Amazon-AR Glasses like Meta’s Coming; Samsung Might Launch a Wider Z Fold Next Year; Microsoft Distances from OpenAI & Uses from Anthropic; Pfizer-Latest COVID Booster 4x Positive Results
Posted: September 10, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, chatgpt, News, Tech, technology Leave a commentThe tech companies have seen the future, and it apparently has all of us walking around, looking nerdy in augmented reality glasses. Yahoo.com reports that Amazon is working on AR glasses for consumers that would go head to head with Meta’s Ray-Bans. The glasses are code named ‘Jayhawk,’ which makes this former Kansan think that someone high on the development team is a Jayhawk themselves…an alum of Kansas University. At any rate, Amazon is aiming to have the AR glasses out by late 2026 or early 2027. Amazon has already been working on specialized glasses for delivery drivers. Those specs would provide turn by turn navigation on a small screen along routes and at each stop. The AR glasses allegedly would have a full-color display and a sleeker, less bulky design than the delivery model already in the works. Those ones should be out by the 2nd quarter of 2026…and Amazon plans to produce some 100,000 units.
With almost every phone maker either putting out a folding phone or working on one now, early leader Samsung is apparently working on a second Z Fold, to go along with the present Galaxy Z Fold 7 and its Z Flip 7 folding phones. According to bgr.com, Samsung is not only working on a tri-fold phone, but also on a wider Fold. The wider fold would have a flatter, square appearance when open, and a shorter overall design…something like an early Pixel fold design that was considered. The wide Fold would have an aspect ration of 18:18. Some speculators think the wider Fold might be related to the rumored Apple folding iPhone that may drop next year.
Microsoft, which was an early large investor in Open AI, has now taken steps to distance a bit from that artificial intelligence firm. Techcrunch.com says that Microsoft will pay for Anthropic’s AI in Office 365 apps. That means that Anthropic’s tech will help power new features in Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint alongside OpenAI’s, marking the end of Microsoft’s previous reliance solely on the ChatGPT maker for its productivity suite. Microsoft is presently negotiating a new deal with Open AI to secure access to its AI models after a pending for-profit restructuring. Apple has been using OpenAI’s ChatGPT as an extension of its flailing Siri, but lately, there is word that Apple is working on a deal to use Google’s Gemini AI. It appears that no one wants all their AI eggs in one basket.
Pfizer has announced that the 2025-26 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine boosts antibody levels by at least four times in older people and those with underlying medical conditions. Arstchnica.com notes that even with the patchwork of state-by-state access caused by Bobby Kennedy Jr’s nuttiness at Health & Human Services, this is some good news. The Kennedy/Trump FDA now limits COVID-19 vaccine approvals to people 65 and older or those under 64 if they have an underlying medical condition. Those conditions include asthma, diabetes, heart conditions, HIV, mental health conditions, Parkinson’s disease, obesity, or smoking.
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.
Samsung Snares $16.5 Billion Deal for Tesla Chips; iPhone 17 Pro May Get 8x Zoom & Pro Cam App; Microsoft Dropping China Based DoD Support Teams; Amazon Refund Text Scam
Posted: July 28, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, News, Samsung, Smartphone, Tech, technology, Tesla Leave a commentSamsung has inked a deal to build the Tesla A16 chip. The pact is worth some $16.5 billion. Engadget.com reports that the deal runs through 2033, and that the chips will be produced at Samsung’s huge new plant they are building near Tyler, Texas. Until this deal, Samsung had been thinking about delaying opening the plant due to not enough business. Samsung makes the A14 chips that run Tesla’s Full Self-Driving platform, but the A15 contract went to their competitor, Taiwan Semiconductor. The deal does come with a short leash for Samsung…”Samsung agreed to allow Tesla to assist in maximizing manufacturing efficiency,” Elon Musk stated in a post on his X platform.
The camera apps have become a banner feature for all smartphones, and as they have gotten better across the board, major upgrades have gotten less common. According to macrumors.com, the iPhone 17 Pro models will be getting some cool cameral upgrades. A tipster has apparently seen a commercial for the handsets that shows the telephoto zoom will go from 5 power to 8 power optically…and may even have a moving lens, allowing for continuous optical zoom at various focal lengths. On top of that, there is apparently a new pro camera app for both photos and videos. There are already some pro camera apps available from third parties, but this would be a first from Apple. A third rumor…which seems a bit dubious…is that there will be an additional cameral control button on the top edge. Since case makers are already producing cases for the phones, and none seem to have an opening for such a button, take this one with a grain of salt. Finally, Apple will allow shooting video with both front and rear cameras at the same time. As with the pro apps, you have been able to do this with third party software, but not with Apple’s own until now.
From the ‘why were they doing this in the first place’ department…Microsoft is going to stop using China based teams to support the Department of Defense. Ya think? Propublica.org notes that Redmond had been using the teams to support the Defense Department’s cloud computing systems. The support supposedly was for information that is not classified…BUT is nonetheless sensitive. As you might figure, this was a fertile area for spying and espionage. With the increasing amount of data in the cloud servers and AI to analyze it fast, Microsoft is moving away from these China based teams.
Here’s a new scam you may not have heard about. It’s a text proported to be from Amazon about a refund. Zdnet.com reports that the texts may say it was due to the product being recalled, or it is below Amazon standards, or maybe failed a routine inspection. You don’t even have to return it to get the refund…just click the link. You are correct….DON’T click that link! It goes to a phishing page where you are prompted to enter your Amazon credentials, payment info, and contact info. It’s always good practice to refrain from clicking links in texts and emails. Go to the site saved in your bookmarks and check there to see if there are any messages from the merchant like Amazon.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Google Pixel Event Aug. 20th; iPhone Fold May Be Less Pricy, Creaseless Screen Ex-Waymo Engineers Found Construction Automation Startup; Grok Adds AI Companion-Can be NSFW
Posted: July 16, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Google, grok, News, Pixel, Smartphone, Tech, technology Leave a commentGoogle will hold its next Pixel event on August 20th. The show will emanate from New York City starting at 1 PM Eastern. Theverge.com reports that Google said in the official invite that the will show quote: “the latest on our Pixel phones, watches, buds, and more.” The new Pixel phone lineup is supposed to have an updated base model…the Pixel 10, that will have 3 cams instead of two, and of course there will be updated Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10, and Pixel 10 Pro XL models. A completely dustproof Pixel 10 Pro Fold is a good possibility, too. The Watch 4 is expected to get a bigger battery and slightly thicker case.
Just when you…or at least I…thought we had most of the iPhone Fold news out there, more has popped up. One item in particular makes my prediction of a few days ago look way off. According to bgr.com, new rumors have the iPhone Fold coming in at a lot less money….predictions are in the $1800-$2000 range. With the just-announced Samsung Z Fold 7 priced at $1999.99, that would make the Apple device very competitive. the other new item about the Apple folder is that they will indeed have a creaseless screen, and Samsung is building a new factory specifically to make it for Apple. Samsung uses a plate under the crease that has been chemically etched to lessen the crease effect. Apple has developed laser drilling that will almost make the crease disappear. The Apple process is more costly…of course…but not that much. It will run $30-35 per unit, compared to the Samsung etched plates at $20. It may well be that next year, Samsung will switch processes, and have their Z Fold 8 come out without creases a month or so before Apple’s phone debuts.
Some former Waymo engineers have founded a startup aimed at automating construction. It’s called Bedrock Robotics…an interesting name, what with the Bedrock of Flintstones fame that, in the cartoon, used the human-operated dinosaurs at a quarry. TechCrunch.com says the company has been in stealth mode for about a year, but just raised $80 million from investors to proceed. The main focus is developing a self-driving kit that can be retrofitted to construction and other worksite vehicles. They are not the only ones trying to port self-driving to off-road work vehicles. Pronto out of San Francisco has developed a self-driving system for haulage trucks and other off-road vehicles used at construction and mining sites.
Of course it’s happening…it’s Musk. Grok, the AI chatbot from Elon’s xAI, is getting a couple of animated ‘companions.’ One is an animated girl called Ani, and the other is a red panda called Rudi. Mashable.com reports that the anime girl is lightly dressed-talking super short skirt and fishnet hose- and ‘flirty.’ It is basically something of a sexbot. Grok has even included a ‘level 3’ mode, where she goes not safe for work….NSFW…but you have to interact a bit and ‘get acquainted’ before you get to that level. Rudi the panda is essentially a story telling character. Even that bot has a naughty version…’Bad Rudy,’ which unleashes it to use courser language and expletives…which is a bit weird coming from an apparent animated red panda. Apparently, Elon and his crew aren’t concerned with getting any heat…these chatbots coming just days after Grok dubbed itself Mecha Hitler.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Senators Call for Investigation of Spotify Pricy New Bundle; Some Tesla Robotaxis Hit Austin Streets; Foldable iPhone in Production by Fall; Samsung Looks at Monthly Fee for Galaxy AI on Phones
Posted: June 23, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, business, News, Samsung, Smartphone, Spotify, Tech, technology, Tesla Leave a commentTwo Senators, one a Democrat, the other a Republican, have asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Spotify over allegations that the company bundled its music streaming and audiobook services into a more expensive subscription without obtaining user consent, while also reducing royalty payments to creators in the process. Techcrunch.com reports that the Senators are Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee from the GOP and Ben Ray Lujan, Democrat of New Mexico. The two senators noted that existing U.S. regulations permit digital music providers to pay a reduced music royalty rate if the subscription is bundled with other legitimate offerings. In a statement, they said “Spotify’s intent seems clear — to slash the statutory royalties it pays to songwriters and music publishers. Not only has this harmed our creative community, but this action has also harmed consumers.” A spotify spokesperson said the users were notified a month in advance of the price increase.
Although Elon Musk had bragged that there would be a million Tesla robotaxis on the roads by now, a much, much more modest launch has taken place in Austin, Texas. According to cnbc.com, the autonomous vehicles hit the streets Sunday. So far, there are only about 10 of them, and they are NOT the 2-passenger ones with no steering wheel or pedals Musk showed off. The vehicles are Model Y Teslas…and they have a safety driver for now. No serious mishaps yesterday, although one was filmed going the wrong way down a road in Austin. Tesla has a lot of catching up to up to do…Alphabet’s Waymo has now gotten to more than a quarter million commercial driverless rides per week, and surpassed 10 million trips last month!
They are late to the game, but that has worked out for Apple before…think of the iPod, and how it took over the portable music world, then of course, the iPhone itself. Now, Cupertino is poised to start building their folding iPhone…after Samsung has cranked out 6 different yearly models of its folding phones, and will release the 7th generation next month. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple will actually launch the device in the fall of 2026 as one of the iPhone 18 models. Ironically, the display will be produced by Samsung Display. details aren’t final, but it appears it have an outside display of 5.5 inches, and inner one of 7.8 inches when open. It will be the book-type like the Samsung Galaxy Fold, rather than the flip style. Kuo estimates it to run $2000-$2500. My bet is that it will come in at $2400!
Samsung has had its Galaxy AI suite of features on the S24 phones now for almost a year and a half. Now, they are talking about a subscription model for at least some AI features. Bgr.com reports that a price could be unveiled when they launch the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 next month. No charges would go into effect until the end of 2025, as promised by Samsung. The real key? Will enough users find Galaxy AI valuable enough to them to pay for it? It has been noted that Galaxy AI does do more than Apple Intelligence on iPhones, and we all know companies have been spending billions on building out AI. The figure isn’t known, but Samsung is apparently paying Google a ton of money to run Gemini on their Galaxy phones. In the case of Apple and Google, they have their own AI models and servers.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
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 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Gaming, News, Nintendo, Nintendo Switch, Video Games Leave a commentA 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.
Google I/O Underway; Apple WWDC Dates & Predictions; Nintendo Using Samsung Chips for the Switch 2; The Take It Down Act Signed into Law
Posted: May 20, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Apple, Google, News, Nintendo, switch-2, Tech, technology Leave a commentGoogle I/O- The keynote by Sundar Pichai kicked off the event at 10 Pacific this morning. The CEO jumped right in to AI, summarizing Gemini 2.5 progress and developer adaption. 9to5google.com reports that Pichai is claiming that Google Search is bringing AI to more people than any product in the world. Project Starline 3D video conferencing has been renamed Google Beam. The CEO touted Google Meet speech translation, saying it is like having a human interpreter on a call. Google says Gemini Live Camera and screen sharing is coming to iOS. As with Microsoft and others, Gemini is getting an Agent Mode. It’s all about the AI agents at the moment. For Gmail, Google is going to give us personalized smart replies starting later this summer. There’s much more, but with a 2 hour keynote, some of it will have to wait!
Apple has released the dates for this year’s WWDC It will be June 9th to 13th with the tag line ‘On the Horizon.’ According to TechCrunch.com, we should see the usual teases of the updated operating systems, and a lot about Apple Intelligence. Apple is also planning to update the look of its screens in the operating systems for the first time in years. Look for refreshed icons, menus, apps, window, and system buttons…with the emphasis on simplifying navigation and control. Apple will have online group sessions at WWDC for the first time this year.
Nintendo is using Samsung to produce the primary chips for the Switch 2, including an 8 nanometer processor custom designed by NVIDIA. Engadget.com notes that this is a move away from Taiwan based TSMC, which has built the chips for the original switch since 2017. Nintendo has been buying flash memories and displays from Samsung. The word is, they will build enough chips for Nintendo to ship some 20 million or more Switch 2s by March 2026.
The president has signed the Take it Down Act, which beefs up federal protections for victims of revenge porn and AI generated sexual images. The bipartisan bill was introduced by Senator Amy Koobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota and Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas. It makes it illegal to “knowingly publish” or threaten to share nonconsensual intimate imagery—whether real or generated by artificial intelligence—without the person’s consent. It also requires tech platforms to remove such images within 48 hours of being notified and to take steps to eliminate duplicate content. Up to now, federal law only banned the creation or distribution of realistic, AI-generated explicit images of children, while protections for adults varied by state. As a result, laws differed in how the crime was classified and penalized, leading to inconsistent criminal prosecutions. Some victims also struggled to have images taken down from websites. This legislation, which garnered overwhelming bipartisan support, marks the first federal law aimed at protecting adult victims.
I’m Clark Reid, and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Samsung Upgrading Hinges on Z Fold 7; Apple Easing Apple Intelligence Away from Siri; Microsoft-AI to Accelerate Scientific Discovery; Sesame Street to Air on PBS & Netflix Simultaneously
Posted: May 19, 2025 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, Microsoft, News, Samsung, sesame-street, Smartphone, Tech, technology Leave a commentSamsung is apparently going to upgrade the hinges on the Galaxy Z fold 7 and ti-fold…but not the Z Flip 7. 9to5google.com reports that Samsung will use titanium in the new hinges, strengthening them. The tri-fold gadget…possible to be called the Galaxy G Fold will get the hinges in addition to the Z Fold 7. The Z Flip 7 will not get the new hinge, and won’t get any slimmer. It should be noted that Motorola put a titanium hinge on the 2025 Razr, and Apple is going titanium combination on their upcoming folding phone. Up to now, Samsung has used a stainless steel hinge on all its folders. Last year’s Z Fold SE got titanium, and now the tech will spread. As for the Z Fold? Maybe on the 8…
It appears that hapless Siri will not get a lot of time during Apple’s WWDC coming up next month. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple was caught somewhat flat-footed with the rapid trend towards generative AI. The net is, with Siri AI upgrades delayed, Apple will be adding Apple Intelligence to other apps, and introduce an AI battery optimization tool, in addition to a virtual health coach. Poor Siri…Cupertino is even working on implementing a new capability for European Union residents: the ability to ditch Siri entirely. Instead of having Siri as your voice assistant, you’ll be able to use third-party options. Specific third-party options weren’t named, but it’s worth noting that this will be a distinct feature from the already-existing ChatGPT integration in Siri. Honestly, I swear at Siri half the time when it fails to do the simplest things when dealing with my very simple home automation…which is primarily lights and cameras. It’s not surprising that Apple wants to distance Apple Intelligence as much as possible from Siri.
Among a slew of announcements from Microsoft today at their Build 2025 conference, one interesting reveal is Microsoft Discovery. TechCrunch.com notes that Redmond is claiming that Discovery is a platform that taps agentic AI to “transform the [scientific] discovery process,” according to a press release provided to TechCrunch. Microsoft Discovery is “extensible,” Microsoft says, and can handle certain science-related workloads “end-to-end.” They are saying that “The platform enables scientists and researchers to collaborate with a team of specialized AI agents to help drive scientific outcomes with speed, scale, and accuracy using the latest innovations in AI and supercomputing.” Other AI purveyors are also on the science bandwagon, with Google rolling out ‘AI co-scientist’ earlier this year, and Anthropic and OpenAI also crowing that AI tools will massively accelerate scientific discovery…particularly in medicine.
With the uncertainty of funding coming out of the present administration, Sesame Street is taking a proactive move…they will air on PBS and now on Netflix at the same time. Engadget.com reports that the beloved kids’ show will be available worldwide on Netflix and on PBS in the US. Episodes will be released the same day on Netflix, PBS stations and PBS kids. The deal also includes some 90 hours of prior Sesame Street episodes. Sesame Street had lived on HBO for the last 10 years in addition to PBS, but HBO didn’t renew its deal.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
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