Amazon Drops $2.75 Billion on AI Startup; LinkedIn Trialing TikTok Type Short Videos; Starlink Mobile Hits Speed Bump; US Sega Workers Ratify Union Contract
Posted: March 28, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Elon Musk, space, SpaceX, starlink, technology Leave a commentAmazon has dropped the biggest chunk of cash on an outside investment ever as it pumps $2.75 billion into AI startup Anthropic. The San Francisco-based startup is widely viewed as a frontrunner in generative artificial intelligence. Its foundation model and chatbot Claude competes with OpenAI and ChatGPT. Amazon will maintain a minority stake in the company and won’t have an Anthropic board seat, the company said. So I have to ask this…will we all stop saying Alexa, and start saying Claude? If so, will Alexa sue for half the community property? Stay tuned as the AI and chatbot wars continue to heat up.
LinkedIn is testing out a new TikTok-esque short form video feed. According to TechCrunch.com, the platform will be diving into an increasingly congested pool of short form video feeds including Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and Netflix. The feed shows up on the navigation bar with a tab just marked ‘Video.’ Once you hit that button, you enter a vertical feed of short videos you can swipe through. You can like or comment on videos. Microsoft-owned LinkedIn says videos are becoming one of its users’ desired formats for learning from professionals and experts, which is why it’s testing a new way for users to discover relevant videos. The feature is in early testing, so most people won’t have access to it just yet.
It’s back to the drawing board for Starlink Mobile. Arstechnica.com says the FCC dismissed SpaceX’s application to use several bands of spectrum for mobile service. SpaceX is seeking approval to use up to 7,500 second-generation Starlink satellites with spectrum in the 1.6 GHz, 2 GHz, and 2.4 GHz bands. SpaceX could still end up getting what it wants but will have to go through new rulemaking processes in which the FCC will evaluate whether the spectrum bands can handle the system without affecting existing users.
Tech and gaming have been pretty union-averse for years, but things are gradually changing. Engadget.com reports that Sega of America workers have officially ratified the union contract they overwhelmingly voted for last year. The pact covers some 150 people in various departments around the country, ranging from brand marketing, games as a service, sales, and quality assurance. This is one of the first major US video game companies to be unionized. ZeniMax and Activision are already partly unionized.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
OpenAI Responds to Musk Suit; Microsoft to Unveil New OLED Surface Pro & Laptop; Politicians Latest Plan to Make ByteDance Sell TikTok; Phase Genomics Scores Grant from Gates To Control Cow Burp Methane
Posted: March 6, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence, Elon Musk, openai, technology Leave a commentOpenAI is asking for dismissal of all claims made by Elon Musk’s recent lawsuit. Musk was involved in the founding of OpenAI, but really left before much happened. TechCrunch.com reports that a blog post penned by Sam Altman and 4 other founders noted that Musk had promised a billion in funding, but only came up with $45 million. They raised $90 million from other donors to support OpenAI’s research efforts. Musk’s suit claims that the ChatGPT maker had breached its original contractual agreements by pursuing profits instead of the nonprofit’s founding mission to develop AI that benefits humanity. OpenAI was founded to build a counterweight to Google, according to Musk’s suit. OpenAI said Wednesday it maintains that its mission is to ensure AGI benefits all of humanity, which includes developing safe and beneficial AGI while promoting widespread access to its tools. It should be noted that Musk has engineers working full speed on an AI project that will rival OpenAI. It always comes down to money…no matter what a litigant may claim about benefiting humanity.
Microsoft is going to roll out OLED a new Surface Pro 10 and a Surface Laptop 6 this spring…both will drop before a big Windows 11 AI update that is also coming. According to windows central.com, they will feature upgraded displays, new processors, and be what Redmond is calling the company’s first AI PCs. The Intel powered boxes will ship this sporing, with ARM models becoming available in June. Both devices could be unveiled March 21st. They are reported to give users a huge performance increase over present Surface Pro and Surface Laptops. You will get on-device Copilot functionality, real time captions and translations, and a new feature called ‘AI Explorer.’
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has hatched a new bill that would make ByteDance sell TikTok in order for the app to remain available in the US. Engadget.com says it has the clunky name “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act”, and would prohibit US app stores and web hosting services from distributing TikTok unless it divested from parent company ByteDance. This is just the latest attempt to force a sale over concern that ByteDance is too much under the control of the Chinese government. Former President Donald Trump attempted to force a sale of TikTok in 2020, but was ultimately unsuccessful. The Biden Administration has also pressured the company to divest. And a US District Court Judge recently blocked an attempt to ban the app in Montana. It really is a concern about all the data flowing to China…virtually every kid I know spends more time on TikTok than any other social media platform by far.
A startup called Phase Genomics has gotten a grant for $1.5 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to research killing drug resistant bacteria…oh, and also to develop a way to battle methane produced by cow burps. Geekwire.com notes that one cow belches up 220 pounds of methane per year according to UC Davis…which makes cattle the top producer of greenhouse gasses coming from the agricultural sector. Methane is some 20 times worse for global warming than carbon dioxide. Phase Genomics will work on a project to create an antimicrobial discovery program to tackle this, as well as the drug resistant bacteria. The company is a spinoff from the University of Washington’s Genome Sciences department. Although it’s a cheap laugh (which I couldn’t resist), but cow farts and belches really are a serious problem…and except for vegans, no one wants to give up delicious steaks, but global warming is real, so we need a fix for this methane problem.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Google & AT&T Invest in Starlink Rival; US EA Aims to Stop Citizen Data Exploitation; iOS 17.3 Drops-With Stolen Device Protection; FTC Tells Intuit to Stop Pushing Free Software That Isn’t
Posted: January 23, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Cybersecurity, Elon Musk, security, starlink, technology Leave a commentGoogle, AT&T, and Vodafone are pumping $206 million into AST SpaceMobile, a Starlink competitor that intends to offer smartphone service from low-earth orbit satellites. AST said it has “over 40 agreements and understandings with mobile network operators globally, who collectively service over 2 billion subscribers.” While Starlink already has over 5,000 satellites delivering home Internet service and plans to launch tens of thousands more, it isn’t too far ahead of AST SpaceMobile in terms of cellular-enabled satellites. SpaceX launched the first six Starlink satellites that can provide cellular transmissions to standard LTE phones a few weeks ago and demonstrated the technology with text messages sent between T-Mobile phones.
The US is planning to issue a new executive order that will be aimed at prevent foreign adversaries from accessing troves of highly sensitive personal data about Americans and people connected to the U.S. government, according to Bloomberg News. The draft order focuses on ways that foreign adversaries are gaining access to Americans’ “highly sensitive” personal data through legal means and through intermediaries like data brokers, third-party vendor agreements, employment agreements or investment agreements. The administration is concerned about the collection of data on political figures, journalists, academics, activists and members of marginalized communities, as well as patient data obtained through health-care providers and researchers. This order will NOT be voluntary like the commitments AI companies made this year.
Apple has released iOS 17.3, which is a minor upgrade except for one feature…Stolen Device Protection. Theverge.com notes that of late, a number of accounts have been taken over after a person meets another in a bar, and gets them to enter their passcode to the phone…allegedly to put in the new person’s number and info. The scammer has memorized the passcode, and has your name, etc…so they can take over your iCloud account and get into all your saved passwords…like banking info to drain accounts. Stolen Device Protection requires either Face ID or Touch ID for certain actions…like viewing saved passwords or applying for a new Apple Card. If you are away from your home or work, any time you try to change a password or the like, you will have to input the passcode AND use the biometric ID…and then wait an hour. To use the feature go to Settings, then select Face ID and Passcode. Scroll WAY down, and you can see Stolen Device Protection. Turn it on. It is off by default.
The FTC ordered Intuit to stop promoting its software products and services as “free” unless they’re actually free for all consumers. Bleepingcomputer.com reports that the order comes after the consumer protection watchdog’s investigation into how Intuit promoted its tax preparation software TurboTax as being a “free” product as part of a years-long deceptive advertising campaign. Around two-thirds of all tax filers in the U.S. could not use TurboTax for free as advertised by the accounting and tax software provider, instead being hit with charges when it was time to file. In other words, plug in all your info, and go through the whole stressful procedure and then…oh, yeah…you can’t actually file without paying these fees. By the way, if your taxes are pretty simple and you have an adjusted gross income of $79,000 or less, you can use products available through the IRS’ Free File Program to file federal and state tax returns for free.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Apple Vision Pro Launch-Feb 2nd; Tesla & Space X Execs Have Musk Worries; Waymo Self-Drivers Coming to Phoenix Freeways; VW Will Add ChatGPT to Cars
Posted: January 8, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Elon Musk, innovation, SpaceX, Tesla, Twitter Leave a commentAs previously rumored, Apple will launch its Vision Pro mixed reality headset soon…and now we have an actual date. The $3500 headset will start shipping February 2nd in the US. Theverge.com reports that pre-orders will start January 19th at 8 AM Eastern. Apple also revealed the pricing for the Zeiss prescription lenses that users can get with it. Readers will be available for an extra $99, while prescription lenses will cost $149. The base model of the Vision Pro offers 256GB of storage and is packaged with the following accessories: solo knit band and dual loop band, a light seal and 2 light cushions, a cover, polishing cloth (wow, that’s an exciting one), battery, and USB-C charging cable and power adaptor.
Over the weekend, a report came out that SpaceX and Tesla execs are concerned about Elon Musk’s drug use, and its possible affects on his security clearance and on SpaceX contracts. According to pcmag.com, in a report originally appearing in the Wall Street Journal, the Journal claims that Musk has used marijuana, mushrooms, ketamine, LSD, ecstasy, and cocaine. His marijuana use put his security clearance at risk in 2019 after he smoked it on camera during an appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast. SpaceX has federal spaceflight contracts, and the Drug-Free Workplace Act requires federal and non-federal workplaces with contracts of $100,000 or more to implement a Drug-Free Workplace Program, which includes drug testing requirements (even if the drug in question is legal in the state). NASA tests for marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opioids, and PCP, according to NASA documentation from March. The Journal details several incidents during which Musk appeared to be under the influence, though his use of drugs was not confirmed and no one in Tesla or SpaceX leadership officially called him out on it.
The Waymo One ride-hailing service will soon be able to use freeways. 9to5google.com says that in Phoenix, Waymo will “begin testing its fully autonomous passenger cars without a human driver on freeways” for a “significantly” faster experience. For example, a trip from Sky Harbor Airport to the northern parts of Scottsdale takes 25 minutes, instead of 50, when utilizing the AZ-101 compared to just surface streets. Waymo says it is “laser focused on our freeway ride hailing testing.” This is “especially important” for bringing Waymo One to other cities. In Los Angeles, for example, they are vital for getting from one part of town to another in a reasonable amount of time. The vehicles without human divers on freeways will initially be ridden in only by employees for further testing before it becomes available to the public.
Volkswagen has announced at the CES that they will be adding ChatGPT AI to every European model that has their IDA voice assistant. Techcrunch.com reports that the chatbot will be primarily used to read content out loud to drivers and passengers. It should start rolling out in the 2nd quarter in Europe…VW says the feature is being considered for US cars, but didn’t give a date when they might offer it. Mercedes-Benz already added the chatbot to its MBUX infotainment system last June.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Techified’ for now.
Amazon-Black Friday Month?; Tesla Summon Upgrade, Apple & iHeart Media Talks
Posted: November 1, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Apple, Beats 1, Black Friday, Clear Channel, Elon Musk, iHeartMedia, Self-parking, Summon, Tesla Leave a commentBlack Friday deals on Amazon are live now. This makes Black Friday, for all practical purposes on Amazon, Black November. Bgr.com reports that Amazon has fielded 4 different gift guides, and is touting Prime FREE same day delivery. Oh…and in case you really are celebrating Thanksgiving and cooking a turkey, you can reach the Butterball Turkey Talk Line using Alexa! Christmas trees? Yep, 6 and 7 foot Fraser Firs, Black Hills Spruces, and Balsam Firs. Trees over $25 ship free.
If the Summon self-parking feature isn’t enough for you, Tesla’s about to give it an upgrade. Elon Musk has Tweeted that a tweaked version will be out in 6 weeks, and it will allow vehicles to drive around parking lots, find empty spots, and read signs. According to engadget.com, (the) “Car will drive to your phone location & follow you like a pet if you hold down summon button on Tesla app.” As usual, the update will be pushed out over the air to Tesla Model 3, S, and X cars.
Talk about going for a lifeline…iHeartMedia is talking to Apple in hopes of bringing Beats 1 to US radio…and truckloads of Apple cash to the bankrupt media company. Venturebeat.com notes that the former Clear Channel still operates some 850 broadcast radio stations coast to coast. The media company is touting access to cars, kitchens, and exposure to a new audience for the Apple streaming service…and hints at exclusive music deals that might otherwise fall into Spotify’s lap. At this point, the talks are very preliminary, and are considered a long shot.
iPhones May Get USB-C Ports; Microsoft Revamps Office; Tesla Laying Off 9%; Big Names Back Better Battery Quest
Posted: June 13, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Bill Gates, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Elon Musk, Fluent Design, Form Energy, iPhone, Jack Ma, Jeff Bezos, Layoffs, Lightening, Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft, Office, Quidnet Energy, Richard Branson, Solar City, Tesla, USB-C, Windows 10 Leave a commentAfter going all-in on USB-C on the MacBook Pro line, it looks like Apple may be getting ready to retire the Lightening connectors on the upcoming iPhones in favor of the more universally used connection. 9to5mac.com reports that Apple may also include an 18 watt charger to take advantage of quick charging…which the current phones are already capable of, but only with 3rd party chargers. It’s worth noting that this rumor comes from Digitimes, which doesn’t have the stellar accurate leak record of the likes of KGI Securities. That said, Apple has run with the Lightening port since 2012, so a change is more likely than not.
Microsoft is porting over its Fluent Design system from Windows 10 to Office, in an effort to simplify them for the some billion users of the productivity suite. According to theverge.com, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook will all get a new, simplified ribbon that is smaller and easier to use. There are new animations, icons that are more accessible, and more. The goal is to modernize Office, and make it more intuitive. The changes will hit the main desktop versions first, but also will be brought over to the web versions. They should appear on the apps for Windows next month, and on Macs by August. Microsoft also promises and increase in speed for the productivity suite.
As first indicated last month, Tesla has begun laying off salaried employees as they move to what Elon Musk calls ‘flattening the management structure’, and a ‘thorough reorganization’ of the company aimed at helping Tesla achieve profitability by the end of this year. Electrek.co notes that as many as 3,500 employees could be let go. No line workers will be involved in the layoffs, as Tesla continues to ramp up Model 3 production, and they will still be hiring ‘mission critical’ people. After the Solar City acquisition, Tesla laid off about 20% of that workforce, cutting duplicate positions and restructuring. They are also not continuing the residential sales agreement with Home Depot…although those employees will have the opportunity to move to Tesla retail locations.
Billion dollar startup Breakthrough Energy Ventures has dived into a couple startups aimed at power storage. Form Energy is working on novel chemistries for low-cost, long-term, high-density batteries, and Quidnet Energy is working on storing energy in highly compressed water. Geekwire.com says Breakthrough is backed by some really big players in tech: Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jack Ma. The fund was started a couple years ago, but the two energy storage tech startups are two of the first investments revealed by Breakthrough. Cheap, efficient energy storage will allow power generated by renewable energy sources to be stored for use 24/7 on the energy grid.
Microsoft Works on New Xbox Consoles, Tesla Greenlights Full Self-Driving Features in August; Ads Bolt Facebook for Cheaper Traditional Media; Uber-Drunk Detecting Patent
Posted: June 11, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Autopilot 9, Direct marketers, Drunks, E3, Elon Musk, Facebook, Full self driving mode, Microsoft, patent, Print, Radio, TV, Uber, Xbox Leave a commentThe gaming console is far from dead, according to Microsoft. Geekwire.com reports that in the keynote at E3, Microsoft gaming chief Phil Spencer said there will be new generations of the Xbox console. Spencer says the team is ‘deep into architecting’ the next generation Xboxes. On Sunday, Microsoft also announced that they had picked up 4 gaming studios, and have created their own called The Initiative….and they plan more first-party titles. They will continue to work on AI and cloud resources as applied to gaming, too.
Elon Musk Tweeted over the weekend that Tesla is on track to begin enabling full self-driving features starting in August. That’s when Autopilot 9 will arrive for owners, according to engadget.com. Keep in mind that this won’t mean they will activate so much that you’ll be able to climb into the back seat and take a nap…the full features may only operate at low speed….like allowing you to let go of the wheel only in a parking lot…for now.
In a twist a lot of people didn’t see coming, direct marketers are cutting back on Facebook ads for….traditional media like Radio, TV, and even print! Digiday.com reports that they surveyed 10 good sized direct to consumer companies, and every one had cut back on Facebook and Instagram ads in favor of traditional media. Clutter of feeds was mentioned, but the primary motivator: Facebook ads have gotten too high for the audience segments they target. Apparently since January, CPMs on Facebook’s platform have rocketed up 122% over last year, while impression rate had dropped. This was confirmed by AdStage. Pricing on the other hand has eased on traditional media like Radio, TV, and print.
Uber has applied for a patent that detects drunk passengers. Techcrunch.com says it measures behavior via their phone against usual behavior…including data on location, data input accuracy and speed, speed of walking. The system would alert drivers, and indicates that riders in a particularly ‘unusual’ state might be matched with drivers with special expertise or not be allowed rides at all. WHAT? Won’t that put a serious dent in their business? Isn’t being tipsy at night one of the main reasons people even CALL an Uber? Stay tuned and we’ll see if they actually start using this system.
Moto Z3 Play; Intel Tech Points to 28 Hour Laptop Batteries; Udacity & Google Partner for Free Career Courses; Dave & Buster’s Gets Multiplayer VR Arcades; Tesla Near Model 3 Goal
Posted: June 6, 2018 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Dave and Buster's, Elon Musk, Free courses, Google, HTC Vive, Intel, Laptop battery life, Model 3, Moto Z3 Play, Motorola, Multiplayer VR, Tesla, Udacity Leave a commentMotorola has unveiled the Moto Z3 Play. It is mostly an incremental upgrade according to 9to5google.com. The handset does sport a bigger 6.01 inch display and smaller bezels all around, though. The fingerprint sensor has migrated from the front to a slightly thicker aluminum side rail. The Z3 Play runs a Snapdragon 636 processor, has 4 gigs of ram, and holds either 32 or 64 Gigs of storage. It does have a 3,000 mAh battery with fast charging. It’s $499 and available globally this month.
New tech from Intel may make laptop batteries regularly last up to 28 hours! The chipmaker made the announcement at Computex, and mashable.com says they have developed a low power display tech that can cut LCD power consumption in half. Keep in mind that they get that battery life at 150 nits of screen brightness…which is probably darker than you can really work for very long, so as the saying goes, ‘your mileage will vary.’ So far, the tech will only work with Intel chips, not Nvidia or AMD graphics.
Bringing resume and cover letter help to recent grads and ‘mid-career’ professionals, Udacity has partnered with Google for a number of free courses. According to techcrunch.com, they will not only offer free courses for basics like resumes and cover letters, but also optimizing your GitHub profile and beefing up your LinkedIn network. There are even courses in ‘Data Structures and Algorithms in Python’ as well as a course on Apple’s Swift platform. A total of 12 courses are available.
The Dave and Buster’s chain is in the process of installing multiplayer VR arcades, running HTC Vive hardware. Cnet.com reports that there will be 114 of them when complete, and a total of 500 VR headsets. According to HTC, the setups will be a ‘proprietary, multi participant motion platform’ built custom for Dave & Buster’s. Happy Holodecking, gamers!
Elon Musk says Tesla is going to be hitting their goal of 5,000 Model 3 cars a week by the end of June. As businessinsider.com notes, 5,000 is the ‘magic number’ Musk cites that will put Tesla into the black with the Model 3. Up to now, they have been burning cash like crazy. The company has had to shut down the production line twice to fix and upgrade their systems. Musk even took to sleeping at the factory in a conference room for a while until they got the bugs worked out.
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