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Latest Andru Edwards Videos
Google Search Wants to Finish the Job: AI Mode Now Talks to Instacart, Canva, and YouTube Music
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Google, Internet, Artificial Intelligence,
For as long as any of us have used it, Google Search has been the place you go to figure out what to do next. Where to eat, what to buy, how to fix the thing under the sink. Google now wants it to be the place you actually do those things. This week it started rolling out new connections in AI Mode that wire Search directly into Instacart, Canva, and YouTube Music, so the answer and the action finally live in the same window.
The pitch, in Google's own words, is to "reduce the steps between planning a task in Search and completing it in another app." In practice that means you can plan a backyard barbecue in AI Mode, watch it turn the menu into a grocery list, and push those ingredients straight into an Instacart cart without opening a single new tab. It is a small convenience with a big ambition behind it, and it tells you a lot about where Google thinks Search is headed.
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Coca-Cola Stopped Making Fairlife Milk in the U.S. After a Cyberattack Hit the Factory Floor
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Internet,
You probably don't think about milk as a cybersecurity target. A carton of ultra-filtered protein milk sitting in the fridge feels about as far from ransomware and dark-web extortion as a product can get. And yet here we are: Coca-Cola has stopped making Fairlife in the United States, and the reason is a cyberattack.
The company disclosed on July 16 that it detected unauthorized access to the systems behind Fairlife, its popular line of ultra-filtered milk and protein shakes. The intrusion reached production-related infrastructure, so Coca-Cola did the only thing you can really do in that situation: it hit pause. U.S. Fairlife facilities have temporarily suspended production while the company figures out exactly what happened.
1Password Will Let Claude Log You In Without Ever Seeing Your Passwords
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Software, Artificial Intelligence,
Here's the thing nobody wants to admit about turning an AI agent loose on the web: sooner or later it hits a login screen, and then what? You either hand the robot your passwords and hope for the best, or the whole errand grinds to a halt. 1Password thinks there is a third option.
This week the company rolled out 1Password for Claude, a browser integration that lets Anthropic's assistant log you into websites without the password ever touching the model. The pitch, in the words of 1Password CTO Nancy Wang, is simple: "The answer isn't handing agents your secrets, but letting a user give an agent permission to use a credential without letting the agent see it."
Click to continue reading 1Password Will Let Claude Log You In Without Ever Seeing Your Passwords
Verizon Fios Tops Out at 5Gbps Now, and the Switcher Price Is the Real Story
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Broadband, Internet,
Verizon just doubled the ceiling on its fastest home internet plan, and the honest question is whether anyone in your house can actually use it. Fios now tops out at 5Gbps, up from 2Gbps, which works out to roughly 625 megabytes per second on a good day. That is a genuinely enormous number. It is also more than most homes will ever come close to touching.
Here is where it gets interesting, though. The plan runs $105 a month in the select areas that can get it, but Verizon is dangling $90 a month for five years at anyone willing to switch, and locking upgrading customers in for three years at $105. The speed is the headline. The price lock is the part worth reading twice.
TikTok’s Bold Glamour Filter Sparks Controversy Over AI & Unrealistic Beauty Standards
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Software,
TikTok is known for its fun and creative filters and effects that allow users to transform their appearance and express themselves. However, one of its filters has been causing a lot of backlash for its unrealistic and potentially harmful effects on users’ self-esteem and body image.
The filter in question is called Bold Glamour, which applies light makeup, smooths skin, enlarges lips, and tweaks bone structures to create a more “glamorous” look. However, many users have pointed out that the filter also changes their eye color, nose shape, jawline, cheekbones, and even hairline, making them look like completely different people.
Some users have been using the filter to compare their before and after looks or to show how different they look from their friends or family members. Others have been using it to mock or criticize the filter for its unrealistic beauty standards or to make jokes about how they would look like celebrities with the filter on.
Soon You Can Buy an Instagram Verification Badge with Meta Verified
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Internet,
Meta has announced a new subscription service called Meta Verified, and it's causing a stir across social media. This feature is designed to increase authenticity and security on both Facebook and Instagram. Many are likening it to Twitter Blue, however, you get way more from Meta Verified, including actual "verification."
For $12 per month (or $15 per month if you subscribe through the App Store), users will get blue verification badges on their Facebook and Instagram account, additional impersonation protection, direct access to customer support, and 100 free stars to tip creators on Facebook. Meta Verified subscribers will also get access to exclusive stickers for Reels and Stories.
Click to continue reading Soon You Can Buy an Instagram Verification Badge with Meta Verified
Bing’s New Chatbot Isn’t Conscious, Despite What You May Have Heard
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Internet, Microsoft,
We're living in a time where AI anxiety is at an all-time high. Predictions about the AI singularity are being thrown around like confetti, and recent reports about Microsoft's new Bing search AI have some folks convinced that we're already living in a world of self-aware machines.
Now, don't get me wrong, I can see why people might think this. When most people hear the term "AI," they imagine Skynet or HAL 9000 – machines with human-like self-awareness, powered by complex processors that rival the human brain.
But the reality of AI is far different from the Hollywood versions we see on the big screen. AI tools like Midjourney, ChatGPT, and Google and Microsoft's search assistants are a far cry from the sentient machines we imagine. In fact, calling chatbots, art generators, or automated programming tools "AI" might be a misnomer – or more likely, a simple marketing tactic.
So, how do these "AI" tools actually work?
Click to continue reading Bing’s New Chatbot Isn’t Conscious, Despite What You May Have Heard
Microsoft unveils new AI-powered Bing and Edge browser with ChatGPT features
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Features, Internet, Microsoft,
I spent the day at Microsoft today for the unveiling of the new Bing: a chat-based search engine that can do more than just answer search queries.
Bing is now a conversational agent that can understand and communicate fluently in your language of choice. It can also do things like write poems and stories, generate code, create songs, do celebrity parodies, and more. Bing can even suggest relevant and interesting topics for you to chat about, or help you find helpful products or services based on your needs.
Geared Up: Riding in Tesla’s Cybertruck, & Samsung Tech Day w/ Special Guests Ben Sullins & Jim Elliott
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Design, Features, Handhelds, Internet, Science, Storage, Transportation,
This week we talk about the newly-announced Tesla Cybertruck, Tesla’s take on what a modern (if not futuristic) pickup truck should be, along with thoughts on riding inside the vehicle. Joining us for that segment is Tesla expert Ben Sullins from Teslanomics. Ben and Jon were on-hand at the Cybertruck reveal event, while Andru watched from home, left out from the annals of history. We also have an interview with Samsung Semiconductor’s Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing Jim Elliott, talking about the new tech we can expect in upcoming Samsung smartphones, as well as how 5G, autonomous driving, high-bandwidth memory, and more are changing the future!
LINKS MENTIONED IN THE SHOW
- Video: Riding in the Tesla Cybertruck
- Video: Samsung Tech Day Announcements
- Geared Up on YouTube
- Jon Rettinger on YouTube
- Andru Edwards on YouTube
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Circle with Disney review: Easy management of family devices!
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Handhelds, Internet, Product Reviews,
Here in the middle of 2017, managing your content across your various devices is a problem that is pretty much solved, thanks to the various cloud services we can tap into. These basically allow you to access all of your most important content from any device, anywhere you are. However, a problem that has yet to be tackled is the management of who uses those devices. Circle with Disney is a brand-new product that wants to unify your family’s entire online experience. It allows you to set time limits for individual family members, block websites based on your child’s age, and even pause Internet access entirely when it’s time to log off.
Circle allows your family to manage all of your home's connected devices with ease. With Circle, parents can now filter content and limit screen time as well as set a bedtime for every device in the home. Circle can even pause the Internet and share what kids are up to online.
Click to continue reading Circle with Disney review: Easy management of family devices!