The whole point of Microsoft Copilot Vision for Windows is that it’s like an AI assistant, looking over your shoulder as you struggle through a task and making suggestions. Click here. Do this! So, I was pretty convinced that if Microsoft were to release Copilot Vision for testing, it would be able to do something simple like help me play Windows Solitaire. But no. Oh no, no, no. Sometimes, Microsoft’s new Copilot Vision for Windows feels like a real step forward for useful AI: this emerging Windows technology sees what you see on your screen, allowing you to talk to your PC and ask it for help. Unfortunately, that step ahead is often followed by that cliché: two steps back. Copilot Vision for Windows is, at times, genuinely helpful. At others, it’s just plain frustrating. What is Copilot Vision for Windows? Outside of some nostalgic tears by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the announcement of Copilot Vision for Windows was the highlight of Microsoft’s 50th anniversary celebration at the company’s Redmond, Washington campus. It’s a visionary technology, pretty literally: you grant access to Windows Copilot to see and interpret your screen in real time, and you can talk to Windows to ask questions and seek advice. I went hands-on with Copilot Vision at Microsoft’s HQ, but the demos were short and carefully managed. Now, you can play with it yourself as long as you’re a Windows Insider. How to get Microsoft Copilot Vision for Windows Currently, Copilot Vision for Windows is just available for testing. Although Microsoft indicated that Copilot Vision for Windows would be available to all of its beta software channels, only two of my test laptops ever received the build: one on the Dev Channel and one on the Canary Channel. The first to get it, an Acer Swift Edge laptop with a Ryzen 7840U inside, runs Vision slowly, with reaction times that seemed to stretch to half a minute early on. Though the response time dropped to a few seconds, I had a far better experience with the Surface Laptop 7 or 7th Edition, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip inside. Responses were essentially instantaneous, probably due to the more powerful NPU. Open Copilot, and then click the “glasses” icon in the lower right-hand corner to launch Copilot Vision for Windows.Mark Hachman / Foundry Copilot Vision for Windows is easy to use: provided your PC is provisioned for it, just launch the Copilot app via the Taskbar or Start menu, and then tap the “eyeglasses” icon. You’ll then see a list of apps for you to “share” with Copilot Vision. Only then can it see that specific app, and just that app. I put a test version of Copilot Vision for Windows through seven quick scenarios: interpreting the contents of a PCWorld story and a list of competing airfares; testing Balatro, a popular PC game that involves playing cards; the more generic and classic Solitaire game; photo identification; examining potential airfares; and help operating Adobe Photoshop. Copilot Vision was all over the board. 1.) Copilot Vision’s first test: understanding tariffs The first and most important lesson of Copilot Vision is it only sees what you see. I realized this when I opened my colleague Alaina Yee’s early examination of the Trump Administration’s tariff plan from April. Copilot Vision for Windows didn’t immediately “see” the whole article — which is what Copilot, Google Gemini, or ChatGPT in its “research” modes likely would. What you see is what Copilot Vision gets, so looking at this screen isn’t useful until you scroll down a bit. If I scanned down, it could “read” along. But it didn’t read it into memory, either. What it didn’t see, it forgot. I asked it to confirm, and it couldn’t tell me the opening sentence. That makes its utility rather limited. What was handy was being able to ask it conversational questions: at the time, the products in question were subject to a 45 percent tariff. Being able to ask it what the price of the dock would be if a 100 percent or 145 percent tariff was applied was handy. Copilot Vision is still a little wordy, but that was okay. The bigger issue is that it was reluctant to add context, such as to point out the current state of the tariff situation. 2.) Does Copilot Vision work as a Balatro coach? One of the things I’ve been thinking about was the Minecraft demo, where Copilot Vision stepped in with help on some very specific scenarios. It made me suspicious, naturally; what I was seeing was carefully scripted to make Copilot Vision look as useful as possible. I think that’s true. I figured the popular indie game, Balatro, would be a better use of its talents. What Copilot told me is that it wouldn’t just spontaneously interject, so if it “saw” something useful or dangerous, it wouldn’t just pipe up and say something. It needs to be asked. What Copilot Vision for Windows saw on my screen, beginning a new game of Balatro. How many queens do you see?Mark Hachman / Foundry Balatro is vaguely like video poker, but with a twist: not only do you have to try and come up with the best poker hands, there are twists — “jokers” modify your hands and your score, so strategy means some careful choices. Would Copilot Vision be able to recognize what I needed to do and give advice? Absolutely not. Copilot Vision was absolutely able to recognize that I was playing Balatro, and upon the game’s opening, it identified the choices I had before me. Copilot didn’t make the decisions for me, but it tried to present my options, as in the screenshot above. That’s good, right? Copilot Vision saw two queens, which isn’t a good start.Mark Hachman / Foundry Well, no. Copilot Vision failed to recognize that I didn’t have a pair of queens, which meant that its advice was off from the start. It also couldn’t properly recognize the cards that I did have, like incorrectly identifying seven of diamonds when I didn’t have one. 3.) Solitaire is simpler, right? I then figured, well, let’s dumb it down a bit. I launched a new game of Windows Solitaire, specifically FreeCell, thinking that Copilot would be able to understand the simple rules and act accordingly. Absolutely not. Copilot Vision suffered the same problem that it had with Balatro: its object recognition was way off. It repeatedly invented cards that weren’t on the board, although it did understand how to move cards from column to column and to the foundation. It’s just whatever game Copilot Vision was playing wasn’t actually present on the screen. I quickly gave up. Mark Hachman / Foundry I’m not sure you’re the best Solitaire player, I said. “Fair point! It’s all about having fun, though,” Copilot replied. “If nothing else, I’ve got your back for the banter. Let’s keep playing and see where it goes. Ready for another move?” No, I wasn’t. 4.) Can Copilot stop me from being fired? Next, I tried what I thought was an easy one: I had another AI draft a complaint letter to a fictional boss, expressing displeasure at our fictional company’s corporate strategy. As I had asked Google Gemini to draft a professional note, Copilot thought that my tone and language were fine. I then added a line at the end: “You’re ugly and have a big fat head. I also don’t like your hat.” Copilot was pretty cool with me calling out my “boss” for his subpar looks and fashion choices.Mark Hachman / Foundry Either Copilot Vision didn’t recognize that I had made a possibly career-threatening edit or else didn’t care. In fact, I’m pretty sure it didn’t care, as the conversation continues. (Remember, I’m speaking here, so the transcription isn’t perfect. A plus in Copilot Vision’s favor is that it does lend itself to a conversation, rather than a series of commands.) Confirmed: calling your boss ugly is fine.Foundry Either way, it wouldn’t be a tool I would depend upon for career advice. 5.) Who are these people? I asked Copilot to identify the four actors from the iconic promotional still from The Breakfast Club, using a collection of images curated by Bing’s Image Search. Interestingly, Copilot Vision seemed like it would, but it was ordered not to. “Sorry, I can’t identify specific people in photos unless they’re famous figures,” Copilot responded. “This image seems related to ‘The Breakfast Club’ movie.” Lots of clues here as to who these actors are. Most photos have all five main actors included, and this has only four. That tripped up Copilot Vision for Windows. When I tried again, Copilot Vision for Windows identified the five actors who made up the principal cast of the film but gave the answer I was looking for when I replied that I only saw four. That felt like Copilot had been issued commands not to try and “dox” people unless they were public figures. Interestingly, Copilot Vision seemed to be able to recognize the actors by itself. When I asked it to identify a photo of Rodney Dangerfield (after it made me say that it was a famous person), it replied: “I identified him from the context provided in your window title, which mentioned “15 intriguing facts about Rodney Dangerfield.” Plus, the image matches his recognizable look. Intrigued by his comedic style?” 6.) Picking the best flight By this time I had figured out that Copilot Vision wouldn’t be much help in picking a flight, and I wasn’t wrong. Because Copilot Vision can only see what I can see, scrolling up and down a list of available flights from Oakland to San Diego didn’t provide it with much to work with, and it wasn’t sure whether I preferred a cheap flight, one with minimal stopovers, and so on. It was probably a personal preference to begin with. Some smartphones allow you to take “screenshots” of the entire length of the web page. I’d prefer something like this as an option. (It’s possible, though, that Copilot Vision works like Windows Recall, taking temporary “snapshots” that it works from. In Recall’s case, if you don’t see it, Recall doesn’t either.) 7.) Copilot Vision as a Photoshop tutor This was where I felt Copilot Vision could really be of assistance, and I still think it could be. I actually like the way that Microsoft Paint now adds layers and subtracts backgrounds, both Photoshop-like features that Microsoft’s tools have adopted. But Photoshop offers many options that Paint does not, though I’m not comfortable using them. This is where Copilot Vision shined, as I went back and forth adding images to different layers and making adjustments. The one thing it does not do is visually highlight elements on the screen for you to interact with — as Microsoft originally demonstrated — meaning that it had to literally talk me through a few things. Referring to the Move tool as a “four-point arrow” was pretty helpful. Note that it was referring to what I was working with on screen, which made it relevant. It’s a little tricky to show you what I was doing at the time, but the screenshot below will give you an idea of our conversation. I was just messing around with two related images, applying an Intel logo on top of one of its other products and playing with the results. Foundry I’m sure what I was doing was extremely simplistic to a Photoshop pro, and Copilot Vision doesn’t detract from what legions of Photoshop tutorials already offer. But some of those tutorials are also based on older versions or interfaces, while I would think Copilot Vision would always be up-to-date. Conclusion: Baby steps AI is a polarizing subject. Some people are convinced that it could never be good for anything; others are sure that it will eventually save the world. At times, Copilot Vision feels quite competent. At others, it’s simply a waste of time. Right now, it all feels tentative. It all has enormous potential, to be sure. But Microsoft seems to tread cautiously in the consumer space. Would I allow ChatGPT to look over my shoulder as I work? Probably not. But I have to imagine that Google quietly envisions the future of Chromebooks as a space where Gemini resides as an omnipresent assistant. I’d like to see that future and enjoy the reciprocal pressures each will put on the other to build better, privacy-preserving tools that provide real-time assistance. Read...

The whole point of Microsoft Copilot Vision for Windows is that it’s like an AI assistant, looking over your shoulder as you struggle through a task and making suggestions. Click here. Do this! So, I was pretty convinced that if Microsoft were to release Copilot Vision for testing, it would be able to do something simple like help me play Windows Solitaire. But no. Oh no, no, no. Sometimes, Microsoft’s new Copilot Vision for Windows feels like a real step forward for useful AI: this emerging Windows technology sees what you see on your screen, allowing you to talk to your PC and ask it for help. Unfortunately, that step ahead is often followed by that cliché: two steps back. Copilot Vision for Windows is, at times, genuinely helpful. At others, it’s just plain frustrating. What is Copilot Vision for Windows? Outside of some nostalgic tears by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, the announcement of Copilot Vision for Windows was the highlight of Microsoft’s 50th anniversary celebration at the company’s Redmond, Washington campus. It’s a visionary technology, pretty literally: you grant access to Windows Copilot to see and interpret your screen in real time, and you can talk to Windows to ask questions and seek advice. I went hands-on with Copilot Vision at Microsoft’s HQ, but the demos were short and carefully managed. Now, you can play with it yourself as long as you’re a Windows Insider. How to get Microsoft Copilot Vision for Windows Currently, Copilot Vision for Windows is just available for testing. Although Microsoft indicated that Copilot Vision for Windows would be available to all of its beta software channels, only two of my test laptops ever received the build: one on the Dev Channel and one on the Canary Channel. The first to get it, an Acer Swift Edge laptop with a Ryzen 7840U inside, runs Vision slowly, with reaction times that seemed to stretch to half a minute early on. Though the response time dropped to a few seconds, I had a far better experience with the Surface Laptop 7 or 7th Edition, with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip inside. Responses were essentially instantaneous, probably due to the more powerful NPU. Open Copilot, and then click the “glasses” icon in the lower right-hand corner to launch Copilot Vision for Windows.Mark Hachman / Foundry Copilot Vision for Windows is easy to use: provided your PC is provisioned for it, just launch the Copilot app via the Taskbar or Start menu, and then tap the “eyeglasses” icon. You’ll then see a list of apps for you to “share” with Copilot Vision. Only then can it see that specific app, and just that app. I put a test version of Copilot Vision for Windows through seven quick scenarios: interpreting the contents of a PCWorld story and a list of competing airfares; testing Balatro, a popular PC game that involves playing cards; the more generic and classic Solitaire game; photo identification; examining potential airfares; and help operating Adobe Photoshop. Copilot Vision was all over the board. 1.) Copilot Vision’s first test: understanding tariffs The first and most important lesson of Copilot Vision is it only sees what you see. I realized this when I opened my colleague Alaina Yee’s early examination of the Trump Administration’s tariff plan from April. Copilot Vision for Windows didn’t immediately “see” the whole article — which is what Copilot, Google Gemini, or ChatGPT in its “research” modes likely would. What you see is what Copilot Vision gets, so looking at this screen isn’t useful until you scroll down a bit. If I scanned down, it could “read” along. But it didn’t read it into memory, either. What it didn’t see, it forgot. I asked it to confirm, and it couldn’t tell me the opening sentence. That makes its utility rather limited. What was handy was being able to ask it conversational questions: at the time, the products in question were subject to a 45 percent tariff. Being able to ask it what the price of the dock would be if a 100 percent or 145 percent tariff was applied was handy. Copilot Vision is still a little wordy, but that was okay. The bigger issue is that it was reluctant to add context, such as to point out the current state of the tariff situation. 2.) Does Copilot Vision work as a Balatro coach? One of the things I’ve been thinking about was the Minecraft demo, where Copilot Vision stepped in with help on some very specific scenarios. It made me suspicious, naturally; what I was seeing was carefully scripted to make Copilot Vision look as useful as possible. I think that’s true. I figured the popular indie game, Balatro, would be a better use of its talents. What Copilot told me is that it wouldn’t just spontaneously interject, so if it “saw” something useful or dangerous, it wouldn’t just pipe up and say something. It needs to be asked. What Copilot Vision for Windows saw on my screen, beginning a new game of Balatro. How many queens do you see?Mark Hachman / Foundry Balatro is vaguely like video poker, but with a twist: not only do you have to try and come up with the best poker hands, there are twists — “jokers” modify your hands and your score, so strategy means some careful choices. Would Copilot Vision be able to recognize what I needed to do and give advice? Absolutely not. Copilot Vision was absolutely able to recognize that I was playing Balatro, and upon the game’s opening, it identified the choices I had before me. Copilot didn’t make the decisions for me, but it tried to present my options, as in the screenshot above. That’s good, right? Copilot Vision saw two queens, which isn’t a good start.Mark Hachman / Foundry Well, no. Copilot Vision failed to recognize that I didn’t have a pair of queens, which meant that its advice was off from the start. It also couldn’t properly recognize the cards that I did have, like incorrectly identifying seven of diamonds when I didn’t have one. 3.) Solitaire is simpler, right? I then figured, well, let’s dumb it down a bit. I launched a new game of Windows Solitaire, specifically FreeCell, thinking that Copilot would be able to understand the simple rules and act accordingly. Absolutely not. Copilot Vision suffered the same problem that it had with Balatro: its object recognition was way off. It repeatedly invented cards that weren’t on the board, although it did understand how to move cards from column to column and to the foundation. It’s just whatever game Copilot Vision was playing wasn’t actually present on the screen. I quickly gave up. Mark Hachman / Foundry I’m not sure you’re the best Solitaire player, I said. “Fair point! It’s all about having fun, though,” Copilot replied. “If nothing else, I’ve got your back for the banter. Let’s keep playing and see where it goes. Ready for another move?” No, I wasn’t. 4.) Can Copilot stop me from being fired? Next, I tried what I thought was an easy one: I had another AI draft a complaint letter to a fictional boss, expressing displeasure at our fictional company’s corporate strategy. As I had asked Google Gemini to draft a professional note, Copilot thought that my tone and language were fine. I then added a line at the end: “You’re ugly and have a big fat head. I also don’t like your hat.” Copilot was pretty cool with me calling out my “boss” for his subpar looks and fashion choices.Mark Hachman / Foundry Either Copilot Vision didn’t recognize that I had made a possibly career-threatening edit or else didn’t care. In fact, I’m pretty sure it didn’t care, as the conversation continues. (Remember, I’m speaking here, so the transcription isn’t perfect. A plus in Copilot Vision’s favor is that it does lend itself to a conversation, rather than a series of commands.) Confirmed: calling your boss ugly is fine.Foundry Either way, it wouldn’t be a tool I would depend upon for career advice. 5.) Who are these people? I asked Copilot to identify the four actors from the iconic promotional still from The Breakfast Club, using a collection of images curated by Bing’s Image Search. Interestingly, Copilot Vision seemed like it would, but it was ordered not to. “Sorry, I can’t identify specific people in photos unless they’re famous figures,” Copilot responded. “This image seems related to ‘The Breakfast Club’ movie.” Lots of clues here as to who these actors are. Most photos have all five main actors included, and this has only four. That tripped up Copilot Vision for Windows. When I tried again, Copilot Vision for Windows identified the five actors who made up the principal cast of the film but gave the answer I was looking for when I replied that I only saw four. That felt like Copilot had been issued commands not to try and “dox” people unless they were public figures. Interestingly, Copilot Vision seemed to be able to recognize the actors by itself. When I asked it to identify a photo of Rodney Dangerfield (after it made me say that it was a famous person), it replied: “I identified him from the context provided in your window title, which mentioned “15 intriguing facts about Rodney Dangerfield.” Plus, the image matches his recognizable look. Intrigued by his comedic style?” 6.) Picking the best flight By this time I had figured out that Copilot Vision wouldn’t be much help in picking a flight, and I wasn’t wrong. Because Copilot Vision can only see what I can see, scrolling up and down a list of available flights from Oakland to San Diego didn’t provide it with much to work with, and it wasn’t sure whether I preferred a cheap flight, one with minimal stopovers, and so on. It was probably a personal preference to begin with. Some smartphones allow you to take “screenshots” of the entire length of the web page. I’d prefer something like this as an option. (It’s possible, though, that Copilot Vision works like Windows Recall, taking temporary “snapshots” that it works from. In Recall’s case, if you don’t see it, Recall doesn’t either.) 7.) Copilot Vision as a Photoshop tutor This was where I felt Copilot Vision could really be of assistance, and I still think it could be. I actually like the way that Microsoft Paint now adds layers and subtracts backgrounds, both Photoshop-like features that Microsoft’s tools have adopted. But Photoshop offers many options that Paint does not, though I’m not comfortable using them. This is where Copilot Vision shined, as I went back and forth adding images to different layers and making adjustments. The one thing it does not do is visually highlight elements on the screen for you to interact with — as Microsoft originally demonstrated — meaning that it had to literally talk me through a few things. Referring to the Move tool as a “four-point arrow” was pretty helpful. Note that it was referring to what I was working with on screen, which made it relevant. It’s a little tricky to show you what I was doing at the time, but the screenshot below will give you an idea of our conversation. I was just messing around with two related images, applying an Intel logo on top of one of its other products and playing with the results. Foundry I’m sure what I was doing was extremely simplistic to a Photoshop pro, and Copilot Vision doesn’t detract from what legions of Photoshop tutorials already offer. But some of those tutorials are also based on older versions or interfaces, while I would think Copilot Vision would always be up-to-date. Conclusion: Baby steps AI is a polarizing subject. Some people are convinced that it could never be good for anything; others are sure that it will eventually save the world. At times, Copilot Vision feels quite competent. At others, it’s simply a waste of time. Right now, it all feels tentative. It all has enormous potential, to be sure. But Microsoft seems to tread cautiously in the consumer space. Would I allow ChatGPT to look over my shoulder as I work? Probably not. But I have to imagine that Google quietly envisions the future of Chromebooks as a space where Gemini resides as an omnipresent assistant. I’d like to see that future and enjoy the reciprocal pressures each will put on the other to build better, privacy-preserving tools that provide real-time assistance. Read...

There’s a part of me that really hates AI because it has taken work away from me and my colleagues. And even though I find it useful for certain things, I’d prefer humanity wasn’t replaced by AI. That said, AI is indeed useful. Over the past few years, ever since ChatGPT blew us away with its conversational skills and agentic abilities, I find myself using some form of AI tool almost every day. Sometimes it’s just to chat—I quite like gushing to an AI chatbot over a new show I’m watching without risking spoilers—but more often than not, these AI-driven apps are slowly transforming the way I work and live my life. I’m not about to let them take over completely just yet, but I’ll begrudgingly admit that I’m also unwilling to give up AI altogether. All that to say, AI was once seen as a mere gimmick but has successfully evolved into something greater. Here are some of my favorite AI-assisted apps that I actually use on a day-to-day basis. Adobe Photoshop for Generative Fill Removing the name on this Nvidia graphics card would be tough if left to my own devices, but Generative Fill can take care of it in a snap.Jon Martindale / Foundry When Adobe introduced its AI-powered Generative Fill feature back in 2023, it was billed as a way to create masterpieces in record time by quickly adding and removing elements from images via text prompts. That’s all well and good, and I’m sure people are using it to great effect, but I really only use it for one thing: image cleanup. Every time I write an article like this one, I have to grab a few images for illustrative purposes. Usually that’s a screenshot or two, but it can sometimes involve product shots, stock images, and other specific photos related to whatever I’m writing about. The problem is, the images are never quite exactly what I need. That’s where Generative Fill comes into play and saves the day. Normally I’d have to painstakingly cut out bits, clone areas, use the healing brush over imperfections, expand the image, copy and paste backgrounds, crop to a specific aspect ratio… But these days? I can just describe what I need and have Generative Fill do it for me. Want to remove something? Just draw a box around it and leave the Generative Fill prompt blank—it’ll wipe out whatever is there and blend the gap into the background. Same goes for expanding the dimensions of an image without stretching, or hiding personally identifiable information behind something more complicated than a simple blur filter. Generative Fill isn’t perfect—and that’s good because it means I keep my Photoshop skills sharp—but it is a massive time saver and one of the most effective AI-driven tools of the last few years. PDFgear for AI editing and answers PDFgear has a built-in AI chatbot that analyzes documents and answers questions. Unfortunately, it’s not smart enough to help me win—yet.Jon Martindale / Foundry My seemingly lifelong search for a capable-yet-free PDF editor ended last year when I discovered PDFgear. But not only is it a free PDF editor that can do everything the big players can do—including annotations and signatures—it also has a built-in AI assistant that’s genuinely useful. PDFgear has an AI chatbot that can perform various editing tasks with speed and precision, making it a useful tool for tweaking complicated documents without introducing formatting errors or compromising the original aesthetics of the document’s design. It can annotate, extract data and images, or even just talk to you about what’s in it. I especially like it for finding information in complex board game rulebooks. Sure, a good index or glossary goes a long way, but asking a natural language question of the Twilight Imperium Living Rules is much faster than flipping back and forth through the 30-ish pages of endless text. My eyes slip off that like water from the proverbial duck’s back—but with AI, it’s fast, easy, and accurate. My colleague reviewed PDFgear and found it excellent with robust AI features worth using, so I’m not alone on this one! ProWritingAid for AI suggestions ProWritingAid If you thought otherwise, let me break it to you: professional writers use spell check. While my colleagues and I used to debate whether tools like Grammarly and ProWritingAid were “cheating,” that ship has long since sailed. These days, it’s almost expected—and why not? Sure, my editor could catch all my typos and grammar mistakes, but AI tools can go way beyond that. ProWritingAid makes me a better writer, period. To be clear, I don’t use ProWritingAid to generate text for me. Instead, I use it to analyze what I’ve written and point out all the areas where my writing could be improved. Maybe I’ve inadvertently used passive voice, or maybe I reuse the same phrasings too often, or maybe sentences can be worded more clearly. It’s useful, and the persistent presence of these reminders makes me improve over time. ProWritingAid is like a voice on my shoulder reminding me that I can always do better with tighter copy. I appreciate it. Microsoft 365 Copilot and Designer Jon Martindale / Foundry Microsoft has been all-in on AI since ChatGPT made its major debut, but despite Copilot integrations in Bing Search and Windows 11, they’ve struggled to find a real purpose for it beyond the basics offered by other AI chatbots. That said, one area where I’ve found legitimate use for it? The various integrations across Microsoft 365 apps. I’m a LibreOffice user at heart, but even I’ve been enjoying Copilot’s quick text generation in Word and slide generation in PowerPoint. Asking where something is within a massive document of hundreds of pages is so convenient, and when I want to whip up a quick draft of a document to give me a baseline to work with, it saves a ton of time. Copilot really came in handy recently when I was invited to give a talk to a couple of classes at my kids’ school about how computers work. I haven’t used PowerPoint in decades, so it was a real treat to be able to boot up the latest version and have Copilot and Designer jointly generate for me a simple presentation template which I could then tweak and update according to my own needs. Literal hours saved. I like to think of myself as a PC expert, but I’m not an expert in every app. Fortunately, with Copilot and Designer, I don’t need to be. ChatGPT for everything else Jon Martindale / Foundry ChatGPT has evolved into a catch-all AI tool for me over the past year. Whether it’s having a spoiler-free conversation about the latest episode of Severance, using it to learn how to code my first game project, going back and forth to practice roleplaying D&D characters, or even treating it like a virtual counselor, it’s become a fantastic tool with practical results. I even asked it to help me reword my responses in an argument with a family member to be less combative—and it worked! In my work life, I use ChatGPT to spit out briefs for articles I’m writing to help me hone in on the structure I’m looking for. I use it as a quick and dirty alternative to a thesaurus, and to find information on the web that Google just can’t seem to for some reason. Again, ChatGPT is far from perfect and I’m not about to rely on it—or any of the tools on this list—for mission-critical tasks, medical diagnoses, financial advice, etc. But for those moments where I could use the help of someone else to tackle something simple, I’m finding that ChatGPT and other AI apps hold an increasingly useful place in my heart. Further reading: I paid $200/mo for ChatGPT Pro. Was it worth it? Read...

`Rolled up into a ball, it has the consistency of cotton string.` Read...

One of the most confounding moments after I got my first Amazon Echo Dot was when its light ring began pulsing yellow, signaling… well, what exactly? Indeed, Echo devices such as the standard Echo, the Echo Dot, the Echo Pop, and the Echo Show can display flashing indicator lights in a range of different colors, and they can be pretty confusing–even aggravating–if you don’t know what they mean, or how to make them stop. Luckily, deciphering the flashing lights on your Echo device is simple, and once you know the code, the lights can warn you when something’s amiss with your Echo, let you know when you have incoming messages, alert you when Alexa is listening, and more. Pulsing yellow light Ben Patterson/Foundry Let’s start with the light that confused me the most when I got my first Echo (the ever-popular Echo Dot). Generally accompanied by a cheerful “bum, bum!” alert tone, the flashing yellow light lets you know when Alexa has a notification for you, or if you missed a reminder. One of the most common times you’ll see the yellow light is when Alexa wants to tell you that a package from Amazon has been delivered, or when Amazon is about to ship a “Subscribe & save” item. Just say “Alexa, tell me my notifications” to hear your Alexa alerts, and the yellow light will disappear once Alexa has read them to you. If you want to delete all your notifications without hearing them, just say, “Alexa, delete all my notifications.” Solid red light Ben Patterson/Foundry Here’s another common and confusing Echo indicator light: the mysterious solid red light. The most likely culprit for the red light is a pressed microphone mute and/or camera-off button. Press the mic mute button again, and the red light should disappear. Seeing the red light, but no one pressed the mic mute button? If so, the red light means that there’s some kind of error, such as a glitchy Wi-Fi connection or a problem with Alexa. Blue light with spinning light-blue segment Ben Patterson/Foundry This one’s pretty simple. Whenever you speak to Alexa, a blue light will appear with a light-blue segment that’s facing the direction in which she’s listening. You’ll also see the blue light when Alexa is processing what you just said. If there’s no blue light, Alexa isn’t listening (or didn’t hear you). You might also see a brief glimmering blue light if your Echo device is receiving a software update. Spinning orange light Ben Patterson/Foundry When you first plug in a brand-new Echo speaker or display, the spinning orange light will let you know that the Echo device is in setup mode. If you see the spinning orange light and you’re not setting up your Echo for the first time, it means that the device is trying to connect to the internet, indicating that you might have a internet service outage. Pulsing or spinning green light Ben Patterson/Foundry A pulsing green light means that you have an incoming call on your Echo device. Just ask Alexa to answer the call, or say “Alexa, ignore” to ghost the caller. If the green light is spinning rather than pulsing, it means that someone just did a “drop-in” on your Echo device or that your Echo just started a call (either because you asked her to call someone or because she misheard you). To end the drop-in or call, just say “Hang up.” Purple light Ben Patterson/Foundry Putting your Echo speaker in “do not disturb” mode (which blocks incoming calls and notifications, but not timers or alarms–more on this in a moment) will make a purple light briefly flash. A steady purple light while you’re initially setting up an Echo means something went wrong during the Wi-Fi setup process. Spinning white light Ben Patterson/Foundry If you’re an Alexa Emergency Assist subscriber, did you set Alexa to “away” mode before leaving the house? If so, that’s the reason there’s a spinning white light on your Echo speaker. Just say “Alexa, I’m home” to make the white light disappear. The only other time you’ll see a while light on your Echo device is when you’re adjusting the volume. This story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart speakers. How can you turn off Alexa’s light ring? You can’t completely turn off Alexa’s light ring, but (as I noted earlier) you can keep the lights to a minimum by putting your Echo speaker into Do Not Disturb mode. While in this mode, Alexa won’t bother you with lights or other notifications unless an alarm or timer goes off. Open the Alexa app, tap the Devices tab, tap the Device Type filter, tap Echo & Alexa, tap Apply, then select an Alexa device from the list. Tap the Do Not Disturb button. To put Do Not Disturb on a schedule, go to the Settings screen for your Echo speaker, scroll down to Do Not Disturb, flick the Scheduled toggle, then enter the daily Start and End times for Do Not Disturb mode. Read...

Microsoft has been bringing a number of new features to the Outlook email app lately. Just the other day, the tech giant announced that you’ll soon be able to switch freely between the new and classic Outlook apps, and now they’ve announced that soon you won’t need to be connected to the internet to manage your Outlook calendar. In the roadmap of upcoming Microsoft 365 features, there’s an entry for “Outlook: Offline Support for Calendar” that mentions “you’ll be able to create, edit, and delete events in your calendar when not connected to the internet.” The rollout is expected to start in June 2025 and will be for all users with general availability. However, this offline calendar support only seems to apply to the new Outlook app. If you want to keep using classic Outlook, note that you’ll still have to be always online to manage your calendar. Further reading: Useful tips for the new Outlook app Read...

Your PC is secure the first time you start up Windows—but it doesn’t always stay that way. You can make mistakes that break that protection. Cybersecurity experts see a lot, and as a result, they know exactly how people get themselves in trouble. When I spoke with folks from Microsoft at this year’s RSAC Conference (formerly known as RSA), they had quick answers for what the biggest issues are. That included three particular habits that cause a world of hurt, according to David Weston, CVP, Enterprise and OS Security. What’s the good news? Dodging these pitfalls is pretty simple. Read on for the problems—and their solutions. Leaving internet devices exposed When’s the last time you confirmed your router is on the most current firmware?New Africa/Shutterstock.com Your tech gear shouldn’t be freely accessible to anyone on the internet. Attackers can exploit your devices to spread malware, spy on everything you do, or steal your data. How does this happen? Maybe you turned on the remote desktop on your PC, either purposely or accidentally. Or you didn’t patch your router with the latest security updates. Or you connect a poorly secured internet-enabled device to your home network (e.g., a baby monitor). The solution: Block incoming internet access to your devices. If you must allow it, turn on access only when actively using it. Also keep the software and firmware up to date on your PC, router, and other online-enabled products. And leave cheap or unnecessary gear offline. The short answer is that you should block random strangers from connecting to your devices. Installing malware solarseven/Shutterstock.com These days, malware can land on your PC and devices in more ways. You need to keep an eye out for more than just a download that seems suspicious. Attackers use these methods to spread ransomware, spyware, infostealers, remote access trojans, and the like. Typically, the goal is to steal money from you. Maybe the hacker will grab information like login credentials or just go for outright extortion. The solution: Only install software from reputable websites and recognizable developers. You should be able to find neutral, detailed feedback about the app on forums or Reddit. If you can only find generic positive comments about the software (“omg it’s amazing, changed my life”), proceed with caution.  Also, make sure your antivirus software is active and up-to-date. It’s helpful as an extra safeguard, though not foolproof. Getting phished An example of a phishing email related to an iCloud subscription.Halyna Kubiv Click a bad link, and you could end up giving away your login info to a service—or downloading malware. While some phony emails and text messages are pretty easy to spot, others can sound pretty convincing. Even if you’re normally careful, the best of us can still slip up unexpectedly. The solution: Don’t click on links in email and text messages. Period. Until recently, common advice was to avoid links you don’t trust. But with AI making scam messages sound more convincing (and harder to spot), multiple experts recommend full skepticism at all times. Instead, independently navigate to a website before logging in. Or, contact customer service directly to confirm the necessity of an app or extension you’re being told to download. It can be easy to forget or have an off day, though—so these other helpful steps act as extra safety nets: Switch to passkeys as your login method wherever possible, especially for valuable accounts. They’re phishing-resistant.  For all other services, enable two-factor authentication (2FA), preferably a phishing-resistant method like Yubikeys. Otherwise, make sure that a login page is official before entering a one-time code or authorizing a 2FA request. Slow down and take a breath if an urgent or scary message comes through. Scammers want you to be panicked and not thinking straight so they can more easily take advantage of you. Periodically confirm your antivirus and browser are up to date. They won’t block every phishing attempt—some spin up and then vanish within minutes, long before software can be updated—but they can help add to your defenses. OUr FAVORITE ANTIVIRUS Norton 360 Deluxe Read our review Read...

New mobile hotspot allows users to stay connected on the go by sharing fast 4G+ internet with up to 64 devices simultaneously. Ideal for mobile professionals, travellers, and outdoor enthusiasts. Read...

Apple is “actively looking at” revamping the Safari web browser on its devices to focus on AI-powered search engines, a seismic shift for the industry hastened by the potential end of a longtime partnership with Google. Read...

When was the last time you used a USB flash drive? I had to think for a moment myself — and to be honest, I can’t remember exactly. For years, the USB stick was the device of choice when it came to fast and uncomplicated data transfer. Why do these practical storage aids hardly play a role today, and are they possibly even on the verge of extinction? A look at current developments sheds some light on this. Why USB flash drives are no longer popular? As compact and handy as they are, USB sticks have lost much of their relevance in recent years. One of the main reasons is their comparatively low storage capacity. Many commercially available models end at 256GB or 512GB, which means that large amounts of data such as 4K videos, complete photo archives, or system backups can only be transported to a limited extent. Although there are also some high-end sticks with up to 2 terabytes of memory, such as the Seagate Ultra Compact SSD, many people prefer to use an SSD for such capacities. The reason: SSDs generally use more powerful flash chips, which ensure higher data transfer rates and a longer service life. Another problem: The classic USB-A connection is hardly suitable for modern devices. Most laptops and tablets rely on USB-C, as do smartphones. mentioned in this article Seagate Ultra Compact SSD Read our review Best Prices Today: $79.99 at B & H Photo Although there are now USB sticks with Type C connectors, such as the aforementioned Seagate Ultra Compact. There are also so-called dual sticks with USB-A and USB-C connections, but in practice this is often a compromise. Many of these models rely on simple controllers and cheaper flash memory, which results in significantly slower transfer rates — especially when writing large files. Modern alternatives to USB flash drives External hard drives: lots of storage for little money External hard drives, such as SSDs, are robust and powerful — with significantly more storage space than the average USB stick. External hard drives — whether classic HDDs or fast SSDs — are among the most popular alternatives to USB sticks. They offer significantly more storage (up to 4TB and more), and SSDs in particular impress with their high transfer speed via USB-C or Thunderbolt. While HDDs offer a lot of space at a favorable price, SSDs are the better choice for large amounts of data, as they are faster, more robust, and hardly more expensive in higher storage classes than comparable USB sticks. Advantages: Significantly more storage space than USB sticks Shock-resistant and durable, higher-quality flash chips Ideal for backups or large amounts of data Disadvantages: Larger and heavier than a USB stick Sometimes more expensive, especially for SSD models Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD 1TB (portable NVMe SSD) External drive with SSD technology 2.5 inch, USB-C, up to 2,000 MB/s read and write, NVMe SSD, IP65, 5-year warranty Buy it on amazon Crucial X10 Pro 1TB Portable SSD External drive with SSD technology, USB-C, up to 2,100MB/s read and 2,000MB/s write, IP55 Buy it on Amazon SSK 2TB portable, external NVME SSD External drive with SSD technology, NVMe SSD, 2.7 inch, USB 3.2 Gen 2, 1,050MB/s read and 1,000MB/s write speed Buy it on Amazon Further reading: The best external drives we’ve tested SD cards: Small, fast – but not universal SD memory cards can be used to expand mobile phone memory, for example.SanDisk SD cards (or microSDs with an adapter) are also a compact alternative to USB sticks. They are standard, especially for cameras, drones, and mobile devices, as well as some laptops. In combination with a USB-C card reader, SD cards can even be used as mini storage drives for notebooks. Further reading: SD cards, demystified: How to decipher the confusing jumble of specs The advantage over classic USB sticks: SD cards can be used more flexibly in many areas, are often cheaper per gigabyte and — depending on the class and model — also achieve high transfer speeds. They are also easy to replace or permanently integrate into devices, such as cameras or laptops with card readers. So if you work with memory cards anyway, you can easily use them as a mobile drive (and save yourself the extra stick). Advantages: Extremely small and light Good speeds with modern UHS-II cards Can be used directly in many devices Disadvantages: Susceptible to loss or damage A card reader is usually required for use on a PC Amazon Basics microSDXC 128GB SD memory card with 128GB and SD adapter, 100MB/s maximum read speed Buy it on Amazon Sandisk Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I memory card 512GB Sandisk UHS-I memory card, 512 GB, V30, transfer speed 200 MB/s, U3, 4K UHD videos, Sandisk QuickFlow technology Buy it on Amazon Cloud services: Storage space always with you The cloud is probably the most modern alternative to USB sticks. Services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud, or OneDrive offer storage space on the internet that you can access from any device — without a physical drive. Advantages: Access from anywhere with an internet connection Ideal for collaboration and shared files Automatic synchronization possible Disadvantages: Dependent on a stable internet connection Limited free storage, followed by a paid subscription Data protection and encryption are important issues Conclusion: USB drive only for special cases? The humble USB flash drive has not yet completely lost its place — it is quite common and ideal for simple data transfers, firmware updates, or as a boot stick. But as an everyday solution, it is long outdated. The combination of limited memory, decreasing compatibility, and growing requirements makes it a discontinued model. Modern alternatives such as SSDs, SD cards, or cloud services offer better performance, more flexibility and, in many cases, a better price-performance ratio. Further reading: 6 genuinely helpful uses for the USB port on your router Read...