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Category: Technology

An AI-generated image of a robot making a shoe in a factory
Generative AI and the future economy

Generative AI and the future economy

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People are, rightly, concerned about how generative AI might affect their jobs, careers, and incomes in the future. Progress has never been successfully stymied in the interests of protecting people’s now-outdated jobs. We don’t send people down into mines with pick-axes, and we don’t hand weave the clothes that most of us own. We, as society, have to ask hard questions about what the meaning of life is, and whether economies are the right tool to keep people busy when…

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Pump up the heat, man

Pump up the heat, man

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This is an oversimplified explanation of how heat pumps work. First, what is a heat pump? A heat pump literally pumps heat from one place to another. You may open your fridge and witness that it’s colder inside than out, but in terms of physics, it’s actually lacking heat. The way that happens, is that the heat inside is pumped outside. When your older fridge hums or makes a motor noise, that’s the motor in the compressor making your room…

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How to play GamePass on your iPhone

How to play GamePass on your iPhone

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Apple’s iPhones are more than powerful enough to play Xbox GamePass with ease, not least because all that’s really required is a good internet connection. What many people don’t know, is that Xbox, Switch, old Stadia, and PlayStation controllers all work on iPhone. You can connect them with a USB-C cable, or a USB-C to lightning cable (if your phone is older than the iPhone 15), or you can link them using bluetooth. The following bullet points show you how…

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Why Intel and AMD won’t stand the test of time

Why Intel and AMD won’t stand the test of time

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Microsoft recently announced its Copilot+ PCs and, at the same time, announced new ARM-based Surface computers. Intel and AMD were pointedly part of the presentation, but the talk about ARM processors, the battery-life improvements, comparisons with Apple’s M processors, and, importantly, the capability to run Intel-based applications (also known as x86) in a competent emulator leave a massive unanswered question hanging. If Microsoft can achieve this transfer from Intel-based processors to ARM based processors, what market is left for Intel?…

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Playing video games on Mac is heart wrenching

Playing video games on Mac is heart wrenching

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I’ve written before about how I recently became an Apple devotee. I was previously an Android-and-Windows all the way kind of person. In my pension, I own shares in Microsoft because I believe their system is ‘better’ in some intangible way – selling software and letting others innovate in the hardware space. Apple is a different proposition, and one that should attract games and gamers, if the iPhone and consoles were a guide. Games are missing, leading me to wonder where…

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Why I use Bing, not Google, nor Siri

Why I use Bing, not Google, nor Siri

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I’ve said before that Siri understands me better than Google Assistant. Google Assistant will often say it doesn’t understand the name of devices in my house, or will add “pingle” to the shopping list, whatever that is. When I got my iPhone 15 with an action button, I made Bing listen for a question when I pressed it. This works well for me because, like Siri, Bing understands me better than Google Assistant. But, more important than that, it can…

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Google, Antitrust and Google’s terrible decisions

Google, Antitrust and Google’s terrible decisions

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This post and the last are weirdly timed. Last week, I wrote about how Google make terrible business decisions that harm their long-term success. I said, interestingly, that since around 2011, Google has failed to make any new business models work. And this week, the US Department of Justice trial against Google started in earnest. The Verge has a great podcast episode about it, describing some of the arguments that are being made on each side. Although their description of…

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Why does Google suicide itself?

Why does Google suicide itself?

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Google is one of the wealthiest, companies in the world. I don’t want to imply, in the rest of this article, that Google is ‘unsuccessful’, but there are some things that I think are worth saying and which, from an outsider’s perspective, make no sense at all. The Google of old The original Google had a compelling product: the best search engine ever designed. The search engine has been improved over the years and, ultimately, that is still its core…

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Why is my new Apple Mac Mini struggling to connect to Wi-Fi?

Why is my new Apple Mac Mini struggling to connect to Wi-Fi?

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I recently bought a new Mac Mini. The 2023 edition, like the following devices, has Wi-Fi 6E, which should mean it has a better connection to the internet, especially if you are very close to a new Wi-Fi router: The presence of Wi-Fi 6E, though, turned out to be our problem. Until recently, all Wi-Fi routers had two bands: 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz. 2.4Ghz is slightly slower but has a longer range. 5Ghz is faster but has a shorter range. I…

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How to use chat search engines

How to use chat search engines

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In the last seven months or so, artificial intelligence has taken a large step forward. You may have noticed a sudden surge in media about these systems. Something that has surprised me, though, is how few people I know have actually tried them. So I thought I would share an example of why they’re so powerful. Example: Researching electric cars There are a lot of things to consider when buying a new car, but for me the most important elements…

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