Since 1996 · The difference is people
WebUser
Plain, honest, useful writing about using the modern web. AI, hardware, and digital life — for people who use the web every day, helping you get the most from it.
This week: parcels you didn't order, laptop prices creeping up, and a Sunday deadline for your DALL·E pictures
A brushing scam leaving mystery packages on doorsteps, why your next laptop is likely to cost more, and a quick job to do before Sunday if you've ever made images in ChatGPT.
Read this week’s digest →A Friday read on what actually happened across AI, hardware, and the web. Curated, not chased. If nothing mattered, we'll say so. Browse every week →
AI for people
Tutorials and honest guides for using AI at work, without the hype. For people who use the tools, not build them.
- How scammers know your name
When a message knows your email, an old password, or where you shop, it feels like proof it's genuine. It isn't. Where that information really comes from — and what actually keeps you safe.
- How to check an image before you believe it
AI can make almost anything look real, so 'it looks real' has stopped being proof. A few seconds of 'where did this come from?' protects you better than trying to spot the fakery.
- How to tell if a company really means it when it says AI is good for you
AI adverts want you to feel something about a company. Here's a simple test that tells you whether there's anything real underneath the good feeling.
- How to check a link before you click it
A convincing email is easy to fake. The one thing the scammer can't hide is where the link actually goes — and reading it is a ten-second skill anyone can learn.
Practical hardware
Buying guides and reviews for the machines normal people actually use. What you need, not what the marketing says.
- How to buy a laptop you'll still be happy with in three years
A buying framework that stays true as products change — what actually matters, and what the marketing oversells.
Digital life
Living well with the tech you carry and rely on — your time and attention, where your files really live, and what you actually own and pay for.
- Keep your own copy
The photos, documents and creations you keep in someone else's app aren't really yours until you've saved a copy of your own. Services retire, accounts close, 'unlimited' ends — and a copy you hold is the one that survives.
- Why it's so hard to put your phone down — and what actually helps
A couple of minutes turns into an hour, then two. It isn't just teenagers — the apps are engineered to be hard to stop, and none of us self-regulate as well as we think. One old habit is quietly making a comeback as the answer.
- What "the cloud" actually is, and why it matters to you
In plain terms — what the cloud really is, what you own, and the one thing to do this week to protect what matters.