Chinese Government Hackers Hit US Treasury Office; Meta-Plans to Flood Social Media with AI Generated Users and Content; Tesla Deliveries Drop-First in a Decade; Samsung A16 Launches in US for $199

Posted: January 2, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Over the holiday, we found out that Chinese government hackers targeted the very sensitive sanctions office for the US Treasury. Techcrunch.com reports that the hackers were able to access employee workstations and unclassified documents. The situation, which happened in December, was called ‘a major cybersecurity incident’ by the Treasury. A third party software provider called Beyond Trust, that provides identity management tools, tipped off Treasury about the attacks. The US Treasury Department has had no further comment so far. 

From the ‘whoever thought this was a good idea’ department…Meta plans to flood Facebook and other social media platforms with AI powered user profiles. According to Siliconangle.com, Connor Hayes, VP of product of Generative AI said in an interview with Financial Times “We expect these AIs to actually, over time, exist on our platforms, kind of in the same way that accounts do. They’ll have bios and profile pictures and they’ll be able to generate and share content powered by AI on the platform. That’s where we see all of this going.” Hey, they want to see some return on the billions they are pumping into AI…so brace yourself.

Tesla had its first drop in yearly deliveries in a decade. Yahoo.com says that the EV maker got 495,570 vehicles to customers in the last quarter, missing estimates of 503,269 which meant a 1.1% drop year over year. This all according to 15 analysts polled by LSEG. The stock is down over 100 from a high of 486 December 17th to 379.70 as of this report on January 2nd. 

One thing Samsung does well that Apple can’t or won’t master is maintaining a line of cheap Android phones in addition to their more state-of-the art and therefore pricy phones. 9to5google.com reports that Samsung has started 2025 with the US launch of its budget Galaxy A16 phone…for $199! The phone is no dog…it has a 6.7 inch screen and runs an Exynos 1330 system. The A16 also rocks a big 5,000 mAh battery. Where it does lack is in memory…only 4 gigs. It does have a 50MP rear cam and a 5 MP ultra wide, as well as a 2 MP macro cam. The Selfie cam is 13 MP, so you aren’t going to get top notch photos with this…but hey, $199! It comes with 6 major Android updates too. You can get it in black or blue starting January 9th from Samsung.com and many retailers and carriers.

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

Lower Priced Galaxy Flip Rumor; Bluesky Passes 20 Million Users; GrayKey Police Hack Having Trouble With iOS 18; Starlink Back to Waitlisting Some Places

Posted: November 20, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Folding phones are growing more popular, especially with a less noticeable crease on the screens, but they are still really expensive. Now, bgr.com reports that we may be seeing a relatively cheap Samsung Galaxy Z Flip FE sometime in 2025. In addition, Samsung is reportedly working on a thin Z Flip 7 SE. If the rumors are true, Samsung may field 4 Galaxy Z foldable in 2025: the regular Flip 7 and Fold 7, and the cheaper Flip SE, and ultra-thin Fold 7 SE. If they keep making the crease less visible, and can drop prices, folding phones may become relatively mainstream. Since Apple is reported to be working on a folder, you can expect they will join the party just as that mainstreaming occurs!

Bluesky, the app that would replace old Twitter, has now blown past 20 million users. It is now gaining on Meta owned Threads, as well as X, which continues to bleed users. TechCrunch.com notes that Threads still has a massive lead at 275 million monthly active users, but up to the election they had 5 times more daily users than Bluesky. That has not been cut to 1.5 times! Even with the recent exodus from X, the Musk-owned app still has 10 times the users of Bluesky for now. Bluesky has been #1 at the US Apple App Store since the election, while Threads is now #4, and X has ominously dropped to #41!

You may have heard of Graykey…we’ve reported on it here…it’s something law enforcement and government agencies can use to break into locked iPhones. Now, macrumors.com says officials are having issues trying to hack into phones running iOS 18 and 18.01. Apparently, the product can ‘partially’ unlock some phones…in fact iPhone 11 models can be unlocked in full. Newer iPhones are more hack proof. Magnet Forensics, maker of Graykey, had no comment, but Israel-based Cellebrite reportedly can’t unlock iPhones running iOS 17.5.1 and later. Apple has said that the idea is to make the phones worth less and less of a theft item since a locked phone you can’t hack into is not worth much. For some, the fact that governments and police agencies can’t get in either is a plus. 

Only about a year after dropping waitlisting, Starlink is back to ‘sold out’ in parts of the US. Arstechnica.com reports that the areas you’ll be waiting in include the areas around Seattle, Spokane, Portland, San Diego, Sacramento, and Austin, Texas. There are also some sold-out areas in parts of Colorado, Montana, and North Carolina. Worldwide, there is still little availability in Africa. If you are so inclined, you can jump the wait list by subscribing to the pricier Starlink Roam tier. Be aware though, that they may block Roam service in specific areas due to lack of capacity. 

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

Microsoft Notepad Getting AI Editing; Gemini Drops Utilities Extension for Android Phones; Pixel 9 Sales Improve; Zillow up 17%

Posted: November 7, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Like an invasive species, AI is getting into everything. Now, Microsoft is adding AI powered text editing to Notepad, the venerable, bare-bones text editor that dates back to 1983! Theverge.com reports that the feature is called Rewrite, and Redmond has released a preview to Windows Insiders that will let you use AI to “rephrase sentences, adjust tone, and modify the length of your content.” To use it, just hi light the text you want the AI to alter, right-click, and select Rewrite. The dialog box pops up and will show you 3 rewritten versions you can use if you wish. Note that Rewrite is cloud based, so users have to be signed into their Microsoft account. 

Google is rolling out a Gemini Utilities Extension that can ‘control your Android mobile device and apps.’ According to 9to5google.com, here are some things it can do for you when using Gemini right from your lock screen: Set and quiet alarms, set and stop timers, turn Flashlight, Bluetooth, Do Not Disturb, and Battery Saver on or off, check your device’s volume and battery level, turn off or restart your phone, shoot a picture or take a screen shot, and control media…like pausing or replaying videos. Have fun seeing how accurately Gemini really does all these things!

Year after year, Apple and Samsung dominate the smartphone market. Meanwhile, Google’s Pixel phones are gaining a bit of ground. Android Police notes that it isn’t enough to worry the big boys yet…Google only sold 10 million Pixels in 2023 while Apple sold 235 million iPhones and Samsung was close behind Apple. That all said, Google has recored its highest quarter ever for Pixel sales. StatCounter found that Pixel users now account for almost 15% of the US market. That is not an insignificant number! Google may not catch or pass up Samsung or Apple, but if they can become a strong number 3, that’s a pretty big success story.

Zillow group beat estimates for third quarter, with Revenue of $581 million and adjusted earnings of $127 million. Geekwire.com says the rentals business was up 24% year over year and mortgage revenue grew 63%. If you are one of those folks, like me, that just check it to see where prices of your property and others are, it’s kind of a surprise that they are doing that much actual business. Thanks to all those folks…who generate enough Zillow revenue for the rest of us to check prices for free!

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

US DOJ May Make Google Spin off Android or Chrome; Amazon Tweaks Ring Subscriptions with AI Video Search; Samsung Drops Support for $2000 Galaxy Fold 2 after 4 Years; Nintendo Motion-Controlled Mario Alarm Clock

Posted: October 9, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

The US Department of Justice is weighing asking a federal judge to make Google spin off Android and/or Chrome among other possible antitrust solutions in the aftermath of Google being found to have a monopoly over online search. 9to5google.com reports that Google, to the surprise of no one, is arguing against such moves. Ahead of a deciding trial scheduled for this coming spring, the DOJ offered an outline of what it might recommend: “…considering behavioral and structural remedies that would prevent Google from using products such as Chrome, Play, and Android to advantage Google search and Google search-related products and features—including emerging search access points and features, such as artificial intelligence—over rivals or new entrants.” The DOJ outline continues: “Breaking them (referring to Android and Chrome) off would change their business models, raise the cost of devices, and undermine Android and Google Play in their robust competition with Apple’s iPhone and App Store.” the government might also make Google offer an API that lets competitors access indexes, data, feeds, and models used for Google search, as well as their search results, features, and ads…including underlying ranking signals! Google is arguing that the government’s proposed remedies are much too broad. After a trial this spring, the judge should issue a decision by August 2025. No matter the outcome, expect Google to immediately appeal, with remedies on hold throughout the appeal process. 

Amazon has rebranded the Ring Basic Plan as Ring Home Basic, and it’s $4.99 a month. Not that long ago, it was less than $3 a month. Ring Protect Plus is not Ring Home Standard, and it’s $5.99 a month, while Ring Home Premium is now $19.99 a month with professional alarm monitoring. According to techcrunch.com, all subscribers will get person and package alerts, video preview alerts, and 180 days of event history. Home Standard customers can now see up to 30 minute streams, and there’s a continuous stream for Home Premium. Now, with Home Premium, subscribers will get Smart Video Search, which lets them find specific moments in recorded footage. Coming on the heels of Smart Video Search…AI updates that will bring detailed captions for cam footage and natural language search functionality. Because you know you need that AI to scroll back through the footage from earlier today to see if a porch pirate ripped you off. 

Samsung has outrageously quit updating the Galaxy Z Fold 2. the $2000 folding phone just came out in 2020, 4 years ago. that’s a pretty expensive paperweight. Ok, not a paperweight yet, but will be as more updates leave it behind. Arstechnica.com notes that newer Samsung phones are promised 7 years of updates. I’m sure that some people will keep using the pricy phone and risk hacking and data theft, considering what they paid, but no security updates after 4 years is the height of corporate arrogance and irresponsibility. Apple promises 5 years of security updates, but generally has to go longer…usually 7 years… under California’s ‘legacy’ device law. 

In the product in search of a market department, Nintendo has rolled out a motion-controlled alarm clock, so you can awaken to the sounds of Super Mario and Zelda. It’s complete with chunky low resolution looking display that resembles 8 bit, too. Theverge.com reports that the $99.99 clock…called Alarmo…responds to your movements. That means you can snooze it without getting out of bed. You can order right now, and it will be out in early 2025. Honestly, if they can’t make it jump like Mario when making the sound effect, why make it? It does at least feature sounds from 5 different Switch games: Breath of the Wild, Pikmin 4, Splatoon 3, Super Mario Odyssey, and Ring Fit Adventure. You can connect it to your Nintendo account for even more. The clock is supposed to also track movement so you can check your sleep. 

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

Ca Governor Newsom Vetoes AI Safety Bill; Arm Predicts AI Will Turn Smartphones into ‘Proactive’ Assistants’; Apple’s ‘Home Accessory’ May have Square Display; Huge Verizon Outage Monday Morning

Posted: September 30, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

In a disappointment to many, but a victory for Big Tech, California Governor Gavin Newsom yesterday vetoed the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act. No, he actually didn’t veto it for being a mouthful of word salad! Theverge.com reports that the governor felt the bill was well-intentioned, but would have possibly wiped out the lead California companies have in AI. He also said in a statement that the bill was just too broad. One safeguard that it required which still sounds like a good one was a so-called ‘kill switch,’ which would have required protocols for testing to reduce the chance for a cyberattack or a pandemic. It also had protections for whistleblowers. Expect changes and a fresh bill next term. The feds are also looking into ways to regulate AI.

Arm, the chip designer who’s chips run most of our mobile devices, is looking to upgrading the brains of smartphones and other gadgets to harness the power of AI…perhaps bringing a new series of breakthroughs to our mobile devices. According to thenextweb.com, with more compact, text-based large language models like Meta’s latest Llama iterations, which are optimized for Arm mobile chips, you can get faster user experiences. Arm also says the compact models can run more AI directly on smartphones. Arm sees new helpful mobile apps as a result. LLMs will perform tasks on your behalf by understanding your location, schedule, and preferences. Routine tasks will be automated and recommendations personalised on-device.Your phone will evolve from a command and control tool to a “proactive assistant.” Arm is shooting for 2025 to have over 100 billion Arm based devices to be ‘AI ready.’

Apple is still working on a new home accessory that rolls up the capabilities of an iPad, AppleTV, and a HomePod. People sifting through Apple’s back end code have seen a ‘HomeAccessory’ in that code the last couple months. 9to5mac.com says it appears that it will be powered by an A18 chip, which would support Apple Intelligence, and that it has more of a square display than the rectangular one on iPads. It also apparently sports a camera that will work with FaceTime and other video conferencing apps. The cam can also identify hand gestures from a distance, which would be handy (ok, sorry about that!) for controlling it in the kitchen where you might have wet or food covered hands and not want to touch the screen. It isn’t clear if this device would be something to replace the HomePod, or something different. If that is the case, it seems that a display on top might make it less stellar at reproducing great spacial audio.

By the time you watch or read this, it likely will be resolved, but Verizon has had a huge, nationwide outage Monday morning. Mashable.com reports that over 100,000 have reported outages for their mobile phones, 36 percent of those had no signal, and 14% a total blackout….this all noted by DownDetector. the worst outages were coming in from New York, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, and North Carolina. Reports started coming in at about 9am Eastern time…leaving a lot of people with just SOS mode on their phones. 

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

Apple, Anthropic, Others Trained AI on YouTube Videos; Pixel 9 Leak; Rite Aid Breach Exposes Details on 2.2 Million Customers; Musk Plans to Move X and SpaceX HQ’s to Texas

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

Besides vacuuming up all sorts of text from around the web, plus pictures, insatiable large language models, or AI, have apparently been scouring YouTube videos as they are trained. Theverge.com reports that Apple, Anthropic, Nvidia, and Salesforce have used ‘YouTube Subtitles’ data that was grabbed from the platform without permission. The training data was collected from videos belonging to over 48,000 channels…no imagery from videos was included. The data doesn’t just come from individual creators, but also the likes of news outlets including ABC News, BBC and a major New York paper. 

A new leak with clear photos has given up a lot of information about the upcoming Google Pixel 9 phones. According to androidpolice.com, the leak came out of an NCC regulatory filing. First off, there’s a less apparent crease in the Pixel 9 Pro Fold…and a completely redesigned hinge. Views of Pixel 9, 9 Pro, and Pixel Pro XL in live videos show the redesigned camera bar. Also in the filing is a new 45 watt Google branded charging brick…suggesting that at least one Pixel 9 model will hit 45 watt charging speeds. Battery sizes are listed, and are all up to over 4542 mAh. There are still a few reveals left for the Made by Google event coming up in under a month…we don’t know for sure about the chipset and pricing. 

And the hacks just keep on coming! Rite Aid says a data breach has exposed the sensitive details of 2.2 million customers. Arstechnica.com notes that the personal information includes drivers’ license numbers, addresses, and dates of birth. The stolen date is apparently associated with purchases or attempted purchases made between June 6, 2017 and July 30th, 2018. At least no social security numbers, financial information, or patient information was grabbed in the breach. Someone impersonated an employee and was able “to compromise their business credentials and gain access to certain business systems,” Rite Aid reported in a filing to several states attorneys general.  “We detected the incident within 12 hours and immediately launched an internal investigation to terminate the unauthorized access, remediate affected systems and ascertain if any customer data was impacted.”

Angry about a law signed in California this week preventing schools from outing trans kids to parents, Elon Musk is saying he will move the headquarters of X, formerly Twitter, and SpaceX to Texas. Techcrunch.com reports that Musk plans to relocate X to Austin, and SpaceX to Starbase, where the company has their Starship manufacturing and test site. X has been in San Francisco since its founding as Twitter in 2006. SpaceX has a large production facility in Hawthorne for its Falcon and Dragon Spacecraft, in addition to Mission Control, which likely won’t be moving. The same has been true with Tesla…although Musk moved its headquarters to Austin in 2021, the main car plant remains in Fremont. 

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

YouTube Shorts Adds Text to Speech Narration; Samsung Live Translate-Available on 3rd Party Apps; Apple Opens Mobile Payment System-EU Compliance; Tesla Robotaxi Event Delayed to October

Posted: July 11, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

YouTube Shorts is getting a new text-to-speech narration, something of an artificial voiceover like TikTok has. Theverge.com reports that after you write some text, you can tap the ‘add voice’ icon’ in the upper left corner and pick out a voice you want. For starters, YouTube has 4 voices…TikTok has numerous ones. YouTube is also rolling out auto-generated captions so you don’t have to leave the platform or use an app to add them. There is a selection of fonts and colors, just like the manual text overlay feature. Another new feature is a new set of Minecraft effects, and a mini game called Minecraft Rush. The mimicking of TikTok appears to be giving YouTube Shorts a real boost. 

Samsung announced Live Translate yesterday at Unpacked, and mentioned that it would be available on third party apps. Now, according to Mashable.com, one of the apps supported will be the widely used WhatsApp. Initially, 16 languages will be supported, with that growing to 20 by the end of the year. Samsung underscores that the translation takes place entirely on device, so your data is more secure. It is available on Galaxy S24 devices, and now S23 and S22 as well…and also the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Galaxy Z Flip 4 and newer. 

Approximately two weeks from now, European Union iPhone users will be able to use any mobile wallet they wish as a ‘Tap and Go’ payment method, with the ease of using the native Apple Pay. Arstechnica.com says this is part of a settlement with the European Commission over Apple’s shutting out rivals from their NFC tech. NFC is not an Apple tech in the first place, and it has been free to developers. Now, Apple has agreed not to charge developers fees to provide NFC on Apple devices. 

Tesla won’t be doing a big reveal of its robotaxi in August. The event has been kicked down the road to October now. Bloomberg reports that after the announcement that the August 8th date had been cancelled, Tesla shares dropped over 6%. Back in April, Elon Musk said Tesla was dropping their next-gen car platform for a $25,000 cheaper Tesla in favor of accelerating the robotaxi project. 

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

Samsung Unpacked Recap; Google One ‘Dark Web Reports’ Coming to All; Microsoft Boosting Xbox Gam Pass Ultimate Prices; Apple Hopes AI Will Boost iPhone Shipments 10% in 2024

Posted: July 10, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Covering Samsung Galaxy Unpacked events is so different from covering Apple’s. With famously secretive Apple, there is always a lot to reveal. Samsung, on the other hand, tends to leak like a sieve. Anyway, here are some high lights. The titanium Galaxy Ring bowed, loaded with an accelerometer, PPG sensors to measure blood flow, and skin temperature detection. According to engadget.com, It can track metrics such as sleep score, movement during your slumber, heart rate, respiratory rate and menstrual cycles. Samsung will give you an overall Energy Score to help give you a snapshot of your overall health, and it will offer some suggestions on how to improve things. There’s no subscription required. The ring should run 7 days on a charge, and it is priced at $400. It will ship July 24th. The foldable get a fresh coat of paint, so to speak. The Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Z Fold 6 have a better folding edge to support the dual rail hinge…and they claim the crease is less noticeable. Both have Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for durability. Both rock a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip set. Both the folders got a price bump with the Z Fold 6 starting at $1900 and the Z Flip 6 at $1100. Preorders are open, and they ship July 24th. Samsung rolled out a Galaxy Watch Ultra as a companion to its Galaxy Watch. Like the Apple Ultra Watch, it is aimed at outdoor activities and extreme sports. The Ultra is 47 mm in size, and will set you back $650.00. The Galaxy Watch 7 comes in 40 mm and 44 mm sizes, and it starts at $300. It is also open for preorders, with shipping July 24th.

Google has had ‘Dark web reports’ for Google One subscribers for a while now. With the Google One VPN shutdown in June, Google says the feature will become available to all Google Account holders starting in late July. 9to5google.com reports that after setting up a profile, Google monitors the dark web so you are aware if your personal data has been found in data breaches and leaks. At the time of writing, these reports are available in 46 countries. Instead of requiring the application or login to the Google One service, this information will now be integrated into the “Results about you” section to help you stay aware of any personal data breaches.

Microsoft is goosing up the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in September…it will go to $19.99, up from the present $16.99. Theverge.com says Redmond will also roll out a new ‘standard’ subscription that doesn’t include day-one access to first-party Xbox games for less money. The price hike will hit on September 12th. This all comes as Microsoft is going to add Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and some other big first-party games later this year. The Standard subscription will set you back $14.99 a month. 

Apple is shooting for shipping at least 90 million iPhone 16 models in 2024. That’s according to macrumors.com, citing a Bloomberg report. This would be 10% growth over 2023, when Apple shipped 81 million iPhone 15’s. Apple believes that Apple Intelligence will boost demand for the iPhone 16 models, and shore up sales in China, where Xiaomi and Huawei have AI features already, that has helped those brands to cut into iPhone sales there. 

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.

Google Will Restrict Gemini Elect Questions; Airbnb Bans Indoor Cams; Chem Injection Can Renew Batteries; Apple Tests AI Targeted App Store Ads

Posted: March 12, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Google is restricting queries to its chatbot Gemini about elections. The restrictions will be global…the only exceptions are queries from countries where there are no elections taking place this year. Techcrunch.com reports that the update is already live in the US, and is rolling out to India. Google notes that it is concerned about the AI service being weaponized, or induced to produce inaccurate or misleading responses. Google has not said if it will unblock answering election related questions after the elections later this year. 

Airbnb will no longer allow hosts to record guests while they are inside the property. This has already been the case with Vrbo, and also at hotels. According to arstechnica.com, Airbnb has been allowing hosts to have disclosed cams outside the property and inside ‘common areas’ inside, but they are now completely banning them. Airbnb’s updated policy defines cameras and recording devices as “any device that records or transmits video, images, or audio, such as a baby monitor, doorbell camera, or other camera.” An exception is in place for monitoring a public space like your front porch or driveway with a doorbell cam. 

We have all experienced it with phones or other small devices, and it will happen to electric vehicles eventually. After a number of charge cycles, the batteries start to drop in the charge they can hold, and they will eventually fail. As a lithium-ion battery pack is a pretty large chunk of an EV cost, here’s some potential good news. Bgr.com says that researchers have come up with a new battery revival injection that can restore an aged or degraded battery to near full capacity. The research comes from Toyota’s Central R&D Labs, and was just published in the journal Joule. the injection is lithium naphthalene. It brings the batteries up to 80% of original capacity, and that lasts at least 100 charge cycles so far. Note that if the battery has structural damage, the injection doesn’t work. This is potentially a huge breakthrough.

Just because Apple hasn’t been calling AI AI…they have used machine learning…doesn’t mean they aren’t all over it….and maybe not always in ways we will be thrilled about. Appleinsider.com notes that apple is experimenting with using AI to buy and place ads in its App Store, much like Google does with their Performance Max and Meta does with its Advantage Plus. Apple has told advertisers it is conducting the tests, and advertisers believe the company will introduce the product in the coming months. With the AI boost, Apple may see its ad business grow to $6 billion by 2025, with $4.1 billion coming from search ads. 

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

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