Thu. 09/26 – The Orion Smartglasses

Google Play games are coming to Windows, while Microsoft was apparently willing to bend over backwards if Apple had let xCloud games into the iOS app store. Meta’s first tangible foray into the Metaverse. The English Football punters buying into NFTs. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Tovala.com/ride My First Million Podcast Links: Google is bringing Android games to Windows in 2022 (The Verge) MICROSOFT QUIETLY TOLD APPLE IT WAS WILLING TO TURN BIG XBOX-EXCLUSIVE GAMES INTO IPHONE APPS (The Verge) Meta opens up access to its VR social platform Horizon Worlds (The Verge) Football fans spending millions on club crypto-tokens (BBC News) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Pokémon and the First Wave of Digital Nostalgia (The New Yorker) Half a Billion in Bitcoin, Lost in the Dump (The New Yorker) Amazon is making its own containers and bypassing supply chain chaos with chartered ships and long-haul planes (CNBC) HOW AN EXCEL TIKTOKER MANIFESTED HER WAY TO MAKING SIX FIGURES A DAY (The Verge) Three Steps To The Future (Ben Evans' 2022 Slide Deck) On “Succession,” Jeremy Strong Doesn’t Get the Joke (The New Yorker) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

10 Des 202118min

Instagram is going to bring back a version of its chronological feed, sort of. The congressional hearings about Instagram, but also crypto. I was wrong: we are seeing Novi in the wild as WhatsApp starts testing it in the US. Deep Mind unveils its language model, and say goodbye to… checks notes… Alexa? Sponsors: Schwab.com/plan Dataiku.com Links: Instagram Chief and Lawmakers Clash Over App’s Real World Harms (Bloomberg) Instagram will bring back a chronological feed in 2022 (Engadget) What we learned at Congress' much-anticipated summit of crypto execs (The Block) Epic v. Apple ruling put on hold after appeals court grants a stay (The Verge) Italy fines Amazon €1.13B for abusing market dominance (Politico.eu) WhatsApp launches cryptocurrency payment in the US with Novi (9to5Mac) Kickstarter Will Move Its Crowdfunding Platform to Blockchain (Bloomberg) DeepMind says its new language model can beat others 25 times its size (MIT Technology Review) Amazon is shutting down web ranking site Alexa.com (BleepingComputer) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9 Des 202116min

That AWS outage yesterday disrupted Amazon’s own delivery efforts. When we might see the AirPods Pro 2. More specific details on the Apple AR thingy. Ubisoft is the first major player to bring NFTs to games. And a look at the records being set in the African startup investment scene. Sponsors: WealthFront.com/techmeme FindYourFidelity.com Links: An Amazon server outage caused problems for Alexa, Ring, Disney Plus, and deliveries (The Verge) AWS Outage Grinds Amazon Warehouses and Deliveries to a Halt (Motherboard) Kuo: AirPods Pro 2 With New Design and Improved Chip to Launch in Late 2022 (Macrumors) Kuo: Second-Generation Apple AR Headset to Launch in 2024 With Lighter Design, Redesigned Battery System, and More (Macrumors) Ubisoft Becomes First Major Gaming Company to Launch In-Game NFTs (Decrypt) Roku, Google settle messy battle over YouTube distribution (Axios) Facebook's new website lets fans buy 'Stars' without paying the app stores' commissions (TechCrunch) African Startup Inflows Seen Hitting Record $5 Billion This Year (Bloomberg) Twitter’s New CEO Agrawal Got Early Nod From Dorsey a Year Ago (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

8 Des 202116min

The Information has a story about a secret deal Apple struck that really solidifies Tim Cook as the China whisperer. Intel proves itself to be an astute investor as it weighs a public spinoff of Mobileye. European tech startups raise all-time record amounts. Quantifying this year’s emerging NFT market. And the first ever marketable quantum computing product? Sponsors: Detectify.com/techmeme ARM Viewpoints Podcast Links: Facing Hostile Chinese Authorities, Apple CEO Signed $275 Billion Deal With Them (The Information) Samsung's mobile and consumer electronic divisions merge into one in exec reshuffle (ZDNet) Intel to List Shares in Mobileye Unit (WSJ) The Popular Family Safety App Life360 Is Selling Precise Location Data on Its Tens of Millions of Users (The Markup) Microsoft Office prices going up 20% for some business clients unless they move from monthly to annual subscriptions (CNBC) European start-up funding triples to a new record above $100 billion this year (CNBC) [Report Preview] The 2021 NFT Market Explained (Chainalysis) Honeywell Unit Offers First-Ever Quantum-Created Encryption Key (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

7 Des 202117min

DoorDash tests a wildly new business model: employees! Apple launches a Winter War in Russia. Two stories of US telecom companies doing what US telecom companies do: act shady. And Buzzfeed finally hits the public markets. Sponsors: FirstRepublic.com Enterprise.Spectrum.com Links: DoorDash breaks gig worker model to hire couriers as employees in New York trial (Financial Times) Apple Attempts to Stop Developers Promoting Alternative Payment Options for In-App Purchases in Russia (MacRumors) Crypto exchange BitMart confirms hack resulting in loss of $150 million in crypto (The Block) The Verizon app might be collecting your browsing history and more (The Verge) Apple iPhone 13 Rebates Fail to Deliver for Some Buyers (Bloomberg) BuzzFeed Tumbles in Turbulent Debut for Digital Media (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Des 202116min

Mulling over the whole legacy of Jack Dorsey and name changes for tech companies in general. The weird way gaming is changing right now (see: Halo Infinite). And are foldable phones ready for the big time? With Bloomberg's @vladsavov Sponsors: AltoIra.com/techmeme RadPowerBikes.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4 Des 20211h 21min

Another tech deal goes on a deathwatch, but this time it’s Nvidia and Arm, and this time I think it’s for real. Google is probably working on its own smartwatch. Didi is the first Chinese stock to delist in the west. Instagram is ENCOURAGING you to create a Finsta. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: MasterWorks.io/ride Links: FTC Challenges Nvidia’s Deal for Arm Holdings (WSJ) EXCLUSIVE: Google readies 'Pixel Watch' for 2022 launch as it renews ambitions in wearable tech (Insider) Didi bows to China regulatory pressure, will delist from NYSE (Reuters) Why Instagram Asks Users to Create Second Accounts (WSJ) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Can a Digital Reality Be Jacked Directly Into Your Brain? (Wired) Metaverse Real Estate Piles Up Record Sales in Sandbox and Other Virtual Realms (WSJ) World's first living robots can now reproduce, scientists say (CNN) Planetary scientists are starting to get stirred up by Starship’s potential (ArsTechnica) ‘Oregon Trail’ at 50: How Three Teachers Created the Computer Game That Inspired — and Diverted — Generations of Students (the74million.org) Why the Beatles’ ‘Get Back’ May Stand as the Best Rock Doc Ever (Column) (Variety) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3 Des 202119min

Square changes its name to Block. Apple is hinting at unexpectedly weak iPhone demand. TikTok adds monetization tools. How many people have never used the Internet? And the story behind that whole Spotify Unwrapped thing. Sponsors: FindYourFidelity.com Dataiku.com Links: Jack Dorsey’s Square changes corporate name to Block (CNBC) Apple Tells Suppliers iPhone Demand Has Slowed as Holidays Near (Bloomberg) Instacart Plans 15-Minute Delivery Trial as Rival Startups Grow (The Information) Microsoft Teams Essentials is a new standalone version for small businesses (The Verge) TikTok adds creator monetization features, including tips and video gifts (TechCrunch) 37 Percent of the World's Population Has Never Been Online, U.N. Report Finds (Gizmodo) The art and science of Spotify Wrapped (Protocol) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2 Des 202118min