Microsoft Lets You Uninstall Copilot; Next Year’s iPhones-‘Radical’ New Design; SpaceX Pressed Pentagon to Pay More for Starlink; Google Smartglases Xreal Thinks It Has Cracked Smartglasses Code
Posted: May 26, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, iPhone, AI, News, technology Leave a commentAfter only getting about 3.3% of users to pay for Copilot, Microsoft is finally letting users and administrators fully uninstall the Copilot app from Windows 11. Thenextweb.com reports that the April 2026 update is the one that allows this. The removal is a bit complicated for IT admins, but for home users, just go to Settings, then Apps, then Installed Apps, search for Copilot, and tap Uninstall. Microsoft notes that it can be reinstalled later from the Microsoft Store if you should ever want it.
There have been rumors for months about next year’s 20th anniversary iPhones getting something of a major facelift…including a curved display on all 4 sides, and under-display FaceID. Now, according to 9to5mac.com, the rumors have come into better focus. Earlier reports had an iPhone 20…or whatever they end up calling it…would be a brand new model. Now, supply chain reports indicate that the whole iPhone line will get the so-called ‘quad-curved screen’. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg had originally reported that the redesign would only apply to the iPhone 19 Pro and Pro Max. It does look like there will be a second generation iPhone Ultra…the folding phone…if hinge issues can be worked out, as well as a new iPhone Air coming in 2027 in addition to the iPhone 19 Pro models.
SpaceX has reportedly been using its market leverage to push the Pentagon to spend more on satellite internet. Reuters.com notes that weeks after the US military began its campaign against Iran, SpaceX executives reportedly met with Department of Defense officials to talk about pricing. The message from Elon Musk’s company was essentially: You’re paying about $5,000 per Starlink terminal monthly, but you’re using it like a higher-tier aviation subscription that costs $25,000 per month. Time to upgrade. After some haggling, the Pentagon caved, and now it has nearly doubled the cost of using LUCAS kamikaze drones. A DoD spokesperson told Reuters that the agency is shopping around for Starlink competitors…but the pickens are slim…with almost 10,000 satellites that account for about 60% of the global total in orbit, SpaceX has the upper hand…for now.
Smartglasses are about to replace smartphones…we’ve been hearing that for years now. TechCrunch.com reports that Google’s partner on smart glasses…Xreal…believes it has mastered what’s needed to do the trick. The thought is that some lightweight smart glasses could pull people away from staring at their smartphone screens, and just get the info they want or need by looking at the glass they are already wearing. So far, ‘everybody’s losing money,’ according to Chi Xu, the founder and CEO of Xreal. Major issues have been thought to solve with glasses…they are most all large, bulky, and need either an outside computer like a smartphone, plus an outboard battery pack…not exactly svelte. Xreal has solved part of the problem…the glasses aren’t thick and ugly, but Xreal’s newest model Aura is wired smart glasses that have OLED displays embedded within them, meaning that you can watch high-resolution videos within the frames themselves. Somewhat awkwardly, Aura comes tethered to a “puck” — essentially a phone-shaped mini-computer that powers the experience behind the glasses. When using it, you can ostensibly just slip it into your pocket. The glasses are available for developers now, and should be out to the public later this year. Xu thinks they may actually be able to break even on them next year.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Amazon-Class Action Over No Tariff Refunds; Upgraded Siri May Launch in Beta; Next Wearable May Be Hairclip; Meta-Virtual Writing Coming to Meta-Ray Bans
Posted: May 18, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Amazon, Apple, Artificial Intelligence, Google, News, Tariffs, Tech, technology Leave a commentA class action suit is going after Amazon, demanding that the online giant refund money to users that was collected under the now held illegal Trump tariffs. Engadget.com reports that the suit…which was filed Friday in Seattle, accuses Amazon of profiting from “hundreds of millions of dollars in unlawful tariff costs.” Amazon is legally entitled to recover the costs after the Supreme Court decision ruling the taxes illegal. As of last week, companies started to receive money back from the US government. The suit says Amazon hasn’t engaged in this refund process, since it’s looking to “curry favor with Trump by allowing the federal government to retain the funds.” The suit continues, saying “Amazon has not returned any portion of those costs it passed on to consumers, and it has no intention of doing so. It has, in short, generated and retained a windfall from unlawful government action, and consumers — not Amazon — are the ones left paying for it.” Shipping companies such as FedEx, UPS, and DHL have already stated the process of getting refunds, and will pass the proceeds on to affected users.
After a couple years’ delay, the new, improved Siri may just launch in beta. Apple’s WWDC is coming up very soon, and the new Siri will certainly be an important component. According to appleinsider.com, the beta version will be able to be switched off, so you can use good old…make that bad old…regular Siri. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said the on-off button will be part of the iOS 27 release initially. Earlier this year, we reported that Apple was partnering with Google to use Gemini to bulk up the sorry Siri. Apparently, it is taking more time to get this done. I have ranted enough here about how terrible Siri is compared to Google, Alexa, and other assistants…so I suppose I will turn new Siri on…even in beta, it can’t be worse than what Apple has now.
It’s just sometimes fun to cover some of the hairbrained ideas that turn into improbable devices. This is one of those. Androidpolice.com says that a startup called Computer Angel has a prototype of a new wearable. It’s less obtrusive at capturing video than Meta’s Ray-Bans or the defunct Google Glass. Are you ready? It’s the DC Mini hair clip camera. While this looks to be a way to bring tech to more women…which is great…it is a long way from being anything but dorky. The hair clip camera is about a half inch thick, and 3 inches long. It not only looks silly, but with that size, it probably will be sliding down the hair constantly, and will need to be moved back in place. It is being sold as a ’stylish alternative to smart glasses.’ Well, no. It’s a dorky alternative. The startup is touting is as a storytelling device, to document your life…so-called personal vlogging. We’ll let you know if this thing makes it out of development. Computer Angel feels like it will be a big hit in China.
New features are rolling out to all users of Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses.They have been available in a developer preview. Theverge.com reports that you will now be able to write messages with just hand gestures. You do need to use the included so-called ‘neural’ wist band. Another feature being dropped is what Meta calls ‘Display Recording. With that, you’ll be able to capture a video that combines what you’re seeing in the lens display, what you see in the real world, and the audio around you. Walking directions are now available “throughout the entire US” and in “major international cities like London, Paris, Rome, and more.” And live captions will be available on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and with voice messages in Instagram DMs.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Anthropic Sues Government over ‘Supply Chain Risk; Russian Government Hackers Hitting Signal & WhatsApp; Pennsylvania Newest State Fighting Dynamic Pricing; Sony Testing Playstation Dynamic Pricing
Posted: March 9, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence, chatgpt, News, technology Leave a commentAfter the government not only cut ties with Anthropic over their refusal to let the government use Claude for mass surveillance of US citizens or operating weapons systems without human intervention, the government also designated the company as a ‘supply chain risk,’ with can significantly affect their business. Engadget.com reports that Anthropic has now sued the government over this, as expected. The lawsuit claims the designation is unlawful and violated free speech and due process rights. Anthropic’s statement to media said “These actions are unprecedented and unlawful. The Constitution does not allow the government to wield its enormous power to punish a company for its protected speech.” The AI company further said that the government action was part of an ‘unprecedented and unlawful…campaign of retaliation.’ Now, the slugfest in the courts begins.
The Netherlands Defense Intelligence and Security Service has reveled that the Russians are in the midst of a ‘large scale global’ hacking campaign against Signal and WhatsApp users. According to techcrunch.com, they are using phishing and social engineering technics instead of malware to take over accounts on the apps. They are posing on Signal as the app’s support team. On WhatsApp, they are abusing the ‘linked devices’ function, that lets users access WhatsApp from a secondary device like your laptop or tablet. Just a word to the wise. Even platforms that have fully encrypted messaging can be hacked.
Pennsylvania is the newest state to jump into the fight against dynamic pricing. A bill in their legislature would ban ‘unfair methods of competition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce,” namely, promoting or engaging in dynamic pricing. In the bill, dynamic pricing refers to changing the prices of essential goods or services within a 24-hour period based on demand or other factors, including the use of artificial intelligence. Mashable.com notes that dynamic pricing has become more common with retailers the last few years. Sometimes you will see something about ‘surge pricing’. Another aspect is surveillance pricing, which uses customers’ behaviors and characteristics to set different costs for the same items. And algorithmic pricing uses data — sometimes generalized data, such as when demand is highest, and other times personalized data, such as one’s demographic — to determine cost. Here you thought that just the increase in gas prices from the Iran war was bumping up grocery prices! Other states considering legislation concerning surveillance pricing are Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.
Speaking of dynamic pricing, a site called PSprices has been tracking prices on Sony’s digital game store, and noticed that some games were being offered at different prices to different users. What’s more, those offers are tracked in the PlayStation API with experiment identifiers.The site says Sony is running A/B testing on prices for over 150 games in 58 regions…although so far, the US doesn’t see to be included. This is yet another reason states are stepping in where the feds won’t, and passing laws against dynamic pricing…which is such a sneaky way to take more money out of your pocket…and in a lot of cases, without you even knowing it.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked Highlights Feb ’26
Posted: February 26, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: News, Samsung, Smartphone, Tech, technology Leave a commentAfter the usual multitude of leaks, today we got the official rollout of the Samsung Galaxy S26 series of smartphones with Galaxy Unpacked. Note that there are no folders today. Samsung generally releases those in late August, 2-3 weeks before Apple’s phone extravaganza. 9to5google. reports that maybe the biggest change is the pricing. We’ll get to that in a minute. The headline is that not much has changed from the S25 series. That’s not such a bad thing…the S25’s are great phones. The Galaxy S26 Ultra gets more rounded corners like the other top line S26 phones…which, in my opinion, it needed. It stays with the huge 6.9 inch display. The Ultra gets a unified camera bump, but visually, it’s pretty identical to last year’s model.
The S26 and S26+ are virtually identical to the models they replace, again except for the updated camera module. The S26 and Plus both rock the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 system. The Ultra gets a new Vapor Chamber. One new feature on the Ultra is Privacy Display. What does it do for you? Well, if the system detects something that could be sensitive, like incoming notification, it obscures them from off-angle viewers. It is customizable, by the way. This is a good feature and it would be nice to be offered on the other two models. The S Pen on the ultra now only comes in black and white.
The S26 does get a bigger battery, and the Ultra gets Super Fast Charging 3.0…up to 60W speeds. That’s great for people who seem to always forget to charge their phone overnight…we all know some of those people. You’re in the car and ‘Hey, can I borrow a cord and top off my phone…it’s about to die.’ The Plus and Ultra both get upgrades to their charging speeds with Qi2 at 20W and 25W respectively. NO built in magnets, though. That is a drag. Both Google and Apple offer those.
There are some minor software upgrades to the cameras, including the Ultra’s wider apertures and ‘Nightography Video’. Of course, Samsung is touting its more muscular AI. Samsung claims that with its One UI 8.5, it will ‘simplify’ your life. Nudge will make you ‘timely suggestions’ as you use the phone. Nudge…seriously? They named it Nudge.
The phones will be out March 11th, with the same colors available on all three models. You can choose Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, White, and Black, with Pink Gold and Silver Shadow kept as Samsung.com exclusive. Now for what we were waiting for…the prices. The Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at $12.99.99 for 256 gigs. The Galaxy S26 starts at $899.99 for 256 gigs, and the S26+ starts at $1099.99. You can get 512 gigs on all three models, or pick 1TB for the Ultra.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ’Technified’ for now.
Google Pixel 10A; FDA Reverses-Will Review Moderna mRNA Flu Vaccine; Google Announces Dates for I/O; Tesla Avoids Suspension in California Over Full Self Driving Claim
Posted: February 18, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: covid, finance, Health, News, vaccines Leave a commentGoogle has dropped the Pixel 10A, their latest budget…or at least mid-priced phone. At $499, the price is still right, but theverge.com reports that it is really only slightly better than the 9A it replaces. The handset still has the same Tensor G4 chip as last year’s model, and just 8 gigs or RAM…which means it won’t have the horsepower to run the latest AI features that are available on the Pixel 10 series. No Magic Cue or Pixel Screenshots. If you are skeptical or just don’t like AI, you really won’t care. One new feature you might well care about is that the phone has SOS satellite communications…so if you are somewhere out of cell range and get into trouble, you can hold that phone up and call for help using the satellite connection. An example was given in an article of being chased by a bear in the woods. Note: any bear can outrun you. If you don’t need all the AI whistles and bells, the 10A is worth a look at under $500.
The FDA has reversed its stunning refusal to review Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine. According to arstechnica.com, the reversal was made by political appointee Vinay Prasad, the Trump administration’s top vaccine regulator, who overruled a team of agency scientists and a top career official in rejecting Moderna’s application. Prasad’s ostensible reason for initially refusing to review the application was based not on Moderna’s vaccine, mRNA-1010, but on the established flu vaccine Moderna used for comparison in its Phase 3 trial. Moderna used licensed standard-dose influenza vaccines, including Fluarix, made by GlaxoSmithKline, in the trial, which involved nearly 41,000 adults aged 50 and older. In a letter to Moderna dated February 3, Prasad said this choice “does not reflect the best-available standard of care,” and therefore the trial was not “adequate and well-controlled.” Moderna acknowledged that FDA scientists had previously suggested that the company use a recommended high-dose flu vaccine in trial participants 65 and older. But the agency ultimately signed off on the trial design with the uniform standard dose, calling it “acceptable.” No guarantee that the FDA will approve the vaccine, but at least they are going to review it.
Google has announced the dates for I/O 2026. Theverge.com reports that that it will be May 19th and 20th. In a news release Google says it will share the “latest AI breakthroughs and updates in products across the company, from Gemini to Android and more” during the event, which will take place in-person in Mountain View, California’s Shoreline Amphitheatre, and online.
Tesla has agreed to change language describing their glorified cruise control, and stop using the word ‘Autopilot.’ Techcrunch.com notes that Tesla has stopped using ‘Full Self-Driving Capability.’ Now, they will say Full Self-Driving (Supervised), which is actually pretty accurate. The Autopilot term was contested by the state, and in December, an administrative law judge agreed with the DMV’s request to suspend Tesla’s sales and manufacturing licenses in California for 30 days. That got Tesla’s attention. The state DMV said Tesla now had 60 days to comply. The company agreed, and has dropped the ‘Autopilot’ term in marketing its cars in California.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
EU Calls Out Meta-Blocking Rival Chatbots on WhatsApp; Discord Will Require Face Scan or ID for Full Access; Gadget Turns Car Display into Infotainment Center; Locking Down iPhone-For Reporters and Protestors
Posted: February 9, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence, News, security, technology Leave a commentThe European Union has warned Meta that it may take what they are calling ‘interim measures’ against WhatsApp. Engadget.com reports that the EU is doing a ‘preliminary review’ around concerns that Meta is violating antitrust laws by blocking third party AI assistants from its WhatsApp platform. Back in October, Meta announced update to the terms of its WhatsApp Business Solution. EU investigators say that a January 15th update ‘effectively’ makes Meta AI the only assistant available on WhatsApp. In a statement, Meta responded “The facts are that there is no reason for the EU to intervene in the WhatsApp Business API. There are many AI options and people can use them from app stores, operating systems, devices, websites, and industry partnerships.”
Discord has announced that it is rolling out age verification on the platform in the US. According to theverge.com, starting next month all accounts will be automatically be set to ‘teen-appropriate.’ If you want to access more, you will have to use a face scan or ID to get through the teen screen. Direct messages and servers that are not age-restricted will continue to function normally, but users won’t be able to send messages or view content in an age-restricted server until they complete the age check process, even if it’s a server they were part of before age verification rolled out. Discord had already started age checks in the UK and Australia.
This was bound to happen with the full screens that go door to door on your dashboard on a number of cars. There are some limitations, but now you can turn your screen into basically a smart TV. Bgr.com says if you buy a $60 Carlin Kit Fire Drive Link Pro, you can connect your vehicle with a wired CarPlay System to a Fire TV stick and stream movies or games. The Fire stick is not included, and so far it’s the only one they recommended using…but some people have gotten a Roku stick to work. There isn’t time here to detail all the steps, but it isn’t rocket science to hook up and use. If you are getting ready for a road trip this spring or summer, and have a late model car or SUV with a giant display, this may be a cheap way to entertain the passengers on the way to your destination.
This is not for everyone…but if you are out protesting, covering an event as a reporter, or getting video of Enforcement actions, you may want to lock down your iPhone. ZDnet.com notes that the Lockdown Mode feature has been on iPhone for a while now. To use it, you should make sure your phone is updated to the latest OS. Then, back up your phone first…if you have iCloud, your stuff is backed up nightly already. go to Settings, then Privacy and Security, and scroll to the bottom where you will find Lockdown Mode. Note that a LOT of features on your phone will be deactivated. Most message attachments are link previews are locked, incoming FaceTime calls, SharePlay, and more are turned off. It removes shared photo albums and strips location data from shared images, and more. Again, not something you want to do unless you are reporting or protesting…but worth knowing about.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Apple Folding Phone-Most Battery Life; Music Publishers Sue anthropic; Ring Opens Search Party for Lost Dogs to Non-Ring Cams; A So-Called AI Mouse
Posted: February 2, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, iPhone, News, Tech, technology Leave a commentAlong with numerous others, we have been following reports of Apple’s rumored folding phone, due out in September with the other iPhones. Apple is now revisiting making a ‘flip’ phone like Samsung has as a companion to the book type folder they will bow this fall. The big hype so far has been that Apple’s phones will have no visible crease on the inside screen when opened. Now, macrumors.com reports that the folding iPhone will have another major plus that all phone users crave…more battery life. Up to now The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 has had a 4400 mAh battery, and the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold has a battery capacity of 5015 mAh. Apple’s folder is rumored to have a powerful 5500 mAh battery, easily putting it at the top of the heap as far as battery life. The folding iPhone will apparently use high-density cells in the battery to get this great battery life. Besides no visible crease, and long battery life…expect the folding iPhone to have a 7.8 inch inner screen, and a 5.5 inch outside screen. It will also have Touch ID, 2 rear cams, and Apple’s own modem chip which they started using in their products last year. Rumors still have the price at around $2000 to $2200.
A number of music publishers have teamed up to sue Anthropic…maker of the Claude AI products…for $3 billion dollars for what they describe as ‘Flagrant piracy.’ According to engadget.com, the group is lead by Concord Music Group and Universal Music Group. Anthropic is accused in the suit of illegally downloading more than 20,000 copyrighted songs, including sheet music, lyrics and compositions. These songs were then allegedly fed into the chatbot Claude for training purposes. There are some iconic tunes named by Universal in the suit, including tracks by The Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond and Elton John, among many others. Concord is an independent publisher that handles artists like Common, Killer Mike and Korn. At $3 billion, this is one of the biggest non-class action copyright cases in US history. Anthropic was already nicked to the tune of $1.5 billion in a case called Bartz v Anthropic when they cut an agreement. There has been a rising uproar about AI companies basically stealing creative material from artists and writers to train their AI models.
Nothing freaks out pet owners more than when their dog or cat gets away outside and doesn’t return. Ring has had a ‘Search Party’ feature that uses to network of cams to find lost dogs. The feature has been available to most customers, but now is available to all Ring customers in the US AND those who don’t use Ring cams. Sharing video with police may be controversial, but everyone ought to be able to get behind this. Techcrunch.com notes that Search Party uses AI to find possible matches for lost dogs across neighbors’ camera footage. When a neighbor reports a lost dog in the Ring app, nearby outdoor cameras use AI to scan for possible matches. If a match is found, that camera owner receives an alert and can optionally choose to share any related video clips with their neighbor who reported the pet missing. They’ll also have an option to call the owner or send them a message, without sharing their own phone number. So far…since launch, the Search Party feature has reunited a dog a day with their owners.
I was looking at getting a mouse, since the trackpad on my PC laptop is getting flaky. On Amazon’s first page of results, there were wired mice starting at $6.99 and wireless ones for under $10 bucks. THEN, there’s a mouse that is ChatGPT AI compatible, takes notes, and so forth. $109! Gad, are there really people stupid enough to buy that? EVERY mouse is compatible with ChatGPT and AI.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Week Long Phone Battery Life Coming?; Apple Dynamic Island-Tiny Size and Moved; Sony TV Biz Spun to TCL; Sequoia Invests in Anthropic, Despite Also Backing OpenAI
Posted: January 20, 2026 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, iPhone, News, Tech, technology Leave a commentIt sounds like a dream come true for power users, or for those who just always forget to charge their phones. A 10,000 mAh battery is about to be shoehorned into a smartphone. Androidpolice.com reports that maker Realme has announced that it will put such a horse of a battery into its upcoming P4 Power phone. The phone is 8.5mm thick and weighs 215 grams, so the more powerful battery hasn’t really meant a giant brick shoved in your pocket. What Realme has done is use a 10% silicon anode in the battery and used a clever stacking system for components, making for maximum available space in the phone for the battery. While it may not give power users a whole week of use without plugging in, it will be close. Androidpolice.com noted that the OnePlus 15 has a 7300mAh battery and that lasts 3 to 4 days on a charge. It will be a nice breakthrough to see this phone out…and logically, to see similar tech show up in market leaders Samsung and Apple. Even making it 5 days through the work week without having to remember to charge will be huge.
There have been reports all year that the next iPhone will see a smaller ‘Dynamic Island.’ Now, according to apple insider.com, tipster Jon Prosser claims the iPhone 18 Pro could not only see the island and front cam shrink in size, but also but also move to the top left corner from the top center of the screen. In addition, Prosser joins others in saying that the iPhone 18 Pro will use an under display Face ID system. This will allow for more useable front screen area, without the clutter from cameras, etc. When the Dynamic Island expands for a notification or the like, it will grow to the right, but not down as the present one does…so again, leaving you more clean screen area.
Sony was the market leader in TVs and home entertainment for years. Lately, you would be hard pressed to see a Sony TV in any big box store or ads online. Now, the verge.com says Sony is spinning off its TV business to a joint venture with TCL. In the deal, TCL will hold a 51% stake. The company will still use the Sony and Bravia branding. A deal is supposed to be finalized by the end of this quarter. Sony has retained an aura of a premium brand, but TVs have become commoditized to the point that they have really been eclipsed by a number of other brands.
In an unusual departure, investment firm Sequoia Capital is pumping a bunch of cash into Anthropic, maker of the Claude AI. Techcrunch.com reports that investment firms have generally avoided backing competing companies in the same area, a Sequoia already has money in both OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI. In the case of being in those two AI startups that compete, it is notable that Sequoia already had ties to both Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and with Elon Musk. Anthropic is shooting to raise $350 billion in this funding round. Again, massive money is being pumped into AI, as we have noted here…with minuscule returns or no returns. For its part, Anthropic is allegedly planning an IPO this year.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Australian Kid Social Ban Starts; Nvidia Says China Isn’t Using Smuggled Top Chips; Petco Pulls Vetco Site-Customer Info Hacked; AI Boom Could Inflate GPU Prices Soon
Posted: December 10, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence, News, Nvidia, technology Leave a commentAustralia has become the first country to ban teens under 16 years old from social media. BBC.com reports that as of today, kids in the country have awakened to find their accounts have gone dark. As you might assume, a substantial number of kids there have already figured out work arounds, and are continuing to doomscroll on social media…and will until they are caught. At that point, they will find another hack. As you might imagine, tech companies are quite unhappy with this new law…which requires Meta, TikTok, and YouTube to take ‘reasonable steps’ to make sure the underaged Australians don’t have accounts on their platforms. Many global leaders cheered the ban, claiming it is necessary to protect children from harmful content and algorithms – though critics have argued blanket prohibition is neither practical nor wise. Count me as one of the critics that finds it impractical…how many memes and stories are there about kids helping parents or grandparents to use tech? The kids are smart and learn much more quickly than adults. The bans won’t work…in Australia or anywhere else.
After a report hit that said China was using smuggled top line Nvidia Blackwell chips in AI startup DeepSeek, Nvidia has put out a statement refuting the story. according to CNBC.com, the statement from Nvidia said in part, “We haven’t seen any substantiation or received tips of ‘phantom data centers’ constructed to deceive us and our OEM partners, then deconstructed, smuggled, and reconstructed somewhere else,” a Nvidia spokesperson said in a statement. “While such smuggling seems farfetched, we pursue any tip we receive.” We just reported yesterday that President Trump said Nvidia can ship its less powerful H200 chips to “approved customers” in China and elsewhere on the condition that the U.S. will get 25% of those sales. China has indicated that DeepSeek will soon have its own ‘next generation’ chips to support its AI models.
Petco has taken a portion of its Vetco Clinics website offline. Techcrunch.com says a security lapse exposed a lot of customer personal information and info about their pets. The lapse made it possible for anyone to download the records without needing a login. Besides pet info, the files contained customer names and home addresses, email, and phone number. They also showed the clinic location the person took their pet to. All their pet info was there, too…species, breed, sex, age and medical history, prescriptions, etc. The records dated back to at least 2020. Petco didn’t disclose how many people were affected, but they will have to if it was more than 500, under California law. Petco was hacked earlier this year but a hacking collective that demands a ransom, and they also had a data breach in September.
RAM chips have already gone up dramatically in price due to AI use hoovering them up. Now, graphics cards could be next. Engadget.com reports that AMD is weighing raising the price on its 8 gig models by $20 and its 16 gig cards by $40 due to the price of GDDR6 memory. NVIDIA, meanwhile, is rumored to have recently told its board partners it would no longer supply them with VRAM for their cards. On top of that, neither Nvidia nor AMD will releases new models soon…it may be the middle of next year. If you are thinking about buying a better GPU card, you’d better move fast.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
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