Is it me? When a site isn’t loading, hit Downdetector. I used it this week when ChatGPT was acting weird. Enter the name of the website you’re having problems with to get real-time info, including a live outage map and the most reported problems. FYI, Downdetector doesn’t monitor all websites. Here’s a complete list.
About 99% of the internet flows through undersea cables
ChatGPT
I bet you imagine the internet as a magical cloud floating wirelessly between satellites and Wi-Fi routers. Nope. It’s mostly underwater.
Nearly all of your “in the cloud” traffic actually travels through fiber-optic cables laid along the ocean floor. These thin strands of glass are buried in some places and simply resting on the seafloor in others.
So when those cables snap, you know it.
🚢 Global glitch
Earlier this month, multiple cables in the Red Sea were cut, probably by some cargo ship’s anchor. Microsoft issued a warning to Azure cloud customers about slower performance.
Folks noticed laggy video calls, stalled apps and slow-loading websites. It’s a sharp reminder that the entire internet depends on a few glass noodles running through the ocean.
⚓️ Hosed again
Most undersea internet cables are about as thick as a garden hose, roughly 1 to 2 inches wide. Inside? A bundle of glass fibers thinner than a human hair, wrapped in layers of protection: gel for insulation, steel wire for strength, Kevlar for durability, copper for power and a tough waterproof coating to survive years underwater.
Each meter (about 3 feet) of cable weighs 10 to 20 pounds, depending on where it’s going. In deep, calm ocean waters, it’s lighter. But near shorelines or rocky terrain, where the risk of damage is higher, the cable gets extra armor, and that adds weight fast.
🌊 Stats to win trivia night
About 99% of internet traffic flows through undersea fiber cables.
We’ve laid over 1.7 million kilometers (about 1.05 million miles) of these cables across oceans, and up to 200 of them are damaged every year, usually by ships or fishing gear.
Shortcut to reading annoying privacy policies
© Fairoesh N. | Dreamstime.com
Tech privacy policies are confusing on purpose. I know, big shocker! But I’m always surprised by just how difficult these things are to comb through and what they hide.
Today, I’m calling out the biggest offenders — and sharing one of my favorite, easy-to-use privacy tools.
The privacy trick websites don’t want you to know
Websites can still ID you using your browser’s unique fingerprint. Want to actually stay private? You’ll need this.
🕳️ The web’s falling apart: Google just told a judge the web’s in “rapid decline.” Advertisers are bailing for streaming and shopping platforms, leaving websites high and dry. Basically, the internet’s breaking up with quirky blogs and small sites for someone hotter, richer and way more into retail. It’s kind of like watching your favorite diner get replaced by a Sweetgreen.
🌐 Find tabs fast in Chrome: Got too many websites open? Use Search tabs instead of clicking around. Hit the downward arrow in the top-left corner of your toolbar to see all your current tabs (plus recently closed ones). Or use the shortcut Ctrl + Shift + A (Windows) or ⌘ + Shift + A (Mac).
🔥 Labubust: The BBB is warning shoppers to beware fake Labubu products flooding online stores. These $60 toys are the “must-have” item of summer, so of course, swindlers are crawling out of the woodwork. Look for misspellings, busted websites and prices that are too good. Oh, the humanity! Not the Labubus, anything but the Labubus!
🛰️ Scammers in low orbit: Facebook is crawling with phony ads offering “lifetime Starlink service” for as low as $127. Now real Starlink service starts at $120 per month, with no such thing as a lifetime package. These ads link to fake websites that mimic Starlink’s branding but have sketchy URLs, typos and unsecure payment pages. The only thing connecting here is your credit card to a scammer. Don’t fall for it.
📊 Design stunning websites like a pro: Just drag and drop. Framer brings your ideas to life with easy-to-use tools and no coding required. Today it’s 25% off specific plans with my code Kim.
“Oh sheet,” says Google: Perplexity AI is now doing spreadsheets, presentations and websites, all from a $20/month subscription. You can use it on iOS, Android and soon Mac and Windows.
🍏 Turn websites into apps on iPad: Visit a site often? Save it as an app on your Home Screen. Open Safari > go to the site > tap the Share button (top right) > select Add to Home Screen > rename it > and hit Add. Bonus: You can also drag the new website icon(s) into your Dock and group them together.
New car buying scam
Buying a car online? Even with video tours and snazzy websites, scammers are stealing thousands.
Did your face train AI? Big tech used billions of photos from public websites to train their AI bots. Check if one of your images is in the mix by heading to Have I Been Trained? Click the Check the Registry tab, and upload a photo of yourself. I tried it, and yep, I’m there.
Guy brings AI avatar to court — April 12th, Hour 3
He didn’t hire a lawyer. He generated one with AI. Spoiler: It didn’t go over well. Plus, Sabrina Carpenter lands a gig inside Fortnite, and a new hiring buzzword to know. Looking for a side gig? You can get paid to test websites before they go live.
Get paid to test websites
Crappy websites cost businesses big bucks. Here’s how you can help fix that and earn cash for it.
38% of webpages
Have disappeared since 2013. Where’d they go? Websites got shut down, URLs changed and articles were deleted. About one-third of local news sites may be gone by next year. This is just the beginning; AI will only speed things up by deciding what’s important on the web.
Card declined shopping scams
This season, I’m only shopping on well-known websites. I list the reasons why in this short podcast.
Just in time for holiday shopping: Amazon is making it much easier for us to spend all kinds of money with a redesigned homepage. Expect bigger images, new product groupings and a lot more horizontal scrolling. The catch? They’re also adding more ads and deals while you shop. It looks cluttered to me.
Redddit for newbies
A lot of people have no idea how to use one of the most popular websites out there. I’ll explain why it’s such a big deal and how it can help you find just about anything you’re into.