YouTube has expanded the length of YouTube Shorts. So maybe now they are YouTube Bermuda Shorts? Ok, enough with the snark. Shorts will now be able to be up to 3 minutes long. Techcrunch.com reports that YouTube is hoping to be more competitive with TikTok now. TikTok, though, already allows videos of up to 10 minutes when recording, and uploads of up to an hour. It also makes participating in trends easier for users. YouTube says the new Shorts player is designed to streamline the look of these short videos, making the creator’s content stand out by placing it front and center in the user interface. The addition of templates by YouTube will allow creators to more quickly jump on trends. You will be able to tap a ‘Remix’ option in a Short, then choose ‘Use this template’ to make your own video. The race continues to be trendy. Hey, these tech reports are on YouTube and they are generally short…but trendy….nope…I’m afraid I missed the boat on that! I’ll just try to keep YOU up on tech trends!

Google Lens is now letting you search with video. Previously, you could search with just a picture. In addition, you can use your voice to ask about what you are seeing. According to theverge.com, the new feature will bring up an AI Overview and search results based on the video’s contents and your question. It is rolling out in Search Labs on both Android and iOS today. This is a feature Google promised and previewed at I/O in May. Google Lens is also updating its photo search feature with the ability to ask a question using your voice. To try it, aim your camera at your subject, hold down the shutter button, and then ask your question. Note that the voice part is only available in English for the time being.

With Elon Musk’s lates hype fest coming right up…with more on the robotaxis that have been promised for several years…Tesla has dropped its entry level car. The EV maker has stopped selling the Model 3 Standard Range Rear-Wheel Drive. Engadget.com notes that it had had a price of $39,000. Now, the cheapest Tesla will be the Model 3 Long-Range Rear-Wheel Drive version at $42,500. Tesla gave out their third quarter numbers yesterday, delivering 462,890 units between July and the end of September. This was short of analyst expectations of 469,000 vehicles. 

As brick and mortar stores do for the holidays, and as online retailers also have done for a number of years now, Amazon is gearing up for the holidays….and planning to hire a whopping 250,000 workers. Geekwire.com says this will at least match their hiring effort for the holidays last year, so they expect a robust holiday selling season. The online giant has also announce a buck and a half boost in pay to $22 per hour for US hourly workers, and for seasonal workers, the rate will be $18 an hour or more.  Full time seasonal workers will have health care benefits from day one on the job. Amazon claims that seasonal work is often a path to long-term employment…although long term is relative. Amazon is known for a strong ‘churn’ of employees leaving due to the conditions in the warehouses.

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