Peter Coakley

Dr. Hithcock

CIT 110

8 October 2023

WSJ Summary #2

Apple to Address iPhone 15 Overheating Issues in iOS 17 Software Update by Joanna Stern, September 30, 2023.

              The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models were receiving reports of getting hot and some were overheating. Heat is the biggest issue for computer performance, especially handheld devices. The batteries can receive irreversible damage too, which is detrimental to longevity, performance, and personal safety. Apple is releasing an iOS 17 patch shortly after the release of the phones to start cleaning up some software bugs that are causing the heat. Some third-party apps like Instagram and Uber said that they were releasing updates after Apple discerned their software was not optimized for the new phones.

You Can Now Talk With ChatGPT and It Sounds Like a Human (Pretty Much) by Joanna Stern, September 25, 2023.

              OpenAI has created a new development for their ChatGPT app on iOS and Android. Now you can speak to it and the program will digest the words and speak its answer back to you. The craziest part is that the voice has intonation, pacing, and some character to it. There are five voices to choose from and each one is the real voice of a voice actor that was processed using AI to create the chatbot’s vocals. The company is currently working with Spotify and business partners to work with the AI to make it able to translate podcasts and translate them into another language. The AI would be able to use the podcaster’s voice and manipulate it into another language while retaining the intonation and character. This new update to the software also give the AI the ability to see images. Apparently, it can play, but doesn’t yet understand Tic-Tac-Toe (it wanted to replace the other shape with your own). However, it has been able to interpret household fixes and give solutions. It recognized a cut on a human but could not describe how to help, saying “Seek a medical professional.”

The Most Important Tech Company You’ve Never Heard of Is a Major Reason Computers Keep Getting Faster – Christopher Mims, September 22, 2023.

              For the longest time, the best way to improve performance in computers was to make the components of microchips smaller. This is possible from the topic of materials science. Applied Materials has been in Santa Clara since the year before Intel, 1967. Chip manufactures try to get smaller every generation. At first, this was a 2-dimensional process but then saw a vertical (3D) motion to keep everything closer to memory, power, and communications. 3D meant it was more complex to make these chips. This means there are wiring layers, some modern chips have 16-20 layers of wiring (compared to 6 layers in the 90s). A logic chip that you might find in your phone use about 1500 manufacturing steps to produce. Intel, TSMC, and Samsung use Applied Materials for hardware and expertise.

Clorox Warns of Product Shortages Following Cyberattack – Will Feuer, September 18, 2023.

              On August 14th, Clorox experienced a cyberattack which took some systems offline and they had to resort to ordering and processing orders manually. This manual process was also operating at a reduced rate, losing money upfront. As of the article’s date, the company was still operating below the normal rate. This will be the company’s first shortage since the early months of the pandemic when demand for its products skyrocketed. The company has continued to improve sales since the pandemic, even though demand has cooled. This cyber hit will reduce supply availability, but the company expects a full return during October. Chlorox expects sales to be between 0 and 2% on the year.