Switch 2-Fastest Selling Console Ever; X Threatened Lawsuits to Get Advertisers Back; Disney & Universal Sue Midjourney Over Copyright Infringement; New Suit Claims Costco Free Shipping Isn’t Free

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

A big win for Nintendo! It’s official…the Switch 2 is the fastest selling game console of all time. Theverge.com reports that Nintendo says it sold more than 3.5 million Switch 2’s in just the first 4 days, passing up records it had set previously with systems, but also others. Niko Partners notes that it took Sony 16 days to sell 2.1 million PS4 consoles, and six weeks to reach 4.2 million units. The Switch 2 has also easily passed up the PS5 launch sales. It took 7 weeks…admittedly during the pandemic…to move 4.4 million units. Will Nintendo be able to continue this torrid pace? No one knows, but they are off to a hell of a start!

It is apparently lawsuit day for this report! According to a story picked up by mashable.com, Elon Musk, his stand-in CEO Linda Yaccarino, and X threatened  several major advertisers with inclusion in their suit against the World Federation of Advertisers where X has accused the group of orchestrating an industry-wide boycott of the social media platform. This all dates back to 2022 when Musk took over Twitter and almost half the major advertisers headed for the exits. Some brands returned, but others didn’t. Now, the alleged message from X’s leadership is explicit: advertise with us, or risk becoming a defendant. Having come from the world of radio, I have to shake my head…I can’t remember anyone in the business threatening to sue an advertiser to get their business. Stay tuned, as they say!

Disney and Universal have sued Midjourney, claiming AI-related copyright infringement. Techcrunch.com says the platform has allegedly trained its art-generating and editing models on their content without permission. In the suit, the plaintiffs have included numerous examples of the studios’ copyrighted characters…like Homer Simpson and Darth Vader. Tech companies including OpenAI have pushed for legal cover to train on publicly available works, including copyrighted works, without having to ask creators for authorization or compensate them. In other words, they want to build their businesses on theft of other folks’ intellectual property. I think Midjourney will lose this…and it should be a warning to others like OpenAI. Disney…never mind Universal…has probably the toughest intellectual property legal department on earth!

A suit filed this week claims Costco misleads online shoppers…by implying free shipping, while the big-box retailer quietly inflates product prices to cover delivery costs. Geekwire.com notes that the suit says Costco displays “$0.00” for shipping during online checkout, leading customers to believe delivery is free when the cost is actually embedded in the product price. Costco acknowledges on its support pages that online prices may include shipping and handling, sometimes leading to higher prices online than in the company’s warehouse stores. However, the lawsuit argues those disclosures are buried in FAQ sections, not presented during checkout or on product pages. I would look for a vigorous defense…Costco can argue that customers know this. People know that ‘free shipping’ on Amazon with Prime isn’t free…nor covered by the membership…the shipping is simply built into the price! The same goes for Costco’s website.

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

Sony-Making Handheld Console; Amazon-Another $4 Billion to Anthropic; Power Phone Off Once a Week-NSA; Researchers Find Way to Grow Plants Without Light

Posted: November 25, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Sony is working on a handheld gaming console that will let users play PS 5 games anywhere. Theverge.com reports that this will put Sony into the fray with Nintendo, Microsoft, and The Valve Steam Deck. That’s all well and good, but the reporting has the portable ‘years away from launch.’ Not so good for Sony. While Sony fiddles, Nintendo will have a next gen successor to its very popular Switch console next year. Microsoft is developing its own Xbox prototype…but that also may be a few years out, as with Sony. This doesn’t leave the market entirely to Nintendo…Valve has already put out a second generation Steam Deck that plays its games. 

Amazon has pumped another $4 billion into AI maker Anthropic, the people that make the Claude large language model that is the biggest competitor for OpenAI’s ChatGPT. According to arstechnica.com, this will bring Amazon’s stake to $8 billion…but they do remain in a minority investor position at that level. One key behind the deal…chips. While Nvidia currently dominates the AI chip market with customers that include most major tech companies, some cloud providers like Amazon have begun developing their own AI-specific processors. Under the agreement, Anthropic will train and deploy its foundation models using Amazon’s custom-built Trainium (for training AI models) and its Inferentia chips (for AI inference, the term for running trained models). The company will also work with Amazon’s Annapurna Labs division to advance processor development for AI applications.

We have previously reported that iOS 18 and later updates make it harder for hackers…as well as governments…to get into your phone. Now, none other than the NSA…the National Security Agency…warns that you should turn your phone on and off at least once a week. Why? Zdnet.com says the government spy agency indicates that doing so will make it harder for hackers to steal info from your phone. The feds also say to update your apps, and update your operation system regularly. You also ought to avoid public networks…just use cellular unless you have a VPN for your phone. 

In one of the wilder stories I’ve seen, some researchers have figured out a way to grow plants without sunlight. Bgr.com reports that they are doing so through what they call electro-agriculture. Simply put, they leverage electricity to power plant growth, bypassing the need for photosynthesis. The scientists have engineered plants capable of thriving in total darkness, feeding off acetate instead of sunlight, making it possible to grow plants without sunlight. And the implications of this breakthrough are absolutely staggering. Some researchers believe that it could lower the land needed for agriculture by as much as 90 percent. Imagine freeing up vast tracts of farmland for reforestation or conservation while growing crops in vertical indoor farms closer to urban centers. Combined with the ongoing success of lab-grown meats, we could be on the verge of a food industry revolution.

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

Google Leak Reveals AI That Web Surfs for You; Nintendo’s Next Gen Switch-Backward Compatible for Gaming; EU Will Fine Apple For App Store DMA Violations; Amazon Kicks off Drone Deliveries in Phoenix

Posted: November 6, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

We reported about Google’s next iteration of its AI, called Jarvis, last week. Now, bgr.com is reporting that a leak has given us more information about it. Apparently the AI Chrome extension will be able to “take over” your Chrome browser, performing tasks on your behalf like booking a flight or purchasing a product. Apparently, Google accidentally posted an internal preview of the product on the Chrome extension store. Listed as a “helpful companion that surfs the web with you,” Google quickly took it down. Apparently, some Chrome users did download it, but it didn’t work…as the prototype lacked some specific access permissions it needed. Honestly, if you are on the web, and can’t book a flight or buy something without help, I’m not sure AI is the answer for you….even if it ends up being called Jarvis. 

We know Nintendo is planning a newer version of the Switch, but don’t have a date or name…but now, thanks to their mid year policy briefing, we know that it will be able to play current Switch games, and have carryover for your Nintendo Switch Online services and account. According to theverge.com, Nintendo said that there was a drop of 31% in Switch sales the last 90 days…with some 4.72 million sold. Still, Nintendo crowed that ‘More software has been played on Nintendo Switch than on any other Nintendo hardware.’ Backward compatibility is a big issue, because systems haven’t tended to be 100% on it…although Xbox Series X and the Sony PS5 are mainly backward compatible. The Switch 2 or whatever they name it will be out before March 2025, according to Nintendo. 

Apple did not make changes that allowed developers to steer users to cheaper prices outside of the ‌App Store‌. Macrumors.com says the EU is now planning to fine Apple. I know…hard to imagine Apple not directing users to other, cheaper alternatives besides them! Apple did make some changes in August, but it apparently wasn’t good enough for European regulators. The fine amount hasn’t been disclosed, but the EU fined Apple $2 billion for anticompetitive behavior against third party music services earlier this year so that kind of gives us an idea. They could be fined up to 10% of their global annual sales. 

After ending its drone delivery experiment in Southern California, Amazon has kicked off deliveries in the West Valley Phoenix Metro Area. Techcrunch.com reports that people will be able to order relatively small stuff including household, beauty, office, health, and tech supplies. By relatively small, we’re talking 5 pounds or less…but that does include some 50,000 items Amazon sells. Most deliveries will be at your location in an hour or less. Note that these deliveries are only going to be available during daylight hours and ‘favorable’ weather conditions…no heavy winds or heavy rain. Amazon has been testing prescription deliveries for over a year in College Station, Texas, and now they will expand to products like are being offered in the Phoenix area. 

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

Meta Connect 2024 Highlights

Posted: September 25, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

So today was the first of 2 days of Meta Connect. As expected, we got new, less pricy Quest 3S, which I will get to, new AI features for Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, an update to the Ray-Ban Smart Glasses, and a tease for Orion, which Mark Zuckerberg calls ‘the most advanced glasses the world has ever seen.’ Starting off with the Ray-Bans, some new features will be out later this year. Techcrunch.com reports that we can look for real-time AI video processing and live language translation. In addition to that, QR code scanning, reminders, and integration with iHeart Radio and Audible. As for the real time AV, that means you can ask Ray-Ban Meta glasses questions about what you are seeing in front of you, and the Meta AI will answer you verbally in real time. Pretty cool! 

Zuck also teased Orion, which he called…as described above…’the most advanced glasses the world has ever seen.’ The glasses are noticeably smaller than Snap’s recently announced Spectacles 5, and they are true AR. The glasses are true AR. Apparently, Meta has been working on these for some 10 years. According to TechCrunch.com, they really are still in something of an embryonic stage. They will be controlled by regular voice prompts…AND a so-called ‘neural interface.’ Zuck sees these as the future, eventually replacing smartphones. That seems to be a view shared by the folks over at Apple. 

We already reported about this…as the leaks have pretty much amounted to a flood…but Meta announced the Quest 3S VR headset. As expected, it is $299.99, and kind of blurs in as a blend of the Quest 2 and Quest 3. The good thing, as noted by theverge.com, is that the specs are a lot closer to the Quest 3 for nearly half the price. The Quest 3S offers the same mixed reality features and performance as the Quest 3 — it even has the same Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 chip — meaning you can play all of the same games and experiences on either device. The Quest 3S uses the same Touch Plus controllers as the Quest 3. And the Quest 3S is actually rated for a higher battery life than the Quest 3: Meta says the 3S gets 2.5 hours of average use versus 2.2 hours for the Quest 3. The Quest 3S does look cooler than the 3…the 3 vertical pill apertures over each eye on the outside did look creepy, but the 3S replaces those with 3 round sensors in a triangle pattern over each eye…much like the camera cluster on Apple’s top smartphones. The 3S does not have as high res displays as the 3, and has a narrower field of view. 

Ok, that’s all great, but what about something we don’t have to wear on your face. Glad you asked, Meta says. According to techcrunch.com, Meta AI’s Imaging features, which use generative AI to turn text prompts into images, are now being expanded across Facebook and Instagram. With the update, users will be able to use prompts to generate AI photos directly in their feed, Stories, and for their Facebook profile pictures. The AI can also suggest captions for Stories on Facebook and Instagram, as a part of this update. You may have already noticed the little rainbow circle on Facebook. Zuck is shooting for Meta having the most used AI by the end of the year. They can’t wait to suck us in to use their AI. If that floats your boat, go for it!

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

YouTube Hype-To Boost Small Creators; Discord Rolls Out End-To-End Chat Encryption; CA Gov. Newsom Signs AI Bills; Biden Admin. Awards $3 Billion to Intel

Posted: September 18, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

YouTube is making a move to help out smaller creators. Apparently when a YouTube creator hits 500,000 subscribers, it is a real tipping point as far as growth and revenue. Theverge.com reports that the new feature is called Hype, and it is aimed at smaller creators and helping people discover and share new creators. Hype is an entirely new promotional system inside of YouTube: there’s a new button for hyping a video, and the most-hyped videos will appear on a platform-wide leaderboard. It’s a bit like Trending, but it’s focused specifically on smaller channels and on what people specifically choose to recommend rather than just what they watch.

Discord, a platform widely used by gamers, which is one of the largest group chat apps in the world, has announced that audio and video calls will all be end-to-end encrypted. According to techcrunch.com, even Discord won’t know what users talk about in the conversations. Many other popular chat apps like iMessage, WhatsApp, Signal, and Facebook Messenger already have end-to-end encryption. Discord has 200 million monthly users. 

California Governor Newsom has signed a couple of AI bills that had the strong backing of the SAG-AFTRA entertainment union. Variety says that the bills build on the protections the union got following signing of deals after the 4 month actors strike against major studios last year. The studios’ Motion Picture Association had initially opposed the bills, but dropped its opposition after changes that were put in that protect standard post-production techniques and free speech rights. SAG-AFTRA is not trying to prevent producers from using AI to replicate performances. But it does want to ensure that actors and other performers don’t see their likenesses used without their consent and reasonable payment for their use. One bill basically applies to living actors and their likeness and voices, while the other puts protections in place for dead performers…granting their rights to their estate, so the heirs can give or withhold consent…and get paid. James Earl Jones, who just recently passed, had signed an agreement allowing AI to imitate his Darth Vader voice, which should provide a nice little income stream for his heirs. 

The Biden Administration has awarded Intel another $3 billion under the CHIPS and Science Act for the ‘Secure Enclave’ program. CNBC reports that Intel is building foundry plants in 4 states to ramp up domestic semiconductor manufacturing. They had already received $8.5 billion under the CHIPS act. The Secure Enclave program is the latest development in the relationship between Intel and the Department of Defense, which includes projects to build Rapid Assured Microelectronics Prototypes, or RAMPs, and State-of-the-Art Heterogeneous Integration Prototypes, or SHIPs.

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

iPad Pro OLED May Get M4 Chip; FTC Calls Out Amazon for Using Signal to Hide Comms; Switch 2 May Play All Original Switch Games; TikTok Ban-Minimal Impact on Creator Economy

Posted: April 29, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

In about a week, we expect to see new iPads, and here’s a late breaking rumor. The OLED screen iPad Pro may be powered my a next generation M4 chip, instead of an M3 as widely expected. Engadget.com picked up the word from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman in his Power On Newsletter. Gurman wrote “I believe Apple will position the tablet as its first truly AI-powered device — and that it will tout each new product from then on as an AI device.” If this is the case, expect big announcements at Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference in June. New AI features have already been predicted for iOS 18 and the upcoming iPhone models…with some features expected to also work on the current crop of iPhones. 

It’s never a good thing when the government tells you to keep communications around for an investigation, and then they find out you are deliberately hiding them. That is what the Federal Trade Commission is accusing Amazon of doing. According to mashable.com, the FTC has accused former top Amazon execs…including former CEO Jeff Bezos…of using Signal, and its automatic message deletion feature to hide communications…and doing so after the FTC ordered it to keep messages around as it was investigated for antitrust violations. No word about what kind of a spanking the FTC will give Amazon, but it’s never good to willfully disobey and order from an agency that can cause your business some pain.

A new rumor would be great news for portable gamers. Nintendo has been pretty vague about whether or not the Switch 2 will run original Switch games. MobaPad, which makes controllers and carrying cases says it is “in the process of developing the next-generation console controller” for the Switch 2 and has “acquired a lot of first-hand information” about the console as a result. the biggest takeaway from MobaPad’s blog post is that “the cartridge slot of the Switch 2 will support backward compatibility with physical Switch game cartridges, ensuring compatibility with players’ existing game libraries, including digital versions.” Game cards designed specifically for the Switch 2, on the other hand, “may not be compatible with the first-generation console.” Backward compatibility is a big deal, as many gamers have significant investments in games, and it is always a great good-will thing when a company allows for backward compatibility. The Switch 2 is expected in early 2025.

As the TikTok ban looms over the next 9 months, some analysts are saying that it will likely have minimal effect on the creator economy. TechCrunch.com reports that the reasoning behind this thinking is that former President Trump already tried banning it in 2020, and since then established creators have diversified to other platforms. The groups that might be affected though are live streamers who monetize via the TikTok Shop…which has a richer feature set than YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels. This is particularly true of political content…which was a good deal of the point of the legislation banning the platform unless the Chinese government and related organizations divest ownership in the next months.

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

Microsoft Picks Up DeepMind Founder; Threads Adds ‘Trending Now’-Finally; iPhone 17 Getting Anti-Reflective Display; Valve Rolling Out Steam Family

Posted: March 19, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

In a big ‘get,’ Microsoft has brought over Google DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman. Theverge.com reports that he will be the CEO of Microsoft’s new team that will oversee the company’s consumer-facing AI products like Copilot, Bing, and Edge. Suleyman will report directly to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Suleyman had left Deep Mind after Google acquired it, and then started up Inflection AI. Microsoft is also picking up some of Inflection AI’s employees, including co-founder Karen Simonyan, who will be Chief Scientist of the consumer AI Group. Personally, I am hoping that all these big tech companies focusing so much on AI may help rid the world of artificial stupidity…and maybe even natural stupidity if we’re lucky. 

Threads has finally added a ‘Trending Now’ page! The announcement was made by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a post on the platform. According to gizmodo.com, the trending topics on the page for its first day live in the world were: Aaron Taylor Johnson, spring equinox, Bruce Willis’ birthday, Hong Kong security law, and former Trump lawyer Alina Habba. 

A new rumor is out about Apple’s iPhones. It won’t make it to the iPhone 16, but will likely show up on the iPhone 17 a year and a half from now. 9to5mac.com says that an account called Instant Digital has said that Apple has reportedly developed equipment that adds a “super-hard” anti-reflective layer to the iPhone’s display, which is also more scratch-resistant than before. The new layer sounds a lot like Corning’s Gorilla Glass Armor, which the new Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra has. The Corning product reduces reflection by up to 75%, and adds scratch protection. Again, don’t expect the anti-reflective, more scratch-resistant layer until the iPhone after the one this fall. 

Valve has unveiled a new feature for its Steam gaming. It’s called Steam Families. Geekwire.com reports that it is out in beta now, and will replace current features Steam Family Sharing and Steam Family View. Now, there will be a single menu that covers both game sharing and parental controls. You can designate 5 other users as members of your Steam Family…they all get access to all the games in all the other family members’ libraries. (Note that this includes most…but not all games on steam.) A user who’s playing a game via a member of their Steam Family maintains local save files and achievement progress, and can play even if the game’s original owner is online at the time. However, in order for two users to play the same game simultaneously, you’d still need multiple copies of the game across various libraries.

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

EU Opens TikTok Investigation; Patent Office Denies OpenAI Trademark for ChatGPT; Switch 2 Bumped back to 2025; Apple May Get Dinged for a $538 Million Fine by EU

Posted: February 19, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

The US has been scrutinizing TikTok, and now it is joined by the EU, and the European Commission has announce a formal probe into the social platform’s compliance (or lack thereof) with the Digital Services Act. The act, which was approved late last year and went into effect on Jan. 1, exists to legislate against things like illegal content, disinformation, and targeted advertising. Mashable.com reports that some of the things the EU is looking at include TikTok’s potential use of algorithmic systems to encourage addictive behavior, or what it calls a “rabbit hole effect.” In other words, they’re worried about if TikTok does too much to force you to keep looking at it. Other points of concern include privacy and safety for minors, advertising transparency, and proper age verification for users. If TikTok is found to be in violation of any DSA policies, it may have to fork over as much as 6 percent of its annual turnover. TikTok says it will cooperate with the investigation.

The US Patent and Trademark Office has issued two separate decisions denying OpenAI’s applications to trademark ‘ChatGPT’ and ‘GPT.’ According to geekwire.com, the AI company can appeal to the Trademark Trial and Appeal board within 90 days. The PTO wrote in their decisions that ‘Internet evidence shows that “CHAT” means “a synchronous exchange of remarks over a computer network.” Further, the evidence of record also establishes that “GPT” is a widely used acronym that means “generative pre trained transformers.” OpenAI’s partner Microsoft has applied for trademarks for their version, Copilot, as well as variations on Copilot in conjunction with other brand names. 

A lot of people have been itching to get a Nintendo Switch 2, but now it looks like that itch won’t get scratched until next year. Bgr.com says that a Brazilian game Journalist has heard from 5 separate sources that Nintendo now plans to launch the next version in early 2025. Previously, rumors had the Switch 2 coming out in the fall of this year in order to take advantage of the lucrative holiday selling season. Nintendo also plans to launch their switch 2 games early next year, which makes sense in light of the system coming out then.The original Switch is the third best selling video game console of all time, and it launched in March of 2017…so it’s definitely due for a refresh. 

The EU is considering a 500 euro fine…or $528 million over Apple Music’s treatment of competitors. Appleinsider.com reports that the European Commission is nearly finished with its investigation of whether Apple broke antitrust laws following a 2019 complaint from Spotify, and is on the verge of levying punishments. The official announcement may come in March. Along with the fine will come a ruling that Apple broke EU laws with its App Store anti-steering rules. Apple could be banned from preventing music streaming services from advising customers that they could get a better deal elsewhere than the App Store and the In-App Purchases system. These will apparently be referred to by the EU as “unfair trading conditions.” 

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

Tesla Model 3 Orders; Facebook-Not Listening; Google Gaming; CIMON Robot to ISS

Posted: June 29, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

If you have a reservation and deposit on a Tesla Model 3, you’re in luck….you can start spec’ing out your future car. On the occasion of Elon Musk’s 47th birthday, techcrunch.com says you can now log on to the Tesla website and start configuring your car with the online design studio. For now, only the two higher cost Model 3s are available to be configured, and they aren’t giving an estimated delivery time for some models, but if you pick the dual motor performance version…the most expensive one…Tesla says you should have it in two to four months. For advance order holders that plunked down $1000 to get in line, it will be nice to at least spec out their car.

There was a flurry of reports yesterday that a patent showed that Facebook might be getting ready to switch on your phone’s mic when your TV was on and secretly record you and what you are watching…to better serve you ads. Theverge.com has pointed out that a number of sources saw the title and what’s called the ‘abstract’ of a patent, and got this idea…without actually reading the claims…which are the actual subject matter of the patent.  It’s really a system that receives a user ID and an audio fingerprint, matches that audio fingerprint to some content, sees if that content was played for a certain duration, and then checks a counter to see if that content has been played a specific number of times. No microphone use at all. With all they already know about all of us, they could practically write a conversation in our living room, IMHO!

Earlier this year, there was a rumor that Google might be getting into gaming. Now, further reporting from 9to5google.com indicates that it’s happening. The project apparently involves a streaming platform to offer games from the cloud without presumably having to download large files in the tens of gigabytes, as well as hardware. In other words, you could open a tab on your browser and play a game. Google has been in talks with some major game studios about content. They have also hired some top game developers and marketers lately. Here’s a Google-esque wrinkle they are considering…if you hit a tough level or boss, you could hit a key to activate an overlay on your screen that cues up a YouTube walkthrough of the game you’re playing.

The International Space Station is getting a new crew member. On the SpaceX supply ship that blasted off this morning is a round robot with a flat side for a face dubbed CIMON…for Crew Interactive Mobile Companion. Engadget.com says it can speak, respond to spoken commands using AI, and fly…well, obviously fly…there’s no gravity on the ISS! The helpful robot can display repair instructions on a screen with just a voice command, so astronauts can keep both hands free for doing the repair. It will also be able to display procedures for experiments, and be something of a floating database. The ‘brains’ of the little robot are made by IBM, and the body and flight mechanism are built by Airbus.

Uber Rolls Out Self-Driving Cabs; Facebook To Muscle in on Steam

Posted: August 18, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

We may be seeing quite a few car makers and tech companies rolling out self-driving cars by 2020 or 2021, but meanwhile, Uber is rolling out a small fleet of self driving Volvo SUVs later this month in Pittsburgh. Thenextweb.com says they’ll still have a driver supervising from behind the wheel. The cars will be assigned at random, and here’s the cool part….rides in them will be free for the time being! Uber will be staffing them with a co-pilot of sorts, to take note of how everything is working. Uber has had a $300 million dollar deal with Volvo to build fully autonomous cars, and apparently has been working on its own global mapping system, so they won’t have to rely on Google for navigation.

Facebook is looking to go after Steam, or at least claw back some of the revenue it’s lost since casual gaming moved to mobile. According to techcrunch.com, the social media giant announced it was working with game engine Unity to build a dedicated, downloadable desktop gaming platform, in addition to broadening the Facebook.com experience for gamers. It’s thought the desktop app will support both casual games and more hardcore games. Of course, Oculus was a big…and pricey…step back to gaming for Facebook, but the bulk of us still stare at screens, as opposed to strapping on headsets for hours at a time at this point.