Got To Glow

• Adobe's Leap: Integrating Generative AI into Creative Suites - Adobe's bold step in integrating generative AI into applications like Photoshop and Illustrator has set a precedent in the tech world. Users can now witness the magic of AI-powered content creation, automating repetitive tasks and unleashing unparalleled creative potential. The question that lingers: Why hasn't Microsoft's Office suite, the backbone of productivity, undergone a similar revolution?
• Microsoft Office's Generative AI delayed: As we navigate through 2024, Microsoft Office 365 users find themselves in a time capsule, where the suite's core applications—Word, Excel, and PowerPoint—remain untouched by the generative AI wave or any major design overhaul. While competitors race forward with innovations, Office 365 seems to linger in the shadows of its past, missing the transformative power that generative AI could bring to the table.

• Instant Content Generation: Effortlessly generate long-form content by providing simple text prompts.
• Diverse Writing Styles: Tailor the AI to produce content in various writing styles, catering to different audiences. 

Updated September 2026: the original version told readers to avoid fast charging altogether. That was too blunt, and Apple's own specifications do not support it. Corrected below.

Fast charging an Apple Watch sounds like the sort of convenience that must have a hidden cost. Plug it in for three quarters of an hour, get most of a day back, and somewhere down the line the battery pays for it. That is what I argued here originally.

Having looked at what Apple actually publishes, the picture is more specific than that, and the practical advice changes.

What fast charge is, exactly

Apple's fast charge support page sets out the requirements. You need the Apple USB-C Magnetic Fast Charging Cable, which is the one with the aluminium puck, and a USB-C power adapter. Apple lists its own 18W, 20W, 29W, 30W, 35W, 61W, 87W, 96W and 140W adapters, or a third-party USB-C adapter supporting USB Power Delivery of 5W or greater.

Fast charge works on Apple Watch Series 7 and later, Apple Watch Ultra and later, and Apple Watch SE 3. Apple's stated times to 80% are about 45 minutes on Series 7, 8 and 9, about 30 minutes on Series 10 and later, and about an hour on the original Ultra and Ultra 2.

Two things fall out of that list. The 20W figure everyone quotes is not a threshold, it is just the adapter most people own. And the cable matters more than the adapter, because an old charging cable will not fast charge no matter what you plug it into.

The temperature message is the system working

If you have seen charging pause with a message about the watch being too warm, that is protection, not a fault. Lithium batteries degrade faster when they are charged hot, so the watch declines to continue until it cools.

It usually means something environmental. The watch charging in direct sun, on a warm surface, under a pillow, or going straight on to the charger after a long workout in Indian summer heat. Move it somewhere cooler and the pause stops happening.

Treating that message as a reason to avoid fast charging is backwards. The message is the reason fast charging is safe.

What actually wears the battery

Charge rate is one factor among several, and not the biggest for most people.

Heat is the biggest, which is why the watch manages it. After that comes how long the battery sits at a very high or very low state of charge. A watch that lives on the charger at 100% for eight hours every night ages faster than one that is topped up in the evening and taken off.

Then there is simple cycle count. Every full charge and discharge uses a little life, which is unavoidable and is what the maximum capacity figure in Settings, Battery, Battery Health is measuring.

Fast charging contributes through heat. On a device Apple has designed, tested and thermally limited for it, that contribution is small compared with leaving it on charge overnight in a warm room.

So what should you actually do

Use fast charge when you need the watch quickly. That is what it is for, and refusing to use a feature you paid for to protect a battery that is designed to be used is a poor trade.

Leave Optimised Battery Charging on. It learns your routine and holds the charge below full until shortly before you normally take the watch off, which cuts the hours spent sitting at 100%.

Charge it somewhere cool and uncovered. Not under a pillow, not on top of a laptop vent, not in a sunny window.

And if you track sleep, charge in the evening rather than overnight. Forty-five minutes while you eat covers the next day and the watch spends the night on your wrist instead of at full charge on a dock.

The part I got wrong, and why it matters

Advice like "always charge slowly to protect your battery" travels well because it sounds cautious. It is also mostly folklore carried over from older laptop and phone batteries, and it costs people the use of a feature for no measurable benefit.

The honest version is less satisfying. Your Apple Watch battery will lose capacity over three or four years whatever you do, the charging speed is a minor input, and the way to get more life out of the device is to keep it cool and not store it at full charge. I would rather publish that than something tidier that isn't true.

If your watch is draining unpredictably rather than charging slowly, that is a different problem and the method for tracking it down is in this post on Apple Watch battery drain. When capacity has fallen far enough that a service is on the cards, the repair-or-replace arithmetic is in this one.

• Myopia Mystery: Myopia, commonly known as nearsightedness, is a vision condition where distant objects appear blurry. It's an ailment that often silently creeps into a child's life.
• Silent Progression: Myopia doesn't always come with obvious symptoms. Children might not even realize they have it until it significantly affects their academic performance.

• Academic Connection: Undetected and unmanaged myopia can lead to poor academic performance. Children may struggle to see the board, read textbooks, or participate in class activities.
• Role of Schools: Schools are not just centers of learning; they are places where children's overall development is nurtured. Mandating regular eye check-ups is a proactive step towards this.

• Identifying Silent Sufferers: Regular eye check-ups in schools can identify children with myopia early, even if they show no obvious symptoms. This early detection is crucial.
• Convenience Factor: Mandating eye check-ups in schools takes the burden off parents, who might not always recognize the signs of myopia in their children.
• Academic Performance Boost: With clear vision, students can actively engage in the learning process, leading to improved academic performance.

• Partnering with Eye Care Professionals: Schools can collaborate with eye care professionals to ensure comprehensive and accurate eye examinations for students.
• Fostering Healthy Habits: Regular eye check-ups also educate children about the importance of eye health and encourage them to adopt good practices.
• A Lifelong Gift: The benefits of early detection and intervention extend beyond school years. Healthy vision is a gift that keeps on giving throughout one's life.

As technology advances at a breakneck pace, we witness significant transformations in various aspects of our digital lives. From faster processors to sleeker designs, manufacturers are constantly pushing the boundaries to provide users with a more efficient and seamless computing experience. In recent years, we have witnessed a paradigm shift in connectivity with the widespread adoption of Type-C ports. In this blog post, we will explore how the rise of Type-C ports in laptops and mobile devices is rendering traditional USB 3.0 drives obsolete.

Emergence of Type-C Ports

• All-in-One Solution: Type-C ports, also known as USB Type-C, have become the new standard for data transfer and charging across devices. The appeal lies in their universality, as they offer a single connector that can handle multiple functions. Whether it's charging your laptop, transferring data, or connecting peripherals, Type-C ports provide a versatile and efficient solution.
• Welcome Change in Laptops: The advent of Type-C ports in laptops has been a game-changer. Modern laptops now feature these ports, offering users the convenience of reversible connectors and faster data transfer speeds. It eliminates the hassle of flipping USB connectors to find the correct orientation and ensures a more streamlined user experience.

Obsolescence of Traditional USB Drives

• Legacy of USB 3.0 Drives: For years, USB 3.0 drives have been the go-to option for external storage and data transfer. While they served us well during their time, the rapid adoption of Type-C ports has made them a legacy technology, inching them closer to obsolescence.
• Rising Popularity of Type-C Drives: With laptops and mobile devices embracing Type-C ports, it's only natural for external drive manufacturers to follow suit. Type-C drives are now becoming more prevalent in the market, offering users faster data transfer speeds and a seamless plug-and-play experience.
• A Shift in Manufacturing: As the demand for Type-C drives grows, traditional USB 3.0 drive manufacturers are faced with a choice - adapt or risk becoming obsolete. The shift in manufacturing from USB 3.0 drives to Type-C drives is already underway, as companies recognize the need to cater to the evolving preferences of consumers.

Implications for Users and Manufacturers

• A Seamless Future for Users: As Type-C drives become the new standard, users can look forward to a future where external storage and data transfer are seamless and efficient. With laptops, mobile devices, and external drives all featuring Type-C ports, compatibility issues will become a thing of the past.
• The Need for Adaptation: For traditional USB 3.0 drive manufacturers, the need to adapt and transition to producing Type-C drives is paramount. Embracing this change will ensure they remain relevant in the ever-evolving tech landscape.

Conclusion
In conclusion, the rise of Type-C ports in laptops and mobile devices has set in motion the obsolescence of traditional USB 3.0 drives. The all-in-one solution offered by Type-C ports, along with their faster transfer speeds and convenience, has propelled them to become the new standard in connectivity. As users continue to embrace Type-C drives, external drive manufacturers must adapt to this shift to remain competitive. In this age of rapid technological advancements, the evolution of connectivity brings us closer to a future where seamless data transfer and external storage are the norm.

Updated September 2026: three years on, Apple Watch still has no per-app battery breakdown. What has changed is the set of tools you can use instead, so this post now ends with a method rather than a complaint.

My Apple Watch has a habit of ending some days at 60% and others at 12%, with no obvious difference between them. Same wrist, same routine, same apps. That unpredictability is more annoying than short battery life, because you cannot plan around it.

The reason you cannot work out why is simple. Apple Watch does not tell you which apps used the battery.

What the Watch will actually show you

On the Watch, Settings then Battery gives you a graph of the recent charge history and when it was last charged. Tap Battery Health in the same place and you get maximum capacity, which is how much charge the battery holds now compared with when it was new. Apple's own battery health and usage page lists exactly this, and nothing more.

Compare that with the iPhone, where Settings, Battery lists every app with a percentage next to it and splits screen time from background activity. On the Watch there is no equivalent screen, and there is none in the Watch app on the iPhone either.

So when the battery falls off a cliff at three in the afternoon, you get a graph showing that it fell off a cliff at three in the afternoon. That is a record, not a diagnosis.

Why the gap matters more on a watch than a phone

A phone with a flat battery is a phone in your pocket. A watch with a flat battery stops tracking a workout halfway through, loses the sleep record for that night, and stops being the thing that opens your Mac.

The watch is also the device most likely to be running something you forgot about. A workout that never got ended. An app checking a live score. A complication on the face refreshing all day for data you glance at twice. Those are exactly the cases a per-app list would expose in five seconds.

The method that works without the data

Apple has not given us the list, so the only way to find a culprit is to change one thing at a time. It is slower than reading a screen, and it does work.

Start with the watch face. Complications refresh in the background, and a face carrying six of them is doing six jobs all day. Switch to a plain face for two days and compare the end-of-day percentage. This alone explains a surprising number of bad days.

Check for a workout left running. An unended workout keeps the heart rate sensor and GPS awake. It is the single most common cause of a watch that dies by lunchtime, and it produces exactly the pattern of one bad day among good ones.

Audit background refresh. In the Watch app on the iPhone, General then Background App Refresh, turn it off for everything you do not need updating on your wrist. Most third-party apps do not need it.

Look at notifications, not apps. Every notification wakes the screen and buzzes the motor. A chatty group chat mirrored to your wrist costs more battery than the app it comes from ever will.

Then use Low Power Mode deliberately. Apple's guidance on extending battery life covers it. It is best used as a planned choice for a long day rather than an emergency measure at 15%.

When it is the battery, not the apps

If maximum capacity has dropped a long way and the watch is several years old, no amount of app tuning fixes that. A worn battery gives you shorter days and a watch that shuts down under load, often in the cold.

At that point the choice is a battery service or a new watch, and it is the same arithmetic as any other repair. What the service costs against what the watch is worth working. On an older Series that is out of the update cycle, the replacement usually wins. On a recent one it rarely does.

The feature I still want

One screen. App name, percentage, background versus active. The iPhone has had it for years and nobody claims it has harmed the experience.

The argument against is presumably that measuring per-app usage on a device this small costs battery itself, and that the numbers would mislead more than they inform. I do not buy it. Give me the list and let me decide what to do with it. Until then, the change-one-thing method above is the honest answer, and anyone promising you an app that reveals Apple Watch battery usage per app is selling you a guess.

Charging habits are the other half of this, and the fast-charging question is covered in this post on 20W charging. If you are weighing repair against replacement on any Apple device, this one on what breaking actually costs is the place to start.

After much contemplation, I finally made the decision to replace my old 2012 MacBook Pro, which had unfortunately met its demise. It was time for me to embrace the advancements in technology and find a suitable alternative that would cater to my day to day needs. Through extensive research, I discovered the remarkable 14-inch MacBook M1 Pro, a product that not only exceeded my expectations but also proved to be an excellent choice even in the year 2023.

Discovering the 14-inch MacBook M1 Pro:
The 14-inch MacBook M1 Pro, introduced in 2021, caught my attention due to its outstanding features and capabilities. As I delved deeper into its specifications and reviews, it became apparent that this device was a force to be reckoned with.

Advantages of the M1 Pro:

• Powerful and Efficient Processor: One of the standout features of the 14-inch MacBook M1 Pro is its M1 Pro chip. This custom-designed Apple Silicon chip delivered exceptional power and energy efficiency, revolutionizing the performance of the MacBook that met my usage requirements. The integration of the M1 chip also ensures seamless multitasking, faster app launches, and overall enhanced productivity.
• Enhanced Performance: With the M1 Pro's advanced architecture and eight-core CPU, I knew I could rely on this laptop to handle even the most demanding tasks. Whether it's running resource-intensive applications, editing high-resolution videos, or working with complex data sets, the M1 Pro rises to the challenge effortlessly. 
• Impressive Battery Life: Battery life is a crucial aspect for any laptop user, and the 14-inch MacBook M1 Pro excels in this regard. Thanks to the energy efficiency of the M1 chip, I can comfortably work for hours without worrying about running out of power. The M1 Pro's battery life is truly remarkable, allowing me to stay productive throughout the day. 
• Retina Display and Improved Graphics: The MacBook M1 Pro boasts a stunning 14-inch Retina Pro-Motion display, offering vibrant colors, sharp details, and excellent viewing angles. Whether I'm watching movies, editing photos, or creating digital content, the display never fails to impress. Additionally, the M1 Pro's dedicated GPU delivers significant improvements in graphics performance, making it a great choice for creative professionals.
• Affordability and Discounted Price: One of the key factors that influenced my decision to purchase the 14-inch MacBook M1 Pro was its affordability, especially considering the steep discounted price available in 2023. Despite being released in 2021, the M1 Pro remained an attractive option due to its exceptional value for money. 
• Compatibility with Existing MacBook Ecosystem: Having used a MacBook for several years, I had accumulated various accessories and software that I wanted to continue using. The 14-inch MacBook M1 Pro seamlessly integrated into my existing MacBook ecosystem, allowing me to connect my peripherals, access my files, and utilize my favorite software without any compatibility issues. 
• Future-Proof Investment: Investing in a new laptop is not just about the present; it's also about ensuring its longevity and compatibility with future technologies. The 14-inch MacBook M1 Pro is built on Apple's advanced architecture, making it future-proof and capable of handling upcoming software updates and innovations.  
• Day-to-Day Usage and Practicality: When I was considering my old MacBook replacement, it's essential for me to evaluate how well it fits into my daily routine and usage patterns. Whether I was working in a coffee shop, attending meetings, or simply using it at home, the M1 Pro never failed to deliver a seamless and enjoyable experience. 

Decision to Purchase: 

After reviewing the benefits and features of 14-inch MacBook M1 Pro, I came to conclusion that this laptop was the perfect fit for my needs. Its powerful processor, enhanced performance, impressive battery life, and compatibility with my existing MacBook ecosystem made it an irresistible choice. Additionally, the affordability of the discounted price in 2023 sealed the deal. 

• Unboxing and Initial Impressions: When the eagerly anticipated package arrived, I eagerly unboxed the 14-inch MacBook M1 Pro. The sleek and elegant design immediately caught my attention. The attention to detail, from the precision-machined aluminum enclosure to the smooth edges and thin bezels surrounding the display, reflected Apple's commitment to craftsmanship. 
• Setting Up and Transferring Data: Setting up the 14-inch MacBook M1 Pro was a breeze. The migration assistant and Time-machine backup made it effortless to transfer all my data, applications, and settings from my previous MacBook Pro. Within minutes, I had everything up and running, allowing me to continue my work seamlessly. 
• User Experience and Performance: Using the 14-inch MacBook M1 Pro was a revelation for  me. The M1 chip's power and efficiency translated into lightning-fast performance, allowing me to handle multiple tasks simultaneously without experiencing any lag or slowdowns. Whether I was editing videos, running demanding software, or browsing the web, the M1 Pro's capabilities exceeded my expectations.

In conclusion, the 14-inch MacBook M1 Pro proved to be an excellent alternative to my deceased 2012 MacBook Pro. Its powerful processor, enhanced performance, impressive battery life, and compatibility with my existing MacBook ecosystem made it the perfect fit for my needs. Furthermore, the affordability of the discounted price in 2023 made it an irresistible choice. The 14-inch MacBook M1 Pro has undoubtedly surpassed my expectations and solidified its place as my go-to laptop for years to come.

Updated September 2026: this began as a rumour post before the iPhone 15 launch. The rumour was half right, so it has been rewritten around what Apple actually shipped and what it means if you own an older iPhone.

The ring/silent switch was on the original iPhone in 2007 and survived every redesign after it. Sliding it with a thumb, feeling the click, knowing the phone is silent without looking at it. For a piece of hardware that does one job, it earned its place.

Apple has now replaced it, and not all at once, which is the part worth understanding if you are deciding whether to upgrade.

What Apple actually did

The switch became the Action button on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max in 2023. The standard iPhone 15 and 15 Plus kept the physical switch for another year. From the iPhone 16 generation onwards, the Action button is on every model.

Apple's own buttons and controls page lists it plainly. Action button on iPhone 16 and later, iPhone 17e, iPhone 16e and iPhone 15 Pro. Ring/silent switch on the standard iPhone 15 and on iPhone 8 and earlier. Everything in between is where most people's phones actually are.

So my original guess that this would be a subtle change to the mute switch was wrong. Apple did not modify the switch. It removed it and gave the space to something programmable.

What you gain, and what you give up

The Action button can be set to silent mode, and out of the box it is. It can also run the camera, a Shortcut, the torch, Focus, Voice Memos, Translate or the magnifier. Press and hold, and it does that thing. That is a real gain if you have one action you perform constantly.

What you give up is the thing the switch was quietly good at. State. The old switch showed you, without waking the phone, whether it was silent, because you could see the orange and feel the position. A button has no position. You press it, you get a haptic tap and a banner, and then the phone looks exactly as it did before.

In a meeting, in a cinema, in a temple, that difference is not nothing. I have watched people press the Action button twice because they could not tell whether the first press worked.

If you own an iPhone with the switch

Two practical notes, because this site is about keeping what you have working.

A ring/silent switch that stops responding is a common fault on older iPhones, and it is a physical repair rather than a software one. Before paying for it, check whether the switch is genuinely broken or just stiff with pocket lint, which is more often the case than people expect.

If it is broken and the repair is not worth it on a phone of that age, you can still control silent mode. Settings, Accessibility, Touch, AssistiveTouch gives you an on-screen control that includes mute, and Control Centre carries a ringer toggle on recent versions of iOS. Neither is as good as the switch. Both mean a failed switch is an annoyance rather than a reason to replace the phone.

Is the Action button a reason to upgrade

On its own, no. It is a better idea than the switch it replaced, and it is nowhere near the top of the list of reasons to spend on a new phone. If your current iPhone holds a day's charge, takes photographs you are happy with and still gets iOS updates, the button is not the argument.

Where it does tip a decision is if you were already replacing the phone and were choosing between a model with the switch and one with the button. Take the button. Set it to the camera if you take a lot of photographs, or to a Shortcut if you have one routine you run daily. Leave it on silent mode if you mostly want what the switch did, which is a perfectly reasonable answer and the one most people settle on.

The wider pattern

Apple keeps trading fixed physical controls for programmable ones. The Touch Bar did this on the MacBook Pro and was eventually reversed. The Action button has gone the other way and spread across the line, which suggests Apple thinks this one landed.

I think it did, with one caveat that has not been answered. A physical switch tells you its state when the phone is face down on a table. Nothing on the current iPhone does that, and no amount of customisation replaces it.

If you are working out whether your current iPhone is worth keeping, the repair economics are in this post on what buying Apple really costs, and the general repair-or-replace arithmetic is worked through in this account of an old MacBook.

Updated September 2026: the original version claimed Chromecast has no Dolby Digital support. That was wrong, and Google has since discontinued Chromecast entirely, so this comparison has been rebuilt around the decision people actually face now.

If you have a television, a DTH set-top box running Android and a streaming stick in the back of a drawer, the question is not which one is better in the abstract. It is which one you should be using, and whether the one you own is worth keeping.

First, the correction

I originally wrote that Chromecast could not do Dolby Digital and that a DTH Android box was the clear winner on sound. That was not accurate. Chromecast with Google TV, the 4K model, handles Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, and passes surround audio through to a soundbar or receiver.

Where the confusion comes from is real, and it is worth explaining because it applies to every streaming device. What reaches your soundbar depends on four things in a chain. Whether the app has the surround track, whether the device can pass it, whether the HDMI connection supports it, and whether the television is set to pass audio through rather than downmix it to stereo.

Most people who conclude that a device "does not support Dolby" have a setting wrong somewhere in that chain, usually on the television rather than the streaming device. I was one of them.

Second, the thing that changed

Google discontinued the Chromecast line in August 2024 and replaced it with the Google TV Streamer. So the comparison in the original post is now between a DTH box and a product you cannot buy new.

That matters for anyone still using one. A discontinued device keeps working, but the clock on software updates is running, and streaming devices are only as good as the apps they can still run.

What a DTH Android box is genuinely better at

One input, one remote, everything in it. Live television and streaming apps on the same box, so nobody at home has to change the HDMI source to watch the news. In a household where not everyone wants to learn a second remote, that is the whole argument and it is a strong one.

It also handles the live channels a streaming stick cannot. Sport and news, in particular, are still where DTH earns its subscription for a lot of Indian homes.

What a dedicated streaming device is better at

Speed, updates and app availability. A dedicated streaming box is a computer that does one job, and it gets replaced and updated on its own cycle rather than whenever your DTH provider decides to refresh its hardware.

Operator-supplied boxes tend to age badly. The interface is built around the operator's own content, the app store is a subset of what Google TV offers, and updates arrive late or not at all. If your box has become slow, that is usually why.

Keep, replace, or add

Here is how I would decide, in order.

If your DTH box is quick and runs the apps you use, keep it. One box, one remote. Do not spend money to solve a problem you do not have.

If it is slow but you still watch live television, add rather than replace. Keep the DTH box for live channels, put a current streaming device on a second HDMI input for apps. You are not paying twice for the same job, you are giving each job the right device.

If you have stopped watching live television, replace. Cancel the subscription, use one streaming device, and take the saving. Check what you actually watched over the last month before deciding, because most people overestimate how much live television they use and underestimate the sport.

Before you buy anything, check the audio chain

If surround sound is the reason you are considering a new box, spend twenty minutes on the settings first. On the television, find the audio output setting and set it to pass through or bitstream rather than PCM or stereo. Check the soundbar is on an HDMI input that supports audio return. Check the app itself, because some titles simply do not carry a surround track.

Work through that and there is a fair chance the box you already own does what you thought you needed to replace it for. That is the cheapest upgrade available, and it is the one nobody sells you.

The same keep-or-replace thinking applies to everything else in the house. My version of it for laptops is in this account of an ageing MacBook, and the cost side of repairing rather than replacing is in this post.