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!
As shared in Kim Komando's newsletters:
Someone gives you a business card? Don’t stand there typing it in. On iPhone, point your camera at the card, tap the Live Text button in the bottom right, press and hold the phone number, then tap Add to Contacts. It pulls the details straight in, so you don’t fumble a name or butcher an email address. On Android, same thing, tap the T icon in the bottom right, highlight the phone number, then tap Add contact.
3-second tech genius: When shopping for light bulbs, skip anything over 5000K unless you want your living room to feel like a dentist’s office. That bluish tint can trick your brain into thinking it’s daytime, which doesn’t help at bedtime. Look for warm white or soft white bulbs around 2700K to 3000K. Easier on the eyes, cozier on the couch.
Car service breakfast: Somewhere, a very hungry person who wished his Uber driver could bring him food is getting his dessert. Riders in LA, San Francisco, San Diego and Atlanta can add coffee, tea or snacks to an Uber Reserve booking, but only on Uber Black or Black SUV. You book the ride, tap add Uber Eats, and the driver grabs your order before pickup. Fancy.
3-second tech genius: If an app asks for your birthday, make it Jan. 1 of your real birth year. You satisfy the age verification, give away zero real data, and you remember it every time.
Track the junk above your head: Stuff in Space (free, any browser, no account needed) shows every piece of tracked debris and active satellite orbiting Earth in real time. Zoom in, click any object, and it tells you what it is, how fast it’s moving and when it passes over your location. Pull it up tonight and watch it orbit live. Genuinely one of the most mesmerizing free things on the internet.
Winging it: I barely trust people with turn signals, yet I’m supposed to share the sky with them? Chinese automaker Xpeng says it has 7,000-plus orders for a $300,000 machine (paywall link), basically an electric six-wheel minivan that drives like a car but hauls a small aircraft in the back, so you can pull over and fly it. Deliveries start later this year. Can’t wait to see one of these bad boys take off from Applebee’s Happy Hour.
Why aren’t you using AirTags? When something goes missing, you can track it with Apple’s Find My network. Pop one in your kid’s school bag, your luggage before a trip or your car. Bonus: If yours stopped working, don’t throw it out. Swap in a new CR2032 coin battery. Takes less than a minute, no tools.
Visit Kim Komando's website and subscribe to her newsletter here →
Photo: Uber/Business Wire.
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