Wed. 05/29 – Did The Secret Sauce Of Google Search Just Leak?

Google Play Pass might usher in a new era of mobile gaming, the WeWork saga is becoming a soap opera, Facebook’s foes and (erstwhile) friends are talking to the FTC, and has Google ushered in the era of quantum supremacy? Sponsors: Metalab.co Zapier.com/ride Links: Google Play Pass bundles 350 Android games and apps for $4.99 per month (The Verge) Some WeWork Board Members Seek to Remove Adam Neumann as CEO (WSJ) SoftBank’s Masa Son is in favor of ousting WeWork CEO Adam Neumann (CNBC) How Adam Neumann’s Over-the-Top Style Built WeWork. ‘This Is Not the Way Everybody Behaves.’ (WSJ) Snap Detailed Facebook’s Aggressive Tactics in ‘Project Voldemort’ Dossier (WSJ) Samsung Galaxy Fold will be available September 27th in the US (9to5Google) World Robotics Report: Global Sales of Robots Hit $16.5B in 2018 (Robotics Business Review) Google may have just ushered in an era of ‘quantum supremacy’ (The Verge) Classified AD: RobBettis.com For many businesses, digital marketing is essential to success. However, despite its importance, most companies can’t justify the cost of another full-time employee and they can’t stomach being burned by another flaky freelancer. What you really need is a partner. Rob Bettis is an independent digital marketer who helps e-commerce retailers and app developers build bigger, better businesses online through PPC media. Unlike agencies who are all about scale, Rob works with a limited number of businesses, managing advertising on Google, Bing, Facebook, Instagram, Amazon & Apple Search - ensuring every client gets the expertise and attention they deserve. Rob has spent the past 15 years managing PPC accounts. And since going solo, Rob has generated a return on ad spend of over 700% for his clients. If you want to build a bigger, better business online, contact Rob at RobBettis.com or click the link in the show notes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23 Sep 201920min

Airbnb says it will have an IPO in 2020, Twitter exposes more bad state actors, a French court says Steam digital games may be resold in the EU, hold the phone on upgrading your iPhone to iOS 13, Amazon plays free with Allbirds, Tinder brings a new meaning to the word Bandersnatch, and this week’s long-reads suggestions, including a deep dive into the problems with pilot training and Boeing’s 737-MAX. Sponsors Mealime.com OpenVPN Links: Airbnb Says It Plans to Go Public in 2020 (New York Times) Airbnb Announces Intention to Become a Publicly-Traded Company During 2020 (Airbnb) Twitter suspends account of former top Saudi aide implicated in Khashoggi killing (Washington Post) Disclosing new data to our archive of information operations (Twitter) French court rules that Steam’s ban on reselling used games is contrary to European law (Polygon) New features available with iOS 13 (Apple) Facebook may copy your app, but Amazon will copy your shoe (The Verge) Inside Tinder’s Secret Streaming Series (Variety) What Really Brought Down the Boeing 737 Max? (New York Times) How Wi-Fi Almost Didn’t Happen (Wired) The U1 chip in the iPhone 11 is the beginning of an Ultra Wideband revolution (Six Colors) Artificial Intelligence Confronts a ‘Reproducibility’ Crisis (Wired) iOS and iPadOS 13: The MacStories Review (MacStories) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

20 Sep 201919min

Huawei tries to launch a flagship smartphone without a Google net, could Apple and Disney have merged? Some really interesting raises, for Automattic and Stripe, but also an autonomous construction equipment startup, and why there now might be SSD’s that are basically failproof. Sponsors: Mealime.com OpenVPN.net/ride Links: Huawei Mate 30 Pro goes official w/ no Google apps, ‘horizon’ display (9to5Google) GitHub acquires code analysis tool Semmle (TechCrunch) “WE COULD SAY ANYTHING TO EACH OTHER”: BOB IGER REMEMBERS STEVE JOBS, THE PIXAR DRAMA, AND THE APPLE MERGER THAT WASN’T (Vanity Fair) Datadog Rises 53% in Trading Debut After Rebuffing Cisco (Bloomberg) Amazon signs Climate Pledge to advance Paris Climate Accords goals by 10 years (VentureBeat) Built Robotics raises $33M for its self-driving construction equipment (TechCrunch) Automattic raises $300 million at $3 billion valuation from Salesforce Ventures (TechCrunch) Fintech Company Stripe Joins Silicon Valley Elite With $35 Billion Valuation (WSJ) Samsung unveils new PCIe 4.0 SSDs that "never die" (TechSpot) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

19 Sep 201918min

Facebook debuts Portal TV, and wants to make AR smart glasses to replace your smartphone, Google Fi has an “unlimited” plan that is every bit as unlimited as any other, the Apple Watch Series 5 reviews and autonomous vehicles come to the farm. Sponsors: Vistaprint.com promo code Ride2. Mealime.com OpenVPN.net/ride Links: Facebook launches Portal TV, a $149 video chat set-top box (TechCrunch) Facebook’s second-generation Portal devices are cheaper, smaller, and support WhatsApp (The Verge) Facebook working on smart glasses with Ray-Ban, code-named ‘Orion’ (CNBC) Smart TVs sending private data to Netflix and Facebook (Financial Times) Google Fi launches a more traditional unlimited plan (The Verge) HP Elite Dragonfly hands-on: A really light business notebook (Engadget) APPLE WATCH SERIES 5 REVIEW: THE BEST SMARTWATCH (The Verge) Apple Watch Series 5 (Daring Fireball) FarmWise and its weed-pulling agribot harvest $14.5M in funding (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

18 Sep 201917min

WeWork’s IPO is off for now, Amazon Music HD is going after Tidal, the Streaming Wars mean big price tags for Seinfeld and Big Bang Theory, and a wrap up of all the iPhone 11, Pro and Pro Max reviews. Sponsors: OpenVPN.net/ride Mealime.com Links: Computer Scientist Richard Stallman Resigns From MIT Over Epstein Comments (Motherboard) WeWork delays IPO after frosty investor response (Reuters) SoftBank Backers Rethink Role in Next Vision Fund on WeWork (Bloomberg) Amazon Music rolls out a lossless streaming tier that Spotify and Apple can’t match (The Verge) Snapchat is adding a 3D Camera Mode, the latest salvo in its feature race with Instagram (TechCrunch) Netflix Lands 'Seinfeld' Rights in $500M-Plus Deal After Losing 'Friends' and 'The Office' (The Hollywood Reporter) ‘The Big Bang Theory’ to Show on New Streaming Service HBO Max (WSJ) NBCUniversal’s Streaming Service Is Called Peacock and It’s Launching Next April (Vulture) APPLE IPHONE 11 REVIEW: THE PHONE MOST PEOPLE SHOULD BUY (The Verge) Apple iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max review: Better, but not groundbreaking (Engadget) Review: The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 do Disneyland After Dark (TechCrunch) Review: Apple iPhone 11 Pro (Wired) IPhone 11 and 11 Pro Review: Thinking Differently in the Golden Age of Smartphones (NYTimes) Apple Arcade's best selling point: Games you'll actually want to play (Engadget) SUBSCRIBE TO THE AD-FREE FEED! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17 Sep 201917min

If Amazon wants to tip-toe past the regulators, headlines like those from today can’t help, October is going to be filthy with major tech launch events, is TikTok showing us the future of the Chinese web in worrying ways, and let’s pour one out for MoviePass! Links: OpenVPN.net/ride Mealime.com Links: Amazon Changed Search Algorithm in Ways That Boost Its Own Products (WSJ) Facebook and JP Morgan meet with global central banks to discuss cryptocurrencies (CNBC) Google announces October 15th hardware event for Pixel 4 (The Verge) Iger Departs Board of Apple, Disney’s New Streaming Competitor (NY Times) Wi-Fi 6 officially launches today, ahead of iPhone 11 availability on Friday (9to5Mac) Wi-Fi 6 certification is here to make next-gen speeds a widespread reality (CNET) Multiple camera simultaneous recording coming to iPhone XS and iPhone XR, not just iPhone 11 (9to5Mac) TikTok’s Beijing roots fuel censorship suspicion as it builds a huge U.S. audience (The Washington Post) MoviePass will shut down for good on Sept. 14 (CNBC) AD FREE FEED SIGNUP! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Sep 201917min

As I mentioned in the Weekend Longreads segment, Gary Marcus and Ernest Davis had an op ed in the times that has changed the way I think about the state of AI. But they’re also the authors of a great new book, Rebooting AI: Building Artificial Intelligence We Can Trust. There’s a reason people remain fearful about AI… it hasn’t earned our trust yet. In all sorts of ways that we get into on this episode. And also, the interesting ways AI development needs to change to take the state of the art to the next level. Sponsor: MintMobile.com/ride Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 Sep 201923min

We had the big iPhone announcement this week, so to break it down, our good friend at MacStories, John Voorhees is here to dive into… why so much backlash to this event? Was it boring? What did we actually get from Santa Tim? And why we might look back at this as the pivot point where Apple events changed into something new... Sponsors: Tinycapital.com WeWorkRemotely.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

14 Sep 201926min