ChatGPT has bowed its new Study Mode which they claim will help give students a better understanding of complex subjects. Engadget.com reports that it is much like Learning Mode from Anthropic’s Claude, which came out in April. Study Mode uses something like the Socratic method…instead of answering a question outright, it will try to steer the user to their own solution. OpenAI says the conversations will unfold using a ‘scaffold’ structure, which means ChatGPT will slowly roll out info so as not to overwhelm the user. The feature is available to Edu users, and also to Free, Plus, Pro, and Team users. The Edu users will get it first over the next few weeks. 

A couple of major Security vulnerabilities have showed up in the Tea app…an app that is supposed to make dating safer for women. According to 9to5mac.com, the Tea app is designed to let women share ‘red flags’ for men they have dated, and the app supposedly has 4 million active users. That’s all cool, but the security breaches have exposed a database containing personal data, including selfies and images of driver’s licenses Tea uses to verify user identities. To quote the late, great Ron Popiel…’but wait, there’s more.’ Tea claims that was an old database, but the other breach affects messages through this past week. The chats just have user names, but also links and images. Over 70,000 images have been exposed….possibly many more. Unless you are dealing with the state or federal government, I’d avoid any app that wants an image of your driver’s license!

The dark side of AI is that it just keeps making it easier and easier to blur reality. Now, Adobe has launched new AI features for Photoshop that make it even more simple to convincingly add people and objects to photos or to delete them from same. The “Harmonize” feature is a step further than the Project Perfect Blend that Adobe showed last year. Theverge.com notes that when you add a new object to a photo, Harmonize will automatically adjust the color, lighting, shadows, and visual tone of the item to blend it into the main image…like a skilled Photoshop user would do manually. The automatic removal tool uses AI to ‘clean up your images with more precision,’ too. Note that Adobe says there are safeguards in place to prevent it from generating anything concerning, like deepfakes of notable public figures, violence, or sexually explicit materials. Let’s hope.

Meta’s AI recruiting binge continues, as Zuckerberg tries to scoop up more top tier talent for his Meta Superintellegence labs. Wired.com reports that over a dozen staffers at Mira Murati’s 50 person startup…Thinking Machines Lab…have been approached with big offers. Murati is the former chief tech officer at OpenAI. In a move that will make sports contracts look pale, one person was offered over a billion dollars over a multi-year period. Others have seen offers of between $200 and $500 million over 4 years! First year payouts are between $50 and $100 million! I need to use AI to convince Zuck I’m one of the top talents in the field, so I can cash in on this bonanza. Ok, kidding…but hey, Mark…if you could spare a million or two for a tech report writer, here I am!

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

After Elon Musk and some partners made an unsolicited bid to buy OpenAI yesterday for some $97.4 billion, OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman flatly and publicly rejected the offer. Arstechnica.com reports that the offer was backed by Musk’s company xAI, with several investor buddies of Musk involved…almost all of whom have money in Tesla or SpaceX. Musk has had a grudge against Altman since 2015, when both partnered with others to start OpenAI as a non-profit. Musk cut ties with the company in 2018….then saw OpenAI’s value soar in 2022 and 2023. His attempt to buy OpenAI is a pretty good indicator that even Elon knows his own AI…called Grok…sucks compared to ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, and even Apple’s AI.

Apple and Google have removed up to 20 apps from their app stores after security researchers found that the apps were carrying data-stealing software for nearly a year. According to techcrunch.com, the researchers at Kaspersky said the malware, called SparkCat, had been active since March 2024. Originally, they found the malware in a food delivery app used in UAE and Indonesia, but then spotted it in 19 other unrelated apps. Apparently the apps were cumulatively downloaded some 242,000 times just on Google’s Play Store. Apparently, the malware scanned image galleries for keywords to grab phrases for crypto wallets. Using the recovery phrases, they could gain control over a victim’s wallet and steal the money. 

ChatGPT and also Gemini from Google have been hit with copyright suits from content owners that didn’t approve of…or get paid for…the training of the large language models on their material. Now, Meta has joined the party, Bgr.com says a class action has hit Meta over its alleged downloading of 82 TB of pirated books from illegal sources to train its AI. Meta had previously admitted that it torrented tens of millions of pirated books. Some documents from the lawsuits have surfaced on X…including comments from Meta employees involved in the process who mused on the type of illegal data collection that Meta was doing. Like OpenAI and Google, Meta can probably remove the copyrighted material at this point now that the large language models are pretty well trained. It remains to be seen if and how much copyright owners will be compensated. 

Ukraine has had an advanced tech industry for years. Now, a company there has come up with drones that don’t rely on GPS for navigation. Thenextweb.com reports that Sine.Engineering has designed the drones to evade Russia’s electronic warfare, which has made a hash of GPS signals. The new drones are basically based on time-of-flight methods…something that way predates GPS. The drone systems measure the time it takes a signal to get from a transmitter to a target. The calculations are done in a communication module that is smaller than a playing card. The Drone shares signals with a ground stations and two beacons. It can run on multiple bandwidths, too. As with a lot of Ukraine’s weapons systems, they have figured out how to build the drones relatively cheaply too. 

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

ChatGPT is now making search available without an account, in regions where ChatGPT is available. You won’t have to log in to use ChatGPT’s search engine. Just head over to the website and type in your query. OpenAI says that “The search model is a fine-tuned version of GPT-4o, post-trained using novel synthetic data generation techniques, including distilling outputs from OpenAI o1-preview. ChatGPT search leverages third-party search providers, as well as content provided directly by our partners, to provide the information users are looking for.” The real question is how may people will ditch Google search and start using ChatGPT. Don’t expect Google to take this lying down. The games continue!

Amazon is preparing to bow new hardware. A device event has been scheduled for February 26th in New York City at 10 AM Eastern. In an invite, the online giant didn’t really give any clues about what hardware might be featured. Engadget.com notes that there have been freshened Kindles lately. Perhaps Amazon is ready to unveil the next-gen Alexa and related devices. That would mean new Echo speakers and Echo Buds. Amazon also may reveal what they will be charging for a subscription to the ‘turbocharged’ version of Alexa at the event.

SportIQ, a startup out of Finland, has made a better basketball…a smart basketball! Thenextweb.com says the ball has a sensor in the valve that tracks a player’s shots. Data is first extracted on their form, position, angle, power, and technique. Next, the information is fed to a mobile app for AI analysis. Players then receive direct feedback and advice. The company estimates that regular users improve their shooting accuracy by 12%. This has piqued the interest of the NBA. They have selected SportIQ for Launchpad, the league’s tech incubator. If you are interested in a smart ball to improve your own shooting, they are about $106 on SportIQ’s website. You will need to specify an indoor or outdoor ball.

AT&T is rolling out a new feature for Android customers. Zdnet.com reports that it is called TruContact Branded Call Display. You do have to sign up for it with the carrier. It should help you ensure you don’t miss an important call…and helps you to avoid unwanted calls…what a concept! When an enrolled business places a call, they’ll select the reason. The callers have a range of reasons to pick from including “Customer Service,” “Refill Reminder,” “Appointment Reminder,” “Delivery,” “Patient Callback,” and “Upcoming Appointment.” When your phone rings, you’ll see the business name, number, possibly its logo, and the reason for the call. This sounds actually useful! For now, the feature is only available on Android.

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

We are really just still hearing word about the reported iPhone ‘Air,’ but now it turns out Samsung is hard at work on their own slim smartphone that may launch a few months after the rollout of the Galaxy S25 phones…which should hit the market late January or early February. Mashable.com reports that Korea’s ET News spotted the new model in a database. The iPhone is reportedly going to have a 6.5 inch or 6.6 inch display with a much thinner profile than present iPhones. Back in 2014, Samsung did make a much thinner phone called the Galaxy Alpha with a 4.7 inch display. At that time, it wasn’t a great seller. Don’t expect either Samsung or Apple to mess with their great-selling flagship phones for these slim models…they will be additions. Neither tech titan wants to harm their golden goose!

ChatGPT search has been open to paid subscribers since this Fall…now, OpenAI says it won’t be long before anyone can use it, with no Plus or Pro membership needed. According to engadget.com, you will still need to make an OpenAI account…hey, for a freebie service, did you think they wouldn’t want some of your info to re-sell?  At any rate, once you’re logged in, and if your query calls for it, ChatGPT will automatically search the web for the latest information to answer your question. You can also force it to search the web, thanks to a handy new icon located right in the prompt bar. OpenAI has also added the option to make ChatGPT Search your browser’s default search engine. 

This is not good…brand new Teslas are having self-driving computer failures. It’s happening to enough cars that it is apparently overwhelming their service. Electrek.co says that the problem seems to come from a low voltage battery short-circuiting the computer during a camera calibration process. Tesla is going to try to push out a temporary software fix, but ultimately may have to just replace the computers. Tesla hasn’t issued a service bulletin and has told service downplay the problem as they race to deliver enough cars at the end of the quarter to avoid their first down year in deliveries in 10 years. 

The clock is ticking for TikTok to sell the app or face a US ban. Now, ByteDance has asked the US Supreme Court to consider blocking the sell-or-ban law passed earlier this year by January 6. This would give American app stores and internet hosting providers just a few weeks to prepare for January 19, the deadline when the U.S. could force them to block TikTok. Techcrunch.com reports that the TikTok CEO also met with president-elect Trump on Monday, asking for help. Trump told reporters he has a ‘warm spot in my heart for TikTok.’ That’s a 180 degree turn from when he was trying to ban it himself with an executive order when he was in office before. 

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

There are everything stores and then there are everything stores. Costco has everything, including caskets. Now, Amazon is adding cars! Yep, you can add a car to your cart…specifically, a Hyundai. Wired.com reports that Amazon had announced that cars could be coming in 2024, and now you can buy one with a click. Amazon has announced that it will ‘roll out’…ok sorry about that…services with other dealerships and manufacturers in 2025. Right now, go to Amazon Autos, and search for the make and model you want, then you can find matching vehicles at nearby dealerships that have them. You can also get an estimate of your trade in value. Amazon says is is working with an ‘independent third party’ to determine trade values. At check out, you can pay in full (like many Hyundai buyers do that) or get help getting financing. Most paperwork can be e-signed on Amazon. After that, just schedule a pickup at the Hyundai dealer. Yeah, sorry…no next day delivery…or shipping at all!

Instagram has launched a new feature for video creators. Now, you can publish a ‘trial reel’ for non-followers to see, and test it out before revealing the video to followers. According to engadget.com, the feature is in direct response to feedback from creators who “feel nervous” about posting videos that may not perform well. Meta said the new feature is meant to make it easier for creators to experiment with different genres and “easily get a gut check on how your content might perform.” After 24 hours, creators can revisit the video and see how the metrics look before releasing it to followers or not. 

It looks like Samsung will be adding Qi2 charging to the Galaxy S25 phones. 9to5google.com notes that the standard has been out for a couple years, but only one Android phone has gotten it so far, and that’s the little-known HMD Skyline. Meanwhile, Apple’s iPhones have the faster charging via their magnetic ring connection. There had been a rumor that Google’s Pixel 9 phones would get it, but nope. A reliable Samsung leaker says the Galaxy S25’s will have it though. We won’t have long to wait to see if that turns out to be true…they’re due out in January.

OpenAI has launched Sora video generation publicly. Arstechnica.com reports that Sora Turbo text-to-video generation is available to ChatGPT Plus and Pro subscribers via a dedicated website. The model can create videos of up to 20 seconds long with resolutions up to 1080 pixels from a text or image prompt. Right now, it is available in the US and much of the world, but not in Europe yet. OpenAI is limiting generation of videos of people for the time being to prevent deepfakes. The company notes that there are limitations as it is an early version. The model reportedly struggles with physics simulations and complex actions over extended durations.

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