Whenever I get something from Amazon, I always inspect it THOROUGHLY.
Should you splurge on a Copilot+ AI PC?
Anymore, every company (and their mother) seems to be slapping “AI” on their product marketing and charging you a boatload. Microsoft and its new line of Copilot+ PCs are no exception.
Let me give it to you straight: Microsoft is pushing these laptops hard, but in this case, what they sell isn’t exactly what you get. If you’re considering buying one, read this first.
What does ‘AI-enabled’ actually mean?
The newest Copilot+ PCs run on Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips. Sounds fancy, right? They have a CPU for computer processing, a GPU for graphics processing and a new NPU for neural processing, which is what they use to run their AI.
In plain English: These PCs can handle the computing load of AI functionality faster and with way better battery life. You’ll get a full eight hours of running AI features and double that for regular web browsing. That’s great for a PC.
Microsoft also loves to tell you their Copilot+ PCs perform at “45 TOPS,” short for trillions of operations per second. But, practically speaking, that’s a pretty murky stat. There are a lot of other factors that can affect your PC’s performance.
So, what can it do for you?
- Make it look like you’re paying attention: Its camera has AI eye-tracking (say that 10 times fast) that makes it seem like you’re making eye contact even if you’re multitasking.
- Push a button to chat: Microsoft’s Copilot AI bot is integrated into the OS, but it’s not much different than a chatbot in your browser. It also got rid of some functionality. In non-AI models, Copilot can adjust some PC settings for you; that’s totally gone in the Copilot+.
- Live translations and captions: Copilot+ can translate foreign-language videos in real time. This is great in theory, but the translations can be slow and don’t always make sense.
- Generate AI art: The Image Creator feature lets you generate images, but you’ll need an internet connection and a Microsoft account to use it. ChatGPT works just as well.
There’s a big catch
Some of the standard apps just don’t work. Since the latest Copilot+ laptops run on Qualcomm chips, they can struggle to launch older PC apps originally designed for Intel processors. High-end games might not run at all.
That’s not a trade-off I’d want to make — especially if I’ve just shelled out almost $1,000 for a top-of-the-line machine.
You might also remember Microsoft’s privacy issues with Recall, a feature that tracks everything you do on your computer. They scrapped it for now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they brought it back with a fresh coat of marketing paint.
The real reason CrowdStrike brought companies to their knees
Yesterday, you couldn’t miss seeing photos of the Windows Blue Screen of Death all over airport screens and news of massive problems hitting computers everywhere. Some consider it one of the largest IT outages in history. And it all started with a company you may not have heard about until now: CrowdStrike. (A few major news outlets inaccurately reported it as “CloudStrike.” Now you know better!)
Rise and shine
Wake up with a smile on your face!
- The new Amazon Echo Spot (44% off) is sweet if you’re looking for an alarm clock-slash-smart speaker with tidbits of useful info to start your day.
- Gradually wake up with a sunrise clock and sound machine, on sale now for $30. It’s not connected to the internet, so it’s significantly cheaper and more privacy-oriented than “smart” alternatives.
- This 10% off alarm clock projects the time and temp in an eye-friendly red light. It has the forecast, too.
- An alarm clock that doubles as home decor with a 6-inch mirror surface; get it on sale for $13.
- OK, so you just want an old-fashioned alarm clock. This back-to-the-basics battery-powered option is 10% off.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
Cringe or based? Alexa now features Gen Z slang so you can keep up with the kids. Just say, “Hey, Alexa, talk Gen Z to me” to hear the definition of one of 20 popular Gen Z slang terms. Amazon surveyed over 1,000 Gen Zers to come up with the list. Oh, what I would’ve given to see those responses!
💸 Amazon is losing billions on Echo devices: They sold ‘em way below cost, hoping users would shop more via Alexa. Plot twist: They didn’t. Folks like it for free apps and alarms instead. A paid Alexa tier (paywall link) is in the works to recoup costs. I doubt folks will bite. I won’t.
Amazon started as an online bookstore back in 1994. Did Jeff Bezos pick books because … A.) His mom was a librarian, B.) He read four to six books a week or C.) He thought he’d never run out of books to sell?
2 pizzas
Can feed any team at Amazon. And that’s just how Bezos likes it. In the early days, he enacted the “two-pizza team rule” to keep Amazon efficient. The rule says any team should be small enough to be fed by — you guessed it — two pizzas. Oh, you’re a real pizza work!
Best Amazon Prime Perks
Prime Day is 7/16 & 7/17 so don’t miss out on squeezing everything you can out of Bezos.
🏠 If you can’t build it, Prime it: With housing prices through the roof, Amazon’s doubled down on selling tiny homes. This two-bedroom cabin has a huge porch and looks like any modern Airbnb. Pay $35,000 and it’ll show up on your doorstep (or future doorstep) in less than a month.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
Lemme Turk to ya: I mentioned Amazon Mechanical Turk on the show, and a lot of you had questions. With mTurk, you can get paid to complete tasks that are easier for people than bots, like analyzing images and transcribing audio. Sign up here for a Worker account.
♨️ Major recall: Some 3.2 million Bissell Steam Shot handheld steam cleaners shoot hot water or steam when you aren’t expecting it. Ouch. The steamers went viral on TikTok and were sold at Target, Walmart, Amazon and everywhere else. If you have one, hit this site.
$14.2 billion
Total Amazon Prime Day 2024 sales across both days. This year’s sales beat those in 2023 by 11% … and almost beat the national GDP of the Bahamas. Top product categories? Electronics and back-to-school gear. That’s a lot of erasers.
$7.2B spent on Prime Day
That’s just Day 1 of Amazon’s big summer sale — 210% more than what’s spent on a “normal” day. The average spend per order on the first day was around $60, up from last year. I, uh, spent more than that.
💩 Poop ruined a family business: A customer returned a kid’s stink pickle swim diaper to Amazon, and it was then resold as “new.” The unlucky recipient wrote a one-star review, which over 100 buyers flagged as helpful. The mom-and-pop shop went from a million-dollar business to $600,000 in debt. I know firsthand running a business means paying attention to all the crap-tivating details.
🎮 No console? No problem: You can play hundreds of Xbox games without an Xbox console if you have the latest Amazon Fire Stick 4K Max or Fire Stick 4K and a controller. Download the Xbox app to your Fire TV device from the Amazon app store, then sign in with your Microsoft account. FYI: You’ll also need an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription for $19.99 per month.
We may receive a commission when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.
⚠️ Router warning: Linksys Velop Pro 6E and Velop Pro 7 mesh routers are sending Wi-Fi login details in plain text to Amazon servers. That means a hacker can gain access to your network. There’s no patch yet. For now, change your network name and password via the web interface.
Don’t trust Amazon reviews: More proof is out that Amazon sellers are trading cash and free products for five-star ratings. Some even pay for negative reviews on competitors’ pages. Tips to spot the fakes? Language and timing. Look for multiple reviews using similar phrasing with no details.
Which tech company stores the most information on the internet? Is it … A.) Amazon, B.) Facebook, C.) Google or D.) Wikipedia?