Who will win the VR war? Meta is retiring its $1,500 Quest Pro headset to focus on the $300 and $499 Quest 3 models. Apple’s Vision Pro is going after businesses now instead of consumers because no one wanted to pay $3,500 for a headset.
10,000 hours
Saved by Chick-fil-A’s lemon-squeezing robots. Their giant California factory churns through 1.6 million pounds of lemons a day in just 45 minutes. Talk about poultry in motion.
This is interest-ing: Parents are adding their kids as authorized credit card users. The idea is once they’re ready for a loan or card of their own, they have established credit. If the parents have good credit, it can boost kids’ scores by 20 or more points. I did this for my son.
Living the high life: A ransomware gang swiped data from at least four Stiiizy cannabis shops — driver’s licenses, passports and medical cannabis cards for over 420,000 customers. The stolen info was published after Stiiizy refused to cough up the ransom. The only joint I roll is my ankle.
How many homes and lives did this cost? A “Super Scooper” plane collects 1,600 gallons of ocean water in just five minutes. One fighting the LA wildfires was grounded after some genius flying a hobby drone hit its wing. Whoever did it could face a $75,000 fine and a year in prison.
🇨🇳 It never stops: The Communist China hackers who stole unofficial government docs last month had another target: The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS). This group approves business deals and decides what’s a national security risk. The feds say there’s no proof other agencies got hit … that they know of. China denies everything.
I bet you’re in this database: A Russian hacker who stole the location data of millions of people from Gravy Analytics is bragging on a hacker forum. Forensics specialists who’ve seen the 1.4 gigabytes of leaked info say it seems like the real thing, not just boasting or threats. I’ll keep you updated.
✈️ “Delayed Even Longer Than American”: Yup, I’m talking about Delta. Coming in 2026, all Delta cabins (even economy) will get Bluetooth and 4K seatback screens. The airline’s Delta Concierge AI bot will help you navigate airports, remind you when your passport expires and give packing tips. Great, just what we need … one more Delta acronym meaning: Delivering Everyone Late To Atlanta!
$200 reward
For reporting traffic offenders. In Vietnam, chaotic roads caused 30 deaths per day last year, so authorities got creative. Anyone who turns in a rulebreaker gets 5 million dong (about $200), or 10% of the offender’s fine. No one’s cashed in yet because the fear of being reported actually has drivers following the rules. Snitches get riches.
🤑 The art of the deal: Amazon just dropped $40 million for a behind-the-scenes documentary about Melania Trump that will debut in theaters, then stream on Prime Video. Her story is incredible. Now, this is the weird part: The film’s director is Brett Ratner, who’s been MIA since 2017, when he was hit with numerous sexual misconduct allegations that forced Warner Bros. to cancel his $450 million contract.
More like Cost of Duty: How much money does it take to make a video game? Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020) had a $700 million budget, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) cost over $640 million. For perspective, the “Avengers: Endgame” movie only cost $356 million to make. If they’re spending that kind of money, they’re making three times that at least.
Look to Japan: There’s a global nursing shortage, and in Japan, they’ve come up with a solution. Nursing homes there are using robots for tasks like moving patients and monitoring vitals. So far, it’s a win for everyone.
$4.1 million
Average listing price in Hawaii’s priciest ZIP code. Welcome to 96754 on the “Garden Island” of Kauai. I’ll take this 3,315-square-foot four-bedroom, four-bathroom home that’s a mere $12.45 million. Hey, it’s close to Zuck’s compound he says doesn’t have an underground bunker. Yeah, right.
⚖️ Shocker, Google lied: A new class-action lawsuit says even if you turned off tracking on your phone, Google still collected your data. Google says no, no, the disclosures were clear. Surprise, internal messages suggest they were vague on purpose. The judge didn’t believe Google and I don’t, either. The case is going to a jury trial on Aug. 18.
$900,000 watch
On Zuck’s wrist when he announced Meta went MAGA and put an end to fact-checking. He was wearing the Greubel Forsey Hand Made 1; only a few are made each year. His collection includes a $90,000 De Bethune, a $141,000 Patek Philippe and a $12 Seiko. Next week, I’ll wear my favorite watch on my podcasts and show it to the camera. Spoiler: It’s a Rolex a big daily TV host wears, too.
Lights, camera, AI: Johnny Depp says scammers are using AI to fake his voice and attempting to steal cash and personal info. He told his Instagram followers he’s not on X, Snapchat or Discord, so anyone claiming to be him is a fake. Reba McEntire and Kelly Rowland are targets, too. If your idol wants your money, it’s a scam.
Wipe your mouth! There’s a tiny amount of BS on your lips: The FCC approved a “U.S. Cyber Trust Mark” label for smart devices that meet their cybersecurity standards. No word on criteria yet, but expect rules around data privacy, regular updates and issue detection. Most internet-connected devices qualify … but not computers and phones, which we all use all the time.
Gravy train derailed: Hackers breached data broker Gravy Analytics and got their hands on the location info of millions of people. They also named companies who bought their data, like Uber, Comcast, Apple and Equifax. Last month, the FTC went after Gravy for selling sensitive location data. This is why I use Incogni. They remove you from databases like this.