DISCOURAGING: The “Trump” phone couldn’t get the US flag right?

Monday, June 8, 2026

https://www.cnet.com/news-live/t1-trump-mobile-phone-review/?zdee=%5BContact.email_zdee%5D

We’re Finally Testing the Trump Mobile Phone. 

  • The golden Trump phone is here, and we’re putting it through its paces to see how it matches up with other foreign-made phones on the market.

Corinne Reichert
May 24, 2026 1:51 p.m. PT

*** begin quote ***

As previously reported, we can confirm that the Trump phone features the wrong number of stripes on the American flag.

There are supposed to be 13 stripes representing the 13 original colonies of the United States, but the flag printed on the back of this golden phone has only 11.

The US flag does have the requisite 50 stars, however.

*** end quote ***

Mediocre at best.  And certainly not the “greatest”.  Like most politicians’ promises … sadly disappointing and discouraging.

I expected better.

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Posted by reinkefj

ENCOURAGING: Maybe AI isn’t so good after all

Monday, August 18, 2025

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/ask-ai-why-it-sucks-at-sudoku-youll-find-out-something-troubling-about-chatbots/#ftag=CADf328eec

Ask AI Why It Sucks at Sudoku. You’ll Find Out Something Troubling About Chatbots

  • How much can you trust a generative AI tool if it can’t explain itself honestly or accurately? 

Jon Reed  —  Aug. 8, 2025 4:00 a.m. PT

*** begin quote ***

That’s what researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder found when they challenged large language models to solve sudoku. And not even the standard 9×9 puzzles. An easier 6×6 puzzle was often beyond the capabilities of an LLM without outside help (in this case, specific puzzle-solving tools).

*** and ***

You might expect LLMs to be able to solve sudoku because they’re computers and the puzzle consists of numbers, but the puzzles themselves are not really mathematical; they’re symbolic. “Sudoku is famous for being a puzzle with numbers that could be done with anything that is not numbers,” said Fabio Somenzi, a professor at CU and one of the research paper’s authors.

*** end quote ***

That’s some “wonderkid” you’ve been celebrating in the press.  “AI will revolutionize … <insert favorite profession>”! 

So we have kids using it to cheat in school; NBD  —  no big deal.

Legal opinions cite incorrectly or cites non-existent court cases —  BIG deal!

And, now it can solve a 6×6 sudoku.  Or gives the wrong answer?

With the final straw, it can’t “show it’s work” (i.e., the steps it used to reach the “solution”).

Pardon me if I declare AI “not ready for prime time”!

The human equivalent is the Titan submersible suffering a catastrophic implosion and you want me to let is drive a truck?  We don’t need AI to make disasters.  Humanity can do it quite well without help.

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Posted by reinkefj

FUN: CLUE would be fun but not for 60$/year

Friday, March 31, 2023

https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/classic-mystery-board-game-clue-lands-in-apple-arcade/#ftag=CAD590a51e

Tech Gaming
Classic Mystery Board Game Clue Lands in Apple Arcade

  • Eat your heart out, Sherlock Holmes.

Zachary McAuliffe
March 24, 2023 12:23 p.m. PT

*** begin quote ***

Get your magnifying glasses ready because Clue: Hasbro’s Mystery Game Plus, based on the classic board game, arrived on Apple Arcade Friday. If you subscribe to Apple Arcade ($5, £5 or AU$8 a month), you can play this game free of cost, ads or in-app purchases.

Marmalade Game Studios is responsible for bringing the board game to your screen, and this isn’t the first time the studio has brought a board game to digital devices, either. The studio has digitized other classic games, like Monopoly and Battleship, too.

*** end quote ***

I was initially attracted to it. BYAS (But Yet Another Subscription) turns me off BIG TIME!

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TECHNOLOGY: AT&T reneges on its 5G commitment to older phones while still continuing to sell the older phones

Sunday, September 11, 2022

https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/no-at-t-wont-let-older-phones-tap-into-its-full-5g-network-after-all/#ftag=CAD590a51e

No, AT&T Won’t Let Older Phones Tap Into Its Full 5G Network After All

  • Here’s why you shouldn’t buy an iPhone 12, iPhone 13 or any non-2022 5G phone on an AT&T installment plan.

Eli Blumenthal — Sept. 8, 2022 12:43 p.m. PT

# – # – # – # – #

This seems to be a consumer fraud issue.

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Posted by reinkefj