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Quick Links Less than a decade ago, logging into social media meant checking out what new stuff your friends had gotten up to since you last saw them. In a truly baffling decision, some social companies have crafted AI influencers, and their presence shows what’s wrong with social media today. Why AI Influencers? Imagine a social media persona for a second. They have professional pictures of their family, some of them at work and others with them doing regular stuff people do on the weekend....

Summary While you probably don’t spend much time wondering about the gas that fills mechanical hard drives (or even think about spinning rust drives at all) it turns out that changing air for helium in these drives comes with a few nice perks. With helium drives on the market, what’s the deal? What’s Wrong With Air? Having air inside a hard drive seems pretty logical. It’s the same stuff around the drive, and that’s how it’s been from the start with mechanical drives....

Quick Links So your home’s old doorbell never worked, or you’d like to put a video doorbell on an entrance that was never wired for a doorbell. Here’s what you need to know about using a video doorbell without existing wiring. Why Use a Video Doorbell Without Wires? There are various reasons why you might want to set up a video doorbell without wires. In some cases, your home might have the appropriate wiring, but the wiring, the chime, the doorbell transformer, or all of the above are damaged, and you’re not interested in repairing them....

OpenAI has been rolling out new features for ChatGPT at a steady rate, but most of them are based on the GPT-4 language model and limited to the paid ChatGPT Plus subscription. There’s finally something coming to both free and paid users: a new “memory” function that will retain some information for all your chats. ChatGPT alreadysupports custom instructions, which you can fill out with data or instructions that can be used in any future conversations without typing them every time....

This was a surprisingly busy week for tech news, with announcements for Google and Samsung’s next hardware events, and a whole lot of software updates. Here are the biggest stories you might have missed. The Big News You Can Now Add Checkboxes in Microsoft Excel Excel finally has a built-in option to use checkboxes in spreadsheet cells. Checkboxes will be useful in to-do lists, attendance sheets, and more. Apple Loosens Its Grip on iPhone Replacement Parts Third-party components will no longer disable True Tone or battery health....

If you’re like me, you’re eagerly anticipating the season two finale ofSeverancelanding on Apple TV+ in a few days. Hopefully we’ll get answers to at least some of the Lumon mysteries. In the meantime, Google is getting in on the action with a neat littleSeveranceEaster egg. How to See Google’s Severance Easter Egg To experience the Easter egg (a term meaning a hidden feature), simply typeSeveranceinto Google Search on your computer or mobile device, then press the party popper button at the bottom of the screen....

Quick Links Summary Govee has done quite a lot to improve the aesthetics of the average gaming setup. The AI-powered light kit may help create a dynamic, responsive environment great for streamers, but it’s classic, simplified strips like theGaming Light Strip G1that are sure to appeal to a broader demographic. From the RGBIC LED Neon Rope Light to the AI Gaming Sync Box Kit, my desktop is a veritable showcase of Govee’s advanced lighting systems....

Right now you may save big on the already affordable Spigen ArcField Dual Magnetic Wireless Charging Stand. It’s a great magnetic tilting stand for your iPhone in Standby mode, and it can also charge AirPods or a smartwatch. Wireless charging is a popular way to charge smartphones and other mobile devices, and while plenty ofgreat wireless chargersare available these days, theSpigen ArcField Standis a neat 2-in-1 device. It’s a good deal at the occasional $50 price tag (regularly $69....

Summary I love movies, and I love games. So you’d think I’d love games that are based on movie licenses. The only problem is that, historically, movie tie-in games have been terrible. Except, these days, almost every game based on a movie franchise I try turns out to be anything from just fine to absolutely amazing. I guess I haven’t been paying too much attention, since it feels sudden, but you can bet I’m paying attention now!...

Summary Microsoft Excel is still king of the spreadsheet world. Despite it being generally user-unfriendly, there’s really nothing that seems to do what it does, as well as it does. Part of that is to do with its super useful (and painful to use) formulas and macro functionalities. Excel Macros? In 2024? Excel macros have historically been one of thebiggest malware vectors for users, to the point where Microsoft has tried torepeatedly killthe macro functionality in Office....

Quick Links Summary This year, Apple could drop several big new hardware releases, including a new AirTag, iPhone SE 4, the M4 MacBook Air, and the iPhone 17 series later in 2025. AirTag 2 A new AirTag could be on the cards for 2025. The first iteration of the personal belongings tracker came out in 2021. Its deep integration with iOS andadvanced spatial tracking abilitiesgot the AirTag a spot on ourlist of best Bluetooth trackers....

Quick Links Summary TELNET doesn’t have any encryption, so everything is transmitted in plaintext. SSH is encrypted, so it is private and secure. That’s why SSH should be used in preference to TELNET. SSH and TELNET both let you connect to remote, networked computers and to use them as if you’re sitting in front of them. So what’s the difference between these two venerable protocols, and is there really always an advantage to using SSH over TELNET?...

Summary Light gun shooters were once a popular staple of arcades and home consoles but now they’re practically non-existent on most platforms. Here’s why the genre has all but disappeared in recent years, and what can be done about it. Early Light Guns Relied on CRT Televisions The downfall of the light gun can be attributed to a variety of factors, but none were as influential as the decline ofCRT (cathode-ray tube) televisions....