1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: He there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:18,160 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio. 4 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:21,079 Speaker 1: And how the tech are Yet, it's time for the 5 00:00:21,120 --> 00:00:26,680 Speaker 1: tech news or Thursday, October twenty two and surprisingly we 6 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:30,040 Speaker 1: got a lot to go through. So last week, Netflix 7 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:34,519 Speaker 1: unveiled the long anticipated plan to offer an AD subsidized 8 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:38,320 Speaker 1: subscription tier, which rolls out here in the United States 9 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 1: and early November. Subscribers at that tier will get access 10 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:46,519 Speaker 1: to most, but not all, of netflix is streaming content. 11 00:00:47,120 --> 00:00:49,160 Speaker 1: They will be able to view it at a maximum 12 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: resolution of seven, which is at the base level of 13 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: high definition. Subscribers will get ADS obviously, and in return, 14 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:01,320 Speaker 1: their subscription will cost just x dollars nine nine cents 15 00:01:01,360 --> 00:01:05,040 Speaker 1: per month. Also, they will only be allowed to watch 16 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:08,400 Speaker 1: Netflix on one supported device at a time, so there's 17 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: no simultaneous viewing option there. If someone else in the 18 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:14,520 Speaker 1: house wants to watch Netflix, tough luck, they have to 19 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:17,800 Speaker 1: get their own account. The other tiers of service will 20 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 1: include Basic that has no ADS, so there's Basic with 21 00:01:21,680 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: ads and Basic without ads. Basic without ads has the 22 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 1: same sort of limitations as Basic. When it comes to resolution, however, 23 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:34,040 Speaker 1: it should have access to the full Netflix catalog, so 24 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:38,399 Speaker 1: you won't have the same limitation there. It will cost 25 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: nine dollars nine cents per month. Then you've got Standard tier, 26 00:01:43,280 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: this is at fifteen dollars for nine cents per month. 27 00:01:45,920 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 1: At that one you actually get a resolution of up 28 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:52,160 Speaker 1: to ten eighty So full HD also allows up to 29 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 1: two devices to access the service at the same time. 30 00:01:55,560 --> 00:02:00,120 Speaker 1: Then you've got Premium that's nineteen nine per month and 31 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:02,800 Speaker 1: that allows for streaming an ultra h D and it 32 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 1: can support up to four devices with simultaneous viewing. In 33 00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:10,320 Speaker 1: addition to that, this week, Netflix announced that in early 34 00:02:11,400 --> 00:02:15,919 Speaker 1: it will roll out a program to address password sharing. Now, 35 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,440 Speaker 1: the company has been piloting this already in various Latin 36 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: America countries for several months. The ideas that Netflix will 37 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:26,800 Speaker 1: identify households that have shared user names and passwords with 38 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: other people outside that household, and then they will give 39 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: those people and a chance to add sub accounts to 40 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: their subscription. So each sub account will require an additional 41 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,919 Speaker 1: monthly fee, which is likely to be somewhere between three 42 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:46,120 Speaker 1: dollars fifty cents and four dollars per month. Netflix has 43 00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: not actually shared that yet. Folks who have been using 44 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:53,640 Speaker 1: someone else's password uh and who have established a profile 45 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:57,480 Speaker 1: will still have that profile maintained. Their watch history will 46 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,600 Speaker 1: still be there under this plan. So if you are 47 00:03:00,720 --> 00:03:04,600 Speaker 1: someone who's been piggybacking on someone else's account and you've 48 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 1: created your own viewing profile in their account, that will 49 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:12,919 Speaker 1: still be preserved, assuming that the primary account holder agrees 50 00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: to pay this extra amount. Otherwise it's gonna get shut down. 51 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:21,000 Speaker 1: So Netflix is kind of giving people an option to 52 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:24,720 Speaker 1: subscribe in a much lower amount if they're piggybacking onto 53 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:27,480 Speaker 1: someone else's account. This is all part of the company's 54 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: strategy to address problems that it encountered earlier this year, 55 00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:33,799 Speaker 1: when the company revealed in an earnings call that had 56 00:03:33,840 --> 00:03:36,640 Speaker 1: lost more subscribers than it had added for the first 57 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:41,400 Speaker 1: time in Netflix's history. The stock price for Netflix plummeted 58 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 1: after that announcement, and we've seen ripples go throughout the 59 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:49,840 Speaker 1: entire streaming ecosystem, not just Netflix, but well beyond, and 60 00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: I think part of that stems from Netflix's own kind 61 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 1: of a stumble earlier this year. So Netflix is now 62 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:00,280 Speaker 1: pushing back. It's recently announced it added more subscribe brs 63 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: and the stock price jumped again. And now has these 64 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: additional revenue sources ready to launch, and I suspect Netflix 65 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 1: will adjust its production strategy moving forward as well. The 66 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 1: company had already dissolved several production departments. I would not 67 00:04:16,440 --> 00:04:19,600 Speaker 1: be surprised to see Netflix take a more conservative approach 68 00:04:19,640 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 1: to producing exclusive content in the future. We've already seen 69 00:04:23,080 --> 00:04:28,440 Speaker 1: David zaslav Over at Warner Brothers Discovery make announcements that 70 00:04:28,800 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: indicate that company is definitely taking a more conservative approach 71 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: and reserving higher production value stuff for venues like movie theaters. 72 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:44,720 Speaker 1: So this might be part of the transition into the 73 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:48,760 Speaker 1: new era of streaming services where Netflix no longer can 74 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:54,039 Speaker 1: command the entire landscape and has too many competitors, and 75 00:04:54,160 --> 00:04:56,440 Speaker 1: once you grow to a certain amount, you can't really 76 00:04:57,320 --> 00:05:01,880 Speaker 1: grow much more like you hit you hit uh saturation 77 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:04,840 Speaker 1: at that point. Uber has announced that the company has 78 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 1: formed an advertising department and that before too long, Uber 79 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:12,040 Speaker 1: users will have the pleasure of encountering ads at pretty 80 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:15,280 Speaker 1: much every stage of using Uber, as well as Uber 81 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:20,400 Speaker 1: eats yea. So here's the skinny Uber plans. What are 82 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:24,280 Speaker 1: called journey ads for passengers, and these ads will take 83 00:05:24,279 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: into account at least some of the personal data of 84 00:05:28,360 --> 00:05:31,840 Speaker 1: users who are making use of Uber in order to 85 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 1: target them with advertising, because we all know targeted advertising 86 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:42,600 Speaker 1: is way more valuable than just blanket ads. So presumably 87 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:45,359 Speaker 1: this is going to include geolocation data so that you 88 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:50,239 Speaker 1: get geo relevant ads beamed at you when you're using Uber, 89 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:53,479 Speaker 1: and that can get into some really tricky territory that 90 00:05:53,560 --> 00:05:56,560 Speaker 1: I'll talk about in a second. But the idea is 91 00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:00,560 Speaker 1: that let's say you hail a ride and you are 92 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:05,120 Speaker 1: going to I don't know, an entertainment destination, and you 93 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:08,320 Speaker 1: will get ads through that whole process of using Uber. 94 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 1: You'll get them while you wait for your ride, You'll 95 00:06:11,440 --> 00:06:15,719 Speaker 1: get them as you ride to your destination. We have 96 00:06:15,839 --> 00:06:19,839 Speaker 1: seen Lift start to outfit cars with tablets. It's very 97 00:06:19,920 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 1: likely the Uber is doing the same thing, so that 98 00:06:23,400 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: you will have screens around you, and it means you 99 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:29,240 Speaker 1: don't really have the option to, you know, not watch 100 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:31,080 Speaker 1: the ad, because of course, if you have it on 101 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:33,120 Speaker 1: your phone, you can just make your phone go dark 102 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:36,920 Speaker 1: and not pay attention to the ad that way, though, 103 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: I mean I always monitor my ride because I don't 104 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: know there's a little bit of paranoia in me to 105 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: make sure that the driver is not, you know, taking 106 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:48,320 Speaker 1: me out to the back country to off me or something. 107 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:51,960 Speaker 1: So yeah, it looks like you're gonna be seeing ads 108 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:54,800 Speaker 1: no matter what you do, and the ads are going 109 00:06:54,839 --> 00:06:57,840 Speaker 1: to come from a single source per transaction, which I 110 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 1: think is actually interesting. You're not gonna get, you know, 111 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:04,360 Speaker 1: like an ad for toilet paper one second and then 112 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:08,680 Speaker 1: car insurance the next. Rather the ad should in theory 113 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:11,880 Speaker 1: be targeted at you and presumably will take into account 114 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: either your destination or your starting point or both. So 115 00:07:15,880 --> 00:07:18,520 Speaker 1: if you're using Uber to say, go to the theater district, 116 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:22,120 Speaker 1: maybe you start to get ads for a local restaurant 117 00:07:22,320 --> 00:07:25,680 Speaker 1: or something like that. Similarly, Uber eats will be able 118 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:28,480 Speaker 1: to display ads pretty much through the whole process of 119 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:33,640 Speaker 1: using that app as well, including promoting certain restaurants above others. Uh. 120 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:35,880 Speaker 1: I always look for that when I use a delivery service, 121 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:38,840 Speaker 1: because I would rather get the highest rated options like 122 00:07:38,960 --> 00:07:43,480 Speaker 1: customer ratings, rather than an option that paid to be 123 00:07:43,520 --> 00:07:47,760 Speaker 1: promoted over everybody else. Anyway, I mentioned the geolocation data 124 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: earlier being an issue, and here's a very real and 125 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:54,680 Speaker 1: scary example that could happen. Women who want to use 126 00:07:54,680 --> 00:07:58,160 Speaker 1: a ride haling app to go to a reproductive healthcare 127 00:07:58,200 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 1: clinic are likely going to desire and expect a level 128 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:05,120 Speaker 1: of privacy, and specifically in the wake of the Supreme 129 00:08:05,160 --> 00:08:08,720 Speaker 1: Court striking down the protections of Row versus Wade, keeping 130 00:08:08,760 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 1: the information private is important to women's health and security, 131 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:14,880 Speaker 1: and we've got states that have threatened to prosecute women 132 00:08:15,360 --> 00:08:18,440 Speaker 1: even if they go outside the state in order to say, 133 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:24,760 Speaker 1: seek an abortion. So having a service that is using 134 00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 1: geolocation data in such a way as to target people 135 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:32,480 Speaker 1: potentially could have other consequences down the line. Now, for 136 00:08:32,640 --> 00:08:36,679 Speaker 1: its part, Uber claims that it aggregates information that doesn't 137 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:40,280 Speaker 1: get as granular as specific individuals, but there's still a 138 00:08:40,280 --> 00:08:42,960 Speaker 1: massive concern about this kind of process and what it 139 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:46,160 Speaker 1: means to privacy and security. Uber reps have said that 140 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:49,520 Speaker 1: as the program rolls out, it could make the cost 141 00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:52,640 Speaker 1: of Uber less expensive because it will now be subsidized 142 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:55,280 Speaker 1: by ads, but so far, no one has actually mentioned 143 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:58,079 Speaker 1: any sort of ballpark estimate about you know, how much 144 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:02,199 Speaker 1: of a discount folks should expect. So, yeah, I'm seeing 145 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:06,280 Speaker 1: a lot of negative reaction to this announcement, which I 146 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:10,840 Speaker 1: totally understand and I don't disagree with I also feel 147 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,319 Speaker 1: a key about this, but we'll have to see what 148 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:19,320 Speaker 1: what what it's like once it actually manifests. This next 149 00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:24,000 Speaker 1: story should go into our Spooky Episodes series. The f 150 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:26,640 Speaker 1: a A as the Federal Aviation Administration here in the 151 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 1: United States, is looking into a case of GPS interference 152 00:09:30,960 --> 00:09:34,400 Speaker 1: that affected the Dallas Fort Worth Airport earlier this week. 153 00:09:34,960 --> 00:09:40,240 Speaker 1: The interference affected about forty miles of airspace that we're 154 00:09:40,480 --> 00:09:43,920 Speaker 1: close to d f W. That's Dallas Fort worths Airport. 155 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:48,920 Speaker 1: While GPS navigation isn't critical for air travel, it is 156 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:53,079 Speaker 1: a tool that pilots rely on pretty regularly. Without GPS, 157 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:56,840 Speaker 1: pilots have to use older methods and navigation, and these 158 00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:00,800 Speaker 1: older methods still work and everything. They're just us convenient. 159 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:05,880 Speaker 1: So as a result, GPS interference can lead to delays 160 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:08,880 Speaker 1: and flight cancelations and that kind of thing. So this 161 00:10:08,960 --> 00:10:12,040 Speaker 1: is a fairly big deal. It can impact air travel. 162 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:15,679 Speaker 1: It's just it's not it's not like a life endangerment 163 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:19,280 Speaker 1: kind of thing. Moreover, as of this recording, no one's 164 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:22,840 Speaker 1: really sure what actually caused this GPS interference in the 165 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:28,960 Speaker 1: first place. Now, sometimes military exercises can affect GPS, but 166 00:10:29,200 --> 00:10:32,600 Speaker 1: these usually last a fairly short while, and no one's 167 00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:35,120 Speaker 1: really come forward to say that's what happened in this case. 168 00:10:35,640 --> 00:10:39,680 Speaker 1: And this case lasted from Monday afternoon from around one 169 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:44,280 Speaker 1: pm local time to Tuesday night around eleven pm local time, 170 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:46,960 Speaker 1: so more than a full day. Now, it's possible the 171 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:51,880 Speaker 1: interference was accidental, but it's also possible that this was 172 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:56,680 Speaker 1: a purposeful act. GPS jamming is a real thing, but 173 00:10:56,880 --> 00:10:59,520 Speaker 1: with a distinct lack of evidence, there's no sense in 174 00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:04,440 Speaker 1: jumping to any conclusions. Yet, a similar situation happened in 175 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:08,319 Speaker 1: Denver at the beginning of two and I wouldn't call 176 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:12,720 Speaker 1: this like an alarming trend of jamming attacks or anything 177 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:15,640 Speaker 1: like that, or just mysterious interference. I wouldn't call it 178 00:11:15,679 --> 00:11:18,640 Speaker 1: a trend at all, but it does indicate that more 179 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:22,640 Speaker 1: investigations are needed to determine what is causing these events, 180 00:11:22,720 --> 00:11:25,760 Speaker 1: Is there a common cause, are they very different incidents, 181 00:11:26,200 --> 00:11:30,559 Speaker 1: and how might we prevent future ones from happening, particularly 182 00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:34,440 Speaker 1: since we are so you know, at least used to 183 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:38,720 Speaker 1: having GPS as an option, if not dependent upon it. 184 00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:42,720 Speaker 1: Once again, just to reiterate, worst case scenario. Aircraft really 185 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:45,920 Speaker 1: just switched to a different navigation method. So I don't 186 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:49,080 Speaker 1: want to give anyone anxiety if they've got an upcoming, 187 00:11:49,400 --> 00:11:52,440 Speaker 1: you know, air trip. It's not like it's not that 188 00:11:52,559 --> 00:11:56,040 Speaker 1: big a deal, and most it would cause an inconvenience. 189 00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:59,319 Speaker 1: All right, we've got more news to cover, but first 190 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:10,839 Speaker 1: let's take a quick break. Before the break, we were 191 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:13,199 Speaker 1: talking about air travel. We get a little bit more 192 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:15,000 Speaker 1: to talk about here, at least if you are in 193 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:21,400 Speaker 1: a very exclusive tax bracket. Starlink, the satellite internet provider 194 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:27,000 Speaker 1: arm of SpaceX, has announced Starlink Aviation this week. Now, 195 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:29,440 Speaker 1: this is a service that Starlink is going to offer 196 00:12:29,559 --> 00:12:33,720 Speaker 1: to private aircraft, So we're talking about stuff like private 197 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:38,520 Speaker 1: jets owned by disgustingly rich people and that kind of thing. 198 00:12:38,880 --> 00:12:42,240 Speaker 1: Starlink is promising speeds of up to three fifty megabits 199 00:12:42,280 --> 00:12:47,240 Speaker 1: per second. That's really impressive for air travel. Business Insider, 200 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:49,920 Speaker 1: by the way, erroneously reported this as three hundred fifty 201 00:12:49,960 --> 00:12:55,040 Speaker 1: megabytes per second. That's not the same thing. The literal 202 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:57,920 Speaker 1: jet setters out there are gonna have to cough up 203 00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:01,560 Speaker 1: some serious dough in order to use this technology. Starlink 204 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:04,680 Speaker 1: announced it will cost a hundred fifty thousand dollars to 205 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:09,160 Speaker 1: install the Starlink receiver and aircraft. It's not, you know, 206 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:12,760 Speaker 1: a satellite dish the way a terrestrial consumer would have. 207 00:13:12,800 --> 00:13:15,800 Speaker 1: It's going to have a different form factor. And on 208 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:19,520 Speaker 1: top of that hundred fifty dollar installation cost, there's going 209 00:13:19,559 --> 00:13:21,840 Speaker 1: to be a monthly service fee that will range between 210 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:26,120 Speaker 1: twelve thousand, five hundred to twenty five thousand dollars. That's 211 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:29,840 Speaker 1: per month, So potentially three months of service could set 212 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:33,400 Speaker 1: someone back seventy five dollars, which is way more than 213 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:35,160 Speaker 1: what a lot of my friends make in a year. 214 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:39,240 Speaker 1: What a country anyway. Starlink says the service will launch 215 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:41,960 Speaker 1: in mid twenty twenty three, and that those with private 216 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:44,320 Speaker 1: jets who are interested in reserving a system will need 217 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:47,280 Speaker 1: to PLoP down a five thousand dollar deposit in order 218 00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:50,559 Speaker 1: to get a reservation. I will not be one of those. 219 00:13:50,800 --> 00:13:52,760 Speaker 1: I don't have a private jet. I'm not in that 220 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:56,480 Speaker 1: tax bracket. The state of Illinois here in the US 221 00:13:56,640 --> 00:14:00,480 Speaker 1: has hit telecommunications and media conglomerate A T and T 222 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:06,280 Speaker 1: with a twenty three million dollar fine. Why because an 223 00:14:06,320 --> 00:14:09,840 Speaker 1: investigation uncovered that a lobbyist working on behalf of A 224 00:14:09,960 --> 00:14:12,680 Speaker 1: T and T had bribed the ally of a state 225 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:16,440 Speaker 1: lawmaker to try and sway a policy vote in A 226 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:18,679 Speaker 1: T and T s favor. A T and T is 227 00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:23,320 Speaker 1: no stranger to political lobbying. In fact, much of the 228 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:28,240 Speaker 1: internet landscape and telecommunication landscape from a legal perspective is 229 00:14:28,280 --> 00:14:30,280 Speaker 1: the way it is because of companies like A T 230 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:35,080 Speaker 1: and T using their lobbying pressure to guide policy. It's, 231 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:37,800 Speaker 1: you know, one of the reasons why net neutrality is 232 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:40,160 Speaker 1: in the state that it's in. A T and T 233 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:44,240 Speaker 1: is also no stranger to getting fined, having previously been 234 00:14:44,320 --> 00:14:47,040 Speaker 1: hit with punishments for doing stuff like creating a rather 235 00:14:47,160 --> 00:14:51,320 Speaker 1: dubious definition of unlimited data like calling it unlimited when 236 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:56,440 Speaker 1: it was in fact limited, or launching programs that reportedly 237 00:14:56,480 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: took advantage of the hearing impaired. That's awesome. Tech Dirt 238 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:05,520 Speaker 1: has a partial rundown on the various offenses A T 239 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:08,800 Speaker 1: and T has committed, as well as more details about 240 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:12,160 Speaker 1: this recent fine from Illinois. It's in an article titled 241 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:15,320 Speaker 1: A T and T hit with twenty three million dollar 242 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:19,440 Speaker 1: fine for bribing Illinois lawmaker, and as Carl Bode of 243 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:22,680 Speaker 1: tech Dirt pointed out, we've seen a gradual shift in 244 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:25,120 Speaker 1: the United States when it comes to how the government 245 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:30,280 Speaker 1: and regulators are dealing with big tech companies, particularly telecommunications companies. 246 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:35,560 Speaker 1: There's there's been a response long long overdue in my mind, 247 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:40,880 Speaker 1: two anti competitive practices within the various industries. So we're 248 00:15:40,880 --> 00:15:44,720 Speaker 1: starting to see a shift, uh and more attention and 249 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:48,960 Speaker 1: pressure put to these companies as they had been used 250 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,080 Speaker 1: to kind of running rampant for for a couple of decades. 251 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:57,440 Speaker 1: This next news item is disturbing. So I want to 252 00:15:57,440 --> 00:16:00,280 Speaker 1: give a quick trigger warning to folks out there who 253 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:05,360 Speaker 1: are sensitive to stories about police misconduct, blackmail, and exploitation. 254 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:07,560 Speaker 1: This one has all of those. You might want to 255 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:11,520 Speaker 1: skip this news item, all right, So here goes. A 256 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:17,000 Speaker 1: former police officer named Brian Wilson in Louisville recently pled 257 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:21,040 Speaker 1: guilty to charges that he had misused a tool called Accurant, 258 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:26,040 Speaker 1: which is from Lexus Nexus Risk Solutions. So Accurran is 259 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:30,720 Speaker 1: meant for investigative purposes and it can help draw connections 260 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:34,840 Speaker 1: between people that otherwise you might not be able to determine. 261 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:38,880 Speaker 1: So let's use an example, like a hypothetical example. Let's 262 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:42,760 Speaker 1: say that the police had identified a suspect that they 263 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:46,080 Speaker 1: believed to be involved in a crime organization, but they 264 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:50,480 Speaker 1: don't know who this person's contacts are. They don't know 265 00:16:51,040 --> 00:16:53,640 Speaker 1: the identities of anyone else. They just have this suspicion. 266 00:16:53,880 --> 00:16:56,400 Speaker 1: So they might use a tool like Accurant to find 267 00:16:56,440 --> 00:17:00,160 Speaker 1: out who the suspect is regularly in contact with on 268 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:04,200 Speaker 1: the Internet in order to help the investigation. Like, one 269 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:06,720 Speaker 1: of the things we have learned recently is that you 270 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:11,240 Speaker 1: don't even need access to the content of messaging between 271 00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:16,119 Speaker 1: people to start drawing conclusions. Just knowing that two specific 272 00:17:16,119 --> 00:17:18,760 Speaker 1: people are in contact with each other might be enough 273 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:24,080 Speaker 1: for you to start looking into a person's behaviors. So 274 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:28,000 Speaker 1: that's a quote unquote legitimate use of this technology. Now, 275 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:32,439 Speaker 1: x cop Wilson used the same technology to identify and 276 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:38,280 Speaker 1: target women who were sharing explicit content online with other people. 277 00:17:38,720 --> 00:17:42,000 Speaker 1: Wilson then engaged the services of a hacker and gave 278 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:44,640 Speaker 1: that hacker some of this information in order to get 279 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:49,320 Speaker 1: access to that kind of content. Wilson then would reach 280 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:53,480 Speaker 1: out to these targeted women and threatened to share the 281 00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:58,360 Speaker 1: pirated content with the targets family and friends and employers 282 00:17:58,800 --> 00:18:04,080 Speaker 1: unless the target iterrated more explicit material for Wilson so 283 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:08,640 Speaker 1: a real scumbag. It was horrifying and disgusting. And yes, 284 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:12,199 Speaker 1: I know I'm editorializing, but I feel pretty confident in 285 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:18,080 Speaker 1: saying that. Anyway, Wilson did send explicit materials to people, uh, 286 00:18:18,119 --> 00:18:20,240 Speaker 1: you know, maybe to show that he was following through 287 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,720 Speaker 1: in his threats, maybe to gloat. And he was caught, 288 00:18:23,800 --> 00:18:26,320 Speaker 1: and he was charged, and as I said, he pled 289 00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:30,359 Speaker 1: guilty to those charges. Yesterday, a court sentenced him to 290 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 1: thirty months in prison, followed by three years of supervision 291 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:38,520 Speaker 1: and one hours of community service. Interestingly, the prosecution had 292 00:18:38,600 --> 00:18:41,800 Speaker 1: argued that because he had agreed to plead guilty, he 293 00:18:41,840 --> 00:18:45,320 Speaker 1: should receive the shortest sentence possible because he could have 294 00:18:45,359 --> 00:18:48,439 Speaker 1: been facing as much as fifteen years in prison. But 295 00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:52,720 Speaker 1: instead he gets thirty months for targeting women, coercing them 296 00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:56,440 Speaker 1: to share explicit material or otherwise have their lives completely 297 00:18:56,520 --> 00:18:59,040 Speaker 1: upended because he would share the stuff they had been 298 00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:02,520 Speaker 1: sending in private with no intent to release it publicly 299 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:07,719 Speaker 1: with their loved ones. Great. Oh, Also, he participated in 300 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:13,959 Speaker 1: something called slushy Gate, which is incredibly entertaining. So that 301 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:17,440 Speaker 1: was this fun activity in which cops would hurl cups 302 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:22,200 Speaker 1: of beverages like slushies at people as they drove by, 303 00:19:22,359 --> 00:19:26,520 Speaker 1: you know, real serve and protect kind of stuff. I'm sorry, 304 00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:31,000 Speaker 1: this news makes me furious. It gets me so mad. 305 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:33,159 Speaker 1: But let's get back to the tech angle, because this 306 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:35,200 Speaker 1: is tech stuff. I know you didn't tune in to 307 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:41,320 Speaker 1: hear Jonathan go nuts about law enforcement behaving so reprehensively. 308 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:44,919 Speaker 1: The reason I am covering this story is because it 309 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:48,840 Speaker 1: is another example of a long list of examples of 310 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:53,320 Speaker 1: how authority figures have misused technology that was intended for 311 00:19:53,440 --> 00:19:57,640 Speaker 1: official investigations. This is by far not the first time 312 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:02,119 Speaker 1: this has happened. There have been numerous incidents. Let me 313 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:07,240 Speaker 1: talk about two that were discovered in so in the 314 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:10,480 Speaker 1: state of Minnesota ran an audit on their systems. They 315 00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:14,199 Speaker 1: found out that more than half, more than half of 316 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: the eleven thousand law enforcement officials at the state level 317 00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:23,639 Speaker 1: had misused their data reserves from driver information. They were 318 00:20:23,720 --> 00:20:27,240 Speaker 1: using it to look up stuff like former romantic partners 319 00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:29,640 Speaker 1: and that kind of thing. We also saw the same 320 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:31,879 Speaker 1: thing in two thousand thirteen with the n s A 321 00:20:32,560 --> 00:20:35,560 Speaker 1: because an internal watchdog within the n s A, the 322 00:20:35,640 --> 00:20:39,199 Speaker 1: National Security Agency, revealed that several agents had used the 323 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:43,240 Speaker 1: n s as extensive surveillance systems to spy on ex 324 00:20:43,359 --> 00:20:47,040 Speaker 1: spouses and that kind of thing. Now, in my mind, 325 00:20:47,520 --> 00:20:50,639 Speaker 1: this is a really good argument against allowing these kinds 326 00:20:50,640 --> 00:20:53,560 Speaker 1: of systems to be used by authorities in the first place, 327 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:57,160 Speaker 1: or the very least. It's a great argument for instituting 328 00:20:57,320 --> 00:21:00,600 Speaker 1: stricter controls that limit the use and hope of these 329 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:06,000 Speaker 1: tools and hold people who abuse them accountable and have 330 00:21:06,359 --> 00:21:11,359 Speaker 1: like actionable punishments that directly relate to that and go 331 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:16,560 Speaker 1: beyond just cyber stalking accusations, which is what Wilson was 332 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:21,000 Speaker 1: initially was ultimately charged and pled guilty to with cyber stalking. 333 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:24,040 Speaker 1: So that's why I wanted to cover it in tech stuff, 334 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:28,800 Speaker 1: because it is a gross overreach of authority to use 335 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:32,040 Speaker 1: these kind of tools in this way. Okay, let's move 336 00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:36,080 Speaker 1: on to something else. This is actually not upsetting at all. 337 00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:38,960 Speaker 1: It's kind of interesting. A couple of legislators in New 338 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:43,000 Speaker 1: Jersey are introducing a proposal to ban car companies from 339 00:21:43,040 --> 00:21:47,040 Speaker 1: offering certain subscription services. This relates to other stories that 340 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:49,680 Speaker 1: we've talked about on this show this year involving car 341 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:55,000 Speaker 1: companies that lock certain features like heated seats behind a subscription. 342 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:58,879 Speaker 1: So this proposed bill would ban any service that quote 343 00:21:59,320 --> 00:22:03,719 Speaker 1: utilizes components and hardware already installed on the motor vehicle 344 00:22:04,080 --> 00:22:06,680 Speaker 1: at the time of purchase end quote. So in other words, 345 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:10,720 Speaker 1: if the car is capable of doing the thing, you 346 00:22:10,840 --> 00:22:14,679 Speaker 1: cannot lock the thing behind a subscription. Now, there is 347 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:18,000 Speaker 1: an important exception to this. The bill makes an allowance 348 00:22:18,040 --> 00:22:22,639 Speaker 1: for features that have an ongoing cost associated with the features. 349 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:26,240 Speaker 1: So if the car manufacturer has to pay to maintain 350 00:22:26,359 --> 00:22:30,200 Speaker 1: this feature, like let's say it's a navigation tool, and 351 00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:34,080 Speaker 1: the company behind it obviously has to spend money to 352 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:36,680 Speaker 1: keep that navigation tool up to date to deal with 353 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:39,439 Speaker 1: things like when there are changes in roads and that 354 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:43,080 Speaker 1: sort of stuff. Well, those sort of features can be 355 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:46,480 Speaker 1: locked behind a subscription because there's this ongoing cost for 356 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:50,800 Speaker 1: the company. Now you might think, ha, well, that probably 357 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:54,320 Speaker 1: means that if this bill does become a law, car 358 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:59,040 Speaker 1: companies will argue that any subscription feature they offer has 359 00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:03,040 Speaker 1: an ongoing cost associated with it, even if it's something 360 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:07,240 Speaker 1: like heated seats, And technically a lot of them probably 361 00:23:07,280 --> 00:23:10,480 Speaker 1: do have at least a minimal ongoing cost for stuff 362 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:14,720 Speaker 1: like firmware updates, right, So wouldn't they just use that 363 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:17,480 Speaker 1: to try and bypass the law and ignore it. And 364 00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:19,760 Speaker 1: you know what, I think you're probably around the money there. 365 00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:22,159 Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure that that is something that will happen 366 00:23:22,320 --> 00:23:26,800 Speaker 1: if this bill does become law. But you know, it's 367 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:30,280 Speaker 1: just a proposal right now. Maybe the language will actually change, 368 00:23:31,080 --> 00:23:34,680 Speaker 1: and maybe if it's adopted, it will have more specificity 369 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:40,200 Speaker 1: built in to prevent edge cases where car companies try 370 00:23:40,240 --> 00:23:46,720 Speaker 1: to argue that a tiny occasional cost amounts to them 371 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:50,040 Speaker 1: getting the exception to this law. At the very least, 372 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:52,800 Speaker 1: it sounds like legislators are listening and looking out for 373 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:59,080 Speaker 1: the consumers. So I find that to be, uh, you 374 00:23:59,119 --> 00:24:01,600 Speaker 1: know good. I'm glad to see that. I'm glad to 375 00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:05,719 Speaker 1: see lawmakers look out for consumers as opposed to the 376 00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:09,920 Speaker 1: companies that that cater to consumers. But you know, again, 377 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:12,440 Speaker 1: it's just a proposal. We'll have to see if this 378 00:24:12,680 --> 00:24:14,800 Speaker 1: comes a lot. And again it's only for New Jersey. 379 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:17,520 Speaker 1: This isn't for the full United States, but it could 380 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:20,040 Speaker 1: set a precedent that we see other states follow in 381 00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:22,080 Speaker 1: the future. We'll just have to keep our eyes on it, 382 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:25,680 Speaker 1: all right. We've got a few more stories to cover 383 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:28,320 Speaker 1: before we do that. Let's go and take another break. 384 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:42,119 Speaker 1: We're back. As I mentioned on Tuesday, YEA, formally, Kanye 385 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:48,000 Speaker 1: West is purchasing Parlor, the right wing conservative messaging service. 386 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:51,800 Speaker 1: Technically it's a free speech messaging service, but it was 387 00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:58,080 Speaker 1: largely adopted by right wing conservatives already. That acquisition process 388 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:01,879 Speaker 1: has had a bit of a rocky aren't. Because Parlor's 389 00:25:01,920 --> 00:25:06,680 Speaker 1: PR team was super happy about this purchase, and so 390 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:10,480 Speaker 1: they decided to send out an email to a shortlist 391 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:14,560 Speaker 1: of v I P account holders announcing years purchase of 392 00:25:14,560 --> 00:25:18,000 Speaker 1: the platform. But there was a little problem because they 393 00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:22,879 Speaker 1: had accidentally, I assume, put everyone's email in the C 394 00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:27,280 Speaker 1: C field, not the B C C field, so not 395 00:25:27,400 --> 00:25:32,159 Speaker 1: the blind copy field. But that meant everyone on that 396 00:25:32,240 --> 00:25:35,440 Speaker 1: list who received the email could see the email addresses 397 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:40,680 Speaker 1: of everyone else who got that email, So effectively, these folks, 398 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:44,840 Speaker 1: who again represent the most prominent of Parlor's account holders, 399 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:49,920 Speaker 1: were dockxed by Parlor. Now, granted, in most cases we're 400 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:53,399 Speaker 1: talking about movers and shakers on the conservative side, and 401 00:25:53,440 --> 00:25:55,760 Speaker 1: a lot of them likely already had at least some 402 00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:59,119 Speaker 1: of those contacts, so it's not like it was the 403 00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:01,280 Speaker 1: worst of the worst, but that v i P list 404 00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:05,000 Speaker 1: also includes you know, some news outlets. There were some 405 00:26:05,119 --> 00:26:08,560 Speaker 1: celebrities on there too. I imagine those celebrities were not 406 00:26:09,119 --> 00:26:12,000 Speaker 1: thrilled to see their personal email addresses unveiled to a 407 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:15,679 Speaker 1: larger group without their consent. Now, to be clear, this 408 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:18,520 Speaker 1: is definitely nothing close to being a terrible data breach, 409 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:24,399 Speaker 1: but it is another embarrassing incident in Parlor's journey, and 410 00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:27,920 Speaker 1: the company has already been the target of hackers. Hackers 411 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:32,720 Speaker 1: had famously scraped everything from Parlor prior to it getting 412 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:36,840 Speaker 1: temporarily shut down last year, so so Parlor is no 413 00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:41,400 Speaker 1: stranger to this kind of thing. Back in two thousand nine, 414 00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:45,440 Speaker 1: the company Live Nation, known for putting on concert events, 415 00:26:45,920 --> 00:26:51,320 Speaker 1: acquired Ticketmaster, the famous ticket broker. At the time, critics 416 00:26:51,320 --> 00:26:54,040 Speaker 1: were worried that this merger could potentially lead to a 417 00:26:54,119 --> 00:26:59,560 Speaker 1: monopolistic and anti competitive approach where this new entity, known 418 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:03,399 Speaker 1: as Live Nation Entertainment could potentially use its influence to 419 00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:06,879 Speaker 1: muscle out other ticket brokers and also force venues to 420 00:27:07,000 --> 00:27:10,040 Speaker 1: only work with Ticketmaster in return for having access to 421 00:27:10,160 --> 00:27:13,840 Speaker 1: talent that were signed exclusively to Live Nation. And what 422 00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:19,159 Speaker 1: you know it, that's what's happened repeatedly Since the merger, 423 00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:23,159 Speaker 1: there have been a few different calls to break apart 424 00:27:23,280 --> 00:27:27,000 Speaker 1: these two entities to unwind the merger. The most recent 425 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:31,280 Speaker 1: comes from the American Economic Liberties Project, which today called 426 00:27:31,359 --> 00:27:34,639 Speaker 1: upon the Department of Justice to do that to unwind 427 00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:38,920 Speaker 1: the merger. The organization argues that Live Nation has engaged 428 00:27:38,960 --> 00:27:42,320 Speaker 1: in price gouging as well as forcing venues to accept 429 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:47,359 Speaker 1: unfavorable conditions or else be deprived of sought after live talent. 430 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:51,680 Speaker 1: And again, this is not a new accusation. Just google 431 00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:55,680 Speaker 1: Live Nation, ticket Master anti trust and you're gonna see 432 00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:59,479 Speaker 1: a whole bunch of articles coming from different years showing 433 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:02,960 Speaker 1: the same argument again and again, including some that were 434 00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:06,080 Speaker 1: spearheaded by lawmakers. Now, the difference now is that we're 435 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:08,879 Speaker 1: starting to see the US government take a stronger stance 436 00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:12,840 Speaker 1: against anti competitive practices, so it's possible this will see 437 00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:16,359 Speaker 1: more results than previous efforts did. Also, just in the 438 00:28:16,359 --> 00:28:19,400 Speaker 1: interest of full disclosure, I should point out I work 439 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:22,840 Speaker 1: for I heart Media. Obviously, I heart Media is also 440 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:26,359 Speaker 1: in the live events business. Live Nation is a competitor. 441 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:29,840 Speaker 1: I am in no way speaking on behalf of I 442 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:34,639 Speaker 1: heart Media on this. I'm just sharing the news. I 443 00:28:34,680 --> 00:28:37,280 Speaker 1: will say I will never forget when I was looking 444 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:40,040 Speaker 1: into buying tickets for a show at a local vinee 445 00:28:40,040 --> 00:28:43,400 Speaker 1: here in Atlanta, and I had to go to Ticketmaster. 446 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:45,600 Speaker 1: It was the only place where I could buy a ticket, 447 00:28:46,040 --> 00:28:49,160 Speaker 1: and I saw that the convenience fee was ten dollars 448 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:53,240 Speaker 1: more than the ticket price itself. So like ticket prices 449 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:55,560 Speaker 1: twenty bucks and the convenience fee was thirty. That was 450 00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:57,479 Speaker 1: enough to convince me not to go. I was like, 451 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:01,760 Speaker 1: I'm not gonna pay this exorbitant convenience feat supposed who 452 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:06,160 Speaker 1: is a convenient for anyway? Anecdotal evidence saying evidence, I'm 453 00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:09,600 Speaker 1: just grouchy. Next up, I want to mention an interesting 454 00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:13,360 Speaker 1: court case in Japan. So the court has awarded five 455 00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:16,680 Speaker 1: fifty thousand yen, which is about three thousand, seven hundred 456 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:21,240 Speaker 1: dollars to a journalist named Shilro Ito. Uh. The man 457 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:25,680 Speaker 1: who's paying those damages is Mio Saguita, a lawmaker in Japan. 458 00:29:26,080 --> 00:29:30,600 Speaker 1: So what did Seguita do well? He liked several tweets 459 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:37,240 Speaker 1: that were criticizing and targeting and abusing Ito. So more 460 00:29:37,280 --> 00:29:39,640 Speaker 1: trigger warning here, we're gonna get into to some me 461 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:43,840 Speaker 1: too stuff, So you can skip forward if that's going 462 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:48,360 Speaker 1: to cause you distress. Itto had previously come forward with 463 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:52,920 Speaker 1: an accusation of rape against a bureau chief of Tokyo 464 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,520 Speaker 1: Broadcasting System Television. So remember Eto herself as a journalist. 465 00:29:56,960 --> 00:30:01,000 Speaker 1: She says, this leader, this, this executive in Tokyo Broadcasting 466 00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:05,760 Speaker 1: System Television had had raped her in and she became 467 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:08,360 Speaker 1: one of the key figures of the Me too movement 468 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:11,880 Speaker 1: in Japan. And as as a consequence, she also became 469 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:16,200 Speaker 1: the target of a lot of online abuse, which we 470 00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:19,640 Speaker 1: have seen before. Right, Women who actually come forward and 471 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:26,000 Speaker 1: explain what what kind of terrible things they've experienced then 472 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:30,080 Speaker 1: get targeted for more abuse. Uh, and you wonder why 473 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:34,600 Speaker 1: more people don't come forward. Anyway, Saquita had liked several 474 00:30:34,800 --> 00:30:38,680 Speaker 1: of the tweets that were abusive towards Itto, so he 475 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:42,280 Speaker 1: had gone through and clicked like on several of these, 476 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:48,080 Speaker 1: and Itto's team successfully positioned that as contributing to her distress. So, 477 00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:50,760 Speaker 1: in other words, you have this lawmaker, this person in 478 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:55,480 Speaker 1: a position of authority behaving in this way. And Itto says, 479 00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:58,840 Speaker 1: when I know that someone who's a leader is out 480 00:30:58,880 --> 00:31:03,360 Speaker 1: there actively aiking tweets that are targeting me, that is 481 00:31:03,440 --> 00:31:10,600 Speaker 1: obviously a source of mental distress. Now it's means now 482 00:31:10,640 --> 00:31:13,160 Speaker 1: that in Japan, at least, the act of liking a 483 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:17,640 Speaker 1: tweet can in itself be an offense if that tweet 484 00:31:17,920 --> 00:31:21,320 Speaker 1: is also in an effort to harm, to fame or 485 00:31:21,360 --> 00:31:25,080 Speaker 1: otherwise attacks someone else. Now, to be clear, my sympathies 486 00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:30,240 Speaker 1: are with Eto' I'm with her on this side as 487 00:31:30,280 --> 00:31:36,920 Speaker 1: far as you know, thinking that she is. She deserves dignity, respect, 488 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:40,000 Speaker 1: She does not deserve to be targeted. But I'm not 489 00:31:40,080 --> 00:31:43,640 Speaker 1: sure about this court decision because liking a tweet does 490 00:31:43,680 --> 00:31:47,360 Speaker 1: not always mean you actually, you know, like the tweet. 491 00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:50,440 Speaker 1: It might be a way to bookmark something. The language 492 00:31:50,480 --> 00:31:54,120 Speaker 1: behind how we flag messages can itself become a problem. 493 00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:59,520 Speaker 1: Liking or hearting something seems to indicate approval, but it's 494 00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:03,320 Speaker 1: not necesscesarily the case. Now for this particular court case, 495 00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:07,080 Speaker 1: it looks like that was accurate, Like this was a 496 00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:12,840 Speaker 1: sign of someone aligned with attacking Eto, and that's pretty 497 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:15,560 Speaker 1: darn despicable. But it does sound to me like this 498 00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:19,240 Speaker 1: court's decision sets a dangerous precedent there. There needs to 499 00:32:19,280 --> 00:32:22,720 Speaker 1: be a high bar to prove that the act of 500 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:27,240 Speaker 1: liking a tweet actually indicates aligning with it also, I 501 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:30,160 Speaker 1: mean it's I just don't see where this goes from here. 502 00:32:30,480 --> 00:32:34,000 Speaker 1: It's kind of crazy. E A has announced it will 503 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:37,200 Speaker 1: be shutting down the online servers for several titles over 504 00:32:37,240 --> 00:32:40,720 Speaker 1: the coming months. That means any online component for these 505 00:32:40,760 --> 00:32:45,520 Speaker 1: games will become inaccessible. Titles include Dragon Age Origins, a 506 00:32:45,560 --> 00:32:48,320 Speaker 1: couple of Army of Two games, a couple of Command 507 00:32:48,400 --> 00:32:53,680 Speaker 1: and Conquer games, Mercenaries to NBA jam On Fire Edition, 508 00:32:54,080 --> 00:32:58,000 Speaker 1: and Mirror's Edge, among others. The shutdowns will happen throughout 509 00:32:58,040 --> 00:33:01,600 Speaker 1: the rest of this year and into early three, So 510 00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:04,000 Speaker 1: if you're a fan of playing online on any of 511 00:33:04,040 --> 00:33:06,720 Speaker 1: those titles, you should get your kicks in while you can, 512 00:33:06,840 --> 00:33:10,760 Speaker 1: because soon those options will go dark. And considering that 513 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:13,840 Speaker 1: a few those titles have achievements that are tied with 514 00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:17,360 Speaker 1: online play, that might come as a blow to anyone 515 00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:22,440 Speaker 1: who obsesses over getting in games, because once those servers 516 00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:26,320 Speaker 1: go down, those achievements are gonna be untouchable. Now, as 517 00:33:26,360 --> 00:33:29,480 Speaker 1: we've said before on this show, this is a massive 518 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:34,520 Speaker 1: downside to modern games this online component, because for some titles, 519 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:37,760 Speaker 1: online features may only make up a small percentage of 520 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:40,840 Speaker 1: the overall games value, and if they go away, maybe 521 00:33:40,840 --> 00:33:43,440 Speaker 1: you don't even notice. But for other games, the online 522 00:33:43,440 --> 00:33:46,120 Speaker 1: stuff is where the game really lives, and once the 523 00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:48,959 Speaker 1: company shuts down servers, that part of the game dies. 524 00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:52,960 Speaker 1: Now it'll get worse if and when companies shut down 525 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:56,280 Speaker 1: servers that are just meant for authentication. There are a 526 00:33:56,320 --> 00:33:59,200 Speaker 1: lot of single player games out there that require a 527 00:33:59,280 --> 00:34:02,920 Speaker 1: persistent Internet connection so that you can verify that the 528 00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:07,240 Speaker 1: copy of the game you own is legitimate. Hopefully, should 529 00:34:07,240 --> 00:34:11,320 Speaker 1: companies decide to sunset those servers, that will first push 530 00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:15,120 Speaker 1: out updates that eliminate that online requirement, or else it's 531 00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:18,799 Speaker 1: possible that those video game titles would become unplayable. So 532 00:34:18,840 --> 00:34:21,959 Speaker 1: you might have a legitimate copy of a game that 533 00:34:22,400 --> 00:34:25,319 Speaker 1: is a single player game, there's no online component to 534 00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:29,120 Speaker 1: it really whatsoever. But because a company shuts down its server, 535 00:34:29,640 --> 00:34:35,360 Speaker 1: you no longer can access that game, which seems patently unfair. Finally, 536 00:34:35,520 --> 00:34:39,560 Speaker 1: a group of quantum engineers and physicists say they've discovered 537 00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:44,080 Speaker 1: a really interesting way to keep quantum computer systems stable. Now, 538 00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:46,840 Speaker 1: I've talked about quantum computers several times in the past. 539 00:34:46,880 --> 00:34:51,399 Speaker 1: You know how these delicate machines have the potential two 540 00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:56,440 Speaker 1: say totally eradicate modern encryption methods, among other things. But 541 00:34:56,560 --> 00:35:00,719 Speaker 1: one thing that holds back quantum computers is that they 542 00:35:00,719 --> 00:35:05,279 Speaker 1: are not very stable by nature. They are extremely unstable, 543 00:35:05,360 --> 00:35:07,800 Speaker 1: so it can be difficult to keep a quantum computer 544 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:12,080 Speaker 1: working to keep it coherent for more than a couple 545 00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:15,719 Speaker 1: of seconds. It takes very little to interfere with a 546 00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:18,840 Speaker 1: quantum system, and if it does happen, then the system 547 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:23,600 Speaker 1: decoheres and becomes, you know, essentially useless. So these researchers 548 00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:26,400 Speaker 1: were using a pulse laser to beam light at a 549 00:35:26,480 --> 00:35:29,880 Speaker 1: quantum computer to try and keep the system stable for 550 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:33,360 Speaker 1: the length of a full experiment. Now, that experiment only 551 00:35:33,440 --> 00:35:37,279 Speaker 1: lasted about five seconds, but considering earlier attempts had only 552 00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:40,280 Speaker 1: kept the system stable for one and a half seconds, 553 00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:45,200 Speaker 1: this was a huge challenge. Now they discovered that a 554 00:35:45,239 --> 00:35:48,120 Speaker 1: pulse pattern actually could make it happen. It wasn't just 555 00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:52,800 Speaker 1: any pulse pattern, it was the Fibonacci sequence. In this sequence, 556 00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:56,480 Speaker 1: each successive number in the sequence is the sum of 557 00:35:56,520 --> 00:36:00,600 Speaker 1: the two preceding numbers. So you would start with a one, 558 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:03,840 Speaker 1: your next number is also a one because you have 559 00:36:03,880 --> 00:36:06,640 Speaker 1: to add the two preceding numbers, which are one. In zero. 560 00:36:07,000 --> 00:36:10,239 Speaker 1: Your next number is a two because it's one plus one. 561 00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:14,600 Speaker 1: Then it's a three two plus one, then five, then eight, 562 00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:18,520 Speaker 1: then thirteen, and so on. Now, as these numbers get larger, 563 00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:23,200 Speaker 1: the quotient between each hair of numbers, that is the 564 00:36:23,239 --> 00:36:25,440 Speaker 1: amount that you get when you divide the larger of 565 00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:28,879 Speaker 1: the two numbers by the smaller one, is approximately one 566 00:36:29,040 --> 00:36:32,839 Speaker 1: point six one eight. We often refer to that as 567 00:36:33,080 --> 00:36:36,759 Speaker 1: the golden ratio. We see a lot of structures in 568 00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:42,440 Speaker 1: nature that adhere to this ratio, like the spirals of 569 00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:46,400 Speaker 1: seeds in a sunflower have a one point six one 570 00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:51,799 Speaker 1: eight ratio of alder spiral two inner spiral. If you 571 00:36:51,920 --> 00:36:55,840 Speaker 1: take the number of female honey bees and you compare 572 00:36:55,880 --> 00:36:59,440 Speaker 1: the number of male honey honey bees and your typical hive, 573 00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:02,799 Speaker 1: you get one point six one eight. There's one point 574 00:37:02,800 --> 00:37:06,320 Speaker 1: six one eight female honeybees to every male honey bee. 575 00:37:06,600 --> 00:37:10,439 Speaker 1: So this number, this ratio shows up again and again. 576 00:37:10,480 --> 00:37:13,600 Speaker 1: It almost feels like finding a cheap code for the universe. 577 00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:17,799 Speaker 1: And the fact that this Fibonacci sequence seems to stabilize 578 00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:21,880 Speaker 1: quantum computer systems really adds to the mystery of the 579 00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:25,200 Speaker 1: Fibonacci sequence. I mean, maybe we are living in a 580 00:37:25,239 --> 00:37:28,359 Speaker 1: simulation and the Fibonacci sequence is just the result of 581 00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:33,279 Speaker 1: some sloppy coding. Who knows anyway, that's the tech news 582 00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:38,080 Speaker 1: for today, Thursday, October two thousand twenty two. Hope you 583 00:37:38,120 --> 00:37:40,720 Speaker 1: are all well. If you would like to suggest topics 584 00:37:40,719 --> 00:37:43,120 Speaker 1: for future episodes of tech Stuff, you can reach out 585 00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:45,480 Speaker 1: to me by downloading the I Heart Radio app, which 586 00:37:45,520 --> 00:37:48,319 Speaker 1: is free to download and use. Navigate over to tech 587 00:37:48,400 --> 00:37:51,319 Speaker 1: Stuff by using the little search bar, and there's a 588 00:37:51,320 --> 00:37:54,279 Speaker 1: little microphone icon on there. You can click on that 589 00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:56,439 Speaker 1: and leave a message up to thirty seconds in length 590 00:37:56,719 --> 00:37:57,960 Speaker 1: let me know if you want me to use in 591 00:37:57,960 --> 00:38:00,760 Speaker 1: a future episode, or you can reach out on Twitter. 592 00:38:01,239 --> 00:38:03,600 Speaker 1: The handle we use for the show is tech Stuff 593 00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:10,040 Speaker 1: hs W and I'll talk to you again really soon y. 594 00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:17,359 Speaker 1: Tech Stuff is an I heart Radio production. For more 595 00:38:17,440 --> 00:38:20,840 Speaker 1: podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, 596 00:38:20,960 --> 00:38:24,120 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.