1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:12,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. Heythren, 2 00:00:12,640 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm 3 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:18,279 Speaker 1: an executive producer with iHeart Radio. And how the tech 4 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: are you. It's time for the tech news for Tuesday, 5 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:27,080 Speaker 1: April nineteenth, twenty twenty two. And you know, it's been 6 00:00:27,120 --> 00:00:30,440 Speaker 1: a whole week since we learned of Elon Musk's desire 7 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:35,239 Speaker 1: to outright purchase controlling shares of Twitter, And as Emperor 8 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:41,240 Speaker 1: Palpatine would say, everything is proceeding exactly as I have foreseen, 9 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:44,840 Speaker 1: which is, you know, a more fun way to say 10 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 1: I told you so. You might remember last week on Tuesday, 11 00:00:48,760 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: I said that Musk's decision not to take a seat 12 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 1: at the board of directors at Twitter could indicate that 13 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 1: he was actually going to try for a hostile takeover, 14 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: you know, that kind of situation, And then the next 15 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: day we learned that's exactly what he was doing. Then 16 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,759 Speaker 1: you might remember on last Thursday, I said that Twitter's 17 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,800 Speaker 1: board of directors might choose a pathway to foil that 18 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: plan by implementing a poison pill strategy, and sure enough, 19 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:18,640 Speaker 1: that's what they did. So look at me, I can 20 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: see the future except, of course, I think pretty much 21 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: anyone paying any attention to this would have come to 22 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:28,760 Speaker 1: the same conclusion. So really I'm nothing special. Anyway. You 23 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 1: might wonder what the heck a poison pill is, and 24 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:35,920 Speaker 1: there's actually a couple of different versions of it, but 25 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:39,319 Speaker 1: the one that Twitter looks to be employing looks like 26 00:01:39,360 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 1: a flip in poison pill to me. I'd have to 27 00:01:41,560 --> 00:01:44,800 Speaker 1: actually read more about it to find out. But this 28 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: is where a company seeing that's in danger of being 29 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,680 Speaker 1: acquired ends up offering up new shares of stock to 30 00:01:52,800 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 1: existing shareholders, but they exclude the party that's actually trying 31 00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: to acquire the company. So they're saying, hey, we've got 32 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 1: new shares and you can buy them in discount, so 33 00:02:03,600 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 1: you can buy them cheaper than what they're going for 34 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:08,720 Speaker 1: on the market. That gets a live shareholders to buy 35 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:13,200 Speaker 1: up shares. That dilutes the would be acquirers ownership. Right, 36 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 1: You've got more shares of the stuff going out there, 37 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:18,960 Speaker 1: but the acquirer can't get hold of them, so their 38 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:23,040 Speaker 1: steak in elon Musk's case, we're talking around nine two 39 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 1: starts to get smaller because there's more, there's more pie 40 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: out there and they're not allowed to get any more 41 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 1: of the pie. This also can have a big impact 42 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:37,480 Speaker 1: on the value of the stocks themselves, and in the 43 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:40,240 Speaker 1: short term, it can make it way more expensive to 44 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,720 Speaker 1: complete a takeover. And Musk has already kind of given 45 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:49,240 Speaker 1: his um his his final bid of what he will spend. 46 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:51,679 Speaker 1: But you know, if he has to buy even more 47 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:55,160 Speaker 1: shares of stock in order to get that controlling interest, 48 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:57,600 Speaker 1: that it's going to cost him more because there are 49 00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: more shares out there now. Usk has in return tweeted 50 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:05,360 Speaker 1: that should his acquisition succeed, one of the first moves 51 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 1: he's gonna make is he's going to reduce the salary 52 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: of the board of directors to zero dollars. Yeah, this 53 00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:15,840 Speaker 1: is kind of a knockdown, drag out, ugly business fight 54 00:03:15,880 --> 00:03:18,679 Speaker 1: in the tech space. Uh, still too early to say 55 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: exactly what's gonna happen. I would be surprised if the 56 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:26,799 Speaker 1: acquisition goes through. I would actually be surprised if Elon 57 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: Musk is really sincere about going after it. But I 58 00:03:30,040 --> 00:03:32,880 Speaker 1: don't know the man, and um it could very well 59 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: be that this is legit what he wants to do. 60 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: Bloomberg reports that Tesla's factory in Shanghai is really shifting 61 00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:44,840 Speaker 1: into a higher gear pun intended, and this is in 62 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 1: the wake of shutdowns in the region due to COVID. 63 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:51,240 Speaker 1: Now you might remember that China takes a pretty drastic 64 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:55,680 Speaker 1: approach to addressing COVID outbreaks. The government forces entire regions 65 00:03:55,720 --> 00:03:59,520 Speaker 1: to shut down and isolate. That includes regions that host 66 00:03:59,640 --> 00:04:04,440 Speaker 1: massive industrial facilities like the Shanghai Tesla facility, which was 67 00:04:04,520 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: closed for three weeks because of COVID. So now the 68 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,800 Speaker 1: bosses at the factory are looking at a way to 69 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: make up for lost time and also to prevent future shutdowns, 70 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:18,240 Speaker 1: and they are doing this by forcing employees to stay 71 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: in the factory for several weeks all the time, like 72 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,560 Speaker 1: they're not allowed to go home, so that includes sleeping 73 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: at the factory. Reportedly, the company has been handing out 74 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 1: mattresses and sleeping bags to employees and they will have 75 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 1: to stay on the premises. Now, presumably this is also 76 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:39,280 Speaker 1: to head off the possibility of another outbreak, because if 77 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:41,720 Speaker 1: one does occur in Shanghai, while the factory would then 78 00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: have to shut down, but by having all of its 79 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,719 Speaker 1: employees already at the factory, they can just shut down 80 00:04:47,720 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 1: in place and just keep on producing cars even while 81 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: the rest of the region is on lockdown. UM as 82 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:58,880 Speaker 1: for the employees, you know, quality of life, I guess 83 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:02,320 Speaker 1: it's not all bad. They will have designated places where 84 00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 1: they're allowed to sleep on the floor of the shiny 85 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:09,400 Speaker 1: Tesla factory. Uh. They'll also have access to shower facilities. 86 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:11,640 Speaker 1: They will get three meals a day, and they will 87 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:16,360 Speaker 1: get an allowance equivalent to about sixty dollars a day luxury. 88 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:19,880 Speaker 1: I'm being a bit facetious here. Tesla initiated the plan 89 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: yesterday and they will continue to force employees to live 90 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:27,799 Speaker 1: at the factory until at least May first. Oh brave 91 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:32,839 Speaker 1: New world to have such corporations in it. And news 92 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:37,120 Speaker 1: related to electric vehicles are j Scaringe, the CEO of 93 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:43,200 Speaker 1: the electric adventure vehicle company Rivian, has echoed concerns that 94 00:05:43,360 --> 00:05:47,600 Speaker 1: Elon Musk made a few months ago, so really repeating 95 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: something that Musk has already said, which is that the 96 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:53,400 Speaker 1: world's ability to produce batteries that are suitable for electric 97 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:57,080 Speaker 1: vehicles is way behind what demand is going to be 98 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 1: in just a few years. As governments around the world 99 00:06:00,320 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 1: are passing legislation that will ban the sale of new 100 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:07,040 Speaker 1: internal combustion engine vehicles in the not too distant future. 101 00:06:07,640 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: The general assumption is that electric vehicles are going to 102 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:15,039 Speaker 1: take their place. But electric vehicles need batteries, and right now, 103 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:19,279 Speaker 1: the world just doesn't produce that many of them, certainly 104 00:06:19,320 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 1: not enough to meet global demand assuming a shift to 105 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 1: E VS from I sees, that is, electric vehicles from 106 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:31,719 Speaker 1: internal combustion engine vehicles. Now. Our j told The Wall 107 00:06:31,720 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: Street Journal that, quote, the world's cell production combined represents 108 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:38,720 Speaker 1: well under ten percent of what we will need in 109 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:42,960 Speaker 1: ten years end. Quote. So this point is, unless there's 110 00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 1: a massive change, including huge investments in production, and that's 111 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:51,360 Speaker 1: going to involve everything from mining the raw materials to 112 00:06:51,839 --> 00:06:57,039 Speaker 1: manufacturing the batteries themselves. Unless there's this massive increase across 113 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:00,479 Speaker 1: the board, we are going to encounter a supply change 114 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:05,160 Speaker 1: shortage that makes the semiconductor crisis look quaint by comparison. 115 00:07:05,880 --> 00:07:09,120 Speaker 1: The demand for vehicles will still be very high, but 116 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:12,360 Speaker 1: supply will be insufficient. Like if you're in a world 117 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 1: where you can't sell internal combustion engine vehicles and it 118 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:18,640 Speaker 1: has to be an electric vehicle, but you're only able 119 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:24,160 Speaker 1: to produce ten of the electric vehicle batteries needed to 120 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 1: meet the world's demand. You could easily imagine that vehicle 121 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: prices would hit the stratosphere. I mean, demand is always 122 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:35,720 Speaker 1: going to be intense, people are always going to need vehicles, 123 00:07:36,040 --> 00:07:39,679 Speaker 1: Supply will be very very low. That means that even 124 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:42,160 Speaker 1: a simple car like one that doesn't have a lot 125 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 1: of bells and whistles on it could be well beyond 126 00:07:45,840 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 1: the purchasing range of most people. And so people like 127 00:07:51,520 --> 00:07:54,120 Speaker 1: Musk and r J are making the argument that while 128 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 1: a change to e VS makes sense from an environmental standpoint, 129 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:00,600 Speaker 1: like it makes sense for us to get off of 130 00:08:00,640 --> 00:08:05,520 Speaker 1: internal combustion engine vehicles, there's no denying that there are 131 00:08:05,560 --> 00:08:09,280 Speaker 1: still practical challenges that we have to acknowledge and tackle 132 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:11,920 Speaker 1: if we are going to make it happen. So, in 133 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:14,360 Speaker 1: other words, it's not this is a bad idea, but 134 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:20,080 Speaker 1: rather this is unsupportable unless we figure something out. Otherwise 135 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 1: we're just going to be in a different crisis of 136 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 1: our own making. In our ongoing coverage of how the 137 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:30,000 Speaker 1: labor movement in the United States is affecting the tech sector, 138 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:33,960 Speaker 1: the Washington Post reports that employees at the main Apple 139 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:37,199 Speaker 1: store in New York City have begun to circulate petitions 140 00:08:37,360 --> 00:08:40,920 Speaker 1: in an effort to unionize. The employees leading the effort 141 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:45,720 Speaker 1: have taken the quaint name fruit Stand Workers United, because 142 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:52,040 Speaker 1: you know Apple fruit Stand cute. Among the employees, concerns 143 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:56,120 Speaker 1: are that pay has remained stagnant even as inflation increases, 144 00:08:56,200 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 1: which just means that employees are effectively earning less over time. Also, 145 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:05,120 Speaker 1: they claim that employees have been subjected to quote unquote 146 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 1: unfair or abusive practices. The process of forming a union 147 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:14,640 Speaker 1: requires several steps. First, the employees have to collect signatures. 148 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,520 Speaker 1: This is getting people to sign a union card, and 149 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 1: at least of the employees at the store would have 150 00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:25,679 Speaker 1: to sign a card. They would then submit those signed 151 00:09:25,679 --> 00:09:29,240 Speaker 1: cards to the National Labor Relations Board, which would then 152 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:33,040 Speaker 1: authorize a vote for the employees to to hold about 153 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:35,800 Speaker 1: whether or not to form a union. UH This would 154 00:09:35,840 --> 00:09:38,599 Speaker 1: take a majority vote for the n l r B 155 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:42,120 Speaker 1: two back an employee union. Apple would then have to 156 00:09:42,240 --> 00:09:45,520 Speaker 1: either acknowledge the union or try to fight back and 157 00:09:45,559 --> 00:09:48,840 Speaker 1: refuse to acknowledge it, at which point the employees would 158 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:50,599 Speaker 1: likely have to lean on the n l r B 159 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:54,240 Speaker 1: to support them in order to force Apple's hand and 160 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:58,640 Speaker 1: accept the union's existence. Now, according to the Post employees. 161 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:01,360 Speaker 1: At least a few other app stores are also exploring 162 00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:05,080 Speaker 1: the possibility of forming unions. So, like I've said several 163 00:10:05,120 --> 00:10:07,680 Speaker 1: times in the recent past, it does look like we're 164 00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:11,000 Speaker 1: seeing a bit of a labor movement in the US 165 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:14,520 Speaker 1: these days. We've got more to say about labor and 166 00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:17,480 Speaker 1: tech and lots of other stuff, including some cool science 167 00:10:17,520 --> 00:10:20,360 Speaker 1: fiction e stuff. But first, let's take a quick break 168 00:10:28,400 --> 00:10:32,160 Speaker 1: over at Amazon. The company has a court mandate ordering 169 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:36,280 Speaker 1: them to reinstate Gerald Bryson. So two years ago, Bryson 170 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:40,640 Speaker 1: protested working conditions in the Staten Island fulfillment center where 171 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:44,640 Speaker 1: he worked. He argued that conditions in the facility were unsafe, 172 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:48,560 Speaker 1: particularly due to COVID, because this was just as COVID 173 00:10:48,600 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: was starting to become a major thing, and that he 174 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:54,880 Speaker 1: and his fellow co workers were in danger working in 175 00:10:54,920 --> 00:11:00,560 Speaker 1: those conditions. Amazon subsequently terminated his employment, and Bryson brought 176 00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:04,400 Speaker 1: a lawsuit against the company and argued that the grounds 177 00:11:04,440 --> 00:11:08,720 Speaker 1: for termination were purely retaliatory for his protest. So, in 178 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:11,080 Speaker 1: other words, it was the company striking back at him 179 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:14,719 Speaker 1: for bringing attention to these matters, and that's against the 180 00:11:14,800 --> 00:11:18,600 Speaker 1: law here in the United States. The court agreed with Bryson. 181 00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:22,800 Speaker 1: They ruled that Amazon had unfairly fired him in retaliation 182 00:11:22,880 --> 00:11:27,240 Speaker 1: for his protest, and Judge Benjamin W. Green has ordered 183 00:11:27,280 --> 00:11:31,280 Speaker 1: Amazon to reinstate Bryson to his former position, as well 184 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:34,720 Speaker 1: as pay him back pay owed to him because he 185 00:11:34,800 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 1: should have been employed that whole time, since the termination 186 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:41,800 Speaker 1: was unjust. Bryson worked at the same facility in Staten 187 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:45,120 Speaker 1: Island that recently held its own successful push to unionize, 188 00:11:45,520 --> 00:11:48,040 Speaker 1: so again ties into what we were talking about before 189 00:11:48,080 --> 00:11:51,760 Speaker 1: the break. Amazon also released a statement last week two 190 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:55,240 Speaker 1: shareholders announcing that it has hired a law firm that's 191 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:58,640 Speaker 1: led by Lauretta Lynch, a former U. S Attorney General, 192 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:01,800 Speaker 1: to conduct an awe it on the company's policies and 193 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:06,080 Speaker 1: practices with regard to how they affect racial equity. However, 194 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:11,160 Speaker 1: Amazon's current plan only focuses on hourly employees. It does 195 00:12:11,200 --> 00:12:15,680 Speaker 1: not cover salaried employees. Current and former employees who have 196 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:19,839 Speaker 1: filed lawsuits against Amazon arguing that you know Amazon's work 197 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:24,280 Speaker 1: place conditions have led to things like racist treatment. They 198 00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:27,080 Speaker 1: say that Amazon's plan is not enough. In fact, some 199 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:30,280 Speaker 1: of those employees are or were salaried ones, and they 200 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:34,280 Speaker 1: point out that their cases, their complaints wouldn't register in 201 00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:37,800 Speaker 1: such an audit, they wouldn't count, and that Amazon's plan 202 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:41,560 Speaker 1: was designed specifically to limit the damage the audit might do. 203 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:46,440 Speaker 1: In addition, the plan won't extend to employees at places 204 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:50,880 Speaker 1: like Whole Foods Market. It's just that the Amazon facilities 205 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:54,400 Speaker 1: themselves and Amazon reps say that the audit will cover 206 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:57,360 Speaker 1: the largest part of the company's workforce. That you know, 207 00:12:57,440 --> 00:13:01,640 Speaker 1: the hourly workforce makes the vast majority already of Amazon's payroll, 208 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:06,000 Speaker 1: so this is a good audit. Critics, however, claim that 209 00:13:06,320 --> 00:13:08,520 Speaker 1: it's really Amazon's way to have a little bit of 210 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:11,760 Speaker 1: damage control. Um. I'm sure the truth is somewhere in 211 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:14,120 Speaker 1: the middle, and we'll have to wait to see what 212 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:21,840 Speaker 1: the audit uncovers. Janko Ritger's of Protocol reports that Amazon 213 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,280 Speaker 1: has a couple of job listings that might indicate the 214 00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:29,520 Speaker 1: company's foray into mixed or extended reality endeavors. One such 215 00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:32,880 Speaker 1: listing says the employee will work on creating extended reality 216 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:37,240 Speaker 1: concepts that will eventually at least coalesce into a product 217 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:40,439 Speaker 1: of some sort, but no other real details were mentioned. 218 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:42,240 Speaker 1: I guess that makes sense. I mean, you don't want 219 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:45,400 Speaker 1: to spell everything out in a job listing, but the 220 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:49,559 Speaker 1: listings in general indicate the Amazon is interested in developing, producing, 221 00:13:49,600 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 1: and marketing those kinds of devices. So we're talking about 222 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:56,560 Speaker 1: stuff that could be virtual reality or augmented reality or 223 00:13:56,679 --> 00:14:00,240 Speaker 1: something in between. And since everyone is gung ho for 224 00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:03,240 Speaker 1: the metaverse, this should not come as a huge surprise. 225 00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:06,560 Speaker 1: The vision of the metaverse includes the back end, which 226 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:09,920 Speaker 1: is the actual stuff we will encounter as we navigate 227 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:12,760 Speaker 1: through the metaverse. But then you also have the front end, 228 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:15,679 Speaker 1: the technology that we will be using to access the 229 00:14:15,679 --> 00:14:19,080 Speaker 1: metaverse in the first place. Right now, companies like Meta 230 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:22,400 Speaker 1: are way in the lead on that front, having at 231 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:26,400 Speaker 1: least reached modest success with their VR products. A R 232 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:28,840 Speaker 1: has had a bit of a tougher go, partly because 233 00:14:29,480 --> 00:14:32,640 Speaker 1: the really cool stuff has it made it to the 234 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:36,520 Speaker 1: consumer market. I mean, I think the Microsoft hollow lens 235 00:14:36,600 --> 00:14:39,720 Speaker 1: demonstrations I saw. I never got to try one myself, 236 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:42,600 Speaker 1: I only got to see videos of them. Those demonstrations 237 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:45,120 Speaker 1: were super nifty. I thought they were really cool. But 238 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 1: Microsoft has kind of held that tech back from consumer technology. Uh, 239 00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:53,800 Speaker 1: they market it to companies for all sorts of official purposes, 240 00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:57,800 Speaker 1: like for training and for engineering and that kind of stuff, 241 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:00,440 Speaker 1: which makes sense, but you know, I really want to 242 00:15:00,480 --> 00:15:03,000 Speaker 1: get my grubby little hands on the thing. Plus, one 243 00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:07,320 Speaker 1: of the demos they showed off included a Minecraft demo, 244 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,320 Speaker 1: and come on, you're gonna show off Minecraft. It's got 245 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:15,200 Speaker 1: to become a consumer technology, right Anyway, I wouldn't say 246 00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:18,800 Speaker 1: that Amazon getting into this space really comes as a surprise. 247 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:21,680 Speaker 1: It's just interesting to see confirmation in the form of 248 00:15:21,760 --> 00:15:24,720 Speaker 1: job listings. As for what kind of timeline we should 249 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:28,280 Speaker 1: expect before we start seeing Amazon branded mixed reality systems, 250 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 1: I would guess that's gonna take a couple of years 251 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:35,760 Speaker 1: at least, because I mean, you know, starting from ideation 252 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:41,400 Speaker 1: to production, it takes some time. Business Insider ran an 253 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:45,280 Speaker 1: article about a former TikTok Global account director named Pabo 254 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:48,560 Speaker 1: Martinez that gives a bit of insight into how the 255 00:15:48,600 --> 00:15:53,440 Speaker 1: company does business, and it ain't pretty so. According to Martinez, 256 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:59,200 Speaker 1: employees at TikTok corporate headquarters are encouraged, which I often 257 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:02,920 Speaker 1: find is really a euphemism to mean they were directed 258 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:07,080 Speaker 1: to work very long hours and even attend work meetings 259 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:12,160 Speaker 1: on weekends so on their days off. Now, Martinez referred 260 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:16,520 Speaker 1: to this as adhering to the nine nine six culture, 261 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:20,760 Speaker 1: and nine is in reference to a pretty brutal work 262 00:16:20,840 --> 00:16:24,120 Speaker 1: schedule that a lot of Chinese companies, particularly in the 263 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:27,680 Speaker 1: tech sector, followed, and I guess some of them still do. 264 00:16:28,840 --> 00:16:33,840 Speaker 1: So means you start your work day at nine am 265 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 1: and you work until nine pm, and you do that 266 00:16:36,960 --> 00:16:41,480 Speaker 1: six times a week, nine nine six. If you think 267 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:44,520 Speaker 1: that sounds horrible, you're right. In fact, it was bad 268 00:16:44,640 --> 00:16:48,680 Speaker 1: enough in China that ultimately the Chinese Supreme Court declared 269 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:52,800 Speaker 1: that it was an illegal practice. Whether or not companies 270 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:56,320 Speaker 1: have actually stopped doing that, I don't know, but you 271 00:16:56,320 --> 00:17:00,760 Speaker 1: know they're supposed to. And apparently that kind of merciless 272 00:17:00,800 --> 00:17:04,120 Speaker 1: approach to work and the complete denial of a work 273 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:08,040 Speaker 1: life balance filtered down through Bite Dance, which is the 274 00:17:08,119 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 1: Chinese company that is the parent company to TikTok, and 275 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:17,840 Speaker 1: it's saturated into the TikTok work culture. Now, considering that 276 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:21,440 Speaker 1: the narrative TikTok has been pushing for years is that 277 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:25,080 Speaker 1: TikTok is really an American company and that it has 278 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:29,720 Speaker 1: very little connective tissue to its Chinese parent company, I 279 00:17:29,720 --> 00:17:33,200 Speaker 1: would say this revelation ain't exactly good news for TikTok. 280 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:38,399 Speaker 1: The company has constantly had to deny that it is 281 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:42,680 Speaker 1: filtering information data back to Bite Dance, and that in fact, 282 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:46,120 Speaker 1: it could be seen as sort of a surveillance company 283 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:50,600 Speaker 1: on behalf of China. That's an accusation the company has 284 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:53,560 Speaker 1: denied for a long time. But if it turns out 285 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:57,159 Speaker 1: that they are employing practices that are very similar to 286 00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:03,480 Speaker 1: Chinese work culture practices, that raises some doubts, right uh. 287 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:05,800 Speaker 1: And even if it were to turn out that there 288 00:18:05,800 --> 00:18:08,520 Speaker 1: were no directives coming down from Bite Dance, that no 289 00:18:08,560 --> 00:18:11,360 Speaker 1: one from Bite Dance was telling TikTok, hey, you need 290 00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:15,560 Speaker 1: to institute these work practices. There's been a lot of 291 00:18:15,560 --> 00:18:19,359 Speaker 1: pushback against this kind of thing lately here in the US. 292 00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:22,080 Speaker 1: I mean, we've seen it in the video game industry 293 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:28,040 Speaker 1: in particular, where there's a real effort to eliminate crunch. Uh. 294 00:18:28,119 --> 00:18:32,000 Speaker 1: That also happens in other kinds of production. So I 295 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:35,880 Speaker 1: think it's just a bad, bad look for TikTok, as 296 00:18:35,920 --> 00:18:39,120 Speaker 1: the kids say, so, we'll have to wait and see 297 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:41,919 Speaker 1: if TikTok has a response to this. As I record 298 00:18:41,960 --> 00:18:45,959 Speaker 1: this episode, I have not seen one from the company. 299 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:50,159 Speaker 1: Preston Dunlap, the former Chief architect officer for the U 300 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:54,080 Speaker 1: S Department of Defense, gave an interview to Bloomberg News 301 00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:58,520 Speaker 1: to explain why he decided to resign his position. Now 302 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:02,200 Speaker 1: essentially done. My apps major complaint is that the US 303 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:06,440 Speaker 1: government is so bureaucratic that it is impossible to move 304 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:11,840 Speaker 1: with any alacrity when adopting new technological strategies. You can't 305 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:16,240 Speaker 1: move fast like the Silicon Valley philosophy, at least for 306 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:19,439 Speaker 1: the longest time, has been move fast and break things. 307 00:19:19,960 --> 00:19:22,639 Speaker 1: You're not allowed to do that when you're working a 308 00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:26,320 Speaker 1: government job. Though, first of all, moving fast is impossible, 309 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:30,960 Speaker 1: and breaking things is really frowned upon. So Dunlap argues 310 00:19:31,000 --> 00:19:34,880 Speaker 1: that the US is falling further and further behind technologically, 311 00:19:34,960 --> 00:19:38,280 Speaker 1: particularly in the realm of defense, and he said, quote, 312 00:19:38,680 --> 00:19:42,120 Speaker 1: by the time the government manages to produce something, it's 313 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:46,240 Speaker 1: too often obsolete end quote. Now, I could definitely see 314 00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:49,040 Speaker 1: how that would be really frustrating, And in fact, we've 315 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:53,400 Speaker 1: seen manifestations of this in different aspects of politics where 316 00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:57,080 Speaker 1: it intertwines with tech. It's nearly always the case that 317 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:03,560 Speaker 1: technological evolution greatly outpaces the government's pace and its capability 318 00:20:03,600 --> 00:20:07,720 Speaker 1: of handling tech. So we've seen this in realms where 319 00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:11,119 Speaker 1: the government has been considering passing regulations to limit the 320 00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:14,240 Speaker 1: negative impact of certain technologies. By the time all that 321 00:20:14,280 --> 00:20:17,840 Speaker 1: gets hashed out and signed into law, you're already onto 322 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:21,200 Speaker 1: the next thing. So it's always the government's always behind 323 00:20:21,359 --> 00:20:24,439 Speaker 1: and trying to catch up. But we also see it 324 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:28,560 Speaker 1: when the government is trying to implement technology and technological solutions, 325 00:20:28,960 --> 00:20:30,800 Speaker 1: same sort of thing. By the time you've gotten all 326 00:20:30,840 --> 00:20:34,200 Speaker 1: the approvals and you've gotten the budget and you've you've 327 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:38,000 Speaker 1: put the team together and everybody's actually building stuff and 328 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:41,000 Speaker 1: you've got it all finished, it's already out of date. 329 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:44,920 Speaker 1: So Dunlap is not the first official to resign while 330 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:49,760 Speaker 1: citing frustrations with issues with bureaucracy. Last year, Nicholas Chiland 331 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:53,119 Speaker 1: stepped down and warned that China is pulling ahead of 332 00:20:53,119 --> 00:20:56,040 Speaker 1: the United States in the field of artificial intelligence. So 333 00:20:56,320 --> 00:21:01,040 Speaker 1: we've actually seen other officials make this same argument. Uh, 334 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:03,080 Speaker 1: And honestly, it's kind of hard to come up with 335 00:21:03,119 --> 00:21:07,439 Speaker 1: solutions for this unless you're talking about forming departments that 336 00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:12,000 Speaker 1: have way less oversight and way more freedom. But then 337 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:15,480 Speaker 1: you get into dangerous territory. As well. Right, like we've 338 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:21,240 Speaker 1: all seen and read and experienced media that's all about 339 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:25,760 Speaker 1: some secret department that doesn't have oversight and all the 340 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:28,879 Speaker 1: terrible things that it can do. Uh. That is a 341 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:31,159 Speaker 1: risk you run when you go that way. But on 342 00:21:31,160 --> 00:21:36,359 Speaker 1: the flip side, if you have endless layers of oversight, 343 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:40,600 Speaker 1: it's really hard to make any progress whatsoever. Hopefully there's 344 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:44,800 Speaker 1: some sort of middle ground there where progress can be made. 345 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:49,240 Speaker 1: And um, yet you aren't giving people free reign to 346 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:53,119 Speaker 1: be evil mad scientists. A boy can dream. All Right, 347 00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 1: we're gonna take another break. When we come back, we've 348 00:21:55,080 --> 00:22:05,560 Speaker 1: got a couple more news stories stick with us. Okay. 349 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:09,679 Speaker 1: Before the break, I talked about how Preston Dunlap stepped 350 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:13,080 Speaker 1: down from the Department of Defense, citing the issues with 351 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:19,879 Speaker 1: the you know, the government uh departments adopting technological solutions. 352 00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:22,720 Speaker 1: This does not mean that the US military is in 353 00:22:22,760 --> 00:22:25,399 Speaker 1: the Stone Age. It is far from it. The U. S. 354 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:28,520 Speaker 1: Navy recently issued a press release revealing that back in 355 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:32,520 Speaker 1: February of this year, a trial of the layered Laser 356 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:37,280 Speaker 1: Defense System or l l D, proved successful in bringing 357 00:22:37,320 --> 00:22:40,440 Speaker 1: down a high speed drone that was kind of standing 358 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:43,520 Speaker 1: in for a cruise missile. They also took down other 359 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:47,960 Speaker 1: style drones and some other targets. The laser that the 360 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:51,639 Speaker 1: Navy used is an all electric laser, which simplifies the 361 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:57,440 Speaker 1: operations compared to older chemical based laser systems. So essentially, 362 00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:01,640 Speaker 1: the the weapons system would have power as long as 363 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:05,359 Speaker 1: the ship it's on is powered, and the system includes 364 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:10,399 Speaker 1: a telescopic targeting system. It's guided by artificial intelligence and 365 00:23:10,440 --> 00:23:14,760 Speaker 1: can be used to attack aerial or naval targets. So 366 00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:17,280 Speaker 1: now we've got our pew pew lasers that could be 367 00:23:17,359 --> 00:23:20,640 Speaker 1: standard issue on US Navy vessels in the not too 368 00:23:20,800 --> 00:23:24,760 Speaker 1: distant future. Uh, really useful for defense like shooting down 369 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:31,320 Speaker 1: cruise missiles or targeting military drones. Very useful kind of technology. 370 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:35,080 Speaker 1: Interesting that we've gotten to the point where we can 371 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:39,199 Speaker 1: have a powerful enough laser take down those targets that quickly, 372 00:23:39,280 --> 00:23:43,320 Speaker 1: because obviously, uh, you know, the lasers that I'm familiar 373 00:23:43,359 --> 00:23:46,560 Speaker 1: with are ones that would take a sustained amount of 374 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:49,840 Speaker 1: time on a target to do any real damage. Obviously, 375 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:52,679 Speaker 1: when you're talking about something like a cruise missile, the 376 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:56,000 Speaker 1: time of operation has to be super fast. So I'm 377 00:23:56,080 --> 00:24:00,440 Speaker 1: very curious to learn more about the actual technicals specs 378 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:04,359 Speaker 1: of the l l D. I imagine they are terrifying. 379 00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:08,520 Speaker 1: In the U S. State of Pennsylvania, legislators have introduced 380 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:11,520 Speaker 1: a measure that I hope to see deployed around the world. 381 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:14,000 Speaker 1: And it's a small thing, but it's a meaningful one 382 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:18,119 Speaker 1: and it's being called click to cancel. And this isn't 383 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:21,320 Speaker 1: about making it easier to punish people for saying and 384 00:24:21,440 --> 00:24:24,680 Speaker 1: doing awful things. It's not that kind of canceling. This 385 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:29,080 Speaker 1: is actually about canceling service subscriptions. So if you're like me, 386 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:32,200 Speaker 1: you've probably got at least half a dozen different subscribed 387 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:35,360 Speaker 1: services under your belt. In fact, if I counted all 388 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:37,719 Speaker 1: the ones that I'm subscribed to, I'm sure there's at 389 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:41,000 Speaker 1: least ten or twelve, and I'm probably forgetting a few 390 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:43,359 Speaker 1: in that as well. And that's a big problem for 391 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:46,719 Speaker 1: a lot of people. Um it could be difficult just 392 00:24:46,840 --> 00:24:50,560 Speaker 1: keeping track of all the subscriptions, let alone being able 393 00:24:50,600 --> 00:24:53,200 Speaker 1: to get out of them if you don't want them anymore. 394 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:56,400 Speaker 1: So this legislation would require companies to make it very 395 00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:59,560 Speaker 1: clear to customers that they have an active subscription to 396 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:03,119 Speaker 1: the company services. And moreover, that should be as simple 397 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:07,440 Speaker 1: as clicking and on screen option to cancel that subscription. So, 398 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:10,480 Speaker 1: in other words, you should receive regular notices about the 399 00:25:10,480 --> 00:25:13,399 Speaker 1: services you're subscribed to, and you should have the option 400 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:16,760 Speaker 1: to piece out of them whenever you want. Now, considering 401 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:19,240 Speaker 1: the fact that a lot of companies make it inconvenient 402 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:22,840 Speaker 1: to even find out how to unsubscribe, then they can 403 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:25,520 Speaker 1: set customers on a wild goose chase in order to 404 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:28,560 Speaker 1: see it through. This would be a big change, one 405 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:31,560 Speaker 1: that would be really positive for consumers, and I think 406 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:34,639 Speaker 1: it would be pretty much welcome everywhere. I'll keep an 407 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:37,119 Speaker 1: eye on the story to see if this proposed legislation 408 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:40,280 Speaker 1: makes it all the way into law and what effect 409 00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:43,120 Speaker 1: that might have in other areas. Maybe you will see 410 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:47,680 Speaker 1: this become a trend. Euro News reports something pretty darn interesting. 411 00:25:48,119 --> 00:25:50,760 Speaker 1: Some scientists in Sweden came up with a way to 412 00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:54,320 Speaker 1: store solar energy that could allow for long term storage. 413 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:58,399 Speaker 1: And it all involves shape changing molecules. All right, so 414 00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:01,280 Speaker 1: follow me on this one. If you want to make 415 00:26:01,359 --> 00:26:05,840 Speaker 1: something change shape, you have to exert energy to do it, right, 416 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:10,040 Speaker 1: Like if you want to compress a spring, you have 417 00:26:10,080 --> 00:26:12,880 Speaker 1: to push down on the spring to do it. Then 418 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:15,080 Speaker 1: if you let go the spring goes back to its 419 00:26:15,080 --> 00:26:20,240 Speaker 1: original shape. It's effectively pushing back. The scientists did something 420 00:26:20,320 --> 00:26:24,400 Speaker 1: similar to this by creating an engineered molecule that, when 421 00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:28,359 Speaker 1: it is exposed to solar energy, changes shape. If that 422 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:32,280 Speaker 1: molecule is then immersed in liquid, it will hold that 423 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:36,760 Speaker 1: changed shape. But then if you mix a certain catalyst 424 00:26:36,880 --> 00:26:41,639 Speaker 1: into the mixture, the molecules will revert to their original shape, 425 00:26:41,960 --> 00:26:45,199 Speaker 1: and in the process, the molecule has to release energy. 426 00:26:45,560 --> 00:26:48,280 Speaker 1: Remember it took energy to make it change shape in 427 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:51,000 Speaker 1: the first place, so when it goes back, it has 428 00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:55,240 Speaker 1: to relinquish that energy. That energy is in the form 429 00:26:55,359 --> 00:26:58,080 Speaker 1: of heat. So you could use a system like this 430 00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:02,159 Speaker 1: to absorb solar energy, store it in liquid, and then 431 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 1: release it on demand, and you could use the heat 432 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:08,040 Speaker 1: to do some sort of useful work, like using it 433 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:11,840 Speaker 1: to help generate electricity. So far, the amounts that the 434 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:15,840 Speaker 1: scientists have generated in electricity, those those amounts are very small. 435 00:27:15,920 --> 00:27:18,520 Speaker 1: It's far too small to really do any useful work. 436 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:22,479 Speaker 1: But the concept is solid and could be incredibly useful 437 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:26,440 Speaker 1: in the future. It's almost like bottling liquid sunshine. And 438 00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:29,919 Speaker 1: I just thought that was really nifty. And finally, I 439 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:33,280 Speaker 1: have to mention that NASA recently announced that way back 440 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:38,560 Speaker 1: in they beamed hologram doctors to the International Space Station 441 00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:41,359 Speaker 1: and didn't even tell us about it. And I, for one, 442 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:44,040 Speaker 1: I'm offended that they sat on this for so long. 443 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:47,480 Speaker 1: I mean, come out, we're talking Star Trek Voyager kind 444 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:50,040 Speaker 1: of stuff here, if you if you watch Voyage or 445 00:27:50,119 --> 00:27:54,280 Speaker 1: you know they had a holographic doctor. Anyway, the team 446 00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:57,680 Speaker 1: of doctors were led by flight surgeon doctor Joseph Schmid. 447 00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:00,919 Speaker 1: And you might wonder how the heck they manage this? 448 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:03,280 Speaker 1: How did they get a hologram aboard the I S 449 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:06,520 Speaker 1: S Well, they use some technology that's been available for 450 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:09,720 Speaker 1: a little while, including the Microsoft hollow lens, which I 451 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:13,879 Speaker 1: mentioned earlier in this episode, and a Connect camera. You 452 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:19,240 Speaker 1: might remember the Connect was a peripheral for the Xbox consoles, 453 00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:24,080 Speaker 1: and um, that camera is able to sense depth, and 454 00:28:24,119 --> 00:28:27,359 Speaker 1: then when you combine that with a projection system, you 455 00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:31,240 Speaker 1: can project three dimensional images. So the hollow lens is 456 00:28:31,280 --> 00:28:35,720 Speaker 1: an augmented reality device which can overlay digital information on 457 00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:38,479 Speaker 1: top of your view of the real world around you. 458 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:42,920 Speaker 1: So astronauts in the International Space Station we're wearing a 459 00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:46,680 Speaker 1: hollow lens and thus able to see and interact with 460 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:51,000 Speaker 1: the doctors. The doctors remained back here on Earth. The 461 00:28:51,040 --> 00:28:56,040 Speaker 1: experiments that a record for the long distance in hollow portation, 462 00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:59,120 Speaker 1: as they called it. I hate that term, but I 463 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:03,200 Speaker 1: get what they're saying, hollow teleportation. So this was kind 464 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:07,000 Speaker 1: of like an even geekier version of telepresence or video 465 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:10,120 Speaker 1: chat something like that. Also, I should add in this case, 466 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:14,280 Speaker 1: the hollowportation was only in one direction, so the astronauts 467 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:17,719 Speaker 1: wearing the hollow lens they could see the holograms of 468 00:29:17,760 --> 00:29:21,240 Speaker 1: the doctors, but the doctors were not wearing hollow lens. 469 00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:24,440 Speaker 1: There was no connect camera aboard the I s S, 470 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:27,280 Speaker 1: so they weren't able to see the astronauts the same 471 00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:30,760 Speaker 1: way the astronauts were able to see them. NASA says 472 00:29:30,800 --> 00:29:33,520 Speaker 1: it does plan to create future systems that will allow 473 00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:37,560 Speaker 1: for two way hollow presence, and that could be really useful. 474 00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:41,760 Speaker 1: Like you could imagine, let's say an astronaut has to 475 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:48,480 Speaker 1: conduct a specific experiment that involves operating some really tricky 476 00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:51,920 Speaker 1: high tech equipment. You could get the person who designed 477 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:54,320 Speaker 1: the equipment or who built it, or an expert in 478 00:29:54,360 --> 00:29:58,760 Speaker 1: the field to be in a hollow presence with that astronaut. 479 00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:00,600 Speaker 1: You know, the expert doesn't have to travel up to 480 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:03,720 Speaker 1: the International Space Station. They're here on Earth, but through 481 00:30:03,840 --> 00:30:06,520 Speaker 1: cameras they can see what the astronauts sees and help 482 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:10,400 Speaker 1: guide them through the experiment. That could be incredibly useful, 483 00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:15,080 Speaker 1: which I think is also really nifty. And that's it 484 00:30:15,360 --> 00:30:18,920 Speaker 1: for today's episode of tech Stuff. If you have suggestions 485 00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:21,280 Speaker 1: for future topics I should tackle on the show, please 486 00:30:21,320 --> 00:30:23,160 Speaker 1: reach out to me. The best way to do that, 487 00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:26,320 Speaker 1: at least until Elon Musk buys it, is on Twitter. 488 00:30:26,720 --> 00:30:29,200 Speaker 1: The handle for the show is text Stuff H s 489 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:39,400 Speaker 1: W and I'll talk to you again really soon. Text 490 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:42,840 Speaker 1: Stuff is an I Heart Radio production. For more podcasts 491 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:45,640 Speaker 1: from my Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, 492 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:48,920 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.