Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA
I owned a lot of Alexa-powered devices in my former home: There were Amazon Echos in most rooms, including an older Echo Plus in the living room, a smattering of Dots, a Spot in a bedroom, and an Echo Show in the kitchen. A Fire TV ran in the bedroom. And, in a drawer, a rarely used Fire HD tablet sat collecting dust. With the total loss of the home due to a March 2024 house fire, there also came a new opportunity: We could now make a fresh start to create a more modernized smart home after rebuilding our…
As the new school year approaches, Google announced on Wednesday that it’s launching a new tool called Guided Learning within Gemini. The tool sort of functions like an AI tutor, as it’s designed to help users build a deep understanding instead of just getting answers. The launch follows just over a week after OpenAI rolled out Study Mode for ChatGPT, which is also designed to go beyond simply obtaining answers to questions by actually helping users develop critical thinking skills. Both companies’ launches come amid concerns that AI chatbots undermine the learning process because they spit out direct answers. The…
Apple’s AirPods are some of our favorite wireless headphones. They’re an especially good fit if you’re looking for earbuds to pair with another Apple device, like an iPhone or MacBook. AirPods offer good sound quality, exclusive iOS features, and an iconic design. But with several to choose from, finding the best AirPods for your needs can be tricky. That’s why our reviewers tested every model to determine which AirPods are right for different uses. The best Apple AirPods for most people are the AirPods Pro 2. The Pro 2 are Apple’s flagship earbuds, and they have powerful active noise cancellation (ANC),…
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler returned home from his British Open victory, made a few brief appearances in New York and used the claret jug to get 15-month-old son Bennett into the men’s grill at Royal Oaks in Dallas.He is rested. The key for Scheffler, regardless of the tournament, is to be ready. But this is the time of the year, even with $15 million at stake, not to be grinding on the range.“At this point in the year, that extra practice is maybe only going to be draining for me a little bit, and that’s something that I’ve…
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani hit a go-ahead, two-run homer for his 1,000th career hit and struck out a season-high eight over four innings Wednesday in the longest mound outing yet this season for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar.The right-hander made his eighth mound start of the season after not pitching in 2024 while recovering from elbow surgery. He closed his outing against the St. Louis Cardinals by striking out the side in the fourth and walked off wiping his face on a 90-degree (32 Celsius) day. Masyn Winn tossed his bat in frustration after going down swinging.…
BOSTON (AP) — The Red Sox signed rookie phenom Roman Anthony to an eight-year, $130 million contract on Wednesday, spending some of the cash they saved by trading Rafael Devers away on a player they hope will be the centerpiece of the next generation of Boston stars.The 21-year-old outfielder, who has 159 major league at-bats so far, is signed through 2033, with a team option for 2034. The deal was announced with the Red Sox on a seven-game winning streak heading into Wednesday night’s game against the Kansas City Royals. “We’re playing such great baseball. I didn’t want to be…
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Tens of thousands of U.S. college students without legal resident status are losing access to in-state tuition prices as part of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration.The Justice Department has been suing states to end tuition breaks for students without legal residency, starting with Texas in June. It has also filed lawsuits in Kentucky, Minnesota and, most recently, Oklahoma. Last year, Florida ended its tuition break for students living there illegally, “Federal law prohibits aliens not lawfully present in the United States from getting in-state tuition benefits that are denied to out-of-state U.S. citizens,” the Justice…
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. revealed his agency will be cutting funding to mRNA development, calling the vaccine technology “ineffective” and claiming it poses more risks than benefits.In a video posted on X Aug. 5, Kennedy said the decision will impact 22 projects worth nearly $500 million at the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, which helps companies develop medical supplies to address public health threats.Messenger RNA, or mRNA, is used in the two most common COVID-19 vaccines licensed in the U.S. Kennedy’s announcement has raised questions about these vaccines, how mRNA works and what this…
OpenAI is poised to undercut rivals like Anthropic and Google in the race to see its AI tools integrated into federal agency workflows. The AI giant has reached an agreement with the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), the government’s central purchasing arm, to offer ChatGPT Enterprise to participating federal agencies for just $1 per agency for the next year. The partnership comes a day after the GSA added OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic to a list of approved AI vendors that can offer their services to civilian federal agencies. The companies will see their tools offered via the Multiple Award Schedule…
The internet is undergoing one of the most consequential transitions in its history, from a world dominated by search engines to one increasingly ruled by AI-powered answer engines.It’s an economic earthquake that threatens to obliterate the business model that’s underpinned the web for decades.While most tech companies have jumped on the AI bandwagon, one prominent CEO is sounding the alarm and actively proposing a fix: Cloudflare’s Matthew Prince.”These aren’t search engines anymore, they’re answer engines. The economics and rules are very different,” he told me in a recent interview. “We have to strike a new deal.”The problem A man stands…