SpaceX IPO May Exceed Goal; EU Orders Meta-Stop Blocking Rival Chatbots on WhatsApp; Google Makes Move on AI Subscriptions; Anthropic-Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 Upgrades for Cyber Partners
Posted: June 10, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence, chatgpt, llm, technology Leave a commentIt’s hard to tell what of this is hype and what’s not, but we will find out on Friday. Benzinga.com reports that SpaceX has allegedly attracted some $250 billion in investor demand, well above the $75 billion it was aiming to raise. That means it could be oversubscribed by 3-1/2 to 4 times the planned size. The company is expected to raise roughly $75 billion at a valuation of about $1.75 trillion, making it one of the biggest public offerings ever. The IPO pricing is likely to be announced on Thursday afternoon.
The EU has ordered Meta to quit blocking rival AI chatbots on WhatsApp. According to engadget.com, the EU is proceeding to investigate the messaging app’s owner over potential antitrust violations. Meta introduced a new policy in October 2025 that banned third-party AI chatbots from the WhatsApp for Business API, making Meta AI the only chatbot that can access the service. Before the ban, companies could send notifications through WhatsApp, such as order alerts, using other AI assistants. The EU warned that it may take interim steps against Meta while the investigation is ongoing. Meta will appeal the decision.
Some are calling it the AI price wars…as AI companies are getting ripped on and cancelled for high costs in enterprise. Uber burned through their entire budget in a quarter! Now, techcrunch.com says Google has announced it is cutting its monthly price for Google AI Plus from $7.99 to $4.99 and doubling the storage on the included tier form 200 gigs to 400 gigs. This update will be out to users in the next few days. Features include video generation via Omni Flash; the creative studio Google Flow; and NotebookLM, Google’s AI research assistant. If you want more, Google has AI Pro and AI Ultra with the expected higher prices and storage limits. Google notes that in the past, digital has seen things commoditize very quickly, and they expect that with AI…and want to get ahead of competitors.
Anthropic has pushed out a couple of new AI models called Claude Fable 5 and Claude Mythos 5. Wired.com reports that they have greater capabilities than the Mythos preview released in April. The initial limited release will only go to a limited set of industry partners. Anthropic says is it coordinating with the US government on the rollout. Fable 5 is basically the same underlying model as Mythos 5, but has stronger guardrails that will block the model from answering many user questions related to cybersecurity, biology, and chemistry. These requests will instead be rerouted to an older AI model, Claude Opus 4.8. If Anthropic suspects a user is trying to conduct distillation—training a smaller AI model off a larger AI model’s responses—on Claude Fable 5, those requests will also be rerouted to Claude Opus 4.8, the company says. Time will tell how these safeguards actually hold.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
OpenAI Announces IPO; China Bows Wind Powered Underwater AI Data Center; FCC Lifts Deadline on Amazon Leo Satellites, Judge Blocks Trump’s $100 Grand H-1B Visa Fee
Posted: June 9, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence, chatgpt, News, technology Leave a commentOpenAI, makers of ChatGPT, has filed for its initial public offering. Benzinga.com reports that the AI firm decided to announce as the information was going to be leaked anyway. OpenAI plans on evolving ChatGPT into something of a ‘Superapp,’ which they say “…will transcend the actual surface… what we’re building towards is where you have your own personal agent that is capable of helping you… across everything in your life, be it personally or at work.” OpenAI plans to give the US government early access to its new AI models. President Trump, meanwhile, has said that the government will take stakes in the AI companies like OpenAI.
China has launched the first wind-powered underwater data center. According to the guardian.com, the 24 megawatt facility is a joint project of HiCloud Technology and China Communications Construction, a company owned by the Chinese government. The plant is 6 miles off the coast of Shanghai, and is powered by a nearby offshore wind farm. The natural cooling from the ocean saves a vast amount of power. On land, anywhere between 25% and 40% of the total electrical demand for AI data centers comes from the need to pipe chilled water around the servers to keep them from overheating. This setup solves the problem of data centers syphoning off water for family and agriculture use, as well as that of the centers pushing up power costs for consumers. It should be noted that Microsoft did a pilot underwater data center project off the coast of Scotland in 2018, but that project stalled out. China admits the US firm was first. “Microsoft was earlier in proving the concept, while China moved further on commercial deployment because it was able to bring together market demand, industrial capability, marine engineering and policy support more quickly into a commercial project,” said Dr Hanjiang Dong of Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
The clock had been ticking, but now the FCC has kicked the can down the road for Amazon. Arstechnica.com says that a deadline had been coming for Amazon to get half its system of Leo satellites in orbit by the end of this July, but now has given them until July 30th, 2029 to get half of its some 3232 satellites in orbit. Right now, Amazon is the only company that can realistically get satellites in orbit to supply a broadband service that competes with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite network. The FCC considers it it the public interest to have a competitor for Starlink.
A court has blocked Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa fee scheme. Thenextweb.com reports that US District Judge Leo Sorokin ruled yesterday that the fee is an unlawful tax and must be vacated. The court noted that Congress has not delegated the power to levy such a tax to the executive branch. It already costs several thousand dollars to get an H-1B visa, which is generally paid by a sponsoring employer. The tech industry and other sectors have used these visas for years to bring in cheaper engineers and scientists. At present, there is a cap of 85,000 visas per year.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Apple WWDC Keynote 2026 Recap
Posted: June 8, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Apple, Artificial Intelligence, Tech, technology Leave a commentMacOS-the next version…MacOS 27 is called Golden Gate
Adjust Liquid glass from clear to tinted with slider. Sidebars now expand to left edge of window. App Icons are sharper and better defined.
Under the hood, a lot of tweaks have speeded up loading of apps and pictures on Macs and iPhones.
For WiFi when you are moving around, you won’t have to manually switch to cellular and back to disconnect from like an airport or coffee shop WiFi or the pestering Xfinity general WiFi that always tries to auto-connect
Index has been improved…which it desperately needed….so search will work better. Email search is also improved.
This is kinda cool…you can share photo albums with Android and Windows, and they can contribute to an album for say…a group or family trip.
Trust and Safety features- Child safety features have been expanded. Apple says they have conferred with a number of groups who specialize in child development.
Making the kid a Child Account blocks certain adult sites and enables parental controls. The kid can’t download an app without parental approval. Also, a new addition is ‘ask to browse,’ which works for kids under 13.
You can limit a child’s screen time. Apple calls this Time Allowances. They are based on the child’s age. Social medial is not allowed by default, but the parents can override this (you know kids will figure a work around instantly for this.)
Apple is launching a new website for parents to use the kid tools.
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AI and Apple
The real meat and potatoes of today’s keynote was all about the new, improved SiriAI. It was promised 2 years ago, but it is now here…at least for developers. The rest of us will have to wait until fall when the new operating systems are released. Apple’s Tim Cook says truly helpful AI must be centered around the user not just for its own sake.
Apple Claims the new Siri AI will be much more responsive and deeply integrated. Apple is being clear they have partnered with Google and their Gemini. They are trying to do as much as possible on device for privacy.
Higher accuracy dictation, and better language understanding are a welcome addition. I have gotten some pretty hilarious messages that Apple’s dictation mangled.
Personal context understanding…you can find items just by asking for them. Naturally, it can search the web, then boil down the info into an overview for you.
Privacy first…Apple is emphasizing how AI privacy is on by default…data is either on device or on Apple private cloud, where even Apple can’t see it.
The improved Siri includes personal context understanding and understands what’s on your screen. There is a new dedicated Siri App. It appears in the little bubble Apple calls the Dynamic Island at the top of the screen… which expands to present the answer.
You can have a picture on your screen, and ask Siri what and where it is and it will tell you.
The Dedicated Siri App lets you sync chats with different Apple devices. You can start a conversation on iPhone and continue on iPad or your Mac.
Camera gets a Siri mode…so you can aim cam at something and ask Siri what you are seeing…like foods, or use it on a restaurant ticket to split the bill.
You can ask Siri to generate a document, then go into that document and type. It automatically proofreads and will do so systemwide in real time no matter what app you are using.
A useful AI feature for Safari-it can organize your tabs into topics to make it easier to stay organized. Notify Me will monitor a site and bring that tab back when say, a product is back in stock.
The clean up feature in photos can let you shift perspective and move people around…like if you didn’t get the person or people centered in a pic. The item remove feature has been improved, too.
Siri AI will be launched later this year in Beta. It won’t be available in the EU or China at first, until Apple works things out with those governments.
I’m Clark Reid And you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Google Will Let Publishers Opt Out of AI Mode; Zuckerberg Wants AI Agents to ‘Run Your Whole Business’; Amazon’s Ring-Pay Americans for Scanning Faces; Microsoft Bows Scout-OpenClaw Clone
Posted: June 3, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence, chatgpt, seo, technology Leave a commentAs we’ve covered here and others have as well, Google continues to make search more AI driven. A lot of people have complained about the ‘AI Overview,’ and how links are placed under it. 9to5google.com is reporting that Google is introducing a new opt-out toggle in the Search Console to determine whether a site appears in and is used to help ground generative AI features. Sites that opt out will not receive traffic or impressions from AI Overviews, AI Mode, or AI Overviews in Google Discover, but will otherwise continue to appear in regular Google Search results and the Discover feed. There is a big caveat…this doesn’t apply to the Gemini app. Google is giving website publishers new generative AI Search stats in Search Console. Insights include impressions metrics, which pages appear in AI responses, and in what countries.
In the latest earnings call, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg intimated that Meta had major plans for AI agents. Now, there’s some movement in that direction. According to engadget.com, they have launched AI agent tools for businesses that rely on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger. Meta Business Agent will let business owners delegate many daily tasks, like interacting with customers and booking appointments. Meta even claims that the agent will have the ability to ‘close sales’ and recommend products. Meta does note that the human business owners can jump into interactions at any point. Zuckerberg says the ultimate goal is for the agents to ‘eventually help you run your whole business.’ It’s a freebie, right? Well, not for long. Meta will place the feature into one of its subscription offerings ‘in the coming months.’
A class action suit has bee filed against Amazon which looks for damages for millions of Americans whose faces may have been recorded by Ring cameras since the Familiar Faces feature was rolled out late last year. Arstechnica.com notes that the suit lists $5 million in damages, but that is just the legal threshold…and the plaintiffs will seek far more. What is the uproar about? Ring’s Familiar Faces feature is designed to identify people who appear at one’s door and provide alerts to the owner of the camera. Amazon says Familiar Faces is not enabled by default but that owners of Ring cameras can turn it on. Ring camera users can create a “personal directory of up to 50 familiar faces” so they can be alerted when one comes to the door. A personal note here…I have a Ring, and while the feature isn’t on by default, the app pesters you each time you check it to activate the feature. The lawsuit claims that the feature ‘violates basic notions of consumer privacy.’ Besides money damages, the suit seeks an injunction against Amazon, praying for the court to change Amazon’s behavior with regards to the Familiar Faces feature. Amazon has not commented on the suit so far.
OpenClaw, which has stormed into computers as an AI assistant, has gotten a lot of attention from the AI and tech communities. After OpenAI scooped up the founder of OpenClaw, techcrunch.com reports that Microsoft has dropped their own AI assistant…which operates similarly. Microsofts’s Scout is designed to bring what they are calling ‘power and flexibility’ to the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. It is an always-on agentic assistant, and it’s intended to work alongside the user, mimicking the user’s style and identity. Scout is available through Microsoft’s Frontier program, which if for early adaptors. It requires an GitHub Copilot subscription to use. Microsoft claims Scout will come with a built-in “policy conformance system” that will continuously check whether the system is operating according to set guidelines, and each conformance check will produce its own audit trail.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Prime Day (Week) in June; User-Replaceable Batteries; Microsoft Surface Ultra-Their 1st MacBook Pro Competitor; Florida Sues OpenAI & Sam Altman
Posted: June 2, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Apple, electronics, openai, Tech, technology, Travel Leave a commentAmazon has moved summer Prime Day up a month to June…June 23rd, specifically. Now, zd.com notes that Prime ‘Day’ has ballooned to 4 days…up from two the last few years. Amazon has Prime Big Deal Days in October, and Big Spring Sales in March…but the summer sale is their biggest. They will offer Big Deal Drops at 12 am, 8 am, and 1 pm Pacific…with generally up to 50% off on brands like LG, Ninja, and Stanley…as well as others. Amazon will also have 60% off on Alexa devices, and up to 65% off on Kindle, Echo, Ring, Fire TV, Blink, and eero devices.
The US government has been very hands-off on this, but the Europeans have been steaming right along, passing regulations on electronic devices that benefit consumers. Think of USB charging ports..which even made Apple give up their proprietary charging ports. Now, Theverge.com says the EU is stepping things up on reparability. New rules go into effect on February 18th, 2027. Users have to be able to remove and replace batteries with basic tools, or specialized tools that are provided with the product for free, and compatible spare batteries must be sold for at least five years. The tool requirement means swapping the battery doesn’t need to be as simple as popping off a clip-on cover, but can’t be much more complicated than removing a few standard screws. The regulation applies to headphones, e-readers, portable game consoles, laptops, and more. If it’s got a battery, it’s probably covered. There are two huge exceptions. Smartphones and tablets. They are covered by other laws. As a lot of phones are water resistant or even waterproof, the requirements only mandate that batteries must be replaceable by professional repair shops…but the batteries must be available to them to do the repairs. This is a real win against the ‘planned obsolescence’ the tech gadget manufacturers have borrowed from auto makers.
With the New Nvidia RTX Spark we just reported on, the upcoming Microsoft Laptop Ultra, which bows later this year, is expected to be Redmond’s first laptops that will really be able to compete with Apple’s MacBook Pro line. According to arstechnica.com, the new Ultra will be priced above the other laptops Microsoft sells, and will have plenty of accessory slots…USB-A, USB-C, HDMI, and also an SD card slot and headphone jack. For comparison, the MacBook Pro I write these reports on is several years old. It has Apple silicon, and besides a charging port, it rocks 3 USB-C ports, headphone jack, HDMI port, and and SD card slot. I use 3-4 of these slots regularly, so I think Microsoft has something here…all the slots you need, and a very powerful processing system that will run AI apps right on the machine. For those that are in the PC world and don’t love Macs, but need the power…the Ultra may be just the thing.
Florida is suing OpenAI and Sam Altman personally over the safety of ChatGPT. Thenextweb.com reports that there will likely be other states that will be suing OpenAI and Altman. This suit accuses OpenAI of violating product liability laws, engaging in deceptive trade practices, and releasing ChatGPT while knowing it was harmful to users. The state is seeking civil penalties and a court order blocking the company from collecting data from children under 13 without parental consent. This is the first government action that names Altman personally…seeking to hold him liable for what Florida calls “reckless and willful conduct” and “utter disregard for the risk to human life.” Stay tuned, there will be more of these filed by other states.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
YouTube to Auto-Label AI Videos; Erin Brockovitch Launches Crowdsourced AI Data Center Map; Spotify Lets you ‘Clip’ Segments from Favorite Podcasts; NASA Picks Blue Origin for Lunar Rover Delivery to Moon
Posted: May 27, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence, NASA, space, Spotify, technology, YouTube Leave a commentYouTube is going to automatically detect and label videos with what they term ‘significant’ photorealistic AI content. Thenextweb.com reports that the AI labeling will no longer be voluntary. The label will go for videos made with YouTube’s own tools or when verified by C2PA metadata. The labels will also have a more prominent position. For long-form videos, labels will now appear directly below the video player rather than in the expanded description, where most viewers never look. For Shorts, the label will appear as an overlay on the video itself. This is good, since some AI videos are pretty realistic…although a lot of the times, the content gives it away as AI slop.
There has been a lot of community uproar about AI data centers…and with good reason. They consume vast amounts of electricity and suck up lots of water…and in a lot of areas, especially rural ones, water is a pretty precious resource. Also, power companies have jacked up rates on consumers and cut deals with AI data center owners…basically giving them a volume discount. I know a few people in the midwest who are quite conservative politically who are even infuriated about this. Now, along comes Erin Brockovitch. According to engadget.com, she has launched a new platform that will give people “a platform to speak up and voice concerns about AI data centers in their communities.” The Brockovitch AI Data Center Reporting website has a map of major operational AI data centers AND facilities under construction in the US..plus projects reported by communities. Note that some show up that are rumored or proposed centers…so not every dot is an actual running center. https://brockovichdatacenter.com. Hit the link in the text to report one or see if there is one planned to hoover up your power and water!
Spotify is bowing a new feature that lets you ‘clip’ your favorite moments from a podcast an share them. The feature went live today. Techcrunch.com notes that in the app, a new scissors icon shows up in the ‘Now Playing’ view, and it lets you cut a particular segment from the podcast you are listening to…then share it with your audience on social media or with friends, coworkers, or really anyone else. You have the ability to trim the cut segment and preview it before sharing it. Then, just tap the sharing button for options to share.
NASA has picked Blue Origin to take lunar rovers to the moon as part of the Moon Base Initiative. Geekwire.com says the initial $188 million contract will be to get the robotic Blue Moon Mark 1 lander ready to deliver lunar terrain vehicles…with an option of another $280 million for two ‘task orders.’ The option depends on Blue Origin’s performance on the initial contract. The first LTV is due to be brought to the moon in advance of the Artemis 4 mission’s crewed landing, which is currently scheduled for 2028.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Microsoft Lets You Uninstall Copilot; Next Year’s iPhones-‘Radical’ New Design; SpaceX Pressed Pentagon to Pay More for Starlink; Google Smartglases Xreal Thinks It Has Cracked Smartglasses Code
Posted: May 26, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Apple, iPhone, News, technology Leave a commentAfter only getting about 3.3% of users to pay for Copilot, Microsoft is finally letting users and administrators fully uninstall the Copilot app from Windows 11. Thenextweb.com reports that the April 2026 update is the one that allows this. The removal is a bit complicated for IT admins, but for home users, just go to Settings, then Apps, then Installed Apps, search for Copilot, and tap Uninstall. Microsoft notes that it can be reinstalled later from the Microsoft Store if you should ever want it.
There have been rumors for months about next year’s 20th anniversary iPhones getting something of a major facelift…including a curved display on all 4 sides, and under-display FaceID. Now, according to 9to5mac.com, the rumors have come into better focus. Earlier reports had an iPhone 20…or whatever they end up calling it…would be a brand new model. Now, supply chain reports indicate that the whole iPhone line will get the so-called ‘quad-curved screen’. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg had originally reported that the redesign would only apply to the iPhone 19 Pro and Pro Max. It does look like there will be a second generation iPhone Ultra…the folding phone…if hinge issues can be worked out, as well as a new iPhone Air coming in 2027 in addition to the iPhone 19 Pro models.
SpaceX has reportedly been using its market leverage to push the Pentagon to spend more on satellite internet. Reuters.com notes that weeks after the US military began its campaign against Iran, SpaceX executives reportedly met with Department of Defense officials to talk about pricing. The message from Elon Musk’s company was essentially: You’re paying about $5,000 per Starlink terminal monthly, but you’re using it like a higher-tier aviation subscription that costs $25,000 per month. Time to upgrade. After some haggling, the Pentagon caved, and now it has nearly doubled the cost of using LUCAS kamikaze drones. A DoD spokesperson told Reuters that the agency is shopping around for Starlink competitors…but the pickens are slim…with almost 10,000 satellites that account for about 60% of the global total in orbit, SpaceX has the upper hand…for now.
Smartglasses are about to replace smartphones…we’ve been hearing that for years now. TechCrunch.com reports that Google’s partner on smart glasses…Xreal…believes it has mastered what’s needed to do the trick. The thought is that some lightweight smart glasses could pull people away from staring at their smartphone screens, and just get the info they want or need by looking at the glass they are already wearing. So far, ‘everybody’s losing money,’ according to Chi Xu, the founder and CEO of Xreal. Major issues have been thought to solve with glasses…they are most all large, bulky, and need either an outside computer like a smartphone, plus an outboard battery pack…not exactly svelte. Xreal has solved part of the problem…the glasses aren’t thick and ugly, but Xreal’s newest model Aura is wired smart glasses that have OLED displays embedded within them, meaning that you can watch high-resolution videos within the frames themselves. Somewhat awkwardly, Aura comes tethered to a “puck” — essentially a phone-shaped mini-computer that powers the experience behind the glasses. When using it, you can ostensibly just slip it into your pocket. The glasses are available for developers now, and should be out to the public later this year. Xu thinks they may actually be able to break even on them next year.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
LinkedIn Policing ‘AI Slop’; Discord Bows End-toEnd Encryption on Voice and Video Calls; FBI Wants Real-Time Access to License Plate Cans Nationwide; GitHub Breached-3800 Repositories Exfiltrated
Posted: May 20, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence, chatgpt, discord, FBI, flock, LinkedIn, security, technology Leave a commentLinkedIn has had more than its share of AI slop. Now, they are moving to reduce the reach of posts that have hallmarks of AI-generated slop. Engadget.com reports that LinkedIn’s changes will target everything from outright engagement bait, to recycled “thought leadership” and other “generic” content that “lacks the authenticity and originality.” The company is also taking aim at posts and comments that have obvious signs of AI construction like “it’s not X, it’s Y,” phrasing. It would be great if Facebook would follow suit. I frequently see lengthy, verbose posts about someone famous or a historical figure that are obviously written by AI. LinkedIn notes that they aren’t going to take down the AI posts, they will just make sure they don’t appear in other users’ recommendations. The posts will still appear on the poster’s wall, and will be viewable by their direct connections and followers. This is really a good move, as LinkedIn positions itself as a more professional platform. Again…I hope other platforms will follow their lead.
The online platform Discord is rolling out end-to-end encryption on all voice and video calls. If you aren’t familiar with Discord, it started as a gamer platform initially, but now has all sorts of communities…creators, businesses, and interest groups in addition to gaming. According to bleepingcomputer.com, Discord claims 690 million registered users and over 200 million monthly active users worldwide. I have some younger family members that have set up their own group of family and friends, and use it to chat and communicate frequently.
In a giant overreach, the FBI wants immediate access to license plate cams nationwide. Talk about casting too wide a net, as the legal expression goes. Arstechnica.com says the feds will pay vendors to help it teach and search of vehicles in near real time. In a statement, the FBI says this is “To evaluate and manage threats to personal safety, property, and law enforcement, the FBI requires professional service firms that can provide License Plate Readers (LPRs) for tracking subjects on roads and highways over the US and its territories.” Flock and Motorola have the cams, and will likely bid on this contract. Flock has deals with over 12,000 cities, towns, counties, and business partners. Some cities have voted to remove the intrusive cams, as they pick up everyone driving past. Motorola sells license plate reader cams that can be installed on busy roadways or even on police cars. Some of the cam data has been handed over to ICE. Flock points out that sharing with the feds is off by default, and that cities and the like have to grant access. They claim that the data from the cams is the property of the agencies that own the cameras. More than ever, Big Brother is Watching!
After an employee device was compromised with what is being called a poisoned VS Code extension, GitHub has confirmed that cybercrime group TeamPCP has exfiltrated around 3800 internal repositories..such as customer enterprises, organizations, and repositories. Thenextweb.com notes that Microsoft-owned GitHub is the world’s largest code-hosting platform. The bad guys want $50,000 or they will leak the proprietary source code and internal organization files. The company moved quickly once it detected the intrusion, isolating the compromised device, removing the extension, and rotating critical credentials within hours. GitHub stressed that the activity involved exfiltration of internal repositories only and that it had found no evidence of impact to customer data, enterprise accounts, or user-hosted repositories. If a platform built on code review and version control can be penetrated through a rogue extension, the implications for less security-mature organizations are sobering.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Apple Announces WWDC, New Features & Watch Ultra; Google I/O News; Musk Loses in OpenAI Suit & Will Appeal; Iran Wants $ From Big Tech to Use Hormuz Undersea Cable
Posted: May 19, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Apple, Artificial Intelligence, chatgpt, Google, iran, llm, openai, technology Leave a commentApple announced their World Wide Developers Conference today. It will start June 8th. Besides that, macrumors.com reports that the next Apple Watch Ultra is getting a new high blood pressure notification feature. It isn’t clear how this differs from the Hypertension Notifications they already have, but whatever it is…is under FDA review, so it might actually be able to give you blood pressure readings. The new feature uses the optical heart-rate sensor to analyze how blood vessels respond to each heartbeat. Apple is still working on blood-glucose monitoring. The actually had this a couple years ago, but the working model is too big to fit into a watch…and they need to shrink it down to fit…so not surprising that it is taking a while.
Apple has also updated accessibility features to use Apple Intelligence. VoiceOver, Magnifier, Voice Control and Accessibility reader will all get the beefed up AI help. VoiceOver Image Explorer gives more detailed descriptions to the user….and lets you ask questions about what the camera viewfinder sees. Voice Control has natural language input, so you can describe onscreen elements conversationally. Accessibility Reader has added support for articles with multiple columns, images, and tables. It will also give on-demand summaries to you. This is a wild feature for those few users who have Apple Vision Pro headsets…power wheelchair control. The headset’s precision eye-tracking system can be used to control the chair for users who can’t use a joystick! Expect most of these features in the fall when iOS27 etc roll out.
The Google A/I 2 day developer conference got underway this morning, with a flood of announcements. First off, it’s Gemini 3.5, a new family of models. According to theverge.com, Gemini 3.5 Flash is now the default model for the Gemini app and AI mode in Search. The Pro version will be out next month. A new family of models is also out…Gemini Omni. This will be in the Gemini app, Google Flow, and YouTube Shorts. Omni Flash will be able to generate video clips from prompts that include a variety of inputs including text, photos, video, and audio (unlike Google’s Veo model, which is only text to video). Google also rolled out Spark, their response to the very popular OpenClaw. The always-on agent can write emails, make study guides, and watch for hidden credit card fees. Google AI Studio lets you build Android apps using prompts.
There was more, but in the spirit of a Steve Jobs ‘one more thing,’ Google showed an updated version of its Project Aura smart glasses. The refreshed compute puck has a fingerprint sensor, and has a lanyard so you can wear the puck and the glasses. Continuing on the glasses topic, there were 2 new pairs of Android XR glasses shown off…one from Warby Parker and another from Gentle Monster. Like the base Meta Ray-Bans, these glasses are audio only…no display…so not quite a return of the old Google Glass. Google has also launched Universal Cart. You can add products to it from YouTube, Search, Gemini, and Gmail. Google says this “intelligent shopping cart” works across different merchants and services, like Nike, Target, Walmart, Ulta Beauty, Sephora, Wayfair, and Shopify. So, you could add products from Nike and Target to your Universal Cart and check out from both at the same time. It will also spot and includes perks and loyalty discounts.
As you have no doubt heard, Elon Musk lost his suit against OpenAI yesterday. The jury only took 2 hours to bring the verdict. Cnbc.com notes that the primary issue was that the case was brought too late to make it in under the statute of limitations. Musk had claimed that OpenAI execs had ‘stole a charity’, with the change by the company to allow part of it to go public and be for-profit. It apparently wan’t lost on the jury and the court that Musk has a rival company in xAI, which is a for-profit entity…although it hasn’t turned any profit yet. OpenAI is now planning to move forward with its IPO stock offering this year. Musk is expected to appeal to the Ninth Circuit, as his attorneys say he lost on a technicality. It seems unlikely that the Court will buy that argument since the statute of limitations has long passed.
Not satisfied with trying to extract fees for ships getting through the Strait of Hormuz, now Iran is demanding that Big Tech pay fees for the undersea internet cables in the Strait. Arstechnica.com reports that the Iranians have specifically named Meta, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. They want to extract what they are calling license fees for use and maintenance of the cables. Tech firms are already looking at alternatives. Iran has intimated that they might damage or cut the cables if they don’t get their way. Cables do get damaged anyway, as some ships accidentally drag their anchors, or trawlers using weighted fishing nets do damage as they fish the sea floor. Te4ch companies are looking to bypass this extortion by using over land fiber optic cables. With huge data centers planned in the Middle East, more of those will need to be run, and soon.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
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