Computeractive

I think most people view AI as they did the internet back in the late 90s. They’re intrigued and excited by its potential, but confused too. They realise there are some fantastic tools to master, but also plenty of dross to avoid. That dross has a name: ‘AI slop’. Robert Irvine explains what it means in his excellent Cover Feature, where he recommends the best 20 tools to use, and another 20 that are total rubbish. The latter includes the Chinese chatbot DeepSeek. It looked promising back in January, but there have been far too many privacy red flags since. My favourite chatbot is still ChatGPT, but I’m beginning to use Google Gemini and Grok too. And for creating images, I think Google’s ImageFX has the edge over Opera’s Aria.…

The button that lets users switch back to the old ‘Classic’ version of Outlook is broken for some users, leaving them stuck on the new edition. The error will frustrate those who find the new tool hard to use. Critics say it’s too slow, is poorly designed and lacks many key features they like in the Classic version, including a unified inbox for multiple accounts. Microsoft released the new Outlook in 2022 as an app on its Store (www.snipca.com/50772). It also gave those using the Classic version the chance to switch by clicking the ‘Try the new Outlook’ button at the top right of the tool. It then pre-installed the new Outlook on new Windows 11 computers, and made it part of the 23H2 update, released in October 2023. In…

You’ll soon be able to draw straight lines and shapes in Snipping Tool using the new ‘Draw & Hold’ feature. It’s available to Windows Insiders signed up to the Canary and Dev Channels, which is where Microsoft releases tools early for testing. It revealed how it worked in a blog post (www.snipca.com/54212), showing a roughly drawn rectangle and arrow converted into neat and straight lines (see screenshot). If you hold your cursor or digital pen (stylus) still for a moment, Snipping Tool will recognise that you want it to convert what you’ve drawn. You can resize, move or adjust your shape however you like, before clicking away to confirm the change. The option is in version 11.2502.18.0 of Snipping Tool. Check which one you have by clicking the three dots…

Apple has released the fastest ever iPad Air at the same price as the previous model. The seventh-generation Air (pictured) costs £599 for an 11in screen and £799 for 13in (both 128GB), the same as the sixth generation launched last May. There are also 256GB, 512GB and 1TB editions for both sizes, priced £699, £899 and £1,099 respectively for 11 inches, and £799, £999 and £1,299 for 13 inches (see www.snipca.com/54180). But Apple has upgraded the processor from M2 to M3, claiming it’s 12-15 per cent more powerful – and twice as fast as the M1 chip in the fifth generation from 2022. Apple’s M range of processors use the company’s ‘system on a chip’ (SoC) technology to combine all the CPU, GPU, memory and other vital components on one…

Google has finally added BBC iPlayer to its TV Streamer device (pictured) six months after launch. Anyone with a TV Streamer can now download the iPlayer app through their device or from the Google Play Store. It comes with 4K, letting you watch BBC shows that are broadcast in Ultra HD – see the full list at www.snipca.com/54150. BBC One and Two have also been added to the TV Streamer’s Channels tab, making it easier to switch to live content. The TV Streamer, Google’s replacement for Chromecast devices, launched in September without the iPlayer app due to what the BBC called a “technical issue”. This probably referred to the fact that it hadn’t passed the BBC’s strict compatibility tests to guarantee the iPlayer works on it. In Issue 705 (page…

CHECK YOU’VE GOT RIGHT PART AT iFIXIT Repair website iFixit (www.ifixit.com) has launched a ‘compatibility checker’ to help you buy the correct tech part. Find the part in question, then click ‘Compatible with your device?’ and select your device. You’ll see one of three results: green ‘This fits’ (pictured), brown ‘This might fit’ and red ‘This does not fit’. Read more at www.snipca.com/54163. LISTEN TO PODCASTS WITHOUT AN ACCOUNT You can now listen to podcasts on Pocket Casts without creating an account. It applies to the online podcast player (https://play. pocketcasts.com) and the player you can download to your PC. Creating a free account gives you features such as syncing playback across devices. Read more at www.snipca.com/54160. GOOGLE REMOVES MALICIOUS MONEY APP Google has removed a malicious app offering financial…