The M1 processor: system on chip (SoC), 16 billion transistors, 8-core CPU (high performance at low power consumption), 8-core GPU, 16-core neural engine.

Some comments on the M1 processor. (1) It is the first processor, so it is the floor of performance and efficiency. (2) The claims are amazing, so wait for independent tests in the next month.

MacOS Big Sur (available 12 November).

Universal Apps run on both Apple Silicon and Intel processors. iPhone and iPad apps run on M1.

Computers: MacBook Air (faster than 98% of laptops sold in the last year), Mac Mini (starts at $699), and the MacBook Pro. These computers can be ordered today with delivery 17 November.

The big Apple claim is their neural engine. This will bring 10-15 times faster performance than what most people are running now for the same price. This is the Apple claim. Expect some benchmarks by independent organizations in the next month.

Ring is recalling 350,000 doorbells as some of them have caught fire.

We live in odd times: Mr. Biden has created agency review teams. Note the photo in the link. There is no such thing as The Office of the President-Elect, but Mr. Biden claims it and some authority that he bestowed to it. Odd times, indeed.

Silicon Valley jumps on the Biden bandwagon. It would be awfully embarrassing if...

Another case of people who receive paychecks advocating limits on other industries so that those people won't receive paychecks (ever again). These are smart people who are advocating these limits. They know the eventual outcome.

"Experts" credit the US Cyber Command with preventing foreign powers from hacking our election.

"Being smart often has little to do with being persuasive."—Seth Godin

The reaction to the pandemic presented many with the chance to live somewhere better while working online. It has worked for many for a while, but...

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Thursday 12 November 2020

Snap acqui-hires voca.ai—a maker of voice agents for call centers.

Here is a link to the CDC itself where they tell us that 480,000 Americans die every year due to cigarette smoking. 200,000 deaths due to the virus this year shuts down the economy. 480,000 every year and ... well, uh, nothing. Strange.

Since election day, big surges in memberships at "free speech" sites Parler and MeWe.

It appears that YouTube went down for an hour.

Poking holes in some of Apple's claims of their M1 processor.

In the UK, Rolls Royce is leading a group that will build a dozen or so mini nuclear reactors. Clean energy that isn't fossil fueled.

An AnandTech analysis shows that Apple's M1 is a pretty darn good processor.

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Friday 13 November 2020

Home owner's associations, license plate readers, privacy, security and all that mixed together. Public streets are public.

Headline says it all: Welcome Back to the Office. Please Wear This Tracking Device. (at least they said "please")

The state of Maryland has new restrictions in the year of the virus. Might as well close restaurants and layoff everyone.

Guido van Rossum—Mr. Python—comes out of retirement to work for Microsoft's Developer Division.

The year of the virus has been very good to Disney+.

MacOS BigSur is out and being downloaded. I have three Mac computers. One is an old machine for experiments like loading a new OS and seeing if it breaks.

The year of the virus continues to be good for the sales of computers used at home.

When Mr. Biden becomes president it will be good for the right kind of scientist who wants a government job.

A side note on Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA): they spend a million $$$ per employee. That's a large budget.

Microsoft recommends no longer using phone text messages for authentication...those six numbers sites send to you to type into the blank.

The experts are starting to recant on what they told everyone was essential during this year of the virus. Expect many more, "Oh, that really didn't work like we thought" statements in the coming months.

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Saturday 14 November 2020

When commercial companies research and publish, they straddle the line of science and advertising. Some have been leaning to the advertising side a bit too much lately.

Lots of folks want to regulate the practice of religion in America. As a reminder, Thanksgiving is a religion-based occasion. Telling people what to do on that day is, well, you know, telling them how to worship or not.

Ars Technica takes a deep look at macOS 11 or is it macOS XI ???

Microsoft claims that the governments of Russia and North Korea are attempting to hack into vaccine-research companies to steal research results.

The year of the virus is widening that gap between the rich and poor in America. Further dividing Americans sounds like something a hostile foreign power would do. Speculation, but perhaps worth discussing.

The new macOS 11 collides with personal privacy.

The year of the virus has been very good to companies who are paid by the number of bytes that flow from our homes through the Internet.

Those paid to secure the American election tell us that they did a great job—we should give them a big year-end bonus.

When did the smartphone market become a competition to see who could make the best slim camera attached to a cell phone? You rearrange little lenses and use a computer to merge the results of each sensor.

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Sunday 15 November 2020

It must be difficult knowing in your own mind that you are superior to all the little folks in America. Such is the fate of former President Barack Obama. He had 8 years in the White House, but the people failed him repeatedly. Hence, we still have woes in America.

Hacking schools for money. This is yet another reason that all this online schooling isn't working.

European regulators fine a successful American company $25million. This falls under real news that isn't news.

Some news of the virus this week. That vaccine has to be stored at -100° F. I guess that means they won't be running vans through neighborhoods vaccinating everyone. It is something for the rich, furthering widening the rich-----poor gap.

The things we write should be correct. This is not a "I'm smarter than you because I know where the semi-colon goes" thing. Readers are accustomed to reading correct writing. If my writing is incorrect, the reader will be stumbling. Not a good thing for communication.

Writing and contracts. This is important. It can be daunting, but focus on it.

Prone to worry? There are techniques that focus on worry and free other times for other things.

Some tips on shortening a piece of writing.

Side writing: "Any exploratory piece of writing that helps a writer get to know elements of their story but isn’t intended to make its way into a draft in its entirety. Examples include journaling from a character’s perspective, writing a scene from an alternate point of view, or creating sensory word lists for a particular setting." I like this idea. I have not heard of it before.

How one writer used a book coach to change the course of her writing. Such coaches cost $400 a month and up.

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