Author: The Tech Guy
Something I’ve thought about for a long time is why the makers of smartphones and other devices go out of their way to bundle the apps that they do. A few are obviously necessary, tied into basic OS functions. But there’s a tendency for companies to go above and beyond that, delivering apps that are only meaningful to a niche audience, or no more than a way of selling additional products and services. I’m looking at you, Lenovo Vantage. Apple does steer away from the worst bloatware I’ve seen. Nevertheless, there are a number of preloaded apps on Apple devices…
While enterprises looking to sell goods and services online wait for the backbone of agentic commerce to be hashed out, PayPal is hoping its new features will bridge the gap.The payments company is launching a discoverability solution that allows enterprises to make its product available on any chat platform, regardless of the model or agent payment protocol. PayPal, which is one of the participants for Google’s Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), found that it can leverage its relationship with merchants and enterprises to help pave the way for an easier transition into agentic commerce and offer the kind of flexibility they learned…
The first time I accepted that my grandpa was really aging was when I held his hand. His grip was strong as ever. But the skin on his hand was wafer thin and carried tell-tale signs of bruising across its back.Plenty of “anti-aging” skin care products promise a younger look. But skin health isn’t just about vanity. The skin is the largest organ in the body and our first line of defense against pathogens and dangerous chemicals. It also keeps our bodies within normal operating temperatures—whether we’re in a Canadian snowstorm or the blistering heat of Death Valley.The skin also…
If you’ve been waiting to try Adobe’s much-hyped Project Indigo camera app on your shiny new iPhone 17, here’s some good news – and a small caveat. The app, which offers a more feature-rich camera experience than the stock camera experience, finally works with Apple’s latest range of devices. However, for now, you can only use it with the rear cameras, rather than the updated Center Stage selfie camera. Adobe took a while to get here, thanks to some delays caused by hardware quirks in the iPhone 17’s new front-facing sensor design. However, it has now released a partial update…
TikTok is giving users new ways to interact with others via direct messages (DMs), the company told TechCrunch on Friday. Users will now be able to send voice notes and share up to nine images or videos in one-to-one and group chats on the platform. With these new features, TikTok is positioning itself as more than just an entertainment platform, aiming to become a place where users interact regularly beyond simply sending each other TikTok videos. Additionally, the new capabilities bring TikTok’s messaging experience more in line with that of other popular social apps and services. With voice notes, users…
Black Friday sales are just over a month away and you’ve banned yourself from any big purchases before then, we know. That’s why you should listen up when we tell you that this Amazon deal on Dreame’s X40 Ultra robot vacuum is one worth breaking your rule for.We’ll get into the specifics below, but in our Dreame X40 Ultra review, our tester said it was “well worth the rather high asking price” – no mean feat considering it would normally set you back AU$2,799. In short, this robot vacuum is the ultimate cleaner.It may have now been succeeded by the…
Some enterprises are best served by fine-tuning large models to their needs, but a number of companies plan to build their own models, a project that would require access to GPUs. Google Cloud wants to play a bigger role in enterprises’ model-making journey with its new service, Vertex AI Training. The service gives enterprises looking to train their own models access to a managed Slurm environment, data science tooling and any chips capable of large-scale model training. With this new service, Google Cloud hopes to turn more enterprises away from other providers and encourage the building of more company-specific AI models. While Google…
You know those obnoxious social media accounts that flood your messages with spam? Those might not be scammers after all, but a legitimate new business backed by one of the most powerful venture capital funds in Silicon Valley. Introducing Doublespeed, a startup operating a phone farm to flood social media with AI-generated slop on behalf of its clients. In a nutshell, phone farming is a tactic most often used by hackers and financial criminals to use large numbers of devices to send spam texts, farm social media engagement, or generate fake reviews. On its website, the fledgling company bills itself…
Enlarge Image It’s all about that winch. Andrew Krok/CNETWith just a few key changes, the 2022 Ford Bronco Everglades adds even more overlanding-ready capability than a standard Bronco. But these aren’t tweaks destined for mall crawling; this thing begs to be run muddy and put away wet, and you’ll be doing a disservice if you buy this trim and don’t do precisely that. Like Will traverse nearly anything Surprisingly comfortable on-road Don’t like Could use a front camera Top rack impedes removable roof The stock Bronco is no slouch off-road, but the Everglades model really leans into this prowess with…
Presented by Axis Communications Many businesses are equipped with a network of intelligent eyes that span operations. These IP cameras and intelligent edge devices were once solely focused on ensuring the safety of employees, customers, and inventory. These technologies have long proved to be essential tools for businesses, and while this sentiment still rings true, they’re now emerging as powerful resources.These cameras and edge devices have rapidly evolved into real-time data producers. IP cameras can now see and understand, and the accompanying artificial intelligence helps companies and decision-makers generate business intelligence, improve operational efficiency, and gain a competitive advantage.By treating…