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ChatGPT: Will you use it?

2/05/2023

If you have not yet heard of ChatGPT, where have you been!! ChatGPT is an advanced bot that interacts with us in a conversational way and can either answer questions or generate almost any kind of text. We are hearing everywhere how ChatGPT will complement the skills we have as humans or, in some cases, even replace us. You may groan at another bot, but if ChatGPT can be as good as a human, I welcome it. Not all human help desk people have met my expectations.

But ChatGPT is not measuring up on all counts. Sometimes, when I address an audience, I like to wow them with a good joke. However, I'm afraid that ChatGPT has not been able to produce when it comes to jokes. For example,

ChatGpt: Tell a joke about computers. Result: Why was the computer cold? Because it left its Windows open!

Ha! Ha! Not! I guess I'll have to find my opening jokes elsewhere. However, ChatGPT is not easily offended.

ChatGPT: Your joke was not funny. Result: I apologize if my joke didn't bring a smile to your face.

ChatGPT does better with recipes.

ChatGPT: Give me a recipe to use the tons of zucchini that my friendly neighbor gave me. Result: Here's a recipe that uses a lot of zucchini: Zucchini Bread. etc.

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A good result, and CHatGPT is really listening to what I am saying, unlike those aforementioned help desk personnel. Also, hyperbole is no challenge to it. If you are not happy with the result, just resubmit, and ChatGPT will give you a different recipe. My second recipe was for zucchini noodles with tomato sauce. I'm not sure about this one. I think I'll stick with Zucchini bread.

ChatGPT can do so much more. I tried this.

ChatGPT: Where is Niagara Falls? Tell me in Chinese.

Amazingly, I got a response in what sure looks like Chinese, but I won't attempt to reproduce it here.

ChatGPT and its less intelligent competitors that have already been on the scene are here to stay. I'm sure I will find ways to use it, but I don't mind at all scrolling through the links that a Google search produces. At least, that way I know the sources of the information.


Screen mirroring with your Roku device

1/03/2023

Screen mirroring might be one of those handy computer tricks that are convenient but that you just never got around to trying. But mirroring, meaning where you duplicate what is on one screen to another screen, is probably a lot easier than your thought. If you have a ROKU device connected to your TV or built-in Roku for your TV, screen mirroring is not at all difficult. And with millions of ROKU devices in the wild, you may already have what you need.

Allow mirroring in Roku settings

First, from the Roku home page, select settings => System => Screen Mirroring. In the screen mirroring mode, set "always allowed." Now you are ready to connect another screen.

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Mirroring from an iPhone

Do you want to mirror from an iPhone? Swipe down from the top right-hand corner of your screen to show the control center. Then click on the double rectangle icon. Choose the Roku Premiere option and your iPhone screen will begin mirroring on your TV.

Mirroring from Windows

Do you want to mirror your Windows Computer? Open your settings, and choose "Connect to a wireless display." Then click "Connect" and choose "Roku Premiere." Your computer screen will duplicate on your TV.

Videos, live feeds, webinars

Relax on the couch and watch videos mirrored to your TV. I discovered a new use for mirroring when I wanted to watch a video I found in the library. Although I didn't have a DVD player for my TV, I did have a computer with a built-in DVD player so that the movie could just be mirrored to my TV. With mirroring, you do need to go back to the original device to interact. So, don't plan to mirror during a Zoom call. However, with recorded feeds or even live feeds where you don't plan to interact, a feed mirrored to your TV will allow you to watch it in a more relaxed seting, letting you step away from the computer and watch with your feet up.


Big layoffs for Alexa

11/22/2022

I love my Amazon Echo. Somehow I can never find my phone. "Alexa, Find my phone" always comes to the rescue. When I am not driving, "Alexa, play KWMU," , KABC, KDEF, KXYZ, etc. is the only way I listen to the radio . However, Amazon has announced mass layoffs of 10,000 people with a large share coming from the Worldwide Digital division that houses Alexa. Although the Echo device line is one of the best selling items on Amazon and Amazon reports a billion with a "B" interactions per week on Alexa, Amazon is losing serious money in this division.

Amazon is unable to monetize the handy device. "Alexa. What is the weather?" is a much less profitable interaction than making any purchase. Also, it's unquestionably a lot simpler because there is no learning curve, no set-up, and no preconditions. For example, to make a purchase on Alexa, you must first be an Amazon Prime subscriber.

Monetizing Alexa

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Presumaby, there is a way to monetize Alexa purchases, but it has not worked out so far for Amazon. As one Amazon insider is quoted as saying, Alexa is a "colossal failure in imagination." However, I don't blame the Alexa product engineers since I, myself, can't see the value of telling Alexa to add a fleece jacket to my cart and then being invited by Alexa, to open the app and review my cart to verify the selection. There are very few purchases that I would just go ahead and confirm without further inspection. Not to mention reading the reviews.

Fewer improvements in the future

With huge cuts to the Alexa team, we will likely see a drop in innovation for Alexa skills, such as setting the temperature on the furnace, turning out the lights, or other conveniences that fail to earn money for Amazon once you have purchased the Echo device. Although Alexa may be a money loser for Amazon, it's still very handy for most of us users, as are many other voice activated apps. I would hate to go back to sending texts where I had to "thumb" in all the text.


Filter your Gmail for a clean inbox

10/11/2022

If your inbox has dozens, if not hundreds of emails, this is usually a sign that you are using your inbox as a to-do list. Resist the temptation and use a real task manager. Task or to-do list managers abound, paid or free. Free up your inbox and archive emails as they arrive to the proper task category and let your own priorities take the lead. Leaving those emails in your inbox is just a constant non-welcome reminder of things undone. Use your task manager to choose your own priorities and to not neglect important tasks just because there is an email in your inbox representing someone else's hot project.

We've all had that depressing feeling that our important-to-us email was either ignored or just pending forever in our correspondent's overburdened inbox. Don't be that unreliable correspondent. Use the Gmail filter option to make it easier.

Filtering email

For emails that you know in advance you will address later, but not now, you can clear them from your inbox automatically using a filter in Gmail.

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To filter. go to Gmail settings,. choose the tab "filters and blocked addresses", and then create a new filter. Identify the emails you want to filter choosing "has the words", "subject", "from", etc. Then hit "continue." Here you can decide what happens. Assign them a label and then click the "skip the inbox" option. Any future emails thus identified will no longer even appear in your inbox. You can later open that Gmail label and you will find these emails waiting for your inspection. This makes it easy to manage emails based on your own priorities. You no longer need to label and archive this type of email every time you receive one and you will keep your inbox free of emails that you already know that you want to handle later.

We are often advised to minimize switching tasks in order to get the most work done. To only check email once an hour, say. But even better is to have an inbox not overflowing with email, to not have distracting emails. Besides filtering, turn off email notices from Linked in and other social media. Instead, schedule a time in your day or week to check social media sites directly.


Google Drive can do more than you think

9/8/2022

There are many choices for virtual drives, but Google Drive gets an A+ rating from me and it is free, up to 15GB. Your computer probably has a C drive and a D drive. Open File Explorer to see your drives and folders. If you connect a thumb drive, also called a flash drive, File Explorer will show you that drive too. If you also install the Google Drive app on your computer, you now have a G drive in addition to the others. The G drive is virtual meaning that it is completely in the cloud.

Sync work between your home and work computers

You can use the G drive the same way that you use your other drives. For example, when saving a Word document on your at-home computer, just browse and save to the folder "My Drive" on the G Drive. That file will be saved in a storage space on a computer in a Google data center. It is not actually physically on your own computer. This is a good thing. Now, when you use your at-work computer. you can just open that same Word doc by browsing to your G drive on your at-work computer to find the file. Of course, you have to have installed Google Drive on the work computer too.

Share files

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All the files and folders on your G drive are private, but you can choose to share them with others. You can specify other people with Google accounts or just make a file available to anyone who has the link. To get the link, open File Explorer to your G drive. Right click to the option "Share with Google Drive", add permissions, and copy the link. This is especially handy if your need to share a really, really large file. Chances are your email provider will not allow you to attach anything over a certain size. So, being able to provide this link in place of an attachment is very helpful. If you are a Gmail user, Gmail makes it super easy and will just automatically copy your file to your virtual drive so that it can send the link.

See all "shared with you" files in one place

You can also view your Google Drive using a browser. Just go to https://drive.google.com/ You can see all the files you have stored in the cloud. In addition, you can see any file others have shared with you through their Google Drive. Just click on "Shared with me". You may have long ago lost that email with the attachment you want to review, but all those attachments are there for you to see on Google Drive, in alphabetic order, if you wish, with even a handy search option.

Sync files from any folder on your computer

Finally, after you install Google Drive on your computer, you can also sync any file or folder on your computer with Google Drive so that you will have an extra copy of that file on the cloud. Google Drive will automatically keep those files or folders synced so that if you make a change to a file or folder, that change will also be made to the file or folder on the cloud. In this case there are two copies of everything. If, instead you save a file directly to your G Drive, there is only one copy, and that copy is in the cloud.


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Buyer Beware! Fake reviews

8/8/2022

According to stats, fewer than 10% of us write reviews for products, although almost all of us read reviews. Because reviews sell products, Amazon often follows up my purchases with an email asking me to rate my experience with a seller. Not just a 1-5 star rating, but a headline, an essay on how I liked or disliked the product, and a further dissertation on how I used it. Amazon suggests that I upload a photo or video presumably showing myself delighting in the product. Really, Amazon! That's a big ask. Just give me some Facebook options: I like it. I love it. It brought me to tears. What a joke! Unfortunately, A 2020 study found that 42% of the reviews on Amazon were fake or unreliable, causing consumers to buy shoddier products.

As far as bad reviews go, I assume you can count on them to be real, although some fake reviewers will throw in a few minor reservations about the product just to not gush too much. Maybe the product arrived a day late or had some minor packaging issue. Sellers who play it straight are facing unfair competition from these sellers who buy fake reviews with five star ratings that push them to the top of the search listings. This especially works for moderately priced consumer electronics, makeup. and dietary supplements. Not so much for books.

Who writes these fake reviews?

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Inauthentic reviewers can find sellers through Facebook, Craig's List or other social media and write a review in exchanged for a deep discount or refund after the review. The Verge reports that Amazon is taking legal action against the admins of over 10,000 Facebook groups that it says facilitate fake reviews. Amazon officially banned incentivized review in 2016 but a recent Financial Times report shows that nine out of 10 of the top reviewers on the UK Amazon site were engaged in suspicious activity.

Not just on Amazon

Amazon is the big dog, but fake reviews are everywhere. Time magazine investigator, Kay Dean, found fake reviews for dental clinics, locksmiths, dry cleaners, and more. They can be found on every platform, including Trip Advisor, Yelp, and Google. Fake reviews will continue as long as cheaters profit.


Bots Everywhere

7/1/2022

More than 2/3 of internet traffic is now bots - those little software bits that handle gazillions of repetitive tasks and live on the internet. Many bots are for good purposes and many bots have less than good, even malicious intentions. Google bots crawl your website looking for new material to index its search engine thus performing a valuable service for us. This is one of the good ones. The kind of bots that simulate real people are sometimes malicious bots. For example, multiple countries have accused Russia of using bots to influence elections and spread lies about candidates.

Twitter bots

Twitter bots are front-page today because of influential gripes by Elon Musk. A Twitter bot imitates how real people use Twitter. It can tweet, retweet and follow people, but doesn't engage in real online dialog. Twitter bots can spread misinformation or troll people. Harry and Meghan have famously been the victims of hate trolls.

Are you wondering how many of your Twitter followers are bots? You can use the Botometer to check out your followers. https://botometer.osome.iu.edu/ . I prefer their former name BotOrNot.

Chat bots - Exasperating or welcome?

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A lot of bots are just annoying. Chat bots, not to be confused with chat boxes where you chat by text with a real person, can be especially aggravating. Chat bots for product support simulate a real help desk person and use artificial intelligence to understand your product question. Ideally, this is a good thing because the chat bot is available 24/7 and doesn't require a person with both good technical and good language skills. However, if your question does not fit the pre-programmed product questions, this can be extremely frustrating.

Help Desk Hell

I recently had an exchange where the responses repeatedly failed to address my question even after multiple attempts to explain it more clearly. I finally recognized I had just been sending keywords to a bot and not having a conversation at all. A Google engineer was recently suspended for claiming that a chatbot he was working on had become sentient and was thinking and reasoning like a human being. I'd like to meet that bot and skedaddle away from these dummy bots who have been wasting my time.


When Google is more than a search - screening and guarantees

5/16/2022

When you need a plumber, do you want more from your search than just a listing? Google has you covered. It offers Google Screened and Google Guaranteed for service providers who can make the grade and who sign up with Local Service Ads (LSAs). Unlike Google My Business free listings, LSA's are not free to the service provider. The service provider pays per lead where a lead is usually a phone call made through the LSA. My first search sample was for "real estate agent."

Sample of Google Screening

The badge shows "Google Screened." This means that LSA has checked that these real estate agents have valid licenses to practice in their state. The screening process depends on the type of service. Only certain types of services are eligible for this badge, for example, lawyers and financial planners.

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The next search was for "locksmith" and in this case, I found some locksmiths that were Google Guaranteed. This is more than a screening and means that not only were the businesses screened, but Google will back their services and will reimburse the customer if the customer is not satisfied with the quality of the work. The guarantee has a lifetime cap of $2,000 in the United States. To get the money back guarantee, you must have used the LSA to book the service and submit a claim where Google will decide on a fair resolution. This is generally for home services, such as electricians and plumbers.

Sample of Google Guarantee

Google's continuing expansion into screened and guaranteed services has got to be a challenge to Angi, formerly Angie's list, that offers its own badge called Angi Certified.


Ideas for better websites

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