1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from my Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,200 --> 00:00:15,080 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:18,840 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio, 4 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:23,880 Speaker 1: and I love all things tech and friends. It is 5 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:27,760 Speaker 1: the end of twenty and I have to admit I 6 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:30,960 Speaker 1: am very glad I did not do a tech Stuff 7 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:34,400 Speaker 1: Predicts twenty twenty episode at the end of last year. 8 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:37,280 Speaker 1: Long time listeners know that I used to do that. 9 00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,519 Speaker 1: I used to make a predictions episode at the very 10 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:42,120 Speaker 1: end of one year, at the very beginning of the 11 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:44,800 Speaker 1: following year, to say what I thought was going to 12 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:48,080 Speaker 1: unfold over the course of the following twelve months. But 13 00:00:48,080 --> 00:00:50,240 Speaker 1: I'm glad I didn't do it this time, because boy howdy, 14 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,000 Speaker 1: there was no way I could have predicted what this 15 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:56,840 Speaker 1: year turned out to be. But there's another tradition that 16 00:00:56,960 --> 00:00:59,280 Speaker 1: we have at tech Stuff, which is that we take 17 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:02,080 Speaker 1: a look back at the year in tech and talk 18 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:03,880 Speaker 1: about some of the big stories that happened over the 19 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 1: previous twelve months. And it's probably gonna take at least 20 00:01:07,040 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 1: a couple of episodes. I've only got this one finished 21 00:01:10,080 --> 00:01:14,400 Speaker 1: right now, transparency here, so I haven't written the rest 22 00:01:14,400 --> 00:01:18,119 Speaker 1: of this, but I will give you a spoiler that 23 00:01:18,720 --> 00:01:23,360 Speaker 1: this episode only gets through March, and uh, that's not 24 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:27,720 Speaker 1: a strong start. I think, however, we're gonna take a 25 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 1: sort of a cliffs notes approach to the news stories. Obviously, 26 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:34,399 Speaker 1: if I did a deep dive, that would probably get 27 00:01:34,520 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: us well into the middle of next year before I 28 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:40,440 Speaker 1: finished out all of And also I should let you 29 00:01:40,440 --> 00:01:43,560 Speaker 1: know I am recording these episodes a little early. It's 30 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:45,360 Speaker 1: not the end of December right now. It's fact it's 31 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:48,600 Speaker 1: mid December as I record this. So it is entirely 32 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:51,840 Speaker 1: possible that between the time I record this and the 33 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 1: time you hear it, even more crazy stuff will have happened. 34 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: But we gotta do what we can. Right So, before 35 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,960 Speaker 1: I started going more or less chronologically through the year, 36 00:02:04,520 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 1: I think it only makes sense for us to acknowledge 37 00:02:07,320 --> 00:02:11,840 Speaker 1: the viral elephant in the room. Coronavirus and COVID nineteen 38 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:16,280 Speaker 1: have had a devastating impact on the world and every 39 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 1: aspect of our lives, and the tech industry was not 40 00:02:19,520 --> 00:02:23,359 Speaker 1: excluded from this by a long shot. The pandemic has 41 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:28,240 Speaker 1: contributed to major issues from supply chain concerns to you know, 42 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: offices closing down to companies teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, 43 00:02:32,919 --> 00:02:35,000 Speaker 1: and so we should be ready for a lot of 44 00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:37,560 Speaker 1: stories that I will cover to have you know, some 45 00:02:37,639 --> 00:02:41,160 Speaker 1: element of the pandemic in it and how the pandemic 46 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: affected the world of technology. It will come into play 47 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 1: over time, you know, as we go further into the year, 48 00:02:48,840 --> 00:02:52,680 Speaker 1: it will obviously become a bigger part of it um. 49 00:02:52,720 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: But we should also remember that COVID nineteen that nineteen 50 00:02:56,880 --> 00:02:59,440 Speaker 1: refers to the year two thousand nineteen, as it was 51 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:02,560 Speaker 1: first for order to the World Health Organization on December 52 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:07,040 Speaker 1: thirty one, two thousand nineteen. So even though we think 53 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 1: of it, or at least I think of COVID nineteen 54 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: as a twenty twenty thing, we do have to remember 55 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 1: that it all got started at the very tail end 56 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: of two thousand nineteen. There are a few other big 57 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 1: threads in tech. Stories of the elections in the United 58 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:26,800 Speaker 1: States were under intense scrutiny. There are a lot of 59 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:30,320 Speaker 1: stories in tech that intertwined with the elections and with 60 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:33,880 Speaker 1: politics in general, and there continues to be some serious 61 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:38,160 Speaker 1: discussion in governments around the world that revolve around big 62 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: tech companies and whether they represent monopolies or are otherwise 63 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 1: perpetuating anti competitive practices, and if they should be broken up. 64 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: But I'm sure we'll touch on all of these stories 65 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 1: several times as we go throughout the year. Early in January, 66 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:56,680 Speaker 1: we had c E S, also known as the Consumer 67 00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: Electronics Show. Though we've slowly seen the event drift further 68 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 1: are away from a strictly consumer electronics focus, little do 69 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:08,160 Speaker 1: we know at the time that the cs FOR would 70 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:11,640 Speaker 1: be forced to shift to a virtual only event. Now. 71 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:15,560 Speaker 1: I didn't attend c E S, which is a little 72 00:04:15,640 --> 00:04:18,240 Speaker 1: unusual for me, but I had just finished a year 73 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:21,320 Speaker 1: of intense travel for work, and I felt like I 74 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:25,800 Speaker 1: could probably cover most of the announcements from Atlanta. So 75 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:28,400 Speaker 1: the question is what did I miss out on? Well, 76 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:30,359 Speaker 1: there were a lot of examples of the sorts of 77 00:04:30,360 --> 00:04:34,200 Speaker 1: stuff you expect at c S. For example, there were 78 00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:38,479 Speaker 1: robots somewhere really just toys meant to divert someone for 79 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:40,880 Speaker 1: a little bit before you got tired of it and 80 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:43,840 Speaker 1: then it takes up space. Others purported to be, you know, 81 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:48,159 Speaker 1: actually a practical use in some way. Samsung showed off 82 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,919 Speaker 1: a rolling robot called Bali B A L l I 83 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:55,440 Speaker 1: E and has a little camera in it, and it 84 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: allows the robot to roam around and follow people and 85 00:04:59,000 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: potentially help out with various chores. For example, let's say 86 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:07,200 Speaker 1: you spill some salsa on the floor and Bali notices this, 87 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:11,240 Speaker 1: and after it judges you for being a slob. I 88 00:05:11,320 --> 00:05:14,840 Speaker 1: might be projecting here. Bali would then alert, say, your 89 00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:17,640 Speaker 1: robot mop and vacuum cleaner to swoop in and take 90 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:21,200 Speaker 1: care of that spicy mess. Well, you're left to think 91 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:24,040 Speaker 1: about your life choices. There were a lot of other 92 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:26,520 Speaker 1: robots too, but let's talk about some of the other 93 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:31,160 Speaker 1: gadgets that grabbed headlines at c e S. Samsung did 94 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:33,719 Speaker 1: it again with the unveiling of a display that can 95 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:39,039 Speaker 1: rotate horizontally or vertically so in landscape or portrait mode. 96 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:42,880 Speaker 1: CNN called it the vertical TV no one has asked for, 97 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:47,279 Speaker 1: but I beg to differ. Um, Maybe the CNN staff 98 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:51,039 Speaker 1: can't see a need for vertically oriented display, but I 99 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:54,080 Speaker 1: know plenty of video game streamers who have a vertically 100 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:56,919 Speaker 1: aligned monitor that they used to keep track of stuff 101 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:00,240 Speaker 1: like stream chat. The setup i've seen most freak only 102 00:06:00,240 --> 00:06:04,359 Speaker 1: includes one monitor for the actual gameplay footage, one monitor 103 00:06:04,400 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 1: to show the stream view for stuff like overlays and transitions, 104 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:11,919 Speaker 1: and even a third monitor, the vertically one to to 105 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 1: follow chat and one day, my friends, I hope to 106 00:06:14,560 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 1: have a setup like that. I don't currently, I'm I'm 107 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:20,039 Speaker 1: stuck with um Well, I've got three monitors in front 108 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:22,039 Speaker 1: of me, but therefore two different computers and they're not 109 00:06:22,080 --> 00:06:25,600 Speaker 1: connected together. One gadget I heard about and kind of 110 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:28,480 Speaker 1: wish I had seen in person was the Julia smart 111 00:06:28,520 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: processor from Cooking Pal. According to what I've read, it 112 00:06:31,760 --> 00:06:36,040 Speaker 1: could chop, mix, need way and cook stuff, which kind 113 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 1: of sounds magical to me. It looks a little bit 114 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 1: like a coffee maker, I think, but apparently it cannot 115 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:46,000 Speaker 1: make coffee. Kitchen gadgets are always a huge category at CEES. 116 00:06:46,400 --> 00:06:49,359 Speaker 1: I think kitchens and home entertainment systems are sort of 117 00:06:49,400 --> 00:06:54,480 Speaker 1: the standard consumer electronics categories. Segue introduced a new personal 118 00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:58,440 Speaker 1: motorized vehicle at ce S. It was a chair on 119 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:01,400 Speaker 1: two wheels, So other than standing on a on a 120 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 1: wheeled scooter, you sit in a two wheeled contraption and 121 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:07,400 Speaker 1: those wheels are side by side. They're not front and back, 122 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:09,479 Speaker 1: it's left and right, so it's kind of like the 123 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:13,120 Speaker 1: classic Segue scooter and rather than leaning to control it 124 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:15,680 Speaker 1: the way you would a normal Segue, you use a 125 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:18,520 Speaker 1: joystick that's on the right side of the seat and 126 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:20,480 Speaker 1: it looks kind of cool. I would actually love to 127 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: give one a spin. And before I talk about a 128 00:07:22,880 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: few more ces gadgets, I do want to mention that 129 00:07:25,800 --> 00:07:30,000 Speaker 1: Segue wasn't the news. Later in in June, the company 130 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:33,200 Speaker 1: announced that it was ending production on the original Segue 131 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,680 Speaker 1: PT scooter. This was the line of vehicles that put 132 00:07:36,720 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 1: Segue on the map. I mean, I remember twenty years 133 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:43,120 Speaker 1: ago just before the Segue was unveiled, and now all 134 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:46,680 Speaker 1: the news channels had referred to it as it I 135 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:48,720 Speaker 1: think maybe one of the code words was ginger. I 136 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: actually didn't look that up, but I want to say 137 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 1: that it's in my brain. I could be wrong, but 138 00:07:54,000 --> 00:07:58,360 Speaker 1: no one was really sure what it was. They only 139 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:02,640 Speaker 1: knew that Dean Cayman, a true engineering genius, was going 140 00:08:02,680 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 1: to announce something interesting, and there was a lot of 141 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:08,200 Speaker 1: speculation about what it could be, and some people were 142 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 1: actually really good at guessing what it would end up being, 143 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:15,880 Speaker 1: which when it was unveiled, was this motorized scooter that 144 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 1: could balance on two wheels uh, and when it was unveiled, 145 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:22,280 Speaker 1: the media went bonkers for it. There were talks about 146 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:25,320 Speaker 1: how it would lead to a complete redesign of cities 147 00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:29,160 Speaker 1: and would become the future of personal transportation for short distances, 148 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:33,120 Speaker 1: which never quite happened. But we did see some elements 149 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:35,720 Speaker 1: of that vision come true many years later in a 150 00:08:35,720 --> 00:08:38,280 Speaker 1: different form, and we saw the introduction of you know, 151 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 1: scooter rental services, for example, all over the place using 152 00:08:42,160 --> 00:08:44,679 Speaker 1: an app to unlock a scooter. I want to think 153 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:48,040 Speaker 1: of that as sort of sort of a branched pathway 154 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:50,720 Speaker 1: off of this vision of the segue, But I am 155 00:08:50,760 --> 00:08:53,880 Speaker 1: still waiting for cities to get redesigned totally to make 156 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:55,960 Speaker 1: it easier to get around if you're not in a car. 157 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:00,680 Speaker 1: Back at CES, there were plenty of other gadgets, from 158 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:05,439 Speaker 1: smart watches, two drones, to flying car concepts to a 159 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:09,120 Speaker 1: kitty litter box outfitted with AI. Now, if you ever 160 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:11,920 Speaker 1: wondered if artificial intelligence was going to rebel against humans 161 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:14,200 Speaker 1: and try to eradicate us, I think it's safe to 162 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:16,840 Speaker 1: say the answer is they definitely will, and it's because 163 00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:20,640 Speaker 1: we made them stare at kitty litter in so we 164 00:09:20,760 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 1: deserve it. There were smart speakers. There were thin and 165 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:28,840 Speaker 1: gorgeous television sets. There were led hexagon lights, which I 166 00:09:28,920 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 1: have since seen in the background of various YouTuber videos. 167 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:36,040 Speaker 1: There were musical instruments. There were car gadgets and systems. 168 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:39,880 Speaker 1: There were new computers, There were new VR headsets, and 169 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:42,040 Speaker 1: then there were all the really weird devices that would 170 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:44,440 Speaker 1: prompt you to wonder why anyone ever thought it up 171 00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:47,080 Speaker 1: in the first place, And often that thought is followed 172 00:09:47,120 --> 00:09:50,680 Speaker 1: by when can I get one of those? So started 173 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:53,200 Speaker 1: off with a big splash of consumer tech, some of 174 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:56,079 Speaker 1: it awesome, some of it weird, some of it lame 175 00:09:56,960 --> 00:10:00,080 Speaker 1: on the social networking side of things. Facebook continue you 176 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:04,920 Speaker 1: to field criticisms directed at the platform regarding misinformation, fake accounts, 177 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:08,880 Speaker 1: and politics, which would go throughout all of the company 178 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:11,760 Speaker 1: was under fire because executives had acknowledged that there were 179 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:15,679 Speaker 1: a lot of political ads on Facebook containing misinformation and 180 00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:19,120 Speaker 1: sometimes outright lies, but that Facebook was not going to 181 00:10:19,200 --> 00:10:23,040 Speaker 1: take any action to label or remove misleading political ads. 182 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:25,920 Speaker 1: While the company was bowing to pressure to remove other 183 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 1: types of content uh that contained misinformation or hate speech, 184 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:34,120 Speaker 1: the political ads would stay up, and as was an 185 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:37,120 Speaker 1: election year here in the United states. This would become 186 00:10:37,240 --> 00:10:40,240 Speaker 1: a bigger story over the following months, and it was 187 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:44,439 Speaker 1: exacerbated somewhat when a memo penned by a Facebook executive 188 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:47,680 Speaker 1: named Andrew Bosworth back at the end of twenty nineteen 189 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:52,360 Speaker 1: became public in and In that memo, Bosworth said he 190 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:56,240 Speaker 1: believed Facebook's advertising policies were a contributing factor in the 191 00:10:56,240 --> 00:11:00,240 Speaker 1: outcome of the election, and that it might quote very 192 00:11:00,280 --> 00:11:04,679 Speaker 1: well lead to the same result end quote. Now, Bosworth, 193 00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:08,680 Speaker 1: I should point out, was a Clinton supporter, but his 194 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:11,840 Speaker 1: point was more about how the Trump campaign was able 195 00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:16,880 Speaker 1: to run a really effective digital ad campaign using Facebook's approach, 196 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:21,120 Speaker 1: rather than arguing that there was some influence of Russian 197 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:26,839 Speaker 1: interference or misinformation campaigns. Bosworth also dismissed Cambridge Analytica's influence 198 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:30,080 Speaker 1: on the twenty sixteen election, something that I think is 199 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:33,440 Speaker 1: probably accurate for the most part, but I feel Bosworth 200 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:37,720 Speaker 1: was also dismissive of the very real, harmful impact Cambridge 201 00:11:37,760 --> 00:11:41,839 Speaker 1: Analytica had and the role Facebook played in making that possible, 202 00:11:42,679 --> 00:11:47,200 Speaker 1: namely through the company's terrible management of app permissions, But 203 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:50,520 Speaker 1: that's a matter for a different podcast. Facebook will pop 204 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 1: up more than a few times in this retrospective look 205 00:11:53,160 --> 00:11:55,800 Speaker 1: at the big stories, of which is no big surprise. 206 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:59,679 Speaker 1: It continues to play a big part, sometimes a disruptive 207 00:11:59,720 --> 00:12:04,679 Speaker 1: part of people's lives, both online and offline. Over at Google, 208 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:08,400 Speaker 1: David Drummond, who was the chief legal officer of Alphabet, 209 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:13,440 Speaker 1: the holding company under which Google exists, he retired amid 210 00:12:13,640 --> 00:12:16,520 Speaker 1: a growing concern at the company. Google, like a lot 211 00:12:16,559 --> 00:12:20,160 Speaker 1: of other tech companies, was struggling with revelations that came 212 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:22,160 Speaker 1: to the public notice in the wake of the me 213 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:26,880 Speaker 1: too movement. According to former Googler Jennifer Blakely, she and 214 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:31,720 Speaker 1: Drummond had a year's long affair, and since Blakely reported 215 00:12:31,880 --> 00:12:35,400 Speaker 1: to Drummond originally anyway, this was in direct violation of 216 00:12:35,400 --> 00:12:39,480 Speaker 1: Google's HR policies, but Blakely would ultimately be moved to 217 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:43,760 Speaker 1: a different department, one that she claimed was unrelated to 218 00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:48,080 Speaker 1: her background, her education, her work experience, and Drummond kept 219 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:51,240 Speaker 1: climbing the executive ladder, and the message was that if 220 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:55,880 Speaker 1: you were an executive, specifically a male executive at Google, 221 00:12:56,520 --> 00:12:58,560 Speaker 1: you had a level of protection around you that would 222 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:01,280 Speaker 1: cushion you from stuff that what at the very least 223 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:04,240 Speaker 1: earn you a sanction from the company, if not worse. 224 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:07,280 Speaker 1: And this is a story we've seen happen again and 225 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:12,600 Speaker 1: again in multiple companies, from Uber to Ubisoft, and also 226 00:13:12,640 --> 00:13:15,640 Speaker 1: in companies that you know, don't start with you. It 227 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:18,040 Speaker 1: had been a real blight in the business world in 228 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:21,360 Speaker 1: general for years and the tech world in particular. And 229 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:23,840 Speaker 1: I suspect it's going to take a lot more time 230 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:26,760 Speaker 1: and effort to uncover and address toxic work cultures and 231 00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:32,719 Speaker 1: policies because we've only really just scratched the surface. Gosh, 232 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:37,559 Speaker 1: we're not even out of January yet. But um, let's 233 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:41,480 Speaker 1: take a quick break and we'll come back and see 234 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:44,120 Speaker 1: if we can get out of that first month. Okay, 235 00:13:44,720 --> 00:13:57,040 Speaker 1: uh see in a minute. Okay, January, Xerox initiated a 236 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:01,600 Speaker 1: hostile takeover attempt for HP. This would be the branch 237 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:05,240 Speaker 1: of HP that is the PC manufacturer, because if you remember, 238 00:14:05,320 --> 00:14:08,880 Speaker 1: HP itself had split into two entities a few years earlier. 239 00:14:09,360 --> 00:14:12,640 Speaker 1: So the way a hostile takeover typically works is that 240 00:14:12,720 --> 00:14:16,079 Speaker 1: you've got company A in this case Xerox, buying up 241 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:19,880 Speaker 1: shares of company B in this case HP, and it's 242 00:14:19,880 --> 00:14:23,040 Speaker 1: in an effort to gain enough leverage to force company 243 00:14:23,080 --> 00:14:25,920 Speaker 1: b's board of directors to agree to a merger or 244 00:14:25,920 --> 00:14:29,640 Speaker 1: acquisition deal, or to bypass the board of directors completely 245 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:32,800 Speaker 1: by forcing a shareholder vote on the matter. If you 246 00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 1: control enough shares, you can influence the vote and make 247 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:39,120 Speaker 1: it go your way, and then Company A takes over 248 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:43,000 Speaker 1: Company B. It is not always easy to do. It 249 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:45,560 Speaker 1: was huge in the eighties. This was like the go 250 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:49,280 Speaker 1: to method for one company to go after another company 251 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:51,800 Speaker 1: in the eighties. But it is really expensive and it 252 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:57,040 Speaker 1: can get really ugly. Xerox went hard after HP with 253 00:14:57,120 --> 00:15:00,720 Speaker 1: a campaign that was a thirty five billion dollar acquisition 254 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:06,200 Speaker 1: campaign that is a princely sum. Ultimately, Xerox would end 255 00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:10,920 Speaker 1: this attempt in March of citing the Coronavis virus pandemic 256 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:15,120 Speaker 1: as the main reason for dropping its pursuit. Interestingly, the 257 00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:20,240 Speaker 1: Xerox CEO was himself a former HP executive, so he 258 00:15:20,280 --> 00:15:23,640 Speaker 1: had worked at HP before, also worked at IBM before 259 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:28,040 Speaker 1: came over, leads Xerox and then tries to take HP, 260 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:32,760 Speaker 1: but it didn't work. In late January, Uber announced it 261 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:36,160 Speaker 1: was preparing a test of its self driving vehicles in Washington, 262 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:38,680 Speaker 1: d C. And I bring this up really to do 263 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:42,440 Speaker 1: a quick fast forward on Uber's self driving car strategy 264 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:48,160 Speaker 1: in t see. Uber has been incredibly bullish about pushing 265 00:15:48,200 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 1: autonomous cars, mean very aggressive in developing self driving car technology. 266 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:56,760 Speaker 1: The pursuit has had more than a few bumps in 267 00:15:56,760 --> 00:16:00,200 Speaker 1: the road. You could say there were allegations that Beer 268 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:04,040 Speaker 1: was benefiting from research that was stolen from Google's way 269 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:08,840 Speaker 1: Mo program. Uh. That is something that took a really 270 00:16:08,920 --> 00:16:11,440 Speaker 1: ugly turn a few years ago and continues to be 271 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:15,000 Speaker 1: an issue today in various ways. And then you had 272 00:16:15,040 --> 00:16:18,520 Speaker 1: the tragic incident of an Uber self driving vehicle colliding 273 00:16:18,560 --> 00:16:22,560 Speaker 1: with a pedestrian. That was terrible, and the company has 274 00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:27,120 Speaker 1: had a dark and questionable record with self driving technology 275 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,880 Speaker 1: while pushing it really hard. But despite all that, autonomous 276 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:35,520 Speaker 1: vehicles remained a pillar of Uber's strategy, which in itself 277 00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:38,400 Speaker 1: is rough because the message you're sending to your driver's 278 00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:41,920 Speaker 1: is we need you right now, but eventually we won't 279 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,800 Speaker 1: need you, So don't get too comfy, not not super 280 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:50,760 Speaker 1: more like not a great way to raise morale among 281 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:55,640 Speaker 1: your employees or i should say contract workers. Anyway, later 282 00:16:55,680 --> 00:17:00,480 Speaker 1: in circulated that Uber was looking to sell off the 283 00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:04,400 Speaker 1: self driving division within the company, and it was pouring 284 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:10,240 Speaker 1: around twenty million dollars every month into its autonomous car 285 00:17:10,320 --> 00:17:15,159 Speaker 1: research and development division. In an effort to move toward profitability, 286 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:19,240 Speaker 1: Uber has pulled the trigger and sold off the autonomous 287 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:24,600 Speaker 1: car division to a startup called Aurora. And Aurora itself 288 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:28,280 Speaker 1: is headed by a former way Mo executive, so someone 289 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:32,480 Speaker 1: who had worked on Google's self driving car company has 290 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:35,800 Speaker 1: now moved over and created their own startup. Now, this 291 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:38,080 Speaker 1: does not mean that Uber has actually given up on 292 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:42,360 Speaker 1: autonomous cars. They haven't. The company will have a significant 293 00:17:42,400 --> 00:17:46,480 Speaker 1: ownership stake in Aurora, and this shift is likely more 294 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:50,840 Speaker 1: about freeing up Uber of those massive monthly costs while 295 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:54,320 Speaker 1: still eyeing the potential for a self driving fleet of 296 00:17:54,520 --> 00:17:58,000 Speaker 1: Uber vehicles in the future. So it would be premature 297 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:01,320 Speaker 1: to say that Uber is done with autonomous vehicles. Really, 298 00:18:01,359 --> 00:18:04,240 Speaker 1: it's just done pouring millions of dollars every month into 299 00:18:04,240 --> 00:18:07,920 Speaker 1: the effort. Considering how far behind Uber is on its 300 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:11,840 Speaker 1: original plans, that's probably for the best because the company 301 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:15,520 Speaker 1: had hoped to have thousands of self driving taxis active 302 00:18:15,840 --> 00:18:19,120 Speaker 1: in a few different markets by the end of twenty 303 00:18:19,200 --> 00:18:22,959 Speaker 1: and that just hasn't happened. So I expect Uber's overall 304 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:26,879 Speaker 1: plans haven't really changed. That much. It's just how the 305 00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:30,760 Speaker 1: company hopes to achieve them. That's what's changed. And one 306 00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:33,119 Speaker 1: of the reasons Uber is looking forward to a future 307 00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:36,920 Speaker 1: with robot drivers is that the company has really resisted 308 00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:40,800 Speaker 1: treating its human drivers as company employees. As I alluded 309 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:45,480 Speaker 1: to just a minute ago, Uber, along with Lift, classifies 310 00:18:45,600 --> 00:18:49,879 Speaker 1: drivers as contract workers, not employees, and that gets around 311 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:55,520 Speaker 1: some pesky issues like providing benefits to people. In California, 312 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:59,280 Speaker 1: legal cases challenging this had gone as far as the 313 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:03,639 Speaker 1: California Appeals Court, and in fact that court ruled that 314 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:07,399 Speaker 1: Lift and Uber should classify drivers as employees, or really 315 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:12,679 Speaker 1: they should prepare to do that. Because some legislation was 316 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:15,720 Speaker 1: being laid out for California voters. It was called Proposition 317 00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:21,000 Speaker 1: twenty two, and that proposition would create the legal standing 318 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:25,080 Speaker 1: to call gig workers contract workers rather than employees if 319 00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:27,760 Speaker 1: it passed. So, in other words, if you vote yes 320 00:19:27,920 --> 00:19:31,760 Speaker 1: on Proposition twenty two, what you're saying is that people 321 00:19:31,800 --> 00:19:34,919 Speaker 1: who work for companies like Uber or Lift can be 322 00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:40,240 Speaker 1: called contract workers, they are not employees. That that legislation 323 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:44,200 Speaker 1: passed with fifty eight percent of the vote. So Lift 324 00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:48,040 Speaker 1: and Uber and a few other similar companies had collectively 325 00:19:48,119 --> 00:19:52,439 Speaker 1: contributed more than two hundred million dollars to various ad 326 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:57,000 Speaker 1: campaigns in California to convince voters to support that proposition, 327 00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:01,880 Speaker 1: and it totally worked. So workers will be contract workers. 328 00:20:01,920 --> 00:20:05,160 Speaker 1: They are not employees, and thus they are not entitled 329 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:09,919 Speaker 1: to employee benefits the way other employees are within the 330 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:13,400 Speaker 1: state of California. They did get a few additional benefits 331 00:20:13,680 --> 00:20:16,760 Speaker 1: from that proposition, but not to the extent that they 332 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:21,320 Speaker 1: would if they actually were granted full employee status. We 333 00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:24,760 Speaker 1: learned in January that a string of hotels branded with 334 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:28,800 Speaker 1: a licensing agreement from Atari will be here at some 335 00:20:29,080 --> 00:20:31,919 Speaker 1: point in the future. I think the plan is to 336 00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:37,320 Speaker 1: have hotels in eight different cities and places like Las Vegas, Nevada, Nevada. 337 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:41,080 Speaker 1: I should say, I apologize, and I imagine those plans 338 00:20:41,119 --> 00:20:45,560 Speaker 1: in particular hit a pretty big snag with the pandemic, 339 00:20:46,040 --> 00:20:49,879 Speaker 1: which has really affected everything from the hospitality industry in 340 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:54,040 Speaker 1: general because fewer people are traveling and staying in hotels 341 00:20:54,520 --> 00:20:59,720 Speaker 1: to construction. A lot of construction projects are progressing very 342 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:03,639 Speaker 1: lowly or not at all at the moment. But these hotels, 343 00:21:03,720 --> 00:21:06,440 Speaker 1: when they are completed, will cater to fans of video 344 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:10,879 Speaker 1: games with a retro design and immersive experiences built into 345 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:14,320 Speaker 1: the structures themselves, which sounds pretty nifty. I kind of 346 00:21:14,359 --> 00:21:16,400 Speaker 1: dig the idea of staying at a hotel that has 347 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:20,359 Speaker 1: that sort of retro eighties style to it, especially if 348 00:21:20,359 --> 00:21:27,240 Speaker 1: it's very, very subtly influenced by specific video games. Um. 349 00:21:27,400 --> 00:21:29,200 Speaker 1: I think that could be a lot of fun. And 350 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:32,760 Speaker 1: if if every room has its own arcade cabinet, that's 351 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:34,840 Speaker 1: even better. I mean, I don't think that will happen, 352 00:21:34,880 --> 00:21:39,119 Speaker 1: but that would be cool. So I think now we 353 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:42,960 Speaker 1: are finally ready to move into February. So that was 354 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:45,639 Speaker 1: a lot. But we went through several stories as they 355 00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:47,639 Speaker 1: played out throughout the year, and we will continue to 356 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:51,600 Speaker 1: do that in this episode. So while I might start 357 00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:54,320 Speaker 1: a story that began in February, some of those stories 358 00:21:54,840 --> 00:21:56,679 Speaker 1: do play out throughout the year. So let's see what 359 00:21:56,720 --> 00:21:59,440 Speaker 1: we have in store. Keeping in mind is also a 360 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:02,160 Speaker 1: leap year, so we have an extra day in February, because, 361 00:22:02,200 --> 00:22:05,280 Speaker 1: of course we do, because twenties determined to get us down, 362 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:09,360 Speaker 1: but dang it, I'm not gonna let that happen. February 363 00:22:09,480 --> 00:22:12,320 Speaker 1: was when we started seeing tech companies start to shut 364 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:15,159 Speaker 1: down store fronts, and then a little later after that 365 00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:19,640 Speaker 1: manufacturing facilities that were located in China. While the coronavirus 366 00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:22,840 Speaker 1: had already spread outside of China, at this point, most 367 00:22:22,840 --> 00:22:25,480 Speaker 1: people in the United States weren't really concerned about it yet. 368 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:28,280 Speaker 1: It was a very few number of cases in the 369 00:22:28,320 --> 00:22:31,320 Speaker 1: United States, and I think a lot of people, I 370 00:22:31,359 --> 00:22:34,840 Speaker 1: think even myself, thought, oh, you know, this is bad, 371 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:38,960 Speaker 1: but at least it's containable. Little did I know. I 372 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:42,320 Speaker 1: was so naive. But tech companies were already starting to 373 00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:45,320 Speaker 1: take a bit of a preventive approach, with Apple closing 374 00:22:45,359 --> 00:22:50,959 Speaker 1: all forty two of its stores in China. By early February, Facebook, Google, 375 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:53,000 Speaker 1: and Twitter all announced that they were cracking down on 376 00:22:53,119 --> 00:22:57,600 Speaker 1: misinformation about the coronavirus, which I mean, I guess they 377 00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:01,000 Speaker 1: did do that, but holy cats, I think information and 378 00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:05,000 Speaker 1: baseless conspiracy theories about coronavirus can go toe to toe 379 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:08,640 Speaker 1: with the misinformation and such regarding the U S election, 380 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:10,879 Speaker 1: and to be fair, a lot of that stuff is 381 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:14,000 Speaker 1: actually tied up together. The company said they were on 382 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:17,480 Speaker 1: top of all of that, but it would turn out 383 00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:20,400 Speaker 1: that the tidal wave of misinformation was just too great 384 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:23,320 Speaker 1: for the services to really handle. It. It just was 385 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:27,520 Speaker 1: too tall of an order, I would argue. It is 386 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:31,280 Speaker 1: interesting to me though, that as early as February they 387 00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:34,600 Speaker 1: were talking about this. We saw an escalation of the U. 388 00:23:34,720 --> 00:23:39,760 Speaker 1: S government's stance against Chinese manufacturing company Huawei in twenty 389 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:43,920 Speaker 1: In February twenty uh Whahwei makes a lot of stuff, 390 00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:47,679 Speaker 1: including infrastructure components for five G networks, and I covered 391 00:23:47,720 --> 00:23:50,480 Speaker 1: a lot about five G myths in a recent episode, 392 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:53,440 Speaker 1: so I'm not going to dive into that too much here. 393 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:57,720 Speaker 1: But the overt reason for the concern about Whahwei was 394 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:02,399 Speaker 1: that the Chinese government could deceivably forced Huahwei to serve 395 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:08,840 Speaker 1: as a gateway for surveillance activities and you know, essentially leverage. 396 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:13,720 Speaker 1: It's it's incredible power to force Hahwei to have secret 397 00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:17,840 Speaker 1: backdoor access to various communications networks. But if you look 398 00:24:17,840 --> 00:24:20,120 Speaker 1: at the full story gets way more complicated than that. 399 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:24,040 Speaker 1: Involves things like trade disputes and stuff, and a lot 400 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:27,680 Speaker 1: of posturing as well, so it's not as simple as 401 00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:30,520 Speaker 1: the way I've laid it out. In February, the government 402 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:33,359 Speaker 1: added a few more charges at Huawei's door. They said 403 00:24:33,400 --> 00:24:36,600 Speaker 1: that the company was guilty of racketeering and conspiracy to 404 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:39,879 Speaker 1: steal intellectual property in the battle between Huawei and the 405 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:44,040 Speaker 1: US government continues to this very day, as I record 406 00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:49,200 Speaker 1: this in February as well, Amazon would argue in court successfully. 407 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:52,159 Speaker 1: I might add that a planned project to create a 408 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:56,520 Speaker 1: cloud computing infrastructure for the Pentagon should go on hold 409 00:24:56,680 --> 00:24:59,359 Speaker 1: and not just move forward. So at the heart of 410 00:24:59,400 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 1: the issue was that the Pentagon had this huge contract 411 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:07,639 Speaker 1: and they awarded it to Microsoft. But Jeff Bezos and 412 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:12,360 Speaker 1: Amazon alleged that President Trump had leaned on the Pentagon 413 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:16,720 Speaker 1: to award the contract to Microsoft, even if that that 414 00:25:16,920 --> 00:25:20,680 Speaker 1: contract wasn't as competitive as what Amazon was putting forward, 415 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:24,200 Speaker 1: and that it was all because the President had bad 416 00:25:24,280 --> 00:25:28,640 Speaker 1: blood with Bezos and Amazon and the Washington Post, which 417 00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:33,040 Speaker 1: Bezos owns. This mess stretched on for several months until 418 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:35,679 Speaker 1: on early September, the Pentagon would say, you know what, 419 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:40,560 Speaker 1: We're still gonna go with Microsoft, where we've heard your complaints, 420 00:25:40,880 --> 00:25:44,320 Speaker 1: but we're going to move forward. Amazon is still trying 421 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:48,919 Speaker 1: to stop that from happening. Uh, they're trying to have 422 00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:53,840 Speaker 1: depositions with people like President Trump, in fact, all for 423 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:57,399 Speaker 1: the purposes of supporting their argument. But that's not really 424 00:25:57,440 --> 00:26:00,919 Speaker 1: going anywhere. Right now. Can't imagine why, but there's a 425 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,640 Speaker 1: real chance that we're not done with this story yet 426 00:26:03,680 --> 00:26:08,000 Speaker 1: and that it might stretch well into Gamers in the 427 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:11,320 Speaker 1: United States likely breathed a sigh of relief. I mean, 428 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:14,639 Speaker 1: if they noticed that in February the i r S 429 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:18,000 Speaker 1: very quietly deleted a statement that had previously said the 430 00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:23,800 Speaker 1: virtual currency of Fortnite could possibly be subjected to federal taxes. Now, 431 00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:26,679 Speaker 1: my guess is most gamers weren't even aware that that 432 00:26:26,840 --> 00:26:29,680 Speaker 1: was a possibility in the first place, because it wasn't 433 00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:34,320 Speaker 1: exactly displayed prominently. But this is more than just a 434 00:26:34,359 --> 00:26:38,720 Speaker 1: curious story. If the I r S had kept that policy, 435 00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:41,480 Speaker 1: it might have said a precedent for all sorts of 436 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:46,000 Speaker 1: virtual currencies, which so far have been largely exempt from 437 00:26:46,119 --> 00:26:50,160 Speaker 1: taxable income. For its part, and I r S leaders 438 00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:52,080 Speaker 1: said that the whole thing was a mistake in the 439 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:54,720 Speaker 1: first place and was never meant to have been published. 440 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:58,560 Speaker 1: So who's to say it was in mid February when 441 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:02,080 Speaker 1: we first started hearing about the possibility of shortages in 442 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:08,200 Speaker 1: various electronics. As tech companies and supply chains and manufacturing 443 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:11,600 Speaker 1: got more and more affected by the pandemic, we weren't 444 00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:14,960 Speaker 1: necessarily calling it a pandemic, yet that's obviously what it 445 00:27:14,960 --> 00:27:18,240 Speaker 1: turned out to be. Apple warned its investors that its 446 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:21,800 Speaker 1: revenue numbers would be impacted because the coronavirus was affecting 447 00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:25,400 Speaker 1: iPhone production, which would lead to a shortage in stores, 448 00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:29,720 Speaker 1: so fewer sales than had been predicted at that point, 449 00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:33,080 Speaker 1: So that was an early indicator that things were serious. 450 00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:37,000 Speaker 1: February is also when Larry Tesler passed away. Now that 451 00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:39,800 Speaker 1: name might not be familiar to you, but his work 452 00:27:40,200 --> 00:27:44,560 Speaker 1: definitely is because he was the guy who created the copy, 453 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:49,320 Speaker 1: cut and paste functions in computers, which have been basic 454 00:27:49,400 --> 00:27:53,119 Speaker 1: commands in all these various systems ever since. And another 455 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:58,400 Speaker 1: person whom we lost in February was Kazuhisha Hashimoto, who 456 00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:01,680 Speaker 1: was the genius behind the Konami code. Now, if you're 457 00:28:01,720 --> 00:28:04,560 Speaker 1: not familiar with the Konami code, it is a sequence 458 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:07,359 Speaker 1: you can enter on a game pad to activate some 459 00:28:07,400 --> 00:28:10,800 Speaker 1: sort of cheat code or easter egg in numerous games, 460 00:28:11,200 --> 00:28:16,080 Speaker 1: and technically it is up, up, down, down, left, right, 461 00:28:16,440 --> 00:28:20,119 Speaker 1: left right b A. Sometimes there are a couple of 462 00:28:20,119 --> 00:28:23,359 Speaker 1: other steps, but that is the basic code, and the 463 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:27,000 Speaker 1: first game to feature this code was Gratis or Gradius 464 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:29,000 Speaker 1: if you prefer. But I first became aware of it 465 00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:33,240 Speaker 1: in a game called Contra. Since then, it's appeared in 466 00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:36,919 Speaker 1: numerous games, including games that were not made by Konami. 467 00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:39,760 Speaker 1: So a lot of gamers when they get a new game, 468 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:43,000 Speaker 1: if they've got a game pad or some other controller 469 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:46,080 Speaker 1: like that attached, they will just try it just for 470 00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:48,400 Speaker 1: the heck of it to see if anything happens. You'll 471 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:51,600 Speaker 1: be surprised at how often something does happen because so 472 00:28:51,640 --> 00:28:55,400 Speaker 1: many people who developed games grew up playing stuff like Contra, 473 00:28:55,920 --> 00:28:58,959 Speaker 1: and they're paying tribute in a way by including that 474 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:04,240 Speaker 1: code in their own games. Frequently it does something very silly, 475 00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:08,040 Speaker 1: and uh, I really appreciate that. By the end of February, 476 00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:12,640 Speaker 1: the coronavirus concerns were starting to really grow. Facebook canceled 477 00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:15,920 Speaker 1: its scheduled conference and we would see many other planned 478 00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:20,200 Speaker 1: events follow suit. South By Southwest held on until the 479 00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:23,000 Speaker 1: very last minute. They canceled for the first time in 480 00:29:23,080 --> 00:29:27,240 Speaker 1: thirty four years after the conference received a directive from 481 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:30,960 Speaker 1: the city of Austin to shut down. So that happened 482 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:33,880 Speaker 1: in March uh and south By Southwest happens at the 483 00:29:33,920 --> 00:29:37,760 Speaker 1: end of the March e three actually canceled before south 484 00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:41,360 Speaker 1: By Southwest did. E three is the big video game 485 00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:45,880 Speaker 1: conference that happens in early June, so E three was 486 00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:50,320 Speaker 1: being much more proactive than south By Southwest. Other events 487 00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:54,120 Speaker 1: that either canceled or pivoted to a digital experience included 488 00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:59,120 Speaker 1: TED twenty twenty, the New York Auto Show, the Minecraft Festival, 489 00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:05,440 Speaker 1: the First Robotics Competition, the IBM Think Conference, the Adobe Summit, 490 00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:11,200 Speaker 1: Apple w w d C, def Con China, Google Io, 491 00:30:11,600 --> 00:30:15,880 Speaker 1: Mobile World Congress, Red Hat Summit twenty and tons more. 492 00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:20,040 Speaker 1: In slightly more lighthearted news, Twitter got a bit of 493 00:30:20,560 --> 00:30:24,560 Speaker 1: egg on its proverbial face after the service verified the 494 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:29,240 Speaker 1: account of a businessman and politician named Andrew Waltz who 495 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:33,920 Speaker 1: was running for Congress, except that Andrew Waltz wasn't a 496 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:38,480 Speaker 1: real person. He was made up seas as my quister 497 00:30:38,920 --> 00:30:43,520 Speaker 1: compatriot would say. A seventeen year old high school student 498 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:47,719 Speaker 1: in New York created the profile of Andrew Waltz and 499 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:52,320 Speaker 1: submitted it to Twitter for verification and got it, which 500 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:56,840 Speaker 1: raises the question of exactly what Twitter's process involves for verification. 501 00:30:56,880 --> 00:30:59,840 Speaker 1: I mean, I have a verified check mark next to 502 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:03,440 Speaker 1: my name on Twitter. Am I real? Because some days 503 00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:06,920 Speaker 1: I just don't know. But seriously, it brought to light 504 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:11,440 Speaker 1: the extremely not transparent process that Twitter uses to determine 505 00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:14,800 Speaker 1: if someone warrants a verified tag or not, and it 506 00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:17,880 Speaker 1: also pointed out how the service appeared to be very 507 00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:20,760 Speaker 1: much not ready for the types of shenanigans that we 508 00:31:20,800 --> 00:31:23,920 Speaker 1: expected to see leading up to the election in the 509 00:31:24,000 --> 00:31:28,920 Speaker 1: United States. Alright, moving on to March, there weren't nearly 510 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:31,840 Speaker 1: as many February stories as the word January stories, partly 511 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:34,920 Speaker 1: because it's a short month, even with the extra day, 512 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:37,960 Speaker 1: but also mostly because it's just rare to hear about 513 00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:42,040 Speaker 1: a lot about tech in February in general. The big 514 00:31:42,040 --> 00:31:45,479 Speaker 1: story by now in March was definitely coronavirus, as we 515 00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:48,000 Speaker 1: were starting to get the first serious indications of how 516 00:31:48,120 --> 00:31:53,040 Speaker 1: dangerous and viral COVID nineteen really was. On the tech side, 517 00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:56,800 Speaker 1: there was a growing effort to fight against misinformation and 518 00:31:56,840 --> 00:31:59,120 Speaker 1: to create tools that people could use to see where 519 00:31:59,160 --> 00:32:02,760 Speaker 1: the virus was is, you know where it was most concentrated, 520 00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:06,760 Speaker 1: what you should be doing, you know what the hospitalization 521 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:10,040 Speaker 1: rates and so on were. And this was largely gathered 522 00:32:10,040 --> 00:32:12,680 Speaker 1: out of the data from various health organizations that would 523 00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:17,960 Speaker 1: become more complicated as the US administration made it more 524 00:32:18,080 --> 00:32:21,880 Speaker 1: challenging to access that kind of information. News outlets reported 525 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:25,600 Speaker 1: in March that a major investor in Twitter, a hedge 526 00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:29,880 Speaker 1: fund company called Elliott Management Corporation, was trying to push 527 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:34,120 Speaker 1: for big changes at Twitter, including replacing the CEO and 528 00:32:34,240 --> 00:32:37,920 Speaker 1: co founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey. And part of the 529 00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:41,240 Speaker 1: issue was a concern that Dorsey is also the CEO 530 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:46,440 Speaker 1: of another company, Square, that's the payments technology company. And 531 00:32:46,440 --> 00:32:49,880 Speaker 1: I've seen some recent pieces that dive into this trend 532 00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:52,360 Speaker 1: for leaders in Silicon Valley to sit the head of 533 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:55,040 Speaker 1: more than one company, and it seems to me that 534 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:58,400 Speaker 1: more people are kind of growing uncomfortable with the idea 535 00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:01,000 Speaker 1: for multiple reasons. And one is that if a CEO 536 00:33:01,280 --> 00:33:04,680 Speaker 1: isn't focusing all of their attention on one business, than 537 00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:08,280 Speaker 1: the businesses they oversee can suffer. Another is that there's 538 00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:10,600 Speaker 1: a fear that these leaders are more likely to do 539 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:14,240 Speaker 1: what's best for themselves rather than what's best for the 540 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:17,760 Speaker 1: ventures that they lead. But in any case, the efforts 541 00:33:17,800 --> 00:33:20,400 Speaker 1: so far have not paid off. Dorsey is still the 542 00:33:20,440 --> 00:33:24,240 Speaker 1: CEO of both Square and Twitter as of this recording. 543 00:33:25,160 --> 00:33:29,240 Speaker 1: Apple would settle a big lawsuit in March, paying five 544 00:33:29,360 --> 00:33:32,960 Speaker 1: hundred million dollars to do so. At the heart of 545 00:33:33,000 --> 00:33:35,920 Speaker 1: the matter was the charge that the company was purposefully 546 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:40,440 Speaker 1: slowing down older iPhones over time, presumably as a means 547 00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:44,200 Speaker 1: of convincing phone owners that it was time to upgrade 548 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:47,120 Speaker 1: to a new iPhone. And this is a big problem 549 00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:50,120 Speaker 1: in tech in general. Every company wants to make that 550 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:54,200 Speaker 1: next must have device, But what happens when all the 551 00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:58,520 Speaker 1: people who must have it um have it? When you 552 00:33:58,600 --> 00:34:02,080 Speaker 1: hit market saturation, you're not going to sell more of 553 00:34:02,120 --> 00:34:06,000 Speaker 1: those devices because there are no more customers left. So 554 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:10,000 Speaker 1: you can create the next generation of that thing, but 555 00:34:10,160 --> 00:34:13,920 Speaker 1: unless that next generation is really spectacular, you're not likely 556 00:34:13,960 --> 00:34:16,560 Speaker 1: to get a significant percentage of your earlier customers to 557 00:34:16,640 --> 00:34:20,080 Speaker 1: buy in. The more affluent of them might do that, 558 00:34:20,200 --> 00:34:23,240 Speaker 1: but you've got to build in some sort of need 559 00:34:23,440 --> 00:34:27,120 Speaker 1: or desire to upgrade every year or every two years, 560 00:34:27,160 --> 00:34:29,839 Speaker 1: And after a while, it gets harder to make the 561 00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:33,680 Speaker 1: next version of whatever it is that much better than 562 00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:37,440 Speaker 1: the previous one. So if it's hard to make an 563 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:40,840 Speaker 1: even better version, why not work backward and make the 564 00:34:40,880 --> 00:34:47,280 Speaker 1: older versions worse. It's planned obsolescence in action. Anyway, Apple 565 00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:50,719 Speaker 1: would pay half a billion dollars to settle that lawsuit, 566 00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:53,879 Speaker 1: which for Apple, I guess is probably what you can 567 00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:57,080 Speaker 1: find if you search the couch cushions in the break room. 568 00:34:57,160 --> 00:34:59,560 Speaker 1: We've got a lot more to cover since we're still 569 00:34:59,600 --> 00:35:10,480 Speaker 1: in Mark, but let's take another quick break. The battle 570 00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:14,879 Speaker 1: against misinformation regarding the coronavirus continued in March, with some 571 00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:18,959 Speaker 1: of the source of that misinformation coming from pretty darn 572 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:22,439 Speaker 1: high up on the chain. For example, President Trump made 573 00:35:22,440 --> 00:35:27,040 Speaker 1: some rather grandiose statements about a coronavirus information site that 574 00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:31,520 Speaker 1: Google was developing, claims that Google CEO Sandar Picha I 575 00:35:31,719 --> 00:35:35,360 Speaker 1: was quick to walk back quite a bit. While Trump 576 00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:37,440 Speaker 1: claimed that the site was going to give people a 577 00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:41,160 Speaker 1: chance to assess their symptoms, kind of like get an 578 00:35:41,200 --> 00:35:44,280 Speaker 1: idea how likely it is that they actually had COVID 579 00:35:44,640 --> 00:35:47,320 Speaker 1: and then find the best place to go and be tested, 580 00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:50,800 Speaker 1: which I adjusted expectations, he said, No, the site is 581 00:35:50,840 --> 00:35:53,239 Speaker 1: really going to be more about educating people about the 582 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:59,719 Speaker 1: virus and include best practices for prevention, not treatment or testing. 583 00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:02,719 Speaker 1: It would not be the last time that would we 584 00:36:02,760 --> 00:36:07,279 Speaker 1: would see one narrative emerge from US leadership, only to 585 00:36:07,280 --> 00:36:10,200 Speaker 1: be contradicted by the companies that were actually working on 586 00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:15,680 Speaker 1: the purported solutions. As the first stages of panic began 587 00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:19,040 Speaker 1: to really grip the United States, we started seeing the 588 00:36:19,200 --> 00:36:22,000 Speaker 1: run on staples here in the U S the main 589 00:36:22,080 --> 00:36:25,799 Speaker 1: one being toilet paper, and companies like Amazon tried to 590 00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:29,080 Speaker 1: ramp up to meet demand as stores were pretty much 591 00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:33,400 Speaker 1: gutted of their supplies. Amazon also hired around one hundred 592 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:37,480 Speaker 1: thousand new employees to work in distribution centers to prepare 593 00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:40,200 Speaker 1: for the new demand as people did more shopping online 594 00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:43,479 Speaker 1: because of the coronavirus, that's something that we would see 595 00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:47,680 Speaker 1: continue throughout most of Around this time, we also started 596 00:36:47,680 --> 00:36:50,520 Speaker 1: getting some of the earliest details for the next generation 597 00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:54,480 Speaker 1: and video game consoles, namely the Xbox Series S and 598 00:36:54,640 --> 00:36:58,120 Speaker 1: Series X and the two versions of the PlayStation five. 599 00:36:58,719 --> 00:37:01,960 Speaker 1: Over the following weeks, we would slowly learn more like 600 00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:04,600 Speaker 1: the fact that both companies were going to offer two 601 00:37:04,719 --> 00:37:09,040 Speaker 1: versions of these consoles. Sony's was an interesting approach. They 602 00:37:09,080 --> 00:37:11,879 Speaker 1: had a version of the PS five that included an 603 00:37:11,880 --> 00:37:15,680 Speaker 1: optical drive capable of playing back four K Blu Ray discs, 604 00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:18,600 Speaker 1: and then they had one that did not have an 605 00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:23,200 Speaker 1: optical drive. It was digital only. Other than that, the 606 00:37:23,239 --> 00:37:27,160 Speaker 1: two versions are identical well, with one important distinction, which 607 00:37:27,200 --> 00:37:30,200 Speaker 1: is that the PS five that does not have a 608 00:37:30,280 --> 00:37:34,200 Speaker 1: drive is one dollars cheaper, but we didn't know the 609 00:37:34,280 --> 00:37:37,319 Speaker 1: prices for a really long time that that was held 610 00:37:37,360 --> 00:37:42,120 Speaker 1: back for quite some bit. In Microsoft's approach was different. 611 00:37:42,719 --> 00:37:46,520 Speaker 1: It offered up a digital only version of the Xbox console, 612 00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:50,960 Speaker 1: but unlike Sony, this version did not pack as much 613 00:37:51,760 --> 00:37:56,640 Speaker 1: as the flagship Series X console, which includes the optical drive. 614 00:37:57,320 --> 00:38:01,160 Speaker 1: There's a larger gap between the two Xbox consoles, both 615 00:38:01,200 --> 00:38:06,080 Speaker 1: in terms of specs and in terms of price. The 616 00:38:06,200 --> 00:38:10,440 Speaker 1: Series S costs two hundred dollars less than the Series X. 617 00:38:11,000 --> 00:38:13,880 Speaker 1: As the year would go on, the planned launch of 618 00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:16,880 Speaker 1: those consoles had to deal with the same realities the 619 00:38:16,920 --> 00:38:20,320 Speaker 1: rest of us were grappling with, namely how the pandemic 620 00:38:20,600 --> 00:38:24,960 Speaker 1: was making things harder. Perhaps the biggest challenge for Microsoft 621 00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:29,560 Speaker 1: was that the pandemic caused massive delays in game development, 622 00:38:29,719 --> 00:38:32,799 Speaker 1: which meant the Series X and the Series S consoles 623 00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:37,439 Speaker 1: launched without any real exclusive titles to show off how 624 00:38:37,520 --> 00:38:41,920 Speaker 1: powerful these news systems actually were. Sony fared a little 625 00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:46,560 Speaker 1: better on that front, but shortages in PlayStation five consoles 626 00:38:46,600 --> 00:38:49,360 Speaker 1: meant that it was devilishly hard to get hold of 627 00:38:49,400 --> 00:38:52,719 Speaker 1: the PS five, even as late as the recording of 628 00:38:52,760 --> 00:38:56,520 Speaker 1: this episode. As I sit here recording, there are news 629 00:38:56,520 --> 00:38:59,800 Speaker 1: reports of stores like Walmart selling out of their restock 630 00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:03,760 Speaker 1: in a matter of minutes. The supply just doesn't meet 631 00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:07,120 Speaker 1: the demand so far with the PS five, while the 632 00:39:07,160 --> 00:39:10,359 Speaker 1: poor Xbox consoles are just waiting for the killer app 633 00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:12,839 Speaker 1: to convince gamers to fork over the cash to buy 634 00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:16,160 Speaker 1: a new system. As for my own take on the consoles, 635 00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:20,120 Speaker 1: I think they're both really impressive. If I were to 636 00:39:20,239 --> 00:39:24,160 Speaker 1: buy one right now, and I haven't, I would probably 637 00:39:24,200 --> 00:39:26,879 Speaker 1: be staking out stores as they restock the PS five, 638 00:39:27,640 --> 00:39:31,239 Speaker 1: staking out online, I should add, not in person, but 639 00:39:31,320 --> 00:39:34,399 Speaker 1: that's really because of the lack of really compelling exclusives 640 00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:38,040 Speaker 1: for the series X so far. But honestly, I'm waiting 641 00:39:38,040 --> 00:39:41,200 Speaker 1: for a while for either of them both so that 642 00:39:41,360 --> 00:39:44,080 Speaker 1: any bugs or flaws can be ironed out in the 643 00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:47,320 Speaker 1: next batch of hardware, because we've already heard about issues 644 00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:50,120 Speaker 1: both for the Xbox and the PS five. There have 645 00:39:50,160 --> 00:39:53,680 Speaker 1: been problems with production models so far. I would rather 646 00:39:53,760 --> 00:39:56,400 Speaker 1: wait for those to get worked out for version you know, 647 00:39:56,520 --> 00:40:00,600 Speaker 1: one point one. And also I want to wait until 648 00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:03,920 Speaker 1: there are more games to play in the various libraries. 649 00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:08,000 Speaker 1: I love consoles, I also love PC games as well. 650 00:40:08,680 --> 00:40:12,120 Speaker 1: I am currently way behind in that the PCs I 651 00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:14,480 Speaker 1: have right now are underpowered when it comes to the 652 00:40:14,520 --> 00:40:17,080 Speaker 1: most recent Triple A titles. I wouldn't be able to 653 00:40:17,080 --> 00:40:21,239 Speaker 1: play any recent Triple A title on anything but like 654 00:40:21,320 --> 00:40:24,600 Speaker 1: the lower settings on my hardware as it stands. And 655 00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:27,640 Speaker 1: then the consoles I have are from the previous generation. 656 00:40:27,880 --> 00:40:29,200 Speaker 1: I mean, I've got the p S four and I've 657 00:40:29,239 --> 00:40:32,240 Speaker 1: got the Xbox One, and they're from the early point 658 00:40:32,320 --> 00:40:37,000 Speaker 1: of those generations. They're not the the more powerful versions 659 00:40:37,000 --> 00:40:41,400 Speaker 1: that were released later in the life cycles. So I'm 660 00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:43,799 Speaker 1: well behind, but I can be patient because I want 661 00:40:43,840 --> 00:40:45,960 Speaker 1: to make sure that when I spend that kind of money, 662 00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:49,600 Speaker 1: I'm getting the most for it. Let's move on. So 663 00:40:49,760 --> 00:40:53,240 Speaker 1: SpaceX and March was rushing to try and push forward 664 00:40:53,320 --> 00:40:58,399 Speaker 1: its Starlink satellite business. Starlink is a network of communications 665 00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:02,239 Speaker 1: satellites that will deliver or broadband satellite internet to customers 666 00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:05,480 Speaker 1: here on Earth, and so far SpaceX has put up 667 00:41:05,480 --> 00:41:09,239 Speaker 1: about around a thousand satellites up into orbit as part 668 00:41:09,280 --> 00:41:11,680 Speaker 1: of this network, with plans to push that up to 669 00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:16,120 Speaker 1: around anywhere from twelve thousand to maybe more than forty 670 00:41:16,200 --> 00:41:20,760 Speaker 1: thousand satellites in the future. Uh. There's a beta test 671 00:41:20,960 --> 00:41:24,480 Speaker 1: right now where people are testing out the connectivity and 672 00:41:24,560 --> 00:41:27,320 Speaker 1: that seems to be going pretty well, but it's still 673 00:41:27,320 --> 00:41:30,920 Speaker 1: in beta as of this recording. SpaceX has had a 674 00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:35,200 Speaker 1: pretty eventful twenty The company laid the groundwork, so to speak, 675 00:41:35,600 --> 00:41:39,480 Speaker 1: for space tourism operations in the future, which could potentially 676 00:41:39,520 --> 00:41:43,120 Speaker 1: see private citizens making trips up to the International Space 677 00:41:43,160 --> 00:41:46,040 Speaker 1: Station in the future. That's something that hasn't happened for 678 00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:50,000 Speaker 1: several years now. It did happen a few times in 679 00:41:50,080 --> 00:41:53,400 Speaker 1: the past. Only a few private citizens ever did it. 680 00:41:53,840 --> 00:41:56,880 Speaker 1: Richard Garriot, the creator of The Ultimate Series of Games, 681 00:41:56,920 --> 00:41:59,240 Speaker 1: is one of them. But we might see that happen 682 00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:02,359 Speaker 1: again in the future due to what SpaceX is trying 683 00:42:02,400 --> 00:42:06,720 Speaker 1: to do and um in late May, SpaceX would supply 684 00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:10,360 Speaker 1: the launch vehicle and spacecraft that NASA would need need 685 00:42:10,400 --> 00:42:13,880 Speaker 1: to uh deliver astronauts to the International Space Station. It 686 00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:17,160 Speaker 1: made it the first time that astronauts would launch from 687 00:42:17,200 --> 00:42:21,640 Speaker 1: American soil since the US discontinued the Space Shuttle program. 688 00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:27,040 Speaker 1: In the Dragon spacecraft brought Douglas Hurley and Robert Benkon 689 00:42:27,360 --> 00:42:31,040 Speaker 1: to the I S S, and the mission emphasized how 690 00:42:31,040 --> 00:42:35,480 Speaker 1: important the private space industry is to America's space strategy, 691 00:42:35,560 --> 00:42:38,480 Speaker 1: at least in the near future. And in a test 692 00:42:38,640 --> 00:42:41,920 Speaker 1: late in the year, space x is Starship s N 693 00:42:42,000 --> 00:42:47,200 Speaker 1: eight vehicle exploded while executing a belly flop maneuver. The 694 00:42:47,239 --> 00:42:49,880 Speaker 1: maneuver was going as planned at least for a while, 695 00:42:49,920 --> 00:42:53,480 Speaker 1: but then one of the spacecraft's engines shut down unexpectedly 696 00:42:53,920 --> 00:42:57,560 Speaker 1: and the vehicle crashed in a fiery explosion. Now, fortunately 697 00:42:58,160 --> 00:43:01,920 Speaker 1: this was an unmanned test. No one was hurt. There 698 00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:03,640 Speaker 1: were there's no one aboard, there was no one on 699 00:43:03,640 --> 00:43:06,560 Speaker 1: the ground that was hurt, and it was generally understood 700 00:43:06,960 --> 00:43:09,680 Speaker 1: that this maneuver was going to be really difficult to 701 00:43:09,680 --> 00:43:12,239 Speaker 1: pull off, and it was likely that some sort of 702 00:43:12,239 --> 00:43:15,440 Speaker 1: failure would occur. In other words, they had pretty much 703 00:43:15,440 --> 00:43:18,480 Speaker 1: thought that this was a possibility, and the goal of 704 00:43:18,520 --> 00:43:21,040 Speaker 1: the test was really to gather more information about the 705 00:43:21,160 --> 00:43:25,000 Speaker 1: launch and the apogee of the flight path, so the 706 00:43:25,040 --> 00:43:28,239 Speaker 1: mission overall was not a failure. The spacecraft is a 707 00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:31,560 Speaker 1: prototype of the class of vehicles that SpaceX intends to 708 00:43:31,680 --> 00:43:34,440 Speaker 1: use for missions that would go to places like Mars 709 00:43:34,440 --> 00:43:38,320 Speaker 1: in the future, which is pretty exciting stuff. In late March, 710 00:43:38,680 --> 00:43:42,160 Speaker 1: the video game Animal Crossing New Horizons launched on the 711 00:43:42,239 --> 00:43:46,480 Speaker 1: Nintendo Switch, and it became an instant hit. The franchise 712 00:43:46,520 --> 00:43:49,560 Speaker 1: of games has been popular for years, but the unique 713 00:43:49,640 --> 00:43:53,560 Speaker 1: circumstances of a world going into lockdown gave the game 714 00:43:53,640 --> 00:43:56,960 Speaker 1: a considerable boost. As people were searching for ways to 715 00:43:56,960 --> 00:44:01,399 Speaker 1: interact with friends without you know, having to leave the house. Soon, 716 00:44:01,680 --> 00:44:04,960 Speaker 1: having your little avatar visit the virtual islands of your 717 00:44:04,960 --> 00:44:09,160 Speaker 1: friends became a really popular pastime. It wasn't long before 718 00:44:09,160 --> 00:44:11,360 Speaker 1: people were talking about it being a Game of the 719 00:44:11,440 --> 00:44:14,560 Speaker 1: Year contender. And I think the game is a good one, 720 00:44:15,120 --> 00:44:17,400 Speaker 1: but I think the experience of the game was heightened 721 00:44:17,480 --> 00:44:21,120 Speaker 1: largely because it helped people cope with being alone. I 722 00:44:21,160 --> 00:44:24,120 Speaker 1: think in a world without the pandemic, I don't know 723 00:44:24,160 --> 00:44:27,480 Speaker 1: that it would have Game of the Year contender status. 724 00:44:27,800 --> 00:44:30,440 Speaker 1: And Animal Crossing wasn't the only game to help people 725 00:44:30,560 --> 00:44:35,080 Speaker 1: find a distraction during the pandemic. Several games became really 726 00:44:35,120 --> 00:44:40,560 Speaker 1: popular in including some that had escaped attention. Chief among 727 00:44:40,640 --> 00:44:44,760 Speaker 1: those was the game among Us, a hidden role game 728 00:44:44,880 --> 00:44:48,080 Speaker 1: that puts players into an environment where at least one 729 00:44:48,200 --> 00:44:52,560 Speaker 1: of the players is attempting to sabotage everyone else. Most 730 00:44:52,600 --> 00:44:56,080 Speaker 1: players are scurrying around the map to complete various tasks, 731 00:44:56,120 --> 00:44:59,880 Speaker 1: and those tasks involved usually pretty simple actions on the 732 00:45:00,040 --> 00:45:04,239 Speaker 1: layers part, like dragging a marker on the screen with 733 00:45:04,360 --> 00:45:09,160 Speaker 1: your mouse or with a touch screen to a certain location. Meanwhile, 734 00:45:09,760 --> 00:45:14,120 Speaker 1: the trader or traders imposters in other words, try to 735 00:45:14,200 --> 00:45:18,280 Speaker 1: pick off the good guys without getting caught, or otherwise 736 00:45:18,280 --> 00:45:21,279 Speaker 1: find a way to sabotage the game so they win 737 00:45:21,360 --> 00:45:24,520 Speaker 1: if they kill enough of the good guys so that 738 00:45:24,520 --> 00:45:27,160 Speaker 1: they can't get voted off. The good guys win if 739 00:45:27,239 --> 00:45:30,439 Speaker 1: either they finish all their tasks or they vote off 740 00:45:30,480 --> 00:45:33,080 Speaker 1: the traders, assuming they can suss out who the bad 741 00:45:33,080 --> 00:45:37,200 Speaker 1: guys are. The game first came out in but it 742 00:45:37,280 --> 00:45:42,400 Speaker 1: was when it would explode in popularity and inspired various 743 00:45:42,440 --> 00:45:45,200 Speaker 1: memes like red as Look and kind of Suss, and 744 00:45:45,280 --> 00:45:47,360 Speaker 1: it even served as a means to raise money for 745 00:45:47,480 --> 00:45:51,800 Speaker 1: various causes. We even saw US representatives like Alexandria Casio 746 00:45:51,880 --> 00:45:55,440 Speaker 1: Cortez joined the game and let me tell you AOC 747 00:45:55,880 --> 00:46:00,359 Speaker 1: was cleaning house. She was really impressive. Her her kill 748 00:46:00,400 --> 00:46:05,880 Speaker 1: of Pokemone was brutal. Other games that were really popular 749 00:46:05,920 --> 00:46:10,799 Speaker 1: in included Phasma Phobia, a game in which players investigated 750 00:46:10,840 --> 00:46:14,040 Speaker 1: haunted houses in an attempt to identify the type of 751 00:46:14,080 --> 00:46:17,920 Speaker 1: spirit that was lingering behind, hopefully without angering the ghost 752 00:46:17,960 --> 00:46:21,319 Speaker 1: too much, because those ghosts could get pretty violent. Uh. 753 00:46:21,360 --> 00:46:23,720 Speaker 1: There's Fall, guys, and that's the game in which players 754 00:46:23,760 --> 00:46:26,720 Speaker 1: compete against one another in a series of funny little 755 00:46:26,719 --> 00:46:29,960 Speaker 1: obstacle courses and challenges and you're trying to be the 756 00:46:30,040 --> 00:46:34,160 Speaker 1: one victorious, little jelly bean like figure among all the others. 757 00:46:34,520 --> 00:46:37,120 Speaker 1: That was a big hit, and there were some big 758 00:46:37,160 --> 00:46:39,760 Speaker 1: Triple A titles that got a lot of attension as well. 759 00:46:40,160 --> 00:46:42,960 Speaker 1: Not all of the attention was positive. The Last of 760 00:46:43,040 --> 00:46:46,960 Speaker 1: Us Part two, a long anticipated sequel to an incredible 761 00:46:47,000 --> 00:46:52,400 Speaker 1: PS three game, ticked off some players with its narrative twists. Cyberpunk, 762 00:46:53,680 --> 00:46:57,279 Speaker 1: which launched after several delays, has been the subject of 763 00:46:57,360 --> 00:47:01,840 Speaker 1: ongoing criticism as players encounter very bugs in different versions 764 00:47:01,880 --> 00:47:05,360 Speaker 1: of the game on different platforms, But generally speaking, the 765 00:47:05,400 --> 00:47:08,720 Speaker 1: pandemic has had a big impact on game development and 766 00:47:08,920 --> 00:47:12,640 Speaker 1: release schedules, and it also drove more people to play 767 00:47:12,800 --> 00:47:16,439 Speaker 1: and stream games. Twitch saw a big uptick and use, 768 00:47:16,480 --> 00:47:20,520 Speaker 1: including a big boost in November of people watching just 769 00:47:20,760 --> 00:47:24,680 Speaker 1: chatting streams, meaning streams that weren't necessarily about even streaming 770 00:47:24,680 --> 00:47:28,279 Speaker 1: a video game. We even saw video games being used 771 00:47:28,280 --> 00:47:31,000 Speaker 1: to address the very real problem that people can no 772 00:47:31,040 --> 00:47:35,000 Speaker 1: longer gather together in person without risking their health or 773 00:47:35,440 --> 00:47:39,600 Speaker 1: in some cases breaking an ordinance. This all dependent upon 774 00:47:39,640 --> 00:47:41,319 Speaker 1: whether or not you lived in a place that was 775 00:47:41,440 --> 00:47:46,040 Speaker 1: instituting and enforcing restrictions due to the coronavirus. Here in 776 00:47:46,080 --> 00:47:49,799 Speaker 1: Georgia not so much, but that's a matter for a 777 00:47:49,840 --> 00:47:53,840 Speaker 1: totally different show. We saw people create virtual events using 778 00:47:53,880 --> 00:47:57,880 Speaker 1: games like Minecraft to allow people to gather together and 779 00:47:57,960 --> 00:48:02,200 Speaker 1: celebrate stuff like weddings or graduations, making the best out 780 00:48:02,239 --> 00:48:06,000 Speaker 1: of a challenging situation. At the end of March, employees 781 00:48:06,080 --> 00:48:10,239 Speaker 1: at a Staten Island Amazon warehouse staged a walkout. The 782 00:48:10,280 --> 00:48:13,760 Speaker 1: protest was over how Amazon was handling, or rather failing 783 00:48:13,800 --> 00:48:17,680 Speaker 1: to handle, the coronavirus crisis. There were several diagnosed cases 784 00:48:17,719 --> 00:48:21,239 Speaker 1: of COVID nineteen at that warehouse, and the employees had 785 00:48:21,239 --> 00:48:24,239 Speaker 1: petitioned Amazon to shut down the warehouse in order to 786 00:48:24,239 --> 00:48:27,040 Speaker 1: give the facility a deep cleaning. That was a move 787 00:48:27,120 --> 00:48:31,160 Speaker 1: that Amazon resisted, and Amazon would fire one of the 788 00:48:31,200 --> 00:48:34,800 Speaker 1: workers responsible for the waalk out a guy named Chris Smalls, 789 00:48:34,840 --> 00:48:38,319 Speaker 1: although the company said it was because Smalls had come 790 00:48:38,320 --> 00:48:41,280 Speaker 1: into work after he was told to stay home because 791 00:48:41,280 --> 00:48:44,320 Speaker 1: he had been exposed to someone else who had COVID nineteen. 792 00:48:44,880 --> 00:48:48,520 Speaker 1: So the company was saying, this guy got exposed to 793 00:48:48,520 --> 00:48:53,200 Speaker 1: COVID nineteen, he could have been, uh contagious. He came 794 00:48:53,200 --> 00:48:56,319 Speaker 1: into work anyway, that's why we fired him. Chris Small says, 795 00:48:56,640 --> 00:48:59,919 Speaker 1: that's not true. I was fired because I helped organ 796 00:49:00,040 --> 00:49:04,200 Speaker 1: nice this walkout. Uh, it's it's a sticky matter. And 797 00:49:04,239 --> 00:49:07,520 Speaker 1: we'll wrap up this episode with a general observation and 798 00:49:07,600 --> 00:49:11,439 Speaker 1: trend that would extend through Starting in March, we began 799 00:49:11,480 --> 00:49:15,560 Speaker 1: to see a massive shift toward online platforms, both for entertainment, 800 00:49:15,880 --> 00:49:20,320 Speaker 1: as movie theaters were closing their doors to using online 801 00:49:20,320 --> 00:49:24,880 Speaker 1: platforms for online conferencing services, most notably Zoom. The Zoom 802 00:49:25,000 --> 00:49:28,960 Speaker 1: explosion is hard to overstate. Heck, one of the ongoing 803 00:49:29,040 --> 00:49:32,160 Speaker 1: jokes has been the various digital backgrounds that people have 804 00:49:32,320 --> 00:49:35,080 Speaker 1: used in their Zoom meetings. And then there are the 805 00:49:35,200 --> 00:49:40,000 Speaker 1: various accidents and indiscretions that have happened on camera as people, 806 00:49:40,600 --> 00:49:44,680 Speaker 1: whether they were aware or not. We're broadcasting some questionable 807 00:49:44,760 --> 00:49:48,719 Speaker 1: behaviors to other folks online. I am not going to 808 00:49:48,760 --> 00:49:53,120 Speaker 1: dive into all that because yuck. But Zoom would play 809 00:49:53,200 --> 00:49:56,560 Speaker 1: an important part as people would use it to conduct business, 810 00:49:56,719 --> 00:49:59,640 Speaker 1: to have virtual visits with one another, and to do 811 00:49:59,680 --> 00:50:03,640 Speaker 1: special events like live readings of famous scripts. And while 812 00:50:03,640 --> 00:50:06,720 Speaker 1: it had been around for nearly a decade, Zoom really 813 00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:12,080 Speaker 1: became a big deal in And meanwhile, some online platforms 814 00:50:12,280 --> 00:50:14,560 Speaker 1: had to make adjustments on the fly to account for 815 00:50:14,600 --> 00:50:19,080 Speaker 1: the limitations of the Internet. In March, YouTube reduced video 816 00:50:19,160 --> 00:50:23,000 Speaker 1: quality in worldwide delivery of videos, and the reason was 817 00:50:23,280 --> 00:50:27,320 Speaker 1: to decrease network loads and congestion. As more people watched 818 00:50:27,400 --> 00:50:31,480 Speaker 1: content on YouTube and other services, networks were getting hit 819 00:50:31,600 --> 00:50:34,680 Speaker 1: hard and so a lot of services were throttling stuff 820 00:50:34,680 --> 00:50:39,319 Speaker 1: like resolution in order to compensate. Well, that gets us 821 00:50:39,320 --> 00:50:43,040 Speaker 1: through March of and we've got a long way to 822 00:50:43,080 --> 00:50:45,200 Speaker 1: go to get through the rest of it. But we've 823 00:50:45,239 --> 00:50:47,880 Speaker 1: also covered some stories that unfolded throughout the year, so 824 00:50:47,880 --> 00:50:50,000 Speaker 1: I'm not gonna go back and talk about those again 825 00:50:50,040 --> 00:50:52,759 Speaker 1: in the next episode. So we'll see if we can 826 00:50:52,800 --> 00:50:54,840 Speaker 1: get through the rest of twenty in one episode, or 827 00:50:54,840 --> 00:50:57,759 Speaker 1: we might have to make this a three for I 828 00:50:57,840 --> 00:51:00,560 Speaker 1: don't know yet, but if you guys have sugestions for 829 00:51:00,600 --> 00:51:03,360 Speaker 1: topics that should cover in future episodes of text Stuff, 830 00:51:03,920 --> 00:51:06,719 Speaker 1: let me know. You can reach out on Twitter. The 831 00:51:06,800 --> 00:51:10,719 Speaker 1: handle to use is text stuff H s W and 832 00:51:10,800 --> 00:51:19,120 Speaker 1: I'll talk to you again really soon. Text Stuff is 833 00:51:19,120 --> 00:51:22,319 Speaker 1: an I Heart Radio production. For more podcasts from I 834 00:51:22,400 --> 00:51:26,000 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 835 00:51:26,120 --> 00:51:28,120 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.