I voted game changer because I've noticed something similar in my recent usage. This is probably old hat for experts in AI, but I've noticed that the agentic AI brags about having millions of tokens worth of context. I think that context is what makes some AIs better at not getting into those idiot loops where you tell it not to do it one way, it thinks, then later it does it the wrong way again. I've compared the big guys with the little models you can run on your own GPUs and the context seems to matter the most. Although the free hobbyist AIs are also much worse at getting facts right!

Do any of them have sound that doesn't sound like it is coming through two in cans and string?

Back in 2019 I bought a Sony TV that solved this problem in a very intriguing way. It uses the whole screen as the speaker and vibrates it imperceptibly to generate the sound. I took a look just now to see if they're still doing this and they are. Sony calls it "Acoustic Surface Audio+" and offers it on their Bravia line. Check it out. I recommend it just for the coolness factor but it works well for providing full sound as well.

AI is still so bad at it that it makes for a great test. It's interesting too, because you can see that it sort of gets close, but it's still WAY off!

I just tried my standard "draw me an ASCII middle finger" and it flat-out refused to generate it for me! Grok still sucks at it but at least it tried. And it gave me the finger through emoji afterward. Gemini needs more work, I think.

Here in Minnesota, we have a law that says that when you drive, you can only use your phone in a "hands free" fashion. CarPlay and Android Auto let us move the functionality of the phone into the dashboard of the car, so we can then legally control our phone while driving. It's a convenience thing that goes hand in hand with the large touchscreens that got installed in cars around the same time. My car's too old for that and just uses Bluetooth like you're talking about, so my options are more limited when it comes to making adjustments while driving.

Seriously. I agree with the author, but the writing was atrocious. Also, at least one of his examples of problems was with beta software. It's built to have problems like this, not really an issue for me if my known beta software doesn't work right. I'm glad someone else noticed this too.

In California, illegal immigrants qualify for state aid. There are other states which have done likewise, such as Minnesota.

Install rEFInd and you should be able to dual-boot. I dual-booted a 2019 Intel Mac Mini recently with MacOS and Ubuntu. While it worked, there aren't good drivers for the Mac stuff in Ubuntu. I can get close, but I needed to use a dongle for WiFi and basically had only 2D graphics/VESA. You are probably better off just booting Linux exclusively and making your old computer into a server.

I had the same problem a few months ago trying to create a Facebook account. My account was immediately suspended as I created it. Their loss I guess!

You'd think a mathematician would understand the concept of infinity. The heat death of the universe is not the value of infinity! Universe transplant, bionic monkeys. Easy solution.

Have you checked out Roon? You sound like you'd be a good candidate for it. You provide a computer and Ethernet, point the software at your NAS, and then it handles pushing audio to your endpoints. I've been using it for a few years now and have found it to be the missing link between Qobuz and my ripped CDs/bandcamp stuff.

Gotta say, the "minus one I disagree" moderation is stronger than ever on slashdot.

Funny you mention this, because I just pulled the "+1 Underrated" option out of my mod sheath today on a different article. I don't think I've had to use that more than a handful of times in what, 25 years? It was for a really anodyne comment that happened to be about a contentious topic. This guy had the misfortune of voicing his opinion early, thus got nailed with -1 moderation. I concur.

This is an interesting concept that hadn't occurred to me before. Do you have any links to stuff I could read to get more info about the thinking patterns of people on different parts of the IQ scale? Instinctually it makes sense that people would attack a problem differently depending on which skills they have.

Well, you just reminded me I need to listen to the Cardiacs more, at least. Thanks!

There is no way 90% of humans can last more than 20 minutes with a VR headset on their head. Max is 27.2 minutes by a guy with a fat face and neck.

I'm imagining that guy breaking the record, then ripping the headset from his wide head, smiling like the simpleton Lenny from Of Mice And Men. "Did I wear it right, George?" Hilarious imagery.