Category: Apps (Page 1 of 2)

December 15, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the science of creating machines that can perform tasks requiring human-like intelligence, such as learning, problem-solving, and decision-making. It’s already shaping industries from healthcare to entertainment, and its influence will only grow in the coming years.

Artificial Intelligence refers to computer systems designed to mimic human cognitive functions. These include:

  • Reasoning: making decisions based on data.
  • Learning: improving performance over time through experience.
  • Perception: interpreting inputs like speech, images, or text.
  • Problem-solving: finding solutions to complex challenges.

The term “AI” was first coined in 1955 by computer scientist John McCarthy, marking the start of serious research into intelligent machines.

⚙️ How Does AI Work?

At the heart of AI are algorithms—sets of rules that guide machines in performing tasks. AI systems rely on large amounts of data to identify patterns and improve accuracy. Key techniques include:

  • Machine Learning (ML): Computers learn from data without explicit programming.
  • Neural Networks: Inspired by the human brain, these systems process information in layers.
  • Deep Learning: Advanced neural networks that excel at tasks like image recognition and natural language processing.

🌍 Real-World Applications

AI is no longer confined to labs—it’s everywhere:

  • Healthcare: Diagnosing diseases, predicting patient outcomes, and assisting in drug discovery.
  • Business: Automating customer service with chatbots, optimizing supply chains, and detecting fraud.
  • Transportation: Powering self-driving cars and smart traffic systems.
  • Entertainment: Recommending movies, generating music, and creating digital art.

⚖️ Benefits and Challenges

  • Benefits: Efficiency, accuracy, personalization, and the ability to handle massive data sets.
  • Challenges: Ethical concerns, job displacement, bias in algorithms, and debates over “general AI” (machines with human-level intelligence).

✨ Conclusion

Artificial Intelligence is transforming the way we live and work, offering both opportunities and challenges. While today’s AI excels at specific tasks, researchers continue to pursue the vision of general AI—machines that can think and reason across domains like humans. For now, AI remains a powerful tool that, when used responsibly, can drive innovation and improve lives.

June 15, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Dropbox allows users to store, share, and sync files across multiple devices. To use Dropbox, you can upload files to your account via the website, desktop app or mobile app.  You can also share files and folders with others, collaborate on documents, and back up your computer’s files. 

1. Setting up your Dropbox account: 

  • Create an account:You can sign up for a basic 2 GB of storage free, and start accessing and sharing photos, documents, and other files from any device here. 
  • Install the desktop app:Download and install the Dropbox desktop application on your computer to automatically sync files and access them from your computer’s file system. 
  • Download the mobile app:Install the Dropbox mobile app on your smartphone or tablet to access your files on the go. 

2. Adding files to Dropbox: 

  • From your computer: Drag and drop files or folders into the Dropbox folder on your computer, or use the “Save As” option in most applications. 
  • From the website: Log in to dropbox.com, click “Upload,” and choose files or folders. 
  • From the mobile app: Open the app, tap the “+” icon, select “Upload files,” and choose the files you want to upload. 

3. Accessing and managing your files: 

  • On the website: Log in to dropbox.com to view and manage all your files and folders. 
  • On the desktop app: Your Dropbox folder in File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac) will contain all your synced files. 
  • On the mobile app: Access your files on your phone or tablet through the app. 
  • Organize files: Create folders within Dropbox to organize your files. 
  • Make files online-only: To free up local storage space, you can make files online-only, meaning they are only accessible when you have an internet connection. 
  • Upgrade: If you need more than the free 2GB you can upgrade to the paid version of 2TB for a yearly fee.

4. Sharing files and folders:

  • Share files:Right-click on a file, select “Share,” and choose how you want to share it (e.g., via a link, email).
  • Share folders:Create shared folders by clicking “New Shared Folder” and inviting others to join.
  • Collaborate on files:When sharing folders, you can choose whether others can only view or also edit the files. 

5. Backing up files:

  • Automatic sync:All files added to your Dropbox folder will automatically sync across all your devices. 
  • Backup files:Store important files in your Dropbox folder to back them up and protect them from data loss. 

6. Other features:

  • Search: Use the search bar on the website or desktop app to quickly find files. 
  • Version history: Dropbox keeps track of different versions of your files, allowing you to revert to previous versions if needed. 
  • Third-party app integration: Integrate Dropbox with other applications to open and edit files directly within those apps. 

This video provides a comprehensive beginner’s guide to Dropbox, explaining how to use it effectively:

April 5, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Google Keep is a note-taking service included as part of the free, web-based Google Docs Editors suite offered by Google.

Quickly find your notes and lists by using the search bar in Google Keep. You can filter by text or note features, such as colour, labels and images.

Search in Google Keep

  1. On your phone or tablet, open the Google Keep app.
  2. In the top right, tap SearchSearch.
  3. Type the words or label name that you’re looking for, or click an icon to filter your search results:
    • Types: Filter notes by reminders, recordings, URLs or other types.
    • Labels: Filter notes by labels that you’ve given them.
    • Things: Filter notes that fit into categories, such as books, music, travel and more.
    • People: Filter notes that you’ve shared with specific people.
    • Colours: Filter notes that you’ve tagged with a certain colour.
  4. When you have your results, tap a note to open it.

Tip: You can search for text in photos, such as images of receipts, by typing the words in the photo. (Available in English only.)

February 3, 2025 / / 0 Comments

To insert photos from Google Photos into your PowerPoint presentation:

  1. Click on the photo in Google photos then click on the 3 dots at top right
  2. Choose download from the options, this will save it to ‘downloads’ on your desktop
  3. Go to Powerpoint, create a new slide and click on ‘insert’ and ‘pictures’
  4. Select ‘insert picture from this device’
  5. From the file list displayed click on downloads and your photo should be there, click on it.
January 1, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Facebook Memories can be good for a laugh or a fond memory, but do you want them popping up all the time and possibly causing embarrassment. Here’s how to customize your Facebook settings to hide them on the mobile app.

1. Open the Facebook app on your phone.

2. Tap the Menu button. On Android it will be in the top-right corner of the screen, and on iPhone it will be in the bottom-right corner.

3. Tap Memories.

4. Tap the Gear icon in the top-right corner to access Memories Settings.

5. You can choose between All Memories, Highlights or None. All Memories means Facebook will show you all your memories from that day, Highlights will only show you special videos and collections, and None means you won’t get notifications for any memories. 

If you want something more specific, you can choose to hide memories involving specific users. Follow the steps above, but instead tap People in the Memories Settings page. You can type in a user’s name that you want to hide from your memories. They won’t be notified, and your selections are saved automatically. 

You can also tap Dates in the Memories Settings page to hide memories from a specific date range. You can enter almost any span of time — a day, a week, month or an entire year — going back in time to 1900. When you’re done, tap Done and then tap Save. 

October 14, 2024 / / 0 Comments

A digital legacy is the digital information that is available about someone following their death. Someone’s digital legacy is often shaped by interactions the person made and information that they created before they died. This might include their social media profiles, online conversations, photos, videos, gaming profiles and their website or blog.

The Digital Legacy Association believe that only once someone understands the value of their own digital legacy will they be motivated and therefore make suitable plans to address this area.

Digital legacy Planning

There are a number of ways in which we can make plans for our digital legacy and the digital assets that are contained within online accounts and digital devices. This might include granting access to devices (computers, mobile phones etc) to one or more trusted person(s). Granting access might help ensure that photos, videos and important files remain accessible and are not locked behind a password in perpetuity.

Plans for photos and videos saved ‘in the cloud’ on social media and other online accounts can also be made. Planning might involve downloading a copy of your uploaded media and passing on a backup of the media contained within them to someone you trust. It may also involve curating your favourite media, printing a selection of photos, documenting your wishes within a social media will and granting account access to a third party.

Making plans for your online accounts and digital legacy shouldn’t be undertaken by a third party… plans should be made by you. You own the online accounts and devices where your personal photos, videos and other digital assets are held. You also know the password for these accounts. You might also own the photos, videos, money and credit held within them. Some solicitors and for profit organisations will charge a fee to ‘manage’ your digital accounts however this can cause confusion, financial loss and the loss of sentimental photos and videos. If you wouldn’t trust a stranger to organise your personal photos and your possessions of monetary value you might not want to trust a stranger or third party organisation when making plans for your personal photos, videos and digital assets of monetary value.

 To learn how to make plans for your own online accounts and devices visit our tutorial hub.

Digital legacy App

There are a small number of apps that can help the general public make plans for their online accounts. Some of them charge a fee for use. The MyWishes app is free to use and allows users to document all of their accounts and print out an exhaustive list in a ‘Social Media Will‘ document. 

Useful Social Media Apps

August 17, 2024 / / 0 Comments

In 2024, social media is more dynamic than ever, and lines demarcating social platforms are blurring. We know established giants like Facebook and YouTube, evolving alongside rising stars like TikTok and Threads. This article explores the top 6 social media apps and sites ranked by monthly active users.

1. Facebook

For all its faults (and there are a lot of them), Facebook is still comfortably the most popular social network in the world.

With more than 2.95 billion users, it’s the place to go if you want to easily connect with most of the people from your current or former life. Facebook Marketplace has also become one of the most popular ways to buy and sell items locally.

2. YouTube

If you want to learn how to do something, watch a documentary, or just giggle at pure entertainment, YouTube is the place to go. It rose to popularity thanks to its long-form video content library and easy, free access.

3. Instagram

If you enjoy exploring captivating images and short, snappy video clips, then Instagram is undoubtedly the ideal social network for you. Surprisingly, a whopping 57% of Americans between the ages of 25 and 30 have an account on Instagram.

Perhaps unfairly, the network has developed a reputation for being superficial and full of selfies.

4. TikTok

Compared to older apps like Twitter and Facebook, TikTok is a fresh-faced social media app.

There’s clearly significant demand for short-form video; TikTok is one of the most downloaded apps in both the App Store and Google Play Store. While it’s a fun app, there are some TikTok security risks to be aware of.

5. Snapchat

Snapchat is almost exclusively a young person’s hangout. The site revolves around sharing self-destructing images and videos, though there’s also a messaging tool and lots of gamification features.

6. X

X (formerly Twitter) is another network that has received a considerable amount of negative coverage. However, if you want breaking news, instant reactions, and access to your favorite sports stars, celebrities, and journalists, X is an unrivaled resource.

Best App to find bus times in London

January 13, 2024 / / 0 Comments

I recommend the TFL Go app. As well as showing the bus stops in the immediate vicinity it has a journey planner function. Both of these are easy to use. Give it a try.

Get started on your journey with TfL Go

  • Use our live map to see your route – or search any place or address across London
  • Get live bus, train and tram times and the quieter times to travel
  • Get live updates on all bus, Tube, London Overground, DLR, Elizabeth line and tram lines
  • Check walking and cycling routes for all or part of your journey
  • Use step-free mode for planning accessible journeys. This includes information on toilet locations, platform access and live lift status

Cloud storage providers

July 25, 2023 / / 0 Comments

The concept of The Cloud is that instead of storing all of your data and computing power locally, you can outsource it to managed cloud service providers. You can run applications, save data, send email, and more using computing power that isn’t stored locally. For example, you may be running short on space on your computer or phone to store photos and large documents. The other benefit is that if your computer or phone is lost or destroyed somehow then everything will be saved and retrievable. Some cloud providers will give you free storage up to a certain limit.

Provided by Microsoft as part of Windows, 5GB provided free, very easy to sync files across different devices

A basic account provides 2GB storage, its easy to share files with others

Google Drive has strong file sharing capabilities, and more free storage space than most competitors—15GB, though that space is shared with Gmail

Apple’s service for providing cloud storage. Stored files can be hared with Apple devices

Prime members get 5GB of storage for “free” with Amazon Cloud Drive for file storage

Europe’s most secure cloud storage offers 10GB free storage

Staying safe with online banking

May 30, 2023 / / 0 Comments

Online banking is becoming a necessity, with benefits such as keeping control of your finances from home or on holiday via a website or app.

If that’s not liberating enough, you can transfer money between accounts, send money to people you know, and set up or cancel direct debits and standing orders – all without visiting a branch.

Most banks give lessons to help, while Age UK has terrific advice on its website and offers computer classes. Here are a few of our essential tips:

  • Do set up your online banking carefully, download the correct app and follow your bank’s instructions to the letter.
  • Don’t share those details with anyone unless it’s an emergency or you completely trust them, such as a next of kin.
  • Do take some time to play with the app’s features and familiarise yourself with the layout.
  • Don’t mistake online banking for being unsafe. Most have the highest levels of digital security and log you out automatically after use.
  • Do look for ‘HTTPS’ before the website name in the address bar of your web browser. The ‘S’ stands for secure and means it is protected.
  • Don’t reuse the same passwords for different accounts.
  • Do be cautious with public computers. The one in your local library might not be secure, so check with staff.
  • Don’t share passwords or PIN numbers. Banks will never ask you for these in full. If they do, it’s fraudulent.
  • Do view your balance frequently to check for irregularities and raise any concerns immediately.
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