Just bought a new PC laptop and it won’t let me use it unless I create a Microsoft account, which also means giving their AI access to my computer! This is messed up.
There used to be an option to skip signing into or creating a Microsoft account.
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"Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” - John 8:12
Morning saints!
The Holy Spirit is the One who gives us spiritual gifts and empowers us to use them. God’s Spirit does not impart fear or cowardice, but power, love, and a sound mind, or self-control.
Twitter
X, formerly and colloquially known as Twitter, is a social media website based in the United States. With over 500 million users, it is one of the world's largest social networks. Users can share and post text messages, images, and videos known historically as "tweets".[5] X also includes direct messaging, video and audio calling, bookmarks, lists and communities, and Spaces, a social audio feature. Users can vote on context added by approved users using the Community Notes feature. Although the service is now called X, the primary domain name 'x.com' remains in place as of February 2024, with the 'x.com' URL redirecting to that address. Links shared from the app are copied as 'x.com'.
The service is owned by the American company X Corp., the successor of Twitter, Inc. Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Biz Stone, and Evan Williams. It was launched in July of that year. Twitter, Inc., was based in San Francisco, California, and had more than 25 offices around the world.[6] A signature characteristic of the service was that message posts were required to be brief (originally 140 characters, later expanded to 280 in 2017). By 2012, more than 100 million users produced 340 million tweets per day.[7][8] By the start of 2019, Twitter had more than 330 million monthly active users.[9] The majority of tweets is produced by a minority of users.[10][11] In 2020, it was estimated that approximately 48 million accounts (15% of all accounts) were not genuine people.[12] As of February 2024, X is the sixth most-visited website in the world.[13][14]
In October 2022, billionaire Elon Musk acquired Twitter for US$44 billion, gaining control of the platform and becoming the chief executive officer (CEO).[15][16][17][18] Since the acquisition, the platform has been criticized for increasing the spread of disinformation,[19][20][21] hate speech,[22][23][24] antisemitism,[25][26] homophobia, transphobia[27][28] and child pornography.[29] Linda Yaccarino succeeded Musk as CEO on June 5, 2023, with Musk remaining as the chairman and the chief technology officer.[30][31][32] In July 2023, Musk announced that Twitter would be rebranded to X and that the bird logo would be retired.[33][34] In October 2023, the company estimated its value at about $19 billion, down about 55 percent from the purchase price one year earlier.[35] Fidelity at about the same time estimated the value to be down 65 percent from its purchase price.[36] In December 2023, Fidelity further estimated the value to be down 71.5 percent from its purchase price.[37]
Monkey
Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, thus monkeys (in that sense) constitute an incomplete paraphyletic grouping; however, in the broader sense based on cladistics, apes (Hominoidea) are also included, making the terms monkeys and simians synonyms in regard to their scope.
In 1812, Étienne Geoffroy grouped the apes and the Cercopithecidae group of monkeys together and established the name Catarrhini, "Old World monkeys", ("singes de l'Ancien Monde" in French).[3][4][5] The extant sister of the Catarrhini in the monkey ("singes") group is the Platyrrhini (New World monkeys).[3] Some nine million years before the divergence between the Cercopithecidae and the apes,[6] the Platyrrhini emerged within "monkeys" by migration to South America from Afro-Arabia (the Old World),[citation needed][7][8] likely by ocean.[9][10][better source needed] Apes are thus deep in the tree of extant and extinct monkeys, and any of the apes is distinctly closer related to the Cercopithecidae than the Platyrrhini are.
Many monkey species are tree-dwelling (arboreal), although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Most species are mainly active during the day (diurnal). Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent, especially the Old World monkeys.
Within suborder Haplorhini, the simians are a sister group to the tarsiers – the two members diverged some 70 million years ago.[11] New World monkeys and catarrhine monkeys emerged within the simians roughly 35 million years ago. Old World monkeys and apes emerged within the catarrhine monkeys about 25 million years ago. Extinct basal simians such as Aegyptopithecus or Parapithecus (35–32 million years ago) are also considered monkeys by primatologists.[12][9][13][14][15][16]
iPhone
The iPhone is a line of smartphones produced by Apple Inc. that use Apple's own iOS mobile operating system. The first-generation iPhone was announced by then–Apple CEO Steve Jobs on January 9, 2007. Since then, Apple has annually released new iPhone models and iOS updates. As of November 1, 2018, more than 2.2 billion iPhones had been sold. As of 2022, the iPhone accounts for 15.6% of global smartphone market share.[3]
The iPhone was the first mobile phone to use multi-touch technology.[4] Since the iPhone's launch, it has gained larger screen sizes, video-recording, waterproofing, and many accessibility features. Up to the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, iPhones had a single button on the front panel, with the iPhone 5s and later integrating a Touch ID fingerprint sensor.[5] Since the iPhone X, iPhone models have switched to a nearly bezel-less front screen design with Face ID facial recognition, and app switching activated by gestures. Touch ID is still used for the budget iPhone SE series.
The iPhone is one of the two largest smartphone platforms in the world alongside Android, and is a large part of the luxury market. The iPhone has generated large profits for Apple, making it one of the world's most valuable publicly traded companies. The first-generation iPhone was described as a "revolution" for the mobile phone industry and subsequent models have also garnered praise.[6] The iPhone has been credited with popularizing the smartphone and slate form factor, and with creating a large market for smartphone apps, or "app economy". As of January 2017, Apple's App Store contained more than 2.2 million applications for the iPhone.
Orca
The orca (Orcinus orca), or killer whale, is a toothed whale that is the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. It is the only extant species in the genus Orcinus. Orcas are recognizable by their black-and-white patterned body. A cosmopolitan species, orcas are found in diverse marine environments, from Arctic to Antarctic regions to tropical seas.
Orcas are apex predators with a diverse diet. Individual populations often specialize in particular types of prey. This includes a variety of fish, sharks, rays, and marine mammals such as seals and other dolphins and whales. They are highly social; some populations are composed of highly stable matrilineal family groups (pods). Their sophisticated hunting techniques and vocal behaviors, often specific to a particular group and passed along from generation to generation are considered to be manifestations of animal culture.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature assesses the orca's conservation status as data deficient because of the likelihood that two or more orca types are separate species. Some local populations are considered threatened or endangered due to prey depletion, habitat loss, pollution (by PCBs), capture for marine mammal parks, and conflicts with human fisheries. In late 2005, the southern resident orcas, which swim in British Columbia and Washington waters, were placed on the U.S. Endangered Species list.
Orcas are not usually a threat to humans, and no fatal attack has ever been documented in their natural habitat. There have been cases of captive orcas killing or injuring their handlers at marine theme parks. Orcas feature strongly in the mythologies of indigenous cultures, and their reputation in different cultures ranges from being the souls of humans to merciless killers.
Casio
Casio Computer Co., Ltd.[note 1] (カシオ計算機株式会社, Kashio Keisanki Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It was founded in 1946, and in 1957 introduced the first entirely compact electronic calculator. It was an early digital camera innovator, and during the 1980s and 1990s, the company developed numerous affordable home electronic keyboards for musicians along with introducing the first mass-produced digital watches.
Crocodilia
Crocodilia (or Crocodylia, both /krɒkəˈdɪliə/) is an order of mostly large, predatory, semiaquatic reptiles known as crocodilians. They first appeared 94 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period (Cenomanian stage) and are the closest living relatives of birds, as the two groups are the only known survivors of the Archosauria. Members of the order's total group, the clade Pseudosuchia, appeared about 250 million years ago in the Early Triassic period, and diversified during the Mesozoic era. The order Crocodilia includes the true crocodiles (family Crocodylidae), the alligators and caimans (family Alligatoridae), and the gharial and false gharial (family Gavialidae). Although the term crocodiles (or crocs) is sometimes used to refer to all of these, crocodilians is a less ambiguous vernacular term for members of this group.
Large, solidly built, lizard-like reptiles, crocodilians have long flattened snouts, laterally compressed tails, and eyes, ears, and nostrils at the top of the head. They swim well and can move on land in a "high walk" and a "low walk", while smaller species are even capable of galloping. Their skin is thick and covered in non-overlapping scales. They have conical, peg-like teeth and a powerful bite. They have a four-chambered heart and, somewhat like birds, a unidirectional looping system of airflow within the lungs, but like other living reptiles they are ectotherms.
Crocodilians are found mainly in lowlands in the tropics, but alligators also live in the southeastern United States and the Yangtze River in China. They are largely carnivorous, the various species feeding on animals such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs, birds, and mammals; some species like the Indian gharial are specialised feeders, while others like the saltwater crocodile have generalised diets. Crocodilians are typically solitary and territorial, though cooperative feeding does occur. During breeding, dominant males try to monopolise available females. Females lay eggs in holes or in mounds and, unlike most other reptiles, care for their hatched young.
Some species of crocodilians are known to have attacked humans. The largest number of attacks comes from the Nile crocodile. Humans are the greatest threat to crocodilian populations through activities that include hunting, poaching, and habitat destruction, but farming of crocodilians has greatly reduced unlawful trading in wild skins. Artistic and literary representations of crocodilians have appeared in human cultures around the world since Ancient Egypt. The earliest known mention of the story that crocodiles weep for their victims was in the 9th century; it was later spread by Sir John Mandeville in 1400 and then by William Shakespeare in the late 16th century and early 17th century.
Cabo San Lucas
Cabo San Lucas (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkaβo san ˈlukas], "Saint Luke Cape"), also known simply as Cabo, is a resort city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. As of the 2020 Census, the population of the city was 202,694.[1][2] Cabo San Lucas, together with the famous San José del Cabo are collectively known as Los Cabos. Together, they form a metropolitan area of 351,111 inhabitants.[1][2]
Rated as one of Mexico's top tourist destinations,[5] Cabo San Lucas is known for its beaches, scuba diving locations, Balnearios, the sea arch El Arco de Cabo San Lucas, and marine life. The Los Cabos Corridor has become a heavily trafficked vacation destination for tourists, with numerous resorts and timeshares along the coast between Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo.
The waters around Cabo are home to marine wildlife including rays, sharks, mahi-mahi (dorado), and striped marlin.
American Bully
The American Bully is a modern breed of dog that was developed as a companion dog, and originally standardized and recognized as a breed in 2004 by the American Bully Kennel Club (ABKC). Their published breed standard describes the dog as giving the "impression of great strength for its size". In 2008, the American Bully was recognized by the European Bully Kennel Club (EBKC), and on July 15, 2013, by the United Kennel Club (UKC).[1] The Kennel Club does not recognize the American Bully as a separate breed;[2] nor do the American Kennel Club or International Canine Federation.[citation needed]
Temperament in adult dogs is highly dependent on training, and the breed can be very demanding and needs to be properly trained. The American Bully Kennel Club divided the American Bully into four categories, including the XL, Pocket, Standard, and Classic, whereas other registries, including the UKC, have approved one consistent size standard.
Due to the size, strength, and aggression level of the American Bully, legal controls on the ownership of the breed exist in several countries. The XL Bully was responsible for 10 of the 19 deaths caused by dogs in the UK in the period between 2021 and 2023, and in December 2023, the UK Government added the breed to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, making it illegal to sell, breed, abandon or have a Bully XL in public without a lead and muzzle in England and Wales.[3]