WEBVTT - Tech News: Mt. Kilimanjaro Gets WiFi 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:07.800 Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:14.240 Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 0:00:14.360 --> 0:00:17.639 Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with iHeart Radio. And 0:00:17.680 --> 0:00:20.840 how the tech are you. It's time for the tech 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:25.880 news for Thursday, August twenty two. Here in the United States, 0:00:26.239 --> 0:00:29.520 we are headed toward another election. This one is a 0:00:29.600 --> 0:00:32.360 mid term election. That means that the president is not 0:00:32.680 --> 0:00:34.559 up for re election, but a lot of folks in 0:00:34.600 --> 0:00:38.960 Congress and in local positions around the US are It 0:00:39.040 --> 0:00:41.360 also means that there is a heightened concern about the 0:00:41.400 --> 0:00:44.720 spread of misinformation online. And you know, that's been an 0:00:44.720 --> 0:00:47.440 issue for years, but it really came under the spotlight 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:51.840 in and it has stayed in the spotlight ever since, 0:00:51.880 --> 0:00:56.560 hogging center stage. Now to that end, in twenty twenty, Facebook, 0:00:56.720 --> 0:01:00.720 the platform and actually the company itself, because the company 0:01:00.720 --> 0:01:03.680 had not yet changed its name to Meta in anyway, 0:01:03.720 --> 0:01:07.199 it took the significant step of banning new political ads 0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:10.959 from being published in the week leading up to the election. 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:13.360 Now Meta is going to do the same thing for 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:16.320 the US mid terms this year. And if you listened 0:01:16.400 --> 0:01:19.560 to Tuesday's episode this week, you know that there was 0:01:19.640 --> 0:01:22.520 a watchdog group that called out Meta for failing to 0:01:22.560 --> 0:01:27.399 follow its own content moderation policies on Facebook. In Brazil, 0:01:27.880 --> 0:01:33.119 the group had submitted several ads purposefully containing misinformation within them, 0:01:33.160 --> 0:01:37.000 and Facebook accepted all of those ads. Now, it's true 0:01:37.040 --> 0:01:41.800 that in English speaking countries, Facebook's content moderation is, you know, 0:01:41.880 --> 0:01:45.280 slightly less incompetent. But rather than deal with the flood 0:01:45.280 --> 0:01:49.480 of possible attack ads and misinformation campaigns, Facebook is gonna 0:01:49.480 --> 0:01:52.120 wash its hands of the whole business, at least for 0:01:52.240 --> 0:01:55.200 the week leading up to the election itself. It remains 0:01:55.240 --> 0:01:57.760 to be seen if Facebook will copy exactly what it 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:00.640 did in because while the plan was just to have 0:02:00.680 --> 0:02:04.200 a temporary band that lasted a week, Facebook actually kept 0:02:04.200 --> 0:02:07.120 that ban on political ads in place all the way 0:02:07.160 --> 0:02:10.959 for six months. Pretty sure that's not gonna happen this year, 0:02:11.040 --> 0:02:14.920 but maybe it will. TikTok is taking a similar approach 0:02:14.960 --> 0:02:18.120 when it comes to political content. Now, the company has 0:02:18.200 --> 0:02:22.000 a band that restricts influencers from posting paid political content. 0:02:22.120 --> 0:02:25.120 That's pretty much been the case from day one. The 0:02:25.200 --> 0:02:28.920 company has never accepted political ads. But it does start 0:02:28.919 --> 0:02:32.600 to get tricky when you understand that TikTok influencers aren't 0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:38.639 necessarily looking to TikTok as their payday. They take sponsorship 0:02:38.680 --> 0:02:41.520 deals instead. And one of these days I really need 0:02:41.560 --> 0:02:45.000 to do a full episode on how various influencers make 0:02:45.080 --> 0:02:48.520 their money, because it varies from platform to platform, and 0:02:48.560 --> 0:02:53.120 it's never as straightforward as you might imagine. Anyway, TikTok 0:02:53.440 --> 0:02:57.000 isn't banning political content outright. You can still post a 0:02:57.080 --> 0:03:00.440 video where you express your political beliefs or where you 0:03:00.520 --> 0:03:04.720 critique a politician or policy or whatever, so long as 0:03:04.760 --> 0:03:07.799 you don't break the other rules. For instance, if your 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:12.440 video spreads misinformation, or it's meant to incite violence, or 0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:15.040 it turns out that you were paid to put that 0:03:15.120 --> 0:03:18.760 specific viewpoint up online, all of that is right out. 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:21.400 The video is likely going to get deleted or at 0:03:21.480 --> 0:03:26.239 least heavily restricted, and there's a chance that the account holder, 0:03:26.320 --> 0:03:28.640 the person who made the video, might find themselves without 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:32.079 an account before too long. TikTok says it will make 0:03:32.120 --> 0:03:35.800 available information to creators so that they understand the rules. 0:03:36.000 --> 0:03:39.480 You know, it's making sure that people know what they're 0:03:39.480 --> 0:03:41.880 getting into, especially people who might be new to TikTok, 0:03:41.960 --> 0:03:44.600 and you know they're they're taking sponsorship deals maybe they 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:47.640 aren't aware of the ban on political content when it 0:03:47.640 --> 0:03:52.400 comes to sponsorship and paid content. I don't know if 0:03:52.440 --> 0:03:54.920 the steps that Facebook and TikTok are taking are going 0:03:54.960 --> 0:03:57.960 to have a significant impact on the spread of misinformation online. 0:03:58.440 --> 0:04:00.640 I do think they are steps in the right direction, 0:04:00.920 --> 0:04:04.240 but I imagine that all this really will do is 0:04:04.440 --> 0:04:08.640 make those who are are determined to spread misinformation to 0:04:08.760 --> 0:04:11.920 just find new ways to do it. Amazon is reportedly 0:04:11.920 --> 0:04:15.120 testing a short form video feature in its app that's 0:04:15.400 --> 0:04:18.840 sort of similar to TikTok. That's how I'm seeing it reported, 0:04:18.839 --> 0:04:22.120 though I I don't. I don't draw it as close 0:04:22.200 --> 0:04:25.239 a connection as others do. So instead of it being 0:04:25.760 --> 0:04:29.960 a platform for dances and pranks and sketches and dubious 0:04:30.000 --> 0:04:32.640 life hacks and that kind of thing the way TikTok is, 0:04:33.600 --> 0:04:37.480 Amazon's version is meant to let users post short videos detailing, 0:04:37.800 --> 0:04:40.080 you know, like a review or a demonstration of a 0:04:40.120 --> 0:04:44.320 product that's found on Amazon's store. So let's say you 0:04:44.360 --> 0:04:47.040 pop onto Amazon in order to buy yourself a brand 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:50.920 new sewing machine, and when it arrives, maybe you shoot 0:04:50.920 --> 0:04:54.800 a quick unboxing video, or maybe you show how to 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:58.240 set it up for its first use, particularly if the 0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:01.240 one you butt has poor and auctions. I've had that 0:05:01.320 --> 0:05:04.160 happen with stuff I've bought, where you know, I spent 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:06.920 way more time trying to figure out how to just 0:05:06.960 --> 0:05:09.880 set it up than necessary because the instructions were terrible. 0:05:10.640 --> 0:05:13.520 Or maybe you shoot a video to demonstrate how the 0:05:13.600 --> 0:05:16.600 device works as you actually finish a project on it. 0:05:17.120 --> 0:05:19.400 That's the kind of stuff that Amazon is looking into. 0:05:19.960 --> 0:05:23.520 The feature right now is called Inspire, and Amazon is 0:05:23.560 --> 0:05:25.880 testing it out, but there's no guarantee that the company 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:28.800 will actually integrate it into the app for everyone and 0:05:28.960 --> 0:05:31.960 roll it out. It might be that tests show that 0:05:32.080 --> 0:05:35.080 users aren't crazy about it or just never use it, 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:37.760 but it is interesting to see how other big companies 0:05:37.800 --> 0:05:40.400 are testing the waters and trying to tap into the 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:45.520 appeal of TikTok like presentations. Tech Crunch has made available 0:05:45.520 --> 0:05:47.839 a tool designed to see if your Android device is 0:05:47.880 --> 0:05:52.479 listed on a database indicating that spyware is installed on 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:54.440 that device. All right, I'm going to back up a 0:05:54.480 --> 0:05:57.960 little bit. So earlier this year, tech Crunch received a 0:05:58.040 --> 0:06:00.880 large amount of data that came from US spyware groups 0:06:01.000 --> 0:06:04.360 internal servers, and the information contains a list of all 0:06:04.400 --> 0:06:08.000 the Android devices that have been infected by the Truth 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:12.280 Spy spyware and its network of spyware that includes other 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:15.680 lots of other spyware apps, tons of them. And these 0:06:15.680 --> 0:06:19.080 apps sit quietly on Android phones and they do stuff 0:06:19.120 --> 0:06:22.400 like log activity and track the device. And obviously there 0:06:22.440 --> 0:06:25.720 are a lot of nefarious reasons someone might be using spyware. 0:06:25.920 --> 0:06:29.159 I can't think of any like legit reasons for using it, 0:06:29.200 --> 0:06:32.040 but there are a lot of bad ones. And one 0:06:32.440 --> 0:06:36.599 uh that tech Crunch pointed out that is particularly scary 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:40.919 and of real concern is that a stalker might attempt 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:44.200 to infect a target's phone with spywear in order to 0:06:44.320 --> 0:06:48.599 keep tabs on that target. That is terrifying, y'all, and 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:51.280 it's all too real. We have seen instances of this. 0:06:51.600 --> 0:06:54.280 We've seen it not just with things like apps and 0:06:54.480 --> 0:06:57.560 and using spywear, We've seen it with using things like 0:06:57.600 --> 0:07:00.480 air tags. Right. So tech Crunch has now create a 0:07:00.480 --> 0:07:03.359 tool that makes it possible for Android device owners to 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:07.000 check and see if their own device shows up in 0:07:07.120 --> 0:07:11.400 that list that tech Crunch received, which led up to 0:07:11.600 --> 0:07:14.080 all the devices that had been infected by these various 0:07:14.160 --> 0:07:18.440 kinds of spyware up to June of two. So the 0:07:18.480 --> 0:07:24.200 tool is located at tech crunch dot com slash pages 0:07:24.480 --> 0:07:30.640 Slash the Truth Spy Dash Investigation. Now, if you go 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:32.960 there and you want to check on your device to 0:07:33.000 --> 0:07:35.400 make sure it's not in this list, there will be 0:07:35.480 --> 0:07:37.680 a few steps you have to take, but the page 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:41.080 actually walks you through all of that. So I suggest 0:07:41.120 --> 0:07:43.120 if you have an Android device that you go through 0:07:43.120 --> 0:07:45.640 the trouble of doing this, particularly if you suspect that 0:07:45.720 --> 0:07:49.680 there could be spyware on your device. Now, if you 0:07:49.880 --> 0:07:54.040 find that your device is a match in that system, 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:56.040 which I would say is kind of a worst case scenario, 0:07:56.560 --> 0:07:58.680 the page also has links to guide you through the 0:07:58.720 --> 0:08:03.520 steps of removing spywear from your device. Now that crunch 0:08:03.560 --> 0:08:06.120 does issue a warning that I want to repeat. If 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:09.240 you think that someone is using your device to spy 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:13.160 on you and you're in a stalker situation, you need 0:08:13.200 --> 0:08:16.160 to be very careful moving forward because removing the spyware 0:08:16.320 --> 0:08:18.760 is likely to alert whomever put it on your device 0:08:18.840 --> 0:08:21.559 that you're onto them and that you're doing this. So 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:24.840 just things to keep in mind to try and remain safe. 0:08:25.280 --> 0:08:28.680 And this is also a reminder that you should always 0:08:28.680 --> 0:08:31.520 be careful with your devices. I'm not victim blaming here, 0:08:31.560 --> 0:08:35.559 because it is not always possible to avoid getting hit 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:39.840 by stuff like this. We have seen really, really inventive 0:08:39.840 --> 0:08:43.720 attacks where the target of the attack had had little 0:08:43.760 --> 0:08:46.680 to no chance of avoiding it. So this is not blaming, 0:08:46.679 --> 0:08:50.800 but just saying that taking precautions and following best practices 0:08:50.840 --> 0:08:54.960 when it comes to browsing on your device or downloading 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:58.240 and installing apps, you know, doing your homework to make 0:08:58.280 --> 0:09:00.960 sure you're being as or full as you can be, 0:09:01.520 --> 0:09:04.880 that can really improve your chances of staying safe. But again, 0:09:05.480 --> 0:09:08.720 no shade thrown on people who are affected by this stuff. 0:09:09.400 --> 0:09:12.440 It can be easy to fall victim to it, and sometimes, 0:09:12.520 --> 0:09:17.760 like I said, unavoidable. Reuter's reports that major financial institutions 0:09:17.800 --> 0:09:20.319 like banks are cracking down on the types of messaging 0:09:20.360 --> 0:09:23.680 and communication apps that employees are allowed to use while 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:27.960 they conduct business. And here's the thing. I often bristle 0:09:28.120 --> 0:09:32.160 at the thought of a company, organization, or boss restricting 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:35.280 what employees can do and how they do it, and 0:09:35.360 --> 0:09:39.840 in this instance actually have to side with the organizations. See, 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:44.320 these financial institutions are responsible for moving huge amounts of 0:09:44.360 --> 0:09:48.920 money around. Moreover, they are often responsible for transactions that 0:09:48.960 --> 0:09:53.440 can indicate massive important things going on in business that 0:09:53.520 --> 0:09:56.240 might not yet be public knowledge, and that opens up 0:09:56.240 --> 0:10:00.199 opportunities for stuff like insider trading or just getting head 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:03.720 start on everybody else on something. And because of that, 0:10:04.120 --> 0:10:08.280 the financial industry traditionally keeps a very close watch on 0:10:08.440 --> 0:10:12.840 employee activities in order to remain compliant, so failing to 0:10:12.880 --> 0:10:16.520 do so could bring regulators down on the financial institution 0:10:16.600 --> 0:10:19.640 with hefty fines to follow. Should it turn out that 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:22.880 a lack of supervision led to employees of using their 0:10:22.920 --> 0:10:29.000 position and knowledge and breaking rules, then enter the pandemic. Suddenly, 0:10:29.040 --> 0:10:32.440 these institutions needed to pivot, just like everybody else did, 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:36.120 so that their employees could work remotely and business would 0:10:36.120 --> 0:10:39.720 not be disrupted, and some employees began using all sorts 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:43.000 of different services to communicate with their clients. Some of 0:10:43.000 --> 0:10:47.320 those services include features meant to ensure secure in private communications. 0:10:47.360 --> 0:10:49.680 That's not a bad thing. Secure and private communications are 0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:53.360 a good thing in most cases. I'm talking about stuff 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:57.920 like end to end encryption or the communications services that 0:10:58.000 --> 0:11:00.800 don't keep a log of past communication sations so there's 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:04.400 not a record. But that is a legal nightmare for 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:07.040 financial companies. They need to be able to present these 0:11:07.080 --> 0:11:09.720 communications in the wake of an investigation. They need to 0:11:09.760 --> 0:11:12.520 be able to know what happened, who knew about it, 0:11:12.760 --> 0:11:16.440 who were who was making decisions. And if you have 0:11:16.600 --> 0:11:19.920 these kinds of communications channels that aren't keeping track of 0:11:19.960 --> 0:11:23.200 that stuff, you have no proof and you're not compliant. 0:11:23.480 --> 0:11:26.240 So right now, financial institutions around the world are one 0:11:26.280 --> 0:11:29.400 they're setting aside large amounts of money to pay incoming 0:11:29.440 --> 0:11:32.840 fines because of these types of communications that are going on. 0:11:33.160 --> 0:11:35.760 So the companies they're there's they're not even saying it's 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:38.520 not our fault. They're saying, yeah, we're saying aside money 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:42.280 because we know that these are violations. And meanwhile, they're 0:11:42.720 --> 0:11:45.640 trying to require employees to only use tools that can 0:11:45.679 --> 0:11:49.280 record an archive communications in order to meet compliance with 0:11:49.360 --> 0:11:52.040 various laws. So this is an interesting example of a 0:11:52.080 --> 0:11:55.360 scenario where the very features I usually think of as 0:11:55.360 --> 0:11:59.320 being important for personal communication are ones that are absolutely 0:11:59.360 --> 0:12:03.000 inappropriate it for this particular use case. All right, we've 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:05.439 got some more news items to go over, but before 0:12:05.440 --> 0:12:17.439 we do that, let's take a quick break. We're back 0:12:17.960 --> 0:12:21.080 in Saudi Arabia. The courts have sentenced a woman named 0:12:21.200 --> 0:12:25.520 Salma al Shahab to thirty four years in prison. So 0:12:25.640 --> 0:12:30.280 what was Salma's crime, Well, she had been retweeting activists 0:12:30.320 --> 0:12:33.640 who were calling for women's rights in Saudi Arabia and 0:12:33.720 --> 0:12:36.680 for the release of certain political prisoners within the country. 0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:39.840 Salma had been attending university in the UK in pursuit 0:12:39.880 --> 0:12:43.240 of a PhD, and upon returning to Saudi Arabia for 0:12:43.360 --> 0:12:47.679 a vacation, she was detained and arrested, then tried and 0:12:47.760 --> 0:12:51.080 convicted on charges that she was aiming to quote disturb 0:12:51.280 --> 0:12:54.960 public order and destabilize the security and stability of the 0:12:55.000 --> 0:12:59.880 state end quote. This is absolutely horrifying, and to test 0:12:59.880 --> 0:13:03.760 a full stop on top of that, the Saudi regime 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:07.559 owns a significant chunk of Twitter itself through what is 0:13:07.600 --> 0:13:11.240 called the Public Investment Fund. That's an interesting name for 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:14.880 a fund that represents sovereign wealth and not you know, 0:13:15.040 --> 0:13:18.600 public wealth. So this puts Twitter in an awkward position 0:13:18.640 --> 0:13:22.840 to write because this is the platform where the supposed 0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:31.000 infraction happen. And meanwhile, the entity that has has incarcerated 0:13:31.000 --> 0:13:36.439 this woman has ownership partial ownership of that platform. Not great. 0:13:36.880 --> 0:13:39.200 I am not sure what if anything can be done 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:42.719 on behalf of Salma, who clearly doesn't deserve being imprisoned 0:13:42.760 --> 0:13:45.200 at all, let alone for thirty or four years for 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:50.320 just retweeting social messages on Twitter. In India, government officials 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:53.160 are considering rules that would require Apple to abandon its 0:13:53.160 --> 0:13:57.319 proprietary charging ports on devices like air pods and iPhones 0:13:57.720 --> 0:14:02.440 and switched to the Universal Standard of SBC. Now should 0:14:02.480 --> 0:14:05.240 these officials decide that, Apple might have to make the 0:14:05.240 --> 0:14:08.920 switch as early as four in India. This follows a 0:14:08.960 --> 0:14:11.240 similar decision that we talked about in a previous text, 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:14.320 stuff that happened in the European Union, which also seeks 0:14:14.320 --> 0:14:16.800 to simplify the market and to make it easier for 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:20.000 consumers to swap out charging chords without worrying if this 0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:23.680 cord matches that device or not. I suspect Apple will 0:14:23.760 --> 0:14:27.560 migrate to USBC for those devices, at least for certain models. Uh, 0:14:27.640 --> 0:14:30.880 It's aready done so for things like Mac computers, and 0:14:30.960 --> 0:14:34.080 largely I think this is going to happen because while 0:14:34.120 --> 0:14:37.920 Apple was once primarily known as a hardware company during 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:41.120 the Steve Jobs era, now we're in the Tim Cook era, 0:14:41.360 --> 0:14:45.000 and Apple has been repositioning itself to be more of 0:14:45.040 --> 0:14:48.760 a services company. I think Cook is less resistant to 0:14:48.840 --> 0:14:53.720 conforming to industry standards than Jobs was. Jobs was kind 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:56.080 of like my way or no way at all, and 0:14:56.160 --> 0:14:59.640 Tim Cook is more like, let's do whatever it takes 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:02.320 in or to continue to be able to provide services. 0:15:02.840 --> 0:15:06.440 Bloomberg reports that the upcoming AD supported tier of Netflix 0:15:06.520 --> 0:15:09.640 might have a few other restrictions for subscribers. The company 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:12.640 had announced plans to introduce a lower cost AD supported 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:14.760 tier in an effort to gain back some of the 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:18.840 subscribers it has previously lost and presumably put the company 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:21.960 back on track for growth, but we don't yet know 0:15:22.080 --> 0:15:26.080 the subscription price for that AD supported tier anyway, Bloomberg 0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:28.680 reports that Netflix might turn off a feature that current 0:15:28.680 --> 0:15:32.720 subscribers have, that being the ability to download content to 0:15:32.880 --> 0:15:35.200 mobile devices in order to be able to watch that 0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:39.160 content offline, for example, when you're on an airplane. And 0:15:39.600 --> 0:15:42.840 this actually makes sense to me. For Netflix, you know, 0:15:43.040 --> 0:15:44.840 it's in a position where it needs to prove to 0:15:44.960 --> 0:15:48.680 advertisers that the ads on its platform will have value, 0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:50.560 and the company needs to be able to show that 0:15:50.600 --> 0:15:53.360 the ads are actually being played and watched, and you 0:15:53.400 --> 0:15:56.200 can't really do that if the content is downloaded. For 0:15:56.280 --> 0:16:00.680 offline viewing. Also, Bloomberg reports that user will not be 0:16:00.880 --> 0:16:04.120 able to skip ads, and again that makes sense from 0:16:04.160 --> 0:16:07.880 Netflix's perspective. If users can just skip the ads, then 0:16:07.920 --> 0:16:12.000 why wouldn't everyone just downgrade to the cheapest ads supported option, 0:16:12.360 --> 0:16:14.320 you know, the and then just fast forward through all 0:16:14.320 --> 0:16:17.800 the ads. So Netflix has yet to comment on Bloomberg's report, 0:16:17.840 --> 0:16:20.760 and it's possible that these sorts of decisions haven't been 0:16:20.760 --> 0:16:25.400 finalized yet. And hey, I know what you're thinking. Yeah, 0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:28.680 I'd love to scale Mount Kilimanjaro, but then I wouldn't 0:16:28.680 --> 0:16:31.080 be able to play today's wordle and I need an 0:16:31.200 --> 0:16:34.000 internet connection. Well, have I got good news for you, 0:16:34.280 --> 0:16:38.320 because the mountain has now got high speed WiFi on it. 0:16:38.880 --> 0:16:42.520 The Guardian has a pretty cheeky article about this news. 0:16:42.960 --> 0:16:46.920 The article is titled Kilimanjaro gets high speed Internet so 0:16:47.000 --> 0:16:51.240 climbers can tweet or instagram ascent And sure you could 0:16:51.240 --> 0:16:53.960 do that, but honestly, I feel like Tanzania has installed 0:16:54.000 --> 0:16:58.280 high speed internet service on kilimanjar Oh not so that 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:01.800 influencers can post videos while they look for the most 0:17:01.800 --> 0:17:05.240 picturesque background. So it seems like their lives are perfect 0:17:05.320 --> 0:17:09.240 and without problems or limitations, but rather to make certain 0:17:09.240 --> 0:17:11.960 that there's a communications network in place to aid with 0:17:12.080 --> 0:17:15.200 navigation and to help in the event of an emergency. 0:17:15.640 --> 0:17:18.679 Having that safety net there could spell the difference between 0:17:18.720 --> 0:17:23.240 a successful rescue attempt and tragedy. I do think there 0:17:23.280 --> 0:17:25.680 will be plenty of people who will say, awesome, now 0:17:25.680 --> 0:17:29.200 I can live tweet my climbing experience. But I'm okay 0:17:29.240 --> 0:17:31.479 with that if it also means someone who got in 0:17:31.600 --> 0:17:34.680 over their head has an opportunity to make it back 0:17:34.720 --> 0:17:39.680 to safety. And yesterday's Tech Stuff Tidbits episode, which ended 0:17:39.760 --> 0:17:42.199 up being nearly fifty minutes long, I talked about how 0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:44.880 VR has some barriers to entry that could serve as 0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:47.600 a hurdle for companies like Meta that they have to 0:17:47.640 --> 0:17:50.000 get over in order to bring the Metaverse to life. 0:17:50.400 --> 0:17:52.919 One thing I didn't mention is the unveiling of the 0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:59.359 latest version of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse avatar, which 0:17:59.400 --> 0:18:03.800 subsequently got a ton of news coverage in jokes about 0:18:04.200 --> 0:18:06.640 the avatar looking like a soulless creature and other people 0:18:06.680 --> 0:18:09.800 saying that's a fitting representation for Mark Zuckerberg, and I 0:18:09.800 --> 0:18:12.200 am not here to make jokes like that. Instead, I'll 0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:14.480 say I think this is an indication that Zuckerberg is 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:17.600 trying to address some of those hurdles that I mentioned 0:18:17.600 --> 0:18:20.959 in yesterday's episode, because a big one is the cost 0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:23.960 of VR gear, and if VR is to be an 0:18:23.960 --> 0:18:27.040 important component in the metaverse, which I should add is 0:18:27.080 --> 0:18:29.320 not a foregone conclusion, it's just one of the more 0:18:30.280 --> 0:18:33.960 commonly referenced manifestations of the metaverse is that it's a 0:18:34.080 --> 0:18:37.560 VR experience. Well, that would mean that companies like Meta 0:18:37.680 --> 0:18:40.040 will want to make sure that the gear required isn't 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:43.000 so expensive that it prices most people out of it. 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:46.119 The metaverse is only going to be insanely profitable to 0:18:46.200 --> 0:18:48.800 Meta if the company can get a metric buttload of 0:18:48.920 --> 0:18:51.639 users to join it. So one way to ensure that 0:18:51.680 --> 0:18:54.600 the gear won't be too expensive is to make certain 0:18:54.600 --> 0:18:57.480 that the experience itself doesn't require top of the line 0:18:57.520 --> 0:19:00.919 gear to render and process the experience. It's make it 0:19:01.000 --> 0:19:04.760 so that lower cost or in other words, cheap equipment 0:19:05.000 --> 0:19:08.360 can work just fine on the platform. To do that, 0:19:08.560 --> 0:19:12.399 you have to make some pretty big compromises in graphical quality. 0:19:12.720 --> 0:19:16.360 Enter the avatar, which to me looks like an Xbox 0:19:16.359 --> 0:19:21.000 three sixty era Avatar or maybe Nintendo Me avatar style. 0:19:21.840 --> 0:19:25.760 It's hardly a compelling virtual representation of a real person. 0:19:26.520 --> 0:19:29.920 This presents a really interesting dilemma, I think because I 0:19:30.000 --> 0:19:33.920 don't know about you, but when I imagine the concept 0:19:33.960 --> 0:19:38.000 of the metaverse, my imagination conjures up this virtual environment 0:19:38.000 --> 0:19:40.760 where people can have any sort of avatar they want, 0:19:41.080 --> 0:19:45.280 and these avatars tend to look really cool and really impressive. Uh, 0:19:45.359 --> 0:19:49.159 they're high resolution and well animated, and in fact, a 0:19:49.320 --> 0:19:53.000 well designed avatar becomes something of a status symbol within 0:19:53.080 --> 0:19:59.119 the metaverse. Then that only works if the environment supports 0:19:59.200 --> 0:20:02.040 that kind of a presentation, right, you need to be 0:20:02.119 --> 0:20:05.520 able to actually have that on there. But if instead 0:20:05.800 --> 0:20:08.960 the metaverse needs to aim for the lowest common denominator 0:20:09.080 --> 0:20:11.680 in order to attract the largest number of people so 0:20:11.720 --> 0:20:16.320 that the cheapest equipment can run the darn thing, then paradoxically, 0:20:16.359 --> 0:20:18.200 I think a lot of folks won't want to join 0:20:18.440 --> 0:20:21.639 because it won't look cool enough. It'll look kind of cheap, 0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:25.560 so they won't have that temptation of joining there, Like, 0:20:25.640 --> 0:20:27.760 that's not cool. I don't want to do that. So 0:20:27.800 --> 0:20:30.919 then you're stuck. You either design something that looks amazing, 0:20:31.520 --> 0:20:34.800 but in turn requires equipment that's so expensive that most 0:20:34.800 --> 0:20:38.560 people can't afford to participate, or you go super simple, 0:20:39.119 --> 0:20:41.240 but then no one feels tempted to join it in 0:20:41.280 --> 0:20:45.040 the first place. Now, I should add, we're still a 0:20:45.160 --> 0:20:48.320 very long way out from the true realization of the metaverse, 0:20:48.520 --> 0:20:51.800 and in the meantime, I expect we're going to continue 0:20:51.840 --> 0:20:55.119 to see advancements in technology that might be able to 0:20:55.160 --> 0:20:58.679 address these problems sufficiently so that they're a non issue 0:20:58.720 --> 0:21:01.080 when the ding dang darn thing is actually ready for 0:21:01.119 --> 0:21:05.880 prime time. All right, I have one more news item 0:21:05.920 --> 0:21:08.639 after this that I want to cover, but before we 0:21:08.680 --> 0:21:20.480 get to that, let's take another break. Let's talk about 0:21:20.560 --> 0:21:22.960 the final news item for today, because it's a fun one, 0:21:23.520 --> 0:21:26.520 I think, anyway, and it comes from a story from 0:21:26.560 --> 0:21:29.280 the Verge uh and it's it's a story that really 0:21:29.280 --> 0:21:31.600 tickled me. But it's also a story that's long since 0:21:31.680 --> 0:21:35.440 been moot because this is a story about the deep 0:21:35.600 --> 0:21:39.760 past of computer history, back in the Windows XP days. 0:21:40.400 --> 0:21:43.240 Arguably some places are still in the Windows XP days. 0:21:43.280 --> 0:21:46.239 I find it insane that there are people who are 0:21:46.240 --> 0:21:49.280 still running on Windows XP machines. I get that there 0:21:49.320 --> 0:21:52.560 are certain conditions that that mean that people just that's 0:21:52.560 --> 0:21:55.520 all they have access to. But you know that that's 0:21:55.520 --> 0:21:58.960 a truly defunct operating system. Although I mean, I gotta 0:21:58.960 --> 0:22:00.880 admit I was a big Window is XP fan back 0:22:00.880 --> 0:22:03.960 in the day. Okay, getting back to the story. So 0:22:05.480 --> 0:22:09.399 the story goes that this unnamed laptop manufacturer began to 0:22:09.440 --> 0:22:16.240 get complaints about computers crashing under very specific circumstances. Those 0:22:16.280 --> 0:22:20.960 circumstances involved someone playing the music video for Janet Jackson's 0:22:21.040 --> 0:22:26.040 hit Rhythm Nation. In fact, sometimes it wasn't even the 0:22:26.119 --> 0:22:29.520 laptop itself that was playing it when the crash happened. 0:22:29.520 --> 0:22:32.439 It just happened to be close to another device that 0:22:32.600 --> 0:22:35.760 was playing the music video, and then the other the 0:22:36.200 --> 0:22:41.080 laptop from this unnamed manufacturer would crash. Uh. And I 0:22:41.160 --> 0:22:44.280 don't know, maybe you're just saying that the laptop hated 0:22:44.359 --> 0:22:47.159 Rhythm Nation because everybody is a critic, am alright, But 0:22:47.240 --> 0:22:50.280 what the heck was actually going on? Well, according to 0:22:50.400 --> 0:22:54.320 Raymond Chen, who is a software engineer with Microsoft, the 0:22:54.400 --> 0:22:58.840 problem was that the music video contained within it a 0:22:58.960 --> 0:23:03.320 sound effect that had a specific frequency in it, and 0:23:03.359 --> 0:23:07.040 that frequency just happened to be the resonant frequency for 0:23:07.119 --> 0:23:11.840 the laptops hard drive. So the sound effect would introduce 0:23:11.960 --> 0:23:15.320 vibrations into the hard drive and that would lead to 0:23:15.359 --> 0:23:19.159 a system crash. And you might wonder, well, how the 0:23:19.160 --> 0:23:23.000 heck did the laptop manufacturer deal with that problem? And yeah, 0:23:23.320 --> 0:23:26.159 this specific music video would set off that laptop, but 0:23:26.240 --> 0:23:30.480 then so would any other source of sound that contained 0:23:30.480 --> 0:23:34.159 that frequency, right, it would introduce these vibrations into the 0:23:34.200 --> 0:23:37.720 hard disk drive, and then the laptop would crash. So, 0:23:37.760 --> 0:23:42.840 according to Chen, this manufacturer issued essentially a hatch update 0:23:43.400 --> 0:23:46.840 that would prevent the computers speakers from playing that specific 0:23:46.920 --> 0:23:49.919 frequency at all. So, in other words, if you were 0:23:49.960 --> 0:23:53.480 to play Rhythm Nation, that sound effect would lack that 0:23:53.680 --> 0:23:57.159 specific frequency. I don't know if the entire sound effect 0:23:57.200 --> 0:24:00.360