personalized technology Archives

AppWizard

July 20, 2025

These are the 6 Android widgets I simply can’t live without

Megan Ellis shares her essential Android widgets that enhance productivity and streamline daily tasks. 1. TickTick: A to-do list application with widgets for creating new tasks and displaying overdue/upcoming tasks, helping Megan stay organized and manage stress. 2. Google Calendar: A functional calendar widget that allows Megan to monitor upcoming events and meetings, particularly useful for significant events. She appreciates its dark mode feature. 3. Vocabulary: An app that provides a new word daily through its widget, allowing users to expand their vocabulary without opening the app. 4. Clock/Weather: The default Weather app widget combines time, date, and weather forecasts, streamlining her morning routine. She uses Google automation for evening updates and IFTTT notifications for temperature changes. 5. Brave Search: A search widget that offers quick access to search queries and voice search, enhancing her browsing experience with a cleaner, ad-free environment. 6. Xiaomi Home: An alternative to Google Home, this app provides widgets for quick access to smart home devices, allowing Megan to monitor and adjust settings remotely.

Winsage

April 5, 2025

Microsoft’s AI division head wants to create a lasting relationship between chatbots and their users

Microsoft's CEO of the AI division, Mustafa Suleyman, envisions creating a personalized AI companion that will evolve over time and become integral to daily life. This vision was shared during a celebratory event at Microsoft's headquarters, highlighting the importance of AI in the company's future. The flagship product, Copilot, integrates chatbot functionality with tools like Excel and PowerPoint, aiming to foster meaningful relationships with users. Recent updates to Copilot include new visual memory capabilities, while features like an animated avatar are still in development. Suleyman, who has a background at DeepMind and Inflection AI, focuses on personal AI companions rather than artificial general intelligence. The competition in the AI personal assistant space is increasing, with major companies adjusting their strategies. Despite excitement about AI advancements, there are concerns regarding the costs and limitations of generative AI, as demonstrated by Copilot's occasional inaccuracies. Suleyman emphasizes the need for user-friendly tools to encourage adoption and envisions AI alleviating mundane tasks for knowledge workers. During his keynote, he faced protests regarding Microsoft's contracts with the Israeli military but continued to advocate for the potential of AI companions.