Make Your AirPods Sound Better With Custom EQ in iOS 27

Make Your AirPods Sound Better With Custom EQ in iOS 27

Want more bass in your music or clearer voices in your favorite podcasts? Apple's Custom EQ feature lets you adjust the sound of compatible AirPods, with your preferences saved directly to the headphones.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

November 5, 2026

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Give Your AirPods a Sound Makeover

Ever listen to your favorite song and wish it had a little more bass? Or struggle to hear the voices in a podcast because the music seems too loud?

Your AirPods may have a solution.

Apple's Custom EQ feature gives owners of compatible AirPods more control over how their music, podcasts and other audio sound.

Instead of relying exclusively on Apple's recommended audio settings, you can adjust bass, midrange and treble to suit your preferences.

Even better, your adjustments are stored on your AirPods, so they carry over when you connect to other paired devices.

Here's a Cool Tip: Customize your AirPods' sound with the built-in equalizer in iOS 27.

Microsoft Edge Now Launches Faster on Windows 11

Microsoft Edge Now Launches Faster on Windows 11

Microsoft has reduced the time it takes to reopen Edge on supported Windows 11 PCs when the browser is already running. The improvement works automatically on qualifying systems, so there is no new feature to find or setting to enable.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

November 4, 2026

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You click a link or select Edge from the taskbar, but the browser takes a moment to appear. 

That short delay becomes more noticeable when your computer is already juggling several applications.

Microsoft is addressing that pause with accelerated app launches, a Windows capability now supported by Edge. 

Most qualifying users should see a 15% launch-speed improvement, with gains of up to 33% under heavy multitasking. Those measurements apply when Edge is already running.

The improvement requires Edge 150 or later and Windows 11 version 25H2, 26H1 or 26H2 with KB5127936 or a later update. 

Support began rolling out with Edge 150 and is now available on systems that meet those requirements.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Check Edge and Windows for the updates needed to get faster launches.

Experience Interactive Learning With Gemini Immersive Explorations

Experience Interactive Learning With Gemini Immersive Explorations

Learning complex subjects often requires more than just reading plain text on a screen. Google recently introduced Gemini Immersive Explorations to give students and curious minds an interactive, visual way to understand difficult concepts.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

November 3, 2026

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Many students struggle to visualize abstract concepts like the molecular structure of life or the immense scale of deep space. 

Textbooks and standard search results provide facts, but they often fail to connect the dots in a way that truly clicks for visual learners. 

Google has recognized this gap and is introducing a new educational feature within its AI assistant to bridge it.

In late October 2026, Google rolled out Immersive Explorations inside the Gemini app. 

This tool moves beyond standard text responses to offer an interactive encyclopedia experience. 

Users can click through 20 curated subjects, seeing high-quality visuals and peeling back layers of information to see how things work. 

Whether you are helping a child with a science project or just expanding your own knowledge, this feature turns passive reading into active discovery.

Here's a Cool Tip: Visually explore complex topics layer by layer using Gemini Immersive Explorations.

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.