🔧 What’s wrong with my website? Ask your favorite AI chatbot for a critique. At worst, you wasted 30 seconds. At best, you save a bunch of money in consulting fees. Try this prompt: “Analyze my website for usability, design and SEO. Identify issues with the loading speed, mobile responsiveness, readability and navigation. Suggest improvements to enhance user experience, engagement and search rankings.” My result: “Incorporate interactive elements such as polls or quizzes to increase user engagement.” It’s right!
Your top 20 hot picks: All your faves are right here
Amazon.com
I’m this close to unlocking the next level as an Amazon influencer, which means even better deals and exclusive savings I can pass along to you. But I can’t do it without you.
To help (and because I always get asked), I put together a list of the top 20 bestselling products I’ve recommended. These are the ones you’ve emailed, texted, and messaged me about the most. Everything’s in one spot so you can shop your faves fast.
Thanks in advance for the support. It really means a lot. 💛
💻 1. Dell Latitude 3550 Business Laptop ($900, 10% off)
Save $100 on a powerhouse laptop with 32GB of RAM. Perfect for students or anyone on the go.
🛜 2. WiFi range extender ($56)
Works with any router and covers 2,000 sq. ft. That’s more room for cat videos.
🔌 3. Power strip tower ($27, 26% off)
Dorm room, office, or kitchen, this beast charges up to 20 gadgets at once.
⌚ 4. Apple Watch charger ($20, 23% off)
Toss it in your bag and forget it until your watch is about to die. Magnetic and TSA-friendly.
🚘 5. Cup phone holder for car ($19, 34% off)
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
How to get a job as a mystery diner
Any restaurant worth its salt wants to know what it’s doing right and what it’s screwing up. And they’re willing to pay you for that info. But they can’t just judge servers and kitchen staff when they’re on their best behavior. They need someone undercover.
How to check your internet speeds
Slow Wi-Fi? Try this free fix first. Get proof of what’s dragging your speeds before you spend a dime.
Rural internet sucks: That’s why states like Louisiana and Nevada are spending millions on satellites instead (paywall link). Fiber is pricey and takes forever to build, so you can bet Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper are smiling ear to ear. The catch? Slower speeds and more outages. But hey, it’s better than nothing.
293.54 mph
Speeds hit by China’s BYD U9, claiming EV hypercar supremacy. So it turns out Yangwang’s engineering marvel U9 casually obliterated the speed charts. It didn’t just nudge the status quo; it demolished it. Anyone up for some electric NASCAR?
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Reboot your router once a month for better speeds. Pro tip: Plug it into a smart plug (7% off) and schedule auto reboots.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
Carmakers fight a rule that could save thousands of lives
I want you to stay ahead of the tech stories the mainstream media won’t touch. The other day I watched a Waymo speed up to run a red light. No matter how safe the autonomous car industry says they are, I still won’t get in one. I’d rather trust my own eyes.
CES 2025: What’s coming at this year’s tech show
© Mathieu Le Mauff | Dreamstime.com
The big CES 2025 event kicks off tomorrow in Las Vegas with over 100,000 attendees. I’ve got the inside scoop on what’s hot this year.
LG’s hoping to steal the show with its Zero Connect box. No cables — it wirelessly transmits 4K video at 144Hz. Plus, LG will introduce its Dynamic QNED Color Solution system, better HDR and sound optimization, and a Magic Remote, a voice-controlled and gesture-enabled universal remote that doubles as a mouse for your TV. (Smart — the LG remote is horrible now.) They’ll also unveil the UltraGear GX9, a bendable 45-inch monitor with a 5K2K resolution (5120×2160) and a 21:9 aspect ratio.
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5 minutes
China’s top battery makers have reached five-minute charging speeds for EVs, more or less the time it takes at a gas station. CATL and BYD just flexed batteries that can deliver up to 320+ miles of range off a five-minute charge. Meanwhile, most U.S. EVs take 15 to 30 minutes.
Avoid this costly internet mistake
Providers want you to lock in a long-term deal. But with speeds rising and prices falling, you could end up paying more than you should.
Apple’s shiny new modem: The iPhone 16e is the first iPhone to feature Apple’s own C1 modem, marking a move away from Qualcomm. So how’s it doing? Depends on your carrier. On AT&T and Verizon, the 16e had better download and upload speeds than the regular iPhone 16. But on T-Mobile, the iPhone 16 still had slightly better upload speeds.
4,000 mph
Speed the SR-72, a top secret hypersonic jet, is said to reach. The U.S. aircraft is anticipated to break the sound barrier this year at speeds exceeding Mach 6, making it the fastest plane ever. You could fly from New York to Los Angeles in under 37 minutes. Vroom-vroom! Watch this video about it now.
OpenAI makes a move ahead of schedule: Instead of waiting until spring, OpenAI just dropped its newest AI models, o3-mini and o3-mini-high, which have o1-level reasoning with 4o-level speed. Translation? They’re fast, smart, cheap and built to crush DeepSeek (paywall link). Try them now in ChatGPT under the dropdown Model Menu. I’m using it, and it’s another major jump forward in AI.
844 mph
Speed Boom’s Supersonic XB-1 jet reached in tests. It’s the first civilian aircraft to break the sound barrier, aka Mach 1.1. The company has raised $700 million to build a plane that’ll carry 64 passengers at 1,300 mph (Mach 1.7) by 2030. At that speed, you could fly from LA to NYC in about two hours.
5 years
Length of time automaker General Motors is banned from selling customer geolocation and driving behavior data. GM was caught collecting all kinds of driving habits (think hard braking, speed and driving at night) every three seconds and selling it to insurance companies and third-party brokers, all without consent. Shame on them.
Speed up your phone in 2025
Overwhelmed by cluttered apps and storage-hogging files? With a few simple steps, you can tidy up your phone and reclaim space. Let’s get started.
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280 mph
Top speed for China’s new bullet train prototype. That’s a world record and fast enough to zip from New York to Chicago in under three hours. China’s current fastest trains max out at 220 mph. The fastest Amtrak trains go 160 mph, but most top out closer to 100 mph. We really need better trains in the U.S.