Clark Reid Tech Report

China has officially mandated that its central government staff can no longer use Apple’s iPhone nor bring iPhones into buildings. Appleinsider reports that China claims it is due to security concerns, but it is thought to really be a retaliation in ongoing strained US/China relations. The ban so far appears to only be half-heartedly enforced, and in fact, there isn’t even a deadline for complying. Apple stock dropped 3% before the markets opened Thursday on the news. The Chinese government is a very small sliver of Apple sales and revenue, but the Chinese public make up sales that bring in 19% of Apple’s earnings. 

Honda has just confirmed that it is the latest car maker to follow Tesla’s charger standard for EV’s, known as the North American Charging Standard. According to Techcrunch.com, Honda execs confirmed adopting Tesla’s port in August, but hadn’t given specifics. Now, Honda has announced that their EVs that go on sale in North America starting in 2025 will use the standard. EVs before that from Honda will have the CCS ports, but will come with an adapter that will allow use of the NACS chargers. The NACS standard means that cars can use Tesla’s Supercharger network, which the EV maker opened up to other vehicles last year. 

Google is apparently working on a new feature for Gmail that will let users react to their inbox with emoji…at least on Android and iOS. 9to5google.com says some hidden code was spotted by Steven Moser. Emoji reactions, of course are already supported on other mail apps…Microsoft Outlook for one. The emoji are nice to have, especially if the email just requires an acknowledgement, and not a full reply. Apparently, emails gotten via BCC won’t support reactions, nor will encrypted messages or ones sent to large groups.

A report from the Wall Street Journal has found that Elon Musk borrowed a billion dollars from SpaceX, the rocket maker he founded at the same time he was buying Twitter for $44 billion. The Journal said they couldn’t definitively connect the billion dollar loan taking from one of his privately held companies to the purchase of Twitter, but that there is a strong correlation. Musk is thought to be worth some $200 billion, but doesn’t have that much in cash…in fact most of it is tied up in Tesla stock. Musk also sold $4 billion worth of Tesla stock the month after he bought Twitter. The Journal says the billion has now been paid back to SpaceX. 

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

The European Union Commission has shared a list of the 22 ‘Core Platform Services’ that must comply with the Digital Markets Act. DMA restricts companies from mandating their own services as default on their devices and enforces interoperability between apps such as messaging applications. The regulations passed through the European Parliament last year and have technically been in effect since May, though without the crucial “gatekeeper” designations. According to gizmodo.com, platforms named include TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube; app stores like Google Play, Apple App Store, and Meta Marketplace; browsers that include Chrome and Safari; and the major operating systems including Android, iOS, and Windows. Google came out worst of all the Gatekeepers, with most of its major services, including its bread and butter Google Search, making the list. Apple and Microsoft have already appealed to the EU Commission to exclude some of their products. Apple claims iMessage isn’t a gatekeeper. Microsoft is fighting the naming of Bing as a core platform. Stay tuned…this will be a long and complicated slog as all the companies try to weasel out of the gatekeeper designation.

Not quite a week out from Apple’s unveil day for the new iPhones and Watches, Cupertino announced that starting this fall, visionOS will include the App Store built-in, allowing developers to expand their testing of Vision Pro apps. 9to5mac.com notes that at WWDC, Apple claimed that Vision Pro will be able to run ‘nearly all iPhone and iPad’ apps that are presently in the App Store. Developers will also be able to build and optimize apps specifically for Vision Pro and the VisionOS. VisionOS doesn’t have the App Store yet, and remains in developer beta for now. 

Microsoft is putting out a September update that includes the ability to stream your Xbox gameplay to Discord friends and variable refresh rate (VRR) improvements for the Xbox Series S / X consoles. The dashboard update also includes the new Xbox voice reporting feature and a new way to pair accessories to Xbox consoles. Theverge.com says that the updated Discord functionality means you can now stream your gameplay to anyone on Discord. It’s built into the Parties & Chats section of the dashboard, and a new “stream your game” option now appears once you’re connected to a Discord server.

Mozilla’s ‘Privacy Not Included’ Project has determined that 25 brands of cars with internet connectivity flunked the most basic privacy and security standards. Gizmodo.com reports that the failing brands included BMW, Ford, Toyota, Tesla, and Subaru. Those cars collect data about drivers including race, facial expressions, weight, health information, and where you drive. Some of the cars tested collected data you wouldn’t expect your car to know about, including details about sexual activity, race, and immigration status, according to Mozilla. Actually Mozilla said the very worst offender was Nissan. The carmaker’s privacy policy suggests the manufacturer collects information including sexual activity, health diagnosis data, and genetic data, though there’s no details about how exactly that data is gathered. Nissan reserves the right to share and sell “preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes” to data brokers, law enforcement, and other third parties. Even usually solid Mercedes-Benz didn’t get off the hook…they ship with TikTok pre-installed in the infotainment system. We have moved from ‘let the buyer beware’ to add ‘let the driver beware!’

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

Elon Musk. Elon Musk. You’re thinking, ‘what crazy thing is he up to now?’ Elon is apparently accusing the Anti Defamation League of defaming him…he says they have falsely accused him and X (formerly Twitter) of being antisemitic. Techcrunch.com reports that musk says he has no choice but to file a defamation lawsuit against the Anti Defamation League. He also blamed the ADL for X’s falling US ad revenue. Musk said “Our US advertising revenue is still down 60%, primarily due to pressure on advertisers by @ADL (that’s what advertisers tell us), so they almost succeeded in killing X/Twitter!” Actually antisemitism has been a problem on Twitter for years, way before Musk bought the platform…ratcheting up noticeably due to some of the rhetoric surrounding the 2016 election. Even Elon noted the irony of suing the Anti-Defamation League for defamation!

Microsoft has caved to European Union authorities and will unbundle Teams form Office 365 and Microsoft 365 suites in EU markets. Thenextweb.com notes that the changes will start on October 1st. After that EU enterprise customers will be able to buy Office 365 and Microsoft 365 without Teams, and save a couple Euros a month. An antitrust investigation had commenced in 2020 after Slack filed a complaint. 

Meta will partner with LG for future Quest Pro headsets. This according to uploadvr.com. There were reports last fall that Meta was in talks with LG Display for OLED microdisplays of future headsets. Microdisplays have significantly higher pixel density and can produce higher resolution in more compact headsets. Apparently, LG Electronics will handle production, using LG Display displays, LG Energy batteries, and other components from LG Innotek. The first product from the partnership is reportedly slated for 2025, priced at around $2000.

One of the nuttiest trends ever has to be people podcasting white noise…the static ‘whooshing’ sound that has been likened to light rainfall. Some Spotify podcasters have been raking in up to $18,000 a MONTH on this, amazingly. Now, theverge.com reports that Spotify has notified the so-called ‘white noise’ podcasters that they will no longer be eligible for cash under the Ambassador Ads program effective October 1st. The Ambassador Ad program pays creators based on impressions. Apparently Spotify has calculated that it will increase its annual gross profit by $38 million by cutting white noise podcasts from its talk feed. Have any of the people who listened to these white noise podcasts considered turning on a fan? Just wondering.

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

Before ChatGPT and all the rest, there was already a problem with deepfakes, which keep getting better all the time. Now, the Google DeepMind team is releasing a new tool. It’s called SynthID, and it’s designed to essentially watermark an AI-generated image in a way that is imperceptible to the human eye but easily caught by a dedicated AI detection tool. The watermark is embedded in the pixels of the image, but it doesn’t alter the image itself in any noticeable way. “It doesn’t change the image, the quality of the image, or the experience of it. It’s robust to various transformations — cropping, resizing, all of the things that you might do to try and get around normal, traditional, simple watermarks.” Google’s team says they will keep working on it to stay a step ahead of deepfake improvements. 

Apple is using 3D printers to build the chassis for some upcoming Apple Watch 9 models. That’s the word from Mark Gurman of Bloomberg. The 3D building process uses less material than is needed for CNC manufacturing, and it is faster to boot. Apple is able to print a device’s outline at close to its actual shape using a powdered substance. A second process uses heat and pressure to squeeze the material into a substance that feels like steel, and it is then refined with milling. Apple may start 3D printing titanium devices as soon as next year…like the Watch Ultra.

Google is finally going to cave and push out more OS updates to the Pixel phones starting with the Pixel 8. 9to5google.com notes that they have only been promising 3 years of updates…talk about planned obsolescence! Samsung started offering 4 years last year. Apple still supports 2015 phone models…that’s 8 years of support for security updates! Reports say that Google will shoot for matching or nearly matching Apple, and doing 7-8 years, which will give them a selling point over Samsung. I trade phones every 2-3 years, but a lot of people like to hold on to theirs for longer….both for expense reasons and because they just like their older phone and don’t see the need for the latest zoomy features. A gold star for Google…on this, anyway!

The Pentagon has announced a program to build out a fleet of AI Controlled drones. Engadget.com reports that they will be based on the EQ-58A Valkyrie unscrewed aircraft. The Air Force pays $143 million and $75 million each for the F-22 and F-35 fighters, but the Valkyrie drones cost a comparatively cheap $3 million each. The Air Force is asking for $6 billion to build a fleet of the AI-powered drones. The Pentagon was quoted as saying “Any Air Force drone [will be] designed to allow commanders and operators to exercise appropriate levels of human judgment over the use of force.” Buckle up, here we go! How long until an army of robots on the ground and these AI drones in the air fighting wars without humans directly involved? 

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

Wanderlust is the signature cryptic name for Apple’s September event, and we have a date now…it’s September 12. Macrumors.com reports that we can log on at 10am Pacific to catch the event for the new iPhone 15 series, Apple Watch Series 9, and all the other things Apple will be hyping to get all of us to say ‘Shut up and take my money!’ The event will emanate from the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park campus. It is expected that everything will be prerecorded, as it has been the last several years. Besides the stream on Apple’s website, you can catch all the excitement…well, hype, anyway…on YouTube and also on the Apple TV app. 

Amazon is testing out goosing the amount for free shipping for non-prime users from $25 to $35. According to geekwire.com, it’s another way the online giant is looking to shave costs and increase revenue. Free shipping for non-Prime users had been $35 before, but they dropped back to $25 to compete with Walmart. Of course for those of us that pay the princely $139 a year for Prime, shipping will remain free, and you will continue to get other perks like use of Amazon’s streaming content. No word on when the price hike will be fully in effect, but expect it to be soon.

WhatsApp has launched a new native app for macOS. Users can download it from WhatsApp’s website, according to Mark Zuckerberg, who posted about it on his Facebook account. The app will allow users to participate in video calls with up to 8 people and audio calls with up to 32 people. Zuck said in the post “The app is redesigned to be familiar to Mac users, helping you get more done faster when using WhatsApp on a large screen. You can now share files by easily dragging and dropping into a chat, and can view more of your chat history.” WhatsApp had announced a Windows client with similar features back in March.

If you ever took a course to clear your driving record…maybe to keep your insurance from going through the roof, this will sound familiar. YouTube has announced that Starting today, creators will now have the option of taking an educational training course when they receive a warning. When completed, YouTube will lift the warning from the creator’s channel as long as they don’t violate the same policy for 90 days. TechCrunch.com reports that The company says this new policy came about because creators told YouTube they wanted more resources to better understand the rules.YouTube also said it will now issue individual warnings depending on the specific policy violated instead of one warning for the lifetime of the creator’s channel. That will give them more opportunities to remove warnings before they turn into strikes. 

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

Talk about some news you can use! Google Flights already lets you know whether current prices are low, typical, or high…but now you can catch when the cheapest time to book is. 9to5google.com reports that the app will tell you quote “when prices have typically been lowest to book your chosen dates and destination.” It will also let you know how long by date the cheapest price will stay that way. The new feature is rolling out this week. 

DoorDash is launching an AI powered voice ordering tech that will allow restaurants to answer all the calls they receive. Techcrunch.com says the tech will also provide customers with curated recommendations to complement their meal. According to the 2023 Restaurant Online Ordering Trends Report, up to 50% of calls have been going unanswered, which means less revenue for restaurants. Apparently DoorDash will even offer multiple languages with no missed calls or long wait times. TechCrunch does note that live agents will be available to jump in and support customers at any time…with some of the goofs AI has made, that might be a crucial feature.

New, more powerful iPad Pro models should be hitting the web and stores in 2024, along with a new Magic Keyboard. This according to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg in his Power On newsletter. There will be 2 models…an 11 incher and a 13 inch display, and both will switch to OLED tech for the screens. They will also be powered by the M3 chip, for a big boost in power…it will be the first big update for iPad Pros since 2018. Look for a new Magic Keyboard, too, which will hold the screen at a useable angle, and that will feature a bigger trackpad…more similar in size to the ones on the MacBook. Nothing firm on the date, but spring or early summer looks likely. 

Apple has always run a strong #2 behind Samsung in the smartphone wars. Now, in a report from noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, he notes that Samsung’s smartphone shipments have been cut to 220 million units this year. That said, if Apple keeps its orders for the new iPhone 15 line unchanged for the second semester, the iPhone shipments are expected to reach 220–225 million units in 2023, surpassing Samsung as the largest smartphone brand. With Apple’s outlook being optimistic for 2024, with a shipment target of 250 million units, Ming-Chi Kuo sees a 5-10% YoY increase. He also notes that Samsung’s internal view of 2024 market demand is “still conservative,” so it could also make Cupertino the largest smartphone brand next year.

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

YouTube is testing a new search feature…are you ready for this…powered by humming! According to mashable.com,  the platform announced this week it will be testing a new app feature on Android phones that allows users to search for a song by humming or recording it for more than three seconds. That sure would have been handy when I was a rock and roll DJ, and people would just sing you a few notes, and expect us to figure out the song. Only a few users are seeing the feature so far. If you see it, once you’ve hummed or recorded the song you’re looking for and the track is identified, the app will surface related “official music content, user-generated videos, and/or Shorts.” This should be a popular feature if they release it to everybody. A lot of people like a good hummer…

Elon Musk has griped on his social media platform about lousy build quality for the Cybertruck. Arstechnica.com reports that this was just after Musk quote: “drove the production candidate Cybertruck at Tesla Giga Texas.” Elon said “Due to the nature of Cybertruck, which is made of bright metal with mostly straight edges, any dimensional variation shows up like a sore thumb.” Of course, it was his idea to build the ugly beast out of what everyone in the auto business knows is a difficult material to work with. The brushed stainless steel in the old Deloreans showed everything. Musk wants 10 micron accuracy…which he says is achieved in things ranging from Legos to soda cans. 

T-Mobile is laying off some 7% of its workforce, about 5,000 employees. The provider says it is mostly in corporate roles, as it ‘streamlines its operating model and structure.’ CEO Mike Sievert said the impacted roles are “primarily duplicative to other roles, or may be aligned to systems or processes that are changing, or may not fit with our current company priorities.” Geekwire.com says the CEO also whined about increasing customer acquisition and retention costs. This is just after bragging about their best 2nd parter postpaid phone net adds in 8 years, and lowest churn in the industry for the first time ever. T-Mobile also bought back some $3.5 billion in common stock 2nd quarter, so they really have plenty of cash. Will service get better? Ha…what do you think?

Some scientists at a University in Australia have discovered that coffee grounds can be used as a silica substitute in concrete production…and when done to the right proportions, you get concrete that is 30% stronger than sand alone! Engadget.com reports that it isn’t as simple as just dumping the right amount of coffee grounds into the concrete mix…first they do what they call ‘pyrolyzing’ the grounds…heating them to exactly 662 degrees Fahrenheit. (I know that sounds like a kooky temperature, but it’s 350 Celsius.) It seems like a win-win…a lot less coffee grounds in landfills, less sand used to make concrete, and stronger concrete to boot! 

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

Sony is going to launch their portable PlayStation later this year. The PlayStation Portal handheld will stream PS5 games over Wi-Fi, and will sport an 8 inch LCD screen running at 1080 pixel resolution and at 60 feet per second. Theverge.com reports that the Playstation Portal should be priced at $199.99. The unit has controllers attached to each side that look very much like the PS5 DualSense controllers. In an interesting twist, the device won’t work with Sony’s upcoming cloud streaming for PS5 games. the PlayStation Portal is really a way to stream PS5 games you already have installed on your own PS5 onto a handheld for remote play. You’ll need an internet connection capable of at least 5Mbps, and Sony is recommending 15Mbps for the best experience.

It won’t be the first time, but it looks like Apple’s top line iPhone Pro Max will be delayed 3-4 weeks beyond the on sale date for the rest of the line. According to 9to5mac.com,  Sony will not be able to provide the image sensor used by the iPhone 15 Pro Max in time for it to ship alongside the other new models. The Pro Max is thought to be getting a periscope zoom lens that will give much greater optical zoom. The present model has a 3 power zoom, and the periscope may have 6 to 10. Optical zoom is cleaner than the electronic zoom, which is virtually useless if you are filming something like fast moving sports activities. The optical zoom will catch those moments without any smearing. Most Apple watchers expect Cupertino to show off the new phones and apple Watches on September 12, with all but the Pro Max being delivered or available by September 22nd. 

Google has announced several security-related enhancements to Google Workspace and Gmail and Drive that will use AI to automate certain tasks. Techcrunch.com says the features will probably be released by late this year and early 2024. Google is enhancing its so-called zero trust model. It will use AI to support this model, which it describes as “a cloud security model designed to secure modern organizations by removing implicit trust and enforcing strict identity authentication and authorization. Under zero trust, every user, device, and component is considered untrusted at all times, regardless of whether they are inside or outside of an organization’s network.” Google will be adding data loss prevention controls to Gmail…so admins can keep users from inadvertently attaching sensitive data…that could avoid some embarrassing moments. Again, the AI assisted features are in development, so don’t expect any of them until late this year at the earliest. 

Twitch is experimenting with a feature that shows clips in a new vertically-scrolling feed it calls the ‘discovery feed.’ Theverge.com reports that the feed is rolling out to select users. Twitch joins companies like Spotify, Amazon, and Reddit in introducing a TikTok-like format. The streaming company announced the discovery feed in July as one of a few forthcoming new features involving clips, including the ability to directly export clips to TikTok. Twitch also announced in July that they intend to bring stories to the platform. 

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

We just reported yesterday that Meta would release a web based version for your desktop this week, and here it is…it dropped this morning. Techcrunch.com reports that the rollout is in progress, and you will be able topmost, view your feed, and interact with posts form the desktop..but won’t be able to edit your profile or send a thread over to Instagram Direct Messages yet. A lot of tech watchers think the web app will be a game changer for the upstart Twitter replacement wannabe. 

Google has a little-touted feature in their new Pixel phones that ought to be picked up by all other Android makers and Apple as well. According to bgr.com, it is called Binary Transparency. The feature was originally announced back in 2021, and is exclusive to Pixels right now.  It is a complement to the existing Android Verified Boot feature, that ensures that software on your device comes from a genuine source. The Pixel Binary Transparency tool is a public cryptographic log that will record all metadata about Pixel factor images, Google explains. Pixel users can then use this to mathematically prove that their software is genuine. The idea of the feature is to make it incredibly difficult to insert malicious code and not get caught. A little peace of mind for you from ‘The Google.’

A new rumor says that Samsung’s base Galaxy S24 will be getting a bigger battery. while it will still be smaller can the S24+ or even the S23 Ultra, bigger batteries and longer battery life are always a big selling point for smartphones. 9to5google.com says the next base model will rock a 4,000 mAh battery. Samsung has actually cut battery size as recently as the S22 and 23…after making some tweaks to the phones to make them more efficient. Expect the S24 series to be rolled out in late January or early February of next year. 

Elon Musk’s name change from Twitter to ‘X’ has apparently caused a huge drop in downloads of the app from Apple’s App Store. Mashable.com notes that Seufert looked at the rankings and between July 27th…right before the change on the 31st, to August 15th, the app dropped from 35th to 54th in rankings. WhatsApp and TikTok showed little change, and Meta’s new Threads got into the top 10.

A non-tech note: I am wearing a SAG-AFTRA ON STRIKE hat in solidarity with members who are picketing today down at Netflix in Los Gatos. Since a) I’m working, and b) I’m not on strike because the broadcast contract is still in force, I wanted to support my brothers and sisters. Some independent producers have already agreed to the SAG-AFTRA interim agreement and are back to work. Here’s hoping the big studios will take the hint, and agree to a reasonable deal.

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

Meta’s answer to what used to be Twitter, Threads, may get one of its two most requested features this week…a web version. Engadget.com reports that Instagram head Adam Mosseri said last week “It’s a little bit buggy right now, you don’t want it just yet. As soon as it is ready we will share it with everybody else.” Threads just added the ability to set notifications and view posts in chronological order. Users hope the other most requested feature…the ability to search posts…not just search for accounts…will be getting into user hands soon, too.

YouTube is getting together with record labels, working on fashioning rules for how AI generated music will work on its platform. According to theverge.com, this includes details concerning monetization opportunities for both companies and creators. In a note, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan said “Generative AI systems may amplify current challenges like trademark and copyright abuse, misinformation, spam, and more, but AI can also be used to identify this sort of content, and we’ll continue to invest in the AI-powered technology that helps us protect our community of viewers, creators, artists and songwriters.” YouTube didn’t offer any further details about how it all would work.

IBM has just released a report analyzing how the emergence of AI is affecting company business models, and finds that 40% of workers will have to ‘reskill’ in the next 3 years. Zdnet.com says that amounts to a gigantic 1.4 billion out of the 3.4 billion people in the worldwide work force. The report found that 87% of executives expect generative AI to augment roles rather than replace them. Or at least that’s what they are saying. A warning in the report for employees….quote: “AI won’t replace people—but people who use AI will replace people who don’t,” said IBM in the report.

After a fire truck hit a Cruise vehicle last Thursday, the California DMV has asked the company to cut its robo-taxi fleet in San Francisco in half. The Fire truck was in the oncoming lane, red light and siren when it hit the cruise vehicle in the intersection…the Cruise vehicle didn’t yield as required by law. Techcrunch.com reports that DMV is investigating quote: ‘recent concerning incidents.’ Cruise will be allowed no more than 50 driverless cars during the day and 150 at night until the investigation is complete.

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