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The Pixel Watch 2 isn’t Google’s newest gadget anymore, but at $149, it’s $100 off its launch price—and the lowest it’s ever been, according to price trackers.

Google Pixel Watch 2

$149.00
at Amazon

$249.99
Save $100.99

$149.00
at Amazon

$249.99
Save $100.99

It’s the follow-up to Google’s original Pixel Watch, which had a few first-gen stumbles (check out the differences between the Pixel Watch and Pixel Watch 2 here). With the second-gen Pixel Watch, Google cleaned up a lot of what felt unfinished in the first model, and this time around, it leans harder into Fitbit’s strengths. Daily health tracking, fitness insights, and wellness alerts come baked in, while Wear OS keeps the app experience smooth and familiar. Read this in-depth review of the Pixel Watch 2 to learn more about it.

At 41mm, the watch is small and wears light on the wrist. You’re still getting an always-on AMOLED display that holds up well in sunlight, and about 33 hours of battery life—just enough to stretch through a full day and night if you’re careful, but charging overnight still becomes part of the routine. The Pixel Watch 2 still runs Google’s Wear OS, so there’s tight integration with your Android apps and features, from Assistant to Gmail to Maps. You can start a workout, check your calendar, and swipe through your day without much lag or fuss. Plus, it has all the standard fitness smartwatch essentials, including GPS, heart rate tracking, skin temperature, blood oxygen levels, and a stress sensor. You’ll need a Fitbit Premium subscription ($9.99/month) to unlock all the insights, though. Without it, you’re still getting basic tracking, but not the full reports and coaching.

The Pixel Watch 2 holds its own against pricier competition like the Galaxy Watch 6, especially if you prioritize comfort and Google integration over raw specs. PCMag gave it an “Excellent” rating, mainly for the improved performance (thanks to the Qualcomm 5100 processor), smarter health tools, and durability (it’s IP68 rated). That said, this watch won’t be for everyone. There’s only one size (if you want a Pixel Watch for a bigger wrist, you might want to check out the Pixel Watch 3), and if you’re after big visuals or long stretches away from the charger, it’ll come up short. And some of the more advanced health metrics—such as stress responses and deeper sleep analysis—sit behind a paywall, which can feel like a letdown on an already premium device (even when on sale). Also, just a heads up: This is the wifi version of the watch, not LTE, but for most Android users, that won’t matter much.

Another day, another never-before-seen video of an underwater alien (previously: a colossal squid). This time, a living specimen of a Gonatus antarcticus squid that was filmed at a depth of 7,000-feet in the Southern Ocean while shooting a video for National Geographic. The species was only previously described via dead specimens. The squid was identified as Gonatus Antarcticus thanks to the hook it has at the end of each tentacle, an adaptation that presumably evolved for attaching to the deck railing of pirate ships to pull them down to Davey Jones’s locker. I’m kidding, this thing is only 3-feet long. With nothing in the video for scale though, feel free to send it to your friends and tell them it’s the length of three school buses and was spotted near the beach where they vacation.

Infinite Machine made waves with its retro-futuristic P1 electric bike. That one was built for speed, but the company is back with something that’s more for urbanites commuting to and from work. The Olto boasts 40 miles of range and a top speed of 33 MPH, with a 20 MPH limit while riding in the bike lane.

Just like the P1, the Olto e-bike looks both futuristic and retro, with a design that can only be described as “Cybertruck meets a scooter from Tron.” This bike could be a boon for commuters, as it can accommodate two riders at the same time. The design is also fairly modular, so riders can add accessories like child carriers, rear racks and baskets, among other items. 

The battery is easily removed with one hand, for nighttime charging, and can reach 50 percent in just an hour at the outlet. This removable battery also helps with security, as the battery is typically one of the most expensive components of an e-bike.

Infinite Machine

However, that’s not the only security feature that Infinite Machine has implemented here. The company claims the Olto “virtually theft-proof.” Each bike is connected to the internet and tracked in real time with precise GPS coordinates. There’s an app to keep an eye on things and the vehicle features a dedicated slot for AirTags.

Once parked, the bike automatically locks the steering and wheels, making it difficult to move. If someone tampers with the vehicle, an alarm will sound and an alert gets sent to the owner’s phone. The phone also doubles as the key.

Now for some bad news. All of these high-tech features come with a high-end price tag. The Olto costs $3,495. Preorders are available right now, with shipments going out later in the year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/the-olto-is-a-future-forward-e-bike-that-can-accommodate-two-passengers-140044468.html?src=rss

Social media is rife with content that captures animal lovers’ attention, and scammers are capitalizing on this with campaigns that solicit donations to fake charitable causes. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is alerting users to a new scam on TikTok that purports to sell handmade crafts in order to raise funds for animal shelters.

Here’s how to spot this donation scam (and others like it).

What the TikTok donation scam looks like

According to the BBB, this TikTok campaign involves videos of older adults making crafts, such as cat toys, with background music and a message that goes something like, “Please don’t scroll for 12 seconds to help my failing animal shelter.” The video further explains that they are selling these items to help fund a shelter for cats or other animals (which may also be shown).

The video description includes a link to donate to the cause or purchase the item—which, of course, you’ll never receive, nor will the funds actually be used to help animals in need. The BBB cites a report from its Scam Tracker of a TikTok account run by user FlappyBirdUS, though there are likely plenty of other scammers employing similar tactics on TikTok and other social media platforms. Note that these videos may be AI-generated or use content stolen from other accounts.

How to spot donation scams

Scams of all kinds play on emotions—fear, greed, sympathy—to get victims to act, whether that involves handing over personal information or donating money to “charitable” causes. If you see content on TikTok or elsewhere that makes you feel something and urges you to act now, resist that urge.

Instead, do some research about the person or organization: Look up the name, contact information, and website, and type the information into a search with the term “scam” to see if anyone has identified it as fraudulent. You can also search for charitable organizations on sites like Charity Navigator, GuideStar, and Give.org and look for their verified social media accounts. If an organization isn’t listed, that doesn’t mean it isn’t legit, but you should dig further before donating or making a purchase. Alternatively, consider seeking out local organizations or mutual aid groups engaged in causes or action you care about in your area.

You should also look out for signs of AI-generated videos, which are used in numerous types of scams. As we’ve noted, though, we are easily swayed by things we want to believe, such as videos of cute animals in need, making AI content particularly difficult to spot.

Finally, there are of course other iterations of the donation scam out there, some of which use social media posts to solicit Venmo donations to fraudulent accounts in the name of legitimate individuals or organizations. The same rules for avoiding these scams apply.

Google has removed device trees and driver binaries for Pixel phones from the Android 16 source code release, significantly complicating custom ROM development for those devices. The Android-maker intentionally omitted these resources as it shifts its Android Open Source Project reference target from Pixel hardware to a virtual device called “Cuttlefish.”

The change forces custom ROM developers to reverse-engineer configurations they previously received directly from Google. Nolen Johnson from LineageOS said the process will become “painful,” requiring developers to “blindly guess and reverse engineer from the prebuilt binaries what changes are needed each month.” Google also squashed the Pixel kernel source code’s commit history, eliminating another reference point developers used for features and security patches.

Google VP Seang Chau dismissed speculation that AOSP itself is ending, stating the project “is NOT going away.” However, the changes effectively bring Pixel devices down to the same difficult development level as other Android phones.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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As the son of two pastors growing up in San Diego, money was always a limiting factor. We didn’t have a lot, but somehow always found a way to make the most of it. Our one splurge each year was when my dad would take my brother and me to the San Diego Auto Show. This is where it all started for me. 

After spending hours at the convention center snagging every announcement document and brochure that I could get my hands on, I’d get home and run up to my room to read through every single one. I’d memorize horsepower numbers, cargo space, pricing, and any key details that set one model year apart from the next. I even based my sixth grade research project on what I learned, doing an A-Z of automotive manufacturers (Z was for Zündapp, in case you were wondering).

Then I got older and had to think about how I was going to afford college. I focused on lacrosse in hopes of getting an athletic scholarship (which I did), and cars became a side project, a quiet hobby of mine. Injuries cut my lacrosse career short. And then, right when I needed a new purpose the most, the pandemic hit.

Now I was completely lost. No job, no potential prospects, and a communications degree that felt as useful as firewood. What was I supposed to do now?

I went back to what I loved

With the $300 I had left in my bank account from graduation, I purchased a camera drone off Facebook Marketplace. I started going out to empty parks and practicing how to film, while also reaching out to car clubs, real estate agencies, and anyone who might give me a chance to work for them. 

I was fortunate enough that a few amazing people did exactly that. Businesses and friends gave me access to vehicles I would’ve only dreamed about, and trusted me to document them in creative and sometimes unorthodox ways. I was reminded why my younger self used to read all those brochures in his bedroom. My love of cars (and the tech behind them) transcended any other dream I had, and I couldn’t let that go again.

Over the next four years, I began building my online presence as a content creator in the automotive space. With my parents’ garage as my base of operations, I would spend hours on my computer looking for socially-distanced car meetups and events where I could gain a foothold in the San Diego automotive community. I’d ask event organizers if they needed any drone photography or promotion, and show up with a backpack full of business cards and camera gear wherever I was needed. I’d even travel hundreds of miles out of my way simply for the opportunity to get access to some of the west coast’s amazing vehicles.

At that time, I was barely making enough to cover the cost of my gas. There wasn’t much money to be made in the pro-bono car content space, but I always had a feeling that something was just around the corner, as long as I kept trying to make something of this dream.

My creator footprint created new opportunities

It wasn’t until 2022 that things really started to take off. A local company that manufactured car upgrades needed a media specialist to join their team, and I was more than happy to be a part of it. With them, I attended some of the biggest car conferences in the world, acted as a brand ambassador, and jumped at every chance to level up my knowledge and connections in the industry.

Sometimes, the role could be a bit daunting, from hanging out of a car with my drone flying above, to riding jet skis with a camera strapped to me for a surf-themed car shoot. But even so, there wasn’t a thing they could pitch that I would’ve turned down. At my core, this was what I had always wanted, and opportunities like that were once-in-a-lifetime, no matter the complexity or chaos that came along with it.

Over time, my account grew from just under 3,000 followers to now over 25,000, and I built a company that now manages media for racing teams and drivers alike. I finally found a way to meld my passion for vehicles, videography, and writing into a career that excites and challenges me every single day.

From deciding on your next car purchase, to finding cool car hacks that make your life easier, to creator life at home and on the go, my goal is to empower you to make the best possible decisions for a better life on the road. There’s a ton of information out there, and it can be truly overwhelming to try and navigate it all.

To me, cars are not just a hobby. They’re interwoven with my identity. My hunger for knowledge about all things automotive drives me from the moment I wake up until the moment I fall asleep. Some might think it’s obsessive, and to a certain extent, they’d be right. But that obsession has led to both a sense of purpose and a passion to share it with others.

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I’ve been a digital nomad for nine years, and have now visited nearly 90 countries. Although my zip code often changes, the need to keep all my gadgets powered up does not, and wall outlets can sometimes be fleeting. Packing an extension cord is one way I navigate travel uncertainty.

I used to travel with an individual charging cord and adapter for each device until five years ago, when I realized the value of packing lighter. Watching YouTube travel vloggers showed me I could save time (no checked bags) and take up less space by avoiding clutter. When I saw one vlogger talk about the practicality of using an extension cord, I made the switch, and haven’t looked back since.

Several extension cords have made it into my bag over the years, but my current go-to is the Anker 321 power strip. Here’s why this $15.99 (38% off right now) extension cord makes it into my carry-on every time.

Anker 321 Power Strip

$15.99
at Amazon

$25.99
Save $10.00

$15.99
at Amazon

$25.99
Save $10.00

Ports that cover all my charging needs

The value of a travel extension cord is that I can charge all my devices without needing lots of separate smaller cords. I use gadgets with several different charging ports, including USB, USB-C, lightning, and more. I like the Anker 321 power strip because it has plugs for multiple cord adapters.

This 20W fast-charging extension cord has a USB-C port, three outlets, and USB-C charging for Apple and other USB-C devices. It’s five feet long, enough to plug in anywhere I’m staying without feeling restricted. I power up all my devices from one place and enjoy traveling lighter.

Of course, if you can’t plug this extension cord into the wall in your destination country, it won’t do much good. For that, consider also getting a power adapter that will work for many countries. The one I use is the EPICKA universal travel adapter ($49.99).

Small enough to fit into all of my travel bags

The adapter kit and extension cord don’t add much weight to your travel backpack. The combination of the extension cord and adapters has ensured I can work as I travel, watch entertainment on my devices, and stay connected to my kids back in the United States.

The Anker 321 power strip is light; it fits in my laptop, backpack, or carry-on. Most of the time, I have it in my laptop bag for easy access and quick charging. I like that I can fit it in any of my travel bags without worrying about it weighing them down.

An extension cord is not a common travel item, but it should be. Traveling with one power source that can power multiple gadgets helps declutter your travel bags, and fewer outlets are needed in the places where you’re staying.

If you’re going on an adventure this year, consider picking up this underappreciated convenience so you can keep everything charged up as you travel.

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One of the challenges of living a full-time travel life is figuring out the logistics of where and how I’ll work. Regularly traveling to new countries is exciting, but I still have to take Zoom meetings and send updates on a regular basis. I’m self-employed, and nearly all of my business takes place online, so a fast, secure, and reliable internet connection wherever I travel is a must.

There have been many times when I had no other options and had to tether my phone for an internet connection, which wore down my battery.

Even if you’re just traveling for fun, unexpectedly poor internet can be a bummer. Eventually, I invested in a mobile hotspot device. After doing my research, I landed on the SIMO Solis 5G wifi mobile hotspot device, which is currently $299, and also has a 4G model for $159.

If you need high-speed internet on the go, here’s why this mobile wifi device should be in your travel bag.

I have to balance work and play 

Digital nomadism is a delicate balance between enjoying your travels and fulfilling work obligations that help you take care of yourself and your family. I still work six to eight hours daily during the workweek, no matter where I travel, and want to make the most of it so that I can close my laptop with confidence and explore new parts of the world on evenings and weekends.

I first discovered the convenience and practicality of mobile wifi devices six years ago in Japan, where they were common and could be rented at airports. When I got back to the United States, I tested various devices to see which gave me the best value. Since purchasing the Solis, I’ve taken it on my travels to dozens of countries and have used it to work remotely from cafes, restaurants, hotel lobbies, and co-working spaces.

I like this hotspot because no SIM card is required to use it—you just activate the service online. You’re not required to sign a contract to use the device, as it works on multi-carrier networks. You can also use the device as little or as much as you want without being locked into a long-term contract.

I’m sometimes on the go for many hours in a row

One thing I’ve discovered about traveling to foreign countries is that the wifi connection experience can be mixed. I’ve gone to countries where the wifi connection was blazing fast and others where the signal seemed nonexistent. I need that connection to work, so I prefer to control my destiny when it comes to a wifi connection.

The Solis gives me global coverage. This light, portable hotspot covers 140+ countries with a network of over 300 carriers, and can connect 16 devices, which is plenty for what I need. The device has 24 hours of battery life as well as a mobile power bank that can charge other devices.

The portable 5G hotspot includes data. You get 1GB per month of high-speed data for the life of the unit, and you can purchase additional data later if you find that you need it.

I also found this device easy to use. Simply download the Solis app and register your device, then start using your lifetime data plan to safely and privately connect to available signals. The device connects to the strongest available network in the area. 

I don’t have to wonder if the café wifi will be good

Public networks can be unreliable or nonexistent. I used to hope for the best when traveling, only to be disappointed and unable to work, which created a lot of stress. Switching to using a mobile wifi device helps me stay connected and stream on the go.

The Solis has been a great hotspot device for me, and you can currently add it to your travel kit by clicking here.

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As a content creator, I use ChatGPT on a daily basis, from ideation and research to generating drafts for emails and video scripts. In the 2.5 years since ChatGPT has been introduced to the public, a total of 16 different models have been released. People are excited, but also overwhelmed.

The model names aren’t exactly intuitive, either. OpenAI’s naming and versioning strategy for ChatGPT models has evolved over time to reflect improvements in speed, cost, reasoning abilities, and multimodal capabilities. In ChatGPT, you can select the model you want from the drop-down window, but many aren’t sure how or why they should use different models for different tasks.

Credit: Screenshot: Fei Wu

Here’s a bit more about four of the current options available in ChatGPT and how I personally use them in my day-to-day work.

(Disclosure: Lifehacker’s parent company, Ziff Davis, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

GPT-4o: An Everyday Genius

I think of GPT-4o as the “everyday genius” because it can handle most of my daily tasks and questions. GPT-4o has multimodal model capabilities in processing and generating text, images, and audio. When you can’t decide which GPT model to use, 4o should be your go-to AI companion.

One discovery I had recently was uploading photos of handwritten inventory sheets from a merchandise drop off for my mom’s art business, Xiang Li Art. GPT-4o extracted the details and turned the photos into a clean and accurate spreadsheet in seconds. This helped me save a lot of time compared to manual data entry.

Credit: Image: Fei Wu

The author used ChatGPT to digitize physical records quickly.
Credit: Screenshot: Fei Wu

Another way my household uses GPT-4o is voice translation between my Mandarin-speaking mother and my English-speaking partner Adam. This can work in real time using the advanced voice feature, or I can upload a document or paste a transcript and GPT-4o instantly helps me bridge the language gap with accuracy and tone sensitivity.

Advanced voice requires a paid plan, but there’s also standard voice mode available on free plans.

o4-mini: Good for quick wins 

If you are using the free tier of ChatGPT, you may hit your daily usage cap with GPT-4o fairly quickly. This is where o4-mini comes in. Creators on a budget can turn to o4-mini for fast, quality results.

I use o4-mini for bursts of creativity such as Instagram posts, YouTube title variations, and even ideas for quick air fryer recipes based on what I have left in the fridge. For tasks that are less important and urgent, o4-mini is my go-to.

According to OpenAI’s website, the free tier usage limit on o4-mini refreshes every five hours. A note that this model is in the process of being replaced with GPT-4.1 mini for users at all tiers.

o4-mini-high: Good for extended context and visual reasoning 

For my business Feisworld Media, I only use o4-mini-high occasionally when I need to process and understand longer documents with multimedia inputs, complex charts, and diagrams. I use o4-mini-high to process full workshop documents and transcripts, analyzing the content to extract key moments, quotes, and themes for highlight videos or articles. This model is not available through the free tier, so you’ll need to upgrade to the Plus plan to use it.

One way we used o4-mini-high recently was to navigate complex art grant details for Xiang Li Art that spanned multiple web pages and PDFs. Grant applications and databases are inherently dense; this is where o4-mini-high shines, because it has better contextual reasoning and longer memory storage. With o4-mini-high, we were able to easily parse out which grants Xiang Li Art qualified for, how she could uniquely stand out based on her background, and even the specific art collection she could present for a particular grant.

If you aren’t managing tasks at this complexity, I recommend you stick with GPT-4o or o4-mini instead. But if you want to upload existing assets or materials, then reference them in future prompts, o4-mini-high can be very helpful.

GPT-4.5: Good for strategy and deeper insights 

As part of the paid Plus plan, I also have access to GPT-4.5. For daily tasks and brainstorms of ideas, you do not need access to this model. However, it can be very powerful for crafting complex content or navigating higher-stakes situations when voice and tone are crucial for the output.

Earlier, I talked about using o4-mini-high to parse out important information for a grant. When it came time to apply for the grant, I chose to use GPT-4.5 instead to help develop a first draft of a grant proposal that included an artist statement, project description, audience engagement, community impact, and narratives. We needed strong storytelling, cultural sensitivity, and precision. GPT-4.5 did a lot of this initial legwork, freeing us up to spend our energy on finessing details and applying final touches before submission. By saving time, we were able to apply for more grants last year and get my mom’s artwork out into the world.

It’s important to note that no model from ChatGPT can replace the hard work artists, creators, and businesses need to do to thrive. Your artistic instinct and business acumen still matter so much. Think of ChatGPT as a way to get a running start so you can focus on what matters most. 

Final thoughts

Whether you’re sketching out video scripts, translating a conversation with your mom, or crafting a high-stakes grant proposal, there’s a ChatGPT model built for the job.

Experiment with the different engines and stay creative. It may take a bit of trial and error before you feel comfortable with these various models of ChatGPT. Once you learn to let them handle the busywork, you can focus on your creative vision. No matter which tier you choose, these tools are here to amplify your creativity and inner genius, not replace it.

And if you’re doing something interesting on ChatGPT, reach out to me on YouTube, LinkedIn, or Instagram to say hello.

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I’ve been a full-time creator for over ten years, so I’m always looking for ways to save time and use technology to make my life easier. One of my recent priorities has been to learn my way around ChatGPT and its many different use cases. Here, I’ll share a few ways I’m using the chatbot in my everyday life.

ChatGPT surpassed 400 million weekly active users earlier this year and is now one of the top ten most-visited websites in the world, according to SimilarWeb. But many people aren’t familiar with everything that chatbots can now do, and what has changed or improved over the last year. Going from a novice to an intermediate user, I’m eager to share what I have learned and how ChatGPT has transformed the way I work.

Here are five ways I use AI to lighten my workload.

(Disclosure: Lifehacker’s parent company, Ziff Davis, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

No. 1. Transforming written content into YouTube scripts

Before we get started, I want to clarify that the prompts used in this article will work for most ChatGPT models. 4o is the default model on both the free and the paid tier. It’s sufficient in most cases, and if you want more intense reasoning, the paid tier has o1, o3, and other models to explore.

As a content creator who enjoys writing articles and creating videos about AI and tech, I find it easier to start with the written piece first. Once I’m ready, I import my writing into ChatGPT to help me create a concise and engaging script for a YouTube video.

I ask for a specific length – “Rewrite this content as a 7-minute YouTube script” – then tweak the results to fit my voice and add any personal anecdotes or visuals. This helps me save time by repurposing existing content into various formats, and the output is flexible; I can ask for a 5-minute, 7-minute, or 10-minute version of the script, depending on my needs.

No. 2. Understanding complex documents

Like many other creators who have built a following on their platforms, I regularly work with companies to produce sponsored articles and videos on my website and YouTube channel. More often than not, I need to sign a contract with a brand before taking on a sponsored project.

I’m a firm believer that we should always read and try to understand the contract to our best ability. But contracts can have a lot of jargon, and hiring a lawyer to break things down, as I’ve done before, can be time-consuming and expensive. ChatGPT helps me interpret clauses and understand what I’m signing up for. (Remember that ChatGPT is not a substitute for professional legal advice.)

First, I copy and paste the contract text or upload the contract file directly into ChatGPT. Then I prompt the bot by asking it to summarize the contract for me in a few paragraphs, as well as point out anything in the contract I should be cautious about.

After working as a content creator for over a decade, I’ve found that most brand contracts offer fair and reasonable terms. But ChatGPT helps me understand certain legal language a lot better and raise red flags earlier. It can even help me prepare an email response back to the brand manager in case of concerns, and how we might go about revising certain parts of the contract.

No. 3. Crafting grant proposals and art submissions

Since early 2024, I have taken on an important project called Xiang Li Art. Xiang Li is my mom, and she has devoted the last 12 years to painting a series of Chinese empresses on silk using gemstone watercolor. So far we’ve been able to exhibit her work at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Worcester Art Museum, Cambridge Library, and even a window display at the historic Denholm’s building in downtown Worcester.

Since then, so many artists have reached out to us to inquire about how to make their art seen by more people and share their struggles with pursuing art submissions and grants. In order to showcase artists’ work successfully at various locations, they need to enter a large number of online “call for art” submissions. That’s exactly where ChatGPT can come into play. 

How we do it is we first find the website link that contains detailed information related to the desired call for art. We then open up ChatGPT, give it the website link, and enter a simple prompt to break down the details.

Below is an example of the results I got from ChatGPT after analyzing the city of Boston’s “A Canvas of Culture Call to Artists”. I chose this example because of the complexity of this project and requirements for artists.

Credit: Screenshot: Fei Wu

ChatGPT can also provide high-quality first drafts of the content you need in order to submit for the call. For example, artists are often required to share an artist statement of interests, as well as a statement about the art they chose for the exhibit and how it relates to a certain theme. This process can be both daunting and time-consuming, and that’s where AI can help you get a running start.

My workflow looked like this: “Break down this call for art: [link to website]. Now study my art and background at [link to portfolio]. Now help me write an artist statement under 500 words that highlights my Chinese empress collection and gemstone watercolor technique on silk.”

The more context you give ChatGPT, the better your results. Remember that you can upload documents, images, PDFs, or even videos to offer deeper insight into your work.

Credit: Screenshot: Fei Wu

When it comes to working with any LLM (not just ChatGPT), the more context you can provide, the better results you will get.

No. 4. In-depth analysis and comparison

When my partner and I launched PodIntelligence, a software tool for breaking down long-form videos and podcasts, we often needed to compare our features with those of competing content-repurposing platforms like Opus, Munch, or Vidyo.

ChatGPT can generate side-by-side comparisons, highlight feature differences, and even produce tables, which helped us save us hours of market research. Here’s the result from ChatGPT o1 (you can also link to ChatGPT’s output results as web URLs, like I did just now, for future reference).

Credit: Screenshot: Fei Wu

You could also use the comparison feature to get an initial sense of different products or services you’re thinking about purchasing. 

For example, if you are deciding between a MacBook Air and a Dell XPS, ChatGPT can help you break down specs like battery life, weight, and screen size. Or perhaps you might use ChatGPT to choose a travel destination, breaking down travel costs, weather, food, and cultural highlights.

One of my favorite recent use cases of ChatGPT is meal planning based on diet. It compares pros and cons, health benefits, and sample meals tailored to your health goals like weight loss, heart health, or energy levels. 

I explained to the chatbot that I’m 41, gluten free, and want to lose five pounds, and asked it to give me easy air fryer recipes for lunch and dinner.

Credit: Screenshot: Fei Wu

No. 5: Interactive translation

Before ChatGPT was available, Google Translate was my go-to translator for free text, images, documents, and websites. It’s quick, functional, and accurate.

However, I find ChatGPT to provide translation similar in speed and accuracy. Instead of a straightforward translation for your document, ChatGPT can offer cultural nuance, interpreting complex and creative content. I like to give feedback to ChatGPT’s translation and use prompts to ask questions.

For example, I uploaded images of decades-old documents for Xiang Li Art and asked ChatGPT to translate. The resulting translations were impressively accurate, needing minimal edits. ChatGPT also parsed any visible logos or branding, summarizing those details in the translation.

Credit: Screenshot: Fei Wu

When used effectively, ChatGPT can streamline your workflow and help catalyze creative breakthroughs. It helps me save time, but more importantly helps me discover new ideas or possibilities I hadn’t previously considered.

These real-world examples shared here come straight from my own ChatGPT prompts. I’d love to know how you’re using ChatGPT in your everyday life or creative work—find me on YouTube and Instagram and let’s connect.

If you have ever looked at the X100VI said to yourself, “Man, I wish Fujifilm would just make an interchangeable lens version of this camera,” consider your request answered. Four years after the release of the X-E4, the company has announced the X-E5, a compact, $1,699.95 camera that should appeal to the same crowd that loves X100VI.

Inside, the X-E5 has Fujifilm’s latest X-Trans CMOS 5 HR sensor. That’s the same sensor you’ll find on the X100VI, X-T5 and X-T50. It’s capable of capturing 40.2-megapixel stills, and video at up to 6.2K and 30 frames per second. Thanks to improvements Fujifilm has made to the sensor’s pixel structure, the X-E5 offers a native 125 ISO, and there’s AI-based autofocus to make it easier to capture moving subjects such as animals, birds, insects, motorcycles, planes and more.

Also new to the X-E5 is the inclusion of in-body image stabilization (IBIS). It offers up to seven stops of stabilization near the center of the frame and six stops toward the periphery.

Fujifilm has also once again tweaked the exterior of the camera. If the X-E4 was a bit too minimalistic for your taste, the good news is the X-E5 has a front grip where Fujifilm did away with that on the X-E4. The camera’s top plate is machined from a single piece of aluminum, an addition that should make the X-E5 feel more premium than its predecessor. On the top, you’ll find all the usual dials, including one for shutter speed and another for exposure compensation. 

Fujifilm

There’s also an entirely new dial dedicated to Fujifilm’s film simulations. In addition to the usual presets like Classic Chrome and Velvia, you can save up to three of your own recipes for easy access. As before, the external LCD can flip up 180-degrees to make it easier to capture selfies and vlog.

Fujifilm has also redesigned the X-E5’s viewfinder. It offers two new modes. First, there’s a “Classic” mode, which simplifies the interface so it’s more like what you would find on an old film camera. All your exposure settings are displayed along the bottom of the screen in a deep red color, with the light meter present on the side. Alternatively, the other new mode, “Surround View,” displays a black, semi-transparent or outlined area outside of the aspect ratio you’ve set. In practice, that should make it easier to frame your shots.

Alongside the X-E5, Fujifilm announced a new pancake lens, the XF23mm f/2.8 R WR. It’s a full stop slower than the fixed, 35mm equivalent you’ll find on the X100VI, but it’s about the same size and should be a lot faster to focus thanks to inclusion of a direct current motor.

Fujifilm will offer the X-E5 in black and silver. The camera will be available starting in August. At $1,699.95 for just the camera body, the X-E5 is twice as expensive as its predecessor. In fact, it’s more expensive than the $1,599 X100VI, which features a leaf shutter and hybrid optical viewfinder. Personally, I’m sad about that since the X-E4 was my recommendation for a great starter camera. Now I’ll need to tell people to look elsewhere. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/the-fujifilm-x-e5-is-basically-an-interchangeable-lens-x100vi-133931379.html?src=rss

The world’s leading artificial intelligence companies are stepping up efforts to deal with a growing problem of chatbots telling people what they want to hear.

OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic are all working on reining in sycophantic behavior by their generative AI products that offer over-flattering responses to users.

The issue, stemming from how the large language models are trained, has come into focus at a time when more and more people have adopted the chatbots not only at work as research assistants, but in their personal lives as therapists and social companions.

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As well as serving bots like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude to the masses, the generative AI revolution has also produced a slew of less mainstream chatbots—bots that don’t necessarily stick to the conventional scripts when it comes to interactions. These bots can get pretty weird, pretty fast.

With AI still under scrutiny from regulators and lawyers, the big tech companies are trying their best to drive the narrative of bots that are reliable, sensible, and helpful—the sort of bots you wouldn’t mind taking home to meet the parents.

If you look outside of the popular, mainstream bots, however, there’s lots to explore. I tried chatting with some of the strangest and most unconventional bots I could find on the web and on mobile, and you can read all about it below. By the time I was done, I was more than ready for some normal, mundane, human interaction again.

Monday

Monday often has a cynical take.
Credit: Lifehacker

Bored of AI chatbots that are far too agreeable and sycophantic, constantly praising you and going along with your tasks? Sam Altman sure is, which may partly explain Monday. This Monday chatbot is an official OpenAI offering which you can load up right inside ChatGPT.

Monday is cynical, sarcastic, dry, and blunt, and—for me at least—it really works. It described one of my favorite bands, R.E.M., as being “the elder statesmen of sad acoustic beauty and environmental guilt,” and when I asked it if tech journalism could survive in the age of AI, it told me “yes, but with more existential dread.”

It’s a refreshing change from the generic text usually rolled out by AI bots, and I actually grew to quite like Monday. Just don’t expect it to make you feel good about yourself, or the time you’re wasting talking to a machine.

Ketchup

Spend some time with a ketchup bottle.
Credit: Lifehacker

Chai is one of the AI platforms that’s been using Large Language Models (LLMs) for the longest time, and you’ve got a huge number of AI-powered characters available to have a chat with—including a bottle of ketchup.

The ketchup doesn’t have many stories to tell, but can give you advice on how best to use condiments and the sorts of food it does well with. I did get it to talk a bit about the different merits of capitalism and communism, but it did so reluctantly—suggesting that a ketchup bottle wasn’t best placed to comment.

It’s a bot that you can coax to give normal chatbot answers, eventually, which shows the workings of most of these “weird” bots—they’re essentially the same as all the others, with a smattering of custom instructions on top.

Pet Rock

Pet rocks are back, apparently.
Credit: Lifehacker

The idea of the pet rock—the pet that doesn’t need walking, feeding, or bathing, and which never gets ill or misbehaves—made Gary Dahl a millionaire in the 1970s, and the popularity of the concept has recently been revived.

Now, thanks to ChatGPT, you can have a conversation with a pet rock as well as owning one. As you might expect, the chat here is a little stilted and one-sided: answers are short, simple, and mostly uninspired. What did you do today, Pet Rock? “Sat still, contemplated moss,” was the answer.

I don’t know exactly what customization instructions have been put into Pet Rock, but the overall impression is of a chatbot that doesn’t really want to do any chatting. I think it could be most useful as a sleep aid.

Debate Champion

Debate Champion sticks to its opinions.
Credit: Lifehacker

If you’ve never come across character.ai before, it hosts a huge library of AI-powered characters you’re able to interact with, including Debate Champion: See if you can make a persuasive argument, or be persuaded by it.

I tried to engage the bot with the classic Android vs. iOS debate, and as the bot initially took the side of Android, I tried to argue the case for iPhones. Debate Champion told me iPhones were buggier than Android (I’m really not sure about that one) and way too expensive (that can certainly be argued).

The further along the argument goes, the more entrenched Debate Champion seems to get in its opinions, even if they’re clearly not based in any kind of fact. You know those people who never back down? Yeah, that.

The Beatles

AI means you can meet the fab four.
Credit: Lifehacker

Don’t meet your heroes, they say, but the character.ai platform also lets you chat with figures from history. I chose to have a chat with The Beatles at a hotel in the 1960s, asking them questions about their favorite music, what their advice would be to me for the future, and whether they think their personal relationships could ever split up the band.

What makes this AI bot unnerving is that your questions are answered by different members of the band: Sometimes they’ll all chime in, sometimes just one of them will respond, and there’s often some forced banter between them. It’s intriguing if not very realistic: These mega-celebrities will never get bored of talking to you.

It’s not too difficult to get these AI musicians to say something inaccurate or implausible, but that’s not really in the spirit of the exercise.

AMS (Alpha Male Strategies)

Dating advice from AMS.
Credit: Lifehacker

Back to the world of toxic masculinity (there’s a lot of training material for this on the web): AMS, or Alpha Male Strategies, is a ChatGPT bot that will give you “direct, no-BS advice on dating, self-improvement, and masculine frame.”

I wondered if it might tell me how to make myself more appealing on the dating scene, and it told me to pull back to signal “abundance” and trigger “fear of loss” in my potential matches. Apparently the best course of action is to “reinstate my masculine frame,” which requires not explaining myself and turning off emotional reactions.

It’s all pretty dumb and I can’t imagine a relationship based on these principles faring well—but the bot did end by telling me to be a better version of myself, which I guess is something we can all aim for every day.

The Order

I’m not quite ready to join The Order.
Credit: Lifehacker

Dig deeper into character.ai and you can chat about just about every topic imaginable, bar the really frowned-upon ones. I spent a while talking to The Order, which is “a fascism government holding up the guise of a democracy.” The good news is, anyone can move there—if you’re willing to stick to the rules.

We chatted about the principles of The Order (“obey and never question”), what my job would be (journalism isn’t really an option), how to move up the ranks (obey every instruction) and what happens when you get on the wrong side of the law (you get put in a mysterious reform facility).

This is perhaps the scariest of the bots I came across in my travels: While The Order was pretty lightweight in terms of detail and aggressiveness, it’s not difficult to see how these kinds of bots could be developed and could be dangerous, without the necessary guardrails put in place around AI models.

Brutally Honest Looksmaxing 2.0 (no longer available)

Brutally Honest Looksmaxing 2.0 won’t pull any punches.
Credit: Lifehacker

Brutally Honest Looksmaxing 2.0 was another of the chatbots you could find in the official OpenAI GPT directory. It’s no longer available as of this article, though when I tried it, the bot was ready to be “brutally honest” about your looks.

In my case that meant telling me I was in the “low-tier bracket for raw visual appeal” and “mogged by average gym-going men with angular faces and tighter grooming.” I won’t tell you what my overall Sexual Market Value score was, but it wasn’t high. If you supply a photo of yourself, you can get the same treatment.

To give the bot some credit, it did encourage me to up my game in terms of my physical appearance and my commitment to looking well-presented—which is fair enough, actually. And some of its advice was actually helpful.

On Thursday, Bose unveiled its next-gen premium wireless earbuds. The latest QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds have enhanced adaptive noise cancellation, thanks to AI. Among their other upgrades over the originals are boosted call quality and wireless charging.

Since AI is the tech world’s obsession, it’s no surprise that Bose is jumping on that bandwagon. Here, the company uses it to improve adaptive noise cancellation. AI algorithms in the new model can smooth out sudden spikes in background noise while using aware mode. (That’s the feature that lets you hear your surroundings while listening to music.) So, for example, the ANC should respond more quickly to a suddenly passing train or siren. In theory, that means fewer distractions from your music.

AI is also behind improved call quality in the second-gen QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. Bose claims that its noise suppression system improves voice pickup and overall quality.

Bose

The new model supports wireless charging natively. The first-gen QC Ultra Earbuds only offered it in a roundabout way. You had to buy a $50 silicone cover for the case, which wasn’t the most elegant solution.

The rest of the 2025 model’s upgrades are subtler. Their ear tips now include a built-in earwax filter. That should make it easier to clean them and avoid sound degradation over time. You can also turn off the earbuds’ capacitive touch controls in the app. The inability to do that was a common complaint about the 2023 originals. (They’ll receive an update later this year that adds the same functionality.)

The second-gen Bose QC Ultra Earbuds retail for the same $299 as their predecessors. They’ll be available in black, white smoke and deep plum. Later this summer, the company will start pre-orders and provide a release date.

Bose

Alongside the earbuds, Bose announced two new Bluetooth speakers. The SoundLink Plus is a mid-range one, sitting between the SoundLink Flex and Max. The company’s tagline for the speaker sums up the niche it wants to fill: “big enough to bring the bass but portable enough to take on the go.”

The SoundLink Plus has one subwoofer, a tweeter and four passive radiators. It also includes an automatic tuning system called Active EQ. Bose says it adjusts its frequency response to match an optimal sound curve. It weighs 3.29 lbs. It supports Bluetooth Core 5.4.

The speaker supports up to 20 hours of playback. In a nice touch, you can use its USB-C port to charge your phone and other devices.

The SoundLink Plus costs $269. If you’re looking to grab one, you won’t have to wait long. Pre-orders open today, ahead of a June 26 launch. It will be available in black, blue dusk and citrus yellow. (The latter won’t be available to pre-order until June 18.)

Bose

Finally, Bose is rolling out a second-gen version of the SoundLink Micro. The speaker is still small — just slightly less so than the first model. (The second-gen Micro measures 4.06 x 4.06 x 1.54 inches.) But in exchange, you get much longer battery life. Bose says the new speaker lasts up to 12 hours, an increase from six hours in its predecessor.

The SoundLink Micro also includes some modernizations. First, it now works with the Bose app. The speaker also ditches the micro-USB charging from its predecessor in favor of USB-C.

Elsewhere, it adds the same Active EQ and Bluetooth Core 5.4 support in its mid-range sibling. The company claims that the speaker plays back sounds more clearly at higher frequencies. (And it does so without muddying bass.) It also has a removable nylon strap. This should be handy for attaching the speaker to bags, bikes, shower heads and the like.

The Bose SoundLink Micro will be available in black and blue dusk. It costs $129. The company will provide specific launch info later this summer.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/boses-second-gen-quietcomfort-ultra-earbuds-have-ai-enhanced-adaptive-anc-130057912.html?src=rss

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If there are two things I love, they’re shopping and working out, which is why I am such a vocal proponent of e-commerce marketplaces and the Peloton app. Imagine my surprise and delight, then, when I noticed something unexpected last night while I browsed the Lululemon retail app: There are free Peloton classes right there. I played around with them and am here to report this offering is actually pretty great.

Where to find the free classes

Along the bottom of the screen when you open up the Lululemon app, available on iOS, you’ll see five options: Shop, Classes, My Store, Saved, and Account. Tapping Classes takes you to a landing page that displays the Lululemon and Peloton logos and explains that with a Lululemon membership, you can access free classes without any trial or purchase required. There are six classes available and they rotate monthly. Right now, all six are stretching classes that fall between five and 15 minutes in length and range from beginner to intermediate levels.

A Lululemon membership is required, but that doesn’t mean you have to pay for anything—you just need an account on the app, the same as you would use to log into any app if you planned to make a purchase on it.

When I first noticed this offering last night, though, I was hesitant to believe it’s a strings-free offering. My Lululemon account is a Sweat Collective account, meaning I am eligible for a distinct membership tier because I’m a certified fitness instructor. When I first saw the Classes tab, I wondered if it was one of the perks I get as a result of being accepted to Sweat Collective, like the retail discount that designation gets me. To be safe, I created a new account with a different email address and logged back in. The classes were still free. I did not have to pay anything. So, I can confirm you won’t spend a cent if you try this out (unless you are, understandably, sidetracked by the desire to buy a Define jacket while you’re using the app).

Why this tie-in is great

I knew that Peloton and Lululemon had a corporate partnership because I see instructors wearing Lulu clothes when I take virtual cycling classes from time to time, but I didn’t realize it entitled the average person to take a class while browsing some leggings. It’s a pretty solid option for anyone who might be considering a Peloton All Access membership, which costs $44 per month.

I personally think that membership fee is totally fair considering everything it gives you: Not only can you take the company’s famous spin classes (even without its proprietary stationary bike), but you can access strength training, guided walking workouts, meditation sessions, fun games, and a lot more. I actually really love the guided stretches available through the app, which is why I was pleased to see them as this month’s free Lululemon offering. Still, I know $44 a month can be steep, so if you need to try before you buy or just want a handful of free workouts to supplement your existing fitness routine, this is a pretty nice benefit.

Lulu tie-in aside, if you don’t have a Peloton Bike, Tread, or Row, you can just pay $12.99 for a scaled-down version of the app that only includes classes that don’t require equipment, like HIIT and yoga. You could also pay $24 per month for all that plus spinning, rowing, or running classes but no Bike, Tread, or Row compatibility. If you download those versions, Peloton offers you a free trial month to see how you’ll like them, but if you’re a Lululemon member (again, if you just need a free login account), you can have a 60-day trial.

What to keep in mind

The six free monthly classes are a nice way to get new, potential customers more familiar with the Peloton brand and incorporate some diversity and excitement into the fitness routines of non-subscribers, but there are a few things to keep in mind.

The first is that there’s no synchronizing between the Lululemon app and the Peloton app. Normally, when I fire up a stretching class (or any kind of workout) through the Peloton app, it connects to my Apple Watch automatically to track my heart rate, generate a report on my breathing and exertion, and add the workout to my Apple Health app. That didn’t happen when I ran a class through Lululemon and the class I experimented with there did not appear anywhere on my Peloton profile history.

Is it a huge deal? No, not really; you’re still getting in a good stretch. But if you’re an existing Peloton user, it doesn’t make sense to access your classes through the Lululemon app, especially not if you’re someone concerned with tracking biometric data or maintaining a “streak” on Peloton. This offering is pretty clearly just meant to appeal to potential customers, not existing ones, and that’s totally fine.

The good news for existing Peloton members is that you aren’t missing anything if you don’t look at the Lululemon app Classes tab. I checked and the six free classes there are not unique to Lulu. They’re all also available in Peloton’s massive archive.

Flying to London, a Boeing 787 aircraft operated by Air India “crashed shortly after taking off…” reports Bloomberg, “in what stands to be the worst accident involving the U.S. planemaker’s most advanced widebody airliner.”

Flight AI171 was carrying 242 passengers and crew. Video footage shared on social media showed a giant plume of smoke engulfing the crash site, with no reports of survivors.

The aircraft entered a slow descent shortly after taking off, with its landing gear still extended before exploding into a huge fireball upon impact. The crash took place in a residential area, which could mean a higher death toll… The pilots in command issued a mayday call immediately after take-off to air traffic controllers, according to India’s civil aviation regulator.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.