iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 12/06/2026

Celebrating a milestone this week.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 12/05/2026

@glennf.com Gave Mister Plimsoll a shout-out for my 10K newsletter readers. Neat app! advisorator.com/members/2026...

"Try these apps

Mac storage alerts: Mister Plimsoll is a cool app from fellow tech journalist Glenn Fleishman for monitoring Mac disk space. You can click the menu bar icon to quickly check on all your storage drives, and you can set up alerts (via iMessage, email, or notification) for when free space falls below a certain threshold. It's completely free with no ads or invasive data collection. I wish a Windows equivalent existed, but so far I've found nothing."

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 29/03/2026

Making an effort to log some thoughts about the random video games I end up playing, starting with ... 2017's The Surge! jarednewman.com/blog/2026/03...

Not that it’s any comfort to The Surge‘s characters. Through found audio notes, environmental cues, and the occasional direct encounter, the game has a haunting way of weaving various personal plotlines into the story. Seeing them through to their tragic ends is one of the The Surge‘s high marks.

As a tech journalist I naturally gravitated toward the story of Hackett, whose subtle stutters and stammers in the game’s later videocasts hint at a growing discomfort with playing the company shill. We eventually learn that he was once an award-winning journalist, who switched over to corporate PR to better provide for his family. This tends to work out handsomely for the PR people I know in real life; not so much for Hackett.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 29/01/2026

Love to have AI mark my newsletter sign in page as malicious

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 11/11/2025

I don't know about you, but I get all my TV reviews from THE VARGE

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 23/03/2025

The decline of popular music in one chart (via the always-great Can’t Get Much Higher newsletter – www.cantgetmuchhigher.com/p/why-did… )

A chart titled "Let's talk about sax" showing the % of Billboard Hot 100 number one hits with a saxophone. It drops off suddenly in the 90s.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 13/02/2025

It has come to my attention that there is a Windows 95 watchface for Pebble.

A Pebble Time Steel smartwatch with a Windows 95 watchface, including a start button over a teal background with a "Date/Time" window in the foreground.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 11/02/2025

You'd think Apple would have the most complete information about AppleCare+ coverage options, but no. (From this week's newsletter buff.ly/40SSDPs )

Sadly, Apple itself is no longer a reliable source for AppleCare+ information. Its AppleCare product page doesn’t mention two-year plans and doesn’t show the price of basic plans without theft and loss coverage. The online AppleCare+ portal, meanwhile, doesn’t list annual pricing, and Apple’s online store only sells Theft and Loss plans. All this has the effect of keeping customers in the dark and getting them to pay more than intended.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 09/02/2025

This went on the smoker also

A tray of smoked mac and cheese slightly browned at the edges

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 09/02/2025

The one on the left instantly gave me the hiccups.

A tray full of smoked wings with two sauces, one labeled "Caribbean Death (hot)" and "Buffalo (medium)"

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 09/02/2025

Into the oven on low until game time. Had a taco with some of the excess trimmed off before cooking.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 09/02/2025

13ish hours in, reading about 185 inside. Not done yet.

A brisket on a vertical smoker. The bark has formed but not as dark as a finished brisket would be.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 06/02/2025

I guarantee this is the least lazy "how to watch the Super Bowl" article you will find on the internet today buff.ly/3Q6SDWZ

Between cable providers, live TV streaming services, free streaming options, and a trusty antenna, there are an assortment of ways to watch the game. Unfortunately, many of them offer varying levels of video and audio quality, yet it’s weirdly difficult to get precise details on what those differences are.

Seriously, I shouldn’t have to spend hours chasing down PR contacts and interrogating them on 4K, HDR, and surround sound options for the Super Bowl. This stuff should just be posted online by the companies involved.

But since they won’t, I will.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 28/01/2025

I'm sharpening my focus for Advisorator this year. The response has already been great and I can't wait to get started in earnest. buff.ly/4hcAGSL

In practice, that means you can expect a few major focuses from Advisorator this year:

- More emphasis on tech products and services that aren’t designed to take advantage of you, like the examples in my “becoming a tech hippie” piece from last year.
- More ways to interact with technology on your own terms rather than those dictated by huge tech companies and opaque algorithms, like using an RSS reader for news or subverting YouTube’s control over online video.
- More advice on basic tech literacy, so you can confidently navigate unfamiliar apps or unexpected scenarios.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 23/01/2025

The Cupertino theme for Obsidian is so nice.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 18/01/2025

A reader asked about security cameras that can avoid notifying you when a familiar face is recognized, because his Nest doesn’t do that. ChatGPT’s recommendation? Nest! With a link to Eufy’s documentation as its citation.

"Several doorbell cameras offer the ability to manage notifications based on facial recognition or
familiar face detection. This feature can help reduce unnecessary alerts when household members or
frequent visitors are detected. Here are some options and related reviews:
1. Nest Doorbell: The Nest Doorbell (battery or wired) allows users to filter notifications for familiar
faces if subscribed to Nest Aware. This helps ensure you only receive alerts for unknown visitors or
specific scenarios. Reviews consistently highlight its robust facial recognition and notification
customization as standout features"

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 11/01/2025

Also I think this is one of my better subheds. Read the story! www.fastcompany.com/91259002/ces...

"Put a llama on it"
Even when companies had tangle examples of generative AI in their products, they often had a tacked-on quality, as if AI hardware requires nothing more than stuffing a generic large language model inside a menu somewhere.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 11/01/2025

You had companies like Samsung using "AI" to describe things that have been around for ages already. Or laptop makers sticking "AI" into their product names without any real justification for it. All this detracted from the (often extremely cool) hardware innovation at the show, which is a shame.

Samsung, for instance, showed off how its TVs can understand what you’re watching and suggest similar content, as if Automatic Content Recognition isn’t already fueling the multibillion-dollar TV ad tech business. It also demonstrated an AI feature that tells you the names of actors on screen, 13 years after Amazon came out with X-Ray for its streaming video catalog.

That’s not stopping laptop makers from tossing the word “AI” into their product names, with models like the Acer Aspire 14 AI and MSI Stealth 18 HX AI (or, stranger still, the MSI Claw 8 AI+ handheld gaming device). What kinds of breakthrough features justify such naming? You can ask MSI’s chatbot to optimize your games’ graphics settings—something that graphics card software does already—or use Acer’s chat interface to navigate the instruction manual. For the most part these are just regular laptops with fancier names.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 10/01/2025

New(ish) from me: Beyond just doing shady things with coupon suppression and affiliate fee hijacking, Honey's cash back offers seem to have deteriorated. buff.ly/3PsX91V

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 09/01/2025

I saw like 3 or 4 more examples since posting this

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 06/01/2025

Feel like I want to become a portable projector nerd. This TCL one was projecting like 150 inches in the dark and the twistable battery/speaker portion doubles as an angle adjuster.

A cube-shaped projector with a rectangular speaker on its side that’s twisted to a different angle.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 05/01/2025

Decided to try shameless self promotion on my CES badge this year.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 10/12/2024

Just revamped the Guides and Tutorials section on Advisorator's website, including a filter for freebies. advisorator.com/members/advisorator… Here's one that will save you money on streaming music: advisorator.com/members/advisorator…

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 04/12/2024

Admittedly a weird flex but I went for it. (From this week’s free edition of Advisorator.)

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 01/12/2024

Desperation has set in at Threads, which is now filling my notifications tab with pure engagement bait from accounts I don’t even follow.

Three Threads posts marked "Picked for you":
One from "raidersresistance" that reads "Raiders HC Antonio Pierce told reporters this morning that he spent last night texting all his players, staff & personnel that work within the..."

One from "foodsciencebabe" that reads "I'm sorry...what??"

And one from "nancyjanefrench" that reads "Years ago at church, I was talking to my neighbor about how awkward it is to get 'holiday texts' from coworkers and people you barely know...."

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 28/11/2024

Still waiting on the brisket, so I made a turkey in the meantime.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 28/11/2024

Now for the real test of Bluesky, how do y’all feel about meat pics

A whole packer brisket with decent marbling sits on a cutting board, fully trimmed and rubbed with salt and pepper. A shaker of the not-so-secret ingredient (MSG) is nearly out of frame.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 26/11/2024

lol, and right on queue, Threads just threw up a notification badge for a "picked for you" post from a person I don't even follow. Gotta get those active user metrics up!

A "picked for you" post in my notifications about some guy who bought non-TSA compliant luggage locks at the Apple Store.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 23/11/2024

This is partly a test of alt-text in an image when cross-posting from my blog to social networks, and partly just more praise for UFO 50.

A jungle military base in an 8-bit art style, with a blue soldier facing outward and some enemies facing the camera, with various gunfire and explosions throughout.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 20/11/2024

Vivaldi’s new “Dashboard” start page is pretty neat! There are some built-in widgets for things like bookmarks and quick notes, but you can also turn any website into a panel.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 20/11/2024

I was reminded recently of Warning Forever, a 21-year-old freeware shmup by Hikoza T Ohkubo. You engage in endless boss battles where the enemy evolves based on how you fight it. Still available today and works great in Proton compatibility mode on Steam Deck.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 11/11/2024

It was the puffy Yankees one for me back in the day

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 11/11/2024

Might blog more about this later but I cannot recommend UFO 50 enough. And that its roots are in Klik & Play—a tool and community that consumed a lot of my early teenage life—warms my heart. 50games.fun

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 07/11/2024

Feels weird celebrating something at the moment but my weekly column on streaming TV just reached its 10th birthday and I wanted to mark the occasion somehow. Here’s where I landed: www.techhive.com/article/2513174/7-…

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 01/11/2024

So, what happened with that subscription version of Alexa that was supposed to launch in October? www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-soft…

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 30/10/2024

Had no idea Beelink made an eGPU dock for its Mini PCs. It’s adorable! Wish it worked with cheaper PCs (the GTi12 costs around $640), but apparently they’re open-sourcing the design for others to use. Via GamingOnLinux – www.gamingonlinux.com... jarednewman.com/blog/2024/10/30/443

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 30/10/2024

Thinking about rolling the dice on one of these AliExpress phone controller grips. This one supports both USB-C and Bluetooth and is also large enough for tablets. $29. www.aliexpress.us/item/325680767410…

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 29/10/2024

I cannot fully express how much the Morning Music blog is extremely up my alley. Jazzy, fusiony, smooth, a lot of Japanese artist but not exclusively. morningmusic.bearblog.dev Would love to share this appreciation with the author but they seem to have posted no contact info whatsoever.

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 29/10/2024

Seems like a problem. Looking forward to using Fantastical on Windows, though! buff.ly/4fhYnbD

Just don’t expect Fantastical’s new cross-platform focus to extend to Android. Simmons says an Android app is not going to happen because he doesn’t believe it wouldn’t benefit Flexibits’s business.

As an example, he points to iA Writer’s recent decision to abandon its Android app, citing frustrations with Google, development difficulties, weak protections against fake reviews, and “rampant piracy.” (Google declined to comment on these concerns.)

“That’s one story,” Simmons says. “I could give you eight others, that you just hear, ‘We went to Android, and no one’s paying,’ or ‘We went to Android, and it’s hard to support.'”

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Jared Newman @advisorator.com · 29/10/2024

There’s so much to sort through with Apple Intelligence that I wrote this mostly for myself, but you are welcome to read it also! advisorator.com/members/2024/10/29/…

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