Why YouTube TV Won’t Autoplay on Some of My Roku Devices (and Works Everywhere Else)
If you’ve opened YouTube TV and found a dead, silent home screen where a live…
Why YouTube TV Won’t Autoplay on Some of My Roku Devices (and Works Everywhere Else)
If you’ve opened YouTube TV and found a dead, silent home screen where a live video should be playing, you’re not imagining it. I’ve been chasing this for a while, and it’s one of the more annoying tech mysteries in my house. The setup YouTube TV has an “autoplay on start” option. You find it…
CarPlay Doesn’t Care About Your Call Screening Settings — and Apple Knows It
If you’ve ever been cruising down I-95 with Maps up on your CarPlay screen and had a call from “Extended Warranty Services” blast through your car speakers at full volume — in front of your boss, your kids, or your in-laws — you already know the punchline of this post. iOS’s call and text screening…
When Algorithms Pack Your Groceries: Amazon, Target, and the Great Packaging Disconnect
There’s a particular kind of disappointment reserved for opening a box you’ve been looking forward to and finding wreckage inside. Not because anything was stolen or lost in transit — but because whoever (or whatever) packed it made a decision that, to any human standing in a warehouse aisle, would have taken about two seconds…
Turn Off the Lights, Get Nagged to Buy New Hardware: The Nest Upsell Problem
Last night I did something extremely reckless: I turned off my lights before bed. Apparently this is the moment Google has decided is the perfect opportunity to remind me that my Nest hardware is old and I should really think about replacing it. Not a security patch notice. Not a “hey, your device needs attention.”…
Walmart finally caves on Apple Pay — a decade late
Walmart just announced it’s rolling out NFC tap-to-pay — Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and plain old contactless cards — across its U.S. stores. A pilot starts August 24, 2026 at select Walmart and Sam’s Club locations, with a phased rollout to every U.S. store by the end of the year and fuel stations…
The TPM Tax: Why We’re Throwing Away Better Computers to Buy Worse Ones
Let’s play a game. I’m going to describe two computers, and you tell me which one you’d rather own. Computer A: Computer B: If you picked Computer A, congratulations — you have working eyes and a functioning brain. Computer A would demolish Computer B in literally every real-world task: video editing, gaming, running a dozen…
Banks won’t prove who they are, but they’ll ask for your social security number anyway
Here’s a scenario that plays out millions of times a day: your phone rings, the caller ID says your bank’s name, and a person on the other end says they’re calling from the fraud department about “suspicious activity” on your account. Then, before they’ll discuss anything, they ask you to confirm your identity — full…
Minecraft Bedrock on Apple Silicon: Still Nothing, One Year Later
Last year I wrote about how absurd it was that Minecraft Bedrock had no native Apple Silicon build. I’m writing basically the same post again, because nothing has changed. If anything, it’s gotten a little worse. Where things actually stand in 2026 A quick refresher on the shape of the problem, since it hasn’t moved:…
“Private Minecraft Servers Are Illegal”: A Bad Legal Argument, and a Missed Opportunity to Teach Kids Linux
If you run a personal Minecraft server for your family the way I do, you may have seen the recent headlines: during a hearing on California’s Protect Our Games Act, a lobbyist for the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) told lawmakers that private Minecraft servers are “illegal,” “not in any way affiliated with Microsoft,” and effectively…
It’s 2026. Why Can’t I Reorder My Saved Lists in Google Maps CarPlay?
Every time I get in my Jeep, connect to CarPlay, and tap “Saved” in Google Maps, I’m greeted by the same small, needless annoyance: my lists are never where I left them. “Favorites” — the list I actually use on every drive — is buried under “Want to Go,” “Coffee Runs,” or whatever list I…
