Amazon-More Brick & Mortar; TikTok Working On Paywalled Video Option; AI Flew Air Force Training Jet 17 Hours; Seattle Police-Adhesive GPS Trackers on Cars Avoids High Speed Chases

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wants to ‘go big’ on brick and mortar grocery stores. CNET.com reports that in spite of the company closing dozens of book stores and other physical establishments, Amazon intends to vastly increase the number of grocery stores they have. They are also looking at putting in physical clothing stores. All would eventually feature the ‘Just Walk Out’ tech, where sensors and cameras keep track of your items and charge you as you leave, eliminating check out lines…and checkers, for that matter. Besides the Whole Foods chain Amazon bought in 2017, the company presently has about 40 Amazon Fresh grocery stores. 

TikTok is not sitting still. They are now working on new features to boost usage and also to attract older audiences in the US. According to theverge.com, one new feature is a paywall, which would allow creators to charge a buck…or maybe more…to watch their videos. Exclusive content for paying fans was pretty well pioneered by OnlyFans, but has also been used by Instagram to try to lure creators to use that platform. TikTok is also revising its creator fund…already in use in France and Brazil, and looking to roll that out in the US next month. The fund is a billion dollar pool of money that pays creators for popular videos. They may boost the eligibility requirement for the fund, rewarding only creators with 100,000 followers and videos longer than 10 minutes. 

While there is some hand-wringing about self-driving vehicles, way above our heads AI is flying along pretty well, apparently, Of course, traffic is more limited at 40,000 feet! An artificial intelligence ‘agent’ recently flew a Lockheed Martin Vista X-62A training aircraft for over 17 hours! Engadget.com says that plane uses software to emulate performance characteristics of other aircraft. This time, they used software to sit in as the human pilot! It is the first time AI has been used to fly a tactical aircraft. The system was cooked up by Lockheed’s famous Skunk Works in conjunction with Calspan.

Seattle area police are using a novel way to catch suspects on the run without high speed chases. Geekwire.com reports that they are using a high powered air compressor to fire a GPS tracker at the fleeing vehicle. The tracker is coated with an industrial strength glue that sticks to the car…and presto! No need to fly through streets at warp speed after the bad guys. You can just set a road block ahead or track them until they stop. 

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

EV’s Will Match Gas Car Prices Sooner; Apple-Patent for Camera in Watch; Ford- Big US Battery Factory; Amazon Kuiper Satellites Approved by FCC

Sticker prices for electric vehicles are dropping faster than expected, and we may reach a tipping point soon. That’s according to a New York Times article. We’ve reported here about Tesla’s big cuts, and prices have also softened at Ford and General Motors. The big, legacy car makers, as well as Volkswagen, Nissan, and Hyundai are ramping up production, which allows for economy of scale. The result? Cheaper EVs. The battery GM Equinox crossover due out this fall will be in the sweet spot for sales…around $30,000. That’s still $3400 more than the cheapest gas model, but right in the zone for mass buyers. The Chevy Bolt is also priced in the low $30,000 range. Waiting lists for EVs are also shortening. Ford already cut prices on its Mustang Mach-E, and expects to be able to cut more as battery costs come down with more mass production. Right now, EV prices have dropped across the board by an average of 17% since July 2022.

An unusual patent for an in-watch camera has been granted to Apple. According to Mashable.com, the cam would be built into the bottom of the Watch. Yeah, like me, you are saying ‘WHAT?’ Here’s the deal…you would remove the Watch from the wristband that holds the watch, point the bottom of the Watch at whatever you wanted to snap a pic of…using the screen as a viewfinder…then snap the Watch back into the band. As with a lot of patents, this one may never see the light of day. Apple also got a patent for a camera built into the watch crown in 2019, and that has yet to materialize. Any watch cam would be for occasional use…it will always be easier to snap a pic with your phone. 

Ford is planning a $3.5 billion battery plant in Michigan. Automotive News notes that the factory will be in partnership with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology, a maker of lithium-iron batteries for EVs. The Mustang Mach-E already runs on their battery tech. According to Automotive News, Michigan is kicking in $1 billion in incentives. The plant will employ about 2500. In order to comply with the ‘made in America’ rules to get federal vehicle tax credits, Ford may own the plant outright, while CATL would operate the facility and keep their proprietary tech for building the batteries. Ford already has plant partnerships with South Korea’s SK Innovation for battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky. 

SpaceX, the Elon Musk company that has a fleet of satellites, has fought tooth and nail, but the FCC has approved Amazon’s Project Kuiper to allow the online giant to launch its own network of 3236 satellites. Zdnet.com reports that the FCC originally approved the deal in 2020, but has been winding through SpaceX’s various objections…mainly around their concerns about debris and collision risks with other satellites. Amazon has proposed an extensive debris mitigation plan. The satellite system is aimed at bringing high-speed broadband to customers around the world. SpaceX has approval for some 7500 satellites…more than double the system that Amazon is planning to put up.

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

Switch Becomes 3rd Best Selling Console Ever; More on Microsoft AI Powered Bing; Google Adds ‘SafeSearch’ Feature; Tesla Sales Push California EV Market Share to New High

In a new report to investors, Nintendo crowed about the Switch game console. The handheld gaming device not only sold 8.2 million units in the last quarter of 2022, it also slipped into the slot as third best-selling game console in history. According to arstechnica.com, there are now a tad more than 122 million Nintendo Switches in users’ hands. the number two console is the Nintendo DS handheld at 154 million, and the top dog, but only by a hair, is the Sony PlayStation 2 at 155 million. 

In the last report, we noted that Microsoft was making more of their partnership with ChatGPT when it comes to the Bing search engine. Geekwire.com reports that Redmond will actually be using a next-generation Open AI so-called large language model that is more powerful than ChatGPT and is specifically designed for search. Microsoft calls it their ‘Prometheus Model,’ and it  lets Bing improve relevancy, annotate answers, give more recent results, understand geolocation, and improve safety. New features in Edge include the ability to open a sidebar that uses AI to draft text, such as a LinkedIn post, within the specified parameters of the users, including the tone of voice to be used. The search and browser battle is hitting a new level, with both Bing and Google search engines employing next generation artificial intelligence. So what will YOU ask our AI overlords?

Google has added a feature they call ’SafeSearch’ mode to protect you from things you can never unsee. Androidpolice.com says that even having the toggle on, it will automatically blur inappropriate imagery in search results without even turning SafeSearch fully on. With the mode on, inappropriate images will be removed entirely. This will be particularly useful on computers that may be used by younger users or when you want to show search results in a video meeting and don’t want something popping up that would be embarrassing or worse. The feature is on by default for users between ages 13 and 18. Of course, it can be switched off, so clever kids will figure out a way around it quickly, but at least it’s a good move to try to limit inappropriate content from appearing on their screens. 

California put out its 2022 vehicle data info, and confirmed that market leader Tesla’s sales pushed the EV market share to 17% in the Golden State. Electrek.co reports that overall vehicle registrations were down 7.9% in California for the year. The electric vehicle sales were up 50% year over year to hit that 17% market share level. The Tesla Model Y was the best seller with more than 87,000 units, followed by the Model 3 at 79,000 cars. Toyota continues to be the overall best selling brand in California according to the California New Car Dealers Association. 

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

Google Announces ChatGPT Rival; Mercedes Bows e-Sprinter Van; Twitter-Only 180,000 US Subscribers; Meta Labs Dropped $13.7 Billion on AR & VR

Google has revealed that they are working on a ChatGPT rival dubbed Bard. Theverge.com reports that the artificial intelligence chat system was revealed in a blog post yesterday. From the post, it sounds like it will be as capable as the buzzy ChatGPT. Google described the tool as an “experimental conversational AI service” that will answer users’ queries and take part in conversations. The software is available to a group of “trusted testers” now, before becoming “more widely available to the public in the coming weeks.” Meanwhile, over at Microsoft, they are busy integrating ChatGPT into the Bing search engine. It is worth noting that Google actually invented part of the AI that runs ChatGPT…the ’T’ part stands for transformer, and that key tech came from Google. Google has been more cautious with AI up to now, but seems to have been shocked into moving more quickly with the release and rapid spread of ChatGPT. 

Mercedes-Benz is joining the electric delivery van party. The venerable German car maker rolled out the eSprinter van, which will go on sale later this year in the US, according to arstechnica.com. A European model will follow before the end of the year. Like the Ford e-vans and Rivian’s for Amazon, the electric vans don’t have near the range of most cars…but since they are made for local delivery, and carry much heavier loads, that is expected. No EPA estimate yet, but a ballpark puts it at around 120-140 miles on a charge. An interesting wrinkle: the Mercedes will use a lithium iron phosphate battery instead of lithium-ion. Fast charge from 10 to 80% will take about 42 minutes. Mercedes hasn’t released the maximum load weight or pricing as yet. 

Twitter has a long climb before they see significant revenue from subscriptions. Engadget.com says that as of last month, the platform only had 180,000 Twitter Blue subscribers are only bringing in $27.8 million a year for the company…and they have lost far more than that in cancelled ad revenue. We just reported on Twitter’s plan to charge businesses $1000 a month for gold verification badges, but it will take a massive increase in both to haul in the $3 billion a year Elon Musk is looking for. The company has to come up with $1 billion a year on interest alone to service debt they are carrying. 

Previously, Meta had reportedly lost $10 billion in 2021on the so-called ‘metaverse.’ Now, TechCrunch.com notes that Meta has reported $13.7 billion in losses for Reality Labs during 2022. As a point of reference, Meta (then just called Facebook) only paid $2 billion for Oculus back in 2014. The company said it expects losses to be even higher in 2023, as they prep to launch the next generation mixed reality headset later this year. Apple is also prepping to roll out a mixed reality headset by fall.

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

Apple May Add Higher End iPhone for ’24; Twitter Looks at Charging Businesses $1000 for Gold Verification; Lithium-Air Batteries-3X Energy Density; Tesla Raises Prices Back on Model Y

The top iPhone this September may remain the Pro Max, and not be dubbed Ultra after all. It’s still up in the air, but apparently Apple is thinking about bringing out and even higher end iPhone in 2024 and dubbing that model the Ultra. Bloomberg.com reports that a remark by Apple CEO Tim Cook supports this rumor. On an earnings call, Cook said “I think people are willing to really stretch to get the best they can afford in that category,” noting that the iPhone has become “integral” to people’s lives. Consumers now use the device to make payments, control smart-home appliances, manage their health and store banking data, he said. How much is Apple talking about? Well, a fully ‘Maxed out’ iPhone 14 Pro Max with a terabyte of memory can run $1600, so that gives us an idea. Right now, Apple’s Pro phones are doing better for them than the lesser priced iPhone models. 

In yet another scheme to bring in more money for cash-strapped Twitter, Elon Musk is considering charging businesses $1000 a month to keep gold verification checkmarks on the platform. According to mashable.com, which saw an internal document, there would also be an additional $50 charge for every affiliated account, too. So if a media company had 10 affiliated reporters, they would be whacked for $18,000 a year! A number of companies and reporters over the weekend have said they would lose the checkmarks rather than pay that kind of money.

Some researchers at Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Illinois-Chicago, teamed up with Argonne National Labs, have put on a practical demonstration of a lithium-air battery that have three times the energy density of the current lithium-ion batteries presently used in everything from cell phones to cars. Dailykos.com says that Lithium-ion batteries can store up to 200 watt-hours per kilogram…which is fine, but the lithium-air ones can hold as much as 685 watt-hours per kilogram! There have been some real technical issues to making these batteries practical, but the researchers have developed a lightweight polymer-ceramic composite that conducts lithium ions about 15x better at room temperature than other solid materials that have been tried up to now. the next few years could see these massively more efficient and safer batteries in our phones, cars, and other items that depend on electricity storage. 

After price cuts on Models 3 and Y…in one case $13,000 on a Model Y configuration, Tesla is not raising Model Y prices back up $2000. They had cut to get under a federal price cap to qualify for the $7500 tax credit. Now, arstechnica.com reports that the government has decided the Model Y counts as an SUV, so it has the higher price cap. The sedan cap is $55,000, but its $80,000 for SUVs. The Performance model of the Model Y was $69,990 and had been dropped to $52,990. Now, it’s back up to $56,990…still cheaper than previously…just not quite as much. 

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

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked- S23 Phones Bow; ChatGPT ‘Detection Tool’; Apple Ultra iPhone Gets Periscope Cam Exclusively 

As usual, numerous leaks revealed a lot about the new Galaxy S23 line from Samsung, but at Unpacked today, the picture got filled out. 9to5google.com reports that for the first time in a long time, Samsung is using one chip for all its flagship phones. It’s the ‘Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy’ from Qualcomm. Is that enough of a mouthful? It’s good, though…the last few years, Samsung has used different chips in different markets, which was really a confusing mess. The phones, though. The base S23 starts at $799, and has a 6.1 inch screen…it’s much brighter than last year’s model. The S23 Plus has a 6.6 inch display, plus a much larger 4700 mAh battery, and 45W wired charging. It will remain at $999 as predicted. the top line Galaxy S23 Ultra has a monster 6.8 inch screen, and stows away an S Pen stylus like the Note series has had. Rumors have the beloved note going away, so this will perhaps fill the bill. The screen is just barely curved…Samsung seems to be moving away from the curved screens of the last few years. It sports a 200 MP main cam on the back, and has a 12MP ultra wide lens and 2 10MP sensors with 3X and 10X telephotos lenses. This bad boy will set you back $1199 and up. 

A little tidbit that dropped at Unpacked today…Samsung is working on an extended reality device running a version of Android and using a Qualcomm chip. Samsung’s TM Roh said that the XR headset is ‘not far away!’

With the big flap about ChatGPT, and particularly its use for writing college themes using the artificial intelligence, the makers of the AI program released a new classifier tool yesterday that can allegedly do an admittedly imperfect job of spotting possible cheating using ChatGPT. Well, about that imperfect part…Venturebeat.com notes that an AI and machine learning researcher ran the tool on the first page of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth. He got this result: “The classifier considers the text to be likely AI-generated.” I suspect the tool needs a lot more work, and the makers may join those who might move the Bard’s bones in being cursed by him at this point!

In a rumor sure to irritate those who don’t like bigger smartphones…especially folks with smaller hands, noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that the Apple periscope telephoto camera will be exclusive to the iPhone 15 Ultra…AND to 2024’s Ultra as well. According to appleinsider.com, the reason the more powerful telephoto zoom might be restricted to the biggest iPhone could be space. The folded lens might just not fit into the 6.1 inch phone’s chassis. Apple may have to go to a different folded lens with less zoom capability. Of course, it’s all just conjecture on 2024…we’re pretty sure such a lens will be in the iPhone 15 Ultra but with the 16 a year and a half away…let’s just say a lot can change in that amount of time.

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

Game Platform Makers Skipping E3 Show; Ford Cuts Prices on Mustang Mach-E; Metaquest Pro Gets $400 Cut; 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 6 Beats Tesla Model 3’s in EPA Range

We will have a recap report tomorrow after Samsung’s Unpacked event with the new Galaxy hardware. 

The E3 conference is coming back June 13th in Los Angeles, after dropping live get togethers during COVID. There will be 3 notable vendors who will be skipping the festivities, though. Theverge.com reports that Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft are all passing on a presence at E3. Sony actually ducked out of E3 in 2019, and hasn’t exhibited there since then. Nintendo has usually put on a good dog and pony show, but after Microsoft joined Sony in skipping out, they probably didn’t feel they needed to spend the bucks…they have had great results with their Direct Video presentations where they don’t have to share the spotlight with competitors. 

After Tesla announced some hefty cuts in pricing on some of its models, Ford has fallen into place and done the same. According to arstechnica.com, no Ford Mustang Mach-E is getting anything close to the $20,000 cut in price on one of the Tesla models…but the Fords are cheaper to begin with. Price reductions run from $900 to $5900. That top cut gets you the GT Extended Range, which will now set you back $63,995. Ford is also increasing production, gearing up to build 130,000 battery electric vehicles from the 78,000 originally planned. That’s good news, as there has been quite a wait time, just like on the Chevy Bolt models from General Motors. In both Tesla’s and Ford’s case, the price cuts get them under US government caps so that buyers can take advantage of tax credits.

If you have been longing for the Meta Quest Pro, but just couldn’t see dropping $1500 bucks on one, this may be for you. Engadget.com says the VR headset is down to $1099.00 at Amazon. The Quest Pro is 50 percent more powerful than the Quest 2. It also features solid built-in speakers with support for spatial audio, meaning you don’t necessarily need to reach for a pair of headphones when using the Quest Pro. Keep in mind that it is a weighty rascal at over a pound, and has less battery life due to all the advanced components. You can now step into the Metaverse with a few more dollars in your wallet.

With all his focus on Twitter, Elon Musk might want to switch back and pay a bit more attention to Tesla. Arstechnica.com reports that Hyundai’s new 2023 Ioniq 6 EV just finalized a 361 mile range from the EPA…eclipsing even the longest range Tesla Model 3. The range leader from Hyundai is a single motor rear wheel driver rolling on 18 inch wheels. It will be the cheapest Hyundai EV, but no official pricing has been released yet. Everything makes a difference…picking the larger 20 inch wheels cuts the range down to 305 miles. 

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

Foldable iPad May Be On Way; Mercedes Certifies First Level-3 Autonomy Car in US; Incognito for Android Snags New Feature; San Francisco Tries to Slow Expansion of Robotaxi deployment

It’s not a folding iPhone, but Apple could be planning to put out a foldable iPad as soon as next year. Theverge.com reports that the tip comes from noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. He Tweeted today  “I’m positive about the foldable iPad in 2024 and expect this new model will boost shipments and improve the product mix.” No other details were disclosed, except that it will have a ‘carbon fiber’ kickstand. Others had reported a dual screen, folding iPad was in the works, but it wasn’t expected until at least 2026. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has reported that such an iPad could use the bottom display as a virtual keyboard when the device is used like a MacBook. 

Elon Musk is not going to be happy about this, but having ‘borrowed’ a number of his engineers and programmers from the Tesla self-driving team for Twitter, he can only blame himself. Mercedes-Benz has just certified the first Level-3 autonomous car in the US! According to engadget.com, it happened in Nevada, where Mercedes confirmed its Drive Pilot ADAS now complies with the requirements of Nevada Chapter 482A, which makes it the only Level 3 car maker at present. What does Level 3 mean to you? Glad you asked. It means you don’t have to keep your eyes forward and on the road at all times or hands on the wheel…however, if your face becomes covered, the system will disengage. Also, and this is a big limitation…it’s only good up to 40 miles per hour. Great if you are in a backup on the freeway, but not a great leap in tech. When engaged, the system handles lane-keeping duties, stays with the flow of traffic, navigates to destinations programmed into the Nav system, and will even react to “unexpected traffic situations and handles them independently-like by taking evasive maneuvers within the lane or by braking maneuvers.” Some other auto makers are planning to skip right over Level-3 to Level-4 but that is likely several years away. 

So you were browsing something either naughty or maybe just private, like one of your financial sites on your phone’s Chrome browser…and you have to hand the phone to someone else…and don’t want them to see the contents of your Incognito tab. Well, you’re in luck now. Mashable.com says Google has added a feature to automatically lock your Incognito tabs when you exit Chrome. Next time you open Chrome, it will require face recognition, fingerprint ID, or your passcode before that tab can be viewed. To activate the feature, go to Chrome Settings, then Privacy and Security, and turn on “Lock incognito tabs when you close Chrome.”

 After repeated incidents in which cars without drivers stopped and idled in the middle of the street for no obvious reason, delaying bus riders and disrupting the work of firefighters, San Francisco is looking to slow expansion of robotaxi fleets. NBC News notes that Cruise and Waymo, the two companies who run fleet of the autonomous vehicles, were named in letters San Francisco sent to state regulators, asking them to scale back the use of the vehicles until more bugs are worked out. Cruise, the division of General Motors, has been running a fleet of 30 vehicles from 10 pm to 6 am. It should be noted that there have been no life-threatening or fatal accidents involving the robo-cars. Waymo, which is part of Google Parent Alphabet, has thus far not given rides to the paying public without a safety driver behind the wheel. Both companies are continuing to lobby the city, state and feds to let them continue to run the self-driving cars on city streets. 

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

Smartphone Shipments Down Most Ever; Google Inches Closer to It’s ‘Find My’ System; Twitch May Let Viewers Snooze Some Ads; Tesla Beats Wall St Revenue Estimates

Smartphone shipments were substantially down in the holiday quarter just past. They were off 18.3%, and 11.3% less for the year 2022. According to idc.com, the holiday dip is the largest-ever decline in a single quarter. 2022 ended the year with shipments of 1.21 billion smartphones, the least since 2013. The research firm says the downturn was ‘due to significantly dampened consumer demand, inflation, and economic uncertainties.’ Even Apple, which up to now had been virtually immune to downturns, was off…but that was due to the lockdowns in China which limited the number of handsets they could have built for sale. IDC says vendors are being cautious this year, and you may see more generous trade-in offers and promotions, as phone vendors look to get sales back up…especially of the higher end models.

Google is rolling out a ‘store recent location’ toggle for Find My Device. It will be stored in an encrypted manner. Androidpolice.com reports that you can also use the feature to prevent Google from storing your phone’s last known location. The Find My Device feature, similar to what Apple and Samsung have, should be widely available later this year. The Find My will also be able to locate additional devices like ear buds even when they are not connected to your phone. Right now, they have to be connected in the present version. With the vast number of Android phones around the world, the Find My net should make it much easier to locate a lost or stolen phone running the Google software. 

Twitch viewers have long complained that they may be watching a creator and be at a key moment, and wham! An ad rolls, ruining the continuity while they sit through 3 minutes of ads. Now, bgr.com says Twitch is looking at rectifying the situation. Right now there is a pre-roll of 3 minutes of ads, then more later…again maybe right at an important point. Twitch is working on a tool for creators so they can ’snooze’ ads until you are past a climactic moment. Another tool will let creators snooze the pre-roll ads so long as they run the 3 minutes of ads sometime during the hour. Finally, they plan to launch Twitch Turbo later this year, which will let you enjoy an ad-free viewing experience…at a price, of course!

Tesla ‘beat the Street, edging by Wall Street revenue estimates for 4th quarter of 2022. Techcrunch.com reports that the EV maker ended up with $24.3 billion in revenue, which was a 37% increase from the same quarter of 2021, and a 13% uptick from the previous quarter. The company warned that profit margins will likely be down in 2023 as the company has cut prices on a number of models. Tesla says they are prioritizing more affordability. The stock went up after the announcement, then dipped, and is up today to 156. 

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

DOJ Sues Google Over Ad Biz; Acura Says EV Sales Going All Web; Microsoft Cloud Bucks Up, Windows Biz Down; Tesla Announces $3.6 Billion EV Semi Plant in Nevada

In a move expected by many, the US Department of Justice has filed a suit against Google aimed at breaking up the company’s advertising business. The government accuses Google of illegally monopolizing the digital advertising market. “Google’s anticompetitive behavior has raised barriers to entry to artificially high levels, forced key competitors to abandon the market for ad tech tools, dissuaded potential competitors from joining the market, and left Google’s few remaining competitors marginalized and unfairly disadvantaged.” Google is estimated to control up to 26.5% of the digital ads market. Google responded by accusing the government of trying to ‘pick winners and losers in the highly competitive advertising technology sector.’ This will be a court battle royal.

Honda has announced a restructuring of its business as it aims for 100% EV sales by the year 2040. Theverge.com reports that as a step in that direction, Honda will sell all its Acura branded EVs exclusively online. That will start with the new ZDX SUV, due out next year. Except for Tesla, which never has had a dealer network, the car business has been slow to move to online sales. As Honda’s senior VP in the US has noted, “Whether that process starts in your living room, and then continues at the dealership, or starts at the dealership where somebody wants to touch and feel a car on the showroom floor, you will still have to input that information.” Many car makers are letting people start the process and order cars online, but then the dealer delivers and follows up with the customers. Honda says it will release 30 hybrid battery-electric fuel-cell vehicles by 2030.

Microsoft’s revenue was up 2% to $52.7 billion in their 2nd fiscal quarter, just missing Wall Street expectations. Cloud revenue was up 22%, but Windows business took a dive by 27%. Geekwire.com says Microsoft blamed that drop on the continued weakness in the PC market. Gaming revenue was also off 12%. It is worth noting that in many mature businesses, they would be happy with a 2% uptick in a quarter. It may be that the tech sector and investors will need to readjust their expectations as tech matures and joins the real world when it comes to revenue and profits. 

Tesla says they will be expanding their battery plant in Northern Nevada, and that they are building a factory for their electric semi-trucks. Electrek.co says the company is pouring $3.6 billion into the building project. It wasn’t clear from the announcement that these will be new plants or an expansion of the existing Gigafactory.  That factory is only 60% complete, going by the renders Tesla had of the plant originally. the present plant is L-shaped, and it looks from new renders like Tesla will just ‘fill in the L’ to make one huge, rectangular plant. 

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