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The Smart Home Gym Audit: Spot Lock-In Before You Buy
Picture a buyer standing in front of a $4,300 strength machine, credit card in hand, about to sign up for a workout system that promises to change how they train.…
Read the full test →Tech tested where you actually use it — at home, at work, and every day.
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Three places to start, each pulling its latest three tests.
The home office
Desks, chairs, lighting and audio that hold up over eight-hour days.
The smart home
Network first, then hubs, then the fun stuff. Automations that keep working.
Wearable tech
Wearables, headphones and AI glasses, measured on the same wrist for a month.
I actually use this stuff
Everything reviewed here gets used the way you would use it — in a working home office, on a live smart-home network, on the move, day after day. Not unboxed, photographed and returned.
- Testing and reviewing technology since 2009
- Tested in a real home and a real office, not a lab
- Long-term ownership wherever possible, not a loan window
- Judged on everyday workflows, not spec sheets
The long guides
Latest tests & guides
New reviews, comparisons and guides from my latest testing.-
The Smart Home Admin Problem: Who Inherits Your Setup?
I’ve got seven smart home hubs running in my house right now, and if something happened to me tomorrow, my wife would have no idea how to get into a…
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The AirTag Stalking Problem, By the Numbers
Apple has reportedly received more than 40,000 stalking reports tied to AirTags between April 2021 and April 2024 [1]. Sit with that number for a second. That’s not a hypothetical…
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Your Smart Home Will Outlive You: A Digital Legacy Guide
I’ve spent 18 months rotating through smart home hubs in my house, Home Assistant, SmartThings, a couple of self-hosted setups running on a NAS in my office closet. And somewhere…
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Are Flock Cameras Legal? The Honest Answer
Here’s a number that should stop you mid-scroll: Flock’s license plate cameras have grown from roughly 80,000 units in 2024 to over 119,000 across 49 states by mid-2026 [1][2][3]. That’s…
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Hume Band vs. Hume Band 2.0: What Actually Changed
Here’s the thing nobody tells you when a wearable company drops a “2.0”: the sensors inside probably didn’t change at all. That’s exactly what happened with the Hume Band. The…
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Flock Cameras Explained: What 119,000 Cameras Mean for You
There’s a decent chance a Flock camera photographed your license plate this week and you had no idea it happened. That’s not a hypothetical. Flock Safety now runs more than…
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Blink Outdoor 4 vs. Ring Outdoor Cam: The Honest Trade-Off
Here’s a number that surprised me: one tester ran a Blink Outdoor 4 at a high-traffic gate, tripping the motion sensor about 20 times a day, and after 90 days…
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AirTag for Pets, Luggage, and Bikes: What’s Actually Worth It
Here’s a number that should make you pause before clipping an AirTag onto anything: Apple allegedly received more than 40,000 stalking reports connected to AirTag devices between April 2021 and…
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Roku vs. Fire TV: Which Streaming Platform Fits Your Home
Here’s a number that surprised me when I first dug into it: Roku and Fire TV together control more than half of all primary streaming setups in the U.S [1].…
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Apple AirTag Review: A Year of Real Use, Good and Bad
Here’s the thing nobody tells you before you buy your first AirTag: it will absolutely find your lost backpack, and it could just as easily be sewn into someone’s coat…