White House App-A Security Mess; Meta Launching Ray-Ban Smart Glasses With Corrective Lenses; Bluesky Bows Attie AI App to Build Custom Feeds; Amazon Tries Phone-Again

Posted: March 30, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

The White House app from the Trump administration is apparently a privacy nightmare. Mashable.com reports that The White House app requests user permission to access precise locations, network connections, fingerprint and biometric data, the ability to prevent the device from sleeping, and even modify or delete contents of shared storage. In other words, it is pretty much spyware! It shares location data every 4.5 minutes, and sends that to a third party called OneSignal. OneSignal puts out push notifications to users for location based campaigns. That’s enough, but the app also is apparently loading YouTube video embeds via a random GitHub user’s personal page. According to the report, if this GitHub user’s account is ever compromised, an attacker could “serve arbitrary HTML and JavaScript to every user of this app.” Just do yourself a favor and never download this app!

Meta is releasing a new version of its Ray-Ban smart glasses that are specially designed for users who already wear prescription glasses. According to 9to5google.com, there will be two versions…one rectangular and another with rounded style rims, both specifically designed for people that need prescription lenses. Now, to be fair, you can already add prescription lenses to existing Meta Ray-Bans, but there’s new models are specifically designed for them They are reportedly to be sold through ‘traditional prescription eyewear channels.’

Bluesky has created an AI assistant to help you design your own algorithm, create custom feeds, and they say soon…vibe’ code your own app. TechCrunch.com says the AI app is named Attie. The app is now going to be beta tested by folks who attended the Atmosphere conference. They explained that it is a new product and not part of the actual Bluesky app. If you are excited about building your own custom feed by typing commands in natural language, this may be just the ticket. Stay tuned for it to be released to general users soon. 

Facebook tried, and failed. Amazon tried and failed. Now, Amazon is giving it another go. Mashable.com reports that after the Fire phone tanked a few years ago, Amazon is working on a new one code-named ‘Transformer.’ Amazon is calling this handset a ‘mobile personalization device’ that syncs with Alexa. The idea is for the phone to make interacting with various Amazon services easier. This includes buying from Amazon, watching Prime Video, or listening to Prime Music. Of course, AI would be in the middle of it all, though Alexa may not be the “primary operating system” of the phone. Amazon may rely on another company’s AI to run things on the device. It’s possible that this may not see the light of day, so no release dates, etc. If at first you don’t succeed…try, try again. 

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

Microsoft Cuts Back Copilot AI Bloat; Reddit Looks at ID Verification to Battle AI Bots; Hackers Selling Data of 6 Million Verizon Users; Samsung Rolling out AirDrop Support

Posted: March 23, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Microsoft is rolling back a bit when it comes to the intrusiveness of its AI assistant, Copilot in Windows 11. TechCrunch.com reports that the company will reduce AI Copilot integration in some apps…beginning with Photos, Widgets, Notepad, and its Snipping Tool. Pavan Davuluri, the EVP of Windows and Devices wrote on the company’s blog that the goal is to focus on AI experiences that are ‘genuinely useful.’ What a concept! This ‘less ls more’ angle probably flows from increased consumer pushback against AI bloat. A Pew Research study that just came out this month showed that half of US adults are more concerned than excited about AI…up from 37% in 2021. 

Reddit is getting flooded with AI bots. In order to deal with the onslaught, the platform is considering a controversial move: requiring ID verification. According to mashable.com, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman discussed the problem on the tech show TBPN. He emphasized that ‘Reddit is for humans.’ Huffman said regarding screening out bots that “The most lightweight way is something like face ID or touch ID or broadly the family of technology that’s called passkeys.” He went on to say “Every platform wants to know ‘is this is a person?’ Now Reddit’s version is ‘is this a person but we don’t want to know which person this is.'” That is a huge deal for Reddit, which has made its bones on the ability of users to maintain their anonymity. Whatever they do, it is likely that Reddit will get blowback from their highly opinionated and privacy prone users.  

Hackers have gotten ahold of the data from 6 million customers and employees of  one of Verizon’s largest Verizon Authorized retailers Androidpolice.com says the info is now for sale on the dark web. That’s bad enough, but you’ll love this part…61 gigs of data is available for $1200. Your data on its own is a pretty cheap commodity. The retailer is Russell Cellular, which has over 2,000 employees and 750 locations. What is exposed in the breach? Names, phone numbers, email addresses, account numbers, device identifiers, and more. It also included employee usernames, passwords, and access roles; Verizon is also aware of the leak, and has begun an investigation, and promises to share the results of such when they become available. You can bet they are going to lock things down and make changes.  

Samsung is rolling out AirDrop support over its QuickShare, starting today. The support will initially be for The Galaxy S26, 26+, and 26 Ultra. 9to5google.com notes that AirDrop showed up on Google Pixel 10 devices in late 2025, and has now expanded to Pixel 9 phones. The support allows sharing between Samsung phones and Apple’s devices. One point with Samsung: unlike Pixel, where AirDrop support is enabled by default, you have to choose it. Under QuickShare settings, look for ‘Share With Apple Devices.’ For the Apple user to receive the shared picture or whatever, that Apple user needs to select ‘Everyone’ mode…that’s also true on the Galaxy devices if they are receiving from an Apple device. 

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

Amazon Announces 1-3 Hour Delivery; Tim Cook Denies Retirement Soon; Galaxy Z Trifold Being Discontinued; Google ‘Personal Intelligence’ Expands to All US Users

Posted: March 17, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Amazon is making it easier for users to find products eligible for its’ 1 hour and 3 hour delivery options. The ease comes via a new ‘getitfast’ page for same day delivery. Theverge.com reports that the 1 hour delivery is presently available in parts of major metro areas like LA, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. In addition, it is available in smaller cities like Des Moines, Iowa; Boise, Idaho; and American Fork, Utah. 3-hour delivery is offered in over 2,000 cities and towns, which includes large, mid-size, and small cities. Amazon has even tested 30 minute deliveries in Seattle and Philly…though if you need it that fast…hey, jump in the car and run to the store, for Pete’s sake! Amazon 1 hour delivery is $9.99 for Prime members, or $19.99 extra for non-members. the 3 hour window runs $4.99 for Prime members or $14.99 non-prime. You can already get same-day delivery free for Prime members on orders over $25. 

Rumors have been floating around since last year about Tim Cook, who has turned 65, retiring from Apple. Now, according to macrumors.com, Cook cooled those rumors off at least a bit in an interview on Good Morning America. Cook in fact called it merely ‘a rumor,’ and while he didn’t explicitly confirm or deny that he will be stepping down as CEO anytime soon, he said ‘I Can’t imaging life without Apple.’ Apple’s Senior Vice President of Hardware Engineering, John Ternus, is widely viewed as Cook’s most likely successor. Cook reportedly gave oversight of Apple’s design teams to Ternus at the end of last year, and Ternus has been making a lot more public appearances in interviews and in product introduction videos over the past few years. Cook has been Apple CEO since 2011. 

In what may be a record for short smartphone life, Samsung has discontinued the Galaxy Z TriFold in just 3 months. It just went on sale in the US the end of January. 9to5google.com says Samsung claims it never intended to sell to the mass market…and at $2899 they weren’t going to! It may not just be the cost, but the complexity of trying to make a device with two hinges and three inner display sections. Add in the rapidly increasing RAM prices due to AI, and it was probably a perfect storm that ended the tri-fold device. 

Google is bringing “Personal Intelligence” to all US users. Techcrunch.com notes that the AI assistant will now tailor its responses by connecting across your Google ecosystem, such as Gmail and Google Photos, to all users in the U.S. Previously only available to paid users, Personal Intelligence is available in AI Mode in Search, the Gemini app, and Gemini in Chrome. The feature is off by default, but users have the option to choose it. For those concerned, Gemini doesn’t train directly on your Gmail inbox or Google Photos library. Instead, it trains on specific prompts in Gemini or AI Mode and the model’s responses, Google says.

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

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked Highlights Feb ’26

Posted: February 26, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

After the usual multitude of leaks, today we got the official rollout of the Samsung Galaxy S26 series of smartphones with Galaxy Unpacked. Note that there are no folders today. Samsung generally releases those in late August, 2-3 weeks before Apple’s phone extravaganza. 9to5google. reports that maybe the biggest change is the pricing. We’ll get to that in a minute. The headline is that not much has changed from the S25 series. That’s not such a bad thing…the S25’s are great phones. The Galaxy S26 Ultra gets more rounded corners like the other top line S26 phones…which, in my opinion, it needed. It stays with the huge 6.9 inch display. The Ultra gets a unified camera bump, but visually, it’s pretty identical to last year’s model. 

The S26 and S26+ are virtually identical to the models they replace, again except for the updated camera module. The S26 and Plus both rock the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 system. The Ultra gets a new Vapor Chamber. One new feature on the Ultra is Privacy Display. What does it do for you? Well, if the system detects something that could be sensitive, like incoming notification, it obscures them from off-angle viewers. It is customizable, by the way. This is a good feature and it would be nice to be offered on the other two models. The S Pen on the ultra now only comes in black and white. 

The S26 does get a bigger battery, and the Ultra gets Super Fast Charging 3.0…up to 60W speeds. That’s great for people who seem to always forget to charge their phone overnight…we all know some of those people. You’re in the car and ‘Hey, can I borrow a cord and top off my phone…it’s about to die.’ The Plus and Ultra both get upgrades  to their charging speeds with Qi2 at 20W and 25W respectively. NO built in magnets, though. That is a drag. Both Google and Apple offer those. 

There are some minor software upgrades to the cameras, including the Ultra’s wider apertures and ‘Nightography Video’. Of course, Samsung is touting its more muscular AI. Samsung claims that with its One UI 8.5, it will ‘simplify’ your life. Nudge will make you ‘timely suggestions’ as you use the phone. Nudge…seriously? They named it Nudge. 

The phones will be out March 11th, with the same colors available on all three models. You can choose Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue, White, and Black, with Pink Gold and Silver Shadow kept as Samsung.com exclusive. Now for what we were waiting for…the prices. The Galaxy S26 Ultra starts at $12.99.99 for 256 gigs. The Galaxy S26 starts at $899.99 for 256 gigs, and the S26+ starts at $1099.99. You can get 512 gigs on all three models, or pick 1TB for the Ultra. 

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

Galaxy Unpacked This Week, Apple Multi-Day Product Reveal; Conduent Data Breach Expands; New Gaming Head at Microsoft

Posted: February 23, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

There are tech announcements pretty much continuously, but not many that get as much attention as those from Samsung and Apple. Samsung’s next Galaxy Unpacked is This Thursday…February 26th. The event is at 10am Pacific in San Francisco. In addition to new AI announcements, refreshed hardware is expected. Word is, the Galaxy S26, 26+, and Ultra will keep similar physical designs as the S25 models. The upgrades will be to screens, chips, and cameras sensors. The screens should grow slightly from 6.2 to 6.3 inches, and batteries will have a bit more life. One notable advance: the entry level S26 will get the 50 megapixel main cam its big brothers have. The Galaxy Z Trifold will probably get a mention, but as it was available in the US on January 30th- for the hefty price of $2900, don’t expect a lot of time to be spent on it.

What about Apple? Cupertino has announced that it will have the latest product introduction on March 4th. Unlike in the past, this looks to be a 3 day event instead of a single keynote rolling out all the new or upgraded hardware. According to techcrunch.com, some devices will be announced online, with the big finale being on March 4th. The events are going to begin New York, London, and Shanghai, instead of Cupertino. What is coming? It looks like the low-cost MacBook, iPhone 17e, iPad Air, a new entry-level iPad, and upgraded MacBook Air and Pro models. 

Don’t you just love when you get a letter saying some of your data was leaked. I just got one a few days ago. Now, Mashable.com says that the data breach by Conduent…an intermediary that handles data for corporations…had a bigger breach than originally announced. A LOT bigger. At least 25 million have been affected by the breach in just Texas and Oregon! Conduent handles data for corporations, Clients include: Humana, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. Data leaked includes users’ names, Social Security numbers, medical information, and health insurance information. One has to wonder at this point what…if any…of our data hasn’t been hacked and aggregated somewhere on the dark web. 

Microsoft had a shakeup after the head of gaming Phil Spencer exited after 38 years at the company. Now, Asha Sharma steps into that role. Geekwire.com notes that the new CEO of gaming will be tasked with turning around the ailing division. Sharma has been an exec at Facebook, Instacart, a startup, and finally Microsoft’s AI Platform. Although Sharma doesn’t have any video game industry experience, what she does bring to the table is decades of experience in running large tech platforms. She did say in an opening statement something that resonated with employees and gamers in this age of AI  and ‘soulless AI Slop.’ Sharma wrote that  “Games are and always will be art, crafted by humans, and created with the most innovative technology provided by us.” 

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

Samsung Unpacked Predictions; More iPhone Fold Leaks; Anthropic-Claude Will Stay Ad-Free; Homeland Security-Trying to Force Tech Platforms to Hand Over Data on Anti-Trumpers

Posted: February 4, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked is coming up…rumored to be February 25th. Engadget.com reports that we can expect to see the next gen Galaxy phones…S26 if the current naming scheme continues. Word is, the design of the Galaxy S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra will stick with the form factor of the S25 series. All will run on the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip…although like in the past, some areas of the world will get the Exynos 2600 chip. One upgrade users will notice…the S26 phone will have a 6.3 inch FHD+ display, which makes it a tad larger than the 6.2 inch display. The phones will have 12 gigs of RAM…becoming necessary for AI features these days, and will have either 256 or 512 gigs of storage…and a 4300mAh battery…which is a bit larger than before. The cameras will stay the same. One plus…the phones will fully support Qi 2 wireless charging. Also coming at Unpacked…Galaxy Buds 4 and the previously reported Galaxy Z Trifold…which as we noted earlier will run a mind blowing $2900!

We had a story earlier this week about how the iPhone Fold will have a bigger battery than most folders…a welcome bit of news. Now, according to 9to5mac.com, there are additional details that have leaked out about the folder from Apple…due out in September. One will require some retraining by users. The volume buttons aren’t on the left side, but have moved to the top right…like the iPad Mini. The power button…which also activates Touch ID…and the AI button (often used as the camera button) stay on the right side. Apparently Apple did this because the mother board is on the right side, and they didn’t want to run wires across and behind the screen to the left side for buttons. The Left side is completely screen structure and battery. There will be a single punch-hole camera, with a smaller and cleaner ‘Dynamic Island.’ The rear dual cams, microphone, and flash are all horizontal on the right side. It may be that only two colors will be available…black and white. This makes sense, since most people put a case on expensive smartphones like Apple’s.

OpenAI seems to be going whole hog on ads in ChatGPT. Meanwhile, Anthropic has announced that their AI chatbot Claude will remain ad free. Theverge.com notes that Anthropic announced in a blog post quote “We want Claude to act unambiguously in our users’ interests…so we’ve made a choice: Claude will remain ad-free. Our users won’t see ‘sponsored’ links adjacent to their conversations with Claude; nor will Claude’s responses be influenced by advertisers or include third-party product placements our users did not ask for.” Many platforms and web sites, as well as services from tech companies are doing fees…just think of all those you pay out monthly…$9.99 here, $19.99 there, etc. Let’s hope Anthropic doesn’t cave and eventually charge fees for using Claude AND add in advertising…as some have done!

In a truly scary move, the Department of Homeland Security is low-key demanding tech platforms hand over user information about critics of the Trump administration. Techcrunch.com reports that the department has relied on administrative subpoenas in most cases. They have gone after anonymous Instagram accounts that share posts about ICE raids, as well as accounts that have criticized administration officials or protested government policies. Unlike judicial subpoenas, which are authorized by a judge after seeing enough evidence of a crime to authorize a search or seizure of someone’s things, administrative subpoenas are issued by federal agencies, allowing investigators to seek a wealth of information about individuals from tech and phone companies without a judge’s oversight. Note that administrative subpoenas can’t be used to get contents of your email, or do online searches, or get location data. They CAN demand things like what time a user logs in, from where, using which devices, and revealing the email addresses and other identifiable information about who opened an online account. Something to be aware of in this era of Trump.

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

Apple Folding Phone-Most Battery Life; Music Publishers Sue anthropic; Ring Opens Search Party for Lost Dogs to Non-Ring Cams; A So-Called AI Mouse

Posted: February 2, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Along with numerous others, we have been following reports of Apple’s rumored folding phone, due out in September with the other iPhones. Apple is now revisiting making a ‘flip’ phone like Samsung has as a companion to the book type folder they will bow this fall. The big hype so far has been that Apple’s phones will have no visible crease on the inside screen when opened. Now, macrumors.com reports that the folding iPhone will have another major plus that all phone users crave…more battery life. Up to now The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 has had a 4400 mAh battery, and the Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold has a battery capacity of 5015 mAh. Apple’s folder is rumored to have a powerful 5500 mAh battery, easily putting it at the top of the heap as far as battery life. The folding iPhone will apparently use high-density cells in the battery to get this great battery life. Besides no visible crease, and long battery life…expect the folding iPhone to have a 7.8 inch inner screen, and a 5.5 inch outside screen. It will also have Touch ID, 2 rear cams, and Apple’s own modem chip which they started using in their products last year. Rumors still have the price at around $2000 to $2200. 

A number of music publishers have teamed up to sue Anthropic…maker of the Claude AI products…for $3 billion dollars for what they describe as ‘Flagrant piracy.’ According to engadget.com, the group is lead by Concord Music Group and Universal Music Group. Anthropic is accused in the suit of illegally downloading more than 20,000 copyrighted songs, including sheet music, lyrics and compositions. These songs were then allegedly fed into the chatbot Claude for training purposes. There are some iconic tunes named by Universal in the suit, including tracks by The Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond and Elton John, among many others. Concord is an independent publisher that handles artists like Common, Killer Mike and Korn. At $3 billion, this is one of the biggest non-class action copyright cases in US history. Anthropic was already nicked to the tune of $1.5 billion in a case called Bartz v Anthropic when they cut an agreement. There has been a rising uproar about AI companies basically stealing creative material from artists and writers to train their AI models.

Nothing freaks out pet owners more than when their dog or cat gets away outside and doesn’t return. Ring has had a ‘Search Party’ feature that uses to network of cams to find lost dogs. The feature has been available to most customers, but now is available to all Ring customers in the US AND those who don’t use Ring cams. Sharing video with police may be controversial, but everyone ought to be able to get behind this. Techcrunch.com notes that Search Party uses AI to find possible matches for lost dogs across neighbors’ camera footage. When a neighbor reports a lost dog in the Ring app, nearby outdoor cameras use AI to scan for possible matches. If a match is found, that camera owner receives an alert and can optionally choose to share any related video clips with their neighbor who reported the pet missing. They’ll also have an option to call the owner or send them a message, without sharing their own phone number. So far…since launch, the Search Party feature has reunited a dog a day with their owners. 

I was looking at getting a mouse, since the trackpad on my PC laptop is getting flaky. On Amazon’s first page of results, there were wired mice starting at $6.99 and wireless ones for under $10 bucks. THEN, there’s a mouse that is ChatGPT AI compatible, takes notes, and so forth. $109! Gad, are there really people stupid enough to buy that? EVERY mouse is compatible with ChatGPT and AI.

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

Microsoft Bows New AI Chip; Apple Unveils AirTag 2; EU is Probing Grok & X Over AI Deepfakes; ICE Using Phone & Web Data to Identify & Track People

Posted: January 26, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Microsoft has bowed a new chip designed for scaling AI inference. TechCrunch. com reports that the Maia 200 chip has been technically outfitted to run powerful AI models at faster speeds and with more efficiency, that according to Microsoft. Inference refers to the computing process of running a model, in contrast with the compute required to train it. As AI companies mature, inference costs have become an increasingly important part of their overall operating cost, leading to renewed interest in ways to optimize the process. Importantly, this chip is designed to be less of a power hog. It is noted that with the new chip, Microsoft is lessening their dependence on NVIDIA. Both Google and Amazon are running some of their own chips now. 

Apple has rolled out without any fanfare the AirTag 2. The upgraded AirTags have better range, and a louder speaker. According to 9to5mac.com, the AirTag 2 has Apple’s 2nd gen Ultra Wideband chip..which is already in the iPhone 17 handsets, as well as the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Series 11. It will work 50% further away than the older AirTag. You will be able to use Precision Finding on Apple Watch 9 and newer as well as the Watch Ultra 2 or later to find an Air Tag. The tiny speaker is also 50% louder. The AirTag 2 is available for order today, and ships this week. Pricing is the same as before, $29 for one, and $99 for a 4 pack. You can still get free personalization.

The EU is investigating X and Grok because they have failed to take action to stop the spread of AI generated sexually explicit images…including child sexual abuse material. Engadget.com says the probe could result in ‘further enforcement steps’ against X. The EU has already fined X $140 million. X did put out a statement regarding X and Grok, claiming “We remain committed to making X a safe platform for everyone and continue to have zero tolerance for any forms of child sexual exploitation, nonconsensual nudity and unwanted sexual content.” 

ICE is using a couple of programs to track people in entire neighborhoods and monitor people on social media. Minnesota Public Radio reports that ICE is using Tangles to scrape sites like X and Bluesky, but are also using that tool in conjunction with Webloc. They can add people to a watch list so they are alerted every time a person posts something. If you are going to a protest area, whether to protest or to film, turn off location services on your phone. the camera will still work. Also, turn off Bluetooth. The Danish intelligence service has found that the US can use the ‘instant pairing’ feature that Google and Apple have…instead of having to key in a code like you used to…to pair with your phone and get your data. Just a word to the wise. 

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

Week Long Phone Battery Life Coming?; Apple Dynamic Island-Tiny Size and Moved; Sony TV Biz Spun to TCL; Sequoia Invests in Anthropic, Despite Also Backing OpenAI

Posted: January 20, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

It sounds like a dream come true for power users, or for those who just always forget to charge their phones. A 10,000 mAh battery is about to be shoehorned into a smartphone. Androidpolice.com reports that maker Realme has announced that it will put such a horse of a battery into its upcoming P4 Power phone. The phone is 8.5mm thick and weighs 215 grams, so the more powerful battery hasn’t really meant a giant brick shoved in your pocket. What Realme has done is use a 10% silicon anode in the battery and used a clever stacking system for components, making for maximum available space in the phone for the battery. While it may not give power users a whole week of use without plugging in, it will be close. Androidpolice.com noted that the OnePlus 15 has a 7300mAh battery and that lasts 3 to 4 days on a charge. It will be a nice breakthrough to see this phone out…and logically, to see similar tech show up in market leaders Samsung and Apple. Even making it 5 days through the work week without having to remember to charge will be huge.

There have been reports all year that the next iPhone will see a smaller ‘Dynamic Island.’ Now, according to apple insider.com, tipster Jon Prosser claims the iPhone 18 Pro could not only see the island and front cam shrink in size, but also but also move to the top left corner from the top center of the screen. In addition, Prosser joins others in saying that the iPhone 18 Pro will use an under display Face ID system. This will allow for more useable front screen area, without the clutter from cameras, etc. When the Dynamic Island expands for a notification or the like, it will grow to the right, but not down as the present one does…so again, leaving you more clean screen area. 

Sony was the market leader in TVs and home entertainment for years. Lately, you would be hard pressed to see a Sony TV in any big box store or ads online. Now, the verge.com says Sony is spinning off its TV business to a joint venture with TCL. In the deal, TCL will hold a 51% stake. The company will still use the Sony and Bravia branding. A deal is supposed to be finalized by the end of this quarter. Sony has retained an aura of a premium brand, but TVs have become commoditized to the point that they have really been eclipsed by a number of other brands. 

In an unusual departure, investment firm Sequoia Capital is pumping a bunch of cash into Anthropic, maker of the Claude AI. Techcrunch.com reports that investment firms have generally avoided backing competing companies in the same area, a Sequoia already has money in both OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI. In the case of being in those two AI startups that compete, it is notable that Sequoia already had ties to both Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and with Elon Musk. Anthropic is shooting to raise $350 billion in this funding round. Again, massive money is being pumped into AI, as we have noted here…with minuscule returns or no returns. For its part, Anthropic is allegedly planning an IPO this year. 

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

Samsung-Google Gemini AI to 800 Mil. Galaxys; Alexa Plus Website Now Open to All; Kodiak Incorporates Bosch Tech for Self-Driving Semi-Trucks; Anker Smart Lock Uses Face ID

Posted: January 5, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

A big announcement from Samsung Co-CEO TM Roh at CES…and not about a specific device. Androidheadlines.com reports that the CEO says the company will double the number of Gemini-powered mobile devices it makes this year, bringing the total to 800 million. Samsung is adding these features to TVs and home appliances as well. The “Galaxy AI” brand is known by 80% of consumers. But there is a global memory chip shortage that could cause prices for smartphones and other electronics to go up in 2026. With the majority of Samsung smartphones featuring Google’s Galaxy AI, and with Apple now going with Google as well, that means about 80% of smartphones will be running Google’s Galaxy AI. This should send shock waves through the halls of OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, Anthropic…maker of Claude, and at Microsoft too. I will go out on a limb and say I won’t be surprised if an antitrust suit gets filed by Google’s competitors over this. Apple can point out that they have used ChatGPT and find Google to be better…will that fly? We won’t know for a while…but if a suit is filed, I called it.

A few users have already gotten Alexa Plus, but now it is officially available to anyone under an early access program. According to theverge.com, you can sign up at alexa.com and start using the new web interface for Amazon’s new AI chatbot. The Plus is baked in on all new Echo devices and as an update to older ones. As with a number of AI tasks, it is still much easier and faster to use a keyboard and mouse or trackpad to the task than trying to get the chatbot to do it via voice commands. Here’s a cool feature though. You can upload documents, email, and images to the Alexa Plus website, and the AI will pull out important info for you. It can automatically add appointments to your calendar, or spit out your kids’ activity schedules or grocery lists. 

Self-driving truck company Kodiak AI is partnering with Bosch on a system of hardware and software that can be fitted to standard big rigs and give them autonomous driving capabilities. TechCrunch.com notes that Kodiak has already developed and designed a self-driving system with redundant systems for braking, steering, sensors, and computers. In January 2025, Kodiak’s self-driving trucks began making driverless deliveries for Atlas Energy Solutions in the oil-rich Permian Basin of West Texas and eastern New Mexico. So far, Kodiak has delivered 8 self-driving trucks out of an order of 100 to Atlas. The Bosch deal is intended to turn semi trucks — regardless of manufacturer — into driverless ones. Bosch will supply Kodiak with a variety of hardware components, including sensors and vehicle actuation components such as steering technologies. 

A flood of new items and announcements flowing out from the CES…Consumer Electronics Show this week. Macrumors.com reports that Anker has dropped a number of new products under its Eufy and Soundcore brands. One of interest is a $300 Matter-enabled smart lock…the E40. Now, there are plenty of smart locks, and some that use your fingerprint or your nearby smartphone to unlock your door. This one integrates with Apple Home, and uses a cam for a face scan using Apple’s Face ID. The cam also doubles as a security camera, and has night vision and wide-angle coverage. I haven’t upgraded my smart lock in years, but this one is tempting.

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

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