Kim Komando’s Tech Tips & Advice: Flock Cameras In Yosemite

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: 

3-second tech genius: Airport Wi-Fi has terrible timing. Before you leave, screenshot your boarding pass, hotel address, booking number, gate info and rental car details. On iPhone, press Side Button + Volume Up. On Android, use Power Button + Volume Down. If an app logs you out or signal disappears, everything important is still sitting in Photos.

Ditch the printer-scanner: Stop photographing paperwork like it's a crime scene. Your phone has a real scanner built in. On iPhone, open Notes, start a note, tap the paperclip > Scan Documents. On Android, open the Google Drive app and tap + > Scan. It straightens the page, kills the shadows and saves a clean PDF. Roofer invoices and insurance letters, hint hint. After today's issue, you know exactly why you want those on file.

You probably thought you could only grab text from photos on your phone. Nope. If you spot words in a video, pause it. On iPhone, press and hold a word, then copy what you need. On Samsung, open the paused frame in Gallery, tap the T icon and select the text. Other Androids, try Edit > Lens icon > Text.

Save yourself the retyping: Going somewhere regularly? Google Maps can keep the address ready for next time. Search the place, tap Save and add it to Favorites. Later, tap the search field, and your favorite places appear right underneath. You can also make custom lists or stash vacation spots under Travel plans. Future-you has directions covered.

Forest sees you: If you drove into Yosemite recently, a camera may have logged your license plate without clearly telling you. Flock cameras started popping up along entrances and scenic roads inside the California national park, putting America’s favorite surveillance state tech into a place people visit to disappear for a while. People are scared the records could be stored or shared beyond their trip. Glad I went in a rental.

Zucked at sea: Get this. A 21-foot skiff ran out of fuel in chilly Alaskan waters, and the Coast Guard radioed nearby vessels for an assist. Reportedly the closest? Mark Zuckerberg’s nearly 400-foot, $300 million superyacht called Launchpad. The tow instead came from a nearby small Alaskan cruise ship. When its captain told passengers who was anchored nearby, the whole boat booed. Zuck wasn’t on the boat, and his crew said they were on a different radio channel.

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