James Laird

James Laird

A technology journalist with nearly 10 years of experience, James is the former News and Features Editor at Trusted Reviews, and has also served as regional Editor of Lifehacker. His articles have been spotted on sites ranging from The Sun to InStyle, but his true love is shiny things and the story behind them. An avid golfer in his spare time, you'll also regularly catch him hovering over the BBQ listening to Pearl Jam.

Articles by: James Laird

Nest Hello

Google's Nest Hello doorbell will now tell you when a package gets delivered

By James Laird published

One of the best video doorbells adds a hugely useful new feature to its bag of tricks.

lawnmower

Why light housework might be the key to a longer life

By James Laird published

A new study taking in over 36,000 participants from the US, UK and Scandinavia says that intense fitness regimes aren't always the answer.

Echo Show 5

State Farm announces Amazon Alexa skill to help people stay in touch with older friends and family

By James Laird published

The insurance provider and tech giant are planning to launch the tool in 2020.

SimpliSafe Smart Lock

SimpliSafe bolsters home security arsenal with $99 Smart Lock

By James Laird published

One of our favorite home security systems will add a new product to its lineup in September.

Echo Dot

Scammers are hijacking phone calls made through Google Assistant, Alexa and Siri

By James Laird published

Crooks able to dupe digital assistants into calling phony phone numbers.

iPhone

iPhone and iPad users warned not to download Apple's iOS 12.4 update

By James Laird published

A bug that was patched in iOS 12.3 has apparently been reopened with the new release.

Siri

The Siri vs Alexa vs Google Assistant battle just took a fascinating new twist

By James Laird published

The digital assistants of Apple, Amazon and Google have been put to the test.

Android

What you really need to know about new Android malware Filecoder.C

By James Laird published

Security researchers say the malware can come disguised as tech apps or adult content.

Chrome

Latest Chrome update strengthens Incognito Mode defenses and more

By James Laird published

Chrome 76 also brings Dark Mode improvements – and another nail in the coffin for Flash

Comcast

Comcast Xfinity WiFi adds new parental control tool – here's how to enable it

By James Laird published

Limiting your child's daily screen time just got a little bit easier

Siri iPhone SE

How to turn off Siri and stop Apple from possibly listening to your recordings

By James Laird published

A whistleblower alleges the chirpy digital assistant may be eavesdropping on you.

Google Drive

Google Drive adds full offline storage mode – but there’s a catch

By James Laird published

Select Google Drive users can now save PDFs, images, Microsoft Office documents, and other non-Google files for offline usage.

Samsung SmartThings

Samsung’s cheap new SmartThings smart home gadgets could start a price war

By James Laird published

South Korean electronics giant Samsung has revealed a trio of new entry-level SmartThings smart home gadgets.