Posted on December 27th, 2022 by Joy Schwabach
The web is abuzz with “ChatGPT,” a new search engine. Some say it’s better than Google. It took only five days to reach a million users. In answer to your queries, ChatGPT can write poems, essays, opinion pieces and programming code. One of its answers explained how World War I contributed to World War II. But it doesn’t chat. When I complimented it, it got confused. To start, go to chat.openai.com and sign up for a free account. Take a look at the sample searches. They’re OK, but things get much more interesting when your queries get quirky. I asked it to “write bedtime instructions for toddlers in the style of the King James Bible.” It came back with: “And […]
Read more
Filed under: gadgets, Internuts, search, trends | Comments Off on THE NEW GOOGLE?
Posted on December 19th, 2022 by Joy Schwabach
Don’t get me wrong. I love Lyft and Uber. But sometimes a taxi is better. I recently ordered a Lyft for a 40-minute ride. The app said it would cost $53. Ridiculous, I thought. When I started over, the price changed to $43. But Lyft wanted to pick me up at a different address than the one I typed in, an aggravation I’ve experienced many times. I thought I’d have to cross a wide boulevard in the freezing rain at night. So I called a taxi. Price: $39. Arrival: instant. Driver: courteous. A friend of mine has also faced his share of Lyft annoyances. Last summer, he was waiting for a ride home from the airport when they canceled it […]
Read more
Filed under: Amazon, environment, gadgets, Internuts | Comments Off on RIDESHARING VERSUS TAXIS
Posted on December 12th, 2022 by Joy Schwabach
When I left my computer at a repair shop earlier this year, I never thought for a moment that they would snoop through my stuff. Then I saw a report from the University of Guelph in Ontario, quoted by Malwarebytes.org. It showed that technicians from six of the 12 shops they investigated had delved into personal data. Two of them copied the user’s stuff to their own drives, including photos and financial information. Most of the shops also asked customers for their login password, even when they didn’t need it. But my local Gadgetworks never asked for mine. To be on the safe side, however, I’m using VeraCrypt, a free download from Sourceforge.net, to encrypt any sensitive files. After installation, […]
Read more
Filed under: gadgets, mouse, photos, security, tech support | Comments Off on TECH REPAIR SHOP SNOOPERS
Posted on December 6th, 2022 by Joy Schwabach
The first time I tried the OpenSwim headset from Shokz, I found myself wanting to swim longer and faster. It literally brought music to my ears. But I had a heck of a time getting it adjusted properly. First I jumped in the pool, then tried to stuff my ponytail and headset under my cap. It makes a kind of ring around the back of your head, using bone conduction technology to bring the sound to you. But I kept adjusting not just the fit, but the volume. It seems louder underwater, though it had to compete with my splashes. The second time I tried the OpenSwim, I thought “phooey.” I just couldn’t get it adjusted right. Of course, it’s […]
Read more
Filed under: gadgets, Internuts, social networks, trends, Wikipedia, word processing | Comments Off on SWIMMING TO THE BEAT
