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: 6-12 November, 2023

Summary of this week:

• The Russians are still in Ukraine
• The Israel-Gaza conflict continues
• OpenAI holds its first developer event
• Burger King closing hundreds of restaurants
• The actors' strike continues with no resolution in sight

Monday 6 November 2023

Folks continue to find errors in these chattering bots and claim some sort of breakthrough. Sigh.

Rumors about OpenAI releasing a Chat-GPT builder builder or something.

This is the person creating the AI strategy for America in the White House. I am sad to say that he isn't qualified in the least for the job. He brings political worry to technology that is so old it doesn't need worry warts.

Once again we show that we have a lot of "scientists" who don't have much to do as they discover the location of a starfish's head.

I'll just quote this amazing (not) discovery, "Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and AMD CEO Lisa Su are first cousins once removed."

Home schooling is growing across America. Of course the raw numbers are tiny, so tiny increases look big. As this ignorant Washington Post story shows. I wonder if some major newspapers have editors.

We just passed the 25th anniversary of "The Halloween Documents." These were internal memos at Microsoft warning of the competitive nature of Linux and open-source software. Microsoft executives learned to embrace it all and we are just fine.

Write what you know or write what you don't know? Yes to both. Write and learn all the time. They lead to one another for some of us.

"Cornerstone content, sometimes referred to as pillar content, is a long-form blog post that provides a general overview of a broad topic." Such can define you as a writer and make you a known expert.

I like this post. It gives some simple and practical examples of removing words so that the writing is "tighter" and more to the point.

Common scams pushed on writers. The basic idea is to have the writer write and then not pay them for the work.

BIG IDEAS HERE: "I give away about a third of my time to literary citizenship. ... I listen a lot. I jot down what writers love, what writers complain about, what writers fear, what writers hope. We make ourselves approachable when we listen, and we make ourselves hire-able when we are approachable."

Here is a technique to read much faster by listening to audio at high speed.

Another endorsement of journal writing. Write about what disturbs you. "The more you write privately, the better your writing person becomes but most importantly, the better you become as a person."

Tuesday 7 November 2023

A good review of AI and associated technologies in 2023.

Examining the practical aspects of the new M3 processors in the updated Apple computers.

This story has been making the rounds on the Internet: X (Twitter) is selling old, no-longer-used account names for $50,000.

I'll just quote the headline, "Habits of great software engineers." Yes, there is much more to being a software engineer than writing code. Too bad recruiters don't know this.

OpenAI held its first developer event. Here is one summary of their announcements.

This is what we should be doing with all this technology we have: "A man with Parkinson's disease has regained the ability to walk after physicians implanted a small device into his spinal cord that sends signals to his legs."

The rich get richer or something. Intel is the leading candidate to receive the bulk of the $53Billion Chips Act. The new Intel factories would be a "secure enclave" for the production of defense-related materials.

Research into how often these chattering bots return really, really wrong answers. Rates differ from 3% to 30%.

WeWork files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. They didn't survive the PAN(dem)IC.

Build a better mousetrap, one that saves lives on the battlefield, and you can sell it to the world except our own Dept of Defense.

Here are some reviews of the recently announced Apple computers with M3 processors.

PC Mag looks at the iMac with 24" monitor.

Ars Technica looks at the MacBook Pro with the 16-inch screen and the M3 Max processor.

The Verge looks at a less-expensive MacBook Pro with a 14-inch monitor.

Wednesday 8 November 2023

Andrew Ng feels a big jump in computer vision capabilities is just about here.

The University of Florida opens the Malachowsky Hall for Data Science & Information Technology. It is named after Chris Malachowsky, the lesser-known co-founder of Nvidia.

One AI publication provides an annotated version of the recent AI Executive Order.

Visiting the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) gathering to see what vendors are trying to sell law enforcement. What law enforcement needs is basic computer programming help to analyze data sets that are too big to analyze by hand. That isn't "exciting technology." It is, however, quite effective at catching criminals.

Researchers from UC Berkeley and Google have a new generative model, called Idempotent Generative Networks (IGNs) that can generate images better from almost any input source.

I like this article. It likens working remotely as a software engineer to playing an online game that pays.

Strong rumors that Apple is trying to reinvent the battery.

Fighting deepfakes in political ads. When will someone stop the ads that misquote political candidates? When will someone stop the "fact checkers" from lying?

Recycling has not worked in America. We need huge numbers of persons sorting trash. No one wants those jobs. Once again, AI boosters say AI can do all that sorting.

Samsung jumps into the generative AI market and promises great benefits for its customers.

Leica helps Xiaomi put a great camera in its smartphones. The smartphone cameras were "good enough" (more than good enough) for all of us years ago. Let the pros and movie makers buy their own cameras and save the rest of us a couple hundred $$$ on phones.

X (I'll stop calling it Twitter and emTwitter) is typical of tech companies as it shifts resources to make its own AI products. Just do like the cell phone commercials and claim advanced tech without doing anything.

Privilege brings privileges as Microsoft offers free access to advanced processors to those few who are "inside" the industry.

Strong rumors that Nvidia will show its next generation of "super cards" in January at CES.

How do you make an EV go farther? Simple. Put a gas engine in it.

LG shows a new monitor that is 45 inches wide. I don't need one, but it might be a lot of fun for a day or two.

Meanwhile in Hollywood, the actors are still on strike. I'll just watch the new episodes of The Curse of Oak Island and reruns of the Hallmark Christmas movies.

Meanwhile at Burger King, things are bad. They are closing restaurants everywhere by the dozen. The two Burger Kings near me closed this year. I miss them.

More Burger King news and blues: more kiosk touchscreens to place your own order. Fewer employees to cut costs. And it appears that folks order more at the kiosk than at the counter.

Meanwhile in Ukraine, the Ukrainians are hitting the Russians hundreds of times a week with drones. Still, there has been no armored breakthrough that was promised with the gifts of billion$$$ in western tanks. What gives?

Thursday 9 November 2023

This pieces looks back at Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (PAMI). There are plenty of algorithms that quickly and simply solve lots of problems. Should we forget them all in favor of really really deep learning? I saw, "No," but I'm an old man.

Folks are already building generative pre-trained transformer applications with the one-day-old OpenAI GPT Builder. Let the games begin.

This is a good piece that describes what GPT applications can do today, right now, not next month.

And a good essay on what the author calls "Structured Prompting." Explain the situation before asking the GPT a question. Save your explanations and share them. This is like creating a reusing subroutines in structured programming.

Those autonomous taxis from Cruise...well, every five miles they need so assist from actual people. We are getting there, but slowly and that means "don't believe the ads."

Adaptive filtering may soon come to noise-cancelling headphones. Tune in the sounds you want and cancel the rest. This is an extension of what they already do.

The hype about GPT and chattering bots has gone too far. Managers of companies think they can simply apply something to their company and then get rid of lots of pesky employees.

Meanwhile in San Francisco, the governors have not put surveillance cameras everywhere, but everyone on the street has a camera with them. Everything is captured on video and people are horrified of their own neighborhoods.

Some Federal government agencies are (not) allowing employees to install apps on government-owned equipment. There are no controls and no compliance. This is a mess.

Strong rumors that Microsoft will bring CoPilot to Windows 10. How about bringing it to my Windows 11 computer? Huh?

Google extends its Search Generative Experience to 12o new countries.

If your car connects to the Internet, almost all newer cars do, judges rule that the car company can keep everything you do while in the car and sell it to advertisers et al.

Want to train a large language model in an hour? Just buy a billion-dollar super-duper computer.

It appears that we have a problem with scientific publications and "paper mills." You need publications on your resume, so fake the papers and get ahead. Technology makes it easier to cheat.

Want more speed from your kitchen computer? Cool it with liquid nitrogen and run the clock super fast. It works, but really folks?

Friday 10 November 2023

Simply stated, "Regulation favours the incumbent."

Our Federal government really wants to hire talented and knowledgeable persons. Hiring is one thing. Keeping these good people more than an year is something else.

Nvidia claims that Pandas (data science software) runs 150x faster with its newer GPUs and supporting software.

This is a good report on running LLMs on Macs with M2 and M3 processors. "the most common model sizes being benchmarked for local computing, in 7B and 13B parameter models, run fine on a massive amount of Macs in use today."

Our Agency for International Development (USAID) is running a $9.5Billion (with a B) project to better deliver aid where needed. It appears to be plagued by fraud and the usual inefficiencies. Our tax dollars at work or waste.

Meanwhile in California, a company called Humane thinks they can replace the smartphone with a little gadget you pin to your shirt and control by talking and wiggling your fingers.

Strong rumors that Amazon is developing its own operating system for its devices. They currently use Fire OS, which is based on Android. The rumored OS will be completely independent of Android.

Iridium was working with Qualcomm to bring satellite messaging to Android phones. They have not cancelled that project.

Meta has just signed a contract with a Chinese company to bring a VR headset to China's market.

01.AI is a Chinese company building AI capabilities. It stockpiled Nvidia chips needed for the work before the ban.

Violent extremists and other ne'er-do-wells are using AI generated content to work around censors.

This review in Wired Magazine praises a Linux laptop computer from System76.

Excellent Seth Godin post on presenting and telling one person your story. "The challenge isn't in becoming a sort of pretty good professional presenter. The challenge is becoming you."

In a month, a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket will put the Space Force's X-37B spaceplane into orbit. No details as to why such a large launcher is being used.

Work-from-anywhere may be over. Companies seem to have weathered the storm and were able to keep paying rent on their office space. Back to the office folks.

Big tech wants AI regulation. No one else does. This was predictable and predicted.

Saturday 11 November 2023

Per the recent Executive Order on AI, our National Science Foundation convenes its first meeting among Federal Agencies to create the National AI Research Resource. Our tax dollars at work or waste.

Regarding the executive order on AI, "Broad regulatory measures in Biden's AI red tape wishlist will result in stifling new companies and competitors from entering the marketplace and significantly expanding the power of the federal government over American innovation." That sums it up well.

Showing once again that engineers in private industry are far more capable than regulators in government, Nvidia builds three new processors that will be exported to China.

Bill Gates on how "AI will change everything about using a computer!!!" Okay, a lot of hype. A small few of current computer users will change. The change will come with the next generations of people (most not yet born) as they won't have to learn a "new way."

This is from the folks who run GitHub, "Just as GitHub was founded on Git, today we are re-founded on Copilot." Like the mention of Bill Gates above, a few will adopt all these new features.

Meanwhile in China, researchers claim a new material that greatly increases the efficiency of solar panels. Still, they aren't efficient, but something is better than nothing---sometimes.

Meanwhile in the UK, researchers are five years away from a simple blood test that shows coming dementia. Current testing is complex and painful. The hope is that earlier detection will bring earlier remedies or therapies to help folks with dying brains. It is a terrible thing, dementia.

News flash (not): Google employees work more than 40 hours per week. This is true for most folks who work for organizations that actually do something.

NBC News, which lives on the First Amendment, bemoans the stop of the government telling social media what to censor. Of course nothing is that simple, but the principle is. Our government does not tell people what they can say.

Meanwhile in India where they don't have a Bill of Rights and Freedom of Speech, the governors are trying to create a censorship system.

The New York Times looks at AI software agents now possible with OpenAI's GPTs. Just about anyone (well, not anyone) can make a software assistant that does useful things for them. Of course this can be abused, but there are many applications for health and safety.

"Truth is real, photos are not."---Seth Godin. "Only believe half of what you see and none of what you hear."---The Bennett family of Sweetwater

These tiny home villages are bad. In ten years they will look like garbage dumps. Build an apartment building. Interior walls cost much less than exterior walls.

Forty years ago, Bill Gates announced the intention to have a GUI and call it "Windows." It took several years to actually have a weak product. They, however, kept at it and we are where we are today.

Given the population of the US is over 300million, it is no surprise that thousands of people have volunteered to have brain implants from Neuralink.

Sunday 12 November 2023

This person used ChatGPT to create a system that read a PDF of grocery receipts and create data that was useful. This isn't a simple task.

Experts warn that these chattering bots can enable a non-technical person to create a biological weapon like a virus. Perhaps that is a stretch, but the technologies do make it easier.

Foxconn, known for manufacturing iPhones, now has two small communications satellites in low earth orbit.

How to smuggle banned technology into Russia. Smuggling has always been possible and lucrative. It still is.

More on using chattering bots to create your version of the truth and beat the censors.

Listening to some music, watching some movies, etc. can help a person feel better. That is entertainment. Now we call it "cinematherapy."

"Tipflation" on those pay machines. Just touch the 20% button. Should you tip someone (not sure who gets the money) when they don't come to your table, take your order, and bring you food?

Meanwhile at the SpaceX factory, injuries seem common as the race to space is pushing workers to "get 'er done" no matter what.

Concerning the 2024 Presidential election, "...44 states have (effectively) already voted - no amount of electioneering in 2024 is going to swing California to the GOP nominee or Texas to the Democrat. And even in the swing states, most voters have already decided. In sum, out of 330 million Americans, a few tens of thousand soccer moms in the Philadelphia and Detroit suburbs will, again, choose the leader of the free world. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe.

Meanwhile in Hollywood, the actors strike is over. Producers must have consent to use an actor's likeness in the future. Well, that stuff will be the teeny tiny fine print in contracts. And, since there are many more people who want to be in pictures that people in pictures, actors will sign anything to get into pictures.

AMD continues to gain market share on Intel.