Faster broadband, AI is watching your car, bring a doodle to life, and more!
Keep up to date on curated AI, security, tips, tricks and more with The Digital Life!
Hello, hello, and thanks for dropping by. I hope the picture above got you inspired to get out there and enjoy August! Despite the placement of palm trees in the water, Stability.AI’s new SDXL model doesn’t disappoint! Have you tried any AI image models yet? I’d love to hear about your experiences.
Here’s a brief recap of some of the interesting stores you’ll find below. Remember, we read the tech news for hours every day to find you the juiciest bits at the end of the month. In the news - new phone battery rules and proposals for higher broadband speeds, plus if you’re fed up with your tech-filled car, you’re not alone!
In AI, read about how the police are using AI to track that tech-filled car, read what Bill Gates thinks about AI, and try your hand at a “Stable Doodle”. Then learn two interesting things - just how did the Zenith “space command” work without batteries? And how does the Internet name system DNS work? (via a very cute video - ROOOAD TRIP! 🙂)
Finally, how do you record the perfect “sonic logo”? Find out in a video featuring Tostito’s chips…..now we’re hungry!
Thanks for your continued support of Lökwest! And, if you like this newsletter - SHARE it with a friend. All you have to do is hit forward! 😉
In the news
If the FCC gets its way, 100Mbps download may be the new minimum standard broadband speed. During the process, they are also reviewing broadband pricing strategies, to which we say AMEN!
As much as I love coaching people, it’s disappointing the amount of coaching required for some of the “modern” car interfaces. Poor user interface design, bad documentation, security holes, AND they want you to pay a subscription to hand over your data to them. If you’re frustrated and want the d#&m radio knob back, you’re not alone! 🙂
Way, way back in the day, we used to be able to pop the back off of a phone and swap out batteries. You could even “gasp” carry an EXTRA battery with you for use in a pinch. In recent years, this trend has gone away, with manufacturers sealing batteries in precision machined cases. In some cases, this means they’re more weatherproof. On the other hand, it means you’re stuck with a dead device or a large repair bill when the battery goes bad. A new law is taking us back to the old days.
This month in AI
Whether you’re a Microsoft / Bill Gates fan or not, you owe it to yourself to read Bill’s view on AI. I highly recommend his Gates Notes newsletter and blog, as it’s always very well thought out and highly educational.
When it comes to being “spied” on, we all live under the surveillance economy and age, like it or not. Maybe you want to bury your head in the sand in frustration, maybe you think you’ve got nothing to hide. However, you still need to be aware of the very powerful systems being developed, some of which may be a threat to civil liberties. This month’s target - your car.
And now for something completely different (queue dead Parrot joke)…..Meet Stable Doodle, a nifty tool from Stablility.AI, the same engine that produced the header graphic on this newsletter. Rather than a prompt alone, this engine takes your hand-scratched doodle and a prompt and turns it into art.
That’s Interesting
The year is 1956. Color TV just started broadcasting in 1953. You have a brand new 1955 24-inch Fringe TV Set that you paid $254.95 (that’s $2846 today). And you STILL have to get up to change the channel? Enter the “Space Command”, an ingenious device Zenith invented. Requiring no batteries and no line of sight, it was the miracle of the day. But how did it work? Here’s a hint - your dog knows.
Have you ever been curious about how your computer finds websites? In the background, everyone has an IP number like 123.345.234.234. But you can’t remember that so you type google.com. What happens next? Learn a little more here, thanks to these cute boxes taking a ROOOAD TRIP!
In Closing
We always like to close with something a little out there. This month, I found it fascinating to watch the creative process behind making a chip sound. I hope you enjoy it too, in the spirit of summer picnics!