Consumer
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Intel Isn’t Adding 3D V-Cache to Its Consumer CPUs Anytime Soon
AMD came across a hack for greatly improved gaming performance—stack multiple layers of L3 cache for improved performance. It looks like we won’t be seeing an Intel equivalent of 3D V-Cache on consumer chips anytime soon, though. Intel is set to challenge AMD’s 3D V-Cache technology in the data center market, but gamers hoping for a similar boost in their…
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Therabody SleepMask Review – Consumer Reports
There’s a decent-sized body of data to show that sleep masks can actually help people sleep. Much of this research has been conducted in hospitals, where getting a good night’s sleep is notoriously difficult. A 2021 review and meta-analysis found that earplugs and eye masks, used either together or separately, increase the amount of time asleep and reduce wake-ups. A…
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Best Office Chairs – Consumer Reports
To help guide you through the selection process, we’ve purchased and evaluated 16 office chairs, ranging in price from $90 to $2,340. The list includes models from Amazon, Branch, Herman Miller, Ikea, Staples, and Steelcase. While all are billed as ergonomic, that leaves lots of room for interpretation, our testing reveals. “When you see a chair branded as ergonomic, you…
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Car Battery Charger FAQ – Consumer Reports
There are two main types of chargers: trickle and maintainer. Basic trickle chargers slowly replenish the battery, but they need to be monitored and manually disconnected when the battery is topped off. A maintainer may be all most people need. True to their name, these budget-friendly chargers are meant to preserve the charge level, not resurrect a dead battery. Unlike…
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Best 33-Inch-Wide Refrigerators – Consumer Reports
We rate refrigerators based on their thermostat control, temperature uniformity, noise output, ease of use, and efficiency. Every refrigerator we test gets wired with 15 temperature sensors. We then monitor these thermocouples for more than a month in one of three temperature-controlled chambers. These results tell us how well a refrigerator maintains a set temperature and how temperature varies in…
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2025 Acura ADX Preview – Consumer Reports
The ADX will come standard with a 10.2-inch digital instrument display (i.e., the “gauge cluster”) along with a dashboard-mounted 9-inch color infotainment touchscreen. Acura notes the system will feature a physical volume control (hooray!) along with a simple hard button to exit back to the home screen. There’s even a small “finger rest” at the bottom of the touchscreen in…
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2026 Honda Passport Preview – Consumer Reports
“Bold,” “adventure,” “wild,” “sportier,” “robust,” and “rugged” are some of the words Honda uses to describe the 2026 Passport. It’s boxy like a Toyota Land Cruiser and has industrial design touches, including the word “PASSPORT” stamped into the sheet metal. It’s only a little bit longer, taller, and wider than the current model, but Honda says interior cargo volume is…
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Microsoft adds Copilot AI features to some non-US M365 consumer plans – Computerworld
Microsoft is bundling its Copilot generative AI (genAI) assistant with consumer Microsoft 365 subscriptions in several countries, the company announced last week. Copilot Pro will be included in Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscriptions in Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand, the company said in a statement first spotted by ZDNet. It means users will gain access to Copilot features in apps such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Designer —…
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US consumer protection agency bans employee mobile calls amid Chinese hack fears
The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued an urgent directive barring employees and contractors from using mobile phones for work-related calls, following a major breach in US telecommunications infrastructure attributed to Chinese-linked hackers. According to an internal memo, CFPB’s chief information officer advised staff to move sensitive discussions to secure platforms like Microsoft Teams and Cisco WebEx, reported…
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RevAir Hair Dryer Review – Consumer Reports
After my daughter was born, I soon realized the struggle facing them: the maintenance. #LongHairDontCare is a lie. It’s difficult to take care of a lot of hair and keep it healthy and looking great. Weekly wash days with my daughter were always full of tearful agony—her tears and my agony because I did not want to deal with her…
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