mention at the counter.

The always-on gadgets quietly draining your power bill, and the $10 fix

Every blinking clock and standby light is on your electric bill. A $10 gadget stops it and doubles as a burglar deterrent while you travel.

This free tool turns your kid’s pencil drawing into a 10-page storybook that reads itself aloud

Google’s free Storybook tool takes one photo of your kid’s pencil drawing and turns it into a 10-page illustrated book, drawn in their own style, that reads itself aloud. Two minutes, no design skills, print it as a PDF keepsake.

📚 Be head of the class

Save on headphones, a Chromebook, dorm essentials, plus more smart buys for students, parents and working pros. Up to 44% off.

Free tool turns a page of handwriting into a font you can type with

You can take a single page of your loved one’s handwriting and turn it into a font that works in Word forever. A son used this free tool to preserve his mother’s handwriting as Parkinson’s slowly took it away. Print the template, fill it in, upload the photo, done in 15 minutes.

Scientists built an AI that can nearly talk to dolphins. Your dog could be next.

Google trained an AI on 40 years of dolphin chatter, and it runs on a cell phone underwater. The wild part? The same tech is coming for your pets.

Your carrier deletes voicemails automatically. Save the ones that matter tonight.

Your carrier isn’t a filing cabinet. AT&T keeps basic voicemail 14 days, T-Mobile says deleted messages “cannot be retrieved” and Verizon won’t take the blame even for ones you saved. Here’s how to turn a loved one’s message into a file you own forever, in a minute or so.

Free vs. paid AI: What your $20 a month actually buys (and when to skip it)

Nearly every AI charges the same $20 a month, but the free versions are better than you think. Here’s when paying is worth it and when it’s cash walking out the door.

You bought it. They can still switch it off.

Companies are quietly bricking gadgets you already paid for or locking the features behind a subscription. Here’s how to spot the problem and how to buy around it.

Your phone can translate a conversation in real time

Live translation quietly arrived in phones, earbuds and glasses. Talk to almost anyone, in almost any language. Here’s how to set it up before your next trip.

5 Google Flights tricks to score a summer deal (Even if you booked late)

More than a third of summer travelers still haven’t bought their tickets. Good news: Google Flights’ hidden features can land you a deal. Here’s how to use them.

🚨 ‘I’d know if my identity got stolen.’ No, Chris. You wouldn’t.

A reader swears he’d catch identity theft himself because he checks his bank account. I had to break the bad news. The theft that ruins you never shows up there. Here’s what happens and how to catch it before the damage piles up.

5 buttons you press every day that secretly do nothing

The close-door button. The crosswalk button. Your office thermostat. A whole lot of them are fakes, and they’ve been quietly playing you for years.

Amazon jumped the gun. Prime Day deals are here.

Inside: A 55-inch Fire TV, smart home upgrades, cleaning gadgets and travel essentials. Up to 50% off.

The free AI that brings your old family photos back to life

That shoebox of cracked, faded photos in your closet? Google’s free Gemini app can restore them, add color and sharpen the faces in seconds. One paste of a prompt does it.

Regular people are flying to Europe for a few hundred bucks. Here’s the free trick.

Airfare’s climbing, but Europe is quietly the cheap seat right now. Here’s the 10-minute setup that lets the deals come to you.

Gifts for Dad that arrive before Father’s Day

Inside: Grilling gadgets, golf gear, fitness trackers and more that ship on time. Up to 40% off.