I’m really am trying to keep on it on the level, and this week we have some interesting stories.. I’m on with Mark Starling, Seth, John, and the First News 570 crew. This week, a real life flying car successfully concludes a test flight, Amazon has a beef with the new FTC chairperson, and FINRA fines Robinhood for record dollars. You can listen to Mark and I point and laugh while talking about the wild and crazy technology world every Thursday morning, LIVE at 6:43am Eastern.

THE JETSON REJOICE AS FLYING CAR COMPLETES TEST FLIGHT

My first question is…who in the heck is buying flying cars right now? You’ll read in a moment. Professor Stefan Klein, inventor and creator of the AirCar, has successfully flown a 35-minutes test flight of the world’s first flying car between Nitra and Bratislava, Slovakia. The AirCar is a prototype that seats two passengers and has a 1,000 kilometer range at 2,500 feet. The car has clocked 40 hours in the air, and automakers are saying that the AirCar is part of the future. The AirCar doesn’t take off and land vertically so it requires a runway. There are…40,000 orders for the AirCar in the US according to Klein. And he’s hoping to convert 5% of those orders. Who’s ordering AirCars? My wife will be happy, she’s been wanting to see AirCar’s for the last 21 years.

FINRA ROBS FROM ROBINHOOD BY SLAPPING IT WITH RECORD FINE

Yesterday, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, FINRA, issued a record setting fine against Robinhood, not the fictional character, but the trading app of GameStop fame. FINRA claims that Robinhood regularly mislead its app’s users of trading terms, used flakey algorithms to certify users were able to trade on margin, failed to update its product, trading outages during trading hours, and regularly listed incorrect balances for users accounts. FINRA even cited the possibility of the death of Alex Kearns, a Robinhood user that committed suicide after finding a negative $730,000 balance in his account due to unintentional margin trades. Robinhood has agreed to pay the fine.

AMAZON WANTS FTC CHAIR TO RECUSE HERSELF BECAUSE SHE’S MEAN

After a spectacular show of bipartisanship with the Senate confirming Lina Khan as FTC Chairperson, Amazon has launched an offensive saying that the FTC Chair should recuse herself from investigating Amazon for antitrust offenses. In a 25-page petition, Amazon says that they disagree with Chairperson Khan’s views about the company and technology companies in general. Khan’s view is that current antitrust laws are outdated and don’t limit the limitless power today’s technology companies wield. Remember, Chairperson Khan was confirmed in record time. Both Democrats and Republicans have chosen Big Tech as their whipping boy.

So, last Friday was a shit show in the least. I keep on pushing on following on my mission despite the odds. I’m on with Mark Starling, Seth, John, and the First News 570 crew. This week, Sonic the Hedgehog turns 30, Chinese employees have to smile in order to work, and John McAfee was found dead in his prison cell. You can listen to Mark and I point and laugh while talking about the wild and crazy technology world every Thursday morning, LIVE at 6:43am Eastern.

JOHN MCAFEE FOUND DEAD IN SPANISH PRISON CELL

Antivirus software pioneer, John McAfee, was found dead in his Spanish prison cell, yesterday. Local prison authorities say the cause of death was suicide. Hours early, Spain’s highest court had ruled in favor of a US extradition which would have sent him back to the United States under custody for tax evasion. McAfee lived a wild and crazy life. After making a fortune selling antivirus software, McAfee lived a life of foreign travel, guns on yachts, and underaged girls. He’s been charged in a handful of countries for complaints ranging from driving under the influence to murder. He was facing 30 years in US prison if were to be convicted of the charges he was facing stateside. His final quote is telling, but a good one, “My remaining assets are all seized. My friends evaporated through fear of association. I have nothing. Yet, I regret nothing.”

CANON WORKERS IN CHINESE MUST SMILE FIRST BEFORE ENTERING

We already know China is a police state which is building itself on social capital. The latest trend for Chinese companies is to force their employees to smile before entering. A Canon subsidiary, yes that Canon. Andre Agassi commercials Canon, has installed AI-powered cameras that will only let employees enter their offices and break rooms if they smile into the camera. Canon isn’t the only company using smile technology to goad its employees. The trend is catching on for other companies on Chinese soil. It’s one heck of a way to enforce morale. Until someone goes postal.

SONIC TURNS 30

Here’s a story that’ll make all of you GenXers smile. Sonic the Hedgehog turned 30 yesterday. That’s right, you are old. Sonic the Hedgehog of SEGA Genesis fame will be celebrated with a remixed former Wii title, Sonic Colors: Ultimate, two new cartoon series with one coming next year, a new game, and a new in 2022 movie featuring Tails. I don’t know who you are, but you can admit you saw that crappy movie Sonic the Hedgehog movie. It made $306 million. Don’t lie you saw it.

I was told this week, that I shouldn’t take things personally. I’m glad it’s Thursday. For our regular readers, I wound up not taking the entire day off. I logged in, in the morning and at night. I’m on with Mark Starling, Seth, John, and the First News 570 crew. This week, Amazon devices use Sidewalk mesh, industrial athletes compete for nothing, and Apple job posting teases new home products. You can listen to Mark and I point and laugh while talking about the wild and crazy technology world every Thursday morning, LIVE at 6:43am Eastern.

AMAZON SIDEWALK GOES LIVE THIS WEEK: SHOULD YOU OPT-OUT

I am. Amazon devices the world over will have Sidewalk activated by default next week. Amazon Sidewalk is a WiFi mesh networking service used by Amazon Echo and Alexa powered devices to expand their range. The service is designed to be only used by Amazon devices in order to extend coverage for d evices on the fringe. For instance, if you have an Amazon Ring device that’s on the edge of your home WiFi range, your Ring could piggy-back on your neighbor’s WiFi to operate properly. Not a bad concept since the mesh network is only used for these devices, but it’s an opt-out, not opt-in deal. For me that’s a non-starter. If you want to opt-out of Amazon Sidewalk follow these simple steps:

• Open up your Alexa app
• Tap the More button
• Head to Settings > Account Settings > Amazon Sidewalk
• Use the slider to disable Sidewalk

INDUSTRIAL ATHLETES DESERVE MORE AT AMAZON

In a leaked pamphlet obtained by Motherboard, Amazon has started telling its employees that they are industrial athletes, and not the over-worked cogs in the smiley box. Amazon’s on the job injuries are higher than their competitors and I’ve heard first hand from some employees about how the company denies bathroom breaks. The pamphlet brags about employees walking 13 miles per day and burning up to 400 calories per hour. Thing is though, athletes train for all of that arduous activity.

A WEEK AHEAD OF WWDC APPLE TEASES homeOS

Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference will start next week. Twitterer, Javier Lacort, noticed a job ad Apple posted hinting that the employee will be working on homeOS technology. The small leak hints that Apple may be announcing more devices and more integrations for home electronics beyond the Apple pod. All I know is that they can take my money. A friend of mine just got an Apple Card and he asked me to protect him from himself.

🚨 Os traigo una novedad gracias al chivatazo de @JotaEle_: "homeOS" será el próximo sistema operativo de Apple según revela una oferta de empleo de la propia Apple. Lo considera "móvil".https://t.co/v4jv6mFljF pic.twitter.com/af2t9rBiFW

— Javier Lacort (@jlacort) June 2, 2021