Insider Selling Tracks 2007; Apple & Samsung Phones Investigated for Excess Radiation; Netflix-Easier to Find New & Upcoming Shows; Google Maps-New Android Auto Shortcuts

The leaders of Corporate America are cashing in their chips as doubts grow about the sustainability of the longest bull market in American history. CNN.com says that corporate insiders have sold an average of $600 million of stock per day in August, according to TrimTabs Investment Research, which tracks stock market liquidity. August is on track to be the fifth month of the year in which insider selling tops $10 billion. The only other times that has happened was 2006 and 2007, the period before the last bear market in stocks. Winston Chua, an analyst at TrimTabs, noted “When insiders sell, it’s a sign they believe valuations are high and it’s a good time to be outside the market.”  

The Federal Communications Commission is reportedly investigating the claim that certain smartphones from Apple and Samsung emit higher levels of radiation than is allowed by the FCC. Businessinsider.com reports that the Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 — as well as the Samsung Galaxy S8, Galaxy S9, and Galaxy J3 — were found to emit higher levels of radiation than they’re supposed to. Both Apple and Samsung say they comply with FCC regulations. The health risks of smartphone radiation are still uncertain. The higher radiation levels were mostly recorded in a test that simulated the phones at 2mm away from a human body — so, when a user holds up a phone to their ear during a phone calls, or when a phone is in a pocket.

It’s now easier to find what’s NEW and COMING SOON on Netflix. Mashable.com reports that  a “Latest” tab is now on your TV’s nav bar — it will show you titles that are: Brand new, Coming this week & Coming next week. You can also click “Remind Me” to receive a notification when those new titles launch. Preview videos and movie trailers will accompany the upcoming Netflix releases. A similar feature is available on Android with a “Coming Soon” section. It’s also currently being tested on iOS. The “Latest” tab will be curated based on each users’ preferences and will refresh throughout the day.

The centerpiece of Google’s Android Auto experience is Google Maps. Now, they’ve widely rolled out a new set of buttons for Maps users on Android Auto that make things just a bit more convenient. According to 9to5google.com, over the past few days, the Android Auto interface for Google Maps has introduced these new shortcut buttons for a good number of users. The buttons expand on what Google previously offered. In past versions, only the settings icon appeared underneath navigation details. Now, these new shortcuts include alternate routes, better search, a button for locations, and an overflow menu for other options.

Disney+…4 Streams & 4K; AT&T & FTC Settle Over ‘Unlimited’ Data Throttling; Sony and Yamaha- Self-Driving Cart for Theme Parks; DNA Test Sites Slowdown-Calm Before Storm

Disney has fired a rather large cannon shot over the bow of Netflix and others with its Disney+ streaming service. According to macrumors.com, the service, announced at the D23 expo in Anaheim, will offer up to four simultaneous streams and 4 K content for $6.99 a month! You can already get 4 simultaneous streams and 4K from Netflix…but that will set you back $16 a month! Netflix obviously has a huge library to draw from, but Disney’s planned launch in November will have 500 feature films and over 7,500 shows…including the entire Pixar library. Take my money!

In a deal reached August 2nd, but just published, AT&T has settled its case with the FTC over throttling ‘unlimited’ data, that has been in court since 2014. 9to5mac.com reports that there is still a 90 day stay in place while the FTC reviews details. Other carriers have throttled and continue to do so, but the main issue here was that AT&T didn’t really disclose it. AT&T has always contended it only affected a ‘small number of users.’

Sony is now partnering with Yamaha on its SC-1 Sociable Cart. Engadget.com says the cart, which is being expanded to 5 a 5 passenger model, will be aimed at theme parks, golf courses, and ‘commercial facilities.’ The self-driving carts have NO windows, but instead has a 49-inch mixed reality display inside. Outside, it’s a rolling billboard, with 4 55 inch displays serving ads to passers-by. They expect the cart to go into service in Japan before March 2020, and come to the US after that.

Sales of consumer facing DNA tests form Ancestry and 23andMe are off this year. They haven’t offered any reasons, but it may be natural tapering off of early adopters combined with privacy concerns. CNBC.com reports that Illumina, which makes equipment that converts DNA to bits and bytes, says while short term things are softer, they look for bigger long-term growth as companies add more health reports like showing heart disease risk…even with continued privacy concerns. Illumina likens the first wave to hobbyists using PCs, and sees the next as a big explosion like when PCs started showing up in nearly every home.

Physical Apple Card & Leather; Future Google ‘Nest Mini’; Gmail To Autocorrect Typos & Grammar; Bose Portable Speaker Runs Alexa AND Google Assistant

Documentation from Apple warns not to keep your new physical Apple card in a leather wallet or in denim…as either may cause ‘permanent discoloration that will not wash off.’ According to arstechnica.com, the titanium card is painted white, and this warning purely relates to the cosmetic appearance, you may want to store it in a sleeve or in a wallet or bag made of soft material. Apple also warns about slotting it with other credit cards, which can demagnetize the magnetic stripe…but that’s true of al credit cards. You can clean it with a gentle swipe of a soft, microfiber cloth and a bit of isopropyl alcohol. Maybe they should have just left it bare titanium….

Google is readying an updated Home Mini which will be rebranded the ‘Nest Mini’. 9to5google.com reports that it will feature better sound quality and louder available volume, a wall mount, and a 3.5 mm stereo jack. The leak doesn’t specify if the jack is for audio input, or is an output jack for an additional speaker or headphones. Of note: the Nest Mini will apparently have some sort of proximity awareness like the Nest thermostat and Hub. No word on pricing, but a good guess is that Google will stay close to the $49 price point of the last model. The Nest Mini is expected to bow at the Pixel 4 event this Fall.

Gmail is going to get an update that will feature autocorrect for grammar and typos. Thenextweb.com says the update is rolling out now for G Suite users on the web, and it uses AI to spot the errors. Small spelling errors will be corrected for you on the fly. If it detects a grammar error, you’ll see a squiggly blue line under the phrase or sentence. The features are being ported over from Google Docs, which got them back in February.

So far, Bose has just had relatively inexpensive portable speakers. Now, that changes, with a new model named (rather plainly) Portable Home Speaker. According to techcrunch.com, the $350 speaker comes with a handle that swings up like on a bucket, so it can be toted from room to room. It’s smaller in diameter than the Apple Home Pod, and the killer feature (without hearing it of course…the audio sound should be in that category for $350!) is that the Bose rocks two mics and runs Google Assistant AND Amazon Alexa. It also has AirPlay2 and Spotify connectivity baked in. The Bose Portable Home Speaker bows September 19th.

Facebook ‘Clear History’—Doesn’t; LinkedIn Has Blocked 21.6 Million Fakes This Year; YouTube Concedes Robot Fight Videos Aren’t Animal Cruelty; Amazon Doubling Presence in Portland

At F8 2018, Facebook made a big deal about a plan to let users remove browsing data from the platform. It’s now rolling out…at least in Spain, Ireland, and South Korea. Mashable.com reports that the rub is…’Clear History’ doesn’t actually clear anything. It just ‘disconnects’ users from your data. Your data continues to live on Facebook servers. The social network whines that it would be too time-consuming and possibly unreliable to remove it! You will be able to opt to disconnect your future browsing from your account…although this won’t stop Facebook from collecting data about your activity in the first place! I, for one, am resigned to our Facebook overlords knowing what I’m going to do before I even think of it. Gah!

We just reported on Twitter killing a substantial number of accounts controlled by the Chinese government, aiming to disrupt the Hong Kong Protests. Well, LinkedIn has been busy this year, blocking 21.6 million fake accounts the first half of 2019! According to geekwire.com, the vast majority….19.5 million…were blocked at the registration stage, and never even went live on the network. They spotted and nuked another 2 million, with 67,000 accounts flagged by users and then killed off by LinkedIn. One thing that has kept the Microsoft owned platform out of the hornet’s nest of fake news and politics is pointed out by Editor in Chief Dan Roth. He notes that “You talk on LinkedIn the same way you talk in the office.” “There are certain boundaries around what is acceptable.”

YouTube has relented and apologized after taking down robot fight videos, claiming originally that they violated YouTube’s policy against “deliberate infliction of animal suffering” such as “dog fighting and cock fighting.” Gizmodo.com says the 9 videos that were pulled down are once again online. You have to give YouTube a little credit…a spokesperson told Motherboard “With the massive volume of videos on our site, sometimes we make the wrong call.”

Amazon is beefing up its operation in Portland, Ore., with 400 people being added to their staff there. Geekwire.com reports that Amazon is moving into a new 84,000 square foot office there. Amazon plans to double its Portland workforce with the move to the new space. The roles are in operations, software engineering, product management, as well as other tech fields. Portland is the tech hub for Amazon Web Services, the company’s giant cloud division.

Twitter & Facebook Kill Covert Chinese Government Accounts; Apple TV Coming in November; Minecraft Graphics Update; IFTTT Warns Not to Migrate Nests to Google Accounts

Twitter is no longer going to accept ads from state controlled media outlets. This is on the heels of their taking down a covert Chinese social media campaign aimed at undermining pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Facebook also killed the accounts controlled by the Chinese government. Cnn.com reports that Twitter said the new policy would only apply to “news media entities that are either financially or editorially controlled by the state.” Twitter killed over 900 accounts traced back to the Chinese government. Facebook identified around a dozen pages that were followed by some 15,000 accounts before they pulled down the pages. It may sound like a drop in the bucket, but it’s a start.

Apple plans to launch Apple TV+ in November, as part of their effort to hit $50 billion in services sales by 2020. According to bloomberg.com, they will roll out a small selection of shows…around a half dozen originals, and have a free trial period. Most Apple watchers think the plan will end up being priced $9.99 a month like Apple News and Apple Music. This will be a tad higher than Amazon Prime and Netflix at $8.99, and notably higher than Disney+ which is debuting at $6.99. The first shows will be ‘The Morning Show,’ with Jennifer Anniston Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell, which already has a trailer out, ‘Amazing Stories,’, ’See’ (with Jason Momoa), ‘Truth Be Told,’ with Octavia Spencer, and a documentary about pricey houses called ‘Home.’

Microsoft if bringing Nvidia’s RTX ‘ray tracing tech’ to Minecraft. Businessinsider.com says says ray tracing enhances video game graphics by enhancing the lighting to look more realistic than in conventional video game lighting. Right now, the upgrade will only be on PCs. Rumor is, the next generation xBox will get ray tracing tech, but it won’t be Nvidia’s….Project Scarlett, the next gen xBox runs AMD hardware. In one way, this is a big move for Microsoft, as Minecraft has been playable on very cheap, underpowered computers (as cheap as a $350 laptop), and to play with the ray tracing upgrade, you will need an Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics card, which runs about $350 just by itself!

Google has planned to move Nest devices to the Google ecosystem for simplicity’s sake, but now with pushback from users, will maintain Works With Nest connections for some third party integration. TechCrunch.com reports that migrating over breaks connections with non-Nest gear using IFTTT integration over Works with Nest. They say it is irreversible. If you are using devices that run IFTTT applets, do not move over to Google, because they will lose functionality after August 31st.

Disney+ to Support Chromecast & Android TV; Spotify Premium Family Plan Gets Explicit Filter; Tesla’ Solar Rental Program; Titanium Apple Watch

Disney has officially announced that Disney+ Streaming service will support Google’s Chromecast and Android TV. 9to5google.com reports the word came in and investor conference. The service will launch in November. Already announced support includes Roku, Apple TV, iOS, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and web browsers like Google Chrome. Disney said you can directly subscribe through in-app purchases like on iOS, but hasn’t affirmed that Google Play will support this.

Spotify is unveiling a new Premium Family Plan that gives parents the ability to filter out explicit content to individual accounts. According to engadget.com, it also includes ‘Family Mix,’ which opens up access to personalized playlists for the whole family. The feature allows granular control…so you don’t go into a coma over ‘Frozen’ and the like! The family plan gives you 6 individual accounts for $15 a month. It does require that all reside in the same household, although it appears they really haven’t been enforcing that so far.

After picking up SolarCity a while back, Tesla kind of dropped the ball. Now, they are looking to rental to give the business a shot in the arm. TechCrunch.com says that in the 3 years since Tesla picked up SolarCity, they have only deployed 29 megawatts of solar installations, while the number one and number two providers…SunRun and Vivint installed 103 and 56 megawatts respectively. Tesla will offer customers an option to rent solar systems ranging from $65 a month for a small system to $195 for its largest one. Customers only need to pay a $100 fully refundable charge at the outset. The catch? (Yes, there’s always a catch!) The contract can be cancelled at any time, but Tesla will charge users $1500 to remove the system once it has been installed. It remains to be seen if this will work as well as the no money down lease model SolarCity had used quite effectively before being acquired by Tesla.

A couple images have been spotted in the beta of Watch OS for the upcoming Apple Watch models. According to 9to5mac.com, one graphic shows a ceramic case (which Apple has previously had in the past), but also a Titanium case, which would be a whole new thing. It’s unknown if the titanium Watch would replace the stainless steel model or be a brand new offering. In the past, before dropping ceramic for Watch 4, Apple had offered both a white and a grey ceramic watch. It’s been speculated that since Apple is rolling out the Apple Card in titanium, that maybe they have new interest in that metal. Presumably, the aluminum Apple Watch will be continued as the entry level version to keep a lower price point.

Google Assistant-Reminders to Friends & Family; GM Shows EV Utility Vehicle; New iPhone 11 Details; Facebook Simplifies Group Privacy Settings

Google has announced a new feature for Assistant that lets you send reminders to others like friends and family…as long as they are part of an opt-in group of fellow Assistant users. Theverge.com reports that a parent could (over) use this to send reminders to kids, or spouses to the significant other, etc. Google says it could also be used for friends or roommates. The reminders can be created with either voice or text, and can be set to pop up on the recipient’s phone at a set time OR location. It all works via “Hey Google,” like other Assistant features. You can either create a Family Group online at families.google.com or use the Smart Display or a smart speaker with Assistant built in as long as Voice Match is set to on.

General Motors has unveiled the Menlo EV, a utility vehicle built on the Bolt chassis. According to electrek.co, the baby electric SUV (dubbed the Bolt EUV) will be out later this year. GM already rolled out a couple of other EVs based on the Bolt, but they are China only…the Buick Velite 6 EV and Baojun E200. The Menlo will have 174 hp, and a 93 mph top speed. GM has not yet released the cruising range between charges.

An alleged Foxconn employee has leaked more about the upcoming iPhones. The names appear to be the 11, 11 Pro, and 11 Pro Max. As numerous previous rumors have indicated, there will be a large square bump with the 3 cams and flash on the back. This source also confirms that the glass back will be frosted, but adds a detail…they say there will be no iPhone nomenclature! There will also be 4 colors…the existing Space Gray, Silver, Gold, and a new dark green color. This source also says Apple will keep Lightening and not switch to USB-C.

Facebook is simplifying settings for Group privacy. According to engadget.com, there will no longer bey public, closed, and secret…now it will just be ‘public’ and ‘private.’ A slider switch in the ‘Private’ setting allows you to select either visible or hidden. The same community standards will apply as before, and Facebook will still still be able to monitor for ‘bad actors and bad content.’

Breach in Bank Biometrics; Facebook Contractors Transcribed Messenger Calls; Some 2016 Google Pixel Owners Can Get $500; Future iPhone-NoNotch

A security company in Britain uses facial recognition, fingerprints, and passwords to secure facilities for banks, defense contractors, and even the Metropolitan Police. Now, according to theguardian.com, after their Biostar 2 database was integrated into another control system called AEOS (used by 5700 organizations in 83 countries), a couple of Israeli security researchers found that much of the database was unprotected and mostly unencrypted. The researchers found over 27.8 million records…including admin panels, dashboards, fingerprint data, facial recognition data, face photos of users, unencrypted usernames and passwords, logs of facility access, security levels and clearance, and personal details of staff. When notified, Suprema bused it off saying they would notify people if there was a threat. NOTHING is totally secure on the internet!

You will be thrilled to hear that Facebook has stopped using paid contractors to listen to and transcribe audio clips from Messenger. CNET.com says the social network claims the contractors had no idea of when or where the audio was recorded. They also said the users had selected an option to transcribe their voice chats in the settings of Messenger, and that the chats were anonymized prior to the contractors listening to them. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously told the US Senate that Facebook doesn’t “listen to what’s going on on your microphone and use that for ads … we don’t do that.” But hey…it’s ok, because they have stopped the practice. Cough, cough.

In May, Google settled a class action suit over defective microphones on the Pixel 1. Arstechnica.com notes that the settlement was for $7.25 million. Now, owners can file a claim at a new Pixel Settlement website. Owners of a first-generation Pixel could get up to $500 if they bought multiple defective devices, and everyone that bought an original Pixel before the cut off date is entitled to $20, even if they didn’t experience a defect. The deadline to file is October 7, 2019.

A patent was revealed yesterday that indicates that future iPhones may lose the dreaded ‘notch’ entirely, with the phones getting a “Display with light transmitting windows.” Without getting into the weeds on this (which are pretty tall), the so-called windows could be made to be more transparent than other portions of the display, allowing hiding the Face ID sensors, front cam, etc. behind the screen, without interfering with the quality of those sensors and the cam.

Snap-Spectacles 3; Apple Card- Handcuffs to iPhone; Verizon Selling tumblr to WordPress; Cray’s Hyper Fast El Capitan Supercomputer

Snap has announced Spectacles 3, a new version of its augmented reality sunglasses…they will sport a new design and get an HD cam to create depth perception. According to theverge.com, the limited release glasses will go on sale in November for $380 at spectacles.com. That’s double the price of last year’s model. Along with the 2nd cam, this model will get a suite of new 3D effects to take advantage of it. There will be 2 colors, ‘carbon’ (black) and ‘mineral’ (a sort of blend of gold and beige.) The Spectacles 3 will have a lightweight steel frame, adjustable tips, and tinted lenses. Battery life is better…Snap says you will be able to shoot 70 or 200 photos on a charge, and the 4 gigs of storage will hold 100 videos or 1200 photos. A full charge in the charging case takes an hour and 15 minutes.

A lot has been made of the word that Apple’s partner Goldman Sachs has taken people with less than stellar credit ratings for the new Apple Card (albeit with small credit lines…some as low as $750.) It is probably worth pointing out that, since you have to apply and use the card over an iPhone, there are very few people who haven’t bought a $700 phone applying! Businessinsider.com also notes that since the card is tied to iPhone, it is a great ‘hook’ for keeping people from leaving the Apple ecosystem, and to keep ‘em buying iPhones…still Apple’s #1 product and profit center. Switch to Android, and it’s bye, bye Apple Card. The Apple Card DOES come with a physical card, and it’s metal, so has that premium, upscale look to it…but since you can only manage the card via the phone, the credit account requires an iPhone. The Card is a pretty slick way to keep the 900 million or so iPhone users hitched at $750-$1100 a phone, even though Samsung sells some great Android phones starting at only $400. Apple didn’t get to be one of the world’s largest companies by doing dumb things!

Over 6 years ago, Yahoo bought Tumblr for more than a billion dollars. Now, it’s present owner, Verizon, has gotten WordPress owner Automattic to take it off their hands at what’s called a ‘nominal’ price. TechCrunch.com says Automattic will continue the no porn policy…one that knocked down Tumblr’s traffic by 33% last quarter compared to the previous year. Considering Automattic’s size and reach in the blogging world and as a supplier of publishing tools, it is probably a much better fit than either Yahoo or Verizon was. They will keep 200 Tumblr staffers in the deal.

Cray has landed a contract to build a $600 million super computer for the Department of Energy to conduct 3D simulations at ‘unprecedented speeds’ to better assess and maintain the US nuclear weapons capability. Geekwire.com reports that the ‘El Capitan’ will be an ‘exascale’ supercomputer, which means it can do one quintillion (a billion billion) calculations per second….approximately simulating the human brain. The computer will even exceed that and do 1.5 quintillion per second for advanced AI and modeling capabilities. It will be faster than the top 100 fastest systems on earth right now…COMBINED!

iPhone Pro & 3 Cam iPad Pro Rumors; Instagram, YouTube, & Facebook Could be Fined Millions; Destroyers Dump Touch Screens; Amazon-Brick & Mortar Liquor Store

As we are a stone’s throw away from the iPhone rollout, someone has leaked a rumored name for the biggest top line iPhone. According to 9to5mac.com, an anonymous Twitter user called ‘CoinX’ claims the successor to the XS Max will be iPhone Pro. This person leaked a number of accurate details about the iPhone XS and iPad lineup previously. The name actually makes more sense than ‘Max,’ and fits in neatly with the iPad Pro branding.

Speaking of iPad, an unconfirmed rumor out of China says that the iPad Pro coming in October will sport a triple lens cam setup like the new iPhones, ditching the single lens shooter they have had since the first iPad was introduced. The rumor was picked up by Mac Otakara out of Japan. The 3 cams would come on the Pro, while the entry level iPad would move up to a two cam system. More businesses are issuing iPads, so the better cams might really make sense. If you have had a home appraisal, blinds installed, an alarm system, or an HVAC system, all the people that come out carry iPads with custom software.

Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube could be facing king sized fines for failing to remove toxic online videos as part of a crackdown by the UP government on harmful social media content. Cnet.com reports that the new rules will be introduced next year, and will amount to 5% of company revenue for failure to comply, and even restriction or suspension of service in the country for continued failure to comply. The UK government is charging Ofcom, which regulates telecoms and broadcasting to ensure compliance. TechUK, a trade organization representing the online firms, said in a statement “We urge Government to take a balanced and proportionate approach and ensure that the implementation is consistent with its wider approach to Online Harms.”

In one of those rare examples where old school may just work better than high tech, the US Navy is replacing touchscreen throttle and help controls in its destroyers with mechanical controls starting in 2020. Theverge.com notes that this follows a report from the NTSB finding that the touch screen controls were a big factor in a 2017 crash between a destroyer and a Liberian oil tanker off the coast of Singapore. Sailors apparently tried to divide steering and throttle between touch screens, and it basically didn’t work…causing them to lose control of the ship. Ten sailors died and 48 were injured on the USS John S. McCain. Apparently, splitting the controls put the ship into ‘backup manual mode’, which turned off computer assisted controls. The old-fashioned manual controls provide ‘immediate and tactile feedback to the operator,’ and it’s believed that such will allow better control of ships if such a situation arises again.

Amazon has gotten into brick and mortar the last couple years in bookselling, and by virtue of their purchase of Whole Foods, in grocery sales. Now, the online giant is turning its sights to booze. Businessinsider.com reports that Amazon is trying to open a liquor store in San Francisco to sell beer, wine, and spirits. The have applied for a liquor license and approval from the City to open a storefront at the Amazon warehouse in SF. The brick and mortar store will apparently be 200 square feet in size, and will also facilitate an alcohol delivery service to Prime Now customers in San Francisco. The store would be open 8am to 4 pm daily, but the delivery service would ruin 8am to midnight daily.