Tech Brew Ride Home

Big potential vulnerability in AMD chips. Fallout from the whole X re-branding continues. Now TikTok is cloning Twitter. The Arc Browser is now available for anyone to try out. And if you think Elon likes to have his hand in a lot of pies, a look at the increasing, and increasingly ambitious portfolio of Sam Altman-related companies. Links: AMD 'Zenbleed' Bug Leaks Data From Ryzen, EPYC CPUs: Most Patches Coming Q4 (Updated) (TomsHardware) Musk Explains Why He’s Axing Twitter Name, Iconic Bird Logo (Bloomberg) TikTok is adding support for text posts (TechCrunch) The excellent Arc browser is now available for anyone to download (The Verge) Spotify now has 220 million paying subscribers (The Verge) Sam Altman’s vision for AI puts him on collision course with regulators (Financial Times) Sam Altman explains why he’s helping to take nuclear microreactor company Oklo public via SPAC (CNBC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elon makes good on his promise to rebrand Twitter as… X. Moar price hikes in streaming! Worldcoin has officially rolled out its token, so long as you’ve scanned your eyeball. Let me introduce you to the Flipper Zero. And should it be titled: Hollywood Strike: Rise Of The TikTok Stars? Sponsors: Collective.com/ride startups.tech/techmeme Links: Twitter is being rebranded as X (The Verge) Twitter has officially changed its logo to ‘X’ (TechCrunch) It’s Spotify’s turn to increase prices (The Verge) Peer-to-Peer Crypto Exchanges Lose Ground in Shrunken Market (Bloomberg) Sam Altman’s Worldcoin crypto project begins international rollout (FT) The Flipper Zero is a Swiss Army knife of antennas (The Verge) The Flipper Zero has an app store now (The Verge) The creator economy was already exploding. Then Hollywood went on strike. (Washington Post) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reddit is choosing violence with their biggest holdouts. More data on the ebbing of Threads usage. AI seems to be bringing Sergey Brin back into the office. Why you should be getting your paycheck quicker. And an Oppenheimer-themed Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: ZBiotics.com/ride and code ride for 15% off Links: Reddit takes over one of the biggest protesting subreddits (The Verge) Threads Is Already Losing Its Allure for Users, Adding Urgency for New Features (WSJ) Meta, Google, and OpenAI promise the White House they’ll develop AI responsibly (The Verge) The Federal Reserve’s 24/7 payment system could deposit your paycheck instantly (The Verge) Sergey Brin Is Back in the Trenches at Google (WSJ) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: A $25,000 Prize Still Sits in the Maine Woods. Meteorite Hunters Aren’t Giving Up. (WSJ) Fable unveils Showrunner AI to create South Park-like TV shows with you as the star (VentureBeat) The Airstocracy: Six things to know about flying with the superrich. (NYMag) THE REAL LESSON FROM THE MAKING OF THE ATOMIC BOMB (The Atlantic) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rumors that Apple already has an LLM framework and their own generative chatbot. Google is shopping an AI bot that can write news stories to various journalism outlets. Has GPT-4 actually gotten dumber of late? More streaming price raises. And it’s the last chance saloon for Microsoft’s AR headset for the US Military. Sponsors: BirdDogs.com/ride notion.com/ride Links: Apple Tests ‘Apple GPT,’ Develops Generative AI Tools to Catch OpenAI (Bloomberg) Google Tests A.I. Tool That Is Able to Write News Articles (NYTimes) Study claims ChatGPT is losing capability, but some experts aren’t convinced (ArsTechnica) Meta open-sources Llama 2, but with strings attached (MoneyControl) Apple slams UK surveillance-bill proposals (BBC News) Google raising price of YouTube Premium to $13.99 per month (9to5Google) Microsoft Poised to Deliver Improved Combat Goggles, US Army Says (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Microsoft announced aggressive pricing for their AI products and got rewarded with an all-time high stock market valuation. More price aggression in the streaming wars. Meta released Llama 2. Google is asking for employees to voluntarily work on air gapped machines. And let me introduce you to the concept of “synthetic data” for LLMs. Links: Microsoft and Activision Blizzard extend merger agreement to October (The Verge) Microsoft will charge businesses $30 per user for its 365 AI Copilot (Engadget) Microsoft closes at record after revealing pricing for new A.I. subscription (CNBC) Netflix Shakes Up Pricing: ‘Basic’ Tier Axed in UK, US (Cord Busters) Meta launches Llama 2, an open source AI model that allows commercial applications (Ars Technica) Google restricting internet access to some employees to reduce cyberattack risk (CNBC) Why computer-made data is being used to train AI models (FT) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been… two weeks. Let’s check in on how Threads is doing. Streaming players continue to raise prices. Microsoft still plans on fighting for its prize. Are the incumbents winning the AI race? And the interesting startup that wants to use light instead of electricity in computer chips. Sponsors: Notion.com/ride Links: The spam bots have now found Threads, as company announces its own ‘rate limits’ (TechCrunch) Five reasons Threads could still go the distance (Platformer) Peacock to raise its subscription prices on August 17 (TechCrunch) Microsoft-Activision Deal Poised to Close Later Than Planned (Bloomberg) Wix’s new tool can create entire websites from prompts (TechCrunch) UK chip designer raises millions from Agnelli fund (FT) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sony and Microsoft have made nice. Bitcoin ETFs continue to look like a possibility. How the Vision Pro is shaking up Apple’s org structure in a meaningful way for the first time since the Steve Jobs Era. And why Netflix’s recent turnaround have rekindled those perpetual rumors that Apple is gonna end up buying Disney some day. Sponsors: CalderaLab.com code RIDE for 20% off Hillsdale.edu/ride Links: Sony agrees to 10-year Call of Duty deal with Microsoft (The Verge) SEC accepts BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF application, signaling regulatory review (CoinTelegraph) The shady world of Brave selling copyrighted data for AI training (StackDiary) Hacker News Thread On The Brave Thing Typo leaks millions of US military emails to Mali web operator (Financial Times) Apple’s New Vision Group Reflects Shift Away From Steve Jobs Approach (Bloomberg) Bob Iger Shifts From Building an Empire to a Disney Yard Sale (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elon has made good on his promise to share ad revenue with some big Tweeters. The fact that you can’t use Threads in Europe continues to be weird. Meta unveils a new AI image generator that they say is significantly smaller and better. Why AI is at the center of the Hollywood strike part eleven. And one choice Weekend Longreads Suggestion. Links: Twitter starts sharing ad revenue with verified creators (TechCrunch) Musk's Twitter sues four Texas entities for data scraping, seeks damages (Reuters) Meta confirms it is blocking EU-based users from accessing Threads via VPN (TechCrunch) Meta claims its new art-generating model is best-in-class (TechCrunch) Exclusive: AP strikes news-sharing and tech deal with OpenAI (Axios) Actors say Hollywood studios want their AI replicas — for free, forever (The Verge) Here’s the new default font for Microsoft Outlook and Word: Aptos (CNBC) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Apple, Lionel Messi and the $2.5bn question: What’s next? (The Athletic) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elon has launched his own AI company with some pretty big names involved. The FTC will appeal! Roblox is coming to Zuckerberg’s metaverse. Meta does plan to commercialize LLaMA. And a cool new “do a napkin sketch and have AI turn it into an actual work of art” tool. Links: Musk Unveils xAI in New Bid to Rival Startup OpenAI (Bloomberg) FTC appeals its loss to Microsoft in Activision Blizzard case (The Verge) Ex-Celsius CEO Mashinsky Charged in Latest DOJ Crypto Case (Bloomberg) Roblox is coming to Meta’s Quest VR headsets (The Verge) macOS Sonoma Brings Apple Password Manager to Third-Party Browsers (MacRumors) Meta to release commercial AI model in effort to catch rivals (FT) Stability AI releases Stable Doodle, a sketch-to-image tool (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A big win for Microsoft leads critics of FTC chair Lina Khan to come out of the woodwork. Anthropic has released its Claude 2 chatbot. Say hello to the Nothing Phone (2). And while the market caps of the big players might have been boosted by AI, might the need for on premises AI lead to a unique opening for the likes of Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise? Links: Microsoft-Activision deal moves closer as judge denies FTC injunction request (CNBC) Microsoft and UK regulators agree to pause their Activision battle to negotiate (The Verge) FTC would face tough appeal of Microsoft-Activision order, experts say (Reuters) F.T.C.’s Court Loss Raises Fresh Questions About Its Chair’s Strategy (NYTimes) AI Startup Anthropic Releases a New Version of Its ChatGPT Rival, Claude (Bloomberg) Why SUSE is forking Red Hat Enterprise Linux (TechCrunch) Bigger, Brighter, More Expensive: Nothing Reveals the Phone (2) (Gizmodo) The AI Boom Is Here. The Cloud May Not Be Ready. (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Could Massachusetts pass the first meaningful anti-tracking law in the country? With social media in transition, what’s the lane for someone like Tumblr? Instagram is going after Twitter, but is someone coming for Instagram at the exact same time? And the sad state of affairs for video game history. Sponsors: https://www.birddogs.com/RIDE SwissAmerica.com/ride Links: Selling Your Cellphone Location Data Might Soon Be Banned in U.S. for First Time (WSJ) Tumblr says it’s going to ‘fix’ its ‘core experience’ to appeal to new users (The Verge) HCA Healthcare patient data stolen and for sale by hackers (CNBC) A New VC-Beloved Startup Rips a Page From Meta’s Playbook (The Information) THE GAME AVAILABILITY STUDY, EXPLAINED (Video Game History Foundation) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Time to get worried about your Evernote files. Looks like Meta won’t have to leave the EU. OpenAI has a new product that people are raving about. More analysis of if AI can be useful to doctors. And I’ll tell you the one simple reason Threads has hit 100 million users so fast. The answer is right in front of us. Sponsors: startups.tech/techmeme ZocDoc.com/techmeme Links: Bay Area tech company Evernote lays off most staff, relocating to Europe (SFGate) EU Seals New Transatlantic Data-Transfer Pact With US in Third Attempt (Bloomberg) Code Interpreter comes to all ChatGPT Plus users — ‘anyone can be a data analyst now’ (VentureBeat) Sarah Silverman is suing OpenAI and Meta for copyright infringement (The Verge) In Battle With Microsoft, Google Bets on Medical AI Program to Crack Healthcare Industry (WSJ) Snap’s Push to Tempt Creators Seems to Be Working (WSJ) Instagram’s Threads app reaches 100 million users within just five days (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s been my job for over a decade now to analyze the competitive landscape of the tech industry, and I’ve simply never seen anything like what Threads has achieved in less than 48 hours. Though, Elon is threatening to sue. Uber, DoorDash and GrubHub are suing NYC. Volkswagen is rolling out its self-driving cars. And, of course, The Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Earnin App (type in Techmeme under PODCAST when you sign up) Links: Threads Becomes Most Rapidly Downloaded App, Raising Twitter’s Ire (NYTimes) Zuck's Threads halo (Axios) Twitter is threatening to sue Meta over Threads (Semafor) OpenAI makes GPT-4 generally available (TechCrunch) Food-Delivery Companies Sue New York City Over Minimum Pay Law (NYTimes) Volkswagen's Self-Driving Cars Begin Testing In Texas (Jalopnik) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: What Did People Do Before Smartphones? (The Atlantic) The Man Who Broke Bowling (GQ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s only one story today. Threads. Threads. Threads. Has Threads already won? Links: Meta launches Instagram Threads in a direct challenge to Twitter (CNBC) Threads profile can only be deleted by deleting Instagram account, Meta says (TechCrunch) Instagram Threads works, but it’s sterile, dull and worst of all – it’s still run by Mark Zuckerberg (iNews) Meta unspools Threads (Platformer) So where are we all supposed to go now? (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chaos at Twitter emphatically did NOT take the 4th of July weekend off. Instagram’s Twitter clone looks like it’s going to take advantage of this chaos to launch now. The Reddit app apocalypse has happened. Oh, and the mods for Reddit AMA’s have downed tools. And how drone technology is disrupting the traditional Fireworks industry. Sponsors: Kolide.com/ride Notion.com/ride Links: Instagram’s Twitter competitor, Threads, briefly went live on the web (The Verge) The Reddit app-pocalyse is here: Apollo, Sync, and BaconReader go dark (The Verge) The Reddit moderators who coordinate many celebrity AMAs will no longer do so (The Verge) Fireworks Have a New Competitor: Drones (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Originally published April 2015 It’s part two of our Amazon founding story. How did Amazon come to completely dominate e-commerce? How did Jeff Bezos’ “Get Big Fast” strategy evolve? How and why did Amazon become the quintessential “dot com” and dot-com-era stock? The answers are within. Bibliography: The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon The Playboy Interview: Moguls Amazon.com: Get Big Fast One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com http://jimromenesko.com/2013/08/11/i-interviewed-jeff-bezos-when-amazon-was-an-insignificant-speck-in-the-book-selling-universe/#more-49306 http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/7.03/bezos_pr.html http://www.fastcompany.com/50541/inside-mind-jeff-bezos http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB832204437381952500 http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303339904576405922077032468 http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?p=irol-corporateTimeline_pf&c=176060 http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,992927-2,00.html http://www.vox.com/2015/1/4/7490013/ecommerce-shopping-mall http://mashable.com/2014/05/08/amazon-sales-chart/ http://www.statista.com/statistics/185283/total-and-e-commerce-us-retail-trade-sales-since-2000/ http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-01-07/amazon-surges-to-record-high-on-global-e-commerce-growth http://www.thewire.com/business/2014/05/amazon-has-basically-no-competition-among-online-booksellers/371917/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Originally published February 2015. Finally, the long-promised foray into e-commerce, starting with… not the first… but practically the first… player in the space… and ironically enough, the 800 pound gorilla in the space to this day. Amazon. Dot com. We examine Jeff Bezos, the man. We consider Amazon, the idea. We look at e-commerce, the concept. It’s interesting. It’s groundbreaking. It’s available with free 2-day shipping for Prime members. Just kidding. Bibliography: The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon The Playboy Interview: Moguls Amazon.com: Get Big Fast One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com http://archive.wired.com/wired/archive/7.03/bezos_pr.html http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/01/11/253770/index.htm http://partners.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/03/biztech/articles/14amazon.html http://www.retireat21.com/blog/10-companies-started-garages http://davidsheff.com/article/jeff-bezos/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Second time the charm for Apple to close above $3 trillion? Google says it will remove news links in Canada. Meta will allow you to download apps directly from Ads. Self driving cars are giving cops more surveillance tape. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: Apple’s market cap tops $3 trillion (CNBC) Canada’s ‘link tax’ law could break how the web works, says Google (Android Police) Meta is planning to let people in the EU download apps through Facebook (The Verge) Fidelity Joins Spot-Bitcoin ETF Race With Fresh SEC Filing (Bloomberg) Police Are Requesting Self-Driving Car Footage For Video Evidence (Bloomberg) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: When Will AI Generate a Hollywood Blockbuster? “Give It About Three Years.” (Inverse) These Tech Companies Think They Can ‘Solve’ the Wildfire Crisis (Motherboard) Who killed Google Reader? (The Verge) Mixtape Sites Like DatPiff Propelled Rap. Can They Be Preserved? (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Satya Nadella had his day in court. Looks like the FTC is finalizing its big case against Amazon. YouTube has advertisers asking for refunds. Big new interesting raises in the AI space. And ahead of the Fourth of July travel weekend, we may not have the autonomous driving we want, but maybe we can get the autonomous rental car delivery we deserve. Links: Microsoft and Activision Chiefs Testify Merger Will Benefit Consumers (NYTimes) Lina Khan Is Coming for Amazon, Armed With an FTC Antitrust Suit (Bloomberg) Advertising industry seeks refunds over YouTube skippable ads (FT) ChatGPT maker OpenAI faces a lawsuit over how it used people’s data (Washington Post) Inflection AI Raises $1 Billion (Forbes) Halo Car launches remotely piloted rental car deliveries in Las Vegas (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even in bankruptcy, even FTX is like, maybe we’ll hold on to these AI investments. Could Windows itself become a fully cloud product? Has Google canceled its AR project? How AI is making even Billy Bean look like old school baseball. And who needs a Mac Pro when you’ve got a perfectly good Mac Studio or even Mac Book? Links: FTX Halts Sale of Its $500 Million Stake in AI Startup Anthropic (Bloomberg) AI Frenzy Draws Hordes to Private Markets in Industry Gold Rush (Bloomberg) Microsoft wants to move Windows fully to the cloud (The Verge) Google killed its Iris augmented-reality smart glasses as it shifts attention to building AR software (Insider) DoorDash launches hourly rates and location sharing for couriers (The Verge) Baseball Scouts Call In Artificial Intelligence Help From the Bullpen (WSJ) The Mac Pro’s biggest problem is the MacBook (The Verge) Eat Your Heart Out, Tesla. Mercedes-Benz May Have the Fastest EV Yet. (Barron's) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Checking in with the FTC vs. Microsoft case. Checking in with the effort to recover funds from FTX. What if OpenAI did its own Copilot? Would Microsoft be pissed? And reviews of the Pixel Fold include one reviewer’s unit dying after a mere few days. Sponsors: stpp.co/techmeme ZocDoc.com/techmeme Links: Microsoft exec was ready to ‘go spend Sony out of business’ to strengthen Xbox (The Verge) FTX Bankruptcy Team Says the Exchange Owed Customers $8.7B (CoinDesk) Thomson Reuters buys Casetext, an AI legal tech startup, for $650M in cash (TechCrunch) OpenAI Plans ChatGPT ‘Personal Assistant for Work,’ Setting Up Microsoft Rivalry (The Information) RIP to my Pixel Fold: Dead after four days (ArsTechnica) Google Pixel Fold review: closing the gap (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, this AI moment is only about 6 months old, but it looks like the mergers and acquisitions are beginning in earnest. Wait, we’re still worried about 5G interfering with airplanes? Amazon wants your local florist to deliver your packages. An Amazon/FTC kerfuffle we missed. And what are the OTHER Apple products we can expect in the next year or so? Sponsors: JoinDeleteMe.com/techmeme The Traceroute Podcast Links: Databricks Strikes $1.3 Billion Deal for Generative AI Startup MosaicML (WSJ) Pete Buttigieg Warns of Flight Delays as 5G Deadline Looms (WSJ) Exclusive: Amazon launches local business delivery network (Axios) FTC sues Amazon over ‘deceptive’ Prime sign-up and cancellation process (CNBC) Amazon, Friction, and the FTC (Stratechery) Apple Has Finally Unveiled the Vision Pro. Here’s What It’s Launching Next (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Are Canadians about to lose their access to news on Instagram and maybe Google too? More details about what that Apple headset will actually be like to use. The newest claimant to the supercomputer crown is about to come online. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Grammarly.com/go Collective.com Links: Meta says it's blocking news on Facebook, Instagram after government passes online news bill (National Post) Apple Vision Pro has a speed limit, Travel Mode required for use on flights (9to5Mac) The Aurora Supercomputer Is Installed (AnandTech) Randomly received a smartwatch? Don’t turn it on, investigators warn. (ArmyTimes) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Dolby Atmos Wants You to Listen Up. (And Down. And Sideways.) (NYTimes) The hottest new perk in tech is freedom (Vox) This Bay Area woman is on a crusade to prove Yelp reviews can’t be trusted (SFGate) Meet the Vocal Coach Who’s Helping Timothée Chalamet Sound Like Bob Dylan (GQ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, I guess Elon and Zuck are gonna fight? Literally? New Stability AI. Xbox prices are going up. The visionOS SDK is out. A Motorola Razr Plus review. And why celebrities are racing to duplicate themselves using AI. Sponsors: JoinDeleteMe.com/techmeme Grammarly.com/go Links: Mark Zuckerberg is ready to fight Elon Musk in a cage match (The Verge) Startup Stability Debuts a New AI Model For Stable Diffusion (Bloomberg) Microsoft is hiking the price of Xbox Series X and Xbox Game Pass (The Verge) Apple releases visionOS SDK for creating Vision Pro apps, dev kit applications opening soon (9to5Mac) Motorola Razr Plus review: the right moves (The Verge) Celebrities Use AI to Take Control of Their Own Images (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dropbox joins the AI bandwagon. Lots of news from Twitch. Netflix changes how it calculates its top 10. Mark your calendars for Prime Day. And what all the things Apple DIDN’T demo for their new headset might reveal about the directions in which the product could evolve. Sponsors: Grammarly.com/go NewtonX.com/techmeme Links: Dropbox’s AI tools can help you find your stuff — from everywhere on the internet (The Verge) Twitch will require new labels for streams with sexual themes, gambling and M-rated games (TechCrunch) Netflix Tweaks Its Top 10 Rankings, Adds View Count (THR) Amazon will hold Prime Day 2023 on July 11-12, adding invite-only deals and ‘Buy with Prime’ sites (GeekWire) What Apple Didn’t Reveal About the Vision Pro (The Information) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spotify is thinking of bucking the “max” and “ultra” naming convention and might introduce “supremium.” What if FTX, the exchange, makes a comeback? One of the hottest sectors in VC right now is defense. And the story of how Meta is playing catchup when it comes to AI. Sponsors: Grammarly.com/go go.tech/tm Links: Spotify Plans New Premium Tier, Expected to Include HiFi Audio (Bloomberg) FTX paid over $120 million in advisor fees between February 1 and April 30 (The Block) Masayoshi Son Ends Seven-Month Silence to Make Case for SoftBank’s Future (Bloomberg) Silicon Valley VCs rush into defence technology start-ups (FT) Mark Zuckerberg Was Early in AI. Now Meta Is Trying to Catch Up. (WSJ) When AI Overrules the Nurses Caring for You (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No joke, this is one of my favorite episodes we've ever done. Eugene Wei was an early employee at Hulu, so we get some details on that company for the first time, and he also worked at Flipboard and Oculus, so we get some important context especially on the future of VR and the like. But the most fascinating stories you'll hear will be about Amazon, where Eugene was the first analyst in the strategic planning department. As you'll hear, Eugene had a unique perspective on Amazon's early strategy and business structure, almost a historically unique perspective... he could see month to month, how Amazon was built, what Amazon was trying to do, and why. This is such an amazing perspective on such an important company. Sponsors: Grammarly.com/go Hillsdale.edu/ride Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google does it again. For like the 10th time just since I’ve been doing this podcast. What is “it?” You’ll hear in a second. The whole Reddit thing is simultaneously seeming to calm down, AND heat up, largely thanks to Reddit’s CEO. Will we finally get a bitcoin ETF this time? And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: TryNom.com/ride CrashPlan.com Links: Alphabet Selling Google Domains Assets to Squarespace (Bloomberg) Reddit says it won’t force subreddits back open (but will it?) (The Verge) Reddit CEO slams protest leaders, saying he'll change rules that favor ‘landed gentry’ (NCBNews) AI and media companies negotiate landmark deals over news content (Financial Times) BlackRock files for bitcoin ETF in push into crypto (Reuters) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Microsoft’s Sudden AI Dominance Is Scrambling Silicon Valley’s Power Structure (Bloomberg Businessweek) How Nvidia Became ChatGPT’s Brain and Joined the $1 Trillion Club (Bloomberg Businessweek) How MrBeast Became the Willy Wonka of YouTube (NYTimes Magazine) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The every platform can be an ad platform too march continues. This time, it’s Uber. Intel drops the “I.” Google lens can check your skin condition. Another breakthrough in quantum computing. And why Apple bringing back the answering machine is a feature lots of folks, including me, are actually happy about. Sponsors: CrashPlan.com Links: Video Ads Are Coming to All Your Uber Apps (The Wall Street Journal) Intel To Launch New Core Processor Branding: Drop the i, Add Ultra Tier (AnandTech) Google Lens can now identify rashes and other skin conditions (9to5Google) Mechanical Turk workers are using AI to automate being human (TechCrunch) Fake zero-day PoC exploits on GitHub push Windows, Linux malware (BleepingComputer) Quantum Computing Advance Begins New Era, IBM Says (NYTimes) iOS 17 Live Voicemail will return the glory of the answering machine to your iPhone (TechRadar) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The European Commission might have just taken the first steps toward separating Google from its cash cow. Reddit’s CEO keeps saying not so soothing things. New Open AI and Meta releases for… AI stuff. Cybersecurity premiums are skyrocketing. Spotify has fully shifted its podcast strategy. And a look at the tech job market as AI takes over. Sponsors: NewtonX.com/techmeme CrashPlan.com Links: EU suggests breaking up Google’s ad business in preliminary antitrust ruling (The Verge) Reddit CEO tells employees that subreddit blackout ‘will pass' (The Verge) Google is getting a lot worse because of the Reddit blackouts (The Verge) OpenAI intros new generative text features while reducing pricing (TechCrunch) Cyber Insurance Premiums Surge by 50% as Ransomware Attacks Increase (Bloomberg) Spotify Takes a Sharp Turn With Its $1 Billion Podcast Division (Bloomberg) Meta AI researchers unveil I-JEPA, a computer vision model that learns more like humans do (SiliconAngle) Layoffs and AI Are Changing Tech’s Once-Invincible Job Market (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The FTC has filed an injunction to block the Microsoft/Activision tie-up. Netflix is dipping its toe into live sports. Why Larry Ellison is thankful AI showed up on the scene. The whole Reddit situation came to a head partially cause of AI. And one guess why we’re about to get a new Beatles song. Sponsors: CrashPlan.com notion.com/ride Links: FTC files to block Microsoft-Activision as deadline approaches (CNBC) Netflix to Enter Live-Streamed Sports With Celebrity Golf Event (WSJ) Reddit goes dark (Platformer) Larry Ellison Rides AI Boom to Highest Wealth Ranking Ever (Bloomberg)\ Sir Paul McCartney says artificial intelligence has enabled a 'final' Beatles song (BBC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why your favorite subreddit might be going dark. Why a16z opened an office in the UK. Why AI seems to be recycling the same few dozen jokes when you ask it to be funny. A new AI music generation tool. And the first reviews of the 15-inch Macbook Air. Sponsors: CrashPlan.com go.tech/tm Links: Thousands of subreddits pledge to go dark after the Reddit CEO’s recent remarks (The Verge) Andreessen Horowitz believes that crypto's future may be in the U.K. (Axios) Meta's open source AI MusicGen turns text and melody into new songs (The Decoder) Researchers discover that ChatGPT prefers repeating 25 jokes over and over (ArsTechnica) How AI art killed an indie book cover contest (The Verge) Apple MacBook Air 15-inch review: exactly what was asked for (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kevin Scott is the current Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft. We talk about his entire career, how being an academic seemed to be his path before he transformed the ads system at Google. Then he revolutionized the entire advertising industry at AdMob; is credited by some people by saving LinkedIn from technical rot; and now, today, oversees Microsoft's efforts in AI, VR/AR all the future things. Fantastic conversation. Kevin's podcast is: Behind the Tech Originally Aired: May 2019 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lots of juicy nuggets from a recent all hands over at Meta. Binance.US looks like it’s on the road to shutting down. The first trials of AI tutors for kids are happening. The self-driving revolution I’ve been waiting for seems to be happening. And the Weekend Longreads are happening. As always. Links: Here’s what Mark Zuckerberg thinks about Apple’s Vision Pro (The Verge) This is what Instagram’s upcoming Twitter competitor looks like (The Verge) Meta plans to put AI everywhere on its platforms (Axios) Binance.US Set to Be Cut Off From Banking System After SEC Lawsuit (Bloomberg) Spotify says it’s testing an ‘offline mix’ for when your connection’s patchy (The Verge) New A.I. Chatbot Tutors Could Upend Student Learning (NYTimes) Netflix Subscriptions Jump as U.S. Password-Sharing Crackdown Begins (WSJ) Mercedes first to sell vehicles in California with hands-free, eyes-off automated driving (TechCrunch) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The Binge Purge TV’s streaming model is broken. It’s also not going away. For Hollywood, figuring that out will be a horror show. (Vulture) The Simpsons Is Good Again After 34 seasons, 750 episodes, and a decades-long funk, the show innovated its way back to popularity and relevance. (Vulture) First Impressions of Vision Pro and VisionOS (Daring Fireball) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So, the Binance case is already getting testy with some wild accusations flying in both directions. Twitch walks back some ad guidelines after only two days. WhatsApp is adding channels. Prime Video is probably about to add ads. Adobe will protect you from lawsuits if you use their AI tools. And how AI might have just extended Moore’s Law a bit. Sponsors: EarnIn App (type in techmeme under PODCAST when you sign up) Links: Binance lawyers allege SEC Chair Gensler offered to serve as advisor to crypto company in 2019 (CNBC) SEC says Binance and US affiliate redirected billions in customer assets to Zhao's funds (The Block) Twitch walks back controversial ad rules policy (The Verge) WhatsApp’s new Channels feature brings social media to your messaging app (The Verge) Amazon Plans Ad Tier for Prime Video Streaming Service (WSJ) Adobe is so confident its Firefly generative AI won’t breach copyright that it’ll cover your legal bills (Fast Company) Google claims that Bard is improving at math and programming (TechCrunch) Google DeepMind’s game-playing AI just found another way to make code faster (MIT Technology Review) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maybe I was wrong. Maybe Apple does want to get serious about gaming on the Mac after all. Maybe I was right. Sequoia splitting in three IS about China after all. Samsung is holding an event at home for the first time in forever. And Matt Levine answers my questions about what now for Coinbase? Back to just trading bitcoin and ether? Sponsors: NewtonX.com/techmeme Links: macOS Sonoma lets developers port Windows games to the Mac; here’s how it works (9to5Mac) Apple makes iOS 17 developer beta free for registered developers (9to5Mac) Sequoia’s Split Sends Warning to US Companies Doing Business in China (Bloomberg) Samsung officially confirms first Unpacked event in Korea for new foldables (9to5Google) The SEC Comes for Crypto (Matt Levine/Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The SEC has officially sued Coinbase. Sequoia plans to split into 3 separate VC firms. Why did Apple announce a bunch of AI features yesterday but shy away from name dropping AI? And all anyone really cares about right now: two different hands on experiences with the Apple Vision Pro. What is this thing like to actually use? Sponsors: Collective.com Links: US Crypto Crackdown Reaches Fever Pitch as SEC Sues Coinbase (Bloomberg) Sequoia Is Splitting Into Three VC Firms (Forbes) Apple avoids “AI” hype at WWDC keynote by baking ML into products (ArsTechnica) First impressions: Yes, Apple Vision Pro works and yes, it’s good (TechCrunch) I wore the Apple Vision Pro. It’s the best headset demo ever. (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Apple headset is called the Apple Vision Pro. It’s more expensive than people thought, but it was maybe more impressive than I expected. Oh, also, a new 15-inch MacBook Air. New OS versions and features. And the SEC is officially suing CZ and Binance. Sponsors: Ramp.com/techmeme Links: Apple Vision Pro is Apple’s new $3,499 AR headset (The Verge) The Apple Vision Pro features an M2 chip, a ton of sensors and a new R1 chip (TechCrunch) Apple announces visionOS, the operating system for its Vision Pro headset (The Verge) Apple announces iOS 17 with Journal, Standby, FaceTime voicemail, more (9to5Mac) Apple Announces iOS 17 With 'Standby' View, Journal App, Siri Changes, and More (MacRumors) Apple unveils new Mac Studio and brings Apple silicon to Mac Pro (Apple Newsroom) Apple’s new 15-inch MacBook Air is the ‘world’s thinnest’ (The Verge) Mac Studio gets its first hardware update with M2 Max and the new M2 Ultra chip (9to5Mac) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Originally published August 2014 Jan Brandt is a legend in the world of marketing. She singlehandedly led the famous AOL "carpet-bombing" campaign that put millions of AOL trial discs and CDs in everything from magazines to popcorn boxes to banks. AOL was able to leap to the front of the online pack, over competitors like CompuServe and Prodigy largely on the success of this campaign. Jan tells us how this strategy developed, the thinking that went into it and goes into great detail about what worked and what didn't. But she was also a very early AOL executive, so she is able to give us some fantastic background about AOL the company: its culture, its people and its visionaries–people like Steve Case. She takes us from AOL's beginnings, through its considerable growing pains (remember "America On Hold?") its rise to dominance in the dot-com era, and even gives us her perspective on the legacy of the AOL/Time Warner merger. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A check-in with Elon and Twitter sees things pretty much as they’ve been for about a year now. Is Amazon about to release a low-cost cell phone plan for Prime members? Airbnb is suing New York City over a new law it sees as an existential threat. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: The Traceroute Podcast Links: Twitter's head of trust and safety says she has resigned (Reuters) Elon 'The Dogefather' Musk Accused of Insider Trading (Gizmodo) Russia accuses US of hacking thousands of Apple devices to spy on diplomats (The Record) Amazon Is in Talks to Offer Free Mobile Service to US Prime Members (Bloomberg) Airbnb sues NYC over new rules requiring hosts to register their homes as short-term rentals (Gothamist) Planned Layoffs Have Quadrupled So Far This Year in the US (Bloomberg) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: How a $13 Billion Fintech That Angered Jamie Dimon Won Over Banks (Bloomberg) A Week With the Wild Children of the A.I. Boom (NYTimes Magazine) China Is Drilling a 10,000-Meter-Deep Hole Into the Earth (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zuck tried to front-run the Apple headset announcement this morning. Amazon pays some fines. Apple is testing two new high-end Macs. Microsoft actually seems to be struggling when it comes to game development. And what happens to your crypto project, if you can’t get in touch with the one person in the project who has control of the keys? Sponsors: SwissAmerica.com/ride Links: Zuck's Meta Quest 3 Announce Amazon to Pay $25 Million to Settle Children’s Privacy Charges (NYTimes) Amazon to Pay $30.8 Million to Settle FTC Privacy Claims (Bloomberg) Apple Tests New High-End Macs With M2 Max and M2 Ultra Chips Ahead of WWDC (Bloomberg) Instagram tests new user control for recommended posts, transparency tool for creators (TechCrunch) Inside the Making of Redfall, Xbox’s Latest Misfire (Bloomberg) Multichain team says it can't contact CEO amid protocol problems (The Block) Wall Street Banks Are Using AI to Rewire the World of Finance (Bloomberg) Apple touts $1.1 trillion in App Store commerce in 2022, with $104B in digital sales (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big names in the AI industry are basically begging governments to regulate AI. But some people are wondering about their motives. The considerations the Biden administration is taking into account vis-à-vis AI regulation. New Garmin smartwatches. And why the Lovecraftian Shoggoth is the meme of the AI moment. Sponsors: NewtonX.com/techmeme Links: A.I. Poses ‘Risk of Extinction,’ Industry Leaders Warn (NYTimes) ChatGPT Risks Divide Biden Administration Over EU’s AI Rules (Bloomberg) Garmin’s Epix 2 and Fenix 7 lineups go ‘Pro’ (The Verge) The Race to Make A.I. Smaller (and Smarter) (NYTimes) Why an Octopus-like Creature Has Come to Symbolize the State of A.I. (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Nvidia joins the rarified trillion dollar market cap club, their recent announcements highlight why they’re truly the center of the current AI moment. ARM transitions to a comprehensive 64-bit platform. Hands-on with Meta's Quest 3 prototype. And those weird new CAPTCHA’s you’ve been seeing? Yes, AI is responsible. Sponsors: SwissAmerica.com/ride Bloomberg.com/careers Links: How Nvidia created the chip powering the generative AI boom (Financial Times) World’s Most Valuable Chipmaker Nvidia Unveils More AI Products After $184 Billion Rally (Bloomberg) Video of the NPC character demo Arm Unveils 2023 Mobile CPU Core Designs (AnandTech) A First Look at the Headset That Could Be Apple’s Biggest Competition (Bloomberg) Captcha Is Asking Users to Identify Objects That Don't Exist (Motherboard) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Originally aired February 2017) Gary Flake has been involved with search technology ever since he got turned on to this particular field in college. In this wide-ranging discussion, Gary lays out for us, basically, the history of search technology before Google, the impact of Google, and then, since he lived it, the notion of competing with Google. The reason why Gary can talk so in depth about all of this is that he was Yahoo’s Chief Science Officer in the early 2000s, when Yahoo, via the infamous project Panama, and other initiatives, attempted to keep Google from taking over the entire search market. And because, prior to that, Gary was at Goto/Overture, he gives us basically the entire story of the birth of paid search as an industry. The story of Google is about two miracles. The first miracle is the Google algorithm that essentially solved search. And the second miracle is paid search… AdWords, AdSense, all of that… which is essentially the greatest advertising machine ever invented. But, not a lot of people remember: paid search was actually invented, not by Google, but by Goto/Overture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Larry and Sergey first met, they didn’t like each other much... (Originally aired April 2017 in two parts) BIBLIOGRAPHY: In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives The Google Story How Google Works The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture Googled: The End of the World As We Know It The Google Guys: Inside the Brilliant Minds of Google Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin I’m Feeling Lucky: The Confessions of Google Employee Number 59 http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/05/29/search-and-deploy http://archive.fortune.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/11/08/268521/index.htm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Originally published 01/04/2015) So, I ran across this quote from Star Trek television producer Rick Berman. He said, “Without porn and Star Trek, there would be no Internet.” That’s a notion that I have to say really kind of rang true to me, in a tonge and cheek sort of way. I mean, it’s something you hear all the time. The idea that pornography leads the way with any new technological innovation. That Porn is some x-large percentage of the overall internet Do you ever wonder how much of the internet is actually porn? If it’s such a large amount then wouldn’t it be worth investigating how porn has shaped the web and the internet generally? That’s sort of the thinking that led me to begin thinking about this episode. Bibliography: The Erotic Engine: How Pornography has Powered Mass Communication, from Gutenberg to Google Obscene Profits: The Entrepreneurs of Pornography in the Cyber Age EroticaBiz: How Sex Shaped the Internet The Unsexpected Story http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Relay_Chat https://tidbits.com/article/5833 http://internetlaw.uslegal.com/pornography/ http://www.internetworldstats.com/emarketing.htm http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm http://www.itworld.com/article/2729780/enterprise-software/10-fascinating-facts-about-internet-porn.html http://blog.cytalk.com/2010/01/web-porn-revenue/ http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/21/david-cameron-online-porn-will-be-blocked-by-default-3891620/ http://nymag.com/news/features/70985/ http://kernelmag.dailydot.com/issue-sections/features-issue-sections/10471/siri-piracy-pay-for-your-porn/ http://www.thewrap.com/media/article/internet-piracy-killing-porns-profits-1394/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We get our first look at how Google is integrating AI into search. You heard me warn you, but the most concrete example yet that Crypto VCs might be turning their attention to AI. WhatsApp is probably moving to usernames. The Weekend Longreads Suggestions. And, for this long weekend, Brian’s Book Recommendations. Sponsors: Miro.com/podcast Bloomberg.com/careers Links: Google starts rolling out Search Generative Experience (SGE) in preview (9to5Google) Paradigm broadening crypto-only focus to areas including AI (The Block) WhatsApp beta for Android 2.23.11.15: what’s new? (WABetaInfo) The FDA will apparently let Elon Musk put a computer in a human’s brain (The Verge) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Meta's ‘Efficiency’ Layoffs Take a Toll on Employee Productivity (Bloomberg) Sergey Brin Has a Secret Plan to Put Airships Back in the Skies (BusinessWeek) Some Neural Networks Learn Language Like Humans (QuantaMagazine) A husband hid $500,000 in bitcoin during a divorce — and got busted by a crypto hunter (CNBC) Going for a walk with Shift’s Moonwalker electric shoe-skates (TechCrunch) Brian's Summer Book Recommendations: The Making of the Atomic Bomb: 25th Anniversary Edition Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 Americana: A 400-Year History of American Capitalism Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The whole Twitter Space presidential announce did not go well. Microsoft says Chinese hackers have burrowed into critical US infrastructure. Sony has a handheld gaming device, but a true descendent of the PlayStation Vita it is not. Quite. Has AI allowed a paralyzed man to walk again? And the world’s newest unicorn is maybe the most delightful interesting raise of the year. Sponsors: Miro.com/podcast Links: Twitter glitches plague Ron DeSantis’ much-hyped presidential announcement with Elon Musk (CNBC) Microsoft warns that China hackers attacked U.S. infrastructure (CNBC) Chinese Malware Hits Systems on Guam. Is Taiwan the Real Target? (NYTimes) OpenAI warns over split with Europe as regulation advances (Financial Times) Sony’s new Q handheld is official: 8-inch screen, streams PS5 games (The Verge) Apple Plans to Turn Locked iPhones Into Smart Displays With iOS 17 (Bloomberg) A Paralyzed Man Can Walk Naturally Again With Brain and Spine Implants (NYTimes) Indonesian agritech firm eFishery hits unicorn status with $108m series D (TechInAsia) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All the headlines from yesterday’s Build conference. The big Netflix password crackdown has begun. Did Elon buy Twitter to dethrone Fox News? Is an Uber/Waymo partnership the start of a beautiful relationship? And is Final Cut Pro on the iPad actually what everyone wanted? Sponsors: Miro.com/podcast OregonState.edu Links: Microsoft’s Azure AI Studio lets developers build their own AI ‘copilots’ (TechCrunch) Microsoft’s Copilot and Bing AI plug-ins will be interoperable with ChatGPT (The Verge) Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown is here — and it costs $7.99 per month (The Verge) Elon Musk’s right-wing media venture scores another big win (WashingtonPost) Uber teams up with Waymo to add robotaxis to its app (The Verge) PSVR2’s early sales beat the original, Sony claims (VideoGamesChronicle) That podcast ad you're listening to may soon be AI. Spotify is reportedly developing bots to mimic your favorite hosts. (Insider) Final Cut Pro for the iPad is slick but limited (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices