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:
Prime time payday: Amazon is paying a $2.5 billion FTC settlement for tricking people into Prime and burying the cancel button, and the checks got bigger and easier. The cap jumped from $51 to $200. Used 11 to 20 Prime perks in a year? You qualify now. $845 million is already out; more lands October 1 by Venmo, PayPal or check. Zero forms. Any email asking you to “claim your refund” is a scam.
3-second tech genius: Think you only spend a few minutes on YouTube? Open the YouTube app > Settings > Time management. You’ll see your daily average, whether it’s up or down from last week and your total for the past seven days. That last number can hurt. Tap Remind me to take a break and choose how many minutes or hours between nudges.
Glasses saw everything: Imagine finding videos of your family using the bathroom recorded by smart glasses that woke up on the counter. More than 70 people in a 230-page federal lawsuit say Meta’s glasses exposed intimate footage, including sex, and passwords to overseas workers training its AI. Meta disputes the claims and points to its recording light. That little light has the hardest public relations job in America. I say leave the glasses outside the bath- and bedrooms.
On a roll: Great news, you can now have a Costco-sized wall of toilet paper delivered after work without paying the club fee. Costco and Uber Eats now offer same-day warehouse delivery in 47 states to members and non-members alike, including bulk groceries and household staples. Expect to pay Uber its fees, though. You keep the bargain-sized packages and outsource the part requiring trunk Tetris.
Bathroom speed run: New York City’s new Throne robotoilets give you 10 minutes before a speaker warns you and the door automatically opens. Yep, countdown to being exposed mid-business. Free, and you unlock one by text or special card. Throne monitors usage and cleanliness remotely via sensors (no cameras). Finally, a Throne with term limits. (Good one, I know!)
Netflix can come on holiday: That household restriction doesn’t mean your shows have to stay home. Sign into Netflix on the TV where you’re staying, then choose I’m traveling or Watch Temporarily. Request a one-time code and enter it on the TV. Access is temporary, so you may need to verify again after a few days. All that traveling just to watch the same show in a different bed.
Visit Kim Komando's website and subscribe to her newsletter here →