Things To Do In SW Florida

By MATT O’BRIEN

The promise of artificial intelligence was front and center at this year’s CES gadget show. But spicing up a simple machine like a refrigerator with unnecessary AI was also a surefire way to win the “Worst in Show.”

The annual contest that no tech company wants to win announced its decisions Thursday. Among those getting the notorious “anti-awards” for invasive, wasteful or fragile products were an eye-tracking AI “soulmate” companion for combating loneliness, a musical lollipop and new AI features for Amazon’s widely used doorbell cameras.

Shouting at a ‘bespoke AI’ fridge that also hawks grocery products

Samsung’s “Bespoke AI Family Hub” refrigerator received the overall “Worst in Show” recognition from the group of consumer and privacy advocates who judged the contest.

Samsung invites users to speak to the refrigerator and command it to open or close the door, but a demonstration at the sprawling Las Vegas technology expo showed it didn’t always detect what people were saying if there was too much ambient noise. That was just part of the complications and reliability concerns Samsung added to an appliance that’s supposed to have one important job: keeping food cold, said Gay Gordon-Byrne of the Digital Right to Repair Coalition in a recorded video ceremony announcing the anti-awards. read more

NASA announced a single crew member suffered a medical situation Wednesday on board the International Space Station that forced the postponement of a planned spacewalk. It has since said the crew member is stable, but that the Crew-11 mission may need to leave earlier than planned.

“Safely conducting our missions is our highest priority, and we are actively evaluating all options, including the possibility of an earlier end to Crew-11’s mission,” NASA posted on its website. “These are the situations NASA and our partners train for and prepare to execute safely. We will provide further updates within the next 24 hours.”

The postponement was originally announced stating NASA was monitoring a medical concern that arose Wednesday afternoon.

“Due to medical privacy, it is not appropriate for NASA to share more details about the crew member,” NASA had stated.

The spacewalk was to have involved veteran NASA astronaut and space station commander Mike Fincke along with NASA’s Zena Cardman, a flight engineer, both members of Crew-11, which launched from Kennedy Space Center on Aug. 1 last year. read more

Q: Our association board members never seem to enforce the rules, and recently, this ended up with someone getting hurt. Is our association liable because of this? Are the board members? — Andy

A: Community associations are responsible for maintaining the community and enforcing its rules. When board members fail to enforce these rules, it can lead to confusion, frustration, and, in some cases, serious consequences.

If someone is injured as a result of the board’s inaction, it is natural to wonder whether the association or even the board members themselves could be held liable.

Liability in these situations depends on the specific circumstances and the association’s governing documents.

Generally, the association, as an entity, could be held responsible if the injury resulted from the board’s failure to maintain common areas or enforce safety rules.

For example, if the association failed to repair a broken sidewalk or ignored complaints about a dangerous condition, it could be found negligent. Negligence occurs when someone fails to take reasonable steps to prevent harm, and that failure directly causes an injury. read more

Unable to stop the the imminent sale of the historic Hungerford school property, the Eatonville Town Council hopes it can meet with the land’s planned buyer and influence the deal.

The council met Tuesday evening just hours after the Orange County School Board, which owns the 117-acre property, signaled its plans to sell the land to Dr. Phillips Charities.

The fate of the Hungerford property has long been controversial and the latest plans, which the school board is likely to approve next week, are as well.

The charity wants to develop the land with housing, retail businesses, including a grocery store, and a conference hotel center along with the educational facilities, medical facilities and parks. It also plans to donate some of the property back to the town.

But some town leaders, who pushed for the school board to donate the land directly to Eatonville, worry Dr. Phillips plans’ do not include enough projects that would build the town’s tax base.

The school site sits along Interstate 4 and serves as a gateway to the town. Eatonville, founded by freed slaves, bills itself as the oldest Black-run municipality in the nation. Town and school leaders have long hoped new development on the now-vacant property would boost Eatonville’s limited tax base and jump-start a revitalization of the town, which has has struggled economically. read more

By JOSH BOAK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he wants to block large institutional investors from buying houses, saying that a ban would make it easier for younger families to buy their first homes.

Trump — who has been under pressure to address voters’ concerns about affordability ahead of November midterm elections — is tapping into long-standing fears that corporate ownership of homes has pushed out traditional buyers, forcing more people to rent. But his plan does little to address the overarching challenges for the housing market: a national shortage of home construction and prices that have climbed faster than incomes.

“People live in homes, not corporations,” Trump said in a social media post as he called on Congress to codify his ban.

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