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Wed. 10/11 – The Greatest DDoS Attack By Far Oct 11, 2023

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The EU is warning Elon Musk over X content related to the Israel-Hamas war. The biggest DDoS attack of all time, by, like, 8x. New image models from Adobe. New PS5s from Sony. New rules from the FTC to help you avoid hidden fees. And checking in with the Sam Bankman Fried trial.

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EU warns Elon Musk of ‘penalties’ for disinformation circulating on X amid Israel-Hamas war (CNN)
New technique leads to largest DDoS attacks ever, Google and Amazon say (The Record)
Adobe Firefly can now generate more realistic images (TechCrunch)
Sony’s new PS5 with a removable disc drive launches in November (The Verge)
The End of Junk Fees? FTC Proposes New Rule (The Hollywood Reporter)
Caroline Ellison, Adviser to Sam Bankman-Fried, Says He ‘Directed’ Her to Commit Crimes (NYTimes)

Tue. 10/10 – The Veil Between Online And IRL Is Thin Oct 10, 2023

Show notes

That whole bungled pricing thing has cost the Unity CEO his job. The big 23andMe breach is a different kind of hack. And it turns out if you fall victim to a scam, it’s probably because you were online. Can you charge enough to cover the costs of AI products? And is the Pixel brand finally having a moment.

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Links:

John Riccitiello steps down as CEO of Unity after pricing battle (GamesBeat)
23andMe says private user data is up for sale after being scraped (ArsTechnica)
Social media scams are costing Americans more than ever (TechRadar)
Big Tech Struggles to Turn AI Hype Into Profits (WSJ)
Google has shipped almost 40 million Pixel phones since 2016, 10 million last year (9to5Google)
Elon Musk’s X Cut Disinformation-Fighting Tool Ahead of Israel-Hamas Conflict (The Information)

Listener Meetup Emergency Message! Oct 10, 2023

Show notes

Holy crap! Anyone coming to the listener meetup tonight, I hope you see this! Turns out Johnny Foley's is closed on Mondays! We will instead try to meet at the Kan Pai lounge in the Hotel Nikko! It's on the 2nd floor. Go up the escalators! Sorry for my error and this late notice! 222 Mason St. Right across the st!

(Portfolio Profile) Mimoto Oct 08, 2023

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Find out more at Mimoto.ai

Fri. 10/06 – Microsoft Looks To Close Oct 06, 2023

Show notes

Looks like Microsoft is inches away from getting the Activision acquisition over the line. Hardware ambitions are one thing, but OpenAI might also design its own silicon. Microsoft’s new version of Teams is finally not the most resource hungry piece of software on your computer. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.

Links:

Microsoft eyes closing its giant Activision Blizzard deal next week (The Verge)
Exclusive: ChatGPT-owner OpenAI is exploring making its own AI chips (Reuters)
Microsoft’s faster and redesigned Teams app now available for Windows and Mac (The Verge)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

How Will A.I. Learn Next? (The New Yorker)
How Bandcamp makes more money than Spotify (Fast Company)
Long gone, DEC is still powering the world of computing (ArsTechnica)
The Genius Behind Hollywood’s Most Indelible Sets (NYTimes Magazine)

Thu. 10/05 – Now The Regulators Are Coming For The Cloud Providers Oct 05, 2023

Show notes

A new front in the regulation battle is opening up for major cloud platforms. What is the point of removing article headlines in X posts? Amazon’s Project Kuiper is launching… literally. And is the new camera on the iPhone 15 Max the biggest smartphone camera upgrade ever?

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Links:

Microsoft and Amazon face UK regulator investigation over cloud services (The Verge)
Elon Musk Starts Stripping Headlines From Links Shared to X (The Wrap)
Galaxy SmartTag 2 launches next week for $30, still only works with Samsung devices (9to5Google)
Android 14 is now available for Pixel phones (The Verge)
Amazon Prepares to Challenge SpaceX’s Starlink With Maiden Satellite Launch (Gizmodo)
Apple Considered, Rejected Switch to DuckDuckGo From Google (Bloomberg)
iPhone 15 Pro Max Camera Review: Depth and Reach (Lux)
Vera wants to use AI to cull generative models’ worst behaviors (TechCrunch)

Wed. 10/04 – The New Pixels Oct 04, 2023

Show notes

All the headlines from the Made By Google event this morning. Samsung also announced their low end lineup of phones. Gmail is taking some big new steps to combat spam. And what if I told you Netflix is about to raise prices. Again.

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Links:

Google’s Pixel Watch 2 brings new sensors for improved health tracking (TechCrunch)
Google’s Pixel 8 brings new camera tricks, better display and a thermometer (TechCrunch)
The Pixel 8 Pro has better cameras, a brighter screen, and a lot of new AI tricks (The Verge)
Google announces AI-powered photo-editing features for new Pixel phones (TechCrunch)
The Galaxy S23 FE, Tab S9 FE, and Buds FE get you flagship specs at way lower prices (XDADevelopers)
Google is making big changes to prevent Gmail spam (CNBC)
Anthropic in Talks to Raise $2 Billion From Google and Others Just Days After Amazon Investment (The Information)
Netflix Plans to Raise Prices After Actors Strike Ends (WSJ)

Tue. 10/03 – Time To Pay For Social Media? Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

Snapchat has led the way, but are we going to see everybody in social media offering subscription plans? An interesting raise for AI investing. Satya Nadella was on the stand yesterday at the Google trial. And what’s up with Threads? Has it missed its moment?

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Links:

Meta Plans to Charge $14 a Month for Ad-Free Instagram or Facebook (WSJ)
TikTok Confirms It Is Testing an Ad-Free Subscription Tier (Variety)
Frec steps out of stealth with $26M in funding, aiming to democratize sophisticated investing with AI (VentureBeat)
Microsoft CEO Says Google’s Agreements With Apple Unfairly Harmed Bing (WSJ)
US issues first ever fine for space junk to Dish Network (BBCNews)
Instagram Looks for Ways to Revive Interest in Threads (The Information)

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Mon. 10/02 – Apple Blames Instagram Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

Apple says your iPhone might be heating up because of… Instagram? Rumors suggest Apple has a search engine in its back pocket if it ever wants one. Chromebook Plus is the moniker for high end Chromebooks. And we have our first glimpse of that Humane wearable AI device.

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