FCC Wants to Make Carriers Unlock Phones After 60 Days; SCOTUS Allows Administration to Jawbone Social Platforms; Amazon Now in $2 Trillion Club; Google Translate-Support for 110 New Languages

Posted: June 27, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

In a proposed rule, called in FCC lingo a ‘Notice of Proposed Rulemaking’, the Federal Communications Commission is looking to make phone carriers unlock phones from their service after 60 days. According to techcrunch.com, the Commission plans to further study how this will work out with current plans and phone buying trends. For years, carriers have subsidized phone prices if a customer signed up for say, a two year contract…and they made up the difference in the monthly payments for the phone plus the fees for the service. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel wrote “When you buy a phone, you should have the freedom to decide when to change service to the carrier you want and not have the device you own stuck by practices that prevent you from making that choice. That is why we are proposing clear, nationwide mobile phone unlocking rules.” We should know more about the proposed rule when the full notice is published in July.

The Supreme Court yesterday tossed claims that the Biden administration coerced social media platforms into censoring users by removing COVID and election-related content. Arstechnica.com reports that the 6-3 vote found that none of the plaintiffs had standing to have brought the case in the first place. One individual was suing on behalf of his brother. Justice Barrett noted in the majority opinion that Facebook had actually been taking down false info about COVID and the election before the administration even asked them to do so. 

We’ve reported lately about the $2 trillion dollar companies, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Apple, and how Nvidia has passed up Apple, and even Microsoft for the top spot for a bit. Alphabet got into this high rolling club in April. Now, geekwire.com says Amazon has joined this rarified group of the world’s most valuable companies. Amazon stock is up over 30% this year, and over 50% the past 12 months. So there you have it….the top 5 most valuable companies on earth no longer include any oil companies, banks, or industrial firms…they are all tech: Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple, Alphabet, and Amazon. 

Google is adding 110 new languages to Translate. It’s the biggest expansion ever for Google Translate. Theverge.com notes that there were already 133 languages supported, so this brings the total up to 243 supported languages. A number of these languages are related to others, and Google used their PaLM 2 AI language model to help add them. One of the most requested languages was added…Cantonese. Issac Caswell of Google said “Because Cantonese often overlaps with Mandarin in writing, it is tricky to find data and train models.” Caswell also said that “about a quarter of the new languages come from Africa.”

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

VW-Billions to Rivian to Use Software & Electronics; Google Tests Face Recognition Building Entry; Samsung Unpacked July 10th; AI Version of Al Michaels for Personalized Olympic Recaps

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

Volkswagen is putting up to $5 billion into young EV maker Rivian…with a billion of it immediately, and the other $4 billion over time. Arstechnica.com reports that the companies are forming a joint venture. Not only will VW use Rivian’s software and ‘zonal electronics platform’ in VW, Porsche, Audi, Lamborghini, and Ducati vehicles, but they plan to make Rivian’s drive engineering and display software available to other brands for a price. Ford and Amazon have previously invested in Rivian. 

Google is testing out facial recognition for building security, “to help prevent unauthorized individuals from gaining access to our campuses,” according to CNBC. The first test is at an Alphabet site in Kirkland, Washington. A rather chilling note…it won’t be optional. Interior security cameras have been collecting facial data and comparing it to images stored from employee badge images, which includes the extended workforce, to help determine if there are unauthorized people on the premises. Google does say the data is for immediate use and won’t be stored. Eventually, ID badges won’t be used going forward for the facial recognition. 

Samsung has announced that the next Galaxy Unpacked event will be July 10th. Androidpolice.com says we can expect to see the next generation of foldables and wearables from Samsung…although as usual, a lot has leaked already. One leak has both the Flip and Fold going up $150 each…a hefty price increase. Still, it is exciting to see the latest…Galaxy Z Fold 6, Z Flip 6, Watch & and Ultra…as well as the latest ear buds. The two folders are expected to feature less pronounced creases, which will be nice to have…even with a price bump. 

Tech and broadcasting, as well as TV and film, have been all over trying to use AI to clone voices and bodies…that’s one of the main things the SAG-AFTRA actors and voice folks were on strike last year. Now, NBC Has announced ‘Your Daily Olympic Recap’ on the Peacock App…voiced by an AI clone of Al Michaels. Theverge.com says to protect against AI hallucinations, “a team of NBCU editors will review all content, including audio and clips, for quality assurance and accuracy before recaps are made available to users.” Let’s hope so…and I hope that they are paying the almost 80 year old sports announcing legend appropriately for cloning his voice. NBC estimates that there could be as many as 7 million personalized variations during the games…I’m not seeing how a team of people will be able to review all those clips! Let’s hope Al doesn’t become a second ‘Weird Al!’

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

EU Goes After Microsoft for Teams Bundling; Meta Replies Visible on Other Federated Platforms; Uber Locking Drivers Out of Apps; Apple Works to Automate iPhone Assembly

Posted: June 25, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

The European Union has called out Microsoft for breaching competition rules. Techcrunch.com reports that the EU has put out a formal statement of objections to what they call abuse of antitrust rules, due to bundling Teams with their cloud based suites for businesses…those would be Office 365 and Microsoft 365. The EU just opened an antitrust probe a year ago, after 2 years of complaints from Teams rival Slack. Microsoft did partially unbundle Teams last August (which wasn’t fully in place until April of this year), but the EU says Microsoft has to do more. The EU says the bundling of Teams gives Redmond a ‘distribution advantage’ over rivals like Slack and German platform alfaview. They also point to the lack of interoperability between Teams and rival programs. Microsoft was invited to respond to the charges, but as yet hasn’t acted. 

Meta is getting set to let Threads users like and see replies to their Threads posts on federated platforms. According to theverge.com, up to now, if you made a post on Threads that was syndicated to another platform like Mastodon…you couldn’t see responses to that post while still on Threads…you would have to head over to Mastodon. Now, you can see those likes and replies right in Threads…although to reply to a reply on Mastodon, you will have to actually log in to it. 

New York City has had a pay rule for a half dozen years that has made companies like Uber and Lyft pay the drivers even during idle time between fares. Now, engadget.com says for the past month, Uber has been locking drivers out of its apps during low-demand periods. Lyft has threatened to follow suit. At least one drivers’ union says it may consider a strike if the lockouts continue. The drivers, of course are mad. Some of them blame Uber for over-hiring…saying that is one of the main causes of the problem.

Apple has been concerned for years about over reliance on production of iPhones in China. Macrumors.com reports that Apple has instructed managers at Foxconn and other assembly partners to reduce the number of workers on assembly lines by up to 50% the next several years. There is already a significant amount of automation in the iPhone 15 lines, but some work is just too complex yet to automate. Cupertino has shelved some further automation for iPhone 16 due to a ‘high rate of defects.’ The goal doesn’t seem so much to cut humans to save costs as to be able to move even more iPhone assembly to countries outside of China, such as India, Vietnam, and Thailand.

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

EU Says Apple Breaches the DMA-Big Fine Looms; Amazon’s AI ‘Remarkable Alexa’-for a fee; Google Bringing Gemini Access to Teens in School; Dozens of Cybertrucks Vandalized 

Posted: June 24, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

The European Union has announced preliminary findings that Apple is in breach of its Digital Markets Act. 9to5mac.com reports that violating the DMA’s App Store anti-steering rules could get Cupertino socked with and enormous fine…up to 10% of the company’s worldwide revenue. A final decision is expected by March 2025. The DMA rules require that an app store should inform customers of alternative purchase options, direct them to those offers and make those purchases — free of charge. Apple doesn’t do that at present. The DMA does say Apple may charge a fee for facilitating ‘the initial acquisition of a new customer’ via the App Store…it just can’t charge for each ongoing transaction. Expect Apple to fight this. 

Amazon is getting set to unleash what they are calling ‘Remarkable Alexa.’ The AI powered version will hit users with a monthly fee of $5-10 a month. According to androidpolice.com, there will still be a free tier of Alexa. Amazon has been playing catch up on the AI front, as has Apple. Remarkable Alexa (sorry, sounds clunky Amazon) will feature improved home automation…although users will probably have to buy additional Alexa-branded hardware to use that. The paid tier won’t be bundled with your Prime subscription, it will be on top of that $139 per year. The company has apparently set a deadline of this August for Remarkable Alexa to be ready, so you early adapters be ready to shell out another $120 a year. 

Google has announced that it is bringing its Gemini AI tech to teens using their school accounts. This is in addition to allowing them to access it through personal accounts. Techcrunch.com says that Google believe3s this will help prepare them with skills they will need in the future when generative AI is more commonplace. Google also says it will not use data from chats with students to train and improve its AI models, and has taken steps to ensure it’s bringing this technology to students responsibly. Gemini has guardrails that will prevent inappropriate responses, such as illegal or age-gated substances, from appearing in responses. It will also actively recommend teens use its double-check feature to help them develop information literacy and critical thinking skills.

This was obviously not a Musk super fan or fans. Dozens of Cybertrucks in Fort Lauderdale got a paint job of sorts last week. Someone sprayed the tailgates with ‘EFF’ Elon. Theverge.com reports the trucks were being held on a public parking lot due to a reported warranty problem with the windshield wiper. The tagging was apparently easily removed from the stainless steel trucks. One reporter said it wouldn’t surprise him if Elon started selling EFF Elon decals for a price…as he has monetized insults in the past.

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

Nvidia Becomes Most Valuable Company; AT&T Bumps Prices $10 on Most Older Unlimited Plans; Amazon Fined Nearly $6 Million by California; 10 Most Popular AI Chatbots Spew Russian Disinformation 

Posted: June 19, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | 1 Comment

Based on demand for its chips used in data centers for AI, Nvidia has moved past Microsoft to become the most valuable publicly traded company in the world. CNBC reports that the chipmaker was up 3.2% Tuesday, taking its market cap to $3.33 trillion, passing up Microsoft. Earlier this month, Nvidia cleared the $3 trillion mark, passing up Apple, which dropped to #3. Nvidia shares are up over 170% so far this year. The company has about 80% market share for AI chips used in data centers. 

AT&T is socking $10 and $20 monthly price hikes to users of older unlimited wireless plans, starting in August. According to arstechnica.com, The single-line price of these 10 “retired” plans will increase by $10 per month, while customers with multiple lines on a plan will be hit with a total monthly increase of $20. AT&T has a large number of ‘unlimited’ data plans, all with varying limits and perks. To cushion the financial slam a bit, the telco says customers who keep their older plans have more high speed data and hotspot data. Customers may get a better price by switching to one of AT&T’s current unlimited plans, which range from $66 to $86 for a single line before taxes and fees. 

Amazon has been slapped with a nearly $6 million dollar fine over infractions related to a law designed to protect warehouse workers. Engadget.com notes that under the law…AB-701, large companies are required to tell warehouse or distribution center workers in writing what their expected quotas are, including how often they should perform particular tasks, and what consequences they may face for failing to meet those quotas. The California Labor Commissioner said  Amazon failed to meet those rules at two of its facilities in the cities of Moreno Valley and Redlands, with 59,017 violations logged during the labor office’s inspections. It’s one of the first big fines levied thanks to AB-701, which took effect in January 2022. The tech giant said it would appeal the fines and claimed it did not need to provide written information because it uses a “peer-to-peer system.”

NewsGuard, the media analyst, tested out the chatbots from the top 10 AI developers, and found all of them were spreading Russian disinformation to varying degrees. Theregister.com reports that the ‘bots included OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google’s Gemini. Each chatbot was given 57 prompts. On average, they parroted false claims 31.75% of the time. Three of the ones tested gave out fake news about half the time. 

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

TikTok Unveils New App Whee; Threads Launches API for Developers; Apple Watch 10-Thinner with Bigger Screen; US Sues Adobe Over Fees

Posted: June 18, 2024 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Without fanfare, TikTok has dropped Whee, its new Instagram-like app. Androidpolice.com reports that although the app resembles Instagram, it has a bit more of a personal touch…for sharing photos with friends and family only. It is only out in select countries on Android at the moment, but worldwide release may be coming. The app has a simple interface, with just tabs for camera, feed, and messages. With ByteDance already having the Notes app out…which is also Instagram-like, it’s not clear if Whee will stay as is, or eventually be rolled into Notes as a function for keeping pictures friends and family only. 

Meta has finally launched its long-due API for Threads, so that developers can build around it. According to techcrunch.com, Mark Zuckerberg posted that “The Threads API is now widely available and coming to more of you soon.” With the new API, developers can publish posts, fetch their own content, and build reply management tools. Meta will also allow developers to tap into analytics, with measurements like the number of views, likes, replies, reposts, and posts. 

Just yesterday, we reported on Apple going for making everything from iPhones and MacBooks thinner…again. Watches were also in their sights for a reducing plan. Now, macrumors.com finds that analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the Apple Watch 10 will not only be thinner, but will also get a bigger screen. Kuo says the smaller watch will go from 41 mm to 45mm…the size of the current larger watch. The bigger watch will get its screen increased from 45mm to 49mm. As for the Apple Watch Ultra, it will stay ‘roughly the same’ size this year…but may get a new dark or black case color option. As we reported months ago, Apple may be changing to a magnetic band attachment system…which will not only allow for the thinness and bigger screen, but also a bigger battery. It’s unclear if the new band system will be out this fall…we’ll just have to wait and see about that.

The Department of Justice has sued Adobe, saying in a complaint that it has been hiding expensive fees and that it makes it difficult to cancel a subscription. Theverge.com reports that the DOJ filing says Adobe “has harmed consumers by enrolling them in its default, most lucrative subscription plan without clearly disclosing important plan terms.” The suit alleges Adobe “hides” the terms of its annual, paid monthly plan in the “fine print and behind optional textboxes and hyperlinks.” The DOJ goes on to say that in doing so, the company fails to properly disclose the early termination fee incurred upon cancellation “that can amount to hundreds of dollars.” Recall just recently we reported the popup about changes to Adobe’s terms of service, where you couldn’t get rid of the box without checking yes…even to delete the app!

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

Apple-Thinner iPhone, MacBook Pro; Surgeon General Wants Warning Labels on Social Media; McDonald’s Drops Drive-Thru AI from IBM; YouTube is Trialing Notes

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

After a bit of a waver when they dropped the miserable butterfly keyboard, it looks like Apple is back on its crusade to be thinner than ever. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that the company wants to make a thinner iPhone and a MacBook Pro that will be perhaps thinner than an iPad Pro! The Apple Watch won’t evade the thinning, either. Gurman goes on to say that Apple is on the brink of introducing “a new class of Apple devices that should be the thinnest and lightest products in their categories across the whole tech industry.” The skinny new Cupertino gadgets may hit as soon as 2025 with the iPhone 17. As for the near future, here’s something cool in the upcoming iOS 18…you can change the wake word for Siri. No more Hey, Siri, or just Siri if you want. With Vocal Shortcuts, you can use your own…like Computer…like on Star Trek. This will only work on the iPhone at first…I can’t wait to say ‘Computer,’ instead of Siri…now if I can just find a reasonably priced Captain Kirk chair!

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy is pressing Congress to pass legislation to introduce warning labels for social media platforms…much like the ones tobacco and alcohol products have had for decades. According to theverge.com, Murthy wrote in an essay that was published widely “The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency — and social media has emerged as an important contributor.” The chief doc pointed to studies that found almost half of adolescents say social media gives them body image issues and that those who spend over three hours a day on it are twice as likely to face symptoms of anxiety and depression. In addition to warning labels, Murthy is calling for legislation that shields young people from online harassment, abuse, exploitation, and exposure to extreme violence and sexual content in social media algorithms. Murthy proposed these protections alongside others that recommend banning platforms from collecting children’s data and restricting features like push notifications, autoplay, and infinite scroll, which he says “prey on developing brains and contribute to excessive use.”

Along with a few colleagues, I have been both amazed and amused at the hype over AI…which often doesn’t seem terribly intelligent. Now, gizmodo.com says McDonald’s is sunsetting its partnership of 2 year with IBM to test AI’s ability to replace drive-thru workers at over 100 restaurants. McDonald’s told Gizmodo this experiment with IBM has “given us the confidence that a voice-ordering solution for drive-thru will be part of our restaurants’ future.” Apparently it isn’t ready for prime time yet, though. One customer watched in disbelief as the AI system malfunctioned and ordered 2,510 McNuggets Meals, totaling $264.75. Another customer struggled with the AI system for roughly a minute attempting to order a Big Mac and drink, before a human took over to speed things along. Someone else tried to order a large water and ice cream, and the AI ended up ordering them three butter containers, four ketchup packets, and a caramel sundae!

YouTube is testing out a new feature that will allow viewers of videos to add ‘Notes’ to provide more context and info. Techcrunch.com reports that it sounds much like the Community Notes on X…which started when it was Twitter. According to Google, the Notes feature can be used for things like clarifying when a song is meant to be a parody, or letting viewers know when older footage is being portrayed as a current event. The pilot program is available for starters on mobile in the US in English. A limited number of users are initially going to get invites to write notes. 

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

Apple & Open AI-No Payments For ChatGPT on Apple; YouTube Further Tightens Screws on Ad Blocking; UK Startup Has Rare-Earth Free Magnet for EVs; WhatsApp Will Support 32 Person Video Calls

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

It has come out in legal filings that Apple has been collecting a stupendous amount of cash from Google-reportedly about $20 billion- to keep Google’s search as the default on Apple products. There has been speculation about how much Apple might be paying OpenAI to run ChatGPT on the latest iPhones and Macs. It turns out that Apple is paying zero. Appleinsider.com reports that OpenAI is doing it for the exposure to the billions of Apple users…for now. The reverse is true also…OpenAI isn’t paying Apple a dime, either. This deal could change in the future, and in fact Apple is still talking with Google about using their AI at some point. Apple Intelligence, the Apple branding for their AI, will run on device with iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, and on Macs running M1 chips or better. For more complex queries, limited info will go to Apple Cloud Compute…Apple’s super private and secure system. Queries that exceed what can be done there will then go to ChatGPT…but only after being authorized by the user. OpenAI claims it isn’t collecting any data from Apple Users. 

YouTube has been relentless in their efforts to make it harder and harder to block ads. According to androidpolice.com, the latest move is a move by YouTube to server-side ad injection. This complicates ad delivery and delivery speed, but will make it tougher for now for ad blocker makers to help users skip ads. For YouTube, it also complicates things, as ad info will have to be sent to Premium members, so their client app can skip the ads. Expect ad blockers to figure out a way to take advantage of this to try again to block ads for non-premium members. This is not unlike the almost perpetual race between speed radar makers and radar detector makers that have played cat and mouse for decades. If the new system…being trialed right now… proves to cause too much lag time or hassle, YouTube may lose premium subscribers over it. 

A startup in the United Kingdom has used AI to uncover a new way of making rare earth-free magnets for EVs. Thenextweb.com says Materials Nexus out of London had an algorithm analyze over 100 million combinations of materials to come up with a viable rare earth-free magnet. The reason this is a biggie is that we will eventually run out of rare earths like dysprosium and neodymium. also, a lot of them are mined in China, which makes the supply insecure should the Chinese decide to cut off exports. The substances are crucial for the magnets in the electric motors that power electric vehicles, among other uses…including microchips and superconductors. 

WhatsApp is rolling out an update that…among other things…will allow up to 32 people on a video call. TechCrunch.com reports that they are also adding to the screen sharing they introduced last year with shared audio also available. Previously, you could have 32 on mobile, but now you can have 32 participants on Windows and Macs, too…can you say getting into Zoom’s britches a bit more? Meta has also introduced Meta Low Bitrate codec for WhatsApp to improve call reliability where a user has lousy network connectivity or is using an old device. 

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

How Americans See News on Major Web Platforms; X Makes Likes (Mostly) Private; Apple Stock Hits All-Time High After WWDC Keynote on AI; Waymo-2nd Recall After Robotaxi Hits Phone Pole

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

Pew Research.org has just released a study on how Americans get news and information from the likes of TikTok, X, Instagram, and Facebook. The study surveyed over 10,000 adult internet users in the US between March 18th and 24th of 2024. Here are some interesting headlines. First, the majority of Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok users say keeping up with news is not a reason they use the sites. X (formerly Twitter) is the exception to this pattern: Most X users say that keeping up with news is either a major or minor reason they use the platform, and about half say they regularly get news there. That said, users do see news on all four platforms…particularly through opinion or humor based content…in other words, they’re seeing news through memes! Those who regularly get news on Facebook and Instagram are more likely than those on TikTok and X to get news from friends, family and acquaintances. More news consumers get news from influencers or other people they don’t know personally on TikTok than on other platforms. And news outlets or journalists are a more common source of news on X than on any other site. Lastly, and in general, Democrats tend to be more skeptical than Republicans of the news they see on X, while the reverse is true on Facebook. Among those who regularly get news on X, for example, 42% of Democrats and independents who lean toward the Democratic Party say they often see news there that seems inaccurate, compared with 31% of Republicans and GOP leaners. As one talk host I used to manage used to say…and still does, actually…’We’re doomed….doomed!’

The platform known as X (why do I feel like I’m echoing the old ‘artist formerly known as Prince) will now make likes mostly private. Engadget.com says this is coming from Elon Musk, who calls it an important change so people can  “like posts without getting attacked for doing so.” Hiding likes up to now has been a feature of the paid X Premium tier. Premium costs $16 a month and does cut ads from timelines. You will still be able to see who liked your own tweets and the count of likes and other metrics…but others won’t be able to. 

Apple got a nice stock price boost after introducing ‘Apple Intelligence,’ its flavor of AI at the WWDC keynote Monday. The stock moved above the $200 per share mark, and hit a new all- time high in intraday trading, according to macrumors.com. We had reported that Nvidia had briefly passed Apple last week to become the world’s second most valuable company after Microsoft, but Apple has retaken the #2 spot…with a market cap of $3.1 trillion. Microsoft is at $3.2 trillion at the moment. 

Waymo has put out a recall for all 672 of its iPace EV Jaguars after one hit a phone pole in Phoenix. Techcrunch.com reports that the Alphabet division had to recall software for vehicles in February after two one them hit the same pickup that was being towed by a tow truck. According to Waymo spokesperson Katherine Barna, this is just the 2nd voluntary recall by the autonomous vehicle company. Waymo is being proactive after incidents with GM-owned Cruise, including one where a Cruise vehicle hit and dragged a pedestrian  in San Francisco last year.  

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

Better Texting between Android & iOS Coming; New Tech May Bring Holograms to Glasses-Size Wearable; ISPs Ask FCC for Tax on Big Tech; GM Pours $850 Million into Cruise Division

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

Better texting is coming between Android and iOS this fall, with the announcement at WWDC yesterday that iOS is getting RCS support. This comes on the heels of years of campaigning by Google and others to make Apple ‘play nice’ with Android messaging. Androidpolice.com reports that having RCS will bring “richer media and deliver and read receipts for those who don’t use iMessage.” Unfortunately, Apple didn’t elaborate much, so we don’t know if iOS will play completely nice with the Google standard, but it is at the very least a good move to have Apple Messages and Google Messages working better…now, you will have tapback support and scheduled messaging working cross platform. Bet that this DOESN’T mean Apple will stop putting non-iOS replies in the green bubbles…I bet they will never give up the exclusive blue bubbles for iPhone users!

In a study published in Nature Communications, some scientists have claimed that the wave developed a new device small enough to fit in a regular pair of glasses that can display realistic holograms. According to bgr.com, the new tech wouldn’t have to have such a narrow viewing angle as current tech with so-called ‘spatial light modulators.’ The new tech allows the field of light to be directly in front of the viewer, no matter  where they look. No bulky headsets and just glasses-sized ones would be quite a breakthrough for VR and AR displays! Think of an Apple Vision Pro that you could put in your pocket, like a pair of glasses! There still remains the need right now for external power and probably external processing…so some sort of connection to a phone and or battery pack..but still, this is a big step forward.

Some ISPs, via a lobbying group, are asking the Federal Communications Commission to start levying new fees on Big Tech firms, with the money to go to subsidies for broadband network deployment and affordability programs. Arstechnica.com says approval of the request would make Big Tech drop money into the FCC’s Universal Service Fund, which distributes it to broadband providers. By the way, the ISPs are not exactly small players scrounging for crumbs in the business. They include AT&T, Verizon, CenturyLink/Lumen and some smaller ISPs. USTelcom had already made similar arguments to the FCC. The USF doles out about $8 billion a year. Phone companies have to pay a percentage of their revenue into the fund, to cover folks who need a subsidy. Naturally, they hit us all with a fee for ‘Universal Service’ to recoup the tax by passing it directly on to us! We’ll keep an eye out to see if the Friendly Candy Company…the FCC…moves on this request. Expect Big Tech companies to fight it if they do. 

General Motors has poured another $850 million into its Cruise division, helping to cover costs since the shutdown of the robotaxi service after hitting a pedestrian in San Francisco. Theverge.com notes that so far, Cruise has been a money pit for the General…the automaker has lost $8.2 billion on it since 2017. Now, Cruise is slowly deploying more cars back onto the road…albeit with human drivers behind the wheel for safety. Houston is the latest city to get Cruise vehicles…which are being driven by humans right now, but will switch to autonomous driving with human safety drivers in the next few weeks. They are also back on the road in Phoenix and Dallas…but not yet in San Francisco.

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

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