Doug Mejia

MLB will use robot umpires beginning next season

Major League Baseball will use so-called robot umpires at home plate beginning in 2026…

Major League Baseball has decided to adopt an Automatic Ball Strike (ABS) system. Human umpires will still be part of the game, but when a pitcher, catcher, or batter challenges a call, MLB will use the new ABS system to determine whether the pitch was a strike or ball. It’s designed to eliminate umpire mistakes and reduce drama after questionable calls, but I can’t help thinking it takes away some of baseball’s humanity.

They’re trying so hard to make the game more efficient because of complaints about lengthy games that they’re making it sterile and soulless, in my opinion. Part of baseball’s excitement comes from not knowing what will happen next. Even when an umpire makes a bad call, it adds character to what can be a slow-paced game. We’ll see how it plays out next season, but I think we need to stop obsessing over “efficiency” and just enjoy the game. Let us make mistakes and work through them.

If there’s a silver lining to this new system, it’s that each player will have their official height recorded, and their strike zone will be adjusted accordingly. Also, when a challenge is made, MLB says the system should take only 15 seconds to determine whether the pitch was inside or outside the strike zone. Each team gets two challenges per game, but if a challenge successfully overturns a call, that team doesn’t lose one of their challenges and can still use both for the remainder of the game.

Yesterday, I mentioned that I decided to go with the iPhone 17 Pro Max instead of the iPhone Air because of the two extra cameras and the longer battery life. So, this is what I got…

• iPhone 17 Pro Max in Cosmic Orange
• 512GB of Storage
•  Tech Woven Case
• Apple Installed Screen Protector
• Apple Care

Last year, I chose the Fine Woven case and hated it. I returned it within days of owning it and bought the Apple clear case. This year, I ordered the clear case again, but after seeing my wife’s Tech Woven case, I returned the clear one and bought that one instead. It feels so good on the phone. Together, they feel like one unit, it fit so well. Time will tell how the case will hold up, but right now, I highly recommend it.

iPhone 17 Pro vs. iPhone Air: Here is every key difference

Overall, the biggest differentiators between iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone Air are easily battery life and cameras. Which model you choose will likely have a lot to do with how important those differences are to you.

I was torn between which iPhone to order this year. On one hand, I’m used to the Pro variants, but should I get the new iPhone 17 Air? It’s incredibly thin and represents Apple’s latest innovation. Surely it has to be better, right? Apple marketed it as having “Pro performance inside” with a much sleeker design, and it certainly looks beautiful.

If you’re in the same position I was, I recommend checking out the article above since it breaks down everything between the Air and Pro models.

For my needs, I realized I’d miss the versatility that comes with the Pro’s camera system. I use all the cameras at different times, so losing those options would be a significant downgrade. I also have long days and depend on my phone’s battery to last from morning until night.

That’s why I opted for the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and I’m happy with my decision. It features three cameras instead of just one, and the battery life is substantially better than the Air’s, according to reviewers like Marques Brownlee who have started testing its longevity. See his iPhone Air video here.

I do have to say, though, people seem to be impressed at how durable the iPhone Air is, despite being so thin. It “SHOCKED” JerryRigEverything on his durability test.

Better accessibility coming to Kindle books

Kindle Assistive Reader is… fully available in the update that was released a couple of days ago. It will essentially convert any Kindle book into an audiobook, utilizing an advanced text-to-speech system that sounds natural.

I had the old Keyboard Kindle and loved it because it had built-in speakers, which made it possible for me to listen to my ebooks. Even though the text-to-speech was terrible, at least it worked. Then Amazon decided to remove the speakers altogether and only included Bluetooth connectivity, but that experience wasn’t worth it to me. I’m glad to see that they’re once again making an effort to make their Kindles more accessible.

Baseus’ solar-powered dash cam keeps an eye on your parked car for up to two weeks

The PrimeTrip VD1 Pro includes both a rechargeable battery and a high-efficiency solar panel it uses to record incidents when motion or impacts are detected for up to 14 days while your car is parked, without draining your vehicle’s battery.

I think that this is a pretty practical idea, especially if you travel and tend to leave your car at the airport for any length of time.

iPadOS 26 has officially turned the iPad into the most Mac-like device ever — but there’s more happening under the surface.

Fernando from 9to5Mac hits it right on the head. The iPad is getting closer and closer to being very Mac-like with the new iPadOS 26 and I really like it.

The 5 biggest improvements for me have to be…

• True background processes, so you don’t have to babysit things like video exports.
• The Files app acts more like the Finder with functionality like being able to pin files and rearrange column headers.
• The new windowing system lets you resize and reposition apps to your liking.
• The top menu bar for easy access to app-specific shortcuts and keyboard commands.
• Preview app to scan documents and annotate PDFs.

Treatments developed at St. Jude have helped push the U.S. childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80%. St. Jude won’t stop until no child dies from cancer…

Happy iPhone Day, everyone! While getting new tech is always one of the highlights of my day, it doesn’t come close to doing something for your fellow human. This is especially true for the youngest of those humans. Our family makes a contribution to St. Jude’s each and every September and would love it if you would, too.

You can give what you can anywhere, but we choose Relay for St. Jude. Hope to see you on the leader boards.

Check out Relay’s Podcastathon below.