Cord reviving isn’t common but points to discontent with today’s streaming options. Streaming is overtaking broadcast, cable, and satellite. But amid all the cord cutting lies a much smaller, yet intriguing, practice: going back to cable. Cord reviving is when cord cutters, or people who previously abandoned traditional TV…
Google promises a better smart home experience thanks to Gemini. Google’s products and services have been flooded with AI features over the past couple of years, but smart home has been largely spared until now. The company’s plans to replace Assistant are moving forward with a big Google Home…
Echo speakers and displays for Alexa+ require more expensive components. Amazon’s voice assistant is hanging on by a thread. And that thread is generative AI—or, in Amazon’s case, Alexa+. Amazon hasn’t had a problem getting people to buy cheap, Alexa-powered gadgets. However, the Alexa in millions of homes today…
Agent Mode in Word, Excel works like vibe coding tools but for knowledge work. With a new set of Microsoft 365 features, knowledge workers will be able to generate complex Word documents or Excel spreadsheets using only text prompts to Microsoft’s chatbot. Two distinct products were announced, each using…
Signs point to a relatively mild upgrade from the 16-month-old Apple M4. Apple’s biggest product event of the year happens in September, when the company puts out a new batch of iPhones and Apple Watches and other odds and ends. But in most years, Apple either has another smaller…
First patches fix bugs and clear up problems for the iPhone 17 family. Now that iOS 26, macOS 26 Tahoe, and Apple’s other big software updates for the year are out in public, Apple’s efforts for the next few months will shift to fixing bugs and adding individual new…
ICE’s HSI branch shut down Streameast in 2024. Popular piracy website Streameast is back to illegally streaming sporting events, just 13 months after Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) seized the domain. In August 2024, HSI seized several domains belonging to the Streameast piracy network, including some backup domains. After the…
F-Droid sees Google’s plans as a threat to FOSS apps. Google plans to begin testing its recently announced verification scheme for Android developers in the coming weeks, but there’s still precious little information on how the process will work. F-Droid, the free and open source app repository, isn’t waiting…
Op-ed: A dumb TV would be better. LG is looking to create a new market: TVs for senior citizens. However, I can’t help thinking that the answer for a TV that truly prioritizes the needs of older people is much simpler—and cheaper. On Thursday, LG announced the Easy TV…
YouTube Labs will be a place to preview all the app’s upcoming AI features. YouTube has a new Labs program, allowing listeners to “discover the next generation of YouTube.” In case you were wondering, that generation is apparently all about AI. The streaming site says Labs will offer a…
