Tech Brew Ride Home

Happy iPhone day, you fanfolk, you. All the news from today’s Apple event. Facebook’s own research says Instagram is bad for girls. Facebook’s own documents show it gives VIP users the VIP treatment when it comes to enforcement policies. And you might want to quickly download that iOS update. Sponsors: Stripe.com Oracle.com/goto/ride Links: Facebook Knows Instagram Is Toxic for Teen Girls, Company Documents Show (WSJ) Facebook Says Its Rules Apply to All. Company Documents Reveal a Secret Elite That’s Exempt. (WSJ) Apple patches an NSO zero-day flaw affecting all devices (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is China dismantling its super apps and selling the parts for scrap? Toast has officially become my favorite Covid-times survival story. What to expect from tomorrow’s iPhone event, including 1 TB iPhone storage tiers. And a full breakdown of the ruling in the Epic vs. Apple case. Has the app store officially been cracked open? It’s complicated. Sponsors: OurCrowd.com/ride Modern Finance Podcast Links: Beijing to break up Ant’s Alipay and force creation of separate loans app (Financial Times) Tencent and Alibaba pledge to open up apps to competitors (Financial Times) Commercetools raises $140M at a $1.9B valuation as 'headless' commerce continues to boom (TechCrunch) iPhone 13 Pro will get 1TB option & new 'AirPods 3' will not replace AirPods (AppleInsider) Apple must allow other forms of in-app purchase, rules judge in Epic v. Apple (The Verge) Apple Risks Losing Billions of Dollars Annually From Epic Games Ruling (Bloomberg) The future of the App Store depends on the difference between a ‘button’ and an ‘external link’ (The Verge) Apple Won a Battle to Lose the War (500ish.com) Today's podcast voting! Gates v. Jobs! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris and I thought we had not guests lined up this week so we were going to just potpourri some topics. But then Keyvon Beykpour, who is heading the Twitter project revolution came on and talked to us longer than we had any right to ask for. It was a great conversation. Sponsor: Otter.ai, code RIDE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Even under pressure over the App Store, Apple is still willing to give Epic Games the finger. Also, Apple is putting the pedal to the metal in terms of new TV shows and original movies, while also attempting to solve the streaming industry’s problem with DJ Mixes. Food delivery platforms are suing NYC. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Masterworks.io/ride Otter.ai code RIDE Links: Apple won’t let Epic bring Fortnite back to South Korea’s App Store (The Verge) Apple Music is using Shazam to solve the streaming industry's problem with DJ mixes (TechCrunch) Grubhub, DoorDash, Uber Eats Sue New York City Over Fee Caps (WSJ) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The Screen in Your Car Is Beckoning (Slate) Russia Influences Hackers but Stops Short of Directing Them, Report Says (NYTimes) How Amazon’s cloud business generates billions in profit (CNBC) When the Techies Took Over Tahoe (Outside) Adult Swim: How an Animation Experiment Conquered Late-Night TV (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facebook launches some smart glasses. Amazon launches its own, branded smart tv. Soccer players are turning into NFTs. Twitter is turning into Reddit. And I still have questions about the whole Buy Now, Pay Later space. Sponsors: Otter.ai code ride Gainful.com/techmeme Links: FACEBOOK ON YOUR FACE (The Verge) Amazon Unveils First of Its Own Smart TVs, Will Bring TikTok to Fire TV in U.S. and Canada (Variety) Amazon’s new Fire TV Stick 4K Max adds Wi-Fi 6 and faster performance (The Verge) Spain’s Football League Seals Digital Player Card Deal With Sorare (Bloomberg) Twitter wants you to tweet to interest-based communities, not just followers (TechCrunch) BNPL platform Scalapay raises $155 million in Tiger Global led round (Tech.eu) (Today's twitter poll) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Coinbase says the SEC threatened to sue it over a crypto lending product. The fallout from yesterday’s Bitcoin launch in El Salvador. Ford hires away one of the key executives on the Apple Car project. Microsoft and PayPal make some interesting acquisitions. And hey. Some new laptops! Sponsors: Otter.ai code: RIDE to test drive for free Grammarly.com/techmeme Links: Brian Armstrong responds to SEC threats to shut down Coinbase yield product (The Block) El Salvador Buys Its First 200 BTC a Day Before Its Bitcoin Law Becomes Effective (Coindesk) Ford poaches top tech executive Doug Field who helped lead Apple’s top-secret car project (CNBC) Apple Event Announced: 'California Streaming' on September 14 With iPhone 13, Apple Watch Series 7 Expected (Macrumors) Microsoft acquires video-editing software start-up Clipchamp (CNBC) PayPal Closes $2.7B Acquisition Deal For Japan’s Paidy (Pymnts.com) Amazon brings its cashierless tech to two Whole Foods stores (CNBC) Lenovo's new Windows 11 laptops could reinvent the IdeaPad brand — and take on the MacBook (Laptopmag.com) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it mean if ProtonMail regularly discloses user data to certain authorities? How private is WhatsApp if Facebook has more than 1,000 contractors moderating your messages? Heck, how secure is Bluetooth? There’s a new vulnerability. Would you want the authorities monitoring your poop thanks to new smart toilets? And a quick word on Solana. Sponsors: UpStart.com/techmeme KiwiCo.com promocode Ride for 50% off your first month Links: ProtonMail logged IP address of French activist after order by Swiss authorities (TechCrunch) How Facebook Undermines Privacy Protections for Its 2 Billion WhatsApp Users (ProPublica) Billions of devices impacted by new BrakTooth Bluetooth vulnerabilities (The Record) TikTok reportedly overtakes YouTube in US average watch time (The Verge) SMARTWATCHES TRACK OUR HEALTH. SMART TOILETS AREN’T TOO FAR BEHIND. (WSJ) Ethereum Rival Solana Climbs to Seventh in Crypto Top 10 (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Serial entrepreneur Shirish Nadkarni came to the U.S. as a teenager with $25 in his pocket. After graduating from Harvard Business School, he worked at Microsoft where he engineered the $400 million acquisition of Hotmail and launched MSN.com, the world’s leading web portal. Striking out on his own in 1999 at the height of the dot-com boom, he founded TeamOn Systems, an early pioneer of mobile email that was later acquired by BlackBerry before becoming BlackBerry Internet Email servicing over 50 million users at its peak. His great new book is: From Startup to Exit: An Insider's Guide to Launching and Scaling Your Tech Business Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you're interested in investing in a Ride Home early stage investment fund, listen to this quick message, and then visit RideHomeFund.com to express your interest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris and I get deep in this week's NFT craziness with two folks who are actually working right now in the space, @jacksondame And @SHL0MS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s Rumor Friday! Are we getting an Alexa TV next month? Will Apple’s AR/VR headset need an Apple device to work? Is Reddit lining up an IPO? Also, Apple delays its controversial CSAM feature, the week in NFT madness, and, of course, The Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Metalab.com Links: EXCLUSIVE: Amazon is close to launching its own TV in the US (Insider) Apple’s AR/VR Headset Will Need Connection to Other Device Such as iPhone (The Information) Exclusive: Reddit seeks to hire advisers for U.S. IPO -sources (Reuters) Apple delays rollout of CSAM detection system and child safety features (9to5Mac) Record Doge NFT Sale Highlights Growing Demand for Fractionalization (CoinDesk) The Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The Latest NFT Fad Is a Text-Based Fantasy Game Building Block (Coindesk) Gimme the Loot! (Collisions) NFTs, DeFi Boost for Ethereum Dims Clamor of Bitcoin Maximalists (Bloomberg) Wall Street Is Looking to Reddit for Investment Advice (WSJ) Here are all the companies from Y Combinator’s Summer 2021 Demo Day, Part 1 (TechCrunch) Here are all the companies from Day 2 of Y Combinator’s Summer 2021 Demo Day (TechCrunch) Today's #WorldCupOfEntrepreneurs Matchup click here to vote! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple will let “reader” apps link to websites to manage accounts. WhatsApp faces a record GDPR fine. Twitter continues to at least test all the products. And has YouTube Music quietly become a major threat to Spotify and Apple Music? Sponsors: Quantummetric.com/podoffer offer code Podcastcode Metalab.com Links: Apple will allow some media apps to link outside the App Store for payments (Engadget) Apple concedes to let apps like Netflix, Spotify, and Kindle link to the web to sign up (The Verge) Facebook’s WhatsApp Fined Around $270 Million for EU Privacy Violations (WSJ) U.S. DOJ Readying Google Antitrust Lawsuit Over Ad-Tech Business (Bloomberg) US asks Tesla how Autopilot responds to emergency vehicles (AP) Twitter launches Super Follows on iOS (The Verge) Twitter is testing a new anti-abuse feature called ‘Safety Mode’ (TechCrunch) Twitter Plans New Privacy Tools to Get More People Tweeting (Bloomberg) YouTube music services hit 50m subscribers in race to catch Spotify (Financial Times) Today's #WorldCupOfEntrepreneurs Matchup: Zuck v. Jack! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is the Apple Watch redesign causing supply issues? A larger roadmap for the health features Apple is looking to add to the Watch. Putting your driver’s license in your Apple Wallet is becoming a reality. LinkedIn abandons Stories. Facebook gets into Fantasy Sports and Wirecutter goes behind a paywall. Today's #WorldCupOfEntrepreneurs Matchup: Jack Ma v. Jeff Bezos! Vote! Links: New Apple Watch With Larger Screen Suffers Production Snags (Bloomberg) Apple Plans Blood-Pressure Measure, Wrist Thermometer in Watch (WSJ) Apple secures first states to support digital driver's licenses, but privacy questions linger (TechCrunch) Apple just banned a pay equity Slack channel but lets fun dogs channel lie (The Verge) LinkedIn gives up on Stories (The Verge) Facebook enters the fantasy gaming market (TechCrunch) New York Times’ Wirecutter Product-Review Site Moves Behind Paywall (WSJ) Google developing own CPUs for Chromebook laptops (Nikkei Asia) Microsoft announces Surface event for September 22nd (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Microsoft has missed the window for Windows 11 to support Android apps, at least at launch. Apple is getting into classical music and Amazon is going deeper into the red-hot audio space. Facebook turns the temperature down on politics. And a new initiative to get, especially younger technologists, to lend their expertise to the Federal Government. Sponsors: Metalab.com Vote for the first bracket in the World Cup of Entrepreneurs here Links: Windows 11 won’t include Android app support at launch (The Verge) Apple buys classical music streaming service Primephonic (The Verge) Scoop: Amazon quietly building live audio business (Axios) Scoop: Facebook's new moves to lower News Feed's political volume (Axios) Google, Apple Hit by First Law Threatening Dominance Over App-Store Payments (WSJ) Apple Plans to Add Satellite Features to iPhones for Emergencies (Bloomberg) White House launches US Digital Corps (FedScoop) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s a day of wild rumors. Is Apple getting into the satellite networking game? Is the Apple Watch about to get its first meaningful design change? The rumors about a Chinese gaming crackdown just got real. Is South Korea about to meaningfully crack open the App Store? Why Apple and Google are fighting to keep the App Stores as they are. And the wild weekend in NFT-land. Sponsors: Ultimate Ears UE.com/fits promocode RIDE for 15% off TinyCapital.com Links: Kuo: iPhone 13 to Feature LEO Satellite Communications to Make Calls and Texts Without Cellular Coverage (MacRumors) Tim Cook’s Run as Apple CEO Could End as Early as 2025. Who Will Replace Him? (Bloomberg) China Slashes Kids’ Gaming Time to Just Three Hours a Week (Bloomberg) Apple, Google Mobile Dominance Faces Tough Test in South Korea (Bloomberg) Google allegedly offered Netflix a break on the usual Play Store commission (The Verge) TikTok owner ByteDance takes first step into virtual reality with latest acquisition (CNBC) CryptoPunks blasts past $1 billion in lifetime sales as NFT speculation surges (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Talkin' OnlyFans. The founding and engineering team from Otter.ai share some exciting product news. And Chris interviews me about doing 1000 TRH episodes and how I produce this show every day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another brick is taken out of the App Store wall as Apple blinks on letting devs inform users of outside purchase options. Ticket spaces start rolling out on Twitter, Waymo is having second thoughts about business models, NFTs are cool, but what if you could earn royalties? And of course, the Weekend Longread Suggestions. Sponsors: TinyCapital.com Metalab.com Links: Apple will let developers email users about payments outside iOS (Protocol) Apple’s $100 million settlement agreement changes a key App Store rule for developers (The Verge) Twitter starts launching Ticketed Spaces for some iOS users (The Verge) Waymo will stop selling its self-driving LiDAR sensors to other companies (TechCrunch) Paradigm and Founders Fund lead $16 million investment in 3LAU's NFT music platform Royal (The Block) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Netflix and Video Games (MatthewBall.vc) Turns Out The Hardest Part of Making a Game Is...Everything (IGN) Cryptocurrency Companies Are Leaving China in ‘Great Mining Migration’ (WSJ) El Salvador Gets Ready for a Risky Bitcoin Experiment (WSJ) A decade and a half of instability: The history of Google messaging apps (ArsTechnica) The Real C.E.O. of “Succession” (The New Yorker) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big tech offered some big cybersecurity commitments after that White House meetup. TSMC raising chip prices might mean gadget price increases across the board. Looks like everyone remembered they like PCs. Drone delivery hits a milestone in Australia. And another secretive startup that wants to create a battery revolution. Sponsors: Masterworks.io/ride Wealthfront.com/techmeme Links: Biden tells top CEOs at White House summit to step up on cybersecurity (Washington Post) World’s Largest Chip Maker to Raise Prices, Threatening Costlier Electronics (WSJ) Silicon Valley Exchange Lists First Two Companies in ESG Push (Bloomberg) Canalys: US PC sales up 17% YoY for quarter, even as tablet sales stagnate (TechCrunch) Wing approaches 100,000 drone deliveries two years after Logan, Australia launch (TechCrunch) Stealthy battery company backed by Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos has a lot to prove (CNBC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

OnlyFans says it loves porn. Doesn’t want to ban porn from its platform after all. Says it wants to be an inclusive platform for all creators. Even the naked ones. The new Fitbit Charge 5. New Messenger features on the occasion of its 10th birthday. Is T-Mobile winning the 5G war? And I guess bigger really is better for neural networks. Sponsors: OurCrowd.com/ride KiwiCo.com promocode Ride for 50% off your first month Links: OnlyFans no longer plans to ban porn, saying in abrupt U-turn that it wants to be a 'home for all creators' (Insider) FITBIT’S NEW CHARGE 5 HAS A ROUNDED DESIGN AND A COLOR SCREEN (The Verge) Messenger celebrates its 10th anniversary with new features and a plan to become the ‘connective tissue’ for real-time experiences (TechCrunch) Microsoft to launch cloud gaming service on Xbox consoles (CNBC) Fastest Mobile Networks 2021 (PCMag) A New Chip Cluster Will Make Massive AI Models Possible (Wired) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden is gathering the tech five families to discuss cybersecurity. Instagram is retiring swipe up. Facebook is testing a rebundle of Messenger. Airbnb will house Afghan refugees. SpaceX hits some milestones and a Samsung review roundup. Sponsors: Voices.com Quantummetric.com/podoffer offer code Podcastcode Links: Apple’s Tim Cook, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella Plan to Visit White House (Bloomberg) Instagram is retiring the swipe up (The Verge) Facebook Retools Messaging Again by Adding Calling to Main App (Bloomberg) Airbnb says it will host 20,000 Afghan refugees (CNN Business) SpaceX ships 100,000 Starlink terminals to customers, eyes future launches using Starship (TechCrunch) Poly Network says it has recovered all $610 million it lost in cryptocurrency heist (Engadget) SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FOLD 3 REVIEW: NEARLY NORMAL (The Verge) SAMSUNG’S GALAXY Z FLIP 3 IS THE FIRST FOLDING PHONE FOR NORMAL PEOPLE (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mark Gurman says when a new high end M1X Mac mini might be coming. The USDC stablecoin looks to get right with the accounting Gods. Visa buys a CryptoPunk. Did Giphy pay dividend to lower its value for Facebook to acquire it? And do we now know the real reason why OnlyFans is attempting to abandon porn? Sponsors: Oracle.com/goto/ride Modern Finance Podcast Links: High-End 'M1X' Mac Mini With New Design and Additional Ports Expected to Launch in the 'Next Several Months' (MacRumors) The world’s second-largest stablecoin is undergoing a massive change (CNBC) Visa buys a CryptoPunk as it takes first steps into 'NFT commerce' (The Block) Razer bug lets you become a Windows 10 admin by plugging in a mouse (BleepingComputer) Facebook’s Stealth M&A Puts Focus on Deals Under Antitrust Radar (Bloomberg) Facebook says post that cast doubt on covid-19 vaccine was most popular on the platform from January through March (The Washington Post) Post-Culture Review Twitter Thread Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Important news about changes to the RideHome+ program. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

OnlyFans wants to get out of the porn business, which makes sense to nobody on the Internet. Elon Musk says Tesla is building a humanoid robot, and I love you Elon, but you’ve really opened the door to your critics with this one. Microsoft is raising prices, and of course, the weekend longread suggestions. Sponsors: Postie.com/techmeme TinyCapital.com Links: OnlyFans has tons of users, but can't find investors (Axios) OnlyFans to Bar Sexually Explicit Videos Starting in October (Bloomberg) Microsoft will raise Office 365 business subscription prices in 2022 (CNBC) Elon Musk says Tesla is working on humanoid robots (The Verge) Elon Musk Unveils His Funniest Vaporware Yet (Gizmodo) The Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The FBI’s warning to Silicon Valley: China and Russia are trying to turn your employees into spies (Protocol) Electric cars and batteries: how will the world produce enough? (Nature) Waymo Is 99% of the Way to Self-Driving Cars. The Last 1% Is the Hardest (Bloomberg Businessweek) These People Who Work From Home Have a Secret: They Have Two Jobs (WSJ) Amazon Killed the Name Alexa (The Atlantic) Afghanistan - Part 1 (The Rest Is History Podcast) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Headlines out of time: Amazon wants to do department stores. Google partners with GE Appliances. But Intel continues to look to the future with its new hybrid architecture chips. Facebook wants your next conference call to take place in VR. And has Robinhood put all its eggs in the Doge basket? Sponsors: Tovala.com/ride Canva.me/techmeme Links: Amazon Plans to Open Large Retail Locations Akin to Department Stores (WSJ) GE Appliances announces partnership with major cloud company to focus on data capabilities (Courier Journal) Intel previews its Alder Lake chip, promises hybrid CPUs for desktops and laptops (The Verge) FTC files renewed antitrust complaint against Facebook (CNBC) INSIDE FACEBOOK’S METAVERSE FOR WORK (The Verge) Facebook is sharing data to prove it’s not a political hellhole (Protocol) Robinhood says dogecoin accounted for 62% of crypto revenue in Q2 (CNBC) Venture Investment In Cryptosecurity Jumps 10x Over Last Year As Sector Hits Sweet Spot With Venture Capitalists (Crunchbase News) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A look at how all the platforms are dealing with the Taliban being a modern social media enterprise. Amazon is bigger than Walmart for the first time. Samsung stops cluttering its phones with ads. Attempting to hire the hacker who hacked you. And I get my answer to why all the platforms want to protect kids all the sudden. Sponsors: Tovala.com/ride Quantummetric.com/podoffer offer code Podcastcode Sponsors: WhatsApp shuts down Taliban helpline in Kabul (Financial Times) Platforms struggle with Taliban policy amid chaotic US withdrawal (The Verge) People Now Spend More at Amazon Than at Walmart (NYTimes) Samsung confirms it’s removing ads from its stock apps later this year (The Verge) Victim of Major DeFi Cyberattack Offers Its Hacker a Job (Bloomberg) TechScape: How the UK forced global shift in child safety policies (The Guardian) Eve Online’s yearlong war ends with an epic retreat (Polygon) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yik Yak is back, but can it make it in a Tik Tok world? Concerns about how the Taliban are using WhatsApp. OnlyFans wants you to try out a new safe for work app. TikTok is distributing music via the blockchain. And will BlueSky ever see the light of day? Sponsors: Tovala.com/ride Upstart.com/techmeme Links: Remember Yik Yak? Well, it's back and still anonymous. (Mashable) T-Mobile Confirms It Was Hacked (Motherboard) WhatsApp Can’t Ban the Taliban Because It Can’t Read Their Texts (Motherboard) Facebook ‘Proactively’ Removing Taliban Content, Executive Says (Bloomberg) OnlyFans Creates Its First App With a Twist: No Nudity, No Cost (Bloomberg) And the First Streaming Service to Partner With TikTok Is… (Rolling Stone) Tinder will make its ID Verification option available to all users (The Verge) Salesforce introduces new Slack integrations post-acquisition (Venture Beat) Twitter taps crypto developer to lead decentralized social media initiative Bluesky (The Block) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Now it’s T-Mobile investigating a data breach that may or may not affect more than 100 million people. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating Tesla’s Autopilot. Everybody’s building undersea cables all at once. And new to me at least is the technology that can pull drinking water right from the hot, humid summer air. Sponsors: Streak.com/techmeme Voices.com Links: T-Mobile Investigating Claims of Massive Customer Data Breach (Motherboard) US probing Autopilot problems on 765,000 Tesla vehicles (Associated Press) Huawei Accused in Suit of Installing Data ‘Back Door’ in Pakistan Project (WSJ) Facebook, Amazon seek U.S. approval to operate undersea data cable (Reuters) This Solar Hydropanel Can Pull 10 Liters of Drinking Water Per Day Out of the Air (Brighter) Twitter’s web redesign isn’t as accessible as it should be, experts say (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wrapping up the Samsung event with @samrutherford of Gizmodo, taking stock of the state of foldable phones, and the 1Password engineering and founding team joins for the entire second half! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Disney reported some surprisingly strong streaming numbers. A recent Nvidia keynote included a virtual replica of its CEO. What if USDC becomes a stablecoin defacto backed by the US Fed. And in the weekend longreads suggestions, why stablecoins generally have become the lynchpin of the crypto universe. Sponsors: Gainful.com/techmeme Quantummetric.com/podoffer offer code Podcastcode Links: Disney+ beats expectations to reach 116 million subscribers in Q3 (TechCrunch) Nvidia Reveals Its CEO Was Computer Generated in Keynote Speech (Motherboard) How Circle could create a U.S.-backed digital currency (Axios) Crypto platform Poly Network rewards hacker with $500,000 'bug bounty' (Reuters) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Why the Stablecoin Issuers Will Inherit the Earth (Bloomberg) I Joined a Penguin NFT Club Because Apparently That’s What We Do Now (NYTimes) Status Monkeys (Not Boring) How Figma Became Design’s Hottest Startup, Valued At $10 Billion (Forbes) Massachusetts Start-Up Hopes to Move a Step Closer to Commercial Fusion (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is officially a bill to crack open the App Store. DoorDash wanted to buy Instacart, but fear of regulators scuppered the deal. WhatsApp will let you migrate your chat history. Lionel Messi’s new club is paying him partially in crypto. And there’s still money in digital piracy. Sponsors: Calm.com/techmeme Metalab.co Links: App Store Competition Targeted by Bipartisan Senate Bill (WSJ) DoorDash Recently Held Talks to Buy Instacart (The Information) TikTok to add more privacy protections for teenaged users, limit push notifications (TechCrunch) WhatsApp will let you transfer your chat history between Android and iOS (Engadget) Researchers Create 'Master Faces' to Bypass Facial Recognition (Motherboard) Messi joins crypto craze as gets part of PSG fee in fan tokens (Reuters) Pirated-Entertainment Sites Are Making Billions From Ads (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All the flipping and folding phone news from today’s Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event. A big crypto crime in the DeFi space. Did AWS beat out Microsoft for a secret NSA contract? And why are all the major tech platforms so concerned about protecting kids all of the sudden? Not that that’s a bad thing! Sponsors: Quantummetric.com/podoffer offer code Podcastcode Metalab.co Links: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 delivers S Pen, better screen durability, IPX8 for $1,799 (9to5Google) Samsung breaks the triple-digit barrier w/ Galaxy Z Flip 3 priced at $999 (9to5Google) THE GALAXY WATCH 4 INJECTS SAMSUNG’S CAPABLE HARDWARE WITH GOOGLE SOFTWARE (The Verge) At least $611 million stolen in massive cross-chain hack (The Block) Poly Network attacker returns $256 million of the stolen cryptocurrency (The Block) NSA Awards Secret $10 Billion Contract to Amazon (Nextgov) OpenAI launches Codex, an API for translating natural language into code (The Machine) Google restricts ad targeting of minors and will delist photos of kids at their request (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Time for iPhone rumor season to hit fever pitch. Will the next iPhone take a page out of the Apple Watch’s book when it comes to screens? Has Apple run afoul of US labor law? The Crypto fix fails in the Senate, so now folks have to hope for reconciliation with the House. An interesting raise that is up 5X in 5 months. And a possible explanation for the Buy Now Pay Later craze. Sponsors: Quantummetric.com/podoffer offer code Podcastcode SetApp.com Links: Apple Readies New iPhones With Pro-Focused Camera, Video Updates (Bloomberg) APPLE KEEPS SHUTTING DOWN EMPLOYEE-RUN SURVEYS ON PAY EQUITY — AND LABOR LAWYERS SAY IT’S ILLEGAL (The Verge) Bitcoin Lobby Loses: Senate Rejects Revised Crypto Tax Provisions in Infrastructure Bill (Decrypt) Google’s new Titan security key lineup won’t make you choose between USB-C and NFC (The Verge) Crypto Platform FalconX Quintuples Valuation to $3.75 Billion (Bloomberg) Square's $29 billion deal for buy-now, pay-later player Afterpay is the starting gun for the race to build a money super app (Insider) Exclusive: Salesforce enters the streaming wars (Axios) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Crypto flexes its lobby muscle in an attempt to craft that infrastructure bill. Apple tries to beat back the controversy around its photo scanning plans. The Cybertruck is delayed. And what if the whole democratization of investing thing moves beyond options and even NFTs into angel and venture investing. Sponsors: Kiwico.com/ride Voices.com Links: Senators Near Deal On Crypto Oversight, But May Be Too Late (Bloomberg) Apple CSAM FAQ addresses misconceptions and concerns about photo scanning (9to5Mac) Apple’s New ‘Child Safety’ Initiatives, and the Slippery Slope (Daring Fireball) An Unsurprising But Sad Update for Tesla Cybertruck Fans: Production Has Been Pushed to 2022 (Gizmodo) Google is planning a new Silicon Valley campus with hardware hub, plans show (CNBC) Uber, Lyft Prices at Records Even as Drivers Return (WSJ) Even Your Allergist Is Now Investing in Start-Ups (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All things metaverse! Why is it on everybody's lips at the moment? When will it arrive? Is it already (kinda) here? With @janineyorio from Republic.co. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I try to explain this whole controversy about Apple scanning your photos. Yelp will list business’ vaccination policies. I guess I’m bullish on autonomous tractors. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Quantummetric.com/podoffer offer code PODCASTCODE Metalab.com Links: Apple confirms it will begin scanning iCloud Photos for child abuse images (TechCrunch) Yelp will let businesses list their vaccination policies (The Verge) John Deere buys autonomous tractor startup Bear Flag Robotics (TechCrunch) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The End of Venture Capital as We Know It (The Information) Deal Of The Century: How Michael Dell Turned His Declining PC Business Into A $40 Billion Windfall (Forbes) The Metaverse Has Always Been a Dystopian Idea (Vice) How Olympic Surfing Is Trying to Ride the Machine Learning Wave (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google has refreshed the entire Nest lineup and I guess TPU’s will be a thing going forward. Ethereum’s latest hard fork is live and bringing big changes. There’s a new Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative with Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and the government all combatting cyberattacks. And if some companies are seeing a Covid Times hangover, nobody bothered to tell Hopin. Sponsors: WealthFront.com/techmeme Metalab.com Links: Google’s new Nest cameras and doorbell have lower prices and more smarts (The Verge) Ethereum just activated a major change called the ‘London hard fork’ — here’s why it’s a big deal (CNBC) Senators propose exclusion of miners, software developers in infrastructure bill's crypto 'broker' definition (The Block) U.S. Taps Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Others to Help Fight Ransomware, Cyber Threats (WSJ) Nintendo profits decline year-on-year as Switch hits 89 million sold (The Verge) Two-year-old events start-up Hopin boomed in the pandemic. Now it’s a $7.75 billion business (CNBC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robinhood’s shares are up so much after that busted IPO that trading had to be halted today. What gives? Also, what’s up with the rush into Buy Now Pay Later all of the sudden? Vudo will become Roku’s official video store. Superhuman raises another round. And do you need a smart soap dispenser in your life? Probably not. Metalab.com TinyCaptial.com Links: Robinhood surges as much as 81% in second day of wild trading (CNBC) Apple, Affirm to Join on Buy Now, Pay Later for Canadian Purchases (Bloomberg) WhatsApp launches its ‘View Once’ disappearing photos and videos (The Verge) New ‘Google Identity Services’ consolidate sign-in for 3rd-party apps, includes ‘One Tap’ (9to5Google) FandangoNOW and Vudu merge into a new streaming service with titles to rent, buy or stream free (TechCrunch) Blizzard’s head of HR is out (The Verge) Superhuman Raises $75 Million For Its Waitlist-Only Email Productivity App (Forbes) This $55 Amazon Smart Soap Dispenser is dumb as dirt (The Verge) Smart homes and vegetable peelers (Benedict Evans) Link to the Twitter Space reminder! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google unveils the new Pixel 6 lineup, but the really interesting detail is the chip inside them. Apple makes Magic Keyboard with Touch ID available as a standalone product. Microsoft makes Windows as a service live. Now China says games are the opium of the spirit. And what if drone delivery is running into the same wall as self-driving cars? Sponsors: SetApp.com Metalab.com Links: THIS IS THE PIXEL 6, GOOGLE’S TAKE ON AN ‘ULTRA HIGH END’ PHONE (The Verge) Microsoft's Windows 365 Cloud PC service will range from $20 to $162 per user per month (ZDNet) Apple Makes Magic Keyboard With Touch ID Available for Separate Purchase (MacRumors) Tencent Sinks After China Denounces Online Gaming (WSJ) Xiaomi Tops European Smartphone Market in Q2 2021 (Strategy Analytics) The slow collapse of Amazon’s drone delivery dream (Wired UK) Spotify is testing a less restrictive ad-supported tier costing $0.99 a month (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

YouTube is demoing a diet version of YouTube. Square is paying a pretty penny to join the buy now, pay later sweepstakes. Did an Intel exec accidentally leak the specs for Thunderbolt 5? And did Google’s quantum computer create a perpetual motion machine? Sponsors: UE.com/fits, use promocode RIDE for 15% of Ultimate Ears FITS Grammarly.com/techmeme Links: YouTube ‘Premium Lite’ subscription offers ad-free viewing for less (The Verge) Twitter's Dorsey leads $29 bln buyout of lending pioneer Afterpay (Reuters) Intel Executive Posts Thunderbolt 5 Photo then Deletes It: 80Gbps and Pam-3 (AnandTech) Tech Startup Financing Hits Records as Giant Funds Dwarf Venture Capitalists (WSJ) Eternal Change for No Energy: A Time Crystal Finally Made Real (QuantaMagazine) Robinhood Sold IPO Shares to More Than 300,000 of Its Customers (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are ads a bigger cash cow for Amazon than even AWS? Follow up on Robinhood’s trading debut. How the SEC is dealing with the Chinese tech stock problem. Gopuff indicates that grocery delivery is still white hot to investors. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Voices.com Metalab.co Links: Amazon Gets Record $888 Million EU Fine Over Data Violations (Bloomberg) Robinhood falls in its public market debut, closes more than 8% lower at $34.82 per share (CNBC) U.S. SEC says Chinese IPO hopefuls must provide additional risk disclosures (Reuters) Gopuff confirms new $1B cash injection at a $15B valuation to expand its instant grocery delivery service (TechCrunch) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Groceries in 10 Minutes: Delivery Start-Ups Crowd City Streets Across Globe (NYTimes) THE SUMMER INTEL FELL BEHIND (The Verge) Why the US can’t just beam internet into authoritarian states like Cuba (Quartz) Social-Media Manager, the Most Millennial Job, Comes of Age (WSJ) Hollywood Calls the Russo Brothers When It’s Time to Build a New Universe (Bloomberg Businessweek) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tech companies dip their toes into vaccine mandate waters. Facebook in so many words says Apple’s privacy changes are about to impact earnings. Will Didi take itself private again to please the Chinese government? Is Peacock doing better than I at least thought? And a crypto startup is sliding into the biggest growth market I’ve seen in this space yet. Sponsors: NordPass.com/techmeme or code techmeme for 50% off for 2 years Metalab.co Links: Most Apple Stores to Require Masks Again for Shoppers, Staff (Bloomberg) Facebook beats earnings expectations, but warns of significant growth slowdown (CNBC) Didi Global Considers Going Private to Placate China and Compensate Investors (WSJ) Robinhood CEO on the meme stock craze: ‘I think it’s a real thing’ (CNBC) Peacock Reaches 54M Sign-Ups Thanks to Olympics, 20M Monthly Active Users (The Streamable) OpenAI proposes open-source Triton language as an alternative to Nvidia's CUDA (ZDNet) Bitcoin Seized by DOJ Headed to Crypto Custodian Anchorage in $6.6 Million Deal (Decrypt) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple reports earnings but warns of component shortages. Microsoft set profit records but noted shortage materially affected some divisions. Alphabet had good earnings too, but the real story there is YouTube. About the staff walkout at Activision Blizzard. Is Apple asking leakers to snitch on their sources? And an interesting raise to do next generation search on iOS. Sponsors: UpStart.com/techmeme Oracle.com/goto/ride Links: Apple’s iPhone hot streak is going to run into the global chip shortage (CNBC) Xbox hardware sales spike 172% as Microsoft reports $3.7B in quarterly gaming revenue (GeekWire) YouTube Q2 Ad Revenue Hits Record $7 Billion as Alphabet Trounces Estimates (Variety) Taiwan Greenlights TSMC's 2nm Fab: Coming Online in 2024 ~ 2025 (Tom's Hardware) Activision CEO Apologizes After Employees Threaten to Walk Out (Bloomberg) Apple Tells Leaker to Snitch on Sources or It Will Report Them to the Police (Motherboard) Brain Technologies raises $50M+ for the launch of Natural, a natural language search engine and 'super app' (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tesla is profitable beyond all caveats and hedges. Intel continues to telegraph its turnaround plans. Tangible numbers of the Chinese tech carnage. Instagram changes the rules for teens on the platform. And what are Facebook’s ultimate designs on building a Metaverse? Sponsors: Metalab.co TinyCapital.com Links: Tesla finally made a profit without the help of emission credits (The Verge) Tesla records $23 million in bitcoin-related impairments after cryptocurrency’s second-quarter plunge (CNBC) Intel to build Qualcomm chips, aims to catch foundry rivals by 2025 (Reuters) Apple releases fix for iOS and macOS zero-day, 13th this year (The Record) China Crackdown Makes Hong Kong Index World’s Biggest Tech Loser (Bloomberg) Instagram's new protections for teens come as experts say tween venture poses big risks (NBC News) Facebook announces Metaverse product group headed by Instagram VP Vishal Shah (Protocol) Element bolsters decentralized team messaging with $30M raise (VentureBeat) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is the DOJ probing Tether for bank fraud? When might FaceID come to the Mac? What do leaked photos tell us about the next Surface Duo? And I will spend the entire second half of the show trying my best to explain the seeming tech apocalypse happening in China right now. Sponsors: KiwiCo.com/ride for first month free SetApp.com Links: Tether Executives Said to Face Criminal Probe Into Bank Fraud (Bloomberg) Leaders in Cryptocurrency Industry Move to Curb the Highest-Risk Trades (NYTimes) Gurman: Face ID on the Mac Coming Within a 'Couple of Years' (MacRumors) Leaked Surface Duo 2 photos reveal new triple camera system (The Verge) China Bans For-Profit School Tutoring in Sweeping Overhaul (Bloomberg) China’s education sector crackdown hits foreign investors (Financial Times) Why is China smashing its tech industry? (Noahpinion.substack.com) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus, the Hyper fund from Product Hunt, Automattic's acquisition game, and Twitter tests downvotes? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alphabet has a new moonshot company. Existing Big Bet DeepMind might have had a big breakthrough. Why Snap and Twitter are sharing an earnings narrative right now. Hint: it’s cause they’re growing again. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: CreditKarma.com/podcast SetApp.com Links: Google parent Alphabet launches Intrinsic: a new company to build software for industrial robots (The Verge) DeepMind creates ‘transformative’ map of human proteins drawn by artificial intelligence (The Verge) Twitter posts fastest revenue growth since 2014 in pandemic rebound (CNBC) Snap pops more than 16% on earnings beat and user growth (CNBC) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: What Ever Happened to IBM’s Watson? (NYTimes) Startup Claims Breakthrough in Long-Duration Batteries (WSJ) The Novel Material That’s Shrinking Phone Chargers, Powering Up Electric Cars, and Making 5G Possible (WSJ) Robotaxis: have Google and Amazon backed the wrong technology? (Financial Times) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twitter is testing downvotes. Tumblr gets into the subscription game. Google unveils a unified backup service for Android. Is HBO Max leading the pack of followers in the musical chairs streaming wars contest? The FTC is getting serious about right to repair. And let me introduce you to the Airbnb for back yard swimming pools. Sponsors: Masterworks.io promocode RIDE TinyCapital.com Links: Twitter for iOS begins testing dislike button for some users (9to5Mac) Clubhouse is no longer invite-only (The Verge) Tumblr Introduces Paid Subscription Tool to Woo Younger Bloggers (WSJ) ‘Backup by Google One’ is Android’s new unified backup system (9to5Google) China Weighs Unprecedented Penalty for Didi After U.S. IPO (Bloomberg) HBO Max and HBO Gain 2.8 Million Subscribers in Q2, AT&T Raises Year-End Target for Streaming Service (Variety) FTC pledges to fight unlawful right to repair restrictions (The Verge) An ‘Airbnb for Pools’ Is Making a Splash This Summer (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Netflix’s growth has hit a wall, and so here come the games. What to do about a problem like those NSO hacks? Samsung’s next Unpacked event is announced. One of the biggest crypto raises of all time. And will Apple ever join the Android ecosystem and kill off SMS once and for all? Sponsors: Calm.com/techmeme TinyCapital.com Links: Netflix’s gaming expansion starts with mobile (The Verge) On the list: Ten prime ministers, three presidents and a king (Washington Post) A case against security nihilism (Matthew Green) Samsung will announce new foldables on August 11 (TechCrunch) Biden Names Tech Foe Jonathan Kanter as DOJ Antitrust Chief (Bloomberg) Zoom announces general availability of Zoom Apps and its new virtual events platform (ZDNet) Crypto Exchange FTX Valued at $18 Billion in Funding Round (WSJ) YouTube’s newest monetization tool lets viewers tip creators for their uploads (TechCrunch) Verizon is also switching to Android Messages as default for RCS (The Verge) Set a reminder for tonight's twitter space by clicking here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple puts a pause on its return to the office plans. Rumors of a new iPad mini redesign. Product Hunt launches an investment fund. If you want a tool to see if you’ve been pwned by NSO’s Pegasus software, I’ve got you. And Bezos in space… Sponsors: TinyCapital.com Links: Apple Delays Office Return by At Least a Month as Covid Spikes (Bloomberg) Exclusive: Apple planning redesigned iPad mini with A15 processor, USB-C port, more (9to5Mac) Hyper is a new fund that offers $300k checks and promise of a media slingshot for founders (TechCrunch) DuckDuckGo launches new Email Protection service to remove trackers (The Verge) Edward Snowden calls for spyware trade ban amid Pegasus revelations (The Guardian) 'Best day ever': Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin rocket touch down after historic spaceflight (USAToday) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The NSO Group is back in the headlines, and it’s maybe, the worst allegations of hacking for hire yet. The US and NATO blame China for the Exchange Server hacks. Does iOS now split the market with Android, at least in the US? And is Tesla charging customers for hardware they already paid for? Sponsors: Streak.com/techmeme TinyCapital.com Links: Private Israeli spyware used to hack cellphones journalists, activists worldwide (Washington Post) U.S. and key allies accuse China of Microsoft Exchange cyberattacks (Axios) Zoom is buying cloud contact center provider Five9 for $14.7 billion (CNBC) CIRP: iPhone catches up to Android, now accounts for 50% of new smartphone activations in the US (9to5Mac) Tesla is charging owners $1,500 for hardware they already paid for (Electrek) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices