Technology and Computing
We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more › I leave my smartphone sitting face down on my desk most of the day. I hear it vibrate. I pick it up and it shows me my notifications. I didn’t realize quite how ingrained this whole process is in my psyche before I started testing the iPhone 14 Pro Max and its always-on screen display. Now my phone sits face-up so…
This story has been updated. It was originally published on May 16, 2019. The rise of the smartphone has cut down the number of gadgets we need to carry with us. Most people see no reason to weigh themselves down with gear when one device can be a camera, audio recorder, e-reader, digital music player, document scanner, and much more. This versatility means less stuff in our pockets and bags, but there’s a case to be made for not using…
Many of us have come to rely on the Ctrl+Z (Windows) or Cmd+Z (macOS) undo shortcuts to get us out of trouble when a key tap accidentally wipes out three hours of writing or a misplaced click has suddenly turned a photo entirely green. But if you need to retrace more of your steps over a longer period of time, you’ve also got options. This feature is technically known as file versioning, and it keeps old versions of files available…
Although computer programs have long been able to read text aloud, their performances aren’t exactly known to be compelling. As AI capabilities continue to rapidly advance, however, the potential for more nuanced and “human-like” narration is more possible than ever. That possibility received a major expansion this week from Apple with its announcement of a new AI service capable of generating realistic human narration for audiobooks. But while the company claims the program will benefit independent authors previously unable to…
THE TECHNOLOGY in modern home appliances has breathed new life (and plausibility) into the old saying “If these walls could talk.” Your fridge and smart speaker may not have mouths, but they have an internet connection, and that can be more dangerous than the sharpest of tongues. Tech companies and manufacturers have made it seem like privacy is just a matter of digging into your device’s settings and disabling cameras and microphones. But after years of data breaches and high-profile…
This story has been updated. It was originally published on June 22, 2019. If you’ve got access to a Netflix or Spotify account—or any other subscription streaming service—you might be using a friend or relative’s login details rather than your own. Or maybe you’re the one doing the login lending. It’s common practice, but should you be doing it? Might you run into technical or even legal problems down the line? We’ve taken a detailed look at the major streaming…
Apple’s highly-anticipated Self Service Repair program launched Wednesday, giving US customers tools, parts, and instructions to fix common iPhone issues. For now, only iPhone 12, iPhone 13, and third-generation iPhone SE lineups are available as part of the program. Apple lays out the process in four parts: first, iPhone users dealing with a faulty phone would try to identify the problem in the newly-released repair manuals, which lay out the makeup and parts inside various iPhone models, as well as…
This story has been updated. It was originally published on February 3, 2020. You’re standing on the street when a total stranger walks up and asks if they can borrow your phone to make a call. Theirs died, you see, and they have to tell whoever they’re meeting they’ll be sitting in the back. Or you’re talking to a friend about the person you started dating, and when you pull up their Instagram to show a picture, your friend snatches…
Attention iPhone users: You may have recently sent an iMessage and seen a brief alert in the chat that your contact has silenced notifications, along with the option to notify them anyway. If you use Focus mode to do the same, your phone may also be telling your contacts about it. Not a fan? Turn it off. How to turn off Focus status alerts (or turn them on) When Apple launched iOS 15, it transformed and expanded its “do not…
The mundane act of changing a computer file’s name seems so simple that many of us take it for granted. But if you’re trying to rename multiple files on macOS, things get weirdly complicated—you’ll see way more options than you may think possible for such a humdrum task. How to rename multiple files on a Mac To change the identity of a bunch of photos, documents, videos, or whatever you have saved on your computer, you’ll first need to select…
Apple doesn’t put its products on sale very often, so when they do, you won’t want to miss out. For a limited time, Amazon and Walmart are offering a 22-percent discount on the newest Apple AirPods (3rd Generation), bringing the price from $179 down to just $139. That’s just $10 more than the previous-generation AirPods typically cost. The 3rd-generation Apple AirPods are earbuds that offer advanced features that you won’t find in the AirPods 2 model. Those features include spatial…
Before iOS 15, Apple had strict rules about how much you could customize the text size on your iPhone. No more. OK, OK, there are still rules, but they’re less strict. Now you can fine-tune the size of text within individual apps—a move that isn’t flashy but could change the way you use your phone. At its core, the aptly named Text Size widget is one of several accessibility tools that gained expanded capabilities when Apple rolled out the latest…