Musk Mulls Twitter Paywall; Signal Adds Stories Feature, Feds Recover $3.36B in Stolen Bitcoin; Google & Renault-‘Software Defined Vehicles’

Elon Musk has come up with another way to monetize Twitter…and finish killing it off if he proceeds. 9to5mac.com reports that Early Twitter investor and venture capitalist Chris Sacca has said that Musk has one of the greatest minds he has known, but that the billionaire is completely alone now because he has no one around him who dares to speak truth to power. Now, Elon is considering paywalling the entire Twitter platform. In his latest scheme, Musk would allow everyone to use Twitter for a limited time every month, but then require a subscription to continue. Meanwhile, number crunchers calculate that the $8 Twitter Blue fee, which would reduce ads for those users would make Twitter lose more money. Great mind, indeed.

Every platform seems to have a short video feature since TikTok has grown so ginormous. According to techcrunch.com, the latest (and quite late to the game) to add a Stories feature is Signal. The short videos and texts will disappear automatically in 24 hours. As with all the rest of Signal, Stories there are end-to-end encrypted. Users can select to share with everyone in their phone contact list who use Signal, any you have had a one-to-one conversation with, or anyone whose message you’ve accepted. You can also create a custom list for a Story. 

It’s always ‘the perfect crime’ until the crook gets caught. Now, arstechnica.com says federal prosecutors have recovered $3.36 billion in bitcoin that was ripped off 10 years ago from Silk Road. The thief, one James Zhong, had stashed a single board computer in a popcorn tin under a pile of blankets in a bathroom closet! He also had more coin in a safe. He had tried to hide his theft through a series of complex transactions, but eventually the feds were able to trace the blockchain history and nabbed him. The weed of crime bears bitter fruit… Crime does not pay… The SHADOW knows!

After 4 years, Google and Renault are expanding their partnership to develop and advanced software platform for future vehicles. Theverge.com reports that they are calling it a ‘software-defined vehicle.’ Ultimately, it will be on Google’s Android Automotive OS and send data to the company’s cloud servers for processing. As part of the deal, Renault has named Google as their ‘preferred cloud provider.’ Most other auto makers are using Amazon Web Services. What exactly is a ‘software-defined vehicle?’ The idea is that a vehicle is sold with a base level of hardware and that its features are largely dictated by its software, which can be updated and improved with over-the-air updates.

I’m Clark Reid, and you’ve been ‘technified’ for now. 

Meta Plans Layoffs; iPhone 14 Pro Shortage; Samsung Galaxy S23 Launch Rumors; Starlink To Throttle Big Data Users

Meta seems to be using the big Twitter layoff as cover…they are now planning major job cuts that could happen as soon as the day after Election Day. The layoff numbers are expected to be in the thousands. According to theverge.com, Meta had some 87,000 employees as the end of September. CEO Mark Zuckerberg put a hiring freeze in place at that time, and was reported as saying in an internal Q&A session that “there are probably a bunch of people at the company who shouldn’t be here.” Facebook has more active users than ever before, but investors are skittery about the big dollars Zuck is dropping on his Metaverse vision. The company has dropped $9.4 billion on the Metaverse project this year, and burned through a similar amount last year. Meta’s virtual reality division lost $3.7 billion this past quarter. The stock is now at its lowest level since 2016. 

With China locking down a big Foxconn plant for a week due to COVID, Apple is warning that iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models may be in shorter supply than expected. Macrumors.com reports that iPhone production could be down some 30% from normal due to the lockdown. Apple has upped production in India to make up some of the slack, but says they can’t fully replace the capacity.  Expect longer wait times if you are trying to upgrade to a 14 Pro or Pro Max. 

Normally after the first of the year, we start looking for Samsung to roll out its latest and greatest phones. 9to5google.com says we should expect the Galaxy S23 handsets to bow sometime around the 1st week of February…although some Samsung watchers say it could be as late as the 17th. Right now, it looks like at least 75% of Galaxy S23 phones will use Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chips. Earlier this year, it appeared Samsung would be using more Exynos chips, but that may not be the case. Apparently, Samsung will hold an in-person event in San Francisco…their first in-person event since 2020. 

After jacking up prices this spring, now Starlink is putting in a data cap on heavy users. According to engadget.com, it’s 1TB a month. If you exceed the cap, you’ll get dropped back from ‘priority access’ to ‘basic access’ the rest of the month. Some may encounter upload speeds as slow as 1 Mbps! The data cap is similar to cable providers, although they normally will just charge you gobs of money for continuing over the limit. Starlink is going to do that, too…but at 25 cents per gig of data for priority, you won’t want to get hit with that kind of fees. Premium/Maritime users will have 1 TB and 5 TB caps, but exceeding those will set them back $2 for every priority Gig after that. One user noted it might be cheaper to buy a complete second system!

I’m Clark Reid and you’ve been ‘technified’ for now. 

Twitter Job Cuts; Foxconn COVID Lockdown; Zillow Beats Expectations; Gmail Will Track Your Packages

Last report, I joked that lately the Week in Elon Musk could be turned to the day since he bought Twitter. In that regard, he hasn’t disappointed. Now, Reuters reports that Musk plans to cut about 3700 jobs there, or about half the head count. A couple weeks ago, he had threatened to cut 75%, but this was trimmed back to 25% a couple days later. Now, it’s grown again. Some will likely quit, adding to this number, as Elon is demanding everyone come into the office again…after Twitter announced earlier that they could work from home permanently. It’s worth noting that so far, employees have not heard a single thing from Musk…having to rely on his Tweets, the news, and private chats to try to figure out what’s going on. 

China continues to use draconian lockdowns to try to tamp down COVID. Now, they have imposed a 7 day lockdown on a huge Foxconn plant. According to appleinsider.com, substantial numbers of employees have been fleeing the area to avoid being trapped in the so-called ‘closed loop.’ Apparently food and medical supplies have been running low. Foxconn has increased daily bonuses from 100 yuan a day to 400 to try to stem the exodus. They say the lockdown will cut production of Apple products by 30%…but they intend to make up most of that at other plants. 

In spite of higher interest putting the brakes on home sales, Zillow Group managed to beat its 3rd quarter earnings. Geekwire.com says the real estate giant reported 3rd quarter revenue of $483 million, beating the expectation of $456 million. Their total revenue was down 12%, though, as mortgage rates rose past 7%. Zillow had shuttered their home flipping business last year and cut about 25% of their workforce then. As they are looking at the housing market to ‘remain challenged,’ they have cut another 550 employees…about 18% of the workforce there. 

The holiday season is upon us, and even more packages will be on the way. Now, Google is updating the Gmail app with simple package tracking. Engadget.com reports that if the order email has a supported tracking number, you will see the shipping status at the top of the message. The opt-in feature should be available in a couple weeks. Apple Mail has had a similar feature for several years, where you could tap on an arrow to the right of the tracking number, and a box pops up with the tracking details. 

Twitter Paywalled Videos; Sony PlayStation VR2, Google Street View App Goes Away; Amazon Out of Trillion Dollar Club

We used to do a feature called ‘The Week in Elon Musk.’ With his Twitter purchase, it has become the day in Elon Musk. Now, gizmodo.com reports that Twitter is considering a ‘paywalled video’ feature that would allow users to charge money for access to videos…which most Twitter watchers think would be immediately flooded with porn. Apparently, the prices would be preset by Twitter….at $1, $2, $5, or $10. Twitter would take a cut of the money, using Stripe. It sounds like a Twitter version of Only Fans! Right now, it’s unclear if this idea was already in the works, or is one of Musk’s ideas to monetize Twitter. Musk is apparently still working on a process to bring banned accounts back to Twitter, too. While he is pitching it as an online town square, it sounds a bit more like a town back alley in these cases. 

Sony will roll out the PlayStation VR2 headset on February 22nd. According to theverge.com, it will set you back $549.99. That will include Sense controllers and stereo headphones, however a Sense controller charging station is priced separately at $49.99…so you are really going to be out $600! Preorders are opening on November 15th, and limited to through the PlayStation online store in a lot of markets, including the US, UK, France, and Germany. Games…including “Horizon Call of the Mountain,’ will also be open for preorder this month. The new headset has an OLED screen, 110 degree field of view, and has 4 cams built into the display. Oh…and original PlayStation VR games are not compatible with it, either. 

Google is pulling the standalone Street View app in the next few weeks from both Android and iOS. 9to5google.com says they will also kill off support for the app by next March. The street view with 360 degree views will still be available in Google Maps. Just a couple weeks ago, Google teased that they are going to make the Maps app more immersive with the addition of 3D aerial views and details for some spots like weather and traffic. 

Shares of online giant Amazon dropped 5.9% Tuesday, falling for the 5th straight day. Amazon’s market cap is now below a trillion dollars. According to cnbc.com, the stock price is now down to the level of April 2020. This is all mainly due to the company’s 4th quarter forecast…Amazon is predicting the holiday quarter will grow by 2% to 8%, which is noticeably lower than analysts’ estimates. Amazon now has the dubious honor of being the 2nd worst performer in the Big Tech stock group…down 42%…but worst stock Meta has dropped 72%, and Meta has warned that 4th quarter revenue will likely decline for a third straight period. 

Amazon Prime Gets Full Music Catalog; New Google Shopping Features; Tesla Still Needs TX Gigafactory Boss; TikTok Creators Now See When You Favorite Their Video

Amazon has added a nice new benefit to Amazon Prime. While you used to have about 2 million songs to choose from, the online giant now has a full music catalog of over 100 million songs. Techcrunch.com notes that it remains to be seen if this will pull subscribers away from Apple Music or Spotify, but it certainly puts them in a place to be able to do that. In addition to bulking up the music catalog, Amazon Prime will now make most of their top podcasts available without ads. You can access the expanded music catalog through the main Amazon Music app. The added music is a nice bonus that they hope will soften the blow of increasing the annual fee for Prime from $119 to $139. 

Just in time for the holidays…of course…Google has bowed some new shopping features that make it easier to find deals directly from your search results. Theverge.com reports that any products with a coupon available will now have a new ‘Special Offer’ badge in the top left corner of the thumbnail. Besides digitally clippable coupons in Search, google is introducing a way to compare deals side by side on mobile. That feature will be live later this month. 

Tesla has had great plans for the new Gigafactory in Texas…a plant that will ultimately employ some 10,000 workers. Now, all they need is a leader…usually known as a plant director. Electrek.co says that the plant is cranking out vehicles (although Tesla hasn’t specified numbers), but after a year and a half remains leaderless. It is worth noting that they do have a director of manufacturing. Jason Shawhan took that role last year, moving over from a Ford plant in Kansas City. He had been assistant plant manager at that facility for about 20 years. 

No lurking for you, TikToker. While you used to be able to favorite a video anonymously, with the creator only able to see the total count…the platform now enables them to see who you are. According to mashable.com, most other platforms…like  Twitter’s Bookmarks and Instagram’s Saved, don’t let the creators see who has favorited their videos. While creators will hail the new feature, there are a lot of lurkers on TikTok and really all platforms who prefer to remain anonymous. This feature follows one TikTok released in June that lets users see who viewed their profile. 

Twitter Blue Plans $20 a Month Verification Charge; Europe to Ban Gas & Diesel Cars from 2035; No More Mac Product Releases This Year; Samsung & AT&T Launch Kids Tablet

In a move that would definitely verify that you have $20 a month to burn, Twitter is planning to charge that fee for Twitter Blue, the optional service that has been $4.99 which unlocks some Twitter features. More importantly, the Blue checkmark comes with it, which is Twitter’s way of verifying users. Under the new regime, verified users you have 90 days to subscribe, or lose the blue checkmark. This really is a sure fire way to verify that you are willing to pay the $19.99, but could open things up to numerous accounts spreading false information who appear more legit because they sport the blue checkmark. 

**Update Tuesday morning. Now, Elon Musk is saying he will raise Twitter Blue to $8 a month, not the almost $20. He also called the present checkmark system bullish*t, but hasn’t fleshed out how it might be changed. He said fixing it is essential to control spam and ‘bots. Musk also again asserted that the platform can’t rely just on advertising revenue to pay the bills.

Following California’s decision to ban the sale of new gas or diesel cars by 2035, now the European Union has joined the party…banning combustion engine cars and vehicles from 2035 on. According to mashable.com, this agreement…which still has to be formally adopted….would have the intended effect of a 55% reduction in CO2 emissions for new cars and 50% for new vans by 2030…then achieving a 100% reduction in those emissions from both new cars and vans by 2035. Very low volume vehicle makers, like sports car companies, would get to skip the 2030 reductions, but still would have to comply by 2035. 

Despite lots of earlier rumors that there would be new MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, and other devices released in November, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says it’s not happening. Apple has decided to with until next year to drop those upgrades…according to Gurman’s Power On newsletter, we can expect them in the first quarter of 2023. The Mac Pro had already been reportedly delayed until summer…now it appears the other M-2 powered Macs will join it as 2023 models. 

It’s a bit pricey for a kid gift, but not bad for a tablet. Samsung and AT&T have partnered on the Galaxy Tab A7 Lite Kids Edition tablet. Androidcentral.com reports that the tab has an 8.7 inch screen, and importantly…a wrap around ruggedized case that really protects said screen. The tablet is $250, but you can get it for junior for just $7 a month on a payment plan. It has a kickstand to make watching videos easier, and has LTE connectivity so can work during those car trips. The Galaxy tablet is available starting November 4th. 

Musk Says on Track to Buy Twitter; PlayStation 5 Could Get Discord Voice Chat; Google Revenue Grows-Profit Not So Much; EV Sales Continue to Heat Up

Elon Musk confirmed in a video call with advisers that he intends to close the $44 billion deal to buy Twitter on Friday. Arstechnica.com also reports that Musk’s lawyers at Skadden, Arps sent paperwork to equity investors in the deal, according to two investors and a person close to the Tesla boss. One person familiar with Twitter’s thinking said the company also expected the deal to close on Friday. If all goes as expected, it will be interesting to see if there is the kind of exodus of users from Twitter that some believe will happen.

Xbox owners just got voice chat features via Discord, now it’s the PlayStation 5’s turn. According to mashable.com, the voice chat features should hit the PS5 before long…probably by March2023. Unfortunately, if you don’t have the latest and greatest, no Discord chat for you. PS4 users will have to continue to use the console’s built-in party chat system. For a lot of gamers, it’s about time…Sony had announced a partnership with Discord back in 2021!

Google parent Alphabet released earnings this week. Revenue grew, but profits have slipped. In this immediately past quarter, they had $69 billion in revenue and $13.9 billion in profit. The previous year was exceptional, but that quarter brought in $65.1 billion in revenue and almost $19 billion in profit. Theverge.com says both the ad business and the cloud business saw increases. CEO Pichai said that they recently logged the ‘highest selling week ever for Pixel’, after introducing the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro and the Pixel Watch. 

As EV sales heat up, Tesla’s market share is dropping. Marketwatch.com notes that a year ago, Tesla had 70% share, but is now down to 64%. This is not surprising, even as Teslas sales are growing…more competitors selling more cars cuts your share. Tesla Model 3 and Model Y are still the 2 top selling EV models. In third is The Chevy Bolt, with the Ford Mustang Mach-E 4th. Tesla’s Model S was 5th in sales. Toyota continues to lead in hybrid sales, with 47% market share. The RAV4 Hybrid is the top selling US hybrid.

Amazon Starts Taking Venmo; Comcast-Higher Upload Speeds Require $ xFi Add-On; Rent-Setting Software Co Sued for Collusion; Toyota Switching EV Tech-Delays EV Changeover

Amazon will now let customers use Venmo to make payments on its platform. This is rolling out now, and should be available to all US customers by Black Friday. TechCrunch.com reports that you just choose ‘Select a payment method,’ then ‘add a Venmo account’. Users will be able to use their Venmo balance, linked bank account, or eligible debit card. It appears that Amazon is adding Venmo after a recent study showed that Venmo users shop twice as frequently as the average shopper. 

Comcast is offering upload speeds of up to 100Mbps from 10…sounds great, right? Well, it is if you need that kind of upload speed. The catch? Yeah, there’s always a catch. According to slashdot, you have to buy a $25 a month xFi Complete add-on. Comcast does say that faster upload speeds will come to customer-owned modems ‘later next year.’ Hey, you want a break? Comcast will let you have the service for $20 a month for the 1st year if you sign up before December 31st!

Renters sued a company this week that makes price-setting software for apartments used by nine of the nation’s biggest property managers. Arstechinca.com says the suit against RealPage has enabled a cartel to artificially inflate rents in violation of federal law. The company strongly denies the allegations, and the nine property managers named in the suit didn’t respond to requests for comment. RealPage’s software uses an algorithm to churn through a trove of data each night to suggest daily prices for available rental units. The software uses not only information about the apartment being priced and the property where it is located, but also private data on what nearby competitors are charging in rents. RealPage brags that clients—who agree to provide RealPage real-time access to sensitive and nonpublic data—experience “rental rate improvements, year over year, between 5% and 12% in every market,” according to the lawsuit.

Although Toyota announced an EV strategy last year, it now looks like they may be hitting the brakes to switch to a different EV architecture. Theverge.com reports that they had planned to use their e-TNGA flex EV platform…which is the setup in the bZ4X crossover and had been planned for the ’23 Lexus RZ 450e. Apparently, Toyota isn’t feeling secure about 30 new EVs by 2030, and is looking to switch to a manufacturing process that is quicker and less expensive to build. The Prius hybrids continue to be a hit, but Toyota has fallen behind the curve when it comes to EV production. 

YouTube Freshen Eases Use; Upcoming from Apple-Gurman; Facebook & TikTok Approve Ads With ‘Blatant’ Election Mis-Info; Free Netflix Password Sharing Doomed

YouTube is rolling out an update that makes use easier. All users will get pinch-to-zoom, and they are adding precise seeking…which should help you to rewind or fast forward videos to an exact location (this feature has been available on Premium already). Theverge.com reports that while you are scrolling through a video, YouTube will open a frame-by-frame view, so you can lock in to the exact spot you want to watch. Another feature is ambient mode, which adapts colors in the video you are watching, which should look better if you use dark mode. Oh…and dark mode is now even darker, which YouTube says should make “colors truly pop on your screen,” whether you’re watching videos on your phone, computer, or smart TV.

Faster silicon is on the way from Apple, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The next few months, look for a freshened MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, and a new beast of a Mac Pro. The latter will have a model available with 24 CPU cores, a whopping 76 graphics cores, and 192 Gigs of memory. The 14 and 16 inch MacBook Pro models will come with M2 Pro and M2 Max internals. The Max is not shabby in its performance, rocking 12 CPU cores, 38 GPU cores, and 64 Gigs of memory. The Mini will run an M2 chip like the MacBook Air and 13 inch MacBook Pro. All should be out in the coming months…with the Mac Pro hitting the market more like mid-2023. 

Facebook and TikTok have failed to block ads with ‘blatant’ misinformation about when and how to vote in the US midterms, and also about the integrity of the voting process. CNN says this is the finding of a new report from human rights watchdog Global Witness and The Cybersecurity Democracy Team at New Yom University. Researchers sent in 20 ads with inaccurate info to Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. YouTube spotted and rejected every single test submission and suspended the channel used to post them. TikTok approved 90% of them, while researchers said Facebook approved a ‘significant number.’ 

Yes, its been rumored for a while now, but it looks like your Netflix Password sharing is gonna cost you soon. Cnet.com reports that they have started testing in a few countries. What would it mean? Each extra member ‘sub-account’ in the US would tack on an extra $3.50 or $4 a month! It looks like they will only be allowing the account sharing on the $15.50 a month Standard and $20 a month Premium accounts, too (as both those allow simultaneous streams.) Another day, another shakedown for more money.

Apple Moving Production from China; TikTok Eyes Amazon; Microsoft Shows New Surface Laptops; Drivers Wildly Overestimate Hands Free Assistance

Apple continues to reduce its reliance on China. 9to5mac.com reports that noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has released new predictions regarding their moves include shifting more iPhone production to India, and more MacBook production and assembly to Thailand. Kuo thinks the US market might be 100% supplied by non-China locations in the next 3 to 5 years. For years, Apple’s outsized reliance on China has been seen as a major weak spot in its supply chain, especially through all the Chinese shutdowns due to COVID. 

As they move into e-commerce, TikTok is now hiring in not only LA, but also in Amazon’s back yard of Seattle. According to geekwire.com, the social video phenom currently has e-commerce capabilities in the UK and Southeast Asia. Job postings point to the Chinese ByteDance owned platform working to become a major player in online shopping and e-commerce logistics here in the US, too. TikTok has already tried to push back on privacy concerns over their connection to China…this move will certainly add to that. They do seem determined to become a real competitor to Amazon..which owns 37.8% of the US e-commerce market. 

Microsoft is freshening up their Surface 5 laptops after a year and a half on the market. It is a modest update. The 13.5 inch model starts at $1000 and the 15 inch one at $1200. Engadget.com says they get a bump in processing power with 12 generation Intel Evo processors, and add support for Thunderbolt 4 and WiFi 6. A better display has Dolby Vision IQ support, and you can load up with up to 32 Gigs of RAM and a terabyte of storage. Both models are available for preorder now, and they go on sale October 25th.

From Cadillac’s Super Cruise to Tesla’s Autopilot, and all the rest, drivers overestimate the abilities of driver assist systems. Arstechnica.com reports that a study just done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety finds that ‘large percentages of users’ of both Super Cruise and Autopilot ‘were comfortable treating their systems as self-driving.’ Most ADAS, or advanced driver assistance systems, are really just safety oriented helpers that provide blind spot monitoring or automatic emergency braking. The SAE calls these systems ‘Level 2,’ and they are a long way from from self driving. Users of such systems are likely to eat while driving (65% of Super Cruise users, 46% of Autopilot). They are also likely to take hands off the wheel while driving ( 40% Autopilot, 44% Super Cruise.)