Compatibility can include the option to stack a pair of machines using a special hardware kit. It could also mean machines sync up with each other to optimize performance. “Pairs come in a variety of styles,” says Allie Chilicki, a CR market analyst. “Most pairs have similar cycles, so if the washer has a casual…
Cyber Monday is almost over, but WIRED’s Reviews team is still scouring the web for the best deals on everything from Kindle devices to beauty products. I just came across this excellent sale on Vego’s kitchen composter, crowned Fastest Breakdown in our guide to the Best Kitchen Composters and Food Recyclers. These kinds of machines…
When Chinese AI startup DeepSeek became a global sensation in January, it not only shocked Silicon Valley but also startled ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company. The Chinese tech giant had already launched Doubao, its own flagship AI assistant app with tens of millions of users. But when DeepSeek became the best-known Chinese AI company overnight, no…
Keith Barry Keith Barry has been an auto reporter at Consumer Reports since 2018. He focuses on safety, technology, and the environmental impact of cars. Previously, he led home and appliance coverage at Reviewed; reported on cars for USA Today, Wired, and Car & Driver; and wrote for other publications as well. Keith earned a…
Hard-shell luggage has grown in popularity, thanks in part to marketing by premium brands such as Away and Rimowa. Typically made of high-tech plastic, the bags are a good option for protecting valuables. Some models expand in the middle like soft-sided luggage, offering added flexibility when you need more space. As a group, the hard-shell…
Making a full Thanksgiving feast for guests can be daunting, for some perhaps even terrifying. The world, and especially Hallmark movies, is full of holiday disaster stories: burnt turkeys, failed desserts, steamed hams. But I’m not bragging when I say that the first Thanksgiving dinner I prepared for my extended family—a little early, this year—was…
Two of Big Tech’s most influential billionaires, Sam Altman and Elon Musk, will go head-to-head in a highly anticipated trial beginning April 27. In Musk v. Altman, a judge, advised by a jury, will ultimately determine whether OpenAI has strayed from its founding mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits humanity, and the…
The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. In 1939, upon arriving late to his statistics course at UC Berkeley, George Dantzig—a first-year graduate student—copied two problems off the blackboard, thinking they were a homework assignment. He found the homework “harder to do than usual,” he would later recount, and apologized to the…
A Miami jury found Tesla partially liable Friday in a 2019 crash that killed one person and injured another—all while the driver of the Model S used the automaker’s Autopilot driver assistance feature. The jury found Tesla liable for $200 million in punitive damages, plus an additional $43 million in compensatory damages. (Because of state…
First, turn on the car’s interior fan on the low setting and open up the car’s windows. Get a disinfectant, such as Lysol or an AC disinfectant from an auto parts store, and spray it into what’s called the plenum. The plenum is a box that connects to your heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system,…