After more than a decade of hype, driverless taxis are finally becoming a reality. We’ve heard the promises for years — cars that would pick you up without a steering wheel or a driver in sight — but this time electric vehicles are actually navigating city streets around the world, picking up passengers, dropping them […]

General Motors’ decision to remove Apple CarPlay and Android Auto from its upcoming electric vehicles has set off a wave of frustration—not only among tech enthusiasts, but increasingly among everyday drivers who expect their phones to “just work” when they get into a car. The move was strongly defended this week by CEO Mary Barra […]

If you own a cell phone, you probably know the feeling: you hear that familiar alert, glance at your screen, and find yet another text message begging for a donation before midnight. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never signed up for anything, or if you’ve opted out a dozen times already. I typically receive at […]

When Citi rolled out its new Strata Elite credit card earlier this year, it was supposed to be the bank’s long-waited return to the premium card arena. With a $595 annual fee, lounge access, and concierge-level support, it aimed to compete head-to-head with the American Express Platinum and the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Instead, it became a disaster […]

Scams come to us by email, text messaging and phone calls, but other times we go to them without being aware. An example are the fake product reviews that litter the internet everywhere you look. The search engines that serve these review sites to us don’t bother to discern the dishonest ones from the real […]

TheVerge reported this week that Amazon introduced a major update of its line of Alexa-enabled Echo smart speakers and displays that they liked alot, then ruined them a few days later when they began to fill them with intrusive video ads that impacts the products’ usability, much to the surprise of the users. Surprisingly, ads were […]

There’s a moment most of us experience several times a day: we sit down to do something simple online — pay a bill, check a warranty, read an article, or maybe just order takeout — and are met by that dreaded prompt: Enter your password. Then comes the frustration. Which one? Did it need a capital letter? […]

Luggage pack-off: My wife has long sworn by her trusty Briggs & Riley expandable soft-sided carry-on rollerboard. It’s been her travel companion for years — durable, familiar, and once considered the gold standard. I used to have the same bag until I replaced mine with a cheaper Away hard-sided model of the same size. Ever […]

If you’ve called a hotel or airline lately, chances are your first conversation wasn’t with a person. It was with a chatbot or voice bot programmed to answer questions, process simple requests, and—if you’re lucky—eventually hand you off to a human being. Hotels, airlines, banks, and even health-care providers are increasingly leaning on these digital […]

Hands-On Review: iPhone 17 Series – Hype, Reality, and a Few Concerns I spent some time with the iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max this week at an Apple Store and have been following the global wave of teardowns and torture tests on YouTube. These unsanctioned dissections provide the first chance […]

Credit cards continue to promise luxury perks, travel credits, and dazzling rewards, but for many of us the real question is simpler: Which of these benefits will I actually use and how much will I really save? Marketing always highlights the maximum possible value, assuming a perfect user who follows every enrollment condition and takes advantage of […]

Amazon usually is an amazing operation that magically delivers any of its millions of products to us in a day and often in just a few hours. But after a few unusual experiences, it’s not always exactly what is portrayed. This week I was searching on Amazon on my iPhone for a costume to purchase […]

Here are a few thoughts on the new iPhones and considerations for those thinking of upgrading, based on Apple’s iPhone presentation on September 9. This was a presentation filled with oldies but goodies, borrowing from things that worked in the past: thinner, the AIr designation, machined aluminum, faster processor, more memory, All ho-hum. Apple announced […]

Two things I saw today perfectly capture the widening gap between American and Chinese innovation. One was Apple’s rollout of new iPhone 17 models and watches. The other was a short video on Instagram of a massive Chinese ship that was built by BYD just to transport more nine thousand of their new electric cars […]

If you believe the ads, you’d think U.S. airlines were in the hospitality business. Watch a TV spot or browse their websites and you’ll see smiling flight attendants, promises of more legroom, and perks designed to make us feel like honored guests. They shower us with frequent flyer programs, elite status benefits, companion tickets, and […]

Each year Apple pulls out all stops with a highly-scripted event to announce their new iPhones and try to convince us to trade up. This year’s phone event is next Tuesday at 10 am Pacific Time. You can watch it live on Apple’s Website and on some of the tech blogs. Apple named the event […]

Twelve South, a small product design company in Charleston, South Carolina, has a long track record of coming up with innovative twists on what otherwise are commodity accessory products. While their products are often made in China, their clever designs set them apart, allowing them to command a premium. It’s also is an example of […]

AI is poised to make travel smoother, faster, and more personal than ever. But the way it manages this feat is by learning everything it can about us. If you think sharing your location with Google Maps feels invasive, consider that today’s AI grabs far more data—the digital equivalent of handing over your diary, not […]

Citibank just rolled out their new Citi Strata Elite credit card, joining Chase and Amex in the premium (over $500/yr) category with a range of benefits focused on frequent travelers. While each brags that its card pays for itself twice or thrice over its cost, the true value depends on which perks you’ll actually use, […]