Wed. 02/21 – Apple Has Quantum Encrypted iMessage
Signal finally rolls out usernames, but Apple goes one better security-wise, by quantum encrypting iMessage. Weirdly, Apple also launched a standalone sports scores app. Gemma is an open-source flavor of Gemini from Google. And Reddit wants to reserve some IPO shares for its users. Links: Signal Finally Rolls Out Usernames, So You Can Keep Your Phone Number Private (Wired) Apple is hardening iMessage encryption now to protect it from a threat that doesn't exist yet (Apple Insider) Apple’s iMessage Is Getting Post-Quantum Encryption (Wired) Apple Sports: New Free App Provides Real-Time Scores and Stats, Designed to Drive Apple TV Tune-In (Variety) Apple launches Apple Sports app with scores and betting odds (The Verge) Apple says iPhone 15 batteries have a longer lifespan than initially thought (9to5Mac) Apple retroactively doubles the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro’s battery lifespan (Macworld) Google Gemma: because Google doesn’t want to give away Gemini yet (The Verge) Meet 'Groq,' the AI Chip That Leaves Elon Musk’s Grok in the Dust (Gizmodo) Reddit Plans to Sell Stock to Loyal Users in Unusual IPO Wager (WSJ) Ed Zitron YouTube Bonus Episode Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
21 Helmi 202416min
Tue. 02/20 – LockBit Ransomware Gang Taken Down
Perhaps the biggest law enforcement action against a ransomware gang ever. Once again, you could view other people’s cameras on your Wyze camera. How Anthropic is raising to do battle with OpenAI. Are the VCs flocking back to San Francisco? And comprehensive proof that defense tech is the new VC hotness. Links: FBI Seizes LockBit Hacking Websites in Ransomware Disruption (Bloomberg) Wyze outage led to the cameras of 13,000 customers being shown to other users (9to5Google) Reddit Signs AI Content Licensing Deal Ahead of IPO (Bloomberg) Inside the Funding Frenzy at Anthropic, One of A.I.’s Hottest Start-Ups (NYTimes) Tech Leaders Fled San Francisco During the Pandemic. Now, They’re Coming Back. (WSJ) UK, Allies Look to Arm Ukraine With AI-Enabled Swarm Drones (Bloomberg) How Silicon Valley learned to love America, drones and glory (Washington Post) Pursuing ‘American Dynamism,’ Andreessen Horowitz Ups Its Game in DC (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
20 Helmi 202417min
(Bonus) BlueSky CEO Jay Graber
An interview with Bluesky CEO Jay Graber about the future of social media. Sponsors: FactorMeals.com/ride50 and code ride50 for 50% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
19 Helmi 202434min
Fri. 02/16 – Sora Brings Text To Video AI To Life
Huge watershed reveal of OpenAI’s Sora, its first text-to-video model, which can create up to a minute of 1080p video. We used to have a Today In Elon segment. We’re close to needing a Today In Sam Altman one. Increasing signs the Crypto winter is ending. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: OpenAI introduces Sora, its text-to-video AI model (The Verge) OpenAI’s Sora Turns AI Prompts Into Photorealistic Videos (Wired) OpenAI’s newest model Sora can generate videos — and they look decent (TechCrunch) OpenAI’s Sam Altman Seeks US Blessing to Raise Billions for AI Chips (Bloomberg) Sam Altman owns OpenAI's venture capital fund (Axios) Crypto exits remain low but investors remain unfazed (TechCrunch) Crypto venture funding climbs for first time in nearly 2 years after bitcoin’s stellar run (CNBC) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The fediverse, explained (The Verge) How an African streaming service dethroned Netflix (RestOfWorld) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
16 Helmi 202416min
Thu. 02/15 – We Already Have Gemini 1.5!
Google’s moving fast. They’ve already launched Gemini 1.5. An EU court rules breaking encryption violates human rights. Why social media is flooded with posts of users returning their Apple Vision Pros. And more proof that the AI moment is making Nvidia one of the most powerful tech companies in the world. Links: Gemini 1.5 is Google’s next-gen AI model — and it’s already almost ready (The Verge) Google’s new Gemini model can analyze an hour-long video — but few people can use it (TechCrunch) Backdoors that let cops decrypt messages violate human rights, EU court says (Ars Technica) People are returning Vision Pro in droves … or are they? (Cult of Mac) OpenAI Develops Web Search Product in Challenge to Google (The Information) ChatGPT is getting ‘memory’ to remember who you are and what you like (The Verge) What comes after Stable Diffusion? Stable Cascade could be Stability AI’s future text-to-image generative AI model (VentureBeat) Nvidia Overtakes Alphabet, One Day After Eclipsing Amazon (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
15 Helmi 202418min
Wed. 02/14 – Zuck Has His Own Social Media Post About The Vision Pro
Even Mark Zuckerberg is posting about the Apple Vision Pro. In short: he’s not impressed. Walmart might buy a smart TV maker for the ads. Y Combinator has a new list of the type of startups it wants to see. Maybe don’t give all your secrets to those AI “girlfriend” bots. And why you might have a hard time getting an Uber after your Valentine’s Day dinner tonight. Links: After trying the Vision Pro, Mark Zuckerberg says Quest 3 ‘is the better product, period’ (The Verge) Walmart in Talks to Buy TV Maker Vizio (WSJ) Walmart Eyeing Deal to Buy Vizio for More Than $2 Billion: Report (Variety) Y Combinator Seeks Startups in Robotics, Space and Defense (Bloomberg) OpenAI Researcher Andrej Karpathy Departs (The Information) Apple’s Longest-Serving Designer to Depart Company, Adding to Exodus (Bloomberg) Your AI Girlfriend Is a Data-Harvesting Horror Show (Gizmodo) Uber, Lyft drivers to strike on Valentine’s Day over pay (Washington Post) YouTube Of Bluesky CEO Interview Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
14 Helmi 202416min
Tue. 02/13 – Why Microsoft’s Xbox Strategy Shift Is A Big Deal
Threads gets “today’s topics.” iMessage and Bing dodge EU DMA regulation. Why Temu bought a bunch of SuperBowl ads. Nvidia’s Chat with RTX lets you run your own ChatGPT right on your Windows machine. And why Microsoft’s forthcoming Xbox strategy shift is potentially such a big deal. Sponsors: ArcticWolf.com/techmeme Shopify.com/ride Links: In battle with X, Threads gets trending topics where politics will be allowed (TechCrunch) Apple iMessage, Microsoft Bing Dodge EU’s Big Tech Crackdown (Bloomberg) Temu Spent Millions on Six Super Bowl Ads as It Tries to Win Back US Shoppers (Bloomberg) The unsettling scourge of obituary spam (The Verge) Chat With RTX brings custom local chatbots to Nvidia AI PCs (VentureBeat) NVIDIA's New AI Chatbot Relies On Local Files, Not the Cloud (HowToGeek) Nvidia’s Chat with RTX is a promising AI chatbot that runs locally on your PC (The Verge) Microsoft prepares to take Xbox everywhere (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
13 Helmi 202417min
Mon. 02/12 – Luddite Riots?
Is actual neo-ludditeism going to become a thing, as some people have predicted? Google reveals the strength of its subscription businesses. A review of Google’s Gemini. Bluesky is open and doing some interesting things. And what about the strategic position Snap suddenly finds itself in? Sponsors: ArcticWolf.com/techmeme Links: A crowd destroyed a driverless Waymo car in San Francisco (The Verge) Google One hits 100 million subscribers (The Verge) Google’s Gemini assistant is a fantastic and frustrating glimpse of the AI future (The Verge) ASML's next chip challenge: rollout of its new $350 mln 'High NA EUV' machine (Reuters) Meta turns its back on politics again, angering some news creators (Washington Post) Bluesky Opens Up (TechDirt) It’s Snap versus the world (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
12 Helmi 202414min
