Tech & Gadgets
22 articles
Why I stopped buying AirPods and what I replaced them with
Three pairs of AirPods in five years. Each lasted about 18 months before the battery sagged to useless. I'm out.
Why I gave up smart bulbs and went back to regular LEDs
Two years into a fully smart-bulb house. Why I unplugged most of them, kept three, and bought a stack of plain LEDs.
Trending in Japan: what the iPhone 17 Pro charging-speed crown means if you’re upgrading
Trending in Japan tonight: the iPhone 17 Pro, freshly crowned the fastest-charging smartphone in a CNET lab test of 33 new phones.
GTA 6 pre-orders are live — what's actually worth buying with it
GTA 6 pre-orders opening triggered the predictable rush of accessory upsells. Most of them you don't need.
Trending in Canada: Apple iPhone 18 Pro — What Buyers Are Actually Asking
Trending in Canada tonight: the iPhone 18 Pro. The Google Trends spike usually means three things — release-week buzz, carrier promo…
Kids' First Laptops: Chromebook vs Windows 11 (Real Battery Test)
I bought two laptops for two 3-year-olds and tracked battery life across six months of actual toddler use.
AI Writing Assistants 5 Years In: Which Held Up
I tracked output, accuracy, and cost across two major AI writing tools for five years. Both got better. One got dramatically better.
AI in Naval Propulsion: What's Real and What's PR
The Navy's \"AI propulsion\" headlines are interesting, partially accurate, and mostly underdescribed.
Steam Controllers and Alternatives: What's Worth Buying in 2026
Valve's original Steam Controller is dead but the alternatives have caught up. Five real options for PC gaming controllers, ranked honestly.
5 Productivity Apps for Freelancers: 6 Months In, Ranked
Same workflow, five apps, six months each. Two were worth the money. One was a productivity tax. The rankings and the reasons.
Canvas LMS Outages: The Calm-IT Playbook
When Canvas goes down mid-semester, the panic is the actual problem. Here's the practical 5-step protocol that's gotten me through a dozen…
Becoming Nora Review: An AI Story Worth Reading
I read the entire Becoming Nora novel in two sittings. It's not what the AI-novel category usually delivers — it's quieter, more careful,…
2026 Tech: What's Worth Paying Attention To (and What's Hype)
Mid-2026 perspective on the tech trends people care about. Three are real, three are mostly marketing, and one nobody's talking about yet…
Smart Home Gear Worth Buying (After Five Years of Mistakes)
I've bought, installed, and uninstalled 40+ smart home devices over five years. Here are the eight I'd keep if I started over — and what to…
Mechanical Keyboards by Price: What Each Tier Actually Gets You
$50, $150, and $350 keyboards each have a sweet spot. Most people overbuy at the high end and underbuy at the low end.
MacBook to Linux Switch: One Year In, Was It Worth It?
I left macOS for Arch Linux 12 months ago. The setup time was brutal. The daily experience is better.
Best wireless headphones under $100 in 2026 — what actually sounds good
Real-world breakdown of headphones in the $50-$100 range that punch above their weight, what to skip, and how to know if you're paying for…
Gaming mouse under $80 in 2026 — three picks that won't disappoint
After testing six gaming mice across two months, the under-$80 category has clear winners. Here's which to buy and which to skip.
Home theater setup under $1,000 in 2026 — the realistic build
Three years of upgrading. The $1,000 setup that beats most $3,000 ones, and where to spend extra if you have it.
Mechanical keyboard buying guide 2026 — without falling into the rabbit hole
You don't need to know what stabilizer lube is. Here's the pragmatic guide for someone who just wants a great keyboard without spending six…
Smart home essentials in 2026 — what to buy first, what to skip
After three years of building out a smart home, the only six devices I'd buy again on day one — and the half-dozen \"smart\" gadgets that…
Wireless earbuds under $50 that are actually good in 2026
The sub-$50 earbud market quietly got good. Three pairs that don't suck and one that's better than they have any right to be.