New chips mean new risks

January 30, 2025

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.

Tags: Apple, hackers

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What you need to know about DeepSeek

I’ve been saying it for years: The country that masters AI will dominate the world economically, politically and militarily. Since ChatGPT dropped, the U.S. seemed untouchable. Most of us Americans assumed we were a couple of years ahead of China in terms of AI, but the game has changed — and fast.

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844 mph

Speed Boom’s Supersonic XB-1 jet reached in tests. It’s the first civilian aircraft to break the sound barrier, aka Mach 1.1. The company has raised $700 million to build a plane that’ll carry 64 passengers at 1,300 mph (Mach 1.7) by 2030. At that speed, you could fly from LA to NYC in about two hours.

17

Solution the French-governed AI chatbot gave to 5(3+2). (The answer is 25.) The bot, Lucie, also said, “Cow’s eggs, also known as chicken’s eggs, are edible eggs produced by cows.” The bot is offline now. So, to recap, we need to worry about China in the AI race and definitely not France. Noted.

11% higher

Salary for pretty people. Researchers followed 43,000 MBA grads, and the ones seen as conventionally attractive make more than their homely peers. The disparity was largest in management and consulting and smallest in technical fields, like IT and engineering. I’m still deciding if I should be offended …

$300,000

Paid over six months to TikTokkers willing to jump ship and go Instagram-exclusive. Meta’s contracts, which were sent to certain influencers with 1 million followers or more, are broken down into tiers (paywall link). The top one pays $50,000 a month to post 10 Reels between 15 seconds and 3 minutes in length. I’d take that hourly rate.

$3.69

The cost to produce and distribute a single penny. According to the U.S. Mint, the price jumped 20% during the 2024 fiscal year. Isn’t that crazy? Speaking of … How does a penny look under a microscope? Magnificent. (I heard you groan!)

1,000 feet

How far one skier fell down a slope. The unnamed skier was saved by their Apple Watch’s Emergency SOS feature near Stevens Pass in Washington. Rescuers tracked the signal and found the skier with two others. Check out their epic airlift to safety. One of the skiers was uninjured; the other two had broken bones. Smart tech saves lives.

40%

Percentage of employers that would rather hire AI than a Gen Z graduate. Small-business owners say Gen Zers are often the least reliable and more likely to suffer a mental health episode compared to their other employees. I’m going to tell my Gen Z son a joke about Social Security. I bet he doesn’t get it.

$2

That’s all an Indiana pizza delivery driver got after delivering a $40 order during a massive snowstorm. A police officer saw him, shared his story on TikTok and started a GoFundMe campaign. The goal was $500, but over $30,000 poured in. Thank goodness, he kneaded the dough. (Oh, that was so bad, it was good!)

$150 million

Asking price for Tom Brady’s mansion, complete with a basement bunker. The former NFL superstar bought a lot on Florida’s Indian Creek Island for $17 million in 2020. Property costs there skyrocketed thanks to Jeff Bezos, who bought three properties (paywall link) on the manmade barrier island.