Tech Advisor - June 2023

CONTENTS
13
NEWS 28 Samsung Galaxy A54 5G

4 Windows 11’s incoming 38 Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+
presence sensing options stop 52 Avira Prime for Windows
apps spying on you 57 Enpass
6 AI can crack most passwords
faster than you can read AI
this article 62 10 practical tasks you can do
9 Microsoft Edge puts Bing’s with ChatGPT
AI image generator at your
w}iÀÌ«Ã 62
11 Update Chrome now to protect
yourself from zero-day exploit
REVIEWS
13 Asus Zenbook 14 Flip
OLED (2023)
21 MSI Prestige 14 Evo (2023)
2 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023 Bottom cover image: Credit: Getty Images/kontekbrothers
88
Credit: Getty Images/ktsimage

68 Best AI Art generators: 101 How to block blue
Bring your dreams to life light on Windows 11
83 Opinion: AI chatbots aren’t 104 How to check your laptop’s
search engines. They’re battery health
crypto bros 109 Opinion: Every time I use
Windows 11, I wish I was
FEATURE using Windows 10
88 }Ì>w}iÀ«ÀÌ}\
The secret, insidious way 68
you’re tracked online
WINDOWS 11
94 6 Windows 11 settings
worth changing now
99 Take full control of
your keyboard with this
handy Windows tool
JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 3

NEWS
Windows 11’s incoming

presence sensing options
stop apps spying on you
A new Windows beta build includes a toggle that allows users to manually
disable presence sensing. MICHAEL CRIDER reports
P
resence detection is a broad term privacy issues associated with it. To help
that means your gadget can tell address them, Microsoft is exposing a
when you’re using it, and in some ‘Presence sensing’ setting in the latest
cases, even whether or not you’re beta version of Windows 11.
paying attention. It’s a useful tool – for Bleeping Computer reports (fave.
example, Windows Hello webcams co/41C99SC) that the setting has
use simple face scanning to replace appeared in the Privacy & Security menu
login passwords – but it also has some of Windows 11 version 22624.1610,
4 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

now available in the Beta
channel to Insider testers
(1.). The toggle only
applies to Windows and
apps that call directly on
the HumanPresenceSensor
series of APIs. That means
that third-party tools
using a proprietary system
1.
might be able to engage
in presence detection
using cameras, microphones, or other
sensors even if the setting is disabled.
Presence detection can be used
for things like logging in or keeping
the screen active by detecting eye
motion, or automatically locking it
when you step away. But it’s also
possible to report more sensitive
data, like exactly how many minutes
a remote worker spends away from
their desk per day. Presence sensing
is also a fairly intensive background
process for hardware – disabling it
might save you some battery life or
CPU power, depending on how it’s
being implemented.
Whether or not the privacy
setting will make it to a full release
of Windows 11 remains to be seen.
But with more and more laptops and
tablets including hardware capable of
presence sensing, it seems like a smart
inclusion for user privacy.

NEWS
Credit: Getty Images/matejmo

AI can crack most
passwords faster than
you can read this article
ƂÀÌwV>Ìi}iViÃ>VViiÀ>Ì}Ìi>LÌÞÌVÀ>VÜi>«>ÃÃÜÀ`Ã
quickly. ALAINA YEE reports
I
f you didn’t already believe that weak The experiment, which was run
passwords could be cracked easily, LÞVÞLiÀÃiVÕÀÌÞwÀi-iVÕÀÌÞ
>ÀÌwV>Ìi}iViÃiÀiÌ«ÀÛi Heroes, involved PassGAN, a new kind
Ìi«ÌìwÌÛiÞ°ƂƂ`ÀÛiÌ of password cracker. Unlike typical
cracked over half the passwords fed to password cracking tools, which lean
it in under a minute – and 65 percent wÝi``>Ì>ÃiÌÃ]*>ÃÃƂ Ã`ÀÛi
in under an hour. by two neural networks: one taught

to generate passwords,
and the other taught to
distinguish between the
wÀÃÌ½Ã¼v>i½«>ÃÃÜÀ`Ã
and passwords taken
from real data breaches.
As it’s trained, this kind
of generative adaptive
network learns to offer
more sophisticated
password predictions,
allowing for faster and This chart shows how the mix of numbers, letters, and symbols
widespread cracking. affects cracking time.
For Home Security
Heroes’ test, PassGAN was fed over often said by security experts (and
15 million passwords from the 2009 those who report on security, ahem).
RockYou breach, a data set often First, don’t reuse passwords. Second,
used to train password cracking tools. change your passwords every so
Passwords under four and over 18 often, especially for hacked websites.
characters were excluded. In no surprise Finally, use passwords at least 15
to anyone, passwords with low character characters in length, with a mix of
count and little character variation were at least two letters (upper and lower
cracked instantly. But even slightly case), numbers, and symbols in the
more complex passwords could be string – and don’t follow any obvious
determined much quicker. If simple or predictable password patterns.
enough, an 11 character password also You can read more about Home
fell immediately. Overall, the tool was -iVÕÀÌÞiÀiÃ½w`}ÃÌiÀ
able to crack 51 percent of common blog post (fave.co/3LcGApC), but the
passwords in under a minute, 65 biggest takeaway just may be how much
percent in under an hour, 71 percent in randomness in a password can affect
a day, and 81 percent in a month. cracking time. We at Tech Advisor have
>Ãi`ÌiÀw`}Ã]i said for years to use long, random,
Security Heroes offers several pieces and unique passwords for each site,
of advice, two of which are repeats but this experiment drives the point

NEWS
home. Home Security Heroes says that

a password with 18 lower and upper
case letters, symbols, and numbers
would take 6 quintillion years to guess.
(A quintillion is one-billion billions, so in
other words, that’s a six followed by a
heck of a lot of zeros.)
However, that’s right now. An
18-character password likely won’t solve
our security needs forever. AI models
learn rapidly – you’ve probably seen
ÜÌiÀ>««V>ÌÃÌ>ÌÕÃi>ÀÌwV>
intelligence, such as AI-generated
art and AI chat bots, are growing in
leaps and bounds. Just imagine that
applied to data from never-ending
hacks. The only way to stay secure is
by employing the strongest passwords
you can manage – and there’s help
for that in the form of password
managers. Not only can they generate
random, unique passwords for you, but
they’ll help change your credentials
when it’s time to yet again step up
your password strength. Be sure to
turn on two-factor authentication
wherever you can, too, just in case
your password does go down.

Microsoft Edge puts
Bing’s AI image generator
>ÌÞÕÀw}iÀÌ«Ã
When stock art isn’t enough, you make your own AI-generated images
within Edge. ALAINA YEE reports
B
ouncing between apps and lets you generate custom AI art right
programs can become a time within the browser.
suck – a problem that Microsoft Available for desktop users, Bing
Edge’s newest features want to nip Image Creator generates four images
in the bud. Splashiest among them is for download in response to a prompt;
the integration of Microsoft’s Dall-E for example, “smartphone with a thick
powered Bing Image Creator, which case but broken screen”. For users

NEWS
who’ve had the feature roll out to them, Meanwhile, right-clicking on images
ÞÕ½ii`ÌwÀÃÌ>``ÌÌ `}i½Ã in Edge now offers a new option, Edit
sidebar, or the strip of icons running image, that opens up an in-browser
along the right side of a browser tab or overlay with the selected image.
window. Afterward, getting started is Ƃ`ÕÃÌiÌÃiÀÌ>Ì]VÕÀwÌiÀÃ]
merely a single click in the sidebar. cropping, and more are available, with
But the new Drop and image editing Ìi>LÌÞÌÃ>ÛiÞÕÀw>«À`ÕVÌ
tools are equally helpful – if not more >vÌiÀÞÕ½ÀiwÃi`ÜÌÞÕÀÌÜi>Ã°
so. You may not craft presentations For our round-up of the best AI
or write articles that require bespoke image generators, see page 68.
images, but you probably collect
photos, notes, and other bits of
information that you’re sending yourself
across platforms to keep track of. Edge’s
Drop feature gives you one central
location to corral everything. Also
accessed through the sidebar, you’ll
need to log into a Microsoft account
to get started. After, you can access
whatever you upload across devices.
The image editor will scale to your browser resolution, so on a

high-res monitor, this image blew up to nearly 300 percent. The
w>ÀiÃÕÌÜ>ÃVÀÃ«ÜiÛiÜi`>Ì>À>£ää«iÀViÌâ°

Update Chrome now to
protect yourself from
âiÀ`>ÞiÝ«Ì
/iìÌ>ÃvÜ>ÌÌ>ViÀÃ>ÛiLiiiÝ«Ì}ÌÃy>Ü>ÀiÌÞiÌ
Ü]LÕÌ`½ÌÜ>ÌÌ>««ÞÌiwÝ°ALAINA YEE reports
A
ttackers have been exploiting vulnerability requires a patch that should
>iÜ>Ày>Ü
Àiq be now available to most users of
the kind that can be used to Chrome and other Chromium browsers
run malicious code on a compromised (like Edge). This vulnerability is being
device. Revealed last month alongside exploited in the wild so you’ll want to
ÌiÀii>Ãiv>iiÀ}iVÞwÝ]Ìi update Chrome pronto.

NEWS
If the update has already

been pushed to your copy
of Chrome, you should
Ãii>Ã>ÌwV>Ì
in the upper right of your
window (as will Edge users).
Click on the button to
apply the patch and restart
the browser. Otherwise,
follow these instructions Our version of Chrome didn’t download the update until
to manually verify your we manually triggered it.
browser version number
and apply the patch: your version number matches the entire
string – when we checked one of our
Chrome: Click on the three-dot settings PCs with Chrome installed, we were
icon on the far right of your menu bar. still on 112.0.5615.86, which meant the
Then choose Help > About Google patch had not yet been applied. For
Chrome. You can also instead type Edge users, the same process applies,
chrome://settings/help into LÕÌÌiw>ÛiÀÃÕLiÀÜLi
your address bar. 112.0.1722.48.
This exploit relies on a type
Edge: Click on the three-dot settings confusion bug in Chrome’s V8 JavaScript
icon on the far right of your menu bar. engine, which we’ve seen in the wild
Then choose Help and feedback > LivÀi°/Ã>ÌiÃÌÃÌ>ViÃÌiwÀÃÌ
About Microsoft Edge. You can also one of 2023. Reported by Clément
instead type edge://settings/help Lecigne of Google’s Threat Analysis
into the address bar. Group last month, it affects Windows,
Linux, and macOS. Details of how
If you’re not yet up to date, attackers have been manipulating this
Chrome should automatically begin bug have yet to be unveiled, though, as
downloading the patch as soon as ÃÕÃÕ>Üi>}ÃiÛiÀÌÞy>ÜÃwÀÃÌ
you open the About Google Chrome uncovered. The delay of an explanation
screen. You should then be updated to gives those affected time to apply the
version 112.0.5615.121. Be sure that wÝqÜVÜÞÕÜÌ`°

Asus Zenbook
14 Flip OLED (2023)
Price: £1,499 from fave.co/3LbEXIu
A
sus releases dozens of laptops a starting price that puts it among
every year, although Zenbook the most expensive 2-in-1s you can
is one of its most established buy, the device has a lot to live up to.
product families. The line began life Unfortunately, despite plenty of
back in 2011, and it’s been one of positives, it falls just short of those lofty
the leading names among thin and expectations. Here’s our full review.
light laptops ever since.
Well over a decade later, the DESIGN
Zenbook 14 Flip continues that Asus has played it safe with the
tradition, packing a host of premium Zenbook 14 Flip design, yet it still
features into its 1.5kg chassis. But with manages to stand out from the crowd.

REVIEWS
That’s primarily due to

the back of the device,
which features a matte
wÃ>`ÕµÕi
angular pattern.
But this is a double-
edged sword: it looks
great, particularly when
catching the light, but
w}iÀ«ÀÌÃÕ`}iÃ
and dirt can quickly The Asus offers decent connectivity.
accumulate. You might
not have thought about cleaning the latter doesn’t stand out in the same way.
back of your laptop very often, but it’s /i£{«ViÀÌ>ÞÃÌµÕ>wiÃ
something you’ll need to consider here. as an ultrabook, although it’s not as
I really like the futuristic design thin or light as I was expecting. A
and so am happy to accept this is a 1.5kg chassis is heavier than plenty of
trade-off, but not everyone will be as 14in laptops, while 15.9mm thick is
enthusiastic about it. The effect is more nothing remarkable.
pronounced on the Jade Black version ÜiÛiÀ]ÌiÀi>ÀiLiiwÌÃÌ
compared to Pine Grey, although the these design choices. The weight
helps it feel both premium and
robust, so it’s no surprise to see
military-grade durability here. I
didn’t see any signs of fragility
during my testing time,
and it should mean the device
holds up well long-term.
This is particularly important
on a convertible laptop, where
you’re regularly bending
the screen almost a full 360
/iÀi>ÀvÌiìÛVi>Ã>>ÌÌiwÃ>`ÕµÕi degrees. Despite two relatively
angular pattern. small hinges, the 14 Flip doesn’t

viiyÃÞ>Ì>°/iÀiÃÃ}ÌÞÀi ÌiÀi½Ãw}iÀ«ÀÌÃiÃÀÌi£{
of a wobble than a regular clamshell Flip. It’d be nice to have an alternative
laptop while using the keyboard, but it to the Windows Hello face unlock,
doesn’t get annoying while typing. although the latter is relatively fast
Deciding against a razor-thin chassis and reliable.
also means there’s room for plenty The 14 Flip does have one more
of ports. Both USB-C ports support trick: a virtual number pad built into
Thunderbolt 4 for fast data transfer, the trackpad. Activated via a long press
charging or connecting to an external of the top-right corner, it works as
display. They’re joined by a full-size advertised, but feels unnecessary and
HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm audio jack, and a much clunkier than the usual physical
USB-A on the opposite side. If I’m version. Overall, I found the virtual
being really picky, a second USB-A number pad to be totally pointless, but
port would’ve been nice, but this is luckily, you can easily forget it’s there.
enough for most situations. Fortunately, the trackpad is much
more impressive for its usual purpose. A
KEYBOARD large surface area means you can easily
A 14in display means there’s plenty of highlight lots of text in one go, yet it
room for a full-size keyboard, and it’s a remains precise enough to select very
very good one. Despite relatively little Ã«iVwV>Ài>ÃvÌiÃVÀiiÌ°ƂÃ>
key travel, I could comfortably use it for alternative to connecting a mouse, it
several hours at a time. Each key feels ìwÌiÞìÃÌiL°
clicky and responsive.
The keyboard
offers three levels
of backlighting. The
lowest setting is great
for a room that’s
very dark, while the
maximum allows you
to comfortably see the
keys in much brighter
environments.
Disappointingly, 7iÜiÀi«ÀiÃÃi`LÞÌivÕÃâiiÞL>À`°

REVIEWS
Laptop manufacturers are slowly to use. Being an OLED, it delivers

transitioning to offer at least Full both rich, vibrant colours and deep
HD (1080p) quality, but Asus has blacks, making content consumption
let the 14 Flip lag behind. It’s still feel genuinely immersive. That high
frustratingly stuck at 720p, and further resolution means there’s plenty of
burdened by washed-out footage detail, too – I couldn’t ask for much
which struggles for exposure. While more from a laptop display.
usable, I wouldn’t recommend this I can’t verify Asus’s claim of a 0.2
laptop to anyone who wants to use a second response rate, but it certainly
built-in webcam for video calls. feels fast. That’s relevant for both
touch and stylus input, with the
DISPLAY Asus Pen 2.0 included in the box.
Display is where the Zenbook 14 Flip The latter’s apparent 4,096 levels of
really excels. It’s a 14in, 2,880x1,800 pressure sensitivity gives you a real
OLED touchscreen, giving it the feeling of control, and it’ll be weeks
16:10 aspect ratio that’s common on before you need to make use of the
modern laptops. But a high refresh rate USB-C charging.
screen is far less common. It’s a 90Hz The only real display disappointment
panel here, although you’ll need to turn is brightness. Up to 550 nits of
it on in Settings – 60Hz is selected by >`ÛiÀÌÃi`«i>LÀ}ÌiÃÃÃwivÀ
default. Once activated,
I saw an immediate
`vviÀiViyÕ`ÌÞÜi
moving around Windows
11. Everything feels that
bit slicker, and I didn’t
notice a drop-off compared
to even faster 120Hz
laptop panels. The effect
is less noticeable than on
smartphones, though.
Even without this
feature turned on, the
14 Flip’s display is a joy The 14 Flip’s display is a joy to use.

almost all indoor environments, but you Ì>Ã]ÌÕ}°Þ`>ÞÜÀyÜVÕìÃ
can forget about using it in the garden lots of web browsing, word processing,
on a sunny day. emails and the occasional video – with
Audio is surprisingly punchy, despite all often running at the same time. The
ÌiÃÌiÀiÃ«i>iÀÃwÀ}ÃÕ`vÀ 14 Flip can cope with all these tasks
the bottom of the device. With an without breaking a sweat. Combined
impressive amount of detail and a with that 90Hz refresh rate, it’s a superb
decent hit of bass, the 14 Flip can option for most everyday situations.
hold its own against almost any slim In benchmarks, the 14 Flip keeps
laptop. The speakers here won’t replace pace with a model of the Dell XPS 13
dedicated audio equipment, but they’re Plus that’s around £500 more expensive.
}Ài>ÌvÀÜ>ÌV}ÌiVV>Ã>wÀ But performance is similar to both a
TV show – especially in tent mode. regular clamshell Zenbook and four of
the best 2-in-1 laptops you can buy,
PERFORMANCE all of which are around £200 to £400
Convertible laptops are often less cheaper in the UK.
powerful than equivalent regular
clamshell devices, and that’s the case Geekbench 5 (multi-core)
here. Performance on the 14 Flip is very Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023):
good, but not quite top notch. 8,332
While you do get Intel’s latest 13th- Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED (2022): 7,714
gen CPUs, the Core i5-1340P and Core Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 (2023): 6,898
i7-1360P are far from the most powerful Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (Intel): 6,489
ÌiÀ>}i°9Õ½vÌiw`*ÃiÀiÃ Samsung Galaxy Book 2 360: 6,226
chips on thin and light devices, but the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio: 5,219
ÃiÀiÃÃÃ}wV>ÌÞÀiV>«>Li°
But the bigger limitation on PCMark 10
performance is the integrated graphics. Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023):
The 14 Flip uses Intel Iris Xe rather 5,539
than a discrete GPU of any description, Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED (2022): 5,738
making it unsuitable for most content Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 (2023): 4,969
creation and demanding games. Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (Intel): 4,235
Alongside 8- or 16GB of DDR5 RAM, Samsung Galaxy Book 2 360: 4,777
it can handle almost every other regular Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio: 5,558

REVIEWS
Battery life and about would’ve been nice, but you

Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023): 13 can always hotspot from your phone.
hours, 18 minutes
Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED (2022): 17 BATTERY LIFE
hours, 55 minutes Asus describes the Zenbook 14 Flip’s
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 (2023): 9 hours, 25 75Wh battery as “class-leading”,
minutes although a similar capacity can be
Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (Intel): 11 found in many rivals.
hours, 1 minutes The good news is that this laptop
Samsung Galaxy Book 2 360: 14 hours, delivers above-average battery life that
58 minutes will satisfy all but the most demanding
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio: 15 users. You should be able to get a
hours, 22 minutes full working day from a single charge,
although it’s worth staying near a power
Charge in 30 minutes source from late afternoon onwards.
Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023): In our video loop battery test, the
34% device lasted a respectable 13 hours
Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED (2022): 37% and 18 minutes on a single charge.
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 (2023): 37% This simply serves as a measure of
Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (Intel): 34% screen on time, as the brightness was
Samsung Galaxy Book 2 360: 46% set to a relatively low 120 nits and
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio: 37% volume muted. But it means the 14 Flip
You can choose

between 512GB and 1TB
of SSD storage, although
the former will be plenty
for most people.
There’s nothing
remarkable here in terms of
connectivity, with Wi-Fi 6E
and Bluetooth 5 but no 4G
or 5G support. The option
to stay connected while out This Asus delivers above-average battery life.

ranks as one of the
longer-lasting laptops
we’ve tested.
When it comes
to charging, both
USB-C ports support
Power Delivery fast
charging. Using
the supplied power
adapter (Asus doesn’t
specify its wattage), I
got 34 percent battery
back in 30 minutes. The Zenbook 14 Flip runs Windows 11 Home.
A full charge took
somewhere between 1 hour 45 minutes offers everything most people need.
and 2 hours. Considering the size of the Frustratingly, there are also
battery, that’s pretty good. occasional pop-up ads from the MyAsus
companion app. It does at least offer
SOFTWARE tools for managing display, sound,
The Zenbook 14 Flip runs Windows 11 battery and fans, but isn’t the most
Home, and it’s very close to the version intuitive to use.
ÞÕ½w`VÀÃvÌ½ÃÜ-ÕÀv>Vi ScreenXpert is genuinely useful,
devices. However, the same can be said acting as a hub for capturing content
for almost every Windows laptop, with and moving around the operating
the software tweaks nothing like you’ll system. But most of the tools it offers
see on Android. are already available elsewhere in
And in terms of extra pre-installed Windows 11, and it probably won’t
apps, Asus is one of the worst. change the way you use the device.
Undoubtedly the most annoying is The bloatware can easily be
antivirus software McAfee, which opts removed, but it shouldn’t be there in
you into a free trial and then repeatedly ÌiwÀÃÌ«>Vi°
bugs you to pay for a subscription. The rest of the Windows 11
Antivirus pop-ups are particularly jarring experience will be familiar to many
when the free Microsoft Defender app people by now. Frequent updates

REVIEWS
since launch mean the touchscreen poor webcam and annoying bloatware.
experience is impressive, while the Anyron Copeman
option to run desktop apps on such a
versatile device is great. It’s far from SPECIFICATIONS
perfect, but other shortcomings are • 14-inch (2,880x1,800) 90Hz, OLED
consistent across all Windows 11 devices. display
Microsoft delivers software updates • Windows 11 Home
to all devices at roughly the same time, • Intel Core i7-1360P processor
so you won’t have to wait long after • Intel Iris Xe GPU
general availability. If Windows 12 • 16GB RAM
arrives as rumoured in 2024, the 14 Flip • 512GB/1TB SSD
will almost certainly meet the hardware • 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A
requirements – even if they’re stricter • 2x Thunderbolt 4
than Windows 11. • 1x HDMI 2.1
• 3.5mm audio jack
VERDICT • FHD camera with IR function to
The Zenbook 14 Flip OLED impresses support Windows Hello
in many key areas, but it doesn’t stand • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e dual band
out in the way you might expect from • Bluetooth 5
such a premium convertible. • 75Wh battery
Its stunning 90Hz OLED touchscreen • 311.5x223.4x15.9mm
is a real highlight, especially when • 1.5kg
combined with convertible functionality
and the stylus included in the box.
The keyboard and trackpad are
also very good, despite a couple of
unusual design decisions. Battery life
and charging speeds are solid, as is the
plentiful port selection.
However, impressive everyday
performance won’t translate to the most
demanding workloads due to a lack of
discrete GPU or Intel’s most capable
CPUs. You’ll also have to put up with a

MSI Prestige 14 Evo (2023)
Price: £1,099 from fave.co/3KPnQuX
T
he Prestige 14 Evo (B13M) is the claims also stand up well to scrutiny. But
2023 refresh of MSI’s line of work- there’s stiff competition in the business
centric Windows laptops aimed laptop space, with the likes of Huawei,
primarily at business users. With prices Microsoft and Apple all offering great
starting at around the £1,000 mark alternatives. The MSI Prestige 14 Evo
they’re reasonably priced, considering isn’t an easy recommendation, but it is
you’re getting a machine with 13th gen an impressive device that’s still worth
Intel processors, up to 32GB of LPDDR5 considering.
RAM, and a 512GB SSD.
Other key selling points include DESIGN
Thunderbolt 4 ports and Wi-Fi 6E, the The MSI Prestige 14 Evo might not
latest standards for wireless Internet win prizes for originality – it’s a fairly
and data transfer. MSI’s lofty battery life standard-looking silver machine – but

REVIEWS
that doesn’t mean it’s not a nicely single Type-A USB 3.2 (Gen2) port,
designed laptop. microSD card reader, 3.5mm audio
With the exception of the thin black jack and physical shutter toggle for
plastic bezel, every edge and surface is the webcam. Not bad at all.
covered in aluminium. The metal chassis The webcam sensor is tiny, and
feels cool to the touch, and gives the you’ll likely forget that it’s there most
Prestige 14 Evo an air of, well, prestige. of the time. It’s capable of recording
It’s slim and light enough to be easily 1080p at 30fps video and quality is
slipped into a bag and carried around, actually not bad, and it can unlock
but most of the weigh is concentrated in the Prestige 14 Evo via Windows
the end of the deck, so holding it in one Hello. But it’s not good at picking
hand isn’t the easier. out your face in low light.
The Prestige 14 Evo features a
dropped hinge, meaning that when KEYBOARD
its opened on your desk, the hinge The MSI Prestige 14 Evo’s keyboard
lifts the deck up off the surface of the is one of the better ones I’ve used on
ìÃ°/Ã>ÜÃvÀLiÌÌiÀ>ÀyÜ>` a 14in laptop. The layout is generally
a more comfortable typing angle than well-spaced, with most things easily
traditional laptops. ÜÌÀi>V]>`Ìiw}iÀ«ÀÌ
On the left-hand side, there’s an scanner cleverly located due south
HDMI 2.0 port and two Thunderbolt of the arrow keys.
{«ÀÌÃ°"ÌiÀ}Ì]ÞÕ½w`> Each backlit keycaps is nicely sized,
and exhibits a pleasant,
springy action, which
gives the impression of
more travel than the keys
actually have. MSI hasn’t
said exactly what type of
switches are used or how
much travel you get, but
the company has hit on a
winning formula here.
The only complaint I
The metal chassis gives the Prestige 14 Evo an air of prestige. have about the keyboard

are the arrow and nav keys,
which are shoehorned
into an incredibly small
area of the deck. The keys
themselves are tiny.
Even after using the
Prestige 14 Evo for a
week, I would still on
VV>Ãw`ÞÌÌi
w}iÀ>VVìÌ>ÞÌÌ}
‘Page Down’ when I’d The keyboard’s layout is generally well-spaced, with most
either tried to hit the ‘Enter’ things easily within reach.
or ‘right’ arrow key. It’s
quite annoying, especially when you’re removal of the nav keys altogether.
working on long 1,500-word reviews, It’s a shame, because aside from
to have a huge suddenly appear in the a few cramped keys, the typing
middle of a sentence. experience is excellent.
Small arrow keys are a common /iÀi½ÃÃiÌVi>LiyiÝ
bugbear for laptops of this size, but the area immediately just below the
I would have preferred larger arrow keyboard, which unfortunately extends
keys (which double as nav keys when to the trackpad. The latter requires
combined with the function key) or more force to action clicks at the top
than bottom, which raises
questions about how it’ll fare
long term.
MSI says that the Prestige
14 Evo is MIL-STD-810G-
ViÀÌwi`vÀ`ÕÀ>LÌÞ]LÕÌ
it makes you wonder. Aside
from this, the trackpad is
good – nicely sized at 5.6in
and responsive, allowing you
The only complaint I have are the arrow and nav keys, to glide through menus and
which are shoehorned into an incredibly small area. web pages with ease.

REVIEWS
DISPLAY Likewise, a refresh rate of 60Hz

The Prestige 14 Evo’s 14in Full HD+ means that, along with the low DCI-P3
display’s brightness and contrast score and no discrete GPU, this is not
levels make it more than adequate a laptop you should buy for gaming or
for everyday use, thanks to punchy video editing.
brightness and good viewing angles. Maximum recorded brightness using
ÕÌÌiÀiyiVÌÛiV>Ì}«VÃÕ« the same colorimeter was 429.7 nits,
overhead glare, and low colour tallied with a black point of 0.23 nits,
accuracy make it less viable for adding up to a contrast ratio of 1880:1,
serious photo work. which is respectable. Ideally, you’ll want
Using a SpyderX colorimeter, I a display that can give you maximum
recorded 99 percent of the sRGB colour brightness above 500 nits to guarantee
space. That’s solid, and means websites, that you can work in all lighting
games, and digital art still look accurate, conditions, and a black point as close
Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 spaces were to zero as possible, indicating that dark
low at 77- and 78 percent respectively. areas of an image look deep and rich,
If your photo editing requirements don’t and not washed out.
extend beyond cropping and resizing, This is broadly in line with what
then you’ll be able to get away with this. you get on the Huawei MateBook
But if your line of work or study requires 16s, but it’s not quite as good as the
a very colour-accurate display, this isn’t Surface Pro 9’s display.
the laptop for you. The aspect ratio of 16:10 is a
welcome update from
last year’s MSI Prestige
15 A12UC. It gives
you a bit more height
to work in, something
you’ll appreciate if
you’re working on a
particularly long report.
/Ü`ÜÜ>À`wÀ}
speakers sit underneath
the deck. The spec
The display offers punchy brightness and good viewing angles. sheet might say that

they’re ‘DTS Audio Ready’,
but in reality, they’re pretty
average laptop speakers.
Dialogue from streamed
video sounds good, as
do vocals from songs, but
anything with lots of high end
trebly noise sounds weak and
tinny. The cymbals on Master
of Puppets might as well
have been a load of KitKat
wrappers stuck together, they
sound that bad through the
Prestige 14 Evo’s speakers. If
you’re listening to music on
this, grab some headphones.
PERFORMANCE
The 2023 series of Prestige 14
Evo laptops feature 13th gen The MSI’s connectivity options.
‘Raptor Lake’ Intel CPUs. You
have the option of a 12-core i5-13500H once (including the likes of Zoom, Slack,
processor which boosts to 4.7GHz, Google Drive and Microsoft Word), the
or a more powerful 14-core Core i7- Prestige 14 Evo handles all everyday
13700H chip, with a boost clock speed tasks without breaking a sweat.
of 5.0GHz. Depending on where you’re /ÃÃÀiyiVÌi`Ìi}*
>À
based, options for 8-, 16- or 32GB of 10 scores for Essentials (11593), where
RAM are available, plus 512GB or 1TB the benchmarking tool simulates a
of storage. The model tested here ÕLiÀv*
vwViÌ>ÃÃ° ÃiÜiÀi]
features the Core i7 CPU, 16GB of RAM PC Mark 10 scored the Prestige 14 Evo
and a 512GB SSD. pretty highly for Productivity (7767) and
ÀL>ÃVvwViÌ>ÃÃ]ÌiìÛVi Digital Content Creation (7733).
runs very well indeed. If your primary The Prestige Evo 14 racked up
concern is having lots of apps running at an overall PC Mark 10 score of 6353,

REVIEWS
beating the Surface

Pro 9 and 2022 version
of Huawei MateBook
16s. However, it comes
in slightly behind last
year’s Prestige 15
A12UC.
The Geekbench
6 CPU benchmark
similarly yielded good
results for single-core
(2,515) and multi-core
(12,909) stress tests. The MSI lasted over 16 hours in our battery life test.
This is a newer version
of the Geekbench benchmark, and so dedicated graphics card makes. Perhaps
it’s not a straight comparison, but you unsurprisingly, while the Prestige 14 Evo
can see roughly where these scores did an okay job of running Civ 6, it did
place the Prestige 14 Evo alongside so at a lowly rate of 20fps.
the competition. Battery life is one of those things
Strangely, the usual OpenGL Aztec that’s hyped up on spec sheets, but
Ruins benchmark wouldn’t run, with happily, the MSI Prestige 14 Evo lived
the program either crashing before any up to claims of being able to give you
score could be recorded, or simply not 16 hours of power – at least in testing.
starting at all. ,Õ}>«i`wÜÌLÀ}ÌiÃÃ
Luckily, the 3DMark graphics locked at 120 nits, the battery lasted
benchmark did, with the Night Raid 16 hours and 23 minutes before giving
benchmark returning a score of 21,731, up the ghost.
a result that’s roughly on par with other In real-world usage, it doesn’t last
laptops in the same class. quite as long. But you can still get a full
Compare it with even a cheap working day and have charge to spare.
gaming laptop, like the Asus TUF It’s quick to charge back up, too.
Gaming A15 (2022), which scored Using the supplied adapter should see
49,215 in the same test, though, and ÞÕw>i«ÌÞÌ>Ì{n«iÀViÌ
you can see the difference that having a after half an hour, and 85 percent after

an hour, taking just over two hours to strong, but the Prestige 14 Evo is worth
completely recharge. considering. Thomas Newton
As there’s no dedicated port for the
mains adapter, this means that one of SPECIFICATIONS
those Thunderbolt ports will be pulling • 14-inch (1,920x1,200) 90Hz, IP display
double duty for whenever you need • Windows 11 Home
to recharge. Luckily, there are plenty • Intel Core i5 13500H processor
of Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 hubs and • Intel Iris Xe GPU
docks available, so you at least have • 8GB/16GB/32GB RAM
some options. • 512GB/1TB SSD
Finally, while at no point in testing • 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A
did the Prestige 14 Evo run especially • 2x Thunderbolt 4
hot, those fans can be loud. Even • 1x HDMI
when doing something relatively • 3.5mm audio jack
light, like opening photos in GIMP, or • 1x microSD card reader
watching something on YouTube, the • 1080p webcam
fans would roar into life. It’s enough to • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e
be slightly distracting while streaming • Bluetooth 5
a show in bed or on the couch, and • 72Wh battery
it could potentially annoy any noise- • 314x227.5x17.9mm
sensitive colleagues. • 1.6kg
VERDICT
The Prestige 14 Evo is a good choice
for anyone in the market for a Windows
laptop that’ll comfortably deliver the
basics in a work environment.
It’s powerful, and reasonably priced,
boasts good connectivity options, and
the fast-charging battery will last all day.
People with larger hands may
struggle with the cramped arrow
keys, but noisy fans are the only other
real complaint here. Competition is

REVIEWS
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G

Price: £449 from fave.co/40ZliB2
P
revious Galaxy A models upgrade, and this is one of the
have been some of the best keys to how the Galaxy A54 5G is
selling smartphones globally, recommendable as a top mid-ranger.
which puts a lot of pressure on new This £449 candy bar handset has
generations. Last year’s A53 was a ÌiÃiiÃvÌiy>}Ã«>>ÝÞ
bitter disappointment but Samsung is S23 range, an excellent screen with a
back on track with the A54 5G for 2023. 120Hz refresh rate, solid battery life,
Not much has actually changed dependable cameras, and Samsung’s
year-on-year, but the A53’s sluggish industry-leading software support.
processor has been given a serious There’s little to dislike here, even if

Samsung is behind a number of rivals
on charging speeds, and the lack of a
charger in the box will irk some. It has
wiÀViV«iÌÌÌÕ}]ÜÌÌiiÃ
of the Google Pixel 6a and Nothing
Phone (1) still a serious temptation for
anyone not loyal to Samsung.
DESIGN
The Galaxy A54 5G is a stylish
smartphone, easily one of the best-
looking mid-rangers on the market.
While it looks similar to its predecessor,
Ã>ÌÜi>ÃiÜÌÌiy>}Ã«-ÓÎ
range, such as more rounded corners, The Galaxy A54 5G is one of the best-looking
keep things fresh and differentiate it. mid-rangers on the market.
Whether you like the new camera
arrangement or not is personal It’s a shame the handset has gained
preference, but I’m a fan of the port- a bit of weight, up 13g on the A53 to
hole styling, although it annoys me how 202g. It’s not hugely heavy, but if you
wobbly it makes the phone when it’s on want something lighter then the Google
>y>ÌÃÕÀv>ViÌ½Ã>ÃÌÕÕÃ>Li®° Pixel 6a is a more manageable 178g.
The phone could pass as the Galaxy I’ve tested the plain Awesome Black
S23+ from across the room, and the colour but you can get the A54 in more
illusion holds up until you investigate iÝVÌ}y>ÛÕÀÃvƂÜiÃi7Ìi]
ÌiwiÀìÌ>Ã°Ì½Ã}Ì>«>ÃÌVÀi>À Awesome Lime and Awesome Violet.
cover and frame, although the latter
doesn’t feel like it, and there’s still DISPLAY
Gorilla Glass 5 protecting the display. Samsung has reduced the screen size
Like the Galaxy S23, it’s a slippery slightly to 6.4in, but otherwise this packs
customer, but build quality is very good mostly the same display specs as the
and it’s one of a select few mid-range Galaxy A53. The headline specs are that
phones with an IP67 dust and water- it’s an AMOLED panel with a Full HD+
resistance rating. resolution and 120Hz refresh rate.

REVIEWS
the built in stereo speakers

are pretty decent, offering
good velocity and clarity.
They do lack bass, though.
PERFORMANCE
A single digit change in the
processor model doesn’t
ÃiiÛiÀÞÃ}wV>Ì]
especially on a mid-range
phone, but in this case it is.
The display offers excellent colours and contrast. While the Exynos
1280 found in last
It’s bright enough for outdoor usage year’s Galaxy A53 was slow and
in strong sunlight and the display is stuttering, the A54 is smooth and
also blessed with excellent colours reliable thanks to an upgrade to the
and contrast as you’d expect from an Exynos 1380, which offers double the
AMOLED panel. number of high-power performance
At 120Hz, the A54 5G remains one cores as its predecessor.
of the smoothest mid-rangers, with ½ÌÃ>Þ}Ì½Ãy>ÜiÃÃ]Ã
an Adaptive mode on by default or you might have to wait a while for a
the option to cap it at 60Hz for longer complex night photo to process or
battery life (though that’s mostly not a a big game to load, but these are
concern). It’s not the only 120Hz phone reasonable expectations in a phone
at this price, with the likes of Xiaomi and this price. In general, day-to-day
Realme offering it too, but key rivals operation, the phone can keep up just
such as the Pixel 6a are only 60Hz. wi>`ÌV>ÀÕ}>iÃiƂÃ«>Ì
/i`Ã«>Þ>ÃLiiwÌÃvÀ> at high quality settings.
iLi`ì`w}iÀ«ÀÌÃV>iÀÜV There’s disappointment for US
found worked better than the one on customers as there’s only the option
the Galaxy S23. The facial recognition of 128GB storage and 6GB of RAM,
is also decent, and you can use either whereas the UK and other markets
when you unlock. go up to 256GB storage and 8GB of
The A54 has no headphone jack but memory. Note that I am testing the UK

model here, meaning the US version GFX Manhattan 3.1
might be slightly more sluggish. Samsung Galaxy A54 5G: 46fps
As the name suggests, the Galaxy Google Pixel 6a: 57fps
A54 5G comes with 5G connectivity as Nothing Phone (1): 56fps
well as all the usual nuts and bolts such OnePlus Nord 2T: 53fps
as NFC, Wi-Fi 6, and Bluetooth 5.3. Samsung Galaxy A53: 35fps
-iÕÃiÀÃÜw`ÌLiiwV> Apple iPhone SE 2022: 60fps
that it’s dual-SIM and there’s even a
microSD card slot able to take up to Battery life
1TB of storage, although it does use Samsung Galaxy A54 5G: 10 hours, 57
up one SIM spot. minutes
Here’s how the A54 5G compares in Nothing Phone (1): 7 hours, 33 minutes
our usual set of benchmark tests. Samsung Galaxy A53: 9 hours, 53
minutes
Geekbench 5 (multi-core)
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G: 2,851 Charge in 30 minutes
Google Pixel 6a: 2,754 Samsung Galaxy A54 5G: 31%
Nothing Phone (1): 2,722 Nothing Phone (1): 67%
OnePlus Nord 2T: 2,739 OnePlus Nord 2T: 100%
Samsung Galaxy A53: 1,833 Samsung Galaxy A53: 26%
Apple iPhone SE 2022: 4,540 Apple iPhone SE 2022: 61%
PHOTOGRAPHY
The A54 5G packs a
pretty typical trio of rear
cameras, with a 50Mp
main lens joined by lower
resolution ultrawide
and macro cameras. You
shouldn’t expect things
like telephoto lenses on a
phone this price.
The Galaxy A54 5G can run games such as Asphalt 9 at high The main camera can
µÕ>ÌÞÃiÌÌ}Ã° snap excellent quality

REVIEWS
avoid blur from a shaky hand. Results

are detailed, vibrant and more than
acceptable for social media or even
printing out. Low-light performance
is better than most mid-range phones
too, although the phone still has its
limits here – you’ll need to spend
ÀivÀ>y>}Ã«vÀÌÀÕÞiÝViiÌ
night mode shots.
The ultrawide is what you’d
expect: nice to have when you need
The 50Mp main lens is joined by lower resolution ÌwÌÀiÌivÀ>i]LÕÌ>ÌÌi
ultrawide and macro cameras. obvious expense of quality compared
to the main shooter.
pictures in a range of situations. It’s Meanwhile, I had a lot of fun with the
}Ì>vÉ£°n>«iÀÌÕÀi>`LiiwÌÃvÀ macro lens which is one of the best I’ve
optical image stabilization (OIS) to ÌiÃÌi`>Þ«i°7Ì>wÝi`vVÕÃ]
Here’s a
selection
of photos
taken with
the Galaxy
A54 5G.

REVIEWS

you need to have time and patience, BATTERY LIFE
but can get some pleasing photos. It’s Charging is still a sore point when
not a must-have, but gives you some comparing Samsung to the wider
fun options. market, especially when you consider
The oddity is that the macro mode the likes of Xiaomi and Oppo are
is tucked away in the ‘more’ menu hitting speeds of over 200 watts now.
even though it’s a dedicated lens (not The 25-watt charging on the A54 isn’t
that it’s only Samsung that does this) particularly modern and, for better or
>`ÌÃÃÜiÀiÞÕ½>Ãw`ÌiÀ worse, Samsung doesn’t supply a wall
options such as Night, Panorama and adapter in the box – only a cable.
even Pro mode. I tested the phone with a 67-watt
My biggest bugbear is with fast charger from another brand and
Samsung’s tuning, as colours aren’t only saw it top up to 16 percent in 15
totally accurate between the different minutes and 31 percent in 30. If speedy
cameras. I can let that go on a mid- charging is important to you then you’ll
range phone (it’s not too bad) but I have to look elsewhere.
can’t stand the oversaturated – an Fortunately, things get better when
understatement – look of the Food we look at battery life. There’s a large
mode, which makes it look like I’ve 5,000mAh cell and the phone can
used some nuclear ingredients. comfortably last a full day of mixed
ƂÃvÀÌivÀÌ]ÌiÎÓ«Ãiwi usage with 4- to 5 hours of screen time.
camera is a highlight with bags of I’m a lighter user than that on a normal
quality and options such as a solid day and can manage two days before
portrait mode and a wider angle needing to charge, which is great.
ÛiÜvÀwÌÌ}Ài«i«iÀ
background in. SOFTWARE
Video recording is also very good, Software is a strong point for Samsung
due to the OIS on the main camera. By as much on mid-range phones as it is
default, you’ll be recording in Full HD y>}Ã«Ã°iÀiÞÕ>Ài}iÌÌ}Ìi
at 30fps but you can go up to 4K at the >ÌiÃÌÛiÀÃvƂ`À`>`ÌiwÀ½Ã
same frame rate if you wish. Even at One UI skin. The same can’t be said
1080p, the quality is good with vibrant of some rivals which are often lagging
colours and smooth footage even when behind on Android 12.
being dragged along by my dog. Said rivals often don’t have any

REVIEWS
vwV>}Õ>À>ÌiiÃvvÕÌÕÀiÕ«`>ÌiÃ
either. However, Samsung promises
four years of OS upgrades, so you’ll
not only get Android 14, but up to at
least Android 17 on this phone.
I would still personally have a
Pixel phone for the pure Android
experience but One UI is perfectly
serviceable and has a lot to like. It’s
easy to navigate and looks great.
Features like the sidebar for favourite
apps are useful, though virtual
assistant Bixby is not so much.
Samsung still insists on installing Samsung promises four years of OS upgrades.
a lot of apps from the off including
plenty of duplicates of Google services its software upgrade guarantee. This
you’re more likely to use. And despite ÜÕ`>Ûi>LiiwiÌiƂxÎ
me unticking the boxes, the A54 rudely had performance been as reliable but
still installed a trio of unwanted games. ÕVÞÌ>Ì½ÃwÝi`ÌÃÞi>ÀÜÌ>Ài
Other pre-loaded apps are arguably powerful Exynos processor.
more useful such as Disney+, TikTok and It’s not automatically the best mid-
OneDrive, but you can at least remove range phone you can buy, especially
any you don’t want. with some excellent rivals at cheaper
prices but it’s easy to recommend even
VERDICT if you’re not a Samsung loyalist.
I’m relieved to report that Samsung is Still, it would be nice if Samsung
back on track with the Galaxy A54 5G could install some faster charging and
after a miscue last year. allow users to choose a power brick for
Much is the same, with top-notch free when ordering. Chris Martin
styling, IP67 protection, one of the
best screens on a mid-range phone, SPECIFICATIONS
and a dependable set of cameras. • 6.4in (2,340x1,080; 403ppi) Super
Furthermore, battery life is solid and AMOLED, 120Hz, HDR10+ display
Samsung continues to impress with • Android 13, One UI 5.1

• Exynos 1380 (5nm) processor
• Octa-core (4x 2.4GHz Cortex-A78, 4x
2GHz Cortex-A55) CPU
• Mali-G68 MP5 GPU
• 6GB/8BG RAM
• 128GB/256GB storage
• Three rear-facing cameras: 50Mp,
f/1.8, (wide), 1/1.56in, 1.0μm, PDAF,
OIS; 12Mp, f/2.2, 123-degree
(ultrawide), 1.12μm; 5Mp, f/2.4,
(macro)
• -iwiV>iÀ>\ÎÓ«]vÉÓ°Ó]ÓÈ
(wide), 1/2.8in, 0.8μm
• Stereo speakers
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band,
Wi-Fi Direct
• Bluetooth 5.3, A2DP, LE
• GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
• NFC
• USB Type-C 2.0, OTG
• Fingerprint scanner (under display,
optical)
• Non-removable 5,000mAh lithium-
polymer battery
• 158.2x76.7x8.2mm
• 202g

REVIEWS
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+

Price: £449 from fave.co/3MzW6Ng
X
iaomi makes some of the best Fortunately, all three are genuinely
LÕ`}iÌ>`y>}Ã««iÃ impressive, while the rest of the phone
around, but you shouldn’t is good enough to compete with many
ignore what the company is doing in y>}Ã«Ã°
«ÀÃiÃ>ÀiiÛÌ>Li
the mid-range market. at this price point, but they shouldn’t be
Its Redmi sub-brand has existed dealbreakers for most people.
there for a while, although the Note 12
Pro+ takes things to the next level. For DESIGN
just £449, you get premium features The Note 12 Pro+ has a sleek, premium
such as a 200Mp camera, 120Hz OLED design which could easily pass for a
display and 120-watt charging. device costing twice the price.

It starts with Xiaomi’s choice of one built into the power button instead.
materials: plastic on the sides, but glass It has a smaller target area, yet remains
on both the front and back. The latter is very reliable and tends to unlock the
a pleasant surprise, as it’s by no means a phone quicker.
standard feature on mid-range handsets. This doesn’t feel like a downgrade
A matte coating limits the build-up of at all, and I’d recommend using it over
w}iÀ«ÀÌÃÕ`}iÃ]>Ü}Ìi«i the less secure face unlock.
to shimmer attractively as light hits it. There’s even still a 3.5mm
That’s particularly apparent on headphone jack, a real standout feature
the Iceberg Blue model you see in 2023. If you still have great wired
in photos, but the effect on Arctic headphones, there’s no need to put up
White and Obsidian Black versions is with a USB-C adapter here.
similar. While there’s no Gorilla Glass A detailed assessment of the
protection here, the back of the 12 Pro+ display is included in the next section,
feels impressively durable and grippy. but it’s worth mentioning the haptics
A clear silicone case is included in the here. An advanced vibration motor
box, but you might not need it. means the subtle haptic feedback
However, the IP53 rating is a bit of you get here is excellent, whether it’s
a disappointment. It protects against
dust but only splashes of water,
rather than the submersion afforded
LÞ*Èny>}Ã«Ã°
Redmi branding and CE
information are both visible on the
back of the phone, but it’s the camera
module that dominates. It houses
ÌÀiiiÃiÃ>`>y>Ã]ÃÌiÃ}Ì
bump is easy to excuse. But while I
wouldn’t call the camera module ugly,
Ì½Ãv>ÀvÀÌi«ÀiÌÌiÃÌ°9Õ½w`
one of the phone’s big compromises
on one side, but it’s not the plastic
used. Rather than an in-display
w}iÀ«ÀÌÃiÃÀ]Ìi£Ó*À³>Ã We reviewed the Iceberg Blue version.

REVIEWS
unlocking the phone, multitasking or phone excels at content consumption,

reorganising apps. It really adds to the whether it’s via social media or in movies
navigation experience. and TV shows. For watching videos on
your phone, the 12 Pro+ is one of the
DISPLAY best in the business.
Let’s talk about that screen, then. It’s a Navigating the phone is just as
large 6.67in OLED panel at 2,400x1,080. impressive, too, thanks to a 120Hz
A higher resolution would’ve been nice, refresh rate. Scrolling and transitions are
but only enthusiasts will be able to Ã>ÌÃvÞ}ÞyÕ`]iÛiÌiìv>ÕÌ
tell the difference between this and a dynamic mode. This automatically
1440p panel. In most scenarios, the 12 switches between 60Hz and 120Hz,
Pro+’s display is a joy to use. It delivers depending on what you’re doing (to
deep blacks and rich, vibrant colours help save battery life), but you can
that really pop. It’s accentuated by the manually set it to either if you’d prefer.
recommended ‘Vivid’ colour scheme, Xiaomi claims up to 900 nits of
but you can change this to ‘Saturated’ peak brightness, although you’ll
or ‘Standard’, or even create your own. struggle to replicate that at home. But
But for most people, that default even at the 515 nits I recorded, the
mode is the one to go for. It means the screen remains clearly visible in bright
outdoor environments.
The display is curved
at the edges, making it
more comfortable to hold
than many phones of this
size. Slim bezels mean almost
87 percent of the front panel
is screen, with a small hole
«ÕVÃiwiV>iÀ>ii«}
disruption to a minimum.
Working in tandem
with the display are stereo
speakers, as the usual
For watching videos on your phone, the 12 Pro+ is one of `ÜÜ>À`wÀ}}Ài
the best in the business. combines with a second

on the top of the phone.
Not relying on the earpiece
LiiwÌÃÃÕ`µÕ>ÌÞ]ÜÌ
a depth and detail to the
audio that you don’t often
get on phones. The speakers
get impressively loud, but
high volumes are where you’ll
notice the lack of bass and
treble. Distortion is avoided The Note 12 Pro+ is powered by the Dimensity 1080, a 5G
for the most part, though. V«Ì>Ì½ÃÃ«iVwV>ÞìÃ}i`vÀ`À>}i«iÃ°
PERFORMANCE very capable chip. Alongside that

Rather than the Qualcomm chips we 120Hz refresh rate, the 12 Pro+ delivers
ÃiiÌÃy>}Ã«Ã]8>VÌÕiÃ some of the best performance of any
to opt for MediaTek on many Redmi mid-range phone.
handsets. The Note 12 Pro+ is powered Only the most demanding workloads
by the Dimensity 1080, a 5G chip that’s will push it to the limit. If you’re serious
Ã«iVwV>ÞìÃ}i`vÀ`À>}i about mobile gaming or use other
phones. That suggests performance intensive apps on a regular basis,
is nothing to write home about, but it consider something more powerful. But
turns out to be one of the phone’s key for the vast majority of people, the 12
strengths. Even with just 8GB of RAM, it Pro+ has everything you need.
excels across all everyday tasks. Having said that, it’s not perfect.
My typical day includes plenty of There were some stutters and
web browsing, messages, taking photos hesitations during my testing time, plus
and watching the occasional video. I the occasional app crash. But these are
also often quickly switch between them, more likely to be related to software
making multitasking very important. rather than hardware.
In all these scenarios and many The benchmarks don’t provide a true
more, the phone was easily able to keep ÀiyiVÌvÌi«iÀvÀ>Vi>Û>>Li
up. It’s no surprise the Dimensity 1080 here, although they show that the 12
is used on more expensive handsets Pro+ is far from the only powerful mid-
(such as the Xiaomi 12T Pro) – it’s a range phone you can buy:

REVIEWS
Geekbench 5 (multi-core) support for microSD expansion and

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+: 2,215 around 25GB of that taken up with
Xiaomi 13 Lite: 2,585 ÃÞÃÌiwiÃ]«ÜiÀÕÃiÀÃ>ÞÀÕVÃi
Google Pixel 6a: 2,745 to capacity. But for most people, this
Samsung Galaxy A54: 2,842 won’t be an issue. Alongside 5G, you
Nothing Phone (1): 2,722 also get Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.
OnePlus Nord 2T: 2,739 Despite not being the absolute latest
ÛiÀÃÃ]ÌiÞ½ÀiwivÀ>ÃÌiÛiÀÞ
GFX Manhattan 3.1 phone-related task you could think of.
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+: 37fps
Xiaomi 13 Lite: 56fps PHOTOGRAPHY
Google Pixel 6a: 57fps If you’re reading this review, the
Samsung Galaxy A54: 46fps camera is probably the section you
Nothing Phone (1): 56fps most want to know about. The Note 12
OnePlus Nord 2T: 53fps Pro+ is one of only a handful of phones
to feature a 200Mp main lens, and it’s
Battery life «ÀiÃÃÛiÌÃiiÌÃy>}Ã«vi>ÌÕÀi
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+: 11 hours make it to the mid-range.
Xiaomi 13 Lite: 9 hours, 14 minutes So, how does it perform? The
Samsung Galaxy A54: 10 hours, 57 short answer is very well, albeit not
minutes Ã}wV>ÌÞLiÌÌiÀÌ>«iÃÜÌ>
Nothing Phone (1): 7 hours, 33
minutes
Charge in 30 minutes
Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+: 100%
Xiaomi 13 Lite: 80%
Google Pixel 6a: 42%
Samsung Galaxy A54: 31%
Nothing Phone (1): 67%
OnePlus Nord 2T: 100%
Regarding internal storage, The Note 12 Pro+ is one of only a handful of

256GB is your only option. With no phones to feature a 200Mp main lens.

Zoom and saturation appear to be the main differences between the regular 12.5Mp image
(left) and full 200Mp version (right)?
much lower megapixel count. Details I’m also very impressed with the way
and dynamic range are both excellent, it handles low light. During sunset or on
while it handles contrast and shadows ÃÌÀiiÌÃÜÌÌÃv>ÀÌwV>}Ì}]ÞÕ
impressively. Despite most of my won’t even need to turn night mode on
testing taking place on overcast days, to get a great shot. But with it activated,
exposure was also a pleasant surprise. there’s a nice boost to brightness and
Overcast skies add to the atmosphere of detail in darker environments.
many shots, without ending up looking However, it’s worth remembering
blown out and unrealistic. The main that the 12 Pro+ doesn’t actually
camera is a great point and shoot lens shoot in 200Mp by default. Instead, it
in a variety of scenarios. uses a process called pixel binning to
Unlike the Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro, essentially combine 16 images into one
there’s no option to switch between higher quality 12.5Mp photo. This is
‘Vibrant’ and ‘Authentic’ modes «À>ÀÞÌ>Û`Õ}iwiÃV}}}
within the camera app. By default, the up your phone, but also because
Óää«iÃìwÌiÞi>ÃÌÜ>À`ÃÌi there’s very little difference in raw
latter, producing impressively true to 200Mp stills – the improvements are
life shots with little evidence of post- >>`Ã}wV>Ì°
processing. If you really want something Landscapes and street photography
more saturated, turning on AI will are a real strength of the main lens, so
usually do the trick. it’s disappointing to see such a drop-off

REVIEWS
We’ll start
off with
a set of
shots of
the same
subject
taken using
the 0.6x
âo
…1x
âo

…2x
âo
…and 10x
â°

REVIEWS
Next up,
we have
night mode
off…
…and on.

Here’s
an image
taken at
sunset.
This photo
is an
example
of a macro
shot.

REVIEWS
7i½wÃ
off with
a portrait
Ãiwio
…and a
ÃiwiÜÌ
beauty
mode off.

when you move to the 8Mp ultrawide. capacity for a modern smartphone,
Ì>Ã>ÕÃivÕ£Óäì}Àiiwi`vÛiÜ] and it means battery life is solid, but
but detail, exposure and colour accuracy nothing spectacular.
are all compromised to the extent that I With the brightness set to 200
was reluctant to use it. nits, I recorded exactly 11 hours on
It’s a similar story for the 2Mp PCMark’s battery test. That aims to
macro lens, although you can get some ÀiyiVÌÀi>ÜÀ`ÕÃ>}iLÞÃÕ>Ì}
attractive close-up shots at times. common tasks, although you’ll struggle
With no depth sensor, the phone to get anything close in terms of actual
relies on software for its portrait mode. screen on time.
However, the all-too-common issue of Even so, the 12 Pro+ can last a full
edge detection makes it frustrating to day with charge to spare. Even on those
use, even if you can adjust the amount days where you’re using GPS, taking lots
of background blur before or after you of photos and keeping brightness high,
Ì>iÌiÃÌ°*ÀÌÀ>ÌÃiwiÃÕÃ}Ìi you shouldn’t need to connect to the
16Mp front-facing camera are much power until later in the day.
more impressive, while even regular Gaming is perhaps the only
shots do a good job with skin tones exception to this rule, where a few hours
and exposure. Just make sure you turn running a demanding game will deplete
off the pre-activated beauty mode for the battery much more quickly.
the best results. But with some of the fastest charging
The 12 Pro+ can capture video at around, running low on battery is much
up to 4K 30fps, but the default 1080p at less of a concern. The 120-watt adapter
30fps offers plenty of detail
for casual home videos or
social media. Optical image
stabilization (OIS) on the
main lens means it can cope
with lots of movement, too.
BATTERY LIFE
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+
has a 5,000mAh battery.
That’s a fairly standard The 12 Pro+ can usually last a full day with charge to spare.

REVIEWS
included in the box doesn’t

quite hit Xiaomi’s claims of
a full battery in 19 minutes,
but you can hit 58 percent
in 15 minutes and 100
percent before half an hour
has passed. Most people
will be able to plug in their
phone when they wake up
and have it fully charged
long before needing to
leave home. You can expect three years of Android version updates and
There’s no wireless four years of security patches on the 12 Pro+.
charging, but I’d much
rather have the fast wired version. downloaded for you. The process of
removing them is tedious, but at
SOFTWARE least it’s possible.
As a Xiaomi-owned brand, the Redmi Most of these apps have bright,
Note 12 Pro+ uses the MIUI software colourful icons, making it easy to
skin. It’s version 14 here, which is based identify them. But alongside some
on Android 13 but different in several vibrant wallpapers and eye-catching
Ã}wV>ÌÜ>ÞÃ° widgets, the home screens can quickly
Undoubtedly, the most annoying become cluttered and distracting if
of these is bloatware. Xiaomi has you’re not careful.
added its own apps for the likes of web -i«>À>Ì}ÌwV>ÌÃ>`µÕV
LÀÜÃ}]>>}}wiÃ]Ì>}ÌiÃ] settings (depending on where you swipe
viewing photos and plenty more – none `ÜvÀÌiÌ«vÌiÃVÀii®Ãwi]
of which can be uninstalled. It feels but Android 13 already does a good job
very jarring when the Google version is of including both on the same screen.
already sitting there. In general, MIUI’s tweaks to the
However, that’s only the tip of the familiar Android user experience make
iceberg when it comes to pre-installed it more frustrating and less intuitive.
software. Dozens of other tools, It’s still very usable, and shouldn’t be
popular apps and games have been a dealbreaker at this price point, but I

wish Xiaomi had more of a light touch (6nm) processor
approach to software. So-called ‘stock’ • Octa-core (2x 2.6GHz Cortex-A78, 6x
Android would work very nicely on 2GHz Cortex-A55) CPU
such premium hardware. • Mali-G68 MC4 GPU
Like all Xiaomi phones, you can • 8GB/12GB RAM
expect three years of Android version • 256GB storage
updates and four years of security • Three rear-facing cameras: 200Mp,
patches on the 12 Pro+. The MIUI f/1.7, 24mm (wide), 1/1.4in, 0.56μm,
equivalent of Android 14, 15 and 16, PDAF, OIS; 8Mp, f/2.2, 120-degree
and updates until 2027 should all be (ultrawide), 1/4in, 1.12μm; 2Mp, f/2.4,
on the way. (macro)
• -iwiV>iÀ>\£È«]vÉÓ°x]Üì®]
VERDICT 1/3.06in, 1.0μm
The Note 12 Pro+ elevates Xiaomi’s • Stereo speakers
Redmi brand from competitive mid- • 3.5mm headphone jack
À>}iÀÌ«ÌiÌ>y>}Ã«iÀ° • Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band,
Its headlining 200Mp camera is Wi-Fi DirectDP, LE
>L>wì«ÀiÕvi>ÌÕÀi]Üi • GPS (L1), GLONASS (G1), BDS
performance and display are among (B1I+B1c), GALILEO (E1), QZSS (L1)
ÌiLiÃÌÞÕ½w`>ÌÌÃ«ÀVi«Ì° • NFC
Battery life is solid too, while the • USB Type-C 2.0, OTG
120-watt fast charging is excellent. • Fingerprint scanner (side-mounted)
As a result, the 12 Pro+ is easy • Non-removable 5,000mAh lithium-
to recommend. The polarising polymer battery
MIUI software and poor supporting • 162.9x76x8.9mm
rear cameras might make you look • 208.4g
elsewhere, but you certainly shouldn’t
rule out this phone. Anyron Copeman
SPECIFICATIONS
• 6.77in (2,400x1,080; 395ppi) OLED,
120Hz, Dolby Vision, HDR10+ display
• Android 13, MIUI 13
• Mediatek MT6877V Dimensity 1080

REVIEWS
Avira Prime for Windows

Price: £51 from fave.co/41mEEQP
T
o provide thorough protection, Designed for all supported versions
today’s security products must of Windows, Avira Prime packs a lot
do more than just scan for into one program. Under the banner
viruses and malware. They need to of security, the software includes the
ViVvÀ>ÀvÕÌiÀiÌÌÀ>vwV] usual virus protection but throws in a
intrusive browser tracking, privacy ÃvÌÜ>ÀiÕ«`>ÌiÀ>`>wÀiÜ>°Ìi
issues, outdated software, and weak area of privacy, Avira Prime provides a
passwords, among other items. One wiÃÀi`ìÀ]>ìÌÌÞÌivÌÌÀ]
product providing all that and more is a password manager, and an online
Avira Prime for Windows. tracking blocker. And to help boost

your PC’s performance, the program and outdated apps. Upon checking
offers a driver updater, a battery saver, your system, the scan alerts you to any
>`Õ«V>ÌiwiwìÀ]>`ÃÃ«>Vi issues. From here, you can view more
optimizer, and a few other tricks. details on the issues and select the ones
Like most paid security products, ÞÕÜ>Ì>ÕÌ>ÌV>ÞwÝi`°
Avira Prime charges a subscription
rate based on the number of PCs and FEATURES
devices you want to protect and the The main dashboard is well designed,
length of the plan – £8.99 per month, organizing its tools into three different
£51.99 per year, or £164.99 for two categories – Security, Privacy, and
Þi>ÀÃvÀwÛiìÛViÃ]>`Ë£ä°«iÀ Performance. Beyond running the smart
month, £112.99 per year, or £216.99 scan, you can easily drill down to each
for two years for 25 devices. The category and tool.
devices protected under your chosen
plan can include Windows PCs, Macs, Security options
iPhones, iPads, Android devices and Under Security, the virus protection
web browsers. A free 30-day trial lets offers a few different types of scans.
you check out the full program on up A full scan checks your entire PC,
ÌwÛiìÛViÃ° either immediately or at a scheduled
INSTALLATION
Installing Avira Prime
is quick and simple,
with just a small status
window showing you
the progress. After the
installation is done,
the program prompts
you to run a smart scan
to look for a variety of
potential problems,
including viruses,
privacy concerns, iÞ`ÌivÕ>`µÕVÃV>Ã]>VÕÃÌÃV>ÃiÌÃÞÕVÃi
performance obstacles, ÌiV>Ì]vÀiµÕiVÞ]>`>VÌÌiÕÌvÀ>Ü>Ài°

REVIEWS
updater, which scans your

PC for outdated applications
and can automatically update
Ìi°Ƃ``Ì>Þ]>wÀiÜ>
attempts to block malicious
or suspicious apps and other
activity coming through your
network. You have full control
ÛiÀÌiwÀiÜ>]ÃÞÕV>
modify existing rules to allow
ÀLVÃ«iVwV«ÀViÃÃiÃ]
The security area offers tools for virus protection, a add new rules, or turn off the
ÃvÌÜ>ÀiÕ«`>ÌiÀ]>`>wÀiÜ>° wÀiÜ>V«iÌiÞ°
frequency – daily, weekly, or monthly. A Privacy options

quick scan checks only certain folders In the area of privacy, the Avira Safe
and vulnerable areas immediately or Shopping extension works with all the
at a scheduled day and time. You can major browsers to keep you away from
also create a custom scan in which you malicious sites and prevent tracking by
choose the folders and the frequency. ad networks. A built-in VPN lets you
With a full or custom scan, you’re able choose different locations around the
ÌÃ«iVvÞÜiÌiÀ>VÕÃwiÃÃÕ` world through which you can securely
be quarantined, deleted, or ignored. ÀÕÌiÜiLÌÀ>vwV°9Õ½Ài>LiÌii«
Naturally, Avira Prime offers real- the VPN on all the time or just for
time scanning with three options certain Wi-Fi networks. Next on the list
enabled by default. The virus protection Ã>wiÃÀi`ìÀÌ>ÌÜ«iÀ>iÌÞ
prevents malware from trying to infect ìiÌiwiÃ]ÌÕÃ>}Ì>ÀìÀvÀ
>``vÞwiÃÞÕÀV«ÕÌiÀ° anyone to recover them.
The web-based protection tries to The built-in password manager
defend you from online threats. And the requires that you set up an account
ransomware protection aims to prevent and a master password with Avira
hackers from locking your device or and install the required extension in
iVÀÞ«Ì}ÞÕÀwiÃ° Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, and/
Also under security is a software or Firefox. From there, Avira will suggest

>«ÀiìwiìÛiv
privacy, and the program
will apply it for you.
Performance options
Finally, under the
performance area is an
optimizer that will free up
space, clean cookies and
broken Registry entries,
and try to speed up your
In the privacy area are a web tracking blocker, VPN, PC. The results identify
«>ÃÃÜÀ`>}iÀ]wiÃÀi`ìÀ]>`ìÌÌÞ>ÃÃÃÌ>Ì° ÕwiÃ]`Ü>`Ã]
and slow start-up apps
and save a strong password when you Ì>ÌÞÕV>«ÌÌÀiÛiÀwÝ°/i
create a new account and automatically battery saver displays your current
enter the credentials when you need battery status and lets you choose a
to sign in. The password manager is Ã«iVwV«ÜiÀ«>ÌLiÌÌiÀiÝÌi`
also available as a mobile app for iOS/ your battery charge. A driver updater
iPadOS and Android. scans for outdated drivers and offers to
Another privacy tool
is an identity assistant.
If enabled, this one will
monitor your email address
for Dark Web activity and
alert you if any of your
personal data has been
compromised. As the icing
on the cake, a privacy
settings tool gathers all the
Windows privacy options
in a single place so you
can easily manage each 1ìÀ«iÀvÀ>Vi>Ài>Ã«>Vi«ÌâiÀ]L>ÌÌiÀÞÃ>ÛiÀ]
one. You can even choose driver updater, and more.

REVIEWS
Õ«`>Ìi>ÞìÃ°Ƃ`Õ«V>Ìiwi co/3LnW2iZ) prompted the software

wìÀÃVÕÀÃÞÕÀ*
vÀ`Õ«V>ÌiwiÃ Ìy>}ÌiwiÃÌiÃiÛiÃ>ÃÕÃ>vi]
and removes any you don’t need. A preventing me from downloading them
game booster aims to optimize your PC directly. I was able to download the
if you’re playing a full-screen game that ÌÜ
Ƃ,â«wiÃ]LÕÌÜiÌÀi`
needs more CPU, memory, and video to extract them, Avira blocked and
resources. Further, the start-up optimizer quarantined them as potential threats.
looks for apps and other items that can AV-Test reviews throughout 2022
be removed from your start-up routine, awarded Avira Internet Security top
while a hyper-boost option analyses and marks for protection, performance,
tries to shorten your start-up time. and usability. Older reviews from
To cap off all the features, Avira 2020 and earlier gave Avira Antivirus
Prime provides a detailed Settings Pro high grades in the same areas.
menu where you control key options for Reports from AV Comparatives in 2022
the three different categories. There’s awarded Avira Prime stellar grades for
also an online dashboard that shows protection and performance.
you all the devices on which Avira
Prime is installed along with access VERDICT
to the built-in tools, links to helpful Avira Prime offers not only effective
tips and documents, and a page for malware defences but a host of other
customer support. tools designed to protect you from
LÌi>`vyiÌÀi>ÌÃ°Ã«Ìi
PERFORMANCE IMPACT of all its features, the program is well
To gauge the impact of Avira Prime designed and easy to use. For those
on PC performance, I ran before reasons, Avira Prime is well worth the
and after benchmarking tests using subscription price. Lance Whitney
the PC Mark, 3D Mark, and Procyon
benchmark programs. The results
showed just a minor impact on
performance with Avira Prime installed,
indicating that the software doesn’t
hog your system resources.
Trying to access the different test
wiÃvÀÌi
Ƃ,ÌiÃÌ}ÃÌiv>Ûi°

Enpass
Price: £19.49 from fave.co/41DVOcz
H
andling the passwords we need a mobile companion app for Android
Ì>>}iÕÀ>vv>ÀÃÃ`vwVÕÌ and iOS. Once you download the
enough without a complex desktop app, onboarding with Enpass
password manager adding another is simple. You’re prompted to register
obstacle. Enpass is a simple solution to a new account and then to create a
help individuals improve their password master password. Once that’s done,
hygiene and secure their most sensitive Enpass launches a quick setup tab
data even if they don’t have a high that lets you install its browser plug-
degree of technical know-how. in, enable touch ID access, check for
compromised passwords, and other
GETTING STARTED options with a simple toggle. After
Enpass is offered as a desktop app that, you can import your passwords
for Windows, macOS and Linux, and vÀÞÕÀLÀÜÃiÀ]>
-6wi]À

REVIEWS
breached passwords. Any

offenders can be replaced
using Enpass’s password
generator. By default, it
creates passphrases rather
than random character
strings; phrases can be
from two to 15 words – the
default is six – and can
include uppercase letters
Desktop users can use all Enpass’s features and syncing and digits and separate
capabilities for free. each word with a hyphen.
Enpass also supports
directly from more than a dozen other random-character-string passwords –
password managers. you just toggle off the ‘pronounceable’
Enpass allows you to store login option – of up to 32 characters. You
credentials, credit card information, choose what type of characters to use
personal ID data, licenses, passports, and how many of each.
and more in your vault and keeps While the Enpass desktop app stores
everything organized in an intuitively and syncs your data, capturing and
labelled category menu. A search bar replaying login credentials are handled
across the top of the interface helps by its browser extension. Rather than
ÜÌV>Ì}Ã«iVwViÌÀiÃ]ÜVV> dropping down from your browser’s
be made more searchable via tags and toolbar like other password extensions,
sub-tags. Enpass automatically creates it displays as a separate window that
a primary vault when you set up your y>ÌÃÛiÀÌi«>}i°/iiÝÌiÃ
account, but you can create additional can display all your vault entries and
vaults to more cleanly separate work ÜiÞÕVVi]ÌÜwÌi
from personal logins, for example. relevant information on a page. Like the
desktop app, the browser extension has
FEATURES its own search bar for quickly locating
Once you’ve populated your vault, items. When you log in to a site for the
Enpass can audit all your entries for wÀÃÌÌi]Ìi«Õ}ÜV>«ÌÕÀiÞÕÀ
compromised, weak, identical, or username and password. You can edit

the entry and apply tags right from the attacks. It does not, however, use multi-
extension. factor authentication. The company
explains on its website that if you
SECURITY choose to store your data off-site with a
Unlike most other password managers, cloud service like Google Drive or One
Enpass doesn’t upload your data to Drive, you are already enabling multi-
its servers. It’s stored locally on your factor security: Your data is secured by
device. To sync your data across your Enpass master password and your
multiple devices, you need to either cloud-account credentials, plus any
connect your Enpass account with a additional authentication your cloud
cloud service like Dropbox or Google provider requires such as one-time
Drive or set up Wi-Fi sync to keep your VìÃ]LiÌÀVìÌwV>Ì]À>
Enpass data up to date across devices >««Ã«iVwV«>ÃÃÜÀ`°ÌÃÃVi>À]
on the same wireless network. Neither Enpass argues, anyone trying to steal
option is turnkey, and both require your passwords would have to get
searching through Enpass’s support through three layers of authentication.
pages for instruction. That extra work ÌìÃÃÕ««ÀÌÌiÕÃiviÞwiÃ]
may be a turn-off for some users. though, which can be required in
Enpass encrypts your data with 256- combination with your master password
bit AES and SQLCipher to better protect to decrypt your Enpass data. Here
against brute-force and side-channel again, users will need to search
instructions for setting
Õ«>iÞwi «>ÃÃ
support documentation.
SHARING
You can share passwords
and other entries from
the desktop app but
doing so surfaces a
warning that items
shared outside Enpass
Enpass allows you to share items but you must create a aren’t encrypted. To
personal pre-shared key to secure each one. secure them, you have

REVIEWS
Enpass’s browser extension captures and replays your passwords on secure sites.
Ììwi>«ÀiÃ>ÀiìÞqiÃÃiÌ>Þ that Enpass is designed to primarily

a password you create to share with the ÜÀvyi]Ì½ÃÌÃÕÀ«ÀÃ}ÌìÃ½Ì
recipient of the item before you share support this capability. However, it’s
the item itself – in Enpass’s advanced worth considering if you need to
settings. In addition to this ad-hoc designate a custodian for your data
iVÀÞ«Ì]ÞÕV>Ì}}ivvwi`Ã after you’re gone.
the item you don’t want to share. Once
you’re ready to share, you send the item THE PLANS
via email or copy it to the clipboard to Enpass is free to use on Windows, Mac
share a different way. and Linux. You get access to all the
Password inheritance isn’t currently desktop app’s features and unlimited
supported. Inheritance features, which syncing across desktop devices. You can
are included with some other password sync up to 10 items in a single vault with
managers including Keeper and mobile devices.
LastPass, allow designated individuals To do any more than that you’ll
to access your passwords and sensitive need a paid plan. The Individual plan
data in the event of your death. Given costs £19.49 per year and removes all

entry, syncing, and vault limits. It also
provides security alerts for website
breaches and will identify any accounts
in your vault that support two-factor
ìÌwV>Ì°/i>Þ«>iÝÌi`Ã
the same features to up to six users for
£38.99 per year. You can also purchase
a permanent lifetime license for an
`Û`Õ>vÀ>y>ÌviivËnÓ°°
VERDICT
If you’re new to password managers
or just want a solution that’s not
overly complex, Enpass is worth the
investment. Although it lacks the
advanced capabilities found in some
of our top picks, it provides all the
foundational password management
features you need to secure and
safely use your sensitive data in
an exceptionally easy-to-use app.
Michael Ansaldo

AI
10 practical tasks you

can do with ChatGPT
Put this powerful chat-based AI to work. MARSHALL GUNNELL reports
C
hatGPT, a powerful language 1. CREATE FUN RECIPES
model chatbot developed by One interesting thing ChatGPT can
OpenAI, has revolutionized do is generate recipes based on user
ÌiÜ>ÞÜiÌiÀ>VÌÜÌ>ÀÌwV> «ÀiviÀiViÃ]}ÀiìÌÃ]ÀÃ«iVwV
intelligence. With its advanced natural dietary requirements. Give it a starting
language processing capabilities, point by providing certain information
ChatGPT can help you with a wide about the desired dish, such as the
range of tasks, from answering trivia type of cuisine, the main ingredients
questions to composing poetry. you want to use, or any dietary
Here are 10 wonderfully fun, restrictions you may have. ChatGPT
practical ways to put ChatGPT to work. will then provide a recipe with step-by-

1. 2.
step instructions, ingredient quantities, L>ÃVvÀ>Ì]VÕÀÀiÌwÌiÃÃiÛi]

and cooking tips. workout experience, goals, health
I asked ChatGPT to create a condition, and access to equipment.
whiskey-based cocktail using a Swedish I asked ChatGPT to create a
meatball as one of the ingredients. It 3-month exercise plan for me. I input
quickly acknowledged that this was my age, gender, weight, and told it I
an unconventional request, but then have a bad knee. I also mentioned that
proceeded to provide a recipe based I don’t have access to gym equipment
on my requirements. It even named the and that my goal was to lose 15 lbs.
cocktail ‘The Smokey Meatball Swizzle’, It let me know that it’s important to
though I think ‘Meatball Manhattan’ is a consult with a healthcare professional
much better name. ÀViÀÌwi`«iÀÃ>ÌÀ>iÀLivÀi
starting a new exercise routine and
2. DRAFT A PERSONALIZED to monitor my form to make sure I
WORKOUT PLAN don’t injure myself. Regardless, it
ChatGPT can create personalized outlined a routine for me based on the
ÜÀÕÌ«>ÃÌ>Ài`ÌÞÕÀwÌiÃÃ information I gave it.
level, goals, available equipment, If you don’t know which information
health condition, and more. To get to put in, you can ask ChatGPT what it
started, you’ll need to provide some requires to develop the most accurate
information about yourself, like your and personalized workout plan possible.

AI
can challenge ChatGPT with your

own trivia questions.
I told ChatGPT that I wanted to
play a trivia game with it and asked it
Ì}ÛiiwÛiµÕiÃÌÃÀi>Ìi`Ì
quantum physics. I told it I would give it
my answers and it should tell me if I’m
VÀÀiVÌ°}ÌÌÀiiÕÌvwÛiµÕiÃÌÃ
correct (with the help of Google). As it
turns out, quantum physics is hard.
3.
4. FREE VIRTUAL TRAVEL GUIDE
ChatGPT can act as a virtual travel
3. ENGAGE IN TRIVIA GAMES guide by providing information,
You can challenge ChatGPT to, or have recommendations, and advice about
it create, trivia games by providing various travel destinations. One thing
questions, answers, or interesting facts to keep in mind is that ChatGPT’s
on a wide range of subjects. Just tell knowledge is, at least for now, based
ChatGPT you want to play, specify on data up to 2021. This means that
the topic or theme you’d like to focus it can’t recommend anything that may
on, and then ChatGPT will generate have popped up recently, such as a
questions for you to answer. Or, you new restaurant. It can still offer valuable
insights about places to visit, local
customs, cuisines, and other travel-
related topics.
I told ChatGPT that I’m planning a
trip to Taipei, Taiwan, and asked it to
recommend some must-visit attractions
and some food that’s popular among
the locals. It sent a solid list of places
to visit, and the list of food that it
recommended was pretty accurate,
though I was disappointed it didn’t add
4.
Dan Bing to the list.

brainstorm ideas for melodies or
harmonies. I asked ChatGPT to give
me suggestions for a good chord
progression for a jazz piece that I’m
ÜÀÌ} y>ÌÀ°ÌÌiÃÕ}}iÃÌi`
the i – iv – VII7 – III7 – V7 – i(9) chord
progression, and encouraged me to
experiment with chord extensions,
substitutions, and alterations to add
depth to the jazz piece.
5.
6. GET HELP WITH MEDITATION
AND MINDFULNESS EXERCISES
5. COMPOSE MUSIC For those who like to meditate,
While ChatGPT can’t directly compose ChatGPT can help guide you through
ÕÃVÀVÀi>Ìi>Õ`wiÃ]ÌV> mindfulness exercises by providing
help with various aspects of music instructions and support. For example,
composition like writing lyrics, vÞÕÜ>ÌÌ`>wÛiÕÌi`vÕ
suggesting chord progressions, or breathing exercise, ChatGPT will give
providing tips on song structure and you detailed step-by-step instructions
arrangement. You can ask for guidance on what to do.
Ã«iVwVÕÃV>VVi«ÌÃÀ If you want to do a different type
of meditation or mindfulness exercise,
but aren’t sure what to do, you can
always ask ChatGPT to give you some
suggestions.
7. CRAFT A CV
There are many CV builders out there,
but ChatGPT can provide guidance,
suggestions, and tips for content and
formatting if you want to create your
resume yourself. You’ll need to provide
6.
information about your work experience,

AI
7. 8.
education, skills, achievements, and You’ll need to share some

other relevant details that you’d like it personal details with it, like your
to include. style preferences, body type, what
If you’re not comfortable doing ÌiVV>ÃÃ]ÀÌiÀÃ«iVwV
that, you can ask ChatGPT to give you requirements you may have. I
a resume template for the job you are told ChatGPT that I was going
applying for. I told it that I was applying to a Nintendo-themed party and
for a job as a staff writer at Tech Advisor needed suggestions for a business-
but I didn’t want to give it my personal casual style that incorporated
information, and it made a decent CV Nintendo’s corporate colours. Its
template for me. All I’d need to do later suggestions were very detailed.
ÜÕ`LiÌwÌiL>Ã°
9. PLAY A TEXT-BASED RPG
8. GET A PERSONAL STYLIST ChatGPT can create text-based role-
AI hasn’t made it to the point where playing games that you can play by
it can physically style someone, but it responding to the given prompts and
can offer fashion advice by suggesting making choices based on the scenario.
ÕÌwÌì>Ã]VÕÀVL>ÌÃ] You can leave it up to ChatGPT to
accessorizing, and more. It can also create the setting of the game or you
give you tips on what to wear for can give it a detailed explanation
Ã«iVwVVV>ÃÃ° yourself. I told ChatGPT that I wanted

9. 10.
to play a text-based role-playing told it that it should be written in the

game set on a distant, hostile planet style of Walt Whitman, who is generally
that I’ve just crashed on. I’m the only considered the father of free verse. It
surviving member of the crew, and generated a fantastic poem and then
the planet has very little vegetation turned that into a haiku when asked.
and water. The goal is to survive and
make it back to my planet. ChatGPT WHAT’S NEXT?
didn’t fail to deliver. ChatGPT has opened up a world of
possibilities for users seeking assistance,
10. WRITE POETRY entertainment, or creative inspiration.
ChatGPT can write poetry in various Its versatility in handling a diverse
styles and themes. Give ChatGPT the range of tasks demonstrates the power
basic information it needs to create the of AI in enhancing our everyday lives.
poem, like a topic, style, desired mood, As technology continues to evolve,
or anything else you think is relevant. we can expect even more innovative
It will then generate a poem based on applications of ChatGPT and similar
that information. AI models. The future of AI-powered
I asked ChatGPT to write a poem assistance is bright, and we are only
about Mario rescuing Zelda from beginning to scratch the surface of its
Ganondorf, and Princess Peach getting potential to revolutionize the way we
jealous and running away with Luigi. I interact with the digital world.

AI
Best AI Art generators:

Bring your dreams to life
It’s easier than ever to try out AI art for yourself, with a number of low-cost
or free AI art generators. MARK HACHMAN reports
A
I art generators have moved instantly using natural-language text
from novelty to niche to even prompts. The very best AI art services
commodity in just months, offer superb imagery and superior tools,
with numerous services promising either for free or for a low price.
the ability to create generative AI art Why use AI art? Many of us

can appreciate a great painting, probably won’t ‘own’ a piece of AI
photograph, or drawing, without the art without some evidence that you
ability to draw it ourselves. We may yourself have altered it to make it an
also be able to describe what we want original work.
to see, and that’s where AI art comes Confused? We’ll talk more about
in. Instead of searching for a piece of how to get started with AI art and some
art that matches that description, the vÌiÃ«iVwVÃvƂ>ÀÌÌiÀ}Þ
service actually generates it, matching you might like to know (like inpainting)
what it knows of the scenes depicted in at the end of this story.
its image database and comparing them
to the scene and style you specify. HOW TO GET STARTED
All that complexity, however, 9+6*|#+|#46THE BASICS
demands intensive computing If you’re interested in trying out AI
resources. AI art services tend to handle art, remember that there are plenty
this in two ways: either limiting the of sites that will let you try out AI art
generated images (either the number of for free – and you should. A Google
images, or their resolution) or charging account seems to be the default
you ‘credits’ or actual money to enable requirement, however, as many don’t
further subscriptions. We factor that in. even offer the ability to choose a
Finally, we can’t ignore the legal and username and password.
moral implications of AI art. Generative Few AI art generations will look
AI art was trained on a vast number of «iÀviVÌÌiwÀÃÌÌÀÞ°7>ÌÃÌiÃi
images – some public, some possibly Midjourney do is help new users up.
private – and the services use that as a You can get a great result with just
‘seed’ for the image they produce. Not a very basic description.
all AI services are transparent about the But, like any hobby, AI art has its
source of their images. Companies like own nerds. Some sites will refer to
Getty Images feel that this is illegal, and (and even offer tutorials on) “prompt
>Ûiwi`ÃÕÌ°/i>VÌÕ>À}>ÌÞ engineering,” or tailoring your text
of AI art is in dispute, however, and AI prompt to get the result just so. What
proponents note that even human artists other sites offer as an alternative is a
>ÀiÌÞ«V>ÞÌÀ>i`ÀyÕiVi`LÞ simple visual list of styles and models
their exposure to existing art, whether that you can choose from – and
public or private. Just know that you selecting those will add the proper text

AI
to the prompt itself. (It can be useful You can often generate more than
to understand just how synthwave one image at a time, though it will often
differs from cyberpunk.) Some, cost you in terms of credits or whatever
unfortunately, lock these additional the site uses to limit generations. Larger
models behind a paywall. images will often require more credits,
If you’re suddenly at a loss for but this varies by service.
what to create, think of tweaks to the Think of a prompt in this way: ‘a
real world: a dragon perched on the photo/comic/woodcut of a squirrel/
Brooklyn Bridge. The cute centaur Marilyn Monroe/a fairy in the style
at the end of the bar. You’ll have of Van Gogh/Ansel Adams/Salvador
even more fun with casting scenes in Dali’, where you choose one of each.
the styles of your favorite artists or /i>``Ü>ÌiÛiÀ`wiÀÃÞÕV>
photographers. Words matter, as does think of: is the scene viewed through
phrasing. Sometimes a phrase like ‘while the branches of a tree? Shot with a
skateboarding’ may be misinterpreted, Canon DSLR with a long lens? AI can
but ‘riding a skateboard’ might not be. accommodate more than you’d think.
Well, almost everything.
AI art also has one
weakness: hands and
w}iÀÃ°7Þ¶7i½Ài
not sure, but it’s such a
common weakness that
it’s almost a meme. Some
terms of service also allow
NSFW images, while others
don’t – when you think
about all of the awful things
that people can imagine,
this makes sense. Others
don’t care about allowing
celebrity likenesses, such as
You can simply write a prompt like ‘man sitting next to tent’ former presidents.
and you’ll receive a result from an AI art service. But some Just like someone
«i«i«ÀiviÀÌ}iÌÛiÀÞ]ÛiÀÞÃ«iVwV° skilled in Photoshop or

Lightroom can need time to edit a Model: AI uses different generative
photo, so can you. You may need a models (Stable Diffusion 1.5 or 2.1
few dozen efforts to get things just so are the most common, though there
– and that’s why it’s worth trying AI art are many others like DALL-E 2 and
on a site that allows multiple prompts, Midjourney’s custom model) and each
for cheap, to see if it’s worth it. Try model will bring its own ‘look’ to a
multiple sites, too. Additional editing scene. Experiment and see what works.
tools like inpainting and outpainting
V>i«wÝiÀÀÀÃ° Prompt weight: How closely the model
Yes, inpainting. Don’t know what and image adheres to the prompt. This
that means? Neither did many of us is one variable you may want to tweak
until fairly recently. We’ve included a on the sites that allow it. Simply put, a
glossary, below, to provide additional AI strong prompt weight won’t allow for
>ÀÌìwÌÃÌi«}iÌÞÕÃÌ>ÀÌi`° much creativity by the AI algorithm,
while a weak weight will.
Prompt: A simple (or complex) text
description that describes that the Sampler: Nothing you probably need to
image portrays. This is affected by the worry about, though different samplers
prompt weight (see below). also affect the look of an image.
txt2img (text-to-image): This is basically Steps: How many iterations an AI art

what we think of in terms of AI art: input generator will take to construct an
a text prompt, generate an image. image, generally improving the output.
While many services will allow you to
Negative prompt: Anything you don’t adjust this, a general rule of thumb
Ü>ÌÌÃiiÌiw>>}i° is that anything over 50 steps offers
diminishing improvements. One user
img2img: (image to image): Instead of uploaded a visual comparison of how
generating a scene from scratch, you steps and samples affect the resulting
can upload an image and use that as image (fave.co/43M6tDT).
inspiration for the output image. Want
to turn your dog into a king? Upload ControlNet: A new algorithm, and
the dog’s photo, then apply the AI art not widely used. ControlNet is
generation to the scene. Ã«iVwV>ÞìÃ}i`vÀ>}iÌ

AI
image generation, ‘locking’ aspects area, and then alter that area using AI.
of the original image so they can’t (You can also edit everything but the
be changed. If you have an image of highlighted area, alternatively.) Imagine
a black cat and want to change it to uploading a photo of your father,
a calico, ControlNet could be used ‘inpainting’ the area where his hair is,
to preserve the original pose, simply and then adding a crown or a clown’s
changing the colour. wig with AI.
>ViwÝ}\ Some sites offer

Ìi>LÌÞÌ¼wÝ½v>ViÃÕÃ}
algorithms like GFPGAN,
which can make portraits
look more lifelike.
Upscaling: Default images

are usually small, square,
1,024x1,024 images,
though not always. Though
upscaling often ‘costs’
more in terms of time
and computing resources,
upscaling the image is one
way to get a ‘big’ image
that you can use for other
purposes besides just
showing off to your friends
on social media.
Inpainting: This is a rather

interesting form of image
editing. Inpainting is
basically like Photoshop plus AI cut off the top image for some reason, leaving the
AI: you can take an image image with half a face. Outpainting uses AI to extrapolate
>`}}Ì>Ã«iVwV what the rest of the scene should look like.

Outpainting: This uses AI to expand the $60 (around £48) per month
bounds of the scene. Imagine you just Images: 25 prompts for the free trial,
have a small photo, shot on a beach then varies
in Italy. You could use outpainting to Image licence: Non-commercial
‘expand’ the shot, adding more of use for the free trial, otherwise
the (AI-generated) beach, perhaps a commercial use permitted except
few birds or a distant building. It’s not for large businesses
something you’d normally think of. NSFW/Celebs: No/Yes
AI art can be worrying

for artists who may
now have to, perhaps
unfairly, compete with
machine-generated AI art.
However, we choose to
look at AI art as its own,
unique, creative outlet,
encouraging you to think
about and create your
own pieces. After all, you can
buy food at a restaurant, or
follow a recipe and combine
ingredients yourself. Each has
its place. Encouraging more
people to become part of the
creative process is what AI art
is all about.
THE BEST AI ART

GENERATORS
Midjourney
Midjourney’s UI is actually on Discord, where users
URL: fave.co/3Aebast can enter public prompts and see the images others
Price: Free trial (on hold), $10 }iiÀ>Ìi°7i½Ûiâi`>ÃVÀiiÃÌÌ>ivÀ
(around £8), $30 (around £24), ÃVÀ`]ÃÜ}Ìiw>«ÌÀi>ÃÌVÀiÃÕÌ°

AI
So far, Midjourney stands out as the v5 (the current version as of press time)
unparalleled leader of AI art since delivers the sort of hyperrealistic, fake
its launch last year – though the images (the Pope in a puffy jacket, say)
>}wViVivÌÃ>}iÃVÌÀ>ÃÌ that generate news stories. ‘Reality’ can
rather ironically with the absolute ÜLi>ÀÌwV>Þ}iiÀ>Ìi`°
clunkiness of its interface. Midjourney Midjourney uses Discord as its
interface because
the start-up didn’t
want to invest in any
infrastructure. You’ll need
to sign up for that app,
then drop into one of the
‘newbie’ Discord channels
and use the /imagine
command to prompt the
service with your request
for AI art.
Each prompt
generates four images,
any of which can be
chosen for ‘variation’,
as well as upscaling.
Inpainting is also
possible. You can open
the image either in
Discord or a browser to
download it. Midjourney
says that you can use its
generated images ‘in just
about any way you want’,
which includes ownership
of those images, subject
Each of the four Midjourney images can either be upscaled or to its terms of service.
you can ask for variations on them, as shown here. Let’s reiterate:

`ÕÀiÞ>}iÃ>Ài>}wViÌ] and managed to get through the wait
and, since they’re public, you can see list for Bing Chat and Image Creator.
other users generate images in real time (Image Creator has an odd ‘boost’
as well as browse a gallery of historical system which may or may not be in play
images. The magic of Midjourney is iÀi]LÕÌVÀÃvÌìÃ½ÌÃiiÌy>}
how it typically delivers a good image any limits on the number of images you
routinely. But using it is a lot like a can generate, which is a huge selling
command-line version of Photoshop: point.) Microsoft doesn’t claim to own
there are tons of available tweaks,
and they’re not obvious at all.
Microsoft Bing
%JCV|
%TGCVKXG|/QFG
URL: fave.co/3MY7bb2
Price: Free with Microsoft account
Images: Apparently unlimited
Image licence: Unclear
NSFW/Celebs: No/Some
Normally, we’d highlight Bing

Image Creator as Microsoft’s
AI image contribution. The
AI-powered Microsoft
Designer, too, is excellent.
But weirdly, we like Bing
>ÌÃ«iVwV>Þ]ÌÃ
Creative Mode) as a top
AI art generator for one
Ã«iVwVÀi>Ã\ÌiÀ>ÌÃ°
All three of Microsoft’s AI
art services are essentially
free and apparently
unlimited, provided that you You can ask for AI art within Bing Chat, but the images will
have a Microsoft account be stored in Bing Image Creator.

AI
any of the images it generates, but it could prompt it to: ‘draw a basket of
doesn’t say that you own them, either. fruit’ and then, in the next prompt, ask it
Otherwise, all you need to do is go to adjust a detail of the scene. (It won’t
to Bing Chat and enter a prompt like edit the scene, however, just download
‘draw me a…’ followed by a description another image.)
of the image.
Bing will then take
a few moments
and generate
four 1,024x1,024
images that you
can click on to see
more clearly and
download them.
Bing won’t draw
celebrities like Bill
Gates or Donald
Trump, but Brad Pitt is
ÕÃÌwi]>««>ÀiÌÞ°
Microsoft uses
a trained version of
the DALL-E 2 model,
and the results
are, subjectively,
just a step below
Midjourney. Bing
Chat doesn’t seem to
allow inpainting, you
can do something
that not all other AI
art generators do:
Playground AI provides a very nicely designed UI for AI art
incrementally iterate generation, but its AI editing features may need some tweaking.
on a scene. By that, One of its strengths, though, is in outpainting, which we describe
we mean that we in the glossary at the end of this story.

What Bing Chat doesn’t seem to do styles on the left rail, with adjustable
itself, however, is archive images. You’ll sizing, weighting, and other tweaks to
need to promptly (heh) download them the right. The generated images aren’t
or visit Bing Image Creator, where you’ll quite as good as Bing or Midjourney,
w`Ìi`ì° but it’s a very small step down, if
that. About the only limitation are the
Playground AI available models: just Stable Diffusion
URL: fave.co/3GYFcnO £°x>`Ó°£]ÜVÜÃÕvwVivÀ>Þ
Price: Free, $15 (around £12) per month. people. You can play around with
Images: 1,000 per day (free) / 2,000 per celebrity images if that’s your thing,
day (paid) but NSFW images are a no-no.
Image licence: You own them, even for Where Playground shines, though,
commercial use is in editing. Like Bing, you can edit
NSFW/Celebs: No/Yes created images through additional
prompts, whether it be the whole thing
Though Microsoft Bing Chat probably or just a portion (inpainting). Playground
wins out in terms of its absolute calls this the Canvas, a beta feature
simplicity, Playground AI is probably that needs some work – the transition
the cheapest, simplest, yet most from creation to editing (via prompt)
comprehensive way
to sample AI art for
yourself. With nothing
more than a Google
account, you can sign
up for Playground and
its 1,000 free images
per day. (Some quality
and size details
are limited after 50
daily images.)
Playground’s UI is
very well designed,
with prompt
information and Some example images I created with Playground AI.

AI
to editing (via in- and out-painting) is know what Adobe will eventually
rougher than it needs to be. Otherwise, V>À}ivÀÀiyÞ]ÀÜiÌiÀÌÜLi
this service really delivers. a standalone product. We’d expect
ÌiÀiyÞi}i]>Ìi>ÃÌ]Ì>`
#FQDG(KTGƃ[ Photoshop and Adobe’s other tools.
URL: fave.co/3GZQrg1 The beta currently offers an unlimited
Price: TBD amount of text-to-image generative
Images: Unlimited, at least in beta art as well text effects, or AI-generated
Image licence: Non-commercial usage textures applied to text via a prompt.
only while in beta Adobe also says that it’s ‘exploring’
NSFW/Celebs: No/No inpainting, outpainting, turning
Adobe is a major player

in creative design, so it
makes sense that all of
its tools will incorporate
AI to some extent.
Ƃ`LiÀiyÞÀi«ÀiÃiÌÃ
Ƃ`Li½ÃwÀÃÌ«ÕLV
steps in that direction.

ÕÀÀiÌÞLiÌ>]ÀiyÞ
is built upon copyright-
free or openly-licensed
images, or images it
itself has owned. Maybe
vÀÌ>ÌÀi>Ã]ÀiyÞ
images look professional
q>ÃivvÕw}VÞVi]
maybe, given that you’ve
probably seen many
images originally created
from Adobe tools and
Adobe stock.
Right now, we don’t č`LiÀiyÞVÀi>Ìi`ÃiÌiÀiÃÌ}č>ÀÌ°

3D models into images,
personalized AI models,
sketch-to-image, and more.
Adobe’s model doesn’t
seem as creatively free as
some others, but makes
up for it with its slick,
professional look. Each
prompt generates four
images, which you can adjust
with easy-to-parse
stylistic adjustments
from content type
(photo, graphic, art)
to styles (layered
paper, fur, neon,
palette knife) to
colour, tone, and
lighting. Adjusting
the image format
changes the image,
too. Just forget
anything NSFW Examples of AI art that uses double exposure.
or with celebrities
inside of it. Stable Diffusion
Ƃ`LiÀiyÞÃiiÃÌ`LiÃÌÜÌ URL: fave.co/43Q8qPu
images that have some connection to Price: Free
the real world and its stock imagery. Images: Unlimited
"``ViVÌÃ¼>yÞLÕââ}>ÀÕ` Image licence: Unclear
a king’s head’) produce stunning visions NSFW/Celebs: Yes/Yes
of just one portion of the scene. Pros
ÜÛiÀiyÞ]ÜVÜÕ`ÕLÌi`Þ Unlike cloud-based AI art services, a
be locked behind an expensive Creative key selling point of Stable Diffusion is
Cloud subscription. that it runs locally, on your PC – not on

AI
a server. If you want to

create dozens of images
of bikini-clad elves
frolicking in pools of jelly
on Midjourney, the world
is going to be able to
see. Otherwise, if you
have a powerful gaming
laptop or desktop,
you can download the
Stable Diffusion code
and a variety of image
models and training data
and go to town on the
privacy of your PC. And The Automatic1111 UI.
it’s all free, provided
that you have the time to download seems to be your GPU’s available VRAM.
a multi-gigabyte software model, the There are models and toggles and
hardware resources to run it, and the other options to tweak Stable Diffusion
patience to set it all up. in favour of your CPU or lower-tier
Stable Diffusion can be a bit GPUs, but the easiest way to run Stable
like running Linux. Its legacy is the Diffusion is with a powerful PC.
command line, and there’s just a
ton of publicly available code on Stable Horde (Artbot)
GitHub and so on to play with, if URL: fave.co/43Ong99
that’s your thing. However, UI-driven Price: Free
implementations of Stable Diffusion are Images: Unlimited, though subject to
becoming more common, and the most queuing
popular at the moment seems to be Image licence: Unclear
AUTOMATIC1111 (fave.co/3KS0cxQ). NSFW/Celebs: Yes/Yes
Naturally, the more powerful
hardware, the better – but it’s not So what happens if you don’t have
only your CPU or even your GPU that a powerful enough PC to run Stable
matters. Instead, the key component Diffusion? Stable Horde is one answer.

Like the old-school (now defunct) SETI@ you’ll end up with other users. That’s
Home, all you’re doing is sending your not always a problem – with 30 or so
prompt out to a cluster of connected PCs all working together to churn out
PCs running Stable Diffusion. There >}iÃ]ÞÕ>Þw`Ì>ÌÞÕÀ>}i
are a few front-end interfaces, but is generated immediately. (Images
we rely on Artbot. are saved in a library on the site until
Unlike Stable Diffusion’s roots, you clear your cookies.)
Artbot uses a GUI that’s somewhat
navigable: prompt at the top,
followed by a ton of available
options and models. What Artbot
offers are helpful tool tips that
explain what those options do:
how weighting the prompt affects
it, negative prompting, and more.
There’s an extremely helpful list
of the various models which you
can use as a framework for your
prompt, showing you visually
how they’ll affect the style of
ÌiÕÌ«ÕÌ°/iVw}ÕÀ>LÌÞ
is amazing.
Stable Horde isn’t really
free, however. It works on a
‘kudos’ system, where you’ll
need to sign up with an API
key – a hurdle to unfamiliar
users. After that, you’ll start with
a balance of kudos, which are
subtracted with each image you
generate. The more complex
the image is, the more kudos it
consumes. The fewer the kudos, One of the best things about Stable Diffusion is its AI
the further back in the queue art models, which can often be hit or miss.

AI
A collection of images I generated with Artbot.
You can ‘buy’ kudos, however, by

rating images, training the model on
which images humans (you) prefer
or connecting your PC to the Horde
itself. While you can go into ‘debt’ by
frequently generating images, there are
certain actions you can’t take without an
actual kudos ‘balance’ to fund it.
Why use Artbot? The vast number
of AI models, and the variance in style
those images produce. Otherwise,
generating images via Artbot can be a
bit of a gamble, and you may expend a
great number of kudos simply exploring
all the options. Since there’s no real
ÃiÌÕ«LiÃìÃw}ÕÀ}ÕÌÌiƂ*iÞ]
Stable Horde (Artbot) can be worth a try.

Opinion: AI chatbots
aren’t search engines.
They’re crypto bros
Don’t trust them. BRAD CHACOS reports
O
ver the past few months, AI ChatGPT – which, amazingly, only burst
chatbots have exploded in onto the scene around December. But
popularity off the surging when Microsoft seized the opportunity
success of OpenAI’s revolutionary to hitch its wagon to OpenAI’s rising

AI
star for a steep $10 billion dollars, it billions or even trillions of points of data
chose to do so by introducing a GPT- – text – that they learn from in order to
4-powered chatbot under the guise anticipate which words should come
of Bing, its swell-but-also-ran search next based off your query. AI chatbots
engine, in a bid to upend Google’s aren’t intelligent at all. They draw on
search dominance. Google quickly patterns of word association to generate
followed suit with its own home- results that sound plausible for your
grown Bard AI. µÕiÀÞ]ÌiÃÌ>ÌiÌiìwÌÛiÞÜÌ
Both are touted as experiments. And no idea of whether or not those strung-
these ‘AI chatbots’ are truly wondrous together words are actually true.
advancements – I’ve spent many nights I have no idea who coined the
with my kids joyously creating fantastic term originally, but the memes
stuff-of-your-dreams artwork with Bing are right: These chatbots are
Chat’s Dall-E integration and prompting essentially autocorrect on steroids,
sick raps about wizards who think lizards not reliable sources of information
are the source of all magic, and seeing like the search engines they’re using
them come to life in mere moments with despite the implication of trust that
these fantastic tools. I love them. association provides.
But Microsoft and Google’s They’re bullshit generators.
marketing got it wrong. AI chatbots like They’re crypto bros.
ChatGPT, Bing Chat and Google Bard
shouldn’t be lumped in with search AI CHATBOTS SAY THE
engines whatsoever. They’re more STRANGEST THINGS
like those crypto bros clogging up the The signs were there immediately.
comments in Elon Musk’s terrible new Beyond all the experiment talk,
/ÜÌÌiÀ]Õ`Þ>`VwìÌÞLÀ>Þ} Microsoft and Google were both
true-sounding statements that in reality sure to emphasize that these LLMs
are often full of absolute bullshit. sometimes generate inaccurate results
These so-called ‘AI chatbots’ do a (‘hallucinating’, in AI technospeak).
fantastic job of synthesizing information “Bing is powered by AI, so surprises
and providing entertaining, oft-accurate and mistakes are possible,” Microsoft’s
details about whatever you query. But disclaimer states. “Make sure to check
under the hood, they’re actually large the facts, and share feedback so we can
language models (LLMs) trained on learn and improve.” That was driven

law prof as the
accused”, as the
headline aptly
summarized.
It’s exactly
what it sounds
like. But it’s so
much worse
because of how
this hallucinated
‘scandal’ was
discovered.
You should go
read the article.
It’s both great
and terrifying.
Yes, the Bing Chat interface says ‘surprises and mistakes are possible,’
but you enter it via the Bing search engine and this design insinuates Essentially,
ÞÕ½}iÌ¼LiÌÌiÀ>ÃÜiÀÃ½ÌiÛiV«iÝµÕiÃÌÃìÃ«ÌiÌi law professor
tendency for AI hallucinations to get things wrong. John Turley was
contacted by a
home when journalists discovered fellow lawyer who asked ChatGPT to
embarrassing inaccuracies in the glitzy generate a list of law scholars guilty of
launch presentations for Bard and sexual harassment. Turley’s name was
Bing Chat alike. on the list, complete with a citation
Those falsehoods suck when you’re of a Washington Post article. But
using Bing and, you know, Google – the Turley hasn’t been accused of sexual
world’s biggest two search engines. harassment, and that Washington
ÕÌVy>Ì}Ãi>ÀVi}iÃÜÌ Post article doesn’t exist. The large
large language models has even language model hallucinated it, likely
deeper implications, as driven home drawing off Turley’s record of providing
by a recent Washington Post report press interviews on law subjects to
(fave.co/3URdGhO) chronicling how publications like the Post.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT “invented a sexual “It was quite chilling,” Turley told
harassment scandal and named a real the Post. “An allegation of this kind is

AI
incredibly harmful.” technology ever. (Spitting out libellous,

You’re damned right it is. An hallucinated claims doesn’t help.) But
allegation like that could ruin Microsoft and Google are causing just
someone’s career, especially since as much harm by associating chatbots
Microsoft’s Bing Chat AI quickly started with search engines. They’re too
spouting similar allegations with inaccurate for that, at least at this stage.
Turley’s name in the news. “Now Bing Turley and Hood’s examples may be
is also claiming Turley was accused of extreme, but if you spend any amount
sexually harassing a student on a class of time playing around with these
trip in 2018,” the Post’s Will Oremus chatbots, you’re bound to stumble into
tweeted (fave.co/3UR9ej4). “It cites more insidious inaccuracies, nonetheless
as a source for this claim Turley’s own ÃÌ>Ìi`ÜÌvÕVwìVi° }]vÀ
USA Today op-ed about the false claim example, misgendered my daughter
by ChatGPT, along with several other when I asked about her, and when I had
aggregations of his op-ed.” it craft a personalized resume from my
I’d be furious – and furiously i`«Àwi]Ì}Ì>ÌVÀÀiVÌ]LÕÌ
suing every company involved in the also hallucinated skills and previous
slanderous claims, made under the employers references. That could be
corporate banners of OpenAI and devastating to your job prospects if you
Microsoft. Funnily enough, an Australian aren’t paying close attention. Again,
mayor threatened just that around the Bard’s reveal demonstration included
same time the Post report published. obvious falsehoods about the James
“Regional Australian mayor [Brian Hood] Webb space telescope that astronomers
said he may sue OpenAI if it does not ìÌwi`ÃÌ>ÌÞ°1Ã}ÌiÃi
correct ChatGPT’s false claims that he supposedly search engine-adjacent
had served time in prison for bribery, tools for research could wreck your kid’s
Ü>ÌÜÕ`LiÌiwÀÃÌìv>>Ì school grades.
lawsuit against the automated text
service,” Reuters reported (fave. IT DIDN’T HAVE
co/3MZp49I). TO BE THIS WAY
OpenAI’s ChatGPT is catching The hallucinations sometimes spit
the brunt of these lawsuits, possibly out by these AI tools aren’t as painful
because it’s at the forefront of ‘AI in more creative endeavours. AI art
chatbots’ and was the fastest-adopted generators rock, and Microsoft’s killer-

I’ll end this piece with a
tweet from Steven Sinofsky
(fave.co/3H1nRea), who was
replying to commentary
(fave.co/41nq37W)
about severely wrong
ChatGPT hallucinations
causing headaches for
an inaccurately cited
researcher. Sinofsky is an
investor who lead Microsoft
"vwVi>`7`ÜÃÇÌ
glory back in the day, so
he knows what he’s talking
AI chatbots have a big microphone and all the boisterous, about.
Ã«>Vi`VwìVivÌ>Ì`Õì>Ü>ÞÃÞi}>LÕÌ “Imagine a world where
sports and politics at the bar. this was called ‘Creative
Writer’ and not ‘Search’ or
}"vwViƂi>ViiÌÃqÜV ‘Ask anything about the world’,” he
can create full PowerPoint presentations Ã>`°º/ÃÃÕÃÌ>LÀ>`}w>ÃVÀ}Ì
out of reference documents you cite, now. Maybe in 10 years of progress,
and more – seem poised to bring radical many more technology layers, and so on
improvements to desk drones like yours it will come to be search.”
truly. But those tasks don’t have the For now, however, AI chatbots are
strict accuracy expectations that come crypto bros. Have fun, bask in the
with search engines. possibilities these wondrous tools
It didn’t have to be this way. unlock, but don’t take their information
Microsoft and Google’s marketing truly at face value.
dropped the ball here by associating
large language models with search
engines in the eyes of the public, and
I hope it doesn’t wind up permanently
poisoning the well of perception. These
are fantastic tools.

FEATURE
Credit: Getty Images/ktsimage

}Ì>w}iÀ«ÀÌ}\
The secret, insidious way
you’re tracked online
There’s a new way to track web activity. MICHAEL CRIDER reports
B
y now you probably know that can identify you to websites, advertisers,
your web activity is tracked and anyone who’s interested enough
at pretty much every step. in your data to pay for it. But there are
Things like your IP address, a number far more complex methods of tracking
associated with your connection to your users on the open Internet – ways that
Internet service provider, and cookies, can get past even blocked cookies or an
ÌÞwiÃViVÌi`LÞÞÕÀÜiLLÀÜÃiÀ] IP address masked with a VPN.

This collection of varied data to information and your activity. That goes
groups of users, and sometimes even a for every device you’re using, whenever
Ã}iÕÃiÀ]ÃV>i`>`}Ì>w}iÀ«ÀÌ° you’re using it.
With a wide enough net cast to collect
data through information gathered via WHAT INFORMATION IS
websites and advertising, it’s possible +0|#|&+)+6#.(+0)'424+06!
to get a startlingly accurate picture of What kind of data is being collected?
Ü>Ì>Ã«iVwVÕÃiÀÃ`}i] A huge variety, some of which you may
sometimes down to a near-complete never have even imagined was being
history of their web usage. recorded. Obvious things like the type
of web browser and operating system
WHAT A DIGITAL ÞÕ½ÀiÕÃ}>ÀiÃivÌiwÀÃÌÃÌi«Ã]
(+0)'424+06|+50o6 but with modern web technology, sites
Despite the allusion to something you can gather data such as which browser
might see on a TV show about cops extensions you have installed (like ad
>`ÛiÃÌ}>ÌÀÃ]>`}Ì>w}iÀ«ÀÌ blockers or password managers), which
Ã½Ì>Ã}iwiÀ«Ìv`>Ì>°1i programs or apps are installed on your
a tracking cookie or an IP address, it’s device, the language your system is
a wide and varied set of information ÃiÌÌ]ÀiÛiÌiÃ«iVwVvÌÃÞÕ
variables collected from your devices have installed.
(smartphones, laptops and desktops, Here’s a long, but by no means
even things like smart TVs or appliances) ìwÌÛi]ÃÌvÌi`vviÀiÌ`Ãv
as you use the Internet. Combining all data that can be combined to form a
of this data together can track a single `}Ì>w}iÀ«ÀÌ\
user and collect a log of their activity.
So, the bad news is there’s no magic • Your estimated location, gathered
pill or a single method of blocking a from data like IP address, country
site or an advertiser from collecting reporting and your device’s time
all of this data. You can’t just turn on zone setting.
Incognito Mode and assume someone • Your device’s type, manufacturer,
can’t get to your information. It operating system, and even the
means that if you want to keep from operating system version number.
being monitored, you need to take a • Your web browser (reported by its
systemic approach to protecting your user agent), browser version number,

FEATURE
and settings like ‘Do not track’ and test, it can get a benchmark of your
default language. processor and guess what type and
• Your browser’s installed plug-ins and model it is.
extensions, like a PDF viewer or an I should point out that there’s a
ad blocker. reason that all this information is shared
• Your device’s display information, ÌiwÀÃÌ«>Vi]>`Ì½ÃÌÞ«V>Þ
including resolution, size, and even the harmless. For example, modern
available display dedicated to the web websites need to know your screen size
page itself. and resolution in order to show you text
• Your device’s hardware permissions ÞÕV>Ài>ì>ÃÞ]>`vÀ>ÌÌÌwÌ
granted to the browser, like camera on your screen so it doesn’t cover other
control, microphone, or accelerometer. elements of the page. But advertisers
• Your device’s basic hardware and other actors have found ingenious
information, like battery level or ways to collect and combine this
available RAM. data into incredibly complex tracking
• Your installed video and audio formats systems that don’t need old-fashioned
for available media playback. cookies or IP numbers.
• Your default keyboard layout, and
whether you’re using a touchscreen WHAT CAN SOMEONE
or not. DO WITH MY DIGITAL
• Your installed fonts. (+0)'424+06|+0(14/#6+10!
• Complex browser information Because modern devices are so
including HTTP headers, available APIs, complex, and always-online users tend
CSS info, and JavaScript objects. to use their computers and gadgets
so differently, it’s easy to combine all
Some tracking systems can get of these data points and narrow them
even more complex. For example, down into small groups of users. In
an embedded bit of script can query fact, if you’ve been using your phone
your device’s CPU to perform a quick or computer for more than a week or so
cryptographic function, something it >`ÞÕ>Ûi½ÌÌ>iÃ«iVwVÃÌi«ÃÌ
does in less than a second all the time. >ÃÞÕÀÃiv]ÞÕÀ`}Ì>w}iÀ«ÀÌÃ
But by measuring how fast your gadget probably unique – a collection of data
does the math, and comparing it to all ÃV«iÝ>`Ã«iVwVÌ>ÌÌ«ÌÃ
the other devices performing the same right to you, and only you.

That’s because
websites and
advertisers pass
`}Ì>w}iÀ«ÀÌÃ
around like trading
cards. With a wide
enough network
collecting from
websites and ads,
especially the most
9ÕV>ViVÞÕÀ`}Ì>vÌ«ÀÌÕÃ}>Ì]ÃÕV>Ãč1µÕi° commonly-visited
sites like Google,
You can test this out with a service Amazon, Facebook, YouTube, and so
like AmIUnique (fave.co/3mGSQW0) on, you can build a nearly-complete
or the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s ÀiVÀ`vÜ>ÌÃ«iVwVÕÃiÀÃ>Ài`}
Cover Your Tracks tool (fave. on the web. And by extension, you can
co/3ov3qjn). Unsurprisingly, both LÕ`>«ÀwivÜ>ÌÌiÞ½ÀiÌiÀiÃÌi`
of these tools determined that in…and what they might want to buy.
my desktop computer is leaving a Yup, this all comes back to
V«iÌiÞÕµÕi`}Ì>w}iÀ«ÀÌ advertising, the backbone of the
among more than a quarter million modern Internet. Now, it’s possible
surveyed results. It’s possible, and even for governments, law enforcement
pretty likely, that an advertiser can agencies, hackers, and other scary
««ÌÞÕµÕiÕÃiÀ«Àwi>} people to track individuals using the
>ÌiÜiLÌÀ>vwVÌi«>iÌ° same techniques. But unless you’re
That doesn’t mean that my digital incredibly wealthy, someone highly
w}iÀ«ÀÌÌiÃÃ«iVwVÌ}Ã>LÕÌ placed in government or industry, or
me, personally. It can’t know my age, you’re on the run from the law, odds are
nationality, race, sex, home address, pretty good you won’t be individually
phone number, and so on – at least, targeted using these techniques. It’s all
not without connecting to some other about the ads.
database of stored information. But However, that advertising data
what it CAN do is track the websites I can be connected to your personal
visit and what I do there. information, at least if you’re logged

FEATURE
into any site that has that information to completely stop sites and advertisers
available to it. That presents a more from tracking you with it. Basics like
moderate danger for things like identity Ã«w}ÞÕÀV>ÌÜÌ>6*
theft or more elaborate attempts at and blocking cookies just won’t cut it,
harm, like phishing or pig butchering. though they do make it a lot harder for
Again, you’re more likely to be targeted the tracker to narrow you down to a
by this if you’re wealthy or important. Ã«iVwVÜiLÕÃiÀ°
Blocking JavaScript with a tool like
HOW CAN I PROTECT MY NoScript will restrict a lot of the data
DIGITAL FINGERPRINT? points being collected. But just like
iV>ÕÃi>`}Ì>w}iÀ«ÀÌÃ>ìÕ« completely blocking cookies, that can
of so many data points, it’s pretty hard make a lot of websites simply not work,
especially more complex
web services and tools.
Using an ad blocker
will also stop some, but
Ì>]w}iÀ«ÀÌ`>Ì>
collection.
Some browsers
have systems that try
to limit the amount
of data accessible for
w}iÀ«ÀÌ}qÀivÝ
blocks at least some of it,
Setting Mullvad to super-safe mode lets me pass the EFF and more privacy-focused
w}iÀ«ÀÌ}ÌiÃÌ]LÕÌo browsers like Tor, Brave,
Mullvad (fave.co/3UTkKuq)
and DuckDuckGo
either block the data
or submit generic, non-
Ã«iVwVvÀ>ÌÃ
w}iÀ«ÀÌ}LiViÃ
…when I disable JavaScript, I can’t use Tech Advisor’s Ài`vwVÕÌ°
WordPress editor…which makes it impossible to do my job. But they aren’t perfect.

For example, the AmIUnique and EFF information. And keeping your personal
tools I mentioned earlier said switching information safe goes back to more
from Chrome to Mullvad made tracking basic, practical security measures:
harder, but my desktop PC still gave keeping as little of that data in as few
off a unique user footprint based on hands as possible.
my hardware and software. I had to Unfortunately, there’s no practical
completely disable JavaScript in the way to engage with the modern Internet
settings to pass the tests. But doing so >ì>ÛiâiÀw}iÀ«ÀÌÃÞÕÀ
makes YouTube show nothing but grey activity. The best you can do is make it
boxes, and the WordPress interface I a little harder for sites and advertisers to
use to write articles relies on JavaScript, «ÞÕ`ÜÃ«iVwV>Þ°
so this high-security mode isn’t really a
feasible solution for me.
A DIFFICULT COMPROMISE
}Ì>w}iÀ«ÀÌ}>ÃLiVi>
commonplace and ubiquitous practice
for web advertising. So common, in fact,
that it’s nearly impossible to use the
Internet without giving at least some
data away, which can be used to create
>«ÀwivÀÞÕ>`ÞÕÀ>VÌÛÌÞ°9Õ
can take steps to lower the amount of
information collected, but engaging
with any sort of complex web service
(like an online shop or social network)
means sharing at least some data that
can be tracked.
/i`>}iÀ>`}Ì>w}iÀ«ÀÌ
isn’t immediate – there’s very little risk
to targeted advertising, aside from
its tendency to be annoying. The
potential for mischief occurs when that
data is combined with more personal

WINDOWS 11
6 Windows 11 settings
worth changing now

>}}ÌiÃiÃÝÃiÌÌ}Ã>iÃ7`ÜÃ££ÕVLiÌÌiÀÕìÀwÛi
minutes of your time. BRAD CHACOS reports
W
hile Windows 11 provides a if you’re a Windows veteran that’s worth
wiiÕ}ÕÌvÌiLÝ doing). I’m talking about fast, simple
experience – terrible new changes that improve the feel of the
task bar aside – it handles so much operating system, turn off annoying
better after tweaking just a handful of ads, reduce the data you send to
settings to make it feel more like the Microsoft, and more. Better yet, you
Windows of old. V>`Ìi>ÕìÀwÛiÕÌiÃq
No, I’m not talking about making something I did mere weeks ago when
Windows 11 look like Windows 10 I needed to pick up a Windows 11
through an extensive overhaul (though laptop for some travel.

the Start menu and
head to Settings >
Personalization >
Taskbar > Taskbar
behaviours. You’ll
Ãii>wi`>Lii`
Taskbar alignment
1.
with a drop-down
menu. Change the
Here are six Windows 11 settings drop-dox menu from Centre to Left.
worth changing immediately, with an
added bonus at the end. 2. TURN OFF ANNOYING
NOTIFICATIONS
1. MOVE THE START BUTTON Next, it’s time to turn off those
TO THE LEFT CORNER >Þ}««Õ«ÌwV>ÌÃ°
What can I say, I’m a traditionalist. Windows 11 itself spawns some, but the
I understand Microsoft’s desire to worst offenders are third-party apps,
revamp Windows 10’s interface to especially if your laptop or desktop
more closely mirror the style of Macs came preloaded with bloatware. Making
and Chromebooks, but Windows 11’s the distractions stop is simple. Head to
shifting taskbar icons drive me batty. -Ì>ÀÌ-ÞÃÌi ÌwV>ÌÃ°9ÕV>
I want mousing
over to the Start
menu to be muscle
memory, not yet
another task I have
to look at and
mentally process.
Fortunately,
Microsoft makes it
easy to move the
Start menu back
to the left-hand
2.
corner. Simply open

WINDOWS 11
ÌÕÀÌwV>ÌÃvvÕÛiÀÃ>ÞvÞÕ suggestions’ on how to use your PC. If

desire. I prefer to work through the list you know your way around well enough,
>Õ>Þ]i>Û}ÌwV>ÌÃvÀ deselect the Offer suggestions on how
critical tools like Slack, Discord, and my I can set up my device and Get tips and
antivirus software. Either way, this menu suggestions when I use Windows boxes.
cures many headaches. I prefer to leave the Show me the
Windows welcome experience… option
3. TURN OFF MICROSOFT ADS ViVi`Ã½Ìwi`viÜvi>ÌÕÀiÃ
That segues neatly into the next tip. when a big update drops.
Keep scrolling down beyond the bottom We’re not done yet, though. If you
of the list of apps that can send you don’t like seeing Microsoft promotions
ÌwV>ÌÃ°/iÀi]ÞÕ½Ãii>VÕ«i pop up in your Settings app, head to
of additional boxes that relate to Start > Settings > Privacy & security
Windows 11 itself providing ‘tips and > General (3a.). Disabling ‘Show me
suggested content in
the Settings app’ does
the trick, though you
may want to turn off all
these options.
Finally, head
to Settings >
3a.
Personalization >
Device Usage (3b.).
The options here tell
Microsoft how you use
your computer so Windows
11 can provide tailored
recommendations for apps,
ÜiLÃÌiÃ]"vwViÎÈxÌÀ>Ã]
and more. Turn them all off
if you’re not interested in
your £120 copy of Windows
11 upselling you on more
3b.
Microsoft services.

‘Make <browser name>
your default browser’
banner with a Set default
button at the top of the
page does the trick.
5. DECLUTTER
6*'|6#5-$#4
4.
Yep, Windows 11’s
new taskbar sucks
There are other places Microsoft and Microsoft stuffs it to the brim
promotions lurk such as the beautiful with icons and features you probably
lock screens provided by Bing Images, have no interest in. Make it easier on
but tweaking this handful of settings the eyes and reclaim some space by
eradicates the most irritating ones. heading to Settings > Personalization
> Taskbar and deselecting any of the
4. CHANGE YOUR taskbar items you’ll never use. Adios,
&'(#7.6|$4195'4 Widgets and Teams Chat.
Microsoft Edge is pretty darned good, While we’re on the topic, spending
actually, but if you’re a diehard Chrome, £5.99 on Stardock’s Start11 (fave.
Firefox, Opera or Brave user, switching co/40Yul5W) or StartIsBack (fave.
your default browser is easy. co/3Kp3JTl) is well worth it. The
After downloading and installing programs offer granular options that
the browser of your choice, it should expand the look and functionality of the
ask if you want to make it the default. taskbar and Start menu alike, making
Do so, duh. But if
you missed your
chance during
setup, navigate to
Settings > Apps >
iv>ÕÌ>««Ã]w`
the name of your
browser in the list,
5.
and click on it. A

WINDOWS 11
6.
it a lot easier to make Windows 11

look like Windows 10. They’re beyond
the scope of this article but deserve a
shout-out.
6. DARK MODE
Finally, an optional personal preference.
Some people like staring at black text
on white screens all day. Others, like
me, prefer not to sear their retinas. So,
ÌiÛiÀÞwÀÃÌÌ}>Ü>ÞÃ`ÜÌ>
new Windows install is activate dark
mode, a preference that carries over
into several apps once you’ve set it.
Simply head to Settings >
Personalization > Colours and look for a
wi`V>i`
ÃiÞÕÀì°
>}i
the drop-down menu from Light to
Dark. Your eyes will thank you.

Take full control of
your keyboard with this
handy Windows tool
Personalize your PC and incite chaos for other users of your computer? It’s
a double win. ALAINA YEE reports
L
ast month, Microsoft revealed default, rather than taking a screenshot
that the Print Screen key’s of your whole screen.
function would be changing in /ÃV>}iÜ½ÌLiÌiwÀÃÌÌi
Windows 11. This venerable artifact Print Screen has changed in utility. Nor
on modern keyboards will eventually are you stuck with this new update
open Windows 11’s Snipping tool by when it launches – you can toggle it

WINDOWS 11
back to the existing functionality. But that’s your business and this tool will
reading this news made think about help you make that happen.
two things – one, the legacy of Print I like using Keyboard Manager
Screen (now often shortened to Prt Scr whenever I encounter keyboards that
on keyboards). I remember the days of put the control key in weird spots
when hitting that key meant it would vÀÞw}iÀÃ]>Ìi>ÃÌ®]LÕÌÞÕV>
actually print what was on your screen basically set up your own macro keys.
to a piece of paper. And two, how much Remap shortcuts to F1 through F12,
I hate it when Microsoft upends decades or any other keys you don’t use often.
of muscle memory with a tweak to a The possibilities are really endless –
long-standing feature. including the potential for mayhem.
Fortunately, when it comes to Trolling via surreptitious remapping
keyboard output, you still have some of keys is exactly the kind of thing my
control over it. Thanks to Microsoft’s VÕÃÃ>`ÜÕ`yVÌÕ«i>V
superb PowerToys apps, which are a other as children.
set of incredibly useful tools not baked
into Windows but should be, you can
remap keys via the Keyboard Manager
utility. What’s remapping? As Microsoft’s
own explanation (fave.co/3LfUabI) of
the software outlines, if you want the A
key to output a ‘b’ when you hit it, well,
A blank slate now, but soon to be full of delightful mayhem –

for other people who dare to use my PC, that is.

Credit: Getty Images/Henrik5000
How to block blue
light on Windows 11
Begone, tension headaches. ALEX HUEBNER reports
I
f you spend hours a day staring at «ÕÀV>ÃiiÃVÀiiwÃ]7`ÜÃ££
a computer screen, there’s a high has a built-in feature to block blue light
possibility you may suffer from without paying for anything extra. All
tension headaches and eye strain. While you have to do is just make a few simple
there are a few solutions available for tweaks in your settings.

WINDOWS 11
HOW TO ENABLE THE

NIGHT LIGHT SETTING
To get to your settings, click
the Windows icon on your
taskbar and select the gear
icon labelled Settings (1.).
This will open your system
settings menu. To access
the Night Light settings,
1.
select Display (2.). If you’d
like to block the blue light
all the time, click the slider
to switch the Night Light
setting to on (3.).
Click the arrow to
change the strength of
the blocker or set it on a
schedule (4.).
When you select the
slider next to Schedule
night light, you can choose
2.
to set custom hours by
pushing the set hours
bubble (5.). Just click the
numbers and AM or PM to
change the times.
Selecting the bubble
next to the Sunset to
sunrise option (6.) will
use your location to
ìÌiÀiÃ«iVwVÃÕÃiÌ
and sunrise times to keep
your night light active
3.
during evening hours.

It’s that easy. Any time
you want to shut off the
night light, just return to the
display settings and switch
the Night Light slider to off.
4.
5.
6.

WINDOWS 11
Credit: Getty Images/MF3d

How to check your
laptop’s battery health
The obscure Battery Report tool in Windows can help you get hard
numbers on your laptop’s endurance. MATTHEW S. SMITH reports
B
attery life is an often vague and to buy a new laptop.
nebulous concept. In theory, it Windows has a secret feature
can be represented by a single called Battery Report that can help. It’s
number but, in practice, literally what we use while testing notebook
hundreds of factors can shorten or endurance – and it’s how you can tell
lengthen endurance. That’s frustrating if your laptop’s battery life is dropping
if you’re trying to gauge the battery life faster than you think. Here’s how to
and health of your notebook, especially access Battery Report and understand
if you’re trying to determine if it’s time what it reveals you about your laptop.

The Windows Command Prompt.
HOW TO CREATE the Command Prompt. This will be

#|$#66'4;|4'2146 your default user folder, which is
Battery Report is not a new feature, C:Users<yourusername>
but it remains under-the-radar because
there’s no way to access it through You can access the Battery Report
Windows’ settings menus. You can only either by using File Explorer to navigate
create a Battery Report through the to your user folder, or by performing
Command Prompt. Here’s how to do it: a Windows Search for battery report.
Note that it may take several minutes
• Perform a Windows Search for for Windows Search to index the new
CMD or Command Prompt. You’ll see report and allow you to search for it, so
Command Prompt appear and the File Explorer might be faster.
search results. Open it. Alternatively, The Battery Report is saved as
ÞÕV>w`
>`*À«Ì an HTML document, so you can
listed under Windows System in the open it with the web browser of
Windows Start menu. ÞÕÀVVi°"Vi«iÞÕ½w`>
• Once open, you’ll see a command long document that is packed with
line starting with C: and ending with the information. Here’s how to decipher
name of your user account. A blinking what each section means.
cursor will appear at the end of this
command line. Type powercfg / HOW TO USE BATTERY REPORT
batteryreport and press Enter on TO ESTIMATE BATTERY LIFE
your keyboard. The Battery Report can be used to
• If successful, the Command Prompt gauge battery life in a few ways, but
will tell you a battery life report was most people will want to scroll to the
saved to your user folder. LÌÌvÌiÀi«ÀÌÜiÀiÞÕ½w`
• Navigate to the folder listed in the Battery life estimates section.

WINDOWS 11
This calculates how long the battery laptop when it was new. This is a useful
could last based on how long you’ve comparison for an older laptop.
used it each day or week. The estimate The log is not perfect. The estimate
is handy because you don’t have to fully is based on how you used the battery
drain the battery. in the past so it will be off if you
Take a look at the Active column change how you use the PC in the
under At Full Charge. This will show a future. Even a minor change, like
result formatted in hours, minutes, and switching the web browser you use, 2.
seconds. If the column says 4:56:22, for can throw off the estimate.
instance, that means the battery was Battery report’s math can also
estimated to last four hours, 56 minutes, prove a bit…odd, at times. You will see
and 22 seconds (1.). errors when a system is used for only a
You will also notice the log lists At short period of time or in short bursts
Full Charge and At Design Capacity. throughout the day. You may also notice
The At Full Charge column is the errors if the system is not used at all for
estimate you want to pay attention to, several weeks.
as it creates an estimate based on the
maximum charge your laptop’s battery HOW TO USE BATTERY REPORT
can handle right now. TO MEASURE BATTERY LIFE
The At Design Capacity column The battery life estimate is useful for
creates an estimate based on the a quick glance, but you’ll need to go
maximum battery charge of your deeper if you want an accurate result.
Take a look at the Battery
usage section of the report
(2.). This shows you how the
battery was actually used in
the last three days. You can
try to piece together battery
life using these snippets, but
it’s tough.
You can only record an
accurate result by forcing
your laptop to discharge
1.
its entire battery in one go.

that turn off or dim the display.
Start your chosen test and
wait until the laptop reaches
its critical battery state. It
will automatically power off.
Connect the laptop to power,
turn it on, and run the battery
report again. The Battery
usage section of the report
will tell you how long the
battery endured.
Running this test will give
It’s possible to do this while using the you an accurate endurance baseline.
laptop normally, but it’s easier to use a You can compare it to similar tests from
video, script, or benchmark that can run other people who own the same system,
unattended. Here’s a few suggestions: or you can run the test every month to
see how battery life holds up over time.
• A YouTube video that’s 10 hours long,
or longer. HOW TO USE BATTERY REPORT
• Use the Basemark Web 3.0 TO MEASURE BATTERY HEALTH
benchmark (fave.co/3LiG8pz). Check Battery Report offers two more ways to
ÌiLiV>À½ÃVw}ÕÀ>Ì«ÌÃ decide if your battery is over the hill.
and turn on Battery Life mode, which /iwÀÃÌÃ
ÞVi
ÕÌ]ÜV
wÌiÞ«ÃÌiLiV>À° ÞÕ½wì>ÀÌiÌ«vÌiÀi«ÀÌ
• Use iMacros (fave.co/40rFVos) to under Installed Batteries. Cycle count
create a custom web browsing macro is an estimate of how many times
and then use the loop feature to run the your laptop’s full battery capacity has
macro until the battery is drained. been discharged.
• Use a program like Macro Recorder This is cumulative: one cycle can
(fave.co/3UVZnsf) to create a loop that mean the battery was discharged by
Ài«i>ÌÃwÌiÞ° Óä«iÀViÌwÛiÌiÃ]À£ää«iÀViÌ
once. A typical laptop battery should
Also turn off all sleep and handle several hundred charge cycles
hibernation features, including those before there’s any meaningful change in

WINDOWS 11
from running a battery

into the ground,
though. A modern
laptop battery will
stop working entirely
long before its full
charge capacity
reaches zero.
3.
battery capacity. Most can handle 500

to 1,000 cycles before battery capacity
becomes a problem.
You can also examine the Battery
capacity history section (3.) found
halfway through the report. This
provides a log of measured battery
capacity and also, for convenience,
shows the battery’s design capacity,
which is how much power the battery
should hold if it performed as intended.
Many new laptops will show a full
charge capacity that’s a bit higher than
the design capacity, but the full charge
capacity will decrease as the battery
ages. The laptop above, for instance, is
approaching its tenth birthday.
A full charge capacity that’s 20
percent lower than the original design
capacity, or lower, indicates an older
battery. There’s nothing to stop you

Opinion: Every time I
use Windows 11, I wish I
was using Windows 10
I feel so much joy when 5pm rolls around. ALAINA YEE reports
A
s careers go, I have little to honour goes to Windows ME, with Vista
complain about. But I have to as runner up. (Serving as tech support
confess – there are parts of the for my parents’ PC with Windows ME
job I like less than others. And Windows ranks among my least favourite periods
11 is one of those things. I don’t think of my life.) But even after a year and
it’s a bad operating system. That (dis) a half since Windows 11’s launch, I

WINDOWS 11
ÃÌw`ÞÃiv}}vÀ
Windows 10 whenever I make
myself use Windows 11.
What makes Microsoft’s
latest operating system a
thing I tolerate between
the weekday hours of 9am
to 5pm? It’s the collection
of multiple low-grade
annoyances I can’t easily
evade. I won’t bore you
with all the details – yes, Windows 11 buries long-available features in a secondary
the Windows 11 Start menu context menu.
remains an annoying step
backwards – but let me give you some shortcuts like refresh through that
examples of the biggest irritations. context menu. Then in Windows 11,
such mainstays abruptly got shunted
BURIED (OR ELIMINATED) off into a secondary right-click menu –
CONTROLS Ü>ÌÌiÕÃiVVÌw`Ü
The user interface teams at Microsoft takes two. And this is still the default,
apparently did not listen any focus as is the neutering of the ribbon in
group feedback from
my demographic, also
known as the ‘Why
the [censored] would
you ever do that?’
cohort. Last year I wrote
about how Windows
11’s right-click menu
sucks, but it’s still worth
repeating 12 months
later. For decades
(literal decades), *ÀiÌÌÞ]LÕÌ>À`vÀÞiÞiÃÌÃV>>`«VÌ}ÃÕÌµÕVÞ°
Windows offered action Feels like everything has the same visual weight.

File Explorer, which put
a lot of other commands
front and centre.
Could I dig into
the registry for every
Windows 11 PC I spin up
vÀÜÀÀìÀÌ¼wÝ½
these problems? Yes. Do
I like messing with the
registry? No.
What is this nonsense?
SETTINGS MENUS
THAT ALL LOOK THE SAME and it takes less time than going
Windows 11’s Settings menu options all through the standard troubleshooting
look alike, and it drives me crazy. Don’t steps. Still, I can’t always reboot
get me wrong, they’re pretty with those immediately when it happens, leaving
translucent blocks. But scanning them me to stew on the problem in the back
ÌµÕVÞw`Ìivi>ÌÕÀiÜ>ÌÌ of my head anyway. Is it Windows? Is
tweak is murder on my brain, especially it Windows reacting badly to apps I’ve
since some elements changed between installed? Am I going to have to nuke
Windows 10 and Windows 11. I assume the whole thing and start over to solve
½ÃÕ««Ãi`ÌÃi>ÀVÌw`Ì}Ã this issue? The behaviour is so strange
quickly, but it’s not actually faster when I for a PC that barely has any software
>ÛiÌwÀÃÌ}iÌìÌvÞÌiÀ}Ì on it. You know what never does this to
search term, then type it in. me? Windows 10.
BUGS DEFAULT START

The Windows 11 machine I currently /'07|215+6+10
use most will inexplicably throw up a Something about that centred cluster
blank start menu from time to time. The of start menu button and open
search function will simultaneously go apps throws me off any time I use a
ì>`]Ì°>Ûi½Ìw}ÕÀi`ÕÌÜÞ Windows 11 PC. I know that’s now
yet – in the grand scheme of things, a changeable setting. But I can’t
ÀiLÌ}iÛiÀÞ`>ÞÀÌÜÃ½ÌÀÀwV] really turn it off.

WINDOWS 11
with as I’m talking them

through their issue.
Meanwhile, I keep
instinctively clicking left
on my taskbar, thinking
the Start menu button is
there. Every time.
NO LOCAL
ACCOUNTS
That centred location for the Start Menu and open apps? I’m Look, Microsoft, you
not a fan. don’t know my life better
than me. Do I agree
In my opinion, part of my job that the signing in with a Microsoft
involves helping people who stick with account provides smart protections?
defaults – whether that’s navigating Yes, especially since laptops are so
them as-is or changing them to be less popular these days – most people will
annoying. But I can’t know what those LiiwÌvÀìÛViiVÀÞ«Ì>`
defaults are (and how they shift) if I’ve other features if their PC becomes lost
Vw}ÕÀi`Þ>ViÌÃÕÌÞÌ>ÃÌi or stolen. But do I want to sign in with
and leave it that way.
So I leave everything
as presented by Microsoft.
It allows me to directly
experience what many people
will, so that I’m better equipped
when dispensing advice. You
can call me masochistic – and
you wouldn’t be wrong – but
when I get a text message from
a friend or relative asking for
assistance, the last thing I want Yes, using your Microsoft account to log into Windows
is trying to remember what I has its perks. But sometimes the very same features are
left default and what I tinkered a drawback for me.

a Microsoft account across countless Windows 11 start menu goes blank.
computers for work and subsequently Or I move my mouse to the left side
ending up with all kinds of random of the taskbar without thinking. Each
things syncing to it? Nope. time, I sigh softly to myself and wish for
Windows 10 gently pushes users Windows 10. If you, like me, can’t shake
to sign in with an account, but there’s ÌÃ}À>Ã«]Ì½ÃÜÀÌV>}}ÌiÃiwÛi
still at least that back door for people Windows 11 settings immediately.
like me to slip through. Windows
11 basically forces you to use a
Microsoft account.
Let me live on the edge, Windows
11. I know what I’m doing.
FIXABLE, BUT BROKEN

½>LÕÌÌ>Ûi>LÕÌwvÌiiL
people swarm out of the woodwork
and hit my mentions about how I
could just tweak everything with some
Ài}ÃÌÀÞwÝiÃÀ«>`ÃvÌÜ>Ài°Ü
technically could.
But let’s just back up a second.
Leaving aside the legitimate reasons
for why I can’t, as outlined above…
Why do we need to tinker in the
registry to bring back functionality that
worked for decades? (I can’t stress
this point enough. We had some
of these user interface features for
decades.) Or alternatively, having to
pay for a piece of software that makes
those adjustments and also adds back
functionality we were used to?
It’s a philosophical sore spot for me,
and one I think about whenever my

Tech Advisor - June 2023

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Tech Advisor - June 2023

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Tech Advisor - June 2023

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

CONTENTS

NEWS 28 Samsung Galaxy A54 5G

Credit: Getty Images/ktsimage

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 3

Windows 11’s incoming

4 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 5

Credit: Getty Images/matejmo

6 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 7

home. Home Security Heroes says that

8 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 9

The image editor will scale to your browser resolution, so on a

10 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 11

If the update has already

12 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 13

That’s primarily due to

14 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 15

Laptop manufacturers are slowly to use. Being an OLED, it delivers

16 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 17

Battery life and about would’ve been nice, but you

You can choose

18 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 19

20 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 21

22 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 23

DISPLAY Likewise, a refresh rate of 60Hz

24 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 25

beating the Surface

26 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 27

Samsung Galaxy A54 5G

28 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 29

the built in stereo speakers

30 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 31

avoid blur from a shaky hand. Results

32 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

34 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 35

36 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 37

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro+

38 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 39

unlocking the phone, multitasking or phone excels at content consumption,

40 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2023

PERFORMANCE very capable chip. Alongside that

JUNE 2023 • TECH ADVISOR 41

Geekbench 5 (multi-core) support for microSD expansion and

Õ«`>Ìi>Þ`iÃ°Ƃ`Õ«V>Ìiwi co/3LnW2iZ) prompted the software

Ì`iwi>«ÀiÃ>Ài`iÞqiÃÃiÌ>Þ that Enpass is designed to primarily

step instructions, ingredient quantities, L>ÃVvÀ>Ì]VÕÀÀiÌwÌiÃÃiÛi]

>ViwÝ}\ Some sites offer