Tech Brew Ride Home

Latest Episodes:

Fri. 08/09 - Can Ride Hailing EVER Make Money? Aug 09, 2019

Show notes

Uber and Lyft continue to lose money hand over fist, Huawei has a backup OS plan, Piano has a smarter paywall for news outlets, people are texting their “number neighbors” and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.

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Links:

Uber Posts $5.2 Billion Loss and Slowest Ever Growth Rate (NYTimes)
Huawei reveals HarmonyOS, its alternative to Android (Engadget)
Facebook Offers News Outlets Millions of Dollars a Year to License Content (WSJ)
How Piano built a propensity paywall for publishers — and what it’s learned so far (NiemanLab)
Here's why the internet is obsessed with 'number neighbors,' a viral trend where people text phone numbers one digit away from their own (Business Insider)

The Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

The Lonely Work of Moderating Hacker News (The New Yorker)
I Tried Hiding From Silicon Valley in a Pile of Privacy Gadgets (Bloomberg Businessweek)
How Globalization Broke Gateway, the Cow Computer Company (Motherboard)
Python is eating the world: How one developer's side project became the hottest programming language on the planet (ZDNet)
With warshipping, hackers ship their exploits directly to their target's mail room (TechCrunch)
Scientists Are Stuck on the Mystery of Tape (Engadget)

Thu. 08/08 - I Put Zero Thought Into This Episode Title (explained in the episode) Aug 08, 2019

Show notes

All the headlines from the Galaxy Note 10 event, to what degree does Zuckerberg really want to keep Instagram independent, Google is expanding podcast search capabilities, you can now tell Alexa to slow down, and Netflix bags Benioff and Weiss and what that means to the streaming wars.

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Links:

The 7 biggest announcements from the Samsung Note 10 event (The Verge)
Google Maps lets you pull up flight and hotel reservations on the go (CNET)
Google will start surfacing individual podcast episodes in search results (The Verge)
Now you can choose how fast Alexa talks on your Amazon Echo (The Verge)
Instagram's lax privacy practices let a trusted partner track millions of users' physical locations, secretly save their stories, and flout its rules (Business Insider)
'Game of Thrones' Creators Close $200M Netflix Overall Deal (The Hollywood Reporter)

Wed. 08/07 - The Disney+ Bundle Is Nuts Aug 07, 2019

Show notes

We have a launch date for Disney+ and we also have confirmation of a wicked compelling bundle, FedEx officially breaks up with Amazon, Amazon trades accusations with CVS and Walgreens, iOS API changes make life difficult for Facebook, and why it might be make or break time for TikTok.

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Links:

Disney Announces $12.99 Bundle For Disney+, Hulu, & ESPN+ Available At Launch (The Streamable)
FedEx Ends Ground-Delivery Deal With Amazon (Bloomberg)
Amazon’s PillPack is battling with CVS and Walgreens over getting patient prescriptions (CNBC)
Revealed: Microsoft Contractors Are Listening to Some Skype Calls (Vice)
Facebook Hit by Apple’s Crackdown on Messaging Feature (The Information)
Slack unveils new admin security controls (ITPro)
The biggest risks to TikTok (The Interface)
End of an era? Microsoft’s MSDN Magazine is ending its run after more than three decades (Onmsft.com)

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Tue. 08/06 - The Apple Card is Here, And It's A... Credit Card... Aug 06, 2019

Show notes

The Apple Card is here (for some of you), industrial cyberattacks have doubled, are Yelp and Grubhub partnering to hurt restaurants, Amazon’s scoot robots come to Southern California, 5G comes to New York City and what to expect from tomorrow’s Samsung event.

Sponsors:

Mealime
Joybird.com/ride Promocode: RIDE

Links:

The Apple Card starts rolling out today (TheVerge)
Cyberattacks against industrial targets have doubled over the last 6 months (ZDNet)
Microsoft: Russian state hackers are using IoT devices to breach enterprise networks (ZDNet)
Microsoft launches Azure Security Lab, expands bug bounty rewards (ZDNet)
Yelp is Screwing Over Restaurants By Quietly Replacing Their Phone Numbers (Motherboard)
Amazon Squeezes Sellers That Offer Better Prices on Walmart (Bloomberg)
Amazon’s Scout robots roll out in Southern California (Venture Beat)
AT&T rolls out (limited) 5g in (parts of) New York City (TechCrunch)
Note 10 Plus? Here’s what to expect from Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked on August 7 (Digital Trends)

Mon. 08/05 - Cloudflare Breaks Up With 8chan Aug 05, 2019

Show notes

Cloudflare stops doing business with 8chan, two big new smartwatch releases, why the Athletic believes people will pay for sports news, the 22 year old founder of the newest unicorn, and why used electric vehicles might signal EVs are entering the mainstream.

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Links:

Terminating Service for 8Chan (Cloudflare Blog)
8chan: the far-right website linked to the rise in hate crimes (The Guardian)
The Problem Isn't 8chan. It's Americans. (Buzzfeed News)
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Active 2 brings back the bezel control (The Verge)
Fossil’s latest Wear OS watches have 1GB RAM, smart battery modes, Snapdragon Wear 3100 (9to5Google)
Huawei tests smartphone with own operating system, possibly for sale this year: Chinese state media (Reuters)
News discovery app SmartNews valued at $1.1b (TechCrunch)
Silicon Valley’s Latest Unicorn Is Run by a 22-Year-Old (Bloomberg Businessweek)
NOW ON USED CAR LOTS: GREAT ELECTRIC VEHICLES FOR CHEAP (Wired)

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The State of Amazon With Jason Del Rey Aug 03, 2019

Show notes

The Vox/Recode family has a new podcast, Land of the Giants. And so we’re going to talk to Jason Del Rey, the voice behind the first season of this podcast, which focuses on Amazon. But look, I’ve wanted to get someone on to talk turkey with me about Amazon for a while now, because they're at this weird place where… maybe they’re the most powerful tech company in the land? What does that mean, for them AND for us? Jason Del Rey was the perfect person to ask.

Sponsor:

Vistaprint.com/ride

Fri. 08/02 - Stop Listening To Me, Siri! Aug 02, 2019

Show notes

Google and Apple suspend their programs where humans listen in on what you say to your voice assistant, Google will let Android users in Europe pick a search engine, Verizon tortures the very definition of words, Amazon dash buttons have an official end date, and the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.

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Links:

Apple suspends Siri response grading in response to privacy concerns (TechCrunch)
Google will charge search providers to be the Android default in Europe (The Verge)
Amazon is going to kill your Dash button (CNET)
Verizon overhauls its ‘unlimited’ offerings with four new plans and $5 price cuts (The Verge)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

WHEN OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE COMES WITH A FEW CATCHES (Wired)
Your Next iPhone Might Be Made in Vietnam. Thank the Trade War. (NYTimes)
Late Night Dispatch: Tuca & Bertie versus The Algorithm (Julia Alexander)
Where Everyone’s an Influencer (The Atlantic)
America’s DIY Phone Farmers (Motherboard)
What Happens When the World’s Population Stops Growing? (The Atlantic)

CLASSIFIED:

Tips tricks and commentary from the world of Cisco brought to you by the people that know it best. Conf T, or Configure Terminal for the newbies, is a bi-weekly podcast hosted by Cisco Systems Engineers where we discuss various Cisco technologies, best practices including Cisco Validated Designs, and overall commentary regarding Cisco and Technology in general. With new topics covered every two weeks across the entire Cisco portfolio, this is one of the best ways to keep up on everything Cisco. If you manage Cisco networks, be sure and subscribe to "Conf T with your SE" so you can stay up to date and informed. Conf T with your SE is available on Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, and anywhere else fine podcasts are found.

Thu. 08/01 - Chips Get Faster, Scooters Get Rugged-er Aug 01, 2019

Show notes

Intel’s faster new chips, Bird’s more durable new scooters, Samsung’s new lack of a headphone jack, Cisco settles with the government, IBM’s facing an age discrimination lawsuit, Cloudflare’s planning an IPO and the new season of Fortnite.

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Links:

Intel unveils its first 10th-gen laptop CPUs (Engadget)
Bird’s new electric scooter has a better battery and anti-vandalism sensors (The Verge)
Dongle life: Galaxy Note 10’s 3.5mm to USB-C adapter pictured in leak (SamMobile)
Cloudflare Said To Pursue September IPO, We Say Heck Yes (Crunchbase News)
Cisco to Pay $8.6 Million to Settle Government Claims of Flawed Tech (NYTimes)
IBM Fired as Many as 100,000 in Recent Years, Lawsuit Shows (Bloomberg)
Jeff Bezos Sells $2 Billion of Amazon Stock After 4% Stake Transfer (Bloomberg)
Solar-sailing satellite proves it can use light to propel through space (The Verge)
And Now, a Bicycle Built for None (NYTimes)
Fortnite season X adds mech suits, a meteor, and ‘volatile rift zones’ (The Verge)

Classified:

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Wed. 07/31 - Apple: What, Me Worry? Jul 31, 2019

Show notes

Apple isn’t selling as many iPhones, but they want you to know that that’s just fine. Samsung isn’t selling as many high end smartphones as they’d like, but seemingly no one is. There’s a new Galaxy Tab, Facebook hasn’t given up on their Portal ambitions and the rise of the livestreamed funeral business.

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Links:

Apple Reports Third Quarter Results (Apple PR)
Samsung's Q2 profit halved from low memory demand (ZDNet)
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S6 is its latest volley against the iPad Pro (The Verge)
Spotify Grows to 108M Paid Subscribers Compared to Apple Music's 60M (MacRumors)
Facebook Approached Netflix, Disney to Support TV Chat Device (The Information)
Amazon concedes market share in battle for online consumer goods sales (TalkBusiness.net)
NOW EVEN FUNERALS ARE LIVESTREAMED—AND FAMILIES ARE GRATEFUL (Wired)

CLASSIFIED:

There is a great new podcast on venture and startups. It’s Called LA Venture and it’s all about the Los Angeles venture and startup scene. It's useful if you're looking for funding or just interested in getting to know the LA investors. Admittedly, it's hosted by two VCs interviewing other VCs and everyone is talking about themselves. But, we're all avid TechMeme listeners so perhaps we've picked up some of Brian's ability to make our stories snappy and enjoyable listening. (ooh… flattery will get you everywhere)… Search for "LA Venture" hosted by TenOneTen. Great place to get venture insights if you're already caught up on TechMeme Ride Home listening. Again, LA Venture by TenOneTen.

Tue. 07/30 - The Capital One Breach Is A Weird One Jul 30, 2019

Show notes

Another day, another data breach… but this Capital One breach has some odd new wrinkles, the Android smartphone industry continues to be a tough gig for most manufacturers, I’m ready for smart contact lenses and apparently, the YouTube creator community is ready for a union.

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