WEBVTT - Tech News: Joe Biden Targets Social Networks in State of the Union 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:07.800 Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 0:00:12.080 --> 0:00:14.760 Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host 0:00:14.840 --> 0:00:17.640 Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio. 0:00:17.720 --> 0:00:20.200 And how the tech are you? It's time for the 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:24.320 tech news for March third, twenty twenty two. Let's dive in. 0:00:25.400 --> 0:00:29.920 Meta's vice president of connectivity told c NBC at the 0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:34.480 Mobile World Congress, which is a big event that's all 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:38.880 about things like smartphones. Uh, they said that the metaverse, 0:00:39.000 --> 0:00:42.760 at least Meta's vision of the metaverse, is going to 0:00:42.800 --> 0:00:46.440 require more advanced home and cellular networks in order for 0:00:46.479 --> 0:00:49.720 it to work properly. Now, that should not come as 0:00:49.760 --> 0:00:55.880 a surprise. Presumably. Meta's version of this admittedly vague concept 0:00:56.400 --> 0:01:01.400 includes virtual and potentially augmented reality hardware, and to make 0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:04.480 that kind of hardware work really well, you need really 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:09.440 low latency. Oddly enough, folks can get pretty immersed in 0:01:09.560 --> 0:01:13.520 virtual environments even if the graphics are fairly primitive. So, 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:18.440 like graphic resolution isn't hugely important. It's nice to have, 0:01:19.160 --> 0:01:22.960 but it's not necessary to have a convincing experience. However, 0:01:23.080 --> 0:01:27.440 high latency that is a perceptible lag between when you 0:01:27.480 --> 0:01:30.720 do something like turn your head and when it is 0:01:30.800 --> 0:01:34.040 reflected in the virtual world as in, like you turn 0:01:34.120 --> 0:01:36.600 your head and then after a moment your point of 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:40.600 view shifts, that's a real problem. It creates this swimmy, 0:01:40.760 --> 0:01:45.200 unpleasant sensation, and latency really contributes to that feeling emotion 0:01:45.280 --> 0:01:49.000 sickness that some folks get when they try out VR. 0:01:49.520 --> 0:01:52.840 The greater the latency, the more the more people are 0:01:52.880 --> 0:01:57.240 going to feel not so good using the technology. And clearly, 0:01:57.800 --> 0:01:59.840 if you are banking on this being the future of 0:01:59.880 --> 0:02:03.400 the Internet, you need people to be comfortable using it. However, 0:02:03.440 --> 0:02:05.920 on top of all that, the Metaverse is presumably going 0:02:05.960 --> 0:02:08.720 to allow for a lot of other stuff besides just 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:13.560 wandering around virtual environments. There's a whole commerce component to it. 0:02:13.600 --> 0:02:15.360 In fact, we'll be talking about that towards the end 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:19.000 of this episode. And if there weren't other elements, like 0:02:19.120 --> 0:02:22.959 there were not commerce elements, Meta would not be boring 0:02:23.000 --> 0:02:25.359 billions of dollars into this Because you know, the company 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:28.440 is doing this because this is where they see revenue 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:32.680 generation being in the future, so they want upload and 0:02:32.720 --> 0:02:37.120 download speeds to be maxed out in order to keep 0:02:37.200 --> 0:02:40.000 up with what the company plans to throw in us, 0:02:40.520 --> 0:02:43.160 and I think this is also another reminder that whatever 0:02:43.200 --> 0:02:47.360 the metaverse does turn out to be or meta verses, 0:02:47.480 --> 0:02:50.960 because lots of companies are working on this, we're still 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:54.080 several years out from it being a thing. I've often 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:56.880 cited the general idea of it being ten years out 0:02:57.000 --> 0:03:00.720 from a truly engaging and compelling metaverse, because all the 0:03:00.760 --> 0:03:03.520 pieces that are going to play a part in making 0:03:03.560 --> 0:03:05.560 that happen are going to have to go through at 0:03:05.600 --> 0:03:09.880 least a couple more generations of evolutions before they meet 0:03:09.919 --> 0:03:14.040 the needs of sustaining and supporting a massive online virtual 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:20.000 world capable of supporting tons of users simultaneously. Sticking with Meta, 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:25.560 recently it released its Widely Viewed Content Report. This report 0:03:25.639 --> 0:03:28.680 was Meta's attempt to get ahead of other sources that 0:03:28.680 --> 0:03:32.520 would frequently produce lists of the most popular Facebook posts 0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:35.960 on the platform. So, for example, Kevin Ruce, who is 0:03:36.000 --> 0:03:38.800 a journalist with The New York Times, had created a 0:03:38.840 --> 0:03:43.640 Twitter account that pulled data from a monitoring platform that 0:03:43.720 --> 0:03:47.360 Facebook created. So this was a Facebook tool and it 0:03:47.480 --> 0:03:52.240 was called crowd Tangle, and this Twitter account was just 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:55.400 pulling data from that to generate a top ten list 0:03:55.920 --> 0:03:59.120 of where the most popular links were coming from in 0:03:59.160 --> 0:04:01.600 the United States a week and then tweeting it out, 0:04:02.280 --> 0:04:04.520 and a lot of them. In fact, most of them 0:04:04.560 --> 0:04:09.160 belonged to various right wing outlets, and this appeared to 0:04:09.360 --> 0:04:13.960 suggest that Facebook was potentially supporting right wing sources more 0:04:14.000 --> 0:04:17.719 than others, perhaps in an attempt to fight back against 0:04:17.720 --> 0:04:21.960 a perception that Facebook suppresses right leaning points of view. Now, 0:04:22.000 --> 0:04:26.839 Facebook was not thrilled with this use of its tool, 0:04:26.920 --> 0:04:30.880 and in fact squashed the crowd Tangle project the internal project, 0:04:31.480 --> 0:04:35.760 and now the company produces its own report, presumably to 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:39.880 push back against this perception that the platform is you know, 0:04:40.240 --> 0:04:44.479 has a bias towards boosting right leaning messaging. And the 0:04:44.600 --> 0:04:47.600 report is fairly vague when it comes to how Facebook 0:04:47.600 --> 0:04:52.479 determines things like the most popular posts and such, but 0:04:52.720 --> 0:04:56.040 it largely shows that the most popular pages and links 0:04:56.080 --> 0:04:59.920 tend to be connected to stuff like entertainment or recipe, 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:06.760 you know, relatively trivial things. However, there's one standout weird 0:05:06.800 --> 0:05:10.200 thing in the report, and that is there's a listing 0:05:10.520 --> 0:05:13.640 of the most viewed pages during the last quarter of 0:05:14.440 --> 0:05:18.680 one and the top spot goes to a mystery, at 0:05:18.760 --> 0:05:22.640 least a mystery for anyone who's outside of Facebook, because 0:05:22.720 --> 0:05:27.680 in the report under the source it says, quote, this 0:05:27.760 --> 0:05:32.320 page was removed by Facebook for violating community standards end quote, 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:36.320 and there's a link to the page, but of course 0:05:36.360 --> 0:05:38.839 the page has been removed, so that link is inactive. 0:05:38.880 --> 0:05:42.799 It doesn't take you to anything, and Facebook didn't actually 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:47.920 identify what the page actually was or who made it. However, 0:05:48.560 --> 0:05:51.440 it does helpfully show that a hundred twenty one point 0:05:51.560 --> 0:05:57.240 eight million accounts on Facebook viewed that page's content, which 0:05:57.279 --> 0:06:01.200 means not only is it number one, the the most 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:05.599 viewed page of Facebook during that period, it actually puts 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:09.600 it more than ten million views ahead of second place. 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:14.320 So if Facebook's intent was for this report to assuage 0:06:14.440 --> 0:06:18.560 doubts about the platform, it ain't working. Not when the 0:06:18.600 --> 0:06:22.600 most popular page was one that Facebook subsequently removed because 0:06:22.640 --> 0:06:26.159 the page was violating Facebook's rules. That actually kind of 0:06:26.200 --> 0:06:29.280 suggests that Facebook ain't so great and enforcing its own 0:06:29.360 --> 0:06:33.640 rules if the page got to that level of popularity 0:06:33.680 --> 0:06:37.280 before it was booted off the platform. Anyway, even if 0:06:37.320 --> 0:06:39.840 you think of the report is Facebook's attempt to change 0:06:39.839 --> 0:06:43.000 the narrative, it looks to me like that attempt wasn't 0:06:43.120 --> 0:06:48.560 particularly successful, and one more Facebook specific story for today. 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:52.040 The site recently pulled the plug on its pilot program 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:55.600 called Campus Uh. That project was meant to create a 0:06:55.680 --> 0:07:00.279 suite of features catered specifically toward college students and a 0:07:00.320 --> 0:07:03.120 lot of y'all probably remember that Facebook started out as 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:07.680 a college based online social network. In fact, originally in 0:07:07.720 --> 0:07:10.680 the old days, in order to get a Facebook account, 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:14.240 you had to have an active college email account. But 0:07:14.360 --> 0:07:17.560 it looks like whatever mojo was there back in the 0:07:17.600 --> 0:07:20.800 early to mid two thousand's is all gone now because 0:07:20.920 --> 0:07:25.280 Campus is closed. Meta says that the Campus project taught 0:07:25.320 --> 0:07:28.040 the company many things, chief of which is that college 0:07:28.080 --> 0:07:31.880 students can make better use of tools like Facebook groups 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:35.000 to do what Campus was trying to do. So, in 0:07:35.000 --> 0:07:37.000 other words, they said, well, there's no need to reinvent 0:07:37.000 --> 0:07:40.120 the wheel. College students are relying on groups and that 0:07:40.200 --> 0:07:43.160 seems to be exactly what they need. Of course, we 0:07:43.240 --> 0:07:47.800 also know that Facebook has seen a decline in user 0:07:47.840 --> 0:07:53.240 adoption among younger users. Fewer younger people are joining Facebook, 0:07:53.680 --> 0:07:56.280 so it may also be that the company was not 0:07:56.400 --> 0:08:02.200 seeing enough students actually using Campus to justify its continued support, 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:05.400 like it would just be a drain on company resources 0:08:05.440 --> 0:08:09.040 and they pulled the plug. That's also a possibility. This week, 0:08:09.280 --> 0:08:12.640 US President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address, 0:08:12.720 --> 0:08:16.880 which obviously covers a lot of territory, but part of 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:19.880 that speech was a call on Congress to create and 0:08:19.960 --> 0:08:24.480 pass legislation that will increase protections around data privacy and 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:28.760 security with regard to children. He was specifically referencing social 0:08:28.760 --> 0:08:34.160 media and social networking platforms like TikTok and Instagram. He said, quote, 0:08:34.480 --> 0:08:39.600 it's time to strengthen privacy protections, band targeted advertising to children, 0:08:40.000 --> 0:08:43.920 demand tech companies stopped collecting personal data on our children 0:08:44.200 --> 0:08:46.840 end quote, And he announced that the White House is 0:08:46.880 --> 0:08:49.560 looking to fund a study on child safety on social 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:54.960 media platforms. Now, we've already seen plenty of disturbing evidence 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:58.840 out of meta itself that suggests the picture on its 0:08:58.840 --> 0:09:03.520 effects on on children ain't good. But it's also important 0:09:03.520 --> 0:09:08.679 to remember that those studies, those reports, we're based off 0:09:08.720 --> 0:09:12.840 pretty small sample sizes, So it actually does make sense 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:15.960 to expand on that and to do a larger study, 0:09:16.080 --> 0:09:20.200 especially one that's conducted outside the company, so there's not 0:09:20.520 --> 0:09:23.800 the chance of company bias in there. And there's already 0:09:23.840 --> 0:09:26.840 some movement in Congress on this subject, because this is 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:30.120 a topic that actually has support across both political parties, 0:09:30.360 --> 0:09:34.720 which is pretty darn rare these days. Obviously, should this 0:09:34.920 --> 0:09:38.720 start to evolve into proposed legislation, we're going to see 0:09:38.720 --> 0:09:42.160 differences of opinion on how to structure laws meant to 0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:45.520 restrict companies and how they conduct their business. That's just 0:09:45.559 --> 0:09:50.120 gonna happen. But I think everyone's going to maintain the 0:09:50.200 --> 0:09:54.920 idea of if this is to protect children, we have 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:58.160 to be on board because you don't want your next 0:09:58.800 --> 0:10:03.480 political opponent to run ads saying we started, we proposed 0:10:03.480 --> 0:10:06.240 a law to protect your children and this person struck 0:10:06.280 --> 0:10:10.240 it down. That would just be political suicide. So I 0:10:10.400 --> 0:10:13.480 expect we will see more movement on this, just don't 0:10:13.520 --> 0:10:17.720 know how it's going to emerge. Okay, we've got some 0:10:17.760 --> 0:10:20.040 more news stories to cover before we get to those, 0:10:20.080 --> 0:10:29.319 let's take a quick break. Before the break, I was 0:10:29.360 --> 0:10:32.000 talking about the President's State of the Union address that 0:10:32.200 --> 0:10:36.120 is a federal response to the matter of child safety online. 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:42.040 We're also seeing individual states in the United States take action. California, Florida, 0:10:42.080 --> 0:10:45.840 and Kentucky are among those. The attorneys general for those 0:10:45.840 --> 0:10:48.840 states have joined in on an investigation into the video 0:10:48.880 --> 0:10:53.200 platform TikTok to determine how the app might affect the 0:10:53.280 --> 0:10:57.319 mental and physical health of young people who are using it. Now. 0:10:57.360 --> 0:11:00.800 This includes not just the actual content sit on TikTok, 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:05.040 which is of course user generated, but also how TikTok 0:11:05.320 --> 0:11:09.360 markets its services to children and how TikTok serves up 0:11:09.440 --> 0:11:14.760 recommended content to children. Just like all other social media platforms, 0:11:14.840 --> 0:11:19.560 much of TikTok's success is defined by engagement. So for TikTok, 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:23.720 that largely translates into how long can we keep people 0:11:23.920 --> 0:11:28.880 on the platform per session, And so the recommendation algorithm, 0:11:29.280 --> 0:11:31.640 which is meant to serve up stuff that's most likely 0:11:31.720 --> 0:11:36.680 to keep you glued to TikTok, is fundamentally important. You 0:11:36.720 --> 0:11:40.640 want that algorithm to successfully serve up stuff that keeps 0:11:40.679 --> 0:11:43.840 people there. Well, if that stuff tends to be harmful, 0:11:44.400 --> 0:11:46.319 well that means that the user is likely going to 0:11:46.440 --> 0:11:50.640 get served up a lot of harmful material repeatedly. So 0:11:50.720 --> 0:11:54.520 we're seeing a more concentrated effort to really look at 0:11:54.559 --> 0:11:58.640 these issues and their effects on users, particularly young users. 0:11:59.120 --> 0:12:02.040 And depending upon the outcome of this investigation, I expect 0:12:02.120 --> 0:12:05.520 we may see several states proposed laws and regulations that 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:09.120 will restrict how TikTok can serve content to young people, 0:12:09.760 --> 0:12:13.000 which would probably mean they would also require some sort 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:18.280 of of age verification step where the platform can say, listen, 0:12:19.520 --> 0:12:21.840 we are making sure that anyone who is under a 0:12:21.880 --> 0:12:25.200 certain age will not get access to certain materials. But 0:12:25.559 --> 0:12:29.439 age verification steps, age restrictions, those are always tricky as well, 0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:33.160 and they come along with some other consequences which I'll 0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:36.360 probably talk about in a future episode. Now, y'all, I've 0:12:36.400 --> 0:12:39.880 never been inside a brick and mortar Amazon bookstore, and 0:12:39.920 --> 0:12:42.280 now it sounds like I won't never get that chance. 0:12:42.640 --> 0:12:46.480 The company is closing it's sixty eight Amazon Books, Amazon 0:12:46.559 --> 0:12:50.080 four Star, and Amazon Pop up stores across the United 0:12:50.080 --> 0:12:54.640 States and the United Kingdom. Now, if you weren't aware 0:12:55.000 --> 0:12:59.360 that Amazon operated these kinds of physical stores, well it did, 0:13:00.040 --> 0:13:03.200 and now it's not gonna do that anymore. The Amazon 0:13:03.280 --> 0:13:06.680 four Star Store was a kind of general products store. 0:13:06.840 --> 0:13:10.720 It was called four Star because it's sold stuff that 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:13.960 had a four star or better rating in the online 0:13:13.960 --> 0:13:17.439 Amazon store. It was also a physical store where Amazon 0:13:17.559 --> 0:13:21.680 sold a lot of Amazon branded products, and it also 0:13:21.720 --> 0:13:25.000 served as a physical location where people could return stuff 0:13:25.040 --> 0:13:29.000 they had bought off Amazon Online, and shutting down those 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:32.600 stores means you've cut back on those options. The Amazon 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:35.480 pop up stores were more like small shops set in 0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:38.520 places like shopping malls, and the pop up stores would 0:13:38.559 --> 0:13:42.360 frequently feature a specific subset of products like it would 0:13:42.400 --> 0:13:46.120 be almost themed, and then after a certain amount of time, 0:13:46.160 --> 0:13:49.080 it would change that up. Anyway, all of those are 0:13:49.080 --> 0:13:53.040 shutting down, but Amazon will still operate other physical stores 0:13:53.080 --> 0:13:57.080 like Whole Foods grocery stores aren't going anywhere, uh, and 0:13:57.200 --> 0:14:00.600 the cashier less Amazon Go convenience stores are sticking around. 0:14:00.600 --> 0:14:03.280 Two Over on Reddit, folks are having a heck of 0:14:03.280 --> 0:14:06.199 a time talking about how Amazon's digital store wiped out 0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:11.040 its own brick and border stores, So sad Trombo. Earlier 0:14:11.080 --> 0:14:14.720 this week, I gave an update on unionization efforts among 0:14:14.880 --> 0:14:19.320 Amazon employees. You've got one warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama that 0:14:19.360 --> 0:14:23.160 will be counting union votes later this month in order 0:14:23.160 --> 0:14:26.520 to determine if enough employees there will support a union, 0:14:26.560 --> 0:14:30.280 in which case they will unionize. Then there's the JFK 0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:33.000 eight warehouse in New York that is heading toward a 0:14:33.040 --> 0:14:35.840 vote of its own, And now a second New York 0:14:35.920 --> 0:14:40.119 based location, the Staten Island l d J five Warehouse, 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:43.880 has requested permission from the National Labor Relations Board a 0:14:44.040 --> 0:14:47.200 gay the n l RB to move forward with their 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:52.400 own unionization efforts. Now. I mentioned earlier that the activity 0:14:52.440 --> 0:14:55.480 we're seeing in this space could be indicators for a 0:14:55.520 --> 0:14:58.840 growing labor movement in the United States, and this is 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:01.280 the kind of thing I was talking about. I don't 0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:05.000 have many more details about this recent development just yet. 0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:07.960 The n l RB has not yet confirmed whether or 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:12.320 not it has approved the request that the the Staten 0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:15.400 Island group made, at least not as of the recording 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:18.280 of this episode. Fitbit has had to recall more than 0:15:18.320 --> 0:15:22.080 one and a half million ionic smart watches after numerous 0:15:22.200 --> 0:15:25.840 users reported being burned by the battery overheating in the device. 0:15:26.760 --> 0:15:29.400 The smart watch does all the stuff we've come to 0:15:29.440 --> 0:15:32.800 expect from smart watches. It tracks activity, can be used 0:15:32.800 --> 0:15:36.920 to monitor sleep patterns, tells the time, but apparently a 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:40.440 problem with the lithium ion batteries has led to massive 0:15:40.480 --> 0:15:44.840 overheating issues with some watches. More than one people have 0:15:44.920 --> 0:15:49.520 reported experiencing burn injuries, and two of those have been 0:15:49.640 --> 0:15:53.160 third degree burns, which are incredibly serious. You're talking about 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:57.200 massive tissue damage with that. And we've seen similar problems 0:15:57.240 --> 0:16:00.680 with lithium ion batteries in the past. When there's a 0:16:00.680 --> 0:16:04.440 manufacturing error or when a battery gets damaged, there is 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:08.160 a chance for a short circuit. That's when the flow 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:12.160 of electrons bypasses the normal circuit route and there's a 0:16:12.200 --> 0:16:14.800 more direct path between the anode and the cathode and 0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:19.160 the battery, and so the electrochemical reactions just speed up, 0:16:19.200 --> 0:16:22.600 and the battery heats up, pressure builds up inside the battery, 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:25.800 and then you end up with a fire or sometimes 0:16:25.840 --> 0:16:29.800 an explosion. That's what happened with the Samsung Galaxy Notes 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:33.320 seven several years ago. This is also why airlines tell 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:35.640 you not to put anything with a lithium ion battery 0:16:35.680 --> 0:16:38.760 in your check luggage, because if a battery overheats in 0:16:38.800 --> 0:16:41.640 the plane's cargo, it can cause a serious fire that 0:16:41.680 --> 0:16:44.320 can become a huge risk before anyone is even aware 0:16:44.320 --> 0:16:46.880 of it. Now, that's not to say that all lithium 0:16:46.880 --> 0:16:49.760 ion batteries are just a fire waiting to happen. I mean, 0:16:49.800 --> 0:16:53.720 I've got a ton of different devices that have lithium 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:56.720 ion batteries. None of them have ever caught fire. What 0:16:56.880 --> 0:16:59.880 this does mean is that when there are these men 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:04.120 facturing errors, we have to take them seriously. As for Fitbit, 0:17:04.200 --> 0:17:07.920 it is offering a two refund for people who purchased 0:17:07.920 --> 0:17:10.480 the watches, as well as a discount code for a 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:15.359 future Fitbit device. In news that initially made me say, ha, 0:17:16.040 --> 0:17:19.240 we've learned that Epic Games, the company behind the massively 0:17:19.359 --> 0:17:24.480 popular game Fortnite, has acquired band Camp. Now, if you're 0:17:24.480 --> 0:17:27.000 not familiar with band Camp, it's a site that serves 0:17:27.000 --> 0:17:31.160 as the platform mainly for independent musicians, letting them sell 0:17:31.200 --> 0:17:34.159 their music to fans through an online store and to 0:17:34.760 --> 0:17:38.800 have an online community for their fandom. And it's pretty great. 0:17:38.840 --> 0:17:41.200 And I've picked up a lot of music through band Camp, 0:17:41.280 --> 0:17:44.480 through bands that I like that you know they aren't 0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:49.240 signed to any labels. Also bought some commentary tracks for films. 0:17:49.400 --> 0:17:51.200 I'm pretty sure that's how I picked up a whole 0:17:51.200 --> 0:17:54.199 bunch of red letter media commentary tracks for different movies. 0:17:55.040 --> 0:17:57.119 So at first I was wondering what the heck is 0:17:57.160 --> 0:17:59.960 going on here? I mean, why is why is Epic 0:18:00.119 --> 0:18:02.960 buying it? Well, Epic has said that band cap will 0:18:02.960 --> 0:18:07.440 fulfill an quote important role in Epics vision to build 0:18:07.440 --> 0:18:14.160 out a creator marketplace ecosystem for content, technology, games, art, music, 0:18:14.240 --> 0:18:17.440 and more. End quote, and that also came as news 0:18:17.520 --> 0:18:20.679 to me. I usually think of Epic as that company 0:18:20.720 --> 0:18:28.080 that makes these incredible license agreements with highly recognizable intellectual property. 0:18:28.160 --> 0:18:30.879 Also that you can do stuff like that flossing dance 0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:34.160 as Darth Vader in Fortnite or whatever. I don't think 0:18:34.160 --> 0:18:38.040 of Epic as a company that's championing independent creators and 0:18:38.080 --> 0:18:40.480 making sure that they get compensated for their work. I 0:18:40.520 --> 0:18:42.439 don't That's not what I think of when I think 0:18:42.480 --> 0:18:46.040 of Epic. Uh. And the parties didn't divulge the details 0:18:46.040 --> 0:18:47.960 around the deal, so we don't know how much it 0:18:48.000 --> 0:18:50.240 was for. We don't know how much Epic shelled out, 0:18:51.000 --> 0:18:53.080 And I'm not sure how I would feel about this 0:18:53.200 --> 0:18:56.480 if I were a musician currently depending upon band cap 0:18:56.560 --> 0:18:59.600 to sell stuff to fans and stay connected with them, 0:18:59.640 --> 0:19:03.080 and I order if perhaps this was also a step 0:19:03.119 --> 0:19:07.720 towards Epic Games making its own metaverse related moves, and 0:19:07.760 --> 0:19:09.399 I guess we're just gonna have to wait and see. 0:19:09.800 --> 0:19:13.119 Elsewhere in the gaming world, the streaming service Netflix is 0:19:13.160 --> 0:19:16.600 planning an acquisition of a finish game company as in 0:19:16.680 --> 0:19:21.080 a game company out of Finland. It's called Next Games, 0:19:21.560 --> 0:19:25.359 and this company developed a mobile puzzle RPG style game 0:19:25.400 --> 0:19:29.040 based on the Netflix property Stranger Things. So Netflix has 0:19:29.080 --> 0:19:31.440 been making a few moves into the gaming space. They 0:19:31.560 --> 0:19:36.199 established a division called Netflix Games last year. If you 0:19:36.280 --> 0:19:39.720 are a Netflix subscriber, you can actually use an app 0:19:39.760 --> 0:19:43.320 to download mobile games that are carried by Netflix Games. 0:19:43.760 --> 0:19:46.200 You can play them without ads or in app purchases. 0:19:46.240 --> 0:19:50.119 It's part of your subscription, So there are those benefits. 0:19:50.119 --> 0:19:51.840 Like if you've ever played a lot of mobile games, 0:19:51.880 --> 0:19:53.840 you know most of them typically have a lot of 0:19:53.880 --> 0:19:59.760 ads or in app purchase items, So this is one 0:19:59.800 --> 0:20:02.520 way to experience mobile games that don't have that. Of course, 0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:06.199 you're limited to whatever Netflix Games is actually carrying. I 0:20:06.240 --> 0:20:08.680 have to look into Netflix Games further at some point, 0:20:08.760 --> 0:20:11.720 maybe do a full episode, because I'm currently not sure 0:20:12.520 --> 0:20:15.640 how popular the services or how many Netflix users are 0:20:15.640 --> 0:20:20.400 even aware it exists. Um, I've heard about it, I've 0:20:20.560 --> 0:20:23.560 never used it, but then to be fair, I also 0:20:23.800 --> 0:20:26.440 very rarely use Netflix these days. It's almost like I'm 0:20:26.480 --> 0:20:29.280 just paying to have it. Uh, Once in a blue 0:20:29.280 --> 0:20:32.360 moon I watched something on it, But I'm rapidly approaching 0:20:32.400 --> 0:20:35.080 that point where I'm asking myself, do I need to 0:20:35.320 --> 0:20:39.320 maintain my Netflix subscription? Maybe the games is the thing 0:20:39.359 --> 0:20:42.080 that will make me say, yeah, no, I should keep it. 0:20:42.280 --> 0:20:44.719 We'll have to see. We have some more news items 0:20:44.720 --> 0:20:46.840 that we're going to go through after we take this 0:20:46.960 --> 0:20:58.280 quick break. Not that long ago, I did an episode 0:20:58.440 --> 0:21:02.800 about the semiconductor business in Taiwan and has specifically looked 0:21:02.800 --> 0:21:06.080 at the company t S m C, and I mentioned 0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:11.840 how Taiwan has a peculiar relationship with mainland China. Short 0:21:12.000 --> 0:21:17.000 version is that the former Chinese government prior to or so, 0:21:17.480 --> 0:21:21.360 that's the Chinese government that was ousted by the Chinese 0:21:21.359 --> 0:21:24.800 Communist Party, which is currently controlling China. Well, that that 0:21:25.000 --> 0:21:29.280 former political party, our governing body, fled to Taiwan and 0:21:29.359 --> 0:21:33.480 took that over nearly a century ago, and now there's 0:21:33.520 --> 0:21:38.840 this uneasy tension between Taiwan and mainland China. Um, you'll 0:21:38.880 --> 0:21:43.040 often hear to China's or you'll hear like a unified China. 0:21:43.400 --> 0:21:46.520 You hear a lot of rhetoric around that. But um, 0:21:46.720 --> 0:21:50.480 the the character of a unified China completely depends upon 0:21:50.520 --> 0:21:54.040 which party you're talking to, because it's very different from 0:21:54.080 --> 0:21:58.200 the mainland perspective than from the Taiwan perspective, and part 0:21:58.240 --> 0:22:03.000 of that tension emerges as acts of industrial espionage, and 0:22:03.000 --> 0:22:05.720 the Taiwanese government is looking to pass some laws to 0:22:05.760 --> 0:22:09.960 protect the semiconductor industry from Chinese spies. The law would 0:22:09.960 --> 0:22:12.960 impose a punishment for people who leak trade secrets to 0:22:13.080 --> 0:22:17.119 China or to other foreign enemy forces, and that punishment 0:22:17.119 --> 0:22:19.679 could be a prison sentence of up to twelve years. 0:22:20.720 --> 0:22:23.359 The government is also looking to pass laws that would 0:22:23.359 --> 0:22:26.480 make it harder for China to lure away engineering talent 0:22:26.520 --> 0:22:30.480 from Taiwan. So far, these regulations are not yet law. 0:22:30.560 --> 0:22:33.760 The parliament in Taiwan will have to pass them before 0:22:33.800 --> 0:22:38.080 that will happen, and Taiwan's adversarial relationship with mainland China 0:22:38.280 --> 0:22:41.240 is one of many reasons as to why there's been 0:22:41.280 --> 0:22:43.920 such a strong push around the world to develop new 0:22:43.960 --> 0:22:48.840 semiconductor fabrication facilities because it helps mitigate risks. Part of 0:22:48.840 --> 0:22:53.400 it was because of issues with COVID impacting the supply chain, 0:22:53.440 --> 0:22:56.840 but another part is that should China ever take any 0:22:56.920 --> 0:23:00.920 serious action to try and absorb tai on, it would 0:23:00.920 --> 0:23:05.200 have a massive ripple effect through the semiconductor industry and 0:23:05.320 --> 0:23:09.399 tech as in general. Apple co founder Steve Wozniak is 0:23:09.440 --> 0:23:12.760 one of several people behind a company called Privateer, and 0:23:12.800 --> 0:23:14.560 the mission for that company is to set up a 0:23:14.600 --> 0:23:19.440 system that will identify track and catalog objects in space, 0:23:19.800 --> 0:23:23.880 so satellites and stuff, but also space junk, and then 0:23:24.080 --> 0:23:26.959 make that information available to companies and countries that are 0:23:26.960 --> 0:23:30.600 intending to launch satellites and other spacecraft into Earth orbit. 0:23:31.520 --> 0:23:35.440 Space junk stands as a real threat in space. Even 0:23:35.560 --> 0:23:38.720 tiny objects can cause massive damage because you have to remember, 0:23:39.119 --> 0:23:43.040 though they might be small, they're traveling super fast. And 0:23:43.119 --> 0:23:46.520 as we launch more stuff into orbit, then things get 0:23:46.560 --> 0:23:50.760 more and more crowded, and accidents like collisions can create 0:23:51.040 --> 0:23:53.359 a lot more space junk. Stuff can break apart and 0:23:53.440 --> 0:23:56.240 just create kind of like a shotgun pellet approach, except 0:23:56.320 --> 0:23:58.439 these are shotgun pellets that are traveling at thousands of 0:23:58.480 --> 0:24:02.640 miles per hour. And then there's the various military tests 0:24:02.640 --> 0:24:05.440 we've seen in which countries like China have used land 0:24:05.440 --> 0:24:10.119 based weapons systems to target orbiting satellites and destroy them, 0:24:10.119 --> 0:24:13.080 thus potentially creating a lot more space junk in orbit. 0:24:13.760 --> 0:24:16.439 So Privateers goal is to get a better picture of 0:24:16.480 --> 0:24:19.920 what's actually going on up there, What where are these pieces, 0:24:19.920 --> 0:24:22.879 how many are there, how fast are they traveling, what 0:24:23.119 --> 0:24:26.719 orbits are they in? And potentially that will allow us 0:24:26.720 --> 0:24:29.520 to spot problems early on and avoid them when we 0:24:29.560 --> 0:24:32.679 need to send missions out into space. Now, the company 0:24:32.760 --> 0:24:35.399 ultimately hopes to launch some satellites of its own in 0:24:35.440 --> 0:24:39.000 the future for the purposes of spotting and tracking space junk. 0:24:39.440 --> 0:24:43.040 And yes, I do recognize the irony of putting more 0:24:43.119 --> 0:24:45.760 stuff up into space so that you can figure out 0:24:45.760 --> 0:24:48.880 how much stuff is in space, But these satellites would 0:24:48.920 --> 0:24:51.639 in theory, be able to identify very small pieces of 0:24:51.640 --> 0:24:55.240 space junk, like on the order of ten centimeters or smaller. 0:24:56.000 --> 0:24:59.120 Uh So it could be incredibly valuable. In fact, having 0:24:59.119 --> 0:25:02.520 the information would be incredibly valuable. It would be great 0:25:03.080 --> 0:25:05.480 if we could find a way to clean up space junk. 0:25:06.400 --> 0:25:08.800 There have been some different proposals, and in fact I've 0:25:08.800 --> 0:25:11.240 seen some titles that seem to suggest that that's what 0:25:11.320 --> 0:25:15.080