Are we moving too fast with AI?
Plus: Prime Day starts early, why I’m back on Evernote, and a hidden gem I rediscovered this week
Greetings and welcome to another edition of the Rich On Tech Newsletter.
We hit a big milestone this week: 70,000 subscribers! Thanks for taking the time to read, share, and support this newsletter. I hope you find it useful. Next stop: 100,000.
This week, I took my kids somewhere pretty wild and crazy: the library.
It actually started because I needed to drop off some old batteries for recycling. But once we got there, we decided to head inside and take a look around. I was really impressed.
I know this sounds silly. I grew up going to libraries and loved them. I spent many mornings there before school because, yes, I was a nerd. But in an era when everything seems to require a subscription, it’s easy to forget that you can walk into a public library and access an incredible amount of information and entertainment for free.
A few things I loved:
There was a flatbed scanner anyone could use to digitize photos and documents. You could save the files to a flash drive or scan a QR code and send them directly to your phone.
They offered free printing, up to 25 pages a day.
There were self-checkout stations for books. It reminded me of those grab-and-go checkout systems you see at some stores and airports.
And, of course, there were shelves full of DVDs, audiobooks, magazines, and books on just about every topic imaginable. You could easily spend half a day browsing and learning something new.
It made me realize how easy it is to overlook libraries because they feel old-fashioned compared to apps, streaming services, and the internet. But your local library might be one of the most valuable resources in your community, and my kids had a great time exploring it.
One final tip: if you’re not using Libby, check it out. It’s one of my favorite apps for borrowing ebooks and audiobooks from the library. You can even send books directly to your Kindle.
Are we moving too fast with AI?
If you read this newsletter, you know I’m a big fan of AI.
I use ChatGPT, Gemini and other AI tools every day. They help me summarize documents, polish emails, research topics, plan travel, and save time.
But this week, I noticed something interesting: for the first time, the conversation seems to be shifting from how fast we can build AI to whether we should slow down.
Take Monterey Park, California. Voters there overwhelmingly approved a permanent ban on new data centers. They’re not protesting AI itself. They’re pushing back on the massive facilities needed to power it. Critics cite concerns about electricity use, water consumption, noise, and the limited number of jobs these facilities create.
At the same time, Anthropic, the company behind Claude, is warning that AI development may be accelerating faster than anyone expected. The company recently published a report about a future where AI systems increasingly help build and improve other AI systems.
AI is already writing a growing amount of the code used to create software. Anthropic says its engineers rely heavily on Claude in their daily work.
The company has proposed that major AI firms voluntarily slow down if certain safety thresholds are crossed. OpenAI disagrees, arguing that governments, not private companies, should be responsible for setting the rules.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration issued a new executive order focused on AI security, signaling that Washington is paying closer attention as the technology becomes more powerful.
The bottom line: we’re moving from a world where everyone was asking who would win the AI race to one where people are asking what the consequences of winning might be.
How much AI do we actually want in our lives? And what happens when we become dependent on systems we don’t fully understand? That’s probably not a question we should leave for AI to answer.
Prime Day is earlier and longer this year
We now know the dates for Amazon Prime Day 2026, and there are two big changes this year: it’s earlier and it’s longer.
Prime Day runs June 23 through June 26, a full four days. Typically, the event happens in July, so if you’ve been planning any major purchases, you may want to hold off for a couple more weeks.
A few things worth knowing before the sale starts:
Amazon has rebranded its Rufus shopping assistant as Alexa for Shopping. If you haven’t tried it, it’s actually pretty useful. You can ask questions about products, compare features, and get recommendations based on what you’re looking for.
One feature I really like is Amazon’s new Price History tool. In the past, I’ve recommended using CamelCamelCamel to check whether a deal is actually a deal. Amazon is now offering similar information directly on many product pages. Tap Price History and you’ll see how the price has changed over the past year, making it much easier to tell whether a Prime Day discount is worth your attention.
My biggest recommendation: don’t buy anything expensive right now. If there’s a gadget or other item you’ve been considering, add it to your cart or Save for Later list. When prices drop, Amazon will typically flag the change so you can quickly see whether it’s worth buying.
You can also use Alexa for Shopping to create a personalized Prime Day deals guide. Tap the Alexa icon in the Amazon app, hit the plus sign in the chat bar, and select Prime Day Deals. Amazon will generate recommendations based on your browsing and shopping history.
Don’t forget about deal alerts. You can track products, set price notifications, and even have Amazon automatically purchase an item if it drops to a price you’ve specified.
I’ve already grabbed my first Prime Day deal: three free months of Kindle Unlimited. Amazon is also offering three free months of Audible. Even if you’ve subscribed before, it’s worth checking to see if you’re eligible.
A couple of other notable perks:
Prime Visa is offering one of its biggest sign-up bonuses of the year, an instant $200 Amazon gift card with approval. There’s no annual fee. Starts June 11.
Prime members can see the new Spider-Man movie two days before the general public. (You still have to buy the tickets)
And from June 15 through June 26, Prime members can score a $5 Little Caesars pizza.
Keep in mind that Prime Day requires a Prime membership, which costs $15 a month or $139 a year. If you’re not a member, Amazon still offers a free 30-day trial. My pro tip: sign up for the trial and cancel it immediately. You’ll still get the full 30 days of Prime benefits, but you won’t have to remember to cancel later and risk getting charged.
I’m also putting together a list of my favorite Prime Day deals and products, so stay tuned for that.
Sponsored: The biggest privacy concern I hear about
One thing I’ve noticed after reading hundreds of your emails over the years is that many tech concerns seem to trace back to the same problem: too much of our personal information is floating around online.
Whether it’s scam texts, robocalls, phishing emails, fake bank alerts, identity theft, or even AI tools surfacing personal details, these problems often start with data brokers collecting and selling information about us.
I hear from readers all the time who are shocked by how easy it is to find their phone number, home address, age, relatives, and other personal details online. And once that information is out there, scammers can use it to make their attacks far more convincing.
That’s why I use Incogni.
Incogni works on your behalf to contact data brokers and people-search sites and request the removal of your personal information. Instead of manually tracking down hundreds of sites yourself, Incogni automates the process and continues monitoring for new exposures over time.
One thing I like is that it isn’t a one-and-done cleanup. Data has a way of reappearing, so Incogni keeps sending removal requests and monitoring for new listings.
According to the company, it has processed more than 245 million removal requests and covers hundreds of data brokers, helping reduce your digital footprint and making it harder for scammers and marketers to find your information.
If you’re tired of spam calls, junk emails, and wondering how much of your personal information is floating around online, this is one of the easiest ways to start taking some of that control back.
My favorite AI feature isn’t what you think
I’ve told you before that I’m big into AI, but my favorite feature right now isn’t chat. It’s Projects in ChatGPT and Claude, along with Notebooks in Gemini.
If you’re only using AI as a question-and-answer tool, you’re missing one of its most powerful capabilities.
Think of Projects and Notebooks as dedicated workspaces. Instead of starting from scratch every time you ask a question, you can upload files, notes, instructions, and reference materials. The AI then uses that information as context for every conversation inside that project.
Planning a trip? Upload your itinerary, hotel confirmations, flight information, restaurant ideas, and sightseeing plans.
Writing a book? Upload your chapters, research, and outlines.
Have a task you do repeatedly? Add your instructions once and let the AI follow them every time.
One of the most interesting notebooks I created this week is a personal one called “Library.”
I used a free service called LibraryThing to create a list of books I’ve read and loved over the years. I exported that list and uploaded it into a Gemini Notebook.
Now Gemini has a pretty good understanding of my reading tastes.
I can ask, “What should I read next?” I can paste in a list of New York Times bestsellers and ask which title best matches my interests. I can even type in a book title and ask, “Would I like this?” Gemini compares it against my reading history and explains why it thinks a book is or isn’t a good fit.
It’s a useful setup, especially if you’re a reader. In fact, I already got my first recommendation from it, downloaded the book, and so far it’s been pretty good.
The bigger takeaway: stop thinking of AI as a chatbot. Start thinking of it as a workspace that gets smarter when you give it context.
I went back to Evernote
After years of trying alternatives, I’ve come crawling back to Evernote.
I’ve always been obsessed with note-taking apps. I was one of the first people to download Evernote back when it was essentially an endless digital sheet of paper. You just kept typing, and it kept scrolling.
I used Evernote for years before moving on to other apps. One of my biggest concerns was always vendor lock-in. When I looked at exporting my notes, the options weren’t exactly ideal: a proprietary Evernote format or a collection of HTML files that essentially turns your notes into a website.
Meanwhile, Evernote’s price has steadily climbed to around $100 a year, with higher-tier plans costing much more.
Over the years, I’ve tested just about every alternative I could find, including Microsoft OneNote, Zoho Notebook, Joplin, Notion, Craft, Anytype, Obsidian, Apple Notes, and Google Keep.
You might remember me talking about Craft and Obsidian before.
Craft is beautiful. In my opinion, it’s still the best-designed note-taking app available. But I found it better suited for polished documents than the messy day-to-day note-taking I do.
Obsidian remains my favorite from a technical standpoint. It stores everything in plain Markdown files that you control, whether they’re on your computer, in the cloud, or on your own server. That’s about as future-proof as note-taking gets.
The problem? I never loved using it.
No matter how much I appreciated the flexibility, I found myself avoiding it. And if you don’t enjoy using your note-taking app, you won’t use it consistently.
So after running in circles for far too long, I downloaded Evernote again.
And I immediately remembered why I liked it so much.
For planning my radio show, organizing ideas, tracking projects, and managing everyday information, it just works the way my brain works. I actually enjoy using it.
The downside is that I know exactly what I’m getting into. It’s expensive, and the deeper you get invested, the harder it can be to leave. But for me, the value outweighs the drawbacks.
One thing I do miss is AI-powered access to my notes. With Obsidian, I could connect my notes to Gemini and search across them in powerful ways. That’s not as easy with Evernote.
For personal notes, I’ve started using Google Keep alongside Evernote because Keep integrates with Gemini. It’s not perfect, but it gives me a place to store information that I can later ask Gemini to search and analyze.
I realize most people don’t spend nearly this much time thinking about note-taking apps. But when your job involves managing ideas, story tips, interviews, viewer emails and reminders, the system matters.
And after all these years, I’ve somehow ended up right back where I started.
How one couple turned e-waste into a business
This week on TV, I featured a couple from Northern California who built a successful business selling used technology on eBay.
Their story started with a surprising auction purchase during the dot-com boom and eventually turned into an 18-year business recovering and reselling computers, laptops, hard drives, and other electronics that companies no longer need.
What I like about this story is that it’s a reminder that old tech still has value. Many of us have phones, laptops, cameras, and gadgets sitting in a drawer collecting dust when they could be sold, reused, or given a second life.
And thanks to AI-powered listing tools, selling on eBay is easier than it’s ever been.
Check out the segment below to see how they built their business and what you can learn from it.
What you missed on the podcast
If you’re not listening to the podcast, it’s another great way to stay up to date on the tech stories, tips, and scams I think you should know about. I also answer listener questions and read your emails each week.
A few things we covered on the latest episode:
• A Roku setting that helps protect your privacy
• Why everyone should freeze their credit
• A Chrome security feature worth turning on
• A fun AI prompt that reveals what your chatbot knows about you
• A hidden Meta Ray-Ban feature that helps in noisy environments
• Why software updates still matter
• How to spot modern phishing scams
• My favorite travel apps for iPhone and Android
• Why fall detection can be a lifesaver for older adults
The podcast is completely free and available in all the major podcast apps. If you’re a paid subscriber to this newsletter, you also get access to an ad-free version.
One favor: if you’ve never listened before, give this week’s episode a try. I’m curious how many newsletter readers will become first-time listeners.
When helping your mom sounds like a scam
If you’re not familiar with it, Eyelo & Bumpy is part me, part my kid, and part AI.
I’ve always loved cartoons, and my kid originally sketched out the characters. Together, we came up with the names, and then AI helps bring the cartoons to life. I come up with the ideas and the punchlines, and this week’s cartoon was inspired by a real-life moment while helping my mom with one of her online accounts.
As we worked through the problem over the phone, I realized everything I was asking her to do sounded exactly like the advice I tell people to avoid. Give me remote access to your computer. Read me the verification code. Reset your password.
At one point, a security message even warned her not to share the code with anyone… while I was sitting there asking her to read it to me.
The irony wasn’t lost on me. So many of the tactics scammers use are based on legitimate things we occasionally need to do. The difference is knowing who you’re dealing with and why they’re asking.
Hopefully you’ll get a laugh out of this week’s cartoon.
Do I really need to pay for Microsoft 365?
Melody asks:
I retired years ago and only create a document once or twice a year. Microsoft now wants about $100 a year for Microsoft 365, which seems unreasonable for how little I use it. If I stop subscribing, can I still access my old Word documents? Are there any free alternatives? And can I keep using an older version of Office?
Most people don’t realize Microsoft offers a free web version of Word that works right in your browser. Just head to word.cloud.microsoft, sign in with a Microsoft account, and you can create, edit, and save Word documents without paying for Microsoft 365.
As for your existing files, they’re still yours. Cancelling Microsoft 365 doesn’t make your old Word documents disappear.
If you want alternatives, Google Docs and LibreOffice can both open and save Word files. And if you already own an older standalone version of Office, you can usually keep using it indefinitely. You just won’t get new features, updates, or security patches.
For someone who only creates a few documents a year, the free version of Word may be all you need.
Feedbag
Rick writes…
We all have computers and smartphones these days, and there’s always something new to learn. We need more Rich time! I’d be the first to sign up for a daily Rich DeMuro podcast, even a paid VIP version.
Thanks, Rick, but between the newsletter, radio show, TV segments, podcast, and social media, I think I’m already maxed out! 😄
Don in Colorado writes…
I started using AI to fight back against inflation.
It began when I got a quote for a new furnace. ChatGPT told me the typical installed price in my area, which helped me negotiate a much better deal. Since then, I’ve used AI to negotiate my internet and newspaper subscriptions. The savings have really added up.
Claudia in Irvine says…
I got a satellite radio renewal bill for $311. I used the ChatGPT prompt from your newsletter and immediately got an offer for the same plan at $7.99 a month. Huge savings!
Christer writes…
I asked AI to find the cheapest way to fly from Salt Lake City to Albany with the shortest travel time. It suggested a Southwest red-eye I never would have considered. It ended up being the perfect flight.
That’s going to do it for this week’s newsletter.
Join me on the radio Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on KFI AM 640. If you have a tech question or need some advice, give me a call at 1-888-RICH-101.
You can also catch the replay on 710 WOR in New York City, starting at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!
Rich