Qualcomm reveals flagship XR processor and new framework for AI glasses | Digital Trends

June 18, 2026June 16, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Qualcomm is laying the groundwork for the next generation of XR hardware with two announcements that target both the brains inside future headsets and the tools needed to build them.

At Augmented World Expo 2026, the company unveiled Snapdragon Reality Elite, its new flagship XR platform designed for devices running Android XR and other mixed-reality experiences. Qualcomm also introduced Snapdragon START, a new initiative aimed at helping brands bring AI-powered smart glasses and wearable devices to market more quickly.

Elon Musk becomes world’s first trillionaire as SpaceX soars in stock market debut | BBC News

June 16, 2026June 14, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Elon Musk on Friday became the world’s first trillionaire after shares in his SpaceX rocket company soared during the biggest-ever stock market debut.

The Tesla and SpaceX founder comfortably cemented his status as the world’s richest man, with his total net worth standing at $1.11tn (£828bn) according to the Bloomberg rich list.

It came as the rocket, telecommunications, and artificial intelligence (AI) company listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange with a value of $2.2tn.

The company said its shares would be offered at $135 each, but trading opened at $150 and briefly reached $176.50 in a show of investor enthusiasm for potential business related to space and companies associated with Musk.

Amazon CEO reportedly raised Anthropic model concerns before government crackdown | TechCrunch

June 15, 2026June 14, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Amazon CEO reportedly raised Anthropic model concerns before government crackdown.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy may have been the source of security concerns that led Anthropic to cut off worldwide access to two models on Friday.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Jassy told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and other government officials that Amazon researchers used Anthropic’s Claude Fable 5 to obtain information that could be used in cyberattacks. The government subsequently imposed an export control ban on the Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models.

An Amazon spokesperson said in a statement that while it’s “not uncommon for governments to seek our counsel on potential security risks,” the company does not “share the details of those discussions.”

Source: Amazon CEO reportedly raised Anthropic model concerns before government crackdown | TechCrunch

All the iPhones getting iOS 27: Is yours on the list? | Mashable

June 10, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

On Monday, Apple surprised the iPhone world during its WWDC 2026 keynote… just not in the way you might think.

In a show full of detailed demonstrations of new features coming to iOS 27, including the new AI-fueled Siri upgrade, one of the biggest surprises involved which iPhones will actually support the new OS update. Rumors ahead of the show indicated that the iPhone 11 lineup would be excluded from software updates this year, effectively forcing obsolescence on anyone who owns an iPhone from that generation.

Well, the rumor mill had this one dead wrong.

America’s job market looks strong. So why is it so difficult to find work? | CNN Business

June 4, 2026June 2, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

On paper, the job market looks pretty darn good.

The 4.3% unemployment rate is below both the 10-year average of 4.6% and the 50-year average of 6.1%. For the second month in a row, the official government tally of jobs added blew past economists’ expectations. And the most recent Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed hiring surged in March.

So why are so many people struggling to get hired lately?

How Costco sells such cheap gas so cheap | CNN Business

June 4, 2026June 2, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In its 50-year history, Costco has never seen such demand for gas.

Many of its stations have been so overwhelmed that they’ve had to call in tanker trucks multiple times a day to avoid running dry, Costco said this week during its quarterly earnings call. A growing number of customers are buying just enough to top up their tanks, concerned about what tomorrow’s prices may be.

As prices have surged above $4 nationwide – and above $6 along the West Coast – Costco has become America’s destination for cheap gas. Well, relatively. Costco routinely undercuts local gas stations by around 30 cents a gallon.

NASA confirms fireball meteor exploded over northeastern US with force of 230 tons of TNT | Live Science

June 3, 2026June 2, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

NASA has confirmed that a bright fireball meteor exploded in the sky over New England on Saturday (May 30), releasing the equivalent energy of about 230 tons of TNT and generating a sonic boom heard across multiple U.S. states and two Canadian provinces.

The meteor was relatively small — about 5 feet (1.6 meters) in diameter, NASA wrote in a statement on X. However, it faced incredible friction while tumbling through the atmosphere at about 42,000 mph (67,000 kilometers per hour). The meteor broke the sound barrier as it split apart roughly 31 miles (50 km) over Earth, raining debris onto Cape Cod, according to NASA.

Heading a soccer ball just once is enough to raise levels of proteins associated with brain damage | Live Science

June 3, 2026June 2, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Heading a soccer ball just once is enough to temporarily release proteins into the blood that are associated with damage to brain cells, a new study suggests.

For two of the six proteins tracked, their levels rose higher the more frequently and the harder soccer players headed balls. The study authors say that while this could be evidence of acute brain injuries, further studies are needed to determine whether the cumulative effects of heading could increase a player’s risk of developing a neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer’s.

Intuit Unveils QuickBooks Workforce: A Game-Changer for HR Management | Small Biz Trends

May 15, 2026May 14, 2026 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Small and mid-market businesses face a daunting challenge: managing HR duties across numerous disconnected tools, resulting in inefficiencies and wasted resources. Intuit aims to address this issue with the launch of QuickBooks Workforce, a comprehensive human capital management (HCM) solution. Set to revolutionize how businesses handle workforce management, this new platform is embedded directly within existing QuickBooks applications, promising a more efficient and integrated approach to HR tasks.

QuickBooks Workforce consolidates a range of essential functions—from hiring and onboarding to payroll, benefits administration, and performance management—all within a single platform. According to Intuit, many small businesses utilize anywhere from 7 to 25 different tools to manage their workforce, resulting in an annual cost of about $120,000. QuickBooks Workforce directly tackles this fragmentation by automating and synchronizing various HR processes, thereby reducing overhead and administrative burdens.