Author: Press Room

PDF has become the default answer to “how do I get this into ChatGPT,” even when the original file would preserve far more useful structure. PDF is designed primarily to preserve a document’s fixed appearance. Although well-made PDFs can contain tags and logical structure, exports often flatten spreadsheets, slide decks, and other working files into pages that are harder to analyze reliably. Tables can lose clear column relationships, multi-column text may emerge in the wrong order, and formulas disappear behind their displayed values. Before I upload a PDF, I now ask what file existed before someone pressed Export. These six…

I’m a cynic when it comes to special editions. Hey, folks! Buy this thing you already own, but in a new colour! Just no. But also, I am weak. So when the chance arose to pit remakes of two 8-bit classics against each other, how could I refuse? Besides, this was a chance to settle that decades-old argument once and for all: which really is better, the ZX Spectrum or the Commodore 64? (I’m 100% certain there’s no way picking a favourite here will cause me any trouble among fans of either system!) Back in black I started with TheC64 Mini Black. Unlike previous…

When I first got access to Siri AI through Apple’s iOS 27 Developer Beta in June, I’ll admit I wasn’t overly optimistic. We’d been waiting two years by then, and, in all honesty, I thought Apple was unlikely to compete with the likes of Google Gemini and ChatGPT, which had years on poor old Siri by then. But then I tried Siri AI, asked it some pretty tricky questions to see if I could catch it out, and it turns out I was wrong to underestimate it. Siri was the first personal assistant, after all, and while Gemini, Alexa and…

Generally, physical media beats streaming content. The maximum bitrates supported by a disc will outperform those offered by the best streaming services. This is how a lower-resolution disc can appear better than a movie or TV show streamed in 4K. The three main physical media disc standards are DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K UHD Blu-ray — but not every 4K UHD Blu-ray release is created from a 4K source. Many films use a digital intermediate in the finishing process with a 2K resolution, which is then upscaled to create a 4K UHD Blu-ray disc. That begs the question: are 4K UHD…

If you’re a Netflix subscriber, you can always be sure you’ll be able to find new content to watch. Last weekend, there wasn’t much in the way of new original content, but there were plenty of older movies and shows being added to the platform. This time around, Netflix is bringing us lots of stuff you won’t be able to get anywhere else, from reality series to literary adaptations and beyond. Let’s Marry Harry Streaming right now Harry Jowsey gained some notoriety after appearing on a different Netflix dating series called Perfect Match. Now he has a reality series all…

Since the heatwave hit, like everyone else, I’ve suddenly become interested in all things refrigeration – namely portable air con units and cool boxes. Who wants to feel like a sticky mess at home or drink a warm Coke on the beach, when tech offers us alternatives? Igloo’s Playmate KoolTunes cooler, $140/£234, piqued my interest because it doesn’t just keep your food and drinks cool, but it also brings the party, doubling up as a Bluetooth speaker. What’s the story with the Igloo Playmate KoolTunes cooler? Quite simply, it’s a 13-litre cool box and a boombox – two boxes in…

Recently, WhatsApp revealed it would enable users to add others using usernames – breaking the cycle of WhatsApp accounts being tied to a phone number. Interestingly, you won’t be able to browse for other users – you will instead need to know their complete username so they will have to tell you themselves. Although the feature isn’t officially launched yet, WhatsApp is enabling you to reserve your username now, providing someone hasn’t grabbed the same thing already. Reserving a username isn’t currently available on WhatsApp Web or Desktop so you need to use your phone to do it. It’s also…

Back in January, I was crouched on the CES show floor making laser blaster noises with a Lego X-wing, utterly sold on the idea of Lego Smart Brick. Six months on, with the Star Wars launch sets built, tested, and largely gathering dust, and a batch of new Pokémon sets now sitting on my son’s shelf, I’ve got a very different, and much more complete, picture of these new tech-pack bricks. What are Lego Smart Bricks? For anyone catching up – Lego Smart Brick is Lego’s new interactive building system, built around a brick that looks just like a standard…

You’re in an aluminium tube, 35,000 feet in the air, doing 550 miles an hour, and somehow you’re streaming a 4K movie better than on your sofa at home. That’s the experience you should get when you fly on a plane equipped with Starlink. Several commercial airlines have now started installing the SpaceX Wi-Fi technology, including Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, United Airlines, Air France, SAS, Qatar and British Airways, to name a few, while others, such as American Airlines and Lufthansa, have announced plans to use it.  Some airlines are further along in their rollouts than others – Virgin has Starlink…

1996. Ewan McGregor goes swimming in a Scottish toilet, The Spice Girls launch Girl Power and a sheep gets cloned. Oh, and some other things happen too, like the mighty Stuff magazine making its debut. So now the mag’s in the year of its big three-oh, I thought it’d be fun to pick 30 key tech events from the past 30 years, including the launches of revolutionary smartphones, cars, gaming gear and more. And, no, Will Smith dubiously saving the world by uploading a virus from an Apple PowerBook to an alien mothership isn’t one of them. Sorry, Hollywood. DVD spins into view…