It’s a tech-rific Thursday, friend. I love using overripe, brown bananas for banana bread, but those days are numbered. Scientists at Tropic Biosciences have developed a gene-edited super banana that stays fresh and resists browning. 🍌 Keep your eyes peeled, because these will be hitting stores near you soon!

🎙️ “Kim, My local radio station flipped formats and is not carrying your weekend radio show. Can I get it as a podcast?” Well, that’s a bummer, Randy in Ohio. Yes, you can get my show as a podcast on Apple and Spotify. Listen to it when and where you want — commercial-free, by the way. Love you for that!

🍬 Glad to bestow upon you tech know-how that you’ll use time and time again. I’ve packed in lots of goodies to share with your family and friends. — Kim

You might not realize it, but airlines and cruise lines collect a lot of data, from your seat choice to the websites you browse on their Wi-Fi. 

When you book a flight or cruise, they collect the usual stuff, including your name, email, phone number, passport info and payment details. But it doesn’t stop there. They also track:

• Your travel habits: Where you go, how often, your seat selection, how many bags you bring and the weight, how likely you are to buy the upsells, and what perks you like (or don’t).
• Your onboard Wi-Fi activity: What sites you visit, how long you stay on those sites and the apps you use.
• Facial recognition: Some airlines and cruise ports scan your face for check-in and boarding. Your facial scan can also be cross-referenced with government databases and that tracking, too.

And they also know:

• What you eat and drink: Yes, all that is saved, and they even track how many minutes it takes for your drink to be empty so they can offer a refill (or sell you another cocktail).
• If you’ve complained before: Flight attendants and cruise staff can see your complete whining history before you even say a word.
• What you watch and shop for: Whether it’s a seatback screen or your in-room TV, they log what you browse, watch and buy.

😳 Your airline or cruise app is tracking you, too

If you downloaded the airline or cruise line’s app, you’ve handed over even more data, including your device info, operating system and cellular carrier. They also track:

• Your location: Even when you’re not flying or sailing, they may collect GPS data.
• Your browsing history: What you’re searching for inside the app, including trips you didn’t book.
• Your fitness data: Cruise lines will log workouts, spa treatments and even step counts.

🔒 How to lock down your travel data

It’s a safe bet that airlines and cruise companies are selling all your data. If this bothers you, there are steps you can take. 

• Ask them to delete your data: If you’re in California, Colorado, Connecticut or Virginia, privacy laws work in your favor. Otherwise, call customer service and ask them what you need to do to remove your data. 
• Skip onboard Wi-Fi: Download movies, music and books before your trip. 
• Use your own devices: Avoid seatback screens and in-room entertainment to limit tracking.

🤣 What do you call an airplane that flies backward? A receding airline. Oof, I know.

🧳 Grab some gear for spring break or your everyday life.

• This slim RFID wallet ($10) helps keep your cards safe from digital pickpockets.
• Catch some Z’s on your flight with a memory foam neck pillow (20% off).
• A tablet holder (13% off) will entertain your little ones on long drives.
• Tangled cords? An electronic organizer ($13) keeps them neatly packed.
• Now you won’t lose a multi-charging cable ($8) at the bottom of your bag.

🐶 Puppy love? I can’t stop talking about my new pup, Bella (sorry, not sorry). Check out these dog seat covers to save your back seat from dirt and fur.

Update your iPhone and iPad ASAP! Apple found a serious security bug that could let hackers bypass protections if you load malicious web content. Affected devices include the iPhone XS and later, iPad Air 3rd gen and later, multiple iPad Pros, plus plenty of others. Go to Settings > General > Software Update. 

🏥 Paging Dr. Holo: Cancer patients in rural Tennessee and Mississippi can now talk to their oncologist via hologram. Your doctor appears in a $70,000 box and communicates via a camera. Proto Hologram (paywall link), famous for concert tech, makes it. Patients feel like the doctor’s in the room. Check out a pic of this cool setup toward the end of this newsletter.

🙏 A nurse says her Oura Ring saved her life: Nikki had been dealing with night sweats and fatigue but brushed it off — until her Oura app kept warning her that her body was under stress. That push made her see a doctor, where she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer with the same symptoms. The Oura Ring is FSA or HSA eligible, btw.

Get your refund: The FTC is sending $25.5 million worth of payments to 736,375 scam victims. Restoro and Reimage tricked folks with fake pop-ups and ads into thinking their computers were infected when they weren’t. Check your PayPal if that’s you.

A new AI chatbot hit the web: Manus isn’t your typical China-owned chatbot. Think of it like a digital worker that gets stuff done on its own. I tried it for a new business I’m starting, and it even drew prototypes. You’ll need to fill out the invite to try it. Remember, this is China, so nothing confidential.

🐱 Purrfectly at home: Kevin Mohn built a two-story “Up North Cat Condo” (paywall link) to keep stray cats warm in the chilly Minnesota winter. Now over 3 million people watch the livestream here. What’s the difference between a cat and a comma? A cat has claws at the end of its paws and a comma is a pause at the end of a clause.

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.

Every time you log into your bank or shop online, hackers could be secretly recording every keystroke. Keyloggers are sneaky malware that run in the background, stealing info you’re typing before the encryption kicks in. 

That’s why I recommend EndpointLock. It’s a powerful keystroke encryption tool that blocks keyloggers before they can do any real harm. Here’s how it keeps you safe:

✅ Shields your keystrokes from hackers, even if your device is infected.

✅ Works silently in the background — no pop-ups, no hassle.

✅ Protects your keystrokes when banking and shopping online.

📵 Kids glued to their phones? Pick a day or time for the whole family to unplug and spend time together. Download my kids’ tech contract for them to sign and hang it on the fridge as a reminder.

Lost and found: Need help but don’t know where you are? The free what3words app (iOS and Android) helps emergency crews find you. Put it on your phone now. It breaks down exact locations into a three-word name. 

WFP(hone): Google Meet’s Switch here lets you switch from your phone to your desktop without dropping the call. If you’re in a live meeting, click to Join the meeting on your other device, and you’ll see Switch here. Sweet.

Fill ’er up: The free Upside app gives you cash back on gas, groceries and dining out. Download Upside* and use promo code Kim to get an extra $0.25 back for every gallon on your first tank of gas.

📖 Make Kindle page turns less confusing: Ever flipped a page and weren’t sure if you went forward or back? The animation looks the same. Fix it with a realistic wiping effect. Tap on a page > select the Aa formatting button > go to the More tab > turn on Page Turn Animation.

🔄 Want to see which apps need updating on Windows? Open the Search bar, go to Command Prompt, then right-click and select Run as administrator. Next, type “winget upgrade” and hit Enter. You’ll get a list of apps with available updates. It’s also great for finding and deleting apps you haven’t used in a while. Whoa.

If you live in a small community, ask your provider if they offer Proto Hologram. Isn’t this tech incredible? Love it!

📖 Could Noah’s ark be more than just a story? Scientists are reexamining the Durupınar site in Turkey — a 538-foot ship-shaped formation — after finding evidence of a massive flood 5,000 years ago. Soil samples reveal marine deposits, clay and shellfish remnants, suggesting the area was once underwater. What do you think? Check out the photos. Just wow!

🐍 Noah had just landed the ark. After all the animals had disembarked he went back in to look around, and there were two snakes in the corner crying. He said, “What’s going on? I told you to go forth and multiply.” They replied, “We’re adders!”

Well, that’s a wrap. See ya back here tomorrow with a look at the new laptops hitting. Spoiler: No keyboards, and it’s not an iPad. You don’t want to miss that and a lot more in the best tech newsletter in the entire world! — Kim