Consumer & Gadgets news

Consumer & Gadgets

Use voice control rather than touchscreens for vehicle navigation, say researchers

A man is driving a car along suburban streets when suddenly he receives a message: "Enter an address on the screen in front of you so that you can get help to find your way."

Consumer & Gadgets

ChatGPT is changing the way we write. Here's how—and why it's a problem

Have you noticed certain words and phrases popping up everywhere lately?

Internet

Study of data from start of pandemic examined changes in privacy and data choices

A crisis can alter one's personal considerations of the benefits and costs related to choices around data and privacy. In a new study, researchers used location data before and after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to ...

Consumer & Gadgets

The design tricks keeping your kids hooked on games and apps—and three things you can do about it

Ever found yourself unable to resist checking out a social media notification? Or sending a random picture just to keep a Snapchat "streak" going? Or simply getting stuck staring at YouTube because it auto-played yet another ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Here's how to maintain healthy smartphone habits

What is the first thing you do in the morning after you awaken? Many people immediately check their phones for notifications of messages, alerts and social media updates by their social ties.

Consumer & Gadgets

Meta, Ray-Ban maker extend smart glasses partnership

Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica said Tuesday that it extended a partnership with Facebook and Instagram owner Meta to develop smart-eyewear products after producing glasses that let users make calls, capture images and listen ...

Consumer & Gadgets

US says new Apple AirPods can be hearing aids

Apple on Thursday got a green light from US regulators to add a feature that would let upcoming AirPods Pro ear pieces be used as hearing aids, potentially disrupting that market.

Consumer & Gadgets

An expert discusses the state of cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin were created to circumvent the monopoly on money held by nation states and central banks. The digital currencies were to function more democratically and be widely disseminated. But the opposite ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Q&A: To like or not to like—Facebook at 20

Those who are old enough might remember when "The Facebook" was a more exclusive club—one where only American college kids could post raucous party pix, browse through a crush's public photo albums or track down childhood ...

Software

Electronic music with a human rhythm

Electronically generated rhythms are often perceived as too artificial. New software now allows producers to make rhythms sound more natural in computer-produced music. Research at the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and ...

Consumer & Gadgets

US Apple fans get hands on pricey Vision Pro headset

Eager customers lined up outside US Apple stores Friday to nab the first Vision Pro headsets, a $3,499 device that is the tech giant's biggest release since the Apple Watch nine years ago.

Consumer & Gadgets

How a 13-year-old beat Tetris

An extraordinary thing happened on December 21, 2023: 13-year-old Willis Gibson from Stillwater, Oklahoma, beat Tetris.