Items I happen to view each day. Science, Technology, Management, Culture, and Writing

    This is my day book for this week. It is a log of things I see on the Internet.

This week: 7-13 January, 2018

Summary of this week:

• CES week, lots of new stuff
• Nvidia has newer better GPUs
• Samsung has bigger better screens (219 inches)
• LG shows its roll-up display screen—this time you can buy one
• Google claims its Assistant is on a Billion devices
• Alienware shows the ultimate gaming laptop
• Amazon Ring cameras in the news Security lapses
• SpaceX lays off 10% of its workforce

Monday 7 January 2018

On the other end of things, Samsung tries the market of gaming laptops with a machine that has Nvidia graphics in it.

Speaking of gaming laptops and you know who, Nvidia shows the GeForce RTX 2080 (who thinks of these product names?) that brings ray tracing realism to laptops.

And Nvidia shows their latest GPU that will do more and better than anything every before at only $349. The crypto mining craze is over, so we can probably by this GPU at this price or lower.

The nation of Finland makes a big push to put AI in just about everything.

Asus could have changed the portable gaming marketplace in one day. Two new machines with 17" displays and the latest Nvidia GPUs are here.

And if we are going to note gaming laptop computers, we must mention Alienware and their new m17 with a 17" screen and all the latest processors.

"When you remove meaningless words, the power of your words goes up."—Seth Godin

Of all companies, Apple and Samsung partner to put iTunes on Samsung televisors.

Tuesday 8 January 2018

Coming in August (a ways away) is a $30,000 electric motorcycle from Harley Davidson.

At CES, Intel announces six new ninth-generation processors. I can't keep up with the nomenclature and all that.

Oledcomm pushes the technology a bit with a new LiFi system. This uses invisible lights to transmit data instead of radio waves.

Here we have the world's first folding smartphone. Like most of the world's first anything, it is clever but not quite ready.

Nvidia, contrary to other companies' approaches, continues to promote its autonomous vehicle technology that is wants auto makers to buy.

Google tells us that its Assistant technology is on a Billion (with a B) devices. That is ten times what Amazon claims for Alexa.

GitHub greatly expands what it gives to free users.

Copy the Russian tactics, the Democrats apparently ran quietly funded Facebook campaigns in the last Alabama election.

More on this story, Hey, the Democrats claimed this is what swung the election to Trump, so it must be effective.

LG says that its roll-up display screen will be on sale this year (for a whole-lotta' money). Look for it in a James Bond movie or something like that.

Sony, not to be outdone, has its own new line of 98-inch 8K televisors.

Amazon edges past Microsoft as the world's most valuable company. Neither is close to the magic Trillion-dollar mark any longer as they have all fallen some 25% in value.

Wednesday 9 January 2018

A possible treatment for cancer with nanoparticles that can give electric shock to cancer cells. Still in it infancy. We hope to see actual results.

IBM shows its first commercial quantum computer. Let's see if anyone buys one.

The icky Facebook work culture. You are happy all the time and all your best friends work here, or else.

It appears that it is quite easy for folks to track the location of cell phones. Hence, it is quite easy for ne'er-do-wells to track the location of cell phones and sell that information.

All prior gaming portable computers can now move aside. Enter the Alienware Area-51m. You can take it apart and replace the parts with time. 17-inch screen and everything else expected. $2,500.

Google at CES: everything about its Assistant technology. There are many advances here as we step closer to what we would consider to be an actual assistant.

Fortnite made truck loads of money last year. It appears that $500Million was made on Apple devices alone.

Forget the Amazon scamazon real estate hunt: Google makes another big spend on office space—this time in Los Angeles.

It is early, but watch this trend. Kenya will stop teaching English to everyone and switches to Chinese.

Thursday 10 January 2018

How wide is your desk and peripheral vision? Wide enough for the LG 49" super-duper-wide monitor?

Someone has software that will gather Wikipedia pages into textbooks without much human labor.

We want regulation (protection), but we can't find anyone we trust to do it "right."

Big social media is hiring groups from all sides to help referee political speech. When did we need to referee political speech? When did that happen?

A good summary of AMD's announcements at CES. The next generation is here.

A recent study indicates...fake news is shared by people over 65 more than any group no matter how you slice it. Draw your own conclusions.

Amazon claims to have 30million active Fire TV users beating just about everybody else.

Coming real soon now from Bose and the auto industry: a whole-car noise-cancelling system.

Today, right now, we can buy a 1TeraByte SD card so we can store...a whole lotta' something on our camera or something or other. Then when we lose that little thing we can truly say, "We lost it all."

The world's richest man is about to go through the world's richest divorce. Half. And The National Enquirer, didn't they invent fake news when we all new it was just a joke(?), has scandalous photos.

Friday 11 January 2018

When security cameras are not secure: Amazon's Ring cameras were full of holes that were exploited.

The big companies (Amazon, Google, Microsoft) are racing to building video game services. Entertainment. Stay at home. Play.

Samsung announces and really big event for February 20th. Here comes the foldable phone.

A little known yet W O W product at CES from Proctor and Gamble. It is basically a makeup applicator that scans the skin and shoots tiny amounts of makeup to cover over aging spots. It actually works. See the video.

Silicon Valley companies—you'll recognize their names—are hurting with new H-1B visa restrictions. They were banking Billion$ on cheap foreign labor instead of hiring Americans.

Americans are buying fewer carbonated, sugar-ated drinks and more expensive water. Drinking water is good. Buy water in expensive, land-fill-filling containers...I think not so good.

The Internet Movie Database is now showing movies.

The 2019 Apple iPhone rumors have begun. Three new models. Lots of $$$ needed, etc.

The Chromebook makes some advances at CES. Still, lower the price instead of up the performance.

The medical sensors are becoming smaller and less expensive. Couple this handheld ultrasound scanner with an iPhone and you don't have to drive to the doctor's office. Sounds a bit trite until you are disabled and can't make the drive, then it is a life saver.

Saturday 12 January 2018

ooops, with some government workers furloughed, security certificates have not been renewed and some US government websites are down. They could have done this last month, but that would have required some foresight and ...

SpaceX, which set records for launches in 2018, is laying off 10% of its workforce. A reminder to Federal workers who are on furlough and won't be paid until later...get a job at SpaceX, set records, be unemployed next year. Get a reality check.

The government of China, ever finding new ways to monitor its subjects, now requires blockchain companies to hand over the keys and all the information.

ooops, the personal information of 202Million Chinese persons has been exposed. Someone had a database of resumes and ... well, you know.

Don't look now, but Microsoft is back isn't in trouble with users about giving away all our information. This piece shows how they managed to re-succeed and stay out of trouble.

I like this article on gadgets for making audio and video and such. Love that rig at the bottom that holds a phone and microphone so that you are your own camera crew.

In France, where there is a, uh, umm, history of violent protest and revolution, protestors disable more than half of all speed cameras. The protestors feel that the camera only generate revenue and have nothing to do with safety. Where on earth did they get that idea? ;-)

The price of smart TVs is low. That is because these TVs collect data and sell that data. It is like having a market sit in your living room watching you all the time.

Sunday 13 January 2018

At CES, SanDisk shows a prototype of a 4TeraByte thumb drive. Lose that little thing and you have lost the Library of Congress or something.

Nvidia opens a robotics research lab in Seattle.

The coming revolution in MicroLED technology and television and computer displays.

All or nothing thinking as a writer. Get over it. Do a little today, a little tomorrow, a little the next day. "Little" and "all" are subjective terms. Just do what you can and keep at it.

A look at a handful of writing websites that pay for writing. The rates are low, i.e., if you are good and luck, you may be able to buy lunch at McDonald's.

Some motivational tips for writers. Do some little things each day to build momentum or habit.

Good reasons to write your memoir. Do it for yourself, not as a message to anyone else.

A longer piece on things to consider before and as becoming a freelance writer.

This writer has been a mother and worked from home for 25 years. If you are trying to do the same or considering it, read this. And if you are a Dad trying to work from home, read this.

I like this piece. It gives the basics of writing a fiction story. I never took any fiction-writing courses or any such thing. I suppose I missed on some of the fundamentals. I still have fun with it.

Three types of editing of a written piece. Their descriptions and when to do them.