The Current + Mystery dining, foldable iPhone leaks, malware selfie hack, Venice vs. Bezos wedding and more - In partnership with TotalAV | âď¸ Congratulations, youâve made it to Friday, friend. Remember when Netflix mailed DVDs? (Blink if youâre old enough.) Back in 2000, they humbly offered themselves up to a bigger fish: $50 million and a handshake. One giant media company said âNo wayâ to buying Netflix, thinking it was a bad business model. Guess who: A) Blockbuster, B) HBO, C) Disney or D) Comcast? Find the answer at the end! â ď¸ Viruses donât knock, they break in. Thatâs why having real-time solid security protection on all your devices isnât optional, itâs essential. Cover 5 devices for just $19for the first year. More on this below. â Kim đŤ First-time reader? Sign up here. (Itâs free!) | TODAY'S DEEP DIVE Free meals Image: ChatGPT You know that thing you do where you dissect your burger like youâre Gordon Ramsay on espresso? Good news, you can now get that burger for free. Mystery dining is having a renaissance. You often get free food, tips and travel covered, usually via a prepaid card or voucher. I had a guest on my show who racked up over $40,000 in free meals doing this. Not bad for someone who just wanted a decent steak. đ How it works You visit the restaurant, eat like a normal human, then unleash your inner food critic. But itâs not exactly a free lunch; youâre doing a job. Expect to answer detailed questions like: Was the staff friendly? How clean was the restaurant? Did your order arrive hot and on time? Youâll usually submit photos and complete an online questionnaire after your visit. Some agencies might want you to write a short review. đ˝ď¸ Mystery dining companies Here are three legit agencies where you can sign up: Second to None: Been around for 30+ years. Offers assignments in fine dining, fast food and even retail. EyeSpy CC: Focuses heavily on upscale dining. Reviewers say budgets are generous and assignments are fun. Market Force: A big name in dining and retail. Assignments may start small, but regulars unlock better opportunities (and pay). You may be asked to complete a practice test to show you can follow instructions. đ¨ Scam alert: Any company asking YOU to pay up front is scammier than a time-share in Jupiter (the planet). Run away like your entrĂŠe just came with a side of identity theft. Speaking of⌠What does an introverted vegan want for dinner? Peas and quiet. đ Have a friend who needs a side hustle? Share this with them! Then join the free dinner as their plus-one. |
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Daily Tech Update Streaming officially beats cable and broadcast More Americans now stream TV than watch cable or broadcast. Itâs a massive shift from just four years ago. The old guard is losing fast. Listen on Komando.com â |
WEB WATERCOOLER đłď¸ Google reads your texts: Theyâre doing it again. Starting July 7, Googleâs Gemini AI will tap into your Phone, Messages, WhatsApp and more, even if youâve opted out of activity tracking. Google calls it âgood news.â I found the secret steps to stop this nonsense here. Otherwise, your texts will be stored, scanned and possibly read by a human along with the things, up to and including being sold to who knows who. Not cool. Foldgate incoming: Appleâs first foldable iPhone just leaked, well, unfolded. Expect a 7.58-inch inner display, dual 48MP cameras, titanium body and a new hinge made of ... metallic glass? Coming 2026, or as I like to call it, soon-ish. Expected at $2,000+, it folds like a wallet, and empties one faster. Crypto-stealing selfie snatcher: Your camera roll might be your crypto walletâs worst enemy. âSparkKittyâ malware snuck into both Google and Apple app stores, scanned your photos and stole any crypto recovery phrases it found. Remember, never screenshot your seed phrase, and maybe donât store your financial life next to brunch pics. đž Cheap hard drives on Amazon: A data recovery firm tested a $28 âUnionSineâ 500GB external drive. It worked, but inside? A Toshiba hard drive from 2016. Folks, spend a bit more and stick to trusted brands. Here's a 2TB one (13% off). Protect your privacy without lifting a finger: Tired of your personal data floating around online? Incogni scrubs it from data brokers and people-search sites. With my exclusive link, get 60% off unlimited plans. Choose which sites to target, and take back your privacy today!* đ Bezos wedding floods Venice: Jeff Bezos and Lauren SĂĄnchez just kicked off their three-day, $56M wedding party in Venice, complete with 90 private jets, island takeovers and blackout tarps for privacy. The AP is bravely snapping pics you can see here. Bezos did donate âŹ3M (about $3.2M) to soften the blow on the locals, but thatâs still far less than he makes during a yacht nap. I heard Bezos makes $1 million a minute between Amazon and investments, really. |
DIGITAL LIFE HACK Three things you should never tell AI PSA: Deleting your ChatGPT convo doesnât actually delete it. Your chats are saved forever. Listen on Komando.com â |
DEALS OF THE DAY Welcome to the zen zone đ§ Your life just got more peaceful and a lot more practical. đ Eyes up here: From morning to night, a brightening eye stick (23% off) gives your face a little pick-me-up. Nose (hair) goes: For those âwait, when did that grow there?â moments, this little hair trimmer (7% off) has you covered. đ Your neckâs BFF: Psst ⌠this is your sign to finally grab that memory foam pillow (23% off) youâve always wanted. Breathe easy: Powerful but peaceful, this Alexa-compatible air purifier (50% off) listens better than most roommates. đĄ Set it and forget it: These dusk-to-dawn night-lights ($6.99, two-pack) automatically clock in when the sun clocks out. Viral item alert: This folder board (17% off) makes your shirts neat in seconds. Warning: strangely satisfying. đ While you relax: Browse my Amazon store for more things I personally recommend. |
DEVICE ADVICE âĄď¸ 3-second tech genius: On Windows, right-click the Start button for secret access to Task Manager, Device Manager and more. On Apple, press Command + Space, type Activity Monitor and hit Return. 𤍠Mute Instagram stories: Just because you follow someone doesnât mean you need to see every single story they post. Tap their story, hit the three-dot menu in the top right, choose Mute, then tap Mute stories. Hooray. This is embarrassing: Be careful when youâre talking through Bluetooth in your car. That sound can leak more than you think. Before you say something like, âDoctor, this rash is all over myâŚâ turn the volume way down or hit mute. â¨ď¸ Using a keyboard with your iPad? Press and hold the Command key (â) to see all the available shortcuts for the app youâre in. Some apps even show tabs at the bottom, so you can swipe through categories. Like in Mail, Command + R lets you quickly reply to a message. Freebie for teachers: Need posters, worksheets or slides that actually look good? Canvaâs got loads of templates made for teachers. Go to canva.com/education and click Get Verified with your school info. đŽ Play more, pay less: The Steam Summer Sale is on now until July 10. Perfect for scoring deep discounts on the games youâve been eyeing. Youâll need a free Steam account to save. No account? Donât use Steam? No problem, Amazonâs got plenty of hot gaming bargains happening right now. Find the subscriptions you forgot about: I use Rocket Money, an app that finds all your recurring subscriptions and lets you easily cancel anything you donât want. The first time I logged in, it saved me $435!* |
BY THE NUMBERS 40,000 Thatâs how many âCDsâ worth of musicâ could be held on a stamp-sized hard drive. A promising new magnetic molecule that stores data solo can store three years of nonstop Pink Floyd, crammed tighter than your high school jeans. Donât get too excited, it currently only works at -279°F. $41,000 Thatâs the retail price of a stolen Bobcat, and no, itâs not a house cat. These guys tried to snag it with a fake rental, a U-Haul and a $380 cash âdeposit.â Too bad they didnât know about the victimâs secret weapon: an Apple AirTag. 16th century Thatâs when the word âbroâ first popped up, short for âbrother.â Fast-forward to today, mix in a little social media brain rot, and Gen Alpha has taken it further with âbruh.â It now means just about anything: a greeting, joy, frustration, you name it. Versatile? Absolutely. Clear? Not even close. |
WHAT THE TECH? | Image: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory |
| The Vera C. Rubin Observatory just dropped its first cosmic mixtape using the worldâs largest digital camera, stitching together 678 photos of star-stuffed galaxies, glowing nebulas, over 2,000 never-before-seen asteroids and even that sock you lost in 2004. đ§đźâđ Officially called the LSST Camera (Legacy Survey of Space and Time), this beast has 3.2 gigapixels. Thatâs not a typo. Itâs so detailed, it would take 378 4K TVs to display just one image at full resolution. Wow. You know, I entered a raffle to win a galaxy, but I only won a small group of stars. It was the constellation prize. đ |
LOGGING OUT ... Answer: A) Blockbuster. Yep. Now Netflix is worth over $150 billion, and Blockbuster is a themed Airbnb. They laughed Netflix out of the room, but whoâs laughing now? Well, probably no one watching a Netflix Original comedy. With so many malware threats today, itâs time for antivirus protection. Up to five devices for just $19 for your first year. TotalAV has you covered with my exclusive deal. Stay smart, stay safe, because viruses donât wait. I got carded at the liquor store last week. While I was looking for my ID in my wallet, my Blockbuster card fell out onto the counter. The guy started laughing and said, âNever mind.â The #1 tech newsletter in the United States wishes you an awesome Friday! Tomorrow, weâre talking about the must-have gadget for safe driving, Amazonâs need for speed, and a medical breakthrough for 1.6 million Americans. Until next time, think twice, click once, and carry on! đ â Kim đŁ Donât keep me a secret: Share this email with friends (or copy URL here) | |
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