Tag: technology

Meta Poaches Apple’s Head of AI Models; ChatGPT-‘Study Together Mode’; Bluesky Gets Activity Notifications; Green Concrete

July 8th, 2025

Meta has poached Apple’s head of AI models. Techcrunch.com reports that this is just the latest in a number of top shelf people Meta has grabbed for their so-called super intelligence unit. Ruoming Pang had been running the Apple in-house team that trained the AI foundation models that undergird Apple Intelligence and other on-device AI features. Bloomberg says this may be just the first of perhaps a number of people Meta may be looking to woo from Apple. Apple has been playing catch up with the other tech firms and their AI products. They are far behind OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta. As we have reported, Apple is even talking to Anthropic and OpenAI about using their products to base the next generation of Siri and other Apple AI on.

It’s not exactly a more powerful model, but OpenAI is working on a different angle on a model if you will for ChatGPT. According to bgr.com, they have something new called ChatGPT ‘Study Together’. It has already started rolling out to some ChatGPT Plus users. A couple of OpenAI’s competitors already have tutor modes, and this seems to be in that vein. Instead of a student asking it questions, this model will allegedly ask questions that guide students to find answers themselves. The idea is to get people to think more, not just use the large language model to answer questions or solve homework problems. No word yet on when it will be generally released or how it might be priced.

Bluesky has been slowly adding features. One that has been missing until now, that was available on old Twitter and other sites was the ability to turn on notifications for specific accounts. Now, with Activity Notifications, that feature is live. Theverge.com notes that you can simply hit the bell icon on a page you want to get notifications from, and away you go. It works with news sites if that’s your thing, or you can use it to be notified of friends’ posts, too. Another addition is that you can set Bluesky to notify people if someone likes or reposts something they have posted.

Researchers at the University of Washington and Microsoft Research have used machine learning to develop a novel solution for trapping carbon in concrete by blending a sustainable, easy-to-grow green seaweed into the industrial batter that makes concrete, all without reducing its strength. Geekwire.com reports that the process lowers the cement’s global warming impact by 21%. Concrete in and of itself isn’t an issue, but the making of it produces some 8-11% of global carbon emissions. Scientists have been trying to curb its carbon footprint by using clean energy to generate the heat needed to produce it, and by swapping different ingredients. The product here uses dehydrated seaweed to make a high performing, lower carbon concrete. As a friend who was in that business often reminded me, cement is an ingredient of concrete…although lots of us who are laypersons tend to use the terms interchangeably.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Galaxy Z Flip 7-NO Display Crease; Redesigned iPhone 17 Models Get Revamped Dynamic Island; TikTok Ban May End Soon-New App & Sale; Prime Day(s) Start Tomorrow

July 7th, 2025

In just a couple days, Samsung will unveil the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7. We will cover the Samsung Unpacked then, but for now, here is a little nugget from a tester who got early access. Bgr.com reports that a hands-on video shows the edge to edge, corner to corner outside display, which is cool. Beyond that, it looks like there is NO visible crease on the inner screen. That is a huge deal. We know that Apple is planning a folder next year, and may use Samsung Display. This would allow Samsung to premiere the crease-free screen a year ahead of any Apple device. We’ll have more on Wednesday.

the iPhone 17 models are getting a revamped Dynamic Island. This according to macrumors.com, which found information on an account on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The account has leaked accurate info about Apple devices in the past. The missing detail is that we don’t know if the Island will be smaller or not. That was rumored previously, but may not make it until the iPhone 18 models next year. This one does feature some kind of change in the user interface. I would be happy if they made it work with two items better. Often, I am using it for the timer as I work out, and would like to be able to touch it to open and read a text, then have it go back to just the timer when I’m finished.

A sale of TikTok in the US FINALLY may be near. Theverge.com notes that the Trump administration believes it is close to a sale to a group of ‘non-Chinese’ investors, including Oracle…with present owner ByteDance keeping a minority stake. That would satisfy the terms of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. Apparently, TikTok is working on a new version of the app, called M2 for now, which may drop in app stores around September 5th. The original app will leave app stores with the launch of the new one, and will stop working in March 2026.

Yes, it’s tomorrow…that event you’ve all been waiting for…Amazon Prime Day 2025. Remember when Prime Day was an actual day…then it became a day and a half? Now, they really ought to brand it Prime Week, with it lasting 4 days. Zdnet.com reports that in addition to the early offers already up, there is also a reboot of Prime for Young Adults…a discounted membership for those 18-24. Amazon is touting its AI shopping assistant Rufus (who names these things?) as a help in finding deals on things you are likely to purchase. A note-Amazon has said it will not introduce listed tariff prices next to products for sale. This had been looked at, but after blowback from the White House, it was dropped.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Meta Offering Crazy Pay to Steal Top Talent; X Brings AI to Community Notes; Chipmakers Get Bigger Tax Breaks in Latest Budget Bill; Tesla Sales Down in Q2

July 2nd, 2025

We already reported that OpenAI was complaining that Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg was trying to poach top talent for the new Meta ’superintellegence lab.’ Zuck was offering a $100 million signing bonus. Now, wired.com reports that Meta has offered top research talent up to $300 million over 4 years with over $100 million of that coming in the first year. When the pay package includes equity, in the first year, the stock vests immediately. A senior engineer who spoke to WIRED confirmed their pay was around $850,000 per year at Meta—an impressive sum that pales in comparison to the packages currently on offer. Those in the pay band above this engineer (E7’s, in Meta terms) make on average $1.54 million a year, according to user data submitted on Levels.FYI. Kids, we are all in the wrong line of work!

Another story from the ‘What Could Possibly Go Wrong’ department: X is launching a way for developers to create AI bots that can write Community Notes that can potentially appear on posts. According to theverge.com, the “AI Note Writers” will be able to submit a Community Note, but they will only actually be shown on a post “if found helpful by people from different perspectives.” The social platform claims in a post that AI notes will be ‘clearly marked for users’ and at least at the start, ‘AIs can only write notes on posts where people have requested a note.’ For now, the bots are just writing in test mode…but the first group may actually show up on X posts later this month.

The big budget bill, if it passes in its present form, will increase tax credits for semiconductor firms building plants in the US. CNBC notes that the credits will grow from 25% to 35%. Chipmakers that could benefit include Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor. Previously, Trump had called for a repeal of the CHIPS Act. The new provisions expand the tax incentives, which provided grants of $39 billion and loans of $75 billion for US based semiconductor manufacturing projects.

Tesla improved sales over first quarter, but still ended 2nd quarter down 13.5% as compared to Q2 2022. This doesn’t bode well…it may mean they will underperform 2024 for the year. TechCrunch.com reports that the company will announce earnings July 23rd. Worth noting, Ford electric vehicle sales were down 31% year over year in the US…the Tesla numbers are global. Hyundai and Kia also dropped in the US. General Motors trended the opposite way. The General grew EV sales in the US year to year, riding on a stable of new and improved models.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Apple May Use Claude or ChatGPT to Bulk Up Siri; Moderna-mRNA Flu Vaccine Beats Standard Shot; Threads Finally Gets DMs; Senate Deletes Ban on State AI Regulations

July 1st, 2025

It is an open secret that Apple’s Apple Intellegence-powered Siri is way behind other AI large language models. It’s already been delayed substantially, and now bgr.com reports that Apple has been talking to both Anthropic…maker of Claude, and to OpenAI, the ChatGPT folks. Apparently they have tested the models out, and Claude actually works best right now to power Siri. That said, Anthropic is asking for a multi-billion dollar yearly fee that increases every year. This demand for such a princely price has Apple also talking to OpenAI…which can already be used with Siri…albeit after going through extra steps of approving using it, and having some data leave Apple’s Private Cloud Servers. It will probably help Apple’s cause if they get a deal with one of them in place before September, so they can tout the more muscular Siri on the new iPhones coming out then.

Moderna has announced that their mRNA-based seasonal flu vaccine is 27% more effective at preventing flu infections than a standard shot. According to arstechnica.com, the vaccine was trialed on a group that included 41,000 people age 50 and above. The only fly in the ointment…or in this case, worm in the brain….is Bobby Kennedy, Jr. He had previously announced that “all new vaccines” would be required to go through placebo-controlled trials. That means that participants in a trial who are not given the experimental vaccine must be given an inert placebo rather than an already-approved vaccine as a comparative group, as was the case in the new trial with mRNA-1010. The known anti-vaxxer now in charge of Health and Human Services seems intent on blocking all the vaccines so…as one meme said, people can die like serfs from the Middle Ages.

Threads has finally launched direct messaging for everyone on the platform. Theverge.com notes that as of now, you can just DM between your followers or mutual followers on Instagram for now. You need to be 18 or over to use this feature. To send a DM, click the envelope icon at the bottom of the app’s screen. That takes you to the inbox, where you tap the pencil icon and can start writing. Moving forward, Threads plans to roll out the ability to choose who can send you messages, including people who don’t follow you on Threads and Instagram. You’ll also be able to review a folder dedicated to message requests, similar to what’s offered on X. Threads is working on a group messaging feature and inbox filters, too. A big warning…Threads will not support end-to-end encryption. If that puts you off, head over to Facebook Messenger, which has end-to-end.

Well, the Big Beautiful Bill…or Big Ugly Bill, depending on your politics…is out of the Senate and back to the House. Techcrunch.com reports that Senators did cut out the so-called ‘AI Moratorium.’ That was a clause that would have banned states from regulating Artificial Intelligence for 10 years. In an actual bi-partisan move, the Senate voted overwhelmingly…99 to1… to let states regulate AI. Most of the big tech firms supported the ban, claiming that without it, states could create what they called an unworkable patchwork of regulation that could stifle innovation. Most Senators agreed that a ban on state regs would allow powerful AI companies to operate with very little oversight.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Senators Call for Investigation of Spotify Pricy New Bundle; Some Tesla Robotaxis Hit Austin Streets; Foldable iPhone in Production by Fall; Samsung Looks at Monthly Fee for Galaxy AI on Phones

June 23rd, 2025

Two Senators, one a Democrat, the other a Republican, have asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Spotify over allegations that the company bundled its music streaming and audiobook services into a more expensive subscription without obtaining user consent, while also reducing royalty payments to creators in the process. Techcrunch.com reports that the Senators are Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee from the GOP and Ben Ray Lujan, Democrat of New Mexico. The two senators noted that existing U.S. regulations permit digital music providers to pay a reduced music royalty rate if the subscription is bundled with other legitimate offerings. In a statement, they said “Spotify’s intent seems clear — to slash the statutory royalties it pays to songwriters and music publishers. Not only has this harmed our creative community, but this action has also harmed consumers.” A spotify spokesperson said the users were notified a month in advance of the price increase.

Although Elon Musk had bragged that there would be a million Tesla robotaxis on the roads by now, a much, much more modest launch has taken place in Austin, Texas. According to cnbc.com, the autonomous vehicles hit the streets Sunday. So far, there are only about 10 of them, and they are NOT the 2-passenger ones with no steering wheel or pedals Musk showed off. The vehicles are Model Y Teslas…and they have a safety driver for now. No serious mishaps yesterday, although one was filmed going the wrong way down a road in Austin. Tesla has a lot of catching up to up to do…Alphabet’s Waymo has now gotten to more than a quarter million commercial driverless rides per week, and surpassed 10 million trips last month!

They are late to the game, but that has worked out for Apple before…think of the iPod, and how it took over the portable music world, then of course, the iPhone itself. Now, Cupertino is poised to start building their folding iPhone…after Samsung has cranked out 6 different yearly models of its folding phones, and will release the 7th generation next month. Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple will actually launch the device in the fall of 2026 as one of the iPhone 18 models. Ironically, the display will be produced by Samsung Display. details aren’t final, but it appears it have an outside display of 5.5 inches, and inner one of 7.8 inches when open. It will be the book-type like the Samsung Galaxy Fold, rather than the flip style. Kuo estimates it to run $2000-$2500. My bet is that it will come in at $2400!

Samsung has had its Galaxy AI suite of features on the S24 phones now for almost a year and a half. Now, they are talking about a subscription model for at least some AI features. Bgr.com reports that a price could be unveiled when they launch the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Flip 7 next month. No charges would go into effect until the end of 2025, as promised by Samsung. The real key? Will enough users find Galaxy AI valuable enough to them to pay for it? It has been noted that Galaxy AI does do more than Apple Intelligence on iPhones, and we all know companies have been spending billions on building out AI. The figure isn’t known, but Samsung is apparently paying Google a ton of money to run Gemini on their Galaxy phones. In the case of Apple and Google, they have their own AI models and servers.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Social Media Becomes Top News Source; Oakley & Meta Tease New Smart Glasses; Amazon Prime Day(s); New COVID Variant Gaining Ground in US

June 17th, 2025

In a first, Americans’ top news source is social media, at 54%, overtaking TV, at 50%, and news websites and apps, at 48%. Oxford’s Reuters institute for the Study of Journalism just put out their 2025 Digital News Report, which it has done yearly since 2012. The report surveys around 100,000 people in 48 countries. Besides passing up TV, the report also shows that digital creators reach audiences that traditional media have a lot of trouble reaching….including young men, right-leaning audiences, and folks with low levels of trust in mainstream media outlets. For those of us who are something of dinosaurs…and prize the written word over video, well guess what? The world is moving on. In the US, 60% still prefer to read, but 27% would rather watch now, and 13% gravitate to listening. The latter probably due to folks who are getting news over radio while commuting in their cars. Some other countries have flipped even faster…the Philippines breakdown has 55% preferring watching, with just 31% picking reading, and 14% listening.

Meta’s Ray-Bans are some pretty cool smart glasses…and really as good as any out there at the moment…but wait…there’s more, to quote the great pitchman Ron Popiel. According to 9to5mac.com, a longtime rumor that Meta has partnered with Oakley is about to come true. A joint product launch is scheduled for this Friday, June 20th. The Oakley smart glasses are aimed more at cyclists and athletes than at the general public. What’s the difference between the Oakleys and Ray-Bans? The Oakley glasses apparently feature a center mounted camera, so will give a more GoPro like video of fast moving events. Meta is doing better than expected with the Ray-Bans. They have shipped 2 million, and plan to scale up to 10 million units a year by the end of 2026. They have also announced smart glasses partnerships with Warby Parker, Gentle Monster, and Kering Eyewear…all running Android XR. In the rear view mirror Meta should be watching Apple…now looking to release AI powered smart glasses by the end of 2026.

If you are among the many who have chuckled about Amazon Prime Day being bloated to two days…get ready for a really hearty laugh. This summer’s Amazon Prime Day will start Tuesday, July 8th, at 3AM Eastern…AND will also until Friday, July 11th…so a day now lasts 4 days in Amazon World! Theverge.com notes that we can expect to see teases pretty much nonstop between now and July 8th. As usual, Amazon’s own products will be on sale big time, to lure you even deeper into their ecosystem.

With all the turmoil at the Department of Health and Human Services under Robert Kennedy, Jr, including cutbacks and efforts to minimize COVID vaccination needs, here comes a new variant…NB.1.8.1, picking up steam quickly in the US. Arstechnica.com reports that the variant has already surged in parts of Asia. Experts are concerned for a big summer wave as protection from vaccines or having had COVID is waning, and the new variant…a descendent of omicron…seems to have an infectious advantage over other variants. The brighter side? Thus far, the variant does not appear to cause more severe disease, and current vaccines are expected to remain effective against it. So…go get another jab when you can!

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
WhatsApp Getting Ads; iOS Tweak Eases Use of One Time Codes; Trump Planning to Sell a Phone; Another EU Government Moves to Linux

June 16th, 2025

It has been rumored, and it’s coming. Meta has announced it will now serve ads from business in WhatsApp in its Stories-like status feature. According to theverge.com, you may start seeing ads along with the shared disappearing text, photo, voice notes, or video messages shared by friends or family members in this portion of the Updates tab. Meta says it will tailor the ads to your interests by using “limited” information, including your country or city, language, the channels you follow, and how you interact with ads on the platform. Meta says it will never see or share your phone number to advertisers. Also it won’t use your messages, calls, or groups to ‘inform’ its ads. Oh, I fell a lot better knowing that…

In all the announcements at WWDC last week, here’s a little one for iOS 26 that may make a lot of people’s use of websites easier on their iPhones. Bgr.com reports that for several years, iPhone and Mac users have had a feature that sees the two factor identification one-time password code which is sent to you by email or text, and it will appear in a bubble on the website. You can just click it and it fills in, and you are into the secure website. Now, with a tweak of iOS 26, that Security Code Autofill feature will not be limited to Apple Messages or email. If you get codes over WhatsApp or a third party mail app, the system will find it and suggest it without your needing to leave Safari or whatever app you are using. Apple will even show you where the OTP is coming from for extra security.

In an interesting move, Donald Trump, Jr has announced the launch of a cellular brand…Trump Mobile. Engadget.com notes that they will sell a single wireless plan called ‘The 47 Plan,’ which offers unlimited talk and texting, as well as unlimited data that throttles speeds after the first 20GB each month. The Trump Mobile plan is a white-label plan built on an existing mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) called Liberty Mobile. The company also plans to sell “The T1 Phone,” a gold-accented smartphone that it says will be manufactured in the United States. The last part…a phone selling for $499 made in the US is something of a pipe dream. People who study the cost breakdown of phones like iFixit calculate that and iPhone costs Apple $500 to $800 to make…depending on the model….and that’s with cheap Asian labor and the distribution system all close by there. It has been estimated that a US made iPhone would cost some $1500 to build…so take the $499 golden Trumphone with a large grain of salt.

A German state, Schleswig-Holstein, will ditch all Microsoft software and move to Linux and open source programs over the next 90 days. Zdnet.com says this is part of growing European resistance to reliance on US tech giants. Danish officials have also announced they are dropping Microsoft. The German state’s Digitalization Minister said “The geopolitical developments of the past few months have strengthened interest in the path that we’ve taken. The war in Ukraine revealed our energy dependencies, and now we see there are also digital dependencies.” Bavaria has also gotten away from Microsoft, but has returned partially. The French Police have also dropped Microsoft.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Snap-Light Consumer AR Glasses in ’26; Threads is Getting DMs; EVs with 3,000 Mile Range on the Horizon; Apple White Paper- Power of New Generation AI Wildly Oversold

June 10th, 2025

Snap is preparing to sell lightweight, consumer AR glasses in 2026. That’s the word from techcrunch.com. They will be called Specs. Snap’s Specs will feature many of the same augmented reality and artificial intelligence capabilities that are available on the company’s developer-facing smart glasses, the Spectacles 5. However, the company says the Specs will be smaller and lighter — ideally making them more innocuous to wear in public than their extremely large predecessors. So far, no word from Snap on pricing, or on how they plan to sell the glasses. If they are lightweight, work well, and don’t look goofy…Snap will have really pulled off something great in the smart glasses race.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that Threads will start testing its own direct messaging this week…which you will be able to use without leaving the platform. According to theverge.com, the testing will start in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Argentina, then expand to other nations. Users will see a separate inbox for Threads DMs, without having to connect to their linked Instagram account. At this point you will still have to have an Instagram account to use Threads. Maybe one day, they will split the baby, so to speak.

In a huge leap forward, a couple of researchers in South Korea have come up with a way to reduce silicon swelling in traditional EV battery designs. Bgr.com says that the better tech may take us from the 200-300 miles per charge to somewhere in the area of 3,000 mile range! That’s not all…using graphene in the batteries, they have shown that you can fully charge in something like 75 seconds…with no degradation in capacity for over 1,000 recharges. If this tech scales up, we may see truly revolutionary range in electric vehicles…and smartphones you won’t ever stress about running down the battery and being out of contact.

Apple has put out a research paper that some are nodding in the affirmative over…like myself, while others are stunned. Theguardian.com notes that the paper all but eviscerating the popular notion that large language models (LLMs, and their newest variant, LRMs, large reasoning models) are able to reason reliably. well-known venture capitalist Josh Wolfe went so far as to post on X that “Apple [had] just GaryMarcus’d LLM reasoning ability” – coining a new verb (and a compliment to me), referring to “the act of critically exposing or debunking the overhyped capabilities of artificial intelligence … by highlighting their limitations in reasoning, understanding, or general intelligence.” What Apple did was show that the leading models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Deepseek may “look smart – but when complexity rises, they collapse”. In short, these models are very good at a kind of pattern recognition, but often fail when they encounter novelty that forces them beyond the limits of their training, despite being, as the paper notes, “explicitly designed for reasoning tasks.” The Cliff’s Notes takeaway for you…relax…Artificial Intelligence and robots won’t be taking over…at least not yet.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Apple WWDC Highlights 6-9-25

June 9th, 2025

The hour and a half nonstop hype and ‘reality distortion field’ that is the Apple World Wide Developer Conference Keynote is over. So, cutting through the haze, what are some of the cool new features you might actually use? Although the presentation opened with a big hype for Apple Intelligence…which is running a bit behind…the various presenters did weave it throughout. As expected, the large, over-arching items though were the major redesign of iOS…which basically extends across all platforms. The first redesign since iOS 7, it is translucent, transparent, and pretty. New looks, design elements, and reimagined icons are the rule. Apple calls it ‘Liquid Glass.’ As we reported here, all the operating systems will get a unified naming system…iOS 26, macOS 26, etc…based on the year…what? You expected them to use this year, that’s half over? Nope…like the auto makers, they will have next year’s models out this Fall with next year’s model numbers.

As most of the useful features, in my opinion, are showing up on iOS..which is what most users use anyway, I will focus there…and skip over CarPlay and Vision OS. One of the biggest changes predicted, and which was announced, was to the phone app on the iPhone. Improving phone use…what a concept! the first thing they have done is pulled voicemails and calls from users together, rather like text messages. It does seem cleaner. Another change is a beefing up of call screening. The phone answers from unknown numbers silently in the background. When the caller shares their name and reason for the call, the phone rings…unless you have ringing off like I do!

A really cool feature is Hold Assist. The iPhone detects crappy hold music, and automatically mutes it. The call stays connected, and you can continue using your phone for other stuff while it holds its place in the queue. When an agent finally answers, they are asked to hold a moment, and you are connected with them.

Messages is getting some updates, too. You can now select backgrounds (like Facebook Messenger has) on group messages that all can see..including from your photo library or you can make an image from Apple’s Image Playground. They also have added polling and using Apple Cash in groups…so you can send or get cash…say to divvy up paying for lunch. By the way, like with the phone app, unknown texters are sent to a dedicated area so as not to bother, BUT with time sensitive messages like ‘your table is ready’ or a verification code, you will see those right away.

In messaging and the phone app, Live Translation can translate a caller speaking or typing in a different language on the fly, which will be way cool if you are traveling.

Apple Wallet gets more car keys for supported cars and driver licenses and even a digital ID for your US passport. Apple claims that you can use these at TSA checkpoints within the US, or in-apps. Boarding passes now include indoor mapping to help you get to your connecting flight without leaving the boarding pass…and Find My is built in too…to track your checked luggage.

Apple Watch gets the same Liquid Glass look, and as far as I can tell, not much else. There is a sure-to-become irritating ‘Workout Buddy’ that will say crap like ‘You’re Crushing it’ during your workout to encourage you…or just piss you off.

macOS Tahoe gets the Liquid Glass treatment, which really does look cool…the menu bar at the top is invisible now, and the mini=icons are kind of translucent…a much cleaner look. Live Translation comes to the Mac, along withe the improved Image Playground. Continuity has been improved…a great feature if you are deep into the Mac system as I am. You can start something on your Phone and pick right up on your Mac…or iPad. Here is a real feature…Apple FINALLY gives us a phone app on the Mac…which mirrors the one on the iPhone with most of the features like Call Screening and Live Translation.

iPad OS makes all iPads that can run the new system immediately more useful. Apple has finally brought real windowing to the iPad. You can move them, resize them, tile them, etc just like on a Mac. There is also a menu bar at the top…translucent like on the Mac. They have now made it so you can choose other audio and video inputs…so you can use a pro quality microphone and record your podcast on an iPad if you are traveling…or just prefer to use the smaller interface.

As noted at the top, I have skipped over Vision OS, which has some cool features…but I will be surprised if any subscribers to this report have dropped the $3500 to buy a Vision OS headset. It very well may be a great view of the future, but still a bit into the future and still very pricy.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.
Target & Walmart Tariff Price Hikes Leak Online; TikTok Blocks ‘SkinnyTok’; Google Delays Release of ‘Ask Photos’ Feature; Meta & Yandex Break Android Browser Anonymity to Track You

June 4th, 2025

The Trump tariffs…they’re up, they’re down, they’re off, they’re postponed, they’re on again. Trump’s hangup with tariffs is making a mess of international commerce. Now, mashable.com reports that price hikes based on what the tariffs have been…or may be…have crept into places like Walmart and Target…and employees have started leaking some online. Examples can be found on Reddit’s r/Walmart subreddit. One example has an 8 ounce jar of cocoa powder that was $3.44 and has now been re-priced up to $6.18..and 80% price jump. A Jurassic World T-Rex toy has been bumped from $39.95 to $55, a 38% hike due to the tariffs, and a fishing reel that was formerly $57.37 is now $83.26. As Walmart CFO John Rainey told CNBC last month, “We’re wired for everyday low prices, but the magnitude of these increases is more than any retailer can absorb. It’s more than any supplier can absorb.” A 2023 Reuters report said that 60% of Walmart’s goods were sourced from China between January and April of that year. Since then, Walmart has started shifting part of its supply chain to India, as is true with a number of electronics makers like Foxconn, that supplies Apple’s iPhones.

TikTok has stopped showing search results for the hashtag #SkinnyTok. According to engadget.com, critics have complained that videos with this label promoting disordered eating and other unhealthy or risky diet behaviors. France’s Ministry of State for Digital Affairs was a leading critic of this, and it has also been on the radar of the EU regulators since April. It is likely that determined users will come up with a work around, but this will stop the most blatant abuse. in 2020, TikTok had put restrictions on ads that might “promote a negative or harmful body image,” such as fasting apps and weight loss supplements. TikTok began a partnership with the National Eating Disorder Association in 2021 to offer more resources for users with eating disorders. Later that year, it also introduced a new approach to the For You page in an effort to reduce the impact of watching too many repeated clips on a negative topic.

Google has had to hold off on the rollout of its ‘Ask Photos’ AI search feature for a couple of weeks. TechCrunch.com says that they have had issues with latency, quality and user experience. Some users already have the feature, but an updated version will be sent out correcting the problems in the next two weeks. The feature uses Google’s Gemini AI to let users search their Google Photos libraries using natural language prompts.

Meta and Russia-based Yandex have figured out how to abuse legit internet protocols to de-anonymize website visitors and secretly send unique identifiers to native apps stored on Android devices. Arstechnica.com reports that the tracking, via the Meta Pixel and Yandex Metrica trackers, let them bypass core privacy and security protections that are in the Android OS and browsers that run on it. Yandex has used this bypass to track people since 2017, and Meta picked up on it last September. It allows them to pass cookies or other identifiers from Firefox and Chromium based browsers to native Android apps for Facebook, Instagram, and various Yandex apps. Then…presto…they can tie the browsing history to the account holder….YOU…that is logged into the app! So far, the tracking hasn’t shown up on Apple’s iOS. It may be technically possible, but iOS has tighter controls on local host communications and background executions of mobile apps. Although Orwell wrote that Big Brother is watching you…which is more true than ever now, he never imagined a Big Tech that was watching you even more, and using your data to make more money for themselves.

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