Besides the Car Pro Show and our weekly newsletter, my other favorite radio show and newsletter is Kim Komando’s. We are on many of the same radio stations across America. She does for her listeners and newsletter subscribers exactly what I endeavor to do: Give you useful information to keep you up to date on the latest in cars, only she does it with technology and there is nobody who does it better. Not sure how she puts out a top-notch newsletter seven days a week, but she does.
With her permission, I comb her newsletters each week and curate a list of her tips and advice that I think you'll find relevant and interesting. Here's what I have for you this week!
Tech Tips & Interesting Finds From This Week’s Komando Newsletters:
Christmas gets folded: Hoping to unwrap Apple’s first foldable on Christmas morning? Bad news. iPhone Duo preorders opened Friday, and shipping dates slipped to Jan. 25 within minutes. That’s the date I got when I placed my order. Flippers are already cashing in. One 2TB model sold on eBay for $5,000, a whopping $1,800 markup over Apple’s $3,199 price tag. The phone is supposed to fold, not you.
CarPro Note: According to Reuters, Apple says it will make a limited number of Iphone Duos available to walk-in store customers upon its release this Friday. Meanwhlie, MacRumors reports Apple is also moving up shipping dates for some early buyers.
Playtime got recorded: Your kid’s talking toy may have been keeping notes on the whole family. A security audit says an AI robot toy called Eiliko sold on Amazon exposed 13 million voice conversations and account details from thousands of users, including children, through an unencrypted server. That’s enough material for scammers to learn names, routines and contact information.
🌵 Grandpa spotted from overhead: Imagine this. Daylight is draining out of the Las Vegas desert, coyotes are howling and searchers are combing scrub for a missing 89-year-old man. That’s the scene Metro Police faced after hours on foot turned up nothing. A drone went up, its camera found him lying in the open and the pilot guided officers over to help him. For anyone worried about an aging parent wandering off, this is the rare neighborhood buzz you’d gladly hear overhead.
Stop fiddling with my screen: Phone dims indoors, then brightens outside? Yep, that’s automatic brightness adjusting to your surroundings. Take back control. On iPhone, open Settings> Accessibility > Display & Text Size and turn off Auto-Brightness. On Android, try Settings > Display and switch off Adaptive brightness. Set the level you want.
Scammers smell enrollment: Medicare open enrollment starts today and runs through Dec. 7. The crooks got there first. The FTC warns many fakes show up as paid ads at the very top of your search results, with web addresses and logos that look like Medicare.gov. Hand over your info, and crooks can file claims or get prescriptions on your plan. Skip anything marked Sponsored.
Fewer trips to the pump, please: The fastest route isn’t always the cheapest. In Google Maps, open Settings > Navigation and turn on Prefer fuel-efficient routes. Tap Your vehicles and choose gas, diesel, hybrid or electric. It weighs things like traffic and hills to suggest a more economical drive. I’m happy to arrive later if the tank lasts longer.
Visit Kim Komando's website and subscribe to her newsletter here →
Photo: Apple.
.jpg?width=150&name=jerry-headshot.jpg%20(1).jpg)
