How Google could make Quick Answers even quicker

If you buy a smartphone for $100, how much are you really missing out on compared to higher-end phones? I recently tested the new Alcatel 1X and pitted it against an iPhone X (pronounced “ten” – fitting because it costs ten times more). It is undoubtedly impressive how much you get for $100, nowadays. Now […]

Waiting on Apple to update a gadget before you make an order? It’s not your imagination – the time between Apple’s product updates is getting longer. Using data from MacRumors’ Buyer’s Guide, I tallied the average days between hardware updates for Apple TV, iMac, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, and Mac Pro. I chose […]

When I bought my cellular-connected Apple Watch, I was stunned to find that carriers charge $10 per month for data. That’s an extra $120 each year to shoot emails and texts to my wrist. Then I found out that $10 per month doesn’t allot additional data, but instead siphons my iPhone’s existing ration. To top […]

It’s possibly the most photographed sign in the world. “There is probably no bigger Las Vegas icon than that sign,” said Clark County Commission Chair Steve Sisolak. Behind the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign lies the Strip, rows of palm trees, and – depending on your camera angle – up to 12 power lines […]

Remember iReview or iCards? Those tools once occupied coveted space atop one of the 100 most-visited websites in the world: Apple.com. Both were short-lived products. Most changes to Apple.com are gradual. Rather than a splashy periodic redesign that overhauls everything, the site tends to evolve so gently that changes are barely noticeable. A cursory review […]

Recently, my dad’s cousin (whom I haven’t seen in seven years) visited from North Carolina. He was in Las Vegas for just one night and invited me to pick a spot for dinner. I asked a friend for recommendations; I researched options online. I read reviews and scoured menus. I opened Google Street View and […]

At my last newspaper, I gave tours of the press. Whenever someone asked a tough question, I’d try to find the answer for them. What I wouldn’t do is apologize and forget about it. Yet that’s exactly what our digital assistants – Alexa, Cortana, et al. – do. When our virtual assistants don’t know an […]

You want to find an app or create a folder. Do you do it yourself or summon Siri? If you’re like me, you probably try to accomplish your goal sans Siri. That’s a stunning fall from grace for the once-extolled digital assistant. When Siri was born eight years ago, she was smart. Now, she’s entered […]

With all her shortcomings, it’s come in vogue to inveigh against Siri. But how short has she really come? I was curious why the bodiless voice that seduced us at launch no longer satisfies expectations. So I put Siri to the test and assembled a list of skills one could reasonably expect by now. Alas, here’s a […]