Author: The Tech Guy

Before I get started, it’s important to clear up a persistent misconception about smartphones: the notion that background apps can consume too much memory and processor power, just as they can on a Mac or PC. While it’s true that some phone apps are more demanding than others, Apple and Google are well aware of this, and have designed iOS and Androidto manage background apps automatically. There’s no need to close all the unused items in your app switcher — they’re being paused or closed as needed. In fact you could actually make things worse by doing this, forcing paused…

A new framework developed by researchers at Google Cloud and DeepMind aims to address one of the key challenges of developing computer use agents (CUAs): Gathering high-quality training examples at scale.The framework, dubbed Watch & Learn (W&L), addresses the problem of training data generation in a way that doesn’t require human annotation and can automatically extract demonstrations from raw videos.Their experiments show that data generated W&L can be used to train or fine-tune existing computer use and foundation models to improve their performance on computer-use tasks. But equally important, the same approach can be used to create in-context learning (ICL)…

Home » Artificial intelligence » Tesla Board Chairman Says Cybercab Will Be Sold With Steering Wheel and Pedals As Needed – Model 2 Tesla will put a steering wheel and pedals in the Cybercab if that’s what regulators require, according to Tesla Chair Robyn Denholm. “If we have to have a steering wheel, it can have a steering wheel and pedals,” Robyn Denholm told Bloomberg. This would likely be a sub-$30,000 car. There are about 5 months for the US regulations to allow more than 2500 cars per year without steering wheel and pedals. Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought…

The new Romo robots bring drone-grade smarts to your home, gliding around furniture like it’s mapping a flight path. DJI, the company everyone knows for making some of the very best drones around, has jumped into the smart home game with something a bit different – the Romo series. It’s a lineup of three robot vacuums: the ROMO P, ROMO A, and ROMO S. This is DJI’s first major foray into home robotics, and you can buy them across Europe now, starting at €1299.  DJI didn’t leave its drone smarts behind, either. Each Romo vacuum packs the same kind of…

A startup called Skylight is taking a different approach to short-form video. Instead of restricting users to an algorithmic main feed, as is common on social apps, Skylight is building a community around human curators who post and repost videos to build out their own custom feeds others can subscribe to. The option, which launched on Monday in the version 2.0 release of the app, could appeal to users who feel a growing sense of unease about traditional social media platforms and their algorithmic manipulations, as well as those annoyed by the increase of low-quality AI-generated content that’s now filling…

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test. Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250): Two-minute review (Image credit: Future / James Holland)The Dell Tower Plus (EBT2250) is a hard computer to pin down just because its configurations vary so wildly. It’s almost like the Tower Plus is more of a concept than an actual model with the only thing really remaining the same are its most barebones aspects, such as its chassis and ports. There’s such variation in availability…

Microsoft is launching a significant expansion of its Copilot AI assistant on Tuesday, introducing tools that let employees build applications, automate workflows, and create specialized AI agents using only conversational prompts — no coding required.The new capabilities, called App Builder and Workflows, mark Microsoft's most aggressive attempt yet to merge artificial intelligence with software development, enabling the estimated 100 million Microsoft 365 users to create business tools as easily as they currently draft emails or build spreadsheets."We really believe that a main part of an AI-forward employee, not just developers, will be to create agents, workflows and apps," Charles Lamanna,…

Globally, more than five million people are affected by age-related macular degeneration, which can make reading, driving, and the recognition of faces impossible. A new wireless retinal implant has now restored functional sight to patients in advanced stages of the disease.The condition gradually destroys the light-sensitive photoreceptors at the center of the retina, leaving people with only blurred peripheral vision. While researcher are investigating whether stem cell implants or gene therapy could help restore sight in these patients, these approaches are still only experimental.Now though, a system called PRIMA built by neurotechnology startup Science Corporation is helping patients regain the…

Enlarge Image The 2023 Sequoia picks up some bulky good looks. Andrew Krok/CNETTruck-based SUVs allow for far more capability when it comes to towing or traversing certain kinds of terrain, but their construction also introduces some detriments to ride quality, economy and other things. Hot on the heels of a new Tundra pickup, the 2023 Toyota Sequoia is a great reminder that life is full of tradeoffs, and it’s up to you to figure out whether the juice is worth the squeeze. Like Surprisingly thrifty Beefy new aesthetic Plenty of V6 power Don’t like Mediocre ride quality No fold-flat third…

Building AI for financial software requires a different playbook than consumer AI, and Intuit's latest QuickBooks release provides an example.The company has announced Intuit Intelligence, a system that orchestrates specialized AI agents across its QuickBooks platform to handle tasks including sales tax compliance and payroll processing. These new agents augment existing accounting and project management agents (which have also been updated) as well as a unified interface that lets users query data across QuickBooks, third-party systems and uploaded files using natural language. The new development follow years of investment and improvement in Intuit's GenOS, allowing the company to build AI…