December 1, 2024
Many of us are so tied to our smartphones, we won't go anywhere without them. What if I need to contact someone? What if someone needs to contact me? What if I want to take a picture? Or get directions? Or ask ChatGPT something?
Guess what — you don't need your phone. For thousands of years, people left their houses without phones, and they managed well. Sure, smartphones make a lot of things easier, but you don't need your phone every moment of the day.
November 1, 2024
If you're traveling these days, it's a good idea necessary to bring a USB adapter. Most hotels, airports, and planes still have USB-A ports, so if you need to charge your new USB-C device, you'll be out of luck without one.
For decades, devices had rectangular USB-A ports — you know, the asymmetrical ones where you had a 50/50 chance of plugging it in the right way. Thankfully, we've moved on to oval-shaped USB-C ports, where you don't have to plug in the cable a certain way.
October 19, 2024
ChatGPT is an amazing technology, but it is killing the web.
For several decades, people Googled their questions. They typed in search terms, viewed the search results, then clicked on a website. Visitors allowed website owners to monetize their original content through ads. The more traffic they received, the more revenue they would generate, and the more content they could produce.
October 1, 2024
Tired of typing? Try talking.
Most of us dictate messages on our smartphones, but for some reason, not many people use dictation on their computers. Modern operating systems have built-in speech-to-text capabilities, so why not use them?
September 10, 2024
Have you ever wanted to play music from a CD on your iPhone? It's possible, but how do you transfer those songs from that circular plastic disc to your phone's flash memory?
You'll need a computer, optical drive (internal or external), and an iPhone. It's a little easier with a Mac, but you can do it with a Windows computer as well.
September 1, 2024
ChatGPT and other generative AI platforms are incredibly helpful, but remember to consider your privacy when using them. These services are powered by algorithms that may retain and reuse the information you provide. Therefore, be cautious about sharing personal information with any AI-based chatbot or platform.
Sharing personal information with AI services poses privacy and security risks. Once data is shared, it could be stored or used in ways that you don't expect. In the wrong hands, someone can use your personal information for malicious purposes such as identity theft or fraud. Moreover, sharing personal details with AI services can lead to unintentional data exposure. Even if the service is trustworthy, there's always the risk of a data breach that could compromise the information you've shared. I've lost track of how many "data security incident" notices I've received in the past several years. 🙄
August 2, 2024
Imagine this: You run a small software company that generated $1 million in revenue last year. Sounds pretty good. But it costs money to develop software, and developers are not cheap. Your development costs are $900,000, and your other expenses, such as equipment, software purchases, and advertising, are $90,000.
You squeak out a $10,000 profit, so your business owes about 20%, or $2,000 in taxes. Right? Wrong. Under the current tax law, you owe $332,876 in taxes. Yes, that is correct. Your tax rate is over 33,000%.
