Free Republic

A "Progressive Tech Coalition" (including Apple, Google, & Roblox) has abruptly changed stance on "Age Verification" laws. Up until now, the "Chamber of Progress" has consistently opposed all laws seeking to implement age verification... but they have decided to support the Colorado "Age Verification for all Operating Systems" law.

Intel late on Tuesday [Mar 2026] announced that its board of directors had elected Dr. Craig H. Barratt as independent chairman, who will assume his role in mid-May after the company's Annual Stockholders’ Meeting. Craig H. Barratt, who has an engineering background, will replace Frank D. Yeary, who will retire from Intel's BoD after spending around 17 years there. Barrat replaces Frank D. Yeary, who has a financial background and who once tried to split Intel into products and manufacturing companies and then get rid of the company's manufacturing assets. Instead of splitting Intel, Craig H. Barratt seems to envision...

These monkeys don’t steal randomly. They target what humans value most. The scam works because the monkeys learned the difference between junk an an iPhone. At Uluwatu Temple, even the monkeys understand supply, demand, and ransom. BRIEFING Jett here. Tourists show up at a sacred temple in Bali expecting ocean views, ancient stone, and maybe a spiritual moment, and instead they get shaken down by a team of monkeys with the cold tactical mind of a legit street hustler. These aren’t random little gremlins grabbing whatever shiny thing they see. At Uluwatu Temple, the long-tailed macaques have figured out that...

In a significant development for the tech and semiconductor industries, Apple and Intel have struck a preliminary agreement under which Intel will manufacture some of the chips that power Apple devices. The news, reported by Robbie Whelan and Rolfe Winkler for The Wall Street Journal on May 8, 2026, marks a notable comeback effort for Intel and highlights ongoing efforts to strengthen domestic U.S. chip production. The Role of the Trump Administration: The U.S. government played a pivotal role in facilitating the deal. Last summer, the Trump administration converted nearly $9 billion in federal grants into a roughly 10% stake...

When Apple named its next chief executive last month it did so without ceremony. Tim Cook will become executive chairman on September 1; John Ternus, his senior vice-president of hardware engineering, will succeed him as CEO. The announcement came with a photograph, not a keynote: the two men walking through Apple Park, the circular glass campus in Cupertino that Steve Jobs designed with the British architect Norman Foster and did not live to see completed. It was the first Apple succession of the post-masterpiece age, and the prose matched. Apple said the transition had been approved unanimously by its board...

What's really happening inside Apple's AI strategy behind the Tim Cook succession? The common story is a smooth handoff to an Apple lifer -- but the reality is more interesting: Apple just restructured the entire company around a race the rest of the industry isn't running. Apple Just Positioned Itself for the Next Trillion Dollars | 20:55 AI News & Strategy Daily | Nate B Jones | 273K subscribers | 177,195 views | April 26, 2026

Outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook’s resignation came at a funny time. The Department of Justice announced April 21 that the leftist extremist Southern Poverty Law Center was indicted on multiple fraud charges for financing the very white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups it was claiming for years to be crusading against, to the tune of $3 million. Following this, MRC Business recounted that Cook made a big, news-capturing stink to employees following the Charlottesville "Fine People Hoax" affair in 2017 that Apple was retaliating by donating $1 million into SPLC’s coffers. How does that look now? If our math is correct,...

In a dramatic shake-up at the very top of one of the world's most powerful tech giants, Apple has unveiled a sweeping leadership overhaul that signals the dawn of a new era for the iPhone maker. The Silicon Valley titan confirmed on Monday that its long-serving Chief Executive Officer, Tim Cook, will step aside from his current role and transition into the position of executive chairman - a move that keeps him firmly at the heart of the company's strategic direction while handing over day-to-day control. Stepping into the spotlight is John Ternus, Apple's widely respected hardware chief, who has...

Huawei, China’s answer to Nvidia, is rapidly expanding its AI technology into other countries and signaling a rapid acceleration in the global AI race. It’s a move AI experts predicted would not occur. Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, South Africa, and Turkey will now be able to build on Huawei’s Model-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform, which includes AI models like DeepSeek. Much like individual consumers who become dependent on Apple’s ecosystem, companies that build on Huawei’s models and cloud infrastructure risk becoming deeply tied to that platform. At scale, this creates a ripple effect — as companies that...

In a move that feels less like a corporate transaction and more like the final punchline to a 40-year industry rivalry, AMD announced Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire Intel, the company it has spent decades chasing, imitating, undercutting, suing, licensing from, and lately outperforming. The all-stock transaction, which AMD described as a "once-in-a-generation opportunity to unify x86 innovation," would combine the two companies under a single umbrella just a few years after such an outcome would have sounded ridiculous. For most of modern computing history, Intel was the empire and AMD the scrappy survivor, the perpetual second source...

Apple is launching new tools to comply with the growing number of age-verification laws both in the U.S. and abroad. As part of the changes, Apple will block the downloads of apps rated 18+ in Brazil, Australia, and Singapore, while also rolling out other features to comply with laws in Utah and Louisiana in the U.S. The company informed developers on Tuesday that it’s expanding its set of “age assurance” tools, including an updated Declared Age Range API now available for beta testing. These tools allow developers to obtain a user’s age range without gaining access to the user’s personal...

On Thursday, Apple announced iPhone and iPad are the first and only consumer devices in compliance with the information assurance requirements of NATO nations. This enables iPhone and iPad to be used with classified information up to the NATO restricted level without requiring special software or settings — a level of government certification no other consumer mobile device has met. Apple designs security into all of its products from the start, ensuring the most sophisticated protections are built in across hardware, software, and Apple silicon. This unique approach allows Apple users to benefit from industry-leading security protections such as best-in-class...

Apple's popular news app is facing increased scrutiny over alleged political bias, but the overwhelming left-wing tilt at the top of the company may be a factor. Of the 25 people listed on Apple's leadership page, 15 of them made substantial contributions to Democrats in various election cycles, according to a review of FEC filings. Just six Apple executives have any record of contributing to Republicans — though four of them gave far more amounts to Democrats. Tim Cook, Apple's CEO, donated $236,100 to the Hillary Victory Fund in 2016 and $2,300 for President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, according to...

Apple is beginning to bring its semiconductor manufacturing supply chain back to the United States. Nearly all of the most advanced chips are made in Taiwan, which China has threatened to annex. Concentrating chip supplies on an island that could be invaded, or face steep U.S. tariffs from Trump, is a big risk to Apple's business. To find out how far the company still has to go, WSJ reporter Rolfe Winkler visited several of the company's suppliers including TSMC, ASML and Foxconn in the Southwest. Inside Apple's Multibillion-Dollar Push to Make Chips in the U.S. | WSJ | 10:37 The...

Samsung unleashed a new batch of Galaxy Z TriFold units after selling out initial stock of the behemoth foldable that turns into a 10-inch tablet. It took less than ten minutes to sell through today’s supply, which either speaks to the phone’s surprising popularity or, rather, just how few of them the company is making. The device launched on January 30th, and unlike most other Samsung phones, availability of this one was limited to the company’s own site. The TriFold costs $2,899.99 and comes with 512GB of storage (you’d think paying this much would get you at least 1TB, but...

Tesla engineers deflected calls from Apple on a daily basis while the tech giant was developing its now-defunct electric vehicle program, which was known as “Project Titan.” Back in 2022 and 2023, Apple was developing an EV in a top-secret internal fashion, hoping to launch it by 2028 with a fully autonomous driving suite. However, Apple bailed on the project in early 2024, as Project Titan abandoned the project in an email to over 2,000 employees. The company had backtracked its expectations for the vehicle on several occasions, initially hoping to launch it with no human driving controls and only...

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been mobbed by a wave of criticism after his private memo to company employees about the civil unrest in Minnesota was leaked online. While addressing the killing of ICU nurse and ICE protester Alex Pretti, Cook reportedly said: 'This is a time for de-escalation,' and added that he had a 'good conversation' with President Donald Trump regarding the situation in Minneapolis. 'I believe America is strongest when we live up to our highest ideals, when we treat everyone with dignity and respect no matter who they are or where they’re from, and when we embrace...

The recent install of iOS 26.2 has caused YT playback to be weird. At the place in the middle of the screen where the Play button usually appears, it’s now a continuous counterclockwise circle that appears over the playing video. I can’t determine a setting change that would eliminate the distraction & just play the video with no control buttons on the screen. Any & all advice appreciated in advance.

The NFL's Super Bowl LX entertainment lineup has drawn political backlash after the league added Green Day to an event already headlined by Bad Bunny, two artists who have repeatedly criticized President Donald Trump. The league announced that Green Day will open the Feb. 8 game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, performing during the opening ceremony ahead of Bad Bunny's halftime show. The move has sparked conservative criticism of the Super Bowl lineup, as both artists known for their public opposition to Trump and his policies.

It's official: Apple and Google will join forces to build the next version of Apple's Intelligence and Siri, with the help of Google Gemini. What does it mean for Apple moving forward, and the implications it has for future Apple products. Apple Biggest AI Move Yet - Google Gemini Will Power Next Siri & Apple Intelligence | 9:34 Brian Tong | 350K subscribers | 4,565 views | January 12, 2026