Meta Connect 2025; Google Brings Gemini Button to Chrome; ICE Signs Deal For Phone Hack Software; Nvidia Will Put $5 Billion into Intel for New Co-Developed Chips

The Meta Connect keynote was last night, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the predicted smart glasses with a display. Theverge.com reports they are called Meta Ray-Ban Display…I know, really creative naming here…but they do have a full-color, hi-res screen in the right lens. You can see messages, take video calls, read live captions, see walking directions, and preview pics you plan to take with a built-in 12 megapixel cam. The display is controlled with a wristband. Meta says the glasses can run up to 6 hours with ‘mixed use’ on a charge, and you can get up to 30 hours with the collapsable charging case. The new Display glasses start at $799, and come in black or brown…same colors for the wrist band. They are available in the US starting September 30th at Best Buy, LensCrafters, and Ray-Ban stores. 

Google is rolling out new features for Chrome. The biggie, according to them, is a new button that launches the Gemini chatbot…be still my heart. According to wired.com, there are new tools for searching, researching, and answering questions with AI. On Android, you can already use parts of Gemini within the Chrome app, and the AI features are coming to iOS Chrome users ‘soon.’ 

In a chilling move, ICE has signed a $3 million dollar contract with the company that makes Graykey, the phone hacking and unlocking device that is already in use by many governments and police agencies. TechCrunch.com notes that the deal covers the HSI…Homeland Security Investigations unit of ICE. The Graykey box was originally developed by Grayshift, but Magnet Forensics merged with them in 2023, and they operate under the Magnet Forensics name now. This isn’t shocking, but just one more tool besides face recognition software from Clearview AI and cell phone spyware from Paragon that ICE is now using.

Nvidia will pump $5 billion into Intel, to co-develop new server and PC chips. Arstechnica.com says this will give Nvidia approximately 4% of Intel. Apparently, the chips will be custom x86 chips that Intel builds to Nvidia’s specifications. Nvidia will then integrate the CPUs into its AI infrastructure platforms, and offer them to the market. 

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


October Amazon Prime Day(s); TikTok in America Framework; YouTube Bows New AI Tools for Shorts; OpenAI Plans AI Auto Age Verification for Teens on ChatGPT

Didn’t we just have Prime Day…for about a week? Amazon has announced its next Prime Day. Zdnet.com reports that this one will only be a 48 hour long Prime Day, starting on Tuesday October 7th, and running through October 8th. Expect the usual crazy deals on all sorts of stuff, particularly Amazon’s own. With the Amazon hardware event coming up on September 30th, deep discounts on the older model Kindles, Echo speakers, and Fire TVs are likely. As usual, expect ‘early deals’ between September 30th and the start of Prime Day.

The US and China have been continuing trade talks in Europe, and it looks like we may finally…finally see an actual deal with a US owned version of TikTok. According to gizmodo.com, the plan is to have it be owned by several American investors, but it would continue to rely on the Chinese algorithm running the platform. That is the main sticking point, by the way. The highly addictive algorithm is something China has been unwilling to give up, and it is a main draw for the platform. It now appears that the Trump administration has agreed to a licensing deal with ByteDance retaining the intellectual property rights but that Chinese company would “entrust the operation of TikTok’s U.S. user data and content security.” Negotiations are ongoing, so it isn’t quite a done deal yet.

YouTube has unveiled new generative AI tools for Shorts creators. TechCrunch.com notes that YouTube is getting a custom version of Google’s text-to-video generative AI model…Veo 3…to Shorts. In addition, Shorts will get a new remixing tool, and ‘Edit with AI’ feature, and more. This will make it the first time that Shorts creators can make video clips with AI with sound. The update is being pushed out now in the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. YouTube will be distributing the functionality to other areas in the upcoming months. 

In the aftermath of a teen suicide, Open AI is working on a system aimed at automatically identifying teen users of ChatGPT, and restricting their usage. Engadget.com says that the teen restrictions would include a block of graphic sexual content, among other things. “In cases of acute distress,” the system will also have the capability to contact law enforcement to ensure user safety. In scenarios where ChatGPT can’t definitively estimate the age of a user, it will default them to the new gated experience. OpenAI will provide a way for adult users to verify their age and unlock ChatGPT’s full capabilities. This is an iffy game…Google is at it as well, as are some British companies. Critics point out that AI doesn’t have great accuracy at this sort of thing so far, and that having to prove you are of legal age exposes more of your private identity documentation and proof that could be used to steal your identity…not that that isn’t already a big problem. OpenAI hasn’t disclosed when they will be taking the teen identifying system live. 

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


Amazon-AR Glasses like Meta’s Coming; Samsung Might Launch a Wider Z Fold Next Year; Microsoft Distances from OpenAI & Uses from Anthropic; Pfizer-Latest COVID Booster 4x Positive Results

The tech companies have seen the future, and it apparently has all of us walking around, looking nerdy in augmented reality glasses. Yahoo.com reports that Amazon is working on AR glasses for consumers that would go head to head with Meta’s Ray-Bans. The glasses are code named ‘Jayhawk,’ which makes this former Kansan think that someone high on the development team is a Jayhawk themselves…an alum of Kansas University. At any rate, Amazon is aiming to have the AR glasses out by late 2026 or early 2027. Amazon has already been working on specialized glasses for delivery drivers. Those specs would provide turn by turn navigation on a small screen along routes and at each stop. The AR glasses allegedly would have a full-color display and a sleeker, less bulky design than the delivery model already in the works. Those ones should be out by the 2nd quarter of 2026…and Amazon plans to produce some 100,000 units. 

With almost every phone maker either putting out a folding phone or working on one now, early leader Samsung is apparently working on a second Z Fold, to go along with the present Galaxy Z Fold 7 and its Z Flip 7 folding phones. According to bgr.com, Samsung is not only working on a tri-fold phone, but also on a wider Fold. The wider fold would have a flatter, square appearance when open, and a shorter overall design…something like an early Pixel fold design that was considered. The wide Fold would have an aspect ration of 18:18. Some speculators think the wider Fold might be related to the rumored Apple folding iPhone that may drop next year. 

Microsoft, which was an early large investor in Open AI, has now taken steps to distance a bit from that artificial intelligence firm. Techcrunch.com says that Microsoft will pay for Anthropic’s AI in Office 365 apps. That means that Anthropic’s tech will help power new features in Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint alongside OpenAI’s, marking the end of Microsoft’s previous reliance solely on the ChatGPT maker for its productivity suite. Microsoft is presently negotiating a new deal with Open AI to secure access to its AI models after a pending for-profit restructuring. Apple has been using OpenAI’s ChatGPT as an extension of its flailing Siri, but lately, there is word that Apple is working on a deal to use Google’s Gemini AI. It appears that no one wants all their AI eggs in one basket.

Pfizer has announced that the 2025-26 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine boosts antibody levels by at least four times in older people and those with underlying medical conditions. Arstchnica.com notes that even with the patchwork of state-by-state access caused by Bobby Kennedy Jr’s nuttiness at Health & Human Services, this is some good news. The Kennedy/Trump FDA now limits COVID-19 vaccine approvals to people 65 and older or those under 64 if they have an underlying medical condition. Those conditions include asthma, diabetes, heart conditions, HIV, mental health conditions, Parkinson’s disease, obesity, or smoking. 

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


Anthropic Endorses California AI Transparency Bill; Google-‘Open’ Web in Rapid Decline; Nintendo Wins Suit Against Switch Modder; Signal Bows Free & Paid Backup Plans

A programming note— we will post a little later tomorrow, in order to report on the new iPhones and other devices revealed at the Apple event. The event is scheduled to start at 10 AM Pacific time. 

In a win for actual open artificial intelligence, Anthropic, makers of the Claude AI large language model, have endorsed SB 53, the so-called AI Transparency bill. Theverge.com reports that the bill would require leading AI companies to publish safety frameworks with details about how they manage “catastrophic risks,” as well as provide certain whistleblower protections. Anthropic’s support comes after weeks of negotiations with the AI industry on the bill’s specifics.

Google has continued to claim for months that the web is ‘thriving,’ and that AI isn’t hosing traffic, and that its search engine is sending people to a wide variety of websites…wider than ever. Well, that’s what they are saying publicly. According to theverge.com, Google admitted in a court filing last week that “the open web is already in rapid decline.” Keep in mind that Google wants to appear weaker and less monopolistic in court, but a number of  digital publishers and independent website owners have reported experiencing a decline in traffic following changes to Google Search’s algorithm and the rise of AI chatbots. The net net is, that people are ‘less likely’ to click on links when presented with Google’s AI Overview. Google still insists that it continues to ‘send billions of clicks to websites every day.’ 

Nintendo has just won a big battle in court, scoring $2 million in a lawsuit against Modded Hardware. Engadget.com notes that the site was known for selling devices that allowed users to get around Nintendo’s piracy protections, including the popular MIG Switch flashcart that lets buyers play official Nintendo games without the need for a physical cartridge. The court win also requires Ryan Daly to shut down the website and forfeit the domain to Nintendo. Nintendo had previously settled a similar suit against the makers of the Yazu emulator. They extracted $2.4 million from them. 

Signal, the messaging app that claims to give you serious privacy is ruling out a feature for storage. One of the selling points of the app has been that it didn’t let users store any type of backup of conversations on the platform. Well, that was then and this is now. TechCrunch.com reports that Signal will now give users a free tier of 100 MB of storage for text messages and the last 45 days worth of media. They store the messages after compression, so that amount of storage will handle quite a number of messages. For users that want to store more than the last 45 days worth of media, there is a $1.99 a month paid plan, which gives up to 100 Gigs of storage. Signal is using zero-knowledge technology to secure its backups, so they’re not linked to a particular user or a specific payment method. Users will receive a 64-character recovery key that is generated on the device to unlock their backups. Amid Signal rivals, WhatsApp offers end-to-end backup through an optional feature that users have to enable. Still…you are trusting your supposedly secret messages to their cloud storage, so buyer beware. There is probably already software out there or will be soon that can tie you to your messages.

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


Google Will Bow Gemini for Home Oct 1; Apple Plans AI-Powered Web Search for Siri; Samsung Health App Will Give Access to Licensed Docs; Adobe Brings Premiere Video Edit App to iPhone

A Google event is slated for October 1st, and it looks like there will be a number of announcements. Engadget.com reports that we should see new Nest devices, including a new Nest camera and Nest speaker. In addition, more will be revealed about Gemini for Home, Gemini for Home will replace Google Assistant and enable natural language commands, as well add easier to use controls. There will be both free and subscription versions, much like Amazon has Alexa and Alexa +. 

Apple has been working overtime, playing catch-up when it comes to AI. They have talked to OpenAI, and have a present deal with them that adds some muscle to the puny Siri. Now, according to gizmodo.com, Apple will launch a new AI-powered web search tool for Siri next year. Reports have the improved AI search being powered by a custom version of Google’s Gemini. Internally at Apple, the system is being called World Knowledge Answers…and besides Siri, it may be available in Safari and Spotlight. It is expected that even if Gemini is used for some functions such as summarizing, that the system will run on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute servers, to protect user privacy. Expect this all to come together next spring, not next week when the new iPhones are rolled out. 

Medical plan apps can let you access a doctor or a PA or nurse. Now, Samsung has announced that it is bringing virtual physicians to its Health App. Androidpolice.com notes that the medical service comes by Samsung partnering with HealthTap, an online service provider that has been around a while. Using the app, you can meet virtually with a doctor the same week, or in some cases, the same day. Besides doctor access, the app claims to give better management of prescription medication using a new system that integrates with Walgreen’s. You won’t be able to submit or renew prescriptions via the app, though. 

Adobe will bring its Premiere video editing software to the iPhone. TechCrunch.com reports that the software will let users edit videos and export them without watermarks. Some features will be the same as the desktop version…the ability to trim, layer, and fine-tune frames. Automatic captions are also available as is support for 4K HDR. The app is free use, but users will have to pay for using AI credits and cloud storage. An Android version is in the works.

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


Samsung Galaxy Glasses; OpenAI Adding Parental Controls-ChatGPT; YouTube Flagging Premium Family Plans-Different Homes; Amazon Ending Prime Free Shipping Sharing Outside Your Home

The smart glasses battles heat up, as now Samsung is expected to bow ‘Galaxy Glasses’ this month…specifically, at an Unpacked event on September 29th. The offering from Samsung will be powered by Android XR. Zdnet.com reports that the smart glasses are expected to be a direct competitor with Meta’s Ray-Bans. Besides the glasses, Samsung is expected to roll out an XR headset and a tri-fold smartphone. Back to the glasses, though. They are expected to be audio only, and focus on features like faster and more convenient access to an AI assistant, cameras, and audio…for calls, music, and podcasts. The glasses will also feature navigation, real time translation, and situational awareness. The glasses will be powered by A Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 Gen 1 chip…the same chip as in the Meta Ray-Bans.

OpenAI is now promising to release parental controls for ChatGPT. Once in place, the controls will allow parents to link their personal ChatGPT account with accounts of their teen kids. According to engadget.com, parents will be able to decide how ChatGPT responds to their kids, and disable select features, including memory and chat history. Additionally, ChatGPT will generate automated alerts when it detects a teen is in a “moment of acute distress.” According to OpenAI, “expert input will guide this feature to support trust between parents and teens.” While parental controls are nice as ‘eye-wash,’ or cover your butt acts for companies, expect most teens to figure out a way around the controls nearly instantly. 

It appears to be the season for crack downs on sharing by tech companies. YouTube is starting to flag accounts on Premium family plans that aren’t in the same household. Androidpolice.com notes that YouTube’s Premium Family Plan lets you add up to 5 family members to your plan for the $23 a month subscription.The requirement that people all reside at the same address has actually been around since 2023, but YouTube has just started really enforcing it. They are presently testing out a new two-person Premium plan, too. One pain in the neck…YouTube is going to conduct an ‘electronic check-in’ every 30 days, to make sure each family member resides at the same address. If a member fails the check in, and isn’t at the same place as the ‘family manager,’ their access is paused for 14 days.

Amazon will end allowing Prime members sharing of free shipping outside their household, starting October 1st. Theverge.com reports that after that date, Amazon will let invitees who don’t live with the account holder to sign on for their own subscription at just $14.99 for the following year…but then the rate will go up to $14.99 a month. Amazon is replacing the program with Amazon Family. The new program will let account holders share Prime benefits, but just with people who live with them at their address. You can add one additional adult, up to 4 teens, and up to 4 child profiles. 

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


Apple Event Announced; Google Gemini AI Image Model Upgrade; AT&T Picks Up Spectrum from EchoStar; Farmers’ Insurance Data Breach

Apple has put out the invite to their next event, with the tease ‘Awe Dropping.’ The rollout of the new iPhones will be Tuesday, September 9th at 10 AM Pacific at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park in Cupertino. Macrumors.com reports that we will see the expected thin profile iPhone 17 Air, in addition to the iPhone 17, the 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max. Also expected…the Apple Watch Series 11, and a further refreshed Watch Ultra 3, and the Watch SE. Don’t be surprised if there is an updated AirPods Pro 3 as well, and maybe a new HomePod mini. We’ll have a full recap here, of course.

Google is upgrading its Gemini chatbot with a new AI image model that is supposed to allow finer control for users over editing pics…a move intended to catch up with the popular ChatGPT image tools from OpenAI. The more precise edits to images require the usual natural language requests from the users, and are aimed at preserving the consistency of faces, animals, and the like. Google is hoping to close the gap with ChatGPT, which gets over 700 million weekly users. Right now, google Gemini has 450 million MONTHLY users. 

AT&T is picking up $23 billion worth of spectrum licenses from EchoStar, the parent of Dish Network, Sling TV, and Boost Mobile. EchoStar had been under the gun from the FCC for not building out anything on the spectrum. The FCC has a ‘use it or lose it’ policy on spectrum licenses. The licenses cover over 400 markets in the US, and AT&T says it plans to start work as soon as possible. The licenses are for low-band and mid-band spectrum, which are used for 5G and LTE networks. 

Farmers Insurance says it was hit by a data breach that exposed information of over a million policy holders. Mashable.com reports that the third party attack came via a vishing scam that was related to a series of SalesForce associated attacks. According to Farmers, the compromised data includes names, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and in some cases, the last four digits of Social Security numbers. Reports indicate that around 1,111,386 people were affected across 10 states: California, Washington D.C., Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, and Rhode Island.

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


iPhone Fold Next Year-5 Cams; xAI (Musk) Sues Apple and OpenAI; YouTube Secretly Edited Videos With AI, Waymo Can Test Self-Drivers in NYC

Even though the new iPhones are due out in just weeks, including the anticipated iPhone Air…or whatever they actually end up calling the new ‘skinny’ iPhone, tidbits are already leaking out about next year’s Folding iPhone. 9to5mac.com reports that the Cupertino folder will feature 5 cameras, and will have Touch ID…and will use and Apple cellular modem. A number of these new details come from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and his Power On newsletter. As already reported, the iPhone folder will use the book style, not the flip phone style. Expect one cam on the front screen, one on the inside, and two on the back. The phone will use Touch ID, and will run on Apple’s in-house designed cellular modem…as Apple switches its entire line to the new modems. The camera setup will allow the phone to be used much like a regular iPhone when closed…with a selfie cam on one side and the two main cams on the back. When you open the phone up, the inside cam takes over as the selfie cam. Why no Face ID? In a word, space. Touch ID doesn’t require as much room, and since the folding phone will be notably thicker than a regular iPhone, every millimeter counts. 

Elon Musk’s xAI is suing Apple and OpenAI, claiming that their deal to build ChatGPT into the iPhone is stifling competition in the AI industry. According to theverge.com, Musk-owened X Corp, the parent of xAI, accuses Apples App Store of “deprioritizing” rival chatbots and “super” apps, including Grok and X. Musk’s companies claim that iPhone users “have no reason” to download third-party AI apps because the company “force[s]” users to use ChatGPT as their default chatbot app when enabling Apple Intelligence. “Apple and OpenAI have locked up markets to maintain their monopolies and prevent innovators like X and xAI from competing,” the companies allege. “This latest filing is consistent with Mr Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment,” OpenAI spokesperson Kayla Wood said in a statement. As for Apple, it had already put out a statement saying that the App Store  is “designed to be fair and free of bias.” 

YouTube has, in recent months, secretly used AI to tweak some creators’ videos without letting them know or asking permission. Bbc.com notes that one content creator noticed that his hair was different and that he seemed to be wearing makeup. In another case, wrinkles in a shirt were more sharply defined. Some ears appeared to be warped. YouTube has finally at least come clean on admitting the AI changes. Rene Ritchie, YouTube’s head of editorial and creator liaison, posted on “X: We’re running an experiment on select YouTube Shorts that uses traditional machine learning technology to unblur, denoise, and improve clarity in videos during processing (similar to what a modern smartphone does when you record a video). YouTube is always working on ways to provide the best video quality and experience possible, and will continue to take creator and viewer feedback into consideration as we iterate and improve on these features.” YouTube hasn’t answered media questions as to if it will now seek user permission before using AI to tweak their videos. I, for one, would really rather they didn’t use AI to give me Vulcan pointy ears like Mr Spock!

Waymo can now go forward and test its self-driving cars in New York City. The word came from the office of Mayor Eric Adams. Engadget.com said the company has a permit to operate the autonomous vehicles in parts of Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn. Right now, a small fleet of 8 vehicles will be able to operate until late September 2025. At that point, Waymo will be offered the opportunity to get an extension if all goes well. Right now, human operators will be on board…New York state law prohibits operation of vehicles without a driver behind the wheel. Waymo is lobbying to get this regulation changed.

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


UK Backs Down on Apple Back Door; T-Mobile Says Selling Location Data Without Consent Legal; SoftBank Puts $2 Billion into Intel, Gates Backed AI Competition to Speed Alzheimer’s Research

Officials in the UK are no longer planning to compel Apple to give back door access to user’s data. Engadget.com reports that earlier this year, the UK government issued a secret order after amending the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016. The law gives the UK government the right to compel companies to turn over data to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Reports about the mandate started to come out in February, however, and Apple pretty much confirmed it when it disabled iCloud’s Advanced Data Protection feature in the UK. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard posted on X that she, President Trump, and Vice President Vance had all worked with the Brits to get the back door demand rescinded. A bipartisan group of lawmakers had pushed the US government to oppose the back door, fearing it could open up foreign cyber attacks.

A federal appeals court panel from the DC Circuit has rejected T-Mobile’s attempt to overturn an $92 million fine for selling customer location information to third party firms without consent. According to arstechnica.com, the court also slammed T-Mobile for not taking reasonable measures to protect that sensitive data against unauthorized disclosure. The issue dates back to 2018. All 3 major cellular carriers were fined, and all appealed in different courts. The 3 judge DC panel ruled unanimously against T-Mobile and its subsidiary Sprint.

SoftBank, the Japanese conglomerate, is pouring $2 billion into Intel. The chip firm has been scuffling as competitors Nvidia and AMD have gotten a lead on them with chips used for AI. Techcrunch.com reports that SoftBank put out a statement about the deal, saying “strategic investment reflects our belief that advanced semiconductor manufacturing and supply will further expand in the United States, with Intel playing a critical role.” This is a continuation of investment in the US by Softbank, which recently bought a factory in Lordstown, Ohio owned by Foxconn aimed at building AI data enters. 

Bill Gates and some others are offering a million dollar prize to accelerate Alzheimer’s research using AI. Geekwire.com notes that the Contest is organized by Alzheimer’s Disease Data Initiative, and is specifically aimed at the innovative use of agentic AI. Gates lost his Dad to the disease at age 94 back in 2020. Gates has noted that more than 7 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s, which works out to 1-in-9 people over the age of 65. He commented, “As life expectancies continue to go up, those numbers will only increase.”  

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


OpenAI Returns GPT-4o Over User Revolt; Amazon Same-Day Grocery Delivery-2300 Cities by Year’s End; TeaOnHer-Driver Licenses Exposed in 10 Minutes; US Secretly Tracked Diversion of Dell & Super Micro Chips to China

OpenAI has had a pretty rocky rollout of its latest-greatest…or allegedly greatest, GPT-5. in fact, it has been rough enough that arstechnica.com reports that the user backlash has forced OpenAI to let users revert to GPT-4o. That AI model now appears in the model picker for all paid ChatGPT users by default (including ChatGPT Plus accounts), marking a swift reversal after thousands of users complained about losing access to their preferred models. The backlash wasn’t pretty at all, with a Reddit thread titled “GPT-5 is horrible” amassing over 2,000 comments in just days. OpenAI has now made some modifications to address the user outrage over GPT-5. Rate limits for GPT-5 Thinking mode increased from 200 to 3,000 messages per week, with additional capacity available through “GPT-5 Thinking mini” after reaching that limit. The company also added new routing options—”Auto,” “Fast,” and “Thinking”—giving users more control over which GPT-5 variant handles their queries.

Amazon has announced that it will offer same-day grocery delivery in some 2300 cities by the end of the year…that’s double what they are doing now. According to Bloomberg, users will be able to order perishables like produce, meat, seafood, dairy, and baked goods…in addition to frozen foods and household items. Same day delivery for grocery items is free for Amazon Prime subscribers on orders over $25 in most cities. For non-members, it runs $12.99 per order, no matter what the order size is. 

We recently reported on the Tea app, an app that lets women clue each other in on men they know or have dated, and tip them off to ‘red flags’ with those men. It turned out, the app was leaking the women’s information, including driver’s licenses. Well, as the old saying goes, ‘what’s good for the goose is good for the gander,’ only in this case it’s what’s bad! Techcrunch.com says the app for guys, TeaOnHer, also leaked like a sieve…with driver’s licenses found by TechCrunch within 10 minutes of being sent a link to the app in the App Store! The flaws that allowed this kind of leak have apparently been resolved now, but not before thousands of guys’ driver’s license info was exposed. Once again, I get to warn…no matter what an app might potentially do for you…DON’T upload your driver’s license or government ID to use it! With new laws in the United Kingdom, this has become a major issue, with authorities there enacting a law requiring sites to demand age verification…even Wikipedia! The Wiki is fighting it, and may even make itself unavailable in Britain over this issue if it loses in court. 

The US government has apparently put location tracking devices in targeted shipments of advanced AI chips considered at hight risk of illegal diversion to China. Benzinga.com reports that the trackers are hidden in server packaging from Dell and Super Micro Computer for units containing chips from NVIDIA and AMD. Some shipments of the restricted chips have resumed, after the chipmakers agreed to virtual extortion by the Trump administration of 15% of their profits on sales of the chips in China. Normally the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security oversees such operations, but this appears to also involved Homeland Security Investigations, and the FBI. Super Micro declined to comment on the issue, and Dell said it was ‘not aware’ of such trackers in its shipments. To me this has the vibe of Mad Magazine’s old ‘Spy vs. Spy’ cartoons. Will the Black Spy get the upper hand on the White Spy…or will the Lady in Gray bamboozle both of them?

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