The SEC has subpoenaed OpenAI. What if the Vision Pro is selling better than even Apple thought? Beware of the repo attack affecting GitHub. Beware of the video doorbells that are ridiculously easy to take over. And is robotics the next big tech industry we need to be paying attention to? Links: SEC Investigating Whether OpenAI Investors Were Misled (WSJ) EA to lay off 5% of workforce, or about 670 employees (CNBC) Vision Pro demand higher than expected; returns down to 1% – Kuo &nbs...
Feb 29, 2024•17 min
The Apple car project is dead. Really, this time. We think. Google is working to fix Gemini. If you’re using Tumblr, your posts might soon be training OpenAI’s models. Klarna’s AI is doing the work of hundreds of humans. And another fever dream of the most recent boom years might be over. Links: Apple to Wind Down Electric Car Effort After Decadelong Odyssey (Bloomberg) Apple's Scrapped Car Project Means AI and Headset Bets Are More Urgent (Bloomberg) Google CEO calls AI tool’s contr...
Feb 28, 2024•17 min
If you can believe it, MOAR layoffs in gaming. Big layoffs at Sony. We might see Meta’s first AR glasses later this year. The big hack affecting US pharmacies. Hopin enters the Deadpool. And yet another startup takes at swing at the delayed gratification gimmick for social media. Sponsors: Hims.com/ride Links: Sony is laying off 900 PlayStation employees (The Verge) Microsoft’s Mistral AI Investment to Be Examined by EU Watchdog (Bloomberg) Meta aims to reveal and demo Orion, its fir...
Feb 27, 2024•16 min
Mobile World Congress kicks off this week, and I bet you can guess what the big theme this year is. All the hardware that is being announced to allow you to do AI on your existing devices. Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Ring, but Apple wants you to know it could do a ring too if it wanted to. And Lenovo’s see-through laptop is cool looking, but also, looking for a use case. Links: Samsung unveils the Galaxy Ring as a way to 'simplify everyday wellness' (Engadget) Apple Ponders Whether to Deve...
Feb 26, 2024•15 min
Catching you up on the great Substack controversy and who is winning the race to be the new Twitter? Ed's new podcast is called Better Offline , which you can find wherever fine podcasts are found. And his newsletter is called: Where's Your Ed At? See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Feb 24, 2024•25 min
We have all the details of the Reddit IPO. And Sam Altman of all people makes an appearance in the S1! What that big cell phone outage yesterday was all about. Can Mark Zuckerberg be held personally liable in some of these Meta lawsuits? And given this weeks’ news, in the longreads, a long interview with Nvidia’s CEO predicting the future of computing. Sponsors: Robinhood.com/boost Links: Reddit files to list IPO on NYSE under the ticker RDDT (CNBC) Reddit is going public and inviting powe...
Feb 23, 2024•16 min
The most important tech company in the world right now reported earnings yesterday, and they were historic. Stability AI is previewing Stable Diffusion 3.0. Google has to fix some if its AI image generation details. Amazon is getting aggressive about bringing sports to streaming. And has a startup we’ve never mentioned made a big AI breakthrough? Sponsors: Nutrafol.com/men and promocode RIDEHOME Links: Nvidia posts revenue up 265% on booming AI business (CNBC) Stable Diffusion 3.0 de...
Feb 22, 2024•17 min
Signal finally rolls out usernames, but Apple goes one better security-wise, by quantum encrypting iMessage. Weirdly, Apple also launched a standalone sports scores app. Gemma is an open-source flavor of Gemini from Google. And Reddit wants to reserve some IPO shares for its users. Links: Signal Finally Rolls Out Usernames, So You Can Keep Your Phone Number Private (Wired) Apple is hardening iMessage encryption now to protect it from a threat that doesn't exist yet (Apple Insider) Ap...
Feb 21, 2024•16 min
Perhaps the biggest law enforcement action against a ransomware gang ever. Once again, you could view other people’s cameras on your Wyze camera. How Anthropic is raising to do battle with OpenAI. Are the VCs flocking back to San Francisco? And comprehensive proof that defense tech is the new VC hotness. Links: FBI Seizes LockBit Hacking Websites in Ransomware Disruption (Bloomberg) Wyze outage led to the cameras of 13,000 customers being shown to other users (9to5Google) Reddit Sign...
Feb 20, 2024•17 min
An interview with Bluesky CEO Jay Graber about the future of social media. Sponsors: FactorMeals.com/ride50 and code ride50 for 50% off See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Feb 19, 2024•34 min
Huge watershed reveal of OpenAI’s Sora, its first text-to-video model, which can create up to a minute of 1080p video. We used to have a Today In Elon segment. We’re close to needing a Today In Sam Altman one. Increasing signs the Crypto winter is ending. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: OpenAI introduces Sora, its text-to-video AI model (The Verge) OpenAI’s Sora Turns AI Prompts Into Photorealistic Videos (Wired) OpenAI’s newest model Sora can generate video...
Feb 16, 2024•16 min
Google’s moving fast. They’ve already launched Gemini 1.5. An EU court rules breaking encryption violates human rights. Why social media is flooded with posts of users returning their Apple Vision Pros. And more proof that the AI moment is making Nvidia one of the most powerful tech companies in the world. Links: Gemini 1.5 is Google’s next-gen AI model — and it’s already almost ready (The Verge) Google’s new Gemini model can analyze an hour-long video — but few people can use it (Te...
Feb 15, 2024•18 min
Even Mark Zuckerberg is posting about the Apple Vision Pro. In short: he’s not impressed. Walmart might buy a smart TV maker for the ads. Y Combinator has a new list of the type of startups it wants to see. Maybe don’t give all your secrets to those AI “girlfriend” bots. And why you might have a hard time getting an Uber after your Valentine’s Day dinner tonight. Links: After trying the Vision Pro, Mark Zuckerberg says Quest 3 ‘is the better product, period’ (The Verge) Walmart in Talks to...
Feb 14, 2024•16 min
Threads gets “today’s topics.” iMessage and Bing dodge EU DMA regulation. Why Temu bought a bunch of SuperBowl ads. Nvidia’s Chat with RTX lets you run your own ChatGPT right on your Windows machine. And why Microsoft’s forthcoming Xbox strategy shift is potentially such a big deal. Sponsors: ArcticWolf.com/techmeme Shopify.com/ride Links: In battle with X, Threads gets trending topics where politics will be allowed (TechCrunch) Apple iMessage, Microsoft Bing Dodge EU’s Big Tech Crackdown ...
Feb 13, 2024•17 min
Is actual neo-ludditeism going to become a thing, as some people have predicted? Google reveals the strength of its subscription businesses. A review of Google’s Gemini. Bluesky is open and doing some interesting things. And what about the strategic position Snap suddenly finds itself in? Sponsors: ArcticWolf.com/techmeme Links: A crowd destroyed a driverless Waymo car in San Francisco (The Verge) Google One hits 100 million subscribers (The Verge) Google’s Gemini assistant is a fant...
Feb 12, 2024•14 min
Sam Altman wants to raise more money for his chip ambitions than the entire semiconductor industry. The Feds might put the breaks on Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision… again. Is Ring raising its subscription doorbell prices too much? And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Robinhood.com/boost Links: Sam Altman Seeks Trillions of Dollars to Reshape Business of Chips and AI (WSJ) Exclusive: Nvidia chases $30 billion custom chip market with new unit -sources (Re...
Feb 09, 2024•17 min
Google has released Gemini Ultra 1.0, renamed Bard as Gemini and looks to be replacing Google Assistant with Gemini. Disney has invested in a big stake of Epic Games to get at Fortnite IP. Leaked images of the Pixel Fold 2. And what if OpenAI is facing the same strategic dilemma that Mark Zuckerberg was never able to overcome? Sponsors: Robinhood.com/boost Links: Google’s AI now goes by a new name: Gemini (The Verge) Google Assistant Just Got Supercharged With AI. It Might Be the Biggest U...
Feb 08, 2024•16 min
OpenAI is adding watermarks to Dall-E 3 images. A new AI model from Apple. A new open source model that is king of the LLM hill. More rumors of a foldable iPhone. A new streaming service that will be like Hulu but for sports. And the specific words and phrases that will get your college application essay flagged as being AI-generated. Sponsors: TryFum.com/ride to save 10% off the Journey Pack today. Links: OpenAI is adding new watermarks to DALL-E 3 (The Verge) Apple Develops a Foldable Cl...
Feb 07, 2024•15 min
Don’t forget your Vision Pro password, or else you’re going to have to return it to the Apple Store to use it again. Why are the gaming platforms willing to play nice all of the sudden? The AI that can spit out fake IDs in seconds. Does Google owe you yet more money? And more signs the tech recession is over. Sponsors: Miro.com/podcast Hims.com/ride Links: Forgot Your Apple Vision Pro’s Passcode? You May Have to Take It Back to Store (Bloomberg) YouTube says a Vision Pro app is ‘on the roa...
Feb 06, 2024•15 min
Let me tell you the story of the most shocking AI deepfake scam we’ve heard yet, because it’s a warning to all of us going forward. An Apple Vision Pro teardown explains why EyeSight looks so blurry. Another sign that Google is losing interest in the web. And an interesting peek behind the curtain revealing the economics and motivation of tech media. Sponsors: ShipStation.com/ride code: ride Links: Finance worker pays out $25 million after video call with deepfake ‘chief financial officer’...
Feb 05, 2024•16 min
Our friend Chris Dixon is back to talk about his new book: Read Write Own ! How Web3 and the blockchain can save the web as we know it! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Feb 03, 2024•33 min
A run down of some interesting details from Tech’s big earnings day yesterday. Rufus is Amazon’s AI-powered shopping assistant. The Browser Company continues to be the catalyst for me thinking about how AI is going to change the web. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Nutrafol.com/men code: RIDEHOME Links: Amazon debuts ‘Rufus,’ an AI shopping assistant in its mobile app (TechCrunch) Cloudflare hacked using auth tokens stolen in Okta attack (BleepingCo...
Feb 02, 2024•17 min
Why I think yesterday’s Congressional hearings might actually be a tipping point for tech regulation. What would a Kids Online Safety Act actually mean? More proof of YouTube’s dominance. Celsius and FTX customers are about to get some money back. And Google’s new text to image AI processor. Sponsors: Kolide.com/ride Links: Microsoft, X throw their weight behind KOSA, the controversial kids online safety bill (TechCrunch) Americans’ Social Media Use (Pew Research Center) Celsius to D...
Feb 01, 2024•16 min
The tech execs have been called before Congress once again. Universal Music Group pulls its songs from TikTok. Is 23andMe in danger of going out of business? Figure is an AI robotics company that Microsoft and OpenAI might be about to invest in. And say hello to the Chief AI Officer job title. Sponsors: Kolide.com/ride Links: Social media chiefs on defensive at US online child protection hearing (FT) TikTok CEO Pledges $2 Billion to Protect 170 Million US Users (Bloomberg) Child Safe...
Jan 31, 2024•17 min
Elon Musk says Neuralink implanted its device into a human for the first time. You can search for Taylor Swift X again, but was a Microsoft tool to blame for the deepfakes? Better AI coding from Meta. And I read all the Apple Vision Pro reviews so you don’t have to. Sponsors: Notion.com/ride Links: Elon Musk’s Neuralink implants brain tech in human patient for the first time (CNBC) Microsoft Closes Loophole That Created AI Porn of Taylor Swift (404 Media) Meta releases ‘Code Llama 70...
Jan 30, 2024•18 min
Amazon calls off its iRobot acquisition. Is Arc Search the future of search we were talking to Baratunde about this weekend? Why you can’t search for Taylor Swift on X at the moment. How many ads will be in streaming? And who is quietly killing it in subscription gaming? The answer may surprise you. Links: Amazon Drops $1.4 Billion iRobot Deal; Vacuum Maker Cuts Jobs (Bloomberg) Arc Search combines browser, search engine, and AI into something new and different (The Verge) Arc’s new ...
Jan 29, 2024•15 min
The great Baratunde Thurston join Chris and Brian to talk about his hour-long in-person demo with the Apple Vision Pro. In the second half, we discuss the idea of whether or not Google Search (and maybe the web) is doomed in the era of AI. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Jan 27, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Apple has announced major changes to the App Store. In the EU, alternative app marketplaces, but does the new Core Technology Fee mean it’s still a shell game? Also in Europe, alternative default browsers. And for everyone, game streaming apps are now permissible. Also, cheaper GPT from OpenAI. And is Cruise in trouble with the Feds? Links: iOS 17.4 Introduces Alternative App Marketplaces With No Commission in EU (MacRumors) Apple will prompt users to set default browsers and allow third-p...
Jan 26, 2024•17 min
As Palworld surpasses 8 million in sales, The Pokemon Company says it will “investigate and take appropriate measures” with regards to those IP infringement allegations. Layoffs at Activision Blizzard and Xbox. Google’s Lumiere is a text to video AI generator. And how the rising prices of streaming services are fueling a resurgence in piracy. Links: Inquiries Regarding Other Companies’ Games (The Pokemon Company) Microsoft lays off 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees (The Ve...
Jan 25, 2024•16 min
Netflix kicks off Tech Earnings Season, and suggests it’s taking it’s cheapest ad-free plan away. The one chart that shows why Netflix is winning the streaming wars. Spotify demos how it plans to break out of Apple’s App Store. Renders of the Pixel 9 have already leaked. Apple scales back its EV car plans. And an interesting raise to help you pay your rent. Sponsors: Notion.com/ride Links: Netflix is going to take away its cheapest ad-free plan (The Verge) The secret to Netflix's total dom...
Jan 24, 2024•16 min
