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...

Google Earth is celebrating its 20th anniversary by allowing users to access historical Street View images directly in the geographic visualization app. Users can scroll through older views of locations and see how areas have changed over time. The historical Street View images are already available in Google Maps. Last year, Google also added the ability to view historical satellite and aerial photos directly in Google Earth—material that was previously only available in the Earth Pro desktop app. In the coming weeks, Google also plans to launch a new feature that will provide professional users with AI-based insights about Earth. This could include information on tree canopy cover and soil temperature. 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...

Planning a trip takes time and often its more of a hassle than you’d like. If you don’t feel like spending hours researching, you can simply outsource the first draft of your holiday plans to ChatGPT. The chatbot suggests travel destinations, creates daily plans, compares means of transport, reminds you of charging devices, and even virtually packs your suitcase. But how reliable are these suggestions? And can it actually save you money? We’ll show you what ChatGPT excels at in vacation planning — and warn you of pitfalls where it stumbles. Let’s dig in. Further reading: 9 menial tasks ChatGPT can handle in seconds, saving you hours Find travel ideas If you don’t have any concrete plans yet, ChatGPT is an excellent starting point for finding ideas. Start with a few wishes or questions such as: I would like to travel with two friends for 5 days in September, budget maximum 300 dollars per person, like nature and hiking, but also a small city to stroll around. Which three European cities are cheap, family-friendly and under 400 dollars in autumn? I’m planning a 7-day round trip from Munich through South Tyrol, the Dolomites and Lake Garda with activities and accommodation. ChatGPT responds with a list of suitable destinations as well as information on travelling, accommodation costs, local activities and much more – depending on the initial question or prompt (command). When making hotel suggestions or flight connections, remember that the AI does not process real-time data. You have to check for yourself whether the specified bus connection still exists, a cheap flight is actually available, or the accommodation is out of budget in high season. In this aspect, the time saved by using ChatGPT is less than hoped for (at least if you want to accept the suggestions unfiltered). The AI can also provide you with links to the official hotel websites, but you have to make the bookings yourself. Personalized daily plans Once the destination is clear, ChatGPT helps with fine-tuning: sights, restaurant tips, or travel routes can be packed into a personalized day plan if desired. For example, if you write: “Plan 3 days in Porto with food, culture and a relaxed atmosphere”, you will receive an itinerary with breakfast places, tours, museums and sunset points. The more details you enter – such as type of traveller, preferences, restrictions or weather – the better the results. ChatGPT creates detailed day tours on request, taking into account personal preferences and priorities. Sam Singleton Another example prompt: “I am a woman travelling alone, want to spend 5 days in Lisbon, travel safely, eat vegetarian food, and visit local bookshops. Plan for me a relaxed itinerary with addresses.”. Even Plan B suggestions for bad weather or child-friendly variants are possible – just ask the AI. Road trips, stopovers, and routes To plan your route, enter the starting point, destination, duration and interests. ChatGPT generates suggestions for stages, places of interest, and possible activities based on this information. Example: “I would like to do a 7-day round trip by car in July, starting in Munich, through Austria and northern Italy, focusing on nature, thermal baths and small towns. Please include distances and recommendations for accommodation or campsites.” Information on tolls, border crossings, traffic and weather is also available, even if it’s not updated daily. You will still have to transfer the route manually to Google Maps or a sat nav app though. A little etiquette in language and culture Asking ChatGPT “How do you say ‘Hello” in Icelandic?” And “Do you tip in Portugal?” clarifies such questions in a matter of seconds. A quick AI crash course in language and etiquette is particularly useful for short trips. You can also check public holidays, festivals and school holidays so that you are optimally prepared. Example prompts: What public holidays and major festivals are there in Croatia in June? And what should I bear in mind when visiting restaurants? What should I know about eating habits and courtesies in Portugal? What traditional festivals take place in Andalusia in July? How do you greet someone in Icelandic? And how do you say thank you? How much is it customary to tip in Greek restaurants? A little tip: Ask specifically about taboos or faux pas typical of the country. In many countries, there are unwritten rules of behavior that tourists should be aware of before they unknowingly cause offence. Packing list including special tips Last but not least, ChatGPT also helps you pack your suitcase, at least virtually. With information on your destination, duration of the trip and planned activities, the AI creates packing lists including practical tips on power adapters, clothing, first-aid kit and weatherproof equipment. Example: “I’m flying to Thailand for 10 days, I’m mostly travelling outside and need a packing list for my rucksack including technology, clothing, and pharmacy.” ChatGPT also creates checklists for packing suitcases, tailored to the destination, duration and activities. Sam Singleton The result is impressive, but you have to add personal essentials yourself. ChatGPT doesn’t know that you can’t sleep at night without a sleep mask—not yet, at least. Advantages and disadvantages of ChatGPT for vacation planning A real added value of ChatGPT lies in the organization of individual travel ideas. The AI provides quick and flexible ideas that traditional booking sites often don’t offer. Especially those who are not planning a run-of-the-mill trip, but want to pay attention to personal preferences, travel type, or specific needs, will benefit from the variety of suggestions. ChatGPT is not suitable for flight connections nor current prices and availability. If you think you can save yourself the trouble of doing all the research, the opposite is often the case: you should always check prices, opening times or timetables separately, which takes additional time. Therefore, it’s best to use ChatGPT for inspiration, structure, and individualization. For anything that changes quickly, however, you still need to use a search engine or app. If you keep this in mind, you will save yourself frustration and still get plenty of original travel ideas. Related content: 5 ways I actually used ChatGPT this year to improve my life 9 menial tasks ChatGPT can handle in seconds, saving you hours 23 travel gadgets you need for your next trip 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: Non-gimmicky AI apps I actually use every day Read...

Maps and images reveal extent of Israel`s biggest strike on Iran and its nuclear facilities in years. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Powerful chip that brings the Switch 2 up to the level of a PS4 (Pro) Better frame rates and faster loading times Useful improvements such as HDR and 4K support Light and handy despite larger screen Cons Low battery power No OLED screen and therefore no real HDR in handheld mode Console edges are slightly sharp-edged and uncomfortable Our Verdict The Nintendo Switch 2 is a smart and meaningful upgrade, offering better graphics, faster load times, and modern features like HDR. But weaker battery life, an LCD screen, and a high price make it more suitable for hardcore fans than casual players. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today The Nintendo Switch 2 officially launched on June 5th and aims to win over both longtime fans and newcomers. Rather than reinventing the wheel, Nintendo has opted to modernize the familiar concept of the original Switch. With significantly better hardware and detailed improvements, the Switch 2 feels like a thoughtful upgrade. But much like the PlayStation 5 Pro, the big question remains: Is it worth it and who is it really for? We break it down in our review. Nintendo Switch 2: A big boost in performance This time around, Nintendo installed more powerful hardware in the Nintendo Switch 2. Together with Nvidia, Nintendo installed a specially customized processor and GPU, which together deliver around ten times more power than the original Nintendo Switch. Both old and new titles benefit from this and now run more smoothly and with shorter loading times, even if not always at 60 fps. While titles such as Mario Kart World definitely reach the golden frame rate mark, other titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 are even more demanding, which means they tend to run at 30 to 40 FPS. However, the fact that Cyberpunk runs so well on the Switch 2 is a success in itself. And even with games like Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, the higher FPS figures work wonders to significantly enhance the gaming experience. The use of DLSS plays a large part in making such performance possible on the Switch 2. Nvidia’s upscaling technology can generate more frame rates with the help of AI. However, image artefacts do occur from time to time as a result of the AI calculation, but these usually occur in the background and aren’t noticeable. The Nintendo Switch 2 comes with the console itself, two joy cons, a controller holder, the docking station and a power supply unit including charging cable.Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry In terms of resolution, the Switch 2 now delivers 1080p in handheld mode, which also ensures that you can feel a significant improvement in quality. In TV mode, however, it depends on the game which resolution is possible. While titles such as Mario Kart World run natively at 1440p, other games are only upscaled to this value. For the first time it’s possible to upscale titles up to 4K resolution. This is a significant improvement compared to the first Nintendo Switch, which reached a maximum of Full HD. This is remarkable, especially as the Switch 2 also supports HDR, which makes for really beautiful scenes in TV mode. Nintendo has also given the Switch 2 a full 256 GB of internal memory, which is significantly more than the meagre 32 GB of the first Nintendo Switch or 64 GB of the OLED Switch. This should give most people enough space to transfer their game library (or fill it with new titles). If required, the memory can also be expanded with a microSD card. Incidentally, not all microSD cards are now compatible with the console. With the Switch 2, the memory card must fulfil the microSD Express standard. The Nintendo Switch 2 is larger than its predecessor, and also larger than the OLED Switch (not pictured).Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry In terms of battery life, the Nintendo Switch 2 takes one step forward and two steps back. Even though the battery now delivers 5220 mAh instead of 4310 mAh, the battery life is noticeably shorter due to the higher performance. For demanding games, the console lasts just two hours, which can be a major disadvantage when traveling. At best, the console lasts six and a half hours, which is still not too much. The Nintendo Switch OLED, by comparison, managed four and a half to nine hours of battery life. So if you often play in handheld mode, you’ll get significantly less playing time here. Of course, this is less relevant in docked mode on the TV, but it still feels like a step backwards. The Switch 2 makes perfect sense as an upgrade, as it delivers many improvements that Nintendo titles urgently need… Unfortunately, the Switch 2 has not become a must-have despite some useful improvements. Nintendo Switch 2: Build quality and handling As usual from Nintendo, the workmanship of the Nintendo Switch 2 is of a very high standard. Everything looks very high-quality and the console feels really good in the hand, despite the larger form factor. Not much else has changed compared to the first Switch. In terms of design, the Switch 2 is very well done.PC Welt / Foundry The joy cons are also very similar, apart from the fact that they are now magnetically attached to the console. This works very well. However, be careful not to accidentally pinch a finger because that hurts like hell. If necessary, the joy cons can either be released at the touch of a button or you can pull them off directly with a little force. This is only recommended if you have a firm grip on the console, otherwise it will quickly end up on the floor. Conveniently, it’s also possible to put the joy cons on upside down. They then work just as well and the console simply rotates with them. Apart from that, there are only a few changes to the familiar design. The console is less colorful, as there are only a few blue and red accents instead of the completely colored joy cons on the first Nintendo Switch. However, we hope that Nintendo will release a few chic special editions in the future to spice things up a bit. Incidentally, Nintendo has not changed the sticks on the Nintendo Switch 2, which can still lead to the infamous stick drift. An omission that many rightly criticize, as the problem has been known for years. Nintendo Switch 2: The screen falls short We were somewhat disappointed when Nintendo announced that the Switch 2 would only have an LCD screen and not an OLED screen like the Nintendo Switch OLED. This was a real highlight and made games on the console look even more colorful and stylish, not to mention the better contrasts. Although Nintendo has installed a really good LCD screen (which at 7.9 inches is also significantly larger than on the first Switch), it still can’t keep up with a good OLED screen. The colors look good, but in a direct comparison you can tell that the OLED Switch is still ahead. The differences between the Switch 2’s LCD screen and the OLED screen aren’t easily visible, but they exist. The grass looks rich and green in both, though the Switch 2 is weaker in contrast.Foundry Anyone who played with the OLED Switch for a long time will notice the difference. It’s a real shame because Nintendo could’ve simply launched a more contemporary OLED version straight away. This would have at least justified the price of the Switch 2. In dark scenes, the picture lacks depth.Foundry However, the biggest weakness of the LCD screen becomes clear when you realize that one of the Switch 2’s functions is no longer available. This is because the highly praised HDR support is not guaranteed in handheld mode. While it’s certainly possible to use the technology in TV mode to achieve a wider range of color values and brightness levels, the latter in particular fall completely flat in handheld mode, as independent analyses show. In docked mode, the Switch 2 can receive and output HDR signals, but these simply cannot be displayed on the LCD screen. Ultimately, this means that good black levels and brightness values aren’t possible in handheld mode, especially where games have to support HDR in the first place. This only applies to a handful of titles. The Nintendo Switch 2 may therefore benefit from somewhat richer colors, but when it comes to contrasts, which are only achieved through deep black and white values, it cannot keep up with the almost four-year-old OLED Switch, which is an incredible shame. Nintendo Switch 2: Game lineup highlights At least Nintendo doesn’t let itself down with the selection of launch titles and presents its own releases such as Mario Kart World or Donkey Kong Bananza, which will be released in July, to show what the console is capable of. Mario Kart World is probably the Switch 2’s most important launch title.Foundry We’ve already had the chance to test Mario Kart World extensively, and the game looks simply fantastic. The new worlds are lovingly designed, with action happening everywhere on the tracks, and the characters and their animations look great. On some maps, high waves build up when a player’s blue tank crashes into a waterway, players behind can even feel the impact. Elsewhere, you speed over sand dunes, surrounded by sandstorms that impair visibility. Mario Kart also has an open world for the first time on the Switch 2, which is a special innovation for the racing game and probably wouldn’t have been possible on the original Switch. Just like the option to compete with 24 players instead of just 12, which is chaotic but fun. In the new Free Roam mode, you can explore the open game world of Mario Kart World, complete smaller missions and practice for the next race.Foundry In Donkey Kong Bananza, you can unleash your destructive fury and smash most of the map into its individual parts, which then fly around and have to be calculated accordingly by the console. Players who prefer less family-friendly titles will also get their money’s worth. Cyberpunk 2077 is an example of this, appearing directly as a launch title for the Switch 2. Other titles include Hitman, Hogwarts Legacy, Street Fighter, and Yakuza. However, Switch 2 games are notably more expensive. Mario Kart World costs up to $80, for instance. Nintendo will also offer free updates for some games you already own on the original Switch, allowing them to benefit from the Switch 2’s improvements. For other titles, like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, this will require an additional charge (unless you already have the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pass). Nintendo Switch 2: GameChat online function The new GameChat function is aimed specifically at online gamers and is designed to allow them to communicate with others directly via the console. No separate microphone is required as this is already built into the console. That said, a camera is required, which Nintendo also offers for for $54.99. GameChat can be selected via the new C button on the Switch 2 joy cons or the Switch 2 Pro controller. You can invite friends to join the chat and then play games like Mario Kart or Mario Party together in online multiplayer, which is a lot more fun as you can also see your fellow players. Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry The implementation of this function still seems rather rudimentary. You do have the option of blurring the background so that only the person themselves is clearly in focus. Even apps like Teams can do this much better. The console also provides little help on how to start an online game with the camera. The noise filtering during the game itself works quite well, which is why you have no problems hearing all participants in the conversation over their game sound. Nintendo has also deliberately chosen to blur the gameplay of the other participants so that you are less distracted. However, the blurred and choppy images are more distracting than less in our eyes. It’s also important to know that GameChat can only be used free of charge until March 31st, 2026. After that, it requires a paid Nintendo Switch Online membership. But the real question is: How much added value does GameChat bring? You can just use Discord or Teamspeak for free. This makes it seem like more of a gimmick than a real improvement. Nintendo Switch 2: How effective is mouse control? Another new feature of the Switch 2 is the ability to use the new, magnetic joy cons like a mouse with the help of special sensors. All you have to do is lay the joy cons flat. Although this mouse control works in principle with all games, it’s not always useful. In our preview of the Switch 2, which was created at an event, we were able to try out the function before release and felt it was more of a gimmick than a real selling point. High-caliber titles such as Metroid Prime 4: Beyond are said to make particularly good use of mouse control, but the game has not yet been released. Other titles such as Drag X Drive or Super Mario Party: Jamboree are already benefiting from the new technology, but these are only smaller mini-games. After all, shooters like Cyberpunk 2077 or strategy games like Civiliation7 can now be controlled properly on the console. Another use case for the function is the Nintendo eShop itself. Here you can use the mouse control to search for specific titles, which is much more practical than the normal input via the controller. Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry To use the joy cons as a mouse, you need a smooth surface with plenty of space–something not everyone has readily available. According to Nintendo, you can simply place the joy con on your lap, but this doesn’t work in practice. You also shouldn’t have sensitive wrists, especially if you already spend a lot of time on a PC. Your hands rest very uncomfortably on the joy cons when playing, which can lead to fatigue and pain after just a few hours. Nintendo does offer a solution (for an extra charge) in the form of grips where you can place the joy cons to make them feel more like a mouse. However, even this isn’t truly ergonomic and therefore not really recommended. To put it in a nutshell: The mouse control of the joy cons is clear and precise, as it should be. But it’s not a real game changer. It doesn’t turn the Switch 2 into a PC and feels like a quirky idea that offers real advantages for a few select titles, but no major added value overall. Nintendo Switch 2: Specs SpecsValueSize116 mm x 272 mm x 13.9 mm (with joy cons connected)Weight401 g (with connected joy cons: approx. 534 g)DisplayCapacitive touchscreen / 7.9 inch / resolution 1920 x 1080 / LCD screen with wide color spectrum and HDR10 support/VRR up to 120 HzCPU/GPUCustomized processor from NVIDIASystem memory256 GB (UFS)Communication functionsWLAN (Wi-Fi 6) / BluetoothVideo outputMaximum resolution: 3840 x 2160, 60 fpsSupports 120 fps when 1920 x 1080 / 2560 x 1440 resolutions are selectedAudio outputSupports linear PCM 5.1, output via HDMI cable in TV modeSpeakersStereoMicrophoneIntegrated microphone (monaural)ButtonsPOWER button / volume buttonsUSB ports2 USB Type-C portsHeadphone socket4-pin 3.5 mm stereo mini plug (CTIA standard)Card slotBoth Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch software cards can be inserted.microSD Express Card slotOnly compatible with microSD Express Cards (up to 2 TB)SensorsThe acceleration sensor, the gyro sensor and the mouse sensor are located in each Joy-Con 2 controller. The brightness sensor is located in the console.Operating environmentTemperature: 5 – 35°C / Humidity: 20 – 80%Internal batteryLithium-ion battery / battery capacity: 5220 mAhBattery life2 – 6.5 hoursCharging time3 hoursPower consumptionTV modeActive gaming: 19 W*2*3HOME menu: 8 W*3Sleep mode (WLAN is connected, wired LAN connection is not active): 0.5 WSleep mode (wired LAN connection is active): 5 WSwitched off: 0.5 WEstimated annual energy consumption*4: 14 kWh*5 / 50 kWh*6Data according to the manufacturer (Nintendo) Nintendo Switch 2: Conclusion If you’ve been itching to get the Nintendo Switch 2 since it was first announced, you’ve probably already pre-ordered or plan to buy it anyway. The Switch 2 makes sense as an upgrade, with better frame rates, faster loading times, 4K support, and more memory. While it’s not on par with the PS5 or Xbox Series X/S, it holds its own. Still, it’s not a must-have. The LCD screen, weak battery, and underwhelming features like mouse mode or game chat hold it back. If you’re unsure, it may be worth waiting for a Lite or OLED model to address its biggest shortcomings. Read...