Tech Brew Ride Home

Not too long ago I did a longreads suggestion about Huawei and listener Dexter Thillien got in touch, because he’s a telecoms analyst, and he was actually quoted in the article. Over email, he educated me about some of my misconceptions about Huawei and I was like, “Don’t just school me! Come on the podcast and let’s catch everyone on up Huawei!” And so, today, we do that. Where did Huawei come from? How did it get to a place where it’s the pre-eminent 5G infrastructure firm? Is Huawei just a tool of the Chinese government. I do apologize for the somewhat poor Skype connection, but the content here is so good, you won’t even notice. My thanks to Dexter Thillien. Sponsor: Everykey.com, promo code RIDE20 to get 20% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I knew Uber was going public this week, and it occurred to me that since this podcast started, my default position has been: Uber: super cool company, but a lot of people have a lot of doubts about them. But I realized, I had never explained that, or gone into detail about WHY people feel that way… unlike how we’ve done with other things. So, I reached out to Shira Ovide at Bloomberg, not to talk trash about Uber, but to… let’s say… get the skeptic’s take about Uber’s business model— which is the ride hailing business model, in a way, which is also the sharing economy business model in a way—so, in that vein, we also talk about WeWork a bit too (which people are also skeptical of). Sponsors: Eero.com/ride promocode RIDE at checkout Sonic.com/ride Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Uber’s big IPO had some issues, smartphone shipments are at a 5 year low, do you need an app for unsubscribing to things and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: MacStadium.com/ridehome Metalab.co Links: Uber Jackpot: Inside One of the Greatest Startup Investments of All Time (WSJ) Americans Have So Many Subscriptions They Need Apps to Track and Cancel Them (Bloomberg) Blue Origin: Bezos company aims to take people to moon by 2024 (The Guardian) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: How Much Is an Idea Worth? In Uber’s Case, $3.7 Billion (Bloomberg) The VC Who Engineered the 2017 Uber CEO Coup Just Got Very Rich (Bloomberg) The dangers of in-game data collection (Polygon) How Unions Are Pushing Back Against the Rise of Workplace Technology (Fortune) Three years in, Google’s hardware honcho is just getting started (FastCompany) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes says it’s time to break up Facebook, more developer details from I/O, Uber has an arbitration problem, shoe tech is real, and get ready for 64 megapixel smartphone cameras. Sponsors: Wix.com/podcast Metalab.co Links: It’s Time to Break Up Facebook (Chris Hughes/NYTimes) Google is testing Mini-apps in Search and Google Assistant (VentureBeat) Google to allow users to pay for Android apps using cash (TechCrunch) Uber’s Arbitration Addiction Could Be Death by 60,000 Cuts (Bloomberg) Sick of Getting Returned Sneakers, Nike Tries a New Sizing App (Bloomberg) The story of the Brannock Device World’s fastest supercomputer will be built by AMD and Cray for US government (The Verge) 64-megapixel phone cameras are coming (The Verge) Fortnite is free, but kids are getting bullied into spending money (Polygon) Subscribe to the ad-free premium feed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google is talking big on privacy, but going after cookies helps their bottom line as well, why the Pixel 3a might usher in a new era of flagship “lite” phones, the huge Binance bitcoin hack and why does Bird want to sell you a scooter, not just rent you one? Sponsors: Metalab.co Vistaprint.com/RIDE Links: Google strengthens Chrome's privacy controls (TechCrunch) Facebook talked privacy, Google actually built it (TechCrunch) US digital advertising exceeded $100 billion in 2019 (TechCrunch) Google shows Apple and Samsung how ‘lite’ flagships are done (Engadget) Apple should bring back the iPhone SE and model it after Google’s Pixel 3a (MacWorld) Bird has a new electric scooter: it’s durable, comes in three different colors, and you can buy it (The Verge) DIY Artists Will Earn More than $1 Billion This Year. No Wonder the Major Labels Want Their Business (Rolling Stone) Subscribe to the ad-free feed! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All the news that I could possibly grab from Google’s I/O keynote, again, Alexa IS spying on you, Cruise Automation raises a big round... and will we ever actually see the Galaxy Fold? Sponsors: Lightstream.com/ride Metalab.co Links: THE PIXEL 3A PUTS GOOGLE’S PHENOMENAL CAMERA IN A $400 PHONE (The Verge) Alexa has been eavesdropping on you this whole time (The Washington Post) Check your Alexa recording archive here Study: Voice Assistants Far From Hot Marketplace For Buying (MediaPost) GM’s self-driving division Cruise raises another $1.15 billion (The Verge) How Chinese Spies Got the N.S.A.’s Hacking Tools, and Used Them for Attacks (NYTimes) Samsung Electronics says no anticipated shipping date yet for Galaxy Fold (Reuters) Subscribe to the Premium Ad-Free Feed right here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All the announcements from Microsoft’s Build 2019, Mozilla fixes the Firefox snafu, we think, a grab-bag of Apple rumors and why Netflix’s competitive resiliency might be here to stay. Sponsors: Legacybox.com/ride Metalab.co Links Microsoft's IntelliCode for AI-assisted coding comes out of preview (TechCrunch) Microsoft aims to modernize and secure voting with ElectionGuard (TechCrunch) Add-ons disabled or failing to install in Firefox (Mozilla Add-ons Blog) Amazon can already ship to 72% of US population within a day, this map shows (CNBC) Brussels poised to probe Apple over Spotify’s fees complaint (Financial Times) Netflix's Competitive Resiliency Is Here to Stay (Netflix Misunderstandings, Pt. 7) (Redef) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This Facebook cryptocurrency is real, people, Microsoft has a blockchain product as well, Verizon is looking to unload Tumblr, Softbank is considering an IPO for the vision fund and, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: PixelUnion.net Instacart. Promocode RIDE at checkout. Links: Facebook Building Cryptocurrency-Based Payments System (WSJ) Project Libra: Facebook to launch stablecoin-based payments network (The Block) Report: Facebook looking to disrupt credit cards with cryptocurrency (ArsTechnica) Microsoft adds more AI, mixed-reality, IoT services to its Azure line-up (ZDNet) Microsoft launches a fully managed blockchain service (TechCrunch) Verizon Looks to Unload Tumblr Blogging Site (WSJ) SoftBank Considers IPO for $100 Billion Vision Fund (WSJ) Sonic’s live-action design upset the entire internet, so the studio is changing it (The Verge) The Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The making of Amazon Prime, the internet’s most successful and devastating membership program (ReCode) The search for the kryptonite that can stop CRISPR (MIT Technology Review) The Most Valuable Company (for Now) Is Having a Nadellaissance (Bloomberg Businessweek) Software, the Tough Tomato Principle, and the Great Weirdening of the World (Florent Crivello) The productivity pit: how Slack is ruining work (ReCode) Exclusive: The Saga Of 'Star Citizen,' A Video Game That Raised $300 Million—But May Never Be Ready To Play (Forbes) Support the show! Lose the ads! Subscribe to the premium feed RIGHT HERE in your podcast app with 3 taps! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facebook might get a federally appointed privacy official, Google lets you set a time-limit on what it tracks about you, what Apple had to pay Qualcomm, Russia might effectively leave the open web, a Wikipedia competitor, and is the low-hanging fruit gone for the big tech oligarchs? Sponsors: ReMars.amazon.com PixelUnion.net Links: Exclusive: New privacy oversight on the table for Facebook, Zuckerberg (Politico) Google can now automatically delete your location, app, and search activity data (VentureBeat) Qualcomm to record $4B revenue from Apple settlement (Axios) Putin signs law to isolate Russian internet (Financial Times) Spotify launches voice-enabled ads on mobile devices in a limited US test (TechCrunch) Tesla is raising up to $1.5 billion through convertible note and share sale (TechCrunch) Golden unveils a Wikipedia alternative focused on emerging tech and startups (TechCrunch) Airbnb Spawned an Ecosystem of Startups That Sweat the Details so Owners Don’t Have to (Bloomberg) Support the show! Ad free feed! Signup right in your podcast app! Right here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple’s earnings were bad, but investors rejoiced, Andreessen Horowitz is continuing its transformation, Eric Schmidt is leaving Google’s board, don’t sleep on Hulu in the streaming wars and some thoughts on F8. Sponsors: PixelUnion.net Sonic.com/ride Links: Apple Trade-Ins and Discounts Spark iPhone Revival (Bloomberg) A16z ushers in new fund strategy with $2.75B (TechCrunch) Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt will leave Alphabet’s board after 18 years (The Verge) Scoop: e-Bike startup led by mobile veterans raises $20 million (Axios) SoftBank makes a huge bet on Latin America (TechCrunch) Hulu Grows to 28 Million Subscribers (The Hollywood Reporter) At F8, Facebook focuses on privacy — and little else (The Interface) Subscribe to the ad-free premium feed! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All the news from the Facebook F8 conference, Cheddar gets acquired, Alphabet shows weakness, and why does Ring, the smart doorbell, need a news editor? Sponsors: FlatironSchool.com/techmeme PixelUnion.net Links Facebook details Messenger updates: New desktop app, social video, and Project LightSpeed (VentureBeat) Instagram will test hiding public like counts in Canada (The Verge) Altice USA Buys Streaming-Video Network Cheddar for $200 Million (WSJ) Google Shows First Cracks in Years (WSJ) Alphabet drops after reporting a slowdown in ad revenue (CNBC) WeWork Files for Initial Public Offering (WSJ) Amazon wants to deliver crime news and fear to Ring doorbell owners (TheNextWeb) A doorbell company owned by Amazon wants to start producing “crime news” and it’ll definitely end well (Nieman Lab) How Chinese apps like TikTok are quietly racking up American users (CNBC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s no reason the hotel chains can’t do what Airbnb does, why superzoom lenses might be the real innovation in smartphones right now, we’re almost done with Tech Earnings Season and why was GOT so dark last night? Sponsors: Pixelunion.com/agency GetQuip.com/ride Links: Spotify is first to 100 million paid subscribers (The Verge) Beats’ Powerbeats Pro earbuds will ship on May 10th for $250 (The Verge) Marriott Is Officially Getting Into the Homesharing Business (Skift) "Superzoom" lenses will be the biggest thing to happen to smartphone cameras in years (Android Police) How China’s ‘Unicorns’ Shook a Bicycle Town (NYTimes) California governor signs internet sales tax law (AP) AT&T says 5G will be priced like home Internet—pay more for faster speeds (ArsTechnica) Samsung thinks millennials want vertical TVs (The Verge) A Theory About Why Last Night's Game of Thrones Was Too Dark to Watch (Gizmodo) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I wanted to talk to Dave Bittner of CyberWire because the CyberWire podcasts are my go to source for keeping up with the security space in a broad way. And I’m glad I did, Dave is a super knowledgeable pro, and we do get into things like those huge credential dumps, password best practices and that Triton virus that has me so worried. But we started off by going on a weird tangent about Facebook where I found myself arguing for Facebook for some reason, and we ended by really going off the rails and talking about the Fermi Paradox and aliens. It ended up being a really fun chat. :) Sponsors: Capterra.com/ride remars.Amazon.com Passwords article we discuss Subscribe to the ad-free premium feed! Right here! Inside your podcast app! It's easy! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This one requires a bit of explaining. Remember that segment I did about Change A View, that subreddit that was becoming its own site to try to create a platform for healthy discourse and debate online? They got backing from—and technical support from—an Alphabet subsidiary called Jigsaw. So, I went down a rabbit hole with Jigsaw, because they weren’t on my radar, and I learned that their remit is to… seemingly… try to make the Internet not suck as much. So, long story short, I reached out to some people and got put in touch with Dan Keyserling of Jigsaw to see what they’re up to. Combatting radicalization, online censorship, trolls, bias in AI… there ARE still some folks who believe technology can make the world better… not just break it. Huge, if true!  But seriously, this is a bit of a palate cleanse for me, and for you… but really… mostly for me. Sponsors: Wix.com/podcast Everykey.com, promo code RIDE20 to get 20% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amazon wants all Prime deliveries to be one-day shipping, Slack files for its IPO and Uber sets its price range, someone with a personal vendetta to fix Gmail and of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Tech.FidelityCareers.com Tiny.website Links: Amazon smashes earnings expectations (CNBC) Slack files to go public, revealing $400 million in revenue and $139 million in losses (CNBC) Uber sets IPO terms, could be valued at $84 billion (Axios) Regulators Around the World Are Circling Facebook (NYTimes) The former lead designer of Gmail just fixed Gmail on his own (Fast Company) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: How Fortnite’s success led to months of intense crunch at Epic Games (Polygon) Red Dead Redemption 2: six months later (Polygon) WE’VE BEEN WARNED ABOUT AI AND MUSIC FOR OVER 50 YEARS, BUT NO ONE’S PREPARED (TheVerge) How the Kleiner Perkins Empire Fell (Fortune) These home security startups aren’t afraid of Amazon and Google (Fast Company) Amazon Has Gone From Neutral Platform to Cutthroat Competitor, Say Open Source Developers (OneZero) I Sell Onions on the Internet (Deep South Ventures) Subscribe to the ad-free feed! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is just an earnings bonanza: Facebook? Good! Tesla? Bad! Microsoft? Really good! In fact, king of the world again! Nintendo? Not so good. Oh, and the whole Luminary, podcasting wars, Game of Phones and Nick Quah called it, had a crazy new wrinkle today… Sponsors: FlatironSchool.com/Techmeme Tiny.website Links: Facebook Reports First Quarter 2019 Results (Facebook Investor Relations) Facebook jumps as Stories users and ads show promising growth (CNBC) Nintendo Disappoints With Tepid Outlook, No Date for New Switch (Bloomberg) Verizon’s Galaxy S10 5G launches as it unveils next 20 5G cities (CNET) Podcast startup Luminary’s launch week keeps getting worse (The Verge) The ad free feed is here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

iFixit thinks it knows why the Galaxy Fold is having issues, Wing becomes the first drone delivery operator cleared by the FAA, why Netflix has gone deep into debt and have the podcasting wars begun? Sponsors: Tech.FidelityCareers.com Tiny.Website Links: Samsung Galaxy Fold Teardown (iFixit) Here’s Why We Think Galaxy Folds Are Failing (iFixit) May to ban Huawei from providing 'core' parts of UK 5G network (TheGuardian) Google Spinoff’s Drone Delivery Business First to Get FAA Approval (Bloomberg) Kuo: Two new AirPods models in Q4 2019 – Q1 2020, one features an all-new design and higher price (9to5Mac) Snap rally fades after earnings beat (CNBC) Microsoft Paint to remain part of Windows 10 after all (The Verge) Netflix offers $2 billion more in debt to fund its content spending (TechCrunch) The Joe Rogan Experience to withdraw from Luminary (HotPod) Subscribe to the ad-free feed! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tesla has an event that some people say is all reality distortion field, Facebook makes some interesting hires, Twitter is quietly chirping a tune Wall Street likes and Amazon Key is here to deliver inside your house. Sponsors: Tiny.website EthosLife.com Links Here are Elon Musk’s wildest predictions about Tesla’s self-driving cars (The Verge) Facebook’s new chief lawyer helped write the Patriot Act (The Verge) Twitter stock surges more than 15% on earnings beat (CNBC) Key by Amazon in-home delivery comes to Las Vegas, 12 other cities (CNET) How Otonomo, with nearly $55 million in funding, is illegally cloning our product (SmartCar) HackerNews thread about all this SoftBank Founder Masayoshi Son Lost $130 Million on Bitcoin (WSJ) The Premium Ad-Free Podcast Feed! Try it Free For 7 Days! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Samsung Galaxy Fold is delayed, Sri Lanka blocking social media is complicated, how you’re being tracked in the airport and at work, and why there’s no such thing as a free lunch when it comes to free apps. Sponsors: tech.FidelityCareers.com Tiny.webiste Links: Samsung’s Galaxy Fold Smartphone Release Delayed (WSJ) Sri Lankan government blocks social media and imposes curfew following deadly blasts (The Washington Post) Zillow launches AI-powered 3D home tours in the U.S. and Canada (VentureBeat) The US wants to scan the faces of all air passengers leaving the country (QZ) Employee privacy in the US is at stake as corporate surveillance technology monitors workers’ every move (CNBC) That mental health app might share your data without telling you (The Verge) Turns Out, Meal Kits Might Not Suck for the Planet (Earther) Support the podcast directly! Subscribe to the ad-free feed right here inside your podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listeners ask questions. I try to give coherent answers. Sponsors: VistaPrint/ride remars.amazon.com, promo code: ride Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lyft has gone public. Uber will do so soon. So will Airbnb. Quartz’s Alison Griswold covers this stuff every day, and she has a great newsletter, covering this stuff every week. It’s called Oversharing, you can get it for free at oversharing.substack.com… Because she covers the sharing everything… we talk to her today about the ride sharing companies… but also about the deliver me something companies and especially, the e-scooter companies… the economics of all things sharing! Alison's newsletter: oversharing.substack.com Sponsors: Molekule.com checkout code: ride Stamps.com, click on the Microphone at the TOP of the homepage and type in RIDE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facebook finds a new way to handle the privacy scandal of the day, free, ad supported music from Amazon and Google, Dieter ended up reviewing the Samsung Galaxy Fold as best he could, and of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Mealime Joybird.com/RIDE Links: Facebook says it stored millions of Instagram passwords unencrypted on its servers (Recode) Emtek announces they will be closing BBM consumer services on May 31 (CrackBerry) Amazon Music Launches Free Streaming Tier, Through Alexa Only (for Now) (Variety) SAMSUNG GALAXY FOLD REVIEW: BROKEN DREAM (TheVerge) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Google Maps Is Ready to Transform the World of Superapps: A Skift Deep Dive (Skift) These Women Are Only On Facebook For The Groups (BuzzFeed News) Beyond Prime: Inside the Race to Deliver Shipments to the Moon (OneZero) Robo-Rigs: The Scientist, The Unicorn And The $700 Billion Race To Create Self-Driving Semi-Trucks (Forbes) The Coming Obsolescence of Animal Meat (The Atlantic) Russian Gamer Brothers Are the Newest Hidden Billionaires (Bloomberg) 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee shot dead in Northern Ireland violence (CNN) Lyra McKee GoFundMe Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Samsung responds to the Galaxy Fold review unit issues, Google and Amazon end their streaming video spat, Pinterest and Zoom have their IPOs and could the Chinese web end up being more popular than the open web? Mealime app remars.amazon.com, promo code: ride Links: Samsung responds to Galaxy Fold screen damage: ‘we will thoroughly inspect these units’ (The Verge) Here's why Galaxy Fold displays are already failing (Android Central) Facebook says it 'unintentionally uploaded' 1.5 million people's email contacts without their consent (BusinessInsider) Facebook is working on a voice assistant to rival Amazon Alexa and Apple Siri (CNBC) Google and Amazon end their ridiculous streaming video spat (Engadget) Presenting search app and browser options to Android users in Europe (The Keyword) Pinterest ends its first day of trading up 28% (CNBC) Big corporates back crypto 'plumbing' despite currency caution (Reuters) The U.S. Is Losing a Major Front to China in the New Cold War (Bloomberg) Newly Discovered 4,000-Year Old Egyptian Tomb Stuns Archaeologists (Geek.com) Support the show! Subscribe to the ad-free premium feed, right here, inside your podcast app! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s no other way to describe it: Qualcomm got Apple to surrender, are things back on for an Apple Car, Microsoft has a new Hub and a new Xbox One S, and why Hulu has an advantage the other streamers don’t. Sponsors: Lightstream.com/ride Mealime app Links: Qualcomm surges after announcing a settlement with Apple over patent royalties (CNBC) Apple Settles With Qualcomm, Intel Exits Modems, Apple’s Miscalculation (Stratechery) Qualcomm just beat Apple into submission (SemiAccurate) Exclusive: Apple in talks with potential suppliers of sensors for self-driving cars - sources (Reuters) T-Mobile-Sprint Deal Runs Into Resistance From DOJ Antitrust Staff (WSJ) Microsoft's more portable Surface Hub 2S ships in June for $9000 (TechCrunch) Xbox One S All-Digital Edition: Price, availability, games and more (CNET) Netflix drops on earnings report showing weak guidance, CMO retires (CNBC) As Netflix Contends With More Rivals, Hulu Stands Out (NYTimes) My Samsung Galaxy Fold screen broke after just a day (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

YouTube’s algorithms are abhorrent in a new way, details on the next Playstation console, Google makes nice with developers, and three interesting sides to the TikTok story. Sponsors: EveryKey.com 20% off with promocode RIDE20 Mealime App Links: YouTube shows 9/11 link on live videos of unrelated Notre Dame fire (The Verge) EXCLUSIVE: WHAT TO EXPECT FROM SONY'S NEXT-GEN PLAYSTATION (Wired) 15 MONTHS OF FRESH HELL INSIDE FACEBOOK (Wired) Next major macOS version will include standalone Music, Podcasts, and TV apps, Books app gets major redesign (9to5Mac) Improving the update process with your feedback (Android Developer's Blog) AT&T sells Hulu stake, valuing the video streaming company at $15 billion (CNBC) Short video app TikTok extends reach in global markets, sees in-app purchases surge more than 200 per cent (South China Morning Post) TikTok downloads ordered to be blocked on iOS and Android in India over porn and other illegal content (TechCrunch) TikTok sensation Lil Nas X rewrites the rules of country music (Axios) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You really need to run those Office updates, rumors of chaos at HQ Trivia, further details on Apple Arcade and Apple News+, and hands on with the Galaxy Fold. Sponsors: Logianalytics.com/ride Mealime.com Links: Hackers Could Read Your Hotmail, MSN, and Outlook Emails by Abusing Microsoft Support (Motherboard) Kaspersky: 70 percent of attacks now target Office vulnerabilities (ZDNet) Mutiny at HQ Trivia fails to oust CEO (TechCrunch) ‘Basically playing favorites’: Apple News+ gets off to a rocky start for some publishers (Digiday) Apple spends hundreds of millions on Arcade video game service (Financial Times) HANDS-ON WITH THE SAMSUNG GALAXY FOLD: MORE THAN JUST A CONCEPT (TheVerge) Unfolding the Samsung Galaxy Fold (TechCrunch) Booking.com is Beating Airbnb in Home Stays, Latest Numbers Show (Fortune) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You might have noticed that I’ve gone down a bit of a wormhole lately when it comes to space tech, and actually, to understand why, listen to the very first minute of this conversation, because we actually work out why space tech has come to the forefront of my attention. Chris Mims had a piece in the Wall Street Journal this week about the suddenly race to deliver the Internet from space. This was triggered by the recent Amazon news of course, but also, listen for more deep dives into how and why space tech is suddenly having a moment. Chris’ article from the WSJ The CNBC article I refer to briefly Sponsors: Ethoslife.com techmeme.robinhood.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I talk about big round raises and startups and venture all the time, we haven’t really done a deep dive into where venture is at at the moment. So, who better to talk to than Crunchbase, and in this case, Crunchbase’s Jason Rowley. Today… the state of venture in 2019, and we especially get into the modern world of megarounds, even hypergiant rounds… raises of $250 million or more. Those never used to happen. They happen all the time now… we just talked about one this week… Softbank contributes to them all the time. How has that changed the landscape, and how has that created or influenced the unicorn ecosystem that is currently being harvested, as it were. Sponsors: Capterra.com/ride Flatironschool.com/techmeme Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Uber’s IPO filing is officially upon us and there was much rejoicing… or, at least, plenty of takes; Disney outlined its streaming video plans and in doing so it both put Apple to shame and fired a warning shot at Netflix, and, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Tiny.website wix.com/podcast Links: Uber unveils IPO with warning it may never make a profit (Reuters) Alphabet Is Uber IPO’s Surprise Winner With Potential $5 Billion Stake (Forbes) Uber’s Venture Investors Set for a Windfall (WSJ) Disney+ app and worldwide rollout plans revealed (Engadget) Disney+ streaming service will be available starting Nov. 12 for $6.99 a month (CNBC) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The basics of modern AI—how does it work and will it destroy society this year? (ArsTechnica) FOXCONN IS CONFUSING THE HELL OUT OF WISCONSIN (The Verge) The man behind Huawei (The Los Angeles Times) The Improbable Rise of Huawei (Foreign Policy) Inside the Biotech Startup That Wants to Extend Your Life (OneZero) VIDEO OF APPLE’S W.A.L.T. IN ACTION – THE 1993-EDITION IPHONE (Sonny Dickson) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yes, there are people listening in on your Alexa recordings, but it’s complicated; Jeff Bezos challenges competitors to pay their workers more, the third big unicorn IPO of the year happened today, and a rundown of noteworthy recent startup raises. Sponsors: Tiny.website LogiAnalytics.com/ride Links: Amazon Workers Are Listening to What You Tell Alexa (Bloomberg) Jeff Bezos challenges retail rivals to outdo Amazon’s $15 minimum wage (The Verge) YouTube TV Hikes Price to $50 per Month for All Customers After Inking Discovery Deal (Variety) PagerDuty pops more than 50% in debut as tech IPO market heats up (CNBC) Affectiva raises $26 million to bring emotional intelligence AI to car safety systems (VentureBeat) Triplebyte raises $35M for its online coding test and credentialing service for hiring engineers (TechCrunch) Lemonade picks up $300 million Series D led by SoftBank Group (TechCrunch) That image of a black hole you saw everywhere? Thank this grad student for making it possible (CNN) Subscribe to the ad-free feed RIGHT HERE inside your podcast app Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Day two of Google’s Cloud Next conference, an update on the unicorns still queueing up to come to market, the heat death of iTunes is closer to reality, and Walmart doubles down on robots. Sponsors: remars.amazon.com, promo code: ride Tiny.website Links: Google Assistant now works with your G Suite work calendar (GeekWire) Google launches new security tools for G Suite users (TechCrunch) Google launches an end-to-end AI platform (TechCrunch) Remove, Reduce, Inform: New Steps to Manage Problematic Content (Facebook Newsroom) Exclusive: Uber plans to sell around $10 billion worth of stock in IPO - sources (Reuters) Slack Is Fetching High Prices in Private Stock Deals Ahead of Public Offering (Bloomberg) Zoom is poised to be one of the most richly valued tech companies after it goes public (CNBC) Next major macOS version will include standalone Music, Podcasts, and TV apps, Books app gets major redesign (9to5Mac) Walmart Is Rolling Out the Robots (WSJ) Mysterious safety-tampering malware infects a second critical infrastructure site (ArsTechnica) Congress is about to ban the government from offering free online tax filing (ArsTechnica) Falcon Heavy making only second flight, but it’s already changing the game (ArsTechnica) Support the show! Subscribe to the Ad-Free Premium Feed! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The headlines from the Google Cloud Next conference, China seeks to ban cryptominers, why ads on streaming services is the new hotness, and also, why Roblox is the new hotness. Sponsors: Tiny.website GetQuip.com/ride Links: Google Cloud announces 7 open source partners, Seoul and Salt Lake City regions (VentureBeat) Google's hybrid cloud platform is coming to AWS and Azure (TechCrunch) Google announces Cloud Run for open and portable serverless compute (VentureBeat) China, home to the world’s biggest cryptocurrency mining farms, now wants to ban them completely (South China Morning Post) To cut down on spam, Twitter cuts the number of accounts you can follow per day (TechCrunch) The next front of the streaming wars is the battle for ad-supported programming (Digiday) Roblox hits milestone of 90M monthly active users (TechCrunch) Why Are People Still Playing Google’s Halloween Ghost Game in April? (Slate) Subscribe to the ad-free feed! Right in your podcast app! No muss! No fuss! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pinterest’s IPO looks set to make it an “undercorn,” the UK has some more ideas about regulating internet platforms, about those iPhone triple camera rumors, Netflix dumps AirPlay and Snap opts not to beat ’em; instead, plan’s to join ’em. Sponsors: PaintYourLife.com: Text the word TECH to 48-48-48 Tiny.website Links: Pinterest sets IPO range at $15-17, valuing it at $10.6B vs previous valuation of $12.3B (TechCrunch) iPhone rumors now claim two OLED models with triple-camera arrays for 2019 (The Verge) New report claims that the triple-camera iPhones in 2019 will feature 6.1-inch and 6.5-inch OLED screens, tweaked chassis thickness (9to5Mac) Netflix confirms it killed AirPlay support, won’t let you beam shows to Apple TVs anymore (The Verge) ‘CHANGE MY VIEW’ REDDIT COMMUNITY LAUNCHES ITS OWN WEBSITE (Wired) To stop copycats, Snapchat shares itself (TechCrunch) Microsoft launches first Chromium Edge builds for Windows 10 (VentureBeat) Subscribe to the premium ad-free feed! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google scraps the AI ethics board, Alexa is coming for AirPods, the Bezos’ divorce is settled, Snap reminds everyone they’re pretty darned good at inventing weird stuff and the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Metalab.co FlatironSchool.com/techmeme Links: Exclusive: Google cancels AI ethics board in response to outcry (Vox) Amazon Is Making a Rival to Apple’s AirPods as Its First Alexa Wearable (Bloomberg) Jeff Bezos, in divorce settlement, retains 75 percent of the Amazon stock he held with his now ex-wife MacKenzie (The Washington Post) Snapchat launches Mario Party-style multiplayer games platform (TechCrunch) Snapchat launches Scan, its AR utility platform (TechCrunch) Snapchat will power Stories & ads in other apps (TechCrunch) The Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Talking Reckless (A Gaming Podcast) Smart home, machine learning and discovery (Benedict Evans) 25 Years Later: Interview with Linus Torvalds (Linux Journal) ‘They Thought It Was Black Magic’: An Oral History of TiVo (OneZero) The World’s Greatest Delivery Empire (Bloomberg Businessweek) Old, Online, And Fed On Lies: How An Aging Population Will Reshape The Internet (Buzzfeed News) Astronomers set to make 'groundbreaking' black hole announcement (CNET) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facebook. Data. Exposure. Another one. Could Intel issues delay a 5G iPhone? Apple cuts the price of the HomePod, Amazon is going to launch Internet satellites, and the trouble with AI ethics boards. Sponsors: Imagekit.io/ride Metalab.co Links: Researchers find 540 million Facebook user records on exposed servers (TechCrunch) Inside Apple’s shaky plan to deliver a 5G iPhone in 2020 [Updated] (FastCompany) MIT suspends ties with China's Huawei and ZTE (CNN Business) Apple drops HomePod price down to $299 (TheVerge) Google launches Android Q Beta 2 with multitasking Bubbles, foldables emulator, and zoomable microphones (VentureBeat) Hundreds of thousands of ‘lost’ MySpace songs have been recovered (TheVerge) Amazon to offer broadband access from orbit with 3,236-satellite ‘Project Kuiper’ constellation (GeekWire) Google’s brand-new AI ethics board is already falling apart (Vox) THE PROBLEM WITH AI ETHICS (TheVerge) Electric car battery with 600 miles of range? This startup claims to have done it (TheVerge) Subscribe to the ad-free, listener-supported feed! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facebook stops asking people to reveal their email passwords, WhatsApp gives you control over group chats, Google has a credibility problem when it comes to product shutdowns and 5G is kinda, officially here. Sponsors: LogiAnalytics.com/ride Metalab.com Links: ‘Beyond Sketchy’: Facebook Demanding Some New Users’ Email Passwords (Daily Beast) Facebook Is Just Casually Asking Some New Users for Their Email Passwords (Gizmodo) Facebook will stop asking new users for their email passwords (Axios) WhatsApp finally lets you prevent people from adding you to their shitty groups (TNW) WhatsApp now lets you control who can add you to groups (The Verge) Justice Department Warns Academy Over Potential Oscar Rule Changes Threatening Netflix (EXCLUSIVE) (Variety) Media Companies Take a Big Gamble on Apple (NYTimes) Tweet Storm on Apple+ and The New Yorker (@Michaelluo) Google Duplex rolling out to non-Pixel, iOS devices in the US (9to5Google) Google begins shutting down its failed Google+ social network (The Verge) Google’s constant product shutdowns are damaging its brand (ArsTechnica) Wayve claims 'world first' in driving a car autonomously with only its AI and a SatNav (TechCrunch) Support the show! Subscribe to the Ad-Free Premium Feed! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The price of bitcoin soars, but is it for real? Walmart wants to let you shop with your voice, Andreessen Horowitz shakes up VC (again) and a scathing look at YouTube’s algorithm problems. Sponsors: Metalab.co LogiAnalytics.com/ride Links: Bitcoin jumps 20 percent, mystery order seen as catalyst (Reuters) April Fools: Traders Chase Another Unexplainable Bitcoin Rally (Bloomberg) Report: ICOs Raised $118 Million in Q1 2019, Over 58 Times Less Than in Q1 2018 (CoinTelegraph) Walmart Unveils Voice-Activated, Google-Powered Grocery Shopping (Bloomberg) Morning Lineup – “It’s Just a Fad” (Bespoke) Andreessen Horowitz Is Blowing Up The Venture Capital Model (Again) (Forbes) YouTube Executives Ignored Warnings, Letting Toxic Videos Run Rampant (Bloomberg) Support the show! Subscribe to the premium, ad-free feed! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gmail celebrates an appropriate April Fool’s anniversary, the winners from the Lyft IPO, Mark Zuckerberg asks for regulation and food tech has delivered a meatless Whopper™. Sponsors: PaintYourLife.com: Text the word TECH to 48-48-48 Metalab.co Links: Google launches Gmail message scheduling and expands Smart Compose to more devices and languages (VentureBeat) New Facebook tool answers the question 'Why am I seeing this post?' (TechCrunch) The biggest winners of Lyft’s $24 billion IPO (Quartz) The CEO behind 'Fortnite' says it's 'evolving beyond being a game' and explains the company's ambitious vision (Business Insider) Mark Zuckerberg: The Internet needs new rules. Let’s start in these four areas. (The Washington Post) Citizen Zuck: The making of Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg (CNET) Burger King begins selling the meatless Impossible Whopper (The Verge) Subscribe to the Ad-Free Feed! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today... another dipping of our collective toes into an adjacent tech space that we cover now and then, but don't know all that much about. Another episode where I learn more and hopefully you learn more. Speaking of spaces... Space! Space tech! The final frontier! Bill Gattle is the President for Space and Intelligence Systems at Harris Corp. We're gonna talk today about the state of the space industry, how soon will space tourism be a thing, and a revolution in space tech that I knew nothing about: small satellites, or small sats. Miniaturization and Moore's law comes for all our niche's I guess. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So, we did the pre-amble for the Apple Services event last week, I figured we should do a debriefing, especially since it was such a confusing event, at least to me. I knew I needed some Apple experts to help me out, so I reached out to Federico Viticci and John Voorhees from MacStories. I don’t know if we sorted it out, but as I said earlier in the week, great minds think alike because Federico and I both had a brainstorm about when we might see AirPower released, if we ever do. By the way, Federico and John host a podcast you should check out, if you never have. AppStories, exploring the world of apps. Subscribe to it wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lyft IPO’d today, Huawei’s profits don’t seem affected by governmental pressures, Stack Overflow is looking for a new CEO, Alexa Business Blueprints allow you to create custom skills for your business and the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: LightStream.com/ride DataDogHQ.com/ridehome Links: Lyft pops 20% in trading debut (CNBC) In This Tech I.P.O. Wave, Big Investors Grab More of the Gains (NYTimes) Huawei tops $100 billion revenue for first time despite political headwinds (CNBC) The Next CEO of Stack Overflow (Stack Overflow Blog) Amazon’s Alexa for Business Blueprints lets employees make custom voice apps (VentureBeat) The Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Podcast Suggestion: RunAs Radio The danger of 'I already pay for Apple News+' (TechCrunch) Europe is splitting the internet into three (The Verge) ‘A battle for the top of the funnel’: Pinterest’s long road to becoming a commerce platform (Digiday) Forget Brexit and trade wars, Europe’s start-ups are thriving (Financial Times) The Enormous Numbers Behind Amazon’s Market Reach (Bloomberg) The Elaborate, Dying Art of Hustling for Money at Dave & Buster's (Vice) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facebook is charged with violations of the Fair Housing Act, the UK gives Huawei a pass but drags them at the same time, Spotify lets you share your account with your better half, and let’s take two on that Google podcast transcription search experiment. Sponsors: DataDogHQ.com/ridehome Tiny.website Link to how to use Google Podcast search Links: Facebook has been charged with housing discrimination by the US government (The Verge) Huawei Security ‘Defects’ Are Found by British Authorities (NYTimes) Spotify is testing Premium Duo, a discounted subscription for two (The Verge) Microsoft sues to take control of domains involved in Iran hacking campaign (TechCrunch) The Business of Your Face (Fortune) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pioneers of modern AI win the Turing Award, Apple still hasn’t fixed its keyboard problem, India shot down a satellite in space and Microsoft puts the kibosh on April Fools’ jokes. The words to search for in Google podcasts (original story from the show that will tell you how to search is here) are as follows: transom mint sponsor hobby secrecy interact evacuate gadgetry. Sponsors Tiny.website DataDogHQ.com/ridehome Links: Turing Award Won by 3 Pioneers in Artificial Intelligence (NYTimes) THE GODFATHERS OF THE AI BOOM WIN COMPUTING’S HIGHEST HONOR (Wired) Google Podcasts in-episode search is coming, shows now being fully transcribed (Android Police) Google makes emails more dynamic with AMP for Email (TechCrunch) Appl Still Hasn’t Fixd Its MacBook Kyboad Problm (WSJ) FTC announces inquiry into the privacy practices of broadband providers (The Verge) NYPD's Big Artificial-Intelligence Reveal (Governing.com) India says it has just shot down a satellite in space (MIT Technology Review) Microsoft leads the way in banning April Fools’ Day pranks (The Verge) Subscribe to the ad-free premium feed! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The EU Parliament approves the “link tax” and the “upload filter.” Uber acquires Careem, McDonald’s makes a tech acquisition, and a wrap-up of the hot-takes from the Apple event. Sponsors: Datadog's Integration with Alibaba Cloud Tiny.website Links: Europe’s controversial overhaul of online copyright receives final approval (The Verge) HUAWEI’S P30 PRO IS A PHOTOGRAPHIC POWERHOUSE WITH A TINY NOTCH (The Verge) Uber announces $3.1 billion deal to buy Middle East rival Careem (CNBC) McDonald's is acquiring Dynamic Yield to create a more customized drive-thru (TechCrunch) Exclusive: First look at Apple’s new AirPods-like ‘Powerbeats Pro’ truly wireless sport headphones (9to5Mac) Very Brief Thoughts and Observations on Today’s ‘Show Time’ Apple Event (Daring Fireball) Subscribe to the Ad-Free Premium Feed Here! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Apple event broken down piece by piece, YouTube wants out of the streaming video wars, Nintendo is working on two new Switch devices, is consolidation finally coming to the digital media space, and why you should know the name Transsion. Sponsors: Tiny.website DataDogHQ.com/ridehome Links: Apple launches $9.99 Apple News Plus with more than 300 magazines (The Verge) Apple introduced its own credit card, the Apple Card (TechCrunch) Apple announces Apple TV Plus video subscription service (The Verge) YouTube Bows Out of Hollywood Arms Race With Netflix and Amazon (Bloomberg) Nintendo to Launch Two New Switch Models (WSJ) Digital media companies Group Nine Media and Refinery29 are said to be in talks to merge (Business Insider) Shenzhen Transsion applies to raise capital on Shanghai’s technology board after taking Africa’s phone market by storm (South China Morning Post) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Not too long ago I recommended The Rideshare Guy podcast because I’ve fallen in love with it. That and his website, the Rideshareguy.com. Harry Campbell allows us to look at a space from a different angle than we usually do on this show. So, here’s a great conversation with Harry about the rideshare driver community! What they think about the upcoming IPOs, what they think about the ridesharing platforms generally, who might be the driver’s favorite, what do they think about self-driving cars? TheRideShareGuy.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we’re going to talk Facebook’s pivot to privacy and Apple’s big event on Monday. Please do search your podcast apps and subscribe to the Future Forward podcast. Sponsors: Stamps.com, click the microphone and enter RIDE Vistaprint.com/RIDE Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Might Apple’s Monday event be a huge anticlimax? Is AT&T’s “5G E” slower than 4G? YouTube is responsible for 37% of mobile Internet Traffic, what programming languages are on the up and the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Skillshare.com/ride Metalab.co Links: New York Times CEO warns publishers ahead of Apple news launch (Reuters) Apple’s plan for its new TV service: Sell other people’s TV services (Recode) 750,000 Medtronic defibrillators vulnerable to hacking (StarTribune) Facebook acknowledges concerns over Cambridge Analytica emerged earlier than reported (The Guardian) AT&T's fake 5G E is slower than Verizon's and T-Mobile's 4G (CNET) Mobile time-spent jumps up: YouTube corners ~40% of the traffic, Facebook less than 10% (WhatsNewInPublishing) The RedMonk Programming Language Rankings: January 2019 (RedMonk) Weekend Longreads: Meet Silicon Valley's 'China whisperer (CNNBusiness) Inside Garageband, the Little App Ruling the Sound of Modern Music (Rolling Stone) Grab vs. Go-Jek: Inside Asia’s Battle of the 'Super Apps' (Fortune) BETTER LIVING THROUGH CRISPR: GROWING HUMAN ORGANS IN PIGS (Wired) A MORE HUMANE LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY, BROUGHT TO YOU BY CRISPR (Wired) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reset the x number of days without a Facebook scandal calendar, Microsoft launches Virtual Desktop but begins sunsetting Windows 7, European Wikipedia goes dark, and the hottest coin in crypto is making people remember the glory days of 2017. Sponsors: GetQuip.com/ride Metalab.co Links: Facebook Stored Hundreds of Millions of User Passwords in Plain Text for Years (Krebs on Security) Can Duruk's Tweet Storm Windows Virtual Desktop is now in public preview (TechCrunch) Microsoft launches previews of Windows Virtual Desktop and Defender ATP for Mac (VentureBeat) Microsoft warns Windows 7 users of looming end to security updates (TechCrunch) European Wikipedias have been turned off for the day to protest dangerous copyright laws (The Verge) Hottest Crypto Coin's Massive Rally Echoes Bitcoin's Glory Days (Bloomberg) APPLE IPAD MINI REVIEW: NO COMPETITION (The Verge) Subscribe to the ad-free feed! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The EU Commission hits Google with another billion Euro fine, Santa Tim had another surprise for us this morning with next generation AirPods, and in fact, it was a day of quiet upgrades, to the Oculus Rift, to the Kindle, even to Facebook Messenger. Also, MoviePass brings back it’s unlimited plan… for now. Sponsors: Metalab.co DataDogHQ.com/ridehome Links: Google hit with €1.5 billion antitrust fine by EU (The Verge) Facebook Halts Ad Targeting Cited in Bias Complaints (NYTimes) AirPods, the world’s most popular wireless headphones, are getting even better (Apple Newsroom) The Oculus Rift S is real and arrives in spring for $399 (TechCrunch) Amazon’s entry-level Kindle gets a light and a higher price tag (The Verge) Facebook Messenger now has message threads (VentureBeat) MoviePass’ unlimited plan is back and at the original price — for now (Polygon) All 88 companies from Y Combinator's W19 Demo Day 2 (TechCrunch) New York City is finally getting its own self-driving shuttle service (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices