1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:14,920 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,040 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio. 4 00:00:18,079 --> 00:00:20,479 Speaker 1: And how the tech are Yet, it's time for the 5 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:25,480 Speaker 1: tech news for Tuesday, April five, twenty twenty two. Let's 6 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:28,600 Speaker 1: get to it now. A lot has happened over the 7 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:31,360 Speaker 1: last few days, and some of it was even real. 8 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:34,480 Speaker 1: I am, of course referencing the fact that between our 9 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: last news episode and this one, we had April Fool's Day, 10 00:00:39,159 --> 00:00:42,199 Speaker 1: a day where in the past we've seen numerous companies 11 00:00:42,240 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: release joke news items, fake press releases. Some might go 12 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:50,880 Speaker 1: so far as to describe them as lies, and it's 13 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:53,479 Speaker 1: hard to argue against that. I think whether or not 14 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: you think of them as lies really depends heavily on 15 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: whether or not you thought the joke was funny. Anyway, 16 00:01:00,600 --> 00:01:04,720 Speaker 1: On top of all that tomfoolery, some important real stuff 17 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:08,880 Speaker 1: actually happened. For example, Amazon workers at the JFK eight 18 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,960 Speaker 1: warehouse on Staten Island, New York, voted to form an 19 00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 1: employee union. This has been going on for quite some time. 20 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 1: The votes are in and they've passed. They needed a 21 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:22,919 Speaker 1: simple majority, and that's what they got with two thousand, 22 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 1: six hundred fifty four employees voting to form a union 23 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: and two thousand, one thirty one voting against. So now 24 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:34,560 Speaker 1: the employees there can form an independent union and that 25 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:37,479 Speaker 1: will get the backing of the National Labor Relations Board 26 00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,560 Speaker 1: here in the US. That union will then have the 27 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:44,600 Speaker 1: authority to negotiate collectively for all the employees that the 28 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: union represents. This is something that Amazon has been fighting 29 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: against for several years now, and we've heard numerous stories 30 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:57,040 Speaker 1: about the company attempting to dissuade employees from organizing. Meanwhile, 31 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: in Bessemer, Alabama, we're still waiting to find now whether 32 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 1: Amazon warehouse workers there have voted to unionize. They actually 33 00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:08,480 Speaker 1: held the vote and they counted the vote, and the 34 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:13,680 Speaker 1: results came in and showed more confirmed votes against unionizing 35 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:17,520 Speaker 1: than four But there are also more than four hundred 36 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:21,760 Speaker 1: challenged votes in the balance, and that's actually enough to 37 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 1: swing the vote in favor of unionizing if enough of 38 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,519 Speaker 1: them come out as being uh in favor of a union. 39 00:02:30,040 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 1: So that all has to get resolved before we have 40 00:02:32,760 --> 00:02:35,560 Speaker 1: a firm answer on whether or not a union is 41 00:02:35,600 --> 00:02:38,959 Speaker 1: forming at that warehouse Uh, the matter is going to 42 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: have to go to a judiciary authority to determine the outcome, 43 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:44,079 Speaker 1: so we'll have to wait a little bit longer to 44 00:02:44,120 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 1: hear back on that. Um. This is a dramatic story 45 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:50,080 Speaker 1: that's been playing out for more than a year now, 46 00:02:50,760 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 1: and it's also gonna be interesting to see if the 47 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: Staten Island vote is going to prompt more employees both 48 00:02:55,919 --> 00:03:00,840 Speaker 1: of Amazon and of other companies to consider unionizing. If so, 49 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:04,800 Speaker 1: we can see some pretty dramatic changes in business in 50 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:08,840 Speaker 1: general and the tech industry in particular. UM. And those changes, 51 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:13,320 Speaker 1: you know, it's hard to even understand the consequences of them. Uh. 52 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: It could affect all sorts of things, from the speed 53 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:21,519 Speaker 1: of products getting rolled out to the price of them. 54 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 1: But importantly, the thing we should keep in mind is 55 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:29,799 Speaker 1: the whole purpose of the unions is to guarantee that 56 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:37,160 Speaker 1: employees have a fair and uh, you know, equitable treatment 57 00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 1: from their employer. That's the important thing to remember. The 58 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:45,720 Speaker 1: Intercept reports that an Amazon worker chat app that is 59 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:50,080 Speaker 1: in development currently contains a list of banned words that includes, 60 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: you know, stuff you would expect like profanity and slurs. 61 00:03:53,040 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 1: Those are on the no No list and if you 62 00:03:55,600 --> 00:03:58,080 Speaker 1: were to use this app and try to use those words, 63 00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: your message would presumably be locked. But that list also 64 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: contains other words like union and ethics and restrooms, which 65 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: should probably raise some red flags. Now, to clarify things 66 00:04:13,400 --> 00:04:16,839 Speaker 1: a little bit, the purpose of this particular app, which 67 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:21,120 Speaker 1: Amazon officials say it may never be deployed, Like this 68 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 1: might be a fuss over something that never actually is 69 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:27,839 Speaker 1: used because it is still in development, But the purpose 70 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:30,960 Speaker 1: is to let employees give shoutouts to each other. So, 71 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:35,000 Speaker 1: in other words, it's all about praising other employees so 72 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: that they are recognized for their contributions as such, say 73 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:42,440 Speaker 1: Amazon reps, the company wants to weed out words and 74 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:45,679 Speaker 1: phrases that could potentially be a downer or allow someone 75 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 1: to abuse the app, and you know, might prevent someone 76 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:53,320 Speaker 1: from saying something like, hey, Bob, you did great work today. 77 00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: Sorry you have to pee in a bottle in order 78 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:59,680 Speaker 1: to make quota. Now, as you imagine, acknowledging reality in 79 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:03,159 Speaker 1: an Amazon warehouse can really be a drag sometimes and 80 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:05,679 Speaker 1: I'm being a bit harsh, but then the whole endeavor 81 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 1: seems insincere to me. Then again, the app still is 82 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:13,440 Speaker 1: in development. It could change significantly before it's rolled out, 83 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:16,960 Speaker 1: and again, it may never be rolled out, so I 84 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:19,800 Speaker 1: really shouldn't rush to judge. I think I just do 85 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:24,240 Speaker 1: because Amazon has this history of trying to suppress employee organization, 86 00:05:24,839 --> 00:05:30,599 Speaker 1: and so this news story strikes me as a little insidious. Now, 87 00:05:30,640 --> 00:05:34,679 Speaker 1: normally I save space stuff for the end of news episodes, 88 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:36,440 Speaker 1: and we will have some space stuff at the end 89 00:05:36,440 --> 00:05:40,039 Speaker 1: of this one. But this particular space story relates to Amazon, 90 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:42,719 Speaker 1: so I thought I would round out the trilogy of 91 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:47,600 Speaker 1: Amazon news stories. The company has secured eighty three launches 92 00:05:47,880 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 1: over the next five years. These launches relate to the 93 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 1: company's Project Kiper, which is similar to space x is 94 00:05:56,040 --> 00:06:02,039 Speaker 1: starlink product. Amazon plans to launch around three thousand satellites 95 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 1: into low Earth orbit, and the satellites will provide Internet access. 96 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:09,839 Speaker 1: So customers on Earth will presumably get some sort of 97 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:14,560 Speaker 1: like satellite antenna dish kit to set up and that 98 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:17,480 Speaker 1: will track satellites as they move overhead and the satellites 99 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: will provide Internet connectivity to the customers. Satellite provided internet 100 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:25,240 Speaker 1: is not a new thing, obviously, but in some regions, 101 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:29,400 Speaker 1: like a lot of regions, really satellite service can be 102 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:33,320 Speaker 1: your only real Internet solution for you know, a broadband 103 00:06:33,360 --> 00:06:37,400 Speaker 1: access and they rarely have very many competitors in those spaces. 104 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:41,080 Speaker 1: UM and satellite connections do have a couple of downsides, 105 00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:43,680 Speaker 1: the main one being that due to the distance between 106 00:06:43,680 --> 00:06:47,120 Speaker 1: your antenna and the satellite and everything else down here 107 00:06:47,160 --> 00:06:51,320 Speaker 1: on Earth, there can be noticeable latency ak a delay 108 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:55,000 Speaker 1: when you want to do stuff. The bandwidth itself can 109 00:06:55,040 --> 00:06:57,839 Speaker 1: be pretty decent, so once things are initiated, like once 110 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:01,159 Speaker 1: you start a download the down it can move pretty quickly, 111 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 1: but there's still a lag between when you command something 112 00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:07,880 Speaker 1: like when you click on a download link and when 113 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:11,800 Speaker 1: it actually happens because there's all that distance between the 114 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:13,960 Speaker 1: Earth and the satellite. You know, even at the speed 115 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:16,600 Speaker 1: of light, it takes a little time for that to 116 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:18,200 Speaker 1: go through and it can be long enough for you 117 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:21,000 Speaker 1: to notice it. So that's a bit of a downside. 118 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:24,760 Speaker 1: It means also that certain things like high end streaming 119 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:30,280 Speaker 1: gaming is not really viable on a satellite communication. Still, 120 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:33,000 Speaker 1: for some folks in rural and out of the way locations, 121 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 1: satellite internet is often the best option for Internet service. UH. 122 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:40,400 Speaker 1: There are other issues that this raises, like, just like 123 00:07:40,400 --> 00:07:44,480 Speaker 1: with starlink UH, the idea of launching thousands of satellites 124 00:07:44,480 --> 00:07:48,680 Speaker 1: into low Earth orbit concerns scientists on Earth who are 125 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:53,840 Speaker 1: worried that they will interfere with astronomical observations and such. 126 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:57,520 Speaker 1: But that's where we are now. Over the next five years, 127 00:07:57,760 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 1: Amazon plans on launching the satellites in those three launches, 128 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:05,280 Speaker 1: so we'll have to see how that develops. Moving on, 129 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: Elon Musk, the you know man famous for companies like 130 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:13,240 Speaker 1: Tesla and SpaceX, can add yet another title to his 131 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:16,560 Speaker 1: business card. He is now a member of Twitter's board 132 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:20,640 Speaker 1: of directors. Musk has accumulated nine point to five per 133 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:24,680 Speaker 1: cent of Twitter ownership, which makes him the largest shareholder 134 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,040 Speaker 1: in Twitter. He also posted a poll not too long 135 00:08:28,040 --> 00:08:31,160 Speaker 1: ago to his followers asking if they thought Twitter rigorously 136 00:08:31,240 --> 00:08:35,280 Speaker 1: adheres to the ideals of free speech, and a little 137 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:38,560 Speaker 1: more than two thirds of the respondents, which numbered more 138 00:08:38,559 --> 00:08:42,840 Speaker 1: than two million people, said no. This has naturally led 139 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:46,880 Speaker 1: some people to worry that Musk might use his position 140 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:51,960 Speaker 1: on the board to maybe reverse some decisions regarding blocking 141 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:55,840 Speaker 1: certain accounts that were found to be abusive or responsible 142 00:08:55,880 --> 00:08:59,280 Speaker 1: for spreading misinformation Like there. There's worried that Musk might 143 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:02,880 Speaker 1: undermine uh certain moves that Twitter has made in order 144 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:05,880 Speaker 1: to fight back against those things. He also pulled his 145 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,440 Speaker 1: followers asking if they might like an edit button, something 146 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:12,520 Speaker 1: that long time Twitter users have wanted for years. Um 147 00:09:12,720 --> 00:09:15,960 Speaker 1: Musk spent nearly three billion dollars to acquire his stake 148 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 1: in Twitter, which seems like a pretty steep price for 149 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:21,839 Speaker 1: me to buy an edit button, but there you have it. 150 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:29,240 Speaker 1: BuzzFeed News has an interesting article titled TikTok's parent byte Dance, 151 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:33,439 Speaker 1: made fake accounts with content scraped from Instagram and Snapchat. 152 00:09:33,520 --> 00:09:37,719 Speaker 1: Former employees say, uh, that's a lengthy title, and it's 153 00:09:37,720 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 1: a lengthy article, but it's well worth a read. It's 154 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:45,360 Speaker 1: also about something that happened around five years ago, so 155 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:49,080 Speaker 1: it's not like this is, you know, fresh news, but 156 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:53,000 Speaker 1: it's something that we've gotten details about recently. So five 157 00:09:53,080 --> 00:09:55,880 Speaker 1: years ago is when byte Dance acquired a company called 158 00:09:56,040 --> 00:10:00,120 Speaker 1: flip a Gram. Flip Agram was a photo and video 159 00:10:00,320 --> 00:10:05,360 Speaker 1: sharing service, and according to buzzfeeds sources, byte Dance then 160 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:10,160 Speaker 1: scraped content off of other services, including Instagram, in order 161 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:14,280 Speaker 1: to upload that content to flip Agram, and in the 162 00:10:14,320 --> 00:10:18,200 Speaker 1: process also created fake accounts that would host that content, 163 00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:21,440 Speaker 1: so they were taking someone else's videos, creating a fake 164 00:10:21,480 --> 00:10:25,640 Speaker 1: account on Flipogram, and then putting those videos onto that account. 165 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:29,360 Speaker 1: So why did byte Dance do this, Well, one reason 166 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: might have been to test out what kinds of content 167 00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:35,760 Speaker 1: would perform best on the platform, sort of like industry research, 168 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:41,120 Speaker 1: and byte Dance was primarily interested in targeting American customers, 169 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:44,760 Speaker 1: so stealing content from other sources and putting it up 170 00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:49,040 Speaker 1: on Flipogram was a type of research into the American market. 171 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:51,440 Speaker 1: This would inform the company as to what types of 172 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:54,679 Speaker 1: content were most likely to draw more people to Flipogram. 173 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:57,600 Speaker 1: The company could even inflate the view numbers on such content, 174 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:02,120 Speaker 1: giving those account a boost in an effort to attract 175 00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 1: new users and guide existing once towards the types of 176 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:08,520 Speaker 1: content that we're performing best on the platform. So, in 177 00:11:08,559 --> 00:11:11,120 Speaker 1: other words, you might look at at something and say, oh, 178 00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:13,800 Speaker 1: this is a thousand likes on it, and it turns 179 00:11:13,840 --> 00:11:16,520 Speaker 1: out that no, maybe it was only like two hundred likes, 180 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 1: and then the company boosted that. Now. Another reason that 181 00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:23,840 Speaker 1: they were scraping content might have just been to create inventory. 182 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:28,800 Speaker 1: Social apps gain value from active users and also their 183 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:31,600 Speaker 1: user generated content. So if you have a social app 184 00:11:31,679 --> 00:11:33,800 Speaker 1: but no one's on it, then it's worthless. Right. The 185 00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:36,760 Speaker 1: social app is only worth anything if there are people 186 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:39,760 Speaker 1: on it and that they're doing stuff there. So the 187 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:42,480 Speaker 1: app on its own is just a platform, and empty 188 00:11:42,480 --> 00:11:45,160 Speaker 1: platforms are not very interesting. This is one of the 189 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:48,520 Speaker 1: big reasons why it's hard for new social networking platforms 190 00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:52,040 Speaker 1: to really make a big impact. The value of Facebook 191 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:56,720 Speaker 1: to its user base is typically voiced in a way 192 00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:59,920 Speaker 1: that's like, that's where everyone I know happens to be. 193 00:12:00,240 --> 00:12:02,920 Speaker 1: So that's why I'm on Facebook, at least for those 194 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:05,240 Speaker 1: of us who are in a certain age range, because 195 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:08,480 Speaker 1: it's well documented that younger people are not flocking to 196 00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:13,280 Speaker 1: Facebook anyway. The practice of scraping is generally looked down upon, 197 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:17,599 Speaker 1: and sometimes it's litigated, And in this particular case, I 198 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:21,240 Speaker 1: would argue it's even worse because it involves taking content 199 00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:25,880 Speaker 1: that does not belong to Bite Dance without permission and 200 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:29,080 Speaker 1: then falsely posting it elsewhere using a fake profile. So 201 00:12:29,120 --> 00:12:32,120 Speaker 1: we've seen companies like Meta come down hard on on 202 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:36,440 Speaker 1: researchers who are scraping data off public profiles just for 203 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:40,720 Speaker 1: the purposes of conducting research. Facebook or Meta has said 204 00:12:40,800 --> 00:12:45,239 Speaker 1: that's expressly against company policy, and they've shut down researcher 205 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:48,559 Speaker 1: profiles for doing that, even if the research itself had 206 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:53,440 Speaker 1: real scholastic value to it. You can bet that Meta 207 00:12:53,559 --> 00:12:58,400 Speaker 1: really doesn't like it when some other corporation is scraping 208 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:01,560 Speaker 1: content off of their their services in an effort to 209 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:05,840 Speaker 1: build competing products. Anyway, the article is a really good read. 210 00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:08,120 Speaker 1: It goes into much more detail on the matter and 211 00:13:08,160 --> 00:13:11,560 Speaker 1: covers other related stuff as well. I recommend you check 212 00:13:11,600 --> 00:13:14,480 Speaker 1: it out. We've got some more news items to cover, 213 00:13:14,559 --> 00:13:16,640 Speaker 1: but before we get to that, let's take a quick break. 214 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:27,559 Speaker 1: I've talked a lot in recent episodes about how Apple's 215 00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:31,560 Speaker 1: policy of requiring app developers to use Apple's own payment 216 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:35,199 Speaker 1: processing system is landing the company in hot water around 217 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:38,200 Speaker 1: the world. You might remember that Dutch authorities have find 218 00:13:38,240 --> 00:13:43,720 Speaker 1: Apple fifty million euro for that and are considering doing more. Well. 219 00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:48,480 Speaker 1: We also have to remember that Google has very similar requirements, 220 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:53,160 Speaker 1: but until recently, the company wasn't enforcing those requirements with 221 00:13:53,200 --> 00:13:57,360 Speaker 1: any particular fervor. In other words, for a while, companies 222 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:00,080 Speaker 1: can kind of get away with just ignoring that requirement it, 223 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:04,080 Speaker 1: but that has changed now. Companies like Amazon and Barnes 224 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:06,400 Speaker 1: Noble have found themselves at a point where they either 225 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:10,960 Speaker 1: have to accept Google's policy, which is that all digital 226 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:15,520 Speaker 1: transactions have to go through Google Plays building system, or 227 00:14:15,960 --> 00:14:20,960 Speaker 1: they can't offer digital transactions through apps. The policy does 228 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:24,920 Speaker 1: not affect stuff like ordering physical goods. So if you 229 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:26,960 Speaker 1: know you were using an app in order to order 230 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:29,600 Speaker 1: a hard copy of a book from Barnes and Noble, 231 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:32,480 Speaker 1: Barnes and Noble could still use its preferred payment processing 232 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:36,360 Speaker 1: system for that like that would not be against the 233 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,520 Speaker 1: rules because you're ordering something physical. It's only if it 234 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:42,120 Speaker 1: were a digital copy of the book that you would 235 00:14:42,160 --> 00:14:47,080 Speaker 1: have to go through Google Plays billing system. So anyway, 236 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:52,320 Speaker 1: now you can't use the Barnes and Noble Enook Book 237 00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:55,640 Speaker 1: Reader to order new e books. It has just become 238 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:59,520 Speaker 1: a tablet. It is no longer used to to order 239 00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:04,680 Speaker 1: and down load digital books to your device. In Amazon's case, 240 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 1: we're mostly talking about stuff like Audible content, so audio 241 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:14,000 Speaker 1: books and other audio content off of Audible can no 242 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:19,960 Speaker 1: longer be purchased unless you're going through Google Play. So 243 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 1: you can still buy credits for Audible through the Audible app, 244 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:26,840 Speaker 1: but you won't be able to buy titles using a 245 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 1: credit or debit card. Directly through the app. Audible memberships 246 00:15:30,960 --> 00:15:34,680 Speaker 1: will be handled through Google Play billing. And Google has 247 00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:39,200 Speaker 1: a different arrangement in place for a very small number 248 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:43,880 Speaker 1: of companies, notably Spotify as one of those where it's 249 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:48,920 Speaker 1: testing a pilot program, but it has not extended that 250 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:52,680 Speaker 1: arrangement to companies like Barnes and Noble and Amazon. Now 251 00:15:53,320 --> 00:15:56,200 Speaker 1: I imagine we'll see some legal challenges to Google's policy 252 00:15:56,280 --> 00:15:58,920 Speaker 1: similar to what we're seeing with Apple, and that the 253 00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:03,080 Speaker 1: Spotify arrangement, which is where Google will allow alternate payment 254 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:05,520 Speaker 1: systems to be included in apps as long as those 255 00:16:05,560 --> 00:16:09,000 Speaker 1: apps also include Google Play, like you have to have 256 00:16:09,120 --> 00:16:12,040 Speaker 1: the official Google building system as an option in there, 257 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:16,360 Speaker 1: even in this pilot program. But I imagined that is 258 00:16:16,400 --> 00:16:19,600 Speaker 1: what we're going to see become the norm overtime. Like 259 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:21,360 Speaker 1: it's just I think that's just gonna be the way 260 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:24,600 Speaker 1: it has to go. Otherwise, Google is going to be 261 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:28,520 Speaker 1: facing some pretty serious antitrust legislation around the world, just 262 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: as Apple has been. German authorities concluded a month's long 263 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:36,920 Speaker 1: investigation into a dark web ring by seizing that rings 264 00:16:37,080 --> 00:16:42,520 Speaker 1: server infrastructure within Germany. Those servers powered this ring's dark 265 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:46,120 Speaker 1: web marketplace, so a black market on the dark web. 266 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:49,840 Speaker 1: It appeared to be a market that was Russian and 267 00:16:49,920 --> 00:16:53,440 Speaker 1: origin because the primary language in the marketplace was Russian 268 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:57,280 Speaker 1: and according to the authorities, the market was a popular 269 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:01,080 Speaker 1: place to deal in such illegal materials as prohibited drugs, 270 00:17:01,840 --> 00:17:07,840 Speaker 1: fraudulent documents, and stolen data, among other illegal things. So 271 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:10,600 Speaker 1: in addition to shutting down the market, the authorities also 272 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:14,600 Speaker 1: sees more than twenty five million dollars worth of cryptocurrency. 273 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:17,560 Speaker 1: Million dollars is a lot of money, but it's loose 274 00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:19,920 Speaker 1: change when you look at how much business passed through 275 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:24,639 Speaker 1: the market just back in According to prosecutors, that was 276 00:17:24,680 --> 00:17:31,000 Speaker 1: that around one point to three billion euros that year. Yauza. Now, 277 00:17:31,040 --> 00:17:34,480 Speaker 1: typically the shutdown of markets like this one, which the 278 00:17:34,520 --> 00:17:38,840 Speaker 1: authorities called the Hydra market, that usually ends up just 279 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:41,880 Speaker 1: being a bump in the road for illegal activity and 280 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,280 Speaker 1: black markets in general. It's usually just a matter of 281 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:48,160 Speaker 1: time before some other market takes its place. We've seen 282 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:50,560 Speaker 1: that in the past with the famous dark web markets 283 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:53,960 Speaker 1: like the Silk Road. The United States has formed a 284 00:17:53,960 --> 00:17:57,680 Speaker 1: new department called the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy 285 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:00,920 Speaker 1: or c d P. According to the US State Department, 286 00:18:01,280 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 1: this organization will quote address the national security challenges, economic opportunities, 287 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:13,520 Speaker 1: and implications for US values associated with cyberspace, digital technologies, 288 00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:18,639 Speaker 1: and digital policy end quote. It will also include three 289 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:22,640 Speaker 1: policy units within the bureau. There will be the International 290 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:28,800 Speaker 1: Information and Communications Policy, the International Cyberspace Security Unit, and 291 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:32,480 Speaker 1: the Digital Freedom Unit. The U. S. Senate will have 292 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:36,320 Speaker 1: the responsibility to appoint the head of the bureau, which 293 00:18:36,320 --> 00:18:39,960 Speaker 1: will be known as an ambassador at large. The State 294 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:44,399 Speaker 1: Department has already transferred about sixty employees to the new bureau, 295 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 1: and these are employees who are already working in departments 296 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:52,760 Speaker 1: relating to international communications and cyber coordination projects. The Department 297 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:56,120 Speaker 1: also plans to fill out another thirty or so positions, 298 00:18:56,119 --> 00:18:58,520 Speaker 1: which will bring up the total staff for this department 299 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:03,320 Speaker 1: to nearly one. Honestly, when I first read this news item, 300 00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:07,560 Speaker 1: my thought, wait, we didn't already have this, am I 301 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:10,160 Speaker 1: sure this news item didn't come out like twenty years ago, 302 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:13,480 Speaker 1: But yeah, this is a new thing, and I think 303 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:17,840 Speaker 1: it's safe to say it's long past do. My hope 304 00:19:17,960 --> 00:19:20,320 Speaker 1: is that the staff will include experts who can go 305 00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:24,600 Speaker 1: on to provide useful insight into digital matters, because I'm 306 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:28,760 Speaker 1: sure You've all seen examples of politicians who just they're 307 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:33,640 Speaker 1: they're in charge of creating legislation that affects the tech sector, 308 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:38,560 Speaker 1: but they themselves lack any savvy when it comes to technology. 309 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,040 Speaker 1: A lot of times we see that kind of legislation 310 00:19:41,840 --> 00:19:46,119 Speaker 1: not just failed to solve a problem, which frequently is 311 00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:50,160 Speaker 1: the case, sometimes they create new problems or they'll make 312 00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:54,119 Speaker 1: an existing problem a worse one. So my hope is, 313 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:56,679 Speaker 1: and I realized this is a long shot, but my 314 00:19:56,760 --> 00:20:00,920 Speaker 1: hope is that this bureau will really help be an 315 00:20:00,920 --> 00:20:04,439 Speaker 1: asset so that, uh, when, when, when it comes to 316 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:10,000 Speaker 1: forming legislation that revolves around the Internet in particular, that 317 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:12,680 Speaker 1: we have a more informed approach and one that's more 318 00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:16,680 Speaker 1: likely to succeed and to achieve the actual goal of 319 00:20:16,720 --> 00:20:20,960 Speaker 1: the proposed legislation. Uh. That's that's asking a lot, but 320 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:25,879 Speaker 1: you know, hope. Springs Eternal CNN Business has an interesting 321 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:30,840 Speaker 1: piece about Axie Infinity and a recent hack that has 322 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:35,560 Speaker 1: affected that game and the company behind it. The article 323 00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 1: is titled After a six hundred twenty five million dollar hack, 324 00:20:40,760 --> 00:20:45,200 Speaker 1: the party must go on And I think I might 325 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:48,320 Speaker 1: have to do a full episode on sky Mavis, that's 326 00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:53,199 Speaker 1: the company that developed the game Axi Infinity, and to 327 00:20:53,359 --> 00:20:56,320 Speaker 1: cover that not just that company, but other companies like it, 328 00:20:56,359 --> 00:20:59,280 Speaker 1: because these are businesses that are built on top of 329 00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:05,520 Speaker 1: the cryptome mining industry, and the value proposition of the 330 00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:11,479 Speaker 1: company is that by participating in its products, you end 331 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:15,760 Speaker 1: up earning cryptocurrency, the idea being that you make money 332 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:20,359 Speaker 1: by using the thing. So in the case of Axi Infinity, 333 00:21:20,480 --> 00:21:24,320 Speaker 1: that's a game in which players collect digital pets essentially 334 00:21:24,359 --> 00:21:28,760 Speaker 1: called axes. It's in some ways similar to something like Pokemon, 335 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:32,560 Speaker 1: and in order to play the game, you first have 336 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:38,000 Speaker 1: to either purchase or rent three axis for yourself. The 337 00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:40,320 Speaker 1: money that you spend in order to enter the game 338 00:21:40,600 --> 00:21:44,560 Speaker 1: essentially goes into a crypto network called the Ronan network, 339 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:48,919 Speaker 1: and playing the game powers the crypto mining efforts, and 340 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:52,560 Speaker 1: you earn cryptocurrency through playing. And I really want to 341 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:55,440 Speaker 1: look into this further because just from a casual glance, 342 00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:59,120 Speaker 1: it comes across to me kind of like a pyramid 343 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:02,159 Speaker 1: scheme or a an Zi scheme in particular, and that 344 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:05,200 Speaker 1: in order for this thing to keep moving ahead, you 345 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:09,240 Speaker 1: constantly need a fresh influx of new players to buy 346 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:13,760 Speaker 1: into it. Um. But the company, I should stress, has 347 00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:17,119 Speaker 1: dismissed those criticisms and said, no, it's not a Ponzi scheme. 348 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:19,919 Speaker 1: It's not that, and that the aim is to have 349 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:25,320 Speaker 1: a self perpetuating system that presumably would not require having 350 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:29,200 Speaker 1: new people signing on just to keep it going. Anyway, 351 00:22:29,320 --> 00:22:31,800 Speaker 1: That's really just part of the story, that little bit, 352 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:34,280 Speaker 1: like just the fact that this is a thing that 353 00:22:34,359 --> 00:22:36,240 Speaker 1: I wasn't really aware of. That was part of the 354 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:38,919 Speaker 1: story for me. But the larger part in the article 355 00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:42,119 Speaker 1: is that the Ronan network was the target of a 356 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:45,760 Speaker 1: massive hack and as a result, the hackers were able 357 00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:49,960 Speaker 1: to steal about twenty million dollars in USDC and around 358 00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:54,440 Speaker 1: a hundred seventy three thousand ether on the Ethereum blockchain, 359 00:22:54,720 --> 00:22:57,359 Speaker 1: which is a big old yikes now. The news item 360 00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:00,639 Speaker 1: also describes that despite activity across the own a network 361 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:04,199 Speaker 1: freezing while the company tries to resolve these issues, and 362 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:06,199 Speaker 1: we don't know yet if they will be able to 363 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:09,320 Speaker 1: recover any of that stolen money. Hopefully they will, but 364 00:23:09,359 --> 00:23:11,720 Speaker 1: we don't know if that's going to happen or not. Uh. 365 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:15,600 Speaker 1: We still see enthusiasts supporting the game and the company, 366 00:23:16,200 --> 00:23:20,480 Speaker 1: which is really enthusiastic. Now I've got feelings about that, 367 00:23:20,760 --> 00:23:24,800 Speaker 1: but I haven't played the game. I am also notably 368 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,600 Speaker 1: not a fan of crypto in general, and I definitely 369 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:32,800 Speaker 1: have a bias against this whole sort of thing, and 370 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:35,760 Speaker 1: I readily admit that. But I do plan to look 371 00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:39,120 Speaker 1: into these types of games and companies further to get 372 00:23:39,119 --> 00:23:43,120 Speaker 1: a better understanding of them, how they work, how secure 373 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:46,240 Speaker 1: they are. Uh, and so there will be an episode 374 00:23:46,320 --> 00:23:51,439 Speaker 1: about these in the future. I will definitely do that. Okay, 375 00:23:51,480 --> 00:23:54,320 Speaker 1: we've got a few more stories to cover before we 376 00:23:54,400 --> 00:24:04,399 Speaker 1: get into those. Let's take another quick break. We're back. 377 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:09,840 Speaker 1: According to stat Counter, which analyzes stuff like web browser 378 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:15,600 Speaker 1: market share, Microsoft's browser Edge managed to edge out Apple's 379 00:24:15,760 --> 00:24:19,520 Speaker 1: Safari browser to become the second most popular browser on 380 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 1: the Internet. But we've got a major caveat to talk about. 381 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:28,480 Speaker 1: We're specifically talking about desktop browsers, so we're not including 382 00:24:28,880 --> 00:24:32,920 Speaker 1: mobile devices at all in this, just browsers that are 383 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:37,159 Speaker 1: on desktop and laptop computers. Now in the lead with 384 00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:41,560 Speaker 1: a bullet is Google's Chrome browser, that maintains around sixty 385 00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:46,960 Speaker 1: of the market share of all dusktop browsers. Edge is 386 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,040 Speaker 1: at nine point six five, which puts it slightly ahead 387 00:24:50,040 --> 00:24:53,119 Speaker 1: of Safari, which is sitting at seven point five seven 388 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:57,879 Speaker 1: and again, once you factor in mobile devices, the story 389 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:02,840 Speaker 1: changes dramatically. At that point, Chrome's share drops slightly to 390 00:25:02,960 --> 00:25:06,040 Speaker 1: sixty four point five percent, Edge goes all the way 391 00:25:06,040 --> 00:25:08,639 Speaker 1: down to four point oh five percent, and so far 392 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:11,240 Speaker 1: he jumps up to eight team point eight four percent 393 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:15,359 Speaker 1: thanks to all those iPhones out there. Still, I'm sure 394 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:18,359 Speaker 1: Microsoft is happy to see the performance climb on desktops, 395 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:22,240 Speaker 1: which is nearly where all the focus of Microsoft is like, 396 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:27,080 Speaker 1: that's their bread and butter is the desktop world now. 397 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:30,760 Speaker 1: Part of the reason for the jump could be because 398 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:35,040 Speaker 1: of Windows eleven. The adoption rate of Windows eleven hasn't 399 00:25:35,080 --> 00:25:39,959 Speaker 1: been spectacular. It has underperformed and also has shown signs 400 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:44,000 Speaker 1: of already having plateaued. But those who did purchase new 401 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:48,240 Speaker 1: machines with Windows eleven on it found that it became 402 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:51,960 Speaker 1: a bit tricky to switch to a different default web 403 00:25:51,960 --> 00:25:56,280 Speaker 1: browser than Microsoft Edge because Microsoft and made some changes 404 00:25:56,320 --> 00:25:59,600 Speaker 1: to Windows eleven that appeared to purposefully make such a 405 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:04,600 Speaker 1: switch harder to do. Now, Microsoft has since changed those settings, 406 00:26:04,600 --> 00:26:07,359 Speaker 1: making it much easier to change your default browser if 407 00:26:07,359 --> 00:26:10,720 Speaker 1: you want to. But it's possible that that was one 408 00:26:10,720 --> 00:26:14,119 Speaker 1: of the factors that contributed to the numbers. I just 409 00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:19,359 Speaker 1: don't know for sure, but um, I think Edges a 410 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:21,679 Speaker 1: decent browser. I've used it a few times. I have 411 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:25,719 Speaker 1: a computer where that is my main browser. Um, and 412 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:29,439 Speaker 1: it's fine, it's it's there's nothing wrong with it. I 413 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:34,320 Speaker 1: think the the tactics used to kind of give it 414 00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:38,480 Speaker 1: quote unquote and edge are a little shady. And it's 415 00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:41,280 Speaker 1: also something that Microsoft has been in trouble for in 416 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:44,399 Speaker 1: the past, Like there have been cases where Microsoft was 417 00:26:44,480 --> 00:26:50,520 Speaker 1: brought into anti competitive lawsuits due to this sort of stuff. 418 00:26:51,080 --> 00:26:53,800 Speaker 1: But you know, the company did change that, so that's 419 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:56,520 Speaker 1: a good thing. And uh yeah, it's not a bad browser, 420 00:26:56,720 --> 00:27:00,879 Speaker 1: So good on you. Microsoft. The Dolo and Motor Company 421 00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:04,240 Speaker 1: of Texas, which I should stress is not the same 422 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:07,680 Speaker 1: company as the one that originally made the iconic DeLorean 423 00:27:07,880 --> 00:27:11,480 Speaker 1: d m C twelve sports car, has announced that it 424 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:16,600 Speaker 1: will introduce its electric vehicle DeLorean on August twenty two. 425 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:19,119 Speaker 1: The company has been teasing this for a while now, 426 00:27:19,840 --> 00:27:22,639 Speaker 1: and based on the photo that the company has shared 427 00:27:22,840 --> 00:27:27,199 Speaker 1: of its of its electric vehicle, which only shows a 428 00:27:27,280 --> 00:27:30,639 Speaker 1: bit of the rear of the car, it's going to 429 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:34,959 Speaker 1: look quite a bit different from the classic DeLorean DMC twelve. 430 00:27:35,720 --> 00:27:39,840 Speaker 1: It is said to feature the beloved and expensive to 431 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:45,040 Speaker 1: maintain goal wing doors. Um, and I mean going doors 432 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:46,919 Speaker 1: are are one of the things that really set the 433 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:50,520 Speaker 1: Delirian apart in my mind. So I am curious about this. 434 00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:54,879 Speaker 1: I love the look of the old DMC twelve. Uh, 435 00:27:55,840 --> 00:27:57,919 Speaker 1: it seems like a kind of car we're looking at. 436 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:00,560 Speaker 1: It is probably the most satisfying experience you're gonna have 437 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:03,439 Speaker 1: with a vehicle. UM. I'm also not sure how much 438 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:07,879 Speaker 1: appeal the DeLorean name will have if it doesn't closely 439 00:28:07,960 --> 00:28:11,240 Speaker 1: resemble the car we all remember from Back to the Future. 440 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:15,080 Speaker 1: But if it means that we have another interesting, practical, 441 00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:19,240 Speaker 1: and you know, hopefully affordable electric vehicle on the market, 442 00:28:19,920 --> 00:28:21,520 Speaker 1: that's a good thing. I think there needs to be 443 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:26,200 Speaker 1: a lot of competition in that space, and competition ultimately 444 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:29,679 Speaker 1: benefits the consumer. No word yet on whether or not 445 00:28:29,720 --> 00:28:31,720 Speaker 1: this electric vehicle will be able to reach eighty eight 446 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:33,399 Speaker 1: miles per hour, But then I think most of the 447 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:36,040 Speaker 1: old DMC twelve cars wouldn't hit eighty eight miles per 448 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:40,400 Speaker 1: hour unless you drove them off a cliff, so that's okay. 449 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 1: The state of California has contributed twenty million dollars in 450 00:28:44,720 --> 00:28:47,880 Speaker 1: grants to a project that will cover eight thousand, five 451 00:28:47,960 --> 00:28:52,320 Speaker 1: hundred feet of canals in California with solar panels. These 452 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:54,680 Speaker 1: are canals that are part of the water management system 453 00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:57,320 Speaker 1: in the state, and there are a couple of really 454 00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:00,280 Speaker 1: big goals for the project here. One is to reduce 455 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:03,400 Speaker 1: the amount of water lost due to stuff like evaporation. 456 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:07,120 Speaker 1: California requires a lot of water. That's the most populated 457 00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:09,760 Speaker 1: state in the United States, and there are there's a 458 00:29:09,760 --> 00:29:12,280 Speaker 1: lot of farm land out there too, so the state 459 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:15,080 Speaker 1: requires lots and lots of water. So water management in 460 00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:18,600 Speaker 1: the state has always been a huge issue, and frequently 461 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:22,680 Speaker 1: that that issue gets exacerbated by stuff like droughts. Now, 462 00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:26,360 Speaker 1: the other big goal, obviously is to generate electricity using 463 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:29,400 Speaker 1: those solar panels, and this project aims to study the 464 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:33,080 Speaker 1: viability of rolling this practice out to the nearly four 465 00:29:33,160 --> 00:29:37,720 Speaker 1: thousand miles of canals across California. So if it works 466 00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:41,440 Speaker 1: really well in this kind of test environment, we might 467 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:45,000 Speaker 1: see it be adopted more broadly throughout the state and 468 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:49,760 Speaker 1: that could end up supplementing California's electricity needs significantly. Producing 469 00:29:49,760 --> 00:29:52,760 Speaker 1: as much as you know thirteen giga watts of juice 470 00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:56,160 Speaker 1: as well as save more than sixty billion gallons of 471 00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:59,640 Speaker 1: water every year. It will take some time to complete 472 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:03,400 Speaker 1: this much more modest project. This this sort of experimental 473 00:30:03,440 --> 00:30:06,400 Speaker 1: project at the University of California has estimated it will 474 00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:10,880 Speaker 1: be complete as of June tree, so it'll be a 475 00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:14,040 Speaker 1: while before all of those canals get capped with solar panels. 476 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:17,800 Speaker 1: Assuming this project proves to be you know, successful and practical. 477 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:22,800 Speaker 1: Axiom Space, the private space company, is set to send 478 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:26,440 Speaker 1: an all private astronaut team up to the International Space 479 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:29,920 Speaker 1: Station on April eight. This will be the first time 480 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:33,520 Speaker 1: that a crew entirely made up of private enterprise astronauts 481 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:35,960 Speaker 1: will be sent up to the I s S. I 482 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:38,880 Speaker 1: will say that the leader of the mission is a 483 00:30:38,960 --> 00:30:43,840 Speaker 1: retired NASA astronaut but is now a private astronaut. So 484 00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:47,120 Speaker 1: Axiom is billing this as being something entirely different from 485 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:51,240 Speaker 1: space tourism. Instead, it is quote the beginning of many 486 00:30:51,280 --> 00:30:55,360 Speaker 1: beginnings for commercializing low Earth orbit end. Quote that's according 487 00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:59,040 Speaker 1: to Calm Gafarian, a co founder of axiom Com, went 488 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:01,760 Speaker 1: on to say, quote we're like in the early days 489 00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:04,880 Speaker 1: of the Internet, and we haven't even imagined all the possibilities, 490 00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:08,320 Speaker 1: all the capabilities that we're going to be providing in space. 491 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:11,600 Speaker 1: End quote. Now, I don't know about you, but based 492 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:13,640 Speaker 1: on how the Internet has kind of shaped out over 493 00:31:13,680 --> 00:31:15,960 Speaker 1: the last couple of decades, that statement actually fills me 494 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:20,040 Speaker 1: with more dread than excitement. But I'll try to be 495 00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:24,040 Speaker 1: optimistic here. It's very true that we can't even anticipate 496 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:26,720 Speaker 1: what sort of things we will learn and benefit from 497 00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:31,360 Speaker 1: through the commercialization of space. Undoubtedly, even those of us 498 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:34,080 Speaker 1: who will never slip the bonds of Earth and fly 499 00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:36,920 Speaker 1: up into space will still get to see the benefits 500 00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:40,000 Speaker 1: from those developments as companies conduct interesting R and D 501 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:43,320 Speaker 1: in an environment we simply cannot reproduce here on Earth. 502 00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:46,320 Speaker 1: But I'm still a little bit anxious about it, if 503 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:52,000 Speaker 1: I'm honest. Finally, Newsweek reported that a group of scientists 504 00:31:52,040 --> 00:31:54,840 Speaker 1: have put together a proposed radio message that could be 505 00:31:54,840 --> 00:31:58,479 Speaker 1: beamed into deep space, and this message would include multiple 506 00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:03,760 Speaker 1: pathways for some strac terrestrial intelligent beings out there to 507 00:32:04,440 --> 00:32:08,560 Speaker 1: understand what the contents of that message actually are. Those 508 00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:13,760 Speaker 1: contents include Earth's location. This is something that physicist Stephen 509 00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:17,520 Speaker 1: Hawking once said was a supremely bad idea, because any 510 00:32:17,560 --> 00:32:21,360 Speaker 1: outcome that involves someone actually hearing and understanding the message 511 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:24,800 Speaker 1: is more likely to result in negative consequences than positive ones. 512 00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:29,920 Speaker 1: But let me assuage your fears. The first thing to 513 00:32:30,040 --> 00:32:32,920 Speaker 1: keep in mind, this message actually has not been sent. 514 00:32:33,440 --> 00:32:36,560 Speaker 1: It's just been composed, and it might never be sent. 515 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:41,959 Speaker 1: But secondly, space is enormous. I mean, Douglas Adams had 516 00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:45,800 Speaker 1: it right. Space is big, really big, and radio signals 517 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:48,040 Speaker 1: travel at the speed of light, which is the fastest 518 00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:50,720 Speaker 1: stuff in the universe, but it still takes a really 519 00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:55,080 Speaker 1: long time for light to reach distant locations in space. 520 00:32:55,160 --> 00:32:58,400 Speaker 1: This is why we describe distances and stuff like light 521 00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:02,640 Speaker 1: years like it literally takes years for light to travel 522 00:33:02,720 --> 00:33:06,400 Speaker 1: from certain points to us. If a star is three 523 00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:09,640 Speaker 1: light years away, that means it takes three hundred years 524 00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:12,959 Speaker 1: for light to get hear from that star. And we 525 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:17,600 Speaker 1: haven't observed any signs of intelligent life outside of our planet. 526 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:20,320 Speaker 1: Some days it can be pretty challenging to find signs 527 00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:24,760 Speaker 1: of intelligent life on our planet. It's it's likely that 528 00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:28,520 Speaker 1: any intelligent life that is out there, if there is any, 529 00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:31,560 Speaker 1: is pretty darn far away from us, certainly far enough 530 00:33:31,560 --> 00:33:35,200 Speaker 1: away where we haven't heard any radio signals from them, 531 00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:41,320 Speaker 1: which means that you have to, you know, think in 532 00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:44,520 Speaker 1: terms of how many years have we been listening, uh, 533 00:33:44,560 --> 00:33:47,400 Speaker 1: and you start to expand beyond that, you assume first, 534 00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:51,880 Speaker 1: of course, that the alien races are leveraging radio communications 535 00:33:51,880 --> 00:33:55,480 Speaker 1: in some way. But we haven't heard anything. So that 536 00:33:55,560 --> 00:34:00,360 Speaker 1: suggests that if there is intelligent life in our galaxy, 537 00:34:00,400 --> 00:34:03,280 Speaker 1: that it's not very close to us. So it's gonna 538 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:06,160 Speaker 1: take a long time for our message to get to 539 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:09,799 Speaker 1: some place where someone might be listening. Then it will 540 00:34:09,800 --> 00:34:13,400 Speaker 1: take them even longer to go from that location to 541 00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:16,279 Speaker 1: get here, because they will have to travel slower than 542 00:34:16,360 --> 00:34:18,880 Speaker 1: the speed of light, unless we're talking about beings that 543 00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:20,560 Speaker 1: are made up of pure energy, in which case we 544 00:34:20,560 --> 00:34:24,440 Speaker 1: probably wouldn't even recognize them as being alive anyway. So 545 00:34:25,560 --> 00:34:28,040 Speaker 1: I just think that, you know, worrying about this is 546 00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:30,840 Speaker 1: is being a little premature. Also, we should keep in 547 00:34:30,840 --> 00:34:34,200 Speaker 1: mind that again, because space is so big. If you're 548 00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:37,800 Speaker 1: beaming a message where you're like have a concentrated radio 549 00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:41,760 Speaker 1: signal and you're sending it out into deep space, if 550 00:34:41,800 --> 00:34:46,160 Speaker 1: if the intelligent life is off the path of that 551 00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:49,560 Speaker 1: radio beam, it's not gonna pick up the message anyway, 552 00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:53,640 Speaker 1: So you'd have to be like incredibly lucky to be 553 00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:58,040 Speaker 1: targeting the intelligent life in the first place. Otherwise like 554 00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:02,040 Speaker 1: you could be sending a signal in the wrong direction. Um. Yeah, 555 00:35:02,080 --> 00:35:04,120 Speaker 1: I just don't think that there's any reason for us 556 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:07,480 Speaker 1: to be scared about this. I also don't really think 557 00:35:07,480 --> 00:35:13,000 Speaker 1: there's any benefit in doing it, um because again, if 558 00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:16,560 Speaker 1: anything does pick up that message, by the time it 559 00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:20,319 Speaker 1: gets to our planet, we will have changed so much 560 00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:25,239 Speaker 1: now it'll be generations and generations after our own that one, 561 00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:29,000 Speaker 1: we can't assume that that generation wants to make contact 562 00:35:29,040 --> 00:35:32,279 Speaker 1: with alien life. Two, we don't even really know what 563 00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:35,000 Speaker 1: will be like at that point um, or even if 564 00:35:35,040 --> 00:35:38,040 Speaker 1: we'll still be on Earth, maybe we'll have abandoned it 565 00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:42,080 Speaker 1: for some other place. So the whole practice to me 566 00:35:42,200 --> 00:35:46,680 Speaker 1: seems impractical. But maybe maybe I'm just being Maybe I'm 567 00:35:46,719 --> 00:35:49,120 Speaker 1: just being too cynical here. Let me know. Let me 568 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:51,960 Speaker 1: know what you think, and if there are any suggestions 569 00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:53,960 Speaker 1: for topics I should cover on Tech Stuff, let me 570 00:35:54,000 --> 00:35:55,719 Speaker 1: know that as well. The best way to get in 571 00:35:55,719 --> 00:35:57,920 Speaker 1: touch with me is to use Twitter. The handle we 572 00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:01,239 Speaker 1: use for the show is tech Stuff h s W 573 00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:09,719 Speaker 1: and I'll talk to you again really soon. Y text 574 00:36:09,719 --> 00:36:13,160 Speaker 1: Stuff is an I heart Radio production. For more podcasts 575 00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:15,960 Speaker 1: from I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, 576 00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:19,240 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.