Category: Tech Made Simple

Congress Introduces and California Governor Signs Laws to Crack Down on Election Deepfakes created by AI

Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed three bills to crack down on the use of artificial intelligence to create false images or videos in political ads ahead of the 2024 election. As AP News reports, a new law, set to take effect immediately, makes it illegal to create and publish deepfakes related to elections 120 days […]

Microsoft launches a Windows app for iPhones, Macs, and Android devices

Microsoft sign outside of their HQ

Last week, Microsoft launched a Windows app  for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, web browsers, Android devices, and even Windows PCs. The Windows app is essentially a hub for streaming a copy of Windows from a variety of sources, including Windows 365, Azure Virtual Desktop, Remote Desktop, and more. As The Verge reports, this new unified app has […]

PlayStation’s 30th anniversary PS5 and PS5 Pro are Retro Cool

Sony has deftly come up with a way to get more people on board with the PS5 Pro. As The Verge reports, the company has announced a special 30th anniversary collection for the suite of PS5 consoles and accessories. “To celebrate this 30th anniversary milestone, we had to create something that honored the history and joy that PlayStation […]

FTC report shows Social media and Streamers engaged in “vast surveillance” for their Profit, and at Your Expense

Large social media companies and streaming platforms — including Amazon, Alphabet-owned YouTube, Meta’s Facebook and TikTok — engage in a “vast surveillance of users” to profit off their personal information, endangering privacy and failing to adequately protect children, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) stated on September 19. As CBS News reports, in a 129-page report, the […]

FDA Clears Apple’s Hearing Aid Tech For AirPods Pro 2

Apple has secured FDA approval to offer its software update that can turn the Apple AirPods Pro 2 into over-the-counter hearing aids.  As PC Mag reports, during Monday’s “Glowtime” event, the company talked about the hearing aid capability, which has been designed to help people with mild to moderate hearing loss. But at the time, Apple said the […]

iOS 18 is Now Available – Here are All the Features and Improvements

Apple released iOS 18 on Sept. 16, a week after the company announced its new iPhone 16 lineup, Apple Watch Series 10 and more at its September event. As CNET reports, the operating system brings a lot of new features to your iPhone, like more ways to customize your home screen and updates to the Messages app. Here’s what you should know about the new […]

Is Skynet here? OpenAI releases o1, the Strawberry model with ‘Reasoning’ Abilities

Sam Altman next to smartphone showing OpenAI

OpenAI is releasing a new model called o1, the first in a planned series of “reasoning” models that have been trained to answer more complex questions, faster than a human can. It’s being released alongside o1-mini, a smaller, cheaper version. And yes, if you’re steeped in AI rumors: this is, in fact, the extremely hyped Strawberry model. […]

NASA to Test American-Made Lithium-Sulfur Batteries at the ISS Next Year

Lyten, a California-based battery tech company, has been chosen by NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) to send its lithium-sulfur battery technology to the International Space Station (ISS) on a 2025 mission. As PC Mag reports, the energy dense, lightweight cells could extend the time astronauts can spend on space walks from four to […]

Sony’s PS5 Pro is Official – “The Most Powerful Console We’ve Ever Built”

The PS5 Pro is official. After months of leaks, Sony just announced a more powerful PS5 console during a special technical presentation. Mark Cerny, the lead architect of the PS5 console, says the PS5 Pro improves on the original console in three key ways: a larger GPU, advanced ray tracing, and custom AI-driven upscaling. As The […]