Google Will Bow Gemini for Home Oct 1; Apple Plans AI-Powered Web Search for Siri; Samsung Health App Will Give Access to Licensed Docs; Adobe Brings Premiere Video Edit App to iPhone
Posted: September 4, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Apple, Artificial Intelligence, chatgpt, technology Leave a commentA Google event is slated for October 1st, and it looks like there will be a number of announcements. Engadget.com reports that we should see new Nest devices, including a new Nest camera and Nest speaker. In addition, more will be revealed about Gemini for Home, Gemini for Home will replace Google Assistant and enable natural language commands, as well add easier to use controls. There will be both free and subscription versions, much like Amazon has Alexa and Alexa +.
Apple has been working overtime, playing catch-up when it comes to AI. They have talked to OpenAI, and have a present deal with them that adds some muscle to the puny Siri. Now, according to gizmodo.com, Apple will launch a new AI-powered web search tool for Siri next year. Reports have the improved AI search being powered by a custom version of Google’s Gemini. Internally at Apple, the system is being called World Knowledge Answers…and besides Siri, it may be available in Safari and Spotlight. It is expected that even if Gemini is used for some functions such as summarizing, that the system will run on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute servers, to protect user privacy. Expect this all to come together next spring, not next week when the new iPhones are rolled out.
Medical plan apps can let you access a doctor or a PA or nurse. Now, Samsung has announced that it is bringing virtual physicians to its Health App. Androidpolice.com notes that the medical service comes by Samsung partnering with HealthTap, an online service provider that has been around a while. Using the app, you can meet virtually with a doctor the same week, or in some cases, the same day. Besides doctor access, the app claims to give better management of prescription medication using a new system that integrates with Walgreen’s. You won’t be able to submit or renew prescriptions via the app, though.
Adobe will bring its Premiere video editing software to the iPhone. TechCrunch.com reports that the software will let users edit videos and export them without watermarks. Some features will be the same as the desktop version…the ability to trim, layer, and fine-tune frames. Automatic captions are also available as is support for 4K HDR. The app is free use, but users will have to pay for using AI credits and cloud storage. An Android version is in the works.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Court- Google Can Keep Chrome, But No Exclusive Search Deals; Waymo Expands to Denver & Seattle; iPad Gets Instagram App That Fits Screen; Starbucks Getting Automated Counting Tech for Inventory
Posted: September 3, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Google, productivity, Tech, technology Leave a commentIn what can only be described as a victory of sorts for Google, a court has ruled that Google doesn’t have to spin off Chrome. It also doesn’t have to divest of its search business…although it will have to make some changes there. Engadget.com reports that Judge Amit Mehta ruled that the government had ‘overreached’ in its request for the sale of Chrome. What the search giant will have to do though is give up exclusive deals around the distribution of search, Google Assistant, Gemini, and Chrome. They will no longer be able to require device makers to preload Google apps in order to get access to the Play Store. They WILL still be able to continue to pay partners like Apple to pre-load search and other apps into their products. I’m sure Apple is relieved about this too, as they take in over $20 billion a year in such a deal!
Waymo is moving into a couple of new markets…Denver and Seattle will get the self-driving cars this week. Techcrunch.com notes that both the Jaguar I-Pace SUVs and the Zeekr vans will be showing up in the two cities. For now, the vehicles will be manually driven. Waymo hopes to start offering robotaxi trips in Denver next year and in the Seattle metro area quote: ‘as soon as we’re permitted to do so.’ Waymo has a fleet of over 2,000 vehicles on the streets now…800 in the San Francisco Bay Area, 500 in LA, 400 in Phoenix, 100 in Austin, and several dozen in Atlanta. Miami and Washington, D.C. are in the future plans. We just reported days ago that Waymo has a permit to test in New York City…although that one is for driver-operated cars only for now.
Anyone that uses an iPad knows that there are numerous apps that just show up on the iPad with a little box in the middle…displaying the iPhone version of the app. They are hard to use, and very frustrating. Now, after a mere 15 years, Meta has finally released an optimized Instagram app for the iPad. According to theverge.com, effective today, you can download the new app that is actually made for the iPad. There are a couple of notable differences…first, the app opens directly to a feed of Reels…the short form videos Meta desperately wants to compete with TikTok. Other features will be there, though…at the top of the home page, you can switch to a ‘following’ tab where you can swipe between feeds that look like that on the phone. The DMs page will have your inbox alongside chats, much like Messenger looks like on your desktop version.
I would bet a few of you who are watching or reading this have had to do inventory in some sort of retail establishment. It is a task that truly sucks. I had to do it as a kid and teen, then later as an adult at my family’s car dealership. Nothing more fun than handling and counting greasy car parts! You just wore old clothes, then pitched them afterwards. No washing was helpful! Now, Starbucks is getting help from a startup called NomadGo to streamline how employees take inventory in the stores. Geekwire.com reports that Starbucks is setting employees up with mobile devices and NomadGo’s software that uses computer vision technology, spatial computing, and augmented reality to automate inventory counting. The system is already deployed in more than 11,000 Starbucks locations across North America and will be live in all company-operated stores by the end of September. The company’s tech runs on-device and counts each item within rows. It displays results on the device and syncs data with existing inventory management platforms. How I wish I had had that tech when counting a box of automotive widgets years ago!
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Apple Event Announced; Google Gemini AI Image Model Upgrade; AT&T Picks Up Spectrum from EchoStar; Farmers’ Insurance Data Breach
Posted: August 26, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Apple, Artificial Intelligence, chatgpt, technology Leave a commentApple has put out the invite to their next event, with the tease ‘Awe Dropping.’ The rollout of the new iPhones will be Tuesday, September 9th at 10 AM Pacific at the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple Park in Cupertino. Macrumors.com reports that we will see the expected thin profile iPhone 17 Air, in addition to the iPhone 17, the 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max. Also expected…the Apple Watch Series 11, and a further refreshed Watch Ultra 3, and the Watch SE. Don’t be surprised if there is an updated AirPods Pro 3 as well, and maybe a new HomePod mini. We’ll have a full recap here, of course.
Google is upgrading its Gemini chatbot with a new AI image model that is supposed to allow finer control for users over editing pics…a move intended to catch up with the popular ChatGPT image tools from OpenAI. The more precise edits to images require the usual natural language requests from the users, and are aimed at preserving the consistency of faces, animals, and the like. Google is hoping to close the gap with ChatGPT, which gets over 700 million weekly users. Right now, google Gemini has 450 million MONTHLY users.
AT&T is picking up $23 billion worth of spectrum licenses from EchoStar, the parent of Dish Network, Sling TV, and Boost Mobile. EchoStar had been under the gun from the FCC for not building out anything on the spectrum. The FCC has a ‘use it or lose it’ policy on spectrum licenses. The licenses cover over 400 markets in the US, and AT&T says it plans to start work as soon as possible. The licenses are for low-band and mid-band spectrum, which are used for 5G and LTE networks.
Farmers Insurance says it was hit by a data breach that exposed information of over a million policy holders. Mashable.com reports that the third party attack came via a vishing scam that was related to a series of SalesForce associated attacks. According to Farmers, the compromised data includes names, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, and in some cases, the last four digits of Social Security numbers. Reports indicate that around 1,111,386 people were affected across 10 states: California, Washington D.C., Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, and Rhode Island.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
iPhone Fold Next Year-5 Cams; xAI (Musk) Sues Apple and OpenAI; YouTube Secretly Edited Videos With AI, Waymo Can Test Self-Drivers in NYC
Posted: August 25, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Apple, Artificial Intelligence, chatgpt, Google, grok, technology, Waymo, YouTube Leave a commentEven though the new iPhones are due out in just weeks, including the anticipated iPhone Air…or whatever they actually end up calling the new ‘skinny’ iPhone, tidbits are already leaking out about next year’s Folding iPhone. 9to5mac.com reports that the Cupertino folder will feature 5 cameras, and will have Touch ID…and will use and Apple cellular modem. A number of these new details come from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman and his Power On newsletter. As already reported, the iPhone folder will use the book style, not the flip phone style. Expect one cam on the front screen, one on the inside, and two on the back. The phone will use Touch ID, and will run on Apple’s in-house designed cellular modem…as Apple switches its entire line to the new modems. The camera setup will allow the phone to be used much like a regular iPhone when closed…with a selfie cam on one side and the two main cams on the back. When you open the phone up, the inside cam takes over as the selfie cam. Why no Face ID? In a word, space. Touch ID doesn’t require as much room, and since the folding phone will be notably thicker than a regular iPhone, every millimeter counts.
Elon Musk’s xAI is suing Apple and OpenAI, claiming that their deal to build ChatGPT into the iPhone is stifling competition in the AI industry. According to theverge.com, Musk-owened X Corp, the parent of xAI, accuses Apples App Store of “deprioritizing” rival chatbots and “super” apps, including Grok and X. Musk’s companies claim that iPhone users “have no reason” to download third-party AI apps because the company “force[s]” users to use ChatGPT as their default chatbot app when enabling Apple Intelligence. “Apple and OpenAI have locked up markets to maintain their monopolies and prevent innovators like X and xAI from competing,” the companies allege. “This latest filing is consistent with Mr Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment,” OpenAI spokesperson Kayla Wood said in a statement. As for Apple, it had already put out a statement saying that the App Store is “designed to be fair and free of bias.”
YouTube has, in recent months, secretly used AI to tweak some creators’ videos without letting them know or asking permission. Bbc.com notes that one content creator noticed that his hair was different and that he seemed to be wearing makeup. In another case, wrinkles in a shirt were more sharply defined. Some ears appeared to be warped. YouTube has finally at least come clean on admitting the AI changes. Rene Ritchie, YouTube’s head of editorial and creator liaison, posted on “X: We’re running an experiment on select YouTube Shorts that uses traditional machine learning technology to unblur, denoise, and improve clarity in videos during processing (similar to what a modern smartphone does when you record a video). YouTube is always working on ways to provide the best video quality and experience possible, and will continue to take creator and viewer feedback into consideration as we iterate and improve on these features.” YouTube hasn’t answered media questions as to if it will now seek user permission before using AI to tweak their videos. I, for one, would really rather they didn’t use AI to give me Vulcan pointy ears like Mr Spock!
Waymo can now go forward and test its self-driving cars in New York City. The word came from the office of Mayor Eric Adams. Engadget.com said the company has a permit to operate the autonomous vehicles in parts of Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn. Right now, a small fleet of 8 vehicles will be able to operate until late September 2025. At that point, Waymo will be offered the opportunity to get an extension if all goes well. Right now, human operators will be on board…New York state law prohibits operation of vehicles without a driver behind the wheel. Waymo is lobbying to get this regulation changed.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
UK Backs Down on Apple Back Door; T-Mobile Says Selling Location Data Without Consent Legal; SoftBank Puts $2 Billion into Intel, Gates Backed AI Competition to Speed Alzheimer’s Research
Posted: August 19, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Apple, Health, Intel, marketing, News, SoftBank, T-Mobile, technology Leave a commentOfficials 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 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, AirPods, Apple, Artificial Intelligence, chatgpt, Electric vehicles, Ford, grok-4, openai, Reddit, technology Leave a commentSome 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 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, AMD, AOL, Apple, Artificial Intelligence, China, class-action, economy, Nvidia, technology Leave a commentIn 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 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Apple, art, books, Disney, food, grok, Hulu, Nvidia, taylor-swift, technology Leave a commentMark 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.
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