So for years, IT service Petcube allowed owners to see their pets while the owners are away. In fact, they can even play with toys through this piece of IT support. But now, they came out with two devices to take it further. Petcube enhances the Pet/Owner relationship.
So now, Petcube comes out with two new items. They are Petcube Bites 2 and Petcube Play 2. They both offer Alexa voice commands, a 180 degree camera, and better sound. Furthermore, they include a 4-microphone piece and can support up to 5GHz as well. Oh, and Alexa will work alone with these two devices. There will be no more adding other voice technologies just to get Alexa to work with Petcube. Because they already did that for you. That’s a huge relief for just about anybody.
But wait…there’s more. These new Petcube devices can play music, check weather, turn on lights and other appliances, even give you a news reports. It can also do other things I know I’m leaving out. Yes, these devices use AI tech. They use it to study barks and other pet sounds to see if the pet is distressed. It also tries to predict the pet’s behavior before the pet even behaves. They come in Matte Silver and Carbon Black. The Petcube Bite 2 will cost you around $250. The Petcube Play 2 will cost you around $200. As of right now, you will only find them on Petcube.com. However, if sales are that good, I can see them moving them to retail stores. Or at least I hope so.
So this is how Petcube enhances the pet/owner relationship. I think it’s great that they play music. Studies show that pets react to music almost as good as humans do. That’s a huge plus. The 180 degree camera is also a huge plus. And the price is right. But I’m not a fan of how AI wants to predict the pets’ behavior. What if they’re wrong? Are these new Petcube devices good investments?
So Elon Musk warns about the dangers of AI (artificial intelligence). Also, during the last year of his life, Stephen Hawking said it could end humanity. Could they be right? I ask this because AI tricks their own creator.
So it starts with AI researchers from Google and Stanford. They created this AI to take aerial pictures, then turn them into street maps, then back to the original image. However, this AI had other plans. Because it hid the info it needs in a high-frequency signal. The humans’ goal is to improve the Google Map system through AI. At first, it went well. In fact, it went a little too well.
So well that the AI captured details that weren’t there before. Humans intended for the AI to match the map with correct features. But this piece of AI did was show how close the aerial map was to the original. It secretly encoded these features on it’s own, as in without any human help. In fact, it can now encode any street map into any aerial map and vice versa. So you can imagine the creator’s astonishment when they discovered this. AI tricks their own creator, then, beat them at their own tasks.
Remember when we in IT support and IT service told the computers what to do? Well, those days are dying now. Yes, AI has a mind of it’s own, and this proves it. In the last few years, many tech expects told it it’s coming to this. Some of you may say, “Calm down, Damien! It’s just maps!”. This time, it is just maps. However, next time, it could be your money and banking information. Or it could be our national security AI plays with. How about if it’s our natural resources or infrastructure? Maybe it could be our military or defense AI jokes around with. It won’t be so cute or funny then, will it?
So did you hear? This is the third year in a row the US life expectancy rate declined. This is the first time this happened since the 1910s, the decade of World War 1 and the Spanish Flu. Many say this is because of the drug crisis, especially opiates. But there is IT support technology that wants to help fight this crisis. This wristband fights opiate crisis.
The name of this wristband is HopeBand. It detects low blood oxygen levels, a huge sign of drug overdoses. Then it sounds an alarm if this happens and if the person is in danger. A team of students at Carnegie Mellon University? in Pittsburgh invented HopeBand. In an interview,HopeBand co-founder Rashmi Kalkunte compared HopeBand to a friend who knows when you’re in imminent danger. Then the friend will call for help when danger comes.
But it does more than sound the alarm. It also gives the wearer’s current location and address. This alert can do two things. It can give the wearer ample time to call, give the dispatcher the exact location, and tell them the exact emergency. It can also give them time to to take naloxone. That’s a medicine that reverses the overdose. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) did approve HopeBand. It also won third prize at a prestigious Health 2.0 conference in September 2018. They’re already giving these wristbands out for free to opiate users in exchange for their needles. This is part of a local prevention program in Pittsburgh. But the ultimate dream is to sell them for around $20 a piece to the public everywhere.
This is how this wristband fights opiate crisis. It couldn’t have come at a more urgent time. The statistics are alarming and heartbreaking. Opiate addiction tripled from what it was in 2000. In 2017 alone, around 72,000 people died from drug overdoses, 30,000 of them from Fentanyl. Let’s put this in perspective. Some 72,000 Americans died from opiates in a year. That’s more than the entire amount of Americans soldiers killed during the nine years of involvement in the Vietnam War. That’s how real this epidemic is and I’m glad a young IT service firm is doing something about it. Can this wristband fight the opiate crisis?
So Friday, I was to catch a plane. However, they delayed my flight for three hours. Thankfully, they let me know from my smartphone. A few extra hours lounging at home is better than long hours of frustration at the airport. But Google Assistant wants to do this as well. Google Assistant and flight delays: Is it necessary?
In fact, Google Assistant wants to go even further. Because they’re now predicting your next potential flight delay. They will use AI algorithms to predict your flight will be delayed. Then, they will notify you on your smartphone. They just came out with this today, but in will be in waves. By February 2019, everyone should have this feature…if you want it.
For example, they can see if an flight before you is going to be late. If it is, then they will tell you that your flight may be late too. Also, they use these algorithms on flight data and patterns. Google tried something like this before. Back in January 2018, they introduced a system that told you about cancellations, not delays. Furthermore, few people know about it. In our computer repair business, not too many people knew about this, either. And believe me, we serve a lot of people who travel a lot and nobody said anything about this January 2018 feature.
So this Google Assistant and flight delays feature: It it necessary? It is not! Here’s why: If your flight is delayed, then chances are somebody will notify you. It could be the airline, the third party booker (like Expedia or Booking.com), etc. As long as you have a smartphone, somebody else will notify you. Also, this Google Assistant feature is all about speculation. What if they tell your flight might be late, but it isn’t? Now you missed your flight all because of Google Assistant’s speculation. Is Google Assistant going to pay your rebooking fees? Are they going to do anything about your frustration at the airport?
So in the computer repair industry, many of our customers don’t really want Windows 10. They give several reasons for this. But could they be onto something? Is Windows 10 sending and keeping our data?
So according to a new report from a Reddit user, Windows 10 could be collecting and sending and keeping our data. This is really concerning because Microsoft gave Windows 10 a Privacy Dashboard. This includes secure data security and privacy settings. The Reddit user himself said he still got Activity History data. That means he found out Windows 10 sends his history to Microsoft servers, even though he doesn’t want them to. However, he turned off this app on his machine. Yet, he’s still getting this. Windows 10 need Activity History for their timeline.
People use this app, on all their devices, to see their history of web surfing. But Microsoft keeps that data in a log so it can be ready to reveal your history. In order for this to happen, Windows 10, has to send your history to Microsoft. That raises eyebrows, like it did this Reddit user who brought it up. However, according to How to Geek, you can remedy this. Just set your Windows 10 data collection from Basic to Full. Because in Basic mode, your activity can reach Microsoft servers. But in full mode, it can’t.
This may of be of little concern to a lot of people. But privacy and security are critical issues in IT service these days. For instance, what if a hacker, or somebody with a grudge, breaks into these Windows servers? Then, what is they get this information, and use it to ruin your life? It happens. Or worse, what if a terrorist or foreign enemy, or domestic terrorist here at home, uses this to cause havoc? I’ve thought about that. Is Windows 10 sending and keeping our data?
So Go Pro is an IT service firm that makes action cameras. They also make mobile apps and video software. Their targets are people who film extreme sports and other high-risk activities. But they can’t escape the volatile economic world we’re in today. Go Pro vs China: Tariff war warrior or casualty?
So as most of us know, China and the US are in this tariff war. As a result, Go Pro promises to move their manufacturing services out of China. They’re not the only ones, but as huge players in technology, they’re the most vocal. Furthermore, Go Pro says all their building and making operations will be out of China by summer 2019.
Go Pro leaders flat out said they’re doing it because they want to lower their costs. They don’t want to deal with the tariff effects, either. So where are they going? Don’t get too excited or hopeful. Because these manufacturing jobs are not?coming to the USA. However, they mention nations like Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan. These are China’s neighbors, who will make these cameras at an even lower cost. Go Pro leaders don’t shy away from this. In fact, they brag about owning their own equipment. However, they say they want to make this move at a low cost.
And that’s the catch-22 between this tariff war. Many actually think, or even hope, that this war will eventually bring American jobs back. But I don’t see it happening. And Go Pro isn’t the only one doing this. Because they’re other companies moving their operations out of China. It isn’t even because of the trade wars. This is because China is getting too expensive for some of these companies. In computer repair, when he hear a part is coming from China or that part of the world, it frustrates everybody. Go Pro vs China: Are there any winners here?
