Thu. 03/07 – The Epic/Apple Fight Gets Gnarly

Introducing Facebook News. Did the major US Carriers do an end-run around Google out of spite? Amazon is back to making as little profit as it possibly can, HBO Max makes its aggressive pricing move, and, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Mealime LegalForce RAPC (650-390-6461 or raj@legalforcelaw.com) Links: Rupert Murdoch wanted Mark Zuckerberg to pay him for news stories — and now Facebook is going to do just that (Recode) [Update: Google responds] Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile join forces to bring RCS to Android in 2020 (9to5Google) AMAZON.COM ANNOUNCES THIRD QUARTER SALES UP 24% TO $70.0 BILLION (Amazon) Behind AT&T's plan to take on Netflix, Apple and Disney with HBO Max (Reuters) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The 2010s Broke Our Sense Of Time (Buzzfeed) Inside R/Relationships, the Unbearably Human Corner of Reddit (The Atlantic) He revolutionized how millions of people spend money in India. His next target: America (CNN Business) Now the Machines Are Learning How to Smell (Wired) Pentagon, With an Eye on China, Pushes for Help From American Tech (NYTimes) Google CEO Sundar Pichai on achieving quantum supremacy (MIT Technology Review) How Do You Like We Now (Bloomberg Opinion) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 Okt 201917min

Is TikTok a national security risk? Inquiring Senators want to know. Earnings running the gamut from bad to surprisingly good from Twitter, Amazon and Tesla. And to paraphrase an old saw: if a voicemail system goes down how would anyone even notice? Sponsors: Mealime LegalForce RAPC (650-390-6461 or raj@legalforcelaw.com) Links: TikTok raises national security concerns in Congress as Schumer, Cotton ask for federal review (The Washington Post) Music Video Upstart ‘Triller’ Says It’s Taking On TikTok Amid $28 Million Series B (TubeFilter) Twitter Q3 misses bi on revenues of $824M and EPS of $0.05 on the back of adtech glitches (TechCrunch) Twitter’s Growth Sags, But That Wasn’t the Worst Part (Bloomberg) Microsoft Sales, Profit Top Estimates on Cloud; Azure Slows (Bloomberg) Tesla Shares Soar as Elon Musk Packs Profit Report With Positives (Bloomberg) AT&T claims a weeks-long voicemail outage will be fixed with a single device update (The Verge) Apple TV app launches on Amazon Fire TV devices (9to5Mac) 40 Major Music Festivals Have Pledged Not to Use Facial Recognition Technology (Vice) BBC News launches 'dark web' Tor mirror (BBC News) Behold the massive social media explosion from Fortnite’s Season 10 finale (The Washington Post) Last week's Fortnite update helped Akamai set a new CDN traffic record (ZDNet) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

24 Okt 201917min

Mr. Zuckerberg went back to Washington, Google claims “Quantum Supremacy,” Apple overtakes Starbucks, HireVue is a controversial AI hiring tool and is the influencer bubble on the wane? Sponsors: leap.Fidelitycareers.com Mealime.com Links: Zuckerberg, in Washington to Talk Cryptocurrency, Gets Grilled on Everything (NYTimes)  Snapchat beats in Q3, adding 7M users & revenue up 50% (TechCrunch) Apple Pay Overtakes Starbucks as Top Mobile Payment App in the US (eMarketer) Google Claims a Quantum Breakthrough That Could Change Computing (NYTimes) On “Quantum Supremacy” (IBM Research Blog) A face-scanning algorithm increasingly decides whether you deserve the job (The Washington Post) Online Influencers Tell You What to Buy, Advertisers Wonder Who’s Listening (WSJ) Classified: Upside.fm/subscribe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23 Okt 201918min

SoftBank is taking over WeWork in order to save it, Verizon will give you Disney+ for free, Surprise! Comcast’s “free” streaming box really isn’t, and how much does Dark Mode save in battery life? Quite a bit, it turns out… Sponsors: LegalForce RAPC (650-390-6461 or raj@legalforcelaw.com) Mealime.com Links: Neumann to Get Up to $1.7 Billion to Exit WeWork as SoftBank Takes Control (WSJ) Verizon Will Give One Year of Disney Plus for Free to All Unlimited Wireless Customers (Variety) Roku is buying ad tech company Dataxu in $150 million deal (CNBC) Comcast’s ‘free’ streaming box actually requires an additional $13 / month fee (The Verge) Forty-six attorneys general have joined a New York-led antitrust investigation of Facebook (The Washington Post) The Pixel 4 supports fast wireless charging on any Qi charger [Updated] (AndroidCentral) Dark Mode in iOS 13 significantly helps iPhone battery life, robotic test shows [Video] (9to5Mac) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22 Okt 201917min

It’s review-a-palooza day with Surface reviews and Pixel 4 reviews. Also, Facebook announces new disinformation initiatives, and Microsoft announces a Secured-core PC initiative and Twitch wants in on the Watch Party action. Sponsors: Mealime Capterra.com/ride Links: Facebook disables Russian, Iranian networks, illustrating continued 2020 election threat (Washington Post) Helping to Protect the 2020 US Elections (Facebook Newsroom) Microsoft announces Secured-core PCs to counter firmware attacks (VentureBeat) Twitch’s new Watch Parties test taps Prime Video for movie night (SlashGear) MICROSOFT SURFACE PRO 7 REVIEW: I WISH THIS LOOKED LIKE A SURFACE PRO X (The Verge) MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP 3 15-INCH REVIEW: IT’S A BIGGER SURFACE LAPTOP (The Verge) Google Pixel 4 XL review: A night vision camera that's dead by sunset (Android Central) GOOGLE PIXEL 4 AND 4 XL REVIEW: MORE THAN THE SUM OF ITS SENSORS (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

21 Okt 201917min

Zuckerberg defends Facebook as a champion of free speech, will iPhone users have unlimited photo uploads to Google Photos while Pixel 4 owners will not, dial back your expectations for the Photoshop iPad app, the Vatican has a wearable prayer gadget, and, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: WeWorkRemotely.com Vistaprint.com promo code Ride Links: Samsung says fingerprint security fix is coming as early as next week (The Verge) Defiant Zuckerberg Says Facebook Won’t Police Political Speech (NYTimes) On Facebook’s live stream, Zuckerberg’s free-speech lecture got a big thumbs up (Washington Post) Google Photos format loophole seems to give iPhone free unlimited storage for orig. quality photos, Pixel 4 left behind (9to5Mac) Photoshop for iPad Nearing Launch With Some Key Features Missing (Bloomberg) Vatican launches $110 'click to pray' wearable rosary (CNN) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The Apple, iPhone 11, 11 Pro & 11 Pro Max Review (AnAndTech) The Creators Of Pokémon Go Mapped The World. Now They're Mapping You (Kotaku) The Young Firms Rethinking Social Media (The Information) Inside Apple's Long, Bumpy Road to Hollywood (The Hollywood Reporter) How Pinterest Built One of Silicon Valley’s Most Successful Algorithms (OneZero) Inside TurboTax’s 20-Year Fight to Stop Americans From Filing Their Taxes for Free (ProPublica) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

18 Okt 201917min

Fingerprint sensors on the Galaxy S10 can be tricked by a phone case, the Pixel 4 face recognition system unlocks your phone even when you’re asleep, Netflix kicks off tech earnings season, Airbnb’s losses double, and Travis Kalanick is getting the Billion’s treatment. Paging Bobby Axelrod... Sponsors: WeWorkRemotely.com GetQuip.com/ride Links: Samsung to patch the Galaxy S10’s fingerprint sensor over screen protector concerns (The Verge) Netflix soars 8% after beating on earnings, despite miss on subscribers (CNBC) Netflix finally admitted two things we already knew about the streaming wars (CNBC) Airbnb’s quarterly loss reportedly doubled in Q1, a bad sign as investors grow wary of money-losers (CNBC) Airbnb’s Q1 Loss More Than Doubled, New Data Shows (The Information) The FCC has voted to approve the T-Mobile-Sprint merger (The Verge) Privacy-focused Brave browser boasts 8M monthly active users (The Block) Google Pixel 4 Face Unlock works if eyes are shut (BBC News) Yahoo Groups Is Winding Down and All Content Will Be Permanently Removed (Vice) Microsoft introduces new open-source specs for developing cloud and edge applications (ZDNet) ‘Billions’ Creators to Develop ‘Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber’ Series at Showtime (Variety) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17 Okt 201916min

Twitter explains how world leaders can break its rules but they’ll kinda, sorta crack down on them. LinkedIn launches Events, Giphy launches Giphy arcade, DoNotPay fascinates me, and a debrief on yesterday’s Google event. Sponsors: WeWorkRemotely.com Leap.FidelityCareers.com Links: Twitter says it will restrict users from retweeting world leaders who break its rules (TechCrunch) Huawei Reports Stronger Sales Growth (NYTimes) LinkedIn gets physical, debuts Events hub for people to plan in-person networking events (TechCrunch) Giphy Arcade lets you play, create, and share mini-games on the web as if they were GIFs (The Verge) This brilliant app waits on hold for you (The Verge) Go inside Pixel 4's new camera features with Google's photo technology experts (CNET) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

16 Okt 201915min