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#87 - Netflix: Stranger Things season 1-4 recap [AD-SUPPORTED] Jun 01, 2023

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Netflix was once the golden child of the tech industry, with its streaming model held up as the future of content consumption. Now that every rightsholder has a streaming platform, and the end of the tech boom has led to drastic cuts in content budgets and the return of advertising, where does that leave Netflix?

The boys chat. Raph offers his strident view as a man who does not watch scripted television.

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#86 - Nvidia: From sexy elves to a $1 trillion company May 31, 2023

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This week, GPU maker Nvidia was briefly valued at $1 trillion, which is pretty wild for a company founded to cater to the whims of one of God’s most pathetic creatures: PC gamers.

The surge in value is largely thanks to Nvidia’s critical position in the emerging AI economy. It turns out the company’s graphics cards technology, originally intended to support high-performance gaming, are actually very good at training the neural networks that drive platforms like ChatGPT.

In this ep, we dive into how we got here.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe

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#85 - AR/VR Headsets: Yet more exciting ways to play Beat Saber May 25, 2023

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Apple’s developer conference is in a couple of weeks, and all signs suggest it is about to announce an insanely expensive AR/VR headset, which it hopes will be their next computing platform and maybe a smartphone successor somewhere down the line.

In this ep we talk about headsets generally, the companies trying to make them happen, and why no one seems …

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#84 - Text: This one is for the posters May 23, 2023

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Despite the fact the social web seems inexorably on the march towards TikTok-style video feeds, there’s still a happy home on the web for big-brained lovers of text. Twitter, despite never being the biggest social network, has outsized influence. Now that Elon Musk is slowly transforming it into a big toilet, other challengers are poking their head above the parapets.

In this episode we’re talking through the vultures who are circling Twitter’s instability and trying to become the next place where text-heads congregate — from Meta to Bluesky.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe

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#83 - Meta: Checking in on Casa de Zuck May 18, 2023

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It’s been a hot minute since we’ve taken a look at what Meta is up to. It’s a good time, because they’re currently making a hasty AI pivot like everyone else.

Will it work? What happened to the metaverse? Will zoomers ever use Facebook? So many questions, so few answers.

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#82 - Fitness: Lifting a 1kg weight while the Rocky theme blares May 16, 2023

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The worlds of fitness and tech have been converging for years thanks to innovations in wearables, apps and subscriptions. If you’re the kind of person who enjoys quantifying every minute biological detail of your workout, or developing a parasocial relationship with a chirpy American cycling instructor… your time is now.

In this ep, we survey everything from the Apple Watch and Fitbit to Peloton and Strava, and ask a key question: are you ready to feel the burn, boss?

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe

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BuzzFeed News/Vice: Remembering the clicks era May 11, 2023

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Over the past few weeks , BuzzFeed News shuttered its doors and Vice made deep cuts to its news product. They followed the collapse of other digital news brands like Gawker, which fell apart for a second time.

All these platforms were highly representative of the digital media era of the 2010s, which has come to what looks like a screeching halt. In toda…

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#80 - AI Jobpocalypse: Computer took my job May 09, 2023

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In March, we tackled the AI doom prophets who argue that rapidly advancing artificial intelligence will kill everyone on its journey to sentience.

That was cool. But obviously people have more pressing concerns — like, “are these new AI systems going to take my job?” Today, we’re digging into the discourse on AI and automation, and whether you personally are headed straight for the breadline. (Spoiler: you specifically are in serious trouble, but we’re fine.)

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe

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Activision Blizzard: Antitrust, but for gamers May 04, 2023

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Last year, Microsoft announced it would buy video game publisher Activision Blizzard for almost $70 billion, making it the biggest tech deal literally ever.

Last month, the UK competition regulator blocked the sale on antitrust grounds, arguing it would hurt competition in the nascent cloud gaming sector.

In this ep, we discuss Microsoft, Xbox, cloud gami…

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#78 - Dropshipping & Affiliate Marketing: How to become richer than the devil himself May 02, 2023

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Anyone who spent any time online over the past few years will be intimately familiar with the constellation of cool ways to get rich online. Youtube grindset hustlers have been promising us for years that dropshipping and affiliate marketing are your ticket to financial freedom.

In this ep, we dive into this weird world. And hell, maybe you’ll learn how to become a billionaire along the way.

This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe

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