It’s the time of the year when the rumors begin about the new generations of iPhone 17 due out in the Fall and whether it’s worth upgrading to a new model. It’s a ritual that began ever since Apple introduced their iPhones eighteen years ago. Each year Apple tries to entice us to upgrade with […]

Throughout my product development career I’ve used Asian resources to supplement the work being done in the U.S. to bring new consumer tech products to market more quickly. When designing cameras at Polaroid in the 80s, I worked with Japanese camera manufacturers. Years later when I was at Apple developing the Newton, I used resources […]

Low cost manufacturing in China has taken manufacturing jobs from this country, but that doesn’t tell the real story of its economic impact. It misses one of the great benefits of China manufacturing: by being able to have China produce products at lower costs, it has given U.S. companies the ability to grow their businesses […]

In his first 100 days back in the White House, Donald Trump has dramatically reshaped the landscape of the U.S. tech industry, something I’ve been a part of over my entire career. He’s had an impact like no other president in such a short time. It’s included aggressive tariffs, abrupt policy reversals, isolationist moves, and […]

It seems surreal to be writing about protecting our personal information when crossing the border. That’s something I haven’t thought about since crossing into China from Hong Kong years ago. But today with our border agents suddenly looking at anyone with a tattoo or strange name as a potential illegal immigrant, it’s possible for any […]

The massive tariffs being levied on Chinese goods puts Apple—one of America’s most valuable and iconic companies—at serious risk. Nearly 90% of its products are made in China in high-tech factories that span hundreds of buildings and took decades to build, equip, and staff. With the imposition of steep tariffs, the cost of Apple’s products […]

I always assumed I was the ideal Amazon customer. I pay $139 for Amazon Prime, purchase 15 to 20 products each month amounting to over $5000 each year, use an Amazon Visa for my purchases, and fill my prescriptions at Amazon Pharmacy. So I was surprised to receive this email from Amazon about violating their […]

Many of us complain about how much better things were in the good old days. And sometimes it’s even true, especially when it comes to technology products. But now with less competition, the big technology companies know we have fewer alternatives. As a result, their services, apps, and other products keep getting harder to use. […]

Spam email has always been a nuisance, but now it’s becoming costly. It’s being used to steal billions of dollars a year from unsuspecting people like you and me. While I think I’m pretty good at detecting fraud, I’ve been fooled a few times, particularly when the email contained personal information that made me think […]

Elon Musk has carefully cultivated the image of a genius engineer, a modern-day Edison or Edwin Land, leading humanity into a technological utopia. But beneath the bravado and the bombastic claims, Musk is not the brilliant technologist he pretends to be. He is not a great engineer, nor an inventor. He is, at best, a […]

Peak Design, the San Francisco company known for pricey but ingenious camera bags, backpacks, shoulder bags, and camera accessories, has introduced their first suitcase, a rollerboard called Roller Pro. Considering the success of its other products, many of its fans have been eagerly awaiting to see how they might improve on the widely-used 22-inch rollerboard. […]

Technology is enabling truth and fiction to blur with alarming ease, making it difficult to know who or what to believe. Social apps, AI, and Internet scams are escalating the problem to a level where all of us will have difficulty figuring out what is really true. Moreover, the companies building this technology are ignoring […]

The Best Noise-Canceling Headphones for Travelers Among travel accessories, noise-canceling headphones have become indispensable for frequent travelers seeking to reduce the ambient noise on planes or just shutting out the chattering seat mate or nearby crying baby. While premium models often come with a hefty price tag, there are now many options for under $100 […]

There are calendar apps for managing a typical schedule, and then there’s a singular app for those juggling so many activities at once, interfacing with others across the world, and constantly trying to manage meetings and keep track of tasks. You know the first category, iCal, Outlook and Google Calendar. But you may not be […]

For decades, we were told to fear the foreign hacker. From shadowy Russian cybercriminals to the inscrutable might of Chinese state-sponsored hacking groups, the boogeyman was always out there, lurking behind a keyboard in a bunker somewhere, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. We envisioned catastrophic scenarios: electrical grids going dark, bank accounts drained […]

This week we’re getting a closer look at many of our tech titans who have been committing billions of dollars to developing artificial intelligence, an area that most think will have a bigger impact than the Internet. They’re promising to spend more money than we spent during the space race to build their new AI […]

Two products that I find really useful are Yelp and Google Reviews. While I use them both for finding good restaurants and attractions when traveling to a new city or country, they differ in many ways. Yelp is also great for rating local businesses of all kinds, while Google is best for finding and rating […]

More and more consumer products are adding WiFi connectivity, but that often comes with unintended consequences. I know because I’ve often fell victim to having the latest, and have asked myself why didn’t I leave well enough alone. Typically whenWiFi connectivity is included in a product, it enables the device to do things remotely via […]

Look all around and we’re seeing a very different side of tech that we once admired. Overhyped AI, X in tatters, Facebook without moderation, Amazon breaking laws, and even AT&T taking credit for providing us what we paid for. As one that’s spent much of his career in consumer technology, including twenty years in SIlicon Valley, […]

We rarely give much thought to the location of a stop on a train line unless it’s one we’re using, but where that stop is located can have a big impact on a community. Solana Beach, where I’ve lived for more than twenty years, is a laid back coastal California community of about 13,000 residents, […]