I’ll never forget the time Mom and I forgot where I’d parked the car. After walking around and around a huge parking structure, we finally called for help. 

But there’s a much easier way to locate your vehicle these days. Place a Scosche FoundIT in your car’s 12 volt charger, aka cigarette lighter, and it will help you find your car. It’s better than an Apple Air Tag because you never have to change the battery or look for it under a car seat.

Here’s how it works. First, tap the “Find My” app on your iPhone, or Google’s “Find My Device” app on your Android, which will show your car on a map. You might also ask the FoundIT to beep. With its 60 decibel speaker, it’s only as loud as your electric toothbrush, but it helps if your car is nearby and you still don’t see it.

The FoundIT charges itself while you drive, but can run unplugged for three months. With one slot for USB A devices and another for USB C devices, it also charges your phone, tablet and other gadgets. If I had a car, I’d get one. It’s $25 on Amazon.

iPhone Deals

Walmart is selling the iPhone 16e for $299 instead of $500 on Apple.com, a reader wrote to me to say. That’s much less than I paid for mine.

The catch is that you have to get the Straight Talk carrier service. Although customers like its budget-friendly plans, some complain of poor customer service.  In addition, because Straight Talk piggybacks on the Verizon network, its customers may experience occasional slowdowns, due to being “deprioritized.”  So instead, you might consider Verizon’s own Walmart deal. Although they’re charging $100 more for the phone, at least you’d be a prioritized customer. 

Disarming a robot

If you remove a robot’s battery to disarm it, it might just put in a spare on its own. Alternatively, you could trip it, either by lassoing it around the legs or placing a wire in its path. But some robots will bounce up again, so you might want to throw a chair at it or blind its sensor with a traffic cone. For more info, see ZDNet’s article: “5 Ways to Neutralize a Robot.” 

Make a Song

When I asked AI to create a thank-you song for a friend, and a birthday song for my niece-in-law, the results were catchy.

To try it yourself, go to gemini.google.com and type your request. For the thank-you tune I typed: “Generate a song with the vibe of a Beach Boys or Beatles tune that thanks Rich for his info.”  Google’s new service, Lyria 3, then gave me a 30-second track with lyrics, vocals and custom cover art. Next I typed: “Generate a happy birthday song for my niece in the style of Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music that celebrates her goodness.” The song also included her name, her husband’s name and their toddler’s.

When you’re ready to share it, the video option gives you a static image that plays throughout the song, but your recipients may have trouble opening it. Mine did. Instead, choose the audio option.

Plug-In Batteries

“PaleBlue” is a new kind of rechargeable battery that plugs into a USB-C port, so you don’t have to buy a charger for it. It charges your AA batteries in 90 minutes and AAAs in an hour. Unlike alkaline batteries, PaleBlue batteries maintain a steady 1.5V output until depleted.

They’re great for the environment too. Each Paleblue battery is expected to last for more than 1000 charge cycles, and one battery can replace hundreds of single-use disposables thrown into the trash. Remember when we used to recycle them because they contained mercury? That’s no longer the case.

The batteries we throw away have electrolytes that leach into soil and water as they corrode. Also, the steel, zinc and manganese inside them could have been reused in fertilizers, steel alloys and more. In the dump, they take up to 100 years to decompose. No wonder that Paleblue is a member of an organization called “1% for the Planet.” 

How Things Work

If you love knowing how things work, you’ll love Animagraffs.com. Everything you want to know is displayed in beautifully illustrated videos or pictures. 

By clicking the fire engine, for example, I learned that there’s an electronic speaker on the front for various warning sounds and a preconnected hose for smaller incidents like trash or car fires. There’s also a federal “Q” siren, a mechanical device that produces the familiar wailing sound. The panel for a fire truck’s pumps looks as complex as a pilot’s screen in a jumbo jet. I’m amazed.

Other illustrations include NASCAR race cars, the P-51 Mustang fighter plane from World War II, city water purification systems, sewing machines, cryptocurrency, car engines, the human eye, self-driving cars, credit scores and more. I enjoyed seeing just how complicated cryptocurrency is. 

Numbers Report

According to survey company YouGov, Samsung is the most popular brand of consumer tech in multiple categories in the US in 2026. LG is close behind. Whirlpool is third in appliances among Gen X and Baby Boomers. Chinese brand Midea is starting to catch on.

Internut

“Chinese robots perform Kung Fu at Spring Festival.” Search on that phrase to see the best-ever choreography by robots.

Filed under: AI, batteries, gadgets, how-to, Internuts, numbers, phones, robots, trends