6/11/2024: Do-it-all display dock

Tip of the moment: A do-it-all display dock

Jared Newman | June 11, 2024

Greetings from Maine, where I’m in the midst of a family road trip vacation! This week’s newsletter is in a slightly abbreviated form, and I’ve commissioned a guest writer for this week’s feature column for paid subscribers. More on that shortly.

I’m loving this six-port USB dock from Sabrent, which is ostensibly built for playing a Steam Deck console on the TV but also works with my Nintendo Switch, Android phone, iPad Mini, and Windows laptop. Here’s how it works:

Run an HDMI cable from the dock to your TV or monitor.
Connect the dock to a wall charger, ideally one with at least 45W charging for laptops and consoles. (It supports charging up to 95W.)
Plug the dock’s built-in USB-C cable into the device you want to display on the TV or monitor.
Optionally connect additional accessories—such as game controllers or hard drives—to the dock’s extra USB ports.

While you can technically use any USB-C hub this way, I like the way this one looks on a TV stand, so it’s earned a permanent spot in our living room. It lists for $30 but often goes on sale for $5 less.

How to buy a computer monitor

For this week’s paid subscriber column, I’ve commissioned a story by Matthew S. Smith, a fellow tech journalist and an expert in the realm of computer monitors. Matthew’s reviewed hundreds of monitors at sites like PCWorld, USA Today Reviewed, and Digital Trends, and I’ve asked him to explain what you should look for when buying a monitor yourself.

Paid subscribers allow me to write in-depth feature stories every week, and to do cool stuff like paying other writers to share their own expertise. Sign up for a free trial, and you can read the latest full newsletter right now:

Some quick news items

Google has scaled back the percentage of AI-generated answers that come up in search results, according to a third-party estimate, after previously telling users to put glue on pizza.
The real issue with those AI answers, Harry McCracken argues, is their tendency to be inaccurate in less obvious ways.
There’s plenty to unpack from Apple’s WWDC even yesterday, but for now here’s a good summary.
It took three years and an embarrassing WSJ story for Apple to fix a massive hole its parental controls.
Popular Facebook fan pages for Taylor Swift and Katy Perry are a hotbed for scams.
Humane’s AI Pin isn’t just a bad product, it’s defective.

Now try this

Internet radio on iPhone: Relevant to the road trip I’m currently on, BMBX is a free iPhone app for playing internet radio stations from around the world. Search by genre, save them to your station list, and use the “History” tab to see all the songs you’ve heard.

Thanks for reading!

As a reminder, next week’s newsletter will arrive on Wednesday, June 19, and I’ll be back in the driver’s seat for that one. Got questions in the meantime? Just reply to this email.

Until next week,
Jared