Microsoft’s big HoloLens deal with the Pentagon is maybe the big bang for the augmented reality industry. Amazon says their folks can come back to work soon, and in fact, they’d prefer if you did. Bearish signs for the work remotely movement? Why these are boom times for chip makers. And why Siri’s new voices think of gender as a spectrum. Sponsors: Today In Digital Marketing Podcast AirMedCareNetwork.com/tech offer code TECH Links: Microsoft wins U.S. Army contract for augmented reality headset...
Apr 01, 2021•20 min
Facebook has announced News Feed changes to bring chronology back. LinkedIn is working on a Clubhouse rival and I think that makes total sense. Apple actually leads an interesting investment round. Deliveroo has a disastrous first day on the public markets. And how about Roblox, but inside the Unreal Engine? Sponsors: PingIdentity.com TinyCapital.com Links: Facebook Adds New 'Most Recent' Timeline to Switch to Chronological Posts (MacRumors) LinkedIn confirms it’s working on a Clubhouse rival, t...
Mar 31, 2021•19 min
It’s actually a nutso butso news day. Spotify is launching a Clubhouse competitor. Amazon is spinning up a new line of custom silicon. Big updates to Google Maps. We know the dates for WWDC. Amazon seems to be doing some Twitter sock puppetry. A bunch of new phones from Xiaomi. Substack is raising another big round. And that’s not all. There’s so much that happened today in the world of tech, that I can’t even promo it all, so let’s just get to it. Sponsors: TinyCapital.com Metalab.com Links: Sp...
Mar 30, 2021•20 min
New York, Japan, China and the EU are all gonna try out digital vaccine passports. Visa is gonna try out a stablecoin to settle transactions. The official PHP Git repository was hacked. Boston Dynamics has a new robot that isn’t as scary… unless you’re a warehouse worker. And what is Amazon’s aggressive PR recently all about? Sponsors: Fundrise.com/techmeme Grammarly.com/techmeme Links: New York launches nation's first 'vaccine passports.' Others are working on similar ideas, but many details mu...
Mar 29, 2021•19 min
This is the clubhouse room from Monday, March 22nd. Topics discussed here include the situation with the Dispo app. Zoom’s new SDK. The fate of the HomePod and that secret new gizmo inside the HomePod Mini, and a deep dive into two of the longreads from LAST week: Moore's Law for Everything post and Tim O’Reilly’s piece The End of Silicon Valley as We Know It? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Mar 28, 2021•1 hr 43 min
So, as I said, this is one of the clubhouse rooms we did this week. In fact, it’s the one from last night. Chris convinced me to split the two rooms into two episodes, so I’m releasing this one, from Friday first, and tomorrow I’ll post the one we did Monday night. Topics for this episode: Slack getting into social audio, Microsoft buying Discord, what the heck is BitClout! The great Brady Dale @BradyDale from Coindesk helped us out with that. And more explication of my rant concerning the whole...
Mar 27, 2021•1 hr 50 min
The House tech hearings were a nothing burger, but I’ll try to explain what that means for us. Apple is considering a more rugged Apple Watch. Slack is doing a Clubhouse clone and… stories. WeWork is back, with a SPAC. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: EditorX.com ThoughtWorks Technology Podcast Links: Yes or no: Are these tech hearings doing anything? (The Verge) Apple Considers Launching Rugged Watch for Extreme Sports (Bloomberg) Slack is getting new audio features (...
Mar 26, 2021•22 min
Remember that Onion headline, F- Everything, We’re Doing Five Blades? Well, Samsung says welcome to the DDR5 era. There’s more tech testimony on Capitol Hill today. That Arizona bill that would have regulated the App Store mysteriously disappears. Deliveroo is facing a full on revolt. And my wife covers the Chrissy Teigen twitter news . Sponsors: Calderalab.com use code TECHMEME (all caps one word) at checkout Masterworks.io , promocode ride Links: Samsung Announces 512GB DDR5 Memory That Is Twi...
Mar 25, 2021•20 min
You can now use Bitcoin to buy a Tesla. You can now DM anyone on Slack. Intel is now doing what Ben Thompson has been telling them to do for years. What Medium is doing to journalists is dumb. What Verizon is doing with Yahoo+ is dumb. And is the Chief Impact Officer title a real role, or is it… dumb? Sponsors: The Hello, User Podcast From Ping Identity BuyRaycon.com/tech for 15% off Links: Elon Musk says people can now buy a Tesla with bitcoin (CNBC) WhatsApp for work: Slack is turning into a f...
Mar 24, 2021•20 min
Microsoft is reportedly in talks to buy Discord but Discord might just take itself public instead. A ton of video game news including an Xbox rebranding, a new Niantic partnership with Nintendo, and new rumors of that upgraded Nintendo switch. A new consortium wants to take the pain out of browser compatibility and Apple faces a class action lawsuit over the butterfly keyboards. Links: Microsoft in Talks to Buy Discord for More Than $10 Billion (Bloomberg) Microsoft rebrands Xbox Live to Xbox ne...
Mar 23, 2021•18 min
Red hot app Dispo is losing some big name investors and the founder is leaving the startup’s board. As anticipated, Zoom goes platform. Microsoft is beginning a soft HQ reopening. The secret sensor found in the HomePod mini. And the smart startup that has cloned Amazon’s biggest competitive moats, to make them available to everybody. Sponsors: Kiwico.com , promocode "ride" for 30 percent off! BuyRaycon.com/tech for 15% off Links: David Dobrik, Losing Sponsors and Fans, Steps Down From App He Co-...
Mar 22, 2021•17 min
Last weekend a listener to this show, Ti Zhang, ( @zero_chill_tea ) tagged me on twitter around a conversation they were having about NFTs and the degree to which, lots of folks in the art world are not so thrilled with the advent of NFTs. They said, sure, we see all the headlines around famous artists and celebrities and all the money being made. But was I aware that artists were seeing their work stolen and sold as NFTs? That artists were taking their work down from the internet to make sure i...
Mar 20, 2021•34 min
It’s app platform product news day! Instagram is working on a version of the service suitable for kids. Twitter wants you to watch YouTube in-stream. Telegram is basically adding all the Clubhouse features I’ve been dreaming of. Was an anti-Apple rebel alliance born last night in a Clubhouse room? Why China is banning Tesla in some cases. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: EditorX.com Molekule.com , code "techmeme" at checkout to save as much as $120! Links: Facebook Is ...
Mar 19, 2021•19 min
It’s an Apple rumor Thursday from both the boys, Gurman and Kuo. Sony is taking what it’s learned from the DualSense controllers and bringing that to VR. YouTube rolls out its TikTok rival. Spotify wants you to know it gets artists paid. And I do my best to explain the whole creator economy controversy that has sprung up over at Substack. Sponsors: Tovala.com/ride Links: Apple Nears Launch of New iPads After Stay-At-Home Sales Boost (Bloomberg) PS5's VR 2.0: First Look At New Controllers (GameSp...
Mar 18, 2021•18 min
Samsung’s second Unpacked event of the year brings new midrange phones. But are they really discontinuing the Galaxy Note, and are chip shortages the real reason why? Are reductions in app store fees really what they’re cracked up to be? Has Uber had a change of heart or just an acknowledgement of the inevitable? And the bear case for Clubhouse that everyone is talking about. Sponsors: NewYorker.com/techmeme promocode techmeme Tovala.com/ride Links: Samsung’s midrange phones now feature fast ref...
Mar 17, 2021•16 min
Google’s 2nd gen Nest Hub gets sleep tracking thanks to the Soli chip. Intel’s 11th Gen desktop chips launch. Xi brings the hammer down on Chinese tech. And the craziest cellphone hack I’ve ever heard isn’t a hack at all, since it’s in a nutso-buttso unregulated grey area. Sponsors: Fundrise.com/techmeme Tovala.com/ride Links: Google announces 2nd-gen Nest Hub with Soli-powered ‘Sleep Sensing’ for $99 (9to5Google) Intel’s 11th Gen desktop chips are here with faster speeds but fewer cores (The Ve...
Mar 16, 2021•19 min
Stripe, by some measures, has become the most successful Silicon Valley startup of all time, with their recent raise. Airtable too has an impressively interesting raise. Facebook wants to find you a vaccine appointment. The US is looking to overhaul its cybersecurity missile shield. And checking in on the whole Jack Ma situation. Sponsors: MintMobile.com/ride ExpressVPN.com/techmeme Links: Stripe valuation soars to $95bn after latest fundraising (Financial Times) Airtable Tops $5.7 Billion Valua...
Mar 15, 2021•18 min
Netflix is cracking down on password sharing. Apple sues a former employee for allegedly stealing trade secrets. Masa Son is back, baby! I guess we have to watch ads on our $1500 smart tvs now, and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. EditorX.com ThoughtWorks Technology Podcast Links: Netflix Begins Test to Crack Down on Password Sharing Outside Your Household (The Streamable) Apple sues former employee for stealing trade secrets, leaking information to the media (9to5Mac) SoftBank-Back...
Mar 12, 2021•21 min
Roblox’s public market debut and why people are so excited about it. Twitter to open up spaces to everyone next month. An Apple silicon friendly version of Photoshop sports so eyebrow raising performance gains. Are iPhones about to get heavier? And the NFT sales record has been shattered thanks to Beeple. Sponsors: StartMail.com/techmeme Links: Roblox jumps to $38 billion market cap as public investors get their first crack at the popular kids game app (CNBC) Twitter plans to let anyone start ho...
Mar 11, 2021•18 min
Hackers breached the security cameras used by everybody from prisons and hospitals to Tesla factories. Why you will no longer “subscribe” to this podcast, but will “follow” it. Why T-Mobile is signing everyone up to have their usage data tracked by advertisers. And Facebook’s 10 year roadmap for AR and VR. Sponsors: CalderaLab.com use code TECHMEME (all caps one word) at checkout Uber.com/techmeme Links: Hackers Breach Thousands of Security Cameras, Exposing Tesla, Jails, Hospitals (Bloomberg) A...
Mar 10, 2021•18 min
Is Joe Biden about to name the architect of the current antitrust movement to a seat on the FTC? Are other bad actors swooping in to take advantage of the SolarWinds hack? Is Microsoft gonna play both sides of the fence with new Surface devices? And why popular YouTubers are suddenly building their own platforms. Sponsors: EditorX.com Links: POLITICO Playbook: Scoop: Biden taps another Big Tech trustbuster (Politico/Playbook) Amazon’s Antitrust Antagonist Has a Breakthrough Idea (NYTimes) Attack...
Mar 09, 2021•19 min
Ming-Chi Kuo’s grand unified Apple rumor includes AR enabled contact lenses. Is the US about to retaliate in kind for the SolarWinds hack? Mobile World Congress is gonna go ahead and do it live! And in person. Why is Google making Google Pay worse? And do we need a new podcast wager about meaningful quantum computing by 2023? Sponsors: Kiwico.com , promocode "ride" for 30% off BuyRaycon.com/tech for 15% off Links: Kuo: Apple to Launch Mixed Reality Headset in Mid 2022 and Augmented Reality Glass...
Mar 08, 2021•19 min
I don’t think this one requires any in depth intro. The great Brady Dale of Coindesk, walks us though the whole NFT phenomenon. What are NFTs? How do they work? Why are people so crazed about them at the moment? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 06, 2021•37 min
Tim Wu joined the Biden administration and that sound you hear is a big collective gulp from Silicon Valley. A tweet undo button has been unearthed. Turntable.fm has resurfaced. New data suggests the death of silicon valley has been exaggerated. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Audible.com/techmeme or text techmeme to 500-500 Links: A Leading Critic of Big Tech Will Join the White House (NYTimes) Here’s what Twitter’s rumored ‘undo send’ feature could look like (The Ve...
Mar 05, 2021•19 min
Square is acquiring a majority stake in Tidal, and either this makes little sense, or it’s a watershed moment in this NFT/creator economy phenomenon that’s suddenly washing over all of us. Apple walks the walk in terms of data portability. But they’re facing serious new anti-trust scrutiny in the UK and Arizona. And our year of Covid, at least measured in internet traffic numbers. Sponsors: Masterworks.io , promocode ride LinkedIn.com/ride Links: Square acquires majority of Tidal, Jay-Z’s stream...
Mar 04, 2021•17 min
Google says it’s getting out of the ad tracking game. Kinda. I’ll explain what’s really going on here. Headline wrapup from Microsoft’s Ignite conference includes AR excitement. Brave is launching a privacy search engine. And why Amazon’s app icon redesign reminded people of Hitler’s mustache. Sponsors: PingIdentity.com NewYorker.com/techmeme , promocode: techmeme Links: Google promises it won’t just keep tracking you after replacing cookies (The Verge) Google to Stop Selling Ads Based on Your S...
Mar 03, 2021•18 min
Is the iPhone about to lose the notch and join the hole-punch universe? Whole bunch of new features for Microsoft Teams, and also a new Microsoft smart-speaker. Instacart has a monster raise. Grimes has a monster NFT sale. Discovery+ is an interesting dark-horse in the streaming wars. Oh. And “fly” drones. Sponsors: Fundrise.com/techmeme Grammarly.com/techmeme Links: Kuo: iPhone 13 series to feature smaller notch, 120Hz display, larger batteries, more (9to5Mac) All 270 US Apple Stores are open f...
Mar 02, 2021•19 min
Instagram launches Live Rooms for group broadcasts, which, depending on how you use it is either basically FaceTime for Instagram, or another shot across the Clubhouse bow. Is the micromobility space revving up to roar back to health? Are US-based drone makers about to step into the void left by DJI? And Chris Dixon tries to contextualize NFTs for us. Sponsors: SmartAsset.com/techmeme TinyCapital.com Links: Instagram launches ‘Live Rooms’ for live broadcasts with up to four creators (TechCrunch)...
Mar 01, 2021•18 min
Chris Messina and I go deeper on some of the news of the week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 27, 2021•1 hr 11 min
Twitter just wants to give us everything all of the sudden, including charging for tweets, sort of groups based on interests, and even blocking and muting accounts. Google gives devs a Sleep API. Why has LastPass decided to piss everyone off all of the sudden? Why Xiaomi is the up-and-comer to keep your eye on. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: CalderaLab.com use code TECHMEME (all caps one word) at checkout Links: Twitter announces paid Super Follows to let you charge ...
Feb 26, 2021•19 min
