Each iPhone has a unique, device-specific i.d. that helps Apple and other companies track activity on the device. It’s called IDFA, Identity for Advertisers, and…
Author: Don Yarman
OPLIN 4Cast #740: There’s help in the struggle to pay for Internet during the pandemic
Posted in 4cast, and Braoadband
In late 2020, Congress established an Emergency Broadband Connectivity Fund of $3.2 billion to help Americans afford Internet service during the COVID-19 pandemic, directing the…
Last summer, I suddenly began appearing upside-down in virtual meetings. It was an amusing little glitch: I use my laptop in tent mode while I…
OPLIN 4Cast #736: When tech and finance intersect, will controversy always follow?
Posted in 4cast, and Social Networks
It was a joke that first grabbed my attention: “I know this GameStop stuff is funny, but you have to remember this is hurting real…
As availability of the COVID-19 vaccine begins to expand to more of the population, the health and technology industries are exploring ways to accelerate access…
Last week, we looked back at the technology trends of 2020, so let’s now cast our eyes forward. What predictions are technology leaders making about…
When I was three, all I wanted for Christmas was Biff the Bear. My parents searched everywhere. At the eleventh hour, they saw a little…
OPLIN 4Cast #728: Assistive technology is making significant strides in the mobile world
Posted in 4cast
Last week, the nonprofit Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired held Sight Tech Global, the first of a planned annual virtual conference that…
One framework for machine learning is called a “generative adversarial network” or GAN. The technique involves pitting two neural networks against each other, a generative…
A prediction is a hypothesis of probability, and if the pollsters got it wrong, then they’ll examine their models to see if they can formulate better hypotheses. But is there an alternative to calling people up and asking them whom they intend to vote for? Perhaps AI algorithms can draw new insights from alternative data sets. There’s always the risk, though, that flawed algorithms will just magnify the errors in data that already plague us.