Technology
Fix autocorrect if it’s driving you ducking crazy
Frustrated with how often autocorrect is auto-wrong? Even with new AI features included in many platforms’ latest updates, autocorrect remains annoying. Let’s fix that for iOS and Android.
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Go cold turkey
Yes, you can just turn it off — no more bad guesses or awkward corrections. Just type what you mean letter by letter, like in the early days.
Note: Depending on your Android make, model and OS, steps may differ. There are just too many variations to cover all of them.
Start here on your iPhone
- On iOS: Tap Settings > General > Keyboard.
- Toggle Auto-Correction to Off.
- You can always follow the same steps to turn it back on later, if you need it or change your mind.
Bonus tip: In iOS, misspellings are underlined. To turn that off, head to Settings > General > Keyboard again and turn off Check Spelling.
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Using an Android?
- Go to Settings > System > Languages and input > On-screen keyboard > Gboard > Text correction.
- Here, you can turn off Auto-correction and Show suggestion strip, which displays predictive text.
Bonus tip: Under your keyboard settings, flip the switches next to “Predictive Text” and “Show Predictions Inline.”
Add your own slang
If you’re feeling ambitious, program your phone to replace a phrase with your shorthand. Think turning “brt” into “be right there” or “1234” into “Four Score and Seven Years Ago.” Pretty slick!
- On iOS: Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement. Tap the + (plus sign), then add your word or phrase to the Phrase field (i.e., “On my way”). In the Shortcut field, type your slang of choice (i.e., “OMW”).
- On Android: Go to Settings > System > Languages and input > On-screen keyboard > Gboard > Dictionary > Personal dictionary > English and tap the + (plus sign) in the top right to add a custom word. Put your slang or abbreviation in the Shortcut box to trigger that custom word.
Pro tip: In iOS and Android, if you leave the Shortcut field blank, autocorrect will stop bugging you with alternate spellings.
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Why is autocorrect capitalizing random words?
You may notice that autocorrect capitalizes random words in a sentence. If you are typing something like, “I need to call Mom and ask when She needs to go to the Store,” you’ll have to go back and make a change to all the words that shouldn’t be capitalized.
If you don’t know why autocorrect keeps capitalizing Mom and Store, take a peek at your contact list and see how you’re typing names. If you save certain words in your contact list a certain way, autocorrect assumes this is the way you always want it written.
Another simple fix for this issue is to turn off the auto-capitalization setting in your keyboard tab.
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Technology
Maybe go look at Google’s AR animals before they enter the grave
Remember Google’s AR search, which can make augmented reality bugs, dinos, neat objects, and buildings appear atop the real world through the lens of your phone? Now might be a good time to take it in because it seems to be vanishing.
According to 9to5Google, the number of animals that will give you AR renders when you search for them has shriveled to just a few. My editor, Richard Lawler, saw the same thing on his Pixel 8 Pro, as did I when I checked my Pixel 6. But when I searched in Safari on my iPhone 15 Pro, there they were: Tyrannosaurus Rex, Spinosaurus, Rhinoceros Beetle, Jewel Beetle, and a Giant Panda!
Perhaps it’s just a bug? Or perhaps Safari is a temporary workaround.
We asked Google to explain what’s happening, but it didn’t give us an answer by press time. We’ll update if that changes. In the meantime, maybe now is a good time to go look at some AR animals — if they’re still showing up for you. Just in case.
Technology
Tesla Semi’s impressive performance on ice marks another major triumph
For skeptics of the Tesla Semi-Truck, performance across less-than-perfect conditions is near the top of their list of questions. Sure, this all-electric truck can handle perfectly controlled environments, but truckers know that things are rarely perfect on the roads in the real world.
After we wrote about how the Tesla Semi-Truck blew away a diesel-fueled truck in acceleration, even on steep grades, our readers still had plenty of questions about the Tesla truck design. Some of those questions focused on whether it had the control and power to handle rough weather and icy roads.
We sought answers to those questions about weather from Tesla itself but did not receive a response. Fortunately, we have some other means of investigating this issue, including a recent video from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) that may provide some answers.
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How the Tesla Semi-Truck appeared to perform in poor weather
The CHP created a Facebook post in early 2024 that mentioned closing Donner Summit along I-80 in California after multiple semi-trucks lost control on icy roads. The announcement itself was not the notable item, though.
What caught our attention – and the attention of 3.5 million-plus viewers – was a video of a Tesla Semi-Truck slowly but successfully navigating the icy roads. The CHP didn’t mention the Tesla truck in the post, but the video clearly shows its unique design.
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We must say that although the video seemed to show the Tesla Semi-Truck handling the ice like a cold-weather pro, it was only 17 seconds long. It’s impossible to tell just how far the truck traveled during the video and how fast it was going. We also don’t know what happened with the truck after the officer stopped recording.
Still, the video evidence appears to show that icy conditions were no problem for this Tesla Semi-Truck. If true, this would indicate that it could perform anywhere in the United States at any time of the year rather than only in warm-weather states that experience primarily mild weather.
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How the Tesla Semi-Truck could affect emissions on a large scale
Tesla claims its Semi-Truck has an energy consumption of less than 2 kWh per mile, even when fully loaded at 82,000 pounds. Such energy savings could be monumental in terms of cutting emissions. Transport & Environment estimates semi-trucks in Europe account for 27% of all vehicle emissions while only representing 2% of the vehicles on the road.
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The EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) calls heavy-duty trucks the “fastest growing contributor to emissions,” making an all-electric option like the Tesla Semi-Truck game-changing. With the EPA expecting freight activity in the United States to grow by 45% from today to 2040, finding new options for cutting emissions is vital.
Of course, to provide such benefits, the Tesla truck would have to prove that it can handle the conditions that truckers encounter every day, including performing in less-than-ideal road conditions and weather. What the vehicle seemed to do in the CHP video would indicate a positive step forward.
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Kurt’s key takeaways
The Tesla Semi-Truck appears to show video proof of the strength of its design, such as the power it delivers on hills. It proved its efficiency for traveling long distances on a single charge. And now it seems to be showcasing safe operation in winter road conditions. It will be interesting to see what this truck can deliver in the near future as it attempts to overcome skeptics.
Do you believe Tesla Semi-Trucks are the future of the trucking industry? Can these trucks meet the needs of truckers who require top-notch, real-world performance? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.
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Technology
Amazon says its Prime deliveries are getting even faster
To me, Prime’s promise of two-day shipping is more of an added bonus to Prime Video and stuff like Fallout. But it’s become an expectation, leading other retailers like Walmart and Target to roll out faster shipping options of their own.
Now, Amazon says its deliveries are getting even faster, announcing that it delivered over 2 billion items the same or next day to Prime members during the first three months of 2024, breaking its record for 2023. The company says it delivered almost 60 percent of Prime orders the same or next day in 60 of the biggest metropolitan areas in the US.
If you buy from Amazon, have you noticed any differences lately? Same-day and next-day options seem to be more widely available, but it’s hard to tell how that applies to different items in different places or whether the associated costs are worth it based on reports of warehouse injuries and workers organizing for better conditions.
The control Amazon has over shipping and fulfillment has helped make it the target of a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission. The agency alleges Amazon engages in anticompetitive behavior by unfairly limiting which sellers are eligible for Prime shipping and coercing companies into using its fulfillment services. Amazon claims that the FTC’s efforts could result in “slower or less reliable” Prime shipping for customers.
In 2019, Amazon said it was spending billions to build up an in-house fulfillment operation covering planes, trucks, drones, and robots to rival FedEx and UPS and enable these one-day-or-less deliveries. And last year, it introduced a program that allows sellers to ship their products directly from factories — regardless of whether they’re going to one of Amazon’s many warehouses.
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