📦 Christmas gift dashboard: AfterShip tracks packages from 1,205 carriers all around the world. Put in up to 50 tracking numbers to see where each package is. It even tracks shipping to Antarctica — you know, just in case.
The future of laptops
My job is to keep you ahead of the curve, so you know what’s worth your hard-earned money and what’s just hype. One reader recently asked me: Where are laptops going next? Let’s break it down.
🤖 AI is baked in
As AI gets better, imagine a bot that automates boring laptop tasks like booking flights, ordering groceries or organizing your files. Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs promise to do just that.
AI-powered laptops will also soon learn your habits, adjusting settings based on how you work. Think battery optimizations on the fly, automatic background noise cancellation and predictive typing that actually gets it right.
Should you buy an AI-powered laptop now? Nope. Wait until the end of the year when the tech is more developed.
🔮 Designs are futuristic
Laptops haven’t changed very much over the last five years. They’re all basic clamshells, but that’s starting to shift. Thinner screens, dual-display setups and foldable laptops are on the rise. The Asus Zenbook Duo has two built-in screens, while Lenovo just showed off a laptop with a screen that expands on demand, compact when you carry it, bigger when you need it.
Future laptops could let you swap out components like LEGO blocks instead of replacing the entire machine. Imagine upgrading your processor, storage or RAM just by snapping in a new piece.
🕺🏼Who wants a laptop dance?
In the next five years, expect to see gesture and voice controls, maybe eye-tracking or brain-controlled interfaces (seriously). Instead of a trackpad or touch screen, you might just think about what you want to do and your laptop will respond.
We’ll also have laptops powered by kinetic energy (think: charging your laptop just by typing).
Holographic displays will replace traditional screens. Imagine opening your laptop and seeing a floating, 3D workspace instead of a physical screen. Your next laptop might not even have a screen at all — just a virtual display that adjusts to wherever you’re working.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
See who’s secretly tracking you online
The Markup’s Blacklight reveals hidden ad trackers, keyloggers, and session recorders in seconds. Find out what’s lurking behind the sites you visit.
📷 Not just for tracking steps: The Apple Watch looks like it will get a camera to “see” the world using AI-enabled visual intelligence (paywall link). That means you could scan a flyer to add an event to your calendar or look up a restaurant on the spot. ETA? 2027.
🛑 Stop ad trackers: It makes it harder for advertisers and data brokers to snoop on you. On iPhones, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking and toggle off Allow Apps to Request to Track. For Androids, open Settings > Google > Ads, then enable Opt out of Ads Personalization.
🍪 Crumble the cookie’s Edge: To keep the trackers away in Edge, click the three dots (top-right corner) for Settings. Click on Privacy, Search, and Services and find Tracking Prevention. Set it to either Basic, Balanced (Edge’s recommendation) or Strict for more protection.
🏈 Kicking off the ad dollars: All 32 NFL teams got busted for not warning fans that their websites and apps were collecting sensitive data and probably selling it all to advertisers. No notices, no easy opt-out, just silent tracking of your online behavior and location. You’ll start seeing privacy prompts now. As if the NFL doesn’t make enough money.
Tell Instagram to stop tracking you: Go to your profile and click the three-line icon > Accounts Center. Choose Ad Preferences > Manage info > Activity information from ad partners. Tap Review Settings, then No, don’t make my ads more relevant. Press Confirm. Voila.
🐌 Sloooow down: On your Mac, adjust how fast your cursor whips around the screen. Hit the Apple menu > System Settings > Mouse or Trackpad Select Click Point & Click, then drag the Tracking speed slider to your liking.
Gotta close my rings: Fitness influencers are all over a new “hack” for more accurate step tracking: Strapping a smartwatch to your ankle instead of your wrist. One woman tried it with a 10-minute jaunt around Target. On her wrist, the watch recorded 91 steps; on her ankle, 835 steps. If you try it, know you’re losing out on features like heart rate and CO2 tracking. Another downside is you look like a prisoner with an ankle monitor.
Assume any photo you post can be traced: This tech is something else. GeoSpy analyzes every single pixel, background object, shadow and landmark in your photos to identify the exact spot it was taken. Within seconds, they can pass that along to the government, police or anyone else willing to pay. The old way of tracking using the photo’s metadata is over.
Hear, there, everywhere: Leaks for Apple’s AirPods Pro 3 hint at nifty, new features, like heart rate monitoring, temperature tracking and other cool health metrics. No release date yet, but, based on Apple’s usual timeline, we should see them next fall.
Drones over New Jersey: Are they hunting nukes?
It’s been a month since drones appeared over New Jersey. While officials stay quiet, rumors point to a life-and-death mission: tracking radiation that could signal a terrorist threat.
RIP, Do Not Track: Mozilla axed the 13-year-old privacy option in its latest Firefox browser update. The idea was you could hit a button to tell websites not to opt you into browsing cookies you encountered online. Spoiler: It never really worked, since most advertisers just ignored it. Chrome and Microsoft Edge still include the useless option.
November 30th, 2024
Billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, and Peter Thiel are spending big on ‘life-extending pills.’ Plus, the IRS is tracking your crypto, high-tech porch pirates are making moves, and a way to earn cash reviewing Amazon products.
Fitness watches - not the best holiday gift
Do you have a smartwatch tracking your steps, heart rate, and even how steady your walk is? It’s a great tool for keeping an eye on your health, but some of that data is making its way to third parties.
Grocery stores are gathering data on you
Is America’s largest grocery chain planning to charge you based on your income? Plus, free TV is making a comeback, a cyber-kidnapping alert, and what happens when AI goes rogue. I also chat with a caller looking to remove tracking from her smart TV.
License plate readers track your politics
They’re tracking more than criminals — they’re recording your bumper stickers, yard signs, and more.
Car companies are tracking your driving
Are you a speed racer? You’re being watched. Major car companies are watching how you drive and selling your data to third-party brokers. Plus, discover secret codes to protect your family from scams and why the FCC is cracking down on illegal jammers.