Technologies

Is Technology Bad or Am I Just at That Age?

Commentary: I’m 35 soon and things are changing.

I’ve been an avid tech nerd all my life, from getting excited over Casio watches with built-in calculators when I was a kid through to my almost 12 years as a tech writer for CNET. But this last year things have started to change for me and I’m left wondering: Has tech changed or have I?

It’s not that I don’t like tech anymore. It’s that so many of those gadgets designed to make our lives easier and more fun actually don’t work as they should. Take games consoles, for instance. My Xbox Series X is great fun when it works. But more often than not when I find myself in the mood for some button bashing and fire it up I’m met with a lengthy wait while massive updates are downloaded for both the console and then whatever game it was I wanted to play.

By the time I’ve made a coffee and stared out of the window while the updates install I’ve usually lost that urge to play and I end up doing something else. Ditto for the PS5. Do you know what doesn’t require 80GB updates? My Scrabble set.

Then there are the various new Bluetooth earbuds I use — the AirPods Pro 2, Anker Soundcore Liberty Air 2 Pro, OnePlus Buds Pro — which work fine most of the time and then, every so often for no discernible reason, one earbud will decide not to connect and I have to stop what I’m doing and re-pair the whole set.

Audio has been a big deal for me this year. Most of the time I love my Apple HomePod. The sound quality is great and AirPlay works well when it wants to. But it often doesn’t want to and decides to disconnect halfway through a song. And when I try to reconnect through Spotify I can’t even see my HomePod as an option anymore.

I’ve had numerous similar experiences with Bluetooth speakers from other brands, too. And don’t get me started on the fragility of in-car Bluetooth connections which typically seem to entirely forget your existence each time you turn your car off.

Last Christmas my brother gifted me a vinyl record player. I then immediately bought myself a whole range of records from some of my favorite bands including Periphery, Incubus and Royal Blood. I’ve honestly found the whole experience to be something of a revelation.

I’m not going to opine on the «warmth» or «character» of the audio from vinyl because I’m honestly not that bothered as long as it’s «good enough.» It’s refreshing simply putting on a record and having it actually play, without the need for establishing wireless connections or having the connection inexplicably cut out. I drop the record onto the turntable, move the needle and it just plays.

I’ve found, too, that I love listening to whole albums again, rather than simply adding a few songs to a playlist or shuffle playing all my «liked» songs on Spotify. Going out to record shops to find specific artists I want is a much more satisfying process than simply scouring the infinite abyss of Spotify’s catalog. Perhaps I’d also enjoy getting back into DVDs instead of endlessly scrolling Netflix and failing to decide what to watch. Probably not though.

It’s worth noting that in January I’ll turn 35. And there’s a certain cliche about people who hit their mid-30s and suddenly start getting into vinyl. I’m a professional photographer and, yes, I’ve even started dabbling in film photography this year too, enjoying the more stripped-back approach that my Canon R5 lacks.

To be fair, I’ve always felt a bit older than my years. I prefer bubble baths to nightclubs, I’ve made homemade scented candles since my mid-twenties and I’ve always been able to identify the most comfortable chair in any given room.

So is it me? Have I just reached that age? Or is tech actually just more annoying? Connections that drop out, constant updates and patches needing downloading, software bugs on phones that cause restarts, apps that crash, games like Cyberpunk released half-finished with the promise of fixes to come later. What happened to tech just working? Just doing what it’s supposed to and providing the smooth experience we’ve paid for?

Am I wrong to feel frustrated when things don’t work? I love tech and everything it brings to our lives. I love gaming. I love having Zoom calls with my family. I don’t want to return to a «simpler time» when «instant messaging» was done via the post or when the latest AAA game was ball-in-a-cup. I just want things to work properly and not leave me feeling like I’m battling against the tech that’s supposed to be helping.

Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going back to my comfortable chair with my hot cocoa and my blanket.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Wednesday, July 16

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for July 16.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword was pretty loopy, and it took me longer than usual. I was clueless about the Harry Potter clue for 1-Down. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Keeps in the loop, in a way
Answer: CCS

4A clue: They’re kept in the loop
Answer: BELTS

6A clue: Love to pieces
Answer: ADORE

7A clue: Craze
Answer: MANIA

8A clue: Single weightlifting unit
Answer: REP

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Type of wood in Horace Slughorn’s wand in the Harry Potter books
Answer: CEDAR

2D clue: What might have you seeing double?
Answer: CLONE

3D clue: Cartoonist’s creation
Answer: STRIP

4D clue: «Ka-POW!»
Answer: BAM

5D clue: The Caribbean, e.g.
Answer: SEA

Technologies

Data Centers Are ‘AI Factories.’ Google and Meta Are Spending Big Bucks to Build Them

It’s not just the spending that will be big. Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg envisions a single data center, the footprint of which would occupy as much acreage as a good chunk of Manhattan.

Tech giants Google and Meta have a lot riding on the growth and success of AI, and to support those efforts, they’re also committing significant sums of money to build the data centers they’re going to need to run that power-hungry technology.

On Tuesday, Google announced that it plans to invest $25 billion in data centers and other AI infrastructure tied to the PJM Interconnection, the biggest electric grid in the US. The PJM Interconnection reaches across 13 states in the eastern half of the US. The new data centers are expected to be in and around Pennsylvania.

To help meet the energy demands of the new data centers, Google also said it will invest $3 billion in hydropower. That use of a renewable energy source fits in with Google’s goal to become carbon-free by 2030. (Similarly, Meta is aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030.)

«I think there is a race on to co-locate data centers close to reliable, plentiful and inexpensive sources of energy,» Ramayya Krishnan, professor of management science and information systems at Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College.

The advent of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Meta AI is accelerating the demands on data centers, which also support everyday cloud computing tasks like photo sharing and movie streaming.

«Data centers are a critical part of the AI production process and its deployment,» said Krishnan. «Think of them as AI factories.»

Google already operates dozens of data centers worldwide.

Google’s announcement comes on the same day that President Donald Trump is attending an energy summit at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where investment in AI is a key topic.

On Monday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that his company will invest «hundreds of billions of dollars» in the computing needed to build superintelligence, a lofty aspiration to create AI that surpasses human capabilities.

Zuckerberg said that Meta has «several multi-[gigawatt] clusters» in the works, referring to the power consumption of the data centers. «We’re calling the first one Prometheus, and it’s coming online in ’26. We’re also building Hyperion, which will be able to scale up to 5GW over several years.» Earlier this year, Zuckerberg introduced one of Meta’s newest data centers, a 2GW facility being built in Louisiana.

These facilities could be mammoth. In a post on Threads, Zuckerberg showed the outline of a single data center that would cover «a significant part of the footprint of Manhattan.»

As the big new data centers get built, that could bring both opportunities and stresses to the communities near them

In a recent Airedale by Modine survey of 600 Americans, 70% of respondents said they wouldn’t mind living near a data center and remained hopeful that the facilities would positively impact their community. Among those who opposed data centers being built near their homes, their top concerns involved increased energy demand, noise pollution and hits to property value.

Krishnan noted the potential pluses and minuses. Data centers could raise energy prices for residential customers if the energy supply is limited, and they also use significant amounts of water, which could create environmental concerns.

«On the positive side,» Krishnan said, «data centers could create an eco-system of partners increasing employment opportunities in the region and [consequential] growth.»

Technologies

How to Watch Pokemon Presents 2025 for Legends: Z-A, TCG Pocket and More

July’s Pokemon Presents stream will likely provide updates for Pokemon live service games, mainline titles and the upcoming Netflix series.

It’s that time again, trainers: Grab your Pokedex and get ready to catch some new pocket monsters, because we’re about to hear everything about the latest developments in the world of Pokemon.

The Pokemon Presents July 2025 stream is the first one since Pokemon Day in February. That stream ended up being pretty massive, featuring game announcements and content updates that we heard whispers about from GameFreak’s infamous 2024 data breach.

While we don’t know what to expect this time around, it’s safe to assume that we’ll hear about the next mainline games, mobile titles, live service updates and more.

Here’s how you can watch the upcoming Pokemon Direct — and what you can expect to see once you tune into the stream.

How to watch July 2025’s Pokemon Presents stream

The upcoming Pokemon Presents stream will take place on Tuesday, July 22 at 6 a.m. PT (9 a.m. ET, 2 p.m. BST, 11 p.m. AEST). The stream will go live on the official Pokemon YouTube channel. We don’t know exactly how long the event will run, but previous Pokemon Presents streams have ranged from 10 to 20 minutes long, depending on how many announcements are prepared for the stream.

What can you expect from Pokemon Presents July 2025?

This Pokemon Presents stream is positioned at a strange time — Pokemon Legends: Z-A for the Nintendo Switch 2 has already been announced and we have plenty of info and gameplay footage available for that game. We might still get a segment that expands on new gameplay mechanics and Pokemon that players will be able to find in this version of the Kalos region, especially Mega forms that we haven’t yet seen.

The official Pokemon Company Japan X account teased this Pokemon Direct with a rather foreboding photo of Pikachu standing in front of some DJ equipment, so we might hear about a Pokemon rhythm game. Between that, New Pokemon Snap and the return of Mystery Dungeon, I’m loving the reintroduction of bizarre offshoot games.

It’s also possible that generation 10 will be announced during the presentation. There are usually three years between mainline Pokemon titles, and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet released in 2022. Unless GameFreak is looking to polish the next big games with some extra development time, we’re probably due to hear about the next generation of Pokemon games extremely soon.

Pokemon Day 2025 featured an announcement for Pokemon Champions, a dedicated Pokemon battling game, but we haven’t heard much about the game since. We could very well get an update about that game during this stream, explaining more about how the game will integrate the series’ long list of battle mechanics and giving us a better idea of when we’ll see a full release.

Otherwise, the backbone of this presentation will very likely be composed of routine updates and new features for Pokemon mobile and live service games. We can expect to hear about new Pokemon coming to Pokemon Cafe Mix, Pokemon Masters Ex and Pokemon Sleep, with the potential for new playable Pokemon to be revealed for Pokemon Unite.

With Pokemon Go changing hands from Niantic to Scopely, it’s possible that the extremely popular AR game will have announcements that shake up core gameplay features for Pokemon trainers worldwide. The recent addition of the Gold Bottle Cap was already a massive change for the status quo.

I’d be willing to bet that the next Pokemon TCG Pocket set will be revealed during this Pokemon Presents as well. New expansions are usually teased at the end of each month, which lines up with this stream. The last Pokemon Presents included info about a massive set expansion, too, so the precedent is already set for this reveal.

If you’re excited for non-gaming Pokemon content, there’s also a chance we’ll see some Pokemon Concierge during the Pokemon Presents July stream. The second season for this slice-of-life Pokemon hotel series is set to release on Netflix in September, so we might catch a scene or two teasing the show and get an official release date.