Weekly output: teens + AI chatbots, Android updates, Trump on data-center energy use, Archer + Starlink, balcony solar, customer feedback, CDA 230 + AI, Bluetooth updates
BARCELONA–It’s a treat to be able to start off a post with this dateline. This is the 13th trip that’s afforded me that opportunity and the 12th involving MWC. But this trip isn’t like the ones before it in one way; on my way across the Atlantic, my country started a war of choice because the president felt like it. The world is better without Iran’s worthless, murdering theocrat Ali Khameni, but I have little confidence in the Trump administration’s ability to do the right things for that long-suffering country.
In addition to the links you see below, Patreon readers got a bonus post from me in which I shared lessons learned from more than 10 years of booking Airbnbs.
2/24/2026: Most Teens Use AI for Homework Help. 10% Let It Do Everything, PCMag
Getting an advance copy of this new study from the Pew Research Center gave me a chance to note a new student-understudy chatbot called Einstein and quiz the CEO behind that app.
2/25/2026: Android Update Puts Gemini AI In the Driver’s Seat for Ride-Hail, Food Orders, PCMag
I have somehow become PCMag’s Android-updates guy. This report included a little testimony about Google’s call-scam-detection feature misfiring for me, an important bit of context to include in a post telling readers about Google bringing that tool to Samsung’s new Galaxy S26 series of phones.
2/25/2026: As Energy Costs Soar, Trump Pushes AI Giants to ‘Produce Their Own Electricity’, PCMag
I didn’t watch the entire State of the Union address because self-care is an important thing, but after reading about President Trump’s call for data-center operators to pay for their electricity and power infrastructure, I knew I’d have to write about that initiative.
2/27/2028: Archer Aviation Taps Starlink for Air Taxi Connectivity, PCMag
I still don’t quite get the point of adding Starlink connectivity to aircraft that won’t fly longer than 15 minutes or higher than 4,000 feet above major cities, but this was an easy post to crank out Friday morning before heading to Dulles that afternoon to start my journey to Spain.
2/28/2026: After Years of Shining in Europe, Balcony Solar Comes Out of the Dark in the US, PCMag
This story had been in the works for literally months–I took the photo you see at the top of the piece on the afternoon that I arrived in Berlin for IFA in September–but the policy picture has also changed dramatically, and for the better, over the intervening months.
2/28/2026: What’s the Best Way to Get Customer Feedback in 2026? Hint: It’s Not Email, PCMag
Two weeks after the customer-experience firm Medallia had me at its annual conference in Vegas (with my hotel covered upfront and my airfare to be reimbursed), PCMag ran my recap of what I learned there.
3/1/2026: Online Platforms Are Not Liable for What Users Post. Should That Include Gen AI?, PCMag
I spent Thursday at the Cato Institute for this enlightening conference marking the 30th anniversary of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, the 1996 act that bars you from suing an online platform for something that one of its users posted.
3/1/2026: Bluetooth Is Getting an Upgrade. Here’s What It Means for Your Devices, PCMag
I took almost all of the notes for this at CES in January, but I needed more time to confirm some details and then write the post, after which its lack of a news peg left it easy to set aside for a bit.
#AIChatbots #android #ArcherAviation #balconySolar #Barcelona #Bluetooth #Catalunya #CatoInstitute #CDA230 #ces #customerExperience #customerSatisfaction #cx #dataCenters #eVTOL #GeminiAI #IFA #LasVegas #Medallia #MWC #PewResearchCenter #plugInSolar #PresidentTrump #RatepayerProtectionPledge #SOTU #Spain #Starlink #StateOfTheUnion #travel #TrumpEnergyPolicy #Vegas
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