Facing opposition from Democrats who fled the state to stall the vote, Republicans hope the new maps will lead to more seats in Congress. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Straightforward setup and mapping Delivered an even, thorough cut from the first mow Obstacle detection is promising (although it still needs work) Cons Somewhat underpowered for its size Rear-wheel drive only Underwhelming performance on slopes Our Verdict The Eufy Lawnbot E18 is a great robot lawn mower for smaller, flatter yards and for people who don’t want to spend a lot of time setting one up. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Eufy Lawnbot E18 Retailer Price Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Research and development efforts aren’t cheap. Outsourcing is one of the ways manufacturers can more affordably expand their product offerings, and some smart home brands—including Anker’s Eufy smart home division—have taken this approach rather than developing their own products in-house. In this case, we’re talking about robot lawn mowers. The Eufy Lawnbot E-series robot lawn mowers that Anker debuted at CES last January are actually rebranded TerraMow models that have been available in Europe since mid-2024. Apart from battery size, the two Lawnbot E-series mowers are identical, with the model E15 capable of handling up to 0.2 acres, while the model E18 reviewed here is suitable for up to 0.3 acres. Specifications Both Lawnbot E-series mowers might seem small compared to much of the competition—suburban and rural American yards tend to be very large—but you don’t need to own an acre or more of turf to appreciate a robot lawn mower. The Eufy Lawnbot E18 will look familiar to European readers, as it’s based on the design of the TerraMow S2100 that came to market in that region in 2023.Ed Oswald/Foundry These are smallish, rear-wheel drive mowers, but don’t let their size fool you: Both machines are packed with smarts. The GPS navigation that so many other modern mowers use, however, is not one of their features. These mowers map your yard using computer vision alone. Moving from unboxing to mowing happened more quickly with the Eufy Lawnbot E18 than any other mower I’ve evaluated to date. The mower maps your yard completely on its own: you only direct it to the portions of the yard you want it to map and then draw pathways between these areas. I had the Lawnbot E18 up and running in my yard in less than 30 minutes. While it’s exciting to see a mower that doesn’t depend on GPS satellites or require a complex installation involving antennas on tripods and the like, I certainly had my doubts about a mower that relies solely on vision, but those have largely dispersed—at least regarding Eufy’s (and TerraMow’s) bots. Setup The Lawnbot E18 will memorize the location of its garage base station and use the pattern printed on its inside back wall for precise docking.  Ed Oswald/Foundry The initial setup of the Eufy Lawnbot E18 involves finding a suitable location for the mower’s base station, plugging it in, and then turning your attention to the mower itself. While the mower comes with enough charge to complete setup, we charged it to 100 percent, which took less than half an hour (Eufy says a drained battery should reach a full charge within 90 to 110 minutes). After that, you can start mapping from within the app. Place the E18 anywhere within a grassy area (the app will guide you) and allow it to calibrate. The mower will spin in a circle, utilizing its cameras to determine its location in the world. Watching a robot doing donuts in your yard will seem odd, but that’s how this mower determines its precise location without the assistance of GPS. Once that orientation process is successful, the mower will proceed to map the entire area of grass. I have a complex yard, so I set the Lawnbot E18 free on the easiest patches of grass first. It handled these spectacularly, needing less than 10 minutes to map the 400 square feet. The mower struggled in the sloped portions of my yard, however, often attempting to map areas that were too steep for it to navigate. This required me to set no-go zones and boundaries within the app to prevent it from getting stuck. All-wheel drive would have helped with this, but the E-series mowers only drive their rear wheels. The Eufy Lawnbot E18’s smaller size allows it to more easily navigate narrow pathways in your yard compared to most robot lawn mowers.Ed Oswald/Foundry The mower also insisted on returning to its base station after each zone was mapped, which I found frustrating. When it came to mowing areas far from the base station, this added a considerable amount of time to the mapping process. This behavior might be necessitated by the Lawnbot E18’s reliance on computer vision for navigation. Apart from that, the Lawnbot E18 was surprisingly smooth at mapping, even in areas with view obstructions or obstacles. You won’t spend much time setting up a more basic yard; indeed, moving from unboxing to mowing happened more quickly with the Lawnbot E18 than any other mower I’ve evaluated to date. Performance The Lawnbot E18 is underpowered compared to most of the rear-wheel drive mowers I’ve tested in this price range, and it can climb slopes of only 18 degrees or less. If you have anything more than gradual rises in your yard, you will likely run into trouble with this mower. While the Lawnbot E18 is smaller than most robot lawn mowers I’ve reviewed, its size—and the fact that its cutting blades are quite close to the edge of its deck—gives it at least one important advantage: Bulkier mowers can have difficulty maneuvering around obstacles, leaving unsightly strips of uncut grass behind. Slopes are not the Lawnbot E18’s forté, as its limited to climbing 18-degree grades.Ed Oswald/Foundry That said, the E18’s small cutting radius—8 inches—results in longer mowing times than many other robot mowers. But I’m OK with that, provided the mower does its job. And for the most part, the Lawnbot E18 does its job. While its vision navigation isn’t perfect, the mower performed well overall, and the maps it created became increasingly more precise with each run. This meant the E18 left fewer untouched patches of grass after a few mowing sessions. Another surprise came when I packed the mower away and then re-installed it later for a photoshoot. I put its base station in approximately the same location, but I assumed the mower would need to create an entirely new map; instead, it recognized the yard and adjusted itself accordingly. Some of the most significant navigation issues I experienced were sun blindness and incorrectly identifying tall grass and weeds as obstructions. You can change the direction of its cut by zone; however, there is no option for alternating the direction it mows to prevent its wheels from leaving tracks in your lawn. Segway’s E3-series mowers have this feature, and it’s great. The Lawnbot E18 can’t operate in the dark, either, even though it’s equipped with an LED light that can be turned on while it’s in remote control mode. This means you won’t be able to mow your lawns at night, as you can with some competing mowers. The Eufy app From left to right: the Eufy Lawnbot E18’s in-app scheduling function, live view, and primary screen.Ed Oswald/Foundry Some of the problems I encountered with the Lawnbot E18 can probably be chalked up to software/firmware issues. Until June, the base station had to be placed within a mow zone, or the bot wouldn’t be able to find it. And you could only set the mow direction for your entire yard rather than by zone. Also, an errant firmware update in early June temporarily prevented some Eufy mowers from operating at all. These problems reminded me of what I dealt with during my Mammotion Yuka 1500 review last year. In both cases, things improved over time. Eufy’s Lawnbot app is now much more stable than when I first tested the E18 in May. It also got better at detecting transitions between grass and sidewalk. Walkway stones, on the other hand, continuously tripped up the mower, as it would treat them as a solid sidewalk. If you own other Eufy smart home devices—whether it be security cameras, video doorbells, smart lighting, vacuums, or mops—you’ll use the same app to control the Lawnbot. It will appear under the Clean tab. The app is generally easy to use, although a bug would sometimes cause the mower to occasionally disappear from the app’s Home page. The app’s live-view feature is generally useful, provided you have good Wi-Fi coverage in your yard, but it does take some getting used to. The mower’s movements are somewhat jerky, so it can appear as though the machine is lurching in unexpected directions when it really isn’t. I didn’t thoroughly test the app’s remote-control function, however, as my Wi-Fi router doesn’t blanket my yard with coverage. Should you buy the Eufy Lawnbot E18? That the Eufy Lawnbot E18 is a rebranded TerraMow product doesn’t lessen its appeal—at least for homeowners with smaller lawns. Its reliance on visual navigation is novel, but that feature gets you as close to plug-and-play as you’ll get with a robot lawn mower. It’s a great option for folks who feel overwhelmed by modern technology. And if you own other Eufy smart home products, you won’t even need to download another app. If you have a larger or more complex yard, the Sunseeker Orion X7 AWD will probably be more suitable. Or if you don’t want to wait for a mower to learn the shape of your yard, you might consider the Mowrator S1 4WD, which you control with a gaming console-like remote instead of relying on the mower to navigate. This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best robot lawn mowers. Read...

Kyiv has rejected ceding territory seized by Russia to secure a ceasefire. Read...

Google knows what we search for, where we go, who we email—and diligently stores it all as well. For many users, this has long been too much of a “good thing”. If you want to live a more digitally self-determined life, you can gradually turn your back on the data giant from Silicon Valley. But to do that means you’ll also need to find alternatives for services such as Google Search, Gmail, Maps etc. Sounds like a lot of effort? It doesn’t have to be. We show you how you can gain more privacy with just a few clicks. Without sacrificing convenience: Replace Google search: No more data snooping Data protection instead of a data octopus: DuckDuckGo shows search results without tracking or personalized advertising.Sam Singleton Google search delivers brilliant results—but it lets them look deep into your personal life. If you don’t want to be tracked while surfing, you can rely on search engines that take privacy seriously. DuckDuckGo DuckDuckGo is perhaps the best-known Google alternative. It completely dispenses with tracking, does not store IP addresses and still delivers solid results, especially for general search queries. No user profiles are created and no search histories are recorded. The results come from a mix of its own crawlers and partly from Bing, but occasionally with slightly less accuracy compared to Google. Pro: Pure data protection, quick and simple changeover from other search engines (also mobile). Cons: Fewer personalized hits, weaker results for niche topics. Startpage Startpage shows anonymized Google search results—without any tracking, cookies or personalized advertising. This means we get the usual quality of Google searches without our personal data being stored. The service originates from the Netherlands and is subject to European data protection standards. Pro: Best results with privacy. Cons: Slightly longer loading times, adverts in the mix (but they’re discreet). Gmail? No thanks: Emails without readers Tutanota is a German email provider with a zero-tracking philosophy.Sam Singleton Google scans emails (usually automatically) to personalize advertising and services. If you prefer a more discreet approach, switch to a mail provider with a focus on security. Thankfully, we have plenty of choices, as Gmail is one of the Google services that is easiest to replace. Proton Mail Proton Mail is a secure e-mail service from Switzerland that consistently focusses on data protection. Emails between Proton Mail users are automatically end-to-end encrypted, and password protection can be set up for external recipients. The servers are located in Switzerland and are therefore subject to strict data protection laws. The web interface is modern and easy to understand, there are apps for Android and iOS as well as a bridge for classic mail programs. Pro: Strong encryption, servers outside the USA. Cons: Interface takes some getting used to, limited storage in the free plan. Do without Android: De-Googling your smartphone /e/OS is a completely “de-Googled” open source operating systemSam Singleton Android may be open source, but the Google services it contains are not. If you want a smartphone that is as “Google-free” as possible, you have to dig deeper into your bag of tricks—or try something completely new. /e/OS /e/OS is a privacy-friendly Android operating system that works completely without Google services. Instead, it offers its own apps, an alternative app store (Aurora Store) and synchronization via its own /e/ cloud. Many well-known smartphones (such as Samsung and Fairphone) can be reloaded with /e/OS or purchased pre-installed as a “de-Googled Phone”. It’s ideal for everyone who wants to use Android without being tracked by Google. Pro: Compatible with Android apps, many devices supported. Cons: Somewhat technical to set up, not all apps run perfectly. GrapheneOS (for advanced users) GrapheneOS is a particularly secure Android derivative that was specially developed for Pixel smartphones. It is aimed at experienced users and focusses on maximum security, system hardening, and data protection. Google services are not included as standard, but can be installed manually if required (sandboxed)—GrapheneOS is not designed for the “normal” use of Google services. Pro: Extremely secure, hardly any data leakage. Cons: For technology fans, not “plug & play”, requires some know-how and effort Goodbye Google Maps: How to navigate with privacy Map service without tracking: The open source app Organic Maps does not use advertising, does not collect any user data, and works completely offline.Sam Singleton Google Maps knows our routes—oftentimes better than we do. Fortunately, there are alternatives for privacy fans that come with less prying eyes. Organic Maps Organic Maps is an open source navigation app that is based on OSM (OpenStreetMap) maps and works completely without an internet connection. The app does not use tracking or advertising, which makes it particularly privacy-friendly. Ideal for outdoor enthusiasts and anyone who wants to navigate reliably offline, Organic Maps also offers practical functions such as route planning and voice prompts. Pro: Works without the internet, ideal for travelling. Cons: No traffic data, weaker POI search. Magic Earth The Magic Earth map service combines OpenStreetMap data with its own maps and provides a privacy-friendly alternative to Google Maps. In addition to navigation, the app also offers real-time traffic information, offline maps and an overview of cycle paths and footpaths. With a focus on privacy, Magic Earth does away with user tracking and advertising, but remains functional and user-friendly. Pro: Good maps, many features, no data transfer. Cons: Less well-known places are sometimes harder to find. Byebye Google Chrome: Fast, but nosy Far less widespread than Chrome – but a real high-flyer in terms of data protection and customisation: the Firefox browser.Sam Singleton Chrome is the top dog among browsers, but it’s also a real data hoover. If you want to surf without being watched, you can switch to these alternatives: Firefox Firefox is the classic among free browsers—fast, secure, expandable. Developed by the Mozilla Foundation, Firefox places great emphasis on transparency and data protection. The browser is flexible and can be highly customized with numerous add-ons: from ad blockers to cookie control. Pro: Many data protection add-ons, active community. Cons: Sometimes a little slower than Chrome. Brave Brave is a Chromium browser with in-built tracking protection and ad blocker. It blocks adverts, trackers, and fingerprinting by default, even without extensions. Pro: Very fast, good privacy by default. Cons: Partial crypto integration, which not everyone wants. No more Google Docs: texts and spreadsheets with better data protections ONLYOFFICE is a really strong alternative to Google Docs.Sam Singleton Practical, collaborative, usable everywhere: these are the strengths of Google Docs. But if you don’t want to store your documents on US servers, there are also good alternatives. ONLYOFFICE ONLYOFFICE is a powerful office suite that works with Word, Excel and PowerPoint-compatible documents and works both online and offline. The platform is particularly suitable for team collaboration and offers extensive functions for word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations. Compared to Google Docs, ONLYOFFICE offers more control over your own data, as the software can also be installed on your own servers. Pro: Compatible with Word, Excel & Co. Cons: Somewhat technical to get started (but easy to use in the cloud). CryptPad CryptPad is a web-based office suite that places particular emphasis on data protection and security by storing all data end-to-end encrypted. Users can work together on documents, spreadsheets or presentations without the operator having access to the content. Ideal for anyone who values anonymous use and maximum data sovereignty. CryptPad also offers functions such as surveys, whiteboards, and markdown editors. Pro: Can be used completely anonymously, no registration required. Cons: Fewer functions, not ideal for large teams. Alternatives for Google Drive: Cloud storage without data snooping Tresorit is a cloud provider from Switzerland with a focus on security for teams and individuals.Sam Singleton Google Drive is convenient, but scans content for its own purposes. If you prefer encrypted storage, you should take a look at these services: Tresorit The cloud storage service Tresorit is based in Switzerland and focuses on security and end-to-end encryption. Files are encrypted before being uploaded so that even Tresorit has no access to the content. The servers are located in Europe, which is a clear advantage for users from the EU in terms of data protection. Ideal for companies and private individuals who want to store and share sensitive data securely online. Pro: End-to-end encryption, GDPR-compliant. Cons: More expensive than Google Drive. Snyc.com The Canadian cloud service Sync.com relies on zero-knowledge encryption. This means that only you have access to your data, not the provider. The service is easy to use, offers apps for all platforms and is ideal for team collaboration. There are no trackers or adverts here either, and even with the free entry-level plan you can get a lot done. It’s a strong Google Drive replacement with significantly more privacy. Pro: Good usability, can also be used free of charge. Cons: Sometimes slower uploads, English-language version. Google Photos is not irreplaceable: Archive your memories without the prying eyes Immich is a self-hosting photo management system with AI functions – without Google.Sam Singleton Google recognizes faces, places, and objects in pictures. And while this is impressive, it’s too much for many people. If you want to store your photos securely, you need alternatives. Immich Immich is an open-source solution for managing and backing up photos on your own server or NAS. The user interface is reminiscent of Google Photos—including face recognition, albums, timelines and AI-supported search. All data remains local and under your own control. Ideal for anyone who wants maximum privacy and is prepared to bring some technical know-how to the table. Pro: Face recognition locally, no cloud compulsion. Cons: Technical expertise required. Internxt Photos Simple cloud service with a focus on encryption: Internxt Photos stores images in the cloud—completely end-to-end encrypted so that no one but you can access them. The app is simple, functional and available for desktop and mobile devices. It has server locations in numerous place including in the EU, and no advertising or tracking. Particularly suitable for anyone who wants to store their photos securely online without relying on big tech providers. Pro: GDPR-compliant, intuitive operation. Cons: Fewer features than Google Photos. Bonus tip: Independence from YouTube—is that even possible? YouTube is hard to replace – also because you can find The Full Nerd videos there.Sam Singleton To be honest: not really. YouTube is not just a video portal, but has long been a gigantic archive for tutorials, documentaries, music, live streams and nerd knowledge. If you don’t use it at all, you’re missing out on a lot. Nevertheless, there are ways to become at least a little more independent—or to use YouTube more sparingly. NewPipe NewPipe is an alternative YouTube app for Android (for using YouTube) that works without a Google account, does not show adverts and also has a background mode on board. Pro: No registration required, no tracking, videos can be downloaded directly. Cons: Only for Android, no commenting or liking possible. Peertube Peertube is a free, decentralized video network that sees itself as a counterpart to YouTube. Content comes from many small instances, without a nosy large corporation behind it. Unlike the NewPipe app presented above, it’s a genuine alternative to YouTube with its very own content. Pro: Open source, ad-free, community-based. Cons: Smaller offering, difficult to browse. Conclusion: Escaping the Google universe step by step In the modern, digitalized world, living without Google is almost as difficult as living without electricity. But it is possible, at least in part. If you consciously look for alternatives, you can reduce tracking, strengthen data protection, and gain more control over your own data. Opting out doesn’t have to be a radical break: even small steps (such as an alternative browser or a new search engine) can have a big impact. Read...

Maps for the over-budget and over-time City Rail Link were revealed at Britomart Station on Monday. Read...

TL;DR: Amsflow is your all-in-one, AI-enhanced investing research hub—track portfolios, screen global markets, and uncover trends with powerful analytics for just $49.99 for a year. Running a business? Managing your own investments? Or just tired of pretending you understand what’s happening in the markets? Amsflow might just be the super-sharp tool your financial toolkit’s missing. This AI-powered platform crunches more data than your brain can and actually helps you make smart decisions. With Amsflow, you’ll get real-time insights into over 70,000 assets—stocks, crypto, forex, commodities—and tools like “Lisa,” an AI assistant that can answer natural-language queries like “show me small-cap clean energy stocks with strong momentum.” There’s also “X-Ray,” which zeroes in on trends across multiple timeframes, making it easier to spot patterns before they become headlines. Amsflow’s visual tools, heat maps, and alerts make it approachable for solo investors who want real clarity. And if you’re a founder or entrepreneur, it’s an efficient way to track your portfolio, monitor markets that affect your industry, and maybe even find the next smart investment. You’ll also get portfolio management tools, real-time global price tracking, customizable alerts, economic calendars, and live financial dashboards to support you. Pick up one year of Amsflow for just $49.99 (MSRP: $228) for a limited time. Amsflow AI Financial Analysis: Pro PlanSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...

Analysis of Russia`s advance in northern and eastern Ukraine in maps. Read...

ChatGPT is rapidly changing the world. The process is already happening, and it’s only going to accelerate as the technology improves, as more people gain access to it, and as more learn how to use it. What’s shocking is just how many tasks ChatGPT is already capable of managing for you. While the naysayers may still look down their noses at the potential of AI assistants, I’ve been using it to handle all kinds of menial tasks for me. Here are my favorite examples. Further reading: This tiny ChatGPT feature helps me tackle my days more productively Write your emails for you Dave Parrack / Foundry We’ve all been faced with the tricky task of writing an email—whether personal or professional—but not knowing quite how to word it. ChatGPT can do the heavy lifting for you, penning the (hopefully) perfect email based on whatever information you feed it. Let’s assume the email you need to write is of a professional nature, and wording it poorly could negatively affect your career. By directing ChatGPT to write the email with a particular structure, content, and tone of voice, you can give yourself a huge head start. A winning tip for this is to never accept ChatGPT’s first attempt. Always read through it and look for areas of improvement, then request tweaks to ensure you get the best possible email. You can (and should) also rewrite the email in your own voice. Learn more about how ChatGPT coached my colleague to write better emails. Generate itineraries and schedules Dave Parrack / Foundry If you’re going on a trip but you’re the type of person who hates planning trips, then you should utilize ChatGPT’s ability to generate trip itineraries. The results can be customized to the nth degree depending on how much detail and instruction you’re willing to provide. As someone who likes to get away at least once a year but also wants to make the most of every trip, leaning on ChatGPT for an itinerary is essential for me. I’ll provide the location and the kinds of things I want to see and do, then let it handle the rest. Instead of spending days researching everything myself, ChatGPT does 80 percent of it for me. As with all of these tasks, you don’t need to accept ChatGPT’s first effort. Use different prompts to force the AI chatbot to shape the itinerary closer to what you want. You’d be surprised at how many cool ideas you’ll encounter this way—simply nix the ones you don’t like. Break down difficult concepts Dave Parrack / Foundry One of the best tasks to assign to ChatGPT is the explanation of difficult concepts. Ask ChatGPT to explain any concept you can think of and it will deliver more often than not. You can tailor the level of explanation you need, and even have it include visual elements. Let’s say, for example, that a higher-up at work regularly lectures everyone about the importance of networking. But maybe they never go into detail about what they mean, just constantly pushing the why without explaining the what. Well, just ask ChatGPT to explain networking! Okay, most of us know what “networking” is and the concept isn’t very hard to grasp. But you can do this with anything. Ask ChatGPT to explain augmented reality, multi-threaded processing, blockchain, large language models, what have you. It will provide you with a clear and simple breakdown, maybe even with analogies and images. Analyze and make tough decisions Dave Parrack / Foundry We all face tough decisions every so often. The next time you find yourself wrestling with a particularly tough one—and you just can’t decide one way or the other—try asking ChatGPT for guidance and advice. It may sound strange to trust any kind of decision to artificial intelligence, let alone an important one that has you stumped, but doing so actually makes a lot of sense. While human judgment can be clouded by emotions, AI can set that aside and prioritize logic. It should go without saying: you don’t have to accept ChatGPT’s answers. Use the AI to weigh the pros and cons, to help you understand what’s most important to you, and to suggest a direction. Who knows? If you find yourself not liking the answer given, that in itself might clarify what you actually want—and the right answer for you. This is the kind of stuff ChatGPT can do to improve your life. Plan complex projects and strategies Dave Parrack / Foundry Most jobs come with some level of project planning and management. Even I, as a freelance writer, need to plan tasks to get projects completed on time. And that’s where ChatGPT can prove invaluable, breaking projects up into smaller, more manageable parts. ChatGPT needs to know the nature of the project, the end goal, any constraints you may have, and what you have done so far. With that information, it can then break the project up with a step-by-step plan, and break it down further into phases (if required). If ChatGPT doesn’t initially split your project up in a way that suits you, try again. Change up the prompts and make the AI chatbot tune in to exactly what you’re looking for. It takes a bit of back and forth, but it can shorten your planning time from hours to mere minutes. Compile research notes Dave Parrack / Foundry If you need to research a given topic of interest, ChatGPT can save you the hassle of compiling that research. For example, ahead of a trip to Croatia, I wanted to know more about the Croatian War of Independence, so I asked ChatGPT to provide me with a brief summary of the conflict with bullet points to help me understand how it happened. After absorbing all that information, I asked ChatGPT to add a timeline of the major events, further helping me to understand how the conflict played out. ChatGPT then offered to provide me with battle maps and/or summaries, plus profiles of the main players. You can go even deeper with ChatGPT’s Deep Research feature, which is now available to free users, up to 5 Deep Research tasks per month. With Deep Research, ChatGPT conducts multi-step research to generate comprehensive reports (with citations!) based on large amounts of information across the internet. A Deep Research task can take up to 30 minutes to complete, but it’ll save you hours or even days. Summarize articles, meetings, and more Dave Parrack / Foundry There are only so many hours in the day, yet so many new articles published on the web day in and day out. When you come across extra-long reads, it can be helpful to run them through ChatGPT for a quick summary. Then, if the summary is lacking in any way, you can go back and plow through the article proper. As an example, I ran one of my own PCWorld articles (where I compared Bluesky and Threads as alternatives to X) through ChatGPT, which provided a brief summary of my points and broke down the best X alternative based on my reasons given. Interestingly, it also pulled elements from other articles. (Hmph.) If you don’t want that, you can tell ChatGPT to limit its summary to the contents of the link. This is a great trick to use for other long-form, text-heavy content that you just don’t have the time to crunch through. Think transcripts for interviews, lectures, videos, and Zoom meetings. The only caveat is to never share private details with ChatGPT, like company-specific data that’s protected by NDAs and the like. Create Q&A flashcards for learning Dave Parrack / Foundry Flashcards can be extremely useful for drilling a lot of information into your brain, such as when studying for an exam, onboarding in a new role, prepping for an interview, etc. And with ChatGPT, you no longer have to painstakingly create those flashcards yourself. All you have to do is tell the AI the details of what you’re studying. You can specify the format (such as Q&A or multiple choice), as well as various other elements. You can also choose to keep things broad or target specific sub-topics or concepts you want to focus on. You can even upload your own notes for ChatGPT to reference. You can also use Google’s NotebookLM app in a similar way. Provide interview practice Dave Parrack / Foundry Whether you’re a first-time jobseeker or have plenty of experience under your belt, it’s always a good idea to practice for your interviews when making career moves. Years ago, you might’ve had to ask a friend or family member to act as your mock interviewer. These days, ChatGPT can do it for you—and do it more effectively. Inform ChatGPT of the job title, industry, and level of position you’re interviewing for, what kind of interview it’ll be (e.g., screener, technical assessment, group/panel, one-on-one with CEO), and anything else you want it to take into consideration. ChatGPT will then conduct a mock interview with you, providing feedback along the way. When I tried this out myself, I was shocked by how capable ChatGPT can be at pretending to be a human in this context. And the feedback it provides for each answer you give is invaluable for knocking off your rough edges and improving your chances of success when you’re interviewed by a real hiring manager. Further reading: No, don’t threaten ChatGPT for better results. Try this instead Read...

ChatGPT is rapidly changing the world. The process is already happening, and it’s only going to accelerate as the technology improves, as more people gain access to it, and as more learn how to use it. What’s shocking is just how many tasks ChatGPT is already capable of managing for you. While the naysayers may still look down their noses at the potential of AI assistants, I’ve been using it to handle all kinds of menial tasks for me. Here are my favorite examples. Further reading: This tiny ChatGPT feature helps me tackle my days more productively Write your emails for you Dave Parrack / Foundry We’ve all been faced with the tricky task of writing an email—whether personal or professional—but not knowing quite how to word it. ChatGPT can do the heavy lifting for you, penning the (hopefully) perfect email based on whatever information you feed it. Let’s assume the email you need to write is of a professional nature, and wording it poorly could negatively affect your career. By directing ChatGPT to write the email with a particular structure, content, and tone of voice, you can give yourself a huge head start. A winning tip for this is to never accept ChatGPT’s first attempt. Always read through it and look for areas of improvement, then request tweaks to ensure you get the best possible email. You can (and should) also rewrite the email in your own voice. Learn more about how ChatGPT coached my colleague to write better emails. Generate itineraries and schedules Dave Parrack / Foundry If you’re going on a trip but you’re the type of person who hates planning trips, then you should utilize ChatGPT’s ability to generate trip itineraries. The results can be customized to the nth degree depending on how much detail and instruction you’re willing to provide. As someone who likes to get away at least once a year but also wants to make the most of every trip, leaning on ChatGPT for an itinerary is essential for me. I’ll provide the location and the kinds of things I want to see and do, then let it handle the rest. Instead of spending days researching everything myself, ChatGPT does 80 percent of it for me. As with all of these tasks, you don’t need to accept ChatGPT’s first effort. Use different prompts to force the AI chatbot to shape the itinerary closer to what you want. You’d be surprised at how many cool ideas you’ll encounter this way—simply nix the ones you don’t like. Break down difficult concepts Dave Parrack / Foundry One of the best tasks to assign to ChatGPT is the explanation of difficult concepts. Ask ChatGPT to explain any concept you can think of and it will deliver more often than not. You can tailor the level of explanation you need, and even have it include visual elements. Let’s say, for example, that a higher-up at work regularly lectures everyone about the importance of networking. But maybe they never go into detail about what they mean, just constantly pushing the why without explaining the what. Well, just ask ChatGPT to explain networking! Okay, most of us know what “networking” is and the concept isn’t very hard to grasp. But you can do this with anything. Ask ChatGPT to explain augmented reality, multi-threaded processing, blockchain, large language models, what have you. It will provide you with a clear and simple breakdown, maybe even with analogies and images. Analyze and make tough decisions Dave Parrack / Foundry We all face tough decisions every so often. The next time you find yourself wrestling with a particularly tough one—and you just can’t decide one way or the other—try asking ChatGPT for guidance and advice. It may sound strange to trust any kind of decision to artificial intelligence, let alone an important one that has you stumped, but doing so actually makes a lot of sense. While human judgment can be clouded by emotions, AI can set that aside and prioritize logic. It should go without saying: you don’t have to accept ChatGPT’s answers. Use the AI to weigh the pros and cons, to help you understand what’s most important to you, and to suggest a direction. Who knows? If you find yourself not liking the answer given, that in itself might clarify what you actually want—and the right answer for you. This is the kind of stuff ChatGPT can do to improve your life. Plan complex projects and strategies Dave Parrack / Foundry Most jobs come with some level of project planning and management. Even I, as a freelance writer, need to plan tasks to get projects completed on time. And that’s where ChatGPT can prove invaluable, breaking projects up into smaller, more manageable parts. ChatGPT needs to know the nature of the project, the end goal, any constraints you may have, and what you have done so far. With that information, it can then break the project up with a step-by-step plan, and break it down further into phases (if required). If ChatGPT doesn’t initially split your project up in a way that suits you, try again. Change up the prompts and make the AI chatbot tune in to exactly what you’re looking for. It takes a bit of back and forth, but it can shorten your planning time from hours to mere minutes. Compile research notes Dave Parrack / Foundry If you need to research a given topic of interest, ChatGPT can save you the hassle of compiling that research. For example, ahead of a trip to Croatia, I wanted to know more about the Croatian War of Independence, so I asked ChatGPT to provide me with a brief summary of the conflict with bullet points to help me understand how it happened. After absorbing all that information, I asked ChatGPT to add a timeline of the major events, further helping me to understand how the conflict played out. ChatGPT then offered to provide me with battle maps and/or summaries, plus profiles of the main players. You can go even deeper with ChatGPT’s Deep Research feature, which is now available to free users, up to 5 Deep Research tasks per month. With Deep Research, ChatGPT conducts multi-step research to generate comprehensive reports (with citations!) based on large amounts of information across the internet. A Deep Research task can take up to 30 minutes to complete, but it’ll save you hours or even days. Summarize articles, meetings, and more Dave Parrack / Foundry There are only so many hours in the day, yet so many new articles published on the web day in and day out. When you come across extra-long reads, it can be helpful to run them through ChatGPT for a quick summary. Then, if the summary is lacking in any way, you can go back and plow through the article proper. As an example, I ran one of my own PCWorld articles (where I compared Bluesky and Threads as alternatives to X) through ChatGPT, which provided a brief summary of my points and broke down the best X alternative based on my reasons given. Interestingly, it also pulled elements from other articles. (Hmph.) If you don’t want that, you can tell ChatGPT to limit its summary to the contents of the link. This is a great trick to use for other long-form, text-heavy content that you just don’t have the time to crunch through. Think transcripts for interviews, lectures, videos, and Zoom meetings. The only caveat is to never share private details with ChatGPT, like company-specific data that’s protected by NDAs and the like. Create Q&A flashcards for learning Dave Parrack / Foundry Flashcards can be extremely useful for drilling a lot of information into your brain, such as when studying for an exam, onboarding in a new role, prepping for an interview, etc. And with ChatGPT, you no longer have to painstakingly create those flashcards yourself. All you have to do is tell the AI the details of what you’re studying. You can specify the format (such as Q&A or multiple choice), as well as various other elements. You can also choose to keep things broad or target specific sub-topics or concepts you want to focus on. You can even upload your own notes for ChatGPT to reference. You can also use Google’s NotebookLM app in a similar way. Provide interview practice Dave Parrack / Foundry Whether you’re a first-time jobseeker or have plenty of experience under your belt, it’s always a good idea to practice for your interviews when making career moves. Years ago, you might’ve had to ask a friend or family member to act as your mock interviewer. These days, ChatGPT can do it for you—and do it more effectively. Inform ChatGPT of the job title, industry, and level of position you’re interviewing for, what kind of interview it’ll be (e.g., screener, technical assessment, group/panel, one-on-one with CEO), and anything else you want it to take into consideration. ChatGPT will then conduct a mock interview with you, providing feedback along the way. When I tried this out myself, I was shocked by how capable ChatGPT can be at pretending to be a human in this context. And the feedback it provides for each answer you give is invaluable for knocking off your rough edges and improving your chances of success when you’re interviewed by a real hiring manager. Further reading: No, don’t threaten ChatGPT for better results. Try this instead Read...

ChatGPT is rapidly changing the world. The process is already happening, and it’s only going to accelerate as the technology improves, as more people gain access to it, and as more learn how to use it. What’s shocking is just how many tasks ChatGPT is already capable of managing for you. While the naysayers may still look down their noses at the potential of AI assistants, I’ve been using it to handle all kinds of menial tasks for me. Here are my favorite examples. Further reading: This tiny ChatGPT feature helps me tackle my days more productively Write your emails for you Dave Parrack / Foundry We’ve all been faced with the tricky task of writing an email—whether personal or professional—but not knowing quite how to word it. ChatGPT can do the heavy lifting for you, penning the (hopefully) perfect email based on whatever information you feed it. Let’s assume the email you need to write is of a professional nature, and wording it poorly could negatively affect your career. By directing ChatGPT to write the email with a particular structure, content, and tone of voice, you can give yourself a huge head start. A winning tip for this is to never accept ChatGPT’s first attempt. Always read through it and look for areas of improvement, then request tweaks to ensure you get the best possible email. You can (and should) also rewrite the email in your own voice. Learn more about how ChatGPT coached my colleague to write better emails. Generate itineraries and schedules Dave Parrack / Foundry If you’re going on a trip but you’re the type of person who hates planning trips, then you should utilize ChatGPT’s ability to generate trip itineraries. The results can be customized to the nth degree depending on how much detail and instruction you’re willing to provide. As someone who likes to get away at least once a year but also wants to make the most of every trip, leaning on ChatGPT for an itinerary is essential for me. I’ll provide the location and the kinds of things I want to see and do, then let it handle the rest. Instead of spending days researching everything myself, ChatGPT does 80 percent of it for me. As with all of these tasks, you don’t need to accept ChatGPT’s first effort. Use different prompts to force the AI chatbot to shape the itinerary closer to what you want. You’d be surprised at how many cool ideas you’ll encounter this way—simply nix the ones you don’t like. Break down difficult concepts Dave Parrack / Foundry One of the best tasks to assign to ChatGPT is the explanation of difficult concepts. Ask ChatGPT to explain any concept you can think of and it will deliver more often than not. You can tailor the level of explanation you need, and even have it include visual elements. Let’s say, for example, that a higher-up at work regularly lectures everyone about the importance of networking. But maybe they never go into detail about what they mean, just constantly pushing the why without explaining the what. Well, just ask ChatGPT to explain networking! Okay, most of us know what “networking” is and the concept isn’t very hard to grasp. But you can do this with anything. Ask ChatGPT to explain augmented reality, multi-threaded processing, blockchain, large language models, what have you. It will provide you with a clear and simple breakdown, maybe even with analogies and images. Analyze and make tough decisions Dave Parrack / Foundry We all face tough decisions every so often. The next time you find yourself wrestling with a particularly tough one—and you just can’t decide one way or the other—try asking ChatGPT for guidance and advice. It may sound strange to trust any kind of decision to artificial intelligence, let alone an important one that has you stumped, but doing so actually makes a lot of sense. While human judgment can be clouded by emotions, AI can set that aside and prioritize logic. It should go without saying: you don’t have to accept ChatGPT’s answers. Use the AI to weigh the pros and cons, to help you understand what’s most important to you, and to suggest a direction. Who knows? If you find yourself not liking the answer given, that in itself might clarify what you actually want—and the right answer for you. This is the kind of stuff ChatGPT can do to improve your life. Plan complex projects and strategies Dave Parrack / Foundry Most jobs come with some level of project planning and management. Even I, as a freelance writer, need to plan tasks to get projects completed on time. And that’s where ChatGPT can prove invaluable, breaking projects up into smaller, more manageable parts. ChatGPT needs to know the nature of the project, the end goal, any constraints you may have, and what you have done so far. With that information, it can then break the project up with a step-by-step plan, and break it down further into phases (if required). If ChatGPT doesn’t initially split your project up in a way that suits you, try again. Change up the prompts and make the AI chatbot tune in to exactly what you’re looking for. It takes a bit of back and forth, but it can shorten your planning time from hours to mere minutes. Compile research notes Dave Parrack / Foundry If you need to research a given topic of interest, ChatGPT can save you the hassle of compiling that research. For example, ahead of a trip to Croatia, I wanted to know more about the Croatian War of Independence, so I asked ChatGPT to provide me with a brief summary of the conflict with bullet points to help me understand how it happened. After absorbing all that information, I asked ChatGPT to add a timeline of the major events, further helping me to understand how the conflict played out. ChatGPT then offered to provide me with battle maps and/or summaries, plus profiles of the main players. You can go even deeper with ChatGPT’s Deep Research feature, which is now available to free users, up to 5 Deep Research tasks per month. With Deep Research, ChatGPT conducts multi-step research to generate comprehensive reports (with citations!) based on large amounts of information across the internet. A Deep Research task can take up to 30 minutes to complete, but it’ll save you hours or even days. Summarize articles, meetings, and more Dave Parrack / Foundry There are only so many hours in the day, yet so many new articles published on the web day in and day out. When you come across extra-long reads, it can be helpful to run them through ChatGPT for a quick summary. Then, if the summary is lacking in any way, you can go back and plow through the article proper. As an example, I ran one of my own PCWorld articles (where I compared Bluesky and Threads as alternatives to X) through ChatGPT, which provided a brief summary of my points and broke down the best X alternative based on my reasons given. Interestingly, it also pulled elements from other articles. (Hmph.) If you don’t want that, you can tell ChatGPT to limit its summary to the contents of the link. This is a great trick to use for other long-form, text-heavy content that you just don’t have the time to crunch through. Think transcripts for interviews, lectures, videos, and Zoom meetings. The only caveat is to never share private details with ChatGPT, like company-specific data that’s protected by NDAs and the like. Create Q&A flashcards for learning Dave Parrack / Foundry Flashcards can be extremely useful for drilling a lot of information into your brain, such as when studying for an exam, onboarding in a new role, prepping for an interview, etc. And with ChatGPT, you no longer have to painstakingly create those flashcards yourself. All you have to do is tell the AI the details of what you’re studying. You can specify the format (such as Q&A or multiple choice), as well as various other elements. You can also choose to keep things broad or target specific sub-topics or concepts you want to focus on. You can even upload your own notes for ChatGPT to reference. You can also use Google’s NotebookLM app in a similar way. Provide interview practice Dave Parrack / Foundry Whether you’re a first-time jobseeker or have plenty of experience under your belt, it’s always a good idea to practice for your interviews when making career moves. Years ago, you might’ve had to ask a friend or family member to act as your mock interviewer. These days, ChatGPT can do it for you—and do it more effectively. Inform ChatGPT of the job title, industry, and level of position you’re interviewing for, what kind of interview it’ll be (e.g., screener, technical assessment, group/panel, one-on-one with CEO), and anything else you want it to take into consideration. ChatGPT will then conduct a mock interview with you, providing feedback along the way. When I tried this out myself, I was shocked by how capable ChatGPT can be at pretending to be a human in this context. And the feedback it provides for each answer you give is invaluable for knocking off your rough edges and improving your chances of success when you’re interviewed by a real hiring manager. Further reading: No, don’t threaten ChatGPT for better results. Try this instead Read...