The Department of Justice (DOJ), supported by 15 states and the District of Columbia, has filed a lawsuit against Apple in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, accusing the tech giant of monopolistic practices in violation of Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. The lawsuit highlights Apple’s dominance in the U.S. smartphone market, where it holds over 65% of the total market and more than 70% of the performance smartphone segment. It attributes Apple’s significant net income, which surpasses the GDP of over 100 countries, largely to the success of its iPhone product line.
Continue reading “US Sues Apple in Landmark iPhone Monopoly Lawsuit”OTF Rejects Request from Ontario to Let Retired Teachers Work More
Key Takeaway
Ontario’s teachers unions have rejected a request from the Ministry of Education to extend the working period for retired teachers, emphasizing the need for the government to address staffing shortages more effectively.
Summary
- Ontario’s teachers have refused the Ministry of Education’s request to extend the working period for retired teachers, highlighting the necessity for a genuine solution to staff shortages.
- The Ontario Teachers’ Federation had previously allowed retired teachers to work for 95 days annually instead of 50, but declined this year’s request due to its supposed short-term nature.
- The unions argue that relying on retired teachers is not a sustainable solution to staffing challenges, and it fails to address the root causes of the teacher recruitment and retention crisis.
- The Education Minister expressed disappointment at the decision, as the retired teacher measure was supported by trustee associations and the Ontario Principals Council.
- School boards have raised concerns about high rates of teacher absenteeism despite efforts to increase teacher numbers and reduce certification timelines.
- The Ontario Public School Boards’ Association acknowledges the retired teacher rule change as a temporary solution that could have provided crucial support, expressing disappointment at the refusal to consider the proposal.
- The report concludes with additional news items covering various topics such as local news, world news, sports news, entertainment news, and lifestyle news.
Read more here.
What does Spring Arrive? (According to ChatGPT)
I love ChatGPT. I pretty much use it all the time now instead of Google. So when I turned to it to ask the simple question “When does spring arrive?”, I was met with this overly complex response:
Spring’s arrival depends on the context in which you’re asking—whether it’s meteorological, astronomical, or varies by geographic location. Let’s break it down:
- Meteorological Spring:
- In meteorology, seasons are divided into three-month blocks based on the annual temperature cycle. This makes data collection and comparison more systematic.
- Meteorological spring begins on March 1 and ends on May 31.
- Astronomical Spring:
- Astronomical seasons are based on the position of Earth in relation to the Sun. This is marked by equinoxes and solstices.
- Astronomical spring begins with the vernal equinox, which varies each year but generally falls on March 19, 20, or 21 in the Northern Hemisphere. It ends with the summer solstice, around June 20 or 21.
- In the Southern Hemisphere, these dates are reversed. Astronomical spring begins around September 22 and ends around December 21.
- Geographic Variation:
- The exact timing of spring can vary significantly depending on one’s geographical location. Regions closer to the equator experience less distinction between seasons, while higher latitudes and specific climates can see more pronounced seasonal changes.
- Some cultures and regions might have different definitions based on local climate, ecological factors, or traditional calendars.
Understanding these distinctions helps in appreciating the complexity behind what might seem like a straightforward question. Depending on the context, spring can be viewed through different lenses, each offering its unique perspective on the transition from winter to summer.
Hmm, not what I was hoping for. Asking it for when spring starts in Canada, or even just Ontario was no better.. Okay, back to Google., which gave me this as the first link:
This confirmed what I sort of remembered from school, which is “spring starts at the moment when the sun is directly over the equator, going from south to north: the ‘vernal equinox’“. But it also included this important table:
Okay, we’re getting closer to an answer: March 20 at 3:06 a.m. UTC. Luckily the website also gives us this table:
Popping over to https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/timezone/utc confirmed for me that we are currently 4 hours behind UTC, which means spring officially arrive tomorrow, March 19, at 11:06 p.m.
Why couldn’t ChatGPT tell me that?
My Custom GPTs
For those of you with a ChatGPT Plus account, here are the public custom GPTs I have created. Some were created primarily for my own personal productivity, while others were designed to benefit educators.
Continue reading “My Custom GPTs”New Custom GPT: Find Keywords – A Powerful Tool for Content Analysis
I’ve created a new Custom GPT that will reduce text to just the keywords. The GPT is named Find Keywords and can be found at https://chat.openai.com/g/g-mL985wIE7-find-keywords.
Note that it requires a subscription to ChatGPT Plus. Unfortunately, OpenAI does not offer trial subscriptions, and subscriptions cost $20 USD per month. Personally, I find the subscription well worth it for both personal programming projects and for personal productivity.
Continue reading “New Custom GPT: Find Keywords – A Powerful Tool for Content Analysis”ICS Assessment GPT
Introduction
Just for fun I wanted to see if I could create a custom GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) that could use The Achievement Chart for the Grade 10 Computer Studies Course to assess assignments from any of the ICS Computer Studies courses.
The instructions I gave it were:
Continue reading “ICS Assessment GPT”Google Gemini vs ChatGPT: Generating Alt-Text. Who Wins?
Introduction
I’m currently subscribing to ChatGPT and Google Gemini to test them both out. One of the tasks I often use chatbots for is creating alt-text for my images.
For the importance of using alt-text in your images, see this post.
The prompt given to Gemini and ChatGPT was: ‘Alt text for this image‘.
Here is the image I used. Note that it includes text instructions and images.
Continue reading “Google Gemini vs ChatGPT: Generating Alt-Text. Who Wins?”The Importance of Alt-Text in Enhancing Digital Accessibility and Engagement
This blog post, created by ChatGPT, supports another post of mine where I test ChatGPT and Google Gemini to see which is better at generating alt-text.
In the digital age, images are ubiquitous, serving as a powerful tool for storytelling, marketing, and communication across various online platforms. However, the visual nature of images can inadvertently exclude a significant portion of the audience, particularly individuals with visual impairments who rely on screen readers to navigate the internet. This is where alternative text, commonly known as alt-text, becomes a critical element in creating inclusive and accessible digital content. This blog post delves into the importance of using alt-text when posting images in blog posts or on social media, highlighting its impact on accessibility, search engine optimization (SEO), and user engagement.
Continue reading “The Importance of Alt-Text in Enhancing Digital Accessibility and Engagement”Using AI Chatbots to Solve my Pixel 7 Pro Charging Problem
My Pixel 7 Pro phone decided to stop charging wirelessly. I think I’ve exhausted any logical troubleshooting ideas I have so decided to turn the problem over to some AI chatbots before I bring the phone back to Telus while it’s still under warranty.
Following is a comparison of the different AI chatbots I used. As part of my troubleshooting prompt, it was important that the solution cite any sources that is uses. My prompt was….
Continue reading “Using AI Chatbots to Solve my Pixel 7 Pro Charging Problem”Using Python To Quickly Open Multiple Websites In Your Browser
I had a problem where I was opening about a dozen bookmarks at the same time in Brave, and in doing so, it was giving me a “503 Service Temporarily Unavailable” error.
To fix this, I turned to Copilot Pro with this prompt:
Write a Python program that opens in my web browser (using Django?) that has a list of URLs that it opens in new tabs with a pause of 0.5 seconds between them. For the initial URLs, use Google and Microsoft.
Continue reading “Using Python To Quickly Open Multiple Websites In Your Browser”