Tech News – Page 37 – by Arlin Schaffel

Sam Altman says ‘yes,’ AI is in a bubble

Altman compared the market’s reaction to AI to the dot-com bubble in the ’90s, when the value of internet startups soared before crashing down in 2000. “When bubbles happen, smart people get overexcited about a kernel of truth,” Altman said. “If you look at most of the bubbles in history, like the tech bubble, there was a real thing. Tech was really important. The internet was a really big deal. People got overexcited.”
https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/759965/sam-altman-openai-ai-bubble-interview

AOL is finally shutting down dial-up

“AOL routinely evaluates its products and services and has decided to discontinue Dial-up Internet,” reads the statement by the Yahoo-owned company. “This service will no longer be available in AOL plans. As a result, on September 30, 2025 this service and the associated software, the AOL Dialer software and AOL Shield browser, which are optimized for older operating systems and dial-up internet connections, will be discontinued.”
https://www.theverge.com/news/757194/aol-dial-up-is-dead

Announcing Adobe Aero End of Support

We’ve made a tough decision and wanted you to be the first to hear that Adobe Aero will be shutting down permanently on November 6th, 2025. This was an incredibly difficult decision that we didn't make lightly.
https://community.adobe.com/t5/adobe-aero-discussions/announcing-adobe-aero-end-of-support/m-p/15450025

Following mass layoffs, Xbox exec recommends AI to cope

The thousands of recently terminated Microsoft employees, navigating one of the company's largest layoffs in years amid a period of industry upheaval, already have a tool to cope with the emotional burden, according to one Xbox exec: Microsoft Copilot.
https://mashable.com/article/microsoft-xbox-recommend-ai-for-layoff-aftermath

The old internet is dying. What’s next?

Everyone knows traditional search is dying. No one quite knows what comes next. But the rise of AI search comes with a brutal cost for traditional websites. According to the same Pew research, searches with AI Overviews result in dramatically fewer clicks to other websites. When Google shows an AI summary, users click through to other sites just 8% of the time, compared to 15% for searches without AI answers, which represents a nearly 50% drop. Even worse, only 1% of AI Overviews generate clicks to the sources they cite. What's emerging from the chaos is a discipline marketers are calling GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) or AIO (Artificial Intelligence Optimization), essentially SEO for the AI era. But unlike traditional search optimization, which followed somewhat predictable patterns, AI optimization feels more like reading tea leaves.
https://qz.com/internet-future-google-search-ai

Apple Makes Major Changes to App Store’s Age Ratings

Apple added 13+, 16+, and 18+ ratings to the existing 4+ and 9+ ratings, while removing the 12+ and 17+ age ranges. These changes have been applied automatically, based on developers’ previous responses to Apple’s questionnaires. But you’ll have to wait until September for the public rollout, unless you're running one of the beta versions of iOS 26, iPadOS 26, macOS Tahoe 26, tvOS 26, visionOS 26, or watchOS 26. The tech giant has also introduced new questions to help identify sensitive content within apps before they are added to the App Store, including those covering the presence of medical or wellness topics, violence, and in-app controls. Apple has asked developers to complete the updated questionnaire via App Store Connect by Jan. 31, 2026. If they fail to comply, app updates will be blocked.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/apple-makes-major-changes-to-app-stores-age-ratings