1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:17,079 Speaker 1: joth In Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart 4 00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:21,000 Speaker 1: Radio and I love all things tech. It is time 5 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:26,799 Speaker 1: for the tech news for Tuesday, November two, twenty one, 6 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:29,400 Speaker 1: and we're gonna start off with some old news because 7 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 1: didn't do a news episode last Thursday. And as predicted Facebook, 8 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:38,320 Speaker 1: the company has changed its name to Meta, which is 9 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 1: pretty much in line with what The Verge predicted a 10 00:00:41,360 --> 00:00:44,360 Speaker 1: couple of weeks ago. Meta in this case is a 11 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:48,120 Speaker 1: reference to the concept of a metaverse, which in turn 12 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:51,560 Speaker 1: we typically envision as being an implementation of such things 13 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 1: as virtual reality and augmented reality, and a persistent online 14 00:00:56,640 --> 00:00:59,760 Speaker 1: virtual world where you can behave as if it were 15 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: the real world. You can, you know, do things like shopping, 16 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:07,480 Speaker 1: you can have entertainment. Essentially, you have this online, persistent 17 00:01:07,520 --> 00:01:12,000 Speaker 1: world that in some ways mirrors the real one, except 18 00:01:12,040 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 1: of course you're not burdened by reality. Right, So in 19 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:18,600 Speaker 1: the metaverse, you might have an entire social structure that 20 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: exists inside this virtual world, and you might have some 21 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:24,920 Speaker 1: elements of that environment spill out into the real world 22 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,679 Speaker 1: through stuff like augmented reality technology. So in a way, 23 00:01:28,840 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 1: it's an extension of the concept of social networks, only 24 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 1: they become even more immersive. Anyway, I'm sure you're all 25 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,479 Speaker 1: aware of the name change by now. There's very little 26 00:01:39,560 --> 00:01:41,920 Speaker 1: chance that I'm telling you this for the first time. 27 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:44,960 Speaker 1: Of course, Meta is still going to face a lot 28 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: of questions from political leaders around the world. A name 29 00:01:48,560 --> 00:01:51,600 Speaker 1: change is not magically going to make all the critics 30 00:01:51,600 --> 00:01:54,880 Speaker 1: who want to split the company up say, oh, well, 31 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:58,160 Speaker 1: Facebook's gone now. I mean, Facebook the platform is still there, 32 00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:00,880 Speaker 1: but Facebook the company's gone. We're not, and I don't 33 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: think that's going to happen. And I suspect as leaders 34 00:02:03,400 --> 00:02:06,280 Speaker 1: get their heads wrapped around what a metaverse actually is 35 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:09,640 Speaker 1: and how it would enable a company like you know, 36 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: former Facebook now Meta to track even more information about people. 37 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:17,240 Speaker 1: There's going to be more questions, or at least I 38 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:21,280 Speaker 1: hope there will be. NBC News reports that an internal 39 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:25,800 Speaker 1: blog post at what was then Facebook and now as Meta. 40 00:02:26,320 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: This is just going to be tiresome anyway, It revealed 41 00:02:29,240 --> 00:02:33,280 Speaker 1: that the company was actively pursuing opportunities to market to kids, 42 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,360 Speaker 1: kids as young as six years old. In fact, the 43 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 1: blog post identified five different age groups that the company 44 00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: was you know, kind of delineating as targets. They had 45 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:48,400 Speaker 1: the six to nine age group, ten to twelve, thirteen 46 00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:52,720 Speaker 1: to fifteen, sixteen to seventeen, and then everybody else. And 47 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: I should add that this blog post specifically mentioned stuff 48 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:58,880 Speaker 1: like making sure the company protected the security and privacy 49 00:02:58,880 --> 00:03:01,440 Speaker 1: of users, So at least there's that like this was 50 00:03:01,480 --> 00:03:04,960 Speaker 1: an internal blog post, it wasn't outward facing. The fact 51 00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:08,040 Speaker 1: that they even mentioned that we need to do this 52 00:03:08,080 --> 00:03:12,360 Speaker 1: in a responsible way is at least somewhat comforting, I guess, 53 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:14,480 Speaker 1: But I would say this is more grist for the 54 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:18,600 Speaker 1: mill when it comes to scrutinizing this enormous company and 55 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: it's various strategies involving user experiences and more importantly, how 56 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:28,160 Speaker 1: the company generates revenue based on user behaviors and how 57 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: much data they are collecting from users. Now, as I 58 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 1: mentioned last week, the Facebook platform itself has seen a 59 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: decline in use among younger folks, and so this is 60 00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: likely part of the company's overall strategy to find ways 61 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:45,800 Speaker 1: to attract new users, not necessarily to the Facebook platform, 62 00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:47,800 Speaker 1: although I'm sure that's part of it. But you know 63 00:03:47,840 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 1: to the company's services. Overall, Facebook reps defended the blog post. 64 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:56,000 Speaker 1: They argued that really, any business that interfaces with the 65 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,840 Speaker 1: public is always trying to attract new and younger people 66 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:02,640 Speaker 1: all the time. Like, if you get people, you know, 67 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 1: to connect with your product at a young age, you 68 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: might have a customer for life. So in that sense, yeah, 69 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:11,160 Speaker 1: that that really does make sense. And in fact, Facebook 70 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:13,040 Speaker 1: said the only thing that would be newsworthy is if 71 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:16,440 Speaker 1: the company wasn't doing this. However, I would add it 72 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:19,599 Speaker 1: is a little creepy when you think that as a 73 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 1: kind of preventive measure, Facebook said, an age limit on 74 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,560 Speaker 1: who could have a Facebook or an Instagram profile, you know, 75 00:04:26,560 --> 00:04:28,920 Speaker 1: you have to be thirteen or older. And that seems 76 00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:32,320 Speaker 1: like it's a tacit acknowledgement that the services the company 77 00:04:32,360 --> 00:04:36,280 Speaker 1: provides might not be a good fit for younger users. 78 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:39,240 Speaker 1: And when you take the blog post in concert with 79 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,560 Speaker 1: the thousands of other documents that have emerged thanks to 80 00:04:42,600 --> 00:04:46,719 Speaker 1: whistleblower Francis Hogan, it all starts to look a little sinister. 81 00:04:47,279 --> 00:04:52,000 Speaker 1: So yeah, I guess companies that are you know, in 82 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:56,599 Speaker 1: the business of dealing with you know, the average consumer 83 00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:59,119 Speaker 1: are always looking to find a way of tapping into 84 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:02,559 Speaker 1: that at a young or age. But um, that doesn't 85 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: mean it's always good. I mean I could easily point 86 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:12,479 Speaker 1: to the case of say, cigarette companies using cartoonish mascots 87 00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:15,679 Speaker 1: to market their cigarettes and how that is not really 88 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:19,000 Speaker 1: a good thing. But we'll leave it for here. Now 89 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:23,560 Speaker 1: let's talk about data tracking for a second. So Apple 90 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:27,560 Speaker 1: introduced the App Tracking Transparency Policy last year, and this 91 00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:32,000 Speaker 1: policy sets firm rules that iOS apps must follow. That is, 92 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:35,840 Speaker 1: apps that appear on Apple's app stores have to follow 93 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: these rules or else Apple won't carry them. So, if 94 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:44,240 Speaker 1: the app is tracking data in any way, it first 95 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:46,760 Speaker 1: has to request user permission to do so and to 96 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:50,839 Speaker 1: talk about which types of of data it intends to track. 97 00:05:51,279 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 1: So if a user says no thanks, then the app 98 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:58,080 Speaker 1: is not allowed to track that data. To say that 99 00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 1: some companies were upset about this would be underplaying it. 100 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:03,400 Speaker 1: I mean. Facebook went so far as to take out 101 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:07,839 Speaker 1: a full page newspaper ad arguing against the policy, saying 102 00:06:07,880 --> 00:06:10,800 Speaker 1: that you know it would interfere with the Facebook apps 103 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:13,960 Speaker 1: performance and give users the mistaken impression that you know, 104 00:06:14,279 --> 00:06:17,599 Speaker 1: Facebook is collecting loads of private information or to monetize 105 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:22,359 Speaker 1: the info which was actually the correct implication because that 106 00:06:22,480 --> 00:06:25,880 Speaker 1: is what the company does well. Now. The Financial Times 107 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:30,000 Speaker 1: reports that companies like you know, Meta Slash, Facebook and 108 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:35,400 Speaker 1: Snap and Twitter and YouTube lost nearly ten billion dollars 109 00:06:35,480 --> 00:06:38,920 Speaker 1: last year due to this policy, and by lost, I 110 00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:41,720 Speaker 1: mean they weren't able to capitalize on user data for 111 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:45,279 Speaker 1: those users who opted out of the data tracking. Snap 112 00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 1: was hit particularly hard, which is not a big surprise 113 00:06:48,200 --> 00:06:52,280 Speaker 1: because Snap does not exist outside of the mobile experience. 114 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 1: Right There's no desktop version for Snapchat, so that would 115 00:06:56,920 --> 00:07:00,000 Speaker 1: explain how that company was hit particularly hard because there 116 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 1: no other platform for it to depend upon. Uh. Interestingly, 117 00:07:04,279 --> 00:07:07,360 Speaker 1: Apple itself has been found to engage in practices that 118 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:10,280 Speaker 1: break its own rules, so you know, I'm not giving 119 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:12,720 Speaker 1: Apple a full pass on this one. I think that 120 00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:15,640 Speaker 1: the policy is a good one, but only if everybody 121 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:19,240 Speaker 1: be behaves and everyone follows it, you know, Apple included. 122 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:22,120 Speaker 1: But it does also show a couple of things. And one, 123 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:27,559 Speaker 1: it shows that your data is valuable, so you should 124 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:31,760 Speaker 1: think about treating it as such, that it has value, 125 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 1: and so think about that, you know, take value in it. 126 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:40,120 Speaker 1: There are people who have proposed systems that would require 127 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: companies to pay folks directly in order to be able 128 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:46,720 Speaker 1: to use their data. That's how valuable. It is. Not 129 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:50,280 Speaker 1: that those policies have actually, you know, seen any real traction, 130 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:55,560 Speaker 1: because companies obviously have a strong incentive to resist that, 131 00:07:56,160 --> 00:07:58,720 Speaker 1: but it shows how how valuable the data is too. 132 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 1: This shows these apps are tracking you in tons of 133 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:04,480 Speaker 1: different ways, and those ways might relate back to the 134 00:08:04,480 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 1: way the app functions, So there could be some legit 135 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 1: arguments that the data tracking is necessary in order for 136 00:08:10,840 --> 00:08:13,400 Speaker 1: you to have full functionality of the app. But this 137 00:08:13,480 --> 00:08:18,080 Speaker 1: also reminds us that our phones are constantly data gathering machines. 138 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 1: Sin since we pretty much take them everywhere we go, 139 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:24,080 Speaker 1: it means we're always being tracked, and the stuff we 140 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 1: do is being tracked. The stuff we look up on 141 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:30,120 Speaker 1: our phones is being tracked. Just good to remember, you know. 142 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 1: Fun times Up in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest in 143 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: the United States, there's a bit of a brew haha 144 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:42,040 Speaker 1: going on regarding Google and its use of water near 145 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:45,560 Speaker 1: the city of the Dowells. That's two words, It's the 146 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:48,959 Speaker 1: and dows d A L L. E. S. Actually had 147 00:08:49,000 --> 00:08:51,920 Speaker 1: to look up how to say that so I wouldn't 148 00:08:51,920 --> 00:08:56,360 Speaker 1: get the pronunciation wrong. Google has data centers in the 149 00:08:56,440 --> 00:09:00,280 Speaker 1: Dowells on a site of an old aluminum smelting facility 150 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:03,760 Speaker 1: that closed down years ago, like in the eighties, uh, 151 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:06,400 Speaker 1: and they built data centers there, and the company plans 152 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:09,760 Speaker 1: to build a couple more of those massive data centers. Well, 153 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:11,679 Speaker 1: you know, buildings that are filled with computers that are 154 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:14,320 Speaker 1: running all the time get pretty hot and you have 155 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:17,360 Speaker 1: to keep computers from overheating or else stuff breaks down. 156 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:21,040 Speaker 1: So as part of this plan, Google negotiated with the 157 00:09:21,080 --> 00:09:24,200 Speaker 1: city council of the Dolls and they got a new 158 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:27,880 Speaker 1: deal when it comes to water rights. You know, Google 159 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:31,640 Speaker 1: uses water to pull heat away from these computers and 160 00:09:31,679 --> 00:09:34,640 Speaker 1: then through a heat exchanger, cools the heated water back 161 00:09:34,679 --> 00:09:38,199 Speaker 1: down and can recirculate it through the system in order 162 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:40,240 Speaker 1: to keep things at a good operating temperature. Although it 163 00:09:40,280 --> 00:09:43,199 Speaker 1: does mean that they have to occasionally bring in more water, 164 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:46,080 Speaker 1: so it's like a water cooled BC, only on an 165 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:49,200 Speaker 1: epic scale. Anyway, this would mean Google would have to 166 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:52,559 Speaker 1: collect more water from the area, and it's an area 167 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:55,360 Speaker 1: that's also been hit with droughts in the recent past, 168 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:58,400 Speaker 1: so this has led some residents to become a bit 169 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:01,880 Speaker 1: concerned over the matter, and making it worse is that 170 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:05,720 Speaker 1: the amount of water that Google wants is a secret. 171 00:10:06,240 --> 00:10:10,160 Speaker 1: According to the City of the Dolls, Google's request constitutes 172 00:10:10,200 --> 00:10:12,640 Speaker 1: a trade secret, and so the city is not allowed 173 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:16,160 Speaker 1: to share the information with residents. So the city council knows, 174 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:20,040 Speaker 1: but they can't tell. According to other entities in Oregon, 175 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:22,640 Speaker 1: the use of water is a matter of public interest 176 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:27,600 Speaker 1: and that supersedes any trade secret. Moreover, those people who 177 00:10:27,600 --> 00:10:30,760 Speaker 1: are concerned have pointed out that Google doesn't provide information 178 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:33,480 Speaker 1: about how much water it needs because the city has 179 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:36,400 Speaker 1: an information. They know how much water Google needs, and 180 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:39,559 Speaker 1: that means that the city is refusing to share information 181 00:10:39,640 --> 00:10:43,400 Speaker 1: with the citizens of the city. The newspaper the Oregonians 182 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:46,560 Speaker 1: sued to get access to that information, and a judge 183 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:50,839 Speaker 1: sided with the newspaper, But now the city has countersued 184 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:54,760 Speaker 1: the newspaper in order to keep the information secret. Meanwhile, 185 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:57,199 Speaker 1: there's a vote coming up on the matter, and a 186 00:10:57,320 --> 00:10:59,760 Speaker 1: vote that's really only open to the city council members, 187 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:02,880 Speaker 1: not the public, and there's no chance that this particular 188 00:11:03,000 --> 00:11:06,920 Speaker 1: legal matter will be resolved before the vote happens. So things, 189 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:09,679 Speaker 1: as you might imagine, are a little bit tense up 190 00:11:09,679 --> 00:11:13,000 Speaker 1: in the dolls. The city council says that Google's plan 191 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:16,720 Speaker 1: will actually mean the more water will be provided to 192 00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:20,080 Speaker 1: the city, because Google will be contributing nearly thirty million 193 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:23,440 Speaker 1: dollars to expand water services for the area. But the 194 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:26,640 Speaker 1: secrecy around how much water the company needs seems to 195 00:11:26,640 --> 00:11:30,040 Speaker 1: be feeding into a general distrust of Google and the 196 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:32,800 Speaker 1: city council, at least according to a piece I read 197 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:36,840 Speaker 1: on Oregon Live dot com. We've got some more stories 198 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:38,960 Speaker 1: to cover, but before we get to that, let's take 199 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:48,760 Speaker 1: a quick break. Before the break, I was talking about 200 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,400 Speaker 1: Google and Oregon. I've got another Google story here, which 201 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:55,199 Speaker 1: involves a worker petition that's aimed at convincing both Google 202 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:58,320 Speaker 1: and Amazon to back out of a deal that the 203 00:11:58,360 --> 00:12:01,920 Speaker 1: companies have made with is Real. The deal is called 204 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:05,480 Speaker 1: Project Nimbus, and as you might suspect with that name, 205 00:12:05,520 --> 00:12:10,280 Speaker 1: it involves cloud computing centers. The workers who are leading 206 00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:15,400 Speaker 1: the petition are two Jewish Google employees, and they're worried 207 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:19,720 Speaker 1: that the cloud computing tech quote allows for further surveillance 208 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:25,199 Speaker 1: of an unlawful data collection on Palestinians and facilitates expansion 209 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:29,920 Speaker 1: of Israel's illegal settlements on the Palestinian land end quote, 210 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:32,679 Speaker 1: and the two say that more than one thousand employees 211 00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:35,840 Speaker 1: have signed a petition, though the petition itself allows employees 212 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:38,839 Speaker 1: to remain anonymous, and all but three have done so, 213 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:42,319 Speaker 1: so it's obviously hard to verify. According to the Jewish 214 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:46,480 Speaker 1: Telegraphic Agency, the cloud computing contract has clauses in it 215 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:49,800 Speaker 1: that are meant to prevent Amazon and Google from pulling 216 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:51,760 Speaker 1: out of the deal, even if they're under the threat 217 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:55,319 Speaker 1: of boycott, so it's questionable whether the petition will make 218 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:59,240 Speaker 1: any headway, though it does bring more attention to the project. 219 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:05,200 Speaker 1: Last week, I talked about how Hurts, the rental car company, 220 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:11,040 Speaker 1: had signed a deal with Tesla to buy one hundred 221 00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:14,920 Speaker 1: thousand Tesla vehicles by the end of next year. Well 222 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:17,760 Speaker 1: Elon Musk then went out and tweeted that the ink 223 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:19,840 Speaker 1: has not even been put to paper yet, that no 224 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:23,800 Speaker 1: contract has been signed, which, hey, you know, woopsie, because 225 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:27,199 Speaker 1: you know, the initial news about that deal pushed Tesla 226 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:30,640 Speaker 1: stock value up more than ten percent, like around twelve 227 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:33,880 Speaker 1: percent actually, so that means if you had Tesla stock, 228 00:13:34,240 --> 00:13:37,400 Speaker 1: you potentially could have seen your wealth increase pretty dramatically 229 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:40,640 Speaker 1: before Musk revealed that the deal hadn't actually been done yet, 230 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:44,600 Speaker 1: which you know, elon Musk and the stock market, there 231 00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:48,040 Speaker 1: are all these stories that don't paint Musk in a 232 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:52,040 Speaker 1: very good light in the way he communicates things. Um. 233 00:13:52,080 --> 00:13:55,040 Speaker 1: But then, to be fair, if the contract wasn't signed 234 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:57,840 Speaker 1: and someone claimed that it was, it's not really on 235 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:01,480 Speaker 1: Musk's shoulders this time. But yeah, stock markets are fun, 236 00:14:01,559 --> 00:14:03,360 Speaker 1: and by fun I mean we all play pretend and 237 00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:06,559 Speaker 1: hoping you make money. A Hurts, by the way, is 238 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:09,040 Speaker 1: still communicating as though this has been a done deal 239 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:11,840 Speaker 1: for some time. In fact, the company had told the 240 00:14:11,840 --> 00:14:15,520 Speaker 1: BBC that Hurts is already receiving deliveries of Tesla vehicles, 241 00:14:15,520 --> 00:14:19,200 Speaker 1: so that's kind of weird, right. Hurts was directly asked 242 00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 1: by the BBC if the contract was in fact signed, 243 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:23,920 Speaker 1: and a rep said, oh, we don't comment on business 244 00:14:23,920 --> 00:14:29,400 Speaker 1: dealings to the press. Yeah, okay. Tesla is also opening 245 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:31,960 Speaker 1: up a program in the Netherlands that will help people 246 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:35,600 Speaker 1: with e vs UH for the first time evs, by 247 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:38,400 Speaker 1: the way, electric vehicles for the first time. Tesla is 248 00:14:38,400 --> 00:14:43,080 Speaker 1: opening up ten supercharger locations in the Netherlands to people 249 00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:45,880 Speaker 1: who are driving any type of electric vehicle not just 250 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,880 Speaker 1: Tesla vehicles. Previously, you needed to be driving a Tesla 251 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:53,440 Speaker 1: in order to make use of the supercharger stations. Now 252 00:14:53,560 --> 00:14:56,520 Speaker 1: anyone in the Netherlands with an electric vehicle can establish 253 00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:00,080 Speaker 1: an account with Tesla through the company's mobile app uh A, 254 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:04,120 Speaker 1: establish a payment method in the app, and they use 255 00:15:04,200 --> 00:15:07,920 Speaker 1: a selection called charge your Non Tesla, which will then 256 00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:12,080 Speaker 1: give them directions to a participating supercharger station and they 257 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:14,800 Speaker 1: pay through the app. There are a few other steps 258 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:18,320 Speaker 1: for non Tesla drivers. The supercharger stations were made to 259 00:15:18,360 --> 00:15:21,160 Speaker 1: be compatible with Tesla vehicles, and with a Tesla car, 260 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:23,800 Speaker 1: it's essentially plug in play. You plug it in, it 261 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:26,320 Speaker 1: does everything on its own. It automatically shuts off when 262 00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:30,680 Speaker 1: it's done charging. But for non Tesla evs, users will 263 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:33,600 Speaker 1: actually have to indicate in the app when the charging 264 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:36,960 Speaker 1: station should begin charging the car and when it should stop. 265 00:15:37,800 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 1: It will also cost non Tesla drivers a bit more 266 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:44,760 Speaker 1: to do it than Tesla owners will have to pay. Now, 267 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:46,960 Speaker 1: will we see the same sort of program rolled out 268 00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:49,720 Speaker 1: in the United States. In order for that to happen, 269 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:53,280 Speaker 1: we would need some special adapters because here in the States, 270 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:57,840 Speaker 1: Tesla has proprietary connectors that means no other EV company 271 00:15:57,920 --> 00:16:01,360 Speaker 1: makes a port that fits the Tesla a charging system, 272 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:03,600 Speaker 1: but the company has indicated that this is the way 273 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:06,160 Speaker 1: of the future. So I suspect we'll see Tesla offering 274 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:08,720 Speaker 1: up adapters, you know, for a fee, of course, so 275 00:16:08,760 --> 00:16:10,800 Speaker 1: that EV drivers in the US will be able to 276 00:16:10,800 --> 00:16:15,320 Speaker 1: take advantage of supercharger locations whenever the company chooses to 277 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:18,600 Speaker 1: make that available, and that will be a good thing 278 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:23,560 Speaker 1: because it will extend the driving range of electric vehicles effectively, 279 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:26,560 Speaker 1: like you don't have to search around for a charging 280 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:28,520 Speaker 1: station if you have an app that tells you where 281 00:16:28,560 --> 00:16:31,680 Speaker 1: the next one is, that's really useful. Back in two 282 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:35,320 Speaker 1: thousand sixteen, Dell, the computer company that was made famous 283 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:39,120 Speaker 1: in my childhood with the marketing phrase dude, you're getting 284 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:42,840 Speaker 1: a Dell, merged with a company that's called e m C. 285 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:46,680 Speaker 1: And as a result of that merger, the virtualization and 286 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:51,400 Speaker 1: cloud computing company vm ware essentially came along for the ride, 287 00:16:51,400 --> 00:16:55,560 Speaker 1: with Dell gaining more than eight percent ownership of vm ware. 288 00:16:56,080 --> 00:16:58,080 Speaker 1: But over the last few years, Dell has begun to 289 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:00,920 Speaker 1: spin off some of its acquired properties, mostly in an 290 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:04,320 Speaker 1: effort to manage debt. Vm Where is the latest of 291 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:07,760 Speaker 1: those spinoffs, and now Dell has divested itself of its 292 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:11,280 Speaker 1: more than ownership of vm Ware, and vm Ware is 293 00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:17,800 Speaker 1: an independent company. Vm Ware's CEO UM released a statement 294 00:17:17,800 --> 00:17:21,720 Speaker 1: that says, quote as a standalone company, we now have 295 00:17:21,880 --> 00:17:24,959 Speaker 1: the flexibility to partner even more deeply with all cloud 296 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:28,880 Speaker 1: and on premises infrastructure companies to create a better foundation 297 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:32,160 Speaker 1: that drives results for our customers. Today's move will strengthen 298 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:35,359 Speaker 1: our mission to be the Switzerland of the cloud computing 299 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:41,720 Speaker 1: industry end quote which cool. Last month I talked about 300 00:17:41,760 --> 00:17:45,720 Speaker 1: how US telecom companies are to remove Huahwei equipment from 301 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:49,520 Speaker 1: their networks, which is a directive from the United States government. 302 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:53,240 Speaker 1: Last Friday, that effort began in earnest as the FCC 303 00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:57,960 Speaker 1: launched a reimbursement program. This will allow telecom companies to 304 00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:01,960 Speaker 1: seek financial assistance to actually make this happen, because it's 305 00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:05,800 Speaker 1: a pretty tricky thing to do, particularly if you want 306 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 1: to avoid interruptions in service when you've got a network 307 00:18:09,119 --> 00:18:12,480 Speaker 1: with all these pieces that are working together. Removing pieces 308 00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:15,000 Speaker 1: after they're all integrated is not the easiest thing in 309 00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:19,199 Speaker 1: the world to do. However, once these companies get a check, well, 310 00:18:19,240 --> 00:18:23,040 Speaker 1: the timers starts for them, because the rules state that 311 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:26,800 Speaker 1: the companies that receive financial assistance have a year to 312 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:30,880 Speaker 1: remove network components once those checks come in. These are 313 00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:33,800 Speaker 1: networks components supplied by Huawei as well as a second 314 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:39,239 Speaker 1: Chinese company called Zte corp Or Corporation. And you might wonder, well, 315 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:41,359 Speaker 1: why is this even happening in the first place, And 316 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:45,159 Speaker 1: it's largely concerned about national security. China has been responsible 317 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:49,280 Speaker 1: for and home to many surveillance and espionage efforts against 318 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:53,240 Speaker 1: other nations, particularly the United States, and it's pretty well 319 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:56,680 Speaker 1: known that China's government funds hacker groups to target US 320 00:18:56,760 --> 00:19:01,480 Speaker 1: based businesses and institutions. And so the thinking goes, it 321 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:05,200 Speaker 1: might not be a great idea to rely upon critical 322 00:19:05,240 --> 00:19:09,080 Speaker 1: network infrastructure that came out of China. As you know, 323 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:12,719 Speaker 1: it's it's possible that Chinese companies have built in ways 324 00:19:13,080 --> 00:19:18,160 Speaker 1: in which these companies could perform espionage duties on behalf 325 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:22,000 Speaker 1: of the Chinese government. Um And I should add that 326 00:19:22,080 --> 00:19:25,080 Speaker 1: the companies deny that this would be the case, But then, 327 00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:28,640 Speaker 1: considering the amount of influence China's government has on Chinese companies, 328 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:33,400 Speaker 1: it could be a little difficult to accept that claim. 329 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:35,680 Speaker 1: We've got a few more stories, but we're gonna take 330 00:19:35,720 --> 00:19:45,159 Speaker 1: one more break and we'll be right back. Okay, we 331 00:19:45,359 --> 00:19:47,800 Speaker 1: left off in China. Let's go back to China, because 332 00:19:47,840 --> 00:19:51,679 Speaker 1: that's where Yahoo has called it quits. And some of 333 00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:54,000 Speaker 1: you might even be surprised that Yahoo is still a thing, 334 00:19:54,119 --> 00:19:57,680 Speaker 1: because that company had its own dramatic rise and fall 335 00:19:57,880 --> 00:20:05,200 Speaker 1: and sort of was scavenged from the wreckage. But yeah, 336 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:08,440 Speaker 1: it was operating in China. But over the years, in fact, 337 00:20:08,480 --> 00:20:11,600 Speaker 1: since like two thousand thirteen or so, Yeahoo had been 338 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:16,200 Speaker 1: shutting down services in that country, and now it has 339 00:20:16,359 --> 00:20:19,560 Speaker 1: ended all operations in China, stating that the move is 340 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:24,159 Speaker 1: quote in recognition of the increasingly challenging business and legal 341 00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:28,119 Speaker 1: environment end quote, which is a very polite way of 342 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:32,240 Speaker 1: saying that it's incredibly hard to do business in China 343 00:20:32,359 --> 00:20:35,920 Speaker 1: for many reasons, especially in the tech industry, and most 344 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:39,760 Speaker 1: of the reasons get pretty ugly when you start digging down. 345 00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:44,160 Speaker 1: For example, China's government has been passing legislation that puts 346 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:48,040 Speaker 1: tight restrictions on tech companies and limiting their services dramatically. 347 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:52,520 Speaker 1: Many of these regulations restrict how and when Chinese citizens 348 00:20:52,560 --> 00:20:57,000 Speaker 1: can access tech services. China's government states it's cracking down 349 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:00,359 Speaker 1: on practices that could tend towards monopolistic control of a 350 00:21:00,400 --> 00:21:03,679 Speaker 1: particular industry or field. And I can get behind the 351 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:07,119 Speaker 1: idea that we should not allow monopolies to happen, but 352 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:09,840 Speaker 1: in the case of China, it's hard not to view 353 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:13,240 Speaker 1: the government itself as wanting to hold monopolistic control of 354 00:21:13,280 --> 00:21:16,359 Speaker 1: pretty much everything, at least as far as what citizens 355 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:19,080 Speaker 1: can access. So in other words, I guess there's not 356 00:21:19,119 --> 00:21:23,000 Speaker 1: really any good guys here. And while China has an 357 00:21:23,119 --> 00:21:28,160 Speaker 1: enormous population and thus a potentially huge market, these increased 358 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:31,440 Speaker 1: regulations and restrictions have convinced more than a few companies 359 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:35,719 Speaker 1: to abandon operations in China as it has started to 360 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:39,000 Speaker 1: get to be more trouble than what it's worth, which 361 00:21:39,280 --> 00:21:42,199 Speaker 1: is mind blowing, right. You think about more than a 362 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:46,280 Speaker 1: billion people live there and for that to be more 363 00:21:46,320 --> 00:21:49,000 Speaker 1: trouble than what it's worth and to pull out, that's 364 00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:51,480 Speaker 1: a lot of trouble, y'all, because that's a lot of 365 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:55,680 Speaker 1: money left on the table. Gamers who love hedgehogs might 366 00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:59,560 Speaker 1: be excited to learn that Sega, the Japanese video game 367 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:02,879 Speaker 1: company famous for Sonic in the Hedgehog, announced it was 368 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:08,399 Speaker 1: forming a strategic alliance with Microsoft by leveraging Microsoft's Azure program. 369 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:12,320 Speaker 1: So Azure is a cloud computing service and it's typically 370 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:16,439 Speaker 1: used to develop and manage apps. Sega's plan is to 371 00:22:16,520 --> 00:22:19,280 Speaker 1: form a new process when it comes to game development. 372 00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:23,119 Speaker 1: Sega has an initiative called super Game and this is 373 00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:26,080 Speaker 1: part of it. It's really an incredible effort to overhaul 374 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:29,399 Speaker 1: how the company i dates and develops games and to 375 00:22:29,480 --> 00:22:33,080 Speaker 1: tap into the potential of five G connectivity. So there's 376 00:22:33,119 --> 00:22:36,320 Speaker 1: been the tendency toward cloud gaming over the last couple 377 00:22:36,359 --> 00:22:39,360 Speaker 1: of years, and what was at first a really jan 378 00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:44,080 Speaker 1: Kee experiences gradually evolved and Sega is banking on the 379 00:22:44,119 --> 00:22:47,879 Speaker 1: gaming of the future to be largely mobile and connected, 380 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:51,439 Speaker 1: and so the company is leaning on a cloud based 381 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 1: service like Azure, which makes sense. The website nicaia Asia 382 00:22:57,240 --> 00:23:02,119 Speaker 1: reports that Nintendo will produce twenty fewer Nintendo Switch consoles 383 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:07,440 Speaker 1: for fiscal year one than was originally predicted. And for Nintendo, 384 00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:12,960 Speaker 1: the fiscal year ends in March, so March. Of the 385 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:16,760 Speaker 1: reason for the decline isn't due to decreased demand, but 386 00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:21,120 Speaker 1: rather to the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage. The original plan 387 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:23,880 Speaker 1: was for Nintendo to produce as many as thirty million 388 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:26,879 Speaker 1: Switch consoles, but the final number will be closer to 389 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:31,040 Speaker 1: twenty four million. And this is a pretty tough story. 390 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:34,000 Speaker 1: I mean, the company has seen declining sales of the Switch, 391 00:23:34,640 --> 00:23:37,320 Speaker 1: but the demand for the console is still super high. 392 00:23:37,359 --> 00:23:39,720 Speaker 1: So that means the reason for the decline in sales 393 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:44,240 Speaker 1: is largely issues with production. If the company could just 394 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:47,520 Speaker 1: ramp up production, those sales numbers would likely be going 395 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:50,679 Speaker 1: in the opposite direction. This is a strong example of 396 00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:54,320 Speaker 1: how supply chain issues can have huge impacts on company performance, 397 00:23:54,600 --> 00:23:57,400 Speaker 1: not just for video game consoles, but for everything from 398 00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:04,320 Speaker 1: computers to graphics cards to cars. In News of the Obvious, 399 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:09,640 Speaker 1: the Squid cryptocurrency, supposedly tying into the popular Squid game 400 00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:14,359 Speaker 1: TV series from Korea has turned out to be a scam. Now, 401 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:17,840 Speaker 1: I say that it's news of the obvious because when 402 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:22,359 Speaker 1: it comes to red flags, the Squid cryptocurrency really took 403 00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:26,960 Speaker 1: the cake. For one thing, you could buy squid currency, 404 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:30,400 Speaker 1: but you couldn't sell it. That's kind of weird, right, 405 00:24:30,440 --> 00:24:33,560 Speaker 1: I Mean then you're like, well, how is this a commodity? 406 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:37,000 Speaker 1: I mean, how is it an actual cryptocurrency? If you 407 00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:40,840 Speaker 1: can only exchange it in one direction with real currency 408 00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:44,600 Speaker 1: for the squid based currency. That should have been a 409 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,399 Speaker 1: huge red flag right away. On top of that, the 410 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:50,399 Speaker 1: website promoting squid said the crypto was going to be 411 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 1: used in an online game that was inspired by the 412 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:58,439 Speaker 1: TV series where people play various childlike games but for 413 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:04,280 Speaker 1: very very high stakes, So you could purchase these cryptocurrency tokens, 414 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:07,000 Speaker 1: and then the idea was he would use these tokens 415 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:11,240 Speaker 1: inside this online game. But the site also that was 416 00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:14,040 Speaker 1: promoting this also had tons of spelling errors in it, 417 00:25:14,480 --> 00:25:16,479 Speaker 1: and that at least suggested that the people who were 418 00:25:16,520 --> 00:25:19,560 Speaker 1: behind it were not being terribly careful in setting it up, 419 00:25:19,840 --> 00:25:23,800 Speaker 1: which is another big red flag. Well, the creators of 420 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:27,480 Speaker 1: this supposed cryptocurrency took the money and then they ran. 421 00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:31,160 Speaker 1: The value had gone up to nearly three thousand dollars 422 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:35,639 Speaker 1: per squid unit, and that's when the scam artists pulled 423 00:25:35,680 --> 00:25:37,960 Speaker 1: the plug. They pulled all their money out of it, 424 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:41,679 Speaker 1: probably fearing that their ruse would be discovered before they 425 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:44,360 Speaker 1: could cash out, and then the value of squid went 426 00:25:44,440 --> 00:25:47,240 Speaker 1: from being nearly three grand a unit to a big 427 00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:52,280 Speaker 1: old fat goose egg that is zero. So the con artists. 428 00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:55,560 Speaker 1: They made off with a couple of million dollars of 429 00:25:55,600 --> 00:25:58,119 Speaker 1: real money. Keep in mind, this is like a fake cryptocurrency, 430 00:25:58,160 --> 00:25:59,760 Speaker 1: so it's not like they were able to cash out 431 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:03,800 Speaker 1: their cryptocurrency and get all that value back. The value, 432 00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:08,040 Speaker 1: or the perceived value anyway, was probably in the you know, 433 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:10,640 Speaker 1: dozens of not hundreds of millions of dollars, but they 434 00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:14,080 Speaker 1: just took the real money and ran with it. So 435 00:26:14,119 --> 00:26:16,280 Speaker 1: this was a heck of an attack of opportunity. The 436 00:26:16,359 --> 00:26:19,640 Speaker 1: hucksters tapped into a love of a popular TV series, 437 00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:24,200 Speaker 1: the desire to virtually play in Squid Game, which I mean, 438 00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:26,600 Speaker 1: if you've seen the show, you would know that the 439 00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:29,800 Speaker 1: only way you would want to play is virtually and 440 00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:34,560 Speaker 1: also depended upon the general ignorance that folks have about cryptocurrency. Now, 441 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:37,560 Speaker 1: I hope none of you got pulled into this scam now, 442 00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:41,640 Speaker 1: just in case it did happen to you, Like that sucks, 443 00:26:42,119 --> 00:26:45,639 Speaker 1: but don't feel like terrible about it. I have done 444 00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:50,520 Speaker 1: some monumentally dumb things in the past when my enthusiasm 445 00:26:50,600 --> 00:26:52,600 Speaker 1: got the better of me, where I got so excited 446 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:55,959 Speaker 1: about something I failed to really think about what I 447 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:58,720 Speaker 1: was doing, and I ended up paying the price later. 448 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:01,080 Speaker 1: So I am not immune to this kind of thing. 449 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:03,600 Speaker 1: I don't mean to suggest that I'm above it all. 450 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:07,359 Speaker 1: It's why I actually mentioned critical thinking so often in 451 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:10,480 Speaker 1: this this podcast. It's not just to tell you to 452 00:27:10,640 --> 00:27:13,919 Speaker 1: use critical thinking. It's also to remind me that I 453 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:18,720 Speaker 1: need to do the same. Finally, do you remember the 454 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:22,280 Speaker 1: rewind videos that YouTube used to make. They started doing 455 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:25,359 Speaker 1: them in two thousand eleven, crafting ah from two thousand 456 00:27:25,400 --> 00:27:28,080 Speaker 1: eleven two thousand eighteen. It was kind of a montage 457 00:27:28,640 --> 00:27:31,200 Speaker 1: set to music. They would feature some of the most 458 00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:36,120 Speaker 1: popular YouTube creators and channels in a video celebrating the year, 459 00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:39,960 Speaker 1: and it would have like a loose thematic link between 460 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:44,680 Speaker 1: the creators, often grouping tons of people who otherwise never 461 00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:48,120 Speaker 1: interacted with each other. They just all made popular videos, 462 00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:51,640 Speaker 1: all being like in a bus or something. Um well, 463 00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:56,080 Speaker 1: they didn't do one in because, you know, was a 464 00:27:56,119 --> 00:27:59,399 Speaker 1: total bust. Plus getting a bunch of people together for 465 00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:03,040 Speaker 1: a complicate did choreograph video shoot probably sounded like a 466 00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:07,200 Speaker 1: bad idea during a pandemic. Now YouTube says that it's 467 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:11,840 Speaker 1: not gonna do rewind videos moving forward. It is made 468 00:28:11,840 --> 00:28:14,960 Speaker 1: its last one. By the way, the two thousand uh 469 00:28:15,119 --> 00:28:19,160 Speaker 1: nineteen rewind video was slightly different from the ones from 470 00:28:19,160 --> 00:28:21,920 Speaker 1: two thousand eleven to two thousand eighteen. That's because two 471 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:26,000 Speaker 1: thousand eighteen was received so poorly. It became the most 472 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:29,919 Speaker 1: down voted video of all time within one week of 473 00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:33,760 Speaker 1: it being up, largely because there were certain people who 474 00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:36,240 Speaker 1: were left out of the video. Some of them I 475 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:38,560 Speaker 1: think should have been left out of the video because 476 00:28:38,600 --> 00:28:42,520 Speaker 1: they are reprehensible people. But they still have lots and 477 00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:45,480 Speaker 1: lots and lots of fans who disagree with me, and 478 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:48,160 Speaker 1: they made that disagreement known by downloding the video. So 479 00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:52,600 Speaker 1: two thousand nineteen they said, okay, you know what message received, 480 00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:56,600 Speaker 1: We're just gonna make a video that features some of 481 00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:59,800 Speaker 1: the videos that got the most likes. So literally, you 482 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:04,040 Speaker 1: chose these videos. It's not on us have fun while 483 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:07,240 Speaker 1: we're not even doing that anymore. And it's largely because 484 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:12,960 Speaker 1: YouTube has grown so large and videos are so diverse 485 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:16,960 Speaker 1: across so many different genres and topics that it is 486 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:22,120 Speaker 1: literally impossible to make a rewind video that even represents 487 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:26,760 Speaker 1: a fraction of what is going on on YouTube that 488 00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:29,400 Speaker 1: if you were to try and do it, unless that 489 00:29:29,560 --> 00:29:34,200 Speaker 1: video was, you know, eighteen hours long, and featured flashes 490 00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:36,400 Speaker 1: that lasted maybe a couple of seconds of each person. 491 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:40,080 Speaker 1: You wouldn't even scratch the surface. So instead YouTube says 492 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:42,800 Speaker 1: we're going to leave that to individual creators to make 493 00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:45,600 Speaker 1: their own kind of rewind videos to be a reflection 494 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:49,400 Speaker 1: on the year. But we're not gonna do it anymore. 495 00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:52,160 Speaker 1: And I mean it makes sense to me, Like you 496 00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:55,480 Speaker 1: look at YouTube and you start to forget all the 497 00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:58,040 Speaker 1: different content that's on there, because like if if you're 498 00:29:58,040 --> 00:30:01,560 Speaker 1: like me, you start to kind of narrow in on 499 00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:06,320 Speaker 1: the content you like, and you your mind forgets that 500 00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:09,440 Speaker 1: everything else is on there too. I mean everything like 501 00:30:09,560 --> 00:30:12,680 Speaker 1: d I O. Y guides to critical analysis of the 502 00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:17,160 Speaker 1: cultural appropriation and Disney films too, comedy videos that I 503 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:19,760 Speaker 1: have to admit I am too old to find funny 504 00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:23,800 Speaker 1: two recipe videos that are far more useful than recipes 505 00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:25,920 Speaker 1: you find online because you don't have to wade through 506 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:30,320 Speaker 1: a novel before you get to the recipe. So I 507 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:33,200 Speaker 1: understand where YouTube's coming from, but I think we should 508 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:36,959 Speaker 1: have a moment of silence for rewind two thousand eleven 509 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:43,840 Speaker 1: to two thousand nineteen. That's enough silence, Okay. That wraps 510 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:47,200 Speaker 1: up the news items for Tuesday, November two, two thousand 511 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:49,960 Speaker 1: twenty one. If you have suggestions for topics I should 512 00:30:49,960 --> 00:30:52,320 Speaker 1: cover on tech Stuff, reach out and let me know 513 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:54,480 Speaker 1: what those are. The best way to do that is 514 00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:56,920 Speaker 1: on Twitter and the handle for the show is text 515 00:30:56,920 --> 00:31:00,000 Speaker 1: Stuffs H. S W. And I'll talk to you again 516 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:09,560 Speaker 1: really soon. Yeah. Text Stuff is an I Heart Radio production. 517 00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:12,600 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the i 518 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:15,960 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 519 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:16,920 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.