xBlogs

As with so many little disasters, this was all my fault. I left my MacBook Air perched on the armrest of the sofa. I turned to my right to grab a drink. I turned back to my left. Down went the MacBook Air. It landed on the base of a standing lamp. I picked it up. I carried on working. Hey, it was Thanksgiving Day; what was I supposed to do? Later that day, I was done. With something approaching ceremony, I shut my MacBook Air. It refused. Well, it half-refused. The right side shut just fine. The left side hung in the air like a Floridian chad . I tried to close it with a little force. The left side came straight back up. I tried cursing it. It was unmoved. What was I supposed to do? The next day was Black Friday . Did I really think there'd be an Apple Genius available to help? Black Friday? The best day for a fix. I swiftly learned something about Black Friday. No one wants to get their gadgets fixed that day. I looked for a Genius Bar appointment at the Apple … [Read more...] about My Apple MacBook Air wouldn’t close anymore. Then I got one surprise too many

Algorithms play a growing role in our lives, even as their flaws are becoming more apparent: a Michigan man wrongly accused of fraud had to file for bankruptcy; automated screening tools disproportionately harm people of color who want to buy a home or rent an apartment ; Black Facebook users were subjected to more abuse than white users. Other automated systems have improperly rated teachers, graded students, and flagged people with dark skin more often for cheating on tests. Now, efforts are underway to better understand how AI works and hold users accountable. New York’s City Council last month adopted a law requiring audits of algorithms used by employers in hiring or promotion. The law, the first of its kind in the nation, requires employers to bring in outsiders to assess whether an algorithm exhibits bias based on sex, race, or ethnicity. Employers also must tell job applicants who live in New York when artificial intelligence plays a role in deciding who gets … [Read more...] about The movement to hold AI accountable gains more steam

We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more . Home / News / Wearables Not renders Leaked marketing images reveal a smartwatch with no physical bezel. Jay Bonggolto 5 Dec 2021 0 Source: Jon Prosser What you need to know Official marketing images of the rumored Google Pixel Watch have cropped up. Google's first smartwatch will likely run Wear OS 3 at launch. The wearable is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2022. Google has been skipping developing its own Wear OS smartwatch for many years, despite having the resources to do so, let alone its long-standing Android wearable platform. However, renders of the Google Pixel Watch surfaced earlier this year , courtesy of Jon Prosser, raising hopes that Google's first smartwatch would be released soon. While the long-awaited Pixel Watch did not make an appearance alongside the Google Pixel 6 series in October, a new report … [Read more...] about This could be our first look at official Google Pixel Watch images

Printers have come a long way from when all they could do was print. They can now often scan and fax documents, too. The question is whether you need the added functionality and whether it’s worth the cost. What Is an All-in-One Printer? If you’ve been on the hunt for a new printer recently, you’ve probably come across the term “all-in-one” (AIO) or multifunction printer. At first glance, the value proposition is clear: You are getting a printer that can do more than just print, but are these extra functions actually useful or even good? The truth is that you get what you pay for. You’re not getting a top-of-the-line scanner built into an all-in-one printer. But that may not be a problem. For example, if you’re just scanning some of your documents for safekeeping, you don’t need a high-end scanner that can create a large resolution image. There’s also the slight hiccup that, while you might have a specific function available as part of the AIO, it might not work fully … [Read more...] about What Is an All-in-One (AIO) Printer, and Should You Buy One?

ROME — Pope Francis lamented Sunday morning that “little has changed with regard to the issue of migration” since he last visited the Greek island of Lesbos in 2016. Progress is being made in the campaign to vaccinate people against the Wuhan coronavirus and even in the fight against climate change,” the pope said during his address at the Reception and Identification Centre on Lesbos, yet “all this seems to be terribly absent when it comes to migration.” Migration is “an issue for the whole world: a humanitarian crisis that concerns everyone,” the pontiff stated, and “human lives, real people, are at stake!” The solution to the migration crisis is openness rather than secure borders, Francis insisted. “It is distressing to hear of proposals that common funds be used to build walls and barbed wire as a solution,” the pontiff declared. “We are in the age of walls and barbed wire.” A man pays his respects to the Pope Francis during a meeting with refugees at the … [Read more...] about Pope Francis: We Live in ‘the Age of Walls and Barbed Wire’