The Delicate Art of Making a 1907 House Smarter

I tested modern locks, lights, climate controls, and more in a historic home that I very much wanted to keep historic.

Best Car Vacuums (2026): Handheld, Cordless, Shopping Tips

These portable vacuums make quick work of snack crumbs, tracked-in dirt, pet hair, and the mysterious debris beneath your seats.

All the Ways You Can Make Reading on Your Phone Easier

Tired of eye strain? These tips will help optimize your smartphone for marathon reading sessions.

3 Clever Things You Can Do With an Old Amazon Kindle

These e-readers are more useful in their old age than you might think.

Kagi Brings Back Old-School Search, One Human-Made Website at a Time

If you’re tired of sponsored and AI-summarized search results, Kagi gives you a curated—and human-centric—way to find what you’re looking for.

A Beginner’s Guide to Growing Mushrooms at Home (2026)

From countertop kits to a bathroom bucket full of straw and beyond, I spent a year testing popular mushroom-growing methods. Here’s what fruited—and what just grew mold.

How to Disable Music Videos in Spotify

A recent update made video playback the default for songs and podcasts with a visual component. If you just want to listen to music—and save your data and battery—follow these tips.

How Google’s New Gemini Rates Work and How to Track Your Usage

Now that Google has changed how its usage quotas are tallied, you might not get as many AI responses as you did before.

Do Face Masks Help With Wildfire Smoke? Yes, But More Is Needed

As wildfire smoke threatens air quality and safety for millions, here’s your playbook to keep your family safe from the damaging effects of smoke.

Please Stop Making Me Opt Out of AI

I’m sick of “opt-out” toggles for automatically enabled generative AI features. It’s past time to make “opt in” the default setting for sensitive features.