The legendary Marshall amplifier brand is quite transparent for a modern manufacturer. The company, based in Bletchley, Milton Keynes, UK, is known for producing its own equipment in England. However, Marshall also has a factory in Vietnam, which it says is “a replica,” and many Marshall-branded Bluetooth speakers and headphones are made in China. With only two amplifier manufacturing sites, Marshall’s ownership became a bit complicated. From its inception in 1962 until 2023, it was owned by the Marshall family, founded by Jim Marshall. Jim, also known as “The Father of Loud” and “The Lord of Loud,” died in 2012…
Author: Amelia Scott
Mikkelwilliam/Getty Images The current PC landscape is dominated by a handful of powerful players, with few other recognizable brands, creating an incredibly competitive market. Some of the best desktop computer brands today are Dell, HP, Lenovo, Microsoft, and Apple. Alternative but still widely recognized brands include ASUS, Acer, and MSI. These companies make computers in many forms, with all-in-one desktop units and feature-rich mini PCs joining the ranks of traditional tower PCs as popular options over the years. But these brands are not the only ones contributing to the evolution of personal computing. Today’s computers are faster, sleeker, and more…
Vladyslav Lehir/Shutterstock If you’ve ever seen an orange dot on your MacBook’s desktop, know that it’s there on purpose. In addition to your desktop providing options for accessing apps from the dock at the bottom of your screen, your Mac’s top menu bar also displays a variety of information and quick commands, including ways to quickly access Wi-Fi, the clock, your Siri assistant, and more. However, you may also see colored dots in your menu; they constitute a security measure. Added in macOS Monterey, this feature is similar to the black dot on your iPhone screen. Your MacBook will display…
The iPhone has been around for almost 20 years now. In addition to changing the way we communicate, Apple’s smartphones have also helped create new markets, such as the development of phone apps and third-party accessories to improve user experiences. In 2024, the Apple accessories market was valued at $28.3 billion, with growth expected to double this value by 2032. Some of the companies that have corroborated this success are Satechi, Twelve South, and MOFT. These innovative companies offer compelling products that can compete with Apple, whether by focusing on specific problems or by falling into categories Apple hasn’t yet…
Whether you’re a daily commuter who takes the bus or subway, or you share an office with chatty colleagues, one of the best investments you can make for your ears and your mental health is a pair of active noise-canceling (ANC) headphones. These audio products use built-in microphones to capture and cancel unwanted noise, so dialogue between the motor drone and colleagues is virtually defeated. ANC headphones also cost a dime, and there are as many duds on the market as there are winners. Fortunately, Consumer Reports (CR) constantly has its finger on the pulse of the portable audio industry…
Recent MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops feature a notch at the top of the screen. Unlike the one on the iPhone, developers have fortunately decided to experiment with the MacBook notch by releasing apps that help you increase your productivity, control your music, or have fun. If the MacBook notch seems even more left behind by Apple than the company’s Touch Bar, it also represents a bigger change to the MacBook and the Mac ecosystem, since at the end of 2021, Apple redesigned the MacBook Pro with a completely new industrial design. Besides the notch, it added several new…
Smartphones have become an integral part of our daily lives, equipped with a slew of useful apps and tools that let you do far more than just make calls and send messages. From accessing social media to playing fun games, the functionality of smartphones is multifaceted and does an amazing job of keeping you entertained. There’s a reason mitigating screen time has become such a pressing issue: people spend an unhealthy amount of time every day browsing the many apps they’ve downloaded on their devices. Some of these apps have become part of people’s daily routines, which might not be…
A new malware scam silently executes billing fraud, targeting users based on their phone carrier and location. Discovered by cybersecurity group Zimperium, the campaign used nearly 250 Android apps to impersonate popular games and social media sites, including TikTok, Minecraft, Grand Theft Auto, Instagram Threads, and Facebook Messenger. Once downloaded, they charged additional fees to unsuspecting users, enrolling them into automated subscription engines. The system used advanced techniques such as JavaScript injection, one-time password interception, and WebView automation to evade notifications, automate subscriptions, track scams, and exfiltrate data. Deployed in Malaysia, Romania, Thailand, and Croatia, the malware read victims’ SIM…
Despite being one of Apple’s most popular products and a key iPhone accessory that many people buy, AirPods lack a standalone iOS app that lets users customize the experience and configure the growing number of features Apple has added over the years. There is an AirPods menu in the Settings app, but you have to connect the AirPods to the iPhone or iPad to see and access it, instead of keeping the menu available all the time. Remove the AirPods, and the menu disappears until your next use.Apple isn’t ready to offer users a standalone AirPods app this year, according…
macOS Tahoe is the current software for Mac users. This is the last big update for Intel Macs before macOS 27, which is expected to be previewed at WWDC 2026. With macOS 26, Apple introduced an entirely new design language called Liquid Glass, making the user interface of the Mac, iPhone, and iPad much more similar to each other. In 2026, Apple added a handful of new features for Mac users, including the ability for developers to code with AI, new emojis, and a new way to turn on the Mac. Although the 2026 macOS updates weren’t as exciting as…