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
When evaluating cloud hosting services, we focus on several key factors to ensure our recommendations are reliable and well-informed.First, the hands-on testing. During my time working with several large, international IT companies in the US, Taiwan, and Japan, I have professional experience using six of the seven cloud hosting services in our list (DigitalOcean being the exclusion). My experience with DigitalOcean comes from running personal sites, including one in the US that previously saw over 500,000 visitors per month (until Google’s controversial Helpful Content Update) and another recently launched in Japan.This experience allows me, to the best of my ability, to access the user experience, ease of setup, costs, performance metrics (i.e. uptime, load times, etc.) and overall functionality.Then there’s customer feedback. The problem with reviews is that you can’t take one person’s word for it. Gathering hundreds of review ratings and comments from actual users helps us assess the services from other perspectives and get closer to the “truth.”Then, of course, we compare features, pricing, and security, as these elements can vary over time and between providers.Finally, we conduct additional research on each provider, including reviewing industry reports, expert opinions, and the company’s overall reputation in the market.By combining all of this (that is, the years of hands-on experience, feedback from real users, and other research), we’re able to properly evaluate these cloud services and provide cloud hosting recommendations that are practical and trustworthy. More
How do I care for my new Lenovo laptop?A new laptop is an investment, and making it last is essential to maximizing its value. To care for your new laptop, you’ll want to minimize the amount of bumps and vibrations it’s exposed to, and keep it closed when not in use to protect the keys and screen, which can be fragile. Maximizing your laptop’s battery life is also part of its longevity, as it’s best to keep it between 30% and 80% to optimize battery life. Besides these obvious factors, you’ll want to keep the software and drivers up to date, and get a backpack and sleeve for safe, efficient transport. How long does the battery typically last? Battery life depends on a variety of different factors, such as what kinds of tasks you’re doing and whether your computer is in a battery-saving mode or high-performance mode. Lenovo laptops are known for having solid batteries, particularly the ThinkPad and IdeaPad line of devices. Also: I’m a hybrid worker, and my laptop of choice is not a MacBook or a DellWhen looking at a laptop’s battery, take into account its watt hour number (written as Wh), which measures how much power a battery uses over one hour. The higher the number, the longer the battery should theoretically be able to last; however, how fast the computer burns through that power is another story.For example, the Legion Pro7i features a 99Wh battery, but the powerful hardware on board will demand lots of power from the battery. Conversely, the 70Wh battery in the Yoga Slim 7x will drain at a trickle in comparison thanks to the AI on board the Snapdragon X Elite processor. Which Lenovo laptop is most durable?Lenovo’s ThinkPad series of laptops is regarded as some of the most durable laptops on the market for their sturdy, well-built design and unpretentious form factors. They’re also known to be more repair-friendly than many other computers, as you can replace parts with relative ease. Also: This Lenovo laptop is ultraportable, lasts all day, and has a MagSafe-like superpowerRegarding the laptops on this list, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon and X1 Extreme are made from partially-recycled magnesium, aluminum, and carbon fiber, and have been MIL-STD 810H certified in torture tests against travel hazards like shock, vibration, and extreme temperatures.Can you game on a Lenovo laptop?You can game on any Lenovo laptop, but you’re going to get the best performance from a computer that’s designed for gaming like the Lenovo Legion 5 Pro. The reason for this has a lot to do with graphics processing and whether or not the device is designed to mitigate heat well. Also: This Lenovo 2-in-1 is one of the most versatile business laptops I’ve testedMost Lenovo laptops are fine for casual or entry-level gaming, but once you start running graphically-intense games, you’re going to run into performance issues, and the laptop will not be able to compensate for the heat generated by the hardware. Lenovo’s own gaming options come with dedicated graphics cards, high refresh rate displays, and a robust cooling system. However, if you truly want the best gaming laptop, there are a host of other options out there, especially for demanding games. Check out the Razer Blade 15 More
DrPixel/Getty Images Welcome to ZDNET’s Innovation Index, which identifies the most innovative developments in tech from the past week and ranks the top four, based on votes from our panel of editors and experts. Our mission is to help you identify the trends that will have the biggest impact on the future. Research firm Gartner made […] More
