Quick Links I’ve spent the last few months playing with the Up-Switch Orion, an accessory that more than doubles a Nintendo Switch’s screen size. And, coincidentally, I’ve spent the past month laughing like a madman. The Orion is one of the strangest Switch accessories I’ve ever seen. And while it’s fun to use (especially with my awful eyesight), I’m not really sure why anyone would buy this product. At least, not without some major improvements....

Quick Links Summary Android phones come with multiple apps pre-installed you may be unfamiliar with. One app you might stumble upon is called “Android System Intelligence” (ASI). This is a core system app from Google and occasionally gets updates through the Play Store. But why is it on your phone, and is it safe? There are several apps on Android phones and tablets that you’ll never open or interact with. These system apps run crucial aspects, features, or controls on your device....

Quick Links Ever wonder what makes your web browser tick? If you peel back the layers, you’ll find something interesting at the core. Google Chrome is based on something called “Chromium,” and you may be surprised by how many other browsers have that in common. Chrome’s Open-Source Core Simply put, “Chromium” is the name of the open-source project that provides the vast majority of the code for the Google Chrome browser....

Summary With countless laptop reviews flooding YouTube, you’ve probably heard tech influencers throwing around the term “deck flex.” It’s tested, criticized, and debated over. Some claim flex is bad, while others say it’s irrelevant. But why should you care about flex? Understanding Deck Flex Before we unpack the hype, let’s get on the same page about “deck flex.” Picture this scenario: you’re typing an email on your laptop and feel the keyboard area or “deck” dipping beneath your fingers....

Quick Links Summary Sonos Trueplay calibrates your Sonos speakers to sound good in your room. It requires the Sonos app on an iPhone or iPad; Trueplay doesn’t work on Android. Some Sonos speakers, like the Sonos Roam, have automatic Trueplay and automatically calibrate themselves. Proper audio design can be challenging, given how much stuff we cram into our homes. Sound waves are dynamic signals that bounce all over the place, so picking the ideal spot for your speakers can be quite the trial....

WhatsApp has a new call-scheduling feature that will let you plan ahead for both personal and professional group calls. Along with the ability to schedule calls, WhatsApp is also adding more interactive features that are reminiscent of Google Meet calls, like raising your hand to speak. The app makes it pretty easy to get a quick group call going with friends or family, but it lacked a way to plan these calls ahead of time easily....

Summary Drones are a great way to get excellent footage of beautiful places, but they’re off limits at America’s national parks. Why? Let’s look at the reasons in detail. Why Drones Are Prohibited at National Parks We’ve hit a point wheredrones are increasingly affordable for regular people, and there aremany excellent drones available today, but they come with more restrictions than other consumer electronics, regardless of your proximity to a national park....

Quick Links It’s a bit jarring playing thelatest Mario Kart for Nintendo Switchwhen the last time you played Mario Kart was the N64 version. Questions abound: Who are all these characters? Why can’t I actually fall off the course? And why do I keep getting bananas while in first place? But you never forget how to ride a bike, especially when the bike is shaped like Yoshi. Even when I was strapping on my mushroom head as Toad for the first time in years and losing over and over to my friends, I obnoxiously remarked, “Enjoy this time, because my skills will come back and then I’ll dominate....

Quick Links Summary There’s a whole world of excellent gaming mice out there, but I just don’t see myself using any mouse other than the Logitech G502 and its variants. There’s a reason so many gamers obsess over the G502, and this is why I love mine. High-End Gaming Specs, Plenty of Extra Buttons The original Logitech G502 was launched in 2014, and I immediately knew that I had to have it....

Mercury, the smallest planet in our solar system, named after the Roman god of commerce, is the planet closest to the Sun. It also circles the Sun the fastest, at an average speed of almost 106 thousand miles. This is just the tip of the iceberg regarding cool facts about Mercury. 10Mercury’s Poles Contain Water Ice Despite Its Proximity to the Sun While we’re talking about ice, did you know that there are billions of tonnes of water ice residing at Mercury’s poles?...

Quick Links Summary LED bulbs can fail prematurely when exposed to excessive heat, incompatible dimmer switches, voltage irregularities, or simply due to cheap construction with subpar components. The allure of LED lights is that they last for tens of thousands of hours. If yours are burning out prematurely, here are some of the likely reasons why. First: LEDs Don’t Actually “Burn Out” Before we dig into reasons why your LED bulbs aren’t making it to that fabled 50,000-hour mark—let alone the 500-hour mark—let’s clear up what we mean by “burn out....

Quick Links The Perplexity AI chatbot was initially available only as a web-based option with limited functionality. But since the launch of the Perplexity mobile assistant on Android, I’ve been using it regularly for these five tasks. How to Set Perplexity AI as Your Default Assistant The first thing you should do is replace Google Assistant withPerplexity AIon your Android smartphone. This way, you won’t have to open the Perplexity app every time you need it to perform a task....

Quick Links There have been hints about Apple’s AI ambitions coming this year but CEOTim Cook laid it out, saying Apple had, “incredible breakthrough potential for generative AI.” Here’s what I think is coming atApple’s WWDC developer conferenceon June 10. 1Siri Will Become a Proper Chatbot/LLM Instead of having people turning to ChatGPT, I think Apple wants people to give Siri another chance to answer all their questions, without hearing, “I can show you some results if you look at your iPhone....