Wong Yu Liang/Getty Images Which generative AI apps are people using? Which ones are people trying a few times and ditching, and which ones are they sticking with? Andreessen Horowitz, a California-based venture capital firm, sheds some light on those questions with the third installment of its Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps list. Also: The best […] More
Pramod Khargonekar, distinguished professor of electrical engineering and computer science and vice chancellor for research at the University of California, Irvine Image: UC Irvine Last year, ZDNET ran a special feature called, “The Intersection of Generative AI and Engineering,” which explored the tremendous potential of generative AI for software development and product development. Also: The best […] More
Get Microsoft Project 2021 Pro or Visio 2021 on sale right now. Stack Social Project management is the bread and butter of the professional world, but actually getting things done can be a challenge. Professional software can optimize many operations to maximize efficiency and productivity when you need it most. You might want to consider […] More
iStock / Getty Images Plus This back-to-school season features a new, major player: generative artificial intelligence (gen AI). In the nearly two years since ChatGPT launched, the chatbot has received many transformative updates, and many other gen AI tools for students have appeared on the market. As a result, there is a plethora of tools […] More
David Gewirtz/ZDNETThis is an article about using artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool and how to apply it to your unique, specialized needs. It provides some interesting lessons for everyone.Also: I’ve tested dozens of AI chatbots since ChatGPT’s stunning debut. Here’s my top pickYou’ll learn you can use a tool like ChatGPT to solve complex problems quickly, so long as you have the right prompts and a hint of skepticism. First, a brief 3d printing rabbit holeOur context for this lesson is 3D printing. A special test in 3D printing called a 3DBenchy checks printer performance. It helps 3D printer users test speed and various print-quality measures. The Benchy takes most printers an hour or two to print out.I recently tested a new printer that’s supposed to be faster than many others. On this printer, the Benchy took 42 minutes, while on other 3D printers in the Fab Lab, it took 60 to 70 minutes. But here’s the thing: the test version provided by the company that makes the printer took 16 minutes. That’s a heck of a difference.3D printers are controlled with G-code, a program custom-generated by a tool called a slicer that controls how the printer moves its print head and print platform, heats up, and feeds and retracts molten filament. Also: ChatGPT vs. Microsoft Copilot vs. Gemini: Which is the best AI chatbot?The pre-sliced G-code provided by the factory for the printer I was testing resulted in a 16-minute print. The G-code I generated using the company’s slicer resulted in a 42-minute print. I wanted to know why. Unfortunately, no one on the company’s support team could answer my question. Despite numerous tries, I couldn’t get an answer about what slicer settings to change to get the G-code I produced using their slicer to perform as well as the G-code generated using their slicer. More
zf L/Getty Images HONG KONG — To paraphrase the late John F. Kennedy, we choose to define open-source AI not because it is easy, but because it is hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills. Stefano Maffulli, executive director of the Open Source Initiative (OSI), […] More
Linus Torvalds and Dirk Hohndel, Open Source Summit North America 2024 sjvn/ZDNETHong Kong: At The Linux Foundation’s Open Source Summit China conference, Linus Torvalds and his buddy Dirk Hohndel, Verizon’s Head of the Open Source Program Office, once more chatted about Linux development and related issues to the delight of their audience. As usual, the pair talked about the current state and future of the Linux kernel. In particular, their conversation touched on various aspects of Linux development, including the release process, security, Rust’s Linux integration, and the role of AI in software development.Also: The Linux security team issues 60 CVEs a week, but don’t stress. Do this insteadFirst, Torvalds is sorry to report that sched_ext, an extensible scheduler for building scheduling policies with eBPF, will not be included in the next Linux kernel release. He hopes, though, literally knocking on wood, that it will be in the forthcoming Linux 6.12 release.Thinking about future releases, Hohndel asked Torvalds about his plans for the Linux kernel. Specifically, since at the current kernel release rate, “the Linux kernel 8.7 should come out about your 60th birthday, what do you see in it?” Torvalds replied, “I really don’t know.”Torvalds continued that he he focuses on the shorter term. “The real development is about getting all the details right. And you don’t look five years ahead for that. You look one or two releases ahead.”Also: How open source is steering AI down the high roadOf course, Torvalds added, “Some features take longer than that. Later this year, we will have the 20th anniversary of the real-time Linux project. This is a project that literally started 20 years ago, and the people involved are finally at that point where they feel like it is done… well, almost done. They’re still tweaking the last things, but they hope it will soon be ready to be completely merged in the upstream kernel this year.”At the same time, Torvalds mentioned that even though Linux is 33 years old now, “You’d think that all the basics would have been fixed long ago, but they’re not. We’re still dealing with basic issues such as memory management.” The work is never done.These days, the Linux kernel’s development process has a highly structured and rhythmic beat. Despite its complexity, the process has become highly reliable over the years. Torvalds mentioned that while they aim for a release every nine weeks, it didn’t used to be that way. More
John C Magee/Getty Images One complaint about Windows is near the top of everyone’s list: updates. There are too many updates. They take too long to install. They sometimes fail in ways that cause additional problems. And they always pop up at the most inopportune time. In most cases, these updates require the computer to […] More
