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The original DailyTech archive, 2005–2017, is preserved here. Publishing resumed at dailytech.wiki in 2026 following acquisition of the publication and archive. Read the history.

Latest review — Hardware

Plaud Note and NotePin: what an AI voice recorder actually buys you

A card-thin recorder, a phone-magnet mount and a transcription service with a monthly quota. The hardware is the easy part; the subscription is the decision.

The verdict

Plaud's recorders are well-built capture devices whose real product is the transcription and summarisation service behind them. The hardware records reliably and the summaries are genuinely useful for meetings, but the free tier's monthly transcription minutes run out quickly, so the honest price is the device plus a recurring plan. Buy it if you sit in many spoken conversations you need written up; skip it if your phone's own recorder and a transcription app already cover you.

Plaud AI · Roughly $159 for the NotePin and $179 for the Note, plus an optional annual Pro plan ·

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Tech news

Updated periodically — the reviews and the podcast are where the work goes.

Policy12 min read

Why US banking regulators are taking a closer look at AI

Federal banking agencies are not writing a single AI rulebook. They are applying existing model-risk, fair-lending, anti-money-laundering and third-party oversight frameworks to a technology that now touches credit decisions, fraud systems and customer service. Here is what that scrutiny actually looks like.

Hardware11 min read

How to protect your privacy when using smart devices

A practical guide to reducing what smart speakers, cameras, TVs and wearables collect — without giving up every useful feature. Start with accounts and recording settings, then check your network, household access and what happens to old data.

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