Time to review your subscriptions

This is a good time to review your digital subscriptions and recurring monthly charges. It’s likely to save a sizable amount of money, especially if you subscribe to a number of digital publication. In a space of a few hours I was able to save about $400 by making a couple of phone calls and […]

Favorite tech stuff of 2023

As the year closes I look back at some of my favorite discoveries of new products and services ffor 2023. iPhone cases iPhone cases are now a billion dollar plus business with an enormous selection of all types -from clear to leather to wallets to waterproof. Amazon alone offers more than 2000 models! But my […]

A bargain airfare. What could go wrong?

I cringed when my friend Larry told me that he was flying from San Francisco to Newark during the holidays. Then I shuddered when he said he was flying Frontier Airlines to Phoenix connecting to a Spirit Airlines flight to Newark. I jokingly told him to take good notes because this could make for an […]

An update on EVs

For those still thinking about buying an electric vehicle, the landscape has changed considerably over the past year. Yet deciding what to buy has become even more complex. A Tesla was always a safe bet, offering the best range and a broad charging network, with car prices lower than ever. But with Musk supporting and […]

Best travel products of 2023

Here are some of the best tech products, gadgets and services that made my traveling easier in 2023. INUI MagSafe Battery Pack – The INUI MagSafe battery snaps onto the back of an any iPhone (models 12 and newer) and recharges it from near empty to full in less than an hour. It can also […]

The Magic of Amazon

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday just over, I’m marveling at how Amazon has changed our buying habits. Not just becoming a substitute for driving to a store, but so much more. First, you cannot find many of the items on Amazon in other stores, certainly not the depth of choices. Whether it’s a motorized […]

Ai Pin: A new product attracting attention and ridicule

A new tech gadget that’s soon going on sale is receiving a huge amount of attention from the tech community. It debuted at Paris Fashion Week on the lapel of supermodel Naomi Campbell, it was featured in a TED talk watched by tens of thousands, and it’s received $230 million in funding from Silicon Valley insiders. Rarely […]

Fake airline accounts scam Twitter users

These days it’s safe to assume when you’re contacted by a stranger using email, texting, or social networks, it’s likely a scam. That’s the nature of the internet with so many trying to make a buck. It takes very little effort for a twelve-year old savy computer user in their basement in some far away […]

Hertz EV plans short out

Hertz thought they were being forward thinking when they ordered 100,000 Tesla Model 3 EVs last year, amounting to about a quarter of their fleet. Now a year later, its plans are in disarray and on hold. At the time it seemed to be a clever attempt to move on from their bankruptcy and take […]

Managing the cable-charger mess

It seems wherever we go and whatever we do, we’re fussing with cables and chargers. Whether it’s while we’re traveling, sleeping or moving throughout the day, we’re constantly trying to keep our devices charged. Our phones, watches, iPads, cameras, eReaders, and computers, always seem to need attention. Cables have their own special annoyances: they slip […]

Hawaii calls

(This column was written for JoeSentMe, the informative travel newsletter for professional travelers.) I just finished a delightful vacation in Kauai with my wife and daughter. Unlike many trips this year, this one was smooth and trouble free. We were fortunate to travel on Alaska Airlines’ non-stop from San Diego. With no status or special […]

A new carry-on and a clever compact wallet

One of the first rules of experienced travelers is to avoid checking bags at all costs. That usually means using the most efficiently-designed baggage to maximize what you carry on. The default suitcase has become the 22-inch (22 x 14 x 9 inches) rollerboard that’s the maximum size you’re allowed to take on board and […]

The idiocy of Elon Musk

Sometimes you need to believe what’s in front of your eyes. If something is so obvious, then perhaps it’s just as it seems. That’s especially true with Elon Musk. If we follow all of his actions, decisions, and statements with regard to Twitter, it’s as clear as can be that he has singlehandedly destroyed about […]

Hi-tech systems that come with great customer support

While our customer experience is generally poor when it comes to many companies, I’ve encountered an area where the service and support have been outstanding. That’s the area of home connected devices, including routers, audio systems, and security cameras. Now I can’t speak for all of the companies in these categories, but my last three […]

Shopping for a TV

I’ve been shopping for a new large screen TV to replace a twelve year old Samsung, and it’s been quite an ordeal. Remember the book, Paradox of Choice? It’s about having so many choices that it’s impossible to reach a decision. That’s what I faced. I did quite a bit of research in an effort […]

Thoughts on the new iPhones

Now that Apple has introduced and shipped their new iPhone 15 series, I have some initial impressions. While I don’t own any of the models, I’ve tried an iPhone 15 Pro Max and currently own a 3-year old iPhone 12 Pro Max for comparison. They both are similar in size and in appearance. While the […]

Audio parlor tricks

Over the years, the home audio industry has attempted to come up with ways to replicate the sound we hear in concert halls, theaters, and intimate venues. Decades ago the industry promoted adding more speakers to create sound all around us. It was accomplished by adding a pair of speakers behind us and a bass […]

Shopping in China

Those that travel internationally know that bargains can be found in other countries, but rarely have I found one like this that didn’t require any travel. With the help of their website, Alibaba makes the process simple to find the manufacturer of almost any kind of product, and takes much of risk out of the […]

Apple loses the Lightning connector

Apple will be announcing their new iPhone 15 series this coming Tuesday morning, 10am California time. One of the biggest little changes will be replacing the Lightning port with a USB-C port. Both connectors are similar in size and both can be inserted in either direction. The change results from a requirement of European Union […]

Outsourcing your dream vacation

After traveling internationally for so many years, mostly on my own for business or with my wife and family on vacations, we always planned our own itinerary, hotels, and details along the way. But recently we’ve come to the conclusion that perhaps it’s time to hire some pros to do the work for us. For […]