The FBI took down a huge botnet. OpenAI is apparently ahead of schedule in terms of making a ton of revenue. Why Samsung wants to apply AI to your refrigerator. Why OnStar is doubling down on AI. And we officially have the deets on the iPhone event scheduled for next month. Links: Qakbot botnet dismantled after infecting over 700,000 computers (BleepingComputer) UAE launches Arabic large language model in Gulf push into generative AI (FT) OpenAI Passes $1 Billion Revenue Pace as Big ...
Aug 30, 2023•17 min
Google’s Cloud Next conference drops a ton of AI announces. OpenAI releases a business-oriented version of ChatGPT. The regulators have come for NFTs and now the question is, are all NFTs securities, or just the ones they just fined? And let me introduce you to Twitch’s big new competitor. But are they really eating their lunch or just a front for gambling related streaming? Sponsors: Notion.com/ride Links: Google to Add AI Models from Meta, Anthropic to Its Cloud Platform (Bloomberg) The ...
Aug 29, 2023•18 min
Apple looks to refresh the iPad to reinvigorate sales. Huge network crash is grounding planes in the UK. Some tentative sign that the Tech IPO window might be creaking open. Do you need a 100 year domain renewal? And the Silicon Valley bigwigs who are investing big money to build a new Bay Area city from scratch. Links: Apple Bets on Revamped iPad Pro to Reignite Sluggish Tablet Sales (Bloomberg) China’s BYD to Pay $2.2B to Expand Business With Apple (The Information) UK air traffic ...
Aug 28, 2023•18 min
Amazon has apparently held talks with Disney about maybe teaming up for a streaming ESPN partnership. Dropbox ends its unlimited storage option. Shein takes over Forever21. A product release so star-crossed, it’s being recalled after just 3 months. And, of course, The Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: Amazon in Talks With Disney About ESPN Streaming Partnership (The Information) Dropbox Ends Unlimited Cloud Storage Following Google Change (Bloomberg) Shein Strikes Deal With Forev...
Aug 25, 2023•16 min
Nvidia gives new meaning to the words “earnings beat.” Meta announces Code Llama. TikTok might start banning links to Amazon. SpaceX wants Starlink to be viable in cities too. And turning thoughts into speech via an AI interface becomes real. Links: Nvidia tops estimates and says sales will jump 170% this quarter, driven by demand for AI chips (CNBC) Meta launches own AI code-writing tool: Code Llama (The Verge) TikTok Shop on Track to Lose More Than $500 Million in U.S. This Year &n...
Aug 24, 2023•17 min
Sony announces the PlayStation Portal handheld device. IBM announces an AI model to translate code from one type to another. OpenAI lets anyone fine tune. Is LinkedIn the big winner in social media right now? And what happens when you 3d printer comes alive like a zombie in the middle of the night. Sponsors: Skip the waitlist and invest in blue-chip art for the very first time by signing up for Masterworks: https://www.masterworks.art/techmeme Purchase shares in great masterpieces fr...
Aug 23, 2023•17 min
Microsoft tries to appease His Majesty’s Regulators. The Arm IPO is a go. Why Nvidia continues to be huge even in China. A new AI translation model from Meta. I continue to wonder if Elon is tanking things on purpose. And a new social media platform built on top of X? Links: Microsoft to sell off Activision cloud gaming rights to Ubisoft in bid for UK approval (The Verge) Arm files for Nasdaq listing, as SoftBank aims to sell shares in chip designer it bought for $32 billion (CNBC) W...
Aug 22, 2023•16 min
More X shenanigans over the weekend. Some solid evidence that some major LLMs have in fact been trained on copyrighted material. A ton of it, in fact. As Arm prepares to IPO, who might join them, depending on how things go? Bad news for Adyen is probably bad news for Stripe. And the rise of high tech sailing ships. Sponsors: Collective.com/ride TryNom.com/ride Links: Twitter Deletes All User Photos And Links From 2011-2014 (Forbes) REVEALED: THE AUTHORS WHOSE PIRATED BOOKS ARE POWERING GEN...
Aug 21, 2023•16 min
More drips and drabs Threads feature releases. Meta is readying a “Code Llama.” Throwback Friday with Uber and Lyft threatening to leave a major municipality. Our first fall hardware event is on the calendar. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Nutrafol.com/men code ridehome Links: Threads gets retweets — sorry, reposts — in the reverse-chronological feed (The Verge) Meta’s Next AI Attack on OpenAI: Free Code-Generating Software (The Information) Lyft a...
Aug 18, 2023•17 min
OpenAI makes its first acquisition. Has AI really done anything for Bing marketshare? A really cool looking new gaming handheld. The most recent tally of tech industry layoff numbers. And Eric Schmidt says he wants to pull a Sam Altman. Sponsors: Zbiotics.com/ride code ride Links: OpenAI acquires AI design studio Global Illumination (TechCrunch) Microsoft Struggles to Gain on Google Despite Its Head Start in AI Search (WSJ) Exclusive Images: This is the Lenovo Legion Go Gaming ...
Aug 17, 2023•15 min
By the time you hear these words, I guess I’ll be a blue subscriber cause I’m locked out of Tweetdeck otherwise. Coinbase gets regulatory approval from one agency, while another is suing them. Generative AI in Google search, while Google DeepMind is contemplating doing it for everything. And I guess we’ve entered the true first self-driving car test phase. Hold on to your hats. Sponsors: Shopify.com/ride Mindbloom.com/techmeme code techmeme Links: TweetDeck is officially becoming a paid se...
Aug 16, 2023•15 min
Very interesting executive departure at Amazon. A popular Mac service is gonna launch an alternative iOS app store. Now nation states are trying to stockpile Nvidia chips, not just tech companies. And what is the maximum capacity of your iPhone’s battery, and should you check on it? Links: Amazon’s Leader on Alexa, Echo and Other Devices Plans to Leave (WSJ) Scoop: X shuts down $100M promoted accounts ad business (Axios) Setapp plans to launch EU-only alternative iOS App Store ...
Aug 15, 2023•17 min
Apple is planning a huge revamp for the Apple Watch in honor of it’s 10th birthday. Amazon is using generative AI to summarize product reviews. It’s finally official. Paying for all the big streaming services is now more expensive than just paying for cable. And if that self driving car is rocking, maybe don’t go a-knocking. Sponsors: Hillsdale.edu/ride Links: Apple Plans Major ‘Watch X’ Overhaul for Device’s 10-Year Anniversary (Bloomberg) Amazon taps generative AI to enhance product revi...
Aug 14, 2023•17 min
A major regulatory breakthrough is going to open the floodgates for self-driving taxis in California. Two different stories about dealing with the China restrictions, including one US company that is directly benefiting, and Meta’s AR ambitions, which are not. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: Robotaxis score a huge victory in California with approval to operate 24/7 (The Verge) Skydio closing consumer drone business (TechCrunch) Behind Meta’s ‘Made in USA’ AR...
Aug 11, 2023•19 min
Oh why not? Disney+ is raising prices too. A new executive order targeting Chinese tech. New features in Threads, but not the ones they need. Are the robot card shufflers in Vegas easily hackable? And we did the Flip. Now the Galaxy Z Fold 5 review. Links: Prices of Disney+, Hulu Premium Plans to Get Jacked Up but New Duo Bundle Will Offer Deep Discount (Variety) Biden Restricts U.S. Investment in China (WSJ) You can now verify your Threads profile on Mastodon (The Verge) Apple...
Aug 10, 2023•15 min
Slack announces its biggest ever redesign. Sony signals that the smartphone recession is real and is not getting better anytime soon. Is WeWork circling the drain? Why a Gizmodo editor is suing Apple over Tetris. And guess what? The bots are better at solving CAPTCHAs than you are. Something something, Turing Test. Sponsors: Zbiotics.com/ride and code ride for 15% off Links: Slack’s biggest redesign ever tries to tame the chaos of your workday (The Verge) Netflix launches a game cont...
Aug 09, 2023•16 min
Hackers accessed the UK Electoral Commission, so how worried should we be? Apple, Samsung and others can’t wait to buy Arm stock. OpenAI explains how its bot is crawling the web. More details on the new M3 chips Apple is testing. And Apple Music finally edges closer to the one thing Spotify still does so much better. Sponsors: Notion.com/ride Links: Millions of UK voters’ data accessible in cyber-attack, says Electoral Commission (The Guardian) Apple, Samsung to invest in Arm as it eyes Se...
Aug 08, 2023•15 min
In earnings last week, Apple was forced to admit softness in iPhone sales. But the big question is, will the iPhone 15 be enough to turn things around? A stablecoin from PayPal. What the world being flooded with cheap AI-produced content already means in the real world. And a review of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5. Sponsors: Kolide.com/ride Collective.com/ride Links: Apple Admits There Is a Smartphone Slowdown Ahead of iPhone 15 Debut (Bloomberg) PayPal Launches a Stablecoin in Latest Crypt...
Aug 07, 2023•17 min
Check out more about the Ride Home AI Fund at RideHomeFund.com . And subscribe to the Big Technology Podcast . See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Aug 05, 2023•56 min
Apple and Amazon earnings make me wonder if the law of large numbers is dead. Coinbase is willing to argue over what the definition of is is. Threads continues its precipitous decline. The Weekend Longreads Suggestions. And be sure to listen to the end of the show for some big, big show news. Biggest news in a while. Among other things, why haven’t there been bonus episodes for a while? Where has Chris been? Listen to the end! All will be revealed. Links: Apple reports third quarter results &nbs...
Aug 04, 2023•22 min
Two stories today of startups who flew high during the pandemic, but have crashed down to earth in meaningful ways. NFT trading volumes might be sinking, but developers continue to flood into the space. And does Goldman Sachs want out of the whole Apple Card partnership? Links: Johnny Boufarhat steps down as CEO of Hopin (Sifted) ‘A Nice Bike, When It Works’: Riders Fret After E-Bike Maker Goes Bust (NYTimes) IRS expects faster refunds in 2024 for people who stop using paper (W...
Aug 03, 2023•18 min
Seems like I’ll have to be paying up for an X Blue subscription any day now. Meta releases a new AI music generator. We might actually be getting a big tech IPO in a matter of weeks. Amazon is readying an aggressive new push into groceries. And what happens when an online creator replaces themselves with an AI bot? Links: X, formerly Twitter, now lets paid users hide their checkmarks (TechCrunch) TweetDeck is now called ‘XPro’ (9to5Google) Meta’s AI music generator could be the new s...
Aug 02, 2023•17 min
Uber reports meaningful, not gimmicky profitability for the first time ever. Meta’s gonna give you AI chatbots with personality. Google is overhauling Assistant with AI stuff. Even Pierson is getting ahead of the whole, let AI tutor you on stuff, stuff. Nintendo is probably giving us a new console next year. And the prisoner’s dilemma that is fueling quantum computing development, but heck, let’s be honest, fueling AI development as well. Links: Uber Delivers First-Ever Operating Profit in Drive...
Aug 01, 2023•17 min
Brian Armstrong strongly hints that US regulators believe only Bitcoin is legal. A deep dive into what we can expect from this year’s iPhones. Is the US crackdown on tech to China having a real impact? And the artist that tried to take his art out of Stable Diffusion, only to have the community pull him back in. Sponsors: TryNom.com/ride CalderaLab.com code ride for 20% off Links: SEC asked Coinbase to halt trading in everything except bitcoin, CEO says (FT) The iPhone 15 Pro Will Ha...
Jul 31, 2023•17 min
The whole Threads saga has been a whirlwind. At the beginning of the month I asked if Threads had already won. At the end of the month, I’m wondering if the clock is ticking in terms of their chances of survival. Generative AI but for robots. Again. Real robots. Are VCs pulling back from the crypto space? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Nutrafol.com/men code ridehome Crashplan.com code techmeme Links: Meta plans retention 'hooks' for Threads as more than ...
Jul 28, 2023•16 min
Meta’s earnings say, hey, let’s just forget the last two years even happened. Is the next iPhone about to get an “action” button? What does it mean if Waymo is basically hitting pause on self driving trucks? Checking in on SBF. And a super fast new version of 5G. Sponsors: Crashplan.com code techmeme Links: Meta’s Improved Ad Sales Buy Time for Zuckerberg’s Metaverse (Bloomberg) Microsoft Faces European Antitrust Investigation Over Bundling of Teams Software (WSJ) iPhone 15 Pro...
Jul 27, 2023•16 min
All the headlines from the big Galaxy Unpacked event today. This was the foldable event, but there were interesting watch announces too. Quick earnings roundup. Threads gets a follower tab. And the group that wants to battle Apple and Google in maps dominance has released their first product. Sponsors: Crashplan.com code techmeme Mindbloom.com/techmeme and promocode techmeme Links: The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5 gets a big little screen upgrade (The Verge) Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 ...
Jul 26, 2023•16 min
Big potential vulnerability in AMD chips. Fallout from the whole X re-branding continues. Now TikTok is cloning Twitter. The Arc Browser is now available for anyone to try out. And if you think Elon likes to have his hand in a lot of pies, a look at the increasing, and increasingly ambitious portfolio of Sam Altman-related companies. Links: AMD 'Zenbleed' Bug Leaks Data From Ryzen, EPYC CPUs: Most Patches Coming Q4 (Updated) (TomsHardware) Musk Explains Why He’s Axing Twitter Name, Iconic ...
Jul 25, 2023•18 min
Elon makes good on his promise to rebrand Twitter as… X. Moar price hikes in streaming! Worldcoin has officially rolled out its token, so long as you’ve scanned your eyeball. Let me introduce you to the Flipper Zero. And should it be titled: Hollywood Strike: Rise Of The TikTok Stars? Sponsors: Collective.com/ride startups.tech/techmeme Links: Twitter is being rebranded as X (The Verge) Twitter has officially changed its logo to ‘X’ (TechCrunch) It’s Spotify’s turn to increase prices...
Jul 24, 2023•19 min
Reddit is choosing violence with their biggest holdouts. More data on the ebbing of Threads usage. AI seems to be bringing Sergey Brin back into the office. Why you should be getting your paycheck quicker. And an Oppenheimer-themed Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: ZBiotics.com/ride and code ride for 15% off Links: Reddit takes over one of the biggest protesting subreddits (The Verge) Threads Is Already Losing Its Allure for Users, Adding Urgency for New Features (WSJ) M...
Jul 21, 2023•18 min
