Zoom around the web with these keyboard shortcuts
I spend hours and hours (and hours) online every week looking for the latest in tech for my national radio show, podcasts and, of course, newsletter. Browsing more efficiently means I can spend more time on fun stuff like playing with Abby and answering Qs from all of you!
Watch out for the new ‘ghost hackers’
Imagine if this happened to you: Your spouse passes away, and a few weeks after the funeral, you get a message from them that says, “Hi, I hope you’re having a great day.” Other friends report getting similar messages from your spouse. Some messages offer big returns on crypto investments.
Rappin’ Lisa: Microsoft’s new AI tool, VASA-1, animates still images into videos loaded with facial expressions, head motions and lip movements that match a speech or song. Here’s a video showing the Mona Lisa rapping. Microsoft is delaying the release of this tool, though, because it makes creating deepfakes too easy.
$9 an hour is the pay for AI nurses
Over 40 health care companies are already using NVIDIA and Hippocratic AI nurse bots to perform risk assessments, remote patient monitoring, new medication onboarding and more. The median pay for human nurses in the U.S. is $39 an hour.
15 websites you’ll wish you knew about sooner
It’s been way too long since I shared a big list of handy websites. Dig in, and I’ll bet you’ll find at least a couple you just have to visit. (And none are advertisers — just sayin’.)
Storage full? How to adjust your photos to save space
Fun fact: Whenever I’m watching a show with Barry that I’m not very into (ahem, “Franklin,” so boring), I open up my photo app and start deleting. It’s my time for a little digital cleanup.
It’s not just junk filling up storage. High-res photos look stunning, but they eat up so much space on your phone. If you want to scale it back a bit, I’ve got the lowdown for you. You can thank me later because you’ll likely never see that annoying “Storage full” notification again.
Don’t believe everything you see on Netflix: The latest doc, “What Jennifer Did,” uses AI-generated images to depict killer Jennifer Pan as a fun, bubbly girl. In reality, she paid hitmen $10,000 to murder her parents in 2010. With no AI disclosure during the film, it’s clear the documentary isn’t about historical accuracy — just bringing in more viewers.
H2-Oh-no: The White House asked governors to draw up plans to tackle cybersecurity threats to our state water systems. Here’s the problem: Many facilities are underfunded and short-staffed, making a sudden coordinated attack a real possibility. I always have a few cases of water in storage, just in case.
Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” was leaked to Google Drive two days early. Swifties were quick to call it an AI deepfake (paywall link). Surprise, the leak was real. Swifties did get a consolation prize: 15 additional songs. Share this with your favorite Swiftie.
Better late than never: A New York man’s Apple Watch saved his life after a bike crash left him with a baseball-sized lump on his face (don’t click that if you’re squeamish!). He made it home, fainted in the shower — and woke up to his watch alerting 911 of his “hard fall.” Bet he wishes it’d kicked in during the first accident.