Welcome to your tech terrific Thursday, friend. If Frankenstein’s monster were a smartphone, it’d be an iPhone, stitched together with microscopic bits and pieces, all zapping to life with one horrifying “ding.” 🧌

From microchips to screws so tiny they might as well be glitter, Apple’s devices are a lesson in the art of assembly. Can you guess how many individual parts make up a modern iPhone: A) 250, B) 1,500, C) 10,000 or D) Over 30,000? The answer’s tucked quietly at the bottom.  

👉 Stop spam texts and calls right now. Data brokers sell everything from your address to your Social Security number to anyone willing to pay. Enter Incogni. They scrub your personal info from the web. I negotiated a 60% discount just for you. If you’re not 100% completely satisfied, they’ll refund your money. — Kim

Tech doesn’t always play nice. Your laptop heats up, your Wi-Fi fizzles, and sometimes you’re just standing there, squinting at your screen, wondering where the mouse pointer disappeared to.

Don’t panic. Just try these fast fixes. Each takes under a minute and requires zero tech degree … although if you pull these off in front of someone else, you may get a slow clap, and maybe even a mozzarella stick.

1. “My internet stinks.”

💡 Try Orb.net. It’s a free, easy-to-use, excellent tool that checks if your device is the issue or if the internet itself is slowing things down. You’ll see exactly how your connection is performing in real time, including local vs. remote speed tests. 

💰 Pro tip: You can also use the reports to see if you’re actually getting the connection speed you’re paying for.

2. “Is this battery dead?”

🔋 Try the bounce test. Find a flat, solid surface like a countertop or hardcover book. Hold the AA or AAA battery vertically and drop it from about 8 inches (20 cm).

If it clunks and tumbles? Still got juice. If it bounces like it’s auditioning for Cirque du Soleil? It’s dead. 

Weird? Yes. Accurate? Also yes. This quirky trick works because discharged batteries have a different internal structure that makes them springier. 

3. “What’s up with the mic?”

🎙️ Use your phone’s voice recorder app. Open your built-in iPhone Voice Memos or Android Voice Recorder app, press record and speak normally. Then play it back.

Sound fine? Mic’s good. Sound like you swallowed gravel? Try cleaning mic holes with a soft toothbrush or compressed air. 

Still muffled? Record with wired earbuds or speakerphone to test backups. This helps determine if the issue is your mic or something deeper.

4. “My laptop is hot.”

🌡️ Check with free software like Macs Fan Control (Mac) or Core Temp (Windows). If your laptop feels like a toaster, use one of these tools to check CPU temperature. FYI, if you download Core Temp, uncheck the “Goodgame Empire” bloatware before you launch it. You don’t need that extra junk.

A healthy idle temp is usually under 60°C (140°F). Over 90°C? Time to clean vents, remove dust or get a cooling pad.

Still overheating? It could be a stuck fan or a runaway app. Check Task Manager (Windows) or Activity Monitor (Mac) for high-usage culprits.

5. “Can’t find the damn cursor!”

🖱️ Shake it, baby. If your mouse pointer disappears, especially on large or dual monitors, just shake your mouse back and forth quickly.

On Macs, the pointer automatically grows larger, so you can spot it.

On Windows, turn on a similar setting: Go to Settings > Devices > Mouse > Additional mouse options > Pointer Options tab, then check “Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key.” 

Now, tap the Ctrl key anytime you lose the pointer, and watch it appear with a ripple.

👉 Pro tip: Want your mouse to be bigger all the time?

For Macs, open System Settings > Accessibility > Display. Under Pointer, drag the slider until the cursor is the size you want.

For Windows, go to Settings > Accessibility or press the Windows key + U to find it quicker. Then, click on Mouse pointer and touch and move the slider next to Size to the right until it’s the right size for you.

Phew, that last one alone was worth the price of this newsletter! Now, use the icons below to share this tech knowledge.

☣️ Warning: This is a bad one. Where did the computer mouse go for a drink? The space bar. (Told ya!)

Have you ever asked ChatGPT what it knows about you? You’d be shocked to know your phone number, home address, family connections, medical history, and financial data are all over the internet.

Removing your personal details from the internet used to be nearly impossible. Incogni automatically scrubs your personal info from people-search sites and data brokers. With Incogni’s Unlimited Plan, you can request to target specific sites for data removal. One of my readers said: 

“Thank you for the great endorsements for Incogni!  I was in 4 major data breaches in 2024 and was sick of all the spammy emails, texts, and calls. All that “noise” has dropped significantly.”

Incogni helps protect you from spams, scams, and any other real world threats tied to your digital footprint. They can’t scam you, if they can’t find you. I use Incogni, and you should too.

🕳️ Fake links, real damage: Watch out. Cyber creeps are shoving malware-laced links into cloned Google Calendar invites and Meet links. Fix? Turn on “Known Senders” in Calendar and trust no “tech support” that sounds like it’s from a gas station payphone.

Think before you “unsubscribe”: That little link at the bottom of emails might clean up your inbox or land you on a fake site. Scammers use it to steal passwords or install malware (paywall link). Play it safe: Hit the unsubscribe button at the top, like in Gmail, or mark it as spam and delete.

🚖 Tesla Robotaxis are coming: If you’re in Austin, you might see them on June 22. Musk says the launch is “tentative,” and it’ll start small with just 10 to 20 Model Ys. They’re being extra careful, too, with employees watching remotely and geofencing to keep cars within certain areas. Fingers crossed.

Android 16 is officially rolling out: Only for Pixel phones. But the biggest glow-up, the visual facelift of the Material 3 Expressive design, is delayed until later this year. So yes, security’s tighter. Battery’s better. But your lock screen still looks like 2021. 

🧗‍♂️ Cliffhanger stupidity: Two Seattle tourists got stuck on a San Francisco cliff trying to retrieve a dropped phone. Fire teams spent over an hour rescuing them with ropes and helmets. Nobody died, but they did get handed a $300 “what were you thinking?” fine. PSA: Going off-trail is a Darwin test. 

💸 Thrift of the year: An Arkansas man spotted a $120 coffee table on Facebook Marketplace and decided to do a reverse image search. Turns out, it was made by an Italian company in the 1990s and listed on auction sites for up to $8,250. It’s now in his living room, glued to the floor.

😋 Only food and drink upgrades that slap.

• An automatic dispenser ($20) does the pouring for you.
• These metal straws (22% off) come with a carrying case.
• Get a coaster set (10% off) for no more rings on your table.
• Dull blades? This sharpener (30% off) makes them like new.
• A sandwich cutter (30% off) slices crusts and seals edges.
• Keep your snacks fresh with a container set (20% off).

🎁 Got your Father’s Day gift? Shop my ultimate gift list now, so it shows up by this Sunday.

🛒 Visit my Amazon store for more of my recommendations.

🏠 Your home could be stolen through a scam! Fraudsters can forge your name on the title and take out loans using your equity. Protect your home with Home Title Lock and get a 14-day free trial with code KIM.*

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Stream movies with your library card using Kanopy or Hoopla. Totally free.

🖱️ Drag URLs on Mac: In Safari, you don’t need to copy and paste. If you want to share a link, just left-click and drag the address bar straight into your email. It works for links on a page, too. Want to share a restaurant menu? Just drag the link into the message without opening it.

Ads begone: Windows 11 sneakily puts ads in your Start menu, but you disable ’em. Go to Start > Settings > Personalization. Hit Start and toggle Show recommendations for tips, shortcuts, new apps, and more off.

🎨 Palette perfection: Need a color scheme for your biz? Head over to Coolors and click the Start the generator button. Then, hit your space bar to spin through combos that all look great together. Bonus: It’s free to try!

Facebook on mute: Whether you’re sneaking a scroll at work or just want things silenced, it’s easy to stop videos from auto-playing with sound. On your phone, go to Menu > Settings & privacy > Settings > Media and toggle Videos Start with Sound off. Ah, much better.

Henry Ford once said, “If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.” 

There might have been a loss in translation because Kawasaki heard this and said, “OK, bet.” 

Kawasaki has dropped Corleo, a hydrogen-powered, AI-steered, two-seater robot horse, and maybe the weirdest vehicle of the decade, maybe of all time. 

Yes, it’s eco-friendly. Yes, it “senses” terrain with AI. No, it doesn’t poop, unless you count clean water.  

With galloping speeds over 50 mph and hooflike rubber feet, this mechanical centaur is built for off-road chaos. Requires saddle, helmet and, recommended, good health insurance. 

Mechanical horses? Neigh-ver say never!

Answer: C) 10,000. Each iPhone is an incredible feat of engineering, with around 10,000 tiny components, from microprocessors and camera lenses to screws so small you’d need tweezers and a prayer. 

Fun fact: The accelerometer that lets your screen flip when you rotate it? It’s literally smaller than a grain of rice.

✅ Before you go: Incogni is the reason I have zero spam calls and texts on my phone. They’ve sent over 1,400 requests on my behalf to people-search and data broker sites to remove me. Incredible. Try it yourself for 60% off right now. If you’re not happy, it comes with a money-back guarantee.

Another fun fact: This is the #1 tech newsletter in the U.S., and we’re thrilled you’re part of it. Tomorrow, we’re part treasure hunt, part tech tip sheet, with hidden cash, sneaky cheaters and a soap dish fit for royalty. Until next time, take a deep breath! You’re tech ahead! — Kim

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