🍜 Is this pho real? Some idiot tried to steal an $18,000 robotic server from a San Jose Thai restaurant. The guy walked in, asked to use the restroom, then dragged the bot to his car when he thought no one was looking. Employees stopped him, but it almost would’ve been funnier if they didn’t … The robot’s software only works inside the restaurant, so it would’ve been useless.
Out-of-this-world upgrade: Apple’s iOS 18.3 update lets certain T-Mobile customers send texts from anywhere. It’s part of SpaceX and T-Mobile’s direct-to-cell satellite service. If you signed up for the beta in December and got lucky, you should see a toggle in your cellular data settings to enable it. It’s text-only for now, but voice and data connectivity are coming in the future.
Apple-lutely amazing: Most orchards still do things the old-fashioned way, but that’s changing fast. Startups are testing robotic pollinators in places where bees can’t get the job done, saving fertilizer by pinpointing trees that need it the most and using 12-foot robotic arms for harvesting. This is great, because what’s worse than finding a worm in your apple? Finding half a worm.
There’s an app for that: The next time you need shampoo, you might not have to wait around for someone to unlock the case. CVS is updating its app to let you unlock antitheft shelves on your own after connecting to the store’s Wi-Fi. It’s being tested in NYC locations, with plans to expand to more stores, mostly on the West Coast.
Mystery (not) explained: Two months later, the White House says all those drones spotted over New Jersey weren’t foreign enemies or aliens. They were authorized by the FAA for research and “various other reasons.” Uh, what kind of research? No details. And the “various other reasons?” Insert conspiracy theories here.
New chips mean new risks: A serious flaw in Apple gear lets hackers snag data while you’re logged into Gmail in one tab and iCloud in another. The two vulnerabilities, named “FLOP” and “SLAP,” impact Mac laptops made in 2022 or later; Mac desktops from 2023 or later; iPad Pro, Air and Mini models from September 2021 and later; and iPhone 13, 14, 15 and 16 models, plus the iPhone SE (3rd-gen). There’s no fix yet. Be extra careful and log out of your email account when you’re not using it.
I warned you about this months ago: If you get a text from E-ZPass or SunPass about unpaid tolls, fines or legal trouble, delete it. Chinese cybercriminals are behind a campaign sending fake messages across America. Click the link and you’ll land on a copycat site of a real toll services company, ready to steal your payment info. Never follow a link to pay a bill; go to the official site yourself.
🤖 Finders keepers: OpenAI says DeepSeek, the impressive AI model out of China, just copied its work. The company is pointing to a technique called distillation, where developers extract data from larger, more advanced models to train their own, saving hundreds of millions of dollars in dev costs. The big ol’ irony? OpenAI built its model by scraping the entire internet without consent. Pot, meet kettle.
👨👩👧👦 Chosen family: This number surprised me: About 27% of folks are estranged from their families. So sad. Enter the 11,000-member Facebook group Surrogate Grandparents USA. Donna Skora, a retired paralegal in Florida, started it in 2015. Folks can post ads or respond to others’ requests for surrogate grandparents. It’s helped people like Karen Tautges Malinak, a goat farmer in Minnesota who’s lost touch with her daughters.
Swatting spree: You’re sitting at home when the SWAT team rushes in, convinced someone inside just committed murder and has explosives set up. A 23-year-old in Wisconsin, along with another guy, hacked into the family’s Ring camera and called the cops with that story. Once police arrived, they livestreamed it all. One of them is already serving 17 years in prison. If you have a Ring camera, turn on 2FA.