American streamers

Lots of us spend a ton of money on streaming (but not everyone). What percentage of American TV viewers watch ad-supported streaming TV every week? Is it … A.) 10%, B.) 25%, C.) 50% or D.) 75%?

The answer: C.) 50% of Americans with streaming TV watch some ad-supported videos each week. I assumed that percentage would be much higher, to be honest, because of sports! If you have a favorite team, it’s almost impossible to watch while avoiding ad-based streaming.

Tags: ad, ad-supported, American, money, percentage, sports, streaming, TV, videos, viewers


How to train your autocorrect to actually work

I bet you’re frustrated with how often autocorrect is auto-wrong. That’s why I wanted to walk you through a few steps to make yours work more accurately.

Even with some new AI features in the latest updates, autocorrect is still “ducking” annoying. Let’s fix that together.

Continue reading

Saw this one coming: Cybercriminals are posing as employees of the password manager app LastPass to hack your passwords. It starts with an email from “support@lastpass” about “unauthorized access.” The fake site they send you to grabs your real master password. With all the security incidents at LastPass within the last couple of years, I’m not surprised.

20% of produce contains unsafe levels of pesticides

For produce in U.S. grocery stores. Takeaways from Consumer Reports’ analysis: Bell peppers, blueberries (even frozen) and potatoes must be organic to be safe. Celery, collard greens and strawberries must be U.S.-grown or organic to be safe. And green beans must be U.S.-grown and organic to be safe. tl;dr: Buy organic when you can.

Phony Fabios: Think you’re being catfished? You used to be able to out them with a video call. Not anymore. Romance scammers are using video deepfakes to change their appearances in real time. They record themselves on a phone or webcam and use a face-swapping app to pose as another online cutie and charm victims — aka ask for money.

0.6 point increase in grades

For students with last names that start with A, B, C, D or E versus V, W, X, Y or Z. That finding comes from 30 million papers submitted through Canvas, the most popular tech platform for teachers. Canvas gives papers to teachers to grade in alphabetical order. By the end of each assignment, they’re tired — and, apparently, less forgiving.

Stay sharp: Kremlin-backed hackers are ramping up fake news about the upcoming U.S. elections on social media and phony news sites. The goal? To weaken support for Ukraine and cause chaos. It’s not just Russia, by the way — China and Iran are poking around, too. Stick to sources you can trust (ahem, like me!).

🍷 Unplug and uncork: In Verona, Italy, Condominio restaurant is swapping screen time for wine time. Ditch your phone at the door, lock it up and get a free bottle of vino. Owner Angelo Lella calls smartphones a “drug” and 90% of Condominio’s diners agree, opting for wine over Wi-Fi.

Step aside, humans: Boston Dynamics just retired the clunky hydraulic Atlas for a sleek, all-electric model they’re calling “the world’s most dynamic humanoid robot.” Watch the video — it’s freaky! The new Atlas lies facedown, pops up and twists its head a full 180 degrees. But those little rotating legs show an impressive display of balance and flexibility.

It’s getting worse: In January, a water tank in Muleshow, Texas, overflowed, and now we know who was behind the cyberattack: A hacking group with ties to Russia. This will not be the last attack, and many of the 150,000 U.S. water systems are scrambling for funds and staff to beef up their defenses. Glad we store clean water at home.

Skin deep: Beauty products are all the rage on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram for little girls who def don’t need this stuff. One nine-year-old (paywall link) experienced a nasty facial rash from a glycolic acid cleanser — safe for adults but harsh on tender, young skin. Talk to the kiddos in your family.