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CES 2025: What’s coming at this year’s tech show
The big CES 2025 event kicks off tomorrow in Las Vegas with over 100,000 attendees. I’ve got the inside scoop on what’s hot this year.
TVs are always big
LG’s hoping to steal the show with its Zero Connect box. No cables — it wirelessly transmits 4K video at 144Hz. Plus, LG will introduce its Dynamic QNED Color Solution system, better HDR and sound optimization, and a Magic Remote, a voice-controlled and gesture-enabled universal remote that doubles as a mouse for your TV. (Smart — the LG remote is horrible now.) They’ll also unveil the UltraGear GX9, a bendable 45-inch monitor with a 5K2K resolution (5120×2160) and a 21:9 aspect ratio.
Samsung’s new 83-inch S95F QD-OLED TV is its largest yet. And Samsung’s The Premiere 8K projector is coming — think HDR support and a stunning 4500 ISO lumens brightness. Too bad there are no 8K shows yet.
Hisense will show off a laser projector, and Panasonic’s back in the TV business here, so they’ll have a few products, too.
Smarter homes
Samsung’s Bespoke $4,999 refrigerators have built-in cameras to monitor your groceries and automatically order replacements through Instacart. Plus, a 32-inch screen on the fridge streams live TV and movies.
New smart ovens use AI to suggest recipes based on what’s in your fridge. You can see the food cooking remotely through your phone. GE’s stand mixer has AI weight sensors that automatically adjust your mixing speed and time based on the consistency of your batter or dough. Cooks should love this!
Kohler’s new AI bath-filling system lets you control the water temperature and fill level using your phone or voice assistant. Just say, “Fill the tub for a relaxing soak,” and it does the rest.
Moen’s system lets you control every faucet, showerhead and irrigation system in your home through an app. It also sends potential leak alerts. I could really use this now, as my pool is leaking. Argh.
Tech meets the road
Honda is debuting its futuristic 0 Series EVs and a joint project with Sony called the Afeela, which is basically a theater on wheels. Imagine watching Netflix while your car drives you home.
Fix your website! 4 ways to get more people to your site using SEO
A savvy business owner knows the value of website optimization. In today’s cutthroat digital marketplace, an SEO-friendly website with solid keyword research, meta tags, good page speed and backlinks helps you stand out. If you want to know how to improve search engine rankings for small business websites, you’ve come to the right place.
Speed up your phone in 2025
Overwhelmed by cluttered apps and storage-hogging files? With a few simple steps, you can tidy up your phone and reclaim space. Let’s get started.
✈️ This is going to take off: A Chinese company is developing a supersonic civilian jet that can travel four times the speed of sound. In tests, its engine clocked 3,045 mph at altitudes over 65,600 feet. That means it could take you from London to New York in under two hours, complete with a view of the earth’s curvature. Look for commercial flights by 2030.
5 years
Length of time automaker General Motors is banned from selling customer geolocation and driving behavior data. GM was caught collecting all kinds of driving habits (think hard braking, speed and driving at night) every three seconds and selling it to insurance companies and third-party brokers, all without consent. Shame on them.
The truth behind smart driving programs and what they track
I’ll bet your insurance company has sent this one your way: “Drive safely, get rewarded. Sign up for our smart driving program today!” You’ve got a squeaky clean driving record, so what’s the harm?
Smart driving programs track your driving habits and give you discounts for being a good driver. But there’s more to it than just saving a few bucks. Buckle up — I’ll break it down for you.
Shortcut to reading annoying privacy policies
Tech privacy policies are confusing on purpose. I know, big shocker! But I’m always surprised by just how difficult these things are to comb through and what they hide.
Today, I’m calling out the biggest offenders — and sharing one of my favorite, easy-to-use privacy tools.
280 mph
Top speed for China’s new bullet train prototype. That’s a world record and fast enough to zip from New York to Chicago in under three hours. China’s current fastest trains max out at 220 mph. The fastest Amtrak trains go 160 mph, but most top out closer to 100 mph. We really need better trains in the U.S.
301 terabits per second
New internet speed world record. That’s 4.5 million times faster than the average broadband connection. Some context: At that speed, it’d take one minute to download every single movie listed on IMDb. Speaking of … How do you know the speed of light is much faster than the speed of sound? Because some people appear bright until they open their mouths.
38% of webpages
Have disappeared since 2013. Where’d they go? Websites got shut down, URLs changed and articles were deleted. About one-third of local news sites may be gone by next year. This is just the beginning; AI will only speed things up by deciding what’s important on the web.
🐭 Zoom-zoom! You can change how fast your cursor moves around your screen. On a Windows PC, click on the Start menu icon in your taskbar and type mouse. Click on Mouse settings, and use the Mouse pointer speed slider to adjust your cursor speed. You can also change the number of lines your mouse wheel scrolls at a time, too.
The truth about insurance smart driving programs
Thinking about signing up for your insurance company’s driving tracker for a discount? Find out how it monitors your habits, from speed and braking to late-night trips.
The Waze of the future: Google Maps is baking in Waze’s real-time incident reports. You’ll get alerts for accidents and speed traps reported by Waze’s 140 million active users. It’s rolling out slowly, so be patient if you don’t have the intel yet. (Yes, Google owns Waze.)
🖥️ A solid CCleaner alternative: Microsoft released a new version of its free PC Manager app for Windows 10 and 11, and it’s way better. You can view your internet speed in real time from the taskbar and delete temp and unnecessary files even faster. Bonus: On Windows 11, you can integrate it directly into your widgets. Go get it, my Windows friends.
Speed matters: If your website is too slow, customers leave. Use Google PageSpeed Insights to analyze your site’s performance. Enter your URL for a detailed analysis and steps, like compressing too-big image files and optimizing CSS code. Aim for a score of at least 90 for mobile and desktop.
How to make your phone feel brand-new again
One of the best parts of getting a new phone is how fresh it feels inside and out. The screen is scratch-free, your storage is empty, and the phone is zippy, no matter what. And the battery life? Oh, buddy.
The clock starts ticking the moment you take your new phone out of its box. Let’s give yours that fresh-from-the-factory feel again.
💔 Another romance scam victim: A 77-year-old Florida widower lost over $100,000 after falling for “Julia” on Facebook. The two chatted for eight months, and she promised to relocate from the U.K. to the U.S. after paying off a debt to a man in Minnesota. Hoping to speed things up, he sent cash to a home and a bank in Minneapolis. The twist? “Julia” wasn’t real — it was a 26-year-old man in Minnesota the whole time.
Small-biz tip: How to onboard a remote employee
If you’re a small business owner, onboarding a new employee virtually can be a huge undertaking. Taking a new hire out to lunch, giving them a tour of the office and introducing them to coworkers is often an integral part of the experience, but that might not be possible if you hire remote employees.
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.