Mon. 12/28 – After Jack Ma, Is China Freezing Its Entire Tech Sector?
The Chinese Communist Party is throwing serious cold water on its entire tech sector by continuing to target Jack Ma. Did Elon Musk once try to sell Tesla to Apple? Drones are getting digital license plates, of a sort. And a look at the generation of search engine startups hoping to, you know, maybe strike at Google while the antitrust iron is hot. Sponsors: Tovala.com/ride GetRoman.com/techmeme Links: Beijing launches antitrust investigation into Alibaba (Financial Times) China Tells Ant to Return to Its Payment Roots, Places Curbs (Bloomberg) Alibaba Probe Stirs Global Worry on What’s Next for Chinese Tech (Bloomberg) Kuo: Apple Car Still in Early Stages, Unlikely to Launch Until 2025-2027 at Earliest (MacRumors) Drone-Crowded Skies Get One Step Closer With U.S. Security Rules (Bloomberg) Search engine start-ups try to take on Google (Financial Times) Covid-19 Propelled Businesses Into the Future. Ready or Not. (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
28 Dec 202019min
Wed. 12/23 – XRP, The 3rd Biggest Cryptocurrency Might Be In Big Trouble
The SEC does indeed sue Ripple, and that could be a bigger deal than I thought. Twitter won’t hand over the @Potus Twitter followers to Biden. What Zoom wants to do for its next act beyond video. Controlling your AirPods with your teeth. And, special for this week, a Long Holiday Weekend edition of the Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Hawthorne.co, promocode: techmeme Tovala.com/ride Links: SEC Sues Ripple Over 7-Year, $1.3B ‘Ongoing’ XRP Sale (CoinDesk) Biden @POTUS Account Reset to Zero With Trump Followers Out (Bloomberg) Telegram, nearing 500 million users, to begin monetizing the app (TechCrunch) Buoyed by Video Success, Zoom Explores Email, Calendar Services (The Information) Apple Patent reveals new Through-Body' input for AirPods allowing users to control functionality by touching their face, clicking their teeth & more (Patently Apple) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Our Digital Lives Drive a Brick-and-Mortar Boom in Data Centers (NYTimes) The North Carolina Kid Who Cracked YouTube’s Secret Code (Bloomberg) What if life were a video game? These 650,000 people imagine it that way. (The Washington Post) Czech Startup Founders Turn Billionaires Without VC Help (Bloomberg) Inside the Whale: An Interview with an Anonymous Amazonian (Logic Magazine) Star Wars toys keep changing, and leaving kids behind (Polygon) Shigeru Miyamoto Wants to Create a Kinder World (The New Yorker) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
23 Dec 202019min
Tue. 12/22 – Why I Think The Apple Car Is For Real
See… I had a feeling. Reuters says Apple really is revealing an Apple Car in the coming years. More details on that suit charging Facebook and Google allegedly agreed to divvy up the ad market. The third biggest cryptocurrency says the SEC is coming after it. And the crazy story behind those sexy butt-flap pajama ads you’ve seen all over the internet. Sponsors: CalderaLab.com, promocode TECHMEME (all caps, one word) at checkout for 20% off. Hawthorne.co promocode: techmeme Links: Exclusive: Apple targets car production by 2024 and eyes 'next level' battery technology - sources (Reuters) Google, Facebook Agreed to Team Up Against Possible Antitrust Action, Draft Lawsuit Says (WSJ) U.S. vs. Facebook: Inside the tech giant’s behind-the-scenes campaign to battle back antitrust lawsuits (Washington Post) Ripple says it will be sued by the SEC, in what the company calls a parting shot at the crypto industry (Fortune) Dailyhunt is India's latest unicorn after backing from Microsoft, Google, others Ouster, maker of self-driving tech, agrees $1.9 billion deal to go public (Reuters) SoftBank launches blank-check company to join SPAC craze (CNBC) IAC shares jump after Vimeo spinoff announcement (CNBC) The bizarre case of the sexy butt-flap onesie that has taken over the internet (Business Insider) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
22 Dec 202018min
Mon. 12/21 – Big Day For Real Estate Tech
Huge day for Real Estate tech with Opendoor going public to a soaring valuation and RealPage getting bought for a ton of money. Microsoft might design its own custom silicon, cause, why not (to quote Vincent Hanna)? Is the first under the display selfie camera basically a fail? And could we actually see the Apple Car debut as soon as next year? Sponsors: GetArmorLock.com Hawthorne.co promocode: techmeme Links: Opendoor Rides SPAC Deal to Lofty $18 Billion Valuation at Market Debut (The Information) Real estate software and data analytics company RealPage to be acquired for $10.2 billion (VentureBeat) Russia’s Hacking Frenzy Is a Reckoning (Wired) Microsoft Designing Its Own Chips for Servers, Surface PCs (Bloomberg) U.S. States Weighs New Google Suit Over App Store Fees (Bloomberg) THE WORLD’S FIRST UNDER-DISPLAY SELFIE CAMERA ISN’T VERY GOOD (The Verge) Sketchy Report Says Apple Car is Years Ahead of Schedule, Will Debut Next Year (MacRumors) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
21 Dec 202017min
Fri. 12/18 – Chinese Drone Maker DJI Blacklisted By The US
Drone maker DJI is blacklisted by the commerce department. Group video comes to Echo devices. Twitter launches Spaces. Sony offers refunds for Cyberpunk 2077. Coinbase files to go public. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Masterworks.io, promocode RIDE to skip the waitlist Calderalab.com use code TECHMEME (all one word, all caps) at checkout Links: US government adds DJI to Commerce blacklist over ties to Chinese government (The Verge) Amazon launches group video and audio calling for Echo devices (The Verge) Twitter launches its voice-based ‘Spaces’ social networking feature into beta testing (TechCrunch) Sony is pulling Cyberpunk 2077 from the PlayStation Store and offering full refunds (The Verge) Source Code newsletter A moment of reckoning: the need for a strong and global cybersecurity response (Microsoft Blog) Coinbase announces IPO in a milestone for the crypto industry (Fortune) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Where Tech Workers Are Moving: New LinkedIn Data vs. the Narrative (Big Technology Newsletter) Why I Decided to Leave Substack (A Media Operator Newsletter) New WarnerMedia chief Jason Kilar is moving to shake up Hollywood. Insiders are questioning if he has what it takes to turn around the entertainment giant without destroying it. (Business Insider) Can’t get a PlayStation 5? Meet the Grinch bots snapping up the holidays’ hottest gift. (Washington Post) How AltaVista, our first good search engine, fell into the digital abyss (Tedium) My $200,000 Sushi Dinner (NYTimes) Link to today's easter egg on YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
18 Dec 202021min
Thu. 12/17 – The Apple-Facebook Cold War Is Getting Hot
Mommy and Daddy are fighting. This time it’s Apple and Facebook and it’s getting pretty heated. The EU okays Google’s acquisition of Fitbit. Substack has resurrected Google Reader, in spirit at least. And why the new antitrust lawsuit against Google is maybe the most serious yet, because we’re talking about actual felonies here. Potentially. Allegedly. Sponsors: OurCrowd.com/ride JoinFightCamp.com/techmeme Links: Apple’s seismic change to the mobile ad industry is drawing near, and it’s rocking the ecosystem (CNBC) Facebook Attacks Apple Software Changes in Newspaper Ads (Bloomberg) Apple Responds to Facebook's Anti-Tracking Criticism, Says Users Deserve Control and Transparency (MacRumors) Facebook Wades Into ‘Fortnite’ Maker’s Dispute With Apple (WSJ) Facebook criticizes Apple as it welcomes Europe’s new tech rules (CNBC) EU approves Google’s $2.1 billion acquisition of Fitbit, subject to conditions (CNBC) HBO Max Is Launching on Roku, After Device Maker and WarnerMedia Finally Bury the Hatchet (Variety) Texas Accuses Google and Facebook of an Illegal Conspiracy (Wired) Substack launches an RSS reader to organize all your newsletter subscriptions (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
17 Dec 202017min
Wed. 12/16 – Google’s Stadia Arrives on iOS and iPadOS In Beta
Day three of the SolarWinds hack fallout sees major investors unloading stock at a suspicious time. M1 chip support comes to some major apps. Periscope joins the Deadpool. Bitcoin crosses $20k. An AirPods Max review. And what if you could make a digital platform for board games? Sponsors: OurCrowd.com/ride VistaPrint.com/techmeme Links: Stadia comes to the iPhone and iPad with new iOS beta (The Verge) Investors in breached software firm SolarWinds traded $280 million in stock days before hack was revealed (The Washington Post) Microsoft starts rolling out native Microsoft 365 for Mac apps for Macs with M1 (ZDNet) Firefox Updated With Native Support for M1 Macs, Mozilla Touts 'Dramatic Performance Improvements' (MacRumors) Exclusive: States close to filing new Google antitrust suit (Politico) Bitcoin Hits Record Above $20K as Analysts Remain Confident of Future (Coindesk) APPLE AIRPODS MAX REVIEW: LUXURIOUS SOUND FOR A LUXURY PRICE (The Verge) I’m so excited about this board games console I just peed a little (TNW) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
16 Dec 202019min
Tue. 12/15 – Europe’s Big New Rules for Big Tech
Europe’s big new regulatory regime for big tech. More fallout from what looks like the biggest hack our government has ever seen. The FTC asks basically everyone in tech how they get their data. A ‘faraday fabric’ that can serve as an invisibility cloak for radio waves. An interesting raise to make exoskeletons. And a review of the new all electric Ford Mustang. Sponsors: Grammarly.com/techmeme VistaPrint.com/techmeme Links: Tech Giants Face New Rules in Europe, Backed by Huge Fines (WSJ) FTC orders Amazon, Facebook and others to explain how they collect and use personal data (CNBC) U.S. Homeland Security, thousands of businesses scramble after suspected Russian hack (Reuters) Experimental "Faraday fabric" blocks almost all electromagnetic waves (New Atlas) German Bionic raises $20M led by Samsung for exoskeleton tech to supercharge human labor (TechCrunch) Ford’s New Mustang Mach-E Owes a Lot to Tesla (Debugger) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
15 Dec 202017min
