Personal Technology

Everyday tools and free apps on your mobile device can help you collect, translate and digitize new material for your family-tree files.

Cable cars are still trundling up the city’s hills, but robotaxis from Waymo are shaping up as the city’s latest must-do for visitors.

The horror video game Content Warning, a surprise hit, lets players microdose as momentary celebrities on the fictional website SpookTube.

Despite Mark Zuckerberg’s hope for the chatbot to be the smartest, it struggles with facts, numbers and web search.

The $700 Ai Pin, funded by OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Microsoft, can be helpful — until it struggles with tasks like doing math and crafting sandwich recipes.

Even if you manage to ditch your iPhone, Apple’s hooks are still there.

What happens when a columnist and a reporter use A.I. glasses to scan groceries, monuments and zoo animals? Hilarity, wonder and lots of mistakes ensued.

Roku recently changed its policy to make it even harder for customers to take legal action. It’s a reminder of how we need to protect ourselves.

A wallet-free lifestyle relying on your phone is attainable, but it requires preparation and some compromise.

Canceling is simple. The tough part is remembering to do it.

Billed as the future of computing, the $3,500 goggles can’t replace a laptop for work. At times, wearing them also made our columnist feel nauseated.

Videos, many of them stunts or jokes, of people wearing Apple’s new virtual reality headset while driving Teslas in Autopilot mode prompted officials to issue warnings.

The new headset teaches a valuable lesson about the cost of tech products: The upsells and add-ons will get you.

The music-streaming platform’s new “daylist” feature serves users three personalized playlists a day, with titles ranging from quirky to bewildering.

Starting with Google Glass, all have been plagued with the same issues, even as Apple plunges into the market with its Vision Pro.

Hunching over a device can mess with your gait, slow you down and poison your mood. And that’s before you trip and fall.

Google’s Routines and Apple’s Shortcuts combine multiple steps into one command to make your phone or tablet do more of the work for you.

People who subscribe to OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus service will be able to browse the new store for tailored chatbots that perform different tasks.

The best tech, from universal power charging to foldable phones, solved practical problems. But the worst tech, including self-driving cars and cryptocurrency, put us in harm’s way.

After misplacing his iPhone while returning a rental car, a traveler tracked down the device and presented strong evidence to the agency that a worker took it — to no avail.

Overwhelmed by apps, profiles and not-quite-matches? Here’s how to start the new year fresh.

As the year winds down, take the time to explore iOS 17 and Android 14 with new wallpaper and widgets or by creating a digital diary.

With Shopify, Mercari and other retailers rolling out chatbots to help buyers, this holiday shopping season is the first to be powered by A.I.

Meta’s $300 smart glasses look cool but lack a killer app, and they offer a glimpse into a future with even less privacy and more distraction.

While texting technology will soon get better, the “blue versus green bubble” disparity is far from over.

We are overpaying for phone plans from Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. Budget wireless services, similarly fast and robust, can save thousands.

Meta’s rival to Twitter will now offer users — who signed up in droves at its launch — the option to delete.

A first impression of Humane’s new magnetic Ai Pin: equal parts magical and awkward.

The so-called iPhone giveaways marketed by Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T can make customers spend more on perks they don’t need.

With a free library card and the right app, you can check out e-books, audiobooks and more from your local branch.

MyShake, an earthquake alerts app created to give people a few seconds’ warning before dangerous shaking, sent a test seven hours early on Thursday.

Google’s new $700 Pixel 8 lets you use artificial intelligence to add or remove elements from your images. It’s not clear we really need this.

For a decade, marketers have found success on social media by roasting customers, and even flirting with them. But with Gen Z, and platforms like TikTok on the rise, the jokes may be wearing thin.

The right hardware and software — combined with time to learn — can improve the soundtrack in your videos, podcasts and other creative endeavors.

The new $500 headset lets people see the outside world while immersed in virtual reality. The benefits are to be determined.

Google says a change takes just a few steps, but a panel of designers found otherwise. The issue is at the heart of a federal antitrust trial.

As texting continues to be central to our social circles, the name and image attached are often more considered than the messages themselves.

The dream of carrying one power cable for all your devices is becoming a reality. But things aren’t as simple as they sound.

Apps that offer short lessons in various subjects can help get the most out of your time whether you’re waiting for a train or a meeting.

El consumo de video cambia de las salas de cine hacia un contenido comprimido para dispositivos pequeños, y lograr que los diálogos sean nítidos se ha convertido en un gran reto para el mundo del entretenimiento.

Many of us stream shows and movies with the subtitles on all the time — and not because it’s cool.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer shares tips on how to use your smartphone to shoot, arrange and edit your landscapes, portraits and other travel photos.

The mobile wallet service is a cautionary tale of how apps born at least a decade ago may be exposing more information than you would like.

If you have a story you want to share, you can easily publish your work in popular electronic bookstores — and maybe even make a little money.

To mitigate the production and spread of misinformation from chatbots, we can steer them toward high-quality data.

One of us is a Twitter addict; the other not so much. In the end, we were both unsure how people might use Threads in the long run.

Graphs, maps and data analyses? Now ChatGPT can do even more.

Instagram’s new app was downloaded more than 30 million times in 16 hours. Twitter threatened legal action against its rival.

Here’s what to know about Instagram’s new app for public conversations and how it differs from Twitter.

This season has seen excessive heat, violent storms and hazardous smoke already, but you can prepare for future events with a few apps and tools.