– the blonde byte –

Empowering Women Through Technology

October 7, 2026

The “Shrink It and Pink It” Problem: Why Tech Still Isn’t Built for Women

Confession time: I have tiny hands. My ring finger is a size 5. Not “petite” in the flattering marketing sense. Genuinely, ridiculously small. My hands have never been able to comfortably wrap around most things designed for an “average” grip, including, as it turns out, a smartphone. And yet, I own one of the bigger…
October 1, 2026

We See You, Tech Bros: The AI Industry Thinks They’re the First to Capitalize on Cute

Two weeks ago, Meta unveiled Muse, a cuddly, doll-like AI companion with a default avatar named “Jolly.” Two weeks later, OpenAI unveiled Dots, its own always-on AI agent, sporting a bubbly, cartoonish little avatar you get to name and “make your own.” (TechCrunch) When two of the most powerful AI companies on Earth land on…
September 23, 2026

Apple’s “Magic” Keyboard Is Real, and I Hate That I Know That Now

Today, I’m going to tell you a story that starts with a smoothie spill and ends with me begrudgingly admitting that Apple was right about something. If you know me at all, you know how much it pains me to type that sentence. Here’s what happened. My Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, a genuinely…
September 16, 2026

This Is Your Brain on TikTok: And There Are Many, Many Questions

I’ve been an avid reader my whole life. The kind of person who disappears into a book for an entire Sunday and resurfaces confused about what year it is. Reading has always been my favorite escape, the one thing I could count on to quiet my brain down. A few months ago, I realized I…
September 10, 2026

Folding an iPhone Is Stupid. Change My Mind.

There, I said it. Folding an iPhone is stupid. On Wednesday, September 9, Apple held an event called “Surprise and Shine,” and for the first time in fifteen years, it won’t be Tim Cook running the show. New CEO John Ternus is stepping up, and the headline act he’s introducing to the world is Apple’s…
September 3, 2026

Zuckerberg Almost Had to Testify, So Meta Wrote a Check Instead.

Mark Zuckerberg was supposed to take the stand. Instagram chief Adam Mosseri had already testified for two days in an Oakland courtroom. And then, one day after Mosseri stepped down, Meta agreed to pay roughly $18 billion to make the whole case disappear before Zuckerberg ever had to answer a single question under oath. (CNN)…
August 26, 2026

When Was the Last Time a Tech Company Impressed You?

When Was the Last Time a Tech Company Actually Impressed You? Take a second and think about it, I’ll wait. Not “didn’t ruin your day.” Not “technically resolved the issue after forty-five minutes on hold and being transferred three times.” Really impressed you. Made you think, huh, that was easy, and also kind of lovely?…
August 5, 2026

I Need a Favor (And It’s a Small One, I Promise)

So here’s the thing no one tells you about publishing a book: the writing? That’s the easy part. The part where you have to ask people for things — that’s the part that makes me want to hide under my desk with my iPad and never come out. But I’m going to ask anyway, because…
July 22, 2026

The Dos & Don’ts of Finally Finishing What You Started

Do: Let an idea sit for ten years if that’s what it needs. Don’t: Assume it’s dead just because it’s quiet. I started trying to write a book about women and technology almost a decade ago. I’d sit down, get a few pages in, and then life would do what life does — a job,…
July 15, 2026

The Internet Never Forgets — And Your Kids Never Agreed to That

Somewhere on Facebook right now, a grandmother is posting a photo of her granddaughter in the bathtub, giggling, covered in bubbles up to her chin. It’s adorable. It’s the kind of photo people used to keep in a shoebox. She tags three friends, adds a heart emoji, and moves on with her day. In a…