Help each other out of non-Webroot technical jams and discuss tech-related stuff in general.
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Facing time constraints, Sakana's "AI Scientist" attempted to change limits placed by researchers. Benj Edwards - 8/14/2024 On Tuesday, Tokyo-based AI research firm Sakana AI announced a new AI system called "The AI Scientist" that attempts to conduct scientific research autonomously using AI language models (LLMs) similar to what powers ChatGPT. During testing, Sakana found that its system began unexpectedly modifying its own code to extend the time it had to work on a problem."In one run, it edited the code to perform a system call to run itself," wrote the researchers on Sakana AI's blog post. "This led to the script endlessly calling itself. In another case, its experiments took too long to complete, hitting our timeout limit. Instead of making its code run faster, it simply tried to modify its own code to extend the timeout period."Sakana provided two screenshots of example code that the AI model generated, and the 185-page AI Scientist research paper discusses what they call "th
August 15, 2024 Microsoft has shared a temporary fix for a known issue that causes Microsoft 365 apps like Outlook, Word, and OneNote to unexpectedly crash while typing or spell-checking a text.According to a support document published on Wednesday, these crashes affect users of Excel for Microsoft 365, Word for Microsoft 365, Outlook for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, and OneNote for Microsoft 365 after updating to Version 2407 Build 17830.20138 or higher.Affected customers can confirm if this is the issue by looking at the Windows Event Viewer Application Log for Event 1000 or Event 1001 with 0xc0000005 exception codes.The company says the crash issue is caused by the version difference between Office and the language packs installed on the impacted systems."The faulting module name will vary depending on what language packs you have installed. For example, mscss7it.dll for Italian, or mscss7de.dll, for German, with others listed here, Language identifiers and OptionSt
This microcode fix can't be rolled out in a regular software update.Andrew Cunningham - 8/9/2024 Intel has shared more about the voltage-related issues that affected some 13th- and 14th-generation Core processors, as the company tries to put the episode behind it. As reported by Tom's Hardware, Intel says that the problem originated with "elevated operating voltage" stemming from "incorrect voltage requests," specifically an increase to the minimum operating voltage of the chips. These "elevated voltage events can accumulate over time," eventually damaging the processor and causing system hangs or crashes.Intel has developed a microcode update to fix those elevated voltage requests, but the bad news for some users is that they will require a BIOS update, and they can't be deployed via software updates as some microcode fixes can be.Intel says that in most cases, CPU performance should be essentially unaffected by the patch, though the company did notice a handful of benchmark subscores
You'll no longer be able to override Gatekeeper in macOS Sequoia with a keyboard shortcut as Apple continues to crack down on unsigned software.If you try to install apps on macOS that haven't been signed or notarized, Gatekeeper gets in the way and won't let it run. Apple has removed an age-old shortcut for skipping the Gatekeeper prompt in macOS Sequoia.Until macOS Sequoia, users could hold Control and click on a freshly installed app to avoid Gatekeeper's warnings about running unsafe software. Now, users must navigate to System Settings then Privacy & Security to allow the app to run. ⇨⇨ Full Article ⇦⇦
Thu, August 1, 2024 at 4:01 p.m. EDT Delivers Total Annual Revenues of $5.8 Billion with 29% Growth –– Announces New $300 Million Share Repurchase Program –– Increases Annualized Dividend By 5% –Fiscal 2024 Annual Highlights Y/Y Total Revenues (in millions) Annual Recurring Revenues (in millions) Cloud Revenues (in millions) Reported Constant Currency Reported Constant Currency Reported Constant Currency $5,770 $5,729 $4,534 $4,506 $1,821 $1,816 +28.6 % +27.7 % +25.4 % +24.6 % +7.1 % +6.8 % Annual Recurring Revenues represent 79% of Total Revenues "OpenText delivered solid Fiscal 2024 financial results with total revenues of $5.8 billion, representing a 29% year-over-year growth, we grew organically, and delive
Need to erase your MacBook? Want to wipe a Mac and reinstall macOS before selling? Here's how to erase a Mac - including the methods for new and old Macs. If you are selling your MacBook or Mac, trading it in, or just passing it on to friends or family, you would be wise to wipe the Mac and restore it to factory settings first. This is partly so that your data stays safe, but it will also avoid any issues at a later date that could come about if you don’t disconnect that Mac from various services and software you might use. It also means the new user can restart the Mac as if it was brand new. ⇨⇨ Full Article ⇦⇦
Aug 4, 2024 09:40 EDT It's been a long road for many owners of older MacBooks, but now that road is at an end. This weekend, it was reported that settlement checks sent by Apple for faulty butterfly keyboards in some previous MacBooks have reached the people who joined a class action lawsuit against the company years ago.One of the writers for 9to5Mac.com reports that he has personally received checks in the mail for the settlement. It may take a little while for all of the people who requested physical checks to get their settlement payment from the postal service. The story says there's no word yet on when people who decided to get a digital settlement payment will get their money.This is the end of a story that began in 2015 when Apple started shipping some MacBook notebooks with butterfly mechanisms in their keyboards. This design was supposed to offer keyboards that not only worked better than normal ones on notebooks but were also up to 34 percent thinner. However, the butterfly
by: Paul Horowitz A fun new Mac app offers a rather creative way to remind you to empty your Mac Trash can… buzzing flies! Yes indeed, after your Mac Trash can has accumulated a little too much clutter, BananaBin puts buzzing flies around the trash, offering an unmistakable visual reminder to empty your digital Trash bin. ⇨⇨ Full Article ⇦⇦
By ReutersJuly 30, 202411:30 AM EDTUpdated 16 min ago Packages emblazoned with Amazon logos travel along a conveyor belt inside of an Amazon fulfillment center in Robbinsville, New Jersey, U.S., November 27, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo July 30 (Reuters) - Amazon.com (AMZN.O), opens new tab is responsible for hazardous products sold by third-party sellers on its platform under the federal safety law and bears legal responsibility for their recall, the U.S. consumer protection authority said on Tuesday. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said it has issued an order for the e-commerce giant to propose remediation plans to notify consumers about these products and to remove them from consumers' homes by encouraging returns or destruction. Amazon did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.More than 400,000 products are subject to this order, the CPSC said, noting in particular faulty carbon monoxide detectors, hairdryers without electrocution protecti
I would recommend almost all Apple products without reservation, but I'm not so sure about the HomePod mini.I have almost no regrets when it comes to Apple products. Whenever Apple introduces a new device, I can count on it being a sophisticated product even if it’s not immediately obvious. For example, despite my initial misgivings, I realized how ingenious and well-thought-out the AirPods are after using them daily. ⇨⇨ Full Article ⇦⇦
Webroot stopped working and is blue instead of green and won’t scan. It has turned OFF firewall, web shield, real-time shield.It says subscription has expired but it’s not expired til OctoberUninstalled and re-installed but it won’t take the CODE and says there’s no internet.Runs perfectly fine on my other devices.There seems to be zero support from Webroot and I do NOT have GeekSquad account … system is PC Windows 8.1
July 2, 2024 By Bill Toulas Multiple owners of Google Pixel 6 series phones (6, 6a, 6 Pro) have been reporting in the past week that their devices were "bricked" after they performed a factory reset.Factory resets wipe the device of all personal data, apps, and settings and are typically performed when the device owner prepares it for resale.The Pixel 6 series, released in late 2021, is approaching the typical upgrade cycle for many original buyers, and issues with the factory reset process have become significantly more impactful.Starting last week, users reported getting an error about a missing 'tune2fs' file during boot up, leading to a recovery screen reading "Cannot load Android system. Your data may be corrupt."The Android recovery screen prompts the user to perform another factory reset, creating an endless loop that doesn't resolve the issue. >>Full Article<<
Apple Maps makes it easy to find EV charging stations while you’re on the road to figure out where you can top up your electric car. Apple added some powerful new features in iOS 17 to simplify this sometimes-daunting process for EV owners. Now you can see electric car charger availability, charging speeds and connector types so you can find a way to juice up your vehicle.Here’s how it works.🚗 🚙 Full Article 🚙 🚗
Jun 17, 2024, 11:56 AM EDT The Justice Department alleges that Adobe hid early cancellation fees and trapped consumers in pricey subscriptions. The US government is suing Adobe for allegedly hiding expensive fees and making it difficult to cancel a subscription. In the complaint filed on Monday, the Department of Justice claims Adobe “has harmed consumers by enrolling them in its default, most lucrative subscription plan without clearly disclosing important plan terms.”The lawsuit alleges Adobe “hides” the terms of its annual, paid monthly plan in the “fine print and behind optional textboxes and hyperlinks.” In doing so, the company fails to properly disclose the early termination fee incurred upon cancellation “that can amount to hundreds of dollars,” the complaint says. When customers do attempt to cancel, the DOJ alleges that Adobe requires them to go through an “onerous and complicated” cancellation process that involves navigating through multiple webpages and pop-ups. It then al
Jun 18, 2024 It appears that Microsoft is not yet done with Recall. The A.I. tool, which was postponed due to some concerns regarding the quality and security, is getting some new features.You could say that Recall was, you know, recalled. For those unaware, Recall is a tool that was designed to capture the screen of Windows devices, once every five seconds. These are essentially screenshots of everything you do on your computer, except private mode in browsers and DRM-protected data. The data the tool saves is then processed by A.I. which the user can interact with using natural language, to search for their activity. If that doesn't raise privacy concerns, I don't know what will.And it did, security experts and users criticized Microsoft for hastily bringing Recall to Windows PCs, calling it unnecessary and intrusive. The complaints pointed out the fact that it was an opt-out feature, i.e. it was enabled by default on Copilot+ PCs. Martin pointed out several concerns about Windows
Automated voice ordering still on the menu for the future, though Mon 17 Jun 2024 // 19:15 UTC McDonald's is pulling out of its venture with IBM that brought AI to some of its drive-thrus.The fast food giant is slated to take the feature offline by July 26, according to Restaurant Business, which obtained an internal email sent to franchisees last week. The letter reportedly offers very little explanation for why the program is ending.In a statement to The Register, McDonald's was similarly tight-lipped. "Through our partnership with IBM, we have captured many learnings and feel there is an opportunity to explore voice ordering solutions more broadly. After thoughtful review, McDonald's has decided to end our current global partnership with IBM on AOT [automated order taking] beyond this year."The AI drive-thru experiment began in 2021, and was expanded in 2022. Although IBM will no longer be relied on for AI drive-thrus, the two companies still apparently have business ties for other
