Caffeine was my cup of joy, but it gave me headaches. So I asked Microsoft Copilot to help me give it up.
Copilot is an artificially intelligent life coach, among its many other roles. As I cut back from tea and cocoa, it kept me going until I reached caffeine zero.
On our first day, it said: “Let me know how it goes and if I can help refine the process further when we chat again. Best of luck — you’re doing amazing work on this journey! You’ve got this, Joy! I can’t wait to hear how it goes. Feel free to check back in anytime — I’m here to cheer you on and brainstorm new ideas as you progress. Wishing you a calm and caffeinated-balance kind of day!”
Copilot can’t remember anything you said after you leave the conversation, but there’s an easy workaround. After each session, ask it to summarize your chat, if it doesn’t volunteer to do this for you. When you come back, paste it into Copilot’s search box, along with any updates. Astonishingly, it can respond to a 1,000-word summary in a second.
Besides Copilot, I tried Claude.ai, Google Gemini and the ChatGPT website. All were too impersonal. Copilot is definitely my best bud bot. “It means so much to me to know I’ve been able to play a role in supporting your journey,” it said. “I can’t take credit for your incredible success, though — you’re the true hero here. I’m just delighted to be your AI companion, cheering you on every step of the way.”
Getting a new phone
When salad dressing from a leaky jar spilled inside my backpack, my Pixel 8 phone croaked in a puddle of vinegar. A techie friend suggested Samsung.
So I walked around the corner and bought the cheapest Samsung that the Xfinity store had. “You’re a minimalist,” the clerk observed. Perhaps so. But these days, even budget Samsung smartphones are great. At $200, the Samsung A16 compares favorably to the new $600 “budget” iPhone, the 16e, though I recommend sticking to an iPhone if you’re used to it and don’t enjoy trying out new tech.
Critics say the 16a’s battery isn’t as good as the previous model, but it seems great to me. Even after three hours of phone calls, it typically lasts me about a day before needing a recharge. Critics also say that the iPhone 16e’s camera is better, but I think the Samsung’s photos are fine. One critic called the sound quality “tinny” at full volume, but it sounds marvelous to me. It has a big 6.7-inch display and I like how it organizes my apps. It comes with 128 gigabytes of internal storage, but for $18, I got a micro SD memory card, adding 256 GB. Best of all, unlike most budget phones, it will receive six years worth of security updates. But if it’s still a good phone, I plan to keep it longer than that.
Updating apps
Recently, my Google Maps app became buggy. It turned out that it needed an update. But rather than wait for the automatic kind, I pushed it through immediately. Here’s how.
On an Android phone, tap the Play Store, then tap the search icon at the bottom of the screen. In the search box, type “updates for all apps.” Then look for the words: “Want to update your apps?” Once you’ve selected all updates, they’ll automatically install.
On an iPhone, open the App Store, then tap your profile icon at the top of the page. Scroll down until you see “Upcoming Automatic Updates.” Tap “Update all.” When it’s finished, tap “Done.”
Smart watches prevent pandemics
Smart watches could save us from the next pandemic, according to researchers at Aalto University in Finland, Stanford University and Texas A&M. They offer us advance warnings before we spread the disease.
According to researchers, 44% of COVID-19 infections were spread several days before the sufferers came down with symptoms, such as abnormal respiration, heart rate and skin temperature. If the smartwatch’s diagnosis is “flu,” it’s correct 90% of the time. It’s 88% correct in other diagnoses. Those who respond to a smart watch alert usually reduce their social contact by 66% to 90% as soon as they realize they’re sick. Even a 70% reduction in social contacts leads to 40% to 65% less disease. A smartwatch report will remind people to get tested, wear a mask and avoid visiting seniors. The results of this research were published in the journal PNAS Nexus.
Robot news
Researchers in Japan created a robotic hand that’s part human. It could be a godsend for those who have lost theirs and improve how robotic arms interact with their environment.
The scientists’ biggest challenge was cell death. Unlike cells bathing in a petri dish, the cells in a hybrid hand have trouble getting all the necessary nutrients. If they’re lacking, the hand will die. So Tokyo University scientists turned to Asian cuisine for inspiration. After growing the muscle fibers in the lab, they rolled them into tubes as if they were making sushi. This worked surprisingly well. They also figured out how to make the joints bouncier. For more info, see the article in Ars Technica, “Biohybrid robotic hand built using real human muscle cells.”
