👩🍼 Bundles of joy: Bundles can save you money by combining services at a lower total cost. Try Apple One, which bundles cloud storage, music, games and movies — or streaming services Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+. Share it with family and it’s even cheaper.
‘Can you tape that?’ Phrases tech has killed off
I’m sure you remember this: “You hang up first.” “No, you hang up first.” Not quite as romantic when you fumble for the “End call” button on your iPhone, eh? As times change and our tech changes, so, too, do the phrases we use.
Let’s take a little trip down memory lane this Sunday with something different in our quest for the ultimate tech know-how. It’s gonna be fun, I promise. See how many of these phrases you’ve said at least a few times in your life:
- “Roll down the window.” Cars have had automatic windows for ages, making the manual rolling down of windows a thing of the past. I still say this, though, in my 1964 Mustang.
- “Check the answering machine.” Voicemail on cellphones has obliterated the need for a physical answering machine.
- “Dial 411.” My mother designed the 411 directory system for Bell Labs. Now, just look up someone online and you’ll have their digits.
- “Page me.” Pagers were all the rage once upon a time. Today, they’re used almost exclusively in health care or other specific industries.
- “I’ll tape it.” You no longer tape shows with DVR and streaming services. You just hit “Record” on your device or catch it later on demand.
- “Boot up the computer.” That’s when computers took several (annoying) minutes to start.
- “Drop it in the mail.” This refers to snail mail, which has been largely replaced by email or instant messaging for everyday communication.
- “Don’t touch that dial.” TVs and radios used to rely on analog dials. Modern devices no longer have physical dials.
- “Rewind” or “fast-forward.” These phrases made perfect sense for cassettes and VHS tapes. While we still use them metaphorically, you’re not winding anything.
- “I need to find a payphone.” My dad used to make me carry a quarter in case I needed to make a call. With a cellphone in nearly everyone’s pocket, payphones have become an urban relic.
- “Get the film developed” or “Don’t waste the film.” Oh, the good old days of waiting to see a picture you looked horrible in. Digital cameras and smartphones have done away with this.
- “Look it up in the White (or Yellow) Pages.” Online directories have replaced those hefty books.
- “Burn a CD.” Once a standard way to share music or files, burning CDs is mostly obsolete with streaming and cloud storage.
- “Check the TV Guide.” Printed TV schedules have given way to on-screen program guides or streaming menus.
- “I’ll fax it to you.” Fax machines are nearly extinct. Warren Buffett once told me that’s the only way he’ll do contracts. Why? No one can hack a fax machine, unlike email. Good point, Warren.
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Why you can’t access some sites while you’re on a VPN and what to do
Let’s say you’re browsing the web with a VPN. You’re protecting privacy, so you’re confident hackers and advertisers can’t track you. Then you try to go to a site, and it just won’t load.
This can throw a wrench into productivity when working. Or it can ruin your mood when trying to have fun online.
Streaming overload: How much time we waste searching
The average American now juggles four streaming services, down from five last year. Find out just how much time we’re wasting in this quick podcast.
💸 I’m Sirius about canceling: A New York judge ruled SiriusXM’s cancellation policies violated the federal Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act. How? Think long chats with agents trained to dissuade you and up to five offers before canceling. Annoying. Luckily, the feds are going after streaming services, too. Btw, aside from my daily and weekend network radio shows, I also host a special business-oriented show once a week on SiriusXM Channel 132.
How many minutes of ads are shown per hour of traditional TV? Is it … A.) 8 minutes, B.) 10 minutes, C.) 12 minutes or D.) 14 minutes?
1 billion hours
Of YouTube watched every single day. That beats out all other streaming services. It’s the only streaming platform to top 10% of the viewing market share in 2024. In second place? Netflix, with 7.7%.
Streaming costs inching up? Cheapskate secrets you need to know
The top-tier Netflix plan is now a jaw-dropping $22.99 a month. I remember being shocked when it hit $19.99, and here we are again. And Netflix isn’t alone; Disney+ and Hulu have raised their prices, and you can bet every other streaming service will soon follow suit.
7 free ways to stream TV and movies
A dollar here, $10 there. Streaming services used to be the way to watch what you wanted for much cheaper than cable or satellite. Now? Not so much.
As with everything, what’s old is new again, and more and more folks are ditching paid options for freebies. Sure, you have to put up with ads, but most of today’s streaming services now have those, too!
Of course they are: Streaming services and advertisers are suing to stop the FTC’s new click-to-cancel rule. Yep, that’s the rule that forces companies like Disney to make canceling subscriptions as easy as signing up. They call the rule “arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion,” which is just a fancy way to say, “We don’t want to make it easy for people to cancel.”
Android alert: Malware called SpyAgent is disguising itself within 280 banking apps and streaming services. This one is smart enough to recognize images and is stealing crypto wallet recovery phrases saved as screenshots. Stay safe: Only download apps from the official Google Play Store and never screenshot your passwords or seed phrases.
I don’t lightly interfere; I heavy metal: A North Carolina musician scammed streaming services out of $10 million. He created hundreds of thousands of fake songs with AI and used bots to stream them, raking in royalties from Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Music. He pulled it off for seven years before the FBI figured it out. Now, he’s facing decades behind bars.
No, getting low-cost streaming content isn’t legit: Five guys behind Jetflicks, one of the largest illegal streaming services in the U.S., got busted. They charged $9.99 a month for more content than Netflix, Hulu, Vudu and Amazon Prime Video combined. They could face years in prison for the millions they raked in from subscriptions. If you subscribed to it, you might be fined for copyright violations, too.
16% decrease
In cancellations when streaming services offer bundles. It’s easier to convince yourself to keep the subscription if you’re still watching one or two out of three services. The new kid on the block is Comcast’s StreamSaver trio (Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV+) for $15 a month.
“Try again”: Magic words if AI missed the mark on your question. I also like “Give me a [shorter/longer/more detailed] answer” and “Add 10 examples to the list.”
Stop paying for things you don’t use: It might sound counterintuitive, but with many streaming services, you can cancel immediately after subscribing (or let Rocket Money* do it for you!) and still enjoy the entire trial period. Just check their policy first. Perfect for when there’s one movie on your to-watch list.
Channel bundling is back
Major streaming services are banding together. Here’s what that means for your subscription fees.
Save some cash: If you’re trying to get a handle on all your streaming services and other subscriptions, use Rocket Money. It helped me save $532 a year by canceling services I wasn’t using and had forgotten about. So smart!
Watch out for the new ‘ghost hackers’
Imagine if this happened to you: Your spouse passes away, and a few weeks after the funeral, you get a message from them that says, “Hi, I hope you’re having a great day.” Other friends report getting similar messages from your spouse. Some messages offer big returns on crypto investments.
Want better streaming suggestions? Try these hacks
I watched one episode of “Is it Cake?” on Netflix. Spoiler: Everything is cake, and it’s totally not for me. And wouldn’t you know it, it’s completely wrecked my streaming recommendations — and I’m guessing yours aren’t much better.