Responding to listener questions and comments in the wake of Apple’s WWDC and the announcement of the Vision Pro, including thoughts on the absence of AI in Apple’s messaging, a headset hater’s epiphany, gaming partnerships that should (but won’t?) happen, sports possibilities, immersive memories, and some obligatory speculation on the Apple Car.
Ben’s experience with the Apple Vision Pro, the components and capabilities that make it so expensive, implications for the future of personal computing, and what it would mean to have a society full of people in headsets.
Big picture questions before Apple debuts its new headset at WWDC this week, the latest twist in Meta’s ongoing foray into hardware, and two follow-up emails about Nvidia’s future. Plus: Zuck sympathy, cable bills, and why there’s no ultra premium Stratechery stock picking tier.
Talking all things Nvidia as Wall Street catches GPU fever, parallels to Sun Microsystems and the dot com bubble, and questions about AI energy efficiency and reliance on TSMC. At the end: a streaming lover pushes back on nostalgia for cable and involuntary sports subsidies.
Microsoft’s evolution and what AI can and can’t accomplish, the ChatGPT app on iOS, and more on the logic of cable companies during the 2010s. Plus: Why leagues won’t go direct to consumer and one listener for whom the streaming is working just fine.
ESPN's ominous direct-to-consumer ambitions, the incentives that drove the collapse of a cable business model that was beneficial to nearly everyone, why YouTube TV might fill the power vacuum, and what companies like Netflix and Disney can learn from Taylor Swift.
Google’s AI ambitions, whether large language models will be a winner-take-all space, the coming wave of AI regulation and the implications for small businesses, and more thoughts on VR as Apple prepares to enter the space.
The Reality Labs spending has echoes of a past Google mistake, past animosity vs. future opportunities for Apple and Facebook, and a few responses to last week’s leaked Google memo. Plus: One more note about Xbox and a question about handwritten notes.
China's ongoing response to last fall's sweeping export controls on advanced semiconductors, the importance of Japan and the Netherlands imposing their own set of export controls, and more on Intel's antitrust struggles and how the company (or the U.S. government) might respond. Plus: A correction about water risks and a clarification about the Suns app.
A question about profitable and public venture-backed businesses over the past 15 years, why Amazon, Google and Apple might be interested in sports rights, and a proposed broadcasting strategy in Phoenix that might be the best idea the NBA's had since in the internet. Plus: A clarification about Microsoft, and a note to Liberty Media and Formula 1.
Twitter's latest idea spurs a discussion of the micropayment model, an email about Twitter Blue and Twitter subscription's for independent creators, and follow-up Microsoft thoughts on the spirit underlying antitrust laws, the EU regulatory environment, and why Microsoft can't simply partner with Activision in the cloud gaming space.
UK regulators may have scuttled the biggest merger in gaming history, the implications for globalized businesses going forward, and debates about antitrust enforcement. Plus: Two follow-ups to the Netflix conversation and a baffling tax development for software companies.
Potential implications of Netflix advertising success, checking in with the rest of the streaming landscape, and the long-term questions surrounding Nvidia and the GPU ecosystem. At the end: Two follow-ups on AI and copyright, a Silicon Valley clarification, and Bucks therapy.
More on the copyright questions facing innovators and regulators as generative AI matures, Microsoft Copilot and the future of LLMs in litigation, plus emails on the state of Zoom in 2023, the Apple productivity suite, and how to bring tech talent back to the Midwest.
Copyright debates underlying text-to-image generation, the stakes for incumbents and upstarts, and what AI could mean for the music business (but not yet the movie business). Plus: A listener’s Twitter reality check yields a discussion of what might come next in a new era of social media.
Parsing the latest Twitter controversy with a look back at pre-Musk decisions, the motivations driving Substack and Twitter last week, and big picture thoughts on the future of Substack. At the end: children in the age of AI proliferating, screen time dilemmas, and more.
Elon Musk's two-part announcement about Twitter Blue and the "For You" tab, why subscription and advertising business models are generally incompatible, a variety of reactions to this week's open letter regarding AI safety, and the technical logistics of a TikTok ban.
A programming note regarding the next few weeks of the podcast, a long email from a Stratechery reader about the risks of AI, and extended thoughts on the various risks and unknowns that define the AI conversation in the present moment.
What Microsoft Copilot could mean for SaaS businesses and CIOs and Google, the midrange jumper and questions about long-term office culture optimization, and a few more thoughts on regulation in the wake of the SVB collapse. At the end: Artifact and Substack and the challenge for text-based businesses as the world moves to video.
Several notable AI announcements this week, lessons from the LLaMa leak and the response it inspired around the world, trade-offs inherent to both sides of closed source vs. open source development question. At the end: Meta's "Year of Efficiency" and the Oscars on life support.
Revisiting the decisions that led to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and talking through the implications of the government's solution, the behavior of various tech personalities on Twitter, and why the past several days signal the end of an environment that defined Silicon Valley throughout its rise.
Microsoft history and the VR future for Nintendo and Meta, the various considerations underlying the "Ban TikTok" debate, and advice for a listener who's considering a pivot from a career in big tech. At the end: A few notes on Apple and one immutable law of the Internet.
Additional thoughts on what the NBA can (and can't) learn from Formula 1, areas for ESPN to improve in an era of abundance, the success of the English Premier League, and the calculus of Apple and MLS. Plus: Ben's fraught history with the letter A and Andrew's "production function."
Parsing the criticisms of ex-Google employees who've put the company's culture in the spotlight, mid-2000s Microsoft as a Google analog and a window into the good and bad of dominant companies, and reactions to Elon Musk's latest comments about open sourcing Twitter's algorithm. At the end: follow-up on Spotify as a podcast aggregator and marveling at Apple's latest project.
The challenges inherent to the Spotify business model, why an emphasis on podcast growth was a great solution that was executed poorly, and various paths to profitability that continue to be promising for the long term. At the end: Brief follow-up to the Gonzalez v. Google conversation, why RSNs are dying (but not dead yet), and market forces that may save the NBA despite itself.
Parting thoughts and a few emails as Sydney passes into the afterlife, quick reactions to Mark Zuckerberg’s subscription announcement on Sunday, and extended thoughts on Section 230 before the Google v. Gonzalez arguments at the Supreme Court this week. At the end: Chatbot analogs for the Stratecheryverse and Badger Rushmore.
Ben offers his takeaways from a full day of chatting with Sydney, Bing's new chatbot, why the focus on search utility might be missing the point, the refreshing weirdness of a chatbot that makes mistakes and has an attitude, and questions about empathy and the next frontier after nuclear technology.
Reactions to the demos from Google and Bing this week, answers to an emailer looking for an AI bear case, and why Apple never went into the TV business. Plus: A trade proposal for Disney, an explainer on regional sports network bankruptcies, and fun facts about dental health and SodaStreams.
Meta’s earnings and the market’s resounding endorsement, revisiting the misconceptions that colored the Meta story toward the end of 2022, an essay about the degrading internet and what the causes might be, plus emails on lost AirPods and a healthier alternative to cigar night.
A look at Cloudflare's strengths and weaknesses in the 2023 marketplace, why Microsoft and Amazon are well-positioned to further solidify their B2B empires over the next 12 months, and various questions and theories about the layoffs in big tech over the past three months. Plus: More info on MVNOs, a shout out to HEB in Texas, and a listener demands bundle answers.
