📱 Talk to the dead: By 2030, visiting graves will be outdated. A Cambridge researcher predicts AI avatars of dead loved ones will be in our phones, ready for conversation 24/7. From Replika chatbots to funeral apps that let you “attend” your own service, the “digital afterlife industry” is creeping in. Btw, I’m going to share a story about this with you here on Sunday and ask for your advice.
$27,500
The likely sticker price for Slate’s “Blank Slate” pickup. The first trucks from the Bezos-backed company are expected to hit the road late 2026 or early 2027, just ahead of Ford’s $30K EV competitor. Already, 100,000+ people have put down a reservation (it costs $50) for this no-frills entrant into the EV truck game.
📚 Reading help on Kindle: Struggling with long pages? Kindle has a special font that makes words easier to follow. Open any book, tap near the top and select the Aa icon. Under Font > Font Family, choose OpenDyslexic. FYI: You can also adjust Boldness and Size here to suit your eyes. Cool, right?
You might be paying for subscriptions you don’t even remember. Rocket Money tracks them all and helps you cancel what you don’t need. The first time I used it, I saved $435. Give it a try and see how much you save!
🍲 Not sure what’s for dinner? Tell a chatbot what’s in your pantry. I prompted: “I have rice, canned beans, onion, garlic, cumin and olive oil. What can I make?” It came back with two options: Simmer everything with broth for a bean-and-rice stew, or keep it dry and pan-fry for a burrito filling. Same ingredients, totally different meals.
🌍 Fly in Google Earth: Did you know Google Earth has a free built-in flight simulator? Download Google Earth Pro on desktop and launch it with Ctrl + Alt + A (Windows) or ⌘ + Option + A (Mac). Pick your aircraft and starting point (or an airport), then take off. You can fly using either a mouse/keyboard or a joystick.
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🤳🏻 Instagram finally has an iPad app: It’s different from the phone version. The app opens straight into a feed of Reels, with a new Following tab to see posts in chronological order. Comments show beside videos, and the DM page displays your inbox next to chats. Download it here, and drop me a follow for more tips.
🤖 Murder chic: Shein accidentally used an AI model that looked exactly like accused murderer Luigi Mangione to sell shirts. The listing sold out before Shein yanked it offline, blaming a “third-party vendor.” Yikes.
✍️ Add a signature in Gmail: Go to Settings > See all settings > General > Signature. Click Create new, give it a name and type in details like your contact info and job title. You can also insert an image of your real signature. Then choose whether it appears on new emails, replies or both. Scroll down and hit Save Changes.
Feeling left behind? Download NetSuite’s free knowledge drop, “The CFO’s Guide to AI and Machine Learning.” No matter what you do, you should know more about AI. It’s not going anywhere.
Find your mouse pointer on Mac: If the cursor keeps disappearing, go to System Settings > Accessibility > Display > Pointer. Drag the Pointer size slider to make it larger, and pick new colors for the outline or fill. Bonus: Turn on Shake mouse pointer to locate. Next time you lose it, a quick shake makes the pointer balloon for a second. Amazing.
Denial as a service: Medicare’s new WISeR program will pay AI firms a share of money saved by denying “wasteful” care. That’s right, AI companies are turning into health care mercenaries. Just 12 procedures targeted at first, but it’s a slippery slope. Six states (NJ, OH, OK, TX, AZ, WA) start the experiment in January.
🖥️ Hide Taskbar extras on Windows 11: Widgets and the Task view button can’t be unpinned like regular apps, but you can still remove them. Right-click an empty spot on the Taskbar, select Taskbar settings, and under Taskbar items, toggle off Task view and Widgets. FYI: You can also hide the Search box from here.
📦 Shipping crackdown: Amazon’s dialing back some Prime benefits; you’re not allowed to share your Prime free shipping with people unless you live together. From Oct. 1, outsiders must pony up a discounted $14.99/year for the first year, then $14.99/month. Amazon Family still works, but only if everyone’s under the same roof. No more long-distance toothpaste subsidies.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: In Chrome, quickly mute a noisy tab by right-clicking it and selecting Mute site. Saves your ears from those annoying autoplay videos that pop up out of nowhere. You’re welcome.
⚡ ChatGPT gets babysat: OpenAI’s finally adding parental controls to ChatGPT three years after launch. Parents can link accounts, set “age-appropriate” rules and get alerts if the AI thinks their kids are in crisis. The bot will also tap into a global physician network for mental health referrals. Basically, Mom just joined a group chat that was long overdue.
🍏 Turn off iPhone auto-renewals: Subscriptions like streaming apps can sneak up and hit you with surprise charges if you forget to cancel. Go to Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions, then find the ones you want to stop under Active. Tap Cancel Subscription. FYI: If you’ve prepaid, you’ll still have access until the listed date.
A smart tip to help protect your retirement savings: With the economy so unpredictable, I don’t put all my eggs in one basket. I protect a portion of my savings with real gold and silver from Goldco. And right now, Goldco is giving up to 10% back in FREE silver when you open a qualified account.