Tag: home

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.

The FBI warns that scammers are impersonating its agents to rob victims a second time

Crooks run AI-generated videos of senior FBI officials and copycat versions of ic3.gov, all aimed at people who already lost money once. The bureau issued the alert on July 20. Four rules keep you out of danger.

📚 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.

Your parents’ phone problems aren’t about the phone. They’re about having no one to ask.

A 20-minute setup stops half the panicked calls. A carrier with a real human who answers stops the rest, for your folks and for you.

Five tricks power users type into AI that you don’t. Steal all five.

Same chatbot, same monthly bill, wildly different answers. The gap isn’t intelligence. It’s vocabulary. Here are the five commands that turn a chatbot into a consultant, an editor, a burglar and a tutor.

The people who built social media give their own kids 90 minutes a week

Peter Thiel, Bill Gates, Evan Spiegel, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg all ration screens at home. Your kid’s average? 7.5 hours a day.

🚨 Don’t panic. Prep before disaster strikes.

Inside: From power banks to fire blankets, I rounded up 10 emergency essentials every home and car should have. Stock up before you need them.

Your name, address and secrets are being sold for pennies

Data brokers turn your private life into a product. Here’s what they know, who’s buying and how to yank yourself off the shelf.

9 movies that predicted the future

It’s a long holiday weekend, and I’m doing something a little different. I’m queuing up the movies that called it: the ones that predicted the digital world we’re all living in. AI assistants, video calls, screens on everything. Hollywood saw it coming decades ago.  Grab the popcorn, and watch along with me. These flicks were […]

The hidden tab that tells you if your neighbor will ever sell

Everyone uses Zillow to gawk at dream homes. The savvy ones go straight for the boring tabs, where a stranger’s mortgage rate quietly reveals whether they’re a motivated seller or going nowhere. Here’s how to read it, and how to hide yours.

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.

AI can spot if your pet is in pain from one photo. Here’s how to try it tonight.

Cats and dogs are experts at hiding pain, and even loving owners miss it. Now the AI on your phone can read the tiny signs right off their face. Here’s the free way to try it, plus when to skip the app and call the vet.

🏠 Home sweet upgrade: 10 Prime Day home picks worth every penny

Inside: Smarter lighting, cleaner floors, better sleep and storage hacks I’d add to my cart before the deals fly away.

Don’t sleep on these Prime Day tech deals

Inside: Car gadgets, streaming upgrades, speakers and more smart buys that solve real problems. Up to 44% off.

The government wants AI doctors. One study shows why you should slow down.

Washington is fast-tracking AI chatbots that can diagnose and prescribe. But when 1,300 people asked for a diagnosis, the chatbots got it right just 34.5% of the time, and one missing detail turned a brain bleed emergency into “lie down in a dark room.” Here’s how to use AI for your health the smart way.

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.

Scammers are mailing fake VA benefit postcards to veterans across the country

The VA issued an official warning June 10 about a wave of fraudulent postcards claiming veterans qualify for extra benefits through something called the “Veterans Savings Program.” No such program exists. The goal is to get you on the phone so scammers can steal your Social Security number and bank account information. Here’s what to do if one shows up in your mailbox.

The 60-second AI move that finds the errors tanking your credit score

One in five credit reports has a mistake, and the bureaus won’t fix it for you. Here’s the AI prompt that reads your report, flags the errors and writes the dispute letters tonight.

Your dentist’s billing company just exposed 2.6 million people’s personal data

A hacker group called ShinyHunters broke into DentaQuest, one of the biggest dental benefits administrators in the country, and leaked 234 gigabytes of data after the company refused to pay. If you’ve ever been on Medicaid or Medicare Advantage, your name, address, birthdate, government ID and health insurance details may now be public. Here’s what to do right now.