Amazon Testing New Fast Delivery Setup; Folding iPhone-May be $2400; Landlord Rent Setting Tool Gets Gutted; Amazon Web Services- $50 Billion to Build Government AI Infrastructure 

Posted: November 25, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Amazon is trialing a new rapid delivery idea in Seattle. Geekwire.com reports that Amazon is using a closed Amazon Fresh site as a mini warehouse for  most popular and fast moving items. It is something like a convenience store…open 24/7 but not to you. It functions as a pick up site for  Amazon Flex drivers. Amazon employees will fulfill online orders…picking and bagging items from a stock room, then putting them on shelves for Flex drivers to pick up and deliver to the nearby neighborhoods within hours of ordering. Flex drivers are independent contractors who deliver packages using their own vehicles, signing up for delivery blocks through the Amazon Flex app. The program has often been described as Uber for package delivery. 

We’ve heard price rumors ranging from the $1900 plus level up to $2500 for the upcoming folding iPhone. Now, according to mac rumors.com, analyst Arthur Liao is postulating it will be $2399. Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo had previously said it would land at between $2000 and $2500, and Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has predicted it will be somewhere around $2000. The foldable ‌iPhone‌ will be expensive because of the premium components that Apple plans to use. The display panel and hinge will push pricing toward the upper end of market expectations, Fubon Research suggests. One truly big deal is that the iPhone is expected to be the first folder with no crease at all in the middle of the screen. Fubon Research sees Apple selling about 5.4 million of the folders in 2026. That is a pretty modest number compared to 228 million total iPhones sold in 2024, the last full year we have figures for. 

A controversial tool used by landlords to set rental prices has had its ears pinned back after a settlement with the Department of Justice. The DOJ said in a press release that the proposed settlement “would help restore free market competition in rental markets for millions of American renters.” The antitrust settlement is with RealPage. For years since the pandemic started, rental prices outpaced inflation, and the DOJ suspected that RealPage was the dominant force driving a market that never favored renters. Under the settlement, RealPage admits no wrongdoing, and doesn’t pay a fine. Arstechnica.com notes that if the court approves the deal, however, RealPage has agreed to update its software so that rival landlords cannot access “competitively sensitive information to determine rental prices in runtime operation.” Additionally, RealPage will “remove or redesign features that limited price decreases or aligned pricing between competing users of the software.” And the company will “cooperate in the United States’ lawsuit against property management companies that have used its software.”

Amazon is spending an eye-watering $50 billion to build out AI infrastructure for the US government. Techcrunch.com reports that it will be a ‘high performance computing infrastructure’ built specially for the feds. It will expand government agency access to AWS AI services. Amazon will break ground on the data centers in 2026. Amazon has long supplied cloud infrastructure to the US government…starting back in 2011. 

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

Amazon to Lay Off 30,000 Corporate Staffers; Apple & Microsoft Now Worth More than $4 Billion; Musk’s Grokipedia is Live Now; Feds Investigating Tesla Mad Max Mode

Posted: October 28, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Amazon is getting ready to lay off up to 30,000 corporate employees. Geekwire.com reports that the reduction is to reduce expenses, and it is intended to compensate for what Amazon terms overhiring during the pandemic. Emails are going out today. The company hasn’t put out a workforce number lately, but had about 350,000 employees in early 2023. At that number, this cut would be about 8.5% of the workforce. The cuts will be across logistics, payments, video games, and Amazon Web Services.

As the tech sector continues to dominate much of the financial markets, two tech titans have passed another milestone…one that is hard to wrap your head around. According to techcrunch.com, both Apple and Microsoft are now worth over $4 trillion bucks. It’s the first time Apple has surpassed the $4 trillion mark. Microsoft did it in July, then dropped a bit…but is now over $4 trillion.The only other company that is worth that much right now is Nvidia…but Alphabet…the parent company of Google, is getting a bit close. It is at $3.25 billion. Wouldn’t you love to have the interest on that amount of money for just a few minutes? An hour at 4.26% interest would add up to $19.4 million!

Along with a number of other right-leaning folks, Elon Musk has railed against Wikipedia as being too liberal and too ‘woke.’ Now, he’s unveiled Grokipedia. Gizmodo.com notes that it looks like Wikipedia with dark mode turned on. The site claims to have just under 900,000 articles. Wikipedia, on the other hand, has about 7 million English articles. A quick take: Overall, Grokipedia gives off the impression of a site where topics and people that Elon Musk likes or supports are presented without framings that cast any doubt on their validity, and those he dislikes are presented with criticism front-and-center. If that’s your cup of tea, have at Grockipedia.

The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration is looking into Tesla’s Full Self Driving Mad Max mode. Engadget.com reports that Tesla says it offers “higher speeds and more frequent lane changes” than its Hurry speed profile. Apparently, it is a little too much like Mad Max…reports have it speeding, running red lights, and driving against the flow of traffic. Tesla has given the disparaging description ‘Sloth Mode’ to the regular, no hurry, follow the speed limit mode. 

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

Prime Day in Full Swing; ChatGPT-Multiple Acts Inside It Now; California Law Cuts Volume on Netflix, Others; Deloitte Refunds Australia for AI Lie-Ridden Report

Posted: October 7, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Prime Day is here…and if you weren’t already up at midnight buying your favorite stuff at big discounts, some may be sold out by now. That said, there are still a huge number of deals to be had the rest of today and tomorrow. Engadget.com reports that as usual, deep discounts are available on Amazon’s own hardware…all the Alexa-related devices. Besides Amazon’s gear, though, there are other bargains. A 4 pack of Apple AirTags can be picked up for $65, which is 34% off…and unheard of bargain. You can get an Anker Nano 5K ultra slim power bank that is Qi2 and 15 watts for $40…that’s $15 off and is a Prime exclusive. A Google Pixel 9a midrange smartphone is just $349, which is a whopping $150 discount. Also, A Dyson V8 Plus cordless vac is $300…that’s $219 off. It’s not the top line Dyson, but I’ve been using one myself for several years, and it works well and runs 40 minutes on a charge. I hope your place isn’t so big that you need to vacuum for more than that! If it is, maybe you can have a maid service come in. 

ChatGPT can now interact with a number of third-party apps right inside their conversations. According to macrumors.com, initial partners include Spotify, Canva, Zillow, Expedia, Booking.com, Coursera, and Figma. Users can activate the app by name. You can, for example, ask Spotify to make you a new playlist. OpenAI says additional apps are coming later this year, including from DoorDash, Instacart, Uber, and AllTrails. Like so many internet products, OpenAI would love to Make ChatGPT into a walled garden that you rarely leave, getting them a piece of revenue from every app you use inside. 

Governor Newsom has signed into law a bill that eliminated a loophole in the 2010 Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act. The new California law bans loud commercials on video streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Max. At the time of the original bill, streaming was not much of a factor…but now about 83% of adults use streaming services. The FCC is also looking at rule making to deal with loud commercials on streaming services. The California law requires that streamers “not transmit the audio of commercial advertisements louder than the video content they accompany.” Unfortunately, the law doesn’t take effect immediately, but in July 2026. Perhaps by that time, the FCC will pick up on California’s law, and make it the rule nationwide. 

Yet another AI lying scandal…or as that industry has dubbed it…’hallucinations.’ Consulting/accounting firm Deloitte is coughing up a partial refund for a report that was full of fake citations. The firm had used ChatGPT-4o in creating the report. Arstechnica.com reports that the so-called ‘Targeted Compliance Framework Assurance Review’ was finalized in July then published by a government department in August. The Aussies had paid $440,000 in US dollars for it. It centered around a framework the government there uses to automate penalties under the country’s welfare system. An official from Sydney University noticed multiple citations to papers and publications that didn’t exist. the report was updated by Deloitte, and only 127 of the original 141 references in the ‘Reference List’ remain. The other 14 were fakes made up by ChatGPT 4o. 

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

Amazon Redesigned Echo; YouTube Settles with Trump for $24.5 Million; Newsom Signs California AI Safety Bill; Amazon Partners With FanDuel- Offers Personalized NBA Bet Tracking 

Posted: September 30, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Amazon has bowed new hardware today, as expected. One thing Amazon has been dinged for is sound quality, even in the so-called Echo Studio. Apple’s HomePods blow them away sonically. Well today, engadget.com reports that the upgraded Echo Studio is out…and it can handle immersive Dolby Atmos and double as a home theater speaker. It features new drivers, a new chip, and new design. The Studio has 3 full-range drivers plus an excursion woofer for maximum bass. The new chip will run Alexa+ on the Studio, and it has advanced speech and audio processing. The design is a change…no longer a large cylinder..the new Studio is a spherical shape. The blue light ring for Alexa is now on the front instead of the top. It is 40% smaller than the old model. The new studio is available for preorder today for $220, and it ships October 29th. 

Another company has caved and paid off on a lawsuit Donald Trump filed against them. According to arstechnica.com, Alphabet, parent of Google, has agreed to pay $24.5 million to settle the suit. The suit was over Trump’s YouTube account being suspended after his supporters attacked the US Capitol on January 6th. Trump will have the money contributed on his behalf to the Trust for the National Mall..which includes support for construction of his monstrous 90,000 square foot ballroom on the White House property. 

Governor Newsom has signed the first-in-the-nation AI safety bill that sets new transparency requirements on large AI companies. TechCrunch.com notes that the new law requires large AI labs – including OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Google DeepMind – to be transparent about safety protocols. It also ensures whistleblower protections for employees at those companies. In addition, it creates a mechanism for AI companies and the public to report potential critical safety incidents to California’s Office of Emergency Services. Companies also have to report incidents related to crimes committed without human oversight, such as cyberattacks, and deceptive behavior by a model that isn’t required under the EU AI Act. Anthropic backed the bill, while Meta and OpenAI lobbied against it. 

Amazon is partnering with FanDuel to offer personalized bet tracking and Odds View for their “NBA on Prime” streamed basketball games this season. Geekwire.com reports that offerings from Prime Sports also includes fully-customizable multi view offering, AI-driven highlights on demand, live stats, the ability to shop within the game, and more. The ability to shop within the game? Of course…it’s Amazon after all!

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

Posted: September 2, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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.

Samsung Snares $16.5 Billion Deal for Tesla Chips; iPhone 17 Pro May Get 8x Zoom & Pro Cam App; Microsoft Dropping China Based DoD Support Teams; Amazon Refund Text Scam

Posted: July 28, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Samsung has inked a deal to build the Tesla A16 chip. The pact is worth some $16.5 billion. Engadget.com reports that the deal runs through 2033, and that the chips will be produced at Samsung’s huge new plant they are building near Tyler, Texas. Until this deal, Samsung had been thinking about delaying opening the plant due to not enough business. Samsung makes the A14 chips that run Tesla’s Full Self-Driving platform, but the A15 contract went to their competitor, Taiwan Semiconductor. The deal does come with a short leash for Samsung…”Samsung agreed to allow Tesla to assist in maximizing manufacturing efficiency,” Elon Musk stated in a post on his X platform.

The camera apps have become a banner feature for all smartphones, and as they have gotten better across the board, major upgrades have gotten less common. According to macrumors.com, the iPhone 17 Pro models will be getting some cool cameral upgrades. A tipster has apparently seen a commercial for the handsets that shows the telephoto zoom will go from 5 power to 8 power optically…and may even have a moving lens, allowing for continuous optical zoom at various focal lengths. On top of that, there is apparently a new pro camera app for both photos and videos. There are already some pro camera apps available from third parties, but this would be a first from Apple. A third rumor…which seems a bit dubious…is that there will be an additional cameral control button on the top edge. Since case makers are already producing cases for the phones, and none seem to have an opening for such a button, take this one with a grain of salt. Finally, Apple will allow shooting video with both front and rear cameras at the same time. As with the pro apps, you have been able to do this with third party software, but not with Apple’s own until now. 

From the ‘why were they doing this in the first place’ department…Microsoft is going to stop using China based teams to support the Department of Defense. Ya think? Propublica.org notes that Redmond had been using the teams to support the Defense Department’s cloud computing systems. The support supposedly was for information that is not classified…BUT is nonetheless sensitive. As you might figure, this was a fertile area for spying and espionage. With the increasing amount of data in the cloud servers and AI to analyze it fast, Microsoft is moving away from these China based teams. 

Here’s a new scam you may not have heard about. It’s a text proported to be from Amazon about a refund. Zdnet.com reports that the texts may say it was due to the product being recalled, or it is below Amazon standards, or maybe failed a routine inspection. You don’t even have to return it to get the refund…just click the link. You are correct….DON’T click that link! It goes to a phishing page where you are prompted to enter your Amazon credentials, payment info, and contact info. It’s always good practice to refrain from clicking links in texts and emails. Go to the site saved in your bookmarks and check there to see if there are any messages from the merchant like Amazon.

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

Amazon AI Wearable Listens to Everything You Do; Starlink Bows Battery Powered Mini; YouTub Shorts Gets AI Image to Video Tool; Apple Care Plus Covers 3 Devices

Posted: July 23, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Amazon is in the process of picking up a Bay Area startup called Bee. Bee makes a wearable and Apple Watch app that can record everything a wearer says. Engadget.com says the deal isn’t finalized yet, but that all Bee employees have gotten offers to join Amazon. Bee positions its snoopy device and app as being like a personalized AI assistant that passively learns from its wearer by listening to all of their conversations and activities. While the wearable does have a button to mute recording, it can theoretically observe every single thing the owner does or says. The app can then summarize daily activities, suggest to-do items or recall previously discussed details. Basically, now you can take your Alexa with you everywhere, so the ‘A-Lady’ won’t miss a snappy or off-color remark, or other regrettable thing you might utter. By the way, the wearable starts at $50. That’s a heck of a price point compared to the doomed Humane AI pin that ran $499.

The Starlink Mini satellite dish has gotten more useful. According to theverge.com, you can now attach a $119 LinkPower 1 power bank from PeakDo. The pack locks onto the back to the smallest terminal from SpaceX and you can run on the battery pack for over 4.5 hours. The pack can also be simultaneously charged via a USB-C port from your vehicle, solar generator, or solar panel. It is still small enough to fit into a backpack, even with the power bank. If you travel, or are one of those folks like a couple I know that live in a van or sailboat full-time, the battery pack will come in very handy!

YouTube is unveiling an image to video AI tool that will make photos into a short video. TechCrunch.com notes that the tool lets you turn a picture from your camera roll into a 6 second video. You will get a list of suggestions, or you can choose I Feel Lucky, and see what you get. Look for the feature under the Effects icon in the Shorts camera, then tap AI to browse the generative effects. YouTube does say it uses SynthID watermarks and clear labels to indicate that the creations are made with generative AI. 

Apple is rolling out AppleCare+ tomorrow. The new plan will cover more than just iPhones…your iPhone, Watch, and iPad can be covered. Macrumors.com reports that the plan includes coverage for up to two incidents of theft or loss in a one-year period, and unlimited repairs for accidental damage. It starts at $4.99 a month for an iPad, and $2.99 a month for Apple Watch. The theft and loss coverage was previously only available for iPhones. Note that AppleCare+ with theft and loss is still not available for other devices, such as the Mac, Apple TV, HomePod, AirPods, and Apple Vision Pro.

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

Galaxy Z Flip 7-NO Display Crease; Redesigned iPhone 17 Models Get Revamped Dynamic Island; TikTok Ban May End Soon-New App & Sale; Prime Day(s) Start Tomorrow

Posted: July 7, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In just a couple days, Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7. We will cover the Samsung Unpacked then, but for now, here is a little nugget from a tester who got early access. Bgr.com reports that a hands-on video shows the edge to edge, corner to corner outside display, which is cool. Beyond that, it looks like there is NO visible crease on the inner screen. That is a huge deal. We know that Apple is planning a folder next year, and may use Samsung Display. This would allow Samsung to premiere the crease-free screen a year ahead of any Apple device. We’ll have more on Wednesday. 

the iPhone 17 models are getting a revamped Dynamic Island. This according to macrumors.com, which found information on an account on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The account has leaked accurate info about Apple devices in the past. The missing detail is that we don’t know if the Island will be smaller or not. That was rumored previously, but may not make it until the iPhone 18 models next year. This one does feature some kind of change in the user interface. I would be happy if they made it work with two items better. Often, I am using it for the timer as I work out, and would like to be able to touch it to open and read a text, then have it go back to just the timer when I’m finished. 

A sale of TikTok in the US FINALLY may be near. Theverge.com notes that the Trump administration believes it is close to a sale to a group of ‘non-Chinese’ investors, including Oracle…with present owner ByteDance keeping a minority stake. That would satisfy the terms of the  Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. Apparently, TikTok is working on a new version of the app, called M2 for now, which may drop in app stores around September 5th. The original app will leave app stores with the launch of the new one, and will stop working in March 2026. 

Yes, it’s tomorrow…that event you’ve all been waiting for…Amazon Prime Day 2025. Remember when Prime Day was an actual day…then it became a day and a half? Now, they really ought to brand it Prime Week, with it lasting 4 days.  Zdnet.com reports that in addition to the early offers already up, there is also a reboot of Prime for Young Adults…a discounted membership for those 18-24. Amazon is touting its AI shopping assistant Rufus (who names these things?) as a help in finding deals on things you are likely to purchase. A note-Amazon has said it will not introduce listed tariff prices next to products for sale. This had been looked at, but after blowback from the White House, it was dropped. 

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

Open AI Snaps Up Jony Ive Startup; Google XR Glasses-Interesting ‘Glasshole’ Wrinkle; Amazon Further AI-Enhances Shopping; Meta Boosts Startups Use of Their Llama AI

Posted: May 21, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In a very interesting pickup, OpenAI has just bought Jony Ive’s AI startup..called io. Appleinsider.com reports that they are dropping $6.5 billion in stock on the startup by the former Apple head of design, who was responsible for the look and feel. some of Apple’s most iconic products. OpenAI will add 55 new employees, including hardware engineers, software, developers, and manufacturing experts. Both OpenAI Sam Altman and Ive referred to something they are calling ‘the device,’ some hardware they plan to release sometime next year. It could just be a better box with an AI voice assistant, but coming from Ive, who was the futurist right hand of Steve Jobs, it might be something quite amazing. It’s worth noting that before this purchase, Job’s widow…Laurene Powell Jobs had invested in io through her Emerson Collective. 

In the slew of announcements yesterday during Google I/O, many of which had to do with AI, Google did show off a prototype pair of its XR smart glasses…and even let some of the media test out pairs briefly. According to engadget.com, the glasses…which have a heavy black frame reminiscent of something Clark Kent would have worn in the 50’s as the not terribly secret identity of Superman, actually are lighter than Meta’s Orion prototype or Snap’s Spectacles. One thing that struck me is that the display is only on one side…the right lens. It has a narrow field of view, but you can see notifications and the like overlayed in that lens. They are more just something for a glance, not really immersive. To me, as someone who was around San Francisco at the time, there is a funny connection to Google Glass and the ‘glassholes.’ Those had a little prism that was on the right side. Could Google have just added code to the old Google Glass code and some AI? Ok, probably not, but it made me laugh. 

Amazon continues to add more AI to their shopping app, to lure more of us to spend even more money! Geekwire.com notes that the generative AI powered feature is called “AI shopping experts.” Amazon says it analyzes product details, customer reviews and information from across the web to allow customers to simply hear key information. “It’s like having helpful friends discuss potential purchases to make your shopping easier, even if you’re multitasking or on the go,” wrote Rajiv Mehta, vice president of Search and Conversational Shopping at Amazon, in a blog post about the release on Wednesday. Right now it is only available on a select group of products to what they are calling a subset of US customers…but of course, they plan to expand to all in the next few months. 

Meta is rolling out a new program of incentives to encourage startups to use its Llama AI models. Techcrunch.com reports that the program will provide companies ‘direct support from the Llama team, and will even include funding in some cases. Companies that are accepted into the program can get up to $6000 a month for up to 6 months to help offset costs of building and enhancing their generative AI solutions. Meta says that the Llama models have been downloaded over a billion times now. 

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

OpenAI-Nonprofit Retains Control of Co; Microsoft-New Surface Tablets; Kindle iOS App-1 Button Book Buying; Tesla Sales Drop by Half in Germany

Posted: May 6, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

After considerable outside pressure from political types and former employees, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has announced in a blog post that the non-profit will retain control of the company…even as it restructures into a public benefit corporation. CNBC.com reports that the Microsoft-backed company was recently valued at some $300 billion. The decision to keep the control with the non-profit came after meetings with the Attorneys General of California and Delaware. Altman said in a video call  “We will be converting the limited liability company, that is a subsidiary of that nonprofit, to a public benefit corporation. By doing so, it will change the equity structure of that company so that employees, investors and the not-for-profit can own equity in that PBC.” 

Microsoft has bowed a new Surface Pro tablet today..it has a 12 inch screen, and a few design changes from the bigger 13 inch Surface Pro 11. According to theverge.com, the Surface Pro 12 inch runs on an Arm processor. It is fanless, and doesn’t have a Surface Connect charging port. The keyboard is different as well. Besides the Snapdragon X Plus 8-core processor, it comes with 16 gigs of RAM, 256 gigs of storage, and starts at $799. A keyboard will run you another $149.99. Expect to tack on $100 more to the tablet price if you wan t 512 gigs of storage. You can order directly from Microsoft or at Best Buy. It ships May 20th to consumers, and July 22nd to businesses. 

Acting after a court order (which Apple has appealed), Amazon has made it much easier to buy books on an iPhone. Previously, Apple rules made it hard for users to leave the app to buy a book, then come back. 9to5mac.com notes that basically you had to browse and buy titles separately in your web browser, before returning to your Kindle app to read the downloaded books. Now, there’s a nice big ‘get book’ button with each listed title in the Kindle app. Hitting that takes you right to the book’s Amazon listing in your browser…you can buy with ‘1-Click,’ then jump right back into the Kindle app and start reading the downloaded book. It’s still not as elegant as just buying the thing directly in the Kindle app, but a lot quicker and cleaner. Whether this can continue depends on who wins in court, but it’s a nice feature for readers. Maybe Apple has given up enough on its failed Books app to let things go…but probably not. I have read books on my phone, but prefer to throw my Kindle in my bag when traveling…it’s small and light and the battery lasts forever. Of course it’s great for home…only really missing that book ‘smell and feel.’

Tesla sales in Germany went off a cliff in April. Mashable.com reports that the Musk-helmed EV firm sold less than 900 vehicles there in April. That’s a drop of 45.9% from last April. Since April is in 2nd quarter, these numbers won’t show up in Tesla’s earnings until the end of the quarter, that wraps the last of June. Meanwhile, total German EV sales were up 53.5%, with the bulk of those sales going to Chinese EV maker BYD. BYD sold 1566 EVs in Germany in April. 

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

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