This week, we dive into Apple’s lackluster March 21 announcement, a proposed New Jersey law that would make texting and walking a crime, VR porn now free on Pornhub, and an AI chatbot becoming a Nazi after learning from trolls.
Microsoft’s experimental Twitter chat-bot named Tay started off innocently enough. Tay was supposed to interact like a Millennial, with the tag-line ‘AI Fam from the Internet that’s got zero chill,” whatever that means. The program was designed to learn from other Twitter users and adapt it’s language and posts in the process … and that’s where problems arose.
When 4Chan and Reddit users decided to “help” Tay learn by tweeting specific questions and comments, she went from a inquisitive Millenial to a xenophonic Nazi spouting 9/11 conspiracy theories. Considering AI will eventually be running a lot of things in our lives, it’s worth asking what we can learn here.
Apple held its latest product unveiling on Monday of this week, and the consensus appears to be that it was a bit lackluster. Our prediction that they were going to get rid of the headphone jack on the new iPhones proved to be false. In fact, one of the few “highlights” was the new, smaller iPhone SE. More glaringly, Apple’s aging MacBooks didn’t even get dusted off with new processors. Does this signal a change in the company’s focus, away from traditional laptops?
Virtual reality finally appeared to go more mainstream this week with an announcement from the Internet juggernaut known as Pornhub, which now offers a free VR channel. Will it make a difference in VR device sales?
The state of New Jersey would make it illegal to walk and text at the same time, a crime that just about all of us would be guilty of. If it passes, violators could receive a $50 fine, or 15 days behind bars. Text responsibly when in New Jersey, everyone!
Finally, Red Man and Methodman have backed a new Kickstarter app that will help you find stores that sell a specific product. Can you guess what it is? It’s exactly what you think it is.
Today’s episode features Nick Mokey, Drew Prindle, Rick Stella and Greg Nibler. Please subscribe and share Trends with Benefits, and send in your questions to [email protected]. We also broadcast the show live on Periscope and YouTube every Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Pacific.
Are you tired of paying for streaming services you never watch just to get a phone plan feature you actually want? T-Mobile has good news for you! The carrier is rolling out new plans, called T-Mix, in early November to replace its old Experience lineup with a build-your-own perks system called Picks.
The benefits you choose vary from streaming and gaming to food delivery, AI, satellite service, and phone discounts. But if you are satisfied with your existing plan, you can keep it.
Merely days after the iPhone Duo hit the shelves, images of broken screens on the phone started popping up across social media. Until now, it’s been unclear what’s causing the line of defective pixels that appears vertically along the crease, as well as horizontally, on the phone’s inner display.
Apple has finally acknowledged the issue, which has shown up on iPhone Duo units owned by customers as well as demo units in stores. In a statement shared with Bloomberg, Apple says that not all iPhone Duo units are affected and that those that are tend to show the display fault early on. The company added that users who experience problems with their iPhone Duo display should contact AppleCare for a replacement.
Not long ago, Apple treated independent repair like an act of outright hostility. The Cupertino giant locked down parts with serial-number pairing, while repair tools remained firmly out of reach of anyone outside its authorized repair network. More importantly, the company waged a legal and lobbying battle against right-to-repair legislation.
I've covered enough of these fights over the years to know what a shift looks like. That's why what happened in October 2026 genuinely caught me off guard. The day the iPhone Duo went on sale, what may be the most mechanically complex iPhone to date, Apple pulled off a surprising about-face. It published teardown-style repair manuals for a handful of major components.