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Mon. 01/10 – Take-Two Acquires Zynga Jan 10, 2022

Show notes

Take-Two takes out Zynga for $12.7 billion dollars. The SEC wants private unicorn companies to report more financial details. The open source developer who borked a bunch of projects to protest working for the man, I guess. And the weekend Web3 debate between Moxie Marlinspike and Vitalic Buterin.

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Take-Two to acquire mobile gaming giant Zynga for $12.7B (TechCrunch)
SEC Pushes for More Transparency From Private Companies (WSJ)
Matter was a major star at CES 2022, but can it maintain its shine? (The Verge)
Dev corrupts NPM libs 'colors' and 'faker' breaking thousands of apps (BleepingComputer)
My first impressions of web3 (Moxie.org)
Response From Vitalic Buterin on Reddit

(Portfolio Profile) Sensel - With @IlyaRosenberg Jan 08, 2022

Show notes

Our first ever Portfolio Profile, of the first investment the Ride Home Fund ever made! Sensel! As you’ll hear, touch technology as a key layer in computing interface and interaction is about to undergo a major generational leap forward, and Sensel is at the bleeding edge of this transformation. Not only is there a good chance that the next laptop you buy will have Sensel technology inside, but you’ll hear how Sensel’s tech could come to smartphones soon, to medical devices, to automobiles. In essence, Senel’s tech has the potential to radically transform how we interact with computers all across the real world, and even provide a key foundational layer as we build out the metaverse.

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Fri. 01/07 – Google Infringed On Sonos Jan 07, 2022

Show notes

Sonos beats Google in trade court. E3 is going remote again this year. Mozilla is the latest company to suffer crypto backlash. Are foldable laptops the future? And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions, this week with a profile of the programmer behind Wordle.

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Google Infringed on Sonos Speaker Technology, Trade Court Rules (NYTimes)
E3 shifts to online-only event because of Omicron concerns (GamesBeat)
Mozilla pauses accepting crypto donations following backlash (The Verge)
Asus will release a 17-inch foldable OLED laptop this year (The Verge)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

CES 2022 was the best auto show in years (CNET)
Can You Really Tell the Difference Between 4K and 8K? (Gizmodo)
The Pixel Art Revolution Will Be Televised (Wired)
Banks Tiptoe Toward Their Cloud-Based Future (NYTimes)
The Danger of Leaving Weather Prediction to AI (Wired)
Wordle Is a Love Story (NYTimes)

Thu. 01/06 – Google Brings “It Just Works” To Everything Jan 06, 2022

Show notes

Google’s big announce at CES is better syncing and interoperability with everything. Instagram is launching their feed experiment. IBM might be looking to dump Watson. Ethereum has the most developers in crypto. And you know startups have been awash in money lately, here’s exactly how much.

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Google is working to improve Windows and Android integration (Engadget)
Google will spend 2022 trying to match Apple’s ecosystem integrations (The Verge)
Instagram testing three new feed sorting choices, including chronological options (9to5Mac)
HTC is launching a VR wrist tracker for its Vive Focus 3 headset (The Verge)
Scoop: IBM tries to sell Watson Health again (Axios)
Electric Capital Developer Report (2021) (Electric Capital)
Crypto Crime Trends for 2022: Illicit Transaction Activity Reaches All-Time High in Value, All-Time Low in Share of All Cryptocurrency Activity (Chainalysis)
US start-ups raise record $330bn as venture investors vie for stakes (FT)

Wed. 01/05 – Sony’s VR Version 2 Deets Jan 05, 2022

Show notes

Let’s stand in front of the firehose of CES news. Sony details its new VR headset for PlayStations. Chip news from Intel, from Nvidia, from AMD, from Microsoft and Qualcomm. Two really big interesting raises, and a new autonomous tractor allows us to talk about John Deere, for the first time ever, I believe.

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Sony confirms PlayStation VR2’s specs, first official game (ArsTechnica)
Intel Says New Core i9 Processor for Laptops is Faster Than Apple's M1 Max Chip (MacRumors)
Nvidia unveils GeForce RTX 3050, 3070 Ti, 3080 Ti, and 3090 Ti graphics cards (GamesBeat)
Nvidia still has no idea how to pronounce the name of its best gaming GPU (The Verge)
AMD unveils Ryzen 6000 Series processors for laptops (GamesBeat)
Qualcomm and Microsoft are partnering on chips for future AR glasses (CNET)
John Deere's Self-Driving Tractor Stirs Debate on AI in Farming (Wired)
OpenSea valued at $13.3 billion in new round of venture funding. (NYTimes)
Visual collaboration company Miro valued at $17.5B following $400M in new funding (TechCrunch)

Tue. 01/04 – Apple Becomes The First $3 Trillion Dollar Company Jan 04, 2022

Show notes

Apple becomes the world’s first $3 Trillion dollar company. Samsung unveils its latest budget flagship smartphone. AT&T and Verizon delay their controversial 5G rollout while Verizon and T-Mobile end their controversial Apple rebate program. And a trip down the aisles at CES, including a smart collar for your dog and a gadget to bring home hair coloring into the 21st century.

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Mon. 01/03 – NFTs On Smart TVs? Jan 03, 2022

Show notes

CES kicks off with some major Samsung TV announcements, as per usual. Are we about to get the biggest MacBook Air redesign in history? Did Oculus (and VR generally) have a big holiday season? And does OpenSea helping folks get back their stolen NFTs point to the reality of decentralization in the NFT market?

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Samsung’s new 2022 TVs bring Nvidia GeForce Now and Google Stadia gaming (The Verge)
Samsung promises ‘groundbreaking’ new TV feature: NFT support (The Verge)
Samsung shows off new monitors - including world's first 4K 240Hz gaming monitor (TechRadar)
Kuo: AirPods Pro 2 to Feature Lossless Support and Sound-Emitting Charging Case (MacRumors)
Apple Set to Step Up Product Launches in 2022 After Modest 2021 (Bloomberg)
Metaverse Needs More Than VR Christmas Bump (WSJ)
China gaming crackdown: freeze on new video game licences extends into 2022 as 14,000 gaming-related firms shut down (SCMP)
Airlines Warn of Flight Delays as AT&T, Verizon Balk at 5G Delay (Bloomberg)
OpenSea freezes $2.2M of stolen Bored Apes (CoinTelegraph)
How NFTs became a $40bn market in 2021 (FT)

Wed. 12/29 – Has Your LastPass Password Been Compromised? Dec 29, 2021

Show notes

Might want to doublecheck if your LastPass master password is safe. Apple has issued stock to try to retain a bunch of their key talent. Google is dangling investments in front of startups to try to win their cloud business. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.

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LastPass users warned their master passwords are compromised (BleepingComputer)
Apple Aims to Prevent Defections to Meta With Rare $180,000 Bonuses for Top Talent (Bloomberg)
Google and Tech Rivals Tap Cash Reserves to Realize Cloud Ambitions (WSJ)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

How Discord, Born From an Obscure Game, Became a Social Hub for Young People (NYTimes)
Here’s why streaming services are always duking it out over channels (The Verge)
How Shopify Outfoxed Amazon to Become the Everywhere Store (Bloomberg Businessweek)
We Are at the Dawn of the Age of Physics-Supplied Energy (Wired)

Tue. 12/28 – China Is Mad At Elon’s Satellites Dec 28, 2021

Show notes

China is pissed at Elon Musk cause of his Starlink satellites. Xiaomi’s new smartphones. The delivery robots taking over college campuses. The three fund companies that made fully 12% of all venture investments this year. And why cybersecurity companies are the hot startup sector as we head into the new year.

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China berates US after ‘close encounters’ with Elon Musk satellites (The Guardian)
Xiaomi 12 and 12 Pro debut with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipsets, Xiaomi 12X comes with SD870 (GSMArena)
Sidewalk Robots Find Foothold on College Campuses (Bloomberg Businessweek)
How Tiger Global, SoftBank Vision Fund And Insight Partners Changed The Venture Landscape In 2021 (Crunchbase News)
Truly Terrible Performers Multiply Among Startups Taking SPAC Route To Market (Crunchbase News)
Record Number Of VC-Backed Cyber Companies Acquired in 2021, Even As Venture Funding Hits New Highs (Crunchbase News)

Mon. 12/27 – Gibraltar To Become The Rock Of Crypto? Dec 27, 2021

Show notes

Gibraltar wants to add crypto to its stock exchange. The complicated truth about how successful Alexa has been as a product for Amazon. It was a big year for decentralized exchanges, but an even bigger one for centralized ones. And the story behind that SOS token drop that happened on Christmas Day.

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‘Blockchain Rock’: Gibraltar moves to become world’s first cryptocurrency hub (The Guardian)
Amazon’s Alexa Stalled With Users as Interest Faded, Documents Show (Bloomberg)
Decentralized exchanges saw over $1 trillion in trading volume this year (The Block)
Centralized crypto exchanges saw over $14 trillion in trading volume this year (The Block)
Everything You Need to Know About OpenDAO’s SOS Token Airdrop for OpenSea Users (Decrypt)

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