Name Excel Tables as You Create Them and Stay Organized

Name Excel Tables as You Create Them and Stay Organized

Excel has quietly fixed one of those little annoyances that becomes a big one in a busy workbook. You can now give a table a meaningful name while you create it instead of starting with generic names such as Table1 or Table2.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

Nov. 2, 2026

Subscribe | Read the Newsletter Version

Create enough tables in Excel and the names start piling up: Table1, Table2, Table3. 

Those defaults work, but they tell you almost nothing about the data inside them.

Microsoft has made that workflow smarter.

In its Oct. 27, 2026 Excel update,  Excel for Windows and Excel for Mac now let users give tables meaningful names when they create them. 

That sounds like a tiny change, and it is. 

But descriptive table names become particularly helpful when a workbook contains several tables or formulas that reference those tables.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Name your Excel table while you create it.

WhatsApp Calls Just Got Easier: No Account Needed!

WhatsApp Calls Just Got Easier: No Account Needed!

WhatsApp now lets you invite people to voice and video calls, even if they don't have a WhatsApp account. With free, encrypted calls, browser-based guest access and no time limits, connecting with friends, family and coworkers just got easier.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

November 1, 2026

Subscribe | Read the Newsletter Version

Ever tried organizing a video call only to discover that someone doesn't have the right app?

Maybe your relatives prefer FaceTime, your coworkers use Microsoft Teams, and your friends use WhatsApp. 

Getting everyone together can mean asking someone to download another app or create another account.

WhatsApp now offers a simpler solution.

On Oct. 14, 2026, WhatsApp introduced guest calling, allowing people without WhatsApp accounts to join voice and video calls from a computer browser.

The host still needs a WhatsApp account, but invited guests don't. 

Calls are free, protected with end-to-end encryption and have no WhatsApp-imposed time limits.

Here's a Cool Tip: Create a WhatsApp call link and invite anyone to join, even without an account!

Tour Creepy Fine Art in Google's Virtual Museum of Frights

Tour Creepy Fine Art in Google's Virtual Museum of Frights

Discover centuries of haunted history, spooky masterpieces, and chilling global lore packaged into an interactive digital exhibit. Google's seasonal online project lets you tour world-famous museum collections right from your web browser or phone.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 31, 2026

Subscribe | Read the Newsletter Version

Finding quality Halloween activities that do not involve store-bought plastic props or cheap jump scares can be surprisingly difficult. 

Whether you need a clever educational activity for curious kids or simply want to browse historic oddities on a quiet evening, the usual streaming queues and party lists often fall flat.

Google curates a dedicated hub inside its cultural archive that brings together hundreds of partner institutions to spotlight the bizarre, the ghostly, and the macabre across human history.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Explore the Museum of Frights on Google Arts & Culture.

Play Free Games on YouTube Without Installing Anything

Play Free Games on YouTube Without Installing Anything

YouTube now hosts an expansive library of lightweight, instant minigames you can play directly inside your browser or mobile app. Discover how to access YouTube Playables to test brainteasers, build music beats, and sharpen trivia skills without installing extra software.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 30, 2026

Subscribe | Read the Newsletter Version

Streaming video is great, but sometimes your brain wants an active break rather than another passive twenty-minute watch. 

Installing dedicated mobile games often means navigating pop-up ads, in-app purchases, and storage warnings on your device.

YouTube has quietly expanded an alternative that solves that problem: YouTube Playables. 

This built-in hub lets you jump into casual arcade games, puzzles, and creator-led learning challenges right inside the video interface you already use every day.

Here’s a Cool Tip: launch lightweight games directly on YouTube across desktop and mobile without installing any files or paying for subscriptions.

Your iPhone Has a New Way to Spot Scams

Your iPhone Has a New Way to Spot Scams

Your iPhone has a new security feature designed to recognize signs of scams before you make a payment or change sensitive account information. Learn how Apple's Impersonation Risk Detection works, where to turn it on, and why it could provide another layer of protection.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 29, 2026

Subscribe | Read the Newsletter Version

Imagine receiving an urgent phone call from someone claiming to represent your bank. They know your name, sound professional, and insist that someone is trying to steal your money.

Their solution? Transfer your savings immediately to a supposedly secure account.

You open your banking app and prepare to send the money. Everything looks legitimate, except for one important detail: The caller is a scammer.

Traditional security features might not catch this situation because you're the person authorizing the transaction.

Apple is addressing this problem with Impersonation Risk Detection, a security feature introduced in iOS 27 and iPadOS 27.

The feature helps participating apps recognize suspicious activity associated with scams, potentially giving you an opportunity to reconsider before making a costly mistake.

Here's a Cool Tip: Enable Impersonation Risk Detection to help supported apps recognize suspicious activity before you complete sensitive transactions.

Windows 11 Has New Emoji. Here’s How to Find Them

Windows 11 Has New Emoji. Here’s How to Find Them

Windows 11 is adding Emoji 17.0 support, bringing new choices to messages, documents, emails, and social posts. Better yet, Microsoft hasn’t changed the familiar shortcut you use to find them.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 28, 2026

Subscribe | Read the Newsletter Version

Ever have a reaction that deserves something more expressive than a thumbs-up?

Windows 11 has some fresh choices. 

Microsoft’s September 2026 preview update adds support for Emoji 17.0, with Microsoft highlighting distorted face, fight cloud, and hairy creature among the additions. 

The company also refreshed the appearance of several familiar choices, including saluting face, face with peeking eye, goose, lotus, and kissing cat.

The nice part is that Microsoft didn’t hide them behind a new app or complicated setting. 

You still open the built-in emoji panel with a familiar keyboard shortcut.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Press Windows + . to discover your new emoji.

How to Lock Your ChatGPT Chats and Keep Them Private

How to Lock Your ChatGPT Chats and Keep Them Private

Got a ChatGPT conversation you'd rather keep private? The new Locked Chats feature hides selected conversations from regular history and search while protecting access with a PIN or supported device authentication.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 27, 2026

Subscribe | Read the Newsletter Version

Keep Your Private ChatGPT Conversations Out of Sight

Picture this: You're sharing your screen during a work meeting when someone notices a personal ChatGPT conversation in your sidebar.

Maybe it's about your finances, a confidential project, a family surprise, or something you'd simply prefer to keep private.

Until recently, keeping those conversations out of sight often meant archiving or deleting them, or using Temporary Chat when you didn't need to save the discussion.

Now there's another option.

OpenAI recently introduced Locked Chats, allowing users to protect selected conversations with a four-digit PIN while keeping them out of regular chat history and search.

Unlike deleting a conversation, locking it preserves the discussion so you can return to it later.

Here's a Cool Tip: Lock sensitive ChatGPT conversations to keep them out of sight without losing them.

Make Your PowerPoint Slides Interactive

Make Your PowerPoint Slides Interactive

PowerPoint presentations don't have to be a parade of static slides anymore. Interactive Slides uses Copilot to create visual experiences that you and your audience can explore during a presentation.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 26, 2026

Subscribe | Read the Newsletter Version

You have probably sat through a presentation where a complicated chart or crowded timeline appeared on screen and everyone was expected to understand it instantly.

Microsoft is giving PowerPoint presenters another option.

Interactive Slides uses Copilot to create slides with visual elements you can explore during a presentation. 

Depending on what Copilot creates, you might expand a step, filter a chart, or move through a timeline instead of simply looking at a finished graphic.

The feature is particularly interesting for dashboards, project timelines, comparisons, business processes, and other subjects where revealing information progressively can help an audience follow the story.

There is one important catch. Interactive Slides are still rolling out. 

The rollout for PowerPoint on Windows and Mac in Current Channel and Monthly Enterprise Channel began in mid-October 2026 and is expected to finish by the end of October. 

The web rollout follows the same schedule.

Here's a Cool Tip: Ask Copilot to turn complicated information into a slide your audience can explore.

Feature Explanation

Talk Directly to Your Inbox with Gmail Live on Mobile

Talk Directly to Your Inbox with Gmail Live on Mobile

Finding specific details buried inside sprawling email threads usually requires tedious scrolling and pinching on small mobile screens. Gmail Live introduces a conversational voice interface that reads your inbox context and delivers spoken answers alongside direct source citations.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 25, 2026

Subscribe | Read the Newsletter Version

 

You are walking through an airport terminal carrying luggage, or standing in line grabbing morning coffee, when an urgent question pops into your head: 

Which gate did that connecting flight move to, or what time is that vendor proposal due? 

Opening your mobile email client and typing keywords into a tiny search bar is slow, awkward, and frustrating when you only have one free hand.

Google is addressing that friction directly by rolling out Gmail Live to mobile devices. 

Instead of forcing you to hunt through dozens of multi-threaded conversations, the mobile app now lets you talk back and forth with an AI voice agent that understands your actual inbox contents.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Tap the Live icon in the Gmail search bar to ask spoken questions and hear instant answers drawn directly from your email threads.

Google Chrome's New AI Protection Helps Stop Online Scams

Google Chrome's New AI Protection Helps Stop Online Scams

Google Chrome is getting smarter about detecting online scams, including fake virus warnings and dangerous instructions hidden on websites. Learn how its improved AI-powered protection works and the simple setting that can help you browse more safely.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 24, 2026

Subscribe | Read the Newsletter Version

You're browsing the web when a frightening warning appears. 

Your computer is infected, your browser needs an urgent update, or you must run a special command to fix a problem.

It looks convincing. 

But is it real?

Google Chrome is strengthening its defenses against these increasingly sophisticated online scams, and artificial intelligence is playing a bigger role.

Google made several improvements to Chrome's scam detection, including suspicious website warnings, expanded Gemini AI analysis, and protection against a deceptive technique called ClickFix.

These improvements help Chrome recognize potential threats before you fall for a scam.

Here's a Cool Tip: Turn on Chrome's Enhanced Protection to help protect yourself against the latest online scams.