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mardi 28 avril 2026

This Mid-Range Portable Projector With Detachable Speakers Is $160 Off Right Now

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The Anker Soundcore Nebula P1 portable projector has dropped to $639 from its usual $799, and price-trackers show this is the lowest it has reached so far. Here, the hinge-based body does most of the heavy lifting—instead of stacking books or adjusting furniture to get the angle right, you tilt the projector head itself until the image lines up with your wall or screen. It sounds simple, but in practice, it makes setup faster and less frustrating, especially in smaller rooms.

The detachable speakers add to that flexible setup. Each one pushes 10W and can be placed closer to where you are sitting, which creates a wider soundstage than you would expect from a compact projector. Around the back, the port selection keeps things simple with HDMI 2.1, USB-A, AUX, and USB-C for power, which is enough for a console, laptop, or streaming stick. The software side runs on Google TV, and the included remote has a built-in microphone along with dedicated buttons for YouTube, Netflix, and Prime Video, so jumping between apps feels quick. The bigger limitation is portability. There is no internal battery, so using it outdoors or in a different room means carrying a power source, which takes away some of the convenience the design suggests.

As for the picture quality, the 650 ANSI lumen brightness of this projector works best in a dark room, where colors look clean and bright scenes have a decent punch. Turn on the lights, though, and the image starts to lose impact quickly. Also, while the Soundcore Nebula P1 outputs at 1080p using pixel-shifting and looks sharp for most content, fine text and small UI elements can appear slightly rough around the edges. Setup is mostly hands-off, with auto keystone and focus running at startup, but features like screen fitting and obstacle avoidance still depend on the Nebula app instead of happening directly on the device—it gets the job done, though it is not as seamless as fully automatic systems.




Microsoft Is Testing a Way to Delay Windows Updates Indefinitely

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Windows users contend with a lot of updates. There's a new update every month on the stable channel, and every week on the Windows Insider channel. But not all updates are created equal. Some are mission-critical, with important security patches you won't want to miss. On the other hand, some can create issues themselves, introducing bugs or new features you don't want.

Until now, there wasn't much you could do when an update showed up. You could try to delay, but you'd be forced to install it a week later, sometimes in the middle of important work. With the latest Insider update, however, Microsoft is trying to fix that. Now, the company is testing a roundabout way to delay updates forever (though from a security standpoint, you shouldn't), as well as a process for installing updates that won't disrupt your workflow.

How to delay Windows updates forever

In the Windows Insider update rolling out this week, you can pause updates for up to 35 days at a time. That doesn't mean you have to update your PC once those 35 days are up, however. You can keep doing this manually indefinitely. There are no limits. When you have the option on your end, go to Settings > Windows Update > Pause Updates. You'll see a new date picker here to extend the update. Here, you can choose a date you want Windows to install that update—perhaps after the deadline for an important project, so you can be sure that the update won't interrupt your work.

You'll need to enroll your PC in the Windows Insider program if you want to try this new feature out, however. Microsoft has not officially rolled it out in a public Windows update, so unless you want to join Microsoft's beta program, you'll need to wait and see if the company decides to release this feature in the near future.

Pause Windows updates date menu.
Credit: Microsoft

Why you shouldn't delay updates forever

There are some caveats here. First, you'll have to do this manually each time to extend the pause period. Second, there's no option to cherry-pick which updates get delayed. It's just one option to pause updates, which can include multiple pending updates on your PC, even for drivers or security updates. When you pause updates, you lose out on all of it.

The monthly Windows update isn't just about new features you may or may not want: It also includes critical security updates that patch vulnerabilities and help protect your computer from attacks. In addition, it fixes longstanding bugs and issues, and introduces updates at the firmware and driver level that help improve the performance of your GPUs, memory, and peripherals. You can use this new "Pause Updates" feature to decide when exactly to install a monthly update (perhaps after waiting for a week or two), but from a security standpoint, it's not a good idea to delay updates indefinitely, just because you can.

Other changes to updates on Windows 11

You'll also be able to skip new updates when you're first setting up your Windows PC. During setup, you'll see a new Update Later button, which should get you to your desktop faster. When you do eventually install the update, the experience should be better than before. To reduce update fatigue, Microsoft is now trying to coordinate security, driver, and feature updates so they all appear together once a month. You'll also get a detailed view of all available updates in the Windows Update section. In addition, "Shutdown" and "Restart" will soon be available at all times—even when there is a pending update. You won't be forced into the "Update and restart" cycle just because you've delayed updates before.

Shutdown and Restart options even when a update is pending.
Credit: Microsoft


10 Hacks Every Microsoft Edge User Should Know

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Microsoft Edge is one of the most popular browsers on the planet. The spiritual successor to Internet Explorer, Edge is a modern browser based on Google's Chromium platform. That means you can use it with all modern Chrome extensions, along with a bunch of exclusive features that other browsers may not have. I've used Edge on Windows for quite a while, and these are my favorite hacks that I've found so far:

Edge's "Drop" feature is an easy way to send stuff from your desktop to mobile devices, and vice versa. Drop works by storing files on OneDrive, so you'll need to sign in to the same Microsoft account on all devices to use this feature effectively. It's not as fast as Apple's AirDrop since it uses cloud storage, but Drop is much better for asynchronous sharing. This means your devices don't have to be unlocked and on the same wifi network when you want to share things.

You can access Drop by opening Microsoft Edge on desktop, clicking the three dots in the top-right corner, and going to More tools > Drop. Install Edge on any devices you want to use Drop with (PCs, Macs, Android phones, iPhones, iPads, etc.) and make sure you sign in to your Microsoft account. Now, you can "drop" anything in Drop, and it'll appear on all your devices. Note that Drop isn't easily visible on Edge for mobile devices. You need to open the menu, select the All Menu option, and use the Edit feature to replace any one toolbar item with Drop.

Use Edge's built-in task manager to kill resource hogs

Edge's task manager.
Credit: Pranay Parab

Whenever Edge slows down, use the browser's built-in task manager to locate the problem. I find this better than using Windows' Task Manager (or Mac's Activity Monitor): Browsers have dozens of processes running, making it difficult to identify the cause of a slowdown. With the Edge task manager, you'll only see browser-related processes. Press Shift-Esc to access this, or go to the three-lines menu, followed by More tools > Browser task manager. Here, focus on Tabs & extensions. It neatly highlights the system resources each tab or extension is hogging. When you've found the culprit, select it and click End task. You can easily disable a heavy extension in the browser without closing tabs and worrying about losing your data.

You can even use the search box in the task manager to locate certain tabs, which is useful for those of us who open hundreds of tabs in the browser. The "Browser" tab in the task manager highlights processes related to keeping the browser running, which is best for technically experienced users to identify browser issues. Most people will find what they need in the "Tabs & extensions" section.

Use this shortcut to open two tabs side-by-side

Microsoft Edge has a feature called "Split screen," which lets you open two tabs side by side, without opening a new window. This feature arrived on Google Chrome long after Edge shipped it. I love Split screen, but my only complaint is that it's buried under the three-dots menu by default. You can change this by clicking the three dots, then heading to Settings > Appearance > Toolbar, and enabling Split screen. This adds a "Split screen" button to the toolbar, making the feature easy to access.

Once you've done that, open any tab, click the Split screen button, and you'll see the two tabs side by side. You can use this feature to pair sets of tabs together, like Google Docs with YouTube to take notes while studying. Edge preserves all of your Split screen tabs as long as the window is open, so you don't have to worry about setting up Split screen tabs repeatedly. When you're in Split screen, you can click the three dots in the top-right corner of either tab to configure this feature to your liking. You can swap the two tabs' positions, or switch to a vertical split-screen layout.

Try vertical tabs to free up screen real estate

Vertical tabs are the superior choice for all desktop browsers. It moves the tabs list to a single pane on the left, and expands the available screen space for your content. This means less scrolling, a bigger frame for watching videos, and generally more optimal use of screen real estate. You can enable this in Microsoft Edge by going to Edge settings > Appearance > Tabs, and enabling Show vertical tabs. You should also enable Hide title bar in vertical tabs for a streamlined look, and Collapse pane in the tab bar to reduce the width of the vertical tab bar.

Use AI tab grouping to organize your tabs automatically

Try using Edge's AI tab grouping to organize your unwieldy number tabs. It's not as good as manually making tab groups, but when you're overwhelmed with more tabs than you can reasonably handle, this is a great strategy to sort out the mess. To use it, click the down arrow in the top-left corner of the browser's window, and select Organize tabs. This feature groups tabs by subject (News & Media, Finance & Investment, etc.), and allows you to drag and drop tabs to customize your groups.

Use "energy saver" to reduce slowdowns

Microsoft Edge has an energy saver mode that automatically puts background tabs to sleep. This will reduce the chances of a browser slowdown when you have lots of open tabs, and also extends your battery life by an average of 25 minutes, according to Microsoft. To enable the feature, go to Edge settings > System and performance > Performance, and turn on Enable energy saver.

Turn off "Startup boost" to speed up your old PC

Edge's Startup Boost feature in settings.
Credit: Pranay Parab

Startup boost is a great feature for anyone with PCs or laptops with powerful hardware. It keeps Edge running in the background with minimal resources, so the app can launch faster each time you open it. However, it's not ideal for older computers, or for users who dislike apps running in the background after they've closed them. If your computer is on the older side, you're better off without Startup boost. You can disable it by going to Edge settings > System and performance > System.

Disable Copilot to remove unnecessary AI features

While Edge has some useful AI features like tab organization, there are a whole bunch of features I never use. If you're like me, take a minute to disable all unnecessary AI features. First, go to Edge settings > AI innovations, and disable Copilot Mode. This option may not be enabled on all accounts, so if you don't see the toggle, you can move on.

Next, go to Edge settings > Appearance > Copilot and sidebar > Copilot. Turn off Show Copilot button on the toolbar. On the same page, click Manage Copilot settings > Privacy, and turn off Context clues, which stops the AI from using your browsing data for answers. You should also go to Edge settings > Start, home, and new tab page, and disable Copilot new tab page.

You can also go to Edge settings > Languages and disable all features that mention AI in the description. This includes Offer to translate videos on supported sites and Use 'Help me write' writing assistant on the web. Finally, if you don't want to use AI tab organization either, you can turn it off by going to Edge settings > Privacy, search, and services, and disabling Organize your tabs.

Use this setting to ask Edge to read articles out loud

Edge has a bit of a hidden feature that lets it read articles to you (and, in my opinion, the voice sounds pretty natural). This is buried under the three-dots button > More tools > Read aloud. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Shift-U (or Cmd-Shift-U on Mac), and the feature is also available on mobile platforms.

Use "Visual Search" to search for any item on the webpage

Visual Search lets you right-click to start a search for anything on a given webpage. For instance, you can reverse image search an item you spot in a YouTube video, or select a landmark in a picture to learn more about it. When you want to use this feature, be aware that it takes a screenshot of the webpage and sends it to Microsoft. This is a privacy concern, but to be fair, Microsoft warns you about that, and requires you to agree to a privacy statement if you want to use the feature. You can right-click any webpage in Edge, and select Visual Search to get started. The feature is also available on mobile versions of Edge.



These Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones Are $50 Off Right Now

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The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) are down to $399 (originally $449), which is the lowest price they’ve hit so far, according to price trackers. That drop makes them easier to consider, even with stronger competition this year from models like Sony’s WH-1000XM6. Bose has not changed the formula much in this second generation—you still get an over-ear design with plush padding and a firm but comfortable clamp for a secure fit. The only noticeable tweak is that the frame now uses a glossy metal finish instead of a matte one, which gives it a slightly more premium feel without changing how it wears.

The feature set is broad and mostly well-executed—these headphones support Bluetooth 5.4 with multipoint pairing, so you can stay connected to a laptop and phone at the same time without juggling settings. There is also a USB-C connection for wired listening, which unlocks lossless audio, something many competitors still skip. Plus, they power on automatically when you put them on and slip into a low-power mode when left flat, which is a small quality-of-life upgrade you notice quickly in daily use. Battery life is rated at 30 hours with active noise cancellation turned on, which is in line with most premium options. Bose also lets you charge and listen through USB-C at the same time, a practical addition for long work sessions.

Performance-wise, noise cancellation holds up well across different environments, taking the edge off airplane rumble, muting bus engines, and pushing most café chatter into the background, so you don’t have to keep adjusting volume just to stay immersed, notes this PCMag review. As for the sound, these headphones deliver a rich, bass-forward profile while keeping vocals and detail intact. Tracks with heavy low-end, like electronic or hip-hop, come through with depth and punch without overwhelming the mix, and vocals sound full, though the slightly recessed midrange means guitars and some instruments don’t cut through as sharply. Also, while you do get presets and noise control modes in the companion app, its simple three-band EQ does not give you much room to fine-tune the sound.




lundi 27 avril 2026

Here's What We Know About OpenAI's Rumored Smartphone

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There are many generative AI apps and services out there, but ask most people what "AI" means to them, and they'll likely say "ChatGPT." As of this article, the chatbot remains the most-downloaded free app on both the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store, beating out competitors like Claude, Gemini, and Meta AI. But it's one thing to download a free AI program; it's another entirely to buy a phone built around that AI.

What would a ChatGPT phone look like?

On Monday, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo made headlines by reporting that OpenAI might be working on its own smartphone. As part of this process, Kuo says OpenAI may be collaborating with MediaTek, Qualcomm, and Luxshare—major players in different elements of smartphone manufacturing. MediaTek and Qualcomm would be responsible for manufacturing OpenAI's smartphone chip, while Luxshare may help design and develop the smartphone itself.

The report suggests OpenAI may have a different take on the smartphone concept with this product. Unlike iPhones and Androids, which largely run on individual apps, OpenAI's phone may rely on AI to accomplish similar tasks. Agentic AI is currently all the rage, so it would make sense for OpenAI's goal to be for its AI to perform tasks and functions on behalf of the user. Instead of a notation app, maybe you'd ask the AI to dictate and store your thoughts away until you need them again; perhaps the "Phone" app would be replaced by an AI that could connect you to whomever you'd like to speak to; even a traditional web browser could look like ChatGPT retrieving the sites and information you're interested in.

Replacing apps with agentic AI would require an enormous amount of processing. Kuo thinks that OpenAI's plan is to develop two different types of models: one that runs on-device, perhaps to handle simpler requests, and one that runs in the cloud, maybe to handle more demanding tasks and functions. These models could work together to monitor the user at all times, and understand the user's context when they issue new requests.

When would OpenAI roll out its own phone?

This is still an early discussion, according to Kuo. OpenAI may not finalize plans with these companies until the end of this year, or by Q1 of 2027. As such, ChatGPT phones may not start mass production until 2028. That's not to say that OpenAI will wait two years to unveil any products at all. The company has previously stated that it will announce a device in the latter half of this year, perhaps the product ex-Apple designer Jony Ive is developing for OpenAI. Rumors suggest this device could be earbuds that would, of course, work with ChatGPT.

While OpenAI has been open about its plans to develop actual devices in concert with its AI services, this report from Kuo is the first real indication yet that the company is working on an iPhone and Android competitor. That might make sense from OpenAI's view: Right now, the vast majority of ChatGPT users are running these apps on their smartphones, so why not disrupt that market with a phone designed by ChatGPT's makers? It also seems like evidence that, despite the push for smart glasses and subtle wearables, OpenAI still considers the smartphone the definitive device for the foreseeable future.

The issue as I see it, however, is that the smartphone is definitive becauseof its current systems and designs. People like their iPhones, and they like their Androids, not just because they can run ChatGPT, but because they can run all of their other daily apps as well. They're not buying a phone because of ChatGPT: they're installing ChatGPT on the device they already use. You're not going to convince someone who relies on iMessage, FaceTime, and Apple Maps to switch to a phone that revolves around ChatGPT, just as you won't budge a customer who uses Google Messages, Google Meet, or Google Maps—not to mention all the other apps and games that they may use every day.

I don't think we're going to be using iPhones and Androids until the end of time: Something is going to disrupt the status quo, and convince people to move on to the next big thing. I just seriously doubt that thing is going to be a "ChatGPT Phone."

Disclosure: Lifehacker’s parent company, Ziff Davis, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.



I Tried Copilot’s New Tools for Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, and I’m Not Sure I Will Again

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Google's Gemini AI has recently become more agentic and capable inside Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides—and now Microsoft is pushing out a similar upgrade for Copilot. These features have been in testing for a while, but they're now more widely available to individuals and companies who pay for any of the Microsoft 365 subscriptions.

Essentially, Copilot in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint can now do more on its own—not just offering advice and help, but actually taking over the business of creating and editing itself. There are a host of ways to use this, but here are just a few examples I tested to give you an idea of what's possible.

If this kind of AI interference isn't for you, you can hide Copilot from view inside the Microsoft Office apps. On Windows, Choose File > Options > Copilot and uncheck Enable Copilot; on macOS, open the app menu (e.g. Word), then Preferences > Copilot.

Copilot can draft and edit documents in Word

Copilot in Word
Copilot in Word will do most of the writing for you, if you let it. Credit: Lifehacker

Create a new document in Word, and via a prompt bar at the top, Copilot asks you to "Describe what you'd like to draft with Copilot"—so I asked for a 200-word introduction suitable for the foreword of a book on AI chatbots, written in a tone that's friendly, engaging, and accessible to anyone no matter what their technical level. You can also, via the + (plus) button, give it an existing file to work from.

In seconds, I had a generic and stilted intro, processed from the mixing together of millions of human-crafted words and sentences. I then got a second prompt box for refining the text. I asked for my intro to be made more formal and verbose, and Copilot got to work, looking up longer and fancier words in its internal thesaurus.

Click the Copilot button in the ribbon menu, and you get a side panel for requesting all kinds of edits and tweaks—whatever you can put in a prompt, Copilot can respond to. If your boss has said your report needs to be focused more on client benefits and real-world examples, Copilot can take care of it. You then get chance to review all of the edits that have been made, and accept or reject them.

It's maybe worth saying at this point that I would never get AI to write anything for me, or even suggest edits or come up with alternative headlines or article ideas—not just because I think I can do these tasks better, but also because I'd like to engage my brain as much as possible for as long as possible. If you're happy with your work containing machine-written text, however, Copilot is certainly capable of it (and will absolutely make fewer typos than a flesh-and-blood human).

Copilot can build and edit charts in Excel

Copilot in Excel
Copilot in Excel can create entire spreadsheets or make tiny edits. Credit: Lifehacker

I'm much less familiar with spreadsheets than I am with articles, so I was interested to see how Copilot could help me out in Excel. There's no prompt box at the top of a blank sheet, like you get with Word documents, but you can call for AI assistance by clicking the Copilot button on the ribbon toolbar.

Here I asked Copilot to create a demo spreadsheet showing 10 kids and their running times in a school sports day, putting the data in a simple table and in a chart. If you're a more serious Excel user than I am, you can get Copilot to combine data from existing spreadsheets and reports, as well as putting together spreadsheets from scratch.

Copilot carried out my instructions with a reasonable amount of precision, though the chart was rather hit-or-miss and could've done with some neatening up (Copilot tried and failed to do some tidying on this). Follow-up edits were carried out well, and if you're exact about the changes you want, Copilot takes care of them for you.

I'm not sure I'd trust Copilot with company financials, for example, but as far as spreadsheets-via-prompts goes, I was mostly impressed. Instead of manually tallying up rows and columns, tweaking formatting, or trying to figure out the exact formula you need for the job, you can get Copilot to take over.

Copilot can create slideshows in PowerPoint

Copilot in PowerPoint
Copilot in PowerPoint creating and editing slides. Credit: Lifehacker

Finally, I took a look at what Microsoft's AI could do for me with a PowerPoint slideshow. Again, the Copilot button on the ribbon toolbar is the way into the AI editing capabilities, and this time I asked it to make a slide deck promoting Lifehacker. I wanted to test its ability to pull up information from the web and to put together an entire slideshow from scratch (something I've previously tried with Claude Design).

I answered some questions about the length and tone of my slideshow, and then Copilot got to work. Overall, the AI was up to the challenge, albeit in that generic, template-like way that we're all now familiar with when it comes to these synthetic creations. Producing an accurate series of slides out of nothing in seconds is impressive, though, even if I think I could've done the job better given an hour or two.

Prompt-based edits work fine. Want to change the color of a background? Just say so—it's quicker and easier than messing around with menus and toolbars, though perhaps not as satisfying. Whether you want to change the entire tone of a presentation or tack on an extra two slides of summaries, Copilot will do it.

I can see these tools being useful, whether to get the basics done with the minimum of fuss, or to automate advanced edits and processes that would otherwise take up a substantial amount of time. I can also imagine many users just sticking with their current workflows. For me, I think I'll carry on doing my own Word, Excel, and PowerPoint tasks for now.



These Ryobi Tools Are up to 60% Off Right Now

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We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

If you’re in the market for tools, you might have noticed that they can be expensive, especially if you don’t have batteries. Here are some deals from Home Depot on Ryobi cordless tools that can help you save some of your DIY budget and get your projects done quickly.

These Ryobi cutting tools are up to 53% off

The Ryobi 18-volt oscillating multitool is on sale for $79, 53% off its usual price. The tool includes a two-amp-hour battery, but no charger—so this is a good deal if you already have one. With the right blades and accessories, this tool can be used for cutting metal, wood, PVC, or drywall. You can also use it for sanding and buffing with the sanding attachment, and it’s really handy for getting into tight corners.

The Ryobi 18-volt, 7 ¼-inch circular saw is currently $139, 40% off its regular price. The tool comes with a high performance two-amp-hour battery but not a charger, so again, you’ll need an 18-volt Ryobi charger to use it. A circular saw can be used either for cross cutting boards or for making long, straight cuts, so it’s useful to have on hand, especially if you don’t have a table saw.

The Ryobi 18-volt 5 ½- inch circular saw is now $89, 50% off its regular price. It comes with a high performance, two-amp-hour battery. You can use this saw for cross cutting or making longer cuts, but the smaller blade does make it a little more difficult to cut a straight line over a longer distance. A smaller, lighter-weight saw is great for making quick cuts, especially if you’re working somewhere that doesn’t have power for a corded chop saw.

This Ryobi sheet sander is 60% off

The Ryobi 18-volt ¼-sheet sander is on sale for $59, 60% off its typical price. It comes with a high performance, two-amp-hour battery, but not a charger, so you’ll need a Ryobi 18-volt charger to use it. This sander is a good tool for removing old paint or smoothing out a rough board, so it can be used for all kinds of DIY home improvement and woodworking projects.



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