You finally caved and bought an Apple Watch. These are our favorite straps, screen protectors, chargers, and cases to go with it.

MacworldAt a glanceExpert's RatingProsPacked into a compelling Office packageFull of optionsFocus mode is fantasticConsSo many tools may overwhelm someOur Verdict Microsoft Word remains king of the word processors, and while it definitely has some stylistic choices that may push some away, its combination of affordability and flexibility makes it tough to beat.Price When ReviewedThis value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefinedBest Pricing TodayIf youre of a certain age, Microsoft Word is likely to have been a cornerstone of your early computing life.Before Google Docs and the like, many of us used Word, helping Microsofts word processor become a household name whether you enjoyed using it or not.While it still has its quirks, Word is now better than it has ever been and is rolled into an already compelling Office 365 suite that takes away the pain of expensive one-off licenses from yesteryear. (If you dont want a subscription, you can get Word as part of Office 2024 in a non-subscription standalone version.) First ImpressionsWhatever platform you use Word on, theres a pleasing familiarity to it. I used it throughout all levels of education, and as a result, found it easy to get started but others may be more than a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of toolbars and icons (more on that a little later).Still, once youre in, Word can open just about any document you throw at it with the exception of Pages files which remain openable in, well, Pages. (Want to share a Pages document with a Word user? You will need to save your Pages file in the doc. file format. To do so, press click on File and you will see an option to Export to. choose Word. Now click on Word and Save. If you are trying to open a Pages document in Word you will need to convert it using Pages, if you dont have Pages to hand you can use Pages in iCloud.)Template Gallery: All of these templates are a click away.FoundryAs soon as you opt to pick a new document to open youre presented with a whole host of templates that range from Calendars to notepads, journals, and resumes, and you can open from Microsofts OneDrive cloud storage, too.That brings us nicely to the integration with Office365. The rise of Google Docs and other cloud-based options means that buying a full word processor isnt a pressing concern for many of us.File Locations: Word can pull from a variety of file locations.FoundryThankfully, the combined apps and services on offer with Microsoft Office 365 make it so youll probably find the value from somewhere, if not specifically Word. For one user its $99.99/84.99 a year ($9.99/8.49 a month) for Microsoft 265 Personal. Or for $129.99/104.99 a year (or $12.99/10.49 per month) you can get the Microsoft 365 Family edition with up to six licenses including Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, and more.However, if you only want to buy Word you can do that too. Microsoft sells a lifetime license of Word for $179.99/159.99 (one device). Word is also available for free with 5GB of cloud storage and a series of basic templates, too. See: How to get Word for free.Microsoft Word featuresAs you might expect from Microsoft, Word has a fairly business-like appearance, with easy-to-read labels and tooltips on the huge variety of buttons it offers.Id still rather look at the more minimalist Pages interface, but Word on Mac does a good job of putting things in places your muscle memory knows to drift to. You can share documents in real-time, too, with comment and highlighting functionality included, and as you can imagine its very easy to share via OneDrive or Outlook.New in recent years is, as you may expect, AI integration. On the web comes in the form of Copilot which works a little like Apples own Apple Intelligence Writing tools, letting you write or rewrite with simple prompts, but in the Mac app, its seemingly restricted to the Editor tool.AI Editor: The Editor is included on the Mac version of Word, but Copilot isnt.FoundryIts fine and feels like the way the world is moving, but it really just operates as a quick checklist of potential grammar mistakes and a rudimentary plagiarism check.My favorite feature is the Focus mode which helps you zoom in with minimal distractions. I tend to work on articles in Draft for its simpler view, but this is definitely something I can see myself coming back to for longer pieces.Focus Mode: Focus Mode is a great way to minimise distractions and get work done.FoundryMicrosoft Word annoyancesToolbars: Word packs a lot of items onto its toolbars.FoundryMicrosoft Words only real negative is just how chock-full of options it is. Just look at the toolbar in the screenshot above, for example there are buttons everywhere, and then theres the menu bar, too.If youre used to it, or you genuinely do find yourself using a lot of those features, youll have no issues here. But, as Microsoft shoehorns more AI features into its Office apps, it could end up getting more and more complex.Should you buy Word 2024 for Mac?Interface issues aside, Microsoft Word is a full-featured word processor that runs well on Mac, has an excellent ecosystem of sibling apps, and can be used for free. If youve not tried it for a while, it might just surprise you.

MacworldWith about two months to go until the launch of the new iPhone SE, we thought we had learned everything about the upcoming budget phone. But a new leak claims it will be a lot different than we thought.According to longtime leaker Evan Blass on X, the iPhone SE 4 will have a Dynamic Island instead of a notch. That contradicts basically every other rumor weve heard about the iPhone SE display, which has long been expected to have a notch. Apple first dropped the notch with the iPhone 14 Pro followed by the iPhone 15 a year later. Rumors have long claimed the iPhone SE 4 will be based on the iPhone 14, the last iPhone to have a notch.FoundryGranted, the rest of what weve heard about the iPhone SE 4 matches up with the iPhone 15, including a 48MP camera and USB-C. But if the iPhone SE 4 has a Dynamic Island, it changes everything we thought we knew about the phone.For one, Apple still sells the iPhone 15. If the iPhone SE 4 has the same design and display with a better chip, the only benefit of the iPhone 15 will be a secondary camera, which is a hard sell for a year-old phone that will likely cost $200 more and have a slower chip. And who would buy an iPhone 14 with a notch and a Lightning port when the brand-new iPhone SE 4 is cheaper?If Blass is correct, it likely means that Apple will change its iPhone strategy and distill the lineup down to just five models: the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, 16 Pro Max, and iPhone SE 4. Or maybe 16E, though Blass also reports that the iPhone SE name will stick around.Apple is expected to unveil the iPhone SE 4 in March or April, possibly at a spring event alongside the 11th-gen iPad.

Apple is about to improve its email application, Mail, on iPads and Macs. Both platforms will soon gain the sameApple Intelligenceemail summary and prioritization systems already available on iPhones though not every iPhone user seems to have embraced the new systems.Whats coming?If you use an iPhone, youll already have experienced the system, which introduces a new user interface in Mail and uses artificial intelligence (AI) in an attempt to prioritize incoming email communications with smart categorization. The latter means your device can look at incoming correspondence and assign it to categories, which currently include the following groupings:All Mail:All your Mail in order of receipt.Primary: All the messages Apple Intelligence thinks might be important to you within this category.Transactions:Invoices, shopping receipts, and key messages from services and organizations, along with banking messages.Updates:All the stuff you subscribe to. (I see this as a quick list of things to unsubscribe from.)Promotions:Most marketing emails, which Apple describes as capturing special offers, deals and more.Dont worry about time-sensitive messages. Apple says these should automatically appear in your Primary account, even if the message belongs to a different category. That means you shouldnt miss an important delivery when it arrives. Mail also uses AI to prioritize mails it believes might be more important, placing these at the top of the Primary mailbox.How to manage categoriesYou can sort of teach Mail how to make better decisions when categorizing incoming emails. When you find an email gathered within an inappropriate category you can intervene. On an iPhone, you do this by opening the message and tapping the three dots at the top right of the message page. A menu will appear, including an option to Categorize Sender. Tap this and you can assign emails from that sender to a more relevant category or leave automatic categorization on if you choose.You cant yet create your own custom groupings, such as for specific projects or workgroups, though you can use Smart Mailboxes to achieve this to some extent. Most observers believe that the capacity to build your own categories will be introduced eventually.Had you noticed?Apple has equipped email with a tool that lets you dig more deeply into the categories active on your device. Open Mail and tap the three dots icon at top right. Here you can switch between Categories and the traditional List view and also tap the About Categories item. When you do, youll be taken to an About Categories page in which youll find interesting information, such as:How many of your messages are seen as being ones that matter the most.How many receipts, orders, and delivery-related emails you received in the last seven days.The frequency and magnitude of promotional email received.What else is coming?The new tools will likely appear as Apple introduces new contextual awareness to its devices, which means Siri will be able to answer questions that relate to whats on your screen or in your apps. That means youll be able to engage in tasks such as adding address data to contact cards, or checking your next dinner date with your gran while looking at a message from her.What people thinkApple drew criticism when it first introduced these features, with some users not adapting to them at all. They complained about the icons used, and didnt seem to understand how to manage the new features or the layout within Mail. But control remained in their hands; disabling Categories is simple.On an iPhone, you open Mail, tap the three dots at the top right of the app, and then tap List View. This returns Mail to the time-based list view of incoming messages you are used to.Which devices can use the feature?Unlike other Apple Intelligence features, these Mail tools are available to most Apple devices capable of running the latest version of Apples operating systems, which basically means you dont need to be using a recent device such as an M-series Mac if you want to use these tools.When will these tools reach iPads and Macs?We anticipate the new Mail features will arrive on iPads and Macs starting with the next major update, which isexpected to arrive in Aprilafter extensive beta testing. That means you can expect the new Mail tools to arrive with iPad OS 18.4 and macOS 15.4, which should appear in spring. It is not clear whether these tools will form part of a wider introduction of more contextual intelligence across Apples devices.You can follow me on social media! Join me onBlueSky, LinkedIn,Mastodon, andMeWe.

This is todays edition ofThe Download,our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of whats going on in the world of technology.Why its so hard to use AI to diagnose cancerFinding and diagnosing cancer is all about spotting patterns. Radiologists use x-rays and magnetic resonance imaging to illuminate tumors, and pathologists examine tissue from kidneys, livers, and other areas under microscopes. They look for patterns that show how severe a cancer is, whether particular treatments could work, and where the malignancy may spread.Visual analysis is something that AI has gotten quite good at since the first image recognition models began taking off nearly 15 years ago. Even though no model will be perfect, you can imagine a powerful algorithm someday catching something that a human pathologist missed, or at least speeding up the process of getting a diagnosis.Were starting to see lots of new efforts to build such a modelat least seven attempts in the last year alone. But they all remain experimental. What will it take to make them good enough to be used in the real world? Read the full story.James ODonnellThis story originally appeared in The Algorithm, our weekly newsletter on AI. To get stories like this in your inbox first, sign up here.Long-acting HIV prevention meds: 10 Breakthrough Technologies 2025In June 2024, results from a trial of a new medicine to prevent HIV were announcedand they were jaw-dropping. Lenacapavir, a treatment injected once every six months, protected over 5,000 girls and women in Uganda and South Africa from getting HIV. And it was 100% effective.So far, the FDA has approved the drug only for people who already have HIV thats resistant to other treatments. But its producer Gilead has signed licensing agreements with manufacturers to produce generic versions for HIV prevention in 120 low-income countries.The United Nations has set a goal of ending AIDS by 2030. Its ambitious, to say the least: We still see over 1 million new HIV infections globally every year. But we now have the medicines to get us there. What we need is access. Read the full story.Jessica HamzelouLong-acting HIV prevention meds is one of our 10 Breakthrough Technologies for 2025, MIT Technology Reviews annual list of tech to watch. Check out the rest of the list, and cast your vote for the honorary 11th breakthrough.The must-readsIve combed the internet to find you todays most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.1 Donald Trump signed an executive order delaying TikToks banParent company ByteDance has 75 days to reach a deal to stay live in the US. (WP $)+ China appears to be keen to keep the platform operating, too. (WSJ $)2 Neo-Nazis are celebrating Elon Musks salutesTheyre thrilled by the two Nazi-like salutes he gave at a post-inauguration rally. (Wired $)+ Whether the gestures were intentional or not, extremists have chosen to interpret them that way. (Rolling Stone $)+ MAGA is all about granting unchecked power to the already powerful. (Vox)+ How tech billionaires are hoping Trump will reward them for their support. (NY Mag $)3 Trump is withdrawing the US from the World Health OrganizationHes accused the agency of mishandling the covid 19 pandemic. (Ars Technica)+ He first tried to leave the WHO in 2020, but failed to complete it before he left office. (Reuters)+ Trump is also working on pulling the US out of the Paris climate agreement. (The Verge)4 Meta will keep using fact checkers outside the USfor nowIt wants to see how its crowdsourced fact verification system works in America before rolling it out further. (Bloomberg $)5 Startup Friend has delayed shipments of its AI necklaceCustomers are unlikely to receive their pre-orders before Q3. (TechCrunch)+ Introducing: The AI Hype Index. (MIT Technology Review)6 This sophisticated tool can pinpoint where a photo was taken in secondsMembers of the public have been trying to use GeoSpy for nefarious means for months. (404 Media)7 Los Angeles is covered in ashAnd it could take years before it fully disappears. (The Atlantic $)8 Singapore is turning to AI companions to care for its eldersRobots are filling the void left by an absence of human nurses. (Rest of World)+ Inside Japans long experiment in automating elder care. (MIT Technology Review)9 The lost art of using a pen Typing and swiping are replacing good old fashioned paper and ink. (The Guardian)10 LinkedIn is getting humorousPosts are getting more personal, with a decidedly comedic bent. (FT $)Quote of the dayIts been really beautiful to watch how two communities that would be considered polar opposites have come together.Khalil Bowens, a content creator based in Los Angeles, reflects on the influx of Americans joining Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu to the Wall Street Journal.The big storyInside the messy ethics of making war with machinesAugust 2023In recent years, intelligent autonomous weaponsweapons that can select and fire upon targets without any human inputhave become a matter of serious concern. Giving an AI system the power to decide matters of life and death would radically change warfare forever.Intelligent autonomous weapons that fully displace human decision-making have (likely) yet to see real-world use.However, these systems have become sophisticated enough to raise novel questionsones that are surprisingly tricky to answer. What does it mean when a decision is only part human and part machine? And when, if ever, is it ethical for that decision to be a decision to kill? Read the full story.Arthur Holland MichelWe can still have nice thingsA place for comfort, fun and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or skeet em at me.)+ Baby octopuses arent just cutethey can change color from the moment theyre born + Nintendo artist Takaya Imamura played a key role in making the company the gaming juggernaut it is today.+ David Lynch wasnt just a master of imagery, the way he deployed music to creep us out was second to none.+ Only got a bag of rice in the cupboard? No problem.

Trump's day-one tariffs on China haven't been implemented yet, but he's still maintaining the fiction that it isn't American consumers who will pay the price.Tim Cook (right) and TrumpThere is no gray area here: tariffs are not a tax on other countries, they result solely in higher prices for Americans. Nonetheless, as he did during his first term, President Trump is again imposing tariffs, just not yet on China.During the campaign, he committed to introduce tariffs on his first day in office, and specifically that he would levy a 60% tariff on imports from China, plus a further 10% duty on Chinese goods. None of that happened, and instead newly announced tariffs will instead start from February 1, 2025, for Mexico and Canada. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Czech Republic firm BYR architekti has offered an insight into its 215-square-foot pavilion in Prague. Completed in 2023 at a cost of $40,000, the Garden Pavilion is designed for clients who own a large, mature garden within a ten-minute walk of their apartment.Image credit: Alex Shoots BuildingsImage credit: Alex Shoots BuildingsThe clients sought a structure to replace an old, dilapidated cottage while maintaining a close connection with their garden. The pavilion provides shelter during adverse weather and serves as a space for occasional overnight stays in the summer, while also functioning as a winter storage area for plants.Image credit: Alex Shoots BuildingsImage credit: Alex Shoots BuildingsA defining feature of the pavilion is its folding polycarbonate panel, which allows one side of the building to fully open. This design integrates the indoor space with the surrounding garden, inspired by the concept of a garden loggia. When open, the panel acts as an outdoor roof, pro...

Architizer's 13th A+Awards features a suite of sustainability-focused categories recognizing designers that are building a greener industry and a better future. Start your entry to receive global recognition for your work!From a design perspective, one could say that the past decade was all about the bars with the rise of the speakeasy came a heightened interest in bar interiors. Now, one can argue that weve entered the golden age of the coffee shop. From the smell of freshly ground beans to the slow pour of black coffee and the amazing latte art found in every cup, coffee shops have become a new place of gathering.Apart from social spaces, cafes act as workstations for remote workers or digital nomads, cozy lounge rooms for reading books and listening to podcasts and even event spaces that host pouring workshops or book club assemblies. Coffee shops straddle the intersection of public and private space, challenging architects to compose flexible designs and explore the qualities that make a successful cafe.SlabtitudeBy Vaslab Architecture, Bangkok, ThailandPopular Choice Winner, Restaurants (S < 1000 sq ft), 12th Annual A+Awards The slabtitude concept is translated into a place for gathering made of exposed concrete surfaces and accompanied by a long wooden table as the key centerpiece. The offices storage space was transformed into a caf for casual meetings, work sessions and social connections. A series of custom made furniture complement the design, providing different moments of interaction as well as privacy throughout the space.FSW CoffeeBy Phoebe Says Wow Architects Ltd. / PSW, Taipei City, Taiwan The project is located in a former office space at the corner ground floor of a mixed-use building close to nearby trails from the CBD area of Taipei. Contrary to most coffee shops, this proposal turned the space into a high quality espresso bar with an on-site roasters and space event, carefully concealing the interior from the bustling cityscape. The shop is divided into a semi-open street pocket space, inviting customers to enjoy a quick sip, and a sideways sit-and-drink area for a more casual experience. Polycarbonate panels act as dividers that offer an incredible illuminating effect throughout the day.NANA Coffee Roasters BangnaBy TROP : terrains + open space, Bangkok, Thailand Nana Coffee Roasters Bangna investigates how eco-conscious design can inform a new caf proposal along the Bangna-Trad motorway. Through the use of man-made structures and natural resources, the project blurs the boundaries between interior design, landscaping, and architecture and uses the three existing structures on site (the house; the road; and the parking) as a starting point for the design. The caf layout is comprised of a Slow Bar, a service zone as well as a Speed Bar and indoor seating zone. Finally, lush plant species act as sound buffers and construct peaceful green pockets around the structure.The Caff by Mr EspressoBy jones | haydu, Oakland, CaliforniaThe Caff reflects the second generation of Bay Area icon Mr. Espresso, serving as an example of how a diverse cultural landscape operates within a dense urban fabric. Heavily inspired by Italian culture and the ritual of a pausa or a pause, the design features elements of minimalism and contrast. The central bar sits as an island within the space, accentuated by an overhead wooden sculpture made of 272 slats of birch plywood.Blue Bottle Los GatosBy Lincoln Lighthill Architect, California The design for this cafe focused on the idea of how people move through confined spaces and the architectural language that can be derived from these conditions. Using the concept of super quadrics math equations that yield rounded forms the caf was designed free of sharp corners, ensuring a smooth flow throughout the space. Respectively, the material palette echoes this smoothness, where key furniture pieces such the bar are made of a single solid piece of acrylic polymer (Corian) to reinforce its seamless, continuous form.% Arabica West Jianguo RoadBy B.L.U.E. Architecture Studio, Shanghai, ChinaPopular Winner, Restaurants, 8th Annual A+Awards The coffee shops design focused on both its faade and interior renovation, creating an interplay between interior and exterior space. The shop becomes completely open through a small courtyard that expands around a U-shaped glass box. The transparent design allows part of the commercial space to blend with the wider urban context, while incorporating, in turn, the surrounding scenery into the store through the integration of parasol trees around the faade.Option Coffee BarBy TOUCH Architect, Udon Thani, ThailandPopular Choice Winner, Bars & Nightclubs, 8th Annual A+Awards Option Coffee Bar hosts three primary functions within the space: a caf, a restaurant and a bar and occasionally an event space. The design objective was to create interchangeable zones, where these contrasting functions can occur both separately and simultaneously. Careful attention is given to the faade, which is comprised of a double layer of clear polycarbonate, which creates variation of light throughout the day as well as acts as a sign for the caf.Architizer's 13th A+Awards features a suite of sustainability-focused categories recognizing designers that are building a greener industry and a better future. Start your entry to receive global recognition for your work!Featured Image: FSW Coffee, Taipei City, Taiwan by Phoebe Says Wow Architects Ltd. / PSW. Finalist, Bars & Wineries, 10th Annual A+ AwardsThe post Baristas Canvas: Exploring the Art of Coffee Shop Architecture in the Golden Era of Cafs appeared first on Journal.

Developer Slipgate Ironworks and publisher 3D Realms have announced that upcoming real-time strategy game Tempest Rising is now available for pre-order on PC through Steam. Along with kicking off pre-orders, the game also has a demo that players can play to see if they like the game. Theres also a pre-order trailer, which you can check out below.The demo for Tempest Rising, which will be available until February 3 as part of the currently-ongoing Real-Time Strategy Fest on Steam, features a number of game modes, including multiplayer, with 3 maps: The Alps (2v2), Oasis (1v1), and Altitude (1v1). While fans of single-player campaigns will have to wait for a bit, they can still check out the gameplay through skirmishes against AI opponents in these maps.Tempest Rising takes place in an alternate timeline in the year 1997, where conflict rose due to the Cuban Missile Crisis going nuclear. At launch, the game will feature single-player campaigns, complete with unique factions that will allow players to experience the story.On the gameplay front, Tempest Rising is looking to classic RTS titles of the past, with a focus on fast and fluid base building as well as plenty of customisation and battles to take part in. The multiplayer will feature two factions, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as entirely different rosters.The game is available for pre-order at 39.99 for the standard edition, and 49.99 for the deluxe edition, which includes a digital artbook, the full 43-track soundtrack, and a weeks advanced access to the game. Pre-ordering Tempest Rising will also get players access to the Commander Pack DLC, which includes in-game cosmetics like player icons, cursors and skins.Tempest Rising is coming to PC on April 24.

While rumours from 2022 indicated that an MMORPG based on PlayStations Horizon franchise was in the works, a new report indicates that the title may have been cancelled. As spotted by ResetEra user R, members of NCSofts development team working on a host of projects codenamed Pantera, H and J were told to stop development of these titles, according to MTN.The reports indicate that development the three games was halted at the end of 2024, with the development teams being told at the start of this year to prepare for transfers to other teams. Of these now-cancelled titles, Project H is speculated to be the Horizon MMORPG.R was also able to point out that some of the recent departures from NCSofts development teams match up with the timeline from the MTN report, lending further credence to the idea that these projects might have been cancelled. Neither NCSoft nor PlayStation have made any announcement about a Horizon MMO, much less its cancellation.Of these games, while Project J is still an unknown title, Pantera is expected to be a new game in the Lineage franchise, known internally as Raise Lineage M.The cancellation might have been a part of the larger trend at PlayStation of shutting down development of live-service titles. More recently, the PlayStation has reportedly cancelled development of unnamed titles at Bend Studio and Bluepoint Games. The move was likely made in the fallout of the failure of Concord, which was shut down less than a month after its release.NCSoft has a long history in developing MMORPGs, with one of its more popular ones in the west being Guild Wars 2. When rumours about the Horizon MMO first came about, NCSoft itself was relatively cagey about the game, instead stating: It is difficult to confirm information about unpublished projects that are currently under development.While the Horizon franchise may ultimately end up not getting an MMO, players can instead check out the single-player offerings, including the recent remaster of the original Horizon Zero Dawn. Read our review for the remaster here.