🛑 The gift that sends a monthly bill

🙋‍♀️ A big hello from me to you on this Thursday, {{first_name | friend}}. My Christmas Cash Giveaway is going strong. Every single day, one lucky subscriber is randomly selected to win a $100, $200 or $500 Amazon gift card. The best part? You don’t have to do anything extra to be eligible for the daily prize. No hoops to jump through, no forms to fill out. Just by opening and reading this newsletter, you’re in the running. It’s my way of saying thanks for being here. Check the Golden Ticket below to see if you’re today’s winner!

You know the drill. You’re trying to log in, and there it is, the mighty checkbox: “I am not a robot.” You click it, and boom, you’re in. No crosswalk grid, no blurry fire hydrants, just instant access. But wait, how does it know you’re human? Is it reading your aura? Psychic energy? Horoscope?

🤖 Here’s the fun part. The second you click that box, it runs a real test behind the scenes. Does it: A) Scan your browser history for human-like behavior, B) Analyze the micro-movements of your mouse cursor approaching the box, C) Check if your webcam detects a face (even if the light is off) or D) Measure how long it took you to read the page? Stick around for the answer at the end, it’s sneaky-smart. 

Doing any online shopping this month? Scammers are working overtime with fake shipping texts, copycat shopping sites and malware hidden in innocent-looking ads. One wrong click can ruin your day. TotalAV shuts down the scams before they reach you. Start today and get your first year for only $19. — Kim

Picture this. You buy your favorite person one of those fancy smart bird feeders for Christmas. He sets it up, downloads the app and then sees this delightful pop-up: “Want to know which birds are visiting? That’s $9.99 a month.”

Seriously?

Now your $150 gift is basically a $25 plastic seed tube unless he pays a subscription. Welcome to the growing mess of HaaS, short for Hardware as a Service. It’s turning great gifts into bills.

Tech companies don’t want a one-time sale. They want a recurring revenue stream. That’s why so many devices lose their core features the moment you stop paying.

If you’re giving tech this year, pay attention. Some of the worst offenders include:

Another thing, if a gadget seems too cheap, there’s a reason. That $35 4K security camera isn’t a deal. It’s bait. You’re not buying hardware. You’re signing someone up for a service.

Here’s how to protect yourself before you wrap something you’ll regret.

I know you’re going to want to know that. So here are 10 great tech gifts that work right out of the box, no subscriptions, no hidden surprises, no monthly bills. 

Give something they’ll enjoy, not something they’ll owe.

🌾 Retirement 2045: According to Elon Musk, in less than 20 years, we’ll all be sipping coffee while robots do our jobs (paywall link). Not shorter weeks. No work. He says you’ll only work if you feel like it, like a hobby. With AI covering the rest, he’s betting on universal income, remote living and zero bosses. Sounds funky, but hey, I’ll take this over Zuckerberg’s “everyone will be in VR” world. 

AI’s fake friend problem: Imagine booking an oil change, then getting blasted with texts from a bot trying to chat you up. That’s what happened to one guy, who kept getting messages from “Cameron Rowe,” a dealership “rep” who turned out to be a bot with a fake job title, fake email signature and enough personality to be in HR. Companies think we want AI to feel human. We don’t. We want to get things done, not a bot pretending to have hobbies. 

🛠️ Autonomous code goblins: In your daily dose of “AI is taking jobs” news, Amazon announced a robot coworker that sounds seriously impressive at AWS re:Invent. Its “frontier agents” learn how you work, remember it and finish jobs without bothering you. Kiro, its flagship autonomous agent, can code by itself for days and even fixed bugs across 15 apps in one go. Ideal employee? Maybe. Slightly creepy coworker who never logs off? Definitely.

Newton’s falling Apple: A hiker in Colorado took a blind tumble down a mountain, literally couldn’t see, thanks to a rogue beanie. Apple’s Fall Detection kicked in midair, called 911 and saved him. Search and rescue hiked out to meet him three hours later. He survived with two sprained wrists and an intimate appreciation of gravity. Sir Isaac would be proud. 

🌋 Earth’s whisper: OK, this one’s wild. Turns out, Yellowstone’s been rumbling nonstop, but we couldn’t hear it. An AI project uncovered 86,276 previously invisible quakes between 2008 to 2022 under the supervolcano. Most were harmless, caused by underground steam, not magma. But here’s the kicker: Now scientists have a clear picture of what “normal” looks like, so if something does go wrong, they’ll catch it way sooner. I hope. 

⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Stop manually separating first and last names or reformatting dates one by one. In the column next to your data, manually type the first result exactly how you want it (e.g., “John” from “John Doe”). Hit Enter, then press Ctrl + E (Windows) or Cmd + E (Mac). Excel will instantly detect the pattern and fill the entire column for you.

🚨 Chrome alert: Google released a new update fixing 13 security bugs that could let attackers run harmful code or even take control of your computer. It’s rolling out for Windows, Mac and Linux users. Don’t wait for it. Open Settings > About Chrome, and it’ll install automatically. You should be on version 143.

Save your phone’s battery: If your screen stays on when it’s locked, that’s the Always On Display quietly draining power. Brands say it only uses 1%–2% an hour, but it’s often higher. Turn it off by going to Settings > Lock Screen > Always On Display on Android, or Settings > Display & Brightness > Always On Display on iPhone.

🖥️ Rename Windows PC: Your computer probably has a default name like DESKTOP-XYZ, which isn’t helpful when you’re trying to find it on a network or connect via Bluetooth. Go to Settings > System > About > Rename this PC. Type in whatever name you want, hit Next, then Restart to apply it.

Going on holiday soon? Download the Google Translate app for iOS and Android. Type in English and translate it to another language when asking for help. Or use the instant camera feature by pointing your phone at signs or buildings. FYI, there’s also voice translation, though it might be iffy depending on how clearly someone speaks.

📖 Change Kindle page style: You can customize margins and line spacing for a better reading experience. Open any book, then tap the Aa icon at the top. Under Layout, choose your Margin style, and under Font, adjust Line spacing. Tighter spacing fits more words per page, while wider spacing helps reduce eyestrain. Amazing!

If you’ve ever wished you could meet with coworkers in person but without the burden of having actual legs, Microsoft has answered your prayers.

Their new immersive spaces in Teams let you ditch your real face and build your own floating avatar, so you can walk, run or teleport around a 3D lake house.

You pick an avatar that reflects your “mood” (whatever that means), slip into spatial-audio bubbles so people stop talking over each other, and stroll around like you’re in an off-brand metaverse where no one can wear pants or shoes.

The whole thing feels like corporate America’s first shared group hallucination. And yes, someone probably put “enhances collaboration” in the PowerPoint.

In the end, Microsoft basically reinvented the Zoom meeting and replaced your coworkers with animated beach balls that float. But hey, at least you don’t have to clean your video call background anymore.

🐭 The answer: B) It analyzes the “micro-movements” of your mouse. Welcome to the wild world of anti-bot tech, where being shaky and inefficient is actually a plus. If you’ve had three cups of coffee and your hand is shaking, congratulations, you’re passing the test with flying colors.

Remember, a mouse that swears is a cursor. (lol) 

You’re going to click a lot of links between now and New Year’s. Shopping deals, shipping updates, holiday sales. Scammers know this, and they’re counting on you to let your guard down. For $19, TotalAV will cover up to 5 devices for a full year.

Tomorrow, I’ll show you why using one AI is like bringing a butter knife to a gunfight. You’re reading the #1 free tech newsletter in the United States.

⚡ Look at you, all fully charged. Now go light it up and kick butt. — Kim

📣 Don’t keep me a secret: Send your friends to GetKim.com

Photo credit(s): Gemini, JcrAsZZF, Amazon, Microsoft

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