Dave Phillips Technology Advice

What‘s going on in Amodei’s head? They just published a report showing the HORRIFIC things that AI will do without human monitoring. Then in response . . . They dismantle their human monitoring team. Every time either Amodei says anything it convinces me that destruction IS their plan.

The existential AI threat is here — and some AI leaders are fleeing The AI warnings are coming from inside the labs.

New Year's Password Resolutions: Don’t Reset, Just Relax You’ve probably heard the advice: “Change your passwords every few months to stay safe.” Here’s the truth: that’s outdated guidance, and in the real world, it almost always does more harm than good.When people are forced to change passwords constantly, they usually just add a number to the...

Don't Get "Carded" This Holiday 'Tis the season for gift cards! They're quick, easy, and let people choose the gifts they want. But here are a few tips to keep them safe and working the way they should, whether you are giving or receiving:🎁 Physical cards are safer than digital ones.If you're buying a gift card in a store, grab...

"It's a Trap!": Spotting Fake Online Stores If a deal looks too good… it probably is. You know this rule, but it’s the holidays and we are all in a rush. Scammers take advantage of the fact that everyone is hunting for bargains right now. They create fake websites with huge “60% OFF TODAY ONLY!” banners to lure shoppers in. Real busin...

Sleigh the Scammers This Holiday Season With the holiday shopping season upon us, here’s a quick tip that might surprise you: your smartphone is actually one of the safest ways to shop online.If you’re placing orders this week or next, here’s why it can be your best friend: 📱 Phones have stronger built-in security.iPhones and mod...

Is Your Wi-Fi Playing Hide-and-Seek? Ever notice that your Wi-Fi works great in the living room… but completely disappears in the bedroom or kitchen? You’re not imagining things. Wi-Fi signals are just tiny radio waves, and certain rooms (or their contents) can block them more than others.A few common culprits: • Thick or old wal...

💾 Feeling Sluggish? Try a Little Cache-ercise Ever notice your web browser starting to feel… slower than usual? It might just need a little memory refresh. Every browser (Safari, Chrome, Edge, etc.) keeps a cache: a storage area where it saves bits of websites to load them faster next time.Over time, that cache can fill up with old data. The ...

Who ya gonna call? (When ghosts call your phone!) 👻 Halloween’s here, and so are the ghosts. Not the sheet-covered kind, but the ones haunting our phones: the mysterious ghost calls and butt dials that leave voicemails full of static or silence.Most of the time, these aren’t real spirits, just a phone in a pocket or purse deciding to make social ...

https://www.phillipsmail.net/post/no-your-neighbor-s-netflix-isn-t-the-problem-probably

No, Your Neighbor’s Netflix Isn’t the Problem (Probably) If your Wi-Fi feels slower than it used to, it’s not your imagination, but it’s also not always your internet provider’s fault. A few common culprits: • Too many devices: Every phone, tablet, TV, and smart gadget is sharing the same network pie. The more slices, the smaller each one gets. .....

https://www.phillipsmail.net/post/hands-off-tahoe-26

Hands Off Tahoe 26! This week’s tip is both a follow-up to last week’s and a quick but important warning: if your Mac offers to “upgrade” to the brand-new MacOS Tahoe 26 - don’t do it. Not yet. Just. Don’t.Most of you know I’m an Apple-first user, but not right now. This upgrade is packed with glitches an...

https://www.phillipsmail.net/post/apple-s-big-jump-ios-18-to-ios-26

Apple’s Big Jump: iOS 18 to iOS . . . 26?! Every fall, Apple releases new versions of all its operating systems — iPhone, iPad, Mac, and even Apple Watch. This year, things look extra confusing because Apple has jumped the numbers ahead. For example: iOS is skipping from 18 all the way to 26, and the Mac’s new system isn’t just “Taho...

My 2 cents on the annual OS upgrade deluge: why? Apple's new "Liquid Glass" and reconfiguration of display settings claims to allow you to use more of the screen, since some things are transparent and some pop up when needed. But they simultaneously made everything take up more screen space. So now what we ACTUALLY get is fewer items displayed on the screen, with some overlapping each other, while using more processing power. It's a lot of work on Apple's part just to allow us to see less and get less from our products. 🫨