1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tex Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:15,120 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host 3 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:18,840 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio. 4 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:21,720 Speaker 1: And how the tech are you? It is time for 5 00:00:21,760 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: the tech news for Tuesday, February twenty two. Let's get 6 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:30,040 Speaker 1: to it. The State of Texas has sued Meta, you know, 7 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:35,920 Speaker 1: the company formerly known as Facebook, for violating state privacy laws, 8 00:00:36,280 --> 00:00:41,479 Speaker 1: specifically Texas UH. The Attorney General for Texas accuses Facebook 9 00:00:41,520 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 1: of collecting facial recognition data without alerting or getting consent 10 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: from users. The state also says Facebook shared this information 11 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 1: with third party companies and failed to delete the information 12 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:57,560 Speaker 1: in a timely manner, as is required by Texas law. Now, 13 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:01,240 Speaker 1: this relates back to a feature that face Book, the platform, 14 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 1: used to have, which is that you would upload a 15 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:07,320 Speaker 1: photo to Facebook and the site would suggest people you 16 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:11,360 Speaker 1: could tag in the photo by using facial recognition technology 17 00:01:11,400 --> 00:01:15,240 Speaker 1: and looking for matches, mostly within your social network. The 18 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 1: state says that the violation's number in the billions with 19 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 1: a b, which is a pretty staggering thing to consider. 20 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 1: What's more, according to Texas law, each violation could result 21 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: in a fine of twenty dollars, so you know, you 22 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: take grand and you multiply it by billions and you've 23 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: got um. Hang on, let me see here, my calculator 24 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:43,200 Speaker 1: says a metric buttload of cash. Wild this last time, 25 00:01:43,240 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: I'm buy a calculator out of a vending machine. Anyway, 26 00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 1: Meta reps say the case is without merit, though I 27 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:52,760 Speaker 1: should also add that the company has previously settled a 28 00:01:52,840 --> 00:01:56,280 Speaker 1: class action lawsuit about a similar issue just last year, 29 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: and the company actually did stop the facial workingition practice 30 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: late last year, and that might take a little bit 31 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:06,240 Speaker 1: of the staying out of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's 32 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 1: comment quote, Facebook will no longer take advantage of people 33 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:12,640 Speaker 1: and their children with the intent to turn a profit 34 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 1: at the expense of one's safety and well being end quote, 35 00:02:16,280 --> 00:02:20,639 Speaker 1: because apparently the company has already stopped this particular practice. However, 36 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,119 Speaker 1: I'll give some credit Baxton might be speaking more generally here, 37 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:28,600 Speaker 1: because of course Facebook and Meta do collect an awful 38 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:32,200 Speaker 1: lot of information, not just facial recognition information, but all 39 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:35,079 Speaker 1: sorts of information about people in lots of different ways, 40 00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:38,040 Speaker 1: and share that with various third parties, so it goes 41 00:02:38,080 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 1: well beyond a facial recognition problem. Tesla is facing another 42 00:02:43,440 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: legal challenge, this time in South Korea. The country's antitrust 43 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: regulator accuses Tesla of misrepresenting the range that the electric 44 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:56,120 Speaker 1: car company's vehicles can achieve on a single charge of 45 00:02:56,160 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: the battery. For example, the Model three is advertised being 46 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 1: able to travel up to three miles or kilometers on 47 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:08,520 Speaker 1: a single charge, but the antitrust regulator says that that 48 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: is not true and that this means Tesla has violated 49 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:15,200 Speaker 1: a South Korean law called the Act on Fair Labeling 50 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 1: and Advertising. Essentially, in America we would call it false advertising. Now, 51 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: apparently at the heart of all this is the fact 52 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:26,680 Speaker 1: that batteries just don't work very well in cold weather, 53 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 1: or at least less well as in weather with temperatures 54 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: that dip below freezing. In those conditions, the cold actually 55 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 1: inhibits the chemical reactions that happen inside a battery, and 56 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:42,320 Speaker 1: that's the Those are the chemical reactions that generate the electricity. 57 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: So until the battery warms up, it can be you know, 58 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:52,440 Speaker 1: putting out less energy. And this is not a new thing. 59 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: I mean, you might have heard the folk wisdom that 60 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:57,880 Speaker 1: if you have unused batteries like you know, you've opened 61 00:03:57,960 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: up a new pack of batteries and you want to 62 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:02,000 Speaker 1: keep the other ones as long as possible, you should 63 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 1: put them in the freezer. Uh. Not a good idea. 64 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,280 Speaker 1: I mean, it does inhibit the chemical reactions where the 65 00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: battery might be you know, just leaking energy over time. 66 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: But it also means that when you take the batteries 67 00:04:14,360 --> 00:04:16,480 Speaker 1: out of the freezer and you put them into something, 68 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:19,960 Speaker 1: they're not gonna be working very well. You might not 69 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:23,279 Speaker 1: even generate enough electricity to do whatever it is you 70 00:04:23,320 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 1: need to do. So, like you put the batteries into 71 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: a flashlight, You turn the switch and maybe you get 72 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:31,599 Speaker 1: a really dim light out of the bulb, but nothing, 73 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:35,320 Speaker 1: you know, useful. We've known this forever, right, So it 74 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:37,960 Speaker 1: appears to be that the issue here in South Korea 75 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:40,760 Speaker 1: is that Tesla vehicles that are in very cold temperatures 76 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: are not able to achieve these distances on a single charge, 77 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:48,839 Speaker 1: and therefore Tesla was fibbing in its advertising. Now y'all 78 00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 1: know I can get a bit harsh on Tesla, but 79 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:55,480 Speaker 1: in this case, I think this lawsuit might be a 80 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:59,200 Speaker 1: bit much. I mean, it's pretty well understood that cold 81 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: temperatures effect battery life. Folks using internal combustion engine vehicles 82 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: have had issues where in very cold temperature, starting the 83 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:13,120 Speaker 1: car is a challenge because the car battery that's responsible 84 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:15,720 Speaker 1: for doing things like sending energy so you can get 85 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 1: a sparkle of the spark plugs. If that's too cold, 86 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:21,200 Speaker 1: then nothing happens when you try and turn the engine over, 87 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:24,040 Speaker 1: and people have experienced that, so it's not like it's 88 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:29,360 Speaker 1: just unique to electric cars. So I guess Tesla could 89 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:32,479 Speaker 1: have put an asterisk or something by the claims to 90 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 1: explain that in colder temperatures you should expect a different result. 91 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:39,919 Speaker 1: But all in all, I'm not entirely certain that this 92 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:43,839 Speaker 1: lawsuit is a fair one. A regulatory filing reveals that 93 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:48,440 Speaker 1: Berkshire Hathaway, a holding company owned by Warren Buffett, one 94 00:05:48,480 --> 00:05:52,400 Speaker 1: of the wealthiest people on the planet, but fourteen point 95 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:56,800 Speaker 1: six six million shares an Activision Blizzard late last year, 96 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: which means that it made the purchase a couple of 97 00:06:00,040 --> 00:06:03,280 Speaker 1: weeks before news broke that Microsoft was set to acquire 98 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: Activision Blizzard. That is pretty darn good news for Buffet, 99 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:11,600 Speaker 1: because that deal means Microsoft is gonna pay nine dollars 100 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:16,080 Speaker 1: per share of Activision blizzards shares to buy it out, 101 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: and based on my quick math, buffets holding company bought 102 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:23,279 Speaker 1: shares when they were somewhere in the mid sixty dollar range, 103 00:06:23,720 --> 00:06:27,599 Speaker 1: So it means you'd be making about thirty dollars per share. 104 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:32,279 Speaker 1: And remember they bought fourteen point six six million shares, 105 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:37,080 Speaker 1: that's a pretty hefty profit. Also, just an interesting side note, 106 00:06:37,279 --> 00:06:40,400 Speaker 1: one of the former board members of Berkshire Hathaway was 107 00:06:40,480 --> 00:06:44,239 Speaker 1: Microsoft co founder and former CEO and chairman Bill Gates. 108 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:46,920 Speaker 1: I mean, he stepped down from Berkshire Hathaway a couple 109 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:49,119 Speaker 1: of years ago, but he did serve on the board 110 00:06:49,120 --> 00:06:52,080 Speaker 1: once upon a time. And um, you know, I'm not 111 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:54,800 Speaker 1: saying that there was any kind of insider trading going 112 00:06:54,800 --> 00:06:58,279 Speaker 1: on there. I have no evidence of that, so I'm 113 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:02,120 Speaker 1: not saying that. I'm just saying it's fortuitous timing and 114 00:07:02,279 --> 00:07:06,920 Speaker 1: some interesting coincidences. Intel announced it is acquiring a company 115 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:10,679 Speaker 1: called Tower Semiconductor for the princely sum of nearly six 116 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 1: billion with a B dollars. Tower Semiconductor is an Israeli 117 00:07:14,840 --> 00:07:19,920 Speaker 1: company that has semiconductor fabrication plants also known as fabs 118 00:07:19,960 --> 00:07:23,560 Speaker 1: not fabulous but fabrication and they're locating places like the 119 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:28,160 Speaker 1: United States, Japan, Italy, and of course Israel. Intel is 120 00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:31,560 Speaker 1: currently investing heavily in creating new fabrication facilities in an 121 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:35,880 Speaker 1: effort to not just alleviate the current semiconductor shortage because 122 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: it's going to take a while for those facilities to 123 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: come online, but also to distribute the fabrication load beyond 124 00:07:41,800 --> 00:07:46,600 Speaker 1: where it currently kind of rests, which is mainly in Taiwan. Plus, 125 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:49,880 Speaker 1: the chip shortage really has proven how dependent we are 126 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 1: on semiconductor chips, and that means manufacturing chips is pretty 127 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:56,320 Speaker 1: much a guaranteed way to make money, and it's just 128 00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: good for safety to spread that out a bit more 129 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,360 Speaker 1: so that if some thing goes wrong, the entire chain 130 00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:05,040 Speaker 1: is not disrupted as a result. Now, we'll have to 131 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 1: see if regulators in various countries allow this deal to 132 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:12,680 Speaker 1: go through. I honestly don't know how that's going to go, 133 00:08:12,960 --> 00:08:17,800 Speaker 1: because we have seen a general trend where regulators are 134 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:23,320 Speaker 1: a bit more cautious about big companies and their acquisitions. However, 135 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 1: in a lot of places like in the United States, 136 00:08:26,000 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 1: we might see regulators who want to see this deal 137 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:31,760 Speaker 1: go through because the concerns of supply chains and chips 138 00:08:31,800 --> 00:08:35,880 Speaker 1: are very much prevalent right now. I also wonder if 139 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:39,360 Speaker 1: Israel's regulators will be as enthusiastic, because a lot of 140 00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:43,079 Speaker 1: countries view the semiconductor industry and companies within it as 141 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:45,960 Speaker 1: being key to national security. We saw that in England 142 00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:52,480 Speaker 1: with arm where UK regulators were concerned about national security issues. 143 00:08:52,880 --> 00:08:56,600 Speaker 1: Should an American company purchase a semi conductor company that 144 00:08:56,679 --> 00:08:59,720 Speaker 1: was currently held by a Japanese conglomerate. It's a complicated 145 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:04,280 Speaker 1: thing anyway, interesting story. Over the last two years, we've 146 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:07,000 Speaker 1: seen a lot of reports about tech companies announcing and 147 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:10,760 Speaker 1: then subsequently pushing back dates relating to when corporate offices 148 00:09:10,760 --> 00:09:15,280 Speaker 1: will reopen COVID, and pressure both from within the companies 149 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:19,000 Speaker 1: and outside of them has forced those dates to slip 150 00:09:19,040 --> 00:09:23,600 Speaker 1: again and again. Well. Now, Microsoft says that starting February twenty, 151 00:09:24,080 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 1: corporate offices in the San Francisco Bay area and in 152 00:09:27,480 --> 00:09:31,680 Speaker 1: Washington State, which is the home headquarters state for Microsoft, 153 00:09:32,200 --> 00:09:35,560 Speaker 1: will reopen once again, and not just to employees, but 154 00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:38,840 Speaker 1: also to visitors and two guests. Now, that does not 155 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:41,600 Speaker 1: mean that all employees will be required to come into 156 00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:45,080 Speaker 1: the office full time. Microsoft has a new work from 157 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:49,920 Speaker 1: home policy that allows for the possibility of more flexibility, 158 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:52,120 Speaker 1: but employees will have to work with their managers to 159 00:09:52,160 --> 00:09:55,720 Speaker 1: find an arrangement that is acceptable to all parties, so 160 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,520 Speaker 1: it's not like a work from home guarantee. But Microsoft 161 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:03,080 Speaker 1: recognized is that people have grown used to that flexibility, 162 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:06,960 Speaker 1: and as we've seen across multiple industries, there's this tendency 163 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:10,720 Speaker 1: toward early retirement, you know, the great retirement is what 164 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:12,959 Speaker 1: people have been calling it, and that is a big 165 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:16,480 Speaker 1: concern for a lot of executives because it's awful hard 166 00:10:16,520 --> 00:10:19,200 Speaker 1: to be an industry leader if you ain't got no 167 00:10:19,240 --> 00:10:23,400 Speaker 1: one to lead anyway. Here's hoping that COVID actually really 168 00:10:23,559 --> 00:10:27,080 Speaker 1: for real zes this time is easing off and that 169 00:10:27,120 --> 00:10:30,040 Speaker 1: we're going to have a manageable baseline to work from, 170 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:32,679 Speaker 1: because the only major variants I want to see from 171 00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:35,920 Speaker 1: here on out are Marvel characters. Um. But you know, 172 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:38,040 Speaker 1: it's impossible to predict the future. We're definitely going to 173 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:42,320 Speaker 1: be dealing with COVID from now on. The question then, 174 00:10:42,480 --> 00:10:46,000 Speaker 1: is just can we make it a manageable experience so 175 00:10:46,160 --> 00:10:49,520 Speaker 1: that things like working in an office in person with 176 00:10:49,640 --> 00:10:53,600 Speaker 1: your co workers doesn't come with a massive risk attached. 177 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:57,520 Speaker 1: So here's hoping. Well, we're going to have a few 178 00:10:57,520 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 1: more news stories, but first let's take a quick break. 179 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:11,520 Speaker 1: We're back. Last week, a court filing in an ongoing 180 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:16,680 Speaker 1: age discrimination lawsuit brought against IBM included some documents in 181 00:11:16,679 --> 00:11:20,400 Speaker 1: which an executive referred to older employees as quote dino 182 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:25,120 Speaker 1: babies end quote. Now, the plaintiff in this case suing 183 00:11:25,160 --> 00:11:28,840 Speaker 1: IBM says that these documents back up the plaintiffs assertions 184 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:31,559 Speaker 1: that IBM is trying to get rid of older employees 185 00:11:31,679 --> 00:11:35,760 Speaker 1: in an effort to replace them with younger employees, presumably 186 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:38,240 Speaker 1: for way less money. And you know, there's all the 187 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:42,960 Speaker 1: different arguments about IBM executives apparently thinking that their aging 188 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:46,199 Speaker 1: workforce is out of touch, that they're not as capable 189 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:51,200 Speaker 1: in lots of very important uh tasks these days, like 190 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:56,000 Speaker 1: promotion on social networks, things like that. UM and I 191 00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:59,760 Speaker 1: am of I'm of two minds on this. UM. So, 192 00:11:59,800 --> 00:12:02,240 Speaker 1: on one hand, age discrimination is just gross and it 193 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:05,360 Speaker 1: should be dismantled. People should not be discriminated against because 194 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:08,800 Speaker 1: of their age. They shouldn't be discriminated against period, right, 195 00:12:09,160 --> 00:12:12,520 Speaker 1: that should not be a thing. However, one of the 196 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:16,480 Speaker 1: longstanding perceptions of millennials is that they're lazy and they 197 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:20,360 Speaker 1: don't want to work, which is unfair, I think, because 198 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:22,760 Speaker 1: the truth of the matter is way more complicated, and 199 00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:26,080 Speaker 1: it includes the fact that you have this aging workforce 200 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:30,640 Speaker 1: in various industries, and that aging workforce is not budging 201 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:33,960 Speaker 1: from their jobs, right, They're not leaving those positions open. 202 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:38,000 Speaker 1: So there aren't that many opportunities for younger workers that 203 00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:43,080 Speaker 1: are in, you know, kind of the traditional stable career paths, 204 00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:47,079 Speaker 1: Like millennials often take jobs, but it's a lot more 205 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:51,720 Speaker 1: challenging for them to get into a career right. And 206 00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:54,080 Speaker 1: I don't think the answer is just to get rid 207 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:57,679 Speaker 1: of older employees because that doesn't seem fair either, Like, 208 00:12:58,920 --> 00:13:01,360 Speaker 1: if if they need to work, then that also is 209 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:04,600 Speaker 1: an issue, um, and it's not fair to just get 210 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:08,240 Speaker 1: rid of them to hire younger employees, especially if that's 211 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:10,560 Speaker 1: part of the company strategy of let's save money because 212 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:12,319 Speaker 1: we don't have to pay the young people as much 213 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:14,640 Speaker 1: as we're paying the old people. That also seems kind 214 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:18,000 Speaker 1: of gross. And this whole lawsuit followed a time when 215 00:13:18,040 --> 00:13:21,480 Speaker 1: IBM infamously laid off thousands of workers over the age 216 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:25,160 Speaker 1: of forty. However, IBM has issued statements saying that it 217 00:13:25,240 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 1: does not engage in systemic age discrimination and that the 218 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:32,240 Speaker 1: messages and the documents don't reflect ibm s stance at all, 219 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:36,720 Speaker 1: and that they they claim at least that the average 220 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:40,320 Speaker 1: age of the IBM employee has not changed. Right when 221 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:43,520 Speaker 1: you average the ages across the entire company. It's not 222 00:13:43,559 --> 00:13:46,000 Speaker 1: like the age is suddenly dept because they got rid 223 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:47,520 Speaker 1: of a lot of old people and hired a lot 224 00:13:47,559 --> 00:13:51,280 Speaker 1: of new people. Are younger people, I should say, and um, yeah, 225 00:13:51,360 --> 00:13:53,439 Speaker 1: I guess we'll have to wait and see how this 226 00:13:53,600 --> 00:13:57,320 Speaker 1: lawsuit plays out over time to see, you know, one 227 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:01,040 Speaker 1: if the parties settled of court, or two if we 228 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:05,240 Speaker 1: get some sort of definitive proof one way or another. 229 00:14:05,960 --> 00:14:08,720 Speaker 1: J Freeman a k a. Sark is in the news again. 230 00:14:09,679 --> 00:14:11,640 Speaker 1: Very timely for me, because if you listen to my 231 00:14:11,679 --> 00:14:14,560 Speaker 1: recent episodes, you might have heard me talk about Sark 232 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:18,440 Speaker 1: with regard to the practice of jail breaking, that is 233 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 1: the practice of disabling Apple's protection on iOS devices so 234 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:25,280 Speaker 1: that you can load whatever software you would like onto 235 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:28,080 Speaker 1: them and not just be limited to whatever Apple allows 236 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:31,000 Speaker 1: in the app store. Well, now Freeman is in the 237 00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:34,880 Speaker 1: news again because he found a way to essentially print ether, 238 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:40,040 Speaker 1: the cryptocurrency on the Ethereum blockchain. So Ethereum uses a 239 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:45,320 Speaker 1: scaling solution called optimism, and Freeman found an exploit in 240 00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:50,000 Speaker 1: the optimism solution that would have allowed him to essentially 241 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:55,040 Speaker 1: create or meant his own bogus Ether. Now, Freeman didn't 242 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:59,360 Speaker 1: start printing counterfeit crypto bucks. Instead, he reported this flaw 243 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:02,560 Speaker 1: to optimist them, and in return received a two million 244 00:15:02,600 --> 00:15:06,320 Speaker 1: dollar bug bounty for his troubles, which, honestly, when you 245 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 1: think about it, that's chump change in the grand scheme 246 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 1: of things. Because one of the basic foundational ideas with 247 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:16,600 Speaker 1: cryptocurrency and blockchain is that you shouldn't be able to 248 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:20,240 Speaker 1: mint your own coins, right. You should have to mind 249 00:15:20,320 --> 00:15:23,440 Speaker 1: them or otherwise earn them in the system, but you 250 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:25,960 Speaker 1: shouldn't be able to just create them, nor should you 251 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:28,240 Speaker 1: be able to do stuff like spend the same coin 252 00:15:28,320 --> 00:15:32,600 Speaker 1: more than once. You know the way you could do 253 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:35,240 Speaker 1: if there were no other protections in place, Because you're 254 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:39,240 Speaker 1: just talking about digital information that's easy for you to 255 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:42,040 Speaker 1: to create, right, so you have to have these systems 256 00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:46,400 Speaker 1: in place to protect against that. So Freeman's discovery was 257 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:51,720 Speaker 1: one that could literally undermine confidence in an entire cryptocurrency system. 258 00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:54,040 Speaker 1: If it were discovered that an exploit could allow you 259 00:15:54,080 --> 00:15:57,400 Speaker 1: to print your own ether, well, that system could ultimately 260 00:15:57,480 --> 00:15:59,800 Speaker 1: just collapse as a result, because you know you have, 261 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:02,760 Speaker 1: all confidence would be drop out of it since no 262 00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:06,080 Speaker 1: one would know. Hey, the ether I got from that transaction? 263 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 1: Is it real? Is it? Is it counterfeit? Is that 264 00:16:09,600 --> 00:16:11,680 Speaker 1: ether going to go away? If it does go away? 265 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 1: Am I going to be compensated because I accepted it 266 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:17,840 Speaker 1: in good faith? It's scary stuff. I mean, these are 267 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:20,760 Speaker 1: This is why we have like the Secret Service in 268 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:24,440 Speaker 1: the United States is in charge of investigating stuff like counterfeiting, 269 00:16:24,560 --> 00:16:28,040 Speaker 1: because it very much gets to the heart of an 270 00:16:28,040 --> 00:16:33,240 Speaker 1: economic system, and if if confidence drops in an economic system, 271 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:37,040 Speaker 1: the system itself falls apart. So pretty scary. A company 272 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:40,480 Speaker 1: called cha Analysis released a report saying that three quarters 273 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:44,200 Speaker 1: or nearly three quarters, of all ransomware attacks appear to 274 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:48,560 Speaker 1: originate from or are connected to Russia. Further, they also 275 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:51,440 Speaker 1: said that a significant amount of the money laundering that's 276 00:16:51,480 --> 00:16:56,400 Speaker 1: taking place in the cryptocurrency world is filtered through Russian companies. 277 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:00,160 Speaker 1: The researchers pointed to certain key indicators that back up 278 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:02,760 Speaker 1: their claims. For example, they showed that a lot of 279 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:06,080 Speaker 1: ransomware code out there. We'll first check to see if 280 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:10,199 Speaker 1: the infected computer is located in Russia or not. And 281 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:14,000 Speaker 1: if it's in Russia or one of the few territories 282 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:16,480 Speaker 1: that were part of the former Soviet Union, then the 283 00:17:16,600 --> 00:17:19,720 Speaker 1: ransomware isn't going to encrypt all the data on the 284 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:23,240 Speaker 1: machine and lock it down, so it does not target 285 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:28,880 Speaker 1: and infect uh those computers that specifically holds off on 286 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:32,720 Speaker 1: on locking them down. That suggests that the ransomware originated 287 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:38,440 Speaker 1: out of Russia or is operating with the consent of Russia, because, 288 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:41,200 Speaker 1: as they say, you do not poop where you eat. 289 00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:44,560 Speaker 1: The researchers are very quick to say that they followed 290 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:48,159 Speaker 1: the money in ransomware attacks, and that really could just 291 00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:50,560 Speaker 1: mean that the folks who are calling the shots are 292 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:53,639 Speaker 1: in Russia. But it's possible that the ground soldiers and 293 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:55,960 Speaker 1: then the hackers who are putting in the work could 294 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:59,080 Speaker 1: just be cyberguns for hire from you know, pretty much anywhere. 295 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:03,720 Speaker 1: Russia leaders have repeatedly denied any connection to hacker groups 296 00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 1: in ransomware, and not too long ago. Just last month, 297 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:11,040 Speaker 1: the Russian government said it had dismantled the well known 298 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:15,040 Speaker 1: ransomware group revel r E v I L. But I 299 00:18:15,040 --> 00:18:18,960 Speaker 1: should add that that only came after numerous countries, including 300 00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:23,040 Speaker 1: the United States, had launched massive campaigns to go after 301 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:25,719 Speaker 1: hackers believed to be part of the group, and some 302 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:29,920 Speaker 1: of them had been arrested. So you could argue that 303 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:33,800 Speaker 1: Russia's move here was one of self preservation by you know, 304 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:38,200 Speaker 1: dismantling the group before it gets any worse. The Senate 305 00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:41,560 Speaker 1: Judiciary Committee in the United States recently passed a vote 306 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:44,760 Speaker 1: to bring the earn It Act to a full Senate vote, 307 00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:48,560 Speaker 1: and that has a lot of privacy advocates worried. Also, 308 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:52,760 Speaker 1: it's a story that involves protecting children, so it's highly 309 00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:56,160 Speaker 1: charged on an emotional level. And we often see these 310 00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:59,760 Speaker 1: kind of things play out this way, where you'll have 311 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:05,000 Speaker 1: the surface, uh issue that you're targeting, which in this 312 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:09,200 Speaker 1: case is about protecting children, and I think everyone agrees, yes, 313 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:11,720 Speaker 1: that is something we should be concerned about. But then 314 00:19:11,760 --> 00:19:16,000 Speaker 1: underneath it there are implications that go beyond protecting children 315 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:20,320 Speaker 1: and could mean disaster. So a lot of this is 316 00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:24,720 Speaker 1: about removing certain protections that online platforms currently enjoy with 317 00:19:24,760 --> 00:19:28,800 Speaker 1: regard to user generated content see if you're a platform 318 00:19:28,920 --> 00:19:32,639 Speaker 1: that allows users to post stuff to that platform. Whether 319 00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:36,719 Speaker 1: you are running a social networking platform or a blogging site, 320 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:41,159 Speaker 1: or maybe a video sharing site like YouTube or whatever, well, 321 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:44,240 Speaker 1: if you're running that platform, you are not held liable 322 00:19:44,520 --> 00:19:47,639 Speaker 1: for the stuff that people share, because you didn't generate it. 323 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:51,840 Speaker 1: The users did. Now you're also supposed to take appropriate 324 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:55,600 Speaker 1: measures whenever material that is illegal or against your own 325 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:58,840 Speaker 1: policies pops up. You're supposed to actually take action in 326 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:02,160 Speaker 1: those cases when it's brought to your attention, but earn 327 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:06,480 Speaker 1: it would actually remove those protections that would make you liable, 328 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:10,520 Speaker 1: and it would force the companies that are running these 329 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:15,159 Speaker 1: online platforms to seek out and report instances of child 330 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:19,760 Speaker 1: sexual abuse material or see SAM. So this would mean 331 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:23,120 Speaker 1: platforms would have to go from being passive and only 332 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:28,080 Speaker 1: taking action when alerted to an infraction to becoming an 333 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:32,000 Speaker 1: active investigator on their own platforms. They would have to monitor, 334 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:36,800 Speaker 1: not just respond, but be more proactive and seek out 335 00:20:37,119 --> 00:20:41,440 Speaker 1: instances where people are violating the rules. Now already, for 336 00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:44,960 Speaker 1: certain platforms, the scale of that responsibility would be beyond 337 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:49,840 Speaker 1: their capabilities, like hundreds of hours of video or upload 338 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:53,840 Speaker 1: to YouTube every single minute, it is literally impossible to 339 00:20:54,359 --> 00:20:57,600 Speaker 1: monitor all of that in real time and make sure 340 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:02,119 Speaker 1: that nothing illegal is slipping through. So you could argue 341 00:21:02,119 --> 00:21:04,120 Speaker 1: that some platforms are just too big to be able 342 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:06,080 Speaker 1: to do this, at least to the letter of the law. 343 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:09,080 Speaker 1: If it should in fact pass into law. It hasn't yet, 344 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:14,000 Speaker 1: that's important. And beyond that, there's this concern about encryption 345 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:18,439 Speaker 1: and privacy. So Senator Richard Blumenthal has indicated that if 346 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:22,720 Speaker 1: a platform allows for end to end encrypted communication, that is, 347 00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:25,920 Speaker 1: only the people who are communicating are able to see 348 00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:29,680 Speaker 1: what is being sent back and forth. Well, such a 349 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:32,920 Speaker 1: service would not immediately be assumed to be liable for 350 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:36,560 Speaker 1: c SAM right because the service wouldn't know about it. However, 351 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:41,399 Speaker 1: Bluementhal says, the bill also says this encryption ability does 352 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:45,800 Speaker 1: not give a platform the chance to deflect responsibility either. 353 00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:48,560 Speaker 1: So in other words, let's say, let's give it a 354 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:52,920 Speaker 1: hypothetical example based upon my understanding of this legislation. Let's 355 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:56,920 Speaker 1: say some investigators are doing a sting operation and they're 356 00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:00,760 Speaker 1: communicating with someone through into into encryption on a platform, 357 00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:03,520 Speaker 1: and they find out that that person is trafficking in 358 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:08,320 Speaker 1: see SAM through encrypted messaging. Well, the investigators could charge 359 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:12,960 Speaker 1: the platform with violating the earn It Act. And I 360 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:14,920 Speaker 1: hear some of you saying, wait a minute. If the 361 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:19,399 Speaker 1: actual communication channel really is encrypted end to end, then 362 00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:22,360 Speaker 1: there would be no way for the platform, no matter 363 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:24,800 Speaker 1: who it is, to know if see SAM was part 364 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:27,800 Speaker 1: of that communication, because that's what end encryption means. It 365 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: means that only those parties in the communication would see 366 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:35,119 Speaker 1: what was going on. That's the that's the promise of 367 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:38,640 Speaker 1: end end encryption is that your communications are protected their 368 00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:42,119 Speaker 1: private not even the provider can see them. And that 369 00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:45,200 Speaker 1: is the issue that critics are worried about, because it's 370 00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:50,440 Speaker 1: just that platforms would have to abandon encrypted communication altogether 371 00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:54,240 Speaker 1: or risk being liable for earn It violations that it 372 00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:58,240 Speaker 1: could not possibly avoid. Otherwise there's no way to detect it, 373 00:22:58,320 --> 00:23:00,239 Speaker 1: so there's no way to act on it, and yet 374 00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:02,480 Speaker 1: they would be held liable if this Act were to 375 00:23:02,600 --> 00:23:05,480 Speaker 1: become law as it appears to have been, you know, 376 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:09,199 Speaker 1: designed so far. Anyway, keep in mind this Act can 377 00:23:09,280 --> 00:23:12,480 Speaker 1: still change dramatically and it may not ever go to law, 378 00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:17,359 Speaker 1: but it does put platforms in an impossible position, at 379 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:20,200 Speaker 1: least with regard to allowing a cryptic communication so the 380 00:23:20,280 --> 00:23:23,000 Speaker 1: critics are saying earn it would effectively mean the risk 381 00:23:23,160 --> 00:23:26,280 Speaker 1: of providing encrypted communication services at least the United States 382 00:23:26,359 --> 00:23:29,200 Speaker 1: would be too great and would lead to a surveillance 383 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:32,600 Speaker 1: culture of unprecedented proportions, or that we might even see 384 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:37,879 Speaker 1: platforms abandoned supporting user generated content altogether, although for some 385 00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:40,560 Speaker 1: platforms like Facebook and YouTube that would pretty much mean 386 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:43,240 Speaker 1: they would just have to close up shop. So we'll 387 00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:45,800 Speaker 1: have to see where this proposed legislation goes next and 388 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:51,000 Speaker 1: whether or not it uh it survives being altered and 389 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:54,520 Speaker 1: being voted upon. All Right, I've got several more little 390 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 1: stories to cover before we get to that. Let's take 391 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:06,920 Speaker 1: another quick break. Okay, we're gonna close out with some 392 00:24:07,080 --> 00:24:10,680 Speaker 1: futuristic stuff for this episode. First, we're going to go 393 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:14,760 Speaker 1: back to the future because the DeLorean Motor Company recently 394 00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:19,800 Speaker 1: posted a promo before the Big Game that promises we're 395 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:24,119 Speaker 1: gonna get a new DeLorean and electric DeLorean with a 396 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:28,240 Speaker 1: focus on luxury. Apparently, the promo just really kind of 397 00:24:28,320 --> 00:24:31,720 Speaker 1: shows a silhouette of gull wing doors of one of 398 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:35,560 Speaker 1: the the beautiful features of the original DeLorean. And you 399 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:38,000 Speaker 1: might remember the DeLorean as being the car that Doc 400 00:24:38,119 --> 00:24:40,320 Speaker 1: Brown turned into a time machine in the Back to 401 00:24:40,359 --> 00:24:43,159 Speaker 1: the Future series. Well, a lot of folks have a 402 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:47,040 Speaker 1: nostalgic soft spot for that car, specifically because of that movie, 403 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:49,840 Speaker 1: and um, that's funny because the car was not a 404 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:52,639 Speaker 1: high performance vehicle when it came out in nine. If 405 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:56,399 Speaker 1: you read reviews of the DeLorean that we're contemporary with 406 00:24:56,600 --> 00:25:00,520 Speaker 1: the release of the Automobile, they are not but picularly 407 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:03,920 Speaker 1: positive reviews. By the time Back to the Future actually 408 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,960 Speaker 1: came out in the DeLorean had not been in production 409 00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:10,919 Speaker 1: for three whole years, and a lot of folks, myself included, Uh, 410 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:13,560 Speaker 1: I didn't even know about the car until the movie 411 00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:15,119 Speaker 1: came out, Like, I had never even heard of a 412 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:19,920 Speaker 1: DeLorean until I saw the movie. So anyway, the DeLorean 413 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:24,280 Speaker 1: Motor Company, which is not the original Delirian Motor Company, 414 00:25:24,359 --> 00:25:28,320 Speaker 1: it's rather a reboot from the mid nineties and enthusiast 415 00:25:28,840 --> 00:25:31,879 Speaker 1: ended up launching it in Texas and bought up all 416 00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:36,960 Speaker 1: the existing parts that still remained out of the old 417 00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:40,600 Speaker 1: Deloran Motor Company. Anyway, this new one is bringing the 418 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:45,200 Speaker 1: DeLorean back. Apparently no telling what the timetable actually is 419 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:48,119 Speaker 1: or how much an electric DeLorean is going to cost. You, 420 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:51,480 Speaker 1: I suspect it will be expensive, but I thought it 421 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:55,680 Speaker 1: was a cool thing to mention, Like as as all 422 00:25:55,760 --> 00:25:58,280 Speaker 1: the practical parts of me say it would be silly 423 00:25:58,359 --> 00:26:02,280 Speaker 1: to buy an electric DeLorean, but the child in me 424 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:06,080 Speaker 1: says once one. Something else that is cool is high 425 00:26:06,119 --> 00:26:09,040 Speaker 1: performance computing, which is kind of a catch all descriptor 426 00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:12,920 Speaker 1: for all sorts of very high powered computational processes. We 427 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:15,880 Speaker 1: used to call this stuff super computing back in the day, 428 00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:19,240 Speaker 1: but we've sort of migrated away from calling it super 429 00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:22,520 Speaker 1: computing because of the emergence of distributed systems and lots 430 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:26,320 Speaker 1: of other related stuff. Anyway, one of the big challenges 431 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:31,000 Speaker 1: of working with high performance computing is actually optimizing processes 432 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:35,040 Speaker 1: so that they can take full advantage of the system's capabilities. 433 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:39,680 Speaker 1: So generally there's this belief that you can either write 434 00:26:39,720 --> 00:26:44,240 Speaker 1: a program that does stuff quickly but inaccurately, or it 435 00:26:44,359 --> 00:26:48,359 Speaker 1: does stuff accurately but not quickly, and you can't do 436 00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:51,040 Speaker 1: you can't be both fast and accurate at the same 437 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:55,200 Speaker 1: time because of how complicated it is to program for 438 00:26:55,400 --> 00:27:00,119 Speaker 1: these very sophisticated systems. Well, now, researchers primarily based out 439 00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:03,000 Speaker 1: of M I T have created a new programming language 440 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:07,840 Speaker 1: that they call a tensor language or a t l UH. 441 00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:10,639 Speaker 1: The language gets super technical, and I don't really have 442 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:13,080 Speaker 1: time to dive into it and talk about what tin 443 00:27:13,160 --> 00:27:15,640 Speaker 1: sores are are and all that kind of stuff. But essentially, 444 00:27:16,560 --> 00:27:19,320 Speaker 1: the hope is that this programming language will make the 445 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:25,520 Speaker 1: process of optimizing programs designed for high performance computing platforms easier. 446 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:29,000 Speaker 1: The game gamers out there are all very well aware. 447 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:30,960 Speaker 1: There are a lot of games that come out that 448 00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:34,760 Speaker 1: require a ton of computational power, and you could have 449 00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:39,440 Speaker 1: the best system possible, like with the fastest hardware in 450 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:42,919 Speaker 1: the world, and still find it kind of chugging along. 451 00:27:43,080 --> 00:27:46,800 Speaker 1: And some of that ends up being poor optimization. Like 452 00:27:46,960 --> 00:27:48,840 Speaker 1: you could look at the program and say, well, there's 453 00:27:48,920 --> 00:27:52,760 Speaker 1: nothing here that should be making my my system, you know, 454 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:56,280 Speaker 1: chug this way. The graphics are not that sophisticated, the 455 00:27:56,359 --> 00:27:58,399 Speaker 1: lighting effects shouldn't be doing it, and yet it is. 456 00:27:59,040 --> 00:28:01,639 Speaker 1: And that is because of optimization. So that is something 457 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:04,560 Speaker 1: that we see all the time with gaming, but we 458 00:28:04,600 --> 00:28:07,200 Speaker 1: also see it in all different kinds of software. Well, 459 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:10,320 Speaker 1: when you're working with high performance computing systems, it becomes 460 00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:13,119 Speaker 1: a real issue. It means that you're not really taking 461 00:28:13,119 --> 00:28:15,920 Speaker 1: advantage of the resources that are available to you. So 462 00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:19,800 Speaker 1: a t L will in theory, help programmers find the 463 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:22,320 Speaker 1: most efficient way to get the results they want from 464 00:28:22,400 --> 00:28:25,720 Speaker 1: high performance computer operations, which could open up all sorts 465 00:28:25,760 --> 00:28:28,800 Speaker 1: of doors. And I think that's pretty nifty. Okay, Let's 466 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:32,879 Speaker 1: say you're ready for virtual reality on the go like 467 00:28:33,119 --> 00:28:36,720 Speaker 1: VR whay or out and about, or maybe augmented reality 468 00:28:36,840 --> 00:28:39,280 Speaker 1: while you're out and about. However, you don't want to 469 00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:43,080 Speaker 1: wear one of those super bulky headsets. You'd rather wear 470 00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:46,240 Speaker 1: a sleek pair of glasses. But the problem is that 471 00:28:46,480 --> 00:28:49,600 Speaker 1: form factor doesn't really allow for all the components you 472 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:53,960 Speaker 1: need to get a persistent Internet connection capable of providing 473 00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,920 Speaker 1: you the experience you want. So what are you to do? Well, 474 00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:01,120 Speaker 1: Motorola thinks you should get a high tech neck band 475 00:29:01,600 --> 00:29:04,040 Speaker 1: that looks kind of like a lanyard and it could 476 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:06,680 Speaker 1: hold a lot of the key components in it. UM 477 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:09,360 Speaker 1: the product if it ever does become an actual product. 478 00:29:09,480 --> 00:29:12,560 Speaker 1: Motorola says it will, but we don't know timing or 479 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:14,840 Speaker 1: pricing yet, and it also doesn't have a name yet. 480 00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:18,959 Speaker 1: It does have some components that consists of a battery, 481 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:23,680 Speaker 1: a touch pad, some speakers, UM there's an accelerometer and 482 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:26,520 Speaker 1: a jar scope in there. It's got a simcard slot, 483 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:31,160 Speaker 1: is got a snap Dragon eight GIN one processor, and 484 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:36,280 Speaker 1: um it's compatible with Verizon's five gene network. It looks 485 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:39,120 Speaker 1: kind of like a smartphone sized puck on a strap 486 00:29:39,280 --> 00:29:41,840 Speaker 1: to me. But the idea is that you could pair 487 00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:44,880 Speaker 1: a lightweight set of VR or a R goggles with 488 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:49,760 Speaker 1: this thing, and the thing would provide the horsepower needed 489 00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:52,080 Speaker 1: to run the glasses so that you could I don't know, 490 00:29:53,120 --> 00:29:54,920 Speaker 1: meta the verse or whatever it is you want to do. 491 00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:58,040 Speaker 1: It's not necessarily a bad idea because it would take 492 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:00,240 Speaker 1: some of the weight that you would otherwise is have 493 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:02,720 Speaker 1: to wear on your face, and it puts it around 494 00:30:02,720 --> 00:30:05,080 Speaker 1: your neck and on your chest, and so I think 495 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:09,240 Speaker 1: that's pretty cool in that sense. And the company, Motorola, 496 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:12,360 Speaker 1: it's saying that that's going to target this product toward quote, 497 00:30:12,760 --> 00:30:16,080 Speaker 1: sports training and fan experiences, as well as making VR 498 00:30:16,160 --> 00:30:20,520 Speaker 1: theaters scalable end quote, and also looking at enterprise users. 499 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:24,640 Speaker 1: So not necessarily something that you would pick up for 500 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:28,920 Speaker 1: a consumer product. Now I'll believe it when I see it, 501 00:30:29,080 --> 00:30:31,040 Speaker 1: simply because I know there's still a lot of folks 502 00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:34,200 Speaker 1: who are not sold on this whole the idea of 503 00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:39,160 Speaker 1: having to wear something on their face to experience technology. Uh. Like, 504 00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:41,000 Speaker 1: I also think of the people who are paying huge 505 00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:42,920 Speaker 1: amounts of money to go to a sporting event, let's 506 00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:46,960 Speaker 1: say the Big Game, UM, where I think the average 507 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:51,680 Speaker 1: ticket price was somewhere around seven thousand, eight thousand dollars 508 00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:55,400 Speaker 1: per seat. Like, I can't imagine paying that much money 509 00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:57,280 Speaker 1: and saying, oh, I should put on these glasses so 510 00:30:57,400 --> 00:30:59,240 Speaker 1: that I can see something other than what I paid 511 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:01,640 Speaker 1: a whole lot of money to be at. I don't know, 512 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:04,680 Speaker 1: Maybe I'm just I could just be missing the whole 513 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:07,120 Speaker 1: point here. And Hey, if you want to go to 514 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:11,040 Speaker 1: space and you have four fifty thousand bucks burning a 515 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:15,120 Speaker 1: hole in your very very very large pockets, have I 516 00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:17,880 Speaker 1: got a deal for you? Because Virgin Galactic is planning 517 00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:21,760 Speaker 1: to market its flights to quote unquote space this year. Now, 518 00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:25,600 Speaker 1: as a reminder, this version of going to space involves 519 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:28,880 Speaker 1: writing aboard an aircraft that is in turn piggybacking on 520 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:33,360 Speaker 1: a larger aircraft, and at the appropriate altitude your aircraft 521 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:37,479 Speaker 1: separates from the mothership. The aircraft ignitsance, engines, and then 522 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:41,200 Speaker 1: soars to around KOs in altitude now that's high enough 523 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:43,760 Speaker 1: to get a really nice view of the Earth and 524 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:47,400 Speaker 1: see the blackness of space, and even experience some micro gravity, 525 00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:52,240 Speaker 1: not true weightlessness, but like you know, only three percent 526 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:55,240 Speaker 1: of the earth gravity, so close enough for you to 527 00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:58,440 Speaker 1: kind of call it weightless, but it's still well below 528 00:31:58,520 --> 00:32:02,600 Speaker 1: the Carmen line, which one kilometers in altitude. That's where 529 00:32:02,880 --> 00:32:07,040 Speaker 1: most space agencies define the beginning of space. Uh. In America, 530 00:32:07,560 --> 00:32:11,080 Speaker 1: we award people astronaut wings if they go above fifty 531 00:32:11,160 --> 00:32:14,680 Speaker 1: kilometers in altitude. But then again, you know, we all 532 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:17,640 Speaker 1: know that where space begins as something of a debate 533 00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:20,720 Speaker 1: among various agencies because there are a lot of different 534 00:32:20,720 --> 00:32:24,240 Speaker 1: ways to look at that. Anyway, you won't be going 535 00:32:24,320 --> 00:32:27,400 Speaker 1: up in orbit because it does not reach that speed 536 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:30,280 Speaker 1: or that altitude, and the whole flight from takeoff to 537 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:34,120 Speaker 1: touchdown lasts around ninety minutes, and the space bit lasts 538 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:40,320 Speaker 1: quote several minutes end quote Gali. Anyway, the company says 539 00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:43,680 Speaker 1: it plans to quote have our first one thousand customers 540 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:46,760 Speaker 1: on board at the start of commercial service later this year, 541 00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:50,840 Speaker 1: providing an incredibly strong foundation as we begin regular operations 542 00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:54,240 Speaker 1: and scale our fleet end quote. And here I was 543 00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:56,360 Speaker 1: wondering if there ever would be a service that can 544 00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:59,920 Speaker 1: make me feel as inferior as the old Concorde supersonic 545 00:33:00,120 --> 00:33:04,800 Speaker 1: jet service did. And here we go. Anyway, rich people 546 00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:06,840 Speaker 1: are gonna go really really high up in the sky 547 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:09,560 Speaker 1: and they're gonna see Earth from way up there, which 548 00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:12,160 Speaker 1: is supposed to be a transformational experience. But I will 549 00:33:12,240 --> 00:33:14,920 Speaker 1: believe more when they start spending some of the ridiculous 550 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:18,400 Speaker 1: wealth they have on solving real world problems for everyone else. 551 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:22,800 Speaker 1: And I'm grouchy, so I'm gonna end this episode. But lastly, 552 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:29,640 Speaker 1: today marks my fifteen work anniversary. Fifteen years ago today 553 00:33:29,960 --> 00:33:32,720 Speaker 1: I started working as a staff writer for how Stuff 554 00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:36,120 Speaker 1: Works dot com. It wouldn't be until mid two thousand 555 00:33:36,240 --> 00:33:39,840 Speaker 1: eight that we would launch this podcast. And of course, 556 00:33:40,160 --> 00:33:42,840 Speaker 1: while I've essentially been in the same career path since 557 00:33:42,880 --> 00:33:46,360 Speaker 1: two thousand and seven, the name of my corporate overlord 558 00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:49,920 Speaker 1: has changed a few times, from Convex Group to Discovery 559 00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:53,600 Speaker 1: Communications to Blue Cora too. Well, in anyway, it's changed 560 00:33:53,640 --> 00:33:57,440 Speaker 1: a lot. But through that whole thing, I've been here 561 00:33:57,720 --> 00:34:00,720 Speaker 1: reading up on tech, sharing what I've earned with others, 562 00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:04,680 Speaker 1: and here's to looking at the next fifteen years. By then, 563 00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:07,640 Speaker 1: we should have the metaverse, so you'll probably experience this 564 00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:12,120 Speaker 1: podcast through your hollow pot or something. Oh no, maybe 565 00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:15,759 Speaker 1: we'll see anyway. If you have suggestions for topics I 566 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:18,240 Speaker 1: should cover on tech Stuff, reach out to me on Twitter. 567 00:34:18,520 --> 00:34:20,840 Speaker 1: The handle for the show is text Stuff H s 568 00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:25,120 Speaker 1: W and I'll talk to you again really soon, y. 569 00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:32,359 Speaker 1: Text Stuff is an I Heart Radio production. For more 570 00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:35,839 Speaker 1: podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, 571 00:34:36,000 --> 00:34:39,160 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows