#wirecutter — Public Fediverse posts

Mail-ordered Christ on an e-bike. After researching on TheWirecutter I tried to order a couch from Burrow on July 1st, and I think I actually succeeded? Their website listed it in stock, but I didn't get any shipping notifications for three weeks.

I finally emailed them about it, and the couch immediately went from "in stock" to "backordered for 12 weeks". Since I expected already have the furniture by now, I told them to cancel and refund the order last night.

Instead, this morning I got a bunch of shipping notifications and a message from their customer support that because my order had shipped (y'know, the one that was backordered for three months), they couldn't cancel it.

What an absolute fuckin' clown show. Avoid Burrow furniture and Havenly like the fuckin' plague.

#Burrow #Couch #Wirecutter #TheWirecutter #Furniture

I Reviewed Late-2000s Digital Cameras. Allow Me to Remind You Why We All Switched to iPhones.

https://kbin.melroy.org/m/technology@lemmy.world/t/1824353

Weekly output: WiFi hotspots, Android 17 + Gemini Intelligence, earning trust in AI, staying IRL in an AI world, AI image generation, photonics + data centers, Bill Gross on AI

SAN JOSE, Calif.–I’m back on the West Coast only three days after returning from Web Summit Vancouver, and my excuse for yet another transcon flight involves two different events: TechEx North America at the convention center here, where I’m moderating two panels Monday, and then Google I/O a little up the peninsula in Mountain View Tuesday and Wednesday. This is my second year at the first event but will be my 12th in-person I/O.

5/11/2026: The Best Wi-Fi Hotspot, Wirecutter

This update to this guide was originally going to review the Franklin A70 hotspot that AT&T introduced last year, but as I was about to file my edits I learned that AT&T was discontinuing that model. So I took out all of the copy assessing the A70 and restored the discussion of older models, which still left plenty of new text covering, among other things, how most high-end smartphone plans now include more data than you get with hotspot-only plans.

5/12/2026: In Android 17, ‘Gemini Intelligence’ Can Automate Tasks Across Apps, PCMag

Google dumped an enormous amount of news one week before I/O, to the point that I needed almost 1,200 words to cover it without even getting into Googlebook laptops, since PCMag’s Michael Kan wrote up that part of Google’s news. I trust that Google left something else to announce onstage at I/O Tuesday.

5/12/2026: Data done right: Earning consumer trust in an AI-first world. Web Summit

This was the second year in a row I had a Web Summit Vancouver panel featuring Pamela Snively, chief data and trust officer with Telus Communications. Knowing my fellow speaker’s conversational style made this panel easy; the topic was also a good one to explore.

5/12/2026: The Analog Renaissance, Why Human Connection and IRL Is the Most Radical Innovation, Frontier Collective

I showed up 5 minutes late to this offsite panel hosted by a local tech group because my floatplane joyride ended almost 30 minutes later than scheduled, a timing failure that in retrospect seems like something I was asking for. I then had a fun discussion with my fellow speakers–Raven White, TED’s director of audience development and community; Heather Odendaal, WNORTH CEO and founder; and Johnny Rodgers, a founding principal engineer at Slack–but I feel bad about inflicting “where is Rob?” uncertainty on the organizers and forcing emcee Theodora Jean to field my position for the first few minutes.

5/13/2026: What it actually takes to train frontier models, Web Summit

This was a late addition to my schedule, leaving no time for a prep call beforehand with Black Forest Labs co-founder Tim Dockhorn. That, in turn, meant I only discovered on stage that he can answer questions exceedingly briefly–which required me to improv a bunch of new questions. This sort of thing has happened on panels before; this time, I didn’t feel like I was flailing around onstage quite so much.

5/14/2026: Can Photonics Make the AI Data Center Boom More Palatable?, PCMag

Since my research for this started at NTT Research’s Upgrade conference in mid April, I was happy I finally got this written–including quotes from my interview of the photonics firm Taara’s CEO at Web Summit Vancouver that helped this post be about more than just the expenses-comped NTT event. I was not so happy to discover that I left two errors into the copy, one about the distances that Taara’s silicon-photonics chipset can send data through the air and another about this firm’s spot in the extended Google corporate universe.

5/15/2026: Bill Gross thinks AI companies are running out of ways to avoid paying creators, Fast Company

This is the first time in a long time–maybe ever, actually–where I wrote a story from an interview as an edited transcript instead of writing a more-structured piece with selected quotes plugged in where I saw fit. I enjoyed the challenge of finding the most enlightening exchanges about the longtime Silicon Valley founder and investor’s new venture ProRata and the state of AI in general out of 6,000-plus words of AI-generated transcript from my phone’s Google Recorder app (which I then checked by playing back the original recording).

For those curious on the resolution of the above cooker situation: we ended up going with a #Frigidaire Gallery model which was highly-rated on NYTimes #Wirecutter: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-gas-ranges/.

This has avoided many of the problems which plagued the Samsung, but (after three attempts at repair) still won't come up to pre-set temperature under the "Steam Bake" mode. Needless to say this is frustrating, as it's necessary to baby-sit the cooker until it actually hits the desired temperature.

I'm also finding that the steam bake reservoir is insufficient for baking bread at high temps (290C/550F), and fall back on an additional aluminium baking pan with about a quart of water for a typical bake. This largely evaporates during the pre-heat and baking periods.

#Bakestodon #Sourdough #baking #bakingBread

Bought my wife a smart scale from Wyze (based on Wirecutter recommendations). The pain in the ass it was to set up in their app and the amount of information needed to was uncomfortable and frustrating — and I was the one doing it.

Not to mention their app is more of a "hub" app for all kinds of "smart" devices of theirs you could connect to. Not what I expected, nor needed. Grumble, grumble.

#eshittification #smartscales #wirecutter

By Grabthar's hammer, by the suns of Worvan,, I fucking hate snowblowing.

Fortunately, it's most likely to cause a heart attack, so I can look forward to that.

Also, #Wirecutter sucks. At least on snowblowers, they're merely an ad-platform for 20-somethings and -wannabees.

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-home-3d-printer/

Wirecutter's picks for the best 3D printer

TL:DR
Best Overall: Bambu Lab A1 Mini
Best Upgrade: Bambu Lab X1-Carbon
Best for Long term Upgradeability: Prusa MK4S

#3dprinting #BambuLab #Prusa #Wirecutter

This is peak Wirecutter: a "water-quality expert" 💧 who doesn't filter their own water, yet still manages to churn out thousands of words on why you might want to anyway. 🤦‍♂️ Meanwhile, your search for a simple answer drowns in a sea of vacuum cleaner #recommendations. 🚽
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/know-your-water-quality/ #Wirecutter #WaterQuality #Expert #Confusion #ConsumerAdvice #HackerNews #ngated

I'm Wirecutter's Water-Quality Expert. I Don't Filter My Water

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/know-your-water-quality/

#HackerNews #WaterQuality #Expert #Wirecutter #WaterFiltration #DrinkingWater #HealthAndWellness

Building An Automatic Wire Stripper And Cutter https://hackaday.com/2025/06/03/building-an-automatic-wire-stripper-and-cutter/ #wirestripper #wirecutter #ToolHacks #3dprinter

Building An Automatic Wire Stripper And Cutter - Stripping and cutting wires can be a tedious and repetitive part of your project. ... - https://hackaday.com/2025/06/03/building-an-automatic-wire-stripper-and-cutter/ #wirestripper #wirecutter #toolhacks #3dprinter

#coffee Not that I am a huge fan of #Wirecutter (in fact, I think it’s the most obvious symptom of the #NYTimes ‘s decline), but #Bonavita might need to change its website, because the Times didn’t make it a “best of” pick. It dropped Bonavita from the ratings because of all the nonsense that has been happening between the company and its US distributor.

Listening to the new #Wirecutter podcast, I'm struck by the very different worldview of US people versus mine.
I already skip obvious mis-matches (last-minute Thanksgiving gifts, fireproofing your home), but hearing them discuss travelling and luggage, and only (!) referring to air travel, that surprised me. No trains, no buses, not even cars! It looks like to get around in the US, you almost automatically will take a plane 😢

This phone call could have been a form on a site

My research for the latest update to Wirecutter’s guide to WiFi hotspots technically concluded in December, but this week treated me to an annoying but useful sequel to that work: canceling service on the AT&T hotspot I’d bought (with later reimbursement) after my editors and I got tired of trying to pry a loaner hotspot out of the PR departments of that carrier or the hotspot vendor Franklin Wireless.

I should have known that AT&T’s site wouldn’t let me end service on the hotspot. I should have known that calling to accomplish this task would take longer than I’d predict or like. I should have known it would take more than one call. And yet…

I gave myself a few days to recover from CES to try to get this over with, then called 800-331-0500 (saved you a search!), entered my account number and PIN as asked by the IVR system, and was greeted with a suggestion that I request a callback instead of staying on hold.

Fine, I thought, even if that meant I’d have to pay attention to the next incoming call instead of letting it go to voicemail. The call back came at about the predicted time, I told the rep my name and account number, she said she was going to verify my account–as in, the thing that AT&T’s site does when I log into my account–and then silence ensued. After 10 minutes, I gave up and decided to try again later that evening.

My second call led to the same automated gatekeeping–say my account number, enter my PIN, etc. (FYI: If you don’t remember your PIN, AT&T will text a temporary one to you, which is not such a great experience when the wireless device in question is a hotspot that may require you to log into its admin page in the browser of a tethered device to see that message.) This time, I decided to stay on hold to see how long I might wait to have a human rep pick up.

Forty-two minutes later, one did. After she asked for my account details like the previous rep, we got stuck in a loop when she asked for my number to confirm my account. I thought she meant the contact phone number saved in my account, but she was looking for the phone number of the hotspot. That’s a meaningless data point for that category of device, but I can see a wireless carrier assuming that a customer will have a phone with a number they can recite from memory.

Six minutes later, we had that squared away–but not the canceling-service part. The rep had to check something else that wasn’t clear to me, four minutes of silence ensued, and then she returned to ask if I had any other accounts with AT&T. After I said no, she said she was escalating my request–as if I was making an unusual demand instead of trying to conduct a routine business transaction.

As politely as I could, I told the rep that we could skip the customer-retention part because I had only bought the hotspot for a work project that was now done, and that she had zero chance at selling me on anything else. She informed me that canceling service would result in my account being closed; I said that would be fine. A few more minutes of back-and-forth later, she said she had processed my request.

Time elapsed for that call: 1:02:37. That’s an absurd waste of time to inflict a customer experience that will only make the customers in question want to avoid the company in question from now on. And it is not inevitable, because streaming video services make pausing or canceling service a simple online process.

I’m left with two questions. One is whether AT&T is actually no worse than other wireless carriers–have I only managed to avoid similiar experiences by not having switched wireless carriers on my own dime since 2013? The other is whether my AT&T hotspot line actually is closed after all that phone time. As in, since I have yet to get an e-mail confirmation of that and see no indication of it when I log into my account, will I need to visit an AT&T store to drive a stake through the heart of this account?

#ATT #CRM #customerExperience #customerRelationshipManagement #customerRetention #cx #hotspot #onHold #WiFiHotspot #Wirecutter

I’m off to Lisbon tonight–my last booked business travel of the year–for Web Summit. It’s now been eight years since I started speaking at that event, and this year’s version of the conference will bring a painful parallel to 2016’s as I once again will have Europeans asking me to explain how my country just elected Donald Trump as president.

Patreon readers got an extra post this week, a report from my long Tuesday spent as an election officer that had me doing same-day voter registration with the new addition of creating records for each new voter in our pollbook app.

11/4/2024: The Best Cell Phone Plans, Wirecutter

My first update to this guide since the end of 2023 covered minor changes in rate plans at some carriers, AT&T’s breach of customer calling and texting metadata, and such other changes to the industry as the FCC’s broadband-facts labels and the advent of satellite messaging and, eventually broadband roaming.

11/6/2024: In Trump’s Second Term, Net-Neutrality Rules Are Sure to Die Again, PCMag

I wrote about yet another pending reversal of net-neutrality policy because I am serving a life sentence of covering the infinite loop of tech policy. This post also lists some other likely policy priorities of the man Trump will probably nominate to head the Federal Communications Commission, current commissioner Brendan Carr, as gleaned from his contribution to the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 as well as in his remarks at telecom events that I’ve covered.

11/9/2024: 97 – November 9, 2024, Rich on Tech Radio Show

My friend Rich DeMuro, who covers technology for KTLA in Los Angeles, had me on his weekly radio show to quiz me about the Wirecutter guide and about what listeners should consider when shopping for wireless service. My top advice on that point: Make sure you understand what speed or usage limits apply to any plan offering “unlimited” data.

https://robpegoraro.com/2024/11/10/weekly-output-phone-plans-x2-net-neutrality/

#BrendanCarr #FCC #Lisbon #netNeutrality #phonePlans #Project2025 #RichDeMuro #unlimitedData #WebSummit #Wirecutter

We need a #Wirecutter for groceries https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/11/the-krazy-coupon-lady-could-teach-news-orgs-a-thing-or-two/

The #wirecutter is no longer recommending #sonos as their preferred multiroom wireless system

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/sonos-player/

Personally, I am proactively attempting to use the SONOS app as less as possible.

That is how bad the app is ?

Really disappointing and frustrating because my family members are also complaining …

From #Wirecutter, things to do before you lose your phone, which I'm sharing mostly out of an abundance of superstition. #NYTimes https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/how-to-prevent-a-lost-phone-from-ruining-your-life/

#Wirecutter has an article using the blocks, too, with this cool U-shaped plan.

* LOL. Also. FANNY PACK?!?!! A FANNY PACK is required to take a walk around the block nowadays? I apparently missed the fashion switch.... #wirecutter #fannypack #wirecutter

Years later than you might have expected, given my line of work, I’ve finally hit the dubious milestone of owning a major appliance with its own Internet Protocol address and mobile app–the Bosch dishwasher we procured as part of an overdue and immensely-appreciated kitchen renovation.

I didn’t pick this 300-series SHE53C85N model because of that connected-home possibility. (I try not to use “smart” as an adjective when describing non-computer devices that can now be monitored and commanded over the Internet, because that’s giving a compliment that may not be earned.) I bought this dishwasher because Wirecutter recommended it, and I know the attention to detail practiced by the staff at my client.

But having flipped through the dishwasher’s manual and seen a note that some dishwashing cycles were only available through Bosch’s Home Connect app, I had to see if this corner of the connected-home future would live up to the glitzy presentations I see at trade shows like CES and IFA.

After installing the Home Connect on my Android phone, the app greeted me with a picture of a woman (note to Bosch: guys do dishes too) surrounded by appliance icons and this headline: “Infinite possibilities. Take full control of your home appliances.” But before I could take control of anything, the app first had me create a “SingleKey ID” account (skimming the privacy policy revealed that Bosch could use IP-derived location data to adjust appliances to match local water hardness), secured by default only with a password (the SingleKey site let me add two-factor authentication but only via text messaging, an underdone security UX that needs to go back in the oven).

Pairing the dishwasher with my phone took three tries, either because I didn’t wait long enough after turning the dishwasher on to press the “Remote start”/WiFi button or because I didn’t press the WiFi button long enough, or because the setup was just finicky. But then it worked, rewarding me with a “Congratulations!” screen.

My WiFi router’s app promptly notified me of the new device’s appearance on our home network, then disappointed me by not including a dishwasher icon among its lengthy list of connected-home devices that I could apply to the new device’s listing in that Synology app.

The Home Connect app’s onboarding sequence then had me select a default rinse-aid setting, decline or accept an Extra Dry default, set the volume for the dishwasher’s beeps, name the dishwasher (because it was late, I opted for “Dishwasher”), and choose what sort of remote control I’d allow.

The default for that last item was “Manual remote start,” where you have to press the dishwasher’s Remote start button before it will take commands from the app; I opted for “Monitoring,” then was confused to see no option in the app to select any of these app-only wash cycles.

Switching back to “Manual remote start” revealed that I can set custom cycles by selecting what I’m going to put in the dishwasher, how dirty those items are, and what my priorities are between cleanliness, efficiency, dryness, sanitization, silence and speed, then save that as a customized cycle. The last page of that setup interface reports the cycle’s estimated water temperature, time, and energy and water inputs, which for the app-only Eco cycle would be 113° F, an hour and 20 minutes, four gallons of water and .65 kilowatt hours.

I can’t lie: Getting that level of usage detail does appeal to my nerdy side. I can also see myself setting a custom cycle optimized for quiet when we have guests over, then adding another the next time I need to sanitize several dozen empty beer bottles for a future batch of homebrewed beer. So although this makes me feel a little dirty in a way that no connected dishwasher can make clean, I suppose I’ll keep this app around for a bit longer.

https://robpegoraro.com/2024/03/16/hype-cycle-meets-rinse-cycle-does-my-dishwasher-really-need-a-mobile-app/

#Bosch #BoschSHE53C85N #connectedHome #dishWashCycle #dishwasher #HomeConnect #SingleKeyID #smartHome #Wirecutter

Come on, #Wirecutter, you're really just gonna leave this sort of thing to the competition? Weak.

Focused on product reviews? Received an email this morning from Wirecutter about the best chef's knife. If you want to see a great example of a thorough and insightful review, check it out -> The Best Chef’s Knife: "After putting in over 150 hours of research—and chopping more than 70 pounds of produce with 23 knives..."

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/the-best-chefs-knife-for-most-cooks/

#google #seo #reviews #wirecutter

"an evolving internet may be to blame" .. no, actually the NYT editorial and executive team are to blame. I don't care all that much about #wirecutter, but this "market failure" nonsense really crushes my soul. The internet can be whatever we want it to be, and there are individuals who make the decision to publish each and every watered down, sponsored and SEO-addled site. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/08/wirecutter-recommendations-worse-new-york-times/675075/

Today I turned in (what I hope to be) my very last set of cable television equipment. Now I'm staring at a compound interest calculator and wondering if I really want to know how much I paid over 40 years.... #wirecutter