Amazon’s budget security brand, Blink, announced two new cameras during the company’s fall hardware event in New York City: the Blink Mini 2K+ and the Blink Outdoor 2K+. As the names suggest, these cameras sport 2K resolution to pick up more details. But it’s the Blink Arc accessory that makes these security cameras more interesting….
Manufacturers report a model’s noise level in decibels, averaging the readings over the dishwasher’s full cycle. But that isn’t necessarily the best indicator of noise output. So CR’s panel of judges sits and listens to each dishwasher tested through its entire cycle, even if it takes 3 hours. “People remember a noise when it’s at…
Top Tier gasoline was developed in 2004 to go beyond the minimum standard for detergent additives to better protect increasingly sophisticated engines from carbon buildup and deposits on the intake valves, which can result in a rough idle, acceleration hesitation, knocking/pinging, and reduced fuel economy. Over the past 20 years, engines have become far more precise,…
Ostensibly, plant lovers should be the easiest to shop for. Just get them a plant, right? Wrong. (Well, most of the time.) I review indoor hydroponic gardens for WIRED and have been a proud plant parent for almost 30 years, so I can say that even if you have a running mental catalog of all…
If you’re shopping for a dishwasher priced between $500 and $1,000, you should expect the following from any model: Quieter performance: If you hang out in or sleep near your kitchen, it can be worth upgrading to a dishwasher that runs quietly. Plenty of models that cost between $500 and $1,000 earn our top or…
Health benefits aside, a clean mattress can also help prevent pest infestations. That’s why it’s important to pay as much attention to it as you might to your couch, and focus on how you clean your mattress, as well as how often. Back when most mattresses could be flipped over, the conventional wisdom was that…
Underneath flashy brand names or packaging, most ice melts feature blends of the same ingredients: sodium chloride, calcium chloride, or magnesium chloride. “They’re all salts,” says David P. Orr, director and senior engineer of the Cornell Local Roads Program. And any salt will seep into porous pavement, potentially causing problems. We spoke with Orr, veterinarians,…
I won’t mince words: Sling TV is confusing. It has, by far, the most confusing lineup of plans and add-ons out of any of the live TV streaming services I tested. There are a handful of core plans, none of which encompass the scale of Hulu Live TV, YouTube TV, or DirecTV, as well as…
Plastics that support modern life are inexpensive, strong, and versatile, but are difficult to dispose of and have a serious impact when released into the environment. Polyethylene, in particular, is the most widely produced plastic in the world, with more than 100 million tons distributed annually. Since it can take decades to decompose—and along the…
With this reinvention, the Highlander now faces fresh rivals in the electric-only space, especially the Kia EV9 and related Hyundai Ioniq 9. It’s the fourth battery-electric vehicle in the Toyota lineup (after the bZ, bZ Woodland, and C-HR) and the automaker’s first three-row EV. The company claims it will soon offer 22 models with electrified…