📱 Trump to block TikTok ban

Greetings! Your latest quick tech update is here 🤖

What’s happening:

• 📱 Trump likely to block TikTok ban, say allies

• 💸 Trump names Elon Musk to lead new “DOGE” office

• 🍎 Apple to release a wall-mounted AI smart home tablet

• 🕵️ Pentagon leaker sentenced to 15 years in prison

• 🚀 Amazon takes on Nvidia with new Trainium 2 AI chip

• + 📊 Daily poll and results

• + 📈 Trending tools and resources

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Hand-picked news:

📱 Trump likely to block TikTok ban, say allies ↗️LINK

• What: President-elect Donald Trump is expected to consider halting the upcoming U.S. ban on TikTok, aligning with his campaign promise to save the app despite a previous executive order he signed to restrict it.

• Why: Trump and his allies argue TikTok’s popularity, with 180 million monthly U.S. users, makes it essential to retain, and view the ban as counter to individual choice. Additionally, the law allows the president flexibility if “significant progress” on a sale is shown.

• Impact: Trump’s intervention could require bypassing existing restrictions on app stores or persuading Congress to repeal the ban. However, enforcing a reversal may be complex, with tech giants like Apple and Google wary of unpredictable policy shifts.

💸 Trump names Elon Musk to lead new “DOGE” office ↗️LINK

• What: President-elect Donald Trump announced Elon Musk and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy as co-leads of the newly formed “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), a project focused on reducing federal bureaucracy, cutting regulations, and advising on government spending cuts.

• Why: Trump’s team aims for significant federal budget reductions, with Musk previously estimating possible cuts of up to $2 trillion. DOGE will work as an external advisory group, partnering with the White House and Office of Management & Budget.

• Impact: Musk’s involvement signals a shift toward private-sector approaches in government reform, with DOGE's initiatives set to end by July 4, 2026. How Musk and Ramaswamy plan to achieve such drastic cuts remains to be seen.

🚀🍎 Apple to release a wall-mounted AI smart home tablet ↗️LINK

• What: Apple plans to launch a wall-mounted smart home hub by March 2025, featuring a 6-inch touchscreen for controlling devices, video calling, and AI-driven functionalities. Equipped with Apple Intelligence and Siri voice controls, it aims to integrate with other Apple apps like Safari, Notes, and Calendar.

• Why: The hub is Apple’s answer to competitors like Amazon’s Echo Hub and Google’s Nest Hub, targeting the growing smart home market with a sleek device that aligns with Apple’s ecosystem. This is part of Apple’s broader strategy to make its mark in home automation.

• Impact: Expected to be priced between $100 and $250, this hub could make Apple’s ecosystem more accessible in the home, with a higher-end, AI-enabled iPad on a robotic arm reportedly in development as well. The device promises a user-friendly interface with AI and app integration, boosting Apple’s smart home appeal.

🕵️ Pentagon leaker sentenced to 15 years in prison ↗️LINK

• What: Jack Teixeira, a former Air National Guard member, was sentenced to 15 years for leaking hundreds of classified documents on Discord, revealing sensitive information about U.S. defense operations.

• Why: Prosecutors argued the leaks, motivated partly by a desire to impress peers, risked U.S. national security, exposed intelligence methods, and put military personnel abroad in danger.

• Impact: The sentence underscores the consequences of unauthorized disclosures. Officials warn that the damage from Teixeira’s actions may continue to affect U.S. security and foreign relations for years.

🚀 Amazon takes on Nvidia with new Trainium 2 AI chip ↗️LINK

• What: Amazon is set to launch Trainium 2, its next-generation AI chip developed by AWS to compete with Nvidia’s dominance in the GPU market, expected to reduce operational costs and reliance on Nvidia's chips for both Amazon and its AWS customers.

• Why: AWS aims to provide a viable, cost-effective alternative to Nvidia, whose chips currently hold 80% of the market. Amazon’s Trainium and Inferentia AI chips are designed to improve data center efficiency and lower costs by up to 40% for AI model training and operations.

• Impact: AWS’s $110 million in free computing credits for researchers using Trainium chips could bolster adoption and innovation in AI research, further challenging Nvidia’s stronghold and strengthening Amazon’s position in AI infrastructure.

Today’s Poll:

Vote and find out about the result tomorrow.

Yesterday’s Poll Result:

Musk as AI Adviser: Good Choice or Conflict of Interest?

• A) Good Choice – Musk’s experience in AI is valuable - 42%

• B) Conflict – His personal AI ventures could bias policies - 58% 👑

Readers opinions:

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