Thomas Ricker

The company that specializes in mobile 12V conversions of SpaceX’s internet-from-space kits has just released its first mount for Starlink’s smallest dish yet. Despite its size, Mini even integrates the Wi-Fi router (usually a separate box) into the laptop-sized package.

$249 gets you a versatile mount with shock absorption for your RV, boat, or overlanding rig.

In a wide-ranging interview with Bloomberg, the former president once again expressed support for the Chinese-owned juggernaut facing a ban in the US:

“Now [that] I’m thinking about it, I’m for TikTok, because you need competition. If you don’t have TikTok, you have Facebook and Instagram — and that’s, you know, that’s Zuckerberg.”

Bloomberg says he’s still stung by Facebook’s ban after the events on January 6th, 2021. “All of a sudden, I went from number 1 to having nobody,” said Trump, without feeling it necessary to challenge Zuck to a cage fight.

A nice gesture from the new owners who have everything to lose if they don’t earn back trust:

The new VanMoof has launched a global initiative to help riders who ordered a bike before the bankruptcy and never received it. The company offers a €1000 / $1000 / £850 discount code off a VanMoof S5, A5 or future product to riders affected by this issue.

“Future product” presumably applies to the new electric scooter that should be launching soon, or even the dual-motor V superbike that’s still planned. You can apply for the discount here which is valid until the end of 2027.

Just days after it reported a 15x increase in operating profit, over 6,500 workers are taking part in a three-day walkout at Samsung Electronics over pay and conditions. According to the FT:

The labor unrest is a new challenge for a company with an anti-labor reputation. Its union membership has sharply increased since chair Lee Jae-yong declared an end to the company’s no-unions policy in 2020.

Workers are threatening a five-day strike next week if demands are not met.

They won’t even be announced until next week, but this Redditor says they walked into a US Walmart, paid $250, and walked out with the Apple look-a-likes.

Verdict: the controls are the same as the AirPods Pro, but the new Galaxy Buds are more comfortable with better sound and ANC than the first gen Pros. We’ll see after they become official on July 10th.

Just saying “AI” is good for business but it’s even better if you make chips, especially for Samsung after suffering a major slump in 2023. Here’s Reuters with the year-on-year comparison:

The world’s largest memory chip, smartphone and TV maker estimated its operating profit rose to 10.4 trillion won ($7.54 billion) in the quarter ended June 30, from 670 billion won a year earlier.

“We have won the war on floppy disks on June 28!” said Japan’s Digital Minister Taro Kono to Reuters for its report: 

Japan’s government has finally eliminated the use of floppy disks in all its systems, two decades since their heyday, reaching a long-awaited milestone in a campaign to modernize the bureaucracy. 

Back in 2019, the US finally stopped using 8-inch floppy disks to coordinate the country’s nuclear forces.