🎨 I can’t draw, but now I make art like a pro in seconds

Hey there, happy Monday, {{first_name | friend}}. So, what do you get when you mix auto-tune, time travel and a touch of sci-fi? A new song. 

One legendary artist pulled a straight-up Back to the Future move by using AI to recreate their younger singing voice for a fresh track, and even they admitted it felt “both eerie and emotional.” Guess who: A) Adele, B) Elton John, C) Paul McCartney or D) Beyoncé? Find the answer at the end! 

🥳 Like what you’re seeing? Tap “Favorite” or “Star,” so I don’t vanish into your promotions tab or spam folder. How will you be tech ahead if that happens? Thanks for signing up for my free newsletter! Appreciate you! — Kim

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Confession time: I can’t draw. My brain doesn’t lean at all in the artsy direction. I’ve tried to teach myself Photoshop, but every attempt ends with me whisper-screaming “flatten layer” like it’s going to summon help from the Adobe gods. 

But now? I create stunning, professional-looking images in seconds. And I don’t lift a finger beyond typing what I want to see.

The secret is AI, and it’s easier than you think. These tools are smart enough to turn a few words into jaw-dropping images, and anyone (yes, even the noncreative types like me) can use them.

Here’s exactly how I do it. I want you to try it, too.

If you use ChatGPT Plus (meaning you’re paying $20/month), you’ve already got image-making power built in. Just type what you want.

Try this: “A golden retriever wearing sunglasses, sitting on a lifeguard tower at sunset.”

Want to tweak it? Click the image and say, “Make it sunrise,” or “Add a surfboard.” That’s it. No layers. No complicated tools.

Why I love it: It remembers the context, so I can build variations fast. This is great for blog headers, social posts or just something fun to text the family.

Go to meta.ai. You don’t need an account, but it will ask for the year you were born.

Type your prompt, and it gives you four image options to choose from. It’s perfect for inspiration boards, wallpapers or anything visual.

Example prompt: “A peaceful reading nook in a glass house surrounded by trees.”

Head to bing.com/images/create and type away. It’s powered by the same tech behind ChatGPT images, but here’s the secret: No subscription needed.

Sign in with a Microsoft account to unlock faster generations.

The magic is in your descriptors. The more specific your language, the better the image. Want it cinematic? Surreal? Retro-futuristic? Say so. 

A few of my favorites are photorealistic, cyberpunk, golden hour, soft morning light, harsh shadows, watercolor, 3D render and grainy film.

That image at the top of this story? I gave ChatGPT this prompt:

“Make me a 3D cartoon movie image that is 16 by 9 of a curious young astronaut meeting an alien friend on a colorful exoplanet in a Pixar cartoon movie style from a midrange eye level.” 

About 30 seconds later, it’s done. Love that.

😂 An oldie but a goodie: Why did the art thief’s van run out of gas as he drove away from the museum? Because he had no Monet to buy Degas to make the Van Gogh.

A small, cheap tool lets anyone control train brakes remotely. Tesla’s new robotaxi zone looks … suspicious. Plus, scammers using fake news videos to steal your cash, purple streetlights messing with your eyes, and Florida’s next-gen 911 system.

Listen on Komando.com →

😋 Your kitchen is the heart of your home … and sometimes the messiest.

🛒 Stuff that just works: Hit up my Amazon storefront to see the kitchen staples I swear by (my order history proves it).

🪙 It’s genius: President Trump signed the GENIUS Act, bringing new rules to cryptocurrency, specifically stablecoins like USDC and Tether, which are backed by real assets like the U.S. dollar. The law sets standards for who can issue them and how they’re regulated. Bottom line: Crypto’s going legit, with tracking, taxing and oversight baked in. Sorry, crypto cowboys.

💰 Meanwhile, retirement changes: Trump’s planning an executive order to let 401(k)s tap into crypto, gold, private equity and other alt assets. Long locked in stocks and bonds, opening up the $9T retirement market could be a windfall for digital assets and a whole new playbook for savers. If this passes, your financial adviser might start wearing Yeezys.

ChatGPT gets a PC now: OpenAI just gave ChatGPT a full-on virtual computer. It can now browse the web, run code, download and edit files, even log into your apps to draft emails or pull info. Basically, it does the annoying computer stuff for you. Available now for $200/month for Pro users. Coming soon to Plus and Team. I’m gonna try it out, so I can let you know how it works, or not.

🎶 Songwriters go social: TikTok just launched a “Songwriter” tag and profile tab, so hitmakers behind the hits can finally get some spotlight, as opposed to solely relying on dancing teens for career stability. 

Uber’s luxury clone army: It’s throwing hundreds of millions at Lucid and Nuro to deploy 20,000 self-driving Gravity SUVs by 2030. Lucid builds the luxe EVs, Nuro wires the robot brains, and Uber handles the rides. It’s their biggest AV deal ever. Roll out is in 2026, city TBD. 

🤖 Roblox adds AI selfie check: Kids can now chat more freely with friends, but only after proving they’re over 13. That starts with a video selfie, so AI can estimate their age (yes, really). If that doesn’t work, they’ll need to upload a government ID, finally. 

👂 Struggling to hear conversations? Find top-rated hearing aids tailored to you. With expert support and a 45-day risk-free trial, there’s nothing to lose, except the frustration. Hear better today!*

A new machine promises faster, cleaner, less painful ink, and it’s heading to a shop near you.

Listen on Komando.com →

Protect your data! I trust TotalAV to guard against viruses, ransomware and hackers in real time. It’s powerful, simple and just $19 for the first year. Stay safe online with TotalAV today.*

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: In Google Docs, press Ctrl + Shift + S to turn on voice typing. On Mac, use Cmd + Shift + S instead. FYI: It works in Chrome, Safari and Edge.

🔁 Power wash your Chromebook: If your Chromebook’s acting weird and nothing’s working, try a factory reset. Go to Settings > System Preferences > Reset. Very important: This wipes everything on your hard drive, so make sure to back up your files first.

⌨️ Mac window shortcuts: Don’t waste time clicking the yellow dot to minimize. Press Cmd + M to shrink the active window. Hit Cmd + Option + H to hide all other windows and focus on the one you’re working on. It’s faster than dragging your mouse around.

💸 Upgrade to an Instagram business profile: A professional account lets you run ads and see what’s working, including your top posts and the best time to share. Already using a personal account for your biz? No need to start over. Just go to Profile > Edit profile > Switch to professional account and follow the steps.

💻 Track your Windows 11 laptop: If it ever gets lost or stolen, Find my device can help. First, go to Settings > Privacy & security > Location and make sure Location services is On. Then head to Settings > Privacy & security > Find my device and turn it On. To locate it later, visit account.microsoft.com/devices.

🍏 Plug in a better camera: If your iPad runs iPadOS 17 or later and has a USB-C port, you can use an external webcam (34% off). Why bother? Way better video quality, especially in low light. No drivers or extra software needed. Just plug it in and go.

30TB
That’s the size of Seagate’s new monster hard drive, and yes, you can actually buy it. After 20 years of laser dreams, it’s finally here: 30TB for $600. In 2005, that cash got you 400GB, maybe. That’s 75x the space, same price and a lot fewer tangled cables.

402 Tbps
That’s the new internet speed record just set in Japan. It’s 4 million times faster than your Wi-Fi, and no, that’s not a typo. We’re talking entire Netflix libraries in seconds, on regular fiber. Somewhere, a Comcast exec just spit out their latte.

100,000+
That’s how many accounts Chess.com bans every month for cheating. Turns out a lot of people need engine assistance to lose with dignity. With 20 million games played daily (13,000 per minute!), the site’s 30-member Fair Play Team is part detective squad, part digital janitor and very busy. No rookies allowed.

First it’s a helicopter. Then, bam! It folds its rotors like a robot doing hot yoga and becomes a jet.

DARPA calls it the X-plane. Bell’s building it. Blink, and it’s already 500 mph into the sunset.

The mission? A shape-shifting, runway-free aircraft built for special ops.

Think: What if Optimus Prime had a stealth mode?

The Pentagon just gave the green light to build a flying prototype. You won’t see it at your county fair air show, but in tough terrain and covert ops? Total game changer.

🎶 The answer: C) Paul McCartney. Yep. Sir Paul went full sci-fi and used AI to bring back John Lennon’s voice from an old cassette demo and polished up his own vocals to sound like 1960s Paul. It turned into the Beatles song “Now and Then” released in 2023.

😂 Could you imagine this Beatles meeting? Paul: Any ideas on the ending for “Hey Jude”? John: Nah. George: Nah. Ringo: Nah.

Hit the ratings below and leave me a comment. I read every single one. Really. Thanks for letting me in your inbox with the #1 tech newsletter in the United States. 

Until tomorrow, remember: Progress doesn’t always look like a win. Sometimes it’s just not quitting. You’ve got this. 💨 — Kim

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Photo credit(s): ChatGPT, DARPA

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This newsletter and its content are intended for informational purposes only. They are provided without warranty of any kind. You shouldn’t construe anything provided here as legal, health, medical, technical, tax, investment, financial or any other kind of advice.

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