Your phone’s dirty little secret
True or false: If your phone’s got all four reception bars lit up and it’s displaying the 5G symbol, you’ve got A+ service.
The answer? False. When you see “5G,” all it means is there are 5G connections nearby. Whether you’re on that network is another story. I know, eye roll. Cell service bars don’t mean much, either.
💊 Killer online pharmacies: Cybercriminals set up online pharmacies selling counterfeit pills disguised as prescription drugs. Adderall, Xanax and oxycodone knockoffs were laced with deadly synthetic opioids like fentanyl. At least nine people have died. Please, please stick to real pharmacies for all your medications.
$1 to buy Dish
DirecTV is looking to buy its rival. If the deal goes through, they’d pay just $1 and take on Dish’s debt — about $9.75 billion. Why buy Dish? Separately, DirecTV and Dish are screwed. Together, they might be big enough to stand up to the streaming platforms.
Weird science: A scientist claims our universe might be an advanced computer simulation, and the proof is in the Bible. The Gospel of John says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” He says “the Word” refers to the underlying computer code controlling the simulation. I know what you’re thinking: “Whoa, this is too much for my brain. I’m going to see if Prince Harry is divorcing Meghan Markle yet.”
45 days of parental leave
Can be transferred to a friend or family member in Sweden. Folks will earn 80% of their salary by looking after their grandkids. Sweden was the first country to allow parental leave, so maybe this benefit will spread to other countries, too. It makes perfect sense!
$10 for remote start
That’s what Mazda is charging for its connected features. They used to be free, and there was even an open-source (free) workaround. Yep, Mazda had that taken down. They’re not the only car company charging for previously free stuff.
Scalpers ruin everything: The PlayStation 5 Pro ($699) and PlayStation 5 30th Anniversary Limited Edition bundle ($999) drop on Nov. 7. The updated models have 2TB of storage, a beefier GPU and AI upscaling tech. Only 12,300 Limited Edition models were made, and they sold out in seconds. Surprise, they’re on eBay for up to $12,300.
💩 Speaking of drones: The “Poopcopter” is an AI drone system that cleans up your doggo’s mess in the backyard. Using real-time computer vision and machine learning, it scans the area to pinpoint the poop, and then it swoops down to scoop it up. It’s in the prototype phase, so you’re still on poop duty. Sorry.
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s an insurance drone! Just ask Mike Arman, who was spied on twice by two different insurers. The first refused to renew his policy after satellite images showed his roof “looked deteriorated.” The second hit him with a 25% increase when it was time to renew. Your insurance company could start doing the same.
Apple’s home robots may be coming soon: Rumor has it two smart display devices will run a new operating system called homeOS. The high-end model is tricked out with a robotic arm, a large iPad-like display and a price starting at $1,000. The cheaper model, which is made for controlling home appliances, is expected to debut next year. Yep, AI’s included.