-
WatchOS 10 ruined my Apple Watch’s battery life
I have an Apple Watch Series 7 (45mm LTE). The battery life was never great — longevity has always been the weak link for Apple’s smartwatch — but it was manageable. Until WatchOS 10, when my battery life took a sudden nosedive. Generally speaking, I could reliably count on around 24 hours of use per charge of…
-
What’s in my tech travel bag(s)?
What’s really necessary in your bag? At age 35, I’ve become a shameless overpacker. I’m rounding off a two week stint in Europe, and I traveled with a 55-pound checked bag, an overnight duffel, and my messenger bag. Most of that, embarrassingly, is clothes and shoes (I travel with 5 pairs, counting the ones on…
-
Mansplaining purses to women is my highlight of IFA 2023
I haven’t been a journalist for what feels like an eternity (read: two years). When I chose to come to IFA here in Berlin, I didn’t expect much, either – the show was thinly attended by the international press and mostly caters to local European media. But Honor, a Chinese smartphone company that has been…
-
Neil Young’s secret shattered years, 1974-76: A guide
My relationship with music has always been a tricky thing to share. Much like spiritualism, the delicate threads that weave together personal meaning in art are incredibly challenging to describe for a wider audience. But I’m going to try. I’ve returned to Neil Young’s Hitchhiker — released in 2017, but recorded in 1976 — more than any…
-
My international love affair with the Monster Outlets To Go
Discontinued years ago, this power strip has flown around the world with me several times over. I believe I purchased my Monster Outlets To Go 4 in 2011. I was preparing to travel to my first tech trade show — CES in Las Vegas — and it seemed like the ideal portable power strip. With…
-
Why I chose a MacBook Air 15 to replace my iPad Pro
I needed a personal laptop, and Apple’s “pro” tablet wasn’t cutting it. I know a good number of people fully locked into their iPad Pros. When I bought mine, I picked up the Magic Keyboard immediately, one of Apple’s most beautifully designed accessories in memory. It transforms the powerful slate into a competent laptop replacement…
-
Steam Deck revisited: A lonely flight companion
Valve’s portable gaming PC is best served in a giant aluminum tube. The Steam Deck lets me do something no other device ever meaningfully has: Play PC games at 35,000 feet. That’s probably not why almost anyone bought a Deck, and will never move an appreciable number of units as a selling point. But it’s…