Hybrid versions of vehicles generally accelerate quicker when starting up from a stop, and they’re quicker and quieter in both normal driving and when accelerating. Many of them also have ride and handling characteristics that are as good as—or better than—those of their conventionally powered siblings. If you’ve been planning to purchase a new sedan,…
CR’s experts say that checking your oil is an important preventive maintenance task on cars that have a dipstick, the long metal strip that extends into the oil pan from near the top of the engine. Most new cars also have an electronic oil level sensor, but that may alert you only when the oil…
As soon as you want to hear the same music in multiple rooms, you understand why so many people love Sonos. When it comes to set-it and-forget-it multiroom audio, the company makes the hardware and software experience easier than anyone. From speakers to soundbars (and even turntables and networked amps), Sonos has taken over the…
A dealership may be less likely to fix a problem you find after you’ve taken the car home. “If the issue isn’t found until after you drive the car off the lot, the dealership might try to have you run the work through your own insurance,” Crossen says. In these cases, acting fast is key. Crossen…
Not quite ready to deck out your house with window, door, and motion sensors and hire an on-call monitoring service? Don’t fret! You can still keep your home secure without messing with your wiring by going with an indoor security camera or two. Knowing you can check in when you are away from home offers…
Sony released the PlayStation 5 well over three years ago, and gamers who initially duked it out to snag an early console may now have their sights set on the PS5 Pro upgrade model, rumored to launch later this year. Whether you have a PS5 or you’re still holding on to that dusty PS4, PlayStation…
Sharpening your own knives may seem intimidating, but once you get over the initial learning curve, it can be a cost-effective way to transform your dull knives into a new set. To further put my expertise into perspective, I’ve been obsessed with the idea of sharp knives since my dad, a former butcher, taught me…
At first we studied how my disabilities and prosthesis might affect my ability to meet the requirements in-flight. At a later stage we went into detail, to the point of figuring out, for example, whether I should compulsorily use my prosthesis in space, since legs are hardly used there. In summary, I can say that…
The good news? You don’t have to spend a fortune to get one. There are lots of low-priced options that will serve you well, particularly if you’re okay with a device that’s a generation or two old. Trust me, you don’t need a cutting-edge laptop to update spreadsheets or browse the web. The following picks…
A mod for The Sims 4 that removed LGBT and Black nonplayable characters (NPCs) from the game and automatically changed them to “straight” and “white,” respectively, has reappeared in spite of EA’s attempts to shut it down. WIRED has found dozens of similar racist, homophobic, and antisemitic mods for other popular games. The Sims mod,…
