Cook Retiring, Ternus Will Helm Apple; Anthropic Gets Another $5 Billion from Amazon; CA Accuses Amazon of Price Fixing; OpenAI Releases Codex for Macs

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

Big Apple news dropped yesterday afternoon…Tim Cook is retiring as CEO, and Senior VP of hardware engineering John Ternus will take over that big chair. Engadget.com reports that this will happen September 1st. Cook will segue into an Executive Chairman role, so won’t completely disappear from the Apple universe. This is notable in one way as Ternus is 50…the same age as Cook when he took the reins in Cupertino, AND…Ternus worked for Steve Jobs at Apple. He will now be the last CEO of Apple who has had a direct connection to Steve Jobs. Ternus has kept a low profile, although he was featured in the rollout of the new MacBook Neo. He is credited with turning around the Macs and also had a big hand in Apple’s AirPods and Watch. 

Anthropic has announced that Amazon will pump another $5 billion into the company, bringing their total investment to $13 billion. There could be another $20 billion later, depending on benchmarks. According to tehcrunch.com, Anthropic has agreed to spend over $100 billion on Amazon Web Services over then next 10 years, getting them a new 5 gigawatts of computing capacity to train and run Claude. The deal specifically covers Amazon Trainium2 through Trainium4 chips, too…even though the 4 chip isn’t yet available. With ChatGPT now worth some $730 billion, venture capitalists have been offering Anthropic additional capital that would bring Anthropic’s valuation to $800 billion or more!

In other Amazon news, California is accusing Amazon of price fixing. Gizmodo.com says California Attorney General Rob Bonta is accusing the online giant of pressuring brands to increase prices for their products on other retailers’ websites so that Amazon would have a more competitive price. The allegations, which were made in a filing that is part of California’s ongoing antitrust lawsuit against Amazon and was unsealed on Monday, lay out a scheme in which Amazon used the leverage of its massive e-commerce platform to pressure companies into raising prices with other retailers or face punishment for failing to do so. According to the attorney general, Amazon demands a vendor “fix,” “correct,” “increase,” “raise,” or “look into” the prices of products on other retailers’ websites. The expectation is that the vendor will ultimately raise its prices everywhere but Amazon. To get that outcome, Amazon would allegedly threaten to punish the brand by restricting their advertising, demanding they pay compensation, or removing their products from Amazon altogether.

OpenAI has released Codex Chronicle for Macs. 9to5mac.com notes that this is something of a ‘super app.’ Right now, it is especially made for agentic coding. ChatGPT remains the more general AI chatbot app. The idea of Chronicle is to make Codex more aware of context without repeating details or being super specific with each prompt. It builds on memory, and that lets Codex learn from conversation history for context. It also can learn from recent screen context. In terms of privacy, Chronicle can be paused or disabled at any time from Codex’s menu bar app. However, OpenAI warns that Chronicle consumes rate limits quickly based on its current design.

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

RAM Shortage Could Last Years; Deezer-44% of Uploaded Songs are AI-No One Listens; NSA is Using Anthropic’s New Mythos; WWDC-Focus on Siri Improvements in iOS 27

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

I hate to start with a downer of a story, but theverge.com has picked up a report from Nikkei Asia that says even as suppliers ramp up DRAM production, they are only expected to be able to cover 60% of demand by the end of 2027. SK Group even says the shortage might last until 2030. What does that mean to you? More expensive everything that uses these ram memory chips….smartphones, tablets, computers, and more. Brace yourself for some price hikes, as the manufacturers aren’t going to want or be able to absorb the increase in chip prices due to the shortage. Why the big demand? AI data centers are hoovering up a giant cut of chip production…DRAM and processors, too. 

It has been pitched as something to help with mundane tasks, but so far, a lot of people seem to be using AI to try to replace creative work. We have all run across ‘AI slop’ written in long posts on social media, and the millions of cartoons and caricatures of people doing things. Music hasn’t been spared, either. According to TechCrunch.com, Deezer says 44% of songs uploaded to its platform daily are AI generated. That’s almost 75,000 tracks a day…over 2 million a month! Despite this flood of AI generated songs, they only amount to 1-3% of streams. 85% of the AI streams have been detected by Deezer and demonetized by the company. Deezer CEO Lanternier said in a press release “AI-generated music is now far from a marginal phenomenon and as daily deliveries keep increasing, we hope the whole music ecosystem will join us in taking action to help safeguard artists’ rights and promote transparency for fans. Thanks to our technology and the proactive measures we put in place more than a year ago, we have shown that it’s possible to reduce AI-related fraud and payment dilution in streaming to a minimum.” Yes, let’s leave the creative to the humans, please!

Although the Trump administration has allegedly barred the government from using Anthropic’s products, and even called them a security risk and supply chain risk…which Anthropic is fighting in court…the NSA has started using their latest model Mythos. This is the one that Anthropic briefed the White House about, and has said they won’t be releasing to the general public at this time. You may recall that the administration was angry about Anthropic insisting on safeguards for military uses during contract talks. I guess if you have a superior product, especially that can help out the all-seeing, all-knowing National Security Agency, they will use it whether or not the top brass in the government likes it or now. 

Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference will focus on the way overdue upgrade to the rather pitiful Siri. Appleinsider.com reports that the Siri updates will arrive with iOS 27 in the fall, but Apple will be previewing much of the improvement at WWDC. There will be a new chatbot-like interface, a separate Siri app, and it finally…finally…will handle multiple commands at a time. I am a simple man…I have just been waiting to be able to tell it to turn my lights on and set at 100%, without having to give one command, then wait for it to act, then give a second command. That has just been stupid. At least Apple knows it….if you call Siri out about being stupid or cuss it out, it scolds you. On iPhones, Siri will I’ve in the Dynamic Island and the little pill will expand in size when Siri is activated. As with the present version, there will be a little color glow around the island..like there is around the whole screen right now. The free standing app will get a little glow around the search bar.

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

Anthropic Briefed Administration on Mythos Model; FCC Exempts Netgear from Foreign Router Ban; Google Launches Native Gemini App for Mac; Deepfake Nude Crisis in Schools-Worse Than Many Realize 

Posted: April 15, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The co-founder of Anthropic has confirmed that the firm briefed the Trump administration on their Mythos AI model. Techcrunch.com notes that the new model will not be released to the public, due to it being ‘too dangerous’ and having powerful cybersecurity capabilities. Jack Clark, the co-founder of Anthropic said in an interview “Our position is the government has to know about this stuff, and we have to find new ways for the government to partner with a private sector that is making things that are truly revolutionizing the economy, but are going to have aspects to them which hit National Security, equities, and other ones…so absolutely, we talked to them about Mythos, and we’ll talk to them about the next models as well.” This comes after  reports last week that Trump officials were encouraging banks to test Mythos, including JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley. Let’s hope this claimed super Mythos model helps with cybersecurity and doesn’t make it easier for bad buys to crack security!

The Federal Communications Commission has just exempted Netgear from its ban on foreign routers…but strangely, gives no reason for the move. According to arstechnica.com, when the FCC banned foreign-made routers some 3 weeks ago, they said there could be exemptions in cases where the Department of Defense or Department of Homeland Security determines that the router does not pose national security risks. Router makers seeking conditional approvals must submit a justification for the use of foreign manufacturing and a “detailed, time-bound plan to establish or expand manufacturing in the United States.” The FCC and Netgear didn’t say what kind of justification or plan was submitted by Netgear.

Google has released a native Mac app for its Gemini AI…which up to now had just been on Android and iOS. 9to5google.com says This “native desktop experience” is launched via an Option + Space keyboard shortcut. There’s also the Gemini spark in the Menu Bar. You get a pill-shaped “Ask Gemini” bar with Liquid Glass. The “Add files and tools” plus at the left lets you upload Files, Drive, Photos, and NotebookLM, as well as Share window. Below, you will find Tools like Create image, Create video, Create music, Canvas, Deep research, Guided learning, and Personal intellegence. The window is identical to the one at gemini.google.com. You can share anything on your screen with Gemini, including local files. You can download it from theApp store. 

The use of deepfakes in schools is apparently worse than most know, despite laws that have been passed banning or restricting the tech. Apparently, teen boys are working industriously…downloading pics of girls they know from school from Instagram and Snapchat, then running them through ‘nudify’ apps that created fake nude photos or videos of them. Wired.com notes that the problem really started showing up in schools a couple years ago, but now have hit at least 90 schools worldwide and some 600 students…that’s according to a review of public incidents by Indicator. Generative AI has really opened the door to more of this. There are 30 reports from North America since 2023…and you can bet that incidents are drastically underreported. In a number of cases, things have been handled by schools, and haven’t hit the press. Deepfakes have been around since 2017, but have exponentially increased. 

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

Amazon Merges with Sat Provider Globalstar; Google Chrome AI ‘Skills’; OpenAI Buys Hiro-AI Personal Finance Startup; Lucid Gets New CEO & Cash Infusion 

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

Amazon is merging with satellite internet provider Globalstar. Engadget.com reports that this move should at some muscle to Amazon’s rival to Starlink, Leo. Globalstar is the satellite company behind Apple’s emergency SOS feature on iPhones and Apple Watches. Interestingly, Apple already owns 20% of Globalstar. Amazon and Apple have agreed Leo will “power satellite services for supported iPhone and Apple Watch models.” And that this support will continue as Leo’s network evolves, as well as collaborating “with Apple on future satellite services using Amazon Leo’s expanded satellite network.” Leo’s own direct to device service won’t start until 2028…the deal actually closes next year. 

Google Chrome has a new generative AI feature, and this is pretty cool. It’s called Skills. I know, really original name. At any rate, according to wired.com, Skills  are repeatable AI prompts you can run in Chrome with a keyboard shortcut. That sort of feature ought to attract a lot more people to AI who don’t want to learn or mess with trying to write and refine prompts. You can set up your own Skill using Gemini, Google’s chatbot, through the Chrome browser, or you can choose from the premade Skills Google released alongside this feature. The more than 50 presets in the Skills library cover a range of prompts that instruct Gemini to summarize YouTube videos, maximize your protein intake via recipe substitutions, or evaluate job listings. If you want to try out Skills, open up the Gemini in Chrome sidebar by clicking on the “Ask Gemini” sparkle icon in the upper-right corner of the screen. Then, type a forward slash in the prompt box to pick which Skill you would like to run. Have fun!

OpenAI has bought an AI personal finance startup called Hiro. Thenextweb.com notes that all 10 of the startup’s staff will join OpenAI. Hiro has built an app that offers AI-powered financial planning for consumers: users entered information about their salary, debts, and monthly costs, and the platform modeled different what-if scenarios to support financial decision-making. 

Silvio Napoli is the new CEO of Lucid Motors, the EV maker, after a year long search. TechCrunch.com reports that Napoli has mainly managed at Schindler Group, which makes elevators and escalators. Hey…they’re electric! Napoli will join the board. In another related story, Lucid has gotten another $200 million cash infusion from Uber, which will buy up to 25,000 of Lucid’s upcoming mid-sized vehicles to use as robotaxis. The majority owner of Lucid, Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, has also kicked in by buying another $550 million of the company’s shares. Lucid’s upcoming mid sized vehicle will sell in the $50,000 range, a much larger pool of customers than the $100,000 or really $150,000 plus subset of buyers. 

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

Apple Testing 4 Versions of Smart Glasses; Zuckerberg Building AI Clone for Meetings; Human X Conference-Lots of Buzz About Claude; Californians Sue over AI Tool for Doctor Visits

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

Apple has often not been first to test the water with new devices…dating clear back to the iPod…but have come to the party late with devices that wow users and grab a big chunk of market share. Engadget.com reports that they are now getting closer to entering the smart glasses sector. Cupertino is testing out 4 different styles for its smart glasses, which will compete with Meta’s Ray-Bans. Apple could end up releasing some or all 4, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. One style is a big rectangular frame that echoes the Ray-Ban Wayfarers, a second is a slimmer rectangular design much like the glasses CEO Tim Cook Wears. A third style is a large oval or circular frame, and the 4th version is a smaller round or oval frame. Apple is allegedly planning several colors…black, light brown, and ocean blue among them. The Apple glasses are expected to capture photos and videos, but are meant to better sync with an iPhone, allowing users to take advantage of Apple’s ecosystem for editing, sharing, phone calls, notifications, music and even its voice assistant, according to Gurman. The release of Apple’s smart glasses could even coincide with the upcoming improved Siri that should arrive with iOS 27. Mark Gurman also predict that the glasses could be revealed as early as the end of this year or early 2027. 

There are those who hate meetings, and those who say they don’t but are lying! Now, according to theverge.com, Mark Zuckerberg is working on an AI clone to replace him in meetings! Meta is training the clone to interact with and provide feedback to employees. It is being trained not only to mimic Zuck’s image and voice…but will have his mannerisms and will reflect his tone and public statements, “so that employees might feel more connected to the founder through interactions with it.” This sounds suspiciously like the failed Metaverse they were working on a couple of years ago which was just discontinued. I can remember Zuck demoing it, and showing how we would all have an avatar in that virtual world to act for us. What’s old is new again!

The Human X AI conference was held in San Francisco this past week. Techcrunch.com says that Anthropic’s Claude chatbot was getting lots of buzz. Interestingly, OpenAI’s ChatGPT wasn’t on the lips of a lot of attendees or vendors. One vendor told a TechCrunch reporter that they were using Claude a lot, but he felt ChatGPT and OpenAI had gone downhill…or in internet lingo, ‘fell off.’ OpenAI has been getting dinged for being to scattershot lately, and has moved to be more focused. Meanwhile, Anthropic’s Claude seems laser focused. Claude has now started being integrated into Microsoft Word for some paid legal users, and can revise and edit contracts and documents…leaving legal formatting intact. Anthropic does emphasize that any legal document still needs to be reviewed carefully by an attorney. A note: there have been two incidents at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s home the last few days. One involved a fellow with a Molotov cocktail, and another was a shooting of a gun towards Altman’s home. The man that had the cocktail was caught and is in jail at the moment. Police are still looking for the shooter, who took off in a vehicle.

Some Californians have sued Sutter Health and MemorialCare over an AI transcription tool which was used to record them without their consent. Arstechnica.com notes that doing so is a violation of both state and federal law. Apparently, the medical staff used a program called Abridge.AI. That system quote “captured and processed their confidential physician-patient communications. Plaintiffs did not receive clear notice that their medical conversations would be recorded by an artificial intelligence platform, transmitted outside the clinical setting, or processed through third-party systems.” Sutter has been partnering with Abridge for 2 years. 

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

Meta Releases Spark for Their AI App; VW Tests Self-Driving Microbuses in LA; Russian Military Hacks Thousands of Routers; Amazon is Dropping Support for Really Old Kindles

Posted: April 8, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Meta has released Spark, the first in a new family of AI systems dubbed Muse and coming from its Superintellegence team. Engadget.com reports that Spark is a so-called lightweight model, aimed at consumer use. Spark will offer both ‘instant’ and ‘thinking’ modes. In thinking mode, it will take a few extra moments to reason through your prompt. This is similar to what other companies’ consumer-facing AI systems are already doing. Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 3.7 had this feature set at the beginning of last year. Meta does say that they will offer an even more powerful ‘contemplating’ mode down the road. Meta Muse Spark is available today in the Meta AI app and meta.ai website. The new features are being released in the US first, with other countries to follow. In the comping weeks, they will also open up access to Spark via Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. 

Volkswagen has started testing out self-driving ID Buzz electric minivans in Los Angeles. This is for an upcoming launch with Uber of a robotaxi service using the minivans in late 2026. According to techcrunch.com, the plan is to expand to a number of US cities in the next 10 years after the L.A. rollout. For staters, VW will just be testing around 10 of the self-driving ID Buzz vans. They can carry 4 people. Eventually, they plan on 100 vehicles. At first, all will have a live safety driver aboard. 

The US government recently warned about buying foreign made routers…which is essentially all routers, and warned that they can be hacked. Now, arstechnica.com notes that thousands of consumer routers actually have been hacked by the Russian military. They have been able to harvest passwords and credential tokens they can use in espionage campaigns. An estimated 18,000 to 40,000 consumer routers, mostly those made by MikroTik and TP-Link, located in 120 countries are affected. The easiest way for people to know if their router has been compromised in the operation is to review the current DNS settings. If they list unrecognized servers. Users should also check event logs for any unrecognized changes to DNS server settings. People should also strongly consider replacing end-of-life routers with ones that receive regular security updates. People should never click through browser alerts warning of untrusted TLS certificates. Yeah…I know you probably won’t do all that…and so do the Russians. 

Amazon is dropping support for some really old Kindles starting on May 20th. Bgr.com reports that Kindle and Kindle Fire hardware released in 2012 and earlier won’t be able to buy, borrow, or download new content from the Kindle Store. Basically any Kindle before 2013 will still be usable, but you won’t be able to do the above. Honestly, if you have a 2012 Kindle and the battery will still charge, I’m amazed. Also…it’s a 14 year or 15 year old device…buy a new one, ya cheapskate!

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

iPhone Fold May Be on Track for September; Google Photos Adds ‘AI Enhance’ Button; Anthropic Launches Initiative to Prevent AI Cyberattacks; Spotify-Big Upgrade for Podcast Listeners

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

We have seen a couple reports that say Apple’s folding phone is being tested out right now after a small production run, but that it may not be out until around December. Now, techcrunch.com reports that highly reliable Apple tout Mark Gurman of Bloomberg says it is on track to bow in September along with the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. As with numerous brand new Apple products, it may not get into users’ hands until October, though. Apple apparently has resolved issues with screen quality and durability, and it has a notably less visible crease when it is unfolded. If it doesn’t cost over $2400, I’ll eat my hat…that is if I can find a nice, dark chocolate hat!

Google Photos gets an ‘AI Enhance button, and video playback speed controls. The features are being rolled out now according to 9to5google.com. The AI Enhance tool will work for Google Photos for all Android users. The button gives users an option to apply a magic fix to their photos, using AI, of course. It’s a sort of do-it-all button and gives users the option to skip over extensive editing with a quick fix that focuses on adjusting lighting and contrast levels. As for the video feature for Photos,  in each video, the three-dot menu will present “playback speed” among the other tools. Users can choose speeds from 0.25x to 2x. Google says this has been a long-requested feature. The video rollout isn’t global as yet…but should show up on Android devices everywhere shortly. 

Anthropic has launched Project Glasswing, which will use AI to try to prevent AI-powered cyberattacks. Engadget.com notes that they are joined in the effort by Amazon Web Services, Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, CrowdStrike, Google, JPMorganChase, the Linux Foundation, Microsoft, NVIDIA and Palo Alto Networks as partners. The participants will use Claude Mythos Preview, n unreleased, general-purpose model from Anthropic, to enhance their own security projects. Anthropic claims that this model has found thousands of exploitable vulnerabilities, “including some in every major operating system and web browser.” Let’s hope that this does help prevent or minimize AI cyberattacks. 

There is such a flood of podcasts out there, it’s hard to sift through all of them to find things that interest you. It’s kind of like scrolling through all the old movies on Netflix. Well, now Spotify has a potential solution. Androidpolice.com reports that they have expanded the Prompted Playlist feature to work with podcasts. You can create a playlist of podcasts with a text prompt. You give it a prompt, just like with music, and it uses AI to generate a playlist around it. The feature is rolling out to US users of Premium right now. You can set it up to refresh daily or weekly if you like. 

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

Samsung Will Discontinue its Messages App; Microsoft-Copilot Just for Entertainment Purposes; Used EV Prices Spike; LinkedIn Scans Chrome 6,000 Browser Extensions-Your Protection or Gathering Data?

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

If you have been using Messages on your Samsung device, get set to change apps. 9to5google.com reports that Samsung has put out an ‘End of Service Announcement’ for the US starting in July 2026. It will not affect really old devices, but if you have a halfway recent Samsung phone or the like…using Android 12 or newer…Samsung will guide you to Google Messages. This will happen with both an in-app notification and on-screen instructions. On Android 14+, the Google Messages icon will automatically shift to your home screen dock after switching. I couldn’t find where it imports your old messages, so you may be on your own on that.

We have done a number of stories that have covered how AI pretty frequently ‘hallucinates,’ or lies. Recently, the California Bar sent out a warning to attorneys telling them to check case citations and statute cites in filings with courts…or face fines and discipline should they submit filings with fake cases, etc. Now, it turns out Microsoft has re-affirmed that Copilot is for ‘entertainment purposes only,’ and if used for work, it should only be used as the first of multiple stages of fact-checking…rather than being relied upon. According to techradar.com, Microsoft says about Copilot “It can make mistakes, and it may not work as intended. Don’t rely on Copilot for important advice. Use Copilot at your own risk.” They are really trying to avoid liability here, and want users to know the AI is a tool, not a decision maker. Here’s the key line: “You agree to indemnify us and hold us harmless… from and against any claims, losses, and expenses… arising from or relating to your use of Copilot.” A hold harmless agreement…please do use it as a tool…it’s not ‘intelligent’ as the description Artificial Intelligence would imply!

This may seem to be a no kidding story, but Used EV prices are spiking along with gasoline prices. Wired.com notes that Cox Automotive data shows used EV prices up 12% since the 1st of the year. Edmunds also sees shopper research into EVs up several percentage points since the 1st of the year. So..just as Trump’s war has pushed gas prices up, and as the federal government discontinued the $7500 credit, so new EV sales fell and car makers throttled back production, the demand has gone up significantly for used EVs. EVs had been notably more expensive than gas models, but according to Cox Automotive, the average used EV is now just $1300 more than the average gas model. I know someone with a 120 mile a day commute. Even with a new $400 a month car payment on a used EV and the cost for charging it, he is saving $100 a month on gas. in 90 days, he will have erased that price premium. When the car is paid off, he will save even more. Food for thought in this time of extra pain at the pump. 

They claim it is for you protection, but every time you use LinkedIn on a Chrome browser, LinkedIn runs a hidden routine that probes your browser for more than 6,000 installed extensions, collects 48 hardware and software characteristics about your device, encrypts the resulting fingerprint, and attaches it to every API request you make during your session. Thenextweb.com reports that the scan is not disclosed in LinkedIn’s privacy policy. They insist that it is for your security. Ir also collects 48 different characteristics about your device. It collects info about competitors with its own sales tools, and also lists tools associated with neurodivergent conditions, religious practice, political interests, and job-hunting activity. The EU is investigating, as these qualify as sensitive personal data under their General Data Protection Regulation. Want to limit this? Use LinkedIn with Firefox, Safari, or another browser besides Chrome or Microsoft’s own browser. You will have to hunt for a setting to curb the scan, though. 

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

Apple is 50; SpaceX Files for IPO; 100 Baidu Robotaxis Froze in Traffic; Claude Code Leak Was an Accident, Not a Hack

Posted: April 1, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s not an April Fool’s Day joke. Apple Computer got its start 50 years ago. They have been able to come up with a couple of truly world-changing devices.,.the iPod and the iPhone. Will they eventually come out with a third device that can have that kind of impact like some smart glasses? Time will tell. Meanwhile, mashable.com notes that there is a really cool graphic sequence on Apple’s home page celebrating the company’s devices using colorful brush strokes. It’s a bit Google-like, frankly. Imitation as the fabled sincerest form of flattery. 

SpaceX has filed for an IPO…initial public offering of its stock. Engadget.com reports that while this was expected, most saw it happening in July. The Musk-owned company is looking for an IPO valuation of $1.75 trillion, which would make it the biggest IPO in history. SpaceX is the parent of X (formerly Twitter) and Grok, as well as xAI. The company is wanting to get its Starship rocket program on track, and has aspirations to build a base on the moon…and of course, Mars one day. They also plan for data centers for AI in space, orbiting the planet, as is in the works at several other tech companies. 

We have had a few instances of some robotaxis stalling out and jamming up traffic…notably in San Francisco. Now, according to thenextweb.com, the US robotaxi makers like Google’s Waymo have been one-upped big time…and not in a good way. Over 100 Baidu Apollo Go robotaxis froze mid-traffic in Wuhan…blocking many hundreds of commuters. There were some crashes, although police say there were no injuries. This is really scary when you know that Wuhan has over 1,000 driverless vehicles rolling around the city. It’s an embarrassment for Baidu, which has vehicles in 26 cities globally, and claims to have orders for some 20 million vehicles. Welcome to the future…where you can have 100 instantaneous, random traffic jams to ruin your commute.

Claude’s source code got into the wild, and it turns out that it wasn’t due to hackers. 9to5google.com says the code was mistakenly published by Anthropic in the middle of the night. That’s a hell of a mistake! Ahthropic has been aggressively promoting Claude as superior to ChatGPT, and touting tools to migrate your ChatGPT work over to Claude. So how did this massive screw up happen? Well, apparently at about 4 am Tuesday morning, Anthropic pushed out what was supposed to be a routine update to Claude. Apparently, included in that update was a source map file that led right to Claude’s source code. The debugging file contained 512,000 lines of proprietary TypeScript code, which was initially spotted and posted by someone on Twitter/X. It wasn’t long before that entire code package was downloaded and circulated to thousands, though this leak doesn’t seem to include Claude’s model data. Still, this interface code is a costly loss for the company. In other words, a pretty gigantic ‘Oops.’

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