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Thomas Ricker

Thomas Ricker

Deputy Editor

Thomas' first gadget memory was typing 7734 into his father's inverted, HP-35 scientific calculator. Clearly fated to tech blogging, he would have to wait another 20 years before the rise of the medium. A degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering led Thomas to Silicon Valley just prior to the dot-com boom. In June of 2011, Thomas wrote his 1,362,258th word for Engadget, leaving to help launch The Verge.

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Fisker is bankrupt.

After warning it was running out of cash, the California-based company founded by designer Henrik Fisker has filed for Chapter 11 protection:

Like other companies in the electric vehicle industry, we have faced various market and macroeconomic headwinds that have impacted our ability to operate efficiently. After evaluating all options for our business, we determined that proceeding with a sale of our assets under Chapter 11 is the most viable path forward for the company.


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Logitech’s Keys-To-Go 2 for 3 devices.

Slim and light and globally available in June for $79.99 / €89.99.

Keys-To-Go 2, available in Lilac, Pale Grey and Graphite, features scissor keys for a comfortable, efficient and more precise typing experience. Connect via Bluetooth with up to three devices via the Easy-Switch keys, and type seamlessly across tablets, phones and laptops. This compact keyboard is available in two layouts, Universal (Android, ChromeOS, Windows, iPadOS, iOS and MacOS) and dedicated Apple layout (iPadOS, iOS and macOS).


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Samsung’s Galaxy AI is amazing, but.

The marketing whiplash in this press release announcing the availability of the Galaxy Book4 Edge is really something. 

It starts by praising the magic of AI (14 times), saying Samsung’s “next-gen AI PC will change the way users work, create and play through the power of AI.” It ends with this teeny tiny footnote for its “popular Galaxy AI:”

Samsung does not make any promises, assurances or guarantees as to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the output provided by AI features.

To be fair, Samsung didn’t say the change was good.


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‘Autonomous’ like a paperweight?

Tesla says it “deployed two Optimus bots performing tasks in the factory autonomously.” It’s just a single bullet in a very long post on X that Elon made somebody write to justify voting for his $56 billion payday.

That autonomy could mean anything, of course, but this video from May includes a possible scenario.


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Finally, offline maps with turn-by-turn guidance.

I’m a trail runner that switched from Garmin to an Apple Watch Ultra. I like to leave my heavy phone at home which meant installing (and paying for) WorkOutDoors and Footpath to fill that massive off-line mapping void. A native watchOS solution should make things much, much easier.

Here, let DC Rainmaker explain the new custom routes feature.


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Samsung doesn’t fall far from the Apple stem.

Evan Blass of Evleaks fame has leaked the upcoming design for the new Galaxy Buds 3 Pro headphones, which abandon the bulbous blob look of Samsung’s previous pro buds. We’ll know for sure in one month if rumors are true.


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Apple made the obvious joke, real.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman ahead of Monday’s WWDC event:

The company’s new AI system will be called Apple Intelligence, and it will come to new versions of the iPhone, iPad and Mac operating systems.

GROAAAN.


Four Apple App Store alternatives are now live in Europe.

The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) came into force in March, resulting in the launch of the following new third-party iOS app marketplaces:

• AltStore Pal (hands-on)

• SetApp Mobile (hands-on)

• Aptoide game store (hands-on)

• Mobivention (hands-on)

Each has its own pros and cons but none has been able to upset the balance of power in Europe.


It wasn’t just you.

Take comfort in your shared misery because ChatGPT has been up and down since about 3AM ET, according to our own testing and OpenAI’s dashboard. A fix has been implemented as of 7:19AM ET and marked resolved shortly thereafter.


OpenAI’s ChatGPT dashboard status.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT dashboard status.
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Sam Altman, billionaire.

The 39-year-old has no stake in OpenAI and earns a yearly salary of $65,000. But Altman was already rich as a result of his early investments in startups, and now he’s super rich after backing more companies that do business with the ChatGPT maker.

His holdings are now worth at least $2.8 billion.