Latest news with #computers
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The simple tricks to speed up your computer, phone, wi-fi and printer - without paying for costly upgrades or replacements
When you're struggling with slow tech, even simple jobs can start to feel like tedious chores. Luckily, you can speed up your old devices without having to splash out for costly upgrades. According to tech experts at Which? you can get your computer, phones, WiFi, and even printers back up to full speed with a few quick changes. Lisa Barber, Which? tech editor, says: 'While our first instinct is often to replace or upgrade tired tech, we've found some surprisingly simple tips and tricks that can get your devices back up to speed - and all without having to spend any money. 'Next time you're despairing of an unresponsive device or slow connection, it's well worth giving these a try before shelling out for a pricey new model.' Devices like phones and computers gradually become slower over time as we clog them up with unnecessary software, files, and apps. All that extra digital junk diverts computing power from tasks your device really needs to do, slowing the whole system down. But by following this guide, you will learn how to clean up your devices and leave them as fast as a brand-new replacement. Computers If your Mac or Windows PC is running slow, the first thing you should do is restart the computer. Although 'turn it off and on again' isn't always great advice, this simple step really can speed up your PC. Which? says: 'A full restart clears your Ram, freeing up valuable system memory. It also applies any outstanding updates, flushes your system cache and resets background processes. 'This clears out temporary files and terminates system activities that can drag down speed.' Just make sure that you select 'restart' in the operating system rather than pressing the power button or turning the computer off at the plug. If the computer is still slow when it turns back on, that might be because you have too many apps automatically running when the computer boots up. These 'startup apps' seriously slow your computer down, so make sure to turn as many off as you can. You can find the option to do this under the 'Task Manager' in Windows or through the 'Login Items' setting on Mac. However, you should always leave any security apps, such as antivirus software, enabled to keep your computer safe. You should also uninstall any software that you don't need, since unwanted apps and programs hog valuable storage space and put a strain on the computing power. This is also true of any old junk files that might be cluttering up your hard drive. Freeing up storage and deleting any temporary files will free up important functions to work more efficiently. Finally, one thing you should be doing regularly is ensuring that your operating system and software are all updated to the latest version. Which? says: 'Windows and macOS frequently receive updates that fix bugs, plug security holes and optimise your system. 'Making sure you have the latest updates installed can resolve performance-related software issues and make your operating system run more efficiently.' Unnecessary files and apps slow down your computer and put strain on the CPU. Delete anything you don't need to speed things up (stock image) Just like a computer, your phone or tablet can also become clogged up with unnecessary files and apps, which put a strain on key processes. As always, the first thing to do is restart your device, which can solve a number of problems. Restarting your device will wipe your device's RAM clean and force any apps running in the background to close. Turning it off and on again also clears out any temporary files and can fix minor software glitches that might be causing trouble. Similar to a computer, getting rid of any unnecessary apps and making sure that everything is fully updated will also keep your device fast. To further speed up your phone, one important step to take is turning off 'background app refresh' on iOS or 'background data' on Android. These settings allow apps to look for and download new content automatically, such as a news app looking for the latest headlines. You can turn this off for individual apps without preventing them from working; they will just wait until you open them to start refreshing. On iPads and iPhones, you can do this under the 'Background App Refresh' tab in the General section of settings. On Android devices, go to the 'Apps' page of settings and select each app individually. The option to turn off background data will be under the 'Mobile data and Wi-Fi' setting for each app. Wi-Fi As you can probably guess, if you want to speed up your Wi-Fi, the first step is to restart your router. Which? explains: 'This instantly clears any potential network congestion or IP conflicts by resetting all active connections. 'It will also re-establish a fresh connection to your internet service, which can fix any instabilities you may have been experiencing.' The simplest way to do this is by unplugging your router from the mains power, waiting 60 seconds, and then plugging it back in. Routers will also periodically receive firmware updates, so ensuring that your device is up to date can help boost speeds. The method for this varies from device to device, so it is best to check the manufacturer's instructions for more details. However, you are still having trouble getting a good Wi-Fi connection, which might mean there is a problem with the signal. Wi-Fi is an electromagnetic wave which can be blocked by obstructions like walls, doors, and ceilings. That means you'll need to move your router to a central location in your home where there will be as few objects between your device and the router as possible. Similarly, Wi-Fi networks work by using different channels within the wireless radio band. If your neighbours are using the same Wi-Fi channel as you, this can lead to signal congestion and interference, which slows down your connection. Using a free tool like NetSpot or WiFi Analyzer, look to see if any nearby Wi-Fi networks are using the same channel as your own. If there are, you can manually change the Wi-Fi network's channel by logging into the router's admin controls online. How to access these settings varies, so check the manufacturer's instructions for more information. Printers If your printer is taking a long time to print out documents or photos, it might be due to a few different issues. For printers that connect wirelessly, it could be due to a bad connection, so ensure that the printer is as close to the router as you can. For all printers, it is worth ensuring that your print settings aren't causing an issue since printing in the highest quality, using colour, or printing double-sided can all slow things down if speed is your main concern. Finally, Which? recommends: 'Running your printer's maintenance routine to clean print heads and keep the ink nozzles clear and updating its firmware can also improve performance.' IS 'BACKGROUND REFRESH' TO BLAME FOR YOUR POOR IPHONE BATTERY LIFE? Every time a new software update is issued, Apple users appear to have issues with battery life. For instance, the latest iOS 11.4 update has caused to complain about battery problems. One angry user wrote on Reddit that it caused their battery to drain up to 25% faster, while others say they are constantly having to charge their phone. Apple has not yet revealed what is causing the problem or how to fix it. However, some users suggest that the issue may be with the background app refresh feature. This lets your apps run periodically in the background so that they can update their contents, even when you're not using your phone. To lessen the affect on battery life, normal app background refreshing is scheduled for certain times, such as when your device is connected to Wi-Fi, plugged into a power source, or being actively used. Forbes points out that affected users are primarily reporting that the issue happens at home. This suggest that background synchronisation services could be to blame. To turn off the feature, launch the Settings app from your Home screen and select General. Then switch Background Refresh to 'off'.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Michael Hicks column: The labor demand shocks of artificial intelligence
The most disruptive technology in human history was almost certainly the wheel. That economic shock, and all the others that followed, give us useful insight into labor market effects of artificial intelligence. The invention of the wheel cut transportation costs by 80% or 90%, dramatically reducing demand for workers who carried goods across and between towns. We've had other technology shocks — the use of fossil fuels, steam and then electric power, the internal combustion engine and computers. All these technologies replaced tasks that were part of jobs. The wheel replaced a strong back, the steam loom replaced strong legs. The use of fossil fuels replaced the cutting, splitting and drying of lumber, and electricity replaced the use of steam looms. For us, the computer has been the most disruptive technology. It radically changed the types of work that almost everybody performs. It also changed our ways of communicating, our amusements, our safety and health. It brought us the internet, social media and now AI. AI has been around in some form since the 1950s. I first heard about it in 1992, when a colleague of mine, then an infantry captain, was sent to obtain a master's degree in AI. By 1997, I was learning the use of rudimentary AI in economic modeling. The new, commercial applications of AI are much more advanced — and interesting — than the early AI algorithms of the 1990s. The large language models are superb for writing reports, school papers and summaries of some topics. Generative AI can construct pictures and movies that are almost indistinguishable from the work of actual humans. The potential applications of these new technologies are boundless, to the extent that any one person could predict. I see all types of uses in economics and warfare, the two fields I've been trained and educated in. There are also limitations. I've asked commercial versions of LLMs to provide novel testable hypotheses in economics — the lifeblood of economic analysis. The LLMs are good at naming data sources and, with enough prompts, can even construct the mathematical model to support a hypothesis. But none of the hypotheses were really any more than most middle school kids could have derived. The generative AI models are equally poor right now, delivering pictures of people with seven fingers or grilling burgers with lettuce, tomatoes and buns. They'll get better, of course, but what is AI likely to do to the demand for labor? I think the easy answer is that it will increase the demand for labor, in much the same way as the wheel, the steam loom, the automobile and the computer. That is, in a very nuanced way. Technology doesn't replace jobs; it replaces tasks. Almost always, the tasks replaced are the most mundane, routine and trainable ones. In so doing, the technology makes the uniquely human part of the job more valuable. The best long-form description of this comes in an accessible paper by David Autor who described Polanyi's Paradox, that 'we can know more (about our jobs) than we can tell.' The point of Polyani, which Autor fleshed out in superb contemporary detail, is that the unseen part of technology is how humans adapt it to complement their innate skills. Since the end of World War II, technology has replaced more than 80% of the work done by the average American. Throughout the longest and most impactful technology shock, the U.S. boosted wages, production and employment. AI may be different than any technology before it, but the adaptation was not technological — it was human. We humans are much as we've always been, and the economic incentive to match complementary human and technology skills remains robust. The most likely outcome of AI adoption will be positive, like all the other technology adoptions before it. But that doesn't mean there won't be challenges. The most dramatically unpleasant periods of technology adoption occurred in the places, and among the people, that could not adapt. James Whitcomb Riley's The Raggedy Man of 1888 described a type of itinerant worker that existed until at least the 1960s in U.S. agriculture. The Raggedy Man is gone now, because the skills he brought to a farm are no longer sufficient to earn him three meals and a simple room. Even then, one is tempted by this poem to conclude that he was employed for reasons beyond labor productivity. Technology eliminates the less skilled tasks a worker does, pushing them to more skilled — and more uniquely human — tasks. AI is likely to impact skills held by more educated workers than the robotics of the 1980s and later, or the digitization of the 2000s. AI will write simple research summaries, press releases and perform straightforward design work. This will lead to increased demand for more detailed and complex research summaries, more insightful press releases and more innovative designs than AI can produce. AI will also open demand for employment totally divorced from the direct complementarity to technology. As easily replicable human skills become inexpensive, the relative value of scarcer, purely human skills will rise. What does AI portend for education and regions? The one common thread of all previous technologies is that they complemented human-specific intellectual and social skills. So, job losses were clustered among those who were armed with skills that were more readily replaced. Thus, AI is likely to boost demand for workers with a lengthier, broader and more complex education. That education accesses more latent human skills. This used to be called a liberal education, but a better moniker is a classical education. Of course, such an education is not trendy today, in part because it is costly. It is much cheaper and faster to prepare for the last technological shock than the next one.
Android Authority
20-06-2025
- Business
- Android Authority
Apple MacBook Air M4 sale: Save $170 on the best laptop for most people!
If you're looking for a great laptop at a great price, it's hard to beat the Apple MacBook Air M4. This is odd, because Apple computers aren't really known for value. Things have changed, though. Now, you can get this laptop for just $829, and it's a laptop that can easily handle most people's needs, and then some. Buy the Apple MacBook Air M4 for $829 ($170 off) This offer is available from Amazon. There is one very important thing to keep in mind: only the Skyblue color version is discounted this low. All other colors cost more. I do believe it is the nicest color, though, and it is the newest one, too. Discounts on the Apple MacBook Air M4 are actually pretty common, but they are usually $50-$100 price cuts. Saving $170 on a laptop of this caliber is especially nice. The last few MacBook Air models have been very similar. In fact, they all kind of look the same since the M2 model. You would be hard-pressed to tell them apart if you saw them side by side. The Apple MacBook Air M4 still looks the same, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. The metallic construction, super thin 0.44-inch design, and overall premium construction are among the best of the industry. In fact, the MacBook Air design is iconic and often (unsuccessfully) imitated. The laptop doesn't fall behind in any other department. Performance is impressive for this price range, thanks to the Apple M4 chip and 16GB of RAM. As a result, you get a laptop that can handle RAW photo editing without an issue, and you can even use it for 4K editing. I know because I've done this in an M2 model, and even that one handles such tasks with ease. You'll love the backlit keyboard, large glass trackpad, and high 2,560 x 1,664 resolution. This screen can even reproduce the DCI-P3 color gamut, making it a great option for creatives or anyone who cares about color accuracy. Additionally, the battery life is outstanding at up to 18 hours per charge. In terms of ports, you get two USB-C ones, a 3.5mm headset jack, and a MagSafe charging connection. You'll also enjoy some upgrades in other areas, such as the 12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View. It has Wi-Fi 6E technology, and both USB-C ports have Thunderbolt 4 support. All in all, it would be hard to get any other laptop with this design, performance, and overall premium experience at a similar price. It's the best laptop for most users, especially at this price, so take advantage of this deal while you can!
Gizmodo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Gizmodo
Forget About $2000 MacBooks, This Mini PC (i7, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) Now Costs Peanuts on Amazon
Smart shoppers know you don't have to pay more than $1000 for a big desktop computer anymore. If you know what to look for and can spot a good deal, you can build a top setup yourself—or, even easier, just get a ready-to-use, super-powerful little computer like the GMKtec mini PC which is on sale for a big discount on Amazon right now. The GMKtec mini PC featuring a turbo up to 5.0 GHz Intel Core i7-1195G7 processor, 32GB DDR4, and spacious 1TB NVMe SSD is now available for the affordable price of $409, which is a massive 36% discount from its original price of $639. This is not typical for this style of promotion and Black Friday or Prime Day apparently have come early. See at Amazon Slim, Powerful and Efficient GMKtec has become one of the top mini PC brands with a reputation for making slim, powerful and efficient computers that are best-sellers at Amazon. Their designs are renowned for squeezing high-end hardware into tiny, energy-efficient packages that are perfectly suited to home, office or even commercial application. The model currently available for sale at Amazon is a classic example of this philosophy: it's tiny enough to take almost anywhere, but its performance is as good as that of much larger and more expensive desktops. This mini PC boasts an 11th generation Intel Core i7-1195G7 processor which a true powerful processor with four cores, eight threads and a turbo boost clock speed of a whopping 5.0 GHz. This processor is significantly faster than several of its counterparts, like the i7-10810U, i5-12450H, and i5-8259U and is ideal for resource-intensive tasks like video editing, light gaming and business software. Despite its impressive performance, the system sips power with a typical consumption of just 35W. The GMKtec Mini PC comes loaded with 32GB of dual-channel DDR4 RAM which supports smooth multitasking but can also be expanded up to 64GB for future-proofing. Storage is equally impressive with a 1TB NVMe SSD (PCIe 3.0) that can be upgraded to a whopping 2TB plus an additional M.2 2242 SATA slot for even more expansion. Graphics performance is another strong suit thanks to the integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EU GPU. This chip delivers rapid HD video across everything from 4K video playback to casual gaming and it is able to power up to three independent 4K monitors simultaneously. The mini PC also features dual-band Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 for rapid wireless connectivity and a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port for lightning-fast wired networking. It also included two HDMI outputs (4K @ 60Hz), a USB Type-C (4K @ 60Hz), and a few USB 3.2 ports. Peripherals, external storage, and numerous monitors can easily be connected all from a device that can be fitted within your palm. The quality of the construction is outstanding, and the system is designed for hassle-free operation so it is a great choice for home offices or classrooms. With capabilities like these for so little money, there is no denying it: the days of pricey desktops are over and the age of smart, small form-factor computing has arrived at last. See at Amazon
Forbes
01-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Role Of Leaders When AI Can Know Everything
As much as AI can do and will do, there is something it cannot do that remains a crucial role for ... More leaders—and it's not what we think. When personal computers went mainstream in the 1980's, a euphoria around what they could do was met by contrarians pointing out their limitations. Sure, they could do analytical tasks better than humans, but not intuitive, strategic tasks, such as playing chess. And then computers were built to become chess champions. Yes, they could reason faster than humans but not coordinate movement tasks. And then computers were built into deft manufacturing robots and human prosthetics. Sure, they could do what humans programmed them to do, but they couldn't outlearn their programming. And then AI shredded that assumption. As ChatGPT burst onto the scene, a similar euphoria erupted around what it could do, again followed by contrarians pointing out limitations. Sure, it could learn and regurgitate case law faster than a human, but it also made up cases. Then AI was improved to show sources. Yes, AI can write content better than many people and faster than all, but it's wreaking havoc with publishing and educational practices. Then AI was developed to detect AI-developed content. And so on. We have decades of experience telling us that the edges we suppose to machine intelligence are but the starting point for the next X-prize. And so it is now as we witness the explosive use of AI in good hands and bad—arguably even its own hands—with command of knowledge and networked effects we cannot even imagine. It is with full recognition of this history of underestimating what machines can do that I suggest there is yet something AI cannot do, no matter how much it knows nor how powerful it becomes. And that is to be a living antenna and transformer for sensing and manifesting futures in which life flourishes. This is the crucial and uniquely human role for leaders when AI can know everything. It is an energetic or spiritual role: to sense the zeitgeist, the field, the emerging future, the collective unconscious, God-Source, the Way, or universal Mind—however we name it—and from this place of resonant connection, through collaboration and using all tools available, including AI, conduct that future into the present. I'm certainly not alone in suggesting there's a quality of human intelligence that supersedes AI, nor that AI could be mighty dangerous in the wrong hands or in charge of itself. The earliest pioneers in machine intelligence, such as Marvin Minskey saw risk, not in whether such intelligence could be achieved, but in having no way to ensure it would act in our best interests. The Australian Risk Policy Institute, part of a global risk advisory network, argues for the importance of AI augmenting human intelligence, not replacing it. Numerous tech companies have been party to AI pledges promising responsible and ethical AI development and use. And dominant players, such as Google, have also walked away from those pledges or subjugated them to a winner-take-all race to dominate the AI industry. Mo Gawdat, a former AI leader at Google, in a mind-bending interview on Diary of a CEO, sees the biggest threat facing humanity today is humanity in the age of the machines, with all of our ignorance, greed and competition. 'This is an arms race,' Gawdat says, with 'no interest in what the average human gets out of it…every line of code being written in AI today is to beat the other guy.' AI is an exponential amplifier of the mindset with which it's being created, trained and deployed. As covered in Closing The Great Divides, when that mindset is based in dualism, that is, separation within oneself, self from others or self from the environment, it propagates that separation and resultant suffering in what it creates. For example, it will create businesses that exploit the environment, social systems that create big winners and many losers, or economic policies whereby the rich get vastly richer. Add to this the amplification of AI and the effects are so extreme that it gives even the tech titans pause to ponder the ethics of it all. While dualism is the norm in our culture (in which AI has been created) and embedded in our subject-object language (on which AI has been trained), it is not the greatest truth for the human being. Human leaders are capable of a kind of merge or flow state that goes by many descriptions: unity consciousness, interbeing, samadhi, mystical union, being one-with, or simply being the whole picture. This one-withness is the essence of Zen Leadership. When leaders operate from this state of connection, they propagate a sense of care for the whole, for example, in businesses that take care of the environment, social systems that help people thrive, or economic policies that respect limits. Such leaders create flourishing futures. So, while there are many areas in which AI will far exceed human capacity, it is poorly equipped to sense connection at the depth available to a human being. Moreover, this isn't just another limit that will be superseded by the next generation of AI. Machine intelligence itself grew out of living in our heads—disconnected from the wisdom of the body—and equating intelligence with our thoughts, as in Descartes' dictum: 'I think therefore I am.' We failed to realize that the very thoughts 'I' thinks and the language it uses to express them is how 'I' keeps its ego-centric game going. Modeling computers and AI on how we think and talk propagated this mindset of separation, first replicating the mind's left-brain logic, then advancing to more holistic pattern recognition associated with the right brain. By contrast, the human being has a very different origin. We come from one living cell, through which the entire evolutionary journey played out in our development from gilled sea-creatures to lunged air-breathers. We embody antenna for a whole spectrum of consciousness whereby the universe has revealed itself to itself from the beginning of life, from five basic senses to thought consciousness, to ego consciousness, to collective consciousness. In the collective field, we are able to sense the energy of relationships, of opportunities in crises, of ideas not yet taken form, which is the playground from which skillful leaders bring an emerging future into the present. While AI can reproduce the veneer of human experience—even vastly accelerate and improve upon some aspects of it—it has not lived those experiences. Just as reading the Adventures of Tom Sawyer is not the same as being Tom Sawyer, AI's training in the language of human experience is not the same as living those experiences. Even though AI can talk a good game about being one-with by regurgitating things it has read, it has no physical basis for experiencing one-withness. It lacks the antenna. AI may have sensors or network connections to feed its semiconductors, silicon wafers, transistors, software and so forth. But it does not vibrate or resonate with the field the way a human body does. It does not have the complexity or fractal quality of life and hence cannot support the same expansive consciousness. Opinions vary in the field as to whether AI has consciousness (or 'interiority') at all. But even if we grant that everything has consciousness commensurate with its complexity, AI is far less complex than a human being. That said, AI is already superior to humans at knowing what there is to know. It has thoroughly commoditized knowledge; being the 'smartest person in the room' is no longer a necessary or useful role for human leaders. Far more useful and necessary are practices for connection, which are part of contemplative, embodied wisdom traditions, as in Zen Leadership, for literally resonating one-with others, one-with the environment, one-with the emerging future. Through our connected selves, we bridge AI knowledge and universal wisdom. For sure, such bridging will not be the main AI narrative anytime soon. AI development and use is likely to be dominated by the billionaire footrace we see now, with even shadier characters at the margins and AI itself in the not-too-distant future. But wise, connected AI development and use can serve as a vein of gold through the detritus of disruption and destruction of coming years, manifesting the priceless role of humanity in the evolution of consciousness. AI can only serve a flourishing future for life if it is helped along by living beings connected with same purpose. It is the essential, human leadership opportunity in an era when AI can know and do most everything else. As Mo Gawdat concludes, there are several inevitables with AI. (1) AI will happen, (2) AI will be smarter than us, and (3) AI will replace many of our jobs. But what he also concludes is that it's smarter to create from a place of abundance rather than scarcity, which is another way of saying create from a place of infinitely resourced connection rather than the scarcity of a separate self. That is the most important role a leader can play, and we are living at a most pivotal time in which to play it.
