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Fri. 01/15 – Are We Really Getting the MacBook of My Dreams? Jan 15, 2021

Show notes

Is Apple finally throwing in the towel and giving us the sort of laptops we actually want? With these IPO first-day pops, forget banks screwing startups, are VC’s also undervaluing companies right now in a way that is unfair? Amazon wants to do in cars what it’s done successfully in homes. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.

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Kuo details 2021 MacBook Pro: new design with squared-off sides, MagSafe connector and IO return, Touch Bar removed (9to5Mac)
Apple Plans Upgraded MacBook Pros With Return of Magnetic Charging (Bloomberg)
Online clothing reseller Poshmark closes up more than 140% on first day of trading (CNBC)
Amazon opens Alexa AI tech for the first time so car makers can build custom assistants (The Verge)
Galaxy Book Flex2: Samsung’s first 5G laptop has an 11th-gen Intel Processor (Digital Trends)
Shares in China’s Xiaomi tumble after US investment ban (Financial Times)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

Is Letterboxd Becoming a Blockbuster? (NYTimes)
Why the Canadian Tech Scene Doesn’t Work (AlexDanco.com)
An Oral History of Wikipedia, the Web’s Encyclopedia (OneZero)
CRISPR and the Splice to Survive (The New Yorker)
Spotify Bets Big on Podcasts as a Path to Profitability (Bloomberg Businessweek)

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Thu. 01/14 – Samsung Unpacked Brings The New Galaxy S21 Lineup Jan 14, 2021

Show notes

All the news from the Galaxy Unpacked event. The tech stock IPO first day pop bubble continues. Asus persists with that dual screen laptop thing. BMW has a new way to unlock your car with your phone. And Google absolutely swears it won’t use your fitbit data against you. Swears.

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SAMSUNG GALAXY S21, S21 PLUS, AND S21 ULTRA FIRST LOOK: POLISHED DESIGN (AND PRICES) (The Verge)
The Galaxy S21 Ultra packs two telephoto lenses and supports the S Pen (Engadget)
Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag is a $29.99 Tile competitor (The Verge)
Max Levchin’s Affirm pops nearly 100% in market debut (CNBC)
Asus’ 2021 laptop line includes two new dual-screen ZenBooks (The Verge)
BMW’s Digital Key Plus will let iPhones unlock the iX from a pocket or bag (The Verge)
Google's Fitbit acquisition is official (TechCrunch)

Wed. 01/13 – The Visa/Plaid Merger Is Called Off Jan 13, 2021

Show notes

The Visa/Plaid merger is called off, and I’ll tell you why I think this is a sign of the current situation for tech. More tectonic shifts in the chip industry including Qualcomm acquiring a startup and Intel losing its CEO. More smoke around the fire story of an Apple Car. And Facebook has noticed you downloaded Signal.

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Tue. 01/12 – Intel Unveils New Core i9-11900K Flagship Chip Jan 12, 2021

Show notes

Intel’s new flagship chips are here. Lenovo’s new laptop lineup is here. Walmart wants in on the fintech startup game. GM is spinning off a new electric delivery truck startup. And I know foldable phones haven’t exactly taken over the world, but could I interest you in a rollable phone?

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Intel Previews 11th Gen Core Rocket Lake: Core i9-11900K and Z590, Coming Q1 (AnandTech)
Lenovo’s new ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga is less than half an inch thick (The Verge)
Walmart to create fintech start-up with investment firm behind Robinhood (CNBC)
Aptiv unveils new self-driving platform with wireless upgrades (Reuters)
GM unveils electric delivery van with 250 miles of range as part of new spinoff business (The Verge)
Parler sues Amazon, leveling far-fetched antitrust allegations (The Verge)
Following Trump Ban, Facebook Tells Employees to Avoid Wearing Company-Branded Apparel (The Information)
LG’s Rollable phone is real and launching in 2021 (The Verge)

Mon. 01/11 – All Of Tech Kills Parler Jan 11, 2021

Show notes

Once again, did some things happen since we last spoke? A run-down of, especially, the Parler situation. And it’s the first day of CES. Here’s what we’re missing in terms of gadget announcements, cool gadgets we’d love to get hands-on time with and the weird gadgets that make CES so fun.

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Amazon Is Booting Parler Off Of Its Web Hosting Service (Buzzfeed)
Parler CEO Says Service Dropped By “Every Vendor” And Could End His Business (Deadline)
San Francisco police are prepping for a pro-Trump rally at Twitter headquarters (TechCrunch)
HP launches new Envy 14 laptop, Elite Folio 2-in1 tablet, and new… earbuds? (Android Authority)
Lenovo's ThinkReality A3 Smart Glasses can show up to five virtual displays (Engadget)
HyperX made its first 60-percent mechanical gaming keyboard (The Verge)
WHY CHAMBERLAIN BUILT A $3,000 AUTOMATIC GARAGE DOOR FOR YOUR DOG (The Verge)

Fri. 01/08 – An Apple/Hyundai Car? Jan 08, 2021

Show notes

Interesting new Apple Car rumors, including how they’ve basically raided Tesla for talent, apparently. Alex Stamos and Chris Krebs have formed the security Avengers. People do seem to be jumping ship from WhatsApp. Why Roku is maybe the dark horse of the Streaming Wars. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.

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Hyundai Motor says it’s in early talks with Apple to develop a car, sends shares soaring 19% (CNBC)
SolarWinds hires former Trump cyber security chief Chris Krebs (Financial Times)
Encrypted Messaging App Signal Sees Surge in Popularity Following WhatsApp Privacy Policy Update (MacRumors)
Roku TV Was the Top Selling Smart TV OS in 2020 (The Streamable)
A New Service Seeks to Streamline Your Streaming (WSJ)
‘TV Remote’ is an app that turns your iPhone into a universal control for your TV (9to5Mac)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

Xbox: The Oral History of an American Video Game Empire (Bloomberg)
FarmVille Once Took Over Facebook. Now Everything Is FarmVille. (NYTimes)
Archaeology is going digital to harness the power of Big Data (Ars Technica)
Here are the 6 most exciting space missions of 2021 (TNW)

Thu. 01/07 – Yes, There’s A Tech Angle To Yesterday’s Events… Jan 07, 2021

Show notes

Some stuff happened yesterday at the US Capital, and there’s a tech angle to it. Is SolarWinds just the beginning of the supply chain compromises? There’s new wi-fi coming that is faster and broader. Did the Georgia runoff mean the floodgates are now open for tech antitrust? And what the final segment pre-supposes is: putting a 55 inch display inside a car is a good idea.

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Wed. 01/06 – New GPT-3 Models Can Generate Images From Text Jan 06, 2021

Show notes

There are two new GPT-3 models and now the robots have come for the graphic artists. Trump continues his tech cold war against China, but the question is, will Biden? WhatsApp is further absorbed into the Facebook mothership. Eve Online players broke the game by playing it so hard. And Cameo wants you to know there’s money in the banana stand—I mean... paying Tom Arnold to record a video for you.

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Links:

This avocado armchair could be the future of AI (MIT Technology Review)
DALL·E: Creating Images from Text (OpenAI Blog)
Trump bars U.S. transactions with eight Chinese apps including Alipay (Reuters)
WhatsApp updates its Terms and Privacy Policy to mandate data-sharing with Facebook (XDA-Developers)
CIRP: iPhone 12 sales strong at launch, but iPhone 12 mini ‘likely disappointed Apple’ (9to5Mac)
Players in Eve Online broke a world record — and then the game itself (Polygon)
Cameo launches hiring spree following banner year (Axios)

Link to the Clubhouse parody video (@PottsJustin)

Tue. 01/05 – US Banks Can Now Issue Stablecoins Jan 05, 2021

Show notes

The OCC clears US banks to run crypto nodes and issue stablecoins. Microsoft wants to make One Outlook to rule all your email and calendar apps. Looks like Haven couldn’t solve healthcare. Why haven’t we seen Jack Ma in public for going on two months now? And Singapore says SYKE on that whole, not using Covid tracking data to keep track of citizens.

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Mon. 01/04 – Some Google Workers Say Union YES! Jan 04, 2021

Show notes

Google/Alphabet workers launch an official union drive. We’ve got a date for the Galaxy Unpacked event. Microsoft wants to give Windows a good scrubbing this year. Everyone wants a piece of ShareChat. Gazelle is getting out of the trade-in business. And LG doesn’t want to give up on tv screens you can hide away when not in use.

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Google, Alphabet employees seek to form a union (TechCrunch)
Samsung officially confirms Galaxy S21 event for January 14th (The Verge)
Microsoft planning ‘sweeping visual rejuvenation of Windows’ (The Verge)
Google and Snap in talks to invest in India's ShareChat (TechCrunch)
Trade-in site Gazelle is ending trade-ins (The Verge)
Apple will let Amphetamine app stay in the App Store after wrongly telling developer it violated App Store rules (The Verge)
This LG display transforms from flat to curved for immersive gaming (The Verge)

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