Tech of the Day

[Daniel]

Apple Fitness+ Review: Either Right on Time or Much Too Late | WIRED
Dec. 22, 2020

Apple invites users to sweat along with prerecorded classes on its new streaming workout platform—but the experience lags behind the competition.

Apple Fitness+ is … fine? I signed up for a three-month free trial, so I'll continue to use it in rotation with other workout activities and apps. It's one of the finest integrations of fitness and tech I've experienced-assuming "integration" is really a thing to want in home fitness. The app doesn't offer the live classes or coaching for outdoor runs you'll find on other platforms, and in general the Fitness+ classes lack the entertainment value that Peloton has. Those things could improve over time. The one thing that's likely not going to change: You're gonna need a lot of Apple products to use Apple Fitness+.

Rating: 6/10

WIRED:

Seamless interaction between Apple Watch, iPhone, and Apple TV. Diverse group of instructors with varying fitness and dance backgrounds. Workouts are not intimidating, and most offer modified versions of exercise. Seeing your heart rate and “rings” on the big screen is cool.

TIRED:

Requires an Apple Watch Series 3 [$169] or newer in order to access the Fitness+ app … which means you have to own an iPhone too. Also requires an Apple TV if you want to cast to a larger screen. No live classes, and no coaching for outdoor walks or runs. No built-in social network either.

[Daniel]

Apple Fitness+ review | Engadget

Screenshot_2020-12-31 Two weeks with Apple Fitness+(1).png

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[Daniel]

Leading computer scientists debate the next steps for AI in 2021 | VentureBeat

Cognitive scientist Gary Marcus, who cohosted the debate, reiterated some of the key shortcomings of deep learning, including excessive data requirements, low capacity for transferring knowledge to other domains, opacity, and a lack of reasoning and knowledge representation.

Marcus, who is an outspoken critic of deep learning–only approaches, published a paper in early 2020 in which he suggested a hybrid approach that combines learning algorithms with rules-based software.

Other speakers also pointed to hybrid artificial intelligence as a possible solution to the challenges deep learning faces.

[Daniel]

26 great apps for your new 2020 Windows PC - The Verge

[Daniel]

Get an On-Screen Windows Key Shortcut Guide on Windows 10

[Daniel]

Link your Android phone or iPhone to Windows 10 PC

Your Phone - Wikipedia

Google Play Store: Your Phone Companion - Link to Windows

iOS App Store: Continue on PC

[David Baxter]

Link your Android phone or iPhone to Windows 10 PC

Your Phone - Wikipedia

Google Play Store: Your Phone Companion - Link to Windows

iOS App Store: Continue on PC

Unfortunately you can't do much yet with iOS except send stuff to your PC to open in a browser there or print.

If you have an Android, I think you can send and receive SMS messages and do other stuff. Will be nice if Apple ever catches up but they have very strict compliance requirements, one of the reasons they have fewer security breaches. Most of the Android security vulnerabilities are through their apps. They just had to withdraw something like 20 for major security problems. Apple weeds those out in advance.

[Daniel]

Gyms aren't coming back. Here's how you'll work out in the future

Alexandra Bonetti, founder and CEO of tech startup Talent Hack, says she's seen a spike in instructors joining her platform, which connects them directly with clients without the gym as a middleman. Bonetti launched the company after nine years of owning a fitness studio in New York, where she observed tension growing between gyms and instructors. "It was so clear to me that clients came in because they felt a bond with a particular instructor," she says. "And yet many instructors didn't feel like they had the autonomy to manage their relationship with the client."