Can Minecraft Earth be the killer app for AR? Are the best and brightest shunning working at Facebook? Has drone maker DJI beaten GoPro at its own game? And do I have some killer weekend longreads suggestions? You better believe I do. Sponsors: EthosLife.com/ride WeWorkRemotely.com Links: Hewlett Packard Enterprise to buy supercomputer maker Cray in $1.30 billion deal (Reuters) MINECRAFT EARTH GOES A STEP BEYOND POKÉMON GO TO COVER THE WORLD IN BLOCKS (TheVerge) Facebook has struggled to hire ta...
May 17, 2019•16 min
The hammer is coming down on Huawei, China blocks Wikipedia, Google clarifies the Works with Nest shutdown, a 1TB microSD, more 5G rollouts, what should we think of Quibi and you didn’t fall for that porn scam did you? Sponsors: WeWorkRemotely.com Stamps.com, click on the Microphone at the TOP of the homepage and type in RIDE Links: Trump administration cracks down on giant Chinese tech firm, escalating clash with Beijing (Washington Post) Trump’s Huawei Threat Is the Nuclear Option to Halt Chin...
May 16, 2019•16 min
There’s a new major chip flaw called ZombieLoad, the major tech companies sign on to the so-called Christchurch Call to Action, San Francisco bans facial recognition tech, is Google effectively deprecating search, and did Beyonce make $300M on Uber? Sponsors: Tech.FidelityCareers.com WeWorkRemotely.com Links: New secret-spilling flaw affects almost every Intel chip since 2011 (TechCrunch) Facebook changes livestream rules after New Zealand shooting (CNN) White House declines to back Christchurch...
May 15, 2019•20 min
WhatsApp discovered one of the craziest flaws I’ve ever heard about in mobile, Disney now controls all of Hulu, now we’ve got folding laptops, the One Plus 7 Pro is another strike against $1,000 phones and is bitcoin back? Sponsors: Joybird.com/ride Promocode: RIDE WeWorkRemotely Links: WhatsApp voice calls used to inject Israeli spyware on phones (Financial Times) WhatsApp discovers 'targeted' surveillance attack (BBC) Disney to take full control over Hulu, Comcast has option to sell its stake ...
May 14, 2019•16 min
A Supreme Court ruling might spell trouble for Apple and others, Amazon is automating the boxers out of a job, Discord is doing some serious MAU’s, what the death of Nest means for IOT, and a LITERAL Bitcoin treasure hunt. Sponsors: WeWorkRemotely.com Sonic.com/ride Links: Supreme Court deals Apple major setback in App Store antitrust case (CNBC) Exclusive: Amazon rolls out machines that pack orders and replace jobs (Reuters) Amazon Offers to Pay Employees $10,000 to Quit Their Jobs and Deliver ...
May 13, 2019•17 min
Not too long ago I did a longreads suggestion about Huawei and listener Dexter Thillien got in touch, because he’s a telecoms analyst, and he was actually quoted in the article. Over email, he educated me about some of my misconceptions about Huawei and I was like, “Don’t just school me! Come on the podcast and let’s catch everyone on up Huawei!” And so, today, we do that. Where did Huawei come from? How did it get to a place where it’s the pre-eminent 5G infrastructure firm? Is Huawei just a to...
May 12, 2019•29 min
I knew Uber was going public this week, and it occurred to me that since this podcast started, my default position has been: Uber: super cool company, but a lot of people have a lot of doubts about them. But I realized, I had never explained that, or gone into detail about WHY people feel that way… unlike how we’ve done with other things. So, I reached out to Shira Ovide at Bloomberg, not to talk trash about Uber, but to… let’s say… get the skeptic’s take about Uber’s business model— which is th...
May 11, 2019•24 min
Uber’s big IPO had some issues, smartphone shipments are at a 5 year low, do you need an app for unsubscribing to things and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: MacStadium.com/ridehome Metalab.co Links: Uber Jackpot: Inside One of the Greatest Startup Investments of All Time (WSJ) Americans Have So Many Subscriptions They Need Apps to Track and Cancel Them (Bloomberg) Blue Origin: Bezos company aims to take people to moon by 2024 (The Guardian) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: ...
May 10, 2019•17 min
Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes says it’s time to break up Facebook, more developer details from I/O, Uber has an arbitration problem, shoe tech is real, and get ready for 64 megapixel smartphone cameras. Sponsors: Wix.com/podcast Metalab.co Links: It’s Time to Break Up Facebook (Chris Hughes/NYTimes) Google is testing Mini-apps in Search and Google Assistant (VentureBeat) Google to allow users to pay for Android apps using cash (TechCrunch) Uber’s Arbitration Addiction Could Be Death by 60,000...
May 09, 2019•17 min
Google is talking big on privacy, but going after cookies helps their bottom line as well, why the Pixel 3a might usher in a new era of flagship “lite” phones, the huge Binance bitcoin hack and why does Bird want to sell you a scooter, not just rent you one? Sponsors: Metalab.co Vistaprint.com/RIDE Links: Google strengthens Chrome's privacy controls (TechCrunch) Facebook talked privacy, Google actually built it (TechCrunch) US digital advertising exceeded $100 billion in 2019 (TechCrunch) Google...
May 08, 2019•16 min
All the news that I could possibly grab from Google’s I/O keynote, again, Alexa IS spying on you, Cruise Automation raises a big round... and will we ever actually see the Galaxy Fold? Sponsors: Lightstream.com/ride Metalab.co Links: THE PIXEL 3A PUTS GOOGLE’S PHENOMENAL CAMERA IN A $400 PHONE (The Verge) Alexa has been eavesdropping on you this whole time (The Washington Post) Check your Alexa recording archive here Study: Voice Assistants Far From Hot Marketplace For Buying (MediaPost) GM’s se...
May 07, 2019•17 min
All the announcements from Microsoft’s Build 2019, Mozilla fixes the Firefox snafu, we think, a grab-bag of Apple rumors and why Netflix’s competitive resiliency might be here to stay. Sponsors: Legacybox.com/ride Metalab.co Links Microsoft's IntelliCode for AI-assisted coding comes out of preview (TechCrunch) Microsoft aims to modernize and secure voting with ElectionGuard (TechCrunch) Add-ons disabled or failing to install in Firefox (Mozilla Add-ons Blog) Amazon can already ship to 72% of US ...
May 06, 2019•18 min
This Facebook cryptocurrency is real, people, Microsoft has a blockchain product as well, Verizon is looking to unload Tumblr, Softbank is considering an IPO for the vision fund and, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: PixelUnion.net Instacart. Promocode RIDE at checkout. Links: Facebook Building Cryptocurrency-Based Payments System (WSJ) Project Libra: Facebook to launch stablecoin-based payments network (The Block) Report: Facebook looking to disrupt credit cards with crypt...
May 03, 2019•18 min
Facebook might get a federally appointed privacy official, Google lets you set a time-limit on what it tracks about you, what Apple had to pay Qualcomm, Russia might effectively leave the open web, a Wikipedia competitor, and is the low-hanging fruit gone for the big tech oligarchs? Sponsors: ReMars.amazon.com PixelUnion.net Links: Exclusive: New privacy oversight on the table for Facebook, Zuckerberg (Politico) Google can now automatically delete your location, app, and search activity data (Ve...
May 02, 2019•16 min
Apple’s earnings were bad, but investors rejoiced, Andreessen Horowitz is continuing its transformation, Eric Schmidt is leaving Google’s board, don’t sleep on Hulu in the streaming wars and some thoughts on F8. Sponsors: PixelUnion.net Sonic.com/ride Links: Apple Trade-Ins and Discounts Spark iPhone Revival (Bloomberg) A16z ushers in new fund strategy with $2.75B (TechCrunch) Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt will leave Alphabet’s board after 18 years (The Verge) Scoop: e-Bike startup led by mobil...
May 01, 2019•17 min
All the news from the Facebook F8 conference, Cheddar gets acquired, Alphabet shows weakness, and why does Ring, the smart doorbell, need a news editor? Sponsors: FlatironSchool.com/techmeme PixelUnion.net Links Facebook details Messenger updates: New desktop app, social video, and Project LightSpeed (VentureBeat) Instagram will test hiding public like counts in Canada (The Verge) Altice USA Buys Streaming-Video Network Cheddar for $200 Million (WSJ) Google Shows First Cracks in Years (WSJ) Alph...
Apr 30, 2019•15 min
There’s no reason the hotel chains can’t do what Airbnb does, why superzoom lenses might be the real innovation in smartphones right now, we’re almost done with Tech Earnings Season and why was GOT so dark last night? Sponsors: Pixelunion.com/agency GetQuip.com/ride Links: Spotify is first to 100 million paid subscribers (The Verge) Beats’ Powerbeats Pro earbuds will ship on May 10th for $250 (The Verge) Marriott Is Officially Getting Into the Homesharing Business (Skift) "Superzoom" lenses will...
Apr 29, 2019•17 min
I wanted to talk to Dave Bittner of CyberWire because the CyberWire podcasts are my go to source for keeping up with the security space in a broad way. And I’m glad I did, Dave is a super knowledgeable pro, and we do get into things like those huge credential dumps, password best practices and that Triton virus that has me so worried. But we started off by going on a weird tangent about Facebook where I found myself arguing for Facebook for some reason, and we ended by really going off the rails...
Apr 28, 2019•30 min
This one requires a bit of explaining. Remember that segment I did about Change A View, that subreddit that was becoming its own site to try to create a platform for healthy discourse and debate online? They got backing from—and technical support from—an Alphabet subsidiary called Jigsaw. So, I went down a rabbit hole with Jigsaw, because they weren’t on my radar, and I learned that their remit is to… seemingly… try to make the Internet not suck as much. So, long story short, I reached out to so...
Apr 27, 2019•25 min
Amazon wants all Prime deliveries to be one-day shipping, Slack files for its IPO and Uber sets its price range, someone with a personal vendetta to fix Gmail and of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Tech.FidelityCareers.com Tiny.website Links: Amazon smashes earnings expectations (CNBC) Slack files to go public, revealing $400 million in revenue and $139 million in losses (CNBC) Uber sets IPO terms, could be valued at $84 billion (Axios) Regulators Around the World Are Circli...
Apr 26, 2019•20 min
It is just an earnings bonanza: Facebook? Good! Tesla? Bad! Microsoft? Really good! In fact, king of the world again! Nintendo? Not so good. Oh, and the whole Luminary, podcasting wars, Game of Phones and Nick Quah called it, had a crazy new wrinkle today… Sponsors: FlatironSchool.com/Techmeme Tiny.website Links: Facebook Reports First Quarter 2019 Results (Facebook Investor Relations) Facebook jumps as Stories users and ads show promising growth (CNBC) Nintendo Disappoints With Tepid Outlook, N...
Apr 25, 2019•17 min
iFixit thinks it knows why the Galaxy Fold is having issues, Wing becomes the first drone delivery operator cleared by the FAA, why Netflix has gone deep into debt and have the podcasting wars begun? Sponsors: Tech.FidelityCareers.com Tiny.Website Links: Samsung Galaxy Fold Teardown (iFixit) Here’s Why We Think Galaxy Folds Are Failing (iFixit) May to ban Huawei from providing 'core' parts of UK 5G network (TheGuardian) Google Spinoff’s Drone Delivery Business First to Get FAA Approval (Bloomber...
Apr 24, 2019•18 min
Tesla has an event that some people say is all reality distortion field, Facebook makes some interesting hires, Twitter is quietly chirping a tune Wall Street likes and Amazon Key is here to deliver inside your house. Sponsors: Tiny.website EthosLife.com Links Here are Elon Musk’s wildest predictions about Tesla’s self-driving cars (The Verge) Facebook’s new chief lawyer helped write the Patriot Act (The Verge) Twitter stock surges more than 15% on earnings beat (CNBC) Key by Amazon in-home deli...
Apr 23, 2019•17 min
The Samsung Galaxy Fold is delayed, Sri Lanka blocking social media is complicated, how you’re being tracked in the airport and at work, and why there’s no such thing as a free lunch when it comes to free apps. Sponsors: tech.FidelityCareers.com Tiny.webiste Links: Samsung’s Galaxy Fold Smartphone Release Delayed (WSJ) Sri Lankan government blocks social media and imposes curfew following deadly blasts (The Washington Post) Zillow launches AI-powered 3D home tours in the U.S. and Canada (Venture...
Apr 22, 2019•17 min
Listeners ask questions. I try to give coherent answers. Sponsors: VistaPrint/ride remars.amazon.com, promo code: ride Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 21, 2019•20 min
Lyft has gone public. Uber will do so soon. So will Airbnb. Quartz’s Alison Griswold covers this stuff every day, and she has a great newsletter, covering this stuff every week. It’s called Oversharing, you can get it for free at oversharing.substack.com… Because she covers the sharing everything… we talk to her today about the ride sharing companies… but also about the deliver me something companies and especially, the e-scooter companies… the economics of all things sharing! Alison's newslette...
Apr 20, 2019•26 min
Facebook finds a new way to handle the privacy scandal of the day, free, ad supported music from Amazon and Google, Dieter ended up reviewing the Samsung Galaxy Fold as best he could, and of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Mealime Joybird.com/RIDE Links: Facebook says it stored millions of Instagram passwords unencrypted on its servers (Recode) Emtek announces they will be closing BBM consumer services on May 31 (CrackBerry) Amazon Music Launches Free Streaming Tier, Through...
Apr 19, 2019•16 min
Samsung responds to the Galaxy Fold review unit issues, Google and Amazon end their streaming video spat, Pinterest and Zoom have their IPOs and could the Chinese web end up being more popular than the open web? Mealime app remars.amazon.com, promo code: ride Links: Samsung responds to Galaxy Fold screen damage: ‘we will thoroughly inspect these units’ (The Verge) Here's why Galaxy Fold displays are already failing (Android Central) Facebook says it 'unintentionally uploaded' 1.5 million people'...
Apr 18, 2019•17 min
There’s no other way to describe it: Qualcomm got Apple to surrender, are things back on for an Apple Car, Microsoft has a new Hub and a new Xbox One S, and why Hulu has an advantage the other streamers don’t. Sponsors: Lightstream.com/ride Mealime app Links: Qualcomm surges after announcing a settlement with Apple over patent royalties (CNBC) Apple Settles With Qualcomm, Intel Exits Modems, Apple’s Miscalculation (Stratechery) Qualcomm just beat Apple into submission (SemiAccurate) Exclusive: A...
Apr 17, 2019•17 min
YouTube’s algorithms are abhorrent in a new way, details on the next Playstation console, Google makes nice with developers, and three interesting sides to the TikTok story. Sponsors: EveryKey.com 20% off with promocode RIDE20 Mealime App Links: YouTube shows 9/11 link on live videos of unrelated Notre Dame fire (The Verge) EXCLUSIVE: WHAT TO EXPECT FROM SONY'S NEXT-GEN PLAYSTATION (Wired) 15 MONTHS OF FRESH HELL INSIDE FACEBOOK (Wired) Next major macOS version will include standalone Music, Pod...
Apr 16, 2019•17 min