When Palmer Luckey was hacking together virtual reality headsets at his startup Oculus VR in the mid-2010s, he would sometimes imagine a future in which US soldiers used the technology to sharpen their battlefield senses. That vision is now virtually a reality after a deal that will bring software from his defense startup, Anduril, to…
This acronym is short for photoelectrochemical oxidation. It isn’t new technology, per se, but rather a boosted version of photocatalytic oxidation (PCO), which has been used for decades to clean contaminated air and water. A typical mesh filter—HEPA, for instance—captures only airborne particles. PECO and PCO, however, take it one step further and also target…
Not everything needs to reinvent the wheel. Iterating on products year over year has produced some of the best wireless headphones money can buy, and that’s precisely the route Nothing is going with its latest earbuds, the Nothing Ear and Nothing Ear (a). Sure, at its founding the company vowed to do so much more…
I’ve tested a ton of scooters. Not all of them deserve a spot above, but some are still worth considering. These are a few other good scooters I like, just not as much as the ones above. MiniMotors USA Dualtron Mini Special for $1,399: The instructions to assemble this scooter are vague, and a few…
Skip sprays for kids. Children are more likely to squirm when they’re being sprayed, so the spray could inadvertently go toward their face and be inhaled. CR recommends that caregivers avoid using spray sunscreens on kids unless no other product is available. And if you have to use a spray, spray the product into your…
All solar outdoor lights draw power from the sun during daylight hours and store that power in a battery, or batteries, housed inside the lights. When the sun sets, the lights use that stored power to produce light. Some models come on automatically at dusk, and some can or must be turned on manually. Unlike…
Since then, though, the expectations of the level of Apple’s capitulation have only grown more onerous. Algorithms that determine what the public sees online or through AI have to be registered with the Chinese authorities, and new AI legislation is largely focused on controlling the exact public-interfacing models that Western tech companies want to get…
The batteries are black, triangular, and have “U004 BATTERY” or “UPPBATTERY” printed on the side. They were made in China by Shenzhen Unit Pack Power Technology Co. Ltd. and sold under the brand name “Unit Pack Power” or “UPP” at online retailers, including AliExpress, Amazon, and Walmart, from 2018 through April 2024. The CPSC says…
The nationwide incentives featured below are good until at least April 30, 2024. The vehicles are listed in rank order by the percentage of potential savings off MSRP, which this month is 16 to 4 percent. (And yes, on electric vehicles there may be additional savings through federal tax credits and other incentives.) Similar discounts…
More screen real estate can make you more productive as well. “When I want to sit and do my bills, I use my desktop,” says Richard Fisco, who oversees electronics testing at Consumer Reports. “I don’t have to—I have a laptop sitting at my kitchen table—but my wife and I will go through a big…
