Amazon is losing billions on Alexa

Kim Commando
It's better over here.

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Kim Commando
Hey, it's Kim Commando today, your daily podcast to keep you up to date with all things digital and beyond. And I'd love to have you be a part of our podcast. You can make an appointment to speak with me. Just head over to commando.com. and on the top right, there's a button that says email, Kim, fill that out, and that's it. I always like to kick things off with something interesting. And last year, you might remember this, four NASA volunteers entered a fake Mars simulation in Houston, Texas. Well, they just came out. They spent 365, 78 days in a 1700 square foot space. You know, they were pretty set up. They had a lounge area, greenhouse, a medical area, bedrooms, a great workout gym, couple of bathrooms. There was also an outdoor garden complete with red sand. Okay, because remember, this is a Mars simulation. Now, here's the deal. They had to grow their own food, deal with each other, be isolated. Stuff that might happen if we actually lived on Mars. So what do you think the crew did the most during their Mars simulation for the last year? What do you think they did the most?

You ready for it? They watch television day and night. They watch tv on Mars. Oh, and they had no animals in the simulation, especially no cats. Why? Because curiosity killed them all. Oh, that was a good one. Hey, on that happy note, welcome, everyone. I'm Kim Commando, America's beloved digital goddess, here with you once again. And let me tell you, you're about ready to get more tech smarts, because every single thing is now a tech thing. Because after all, if you're not tech ahead, you will be left behind. Now, just a reminder, you can find my award winning show in over 420 top stations throughout the United States. And I'm streaming in your favorite radio app, just search for my last name, commando. And you can also get the Kim Commando show as a podcast. Wherever you get your podcast, search for Commando with a k. Of course not. Acak. And I just want to tell you that great sponsors help to make this show possible. And I always, always negotiate money saving deals with them. And so to see all the deals and get the special links that you need and the promo codes, go to commando.com sponsors. Alrighty then. Every single day, whether it's the weekend, a work day, or even on a national holiday, I am on it. I am going to at least 35 different websites and I talk to industry insiders all the time to make sure that we are up to date on what's happening in the tech world. And here are the top five things that you need to know about. We're going to start with Amazon. Amazon. Yes. Okay.

They are losing. Listen to this. Tens of billions of dollars on the Amazon Echo and everything else related to Amazon's Alexa smart assistant.

And if you bought any Alexa enabled device, Amazon is blaming you for these losses. Okay, here's the deal we all know about Alexa listens in on your conversations, ready to answer your questions, play your favorite music, take your Amazon order. Yeah, that's what they really were counting on. But as it turns out, not a lot of us are using our Alexa enabled devices to actually buy things on Amazon.

And so Amazon miscalculated. It's called the downstream impact.

When you buy one product, then it leads to more purchases for another product. So no one's buying this thing as far as placing orders on it. And the echo and the Alexa are just this disaster. So Amazon's solution should be to cut and run. But no, no, no.

Guess what's coming down the pike yet. Amazon thinks that we're all going to want to pay $5 a month for Alexa.

Not so much. All right, moving on to number two. I'm not getting political. And don't even think of dropping me a DM about this story. It's all over social. And I want to make sure that you don't let it happen to you. JD Vance left his Venmo account public. Someone found it, took a peek inside his contact list there and revealed a lot of personal connections. See, people forget that Venmo is more than just a way to split the dinner tab. It's actually part of a social media website. Your transaction history is public. This means anyone who views your Venmo profile can see who you're sending money to. Whether it's your mom, your spouse, your friend, or even a stalker. It doesn't stop there. If you make a public payment to anyone, everyone connected to them on Venmo can see it, too. Yeah, big privacy problems. So here's what you need to do. Change your profile to private. Open the Venmo app, tap your profile in the corner, then the settings gear hit privacy, switch to private. Now, if you're saying, like, oh, wow, Kim, you just went way too fast for me. I know. Head over to Kamado.com with a k, of course, and then just search for Venmo privacy. And I'm sure this tip is gonna pop up for you, which, by the way, I think I shared with you for the first time maybe three or four years ago. Yeah. All right, moving on to number three.

What happens if you use Google's new AI or chat GPT for really important stuff, research, only to discover that the AI lied? Hallucinated. Okay, who is responsible now? First, I have to explain my answer. And no, I'm not an attorney, and I don't play one on the Internet. But it doesn't take an attorney to understand that the possibility of an AI hallucination, complete with authentic sounding phony facts, is more common than ever. And common sense, speaking of, should tell you that if you're really researching something super important, you have to use multiple sources to find those answers. Okay, now, I'm not an attorney, like I said, but I could convince a judge and jury that you, the researcher, are fully and totally responsible for whatever conclusions you reach and whatever answers you publish, whether you use a or not. So do not risk your reputation on anyone's AI. Chatbot.

All right, moving on to number four. Yeah, it just keeps going on and on and on. I'm talking about the whole crowdstrike situation.

And a faulty security update took down PCs. You know, it's been all over the news. Emergency services, stock exchanges, hospitals, they all got that blue screen of death. But it seems like airlines took the biggest hit from the outage, doesn't it? Here's a little fun fact. Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson is the world's busiest airport. It's also the hub for Delta Airlines. And because of the crowdstrike bug, it was so packed that luggage piled up everywhere, even between the carousels, that Delta's baggage claim now. Oh, by the way, Delta is giving folks 10,000 miles if you were affected, so you might want to tap into that. Meanwhile, in Chicago, things are better, but airlines are still catching up on flights. In one instance, could you imagine this? 20 high schoolers and college students on their way home from an educational trip in Puerto Rico are now stranded in Puerto Rico. They said, oh, you'll be back next week. Oh, man. Tell you so many sad stories like this. The CEO is going to testify before Congress. Eight and a half million windows PCs affected. And you know what crowdstrike did?

I can't believe this. What a pr nightmare. They sent partners and team members a gift certificate for Uber Eats. Guess how much it was? $10. $10. Okay, what can you buy with $10 on Uber eats? I looked a chicken sandwich that does not include a really big tip or even maybe most of the delivery fee. $10 Uber eats gift card. That's. That's like an insult. That's like, why even bother?

All right, finally, this. You have a digital twin that you've never met. That's right. But maybe this twin could actually save your life. Now, it's so new that probably your physicians haven't even heard about it. Now, there are three companies that offer a digital twin service.

Virta Health, Amata, and twin health. Now, this is not a digital twin for, say, some AI VR avatar to do all the work for you. This is a digital twin that has to do with your health. So with twin health, they use AI to actually reverse diabetes. Yeah, you heard me right. The company collects your body's vitals using a digital scale, a blood pressure cup, a smartwatch, and a continuous glucose monitor. The data collected here is way beyond anything like an Apple Watch or a Fitbit. The devices all work together to track how different foods and activities will impact your blood sugar levels throughout the day. Then, using this model, so smart, the data is applied to your digital twin, and then, based on the twins reaction, exact foods and precise amounts, together with specific exercises and other recommendations are made. Wow. Isn't that something? Now, some health insurance policies might even pay for this, so you might want to check with your doctor again. The name of that company is twin health. Twin health. Speaking of twins, my cousin saw her a couple of weeks ago at a big family reunion. She was so excited. She comes running over to me. She's like, Kim, Kim, Kim. I'm so excited. I'm expecting twins. Wow. Isn't this amazing?

And I looked at her, and I, you know. You know, you know how you want to say something? You're thinking like, okay, I probably shouldn't say this, but I did, and I said, wow.

Finally, two kids from the same man.

She didn't laugh. All right, coming up, we're going to talk about how you can defeat your hotel room's thermostat. I had to do this myself a couple weeks ago. And how to set up your smartphone to save your life. We have some terrific phone calls that you can't afford to miss and more here on the Kim commando show.

T Mobile Spokesperson
After investing billions to light up our network. T Mobile is America's largest 5G network. Plus, right now you can switch. Keep your phone and we'll pay it off up to $800. See how you can save on every plan versus Verizon and at and t@tmobile.com.

T Mobile Spokesperson
Acrossamerica, up to four lines via virtual prepaid card. Allow 15 days qualifying unlocked device credit service ported. 90 plus days with device ineligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card has no cash access and expires in six months.

Kim Commando
You look so stressed out. You need a vacation, I can tell. But. Oh, don't even tell me. Well, Kim, I can't afford a vacation. I can't do that. Well, that's why you need to go to winfromkim.com dot. Winfromkim.com, because you can win from me, kim. Winfromkim.com because I am giving away a $1,000 vacation gift card right now. Right now. And you could win it, but you can't win it if you don't enter. So go to winfromkim.com dot. Once again, that's winfromkim.com dot. All right, how about we get started with Lori in Augusta, Georgia. Hi there, Lori.

Lori
Thank you for taking my call. It's a pleasure. I'm not vet tech savvy, but I always learn something when I listen to you on the radio.

Kim Commando
Oh, well, thank you. That's mighty nice of you. That's very sweet of you. So what's going on?

Lori
Well, I tell you what, my question I have, it's a brief but tragic story. My cousin was on business in New York City. He was. Unfortunately, he was out for a night on the town, got in with the wrong people. He was drugged, taken back where he was staying and been robbed to begin with. They used his facial recognition to get into his cell phone, and by doing that, we're able to hack into the other accounts and empty them. And the most horrible part is that he died from the overdose along with another young man and a woman. And they found out that it was a gang that was doing this.

Kim Commando
Oh, wait, wait a minute. So wait, this is horrible. So he was. Yes, he was in. In New York, and he was in.

Lori
New York City and he got dropped.

Kim Commando
And then they used his face to open his phone, and then they robbed everything out of his bank account. And then he died of an overdose.

Lori
He did. And I know this was two years ago, may of 2022, and another young Mandev also died from it. And I hate to tell such a long story, but his mother could not accept that he may have taken the drugs on his own. The investigation was kind of murky. So she went up there and they did more research, and about two dozen other people came out and said, yes, this happened to me. So that helped the police investigation. And as I stand now, I believe there are five people in jail, two facing murder, second remurder charges, and all these other robbery charges, too. And her message wanted me to get out was, do not let this happen to you. Don't let your guard down, and please be careful.

Kim Commando
Wow, what a horrible story, Laurie.

Lori
Well, you know, it is.

Kim Commando
And so at least she.

Lori
So she was able to turn it into something positive by getting justice. But my question is, is facial recognition actually safe? And what else would you do to protect your accounts?

Kim Commando
Yeah. See, so many of us, we have our phones that are set up for facial recognition, right? Because we don't want to, we don't want to have to punch in a four, six, or ten digit code or whatever it may be in order to open our phones, because we're opening them so much. Right. We're looking at them for texting or email or looking at different apps. Is that, you know, what you can do is not use facial recognition, and you can use a strong pin or password or pattern lock as an additional layer of security for you. For your online accounts, you want to do two factor authentication, but maybe you want to use, instead of them sending the two factor authentication code to your phone that the robbers and have is that you can have it sent to an authenticator app, and then you have another, you have another layer of protection.

You can limit it, any type of sensitive information that you have on it. But, you know, I think here the big lesson is education on digital safety. Right?

Lori
Thank you. It certainly is.

Kim Commando
You know, it's when you are out in a new place, you're even in your hometown. I mean, this could happen, right?

Lori
That's for sure.

Kim Commando
That you are careful of your surroundings, you're careful of who you go back to a room with or who you befriend.

And because you don't know what's going to happen once that door is closed, you know, it's up to and including Laurie, that even now there are robberies that are happening, that you meet somebody at a bar, okay, and they say, oh, you know, let's. Let's share contact information because maybe we want to get together again. Okay. And so you look at your phone, and maybe you have to punch in a pin number or. And it's not just your face. And then when you put in your pin number, is that you put your phone down and then they swipe the phone and they run away.

Lori
Oh, that's absolutely true.

Kim Commando
Because now they just. When they just get 1500 bucks, right?

Lori
Mm hmm. Yes.

Kim Commando
But, but you know, I'm. I'm happy to hear that. That, you know, that your. I guess that would be your aunt, right?

Lori
Well, it would actually be his mother. He's like a third cousin.

Kim Commando
Oh, okay. All right, so he's third cousin. So, you know, so that she was able to, to pull herself together after such a tragedy, right.

Lori
It was. And no, she did mention that I could use. Excuse me. She did mention I could use his name so that people could read the story because it has been in the press.

Kim Commando
Sure. You can mention his name.

Lori
Okay. His name is John Umberger. Umberger. And she's been interviewed by magazines and NBC and ABC and other things, too. So. But I just want people to be safe, Kim. And I know it's a terrible story, though.

Kim Commando
It is. But, you know, it's an important story. It is. So, you know what? Maybe Lori, you and I and your cousin's mom. Okay, maybe we just saved somebody else's life this very moment. This very moment, because somebody is listening or somebody is going to share this story with their loved ones and their family. I mean, think about this. You know, we all had things that our parents taught us growing up, right? About going to a bar. Okay?

You know, nothing good happens after midnight. Think about that. I mean, I heard that, you know, maybe it was, even if you're a little bit older, your mom or dad told you to put a quarter in your pocket in case you needed to make a phone call. Okay? Maybe that's what it was. Or maybe it's just if you're ever in a situation, it doesn't matter what you are, what you're doing. If you need help, just call me or wake me up. Be home by 11:00 p.m. whatever it may be. Okay? Now, the digital safety when you go out is that you need to watch your phone because you're holding $1,500 right there.

That's a lot of money to somebody. The fact that they can get into your account by facial recognition takes it on a whole new level. I help all those guys rot in jail.

Laurie, thank you for your call. All right, let's switch gears just a little bit. Let's say you find an airtag stalking you. What I want you to do is to wrap it in aluminum foil. And then go to the police. Here's why.

A couple of months ago, Apple and Google, they finally got together after three years to alert you when an unknown airtag or tracker is traveling with you. And then you can disable these trackers using your phone. Now, you also get some other info, like the last four digits of the cell phone number registered to the tracker.

That's wonderful. But there is a catch.

Yeah, I know. This only works on phones running iOS 17.5 and Android 6.0 or higher. Otherwise, you're just out of luck. So what should you do if you find an airtag or another tracker and maybe you can't disable it? Maybe you shouldn't disable it. Right, because if you disable it, then they're not going to be able to figure out who it really went to. So what I'd like you to do is to make a little envelope made out of aluminum foil. Don't leave any gaps. This is gonna block the radio signal. So whoever's tracking you has no idea that they've been seen, okay? So you're gonna make that envelope, put that tracker on the inside, and then you're gonna go to the police, because the police can track down who's registered that tracker. We got more coming up you don't wanna miss. Here on the Kim commando show.

T Mobile Spokesperson
After investing billions to light up our network, T Mobile is America's largest 5G network. Plus, right now you can switch. Keep your phone, and we'll pay it off up to $800. See how you can save on every plan versus Verizon and at and t@tmobile.com.

T Mobile Spokesperson
Across America, up to four lines via virtual prepaid card allow 15 days qualifying. Unlock device credit service ported. 90 plus days with device ineligible carrier and timely redemption required. Card has no cash access and expires in six months.

Kim Commando
You know, I mentioned I went to a family reunion recently, so maybe there's some relatives that you're like, hey, I wonder where they are right now. Or maybe it's somebody that you, I don't know, loved in high school or college. Well, in just a few minutes, I'm gonna tell you the insider ways to actually track down somebody who you've lost contact with over the years. And before we get to that and more of your phone calls, you wake up in a hotel room and you're hot and you go to the thermostat, but you find that you can't lower the temperature.

Bummer, right? That's the hotel saying, hmm. We're saving money. Sorry. Hotels love automated temperature controls because they don't want you. You cranking up the ac and then running up their bills. So if you're like me and you like to sleep in a cold room, now, you can bypass the hotel controls if you know the secret, and I'm going to pass it along to you. What you have to do is find the thermostats hidden menu. I did this myself when I was in Hawaii recently. Now, so many models can be unlocked by pressing these keys. Okay, listen up. You want to press and hold the fan and the up button simultaneously for anywhere between, say, five and 10 seconds. And then from there, you can set the temperature to whatever you want. Again, that's the fan and the up buttons. Hold them together for about five to 10 seconds. Now, let's say. Oh, Kim, that didn't work for me. I tried it. Well, what you want to do is just look up your thermostat model on YouTube, and I'm sure you're going to find a hidden menu tutorial that will just work for you. I mean, where else are you going to get this info other than here on the Kim commando show? All right, let's see. Phil in Indianapolis. Hi there, Phil. Glad to have you with us.

Phil
Well, I got a question about. More has to do with privacy, like within your own home. And of course, you know the technology.

Well, my ex wife and I will ask to talk to the kids from time to time, of course, and usually set up like you would a Zoom meeting. You know, my kids would go to their bedroom and call me, or I'll have them call their mom. But on occasions without my knowledge, consent, or anything, she will call the kids. One's 15. He's the one that has his own cell phone. The other child is sick, and she's in my home without me even knowing about it. I have issues with this. I have brought this up to her. I would tell you I've talked to local law enforcement, and they're not willing to do anything about it. And I just want to know what your take was on legality for me, protecting my privacy.

Kim Commando
So when you're not around, she facetimes the kids?

Phil
No, I could be home. There was an incident where I believe my daughter talked her older brother to call mom. I was still asleep early, and next thing you know, my daughter comes in, wakes me up, and my ex wife is right there on the phone with a camera, looking at me, sleeping or waking me up, if you will.

Kim Commando
And then you guys share joint custody?

Phil
Yes.

Kim Commando
Do you ever call her?

Phil
I always ask her for her to have the kids call me. So, you know, she can set them up wherever is comfortable and private, and they'll call me from that spot. And that's usually what I do for her. I would say probably on almost a dozen occasions, she'll just bypass that part and just call them and then. And just basically invite yourself into our home without me knowing.

Kim Commando
You're in a really precarious position, aren't you? I mean. Cause, you know, you wanna maintain. You want the kids to have a great relationship with their mom.

Lori
Absolutely.

Kim Commando
And you wanna have a great relationship with the kids. And so you don't want to be like, oh, you know, you can't talk to mom unless she, you know, unless she says something to me first. Cause then that's gonna spark some animosity, maybe, if not now, at some point, you know, saying, like, well, how come I can't talk to my mom whenever I wanna talk to my mom? Why is that?

Phil
Makes sense. If she's calling, they see her on caller id that she's going to answer.

Kim Commando
Exactly. Exactly. So, you know, what I would do is to maintain some sense of privacy for yourself so that if you are sleeping, suddenly you don't see your ex wife's face.

Good morning, honey. Wait, whoa. What was going on there? Right, right.

Is I would set up for the kids, go by a desk and a chair and put a stand on it for their phone and say, from now on, this is the mom corner. And when you talk to your mom, this is where you sit, and you put your phone up here, and here's a charger. And so you can prop your phone up and you can sit there and you guys can talk. And so where she's not getting a view of everything that's happening in the house, what the dishes look like in the sink or whatever.

Phil
Right, exactly.

Kim Commando
And so this way there's. It's a no judgment zone. And the kids are old enough to understand that. So, you know, the 15 year old and the six year old, you know, this is where you sit when you talk to your mom. I would love for you to talk to your mom whenever she's, whenever she wants to talk to you guys, but these are the rules. Number one is what state what happens in the house stays in the house. And number two is that you sit in this chair, and it's a comfortable chair. You're going to like it. I put up some extra lights, so you're going to look great. And that's the way that's going to work. Now, the other thing that you could do, too, and it's totally up to you because I don't know, the relationship. And there's always, anytime there's divorce, there's. There's always feelings.

Phil
It could be better.

Kim Commando
Yeah, exactly. You know, are you concerned about what she's asking the kids?

Phil
No. I will tell you when I say could be better. Could be a lot better. So she's always that after me and take me to court for various things, which has not panned out very well for her, but she still does it.

Kim Commando
Well, then in that case.

Okay, in that case, nothing to hide. Okay. So you put up the cheer, your desk in a chair in a certain part of the house that they're. That I'm thinking, like, in a corner. So there's nothing that she can't see anything. Okay. It's just. Or you know where I'm talking about. There's someplace in your house that you can do this, right?

Phil
Oh, yeah.

Kim Commando
Okay. Okay. Now, what I would also do, it's up to you, if you want to tell the kids, is I would get something like a nest camera, put it in that room and set it up so anytime motion or audio is detected, that it automatically records.

Phil
I don't believe we're allowed to. So I believe in the state of Indiana, we're not allowed to record conversations between the parents. So if they're, for example, talking to them and they decided, okay, guys, call your mom and they're going to sit on the couch. I'll go out in the yard and find something to do.

Kim Commando
All right. Okay.

Phil
And they'll let me know when they're done talking.

Kim Commando
Well, that's good. I mean, you know, I'm not a law. Yeah. I'm not a lawyer. I don't know all the local statutes and state privacy laws. And, you know, I'm glad that she mentioned that, because if you're not allowed to do it, then you shouldn't do it. But I was just thinking, like, if there was something else going on, that maybe you wanted to have a record of, that that would be an easy way to do it because that's the way these cameras work. But again, I would just set up a desk and a chair and some lights in a special part of the house that that's only going to be available to these kids and to your ex wife whenever they want to have a call. So this way, you know, there's not really seeing what else is going on inside the house unless she has to. But I'm glad you did. Mention that. So, you know, I'm sure that that's acceptable to, for any type of legal consideration. But if you have any questions about that again, you always gotta consult an attorney. Cause I'm a lot of things, but I am not an attorney. No way. I always hire them. That's what I do. And thanks for your call today, Phil.

All right. It's so easy to lose touch with friends and family members. I mean, even when you were super close. But have you ever wondered where they ended up? Okay, you don't have to give up hope. Thanks to the Internet and what I'm going to share with you, you may be able to find them again. First, you want to gather up all the basic information that you have. Name, date of birth, last known location, anything you can remember. Now, once you have this list, you want to start using some special online directories to find them. Familytreenow.com is a great free resource, by the way. If you find yourself on it, you want to opt out familytreenow.com. and then of course, you can use Facebook X and LinkedIn. They can also be powerful tools for finding lost folks. Just use the search function to find their name or their location. Also, you can dig around on websites like ancestry and myheritage because maybe they have put up some family trees. Now, these sites have massive databases. All of this will get you one step closer to finding them, unless they owe you money. Okay. And let me tell you, they don't want to be found then, because they want to pay you back.

Alrighty then. Still to come, how to set up your smartphone to save your life. You don't want to miss that here on the Kim Kim show.

I need two things from each and every one of you. Number one, you tell one person about the King commando show. That's all I just one person. And number two, head over to the website@commando.com, dot. There's a link that says ask Kim, and that's where you can drop me your questions. And we can also set up an appointment for us to chat here on the show. Super fun.

All right, Linda in Erie, Pennsylvania. Hi there, Linda.

Linda
Hey, I love your newsletters and your podcast. And recently you wrote and talked about radiation when using cell phones, which was very helpful.

My question today is you had mentioned possibly using earbuds. That would be a better route when you're talking on your phone. And I just wondered, is there any radiation when using your earbuds?

Kim Commando
You know, that's a really good question because, you know, much like a phone, which we don't want to do. We don't want to put it up to our heads. Right?

Linda
Correct.

Kim Commando
We don't want to put it in our pockets if it's, you know, if you're a guy. I was actually hiking not too long ago, and I saw a gal with her iPhone in her sports bra. And I looked at her, I said, you don't know me from Adam, but if I were you, I would never, ever, ever put my phone in my sports bra because, you know, because of the potential radiation. Now, anybody who looks at reports as, yes, there is ionizing radiation, which is like x rays, and then there are also people say, you know what? No, it's not. So for every case where there is one, there's always a case that's opposite that. That says that there is no problem with using it. But I think with earbuds, if we look at guidelines, is that they said that the radiation levels admitted are well below the limits that are safe. But the scientific research is, what? Ongoing. Right.

We don't have any long term effects of low level rf radiation on human health.

What I would do is, of course, you know, if you can use wired headphones, that will eliminate all the RF radiation exposure. Especially, you know, if you have any type of DNA mutations in your family, this is really serious stuff because you can. We just don't know.

Right.

You know, you want to limit continuous use of wireless earbuds is, you know, and take breaks to reduce the exposure. You know, they say that, you know, Bluetooth technology, it is a low power.

The SAR, which is short for the specific absorption rate, which measures the rate at which the body absorbs this rf, is considerably lower for Bluetooth devices. But that said, if you can use wired headphones, then if you're concerned about, especially if you have any type of issues in your family, that it really is something that you really need to take seriously. But you do have to understand, this is a different type of radiation, radio frequency radiation, that rf that I mentioned, non ionizing electromagnetic radiation, which is not ionizing radiation, which is x rays.

Okay, interesting. So just kind of keep that in mind. Is it going to kill you overnight? No, but we still want to make sure moderation is key.

Just like we say, moderation is key. And having a vodka martini or wine or chocolate or apple pie or, you know, whatever vice that you may have at that given moment. Netflix, binging, candy crush. I mean, gosh, how many vices do we have in our lives? Crazy stuff. So just kind of keep that in mind. And Linda, thanks for your kind words about the newsletters. Folks. If you're not already getting the newsletter, make sure that you sign up right now over at get kim.com. once again, that's get Kim.com every day. Give me five minutes and you'll be tech smart. That's right. I, and I'm going to make you laugh along the way. Trust me, you are going to laugh along the way at least once or twice. It's fun to read. I had somebody send me a note recently said, you said it would be fun to read, and it's actually fun to read. Yes. Tech can be boring.

Use of big words, intimidating, frustrating. But not the newsletter. Again, you can sign up right now. Over@getchim.com. dot oh, this looks like a great question. A brand new type of laptop. Yeah. Sharon in Asheville, North Carolina.

Linda
I do a lot of stuff on the computer, even though I'm retired and I have my laptop and this whole setup where I've got two extra screens, but the setup's getting old and I was hoping to replace it. And then I was so excited to read about spacetop, except when I looked into it, it sounded like it was all online, kind of like a, a Chromebook. And I live in the mountains. I don't always have Internet, so I need something that I can have spreadsheets and documents on my computer. Do you know anything similar to Spacetop that has, like, VR glasses?

Kim Commando
Yeah, I was going to say, just for everybody who doesn't know, Spacetop is a laptop, but instead of having a screen on the laptop, there are some AR glasses. So the whole idea is that you're going to put these AR glasses on, and then you're going to be able to have multiple screens, and then you'll be able to move the mouse through multiple screens and multitask, and you have virtual desktops and all these great things.

Spacetop is still under reserve, and it's what we call in the industry sneakernet, meaning, like, you know, it's been announced. Everybody's excited about it. But when are we going to see it? When can we actually go buy it? Now, the good news is, Sharon, that you can buy AR glasses right now for your laptop. And so you will have, like, these glasses with this display right across your face. They say it's like, going to be about 130 inch screens that you can play around with. They're made by a company called Xreal.

I have to tell you, I have not tried them. I have not tried them. I've been meaning to try them, but I just haven't had an opportunity to do this yet. But they're smart glasses.

They work with, you know, your Android, Mac, PC, all kinds of good things like that. They're not cheap. Okay, they are $450. Yeah, $450.

So here's what we're going to do, Sharon. I'm going to, we're going to put you on hold, and then we'll go ahead and send you a link so that this way you can check it out again. They're called Xreal air, two pro ar glasses. Now, the good news is, is that if you buy them and they don't work, that you can return them to Amazon. But just make sure that you understand what that return window looks like and they plug into the any standard USB C port. Again, these are the ones made by Xreal. I haven't tried them. So, Sharon, after you try them, why don't you give me a call back, let me know what you think. And thanks for your call today. See, and that's the thing with tech. There's always something new coming down the line. You know, we start talking about AR glasses for laptops. You know, it's going to be passe in just about six months when we have the whole big consumer electronics show that happens every single year in January, because those glasses are going to be loaded with AI. Of course, AI is going to be all over that show. Of course. I'll tell you more about that when that time comes. See, here's the thing about emergencies. They happen when you least expect them. So imagine this situation.

You're unconscious. The only thing you have on you is your phone. Now, if you have medical id set up properly on your Android or iPhone, someone there can actually get all your important medical details over to first responders so that you can get the care that you need even if your iPhone is locked. And that's the key. So let's start with Android. To enable your Android emergency id, you want to go into settings and then emergency information, and there you're just going to enter in all the info that they ask for. Your iPhone, you're going to do pretty much the same thing, but you're going to open up the health app and then tap on the medical id in the right corner, and you want to plop in as much information as you can. Your allergies, your emergency contacts, any medical issues, put it all in there and save it. And then you're prepared for anything that comes along. Remember, you can always find a person's emergency info on the lock screen if they need help. And now someone can see yours, too. Hey, just a quick reminder that I'm giving away that $1,000 vacation gift card. I want you to win it. Yes. So enter right now@winfromkim.com. once again, winfromkim.com dot this program is a copyrighted production of Westar multimedia entertainment and protected by the copyright laws. Any rebroadcast or use of this program for commercial, business, economic or I financial purposes without the written permission of Westar multimedia entertainment is strictly prohibited.

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Amazon is losing billions on Alexa

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1: Alexa's Financial Flop

2: Privacy Concerns and Digital Safety

3: AI and Accountability

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