Apple has released an official Covid-19 App. Kuo says Arm-based Macbooks are coming next year. Sony is spinning off a lot of the parts of itself that make it a tech company. Instacart workers are planning a nationwide strike on Monday. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Metalab.co Kiwico.com/ride Links: Apple releases new COVID-19 app and website based on CDC guidance (Apple Newsroom) Kuo: Apple to Launch Several Macs With Arm-Based Processors in 2021, USB4 Support Comi...
Mar 27, 2020•18 min
Apple is weighing its options, and delaying the release of the 5G iPhone until 2021 is being discussed. Airbnb is offering free housing for medical workers. An interesting raise Thursday that wants to be the flip side of Shopify in the ecommerce space. And a preview of Huawei’s upcoming Google-less flagship phone. Sponsors: Metalab.co Sanebox.com/techmeme Links: Apple weighs delaying 5G iPhone launch by months, sources say (Nikkei Asian Review) Apple Testing AR/VR Headset With HTC Vive-Like Cont...
Mar 26, 2020•17 min
How Facebook is coping with Corona, Google Podcasts comes to iOS, ad blocking officially comes to Safari, when Apple thinks it can re-open stores, Singapore open-sources it’s Corona-contact-tracing app, and have your screen time notifications horrified you this week? You’re not alone. Sponsors: Metalab.co Rhone.com/ridehome Promocode: ridehome for 20 percent off Links: Facebook Is ‘Just Trying to Keep the Lights On’ as Traffic Soars in Pandemic (NYTimes) The Coronavirus Revives Facebook as a New...
Mar 25, 2020•17 min
A wicked Windows zero day is out in the wild without a patch. Google is open sourcing a cool new AI architecture. Instagram wants you to co-watch your feed with a friend. A popular “challenger bank” comes to the US. And the iPad Pro reviews are in. Sponsors: Metalab.co Zapier.com/ride Links: Microsoft says hackers are attacking Windows users with a new unpatched bug (TechCrunch) Apple promises App Store expansion to 20 new countries starting next month (9to5Mac) Google open-sources framework tha...
Mar 24, 2020•18 min
The pros and cons of using big data, cellphones and the surveillance economy to combat the coronavirus. More iPhone rumors from Ming-Chi Kuo. Is the Oculus Quest bringing VR into the mainstream? And how to block your messy background when you’re on a Zoom conference call for work. Sponsors: Metalab.co Mintmobile.com/ride Links: European mobile operators share data for coronavirus fight (Reuters) Taiwan's new 'electronic fence' for quarantines leads wave of virus monitoring (Reuters) Hidden data ...
Mar 23, 2020•17 min
WSJ Technology columnist Chris Mims and I talk WFH best practices, and how the Tech Industry has responded to the Covid-19 crisis thusfar. Sponsors: DoubleUp.agency * KeepComingBackPodcast.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Mar 21, 2020•25 min
Yelp is showing how the restaurant industry is in deep trouble. Instagram makes ready to clone the last Snapchat feature it hadn’t copped yet. The very interesting lessons behind a self-driving startup closing its doors. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: TinyCapital.com Zapier.com/ride Links: Amazon AWS launches $20 million initiative to help fight the coronavirus (CNBC) Instagram prototypes Snapchat-style disappearing text messages (TechCrunch) Microsoft’s DirectX 12 ...
Mar 20, 2020•17 min
Square wants to become a bank. Microsoft Teams might be rocketing ahead of Slack in terms of user numbers. The EU wants streaming companies to cut back on HD streams. Covid might be depressing music streaming, and some analysis of the iPad becoming a regular old computer. Sponsors: TinyCapital.com Blinkist.com/techmeme Links: Square gains FDIC conditional approval for a banking license (Silicon Angle) Microsoft Teams passes 44 million daily active users, thanks in part to coronavirus (VentureBea...
Mar 19, 2020•17 min
It’s a day of new! New iPads pro, new Macbooks Air, new Macs Mini, and more bye bye butterfly keyboard! A new Transcribe for Android, a new design overhaul for Slack, all the specs for the new Playstation 5, and why Cameo is a new app to keep your eye on. Sponsors: Tinycapital.com Zapier.com/ride Linkedin.com/ride Links: Apple announces new iPad Pro with trackpad support and a wild keyboard cover (The Verge) The MacBook Air gets an updated keyboard and souped-up specs, starting at $999 (TechCrun...
Mar 18, 2020•17 min
Big acquisition for GitHub... which really means: big acquisition for Microsoft as it continues to gobble up the entire developer stack. The iPhone 9 chips will not be underpowered at all. How Amazon is, in fact, trying to cope with the Corona-surge. And is this crisis the tipping point for streaming media? Sponsors: Tinycapital.com TryExpressVPN.com/ride Links: Microsoft's GitHub acquires npm to help JavaScript developers (WindowsCentral) iOS 14 code confirms Apple planning ‘iPhone 9 Plus’ with...
Mar 17, 2020•17 min
Apple fined by France, the FCC nets a bundle at auction, new Beats earbuds, all the specs for the new Xbox Series X, and how Google got caught by surprise by President Trump’s announcement regarding Coronavirus work. Sponsors: Tinycapital.com TryExpressVPN.com/ride Links: Apple fined a record $1.2 billion by French antitrust authorities (CNBC) FCC’s largest spectrum auction nets $4.47 billion for 5G mmWave bands (VentureBeat) Beats announces $149 Powerbeats with 15 hours of battery life (The Ver...
Mar 16, 2020•17 min
Has the Coronavirus proven that datacaps from ISPs are a sham? Comcast accidentally published the numbers of customers who paid them not to do that. Airbnb continues to be in trouble. Cool no-code tools from Atlassian, and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: DoubleUp.agency BuyRaycon.com/tech Links: Housebound Italian Kids Strain Network With Fortnite Marathon (Bloomberg) AT&T Suspends Broadband Data Caps During Coronavirus Crisis (Vice) Comcast accidentally published 200...
Mar 13, 2020•18 min
Are the factories coming back online in China? Is G Suite quietly one of the biggest platforms out there? Why is Magic Leap “exploring options” and why does it want everyone to know that? An interesting raise. And I really didn’t mean to crash the crypto markets with my comments yesterday. Sponsors: Protect.eset.com/ride DoubleUp.agency Links: Apple Closes All 17 Stores in Italy Amid Coronavirus Pandemic (Bloomberg) Twitter makes working from home mandatory for employees around the world in resp...
Mar 12, 2020•17 min
E3 is cancelled. Uber might ban drivers AND riders who test positive for Coronavirus. A 2nd gen Chromecast Ultra might be coming. A Peloton-style workout app from Apple might be coming. A look at Amazon’s entry into the suddenly hot ARM-s race. And am I wrong or wasn’t crypto supposed to help during the apocalypse? Sponsors: Protect.eset.com/ride DoubleUp.agency Links: E3 2020 Canceled After ‘Overwhelming Concerns’ About Coronavirus (Variety) Uber may suspend accounts of riders, drivers who test...
Mar 11, 2020•17 min
A leaked version of Apple’s iOS 14 reveals a treasure trove of details about an upcoming iPhone and iPad, augmented reality software, and tracking tags; an analytics company has secretly operated VPN and ad-blocking apps and gathered data from tens of millions of users without proper disclosure, a company offering panopticon service to the state of Utah once developed disguised social-media scraping apps, Google adds quantum computing to its machine-learning open-source TensorFlow development ki...
Mar 10, 2020•19 min
Another day of markets in turmoil, another Robinhood outage. Jack Dorsey lives to fight another day. Apple is repairing some iPad Airs for free, and might bring 64 MP cameras to the iPhone 12. Gaming out the reality of a ARM-based Mac. And let me hip you to “sleep streaming” on TikTok. Sponsors: DoubleUp.agency Links: Robinhood goes down again, causing clients to miss out on another historic trading day (CNBC) Twitter CEO Dorsey keeps his job after company strikes investment deal with Elliott Ma...
Mar 09, 2020•17 min
I’ve said before, Steven Levy is the dean of the tech writers. All the way back in 1984 his classic book Hackers defined a tech space that wasn’t even fully aware of itself yet. Steven has written book length histories and examinations of Apple and Google, and now, with his new book, Facebook: The Inside Story , he finally tells the full Facebook story for the first time. Not the movie version, but the real story of how Facebook became Facebook from the earliest days at Harvard through the rise ...
Mar 07, 2020•30 min
Another flaw in Intel chips, this time unfixable. Y Combinator demo day is going online only. Sonos won’t brick your old hardware anymore. Jack Dorsey probably won’t be moving to Africa anymore. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Links: Metalab.co TheUSample.com/product Links: 5 years of Intel CPUs and chipsets have a concerning flaw that’s unfixable (Ars Technica) Apple is rejecting coronavirus apps that aren’t from health organizations, app makers say (CNBC) YC W20 Online Demo ...
Mar 06, 2020•16 min
More Cornavirus worries, Apple is allowing ads in push notifications, Google is switching to mobile first indexing, hackers can hack your car keys, Samsung’s 4k and 8k tv lineup is here, and why I’m struggling to find a reason NOT to subscribe to DoNotPay at this point. Sponsors: Metalab.co Capterra.com/ride Links: Microsoft tells Bay Area and Puget Sound employees to work from home if possible as coronavirus spreads (CNBC) Apple Warns Stores About a Shortage of Replacement iPhones (Bloomberg) E...
Mar 05, 2020•16 min
You already know Tweets, but let me introduce you to Fleets. Robinhood explains its outages. Google assistant can now read you webpages out loud. Netlify is an interesting raise. And why getting a big-named VC in your seed round might actually be detrimental to your startup. Sponsors: Metalab.co Kiwico.com/ride Links: Twitter Is Finally Doing Stories (Buzzfeed) Robinhood offers $15 discount, blames outage on record trades (TechCrunch) Robinhood offers traders $15 for going down as markets gained...
Mar 04, 2020•16 min
Waymo has an interesting raise. Interesting for what it says about self-driving and about Google Moon Shots. Robinhood has the worst possible outages at the worst possible time. A new player in the quantum computing race. And sports tech offers a new way to watch… golf? Sponsors: Metalab.co Legalzoom.com Code: "ride" at checkout Links: Waymo raises $2.25 billion to scale up autonomous vehicles operations (VentureBeat) Robinhood Trading Site Seizes Up, Customers Miss Stock Rally (Bloomberg) Honey...
Mar 03, 2020•17 min
Some investors want Jack out as Twitter CEO. Apple settles a class action lawsuit for half a billion dollars. If you listen regularly, I bet you can guess why some game developers don’t want to work with Stadia. Spotify wants artists to pay to promote their own songs. And AT&T TV is a new way to re-invent the cable bundle. Sponsors: Metalab.co Zapier.com/ride Links: Rajeev Suri to step down as Nokia CEO; Pekka Lundmark to take over (TechCrunch) Singer’s Elliott Seeks to Replace Twitter CEO D...
Mar 02, 2020•18 min
Are S10 sales in Korea the first indication of the Covid-19 effect? Is the FCC gonna fine the wireless carriers enough for selling location data? Is Apple going to release an iPad Pro with a trackpad? A hybrid scooter/tiny car. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: TinyCapital.com Netgear.com/bestwifi Links: Amazon bars one million products for false coronavirus claims (Reuters) Initial sales of Galaxy S20 series downbeat amid virus fears (The Korea Herald) FCC to propose ...
Feb 28, 2020•17 min
What else? More Coronavirus stuff. F8 8'nt gonna happen. Roblox is the most interesting raise in a long time. DoorDash files for an IPO but don’t expect it soon. Nokia is exploring its options. Oh, and the first reviews for the Galaxy S20 Ultra suggest the cameras are having issues. Sponsors: TinyCapital.com Links: Facebook cancels F8 developers conference over coronavirus (CNET) Microsoft warns it will miss guidance for segment that includes Windows because of coronavirus (CNBC) Roblox raises $...
Feb 27, 2020•17 min
Facebook bans ads around the Cornavirus, a deeper dive into how the Coronavirus crisis might be affecting iPhone development, Bob Iger is no longer Disney’s leader (kinda), why Waymo is hiring like crazy in hopes of a self-driving breakthrough, and if you see someone using an iPhone in a mystery movie, guess what? They’re probably not the bad guy. Sponsors: TinyCapital.com TryGrasshopper.com/ride Links: Facebook is banning ads that promise to cure the coronavirus (BusinessInsider) Coronavirus cl...
Feb 26, 2020•18 min
Netflix launches Top 10 lists, Firefox rolls out DNS over HTTPS, Amazon Go Grocery means no cashiers or checkout lines, consolidation or super app in the Southeast Asian on demand transport space, and why this might be Signal’s moment to go mainstream. Sponsors: Facebook: The Inside Story by Steven Levy Tinycapital.com Rhone.com/ridehome Promocode: ridehome for 20 percent off Links: New Netflix feature reveals the top 10 most popular programs on its service (TechCrunch) Netflix added a top 10 li...
Feb 25, 2020•16 min
The phantom announcements from MWC start trickling in. Safari might be getting strict with HTTPS certificates. Apple might release an ARM-based Mac as soon as early 2021. TONS of specs revealed concerning the Xbox Series X. And Fintech continues to be on a roll. Sponsors: TinyCapital.com MintMobile.com/ride Links: Huawei unveils the Mate Xs and MatePad Pro 5G w/ no Play Store access (9to5Google) Intel debuts 5G server and base station chips, plus a PC network card (VentureBeat) Apple drops a bom...
Feb 24, 2020•18 min
I am honored to be speaking today to Lloyd Minor, the Dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine. He has a new book out called Discovering Precision Health , and if you are interested in health tech at all, ESPECIALLY if you are interested in trying your hand at a health tech startup? This is required reading. And for the rest of us, it’s also a great primer on how tech is about to transform health, and what we can (hopefully) look forward to as tech finally (again, hopefully) disrupts t...
Feb 23, 2020•24 min
Well, we mentioned it a couple weeks ago, but Tesla has had quite the month. Maybe one of the banner months of its entire life as a company. No better time to check in on the world of Elon Musk with Rob Mauer of the always excellent Tesla Daily podcast. Why did Tesla’s stock shoot to the moon, come back down a bit, and then inch back up toward the moon this month? What are the fundamentals behind that excellent earnings report? Is this it? Have the Tesla bulls won? Such a fascinating company… Sp...
Feb 22, 2020•32 min
Shopify joins the Libra Association, Facebook will pay you for your data in one specific instance, Google is cutting down on apps using background location, more Coronavirus cancellations and the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Metalab.co Podcorn.com (promocode: "ride" at checkout) Links: Shopify joins Facebook's cryptocurrency Libra Association (TechCrunch) Google Resists Demands From States in Digital-Ad Probe (WSJ) Facebook will now pay you for your voice recordings (The Verge) Googl...
Feb 21, 2020•18 min
