Make Excel Copilot Work Your Way Every Time

Make Excel Copilot Work Your Way Every Time

Stop repeating the same formatting instructions in Excel. Copilot personalization lets you define your preferences once and get consistent results every time.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

June 22, 2026

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If you use Copilot in Excel often, you have likely run into this. 

You ask for a report, then spend time correcting formatting, adjusting formulas, or rewriting outputs to match your usual style. 

The work still gets done, but it rarely looks the same twice.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Teach Copilot Your Style Once and Reuse It Automatically.

Microsoft is starting to close that gap with personalization. 

Instead of retyping the same instructions, you can define how you want results to look and let Copilot follow those preferences automatically.

Talk to the World With Gemini 3.5 Live Translate

Talk to the World With Gemini 3.5 Live Translate

Google just upgraded real-time translation with Gemini 3.5 Live Translate, allowing you to have natural conversations across 70 languages without waiting for your turn to speak. This new model preserves your tone and pace for smoother communication.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

June 21, 2026

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Ever tried having a conversation using a traditional translation app? 

You speak your sentence, tap a button, wait for the app to translate the text, wait for the artificial voice to read it aloud, and then wait for the other person to respond. 

It feels more like using a walkie-talkie than having a real conversation. The natural rhythm of human interaction is completely lost in the process. 

Here's a Cool Tip:  Google Gemini Live Translate.

This new Gemini 3.5 Live speech-to-speech audio model listens and speaks continuously. 

It stays just a few seconds behind the speaker and keeps their original tone, pacing, and pitch. You can speak naturally, and the model automatically detects the language and translates it on the fly. 

Because it processes audio natively rather than converting it to text first, it doesn't sound like a robotic voice reading from a script. 

It sounds like you. 

This feature is currently rolling out globally to the Google Translate app on Android and iOS, and to Google Meet for select business users.

Make ChatGPT Remind You Before You Forget

Make ChatGPT Remind You Before You Forget

ChatGPT Scheduled Tasks lets you turn useful prompts into reminders, recurring updates, and monitoring alerts. Instead of remembering to ask ChatGPT later, you can tell it what to do, when to do it, and when to notify you.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

June 20, 2026

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You probably already use ChatGPT for quick answers, writing help, research, planning, and brainstorming. The problem is timing.

A good prompt is only useful if you remember to run it when it matters. 

That weekly planning checklist, daily language practice, travel reminder, or afternoon briefing can easily slip through the cracks.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Schedule ChatGPT to Help Later.

ChatGPT Scheduled Tasks lets you schedule ChatGPT to run a prompt later, repeat a useful prompt on a schedule, or watch for a change and notify you when there is something meaningful to report.

This is not just a calendar reminder with a smarter label. 

It is a way to turn ChatGPT prompts into lightweight routines.

Take Flight From Your Browser with Google Earth’s Free Web Simulator

Take Flight From Your Browser with Google Earth’s Free Web Simulator

Google Earth brought its popular flight simulator out of the desktop app and straight into your web browser. In just a few clicks, you can pilot a plane over any landmark in the world without installing a single program.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

June 19, 2026

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Dropping a yellow pegman into a random street view is a popular way to explore cities. 

Exploring from the cockpit of an airplane offers a completely different perspective.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Fly Over Any City in the World Directly from Your Web Browser with Google.

For years, the Google Earth desktop app harbored a hidden feature: a built-in flight simulator. 

It offered a stunning way to view the world’s topography, but accessing it meant downloading heavy software. 

Google brought this feature directly to the web. 

Exploring the planet’s dynamic 3D terrain from thousands of feet in the air requires nothing more than a modern web browser and a little curiosity.

Turn On iPhone’s Enhanced Safety Alerts

Turn On iPhone’s Enhanced Safety Alerts

iOS 26 adds Enhanced Safety Alerts to help iPhone users in supported regions receive supplemental emergency information for events like earthquakes, floods, and imminent threats. The setting is worth checking because some alerts are on by default, while one optional delivery improvement is off unless you enable it.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

June 17, 2026

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Emergency alerts are one of those iPhone features you hope you never need.

But when weather turns dangerous, an earthquake hits, or local officials issue a serious warning, your phone can become one of the fastest ways to get information.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Check Your Enhanced Safety Alerts.

Apple has added another safety layer with Enhanced Safety Alerts, a feature available on iPhone in supported regions with iOS 26.2 or later. 

It does not replace government emergency alerts. 

Instead, it can provide supplemental safety alerts delivered by Apple over Wi-Fi and cellular data when available.

That makes this a smart setting to review, especially if you live in an earthquake-prone region, travel often, or help manage phones for family members.

3 Smart Windows 11 Printer Tricks That Save Time and Ink

3 Smart Windows 11 Printer Tricks That Save Time and Ink

Printing mistakes and repetitive settings can quietly waste time, ink, and paper. These three Windows 11 printer tips help you take control and keep things running smoothly.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

June 17, 2026

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You only meant to print one page, but the printer starts churning through an entire document in full color.

That’s a quick way to burn through ink and patience.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Take Control of Printing Before It Wastes Your Time and Money.

Windows 11 includes useful printer tools most people never touch.

Once you know where they are, you can stop mistakes instantly, automate your settings, and manage printers with far more control.

Find Your Place Faster in Long ChatGPT Chats

Find Your Place Faster in Long ChatGPT Chats

ChatGPT can now show a Table of Contents in longer conversations on the web, making big chats easier to scan and reuse. It is a small interface improvement with a real productivity payoff for anyone who uses ChatGPT for research, planning, writing, troubleshooting, or work notes.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

June 16, 2026

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Long ChatGPT conversations can get messy fast.

You start with one simple question. Then you ask for a rewrite, a comparison, a checklist, a troubleshooting step, a social post, and maybe one more “make it shorter” request.

Before long, the useful answer is buried somewhere above, and scrolling becomes the new search.

Here's a Cool Tip:  ChatGPT Table of Contents.

OpenAI has added a practical fix for that problem: a Table of Contents for longer ChatGPT conversations on the web. 

Conversations longer than five responses can now include a table of contents so users can scan sections and jump to the part they need.

Turn Copilot Notebooks into Your Smart Workweek Engine

Turn Copilot Notebooks into Your Smart Workweek Engine

Copilot Notebooks help you organize your work and turn scattered information into real deliverables. This Cool Tip shows how to use it to manage projects and create Word, Excel, and more.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

June 15, 2026

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Monday morning usually starts the same way. 

You’ve got meeting notes, half-finished drafts, and scattered documents that need to become something usable.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Build Your Week Around an AI-powered Notebook

Copilot Notebooks is built for that exact moment. 

It doesn’t just organize your content. 

It helps you turn it into finished work.

Create Custom Merch Fast With Alexa for Shopping

Create Custom Merch Fast With Alexa for Shopping

Amazon’s new Alexa for Shopping feature lets U.S. customers turn simple prompts into custom merchandise designs. It lowers the barrier for creating one-off shirts, hoodies, tumblers, and water bottles without needing design software.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

June 14, 2026

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Custom merchandise usually starts with a familiar problem: you have the joke, reunion slogan, team idea, pet portrait concept, or small-business phrase, but you do not want to open Photoshop, hire a designer, upload artwork, check print specs, and manage fulfillment.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Create Custom Merch With Alexa.

Alexa for Shopping now includes an AI-powered custom merch design feature that lets customers describe an idea, generate a design, edit it with suggestions or typed changes, share it, and order the finished item through Amazon’s Merch on Demand print-on-demand system.

The feature works in the Amazon Shopping app and on Amazon.com, and Amazon handles production and Prime-eligible delivery.

Take Control of Your YouTube Experience with Custom AI Feeds

Take Control of Your YouTube Experience with Custom AI Feeds

YouTube now allows you to move beyond the standard algorithm by designing your own video discovery space with simple text prompts. This feature turns your Home page into a curated dashboard built specifically for your current mood or professional needs.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

June 13, 2026

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We have all been there. 

You open YouTube looking for something specific, like a quick coding tutorial or a ten-minute yoga session, but the algorithm keeps pushing the same three viral clips you have already seen. 

It feels like you are fighting the platform just to find what you actually want to watch.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Use the "Your custom feed" Feature to Build a Custom Video Feed.

YouTube is finally giving you the keys to the engine. Instead of waiting for the "Up Next" logic to guess your mood, you can now dictate exactly what kind of environment you want to browse in. 

Whether you need a deep dive into market trends or a quiet space for white noise, you can build it on demand.