The Chinese Communist Party is throwing serious cold water on its entire tech sector by continuing to target Jack Ma. Did Elon Musk once try to sell Tesla to Apple? Drones are getting digital license plates, of a sort. And a look at the generation of search engine startups hoping to, you know, maybe strike at Google while the antitrust iron is hot. Sponsors: Tovala.com/ride GetRoman.com/techmeme Links: Beijing launches antitrust investigation into Alibaba (Financial Times) China Tells Ant to Ret...
Dec 28, 2020•19 min
The SEC does indeed sue Ripple, and that could be a bigger deal than I thought. Twitter won’t hand over the @Potus Twitter followers to Biden. What Zoom wants to do for its next act beyond video. Controlling your AirPods with your teeth. And, special for this week, a Long Holiday Weekend edition of the Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Hawthorne.co , promocode: techmeme Tovala.com/ride Links: SEC Sues Ripple Over 7-Year, $1.3B ‘Ongoing’ XRP Sale (CoinDesk) Biden @POTUS Account Reset to Zero With ...
Dec 23, 2020•20 min
See… I had a feeling. Reuters says Apple really is revealing an Apple Car in the coming years. More details on that suit charging Facebook and Google allegedly agreed to divvy up the ad market. The third biggest cryptocurrency says the SEC is coming after it. And the crazy story behind those sexy butt-flap pajama ads you’ve seen all over the internet. Sponsors: CalderaLab.com , promocode TECHMEME (all caps, one word) at checkout for 20% off. Hawthorne.co promocode: techmeme Links: Exclusive: App...
Dec 22, 2020•19 min
Huge day for Real Estate tech with Opendoor going public to a soaring valuation and RealPage getting bought for a ton of money. Microsoft might design its own custom silicon, cause, why not (to quote Vincent Hanna)? Is the first under the display selfie camera basically a fail? And could we actually see the Apple Car debut as soon as next year? Sponsors: GetArmorLock.com Hawthorne.co promocode: techmeme Links: Opendoor Rides SPAC Deal to Lofty $18 Billion Valuation at Market Debut (The Informati...
Dec 21, 2020•18 min
Drone maker DJI is blacklisted by the commerce department. Group video comes to Echo devices. Twitter launches Spaces. Sony offers refunds for Cyberpunk 2077. Coinbase files to go public. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Masterworks.io , promocode RIDE to skip the waitlist Calderalab.com use code TECHMEME (all one word, all caps) at checkout Links: US government adds DJI to Commerce blacklist over ties to Chinese government (The Verge) Amazon launches group video and ...
Dec 18, 2020•21 min
Mommy and Daddy are fighting. This time it’s Apple and Facebook and it’s getting pretty heated. The EU okays Google’s acquisition of Fitbit. Substack has resurrected Google Reader, in spirit at least. And why the new antitrust lawsuit against Google is maybe the most serious yet, because we’re talking about actual felonies here. Potentially. Allegedly. Sponsors: OurCrowd.com/ride JoinFightCamp.com/techmeme Links: Apple’s seismic change to the mobile ad industry is drawing near, and it’s rocking ...
Dec 17, 2020•17 min
Day three of the SolarWinds hack fallout sees major investors unloading stock at a suspicious time. M1 chip support comes to some major apps. Periscope joins the Deadpool. Bitcoin crosses $20k. An AirPods Max review. And what if you could make a digital platform for board games? Sponsors: OurCrowd.com/ride VistaPrint.com/techmeme Links: Stadia comes to the iPhone and iPad with new iOS beta (The Verge) Investors in breached software firm SolarWinds traded $280 million in stock days before hack wa...
Dec 16, 2020•20 min
Europe’s big new regulatory regime for big tech. More fallout from what looks like the biggest hack our government has ever seen. The FTC asks basically everyone in tech how they get their data. A ‘faraday fabric’ that can serve as an invisibility cloak for radio waves. An interesting raise to make exoskeletons. And a review of the new all electric Ford Mustang. Sponsors: Grammarly.com/techmeme VistaPrint.com/techmeme Links: Tech Giants Face New Rules in Europe, Backed by Huge Fines (WSJ) FTC or...
Dec 15, 2020•18 min
Hackers attack the US Treasury in an attack so severe one person called it a 10 out of 10. Pornhub has removed millions of videos. Amazon’s Zoox has a robo electric taxi. Are the recent IPO pops sign of a bubble? And could Jony Ive’s next job be as the head of luxury automaker Ferrari? Sponsors: GetArmorLock.com Amazon.com/ridehome Links: Suspected Russian hackers spied on U.S. Treasury emails - sources (Reuters) U.S. Agencies Hacked in Foreign Cyber Espionage Campaign Linked to Russia (WSJ) Por...
Dec 14, 2020•17 min
Connie Chan, from Andreessen Horowitz, talking about: Live, Social, and Shoppable: The Future of Video Sponsors: VistaPrint.com/techmeme TinyCapital.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Dec 12, 2020•34 min
Disney+ is about to get a bit more expensive, but you’re also gonna get a lot more stuff to watch. Are we in a tech IPO bubble? X64 emulation comes to Windows. Apple whispers that it will likely be dropping Qualcomm like it dropped Intel. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Amazon.com/ridehome Tinycapital.com Links: Disney Plus is increasing its price to $8 a month starting in March 2021 (The Verge) ‘Star Wars,’ ‘Pinocchio’ and More as Disney Leans Sharply Into Streaming ...
Dec 11, 2020•19 min
I try to give you the outlines of the Facebook antitrust thing, and what it might mean for tech. Airbnb makes its market debut. Crunchyroll finds a safe home away from AT&T. I bet folks at HBO are jealous. Boston Dynamics finds a new guardian as well, that hopefully can find something useful for it to do. And it really is, finally, the end of the road for Flash. Sponsors: Amazon.com/ridehome Tinycapital.com Links: The FTC is suing Facebook to unwind its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp...
Dec 10, 2020•18 min
FireEye says it got hacked by a nation state. Microsoft’s cloud gaming is coming to iOS in the spring. Samsung’s unpacked event is coming in about a month, and we already got plenty of leaks about the phones we expect to see. Is Apple’s self-driving project still on track? And if you feel like you’ve been getting more spam calls this year, while rents in San Francisco have been plummeting, I’m here to tell you, neither of those trends seem to be imaginary. Sponsors: MasterWorks.io to skip the wa...
Dec 09, 2020•20 min
Say hello to AirPods Max. Cloudflare and Apple have developed a new internet privacy protocol. Google’s Stadia is finally flipping the switch on one of its biggest selling points. Uber is exiting the self-driving sweepstakes, but what does that mean for its future? And more fallout from that Warner Media streaming decision. Sponsors: Amazon.com/ridehome Wipers123.com promocode: ride Links: Apple introduces AirPods Max, the magic of AirPods in a stunning over-ear design (Apple Newsroom) Cloudflar...
Dec 08, 2020•18 min
Apple isn’t wasting any time when it comes to ARM-ing up its entire Mac lineup, according to Mark Gurman. Wish is about to go public too. Airbnb and DoorDash are lifting their ranges. Is email signatures a bigger market than I ever imagined? And how drone deliveries might change how we design or homes and neighborhoods. Sponsors: BuyRaycon.com/tech Kiwico.com promocode RIDE for 50% first month! Links: Apple Preps Next Mac Chips With Aim to Outclass Top-End PCs (Bloomberg) Wish plans to price bet...
Dec 07, 2020•20 min
As promised, here’s Recode’s Peter Kafka, the dean of the media reporters, someone we should have had on the podcast a long time before this. Do checkout his podcast, Recode Media with Peter Kafka . Sponsors: ProtonMail.com/techmeme VistaPrint.com/techmeme DoubleUp.agency Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Dec 05, 2020•30 min
Another monumental crack across the land as Warner Brothers has maybe signaled the death of the business model Hollywood has relied on for 100 years. Is Stripe signaling it wants to completely rewire the global monetary system? Have Chinese scientists achieved Quantum Supremacy? Would you be interested in deep sea tourism? And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Fundrise.com/techmeme VistaPrint.com/techmeme Links: Warner Bros. will release all of its new 2021 movies simultane...
Dec 04, 2020•19 min
A new bill could regulate crypto in a way that crypto folks say would defeat the point of decentralization. Facebook antitrust could be coming next week. Loon is the first to turn the skies over to artificial intelligence. Hackers are targeting the vaccine rollout. And now, you too can contribute to Street View on Google Maps. Sponsors: Impartner.com/ridehomedemo Liftoff.to Links: US Lawmakers Introduce Bill That Would Require Stablecoin Issuers to Obtain Bank Charters (Coindesk) PhonePe raises ...
Dec 03, 2020•17 min
A full analysis of the huge Salesforce/Slack deal. What HPE leaving Silicon Valley means, even if only symbolically. Qualcomm’s new flagship Snapdragon chip. All the announcements from AWS re:Invent. A smartwatch with a 9 day battery life and putting holograms right on your mantle might finally be getting practical. Sponsors: ImPartner.com/ridehomedemo GetRoman.com/techmeme Links: Salesforce buys Slack in a $27.7B megadeal (TechCrunch) Why Salesforce bought Slack (Divinations) Hewlett Packard En...
Dec 02, 2020•18 min
Amazon launches EC2 Mac instances. Don’t call it Libra. At least, not the Libra Association. Is Samsung thinking about discontinuing the Galaxy Note line? Why DeepMind solving the protein folding problem is such a big deal. Are VR and AR about to blend? And the interesting case surrounding our main computer hacking law that was argued before the US Supreme Court yesterday. Sponsors: IMpartner.com/ridehomedemo Vistaprint.com/techmeme Links: AWS brings the Mac mini to its cloud (TechCrunch) Libra ...
Dec 01, 2020•19 min
DoorDash lines up for its IPO and seems to be cresting the wave perfectly. Airbnb is right behind it, swelling a bit as well. Salesforce looks like it will be buying Slack as soon as tomorrow. The UK finally, officially bans Huawei. The monster computer display I want very badly. And remembrances Tony Hsieh, gone, tragically, way too soon. Sponsors: MasterWorks.io promocode: ride MintMobile.com/ride Links: DoorDash seeks valuation of up to $32 billion in IPO, double what it was in June (CNBC) Ai...
Nov 30, 2020•18 min
Twitter is revving the little blue checkmark engine back up, but it will work slightly differently than before. Stripe is either already impossibly big, or not nearly as big as it should be, depending on your point of view. Are you ready to speculate about the next generation of Apple Silicon chips? And, uniquely for this week, the week… end longreads suggestions. Sponsors: VistaPrint.com/techmeme Tovala.com for $200 off the oven! Links: Twitter to relaunch account verifications in early 2021, a...
Nov 25, 2020•19 min
Apple’s head of global security is indicted on bribery charges. But… it’s a little nuanced. Facebook turned back the dial on divisive news stories after the election. Forget Substack; why OnlyFans might be the biggest story in terms of creator platforms right now. How Elon Musk became the second richest man in the world, and why Werner Herzog is mad at him. Sponsors: Tovala.com for $200 off the oven! VistaPrint.com/techmeme Links: Undersheriff, Apple security chief, businessman indicted in bribe...
Nov 24, 2020•16 min
Cloning Snapchat isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? Cloning TikTok. Even Snapchat has joined the bandwagon with Spotlight. Are people fleeing ads in feeds because the market is saturated? I break down all of last week’s big moves in Digital Media. And why the Covid Tracking Project deserves a friggin Nobel Prize. Sponsors: ProtonMail.com/techmeme Amazon.com/ridehome Links: Snapchat launches a TikTok-like feed called Spotlight, kick-started by paying creators (TechCrunch) Facebook Ads Could Be Rea...
Nov 23, 2020•19 min
A deep-dive conversation with hashtag inventor Chris Messina about what makes good product design, how to Product Hunt effectively, and his unique advice about finding success in the Tech Industry. Sponsors: VistaPrint.com/techmeme Netgear.com/bestwifi Watch this episode on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vekRLZcnfpU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Nov 21, 2020•1 hr 21 min
Facebook and Apple are calling each other names again. “Privacy Thief!” “Monopolist!” And why we might see more of this in the coming years. Roblox files maybe the most exciting S-1 of this IPO batch. Stadia is going to work around the App Store too. Another big milestone crossed for self-driving cars. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Netgear.com/bestwifi Amazon.com/techmeme Links: Apple doubles down on upcoming iOS 14 privacy features, slams Facebook for collecting ‘...
Nov 20, 2020•20 min
A major strategy shift for Google Pay might be a big deal. But a minor shift in YouTube monetization is the same old, same old. Apple pays to settle an investigation into iPhone throttling. Affirm files for its IPO. Apple Silicon continues to absolutely wow people, and by the way, the iPhone 12 Pro Max camera is wowing professional photographers. Sponsors: MailmanHQ.com Amazon.com/ridehome Links: Google Pay gets a major redesign with a new emphasis on personal finance (TechCrunch) YouTube will r...
Nov 19, 2020•21 min
The App Store has cracked open a bit. Apple will cut its vigorish in half, for most developers, but not the ones that make them the most money. Robinhood is probably gonna join the cavalcade of IPOs. Marissa Mayer is back. And the biggest social network you’ve probably never heard of is coming from France. Sponsors: Amazon.com/ridehome Netgear.com/bestwifi Links: Apple will reduce App Store cut to 15 percent for most developers starting January 1st (The Verge) 'Fortnite' now offers Houseparty vi...
Nov 18, 2020•17 min
Amazon launches Amazon Pharmacy. Twitter launches Fleets, but the real news is they’re testing a Clubhouse clone with audio rooms. Airbnb finally files to go public. And running through the flood of reviews for the new Macs with Apple Silicon, I’m starting to become a believer. Apple might be able to revolutionize—and run away with—mobile computing with these chips. Sponsors: Amazon.com/ridehome Netgear.com/bestwifi Links: Amazon jumps into the pharmacy business with online prescription fulfillm...
Nov 17, 2020•20 min
Continued problems with Big Sur have some people wondering if this is Apple’s version of Windows Vista. But actual benchmarks continue to show Apple Silicon is probably a big win. All the details of the Galaxy S21 lineup have leaked. A monster new GPU for supercomputers. And a PC monitor that can actually double as a modern smart tv. Sponsors: MasterWorks.io : code RIDE to skip the waitlist BuyRaycon.com/tech Links: macOS Big Sur Update Bricking Some Older MacBook Pro Models (MacRumors) Apple Si...
Nov 16, 2020•18 min
