Google has announced the launch of its most extensive artificial intelligence model, Gemini, and it features three versions: Gemini Ultra, the largest and most capable; Gemini Pro, which is versatile across various tasks; and Gemini Nano, designed for specific tasks and mobile devices. The plan is to license Gemini to customers through Google Cloud for use in their applications, in a challenge to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Gemini Ultra excels in massive multitask language understanding, outperforming human experts across subjects like math, physics, history, law, medicine, and ethics. It’s expected to power Google products like Bard chatbot and Search Generative Experience. Google aims to monetize AI and plans to offer Gemini Pro through its cloud services.
“Gemini is the result of large-scale collaborative efforts by teams across Google, including our colleagues at Google Research,” wrote CEO Sundar Pichai in a blog post on Wednesday. “It was built from the ground up to be multimodal, which means it can generalize and seamlessly understand, operate across, and combine different types of information including text, code, audio, image, and video.”
Starting December 13, developers and enterprises can access Gemini Pro via the Gemini API in Google AI Studio or Google Cloud Vertex AI, while Android developers can build with Gemini Nano. Gemini will enhance Google’s Bard chatbot, using Gemini Pro for advanced reasoning, planning, and understanding. An upcoming Bard Advanced, using Gemini Ultra, is set to launch next year, and will likely be positioned to challenge GPT-4.
Despite questions about monetization with Bard, Google emphasizes creating a good user experience and does not provide specific details about pricing or access to Bard Advanced. The Gemini model, particularly Gemini Ultra, has undergone extensive testing and safety evaluations, according to Google. While it is the largest model, it is claimed to be more cost-effective and efficient than its predecessors.
Google also introduced its next-generation tensor processing unit, TPU v5p, for training AI models. The chip promises improved performance for the price compared to TPU v4. This announcement follows recent developments in custom silicon by cloud rivals Amazon and Microsoft.
The launch of Gemini, after a reported delay, underscores Google’s commitment to advancing AI capabilities. The company has been under scrutiny for how it plans to turn AI into profitable ventures, and the introduction of Gemini aligns with its strategy to offer AI services through Google Cloud. The technical details of Gemini will be further outlined in a forthcoming white paper, providing insights into its capabilities and innovations.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.