Daily Tech News Show - podcast cover

Daily Tech News Show

Tom Merritt and the team help you stay up to date with an independent, authoritative and trustworthy tech news briefing.

Episodes

Reddit’s $4.5 Million Ransom – DTH

Kuo says iPhone 15 will get Vision Pro integration, EvLeaks shows off Galaxy Unpacked foldable lineup, Meta lowers Quest age limit. Get show notes here .

Jun 19, 20233 min

College Food - Everybody in the Pool

We've got a special thing in the podcast feed today. Molly Wood has started a new show called "Everybody in the Pool." This is Molly at her best, talking with people about how to solve the climate crisis, not just complain about it. I hope you enjoy the episode and if you do add Everybody in the Pool to your podcast app! And if you'd like to get Molly on Daily Tech News Show more often, help us hit 4,000 patrons so we can make that happen at patreon.com/dtns. Now. Everybody int he Pool!

Jun 17, 202323 min

Google, No Longer Master of Its Own Domains - DTNS 4543

Google will be shutting down its domain name registrar called Google Domains with Squarespace will take over the business and its assets. We talk about how the Pixel Fold plans to distinguish itself. We talk about the latest events surrounding Reddit’s API price hike. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Rodd Dunewood, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....

Jun 16, 202334 minSeason 10Ep. 4543

As the Journalism Crumbles? - DTNS 4542

Epic released a new tool called MetaHuman Animator that captures an actor’s facial performance using an iPhone, that then creates your “MetaHuman” in the Unreal Engine using local GPU hardware within “minutes.” Thursday the US Senate Judiciary Committee is resurfacing The Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, a proposed bill designed to help print and broadcast news outlets in their negotiations with tech giants. Streamlabs released a new podcast editing tool called Podcast Editor. It inc...

Jun 15, 202331 minSeason 10Ep. 4542

AI Dangers Remain Unknown - DTNS 4541

The European Union’s European Parliament passed a draft law known as the AI Act. This year’s Reuters Institute Digital News Report shows that when it comes to news content, more than ever is being consumed through platforms… such as TikTok… over “legacy” media like newspapers and television. Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest took place last week and set records, so it’s no surprise that the fest officially announced that it will return in June 2024. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnso...

Jun 14, 202331 minSeason 10Ep. 4541

AI is the Fifth Beatle - DTNS 4540

The Wall Street Journal’s sources say Netflix is in talks to live-stream its first sporting event. Golf. Played by Formula 1 race car drivers. In Las Vegas. UliDig in the DTNS Discord tipped us off to this story. The University of Iowa’s Driving Safety Research institute has been testing an automated shuttle on rural Iowa roads for the last two years. And DTNS supporter Technomench submitted this story to our subreddit. Sir Paul McCartney told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that artificial intellig...

Jun 13, 202330 minSeason 10Ep. 4540

Users Don't Digg New Reddit Changes - DTNS 4539

Reddit’s plan to charge for API access has led to a big backlash on the platform with many subreddits switching to private or hidden mode in protest. Apple’s Vision Pro isn’t the only VR/AR news. We take a look at some other developments in the space including VR ebook headset and tools to help creators make AR/VR content. And Iyaz Akhtar shares his review of Motorola's latest foldable handsets the Razr and Razr+. Starring Tom Merritt, Rich Stroffolino, Iyaz Akhtar, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the...

Jun 12, 202330 minSeason 10Ep. 4539

Netflix is Proud of Its Measurements - DTNS 4538

Independent streaming analytics company Antenna has the results from Netflix’s recent crackdown on password sharing. Chris Ashley shares his advice on towing concerns with the F-150 Lightning. And the California Department of Motor Vehicles issued a permit for Mercedes-Benz’s Drive Pilot driver assistance system, the first automaker with permission to sell a vehicle with a Level 3 autonomous system in the state. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Shannon Morse, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. Link...

Jun 09, 202333 minSeason 10Ep. 4538

It’s Hard Out There for the 3rd Party Devs – DTNS 4537

WhatsApp has a new feature called Channels which enables “private way to follow what matters,” designed so that channel operators can broadcast to people in the conversation one-way. Third-party Reddit app Apollo developer Christian Selig announced Apollo will shut down on June 30 in response to Reddit requiring developers to pay to access its API. And Wired’s Kate Knibbs shares her thoughts on Apple’s Vision Pro in a story titled “This is not a “revolutionary”. Starring Sarah Lane, Rich Stroffo...

Jun 08, 202331 minSeason 10Ep. 4537

Apple’s Game Tool is Very Metal – DTNS 4536

Automattic launched an AI assistant for WordPress, which integrates easily with all Jetpack-powered sites. Scientists at the University of Cambridge used a publicly available neural network to generate a model to train a computer to cook by watching videos of people cooking. Apple announced a new tool called Game Porting Toolkit that translates DirectX 12 GPU calls to Metal 3 allowing developers to see how well their games run on MacOS before they decide to port it over. Starring Tom Merritt, Sa...

Jun 07, 202331 minSeason 10Ep. 4536

Zero Risk Doesn't Mean Zero Waste - DTNS 4535

Sean McManus wrote a piece detailing the Circular Drive Initiative ,or CDI, which is trying to reduce this e-waste by reusing hard drives instead of destroying them. Allison, host of the Nosillacast the geek podcast with a slight Apple bias, shares her thoughts on the Apple's Visor Pro AR headset. Starring Tom Merritt, Rich Stroffolino, Allison Sheridan, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....

Jun 06, 202330 minSeason 10Ep. 4535

Apple Sets New Vision - DTNS 4534

Apple announced a flurry of new products including their much anticipated “Vision Pro” AR/VR headset at this year’s WWDC 2023. We share impressions and analysis of the new headset and whether it's worth the $3499 price tag. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Nica Montford, Terrance Gaines, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....

Jun 05, 202333 minSeason 10Ep. 4534

Video Hasn't Killed The Pinball Star - DTNS 4533

Bloomberg’s sources say Amazon is in talks with Verizon, T-Mobile, and Dish about offering discounted cell service at around $10 a month, or possibly even free service to Prime subscribers. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) reports that between 10% and 15% of new iPhone buyers in the US come from Android. Is this a problem for Android? And pinball is making a comeback. What’s behind the resurgence? Starring Sarah Lane, Rich Stroffolino, Ron Richards, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Sh...

Jun 02, 202333 minSeason 10Ep. 4533

There's No Moore's Law for Autonomous Cars - DTNS 4532

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted on Instagram that a Quest 3 VR headset will come out this autumn. A 128 GB version will cost $499.99. BeReal is testing a chat feature available to users in Ireland called RealChat. It lets users send messages, images, and reactions to friends in private whenever they want. Timothy B. Lee of Ars Technica recently published a post arguing that this “death of self-driving cars” is itself greatly exaggerated. Starring Tom Merritt, Rich Stroffolino, Justin Robert Youn...

Jun 01, 202330 minSeason 10Ep. 4532

Cooking Up Language Learning - DTNS 4531

Twitter plans on expanding its Community Notes feature where volunteer contributors can add context to posts in order to combat misinformation. If the notes are voted as helpful, they show up for all Twitter users. Language learning app Memrise is launching a Discord integration for its Membot and website. At Computex, Nvidia showed off the ability to talk in natural language to NPCs via its Avatar Cloud Engine, or ACE for Games. Is it something game devs will be looking into or is it just a fan...

May 31, 202331 minSeason 10Ep. 4531

Teacher, What Do You Meme? - DTNS 4530

We check out the latest announcements from the COMPUTEX trade show in Taipei, Taiwan including Nvidia’s trillion dollar valuation. TechCrunch’s Amanda Silberling highlighted a new edtech startup called Antimatter that’s trying to turn this on its head by turning memes into learning tools. And could AI herald the extinction of the human race? Some AI researchers believe so. But what do we think? Starring Rich Stroffolino, Chris Ashley, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....

May 30, 202330 minSeason 10Ep. 4530

Nvidia Demos Talking to NPCs with Natural Language - DTH

Nvidia demoed its ACE for Games tech to let gamers talk to NPCs with natural language, JioCinema sets a concurrent streaming record, and Mark Gurman gets an early hands on with Meta's Quest 3 headset. Get the show notes here .

May 29, 20234 min

Digital Twins Inform Digital Models - DTNS 4529

Rob DeMillo – Chief Technology Officer at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill is here to explain the nuances of digital twins and how they relate to digital models and what's important from a developers point of view. YouTube TV may have the rights to show NFL Sunday Ticket to home users in the US, but if you go to a bar, the games will still come from DirecTV. We explain the licensing rules around this deal. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Rob DeMillo, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....

May 26, 202331 minSeason 10Ep. 4529

Keeping the “Human” in HR – DTNS 4528

US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, issued new guidance on a company’s responsibility to ensure algorithmically driven HR tools don’t deliver results that violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. We explain what it all means and its impact. EC for the internal market, Thierry Breton, said it will work with Alphabet to develop voluntary regulations for AI. Sony announced a game streaming handheld, called Project Q. What does it do and what’s the strategy behind it? Starring Sarah Lane, ...

May 25, 202331 minSeason 10Ep. 4528

Dial Up Still Exists - DTNS 4527

We pour over Sony PlayStation’s pre-summer announcements, checkout all the new features in Microsoft’s PowerToy release including running up to four PCs with just a single keyboard and mouse, and we go over the latest news tidbits from Microsoft’s Build event. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....

May 24, 202330 minSeason 10Ep. 4527

Microsoft Builds a Copilot - DTNS 4526

Microsoft’s annual Build conference starts today and the Redmond company has announced a number of AI chatbot integrations with Windows and Bing. Plus Waymo announced a multi-year partnership with Uber. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Chris Ashley, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....

May 23, 202329 minSeason 10Ep. 4526

The Standard Contract is Not Enough - DTNS 4525

The EU fines Meta a record €1.2B for sending European user data to the US in violation of GDPR. What now for Meta? The Cyberspace Administration of China has warned critical infrastructure operators against buying components from the memory chip maker Micron, citing “relatively serious” cybersecurity risks in its products. And Instagram is planning on releasing a text-based Twitter competitor, codenamed P92 or Barcelona that could arrive as early as June as a separate app. Starring Tom Merritt, ...

May 22, 202329 minSeason 10Ep. 4525

TikTok Table Talk - DTNS 4524

The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple restricted some of its employees from using generative models at work over concerns about leaks. Barclay’s financial strategists highlighted streaming services were a new source of pressure on the Japanese Yen. Grub Street’s Ezra Marcus has a story called “Cheesier, Saucier, and Drowning in Caviar How TikTok took over the menu.” Is TikTok changing the way restaurants approach presentation? Starring Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, J...

May 19, 202332 minSeason 10Ep. 4524

VR Right Under Our Noses - DTNS 4523

Smell-o-vision makes a return, this time in VR? And the SCOTUS issues its ruling on two cases that could affect Section 230. We go over the rulings and what it means. And we discuss the startup Sightful that’s announced the Spacetop device, described as an “augmented reality laptop” which uses AR glasses in place of a real screen. Starring Sarah Lane, Rich Stroffolino, Dr. Niki Ackermans, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....

May 18, 202331 minSeason 10Ep. 4523

One Uber to Move Them All - DTNS 4522

Allison shares her thoughts on Tesla’s latest “full self-driving beta 11”. Amazon announced new Echo devices. And we explore all the product announcements from this year’s Uber GO-GET event. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Allison Sheridan, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....

May 17, 202333 minSeason 10Ep. 4522

Stop treating AI like it's human - DTNS 4521

We take a look at the new accessibility features Apple previewed today including Personal Voice and Assistive Access. Vancouver based “Sanctuary Cognitive Systems Corporate” announced a bipedal robot called “Phoenix”. And Neil Saunders a senior lecturer in maths at the University of Greenwich has written a piece on The Conversation saying people need to stop anthropomorphizing AI and stop treating it like it’s human. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Iyaz Akhtar, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Sh...

May 16, 202330 minSeason 10Ep. 4521

Meet 1-900-Chatbot - DTNS 4520

Pluto TV co-founder Ilya Pozin announced a new TV startup called Telly where they’re giving away 500,000 TVs for free. Each set contains an always-on secondary 9-inch screen beneath its soundbar, which shows a variety of widgets and ads. The Wall Street Journal’s Kate King has a story called “Online-Only Startups Adopt a Bold New Strategy: Opening Actual Shops”. Is the future of online retail in its past? Caryn Marjorie has launched a chatbot version of herself where fans can talk to it for $1 a...

May 15, 202331 minSeason 10Ep. 4520

Linda Yaccarino, The Xpert - DTNS 4519

Would you pay more for a generative AI chatbot that could process more user input at time? We discuss how Google’s open-source AI tool allowed a gamer to play the Dreamcast game Rez using only his face. And Twitter’s Elon Musk has chosen NBCUniversal’s head of advertising, Linda Yaccarino to head the social media platform. Starring Tom Merritt, Chris Ashley, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....

May 12, 202333 minSeason 10Ep. 4519

The ASUS ROG Ally is Whelming - DTNS 4518

Is Disney Plus in subscriber free fall? What’s Fairphone’s latest repairable tech for consumers? And is the ROG Ally worth the hype or is it just another minor step in mobile gaming? Starring Sarah Lane, Rich Stroffolino, Scott Johnson, Amos, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....

May 11, 202331 minSeason 10Ep. 4518

Google Is Bringing You Into The Fold - DTNS 4517

Anthropic announces “Constitutional AI” to help train artificial intelligence without the need for human-intensive training, and Google takes the stage to announce new tools, APIs, and LLM innovations. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Shannon Morse, Amos, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....

May 10, 202332 minSeason 10Ep. 4517
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