When I was growing up, my dad worked for United Airlines, and I traveled a lot. I would always sneak a portable AM radio in my backpack, and as the plane crisscrossed the country, I would tune into various stations along the way. Never would I have imagined what that little hobby would become for me.
While FM radio listening is huge, AM radio is still massively important. When hurricanes knock FM stations off the air, AM stations are often more resilient.
AM radio is so crucial that FEMA is installing emergency studios, transmitters and generators at 77 mostly AM radio stations nationwide to maintain communications in the event of the worst (with special thanks to all ham radio operators!).
You need to know several automakers told a Senate committee they’ll nix (or have already nixed) AM radios in all their vehicles. This includes BMW, Mazda, Polestar, Rivian, Tesla, Volkswagen, Volvo, Porsche and Mercedes.
Ford has since reversed its decision (at least temporarily) after considerable negative feedback. Ford says no one listens to AM radio anymore. Huh?
Every day in America, at least 4,185 AM radio stations broadcast news, talk shows, sports and other important programming. AM radio draws an audience of 82.3 million people — more than one in three American radio listeners — each month.
Get this: 57% of AM radio listeners tune into news/talk stations, the very outlets that carry breaking local news. Plus, in rural areas where FM radio signals are iffy, people rely on AM to stay plugged in.
Thanks to its long broadcast range, listeners can still tune into an AM station, regardless of where they are. Think about that the next time you’re road-tripping off the grid. So, why remove AM radios?
Electromagnetic interference in electric vehicles. Because the electric motors in EVs throw off harmful static, AM radio quality suffers in an EV to the point where it’s unstable and unlistenable.
Amazon’s Echo speakers, and the Alexa assistant, are incredibly useful and pretty darn invasive. On the practical side, it can even function as a security alarm with a device you already own.
But creepy? Absolutely. I once found a voice recording of a conversation my Echo caught when I knew for sure I didn’t ask Alexa to listen in. It just thought it heard the wake word. Check out this massive list of terms that can trigger your smart assistants.
👂 Alexa, can you hear me? Struggling to get your smart speaker to hear you? Keep it at least 8 inches away from walls and other objects to reduce echo and interference. Psst, look how cheap this Echo is.
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Not exactly brag-worthy: The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is tooting its own horn for no successful hacks during the U.S. election. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t interference. Russia ramped up its disinformation campaigns on social media, and several bogus bomb threats made at polling stations were traced back to them. And don’t forget China hacked phones belonging to President-elect Trump and JD Vance.
Which of the following will totally destroy your Wi-Fi signal strength? Is it … A.) LED lights, B.) Wooden furniture, C.) Mirrors or D.) Ceramic tiles?
You’re relaxing on your sofa with a bowl of popcorn and a remote. You start to stream a popular show, but the dreaded buffering circle rears its ugly head. Nothing is playing, so you whip out the nearest internet-connected device and type, “How to get faster speeds for streaming” or “Tips to speed up a slow streaming service” into the search bar.
Smart speakers are great for listening to your favorite tunes, but they can do so much more. Thanks to voice assistants, a smart speaker can tell you the weather, give you a traffic report, answer random questions, set your thermostat, turn off the lights and turn on the TV. And more features are being added by developers all the time.
Technology has become so intricate that it often interferes with other devices. The internal components are so sensitive to external forces that it can cause them to malfunction or be severely damaged. The last thing you want is for technology to interfere with the proper operation of medical implants.
The new iPhone 12 launched only a few months ago, and it’s already made a pretty big splash with Apple fans. The new flagship phone offers a ton of upgraded features, including 5G technology, making it a popular smartphone choice.
Bluetooth is great for rocking out in the car or talking hands-free, but sometimes getting it working makes you want to pull your hair out. There can be pairing problems, obscure error codes or completely unhelpful flashing lights — and that can be very frustrating.
Apple’s devices are no strangers to glitches. Remember Antennagate? Well, a new glitch plaguing iPad Pro owners is sweeping the nation. The weirdest part: the glitch doesn’t affect the iPad itself. Instead, users are finding themselves locked out of their cars — and their iPad is to blame!
