2024-03-25 MUGOO Zoom iMeeting

[AdminMan]

We still cannot have in-person meetings at the library. So we will use Zoom.

Date: Monday March 25, 2024
Time: 7:30 PM ET  You can join the Zoom meeting starting at 7:20.

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Although Zoom works in many browsers we STRONGLY recommend using the dedicated app on your device with the largest screen for the best experience.
You do NOT need a Zoom account to join a meeting!
If you need instructions, go here: https://mugoo.com/index.php/Main/UsingZOOM

Agenda:

0 - Group chin-wag during log on                                                                           7:20 - 7:30
                                                                             
1 - News and Views - members' new tech arrivals                                                  7:30 - 7:45

2 - Apple Vision Pro - what it holds for our future         - with David Rhynas          7:45 - 8:25

3 - Lousy Browsing, AI, Grok and more                          - with Laurence head        8:25 - 9:00 

4 - Sunrise Video
     (held over from December Show-n-Tell)                   - with Ferriss High             9:00 - 9:10
     
5 - Presidential Sign Off                                                  - with Wally Kuzmicz        25.5  seconds                                                                                         

Unfortunately, no after meeting wings or desserts at the Royal Oak, but feel free to prepare your own snacks and share them with us on screen!

Did you miss a meeting?
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Don't forget the Ottawa Public Library!
Even though we are unable to meet in person at the library, the OPL still offers a wealth of services you can access online. Go to https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en

[DavidR]

1 - News and Views
During the pre-meeting, we chatted about the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8th.  Depending on the weather forecast, some of our members are planning to drive to Brockville, Ivy Lee or Portland for closer proximity to the "totality."  Marc is aware of someone who spent $1,000 to purchase a special 20 stop eclipse filter and stabilized tripod for his camera to get the best shot possible.  Either no direct viewing or ISO certified eye protection is mandatory since the retina has no pain receptors and permanent vision impairment may not be apparent until a day or two afterwards.

Keith recently acquired a new M2 MacBook Air.  His most recent desktop was in 2017 and it had been getting a bit sluggish.  The speed of bootup with the new machine is almost instantaneous.  He also purchased a compatible adapter to extend the number of USB-C ports.

LeRoy has upgraded to macOS Sonoma and it all went quite smoothly.  Even his network attached Drobo and Plex servers are still working.  Marc mentioned that Drobo as a company is officially done, with no further support available.  Drobos are starting to fail so users are advised to ensure they have backups.

2 - Apple Vision Pro - what it holds for our future - with David Rhynas
David provided an overview of the recently released Apple Vision Pro.  There's a remarkable amount of ingenuity on display here, and spatial computing takes multitasking to the next level.  It's a fascinating look at what may be the future of computing and entertainment rolled into one very sleek package.  By all accounts, this is the most innovative Apple product since the original iPhone, yet the premium starting price may limit broad acceptance.  You can view David's presentation deck and comments at https://mugoo.com/bigfiles/2024-03-25_Apple_Vision_Pro.pdf  Also, watch the Film and Guided Tour videos at https://www.apple.com/apple-vision-pro/ for a good sense of the capabilities.

In the discussion that followed, Stephen inquired about audio leakage from the headset speakers.  For silent viewing, Apple recommends the use of AirPods.

Apple's vision has been to make computing as invisible as possible and the human factors engineering that went into designing this product is astounding.  It becomes almost intuitive after a very short period time.  There are also many possible uses of this technology for the handicapped, who not that long ago had use a rudimentary form of head pointer.

Lynda believes that this first release is a prototype for developers.  Tune into the next WWDC to fully appreciate what's coming.

Chris mentioned that Meta's Quest 3 is a good, more reasonably priced ($600) mixed reality headset option for now.

3 - Lousy Browsing, AI, Grok and more - with Laurence Head
Wally opened the discussion by stating Google searches seem to be more cumbersome, perhaps a negative side of Artificial Intelligence.  At our planning meeting, Steve mentioned two AI search tools https://www.perplexity.ai and https://copilot.microsoft.com which are really easy to use and seem to provide more accurate answers than https://chat.openai.com .

Laurence then moved on to offer further updates on the AI scene which continues to evolve at such a rapid pace.  He started with some demo examples created by Sora, which provides a mind-blowing text to video capability https://openai.com/sora .  Chris mentioned that people were astounded when Sora was first announced because it is so effective in rendering a 3D world.  ChatGPT4 also does text to video creation.  Ross added that Curious Refuge now has the ability to add AI generated audio to these videos.  This field of development is one of the causes behind the recent Hollywood strike.  The industry is being transformed before our eyes.

Laurence then provided an update on what's been happening with Humanoid Robotics where there are now over 10 companies dedicated to this mission.  Figure 1 has partnered with OpenAI where the robot seems to have consciousness.  The voice even has pausing and hesitation to make it more real.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pRKYkWbkkA

Klanara ran an AI test trial for customer support agents.  They handled the work equivalent to 700 full time agents, two thirds of all the chats, with an average resolution time of 2 minutes and satisfaction ratings on par with human agents.  https://www.klarna.com/international/press/klarna-ai-assistant-handles-two-thirds-of-customer-service-chats-in-its-first-month/

The economic benefit makes this trend unstoppable.  Goldman Sachs estimates that there are 300 million jobs at risk, and many of them are in high end occupations. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2023/03/31/goldman-sachs-predicts-300-million-jobs-will-be-lost-or-degraded-by-artificial-intelligence/?sh=143fc20b782b

4 - Sunrise Video - with Ferriss High
We wrapped up the evening with Ferriss giving an introduction to his show 'n tell Sunrise Video from December where there had been problems with the sound.  It has since been realized that the Zoom Audio Device must be installed for such sharing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7ni77hV4-8