When I hear “machine learning,” my brain immediately goes to “artificial intelligence,” which movies like 2001 and The Terminator have led me to believe will…
Read MoreOPLIN 4Cast #584: No psychics, but we’ll get to ‘Minority Report’ with computers
OPLIN 4Cast #583: Still the same old VR, but now with more uses
Posted in 4cast, and Virtual reality
Last month, I presented a webinar concerning some developments in emerging technology. One of the topics I didn’t really cover was virtual reality (although I…
Read MoreOPLIN 4Cast #583: Still the same old VR, but now with more uses
Lately, I’ve started using those one-touch responses my phone suggests for replies in text messages. Some of my friends do too, and when we notice…
Read MoreOPLIN 4Cast #582: Ominous shadows: signs of the Infocalypse
In libraries, we’ve been aware of the term “digital divide” for quite some time. Traditionally, it has meant the difference between technology “haves” and “have-nots.…
Read MoreOPLIN 4Cast #581: The digital divide moves to the forefront
Like many households (but not Laura’s), mine got a surveillance device smart speaker over the holidays. I like using it to play my audiobooks, which…
Read MoreOPLIN 4Cast #580: Big companies now fighting over the ebook market
If you work in a public library, especially after school lets out, you might have noticed a trend with kids: playing video games is still…
Read MoreOPLIN 4Cast #579: The rise of Twitch brings more competitors…and questions
Last week, Laura and I were discussing how the reach of OPLIN’s sponsored Facebook posts was declining, and whether we should raise the amount we…
Read MoreOPLIN 4Cast #578: Facebook Overhauls News Feed. Again.
OPLIN 4Cast #577: They’re all over the news: are they in your home?
Posted in 4cast, and Smart assistants
My son has been after me to buy an Alexa or a Google Home, after he saw one in action at a friend’s house. “They’re…
Read MoreOPLIN 4Cast #577: They’re all over the news: are they in your home?
The news went public last week of the discovery of two major vulnerabilities with widespread impact, affecting personal computers, mobile devices, and cloud services. “Meltdown”…
Read MoreOPLIN 4Cast #576: Meltdown and Spectre Security Attacks
It should come as no surprise that as cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, have risen in value, more hackers are finding ways to acquire it. The…
Read MoreOPLIN 4Cast #575: The latest malware threat to worry about