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Every now and then, you run into a tool that truly wows you. Its rareespecially nowadays, when everyone and their cousin is coming out with overhyped AI-centric codswallop thats almost always more impressive on paper than in practice. And that, if you ask me, makes it all the more satisfying when you track down a tool that really, truly impresses. My friend, today is one of those days. Prepare to have your mind blown. Be the first to find all sorts of little-known tech treasures with my free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. One useful new discovery in your inbox every Wednesday! Your instant audio enhancer Our tool for today comes from a company youve almost certainly heard of. But Id be willing to wager you didnt know it offered this off-the-beaten-path treasure. The gem of which we speak is a simple little web app called, fittingly, Enhance Speechby Adobe. Enhance Speech lets you upload any audio recording of someone speaking. Its technically designed for podcasters, but it could be useful for practically anythinga spoken memo, a recorded conversation, even a recorded phone call. The site takes any recording you feed it and instantly improves its audio qualityremoving background noise and enhancing the sound of the speaking so its crisp, clear, and easy as can be to hear, no matter how sloppily or in what kind of environment it was recorded. Adobes Enhance Speech site couldnt be much simpler or easier to use. Itll take you about two minutes to perform an enhancement. And you dont need to create an account or anything: Just open up the Adobe Enhance Speech site in any browser, on any device in front of you. Click or tap the Choose Files buttonor drag and drop an audio file directly from your device onto the page, if youre using a computer. Enhance Speech works with most common audio file formats, including WAV, MP3, AAC, FLAC, and M4A. In a matter of moments, the site will serve up an enhanced version of your recording that you can either play on the page or download. You can play your enhanced audio right on the site or download it with one quick click. You can also just check out the built-in sample on the sites main page to see how impressive of a difference its enhancements make. It really is something. Enhance Speech is entirely web-basedno downloads or installations required. Its free to use with recordings up to 30 minutes in length and 500MB in size, with a one-hour-per-day upload limit. You can lift those limits and unlock a variety of advanced features with a premium plan, but that absolutely isnt necessary for the services core featuresand the limits are plenty generous for most casual use. Enhance Speech follows Adobes standard privacy policy, which ensures no personal data is ever shared or used in any eyebrow-raising way. Ready for more productivity-boosting goodness? Check out my free Cool Tools newsletter for an instant introduction to an audio app thatll tune up your days in delightful waysand a new off-the-beaten-path gem in your inbox every Wednesday!
Category:
E-Commerce
In December 2023, I wrote an article exploring Apple CEO Tim Cooks most likely successors, because there will come a day when he steps aside as chief executive at the iPhone maker. I wrote the piece in response to rare comments Cook had madeto Dua Lipa, no lessrevealing that Apple has very detailed succession plans in preparation for his departure. Cook tried to alleviate investor fears of a near-term departure by saying that he still planned to be at Apple for a while. But as I noted at the time, thats a subjective phraseand one Cook used nearly 18 months ago now. A lot has changed since then. Hell, a lot has changed in the tech world over the past three weeks alone, ever since Trump unleashed his disastrous Liberation Day tariffs, sending tech supply chainsand tech stock pricesinto chaos. Those tariffs have gotten me thinking a lot again about Cook, and those succession plans he announced a year and a half before President Trump lobbed an economic grenade at the world. All this has got me believing that Cook should pause any retirement plans hes had in the works and stay on as Apples CEO until at least the end of Trumps second term, in January 2029. Because the way things are going with the Trump-induced economic turmoil, Apple is going to need Cook more than ever these next four years. And Cook is uniquely suited for the challenge in two key ways. The ops guy cometh When historic tariffs require a company to completely rethink its supply chain, you want an operations guy in charge, someone deeply familiar with the companys logistics and supply chain. Thats precisely what Cook is, and his operations mastery is one of the main reasons Apple made it through its previous most economically challenging timethe late 1990s. While Steve Jobs gets all the credit for Apples late-’90s rebirth, the fact is that Jobs probably wouldn’t have been able to save the company without Cooks help. Jobs had come back to Apple in 1997 and quickly reimagined its product lineup, but that much-needed creativity injection wasnt going to fix Apples other major problem at the time: its cumbersome supply chain, which had put massive financial and logistical challenges on Apple for years. In 1998, Jobs hired Cook as Apples senior vice president for worldwide operations, and Cook immediately went to work overhauling Apples operationsfrom manufacturing to shipping to asset allocation. This clean sweep of Apples operations that Cook led enabled the company to ramp up and distribute the product innovations en masse that Jobs would soon start pumping out, including the iMac, the iPod, and the iPhone. Cooks ruthless optimization of Apples supply chain, ironically, was often used against him by those unhappy with Apples announcement in 2011 that he would succeed Jobs as CEO. Cook was an ops guy, his detractors argued, when Apple needed another product visionary like Jobs. I wont rehash much of what Ive already argued before, but while Steve Jobs was a creative genius and beloved tech leader, the simple fact is that the ops guy has grown Apple into a larger technology juggernaut, by orders of magnitude, than Jobs ever could have. When Jobs passed away in October 2011, Apples market cap was just north of $300 billion. Last year, after just over 13 years of Cooks leadership, Apples market cap reached more than $3.7 trillion. Now, of course, Apple has lost nearly a fifth of that value since, largely thanks to Trumps chaotic tariff war decimating tech stocks. But thats exactly one of the reasons Apple needs Cook more than ever. Tariff barriersespecially of this historic scaleoften require a reorganization of global supply chains. Who better to be at the helm of one of the company’s most affected by those barriers than a CEO who is arguably one of the best ops guys in business history? But its not just Cooks deep understanding of global operations that is the reason Apple needs him. Its also because Cook has shown time and again that he is one of the most skilled business leaders when it comes to engaging with President Trump. In the arena with Donald Trump In late 2024, Tim Cook received a lot of criticism from the left for being one of the many tech CEOs to meet with then-President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Cook received even more criticism in January when he personally donated $1 million to Trumps inaugural committee. Many progressives saw these actions as hypocritical, especially coming from the CEO of what has been historically considered a very liberal-leaning company. Yet these actions make more sense when you look at comments Cook made about his willingness to work with governments of all stripes shortly after President Trumps first election victory in 2016. As reported by TechCrunch in December 2016, Cook was asked by an Apple employee on an internal company message board about how important he believed it was that Apple engage with governments. The question came a week after Cook and other tech leaders met with the then-first-time president-elect. Cook answered that it was very important, noting, Governments can affect our ability to do what we do. They can affect it in positive ways and they can affect in not so positive ways.” He went on: Personally, Ive never found being on the sideline a successful place to be. The way that you influence these issues is to be in the arena. So whether its in this country, or the European Union, or in China or South America, we engage. And we engage when we agree and we engage when we disagree. I think its very important to do that because you dont change things by just yelling. You change things by showing everyone why your way is the best.” In the years since making these comments, Cook has proven this answer wasnt just lip service. Throughout Trumps first term, Cook frequently engaged with the presidentand because of it, he got Trump to exempt Chinese-sourced components critical to Apples products from the tariffs Trump raised against Chinese imports in 2019. This potentially saved Apple billionsand probably saved Americans from paying more for iPhones. Further proof that Cook has learned how to deal with Trump successfully comes from Trump himself. As CNN reported in November 2019, Trump had been asked earlier in the year why he seemed to have such a special relationship with Cook. Oh, I have it with everybody, but hes the one that calls me, Trump answered. You know why? Thats why hes a great executive because he calls me, and others dont. Others go out and hire very expensive consultants, and Tim Cook calls Donald Trump directly. Pretty good. And I would take their call, too, but the only one that calls me is Tim Cook. “I helped Tim Cook recently” This close attention that Cook pays to Trump is likely one of the reasons why Trump took a call from Cook in October 2024. Cook was reaching out to express his concerns about recent financial penalties the EU levied against Apple, to the tune of around $14 billion. The BBC reported that Trump told Cook that he would not let the European Union “take advantage of our companies (but noted that in order to make good on that Apple-friendly promise, he first needed to get elected again). And just last week, there was more evidenceagain directly from Trumpthat Cook has successfully used his relationship with the president to achieve other favorable outcomes for Apple. On April 11, the Trump administration announced tariff exemptions for certain electronic goods imported from China, including Apples iPhones and computers, thus sparing the Cupertino company from a tariff bill of up to 145% for each item imported. A few days later, as noted by 9to5Mac, when Trump talked about his flexibility concerning the tariffs he has imposed, he seemed to allude to the recent exemptions being done, at least in part, to help Cook. Look, Im a very flexible person. I dont change my mind, but Im flexible, Trump said. And you have to be. You just cant have a wall, and youll only gono, sometimes you have to go around it, under it, or above it. Therell be maybe things coming up. I speak to Tim Cook. I helped Tim Cook recently. Trump didnt explicitly say how he helped Cook, but The Washington Post reported earlier this month that Cook was heavily involved in getting Apple, and others in the U.S. tech industry, an exemption from Trump’s most recent tariffs. The White House denied that Trump did any specific favors for Cook. Still, Trumps comments again show that he, the most powerful person in the world, seems proud of being able to help Cook out. That likely wouldnt be the case if Apples CEO hadn’t so skillfully managed his relationship with Trump over the years. “Tim has a very good relationship with the president, and rightly so . . .,” Wilbur Ross, Trump’s commerce secretary during his first term, told the Post. “In general, he has a lot of respect because hes not a public whiner, hes not a crybaby, but comes with the real voice of reality. Its no surprise to me that his suggestions are being well received.” The president whisperer All of this shows that Tim Cook has a better relationship with the president than most other tech CEOs who are not involved politically with his administration. That is an extremely powerful advantage for Apple during an era becoming defined by the worst economic uncertainty America has seen since the pandemic. Trump is unpredictable, and unpredictability is very bad for companies. However, Cooks relationship with the president seems to go a long way in helping Apple mitigate the risks associated with that unpredictability. Thats something Apple cant afford to lose right now. It is highly unlikely that a new CEOeven one from Apples excellent executive teamwould be able to re-create the relationship Cook has deftly cultivated with Trump for almost a decade now. During that period, Cook has gone from just being the ops guy CEO to being as much of a presidential whisperer as one can beperhaps the most valuable skill any American businessperson can have today. For Apple’s sake, Tim Cook would do well to stay put, at least for the next four years.
Category:
E-Commerce
Americans worried about their countrys sky-high rate of crash deaths havent had much to cheer lately. Although pedestrian fatalities remain near an all-time record, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wants to stop funding active transportation projects such as sidewalks. A prominent webpage encouraging safe street designs has disappeared, and layoffs have rocked the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the federal agency responsible for minimizing crashes. But at the state level, an encouraging trend is emerging. From California to Maryland, state legislators are exploring the use of new technology, known as Intelligent Speed Assist (ISA), that can prevent the most reckless drivers from blasting past the speed limit. Even at a time of entrenched political polarization, ISA has garnered bipartisan support. Its really growing much more rapidly than we anticipated, says Amy Cohen, the head of Families for Safe Streets, a national advocacy group backing the various ISA bills. She and her allies hope to sidestep the Trump administration entirely, relying instead on states to promote the adoption of lifesaving car technology. The safety argument against speeding is ironclad. Blazing-fast vehicles take longer to brake and exert more force in a crash, thereby endangering everyone else on the roadway. Across the U.S., around 12,000 people died in speeding-related crashes in 2022, almost a third of the national total. Super-speeders going more than 20 mph over the limit can cause catastrophic harm. In 2022, a driver in North Las Vegas, Nevada, flew through an intersection at 103 mph, killing himself and eight other people. Despite the risks, super-speeding is disturbingly common. Last year, law enforcement in Rhode Island issued 292 tickets to drivers exceeding 100 mph, while Ohios highway patrol cited 38 people for doing so in a single day. Since police inevitably miss many infractions, super-speeders often get away with it. Automated speed cameras provide a more reliable means of enforcement, but their deployments are often mired in controversy. (Camera-based ticketing is banned completely in many states.) For the speeders who are caught, penalties may be limited to a fine or a drivers education class. Even a license suspension doesnt necessarily change behavior: A federally funded study found that 75% of people with suspended licenses continued to drive. Rather than relying on dubious ex post penalties, ISA systems make extreme speeding difficult or even impossible. The technology, which can be installed while a car is manufactured or afterward, uses GPS to identify the speed limit on a road segment and then deter drivers from going more than a programmed amount beyond it. Passive ISA systems issue tactile or audible warnings that attract the drivers attention, while heavier-handed active systems block additional acceleration after the maximum threshold is reached. (ISA works through the gas pedal; it does not affect braking.) ISA has attracted growing attention from researchers, safety advocates, and policymakers. As of last year, the European Union requires all new cars to contain passive ISA. In the U.S., the National Transportation Safety Board has called on NHTSA to impose a similar ISA mandate, but the agency has shown no signs of doing so. Impatient with federal inaction, state leaders are taking matters into their own hands. Last year, California State Sen. Scott Wiener proposed a bill requiring ISA on all new cars sold in the Golden State. To the surprise of even many supporters (and to the consternation of the auto industry), Wieners bill passed both of Californias legislative chambers before Gov. Gavin Newsom ultimately vetoed it. Now, a new wave of state bills is advancing a narrower and seemingly less controversial application of ISA technology. Rather than call for passive ISA on all new cars, advocates are arguing that active ISAwhich can make extreme acceleration impossibleshould be placed on vehicles owned by people with a history of reckless speeding. Last year, the District of Columbia became the first jurisdiction to pass such a law. This spring, Virginia passed its own bill, which gives judges the option of requiring ISA if a driver exceeded 100 mph. Legislatures in Arizona, California, Georgia, Maryland, and New York are now considering their own proposals. (Proposals typically include a limited override feature allowing further acceleration during an emergency.) The bills are all a little bit different, Cohen says. But they are all taking the worst drivers and saying that this technology has to be put in their cars for the duration that a license is suspended. Politically, a focus on reckless drivers offers crucial advantages over a blanket ISA requirement like those that the EU has adopted and California has considered. Since only a small fraction of drivers are super-speeders (Cohen estimates the share at under 2% in New York state), the bills passagewont affect most residents directly but can protect them from danger posed by others. The auto industry is also less likely to oppose such measures, since an ISA mandate for new vehicles presents a much greater threat to existing manufacturing and marketing practices. The recent state proposals have shown bipartisan appeal: Virginias bill was signed into law by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and bills have passed the state house and senate in GOP-dominated Georgia as well as Democrat-led Washington state. Cohen says that her basic pitch, revolving around safety and fairness, seems to resonate equally well on both sides of the aisle: Were not taking away your car; were just saying that you cant drive recklessly, she says of the current state bills. You have to get to your destination safely, and not kill anyone along the way. If successful, the states legislation could serve as a gateway for broader ISA deployments, potentially including public fleets (as New York City has piloted). A single car with ISA can also prevent multiple drivers behind it from recklessly accelerating, so even a small number of ISA-equipped vehicles could have a dramatic impact on regional or even national road safety. For now, Cohens primary goal is convincing more states to climb aboard the ISA bandwagon. Families for Safe Streets has helped coordinate the various campaigns by building a resource page, answering FAQs, and arranging for crash victims to give supportive testimony during hearings. With the Trump administration showing hostility toward regulations of all kinds, a state-based approach toward traffic safety offers promise. Its inspiring to see how quickly some legislators can move, Cohen says. Were pushingand hoping that others follow suit.
Category:
E-Commerce
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