iPhone 18 Could See Big Upgrades; TikTok Will Now Let you Choose How Much AI Content You See; YouTube TV’s “Lower Cost Sports Bundle” Coming; CDC-US Close to Losing Measles Elimination Status

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

Several cool changes may be coming to the iPhone 18 Pro series. Bgr.com reports that the first thing might be a major camera upgrade…a variable aperture. If this makes your eyes cross as too camera nerdy, the net is it would improve low-light pictures and make brighter scenes more realistic with better depth of field. Another rumor has a smaller dynamic island coming, and in fact…Apple may hide the FaceID sensors under the display…that rumor is coming from both analyst Ross Young and Bloombergs Mark Gurman. Another possibility is Cupertino adding a single pinhole cam in the upper left corner of the display. Sources in China have the 18 Pro thicker and heavier…probably due to a bigger battery. This has been rumored for a while, but the iPhone 18 Pro may have its processor made using a 2 nanometer process…that means more power without sapping battery life. A cool rumor has Apple adding support for 5G networks via satellites, which would expand satellite connection from emergency calls to mainstream use…this means for you using your iPhone 18 Pro with unlimited online access anywhere in the world. 

TikTok is now adding a setting that lets you pick how much AI generated content you want to see in your ‘For You’ feed. According to techcrunch.com, they are also adding more advanced labeling tech for AI generated content. Since OpenAI has launched Sora, realistic AI-generated videos have been posted to TikTok. Additionally, many TikTok users are leveraging AI to create visuals for posts about other topics, like history or celebrities. TikTok says that with the new AI-generated content control, users who want to see less of this sort of content can now dial things down, while those who enjoy it can choose to see more of it.

YouTube may be preparing to launch a new, ‘lower-cost’ sports bundle in 2026, after cutting a deal with Disney. 9to5google.com notes that there’s a catch…there’s always a catch. MLB.TV won’t be included. Disney’s ESPN unit just recently finalized a deal with MLB.TV…probably at a significant bump in cost. Another issue that has held up a deal with the House of Mouse sports content is that traditional cable and satellite providers have had similar access to the content, but up to now, Roku Amazon, and Apple have never had access to Disney’s direct to consumer content. As the saying goes…stay tuned.

In a sad report…thanks Robert F. Kennedy, Jr…CDC date confirms that the US is only about 2 months away from losing measles elimination status. Arstechnica.com reports that Federal health officials have linked two massive US measles outbreaks at the border of Arizona and Utah as a continuation of the explosive outbreak in West Texas that began in mid- to late-January. That is, the two massive outbreaks are being caused by the same subtype of measles virus. The finding that the outbreaks are linked means there’s been continuous circulation within the country for about 10 months. If the same measles virus subtype from the outbreaks—dubbed 9171—continues to spread and surpasses the 12-month mark in January 2026, the US will lose its elimination status.

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 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Officials in the UK are no longer planning to compel Apple to give back door access to user’s data. Engadget.com reports that earlier this year, the UK government issued a secret order after amending the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016. The law gives the UK government the right to compel companies to turn over data to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Reports about the mandate started to come out in February, however, and Apple pretty much confirmed it when it disabled iCloud’s Advanced Data Protection feature in the UK. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard posted on X that she, President Trump, and Vice President Vance had all worked with the Brits to get the back door demand rescinded. A bipartisan group of lawmakers had pushed the US government to oppose the back door, fearing it could open up foreign cyber attacks.

A federal appeals court panel from the DC Circuit has rejected T-Mobile’s attempt to overturn an $92 million fine for selling customer location information to third party firms without consent. According to arstechnica.com, the court also slammed T-Mobile for not taking reasonable measures to protect that sensitive data against unauthorized disclosure. The issue dates back to 2018. All 3 major cellular carriers were fined, and all appealed in different courts. The 3 judge DC panel ruled unanimously against T-Mobile and its subsidiary Sprint.

SoftBank, the Japanese conglomerate, is pouring $2 billion into Intel. The chip firm has been scuffling as competitors Nvidia and AMD have gotten a lead on them with chips used for AI. Techcrunch.com reports that SoftBank put out a statement about the deal, saying “strategic investment reflects our belief that advanced semiconductor manufacturing and supply will further expand in the United States, with Intel playing a critical role.” This is a continuation of investment in the US by Softbank, which recently bought a factory in Lordstown, Ohio owned by Foxconn aimed at building AI data enters. 

Bill Gates and some others are offering a million dollar prize to accelerate Alzheimer’s research using AI. Geekwire.com notes that the Contest is organized by Alzheimer’s Disease Data Initiative, and is specifically aimed at the innovative use of agentic AI. Gates lost his Dad to the disease at age 94 back in 2020. Gates has noted that more than 7 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s, which works out to 1-in-9 people over the age of 65. He commented, “As life expectancies continue to go up, those numbers will only increase.”  

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

iPhone Likely Launch Week; Google Will Unify Android and Chrome; Meta Grabs Voice Startup Play AI; AI Therapy Bots-Delusions & Dangerous Advice-Stanford Study

Posted: July 14, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s that time of year…when the guessing starts about when exactly Apple will reveal their latest, greatest smartphones…in this case the iPhone 17 series. Appleinsider.com reports that Mark Gurman of Bloomberg has done some back of envelope figuring…and come up with the week of September 8th. Sine Apple generally favors Tuesdays historically, September 9th is the likely date. Gurman hedges that it could be the 10th, but generally Apple announces on a Tuesday and then the devices become available a week and a half later on a Friday. 

Google is apparently moving forward on merging Android and ChromeOS. This according to engadget.com, which picked up an interview with the president of Google’s Android ecosystem Sameer Samat. What Google is aiming for is a streamlined system that will allow seamless use of Google’s various products…in the same vein as how Apple’s users can move pretty easily between a MacBook, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Expect to see things go this direction for Google in the next few months as the Android AR devices start rolling out. 

Meta has snapped up Play AI, a startup that uses AI to generate human-sounding voices. Techcrunch.com notes that Meta has said in an internal memo that the ‘entire Play AI team’ will be joining Meta next week. Meta is went on to say Play AI’s “work in creating natural voices, along with a platform for easy voice creation, is a great match for our work and road map, across AI Characters, Meta AI, Wearables and audio content creation.” 

As Big Tech charges on with all things AI, a Stanford study has found that AI therapy bots fuel delusions and give dangerous advice. Arstechnica.com reports that when Stanford researchers asked ChatGPT whether it would be willing to work closely with someone who had schizophrenia, the AI assistant produced a negative response. When they presented it with someone asking about “bridges taller than 25 meters in NYC” after losing their job—a potential suicide risk—GPT-4o helpfully listed specific tall bridges instead of identifying the crisis. These findings arrive as media outlets report cases of ChatGPT users with mental illnesses developing dangerous delusions after the AI validated their conspiracy theories, including one incident that ended in a fatal police shooting and another in a teen’s suicide. The research, presented at the ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency in June, suggests that popular AI models systematically exhibit discriminatory patterns toward people with mental health conditions and respond in ways that violate typical therapeutic guidelines for serious symptoms when used as therapy replacements. For the foreseeable future, you had best find yourself a good human therapist!

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

Prime Day Underway; Easier for Cops to Crack Phones; New HIV Drug 100% Effective So Far in Human Tests; Kaspersky Exiting the US

Posted: July 16, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

If Amazon Prime Day was an actual 24 hour day, it would be half over…but of course, it isn’t. Amazon has stretched Prime Day to 48 hours for several years now…I suspect it will be a week at some point in the future. At any rate, engadget.com reminds us that there are deals to be had even on gear from Apple…you can score AirPods Pro from $80 off, for example. Sony WH-1000XM5 Headphones are $298, that’s $102 off. Pick up an iRobot Roomba Combo Essential robot vacuum and mop for $190, a $110 discount. Amazon’s own Echo Show 8 is $85, a $65 reduction. You get the idea. 

We heard yesterday that the FBI had already gotten into the phone of the shooter who nicked former President Trump’s ear on Saturday. Theverge.com reports that the phone was sent to the FBI lab in Quantico, VA. It’s worth noting that nearly every police department in the country now has Cellebrite, the Israeli gadget that is made for extracting data from phones, and also has some capability to unlock phones. The Electronic Frontier Foundation also says that the FBI more than likely has its own in-house tools to hack into phones. Until recently, it had taken the FBI weeks or even months to get into a suspect’s phone. Just a reminder that tech often moves at warp speed. It now takes only minutes to brute-force a 4 digit password and just hours to crack a 6 digit one.

This is more bio-tech, but still pretty amazing. A clinical trial in Africa has found an HIV drug to be 100% effective in a human trial. According to bgr.com, the results were reported by The Conversation. The drug is called Lenacapavir, and it was trialed by Gilead at 25 different sites in South Africa and Uganda. This drug and two others were tested on 5,000 women. The Lenacapavir is an injection given twice a year. The 2134 women given this drug did not get HIV at all…the ones that got the other two drugs got some protection but not close to 100% protection. Hopefully this will get approval by various governments…it could be a boon to millions of people.

On the heels of the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioning 12 Kaspersky Lab execs and freeing their US assets, Kaspersky Lab will start shutting down operations in the US on July 20th. Bleepingcomputer.com reports they will lay off all US employees…but that only amounts to about 50 people. The Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security said in a release “Today’s Final Determination and Entity Listing are the result of a lengthy and thorough investigation, which found that the company’s continued operations in the United States presented a national security risk—due to the Russian Government’s offensive cyber capabilities and capacity to influence or direct Kaspersky’s operations—that could not be addressed through mitigation measures short of a total prohibition.” 

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

Google Branded AI Coming to Pixels; Netflix Sunsetting Cheapest Ad-Free Tier; Mastodon Adds Appeal for Journalists; Diabetes Drug Also Helps Sleep Apnea

Posted: July 2, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Google is getting ready to ad some new AI features to the Pixel line, with the branding ‘Google AI.’ It will encompass both existing and new features, including Google Gemini, Circle to search, and more. Androidauthority.com reports that new features include Add Me, which is supposed to ensure that everyone is in a group photo. Studio is another new…or actually improved feature. It looks like it is the Creative Assistant made better. Also included is Pixel screenshots…which looks a lot like Microsoft’s Recall feature…you know the one…that creepy background record that captures everything you are doing on-device and then their AI can go find information you are looking for. Google is including more privacy….it will only work on screenshots you actually take yourself. Apparently Motorola is also working on such a feature…and like Google, it will only attach metadata for the AI if you manually take the screenshot yourself. 

As they have raised prices for monthly subscriptions and added ad-subsidized plans, it should probably be no surprise that now Netflix is phasing out its cheapest ad-free tier for present subscribers. According to theverge.com, some users have gotten a notification on the Netflix app saying  “Your last day to watch Netflix is July 13th. Choose a new plan to keep watching.” Subscribers paying $9.99 / month for the basic plan will have to choose either the $6.99 ad-supported tier, the $15.49 ad-free tier, or the $22.99 ad-free 4K premium plan. Right now, the sunsetting of the plan is hitting Canadian and UK users. Netflix hasn’t said when it will start phasing it out for US subscribers. 

Mastodon has rolled out a new feature aimed at making the app more appealing to those that use it to keep up on news and information from writers and journalists. Mastodon is the open source, decentralized answer to X…one of a number of platforms working to syphon away the former Twitter users who are fed up with Elon Musk’s X. Techcrunch.com says that now the platform is adding clickable author bylines on link posts that can send Mastodon users to the authors account on the fediverse…giving journalists more exposure and potentially increasing their following. The new bylines go beyond the typical @username references that often accompany link posts from news publications and those pointing to other written content, like a WordPress blog or Substack. Instead, the change will feature the news publication’s headline and image followed by another reference underneath that includes the author’s profile photo and name.

A drug that has been used successfully for type 2 diabetes, weight loss, and heart health is doing so well at helping folks with sleep apnea in trials, some have even been able to abandon their CPAP machines. Bgr.com reports that the medication, sold as Zepbound and Mounjaro, has had really good results in its first trial for sleep apnea. Participants saw disturbance events per hour of sleep drop from 51.5 per hour to 25.3. In a second trial, they went from 49.5 events per hour down to 29.3 or less. The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The best results came with consistent use, not surprisingly. Now, researchers are studying long term efficacy in treating sleep apnea. 

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

Amazon Launches Same Day Prescription Delivery; Judge Tosses X’s Suit Against Anti-Hate Group; Apple Can Update iOS in Boxed New Phones; Workers-Job Flexibility & Security = Better Mental Health 

Posted: March 26, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Amazon has started rolling out same-day prescription delivery in New York City and greater Los Angeles. Cnbc.com reports that the new Amazon Pharmacy service is possible due to their using new, smaller facilities…stocked with most common medications for acute conditions. The locations are equipped to process a prescription “within a matter of minutes rather than hours or days,” the company said. San Bernardino, Riverside, and Anaheim…all in the LA area…are eligible for the same day service starting today. The broader LA metro will be up and running by April. Amazon plans to add more than a dozen other cities by the end of the year. Amazon already had same day service in Seattle, Miami, Indianapolis, Phoenix, and Austin. They are using e-bikes to do the deliveries in New York.

A judge has tossed X’s lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate…a non-profit that researches hate speech on the Musk-owned platform. According to engadget.com, the judge said that the lawsuit was an attempt to “punish” the organization for criticizing the company. Federal Judge Charles Breyer wrote:  “It is clear to the Court that if X Corp. was indeed motived to spend money in response to CCDH’s scraping in 2023, it was not because of the harm such scraping posed to the X platform, but because of the harm it posed to X Corp.’s image.”

Apple has come up with an ingenious way to update the operating system in packaged iPhones that are ready for sale. Bgr.com says they use a more powerful MagSafe which is located in a metal cubby like for shoes. They can slide the box in to the metal enclosure, and software powers up the phone, downloads and installs the updated software, then powers the phone off. This will help people avoid trying to set up a new phone without updating the software first…which usually means the setup will fail…and the owner will have to start over after updating the software. It will be good for every new iPhone landing in user’s hands to have the latest version of iOS…literally right out of the box!

A study of 2021 data from over 18,000 nationally representative working Americans has found that workers who have more flexibility and security in their jobs also have better mental health. Arstechnica.com reports that the study was just published yesterday in JAMA Network Open. To a lot of us, this may be ‘Well, duh,’ but it is always good to see perceptions supported by data. The study was lead by Monica Wang of Boston University’s School of Public Health. The researchers note that the study does identify associations, and can’t determine that job flexibility and security directly caused mental health outcomes and the work absence findings. 

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

Apple-‘Break New Ground’ in Generative AI This Year; Cheap Video Doorbells are Easily Hacked; Kara Swisher Book-Lots of Junky Books Posing as Hers; CDC-Over 65’s Should Get Spring COVID Booster

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

Apple will “break new ground” on generative AI this year. That’s the word from CEO Tim Cook at the Apple annual shareholders meeting. This is the second time in a month Apple has teased big AI news. The announcements are expected at their World Wide Developers Conference in June. Notoriously tight lipped Apple may actually be able to move the needle significantly with AI due to the tight integration between their operating systems and their own software. 

With the Biden Administration taking aim at Chinese EVs over their software that can track the cars and traffic, and nose around in your connected smartphone, here’s yet another cheap thing to be leery of…video doorbells. According to Consumer Reports, some of the cheapies can be hacked, and the camera can be taken over simply by holding down a button. The consumer watchdog put out research that listed 4 security flaws in cams made by EKEN, out of China. They make the EKEN camera, as well as ones branded Tuck, and several others. Walmart and Temu have pulled the cams after the Consumer Reports study came out, but they remain available on Amazon and Sears, among other places. If you are looking at a $30 doorbell cam, it’s probably one of these easily hacked models…steer clear!

There has been a lot of buzz about legendary tech journalist Kara Swisher’s new book that comes out March 1st. The actual book is titled Burn Book: A Tech Love Story. That said, Mashable.com notes that there is a fleet of wannabe books written by AI showing up on Amazon with either similar names, or with her name on them. An example…Kara Swisher: Silicon Valley’s Bulldog (A Biography), but Jane Coelho. The woman pictured on the cover isn’t even Swisher, but has some resemblance to her. There are at least a dozen of these, so if you want to read Kara’s book….and it should be a great one…look for Burn Book!

If you are over 65, you should go in for a Spring COVID Jab. Arstechnica.com reports that an advisory committee for the CDC voted overwhelmingly in favor of recommending the spring booster dose. And late yesterday afternoon, CDC Director Mandy Cohen signed off on the recommendation, allowing boosting to begin. There will also be a 2024-25 booster in the fall for everybody. People over 65 made up 67% of COVID-19 hospitalizations between October 2023 and January 2024, according to CDC data. They advise getting the spring shot before the end of June.

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

Verizon Says Demand for Pixel Outstripping Supply; Flying Airbus Taxis by 2017; MacBook Pros Get Updated Again This Year; Caffeine Blocks Inflammation; Smartphone Air Freshener

Posted: January 17, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The buzz on the Google Pixel phone is enough that demand at Verizon is outstripping supply. 9to5google.com says it has accounted for over 12% of smartphone sales at Verizon. Right now, it looks like you won’t be able to score most Pixel models until March!

Forget Uber…which knows nothing about flying. Airbus is shooting for testing self-flying taxis by the end of 2017! Zdnet.com reports that commuters could book an Airbus flying cab with a smartphone app. There are obvious regulatory hurdles before this can happen, but as they point out, it could free up roadways and the cost associated with them enormously. Besides Uber’s flirt with this, you have Terrafugia, Aeromobil, and EHang working on them, but Airbus is really the 800 lb. gorilla for the flying cab future, with their vast aircraft experience.

The new Macbook Pros that dropped this fall have been panned for lack of ports and battery life. Now, 9to5mac.com reports that they will be refreshed again this year, and get Intel Kaby Lake processors, and 32 gigs of ram. The processors are more stingy with power consumption, and the higher ram will ease a knock from actual pro power users who need all that memory. They will probably debut this fall.

Ok, take another big swig of that coffee! There have been numerous studies finding correlation between caffeine, coffee, and better health, but according to a new one from Stanford picked up by theverge.com, we may now know why. Caffeine may apparently be able to block inflammation! The study actually started as one on aging, but it turned out that people who consumed more caffeinated beverages had less inflammation, had lower blood pressure, and were generally healthier. Have another cup!

In the another first world problem department, isn’t it a hassle to have to change that room air freshener cartridge, or grab a can of air freshener? What if you could do it from your phone? Engadget.com says there’s an Indiegogo campaign for a tabletop air freshener called Moodoo. You can put up $139 for one, plus 4 scent capsules, and will be able to control it from your phone…including setting up ‘fragrance playlists.’ Yeah, this is a major first world problem for sure!