Why You Should Install iOS 26.6 Now

Why You Should Install iOS 26.6 Now

iOS 26.6 may not deliver a collection of flashy new tools, but it includes important security fixes and system improvements. The update also optimizes Spotlight search in preparation for iOS 27.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

July 30, 2026

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Not every worthwhile iPhone update changes the Home Screen or adds a feature you can immediately try.

Some updates work quietly in the background, repairing security weaknesses, fixing software problems, and preparing your device for what comes next. 

That is exactly what Apple is doing with iOS 26.6.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Update to iOS 26.6 Now to Protect Your iPhone and Prepare Spotlight for iOS 27.

iOS 26.6 includes bug fixes, security updates, and an optimization of the Spotlight index in preparation for iOS 27.

Windows 11 Screen Tint Makes Bright Screens Easier on the Eyes

Windows 11 Screen Tint Makes Bright Screens Easier on the Eyes

Bright screens are not always a brightness problem. Sometimes the intensity of modern apps, websites, and documents is what leaves your eyes feeling tired after a long day.

Windows 11's new Screen Tint accessibility feature offers another way to improve screen comfort by applying a customizable color overlay across the entire display. Availability may vary depending on your Windows version and rollout status.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

July 29, 2026

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After eight hours of email, spreadsheets, Teams meetings, web browsing, and document editing, many people reach for the brightness controls. 

The problem is that brightness is not always what's causing the discomfort.

Here's a Cool Tip: Customize your screen's comfort level with Screen Tint.

Microsoft's new Screen Tint feature for Windows 11 takes a different approach. Instead of simply dimming the display, it adds a customizable color overlay designed to make bright screens feel less visually intense during long work sessions. 

The feature is intended to help users who experience eye fatigue, light sensitivity, or general visual discomfort from bright displays.

Screen Tint joins other Windows accessibility tools designed to make computing more comfortable, but it fills a unique gap between Night Light and Color Filters.

Lockout Backup: Access Your Google Account With a Selfie Video

Lockout Backup: Access Your Google Account With a Selfie Video

Google launched a selfie video verification method to help users regain access to locked accounts when standard recovery devices are unavailable. By recording guided head movements, account owners can store an encrypted facial verification baseline to verify their identity in emergency situations.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

July 28, 2026

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Getting locked out of a primary digital account can stall an entire workday or disrupt personal travel plans. 

Passwords can be forgotten, smartphones can be misplaced during travel, and secondary authentication hardware isn't always within reach. 

Here’s a Cool Tip: Set up Google selfie Video Verification.

Google recently introduced a modern backup option designed to resolve account access emergencies: selfie video verification.

This backup mechanism provides a secure alternative when primary devices, passkeys, or recovery codes aren't available. 

Rather than relying solely on static phone numbers or secondary email addresses, users can record a short video of their face while moving their head in guided directions.

Put Google's Always-On AI Agent to Work

Put Google's Always-On AI Agent to Work

Google is expanding availability of Gemini Spark, its background AI agent that handles continuous tasks across apps. Users can now automate multi-step workflows without leaving browser tabs open or waiting for manual prompts.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

July 27, 2026

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Managing repetitive digital administrative tasks eats away at productive hours every week. 

Tracking down action items from email threads, summarizing meeting notes, and updating spreadsheets manually drains focus from creative or strategic work.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Put Gemini Spark to work on recurring background tasks.  Access is now expanding to AI Pro and Ultra users. 

Google launched Gemini Spark to tackle this persistent friction. 

Spark acts as a personal AI agent that runs continuously in the cloud, carrying out background workflows even when your computer is closed or your smartphone is locked. 

As Google broadens access to this background assistant, automating daily work routines becomes far more practical for everyday users.

How to Organize Your Web Browser with Chrome Vertical Tabs

How to Organize Your Web Browser with Chrome Vertical Tabs

Google Chrome now lets you arrange open tabs along the side of your screen instead of crowding them across the top. Moving your tabs vertically keeps full page titles visible and helps you manage large research projects without losing your place.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

July 26, 2026

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Opening dozens of browser tabs during a busy workday used to turn your tab bar into a row of tiny, unreadable icons. 

Squinting at tiny favicons to figure out which page holds your spreadsheet or research document drains focus and slows down your momentum. 

Modern widescreen monitors offer plenty of side-to-side space, yet traditional browser layouts compress tabs horizontally until the title text disappears completely.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Switch Chrome to Vertical Tabs.

Google introduced native vertical tabs to help solve this daily workspace clutter. 

By shifting your tab layout to a vertical column on the side of your window, you can read full page titles, organize tab groups, and reclaim vertical screen space for reading websites.

Stop Wasting Time Re-Uploading Sources With Gemini Notebook Auto-Sync

Stop Wasting Time Re-Uploading Sources With Gemini Notebook Auto-Sync

Google recently rebranded NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook and introduced automatic syncing for Google Drive documents. This update means your AI workspace always reflects the latest versions of your files without manual intervention.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

July 25, 2026

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Keeping track of multiple document versions while researching often leads to frustrating mistakes. 

You might outline a project in a Google Doc, upload it to your AI assistant for analysis, and then make further edits to the original file. 

In the past, those edits meant you had to manually delete the old file from your workspace and upload the new one just to ask questions about your latest changes.

Here is a Cool Tip: Connect your Google Drive documents to Gemini Notebook for automatic updates.

In May 2026, the company added automatic Google Drive syncing to the tool. 

Then, on July 16, 2026, Google officially renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook. 

This rebrand brings the tool deeper into the Google ecosystem. 

The combination of a new identity and background syncing makes the research process much faster.

Paint Abstract AI Masterpieces With Google Splash Canvas

Paint Abstract AI Masterpieces With Google Splash Canvas

Create digital masterpieces using playful sea creatures as your paintbrushes. Google Arts and Culture Splash Canvas brings fluid physics and artificial intelligence together for a highly interactive creative experience.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

July 24, 2026

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Digital painting tools often feel sterile and overly technical. 

Staring at a blank digital canvas with a massive toolbar of brushes can intimidate even an experienced artist. 

Here's a Cool Tip: Turn sea creatures into digital paintbrushes.

Google Arts and Culture recently introduced a web experiment that changes the atmosphere entirely. 

Splash Canvas turns your web browser into an interactive studio filled with opinionated sea creatures. 

Instead of selecting a standard brush, you drag an animated octopus or squid across the screen. 

These characters bring the canvas to life with realistic fluid physics, synthesizing sounds as you create.

Listen Together: Windows 11 Shared Audio Explained

Listen Together: Windows 11 Shared Audio Explained

Learn how Windows 11 Shared Audio allows compatible PCs to share audio with two Bluetooth LE Audio devices, making listening together easier.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

July 22, 2026

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Whether you're traveling with a friend, studying with a classmate, or reviewing content with a client, sharing audio from a laptop has traditionally involved compromises. 

Most PCs connect audio to a single Bluetooth device at a time, leaving users searching for splitters, adapters, or awkward workarounds.

Here's a Cool Tip: Share One Audio Stream with Two Listeners Using Windows 11 Shared Audio.

Microsoft recently released an update with Shared Audio, a Windows 11 feature designed for compatible devices that support Bluetooth LE Audio. 

The feature allows users to broadcast the same audio stream to two supported listening devices from a single PC.

For people who frequently share videos, music, presentations, or training content, it offers a more convenient way to listen together without additional accessories.

Automate Complex Forms with Chrome and Google Wallet

Automate Complex Forms with Chrome and Google Wallet

Typing lengthy identification numbers into web forms is frustrating and prone to errors. Google Chrome now integrates directly with Google Wallet to safely populate complex data like passport numbers and vehicle information on your mobile and desktop devices.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

July 21, 2026

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Booking an international flight to a destination like London often involves a frantic search for your physical passport. 

You find the booklet, prop it open, and carefully type a long string of alphanumeric characters into the airline website, hoping you did not transpose any letters. 

This manual data entry process is tedious and slows down routine online tasks like event check-ins or paying parking fees. 

Here is a Cool Tip: Connect Google Chrome to Google Wallet to Automatically Fill Your Most Complex Web Forms.

Google recently addressed this friction by updating how the Chrome browser interacts with stored data.

Turn Big Projects Into Finished Work With ChatGPT

Turn Big Projects Into Finished Work With ChatGPT

ChatGPT Work gives complicated assignments a dedicated workspace where source files, research, instructions, and revisions remain connected. Powered by the GPT-5.6 model family on eligible plans, it can help produce documents, spreadsheets, presentations, reports, analyses, and, on supported web and desktop experiences, interactive Sites.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

July 20, 2026

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A regular ChatGPT conversation works well when you need an answer, an explanation, or a quick draft.

The experience becomes less efficient when an assignment involves several files, multiple research steps, a required template, outside services, revisions, and a finished document that must be ready to share.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Use ChatGPT Work.

ChatGPT Work is designed for those larger assignments. 

Instead of treating every request as another conversational response, Work can research a topic, analyze information, create editable files, follow reference material, and move through a multi-step workflow while you review its progress.

Users can answer questions, redirect the assignment, and approve important actions while Work proceeds. 

It can also handle scheduled or recurring tasks when those capabilities are available to the account.