Back in the 1950s, when color TV was invented, everything was simple. TVs were either color or black-and-white, and you could tell at a glance which was which. Today, you can find TVs and monitors that somehow promise more colors, but what does that mean? And why do manufacturers use …
Read More »LCD, IPS, OLED, and Quantum Dots: All the Confusing Display Terms, Explained
Shopping for a monitor can be overwhelming if you’re not already familiar with the cornucopia of acronyms used to describe different display types: LCD, IPS, OLED, QD-OLED, Mini-LED, OCD, BPD, QED, BBQ. It’s … a lot. The type of screen you get can have a huge impact on the quality …
Read More »PS5 vs. PS5 Slim vs. PS5 Pro: What’s the Difference, and Which Console Should You Get?
The PlayStation 5 was arguably one of Sony’s most controversial designs. After a few years, I have to admit it’s growing on me. The only downside is its gargantuan size, which made the PS5 Slim a welcome redesign. The upcoming PS5 Pro further iterates on the design, adding some welcome …
Read More »All I Do Is Scroll Netflix Forever. Does That Count as Entertainment?
When I pull up Netflix at the end of a long day, sometimes it takes me an hour just to decide what to watch. I think this makes me pretty lame. Though maybe I'm also hoping you'll tell me that endless scrolling is a perfectly valid new form of entertainment? …
Read More »How to Clean Your Coffee Grinder (and How Often You Should Do It)
A burr grinder is the automatic, electronic version of the manual coffee mills people have been using to grind coffee for centuries. Whether it’s a flat or conical burr grinder (I explain the differences in my Best Coffee Grinders guide), those heavy-duty burrs are going to break coffee beans down …
Read More »What Is 5G Home Internet? Here’s Everything You Need to Know
Sick of slow, expensive, or unreliable internet service? You probably are. Internet service providers (ISPs) came second to last in a study of customer satisfaction by industry in the US last year. For most folks, internet service comes into the house via cable, and choices are limited. But with mobile …
Read More »How to Keep Your Loved Ones Safe From Financial Scams
As the guy in my family who writes for WIRED, I often act as tech support. When relatives want to know what phone to buy or why the Wi-Fi sucks in the back room, they ask me. I recently discovered that an elderly family member was being charged more than …
Read More »Help, My Friend Got Me a Dumb AI-Generated Present
“An artist friend of mine got me an AI-generated painting as a gift. I can see she tried to personalize the concept, and it’s nicely framed, but part of me still feels a little cheated. Is that fair?” —No Returns Dear No Returns, There’s something implicitly paradoxical about feeling “cheated” …
Read More »ChatGPT vs. Gemini: Which AI Chatbot Subscription Is Right for You?
The problem with testing AI chatbot subscriptions like Google’s Gemini Advanced and OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus is their generality. The same tool is used for disparate applications; the same software service that developers in San Francisco are using to build their latest app might also be used by parents in Kansas …
Read More »How to Opt Out of Comcast’s Xfinity Storing Your Sensitive Data
Your internet service provider could have a good idea of who you’re planning to vote for in the 2024 election as well as the gender of the last person you slept with—and it’s saving that information for later. Major internet providers, like Comcast’s Xfinity, stockpile more revealing data than users …
Read More »