Tech Brew Ride Home

Latest Episodes:

Wed. 02/16 – Uber Pulls Back The Curtain On YOUR Ratings Feb 16, 2022

Show notes

Forget how’s my driving, Uber lets you know how you’re riding. Meta workers are now formally known as Metamates. Is Paramount quietly doing better in the streaming wars than we thought? So much so, as to warrant a name change too? And what happens when your bionic eye implants are no longer supported by the manufacturer?

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Uber will now let you see how many one-star ratings you got from drivers (The Verge)
Move fast, rename things: Facebook tries to boost morale with new slogans (Washington Post)
Facebook rebrands News Feed after more than 15 years (The Verge)
ViacomCBS rebrands to Paramount in focus on streaming (The Verge)
Coalition of US crypto firms unveils travel rule compliance platform, TRUST (The Block)
Google Plans Privacy Changes, but Promises to Not Be Disruptive (NYTimes)
THEIR BIONIC EYES ARE NOW OBSOLETE AND UNSUPPORTED (IEEE Spectrum)

Tue. 02/15 – The Great Returning To The Office? Feb 15, 2022

Show notes

Is the great Returning To The Office beginning with the Tech Industry? Really cool new way to use your Android apps on your Windows or Chromebook devices. Instagram lets you send private likes. The tech cold war between India and China claims another victim. And what did the NYTimes do to Wordle this morning?

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Microsoft and Expedia announce next phases in office reopenings, finally emerging from pandemic (GeekWire)
Exclusive: Pixel will be able to stream Android apps to your Chromebook/PC, here’s how it works [Video] (9to5Google)
Intel to Buy Israel’s Tower Semiconductor for $5.4 Billion (Bloomberg)
Instagram now lets you send private Story likes (Engadget)
Sea’s $16 Billion Crash Signals Trouble Beyond India Shutout (Bloomberg)
Texas Sues Meta Over Facebook’s Facial-Recognition Practices (WSJ)
Google Messages, with RCS in tow, is now Samsung’s default messaging app in the US (9to5Google)
The New York Times has changed Wordle’s solutions (The Verge)

Mon. 02/14 – The Big Game Is Big For Crypto Feb 14, 2022

Show notes

Turns out Super Bowl ads really do move the needle. Another day, another crypto bug, this one could have let you create unlimited ether from thin air. See what I did there? Could we see a digital Euro by the end of next year? A couple of super interesting raises. And the curious case of the missing Nvidia graphics card.

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Crypto apps soar in popularity after Super Bowl splurge (The Block)
iOS jailbreak dev wins $2M bounty for finding critical Optimism bug (CoinTelegraph)
HMRC seizes NFT for first time in £1.4m fraud case (BBCNews)
Digital euro bill due early 2023 (Politico)
Viam closes $30 Million Series A funding round (The Robot Report)
Jio Platforms invests $200 million in Google-backed Glance (TechCrunch)
Nvidia’s RTX 3090 Ti is still missing, and the company refuses to say what’s going on (The Verge)

(TWTR SPC) What Is A DAO? With @BradyDale Feb 12, 2022

Show notes

What is a DAO? How do they function? What is the history of this idea? Why have DAO's become so popular all of the sudden, and what are some examples of successful DAOs? The great Brady Dale from @DefiantNews joins Chris and Brian to explain.

Fri. 02/11 – A New CIA Bulk Surveillance Program? Feb 11, 2022

Show notes

Allegations of a new, widespread bulk surveillance program being run on American citizens by the CIA. Apple is planning AirTag updates to curb their use for stalking people. The first Android 13 developer preview is out. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.

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Secret CIA Bulk Surveillance Program Includes Some Americans’ Records, Senators Say (WSJ)
Apple Announces AirTag Updates to Address Unwanted Tracking (MacRumors)
The first developer preview of Android 13 has arrived (TechCrunch)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions

Flexport Is Silicon Valley’s Solution To The Supply Chain Mess—Why Do Insiders Hope It Sinks? (Forbes)
How Telegram Became the Anti-Facebook (Wired)
Sony's AI Drives a Race Car Like a Champ (Wired)
Russia’s drone army contains heaps of Western electronics. Can the U.S. cut them off? (Washington Post)
The Little Streaming Comedy Platform That Couldn’t (Vulture)
Amazon’s Lord of the Rings Series Rises: Inside The Rings of Power (Vanity Fair)

Thu. 02/10 – Code Hints Of Apple’s “realityOS” Feb 10, 2022

Show notes

Not just rumors of an Apple AR headset, but actual code mentions of a “realityOS” are showing up now. Microsoft hopes to head off the regulators with some app store rules. Now Flash storage chips might be in for a supply crunch. And why static video memes are all over Instagram all of the sudden.

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Links:

Is ‘realityOS’ Apple’s newest operating system? (The Verge)
In a bid to appease regulators, Microsoft announces new app store principles (The Washington Post)
Western Digital, Kioxia Lose 'At Least' 6.5 Exabytes of 3D NAND Due to Contamination (Updated) (Tom's Hardware)
Why Static Video Memes Are All Over Instagram (The Information)
Gopuff stocks its warehouses with items purchased from Instacart, spending tens of thousands per month on the service (Insider)

Wed. 02/09 – The Samsung Galaxy S22 Event Feb 09, 2022

Show notes

All the headlines from the Samsung event, including the new S22 lineup and some massive new tablets. Can Meta’s stock crash so much that it would become immune to antitrust liability? And, look, the alleged Bonnie and Clyde for our times, the whole saga of that husband and wife arrested here in NYC yesterday, allegedly related to the big Bitfinex hack.

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Tue. 02/08 – Nvidia And Arm Are Off Feb 08, 2022

Show notes

It’s a day of retrenchment. Nvidia and Arm are off. Peter Thiel is leaving the Meta board. Peloton loses its CEO ahead of what is likely to be disastrous earnings. The IRS backs down from the whole facial recognition thing. And Tinder stops charging you more if you’re old.

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Links:

SoftBank’s $66bn sale of chip group Arm to Nvidia collapses (THE (?) Financial Times)
Peter Thiel to Exit Meta’s Board to Support Trump-Aligned Candidates (NYTimes)
Peloton CEO John Foley to Step Down, Firm to Cut 2,800 Jobs (WSJ)
I.R.S. to End Use of Facial Recognition for Identity Verification (NYTimes)
Apple Buys Startup That Makes Music With Artificial Intelligence (Bloomberg)
Apple announces new Tap to Pay feature that turns iPhones into contactless payment terminals (9to5Mac)
Signal now allows you to keep messages and groups after changing phone numbers (ZDNet)
Tinder will stop charging older users more for premium features (Engadget)

Mon 02/07 – Rogangate And The ENS DAO Controversy Feb 07, 2022

Show notes

Rogangate rolls on. Why a controversy in the Ethereum Name Service community might be even more interesting, because of what it might teach us about the viability of DAOs. Twitter is, oddly, testing ways to make it easier for folks to DM you. And rumors of a new entry level MacBook Pro.

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Spotify CEO Addresses Joe Rogan’s N-Word Use, Doubles Down on Keeping Podcaster on Platform (The Hollywood Reporter)
Spotify CEO defends Joe Rogan deal in tense company town hall (The Verge)
Ethereum Name Service Removes Core Team Member Brantly Millegan Over 2016 Tweet (CoinDesk)
Twitter’s direct DM test is a terrible idea (The Verge)
Gurman: New entry-level MacBook Pro with M2 chip coming this year, but no ProMotion (9to5Mac)
Gurman: Apple Event on March 8, At Least Four M2 Macs to Launch Later This Year (MacRumors)
Mapping the celebrity NFT complex (Read Max)

Fri. 02/04 – Tech Earnings Whiplash! Feb 04, 2022

Show notes

That crack you felt in your spine was just the whiplash from the craziest 24 hours in tech earnings I’ve ever seen. Amazon has created a bigger advertising business than the entire newspaper industry. Apple once again shows it can adjust the App Store vig when it has to. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.

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