I am impressed by Dia browser, but experts say too much AI is bad news | Digital Trends

June 23, 2025June 22, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

“If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.”

Bogdan Onikiienko, an engineer at MacPaw, dropped that hard-hitting quote on me after using Dia, a new-age web browser that heavily relies on AI. He found it quite useful but warned me that there are still a few unknowns, especially the privacy aspect.

The biggest tech reality of 2025 is that AI is here to stay. Dia is just trying to do something different with AI by putting it in various corners of the web browsing experience. AI giants like OpenAI are pushing agents such as Operator that can autonomously handle your web browsing tasks.

Thanks to macOS Tahoe, the Mac now feels more homely to iPhone users | Digital Trends

June 23, 2025June 22, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

It’s been over a week since Apple dropped the first developer preview of macOS Tahoe. Most of the chatter is centered around the glass-inspired design makeover, and deservedly so. For me, Spotlight upgrades, especially the Quick Keys system, have been the standout element.

Yet, as I delved deeper and pushed it as my workhorse computing platform, despite all the bugs and performance snags, I have come to realize that it feels like home. And by that, I mean closer to the iPhone’s native feel than expected.

And it’s not solely due to the aesthetic uniformity, but owing to the functional changes. Apple didn’t only carry over system functionalities, but also some of the iPhone’s defining apps. The Phone app, for example, is one of them. And it’s not a half-hearted attempt either.

Why food firms are scrambling to cut down on ingredients | BBC News

June 18, 2025June 17, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

For gluten-free, citrus-free, and tomato-free Kerry Clayton, shopping and cooking is a challenge.

As well as her own food requirements, her 10-year-old son is dairy and wheat-free.

The family shops at multiple stores each week to get the best free-from options, cooks adaptable meals like jacket potatoes and pasta and makes cakes and cookies from scratch.

She spends about an hour a week baking, on top of running two online jewelry businesses and parenting another child.

Threads is testing spoiler text, Zuckerberg says | TechCrunch

June 17, 2025June 16, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Threads, Meta’s microblogging platform, is testing spoiler text, according to a post from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Spoiler text refers to words (or images) that are grayed out in a post and only become readable if you manually click to see them. As the name suggests, spoiler text is often used on platforms like Discord or Reddit to help people communicate about new movies, TV shows, or books without accidentally revealing plot points and twists for people who aren’t caught up.

How Apple Created a Custom iPhone Camera for ‘F1’ | WIRED

June 16, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

You can’t mount a cinema camera on a Formula One race car. These nimble vehicles are built to precise specs, and capturing racing footage from the driver’s point of view isn’t as simple as slapping a GoPro on and calling it a day. That’s the challenge Apple faced after Joseph Kosinski and Claudio Miranda, the director and cinematographer of the upcoming F1 Apple Original, wanted to use real POV racing footage in the film.

If you’ve watched a Formula One race lately, you’ve probably seen clips that show an angle from just behind the cockpit, with the top or side of the driver’s helmet in the frame. Captured by onboard cameras embedded in the car, the resulting footage is designed for broadcast, using specific color spaces and codecs. Converting it to match the look of the rest of the F1 film would be too challenging to be feasible. Instead, Apple’s engineering team replaced the broadcast module with a camera composed of iPhone parts.

30 Questions You Should Ask Before You Invest in a Franchise | Entrepreneur

June 13, 2025June 12, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

There are more than 3,800 franchise systems and they are not all created equal.

I’m not talking about the fact that there are different concepts, services, or products they offer. I’m speaking about the quality of the system and the support that they offer their franchisees. This is the most important reason to invest in a franchise in the first place. Franchise candidates buy into a system to take advantage of a proven model of success and unmatched support, so they don’t have to take on all of the risks of building their own business.

However, just because a brand may have name recognition, a friendly corporate team and a product you’re sure will be a hit, doesn’t mean that it’s the right franchise for you to buy. Beyond the considerations of how well your life goals and skills match up with a given franchise, candidates need to make sure that the franchisor meets a high standard in several key areas. Choose correctly, and your road to profitability becomes much clearer. Choose poorly, and you might have been better off launching a startup business.

What a True Growth Mindset Really Means for Leaders and Teams | Getentrepreneurial.com

June 12, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In her January 13, 2016 article in HBR, Carol Dweck clarifies that a growth mindset isn’t just about praising effort or claiming optimism—it’s a dynamic way of viewing challenges, effort, and feedback as powerful agents for development.

Key Insights from Dweck

Mindset is fluid—not fixed. Most people hold a mixture of growth and fixed mindsets that shift depending on context. No one is 100% growth-oriented at all times. Awareness of this mix is the first step toward personal development. Effort alone isn’t enough. Efforts must be targeted and informed.

Mastering Client Negotiations: 5 Practical Steps for Confident Conversations | Getentrepreneurial.com

June 12, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In her Entrepreneur article, Julie Thomas reveals a five-step framework that helps founders, freelancers, and small business owners negotiate assertively—not combatively—with difficult clients. Her approach transforms high-stakes talks into constructive, value-driven conversations.

Impact:

1. Timing is everything: Hold off on negotiation until your prospect truly understands the value you bring. Premature haggling can signal uncertainty, eroding trust and weakening your position.

Amazon’s Agentic AI: Empowering Robots to Understand and Act on Human Commands | Cool Business Ideas

June 11, 2025June 10, 2025 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Amazon is pioneering a future where warehouse robots like Proteus can comprehend and execute spoken instructions. The company’s new Agentic AI team is developing an AI foundation model framework designed to revolutionize robotic operations, enabling machines to understand natural language, reason, and act autonomously.

Impact:

This innovation signifies a transformative shift in human-robot interaction within Amazon’s operations. By allowing robots to process and act upon verbal commands, the technology aims to enhance efficiency and safety in warehouses. Additionally, Amazon introduced “Wellspring,” a generative AI initiative to improve last-mile delivery precision and driver experience, and unveiled the latest AI foundation model for its Supply Chain Optimization Technology (SCOT), which processes over 400 million items across 270 time spans. These advancements collectively promise to streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve customer satisfaction.