TECHNOLOGY: Software update bricks some Jeep 4xe hybrids

Monday, October 20, 2025

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/10/software-update-bricks-some-jeep-4xe-hybrids-over-the-weekend/

don’t OTA on Friday
Software update bricks some Jeep 4xe hybrids over the weekend

  • Jeep has pulled the update; owners are advised to ignore it if it already downloaded.

Jonathan M. Gitlin – Oct 13, 2025 10:10 AM 

*** begin quote ***

Owners of some Jeep Wrangler 4xe hybrids have been left stranded after installing an over-the-air software update this weekend. The automaker pushed out a telematics update for the Uconnect infotainment system that evidently wasn’t ready, resulting in cars losing power while driving and then becoming stranded.

*** end quote ***

Laugh!  Thanks for the advice to ignore the update.  A little late; no?

​A good reason not to allow any car to do “over the air” updates unless it’s parked at home?

Or a good reason not to buy any such car!

Anyone wonder why I wait a week to apply updates?  I’m as scared of the “update” as I am mildly “scared” of the problems it fixes.

How does one backup and restore an old version of your car’s software?  

IDK !? !? !?

Do you?

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TECHNOLOGY: Spam is really annoying; I should get paid for each email message

Sunday, October 5, 2025

https://www.makeuseof.com/i-get-these-emails-every-week-but-theyre-actually-a-scam/?user=bXVvQHJlaW5rZS5jYw&lctg=28d2ed2b3c7a64795f347195bfd302ab46e112a2d0fa032e2ba5de55cc388ab7

I get these emails every week, but they’re actually a scam
By Gavin Phillips — Published 23 hours ago

  • Gavin is the Segment Lead for the Technology Explained, Security, Internet, Streaming, and Entertainment verticals, former co-host on the Really Useful Podcast, and a frequent

<< EDITOR ADDED DATE 2025-09-27>>

*** begin quote ***

Thunderbird’s spam filters need some better training, that’s for sure, as even after marking so many of these repeat offenders as spam, they reappear. I’m not even sure how some aren’t flagged, as they’re clearly scams.

It’s also interesting that there is a range of tolerance to the spam that lands. Some are clearly phishing emails waiting to snag my data, while others look less dangerous but have hidden threats.

It makes it all the more important I know what to look out for to keep my inbox and computer free from threats—and you should know, too.

*** end quote ***

SPAM emails seem to be a fact of life.

Google GMAIL seems to do a pretty good job of catching them.  Especially after I’ve marked them.

What really annoys me is spam text messages. And, no matter how many times I mark and report they still keep coming. Is anyone at APPLE, AT&T, the FCC, or anyone listening? Argh!

Maybe if I got paid for each email message, except for pre-approved senders like family, friends, and email I asked for, then we could use “postage” to stamp out this annoyance.

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TECHNOLOGY: Why can’t I compile a spreadsheet?

Wednesday, September 24, 2025

https://a.tldrnewsletter.com/web-version?ep=1&lc=834d23bc-ea90-11ec-9258-0241b9615763&p=fed2061c-8fbc-11f0-a7bf-214dec94fde6&pt=campaign&t=1757673580&s=aa29e0273801d56e71f15cc32a41f44053f1403baf33cd1ccbc2231fcfb6c211

TLDR 2025-09-12

*** begin quote ***

That giant mountain of spreadsheets and screenshots standing between your startup and your success. 

*** end quote ***

Why hasn’t someone come out with a simple way to “compile” a spreadsheet?

Once I’ve “perfected” my spreadsheet, why can’t I “freeze” into an app.  That app would allow input BUT, (and there is always a BIG butt), not allow formulas or formatting changes.

When I was the bar manager at my local American Legion post, I had several spreadsheets for various functions.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t share them with my team because invariably some one would mess it up the formulas or format.  So even when we got square to take credit cards, my data entry work didn’t ease up; it increased.  Argh!

I could have coded an app in assembler, Fortran, or COBOL, but why bother?  That was more work than just entering, and in some cases, reentering the same data.  Luckly, COVID came an killed the Post’s business.  Thanks to Gooferment diktats and no reduction in fees to non-profits, we went from stay afloat to being underwater. Argh!

I still would like  de able to “freeze” a spreadsheet.  Maybe I should apply to Apple, Microsoft, or Google to develop it for them.  I don’t see them doing much to advance spreadsheet technology? 

FWIW!

# – # – # – # – # 

p.s., I’d like some TLDR swag. Laugh!

https://refer.tldr.tech/3dabce84/

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MACOSX: Upgrade 26.0 issues

Saturday, September 20, 2025

MAC OSX 26 upgrade

2025-Sep-15

  • Big download and long delay getting it; aborted once and restart seemed to pick up where it left off
  • Multi-hour estimate; left it running overnight

 

2025-Sep-16 0911 

  • wipes out Marsedit 5.3.7 blog settings … …
    … … no heads up from anyone.  Took a few minutes to repair.
  • mac osx 26 lost share action for gmail … …
    … … no obvious fix

2025-Sep-16 1150

  • Firefox 142.0.1 (aarch64) appears to send every link thru google … … 
    … … can’t seem to capture or reproduce?
    … … seems that clicking a link in email gets passed to Google search engine?
    … … Firefox 143.0 (aarch64) updated on restarting Firefox?

2025-Sep-19 1000

  • All tasks when tabbed out now become minimized.  Giant PIA!  Initial inet search shows no fix.
  • Firefox 143 appear to route all new links thru google some how for some reason.
  • In Finder 26 the share selection with a file selected does n’t have “mail” which should have been Firefox Gmail. 

 

 

  • … … Next?

 

— 30 —

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TECHNOLOGY: It’s just fraud — like shrink wrapped licenses — labeling long-term rentals as purchases.

Monday, September 8, 2025

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025/08/i-like-plaintiffs-chances-prime-video-back-in-court-over-using-the-word-buy/

Words matter

The fight against labeling long-term streaming rentals as “purchases” you “buy”

  • New law emboldens complaints against digital content rentals labled as purchases.

Scharon Harding – Aug 29, 2025 5:51 PM

*** begin quote ***

Words have meaning. Proper word selection is integral to strong communication, whether it’s about relaying one’s feelings to another or explaining the terms of a deal, agreement, or transaction.

*** and ***

Often, streaming services like Amazon Prime Video offer customers the options to “rent” digital content for a few days or to “buy” it. Some might think that picking “buy” means that they can view the content indefinitely. But these purchases are really just long-term licenses to watch the content for as long as the streaming service has the right to distribute it—which could be for years, months, or days after the transaction.

A lawsuit [PDF] recently filed against Prime Video challenges this practice and accuses the streaming service of misleading customers by labeling long-term rentals as purchases. The conclusion of the case could have implications for how streaming services frame digital content.

*** end quote ***

I think the “high water mark” is when we bought CDs with the belief that we could always have the content.

I got burned buying content on cassettes and 8 tracks.  Then having to buy the “content” when the player were sent to the technology equivalent of the Google Graveyard.  

This is just another instance of the same fraud all over again. And again. And again. 

If they said “buy”, then they have stuck themselves with a “deal” they had no intention of fulfilling.  To me, that’s fraud!

— 30 —

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TECHNOLOGY: Now DROPBOX introducted the “dropbox dustbin”

Wednesday, August 6, 2025

https://www.androidauthority.com/dropbox-password-manager-discontinued-3582689/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyauthority&utm_term=Daily%20Authority

Dropbox says it’s time to find a new password manager as it prepares to shut down service

  • Time to say goodbye to Dropbox Passwords.

By Ryan McNeal 21 hours ago
<< EDITOR ADDED DATE 2025-07-31>>

*** begin quote ***

  •     Dropbox Passwords users will no longer be able to add new passwords on August 28, 2025.
  •     The mobile app is scheduled to stop working on September 11, 2025.
  •     The password manager will be fully discontinued on October 28, 2025.

Dropbox Passwords users will soon have to find a new password manager to store their passwords, usernames, and other sensitive data. The company will be shutting down the service in the next couple of months.

Dropbox has announced that it is preparing to sunset its password manager. According to a help center document, the decision was made so that the company can “focus on enhancing other features in our core product.” The full service is scheduled to be discontinued on October 28, 2025, but the shutdown will be carried out in phases.

*** end quote ***

“Sunsetting”?  Argh!  Call it what it is “shrinkflation”.

Why they ever pursued it is beyond me.  

And, they don’t suggest BITWARDEN which is basically free.

Is OnePassword or Lastpass an affiliate link?

Argh!

— 30 —

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TECHNOLOGY: Why can’t I control my tv from my phone?

Monday, August 4, 2025

I was thinking the other night, when the local TV and Comcast weren’t “speaking” to each other, why can’t I just use an app on my phone to debug the problem?

Everything was on the same LAN.  We had the TV remote and the Cable remote.

But wasn’t that completely unnecessary?

… … 

Also I’ve been a sports bars where the patrons were forced to watch whatever was on at the time, when voting to change the channel could have easily been accommodated by a common app.

And, how about putting on the closed caption feature for those of us who need it. Rather than forcing us to buy an expensive hearing aid.

… …

Seems like technology is letting us all down.

Argh!

— 30 —

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TECHNOLOGY: Microsoft is killing its ChromeOS competitor — “Microsoft Mothball”?

Saturday, August 2, 2025

Microsoft is killing its ChromeOS competitor:

Back in 2021, Microsoft announced Windows 11 SE as a lightweight platform to rival Google’s ChromeOS, but now, the company is pulling the plug on the offshoot.

more…

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TECHNOLOGY: Individuals should be able to maintain their own verified digital identity

Saturday, August 2, 2025

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/07/how-solid-protocol-restores-digital-agency.html

Schneier on Security

*** begin quote ***

How Solid Protocol Restores Digital Agency

The current state of digital identity is a mess. Your personal information is scattered across hundreds of locations: social media companies, IoT companies, government agencies, websites you have accounts on, and data brokers you’ve never heard of. These entities collect, store, and trade your data, often without your knowledge or consent. It’s both redundant and inconsistent. You have hundreds, maybe thousands, of fragmented digital profiles that often contain contradictory or logically impossible information. Each serves its own purpose, yet there is no central override and control to serve you—as the identity owner.

*** and ***

The economics of Web 2.0 pushed us toward centralized platforms and surveillance capitalism, but there has always been a better way. Solid brings different pieces together into a cohesive whole that enables the identity-first architecture we should have had all along. The protocol doesn’t just solve technical problems; it corrects the fundamental misalignment of incentives that has made the modern web increasingly hostile to both users and developers.

As we look to a future of increased digitization across all sectors of society, the need for this architectural shift becomes even more apparent. Individuals should be able to maintain and present their own verified digital identity and history, rather than being at the mercy of siloed institutional databases. The Solid protocol makes this future technically possible.

This essay was written with Davi Ottenheimer, and originally appeared on The Inrupt Blog①

*** end quote ***

Good luck wresting control of “digital identity” from the all-powerful omniscient Gooferment. Never mind the technology giants like Google, Facebook, and Apple. And, of course, the completely subservient “We, The Sheeple” who don’t know how they are getting <synonym for the past tense of the procreation act.>!

Argh!

— 30 —

① https://www.inrupt.com/blog/

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TECHNOLOGY: AT&T introduces its variant of the Google Graveyard, the AT&T ashcan

Tuesday, July 29, 2025

https://www.zdnet.com/article/download-your-photos-before-at-t-shuts-down-its-cloud-storage-service-permanently/

Download your photos before AT&T shuts down its cloud storage service permanently

  • Come October, AT&T’s Photo Storage service will stop backing up your files. Here’s how to grab them before they’re gone.

Written by Lance Whitney, Contributor
July 22, 2025 at 8:33 a.m. PT
Reviewed by Elyse Betters Picaro

*** begin quote ***

Starting Oct. 20, 2025, AT&T Photo Storage will stop backing up your files. At that time, the app will be removed from Apple’s App Store and Google Play. The service itself, however, will still remain available until Feb. 1, 2026, at which point your stored photos will vanish as well.

*** end quote ***

Of course, the monthly nut I pat to AT&T will OF COURSE be reduced proportional to the cost of this service.  

Yeah, right.

It’s just a technological form of our old friend, SHRINKFLATION!

Back in the day when I worked for Old Ma Bell, no one would dare harm the Customer.  It was part of the credo, ethic, or morals of the employees.  

Then Judge Green broke up the “monopoly” and the USA went from a stellar phone service to a mixed jumble of offerings.  Bell Labs and Wester Electric were fatal casualties of the distruction.

Were phone calls “cheaper”?  The phones certainly weren’t a durable and the politicians and bureaucrats ruled “rates” at all levels of Gooferment.

Unfortunately, unlike the leadership of IBM who told the Gooferment to go <synonym for the act of procreation> themselves, Ma Bell just rolled over and played dead. 

Roll the clock forward and we have expensive phones and service (such as it is) and the AT&T ASHcan!

Argh!

— 30 —

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