Tech Brew Ride Home

Netflix reported earnings that weren’t as bad as even they had been telegraphing. So that’s something. The court case is already going against how Elon Musk hoped it would go. What’s up with everyone leaving Neuralink? And a deep-dive look at BeReal. Is it the next big thing or just the latest fad? Sponsors: Storyblok.com/ridehome AthleticGreens.com/ride Links: Netflix loses fewer subscribers than expected and says cheaper ad tier is coming in early 2023 (CNBC) Twitter-Musk trial on $44 billion deal set to begin in October after Musk loses effort to delay (CNBC) A Neuralink cofounder left Elon Musk's brain-chip company, leaving it with just 2 of its 8 founding members (Insider) Google Begins Publicly Testing Its AR Glasses (CNET) Fad or frenzy, BeReal is having a real moment right now (FastCompany) Why BeReal is breaking out (Platformer) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amazon is stepping up its war against bogus product reviews. Netflix is testing more crackdowns on password sharing. Slack is raising prices. ESPN+ is raising prices. But one streaming service is actually LOWERING prices? And mark your calendars, cause the Fall product launch season is upon us. Sponsors: Storyblok.com/ridehome Links: Amazon sues admins from 10,000 Facebook groups over fake reviews (TechCrunch) Netflix Tests Another Way to Charge for Password Sharing (Bloomberg) Apple Sued Over Apple Pay, Accused of Antitrust Violations (Bloomberg) Slack is increasing prices and changing the way its free plan works (TechCrunch) ESPN+ Monthly Subscription to Rise $3 as Disney Strives for Streaming Profits (Variety) Crunchyroll is lowering monthly subscription fees in almost 100 regions (Engadget) Samsung confirms August 10th Unpacked event date with ‘cryptic’ puzzle (The Verge) WD begins shipping 22TB Red Pro, Purple Pro and Gold HDDs (Club386) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everything we cover is in a full vibe shift of… pulling back. Coinbase sent some eyebrows up over the weekend, but insolvency is off the table. Right? Right? Adam Newmann’s crypto startup is hitting the pause button. All the rapid delivery startups that flooded New York City last year seem to be done. Poof. And is Silicon Valley itself definitively shrinking? Sponsors: Zapier.com/ride Gusto.com/ride Links: Snap launches Snapchat for Web to bring the app's core features to desktop (TechCrunch) Leaked emails: Crypto exchange Coinbase is 'temporarily shutting down' its US affiliate-marketing program (Insider) Coinbase stirs rumors of liquidity woes as it halts affiliate-marketing program (Insider Bitcoins) Crypto Crash Stalls WeWork Founder Adam Neumann’s Climate Venture (WSJ) The Speedy Downfall of Rapid Delivery Startups (Wired) Tiger Global-backed Missfresh faces fight for survival (FT) 71 Cities and Towns Are Paying Tech Workers to Abandon Silicon Valley. It’s Working. (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ride Home Fund's latest investment: the smart ring/device controller ArcX! More at https://arcx.fit/ Invest in ArcX via the Ride Home Fund here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Now the haircuts have come for Stripe, but they took theirs voluntarily. Who’s responsible for the big hole on Celsius’ balance sheet? Twitter wants to let devs make their own timelines. Will Amazon voluntarily exit the white label business. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Manscaped.com code RIDE for 20% off Kolide.com/ride Links: Stripe Cuts Internal Valuation by 28% (WSJ) Celsius Discloses $1.19 Billion Deficit in Bankruptcy Filing (Bloomberg) Twitter is testing custom timelines, and first one is about The Bachelorette (TechCrunch) Amazon Has Been Slashing Private-Label Selection Amid Weak Sales (WSJ) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: How Three Arrows Capital Blew Up and Set Off a Crypto Contagion (Bloomberg) The Standards Innovation Paradox (Michael Mignano Medium) Siberia or Japan? Expert Google Maps Players Can Tell at a Glimpse. (NYTimes) Advanced E.V. Batteries Move From Labs to Mass Production (NYTimes) How the Webb sends its hundred-megapixel images a million miles back to Earth (TechCrunch) The Webb Space Telescope’s Profound Data Challenges (iee Spectrum) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Celsius files for bankruptcy. Tesla loses a key Autopilot exec. Netflix chooses Microsoft for it’s ads partnership. Could TikTok be a long-term problem for Google Search? And the reviews are in for the new Macbook Airs with M2 chips. Sponsors: Ahead Of Its Time podcast WorkCheck Podcast Links: Embattled crypto lender Celsius files for bankruptcy protection (CNBC) Inside Celsius: how one of crypto’s biggest lenders ground to a halt (Financial Times) Tesla AI leader Andrej Karpathy announces he’s leaving the company (CNBC) Netflix is partnering with Microsoft for its new ad-supported tier (The Verge) Google Cloud launches its first Arm-based VMs (TechCrunch) Google exec suggests Instagram and TikTok are eating into Google’s core products, Search and Maps (TechCrunch) APPLE’S NEW MACBOOK AIR M2 IS THE START OF A WHOLE NEW AIR-A (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twitter officially sues Elon Musk and by the sound of things, has decided to go to the mattresses. Has Apple officially cut ties with Jony Ive? Here come the tech mergers and acquisitions. How streaming has officially killed traditional tv by at least one measure. And an interesting new gadget. Nothing. I’ll explain. Sponsors: StoryBlok.com/ridehome KeeperSecurity.com/techmeme Links: Twitter Sues Musk After He Tries Backing Out of $44 Billion Deal (NYTimes) 15 Revelations in Twitter’s Suit Against Elon Musk (Intelligencer) Apple Ends Consulting Agreement With Jony Ive, Its Former Design Leader (NYTimes) Unity is merging with Ironsource in an all-stock deal valuing Ironsource at $4.4B in a big consolidation play for gaming (TechCrunch) Read the memo Google’s CEO sent employees about a hiring slowdown (The Verge) Nothing officially announces flashy Phone 1, starting at £399 (The Verge) HBO & HBO Max Smash Past Netflix In Total Emmy Nominations As Hulu & Apple Score Strong Showings (Deadline) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Liquidators say they can't find the Three Arrows Capital founders. The FTC will crack down on data-anonymization claims. Another smart home company decides to brick some of the hardware that people paid good money for. Hopin is the latest highflyer to fall to earth with layoffs. And what it’s like to work at Twitter right now. Sponsors: Storyblok.com/ridehome Links: Three Arrows Founders’ Whereabouts Unknown, Liquidators Say (Bloomberg) FTC to Crack Down on Sites That Claim Your Data Is 'Anonymized' When It's Not (PCMag) Hive’s abandoned smart home devices will cease operation starting in 2023 (The Verge) Live events startup Hopin, valued at $7.8 billion, is laying off 29% of staff in its second wave of job cuts in 2022 (Insider) Twitter Lawyers Call Musk’s Deal Termination ‘Wrongful’ (Bloomberg) As Elon Musk Walks, Twitter Workers Say No One’s in Charge (Wired) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The famous stock market player Bernard Baruch once said, paraphrasing: Whatever men attempt, they seem driven to overdo. When hopes are soaring, I always repeat to myself that two and two still make four. The main purpose of the market is to make fools of as many people as possible. Today, stories of this lesson being learned by both major VC firms and Elon Musk. Oh, and how North Korean hackers infiltrate companies. Sponsors: OurCrowd.com/ride Cybersecurityinside.com/RIDE Links: Uber broke laws, duped police and secretly lobbied governments, leak reveals (The Guradian) Here’s how North Korean operatives are trying to infiltrate US crypto firms (CNN) Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Go Bargain Hunting for Beaten-Down Tech Stocks (The Information) Elon’s Out (Matt Levine/Bloomberg) Tweet Storm #1 Tweet Storm #2 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Part 2 of the eBay story from the Internet History podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple has a new lockdown mode to triage a whole range of cyberattacks. Also, Mark Gurman has some details on that new, expected, “rugged” Apple Watch. Twitter is testing co-tweets. More details on the new version of Meta’s VR headset. And the weekend longreads suggestions. I’ll explain. Sponsors: StitchFix.com/ride for $20 off Work Check podcast Links: Apple Announces New Lockdown Mode on iOS 16 With 'Extreme' Level of Security (MacRumors) Apple Plans Extreme Sports Watch With Larger Screen, Metal Case (Bloomberg) Heads of FBI, MI5 Issue Joint Warning on Chinese Spying (WSJ) Reddit is launching a new NFT avatar marketplace (TechCrunch) Twitter starts testing new CoTweets feature that lets two accounts co-author a tweet (The Verge) Meta Plans to Call New Virtual Reality Headset the ‘Quest Pro’ (Bloomberg) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Keeping Phones Running in Wartime Pushes Kyivstar to the Limit (Bloomberg) The Metaverse in 2040 (Pew Research Center) Not Just a Tennis Podcast, but Rather ‘The’ Tennis Podcast (NYTimes) Inside a Superfan's Secret Friendship With Eddie Van Halen (Rolling Stone) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will regulators wreck the great gaming consolidation? Can the US bully it’s way to blocking China’s chip development? Are Dilithium crystals the key to saving crypto from quantum computing? And why the crypto crash has been a footnote for Wall Street. At least, so far. Sponsors: AthleticGreens.com/ride Links: Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision takeover faces competition probe in the UK (CNBC) US Wants Dutch Supplier to Stop Selling Chipmaking Gear to China (Bloomberg) NIST unveils four algorithms that will underpin new ‘quantum-proof’ cryptography standards (SC Media) Amazon takes a Prime step back into restaurant delivery in the US with big Grubhub investment and partnership (TechCrunch) Voyager Seeks Bankruptcy Protection Amid Crypto Credit Crisis (CoinDesk) Crypto Mining Giant Dumped Most of Its Bitcoin Holdings in June (Bloomberg) How Wall Street Escaped the Crypto Meltdown (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Crypto Crash goes ever onward. Klarna is going on a realty tv show called, Now That’s what I Call A Haircut! The hackers have come for the Chinese surveillance state. The World Cup is going to have the robots call offsides. And Steve Jobs is getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Sponsors: StoryBlok.com/ridehome KeeperSecurity.com/techmeme Links: Crypto platform Vauld suspends withdrawls, trading and deposits amid financial challenges. (TechCrunch) Number Three (Entrepreneurs Handbook) Meta to Shut Down Novi Service in September in Crypto Winter (Bloomberg) Klarna in Talks to Raise Fresh Cash at Slashed $6.5 Billion Valuation (WSJ) Hackers Claim Theft of Police Info in China’s Largest Data Leak (Bloomberg) AI-powered technology will be used to speed up VAR offside calls at World Cup (The Guardian) Google patches new Chrome zero-day flaw exploited in attacks (Bleeping Computer) President Biden to award Steve Jobs with posthumous Medal of Freedom (9to5Mac) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From my original Internet History Podcast, the first of my two episodes outlining the story of eBay, in-depth, as I make the strong case that it was maybe the most important and overlooked startup of the Web 1.0 era. Part 2 of this story coming on Friday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Time for some deep analysis of the podcast industry. Is Spotify gonna take over all of audio? Is the blockchain useful for podcasting? What is the great Michael Mignano doing next, after leaving Spotify and Anchor? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm away briefly for vacation, here's a talk I gave at Google in December 2018 around the time my book came out. Just a condensed dose of my entire thesis of the technology industry's history from 1994-2006. Nothing much new if you've read my book, but if you want the cliff's notes version, here it is. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One good thing about the crypto crash is you can get affordable graphics cards again. Layoffs come to the Metaverse. Samsung is producing the first 3nm chips. Apple wants you to pay for your gas without getting out of your car. Though, you’d still have to get out to pump, I suppose. And, bit of a surprise, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Kolide.com/ride KeeperSecurity.com/techmeme Links: Genesis Faces ‘Hundreds of Millions’ in Losses as 3AC Exposure Swamps Crypto Lenders: Sources (CoinDesk) Nvidia Game Card Prices Fall Along With Crypto Mining Demand (Bloomberg) Sources: Unity Laying Off Hundreds Of Staffers [Update] (Kotaku) Samsung Electronics starts 3-nanometer chip production ahead of TSMC (TechCrunch) Fuel Purchases Directly Within Apple CarPlay to Be Available This Fall (MacRumors) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Did Razzlekhan and Dutch Pull Off History’s Biggest Crypto Heist? (Bloomberg) Cyber Pirates Prowling Ship Controls Threaten Another Big Shock (Bloomberg) The Accidental Media Critics of YouTube (NYTimes Magazine) HOW ONE OF GAMING’S MOST INTIMIDATING GENRES SPAWNED A LEGION OF HITS (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I joke its Groundhog Day, but if you’re a crypto billionaire, you probably want the repetition to end as much as anyone. Wait, is TikTok suddenly in trouble with the US government again? A new line of chips from Arm. Sony wants to play to PC gamers. And why Netflix doling out Stranger Things in portions is one of the biggest experiments being run in Hollywood right now. Links: Crypto Crash Widens a Divide: ‘Those With Money Will End Up Being Fine’ (NYTimes) Crypto crash threatens North Korea's stolen funds as it ramps up weapons tests (Reuters) U.S. FCC commissioner wants Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores (CNBC) Ray tracing and 64-bit only: What you should know about Arm's 2023 CPUs and GPUs (Android Authority) Sony targets PC gamers with new hardware brand, Inzone (Washington Post) Here’s why Netflix made you wait a month to watch the rest of Stranger Things (Recode) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why there’s a HUGE tech angle to the whole Roe V. Wade controversy. Google’s shutting down one of their chat apps, but even I can’t be bothered to figure out which one or why. Airbnb is permanently putting the kibosh on parties. And will StarlinkRV allow all of us to take off into the wild and still do our work? Sponsors: ZocDoc.com/techmeme Links: Without Roe, data will become a company headache and a user nightmare (Axios) Period tracker Stardust surges following Roe reversal, but its privacy claims aren’t airtight (TechCrunch) Google Hangouts is shutting down in November (The Verge) Elon Musk Has Twitter’s Data, but Getting Answers on Spam Accounts May Be Tougher (WSJ) Amazon plans two Prime shopping events this year, with second one in Q4 (CNBC) Airbnb’s party ban is now permanent (The Verge) STARLINK RV REVIEW: THE DAWN OF SPACE INTERNET TO GO (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are we in for the biggest deluge in new Apple products, maybe ever? Why, though, are the new MacBook Pros with M2 chips sporting slower SSD drives? Is your phone plan about to get more expensive? Is VC activity actually going down? How much should we worry about Tether? And something something, are DAO’s really that decentralized? Sponsors: KeeperSecurity.com/techmeme Gusto.com/ride Links: Apple Readies iPhone 14 and HomePod Upgrade in Flood of New Products (Bloomberg) Base 13-Inch MacBook Pro With M2 Chip Has Significantly Slower SSD Speeds (MacRumors) AT&T, Verizon Raise Prices and Test Consumer Budgets (WSJ) Venture Funding Set to Hit Lowest Level Since 2020 (Bloomberg) More Hedge Funds Are Betting Against Tether as Crypto Melts Down (WSJ) Dissecting the DAO: Web3 Ownership is Surprisingly Concentrated (Chainalysis) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No guest this week (though the great @EvanKirstel does show up at one point) but we covered a wide range of topic, mostly ones that have been under-discussed lately on the show... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fire sale on tech companies has begun. More big important hacks to be aware of. Another crypto bridge has been compromised. Amazon wants you to know about their AI coding tool. TikTok turns on the money spigot. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Setapp Playlists on Spotify KeeperSecurity.com/techmeme Links: Zendesk to be acquired by investor group for $10.2 billion (CNBC) Google is notifying Android users targeted by Hermit government-grade spyware (TechCrunch) CISA, US Coast Guard warn of Log4Shell attacks after 130GB data breach in May (The Record) Breaking: Harmony’s Horizon Bridge hacked for $100M (CoinTelegraph) Amazon launches CodeWhisperer, a GitHub Copilot-like AI pair programming tool (TechCrunch) TikTok Turns On the Money Machine (Bloomberg) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Web3 Use Cases: Today (Not Boring) Where are all the crypto use cases? (Evan Conrad) How Russia’s vaunted cyber capabilities were frustrated in Ukraine (Washington Post) Self-Driving Big Rigs Are Coming. Is America Ready? (WSJ) How Townscaper Works: A Story Four Games in the Making (Game Developer) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Would you want my voice to be the voice of your Alexa? An interesting raise that can change people’s vocal accents in real time. Instagram rolls out a comprehensive system to check ages on their platform. And is that new Brave search engine becoming a contender? Sponsors: HubSpot.com WorkCheck Podcast Links: Alexa will soon be able to read stories as your dead grandma (TechCrunch) That agent who sounds like they’re from Paris, Texas? Try Paris, France (TechCrunch) Cerebras Slays GPUs, Breaks Record for Largest AI Models Trained on a Single Device (Tom's Hardware) Instagram Tests Child Age Verification, but Falls Short of Full ID Checks (WSJ) Privacy-focused Brave Search grew by 5,000% in a year (Bleeping Computer) NBCUniversal, Google Compete to Help Netflix Develop Ad-Backed Tier (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

News is new again, after Google does a size-able redesign. Copilot AI is available on GitHub, but is it worth paying for? Amazon unveiled some new warehouse robots, but is this partially because they fear running out of workers? The new Twitter Notes feature and why it’s increasingly likely that you’ll buy your next car online, even if you don’t buy it from Telsa. Sponsors: Linkedin.com/ride Athleticgreens.com/ride Links: Google News gets desktop redesign with focus on customization (9to5Google) GitHub’s AI-powered Copilot will help you write code for $10 a month (The Verge) Twitter to expand into long-form content with upcoming Twitter Notes feature (TechCrunch) Amazon announces its first fully autonomous mobile warehouse robot (The Verge) Leaked Amazon memo warns the company is running out of people to hire (Recode/Vox) Why You Might Buy Your Next Car Online (NYTimes) Announcing StackHawk’s $20.7 Million in Series B Funding to Drive Developer-First Security (StackHawk) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did something happen while I was away? Sort of like everything crashing in crypto? Apple wants to kill the CAPTCHA for you. The first Apple Store has unionized. Is it fair that G Suite is no longer free? And is the Microsoft Surface Duo 2 actually… good now? Sponsors: Zapier.com/ride Links: Crypto lender Babel Finance announces steps to improve its liquidity situation (The Block) New Solend vote invalidates governance decision to take over whale account (The Block) iOS 16 Will Let iPhone Users Bypass CAPTCHAs in Supported Apps and Websites (MacRumors) Apple Workers at Maryland Store Vote to Unionize, a First in the U.S. (NYTimes) Google Says It’s Time for Longtime Small-Business Users to Pay Up (NYTimes) MICROSOFT’S WEIRD SURFACE DUO 2 HAS SURPRISINGLY BECOME MY FAVORITE DEVICE OF THE YEAR (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Juna (heyjuna.com) replaces awkward lab visits with at-home STI testing and treatment. Another proud investment of the RideHomeFund. As ever, get in touch with Brian if you'd like to work with Juna directly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some thoughts on what startup workers can do with their stock options (in this economy!?). DALL·E blows our collective minds. Considering the legacy of Internet Explorer. Thanks to @adam_keesling and @jnack. What Should You Do With Your Options During a Downturn? manual.withcompound.com New podcast: DALL•E & You & Me Sponsors: LinkedIn.com/techmeme Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elon Musk speaks to his soon to be employees for the first time at Twitter. Snap is testing a new subscription Snapchat. Microsoft debuts Defender for Individuals. Klarna is thinking about raising a massively down round. And of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: StitchFix.com/ride for $20 off DragonballZ Kakarot Links: Elon Musk Tells Staff Twitter Should Allow ‘Pretty Outrageous’ Tweets (Bloomberg) SpaceX Said to Fire Employees Involved in Letter Rebuking Elon Musk (NYTimes) Snap is working on a paid subscription called Snapchat Plus (The Verge) Microsoft launches Defender for Individuals for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers (ZDNet) Fintech Giant Klarna Slashes Fundraising Ambition (WSJ) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: What Should You Do With Your Options During a Downturn? (Every) ‘Wallets and eyeballs’: how eBay turned the internet into a marketplace (The Guardian) A Billion-Dollar Crypto Gaming Startup Promised Riches and Delivered Disaster (Bloomberg) Proton Is Trying to Become Google—Without Your Data (Wired) What Is Quantum Entanglement? Skip the heady and abstract physics lectures. Let’s talk about socks (IEEE Spectrum) The Best Sci Fi Books for Beginners (FiveBooks.com) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google says YouTube Shorts is keeping pace with TikTok. Meta plans to make Facebook more like TikTok in order to keep pace themselves. That new Sonos Voice Control assistant sounds pretty good to me. Why a bunch of folks are going to string internet cables under the shrinking polar ice. And why the Japanese are freaked out about Internet Explorer going away. Sponsors: HubSpot.com Kolide.com/ride Links: YouTube Says It Is Gaining on TikTok in Short-Video Race (WSJ) FACEBOOK IS CHANGING ITS ALGORITHM TO TAKE ON TIKTOK, LEAKED MEMO REVEALS (The Verge) Samsung Wallet is back to organize your ID, keys, and crypto (The Verge) SONOS VOICE CONTROL REVIEW: A SPEEDY, PRIVATE, MUSIC-FOCUSED ASSISTANT (The Verge) A Warming Arctic Emerges as a Route for Subsea Cables (WSJ) Internet Explorer shutdown to cause Japan headaches 'for months' (NikkeiAsia) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is a major crypto hedge fund about to blow up? How the Celsius network got in such hot water. YouTube lets you make corrections. Why Apple’s deal for Major League Soccer is such a big deal. And pour one out, definitively, for Internet Explorer. Sponsors: LinkedIn.com/techmeme LCX.com/ride Links: After facing hundreds of millions of dollars in liquidations, Three Arrows Capital's future is uncertain (The Block) Crypto Lender Celsius Hires Restructuring Lawyers After Account Freeze (WSJ) Celsius bid to rival Wall St with crypto lending scuppered by risky bets (FT) YouTube’s new corrections feature lets creators fix the record more easily (The Verge) Nothing reveals Phone 1 design a month early (The Verge) Exclusive: New entry-level iPad to pack A14 chip, 5G, and USB-C connectivity (9to5Mac) Apple, Major League Soccer Strike 10-Year Streaming Deal for All MLS Games (WSJ) Microsoft to retire Internet Explorer browser and redirect users to Edge (The Guardian) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adobe and Photoshop are leaning into freemium. Massive and controversial layoffs at Coinbase. Firefox is blocking stuff by default now. Meta announces more tools to make the Metaverse safe from trolls and worse. And why those pro features in iPadOS are only for iPads with M1 chips and above. Sponsors: KeeperSecurity.com/techmeme Links: Adobe plans to make Photoshop on the web free to everyone (The Verge) Coinbase is laying off 1,100 employees as Bitcoin prices continue to fall (The Verge) Firefox enables its anti-tracking feature by default (Engadget) Meta adds voice controls for Horizon Worlds, which defaults to live chat with strangers (TechCrunch) Apple Lets You Move WhatsApp Chats From Android to iPhone (CNET) Apple resized the iPad's workflow with Stage Manager (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All the crypt is down bad. Is DeFi lending platform Celsius to blame? More importantly, are margin calls coming for big Bitcoin bag holders, including Tesla? Jack Dorsey’s plan to leapfrog to Web5. Leaked images of the Galaxy Z Flip 4. Is your smart TV committing ad fraud? And why I’m pretty sure that Google AI bot did NOT become sentient. Sponsors: Dragon Ball Z Kakarot! AltoIRA.com/techmeme Links: Celsius Tanks 70% in 1 Hour After Company Pauses Withdrawals to 'Stabilize Liquidity' (Decrypt) Jack Dorsey's Bitcoin venture TBD unveils proposal for decentralized Web platform (The Block) Jack Dorsey’s TBD Announces Web 3 Competitor: Web 5 (CoinDesk) Galaxy Z Flip 4 leaks in real-life shots with much smaller display crease (9to5Google) Apple Goes Deeper Into Finance With Buy Now, Pay Later Offering (WSJ) Some Ads Play on Streaming Services Even When the TV Is Off, Study Finds (WSJ) The Google engineer who thinks the company’s AI has come to life (Washington Post) Nonsense on Stilts (Gary Marcus) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WWDC wrap up, @chrismaddern on @floornfts, and Brian talks about his Mac Studio experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Time to refresh those Yao Ming and Verne Troyer Powerbook ads from the early ‘aughts. Could Meta not release its big metaverse hardware play for years? The NHTSA’s investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot seems to be getting serious. Speaking of Austin Powers actors, Seth Green ransomed his Ape. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: LCX.com/ride Links: 14-Inch iPad Pro With Mini-LED Display Rumored to Launch in Early 2023 (MacRumors) Apple Plans 15-Inch MacBook Air for 2023 and New 12-Inch Laptop (Bloomberg) Meta Scales Back AR Glasses Plan Amid Reality Labs Shakeup (The Information) AMD Zen Architecture Roadmap: Zen 5 in 2024 With All-New Microarchitecture (AnandTech) The federal government’s Tesla Autopilot investigation is moving into a new phase (The Verge) Seth Green's Stolen Bored Ape Is Back Home (BuzzFeed News) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: These Drones Could Bring You 5G Networking After a Hurricane (CNET) Facebook Made This 29-Year-Old Rich; War Made Him A Billionaire (Forbes) The Surreal Case of a C.I.A. Hacker’s Revenge (New Yorker) Nintendo's Big Piracy Case Is A Very Sad Story (Kotaku) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who needs a gaming console? Not Xbox, not anymore. Twitter is gonna give Elon the firehose treatment. Dell unveils some new XPS goodness. Apple does its own banking. More signs of the NFT market cooling off. And a popular developer tool is riding off into the sunset. Sponsors: LCX.com/ride Work Check Links: Microsoft’s new Xbox TV app streams games without a console later this month (The Verge) The Xbox game streaming TV app feels almost like the real thing (The Verge) Xbox Project Moorcroft will bring early game demos to Xbox Game Pass (The Verge) In reversal, Twitter plans to comply with Musk’s demands for data (Washington Post) Dell unveils a slimmer XPS 13 and a detachable 2-in-1 (Engadget) Apple Will Handle Lending Itself With New Pay Later Service (Bloomberg) Ethereum’s Merge Upgrade Goes Live Today on Ropsten Testnet (Decrypt) ApeCoin Owners Vote Against Leaving the Ethereum Blockchain (Bloomberg) The NFT slump is real (TechCrunch) GitHub sunsets Atom, the software dev environment it launched in 2011 (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The crypto world’s greatest supervillain looks like he’s joining the crypto bandwagon. Salesforce… (Salesforce?!) has jumped on the NFT bandwagon. Could Netflix buy Roku? How many layoffs has Silicon Valley seen thusfar? And a look at Apple’s big push into the passwordless future. Sponsors: HubSpot.com AthleticGreens.com/ride Links: Citadel Securities Is Building a Crypto Trading Marketplace With Virtu Financial: Sources (CoinDesk) Salesforce takes crypto plunge with new NFT cloud (TechCrunch) US: Chinese govt hackers breached telcos to snoop on network traffic (BleepingComputer) Tech Layoffs In 2022: The U.S. Companies That Have Cut Jobs (CrunchBase News) Inside Roku, talk is heating up about an acquisition by Netflix (Insider) Apple Just Killed the Password—for Real This Time (Wired) Classified: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TikTok now has avatars, to keep up with Bitmoji and Memoji. The SEC seems to be seriously probing Binance. The death of the lighting port really might be nigh. Bits and pieces that fell through the cracks from WWDC. And potentially a huge breakthrough in keeping your data encrypted and secure, but still usable and searchable. Sponsors: KeeperSecurity.com/techmeme Links: TikTok’s new Bitmoji-like Avatars feature lets you record videos as an animated version of yourself (TechCrunch) US Probes Binance Over Token That Is Now World’s Fifth Largest (Bloomberg) USB-C will be mandatory for phones sold in the EU ‘by autumn 2024’ (The Verge) Security Fixes Won't Require Full iOS Update in iOS 16, Will Be Installed Automatically (MacRumors) Apple Announces M2 SoC: Apple Silicon for Macs Updated For 2022 (AnandTech) A Long-Awaited Defense Against Data Leaks May Have Just Arrived (Wired) Classified: [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All the headlines from WWDC. All the new OS’s and a new MacBook Air with a new M2 chip, but I’ll save you the speculation. Nothing on the AR/VR front. More Bored Apes stolen. More posturing from Elon Musk that he might walk away from the Twitter deal. And is Netflix about to get into live sports? Sponsors: ConstantContact.com WWDC Links: Apple debuts iOS 16 with customizable lock screen, Messages updates, much more (9to5Mac) Apple brings ‘undo send’ to iMessage (TechCrunch) Live Activities is a new iOS 16 feature meant to improve notifications (The Verge) Apple announces in-camera translations and improves dictation (TechCrunch) Apple Pay Later lets you split up purchases into four payments at no interest (TechCrunch) Apple Maps to get multistop routing and more in iOS 16 (TechCrunch) watchOS 9 introduces new running metrics and medication reminders (The Verge) Apple Announces Multi-Display CarPlay With Integrated Speedometer, Climate Controls, and More (MacRumors) Apple announces new flagship M2 processor (The Verge) Apple unveils new MacBook Air: M2 chip, case redesign, new midnight blue color, display notch (MacBook Air) Apple slaps new M2 processor into 13-inch MacBook Pro (TechCrunch) Apple announces macOS 13 Ventura, the next major software update for the Mac (ArsTechnica) Apple unveils iPadOS 16 with beefed up multitasking features (TechCrunch) Apple Previews New 'Freeform' App to Work Collaboratively (MacRumors) Non-WWDC Links: Yuga Labs Confirms Discord Server Hack; 200 ETH Worth of NFTs Stolen (CoinDesk) Musk accuses Twitter of ‘resisting and thwarting’ his right to information on fake accounts (CNBC) Netflix, ESPN, NBCUniversal, and Amazon are racing to win US Formula 1 rights as the global auto sport booms in popularity (Insider) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s increasingly looking like we might be approaching a tipping point in terms of driverless ride hailing becoming a reality. Twitter will let you set alerts for your name, among other things. Did Elon Musk order everyone back to the office to encourage some people to quit? What to expect from Monday’s WWDC kickoff. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Links: Cruise can finally charge for driverless robotaxi rides in San Francisco (TechCrunch) Twitter is building a tool for keyword alerts, in case you need more Twitter notifications (The Verge) Elon Musk asks Tesla execs to ‘pause all hiring,’ cut 10% of staff, amid ‘super bad feeling about economy’ (Electrek) Apple Plans to Make the iPad More Like a Laptop and Less Like a Phone (Bloomberg) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Record Labels Dig Their Own Grave. And the Shovel is Called TikTok. (The Honest Broker) Columbus, Ohio is quickly becoming the Midwest’s tech hub (TechCrunch) The Internet Encyclopedia of Memes (Every.to) Looking Glass might have just invented the GIF’s 3D successor (The Verge) Does a Comedian Really Need an Audience? (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sheryl Sandberg is leaving Meta after 14 years. Who is Javier Olivan, who is replacing her as Meta’s COO? I’ll let you know. Why the feds cracking down on NFT fraud could have big implications. And Google’s doing that thing Google loves to do with its messaging apps. Again. Sponsors: ClickUp.com promocode ride for 15% off Links: Facebook parent Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg is stepping down (CNBC) Sandberg’s Advertising Empire Leaves a Complicated Legacy (Bloomberg) Javier Olivan, who’s replacing Sheryl Sandberg at Meta, built his career on international expansion (CNBC) US Charges Ex-OpenSea Exec With NFT Insider Trading (CoinDesk) Google is combining Meet and Duo into a single app for voice and video calls (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Surface Laptop Go gets a refresh. The Supreme Court has blocked that Texas social media law. For now. Twitter is really gonna take TweetDeck away from us? Really? And the really interesting new Android phone that attempts to strip every Googly thing it can, out of the Android experience. Sponsors: Work Check Podcast Links: Microsoft’s compact Surface Laptop Go updated with 11th Gen Intel processor (The Verge) High Court Halts Texas Law Targeting Social Media Platforms (2) (Bloomberg Law) Twitter shutting down TweetDeck for Mac on July 1, here are alternatives to the web (9to5Mac) TikTok is testing a ‘clear mode’ for a distraction-free scrolling experience (TechCrunch) Fidelity Slashes Reddit, Stripe Valuations After Tech Rout (Bloomberg) The Murena One shows exactly how hard it is to de-Google your smartphone (The Verge) Apple’s Safari browser now has more than 1 billion users (AtlasVPN) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new fastest computer in the world sees the crown return to the US. Will we not see Sony’s next-gen VR rig until next year? Ride hailing fares are reaching record highs as the players attempt to pivot to profitability. A new ride hailing entrant that lets you haggle on price. And a look at how Paramount is trying to go it alone in the streaming wars. Sponsors: AltoIRA.com/techmeme Links: AMD-Powered Frontier Supercomputer Breaks the Exascale Barrier, Now Fastest in the World (Tom's Hardware) Kuo: PlayStation VR2 Mass Production To Start H2 2022 (UploadVR) China Is Leading the Global Decline in Venture Capital Deals (Bloomberg) Uber and Lyft’s New Road: Fewer Drivers, Thrifty Riders and Jittery Investors (WSJ) Nothing could slow inDriver’s rise from Siberian startup to global Uber competitor. Then Russia invaded Ukraine (Rest Of World) Can Paramount Go It Alone? (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A checkin with Rownd about what it's like to close a round right now, and what actually being on stage at YC Demo Day is like. To book at meeting with Robert at Rownd: https://calendly.com/rob-rownd/mutant-podcast-army Rownd helps companies register and retain more users through frictionless sign-in across all of their websites and apps, with a simple code snippet. We let our customers choose how and where authentication happens, killing the static login page forever. Rownd link: https://rownd.io Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Microsoft is creating an HDMI dongle to turn any tv or monitor into an Xbox gaming console. Now the lawsuits are popping off in the whole Elon/Twitter thing. If even high profile startups like Substack are having trouble raising rounds, what does that mean for run of the mill startups? And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: HubSpot.com Masterworks.io/ride Links: Exclusive: Microsoft continues to iterate on an Xbox cloud streaming device codenamed 'Keystone' (Windows Central) Twitter shareholders sue Elon Musk and Twitter over chaotic deal (CNBC) Twitter director Egon Durban won’t leave the board after shareholders voted to boot him (CNBC) Substack Drops Fund-Raising Efforts as Market Sours (NYTimes) Weekend Longreads Suggestions The big new idea for making self-driving cars that can go anywhere (MIT Technology Review) In India’s Mobile-Payments Boom, Even Beggars Get QR Codes (WSJ) The Collison Brothers Built Stripe Into A $95 Billion Unicorn With Eye-Popping Financials. Inside Their Plan To Stay On Top (Forbes) THE UNSTOPPABLE MACHINES BEHIND THE GAME CONSOLE SHORTAGE (The Verge) Made to measure: why we can’t stop quantifying our lives (The Guardian) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple is attempting to fend off a unionization movement by… paying people more. That Broadcom/VMware deal is real. You can now pay close to $1000 for a Gucci Oura Ring. After a decade of declines, EV battery prices are going up. And the last payphone in New York City is gone. Sponsors: AltoIRA.com/techmeme Smith.ai promocode techmeme for $100 off signup Links: Apple Boosting Pay Budget for Workers Amid Tight Labor Market (WSJ) Leaked Audio: Apple VP Gives Apple Store Workers Anti-Union Speech (Motherboard) Broadcom is acquiring VMware for $61 billion (The Verge) Oura collaborated with Gucci to make an 18 carat gold smart ring (Engadget) Apple to Keep iPhone Production Flat as Market Grows Tougher (Bloomberg) Snowflake stock falls as executives forecast a narrower margin than expected (CNBC) Twitter jumps after Musk increases commitment in takeover bid to $33.5 billion, in talks for other funding (CNBC) After a Decade of Declines, EV Battery Costs Are To Rise 14% This Year (The Electric/The Information) The Trouble With Lithium (Bloomberg) NYC's 'last' payphone will be displayed at the Museum of the City of New York (TimeOut New York) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seth Green has lost a film role… for his Ape. Cause he lost his Ape to a fishing scam. a16z launches their biggest ever crypto fund. Headlines from Microsoft’s Build conference. The e-bike that helps Ukraine take out Russian tanks. And a desktop grade Windows PC you could put in your pocket. Sponsors: Linkedin.com/ride Composer.trade/ride Links: Someone Stole Seth Green's Bored Ape, Which Was Supposed To Star In His New Show (Buzzfeed News) Andreessen Horowitz bets on crypto ‘golden era’ with new $4.5bn fund (FT) Microsoft’s Power Platform can now build websites and turn images into apps (XDA Developers) Microsoft brings support for Arm-based AI chips to Windows (TechCrunch) Microsoft Dev Box is a cloud-powered developer workstation (The Verge) DuckDuckGo browser allows Microsoft trackers due to search agreement (Bleeping Computer) Do Kwon's plan to rebirth the Terra blockchain gets approved (The Block) Terra Collapse Triggers $83 Billion Decentralized Finance Slump (Bloomberg) Ukraine Is Using Quiet Electric Bikes to Haul Anti-Tank Weapons (Motherboard/Vice) Zotac's minuscule Windows 11 Pro desktop PC is only slightly bigger than your phone (TechSpot) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google Research says to Open AI: “Hold my beer.” They’ve announced a new AI-based text-to-image generator to rival DALL-E 2. Is the shocking earnings warning from Snap a result of Apple’s ATT changes or is this indicative of the broader tech slowdown? Google’s street view turns 15 with some new bells and whistles. And does Apple REALLY want you to repair your own iPhone, or no? Sponsors: CreditKarma.com Work Check Podcast Links: OpenAI: Look at our awesome image generator! Google: Hold my Shiba Inu (TechCrunch) Zoom pops 16% on first-quarter earnings beat and strong guidance (CNBC) Snap plunges 30% after CEO warns company will miss revenue and earnings estimates, slow hiring (CNBC) Google is testing a smaller, modular Street View camera system (Engadget) APPLE SHIPPED ME A 79-POUND IPHONE REPAIR KIT TO FIX A 1.1-OUNCE BATTERY (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is a big mergers and acquisition wave about to hit the tech industry. I make the case from several different angles. AMD releases its next generation Ryzen chips. And a super interesting new startup in the Web 3 space. Is it game? Is it a fitness app? Can you earn money for moving? Yes. Sponsors: Zapier.com/ride LCX.com/ride Links: Broadcom in Talks to Acquire Cloud Company VMware (Bloomberg) Report: EA Looking To Sell Or Merge (Kotaku) Big Tech Is Getting Clobbered on Wall Street. It’s a Good Time for Them. (NYTimes) AMD Ryzen 7000 Announced (AnandTech) 'Move-to-earn' Solana app StepN is latest crypto gaming craze (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Friend of the show, Chris Dixon (@cdixon) of a16z's crypto and web3 investing initiatives comes on to talk about the recent report: 2022 State of Crypto. We got into all the things, using our favorite lens of tech history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new high end Snapdragon chip. The Apple AR/VR headset has been demoed, but only 9 people got to see it in action. A YC backed startup is facing lawsuits related to the whole UST blowup. The feds will no longer go after good faith, white hat hackers. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Composer.trade/ride AthleticGreens.com/ride Links: Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, for when flagship isn’t flagship enough (The Verge) Apple Shows AR/VR Headset to Board in Sign of Progress on Key Project (Bloomberg) Stablegains Faces Lawsuit After Losing $44M on UST (CryptoBriefing) Coinbase Slashes Costs, Freezes Hiring Amid Crypto Crash (The Information) A SpaceX flight attendant said Elon Musk exposed himself and propositioned her for sex, documents show. The company paid $250,000 for her silence. (Insider) Elon Musk’s Twitter Deal Is Proceeding, Not ‘On Hold,’ Executives Tell Staff (Bloomberg) DOJ Announces It Won’t Prosecute White Hat Security Researchers (Motherboard) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Cyber Insurers Raise Rates Amid a Surge in Costly Hacks (WSJ) The Decade of Cheap Rides Is Over (Slate) The ‘E-Pimps’ of OnlyFans (NYTimes Magazine) Where Do Space, Time and Gravity Come From? (Quanta) Star Wars: The Rebellion Will Be Televised (Vanity Fair) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices