In his latest newsletter, the venerable Steven Levy unpacked the background for the kerfuffle surrounding Sarah Wynn-Williams’ book. While there…
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Barefoot sage on steps of the UN addresses wishful agency – holds up lantern, not smartphone
Summary press release A modern-day Diogenes on the UN steps used a lantern to challenge AI CEOs, asserting that commodified data yields no authentic man. Like Midas or a Djinn, machines mimic humanity but strip spirit, exposing alignment failures and lost authenticity. NotClosedAI’s CEO advocated a coordinated slowdown; Diogenes called it liability protection masking runaway…
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I’ve been following this topic for a couple of years: virtual reality and mixed reality consumer gear. I have one PC which meets the requirements, but I’ve yet to make the investment in a headset. Now there are choices other than Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive if “mixed reality” is good enough. Price still can be a barrier when the value over time is fuzzy. And the technology is advancing quickly.…
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Get a new smartphone and you’re probably going to get a case. I got one because my bare phone was slippery. I had no particular brand loyalty. So, if you’re not loyal to a previous brand, there are lots of choices. If drop protection is vital, then this Cnet video article “We broke $9,000 worth of phones to find the toughest iPhone X case” may be of interest. We challenged…
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Some of my clients are using streaming devices (or sticks) for viewing movies and TV shows on their TVs over the Internet. Quite popular — these over-the-top (OTT) services versus over-the-air (OTA) or cable TV channels. Personally I’ve used a Fire TV Stick since 2015. And if all you’re interested in is getting to Netflix, that’s available on all these devices; so, compare other features, as this Cnet article “Which streamer…
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I received an email message from the Microsoft Store recently reminding me of services available there, some of which are free. While these retail stores are scarce, if you’re near enough to one, you might consider that an option or a place to get general help — Answer Desk. Or if you’re thinking about a new PC, eh. Here’s a link to the local store in the LA area: Microsoft Store…
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If you have a computer powered by an AMD processor, is your risk profile any different from someone with an Intel-powered PC? This Ars Technica article (January 18, 2018) summarizes the situation: “Meltdown and Spectre: Good news for AMD users, (more) bad news for Intel.” Windows patches are fixed, but microcode updates are causing even more trouble. Microsoft’s patches now work with newer and older AMD systems. If you’re unfortunate…