Apple Folding Phone-Most Battery Life; Music Publishers Sue anthropic; Ring Opens Search Party for Lost Dogs to Non-Ring Cams; A So-Called AI Mouse

Posted: February 2, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Along with numerous others, we have been following reports of Apple’s rumored folding phone, due out in September with the other iPhones. Apple is now revisiting making a ‘flip’ phone like Samsung has as a companion to the book type folder they will bow this fall. The big hype so far has been that Apple’s phones will have no visible crease on the inside screen when opened. Now, macrumors.com reports that the folding iPhone will have another major plus that all phone users crave…more battery life. Up to now The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 has had a 4400 mAh battery, and the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold has a battery capacity of 5015 mAh. Apple’s folder is rumored to have a powerful 5500 mAh battery, easily putting it at the top of the heap as far as battery life. The folding iPhone will apparently use high-density cells in the battery to get this great battery life. Besides no visible crease, and long battery life…expect the folding iPhone to have a 7.8 inch inner screen, and a 5.5 inch outside screen. It will also have Touch ID, 2 rear cams, and Apple’s own modem chip which they started using in their products last year. Rumors still have the price at around $2000 to $2200. 

A number of music publishers have teamed up to sue Anthropic…maker of the Claude AI products…for $3 billion dollars for what they describe as ‘Flagrant piracy.’ According to engadget.com, the group is lead by Concord Music Group and Universal Music Group. Anthropic is accused in the suit of illegally downloading more than 20,000 copyrighted songs, including sheet music, lyrics and compositions. These songs were then allegedly fed into the chatbot Claude for training purposes. There are some iconic tunes named by Universal in the suit, including tracks by The Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond and Elton John, among many others. Concord is an independent publisher that handles artists like Common, Killer Mike and Korn. At $3 billion, this is one of the biggest non-class action copyright cases in US history. Anthropic was already nicked to the tune of $1.5 billion in a case called Bartz v Anthropic when they cut an agreement. There has been a rising uproar about AI companies basically stealing creative material from artists and writers to train their AI models.

Nothing freaks out pet owners more than when their dog or cat gets away outside and doesn’t return. Ring has had a ‘Search Party’ feature that uses to network of cams to find lost dogs. The feature has been available to most customers, but now is available to all Ring customers in the US AND those who don’t use Ring cams. Sharing video with police may be controversial, but everyone ought to be able to get behind this. Techcrunch.com notes that Search Party uses AI to find possible matches for lost dogs across neighbors’ camera footage. When a neighbor reports a lost dog in the Ring app, nearby outdoor cameras use AI to scan for possible matches. If a match is found, that camera owner receives an alert and can optionally choose to share any related video clips with their neighbor who reported the pet missing. They’ll also have an option to call the owner or send them a message, without sharing their own phone number. So far…since launch, the Search Party feature has reunited a dog a day with their owners. 

I was looking at getting a mouse, since the trackpad on my PC laptop is getting flaky. On Amazon’s first page of results, there were wired mice starting at $6.99 and wireless ones for under $10 bucks. THEN, there’s a mouse that is ChatGPT AI compatible, takes notes, and so forth. $109! Gad, are there really people stupid enough to buy that? EVERY mouse is compatible with ChatGPT and AI.

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

Microsoft Bows New AI Chip; Apple Unveils AirTag 2; EU is Probing Grok & X Over AI Deepfakes; ICE Using Phone & Web Data to Identify & Track People

Posted: January 26, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Microsoft has bowed a new chip designed for scaling AI inference. TechCrunch. com reports that the Maia 200 chip has been technically outfitted to run powerful AI models at faster speeds and with more efficiency, that according to Microsoft. Inference refers to the computing process of running a model, in contrast with the compute required to train it. As AI companies mature, inference costs have become an increasingly important part of their overall operating cost, leading to renewed interest in ways to optimize the process. Importantly, this chip is designed to be less of a power hog. It is noted that with the new chip, Microsoft is lessening their dependence on NVIDIA. Both Google and Amazon are running some of their own chips now. 

Apple has rolled out without any fanfare the AirTag 2. The upgraded AirTags have better range, and a louder speaker. According to 9to5mac.com, the AirTag 2 has Apple’s 2nd gen Ultra Wideband chip..which is already in the iPhone 17 handsets, as well as the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Series 11. It will work 50% further away than the older AirTag. You will be able to use Precision Finding on Apple Watch 9 and newer as well as the Watch Ultra 2 or later to find an Air Tag. The tiny speaker is also 50% louder. The AirTag 2 is available for order today, and ships this week. Pricing is the same as before, $29 for one, and $99 for a 4 pack. You can still get free personalization.

The EU is investigating X and Grok because they have failed to take action to stop the spread of AI generated sexually explicit images…including child sexual abuse material. Engadget.com says the probe could result in ‘further enforcement steps’ against X. The EU has already fined X $140 million. X did put out a statement regarding X and Grok, claiming “We remain committed to making X a safe platform for everyone and continue to have zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, nonconsensual nudity and unwanted sexual content.” 

ICE is using a couple of programs to track people in entire neighborhoods and monitor people on social media. Minnesota Public Radio reports that ICE is using Tangles to scrape sites like X and Bluesky, but are also using that tool in conjunction with Webloc. They can add people to a watch list so they are alerted every time a person posts something. If you are going to a protest area, whether to protest or to film, turn off location services on your phone. the camera will still work. Also, turn off Bluetooth. The Danish intelligence service has found that the US can use the ‘instant pairing’ feature that Google and Apple have…instead of having to key in a code like you used to…to pair with your phone and get your data. Just a word to the wise. 

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

Android Warns if Scammer Asks to Share Screen; iPhone Testing Under Screen Face ID; OpenAI Brags of Time Savings for Workers; ICEBlock Sues Trump Administration for Censorship

Posted: December 8, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Google has a new feature for in-call scam protection. Bgr.com reports that should you be on a call and share your screen with someone…then open a financial application like one of your bank apps, the feature in Android will check to see if the person you are talking with is in your contacts. If not, Android will pop up a warning that the call is likely a scam. It is hoped that this will stop a lot of social engineering attacks that allow bad buys to steal your info and drain money out of your bank accounts. The feature has been released in the UK first as a pilot program, but it appears to be a big success…so look for it in a release in the US soon. 

A new leak says Apple is now actively testing under-screen FaceID for next year’s iPhone 18 Pro models…using a special ‘spliced micro-transparent glass’ window built into the display. according to macrumors.com, a Chinese leaker going by ’Smart Pikachu’ is the source. This source has previously put out accurate supply chain details on Chinese Android hardware. This does confirm what a report from the Information put out in May of this year saying that the upcoming iPhone won’t have a dynamic island…just a pinhole in the upper left corner of the screen. Others say there will still be a dynamic island, but the pill shape will be smaller. We will know for sure in September.

For those who have continued to ask ‘What can AI really do for me,’ OpenAI has put out new data extolling the virtues of ChatGPT in enterprise use. TechCrunch.com says that the report from OpenAi shows 8 times growth in usage since November 2024, and close to 36% of us businesses using ChatGPT enterprise…compared to 14.3% for competitor Anthropic. OpenAI says based on the data that participants are saving 40 to 60 minutes a day with their enterprise products. This doesn’t take into consideration the amount of time spent learning the systems, prompting, or correcting the AI output though!

The ICEBlock app developers have sued the Trump administration for censorship and ‘unlawful threats. NPR notes that a suit filed in federal court today…Monday…in D.C. asks a judge to declare that the administration violated the First Amendment when it threatened to criminally prosecute the app’s developer and pressured Apple to make the app unavailable for download, which the tech company did in October. After Apple removed ICEBlock from the App Store, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement that “we reached out to Apple today demanding they remove the ICEBlock app from their App Store — and Apple did so.” The justice department has not commented so far. Although Apple isn’t named in the suit, the legal action claims “For what appears to be the first time in Apple’s nearly fifty-year history, Apple removed a U.S.-based app in response to the U.S. government’s demands.”  It is worth mentioning that even though the app is no longer available for download, the app actually still works for those who have it. 

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

Intel Will Make Non-Pro iPhone Chips; Netflix Drops Cast Support from Phones on ‘Most TVs; Amazon Chatbot Rufus Drove Black Friday Sales; Google Testing Big Gemini App Revision

Posted: December 1, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple has relied on Taiwan Semiconductor for essentially all its system chips for some time now. That is about to change. Bgr.com reports that now Intel will produce non-Pro Apple iPhone chips. Intel is also readying to make lower-end Apple M chips for Macs and MacBooks. Those should be out in 2027. For now, anyway, Apple will still rely in TSMC to make its most powerful A chips for mobile and M chips for Macs. If Intel is able to ensure quality, not only can Apple negotiate the price of future chips, but it can also promote some of its processors being manufactured in America. It is rather ironic to use Intel to make Apple’s own silicon, as Apple will phase out actual Intel chips in Macs when it releases macOS 27. 

Netflix has now dropped support for Google Cast on most products. According to 9to5google.com, with its latest mobile app updates Netflix has all-but-removed the ability to use Google Cast to your TV. Instead, the streamer requires that you use the native app on your TV. Users started noticing the change over the past two weeks or so, and the folks at Android Authority highlighted a support page where Netflix confirms the change. You can still used the remote from your TV to navigate to the Netflix app and launch it on your TV. Netflix had already dropped support for AirPlay on iOS. Better hunt around for that TV remote if you don’t have it handy. Mine is right by my cable remote (yes, I still have cable), but except for selecting apps like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon…it’s pretty useless. 

Amazon has had a button for its AI chatbot Rufus since 2024, and not that many people have used it. Apparently got a workout on Black Friday…with Amazon saying it got a ‘surge’ of adoption. TechCrunch.com notes that data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower indicates that in the US, Amazon sessions using the chatbot were up 100% on Black Friday, compared to the previous 30 days. Sessions that didn’t include Rufus were just up 20%. Amazon also saw a 75% day-over-day increase for sections that included Rufus and resulted in a purchase. That compares with just a 35% day-over-day increase for sessions without Rufus that had resulted in a purchase. For overall shopping, Adobe Analytics, which tracks more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail websites, AI traffic to U.S. retail sites increased by 805% year-over-year on Black Friday. 

Google has been at work, making incremental improvements to its’ Gemini app. Still, it hasn’t been as useful as ChatGPT…but that may be changing. Androidpolice.com reports that Google is making a huge investment in the mobile app…giving it a revamped interface that will open up more of Gemini’s power to users. Besides Android, lead producer for Google AI Studio Logan Kilpatrick says Google is working on a native Gemini app for MacOS. Right now, the only way to access it is via a browser. I can confirm that it is clunkier to use with the button on Chrome. Over the weekend I tried this in a search for an ancient car logo. I finally gave up on the Gemini via browser and dropped the graphic into ChatGPT and got a result in seconds. Let’s hope Google gives us that kind of power when they upgrade the mobile Gemini app interface and release a native app for MacOs as well as Android. 

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

iPhone Reclaims Top Spot After 14 Years; RAM Prices Astronomical As GPU Prices Drop; Bug in Jury Software Exposes Personal Info; OpenAI Claims Teen Violated Their Rules in Suicide Case

Posted: November 26, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

For the first time in 14 years, Apple has taken back the crown as the world’s top smartphone maker from Samsung. Macrumors.com reports that the move is due to the popularity of the iPhone 17, particularly in China. Overall iPhone shipments are projected to grow 10% in 2025, compared to Samsung’s 4.6% growth..according to Counterpoint Research. For 2026, it looks like the more budget conscious are also going to be eyeing the iPhone 17e. The well-heeled will make up a small bump as we noted yesterday…Apple will likely sell only about 5.4 million of the pricy folding phone starting next September. Adding to Apple’s predicted strong continuing sales…the 2027 model will be they 20th anniversary, and it is expected that Apple will make some spectacular changes to the iPhones…or at least hype features to make us think it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread.

I was just talking with my son the IT guy last night about the crazy high pricers of computer RAM. He was complaining that in trying to buy a DDR5 RAM kit to upgrade a laptop, the prices were much higher than before. According to arstechnica.com, there is a shortage mainly caused by the AI boom. Prices are more than double in a number of cases than they were just a few months ago. Keep in mind that this won’t affect your purchase of a PC or laptop…the big manufacturers have deals in place to buy massive numbers and their prices will not be affected under their contracts. On the plus side, as memory prices have gone nuts, GPU prices have actually dropped. You can actually buy high end graphics cards for less than suggested retail prices right now should you be in the market for one of those. 

Most people get them at some point or another…a postcard with a jury summons. Now, TechCrunch.com says that a bug has been found in the systems used by several states that exposed peoples’ personal information. At least a dozen juror websites made by government software maker Tyler Technologies appear to be vulnerable to the exploit, according to a security researchers. Some of the states include California. Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia. Tyler has said it is fixing the flaw now. The bug meant it was possible for anyone to obtain the information about jurors who are selected for service. To log into these platforms, a juror is provided a unique numerical identifier assigned to them, which could be brute-forced since the number was sequentially incremental. The platform also did not have any mechanism to prevent anyone from flooding the login pages with a large number of guesses, a feature known as “rate-limiting.”

ChatGPT argues in a court filing that it shouldn’t be held liable in the death of a 16 year old because the youngster violated their rules. Gizmodo.com notes the AI company said in the document that there was “[M]isuse, unauthorized use, unintended use, unforeseeable use, and/or improper use of ChatGPT.” Those are potential causal factors that could have led to the “tragic event” that was the death by suicide of 16-year-old Adam Raine. The firm apparently denies responsibility, and is reportedly skeptical of the “extent that any ‘cause’ can be attributed to” Raine’s death. Raine’s family is suing OpenAI over the teen’s April suicide, alleging that ChatGPT drove him to the act. An attorney for the Raines family, Jay Edelson, said in an email that OpenAI “tries to find fault in everyone else, including, amazingly, saying that Adam himself violated its terms and conditions by engaging with ChatGPT in the very way it was programmed to act.” He also claims that the defendants, “abjectly ignore” the “damning facts” the plaintiffs have put forward. We’ll keep an eye on this case, which is really what they call an issue of first impression…AI assisting a user to commit suicide.

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

Apple-Working on More iPhone Satellite Features; Spyware ‘Landfall’ Was on Samsung Phones for a Year; AI Isn’t Replacing Jobs-AI Spending Is; Lawyers- Not Checking AI Writing Means Bad Legal Briefs

Posted: November 10, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Satellite features have been pretty limited on phones to now. Apple’s iPhones have really only been able to send a call for emergency help or send messages via satellite when a cellular connection is unavailable….like at the beach, or hiking in the woods. Now, engadget.com reports that Mark Gurman says Apple is planning on adding to their satellite feature offerings. Personally, I’m betting this is ahead of making satellite connection a paid monthly charge, adding to Apple’s quiver of monthly charges that give them a nice cash flow! Right now, you can send and receive texts via the Messages app over satellite when you are out in the boonies. Now Apple is looking to let you send photos, too. They are also aiming to enable 5G NTN support. That allows cell towers to get a coverage boost by tapping into satellites. For anyone who needs directions in a remote area without a cellular or Wi-Fi connection, Apple reportedly has plans to introduce satellite connectivity to Apple Maps. Boy, I could have used that a few times! In a really cool possible upgrade, Apple is working on ‘natural usage.’ That would mean you won’t have to hold the phone up and point it towards a spot in the sky to connect to a satellite. They are working to make it possible to stay connected even without a clear view of the sky or indoors. All this could be a couple years away…and some features no doubt will be needing the latest greatest iPhone hardware. As a friend of mine frequently says, ‘That’s how they getcha!’ 

It has reportedly been patched as of last April, but for over a year, a very sophisticated spyware called ‘Landfall’ was making the rounds on Samsung Galaxy phones. According to arstechnica.com, it was one of those nasty ‘zero-click’ hacks, which can get into your phone without your direct involvement. The spyware was picked up by Researchers at Unit 42, the intelligence arm of Palo Alto Networks. They only found it because of a couple of similar bugs found in Apple’s iOS and on WhatsApp. The hack involved images. The attackers used modified DNG files, which are a modified type of file based on the TIFF format. They imbedded ZIP archives with the bad programs in them. The hack basically gave the bad actors pretty complete access to user information on the phones. It is pretty tough to remove, too. The good news…the hack was mainly confined to Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Morocco. If you didn’t travel to those countries, you are probably fine, but these zero-click hacks are pretty scary. 

Lately, there has been a pretty substantial number of layoffs across industry. A good deal of them have been blamed…at least partially, on AI. As it turns out, that isn’t exactly accurate. AI itself isn’t replacing jobs, so much as spending on AI. Fastcompany.com notes that an MIT Media Lab study has found that 95% of generative AI pilot business projects were failing. Another survey by Atlassian concluded that 96% of businesses “have not seen dramatic improvements in organizational efficiency, innovation, or work quality.” Still another study found that 40% of the business people surveyed have received “AI slop” at work in the last month and that it takes nearly two hours, on average, to fix each instance of slop. In addition, they “no longer trust their AI-enabled peers, find them less creative, and find them less intelligent or capable.” What IS sucking up money that had been going to salaries is the massive amount of money being poured into spending on AI infrastructure. Just Amazon…which chopped some 14,000 last month with another 14,000 jobs to go in January…has increased capital spending from $54 billion in 2023 to $118 billion in 2025! Meta is working to lock up at $27 billion credit line to build data centers. Oracle will borrow $25 billion a year the next few years to cover its AI contracts. Financial stress…especially in the tech sector makes the C Suite folks look for some easy cuts…it’s always headcount…the employees that take it in the tail. 

A bit more AI-related news. Attorneys have been using AI to more quickly turn out legal briefs, and the stories continue to come out about those who aren’t double checking the work of the AI bots, and ending up with the likes of fake case citations. Gizomdo.com reports that more courts are levying fines or the like. Now, some lawyers have started a tracking system to compile information on cases involving AI misuse. A French attorney is presently in the forefront of this with a website…Damien Charlotin has listed some 509 cases so far. At this point, sadly, no bar association has meted out any punishment for the sloppy briefs, only some courts.

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

Galaxy S26 Price Hike Rumor; Apple-Budget MacBook in 2026; OpenAI Launches Sora on Android; Norway Wealth Fund Thumbs Down on Elon Billion $ Payday

Posted: November 4, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Samsung is expected to goose prices on the Galaxy S26 models. Bgr.com reports that no exact money amount has been leaked, but with suppliers struggling to crank out memory and storage chips due to AI, it is looking more and more likely. Samsung upped prices in 2024 by $100. Apple effectively did this with its iPhone line…although Apple just quietly dropped lower memory options, which was an effective price hike…but needed, since the cheaper phones wouldn’t run their AI backed systems. With mobile chip prices up about 12% year over year, and camera modules up 7%, some sort of increase seems highly likely. Since they raised last year by $100, maybe we will see something like just a $49 increase if you preorder. We should know something before the end of the year.

A contingent of users of Windows, led by gamers, is not happy with a lot of Windows 11 features…Copilot for one, but especially the intrusive Recall feature that saves screenshots of everything you do. Some users have bailed for Linux, but a lot of people don’t have the tech knowhow or inclination for that. With the possibility of Windows 12 being subscription based, even more folks will be unhappy. There’s always Chromebook…and now, another option may be coming for those that want to ditch Windows. According to macrumors.com, Apple may launch a budget MacBook in the first half of 2026. A Bloomberg report has it coming in at ‘well under $1,000,’ which puts it in direct competition with reasonably priced Windows and Chromebook laptops. Right now, the cheapest Mac is $999, with $100 off for educational buyers. You can always get a Mac Mini for $599…but have to tack on a monitor, keyboard, and mouse…so no bargain there. The cheaper MacBook will allegedly have a 13 inch display and an A series iPhone processor instead of the beefier Mac processor….probably the A18 that came out in the iPhone 16 Pro. Bright colors are forecast like with an iMac…Silver, Blue, Pink, and Yellow. If they are able to do it for…say, $600, it might be a really big hit for Apple.

Android is finally getting OpenAI’s video app, Sora. Theverge.com notes that this will let users on Android create, share, and remix AI generated videos. You can download it from the Google Play Store now. The app has been out since September on Apple’s iOS. The app has gotten flack for its approach to deepfakes and copyright protections. OpenAI had to reverse its opt-out policy for rights holders and go to opt-in. OpenAI has also introduced the ability to create “character cameos” with reusable avatars, and eventually plans to give rightsholders the ability to “charge extra for cameos of beloved characters and people.”

Norway’s wealth fund has given a ‘thumbs down’ to Elon Musk’s trillion dollar pay package. TechCrunch.com says that at a bit over 1% of Tesla stock, this alone may nt be enough to defeat the proposal, but it will add to the recommendations of ISS and Glass Lewis that have recommended votings against the ludicrous package. Musk insists the compensation isn’t so much about money as control. Tesla doesn’t throw off near the profit to cover this kind of pay over a 10 year period, and Elon’s promise of robots and an upcoming ‘flying electric car’ hasn’t really moved anyone to throw strong support towards making him the first ‘Trillion Dollar Baby.’

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. 

Apple Bows New M5 Chip & MacBook Pros; US Charges Cambodian in Huge Crypto Scam; Microsoft Rolls Out Image Generator; ‘Pixnapping’ Hack for Android

Posted: October 15, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple has introduced its latest greatest system…the M5 chip, with their next generation GPU. The new system will be the brains of the MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro goggles. Macrumors.com reports that the new chip has 10 cores with a ’Neural Accelerator’ for each individual core…which enables GPU based artificial intelligence workloads to run dramatically faster. Apple claims graphics performance up to 45% higher than the M4 chip. It is worth noting that the new 14 inch MacBook Pro doesn’t really have any new major features, besides the more robust chip. The higher end 14 inch and 16 inch MacBook Pro models with M5 chips are yet to come…expect them in early 2026. 

A Cambodian executive masterminded a huge crypto scam, but now is on the run and the US government has seized more than $14 billion in Bitcoin, and indicted him. According to NPR, Chen Chi and his Prince Holding Group have been charged with wire fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy. The US and British authorities have also placed sanctions on his company, which has operated in real estate development, financial services, and some other businesses. Chen is accused of sanctioning brutal violence against workers, authorizing hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to foreign officials and using his other businesses, such as online gambling and cryptocurrency mining operations, to launder illicit profits. He is on the run and at large. He is a native of China and has gone by the alias of ‘Vincent.’ He had compounds in Cambodia, where workers were held captive and beaten, while they were forced to contact thousands of victims through social media or online messaging platforms, build rapport and entice them to transfer cryptocurrency with hopes of big investment returns. The money was just stolen from them. 

Microsoft has rolled out its own image generator, and Redmond claims it is faster than rival generators. Bgr.com notes that the clunky named MAI-Image-1 is better than OpenAI’s Sora2 and Google’s Nano Banana. Both those apps raced to the top of app stores, with Sora being the most downloaded app on iPhone in less than a week. Microsoft hasn’t released the generator yet, saying it will take into account feedback from early users before releasing it in Copilot and Bing Image Creator. 

A new kind of hacker attack for Androids. Mashable.com reports that it lets bad guys snag your private chats, text messages, emails, and even two-factor authentication  codes. It has been named ‘Pixnapping’, and it can be used to grab info from any data displayed on your screen. The victim has to have downloaded a malicious app. After that, the screen grabs can happen without any permissions or without being noticed.  Google released an early patch for it already, but there is a work around to evade the patch. Pixnapping was uncovered by a group of researchers collaborating from University of California, Berkeley, University of Washington, University of California, San Diego, and Carnegie Mellon University.

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

EA is Going Private; ‘Vibe Working’-Microsoft Agent-Powered AI; Samsung President Practically Confirms 2026 iPhone Fold; Trump Energy Dept Bans Staff from Saying ‘Climate Change’

Posted: September 29, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Game Maker Electronic Arts is being taken private, in a deal valued at $55 billion. Gizmodo.com reports that Jared Kushner and Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund are spearheading the deal. It also includes some cash from investment firm Silver lake. The deal will pay shareholders $210 a share in cash. Saudi’s Public Investment fund already owned 10% of EA prior to this deal. They are aiming to get more into where younger gamers are…mobile and free to play hit games such as Fortnite and Roblox…as opposed to the expensive franchise-driven EA titles the company has been known for like Madden NFL and FIFA, The Sims, and more. 

Microsoft is rolling out Agent Mode in Excel, and they are dubbing their approach ‘vibe working.’ This is new jargon for having Copilot analyze data, generate visualizations, and iterate on results across multi-step tasks. According to geekwire.com, Microsoft is keen to have ‘vibe working’ catch on. Redmond sees ‘vibe working’ as collaboration between people and AI agents inside its productivity apps. Instead of giving a one-time response, the updated Copilot AI tools generate, test, and refine content while users steer the direction, more like a dialogue. Microsoft says its Office Agent in Copilot runs on AI models from Anthropic, maker of the Claude AI chatbot. This is part of their continuing move to rely less on OpenAI’s ChatGPT. 

The president of Samsung Display, Lee Cheong, has announced that they are ramping up preparations to produce OLED foldable smartphones. Appleinsider.com notes that Lee told reporters the displays would be made for a ‘North American client.’ Considering how few North American smartphone makers there are, this pretty well seals the rumors that Apple will be releasing a folding iPhone next year, most likely in the third quarter. 

In a completely petty, silly move, the Trump Department of Energy has issued a list of banned words. TechCrunch.com reports that they include ‘climate change’ and ‘green.’ Additional banned words are decarbonization, energy transition, sustainability, sustainable, subsidies, tax breaks, tax credits, and carbon footprint. That ought to show those libs and tree huggers. If you can’t use the words, climate change won’t happen, right? The world turns on meanwhile…global investment in renewable energy hit a new record in the first half of 2025. 

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

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