1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:14,800 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:17,600 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio 4 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,280 Speaker 1: and how the tech are you. It's time for the 5 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 1: tech news for Thursday, March twenty four, twenty twenty two. 6 00:00:24,480 --> 00:00:27,600 Speaker 1: Let's get to it. Following up on a story I 7 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:32,199 Speaker 1: covered on Tuesday, cybersecurity researchers believe they have identified the 8 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:36,680 Speaker 1: source of the hacking attacks on Octa and other companies. 9 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: Hacking group called LAPSUS, which is spelled l A P 10 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 1: S U S followed by a dollar sign, had claimed 11 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:46,880 Speaker 1: responsibility for those attacks, stating that the group's goal was 12 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:51,000 Speaker 1: really nothing more than just financial gain, as it infiltrated 13 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:54,080 Speaker 1: not just Octa and as a reminder, that's a company 14 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:59,400 Speaker 1: that provides authentication services to other companies, but also on 15 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: other big names like Microsoft and The security researchers believe 16 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:07,280 Speaker 1: a sixteen year old boy in England is perhaps the 17 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:12,120 Speaker 1: ringleader of LAPSUS. Another person identified by the group is 18 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:18,040 Speaker 1: a teenager in Brazil, and helping out the researchers work 19 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:23,200 Speaker 1: were some rival hackers who effectively doxed this teenager and 20 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: shared information about him and his family online. So it's 21 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: a pretty brutal world out there in the the hacker community. 22 00:01:31,600 --> 00:01:34,640 Speaker 1: As to what will happen next, that is likely a 23 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:38,520 Speaker 1: matter for the authorities. Meanwhile, I suspect researchers will seek 24 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: out more evidence that ties this particular teenager and his 25 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:45,640 Speaker 1: accomplices to those attacks. And it sounds to me like 26 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: the group was extremely skilled and they were very very 27 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: fast at what they did, but perhaps they were not 28 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:56,240 Speaker 1: the best at, you know, avoiding consequences for their actions. 29 00:01:56,840 --> 00:02:00,040 Speaker 1: It's possible that one of the reasons they commit of 30 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:04,000 Speaker 1: these attacks was for notoriety within the hacker community. I mean, 31 00:02:04,040 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 1: there is kind of that part of the community aspect 32 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:10,400 Speaker 1: as well. Uh, And it might turn out that the 33 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:14,240 Speaker 1: price of that notoriety is pretty darn steep once the 34 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:18,400 Speaker 1: authorities get involved. But we'll have to see how this unfolds. 35 00:02:19,040 --> 00:02:23,520 Speaker 1: Russia continues to clamp down on information as military forces 36 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: continued to push into Ukraine. The latest service to join 37 00:02:27,639 --> 00:02:31,560 Speaker 1: the list of suspended platforms is Google News. Russia shut 38 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,080 Speaker 1: off access to Google News in Russia and was saying 39 00:02:35,120 --> 00:02:39,560 Speaker 1: that Google News was spreading quote unreliable information end quote. 40 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:43,920 Speaker 1: Now keep in mind that Russia continues to contextualize the 41 00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:49,640 Speaker 1: Ukrainian invasion as a special military operation, which is, you know, 42 00:02:49,880 --> 00:02:54,680 Speaker 1: certainly whitewashing what is going on. Meanwhile, thousands of people 43 00:02:55,040 --> 00:02:59,520 Speaker 1: have died, including perhaps more than ten thousand Russian soldiers 44 00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: according to some estimations. I've seen estimations as high as 45 00:03:02,520 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 1: fifteen thousand Russian soldiers, and I imagine that's going to 46 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:09,320 Speaker 1: be difficult for Russian officials to explain under the label 47 00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:13,480 Speaker 1: special military operation. It's not like they can just cover 48 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 1: up fifteen thousand deaths, you know, across the entire nation. 49 00:03:18,639 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 1: I'm actually surprised that Russia has hadn't already shut down 50 00:03:22,320 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 1: Google News. I'm surprised it took as long as it 51 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:28,600 Speaker 1: did because the control of information is one of the 52 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:32,960 Speaker 1: key tools in the Russian government's toolbox, as is often 53 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: the case with authoritarian regimes. SpaceX has increased the cost 54 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:42,480 Speaker 1: of being a starlink customer. Now, if you're not familiar 55 00:03:42,520 --> 00:03:45,440 Speaker 1: with that service, Starlink is a satellite based Internet service 56 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:50,240 Speaker 1: provider or i s p. SO Customers purchase a satellite antenna, 57 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: a dish in other words, that can connect to and 58 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 1: track small satellites that are in low Earth orbit. The 59 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:00,880 Speaker 1: plan is to launch tens of thousands of satellites to 60 00:04:01,120 --> 00:04:04,040 Speaker 1: kind of provide this blanket coverage so that no matter 61 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:06,800 Speaker 1: what time of day it is, you've got a satellite 62 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:10,560 Speaker 1: that's in view. So the antenna will actually switch from 63 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:13,920 Speaker 1: one satellite to another as the satellites move out of 64 00:04:13,920 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 1: sight because of course they're orbiting the Earth faster than 65 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 1: the Earth rotates, so they're kind of zooming overhead. The 66 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: dish has to switch from one to another as it 67 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: passes across the horizon really out of sight in general, 68 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 1: because a tree line will do it too. And UM 69 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: Startling is in a limited rollout right now. When it 70 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,320 Speaker 1: first premiered, the cost to purchase the starter kit was 71 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:39,599 Speaker 1: four dollars and the monthly service fee to get the 72 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:43,240 Speaker 1: internet service was nine bucks a month. But now those 73 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:46,760 Speaker 1: prices have gone up to five hundred dollars for the 74 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 1: starter kit and one dred ten dollars per month for service. 75 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:53,840 Speaker 1: For those customers who have already put down a deposit 76 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:56,680 Speaker 1: but have not yet received a kit, now they're gonna 77 00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 1: have to pay a little bit more, up to nine 78 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:03,800 Speaker 1: dollars total before they will get their satellite antenna. Now 79 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:07,159 Speaker 1: that's probably gonna frustrate folks who had placed in order, 80 00:05:07,200 --> 00:05:10,440 Speaker 1: put down a deposit and we're waiting for their their 81 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:14,200 Speaker 1: kit and felt that they had already paid the asking price. However, 82 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:16,680 Speaker 1: I guess one saving grace is that they're still kind 83 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: of getting a fifty dollar discount off a brand new 84 00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:22,000 Speaker 1: Starlink package if you if you hadn't already put down 85 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,159 Speaker 1: a deposit. And apparently this is not going to impact 86 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:27,800 Speaker 1: customers who really dug deep in their pockets to purchase 87 00:05:27,880 --> 00:05:31,280 Speaker 1: Starlink Premium, which I didn't even realize was a thing 88 00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:35,960 Speaker 1: until today. Anyway. So one of the drawbacks of satellite 89 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:40,839 Speaker 1: internet is that you're typically capped at a fairly conservative bandwidth, 90 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:44,040 Speaker 1: and there's also an issue with latency because well, you know, 91 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:46,560 Speaker 1: even though radio signals travel at the speed of light, 92 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:49,920 Speaker 1: there's still a good bit of distance between an earthbound 93 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:52,800 Speaker 1: antenna that's on your property and a satellite that's in 94 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:57,480 Speaker 1: orbit overhead. So the basic service for Starlink advertises download 95 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: speeds of fifty to two fifty megabits for second. That's 96 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:04,480 Speaker 1: actually really darn impressive for satellite um and it has 97 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:07,320 Speaker 1: a latency of between twenty to forty milliseconds. At least 98 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: that's the advertised latency. The premium service well has the 99 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:14,800 Speaker 1: same latency because you know, you can't actually make light 100 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:17,400 Speaker 1: go any faster than it already goes, so there's no 101 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:20,680 Speaker 1: real way to cut down on that. But the bandwidth 102 00:06:20,720 --> 00:06:23,320 Speaker 1: is advertised as a hundred fifty two up to five 103 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:27,080 Speaker 1: hundred megabits per second, which is really impressive. However, to 104 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: get those speeds, you really got to shell out the 105 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:32,960 Speaker 1: big bucks. And I'm talking two thousand five dollars for 106 00:06:33,000 --> 00:06:36,160 Speaker 1: the kit and then the monthly service fee would be 107 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:39,480 Speaker 1: five hundred dollars a month. Yells in, I thought my 108 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:42,200 Speaker 1: I s P bill was big. Now, to be fair, 109 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:45,599 Speaker 1: I think that the premium services really marketed more toward 110 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:49,280 Speaker 1: businesses rather than your average household. I mean, I'm sure 111 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:52,479 Speaker 1: there are gonna be some, you know, folks who have 112 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:56,280 Speaker 1: lots of cash and happen to have a mansion out 113 00:06:56,279 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 1: in the middle of nowhere where this is going to 114 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 1: be their preferred method, But most of us wouldn't probably 115 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:06,000 Speaker 1: sign on to the premium service. So you might wonder 116 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 1: why did Starlink increase the prices for the basic service 117 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 1: and it seems to be that the main culprit here 118 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:17,520 Speaker 1: is inflation, which is obviously hitting a lot of stuff 119 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:21,800 Speaker 1: right now. Also, SpaceX takes a loss on those antenna 120 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:24,680 Speaker 1: it sells. So yeah, five hundred bucks is a lot 121 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:28,560 Speaker 1: of money. Uh, six d bucks is a lot of money. 122 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:32,840 Speaker 1: But that's that's still less than what it costs SpaceX 123 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:36,520 Speaker 1: to build the things. According to the Verge, SpaceX spends 124 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:40,520 Speaker 1: about to build a single antenna, and originally when they 125 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: first started, that was closer to three thousand dollars. So 126 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:46,520 Speaker 1: SpaceX has been selling these antenna as a loss leader. 127 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:49,960 Speaker 1: They make money in the long run through the monthly 128 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:54,840 Speaker 1: service fees. So while this new price is steep, it's 129 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:57,880 Speaker 1: still less than half of what it costs SpaceX to 130 00:07:57,920 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: actually make the kits. So there's that. The Etisphere Institute, 131 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 1: which sounds a bit to me like a sinister organization 132 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 1: in the Fallout video game Universe, released a report naming 133 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:15,680 Speaker 1: the most ethical companies in various industries, and over in 134 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 1: tech we had a couple of really big names make 135 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: that list, including Microsoft and Apple. Those are names that 136 00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 1: I found surprising to appear on a list of most 137 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: ethical companies for reasons, but then I think the Atmosphere 138 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: Institute is really taking a focused, or if you prefer, 139 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:39,000 Speaker 1: narrow view when it comes to what it means to 140 00:08:39,040 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 1: be ethical. Certainly, the commitment to ethical sourcing of materials 141 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:47,200 Speaker 1: is critically important around the world. You know, I've talked 142 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:49,920 Speaker 1: before about how at various points in the supply chain 143 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:53,680 Speaker 1: from the point of raw material all the way to 144 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: a finished product, there are some dark spots. Spots that 145 00:08:58,400 --> 00:09:03,600 Speaker 1: can include forced human labor, child labor, human trafficking, and 146 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:08,680 Speaker 1: more like really dark stuff. So companies that actually go 147 00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:12,280 Speaker 1: the extra mile to seek verification that the supply chain 148 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:16,319 Speaker 1: they rely upon doesn't in turn rely upon human rights 149 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:19,479 Speaker 1: violations is a good thing and it should be acknowledged. 150 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:23,199 Speaker 1: Though I would also say that we should probably consider 151 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:25,679 Speaker 1: that the bare minimum right. I mean, it seems kind 152 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:29,400 Speaker 1: of crass to say congratulations on not violating human rights 153 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:34,480 Speaker 1: to bring us this gadget that. I mean, yeah, you 154 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:38,480 Speaker 1: shouldn't get an award for not causing human misery. But 155 00:09:38,559 --> 00:09:42,120 Speaker 1: I digress. I do think that from certain points of view, 156 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:45,920 Speaker 1: as ob one would say, Apple and Microsoft and some 157 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:48,840 Speaker 1: of the other companies named have taken great strides to 158 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:52,800 Speaker 1: make certain their processes are ethical, but I happen to 159 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 1: view ethics in a more broad context. Uh. These are 160 00:09:57,920 --> 00:10:01,480 Speaker 1: also companies that have reputations for stuff like clamping down 161 00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: on employees, whether it's discouraging organization or forcing folks to 162 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:09,600 Speaker 1: sign agreements that prevent them from going public or seeking 163 00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:14,040 Speaker 1: external legal help after they encounter violations of workplace policies, 164 00:10:14,160 --> 00:10:18,640 Speaker 1: or or they they end up being the target of 165 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:22,240 Speaker 1: illegal activities and that kind of thing. Now, maybe I'm 166 00:10:22,280 --> 00:10:25,840 Speaker 1: looking at this from too wide a perspective, but I 167 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:28,439 Speaker 1: think it's actually important for us to keep those shortcomings 168 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:33,680 Speaker 1: in mind, because otherwise we invite a dangerous situation where 169 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:36,960 Speaker 1: we let ourselves think of these companies as inherently ethical, 170 00:10:37,679 --> 00:10:41,959 Speaker 1: and then we will overlook other transgressions we I think 171 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:45,600 Speaker 1: it's perfectly legitimate to say, yes, here is where they 172 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:49,160 Speaker 1: are doing the right thing, and still also say and 173 00:10:49,200 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 1: here is where they need to change. I think we 174 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:55,160 Speaker 1: can have room for both of those. Okay, we've got 175 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:57,199 Speaker 1: some more news stories to cover, but before we get 176 00:10:57,240 --> 00:11:08,160 Speaker 1: to those, let's take a quick break. One ongoing story 177 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:10,640 Speaker 1: that we've been covering relates to companies like Apple and 178 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:14,080 Speaker 1: Google being pressured to allow third party payment systems within 179 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:18,560 Speaker 1: apps running on iOS and Android respectively, and now we 180 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:21,959 Speaker 1: have word that Google is making an allowance for Spotify. 181 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:24,640 Speaker 1: Users will have the option to choose to pay for 182 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:30,560 Speaker 1: purchases within Spotify using either Google Pay billing or they 183 00:11:30,559 --> 00:11:34,240 Speaker 1: can opt for Spotify's own billing method. This is a 184 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:37,120 Speaker 1: pretty big deal because we have seen Google and Apple 185 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:41,160 Speaker 1: long dependent upon the fact that these companies have had 186 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:45,640 Speaker 1: to take a chunk out of every single in app transaction, 187 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:50,120 Speaker 1: usually between fifteen and thirty per pop and hand it 188 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:54,120 Speaker 1: over to Google or Apple, and because there were no 189 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:57,200 Speaker 1: other payment options available, that meant the developers had no 190 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:00,520 Speaker 1: choice but to accept that a fairly significant of change 191 00:12:00,559 --> 00:12:04,040 Speaker 1: per transaction was going to go to these companies. Now 192 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:07,960 Speaker 1: we're seeing pushback around the world as various courts and 193 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:13,079 Speaker 1: regulatory bodies argue that this practice is inherently anti competitive. Uh. 194 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:16,680 Speaker 1: In fact, just on this past Tuesday episode, I talked 195 00:12:16,679 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 1: about how Apple was fined for the ninth week in 196 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:23,320 Speaker 1: a row for doing this in the Netherlands with dating apps, 197 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:26,800 Speaker 1: and whether this new deal with Spotify will market change 198 00:12:26,800 --> 00:12:30,320 Speaker 1: that will roll out to other apps on the Android platform. 199 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:32,800 Speaker 1: That's too early to say, but at least it is encouraging. 200 00:12:33,280 --> 00:12:36,040 Speaker 1: So I should also add it's not clear yet if 201 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:40,160 Speaker 1: Google is still taking some cut of each transaction. That 202 00:12:40,360 --> 00:12:44,280 Speaker 1: is a possibility. Again with the Apple story, we heard 203 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:47,840 Speaker 1: that one of its concessions to the Dutch regulators was 204 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:50,800 Speaker 1: to offer up a third party payment option for dating apps, 205 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:55,720 Speaker 1: in which Apple would still take a hefty twenty seven cut. Now, 206 00:12:56,640 --> 00:13:00,040 Speaker 1: considering that payment processing services always take a cut, I 207 00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 1: mean that's how they make money. So every transaction the 208 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:08,679 Speaker 1: these the processing service that actually processes the transaction, they 209 00:13:08,720 --> 00:13:11,280 Speaker 1: get a percentage of that. It's the same with credit 210 00:13:11,280 --> 00:13:16,280 Speaker 1: card companies. Well, with a twenty cut on top of 211 00:13:16,320 --> 00:13:18,960 Speaker 1: whatever the third party is charging, it would mean that 212 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:21,800 Speaker 1: no matter what third party you were going with, chances 213 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:25,000 Speaker 1: are that option was going to be more expensive than 214 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 1: just sticking in house with Apple. Needless to say, the 215 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:32,000 Speaker 1: Dutch regulators rejected this concession and called it out for 216 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,840 Speaker 1: what it is, that Apple was rigging the game in 217 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:38,120 Speaker 1: its own favor. Also, remember Apple was one of those 218 00:13:38,200 --> 00:13:41,520 Speaker 1: ethical companies we were talking about a minute ago. And 219 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:45,240 Speaker 1: other Google related news, the company is preparing to sunset 220 00:13:45,240 --> 00:13:49,400 Speaker 1: the Google Play Movies and TV store section in May. Alright, 221 00:13:49,440 --> 00:13:52,360 Speaker 1: so Google Play has been Google's kind of all stop 222 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:57,120 Speaker 1: shop for online content and apps on Google ecosystems, namely 223 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 1: stuff like Android devices and Google Connected television services. So 224 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 1: you would go to Google Play to buy all sorts 225 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:10,640 Speaker 1: of stuff like e books or games or apps, music, television, 226 00:14:10,679 --> 00:14:14,760 Speaker 1: and film. But then Google started to migrate some stuff 227 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:18,440 Speaker 1: out of Google Play. For example, Google Play Music shut 228 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:21,880 Speaker 1: down and shifted to YouTube Music. And it looks like 229 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:25,160 Speaker 1: something similar is happening with Google Play TV and movies, 230 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:28,680 Speaker 1: where users will be prompted to go to separate apps 231 00:14:28,680 --> 00:14:32,640 Speaker 1: such as YouTube or Google Tv. And perhaps this is 232 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:35,480 Speaker 1: an effort to streamline stuff so that people who are 233 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:38,360 Speaker 1: interested in one kind of content but not necessarily other 234 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:41,600 Speaker 1: kinds of content can more easily find what they're looking for. 235 00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:43,920 Speaker 1: And I kind of get that, you know, navigating through 236 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:47,320 Speaker 1: Google Play can be a bit clunky. Still, this also 237 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:50,920 Speaker 1: feels like another example of Google introducing a feature or 238 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 1: a product and then a couple of years later just 239 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:58,440 Speaker 1: pulling the plug on it. Instagram has introduced a feature 240 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:03,160 Speaker 1: that will let users view in chronological order, which I 241 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:06,800 Speaker 1: mean has been long overdue. Also, they can filter their 242 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:10,360 Speaker 1: feeds so that they're just looking at you know, uh, 243 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:13,920 Speaker 1: entries that are from their favorites, like the the accounts 244 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:17,640 Speaker 1: they are most interested in, But in neither case will 245 00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:21,480 Speaker 1: users be able to set that as their default view 246 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:26,040 Speaker 1: of Instagram's feed, So by default, users will still be 247 00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,320 Speaker 1: presented with the jumbled up feed that's arranged not by 248 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:32,840 Speaker 1: any kind of timeliness, but by the whims of the 249 00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:38,720 Speaker 1: feeds algorithm. Now I don't personally use Instagram or Facebook anymore, 250 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:41,680 Speaker 1: but back when I did, one of the things I 251 00:15:41,720 --> 00:15:46,320 Speaker 1: consistently found really infuriating was the lack of ability to 252 00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:50,720 Speaker 1: just view stuff in reverse chronological order. I wanted to 253 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:53,640 Speaker 1: see the most recent stuff posted by my friends and 254 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:56,560 Speaker 1: the folks that I followed, and I hated the way 255 00:15:56,840 --> 00:16:00,720 Speaker 1: content would actually appear in both of those products out 256 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:03,920 Speaker 1: of any kind of order. That made sense to me, 257 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:06,840 Speaker 1: because I would find myself responding to something that was 258 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:11,200 Speaker 1: actually several days old in some cases, and in off 259 00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:13,200 Speaker 1: often in those cases, it would turn out that whatever 260 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:16,560 Speaker 1: it was was now irrelevant, like we had all moved on. 261 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:19,400 Speaker 1: I just didn't know about it because the way the 262 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:21,680 Speaker 1: feed was sending it to me, I was looking at 263 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:25,240 Speaker 1: something that was already out of date. And anyway, for 264 00:16:25,280 --> 00:16:27,720 Speaker 1: those who still use Instagram. I'm glad that this is 265 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:30,000 Speaker 1: now an option if that's something that really would be 266 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:33,160 Speaker 1: valuable to you. I think it's still pretty irritating that 267 00:16:33,280 --> 00:16:35,880 Speaker 1: you can't just set it and forget it. You will 268 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:38,920 Speaker 1: have to choose that view of your feed each time 269 00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:41,080 Speaker 1: you open the app, if that's how you want to 270 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:45,120 Speaker 1: see it. I guess we should be thankful for any improvements, 271 00:16:45,120 --> 00:16:47,560 Speaker 1: even if they're small ones. Also, we should keep in 272 00:16:47,560 --> 00:16:49,960 Speaker 1: mind that part of the motivation for making this change 273 00:16:49,960 --> 00:16:53,760 Speaker 1: is that meta Instagram's parent company has been under fire 274 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:57,720 Speaker 1: for relying on algorithms that promote certain materials to users 275 00:16:57,800 --> 00:17:01,680 Speaker 1: in an effort to drive engagement, and that material frequently 276 00:17:01,720 --> 00:17:05,399 Speaker 1: falls into dangerous categories that can become echo chambers that 277 00:17:05,520 --> 00:17:09,080 Speaker 1: end up promoting extremist views, or it can end up 278 00:17:09,160 --> 00:17:12,560 Speaker 1: serving up content that can harm someone's mental health. So 279 00:17:12,800 --> 00:17:16,000 Speaker 1: you could make a case that the reason Meta slash 280 00:17:16,080 --> 00:17:19,680 Speaker 1: Instagram did this was really more about trying to take 281 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:23,119 Speaker 1: some of that heat off, rather than giving users what 282 00:17:23,280 --> 00:17:26,679 Speaker 1: they've been asking for for ages. But I guess you 283 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:30,480 Speaker 1: don't look a gift horse in the Instagram feed, you 284 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:34,800 Speaker 1: just follow it. The United Nations has launched an ambitious 285 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:38,879 Speaker 1: project that, if successful, would connect every person to early 286 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:42,879 Speaker 1: weather warning systems. And by every person, I mean every 287 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:46,879 Speaker 1: person on the planet. According to the u N Secretary General, 288 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:50,320 Speaker 1: six of people in Africa lack an early warning weather system. 289 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 1: If we look at this from a global perspective, one 290 00:17:53,119 --> 00:17:57,200 Speaker 1: third of all humanity lacks access to early warning weather systems, 291 00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:00,439 Speaker 1: and that is sobering, particularly when you consider due to 292 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:03,360 Speaker 1: climate change, there is strong evidence to suggest that we're 293 00:18:03,359 --> 00:18:06,440 Speaker 1: going to see more and more severe weather events across 294 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:09,720 Speaker 1: the world on the increase over the following years, and 295 00:18:09,880 --> 00:18:12,960 Speaker 1: early warning can mean the difference between life and death. 296 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:16,160 Speaker 1: As of how this is going to actually progress, that's 297 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:20,360 Speaker 1: still being worked out. The u N World Meteorological Organization 298 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:22,840 Speaker 1: has the ball now, and we'll need to put together 299 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:25,360 Speaker 1: a plan that will achieve this goal within the five 300 00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:28,640 Speaker 1: year time frame. The w MO is expected to share 301 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:33,000 Speaker 1: an action plan at the UN Climate Conference in November. Okay, 302 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:35,960 Speaker 1: we've got a couple more stories to go before we 303 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:46,280 Speaker 1: get to those. Let's take another quick break al right. So, 304 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:49,600 Speaker 1: one other ongoing huge story in tech has been how 305 00:18:49,760 --> 00:18:54,600 Speaker 1: the world has tried to respond to the ongoing semiconductor shortage, 306 00:18:55,440 --> 00:18:58,480 Speaker 1: which has happened for numerous reasons, the big one being 307 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:02,159 Speaker 1: the pandemic and and Intel has been working on establishing 308 00:19:02,200 --> 00:19:06,840 Speaker 1: semiconductor fabrication facilities here in the United States, which would 309 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:11,080 Speaker 1: help mitigate the necessity to depend upon Taiwan as the 310 00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:15,239 Speaker 1: main source for semiconductor manufacturing. This is important not just 311 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:19,399 Speaker 1: because of the current supply chain issues, but because Taiwan 312 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:23,639 Speaker 1: has a let's call it an uneasy political relationship with China. 313 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:29,840 Speaker 1: That's being very delicate about things. There's a legitimate concern 314 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:33,800 Speaker 1: that one day mainland China forces could attempt to invade 315 00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:38,680 Speaker 1: Taiwan or at the very least disrupt global supply chains. Now, 316 00:19:38,720 --> 00:19:42,680 Speaker 1: setting aside the numerous other reasons why a Chinese invasion 317 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:45,400 Speaker 1: would be a bad thing, because there are lots of them, 318 00:19:45,920 --> 00:19:48,800 Speaker 1: we're just going to focus on the semiconductor side for this. 319 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:53,280 Speaker 1: That's prompted Intel to invest in building facilities elsewhere, like 320 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:57,040 Speaker 1: here in the United States. But doing that is really expensive, 321 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:00,880 Speaker 1: and doing that at the cost of profit. It's can 322 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:04,399 Speaker 1: sometimes cheese off stakeholders. You know, people who own shares 323 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:06,920 Speaker 1: in your company. They expect a return on their investment. 324 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:11,640 Speaker 1: That in turn has in a prompted Intel CEO Pat 325 00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:16,520 Speaker 1: Gelsinger to urge US Congress to grant subsidies to the 326 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:21,960 Speaker 1: U S semiconductor industry in order to help offset those costs. So, 327 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:25,160 Speaker 1: in other words, Intel is hoping that Congress will allot 328 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:28,560 Speaker 1: some taxpayer dollars to help foot the bill for building 329 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:32,320 Speaker 1: out Intel facilities here in America, not just Intel, other 330 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:36,800 Speaker 1: semiconductor facilities too. And while both the House and Senate 331 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:41,120 Speaker 1: in Congress are considering this, and each have their own 332 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:44,240 Speaker 1: proposals about this, but they have to work out the 333 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:47,399 Speaker 1: differences between the two. That process has been a pretty 334 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:51,840 Speaker 1: slow one, and there's been some understandable resistance and concern 335 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:55,240 Speaker 1: about using taxpayer money to subsidize a company like Intel. 336 00:20:56,240 --> 00:21:00,920 Speaker 1: Intel has a market cap of two four point five 337 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:06,359 Speaker 1: one billion dollars as of today's recording. Now that that 338 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:10,280 Speaker 1: number that represents the total dollar value of Intel's shares, 339 00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:13,439 Speaker 1: so it's nearly two hundred five billion dollars, So you 340 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:16,959 Speaker 1: could argue Intel is worth two hundred five billion dollars. Now, 341 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:20,440 Speaker 1: of course, that is not indicative of how much cash 342 00:21:20,800 --> 00:21:23,760 Speaker 1: Intel has on hand. That's a different thing. That's closer 343 00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:27,320 Speaker 1: to probably around twenty four billion dollars at least as 344 00:21:27,440 --> 00:21:31,000 Speaker 1: of last year, and you can see how telling taxpayers. 345 00:21:31,080 --> 00:21:34,399 Speaker 1: Imagine that you're a politician and you're voting to pass 346 00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:38,560 Speaker 1: legislation that would subsidize semiconductor facilities in the United States, 347 00:21:38,840 --> 00:21:42,400 Speaker 1: and then you're asked by your constituents, Hey, um, why 348 00:21:42,440 --> 00:21:45,359 Speaker 1: did you use my tax dollars to help this two 349 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:50,199 Speaker 1: hundred billion dollar company build factories. That's a hard sell, right, Like, 350 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:52,800 Speaker 1: that's a hard question to answer, even if there are 351 00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:56,040 Speaker 1: legitimate reasons for that. Politically, you could see how this 352 00:21:56,040 --> 00:22:00,199 Speaker 1: would be a very difficult thing to do and end. 353 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:05,120 Speaker 1: You know, Intel is a publicly traded company. That means 354 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:08,280 Speaker 1: it does have a responsibility to its shareholders. So Intel, 355 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:12,359 Speaker 1: you know, can't just spend money that it has and 356 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:14,960 Speaker 1: maybe some money it doesn't have, in an effort to 357 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:17,600 Speaker 1: build this stuff out. It's not a private company. It 358 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:21,320 Speaker 1: can't just shoulder that burden and hope to get out. 359 00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:23,960 Speaker 1: On the other side, it has shareholders to answer to, 360 00:22:24,480 --> 00:22:27,399 Speaker 1: So it is more complicated than just saying it's a 361 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:31,160 Speaker 1: two billion dollar company, why are we giving it money 362 00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:34,560 Speaker 1: or why are we giving it enormous tax breaks so 363 00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:37,679 Speaker 1: it can build out these facilities. Meanwhile, we do have 364 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:41,280 Speaker 1: to address the very real problem of the semiconductor shortage. 365 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:46,959 Speaker 1: So yes, very complex issue here. Um. I definitely get 366 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:49,680 Speaker 1: a little grouchy at the thought of taxpayer money helping 367 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:53,840 Speaker 1: out an enormous company like Intel, but I also admit 368 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:57,320 Speaker 1: that the issue is far more complicated than that. So 369 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:00,400 Speaker 1: I think the subsidy is going to be a tough 370 00:23:00,440 --> 00:23:03,560 Speaker 1: pill should Congress actually agree upon it and pass it. 371 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,960 Speaker 1: But it might be that it's a necessity in order 372 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:10,720 Speaker 1: to make this come to pass. Without it, we're probably 373 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:14,159 Speaker 1: going to get facilities that have less capability than what 374 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:18,679 Speaker 1: Intel wants to see. And it may be that whatever 375 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:22,280 Speaker 1: facilities we get aren't really a solution to the issues 376 00:23:22,359 --> 00:23:26,639 Speaker 1: that we are encountering in the industry. So yeah, um, 377 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:28,520 Speaker 1: I wish I could say that this was a very 378 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:32,480 Speaker 1: simple matter where it's a binary thing, but it, as 379 00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:36,760 Speaker 1: most things in life, it's actually way more complicated than that. 380 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:40,080 Speaker 1: Now here are a couple of other quick news bits 381 00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:45,080 Speaker 1: to end out this episode. First, Rolls Royce, the aerospace company, 382 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:49,000 Speaker 1: not the motor car company, because those are two different entities. Uh. 383 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:52,800 Speaker 1: Rolls Royce has broken records with its electric plane. It 384 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:56,000 Speaker 1: is named the Spirit of Innovation, which is a cool 385 00:23:56,119 --> 00:24:00,280 Speaker 1: name for a plane, and as electric plane implies, it 386 00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:02,920 Speaker 1: has an electric motor, it does not have a combustion 387 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:06,800 Speaker 1: engine or jet engine. And it broke a couple of 388 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:10,760 Speaker 1: speed records. One was for top speed over three kilometers, 389 00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:15,040 Speaker 1: which the Spirit of Innovation set at five fifty five 390 00:24:15,080 --> 00:24:18,080 Speaker 1: point nine kilometers per hour. For those of us in 391 00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:21,600 Speaker 1: the US, that's about three miles per hour. And it 392 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:26,280 Speaker 1: also set a record for fast speed over fifteen kilometers 393 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:29,359 Speaker 1: that was five thirty two point one kilometers per hour, 394 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:33,879 Speaker 1: or around three per hour. That's pretty darn cool. I 395 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,760 Speaker 1: mean that's still that's much slower than what you see 396 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:40,800 Speaker 1: with like commercial jets, for example, but still really neat 397 00:24:40,920 --> 00:24:45,360 Speaker 1: that a purely electric flying machine was able to hit 398 00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:48,760 Speaker 1: those speeds over those distances. Now, of course, right now 399 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:52,200 Speaker 1: we're still talking about demonstrating capabilities here, right we're talking 400 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:57,159 Speaker 1: about like the proof of concept stage really or maybe 401 00:24:57,160 --> 00:24:59,960 Speaker 1: one step beyond that. But it's probably gonna be ay 402 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:04,399 Speaker 1: before we see those capabilities built into more practical applications. 403 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:07,720 Speaker 1: But you know, you gotta crawl before you walk, or 404 00:25:08,520 --> 00:25:15,360 Speaker 1: I guess you gotta fly before you commercially fly. Perhaps finally, 405 00:25:15,640 --> 00:25:20,040 Speaker 1: we have a sad story. Stephen Wilhei, who created the 406 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:24,760 Speaker 1: g i F file format, recently passed away due to COVID. 407 00:25:25,280 --> 00:25:28,840 Speaker 1: The format allowed a way to create high resolution graphics 408 00:25:29,359 --> 00:25:33,760 Speaker 1: and not require huge file sizes. Today we think of 409 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:36,800 Speaker 1: g i F files as being animated image files. That 410 00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:39,919 Speaker 1: was not always the case. It was an alternative to 411 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:45,119 Speaker 1: some other image file formats like JPEG. Really really important contribution, 412 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:48,240 Speaker 1: especially in the early days of the Internet, where you know, 413 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:51,240 Speaker 1: we were relying on things like dial up Internet, so 414 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:55,800 Speaker 1: fast transmission speeds. Small files like these were really important things. 415 00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:59,399 Speaker 1: So in honor of his memory, I am going to 416 00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:02,000 Speaker 1: pronounce the file format the way he said you were 417 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:08,600 Speaker 1: supposed to Jeff, the Jeff file format. I will likely 418 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:12,879 Speaker 1: not pronounce this this way ever again, but you know, 419 00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:18,080 Speaker 1: I definitely respect his contributions to technology in general and 420 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:23,320 Speaker 1: the JEFF format in particular. Alright, that wraps up the 421 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:27,760 Speaker 1: news for Thursday, March two thousand twenty two. I hope 422 00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:30,760 Speaker 1: you are all well. If you have any suggestions for 423 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:33,080 Speaker 1: topics I should cover on future episodes of tech Stuff, 424 00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:34,840 Speaker 1: please reach out to me. The best way to do 425 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,760 Speaker 1: that is over on Twitter. The handle for the show 426 00:26:37,840 --> 00:26:41,399 Speaker 1: is tech Stuff H. S W. And I'll talk to 427 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:50,120 Speaker 1: you again really soon. Tech Stuff is an I heart 428 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:53,960 Speaker 1: Radio production. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit 429 00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:57,080 Speaker 1: the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 430 00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:00,760 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows. Eight