Amazon-Class Action Over No Tariff Refunds; Upgraded Siri May Launch in Beta; Next Wearable May Be Hairclip; Meta-Virtual Writing Coming to Meta-Ray Bans

Posted: May 18, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A class action suit is going after Amazon, demanding that the online giant refund money to users that was collected under the now held illegal Trump tariffs. Engadget.com reports that the suit…which was filed Friday in Seattle, accuses Amazon of profiting from “hundreds of millions of dollars in unlawful tariff costs.” Amazon is legally entitled to recover the costs after the Supreme Court decision ruling the taxes illegal. As of last week, companies started to receive money back from the US government. The suit says Amazon hasn’t engaged in this refund process, since it’s looking to “curry favor with Trump by allowing the federal government to retain the funds.” The suit continues, saying “Amazon has not returned any portion of those costs it passed on to consumers, and it has no intention of doing so. It has, in short, generated and retained a windfall from unlawful government action, and consumers — not Amazon — are the ones left paying for it.” Shipping companies such as FedEx, UPS, and DHL have already stated the process of getting refunds, and will pass the proceeds on to affected users. 

After a couple years’ delay, the new, improved Siri may just launch in beta. Apple’s WWDC is coming up very soon, and the new Siri will certainly be an important component. According to appleinsider.com, the beta version will be able to be switched off, so you can use good old…make that bad old…regular Siri. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman said the on-off button will be part of the iOS 27 release initially. Earlier this year, we reported that Apple was partnering with Google to use Gemini to bulk up the sorry Siri. Apparently, it is taking more time to get this done. I have ranted enough here about how terrible Siri is compared to Google, Alexa, and other assistants…so I suppose I will turn new Siri on…even in beta, it can’t be worse than what Apple has now. 

It’s just sometimes fun to cover some of the hairbrained ideas that turn into improbable devices. This is one of those. Androidpolice.com says that a startup called Computer Angel has a prototype of a new wearable. It’s less obtrusive at capturing video than Meta’s Ray-Bans or the defunct Google Glass. Are you ready? It’s the DC Mini hair clip camera. While this looks to be a way to bring tech to more women…which is great…it is a long way from being anything but dorky. The hair clip camera is about a half inch thick, and 3 inches long. It not only looks silly, but with that size, it probably will be sliding down the hair constantly, and will need to be moved back in place. It is being sold as a ’stylish alternative to smart glasses.’ Well, no. It’s a dorky alternative. The startup is touting is as a storytelling device, to document your life…so-called personal vlogging. We’ll let you know if this thing makes it out of development. Computer Angel feels like it will be a big hit in China. 

New features are rolling out to all users of Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses.They have been available in a developer preview. Theverge.com reports that you will now be able to write messages with just hand gestures. You do need to use the included so-called ‘neural’ wist band. Another feature being dropped is what Meta calls ‘Display Recording. With that, you’ll be able to capture a video that combines what you’re seeing in the lens display, what you see in the real world, and the audio around you. Walking directions are now available “throughout the entire US” and in “major international cities like London, Paris, Rome, and more.” And live captions will be available on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and with voice messages in Instagram DMs.

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

Target & Walmart Tariff Price Hikes Leak Online; TikTok Blocks ‘SkinnyTok’; Google Delays Release of ‘Ask Photos’ Feature; Meta & Yandex Break Android Browser Anonymity to Track You

Posted: June 4, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Trump tariffs…they’re up, they’re down, they’re off, they’re postponed, they’re on again. Trump’s hangup with tariffs is making a mess of international commerce. Now, mashable.com reports that price hikes based on what the tariffs have been…or may be…have crept into places like Walmart and Target…and employees have started leaking some online. Examples can be found on Reddit’s r/Walmart subreddit. One example has an 8 ounce jar of cocoa powder that was $3.44 and has now been re-priced up to $6.18..and 80% price jump. A Jurassic World T-Rex toy has been bumped from $39.95 to $55, a 38% hike due to the tariffs, and a fishing reel that was formerly $57.37 is now $83.26. As Walmart CFO John Rainey told CNBC last month, “We’re wired for everyday low prices, but the magnitude of these increases is more than any retailer can absorb. It’s more than any supplier can absorb.” A 2023 Reuters report said that 60% of Walmart’s goods were sourced from China between January and April of that year. Since then, Walmart has started shifting part of its supply chain to India, as is true with a number of electronics makers like Foxconn, that supplies Apple’s iPhones. 

TikTok has stopped showing search results for the hashtag #SkinnyTok. According to engadget.com, critics have complained that videos with this label promoting disordered eating and other unhealthy or risky diet behaviors. France’s Ministry of State for Digital Affairs was a leading critic of this, and it has also been on the radar of the EU regulators since April. It is likely that determined users will come up with a work around, but this will stop the most blatant abuse. in 2020, TikTok had put restrictions on ads that might “promote a negative or harmful body image,” such as fasting apps and weight loss supplements. TikTok began a partnership with the National Eating Disorder Association in 2021 to offer more resources for users with eating disorders. Later that year, it also introduced a new approach to the For You page in an effort to reduce the impact of watching too many repeated clips on a negative topic.

Google has had to hold off on the rollout of its ‘Ask Photos’ AI search feature for a couple of weeks. TechCrunch.com says that they have had issues with latency, quality and user experience. Some users already have the feature, but an updated version will be sent out correcting the problems in the next two weeks. The feature uses Google’s Gemini AI to let users search their Google Photos libraries using natural language prompts. 

Meta and Russia-based Yandex have figured out how to abuse legit internet protocols to de-anonymize website visitors and secretly send unique identifiers to native apps stored on Android devices. Arstechnica.com reports that the tracking, via the Meta Pixel and Yandex Metrica trackers, let them bypass core privacy and security protections that are in the Android OS and browsers that run on it. Yandex has used this bypass to track people since 2017, and Meta picked up on it last September. It allows them to pass cookies or other identifiers from Firefox and Chromium based browsers to native Android apps for Facebook, Instagram, and various Yandex apps. Then…presto…they can tie the browsing history to the account holder….YOU…that is logged into the app! So far, the tracking hasn’t shown up on Apple’s iOS. It may be technically possible, but iOS has tighter controls on local host communications and background executions of mobile apps. Although Orwell wrote that Big Brother is watching you…which is more true than ever now, he never imagined a Big Tech that was watching you even more, and using your data to make more money for themselves. 

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

US and China Cut Tariffs-90 Days; Apple Considering Price Hikes for iPhone 17; Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7-Bigger Outer Display; OpenAI & Microsoft Renegotiating Partnership

Posted: May 12, 2025 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

It what may have been the most telegraphed alleged deal in a long time, the Trump administration and China have issued a joint statement cutting tariffs for the next 90 days. Theverge.com reports that the Trump US import tax on Chinese goods drops from 145% to 30%, while China will reduce theirs from the 145% down to 10% on what they import from the US. In the next 90 days, the two nations will continue to work to finalize a trade deal. 

Apple is looking to hike iPhone 17 prices this fall, claiming it has nothing to do with the Trump tariffs. According to macrumors.com, Cupertino plans to try to justify the increases in cost by touting new features and design changes. It may be something of a big lift to convince people that the tariffs have nothing to do with it…even though Apple had already planned to import most iPhones from India instead of China to get around the heavy tariffs. Apple hasn’t raised prices notably on iPhones in a while, so really they were probably due for an increase anyway…but you know people will still blame the Trump import tax anyway.

A new leak points to the Samsung Z Flip 7 getting a bigger cover display…similar in size to the one on the Moto Razr. Androidpolice.com notes that even with the bigger screen, there aren’t any planned new usability features for the outside screen. That means they still won’t directly run apps on the outer screen. You can utilize a Good Lock module to increase functionality. The change in size isn’t dramatic, but at least it will be a head to head match with a main competitor. 

OpenAI and Microsoft are revamping their partnership, with Microsoft reducing its equity state in OpenAI in exchange for extended access to OpenAI’s technology beyond the previously agreed upon 2030 cutoff. Geekwire.com reports that the changed deal will also make a future IPO for OpenAI possible. Microsoft has plowed over $13 billion into OpenAI since 2019, and it provides computing capacity for OpenAI’s services. Microsoft uses OpenAI tech for Microsoft Copilot. OpenAI will continue with its restructuring to create a for-profit public benefit corporation, controlled by its nonprofit parent. 

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

Apple Could Make More iPhones Outside of China; Intel’s New Sunny Cove Chips & Archetecture; Amazon NYC Warehouse Workers Push for Union; Top 10 2018 Google Searches

Posted: December 12, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

With the continued threat of higher tariffs from the Trump Administration, Apple is looking at moving more iPhone production out of China. Techcrunch.com says Apple is looking at more production in India, and in Brazil, where Foxconn has had a factory since 2011. If there ends up being a 10% tariff, Apple (through Foxconn) will probably stay with China. If the tariff hits 25%, Apple will say goodbye to production in China (with the exception of phones built for sale within China proper.)

Starting new year, Intel will release Core and Xeon chips with a new architecture…the add a number of instructions that accelerate frequently used workloads like cryptography and compression. Intel claims a 75% improvement in compression performance. Arstechnica.com reports that Sunny Cove chips will be built using the 10nm process. It is a derivation of Skylake, but can execute more instructions in parallel with lower latency.

In news that will give Jeff Bezos heartburn, Amazon workers in New York City are pushing to unionize. They are working with the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union, and according to the verge.com want to address safety concerns, long unpaid security checks, what they term unreasonable hourly quotas, and insufficient breaks. A leak recently of an anti-union training video Amazon made has increased interest. Among other things, the video encourages managers to express opinions like ‘Unions are lying, cheating rats.’ Even the raise to $15 per hour doesn’t begin to cover things for workers living in NYC, which is also true of other costly areas like Connecticut and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Because we love lists, and think it gives us insight into what the collective of humanity is (or was) thinking about, here are the top 10 Google searches of 2018: #10 (imagine some echo on the numbers if you must) Kate Spade; at 9, Stephen Hawking; XXXTentacion was in the 8th slot; #7 Anthony Bourdain (note that all of these people had died); the #6 most searched was Meghan Markle; 5 actually wasn’t a person…it was ‘Black Panther’ the movie; Stan Lee was 4th; #3 was Mac Miller; in 2nd place was Avicii; and the top spot was the World Cup. Don’t you feel so much more informed?

Facebook Warned About Russia in 2014; Shopping on Phones Explodes, Top 5 Amazon Items; 10% iPhone Tariff Threat

Posted: November 27, 2018 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Things just keep looking worse for Facebook when it comes to protecting user data. Businessinsider.com says a Facebook engineer warned the company in 2014 about a potential giant data issue involving Russia. This info is coming out after the British Parliament got hold of a cache of sealed Facebook documents. UK politician Damian Collins, who reviewed the documents, made the disclosure today at a hearing in front of the International Grand Committee. Mark Zuckerberg refused to show for the hearing, sending policy chief Richard Allen. Allen if this information had been given to an external body (like an agency of the US government) at the time. Allen refused to answer. The documents are sealed under court order in California, but they were published in the United Kingdom under UK parliamentary privilege.

A couple months back, a panicked friend told me ‘My phone is my life,’ as it was temporarily missing. That is more true that ever now. Cnet.com reports that total sales on smartphones through Cyber Monday was $2.2 billion, up from $1.4 billion last year! On Cyber Monday, phones accounted for 47% of traffic to online stores and 36% of actual sales. Overall Cyber Monday sales were $7.9 million, so the mobile component was substantial. Since the 1st of November $50.6 billion has been spent online, up 20% from last year!

Amazon has announced its 5 best sellers on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Topping the list, according to bgr.com, the Amazon Echo Dot at $29.99 instead of $50 In the #2 spot, AncestryDNA: Genetic Testing Ethnicity (still on sale at $59 btw). The third place seller was the adored Instant Pot DUO60 6 Qt 7-in-1 Multi-Programmable Pressure Cooker…still at $30 bucks off. Bose Quiet Comfort 25 Acoustic Noise Cancelling Headphones bagged the 4th place spot…and those are now sold out. #5 was Michelle Obama’s new book Becoming, which is still available at a $20 discount.

Yesterday, Donald Trump threatened to slap a 10% tariff on iPhones and MacBooks imported from China, and the stock acted accordingly. Today, Tim Cook is visiting an Idaho school district with Ivanka Trump to talk tech. Coincidence? I doubt it. So far, Cook has gotten Trump to lay off Apple products. Macrumors.com says in 2016 Apple donated an iPad to every student, a Mac and iPad to every teacher, and an Apple TV to each classroom via its ConnectED initiative. Will a ‘charm trip’ with Ivanka keep tariffs off Apple products again? Stay tuned.

Samsung Buys Harman for Audio & Car Tech; iOS Finally Gets Twitter Highlights; China Will Block iPhone and Other Imports If Trump Imposes Tariffs

Posted: November 14, 2016 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Samsung has dropped a whopping 8 billion buying US automotive and audio maker Harman International. This gives them name audio brands like Harmon Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson, and a partnership with British audio specialists Bowers & Wilkins. It also buys them into auto tech. 9to5mac.com says Harman has deals with Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Ferrari, Porsche, Lamborghini, BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Chrysler, Jeep, Toyota, VW, among others. Along with the Internet of Things, car tech is looked at as one of the big future growth areas.

After almost a year on Android, Twitter finally rolls out Highlights for iOS users. Highlights is kind of a ‘While You Were Away’ on steroids. According to thenextweb.com, it’s a great way to catch the best Tweets while you weren’t checking the app…this is especially helpful if you follow people or accounts that are halfway around the world that may be Tweeting while you’re sleeping.

During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump often spoke of putting in massive tariffs on US imports. Now, arstechnica.com reports that China has threatened a tit for tat response if he does so…including batch of Boeing orders—replaced by Airbus. US auto and iPhone sales in China would suffer a setback, and US soybean and maize imports would be halted. China might also limit the number of Chinese students studying in the US. There are 131 million iPhones in China…more than any other non-Chinese maker has in that market. China is a huge market for General Motors, which killed better selling Pontiac a few years ago because the Buick brand was better liked in China. It’s actually unlikely that Trump will follow through on tariffs, which were a big part of US revenue over 100 years ago, but haven’t worked well in the global economy.