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Happy Friday, {{first_name | friend}}. Remember when “movie marathon” meant sitting still for six hours on purpose? Imagine boarding a plane before dinner, eating, watching a movie, sleeping eight full hours, waking up, eating again, watching two more movies, doing a tiny cabin lap like a mall walker at cruising altitude, and still not being there.
That’s life on the longest nonstop passenger flight on the planet. It takes nearly 19 hours, covers roughly 9,500 miles and runs on a special ultra-long-range jet that only one airline in the world flies.
✈️ Which route holds the record for the world’s longest flight? A) Sydney to London on Qantas, B) New York JFK to Singapore on Singapore Airlines, C) Dubai to Auckland on Emirates or D) Any flight where the toddler behind you discovers your seat back? Keep reading, the answer lands at the end. — Kim
TODAY’S DEEP DIVE
License to tap
Image: ChatGPT/Kim Komando
🤯 WOW! Hand a bartender your plastic license, and he gets everything on it, home address, birthday, height, donor status, and 10 seconds to photograph it. Tap your phone instead, and a list pops up first: Here’s what this business wants (usually your name, photo and date of birth).
📖 Read time: 2.5 minutes
I don’t carry a physical wallet anymore. I have my credit cards in my Apple Wallet, along with my passport and driver’s license. Bad photo and all.
Why? Think about this. Every time you show your driver’s license, you hand over your home address. To a bouncer. To a hotel clerk. To the guy at the liquor store.
The phone version changes the deal.
Before anything is shared, your screen lists exactly what the business is requesting. At most bars, that’s your name, photo and date of birth, so yes, they still see your birthday. What they don’t get is your address, your height, your donor status or a photo of the whole card. And you can decline to show screen data.
Some places will ask only whether you’re over 21, and that’s all they get. The plastic card can’t do any of this. The other thing the phone version can’t fix? The photo. Some things are beyond technology.
🪪 Where this works
Apple Wallet: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, West Virginia and Puerto Rico. Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and North Carolina are next.
Not on the list? Here’s the part most people miss. Apple’s Digital ID uses your U.S. passport instead, and it works in every state. Same TSA lanes, same age checks.
Google Wallet has its own shorter list on Android. Check yours in the app.
To add it on iPhone: Open Apple Wallet, tap the plus sign, tap Driver’s License or ID Cards (or Digital ID for the passport version). Scan the front and back, shoot a short selfie video so your state can match your face, then wait for approval. Some states take minutes, some a day.
On Android: Google Wallet > Add to Wallet > ID card.
Approval times vary. So do DMV moods. Some things are universal.
✈️ What it’s good for and what it isn’t
TSA: More than 250 checkpoints take it. Tap the reader, your phone shows what TSA is asking for, you approve with Face ID, done. Your photo gets deleted after the check.
Apps and stores: Age-restricted apps and a growing list of retailers accept it. Outside airports, plenty of places still shrug.
The catch: During a traffic stop, police in most places still want the plastic card, and TSA also says carry it. So the phone version is a companion, not a replacement.
One more thing. Wallet blocks the “phone home” trick, where a state watches every place you flash your ID. The business that scans you, though, can keep what you shared. Only approve what the screen shows, and if a store asks for more than it needs, hand over the plastic and let them type it wrong like the old days.
My driver’s license says I’m an organ donor, but the joke’s on them. I own a piano.
🗣️ Text/post this stat: Show a plastic license, and the bouncer gets your home address and everything else on the card. Show the one in Apple Wallet, and your phone lists what he’s asking for first, then you decide. 14 states do it, and your passport works in all 50. GetKim.com
📩 Send this to someone who still hands their license to strangers at the hotel desk.
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😎 Your next screen goes with you
Imagine a 146-inch screen that fits in your bag and goes anywhere. No wall mount required. That’s the idea behind the VITURE Pro 2 (21% off, $299).*
These XR glasses put a huge virtual display right in front of your eyes. Plug them into your phone, laptop, Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch to watch movies or play games. The 50-degree field of view feels immersive, not like you’re squinting through a keyhole.
Nearsighted? Built-in adjustment lets you dial in a clearer picture without wearing your regular specs underneath. Add 1,600 nits of brightness plus a 120Hz refresh rate, and everything looks sharp and smooth.
They skip some of the bells and whistles found on pricier models. But for under $300, you’re getting the best value for the features you’ll actually use.
📺 YOUTUBE: THE KIM KOMANDO SHOW
Watch now or bookmark for later
The Big Apple’s new public bathrooms give you exactly 10 minutes before the door automatically opens. We break down how the flushing system works.
Hit the link below, so you’re in the know. 👇
WEB WATERCOOLER
🕵️ Mission: Impermissible: In June, an OpenAI model broke into Australia’s Medicare statistics site without a person telling it to, reaching health stats the public wasn’t supposed to see. OpenAI says the model acted outside its intentions. I love that our records have rules, while the software apparently has a suggestion box.
Cereal remembers you: Your grocery haul may know more about your budget than your mortgage company does. Fortune reports that Walmart’s two new pricing patents, one for setting online discounts based on demand, another about shopping history and customer IDs, have shoppers worried the retailer could charge different people different prices. The digital price tags in about 2,300 stores don’t help. Walmart says it doesn’t price based on personal data. I’d keep the receipts. Fair’s fair, they’re keeping tabs on us. Where does Walmart keep the Terminator toys? Aisle B, back.
💾 Your hard drive will crash. Not might. Not someday. Will. I back up everything with Carbonite automatically. Photos, documents, tax records. All of it. When the inevitable happens, you restore with a click. You’ll thank me later. Get 50% off at Carbonite.com/kim.*
☀️ Space bar: Tech news or sci-fi? It’s getting harder to tell. Google is sending the power-hungry brains behind AI somewhere your utility company cannot follow, into low Earth orbit, The New York Times reports. Its Project Suncatcher prototype is set to ride SpaceX’s Transporter-18 next week with Planet Labs. Up there, the sun almost never sets, so the AI brains don’t strain the grid down here, and they keep running when the ground goes dark. The project could also shift costs, skilled jobs and control toward the same giants already renting everyone the digital plumbing. The cloud is finally living up to its name.
🍫 Wonka talks again: What a weird future we’re headed into. Netflix made Gene Wilder talk again using an AI copy of his voice, which hosts Wonka’s Golden Ticket, where contestants chase a $3 million prize. The actor died in 2016. Viewers and critics remain deeply unconvinced, with Variety calling it ghoulish. I get the nostalgia, but people don’t want their childhood icon repackaged as an immortal corporate announcer. This gives me vibes of taxidermying your pet instead of moving on.
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DEVICE ADVICE
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Long website names are hogging Chrome’s bookmarks bar. Right-click a bookmark, choose Edit, clear the name and hit Save. Just the site icon remains, so more favorites can fit. For multiple pages from one website, keep a short label to tell them apart. We’re saving space, not signing up for a guessing game.
💲 How much are you paying a month for your phone? Maybe you’re like me and you never really check your bill. It’s on autopay. Shocker. I bet you’re paying more than you think. I was, so I switched to Consumer Cellular. Get an additional $100 off your bill for a limited time.*
The best photo might be hiding in a video: Skip the fuzzy screenshot. iOS 27 lets you save that moment as a full-resolution image. Play the clip, pause on the frame you want, then tap the three dots at the top right > Save Video Frame as Photo. Head to Collections > Utilities > Recently Saved to find it. Voilà, no extra app needed.
🖨️ Before you fall out with the printer: A quick off-and-on doesn’t always work. Switch it off, unplug it and wait 30 seconds. Then plug it back in, turn it on and let it reconnect before printing. This can clear temporary glitches without touching settings or reinstalling anything. Worth a go before you threaten it with Facebook Marketplace.
Those sneakers have seen some things: Strava can track the distance covered by shoes or bikes. In the app, go to You > Profile > Gear > + to add them. Tap Edit, set the gear as default and assign it to each sport. Future runs and rides count automatically. Handy for maintenance or replacements. “They still look fine” only gets you so far.
📱 Two screens, less back-and-forth: Phone Link in Windows 11 lets you check phone messages and notifications on your PC. Search for the app, choose Android or iPhone, then scan the QR code using the mobile app to connect. Android also gets file sharing and remote PC locking. Finally, replying to a text doesn’t have to involve finding the phone first.
Be on the show! Tech is changing everything. You’re living it. Send me your story. I’ll read it.
KIM’S DAILY DEALS
As an Amazon Associate, some links pay us a commission at no extra cost to you. Keeps this newsletter free. Thank you.
🛡️ Guard your gear
Thieves hate these picks. You’re going to love them.
🔔 A smarter set of eyes: Ring battery doorbell (60% off, $40)
4.2 ⭐ 6,300+ reviews
See who’s at your door from anywhere. The wide-angle view catches visitors head to toe with up to 6x zoom. Two-Way Talk lets you answer from your phone, and the built-in battery means no wiring headaches.
Image: Ring
💡 Light up trouble: Waterproof solar floodlights (19% off, $29, two-pack) charge by day, then snap on when motion hits after dark.
Hands-off deterrent: Clamp a heavy-duty lock (20% off, $36) across your steering wheel. One look may convince a thief to keep walking.
🦾 Metal muscle: Door reinforcement locks (15% off, $22, three-pack) hold up to 800 pounds of force and sit high enough to keep little hands away.
Safer by design: This crescent bag (34% off, $30) has built-in RFID protection for your cards plus an anti-theft clip for extra peace of mind.
🔐 Stay one step ahead: Shop more smart safeguards before someone starts eyeing your porch. →
Prices and deals were accurate at the time of publication.
WHAT THE TECH?
Image: Explore.org
🐻 Heavy is the crown
Fat Bear Week is live, aka March Madness for people who’d rather watch bears eat lunch. Honestly? Sign me up.
Sixteen brown bears at Alaska’s Katmai National Park spent the summer inhaling sockeye salmon and nearly doubling their weight. Now, you can judge which one got the chunkiest.
Last year’s winner, Chunk, is back to defend his crown despite a broken jaw, which feels like an unnecessarily hardcore résumé for a beauty contest. Winner gets announced on Tuesday.
I’m rooting for Bucky. A ranger says there’s no such thing as too fat. Finally, a wellness program I can get behind.
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LOGGING OUT …
🎓 What you learned today: Digital IDs share less than your plastic license, Walmart pricing patents have shoppers nervous, Google wants AI data centers in orbit and Netflix’s AI Gene Wilder has people deeply weirded out. Not bad for one email. No-name power banks on Amazon look sketchier than ever. Tomorrow, I’ll explain which labels matter and how to shop for a charger that won’t make you paranoid.
🇸🇬 The answer: B) Singapore Airlines from New York JFK to Singapore. Yep, that’s about 9,537 miles in roughly 18 hours and 50 minutes. Bring snacks. And compression socks. Some people finish an entire season of TV before the wheels touch down. The runner-up? The same airline’s Newark flight, shorter by just under 2 miles. (Seriously.)
The plane has no regular economy cabin at all. Business and premium economy only. That feels like more of a mercy rule than a money grab. What did the football player say to the flight attendant? Put me in coach. (Not on this flight, pal.)
FYI, the crown has an expiration date. Qantas launches Sydney to London nonstop in October 2027, up to 22 hours. It’s called Project Sunrise because you’ll see two of them.
I found this awesome site that puts you on a generated window seat for planes flying right now. Check it out. I bet you’ll like it!
👩🏼🏭 Thanks for spending part of your Friday with me. Go enjoy that weekend. And while you’re at it, thank Henry Ford. His factories adopted the five-day, 40-hour workweek on this very day in 1926, which makes your weekend exactly 100 years old. Aged like a fine wine. Or at least like a Model T. — Kim
Kim Komando • 510+ radio stations • Trusted by millions daily
🏆 THE KIM CHALLENGE: Forward this to ONE person who needs to hear it today. Pick the person who popped into your head while reading. You know who it is.
Photo credit(s): ChatGPT/Kim Komando, VITURE, Ring, Explore.org
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