Amazon hasn’t made an Echo with a 3.5mm port in six years. Amazon has disabled Alexa control of devices plugged into the company’s Echo smart speaker’s AUX port. Users have reported receiving an email from Amazon this week informing them of the change. “This is a reminder that as…
Googlebooks require Android 17, but Samsung’s Android 17 phones won’t work yet. Googlebooks are Google’s latest attempt to carve out a piece of the premium laptop market, and tight integration with Android phones is a key part of that effort. Now that Googlebooks are available, we’re learning of some…
Russian attacks on Internet, phone services threaten Ukraine’s wartime economy. A surge in Russian jet-powered drone strikes on Ukrainian data centers has increasingly disrupted mobile phone and Internet services for thousands of people. Now Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other government officials are warning of the need for more…
Ars Technica’s guide to new keyboard sensing technologies. The mechanical keyboard isn’t always so mechanical anymore. Over the past six years, keyboards with optical, Hall-effect, and other “contactless” switches have become increasingly common, often going for higher prices than traditional mechanical keyboards, which already command a premium over basic…
The devices continue to show noticeable benefits for users in various real-world tasks. This year, members of Seattle Mountain Rescue have been setting off into the wilds of the US Pacific Northwest wearing an unusual piece of kit. They’ve been hiking into the wilderness with powered assistive devices attached…
Bonus: Every Electric’s batteries are beloved by household cats. My family has spent four summers participating in demand response programs whereby utility companies pay customers to reduce energy use on the hottest summer days. Most summers have involved carefully precooling our New York City apartment before switching off the…
Initially launched in 2019, the Nvidia Shield TV Pro now retails for $299.99. The era of generative AI has upended technology supply chains, and there is one ironclad rule in 2026: If it has memory or storage, it’s getting more expensive. Even devices with years-old tech inside are still…
Can it be Mini LED without a FALD backlight? What makes a display a Mini LED display? It’s a question that sounds like it should have a simple answer. But it’s now at the center of a lawsuit between two of the biggest names in TVs, with TCL accusing…
Reddit says it’s fighting “automated abuse.” Soon, Reddit won’t let people use Old.Reddit.com unless they have used the site while logged in within the previous six months. In July, Reddit started requiring that users be logged in to access Old Reddit. This new requirement is an effort to reduce…
Boycotting Disney is hard. There was a call to boycott Disney last fall. The owner of the ABC network had taken Jimmy Kimmel Live! off the air over comments Kimmel made about responses to Charlie Kirk’s murder, sending free speech proponents into a frenzy. Those free speech proponents include…
