Life Style

Microsoft Copilot is a little messy. Unlike ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude, the company's AI service isn't one universal product. Instead, there's "Copilot," the AI for consumers, directly competing with the aforementioned AI apps; and "Microsoft 365 Copilot," the AI for professional use in Microsoft's work suite. Unless you're totally immersed in Microsoft's AI culture, you might be understandably confused about Copilot, and what features and plans belong to which version of the AI. Luckily, you don't need to be confused any longer. This week, Microsoft announced its intentions to merge its Copilot and Microsoft Copilot 365 platforms into a single app. If you use Copilot as you would ChatGPT or Gemini, you'll use this app. If you use Copilot with Word and Excel for work or school, you'll use ...

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. A soundbar is often the easiest way to fix thin TV audio, but a single bar can only go so far when you want movies and games to feel more immersive. That is where a fuller surround setup can help, and Amazon currently has its Fire TV Soundbar Plus bundle for $399.99, down from $489.99. Unlike the soundbar-only version, this package gives you a proper 5.1-channel setup, with the bar handling the front and center channels, the subwoofer adding low-end impact, and two speakers sitting behind you for surround effects. Its dedicated center channel should also make dialogue easier to follow when background music or action gets busy. The sy...

If you've read our previous coverage on the Tor network and the Tor Browser, you'll know they're the best choices if you want to maximize your privacy and anonymity on the internet. Now, the Tor project has teamed up with the Bloco Android app studio to release another app focused on privacy and anonymity: Snowflake Volunteer.This isn't only bout keeping your own browsing safe and secure—if you install it on your Android phone, you're helping other people circumvent censorship restrictions in their current location, donating part of your connection to the web so that they can get online at all. Enabling Snowflake Volunteer on Android. Credit: Lifehacker ...

We may earn a commission from links on this page. At first glance, you might think Google's new Pixel Watch 5 was actually the Pixel Watch 4. That's because it has the same "Actua 360 display" at an identical 320 PPI with up to 3,000 nits of brightness. And, just like the Pixel Watch 4, you can get the Pixel Watch 5 in either 41mm or 45mm models. If not for the new colors, you might think this year's watch is just like last year's watch. It doesn't help that many of the newest software features that Google announced along with the Pixel Watch 5 are compatible with older watches, too. Things like "Health Guardian," which tracks trends in insulin resistance, blood pressure, and sleep breathing, will be available on Pixel Watch 4 when they launch, just as they will be on...

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’ve been wanting to get a wireless charger for your Google Pixel Phone, this Google Pixelsnap Qi2 Wireless charger with stand is now $34.99, down from $69.99, making it the lowest price ever, according to price-tracking tools. With its perfect angle and versatility, the stand allows you to dock your phone upright either vertically or horizontally, so you can continue to use it while it charges, including controlling your home devices. The magnetic backing holds the phone in place no matter if you’re using the dock or the charger on its own. It also reaches 25W, meaning you can get 50% of your phone’s power back in roughly 30 mi...

Apple released the fifth beta for iOS 27 on Monday, Aug. 10. As we get closer to the update's official fall release, the number of features and changes Apple will introduce with each beta is certainly diminishing, and no one would call beta 5 a feature-filled update. However, there are some new features and changes worth noting, especially as they are things Apple didn't previously announce at WWDC. Before I get into what's new, a reminder: iOS 27 is not yet finished. As such, while anyone with a compatible iPhone can install it, know there are risks to running beta software on your device. Make sure to make a proper backup of your data, as you could lose everything on your iPhone in the event you need to downgrade back to iOS 26. Apple just updated five app icons with iOS 27 beta 5 ...

This week's dispatch has it all: the indomitable spirit of internet perverts, a genre of music named for its awfulness, slang that didn't come from African-American vernacular English, and a couple of YouTubers who out-earned Star Wars. As always, I've done the deeply undignified work of digging into it so you don't have to. You're welcome.What is the matcha filter?TikTok is serious about keeping people from using its service to expose their parts, but the ingenuity of perverts should not be underestimated. Enter the matcha filter. Officially named "wild hearts whisper," unofficially named for the thick, hazy green wash it throws over videos, the matcha filter showed up on the 'Tok a few weeks ago and user quickly discovered it defeats the platform's nudity filters. Here's a non-nudie vide...

On Monday, Meta announced its latest AI model: Muse Glimmer. The company isn't necessarily advertising this model as its biggest and best, however. While Meta has plenty to say about Muse Glimmer's performance potential, there are two key selling points for the model in the company's eyes: The fact that it's open-weight, and that it's designed to run locally on "consumer" Macs and PCs—though perhaps not on your computer.What is Muse Glimmer?According ot Meta, Muse Glimmer is a 30-billion-parameter AI model optimized for "always-on local agent workflows." What that means is Glimmer is designed to run autonomously directly on your machine, rather than outsourcing that processing to the cloud. Local AI is much more secure than cloud-based, as your data stays within your system. When you tap i...

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. While there are plenty of new speaker releases to get excited about this summer, there’s nothing like a tried-and-true, well-rounded option from a reliable brand. The JBL Charge 6 is exactly that. Designed to survive everything from pool parties to camping trips and beach adventures, a brand-new unit is currently 35% off on Woot, bringing it to an all-time low of $129.95 (originally $199.95), according to price trackers. With an IP68 rating, it’s fully waterproof, dust-proof, and drop-proof (surviving up to three feet), making it nearly invincible for all kinds of shenanigans. The 34-watt-hour battery lasts up to 24 hours, and you ge...

It's tough to stay private on the internet. It's hardly an even playing field: If you use apps and websites as they're designed, your every move is almost guaranteed to be tracked so that companies can compile a profile to target you with ads. That even extends to simple tasks like sharing links with friends: You might think you're simply communicating in private, but as soon as you click "copy" on that link, trackers attach themselves to the URL and come along for the ride. It doesn't have to be this way. There are many steps you can take to prevent trackers from stalking you across the internet—some more intense than others. And while stripping tracking URLs from links isn't new, it isn't exactly common knowledge, either. That's why whenever a company makes it a bit easier, I'm all for ...