December 2016


Is the headphone plug obsolete?

I’ve been meaning to write this one for a while. So yeah, I missed out on a lot of the furor when Apple announced a phone without a headphone jack. Apple has done this sort of…



Leave it on or turn it off?

Which saves more energy… turning it off or leaving it on? At first it may seem obvious. Turning off a device saves more energy now. But, traditional wisdom tells us that turning a device on and…


PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT: Solar Charger

This is one product you almost hope you don’t need. The iWerkz Solar Charger can keep your mobile devices going as long as you need using the power of the sun. It folds up to be nice and…



FUN FRIDAY: Not even one week until…

December is famous for a lot of things, but for the most part we associate it with a number of holidays. Today is “Black Friday,” the day when the holiday shopping season traditionally kicks off. But…



Bluetooth 5.0 has been released, so now there’s that

I guess I picked the wrong week to talk about how Bluetooth hates me. In a recent editorial, I complained that my 14-year-long experience with Bluetooth has been anything but smooth. Bluetooth hasn’t always performed as promised for…



Has antenna technology peaked?

Fifty years ago, a TV antenna was a 12-foot-long beast. You can still buy those big ones, but most people can easily get away with a cool-looking, 2-foot wide spaceship like this Televes DigiNova Boss. That’s partially…


OPINION: Enough with the comic book movies

Jake Buckler started talking about superhero movies, and it got me thinking. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice was probably the most disappointing film of the year for me. Here’s a movie that started with great source material —…



The “real” reason phones explode

Count this as another article I’ve been meaning to write for a long time. It’s a little late considering the whole Samsung Galaxy Note explosion thing seems like ten years ago. So yes, we all know…