Hacked Verified Facebook Pages; Google Search-More Visual, ‘Snackable’-What? Bluesky Invites a Hot Item; Apple Looks to Emerging Markets
Posted: May 8, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentPeople post that they have been hacked on Facebook all the time, and usually their pages have just been cloned by some hairy, bearded troll in some place like Saint Petersburg. Now, techcrunch.com reports that a handful of verified Facebook pages were recently actually hacked, and caught pushing malware through ads approved by and purchased by the platform. In some cases, the pages were impersonating Facebook itself. Comprised accounts included official-sounding pages like ‘Meta Ads’ and “Meta Ads Manager.” Those accounts shared suspicious links to tens of thousands of followers, though their reach probably extended well beyond that through paid posts. All have been deactivated now, but as always, avoid the urge to click on a link. At least try copying it and pasting into your search so you can see what comes up.
Sometimes when you see something from a major tech company, you just know you have to talk about it immediately. Such is the case when an internal document leaked from Google to the Wall Street Journal that outlined a plan to make Google Search more ‘visual, snackable, personal, and human.’ Ok, we get the rest, but ‘snackable?’ So do they want us to gobble up search results? At any rate, according to 9to5google.com, one aspect of the changes involves adding more ‘short videos’ to search results…in response to the way a lot of young people get their information. Apparently, Google has determined that about 40% of young people turn to TikTok or Meta owned Instagram when searching for restaurants. Google also intends to display more online forum posts in search results like those from Reddit. Of course, this is all in addition to the Bard AI the search giant has started baking in to Google Search. Are we going to see the day when Google anticipates what you are thinking about snacking on, and it is delivered to your front porch in minutes? Stay tuned.
While Twitter has lost about half of its recent sign ups for its $8 a month Blue checkmark, Jack Dorsey’s Bluesky is a hot item. Engadget.com says the invite codes for the decentralized network, which isn’t publicly available yet, are now bringing hundreds of dollars on eBay. The iOS app has been downloaded some 375,000 times, and is one of the most popular social media apps in the Play Store just 2 weeks after launch. Some of the lucky few who have gotten (or bought) and invite and used Bluesky says it is the closest to Twitter of all the other apps aspiring to take users from the Musk owned platform…which stands to reason since it started as a project at Twitter under co-founder and previous CEO Jack Dorsey.
Apple is looking to emerging markets to shore up sales as growth slows in the US and China. Bloomberg.com reports that for Cupertino… Mexico, Indonesia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates all had best-ever quarterly sales in the most recent period — even while overall revenue declined. And Malaysia, Brazil and India had their best-ever March quarter. Most of those increases are being driven by iPhone sales. CEO Tim Cook noted that the emerging market upticks were a big plus as sales in the Americas, China and Japan had eased by 3%.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Techinfied’ for now.
Facebook Irate About FTC Proposed Ban on Monetizing Youth Data; Microsoft Opens Bing AI for Public Testing; Google Accounts Can Now Be Passwordless; Shopify Reducing Head Count by 20%
Posted: May 4, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentFacebook has their pants in a bunch after the FTC announced that they haven’t been doing enough to comply with a 2020 privacy order. Arstechnica.com is reporting that the feds allege that Facebook’s Messenger Kids product misled parents on who could connect to chat with minors and misrepresented who had access to private youth data. Now, the FTC has proposed changes to the 2020 order that would prohibit Facebook owner Meta from launching new products on any of its platforms without procuring written FTC compliance confirmation and prevent the company from monetizing any of the youth data it collects across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus. Among the most drastic proposed changes are a blanket prohibition against monetizing data of users under 18 and a pause on launching new products, services, or features ” without written confirmation from the assessor” confirming full compliance with the FTC’s order. A Meta spokesperson responded “We will vigorously fight this action and expect to prevail.”
It seems that Microsoft and Google are moving to artificial intelligence at warp speed. Now, Microsoft has opened Bing AI to everyone to test…kinda. According to engadget.com, you will still need to sign into Bing on the Edge browser or Bing mobile apps to use the chatbot, but there’s no wait list…anyone can do it. Bing AI is powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4. Redmond is adding several new features. For one, it can go beyond mere text responses to deliver charts, graphs and rich formatting. The Bing Image Creator, which taps into DALL-E to craft AI-generated pictures, also now supports the more than 100 languages that Bing’s standard search offers. Have at it, and enjoy interacting with our new, artificial intelligence overlords.
Google is moving to passkeys…a new cryptographic keys solution that requires a pre authenticated device. What’s that mean to you in plain language? They are dropping passwords in favor of things like Face ID and Fingerprint ID on trusted devices. Theverge.com reports that Passkeys are a safer, more convenient alternative now being adapted by Google, Apple, Microsoft, and other tech companies that are part of the FIDO Alliance. They can replace traditional passwords and other sign-in systems like 2FA or SMS verification with a local PIN or a device’s own biometric authentication — such as a fingerprint or Face ID. The cool thing is, the biometric data isn’t shared with Google…or other company…it lives in a secure enclave on the device. I have been using Apple’s biometrics for some time now, and it’s much easier and faster than remembering and typing in a slew of passwords. BTW, not all Google accounts will get the Passkeys bit…at least yet. I tried on a couple of commercial accounts, and it’s not available on those at this time.
Shopify is cutting its workforce by 20%, axing about 2,000 employees. Techcrunch.com reports that they are also spinning off their logistics business to Flexport for some 13% in stock. Shopify already cut its staffing by 10%…about 1,000 people…just 10 months ago. Shopify is thought to have a total workforce of between 10,000 and 11,600 employees. They will be giving 16 weeks severance pay, plus an added week for every year they have been with the company, and will continue medical benefits for that duration.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
New Pixels Launch May 11; Mozilla Picks Up Scam-Spotter Fakespot; Ford Mustang Mach-E Gets Range & Price Cut; Alphabet & Microsoft to Attend White House AI Safeguards Meeting
Posted: May 3, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentGoogle will be showing off its latest at I/O on May 10th, and now, thanks to a new leak, we may be seeing the launch of the Pixel 7a on May 11th. Androidpolice.com reports that, in addition to the form factor, a new blue color is shown in some renders picked up in India. The budget Pixel 7a is expected to be priced at around $500. Besides the less expensive Pixel phone, expect Google to tout artificial intelligence, the Android 14 OS, and maybe more hardware…such as the Pixel Tablet and Pixel Fold phone. The folding phone has been spotted in leaks, and the two sides lay nearly flat against each other, indicating it may have a less intrusive hinge than some of the folding phones already on the market.
Mozilla has picked up Fakespot…the review-checking, scam spotting service. According to arstechnica.com, Mozilla will integrate it into the Firefox browser, but Fakespot will not lose its Chrome, iOS, or Android versions. If you are unfamiliar with it, Fakespot is a service that explains how products you’ve never heard of could have 12,000 reviews with a 4.6-star average. Mozilla also wants to expand its “work around ethical AI and responsible advertising,” the company said in a blog post.
Ford has picked up sales of the electric Mustang Mach-E, and there’s good news and good news. Engadget.com says that first off, the base SUV’s starting price has been lowered by $3000 to $42,995…and that’s before the federal tax credit of $3750. The more pricy all wheel drive version also gets the same cut in base price. The standard version will now have a 250 mile range, while the all wheel drive model will make it around 226 miles on a charge. In addition, the new Mustangs will charge up from 10% to 80% on a DC fast charger in 33 minutes. They will fully charge faster on an AC charger at home, too. The hardware for BlueCruise is now standard, although after 90 days, you have to pay for the service…THAT hasn’t been cut, but increased, from $1900 for 3 years to $2100.
Vice President Harris is meeting Thursday…tomorrow, May 4th, with execs from Microsoft and Alphabet, as well as OpenAI and Anthropic as part of the administration’s efforts to press companies to install safeguards around the emerging artificial intelligence tech. According to Bloomberg, Harris and administration officials plan to tell the corporate leaders that they have a responsibility to mitigate potential harm from AI tools. Generative artificial intelligence tools have come under increased regulatory scrutiny as their popular use has exploded in recent months following the debut of ChatGPT. Microsoft has incorporated AI technology into its Bing search product, and Google released its rival Bard chatbot in March.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Apple & Google Propose Spec Preventing Unwanted Tracking; Teams Now Lets Small Businesses Make Money on Platform; IBM Pauses Back End Hiring in Favor of AI; Post Office Loads Up on Ford EVs as Proprietary EVs are Delayed
Posted: May 2, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentApple has had to take steps in the past to make it difficult for stalkers and such to track you using their AirTags system. Now, Macrumors.com says Apple and Google have partnered to submit a proposed industry specification to help fight misuse of Bluetooth trackers…particularly when used to track individuals. The companies have agreed to expand AirTag-like unwanted tracking alerts to third-party item trackers in future versions of iOS and Android. Tile, Samsung, Eufy, and others have expressed support for the draft spec. It is hoped it will be approved and adapted by the end of the year, then iOS and Android can implement it in future versions. Meanwhile, as if at cross purposes, the New York City police is handing out AirTags to people to help reduce car theft. I am trying to hope that none of those will be used by stalkers, but skeptical me is having a tough time with that!
Microsoft has launched a payment system inside Teams to let small businesses make money from appointments, classes, one-on-one sessions, webinars, and more. According to theverge.com, Teams business users in the US will be able to collect payments during a meeting…a useful feature for lawyers, financial advisors, instructors, tutors, and other small and mid-sized businesses. As a lot of folks in these lines of work had to go virtual during the pandemic, they and clients discovered they liked it. One commented he didn’t know if he would ever visit his accountant in person again. The Teams payment app can track money received or money outstanding during the meeting, and there are options for clients to pay at any point during the meeting. Stripe and PayPal payment methods are available right now, and GoDaddy payments will be coming soon. You can find the payments app for Teams at Microsoft’s business AppSource store right now.
In a rather ominous move, IBM is pausing or slowing hiring of back end positions such as HR as they move to incorporate artificial intelligence. Arvind Krishna, Big Blue’s CEO, dropped this in an interview with Bloomberg. Non-customer facing positions in the back end make up 26,000 jobs in IBM’s workforce, and Krishna said “I could easily see 30% of that getting replaced by AI and automation over a five-year period.” That’s in the ballpark of 7,800 human jobs that Krishna is interested in automating, and Bloomberg reports that IBM is still hiring customer-facing and software development roles. Krishna’s comments and decision to automate points to just how disposable the workforce is to executives and companies. The new wave of AI may be the most disruptive thing for the world of work in generations. AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton just quit Google to raise the alarm about the use and even more misuse of AI and its impact on work. Hinton noted that he had originally thought such changes due to AI were some 30 years away, but now has changed his mind, and is calling on world governments to take steps now to avoid major crises affecting substantial numbers of people.
The US Postal Service won’t be getting any of those strange looking proprietary electric vehicles until the middle of next year, now. The odd looking EVs made by defense contractor Oshkosh were supposed to be rolled out over a 10 year period…to the tune of some $485 million, and getting the post office between 50,000 and 165,000 vehicles. Meanwhile, arstechnica.com reports the post office will be taking up the slack by buying 9250 Ford E-Transit vans, and ordering another 14,000…which should be in service by the end of next year. The post office is building out charging stations at 75 post offices in the meantime, to keep them charged up when they arrive.
I’m Clark Reid, and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Z Flip 5-Bigger Outside Screen; Jack Dorsey on Elon Musk; Gurman Predictions for Apple WWDC; Mario Movie Does a Billion
Posted: May 1, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentIn a new report about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5, a new feature has been spied that may really jumpstart sales…a bigger outer screen. 9to5google.com notes that although the inner screen when unfolded has been fine, the puny sized outside screen has been less useful. New renders show the screen covering nearly the whole outside, extending down and alongside the camera bumps. It’s kind of a funky shape, but is estimated to be 3.4 inches, enough to actually be useful without opening the device to access the normal sized screen. No word yet on whether or not Samsung will allow full apps to use the outside display.
Saying what a lot of us are thinking, Twitter Co-Founder Jack Dorsey, writing on his latest project Bluesky…which is possibly the best Twitter clone out there right now…Elon Musk should have paid a billion or more and walked away from the Twitter deal. According to techcrunch.com, the remark came in a question form Bluesky user Jason Goldman. Dorsey did reiterate that he didn’t see how Twitter would have survived as a public company, though. Bluesky Social is still in beta…I am still on the waiting list for an invite…but all that have used it like it better than any other platform so far. It is somewhat decentralized…not quite like Mastodon…but better, according to a lot of folks. It is designed not to have to function as a public, profit making company…at least not now.
It’s just a bit over a month before Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference, and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman is expecting plenty of hardware reveals. One of the widely anticipated devices will be a 15 inch MacBook Air. Of course, it will have to share a great deal of on-stage time with the long-expected AR/VR headset. The latest operating systems will be showed off, from iOS 17, to MacOS 14, the latest TV OS, and WatchOS 10. A brand new rumor has the Watch getting widgets again, although apparently in a much nicer, slicker interface than a few years ago. As for the MacBook Air, Gurman says the form factor shouldn’t change, except for the size…and it will run on an M2 chip…the M3’s won’t be out until later this year.
In just under a month, the Super Mario Brothers Movie corset the billion dollar mark, becoming just the 5th pandemic-era film to clear that giant goalpost. Theverge.com reports that it took in $490 billion domestically and $532 billion internationally. Since it just opened in Japan and South Korea a few days ago, the Mario movie is expected to haul in quite a bit of additional cash. It’s a big vindication since the original Nintendo Super Mario Bros. film from 1993…which was a colossal flop at the box office. You can bet they are roughing out a story line already for a sequel.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
iOS 17 Getting Mood Tracker, AI Health Coach Next Year; Microsoft Beats Market Predictions; Google Revenues; Chrome Getting Universal Cam & Mic Toggles
Posted: April 26, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentMore leaks about Apple’s upcoming iOS 17 which should be previewed at World Wide Developers Conference in June. Macrumors.com reports that the system will be getting several new health-related features, as well as a mood tracker. Oh, great…now your iPhone will probably get a lock screen color changing display like a mood ring! Joking aside, the Health app is getting ported to the iPad for the first time, which will be cool. You could get more metrics on your screen on the iPad than on the phone’s app. A journaling app is also coming, as previously reported. Interestingly, an AI based health coach is on the drawing board, but that looks like it will be out in 2024, not in the upcoming version of iOS. The elusive blood pressure monitoring and non-invasive blood glucose monitoring are still a ways away.
Microsoft beat market expectations, hauling in $52.9 billion in their third quarter. The stock jumped 4% on the news. According to geekwire.com, Redmond had a 7% increase in revenue over last year. Continued growth in the cloud powered the gains. Gains are good, but 18 months ago, Microsoft had a 20% increase, so as they are looking good compared to some other tech companies, their huge gains are history for the time being. A lot of the easing is due to the worldwide slowdown in PC shipments…that caused a 28% decrease in Windows income for Microsoft.
Alphabet announced earnings for first quarter, and revenues were up 3% from the same quarter a year ago, but lower than the final quarter of 2022. Cloud revenue was up, but YouTube revenue was down from $6.87 billion to $6.69 billion. Other revenues…that’s the Play Store, and non-ad YouTube revenues were up from $6.82 billion a year ago to $7.41 billion the first 3 months of 2023.
With hybrid work, we are all still doing plenty of Zoom and Teams calls. Ever keep checking to make sure that mic is off, or need to turn off the cam? Chrome is riding to your rescue. Arstechnica.com reports that ChromeOS is getting universal mic and camera toggles, so you can avoid some of what we’ve all seen in memes and posts…half naked roommates or naked kids in the background, or the need to suddenly mute when commotion is going on at home. Not only are there new settings to turn off the mic and cam, but if an app tries to access either when you log in, a prompt will pop up and let you know the mic and or cam are on or off. It’s always good to affirmatively turn that cam on, not let the app do it the minute you log in.
I’m Clark Reid, and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Spotify Still Growing But Still Losing $; Microsoft to Unbundle Teams; Galaxy Z Fold Coming Early; Google Authenticator Now Syncs 2FA Codes on Different Devices
Posted: April 25, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentSpotify continues to be the 800 lb. gorilla of streaming, as it continues to gain users for the platform…but despite layoffs the first of the year, it is losing money. Appleinsider.com reports that the company bled away a quarter billion dollars first quarter, even after the reduction in staff. On the plus side, Spotify has 515 million active monthly users, which is a 22% increase from the previous year…their largest ever first quarter increase. The number of folks that pay to subscribe is up 15%, but attempts to expand into new types of audio hasn’t really helped the bottom line. The company projects that in this quarter, they will grow to 530 million users, with premium paid subscribers increasing to 217 million.
Microsoft is expected to stop bundling Teams with the Office productivity suite. This is being reported by Financial Times, and it appears to be aimed at evading a European Union antitrust investigation. The Times says companies will eventually be able to buy Office with or without Teams installed, but how that will work is not clear yet. Microsoft is in talks with EU regulators right now. In 2020, remote work platform Slack, which is now part of Salesforce, complained to the EU about the bundling of Teams with Office. Microsoft hasn’t had to wrangle with the Europeans over restraint of trade since 2009, and seems to be keen on avoiding litigation and big fines. Stay tuned.
On the word that a Pixel Fold phone may be imminent, Samsung is considering launching the Galaxy Z Fold 5 early, Instead of waiting until August for their next Unpacked event, Samsung may move it into July. According to Androidcentral.com, Samsung expects the Pixel Fold to pretty well go head to head with the Z Fold in specs and design…not to mention price, which has been rumored to be $1799…right in the wheelhouse of the Z Fold. The Pixel appears in leaks to have a rather chunky hinge, and Samsung may have a leg up with a new hinge design that allows a thinner phone. The hinge is also expected to be more durable, and give the phone more water resistance and the Z Fold should sport wider displays, too.
A lot of folks have been using Google Authenticator form their phones, just like lots of folks use Microsoft’s Authenticator. A problem has been, if your phone got lost or stolen, you were basically screwed. Now, zdnet.com reports that you will be able to back up and sync your one-time 2FA codes to your Google account via the cloud. That means you can access those same codes from a different device signed in with your Google account…especially if your primary device is unavailable. The updated apps are available now for both Android and iOS.
I’m Clark Reid, and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Twitter Blue Drama & Shenanigans; Supreme Court Will Decide if Officials Can Block on Social Media; Netflix Still Rules Very Fragmented Video Market; More on Apple AR Headset
Posted: April 24, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentAfter taking away thousands of legacy blue checkmarks on April 20th, Twitter has restored a number of them for accounts with large numbers of followers…even if they didn’t pay for Twitter Blue. This Blue check change has become a huge disaster for Elon Musk. Over the weekend, a number of dead celebrities have showed up with accounts after someone paid Twitter $8, and claimed to be the dead celeb. Accounts showed up with blue checks for Chadwick Boseman, Kobe Bryant, Anthony Bourdain, Paul Walker, Barbara Walters, Bob Saget, Kirstie Alley, and Michael Jackson…among others.
The Supreme Court has taken up a case on free speech and social media. According to reuters.com, the High Court will look at whether or not a public official can block their critics on social media. The case is an appeal of one from a couple school board members in Southern California. A lower court had ruled that they couldn’t block school parents on Facebook and Twitter when the parents were critical of the board members. Also rolled into the appeal is a case from a Michigan city official who blocked a citizen complaining about a local government’s COVID-19 response. It will be interesting to see the fusty old court wrangle with free speech as it applies on social media.
The TV and video streaming market is quite fragmented at this point, but Netflix remains king of the hill for streaming. Bloomberg.com says Netflix accounts for between 7-8% of viewing every month, based on Nielsen research. No one else is close, except YouTube with a bit over 4%. In fact, Netflix has more watch time than Hulu, Disney+, and HBO Max combined. Netflix also has the most shows in the top 10, followed by Disney.
More details about Apple’s mixed reality headset we think will be unveiled at WWDC in June. 9to5mac.com reports that it will have a MagSafe connector that will run to a battery pack which is about the size as an iPhone MagSafe one. The pack will go in a pocket or clip to your belt, and give about 2 hours of run time for the headset. Apple obviously expects people to carry an extra battery pack or two…so you can fork over more money to them if you want to use the thing for longer. The MagSafe cable is not removable from the battery pack, and it plugs into the headset and locks in with a turn. No change in one thing…it’s still expected to cost around three grand.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Tesla Q1 Down & So is Elon’s Giant Rocket; Microsoft Drops Twitter from Ad Platform; Google Employees Called Bard ‘Pathological Liar’; 15 Inch MacBook Air-No M2 Pro Chip
Posted: April 20, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentAnother terrible, very bad week for Elon Musk. Tesla reported net income for the first quarter yesterday of $2.51 billion. That’s down 24% from first quarter of 2022. TechCrunch.com notes that the EV maker has repeatedly dropped prices on its four models, the Model S, Model X, Model Y, and Model 3 in the US, Europe, and China. That’s boosted sales, with revenue up 24% over last year…but at the expense of profit margins. Meanwhile, this morning, SpaceX’s enormous Starship exploded 4 minutes after liftoff. “Starship just experienced what we call a rapid, unscheduled disassembly,” said John Insprucker, SpaceX’s principal integration engineer. Talk about double-talk…he could have cut to the chase…the sucker blew up!
Microsoft has dropped Twitter from its ad platform. According to mashable.com, Redmond will no longer support Twitter starting April 25…just 5 days from now. From that date, users will no longer be able to access their Twitter account through its Digital Marketing Center’s social media management tool, according to Microsoft. Users will also no longer be able to schedule, create, or manage tweets or tweet drafts. In addition, users won’t be able to view their past tweets and engagement on the Microsoft Advertising platform. In true form, Elon Musk is threatening to sue.
After Microsoft integrated ChatGPT into its Bing search engine, Google has been in high gear, rolling out the first tools of its Bard artificial intelligence chatbot in the next few weeks for search. Theverge.com says some employees have complained in internal messages that the system is a ‘pathological liar’ and have begged Google not to launch it. A Bloomberg report about this was based on talking to some 18 current and former Google employees. one employee noted how Bard would frequently give users dangerous advice, whether on topics like how to land a plane or scuba diving. Another said, “Bard is worse than useless: please do not launch.” Bloomberg says the company even “overruled a risk evaluation” submitted by an internal safety team saying the system was not ready for general use. Caveat emptor…let the buyer beware…and you ARE the buyer…you pay to use Google with troves of your data!
Well connected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo now says the upcoming 15 inch MacBook Air will have 2 different M2 chips available…but neither will be the Pro chip. 9to5mac.com reports that the M3 chip should be going into production in the second half of this year, followed by the M3 Pro and M3 Max versions. The 15 inch Air will just get an M2 chip with a couple varieties available…but really only more cores in one. This will pretty much be the same setup as the 13 inch MacBook Air. the bigger Air is expected this summer, and will probably be previewed at WWDC in June.
I’m Clark Reid, and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Europe Moves To Boost Chip Production; Meta-More Layoffs; Netflix Still Cracking Down on Account Sharing + Kills Mail Biz; FTC Warning- AI Tech Will Increase Fraud
Posted: April 19, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentThe European union has agreed to a $50 billion dollar plan to boost production of semiconductor chips there. Thenextweb.com reports that the production will generate chips for everything from phones to cars to refrigerators. The EU plans to double their market share from 10% to 20% of the semiconductor market by 2030. This, coupled with the plants being built in the US that should come online next year should reduce both the US and Europe’s dependence on China for the essential components.
Netflix is still angling to ding users for account sharing, but now it looks like the extra fee won’t hit US users until the 2nd quarter. According to engadget.com, Netflix has already imposed fees in 4 countries. They estimate there are over 100 million non-paying households mooching off friends or family. The fee hasn’t been set in stone yet, but the video streamer wants the skaters to at least pay something. In other news, Netflix will shut down its DVD rental business in September. I know, who knew people were still getting DVDs mailed to them? Netflix started with shipping DVDs about 25 years ago with the first DVD shipped a copy of Beetlejuice on March 10th, 1998. Netflix says it has shipped over 5.2 DVDs. The company says the most popular movie they ever shipped is The Blind Side.
As announced earlier, Meta is continuing with another round of layoffs today. Vox.com says that in this stage, there could be another 4,000 employees that get chopped. The total for this group of cuts is supposed to be around 10,000 if Meta is to be believed. When the platform fired 11,000 back in November that was supposed to be all at the time…then Zuck announced these additional layoffs last month. This group is supposed to be mainly tech departments, with the next round in may to be primarily from the business portion of the company. Meta had about 86,000 employees at the end of 2022.
This week, a photograph won a contest, and the person that submitted it refused the prize, announcing that it had been made by artificial intelligence,. We also know that voices can be duplicated, and have talked here about deepfakes…where some creep uses the tech to put someone’s face on another body. Well hold on to your wallets! TechCrunch.com reports that the FTC is warning that AI tech like ChatGPT will be used to ‘turbocharge’ fraud. The FTC is already staffing up and putting in new tech to track fraud, and in February they launched a new Office of Technology to support blocking or tracking down fraudsters.
I’m Clark Reid, and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
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