Favorite Tech Articles of the Day

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

TL;DR: AdGuard’s Family Plan can block ads, shield your PC from malware, and restrict inappropriate content for kids for only $15.97 (reg. $169.99) with code FAMPLAN. Privacy solution: Your digital life deserves anonymity and security, and with AdGuard, you can shield your data from trackers, activity analyzers, and other bad actors. Block ads: Tired of ads ruining your streaming or browsing experience? This tool rids your device of every type of ad to give you a more enjoyable experience. It’s also compatible with both Android and iOS operating systems and can be used to protect up to nine devices at once. Shields your devices from malware and phishing sites to keep those and your personal information safe. For those with kids, AdGuard offers parental controls to ensure they can only view or access content that’s appropriate for them. One-time payment: Once you pay for AdGuard’s Family Plan, you’ll never have to pay another fee again for around-the-clock protection. You’ll even get constant updates and new improvements as you use AdGuard. Ready to take charge of your digital privacy? Grab lifetime access to the AdGuard Family Plan for just $15.97 (reg. $169.99) when you enter coupon code FAMPLAN at checkout. AdGuard Family Plan: Lifetime SubscriptionSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change.

TL;DR: Save 84% on this refurbished Lenovo Chromebook and get free shipping while supplies last. When you just need a laptop that works—no bells, no whistles, no stress—this is it. Now you can get a Chromebook for only $75 with free shipping, making it a smart pick for anyone in need of an ultra-affordable device, a reliable backup computer, or something for their kiddo. At this price, you won’t feel nervous about tossing it in your backpack for a flight or giving it to your child with perpetually sticky fingers. The compact design is built for the basics: web browsing, emails, video calls, and streaming—and it runs Chrome OS for hassle-free setup and all-day battery life. The Lenovo Chromebook features an 11.6-inch anti-glare touchscreen for easy navigation, along with 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage for day-to-day tasks and files. Because this is a refurbished grade “B” refurbished model, expect minor cosmetic wear (like light scuffs or small dents), but fully functional performance. That also means you don’t have to worry about adding more scuffs yourself—it’s a laptop that’s built for whatever you have in mind. Don’t miss this refurbished Chromebook deal, just $74.99 with free shipping before they sell out (reg. $475.99). Lenovo 11.6″ 2-in-1 Chromebook 300e 2nd Gen (2018) 4GB RAM 32GB SSD (Refurbished)See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change.

If you’re already fed up with the amount of ads you see on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service, there could be a reason. Amazon has quietly begun running twice as many ads between movies and TV shows than it did a year ago, reports AdWeek. When the streaming service began showing ads early in 2024, the commercial breaks were supposed to be between 2 and 3.5 minutes per hour. In a new email to advertisers, Amazon now states that the commercial breaks have slowly been expanded to 4 to 6 minutes per hour, AdWeek reports. The streaming service reportedly didn’t notice a major drop in subscribers when it began showing ads, but it now remains to be seen how much advertising subscribers are willing to put up with. Why are more ads being shown? It’s common for streaming services to start with a small number of ads to rope in new customers and avoid alienating existing customers. Once the subscriber base is large enough, they can then gradually increase the advertising load (which has backfired for companies like Roku). The more people switch away from traditional, linear television offerings to streaming services, the easier it is for providers to implement both price hikes and increased advertising without risking major losses in subscription numbers. Companies like Amazon naturally want to earn as much money as possible through advertising per subscriber, to finance further productions and line the pockets of shareholders. Editor’s note: After publication, Amazon public relations reached out with the following statement, which it says was delivered to AdWeek as well. It does not address claims that ad loads on Prime Video have roughly doubled since rolling out in 2024. “We remain focused on prioritizing ad innovation over volume. While demand continues to grow, our commitment is to improving ad experiences rather than simply increasing the number of ads shown. Since the beginning of this year alone, we’ve announced multiple capabilities, including Brand+, Complete TV, and new ad formats—all designed to deliver industry-leading relevancy and enhanced customer experiences. We will continue to invest in this important work, creating meaningful innovations that benefit both customers and advertisers alike.”

If you have an older PC and are considering a memory upgrade, you might want to do it sooner than later. Prices for DDR4 memory are expected to jump sharply as the major memory vendors phase out their production in favor of DDR5 DRAM instead. The latter point is the cause for concern. Reports say that Samsung and SK Hynix have sent end-of-life notices to their customers about the end of DDR4 memory for PCs. Now Micron, the last holdout, has reportedly done the same, according to Digitimes via Tom’s Hardware. While most modern PC platforms use DDR5 memory, DDR4 was typically found in Intel’s older PC platforms (6th- to 10th-generation Core processors, up to Comet Lake) as well as the AMD Ryzen chips that used the AM4 socket (up to the Ryzen 5000 generation). That’s bad news for the latter platform, whose strength was its longevity. A dwindling supply of DDR4 memory plus tariff concerns means that the normally volatile memory market is panicking. TrendForce, a Taiwan analyst firm with its fingers on the short-term “spot” market and the longer-term “contract” market, reports that DDR4 prices for PCs are expected to jump by 13 to 18 percent in the second quarter. TrendForce is projecting that prices could rise further in the third quarter, too. We haven’t confirmed with Micron that it’s ending DDR4 production, but given that the company is pushing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) for AI as well as LPDDR5X for smartphones and tablets, it’s not unlikely. Memory is a notoriously low-margin business, and memory vendors generally chase the most profitable opportunities. That doesn’t mean that DDR4 memory will completely disappear. Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron are considered the “big three” of the memory market, but smaller players could take over. Nanya and Huabang still appear to be committed to DDR4. ChangXin Storage reportedly ramped up DDR4 at the end of last year, but also plans to wind down DDR4 production soon. As a Chinese manufacturer, ChangXin would also be subject to the Trump administration’s tariffs, which would also price its memory products out of reach of its Taiwan-based competition. DDR5 memory originated as a response to the higher core counts of PC processors. As core counts increased, the amount of available memory bandwidth allocated to each decreased. Unfortunately, DDR5 memory is neither physically nor electrically backwards-compatible, meaning you can’t just buy a DDR5 memory stick and run it in a PC that normally uses DDR4. (You can learn more about PC memory in our explainer.) TrendForce, citing the Nikkei business publication, says that Micron’s DDR4 chips will wind down in two to three months, giving you a little more time. But if you want to load up on older DDR4 memory to keep that PC you don’t want to replace because of tariff costs, consider making that memory investment soon.