Tech Brew Ride Home

The TikTok divestment bill has probably already been signed into law. What happens now? What are the legal arguments that this thing can stick? What about things like, you know, the First Amendment? Also, ads in Windows? Time to take Meta’s RayBan smartglasses seriously? And what it’s like to use AI inside of Instagram. Links: Senate passes TikTok ban bill, sending it to President Biden’s desk (Th...

Microsoft has launched new lightweight AI models. Perplexity has a big new raise. Meta wants other people to build Quest headsets. Another reason Apple needs to find new revenue. And if Congress really is going to ban TikTok, are they ever going to tell us exactly why? Links: Microsoft launches Phi-3, its smallest AI model yet (The Verge) Meta Expands Its Mixed Reality Beyond the Quest Headsets (C...

I know we’ve said this before, but TikTok really seems on the brink this time. What the heck is going on with Tesla? Tinder wants you to share your date. Streamers want you to stop dating around and playing the field. An open-source smarthome standard. And again, do we really need standalone AI devices when we already have smartphones? Links: TikTok ‘ban’ passes in the House again, moving to the S...

Meta released Llama 3 yesterday, and some of the moves they made have made be consider if Zuck could win these first AI wars. Is Zuck also getting aggressive in VR? Why Apple had to take down the WhatsApp and Threads apps in China. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Links: Meta’s battle with ChatGPT begins now (The Verge) Meta, in Its Biggest A.I. Push, Places Smart Assistants Acro...

Google has fired 28 employees for political protests yesterday. A well-known coding school has been fined by the CFPB. Game emulators come to the iPhone. TikTok’s Instagram clone is rolling out. Has Sony perfecting Mini LED TVs? And the Atlas robot has been reborn in a new body! Links: Google fires 28 employees after sit-in protest over Israel cloud contract (The Verge) Consumer Financial Protecti...

T-Mobile and Verizon employees are being offered bribes for SIM swaps. How much coding copilots have taken over. How much would you value Mistral or Cohere in the LLM race? How popular has Airchat gotten? How big has Amazon Prime gotten? And one of the original modern robots is being retired. Links: T-Mobile, Verizon workers get texts offering $300 for SIM swaps (BleepingComputer) Microsoft’s AI C...

Microsoft continues to spread its AI bets. Disney wants to bring back tv channels. YouTube is not gonna let you block ads. What did Humane get wrong with the AI Pin? And can Limitless do any better with its AI Pendant? Sponsors: MackWeldon.com, promocode ride YahooFinance.com Links: Microsoft to invest $1.5bn in Abu Dhabi AI group G42 (Financial Times) To Keep Viewers, Disney Plans a New Streaming...

Really looks like high-end re-shoring of chip tech is happening, and happening soon. What if satellite telephony becomes a table-stakes smartphone feature? Get ready for the bitcoin halving. Does anyone have invites to Airchat? And get ready for 4TB, yes, TB, SD cards. Sponsors: Shopify.com/ride ArcticWolf.com/techmeme Links: Samsung boosts Joe Biden’s chipmaking ambitions with Texas plant upgrade...

Now a big business intelligence company has been breached. Do you get the sense that people are laying the groundwork for something? Google discontinues a product, but this time, its probably our fault. M4 chips are coming from Apple. OpenAI continues to be the drama queen of Silicon Valley. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: US government urges Sisense customers to reset cr...

Apple is notifying people their iPhones may have been compromised. Spotify wants you to mix up your music. Adobe is paying handsomely for videos. And the biggest new gadget review event in a long time. Link: Apple alerts users in 92 nations to mercenary spyware attacks (TechCrunch) Spotify Plans New Remixing Tools for the TikTok Generation (WSJ) Adobe Is Buying Videos for $3 Per Minute to Build AI...

More AI announces from Google. More hints on how Apple will bring AI to iPhones. And a bunch of interesting datapoints: how much Apple has moved away from manufacturing in China, how much money TikTok’s parent company is making, are kids warming up to VR and are alternative browsers benefitting from the DMA? Links: Google Launches Coding AIs That Could Rival Microsoft's Github Copilot (PCMag) Appl...

Google has a ton of AI announces, including new Arm-based AI chips, utilizing Google search in Gemini, and more. They also released their own Find My network. Microsoft is confident they can release chips that can best Apple Silicon. And maybe OpenAI DID train on YouTube videos after all. Everybody is desperate for data right now. Sponsors: 1Password.com/ride Links: Google Expands In-House Chip Ef...

David Marcus comes on the pod to discuss what he's been working on since leaving Meta. Specificially: Lightspark, and efforts to expand the Lighting Network and bitcoin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple joins the tech layoff club. Microsoft warns China is planning to disrupt elections using AI. Disney+ is joining Netflix in cracking down on password sharing. How much is the going rate to buy pictures or videos to train AI models on? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads suggestions. Links: Apple Cut at Least 600 Workers When Car, Screen Projects Stopped (Bloomberg) China will use AI to disr...

Is Apple pivoting to home robotics now that the Apple Car project is dead? Is Google about to pivot to subscription based search? Why is X handing back blue checkmarks whether people want them or not? Why Amazon merchants are upset over return scams. And why the band Kiss might live forever. Sponsors: Kolide.com/ride Links: Apple Explores Home Robotics as Potential ‘Next Big Thing’ After Car Fizzl...

Have we just had a major breakthrough in Quantum Computing? The earthquake in Taiwan might lead to some chip issues. We don’t quite know yet. Amazon is retooling it’s Just Walk Out technology. Venture capitalists are having a hard time raising money. And in the last segment of the show, I actually break some news about Coinbase. Links: Microsoft and Quantinuum say they’ve ushered in the next era o...

Big trove of AT&T customer data dumped online. Microsoft is unbundling Teams. Amazon is readying its own big LLM. We should probably assume Section 230 does not cover AI. And what do you name an AI supercomputer? Stargate, apparently. Links: AT&T resets account passcodes after millions of customer records leak online (TechCrunch) Exclusive: Microsoft to separate Teams and Office globally amid anti...

What prolific AI investor Nat Friedman expects from GPT-5, Microsoft's general strategy in AI, how he invests in startups, and his background an philosophy when it comes to investing. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBF gets 25 years. X is maybe about to NSFW. Apple’s new OLED iPads should be coming in May. I can’t cram another acronym in here to tell you about Apple suing an employee for leaking. And, of course, the WLS… Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years for multi-billion dollar FTX fraud (Reuters) Elon Musk’s X Is Testing ‘Adult Content’ Groups for Users (Bloomberg) A...

There’s a new king of the AI hill as Anthropic bests OpenAI for the first time. Amazon invests more in Anthropic and is investing a TON more in datacenters. Is that GPT sort of App Store not exactly catching fire? A big acquisition in gaming. And the tiny Caribbean island nation that is one of the biggest winners of the AI moment so far. Links: “The king is dead”—Claude 3 surpasses GPT-4 on Chatbo...

Disney launches Hulu on Disney+. Apple schedules WWDC. Some Apple users report being victims of MFA bombing attacks. What it will mean to be certified as an AI PC. And more crazy data on the hunt for talent in the AI Wars. Links: Hulu on Disney+ Launches Out of Beta With Marketing Push to Grow Subscribers (The Hollywood Reporter) The Disney Plus-Hulu merger is way more than a streaming bundle (The...

Executive shuffling indicates that Microsoft is serious about reorganizing itself around AI. The US and UK move against those alleged Chinese infrastructure hackers. OpenAI seems to be courting Hollywood for its Sora tool. And is the IPO window finally open for tech companies? Links: Microsoft has a new Windows and Surface chief (The Verge) Canva Strikes Biggest Acquisition Yet in Chase to Take on...

They said this law would be one that was capable of moving fast. The EU has already opened formal DMA investigations into Apple and Google. Stability AI seems to be circling the Deadpool. Checking in on the health of X. Greater homescreen control coming to iPhones? And what should we make of tech insiders selling massive amounts of shares? Sponsors: MackWeldon.com promocode RIDE Links: EU probes A...

Everyone is analyzing the DOJ’s case against Apple. An unpatchable vulnerability in Apple Silicon has been uncovered. Threads joins the Fediverse. How that whole Microsoft hiring the Inflection AI team actually maths out. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: Apple CarPlay is anticompetitive, too, US lawsuit alleges (The Verge) U.S. versus Apple: A first reaction (Six Colors) U...

The DOJ opened a lawsuit against Apple. Reddit’s IPO should be happening today. An Epic Games Store on iOS should be coming later this year. Carvana is a Covid-times high-flier that has actually recovered. And Neuralink’s first human patient reveals himself to the world. Links: U.S. Sues Apple, Alleges Tech Giant Exploits Illegal Monopoly (WSJ) Reddit prices IPO at $34 per share in first major soc...