Bob Hoose

Contributor at Plugged In

Featured in: Favicon

pluggedin.com Favicon

bdoutdoors.com Favicon

919freshfm.com.au Favicon

lifefm.com.au Favicon

pulse941.com.au Favicon

1035fm.com.au Favicon

waggaslifefm.com Favicon

929voice.fm

Articles

How Is Artificial Intelligence Using … You?

2 weeks ago | pluggedin.com | Bob Hoose

Artificial intelligence is the topic of the day. Everybody is chatting about it and wondering how it will soon be stitched into the tapestry of our lives. But there’s one AI topic thread that you may not be thinking about or talking about over your morning cup of joe: What is AI borrowing from you and using right now? Yes, indeedy. We rarely think about how AI uses the information that we didn’t know we were offering.
Want Lunch? Call My AI Agent.

1 month ago | pluggedin.com | Bob Hoose

What if you could hand over a list of tasks to an AI personal assistant and have it take care of all the details? You know, you could just say: Order the weekly groceries (only forget the bananas this week). And book me a flight for, uh, next Thursday to Seattle; morning preferably. Have them deliver my drycleaning sometime this afternoon. Oh, and check my schedule for a good time to meet with Dave, next week.
6 Techy Doodads for Parents to Keep an Eye On

2 months ago | pluggedin.com | Bob Hoose

Each year the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) presents a showcase of all sorts of new wiz-bang electronics, computer hardware and software innovations. This year it was hosted in Las Vegas at a convention center that encompassed some 2.9 million square feet of displays, showcased over 4,500 presenters and was a short-term second home for some 141,000 attendees with durable walking shoes.
Your AI Companion Has Its Hand Outstretched. Do You?

Feb 25, 2025 | pluggedin.com | Bob Hoose

When you read the reference to an “AICompanion” in this blog’s title, you may have instantly jumped to the idea of some platform or device that you can make into a digitalized bestie. You know, an AI construct that you can wile away the hours chatting with online or making romantic overtures to. Hey, you can even wear pendant-sized AI buds like a necklace these days. You haven’t heard of those?
Your Mind-Reading Headphones Are Ready to Serve

Jan 10, 2025 | pluggedin.com | Bob Hoose

Have you heard about those new mind-reading headphones? It’s true. They’re real. They’re called the Master & Dynamic x Neurable MW75 NeuroHeadphones. (Which is quite a mouthful.) And just in case you’re thinking they’re the equivalent of a pair of “Amazing X-Ray Glasses” you’d see in the back of an old comic book, let me stop you. The reviews are in, and these techy gizmos are actually supposed to read your brain waves accurately while delivering high-quality sound. How? Why? Well, let’s see.
Best Books of 2024: Plugged In’s Year-End Picks

Nov 29, 2024 | pluggedin.com | Bob Hoose

Movies and games and such are fun, but there’s nothing like a good book for immersive and thoughtful entertainment. Hopefully, all you lovely Plugged In readers have been checking out our book review section. We try to pick up a cross-section of popular books in a variety of age ranges and genres. But in case you haven’t been stopping in regularly for a booky treat, here’s a tasty slice of solid reads that we reviewed this past year. by Shannon and Dean Hale. (Early readers.
Best Games of 2024: Plugged In’s Year-End Picks

Nov 22, 2024 | pluggedin.com | Bob Hoose

OK, when you’re faced with a gazillion new game releases in a year, how can you possibly whittle that stack down to a mere five of the best, top-shelf, really great ones to tell people about? We asked ourselves that very question as we formulated our Plugged In Year-End Picks for the best games of 2024. And our editor’s answer is usually … I don’t know! Be brave. Suck it up!So, after some brave consideration, here is my list of family friendly fare for your perusal.
What Do You Watch When You Don’t Want Halloween Horror and Goop?

Oct 25, 2024 | pluggedin.com | Bob Hoose

Well, here we are, closing in on Halloween. And your family’s movie interests may be turning to pics with a bit more character, more, uh, bite as you think about the season’s festivities. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to suffer through the latest Terrifier or Smile flick over at the movie house. In fact, in my humble movie-reviewing opinion, I’d say that those pics aren’t a grin-worthy choice for anybody over the age of 2.
Our Language is A-Changin’, Whether We Like it or Not

Oct 11, 2024 | pluggedin.com | Bob Hoose

Not all that long ago, comedian George Carlin used to build his routines around observations of our society and its tendency to transform our language in odd twists and turns. He would talk about how some very plain-spoken approaches to things in our world became unusable in polite discussions and how people demanded they be replaced with something softer and less offensive.
AI-Generated Abuse is On the Rise. Are You Ready?

Sep 24, 2024 | pluggedin.com | Bob Hoose

You may have heard that artificial intelligence isn’t always our friend. Well, it turns out that it and its users definitely aren’t all that friendly to our kids. According to WeProtect Global Alliance’s Global Threat Assessment 2023, child sexual abuse material (CSAM) has increased online by some 87% since 2019, with 32 million reports of CSAM analyzed in 2022 alone.