Latest news with #apps
CBC
12 hours ago
- Business
- CBC
3 apps that can save you money on supper tonight while also fighting food waste
Did you know Canadian households produce an average of nearly 80 kilograms of food waste every year? That's on top of the nearly 1.31 million tonnes of food that grocery stores toss out annually. All that rotting food is harming the environment, and wasting money, during a time of food insecurity and skyrocketing prices. But there are ways to do your part to prevent food waste and save cash in the process. Listen below to learn about three apps you can use to save money on your meals tonight — and save that food from being tossed into a dumpster. Love deals? Click here for more Deal Diva segments for more great tips on saving money.
Digital Trends
2 days ago
- General
- Digital Trends
I hate that ‘there's an app for that', I'm done with installing stuff
I'm seriously getting tired of having to download software for just about everything these days, and I need to rant. Do you remember the days when you didn't have a separate app for every single thing on your computer? Because I do. And while I see the merit, the prevalence of 'there's an app for that' in both PCs and mobile devices is starting to get tiring. Recommended Videos Some of it, I get Lest I sound completely unreasonable, let me start by saying that I get why some things come with apps — and many of those things are an improvement over previous iterations. Take the Nvidia app, for example. I find it to be an upgrade over the previous mix of the Nvidia Control Panel (which is still a thing, but at least it's accessible through the Nvidia App) and the GeForce Experience. It lets you download drivers, tweak your graphics settings on a per-game basis as well as for your whole PC, and keep track of things like your GPU clock and temperature. Couldn't have asked for much more, really, apart from maybe a full merge of the Control Panel, which is increasingly unintuitive given today's standards for user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) in apps. In the future, Nvidia keeps planning to add more Nvidia Control Panel functionalities to the Nvidia App, so who knows — we might get rid of it entirely at some point, and if you ask me, that'll be a happy time. In any case, apps such as the Nvidia app definitely have their merits. I remember a decade or so ago when downloading graphics drivers was often a pain, especially for those less tech-y users who wanted an experience where you just click 'download' and your PC determines what it is that your GPU needs. The Nvidia app gets you that, which is sweet. If I had to complain (and of course I do), I'd say that it'd be nice to have a reliable, unified experience for all drivers. Third-party driver downloaders exist, but they often get things wrong, so a lot of them are hard to trust. Windows Update is responsible for a lot of driver updates, but some drivers still need to be fetched manually, which results in many people simply having outdated drivers for the longest time. But, this is a whole separate rant that I'm about to get into here, so I'll stop myself. Long story short, I get why we need software like the Nvidia app. What I don't get is why does just about everything else need to have its own mandatory app too? It's getting excessive Desktop apps are everywhere these days, and peripherals are some of the most common culprits that come with mandatory (or highly encouraged) software. Between my mouse, my keyboard, my headset, and my monitors, I have a total of five programs that I had to install. I hardly ever use any of them. My SteelSeries headset means that I had to install SteelSeries GG. My Razer mouse comes with Razer Chroma and Razer Synapse. I now have a Razer keyboard, too, so at least both of those use the same software, but when I had a Logitech model, I needed proprietary software for that, too. Then, my LG monitors are responsible for the installation of LG OnScreen Control. The one time I really needed software was when I was setting up my Razer Naga V2 Pro mouse, a process that took me a very long time and was quite meticulous; I also calibrated my monitors. Outside of that, it's all just there. Even Photoshop is no longer a standalone program and now comes with the Adobe Creative Cloud software. I remember when you'd buy a keyboard or a mouse, plug it in, and have it just work. Peripherals these days are a lot more advanced, and they come with a lot more RGB bling, which explains the need for a standalone app, but it does feel like there's just too much of it now. And don't even get me started on game clients. I know that competing apps and game studios will never want a unified, one-size-fits-all app, but it's tiring. Steam, Epic Games, EA, and Xbox are all required to launch games that I have paid for and should, in theory, be able to just launch and play. Each of these platforms has its own login and password, and despite begging them to please remember my login credentials as I tick the 'remember me' box for the 30th time, it just never happens. (You probably know which app I'm talking about here.) At the risk of sounding old, mobile apps are perhaps even more guilty of being excessive. These days, almost every single retailer comes with its own app. Instead of offering a seamless, more unified experience, you now have dozens of the same type of app because every brand needs to launch its own. Hey, I did say I was going to rant. Will we ever have to deal with fewer apps? If you're as weighed down by the excess software as I am, you might be wondering: Is this just the way it's going to be from now on? Well, probably. Realistically, I can't see different brands suddenly deciding to team up and offer a truly seamless, unified experience. After all, the idea is to offer personalized settings for every separate component or peripheral, and that's definitely going to stick. Microsoft has plans to, at least, make Windows Update responsible for updating all third-party apps on your PC, as reported by The Verge. This would make it easier to keep this massive number of apps up-to-date, but wouldn't really reduce the annoying bit — which is needing to have it in the first place. If I were to guess, I'd say that apps are here to stay. I remember the 2009 iPhone commercial: 'There's an app for that.' There's an app for just about anything these days, and if anything, there'll be more of them rather than fewer going forward. With WWDC 2025 right around the corner, we'll soon see new versions of Apple's various operating systems: iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS. There'll be even more apps to check out on our phones and our computers, and some of them might be amazing. And yet, a part of me still wants to say: 'No, thanks, I don't need an app for that,' but I doubt that anyone truly cares to listen.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Why AI Agents Are The Future Of Remote Work
Photo by Aidin Geranrekab on Unsplash I remember the app boom. In the late aughts, the app landscape was exploding. Everyone was scrambling to release something new. Remember that 2009 Apple slogan? There's an app for that. It felt like a bubble that was bound to pop. But it didn't. Last year alone, there were approximately 137.8 billion app and game downloads worldwide. Apps are now fully integrated into our daily lives, so much so that we barely notice them. Just imagine arriving in a new destination and trying to navigate. Looking at your phone for directions is less a choice and more a reflex. Today, some people view AI agents as the latest tech fad. But I think they're the next logical evolution. Ece Kamar, managing director of Microsoft's AI Frontiers Lab, shares that view. She envisions a future marketplace of agents that empowers people the way apps once did—with tools that extend our capabilities in ways we've barely begun to grasp. And just as apps transformed everyday life, AI agents are beginning to transform remote work, automating routine tasks and enabling smarter collaboration across distances. Here's how. At Jotform, we believe in the value of working in the office. Since fully returning to the office after the pandemic, we've observed remarkable gains in learning, innovation, and all-around employee well-being. Still, some degree of remote work is inevitable, whether it's a parent spending precious time with a newborn child or colleagues collaborating across time zones. We've found that AI agents are a game-changer for remote project management. With tools like ClickUp, AI chat agents can act as your embedded project managers—automating task assignments, highlighting performance insights, and filtering massive message streams to highlight essential updates. Unlike traditional generative AI, the interaction isn't task-by-task. Instead of giving constant prompts, you set a goal, and the agent leverages available resources to execute it autonomously. For remote teams like ours, juggling time zones and tools, these agents reduce friction and lag time, allowing us to focus our energy on the actual work, not the work of coordination. One of the biggest challenges of remote work is the lack of immediate technical support. There are few things more frustrating than having your workflow derailed by glitchy or confusing software. AI agents are helping level the playing field for remote workers by streamlining back-office functions like IT and HR. They can be trained to act as first-line, always-on support. They're available 24/7 and never tired, grumpy, or burned out. Take Microsoft 365's Employee Self-Service Agent. It's designed to simplify routine HR and IT tasks, such as resolving laptop issues or checking benefits status. These agents can troubleshoot tech problems, answer policy questions, and guide employees through internal systems—all without waiting for a human rep. Without in-person meetings or casual watercooler chats, communication often suffers. Research shows it's one of the biggest challenges of remote work, especially for younger employees. When shifting from in-person to remote work, employees aged 18–24 and 25–34 reported receiving 10% less information from management. They also noted that both the frequency and effectiveness of communication dropped by at least 10%. AI agents can help bridge these gaps by supporting more consistent, timely, and transparent communication among remote teams. Zoom's AI Companion, for instance, acts as a conversational agent that enhances teamwork by offering real-time support across meetings, chats, and collaboration tools. During calls, it can generate live meeting summaries, recap action items, and answer questions like 'What did Sarah say about the deadline?' without interrupting the flow. In team chats, it can provide quick summaries of previous discussions or help draft responses, ensuring no one misses important context, even if they join late or are in a different time zone. Like an always-on assistant, this kind of support helps teams stay aligned and keeps projects moving forward. Agents can also help team members to quickly find information they need—no new Slack thread required. AI agents built into platforms like SharePoint can act like intelligent knowledge librarians, helping employees to locate relevant files, summaries, or project updates. Tech leaders like Sam Altman are calling 2025 the year AI-powered employees join the workforce. That might sound unsettling, understandably, but it can also be motivating. Rather than compete with virtual coworkers, we can embrace them as effort-amplifying teammates. For remote and in-office workers alike, the future can either be man-versus-machine or man-plus-machine.
Reuters
3 days ago
- Business
- Reuters
Tech titans clash over scraps of limited time
NEW YORK, May 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Any smartphone is a window to a jostling crowd of apps: Meta Platforms' (META.O), opens new tab Facebook and Instagram, Alphabet's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab YouTube, Apple's (AAPL.O), opens new tab messaging service, and so on. The only constraint is the number of minutes in a day each user has to give them - a limit against which they appear to be straining. The U.S. government's lawsuit seeking to break up Meta helps to illustrate how this overstuffed colosseum has no room for new challengers unless old ones make way. Technology titans' battle to keep a hold of eyeballs is more perilously changeable than it may seem. Trustbusters at the Federal Trade Commission allege that Mark Zuckerberg's empire stifled competition in a 'buy-or-bury strategy' as they push to unwind its acquisitions of photo-sharing app Instagram and messaging service WhatsApp. As is the way of such cases, much of the legal argument comes down to who exactly Meta competes with: select a narrow group, and its market dominance looks unassailable; expand the list, and Facebook might seem a drop in the bucket. The interesting result of this exercise is that it shows just how delicately balanced each app's hold on user attention is. Take the government's line, for instance. The FTC argues that Meta's rivals are limited to the likes of disappearing-photos app Snap (SNAP.N), opens new tab and a privacy-based social network with 20 million users called MeWe. Under this definition, Meta's share of user time spent is a whopping 85%. View the world like the $1.7 trillion social media giant's legal team, though, and it looks very different. When adding TikTok to the mix, Meta's share drops to 60%. It becomes even more feeble when YouTube enters the arena, declining to 30%. Meta's core app, Facebook, began in 2004. Snap followed in 2011, while TikTok was released in 2016. The risk is that each new entrant innovates just enough to steal away the limited minutes in a day. Take the ByteDance-owned short-form video app. In 2019, TikTok consumed, on average, over 2 minutes of each U.S. adult's day. Five years later, that number increased to almost 18 minutes, according to analysis by advisory firm Epyllion. And just as, say, the popularity of TV show 'Survivor' led broadcasters to endlessly replicate the reality-show formula as they vied for viewers, a defensive copycat pattern plays out in social media, too. Instagram and YouTube, sensing a threat, quickly embraced similar short-form video feeds. As Meta itself admitted in court, after initial disruption, every app simply begins to look the same. The maturing of the iPhone era makes this competition more desperate. When Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012, smartphone penetration in the United States was 45%, according to the Pew Research Center. Every day, there were plenty of people booting up a web-connected phone and peering into app stores for the first time, ready to be courted by social media platforms. By 2024, smartphone adoption rates had doubled. Home screens are now cluttered with apps. Growth must therefore come by keeping users glued to their phones for longer, taking up more time out of their day. The decline of recreational activities in the real world implies that this has already happened. People spent 26 minutes on average each day reading in 2023, 10 fewer minutes than in 2003, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Socializing and communicating fell even more, from 78 minutes in 2003 to 57 minutes in 2023. Hanging out with friends declined as mobile phone usage rose, with starker gaps among younger cohorts. Atsushi Katsuki, chief executive of Japanese beverage group Asahi, partially blamed, opens new tab digital entertainment, including video games, for the drop-off in consumption of beers like Peroni. 'Alcohol used to occupy a much bigger share of people's entertainment and joy,' he told the Financial Times in May. So if there are fewer new users and fewer new minutes in the day to win, platforms must instead steal time from each other. As Zuckerberg himself, opens new tab put it, when asked why he bought Instagram: 'Building a new app is hard.' Capturing people's attention is incredibly valuable, difficult to dislodge -- and immediately claimed if it is. A couple of accidental natural experiments provide handy proof. In October 2021, Facebook and Instagram experienced a six-hour global outage. Streaming television giant Netflix (NFLX.O), opens new tab materially benefitted. The company, which cites everything from the Sandman to Fortnite as competition, said it saw a 14% pop in engagement, opens new tab during Meta's unexpected downtime. Similarly, when TikTok was briefly banned at the beginning of the year, Facebook and Instagram noted a 37% uptick in usage, according to Meta's court presentations. Americans may have reached peak attention - at least for now. Sleep, personal hygiene, at least some socialization: all of these are likely to stay constant. One of the few places left to win time might be from the workday. The pattern of labor has changed little in the past two decades, clocking in at a little under 8 hours on average per day. Maybe, if technologists' wildest dreams for artificial intelligence are realized, this will finally start to shift. The more productive a society becomes, after all, the more time it will have to waste. Until then, the app battle royale rages on. Follow @jennifersaba, opens new tab on X
Android Authority
4 days ago
- Business
- Android Authority
Nothing's Carl Pei predicts future phones will run on a single app
In a recent interview with Wired , Nothing CEO Carl Pei shared his vision for the future of smartphones. He thinks we're headed towards a world where apps will become obsolete. Pei imagines that a few years down the line, smartphones will make do with just one app — the OS. This intelligent system would understand the user's needs and context, and automatically deliver what they want, eliminating the need to manually navigate multiple apps. In the future, the entire phone will only have one app, and that will be the OS,' said Pei. 'The OS will know its user well and will be optimized for that person. Pei's remarks come as Nothing gears up to launch its first 'true flagship,' the Nothing Phone 3. The former OnePlus co-founder told Wired that the company grew 150% last year, but it only accounts for 0.1% of the global smartphone market. Still, Nothing has carved out quite a niche for itself by challenging traditional smartphone design and UX, with its focus on transparency, simplicity, and a unique visual identity.
