tech

Rani Molla4/9/24

How Elon Musk’s Starlinks are getting to US foes

When Elon Musk isn’t getting involved in messy social politics on Twitter, he’s getting involved in messy geopolitics of war. The Wall Street Journal did a deep dive into how devices from Musk’s satellite internet company Starlink have ended up assisting American foes in war zones in Ukraine and Sudan, where they’re used for secure communications and drone operation.

Starlink can shut off individual devices and make devices unavailable in specific places, but middlemen are smuggling hardware registered in countries where Starlink is allowed, and then using the roam feature to connect to the internet in places where it isn’t. Musk has said he’s perplexed that his seemingly innocuous internet devices ended up being used in warfare, but the Journal found Russian dealers advertising eBay posts for the devices from people in Ohio and New Jersey.

The Black Market That Delivers Elon Musk’s Starlinks to U.S. Foes

The Black Market That Delivers Elon Musk’s Starlinks to U.S. Foes

Starlink can shut off individual devices and make devices unavailable in specific places, but middlemen are smuggling hardware registered in countries where Starlink is allowed, and then using the roam feature to connect to the internet in places where it isn’t. Musk has said he’s perplexed that his seemingly innocuous internet devices ended up being used in warfare, but the Journal found Russian dealers advertising eBay posts for the devices from people in Ohio and New Jersey.

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Google rolls out Private AI Compute matching Apple’s AI privacy scheme

One of the barriers to people embracing AI in their daily lives is trust — making sure that the company that built the AI isn’t going to just spill your most sensitive info to advertisers and data brokers.

Google is announcing a new feature called Private AI Compute that takes a page from Apple to help assure users that Google will keep your AI data private.

In June 2024, Apple announced its Private Cloud Compute scheme, which ensures only the user can access data sent to the cloud to enable AI features.

While Apple’s AI tools have yet to fully materialize, Google’s new offering looks a lot like Apple’s. AI models on its phones process data in a secure environment, and when more computing is needed in the cloud, that security is extended to the cloud to be processed by Google’s custom TPU chips.

A press release said: “This ensures sensitive data processed by Private AI Compute remains accessible only to you and no one else, not even Google.”

Google is introducing its own version of Apple’s private AI cloud compute

Google is introducing its own version of Apple’s private AI cloud compute

In June 2024, Apple announced its Private Cloud Compute scheme, which ensures only the user can access data sent to the cloud to enable AI features.

While Apple’s AI tools have yet to fully materialize, Google’s new offering looks a lot like Apple’s. AI models on its phones process data in a secure environment, and when more computing is needed in the cloud, that security is extended to the cloud to be processed by Google’s custom TPU chips.

A press release said: “This ensures sensitive data processed by Private AI Compute remains accessible only to you and no one else, not even Google.”

Amazon says it has 315 million monthly active viewers for its Prime Video ads, according to Deadline, up from 200 million in April 2024. The number comes just a week after Netflix said it had 190 million monthly active viewers.

The self-reported numbers have different methodologies. Netflix counts the number of ad-tier subscribers who’ve watched at least one minute of ads per month and multiplies that by its estimated household size. Amazon’s number represents an unduplicated average monthly active ad-supported audience across its programming from September 2024 through August 2025.

The services themselves also aren’t exactly comparable. Netflix charges $7.99 a month for its ad-supported tier, while Prime Video comes bundled as part of Amazon Prime — and now automatically comes with ads unless consumers pay an extra $2.99 per month to remove them.

Chinese EV maker and Tesla competitor BYD could sell up to 1.6 million vehicles abroad next year, according to a new report by Citi published by Reuters. That’s potentially 60% more than the roughly 1 million vehicles BYD is expected to sell outside China this year. That’s also the same number analysts polled by FactSet expect Tesla to sell in total in 2025.

Tesla shareholders support Musk much more than Musk’s xAI

Many abstained from voting on xAI investment.

7th Viva Technology Conference In Paris - Day 3

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Apple reportedly considers adding additional camera to iPhone Air and pushing next release to 2027

Apple is delaying its next iPhone Air to the spring of 2027, from the fall of 2026, as it potentially rejiggers the model to include a second camera lens, according to The Information. Consumers have largely overlooked Apple’s latest, thinnest phone, choosing instead to buy the standard and Pro models, thanks in part to the Air’s single camera and relatively weak battery life. The preference caused Apple to greatly scale back production for its Air model.

Apple Explores Adding Second Camera to Next iPhone Air to Boost Sales

Apple Explores Adding Second Camera to Next iPhone Air to Boost Sales

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