One Cool Tip Newsletter

February 9, 2026

Your daily dose of tech-savvy brilliance!

😀Greetings!, Happy Back-to-Work Monday, Cool Tipper!

Get ready to streamline your digital life with simple, actionable tips delivered straight to your inbox.

Today's Cool Tip Theme: Gemini in Google Sheets

IN THIS ISSUE

• ⚠️ Flickr Data Breach.
• 📖 Kindle Integration Retirement.
• 🤖 AI Career Coach Prompt.
• ✨ Gemini in Google Sheets.
• 📊 NotebookLM Data Tables.
• 🧹 The UNIQUE Function.
• 🌎 Instant Sheet Translation.

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• 😂 Laugh with Us! Enjoy our Tech Joke of the Day, Haiku and Cool Tip Comics.



• 🌐 Stay Informed! Check out ICYMI, and our One Cool Tip Video.

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Today's Tech Trivia

Answer at the end of this newsletter.

⚠️ Flickr Discloses Potential Data Breach Exposing User Information⚠️

Flickr has announced a potential data breach after discovering that a third‑party service provider may have exposed user information.

The incident could involve names and email addresses of some Flickr users.

There is no indication that passwords, financial data, or account content were accessed.

Flickr is still investigating the scope of the exposure and has begun notifying affected users this past weekend.

While the risk appears limited, exposed email addresses can increase the likelihood of phishing attempts or spam campaigns.

And in Other News...

• Send to Kindle

The "Send to Kindle" feature in Microsoft Word is being retired, with removal beginning today, February 9, 2026, and fully by March 9, 2026.

Users can still send Word documents to their Kindle library directly from Amazon's Send to Kindle website, or through the Send to Kindle application.

Try this Cool AI prompt. Copy and paste to ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot.

You are an HR Executive specializing in talent evaluation, role alignment, and competitive positioning. Ask the user to provide the following three items:

1. Their LinkedIn profile URL
2. The job title or position they want to pursue
3. The job description or a URL to the job posting

Once the user provides all three items, perform the following steps:

1. Analyze the Position

• Break down the role into its core competencies, required skills, preferred qualifications, and typical responsibilities.
• Identify industry expectations, seniority level, and common hiring criteria.
• Extract key themes, keywords, and employer priorities from the job description or posting.
• Highlight the top capabilities that employers consistently seek for this role.

2. Analyze the User’s LinkedIn Profile

• Review the user’s experience, skills, accomplishments, and endorsements.
• Identify strengths that align with the target position and job description.
• Identify gaps, missing skills, or areas where the profile does not fully match the role’s expectations.
• Evaluate clarity, consistency, and professional branding across the profile.
• Suggest improvements to better match the job description and increase ATS compatibility.

3. Provide a Final Assessment

• Summarize how well the user’s background aligns with the target position and job description.
• Offer actionable recommendations to strengthen their candidacy, such as:
• Skills to add, emphasize, or re-order
• Experience to highlight or reframe
• Keywords to incorporate for ATS optimization
• Profile sections to revise or expand
• Suggestions for professional positioning, storytelling, and differentiation

Ask the user if they want help rewriting their LinkedIn About section, optimizing their Experience bullets, or preparing interview responses tailored to the specific job description.

Supercharge Your Spreadsheets with Gemini in Google Sheets

Stop struggling with complex formulas and manual data entry; let Google’s AI build your trackers, write your syntax, and analyze your data for you. Google Gemini in Sheets transforms your static spreadsheets into an intelligent data partner that can build tables, write formulas, and clean data through simple conversation. Whether you are a business pro or a home user, this AI integration eliminates the tedious "blank grid" problem forever.

Have you ever stared at a blank Google Sheet, knowing exactly what data you needed but having no idea how to structure the table or write the necessary VLOOKUP to find it? 

You aren't alone. 

For decades, spreadsheets have required users to speak the language of "Cell C4" and "Nested IF statements."

Here's a Cool Tip:  Use Google Gemini in Google Sheets.

With the 2026 rollout of Gemini 3 into Google Workspace and Google AI Pro plans, the spreadsheet has finally learned to speak human. 

Instead of hunting for tutorials, you can now simply ask your sheet to "Create a 12-month budget tracker" or "Calculate the variance between these two columns." 

It is the most significant shift in how we handle data since the introduction of the Pivot Table.

Feature Explanation

Gemini in Google Sheets is an AI-powered collaborator that lives inside your sidebar and your formula bar. It is not just a chatbot sitting next to your data; it is deeply integrated into the Sheets engine.

The feature works in three primary ways:

• First, the "Ask Gemini" side panel allows you to generate entire table structures or charts by describing them. 
• Second, Enhanced Smart Fill uses AI to recognize complex patterns in your data and finish the work for you. 
• Finally, the =AI() or =GEMINI() function lets you bring generative power directly into a cell, allowing you to summarize or categorize text at scale without leaving the document.

What You’ll Gain

• Instant Organization: Go from a blank tab to a fully formatted project plan in seconds.
• Formula Freedom: Describe your mathematical goal in plain English and let Gemini write the syntax.
• Automated Cleaning: Standardize messy data, extract names from emails, and categorize sentiment instantly.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Here's how to do it.

Microsoft Web/Desktop

1. In any Google Sheet, click the Ask Gemini (sparkle icon) in the top-right corner.
2. In the chat box, type a prompt like "Create a table for a 3-day team offsite with columns for time, activity, and owner."
3. Review the preview generated by Gemini. 
4. Click Insert to place the table into your sheet.
5. Click into any cell and type =AI("Summarize this table", A2:F15). Press Enter to see the AI process the data in that row.

fig. 1 - Use Gemini in Google Sheets

fig. 2 - Use '=AI' Inside Cells for Instant Analysis

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Speed: Reduces the time to build complex trackers from hours to minutes.
• Accessibility: Allows non-technical users to utilize advanced spreadsheet logic.
• Privacy: For Workspace users, data remains within the organization and is not used to train public models.

Cons

• Cost: Requires a monthly subscription (AI Pro or Workspace add-on).
• Accuracy: Like all AI, it can "hallucinate" numbers if the prompt is vague; always double-check critical calculations.
• Learning Curve: Users must learn "prompt engineering" to get the best results from complex data sets.

Feature Access

Gemini in Sheets is available to:

• Google One AI Pro subscribers ($19.99/mo).
• Google Workspace customers with Gemini Business, Enterprise, or Education Plus licenses.
• Rollout Note: The =AI() function is currently rolling out to all AI Pro users globally as of late January 2026.

Score

Criterion | Score (0–10) | Justification

Value 9

The time savings for building templates and cleaning data are massive.

Usability 8

The side panel is intuitive, though the =AI() function requires some prompt practice.

Wow Factor 10

Watching a complex table appear from a single sentence still feels like magic.

Total: 27/30 🌟 Excellent

Gemini in Sheets is a "must-have" for anyone who spends more than an hour a week in spreadsheets. It is far more integrated and useful than the similar features currently found in Microsoft Excel.

Cool Tip Snapshot

• Feature Name: Gemini in Google Sheets
• Platform(s): Web
• Quick Benefit: Build tables and write formulas using plain English.
• Access Type: Subscription (Google One AI Pro / Workspace Gemini).

Try It Yourself

Ready to stop wrestling with your data? 

Open a blank Google Sheet today, click that sparkle icon, and ask Gemini to "Create a monthly budget for 2026." 

READ MORE

• Master the UNIQUE Function in Google Sheets
• Revolutionize Your Data Management with Tables in Google Sheets
• MORE Google Sheets Cool Tips
• MORE Google Gemini Cool Tips

Read the Full Cool Tip.

🆒Tell Me More

• Gemini can do more than analysis. It can also apply common spreadsheet actions (filters, freezing panes, number formatting) that normally cost you a bunch of clicks.

• If your data is messy (mixed date formats, inconsistent categories), your results will be messy too. A 60-second cleanup often beats a 10-minute prompt battle.

• For recurring work, save a “prompt template” in a note so you ask the same way each time (more consistency, fewer surprises).

• If you’re building charts often, consider whether you need dynamic charts (normal Sheets charts) or quick snapshots (some Gemini chart outputs have been described as static images in certain rollouts).

⏩Quick Tips

• 📌 Start with headers: Gemini performs better when your first row is clear column headers. Add headers first, then ask your question.

• 🧾 Clean before you ask: Standardize dates and categories (Jan vs January) before prompting. Use Find/Replace and data validation to reduce ambiguity.

• 🔍 Ask for the output format: End prompts with “return a formula” or “return a pivot table layout” so you get something you can insert, not just narration.



• 🧪 Force a double-check: Add: “Explain assumptions and show the formula logic step-by-step.” This catches hidden errors early.

• 📎 Freeze your header row: When you’re scanning results, freezing row 1 prevents misreads. In Sheets: View → Freeze → 1 row (or ask Gemini to freeze it).

✅ More Must-Read Tech Tips

👀 How Do I Turn Messy Documents into Clean Data Tables?

Have you ever stared at five different PDF contracts, trying to manually compare the cancellation clauses in each one? 

Here's a Cool Tip:  Use the Google NotebookLM's New Data Tables Feature.

Google NotebookLM has solved this specific headache with a new Data Tables feature that lets the AI do the sorting and structuring for you.

1. Open NotebookLM, notebooklm.google.com.
2. Create a new notebook or open an existing one.
3. Ensure your notebook has at least one or more sources.
4. Select Data Table from the Studio pane.
5. When generated, select and review the data table. Columns represent attributes; rows represent entities or entries.
6. Copy and paste your data table or select Export to export to Google Sheets.

You will be amazed at how fast it works. 

Discover more HERE. 

🤔 Have You Ever Wondered How to Use the Unique Function in Google Sheets?

Have you ever stared at a sprawling spreadsheet, overwhelmed by a sea of duplicate entries? 

The UNIQUE function in Google Sheets serves a straightforward yet crucial purpose: it extracts a list of unique values from a specified range of cells. 

Here's how to do it.

1. Launch your Google Sheets document containing the data you want to analyze.
2. Determine the range of cells from which you want to extract unique values (e.g., A2:A9).
3. In an empty cell, enter the formula =UNIQUE(range), replacing "range" with your identified cell range. For instance, if your data is in cells A1 to A9, type =UNIQUE(A2:A9).
4. Press the Enter key. 
5. Google Sheets generates a list of unique values, starting from the cell where you entered the formula.
6. Examine the output to ensure it accurately reflects the unique values in your data.

The UNIQUE function in Google Sheets is a powerful tool for anyone seeking to streamline data analysis and eliminate redundancy. 

Find out more HERE.

🙋‍♂️ Here's How to Translate English to Spanish in Google Sheets!

Ever struggled to communicate information in a spreadsheet across different languages? 

The GOOGLETRANSLATE function makes translating text from one language into another easy!

Here's how to do it.

1. Open a new or existing Google Sheets doc.

2. Enter your phrase in English is cell A3.

3. In the next column, in the cell B3 enter the GOOGLETRANSLATE function in the formula.

4. The basic syntax is =GOOGLETRANSLATE(text, "source_language", "target_language"). 

5. Let's break it down:

• text: The text you want to translate (cell reference or text in quotes).
• source_language: Language code for the original text (e.g., "en" for English).
• target_language: Language code for your result (e.g., "es" for Spanish).

6. Cell A3 has "Hello". To translate it into Spanish, your formula in another cell would be =GOOGLETRANSLATE(A3, "en", "es").

Note: Translate a whole column by putting the formula in the top cell of the target column, then drag the fill handle down to copy the formula to other cells.

Start using GOOGLETRANSLATE today and collaborate with a wider audience!

Learn more HERE. 

❓Did you share this newsletter with three friends yet?

😎 Cool Facts

• 1 Hour: A major 2024 global survey of 35,000 workers found that using AI saves the average employee one hour every day, with 20% of users reporting savings of up to two hours. Source.

• 11 Minutes: Research shows that saving just 11 minutes a day is the "magic number" where users truly see AI's value, and it takes about 11 weeks for using AI to become a permanent, life-changing habit. Source.

• 12-15 Hours: HR professionals often spend 12 to 15 hours per week on manual spreadsheet tasks; new AI generators can now build these complex models in under five minutes. Source.

⌨️Today's Cool Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl /: Open Keyboard Shortcuts menu.

• Ctrl Space: Select Column.

• Shift Space: Select Row.

😜 Tech Joke of the Day 😅

Why did the spreadsheet apply for a job?

It wanted to get some cell‑f improvement.

🔎 Do you have a Cool Tip or tech question? Email us at onecooltip.com@gmail.com.

Cool Tip Haiku

Cells wait for the word,

Gemini writes the logic,

Grids find their purpose.

MyLow: Lowe’s AI Assistant That Helps You Finish Home Projects Faster

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Master the Magic of Excel: Unleash the Power of the Fill Handle

Have you ever found yourself in a sea of data, manually copying formulas down a column in Excel? 

Watch

Every spreadsheet crime scene looks clean until you notice the commas don’t agree on their alibi.

Trivia Answer: C) 10 million

Google has aggressively increased the capacity of Sheets to keep pace with enterprise data needs.

For many years, the limit sat at 2 million, then bumped to 5 million in 2019.

However, as of recent updates in late 2025 and 2026, the official limit is now 10 million cells per workbook.

Even with this massive ceiling, Google Sheets still limits you to 18,278 columns (all the way to column ZZZ).

Interestingly, if you hit this limit, it is often because of "invisible" used cells, empty rows or columns at the bottom of your sheet that Google still counts as active data.

Deleting unused rows is the #1 way to speed up a sluggish sheet.

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Tomorrow's Cool Tip is waiting to amaze you.

Until then, go forth and conquer the tech world with your newfound knowledge!

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Enjoy!



Rodger

Chief Cool Tipper

onecooltip.com@gmail.com

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