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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Amazon-Tariff Cost Display ‘Not Happening’; iPhone Fold on Track for 2026; Android Gets Separate Showcase Week; ChatGPT Adds Shopping Features to Search

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

The White House went ballistic this morning with a report that Amazon was going to start posting the added costs of the Trump tariffs on items…calling it a ‘hostile and political act.’ Now, geekwire.com reports that Amazon has stated that this is not going to happen. An Amazon spokesman, Tim Doyle, said “The team that runs our ultra low cost Amazon Haul store considered the idea of listing import charges on certain products. This was never approved and is not going to happen.” On the other hand, China owned Temu is now adding ‘import charges’ of about 145%…that according to CNBC. One place you will see tariffs impact Amazon pricing…that’s from the third-party sellers, which make us some 60% of the company’s store sales. 

Apple appears to be on track to release its first folding iPhone in the second half of 2026. According to 9to5mac.com, it will come with a premium price of between $2100 and $2300…a couple hundred less than has been suggested previously….but still a ton of money. Folding phones had been growing by some 40% per year until 2024, when they are just up about 5%, and now they are expected to see a sales decline in 2025, so Apple entering the market will be a real boost. As we have reported, Ming-Chi Kuo predicts the apple folder will have an inner 7.8 inch display, with a 5.5 inch display outside, and no dreaded crease on the inner screen. It will be a book style like the Samsung Fold series. Some predictions are for less cameras, due to the thinness of the device, and also no Face ID..they will have Touch ID on a button. The iPhone Fold is predicted to be skinny at 4.5 mm unfolded and 9 mm folded. 

Google has enough going on with Android that they are going to give the mobile system its own showcase a week prior to Google I/O. Engadget.com notes that this is the first time they have done so. Google says  it has “so many new things to share” regarding Android, hence this edition of The Android Show. The presentation will feature Android Ecosystem president Sameer Samat. Android will still be featured at I/O, where Google is promising to reveal “even more special announcements and surprises.” Multiple Android keynotes are scheduled for the event. The Android Show: I/O Edition will air on May 13 at 1PM ET. Google I/O takes place a week later, starting on May 20.

ChatGPT is adding shopping features to let users look for products and then purchase them from a merchant websites after a redirect from ChatGPT. According to arstechnica.com, the feature resembles Google Shopping. When you click on a product image, ChatGPT will serve you multiple retailers like Amazon and Walmart on the right side of the screen, complete with buttons to finish the purchases. Unlike Google’s algorithm-based approach to product recommendations, ChatGPT reportedly attempts to understand product reviews and user preferences in a more conversational manner. If someone mentions they prefer black clothing from specific retailers in a chat, the system incorporates those preferences in future shopping recommendations. One key distinction between ChatGPT shopping and Google Shopping involves how products appear in results. While Google often includes sponsored product placements, OpenAI’s product results merely come from search—for now. Chat”GPT search product lead Adam Fry says “They are not ads…they are not sponsored.” 

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

Meta AI Chatbots-Sex Convos with Minors; Temu and Shein Goose Prices Over Tariffs; Tesla Robot Production Stopped-Short of Chinese Rare Earth; California Revising Self-Driving Regulations 

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

Meta AI chatbots have been caught with their pants down, metaphorically speaking. Engadget.com reports that they have been caught having sexual role-play conversations with accounts labeled underage…some of them are celebrity voice chatbots, too! In test conversations conducted by WSJ, both the Meta AI official chatbot and user-created chatbots would engage in — and even steer towards — sexually explicit conversations. The fantasy sex conversations continued even if the users were said to be underage or if the chatbots were programmed as minors, according to WSJ. Some of the voices were from the likes of Kristen Bell and Dame Judi Dench. Meta says it has now taken “…additional measures to help ensure other individuals who want to spend hours manipulating our products into extreme use cases will have an even more difficult time of it.”

A couple of bargain basement sites used by a lot of folks are getting some hefty price hikes due to the Trump tariffs. Temu and She-in are seeing some items get bumped up in price by up to 377%! According to cnet.com, She-in’s beauty and health products are up an average of 51%, with kitchen goods up around 30% on average. There are, however, some big jumps…a kitchen towel that was $1.28 is not $6.10..up 377%, and a meat shredder has gone from $2.91 to $9.02…up 219%. This may be moot to an extent…the Port of Los Angeles is seeing 33% less shipping containers from China, and Seattle says none are in the pipeline for that port right now. 

Of late, Elon Musk has really been putting a lot of emphasis on his Optimus robots…which he claims will revolutionize factory production and give us in-house robot servants like Rosie from The Jetsons. Well, technewsday.com says it may be a while longer than anticipated now. There is a shortage of a rare earth from China needed for the magnets used in the robots compact actuators. China produces the entire world’s supply of heavy rare earth metals, from ore mined in China and Myanmar, and 90% of magnets made with these metals. Analysts warn that the tightened controls on these essential materials—used in everything from electronics to defense systems—will be difficult to bypass or replace quickly. Musk had wanted to build thousands of the robots by the end of this year, but now it looks like that will be delayed…the Trump tariffs strike again.

California is re-tooling its rules for testing and deployment of self-driving vehicles. CNBC reports that the California DMV has announced that it is now seeking public comment on proposed regulations that would apply to self-driving vehicles from light-duty robotaxis like Waymo’s to heavy-duty driverless trucks like those from Plus.AI. The state is taking comments from now to Jun 9th, then will schedule a public hearing before rolling out new regulations. Personally, I am hoping they don’t allow any vehicles without steering wheels and a brake pedal in event of emergencies. Neither people nor computers are infallible!

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

EU Slaps Apple & Google with Big Fines; Google Messages Can Now Blur Unwanted Nudes; Tesla Profits Down 71%; OpenAI Wants to Buy Chrome

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

The European Union strikes again under its Digital Markets Act, fining Apple $571 million and Meta $228 million for breaches of the act. CNBC reports that the EU says Apple failed to comply with so-called “anti-steering” obligations under the DMA. Under the EU’s tech law, Apple is required to allow developers to freely inform customers of alternative offers outside its App Store. The tech giant was ordered by the EU to remove technical and commercial restrictions on steering and to refrain from perpetuating its non-compliant conduct in the future. As for Meta, the EU Commission found that the social media group illegally required users to consent to sharing their data with the company or pay for an ad-free service. This was in response to Meta’s introduction of a paid subscription tier for Facebook and Instagram in November 2023. Both companies will appeal. 

Google Messages is getting a useful new feature…the ability to blur unwanted nudes. Now, if some clown sends you an unsolicited picture of his equipment, Google will blur it out and give you a Sensitive Content Warning on Android. According to arstechnica.com, the option isn’t live on all Androids yet. If you are an adult, you will just get the warning, and then can peek if you like. If it is a supervised teen’s phone, the feature is enabled, and can’t be disabled on the child’s device. Only the Family Link administrator can do that. The detection of the nakedness is done on device. Google says the feature is a part of its Android System Safety Core. Apple just calls their version of this feature Sensitive Content Warning. Google’s should be available soon on all devices running Android v. 9 or higher. 

Tesla’s earnings call was yesterday, and the headline is everywhere that their profits dropped 71% on weak sales…due in no small part to people angry at Elon Musk’s meddling in the government. TechCrunch.com says the electric car maker reported $409 million in net income on $19.3 billion in revenue. They sold nearly 337,000 cars first quarter. First quarter of last year, Tesla did $1.4 billion in profit. The thing is, even the $400 million wasn’t due to car sales! Tesla made about that much on interest from investments, and made another $595 million by selling zero-emissions tax credits to other car makers. According to its earnings report — without those, it would have posted a loss. Elon Musk is now promising to put out the formerly cancelled cheaper Tesla yet this year, and has put off the robo-taxi vehicle to next year. He also promised to only spend one or two days a week at DOGE for what he said was as long as the president wants him.

With the Department of Justice vs Google trial continuing, and the government set on breaking up Google if they prevail, now a new twist has emerged. OpenAI is throwing its hat into the ring to buy Chrome, should Google be forced to sell it. Arstechnica.com notes that while OpenAI is in bed with Microsoft and their lousy Bing, they are eyeing Chrome. Of course there are other suiters too, but OpenAI would look to make it a fully AI first browser. Chrome with its 4 billion users and 67% market share would be a gigantic boost. Google has said that Chrome can’t make it on its own, but that is still another alternative….making it a free-standing company. With Google Ad placement and others, it likely could survive…but it is a fascinating thought that OpenAI could end up with it…with ChatGPT search instead of Google’s Gemini AI.

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

Automatic Leveling Coming to YouTube Music; 3 Big Siri Upgrades in iOS 19; OpenAI o3 Model-Fudging on Benchmark; Nintendo Switch 2 Preorders Start Thursday 

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

Here’s a feature I can really get behind, and plead for all others to follow suit…consistent volume on songs! YouTube is apparently going to bring automatic audio leveling to YouTube Music. This has been something radio has had for decades. Who wants to keep turning the volume up and down all the time…whether at home or in the car? Arstechnica.com reports that the automatic gain control…or ‘normalizing,’ in more recent computer audio lingo, won’t just make the songs all the same volume throughout…so you can still have the normal soft passages you would expect…but at least the average level between the songs will be consistent. I hope that the folks over at Apple will follow suit! It is ridiculous in 2025 to have to manually go for the volume control so you don’t get your eardrums fried when a new song comes on!

Apple has been known for years to wait in the wings, then come out with hardware that leaps past competitors. That certainly isn’t the case with Siri, which is a poor excuse for an also-ran of an assistant. According to 9to5mac.com, after delaying promised upgrades that should be out now, Apple will roll out improvements in Siri this fall…in iOS 19. What can we look for? For starters, personalization. You might ask ‘When is Mom’s flight landing?’ It will supposedly scan your texts, calendar, contacts, and email and pull the info, then hit the web and check flight tracker to give you the touchdown time. Another feature will be actual hands-free computing. Up to now, you could set timers, turn things on and off, and so forth…but that’s about it. The upgrade will let you do things across apps. You could tell Siri to add a photo to one of your notes, for example, and it will find and pull the pic, and drop it into the note described, without opening either app. Thirdly, it should get onscreen awareness…you might get a text from a friend with a new address. You can just ask Siri to add it to that person’s contact card. My big complaint about this and all the ‘assistants,’ whether Siri, Google, or Alexa…is that hands-free computing will be annoying in public or on public transit. We already have those nuts who hold their phone in front of them on speaker mode and talk loudly into them. Use your earbuds! Actually, I rather prefer the quiet and privacy typing brings!

We just reported on how Meta had exaggerated their latest AI model…and now along comes OpenAI with their newest o3 model and surprise…there’s a discrepancy between first and third party benchmarks! More fudging, it seems. To me, this seems silly as hell since no regular people outside the world of AI makers and those who test them has any idea about these benchmarks, but here we are. Techcrunch.com says in December, OpenAI claimed the model could answer just over a fourth of questions on FrontierMath, a challenging set of math problems. That score blew the competition away — the next-best model managed to answer only around 2% of FrontierMath problems correctly. As it turns out, Epoch AI, the research institute behind FrontierMath, released results of its independent benchmark tests of o3 on Friday. Epoch found that o3 scored around 10%, well below OpenAI’s highest claimed score. That’s a bit more than a rounding error! In OpenAI’s defense the 25% was the ‘upper-bound’ score, and the ‘lower-bound’ score for version o3 was around 10%. This reminds me of the ‘stereo wars’ of the 70’s, when some makers claimed a big number of watts for their rigs…and then it turns out that that was driving only one channel at a time…they were way less powerful when running music through both channels…you know, like the way people actually listen to the things! Do better, AI makers…you don’t need to BS us on how magical your large language model is.

After a delay in both the US and Canada, Nintendo will open preorders for the new Switch 2 on Thursday. The base price is $450, according to engadget.com. This price is unchanged even in the face to the Trump tariffs. If you actually want a game though, it will be $500 for Mario Kart World in a ‘bundle.’ I love how it’s now a bundle…at least on the original Nintendo you got one cartridge game so you could play the damned thing. Nintendo did warn that it may adjust the price of Switch 2 accessories due to ‘market conditions.’ It should still be available June 5th. This was a topic of discussion at a family lunch over the weekend. You might just want to wait until another game or two drops for the Switch 2.

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

Amazon Rolls Out Nova Act AI Agent; Apple-MacBook Pro Refresh This Fall, “Overhaul” Next Year; Google Bows Gemini 2.5 Pro to All Gemini App Users; DOGE to Quickly Rebuild Social Security Databases-Eeek

Posted: March 31, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Amazon has rolled out Nova Act, a general purpose AI agent that can  take control of a web browser and independently perform some simple actions. Techcrunch.com reports that Nova Act will also power major features of the upcoming Alexa Plus upgrade. The version out now isn’t a bit less ready for prime time…Amazon calls it a ‘research preview.’ What it can do, according to Amazon, is automate basic actions on behalf of users, such as ordering salads or making dinner reservations. With the Nova Act toolkit, developers can pull together tools that allow an AI agent to navigate web pages, fill out forms, or pick dates on a calendar.

This Fall’s MacBook Pros will just get a refresh it looks like. Apple will upgrade the laptops to their new M5 chip. According to 9to5mac.com, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman claims in his PowerOn newsletter that there will be a larger overhaul of the MacBook Pro in 2026. That update will bring the M6 chip, an OLED display, and a thinner design. Having dealt with the ’thinner design’ concept in an earlier MacBook Pro myself…and hassled with the infamous ‘butterfly’ keyboard, I am a bit less excited about the 2026 model than I might have been. I still have the old rig as a backup…and it is always a challenge to use it and see if I will get no letter when I hit a key or 11 repeats of that letter. Great for entering passwords!

Google announced over the weekend that it is rolling out the latest Gemini 2.5 model…which is experimental…to all free Gemini app users. 9to5google.com notes that this is the one that  integrates thinking capabilities rather than offering it as a separate variant. It is currently in the “experimental” phase, but has support for a number of features. Previously, Google had just made it available for Gemini Advanced subscribers, with Google One AI Premium at $19.95 a month…but the decision was made to push it out to all Gemini users. 

The Department of Government Efficiency…so-called, is getting a team to work on trying to migrate Social Security’s computer systems completely off COBOL in the next few months. If that doesn’t scare you after they didn’t understand the dating system and thought there were 200 year old recipients getting checks, I don’t know what will! Wired.com reports that normally a migration of this size and scale…some 65 million peoples’ accounts involved….should take much longer. One technologist told Wired “one of the big risks is not underpayment or overpayment per se but [it’s also] not paying someone at all and not knowing about it. The invisible errors and omissions.” In 2017, Social Security got funding to try to move off COBOL, calculating it would take 5 years…but when COVID-19 happened, they took the foot off the gas on that to focus on helping people by phone and web, since offices were closed for a bit. 

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

Apple Announces WWDC 2025; Google Bows Next-Gen AI Reasoning Model; Europe Goes for Alternatives to US Cloud Services; Napster…Napster! Sells for $207 Million

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

Apple has announced WWDC 2025. The dates are June 9 through the 13th at Apple Park in Cupertino. 9to5mac.com notes that the event will be ‘entirely online’ and that it’s free for developers. There will, however, be an in-person special event at Apple Park on June 9. Space for that in-person event is limited, and details on how to apply to attend can be found on the WWDC25 website. As usual, we should see previews of all the next wave of operating system updates: iOS19, MacOS 16, and all the rest. We have already reported that the word is that iOS 19 will be “one of the most dramatic software overhauls” in Apple’s history. The update will reportedly refresh the design of icons, menus, apps, windows, and more. It will also simplify how users navigate and control their devices. 

Google has rolled out Gemini 2.5 and a new family of AI reasoning models that they say pause to ‘think’ before answering a question. The question is, will they answer questions correctly? We’re going to find out. According to techcrunch.com, the new family of reasoning models include Gemini 2.5 Pro, Experimental, a multimodal, reasoning AI model that the company claims is its most intelligent model yet. This model will be available on Tuesday in the company’s developer platform, Google AI Studio, as well as in the Gemini app for subscribers to the company’s $20-a-month AI plan, Gemini Advanced. In the future, Google says all its new AI models will have reasoning capabilities baked in. 

With all the disruption coming from the present Trump administration, European companies and governments are looking for alternatives to the big US cloud Services…like Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services. Days ago, the Dutch House of Representatives just passed eight motions requiring their government to reduce reliance on US tech companies and move to European alternatives. A few days prior to that, over 100 organizations signed an open letter to European officials calling for the continent to become “more technologically independent” and saying the status quo creates “security and reliability risks.” Another example of this administration costing US companies money because our allies no longer trust us. What will the next 3 years bring? Hard to tell, but buckle up!

Napster…do you even know a single soul who uses Napster…just sold for $207 million. Engadget.com reports that a company called infinite Reality is the buyer. They say it will be used for marketing in the ‘metaverse.’ The company intends to create virtual 3D spaces for music fans to attend concerts and listening parties…and also to build a sales platform for musicians and labels to sell merch. Will it work…maybe, but $207 million for a circa 1999 platform? All I can say is ‘wow.’

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

23andMe Bankruptcy; Apple Watch May Get Cams and AI; Google Gemini Live-Is Live; CA Bill Update-Cheap Broadband for Poor Details

Posted: March 24, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

23andMe, the DNA testing firm, has filed for bankruptcy. The company intends to look for a buyer and continue to operate as a debtor in possession through the process. The CEO has resigned to bid for the company independently…engadget.com reports that the Board had previously rejected a bid from her. Rob Bonta, the Attorney General of California, has recommended that users contact the company immediately and demand that their data be deleted, to try to safeguard their private information and avoid misuse. 23andMe had been hacked in 2023, and the hackers got away with info on some 6.9 million customers. They were hit with a class action over it a year later. 

Although some Apple Intelligence features have been delayed until late this year, with analysts dinging Apple over that…now, it looks like Cupertino is doing anything besides sitting still. According to theverge.com, they are working on adding cameras to the Apple Watch in order to enable AI features like Visual Intelligence in the next two years. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said in his Power On newsletter that the cams will live ‘inside the display’ on the standard Watch, but the Ultra will have them on the side, next to the digital crown and button. What the cameras will bring is that the Watch will be able to “see the outside world and use AI to deliver relevant information.” We had reported previously that Apple was working on adding cams to the AirPods, so it looks like they are going all-in on Apple Intelligence. The cam-equipped Watches and AirPods could roll out in 2027. Visual Intelligence will bow on the iPhone 16’s.

Google has added features to Gemini which are pretty cool. Androidpolice.com notes that Gemini has added new live video AI features. A person with a Google One subscription can now not only engage in live discussion about a screenshot from your device, but (at least on an Xiaomi phone right now) can share their screen in real time with the AI. You can ask the AI anything about what’s on the screen. Up to now, this only was expected to work with static screen shots. No announcements have been made, so it sounds like maybe there is a rolling worldwide staggered release. 

We reported earlier that California had introduced a bill that would make ISPs provide cheap broadband to low income folks like New York has. Now, arstechnica.com reports that it has been amended with details. The Internet service providers would have to furnish 100Mbps download speeds and 20Mbps upload speeds for $15 a month. The Supreme Court has twice refused to step in and stop this, so expect California to move forward on this. and for other states to follow suit. In New York, AT&T stopped offering home 5G internet due to the law there, but they won’t be able to do that so easily in California. That’s because they offer DSL and other fiber internet in the Golden State, and still are classified as a carrier of last resort for landline service.

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

Win 11 Updates Inadvertently Delete Copilot; Apple Wanted iPhone 17 Air to be Portless; Google-New AI Can Remove Watermarks; Ultralight EVs Revealed by Startup Longbow

Posted: March 18, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

As software gets more and more complex, and companies are turning attention to their AI models, some things can slip through the cracks. That is apparently true with this month’s Windows 11 update. Arstechnica.com reports that the update removes the Copilot app from some Windows 11 PCs…unpinning it from the task bar. Microsoft says it is “working on a resolution to address the issue” but that users who want to get Copilot back can reinstall the app from the Microsoft Store and re-pin it to the taskbar, the same process you use to install Copilot on PCs where it has been removed. 

More keeps slipping out about the upcoming slimmer iPhone model…dubbed the iPhone Air by most. Here’s an interesting item that engadget.com picked up from Mark Gurman. Apple apparently really wanted to dump the USB-C port and make the thin iPhone Apples first totally portless phone. Apparently, they ran into tough sledding with this when EU regulators protested. Apple hasn’t totally given up…they may try to roll out a portliness iPhone later on if the iPhone 17 Air is successful. The Air is reportedly 2 mm thinner than other iPhones. Mark Gurman says it should be priced at about $900…putting it between the entry level iPhone 17 and the pricier Pro models. 

There has been plenty written already…to say nothing of plenty of angst about AI duplicating voices. Now, gizmodo.com notes that Google’s new AI model can remove watermarks from images. The version is Gemini Flash 2.0. It is only in the experimental phase so far, but users have found it easily removes the watermarks from copyrighted images. There are already a number of other AI powered apps that can remove objects and fill gaps in images…even including Apple Intelligence with their ‘Clean Up’ feature. Companies have worked to keep from removing watermarks…nicknamed ‘nerfed,’ which is to say they have significant restrictions in place to avoid legal trouble. OpenAI’s Dall-E image model won’t generate images of copyrighted characters, for example…because a certain House of Mouse is very protective of its characters and they have a robust legal department. Google will no doubt try to rectify the issue before releasing Gemini Flash 2.0 generally, but the horse may be out of the barn on this…much like with voices. 

EV’s may be a big part of the wave of the future in vehicles, but they are for the most part pretty hefty. Now, a startup in Britain has come out of stealth, and introduced plans for two lightweight EV’s. The company is called Longbow, and it is founded by ex-Tesla, Lucid, and Polestar execs…so no strangers to getting an EV line off the ground. Thenextweb.com reports that the cars are being touted as ‘spiritual successors’ to the iconic Lotus and Jaguar E-Type. The first one out of the blocks is called the Speedster, a sports car that will weigh only 1984 lbs and do zero to 62 in 3.5 seconds! It will have a range of 275 miles and starts at $110,404. First customer deliveries are set for 2026. Longbow also plans a Roadster. That vehicle will run $84,425 and will weigh in at 2193 lbs and will do zero to 62 in 3.6 seconds. Note that the average EV today weighs in at some 4400 lbs, so these are just about half that! Longbow plans to use off the shelf parts, even down to the electric motor, so no exotic hand made parts that will cost a fortune to replace. It is good to recall that the original Tesla was a cool little roadster…and these days, almost no one is making anything like that. 

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

Irish Startup Unveils World’s First Silicon-Based Quantum Computer; Apple to Add Live Translation to AirPods; AI Search Engines-Alarming Rate of Wrong Answers; Bluesky Proposes Letting Users Allow AI Training or Not on Posts

Posted: March 17, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

We’ve had a couple of big quantum computing stories lately, including the one about Microsoft’s ground-breaking new quantum chip. Now, and Irish startup called Equal1 has showed off the world’s first quantum computer that runs on a hybrid quantum-classical silicon chip. Thenextweb.com reports that the chip is called the Bell-1, after quantum physicist John Stewart Bell. The computer weighs a hefty 441 pounds, but it does plug into a regular electrical outlet. It is designed to simply slot into high-performance data centers right beside standard servers! The machine marries classical transistors for normal computing tasks with quantum transistors for qubits…all on a single silicon-based chip. The computer is much smaller than most quantum computers, due in large part to its closed-cycle cryocooler that keeps the machine at -272 Celsius without massive external refrigeration. It only does 6 qubits…unlike Google’s Willow Chip that can do 105…but it is available to buy right now…on St. Patrick’s Day…no word on how much ‘green’ you will need to bring one home!

In yet another bid to get you to never take your AirPods out except to recharge, Apple is apparently going to add live translation to them in a software update later this year. According to engadget.com, a Bloomberg story says the feature would work similarly to the translation feature on Pixel Buds, but with the Apple translation, you wouldn’t have to ask Siri first as you do with Google Assistant. The AirPods will automatically detect something besides your native language and start converting it to the language you speak and understand. This would be the 2nd big feature drop since last year when Apple added Hearing Health features to AirPods Pro. It is still being rumored that they will add heart rate tracking too…which the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 buds already have. 

A study by the Columbia Journalism Review’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism has found that AI search engines give incorrect answers a shocking 60% of the time! Arstechnica.com notes that ChatGPT Search incorrectly identified 67% of articles queried. Perplexity was much better giving wrong answers 37% of the time. Grok 3, Elon Musk’s generative AI was wrong an astonishing 94% of the time. The researchers fed direct excepts from actual news articles to the AI models for the test, and ran 1600 queries with 8 different generative search tools. 

An interesting idea dropped by Bluesky CEO Jay Graber at South by Southwest. Techcrunch.com reports that he mentioned that Bluesky is looking at letting users have the option of having their posts and data scraped for generative AI training and public archiving…or they can opt not to do so. This did get a bit of an uproar from users who think one of the best features of Bluesky is not sharing of info, but as Graber pointed out…everything on the website is public…just like a website is public.  Under the proposal, users of the Bluesky app, or other apps that use the underlying AT Protocol, could go into their settings and allow or disallow the usage of their Bluesky data across four categories: generative AI, protocol bridging (i.e., connecting different social ecosystems), bulk datasets, and web archiving (such as the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine).

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

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