Consumer Tech Update

Grand Theft Auto 6 drops November 19th. And people are already booking vacation days for it. Plus, would you pass an in-person drawing test? A video game company is putting artists to the test. The goal? Prove they're human. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two out of three Medicare Advantage denials get reversed on appeal. Yet less than 1% of people ever try. An AI prompt drafts a formal appeal letter in seconds. Plus, we help Joy use chatbots to fight back on a 97% insurance rate increase.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple's September 9th event marks two historic firsts. The new CEO John Ternus. And the long-rumored foldable iPhone Ultra. Plus, we chat with Anita about if her Apple Watch is bad for her health. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

That holiday "sale" price might not be real. I got the fix. Shows a product's actual price history before you buy it. Plus, we chat about scammers using AI to sell giant, fake flowers. And how a fake AI monkey sparked a real police search. Bananas! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Microsoft's co-founder called AI one of the biggest threats to jobs and human life. Plus, his daughter Phoebe is under fire. Allegedly ran a scheme through her startup that earned an extra $70,000 a day. Lawyers say it could count as federal wire fraud. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

That free school laptop isn't really free. It can log activity after school hours. On your own Wi-Fi. Plus, we break down cheap ways to track your kids at school. Including putting AirTags in their shoes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Forget tech stores. Tesla and Hyundai are prepping car dealerships to sell and lease home robots. Plus, we help Ken, a retired ventriloquist, find a flexible job. His friend Hank has some opinions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don't wait until "someday" to capture your parents' memories and stories. There's a free app that lets you record it. Even preserves them at the Library of Congress. Plus, Sarah lost her voice to ALS 25 years ago. AI rebuilt it. How? 8 seconds of old home video audio. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The FDA just cleared a robot that can draw blood on its own. No human needed. Has a 94.5% first-try success rate. Plus, we talk Anne through the risks and benefits of letting doctors record her appointments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You don't need cable or a streaming subscription to catch the football season. All you need is a $25 antenna. Plus, we help Doug figure out why his arena's live camera keeps freezing over wi-fi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meta just settled for a fraction of what tobacco companies paid decades ago and admitted to nothing. But this isn't the end; the real reckoning may still be ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your bill went up again, and you're tired of it. Stop overpaying. AI turns your next customer service call into a negotiation you'll actually win Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meta just settled a case about social media harming kids. Plus, Marissa's best friend of 15 years stole her newborn's pictures. Passed the kid off as her own to strangers online. Even faking a birth story. We talk to Marissa about the fallout and the rise of “digital kidnapping. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most of the apps on your phone aren't getting used. And they're still watching. There's a setting that auto-removes them for you. Plus, we help Renee free up storage on her devices. Without having to pay for more space. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A short, greeting-free message to your doctor has less than a 25% chance of getting a prompt reply. Hear the format that that nearly guarantees one instead. Plus, we help Joe use AI to find cancer treatments for his wife. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tired of losing your fantasy league? I have the exact AI prompt to build your entire draft board. Sleepers and busts included. Plus, Andrew unveils how chatbots made his dream team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Think Tesla is leading the humanoid revolution? You might be waiting for a household robot to drop, but China has ones that outrun Olympians. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses look just like regular shades, making it easy for anyone to record you in public without asking. Kim reveals three dead giveaways that instantly prove someone is spying. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The AI layoffs are here, and hundreds of thousands of jobs are gone. The silver lining: small businesses are hiring displaced workers who have basic AI skills. Best part? AI will teach you for free. I'll show you how.t Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Buried school newsletter deadlines got you stressed? There's an AI trick that pulls out every date and permission slip in seconds. Plus, a teacher wants to use AI in her second grade classroom without replacing her students' creativity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple's September 9 event is two weeks out, but a slip inside iOS 27 spilled the beans: a foldable iPhone and AirPods with cameras. Hear what's coming and why you shouldn't buy anything Apple until the 9th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A free app called Be My Eyes connects the visually impaired to sighted volunteers. It's all done on video call. In seconds. 10 million people already signed up to help. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five million people wear the Oura ring to sleep better. A new class action says its "95% accurate" sleep tracking is really AI guesswork with coin-toss odds. Oura denies it. Here's what you need to know. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cell phone towers down? Your phone can text by satellite. Plus, a listener called in with a serious home security concern; Kim has a fix most people never think about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Flock's next generation cameras can identify your plate. Identity. Address. Even your relatives. In seconds. This could end up at the Supreme Court. Plus, we talk to Phil. His question? Can cars still run without updates? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI data centers are quietly driving up power costs. 404 Media's Matthew Gault breaks down why and how to fight back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

LinkedIn's rules explicitly says it's not a dating site. But a new survey says 1 in 4 people treat it like one. Meanwhile, job seekers are landing real interviews on Tinder. While actual daters are stuck dodging bots. That's what we call digital matchmaking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Replying politely to a text from a stranger might seem harmless. But it's a trap. It's called a pig butchering scam. Plus, John gets flooded with flattering Facebook friend requests. From random people. We tell him about a man who lost $200,000 for falling for it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The company filed a patent for smart glasses. Scans a room. Then decides who's worth recording. Without asking. Plus, Melissa's notification said 62,000 people saw her photos. But she doesn't post online. We break down the reason why. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Three young trades people in Texas are pulling six figures. No college degree needed. All thanks to the data center boom. Plus, we help Paul, a 20 year safety veteran, future proof his career with AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Opening arguments begin today. Case claims Meta deliberately designed its app to addict kids and illegally collect their data. Plus, we look back at the business practices that built this case. And how it's gearing up to be the trial of the century. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's a free app that maps every known plate reader in the country. Routes you around them. Plus, a new system, Fusus, turns ordinary security cameras into a live police feed. Joseph from 404 Media tells us how it works. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Insurance companies are flying drones over homes. And dropping coverage over what they see. No claim. No inspection needed. Plus, Bill and his wife are still using super old iPhones. Way past software support. We help them upgrade without overpaying. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are all types of scholarships out there that no one applies for. Left-handers. Tall people. Even duck callers. AI searches for you. Plus, we help Debbie turn her passion and decades of teaching into her next big career move. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before you toss that old beige computer, check its resale value. An original Macintosh 128K just sold for thousands of dollars on eBay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your phone can answer critical medical questions for first responders. Even while it's locked. Plus, a fire captain rescues his daughter from a crash. How? Got an iPhone SOS alert. We talk with Jake about the scary moment and how to make sure your phone is set up.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The FCC is warning about people posing as commissioners. Threatening fake investigations. There's one detail that gives it away. Plus, we're stumped on why a scam call asked a listener to read the logo off his TV remote. And how one woman turned $5,000 in Amazon returns into a multi-million dollar business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You've probably never used your phone's hidden shortcut. One tap turns it into your flashlight, camera, or screenshot button. Plus, tired of your ex's face popping up in your photo app? There's a secret "breakup mode" setting that fixes it for good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Flock Safety managed to bring people together against its license plate cameras. Plus, Google paid $68 million and Apple paid $95 million after their smart speakers recorded private conversations by accident. We break down how easily it happens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The safest password might be none at all. Plus, we help Jim create and remember unique ones. Without writing them on paper. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Wired reporter asked for his McDonald's loyalty data. Got back so many complex pages, he needed AI to decode it. Plus, we talk to Lisa. She went viral for her “Marry Lisa” billboards. Nearly 4,000 submissions later, she found the love of her life. On an app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Want to give your child an unforgettable gift when they grow up? A secret inbox in their name can unlock years of special memories. Plus, we talk about Tom Brady DMing his son motivational quotes. Even legendary quarterbacks can't pass on a good dad joke. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A federal appeals court ruled Meta, TikTok, Google, and Snap can be sued for harming kids with addictive algorithms. Plus, we test Samsung's new appliances that let you answer calls and texts mid-chore. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Before dropping $150 on a repairman, AI diagnoses broken appliances. Free. Plus, we help David find the perfect recording setup to capture his 93 year old mom's memories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI powered job interviews score everything. Your posture. Room. Even the bookshelf. The algorithm never tells you the criteria. Plus, Deborah says ChatGPT has completely changed the way she does her job as a small city manager. We help her get an official AI policy from her city council. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your AirPods Pro can run a real hearing test. FDA approved and free. Plus, AI generated country band, Breaking Rust, just hit #1 on Billboard's digital sales chart. We talk about what's next for chatbot music. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jimmy Kimmel called Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses "Pervert glasses." Now some businesses are banning them. Plus, the question that everyone's been asking. Now that AI does much of the work, should lawyers charge flat fees? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your car might be secretly logging your driving habits. Selling them to insurance companies. Hear how to check your own file for free and shut off the tracking. For good. Plus, we help DJ find out if her ex is hacking her car tracker. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A U.S. citizen used a duress code to wipe his phone at customs. Now he's facing federal charges. Plus, your old tech might be worth big bucks. And SanDisk's stock just surged almost 1,000%. Thanks to AI. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Musical memory is one of the last things Alzheimer's touches. A personalized playlist can help restore it. Even for a moment. Plus, we help Joseph we help Joseph catalog his 5,000 book collection. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dead zones might be a thing of the past. SpaceX's new satellites connect straight to your phone. No towers needed. Plus, a player lost $50,000 to a mobile game's VIP program. We break down how they're tracking big spenders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices