Switch 2-Fastest Selling Console Ever; X Threatened Lawsuits to Get Advertisers Back; Disney & Universal Sue Midjourney Over Copyright Infringement; New Suit Claims Costco Free Shipping Isn’t Free
Posted: June 11, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Gaming, News, Nintendo, Nintendo Switch, Video Games Leave a commentA big win for Nintendo! It’s official…the Switch 2 is the fastest selling game console of all time. Theverge.com reports that Nintendo says it sold more than 3.5 million Switch 2’s in just the first 4 days, passing up records it had set previously with systems, but also others. Niko Partners notes that it took Sony 16 days to sell 2.1 million PS4 consoles, and six weeks to reach 4.2 million units. The Switch 2 has also easily passed up the PS5 launch sales. It took 7 weeks…admittedly during the pandemic…to move 4.4 million units. Will Nintendo be able to continue this torrid pace? No one knows, but they are off to a hell of a start!
It is apparently lawsuit day for this report! According to a story picked up by mashable.com, Elon Musk, his stand-in CEO Linda Yaccarino, and X threatened several major advertisers with inclusion in their suit against the World Federation of Advertisers where X has accused the group of orchestrating an industry-wide boycott of the social media platform. This all dates back to 2022 when Musk took over Twitter and almost half the major advertisers headed for the exits. Some brands returned, but others didn’t. Now, the alleged message from X’s leadership is explicit: advertise with us, or risk becoming a defendant. Having come from the world of radio, I have to shake my head…I can’t remember anyone in the business threatening to sue an advertiser to get their business. Stay tuned, as they say!
Disney and Universal have sued Midjourney, claiming AI-related copyright infringement. Techcrunch.com says the platform has allegedly trained its art-generating and editing models on their content without permission. In the suit, the plaintiffs have included numerous examples of the studios’ copyrighted characters…like Homer Simpson and Darth Vader. Tech companies including OpenAI have pushed for legal cover to train on publicly available works, including copyrighted works, without having to ask creators for authorization or compensate them. In other words, they want to build their businesses on theft of other folks’ intellectual property. I think Midjourney will lose this…and it should be a warning to others like OpenAI. Disney…never mind Universal…has probably the toughest intellectual property legal department on earth!
A suit filed this week claims Costco misleads online shoppers…by implying free shipping, while the big-box retailer quietly inflates product prices to cover delivery costs. Geekwire.com notes that the suit says Costco displays “$0.00” for shipping during online checkout, leading customers to believe delivery is free when the cost is actually embedded in the product price. Costco acknowledges on its support pages that online prices may include shipping and handling, sometimes leading to higher prices online than in the company’s warehouse stores. However, the lawsuit argues those disclosures are buried in FAQ sections, not presented during checkout or on product pages. I would look for a vigorous defense…Costco can argue that customers know this. People know that ‘free shipping’ on Amazon with Prime isn’t free…nor covered by the membership…the shipping is simply built into the price! The same goes for Costco’s website.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Snap-Light Consumer AR Glasses in ’26; Threads is Getting DMs; EVs with 3,000 Mile Range on the Horizon; Apple White Paper- Power of New Generation AI Wildly Oversold
Posted: June 10, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence, chatgpt, ev-range, llm, technology, threads Leave a commentSnap is preparing to sell lightweight, consumer AR glasses in 2026. That’s the word from techcrunch.com. They will be called Specs. Snap’s Specs will feature many of the same augmented reality and artificial intelligence capabilities that are available on the company’s developer-facing smart glasses, the Spectacles 5. However, the company says the Specs will be smaller and lighter — ideally making them more innocuous to wear in public than their extremely large predecessors. So far, no word from Snap on pricing, or on how they plan to sell the glasses. If they are lightweight, work well, and don’t look goofy…Snap will have really pulled off something great in the smart glasses race.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that Threads will start testing its own direct messaging this week…which you will be able to use without leaving the platform. According to theverge.com, the testing will start in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Argentina, then expand to other nations. Users will see a separate inbox for Threads DMs, without having to connect to their linked Instagram account. At this point you will still have to have an Instagram account to use Threads. Maybe one day, they will split the baby, so to speak.
In a huge leap forward, a couple of researchers in South Korea have come up with a way to reduce silicon swelling in traditional EV battery designs. Bgr.com says that the better tech may take us from the 200-300 miles per charge to somewhere in the area of 3,000 mile range! That’s not all…using graphene in the batteries, they have shown that you can fully charge in something like 75 seconds…with no degradation in capacity for over 1,000 recharges. If this tech scales up, we may see truly revolutionary range in electric vehicles…and smartphones you won’t ever stress about running down the battery and being out of contact.
Apple has put out a research paper that some are nodding in the affirmative over…like myself, while others are stunned. Theguardian.com notes that the paper all but eviscerating the popular notion that large language models (LLMs, and their newest variant, LRMs, large reasoning models) are able to reason reliably. well-known venture capitalist Josh Wolfe went so far as to post on X that “Apple [had] just GaryMarcus’d LLM reasoning ability” – coining a new verb (and a compliment to me), referring to “the act of critically exposing or debunking the overhyped capabilities of artificial intelligence … by highlighting their limitations in reasoning, understanding, or general intelligence.” What Apple did was show that the leading models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Deepseek may “look smart – but when complexity rises, they collapse”. In short, these models are very good at a kind of pattern recognition, but often fail when they encounter novelty that forces them beyond the limits of their training, despite being, as the paper notes, “explicitly designed for reasoning tasks.” The Cliff’s Notes takeaway for you…relax…Artificial Intelligence and robots won’t be taking over…at least not yet.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Apple WWDC Highlights 6-9-25
Posted: June 9, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, iOS, iPhone, Tech, technology, WWDC Leave a commentThe hour and a half nonstop hype and ‘reality distortion field’ that is the Apple World Wide Developer Conference Keynote is over. So, cutting through the haze, what are some of the cool new features you might actually use? Although the presentation opened with a big hype for Apple Intelligence…which is running a bit behind…the various presenters did weave it throughout. As expected, the large, over-arching items though were the major redesign of iOS…which basically extends across all platforms. The first redesign since iOS 7, it is translucent, transparent, and pretty. New looks, design elements, and reimagined icons are the rule. Apple calls it ‘Liquid Glass.’ As we reported here, all the operating systems will get a unified naming system…iOS 26, macOS 26, etc…based on the year…what? You expected them to use this year, that’s half over? Nope…like the auto makers, they will have next year’s models out this Fall with next year’s model numbers.
As most of the useful features, in my opinion, are showing up on iOS..which is what most users use anyway, I will focus there…and skip over CarPlay and Vision OS. One of the biggest changes predicted, and which was announced, was to the phone app on the iPhone. Improving phone use…what a concept! the first thing they have done is pulled voicemails and calls from users together, rather like text messages. It does seem cleaner. Another change is a beefing up of call screening. The phone answers from unknown numbers silently in the background. When the caller shares their name and reason for the call, the phone rings…unless you have ringing off like I do!
A really cool feature is Hold Assist. The iPhone detects crappy hold music, and automatically mutes it. The call stays connected, and you can continue using your phone for other stuff while it holds its place in the queue. When an agent finally answers, they are asked to hold a moment, and you are connected with them.
Messages is getting some updates, too. You can now select backgrounds (like Facebook Messenger has) on group messages that all can see..including from your photo library or you can make an image from Apple’s Image Playground. They also have added polling and using Apple Cash in groups…so you can send or get cash…say to divvy up paying for lunch. By the way, like with the phone app, unknown texters are sent to a dedicated area so as not to bother, BUT with time sensitive messages like ‘your table is ready’ or a verification code, you will see those right away.
In messaging and the phone app, Live Translation can translate a caller speaking or typing in a different language on the fly, which will be way cool if you are traveling.
Apple Wallet gets more car keys for supported cars and driver licenses and even a digital ID for your US passport. Apple claims that you can use these at TSA checkpoints within the US, or in-apps. Boarding passes now include indoor mapping to help you get to your connecting flight without leaving the boarding pass…and Find My is built in too…to track your checked luggage.
Apple Watch gets the same Liquid Glass look, and as far as I can tell, not much else. There is a sure-to-become irritating ‘Workout Buddy’ that will say crap like ‘You’re Crushing it’ during your workout to encourage you…or just piss you off.
macOS Tahoe gets the Liquid Glass treatment, which really does look cool…the menu bar at the top is invisible now, and the mini=icons are kind of translucent…a much cleaner look. Live Translation comes to the Mac, along withe the improved Image Playground. Continuity has been improved…a great feature if you are deep into the Mac system as I am. You can start something on your Phone and pick right up on your Mac…or iPad. Here is a real feature…Apple FINALLY gives us a phone app on the Mac…which mirrors the one on the iPhone with most of the features like Call Screening and Live Translation.
iPad OS makes all iPads that can run the new system immediately more useful. Apple has finally brought real windowing to the iPad. You can move them, resize them, tile them, etc just like on a Mac. There is also a menu bar at the top…translucent like on the Mac. They have now made it so you can choose other audio and video inputs…so you can use a pro quality microphone and record your podcast on an iPad if you are traveling…or just prefer to use the smaller interface.
As noted at the top, I have skipped over Vision OS, which has some cool features…but I will be surprised if any subscribers to this report have dropped the $3500 to buy a Vision OS headset. It very well may be a great view of the future, but still a bit into the future and still very pricy.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Next MacOS Name etc Leaked; Samsung May Incorporate Perplexity’s AI; Meta Moving Product Risk Assessment to AI form Humans; 30% of Americans are Active AI Users
Posted: June 2, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Apple, Artificial Intelligence, chatgpt, openai, Samsung, technology Leave a commentApple’s World Wide Developer Conference is imminent, and a bit more has trickled out. We already reported that the operating systems will assume years as part of their naming system, as in macOS26. Now, macrumors.com reports that macOS26 will be named Tahoe. Apple burned through a number of names of big cats for its OS names for years, then switched to California names….like Yosemite, Monterey, and Sonoma. Along with the name, Apple will bow a more glass-like design with more translucent windows, buttons and icons…thus the connection to Lake Tahoe…famous for its clarity and being able to see deep down into the water. WWDC kicks off a week from today, on Monday June 9th, at 10am Pacific.
Samsung is moving forward on an investment in AI startup Perplexity, which would lead to the smartphone maker integrating the AI company’s tech into their devices. According to techcrunch.com, Samsung would use Perplexity’s AI brawn to power some of Samsung’s Bixby assistant features. A partnership deal with Perplexity may be sealed yet this year. Interestingly, Apple has also thought about adding Perplexity as a search engine to its Safari browser. Motorola already has a partnership with the AI firm.
Meta is planning to move assessment of its products’ potential harms from human reviewers to AI, aiming to speed up the process. Engadget.com notes that Meta is wanting to have up to 90% of risk assessments taken care of by AI…even considering it in areas like youth risk and ‘integrity,’ which includes violent content, misinformation and more. Meta employees who spoke with NPR warned AI may overlook serious risks that a human team would have been able to identify. It appears the old slogan of ‘move fast and break things’ is still well entrenched at Meta.
The folks at ComScore have done the analytics, and says that 30% of US people are actively using AI at least monthly. Top AI tools on the desktop are OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and the Canva designer. ComScore notes that 67 million people in the US are using AI on their mobile devices. Top categories on the desktop…besides AI assistants…are Audio with 23.8 million users, image generation with 23 million, and designs also with 23 million. Video generation shows up with 22.4 million. For mobile, ChatGPT has the highest number of visitors. In #2 is marketing platform Octane AI, followed by Canvas, Gemini, and social marketing tool Beacons.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Apple Renaming All OS at WWDC; Tesla Investors Demand Musk Work 40 Hours a Week; Nick Clegg Whines About Asking Artist Permission for AI Use; Anthropic Launches Claude Voice Mode
Posted: May 29, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, anthropic, Apple, Artificial Intelligence, chatgpt, technology, Tesla, writing Leave a commentApple will finally unify its operating system naming system at WWDC. Instead of different numbers for the MacOS and iOS, etc, all of the systems will use a year-based name. 9to5mac.com says they will jump 6 months ahead with the systems taking the names MacOS 26, iOS26, WatchOS 26, and so forth. Honestly, it is about time Apple fixed this. Now, people will know if they are using the latest system or not just by the year.
A group of pension fund leaders sent a letter Wednesday to Tesla Chairman Robyn Denholm, demanding that Elon Musk spend ‘at least’ 40 hours a week working at Tesla. According to CNBC, the investors say the company faces a ‘crisis.’ The letter says “Tesla’s stock price volatility, declining sales, as well as disconcerting reports regarding the company’s human rights practices, and a plummeting global reputation are cause for serious concern.” It continues “Moreover, many issues are linked to Mr. Musk’s actions outside of his role as Technoking and Chief Executive Officer at Tesla, including his high-profile role as an architect of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).” They also asked for a clear succession plan and an outside director with no connection to Musk or his relatives. Tesla stock is down 12% this year, and sales are off over 50% in Europe.
Former British Deputy Prime Minister and former Meta executive Nick Clegg has complained to United Kingdom regulators that a push fo artist consent would ‘basically kill’ the AI industry. Theverge.com notes that Clegg spoke at an event plugging his new book. He said the creative community should have the right to opt out of having their work used to train AI models. But he claimed it wasn’t feasible to ask for consent before ingesting their work first. “I just don’t know how you go around, asking everyone first. I just don’t see how that would work,” Clegg said. “And by the way if you did it in Britain and no one else did it, you would basically kill the AI industry in this country overnight.” I say, let it die, then. The union I belong to, SAG-AFTRA, has negotiated contracts which makes what seems a small ask…get artist permission first, and PAY us for use of our creative work, likenesses, and voices. That is not remotely a big demand. What Clegg and others want is the ability to steal creative work without asking permission in advance or paying. Since when is it reasonable to base an industry entirely on the theft of peoples’ creative works? An amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Bill would require technology companies to disclose what copyrighted works were used to train AI models. Paul McCartney, Dua Lipa, Elton John, and Andrew Lloyd Webber are among the hundreds of musicians, writers, designers, and journalists who signed an open letter in support of the amendment earlier in May. Good for them!
Anthropic has started to roll out a ‘voice mode’ for its Claude chatbot apps. Techcrunch.com reports that this lets mobile app users have “complete spoken conversations with Claude.” It will be out in English to users in the next few weeks. Anthropic is touting its use when your hands are busy but your mind isn’t. OpenAI and Google already have voice mode, as does Elon Musk’s Grok. Anthropic is offering 5 distinct voice options, and you can switch between text and voce on the fly…and can see a transcript and summary following conversations with Claude. Voice conversations count towards normal usage caps…that means 20 to 30 conversations is the most free users can expect.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Apple’s Failed Satellite Saga; NPR Sues Administration; Galaxy Z Flip 7 Globally to be All Snapdragon Powered; SteamOS 3.7-Gaming On Other Systems besides the Steam Deck
Posted: May 27, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentSomething I have considered a great emergency feature on Apple’s iPhones may be in for some long term issues. I’m talking about satellite connectivity. Apple has offered the feature since 2022, but actually started talking to Boeing about low orbit satellites back in 2015. 9to5mac.com reports that at that time, Cupertino envisioned offering full blown wireless internet service, in addition to emergency services. Apple pulled back due to concerns about damaging relations with the cellular carriers. Then, in 2022, Elon Musk approached Apple about Using SpaceX for satellite connectivity. Musk wanted $5 billion up front and a billion a year. Apple said nope. Musk gave them 72 hours, then said he would move forward with his own deal…which he has…in partnership with T-Mobile. Apple is now concerned if it adds to the emergency features, Musk will use his influence to get the government involved and get the feds to regulate Apple as a telecommunications carrier. Some are now predicting that Apple may abandon this satellite feature, and leave it to the carriers to handle. This would be a shame…the emergency satellite calling has saved lives in areas where there is no…and will never be any…cellular service.
NPR and 3 Colorado public radio station have sued the Trump White House over the president’s executive order, which acts to bar the use of congressionally appropriated funds by NPR and PBS. From NPR’s filing, quote: “It is not always obvious when the government has acted with a retaliatory purpose in violation of the First Amendment. ‘But this wolf comes as a wolf,'” states the legal brief for the public broadcasters. “The Order targets NPR and PBS expressly because, in the President’s view, their news and other content is not ‘fair, accurate, or unbiased.'” The line about the “wolf” was drawn from a 1988 dissent by the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. The lawsuit says the administration is usurping Congress’ right to direct how federal money will be spent and to pass laws. NPR reports itself that “The Executive Order is a clear violation of the Constitution and the First Amendment’s protections for freedom of speech and association, and freedom of the press,” that from a statement by NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher. The administration has been pursuing Harvard University over its diversity programs, in another instance where the Trump administration seems intent on throttling that institution and it’s faculty and students as they try to exercise their First Amendment rights.
Usually by mid to late summer, Samsung releases its latest folding phones. Now comes word that the Galaxy Z Flip 7 may be sold worldwide with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Chip. That is, worldwide, except for South Korea…where it will continue to have an Exynos 2500. Androidpolice.com says the folder will reportedly get a bigger 4300 mAh battery and as we reported earlier, will have a bigger cover display…along the lines of the latest Motorola folder. The big brother Galaxy Z Fold 7 will be notably thinner, and we expect a price bump due to the Trump tariffs.
In a big move for gamers, Valve has rolled out its SteamOS version 3.7 to the public. Arstechnica.com notes that this is no ordinary update…this one will run on PC hardware in addition to Valve’s Steam Deck. It will run on a number of other AMD powered handhelds and even AMD desktops and laptops in some cases. Some of the mobile systems it will run on including the Asus ROG Ally, the Lenovo Legion Go, and Legion Go S. Right now, the Legion Go S is the only one that will have fully baked SteamOS support. At present, the SteamOS is no drop-in replacement for Windows, that won’t happen without strong support for Intel or NVIDIA hardware…but that may be coming. With a lot of people and companies reluctant to upgrade to Windows 11, a fair number of gamers and do-it-yourselfers may just migrate to SteamOS…especially if the rumored support for Intel and NVIDIA happen.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
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