Arm Opens on NASDAQ 10% Above Offer Price; Ford Wants to Double Hybrid F-150 Hybrid Sales; Chromebooks Will Get 10 Years of Updates; $100 in Government Funds for EV Chargers Now Available
Posted: September 14, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentSoftBank’s Arm Holdings opened today on the Nasdaq, and opened strongly for its first day of trading…up 10% from the offer price. Reuters.com reports this gives Arm a valuation of nearly $60 billion in its return to public markets after 7 years. The Arm chip architecture is widely used in mobile devices due to the fact that it draws far less power than other chips. Arm licensed tech has been making inroads into the laptop market for the same reason…increased battery life with great performance. SoftBank still held a 90.6% stake in Arm as of this morning.
Ford has generated a fair amount of excitement over its F-150 Lightening electric pickup, but the automaker also builds hybrid F-150’s, too. Now, according to arstechnica.com, Ford has announced it wants to double sales of hybrid F-150 pickups. Up to now, about 10% of F-150’s have been hybrids. The hybrid is actually not a lot more efficient than the regular 3.5 liter V-6, only getting about 4 mpg on the highway, but the automaker feels that other conveniences like 2.4kW onboard AC power…upgradable to 7.2kW will help lure buyers. Ford and other makers also understand that a fair proportion of the public is still nervous about electric vehicles based on ‘range anxiety,’ and worries that there won’t be an EV charging station nearby…so a hybrid you can fill at any gas station is a draw for those not quite ready for a fully electric EV.
Google is extending the time that they will support Chromebooks. The devices will now get 10 years of updates, instead of 8. This, by the way, is the amount of time auto makers have had to support vehicles with parts availability for decades now…and seems reasonable. 9to5google.com says ChromeOS is also adding adaptive charging and energy saver mode. The extended update time frame will apply to all Chromebooks released from 2021 and thereafter, and will kick in next year. Google will also give existing owners (and IT admins, like schools) of Chromebooks released before 2021 the option to “extend automatic updates to 10 years from the platform’s release when they receive their last automatic update.”
The Departments of Energy and Transportation have announced that $100 million in grants to repair or replace malfunctioning or broken EV chargers is now available. Arstechnica.com reports that they are accepting applications for the funding. The $100 million is part of $5 billion the government is putting into a national network of EV chargers by 2027. How about the additional chargers? Well, some of those grants have already been awarded. Trillium Energy Solutions, the tech arm of Love’s Travel Stops has gotten $4.8 million to build out high-speed EV chargers along highways at 4 existing locations in Pennsylvania and another 4 in Colorado.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Amazon Bows Ground Shipping Service for Sellers; Ring’s New Pet Tag Accessory; FTC-Musk May Have Jeopardized Data Privacy and Security at Twitter; Hyundai Developing It’s Own Giga Press for EV Production
Posted: September 13, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentIn a direct shot at UPS and FedEx, Amazon has rolled out ground shipping for sellers. According to geekwire.com, the service for sellers will pick up items directly from their warehouses and deliver them to customers. It is now available in 15 metro areas, and Amazon plans to expand the footprint in the near future. Amazon Shipping is notable in part because it operates independently from the company’s fulfillment network, targeting businesses that would normally use UPS, FedEx or other traditional shipping services. Delivery is promised in 2 to 5 days.
Ring has launched a new Pet Tag accessory that is designed to reunite lost pets with owners. Techcrunch.com reports that it puts a QR code on your pet’s collar that can be scanned. Scanning the QR code will display the information that you have logged in your Pet Profile, such as health conditions, that can help someone who may find your pet best understand your pet’s immediate needs. If you have opted in to the “Contact Me” feature via your pet’s Pet Profile, the person who finds your pet can engage in two-way communication with you to facilitate the return of your pet. There is no GPS functionality nor beacon facility…the sort of thing that you could use if you put an Apple Air Tag on your pet’s collar. Ring’s Pet Tag is much cheaper, though. It’s available for Preorder today at Ring.com or amazon.com for $9.99…considerably less than an Apple Air Tag at $25 if you buy a 4 pack.
Court filings indicate that the Federal Trade Commission believes that the ‘chaotic environment’ Elon Musk created at Twitter…now X…prevented the company from complying with their obligations to the FTC. Twitter had settled with the FTC over the company’s use of deceptive ad targeting under former CEO Jack Dorsey. Engadget.com says the company paid a $150 million fine and signed on to an agreement to implement specific privacy and security measures. It was those additional data protection measures that apparently fell by the wayside once Musk took control, triggering new scrutiny from the regulator. According to the DoJ, Twitter’s former chief privacy officer Damien Kieran said Twitter Blue launched so quickly a “security and privacy review was not conducted in accordance with the company’s process for software development.”
In a bit of blatant borrowing, Hyundai is copying from Tesla’s playbook, planning a new process like Tesla’s ‘Giga Casting.’ Hyundai calls the new process Hypercasting, and according to electrek.co, the company says it will cut costs at the same time it boosts production. The massive machines produce parts much bigger than what the auto industry was used to. Automakers can save much-needed time and resources without the need to bond multiple parts (it can also help reduce the vehicle’s weight). Tesla is said to have reduced costs by about 30% using Giga Casting. Hyundai, which reached a tentative wage pact with its South Korean labor union Tuesday, agreed to a “special agreement for future growth.” The goal is to boost domestic investment to convert existing ICE manufacturing plants into “core manufacturing bases for future vehicles.”
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Apple iPhone and Watch Event 2023
Posted: September 12, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentApple Watch Series 9
The new S9 SiP Chip is 30% faster than Series 8. Siri requests are now processed on the Watch, making them faster and more secure.
You can ping your iPhone thanks to new Ultra Wideband support. Easier to find your iPhone when you set it down somewhere and forget.
The Watch 9 has double the brightness of Series 8, so the always-on display is more useful. It also darkens down to only 1 nit, so won’t bother if you wear when you sleep.
Series 9 will get a new gesture that only uses the watch hand, and doesn’t need the other. You tap your index finger and thumb together twice. You can use this feature to pick up a call or end a call for example. You can also use it to stop a timer, snooze an alarm, or play and pause music. Double tap will be available next month.
Watch 9 will be available in new Pink aluminum case.
Apple claims the new Watch 9 is 100% carbon neutral, certified by a third party. As predicted, Apple is dropping all leather in Apple accessories. Leather watch bands will be replaced with ‘Fine Woven,’ made of 68% post-consumer content.
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How about the Apple Watch Ultra 2. Well, it also has the new S9 SiP. In addition, it gets the 2nd gen Ultra Wide Band chip. Brightness is up to 3000 nits, so readable in bright sunlight. A night mode activates automatically.
The Ultra still gets 36 hours on a charge.
Apple is crowing about 95% recycled titanium.
The Apple watches…the SE is still available, and is $249. The Series 9 starts at $399. The new Ultra starts at $799. You can order today, they will be available September 22nd.
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The iPhone 15s get the Dynamic Island from the Pros—as expected. Dynamic Island can display a couple different items now.
Peak brightness is up to 2000 nits in bright lights, twice as much as iPhone 14.
Sizes stay the same…6.1” and 6.7”, and they have contoured edges to feel smoother. Color is infused right into the glass on the back. Colors are now pink, yellow, green, blue ,and black.
Apple is using 75% for recycled aluminum in enclosure. 100% recycled cobalt in battery, and 100% recycled copper foil in main logic board and MagSafe charger.
48MP comes to the iPhone 15 main cam. As some Androids, it can merge some of the pixels into one, giving a 24 MP photo with good resolution. They also use the middle pixels to give 2X telephoto…also like some Androids.
Machine learning allows the phone to take a shot in portrait mode automatically if there is a person in it.
The iPhone 15s get the A16 chip from last year’s Pro models.
The battery is bigger than last year’s model…as usual, Apple didn’t specify the actual capacity.
iPhone can connect with other devices up to 3 times further than last year with new generation Ultra Wideband chip.
Audio quality…new machine learning keys in on voice, and you can select a feature to cut down on background noise.
Emergency SOS via satellite. In addition to emergency, they are adding Roadside Assistance via satellite. This will get you help if your car conks out when’re you are somewhere that doesn’t have cell service. It is available from Triple A as part of member service.
Satellite is free for 2 years with iPhone 15.
As expected, USB-C comes to iPhone 15 (since the EU has required it.)
The phones will work with Qi or MagSafe for plug less charging.
iPhone 15 starts at $799, and 15 Plus from $899…no price increase from the 14s.
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iPhone 15 Pro
As expected, the Pro gets grade 5 titanium with a PVD coating. Black, white, blue, and natural finishes for the titanium.
Titanium is stronger and more durable, but lighter in weight. The phones get contoured edges and the thinnest bezels ever.
Sizes stay the same….6.1” for the Pro and 6.7” for the Pro Max as last year. The screens will be a bit bigger due to the smaller bezels.
The mute switch becomes a customizable Action button, as predicted. It is mute by default, but you can chose using it to start recording or launch the camera.
New Standby mode…if you turn the phone on its side while charging, Standby stays on…it can be your digital clock on your nightstand. You can also customize the screen for other information.
The 15s get the A17 Pro chip, which is a 3 nanometer chip…the first in the industry.
The Pros also get the USB-C connector, but it will transfer data much faster.
Apple claims that with their software, and combining cameras, you get the equivalent to 7 cameras.
The Pros get a more advanced 48MP main cam. Larger sensor. Reduces lens flare with new coatings, and better night mode. You can shoot in 24, 28, or 35mm focal lengths. Apple claims double low light performance in Portrait mode.
The Pro Max gets 5x optical zoom at 120mm focal length. 25% larger sensor, and f2.8 aperture…most of any phone this size. It features a ‘tetra-prism’ design and better stability. For macro zoom, it will do a 10x optical zoom.
With 15 Pro you can capture spacial videos, combining two cams to do it. This will be useful mainly for the Vision Pro headset when it comes out early next year.
As for pricing, the Pro remains $999. The Pro Max gets bumped $100 to $1199, but you get an increased 256 gigs storage standard. Preorders Friday Sept 15th, available September 22.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Apple Extends Deal for Qualcomm Modems; Google Pixel Watch 2 Features; Tesla $25,000 New Gen Car; Waze Security Cam Creepy Breach
Posted: September 11, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentOn the eve of the rollout of the latest and greatest Apple iPhones and Watches, Cupertino has cut a deal to extend its use of Qualcomm modems for 3 more years. Good news for Qualcomm, as Apple’s their biggest client. Macrumors.com notes that Apple had been expected to roll out their own custom 5G modem. Now, with this extension, they will continue with Qualcomm through 2026, at least in some models. Apple has been working on their own modem since 2018. It is possible that Apple could start using their own modems and gradually move away from Qualcomm. Qualcomm expects to still supply at least 20% of Apple’s modems by 2026.
We will have a full recap tomorrow of Apple’s iPhone and Watches they show off at their annual event…which starts at 10am Pacific time tomorrow will be streamed on Apple’s web site as well as YouTube.
Google has never made it their policy to be as secretive as Apple with their upcoming products and features. According to androidpolice.com, teaser videos for the Pixel Watch 2…which will be rolled out on October 2nd, show a fair amount. Other leaks indicate that the Watch will have an IP68 rating for water resistance, and will probably feature an EDA sensor to track stress levels, a tech ported over from Fitbit. It also appears from the video to be a bit thinner. Even with those improvements, the Pixel Watch 2 is not expected to be a major upgrade. Android Police called it ‘iterative.’
More pie in the sky from an Elon Musk company? Tesla is reportedly preparing to build a $25,000 electric car built on the company’s next-generation engineering platform. Axios says that Elon Musk biographer Walter Isaacson has detailed the plan to build a $25,000 electric car alongside an autonomous robotaxi that could ferry passengers around. Here’s the fly in the ointment: the car apparently has a futuristic design like the Cybertruck! Back in 2018 Musk promised a $25,000 car within 3 years. On the other hand, the long-delayed Cybertruck now isn’t slated for full scale production until 2024!
Data breaches and internet hacks bring almost a continuous stream of creepy and disturbing stories. Here’s one that popped up over the weekend. Mashable.com reports that some people who own Wyze security cams logged in to the company web viewer, and were able to look into other peoples’ homes! Apparently, the web pages of some people were ‘cached’ and then accidentally shared with others visiting the site. The merged feeds were caused by ‘a web caching issue’ that only affected desktop users during a 30 minute period on September 8th. Wyze claimed to be working on an immediate fix. The company had already gotten heat for an issue last year where a security flaw allowed hackers to access video storage for 3 years. This creepy leak wasn’t even caused by hackers! Maybe if you have been using Wyze cams, you would be ‘wise’ to dump them and go with another brand!
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ’technified’ for now.
China Widens Government Ban on iPhones; Honda will Use Tesla’s EV Charger Standard; Gmail Working on Emoji Reactions; Musk Borrowed a Billion From SpaceX to Help Buy Twitter
Posted: September 7, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentChina has officially mandated that its central government staff can no longer use Apple’s iPhone nor bring iPhones into buildings. Appleinsider reports that China claims it is due to security concerns, but it is thought to really be a retaliation in ongoing strained US/China relations. The ban so far appears to only be half-heartedly enforced, and in fact, there isn’t even a deadline for complying. Apple stock dropped 3% before the markets opened Thursday on the news. The Chinese government is a very small sliver of Apple sales and revenue, but the Chinese public make up sales that bring in 19% of Apple’s earnings.
Honda has just confirmed that it is the latest car maker to follow Tesla’s charger standard for EV’s, known as the North American Charging Standard. According to Techcrunch.com, Honda execs confirmed adopting Tesla’s port in August, but hadn’t given specifics. Now, Honda has announced that their EVs that go on sale in North America starting in 2025 will use the standard. EVs before that from Honda will have the CCS ports, but will come with an adapter that will allow use of the NACS chargers. The NACS standard means that cars can use Tesla’s Supercharger network, which the EV maker opened up to other vehicles last year.
Google is apparently working on a new feature for Gmail that will let users react to their inbox with emoji…at least on Android and iOS. 9to5google.com says some hidden code was spotted by Steven Moser. Emoji reactions, of course are already supported on other mail apps…Microsoft Outlook for one. The emoji are nice to have, especially if the email just requires an acknowledgement, and not a full reply. Apparently, emails gotten via BCC won’t support reactions, nor will encrypted messages or ones sent to large groups.
A report from the Wall Street Journal has found that Elon Musk borrowed a billion dollars from SpaceX, the rocket maker he founded at the same time he was buying Twitter for $44 billion. The Journal said they couldn’t definitively connect the billion dollar loan taking from one of his privately held companies to the purchase of Twitter, but that there is a strong correlation. Musk is thought to be worth some $200 billion, but doesn’t have that much in cash…in fact most of it is tied up in Tesla stock. Musk also sold $4 billion worth of Tesla stock the month after he bought Twitter. The Journal says the billion has now been paid back to SpaceX.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
EU Designates Tech ‘Gatekeepers’; App Store Launching on VisionOS; Xbox Dashboard Update-Game Streaming to Discord Friends; New Cars = Data Privacy Nightmare
Posted: September 6, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commenthe European Union Commission has shared a list of the 22 ‘Core Platform Services’ that must comply with the Digital Markets Act. DMA restricts companies from mandating their own services as default on their devices and enforces interoperability between apps such as messaging applications. The regulations passed through the European Parliament last year and have technically been in effect since May, though without the crucial “gatekeeper” designations. According to gizmodo.com, platforms named include TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube; app stores like Google Play, Apple App Store, and Meta Marketplace; browsers that include Chrome and Safari; and the major operating systems including Android, iOS, and Windows. Google came out worst of all the Gatekeepers, with most of its major services, including its bread and butter Google Search, making the list. Apple and Microsoft have already appealed to the EU Commission to exclude some of their products. Apple claims iMessage isn’t a gatekeeper. Microsoft is fighting the naming of Bing as a core platform. Stay tuned…this will be a long and complicated slog as all the companies try to weasel out of the gatekeeper designation.
Not quite a week out from Apple’s unveil day for the new iPhones and Watches, Cupertino announced that starting this fall, visionOS will include the App Store built-in, allowing developers to expand their testing of Vision Pro apps. 9to5mac.com notes that at WWDC, Apple claimed that Vision Pro will be able to run ‘nearly all iPhone and iPad’ apps that are presently in the App Store. Developers will also be able to build and optimize apps specifically for Vision Pro and the VisionOS. VisionOS doesn’t have the App Store yet, and remains in developer beta for now.
Microsoft is putting out a September update that includes the ability to stream your Xbox gameplay to Discord friends and variable refresh rate (VRR) improvements for the Xbox Series S / X consoles. The dashboard update also includes the new Xbox voice reporting feature and a new way to pair accessories to Xbox consoles. Theverge.com says that the updated Discord functionality means you can now stream your gameplay to anyone on Discord. It’s built into the Parties & Chats section of the dashboard, and a new “stream your game” option now appears once you’re connected to a Discord server.
Mozilla’s ‘Privacy Not Included’ Project has determined that 25 brands of cars with internet connectivity flunked the most basic privacy and security standards. Gizmodo.com reports that the failing brands included BMW, Ford, Toyota, Tesla, and Subaru. Those cars collect data about drivers including race, facial expressions, weight, health information, and where you drive. Some of the cars tested collected data you wouldn’t expect your car to know about, including details about sexual activity, race, and immigration status, according to Mozilla. Actually Mozilla said the very worst offender was Nissan. The carmaker’s privacy policy suggests the manufacturer collects information including sexual activity, health diagnosis data, and genetic data, though there’s no details about how exactly that data is gathered. Nissan reserves the right to share and sell “preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes” to data brokers, law enforcement, and other third parties. Even usually solid Mercedes-Benz didn’t get off the hook…they ship with TikTok pre-installed in the infotainment system. We have moved from ‘let the buyer beware’ to add ‘let the driver beware!’
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Musk to Sue ADL; Microsoft Caves to EU-Unbundling Teams; Meta Partners with LG on 2025 Quest Pro; Spotify Limits Ad Payouts to White Noise Podcasters
Posted: September 5, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentElon Musk. Elon Musk. You’re thinking, ‘what crazy thing is he up to now?’ Elon is apparently accusing the Anti Defamation League of defaming him…he says they have falsely accused him and X (formerly Twitter) of being antisemitic. Techcrunch.com reports that musk says he has no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti Defamation League. He also blamed the ADL for X’s falling US ad revenue. Musk said “Our US advertising revenue is still down 60%, primarily due to pressure on advertisers by @ADL (that’s what advertisers tell us), so they almost succeeded in killing X/Twitter!” Actually antisemitism has been a problem on Twitter for years, way before Musk bought the platform…ratcheting up noticeably due to some of the rhetoric surrounding the 2016 election. Even Elon noted the irony of suing the Anti-Defamation League for defamation!
Microsoft has caved to European Union authorities and will unbundle Teams form Office 365 and Microsoft 365 suites in EU markets. Thenextweb.com notes that the changes will start on October 1st. After that EU enterprise customers will be able to buy Office 365 and Microsoft 365 without Teams, and save a couple Euros a month. An antitrust investigation had commenced in 2020 after Slack filed a complaint.
Meta will partner with LG for future Quest Pro headsets. This according to uploadvr.com. There were reports last fall that Meta was in talks with LG Display for OLED microdisplays of future headsets. Microdisplays have significantly higher pixel density and can produce higher resolution in more compact headsets. Apparently, LG Electronics will handle production, using LG Display displays, LG Energy batteries, and other components from LG Innotek. The first product from the partnership is reportedly slated for 2025, priced at around $2000.
One of the nuttiest trends ever has to be people podcasting white noise…the static ‘whooshing’ sound that has been likened to light rainfall. Some Spotify podcasters have been raking in up to $18,000 a MONTH on this, amazingly. Now, theverge.com reports that Spotify has notified the so-called ‘white noise’ podcasters that they will no longer be eligible for cash under the Ambassador Ads program effective October 1st. The Ambassador Ad program pays creators based on impressions. Apparently Spotify has calculated that it will increase its annual gross profit by $38 million by cutting white noise podcasts from its talk feed. Have any of the people who listened to these white noise podcasts considered turning on a fan? Just wondering.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Google Watermarks for AI Images; Apple Experiments With 3D Printing for Apple Watches; Pixel 8 Will Get More OS Updates; Air Force Looks to Build Fleet of AI-Controlled Drones
Posted: August 30, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentBefore ChatGPT and all the rest, there was already a problem with deepfakes, which keep getting better all the time. Now, the Google DeepMind team is releasing a new tool. It’s called SynthID, and it’s designed to essentially watermark an AI-generated image in a way that is imperceptible to the human eye but easily caught by a dedicated AI detection tool. The watermark is embedded in the pixels of the image, but it doesn’t alter the image itself in any noticeable way. “It doesn’t change the image, the quality of the image, or the experience of it. It’s robust to various transformations — cropping, resizing, all of the things that you might do to try and get around normal, traditional, simple watermarks.” Google’s team says they will keep working on it to stay a step ahead of deepfake improvements.
Apple is using 3D printers to build the chassis for some upcoming Apple Watch 9 models. That’s the word from Mark Gurman of Bloomberg. The 3D building process uses less material than is needed for CNC manufacturing, and it is faster to boot. Apple is able to print a device’s outline at close to its actual shape using a powdered substance. A second process uses heat and pressure to squeeze the material into a substance that feels like steel, and it is then refined with milling. Apple may start 3D printing titanium devices as soon as next year…like the Watch Ultra.
Google is finally going to cave and push out more OS updates to the Pixel phones starting with the Pixel 8. 9to5google.com notes that they have only been promising 3 years of updates…talk about planned obsolescence! Samsung started offering 4 years last year. Apple still supports 2015 phone models…that’s 8 years of support for security updates! Reports say that Google will shoot for matching or nearly matching Apple, and doing 7-8 years, which will give them a selling point over Samsung. I trade phones every 2-3 years, but a lot of people like to hold on to theirs for longer….both for expense reasons and because they just like their older phone and don’t see the need for the latest zoomy features. A gold star for Google…on this, anyway!
The Pentagon has announced a program to build out a fleet of AI Controlled drones. Engadget.com reports that they will be based on the EQ-58A Valkyrie unscrewed aircraft. The Air Force pays $143 million and $75 million each for the F-22 and F-35 fighters, but the Valkyrie drones cost a comparatively cheap $3 million each. The Air Force is asking for $6 billion to build a fleet of the AI-powered drones. The Pentagon was quoted as saying “Any Air Force drone [will be] designed to allow commanders and operators to exercise appropriate levels of human judgment over the use of force.” Buckle up, here we go! How long until an army of robots on the ground and these AI drones in the air fighting wars without humans directly involved?
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Apple Announces Sept. Date; Amazon Raises Minimum Free Ship Amount for Non-Prime; YouTube Violaters Can Take Class to Clear Record; WhatsApp Launches Native macOS App
Posted: August 29, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentWanderlust is the signature cryptic name for Apple’s September event, and we have a date now…it’s September 12. Macrumors.com reports that we can log on at 10am Pacific to catch the event for the new iPhone 15 series, Apple Watch Series 9, and all the other things Apple will be hyping to get all of us to say ‘Shut up and take my money!’ The event will emanate from the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park campus. It is expected that everything will be prerecorded, as it has been the last several years. Besides the stream on Apple’s website, you can catch all the excitement…well, hype, anyway…on YouTube and also on the Apple TV app.
Amazon is testing out goosing the amount for free shipping for non-prime users from $25 to $35. According to geekwire.com, it’s another way the online giant is looking to shave costs and increase revenue. Free shipping for non-Prime users had been $35 before, but they dropped back to $25 to compete with Walmart. Of course for those of us that pay the princely $139 a year for Prime, shipping will remain free, and you will continue to get other perks like use of Amazon’s streaming content. No word on when the price hike will be fully in effect, but expect it to be soon.
WhatsApp has launched a new native app for macOS. Users can download it from WhatsApp’s website, according to Mark Zuckerberg, who posted about it on his Facebook account. The app will allow users to participate in video calls with up to 8 people and audio calls with up to 32 people. Zuck said in the post “The app is redesigned to be familiar to Mac users, helping you get more done faster when using WhatsApp on a large screen. You can now share files by easily dragging and dropping into a chat, and can view more of your chat history.” WhatsApp had announced a Windows client with similar features back in March.
If you ever took a course to clear your driving record…maybe to keep your insurance from going through the roof, this will sound familiar. YouTube has announced that Starting today, creators will now have the option of taking an educational training course when they receive a warning. When completed, YouTube will lift the warning from the creator’s channel as long as they don’t violate the same policy for 90 days. TechCrunch.com reports that The company says this new policy came about because creators told YouTube they wanted more resources to better understand the rules.YouTube also said it will now issue individual warnings depending on the specific policy violated instead of one warning for the lifetime of the creator’s channel. That will give them more opportunities to remove warnings before they turn into strikes.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Google Flights Now Tells Cheapest Booking Times; Door Dash Launches AI-Powered Voice Ordering; New iPad Pro & Keyboard in 2024; Apple Could Pass Samsung as Largest Smartphone Brand
Posted: August 28, 2023 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentTalk about some news you can use! Google Flights already lets you know whether current prices are low, typical, or high…but now you can catch when the cheapest time to book is. 9to5google.com reports that the app will tell you quote “when prices have typically been lowest to book your chosen dates and destination.” It will also let you know how long by date the cheapest price will stay that way. The new feature is rolling out this week.
DoorDash is launching an AI powered voice ordering tech that will allow restaurants to answer all the calls they receive. Techcrunch.com says the tech will also provide customers with curated recommendations to complement their meal. According to the 2023 Restaurant Online Ordering Trends Report, up to 50% of calls have been going unanswered, which means less revenue for restaurants. Apparently DoorDash will even offer multiple languages with no missed calls or long wait times. TechCrunch does note that live agents will be available to jump in and support customers at any time…with some of the goofs AI has made, that might be a crucial feature.
New, more powerful iPad Pro models should be hitting the web and stores in 2024, along with a new Magic Keyboard. This according to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg in his Power On newsletter. There will be 2 models…an 11 incher and a 13 inch display, and both will switch to OLED tech for the screens. They will also be powered by the M3 chip, for a big boost in power…it will be the first big update for iPad Pros since 2018. Look for a new Magic Keyboard, too, which will hold the screen at a useable angle, and that will feature a bigger trackpad…more similar in size to the ones on the MacBook. Nothing firm on the date, but spring or early summer looks likely.
Apple has always run a strong #2 behind Samsung in the smartphone wars. Now, in a report from noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, he notes that Samsung’s smartphone shipments have been cut to 220 million units this year. That said, if Apple keeps its orders for the new iPhone 15 line unchanged for the second semester, the iPhone shipments are expected to reach 220–225 million units in 2023, surpassing Samsung as the largest smartphone brand. With Apple’s outlook being optimistic for 2024, with a shipment target of 250 million units, Ming-Chi Kuo sees a 5-10% YoY increase. He also notes that Samsung’s internal view of 2024 market demand is “still conservative,” so it could also make Cupertino the largest smartphone brand next year.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
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