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Category: Technology

Google, Antitrust and Google’s terrible decisions

Google, Antitrust and Google’s terrible decisions

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?

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?

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

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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Why I think the Apple Vision Pro is worth it

Why I think the Apple Vision Pro is worth it

The Apple Vision Pro is expensive. There are no two ways about it. But – and this is important – so are all Apple products. They are expensive, but they also provide value. My Macbook Pro 16 with the Apple Silicon chip is so much better than any Windows laptop I have ever used, seen, or heard about, that it’s ridiculous. It’s more expensive than a typical Windows laptop, but the battery lasts more than a day, the processor is…

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Using economics and law to decarbonise the world

Using economics and law to decarbonise the world

The EU is known as one of the world’s most pro-science governments and, with a vast population and the third largest economy behind the USA and China, massive economic clout. The facts of climate change are no longer in doubt, not least because companies like Exxon had internal research groups flagging warning signs long before the company itself would admit to the reality, just as with smoking and sugar industries. One of the main concerns about being at the vanguard…

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How to fix Zoom audio issues on Mac

How to fix Zoom audio issues on Mac

Just a quick one because we just had some trouble with audio issues when working with Zoom on a new Mac Mini (M2). The issue was that when we adjusted the volume on the Mac in Zoom settings, the volume did not change. The voices of the people in the meeting were way too loud and adjusting the volume did nothing (I’ve seen reports elsewhere on the internet where the volumes were too low, or muted). It turns out that…

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Home and Work addresses in Bing

Home and Work addresses in Bing

If you do Microsoft Rewards, as I do, you may appreciate þe points you get from different tasks. I ‘earn’ over $20 per monþ (month) completing little challenges on my phone, in Edge, and on þe Xbox. Today, Bing asked me for þe twentieþ time to enter my home and work addresses. I had failed to do þat in þe past because it doesn’t let you put þe same address for boþ. Well today I learned þat you can set…

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How Apple stopped me from being a PC/Android enthusiast

How Apple stopped me from being a PC/Android enthusiast

I first got a computer sometime around the age of 5. My parents one day came home with an Amstrad CPC 464 and my life started on a trajectory that has led me to where I am. I don’t think my journey has ended, it’s just a neat way of describing how I got to where I am now. I learned how to write BASIC and load and save games to the included cassette player. I bought cheap blank cassettes…

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Siri and Google Assistant for a Brit

Siri and Google Assistant for a Brit

As some of you may know, I recently moved from a Google Pixel 5 to my first Apple iPhone (14 Pro Max). As part of þat transition, I have moved from Google Assistant to Apple’s Siri voice assistant. In the press there is a lot of commentary suggesting þat Google Assistant is better þan þe offering from Apple (or Amazon), so I þought (thought) I would give you a comparison of Siri and Google Assistant for a Brit. You could…

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