I used Google’s Veo and ChatGPT’s Sora to make a video of my puppy on the beach.
Make a movie in a minute
OpenAI Sora
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, AI is changing everything. And now it’s coming for video. This is the future, and it’s so fun to play around with these new tools.
Forget editing software, green screens or even a camera. Now your keyboard is the director, the producer and creative partner. All you need to do is type what you want to see, and AI will turn it into a slick, high-def video.
Right now, two big players are Sora from OpenAI and Veo from Google, and yes, you can try them both today. Don’t miss watching my video test at the end.
Sora: OpenAI’s text-to-video powerhouse
Sora is now live inside ChatGPT, and it’s jaw-dropping. You type in a description like, “a golden retriever puppy playing at the beach with a tennis ball,” and Sora spits out a crisp, AI-generated video in seconds. No need for footage, no need for editing.
Here’s the breakdown:
- If you’re on ChatGPT Plus ($20/month), you can generate up to 10-second clips in 720p.
- If you upgrade to ChatGPT Pro ($200/month), you get 20-second videos in 1080p, watermark-free, with faster generation times.
- Bing just announced that Sora is being integrated into their new Bing Video Creator (details here).
Veo: Google’s take on AI filmmaking
Google’s Veo lets you create cinematic 1080p videos up to 60 seconds long with realistic movement, lighting and transitions, just from a sentence. Want your cat running across a rooftop in Paris at sunset? Done.
You can get access through Google’s Gemini plans:
- Pro plan is free for the first month, then $19.99/month. You’ll get limited access to Veo and the Flow video tool.
- Ultra plan is $124.99/month for the first three months (normally $249.99). That unlocks full access to Veo, higher quality outputs and extra features like “ingredients to video” controls.
The test
🧠 ChatGPT update: OpenAI finally rolled out a memory feature for the free version. Now the chatbot can remember things you’ve told it and tailor replies to match. Say you’re dairy-free? Expect vegan recipes. Heads up though: It’s a light version, so only recent convos stick. You can turn it off under Settings > Personalization > Memory.
$100,000
The lifetime wealth boost from just one high school personal finance class. According to a new study, that’s the ROI for teaching teens how money works: budgeting, investing, credit scores, the whole shebang except how to set up a joint account.
Ditch the copy-paste: The free Chrome extension Add to Sheets lets you send info from any website straight into a Google Sheet. Planning a trip? Just right-click on location details, booking links or prices to drop them right into a column. Pretty slick.
🤖 Make your own music: Udio lets you mess around with song-making using AI. Just describe what you want, like the style and instruments, then move on to the lyrics. You can outline verses and even choose how long the song should be. FYI: The free plan lets you create three full tracks per day.
🍏 Clean up your iPad apps: Swipe all the way right to open the App Library. Tap the search bar at the top to see an A–Z list of every app on your device. Long-press any app and select Delete App to clear out the ones you don’t use anymore. FYI: Some system apps can’t be removed.
Disable Microsoft ads: Windows loves promoting its own services. To turn it off, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Windows permissions > General, and toggle off all five options. Then go to Settings > System > Notifications > Additional settings, and untick Get tips and suggestions when using Windows.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Mute annoying people on Instagram instead of unfollowing to save drama. Below their profile, tap Following > Mute.
🛑 Did you know Big Tech reads your emails? Yeah, seriously. But not StartMail. It’s private, secure and even has disposable addresses. Try it free for seven days and get 60% off your first year!
📚 Kindle stats: Want to see how much reading you’ve got left? Tap the page number in the bottom-left corner to switch between time left in the chapter, time left in the book or your progress percentage (%). Kindle learns your reading speed, so those time estimates are based on you. Want free Kindle books? Check these out.
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⌨️ Safari shortcuts: Want to move faster in your browser? Press Command + Up Arrow to jump to the top of a page, or Command + Down Arrow to scroll straight to the bottom. Need to go back or forward? Press Command + [ to go back a page, and Command + ] to move forward again.
🔒 Lock your computer instantly: Leaving your desk for a few minutes? On Windows, press Windows key + L to lock your screen without closing anything. On Mac, press Control + Command + Q. It’s a good habit to get into and much faster than waiting for screen time-out to kick in.
Deal with bullies: Your kid will run into rude or mean people online, especially in games or group chats. Show them how to mute or block the person. On Discord, they just need to right-click the bully’s name or profile and hit Block. Let them know it’s private and their other friends won’t know.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: YouTube shortcuts: K to pause, J to rewind 10 sec, L to skip forward.
🚨 A sneaky virus could be lurking. It’s better to be safe than sorry, which is why I trust TotalAV. For just $19 for the first year, you get rock-solid antivirus protection on up to five devices. It’s smart, simple and keeps your tech safe without breaking the bank.
Think your email’s private? Think again. Big Tech tracks everything. That’s why I use StartMail. No ads, no tracking, just private email. Try it free for seven days and get 60% off your first year.
🎧 Spotify sounding flat? On mobile, it might default to lower audio quality to save data. On iOS, go to Settings and privacy > Audio Quality and set it to High. On Android, go to Settings and privacy > Media Quality and set it to High. If you have Premium, there’s also a Very High option. One great option that always sounds great is my show, IMHO.