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Global authorities take down what they say is the biggest botnet of all time. More big AI deals for big media. More on the delicate dance between OpenAI and Microsoft. Why aren’t there more smartwatches for tweens? And the AR laptop that might give the Apple Vision Pro a run for its money. Links: US dismantles 911 S5 botnet used for cyberattacks, arrests admin (BleepingComputer) Exclusive: The Atl...

A big leak at Google might be the tech equivalent of the secret formula for Coca-Cola being revealed for the first time. The ex-OpenAI board members are starting to explain why they tried to fire Sam Altman. Did the Biden administration pass on TikTok’s concessions to avoid a ban? And remember delivery apps? How they doin’ these days? Sponsors: Lumen.me code: RIDE Links: An Anonymous Source Shared...

We have a rough timeline of when we can expect GPT5 and it looks like it won’t be this summer. xAI has a big raise. Another in-depth look at Apple’s AI strategy. The surprising old school companies getting boosted by the AI boom. And more data on how popular ad-supported streaming is becoming. Sponsors: YahooFinance.com 1Password.com/ride Links: OpenAI Says It Has Begun Training a New Flagship A.I...

Out of nowhere, the SEC has approved spot ETFs for ether. Spotify is killing its Car Thing. Google’s AI Overview is giving crazy answers all over the place. But Meta already wants to charge more for their AI bots. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Miro.com Links: US SEC approves exchange applications to list spot ether ETFs (Reuters) Spotify is going to break every Car T...

Nvidia’s earnings are still historic, but what could upset their apple cart? A few things, actually. I think we know the truth or at least the timeline of JohanssonGate. Big new media deal for OpenAI. Likes are going private on X. And would you clone your voice to answer the phone on your behalf? Sponsors: Vanta.com/ride Links: Nvidia shares pass $1,000 for first time on AI-driven sales surge (CNB...

All the AI announcements from Microsoft Build. I know it’s only been a minute, but is Humane already circling the Deadpool? They’re supposedly shopping themselves, but at a valuation that seems… shall we say, on brand for them? Don’t forget Alexa needs an AI upgrade. And the efforts to peek inside the black box that is the Large Language Model. Links: Microsoft’s new Copilot AI agents act like vir...

There are only 2 stories today, but they’re big ones. First, at an event yesterday, Microsoft showed off what they want the PC to look like in the AI era. Plus, this Recall app is super interesting. Then, look, it’s the Scarlett Johansson/OpenAI thing. It’s gotten weird. And more importantly, it’s continuing to highlight how OpenAI itself is… weird. Sponsors: Miro.com for 3 free boards! Links: The...

No, that ChatGPT voice is not Scarlett Johansson, stop asking. In fact, that voice is going away. What does it mean if OpenAI’s entire superalignment team has gone away? Is Apple News+ the partner publishers have been waiting for? And if you want to be a digital nomad, you’ve got a lot of options these days. Sponsors: Pivotal Podcast To access The Washington Post for just 50 cents per week, head t...

As telegraphed for the last year, Reddit is going all in on being an all you can eat buffet for AI companies. Will new batteries give iPhones longer battery life like I want, or will they just make the phones thinner? A subtle but important improvement to ChatGPT and in the Longreads, a deep dive into what happened at Cruise. Links: OpenAI strikes deal to bring Reddit content to ChatGPT (Reuters)...

Some AI companies want to go after web search. But by hiring an Instagram founder, is Anthropic going in a social or app direction? Will AI kill the carbon neutral ambitions of the major tech players? Will tech companies now have to onshore EMPLOYEES from China? And Netflix with ads? Definitely working. Links: EU launches probe into Meta over social media addiction in children (Financial Times) In...

All the announces from Google’s massive I/O event yesterday, including, yes, generative AI summaries are fully coming to Google Search. Plus, the camera-based AI system they teased that looks really cool. Ilya Sutskever officially leaves OpenAI. And is crypto the only place left where you can raise a billion-dollar seed round? Sponsors: Lumen.me code RIDE for $100 off Links: Google rolls out AI Ov...

OpenAI unveils GPT-4o which makes Siri look like the technical cul-de-sac it very much is. But what does it mean that this was NOT GPT-5? What does it mean for the gaming industry that the PS5 might be underperforming? More streaming bundles. And the 2024 iPad refresh reviews. Sponsors: YahooFinance.com ConstantContact.com Links: OpenAI debuts GPT-4o ‘omni’ model now powering ChatGPT (TechCrunch)...

Well, looks like my worries about solar weather being a threat to technology wasn’t just in my head. Ask farmers. Squarespace to go private. Raspberry Pi to go public? Waymo is setting some impressive records. And the new type of deal Apple and the other streamers want to offer Hollywood. Sponsors: ArcticWolf.com/techmeme Shopify.com/ride Links: Solar Storm Knocks Out Farmers' Tractor GPS Systems...

Well that was fast. Apple apologized for the “Crush” Ad, saying they missed the mark on that one. Microsoft is launching a mobile game app store. Elevenlabs is getting into the music generating game. And of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: Apple apologizes for iPad ‘Crush’ ad that ‘missed the mark’ (The Verge) Apple doesn’t understand why you use technology (The Verge) Microsoft P...

AlphaFold 3 is a new AI model to predict interactions and structures of proteins, the better to cure diseases and create medicine with. More cuts in Microsoft gaming. The community backlash erupting over at Stack Overflow. And that really weirdly tone deaf Apple commercial that has everyone so upset. Links: Google DeepMind unveils AI model for living cells (FT) Microsoft’s Xbox Is Planning More Cu...

Multiple Bethesda studios are being shut down by Xbox and gamers are worried. The new Pixel phone announcement yesterday that probably nobody heard about. What if OpenAI decides to go after web search? And the surprising fact that FTX investors could be made whole, and then some. With interest! Links: Microsoft Closes Redfall Developer Arkane Austin, Hi-Fi Rush Developer Tango Gameworks, and More...

All the headlines from today’s Spring Apple event. New iPads? M4 chip? I don’t actually know cause I’m recording this bit beforehand. I can tell you Apple might make its own server chips tho. Nintendo has outlined plans to replace the Switch. And Microsoft is training its own high-end LLM, separate from OpenAI. Links: Apple Is Developing AI Chips for Data Centers, Seeking Edge in Arms Race (WSJ) N...

Jack Dorsey abandoned Twitter and now he’s abandoned Bluesky as well. YouTube rolls out Jump Ahead. Threads launches post quote controls. More than 40 thousand books on Audible are now voiced by AI. The Air Force is planning more than a thousand AI fighter jets by the end of the decade. And if you’re listening to this on Apple Podcasts, please listen to the end for an important announcement. Spons...

Apple earnings are out and revenue was down almost everywhere. Boy, AI can’t come fast enough for them. Did you know you can send Bluetooth signals to satellites in space? The full Rabbit R1 reviews turned out exactly how we expected. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads suggestions. Links: Apple Sales Fall as iPhone, China Businesses Remain Sluggish (WSJ) FDA Qualifies Apple’s AFib History featu...

The music is back on TikTok with a new deal struck. Maybe a third of Americans were affected by that Change Healthcare hack. Why are companies suddenly cutting teams you’d think would be sacred cows? Airbnb wants you to stay in the house from the movie Up. And we finally know just how much Google pays Apple for the search default in iOS. Sponsors: Kolide.com/ride Links: TikTok and Universal Music...

Binance founder CZ looks like he’s heading to jail too, but for way less time than SBF. Is the Rabbit R1 just a fancy device for a glorified Android app? Has OpenAI floated a secret pre-release of GPT5? And finally, so much has happened, I decided we had to do an omnibus catch up with what’s going on in the world of Elon. Links: Binance founder Changpeng Zhao sentenced to four months in prison (Th...

The FCC has fined all the major telecom companies. You’ll never guess why. Why the DMA actions from the EU might be a constant thing. Devs, how about an AI-powered IDE? You’ll never guess why Peacock thinks it can raise prices again. And is Marquess Brownlee right about underbaked hardware releases? Sponsors: ZocDoc.com/techmeme ConstantContact.com Links: FCC fines AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Veri...

Apple continues discussions with folks to partner for AI product. Will the upcoming iPad event kick off Apple’s AI strategy? Why does spending on AI seem to work for Google and Microsoft but not for Meta? Why were a bunch of Apple users signed out of their accounts this weekend? And has AI already ruined Meta’s family of apps? Sponsors: CutsClothing.com/RIDE, promocode RIDE for 20% off YahooFinanc...

Net Neutrality has been voted back into existence. Earnings from Microsoft and Google, but it’s the YouTube numbers that continue to impress me. ByteDance claims it would rather be banned than sell US TikTok. The Onion finds a benevolent billionaire. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: F.C.C. Votes to Restore Net Neutrality Rules (NYTimes) Google parent announces first-ever d...

Meta’s earnings were fine, but it’s what Zuck warned about spending that has Wall Street nervous. Sub 2nm chips are on their way. An AI startup has a big new raise after its big raise just a month ago. Google Meet lets you jump devices. And the first reviews of the Rabbit R1 are out. Links: Zuckerberg Asks for Patience as Meta’s AI Push Spooks Market (Bloomberg) Zuckerberg says it will take Meta y...