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Thu. 01/16 - Apple Acquires Xnor.ai Jan 16, 2020

Show notes

Apple has acquired a pretty interesting AI startup, the Chromium-based Edge browser is here, but there is trouble in Mozilla land, Fitbit is first to market with blood oxygen monitoring, the state of the app economy and ‘instant’ weather forecasts from Google.

Sponsor:

Metalab.co

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Exclusive: Apple acquires Xnor.ai, edge AI spin-out from Paul Allen’s AI2, for price in $200M range (GeekWire)
XNOR.ai frees AI from the prison of the supercomputer (TechCrunch)
Microsoft launches Chromium Edge for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and macOS (VentureBeat)
Mozilla lays off 70 as it waits for new products to generate revenue (TechCrunch)
Fitbit quietly enables blood oxygen tracking on its wearables (Engadget)
Venture capital slowly seeps outside of Silicon Valley (Axios)
App stores saw record 204 billion app downloads in 2013, consumer spend of $120 billion (TechCrunch)
Google says new AI models allow for ‘nearly instantaneous’ weather forecasts (The Verge)

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Wed. 01/15 - @Jack On An Edit Button: ‘We’ll probably never do it’ Jan 15, 2020

Show notes

More juicy details about the Galaxy S20 lineup, Google Smart Lock lets you do 2FA on your iPhone, proof that no-code development is the new hotness, why do the Feds even need Apple to unlock those iPhones, and Jack Dorsey says we are never, ever, ever going to get… a Edit Tweet button. Probably.

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Exclusive: Leaked Samsung Galaxy S20+ Hands-on confirms 120Hz display, ultrasonic under-display fingerprint scanner, and no headphone jack (XDAdevelopers)
You can now use iPhones as Google security keys for 2FA (9to5Google)
Google acquires no-code app development platform AppSheet (VentureBeat)
Four years after being acquired, Hipmunk is shutting down (TechCrunch)
Apple Takes a (Cautious) Stand Against Opening a Killer’s iPhones (NYTimes)
European Venture Report: VC Dollars Rise In 2019 (Crunchbase News)
Disney+ was the most downloaded app in the US in Q4 2019 (TechCrunch)
Twitter’s Jack Dorsey on edit button: ‘We’ll probably never do it’ (The Verge)

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Tue. 01/14 - The End of the Windows 7 Era Jan 14, 2020

Show notes

Apple once again refuses to unlock an iPhone for the Feds, Visa buys Plaid, a macOS beta hints at future ‘Pro Mode’, super crucial Windows update you should download right away and why today is also the end of the Windows 7 Era.

Sponsors:

Metalab.co
LegalZoom.com (promo code RIDE at checkout)

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Mon. 01/13 - Get Hyped For the Galaxy S20 Lineup! Jan 13, 2020

Show notes

Are you ready to get hyped for the Galaxy S20 cause yes, that’s the name. We’re skipping some numbers. TikTok might be cloning Snapchat’s Discover feed. Is GDPR actually doing anything and/or is it enforceable? And could Casper be a make or break test for the Unicorn ecosystem?

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Exclusive: This is the Samsung Galaxy S20+ (XDAdevelopers)
TikTok explores curated content feed to lure advertisers (FT)
Cookie consent tools are being used to undermine EU privacy rules, study suggests (TechCrunch)
A billion medical images are exposed online, as doctors ignore warnings (TechCrunch)
Casper's IPO could be a bellwether for unprofitable startups in the post-We-Work era (TechCrunch)
Casper files to go public, shows you can lose money selling mattresses (TechCrunch)

(Bonus) Health Tech Checkin With CNBC's Christina Farr Jan 11, 2020

Show notes

Checkin on the health-tech space with the only reporter I follow religiously around this space: Christina Farr. Why are hospitals suddenly in the middle of a health data gold rush? Why are you more likely to have your health records hacked then every be able to get them in your own hands?

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Fri. 01/10 - I Flip-Flop on Quibi Jan 10, 2020

Show notes

More trouble for Softbank startups, more layoffs at scooter startups, VC deals plateaued last year but music streaming continues to skyrocket, how much money does Netflix lose to password sharers and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.

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Links:

SoftBank-Backed Oyo Firing Thousands Across China and India (Bloomberg)
E-scooter startup Lime shuts in 12 markets, lays off around 100 (Axios)
The Q4/EOY 2019 Global VC Report: A Strong End To A Good, But Not Fantastic, Year (Crunchbase News)
U.S. Music Streams Topped a Trillion in 2019 (WSJ)
Streaming Services Reckon With Password-Sharing "Havoc" (The Hollywood Reporter)
I’m a Millennial, and I Don’t Understand What Quibi Is Trying to Do (Fortune)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

QUIBI VERSUS THE WORLD (The Verge)
The hidden world and overlooked problems of acting in video games (Washington Post)
Why your favorite celebs are ditching Twitter for an app you’ve never heard of (Fast Company)
AN ORAL HISTORY OF RICKROLLING (Mel)
Admit It: You Have a Box of Cords You’ll Never, Ever Use Again (WSJ)

Thu. 01/09- The Phantom Title (Explained at the End of the 01/10 Episode) Jan 09, 2020

Show notes

Twitter will allow you to limit who can reply to your tweets, iPhone sales in China seem to have rebounded, the Chinese version of TikTok is why TikTok can distance itself from China, AI is going to pick which movies get made, and why sex tech finally has a home at CES.

Sponsors:

Tiny Capital

Links:

Twitter will put options to limit replies directly on the compose screen (The Verge)
Firefox gets patch for critical 0-day that’s being actively exploited (Ars Technica)
iPhone Hits Double-Digit Growth in China, Official Data Show (Bloomberg)
Douyin, TikTok app in China, hits 400 million daily active users (TechCrunch)
Warner Bros. Signs Deal for AI-Driven Film Management System (Exclusive) (The Hollywood Reporter)
At CES 2020, the AirPods Pro competitors arrived in droves (The Verge)
Sex-Tech Companies Are Having More Fun Than the Rest of Us at CES (Wired)

Wed. 01/08 - CES Day 3 Jan 08, 2020

Show notes

Another interesting Facebook memo from Boz, Intel previews its next generation of mobile GPUs, more troubles in Softbank startup land, Quibi had a bit of a launch event today, and I saw Charmin’s toilet paper delivery robot.

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Don’t Tilt Scales Against Trump, Facebook Executive Warns (NYTimes)
CES 2020: Intel previews Tiger Lake mobile processors and discrete GPU (CNET)
Getaround to Lay Off About One-Fourth of Staff (The Information)
ClassPass, finally a unicorn, raises $285M in new funding (TechCrunch)
Quibi unveils "Turnstyle," its flagship mobile video format (Axios)
Quibi's secret weapon: Videos that work in portrait and landscape mode (Engadget)
Mind-blowing Delta board shows 100 passengers personalized flight details at the same time (Mashable)
I tried Nreal’s mixed reality glasses at CES and now I want a pair (Android Authority)

Tue. 01/07 - CES Day 2 Jan 07, 2020

Show notes

Sonos goes nuclear on Google, though it really has Amazon in mind also; Facebook bans deep fakes… in a way; a whole bunch of really interesting laptop stuff, Sony makes a car, and you make a fashion statement and protect yourself from air pollution at the same time… all the stuff from Day 2 at CES.

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Links:

Sonos, Squeezed by the Tech Giants, Sues Google (NYTimes)
Enforcing Against Manipulated Media (Facebook Newsroom)
Facebook bans deepfakes, but new policy may not cover controversial Pelosi video (Washington Post)
Sony surprises with an electric concept car called the Vision-S (The Verge)
Mercedes-Benz unveils an Avatar-themed concept car with scales (The Verge)
Lenovo's ThinkBook Plus Laptop Has a Second Screen on the Lid (TomsHardware)
Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Fold is a $2,499 PC with a folding OLED screen (The Verge)
Lenovo's Yoga 5G laptop packs nine antennas and Snapdragon power (Engadget)
Ring adds privacy dashboard to app in response to security concerns (The Verge)
Atmos Faceware makes clean air an expensive accessory (The Verge)

Mon. 01/06 - CES Day 1 Jan 06, 2020

Show notes

Samsung tries to scoop CES, Amazon’s Fire TV Edition wants to leapfrog Roku TV, Samsung wants the Galaxy Chromebook to change the way you think about Chromebooks, is Softbank ghosting startups even after delivering term sheets, and a roundup of day one of CES.

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Fire TV Edition expands to more soundbars, plus cars, cables boxes and more (TechCrunch)
Roku TV adds 15 more brand partners plus a new 'Roku TV Ready' program (TechCrunch)
THE SAMSUNG GALAXY CHROMEBOOK IS BEAUTIFUL, FAST, AND EXPENSIVE (The Verge)
Scoop: SoftBank shafts startups (Axios)
News coverage gets geo-fragmented (NiemanLab)
Samsung details its stunning bezel-less 8K TV (The Verge)
The 10 Neatest Things We've Seen at CES So Far (Wired)
Intel just confirmed it’s building this tiny modular desktop gaming PC (The Verge)
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