THAT SYNCING FEELING
A reader named Sam told me he has a problem. His Windows computers aren’t playing nice with each other. Unlike his iPad and iPhone, they’re never in sync.
“I have two laptops,” Sam said. “Both are HPs. If I post something on a spreadsheet downstairs, I want it to share the same info to the upstairs laptop, which is hooked up to a printer.” But it’s not happening.
Here’s the answer. Keep your documents, spreadsheets and presentations in your Microsoft OneDrive folder. Then any changes you make while you’re working on one computer are automatically reflected in the other, no matter where in the world you are.
For a visual demonstration, go to YouTube and search on “Move files to OneDrive.” It has everything you need to know.
Tubi TV
This month, Tubi TV started offering 100 cartoon series they’ve never had before, including Animaniacs, Looney Toons, Abbott & Costello and Yogi Bear. To see more, search on the phrase “list of cartoons coming to Tubi TV.” If they’re not on Tubi yet, check YouTube.
The Best AI
These days, I often turn to Google Gemini instead of any other AI. For example, recently I clicked the Gemini button in Google Chrome to get an estimate of the taxes I’ll owe, and to find out whether I’ll get a refund. To do this, I uploaded one statement from my broker and another from my annuity. Gemini analyzed both stupendously. It also did a great job with my refrigerator warranty.
Gemini can also send email for you, if you provide the addresses. To test it, I asked it to send one to my own account at AOL, using a recipe I’d displayed on the left side of my computer screen. In the note, I asked it to compliment me on my cooking skills, vegan diet and fun personality. Fortunately, Gemini won’t send an email off until you preview it and agree.
Here’s what the note said: “I wanted to share this delicious recipe for a Taco-Style Cauliflower Burrito with you! I know how dedicated you are to your vegan diet, and with your amazing cooking skills, I’m sure you’ll make this taste even better than the original. It’s always such a blast catching up with you—your fun personality is truly infectious!” After it listed the recipe, it added: “Hope you enjoy it!”
Live Location
Slowly rolling out to all Android phones is a new feature in the Messages app that will allow you to share your location as you move along in real time. In the current version, you might be showing where you were five minutes ago, not where you are now. In the new version, you’ll tap the attachment icon, then tap “Real-Time Location.”
On an iPhone, open a message, tap the plus sign, and choose “Location.” Then tap “send pin.” Alternatively, both Android and iPhone users can use Google Maps. Tap your profile picture, “location sharing,” and “new share.”
New Chip
Our brains solve complex physics every time we catch a ball or balance on our toes. But our neurons fire only when something needs attention. What if computer chips could mimic that efficiency? It’s happening.
By firing only when necessary, the new chips have the potential to save data centers an enormous amount of energy. Instead of grinding through instructions nonstop, the chips spike only when the math demands it, consuming almost no power otherwise. Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories successfully tested this approach on Intel’s Loihi 2 chip, dubbing it “NeuroFEM.” Their discovery is spreading quickly in the scientific community.
Because these chips are tiny and low‑powered, they could be embedded directly into bridges, turbines, or aircraft parts. By running real‑time simulations, they could spot stress or cracks long before dangers arise. Amazingly, the harder the physics problem, the more energy saved. The chips avoid the constant data‑shuffling that bogs down traditional processors.
They’re efficient in another way too. A conventional CPU handles instructions one after another, but neuromorphic chips can process thousands of signals at once. They already excel at tasks like recognizing a face or sensing a vibration. Now they’re proving they can handle massive math as well.
For more information, search the phrase: “Computer Chips Designed Like Biological Brains Can Finally Handle Massive Math Problems Without Guzzling Energy Like a Normal Supercomputer.”
Make My Drive Fun
Going on a road trip? Head over to MakeMyDriveFun.com. Type in your starting point and your destination, and it will fill the map with points of interest, though it gets some stuff wrong. For example, “Georgette the 16-foot long shark” isn’t located in Newport Beach, California. It’s at the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana. But “Make My Drive Fun” was right about “Pirate’s Lair, and Their Giant Pet Rooster” on the Balboa Peninsula. Just to be sure, I Google everything I find. I’m curious about the 25-foot-high donut in Costa Mesa.
Internut
“Boozy chimps fail urine test, confirm hotly debated theory.” Search on that phrase to find a report proving that chimpanzees imbibe the equivalent of two drinks a day by eating fermented fruit. The only abstainers were juveniles and females in heat. Did they stumble around, tell bad jokes and pass out? The article didn’t say.