Author Archives: Bud Gibson

So, when I said that voice input ‘works’, what this means is that you can now use an audio wave-form to fill in a dialogue box – you can turn sound into text and text (from audio or, of course, from chatbots, which were last year’s Next Big Thing) into a structured query, and youContinue reading “Voice and the uncanny valley of AI — Benedict Evans”

Younger Americans voting with their feet are most heavily favoring moves to New Haven-Milford, Connecticut and Madison, Wisconsin, according to the National Association of Realtors. — Read on http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-25/where-u-s-millennials-are-moving-to-most-demographic-trends Why has the Midwest been a net loser of population? Communities in the Midwest are definitely attractive. I think Midwestern have to ask themselves if theyContinue reading “Where Are Millennials Moving in the US? Connecticut, Wisconsin – Bloomberg”

It’s really a sort of public scratchpad of links I’ve collected from around the web and the occasional full post (which is really just anything that is not a link). Right now, I’m thinking the tag line might change to, “A public scratchpad for my thoughts and notable web links”. That would make for twoContinue reading “Wondering how to organize this blog”

Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak believes ad sales will only grow bigger with Instagram’s promise as an e-commerce tool. In raising his price target on Facebook shares to $195 from $190 on April 9, Nowak estimates Instagram could add $4 billion in incremental sales by 2021 as advertisers and companies connect purchases to their digitalContinue reading “Facebook Stock Is Up Because Its Earnings Report Was Mostly Positive – Barron’s”

Apple’s supply deal with Qualcomm—previously the sole supplier of iPhone modems—was part of the resolution of a two-year legal fight over Qualcomm’s royalties for wireless technology. Intel had gained the iPhone business as that feud worsened, then announced after the settlement that it was abandoning development of modems for 5G smartphones. — Read on http://www.wsj.com/articles/apple-discussed-acquiring-intels-smartphone-modem-chip-business-11556303497Continue reading “Apple Held Talks With Intel About Buying Its Smartphone-Modem Chip Business – WSJ”

Intel’s mobile problems been apparent for a while. This article gives a good list of all the failures. Intel’s Mobile Problem – On my Om — Read on om.co/2019/04/25/intels-mobile-problem/

The latest view is rooted in a growing belief among senior intelligence officials that the spying program provides limited value to national security and has become a logistical headache. — Read on http://www.wsj.com/articles/nsa-recommends-dropping-phone-surveillance-program-11556138247 The logistics of data often outweigh is benefits.

The tech giant records people’s locations worldwide. Now, investigators are using it to find suspects and witnesses near crimes, running the risk of snaring the innocent. — Read on http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/04/13/us/google-location-tracking-police.html The key point is that you’re putting your location data in a repository that is subject to subpoena.

Facebook’s decision to set aside billions of dollars comes as the company continues negotiating with the FTC on a settlement that would end its investigation. As part of those talks, federal officials have sought to force Facebook to pay a fine into the billions of dollars, sources previously told the Post. That would set aContinue reading “Start Up No.1,053: Facebook faces $3bn fine”

Early-career setback cause a performance improvement among those who persevere. This is related to the observation that immigrants are four times more likely to become millionaires. In biology, that is called hormesis: by challenging your muscles, you get stronger; by exposing yourself to some radiations or starving a little, you live longer. So you shouldContinue reading “Science and Technology links (April 20th 2019) – Daniel Lemire’s blog”