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

Vulnerability in virtual reality systems identified

A team of computer scientists at the University of Chicago has uncovered a potential vulnerability in virtual reality systems—one that could allow a hacker to insert what the team describes as an "inception layer" between ...

Consumer & Gadgets

Apple's 'Walled Garden' under fire in lawsuit

Call it a "walled garden" or an ecosystem, but at the heart of Thursday's blockbuster US lawsuit against Apple are the many ways the company gets customers to remain faithful to its products.

Consumer & Gadgets

Children may overestimate smart speakers' abilities

Children overrate the intelligence of smart speakers—such as Alexa, Siri, or Google Home—and are uncertain if the systems can think like humans or not, research suggests.

Consumer & Gadgets

Does TikTok pose a security threat to Canadians?

Concerns about the threats TikTok poses to privacy and liberty were raised again, as a bill to divest TikTok of its Chinese ownership or ban it gathered steam in the United States Congress. And Canada's federal government ...