Catie Keck

Tech NewsStreaming Services

Now’s Your Chance to Get Hulu Dirt Cheap for a Year

An already cheap subscription just got cheaper. Say what you will about Hulu’s cable-rivaling, ever-spiking Live TV pricing, which saw another jump in cost just last week. But Hulu’s most basic plans are actually a pretty good deal for what you get. Its ad-supported tier costs $6 per month, or you can pay $12 per … Continued

Tech NewsGadgets

This Is Us Seemingly Predicted Crock-Pot Woes as Company Issues Recall Due to Burn Risk

The Crock-Pot drama returns. More than two years after NBC drama This Is Us shook our faith in an otherwise innocuous kitchen appliance, it appears Crock-Pot is now the subject of a recall over a number of real-world incidents involving a defective model of one of its devices. An estimated 914,430 Crock-Pot 6-Quart Express Crock … Continued

Tech NewsGadgets

Amazon’s Echo Buds Are Fitness Trackers Now Too

Alexa, show me a corporate pivot to fitness tracking. Amazon announced that its Alexa-powered Echo Buds will soon have support for data-tracking related to user workouts. In the coming days, users will be able to prompt the voice assistant with the command, “Alexa, start my workout,” and the buds will begin tracking data about calories … Continued

Tech NewsStreaming Services

Disney’s Experiments With Disney+ Could Change How We Watch Movies

As covid-19 continues to push theaters to the brink of bankruptcy, Disney has been cagey about the future of its planned theatrical releases. But a new report suggests more big-budget films could be heading to its service Disney+, as have recent releases like Mulan and Artemis Fowl. And even if theaters are able to make … Continued

Tech NewsArtificial Intelligence

Top VFX Company Attempts to Bridge Uncanny Valley, Fails

Well, this is horrifying. One of the foremost VFX companies on the planet, Digital Domain—the outfit behind some of the biggest effects in films in recent decades, including Titanic, Avengers: Infinity War, and Deadpool—has unveiled a new “realistic real-time autonomous digital human,” which it calls “Douglas.” Douglas, which will head to market next year, is … Continued

Tech NewsGadgets

iOS 14 Update to Fix iPhone 12 Bugs Affecting Texts and Lock Screen

A fix for a number of reported iPhone 12 troubles has arrived—at least for some of them, that is. Owners of Apple’s new iPhone 12 models have been reporting trouble both with receiving messages as well as with responsiveness on the lock screen on the iPhone 12 Mini, as noted on Apple forums and by … Continued

Tech News

Google Is Dropping a Bunch of New Widgets for iOS 14

Did somebody say Gmail widget? I have become something of a widget addict since they were introduced to iPhone users with iOS 14. A big weather widget now takes up three-quarters of my home screen and helps me keep track of when to water my garden; my fitness-tracking widget gives me a bird’s eye view … Continued

ReviewsBuyers Guide

The Best Gadgets for Creating the Perfect Home Theater

Right now, we’re spending more time at home than ever before, and many of us may be investing more in our home entertainment systems than we have in the past. If you’ve been considering upgrading to a better TV setup or snapping up a new smart speaker to help you control your connected home, now … Continued

Tech NewsStreaming Services

Apple Will Mercifully Share Its Peanuts Specials Streaming Rights with PBS

The holidays are saved, Charlie Brown! Well, kind of. Apple recently snapped up exclusive streaming rights for the iconic Peanuts specials for Apple TV+—including “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving”—with Apple TV offering the specials for free for three-day periods around their respective holidays. But viewers would still need the Apple TV … Continued

Tech NewsGoogle

The New Google Pay Makes Tracking Your Money a Breeze—But There’s a Catch

Google has just completely redesigned its Google Pay app in a bid to make managing your money easier than ever by giving you a bird’s eye view of your financials and spending habits. But it also wants to do this by becoming a banking middleman and turning your transaction history into a kind of Hangouts … Continued

Tech NewsNews

Oh God, the Worst Passwords of 2020 Are Here and They’re Horrifying

We’re still doing this, huh? It’s that time again. Each year’s end brings list after list of the worst data security sins and a ranking of password no-nos, and it appears that many of us have learned nothing from the security shortcomings of our past. According to a list of the 200 worst passwords of … Continued

Tech NewsStreaming Services

Welp, Hulu With Live TV Is Jacking Up Its Prices Too

Brace yourself for another hit to your monthly subscription budget. Hulu with Live TV, the very good live TV alternative that bundles live and linear programming with Hulu’s on-demand library, is getting yet another price hike. Per a notice that appeared on Hulu’s price guide support page, the company next month will raise the base … Continued

Tech NewsStreaming Services

HBO Max Finally Arrives on Fire TV Devices, Beating Roku to a Dedicated App

Months after the launch of Warner Media’s mega-streaming service, HBO Max is finally coming to Fire TV devices. The app will officially begin rolling out to Fire TV devices, smart TVs, and Fire tablets beginning Nov. 17, Amazon announced Monday. That means Fire TV users will finally have access to Warner Media’s marquee streaming service … Continued

Tech NewsGadgets

It Sure Sounds Like Nest Audio Will Double as Home Theater Speakers Soon

If your budget doesn’t allow for dropping hundreds of dollars on a pricey soundbar, smart devices that double as home theater speakers could offer a way to upgrade your setup on the cheap. Google recently unveiled its newest line of Nest Audio speakers, a $100 product that offers the best sound you can get from … Continued

ReviewsBuyers Guide

The Very Best Streaming Devices

The best streaming device for you is the one that fits your needs—which is to say, you probably don’t need to overpay for features that your TV doesn’t support, or worse yet, buy a device that fails to prop up some of the best features of your existing TV. There are dozens of sticks, dongles, … Continued

Tech NewsStreaming Services

It’s Probably Safe to Expect More $30 Movies on Disney+

Disney+ has unsurprisingly blown subscriber expectations out of the water, and Disney executives made clear during the company’s earnings call this week they plan to grow those figures by throwing money at more content for the platform. But if Disney brings more premium titles to the service as it did with Mulan, we may be … Continued

Tech NewsStreaming Services

Apple TV App Comes to PS4 and Newly Released PS5—If You Can Get One

The Apple TV app that allows users to access Apple originals through TV+ arrived in the PlayStation Store just ahead of the launch of Sony’s next-generation PS5 console, which hit stores today. Apple TV is now available for both its older PS4 model as well the newest box, as Sony announced back in October. Disney+, … Continued

Tech NewsNews

Hey, Google Photos, What Gives?

If you’ve been enjoying the luxury of unlimited premium file storage with Google Photos, I have some unfortunate news. Google Photos previously supported unlimited file storage with photos uploaded under its “high” setting (rather than in their original, sometimes beefier formats). The only caveat was that photos over 16MP would be compressed to that size … Continued

Tech NewsGadgets

Roku 4K Devices Finally Support Apple’s AirPlay and HomeKit Features

Roku support for AirPlay 2 and HomeKit is finally arriving on select 4K devices, with support coming to 4K TVs running Roku’s OS in the coming days. The Apple feature support, initially announced back in September, will begin rolling out to 4K devices with the Roku OS 9.4 update. Of the company’s streaming solutions, the … Continued

Tech NewsApple

Against the Advice of My Betters, I Am Buying the Mac Mini

Don’t do it, they said. Hold off, they said! Against many stern warnings against buying a redesigned Apple product, which history has shown may be a poor and even regrettable decision, I intend to buy the newly unveiled Mac Mini—a decision my colleagues have told me repeatedly is reckless and bad. Here’s my thinking: I … Continued