Innholdsfortegnelse for #598 i Techlife News

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy signaled confidence that the company will get costs under control in his annual shareholder letter, where he also noted the tech giant was “spending heavily” on AI tools that have gained popularity in recent months. In the letter, Jassy described 2022 as “one of the harder macroeconomic years in recent memory” and detailed the steps Amazon had taken to trim costs, such as shuttering its health care initiative Amazon Care and some stores across the country. The company had also slashed 27,000 corporate roles since the fall, marking the biggest rounds of layoffs in its history. “There are a number of other changes that we’ve made over the last several months to streamline our overall costs, and like most leadership teams, we’ll continue to evaluate what…

U.S. applications for jobless benefits rose to their highest level in more than a year, but remain at relatively low levels despite efforts by the Federal Reserve to cool the economy and job market in its battle against inflation. Jobless claims in the U.S. for the week ending April 8 rose by 11,000 to 239,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the most since January of 2022 when 251,000 people filed for unemployment benefits. The four-week moving average of claims, which evens out some of the week-to-week fluctuations, rose by 2,250 to 240,000. That’s the most since November of 2021. Last week, the Labor Department unveiled revised estimates of the number of weekly applications for jobless benefits under a new formula it is using to reflect…

With tech evolving ever faster, Apple must work harder than ever to compete and offer consumers and businesses cutting-edge software and hardware for the next generation of work and play. Edge computing and AI advancements could be the answer. APPLE IS ON THE EDGE The digital revolution has brought us to a point where we are more connected than ever. iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks have become an integral part of our lives, and we rely on them for various tasks, from communication to entertainment, from shopping to learning. However, as we become more dependent on these devices, we realize there are limitations to their capabilities. We need to find ways to maximize their efficiency and processing power. This is where edge computing comes into play. Edge computing is an emerging…

New York City officials unveiled three new high-tech policing devices, including a robotic dog that critics called creepy when it first joined the police pack 2 1/2 years ago. The new devices, which also include a GPS tracker for stolen cars and a cone-shaped security robot, will be rolled out in a manner that is “transparent, consistent and always done in close collaboration with the people we serve,” said police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, who joined Mayor Eric Adams and other officials at a Times Square press conference where the security robot and the mechanical canine nicknamed Digidog were displayed. “Digidog is out of the pound,” said Adams, a Democrat and former police officer. “Digidog is now part of the toolkit that we are using.” The city’s first robot police dog…

President Joe Biden’s administration wants stronger measures to test the safety of artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT before they are publicly released, though it hasn’t decided if the government will have a role in doing the vetting. The U.S. Commerce Department this week said it will spend the next 60 days fielding opinions on the possibility of AI audits, risk assessments and other measures that could ease consumer concerns about these new systems. “There is a heightened level of concern now, given the pace of innovation, that it needs to happen responsibly,” said Assistant Commerce Secretary Alan Davidson, administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The NTIA, more of an adviser than a regulator, is seeking feedback about what policies could make commercial AI tools more accountable. Biden…

The California Civil Rights Department has voluntarily dismissed its case alleging caste discrimination against two Cisco engineers, while still keeping alive its litigation against the Silicon Valley tech giant. The two Cisco supervisors, Sundar Iyer and Ramana Kompella, were accused in the department’s lawsuit of discriminating and harassing an employee on the basis of caste – a division of people based on birth or descent. That case was dismissed by an order of the Santa Clara Superior County Court last week. The employee belonged to the Dalit community, a group that is at the bottom rung of the caste system which took root and evolved in India and elsewhere in the subcontinent. The Civil Rights Department sent a statement on Monday saying the case against Cisco “remains ongoing.” “We will…

When a scam artist called Cameron Huddleston’s mom to tell her to wire money in order to claim a prize, Huddleston had to intercept the calls. Her mom, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, was convinced she had to wire the money as soon as possible. “That was a wake-up call for me. If you have any cognitive decline, you don’t see those red flags anymore,” says Huddleston, who lives in Kentucky and is the director of education at Carefull, a service built to protect aging adults’ daily finances. She also wrote the book “Mom and Dad, We Need to Talk,” on how to have important conversations about money with your parents. Scam artists often target older adults, partly because they have amassed greater wealth. “If you are thinking from…

Warner Bros. Discovery unveiled a streaming service Wednesday combining iconic HBO programming such as “The Sopranos” with a mix of unscripted TV series in a push to reap more subscribers from what so far has been a muddled media merger. The $16-per-month service, called Max, will be released May 23 in the U.S. and automatically replace the company’s existing HBO Max service in what is being promised as a seamless transition. Max will gradually become available in the rest of the world, with Latin America next up on the slate. The existing Discovery Plus app featuring reality and unscripted series such as “Fixer Upper” and “Naked and Afraid” from a collection of TV networks will continue to be offered. That’s even as all that programming is made available within the…

Picture May 17, 2001. In the final seconds of the season seven finale of “Friends,” Jennifer Aniston’s Rachel reveals she’s pregnant — but who’s the father? This was a classic May sweeps cliffhanger, luring viewers and reaping advertising dollars for NBC. Most shows used to kick off in the fall, air big episodes in November and February, and go out with a bang in May. Baby announcements, marriage proposals and sudden deaths were just a few of the popular plot twists used in spring season finales to hook viewers and build anticipation for the fall season. Network television still largely follows that model, but the streamers and premium cable competitors of the new guard tend to operate with different goals. Rather than angling for ratings, those companies are releasing new…

Billionaire Elon Musk has told the BBC that running Twitter has been “quite painful” but that the social media company is now roughly breaking even after he acquired it late last year. In an interview also streamed live late Tuesday on Twitter Spaces, Musk discussed his ownership of the online platform, including layoffs, misinformation and his work style. “It’s not been boring. It’s quite a rollercoaster,” he told the U.K. broadcaster at Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters. It was a rare chance for a mainstream news outlet to interview Musk, who also owns Tesla and SpaceX. After buying Twitter for $44 billion last year, Musk’s changes included eliminating the company’s communiciations department. Reporters who email the company to seek comment now receive an auto-reply with a poop emoji. The interview was…

With its original e-tron, Audi was one of the first luxury European automakers to offer an electric vehicle. Last year, it expanded its lineup with the more affordable Q4 e-tron. Slotting between two gas-powered models, the smaller Q3 and the larger Q5, the Q4 e-tron is an all-electric compact luxury SUV. It has a lot going for it but it’s not the only small European luxury EV vying for your attention. Another top option is the Volvo XC40 Recharge. It’s based on the brand’s stylish XC40 but is powered by electricity instead of gasoline. Car experts compare them to find out which one is the better buy. PERFORMANCE & RANGE Audi offers the Q4 e-tron in two powertrain configurations: a single-motor base version that makes 201 horsepower and a dual-motor…

Billionaire Warren Buffett assured investors that Berkshire Hathaway will be fine when he’s no longer around to lead the conglomerate. Buffett said shareholders shouldn’t worry about the future of the company after Vice Chairman Greg Abel takes over because he will do a great job and Berkshire will still follow the same model of allowing its subsidiaries to largely run themselves while looking for other companies to buy with the substantial cash reserves it keeps on hand at all times. “The problem for our board of directors is the day I’m not around and Greg’s running it, I am not giving him some envelope that tells him what to do next,” Buffett said. But Abel and Berkshire will still be ready to say within minutes whether they are interested in…

People working from home became younger, more diverse, better educated and more likely to move during the worst part of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In many respects, the demographic makeup of people working from home from 2019 to 2021 became more like workers who were commuting, while the share of the U.S. labor force working from home went from 5.7% in 2019 to 17.9% in 2021, as restrictions were implemented to help slow the spread of the virus, according to a report released last week based on American Community Survey data. “The increase in homebased workers corresponded with a decline in drivers, carpoolers, transit riders, and most other types of commuters,” the report said. The share of people working from home between…

U.S. wholesale prices fell in March, a sign that inflationary pressures in the economy are easing more than a year after the Federal Reserve began aggressively raising interest rates. Plunging energy prices pulled the government’s producer price index down 0.5% from February to March; it had been unchanged from January to February. Compared with a year ago, wholesale prices were up 2.7% in March — the mildest 12-month increase since January 2021 and down significantly from a 4.7% annual rise in February. The Labor Department’s producer price index reflects prices charged by manufacturers, farmers and wholesalers. It can provide an early sign of how fast consumer inflation will rise. A huge drop in wholesale gasoline accounted for much of the sharp slowdown in producer prices. But even excluding volatile food…

Apple’s Control Center is reportedly set for a significant overhaul with iOS 17, expected to be unveiled at WWDC 2023 in June. This will mark the first major redesign since iOS 11 in 2017. Apple enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June 2023, where the company is anticipated to introduce iOS 17 along with other new software updates. While not much is known about the features of iOS 17, recent reports suggest that the update will include several desirable additions. A new report indicates that the Control Center will receive its first significant redesign in years. Introduced with iOS 7, the Control Center provides users with quick access to settings for Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, media controls, and shortcuts to native apps. An anonymous leaker on the…

Many Americans aren’t yet sold on going electric for their next cars, a new poll shows, with high prices and too few charging stations the main deterrents. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults are at least somewhat likely to switch, but the history-making shift from the country’s century-plus love affair with gas-driven vehicles still has a ways to travel. The poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago shows that the Biden administration’s plans to dramatically raise U.S. EV sales could run into resistance from consumers. Only 8% of U.S. adults say they or someone in their household owns or leases an electric vehicle, and just 8% say their household has a plug-in hybrid vehicle. Even with tax…

Boeing reported that deliveries of new jetliners jumped in March, helped by the return of the long-range 787 Dreamliner, as the U.S. aircraft maker edged out European rival Airbus in both deliveries and new orders. Boeing said it delivered 64 commercial airplanes last month, nearly matching the combined total of January and February. Seven were 787s, which Boeing had been blocked from shipping to airlines for several weeks while U.S. regulators looked into questions about pressure seals in the front of the planes. Arlington, Virginia-based Boeing has been forced to halt 787 deliveries several times in the last two years because of production and regulatory issues, and last week the Federal Aviation Administration proposed that airlines inspect their 787s for lavatory leaks that could let water seep into electronic equipment.…

Therapy can help improve your mental health, your stress levels and maybe even your relationship with your mom. It may also help improve your financial situation — a benefit many may not be aware of. According to 2018 data featured in the European Economic Review, men may expect a 12.4% increase in income from consulting a psychotherapist, while women may expect to see an 8.1% increase in income. HOW THERAPY CAN INCREASE INCOME How exactly can therapy help increase your income? Therapy is a tool for healing your mental health, the same way visiting a doctor can heal your physical health. If you’re struggling with your mental health, you may not be able to fully focus on or even prioritize your work. This can make it more difficult to perform…