Listen up: Tell Alexa to turn the volume up or down on your Echo without tapping the buttons. Say, “Alexa, volume up” for a gradual increase or “Alexa, turn the volume to five” for precise control. Choose a number from one to 10. Warning: 10 is really, really loud.
Tags: Amazon, Amazon Alexa, Amazon Echo, control, smart speakers, volume, warning
This is a heartbreaking story out of Florida. Megan Garcia thought her 14-year-old son was spending all his time playing video games. She had no idea he was having abusive, in-depth and sexual conversations with a chatbot powered by the app Character AI.
I ran across this story (paywall link) about the morning routines of tech billionaire CEOs. It was interesting but not that thorough, so I did additional research. Here’s what I found, and even though I’m far from a billionaire, I’ll share my morning recipe for success, too.
Booking.com is not my typo: One man got a complete stranger’s trip details when the person shared their itinerary with a contact and made a typo. The site says it’s not a security breach; it’s how their system works. That’s pretty standard, so double-check your recipients’ email addresses when sharing any personal information.
How much you can lower your biological age by lifting weights three times a week. A study found just one hour of strength training can fight obesity, boost metabolism and improve cardiovascular health. No time? Try a home gym.
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“Reminder: You’ve still got a money request!” That was the subject line of the messages flooding my husband Barry’s inbox all week. He’s not the only one; there’s a sneaky scam going around that looks totally legit … because it actually comes from PayPal.
True story: Last year, a friend’s toddler ordered 20 pounds of dog food and a karaoke machine using only their smart speaker. Mom had no idea till the Amazon boxes arrived. Voice commands and toddlers? Not a great combo.
Your inner child just fist-pumped: A new Kickstarter lets you scan any object with its forthcoming Brick My World app, and its AI-powered tech will show you what to buy on the Lego marketplace. Don’t waste your money; Brickplicator does the same thing if you upload a 3D model. While Brickplicator isn’t as snazzy as the Brick My World app’s Kickstarter promises, you can use it now.
Let’s say you’re browsing the web with a VPN. You’re protecting privacy, so you’re confident hackers and advertisers can’t track you. Then you try to go to a site, and it just won’t load.
This can throw a wrench into productivity when working. Or it can ruin your mood when trying to have fun online.
Rolling out on Android phones now: Google’s Gemini AI will work in more apps, write captions for social posts and photos, combine emojis (Apple did it first), and share QR codes. Pixel phones get exclusives like having Gemini save your info and updates to Pixel Screenshots … which Apple already has. You can also circle something on your Pixel to search for it. It’s pretty sweet.
💻 “An unspecified error has occurred”: That Windows message drives me nuts. Over the last few months, Windows 10 has grown in popularity, while Windows 11 has dropped in market share … despite Windows 10’s planned sunset on Oct. 25, 2025. Windows 10’s market share currently stands at 61.8%, compared to just 34.9% for Windows 11. No wonder folks are waiting to upgrade; about 240 million active PCs might not meet the new hardware requirements for Windows 11. Need a new system? Check out my three sweet laptop picks here!
