Tech Brew Ride Home

Will a California law change the entire landscape of the gig economy? Can Dutchie build a Shopify-like ecommerce platform for cannabis? Will Switzerland be less welcoming to Libra that Facebook hoped? And a rundown of the fallout from yesterday’s iPhone event. Sponsors: Tinycapital.com Jobs At WillowTreeApps.com: bit.ly/swiftjob Links: California Bill Makes App-Based Companies Treat Workers as Employees (NYTimes) Uber lays off 435 people across engineering and product teams (TechCrunch) Amazon’s Quantum Ledger Database is now generally available (Silicon Angle) These brothers just raised $15 million for their startup, Dutchie, a kind of Shopify for cannabis dispensaries (TechCrunch) Switzerland warns Facebook's Libra it will face extra scrutiny (Reuters) IPHONE 11 PRO AND 11 PRO MAX: HANDS-ON WITH APPLE’S NEW FLAGSHIP PHONES (The Verge) iPhone 11's ultra-wideband chip helps you AirDrop with the right person (Engadget) Editorial: Apple just told you that they aren't going to make an 'iPhone SE 2' any time soon (Apple Insider) Apple’s Biggest Surprise: More Aggressive Device and Services Pricing (Bloomberg) Subscribe to the Ad-Free Feed! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11 Sep 201916min

All the news from the iPhone launch. Also, the Attorneys General officially go after Google… but why is California sitting this one out? And… is Masa Son pressuring WeWork to cancel its IPO or is it full speed ahead? Sponsors: Tinycapital.com Jobs At WillowTreeApps.com: bit.ly/swiftjob Links: Apple reveals the powerful new iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max (Engadget) Apple reveals iPhone 11 with a dual-camera system, Night mode, and new colors (The Verge) Apple Watch Series 5 has an always-on display and comes in titanium or ceramic finishes (The Verge) Apple unveils entry-level 2019 iPad with a 10.2-inch screen (Venture Beat) Apple TV+ costs $4.99 per month and launches on November 1 (Venture Beat) Apple Arcade is launching on September 19th for $4.99 a month (The Verge) Google faces a new antitrust probe by 50 attorneys general (CNBC) 48 states are probing Google on antitrust grounds. Why isn’t California? (LATimes) SoftBank urges WeWork to shelve IPO (Financial Times) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

10 Sep 201919min

The MIT Media Lab director steps down, Apple sort of hides its own apps in App Store searches, why big tech should worry about the states as much as Uncle Sam, reviews of the Google Nest Hub Max and why hands-free games actually make you a better driver. Sponsors: Legacybox.com/ride Capterra.com/ride Links: Director of M.I.T.’s Media Lab Resigns After Taking Money From Jeffrey Epstein (NYTimes) How an Élite University Research Center Concealed Its Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein (New Yorker) How Apple’s Apps Topped Rivals in the App Store It Controls (NYTimes) Facebook, Google face off against a formidable new foe: State attorneys general (Washington Post) GOOGLE NEST HUB MAX REVIEW: BIGGER SCREEN, BETTER SOUND, AND A CAMERA (The Verge) Drivetime raises $11 million for interactive audio games like Jeopardy in the car (Venture Beat) Daimler brings driverless truck tests to public roads in Virginia (Venture Beat) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9 Sep 201918min

Apple might have just given us the final reason to delete iTunes, Sonos has its first portable speaker, the Attorney’s General are targeting Facebook as well, it’s duplicating Google services all the way down, and, of course, the Weekend Longreads suggestions. Sponsors: WeWorkRemotely.com CognitoHQ.com Links: Apple Music launches a public beta on the web (TechCrunch) Sonos’ first portable speaker is the $399 Move (The Verge) Streaming makes up 80 percent of the music industry’s revenue (The Verge) New York attorney general is investigating Facebook for possible antitrust violations (CNBC) Google Assistant’s Ambient Mode turns Android devices into smart displays (The Verge)   Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Uber Undone (The Baffler) Coming Soon to a Battlefield: Robots That Can Kill (The Atlantic) Amazon’s Next-Day Delivery Has Brought Chaos And Carnage To America’s Streets — But The World’s Biggest Retailer Has A System To Escape The Blame (BuzzFeed News) Coming Soon to a Small Screen Near You: Short Cuts (WSJ) ‘Hey, Google! Let me talk to my departed father.’ (Washington Post) ‘NCAA Football’ Is Still Alive, Because One Online Community Won’t Let the Game Die (The Ringer) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Sep 201916min

China tracked Uyghur travelers by hacking Asian telcos, the company formerly known as WeWork drops its IPO target, Samsung has found a fold fix, Apple may bring back both Touch ID and a cheaper iPhone, MIT Media Lab’s founder says the group was right to have accepted money from Jeffrey Epstein, Facebook launches its Dating service in the U.S., SIM swapping is obscure but growing security problem, and the Jeremy Renner app has been shot down. Er, shut down. Sponsors WeWork Remotely Cognito by BlockScore Supercast Links: China hacked Asian telcos to spy on Uighur travelers (Reuters) WeWork Targets $20 Billion to $30 Billion IPO Value (Bloomberg) How Samsung fixed the Galaxy Fold (The Verge) Apple Plans Return of Touch ID and New Cheap iPhone (Bloomberg) MIT Media Lab founder: Taking Jeffrey Epstein’s money was justified (MIT Technology Review) Facebook Dating launches in the US, adds Instagram integration (TechCrunch) Why ‘SIM Swapping’ Is a Growing Security Nightmare (New York Times) I Broke The Official Jeremy Renner App By Posting The Word “Porno” On It (Deadspin) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5 Sep 201921min

Google gets a fine and is about to be investigated by all the states, Android 10 is here, a $14k gaming chair is here, a slew of new Fire TV devices are here, and the Light Phone 2 wants to save you from the Internet. Sponsors: Supercast.com WeWorkRemotely.com Links: YouTube will pay $170 million to settle claims it violated child privacy laws (CNBC) Google emerges as target of a new state attorneys general antitrust probe (Washington Post) Google’s paid search ads are a ‘shakedown,’ Basecamp CEO says (CNBC) Android 10 launches today, and Pixel phones get the day one update (Ars Technica) An Update About Face Recognition on Facebook (Facebook Newsroom) Acer announces a $14,000 gaming chair because why not (TechCrunch) Amazon unveils a new Fire TV Cube, soundbar, and over a dozen Fire TV Edition products (TechCrunch) Amazon tests Whole Foods payment system that uses hands as ID (New York Post) The Light Phone 2 Wants to Save You From the Internet (Gizmodo) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4 Sep 201916min

Samsung is gonna take another crack at foldable phones with a different design, sleep tracking is coming to the Apple Watch, Firefox 69 locks down everything, and a deep dive into the whole Ring Doorbell and Neighborhood controversy. Sponsors: Joybird.com/ride Promocode: RIDE WeWorkRemotely.com Links: Samsung Is Secretly Working on a Foldable Phone That Collapses Into a Square (Bloomberg) Apple Watch sleep tracking revealed: sleep quality, battery management, more (9to5Mac) Firefox 69 arrives with third-party tracking cookies and cryptomining blocked by default (VentureBeat) Upcoming Firefox update will decrease power usage on macOS by up to three times (ZDNet) Ring Neighbors Is the Best and Worst Neighborhood Watch App (WireCutter) Founders of Successful Tech Companies Are Mostly Middle-Aged (NYTimes) The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3 Sep 201917min

The biggest iPhone attack ever, Microsoft wants to make tablet mode on Windows 10 more desktop-y, airlines are banning Macbook Pros, Jack Ma and Elon Musk debate AI and the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Castro Listennotes.com/api Links: Mysterious iOS Attack Changes Everything We Know About iPhone Hacking (Wired) Project Zero (Google Project Zero) Microsoft unveils new tablet experience for Windows 10 (The Verge) The Long-Term Stock Exchange raises $50 million in new funding (Axios) More Airlines Ban MacBook Pros in Checked Luggage (Bloomberg) When Elon Met Jack: Musings on AI, Mars and the End of Civilization (Bloomberg) The Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Unix at 50: How the OS that powered smartphones started from failure (Ars Technica) Wi-Fi 6 Will Be Here Soon. What Is It? (Wired) Mobile payments have barely caught on in the US, despite the rise of smartphones (CNBC) Drone Bubble Bursts, Wiping Out Startups and Hammering VC Firms (Bloomberg) Older people are embracing video games. For some, that means stardom. (NBC News) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Aug 201918min