Softbank, Others Drop on AI Jitters; Tesla Euro and Chinese Sales Tank; Cloud Streaming Here for Playstation Portal; Google Maps Gets Gemini-You Can Chat Conversationally
Posted: November 5, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence, chatgpt, marketing, technology Leave a commentJapan’s Softbank shares were down 10% on Wednesday, which was a loss of $23 billion in market capitalization. Cnbc.com reports most of the drop was due to investor worry about what most observers are calling the AI bubble. Billions have been pumped into AI, but at this point, no one is making any kind of real money from it. Softbank has a controlling stake in ARM Holdings, which designs mobile processors and AI processors. Softbank also has money in OpenAI, and a few other AI application level startups. Other Asian stocks are also down, including Samsung Electronics, which was down 4.1% and Taiwan’s TSMC, the biggest contract chip maker on earth, was down 2.99%. The declines come after U.S. software company Palantir dropped about 8% overnight, even after topping expectations for the third quarter. Some analysts say valuations of AI companies increasingly resemble the dot-com boom of the late 1990s, with share prices soaring far ahead of credible profit expectations. Hey, my son and I have been saying this for over a year, and we aren’t even analysts!
Yet another speed bump in Elon Musk’s quest for his trillion dollar, 10 year pay package from Tesla. Just ahead of the shareholder vote tomorrow, too. According to arstechnica.com, new car registrations in Europe show Tesla sales down anywhere from 89% in Sweden to 34% in Spain. France was the outlier…Tesla sales were up 2% year over year there. In China, sales were down 9.9% in October, year over year. Anti-Musk sentiment aside, there is now a much wider selection of electric vehicles from a number of manufacturers. Tesla’s line is pretty stale, with the sales-leading Models 3 and Y barely getting a facelift…a slight change in the rear, and light bar in the front like the Cyber Truck. Over the weekend, Musk teased on a major podcast that a much delayed roadster was coming, and said it would have cool features like every James Bond car ever, and might even fly. It may be that HE was flying a bit on that one…heavy batteries have made electric planes a tall order, and his roadster will be no different.
Cloud streaming is officially rolling out to Playstation Portal. There has been a beta running of it since last year. Theverge.com notes that Premium Plus members will be able to stream select titles from their own library without the need to connect to their PS5 console. The device also has a newly updated menu, with three tabs to swipe through for Remote Play from your PS5, cloud streaming, or search. Over 2,000 games are available for cloud streaming at launch. As with so much on the web, the update is a rolling one, so expect it to take a few weeks to get to everyone.
Google is now including Gemini in Google Maps for both Android and iOS. Zdnet.com says the update is rolling out this month, and with it updated, you can use Talk to Google Maps to find your destination. You can also use Lens to learn more about your present location. You could ask if there is a steak house nearby that doesn’t require reservations, for example. With directions, instead of ‘turn right in 300 feet,’ you can hear ‘turn right after the Starbucks on the corner.’ With Lens, you can ask in a conversational manner for Maps to tell you more about a place like a restaurant…like if the food is worth a few minutes of wait time, or if it is noisy.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
DOJ Wants to Break Up Google Ad Biz; Facebook Getting AI Dating Assistant; Uber Launches Prepaid Passes; WhatsApp Adds Built in Translation
Posted: September 23, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Facebook, marketing, technology, Uber, WhatsApp Leave a commentThe Department of Justice wants to break up Google’s ad business as the antitrust case against the search giant rolls on. Arstechnica.com reports that US District Judge Leonie Brinkema has already ruled that Google operated an illegal monopoly in digital advertising, and now we address the remedies that may apply. Google’s had mixed luck with antitrust rulings lately. The DOJ is asking the court to force Google to spin off Google Ad Manager, the marketplace through which advertisers buy ads on Google’s platform. The government was able to convince the court that Google’s control of Ad Manager gave it an unfair advantage that boosted its own services, but is a breakup the proper remedy? That will be the issue for the court to eventually rule on.
As if the myriad of dating apps wasn’t enough, now Facebook is bowing an AI dating assistant. According to TechCrunch.com, the chatbot is supposed to help users find matches that are more closely tailored to what they are looking for. You can put in parameters like location, job or social interests, and so forth…then ask the AI to help refine things. Meta has also rolled out Meet Cute, which gives users a weekly ‘surprise match’ based on its algorithm. Facebook Dating matches are up 10% they say for people 18-29 year over year. They have ‘hundreds of thousands’ of users. That’s a bunch, but Tinder has about 50 million daily active users!
Uber is launching prepaid passes, which let you pay a discounted price in advance on frequently taken trips. Cnet.com reports that the passes are available in bundles of 5, 10, 15, or 20 rides. The bigger the bundle you buy, the bigger the discount. The discounts run 5 to 20%. You do have to select a 1 hour request window, and Uber will display a countdown so customers know how many passes they have left. The feature is available in75 cities.
WhatsApp has rolled out built-in text translations on iPhone and Android. Theverge.com says that it is a gradual rollout, starting today in 1 to 1 chats, groups, and Channel update messages. You turn the feature on by long pressing down on messages and touching the ‘Translate’ option to pick the language you want to translate to or from. Support for English, Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, Russian, and Arabic will initially be available for Android users, while iPhone users can translate messages into more than 19 languages at launch. Android users can also enable automatic translation for entire chat threads to apply the feature to all incoming messages.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Anthropic Endorses California AI Transparency Bill; Google-‘Open’ Web in Rapid Decline; Nintendo Wins Suit Against Switch Modder; Signal Bows Free & Paid Backup Plans
Posted: September 8, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, digital-marketing, marketing, seo, technology Leave a commentA programming note— we will post a little later tomorrow, in order to report on the new iPhones and other devices revealed at the Apple event. The event is scheduled to start at 10 AM Pacific time.
In a win for actual open artificial intelligence, Anthropic, makers of the Claude AI large language model, have endorsed SB 53, the so-called AI Transparency bill. Theverge.com reports that the bill would require leading AI companies to publish safety frameworks with details about how they manage “catastrophic risks,” as well as provide certain whistleblower protections. Anthropic’s support comes after weeks of negotiations with the AI industry on the bill’s specifics.
Google has continued to claim for months that the web is ‘thriving,’ and that AI isn’t hosing traffic, and that its search engine is sending people to a wide variety of websites…wider than ever. Well, that’s what they are saying publicly. According to theverge.com, Google admitted in a court filing last week that “the open web is already in rapid decline.” Keep in mind that Google wants to appear weaker and less monopolistic in court, but a number of digital publishers and independent website owners have reported experiencing a decline in traffic following changes to Google Search’s algorithm and the rise of AI chatbots. The net net is, that people are ‘less likely’ to click on links when presented with Google’s AI Overview. Google still insists that it continues to ‘send billions of clicks to websites every day.’
Nintendo has just won a big battle in court, scoring $2 million in a lawsuit against Modded Hardware. Engadget.com notes that the site was known for selling devices that allowed users to get around Nintendo’s piracy protections, including the popular MIG Switch flashcart that lets buyers play official Nintendo games without the need for a physical cartridge. The court win also requires Ryan Daly to shut down the website and forfeit the domain to Nintendo. Nintendo had previously settled a similar suit against the makers of the Yazu emulator. They extracted $2.4 million from them.
Signal, the messaging app that claims to give you serious privacy is ruling out a feature for storage. One of the selling points of the app has been that it didn’t let users store any type of backup of conversations on the platform. Well, that was then and this is now. TechCrunch.com reports that Signal will now give users a free tier of 100 MB of storage for text messages and the last 45 days worth of media. They store the messages after compression, so that amount of storage will handle quite a number of messages. For users that want to store more than the last 45 days worth of media, there is a $1.99 a month paid plan, which gives up to 100 Gigs of storage. Signal is using zero-knowledge technology to secure its backups, so they’re not linked to a particular user or a specific payment method. Users will receive a 64-character recovery key that is generated on the device to unlock their backups. Amid Signal rivals, WhatsApp offers end-to-end backup through an optional feature that users have to enable. Still…you are trusting your supposedly secret messages to their cloud storage, so buyer beware. There is probably already software out there or will be soon that can tie you to your messages.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
UK Backs Down on Apple Back Door; T-Mobile Says Selling Location Data Without Consent Legal; SoftBank Puts $2 Billion into Intel, Gates Backed AI Competition to Speed Alzheimer’s Research
Posted: August 19, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Apple, Health, Intel, marketing, News, SoftBank, T-Mobile, technology Leave a commentOfficials in the UK are no longer planning to compel Apple to give back door access to user’s data. Engadget.com reports that earlier this year, the UK government issued a secret order after amending the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016. The law gives the UK government the right to compel companies to turn over data to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Reports about the mandate started to come out in February, however, and Apple pretty much confirmed it when it disabled iCloud’s Advanced Data Protection feature in the UK. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard posted on X that she, President Trump, and Vice President Vance had all worked with the Brits to get the back door demand rescinded. A bipartisan group of lawmakers had pushed the US government to oppose the back door, fearing it could open up foreign cyber attacks.
A federal appeals court panel from the DC Circuit has rejected T-Mobile’s attempt to overturn an $92 million fine for selling customer location information to third party firms without consent. According to arstechnica.com, the court also slammed T-Mobile for not taking reasonable measures to protect that sensitive data against unauthorized disclosure. The issue dates back to 2018. All 3 major cellular carriers were fined, and all appealed in different courts. The 3 judge DC panel ruled unanimously against T-Mobile and its subsidiary Sprint.
SoftBank, the Japanese conglomerate, is pouring $2 billion into Intel. The chip firm has been scuffling as competitors Nvidia and AMD have gotten a lead on them with chips used for AI. Techcrunch.com reports that SoftBank put out a statement about the deal, saying “strategic investment reflects our belief that advanced semiconductor manufacturing and supply will further expand in the United States, with Intel playing a critical role.” This is a continuation of investment in the US by Softbank, which recently bought a factory in Lordstown, Ohio owned by Foxconn aimed at building AI data enters.
Bill Gates and some others are offering a million dollar prize to accelerate Alzheimer’s research using AI. Geekwire.com notes that the Contest is organized by Alzheimer’s Disease Data Initiative, and is specifically aimed at the innovative use of agentic AI. Gates lost his Dad to the disease at age 94 back in 2020. Gates has noted that more than 7 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s, which works out to 1-in-9 people over the age of 65. He commented, “As life expectancies continue to go up, those numbers will only increase.”
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
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 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence, digital-marketing, marketing, technology Leave a commentThe 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 Platforms to Test ‘Community Notes’; Google Gemini Can Personalize Answers Based on Your Search History; Euro Sat Firms Compete to Replace Starlink in Ukraine; EPA Dumping Higher Fuel Economy Regs
Posted: March 13, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence, chatgpt, marketing, technology Leave a commentStarting in just a few days, on March 18th, Meta platforms Facebook, Instagram, and Threads will begin testing Community Notes. According to engadget.com, notes won’t appear publicly on posts right away. The company wants to make sure the writing and rating system is working as intended before the notes start showing up for everyone. If this Community Notes bit sounds familiar, that’s because it is a pretty clear ripoff from X…which Meta even admits. They are saying it will bring extra context to posts that could use more explanation, clarity or perhaps a correction. In fact, Meta will initially base its ratings system on X’s open-source algorithm. “This will allow us to build on what X has created and improve it for our own platforms over time,” the company said in its announcement. Considering the way Community Notes has sometimes worked on X, I would expect extra chaos…as some contributors post bs alleged ‘clarifications’ that slant things towards their political views. Hey, they are free platforms…remember always that YOU are the product!
Google Gemini will now be able to personalize answers based on your search history. Of all the things Google has going that sets it apart from every other platform, your search history has to top the list. Now, theverge.com reports that ‘the Google’ will be using this muscle to give you highly personalized responses.If you activate the personalization, Gemini will automatically analyze your query to see if referring to your search history can ‘enhance’ its response. Gemini will also connect in the future to your YouTube and Google Photos, enabling it to really drill down to personalize responses. By the way, you can disconnect your search history from Gemini at any time, and Google is providing a ‘clear banner’ with a link to do so.
Ukraine may not have to worry about on-again, off-again access to Elon Musk’s Starlink satellites for info they need in fighting off the Russians. European Union governments are in talks with 4 different satellite companies about providing service to Ukraine. Thenextweb.com says European leaders are increasingly concerned about relying on Starlink — fears stoked by a Reuters report that US officials had threatened to cut off the system in Ukraine if the country didn’t meet their demands on sharing its mineral wealth. It should be noted that Musk himself said this wasn’t the case. Nonetheless, the UK’s Inmarsat, Luxembourg’s SES, and Spain’s Hisdesat — told the Financial Times they were also discussing with governments and EU institutions about how to provide back-up connectivity to Ukraine.
The Trump administration’s EPA is wasting no time in killing off the higher fuel economy requirements that were set to go into effect in 2026 through 2032. According to arstechnica.com, this takes the gas off the pressure on carmakers to sell more electric vehicles. The corporate average fuel economy target now drops from 54.5 mpg to 40.4 mpg.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
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