This goes way beyond stealing pens or notepads at work. There’s a new way to cheat the system.
Grandma’s little genius: A 13-year-old from California out-invented the Life Alert people. Kevin Tang built “FallGuard,” a $30 camera system that spots falls, using an algorithm he coded himself. No necklaces, no subscriptions, no forgetting to charge your smartwatch. He built it after his grandma’s fall caused brain damage. He’s got $25K and a waiting list. Go Kevin!
🌗 Windows has built-in dark mode: If you’ve just installed it, you’ll see light mode across your system and apps. To change it, go to Settings > Personalization > Colors > Choose your mode. From there, select Dark or try Custom to set Windows and your apps separately. You can always adjust certain apps in their own settings.
🌙 Give your eyes a break: If you’re on your Windows PC late at night, that blue glare can make it harder to fall asleep. Go to Settings > System > Display and toggle on Night light. From there, you can adjust the strength to make it warmer or schedule the hours it turns on automatically.
Every second counts: On Windows 11, you can now show seconds on your task bar clock. Go to Settings > Time & language > Date & time > Show time and date in the System tray. Tick Show seconds in system tray clock. Sure, Microsoft says it’ll use more power, but your laptop will probably survive.
Give your Mac some color: On macOS 26, you can change your app icons like on your iPhone. Go to System Settings > Appearance > Icon & widget style. Default keeps the standard look, Dark is classic dark mode, Clear has that new liquid-glass look, and Tinted lets you pick any color you like.
🖥️ Bought a high refresh rate monitor? Make sure it’s actually running at full speed and not stuck at 60 Hz. Go to Settings > System > Display > Advanced display. Select your monitor (top right), then pick 144 Hz or 240 Hz under Choose a refresh rate. If you don’t see those options, get an HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort cable.
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The scariest scam yet: real-time voice cloning
Not long ago, faking someone’s voice took real effort. Time’s changed. Hear about a new system that allows anyone to mimic your voice in an instant.
🔫 Artificial unintelligence: After football practice, a Maryland teen got swarmed by armed police because an AI gun detector thought his Doritos bag was a pistol. In other words, a weapon of nacho destruction. Turns out, the system flagged the way he held the bag as “gun-like.” The teen was cuffed, searched and cleared. Put your hands up and the chips where I can see them!
Improve laptop performance: Windows 11 intentionally throttles your system to save battery, but you can fix that. Go to Settings > System > Power & battery. Under Power Mode, switch both Plugged in and On battery to Best Performance. Your laptop will feel smoother, though it may drain the battery faster when unplugged.
You don’t need to live in fear: Most security systems respond only after a break-in has started, and that’s too late. SimpliSafe is different. It’s proactive, not reactive. Get 50% off your new security system today!
🔎 Fine-tune your Mac: Spotlight in macOS 26 can get too broad. Go to System Settings > Spotlight > Results from Apps. Anything here could appear. For example, search “contract,” and it might pull documents and dictionary definitions. Uncheck the apps you know you won’t need.
Zapped back to life: After years of crippling rheumatoid arthritis, Lynn Milam got her life back thanks to a lima bean–size nerve stimulator implanted in her neck. It zaps her vagus nerve once a day, dialing down the immune system’s overreaction. The FDA just approved it, meaning thousands of drug-resistant patients could see real relief, and maybe hug their kids again. Love this.
Per-app languages on Android: If you’re bilingual, you don’t have to stick to one across your phone. Go to Settings > System (or General management) > Languages > App languages. Pick an app and set your preference. You can also long-press the app icon, open App info and change it there. FYI: Not every app supports this.
🧬 Pill against aging: Get this, Retro Biosciences, a startup with $180M from Sam Altman, is testing a pill that could fight Alzheimer’s by reviving your body’s recycling system. The first human gets it this year. If it works, they’re thinking 10 more good years tacked onto life.
🖱️ Focus on one window in Windows 11: Too many apps cluttering your screen? Try Title bar window shake. Left-click the title bar of the window you want, shake your mouse, and everything else minimizes. Shake again and they come back. If it’s not on by default, go to Settings > System > Multitasking > Title bar window shake.
🎮 Mute console beeps: You can silence that loud beep your PS5 makes when turning it on. Go to Settings > System > Beep and Light > Mute Beep Sound. On Xbox, go to Settings > Accessibility > Audio > Power chime > Off. Now you can game at night without waking the house.
Find your mouse pointer on Mac: If the cursor keeps disappearing, go to System Settings > Accessibility > Display > Pointer. Drag the Pointer size slider to make it larger, and pick new colors for the outline or fill. Bonus: Turn on Shake mouse pointer to locate. Next time you lose it, a quick shake makes the pointer balloon for a second. Amazing.
💻 Get detailed system info on Windows: Before installing drivers, you might need your specs. In the search bar, type “cmd,” right-click Command Prompt and select Run as administrator. Then type “systeminfo.” After a few seconds, you’ll see a report with your Windows version, build number, BIOS, memory and if your PC is 64 or 32 bit.