Web Finds — January 19, 2023

A curated list of interesting links with an emphasis on news, technology, and more by ldstephens

Farmer dies, town learns he secretly paid strangers’ pharmacy bills

“Hody Childress was a farmer living off his meager retirement savings in the small town of Geraldine, Ala. About 10 years ago, he walked into Geraldine Drugs and pulled aside owner Brooke Walker to ask if there were families in town who couldn’t afford to pay for their medications.” The world needs more people like Hody!

Live updates: Alec Baldwin to be charged in fatal ‘Rust’ shooting

“”Just because it is an accident doesn’t mean that it’s not criminal,” Carmack-Altwies said in an interview with CNN.”

He made a children’s book using AI. Then came the rage.

“Using ChatGPT and Midjourney, Reshi generated drafts of text and illustrations that would stitch together a story that would show the magic of AI to children, as he put it. Both programs, free for at least a trial period, require the user to type prompts that then refine them by regenerating images or text.” Okay I’m not sure how I feel about this?

Ten Years of Blogging

“Ten years ago today, I started this blog. I can’t believe it’s been a decade already! Here’s some stats from the last 10 years, as well as some lessons I’ve learned along the way…” I really enjoy reading Kev’s blog since discovering it several years ago.

New MacBook Air With 3nm M3 Chip Rumored to Launch in Second Half of 2023

“Apple plans to release a new MacBook Air in the second half of 2023, and it may be equipped with a 3nm chip, according to a report today from Taiwanese publication DigiTimes. This chip would likely be Apple’s next-generation M3 chip, which would offer faster performance and improved power efficiency compared to Apple’s current 5nm chips.” This is possibly something that I would be interested in.

Moderna, Pfizer’s new race: The RSV vaccine FDA approval process

“Pfizer’s vaccine is already in the FDA approval process and Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel told CNBC from Davos on Wednesday that it will be filing for FDA approval for its vaccine soon”

Sling TV’s subscriber base continues to tank, loses over 75K subs in Q4

“The drop in subscribers is likely due to the recent price hike and increased competition. Sling TV bumped up its plans by $5. Sling Orange and Sling Blue now each cost $40/month, whereas the bundle (Sling Orange + Blue) is $55/month. The main reason that customers switch over to live TV streaming services is that they no longer have to pay an arm and a leg for cable. However, it seems like no one can escape the high prices of live TV.” I get tired of the price increases but I think Sling is still the best deal for streaming live TV.

Wikipedia gets its first makeover in over a decade…and it’s fairly subtle

“Wikipedia, one of the world’s top 10 most visited websites, and a resource used by billions every month, is getting its first makeover on the desktop in over a decade. The Wikimedia Foundation, which runs the Wikipedia project, announced today the launch of an updated interface aimed at making the site more accessible and easier to use with additions like improved search, a more prominently located tool for switching between languages, an updated header offering access to commonly used links, an updated table of contents section for Wikipedia articles, and other design changes for a better reading experience.”

Elon Musk’s lies about Tesla deal cost “regular people” millions, jury hears

“The jury trial in Tesla investors’ class-action lawsuit against Elon Musk proceeded today with opening statements in a San Francisco federal courtroom. Plaintiff’s attorney Nicholas Porritt told the jury the case was brought “because Elon Musk, Tesla’s chairman and chief executive officer, who is not in court today but you will see him sitting right there in the witness box, lied. And his lies caused regular people like Glen Littleton to lose millions and millions of dollars.” Porritt pointed out that Judge Edward Chen already ruled Musk’s statements in August 2018 about having “funding secured” to take Tesla private were false and made recklessly.”

Originally published at_ https://ldstephens.substack.com _on January 18, 2023.