January 22, 2024 Addis Ababa


Techኢት ማለዳTech☕️

Title: Microsoft Launches Free AI-Powered Reading Tutor to Enhance Learning


In a significant move towards educational accessibility, Microsoft has announced that its AI-powered reading tutor, Reading Coach, is now available for free to users with a Microsoft account. The tool, designed to offer personalized reading practice, can be accessed on the web in preview, with a Windows app set to launch soon. Microsoft plans to integrate Reading Coach with popular learning management systems, such as Canva, in late spring.

Highlighting the importance of reading for academic success, Microsoft stated in a blog post, "With the latest AI technology, we have an opportunity to provide learners with personalized, engaging, and transformative reading experiences."

Reading Coach builds upon the success of Reading Progress, a plug-in for Microsoft Teams for Education, aimed at helping teachers enhance reading fluency in students. Launched in 2022, Reading Coach incorporates AI technology and tools from Immersive Reader, Microsoft's cross-platform assistive service for language and reading comprehension.

The tool encourages learners to identify challenging words and offers personalized practice with tools like text-to-speech, syllable breaking, and picture dictionaries, based on educators' preferences. Teachers can track students' progress, including words practiced, attempts made, and tools used, providing valuable insights into individual learning needs.

Recently, Reading Coach introduced a new feature called "choose your own story," powered by Microsoft's Azure OpenAI Service. This feature allows learners to create their own narrative adventures by selecting characters, settings, and reading levels. Microsoft ensures that the content is moderated for quality, safety, and age appropriateness. Learners who prefer not to create their own stories can choose from curated passages in ReadWorks, a reading comprehension resource library.

Despite Microsoft's optimistic perspective on AI for teaching reading comprehension, some educators remain cautious. Experts note that there is no foolproof tool for measuring comprehension, and challenges such as students accidentally affecting evaluations or disengaging from tasks may still arise.

However, Microsoft remains confident that Reading Coach, when used responsibly, can motivate learners and contribute to personalized learning at scale. In a recent EdWeek Research Center survey, 44% of educators expressed confidence in adaptive tech, believing it does a better job of accurately assessing students' reading levels compared to non-adaptive software or traditional methods like pen-and-paper. https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/18/microsoft-makes-its-ai-powered-reading-tutor-free/

ይህ አለም የደረሰችበት የመጨረሻ ቴክኖሎጂ አይደለም ከሚመጡት ጥቂት አመታት ሲነፃፀር የቴክኖሎጂ ሀ ሁ በሉት ቢያንስ አንድ ኢትዮጲያዊ 10 ሺህ ብር ለ15 በመሆን አዋጥቶ ይህ 150ሺህ የኢትዮጲያ ብር የሚጠጋ ዋጋ የተተመነለትን ስልክ ገዝቶ በተራ በወር ሁለቴ መያዝ አለበት ባይ ነኝ አዎ ሳምሰንግ Ultra S24 የስልክ ውድድሩን በመጨረሻም ቀየረው ስልክ መደወያ አይደለም!

ከትውልድ ሃገሩ እና የውልደት አመቱ ውጪ የት ይማር ከየት ይምጣ ለሚዲያ በይፋ የሚታወቅ ነገር የለም የሳምሰንግ Note7 የሞባይል ቀፎ እየጋለ መቃጠል በውሃላ ለወንበሩ የተመረጠው ይህ ደቡብ ኮሪያዊ ቲኤም ሮህ ነበር። ሰውየው ከፈገግታው ጀርባ ተአምረኛ እና ትልቁን የአለማችን ቁጥር አንዱን የኤሌክትሮኒክስ አምራች ድርጅት የሞባይል ምርት ከደረጃ ጉዞ አውጥቶ እንዲበር ያደረገ ነው።

የጎግሉ ሰንድራ ይለይብኛል ስለሱ ከዚህ በፊት ብዙ ብያለሁ ሰውየው ጄሚናይ (Gemini)  የተሰኘች AI ከዚህ በላይ ወዴት ሊደርስ ይችላል ያስባለች በሶስት የተለያየ አቅም ነበር ለተጠቃሚዎች በድህረገፅ (website) ያቀረቧት። ጄሚናይ የቲክቶክ ቪዲዮ ከማብራራት እስከሰርቶ በተጠቃሚው ፍላጎት እና ፈቃድ እስከመልቀቅ ተዉ እናንተ አትንኩ ብቻ ንገሩኝ አሳዩኝ የምትል የAI ንግስት ነች።

ለመግቢያ ያህል በዚህ ካንደረደርኳችሁ አሁን ሩጫችንን እንጀምር ስልኩ Galaxy S24 ይሰኛል ዋጋው የማይቀመስ ቢሆንም ካሁኑ ብዙዎች Order አርገው በጉጉት እየተጠባበቁ ነው። ይህ ስልክ ውጪያዊ ቅርፁን ትተነው ከጎግል ጋር በመስማማት ሳምሰንግ የአለማችን በመጪው ቀናት ጄሚናይን ይዞ የሚመጣ ብቸኛው ድርጅት መሆን ችሏል።

ችሎታ አንድ - ቋንቋ አላቅም ቀረ
ስልክ ተደውሎላችሁ እናንተ በማትሰሙት ቋንቋ የሚያወራ ሰውዬ ገጠማችሁ ሳምሰንግ ጋላክሲ S24 ተይዞ መዝጋት አይቻልም ዋ! አስቀድማቹ እችላለው ብላችሁ ከሞላቹት ቋንቋ ውጪ የሚያወራ ሰው ከደወለ አየር ላይ ድምፁን ሰምቶ መተርጎም ይጀምራል የናንተንም ሰውየው በሚያወራው ቋንቋ ይተረጉምለታል።

ችሎታ ሁለት - በዛብኝ ቀረ
ብዙ ጊዜ ረዣዥም የድምፅ ቅጂ (voice record) የሚልኩላቹ ሰው ይኖራል ማውራት እየፈለጋቹ ሙሉውን ማዳመጥ ትሰለቹ ይሆናል ኧረ ጫጫታ ውስጥ ሆናቹም "ይቅርታ ጫጫታ ውስጥ ነኝ ቤት ስገባ ሰማዋለው" ብላቹ ለመላክ ቴክስት መፃፍ በሳምሰንግ ጋላክሲ S24 የማይታሰብ ነው። ሲሆን የተላከላቹ ረዥም ድምፅ ሳይሆን ራሳቹ ከሌላ ቦታ የቀዳቹትን ድምፅ ጄሚናይ በሰከንዶች ውስጥ ሰምታ አሳጥራ ዋና ዋና ነጥቦቹን ይኸው ትላለች።

ችሎታ ሶስት - ፎቶ ቅንብር
ከጄሚናይ ጋር በሳምሰንግ ጋላክሲ S24 ፎቶ ማቀናበር የፈለገ ሰው የሚጠበቅበት ነገር ቢኖር በድምፅ አሊያም በፅሁፍ ፎቶውን ካስገባ በውሃላ በምን አይነት መልኩ እንዲቀናበርለት እንደፈለገ መግለፅ ብቻ ነው። በሰከንድ ውስጥ ጄሚናይ ይኸው ትለዋለች።

ችሎታ አራት - ጄሚናይ Auto
"እየነዳው ነው ሳቆም ፅፍልሃለው" ማለት ቀረ። ጄሚናይ እየነዳቹ ከሆነ ራሷ ቴክስቶቻቹን በማንበብ ለናንተ ዋናዋና ነጥቡን እየነገረች ቀልድም ከሆነ የሳቅ ኢሞጂዎችን እየላከች ቀልድም እየቀለደች የሚጠበቁ እና ኖርማል የሆኑ ወሬዎችን ከጓደኛቹ ጋር እናንተን እያማከረች መፃፃፍ ትችላለች። በነገራችን ላይ የራሳቹን ፎቶ ኢሞጂ ሰርታቹ በቻት መሃል መላክ ትችላላችሁ።

ችሎታ አምስት - ፍለጋ
በጣም ከምቸገርባቸው ነገሮች አንዱ ፌስቡክ ለምሳሌ ስጠቀም ያልገባኝ ቃል ወይንም የሆነ ፎቶ ኮመንት ላደርግ ፈልጌ እሱን ለመጫን ከፌስቡክ ወጥቼ ወደጎግል መሄድ ነበር። ጄሚናይ ሳምሰንግ ጋላክሲ s24 ላይ እኔ አለሁላቹ ትላለች Circle search engine በሚባል ቴክኖሎጂ ከፌስቡክ ከየትኛውም መተግበሪያ (Application) ሳንወጣ እዛው ምንፈልገውን search አድርገን ፎቶም ቪዲዮም ፅሁፍም መረጃዎችን ማግኘት እና እዛው ማጋራት እንችላለን።

እነዚህን ልጥቀሳቸው እንጂ ጄሚናይ የአደጋ ጊዜ ለቤተሰብ መደወል ፣ ስልኮች ሲደወሉ መልእክት ተቀብሎ እንደሌለ መናገር ፣ ከፎቶ ላይ ፅሁፍ መቅዳት ፣ ሙዚቃዎችን መተርጎም ፣ ቪዲዮዎችን ማብራራት ብዙ ነገሮችን ትሰራለች። በነገራቹ ላይ ጄሚናይን በዌብሳይት መጠቀም ይቻላል
ምንጭ(facebook - ሄኖክ አረጋ)

January 22, 2024 Addis Ababa

X says a bug caused numerous posts to be labeled as ‘Sensitive Media’ 🪲

Over the weekend, a bug on X (formerly Twitter) mislabeled numerous posts as "Sensitive Media," affecting the platform's efforts to appeal to advertisers.

The issue has been fixed, and X is working to remove the labels. X users reported even harmless content being marked as sensitive, possibly due to a spam bot, conflicting with X Safety's initial announcement of a bug.

Elon Musk mentioned a spam bot's role, while X Safety referred to it as a bug. This incident follows X's challenges in devising a new monetization strategy post-Musk's acquisition, coupled with workforce reductions impacting its trust and safety team.

X has faced increasing spam issues, including bots willing to pay for Premium access, highlighting persistent challenges with spam control on the platform.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/22/x-says-a-bug-caused-numerous-posts-to-be-labeled-as-sensitive-media/

January 23, 2024 Addis Ababa


Techኢት ማለዳTech☕️
Google Podcasts is going away after March — but there are alternatives

Google is sunsetting its podcast app in favor of YouTube Music as of April 2nd. You can move to YouTube Music or to another app — we’ve got some suggestions.
And another one bites the dust — this time, it’s Google Podcasts, which is being discontinued in favor of YouTube Music.
Back in 2018, Google moved its Play Music service over to YouTube, and while some people felt it was an improvement, others weren’t so thrilled. I have to say that I count myself among the latter; I usually listen to rather than watch my music, and I didn’t find the YouTube Music interface any kind of improvement.
Now, as it tends to do, Google has decided to drop yet another of its apps and instead add those features to another service. It sent out an email to users announcing the move last September and has now sent another, offering tools that allow you to either migrate your subnoscription to YouTube Music or export it to a file that can be uploaded to other apps. You won’t be able to use the Google Podcasts app after April 2nd, 2024, and you will no longer be able to migrate or export your subnoscriptions after June.
Source :https://www.theverge.com/23891397/google-podcasts-youtube-spotify-alternatives-pocket-casts

January 23, 2024 Addis Ababa

Techኢት NightByte 🌙

Google Chrome gains AI features including a writing helper, theme creator, and tab organizer

Google Chrome is adding AI features like a writing helper, tab organizer, and theme creator. The writing helper assists in drafting content, the tab organizer automatically groups open tabs, and the theme creator generates custom themes.

These features will be available in the next Chrome release for Mac and Windows. The writing assistant will arrive next month, while the tab organizer and theme creator are rolling out over the next few days. Access them through Chrome settings under "Experimental AI."

These features are not available for enterprise and educational customers at this time.

source: https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/23/google-chrome-gains-ai-features-including-a-writing-helper-theme-creator-and-tab-organizer/

January 24, 2024 Addis Ababa

Techኢት ማለዳTech ☕️

WhatsApp Working on Nearby File Sharing Feature for Android, New Beta Update Brings Camera Bug Fix: Report


WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature for Android that enables nearby file sharing, akin to Apple's AirDrop. The feature, currently in beta version 2.24.2.20, is being tested through the Google Play Beta Program.

Users will have the option to share files with nearby contacts, and a setting allows them to control their visibility without revealing phone numbers. The feature is expected to be widely available in a future app update and will be end-to-end encrypted for privacy.

Additionally, the beta update addresses a camera bug (version 2.24.2.13) that prevented some users from launching the camera in the app. The fix in version 2.24.2.20 now allows users to access the camera within WhatsApp for sharing photos and videos.

The nearby file sharing feature is not yet available for beta testers, but a preview by WABetaInfo reveals its development progress.

Source:https://www.gadgets360.com/apps/news/whatsapp-nearby-file-sharing-feature-camera-bug-fix-beta-android-update-report-4911836

Jan 24, 2024 Addis Ababa
Techኢት NightByte🌙

Google announces new AI-powered features for education

Google announced a bunch of new features for classroom management, accessibility, and AI-powered features for creating questions and lesson plans as part of the Bett ed-tech event in the UK.
Google already allows teachers to add questions to a YouTube video as part of its Classroom assignment. The company said that soon, AI will help with suggestions for questions at different timestamps. The company first announced this feature in June 2023. However, at that time, teachers had to apply to get this feature.
The company added that the Practice sets feature, which uses AI to create answers and general hints, is now available in over 50 languages. Plus, educators can turn a Google Form into a practice set.

@techinEthio

Source:-
https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/24/google-announces-new-ai-powered-features-for-education/

January 25, 2024 Addis Ababa

Techኢት ማለዳTech ☕️
Microsoft Teams now supports 3D and VR meetings

 Microsoft is launching its immersive 3D meetings inside Microsoft Teams today. Microsoft Mesh, the company’s mixed reality platform, is coming out of preview and being integrated into Teams to let people gather in virtual spaces with or without a VR headset.
I got to try out Mesh inside Microsoft Teams late last year, and it feels a lot like a corporate version of AltspaceVR, the social VR platform Microsoft acquired in 2017 and shut down a year ago. The 3D Mesh meetings in Teams work best with a VR headset, with Microsoft only supporting Meta’s Quest devices currently.

Jan 25, 2024 Addis Ababa
Techኢት NightByte🌙

Microsoft lays off 1,900 employees in Activision Blizzard and Xbox divisions

Three months after completing its $68.7 billion acquisition of gaming company Activision Blizzard, Microsoft is laying off 1,900 employees in its gaming divisions. This amounts to about 8.6% of 22,000 Microsoft employees in gaming.
In just a few weeks, this year has already proven brutal for the gaming industry. So far, League of Legends maker Riot Games laid off 530 employees; game engine Unity laid off 1,800 people (25% of the company); Discord cut 170 jobs (17%); and Amazon-owned Twitch laid off 500 people (35%), after it already laid off hundreds of employees in two layoff rounds last year.

About 5,600 gaming employees have been laid off so far in 2024. Thats more than half of all gaming layoffs from 2023.

@techinEthio

Source:-
https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/25/microsoft-lays-off-1900-employees-in-activision-blizzard-and-xbox-divisions/

January 26, 2024 Addis Ababa

Techኢት ማለዳTech ☕️

The race for the best conversational AI is on as Apple’s AI chatbot takes on OpenAI’s ChatGPT

Apple is quietly stepping up its artificial intelligence (AI) efforts to transform the capabilities of its next-generation iPhones. This is a calculated step toward the future. The IT giant is prepared to take on the front edge of AI innovation thanks to a string of acquisitions, significant hires, and hardware upgrades. Notably, this change not only departs from Apple’s customary closed-door approach but also paves the way for a possible conflict with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Source:https://www.analyticsinsight.net/top-tech-news-apples-ai-chatbot-rivals-openais-chatgpt/

January 26, 2024 Addis Ababa
Techኢት NightByte🌙

Mercedes-Benz Exposes Source Code in GitHub Security Oversight  ⌛️

Mercedes-Benz accidentally exposed internal data, including source code, due to a mistakenly published API token on a public GitHub repository. The token granted "unrestricted access" to the company's GitHub Enterprise Server, exposing critical information like connection strings, cloud access keys, and design documents.

The security issue was discovered by RedHunt Labs, and Mercedes revoked the API token after being alerted by TechCrunch. It's unclear if customer data was compromised. Mercedes is investigating the incident, emphasizing the security of its organization and services.

Hyundai's India subsidiary also faced a recent security flaw regarding customer information.

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/26/mercedez-benz-token-exposed-source-code-github/

January 27, 2024 Addis Ababa

Techኢት ማለዳTech ☕️

Apple opens App Store to game streaming services
Starting today Apple is opening up its App Store to allow game streaming apps and services. This means that services like Xbox Cloud Streaming and GeForce Now, which previously were only accessible on iOS via a web browser, will be able to offer full-featured apps. “Developers can now submit a single app with the capability to stream all of the games offered in their catalog,” Apple wrote in a blog post. These changes apply “worldwide,” according to the company.

In 2020, Apple appeared to have carved out a space for these cloud gaming services in the App Store. But that turned out not to be the case, as all games available through each service had to be submitted and reviewed as a standalone app. So the shift to allow one app with a large catalog of games marks a major change. As part of today’s announcement, Apple said that “each experience made available in an app on the App Store will be required to adhere to all App Store Review Guidelines and its host app will need to maintain an age rating of the highest age-rated content included in the app.”

Apple also says that developers will now “be able to provide enhanced discovery opportunities for streaming games, mini-apps, mini-games, chatbots, and plug-ins that are found within their apps,” and that “mini-apps, mini-games, chatbots, and plug-ins will be able to incorporate Apple’s In-App Purchase system to offer their users paid digital content or services for the first time, such as a subnoscription for an individual chatbot.”

Source:https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/25/24050430/apple-app-store-game-streaming

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Jan 27, 2024 Addis Ababa
Techኢት NightByte🌙

Tesla to spend $500M to bring its Dojo supercomputer project to Buffalo factory

Tesla’s decision was “informed by New York’s reliable power supply, strong talent pipeline and availability of usable space for the project,” according to Hochul’s office.

Dojo, which was first announced at Tesla’s “AI Day” event in 2021, is a supercomputer meant to help advance the company’s still-unrealized goal of building a self-driving car. Tesla plans to use the supercomputer to process reams of video data that come off of its electric vehicles in order to train the AI that now powers its most advanced driver assistance software, which it calls Full Self-Driving Beta. Musk said last year that Tesla plans to spend “well over $1 billion” on Dojo.

@techinEthio

Source:-
https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/26/tesla-dojo-supercomputer-buffalo-factory-500-million/

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January 28, 2024 Addis Ababa

Techኢት ማለዳTech ☕️       
 
Opera to launch AI-powered web browser for iPhones in Europe

Apple recently announced its decision to allow iPhone users to sideload third-party app stores and choose their preferred default web browser, in compliance with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). Following this revelation, Opera has announced the upcoming launch of an AI-powered web browser named Opera One for iPhones.
As per the company’s statement, Opera One will be an AI-centric web browser, fully leveraging Apple’s latest regulation allowing users to switch from Safari to a web browser of their choice as the default. It’s worth noting that the Opera One web browser is already accessible on Windows, and Opera might deliver a similar experience on iPhones in the coming days.