Tech Brew Ride Home

Latest Episodes:

Wed. 07/17 - Neuralink and Boston Dynamics Are Ready For Their Closeup Jul 17, 2019

Show notes

Google says Project Dragonfly is dead, Apple might be producing its own original podcasts, the Switch regular gets a refresh, and two long-time interesting companies: Neuralink and Boston Dynamics are ready for the spotlight. Sponsors: Castro SVB.com/next Links: Antitrust: Commission opens investigation into possible anti-competitive conduct of Amazon (The European Commission) A Google VP Told The US Senate The Company Has “Terminated” The Chinese Search App Dragonfly (BuzzFeed News) Apple Plans to Bankroll Original Podcasts to Fend Off Rivals (Bloomberg) New Nintendo Switch model will have much better battery life (Polygon) Microsoft wins multibillion-dollar cloud deal from AT&T (CNBC) Elon Musk’s Neuralink Takes Baby Steps to Wiring Brains to the Internet (NYTimes) BOSTON DYNAMICS’ ROBOTS ARE PREPARING TO LEAVE THE LAB — IS THE WORLD READY? (The Verge) Education publisher Pearson to phase out print textbooks (BBC News) Get a podcast classified of your own. CLASSIFIED: Should users be allowed to gain value from the location data their friends share with them? Even if it's non-monetary value? If not, why not? We have created an experiment to probe into these questions. Our experiment is an app that allows users to collect and analyze hundreds of location data points that are currently being shared with them by their friends, but are not collected. When this data is collected and analyzed properly, users can gain insights on their friends' behavior, much like companies gain insight on everyone else's behavior by collecting or buying this data in bulk. We are looking for one journalist to cover this exclusively, and we figured the Techmeme ride home would be our best bet. We intend to shed some more light on privacy inconsistencies. If you are interested in this, please email us at press@whosintown.app, that is press @ whosintown dot app

Tue. 07/16 - Who Put The Politics In My Tech? Jul 16, 2019

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Facebook explains Libra to Congress, Amazon might be next in the EU’s woodshed, Google might be next in Trump’s woodshed, another Tesla lineup shakeup, a couple of interesting raises and Microsoft opens Windows up to all your digital assistants. Sponsors: SVB.com/next Firesideconf.com/ride Links: Senators aren’t sold on Facebook’s Libra project (The Verge) Highlights from Facebook's Libra Senate hearing (TechCrunch) Facebook Cryptocurrency Plans Have a Problem: Facebook’s Reputation (NYTimes) Amazon in EU Crosshairs as Vestager Fights Big Tech to the End (Bloomberg) Trump threatens to ‘take a look’ at Google for China ties (Washington Post) Silicon Valley’s Right Wing Is Angry And Punching Back (BuzzFeed News) Tesla updates pricing and options across lineup, discontinues several variants (Electrek) Newsletter platform Substack raises $15.3M round led by a16z (TechCrunch) Patreon raises $60M Series D, targets international growth and more customization (TechCrunch) Subscribe to the ad-free feed! Order up your own podcast classified! Podcast Classifieds: Are you a podcaster looking for an easy and affordable way to upload and share your podcast that doesn’t take a lot of time? Are you a church or ministry looking to share sermons or other content with your followers? JustCast turns your Dropbox into podcast hosting and is the easiest way to share to the web and iTunes. With hosting solutions starting at no cost and with other very affordable hosting tiers, JustCast is here for you. JustCast takes the hosting headaches away and gives you the ability to spend more time focusing on creating and perfecting your content. It’s the simplest way to create RSS feed for your podcast. JustCast is one of those technologies that will change your life. You’ll never remember what you did before JustCast! Check it out at www.justcast.com

Mon. 07/15 - Don't Naruto-Rush Area 51 Jul 15, 2019

Show notes

The FTC is readying a record fine for Facebook, but is it just a parking ticket? Qualcomm refreshes the Snapdragon lineup, governments want to make money off of selling your data also, Microsoft Office quietly winning in mobile, and the Air Force warns: do NOT storm Area 51! Sponsors: Rhone.com/ride Promocode RIDE for 20% off! Firesideconf.com/ride Links: FTC Approves Roughly $5 Billion Facebook Settlement (WSJ) YouTube's Trampled Foes Plot Antitrust Revenge (Bloomberg) Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 Plus chip is built for gaming and VR (Engadget) I-Team: Florida DMV sells your personal information to private companies, marketing firms (ABC Action News) Microsoft Word for Android has been installed more than 1 billion times (The Verge) Microsoft Word passes 1 billion installs on Play Store (Android Police) Who Needs Amazon HQ2? Not New York Real Estate’s Tech Boom (WSJ) AT&T to auto block fraud robocalls for free, but blocking spam calls will cost extra (ZDNet) Facebook-Driven Area 51 Storming May Be Countered With Force, Says US Air Force (Deadline)

(Bonus) Is Ecommerce Gonna Kill The Grocery Store? With Joe Fassler Jul 14, 2019

Show notes

Remember that longread from Friday? I knew lots of physical retail was under threat from ecommcerce, but do we have to worry about the grocery store too? As I said, this was something I’ve never considered. So read the piece because I got in touch with the author, Joe Fassler to see what the story is. And yes, there are larger societal and cultural and even cyclical shifts imperiling the traditional grocery market, but yes, it’s tech and ecommerce too. A deeper dive into all this, plus at look at the star of Joe’s piece, the grocery store architect who is trying to blow up the grocery in order to save it. The man who’s going to save your neighborhood grocery store (The New Food Economy) Sponsors: CognitoHQ.com Stamps.com, click on the Microphone at the TOP of the homepage and type in RIDE

(Bonus) The Superhuman Brouhaha With Mike Davidson Jul 13, 2019

Show notes

Remember the whole Superhuman kerfuffle of the last week or so? Mike Davidson wrote a blog post calling out some shady stuff in the Superhuman email product, all of silicon valley debated it, Superhuman walked things back a bit, and actually, I didn’t mention this, but Mike had a second post about this, which was even more in depth an eloquent than the first one. So, I reached out to Mike to talk about this whole thing, not because I wanted to re-litigate it, but because I wanted to poke at… well, what I said last week… what does this whole debate say about the discourse in tech at the moment? Mike's 2nd post on this that I didn't mention on the podcast Sponsors: Wix.com/podcast Capterra.com/ride

Fri. 07/12 - Amazon Developing A High-End Echo Speaker Jul 12, 2019

Show notes

Amazon is developing a high-end Echo speaker, the PC market’s not dead yet, Postmates is having second thoughts about going public and might shop itself around instead, and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Metalab.co Lightstream.com/ride Links: Amazon Plans High-End Echo, Ramps Up Work on Alexa Home Robot (Bloomberg) Gartner: PC shipments grew 1.5% in Q2 2019 (VentureBeat) Ford-VW alliance expands to include autonomous and electric vehicles (The Verge) Postmates has explored a sale to Uber or DoorDash instead of going public (Recode) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The man who’s going to save your neighborhood grocery store (The New Food Economy) Disney Won. Now What? (BuzzFeed News) You’re Hired. Now Wear This Headset to Learn the Job. (NYTimes) New Coke Didn’t Fail. It Was Murdered. (Mother Jones) ROAD-TRIPPING WITH THE AMAZON NOMADS (The Verge)

Thu. 07/11 - Bird In Trouble Or Turning The Corner? Jul 11, 2019

Show notes

Apple quietly brings the hammer down on Zoom’s hidden web server, Apple also turns off Walkie Talkie in order to fix it, Google Assistant is listening in on you also, Amazon Music is a streaming dark-horse and dang is Bird losing a lot of money. Sponsors: SVB.com/next Metalab.co Links: Apple has pushed a silent Mac update to remove hidden Zoom web server (TechCrunch) Apple disables Walkie Talkie app due to vulnerability that could allow iPhone eavesdropping (TechCrunch) WHO’S LISTENING WHEN YOU TALK TO YOUR GOOGLE ASSISTANT? (Wired) OneTrust raised $200M at a $1.3B valuation to help organizations navigate online privacy rules (TechCrunch) Amazon becomes fastest-growing music steaming service (Financial Times) Hit by Big Loss, Bird Seeks $300M in New Funds (The Information) Blockstack wins first-ever SEC approval for a token offering under Reg A+ listing (The Block) 2020 iPhone to reduce TrueDepth notch, full-screen display rumored for 2021 (Apple Insider)

Wed. 07/10 - The New Switch Lite Drops The... "Switching" Jul 10, 2019

Show notes

The Nintendo Switch Lite is a smaller cheaper Switch that doesn’t “switch,” HBO Max is ready for the streaming thunderdome, is Slack falling behind Microsoft Teams, and an effort to close a funny tax loophole for crypto investors. Sponsors: SVB.com/next Metalab.co Links: Nintendo announces a handheld Nintendo Switch Lite for $199 (TechCrunch) HBO Max will be the exclusive streaming home of 'Friends' (Engadget) BET Streaming Service Taps Netflix Alum as Leader (Exclusive) (The Hollywood Reporter) AT&T says it will automatically block robocalls ‘in the coming months’ (The Verge) Microsoft might crush Slack like Facebook crushed Snapchat (ReCode) Snapchat announces new shows from Serena Williams, Arnold Schwarzenegger and others (TechCrunch) Next on Facebook’s Shopping List: Acquisitions to Beef Up Gaming (The Information) Bill to provide “safe harbor” for crypto fork taxpayers reintroduced in Congress (The Block) Buy a podcast classified ad at ridehome.info/classifieds TODAY'S CLASSIFIED: The Fortnite Challenges Guide is a community dedicated to completing the many challenges revealed in Fortnite Battle Royale each day. Our goal is to document every challenge soon after they are announced. If you play Fortnite, you've likely spent some time completing challenges. Each one is designed to highlight a specific aspect of gameplay or an interesting location on the map. You'll find hidden areas, loot, and strategies you never knew existed. If you're a content creator, come share your own videos showing how you've completed challenges. Let the community learn from your skills and experience. It's a great way to gain exposure to a new audience. This effort was created by a guy who spent the last 20 years of his career making websites for big companies. This small labor of love was built in his spare time, because he wished an organized, clean site like this already existed. Check it out at fortnite.challenges.guide.

Tue. 07/09 - Apple Culls The MacBook Herd Jul 09, 2019

Show notes

Apple culls the MacBook herd, YouTube returns to FireTV, a weird zero day exploit in Zoom’s video conferencing app, Elon Musk shakes up his autopilot team, and Stranger Things 3 breaks records for Netflix. Sponsors: SVB.com/next Metalab.co YouTube.com/jacksontaylortv Links: Apple stops selling 12-inch MacBook and previous generation MacBook Air (9to5Mac) YouTube is back on the Fire TV, and Prime Video launches on Chromecast starting today (The Verge) Instagram will test a feature that allows users to shadow ban their bullies (The Verge) Inside Instagram's War on Bullying (Time) Zoom Zero Day: 4+ Million Webcams & maybe an RCE? Just get them to visit your website! (InfoSec Write-Ups) More than 1,000 Android apps harvest data even after you deny permissions (CNET) Frustrated Musk Shakes Up Autopilot Team (The Information) If you'll pay more, new Uber Comfort offers Quiet Rides (TechCrunch) Spotify Lite is now officially out for 36 markets around the world (Engadget) ‘Stranger Things 3’ Breaks Netflix Four-Day Viewing Record, Streamer Says (Deadline) 'Stranger Things 3' has been seen by over 40 million Netflix accounts (Engadget)

Mon. 07/08 - The Rise of the Professional Dungeon Master Jul 08, 2019

Show notes

Your driver’s license is already being used for facial recognition surveillance, VC investment in Chinese startups is plummeting, I have an answer to my question around cities paying ransom to hackers, and if this podcast thing goes away, I know my next hustle: professional dungeon master. Sponsors: Metalab.co Legacybox.com/ride Links: FBI, ICE find state driver’s license photos are a gold mine for facial-recognition searches (The Washington Post) Apple tests Face ID and Touch ID sign-in for iCloud․com on iOS 13 and macOS Catalina betas (9to5Mac) China's Venture Capital Boom Shows Signs of Turning Into a Bust (Bloomberg) This Chrome extension lets you disguise Netflix as a Hangout to slack off at work (The Verge) Aircraft lands itself truly autonomously for the first time (Engadget) A City Paid a Hefty Ransom to Hackers. But Its Pains Are Far From Over. (NYTimes) Now Some Families Are Hiring Coaches to Help Them Raise Phone-Free Children (NYTimes) The Rise of the Professional Dungeon Master (Bloomberg Businessweek) Subscribe to the ad-free feed! Right INSIDE your podcast app!

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