Around a dozen parents huddled in the dim hallway outside the courtroom in February, nervously gripping paper tickets. They were glaring at a gray tote bag held by a member of the court staff — the one who’d determine, by lottery, if they made it inside. Pinned on bags and coats, butterfly clips honored children … Read more
Aliro has officially arrived. The smart lock standard, first announced in 2023, finally has a 1.0 spec, meaning companies can now get hardware certified and roll out support. Aliro is an open standard designed to let any smart lock be unlocked by any smartphone, regardless of manufacturer. It stores a digital key in your phone’s … Read more
Keep your head down. Compartmentalize. Don’t make trouble. That’s what many tech workers are taking their CEOs’ strategic silence to mean, amid an immigration crackdown across the US by the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security. Widespread violence by federal agents has sparked protests in Minneapolis and across the country. One month after an ICE … Read more
Spotify is probably one of the most well-known music services available (if not the most popular) around — and it seems that the company it taking advantage of that. As of this month, Spotify announced that it was raising its prices, the third time since 2023. If that concerns you (especially if you’re a current … Read more
Haven’t you heard? Phones are boring now. And that’s just fine! Most people buying a new phone just want something familiar that works better than the device they’re replacing. If that’s your MO, then you’re sure to find something reliable in my recommendations below. But even if you’re looking for something a little more extra, … Read more
This morning, I asked my Alexa-enabled Bosch coffee machine to make me a coffee. Instead of running my routine, it told me it couldn’t do that. Ever since I upgraded to Alexa Plus, Amazon’s generative-AI-powered voice assistant, it has failed to reliably run my coffee routine, coming up with a different excuse almost every time … Read more
Going home for the holidays isn’t all turkey, holiday decorations, and political arguments discussions. It also comes with requests for tech support and questions like “Why does my computer do this?” and “I read about this AI — what is that?” Think of it as an opportunity rather than a burden. If you’re like many … Read more
Editor’s note: Black Friday doesn’t officially take place until Friday, November 28th; however, if you want to shop ahead of time, we’ve rounded up the best early Black Friday deals you can already get. The Android ecosystem is all about choice. While iPhone owners have a smaller pool of new devices to pick from when … Read more
