On Computers

No wonder my friend Kenny got out of the tech support business. He charged around $50 per call. Now you can get free tech support without bugging your neighbor. Engadget.com listed the three main services, starting with CyberSeniors.org, which offers free support from volunteers. After you fill out their form, a volunteer will call you. Later, you can ask for them by name. The site also offers “Tech Drop-Ins,” to allow questions via Zoom. SeniorPlanet.org, from AARP, is similar. It’s free even for non-AARP members and offers daily Zoom sessions. Alternatively, you can talk to a tech on the phone any time between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, by calling 888-713-3495. For adults of all ages, there’s […]

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Filed under: AI, Amazon, gadgets, health, tech support | Comments Off on FREE TECH SUPPORT

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the craziest of them all?” You are, that’s who, if you’re willing to spend $500 to $1000 on an artificially intelligent mirror. Or maybe not. A glance at the new Baracoda Bmind Smart Mirror could talk you out of yelling at your boss, saving your bacon. First it will size you up. Then it will offer encouraging words, guide you in meditation and bring you light therapy. It also gives you your weight, the weather, some food recommendations and Nature scenes. According to ZDnet, the smart mirror is one of the best AI gadgets from the recent Computer Electronics Show. But number one on the ZDnet list is the “Motion Pillow.” When the Motion […]

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Filed under: AI, gadgets, iPhone | Comments Off on $500 MIRROR GIVES ADVICE

Would you be creeped out to hear the words “Doctor AI Will See You Now?” Probably. But chances are, a robot would be better in some ways than your own doctor. In a Ted talk by Eric Topol, an American cardiologist and scientist, I learned about several situations where artificial intelligence saved the day. A 6 year-old, for example, suffered from nonstop pain and stunted growth for three years. He dragged his left foot and had severe headaches. When 17 doctors failed to diagnose him, his mom turned to ChatGPT. The chatbot said he had a tethered spinal cord. After surgery, he became 100 percent normal. Similarly, when a female patient was told by a dozen doctors that she had […]

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Filed under: AI, art, gadgets, music | Comments Off on DOCTOR AI WILL DIAGNOSE YOU

I asked Google to draw me a frog on a beach, a man with a rose, and a woman in a forest. Presto, they arrived, but not from any website. A robot made them on the spot. It’s all part of the “Search Generative Experience,” or SGE, a free add-on to your regular Google search in Chrome. To set it up, go to Labs.Google.com and scroll down to “Search Powered by Generative AI.” Click “Getting Started,” then enable it. Now every Google query in Chrome will have an optional AI answer plus the usual links. I asked it to “draw a chair on a raft going down Niagara Falls,” and a Mona Lisa in Tahiti. Both were fantastic. But sometimes an image […]

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AI writes the songs that make the whole world stop singing. In other words, artificially intelligent music is definitely a work in progress. For example, I went to Suno.ai and typed: “Write a song in the style of Dixieland jazz.” It was awful. So was 60s rock. And so was a rewrite of “The 12 Days of Christmas.” If this is the future of music, I might stop listening. But I liked the bluegrass tune “Neon Cowboy,” and was intrigued by “My Truck Found Love.” It’s about a self-driving vehicle gone rogue. Supposedly, you can also get tunes from the Suno plugin in Microsoft’s Copilot. Search on “Microsoft Copilot” or click the blue-turquoise icon in the top right in Edge. […]

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Filed under: AI, books, education, Internuts, kids, Windows | Comments Off on ARTIFICIALLY INTELLIGENT MUSIC