Mon. 03/22 – Unusual Trouble At Red-Hot Startup Dispo
Red hot app Dispo is losing some big name investors and the founder is leaving the startup’s board. As anticipated, Zoom goes platform. Microsoft is beginning a soft HQ reopening. The secret sensor found in the HomePod mini. And the smart startup that has cloned Amazon’s biggest competitive moats, to make them available to everybody. Sponsors: Kiwico.com, promocode "ride" for 30 percent off! BuyRaycon.com/tech for 15% off Links: David Dobrik, Losing Sponsors and Fans, Steps Down From App He Co-founded (NYTimes) Spark Capital decides to “sever all ties” with David Dobrik’s Dispo app weeks after leading deal (TechCrunch) Zoom introduces new SDK to help developers tap into video services (TechCrunch) Microsoft to start reopening headquarters on March 29th, with hybrid workplace focus (The Verge) Apple’s HomePod Mini Has a Secret Sensor Waiting to Be Switched On (BLoomberg) Inside the Democrats' strategy to bombard Big Tech (Axios) On-demand logistics and fulfillment startup Flowspace raises $31M (VentureBeat) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
22 Mars 202116min
(Bonus) Are NFT's Bad For Artists? And An Interesting Raise Sampler
Last weekend a listener to this show, Ti Zhang, (@zero_chill_tea) tagged me on twitter around a conversation they were having about NFTs and the degree to which, lots of folks in the art world are not so thrilled with the advent of NFTs. They said, sure, we see all the headlines around famous artists and celebrities and all the money being made. But was I aware that artists were seeing their work stolen and sold as NFTs? That artists were taking their work down from the internet to make sure it wasn’t scraped and used on a blockchain somewhere? I was not. They started sending articles and links, some of which I posted in the show notes and I was like, hey, instead of just educating me about the NFT thing from the artist perspective, come on the show real quick and educate us all. So, the first half of the show is that. Thank you Ti, for being such a great resource. Then, after a break, the second half of the show will be just some of the Interesting Raises from the Interesting Raises episode that RideHome+ subscribers got this weekend. Less than half the content. If hearing these gives you a bit of FOMO, of course you can always sign up for the RideHome+ feed anytime, at tech.supercast.tech. As always, link to sign up for that feed is in the bottom of the show notes. Sponsors: ManlyBands.com/techmeme Subscribe to the RideHome+ Feed by tapping this link, right here in your podcast app: tech.supercast.tech Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
20 Mars 202133min
Fri. 03/19 – A Rebel Alliance, Led By Facebook, And Born In A Clubhouse Room?
It’s app platform product news day! Instagram is working on a version of the service suitable for kids. Twitter wants you to watch YouTube in-stream. Telegram is basically adding all the Clubhouse features I’ve been dreaming of. Was an anti-Apple rebel alliance born last night in a Clubhouse room? Why China is banning Tesla in some cases. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: EditorX.com Molekule.com, code "techmeme" at checkout to save as much as $120! Links: Facebook Is Building An Instagram For Kids Under The Age Of 13 (BuzzFeed News) Twitter begins testing a way to watch YouTube videos from the home timeline on iOS (TechCrunch) Telegram takes on Clubhouse with Voice Chat 2.0 (XDA Developers) Zuckerberg: Facebook may actually be in a ‘stronger position’ after Apple’s iOS 14 privacy changes (CNBC) China to Restrict Tesla Use by Military and State Employees (WSJ) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The End of Silicon Valley as We Know It? (O'Reilly) Moore's Law for Everything (SamAltman.com) Empathetic Robots Are Killing Off the World’s Call-Center Industry (Bloomberg Businessweek) Loans that hijack your phone are coming to India (Rest of World) How a social app you’ve never heard of became a haven for Gen Z (Protocol) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
19 Mars 202118min
Thu. 03/18 – An April Apple Event?
It’s an Apple rumor Thursday from both the boys, Gurman and Kuo. Sony is taking what it’s learned from the DualSense controllers and bringing that to VR. YouTube rolls out its TikTok rival. Spotify wants you to know it gets artists paid. And I do my best to explain the whole creator economy controversy that has sprung up over at Substack. Sponsors: Tovala.com/ride Links: Apple Nears Launch of New iPads After Stay-At-Home Sales Boost (Bloomberg) PS5's VR 2.0: First Look At New Controllers (GameSpot) YouTube Shorts arrives in the US to take on TikTok, but the beta is still half-baked (The Verge) Spotify says over 13,000 artists’ catalogs earned at least $50K in royalties last year (The Verge) Here's why Substack's scam worked so well (The Hypothesis) Substack is for independent writers (Substack Blog) Crypto marketplace OpenSea raises $23 million to be the ‘Amazon of NFTs’ (Fortune) Intel puts Apple’s ‘I’m a Mac’ guy into new ads praising PCs (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
18 Mars 202117min
Wed. 03/17 – Samsung’s 2nd Unpacked Brings New A-series Phones
Samsung’s second Unpacked event of the year brings new midrange phones. But are they really discontinuing the Galaxy Note, and are chip shortages the real reason why? Are reductions in app store fees really what they’re cracked up to be? Has Uber had a change of heart or just an acknowledgement of the inevitable? And the bear case for Clubhouse that everyone is talking about. Sponsors: NewYorker.com/techmeme promocode techmeme Tovala.com/ride Links: Samsung’s midrange phones now feature fast refresh rate screens, stabilized cameras (The Verge) Samsung Warns of Severe Chip Crunch While Delaying Key Phone (Bloomberg) Google cuts app store fees for developers on first million in annual sales (CNBC) Google and Apple are giving up less than 5% of their revenue from apps with payout changes, analytics firm estimates (CNBC) Uber grants UK drivers worker status after losing major labor battle (CNBC) Pinduoduo Founder Colin Huang Steps Down From Company (WSJ) Clubhouse Tweet Thread (ShaanVP) Tampa Twitter hacker agrees to three years in prison (Tampa Bay Times) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
17 Mars 202116min
Tue. 03/16 – The 2nd Gen Nest Hub Gets Sleep Tracking
Google’s 2nd gen Nest Hub gets sleep tracking thanks to the Soli chip. Intel’s 11th Gen desktop chips launch. Xi brings the hammer down on Chinese tech. And the craziest cellphone hack I’ve ever heard isn’t a hack at all, since it’s in a nutso-buttso unregulated grey area. Sponsors: Fundrise.com/techmeme Tovala.com/ride Links: Google announces 2nd-gen Nest Hub with Soli-powered ‘Sleep Sensing’ for $99 (9to5Google) Intel’s 11th Gen desktop chips are here with faster speeds but fewer cores (The Verge) Dropbox will have a free password manager in April — if you’ve got 50 or fewer passwords (The Verge) Xi Warns Against Tech Excess in Sign Crackdown Will Widen (Bloomberg) Alibaba browser pulled from Chinese app stores (FT) Exclusive: Investors value China's Ant Group at over $200 billion after IPO halt - sources (Reuters) A Hacker Got All My Texts for $16 (Motherboard) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
16 Mars 202118min
Mon. 03/15 – Stripe The Most Successful (Private) SV Startup Ever?
Stripe, by some measures, has become the most successful Silicon Valley startup of all time, with their recent raise. Airtable too has an impressively interesting raise. Facebook wants to find you a vaccine appointment. The US is looking to overhaul its cybersecurity missile shield. And checking in on the whole Jack Ma situation. Sponsors: MintMobile.com/ride ExpressVPN.com/techmeme Links: Stripe valuation soars to $95bn after latest fundraising (Financial Times) Airtable Tops $5.7 Billion Valuation On Growing Enterprise Sales And A Soaring Cloud Market (Forbes) Facebook aims to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19 (CNET) Massive Facebook study on users’ doubt in vaccines finds a small group appears to play a big role in pushing the skepticism (Washington Post) White House Weighs New Cybersecurity Approach After Failure to Detect Hacks (NYTimes) China Lays Plans to Tame Tech Giant Alibaba (WSJ) Clubhouse announces accelerator program for creators on its platform (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
15 Mars 202117min
Fri. 03/12 - Netflix Is Cracking Down On Password Sharing
Netflix is cracking down on password sharing. Apple sues a former employee for allegedly stealing trade secrets. Masa Son is back, baby! I guess we have to watch ads on our $1500 smart tvs now, and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. EditorX.com ThoughtWorks Technology Podcast Links: Netflix Begins Test to Crack Down on Password Sharing Outside Your Household (The Streamable) Apple sues former employee for stealing trade secrets, leaking information to the media (9to5Mac) SoftBank-Backed Coupang Prices U.S. IPO Above Target (Bloomberg) I guess I have to watch ads everywhere on my $1,500 LG TV now (The Verge) Weekend Longread Suggestions: Interview: Patrick Collison, co-founder and CEO of Stripe (Noahpinion.substack.com) TWITTER IS REINVENTING ITSELF (The Verge) Excel Never Dies (Not Boring) How Facebook got addicted to spreading misinformation (MIT Technology Review) Bilibili: How a Chinese site dedicated to anime subculture grew up with its Gen Z users to become a mainstream success (South China Morning Post) Sometimes It’s OK to Give Up (Wired) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
12 Mars 202121min
