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Latest Episodes:

Wed. 06/01 – Surface Laptop Go Update Jun 01, 2022

Show notes

The Surface Laptop Go gets a refresh. The Supreme Court has blocked that Texas social media law. For now. Twitter is really gonna take TweetDeck away from us? Really? And the really interesting new Android phone that attempts to strip every Googly thing it can, out of the Android experience.

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Work Check Podcast

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Microsoft’s compact Surface Laptop Go updated with 11th Gen Intel processor (The Verge)
High Court Halts Texas Law Targeting Social Media Platforms (2) (Bloomberg Law)
Twitter shutting down TweetDeck for Mac on July 1, here are alternatives to the web (9to5Mac)
TikTok is testing a ‘clear mode’ for a distraction-free scrolling experience (TechCrunch)
Fidelity Slashes Reddit, Stripe Valuations After Tech Rout (Bloomberg)
The Murena One shows exactly how hard it is to de-Google your smartphone (The Verge)
Apple’s Safari browser now has more than 1 billion users (AtlasVPN)

Tue. 05/31 – The New Fastest Computer In The World May 31, 2022

Show notes

The new fastest computer in the world sees the crown return to the US. Will we not see Sony’s next-gen VR rig until next year? Ride hailing fares are reaching record highs as the players attempt to pivot to profitability. A new ride hailing entrant that lets you haggle on price. And a look at how Paramount is trying to go it alone in the streaming wars.

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AltoIRA.com/techmeme

Links:

AMD-Powered Frontier Supercomputer Breaks the Exascale Barrier, Now Fastest in the World (Tom's Hardware)
Kuo: PlayStation VR2 Mass Production To Start H2 2022 (UploadVR)
China Is Leading the Global Decline in Venture Capital Deals (Bloomberg)
Uber and Lyft’s New Road: Fewer Drivers, Thrifty Riders and Jittery Investors (WSJ)
Nothing could slow inDriver’s rise from Siberian startup to global Uber competitor. Then Russia invaded Ukraine (Rest Of World)
Can Paramount Go It Alone? (NYTimes)

(Portfolio Profile) Check-in With Rownd (How To Raise A Round Right Now) May 30, 2022

Show notes

A checkin with Rownd about what it's like to close a round right now, and what actually being on stage at YC Demo Day is like.

To book at meeting with Robert at Rownd: https://calendly.com/rob-rownd/mutant-podcast-army

Rownd helps companies register and retain more users through frictionless sign-in across all of their websites and apps, with a simple code snippet. We let our customers choose how and where authentication happens, killing the static login page forever.

Rownd link: https://rownd.io

Fri. 05/27 – An Xbox Gaming Dongle May 27, 2022

Show notes

Microsoft is creating an HDMI dongle to turn any tv or monitor into an Xbox gaming console. Now the lawsuits are popping off in the whole Elon/Twitter thing. If even high profile startups like Substack are having trouble raising rounds, what does that mean for run of the mill startups? And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.

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Weekend Longreads Suggestions

The big new idea for making self-driving cars that can go anywhere (MIT Technology Review)
In India’s Mobile-Payments Boom, Even Beggars Get QR Codes (WSJ)
The Collison Brothers Built Stripe Into A $95 Billion Unicorn With Eye-Popping Financials. Inside Their Plan To Stay On Top (Forbes)
THE UNSTOPPABLE MACHINES BEHIND THE GAME CONSOLE SHORTAGE (The Verge)
Made to measure: why we can’t stop quantifying our lives (The Guardian)

Thu. 05/26 – Apple Raises Wages May 26, 2022

Show notes

Apple is attempting to fend off a unionization movement by… paying people more. That Broadcom/VMware deal is real. You can now pay close to $1000 for a Gucci Oura Ring. After a decade of declines, EV battery prices are going up. And the last payphone in New York City is gone.

Sponsors:

AltoIRA.com/techmeme
Smith.ai promocode techmeme for $100 off signup

Links:

Apple Boosting Pay Budget for Workers Amid Tight Labor Market (WSJ)
Leaked Audio: Apple VP Gives Apple Store Workers Anti-Union Speech (Motherboard)
Broadcom is acquiring VMware for $61 billion (The Verge)
Oura collaborated with Gucci to make an 18 carat gold smart ring (Engadget)
Apple to Keep iPhone Production Flat as Market Grows Tougher (Bloomberg)
Snowflake stock falls as executives forecast a narrower margin than expected (CNBC)
Twitter jumps after Musk increases commitment in takeover bid to $33.5 billion, in talks for other funding (CNBC)
After a Decade of Declines, EV Battery Costs Are To Rise 14% This Year (The Electric/The Information)
The Trouble With Lithium (Bloomberg)
NYC's 'last' payphone will be displayed at the Museum of the City of New York (TimeOut New York)

Wed. 05/25 – Seth Green Wants His Apes Back May 25, 2022

Show notes

Seth Green has lost a film role… for his Ape. Cause he lost his Ape to a fishing scam. a16z launches their biggest ever crypto fund. Headlines from Microsoft’s Build conference. The e-bike that helps Ukraine take out Russian tanks. And a desktop grade Windows PC you could put in your pocket.

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Links:

Someone Stole Seth Green's Bored Ape, Which Was Supposed To Star In His New Show (Buzzfeed News)
Andreessen Horowitz bets on crypto ‘golden era’ with new $4.5bn fund (FT)
Microsoft’s Power Platform can now build websites and turn images into apps (XDA Developers)
Microsoft brings support for Arm-based AI chips to Windows (TechCrunch)
Microsoft Dev Box is a cloud-powered developer workstation (The Verge)
DuckDuckGo browser allows Microsoft trackers due to search agreement (Bleeping Computer)
Do Kwon's plan to rebirth the Terra blockchain gets approved (The Block)
Terra Collapse Triggers $83 Billion Decentralized Finance Slump (Bloomberg)
Ukraine Is Using Quiet Electric Bikes to Haul Anti-Tank Weapons (Motherboard/Vice)
Zotac's minuscule Windows 11 Pro desktop PC is only slightly bigger than your phone (TechSpot)

Tue. 05/24 – Does Apple REALLY Want You To Repair Your Own iPhone? May 24, 2022

Show notes

Google Research says to Open AI: “Hold my beer.” They’ve announced a new AI-based text-to-image generator to rival DALL-E 2. Is the shocking earnings warning from Snap a result of Apple’s ATT changes or is this indicative of the broader tech slowdown? Google’s street view turns 15 with some new bells and whistles. And does Apple REALLY want you to repair your own iPhone, or no?

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Mon. 05/23 – Big Tech Consolidation Coming? May 23, 2022

Show notes

Is a big mergers and acquisition wave about to hit the tech industry. I make the case from several different angles. AMD releases its next generation Ryzen chips. And a super interesting new startup in the Web 3 space. Is it game? Is it a fitness app? Can you earn money for moving? Yes.

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Links:

Broadcom in Talks to Acquire Cloud Company VMware (Bloomberg)
Report: EA Looking To Sell Or Merge (Kotaku)
Big Tech Is Getting Clobbered on Wall Street. It’s a Good Time for Them. (NYTimes)
AMD Ryzen 7000 Announced (AnandTech)
'Move-to-earn' Solana app StepN is latest crypto gaming craze (TechCrunch)

(TWTR SPC) - a16z's Chris Dixon (@cdixon) On The State Of Crypto And Web3 May 21, 2022

Show notes

Friend of the show, Chris Dixon (@cdixon) of a16z's crypto and web3 investing initiatives comes on to talk about the recent report: 2022 State of Crypto. We got into all the things, using our favorite lens of tech history.

Fri. 05/20 – The Apple Headset Has Been Demoed! May 20, 2022

Show notes

A new high end Snapdragon chip. The Apple AR/VR headset has been demoed, but only 9 people got to see it in action. A YC backed startup is facing lawsuits related to the whole UST blowup. The feds will no longer go after good faith, white hat hackers. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.

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