Author: Ben

Upcoming retirees willing to relocate may want to consider setting up their post-career base in Florida, according to a recent study that determined the best cities to live in on a fixed retirement income. The methodology used by Wallethub, a personal finance website, employed 45 metrics, and their ultimate list put 5 Florida cities in the top 10. Californian cities were not able to break the top 35. Best States to Live Mylo Kaye/Unsplash Wallethub also conducted a broader study in January which looked at the best states to live, using similar metrics. Florida came out top here, just ahead…

New reports have revealed the specs for Apple’s upcoming iPhone 6, and while some will be excited about the new AI features it can access, others have sounded the alarm. The past week or so has seen a number of leaks that mean, ahead of next week’s Glow event, we can already assess some of the features and specs Apple customers can look forward to or be wary of. Apple Glow Event Shekai/Unsplash The iPhone 16 is set to be officially revealed at Apple’s upcoming ‘It’s Glowtime’ event at their headquarters in Cupertino, California. The event, scheduled for Monday, September…

In dramatic scenes broadcast live on X, SpaceX’s star rocket Falcon 9 burst into flames as it attempted to touch down on a ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) took action, grounding the rocket after the reusable booster failed to complete its Starlink-launching mission sans mishap, and the decision may have knock-on effects for other planned SpaceX launches. 2 Failures in 2 Months Sven Piper/Unsplash The FAA’s decision to ground the rocket is not without precedent, as Falcon 9 was previously grounded in July. Then, it failed mid-launch, causing 23 satellites to be lost. The FAA’s…

A safety bill, meant to prevent disaster in the face of extreme threats from AI, has passed the California legislature, and now awaits final approval from governor Gavin Newsom. The bill has received public support from major players in the tech industry, including Elon Musk, but is not without its detractors. Time to Decide Government of California/Wikimedia The bill was put forward by senator Scott Wiener, and narrowly passed with legislators on Assembly Wednesday. Following its approval in the Senate, it will await its ultimate go-ahead from Newsom, who has until September to come to a final decision. Safety First…

During the Covid-19 pandemic, general inflation rose globally, and price rises in essentials such as groceries hit family budgets hard. Now, internal emails from a supermarket executive reveal that chains intended to “pass through [their] inflation to consumers,” opportunistically raising prices beyond general inflation, and this challenges the idea that higher prices were necessary. Supply Chain Issues Emmy Smith/Unsplash Supply chain issues were a hot-button topic during the global pandemic, often cited as the reason for the rise in prices of everyday goods that consumers saw. A March Federal Trade Commission (FTC) report showed that supply chain issues had impacts…

Following a Supreme Court ruling affecting the criminalization of outdoor camping, California’s Governor issued a July executive order to push local governments to deal with their homeless issue. Now, as the San Francisco mayoral election hots up and homelessness remains on the political agenda, the candidates float policy ideas and Newsom has signed 2 new laws. California Homelessness Issue Justin Sullivan/Getty California continue to struggle to deal with homelessness; the state currently contains more than a 3rd of the country’s homeless population. And the problem has worsened, with the 2023 population of 180,000 a 6% rise on the previous year.…

The past few months have seen huge numbers of layoffs, particularly in the tech industry, who have laid off over 150,000 workers already this year. Now, recently laid off workers looking to rejoin the industry are facing a new hurdle, as they may now face the stigma of being “damaged goods” among hiring managers and recruitment consultants. Reasons For Layoffs MAtt Artz/Unsplash Publicly, one of the most commonly cited reasons for companies making layoffs is as a cost-cutting measure to improve profitability. However, Chief Career Advisor at Resume Builder, Stacie Haller, in a recent article, said that this is “cover…

Those with allergies may want to check their fridge freezer for red meat, as one Costco steak brand has been found to contain a number of allergens. The recall affects a batch delivered to Costco store locations in the south-east, and can be identified by their sell-by date. Allergen Rules Peter F/Unsplash The recalls are necessary due to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules concerning the labelling of food allergens. According to the FDA, packages must “identify the food source of all major food allergens used to make the food.” The Contaminants Andrew Dawes/Unsplash The allergens identified as having potentially…

If you have been starting to wonder if AI language model ChatGPT’s answers have been becoming progressively worse, you are not alone. Several researchers, who have been following the capabilities of AI products that rely on large amounts of data scraped from the internet, are sounding the alarm over an issue that has been dubbed ‘model collapse’. Data Gravity Firmbee/Unsplash A technique called machine learning is used to process and analyze the data used to train large language models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. One of the major downsides to this technology is that it requires large amounts…

An area of California has been hit with record-breaking cold temperatures for this time of year. Warnings have been issued over the threat of hard freezes. This follows record-breaking heatwaves earlier in the year, and underscores the unpredictability of modern Californian weather. Follows Heat Records Jamie Street/Unsplash The freeze is all the more notable for having followed record-breaking heatwaves further south in the state. The hottest July since records began is still fresh in the mind of Californians who experienced temperatures that were 7 degrees above the average for that time of year. Killer Heatwave Kevin Bosc/Unsplash The earlier heatwave…