106 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Richard Lawler

Richard Lawler

Senior News Editor

Senior News Editor

    More From Richard Lawler

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Google has a convoluted fix for the latest Pixel storage bug.

    Months after a storage bug caused problems for Pixel users with multiple profiles upgrading to Android 14, Google now says a similar issue seen with the January 2024 Google Play system update is “more prevalent in devices with multiple user accounts and/or workprofiles.”

    As Mishaal Rahman points out, the team says it’s working on a fix, but affected users can get relief now by connecting to a computer with the ADB debugging tool and following the steps outlined in this post.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Qualcomm’s Snapdragon deal with Samsung will continue, and Apple’s licensing arrangement now runs through 2027.

    Qualcomm’s Q1 2024 earnings presentation has wrapped up, with revenue of $9.9 billion and net income of $2.77 billion that’s up compared to last year.

    But more notably, analyst Ben Bajarin points out that execs revealed Apple extended the licensing deal they signed in 2019 for an additional two years. It now runs through 2027, aligning with reports that Apple’s own 5G modem tech isn’t ready, while Samsung has added “several years” to a multiyear deal for Snapdragon chips in Galaxy phones.

    Slide from Qualcomm presentation announced it has extended a Snapdragon platform agreement with Samsung.
    Qualcomm Q1 2024 earnings presentation slide
    Image: Qualcomm
    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Now the “what is a photo?” debate has reached Australian news.

    9News Melbourne aired the altered image shown below of a member of Victoria’s Parliament, Georgie Purcell.

    In a statement, 9News director Hugh Nailon said that when the picture was resized, “automation by Photoshop created an image that was not consistent with the original.” However, Adobe maintains (via NYT and the Guardian) “Any changes to this image would have required human intervention and approval.”

    So what do you think happened?

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Pennsylvania man arrested for murder after posting a beheading video on YouTube.

    NBC News reports the arrest of Justin Mohn, who allegedly murdered his father, a federal employee, and displayed the head in a 14-minute video posted to YouTube. Mohn claimed he was in command of America’s militias against Joe Biden and “woke mobs,” and he called for attacks on federal law enforcement officials.

    Police said they were called to the victim’s home after the body was found Tuesday night and arrested Mohn hours later. The YouTube video was taken down after the arrest.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    How long can one person wear an Apple Vision Pro?

    Our review of Apple’s Vision Pro included an...interesting avatar call with Wall Street Journal tech reporter (and Verge alum) Joanna Stern, whose review you can watch and/or read right here.

    Was it necessary for her to try to wear Apple’s spatial computing headset for 24 hours, even on the ski slope? Yes. Yes, it was.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Satya Nadella on AI, the New York Times, and elections.

    Moving off the topic of Taylor Swift for a moment (and any possible link to Microsoft’s AI tools), NBC released another segment of Lester Holt’s interview with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella before it airs tonight at 6:30PM ET.

    In the segment below, he talks mostly about the upcoming election, and NBC Nightly News also released a quote from his comment on the lawsuit filed by the New York Times:

    Nadella:

    I think, you know, the courts will opine on it and I’m sure we’ll come out. And in fact, if you look at, you know, what Japan is doing, and other countries are also doing, which is how to think about copyright in an enlightened way, so that this new technology can be developed, in fact new competitors can be introduced, while at the same time protecting copyright.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Google’s Pixel Password manager makes switching to passkeys easy for Best Buy, Nintendo, Uber, and others.

    Google Pixels recently updated the built-in password manager to identify accounts that support passkeys — a more secure login method than passwords — and prompt users for a simple security upgrade.

    It’s coming to other devices eventually, and Google announced today several companies that not only support passkeys, but they’ve also set up their accounts so users will be taken directly to the correct page to set up a passkey. Better yet, other services can freely add the feature too.

    Screenshot of Google Password Manager on a Pixel phone promting the user to simplify their sign-in by switching to passkeys.
    Google Password Manager passkeys prompt for supported accounts.
    Image: Google
    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Elon Musk has news on Neuralink’s first human implant and a new product name: Telepathy.

    Elon Musk’s other other company, the brain-machine interface startup Neuralink, has apparently put an implant in a human, who is recovering well and seeing “promising neuron spike detection.”

    As for why you’d let Musk put a chip in your brain, he says its first product, Telepathy, would bring control of a phone or computer just by thinking, as demonstrated previously with Pong-playing monkeysread here for more on the monkey experiments.

    Elon tweets reading: “The first human received an implant from @Neuralink  yesterday and is recovering well.  Initial results show promising neuron spike detection.” “The first @Neuralink  product is called Telepathy.” “Enables control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking.  Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs.   Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal.”
    Elon Musk Neuralink tweets on January 29th, 2024.
    Screenshot: Elon Musk (X) (1) (2)
    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Calibri gets the bad news.

    Judging by the comments on last week’s post, everyone is adjusting to the new default font for the Microsoft Office apps either well, terribly, or somewhere in between.

    For people who like font-related puns, here’s another video to watch, and if you can’t stand Aptos as the Microsoft 365 standard-bearer, this support page has the details on how to change it.

    Richard Lawler
    Richard Lawler
    Microsoft closed the loophole in its AI image generator that could create explicit images of celebrities like Taylor Swift.

    After graphic AI-generated images of Taylor Swift became a trending topic on X, 404 Media reported on people creating and trading similar pictures created using Microsoft’s Designer AI image generator. By altering prompts, they were able to get around simple name blocks.

    After CEO Satya Nadella said last week that guardrails are “our responsibility,” 404 Media reports the loopholes have been closed. Sarah Bird, a Responsible AI Engineering Lead at Microsoft confirmed the changes, saying:

    We are committed to providing a safe and respectful experience for everyone. We are continuing to investigate these images and have strengthened our existing safety systems to further prevent our services from being misused to help generate images like them.