Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports Apple will unveil a standard iPhone 15 model that ditch the old notch for the Dynamic Island design. Plus Apple has officially allowed Twitter to change its name to X, in the App Store. And the U.K. Ministry of Defense mistakenly sent emails meant for U.S. military intelligence to Mali. Starring Sarah Lane, Megan Morrone, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
The first four papers from US 2020 Facebook and Instagram Election Study, setup to see if social media was the root cause of extreme political polarization, has been published. We examine what they found out? We discuss Mark Hill’s Wired article focusing on the social media trend of including strangers in our posts without permission. And we talk to Gene X Hwang about the experience of X taking over his X handle. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Gene X Hwang, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. Link...
What is the Calyx Institute and how can people benefit from its work to enable data security and digital privacy. Reuters reports that Tesla has been purposely exaggerating range estimates on its line-up of EVs at full charge. And Meta released its Q2 earnings results, with revenue up 11% YoY to $32B. Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Patrick Norton, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Samsung announced several new foldable phones, tablets and smart watches. We dive into the details with Android Faithful’s Huyen Tue Dao. Plus to get Twitter’s rebranding to X they needed to buy the Twitter handle from an existing user. And Mastodon hits the big leagues after the FBI seized a suspect’s equipment including a machine being used to troubleshoot a Mastodon instance. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Huyen Tue Dao, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
How will Apple’s streaming service benefit from popular soccer star Lionel Messi’s exclusive deal with Major League Soccer? Netflix will replace its downloads tab with “My Netflix” which it describes as a “one-stop shop tailored to you.” Wall Street Journal reports TikTok wants to launch an e-commerce business in the US in early August. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Charlotte Henry, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s is rolling out Worldcoin, a way to provide identity validation with focus on “distinguishing humans from AI online.” We discuss The Verge’s Allison Johnson’s article called “Flip phones are having a moment — and all eyes are on Samsung now.” TikTok entered the microblogging competition, with a new text option alongside photo and video. So at this point is it safe to say that Twitter is no longer focused on this part of its service? Starring Tom Merritt, Megan Morrone, Jus...
AI is disrupting a lot of industries but will it also disrupt your paycheck? The Information reports that Meta told Quest Pro suppliers it would not need new components. Is this an early sign that VR is dying? Do couples who engage in “phone snubbing”—the act of cutting off conversations with others IRL using text or messaging instead, have a less fulfilling relationship? Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Megan Morrone, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
The UK government is looking to update its 2016 Investigatory Powers Act that would require companies to comply immediately if the UK’s Home Office demands technology companies disable security features before shipping them to consumers. Amazon says it’s bringing its Amazon One palm recognition technology to all of its 500 + Whole Foods stores in the US. In Netflix’s latest quarterly earnings, the company saw its second straight quarter of subscriber growth, up 5.9 million worldwide to 238.4 mil...
Why are TikTokers acting like NPCs in a video game? Netflix has removed the basic plan in the U.S. and the U.K. And we have the latest on the soap-opera that is the Microsoft-Activision acquisition. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
How can chatbots replace human subjects in scientific research? Microsoft announced details on some new chatbot features coming to Microsoft 365 business users. And are people warming to “Apple’s Most Hated Product.” Apple Maps? Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Dr. Niki Ackermans, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Sony agrees to keep all of Duty available for PlayStation for 10 years after the Microsoft Blizzard acquisition closes. A Financial Times report found that the .mil domain used by the US military often gets typo’d as .ml the country code domain for the West African country Mali possible to data leaks. And TechRadar's Christian Guyton cites several users claiming that ChatGPT output quality decreased since switching to OpenAI’s GPT-4 model. Starring Tom Merritt, Rich Stroffolino, Roger Chang, Joe...
What's the deal with carmakers signing deals to use Tesla's SuperCharger network? Twitter has begun compensating some of its popular creators with a share of ad revenue from ads served in tweet replies. Will this be enough to turn the company around? And is Dutch ebike maker VanMoof approach to the market a little too smart for its own good? Starring Sarah Lane, Rich Stroffolino, Bodie Grimm, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Rolls-Royce introduces the first EV in its 150 year history, the Spectre. Tom’s Hardware notes that the IEEE has added the 802.11bb standard for light-based wireless communication. Yep. LI-FI. And Chatbots face a rocky road as new obstacles cloud their advancement. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Tim Stevens, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
The Video Game History Foundation and Software Preservation Network claim that 87% of classic video games (that means games released before 2010) in the US are “critically endangered”. What’s being done to preserve these games? Meta announced that open beta for Roblox on the Quest 2 and Quest Pro headsets will launch in the “coming weeks.” Reuters reports that industry sources say Huawei has designed its own 5G chips and is working with China’s SMIC to produce them. SMIC’s N+1 process can make c...
Thinking about upgrading your PC but not sure where to start? Will Smith is here to give us pointers on your PC upgrade path. A judge has ruled *against* a preliminary injunction to stop Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard from completing their merger. Did Microsoft win? And a Pew Research Center study indicates 59% of US adults surveyed see TikTok as either a major or minor threat to national security. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Will Smith, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
The Wall Street Journal’s sources say Google is testing a language model called Med-PaLM 2 with some health care companies, including the Mayo Clinic. Is the start of AI integration into healthcare? We discussed Engadget’s article about NYU Media Lab’s AI & Local News Initiative. And Instagram head Adam Mosseri confirmed that Meta’s Threads app surpassed 100 million accounts since launching on July 5th. Is this the start of a new social media platform comparable to Twitter? Starring Tom Merritt,...
Can you use a thumbs-up emoji to sign a contract in Canada? Maybe? We explain what went on and what is and isn’t affected. Plus Sega is withholding its big franchise IP from third-party blockchain gaming initiatives. And Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman’s sources say the retail launch for Apple’s Vision Pro headset may involve in-store appointments. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Instagram launched its new Twitter clone called Threads yesterday. After a full day we dive into the app and what we think. Plus Twitter is still busy looking for a new way to make money. And on Tuesday Federal Judge Terry A. Doughty issued an injunction barring some officials in the White House, CISA, the FBI, and Homeland Security from contacting social media companies about moderation content protected under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution. Starring Sarah Lan...
Instagram is launching a Twitter-like microblogging service called Threads. We explain how it compares and possible issues with it. The Recording Academy announced some changes to who can receive future Grammy Awards with one new rule stating "only human creators" could win. And Vox.com's Sara Morrison has a writeup today asking if the apps being developed should keep older users in mind. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes....
These are the Daily Tech Headlines. DTNS is off for the US Independence day holiday but will return Wednesday July 5th. Google's privacy policy change is smaller than you might think, the US might restrict how Chinese companies can use cloud services and goodbye Gfycat. Get the show notes here ....
This year’s summer game announcements were a veritable deluge of new IPs, sequels and spin-offs. Trisha Hershberger is here to give us an expert's eye on what to watch out for. Is Google’s new foldable smartphone compelling enough for people to switch mobile ecosystems? And Valve explains its stance on AI generated content on the service. Starring Tom Merritt, Rich Stroffolino, Trisha Hershberger, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
On Thursday, Google joined Meta in saying it will remove Canadian news from its platforms in response to Bill C-18 aka the Online News Act. In addition Google will end existing deals with Canadian news publishers. ByteDance, owner of TikTok, unveiled the Ripple music creation app that can generate instrumental music based on your humming. And the company’s streaming music app Resso is in talks with dozens of music labels in an attempt to enter new markets. And Molly Wood explains why your right ...
Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino lays out a plan to woo back some advertisers who previously left the platform. Reddit has given closed communities a deadline to reopen, or be in violation of Rule 4 of the code of conduct regarding being Active and Engaged as a moderator. And we explain how gravimetric waves can be used to locate black holes. Starring Sarah Lane, Rich Stroffolino, Dr. Nicole Ackermans, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
SiriusXm is shutting down Stitcher. Users have until August 29th to move to a new podcast listening platform. Business Insider reports that Google recently killed an augmented reality project internally known as "Iris" after several years of work. And Major League Baseball partnered with the biomechanics company Uplift Labs on a system to evaluate prospects using two iPhones and an AI model. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
With its high price tag, why is Apple continuing the Mac Pro line when they have the Mac Studio that does most of what it can do for half the price? Will optical electronics be the future of computers as we reach the speed limitations of silicon transistors? And will turbo-charge the amount of junk websites and spam flooding the internet? Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
Wall Street Journal reports, YouTube began internally testing “Playables” a service for playing games on the platform. Amazon is recruiting small businesses in 23 US states for its Amazon Hub Delivery service, a bid to expand its “last mile” delivery network. And Wired has a report on a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research highlighting the effects of automation on employment numbers Starring Tom Merritt, Rich Stroffolino, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe. Link...
AI is often presented as a danger to democratic societies by undermining trust in institutions and government. But can the reverse also be true? The Canadian Senate passed the “Online News Act” Thursday, sending it for royal assent to become law. What are the repercussions for Google and Meta and how will Canadians actually benefit? And we go over the latest revelations from the FTC’s attempt to block Microsoft from closing its deal to acquire Activision Blizzard. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lan...
As Spotify enters its next phase of podcasting what exactly are its plans? Is the European Commission aiming to break up Google? And Google announces integration with Adobe Express with ChromeOS to allow schools to distribute the software more easily to students. Starring Sarah Lane, Rich Stroffolino, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against Amazon, alleging the company violated rules by using so-called dark patterns. Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson announced the company will restructure its studios, citing an effort to “empower our creative teams.” And is the metaverse taking off outside of North America? RestofWorld reports that Indonesia’s tvOne broadcast channels have been using a digital reporter called Nadira. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger...
Spotify is planning a pricier new premium subscription tier it has been calling “Supremium” in-house. What’s going on between Meta and Mastodon? And Patrick explains why high-end audio brands are making assistive devices and medical companies are putting out high-end audio. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Patrick Norton, Roger Chang, Joe. Link to the Show Notes ....
