Author: Press Room
Summary The Shokz OpenFit Pro brings active noise reduction to open-ear headphones for the first time. Three mics plus an intelligent algorithm let you tune noise reduction or switch to full open-ear mode. The OpenFit Pro also featured improved sound quality and wear detection, something other OpenFit models lack. Shokz has been my go-to headphone brand for several years now. I originally bought my Shokz so that I could better hear traffic when running. However, they’re so comfortable that it didn’t take long before I was wearing them all day. The one downside, of course, is that they let a…
We need to talk about the traffic cone in the room. For almost 20 years, VLC media player has been my go-to “install this first” app, especially given its top-secret features. It’s the digital Honda Civic of media players. It’s not particularly sexy, and the dashboard is a bit cluttered, but it will get you from point A to point B without breaking down, regardless of what file format you throw in the trunk. However, if you care about how the drive actually feels—if you want frame-perfect video screenshots and playback, near-instant launch times, and an interface that doesn’t look…
CES has never been a perfect crystal ball. Not every idea basking in the annual Las Vegas spotlight goes mainstream, and plenty of breakthroughs arrive quietly elsewhere. Still, when the same themes keep cropping up across laptops, TVs, smart home tech, and hardware platforms, it’s usually a decent indication of the latest tech trends. We got exactly that at CES 2026 – a collection of ideas that suggest how devices might evolve over the next few years. We’ve rounded up some of the key trends below, for a digestible glance at what the tech world could bring to your door…
Writer’s block isn’t a dramatic creative crisis. Most of the time, it’s quieter and lonelier than that. You either stare at a blank page or a mess of words you can’t see clearly through. Procrastination suddenly feels better. I have tried out a few tricks in Microsoft Word to beat writer’s block. After ChatGPT came along, prompts have been a magic pill. For me, the right prompt isn’t about “generating content” and sacrificing critical thinking. It’s about changing how you think about the task. These seven prompts attack writer’s block from slightly different angles. 1 Clarify the fuzzy ideas in…
There’s hidden detail in your favourite songs and the best DACs are here to help you hear it. Whether you’re streaming on Spotify or curating your MP3 archive, a DAC is a digital-to-analogue converter that converts digital files to analogue sound waves your ears can hear. Most audio devices have one built-in already, but if you’re a keen-eared listener looking to sonically upgrade the best noise-cancelling headphones, these DACs below have the power to amp up the detail, bass and volume. From pocket-sized solutions to bigger desktop DACs, these plug-in babies are a real treat for the ears. If you’re…
When Lego first showed me Smart Play in action at CES 2026, my immediate reaction was pretty simple: this feels magical. Not techy. Not attention-grabbing. Just… fun in the way Lego usually is when it’s at its best. That magic has been a long time coming. According to Tom Donaldson, SVP at Lego’s Creative Play Lab, the idea of Smart Play dates back around eight years. The first concept emerged then, but turning that idea into something kids could actually play with took far longer. “The really hard technical development probably started about six years ago,” he explains. “Then, a…
When Lego first showed me Smart Play in action at CES 2026, my immediate reaction was pretty simple: this feels magical. Not techy. Not attention-grabbing. Just… fun in the way Lego usually is when it’s at its best. That magic has been a long time coming. According to Tom Donaldson, SVP at Lego’s Creative Play Lab, the idea of Smart Play dates back around eight years. The first concept emerged then, but turning that idea into something kids could actually play with took far longer. “The really hard technical development probably started about six years ago,” he explains. “Then, a…
Every day in 2025, millions of shoppers scroll past businesses with empty review sections, silently questioning their credibility. Yet the fix lies not in begging, but in understanding the human mind. BrightLocal’s 2025 Local Consumer Review Survey reveals that 68 per cent of customers will leave a Google review when asked personally, while Trustmary’s meta-analysis shows compliance soaring to 72 per cent when the request feels effortless. These figures expose a psychological truth: people crave reciprocity, consistency, and ease. Master these three forces—drawn from decades of research by Robert Cialdini and others—and a 30-second ask becomes a five-star pipeline. The…
Most employees in the UK see a tax code printed on their payslip, P60 or P45—but few actually understand what it means. Yet this seemingly simple set of numbers and letters determines how much tax you pay, whether you’re receiving the correct personal allowance, or if HMRC believes you owe additional tax. For many, especially those with multiple incomes, benefits in kind, or pension income, the tax code silently adjusts their take-home pay each month. Understanding it is the first step to ensuring your employer or pension provider is deducting the right amount of tax—not too much, not too little.…
Prana recuperators are modern ventilation systems that provide a constant flow of fresh air into the premises and exhaust stale air, while retaining heat. They help create a comfortable microclimate in a house, apartment, or office, preventing the appearance of mold, mildew, and condensation. Prana 150: The most popular model. Smallest hole diameter and lowest performance, ideal for small rooms or offices up to 20 m²; Prana 200 G: Performance is approximately the same as the Prana 150, but with an increased diameter, which increases the heat exchanger area and, as a result, improves heat exchange. A short base (up…