So much for free Wi-Fi on a plane. After an Alaskan Airlines flight, my laptop was overwhelmed by spams and scams.

As the pop-ups filled my screen, I saw a rotating parade of horribles, with messages like “TROJAN found,” and “Remove the Virus Now! I wasn’t sure what to do, except to avoid clicking on anything.

So I turned to Anthropic’s artificially-intelligent Claude AI for help. It suggested using Windows Defender for a virus check, then doing a malware check using the free version of Malwarebytes. I was surprised to learn that the obnoxious banners were the only problem.

After trying a couple of Claude’s suggestions, I chose the simplest one: blocking all notifications from all websites. To accomplish this, I went into the Notifications Settings page in Chrome and Edge and turned off “Ask before Sending.” Though it sounds counterintuitive, it stopped the spam.

But what about the next time I want to use free WiFi on a plane instead of the airline’s own entertainment portal? I’ll need a Virtual Private Network (VPN), I decided.

A free trial of the paid version of ProtonVPN seemed like the best choice.  Since it’s subject to strict Swiss privacy laws, it earns the highest trust of any VPN. It’s also considered the best free option.

But Proton VPN can be slow. In fact, I gave up before a British website loaded. Compared to other VPNs, Proton uses extra verification steps and privacy checks. Plus, its network is smaller, so a connection takes longer when a signal has to travel between distant nodes.

NordVPN makes more sense for frequent travelers like me. Its global network is huge and it’s good at picking the closest, fastest connection. Unlike Proton VPN, Nord doesn’t have a free option, but I wouldn’t want that anyway. Free VPNs don’t protect you against malicious attacks. They only make you invisible on the web. 

So I signed up for NordVPN Complete. When I got it, it was selling for $5 a month on the two-year plan. It not only blocks malicious websites, it stops drive-by downloads, filters out phishing pages that mimic login screens, and much more. It comes with a password manager, a terabyte of encrypted cloud storage, dark web monitoring and scam call protection for your phone. You can connect ten devices at once to NordVPN, and an unlimited number of devices can use the included NordPass and Nordlocker apps. I later noticed that NordVPN made it much slower to save a Word document as a PDF, but I can always turn it off when I’m using my home WiFi.

Swimming with your Watch

On vacation in Southern California, I swam every day with my Apple Watch. But long swims in the salty bay or ocean aren’t good for it, I learned later.

Fortunately, however, Apple Watches have much better protection against liquid damage than other smart watches. They can eject water to keep things humming even after you goof up. After four days in a row of bay swims without rinsing, I tapped the exercise icon on my watch, then tapped again to start a fake swim. This automatically turned on the water lock feature, so I was able to rinse my watch for the recommended 30 seconds, which helps to prevent corrosion. Then I pressed and held the crown to eject the water.

Blocked Contacts

 “If you block someone you previously trusted, will they know it?” I wondered this because I had recently expelled a friend from email, text and phone. I did it in the “Contacts” app.

If the former friend tries calling my iPhone, he will hear my phone ring once, twice or not at all before getting an option to leave a voicemail. If he leaves a message, it will appear in the Blocked Messages folder at the end of my Voicemail list. So far there’s nothing there, which means he didn’t leave one.

On Android phones, which vary according to the manufacturer and carrier, the call will either be rejected or sent to voicemail, where it might appear in a “blocked calls” folder. Alternatively, instead of blocking a person in your Contacts app, you could use your carrier’s portal, which will send a message to the person that you are not accepting calls.

Text messages work differently. On an iPhone, the blocked sender won’t see a “delivered” or “read” message after they send their text to you. Nor will you ever see their text. But on Android, you can check the “Spam and Blocked” folder.

On Facetime, the person will hear a phone ringing indefinitely without ever connecting. You won’t know they called, and they won’t get a message saying you’re not available. 

Internut

“Meet the robot trained on millions of internet videos.” Search on that phrase to watch an amazing video clip.

For years, robots in factories have been doing assembly line work, but when things went awry, the robots got confused. So now a company called Rhoda AI has trained them to expect the unexpected and react appropriately. A ZDNET video shows a robot doing intricate tasks for a German automaker, after being trained for only about 15 hours. That’s because the training data is continuously refined and sifted from hundreds of millions of public videos, until only the key moments have been saved to provide training for a precise task.

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I just took my first Waymo, Google’s self-driving taxi. When a jaguar pulled up, I knew it was the Waymo because of the cameras and radar on top.

I struggled for a second to unlock the door. Then I realized I had to tap “unlock” in the Waymo app on my phone. A cheery female voice greeted me as I sat down, encouraging me to press the support button whenever I wished. Instead, I asked Google Gemini on my phone. It told me how to play my favorite podcast on YouTube Music instead of the New Age-y stuff coming from iHeart Radio. 

My Waymo proceeded cautiously, going slower than I would have as we rounded the first turn. Possibly it saw something I didn’t. Statistics show that self-driving cars are safer than human drivers. If I’d been in doubt, I could have tap “pull over.”

It took longer to get to San Francisco International Airport than expected, because Waymos don’t have freeway access everywhere yet. But I enjoyed checking out the features. I could even have added stops, but if I didn’t get back in the car within 30 minutes, it would have gone on without me.

As we approached the airport, the invisible driver told me it was looking for a place to pull over. It reminded me to check for belongings and to pull the handle twice to exit. I couldn’t help waving goodbye. The cost: $62.40, no tip.

What about privacy? The interior cameras are always on. They help the AI bot answer your questions. They also check to see that the car is clean, confirm that you’re wearing your seatbelt and register lost items. Under certain circumstances, a support team might review the video even as it’s being recorded. Recently, for example, in San Mateo, California, two 15-year-olds were allegedly drinking and shooting toy guns from a Waymo. The company’s systems flagged the behavior, disabled the car, and called police.

Anything audible is not recorded, however, unless you press the support button to ask a question or deliberately turn on the microphones. So “sing out,” as my Waymo suggested. If “Kumbyya” comes on the radio, I might just do that. For more information, Google the online tutorials.

Creepy Glasses

I wouldn’t notice if someone’s smart glasses were recording me because I’ve never been aware of the red indicator light on the glasses. Heck, I don’t even know anyone nearby who has a pair. But Gen Z is hopping mad and they’re not going to take it anymore.

Modifiers, nicknamed “modders,” are tweaking smart glasses to prevent the recording light from coming on. This means you could be videoed or photographed in a public bathroom or elsewhere without your knowledge.

In protest, young people have put up large posters at bus stops in London, including one just a few blocks from a Meta Ray-Ban shop. The ad shows a regular pair of Meta Ray-Bans morphing into a zombie with the tagline “We’re always watching.” Perhaps in answer to this, Meta is rolling out a “v26” firmware update that will block the glasses’ camera if the indicator light has been tampered with. 

But Meta is also reportedly working on a prototype with a “super sensing” mode. “Super sensing” allows the glasses to continuously record audio and snap photos every few seconds. It’s supposed to make it easier for users to ask Meta AI about anything in their environment.

There are some serious privacy concerns, however. Though Meta says that the footage is only processed by AI, the company has previously allowed contract workers to review it, even if the user has opted out of data sharing. So their slogan, “processed only by AI,” may be more of a sales gimmick than real protection. 

Here’s the second problem. Bystanders don’t give permission to be continuously recorded, and  probably won’t know when it’s happening. Thirdly, you can’t access the recordings and photos taken by your own glasses, so it’s impossible to inspect, export, correct or delete them. Unknown footage might draw you into legal battles over images you didn’t know existed. Finally,  even if Meta deletes the raw data, they could first extract precious info from the stream, including locations visited, faces encountered, conversations overheard and routines executed. These could be retained and analyzed as metadata long after the raw video has been discarded.

Watching the Planes Come In

Go to FlightRadar24.com to watch the planes come in. Or download the free app.

Once you’re in, just enter an airport’s call letters into the search box. I typed “ORD” for Chicago O’Hare International, clicked “show on map,” and saw a whole fleet of planes flying over Lake Michigan, each represented by an image. Clicking on one of the animations, I learned that it was a plane coming from Madrid and arriving almost an hour early. The information panel on the left showed the flight number, airline, altitude, speed, aircraft type and more. If you click on the 3D button in the lower left, you’ll see a 3D view of the flights. 

The free version gives you only three 3D sessions, but you can get unlimited 3D and other features with a premium subscription. I watched a plane arriving in Chicago from Orange County. But it’s just a flight simulator. You don’t see live video of the actual planes.

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A reader named Karl sent me a newspaper column that raged against data centers and artificial intelligence. He hoped I’d give him a different point of view.

We sure need one. In April, Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, the company that makes ChatGPT, was targeted in an attempted firebombing with a Molotov cocktail at his San Francisco home. Apparently, the suspect thinks AI poses grave risks to humanity.

But so far, technological progress is the reason that we’re all still here. Thanks to technology, in the past 100 years, the average human lifespan has doubled, and the average per capita income worldwide has tripled, adjusted for inflation. Child mortality has come down by a factor of ten. There’s less violence, more education, more access to food and water. One hundred years ago, around 65 percent of the world lived in extreme poverty, according to humanprogress.org. Today, it’s roughly one in ten. 

AI can help with just about any tech problem, such as the pressing need for more water through desalination. It can help us grow food 100 times more cheaply than we do now. It can make renewable energy ubiquitous and bring us better health care. In a video recently, I saw a paralyzed man using an exoskeleton. Thanks to AI, his brain sent signals directly to his spine. 

Horrifyingly, several AI naysayers warn that if we keep going down the same path, we’ll all have meaty bodies and robot heads some day. Others predict that children born today won’t survive past high school. 

I got most of this info from a documentary, “The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist.” Peter Diamandis, M.D. says we’ve faced tougher challenges than this. Children born today, he says, are about to enter “a glorious period of human transformation.” The only day more exciting than today is tomorrow.

Kid Games

When my nephew was 8, he loved the video game “Backyard Baseball.”  I loved that he always chose “Kenny Kawaguchi” for his team’s pitcher. Kenny’s motto was: “Don’t let this wheelchair fool ya, I can play!” 

A new version of Backyard Baseball, launched in July 2026 by Mega Cat Studios, adds 3D and modernized graphics. Unlike most restored classics, it maintains the charm of the original. Plus, in a radical departure from today’s games, you only have to pay once. Most game companies today insist on nickel and diming you to death. Kids feel they have to keep up with their friends. 

What the Mega Cat executives are proudest of, some say, is not their sales volume. It’s the fact that they get emails from dads whose children never wanted to play baseball until they saw it in the game. The kids are now rounding the bases, smiling as Dad misses the ball.

Aimed at kids ages 5 to 11, Backyard Baseball is available for $39.99 at steampowered.com.

Hydrogen Helicopter Clears a Milestone

A hospital must deliver organs to transplant patients quickly. Helicopters make sense, but the noise pollution is a big problem.

How about hydrogen-powered helicopters? They’re quiet and pollution-free, but there’s one big problem. Ever hear of the Hindenburg disaster? Its hydrogen fuel exploded, destroying the airship in 34 seconds.

Enter the Robinson Helicopter Company. Its first piloted hydrogen-powered flight occurred in March 2025. A bigger milestone in some ways occurred in April 2026, when its hydrogen-powered R44 completed the first full airport traffic circuit (takeoff, climb, pattern, approach, landing). The company partnered with United Therapeutics to develop a safe way to deliver organs for transplants. Unither Bioelectronics, a subsidiary of UT, makes lab-grown, synthetic human organs and transplant tissue. Their shelf life is often under 12 hours, so speed is critical.

By late 2027, the company hopes to show that these helicopters can go 286 miles before refueling. In 2028, they plan to file for approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and Transport Canada. 

Help Set a World Record

You can help set a Guinness World Record for the longest internet literacy live stream and earn free digital training. According to ConnectedNation.org, if the group keeps the live stream going for 25 consecutive hours with at least 50 viewers, they’ll set a Guinness World Record and at least 1,250 people will benefit.

Your free training includes everything from avoiding online scams to keeping up with modern technology. Go to connectednation.org/25-hours-one-connected-world or bit.ly/CNWorldRecord on September 24 to 25, 2026 to join the fun.

 Numbers Report

Google reported record search ad revenues in the first quarter. That totally goes against the prediction that AI is taking away Google profits because people no longer click on links.The big question is whether Google can maintain its growth as clicks on paid listings keep getting rarer, according to eMarketer.

Meanwhile, ChatGPT has struggled to add new users this year but Google’s AI Mode has reached over one billion monthly users. EMarketer expects Google Gemini to reach that target this year too. They also predict that Gemini and AI Mode combined will surpass ChatGPT in US monthly users by the first quarter of 2027.

Internut

“Humanoid Robots Robert & Matilda Get Married: Russia’s First Robot Wedding.” Search on that phrase to watch a creepy ceremony. The bride dances and a robot dog delivers the symbolic wedding bracelets before the happy couple say their vows. 

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The new “Claude Science” from Anthropic uses artificial intelligence to tackle rare genetic disorders and tropical maladies, the kind that are usually ignored because there aren’t enough patients to justify the costs involved in finding a cure.

It sounds almost miraculous but it can’t do human testing. So the company is hoping it will be a helpful tool for anyone from giant pharmaceutical companies down to individual researchers.The beta version is available to paid Claude users (currently macOS/Linux) starting at $20 a month.

However, the field is ripe with competitors. Insilico Medicine, Recursion, Exscientia and Isomorphic Labs are all involved in AI drug discovery. In July 2026, Insilico launched a Phase III trial for “Rentosertib,” an oral medication for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive and currently incurable lung-scarring disease. 

Most notably, AI designed the biological target that Rentosertib attacks and identified its chemical structure. It’s the first AI-generated drug to reach Phase III, the second-to-last stage of human testing. Phase IV is conducted only after the drug is approved and marketed.

In 2023, the FDA granted it Orphan Drug status, which gives the company exclusive seller rights for seven years. A more recent trial showed that patients on Rentosertib had improved lung function compared to those on a placebo. If Rentosertib’s latest trial succeeds, it could prove that AI-designed medicines can make it all the way through the approval pipeline. 

Going Back to Windows 10

Ever since a reader named John bought a Windows 11 laptop from Lenovo, he’s had “a plethora of frustrating problems.” Now, he’s thinking of turning it into a Windows 10 machine. Good idea.

The problems began when Microsoft changed many gesture features for Windows 11. The difficulties are especially noticeable in two-in-one laptops like John has. In short,  Windows 11 gets confused when a user tries to click, tap, drag or highlight a passage. He says it often takes him three tries to get a response.

But the problem isn’t unique to his Lenovo 2-in-1. It also applies to Dell Inspiron and XPS laptops, HP Envy and Specter 2-in-1s, Asus ZenBooks and more. So by going back to Windows 10, John’s laptop should respond normally. (Get Windows 10 for free at Microsoft.com.)

Can you install Windows 10 over 11? Nope. During a Windows 10 installation, you must allow the process to completely wipe your laptop’s primary drive. But don’t worry. If you back up your files first, you can easily restore them, though your programs and apps must be manually reinstalled. A note of caution: Go to your laptop’s support site first. Some machines are built strictly for Windows 11.

High Tech Shoes

Need a little pep in your step? A new kind of shoe has a robotic insert to help lighten your load. 

The Dephy Sidekick is a $4,500 way to ease joint problems. Its special shoes lock into motorized devices that attach to your lower legs with straps. It feels like wearing boots, according to a ZDnet reviewer. To me, it looks like a metallic version of the shin guards I wore in high school for field hockey.

The Dephy’s AI system calibrates your gait to provide a customized lift, and has three power levels. Though designed for the Army, the company claims it can save your knees and hips from the ravages of old age. Check it out at dephy.com.

Bye Bye Physical Discs

A hip college student told me she’s a big fan of PlayStation games but hates the online versions.  Unfortunately for her, Sony is phasing out physical discs. As of 2028, she’ll only be able to buy new games online, though she’ll be able to buy any game in disc form that was produced before 2028.

According to Engadget, this is part of a trend. Many games now have a code in a box instead of a disc, and Nintendo is charging more for physical editions of some of its games.

Avoiding Amazon Phonies

“Knockoff,” which is free at the website Knockoff.shopping, is a new extension that tries to pinpoint brands on Amazon that may be fake. It can’t really detect the phonies, however. It just flags the products with gibberish, all-caps, vowel-less names typical of anonymous mass-market dropshippers. 

After reading about it in CNET, I searched for “solar lights” on Amazon. About half the choices were grayed out. But sometimes Knockoff makes a mistake. According to CNET, it blocked Torras, a well-known phone case brand, which is in stock at Best Buy.

Portable Shower

If a storm knocks out the power grid, having a portable shower system that heats water to 140 degrees Fahrenheit might save the day. It could also be useful for washing the kids and the dog, especially if they like to take off after that first bucket of water pours on their heads.

  The HotTap Go is a $554 portable shower from joolca.com. Your car’s 12-volt socket, what we used to call a cigarette lighter, powers the water pump. The heat, up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, comes from a small propane/gas burner built into the unit. If you wish, you can stick the showerhead on the side of your car, since it’s magnetized. This way you get a powerful spray any place you happen to be, whether at a camping site, on your boat or in your own backyard.

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I have an ugly red blotch on my arm from a recent skin cancer surgery which will soon be on display at a formal wedding. What’s the best concealer? I went to the website TiraMuisu.ai to ask my new beauty bud.

This artificially intelligent bot suggested Dermablend “Quick Fix” to make it blend in and setting powder to keep it from smearing when I’m hugging. But according to Google Gemini, by not recommending a third product, TiraMuisu goofed up. “If you put a flesh-toned makeup straight over the concentrated purple-red spot we see in your image,” it said, “the darkness will likely bleed through or turn the makeup gray.” Uh oh. A gray blotch sounds almost as bad as a red one. So I bought Gemini’s preferred green cream as an intermediary. Voilà. The blotch vanished.

TiraMuisu doesn’t allow image uploading, so I couldn’t show it my blotch. It just summarizes the reviews it gets from the web. But it could save me from watching 20 TikTok videos. According to the company, it summarizes video transcripts and comments from unpaid, everyday consumers. Armed with that info, it replies to your questions in three different voices: Tira, the hype girl, Muisu, the skeptic, and Mochi, the skin care chemist. It’s entertaining, but I still prefer Gemini.

New Way to Examine a Fetus

A friend of mine may be having her baby as I write this. When she’s rested, I’ll ask if her ultrasounds were powered by artificial intelligence. It’s the latest thing.

Anyone who has ever had a baby or looked at an ultrasound printout knows they look like grainy, black-and-white weather radar screens. But a company called Diagnoly offers an AI-powered assistant that changes everything. The black-and-white picture still looks grainy, but it now has real-time, digital bounding boxes, labels and color-coded geometric callouts directly on top. As a technician moves an ultrasound wand, these overlays automatically identify all the relevant baby parts. A tired doctor no longer misses crucial abnormalities.

It’s kind of a no-brainer for medical offices. Instead of requiring them to purchase massive, expensive new machinery, the doctors and sonographers can simply download the “Fetoly” app onto a standard iPad or Android tablet and plug it directly into their existing ultrasound systems. Unlike many modern medical AI systems that require a cloud connection, Fetoly runs entirely locally with zero dependency on the internet.

There are no specific medical offices or hospital systems in Arkansas publicly using Fetoly yet. However, because most of them use GE HealthCare’s Voluson systems, they have the technical capability to deploy the software.

Get a New Ringtone

It’s easy to get a new ringtone on iPhones with the latest iOS 26 operating system. Just open your Files app, choose some music, tap “Share,” and select “Use as Ringtone.” However, since my Files lacked music, I used a free app called “Voice Memos,” then played “The Sound of Music” on my computer while holding my phone up to the screen, stopping before the 30 second mark. Finally, I tapped the three dot menu, then “Share,” “View More,” and “Use as Ringtone.”

Do You Really Own Your Movies?

You don’t really own the movies you bought for streaming purposes. They can disappear.

That’s what happened to Sony customers in several European countries who bought movies at the PlayStation Store, according to Engadget. When a licensing deal with Studio Canal expired, the movies vanished from the customers’ video libraries. They didn’t get a refund either. Hey DVD, you’re looking good.

Good News for Windows 10 Users

The original “End of Life” support for Windows 10 was October, 2025. But when millions couldn’t or wouldn’t upgrade to Windows 11, they extended it to October 2026. More recently, they tacked on another year. The final cut-off is now October 2027.

Read This Next

Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, says: “If you care about the future, read this book.” He’s referring to “The AI Ten Commandments: A New Moral Code for Humanity,” a groundbreaking collaboration by Jamie Metzl and GPT-5.

Metzl, a Harvard-and-Oxford-trained Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, prompted ChatGPT to analyze thousands of years of human scriptures, historical records, philosophical texts, myths, laws, and indigenous traditions to distill ten universal moral rules. He says AI is forcing a massive shift in our moral landscape, but we don’t have to take it lying down. Let’s stay moral everybody.

IBM Breakthrough

IBM has come up with a way to increase computing speed by 50 percent and energy efficiency by 70 percent.

Engineers were faced with the problem of designing computer chips that allowed them to squeeze nearly 100 billion transistors into a piece of silicon the size of a human fingernail. But in that case, the chip’s components would have to be 100,000 times thinner than a strand of human hair. No way that’s happening dude.

It’s like the classic city planners’ dilemma. How many homes can be crammed into a single lot? Imagine Manhattan without the skyscrapers. Even tiny homes wouldn’t fit. Similarly, a new kind of  microscopic skyscraper vertically stacks and bonds components on top of each other. It’s called “nanostack technology.”

Nanostack technology is designed to handle enormous AI workloads without a catastrophic spike in global energy consumption. It also speeds up our gadgets and increases their battery life. Expect it in the next five to ten years.

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Protesters have been raging about giant data centers guzzling power, water and land. But here’s an environmentally-friendly solution: standalone apps that don’t connect to the internet.

When you use free apps like Atomic Chat, Google’s AI Edge Gallery, LLM Studio, or Ollama, you sever your cord to the cloud. Unlike ChatGPT and other AI bots, these apps don’t require a web window. They allow you to download their brains to work offline.

In short, by using these apps, you won’t cause electricity demand to shoot up the way it would with cloud-based AI bots. When you type a prompt into ChatGPT, Gemini and other standard AI services, your request travels to massive server farms that consume staggering amounts of electricity to process your words. They also require millions of gallons of water just to keep the server racks cool. Local apps flip the script. In fact, apps like Atomic Chat are able to compress an AI’s active memory by six times, allowing longer conversations without as much random access memory.

These apps are also private. Since your data never leaves your phone, tablet or computer, you don’t even need an account. 

So here’s the first catch. The minimum to run a capable local model is 16 gigabytes of system RAM and either a GPU with over six GB of VRAM (video memory) or an Apple Silicon Mac. Your Windows PC would need a dedicated graphics processing unit with at least six GB of its own video memory. An NVIDIA card works best. Otherwise, your AI answer might trickle in, one word at a time, while your laptop’s fan goes crazy.

Here’s the other catch. The standalone apps can’t browse the morning news, look up current stock prices, or check the weather for your upcoming trip unless you plug in advanced technical extensions. But what they can do is remarkable. Ask one to translate a document, debug a computer program, draft a short story or song lyrics, or brainstorm solutions to a thorny problem, such as how to preserve seed diversity for future generations. They’re less like encyclopedias or online newspapers and more like tireless thinking partners who happen to work without WiFi.

So who would most likely benefit? First, anyone who needs total privacy, with no chance of data sharing. Second, travelers in remote regions where WiFi is spotty. Third, anyone who loves to tinker with the latest open-source breakthroughs, or find out how AI reasoning works under the hood.

But someday this offline world could be the norm. We’re now in a transition phase. For example, Microsoft recently announced a massive shift to treat Windows as a “Local AI Runtime,” meaning future Windows updates will process background AI tasks right on your device rather than constantly calling home to the cloud.

Apple Intelligence already relies on a similar hybrid model. If you ask your phone to summarize a long text message or an email, it doesn’t send it to a data center. It crunches it locally using its built-in hardware. 

Finally, businesses are increasingly adopting local, sandboxed desktop applications to protect proprietary corporate data.

I guess those big data centers will have to become either condos or warehouses. 

Talking to AI in Midair

American Airlines now offers free high-speed WiFI on most flights. You’re no longer limited to the AA movie, TV and music channel. 

With free connections, you could converse with ChatGPT or some other AI bot for an entire flight. You do have to sign up for a free AAdvantage membership, however, but you can ​d​o it from your airplane seat.

Senior Phone

Consumer Cellular’s SpeakEasy is a new phone aimed at seniors 75 and older. 

The home screen features only calling, texting, photos and videos. The buttons are large, backlit and easy to read. The volume keys are on the front. The speakerphone is extra loud. The service is fairly cheap too: It’s $14.95 a month for 500MB of data on the Speak Easy Flip. It’s $19.95 a month for the SpeakEasy Smart. Though the Smart is an Android phone, it’s designed to be super simple to use. 

The Jitterbug Smart4 is similar to the SpeakEasy Smart. Choose the Jitterbug if you want its famous round-the-clock nurse lines and medical assistance when you press the Urgent Response button. Go with the SpeakEasy if you prefer cheaper monthly data plans. 

The Jitterbug flip phone is also great for medical and other help. Just press “O” for Operator​. Years ago, using a free phone the company gave me, I did that ​a​fter getting lost in San Diego in the rain. 

Touchless ID

You can breeze even faster through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) line at the airport by signing up for “Touchless ID.” Before you had to manually enter your passport info for each airline you used. But with the new version, you just add your boarding pass to Google Wallet. After approval, it will have a PreCheck Touchless ID icon on it. 

Million Dollar Giveaway

The US Department of Transportation will award five people $100,000 each for ideas on how robotics can transform our transportation networks. One person will get a million dollars. For more info, sign up for “DOT’s Bot Challenge,” an online webinar on Wednesday, July 8 at 3 p.m. ET. Or write to robotics@dot.gov. 

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I used to dread resetting my computer to fix something major. But Claude AI taught me a new trick that makes everything easy.

“Peggle,” my favorite game of all time, recently stopped working. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling it. I also asked Microsoft’s Copilot AI for help, but it sent me on a wild goose chase, directing me to uninstall a driver, run compatibility mode and try some complicated codes in the Command Prompt, or what we used to call DOS. Frustrated, I turned to Claude AI.

Claude said my Peggle problem was likely caused by the latest update from the “Windows Insider Preview,” a beta version of Windows 11. It directed me to Microsoft.com to get a well-tested version of Windows 11 as an ISO file.

“Uh oh,” I thought. In the old days, you either had to burn an ISO file to a DVD or use a third party app to launch it virtually. But these days, Claude said, it will automatically mount itself onto a virtual drive in File Explorer. Then all you have to do is click “setup.” Presto! Claude was right. It automatically installed a fresh copy of Windows 11. Afterwards, my Peggle game worked beautifully. My files were there too but not all of my apps. Oh well, I don’t mind reinstalling a couple of them.

PAY WITH YOUR WATCH

I feel so techy when I hold my Apple Watch up to a card reader to pay for something.

Here’s how you can do it too. Once you’ve added a credit card to the Apple Wallet app, just double tap the side button below the watch crown to bring up the card, then hold it over the card reader. On the Samsung Galaxy Watch, press and hold the lower button on the side of the watch for a second or two. This brings up your credit cards.

COMMODORE 64 PHONE

Commodore International just came out with a flip phone for fans of the Commodore 64, a wildly popular computer in the 1980s and early ’90s. It looks like the 1970s Commodore calculator.

The Callback 8020 aims to remove distractions. For example, it blocks Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and all web browsers. But it includes Commodore 64-era games and 99 percent of the apps in the Google Play Store. It should be available in fourth quarter 2026 for $500 to $640.

DOCTOR CHATGPT

A new version of ChatGPT, called “GPT-5.5” is a much improved virtual doctor, whether you’re asking about lab results, insurance, an urgent situation, or complex health information you’re struggling to understand. Its parent company, OpenAI, worked with more than 260 licensed physicians in 60 countries, 49 languages, and 26 medical specialties to review its answers.

To start, go to ChatGPT.com or open the app on your phone. Be sure you spell “ChatGPT” correctly. (Once I put in a “B” instead of “P” and landed at a scammer’s site.)To find out if the latest GPT-5.5 version has rolled out to your neighborhood, type: “What model are you using?”

I decided to compare GPT-5.5’s new insightfulness with Google Gemini, by sharing my recent Lipoprotein(a) score, which is high, due to genetics. GPT suggested I have it tested annually, but Gemini said that was a mistake. LP(a) is a one-and-done test unless you’re part of a clinical trial for one of the new, gene-silencing therapies that turn off Lp(a) production, Gemini explained. GPT tried to justify itself by saying that lab tests can err and should be repeated. But I prefer Gemini anyway, mostly for its encouraging tone.

TECH PRICES

We’ve gotten so used to tech prices going down, it’s shocking to see them going up. HP executives explained that with RAM prices up 100 percent, due to heavy demand from AI, they had to raise prices.The makers of the budget “Nothing” phone say they canceled this year’s model due to high RAM prices.

Sixteen devices are now more expensive, according to Mashable. They include laptops from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo and Microsoft, gaming products from MSI and Moto G phones from Motorola. Relief is coming in 2028, according to a research manager with the International Data Corporation. But he just expects prices to stabilize, not decrease.

NUMBERS REPORT

In a survey of 500 US adults, HostingAdvice.com discovered that more than 80 percent of us have never considered owning a website with our name on it, such as MarySmith.com. Fourteen percent say that their name is already taken. Only two percent own a personal-name domain.

AI LEARNS PHYSICS

What if an AI bot could learn enough basic physics to start inventing new products, like lighter eyeglasses and better phone cameras? That’s what scientists at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden are aiming for. Their new super brain is already helping build Sweden’s first large-scale quantum computer. It’s also helping scientists find new materials to control how light travels. They’re inventing things more quickly because the new approach enables them to cut a 30-day training process to three days.

INTERNUT

Search on “threads of underground fungal networks reach beyond the solar system,” to learn about the fabulous fungi that have been mapped for the first time by SPUN, the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks. The fungi store carbon, helping prevent a hot climate.

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“What women’s club role should I choose?” I wondered. To help me answer this, I enlisted the help of an artificially-intelligent board of directors.

The result was stunning. In our fascinating back-and-forth discussion, a consensus emerged.

The same technique could be used to get advice for starting a new business, raising a child or moving to Timbuktu. PC World offers the exact steps. Here they are.

First, go to your favorite AI website or your favorite AI app, whether it’s ChatGPT or something else. (I prefer Claude AI over ChatGPT, though both are great.) Second, type in a question. Third, add the following statement, including everything that’s shown below between the quote marks.

“I want you to act as my personal board of advisors. The board has four members, each with a distinct lens:

– A pragmatic operator who cares about what’s actually doable this week

– A long-term strategist who thinks in years, not days

– A blunt skeptic whose only job is to poke holes in my thinking

– A wise mentor who asks about what really matters to me

Have each member weigh in one at a time, in their own voice, starting their reply with their name in brackets. They’re allowed to disagree with each other. After all four have spoken, give me a short board summary of where they agree, where they clash, and the one question I should answer before I decide.”

The blunt skeptic tried to talk me out of the women’s club committee I was leaning toward, but the wise mentor, pragmatic operator and long-term strategist understood the big picture. With more info, the skeptic came on board. I felt like a CEO.

According to my board, I was in danger of overcommitment if I chose the Social Committee over the Grants Committee. The Skeptic and the Mentor both noted my enthusiasm for the Grants Committee. In response, like a good CEO, I gave them more info. Finally, they all agreed that the Social Committee was best.

Pendant Tracks Sun Exposure

Growing up in sunny Southern California, I never took my car if I could row a boat, ride a bike or walk a mile. The penalty? Twenty-two skin cancers and counting.

Enter Dr. Richard Weller, a world-renowned dermatologist. He helped develop a necklace that tracks your exposure to ultraviolet rays. It’s called “The90 Gem.”

The Gem measures both UVA (the rays linked to aging) and UVB (the rays that cause burning) in real time. Taking into account your personal metrics, the necklace considers all the exposure you get in a day, even the small bits, like the sun streaming through your home windows, poking into your car, and shining on your errands. It’s called “The90” because 90 percent of visible aging is caused by UV exposure.

The90 Gem looks like a circular pendant surrounded by a frame of gold or silver. Besides the UV sensor, it has an accelerometer and a Bluetooth chip to communicate with a free phone app. It can handle everyday water exposure (splash, rain, shower, sweat) but not submersion. It’s $199 at The90.com.

Privacy Pitfalls

I’ve never been one to worry about nosy smart devices, but Mark Meckler, a technology attorney and former social media CEO, says we should be concerned, especially if there are young children at home.

Your smart TV, voice assistants, and connected toys constantly take note of what you watch, what you say, when your kids are home, and what your household routines are, in order to produce a digital dossier on each member. Without meaningful consent from you, or accountability, the data is used to train AI systems, Meckler said.

But I thought this data was “anonymized.” Not so. A landmark study by researchers at Imperial College London and UCLouvain in Belgium found that 81 percent of Americans could be re-identified from their zip code, gender and date of birth alone. With 12 more traits, 99.98 percent could be identified.

Here are Meckler’s three tips. First, disable the always-on voice assistant’s wake words on your smartphone or smart speakers when not actively needed, or turn your bedrooms into device-free zones. Tap to take Alexa offline, tap again to bring her back. It’s quick.

Second, go to your phone’s settings to turn off ad personalization, location tracking history, and activity tracking. If you don’t know how to do that, Google it.

Third, consider switching to a privacy-centric browser like Brave to block hidden background trackers. As the old saying goes, if a product is free, you’re the product.

Numbers Report

Companies that give AI expanded access to systems and data have experienced a 43 percent breach rate over the past year, compared to an 11 percent security problem among companies that didn’t allow expanded AI access. This info comes from cybersecurity firm Netwrix, which examined data from 2300 IT and security professionals.

New Use for Old Styrafoam

What if that old Styrofoam cup could be turned into a sponge that captures carbon dioxide? It would become useful again. Currently, only one percent of Styrofoam escapes the landfills.

A new study from Aarhus University shows that discarded polystyrene—the plastic used to make Styrofoam cups, plastic utensils, and CD cases—can be turned into a material that captures CO₂. The new material acts like a sponge to capture carbon from highly concentrated sources, like factory smokestacks, as well as from regular air.

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Without Gemini, Google’s artificially intelligent bot, I might never have figured out how to get the most out of my new Bilt credit card. Gemini is a whiz at finance.

A Bilt card works like a virtual bank. Besides having its own routing number, it offers a virtual bank account number. This way you can earn points for charging your rent, mortgage or Home Owners Association fee without incurring a “convenience” fee. But you also need to make at least four other regular credit card transactions. “Could I buy a pack of gum four times?” I asked. Yes, Gemini said, but it wouldn’t be ideal.

Here’s a better way to go. I could use my Bilt virtual bank account to pay a $700 mortgage, rent or HOA. Then, if I also charged $85 at the grocery story each week, and $40 at a restaurant or gas station each month, I’d accumulate around 17,000 points by year’s end. That would give me $300 in purchases at American Airlines, United, Air Canada, Hyatt Hotels, Holiday Inn, Marriott and others. Choosing a cash reward instead would only get me $93.50, or .0055 times the number of points.

But that doesn’t take into account Bilt’s new multiplier effect, which is huge if your non-housing purchases equal or surpass the amount you spend on housing. In that case, you’d get 1.25 times as many points as you would normally. For example, if your housing costs are $700 a month and you spent $700 on other stuff, you get 875 points instead of 700, just for the housing component. Adding in the points you’d get for your credit card spending, you’d accumulate a total of 1,575 points a month or 18,900 points a year.

Likewise, if you pay your recurring charges on the first of the month, it’s worth even more points.  That’s why I changed my autopay settings to the first. For more info, ask Gemini. 

Beyond Finance

Gemini is great for finance, but I use it for other activities too. For example, after Google Maps showed me an 11-minute bike route through dense traffic, I asked Gemini for a longer, but safer route. It was both safer and more scenic. 

The easiest way to use Gemini is to fire up the Google Chrome web browser on your computer and tap the sparkling star in the upper right corner. That way it can see what you’re working on. It may ask you if you want to use “Connected Apps.” These allow it to search your Gmail, Google Docs and Google Drive to look up facts you’ve forgotten or answer questions about anything else. 

One way to use Gemini on your phone is the “@” shortcut. If you type “@” without the quotes in the search box, a menu pops up with app suggestions. For example, if you selected Google Drive or Gmail, you might then ask the AI to instantly analyze a specific document or find an old email thread, saving you from digging through folders.

App Happy

“Voice Memos” is a free app for recording your thoughts. It sure beats my pen scratchings at bedside, since I usually can’t read my own handwriting the next day. It’s also better than telling Alexa to remember something since she garbles anything longer than a few words. Now I just tap the app and hit “record.”

Need a Foldable?

A reader wrote to say he’s disappointed with his iPhone Pro Max 17 since it’s not as big as he expected. Though he enlarged the font, the keyboard is still tiny. Should he get a much larger, foldable phone?

I don’t think so. He could save thousands by getting a phone stand and a wireless keyboard instead. Walmart and Amazon sell them as a set for around $24. Besides, Apple has yet to come out with its first foldable, and as a long-time iPhone user, he might not be happy switching to Android.   

The first so-called Apple Fold should arrive sometime in 2027, not September as others have predicted. It’s expected to be sturdier, wider and squatter than current foldables, as well as ultra thin like the new iPhone Air, with a superior chip. Price: around $2500.

Foldables have been around since 2018, but I saw my first, a Samsung Z Fold6, only a few weeks ago.The owner said he was glad it was under warranty, because it got bubbles along the crease within two years. He mainly keeps it folded, opening it only for photos, videos and spreadsheets. But for spreadsheets, he adds a keyboard.

Free Aquarium

 Ashampoo.com is offering free virtual aquariums for your computer’s wallpaper. Just search on “aquarium,” and type the code “FREEFISH” before July 15. The Live Aquarium 4K⁠ has 25 species of fish and a choice of backgrounds. I like the one with all the sharks. The company is offering this freebie to the first 65,000 who register. Click here to redeem

Night Photography

If your iPhone uses iOS 26, it has the new “Night Mode Max” for taking pictures in the dark. According to CNET, this allows your phone camera to capture three times more light during a 30-second exposure. But you’ll need a tripod to truly capture the stars.

Internut

Search on “Stump House, 1905” to see an example of the days when Americans lived inside tree stumps. 

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To do some chores, I hired a Venezuelan who doesn’t speak English. So I turned to Google Live Translate.

First, I fired up the app and said: “Here’s where you should start today.” Immediately, we heard those words in Spanish. Then, when the Venezuelan said “Ok, muy bueno,” we heard “OK, very good.” It was practically seamless.

But Apple’s Translate app is even better. You don’t have to tap “English to Spanish,” then “Spanish to English” whenever you want to switch. Just speak and you’ll hear the translation in any of 19 languages. 

But what if you need to speak to someone in another country? With an iPhone 15 Pro or newer, you can hear a live translation in English even if the other person is on a landline. I tested this by calling my landline from my iPhone 16e while the landline was picking up a Spanish conversation from YouTube. There was only a slight lag between the Spanish and the English translation. What’s more, it’s a two-way street. The call recipient hears their language while you hear yours.

Best of all are the newer Apple Airpods.They remind me of those old movies where a United Nations translator is sitting in a glass booth to translate the words that diplomats will hear in their own language instantaneously. The Airpods, together with the freeTranslate app, can do the same thing, also instantaneously. 

Getting Answers You Like

Here’s how you can influence the kind of answers you get from Google AI Summaries. Whether you’re left-wing, right-wing or independent, carnivore or vegan, surfer dude or buttoned-down accountant, you can theoretically get answers just from the sources you trust. I say “theoretically,” because it didn’t work in my tests. But there’s an easy work-around.

I started at google.com/preferences/source. Then, following Google’s instructions, I typed my sources in a list that Google can see. But Google ignored them, answering my queries with its usual links. The only way I could get the spin I wanted was to directly ask Google to include them. For example, I typed: “What does NPR have to say about the war in Iran?” Then I tried: “What does Fox News have to say about the Iran war?” Each worked perfectly. 

Amazon Credit Card Tip

Here’s something I just learned. For maximum savings, you shouldn’t use your Amazon Prime Visa’s accumulated points at the Amazon.com checkout screen. Instead, charge the full amount to your Prime Visa in order to get five percent back. Then, log into your Chase account and apply your points as a statement credit to help pay your balance.

Over the Limit

In my last month with Consumer Cellular, I went well over my five gigabyte data limit. One of the culprits could have been “background fetching.” 

Some apps, especially those that use AI, update their content in the background, even when you aren’t using them. So unless you have unlimited data, you may want to disable that. Just look up “background fetching” in Settings and turn it off.

Next, consider disabling Wi-Fi Assist. It automatically switches your phone to cellular data when your Wi-Fi signal is weak. To disable it, go to Settings, search for “Wi-Fi Assist” and turn it off. On an Android phone: go to Settings, then search for the “automatic mobile data switching option.”

Finally, there’s “Low Data Mode.” Besides stopping background tasks, it reduces the quality of streaming videos, and pauses automatic photo syncing when you’re not in Wi-Fi range. You can save data this way too.

Wi-Fi Calling

If you haven’t turned on Wi-Fi calling, you might want to consider doing so. Otherwise, you might be out of range of a cell tower with no other way to call someone. In a doctor’s office for example, connecting to a Wi-Fi network is as easy as asking them for the password, if it isn’t already posted somewhere.

But first you need to enable it. For iPhones and Androids, you can do so by going to Settings, and typing “Wi-Fi calling” in the search bar. When it comes up, toggle the switch to “on.”

AI Mistakes

Recently, I asked Google Gemini for help altering a pie crust recipe to exclude butter and eggs.  I thought I had a great recipe, but later I noticed that it had left out the baking powder. According to Google’s most recent data, responses by Google’s AI Mode and Gemini may only be accurate 68.8 to 83.8 percent of the time.  

Numbers Report

Arkansas is fourth in the nation in the amount of jobs requiring AI skills. According to Acuity.co, a leading bookkeeping platform, about 14 percent of tech jobs in Arkansas require them. Delaware, Alaska and New York are first, second and third in the amount of AI knowledge employers require for tech jobs. California and Washington aren’t in the top five.

Internuts

– Trailverse.com is an easy way to explore our national parks. Besides all the info you could possibly want, it has an AI tool called “Trailie” to help you plan your visit.

–“April 13, 2029.” Search on that phrase to discover an asteroid about the size of the Eiffel Tower that will pass closer to Earth in 2029 than TV satellites do, a once-in-a-thousand-years event.

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