Mon. 06/17 – Thinner And Lighter It Is

The EU actually approved the Microsoft Activision acquisition so… what now? The IRS might finally allow us to file our taxes online for free. The EU passes the first crypto regulatory regime, but questions are being asked of their forthcoming digital Euro experiment. And an interesting raise allows us to take our first look at the Open Source vs. Centralized debate when it comes to AI. Sponsors: Collective.com Links: E.U. Approves Microsoft’s $69 Billion Deal for Activision (NYTimes) IRS tests free e-filing system that could compete with tax-prep giants (Washington Post) Windows 11 users can now link their iPhones and use iMessage from a PC (The Verge) Ransomware gang steals data of 5.8 million PharMerica patients (BleepingComputer) Twitter makes its first acquisition with a recruiting startup (Axios) EU’s Crypto Legal Framework Inches Towards Law With Finance Ministers’ Sign-Off (CoinDesk) The digital euro: a solution seeking a problem? (Financial Times) AI startup Together raises funding for open-source AI and cloud platform (VentureBeat) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Mai 202318min

After some news about Apple testing M3 chips, it’s media day on the podcast. Wither Motherboard, as Vice declares bankruptcy. Netflix is cutting spending on its originals. Is the pivot to ads going to define the next stage of the streaming wars. And ad supported television is one thing, but what if we took that literally? Would you want a tv that has a second screen to show you ads all the time? Sponsors: Ramp.com/techmeme go.tech/tm Links: Apple Begins Testing Speedy M3 Chips as It Pursues Mac Comeback (Bloomberg) Vice Media files for bankruptcy as ad business suffers (Reuters) Netflix Plans to Cut Spending by $300 Million in 2023 (WSJ) A Growing Number of Streaming Video Customers Watch Ads (Bloomberg) Telly’s wild idea: Free TVs with inescapable ads (Fast Company) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 Mai 202316min

Marc Tarpenning, along with Martin Eberhard, was the cofounder of Tesla Motors back in 2003. But before that, Tarpenning and Eberhard were also the cofounders of NuvoMedia, which produced one of the world's first ebook devices, the rocket eBook. So, for the first part of the episode, Mark recounts the story of NuvoMedia and then about 25 minutes in we begin the founding of Tesla, in my opinion, perhaps the most amazing startup story of the last 20 years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

15 Mai 20231h 23min

Yes, the Apple II is maybe more historically important than the Macintosh, at least for Apple as a company. I agree with the argument my friend Laine Nooney makes in their book: The Apple II Age: How the Computer Became Personal. Enjoy this deep dive into early Apple and PC history and then, BUY THE BOOK! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

13 Mai 202358min

Elon says he’s hired a new CEO for Twitter, and folks think they know who this person will be. The Claude chatbot has expanded so much you can now write entire novels with it. Seeing what Meta is doing with AI in ads makes me wonder about the future of all media. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Grammarly.com/go GetSunday.com/ride Links: Elon Musk says he has found a new CEO for Twitter (TechCrunch) Linda Yaccarino Leaves NBCUniversal Amid Talks to Become Twitter CEO (WSJ) Anthropic’s latest model can take ‘The Great Gatsby’ as input (TechCrunch) Meta announces generative AI features for advertisers (TechCrunch) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: End of the Billable Hour? Law Firms Get On Board With Artificial Intelligence (WSJ) “We Were Always Playing An Entirely Different Game”: The Ultimate Oral History Of BuzzFeed News (BuzzFeed News) Taiwan Is Running Low on a Strategic Asset: Engineers (NYTimes) The Plot to Steal the Other Secret Inside a Can of Coca-Cola (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12 Mai 202318min

Twitter finally rolled out encrypted DMs… or did they? More drips and drabs from yesterday’s Google event including an AI music generating tool that sounds pretty wild. Even the crypto miners are pivoting to AI. And why tech has warmed up to the concept of nearshoring. Sponsors: Grammarly.com/go Bloomberg.com/careers Links: Twitter's encrypted DMs are here — but only for verified users (Engadget) Join the waitlist for Google's generative AI tools, including search, Project Tailwind, & MusicLM (XDA Developers) Google makes its text-to-music AI public (TechCrunch) Google Cloud announces new A3 supercomputer VMs built to power LLMs (TechCrunch) AI Needs Specialized Processors. Crypto Miners Say They Have Them (Bloomberg) ‘Nearshoring’ Push Is Fueling Tech Job Demand in Latin America (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11 Mai 202316min

I’m writing this this morning before Google’s I/O, so I’m assuming that’s going to be the entirety of this episode. But who knows. Maybe I’ll be able to squeeze something non-Google stuff at the end. Join me in the time machine, won’t you, and find out. In the meantime, here’s what Sundar had to share with us today. Sponsors: Leadership.OregonState.edu/cic Grammarly.com/go Links: Google Photos to gain a new ‘Magic Editor’ feature powered by generative AI (TechCrunch) Google launches PaLM 2, its next-gen large language model (TechCrunch) Google rebrands AI tools for Docs and Gmail as Duet AI — its answer to Microsoft’s Copilot (The Verge) The AI takeover of Google Search starts now (The Verge) Review: Pixel 7a affordably delivers on every promise of the Pixel series (9to5Google) Pixel Tablet Hands-On: Google's Return of the Tablet and More (CNET) Google Pixel Fold hands-on: Finally, a real rival for Samsung’s foldables (Engadget) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

10 Mai 202320min

More roiling questions about crypto and regulator enforcement. Nintendo’s Switch is getting long in the tooth. AI’s are coming to the Wendy’s drive through lane. An AI startup to protect against AI. And more of what we can expect from Google’s big day tomorrow. Sponsors: Grammarly.com/go Notion.com/ride Links: Coinbase CEO says SEC is on ‘lone crusade,’ dials back on suggestion exchange may relocate (CNBC) Ripple will have spent $200 million fighting SEC lawsuit, CEO says (CNBC) U.S. Crypto Exchange Bittrex Files for Bankruptcy in Delaware (CoinDesk) Nintendo Warns of Big Slowdown in Switch Console Sales (Bloomberg) Apple announces Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro coming to iPad (9to5Mac) Wendy’s, Google Train Next-Generation Order Taker: an AI Chatbot (WSJ) GPTZero App Seeks to Thwart AI Plagiarism in Schools, Online Media (Bloomberg) Alphabet to unveil A.I. updates at Google I/O, showing off creative writing and coding capabilities (CNBC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9 Mai 202318min