Zuckerberg wants to build an artificial intelligence, America’s Internet tubes need unblocking, Windows 10 Mobile is still on the way, Jolla fails to deliver, and running Windows 95 on a Nintendo 3DS.
Oh, Mark Zuckerberg looks pretty good in the Batman vs Superman trailer. I mean Jesse Eisenberg. I always get them mixed up now.
— Danny Sullivan (@dannysullivan) January 4, 2016
Mark Zuckerberg is creating an artificial intelligence for his home that will act like a robot butler. The Facebook founder and CEO is so sure of his genius that he’s already asking us to “think of it kind of like Jarvis in Iron Man.” Which, as Iron Man fans will tell you, is an extremely bold claim.
As outlined in a post on Facebook (where else?!) Zuckerberg states:
I’m going to start by exploring what technology is already out there. Then I’ll start teaching it to understand my voice to control everything in our home — music, lights, temperature and so on. I’ll teach it to let friends in by looking at their faces when they ring the doorbell. I’ll teach it to let me know if anything is going on in Max’s room that I need to check on when I’m not with her. On the work side, it’ll help me visualize data in VR to help me build better services and lead my organizations more effectively.
Building an AI is the latest in Zuckerberg’s series of personal challenges. Previous efforts include reading two books a month, learning Mandarin, and killing every animal he eats. However, this new challenge is much more interesting than those because Zuckerberg actually has the power and influence to bring AI into the mainstream.
Internet download speeds in the United States have more than tripled over the past few years — from 10Mbps in 2011 to 31Mbps in 2014 — but they still suck compared to dozens of other countries. This is according to a report by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) called Measuring Broadband America.
The increase in speeds is mainly due to the roll-out of fiber and better cable hardware, while DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) services continue to drag the average down. This two-tier system means the U.S. ranks 25th of 39 countries, trailing behind Japan, France, Germany, and even Canada, to name just a few. Ranking lower than Canada must really rankle.
After admitting in December that Windows 10 Mobile has been pushed back until early 2016, Microsoft has assured users the update will be arriving “soon”. The latest rumors suggest Windows 10 Mobile will be pushed out to eligible handsets by the end of this month, but Microsoft still hasn’t announced an official date.
As stated on the Lumia Support pages, Microsoft promises, “We’re working to make Windows 10 available to eligible Lumia smartphones running Windows Phone 8.1 as an upgrade. If your Lumia is eligible for the upgrade, we’ll let you know when it’s ready.”
Those looking to upgrade are also being advised that Windows 10 Mobile requires a minimum of “8 GB of internal memory”. Which might mean having to clear out a bunch of apps and stored photos before commencing with the upgrade. Which sucks, but should have been expected.
Jolla, which funded the creation of the Jolla Tablet through a successful Indiegogo campaign, has admitted that not everybody who backed the project will be getting the hardware.
Buried in a blog post wishing readers a happy new year, Jolla states, “We are not able to complete the production to fulfill all contributions. In other words, all of our backers will not get a Jolla Tablet.” Jolla then tries to spin this as being a good thing, stating that those affected will “not end up empty handed […] we might even have some positive surprises in stock for you.”
Jolla suffered some financial difficulties which have clearly hit the company hard, but that’s no excuse for not delivering on promises, or, at the very least, offering refunds to those who aren’t going to receive a tablet. Unless refunds are forthcoming, this will remain to be another bad news story about crowdfunding.
And finally, one ingenious idiot has managed to get Windows 95 running on a Nintendo 3DS XL. Why? Oh, no reason in particular, but it’s Windows 95 (which is now more than 20 years old) on a 3DS! Which is all kinds of awesome. Pointless, but awesome. At least for now.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t nothing more than boot up at the moment, but who knows what the future holds. After all, who wouldn’t want to play classic PC games on the best handheld on the market?! [H/T GBATemp]
Is Mark Zuckerberg the closest thing we have to Iron Man? Are you happy with the speed of your Internet connection? Are you still patiently waiting for Windows 10 Mobile? Should Jolla be forced to refund its backers? Would you ever want to use Windows 95 on anything again?
Let us know your thoughts on the Tech News of the day by posting to the comments section below. Because a healthy discussion is always welcome.
Tech News Digest is a daily column paring the technology news of the day down into bite-sized chunks that are easy to read and perfect for sharing.
Image Credits: Caleb Wagoner via Flickr
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