Microsoft Outage Took Down Copilot, ChatGPT, DuckDuckGo-Now Over; Spyware Found on US Hotel Check-in Computers; AI Disclosure Required in Campaign Ads-FCC; Leaked Samsung Repair Contract-Privacy Concerns

Posted: May 23, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

An outage linked to Bing’s API took down search for ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, DuckDuckGo, and other platforms starting at about 3AM Eastern was finally resolved by 11 this morning East Coast time. Theverge.com reports that Bing’s own search engine was also affected. The outage primarily affected users in Asia or Europe, but also hit the US to a lesser degree. If you were caught in a maddening loading loop and were unable to load search results earlier today, now you know why. As of this webcast, Microsoft was still trying to isolate the root cause…but at least service is restored. 

It’s always a bit rattling to come across something like this: a consumer grade spyware app has been found running on the check-in systems of at least three Wyndham hotels across the United States. According to techcrunch.com, the app is called pcTattletale, and it covertly captured screen shots of the hotel booking systems…including details about guests. It gets worse…due to a security flaw in the spyware, the screenshots are available to anyone on the internet! A security researcher has alerted pcTattletale of the bug, but they apparently haven’t responded. The manager of one of the hotels didn’t know the spyware was on their system…others have not responded. Wyndham Hotels are a franchise, so hotels are independently owned and operated. Just one more way for people’s data to get grabbed and misused. 

The FCC Chairwoman is proposing a rule requiring disclosure of content generated by artificial intelligence (AI) in political ads on radio and TV. Reuters says that the Commission is to vote on the proposed rule….which it should be pointed out just requires disclosure in candidate or issue ads…it does not ban AI content. Also worth noting—the rule would require on-air and written disclosures and cover cable operators, satellite TV and radio providers, but the FCC does not have authority to regulate internet or social media ads or streaming services. The Commission has already acted to battle misuse of AI in political robocalls.

Samsung has been selling self-repair kits for its latest handsets like the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Z Flip 5. That’s cool, but apparently Samsung is demanding customer info from repair shops before they can get the genuine parts. Androidpolice.com notes that lots of people like to use third party repair shops. The info Samsung is allegedly requiring under a contract with shops includes the customer’s name, contact information, phone identifiers like an IMEI number, alongside details of the customer’s complaint. Channeling Ron Popiel, ‘but wait…there’s more!’ Samsung requires shops to “immediately disassemble” devices brought to them that have been repaired using aftermarket parts in the past, and “immediately notify” Samsung about it. If a third-party repair shop doesn’t do its part, it gives Samsung grounds to terminate their agreement, essentially leaving the shop without easy access to the tech giant’s repair parts. So far, Samsung hasn’t clarified this situation…does the customer get a partially disassembled phone back…or get it back at all? This is not cool. 

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

Samsung Retakes Top Smartphone Sales Spot; US Gives Samsung Billions for Chip Factory in TX; Tesla Lays off 10% Plus of Workforce; Super-Creepy Face Detecting AI Camera-Repeller

Posted: April 15, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Samsung has grabbed back the top spot in the worldwide smartphone race, passing up Apple. 9to5google.com reports that Samsung shipped 19.69 million smartphones first quarter, eclipsing Apple’s 17.41 million. Samsung is now reporting 20% market share, with Apple at 18%. Samsung had been the top smartphone maker for quite a while until being passed up by Apple. As Samsung comes out with new phones again this summer and then Apple in September, we’ll see if Cupertino can claw back the #1 spot. 

We reported last week on the over $6 billion the US has given TSMC for their chip plants in Arizona and $8.5 billion to Intel for chip production here. Now, the feds have ponied $6.4 billion to Samsung for its facilities it is building in Texas. Samsung is investing $45 billion in the facilities over the next 10 years. All the funds are from the 2022 Chips and Science Act. 

With sales softer first quarter, Tesla is now laying off over 10% of its workforce. Emails started going out yesterday. Engadget.com says that Tesla had over 140,000 employees as the end of December 2023. Elon Musk wrote in a memo “As part of this effort, we have done a thorough review of the organization and made the difficult decision to reduce our headcount by more than 10 percent globally.” It is notable that Tesla had doubled its headcount since 2020, and in fact added 10% in 2023 alone. Deliveries were down 8% year over year, and now are expected to continue to be soft. Tesla announces first quarter earnings April 23rd. 

The first thing that came to mind when I saw this is ‘lawsuit waiting to happen.’ Thenextweb.com reports that a startup in Slovenia has made an AI powered home security system. It has Via computer vision tech that works day and night. Owners can designate guests as friends or foe using an app…even designate pets. That’s all well and good, but this rig goes further. If someone unknown or listed as a foe comes on the property, a speaker warns them they have 5 seconds to leave. If they don’t, it shoots paintballs or tear gas at them. The system also records video. The Paintcam, as it is called, launches April 23rd…no pricing yet.

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

Mistral AI Releases New Rival to Chat GPT-4; Samsung Unveils Galaxy Ring; Apple Wearable Push-Rings & Smart Glasses; Lenovo’s Transparent Laptop

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

French upstart startup (see what I did there) Mistral AI has launched their flagship AI Mistral Large, their answer to Chat GPT-4, and has also has dropped an alternative to ChatGPT called Le Chat. The latter is available in beta, according to techcrunch.com. The startup was just incorporated in May of last year, and they picked up a half billion in funding just in December. Mistral AI was Founded by alums from Google’s DeepMind and Meta…originally with an open-source focus. The flagship looks more like OpenAI’s business model though, costing $8 per million of input tokens and $24 per million output tokens. A token represents small chunks of words…as the TechCrunch article says, their name would be split into two tokens…Tech and Crunch during processing by an AI model. On the other hand, anyone can sign up and try out Le Chat…just go to chat dot mistral dot ai. Mistral notes it is a beta, so could have some of what they call ‘quirks.’ Mistral has also partnered with Microsoft, which will provide Mistral models to its Azure customers. 

There are always lots of new gadgets at Mobile World Conference, and this year is no exception. Samsung has revealed its previously teased Galaxy Ring. Engadget.com reports that they did show a physical model, but didn’t give a ton of details. The ring will be centered around heath and wellness, and will come in 3 colors: platinum silver, gold, and ceramic black. Samsung plans to start selling it later this year. It looks a bit hefty…some who saw it note that it looks about the size as the Oura. It will be available in sizes 5 to 13, although they will be marked S through XL inside the band. The battery life will be less on the smaller ones due to smaller batteries inside. The Oura can make it 10 days between charges, so presumably it will be similar for the Galaxy Ring. the device will track sleep based on heart rate, movement and breathing, then provide users advice based on that. The company will also glean data from partner Natural Cycles, which already does fertility tracking on the Galaxy Watch, matching a key Oura feature.

Besides the large and pricy Vision Pro, Apple continues to look at other wearables in addition to the Watch and AirPods. Appleinsider.com says a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman notes that smart glasses are still in the mix…something that Apple has alluded to as a natural extension of the Vision Pro line. Besides glasses, a smart ring is being considered…and now with Samsung showing one, in addition to the Oura, that seems likely. Something you probably didn’t see coming…I didn’t…Apple is also looking at adding a set of cameras to AirPods. They will be low resolution. Rumors have this as more likely than the ring at this point. Apple has already fiddled with biometric sensors in AirPods. As for a ring, Cupertino has had a patent on a design since 2015. 

Not all gadgets that tech companies show see the light of day…and here’s one that the light of day can pass right through. Lenovo showed a laptop concept at Mobile World Conference in Barcelona that is transparent! Don’t expect to see the ThinkBook Transparent Display Laptop in stores or online any time soon. According to bgr.com, it may not even make it out of the concept stage. Drawbacks include its large size, bulk, and touch only keyboard. While it IS a cool concept to be able to see through the screen, I would be concerned that tech could be developed to read and steal what you were viewing on the screen. Lenovo thinks that the transparent screen could be useful for..say…architects working on site, or other users who need to see what’s going on around them. They also see users touching things within the screen’s view, and asking AI questions about them. Whether it makes it into people’s hands or not, it sure is a cool concept!

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

Meta Passing on ‘Apple Tax’ to Advertisers for Boosted Posts; OpenAI’s Sora Makes AI Prompts into Realistic Videos; Latest Galaxy Fold 6 Leak May Give Details About Apple’s Rumored Folding iPhone; GM Adds 750,000 Miles of Rural Roads to Super Cruise

Posted: February 15, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Meta will begin charging a 30% fee when advertisers pay to boost visibility of their posts in Facebook and Instagram iOS apps. Advertisers will start getting hit with the new ‘Apple Tax’ later this month. Theverge.com reports that it is in response to a move by Apple’s App Store in 2022 where Apple extended its typical 30 percent cut of digital purchases to boosted posts, which are essentially ads. The change particularly targeted Meta and other social apps that let people pay in app to increase the reach of their content. Meta notes in a statement that small business owners and influencers who want to purchase a boost on iOS will now be billed through Apple, “which retains a 30% service charge on the total ad payment, before any applicable taxes.” Meta says people can still purchase boosts from Instagram’s and Facebook’s websites on desktop or mobile to get around the Apple fee that is being passed on to iOS users.

More new territory that AI is claiming to conquer. So we know OpenAI can pass some bar exams without the need for law school. Now, according to Wired, a new OpenAI app called Sora is claimed to master cinema without going to film school. The app is being checked out by a few select creators and security experts right now. Google and a couple of startups have already revealed text-to-video AI projects, but OpenAI says that Sora is distinguished by its striking photorealism—something I haven’t seen in its competitors—and its ability to produce longer clips than the brief snippets other models typically do, up to one minute. It isn’t perfect…but has a reasonably realistic look to the video. When released, expect Sora to have similar restrictions as Dall-E 3…that is, no violence, no porn, no appropriating real people or the style of named artists. Also as with Dall-E 3, OpenAI will provide a way for viewers to identify the output as AI-created.

A new leak about upcoming Galaxy Fold 6 phones may also give a new clue about the rumored folding iPhone. Bgr.com says Samsung is incorporating new tech into the next generation of Fold phones, the Fold 6 that may be the same as what Apple has specified for its own upcoming folding iPhone. The key point is that Samsung will use thinner hinge parts on the Galaxy Fold 6, which will reduce weight and also improve durability and repairability. Also…and always a big deal to Apple…which seems to believe a device can never be too thin…it is expected to be about 11 mm thick, which is about the thickness of a regular, non-folding smartphone. Apple allegedly is planning a flip phone similar to the Galaxy Z Flip, and they want it to be as thin as current iPhones. At 11 mm, it would be about as thick as the original iPhone. That handset was 11.6 mm. The current ones are 8.25 mm. 

General Motors has announced a greatly expanded the area in which drivers can use Super Cruise. The General has added 750,000 miles of primarily rural roads and minor highways. Techcrunch.com reports that the upgrade should be complete by 2025. This will nearly double the 400,000 mile network presently available. Super Cruise has been around since 2017, and allows fully hands-free operation under the supervision of a driver, who must be ready to take control at any time. It uses highly accurate GPS, cameras, radar sensors and a driver attention system to ensure the operator is paying attention.

Super Cruise is available on 15 different GM models. 

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

Galaxy S24 Customer Satisfaction Bests iPhone-First Time Ever; Google-Don’t Tell AI Personal Info; Microsoft Bringing Some Xbox Games to PS5 & Switch; EU Won’t Make Apple Open Up iMessage 

Posted: February 13, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

In a giant plus for Samsung, Galaxy S24 customer satisfaction has surpassed that of iPhones for the first time ever. Bgr.com reports that the data is from PerfectRec, which says 91% of early adapters of the Samsung S24 base model gave the Galaxy S24 5 stars and 88% gave top ratings to the S23 Ultra. The base iPhone 15 got 76%, with the top line iPhone 15 Pro Max garnering 74%. PerfectRec notes that this lead may not hold as it is a survey of early adopters who are enthusiasts that are more familiar with recent models and can be disappointed if incremental improvements don’t seem impressive. They note that It is possible this is purely an Apple phenomenon, and early Galaxy S adopters behave differently.” Still…a big psychological win for Samsung at this point.

Google has made what you would think would be an obvious warning…don’t disclose personal information to AI! According to zdnet.com, Google points out that your interactions with the Gemini will allow the AI to collect information about conversations, your location, feedback, and usage information. Google goes on to state that the collected information helps them provide, improve, and develop products, services, and machine learning technologies. Gemini Apps conversations can be reviewed by human reviewers, and they are retained for 3 years. Even when Gemini Apps Activity are off, your conversations will be saved with your account for up to 72 hours…so be warned. 

Microsoft is preparing to launch a “select number of Xbox games on PS5 and Nintendo Switch.” Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment are up first, with Sea of Thieves coming to non-Xbox platforms in late 2024. “Other first-party titles [are] also under consideration.” PCmag.com says we can expect more details on February 15th, just a couple days from now. Microsoft isn’t throwing in the towel on their own hardware…they are apparently working on their own hand held device. Of course Nintendo is far ahead with the Switch and then there is the Valve Steam Box.

The European Commission has ruled that Apple’s iMessage is not a ‘core platform service’ that falls under the EU’s Digital Markets Act. Theverge.com reports that this still doesn’t get Apple totally off the hook…they may need to offer interoperability with other messaging apps. Apple’s App Store, Safari browser, and iOS operating system were already designated as core platform services. Meta had both WhatsApp and Messenger designated core platform services under the DMA, and must make them interoperable with third-party services.  

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

Today’s Samsung Unpacked Highlights; Google Lays off Hundreds in Ad Division Switching to AI Powered Sales; Uber Shutters Booze Delivery Service Drizly; Semiconductor Revenue Declined in 2023

Posted: January 17, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Samsung showed off the new Galaxy S24 phones at their latest Unpacked event today. The S24 Ultra has a titanium body like the iPhone 15, and more notably, a flat screen…after years of the curved OLED panels we’ve seen on the Samsung phones. Arstechnica.com reports that the new Ultra has 42% slimmer bezels and that the front hole punch cam cutout is 11% smaller than on the S23 Ultra. The bottom still houses an S-Pen for handwriting and drawing. The Ultra got a $100 price bump, so will set you back $1300…a hundred more than the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and $300 more than the Pixel 8 Pro. As we previously reported, Samsung will match Google with  “seven years of security updates and seven generations of OS upgrades.” Samsung spent a lot of time talking about the generative AI in the phone, which it calls ‘Galaxy AI.’ The keyboard’s “Chat Assist” will let you enter text, then change the tone to something like “professional” or “fun” before sending it. The notes app can reformat your typed notes. The phone app can live-translate your speech into another language and vice versa. Samsung’s updated voice recorder app will now transcribe multiple speakers and AI-generate a summary of the recording. “Browsing Assist” in Samsung’s browser will summarize websites. “Generative edit” in the photo editor will create missing background chunks when you cut and paste an object or reframe a photo. Preorders start now, with the phones in stores on January 31st.

Google has apparently laid off ‘hundreds of employees’ from its ad sales team. Remaining employees won’t be picking up the slack, either…the work is to be handled by AI. Arstechnica.com reports that most of the layoffs are in the ‘Large Customer Sales’ team. Some employees have been reassigned as opposed to laid off. Part of what an AI system will be doing is helping people navigate the large selection of ad products; another system can just make ad assets like images and text on its own based on a budget and goals given by the ad purchaser. Google used to have humans do sales guidance for its products, create art assets, and decide on text and layouts, but now AI can do it a thousand times a second. A few years ago, Google tried programmatic buying of radio time that was unsold by stations. That experiment was closed down after a while, as it proved to be not quite ready for prime time. Time will tell how the AI does…for clients that know exactly what they want, it may actually be fine…for those who are less sophisticated at ad buying…maybe not.

Back in 2021, Uber bought Drizly for $1.1 billion, thinking that adding it to their food delivery service might be a plus. The food delivery biz kept losses manageable for Uber during the pandemic. Engadget.com notes that Uber’s SVP of delivery said that they were shutting down the US based alcohol delivery service to focus on its ‘core Uber Eats strategy.’  Uber integrated Drizly’s offerings into its Eats app, but the alcohol delivery service maintained a separate application of its own. In a statement, Uber said customers can get almost anything from food to groceries to alcohol, all on a single app. So the shutdown of Drizly doesn’t mean Uber will no longer deliver alcohol…your booze delivery is safe.

Gartner has crunched the numbers, and worldwide semiconductor sales revenue dropped 11% in 2023. The revenue total was $533 billion. Gartner notes that the semiconductor industry tends to be cyclical, but said “while the cyclicality in the semiconductor industry was present again in 2023, the market suffered a difficult year with memory revenue recording one of its worst declines in history.” Intel did reclaim the #1 spot from Samsung after two years. Nvidia grew revenue 56.4% and made it into the top 5 for the first time ever. 

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

Samsung Folder-Massive Battery; Huawei Nova 4 Has 48 MP Cam; Apple Steals Top Tesla Designer; Google Dropping A Billion on NY Campus

Posted: December 17, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

More is seeping out about Samsung’s folding phone, after the brief and slight showing of it last month. Bgr.com says the Infinity Flex screen phone will have a crazy high price of $1700 or $1800 dollars, will run a Snapdragon 855, and have dual 12 MP cams, with an 8 MP selfie cam. There will be TWO battery cells, for a total capacity of 5,000 mAh or 6,000 mAh. The folder will be out next year, and analysts think that it might drop in price by 2022 to $1300…which will be the price of an iPhone by then!

With most of the news about their CFO being arrested in Canada, Huawei has rolled out a new phone that should grab headlines back for their actual business. Theverge.com reports that the Nova 4 features a 48-megapixel main camera with 3 lenses, and a ‘hole punch’ cut out for the front cam…which is a whopping 25 megapixels…on a selfie cam! Samsung has a similar ‘hole punch’ setup on the galaxy A8. The Nova 4 has a 6.4 inch display, 8 gigs of RAM, 128 gigs of storage, and a 3750 mAh battery. It will run about $490 in the US.

We’ve all heard for over a year that the Apple car…Project Titan, was dead, and that Apple was focusing on self-driving software and hardware for other cars. Now, that may be questioned a bit. According to macrumors.com, Cupertino has poached Andrew Kim, who reimagined Microsoft’s design language, then moved to Tesla in design. With Kim now at Apple Park, as well is Tesla’s chief vehicle engineer…who returned to Apple earlier this year. Kim had worked on the designs for the Models, 3, S, X, Y, the new Roadster V2, and the Semi.

With Amazon busily working on its two HQ2s outside D.C. and in NY, and Apple announcing a huge new billion dollar campus in Austin, TX, you knew Google couldn’t be sitting on their hands. Now, techcrunch.com says Google has announced it will pump a billion into setting up a campus at Hudson Square in New York. Google already has 7,000 located in NY, and this will double that over 10 years…in a 1.7 million square foot campus the company is touting as ‘the primary location’ for Google’s ‘Global Business Organization.’ The facility will be operational by 2020.

Probable Galaxy S10 Launch Date; Apple to Add Campus(es); Facebook Fact Check-Stunt? $100 Grand to Give Up Smartphone for a Year

Posted: December 13, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The latest gaze into the crystal ball shows February 20th as the launch date for the Samsung Galaxy S10. 9to5google.com reports that the flat 5.8 inch screen S10 will run $1117 with 128 Gigs of storage. The standard S10 will come with 128 or 512 Gigs and they rill run $1334 and $1668 respectively. Oh…and if you go for the 1TB model, that one will be a wallet crushing $1750! 9to5google.com notes these probably aren’t the final US prices, but if they are, it appears that those tariffs are really taking a toll on consumer electronics!

All the time Amazon was playing cities off against each other for it’s HQ2…which turned out to be a couple of satellite HQs, Apple was looking in stealth mode. According to engadget.com, Apple will invest a billion dollars in a new campus in Austin, TX less than a mile from its existing facilities there. The 133 acre site will house 5,000 employees, with room to grow to 15,000. This would make Apple the biggest employer in Austin! They also plan to build out new sites in Seattle, San Diego, and Culver City, CA, and expand in Pittsburg, New York, and Boulder, CO over the next 3 years! The new Austin site will have engineering, R&D, operations, finance, sales, and customer support…and as with all Apple facilities it will be powered by 100% renewable energy!

Facebook is getting slammed again…this time by former and current fact-checkers for the social media giant. Businessinsider.com says the present and former employees claim that Facebook has been more interested in ‘crisis PR’ than in actually combatting the spread of fake news. A former managing editor of fact checking site Snopes also said that was what Facebook seemed to be using them for. They had partnered with Snopes the last coupe years. The editor, Brooke Bujnowski, no longer works at Snopes. She added “They’re not taking anything seriously. They are more interested in making themselves look good and passing the buck… They clearly don’t care.”

News item: VitiminWater will pay you $100,000 to give up your smartphone for a full year. The fancy water purveyor will allow you to utilize a 2000s ear feature phone, however. To enter the contest, you have to post a photo to your Twitter or Instagram account, tag VitiminWater, and tell them why you need a break from your smartphone. You also have to tell them what you will do to survive or pass the time over that period of a year. Now, if Apple would just pay me $100,000 to give up VitiminWater, I’d be counting the money right now!

Samsung Will Have 5G Phone in 2019; Apple-All New AirPods, But No 5G Phone Until 2020; Amazon Testing King Sized Amazon Go Store

Posted: December 3, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Samsung is partnering with Verizon to bring a 5G smartphone to the US in the middle of 2019! Cnet.com reports that they will show off a concept handset this week at the Qualcomm Snapdragon Tech Summit in Hawaii. 5G is expected to significantly boost the speed, coverage, and responsiveness of wireless networks. Phones will upload and download data at anywhere from 10 to 100 times faster than the 4G network we have today! Samsung has not said if the phone will be exclusive to Verizon, and did note that they will continue to work with other wireless partners.

Over at Apple, the word is that it will be at least 2020 before a 5G iPhone will be in peoples’ hands. According to macrumors.com, Apple will hold off a bit instead of being on the leading edge…which they have done before when new generations of wireless capability rolled out. Bloomberg points out that there has often been poor coverage when a new layer of connectivity rolls out, with phones often having to drop back to the old tech, or jumping back and forth between the two systems. Besides Samsung, Huawei and Oppo will also put out 5G smartphones next year…although neither of those two are really factors in the US market like Samsung is. Part of the delay for Apple may be the ongoing litigation with Qualcomm. Apple is partnering with Intel on 5G chips, and those won’t be out in time to get phones to market in 2019.

There will be all-new AirPods in 2020, but prior to that, Apple will release wireless charging AirPods early next year. 9to5mac.com picked up a report from well known Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that says the wireless model will also include yet to be disclosed upgrades, but that the total revamp will be set for a 2020 release.

Amazon is reported to be testing out a large-sized Amazon-Go type store, sans cashiers, in Seattle. Geekwire.com says it is set up to look more like a traditional grocery store. Now what grocery store could it be designed like…oh, yeah…Whole Foods, which Amazon owns! They are particularly working on seeing if the system that tracks what shoppers grab off the shelves works well with the higher ceilings and bigger spaces with vastly more products. It remains to be seen when or if the tech will reach Whole Foods or other stores. Amazon has said in the past they have no plans to add the tech to Whole Foods stores…but such claims are often made, then things change. We do know Amazon is planning opening up to 3,000 Amazon Go stores by 2021.

Galaxy S10-Maybe 6 Cams; Pixel 3 Fatal Camera Bug; Google Patents VR Kicks

Posted: November 20, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Smartphones..even from Samsung and Apple…have reached something of a saturation point. The market isn’t really growing as top line phones have broken the $1000 barrier and all have amazing features. Now, Samsung is really going for the ‘wow’ factor on the Galaxy S10, hoping to bump up their market. Engadget.com reports that the upcoming S10 may be equipped with 6 cameras and have 5G capability. There also may be 4 different versions of Samsung’s flagship phone, including one with a 6.7 inch screen. That would be the one with all the cams…4 rear cams and 2 selfie cams. The other models would range in size from 5.8 to 6.4 inch screens and have anywhere from 3 to 5 cameras. Another ‘wow’ feature that might make it is the ability to wirelessly charge other phones. With more people keeping phones for two to four years, all the eye-popping features may be needed to jump start sales again.

There are some nasty little bugs that show up in software, then there are the really ugly ones that produce a ‘fatal error.’ Apparently, one has surfaced that affects cameras on Google’s Pixel 3 phones. According to 9to5google.com, a lot of people using 3rd party camera apps have gotten a ‘can’t connect to camera’ message. The cams stay disconnected from then on, and so far, Google hasn’t done anything about it besides acknowledging the issue. They are refusing to replace phones with the error, and basically have said developers are ‘working on a fix’ or there ‘might be an update.’ It’s kind of tough to wait it out, when cameras are probably the most used feature on a smartphone. For now…best to steer clear of 3rd party cam apps all together until this bug is squashed. [[Google has now said that this is a known issue and that an update will roll out to fix the problem in the coming weeks.]]

So you want to walk or run through your VR world, but you’d rather not run into the walls in your real world room…what to do? Here comes Google, with a patent that could well do the trick. Arstechnica.com says Google has patented shoes that are akin to motorized roller skates. The kicks let you walk normally while the wheels work to keep you inside the VR safe zone…without running into walls or knocking over the big screen. Although they aren’t omnidirectional…so just work backwards and forwards, they will act to give you a nearly endless virtual world, according to Google. No time frame yet on when these may be out and ready for your VR play.

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