This month, my Chase Sapphire Reserve card came up for renewal and allowed me to do my first full-year assessment of the revamped perks introduced last fall. While I used about half the benefits, an unexpected roof replacement pushed my annual spend past the $75,000 threshold. That unlocked a valuable suite of Southwest Airlines perks: […]

For frequent travelers, public Wi-Fi has become almost as routine as checking into a hotel. You arrive, open your laptop or phone, select the hotel network and accept the terms. A few seconds later, you’re online. That convenience is exactly what scammers have been exploiting. A hacking campaign linked to Russian attackers, known as CaptiveCrunch, […]

A few weeks ago, I decided to upgrade my Lexus EV with a feature found on the top model, door puddle lights that project the car’s logo when you exit the door. The light module contains a tiny LED projector that casts a crisp, illuminated Lexus logo onto the pavement. Yes, it’s nearly useless and […]

The world’s largest technology companies are spending hundreds of billions of dollars building AI infrastructure. New data centers, specialized chips, and massive electrical systems are essential to power the enormous amount of computing AI requires. No company wants to be left behind, so the spending has become a race in which participation seems mandatory. There’s […]

When GM decided to stop supporting Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in many of its vehicles, the company faced a wave of criticism. Many buyers had grown accustomed to plugging in their phones and instantly seeing their familiar apps on the dashboard. Recently I had a chance to try GM’s alternative—a system based on Google’s […]

When Apple decided to eliminate removable batteries from their phones and computers, who would have guessed it might eventually impact airline safety? With the increased usage of our phones and the need to recharge more often, an entirely new industry of power banks emerged, and these devices have become the major cause of serious airline […]

While the automotive world has been marveling at China’s electric vehicle makers—and how quickly they have surpassed many European, Japanese, and American competitors—I’ve been equally impressed by a wave of consumer electronics from little-known Chinese companies. These products aren’t just inexpensive; they’re thoughtfully designed, highly innovative, and often rethink familiar product categories from the ground […]

Every generation has its miracle technology. It arrives amid breathless predictions, billion-dollar investments and promises that it will change our lives. Skeptics are dismissed as people who simply “don’t get it.” Then reality sets in. The technology isn’t a failure, but it isn’t the revolution we were promised. Artificial intelligence is simply the latest example—although […]

For decades, the consumer tech industry has operated under the rule that adding more features to a product makes it better. We see it in smartphones that ship with dozens of pre-installed apps you can’t delete, smart refrigerators and washers that require software updates to work, and televisions that spy on our viewing habits to […]

I’ve been using the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, the bank’s $800-a-year premium card, for about nine months and it has essentially paid for itself. But the wild swings in its customer service has left me scratching my head. I’ve taken advantage of many of the benefits including a $300 travel credit, a $250 rebate for […]

When the Trump Organization unveiled their T1 smartphone, it was marketed as more than just another Android phone. It was presented as a symbol of American manufacturing—a phone supposedly built in the United States at a time when politicians across the spectrum have been calling for more domestic production. Buy this phone, consumers were told, […]

Do you ever click on a link and get to a site that won’t open it because it’s behind a paywall? Or start to read a news story only to have it fade away and not let you complete it? It might be a link from a friend or from another story or a click […]

For years, Mark Zuckerberg wanted Meta to be more than a social media company. He envied Apple with its huge hardware business and decided he wanted his own hardware. He attempted to create a phone, but that never made it to market. Then there was the Facebook Portal for the home, a device for the […]

Most travelers worry about delayed flights, lost luggage, or long security lines. Few expect to be accused of international drug smuggling because someone stole their baggage tag. Yet that is exactly what has happened to a number of airline passengers in Canada, according to a recent investigation by CTV News. The scheme is both simple […]

Many new EVs announced earlier this year are now reaching the dealers, and I’ve been trying out a number of them. I began looking at those in the $30K-$45K range, knowing my EV lease is up at the end of the year and I might be in the market for one. Compared to three years […]

Each of the many times I flew to an international destination for business—more than 100 times —I went through the exact same ritual. As soon as I stepped onto the plane, I would manually change the time on my mechanical watch, mentally placing myself in the time zone of my destination. Like so many things, […]

As one who loathes to check a bag I use an expandable 22-inch rollerboard as my main suitcase. It’s become the standard of all the luggage companies because it’s the maximum size allowed that fits most overhead bins. The challenge for me has been finding the ideal second bag, especially when travelling internationally where it’s […]

Having flown millions of miles, I thought I had experienced most everything when it comes to the airlines.  But a week before my wife and I were scheduled to fly from to South Africa for a long-planned tour/safari, Lufthansa pilots and cabin personnel went on strike. Our outbound (non-refundable but reuseable) United tickets were for code-shared […]

It’s becoming obvious at how badly disconnected the U.S. tech industry has become from the rest of us. Day after day we’re told how amazing AI is and how it will solve the world’s problems. The press parrots the PR releases from the AI companies explaining how AI is about to accelerate medical research and […]

The World of Coffee trade show is in San Diego this week hosting visitors from around the world. Here are some thoughts after touring the exhibit hall filled hundreds of companies displaying their products. San Diego is home to more than 80 independent coffee roasters, surpassing larger coffee capitals like Portland, Los Angeles, New York, […]