Looking back on 40 years of Mac
Wednesday marked the 40th anniversary of the Apple Macintosh. It came out about a year into my tenure as a syndicated tech columnist, and even back then, I had seen …
personal technology
Fears of Generative AI reminiscent of past moral panics
This column is based on a narrated slide deck and longer article that you can view at ConnectSafely.org/moralpanic. There has been a lot of ink spilled on doomsday scenarios about …
Pixel 8 Pro a feature-packed phone at a premium price
I usually review products soon after I get my hands on them, but in the case of Google’s Pixel 8 Pro, which I’ve had since early October, I decided to …
Using a personal computer to read and send texts
I’ve been using a smartphone with an onscreen keyboard since June 29, 2007, the day that Apple released its first iPhone. In my initial hands-on report, published the next day, …
Using ChatGPT for holiday gift ideas and cards
This is the week when I typically write a column about how to shop for holiday gifts. I wrote previous holiday gift columns based on my personal experiences and a …
Survey sheds light on parent, teen feelings about GenAI
We hear a lot about Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI), including gloom and doom scenarios about its potential dangers. As an internet safety advocate, I worry about all technologies’ impact on …
Larry Magid: Beware of ‘smishing’ scams
The first few times I got a text message from a stranger that appeared to be directed at someone else, I politely informed them that they’d reached the wrong number. …
Smartphone essentials for traveling abroad
I just returned from two weeks in Japan, a combination business trip to speak at the UN’s Internet Governance Forum in Kyoto, followed by a week of touring some of …
UN Internet Governance Forum focuses on AI
Janice Richardson (left), Larry Magid and Zoe Darme – in-person speakers at AI panel I spent five days last week in Kyoto, Japan, at the 18th annual United Nations Internet …
Polly Klass tragedy changed how we look for missing children
Poster depicting Polly Klass and sketch of suspect Just over 30 years ago, on October 1, 1993, 12-year-old Polly Klass was abducted from her home in Petaluma during a sleep-over …