Apple Reverses-Working on Touchscreen Macs; Microsoft Adds Unlimited Vacation Perk; Tesla Now Top US Luxury Car Brand; Finland Ups Wind Power by 75%

After refusing to do so for years, Apple is apparently working on touchscreens for Macs. More than a dozen years ago, Steve Jobs famously said that “touch surfaces don’t want to be vertical” due to arm fatigue associated with holding up a finger to the screen. Now, Macrumors.com reports that the company has changed course, and may be bringing touchscreens to Macs…including MacBook Pros. A MacBook Pro with an OLED screen could be the first of the touchscreen models starting in 2025. The laptop would still retain its traditional design, including a keyboard and trackpad. Considering how many times I have switched from my iPad…which has a third party keyboard, to using my MacBook Pro and tried to touch the screen to do something, I think this might be a pretty great move. 

Microsoft joins the elite group of tech companies that offer unlimited vacation time to employees. According to bgr.com, the new deal goes into effect on January 16th. Note that the policy doesn’t cover all employees…only salaried workers in the US. Unlimited vacation plans are already enjoyed by Salesforce, LinkedIn, Oracle, and Netflix. Microsoft is not cutting other benefits, either. The number of corporate holidays, leaves of absence, sick time, and the like stay the same. 

Tesla has already had cars that topped categories in US car sales, but has now hit a really big milestone. The EV maker is now the top luxury car brand in the US, eclipsing BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Lexus, Audi, and Cadillac. Electrek.co says it’s the first time in 25 years that the top luxury brand in the US has actually been an American car maker. It wasn’t close, either. Tesla outsold #2 BMW by over 100,000 vehicles. 

Finland ratcheted up their wind power capacity by 75% in 2022! Thenextweb.com reports that wind is now taking care of 14.1% of the country’s electrical needs, up from 9.3% in 2021. At the rate the country is adding wind generators, the Finns expect to be using wind power to cover 28% of the country’s electricity consumption by 2025! 

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