Apple Finally Approves Epic Game Store; Tesla Insiders-Musk Ordered Optimized Self Driving for Self & Influencers; Meta Expands Policy Removing More Posts Attacking ‘Zionists;’ Chinese Self-Driving Cars-Mapping & Gathering US Data

Posted: July 9, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

The third time is apparently the charm…after a couple of rejections, Apple has finally approved the Epic Games Store app for iOS in the European Union. Arstechnica.com reports that this will move Apple into compliance with the letter of the law under the Digital Markets Act, although not necessarily the spirit. The latest squabble involved Apple claiming that the shape of the buttons in the app too closely resembled Apple’s own. After kicking up a fuss on social Media, Epic finally got approval…with the caveat that they have to change the buttons going forward. Epic can now finish building out its game store, which will be available soon to EU users. 

A lot of people have figured out that when it comes to Tesla and other Elon Musk controlled companies…it’s always all about Elon. Now, according to electrek.co, insiders are saying the Muskman had his Full Self-Driving team optimize routes that he himself takes as well as routes taken by Tesla FSD content creators, which would explain the discrepancies in the efficacy of the system. Business Insider put out a report today based on conversations with current and former Tesla workers who claim Tesla has been optimizing its self-driving neural nets specifically for routes taken by CEO Elon Musk and Tesla influencers producing FSD content. The report claims that data annotators, people who review clips from Tesla vehicles to help train its self-driving neural nets, were given the task to focus on two categories: “Tesla CEO Elon Musk and a select set of “VIP” drivers.” Several confirmed that they were told specifically to focus on routes around Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter locations, and also a mansion previously owned by Musk. Now there’s a good personal use of corporate resources!

Facebook and Instagram will start removing more posts that attack ‘Zionists’ when the term is used to represent Jewish people or Israelis in general. Bloomberg.com says that Meta is putting the term into what they call attacks on a person’s ‘protected characteristics.’ Up to now, that has just included their race, nationality, or religion. Posts will still  be allowed that refer to actual Zionists, but just not Jewish or Israeli people more broadly. 

There has been a good deal of reporting about the Chinese weather balloons flying near US bases inside American borders. There is also ongoing coverage about buyers who might or do have connections to China buying land near US military bases. Now, it turns out that 7 Chinese self-driving car makers have had vehicles cruising US roadways…mostly in California and on the west coast, quietly mapping and shooting pictures, with the data going back to servers in China. They have traveled 1.8 million miles! Slashdot.org reports that around 30 cars owned by Chinese companies and equipped with cameras and geospatial mapping technology were navigating the streets of greater Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Jose. They collected detailed videos, audio recordings, and location data on their surroundings to chart out California’s roads and develop their autonomous driving algorithms. The data could provide a foreign adversary with a treasure trove of intelligence that could be used for everything from mass surveillance to war planning, according to security experts who spoke with Fortune Magazine. At present there are no rules in place preventing such activity. Let’s hope our political leaders get in gear!

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

Apple Watch 10 Grows & Siri Gets Smarter-Later; Amazon Updates Echo Spot; MS Notepad Finally Gets Spellcheck; YouTube Improved Eraser Tool

Posted: July 8, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

There has been more and more buzz about the upcoming Apple Watch 10. Now, 9to5mac.com reports that Mark Gurman in his PowerOn newsletter is confirming that both models of the Watch will have bigger screens…the larger one will be about the size of the Apple Watch Ultra screen. As others have leaked, the new Watch 10 series will be thinner, and will have a more powerful processor…possibly one that can run some of the Apple AI features coming soon. It looks like health features like blood pressure monitoring and sleep apnea monitoring won’t make it by the rollout in September. Apple has hit some speed bumps. Back to the Apple AI…word is, the fully upgraded Siri with AI won’t be ready for September, either. Now, it appears the better Siri will drop with iOS 18.4 in the spring of 2025. There will be some features like Chat GPT integration that will make the big fall Apple extravaganza. 

Aș a lead in to Prime Day, Amazon has bowed a refreshed version of the Echo Spot. According to TechCrunch.com, the Alexa-enabled smart alarm clock will sell for $79.99, but Prime members can pick it up on sale right now for $44.99. The upgraded Spot has better visuals and improved audio. It comes in Black, White, or Blue. The display shows alarms, the time, weather, and song titles. There’s a 1.73” front-firing directional speaker that Amazon says delivers ‘clear vocals and deep bass.’ The camera for video calling has been dropped…who ever wanted this in their bedroom, really? It relies on Alexa to set your time, alarms, play songs, make a phone call, or make intercom announcements through your home.

As amazing as it seems, Microsoft Notepad has been around 40 years, and Redmond has never gotten around to giving it spellcheck…until now. Engadget.com says the functionality has just been rolled out in the Notepad app for Windows 11. Not to snark too much, but I write these reports in Apple’s TextEdit, which has had spellcheck for years, and also has other correction features…some of which are irritating when writing about tech….it will un-helpfully change a word that is correct which it doesn’t know. Anyway, back to Microsoft…the spell check works the same as the one in Word or Edge…you see a red underline, then you can right click on the word and get a list of correct spellings. Amazingly, Microsoft has also just now added autocorrect! Maybe it will be smarter than Apple’s…which with some new AI seems to be less helpful than before!

YouTube released an updated eraser tool late last week. The tool makes it easy to remove copyrighted material from a video without affecting other audio like spoken word or sound effects. YouTube chief Neal Mohan posted about the tool on X and said, “Good news, creators: our updated Erase Song tool helps you easily remove copyright-claimed music from your video (while leaving the rest of your audio intact).” They have designed a new AI-powered algorithm that specifically detects and removes the song without impacting other audio in the clip. Note that YouTube says it still isn’t perfect, but it goes a long way towards removal without having to recut the whole video. 

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

After a Year,Threads Has 175 Million Users; Noplace-New Twitter/MySpace-Like Platform for Gen Z; Tesla EVs Finally getting YouTube Music; Michigan Building first US Smart Highway

Posted: July 3, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

In just a year, Threads…the Meta answer to X, has reached 175 million monthly active users. CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement today. Theverge.com reports that although that is a strong number, Threads has yet to report its daily numbers. This may mean they are still getting a lot of traffic from users than haven’t yet become regulars. On the other hand, X hasn’t shared comparable metrics since he took over Twitter and…changed it, to put it nicely. It may be pie in the sky CEO hype, but Zuckerberg claims that Threads may become Meta’s next billion dollar app. Right now, it runs at a loss, though. Apparently, they are thinking about starting ads next year. 

Yes, it’s yet another social media platform…and one which claims to ‘bring the social back to social media.’ According to techcrunch.com, the new app is called noplace, and it is aimed at Gen Z. It has rocketed to the top of the Apple App Store. What’s the draw? The platform is something of a mashup of Twitter and MySpace. The idea is for users to be able to connect with friends or with people who have shared interest. It is colorful, customizable profiles that allow people to share everything from relationship status, to what they’re listening to or watching, what they’re reading or doing, and more.Although aimed at Gen Z and younger users, noplace (no capitalization…that kind of says younger generations right there) will add extra moderation to users under 18. The platform has built their own internal dashboard for just that purpose. It doesn’t use algorithms, they claim, but leverages AI to drive suggestions and curation. Time will tell if the notoriously fickle Gen Z crowd will continue to embrace noplace.

Tesla is adding YouTube Music and Amazon Music as native apps by a software update. Androidpolice.com says the update is 2024.26, and it should start rolling out soon to Models S, 3, X, & Y. Some cars have both Apple’s Car Play, and Android Auto…I have one of those…but lately, some manufacturers are doing a one or the other thing. Meanwhile, always dancing to a different drummer…or maybe a drum machine…Elon Musk won’t use either one, opting from the start for the home brew Tesla OS. Tesla vehicles already support Spotify, Apple Music, Slacker, Tidal, and TuneIn. 

Michigan is making a 3 mile section of I-94 into the first US smart highway. Engadget.com reports that an Alphabet backed startup has started building it out. It will use cams and sensors to talk to connected cars…any autonomous or semi-autonomous car…really, most any with built in guidance systems. The state will get data, and divers will get traffic updates, weather, and stranded vehicle info…as well as other congestion advisories. The pilot program roadway is between Ann Arbor and Detroit. The plan is to extend it to 40 miles in the future. 

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

Google Branded AI Coming to Pixels; Netflix Sunsetting Cheapest Ad-Free Tier; Mastodon Adds Appeal for Journalists; Diabetes Drug Also Helps Sleep Apnea

Posted: July 2, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Google is getting ready to ad some new AI features to the Pixel line, with the branding ‘Google AI.’ It will encompass both existing and new features, including Google Gemini, Circle to search, and more. Androidauthority.com reports that new features include Add Me, which is supposed to ensure that everyone is in a group photo. Studio is another new…or actually improved feature. It looks like it is the Creative Assistant made better. Also included is Pixel screenshots…which looks a lot like Microsoft’s Recall feature…you know the one…that creepy background record that captures everything you are doing on-device and then their AI can go find information you are looking for. Google is including more privacy….it will only work on screenshots you actually take yourself. Apparently Motorola is also working on such a feature…and like Google, it will only attach metadata for the AI if you manually take the screenshot yourself. 

As they have raised prices for monthly subscriptions and added ad-subsidized plans, it should probably be no surprise that now Netflix is phasing out its cheapest ad-free tier for present subscribers. According to theverge.com, some users have gotten a notification on the Netflix app saying  “Your last day to watch Netflix is July 13th. Choose a new plan to keep watching.” Subscribers paying $9.99 / month for the basic plan will have to choose either the $6.99 ad-supported tier, the $15.49 ad-free tier, or the $22.99 ad-free 4K premium plan. Right now, the sunsetting of the plan is hitting Canadian and UK users. Netflix hasn’t said when it will start phasing it out for US subscribers. 

Mastodon has rolled out a new feature aimed at making the app more appealing to those that use it to keep up on news and information from writers and journalists. Mastodon is the open source, decentralized answer to X…one of a number of platforms working to syphon away the former Twitter users who are fed up with Elon Musk’s X. Techcrunch.com says that now the platform is adding clickable author bylines on link posts that can send Mastodon users to the authors account on the fediverse…giving journalists more exposure and potentially increasing their following. The new bylines go beyond the typical @username references that often accompany link posts from news publications and those pointing to other written content, like a WordPress blog or Substack. Instead, the change will feature the news publication’s headline and image followed by another reference underneath that includes the author’s profile photo and name.

A drug that has been used successfully for type 2 diabetes, weight loss, and heart health is doing so well at helping folks with sleep apnea in trials, some have even been able to abandon their CPAP machines. Bgr.com reports that the medication, sold as Zepbound and Mounjaro, has had really good results in its first trial for sleep apnea. Participants saw disturbance events per hour of sleep drop from 51.5 per hour to 25.3. In a second trial, they went from 49.5 events per hour down to 29.3 or less. The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The best results came with consistent use, not surprisingly. Now, researchers are studying long term efficacy in treating sleep apnea. 

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

Meta Spars With EU over Pay or OK Model; Google-August 13th Pixel Event; YouTube Lets You Remove AI Generated Simulation of Your Face or Voice; Apple May Announce Google Gemini Deal This Fall.

Posted: July 1, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Last fall, Meta launched a model to try to get around the Digital Markets Act…called ‘pay or consent,’ users have a choice to either pay to access Facebook and Instagram, or agree to let them collect data to send you targeted ads. Now, arstechnica.com reports that the EU doesn’t find the Meta model to comply with the DMA. If that ends up as the final finding, and Meta doesn’t change, it means the EU could fine Meta up to 10% of their worldwide turnover…PLUS up to 20% for continued infringement if Meta continues to violate the DMA.

Google will hold their Pixel event on August 13th. According to 9to5google.com, we’ll get the see the Pixel 9 and Pixel Watch 3. The event will be in Mountain View this time, instead of New York City. It will start at 10 AM Pacific time. Besides the Pixel 9, there should be a couple sizes of Pixel 9 Pro phones, and also a Pixel fold. 

YouTube has rolled out a policy quietly that will allow people to request takedown of AI generated or other synthetic content that simulates their face or voice. Techcrunch.com reports that instead of requesting the content be taken down for being misleading, like a deepfake, YouTube wants the affected parties to request the content’s removal directly as a privacy violation. According to YouTube’s recently updated Help documentation on the topic, it requires first-party claims outside a handful of exceptions, like when the affected individual is a minor, doesn’t have access to a computer, is deceased, or other such exceptions. Be aware that even if you make a request, YouTube will make their own judgment…so the takedown isn’t guaranteed. 

If you aren’t a fan of ChatGPT, but you’re an Apple user who wants to try AI, you may be in luck. Theverge.com says that Apple will announce ‘at least’ one other AI deal this fall, and it looks like the one most likely to be added is Google Gemini. Anthropic is also possible, but it looks like Apple won’t be doing a deal with Meta for a while…Cupertino has decided Meta’s Llama just isn’t good enough. Of course this will all be in addition to Apple’s own Apple Intelligence..which we should at least see in beta this fall. 

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

FCC Wants to Make Carriers Unlock Phones After 60 Days; SCOTUS Allows Administration to Jawbone Social Platforms; Amazon Now in $2 Trillion Club; Google Translate-Support for 110 New Languages

Posted: June 27, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

In a proposed rule, called in FCC lingo a ‘Notice of Proposed Rulemaking’, the Federal Communications Commission is looking to make phone carriers unlock phones from their service after 60 days. According to techcrunch.com, the Commission plans to further study how this will work out with current plans and phone buying trends. For years, carriers have subsidized phone prices if a customer signed up for say, a two year contract…and they made up the difference in the monthly payments for the phone plus the fees for the service. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wrote “When you buy a phone, you should have the freedom to decide when to change service to the carrier you want and not have the device you own stuck by practices that prevent you from making that choice. That is why we are proposing clear, nationwide mobile phone unlocking rules.” We should know more about the proposed rule when the full notice is published in July.

The Supreme Court yesterday tossed claims that the Biden administration coerced social media platforms into censoring users by removing COVID and election-related content. Arstechnica.com reports that the 6-3 vote found that none of the plaintiffs had standing to have brought the case in the first place. One individual was suing on behalf of his brother. Justice Barrett noted in the majority opinion that Facebook had actually been taking down false info about COVID and the election before the administration even asked them to do so. 

We’ve reported lately about the $2 trillion dollar companies, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Apple, and how Nvidia has passed up Apple, and even Microsoft for the top spot for a bit. Alphabet got into this high rolling club in April. Now, geekwire.com says Amazon has joined this rarified group of the world’s most valuable companies. Amazon stock is up over 30% this year, and over 50% the past 12 months. So there you have it….the top 5 most valuable companies on earth no longer include any oil companies, banks, or industrial firms…they are all tech: Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon. 

Google is adding 110 new languages to Translate. It’s the biggest expansion ever for Google Translate. Theverge.com notes that there were already 133 languages supported, so this brings the total up to 243 supported languages. A number of these languages are related to others, and Google used their PaLM 2 AI language model to help add them. One of the most requested languages was added…Cantonese. Issac Caswell of Google said “Because Cantonese often overlaps with Mandarin in writing, it is tricky to find data and train models.” Caswell also said that “about a quarter of the new languages come from Africa.”

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

VW-Billions to Rivian to Use Software & Electronics; Google Tests Face Recognition Building Entry; Samsung Unpacked July 10th; AI Version of Al Michaels for Personalized Olympic Recaps

Posted: June 26, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Volkswagen is putting up to $5 billion into young EV maker Rivian…with a billion of it immediately, and the other $4 billion over time. Arstechnica.com reports that the companies are forming a joint venture. Not only will VW use Rivian’s software and ‘zonal electronics platform’ in VW, Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini, and Ducati vehicles, but they plan to make Rivian’s drive engineering and display software available to other brands for a price. Ford and Amazon have previously invested in Rivian. 

Google is testing out facial recognition for building security, “to help prevent unauthorized individuals from gaining access to our campuses,” according to CNBC. The first test is at an Alphabet site in Kirkland, Washington. A rather chilling note…it won’t be optional. Interior security cameras have been collecting facial data and comparing it to images stored from employee badge images, which includes the extended workforce, to help determine if there are unauthorized people on the premises. Google does say the data is for immediate use and won’t be stored. Eventually, ID badges won’t be used going forward for the facial recognition. 

Samsung has announced that the next Galaxy Unpacked event will be July 10th. Androidpolice.com says we can expect to see the next generation of foldables and wearables from Samsung…although as usual, a lot has leaked already. One leak has both the Flip and Fold going up $150 each…a hefty price increase. Still, it is exciting to see the latest…Galaxy Z Fold 6, Z Flip 6, Watch & and Ultra…as well as the latest ear buds. The two folders are expected to feature less pronounced creases, which will be nice to have…even with a price bump. 

Tech and broadcasting, as well as TV and film, have been all over trying to use AI to clone voices and bodies…that’s one of the main things the SAG-AFTRA actors and voice folks were on strike last year. Now, NBC Has announced ‘Your Daily Olympic Recap’ on the Peacock App…voiced by an AI clone of Al Michaels. Theverge.com says to protect against AI hallucinations, “a team of NBCU editors will review all content, including audio and clips, for quality assurance and accuracy before recaps are made available to users.” Let’s hope so…and I hope that they are paying the almost 80 year old sports announcing legend appropriately for cloning his voice. NBC estimates that there could be as many as 7 million personalized variations during the games…I’m not seeing how a team of people will be able to review all those clips! Let’s hope Al doesn’t become a second ‘Weird Al!’

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

EU Goes After Microsoft for Teams Bundling; Meta Replies Visible on Other Federated Platforms; Uber Locking Drivers Out of Apps; Apple Works to Automate iPhone Assembly

Posted: June 25, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

The European Union has called out Microsoft for breaching competition rules. Techcrunch.com reports that the EU has put out a formal statement of objections to what they call abuse of antitrust rules, due to bundling Teams with their cloud based suites for businesses…those would be Office 365 and Microsoft 365. The EU just opened an antitrust probe a year ago, after 2 years of complaints from Teams rival Slack. Microsoft did partially unbundle Teams last August (which wasn’t fully in place until April of this year), but the EU says Microsoft has to do more. The EU says the bundling of Teams gives Redmond a ‘distribution advantage’ over rivals like Slack and German platform alfaview. They also point to the lack of interoperability between Teams and rival programs. Microsoft was invited to respond to the charges, but as yet hasn’t acted. 

Meta is getting set to let Threads users like and see replies to their Threads posts on federated platforms. According to theverge.com, up to now, if you made a post on Threads that was syndicated to another platform like Mastodon…you couldn’t see responses to that post while still on Threads…you would have to head over to Mastodon. Now, you can see those likes and replies right in Threads…although to reply to a reply on Mastodon, you will have to actually log in to it. 

New York City has had a pay rule for a half dozen years that has made companies like Uber and Lyft pay the drivers even during idle time between fares. Now, engadget.com says for the past month, Uber has been locking drivers out of its apps during low-demand periods. Lyft has threatened to follow suit. At least one drivers’ union says it may consider a strike if the lockouts continue. The drivers, of course are mad. Some of them blame Uber for over-hiring…saying that is one of the main causes of the problem.

Apple has been concerned for years about over reliance on production of iPhones in China. Macrumors.com reports that Apple has instructed managers at Foxconn and other assembly partners to reduce the number of workers on assembly lines by up to 50% the next several years. There is already a significant amount of automation in the iPhone 15 lines, but some work is just too complex yet to automate. Cupertino has shelved some further automation for iPhone 16 due to a ‘high rate of defects.’ The goal doesn’t seem so much to cut humans to save costs as to be able to move even more iPhone assembly to countries outside of China, such as India, Vietnam, and Thailand.

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

EU Says Apple Breaches the DMA-Big Fine Looms; Amazon’s AI ‘Remarkable Alexa’-for a fee; Google Bringing Gemini Access to Teens in School; Dozens of Cybertrucks Vandalized 

Posted: June 24, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

The European Union has announced preliminary findings that Apple is in breach of its Digital Markets Act. 9to5mac.com reports that violating the DMA’s App Store anti-steering rules could get Cupertino socked with and enormous fine…up to 10% of the company’s worldwide revenue. A final decision is expected by March 2025. The DMA rules require that an app store should inform customers of alternative purchase options, direct them to those offers and make those purchases — free of charge. Apple doesn’t do that at present. The DMA does say Apple may charge a fee for facilitating ‘the initial acquisition of a new customer’ via the App Store…it just can’t charge for each ongoing transaction. Expect Apple to fight this. 

Amazon is getting set to unleash what they are calling ‘Remarkable Alexa.’ The AI powered version will hit users with a monthly fee of $5-10 a month. According to androidpolice.com, there will still be a free tier of Alexa. Amazon has been playing catch up on the AI front, as has Apple. Remarkable Alexa (sorry, sounds clunky Amazon) will feature improved home automation…although users will probably have to buy additional Alexa-branded hardware to use that. The paid tier won’t be bundled with your Prime subscription, it will be on top of that $139 per year. The company has apparently set a deadline of this August for Remarkable Alexa to be ready, so you early adapters be ready to shell out another $120 a year. 

Google has announced that it is bringing its Gemini AI tech to teens using their school accounts. This is in addition to allowing them to access it through personal accounts. Techcrunch.com says that Google believe3s this will help prepare them with skills they will need in the future when generative AI is more commonplace. Google also says it will not use data from chats with students to train and improve its AI models, and has taken steps to ensure it’s bringing this technology to students responsibly. Gemini has guardrails that will prevent inappropriate responses, such as illegal or age-gated substances, from appearing in responses. It will also actively recommend teens use its double-check feature to help them develop information literacy and critical thinking skills.

This was obviously not a Musk super fan or fans. Dozens of Cybertrucks in Fort Lauderdale got a paint job of sorts last week. Someone sprayed the tailgates with ‘EFF’ Elon. Theverge.com reports the trucks were being held on a public parking lot due to a reported warranty problem with the windshield wiper. The tagging was apparently easily removed from the stainless steel trucks. One reporter said it wouldn’t surprise him if Elon started selling EFF Elon decals for a price…as he has monetized insults in the past.

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

New Anthropic AI Claims to Best ChatGPT; Amazon Drops Plastic Air Pillows for Recycled Paper in Most Packaging; Apple Intelligence Plans for China Unclear; Cleaning Up Cow Burps to Help Slow Global Warming

Posted: June 20, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

OpenAI rival Anthropic has released its latest generative AI model named Claude 3.5 Sonnet. Anthropic claims that its model is better than OpenAI’s latest ChatGPT or the models of Google and Microsoft. Techcrunch.com reports that while this appears to be true, Claude 3.5 Sonnet just barely beats OpenAI’s GPT-4o on the benchmark test they ran. Anthropic claims their model better understands nuanced and complex instructions, in addition to concepts like humor. Like other AI, however, it is still notoriously unfunny. It really is a sizable jump from the previous Anthropic model, but techcrunch.com says not as big a leap as OpenAI made going from GPT-3 to GPT-4. Most observers think we will see some large improvements in generative AI yet this year…which will hopefully avoid issues like the fellow at a McDonald’s who ordered some nuggets and the chatbot put in over 200 orders of them! Thankfully, there was human intervention!

In a move that could have a substantial effect on better recycling, Amazon has announced that they have eliminated 95% of the inflated plastic pillows used to cushion all the goodies that are shipped to us. According to geekwire.com, Amazon claims this is “largest plastic packaging reduction effort in North America and will avoid nearly 15 billion plastic air pillows annually.” On a personal note, I’m delighted. It’s not only better to use recycled paper for the environment, but no more deflating those stupid plastic pillows to put them in the garbage. As a bonus, my cat loves the paper almost more than the boxes it comes in. It has been estimated by environmental nonprofit Oceana that Amazon produced 208 million pounds of plastic packaging in 2022…enough to circle the globe over 200 times!

It was a big reveal at WWDC as Apple finally previewed its AI called Apple Intelligence. One thing that is still up in the air though is how they will bring the feature to China. As we reported, Apple will use ChatGPT for their most intense AI queries…and ChatGPT is not approved by the government in China. Now, 9to5mac.com says Apple is talking with Baidu, Alibaba, and another AI group to fill the gap. Another question is how Apple will be able to operate its Private Cloud Compute in China. Samsung has reportedly worked with Baidu, but hasn’t been happy with their AI performance. The net is, Apple Intelligence may debut this fall in the US and elsewhere, but for now…it looks like China will have to wait. 

As has been known for a while, livestock cause about 14.5% of greenhouse gasses…more than all the cars and trucks in the world combined. While it’s funny to say ‘cow burps,’ it remains a serious problem. Cattle provide us with both meat and milk…and that isn’t something most folks are willing to do without…to say nothing about the livelihood of farmers and stockmen who raise the beasts. Well arstechnica.com is reporting a way that could help reduce methane emissions from livestock by over 30%. It’s a synthetic feed additive that absorbs some of the hydrogen produced in the rumen of the livestock before methanogens can use it. It is already approved in the US and Canada. Other additives like red algae are also being looked at…that one can reduce emissions by up to 90%..BUT…it is toxic, and it’s not clear that alterations to get rid of the toxicity are safe in the long term. Still, the approved additive knocking down gasses by 30% is a really good start. It all makes me feel less guilty about grilling those steaks on the 4th of July!

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

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