All posts tagged: shook

AT&T Shook Up Its Unlimited Phone Plans. Here’s What You’re Paying For

AT&T Shook Up Its Unlimited Phone Plans. Here’s What You’re Paying For

Published by skeptic

In just the past few months, AT&T has overhauled its unlimited phone plans with 2.0 versions, added a new top-tier option and introduced a modular option for new customers who want only the basics. The 150-year-old company also hiked the prices of some now-retired plans in what appears to be a move to encourage customers to jump to the latest options, and changed the prices of some plans even since their introduction. If you’re an AT&T customer suddenly bombarded by notifications about upgrading, or you’re looking to switch from another carrier, here’s a breakdown of the new offerings. These plans replace the AT&T Value Plus VL, Unlimited Extra EL and Unlimited Premium PL plans. The carrier also removed its Unlimited Starter SL plan, which served as the entry-level plan (you had to know where to look to find the limited, but cheaper, Value Plus VL plan). Keep in mind that AT&T plans let each person on an account have their own plan. So you might set up a package where one person has the Premium 2.0 plan for unthrottled 5G speeds and …

A moment that changed me: I saw my first total solar eclipse – and its beauty shook me to my core | Astronomy

A moment that changed me: I saw my first total solar eclipse – and its beauty shook me to my core | Astronomy

Published by Sam Flores

I have never driven with more determination than when rushing away from Shelby Park in Nashville. We had reached Davidson Street when my husband shouted: “There! There’s sunlight!” I skidded into a car park of a printing company with barely any time to spare. We jumped out of the car, put on our dark glasses, and looked at the quickly disappearing sun. It was surrounded by clouds, but a tiny sliver of light was still shining. This was 1.27pm on 21 August 2017. We had travelled all the way from London to Tennessee to experience the Great American Eclipse – an astronomical phenomenon I had never seen before. As an Italian-born astronomer, I had always felt at a bit of a disadvantage. I have a doctorate in astrophysics, focused on collisions between galaxies. I have seen many celestial phenomena – comets, planetary alignments, fireballs, galaxies, northern lights – but not a total solar eclipse. Moving to the UK in 2007, I heard so many stories about the 1999 total solar eclipse. I hadn’t witnessed it …

How AI shook the world’s largest meeting of physicists

How AI shook the world’s largest meeting of physicists

Published by skeptic

The American Physical Society Global Physics Summit is the world’s largest meeting of physicists American Physical Society I am sitting in a lecture theatre, and in front of me is a sight that I am still getting used to. I am at the American Physical Society Global Physics Summit, the world’s largest annual meeting of physicists, with 14,000 researchers attending in Denver, Colorado, this year. We have all come to listen to world-leading scientists talk about their work – and yet, many people are turning to artificial intelligence to help explain what we are actually hearing. As the talks go on, I keep catching glimpses of laptop screens displaying AI chatbots, which are being asked to put concepts into easier-to-understand terms. “What are the benefits of transmon qubits?” “Explain spintronics to me.” “What is a two-level system?” The AIs are promptly providing the information, using emojis as bullet points. While AI chatbots have demonstrated their usefulness in lecture halls, whether they can help with doing actual physics research is one of the hottest topics at …

How an intern helped build the AI that shook the world

How an intern helped build the AI that shook the world

Published by skeptic

AlphaGo’s victory braodcast on TV Im Hun-jung/Yonhap/AP Photo via Getty Images In March 2016, Google DeepMind’s artificial intelligence system AlphaGo shocked the world. In a stunning five-match series of Go, the ancient Chinese board game, the AI beat the world’s best player, Lee Sedol – a moment that was televised in front of millions and hailed by many as a historic moment in the development of artificial intelligence. Chris Maddison, now a professor of artificial intelligence at the University of Toronto, was then a master’s student and helped get the project off the ground. It all began when Ilya Sutskever, who later went on to found OpenAI, got in touch… Alex Wilkins: How did the idea for AlphaGo first come about? Chris Maddison: Ilya [Sutskever] gave me the following argument for why we should be working on Go. He said, Chris, do you think when an expert player looks at the Go board, they can pick the best move in half a second? If you think they can, then that means that you can learn …

Sony just shook up the Bose rivalry with these earbuds, and I wasn’t prepared for it

Sony just shook up the Bose rivalry with these earbuds, and I wasn’t prepared for it

Published by skeptic

Jada Jones/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways The Sony LinkBuds Clip come with ear fitting cushions. These cushions dramatically change how the earbuds fit and perform. If your ear anatomy is compatible with clip-on earbuds, you won’t need them. Sony’s LinkBuds Clip include removable ear-fitting cushions, addressing common fit and stability issues with clip-on open-ear earbuds. Sony’s inclusion of fitting cushions is ideal for people like me who shy away from clip-on earbuds due to poor fit, which often diminishes the listening experience and causes discomfort.  Fortunately, these cushions are included with your purchase, similar to the eartip replacements for in-canal earbuds.  Also: Sony LinkBuds Clip vs. Bose Ultra Open I haven’t seen third-party products that address the same issue as Sony’s fitting cushions, and people with ear anatomy that’s well-suited to clip-on earbuds won’t need them. However, if clip-on earbuds feel heavy, pinch your ears, or cause pressure after a few minutes of wear, these can enhance your experience across the board. Here’s how. Why the design is brilliant …

Two decades ago, High School Musical shook the planet – and 12-year-old girls were never the same

Two decades ago, High School Musical shook the planet – and 12-year-old girls were never the same

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Society shifted in 2006. Jack Dorsey launched Twitter with ambitions for the platform to be nothing more than a lighthearted microblog. Facebook opened to the public for the first time. YouTube exploded and was bought up by Google for a billion dollars. In many ways, 2006 is considered to be the last “normal year” before culture transferred online. Viral moments were shared by everyone rather than by personalised algorithms, music charts really mattered, and people still watched live TV programmes in their multi-millions; at the time shows were scheduled, without a second screen. Which is how I wound up cross-legged on the floor of my rich friend Jodie’s bedroom, staring up at her TV screen with the eager anticipation of, well, a 10-year-old girl who was about to see Zac Efron sing and dance in a slinky basketball jersey for the …