Samsung Galaxy Trifold-Out This Week; Google-Go From AI Overviews Right to AI Mode; Amazon Closing All Fresh & Go Stores; AI Hitting UK Jobs More Than Jobs in Other Major Countries

Posted: January 27, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Trifold goes on sale the end of this week, January 30th. Engadget.com reports that the price, expected to be $2000-$2500 has blown right past that…it will cost a rather astounding $2900! It is thicker, but gives you basically a tablet sized screen when fully opened…so the thought is, you will only need one device, and that allegedly takes some of the sting out of the high price. If mass production can bring the price down, and the screen creases have really been eliminated, this could be pretty cool in the future. By the way, like Henry Ford’s famous Model T, you can have any color you want, as long as it’s black. The Z Trifold has 512 gigs of storage. 

Google is bowing a new feature that will allow users to ask follow up questions directly from the AI overviews that now top all searches. According to techcrunch.com, users will be able to jump into a conversational back-and-forth with AI Mode. Google also announced that it is making Gemini 3 the new default model for AI overviews globally. Google says its testing shows that users prefer an experience that flows naturally into a conversation and that asking follow-up questions while preserving context from AI Overviews makes Search more helpful. 

Amazon is closing all its Amazon Go and Amazon Fresh locations, which amounts to 72 stores nationwide. Geekwire.com says that the online giant will focus on its Whole Foods Market stores and grocery delivery from amazon.com. The Go and Fresh stores have been something of a 10 year long experiment, with the draw of ‘just walk out,’ avoiding check stands and the wait. The Go and Fresh stores will close after February 1st. Some Fresh stores will ultimately reopen as Whole Foods locations. Amazon says it will likely come up with new retail experiments in the future. The company has reported that it is now one of the top 3 grocers in the US, which over $150 billion in sales and 150 million customers shopping for groceries per year. 

Some new research shows that AI is causing more job losses in the United Kingdom than in other major countries. Theguardian.com reports that the study was commissioned by investment bank Morgan Stanley. It shows that net job losses in the UK the last 12 months were minus 8%…and that British businesses reported an average 11.5% increase in productivity. The US businesses reported similar productivity, but actually had an increase in job creation. The jobs most likely to be cut were early career jobs…Gen Z workers are most concerned for their jobs, while end of career baby boomers seemed less concerned…and appear to be in safer positions due to knowledge and experience. The AI related job reductions have hit white collar jobs most…finance and creative industries, and professional services like law, accounting, consulting, and marketing. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 

Microsoft Bows New AI Chip; Apple Unveils AirTag 2; EU is Probing Grok & X Over AI Deepfakes; ICE Using Phone & Web Data to Identify & Track People

Posted: January 26, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Microsoft has bowed a new chip designed for scaling AI inference. TechCrunch. com reports that the Maia 200 chip has been technically outfitted to run powerful AI models at faster speeds and with more efficiency, that according to Microsoft. Inference refers to the computing process of running a model, in contrast with the compute required to train it. As AI companies mature, inference costs have become an increasingly important part of their overall operating cost, leading to renewed interest in ways to optimize the process. Importantly, this chip is designed to be less of a power hog. It is noted that with the new chip, Microsoft is lessening their dependence on NVIDIA. Both Google and Amazon are running some of their own chips now. 

Apple has rolled out without any fanfare the AirTag 2. The upgraded AirTags have better range, and a louder speaker. According to 9to5mac.com, the AirTag 2 has Apple’s 2nd gen Ultra Wideband chip..which is already in the iPhone 17 handsets, as well as the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Series 11. It will work 50% further away than the older AirTag. You will be able to use Precision Finding on Apple Watch 9 and newer as well as the Watch Ultra 2 or later to find an Air Tag. The tiny speaker is also 50% louder. The AirTag 2 is available for order today, and ships this week. Pricing is the same as before, $29 for one, and $99 for a 4 pack. You can still get free personalization.

The EU is investigating X and Grok because they have failed to take action to stop the spread of AI generated sexually explicit images…including child sexual abuse material. Engadget.com says the probe could result in ‘further enforcement steps’ against X. The EU has already fined X $140 million. X did put out a statement regarding X and Grok, claiming “We remain committed to making X a safe platform for everyone and continue to have zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, nonconsensual nudity and unwanted sexual content.” 

ICE is using a couple of programs to track people in entire neighborhoods and monitor people on social media. Minnesota Public Radio reports that ICE is using Tangles to scrape sites like X and Bluesky, but are also using that tool in conjunction with Webloc. They can add people to a watch list so they are alerted every time a person posts something. If you are going to a protest area, whether to protest or to film, turn off location services on your phone. the camera will still work. Also, turn off Bluetooth. The Danish intelligence service has found that the US can use the ‘instant pairing’ feature that Google and Apple have…instead of having to key in a code like you used to…to pair with your phone and get your data. Just a word to the wise. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.

Apple-5 All New Products Coming; Musk Aiming to Take SpaceX Public; YouTube Working to Curb ‘AI Slop’; OpenAI Will Ship 1st Hardware in 2026

Posted: January 21, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s unusual for Apple to release more than one new product in a year, but this year will be a banner one for Cupertino. The Apple folks are reportedly going to bow 5 all-new products this year. Macrumors.com reports that most of these have been rumored for some time. At any rate, they include a smart home hub with screen (honestly, mockups look like a HomePod with an iPad attached), a FaceID doorbell, a cheaper MacBook with an A18 chip borrowed from the iPhone line, a folding iPhone, and…this one seems like the fabled ‘one more thing’ of the Jobs era…augmented reality glasses. While the latter may not make it out until 2027, Apple will likely show them off this year. It’s expected they will be similar to Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses…and like the latest of those, they will have in-lens display. 

We just reported that Anthropic, makers of Claude, plans an IPO this year. Now, Elon Musk has flipped, and will try to do an IPO of SpaceX this year, with the specific intent to beat Anthropic’s public offering, and also Google, which wants to build space based data centers. According to engadget.com, this rush has to do with Musk wanting to build AI data centers in space. Google recently announced it was looking into putting a data center in space, with test launches scheduled for 2027. Musk reportedly wants to beat his rival to the punch, but SpaceX would need the billions of dollars in capital that an IPO would deliver. Putting a giant center in space isn’t cheap. Musk wants to complete the IPO by July. 

Right now, over a million YouTube channels are using AI tools daily. Now, variety.com says that YouTube’s chief Neal Mohan has announced that the platform is taking steps to minimize the spread of low-quality AI content — aka “AI slop.” Mohan did note that later this year, “you’ll be able to create a Short using your own likeness,” as well as produce games with a text prompt and experiment with music. The YouTube chief continued, writing  “Throughout this evolution, AI will remain a tool for expression, not a replacement.” 

OpenAi is apparently getting set to ship their first product this year, and it will likely be ear buds. You may recall that we reported earlier that OpenAI had acquired Jony Ive’s startup io. Well now, techcrunch.com reports that the hardware may ship in the last half of this year. We do know that the device won’t have a screen and will be pocket sized. For now, the gadget is code-named ‘Sweet Pea.’ It is expected the design will be quite unique compared to most existing ear buds. They will run on a custom 2 nanometer processor and handle AI tasks locally instead of sending requests to the cloud. OpenAI has talked to both China’s Luxshare, and also to Taiwan’s Foxconn. They plan to ship 40-50 million units of the gadget.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 

Week Long Phone Battery Life Coming?; Apple Dynamic Island-Tiny Size and Moved; Sony TV Biz Spun to TCL; Sequoia Invests in Anthropic, Despite Also Backing OpenAI

Posted: January 20, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

It sounds like a dream come true for power users, or for those who just always forget to charge their phones. A 10,000 mAh battery is about to be shoehorned into a smartphone. Androidpolice.com reports that maker Realme has announced that it will put such a horse of a battery into its upcoming P4 Power phone. The phone is 8.5mm thick and weighs 215 grams, so the more powerful battery hasn’t really meant a giant brick shoved in your pocket. What Realme has done is use a 10% silicon anode in the battery and used a clever stacking system for components, making for maximum available space in the phone for the battery. While it may not give power users a whole week of use without plugging in, it will be close. Androidpolice.com noted that the OnePlus 15 has a 7300mAh battery and that lasts 3 to 4 days on a charge. It will be a nice breakthrough to see this phone out…and logically, to see similar tech show up in market leaders Samsung and Apple. Even making it 5 days through the work week without having to remember to charge will be huge.

There have been reports all year that the next iPhone will see a smaller ‘Dynamic Island.’ Now, according to apple insider.com, tipster Jon Prosser claims the iPhone 18 Pro could not only see the island and front cam shrink in size, but also but also move to the top left corner from the top center of the screen. In addition, Prosser joins others in saying that the iPhone 18 Pro will use an under display Face ID system. This will allow for more useable front screen area, without the clutter from cameras, etc. When the Dynamic Island expands for a notification or the like, it will grow to the right, but not down as the present one does…so again, leaving you more clean screen area. 

Sony was the market leader in TVs and home entertainment for years. Lately, you would be hard pressed to see a Sony TV in any big box store or ads online. Now, the verge.com says Sony is spinning off its TV business to a joint venture with TCL. In the deal, TCL will hold a 51% stake. The company will still use the Sony and Bravia branding. A deal is supposed to be finalized by the end of this quarter. Sony has retained an aura of a premium brand, but TVs have become commoditized to the point that they have really been eclipsed by a number of other brands. 

In an unusual departure, investment firm Sequoia Capital is pumping a bunch of cash into Anthropic, maker of the Claude AI. Techcrunch.com reports that investment firms have generally avoided backing competing companies in the same area, a Sequoia already has money in both OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI. In the case of being in those two AI startups that compete, it is notable that Sequoia already had ties to both Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and with Elon Musk. Anthropic is shooting to raise $350 billion in this funding round. Again, massive money is being pumped into AI, as we have noted here…with minuscule returns or no returns. For its part, Anthropic is allegedly planning an IPO this year. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.

Post AI World- Rant Clark Reid Tech Report Commentary

Posted: January 19, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

A subscriber commented that I do a lot about AI and much is— or seems repetitive. I replied to him…’no kidding’  I have touched on this here, but will elaborate a bit more now. My son in IT and I have had many conversations about AI. Both of us think it is an enormously hyped bubble. 

I have read a number of other folks who report on AI who think the same. There is a serious dot com bubble vibe to all this. Billions…maybe into the trillions…have been pumped into generative AI, and so far the returns have been puny. This may be the year…or maybe next year…that the big money people decide to pull the plug. We just reported a few days ago how some large PC makers are really disappointed about sales of AI capable PCs. The public just doesn’t see all that much value in it.

Can it be useful? Certainly. I have a granddaughter that is halfway through engineering school who uses it. She built a resume with ChatGPT, then had it do mock interviews with her. She got a good summer internship that will probably lead to a good job when she graduates. Her Mom uses it in her work a bit, but it’s just a tool that can do some things more quickly so far. Those are good uses, indeed. Some lawyers are finding it useful in drafting pleadings quickly. Most use Anthropic’s Claude. A few early on found out the hard way that the generative AI sometimes makes up cases or statutes, so even if it drafts a petition or response in 2 to 5 minutes…you will need to spend an hour or two double-checking the citations. It still saves a ton of time in this case. Now, Lexis has introduced an AI product for attorneys…I just got a snipe ad from them.

Super intelligence? One of the creators of Large Language Models left OpenAI to start his own startup. He has been joined by Jeff Bezos as Co-CEO. We reported on this here recently. He said upon leaving that generative AI is a dead end and he is going to try to figure out another way to get to super intelligence. The head of Meta’s AI has just left, too…and he also said AI isn’t going to become super intelligent and is a dead end. 

So the net is, in my view, generative AI will be a good tool and can be a time saver for people…but as for it being embedded in robots that will displace millions of jobs…nope. It isn’t going to have that capability, no matter how much Big Tech tries to will it to do so. Perhaps the next big thing will do those things…time will tell. Meanwhile, citizens, workers, bosses, and politicians had better be figuring out a way to pay a good living to all the people in the country after the next big thing and robotics displace much of the workforce. The folks in power love having more money and power, and are fine with regular people having next to nothing…BUT…a number of them understand that they don’t want to be on the receiving end of modern day mobs with pitchforks and torches coming for them. The time is now to figure out how to make this work. Even Elon Musk…who is no genius, except at buying up companies that are going somewhere and convincing the masses that he is a rocket scientist…when actually he just employs them…understands that people can’t just be displaced. He has said that in the future, no one will have to worry about money to live on…but has offered no specifics. Again…time to get thinking about this, billionaires and politicians.

I’m Clark Reid, and you aren’t ‘Technified’ now, but perhaps stimulated to ponder our post AI and robotic inhabited world. 

Gemini Personal Intelligence for Email & Photos; YouTube Bows Way for Parents to Block Kids from Shorts; Amazon Testing Superstore; Tesla Self-Driving Switches to Subscription

Posted: January 14, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Big Tech’s AI continues to push into all aspects of our computer lives, and now Google’s new Personal Intelligence will scan your email, photos, and apps to gain context for answers…IF you let it. Zdnet.com reports that the Personal Intelligence system is off by default. Personal Intelligence is new branding, but Google’s Gemini 3 is the core of it all. If you switch it on, it will pull details from your email and photos that could be useful in answering a question. Apple Intelligence does much the same…and IT will now have Gemini to help it to bulk up and do better at answering questions. 

YouTube is adding to parental controls. Now, Moms and Dads will be able to block kids from watching Shorts, or just limit the amount of time. According to TechCrunch.com, parents will also have the capability to set custom Bedtime and Take a Break reminders for their kids. In addition, since is can be a hassle to switch from your adult account to the kid account, YouTube says it will update the sign-up experience within the app to make it easier for parents and kids to toggle between their accounts with just a few taps… of course, that requires the parent or child to actually remember to make the switch.

Amazon has experimented with small stores and heavy automation, including just walk out pay systems that allow a person to pick up the goods and go…with their card being charged as they leave. Now, Amazon is going for Walmart, with a planned superstore in the Chicago area…it’s 229,000 square feet. Geekwire.com notes that Amazon says the store will offer fresh groceries, household essentials, and general merchandise, making it convenient for customers to shop a broad selection of items in one trip. That very much sounds like a Walmart super store or a Costco. Even with all the online shoppers Amazon has, data indicates that some 93% of their online customers still shop at a physical Walmart. 

Tesla’s Full Self-Driving option is no more as a purchase. Elon Musk announced on X that from now on, it will strictly be subscription beginning February 14th. Engadget.com reports that no pricing was announced…although up to now the subscription has been $99 a month or $999 a year. The shift could be advantageous for buyers, particularly if they decide to dump their new Tesla or trade it in. It will also allow prospective owners to hedge their bets, as Tesla has overpromised on the feature since it was first announced. Even the name is hype…it has never been, and isn’t now really ‘full self-driving.’

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 

Google Gemini Will Power Apple’s Siri; Amazon-97% of Its Devices Run Alexa+; Anthropic Bows Version of Coding AI for Regular People; Meta will Cut 10% of Reality Labs

Posted: January 13, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

We have reported on this for months…Apple has been shopping around, but mainly talking to Google…as they plan to drop ChatGPT which hasn’t worked well to beef up the ailing Siri. Now, it’s official…Macrumors.com reports that Cupertino has signed a multi-year deal with Google which will have Gemini help power a more personalized version of Siri, and also support a range of Apple Intelligence features that are in the pipeline. Note that everything will still run on Apple’s Private Cloud servers or your local device, so you won’t have more of your info basically uploaded to the world. The upgraded Siri should be out in March or April…about a year later than Apple originally promised. I don’t have high expectations about a more personalized Siri…I’d just like it to actually work decently…with any luck, adding some Google AI brainpower will make Siri at least somewhat competent.

Backwards compatibility is a beautiful thing…it’s a big pain …to say nothing of expense…when tech companies put out something and it won’t run on any of your gear. According to techcrunch.com, Amazon says its Alexa+ AI platform will run on 97% of the devices they have ever shipped. That is a lot of devices…about 600 million! Alexa+ offers more expressive voices, access to world knowledge similar to other AI assistants, and AI agents that perform tasks on behalf of the customer — like calling an Uber or ordering food. The company has been steadily rolling out access to the AI platform, with more than 1 million Alexa customers gaining access by last June, and now, “tens of millions” can opt in to upgrade to the AI assistant. Amazon hasn’t given an exact timeline for when it will be open to everyone…right now they are focused on making it available to all Prime members. 

Here’s a concept…a coding AI made for ‘regular people.’ That’s what Anthropic, maker of the Claude AI says they are putting out. Engadget.com says Anthropic is calling the feature Claude Cowork, and they claim it is “a simpler way for anyone — not just developers — to work with Claude.” After you give the system access to a folder on your computer, it can read, edit or create new files in that folder on your behalf. As examples of what it might do for you, they say you could ask Claude to organize your downloads folder, telling it to rename the files contained within to something that’s easier to parse at a glance. Another example: you could use Claude to turn screenshots of receipts and invoices into a spreadsheet for tracking expenses. Cowork can also navigate websites — provided you install Claude’s Chrome plugin. Anthropic touts the fact that “Cowork is designed to make using Claude for new work as simple as possible. You don’t need to keep manually providing context or converting Claude’s outputs into the right format,” the company said. “Nor do you have to wait for Claude to finish before offering further ideas or feedback: you can queue up tasks and let Claude work through them in parallel.” 

Meta is going to whack its Reality Labs division, cutting about 10% of the some 15,000 staffers there. Geekwire.com notes that this is the division that Mark Zuckerberg dumped a fortune into in creating the Metaverse…a virtual, imaginary space where your avatar could live and work. That has been a big dud, but the Reality Labs folks do also work with the VR headsets, so there could be some effects felt there by the layoffs. Meta employs about 78,000 worldwide. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 

UK Regulator Investigating X and Grok; AI PC’s Aren’t Selling; Google Pulls AI Overviews from Some Medical Questions; Walmart Expands Drone Deliveries

Posted: January 12, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

British regulator Ofcom has opened an investigation into X under the Online Safety Act. Engadget.com reports that this stems from the Grok AI chatbot on X being used to create and share undressed or skimpily dressed images of people…including sexualized images of children that it says may amount to child sexual abuse material. A couple of Asian countries including Malaysia have already banned Grok for the same reasons. If Ofcom deems that a company has broken the law, it can “require platforms to take specific steps to come into compliance or to remedy harm caused by the breach.” The regulator can additionally impose fines of up to £18 million ($24.3 million) or 10 percent of “qualifying” worldwide revenue, whichever of the two figures is higher. It can also seek a court order to stop payment providers or advertisers from working with a platform, or to require internet service providers to block a site in the UK. The UK government has said it would back any action that Ofcom takes against X.

A lot of us have played a bit with generative AI, and it is actually useful for some things. The problem is, the big tech firms behind AI are pretty determined to get us to use it for all sorts of things…things that we may be unwilling to use it for, or for which the learning curve is too high…or it’s too much of a pain to clean up after the wrong answers it gives out sometimes. Microsoft is in the thick of trying to get users to upgrade hardware in order to us their Copilot…which they are now touting as an AI-powered ‘agentic OS’ living within Windows 11. According to zdnet.com, Dell Vice Chairman Jeff Clarke spoke at CES and noted that the company had “an expectation of AI driving end-user demand, but it hasn’t quite been what we thought it was going to be a year ago.” Customers just aren’t seeing the value of AI PCs, and aren’t upgrading…some…particularly gamers…are not just refusing to upgrade from Windows 10 to the more intrusive Windows 11, but are ditching Microsoft all together for Linux. The agentic AI OS in computers may just not be quite ready for prime time yet. 

Google has pulled the AI overviews from some medical questions. Techcrunch.com says that after an investigation by The Guardian  which found that Google AI Overviews offered misleading information to certain health-related queries, the overviews disappeared. One of note was when users asked “what is the normal range for liver blood tests,” they would be presented with numbers that did not account for factors such as nationality, sex, ethnicity, or age, potentially leading them to think their results were healthy when they were not. After investigators tried several other queries, the AI Overviews were also gone. As has been noted before, it’s best not to just consult ‘Doctor Google,’ but to check with your actual physician when you are concerned about medical issues.

Walmart is adding to its on-demand drone delivery service. An added 150 stores will be making drone deliveries available, bringing the total to 270 locations…that Walmart says cover about 10% of the US population. Mashable.com notes that the drones come from Wing, which is a division of Google’s parent Alphabet. Walmart says it has completed over 150,000 successful drone deliveries since they started offering the service. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.

Grok-One Non-Consensual Sexualized Image Per Minute; Warner-Discovery Rejects Latest Paramount Bid; WhatsApp Gets Three New Group Chat Features; Steam OS Continues to Spread in Gaming Community

Posted: January 7, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Grok continues to be the ‘bad boy’ of platforms, and now according to content analysis firm Copyleaks, Grok is generating roughly one nonconsensual sexualized image per minute.’ Rolling Stone reports that while Grok isn’t generating nudes…it is creating deepfakes of women in either bikinis or skimpy lingerie or underwear. It should be noted that both the Google and OpenAI chatbots can be used to do similar things, but they apparently don’t have the vast pool of incels in their Moms’ basements cranking out the sheer number of deepfakes that Grok has. Grok is also being used to change pictures of some by putting them in more sexual positions…while remaining clothed…albeit skimpily. There is a humous side…the Grok tool was used to put Trump, Hegspeth, Rubio and others shown in a makeshift Mar a Lago war room in bikinis. Maybe that will move them do crack down on Grok more than the images of Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Millie Bobby Brown, and Sidney Sweeney. Even if the US doesn’t act, the European Commission is on the case so we may see some guardrails put on this obnoxious use of AI. 

Paramount has had another offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. According to techcrunch.com, the WB board unanimously rejected the Paramount Skydance revised offer of $108.4 billion. Warner called it a ‘leveraged buyout’ that would encumber the company with $87 billion in debt. The board again recommends the $82.87 billion deal with Netflix for its film and studio assets. It is likely that this isn’t the end of things, but it seems less likely that Paramount will be able to come up with a deal that is actually better than Netflix has put on the table. For movie and video lovers, setting aside the shareholders and corporate suite folks,,,the Netflix deal is best.

WhatsApp has a good user base here, but is very widely used around the world…one reason Meta bought the platform years ago. Now, they have announced 3 group features that will enhance chats. Macrumors.com says the features are Member Tags, Text Stickers, and Event Reminders. Member Tags let you assign yourself different roles in different group chats for more context – so you can be “Coach” in one thread and “Dad” in another, for example. Meanwhile, Text Stickers instantly turn typed words into sticker graphics that users can then save to custom packs.Lastly, with Event Reminders, now when you create and send an event in your group chat you can set custom early reminders for your invitees.The features are being made available to users worldwide now. 

If you aren’t into gaming, you probably aren’t familiar with the SteamOS, Steambox, or Valve. Here’s the thing, though. With the intrusive snoop features of Windows 11, many people are ditching it for Linux and now the SteamOs is making inroads. Arstechnica.com notes that at CES, Lenovo said it is going to launch a version of last year’s pricy but powerful Legion Go 2 handheld device. Lenovo was already the first maker to embrace the SteamOS…which is native to Valve hardware. Valve has now offered support for AMD powered hand held. Now, as Valve works on the Steam Frame VR headset, they are designing it specifically for ARM based hardware, and will make it easier to run on all ARM devices. The Valve Steam Machine is more than a handheld gaming system…it is a pretty powerful little computer, and you can switch from gaming to regular computing tasks. Microsoft should keep an eye on both the SteamOS and Linux…they aren’t anywhere near dethroning Microsoft, but at some point in the not too distant future, could substantially cut into their dominance in the PC market.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 

Nvidia’s New Chips’ Meta Adds Teleprompter & Virtual Writing to it’s Ray-Bans; Roborock Robot Vacuums Climb Stairs; Free AT&T WiFi on American Airlines

Posted: January 6, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Nvidia’s latest greatest Rubin computing architecture was announced at CES by CEO Jensen Huang. Techcrunch.com reports that the system is now in production and will ramp up further this year. Huang told CES attendees “Vera Rubin is designed to address this fundamental challenge that we have: The amount of computation necessary for AI is skyrocketing.” Huang told the audience. “Today, I can tell you that Vera Rubin is in full production.” The Rubin architecture replaces the Blackwell architecture Nvidia has as the top tier for AI. The system is designed to address a bottleneck in AI computing…it introduces an ew tier of storage that connects externally to the compute device, and allows users to scale their storage pool more efficiently. This Rubin system runs three and a half times after than the Blackwell on training tasks and five times after on inference tasks. It is also more thrifty when it comes to electricity use. 

Meta showed a couple of cool features at CES that it is adding to its Ray-Ban Display glasses. According to theverge.com, users are getting an option to text on their glasses without the use of their phone or keyboard. As long as they have the Meta Neural band on their wrist, they can wrote on any surface…a desk top, your leg, whatever is handy. The feature will work with WhatsApp and Messenger. The Display glasses are also getting a new teleprompter feature…that lets users copy notes from their phone into customizable text cards that display on the glasses. The Neural Band is used again here…to navigate through the cards. The teleprompter feature is getting a phased rollout this week.

One knock on robot vacuums is that they aren’t as handy for homes with stairs. Well, that is about to change with Roborocks new Robot Vacuums. Bgr.com notes that The Roborock Saros Rover is a demo item so far, but the company showed it off at CES…not only climbing stairs, but sliding down a ramp, jumping, and even dancing! The company says the final release date and list of features…to say nothing of price…are ‘to be announced.’  Well-heeled people with stairs who would love to automate vacuuming are doing a happy dance!

Free AT&T WiFi will be available on every American Airlines flight later this year. Androidauthority.com reports that in order to get the freebie, you will need to sign  up for American’s AAdvantage loyalty program. It is high speed, satellite-based WiFi. Delta and United already have high speed WiFi on board, via partnerships with T-Mobile and Starlink. So far, American has 900 mainline aircraft fitted with the high speed WiFi…they claim they will have more satellite-equipped aircraft than any other carrier when finished equipping the fleet. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 

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