Upload vs. download speeds

Open/download audio

Are your video calls freezing or games lagging even with fast internet? The issue might be your upload speed, not download. Here’s how to check it.

Tags: calls, Check, download, download speeds, fast, games, internet, issue, lagging, open, speed, speeds, upload, video, video calls


I see fake people: Celebs like Victoria Beckham, Margot Robbie and Kate Moss are endorsing $660 LED beauty masks. The light rays supposedly stimulate collagen production and blood circulation to make your skin look younger and firmer. Research shows they can’t even reach the dermis, which is the second layer of skin where regeneration takes place.

23% of those 18 to 34

Never answer the phone. Never! And 56% assume a call out of the blue means bad news. Hey, it’s hard to blame them, given how bad spam calls have gotten in the last few years.

They blue it! LG is cooking up a PHOLED screen to sell next year. Blue phosphor OLED is more efficient, brighter and longer-lasting. The catch? OLEDs are already expensive to produce, so these may cost a fortune.

$17 million loss

On a $27 million dream home. A New Jersey couple spent seven years building a 40,000-square-foot property that includes a chapel, an English-style pub, a gym, a home theater, a wine grotto and a golf simulator (paywall link). It’s up for auction with a reserve price of just $10 million.

Death march: Starting with some 2023 models and those released in March 2024, Samsung TVs get seven years of free updates to keep them safe from hackers. No specifics on which models yet, but it’s likely to cover those with AI features. PSA: Before you buy any used electronics, know the EOL (end-of-life) date. More about that here.

Jeff needs the money: Amazon’s revamped voice assistant is coming in October. For $10 a month, you’ll get a Smart Briefing feature, aka daily AI-generated news summaries; a recipe helper (e.g., “What should I make for dinner with chicken and broccoli?); shopping assistance; and a chatbot for kids (paywall link).

Forget polite vacation autoreplies: Folks are getting sassy with their out-of-office messages (paywall link), like, “I’m out having way more fun than emailing you back. I’ll probably forget to reply.” The whole point? No fake promises to get back to you ASAP … which none of us can do after a trip, anyway!

🚨 Book ‘em, Danno! The FBI caught a cyber kingpin who scammed millions of Americans. He’s behind notorious schemes like “scareware ads” — fake virus warnings that trick you into downloading software. He and his crew extorted around $400,000 a month from 2012 to 2014. Now they face decades in prison.

“My children and I have lived in hell for months”: After her cable company, Xfinity, ignored her, a woman shared a now-viral TikTok video with evidence of hackers infiltrating her smart TV. The footage shows a search box on screen and someone typing in her passcode. I’ll bet either her Wi-Fi password is weak, her smart TV allows remote access, or her gear and TV both need firmware updates.

43 times out of 100

AI car features are more trouble than they’re worth. J.D. Power polled Americans who drive 2024 models that include tech like facial recognition, a fingerprint reader and interior gesture controls. The feedback? “Meh.” See the top-rated manufacturers and models here.