O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: coding

  • OpenAI announces GPT-5 protocol, cites ChatGPT improvements, reduced hallucinations

    OpenAI announces GPT-5 protocol, cites ChatGPT improvements, reduced hallucinations

    If you like ChatGPT, it’s just been updated.

    OpenAI on Thursday introduced GPT-5, which the company says offers both a “significant leap in intelligence as well as fewer hallucinations. The new protocol is said to be better at following instructions and minimizing sycophancy.

    As such, OpenAI has stated that the new models offers improved performance across coding, math, writing, health, visual perception, and more. Other improvements include handling of complex front-end generation and debugging large code repositories.

    Other improvements include enhanced writing capabilities and improved ability to answer health-related questions.

    According to OpenAI, GPT-5 is “significantly less likely to hallucinate” compared to prior models. With web search enabled, GPT-5’s responses are 45 percent less likely to include a factual error than GPT-4o, and when thinking, responses are 80 percent less likely to have errors than OpenAI o3.

    The GPT-5 protocol is less likely to lie to the user about tasks it is able to complete or what has been done, and more honestly communicates its actions and capabilities for tasks that are impossible, underspecified, or missing key tools.

    Where ChatGPT is concerned, users can select from four personalities, including Cynic, Robot, Listener, or Nerd. The different personalities are opt-in and let users set how ChatGPT interacts and responds to questions.

    The GPT-5 protocol is available to all ChatGPT users, although Plus subscribers will get more usage before a limit is imposed, and Pro subscribers can access GPT-5 Pro, a version that has extended reasoning.

    When users hit a usage limit, ChatGPT will switch to a mini version of GPT-5 for remaining queries. GPT-5 replaces GPT-4o, OpenAI o3, OpenAI o4-mini, GPT-4.1, and GPT-4.5.

    If you’ve had a chance to try the updated ChatGPT features, please let us know about your experience in the comments.

    Via MacRumors and OpenAI

  • Apple begins accepting submissions for 2024 Swift Student Challenge

    Apple begins accepting submissions for 2024 Swift Student Challenge

    If you’re a student, into coding, and looking to take the next step and be part of a larger content, you’re going to like this.

    Apple on Monday began accepting submissions for its 2024 Swift Student Challenge. The event is part of Apple’s annual contest in which students are asked to create an innovative coding project using the Swift Playgrounds app.

    Once the contest runs its course, Apple will select 350 winners for this year’s challenge, and there will be a category that recognizes a total of 50 Distinguished Winners for standout submissions. The Distinguished Winners will be invited to Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino, California, where they will be able to connect with their peers and the Apple team, and all 350 winners will be granted a free one-year membership in the Apple Developer program, a complimentary voucher to take an App Development with Swift certification exam, and a special gift from Apple.

    The company has held an annual Swift Student Challenge for several years now, although it’s typically announced when Apple publically releases dates for its annual Worldwide Developers Conference. Past winners have been invited to attend WWDC, and Apple says that this year’s 50 Distinguished Winners will be invited to Cupertino “next summer,” so the planned invite could again be tied to WWDC.

    Students will have three weeks to submit their apps to Apple, and all applications must be submitted by Monday, February 25. Apple judges entries on technical accomplishment, creativity of ideas, and content of written responses explaining the project.

    Eligible students include those enrolled in an accredited academic institution (or an official homeschool equivalent), a STEM organization’s educational curriculum, or an Apple Developer Academy. Apple also accepts applications from developers who have graduated from high school or the equivalent in the past six months and are awaiting acceptance to an accredited academic institution.

    Good luck to everyone looking to participate this year and have fun coding!

    Via MacRumors and developer.apple.com

  • New installation method released for Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit allows for easier setup, use, and coding

    New installation method released for Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit allows for easier setup, use, and coding

    You can’t knock a good installer, especially when it gets an application’s array of support files where they need to be with minimal fuss.

    A new installation method for Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit on a Mac has been introduced, thanks to a third-party installer that handles the tricky bits of the installation process.

    Following the release of the Apple Game Porting Toolkit to the developer community, programmers saw a way to introduce games that had been produced for Windows to the Mac via emulation. What remained was a tricky installation process which often included multiple elements that needed to be entered via the Terminal program.

    To help game developers save time and effort, an installation wizard for the Game Porting Toolkit has been released by wizard producer InstallAware. Posted to GitHub, the Apple Game Porting Toolkit Installer uses InstallAware Multi Platform to automate the installation of the Game Porting Toolkit on a Mac.

    The project, which is intended to demonstrate InstallAware’s product, is aimed chiefly at developers.

    According to the installer’s Readme file, the sample works on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, and doesn’t require users to download the Game Porting Toolkit from an Apple Developer Account. When used with an Apple Silicon Mac and an Apple Developer account, the sample will perform a number of other setup tasks, which will use Apple’s tech to accelerate 3D games.

    Apple’s Game Porting Toolkit was demonstrated at WWDC 2023 and offers a way to run Windows games on a Mac without actually porting the code. Albeit not meant as an emulation interface for running games, observers believed it could be used that way, thereby freeing up considerable amounts of time developers might have to spend porting games to macOS.

    If you’ve had a chance to try the Game Porting Toolkit or the InstallAware build, please let us know about your experience in the comments.

    Via AppleInsider and GitHub

  • Apple expands on HBCU partnership, will add 10 more coding and development centers throughout the U.S.

    This is arguably nifty.

    Apple on Thursday announced that the company is expanding its partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCus) to add 10 more regional coding centers to act as tech hubs fo campuses and their surrounding communities.

    The expansion is part of Apple’s Community Education Initiative, which was launched in 2019, focuses on coding, creativity, and workforce development, and has 24 locations in the U.S., 12 of which are HBCUs and 21 serve a majority of Black and Brown students.

    Per Apple:

    Ten HBCUs, which have been working alongside Apple and Tennessee State University for the past year, will now become hubs to promote coding in their broader communities: Arkansas Baptist College, Central State University, Claflin University, Dillard University, Fisk University, Lawson State Community College, Morehouse College, Prairie View A&M University, Southern University at Shreveport, and Tougaloo College. Apple expects to double the number of HBCU partners by the end of this summer, expanding the network of schools offering coding, creativity, and career pathway opportunities.

    Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.

    Via The Mac Observer

  • Apple posts dates for Apple Camp, Kids Hour summer programs

    I wish I’d had this during my summers when I was a kid.

    Apple on Tuesday announced its multi-day summer camp sessions, entitled “Apple Camp,” which goes along with the special kid-focused Today at Apple creative workshops. Apple Camp and Today at Apple sessions are free, but space is limited, so you’ll want to grab a slot while you can.

    The programs are available at your local Apple store.

    Apple Camp itself runs as a three-day program that includes 90-minute sessions for kids age 8 to 12 years old. Apple offers three different sessions: Coding Games and Programming Robots; Creating Characters and Composing Music; and Stories in Motion with iMovie.

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