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: 31 March - 6 April, 2025

Summary of this week:

• The Russians are still in Ukraine
• The death tolls exceeds 2,000 in the Myanmar-Thailand earthquake
• Val Kilmer, Doc Holliday in Tombstone, dies at 65
• MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH in brain interface allows person to talk
• Nintendo shows the Switch 2
• NaNoWriMo closes after 20 years

Monday 31 March 2025

It appears that America now has vigilance committees that hunt pedophiles and hurt them physically. Lots of danger here.

Several of the current President's sons push big into crypto mining.

Thoughts on OpenAI's latest picture-drawing craze and Studio Ghibli-style images. Train on what is out there. What is out there is popular. Imitate what is popular. Some adults are surprised by all this. It is quite simple and predictable and predicted.

For better or worse, "LinkedIn is no longer a job search platform, it's a business networking platform." Perhaps business networking IS job searching and employee finding.

Foxconn will double the production of iPhones in India this year. China is an unreliable business partner. Big tech turns to the world's largest democracy and the world's most-populous nation.

Silicon Valley, DEI, and "rebranding." It is possible to improve without abusing. Let's hope folks find the way.

Current AI researchers groan and sigh at the current commercial approaches to AI.

Here is the 88-page report.

The knowledge worker, hailed as the future and present of the world, is declining.

More tales of woe inside Meta (Facebook). Silicon Valley is a long way from the rest of the world. People are held at gunpoint. People are killed. These things happen as the social media of America skips along.

Microsoft turns 50. It was not destined to succeed. Early employees tell tales.

Thoughts on revising book drafts.

Defining success for yourself as a writer. This goes back to the definition of "writer." If you write, you are a writer. If you want to be a writer...if you write, you are a success. If, instead, you want to make lots of money selling what you write, that is a different situation with a different definition and easy to measure. Succeeding at making lots of money selling what you write is, well, almost no one succeeds at that.

I completely disagree with this post. The author suggests spending your own money to "launch" your book. If money is involved, all money flows TO THE AUTHOR. Otherwise, this is just an expensive (the participant expends money all the time) hobby.

This writer loves the tool Notion.

Income from freelance writing is inconsistent at best (nonexistent at worst). Here are some tips to live in this world.

Singing the praises of the paper notebook. I love blank books. I find them to be the second-best book in the world (the Bible being the best).

Tuesday 1 April 2025

Where the money flows: AMD buys ZT Systems for $4.9Billion (with a B) to move more into datacenters and all that AI stuff.

This is how you abbreviate "AI" ... "$"

"we added one million users in the last hour" --- Sam Altman

OpenAI promises to release an open LLM in the coming months.

Here is Sam Altman's announcement on the above.

Microsoft brings more Copilot(+) features to Intel and AMD PCs. The Snapdragon-powered PCs are getting the first releases of the features.

Times change: the new administration wants recipients of CHIPS Act $$$ to commit to greater investments in America on their own. The taxpayers will help, not subsidize. You participate, too. I like the sentiment.

Microsoft closes a lab in Shanghai as it continues to ease its way out of China. China is an unreliable business partner.

In the courts, someone wants to Trademark "Grok." The word is a verb used in Robert A. Heinlein's 1961 science fiction novel, Stranger in a Strange Land. It is in public use.

Survey shows that Indian IT workers employed by American companies are working 48-70 hours a week. It is a sweat shop. Work or we will replace you. It is shameful.

Nintendo's Switch 2 goes on sale this year. It had better be a hit.

H-1B visa holders in Silicon Valley are nervous. While there is reason to be sensible --- there is always reason to be sensible --- being fearful is hyperbole. Don't bite the hand that feeds you. Come on folks, be adults.

Meanwhile in Britain, the Alan Turing Institute, which is someone a government agency, is trying to figure out which way is up.

Today is April 1st. The April Fools jokes are far less prevalent today than in the past. Still, believe none of what you hear and only half of what you see. Same advice for everyday.

I like Seth Godin's comments on the con artist or con man.

Donald Trump, Kid Rock, and an Executive Order on ticket scalping. I love it.

Meanwhile in France, European regulators fine successful American company $162Million. Theis isn't called a tariff, but it is the same thing. If you want to practice business here, you have to pay the government$ here.

The commercial space race continues to boom. Meanwhile, NASA and Boeing (with $$$ from American taxpayers) are lagging far behind.

Wednesday 2 April 2025

THIS IS A MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH: brain interface allows people to talk. This will be a miracle to stroke, accident victims, and who knows who else.

Here is the original research paper.

I like this piece on judging AI writing vs. human writing. I disagree that if it is poorly written it must come from AI. I have edited many human poorly written pieces.

Amazon bumps up the amount of movies it will produce for theaters.

The CEO of Netflix disagrees. Movie theaters did not rebound after the COVID panic ended.

A businessman is trying to save local newspapers. Buy them, run them, make a profit while at it. This is all possible.

Wikimedia downloads have gron 50% since January 2024. Web crawlers that feed AI systems are the new big users.

I'll just copy the headline: ChatGPT Revenue Surges 30% --- in Just Three Months Like I wrote yesterday, the abbreviation for "AI" is "$"

Google and Microsoft are also cashing in on much greater use of AI systems on the Internet.

Strong rumors that Meta will upgrade its RayBan smart glasses to have a screen not just audio. Price? $1,300?

Beware whom you hire. Europe is now flooded with IT workers who pose otherwise buy are bringing in money for the Kim Dynasty in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Researchers show that OpenAI did use copyrighted works without permission in training their AI systems.

A copy of the full research paper is here.

More letting children play with matches. Advisors are using their gmail accounts to do official business. Come on folks.

Meanwhile in the NFL, the chain gang is gone. First downs will be measured with cameras and computers.

Val Kilmer died at 65. He is THE DOC HOLLIDAY in the movies. Played it perfectly.

Don't bother learning to write computer programs? That is like saying, "Don't bother learning English as the chatter bots will write everything and you won't need to read and edit the output."

Thursday 3 April 2025

Nintendo shows the Switch 2

Here is the video of the Switch 2.

Here is a long piece from MIT about air conditioning. No, we can't all live in New York or on the Pacific Coast cooled by the Alaskan current.

Where the money is: Patreon and podcasts.

Where more money is: Chinese companies quickly order $16Billion (with a B) in lower-grade Nvidia processors before such sales are banned.

Quoting the headline: Anthropic launches an AI chatbot plan for colleges and universities. There is more to it than just discounts on current services as Anthropic partnered with several companies already delivering services to universities and students.

Amazon to launch first 27 Kuiper satellites next week. This is Amazon's attempt to compete with SpaceX and Starlink.

Google's NotebookLM now has a Discover button to help find related sources.

Angst at our Social Security Administration.

On the rise amongst the ne'er-do-wells is the bad old distributed denial of service attacks.

Stock up now before the prices rise. Mark Cuban's advice. Too bad he didn't say this before Biden's programs raised the price of groceries by 25%.

Tariffs to cause a worldwide recession! Well, if that is true, something else is true. America runs on deficits, i.e., spending money that doesn't exist. Therefore, the world's economy runs by the American government giving people outside the US money that doesn't exist. Somehow we all spend and use money that doesn't exist. I guess this makes sense to folks who understand finance. I don't understand how it works. Anyway, if you stop giving people money that doesn't exist, there are troubles.

A doomsday view of AI, "Microsoft Chief Technology Officer Kevin Scott has predicted that AI will generate 95% of code within five years. "

NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) closes after 20 years. They had several personnel and technology issues in the past couple of years, i.e., they couldn't stand success and stay out of trouble.

Friday 4 April 2025

Meanwhile at Intel, where things just aren't going well, they have a new ad slogan.

Back to the business of technology, Intel and TSMC are teaming instead of competing more each day.

Microsoft releases the Link mini-desktop PC for $349.95. It is a thin-client machine that is really small, simple, and connects the user to an online PC.

Real news that isn't news: European regulators prepare to fine X a Billion $$$. Tariff? Yes, it is.

More real news that is't news: in Brazil, regulators are "investigating" Apple so they can fine it. Tariff? Yes, it is.

OpenAI makes more of its AI tools free for college students. Administrators and professors beware. The students are learning faster than you.

Our current President makes changes at the top of the NSA and the National Security Council. Cries of something or other fly as some advisors claim credit for the changes. The head of the Executive Branch of government has the authority to appoint appointment-level positions. That seems to be the definition of such.

One thing that new tariffs do is shine a spotlight on how Americans have been so dependent on good made elsewhere. For better or worse, everyone wakes up...maybe.

There is much in the news about free speech on college campuses. If you accept Federal money, you accept Federal oversight. Some folks don't like that. Past Presidents have used the rule to push political agendas on campuses. The current President is following the precedent.

The race to produce conventional arms and ammunition is on. The Russians, despite all predictions of collapse, are winning.

New study highlights how Americans have shorter lives than Europeans. Given my limited knowledge, I'd have to attribute this to food processing in the US.

More news on Microsoft reducing the number of datacenters it is building worldwide.

Climate company goes bankrupt after co-founder was arrested on fraud charges. Is the entire "buy carbon credits" thing just one big fraud?

Saturday 5 April 2025

It appears that OpenAI has so many products that it is confusing itself.

Microsoft expands its Copilot Vision --- see something, it helps.

Going the other way, Microsoft will now charge for some of what Copilot on GitHub does.

More angst on tariffs. I am still waiting for articles on who in the US benefits for tariffs on imported goods. I am puzzled to see that 100% of the results of tariffs are bad for 100% of the people 100% of the time.

This article is a month old, but it predicts which US companies and industries benefit from tariffs on imported goods.

Oh, and who passed a law that gave the President the authority to just declare tariff rates? Oh, Congress, that's who. Perhaps in the future members of Congress will discuss the language in laws.

Meanwhile in India, OpenAI has lots of users.

I've never been a cybersecurity expert. There is much news about AI models that benefit cybersecurity. My view of cybersecurity problems is that people failed to use systems engineering concepts. Still others know they have problems, but choose to ignore them hoping for the best.

US company heads promise to invest big in America. They will probably invest more than now, but not as much as "promised."

Sunday 6 April 2025

Doom and gloom forecast from the tech optimists. They thought Mr. Trump would be a free-market President. And I am not sure why Mr. Trump is so infatuated with tariffs.

There will be a hackathon at the IRS next week. Lots of fuss about employees of the Executive branch of government having access to data in the Executive branch of government. The IRS vets IRS employees. Hmm, sounds like a conflict of interest. The IRS doesn't like DOGE employees because they are not IRS employees and IRS' security cannot threaten them. Hmm, sounds like a conflict of interest.

Microsoft pushes its Muse AI model for gaming. I suppose this solves somebody's problem.

Meanwhile in the UK, the BBC wants regulators to fine Apple and Google for their news coverage that borrows news from the BBC. If the goal of journalism is to inform the public, borrowing news stories is a good thing, right? If that is a naive goal, well, money is involved and the BBC wants billion $$$ fines on Apple and Google with the money going to the BBC.

Quoting the headline, "Foxconn reports record Q1 revenue"

DeepSeek (China) claims big improvements in LLM performance using generative reward modelling (GRM).

Here is the research paper.

Well, some people still believe the "views" count on society media. Really?

I like this from Seth Godin, "Time spent on a hobby feels like time well spent. Obstacles and setbacks aren't a tragedy, they're simply part of journey, the things that make it interesting." Consider the obstacles and setbacks "at work" in this light.

The ban the TikTok or buy the TikTok (or whatever we call it) deadline is extended again.