Apple may have gotten preorders for up to 180,000 Vision Pro headsets the first weekend. That’s according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, as cited by macrumors.com. Kuo says the headset sold out soon after the preorder window opened. He went on to note that the shipping dates haven’t really slipped, so orders may have tapered off not long after the most hard core Apple fanboys and fangirls (with deep pockets) placed their orders. What the order number does mean though is that Apple will have no trouble hitting their goal of shipping 500,000 Vision Pro headsets this year. 

One of the knocks on the Pixel Watch has been its small display size…another has been battery life. Now, it looks like Google may be set to tackle those issues with a makeover that will include two Pixel 3 models in different sizes. According to androidcenteral.com, the larger variant might be big enough to get new health sensors, but the bigger display and battery alone would go a long way towards making the watch more useful. 

Apparel maker VF Corp had noted a cyber attack in December. Now, they have revealed in a disclosure with the SEC that the data breach has impacted up to 35.5 million customers. Engadget.com says that means if you’ve purchased from its major brands like Vans, North Face, Timberland, Dickies and more, you may have been impacted. VF hasn’t given much detail about the hack, except to say that it likely included personal information. Fortunately, though, VF says it did not collect consumer social security numbers, bank account information or payment card information, and that there is no evidence the hackers stole passwords. Yet another example of how determined and talented hackers can breach just about any system on the internet. 

Lots of researchers are in the hunt for a better battery to replace lithium-ion batteries. Alternatives have used manganese and sodium…even iron. Now, a new type from MIT has shown enough promise that Lamborghini has licensed the tech for EVs. TechCrunch.com reports that the alternative is called TAQ…which is an organic compound primarily made of carbon. Up to now, most organics have stored more power, but tended to not be very durable. The new TAQ material doesn’t dissolve in two widely used electrolytes, and it sports an energy density that’s 50% better than one of the most common lithium-ion battery chemistries in use today, nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC). TAQ, short for bis-tetraaminobenzoquinone, is composed of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen arranged in a row of three neighboring hexagons. The structure is similar to that of graphite, which is almost universally used today as an anode material (the positive terminal). Time will tell if the TAQ battery will be the magic bullet for battery tech…or at least one of them. 

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