Dwight Silverman

Got WiFi woes? Here’s how to fix them.

A friend recently asked for help choosing a new internet provider that she hoped would improve her service, but the provider wasn’t the problem at all. Her service had been great until a few months ago, she told me. Now, her WiFi connection was…

Here are 3 apps to ease you into the AI revolution

I’ve been writing about consumer technology since the 1980s, and I have never seen any tech develop as rapidly as artificial intelligence during the past year. Typically, new advances percolate and reach a tipping point, eventually becoming available…

The best free email app for your Mac may come from Microsoft

Last Tuesday, Microsoft did something kind of amazing. It made its Outlook email app for Apple’s Mac computers free. Yes, there are some caveats, but for the most part, this is a fully functional email client and one of the best you can use on a Mac.…

Houston volunteers read aloud newspapers, magazines and books for those who aren't able to

When the Armco Steel plant closed its Houston Ship Channel mill in 1984, employee Bob Bartlett lost two things: his job and his eyesight. The former he handled by deciding to retire after 18 years of service; the latter hit harder. At 41, he had to…

New tech will help you and Siri, Google and Alexa work better together

If you’ve got smart-home devices or are thinking about adding them, it’s time to pay attention to Matter. Products based on this new standard designed to end the balkanization of smart-home tech have finally started rolling out, adorned with the…

ChatGPT gets bolted onto Bing; the joy of the OnePlus 11 smartphone

Columnist Dwight Silverman discusses some of the latest developments in consumer technology, starts at about the 24-minute mark.

Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Ultra is the biggest, baddest Android phone - this year

About the same time each year, makers of smartphones unveil the annual updates to their flagship products. Apple does it in the fall, while rival Samsung’s time is early in the calendar year. Lately, these devices have largely offered incremental…

Apple’s pricey, big HomePod is back — and you’ll want two

When Apple introduced the original HomePod in 2018, it was praised for bringing spectacular sound to the nascent smart speaker category. But critics dinged it for its spectacular price of $349, and for the limitations the device placed on its digital…

OnePlus 11 is a tempting Android phone at a great price, but corners are cut

Most top-of-the-line, big-name smartphones sell for $1,000 and up. It’s a fact of life: If you want the best from a manufacturer such as Apple or Samsung, you’re going to drop some serious coin. But if you could get a flagship Android handset for,…

Netflix reveals more about its password-sharing crackdown

Netflix this week finally began to detail how it will crack down on password sharing, with an approach that appears to be stricter than expected and – so far – with no mention of the “paid sharing” option that its executives had mentioned earlier.…

As Twitter kills third-party apps, new life blooms on Mastodon

As Twitter continues its implosion under the chaotic ownership of billionaire Elon Musk, a new social media world order is being born. The killing off of an entire software ecosystem by fiat has given a boost to development elsewhere. While Twitter…

The rise of ChatGPT(Jan. 23, 2023)

On Monday’s show: Major universities across Texas have reacted quickly to Gov. Abbott's order banning the use of TikTok on government-issued devices. We discuss what sort of threat the social media app may pose and why with cybersecurity expert Chris…

Missing the Dark Sky weather app? Merry Sky will brighten your day.

On New Year’s Day, weather nerds wept. That’s when Dark Sky, the original and beloved hyperlocal weather app and website, went away. Dec. 31, 2022, was the last day you could use either the iOS app or the darksky.net website. Purchased in March 2020…

3 things to consider when choosing between a laptop and desktop computer

A friend recently asked for some computer-buying advice, a question that’s decades old: Which is the better choice, a laptop or a desktop? But the details of her question illustrate why this is a timeless dilemma, one that’s even more confusing…

Netflix wants to end password sharing. Here’s how it could work.

If you’re a Netflix subscriber, there’s a good chance you’ve given your login credentials to someone outside your household. That’s a violation of the company’s terms of service, but the company has mostly turned a blind eye to it. The world's top…

Ads, overlays and paywalls, oh my! How to get around the web’s worst annoyances

(Note: During my brief stint at Forbes, I wrote a newsletter item and subsequent story on how to get around the web’s biggest annoyances – intrusive ads, overlays and paywalls. Since that May 2021 piece, I’ve found some new tools and strategies. This…

Time to update, expand, even walk back some 2022 recommendations

Writing about personal tech is tricky because the topic is one big moving target. Each review of a new product or discussion of a technological advance is just a snapshot in time. And over time, things change. In 2022, I wrote 52 columns, along with…

Got juice? Power banks get smarter, heavier ... and pricier

If you received mobile electronics as presents this holiday season, congratulations! Now that you’ve added more batteries that need to be charged to your digital tools, let me suggest just one more. Another battery. Specifically, I’m talking about a…

Mostly painless: Using a wearable sensor to battle diabetes

In early October, I learned I had developed diabetes. The news came in a blunt letter containing the results of a recent physical (yes, a snail-mail letter; my doctor is seriously old-school). “Dwight,” he wrote, “your blood sugars are getting out of…

Geek gift guide: Here’s the best gear I own and use in 2022

Depending on when you’re reading this, you’ve got about two weeks before Christmas to get your holiday shopping done. Giving for Hanukkah instead? You’ve got just a week, my friend. But your friendly neighborhood tech columnist has your back. Last…