If I have to hear “There’s a bright golden haze on the meadow” one more time, I’ll turn it off. I love Rodgers and Hammerstein but there’s a limit. Now I’ve rediscovered Pandora.

The problem with Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube Music is that they either play too much of what I said I liked, or they start at the top of a playlist I’ve heard too many times before. I could build new playlists of course, or try to think of new tunes to ask for, but I like the way Pandora creates a radio station for me. 

Even on the same Pandora station, I get a different mix every time. For example, when I asked for the Rodgers and Hammerstein station the other day, I heard “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Chim Chim Cheree,” “Some Enchanted Evening,” and the “Wells Fargo Wagon.” Only one of those is by the famous duo. The next time I tune into the same station, I’ll get a completely different set.

Creating a new station is as easy as asking for a song, singer or composer. Then, you can use the free Pandora app on your phone, tablet or computer or tell an Alexa Echo device or Google Home speaker to either “play Pandora” or choose a specific station. To get more variety, tap “add variety” in the app and add more artists. 

The free version of Pandora has frequent ads. So for $11 a month, I ordered the commercial-free version, with unlimited skips and downloadable tunes for playing offline.

Travel Tips

I asked a veteran traveler if she bought a SIM card when she went to China, to avoid roaming fees. “No,” she said. “That’s always been problematic for me.”

Regulatory restrictions, language barriers and incompatibilities can cause problems whether you buy an eSIM before you land or a local SIM card once you get there. In China, a physical SIM card might work for a few days, then suddenly stop.

“I bit the bullet and paid $100 for a month of international usage with Verizon,” my friend said. “No hassles. It worked.”  But, she added, “my son and daughter don’t have any trouble. In China it’s very easy to get a SIM card through Alipay. It’s very cheap too. I guess I’m too lazy to figure these things out.” I would be too.

While we were on the travel topic, I asked her what happened to the $100 language translator she bought on Amazon from Anfier. She said it didn’t work well, so she switched to Google Translate. She had to use a cellular connection with it because the Chinese government prohibits Google when you’re on WiFi. But Facebook, though supposedly banned, was accessible either way. I asked her if she used a Virtual Private Network to get past barriers. “I tried to get one for France,” she said, “but somehow couldn’t get it to install on my phone. So I gave up.” 

Everyone is Cheating

According to “Everyone is Cheating,” a recent article in New York Magazine, artificial intelligence is used at colleges everywhere. 

AI creates study guides and practice tests, summarizes novels and textbooks, brainstorms, outlines and drafts essays. Even when students are asked to introduce themselves to the class, many ask AI to write it for them.

They avoid detection by asking AI to sound like themselves. One student said her favorite prompt is: “Write it as a college freshman who is a li’l dumb.” Others upload their past writings into AI sites that massage it until it sounds similar.

In desperation, teachers ask for hand-written answers on paper, turn to oral exams, or set AI traps. For example, they’ll include a random word like “broccoli,” or a phrase like “mention Finland.” AI will include those topics in its answer. 

So are the professors winning? Nope. “College is broken,” students say. “It’s simply a test of how well you can use AI.”

Gazelle Warning

Recently, I mentioned my successful experience selling a Google Pixel 8 on Gazelle. But a reader said he couldn’t sell his Macbook there. Sure enough, he’s right. They no longer take Macs. But while we’re on the subject of online sales, check out MPB.com for selling used camera equipment. I netted $523 for a friend by selling his camera and lenses.

Avoiding Malware

I love the free tools available on the web. But the FBI says we should avoid them if we don’t want to be scammed.

So, for example, instead of Googling “free online file converter,” and clicking whatever comes up, look for Adobe’s free version. Among other freebies, there’s Adobe Fresco, a free drawing app, and Adobe Express, a free photo editing tool that lets you add captions. At firefly.adobe.com, you ask AI to draw for you.  

Internuts

– “How Japan built the world’s first 3D-printed train station in 6 hours.” Search on that phrase to see a remarkable video on Mashable. It was finished after the last train of the evening and before the next one arrived. It replaces a 75 year-old station with one that is just 100 square feet, but it’s big enough.

– “Genetically engineered bacteria break down industrial contaminants.” Search on that phrase to learn about five clusters of genes from different organisms that were put into a single bacterial strain. They all thrive in different environments, so together they can eat up almost any waste.

Filed under: AI, business, environment, Internuts, music, virus