May 15 tech news roundup: Win on eBay, Google beta test, AI video giveaways

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Win at eBay: New study analyzed 25 million transactions. When bidding, best to use a round percentage of the asking price. Say a seller wants $34. You’ll win the bid at $17 or 50% more often than had you bid $18 or 53%.

🧪 Google Beta list: Test out Google's AI search tools before they go public. Go to google.com and look for the little beaker icon in the top right corner. Click it, then choose Join Waitlist on the next page. You’re in.

$500 flat iron: Dyosn's cordless Airstrait uses hot air instead of metal plates, so it doesn't damage hair. It's powered by the 27-millimeter Hyperdymium motor, with a 13-blade rotor spinning at 106,000 RPM. The final touch: Glass bead "thermistors" to make sure the air doesn't get too hot. And I’m still over here burning my forehead with a curling iron.

Identify AI video: Smart tip-offs from the BBB. Look for unnatural body language and strange shadows, blurs or light flickers. And listen closely for chopping sentences or weird word inflection.

FYI: Facebook is killing its Facebook Messenger App for Apple Watch. If you use it, you’ll still see notifications, but you can't reply.

💳 Ch-ching: The cards formerly known as Amazon Prime Rewards Visa Signature Card and Amazon Rewards Visa Signature Card have new names. For the Prime Visa, yup, you need a Prime membership; get 5% back on travel purchases, plus the standard 5% back on Amazon. The Amazon Visa is a no-Prime option with lower payouts.

Travel upgrade: You can now book a Lyft to pick you up as soon as you land at the airport. Just be sure to check the fees. Uber has it, too, and I was shocked to see a $25 charge added.

Before the iPhone: Was the BlackBerry. It's the star of a new comedy about the tech that brought us to where we are today. Watch the trailer here.

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