📡 Starlink offers free internet access in Venezuela

Advertise | Sign Up | Upgrade

Greetings! Your latest quick tech update is here:

☀️ On this day: On January 5, 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon officially announced the development of the Space Shuttle program. Intended as the first reusable spacecraft system, the shuttle later transformed human access to space, supporting satellite deployment, scientific missions, and construction of the International Space Station.

What’s happening:

• 📡 Starlink offers free internet access in Venezuela

• 📺 Google brings Gemini AI upgrades to Google TV

• 🌐 Microsoft Edge gets a Copilot-inspired redesign

• 🤖 LG reveals AI humanoid robot for everyday home chores

• 📵 Punkt unveils a smartphone for people who hate smartphones

• + 📊 Daily poll and results

• + 📈 Trending tools and resources

Together with Beehiiv

Stop Planning. Start Building.

End of the year? Or time to start something new. 

With beehiiv, this quiet stretch of time can become your biggest advantage. Their platform gives you all the tools you need to make real progress, real fast. 

In just days (or even minutes) you can:

• Build a fully-functioning website with the AI website builder 

• Launch a professional-looking newsletter

• Earn money on autopilot with the beehiiv ad network

• Host all of your content on one easy-to-use platform

If you’re looking to have a breakthrough year, beehiiv is the place to start. And to help motivate you even more, we’re giving you 30% off for three months with code BIG30.

Start building for 30% off today

Hand-picked news:

📡 Starlink offers free internet access in Venezuela ↗️LINK

• SpaceX’s Starlink is offering free internet access in Venezuela after outages hit parts of Caracas and other regions following a US operation that captured President Nicolás Maduro, according to CNBC.

• Starlink says it is applying service credits to active Venezuelan accounts through February 3 and allowing paused or canceled users with existing hardware to reactivate for free, even though the service is still listed as “coming soon” in the country.

• US forces also detained Maduro’s wife and Venezuelan courts named Delcy Rodríguez as acting president, while US President Donald Trump said his administration will oversee Venezuela during a transition and pursue plans for US access to its oil reserves.

📺 Google brings Gemini AI upgrades to Google TV ↗️LINK

• Google unveiled new Gemini-powered features for Google TV at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, aiming to make TV more conversational by letting users search, get recaps, and discover shows using natural language instead of menus.

• The AI can deliver visually rich answers on the big screen, help viewers deep dive into educational topics, and search or creatively rework personal photos and videos from Google Photos into stylized slideshows.

• The features will debut on select TVs from TCL before expanding more broadly, requiring Android TV OS 14 or higher, an internet connection, and a Google account, with limited device and regional support at launch.

🌐 Microsoft Edge gets a Copilot-inspired redesign ↗️LINK

• Microsoft is rolling out a major UI refresh for Microsoft Edge in Canary and Dev builds, bringing Copilot’s look and feel to the browser with rounded corners, updated fonts and colors, redesigned context menus, and a Copilot-style settings page.

• The new Edge tab page now closely mirrors the Microsoft Copilot app, signaling that the redesign is not limited to Copilot Mode but reflects a broader push to embed Copilot’s design language across the browser experience.

• Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman says Edge will evolve rather than be replaced by a separate AI browser, reinforcing Microsoft’s strategy to make Edge feel increasingly AI-first as Copilot’s design expands beyond the older Fluent system.

📵 Punkt unveils a smartphone for people who hate smartphones ↗️LINK

• Punkt has launched the MC03, a phone that looks like a normal modern smartphone but is designed for people who want fewer distractions and more privacy.

• Instead of colorful icons and widgets, the MC03 uses a very simple text-based interface and runs AphyOS, a custom operating system focused on blocking tracking, avoiding bloatware, and limiting background activity.

• Apps are split into two areas: a locked-down Vault with trusted tools like Proton Mail and Proton VPN from Proton, and a “Wild Web” section that lets users install regular apps with extra privacy controls.

🤖 LG reveals AI humanoid robot for home chores ↗️LINK

• LG Electronics will debut a live demo of its AI-powered humanoid robot, LG CLOiD, at CES 2026, showing how it can help with daily tasks like cooking breakfast and doing laundry as part of LG’s “Zero Labor Home” vision.

• The robot connects to LG’s smart home system, including ThinQ and the ThinQ ON hub, allowing it to control appliances together, such as starting laundry, folding clothes, or placing food in the oven.

• LG CLOiD moves on wheels and uses advanced vision-and-language AI models to understand its surroundings, interpret voice commands, and perform precise actions with human-like arms and hands designed for real home environments.

Today’s Poll:

Vote and find out about the result tomorrow.

Yesterday’s Poll Result:

Do you think signs of self-preservation in AI experiments are alarming?

• A. Yes, very concerning - 91% 🏆

• B. No, they’re being overinterpreted - 9%

AI for All by Nvidia (free course): This introductory course provides invaluable insights into the evolving landscape of AI. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just beginning your journey into AI, this course is essential for staying ahead in today's rapidly evolving technological landscape. 

Meco: Meco is a distraction-free space for reading and discovering newsletters, separate from the inbox. Add your newsletters in seconds and liberate your inbox today!

Gamma: Create unlimited presentations, websites, and more—in seconds. Everything you need to quickly create and refine content with advanced AI.

Typefully: Best social media tool for creators & businesses. Create, schedule, and publish social media posts on X (Twitter), LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, and more.