If you’re out in public avoid typing in your passcode. You never know who might be looking over your shoulder.
The future of laptops
My job is to keep you ahead of the curve, so you know what’s worth your hard-earned money and what’s just hype. One reader recently asked me: Where are laptops going next? Let’s break it down.
🤖 AI is baked in
As AI gets better, imagine a bot that automates boring laptop tasks like booking flights, ordering groceries or organizing your files. Microsoft’s Copilot+ PCs promise to do just that.
AI-powered laptops will also soon learn your habits, adjusting settings based on how you work. Think battery optimizations on the fly, automatic background noise cancellation and predictive typing that actually gets it right.
Should you buy an AI-powered laptop now? Nope. Wait until the end of the year when the tech is more developed.
🔮 Designs are futuristic
Laptops haven’t changed very much over the last five years. They’re all basic clamshells, but that’s starting to shift. Thinner screens, dual-display setups and foldable laptops are on the rise. The Asus Zenbook Duo has two built-in screens, while Lenovo just showed off a laptop with a screen that expands on demand, compact when you carry it, bigger when you need it.
Future laptops could let you swap out components like LEGO blocks instead of replacing the entire machine. Imagine upgrading your processor, storage or RAM just by snapping in a new piece.
🕺🏼Who wants a laptop dance?
In the next five years, expect to see gesture and voice controls, maybe eye-tracking or brain-controlled interfaces (seriously). Instead of a trackpad or touch screen, you might just think about what you want to do and your laptop will respond.
We’ll also have laptops powered by kinetic energy (think: charging your laptop just by typing).
Holographic displays will replace traditional screens. Imagine opening your laptop and seeing a floating, 3D workspace instead of a physical screen. Your next laptop might not even have a screen at all — just a virtual display that adjusts to wherever you’re working.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
15 out-of-the-box ways to make extra cash from anywhere
By now, you probably know that you don’t have to leave home to make money. After all, many companies sent employees home to work during the pandemic. But even if you aren’t a salaried employee, you can still make a living from the comfort of your own home.
Cleanup crew
- Keep a pocket-sized phone screen cleaner (20% off) handy. It’s got a cloth built into the bottle.
- Put down that gas station squeegee. Pick up a windshield cleaner with a swivel head (25% off).
- Did water marks ruin your wooden coffee table? This remover cloth under $8 will make it look new.
- While you’re at it, snag a set of eight coasters (10% off) for any hot or cold drink.
- Oh this is so handy. Stop your glasses from slipping off your face with a silicone sleeve ($7).
🍨 Oh my. Did you see Ninja has a new ice cream maker that makes soft serve, too? Help, I just gained 10 pounds typing that!
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
💬 From Á to Ź: Need to type accents for Spanish words? On Macs, just press and hold the letter on the keyboard. Options for different accents will pop up. For Windows in Word or Outlook, press and hold Ctrl + apostrophe + comma, then release before typing the letter for an acute accent.
How to use your voice to type
Type less, talk more! Voice typing lets you cruise past 160 words per minute. That’s four times faster than typing by hand.
🛒 AI add to cart: Amazon is testing “Interests AI,” so you can chat to find things instead of typing in the search bar. Check if you have it by opening the Amazon app > Me tab (person icon) and tapping Interests. Of course, that data will help train Alexa+ with generative AI. Never stops.
📱 Swipe to write: Try swipe typing to write faster by sliding your fingers over your keyboard instead of tapping each letter. On iPhone, go to Settings > General > Keyboard > toggle on Slide to Type. For Android, head to Settings > General management > Keyboard settings > Swipe, touch, and feedback > Keyboard swipe controls > turn on Swipe to type. These names may vary by Android.
Master Excel with these 5 genius tricks
Photo © Hani Eriani | Dreamstime.com
You can’t keep track of everything on paper. Excel can play a significant role in your daily workload. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro user, there’s much to learn — like these five useful Excel tricks.
Want to become an Excel expert? It’s a good strategy for small business owners who want to grow this year. After all, you’ll generate tons of data. Speaking of which, here’s how to stop third parties from selling your data.
The clock is ticking!
💝 Grab these goodies in time for Valentine’s Day.
- Spice things up with a deck of scratch-off date ideas (16% off).
- Stop arguing about what to eat. Roll food dice (14% off) and let fate decide.
- An electric wine bottle opener (48% off) pops corkscrews with just one tap.
- Get messy in the kitchen with his-and-hers aprons (10% off). Ahem.
- Your partner deserves a hand massager (39% off) after a long day of typing.
- A candle warmer lamp (15% off) is so nice for cozy smells you won’t accidentally leave burning all night.
🛍️ None of this quite right? Check my lists for the special guys and gals in your life.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
⌨️ iPad typing trick: Did you know you can use the space bar as a trackpad? Just tap and hold the space bar, wait for the keys to fade out and you’ll be able to move the cursor through text easily. Trying to select text? While still holding down, tap once on the keyboard with another finger, then let go. You can now highlight the text you want.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Quickly find emails in Gmail by typing @ into the search bar to view emails from your contacts. Easy way to find everyone you’ve been avoiding!
Check your laptop battery: On Windows, get a detailed report that includes usage, capacity and battery life estimates. Open the command prompt by hitting the Start menu, then typing in cmd or cmd.exe in the Run command box. Press Enter. Now, smarty-pants, type or paste in the following: powercfg /batteryreport
⚡️3-second tech genius: Track a flight instantly by typing the flight number into Google (like Delta 123) to see the live status and arrival time.
📄 Scan text into Notes on your iPhone: Open the Notes app, tap the Paperclip icon above the keyboard and select Scan Text. Now, point your camera at the text you want to capture. Once it’s detected, tap Insert to drop it right into your note. Quick, easy and no typing needed!
🔋 More battery, less buzz: You can save iPhone battery by turning off haptic feedback, the setting that makes your keyboard vibrate slightly when typing. It’s nice, but if you’re texting all day, it drains battery faster. To turn it off, go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Keyboard Feedback and disable Haptic.
Hidden Windows settings: There’s so much good stuff packed into the accessibility menu, like a magnifier tool, extra text size options, color contrast levels, voice typing and narration, caption settings, and voice recognition. In Windows 10, go to Settings > Ease of Access. In Windows 11, go to Settings > Accessibility. So handy!
😅 I can’t believe I’m typing this: Women on TikTok are pouring castor oil into their belly buttons every night to help with digestion and bloating. Castor oil does have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, so maybe they’re onto something. No crude jokes, OK?
Stuck on hold: There’s a hidden redial button on your smartphone. Hit the call button without typing a number or choosing a contact to call the last person you talked to.