The “gas is relatively cheap” might depend on where you live.  I live in California and gas is definitely not cheap - close to $4 a gallon right now in the Los Angeles area.   The trade-offs vary by region.  I wish this had been covered in the article.  

Exactly! It saves a lot of wear and tear on the USB port and saves you the “it plugs in this way”, then “no, turn it around because it must go in that way” dance.

“ They certainly look better than what Amazon has to offer, but in our tests, the Home Mini struggled to perform the smart tasks that Echo Dot handled with aplomb...”

You must not have asked the Dot many questions. I had an Echo and enjoyed some of its functions but it was really pretty brainless when it came to actual…

But Life Alerts have microphones! (*gasp*)

As another point, nearly every one of these devices has a Mute button that disables the mic. If you want, you can disable the mic except for those moments that you have a request. In fact, the Amazon Tap requires you to tap it in order to turn on the microphone.

As another example, I gave an Amazon Echo to a friend who is legally blind. It has opened up whole new worlds for him. He can get information on news, the weather and more with only his voice. He can queue up music that he wants to hear. He can listen to podcasts and radio stations from around the world. He’s…

I think you’re confusing what’s allowed by the contract and what is sensible in the situation. United may have had the right to do what they did but to execute that right in the way that they did has huge PR consequences for the airline. Arguing that they were within their rights will not put even a tiny dent in the…

I am stunned by your response. This situation only occurred because United mismanaged the whole situation from the start. How did they end up with a full plane, completely boarded, BEFORE figuring out they needed four seats for a flight crew? Let’s start there. I can understand bumping people at the gate; I’ve had…