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Apple debuts $599 Google Chromebook competitor
Apple’s latest product announcement this week is an opening salvo against Google’s ubiquitous Chromebook. On Wednesday, the iPhone maker unveiled the MacBook Neo, which starts at $599 — or $499 for students — the lowest price ever for a MacBook. Apple typically skews to the high end of the market.
The Neo is still more expensive than typical Chromebooks, which are hugely popular in schools, but it’s less stripped down, with a sharper display, aluminum case, and a more powerful processor than many Chromebook models.
Bank of America upgrades Tesla, expecting it to “quickly become a leader in robotaxi services”
Tesla jumped in premarket trading after Bank of America reinstated coverage of the EV maker and upgraded it to “buy” from “hold,” with a price target of $460.
“We expect TSLA to quickly become a leader in robotaxi services, given its ability to scale more profitably than competitors,” analyst Alexander Perry wrote, noting that Tesla’s approach eschews more expensive (but more robust) technology like lidar.
BofA says Tesla’s Robotaxi service could amount to $844 billion in equity value and more than half Tesla’s valuation.
Currently, Robotaxi operates in two markets with heavy human oversight. In Austin, most of the rides involve a safety monitor sitting in the front seat, and in the Bay Area, all rides are driven by a human using supervised Full Self-Driving tech.
Alphabet subsidiary Waymo, meanwhile, is currently operating its driverless ride-hailing service in 10 US markets.
Currently, Robotaxi operates in two markets with heavy human oversight. In Austin, most of the rides involve a safety monitor sitting in the front seat, and in the Bay Area, all rides are driven by a human using supervised Full Self-Driving tech.
Alphabet subsidiary Waymo, meanwhile, is currently operating its driverless ride-hailing service in 10 US markets.
Waymos reportedly continuing to pass stopped school buses after earlier recall over same issue
The National Transportation Safety Board reported Tuesday that it’s looking into two recent instances of driverless Waymo vehicles passing stopped school buses. The incidents occurred after the Alphabet subsidiary filed a voluntary recall in December over similar behavior.
In the January 12 case, the NTSB says video evidence shows the Waymo vehicle initially stopped for a school bus that had its red lights flashing and stop arms extended. Three human-driven vehicles then passed the bus illegally. While stopped, the Waymo vehicle contacted a remote assistance agent located in Michigan, asking whether the bus had active signals. After the agent responded “no,” the vehicle resumed travel and passed the bus while its stop arms were still extended. No one was hurt.
OpenAI’s new GPT-5.3 Instant: Less “cringe” tone, no more “over-caveating” responses
OpenAI has released GPT-5.3 Instant, a conversational model that the company says will have smoother conversations more to the point.
It seems OpenAI is walking back from its cautious guardrails, allowing a more permissive AI chatbot.
In a video describing the new model, a researcher explained, “People are noticing that our models can sometimes seem like a bit of a nanny.” The company describes this overcautious behavior as “over-caveating,” and this new model aims to relax a bit and let more things slide.
An example showed a question about calculations for “a really long-distance archery scenario.” The previous version of the model noted that the AI could not help with calculations that could be harmful. The new model’s response just went ahead and answered the question, without assuming any bad intent.
The researcher in the video said that these changes did not loosen safety controls, but rather just improved contextual understanding of the user’s query.
The model also features more useful web searches, which attempt to infer the context of why the user is asking the question and then tailor a more useful response. The company says results won’t appear to be just a list of links, but rather a more direct response with the information the user was looking for.
OpenAI said the new model is available today for all users of ChatGPT.
In a video describing the new model, a researcher explained, “People are noticing that our models can sometimes seem like a bit of a nanny.” The company describes this overcautious behavior as “over-caveating,” and this new model aims to relax a bit and let more things slide.
An example showed a question about calculations for “a really long-distance archery scenario.” The previous version of the model noted that the AI could not help with calculations that could be harmful. The new model’s response just went ahead and answered the question, without assuming any bad intent.
The researcher in the video said that these changes did not loosen safety controls, but rather just improved contextual understanding of the user’s query.
The model also features more useful web searches, which attempt to infer the context of why the user is asking the question and then tailor a more useful response. The company says results won’t appear to be just a list of links, but rather a more direct response with the information the user was looking for.
OpenAI said the new model is available today for all users of ChatGPT.
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