1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:14,760 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host 3 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:17,640 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio. 4 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:20,200 Speaker 1: And how the tech are you? It's time for the 5 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:24,320 Speaker 1: tech news for March third, twenty twenty two. Let's dive in. 6 00:00:25,400 --> 00:00:29,920 Speaker 1: Meta's vice president of connectivity told c NBC at the 7 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:34,480 Speaker 1: Mobile World Congress, which is a big event that's all 8 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:38,880 Speaker 1: about things like smartphones. Uh, they said that the metaverse, 9 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 1: at least Meta's vision of the metaverse, is going to 10 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:46,440 Speaker 1: require more advanced home and cellular networks in order for 11 00:00:46,479 --> 00:00:49,720 Speaker 1: it to work properly. Now, that should not come as 12 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: a surprise. Presumably. Meta's version of this admittedly vague concept 13 00:00:56,400 --> 00:01:01,400 Speaker 1: includes virtual and potentially augmented reality hardware, and to make 14 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:04,480 Speaker 1: that kind of hardware work really well, you need really 15 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:09,440 Speaker 1: low latency. Oddly enough, folks can get pretty immersed in 16 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 1: virtual environments even if the graphics are fairly primitive. So, 17 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:18,440 Speaker 1: like graphic resolution isn't hugely important. It's nice to have, 18 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:22,960 Speaker 1: but it's not necessary to have a convincing experience. However, 19 00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 1: high latency that is a perceptible lag between when you 20 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: do something like turn your head and when it is 21 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:34,040 Speaker 1: reflected in the virtual world as in, like you turn 22 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 1: your head and then after a moment your point of 23 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:40,600 Speaker 1: view shifts, that's a real problem. It creates this swimmy, 24 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:45,200 Speaker 1: unpleasant sensation, and latency really contributes to that feeling emotion 25 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: sickness that some folks get when they try out VR. 26 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: The greater the latency, the more the more people are 27 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: going to feel not so good using the technology. And clearly, 28 00:01:57,800 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: if you are banking on this being the future of 29 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: the Internet, you need people to be comfortable using it. However, 30 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: on top of all that, the Metaverse is presumably going 31 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:08,720 Speaker 1: to allow for a lot of other stuff besides just 32 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:13,560 Speaker 1: wandering around virtual environments. There's a whole commerce component to it. 33 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:15,360 Speaker 1: In fact, we'll be talking about that towards the end 34 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 1: of this episode. And if there weren't other elements, like 35 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:22,959 Speaker 1: there were not commerce elements, Meta would not be boring 36 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:25,359 Speaker 1: billions of dollars into this Because you know, the company 37 00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: is doing this because this is where they see revenue 38 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 1: generation being in the future, so they want upload and 39 00:02:32,720 --> 00:02:37,120 Speaker 1: download speeds to be maxed out in order to keep 40 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:40,000 Speaker 1: up with what the company plans to throw in us, 41 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:43,160 Speaker 1: and I think this is also another reminder that whatever 42 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:47,360 Speaker 1: the metaverse does turn out to be or meta verses, 43 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: because lots of companies are working on this, we're still 44 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:54,080 Speaker 1: several years out from it being a thing. I've often 45 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 1: cited the general idea of it being ten years out 46 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 1: from a truly engaging and compelling metaverse, because all the 47 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:03,520 Speaker 1: pieces that are going to play a part in making 48 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:05,560 Speaker 1: that happen are going to have to go through at 49 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: least a couple more generations of evolutions before they meet 50 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: the needs of sustaining and supporting a massive online virtual 51 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:20,000 Speaker 1: world capable of supporting tons of users simultaneously. Sticking with Meta, 52 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: recently it released its Widely Viewed Content Report. This report 53 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:28,680 Speaker 1: was Meta's attempt to get ahead of other sources that 54 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:32,520 Speaker 1: would frequently produce lists of the most popular Facebook posts 55 00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: on the platform. So, for example, Kevin Ruce, who is 56 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: a journalist with The New York Times, had created a 57 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:43,640 Speaker 1: Twitter account that pulled data from a monitoring platform that 58 00:03:43,720 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 1: Facebook created. So this was a Facebook tool and it 59 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: was called crowd Tangle, and this Twitter account was just 60 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: pulling data from that to generate a top ten list 61 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: of where the most popular links were coming from in 62 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:01,600 Speaker 1: the United States a week and then tweeting it out, 63 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:04,520 Speaker 1: and a lot of them. In fact, most of them 64 00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 1: belonged to various right wing outlets, and this appeared to 65 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:13,960 Speaker 1: suggest that Facebook was potentially supporting right wing sources more 66 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,719 Speaker 1: than others, perhaps in an attempt to fight back against 67 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:21,960 Speaker 1: a perception that Facebook suppresses right leaning points of view. Now, 68 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:26,839 Speaker 1: Facebook was not thrilled with this use of its tool, 69 00:04:26,920 --> 00:04:30,880 Speaker 1: and in fact squashed the crowd Tangle project the internal project, 70 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:35,760 Speaker 1: and now the company produces its own report, presumably to 71 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:39,880 Speaker 1: push back against this perception that the platform is you know, 72 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:44,479 Speaker 1: has a bias towards boosting right leaning messaging. And the 73 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:47,600 Speaker 1: report is fairly vague when it comes to how Facebook 74 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:52,479 Speaker 1: determines things like the most popular posts and such, but 75 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:56,040 Speaker 1: it largely shows that the most popular pages and links 76 00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:59,920 Speaker 1: tend to be connected to stuff like entertainment or recipe, 77 00:05:00,440 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 1: you know, relatively trivial things. However, there's one standout weird 78 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:10,200 Speaker 1: thing in the report, and that is there's a listing 79 00:05:10,520 --> 00:05:13,640 Speaker 1: of the most viewed pages during the last quarter of 80 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 1: one and the top spot goes to a mystery, at 81 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:22,640 Speaker 1: least a mystery for anyone who's outside of Facebook, because 82 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:27,680 Speaker 1: in the report under the source it says, quote, this 83 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:32,320 Speaker 1: page was removed by Facebook for violating community standards end quote, 84 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,320 Speaker 1: and there's a link to the page, but of course 85 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:38,839 Speaker 1: the page has been removed, so that link is inactive. 86 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:42,799 Speaker 1: It doesn't take you to anything, and Facebook didn't actually 87 00:05:42,839 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 1: identify what the page actually was or who made it. However, 88 00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:51,440 Speaker 1: it does helpfully show that a hundred twenty one point 89 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:57,240 Speaker 1: eight million accounts on Facebook viewed that page's content, which 90 00:05:57,279 --> 00:06:01,200 Speaker 1: means not only is it number one, the the most 91 00:06:01,279 --> 00:06:05,599 Speaker 1: viewed page of Facebook during that period, it actually puts 92 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:09,600 Speaker 1: it more than ten million views ahead of second place. 93 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:14,320 Speaker 1: So if Facebook's intent was for this report to assuage 94 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:18,560 Speaker 1: doubts about the platform, it ain't working. Not when the 95 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:22,600 Speaker 1: most popular page was one that Facebook subsequently removed because 96 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:26,159 Speaker 1: the page was violating Facebook's rules. That actually kind of 97 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:29,280 Speaker 1: suggests that Facebook ain't so great and enforcing its own 98 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:33,640 Speaker 1: rules if the page got to that level of popularity 99 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:37,280 Speaker 1: before it was booted off the platform. Anyway, even if 100 00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:39,840 Speaker 1: you think of the report is Facebook's attempt to change 101 00:06:39,839 --> 00:06:43,000 Speaker 1: the narrative, it looks to me like that attempt wasn't 102 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:48,560 Speaker 1: particularly successful, and one more Facebook specific story for today. 103 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:52,040 Speaker 1: The site recently pulled the plug on its pilot program 104 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:55,600 Speaker 1: called Campus Uh. That project was meant to create a 105 00:06:55,680 --> 00:07:00,279 Speaker 1: suite of features catered specifically toward college students and a 106 00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: lot of y'all probably remember that Facebook started out as 107 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:07,680 Speaker 1: a college based online social network. In fact, originally in 108 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 1: the old days, in order to get a Facebook account, 109 00:07:10,720 --> 00:07:14,240 Speaker 1: you had to have an active college email account. But 110 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 1: it looks like whatever mojo was there back in the 111 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 1: early to mid two thousand's is all gone now because 112 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:25,280 Speaker 1: Campus is closed. Meta says that the Campus project taught 113 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 1: the company many things, chief of which is that college 114 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,880 Speaker 1: students can make better use of tools like Facebook groups 115 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:35,000 Speaker 1: to do what Campus was trying to do. So, in 116 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,000 Speaker 1: other words, they said, well, there's no need to reinvent 117 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:40,120 Speaker 1: the wheel. College students are relying on groups and that 118 00:07:40,200 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 1: seems to be exactly what they need. Of course, we 119 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 1: also know that Facebook has seen a decline in user 120 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 1: adoption among younger users. Fewer younger people are joining Facebook, 121 00:07:53,680 --> 00:07:56,280 Speaker 1: so it may also be that the company was not 122 00:07:56,400 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 1: seeing enough students actually using Campus to justify its continued support, 123 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:05,400 Speaker 1: like it would just be a drain on company resources 124 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:09,040 Speaker 1: and they pulled the plug. That's also a possibility. This week, 125 00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,640 Speaker 1: US President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address, 126 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:16,880 Speaker 1: which obviously covers a lot of territory, but part of 127 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:19,880 Speaker 1: that speech was a call on Congress to create and 128 00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:24,480 Speaker 1: pass legislation that will increase protections around data privacy and 129 00:08:24,520 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: security with regard to children. He was specifically referencing social 130 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:34,160 Speaker 1: media and social networking platforms like TikTok and Instagram. He said, quote, 131 00:08:34,480 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: it's time to strengthen privacy protections, band targeted advertising to children, 132 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:43,920 Speaker 1: demand tech companies stopped collecting personal data on our children 133 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:46,840 Speaker 1: end quote, And he announced that the White House is 134 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:49,560 Speaker 1: looking to fund a study on child safety on social 135 00:08:49,600 --> 00:08:54,960 Speaker 1: media platforms. Now, we've already seen plenty of disturbing evidence 136 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:58,840 Speaker 1: out of meta itself that suggests the picture on its 137 00:08:58,840 --> 00:09:03,520 Speaker 1: effects on on children ain't good. But it's also important 138 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:08,679 Speaker 1: to remember that those studies, those reports, we're based off 139 00:09:08,720 --> 00:09:12,840 Speaker 1: pretty small sample sizes, So it actually does make sense 140 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:15,960 Speaker 1: to expand on that and to do a larger study, 141 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:20,200 Speaker 1: especially one that's conducted outside the company, so there's not 142 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:23,800 Speaker 1: the chance of company bias in there. And there's already 143 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:26,840 Speaker 1: some movement in Congress on this subject, because this is 144 00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:30,120 Speaker 1: a topic that actually has support across both political parties, 145 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:34,720 Speaker 1: which is pretty darn rare these days. Obviously, should this 146 00:09:34,920 --> 00:09:38,720 Speaker 1: start to evolve into proposed legislation, we're going to see 147 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 1: differences of opinion on how to structure laws meant to 148 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:45,520 Speaker 1: restrict companies and how they conduct their business. That's just 149 00:09:45,559 --> 00:09:50,120 Speaker 1: gonna happen. But I think everyone's going to maintain the 150 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: idea of if this is to protect children, we have 151 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:58,160 Speaker 1: to be on board because you don't want your next 152 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:03,480 Speaker 1: political opponent to run ads saying we started, we proposed 153 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:06,240 Speaker 1: a law to protect your children and this person struck 154 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:10,240 Speaker 1: it down. That would just be political suicide. So I 155 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:13,480 Speaker 1: expect we will see more movement on this, just don't 156 00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:17,720 Speaker 1: know how it's going to emerge. Okay, we've got some 157 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:20,040 Speaker 1: more news stories to cover before we get to those, 158 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:29,319 Speaker 1: let's take a quick break. Before the break, I was 159 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: talking about the President's State of the Union address that 160 00:10:32,200 --> 00:10:36,120 Speaker 1: is a federal response to the matter of child safety online. 161 00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:42,040 Speaker 1: We're also seeing individual states in the United States take action. California, Florida, 162 00:10:42,080 --> 00:10:45,840 Speaker 1: and Kentucky are among those. The attorneys general for those 163 00:10:45,840 --> 00:10:48,840 Speaker 1: states have joined in on an investigation into the video 164 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:53,200 Speaker 1: platform TikTok to determine how the app might affect the 165 00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:57,319 Speaker 1: mental and physical health of young people who are using it. Now. 166 00:10:57,360 --> 00:11:00,800 Speaker 1: This includes not just the actual content sit on TikTok, 167 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:05,040 Speaker 1: which is of course user generated, but also how TikTok 168 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:09,360 Speaker 1: markets its services to children and how TikTok serves up 169 00:11:09,440 --> 00:11:14,760 Speaker 1: recommended content to children. Just like all other social media platforms, 170 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:19,560 Speaker 1: much of TikTok's success is defined by engagement. So for TikTok, 171 00:11:20,040 --> 00:11:23,720 Speaker 1: that largely translates into how long can we keep people 172 00:11:23,920 --> 00:11:28,880 Speaker 1: on the platform per session, And so the recommendation algorithm, 173 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 1: which is meant to serve up stuff that's most likely 174 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:36,680 Speaker 1: to keep you glued to TikTok, is fundamentally important. You 175 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:40,640 Speaker 1: want that algorithm to successfully serve up stuff that keeps 176 00:11:40,679 --> 00:11:43,840 Speaker 1: people there. Well, if that stuff tends to be harmful, 177 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:46,319 Speaker 1: well that means that the user is likely going to 178 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:50,640 Speaker 1: get served up a lot of harmful material repeatedly. So 179 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: we're seeing a more concentrated effort to really look at 180 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:58,640 Speaker 1: these issues and their effects on users, particularly young users. 181 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:02,040 Speaker 1: And depending upon the outcome of this investigation, I expect 182 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:05,520 Speaker 1: we may see several states proposed laws and regulations that 183 00:12:05,559 --> 00:12:09,120 Speaker 1: will restrict how TikTok can serve content to young people, 184 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:13,000 Speaker 1: which would probably mean they would also require some sort 185 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:18,280 Speaker 1: of of age verification step where the platform can say, listen, 186 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:21,840 Speaker 1: we are making sure that anyone who is under a 187 00:12:21,880 --> 00:12:25,200 Speaker 1: certain age will not get access to certain materials. But 188 00:12:25,559 --> 00:12:29,439 Speaker 1: age verification steps, age restrictions, those are always tricky as well, 189 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:33,160 Speaker 1: and they come along with some other consequences which I'll 190 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:36,360 Speaker 1: probably talk about in a future episode. Now, y'all, I've 191 00:12:36,400 --> 00:12:39,880 Speaker 1: never been inside a brick and mortar Amazon bookstore, and 192 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:42,280 Speaker 1: now it sounds like I won't never get that chance. 193 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 1: The company is closing it's sixty eight Amazon Books, Amazon 194 00:12:46,559 --> 00:12:50,080 Speaker 1: four Star, and Amazon Pop up stores across the United 195 00:12:50,080 --> 00:12:54,640 Speaker 1: States and the United Kingdom. Now, if you weren't aware 196 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:59,360 Speaker 1: that Amazon operated these kinds of physical stores, well it did, 197 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:03,200 Speaker 1: and now it's not gonna do that anymore. The Amazon 198 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:06,680 Speaker 1: four Star Store was a kind of general products store. 199 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:10,720 Speaker 1: It was called four Star because it's sold stuff that 200 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:13,960 Speaker 1: had a four star or better rating in the online 201 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:17,439 Speaker 1: Amazon store. It was also a physical store where Amazon 202 00:13:17,559 --> 00:13:21,680 Speaker 1: sold a lot of Amazon branded products, and it also 203 00:13:21,720 --> 00:13:25,000 Speaker 1: served as a physical location where people could return stuff 204 00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:29,000 Speaker 1: they had bought off Amazon Online, and shutting down those 205 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:32,600 Speaker 1: stores means you've cut back on those options. The Amazon 206 00:13:32,640 --> 00:13:35,480 Speaker 1: pop up stores were more like small shops set in 207 00:13:35,559 --> 00:13:38,520 Speaker 1: places like shopping malls, and the pop up stores would 208 00:13:38,559 --> 00:13:42,360 Speaker 1: frequently feature a specific subset of products like it would 209 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:46,120 Speaker 1: be almost themed, and then after a certain amount of time, 210 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:49,080 Speaker 1: it would change that up. Anyway, all of those are 211 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:53,040 Speaker 1: shutting down, but Amazon will still operate other physical stores 212 00:13:53,080 --> 00:13:57,080 Speaker 1: like Whole Foods grocery stores aren't going anywhere, uh, and 213 00:13:57,200 --> 00:14:00,600 Speaker 1: the cashier less Amazon Go convenience stores are sticking around. 214 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:03,280 Speaker 1: Two Over on Reddit, folks are having a heck of 215 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:06,199 Speaker 1: a time talking about how Amazon's digital store wiped out 216 00:14:06,200 --> 00:14:11,040 Speaker 1: its own brick and border stores, So sad Trombo. Earlier 217 00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:14,720 Speaker 1: this week, I gave an update on unionization efforts among 218 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:19,320 Speaker 1: Amazon employees. You've got one warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama that 219 00:14:19,360 --> 00:14:23,160 Speaker 1: will be counting union votes later this month in order 220 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:26,520 Speaker 1: to determine if enough employees there will support a union, 221 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:30,280 Speaker 1: in which case they will unionize. Then there's the JFK 222 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:33,000 Speaker 1: eight warehouse in New York that is heading toward a 223 00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:35,840 Speaker 1: vote of its own, And now a second New York 224 00:14:35,920 --> 00:14:40,119 Speaker 1: based location, the Staten Island l d J five Warehouse, 225 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:43,880 Speaker 1: has requested permission from the National Labor Relations Board a 226 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:47,200 Speaker 1: gay the n l RB to move forward with their 227 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:52,400 Speaker 1: own unionization efforts. Now. I mentioned earlier that the activity 228 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:55,480 Speaker 1: we're seeing in this space could be indicators for a 229 00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:58,840 Speaker 1: growing labor movement in the United States, and this is 230 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:01,280 Speaker 1: the kind of thing I was talking about. I don't 231 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:05,000 Speaker 1: have many more details about this recent development just yet. 232 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:07,960 Speaker 1: The n l RB has not yet confirmed whether or 233 00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:12,320 Speaker 1: not it has approved the request that the the Staten 234 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 1: Island group made, at least not as of the recording 235 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:18,280 Speaker 1: of this episode. Fitbit has had to recall more than 236 00:15:18,320 --> 00:15:22,080 Speaker 1: one and a half million ionic smart watches after numerous 237 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:25,840 Speaker 1: users reported being burned by the battery overheating in the device. 238 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:29,400 Speaker 1: The smart watch does all the stuff we've come to 239 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:32,800 Speaker 1: expect from smart watches. It tracks activity, can be used 240 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:36,920 Speaker 1: to monitor sleep patterns, tells the time, but apparently a 241 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,440 Speaker 1: problem with the lithium ion batteries has led to massive 242 00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:44,840 Speaker 1: overheating issues with some watches. More than one people have 243 00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:49,520 Speaker 1: reported experiencing burn injuries, and two of those have been 244 00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:53,160 Speaker 1: third degree burns, which are incredibly serious. You're talking about 245 00:15:53,400 --> 00:15:57,200 Speaker 1: massive tissue damage with that. And we've seen similar problems 246 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:00,680 Speaker 1: with lithium ion batteries in the past. When there's a 247 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:04,440 Speaker 1: manufacturing error or when a battery gets damaged, there is 248 00:16:04,600 --> 00:16:08,160 Speaker 1: a chance for a short circuit. That's when the flow 249 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:12,160 Speaker 1: of electrons bypasses the normal circuit route and there's a 250 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:14,800 Speaker 1: more direct path between the anode and the cathode and 251 00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:19,160 Speaker 1: the battery, and so the electrochemical reactions just speed up, 252 00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,600 Speaker 1: and the battery heats up, pressure builds up inside the battery, 253 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:25,800 Speaker 1: and then you end up with a fire or sometimes 254 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:29,800 Speaker 1: an explosion. That's what happened with the Samsung Galaxy Notes 255 00:16:29,880 --> 00:16:33,320 Speaker 1: seven several years ago. This is also why airlines tell 256 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: you not to put anything with a lithium ion battery 257 00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:38,760 Speaker 1: in your check luggage, because if a battery overheats in 258 00:16:38,800 --> 00:16:41,640 Speaker 1: the plane's cargo, it can cause a serious fire that 259 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:44,320 Speaker 1: can become a huge risk before anyone is even aware 260 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:46,880 Speaker 1: of it. Now, that's not to say that all lithium 261 00:16:46,880 --> 00:16:49,760 Speaker 1: ion batteries are just a fire waiting to happen. I mean, 262 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:53,720 Speaker 1: I've got a ton of different devices that have lithium 263 00:16:53,760 --> 00:16:56,720 Speaker 1: ion batteries. None of them have ever caught fire. What 264 00:16:56,880 --> 00:16:59,880 Speaker 1: this does mean is that when there are these men 265 00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:04,120 Speaker 1: facturing errors, we have to take them seriously. As for Fitbit, 266 00:17:04,200 --> 00:17:07,920 Speaker 1: it is offering a two refund for people who purchased 267 00:17:07,920 --> 00:17:10,480 Speaker 1: the watches, as well as a discount code for a 268 00:17:10,600 --> 00:17:15,359 Speaker 1: future Fitbit device. In news that initially made me say, ha, 269 00:17:16,040 --> 00:17:19,240 Speaker 1: we've learned that Epic Games, the company behind the massively 270 00:17:19,359 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 1: popular game Fortnite, has acquired band Camp. Now, if you're 271 00:17:24,480 --> 00:17:27,000 Speaker 1: not familiar with band Camp, it's a site that serves 272 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:31,160 Speaker 1: as the platform mainly for independent musicians, letting them sell 273 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:34,159 Speaker 1: their music to fans through an online store and to 274 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:38,800 Speaker 1: have an online community for their fandom. And it's pretty great. 275 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:41,200 Speaker 1: And I've picked up a lot of music through band Camp, 276 00:17:41,280 --> 00:17:44,480 Speaker 1: through bands that I like that you know they aren't 277 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:49,240 Speaker 1: signed to any labels. Also bought some commentary tracks for films. 278 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:51,200 Speaker 1: I'm pretty sure that's how I picked up a whole 279 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:54,199 Speaker 1: bunch of red letter media commentary tracks for different movies. 280 00:17:55,040 --> 00:17:57,119 Speaker 1: So at first I was wondering what the heck is 281 00:17:57,160 --> 00:17:59,960 Speaker 1: going on here? I mean, why is why is Epic 282 00:18:00,119 --> 00:18:02,960 Speaker 1: buying it? Well, Epic has said that band cap will 283 00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:07,440 Speaker 1: fulfill an quote important role in Epics vision to build 284 00:18:07,440 --> 00:18:14,160 Speaker 1: out a creator marketplace ecosystem for content, technology, games, art, music, 285 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:17,440 Speaker 1: and more. End quote, and that also came as news 286 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:20,679 Speaker 1: to me. I usually think of Epic as that company 287 00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:28,080 Speaker 1: that makes these incredible license agreements with highly recognizable intellectual property. 288 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:30,879 Speaker 1: Also that you can do stuff like that flossing dance 289 00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:34,160 Speaker 1: as Darth Vader in Fortnite or whatever. I don't think 290 00:18:34,160 --> 00:18:38,040 Speaker 1: of Epic as a company that's championing independent creators and 291 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:40,480 Speaker 1: making sure that they get compensated for their work. I 292 00:18:40,520 --> 00:18:42,439 Speaker 1: don't That's not what I think of when I think 293 00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 1: of Epic. Uh. And the parties didn't divulge the details 294 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:47,960 Speaker 1: around the deal, so we don't know how much it 295 00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:50,240 Speaker 1: was for. We don't know how much Epic shelled out, 296 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:53,080 Speaker 1: And I'm not sure how I would feel about this 297 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:56,480 Speaker 1: if I were a musician currently depending upon band cap 298 00:18:56,560 --> 00:18:59,600 Speaker 1: to sell stuff to fans and stay connected with them, 299 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:03,080 Speaker 1: and I order if perhaps this was also a step 300 00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:07,720 Speaker 1: towards Epic Games making its own metaverse related moves, and 301 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:09,399 Speaker 1: I guess we're just gonna have to wait and see. 302 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:13,119 Speaker 1: Elsewhere in the gaming world, the streaming service Netflix is 303 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:16,600 Speaker 1: planning an acquisition of a finish game company as in 304 00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:21,080 Speaker 1: a game company out of Finland. It's called Next Games, 305 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:25,359 Speaker 1: and this company developed a mobile puzzle RPG style game 306 00:19:25,400 --> 00:19:29,040 Speaker 1: based on the Netflix property Stranger Things. So Netflix has 307 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:31,440 Speaker 1: been making a few moves into the gaming space. They 308 00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:36,199 Speaker 1: established a division called Netflix Games last year. If you 309 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:39,720 Speaker 1: are a Netflix subscriber, you can actually use an app 310 00:19:39,760 --> 00:19:43,320 Speaker 1: to download mobile games that are carried by Netflix Games. 311 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:46,200 Speaker 1: You can play them without ads or in app purchases. 312 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:50,119 Speaker 1: It's part of your subscription, So there are those benefits. 313 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:51,840 Speaker 1: Like if you've ever played a lot of mobile games, 314 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:53,840 Speaker 1: you know most of them typically have a lot of 315 00:19:53,880 --> 00:19:59,760 Speaker 1: ads or in app purchase items, So this is one 316 00:19:59,800 --> 00:20:02,520 Speaker 1: way to experience mobile games that don't have that. Of course, 317 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:06,199 Speaker 1: you're limited to whatever Netflix Games is actually carrying. I 318 00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:08,680 Speaker 1: have to look into Netflix Games further at some point, 319 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:11,720 Speaker 1: maybe do a full episode, because I'm currently not sure 320 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:15,640 Speaker 1: how popular the services or how many Netflix users are 321 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:20,400 Speaker 1: even aware it exists. Um, I've heard about it, I've 322 00:20:20,560 --> 00:20:23,560 Speaker 1: never used it, but then to be fair, I also 323 00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:26,440 Speaker 1: very rarely use Netflix these days. It's almost like I'm 324 00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:29,280 Speaker 1: just paying to have it. Uh, Once in a blue 325 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:32,360 Speaker 1: moon I watched something on it, But I'm rapidly approaching 326 00:20:32,400 --> 00:20:35,080 Speaker 1: that point where I'm asking myself, do I need to 327 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:39,320 Speaker 1: maintain my Netflix subscription? Maybe the games is the thing 328 00:20:39,359 --> 00:20:42,080 Speaker 1: that will make me say, yeah, no, I should keep it. 329 00:20:42,280 --> 00:20:44,719 Speaker 1: We'll have to see. We have some more news items 330 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:46,840 Speaker 1: that we're going to go through after we take this 331 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:58,280 Speaker 1: quick break. Not that long ago, I did an episode 332 00:20:58,440 --> 00:21:02,800 Speaker 1: about the semiconductor business in Taiwan and has specifically looked 333 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:06,080 Speaker 1: at the company t S m C, and I mentioned 334 00:21:06,119 --> 00:21:11,840 Speaker 1: how Taiwan has a peculiar relationship with mainland China. Short 335 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:17,000 Speaker 1: version is that the former Chinese government prior to or so, 336 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:21,360 Speaker 1: that's the Chinese government that was ousted by the Chinese 337 00:21:21,359 --> 00:21:24,800 Speaker 1: Communist Party, which is currently controlling China. Well, that that 338 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:29,280 Speaker 1: former political party, our governing body, fled to Taiwan and 339 00:21:29,359 --> 00:21:33,480 Speaker 1: took that over nearly a century ago, and now there's 340 00:21:33,520 --> 00:21:38,840 Speaker 1: this uneasy tension between Taiwan and mainland China. Um, you'll 341 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:43,040 Speaker 1: often hear to China's or you'll hear like a unified China. 342 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:46,520 Speaker 1: You hear a lot of rhetoric around that. But um, 343 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:50,480 Speaker 1: the the character of a unified China completely depends upon 344 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:54,040 Speaker 1: which party you're talking to, because it's very different from 345 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:58,200 Speaker 1: the mainland perspective than from the Taiwan perspective, and part 346 00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:03,000 Speaker 1: of that tension emerges as acts of industrial espionage, and 347 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:05,720 Speaker 1: the Taiwanese government is looking to pass some laws to 348 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:09,960 Speaker 1: protect the semiconductor industry from Chinese spies. The law would 349 00:22:09,960 --> 00:22:12,960 Speaker 1: impose a punishment for people who leak trade secrets to 350 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:17,119 Speaker 1: China or to other foreign enemy forces, and that punishment 351 00:22:17,119 --> 00:22:19,679 Speaker 1: could be a prison sentence of up to twelve years. 352 00:22:20,720 --> 00:22:23,359 Speaker 1: The government is also looking to pass laws that would 353 00:22:23,359 --> 00:22:26,480 Speaker 1: make it harder for China to lure away engineering talent 354 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:30,480 Speaker 1: from Taiwan. So far, these regulations are not yet law. 355 00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:33,760 Speaker 1: The parliament in Taiwan will have to pass them before 356 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:38,080 Speaker 1: that will happen, and Taiwan's adversarial relationship with mainland China 357 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:41,240 Speaker 1: is one of many reasons as to why there's been 358 00:22:41,280 --> 00:22:43,920 Speaker 1: such a strong push around the world to develop new 359 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:48,840 Speaker 1: semiconductor fabrication facilities because it helps mitigate risks. Part of 360 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:53,400 Speaker 1: it was because of issues with COVID impacting the supply chain, 361 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:56,840 Speaker 1: but another part is that should China ever take any 362 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:00,920 Speaker 1: serious action to try and absorb tai on, it would 363 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:05,200 Speaker 1: have a massive ripple effect through the semiconductor industry and 364 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:09,399 Speaker 1: tech as in general. Apple co founder Steve Wozniak is 365 00:23:09,440 --> 00:23:12,760 Speaker 1: one of several people behind a company called Privateer, and 366 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:14,560 Speaker 1: the mission for that company is to set up a 367 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:19,440 Speaker 1: system that will identify track and catalog objects in space, 368 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:23,880 Speaker 1: so satellites and stuff, but also space junk, and then 369 00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:26,959 Speaker 1: make that information available to companies and countries that are 370 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:30,600 Speaker 1: intending to launch satellites and other spacecraft into Earth orbit. 371 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:35,440 Speaker 1: Space junk stands as a real threat in space. Even 372 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:38,720 Speaker 1: tiny objects can cause massive damage because you have to remember, 373 00:23:39,119 --> 00:23:43,040 Speaker 1: though they might be small, they're traveling super fast. And 374 00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:46,520 Speaker 1: as we launch more stuff into orbit, then things get 375 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:50,760 Speaker 1: more and more crowded, and accidents like collisions can create 376 00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:53,359 Speaker 1: a lot more space junk. Stuff can break apart and 377 00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:56,240 Speaker 1: just create kind of like a shotgun pellet approach, except 378 00:23:56,320 --> 00:23:58,439 Speaker 1: these are shotgun pellets that are traveling at thousands of 379 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:02,640 Speaker 1: miles per hour. And then there's the various military tests 380 00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:05,440 Speaker 1: we've seen in which countries like China have used land 381 00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:10,119 Speaker 1: based weapons systems to target orbiting satellites and destroy them, 382 00:24:10,119 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 1: thus potentially creating a lot more space junk in orbit. 383 00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:16,439 Speaker 1: So Privateers goal is to get a better picture of 384 00:24:16,480 --> 00:24:19,920 Speaker 1: what's actually going on up there, What where are these pieces, 385 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:22,879 Speaker 1: how many are there, how fast are they traveling, what 386 00:24:23,119 --> 00:24:26,719 Speaker 1: orbits are they in? And potentially that will allow us 387 00:24:26,720 --> 00:24:29,520 Speaker 1: to spot problems early on and avoid them when we 388 00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:32,679 Speaker 1: need to send missions out into space. Now, the company 389 00:24:32,760 --> 00:24:35,399 Speaker 1: ultimately hopes to launch some satellites of its own in 390 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:39,000 Speaker 1: the future for the purposes of spotting and tracking space junk. 391 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:43,040 Speaker 1: And yes, I do recognize the irony of putting more 392 00:24:43,119 --> 00:24:45,760 Speaker 1: stuff up into space so that you can figure out 393 00:24:45,760 --> 00:24:48,880 Speaker 1: how much stuff is in space, But these satellites would 394 00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:51,639 Speaker 1: in theory, be able to identify very small pieces of 395 00:24:51,640 --> 00:24:55,240 Speaker 1: space junk, like on the order of ten centimeters or smaller. 396 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:59,120 Speaker 1: Uh So it could be incredibly valuable. In fact, having 397 00:24:59,119 --> 00:25:02,520 Speaker 1: the information would be incredibly valuable. It would be great 398 00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:05,480 Speaker 1: if we could find a way to clean up space junk. 399 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:08,800 Speaker 1: There have been some different proposals, and in fact I've 400 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:11,240 Speaker 1: seen some titles that seem to suggest that that's what 401 00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:15,080 Speaker 1: Privateer was doing, But really Privateer is more about we 402 00:25:15,119 --> 00:25:17,680 Speaker 1: can't even think about cleaning stuff up until we know 403 00:25:18,119 --> 00:25:21,000 Speaker 1: how much stuff is there and you know where it's at, 404 00:25:21,560 --> 00:25:24,480 Speaker 1: And it's hard to argue against that. You know there's 405 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:27,320 Speaker 1: a longstanding joke. In fact, you could argue it's not 406 00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:29,399 Speaker 1: a joke that if you roll up on a Mickey 407 00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:32,159 Speaker 1: D's and you ask for an ice cream, you're just 408 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:35,280 Speaker 1: going to be told that the machines are broken. And yeah, 409 00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:38,760 Speaker 1: McDonald's soft serve ice cream machines have a reputation for 410 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:42,600 Speaker 1: being really finicky, uh, And that inspired a couple of 411 00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:47,200 Speaker 1: technologists named Melissa Nelson and Jeremy O'Sullivan to co found 412 00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:51,040 Speaker 1: a company called Kitch k Y T c H. And 413 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:56,320 Speaker 1: Kitch subsequently created a phone sized electronic device that can 414 00:25:56,359 --> 00:26:00,600 Speaker 1: connect to these ice cream machines that mcdot don olds uses, 415 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:03,560 Speaker 1: and so the device can actually read error codes on 416 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:07,920 Speaker 1: the machines and send messages to franchise owners and they 417 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:11,200 Speaker 1: can access those messages via an app or by a 418 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:15,639 Speaker 1: web portal, and then they can get notified when something 419 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:18,160 Speaker 1: is is not working properly so that they can get 420 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:22,840 Speaker 1: it fixed very quickly and minimize machine downtime, which has 421 00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:26,040 Speaker 1: a positive impact on customer experience as well as on 422 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:31,479 Speaker 1: you know, restaurant revenue. Well, apparently corporate McDonald's didn't like 423 00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,000 Speaker 1: this very much at all, and in twenty twenty, the 424 00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:37,440 Speaker 1: company sent franchise owners messages that they were to remove 425 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:41,199 Speaker 1: the kitchen devices from their ice cream machines because altering 426 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:46,440 Speaker 1: the machines violated warranties. And it also, according to the message, 427 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:51,560 Speaker 1: intercepted confidential information. Now I don't know about you, but 428 00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:55,840 Speaker 1: I'm really curious what the heck kind of confidential information 429 00:26:55,880 --> 00:27:00,720 Speaker 1: and ice cream machine is actually generating or transmitting. I mean, 430 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:03,560 Speaker 1: I guess it has to be related to the Cold War, right, 431 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:09,080 Speaker 1: because ice cream no Cold War, get it. Anyway, The 432 00:27:09,200 --> 00:27:12,760 Speaker 1: Kitch co founders say that the emails included defamatory statements 433 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:15,680 Speaker 1: in them, and in fact McDonald's was trying to force 434 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:19,560 Speaker 1: franchise owners to hold off for a future ice cream 435 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:22,600 Speaker 1: machine from the same company that so far as seen 436 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:27,800 Speaker 1: limited deployment, but it does incorporate technologies that appear to 437 00:27:27,880 --> 00:27:31,920 Speaker 1: have been copied from Kitches products. So essentially they're saying, 438 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:37,200 Speaker 1: not only are you, you know, destroying our business, you 439 00:27:37,280 --> 00:27:41,080 Speaker 1: are infringing on our intellectual property you have, you have 440 00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:44,359 Speaker 1: copied it, and you're you're muscling us out. That's what 441 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:47,760 Speaker 1: Kitch has been saying. So Kitch has subsequently filed lawsuits 442 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:49,960 Speaker 1: against Taylor, which is the company that makes the ice 443 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:53,919 Speaker 1: cream machines and McDonald's itself. According to a Wired article 444 00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:56,960 Speaker 1: on the subject, during the discovery period of the lawsuit 445 00:27:56,960 --> 00:28:00,520 Speaker 1: against Taylor, Kitch learned that the most that most of 446 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:04,200 Speaker 1: the opposition was coming straight from McDonald's, not from Taylor, 447 00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:07,800 Speaker 1: but from corporate McDonald's itself. The article is well worth 448 00:28:07,800 --> 00:28:11,280 Speaker 1: a read. It is titled ice cream machine hackers sue 449 00:28:11,359 --> 00:28:15,880 Speaker 1: McDonald's for nine hundred million dollars. That is a heck 450 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:20,359 Speaker 1: of a headline. And finally, speaking of headlines, Business Insider 451 00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:24,080 Speaker 1: reports that wings Stop, the restaurant known for chicken wings, 452 00:28:24,359 --> 00:28:28,879 Speaker 1: has filed a quote trademark to sell chicken wings in 453 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:33,920 Speaker 1: the metaverse. End quote that their headline was just about 454 00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:36,320 Speaker 1: enough to make me want to walk into the woods 455 00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:40,280 Speaker 1: just live there. But anyway, Wingstop is not the only 456 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:44,320 Speaker 1: restaurant going through these steps. McDonald's has done it too, 457 00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:47,360 Speaker 1: which leads one to wonder if ice cream machines are 458 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:51,040 Speaker 1: gonna work better in the metaverse anyway. It sounds like 459 00:28:51,240 --> 00:28:56,440 Speaker 1: these trademarks include downloadable virtual goods, so presumably stuff like 460 00:28:56,680 --> 00:29:00,760 Speaker 1: virtual Big Max and virtual wings I guess, or maybe 461 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:04,560 Speaker 1: virtual clothing that has logos on it. I don't know, 462 00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:07,959 Speaker 1: and also it's supposed to cover things like n f 463 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:13,880 Speaker 1: t s that represent digital assets. Seriously, y'all, I cannot 464 00:29:14,000 --> 00:29:16,960 Speaker 1: with this nonsense. It is making me feel like I 465 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:20,840 Speaker 1: have stepped into a parody of the real world. Anyway, 466 00:29:20,880 --> 00:29:23,280 Speaker 1: there may also be ways to order, you know, real 467 00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:27,000 Speaker 1: world food while you're in the metaverse, so I don't know, 468 00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:29,120 Speaker 1: maybe in the future, when you want to use a 469 00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:32,600 Speaker 1: delivery service to order a big Mac or Wings or something, 470 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:35,280 Speaker 1: you first have to put on VR goggles and navigate 471 00:29:35,320 --> 00:29:39,200 Speaker 1: to the closest virtual restaurant or something. I hate all 472 00:29:39,240 --> 00:29:42,360 Speaker 1: of this. Of course, a lot of these moves could 473 00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:46,080 Speaker 1: just be hail Mary passes that the various companies are 474 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:48,680 Speaker 1: throwing all in an effort so that they don't get 475 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:53,560 Speaker 1: left behind in this crazy rush towards the metaverse, and 476 00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:57,320 Speaker 1: those moves might prove to be unnecessary or misguided in 477 00:29:57,320 --> 00:29:59,800 Speaker 1: the future, like it might turn out like, oh, none 478 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:03,880 Speaker 1: of is actually applicable, or maybe they'll turn out that 479 00:30:03,960 --> 00:30:07,160 Speaker 1: these were really acts of genius and they have huge 480 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:11,400 Speaker 1: payoffs down the line. I honestly can't tell anymore. And 481 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:15,160 Speaker 1: that's the news. So if you have suggestions for topics 482 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:18,400 Speaker 1: I should cover in future episodes of tech Stuff, preferably 483 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:21,000 Speaker 1: topics that do not drive me closer to the brink 484 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:24,000 Speaker 1: of insanity. Please reach out to me on Twitter. The 485 00:30:24,040 --> 00:30:27,520 Speaker 1: handle for the show is tech Stuff hs W and 486 00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:37,160 Speaker 1: I'll talk to you again really soon. Tech Stuff is 487 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:40,320 Speaker 1: an I Heart Radio production. For more podcasts from my 488 00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:44,080 Speaker 1: Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 489 00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:46,160 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.