Author Archives

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Apple takes its eye off the ball: Why Apple fans are really coming to hate Apple software – LA Times

I hate to add my voice to the chorus, but this has been my experience as well.  I still love Apple hardware, but the software has gotten progressively worse over the last few years.

The last few weeks have seen an explosion of discontent with the quality of the core apps of Apple’s iPhones, iPads and Mac computers — not only its OS X and iOS operating systems, but programs and services such as iTunes, Music, iCloud and Photos. Not only do the programs work poorly for many users, but they don’t link Apple devices together as reliably as they should. These complaints aren’t coming merely from users but several widely followed tech commentators who used to fit reliably in the category of Apple fans.

Source: Apple takes its eye off the ball: Why Apple fans are really coming to hate Apple software – LA Times

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Senior citizens may accept robot helpers, but fear robot masters | Penn State University

The participants in the study indicated they saw robots as useful in three aspects of their lives: physical, informational and interactional. They felt most comfortable with robots as helpers and butlers, according to Sundar. Older adults also seemed more likely to accept robots that provide them information and entertainment, according to the researchers.Seniors, however, may be less likely to use robots that are designed to be more autonomous. An autonomous robot can make its own decisions and may not need to wait for a senior’s commands to engage in a task.”It is clear senior citizens want robots to play passive and non-confrontational roles,” said Sundar. “Seniors do not mind having robots as companions, but they worry about the potential loss of control over social order to robots.”

Source: Senior citizens may accept robot helpers, but fear robot masters | Penn State University

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Energy-friendly chip can perform powerful artificial-intelligence tasks | MIT News

A few years back, I remember reading a prediction that, within a decade, we’d have the equivalent of IBM’s Watson A.I. on our smartphones.  This could put us one step closer to that reality.

At the International Solid State Circuits Conference in San Francisco this week, MIT researchers presented a new chip designed specifically to implement neural networks. It is 10 times as efficient as a mobile GPU, so it could enable mobile devices to run powerful artificial-intelligence algorithms locally, rather than uploading data to the Internet for processing.

Source: Energy-friendly chip can perform powerful artificial-intelligence tasks | MIT News

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Google AI algorithm masters ancient game of Go : Nature News & Comment

Rather than follow the trend of the past 30 years of trying to crack games using computing power, DeepMind has reverted to mimicking human-like knowledge, albeit by training, rather than by being programmed, he says. The feat also shows the power of deep learning, which is going from success to success, says Coulom. “Deep learning is killing every problem in AI.”

Source: Google AI algorithm masters ancient game of Go : Nature News & Comment

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You weren’t born to just write code and die – Adam Bourg

As a software engineer we spend a good portion of ourselves developing software for the companies we work for and people we may or may not like. As a software engineer its important to invest in yourself, not just in building your skills but in the whole person.Investing in yourself means to become healthier, happier and smarter. It means to discover hobbies and interests outside of software like skiing or playing games. It also means to focus on learning, reading books, buying better equipment and developing your skills.

Source: You weren’t born to just write code and die – Adam Bourg

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Do Elite Colleges Lead to Higher Salaries? Only for Some Professions

Specifically, for business and other liberal-arts majors, the prestige of the school has a major impact on future earnings expectations. But for fields like science, technology, education and math, it largely doesn’t matter whether students go to a prestigious, expensive school or a low-priced one—expected earnings turn out the same. So, families may be wasting money by chasing an expensive diploma in those fields.

Source: Do Elite Colleges Lead to Higher Salaries? Only for Some Professions

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Switzerland will be the first country in the world to vote on having a national wage of £1,700 a month | Europe | News | The Independent

Switzerland is set to vote on a proposal that wants to pay everyone 2,500 Swiss francs (£1,700) a month regardless of whether people are working or not.If the plans go through, it will become the first country in the world to provide a basic unconditional monthly income, and they are already the first country to vote on the matter.

Source: Switzerland will be the first country in the world to vote on having a national wage of £1,700 a month | Europe | News | The Independent

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Calling all Bay Area Belters: come hang out with fellow fans of The Expanse!

This Wednesday, February 3, 2016 at 5pm, come join Ars’ Tech Culture Editor Annalee Newitz and me at Longitudebar in downtown Oakland, California. Not only will you be among friends and fellow fans of The Expanse, but you’ll be able to hang out and learn Belter from the man who created it—Nick Farmer, the language consultant for the show.

Source: Calling all Bay Area Belters: come hang out with fellow fans of The Expanse!