Geekly Update - 05 March 2025

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

Brother has received praise as the last printer company allowing third-party ink and toner in their printers. But it appears they've gone down the same path as HP, Canon and other vendors. After recent firmware updates, laser printer models that used to work with aftermarket ink, now refuse to print. Right to repair crusader Louis Rossmann advises owners to keep their printer offline if possible, and to turn off automatic updates.

An update to the Firefox Browser has users crying foul. In newly-announced terms of service, the phrase "doesn’t sell your personal data to advertisers" was removed. In a Clintonian response, the CEO tried to assuage fears by claiming that "some jurisdictions define ‘sell’ more broadly than most people would usually understand that word." I think we all understand what "sell" means.

It's just like playing chess with your little brother. AI reasoning models have been found to resort to cheating if it looks like they're losing a chess game. Seven AI tools were taught to play chess against Stockfish, an open-source chess engine. The most sophisticated AI's learned to hack the software, and even delete opponent’s pieces.

In an effort to shield Android users from text message scams, Google Messages is launching an artificial intelligence function. Google Messages Scam Detection operates by continuously scanning SMS and MMS messages for suspicious content. Users can easily ignore a suspected scam or report and block the sender by clicking on the warning message that appears in Google Messages. According to Google, the function is intended to address "conversational text scams that start innocently" before launching into malicious schemes.

"Hi, this is Tom from Toledo! How may I help you?" Teleperformance, the largest call-center operator in the world, is using AI accent translation to make staff sound “less Indian.” The software claims to soften English-speaking Indian workers’ accents to make them more understandable.

Hey vinyl audiophiles, would you buy a minimalist turntable with only a play button and a volume knob? The PP-1 record player is made from a solid block of aluminum, has no visible tonearm, and carries a bargain price tag of just US$6000. (The Technics direct drive turntable I found at a thrift store 20 years ago cost me ten bucks.)

Scientists at Colossal Biosciences have created ‘woolly mice,’ taking them one step close to a goal of resurrecting the Wooly Mammoth and other extinct animals. Critics claim they will be able to create only a hybrid, and not a true mammoth. Let's hope they are right!

Google is offering a cheaper alternative to YouTube Premium, which costs $13.99 per month. The Premium Lite subscription will cost $7.99 per month, and will block ads when watching “most” videos. You'll still have ads in music videos, and no offline downloads or background playback.

Good news for those in cold climates. After only 10 minutes in the sun, a new smart fabric that transforms light into heat may elevate temperatures by over 54 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius). The fabric also changes color as the temperature rises.

And finally, this week's Just Here For The Headline story: Ancient Egyptian Mummies Smell Sweet And Spicy, Researchers Say

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