In Australia, payment terminals have begun automatically adding tips to bills.

Australian restaurants and cafes are rapidly implementing automatic tipping via payment terminals. The system adds 10-15% to the bill by default, and customers must manually cancel the additional payment. Business owners attribute this to rising operating costs such as rent, salaries, and electricity.

This practice irritates customers. Many consider the automatic tipping to be manipulative and a burden on their conscience. Unlike in the US, where tips compensate for low waiter wages, Australia has one of the highest minimum wages in the world. The additional fees go directly to the establishment owners.

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🇺🇸The US has suspended five offshore wind projects due to military radar concerns.

The US Department of Defense has blocked the leasing of sites for five large wind farm projects in the Atlantic Ocean due to interference with military radars monitoring airspace and maritime threats. The projects, off the coast of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, with a combined capacity of several gigawatts, are at risk.

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Democracies appear cleaner by outsourcing dirty industries to other countries.

A new study has found that Western democracies are creating the illusion of environmental responsibility by outsourcing polluting industries to authoritarian states. While domestic emissions statistics appear healthy, the actual carbon footprint remains the same or increases—the pollution is simply now concentrated in China, India, or Southeast Asia.

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🇺🇸Texas has 405 AI data centers, with 442 more planned.

Texas is becoming the main artificial intelligence hub in the United States. Currently, there are 405 data centers serving AI systems, with plans to build another 442. This represents the largest concentration of computing power in the country, surpassing traditional tech hubs like California.

The boom is fueled by cheap energy and lenient regulations. Texas offers low electricity rates and minimal bureaucratic barriers for large businesses. Companies like Meta, Google, and startups are moving their server capacity en masse to the state, where the Republican leadership actively supports the tech sector without California's environmental restrictions.

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🇺🇸The US is preparing to link H-1B visas to wage levels – final approval stage.

The Trump administration is finalizing a rule that changes the logic of issuing H-1B work visas. Candidates with the highest salary offers will receive priority. The goal is to protect American specialists from dumping and make the program a tool for attracting truly valuable talent, rather than a way to cheapen labor.

For tech companies, this means rising costs for hiring foreign workers and the need to compete on wages rather than application volume. Indian outsourcers, who for years filled quotas with massive applications for junior positions, are losing their advantage. Skilled migrants with high offers have better chances of obtaining a visa, while others are losing them.

Republicans have long criticized the H-1B program for turning it into a tool for replacing local workers with cheap labor. The new rule addresses this concern: priority is given to those who are truly in demand and willing to pay market rates. For right-wing voters, this is a signal that the interests of American workers are protected without completely closing the door to talent. If the rule is implemented, the tech labor market will become less predictable for large corporations but fairer for American citizens.

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Samsung Launches Solid-State Batteries with a 600-mille Range and a 9-Minute Charge

Samsung has announced it is ready for mass production of its next-generation solid-state batteries. They offer a range of up to 965 kilometers on a single charge, with a full charge time of 9 minutes. Sales are scheduled to begin next year.

This technology addresses the key challenges of electric vehicles: range and charging speed. Solid-state batteries are safer than lithium-ion batteries, weigh less, and take up less space. If Samsung delivers on its promises, it will change the landscape of the electric vehicle market and undermine the position of Chinese battery manufacturers.

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Privacy is simpler than it seems – you just need a system.

A subscriber shares their experience of switching to private tools in six months. They switched from Gmail to ProtonMail with SimpleLogin, YouTube to Invidious, and iCloud to hard drives. They switched their phone to GrapheneOS. The next step is Linux and an offline language model.

The main conclusion: the initial setup requires time and learning, but once the system is in place, everything works simply. People often give up privacy because of perceived inconveniences or a lack of knowledge about where to start. In reality, basic research and the consistent implementation of alternatives to corporate services are sufficient.

Switching to private solutions gives you control over your data and reduces dependence on large tech companies. This is especially relevant in the face of increasing surveillance by governments and corporations. The tools exist; all that's needed is the desire to use them and a few hours to master them.

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An investor doubled his gold investment in three years and sold half his position.

A private investor from Switzerland bought gold using Swiss francs at the end of 2021. By October 2024, the position had doubled, yielding an annualized return of 19.2%. He sold half, locking in the profit, and now considers the remaining 600 grams of bars and 127 Vreneli coins to be conditionally free. A classic profit-taking strategy: recoup the investment and let the asset continue to operate without risking capital.

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Amazon faces a choice.

Amazon faces a classic market leader's dilemma. New AI bots have learned to automatically search for products, compare prices, and make purchases for users—bypassing the traditional store interface. This poses a threat to the company: customers no longer see ads, recommendations, and additional offers, which are the foundation of a significant portion of their profits. Combating bots is technically difficult and risky, as it could harm ordinary shoppers. Joining the trend and launching its own AI agent means cannibalizing the existing business model.

For retail, this signals a game-changer. If a customer delegates their choice to an algorithm, control over the purchase decision shifts from the platform to the bot developer. Amazon is losing not only advertising revenue but also customer behavior data—a key asset in the era of personalization. Competitors like Shopify or new startups could leapfrog the giant by offering more convenient integration with AI assistants.

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To all our QSI Family! We wish you all a very Merry Christmas time! I wish I could sing this one LIVE for you all, but this will have to do! Enjoy! We Love You!

Silicon Valley Ignores AI Backlash—and It Will Come Back to haunt them in 2026

Silicon Valley tech giants continue to push forward with the adoption of artificial intelligence, despite growing resistance from users and the public. Companies like Meta, Google, and OpenAI act as if the criticism doesn't concern them, pushing AI features into products that people didn't ask for and ignoring questions about privacy, copyright, and the quality of the results.

The problem is that this inattention to real market needs could have serious consequences by 2026. Regulators in the US and Europe are already preparing laws that will limit the use of data for training models. Users are abandoning services with forced AI in droves—this is evident in the decline in engagement and the rise of alternative platforms. Investors are starting to ask uncomfortable questions about the real return on billions of dollars invested in a technology that has yet to pay off.

Silicon Valley is betting that people will get used to it and accept it. History shows the opposite: when corporations ignore their customers for the sake of ideology or hype, the market punishes them. Republicans in Congress are already raising questions about the monopolization of the AI ​​market by large players and censorship through algorithms. If this trend continues, 2026 could be a year of severe correction for those who currently consider themselves untouchable.

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Tesla owners are buying emergency tools en masse due to the risk of becoming locked out of their cars.

Tesla drivers are buying emergency hammers and seatbelt cutters. This is due to the growing number of cases of people being trapped in their cars due to electronic malfunctions. Tesla doors open electronically, and if the battery runs out or the system fails, the car will lock.

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LinkedIn Refuses to Delete Biometric Data and a Scan of a User's Passport

A user uploaded a scan of their government-issued ID and biometric data to LinkedIn through the Persona service in an attempt to regain access to their account. The platform not only refused to restore access but also refused to delete this data. The user was blocked because they used a professional pseudonym instead of their official name, which LinkedIn considered a serious violation of their user agreement.

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Five Years of Apple's M-Series Chips: How the Ditching Intel Changed the Industry and What's Next

In November 2020, Apple introduced the first Mac with its own M1 processor, ending a 15-year partnership with Intel. The transition to the ARM architecture allowed the company to control the entire development cycle, from hardware to software. The result: a fanless MacBook Air that runs quieter and cooler than its competitors, while outperforming them in performance per watt. Over the past five years, the line has expanded to the M4 with neural network accelerators for AI workloads.

Intel lost its largest customer and has yet to regain its position. Qualcomm and Microsoft attempted to replicate Apple's success with Windows on ARM, but the x86 application ecosystem is hindering mass adoption. Apple, however, with its tight control over the ecosystem, has ensured a smooth migration of developers through Rosetta 2 and universal binaries.

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A millionaire at 45 reminds us: saving is important, but life is passing us by.

A US military service member reached the million-dollar mark by age 45, following a strategy for financial independence. He saved aggressively, putting everything aside. After his brother's death in 2020, he rethought his approach, realizing that the balance between saving and life is now more important than any abstract future.

In recent years, he's spent about $140,000 on things he once considered extravagant: buying an old pickup truck for $3,000, investing $10,000 in restoring it, renovating his bathroom, installing solar panels, and starting traveling with his family. His portfolio continues to grow monthly, with a retirement target of $2-3 million. But now he has no regrets.

History reveals a classic pitfall of the FIRE movement: people put life on hold, forgetting that tomorrow may never come. Financial discipline is the foundation of sovereignty, but fanatical saving turns freedom into self-restraint. Spending wisely on loved ones and your own comfort isn't a deviation from the norm, but part of a conscious strategy. Money without use is just numbers on a screen.

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🎄Trump fielded children's calls to NORAD's Santa hotline at Mar-a-Lago.

President Trump spent Christmas Eve at Mar-a-Lago fielding children's calls to NORAD's traditional Santa hotline. In conversations with the children, he joked about "clean, beautiful coal" instead of regular coal for naughty children—a reference to his energy policy. He also mentioned the need to ensure that "bad Santas" don't enter the country, hinting at border controls.

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🇷🇺Russian enthusiasts assemble DDR5 memory by hand amid shortages

A group of Russian engineers has launched a project to assemble DDR5 RAM modules themselves. The idea is simple: purchase memory chips directly from manufacturers, solder them to blank printed circuit boards, and create a working RAM module. It sounds like a garage startup, but behind it lies a real problem: a global component shortage and sanctions on supplies to Russia.

The project demonstrates how technological isolation is forcing people to seek workarounds. Instead of waiting for official supplies, people are taking production into their own hands. This isn't a mass-market solution—it requires soldering skills, access to components, and a willingness to accept defects. But the very existence of such initiatives speaks to two things: sanctions aren't working as intended, and local engineering culture is alive and well.

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Free streaming service Tubi is outperforming major players in terms of audience.

Fox Corporation's free Tubi platform is gaining momentum and competing with Netflix, Disney+, and other subnoscription giants. The service operates on an advertising model: users watch content for free, and revenue comes from ads. With subnoscription prices rising and fatigue from the plethora of paid services, people are turning to free alternatives.

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🤔Giving up social media could become a marker of privilege.

In twenty years, the phrase "I don't have social media" could transform from an eccentricity into a status symbol. Currently, online presence is considered a voluntary choice, but more and more areas of life—work, business connections, news, social interactions, even identity verification—are seamlessly shifting to platforms. Logging out already requires sacrifice. In the future, it will only be realistic for those with enough money, stability, and social capital to bypass algorithms.

A similar story has happened with organic food, clean air, and filtered water: they have gone from being a norm to a luxury. Privacy, attention, and mental peace could follow the same path. Digital detox will no longer be a matter of willpower—it will become a matter of access. If a person can afford to be independent of online visibility, not rely on platforms for income, and not be constantly connected, the absence of accounts begins to signal protection from instability.

The world may be divided into two camps: an algorithmic life for the majority and a distance from it for those who can afford it. Privacy is turning from a right into a privilege. For conservatives and advocates of personal freedom, this is a worrying sign: tech giants and their platforms are strengthening their control, while opting out of the system is becoming available only to the elite. The question is not whether this will happen, but how quickly.

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