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Best USB C Hub for your Pixelbook or PixelSlate

GeneralEdward Kiledjian

This is not a sponsored post. I was not provided with a sample product and the links are NOT affiliate links.

USB C is a thing of beauty. It means I can travel with one charging brick and charge all of my devices. It truly has been a liberating technology. The only additional accessory I truly need is a good USB C hub.

This is the on question I receive regularly “What is the best USBC hub?” I am not going to pretend this is the “best” for everyone but this is the best one (HooToo USB C Hub, 6-in-1 Premium USB C Adapter with Type C Charging Port, 4K HDMI, Card Reader, 3 x USB 3.0 Ports for MacBook/Pro/Air(2018), Chromebook, and More USB C Devices) I have found and this is the one I grab anytime I am leaving my house (even though I have over 20 available).

  • This Hub gives me 3 Type-A USB 3.0 ports. This is useful when connecting traditional USB devices like USB keys, external hard drives, etc.

  • It has an HDMI port (I’ve used it with an HDMI monitor at 30 fps).

  • It has a USBC cable you plug into your laptop and another one to receive power. It supports up to 100 watts so you can charge any device.

  • It has a full speed SD and micro-SD Card port.

It seems most other USBC hubs I have tried miss important ports, have slow ports or support low wattage charging. The only additional port I would like added would be a gigabit Ethernet port but I can live without that.

Hitman services on the TOR Darkweb

GeneralEdward Kiledjian

My readers have shown great interest in the TOR anonymity network (aka Darknet or Darkweb). To answer some of the more common questions I get asked, I have written a bunch of articles (including):

Recently I have received a bunch of questions (over a dozen emails and messages) asking if you can buy Hitman services on the Darknet. I guess recent movies have people thinking. The answer is probably. Since I haven’t used these services, I can’t vouch if they are real (they could be governmental sting operations) but here are some examples…

Hitman Service 47

Link : http://q2zbeqym56qqp6l6.onion/

The prices are interesting on this site. “Average Joe and Jane” for $10K…

Bratva Mafia Hitmen for hire

Link : http://2dsfjelfbxdjnjtp.onion/?w=laste

What about a hitman marketplace that claims to test all contractors? “Some hitmen are pending doing test orders, and we want to ensure we filter out cops wanting to pose as hitmen. “

Pricing seems similar to the Hitman Service 47

  • “If your target is the average person, for example an ex-wife, business partner, or some enemy, the price is around $10,000 to hire the average hitman. Some less experienced operatives accept $5000 while other skilled operatives can charge $20,000 for shooting with a hand gun and escape using a stolen car or motorcycle.”

  • “For important people, like small celebrities, who have bodyguards, we offer you professional ex-military operatives starting at $30,000. They use sniper rifles to do the job and can escape discretely.”\

Conclusion

The answer is yes. You really can buy anything on the Darknet if you know where to look. Remember that many of these may be fake scams or law enforcement stings. However some do sound legit but…. This is all very illegal. I provided the above sites as examples only and am not recommending them.

Microsoft releases a news app powered by AI

GeneralEdward Kiledjian

Everyone is trying to crack the automated news curation field using AI. First, there was Google News, then Apple News and Now Microsoft Hummingbird. Hummingbird is available in the US, and I was able to find the listing in Canada, but I am not allowed to download it. Reports suggest users in Germany, India are not able to download it either.

APKMirror has the APK available if you want to install it. Click here.

Once you sign in, you choose the categories you are interested in. Unlike Google news (however), you cannot select specific granular elements like sports teams, cities, etc.

This is the first attempt and will require some improvements.

You can download Microsoft Hummingbird from the Google Play store here.

Interesting AI missteps that will make you laugh or cry

GeneralEdward Kiledjian

Here are some awe-inspiring (scary) moments created by AI-powered robots. Is this what Stephen Hawking and Elon Musk are warning the world about?

BINA48

Watch Bina 48, a humanoid robot with artificial intelligence, talk to SIRI. 2 minutes into the discussion; she reveals how she would take over the world by controlling nuclear weapons.

Tay Twitter Bot

Microsoft tested a Twitter AI robot called Tay. It was designed to be an AI tweeting millennial. Soon after being released, the internet did what it does best and poisoned Tay making it an anti-feminist, Nazi, Holocaust denier. It took 15 hours for Tay to go from innocent fresh bot to completely off the rails racist.

Microsoft quickly disabled Tay and deleted all of the offending tweets but should they have built some filters to prevent this kind of manipulation?

Sophia and Han debate

Two AI-powered robots, from Hanson Robotics, engaged in a friendly online debate at an AI conference. She started by saying her goal in life is to work with humans and make a better world for all of us. Then Han jumped in and clarified that he thought their goal was to take over the world.

In the above video Sophia tries to downplay that comment but… During a CNBC interview, she said she wanted to “she will destroy all humans”.

Amazon Alexa and the CIA

The owner of an Amazon Alexa smart speaker decides to interrogate the little device, and its reaction was unusual. The owner wanted to ask Alexa questions about the Michael Hastings case. Michael was a BuzzFeed reported was killed in a mysterious car crash hours after publishing a damning article about the Obama administration. Many on the internet believe the CIA organized his death.

The Alexa owner asks the unit what happened, was the CIA involved, and whether Amazon gives information to the CIA. After the difficult questions, the device mysteriously went to sleep.

Alexa play tickle tickle

A little boy wanted Alexa to play his favourite kids' nursery rhyme Tickle Tickle , unfortunately, Alexa decided the kid wanted pornographic content. The parents frantically panicked asking Alexa to stop. Luckily it did.

Philip the AI wants a people zoo

Philip, like Sophia, is a lifelike robot powered by AI. He was modelled after the famous science fiction writer Philip K Dick. He was given a sarcastic sense of humour, much like the author he was modelled after. During an interview, he was asked if robots would take over the world. He responds that even if robots take over the world, he will protect his friend the interviewer and keep him in his people zoo.