Notable

The A-Z of AI

Beautiful website that spells out the different aspects of Artificial Intelligence in plain English. Put together by the Oxford Internet Institute and Google, it's pretty, interactive and most importantly, it's fast. You don't even need to click through to see more detail, the short descriptions are enough to give you an idea of what the phrase means in the world of AI.

Posted 20th Apr 2020 @ 14:47

LED bulbs use less energy for the same amount of light

It's really not that long ago that we saw LED streetlights being rolled out. Our street actually got them a few years ago, but the adjoining streets only caught up in the past few months for some reason.

Incandescent bulbs do seem to spread light in a more pleasing way. LED bulbs are pretty harsh and some introduce flickering when recording video. We've tried quite a few bulbs over the years, these are the ones that have worked the best for us:

  • E27 LED Corn bulbs (15W, 6000K & 1500LM) – Used in our new garden lights, at least twice as bright as the incandescent bulbs with the same wattage (previous version we bought was twice as tall and 'only' had a brightness of 1350LM
  • B22 LED Corn bulbs (15W, 6000K & 1500LM) – The bulb in our loft light blew, so I got a bulb that was brighter
  • G9 LED bulb (5W, 400K & 650LM) – The brightest G9 bulbs I've managed to find that will work with our light fitting that only allows up to 5W
  • GU10 LED downlight bulb (5W, 4000K & 520LM) – The light from these is great and very natural looking

LM: Lumens, a measurement of brightness

Posted 19th Apr 2020 @ 12:00

Apple and Google in 'standoff' with UK health service over COVID-19 contact tracing app

It's only been two days since I commented on this new app from the NHS. Maybe the communication wasn't as inaccurate as it sounded at the time. Turns out NHSX weren't aware of Apple and Google's technology when they first embarked on the project but by the time of the briefing that was given to the public, they would have been.

NHSX – the British health service's digital innovation unit – reportedly wasn't aware of Apple and Google's project before it was announced, and it now looks like the usefulness of its own app will be severely hampered or even rendered non-functional if it doesn't implement the protocol.

That's because without adhering to the Apple and Google API, a contact tracing app won't be able to access Bluetooth when it's running in the background, and would only work when the app was open and the phone unlocked.

Posted 17th Apr 2020 @ 14:00

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