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I recently linked to CalDigit’s line of new Thunderbolt 5 docks with excitement. Then, my buddy Jim Metzendorf sent me a link to this press release about the products. Just soak this in:

CalDigit’s new Element 5, is more than just a next-gen connectivity device—it’s a performance backbone built for the future of AI. With three fully-featured downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports and up to 120 Gbps of bandwidth, the Element 5 enables local developers and researchers to run large language models (LLMs) like Llama, Mistral, and Phi-2 at full speed, entirely offline.

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Dan and Tom had to John on Thoroughly Considered to talk one of the most incredible Macs ever made:

Today’s guest is John Siracusa, the proprietor of Hypercritical.co and co-host of The Accidental Tech Podcast and Reconcilable Differences. His object is the 2019 Mac Pro.

This episode made me miss mine.

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When it was announced that xAI was coming to my hometown, I knew it was just a matter of time before we learned how our local leaders were going to get bamboozled. Looks like some of those chickens have come home to roost, according to Samuel Hardiman at The Daily Memphian:

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company is expected to pay more than $30 million in combined Memphis and Shelby County property taxes, according to records obtained by The Daily Memphian.

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Do you want to block all YouTube ads in Safari on your iPhone, iPad and Mac?

Then download Magic Lasso Adblock – the ad blocker designed for you.

As an efficient, high performance and native Safari ad blocker, Magic Lasso blocks all intrusive ads, trackers and annoyances – delivering a faster, cleaner and more secure web browsing experience.

Magic Lasso Adblock is easy to setup, doubles the speed at which Safari loads and also blocks all YouTube ads; including all:

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Several weeks ago we got some anonymous feedback in the Connected inbox, directed at Federico:

It’s a shame to hear that you’re going back to the Mac, because this year iPadOS is getting live window resizing and positioning, similar to macOS and visionOS ;)

We read the feedback on the show, not really knowing what to make of it. But it’s been a few years since Apple last tinkered with the iPad’s windowing system, so it’s safe to assume that is about time for more changes to arrive.

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This week on MPU:

Kim Caloca-Madden joins the show to talk with the guys about her online business supporting other entrepreneurs and companies, and how automation and AI make her more efficient at her tasks.

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The hits keep coming when it comes to what’s going on with Apple, Siri, and AI. For this round, we go to Tripp Mickle writing for The New York Times:

The A.I. stumble was set in motion in early 2023. Mr. Giannandrea, who was overseeing the effort, sought approval from the company’s chief executive, Tim Cook, to buy more A.I. chips, known as graphics processing units, or GPUs, five people with knowledge of the request said. The chips, which can perform hundreds of computations at the same time, are critical to building the neural networks of A.I. systems, like chatbots, that can answer questions or write software code.

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For years, tons of people have wondered why Siri has seemed so stuck in the mud, seemingly impossible for Apple to improve in meaningful ways. Now, thanks to a new report in The Information, we know a lot more about the mess behind the scenes. Hartley Charlton at MacRumors has a recap:

In addition to Apple’s deeply ingrained stance on privacy, conflicting personalities within Apple contributed to the problems. More than half a dozen former employees who worked in Apple’s AI and machine-learning group told The Information that poor leadership is to blame for its problems with execution, citing an overly relaxed culture, as well as a lack of ambition and appetite for taking risks when designing future versions of Siri .

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This week on the podcast:

Ahead of an iOS redesign, a new game emerges.

Also: feedback, the power of a blog’s color scheme, and new CalDigit docks.

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Jason Koebler at 404 Media:

This weekend, U.S. secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick went on CBS’s Face the Nation and pitched a fantasy world where iPhones are manufactured in the United States:  “The army of millions and millions of people screwing in little, little screws to make iPhones, that kind of thing is going to come to America, it’s going to be automated, and the tradecraft of America is going to fix them, is going to work on them, there’s going to be mechanics, HVAC specialists, electricians,” Lutnick said. “The tradecraft of America, the high school educated Americans, the core to our workforce is going to have the greatest resurgence of jobs in the history of America to work on these high tech factories which are all coming to America.”

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Jason Snell:

There are a lot of suggestions that the prices of Apple products are headed up. Apple Stores are crowded with buyers who are trying to beat the anticipated price increases. But while prices are probably going up, that’s only one of the many levers Apple can pull in order to deal with the tariff situation. Here’s a look at what the company might do to mitigate the tariff issue as much as possible.

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Kylie Robison at The Verge:

A new report from Pew Research Center released last week shows a sharp divide in how artificial intelligence is perceived by the people building it versus the people living with it. The survey, which includes responses from over 1,000 AI experts and more than 5,000 US adults, reveals a growing optimism gap: experts are hopeful, while the public is anxious, distrustful, and increasingly uneasy.

Roughly three-quarters of AI experts think the technology will benefit them personally. Only a quarter of the public says the same. Experts believe AI will make jobs better; the public thinks it will take them away. Even basic trust in the system is fractured: more than half of both groups say they want more control over how AI is used in their lives, and majorities say they don’t trust the government or private companies to regulate it responsibly.

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