Temu-Most Downloaded App; Foldable iPad in Works; Musk Wants to Challenge Gmail; Meta Bows Tool to Watermark AI Videos
Posted: December 16, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence, Google, News, technology Leave a commentTemu, the Chinese shopping app that has been dinged for shoddy products by some, is again the most downloaded free app on the US Apple App Store. TechCrunch.com reports that the shopping app took the #1 slot last year, displacing TikTok, which is still #3, behind Meta’s Threads app at #2. The 4th most downloaded is ChatGPT, while Google’s Search App is 5th. In 6th place is Instagram, with the #7 slot being held by WhatsApp. After that comes CapCut (which is owned by TikTok maker ByteDance), then YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps, Shein, and Facebook at lucky (or not) 13. What about the rest of the top 20? Look for Telegram, Snapchat, Cash App, Spotify, Max, McDonald’s, and Amazon.
It won’t be for a while, yet, but Apple is working son a king-sized folding iPad that opens up to the size of a couple iPad Pros side by side. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg says we should expect it around 2028. The folder will sport a 20 inch display. Apple’s biggest issue…as is every maker’s with folding devices…is to avoid the crease down the middle of the screen when the device is open. Samsung has been trying to minimize the crease since their first folding phone in 2019…it’s a tough nut to crack. Apple is aiming for the folding iPad to look like ‘a single, uninterrupted piece of glass.’ Reports are that the crease is close to invisible now, but close might not be good enough for Apple. It is unclear if it will run some version of iPad OS or if it will be robust enough to run the MacOS.
From the ‘good luck with that’ department, Elon Musk is apparently planning to take on Google’s Gmail with an X Mail affiliated with his X platform. According to androidpolice.com, Musk replied to a user asking about an email format of yourname@x.com, Elon replied ‘Yeah. On the list of things to do.’ As for dethroning Gmail…that will be a mountain to climb for Musk…Gmail presently has over 1.8 billion active users, and Gmail is pretty deeply integrated into the Google ecosystem. Musk is apparently aiming for something more like a DM style interface, but it’s doubtful that such will work for most folks…who are used to the advanced search, seamless integration with Google Workspace, and strong security features found in Gmail.
This is an especially timely move by Meta, with all the activity around deepfakes. CBS did a segment on 60 Minutes about so-called ‘nudity’ sites like Clothoff, (which I purposely left the suffix off of) that use AI to produce very realistic pictures of people with their clothing removed to make nude photos and videos. Well, Meta has rolled out a tool for watermarking AI-generated videos. TechCrunch.com reports that since 2023 there has been a 4 times increase in deepfakes worldwide. The tool, called Meta Video Seal, is available in open source and designed to be integrated into existing software. The tool joins Meta’s other watermarking tools, Watermark Anything (re-released today under a permissive license) and Audio Seal. DeepMind also has a tool called SynthID that can watermark videos, and Microsoft has its own video watermarking techniques. In addition to a watermark, Video Seal can add a hidden message to videos that can later be uncovered to determine their origins. Meta claims that Video Seal is resilient against common edits like blurring and cropping, as well as popular compression algorithms.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Sony-Making Handheld Console; Amazon-Another $4 Billion to Anthropic; Power Phone Off Once a Week-NSA; Researchers Find Way to Grow Plants Without Light
Posted: November 25, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Gaming, News, Nintendo, PlayStation, Sony Leave a commentSony is working on a handheld gaming console that will let users play PS 5 games anywhere. Theverge.com reports that this will put Sony into the fray with Nintendo, Microsoft, and The Valve Steam Deck. That’s all well and good, but the reporting has the portable ‘years away from launch.’ Not so good for Sony. While Sony fiddles, Nintendo will have a next gen successor to its very popular Switch console next year. Microsoft is developing its own Xbox prototype…but that also may be a few years out, as with Sony. This doesn’t leave the market entirely to Nintendo…Valve has already put out a second generation Steam Deck that plays its games.
Amazon has pumped another $4 billion into AI maker Anthropic, the people that make the Claude large language model that is the biggest competitor for OpenAI’s ChatGPT. According to arstechnica.com, this will bring Amazon’s stake to $8 billion…but they do remain in a minority investor position at that level. One key behind the deal…chips. While Nvidia currently dominates the AI chip market with customers that include most major tech companies, some cloud providers like Amazon have begun developing their own AI-specific processors. Under the agreement, Anthropic will train and deploy its foundation models using Amazon’s custom-built Trainium (for training AI models) and its Inferentia chips (for AI inference, the term for running trained models). The company will also work with Amazon’s Annapurna Labs division to advance processor development for AI applications.
We have previously reported that iOS 18 and later updates make it harder for hackers…as well as governments…to get into your phone. Now, none other than the NSA…the National Security Agency…warns that you should turn your phone on and off at least once a week. Why? Zdnet.com says the government spy agency indicates that doing so will make it harder for hackers to steal info from your phone. The feds also say to update your apps, and update your operation system regularly. You also ought to avoid public networks…just use cellular unless you have a VPN for your phone.
In one of the wilder stories I’ve seen, some researchers have figured out a way to grow plants without sunlight. Bgr.com reports that they are doing so through what they call electro-agriculture. Simply put, they leverage electricity to power plant growth, bypassing the need for photosynthesis. The scientists have engineered plants capable of thriving in total darkness, feeding off acetate instead of sunlight, making it possible to grow plants without sunlight. And the implications of this breakthrough are absolutely staggering. Some researchers believe that it could lower the land needed for agriculture by as much as 90 percent. Imagine freeing up vast tracts of farmland for reforestation or conservation while growing crops in vertical indoor farms closer to urban centers. Combined with the ongoing success of lab-grown meats, we could be on the verge of a food industry revolution.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Rumored iPhone ‘Air’ May Be Slimmest iPhone; DOJ Will Try to Break Up Google; Microsoft Makes $349 Hardware Device for Secure Cloud Connection; Door Dash App-Can Import Grocery Lists Now
Posted: November 19, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Apple, Google, News, technology Leave a commentJony Ive may be long gone, but apparently Apple’s fetish for thinness isn’t. Macrumors.com reports that Apple Analyst Jeff Pu agrees with a recent rumor saying the upcoming ‘iPhone 17 Air’ will be around 6 mm thick. If that turns out to be accurate, it will be the thinnest iPhone ever. Note that no one knows what the handset will be called, but most are dubbing it the iPhone Air. Up to now, the thinnest iPhone has been the iPhone 6 at 6.9 mm. The iPhone Air would be about 3/4 as thick as any of the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro models. It is expected to have a 6.6 inch display, A19 chip, and the dynamic island, but only one rear camera.
We’ve been waiting to see what the Department of Justice had in mind as far as its antitrust action against Google. now we have a better idea. According to theverge.com, the DOJ wants Google to sell off its Chrome browser. This after the judge ruled Google had maintained an illegal search monopoly. Chrome is the world’s most widely used browser. Other DOJ requirements include Google separating Android from Search and Google Play…but they don’t intend to make them sell off Android. It remains to be seen what the incoming DOJ will do with regards to keeping or changing these demands after January 20th.
Microsoft has announced the Windows 365 Link. The gadget “enables desk-based users to work securely on a familiar Windows desktop in the Microsoft Cloud with responsive, high-fidelity experiences.” Engadget.com notes that the 365 Link is a small, lightweight device that Microsoft claims can immediately wake from sleep, boot up in seconds and locally process video conferencing solutions like Microsoft Teams. It doesn’t store local data or apps, has security baseline policies enabled and doesn’t allow for individuals to disable security features. Plus, logging in requires Microsoft Entra ID along with the Microsoft Authenticator app or USB security keys. The box should be available in what they are calling ‘select areas’ in April 2025 for $349. Kind of sounds like a larger, more expensive but more secure dongle to me!
Door Dash’s app is now able to import your grocery list for faster shopping. Techcrunch.com reports that you just choose a store where you want to shop and select the button Create a list or Import a list. With the create, you can copy and paste from anywhere on your phone. Import only works with Reminders on iOS at the moment, but Android support is coming. You can also now search for an item across different merchants, displaying prices and estimated delivery times all in one place.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Microsoft Enters Book Biz; Samsung Making XR Glasses Similar to Meta’s Ray-Bans; Some Bluesky Tips; Trump Names Project 2025 Contributor to FCC Chair
Posted: November 18, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Google, Microsoft, News, technology Leave a commentMicrosoft is jumping into the book business with their own imprint, 8080 Books. Geekwire.com reports that Microsoft is aiming for the sweet spot between the speed of social media and the lasting impact of books…planning to bring new titles to market much faster than traditional publishing allows. In the charter for the new venture, Microsoft says the goal is “to publish original research, ideas, and insights at the intersection of science, technology, and business, and in doing so, help advance the discourse and debate.” Normally, a publishing house takes 6 to 9 months to get from manuscript to market…Redmond is shooting for 90 days. By the way, why 8080 Books? If you see the logo it’s a hint…it is a hat tip to the 8080 Intel processors that the first Microsoft software ran on.
Samsung has some new XR glasses coming out…looking at the second half of 2025 for a release date. According to 9to5google.com, they are being developed in partnership with Google, and they will share some of the specs with the popular Meta Ray-Ban glasses. OK, sorry about the specs/glasses pun! Samsung expects to sell 500,000 of the smart glasses. They will feature a 12MP camera and 155 mAh battery, about like Meta’s. What is unclear at this point is whether they will have a display or not. We do expect them to use Google’s Gemini AI, however.
Millions have jumped to Bluesky and abandoned X. I cancelled X last week after 14 years on Twitter/X. Find me at clarkreidsf.bsky.social. The fledgling platform has ballooned from 9 to 15 million users just since the election. A lot of it looks like old Twitter…direct messages, ability to pin post and even videos up to 60 seconds. One thing I like is you can basically choose your own algorithm or moderation tools. They have a discover feed, but you can make a Following feed, a Popular with Friends one, and Mutuals…reposts by people you follow. I love the Following feed…it’s just a classic feed of accounts you follow in chronological order. What’s so hard about that, other platforms? It’s what most people want. You can also easily mute and block trolls, and there are these ‘packs’ people have built of accounts you might like to follow. You can pick those accounts a la carte, or choose them as a bundle to bulk up your Following feed quickly. Check it out.
In the parade of appointees Donald Trump has announced…most to the horror of those politically to the left and center, a new one is FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr as FCC Chairman. Engadget.com notes that Carr was the author of the FCC portion of Project 2025, and that he has previously argued in favor of punishing TV networks for political bias and regulating big tech firms like Google and Apple. The appointment doesn’t require the usual senate approval, since Carr has sat on the Commission since 2017. The incoming president always gets to appoint a person from his party as Chairman. Here is a taste of what might be ahead from a post by Carr on X last week: “The censorship cartel must be dismantled. Broadcast media have had the privilege of using a scarce and valuable public resource — our airwaves. When the transition is complete, the FCC will enforce this public interest obligation.” It is worth pointing out out that unless Congress changes some law, the FCC can’t regulate the internet like Carr would like to.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Amazon-Delivery Driver AR Glasses Coming; Massive iPhone Cam Upgrade in ’26; Signal Features = More Like Meet & Zoom; Got $3 Mil-Buy Batman’s Tumbler
Posted: November 12, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Camera, News, photography, Tech, technology Leave a commentThe revenge of Google Glass continues, as everyone seems to be working on smart glasses now. Amazon is apparently working on some for their delivery drivers to use. Engadget.com reports that Amazon thinks using the things can shave ‘seconds’ from each delivery…making productivity even higher…because apparently it can never be high enough for Amazon. The embedded display to guide delivery drivers around and within buildings. They will allegedly also provide drivers with “turn-by-turn navigation” instructions while driving. Finally, wearing AR glasses means that drivers won’t have to carry a handheld GPS device. You know what that means. They’ll be able to carry more packages at once. You can bet they will also have a cam in them, so the driver can just look at your porch and take a photo of your delivery. How was it? Was it great? Send back that email!
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says we will be seeing a massive iPhone camera upgrade in 2026. According to mashable.com, Cupertino is working on adding a variable aperture main cam to its iPhone 18 Pros. A variable aperture main camera should bring noticeable improvements; the camera should perform better in low light, as the variable aperture allows the camera to control how much light hits the lens. It could also improve portrait mode, as variable aperture should allow for more precise depth of field control. This will be great for pro photographers who know how to use such a feature. Most of us will probably do the same with the phone camera as we have with a DSLR…leave the thing set to ‘A’ for automatic!
Signal has added some features in order to be more like Zoom and Google Meet. You can now share a link to a call. Theverge.com says up to now you could only initiate a call from a Signal group chat. You can also re-use call links..which ought to be handy for recurring meetings. Signal has also aded a ‘raise hand’ button to indicate you have something to say, and they have added emojis too…so you can express yourself with those little devils. The new features are out now on Android, iOS, and desktop.
So, you’ve got $3 million bucks to burn, and Christmas is coming. You want something extra special for yourself. Why not contact Wayne Enterprises and buy yourself a Batmobile ‘Tumbler’ from ‘Batman Begins’ and ‘The Dark Knight?’ There are 10 of them available for a mere $2,990,000 each. Oh…by the way…you had better be rich enough to have private roads, ‘cause these babies aren’t street-legal! Go to Brucewaynex.com. They are being sold by invitation only. The Tumbler is made of kevlar, carbon fiber, and sheet metal as well as fiberglas, and it has a 6.2 liter engine. The gun turrets and jet engine are fakes. If you buy one, send me a picture of yourself terrorizing the Joker in it.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Google Pre-Black Friday Deals; Apple Vision Pro Fall 2025; TSMC Cuts Advanced Chip Shipments to China; Researchers-Harvest Electricity from Styrofoam
Posted: November 11, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Apple, News, Tech, technology, vision-pro Leave a commentThe Google store has dropped some nice pre-Black Friday deals. 9to5google.com reports that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is now $1499, a $300 discount. You can pick one up at that price for now at Amazon and Best Buy. The base Pixel 9 has been cut $150 to $649, from those same sources. You can pick up a Bluetooth Pixel Watch 3 for $70. Hurry…the bargains are only in effect until midnight tomorrow night, November 12th.
Although we reported last week that Apple has all but flushed the cheaper headset…at least for now, the Vision Pro 2, successor to Apple’s pricy mixed reality headset, is still in the works for release either by next fall, or by spring of 2026. This according to Mark Gurman from Bloomberg. The Vision Pro 2 is expected to get the M5 chips…at virtually the same time the Macs get that next system. Expect the 2.0 version to look virtually identical to the original, with all the updates coming to internals. Don’t expect a cheaper price…it’s Apple, are you kidding?
At the request of the US Department of Commerce, Taiwan Semiconductor has halted advanced chip shipments to Chinese customers. TechCrunch.com says this will particularly hurt Huawei, which already faced significant trade restrictions from the US. The feds are now checking to see if other companies are diverting chips to Huawei. The advanced chips are most often used on artificial intelligence systems. Nvidia had already been under chip export restrictions to China.
Researchers at RMIT University have found a way to generate electricity from Styrofoam. Bgr.com reports that they capture the static electricity generated by the stuff when it is exposed to flowing air…thereby converting an environmental headache into useable power. The scientists put the Styrofoam near places air was flowing…like HVAC systems, and a continuous stream of small current was generated…helping offset the energy draw of the HVAC units themselves. If it scales up well, this could be yet another way to ween ourselves off fossil fuel power.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Amazon Delays AI Powered Alexa; Apple Cheaper Vision Headset Put off; X Updates Block to Not be As Blocky; Meta’s Nuclear Powered Data Center Stopped by Bees
Posted: November 4, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Amazon, energy, News, nuclear-power, technology Leave a commentAmazon is delaying its planned AI powered Alexa to 2025. Mashable.com reports that the online giant has run into problems in testing the AI powered Alexa. Apparently, it can give long, rambling answers that aren’t entirely relevant to the original query. Other alleged problems include hallucinations and, stunningly, a failure to work with connected smart devices like light switches consistently. Although Amazon hasn’t commented publicly, they have turned off beta access.
Analyst and Apple watcher Ming-Chi Kuo said over the weekend that Apple has delayed its plan to release a more affordable Apple Vision headset in 2025. According to 9to5mac.com, Apple had previously planned such a device…rumored to be priced at around $2000. The cheaper one would have lower resolution displays and no support for EyeSight. Kuo does expect a freshened Vision Pro next year, with the M5 chip and support for Apple intelligence. Apple may actually be rethinking the less expensive Vision Pro. The cheaper HomePod Mini really failed to make the HomePods a big hit as a product line.
As announced previously, X has started rolling out a mainly unwanted ‘feature.’ Techcrunch.com notes that now, blocked users will be able to see your public posts. Users have protested this change, but X is proceeding anyway. They claim that the logic behind this change was that the block feature can be used to share and hide harmful or private information about someone, and its new iteration would result in more transparency. This mostly falls flat, given that X allows users to make their accounts private and share information. As one software engineer and diversity advocate named Tracy Chou put it…“Making it easy for the creeper to creep is not a good thing.”
Meta had planned a massive data center powered by Nuclear power, but it has been shelved due to…bees. Gizmodo.com reports that the land for the planned data center was inhabited by a rare bee species, which would have complicated the whole process. All the big tech firms seem to be looking to nuclear power to feed their hungry data centers. Amazon had a setback a week ago when the government denied a request to use 480 megawatts of the Susquehanna nuclear power plant. Amazon will still be allowed to use 300 megawatts. Microsoft is pouring billions into re-commissioning the old Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Threads 275 Million Users & Meta AI 500 Million; Microsoft-Win 10 Users $30 for Year Security Updates; Zoox Co-Founder—Tesla Self-Driving Tech Doesn’t Work; Dropbox Chops 20% of Staff
Posted: October 31, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: business, Elon Musk, News, technology, Tesla Leave a commentWith the announcement of good earnings…with third quarter earnings up 19% and net income year over year up 35%, Meta also has announced some big increases in usage of its AI and of Threads. Engadget.com reports that Threads is now up to “almost 275 million” monthly users, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “It’s been growing more than a million sign ups per day,” Zuckerberg said, adding that “engagement is growing too.” Meta AI has now passed the 500 million user mark, and Zuck says they are on track to become the most-used generative AI assistant in the world. Meta AI has only been out about a year, too.
There is always major resistance when Microsoft finally gets serious about dropping support for an operating system in order to get users to move on to the latest one Redmond offers. According to engadget.com, Windows 10 will see support end on October 14, 2025. Now, Microsoft has thrown laggards a lifeline with an Extended Security Updates program for regular users. If you are one of those, you will be able to buy a one year extension for $30. ESU programs have been in place for a long time for commercial users, but this one is for personal users. Commercial users can buy up to 3 years of ESU support, which takes them to 2028…BUT the commercial licenses double in price every year until 2028. Defender Antivirus will get updates for Windows 10 until at least October 2028. Kicking or screaming or not, Microsoft is going to drag all Windows 10 users to Windows 11.
In his robotaxi presentation, Elon Musk claimed that Tesla would be launching a robotaxi ride-hailing service in California next year. Now, Zoox co-founder and CTO Jesse Levinson has opined that Tesla won’t be launching anywhere next year. TechCrunch.com says Levinson was quoted as commenting that the “fundamental issue is they don’t have technology that works,” Levinson said Wednesday at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024.” His remarks came at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 yesterday. Levinson went on to say he was differentiating between a driver assistance system that drives most of the time, but requires human intervention “versus a system that’s so reliable and robust that you don’t need a person in it.” He continued, “Our perspective is you really do need significantly more hardware than Tesla is putting in their vehicles to build a robotaxi that is not just as safe, but as especially safer than a human,” he said. Levinson said he believes that Tesla full self driving is “about 100 times less safe than a human if you look at all the metrics that are publicly available.”
In a statement saying it had over invested and underperformed, Dropbox has chopped 20% of their global staff. Arstechnica.com reports that CEO Drew Houston wrote that Dropbox’s core file sync and sharing “business has matured, and we’ve been working to build our next phase of growth with products like Dash,” an “AI-powered universal search” product targeted to business customers. The company’s “current structure and investment levels” are “no longer sustainable.” With several cloud services offering easier large file sharing, it shouldn’t be a big surprise. Box had things to itself for a while, but competition makes for real challenges.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Boston Dynamics Atlas Robot Picks Parts Autonomously; Apple Bows New MacBook Pros with M4 Pro Chips; AI Now Writes 25% of Google’s Code; Reddit Shows First Ever Profit With 100 Million Daily Users
Posted: October 30, 2024 Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: AI, Artificial Intelligence, News, Robotics, technology Leave a commentWhile Elon Musk showed off robots that had to mainly be operated by people behind the scenes, Boston Dynamics plows ahead with their electric version of the Atlas robot. Now, techcrunch.com reports that “The robot is able to detect and react to changes in the environment (e.g., moving fixtures) and action failures (e.g., failure to insert the cover, tripping, environment collision) using a combination of vision, force, and proprioceptive sensors.” This puts Boston’s robot out ahead by a ways form those of Figure, Apptronik, and Tesla. The machine was used to pick parts in an automotive setting. This is logical, since Boston is now owned by Hyundai. Hyundai has also done a deal with Toyota’s research wing, so they are all in on robotics. Large robot units have been used for decades by the auto industry. I can remember in the 1980’s, the CEO of Daimler-Benz (now just Daimler) saying that they used robots to save backs, not replace hands. Even Jelly Belly has robots (one of which tends to leak hydraulic fluid…one of the reasons Boston Dynamics switched Atlas from hydraulic to electric.) Boston claims that Atlas has been improved, and can move accurately and quickly cutting down on unneeded motions as it completes its tasks autonomously.
Continuing with their week of announcements, Apple today rolled out new 14 and 16 inch MacBook Pro models with the M4 Pro and M4 Max chips. Cupertino also showed an entry level 14 inch MacBook Pro rocking the M4 chip. According to Macrumors.com, the new M4 Pro and Max laptops come with 24 gigs of Unified memory…up from 18 gigs of the prior models. They both have 3 Thunderbolt 5 ports, which has 3 times the bandwidth of the Thunderbolt 4. The M4 Pro has a 14 core CPU, and the Max a 16 core CPU. All 3 new models have an HDMI port…the Pro and Max machines can drive up to 3 monitors. Both have SDXC card slots and Mag Safe charging, as well as a headphone jack…just like my seemingly old M1 MacBook I wrote this on. They are available for preorder now, and will be available Friday, November 8th… starting at $1599.
Google is now using AI to write over a quarter of its new code. That’s what Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai says. PCmag.com notes that all that code has to be reviewed then accepted by engineers…but Google claims it allows engineers to do more and move faster. It is worth mentioning that using a generative AI model to write code isn’t exactly a new idea…an earlier form of it has bene going on for years. One knotty issue…using AI to write code could pose copyright issues or create security flaws if it’s trained on licensed or old code. And some companies using AI-crafted code have already reportedly experienced outages and cybersecurity problems as a result, primarily due to a lack of adequate human oversight. Alphabet’s stock price is up about 2% in the last day, and 36% in the past year, partly based on the promise of AI.
You may not use or be all that aware of Reddit, but a heck of a lot of people are. Reddit just turned its first ever profit, reporting $29.9 million on $348 million in revenue…that’s up 68% year over year. Reddit has been around for 20 years, and never made money, but is now up to nearly 100 million daily users the last few months…exceeding 100 million on a few days. Reddit just went public earlier this year.
I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
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