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

Posted: August 19, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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on X that she, President Trump, and Vice President Vance had all worked with the Brits to get the back door demand rescinded.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. 

Live Translation Coming to AirPods; Musk Rages Apple Favors OpenAI over Grok; Ford Universal EV Platform Called Game Changer; Reddit Blocks Internet Archive Over AI Scraping

Posted: August 12, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Some folks have noted new images in iOS 26’s latest beta version that point to in-person Live Translation being available soon on Apple AirPods. Macrumors.com reports that a graphic shows AirPods with ‘Hello’ in several different languages, along with a suggestion that the feature will be activated with a double press. There is also a file in the beta named ‘Translate.’ Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman had previously reported that Apple was working on such a feature. From what shows up the the iOS 26 beta, Live Translation will work on AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4…and will be very similar to what is already offered in Apple’s Phone App, Messages App, and FaceTime. Note that existing Live Translation is linked to Apple Intelligence, so the AirPods might need to be connected to an iPhone that supports Apple Intelligence. My 15 Pro Max supports Apple Intelligence, as does the 15 Pro, and all the iPhone 16 models do, too. Of course, the upcoming iPhone 17 handsets will support Apple Intelligence. It will be super handy doing Live Translate right from the AirPods at the double touch of a finger!

Elon Musk is harping again on something of a favorite target of his…Apple. Now, Musk claims that Apple is favoring OpenAI in its App Store Rankings over Grok 4, the product from his xAI. According to 9to5mac.com, Elon is accusing Apple of an “unequivocal antitrust violation.” After introduction of Grok 4, the app moved from about 60th in the App Store to 29th place last week. Today, August 12th, xAI made Grok 4 free for users worldwide…pushing it to 5th overall in the App Store ratings and to #2 in the Productivity category. That sounds like it is doing pretty well…yet ChatGPT is still at or near the top, as it has been for most of the last year. It should be noted that Apple has repeatedly featured ChatGPT in its App Store editorial content, and has partnered with OpenAI as part of the new Apple Intelligence…where it is directly integrated with Siri. Musk is mad, and threatening immediate legal action. That is quite a threat from the richest man on earth…but he’d best keep in mind that his wealth is dwarfed by the value of Apple…they are a more than worthy opponent in court, as many have found out. 

Ford is looking to its new Universal EV platform to be a serious game changer…one the will hit a holy grail of sorts for EVs…breaking the $30,000 barrier. Electrek.co says that Ford is claiming that its new midsize EV pickup will have a lower cost of ownership than the Tesla Model Y and will have more space than a Toyota RAV4. It will have a base price of $30,000…about the same as the RAV4. The midsize pickups will be built at Ford’s Louisville Assembly Plant. Ford will be the first vehicle maker to build prismatic LFP batteries in the US, which will not only cut costs but also free up interior space. Ford CEO Jim Farley says the new universal platform will reduce parts by 20% compared with the average vehicle. It features 25% less fasteners, 40% fewer workstations dock-to-dock in the plant, and….15% faster assembly time. Ford claims a “lower cost of ownership over five years than a three-year-old used Tesla Model Y.”

Reddit is blocking the Internet Archive from indexing popular threads on Reddit. Why? Apparently, they have caught sneaky AI firms scraping data from the archive…data the have been restricted from scraping from Reddit itself. Arstechnica.com reports that the Internet Archive is in ongoing discussions with Reddit since the block. The AI firms who were doing the scraping haven’t been named so far. Internet Archive has not signaled whether it’s looking into fixes to get Reddit’s restrictions lifted. It could be completely over protecting users, or Reddit might be jockeying for a more lucrative licensing deal like Reddit struck with OpenAI and Google. The OpenAI deal isn’t publicly known, but the Google one is reportedly worth some $60 million. Reddit expects to make more than $200 million the next 3 years on licensing deals around AI.

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

Nvidia & AMD-May Sell Chips to China if Pay Uncle Sam a Cut; AI Industry Alarm-Huge Copyright Class Action; Apple Testing Improved Siri; AOL  Dial Up Going Away for The Few Who Still Use It

Posted: August 11, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In what smacks of extortion to me, Nvidia and AMD have agreed to pay the US government 15% of the revenue they make from sales of high-end chips to China, in exchange for licenses to sell those chips in China. TechCrunch.com reports that Nvidia will share revenues from sales of its H20 AI chips in China, and AMD will give up a cut of MI308 chips. This truly sounds like tribute paid to a mob boss. Apparently, besides the cut to the US government, the resumption of sales of the high-end AI chips also restarted in exchange for China resuming selling rare-earth elements that are needed for rechargeable batteries in electric vehicles. 

An entire industry built on basically stealing the work of others to build its large language models is now clutching its pearls over a class-action lawsuit that could bring in up to 7 million class members, all demanding cash should they successfully prevail in litigation or a settlement. According to arstechnica.com, the suit has been brought by 3 authors as lead plaintiffs who are suing Anthropic over using their works for free to train its AI. AI industry groups are urging an appeals court to block certification of what they call the largest copyright class action ever certified, whining that it threatens to ‘financially ruin’ the entire AI industry. Up to 7 million claimants, and a possible fine for each of $150,000…yep…that’s a ton of money. The AI companies have managed to raise and spend billions on the tech already…but precious little has gone to any of the creators of the work the large language models have hoovered up…just a handful of newspapers and organizations have received some compensation. It is more difficult than you might think to prove ownership of the likes of a book, but stand by…this could be a biggie, either way it goes. 

Apple is apparently testing out a revised version of Siri with a few third party apps…including Uber, Threads, Temu, Amazon, YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp, AllTrails, and some games. Macrumors.com says Apple is also test-driving the better Siri with its own apps. They cite Mark Gurman from Bloomberg, saying the new App Intents system will let you take action entirely with Siri voice commands. With nothing but your voice, you’ll be able to tell Siri to find a specific photo, edit it and send it off. Or comment on an Instagram post. Or scroll a shopping app and add something to your cart. Or log in to a service without touching the screen. Essentially, Siri could operate your apps like you would — with precision, inside their own interfaces. The key part…with precision…we’ll see if that actually ends up being true!

From the ‘who knew this still existed’ department….AOL is dropping its dial-up internet service on September 30th. Engadget.com notes that the service has survived some 34 years now. Of course, back in the day millions used it…and were constantly spammed with tins of CDs in the mail…or before that floppy discs…remember those? Apparently, there are still a few luddites around, now numbering in the low thousands, who still listen to the awful screeching and hissing as their wheezing dial-up modem tries to connect with the internet. Besides the dial-up service, AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser will head for the silicon graveyard on the last day of September.

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

iPhone 17 Date Leak; Disney+ Will Assimilate Hulu; Nvidia Rejects Demand for Backdoor in AI Chips; Grok Generates Fake Taylor Swift Nudes

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

Mark Gurman has reported, and we have also that the likely date for the iPhone 17 rollout will be the week of September 8th. That’s based on prior year activity, and not exactly rocket science. Now, Bgr.com reports that a leak has picked up internal info from a German mobile phone provider which indicates the actual date will be Tuesday, September 9th. That will mean if Apple follows its usual routine, the phones will be available in stores and delivered by September 19th. We have already reported on a couple of the headlines…like the super thin iPhone 17 Air (if that’s what they end up calling it) and a noticeably better 48 MP telephoto lens. Do expect a relatively modest $50 price hike across the board on the iPhone 17 models…the first price bump in several years. 

Now that Disney owns all of Hulu, it looks like the House of Mouse will tie a bow around things, killing off the Hulu app and totally integrating Hulu’s streaming service into a new, unified Disney Plus app next year. According to engadget.com, a Disney spokesperson said that they will still offer standalone plans for Disney Plus and Hulu….presumably by just dimming out one or the other in the unified app if you aren’t paying for all of it. Having both on the same app will not only be convenient for users, but will give Disney more ways to package ad sales. Disney will also stop disclosing separate subscriber numbers for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+.  Between the 3, Disney had 183 million subscribers as of the end of June…up 2.6 million from March. 

A number of countries including the USA, China, and the UK have called for or demanded back doors before. Now, it is Nvidia and their AI chips. Theverge.com says Nvidia has responded in a blog post saying that its GPUs ‘do not and should not have kill switches and backdoors.’ In fact, China actually claimed that such already exist in Nvidia AI chips. Regarding the US, a bipartisan group of lawmakers have introduced the Chip Security Act, which would require Nvidia and other manufacturers to include tracking technology to identify when chips are illegally transported internationally, and leaves the door open for further security measures including remote kill switches. While Nvidia is expecting to be granted permits to once again sell certain AI chips in China, its most powerful hardware is still under strict US export controls there and elsewhere. David Reber Jr, Chief Security Officer for Nvidia notes that “There is no such thing as a ‘good’ secret backdoor.” He commented in a post that there are “only dangerous vulnerabilities that need to be eliminated.” He goes on to call kill switches “an open invitation for disaster.”

Elon Musk’s Grok has gone further in offending and pissing off some people than before. Now, it’s not political…think MechaHitler of a couple weeks back…the video generator has spewed out topless images of Taylor Swift without even being asked to do so! Editorial: she’s a billionaire…I hope she sues. Arstechnica.com reports that a reporter for the Verge, Jess Weatherbed, was testing the Grok Imagine video generator shortly after it was released, and it displayed the images of Swift ‘the very first time’ she used it. In fact, when she ask it to show ’Taylor Swift celebrating at Coachella with the boys,’ the thing cranked out 30 images of Swift in revealing outfits. There are presets on the latest iteration of Grok Imagine…custom, normal, fun, and spicy…that can convert images into video clips in 15 seconds. All the reporter did was input ‘spicy’ and confirm her birthdate. The AI then produced a clip of swift ‘tearing off her clothes’ and dancing in a thong.’

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

Jury-Meta Violated CA Privacy Over Flo Data; VPN Use Up Dramatically in the UK; Former Taiwan Semi Staff Arrested-Stealing Chip Trade Secrets; Google New AI Model-Creates Video Game Worlds in Real Time

Posted: August 5, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A California jury has found that Meta violated California privacy laws, by surreptitiously collecting FLO users’ menstrual health data. TechCrunch.com reports that the info was collected without user consent and it was used for ad-tracking purposes. The plaintiffs, claiming to represent millions of Flo users, had accused Flo and Meta of collecting private health data, like their period dates and fertility goals, via Flo’s app without permission, therefore violating California Invasion of Privacy Act. Besides Flo and Meta, the 2021 suit also named ad analytics companies AppFlyers and Flurry as defendants. Attorneys for the lead plaintiffs said in a statement “Companies like Meta that covertly profit from users’ most intimate information must be held accountable. Today’s outcome reinforces the fundamental right to privacy—especially when it comes to sensitive health data.”  Meta understandably disagreed with the verdict, and is exploring legal options. 

The United Kingdom is pressing ahead with their Online Safety Act, which is intended to bring ‘age assurance,’ so that kids can’t view pornography or health-threatening sites like ones that lionize dangerous thinness. Now, according to techdirt.com, the use of VPNs, virtual private networks, has spiked dramatically. One, Proton VPN, reported an 1800% increase in UK sign-ups. Five of the top 10 free apps on Apple’s UK app store in the United Kingdom are VPNs. A heck of a lot of people don’t want to upload a government ID or selfie to get past the invasive age verification systems. Ah, the law of unintended consequences. A law supposedly designed to protect children now requires victims of sexual assault to submit government IDs to access support communities. People struggling with addiction must undergo facial recognition scans to find help quitting drinking or smoking. The UK government has somehow concluded that access to basic health information and peer support networks poses such a grave threat to minors that it justifies creating a comprehensive surveillance infrastructure around it. Even Wikipedia is threatening to limit access in the UK, saying the law is unworkable. 

Industrial espionage never rests. Three people, including a couple former employees of Taiwan Semiconductor, have been arrested from allegedly stealing proprietary tech from Apple’s chip partner. This all according to appleinsider.com, citing Taiwanese prosecutors. The theft dealt with TSMC’s 2-nanometer production process. Tokyo Electron may be involved, but prosecutors declined to say if a search of that firm was carried out. Apple, a major…or THE major client of TSMC, is expected to be among the first to get chips using the 2-nanometer process…and that could happen as soon as later this year. Just to refresh how small things are getting in chips…a human hair is 80,000 to 100,000 nanometers wide!

Google DeepMind has revealed a new iteration of its AI ‘world’ model, Genie 3, and it can generate 3D environments that users and agents can interact with in real time. Theverge.com reports that users are going to be able to interact with the worlds for a lot longer and the model will remember where things are when you look away from them. so far, the model is only launched as ‘a limited research preview’ which is open to ‘a small cohort of academics and creators’. Google hasn’t announced when it might be out to the general public.

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

iPhone 17-Small Price Hike; VPN Use Way Up in UK; YouTube Bows Age Estimation Tech; Google Will Sign EU’s AI Code of Practice

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

Apple is apparently planning a $50 across the board price hike for all iPhone 17 models. macrumors.com reports that this is to offset rising component costs and the China tariffs. The news came in an investor note from Jefferies analyst Edison Lee. Actually, with Trump’s China tariffs, Apple is eating a lot of the cost increase, but has decided to pass at least some of it on to consumers. Cupertino will try to position the increase as worth it due to new features and design changes, and won’t blame the hike on the tariffs…not wanting to anger the thin-skinned Donald Trump. 

The Online Safety Act just went into effect last Friday in the United Kingdom. That’s the law that requires porn platforms and other adult content sites to implement user age verifications. Not shockingly, the use of VPNs…virtual private networks, has spiked already. According to wired.com, experts had expected such a surge. Besides VPNs, apparently users are also trying a video game called Death Stranding that has a photo mode to take a selfie of a character and submit it to the age-gated forum content. What the Online Safety Act requires is that websites hosting porn, self-harm, suicide, and eating disorder content implement “highly effective” age checks for visitors from the UK. These checks can include uploading an ID document and selfie for validation and analysis. On the up side for the UK regulators, over 6,600 pro websites have introduced age checks so far. I am still processing the fact that there are that many porn websites. I don’t think I’ve ever visited even close to that many websites of any kind in my life! 

There is a good deal of resistance and skepticism about age verification online…as in our story yesterday about an app designed to protect women from bad dates that got hacked and their driver’s licenses were compromised. Now, techcrunch.com says YouTube is taking a different approach, rolling out age-estimation tech to identify US teens so they can apply additional protections for the kids. The company says it will use a variety of signals to determine the users’ possible age, regardless of what the user entered as their birthday when they signed up for an account. When the platform marks someone as a teen, it introduces new protections and experiences, which include disabling personalized advertising, safeguards that limit repetitive viewing of certain types of content, and enabling digital well-being tools such as screen time and bedtime reminders, among others. These are the same safeguards as are in effect already for those who have identified as teens…now YouTube will use their system to check. If someone is flagged as a teen and isn’t, they have the option to verify their age with a credit card, government ID, or selfie. DON’T give them your driver’s license! 

Google has announced that it will sign the European Union’s AI Code of Practice. Engadget.com notes that the Act was passed in 2024, but many parts of it have yet to go into effect…they will take months or even years. The Code is a non-binding, voluntary pact. Meta has said it won’t sign on, calling the Code ‘over-reach.’ The EU’s AI Act is the first of its kind from a major regulator and is comprehensive in its approach. Meanwhile, the United States is in the earliest stages of determining its approach to AI regulation Obligations under the EU AI act start kicking in on August 1st of this year, with all AI models to be fully compliant by August of 2027.

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.

Google Pixel Event Aug. 20th; iPhone Fold May Be Less Pricy, Creaseless Screen  Ex-Waymo Engineers Found Construction Automation Startup; Grok Adds AI Companion-Can be NSFW

Posted: July 16, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Google will hold its next Pixel event on August 20th. The show will emanate from New York City starting at 1 PM Eastern. Theverge.com reports that Google said in the official invite that the will show quote: “the latest on our Pixel phones, watches, buds, and more.” The new Pixel phone lineup is supposed to have an updated base model…the Pixel 10, that will have 3 cams instead of two, and of course there will be updated Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10, and Pixel 10 Pro XL models. A completely dustproof Pixel 10 Pro Fold is a good possibility, too. The Watch 4 is expected to get a bigger battery and slightly thicker case. 

Just when you…or at least I…thought we had most of the iPhone Fold news out there, more has popped up. One item in particular makes my prediction of a few days ago look way off. According to bgr.com, new rumors have the iPhone Fold coming in at a lot less money….predictions are in the $1800-$2000 range. With the just-announced Samsung Z Fold 7 priced at $1999.99, that would make the Apple device very competitive. the other new item about the Apple folder is that they will indeed have a creaseless screen, and Samsung is building a new factory specifically to make it for Apple. Samsung uses a plate under the crease that has been chemically etched to lessen the crease effect. Apple has developed laser drilling that will almost make the crease disappear. The Apple process is more costly…of course…but not that much. It will run $30-35 per unit, compared to the Samsung etched plates at $20. It may well be that next year, Samsung will switch processes, and have their Z Fold 8 come out without creases a month or so before Apple’s phone debuts. 

Some former Waymo engineers have founded a startup aimed at automating construction. It’s called Bedrock Robotics…an interesting name, what with the Bedrock of Flintstones fame that, in the cartoon, used the human-operated dinosaurs at a quarry. TechCrunch.com says the company has been in stealth mode for about a year, but just raised $80 million from investors to proceed. The main focus is developing a self-driving kit that can be retrofitted to construction and other worksite vehicles. They are not the only ones trying to port self-driving to off-road work vehicles. Pronto out of San Francisco has developed a self-driving system for haulage trucks and other off-road vehicles used at construction and mining sites. 

Of course it’s happening…it’s Musk. Grok, the AI chatbot from Elon’s xAI, is getting a couple of animated ‘companions.’ One is an animated girl called Ani, and the other is a red panda called Rudi. Mashable.com reports that the anime girl is lightly dressed-talking super short skirt and fishnet hose- and ‘flirty.’ It is basically something of a sexbot. Grok has even included a ‘level 3’ mode, where she goes not safe for work….NSFW…but you have to interact a bit and ‘get acquainted’ before you get to that level. Rudi the panda is essentially a story telling character. Even that bot has a naughty version…’Bad Rudy,’ which unleashes it to use courser language and expletives…which is a bit weird coming from an apparent animated red panda. Apparently, Elon and his crew aren’t concerned with getting any heat…these chatbots coming just days after Grok dubbed itself Mecha Hitler.

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

Feds Throw Cash at AI Companies; Apple-$500 Million to Buy US Rare Earth Magnets; Meta Building a 5 GW AI Data Center; New Find-My Compatible Wallet Card 

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

Uncle Sam is handing out the cash to the top AI firms, having them develop military applications. The $200 million grants went to Anthropic, Google, OpenAI, and xAI. Engadget.com says the money will be used to “develop agentic AI workflows across a variety of mission areas.” In other words, this is primarily for military applications. A press release says the move will “broaden” the Department of Defense’s use of AI to “address critical national security needs.” The release continued, noting that this will “accelerate the use of advanced AI” in the “warfighting domain.” As part of this effort, CDAO will be providing access to the latest generative AI models to “Combatant Commands, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Staff.” What is CDAO? Oh, how the government loves these appreciations. It stands for Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office. 

Apple has announced a $500 million multi-year commitment to buy US made rare earth magnets. According to macrumors.com, they have been developed  and are being built in a state of the art plant by MP Materials at a factory in Fort Worth, TX. Already, close to all the magnets in Apple devices are made from 100% recycled rare earth elements. The companies are partnering to build a rare earth recycling line in Mountain Pass, CA, too. Apple says the new ventures will support dozens of new US jobs in manufacturing and R&D, and will be part of its overall pledge to spend more than $500 billion in the US over the next 4 years.

Meta is building a data center dubbed Hyperion which will supply their new AI lab with 5 gigawatt of computational power. Techcrunch.com notes that this is Meta’s latest move to get a leg up on OpenAI and Google in the AI race. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says Hyperion’s footprint will be large enough to cover most of Manhattan. The actual center will be located in Louisiana, however. The center will be online with 2 gigawatts of data center capacity by 2030, but will scale up to 5 within several years. I note that I say, gigawatts, which is the accepted pronunciation…despite Doc Brown in Back to The Future saying Jigawatts. A lot of fans of the movie still pronounce it that way.

If you use Apple’s Find My system with the Air Tags, you know they are handy for most things, but not so much for a wallet. There are third party vendors who make wallet sized cards though. I have used one from Chipolo for several years. It is about double the thickness of a credit card. the only down side is, when the battery goes, you have to buy a new one…it isn’t replaceable. Macrumors.com reports that Native Union has come out with the Find It Card and Find It tag, which work with Apple’s Find My system. They go the Chipolo one a bit better…as the wallet card lasts about 6 months on the battery charge….then can be recharged with a MagSafe Qi based charger! At $40, a much better deal than a no-deposit, no return one like I have used. Native Union also makes a little round device with a hole drilled in it called the Find It Tag. That one is designed to go on your luggage or a key chain with a little wire ring. It’s $20, and has a replaceable CR2032 battery that lasts a year..same battery as the Air Tags use. 

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

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