Thought of the day: 500 years from now, when someone discovers a piece of plastic with a QRCode on it, intact and readable, I wonder what they will think of it and if they’ll try to “decode” the thing.

Just two hours in the work day and I have already used ChatGPT three times to better understand two different concepts in IT¹. Last year, these prompts would have required many Google searches and much more reading. I’m curious to see how ChatGPT and Gen AI are influencing Google’s market share.

Here is a quick recount of my “Ah ah moment” this morning, involving generative AI in a simple workflow. I’m still in awe about it. If I stumble on a long and chatty YouTube video that might be interesting, I’ll use this workflow to quickly get the gist out of it. First, I use Downie (a Mac … read more

I’m generally unfazed by black Friday sales… I buy things when I need them, not because of any deals. But, this morning, I bought a Kodak slides scanner because I have hundreds of old family slides sitting in boxes. I feel sad not to spend the time to put a new life in those memories. So there you go, a new slide scanner. I’ll probably write an extensive review of it.

Which story is worse or more shattering? Steve Jobs fired in 1985, or OpenAI fired one of its founders? I think the latter creates more uncertainty. The former is easier to dismiss because we know what happened to Apple after Jobs left the company. 🤔 ¹

The more testing and experimenting I do with ChatGPT, the more I feel we are at an inflection point like Netscape or the iPhone was. We live in exciting and challenging times.

This:

Foreseeably, the next step in AI integration will happen on an OS level.

In the mean time, your app will always run an inferior version compared to whatever Microsoft's sells. If having ChatGPT is your sales point, you have no sales point. You only have a very volatile, very expensive ticking time bomb dependency.

On top of that, you corner yourself into dishonesty if you sell ChatGPT as your own AI. It's bullshit and you know it.

Musing of the day: Which is worse from an environmental point of view, burning the planet with NFTs / blockchains s*** or with AI with LLM models training and queries to ChatGPT?¹ 🤔

For those who are curious, I just updated “my Micro-Workflows Explained” page to list all my ChatGPT and AI use cases. I’m not shy to expose when I’m using AI in my creative work¹. The list of use cases is growing and reflects the relative invasion of AI in our digital landscape.

I want to augment my creative capabilities1. I’m considering the best way to pay for Augmented Intelligence (AI) services2. I’m currently subscribing to MidJourney for imagery. ChatGPT with GPT-4 is not cheap at 20 $US a month, but I get Dall.E 3. Raycast enables GPT-4 for 8 $US on top … read more

Today is a reminder that the internet is probably the worst place to have a debate. You would think that Mastodon or Bluesky or Thread are better than X, Y and Z? Nope. Same. Arguing the contrary is shortsighted. Even arguing in a text message conversation is not a good idea.

Thought of the day: read-later services or applications are a consequence of facing or having too much content available and a lack of time for consuming that content in a timely matter. ☝🏻

The usefulness of ChatGPT for me is as a replacement for using Google when I have to learn something new (eg an API). Formerly, I would have Googled, and then visited a bunch of results, and learnt a little on each page until I had built up an answer for myself.

I see ChatGPT as a Google mashup. It takes those Google results, and mixes them up to give me a more direct answer to my question. Previously, my own brain would have to do that mashup.

I do exactly the same but for a subject that I don’t really know. I’m curious to know if Google’s traffic is affected by this change of behaviour.

Since 9/11 in 2001, I look up every time I hear a plane in the sky. Every single time. And I’m Canadian. 😔 ¹

Om Malik on Threads capabilities in regards to sharing and consuming photo content: Threads, Twitter, & Social Photos

The design is particularly conducive to viewing photos. The white space, the way the photos are rendered, and the styling of photo collections enhance the overall presentation. The vibe on Threads is the polar opposite. Even John Gruber, a long-time critic of Facebook, has been vocal in his appreciation of this new product from the same company. It’s surprising to see him overlooking the poor privacy-related track record of the Facebook family.

and

Still, Threads offers photos and photographers a second chance to find a home beyond a dying Instagram.

I deeply respect Mr. Malik😒, but there is zero chance that fancy web design will erase Meta’s business practices and business model. I refuse to consider Threads as an alternative to Instagram. It’s a matter of time before Threads becomes another Instagram-type platform. Just wait for it. Now, excuse me, I have some photos to post on Glass and Pixelfed. Thank you. 😜

Has putting Apple silicon in the iPad set unrealistic expectations?

The Mac feels too much like a computer that has felt too overwhelming and the iPad is like the smartphone they have already been using.

At some point in the more or less distant future, the iPad form factor will take over. Just like cars took over trucks a long time ago. Just like most people use a smartphone as their main computer or as their only computer, the iPad will eventually be regarded as “a real computer”, the only computer, if people are willing to add something on top of their iPhone. One day.

In a world where we all struggle with how much we use our devices (let’s be real, we mean our phones), I think it’s kinda nice to have some places that just give up and tell us, “my dude, you’ve read it all, go do something else.” Source: Let the internet run out

I relate to this thought so much. Sometimes, enough is just… enough.

“At age 20, we worry about what others think of us. At age 40, we don’t care what they think of us. At age 60, we discover they haven’t been thinking of us at all.” — Ann Landers

★ Holy Hell, Trump Did Use Twitter Direct Messages, There Were ‘Many’ of Them, and the Special Counsel Now Has Them
https://daringfireball.net/2023/08/holy_hell_trump_did_use_dms

Reader: mastodon.social daringfireball.net

The situation with Trump and his extensive use of Twitter and how Twitter responded to the search warrant/court order confirms that leaving Twitter was one of my best decision in a long time. Twitter’s actions to protect Trump are disgusting (telling him that there is a search warrant targeting his use of the platform). I cannot, in good faith, be on such platforms.

Recently, while on a flight with United from Tenerife to Newark, I played with the infotainment screen in front of me. These infotainment systems really improved in recent years. Screens are bigger, speed is much faster, and interaction has improved quite a bit. Some of these systems look like … read more