1 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: Welcome to text Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:15,160 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:15,360 --> 00:00:19,440 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio. 4 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:24,959 Speaker 1: And how the tech are you? Well? We made it mostly. 5 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 1: Now that we're creeping up to the very end of 6 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:32,280 Speaker 1: twenty two, it is time to look back over the 7 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,080 Speaker 1: past year and reflect on some of the big tech 8 00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:40,840 Speaker 1: news stories that unfolded over the previous twelve months. And gosh, 9 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 1: there were a ton of them. So when I started 10 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:49,280 Speaker 1: just putting together a bullet list of stories that I 11 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 1: felt were particularly important, that list quickly stretched to a 12 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:56,959 Speaker 1: couple of pages. And this was just a bullet list, right, 13 00:00:57,000 --> 00:01:01,440 Speaker 1: I didn't give like context or anything. So this week 14 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:05,000 Speaker 1: we're going to look back and talk about what happened 15 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:08,440 Speaker 1: in two and why it was important, both in the 16 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:12,760 Speaker 1: text sphere and beyond. So this is just the first 17 00:01:12,800 --> 00:01:16,160 Speaker 1: of those episodes. I'm taking a little more time to 18 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: kind of cover these and not just say, hey, look 19 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 1: at this headline now before I jump into it. I 20 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:25,520 Speaker 1: also want to say I am not organizing these episodes chronologically, 21 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:29,679 Speaker 1: so it's not like we're gonna start in January and 22 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:32,759 Speaker 1: end up in December at the end of them. Instead, 23 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:37,720 Speaker 1: I grouped stories kind of thematically, so that way we can, 24 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: you know, look at things that were unfolding that we're 25 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:45,120 Speaker 1: maybe not directly related to each other, but kind of 26 00:01:45,160 --> 00:01:49,560 Speaker 1: give an indication of general trends that sort of thing. 27 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 1: Now that being said, our first story does happen to 28 00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 1: be one that began early in two and that story 29 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 1: is Microsoft's bid to acquire Activision Blizzard, the video game company. Now, 30 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:09,640 Speaker 1: first off, Microsoft is perhaps best known for the Windows 31 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:16,000 Speaker 1: operating system, more arguably the Office suite of products. Among gamers, 32 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:19,480 Speaker 1: it is widely known as the company behind Xbox and 33 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: Xbox Game Pass, and Activision Blizzard is a video game 34 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 1: company that traces its lineage all the way back to 35 00:02:27,520 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 1: nineteen seventy nine. In fact, Activision got started just four 36 00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:36,880 Speaker 1: years after Microsoft launched, and that whole history is fascinating 37 00:02:36,919 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 1: because Activision was a splinter group off of Atari. But 38 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:45,920 Speaker 1: the history of Activision Blizzard gets super complicated and has 39 00:02:45,960 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: a lot of hairpin turns and dead ends, and honestly, 40 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,040 Speaker 1: I've done episodes about it in the past, so we 41 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:54,080 Speaker 1: won't go into a ton of detail. But then we 42 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:57,840 Speaker 1: also have to talk about Blizzard Entertainment, a much younger 43 00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,560 Speaker 1: game company compared to Activision. It had been founded in 44 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:07,079 Speaker 1: nine and Activision acquired Blizzard in two thousand and eight, 45 00:03:07,120 --> 00:03:10,960 Speaker 1: and the consolidated power of these companies allowed it to 46 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: perform quite well. In fact, depending upon how you want 47 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 1: to measure it, Activision Blizzard is one of the top 48 00:03:17,960 --> 00:03:21,920 Speaker 1: five largest video game companies in the world. But again 49 00:03:22,520 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: this depends on how you measure largest, right. Do you 50 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:31,440 Speaker 1: measure it by revenue? Do you measure it by market capitalization? 51 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:36,680 Speaker 1: But no matter how you look at it, Activision Blizzard 52 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:42,360 Speaker 1: is a very big, influential company in the video game space. Now, 53 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:46,880 Speaker 1: we first heard of Microsoft's plan to purchase Activision Blizzard 54 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 1: in mid January twenty two. Microsoft's offer was to buy 55 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: out Activision Blizzard for nine dollars per share in an 56 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: all cash transaction, and that would amount to around sixty 57 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:03,320 Speaker 1: eight point seven billion dollars billion with a B. That's 58 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:07,080 Speaker 1: a yawlsa right there. This was actually a hefty premium 59 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:10,240 Speaker 1: on Activision Blizzard stock, which over the last year hit 60 00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 1: a high of eighty six dollars ninety cents and a 61 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 1: low of sixty dollars sixty cents, so bucks per share 62 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:22,840 Speaker 1: pretty attractive price, right, So you tell shareholders, hey, we're 63 00:04:22,839 --> 00:04:27,119 Speaker 1: gonna pay you a premium on every single share you own. 64 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:30,359 Speaker 1: You just have to less know if you're cool with it. 65 00:04:30,440 --> 00:04:32,840 Speaker 1: And the shareholders were like, we're totally cool with it. 66 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,719 Speaker 1: But let's get a little more backstory, because this whole 67 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:39,760 Speaker 1: thing has a lot of complications. So first up, in 68 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:44,720 Speaker 1: one last year, several former and some current employees at 69 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:49,000 Speaker 1: Activision Blizzard came forward with accusations that the company was 70 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:53,640 Speaker 1: fostering a culture that allowed for sexual harassment, pay disparity, 71 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:59,159 Speaker 1: and discrimination. Further, that the CEO of the company, Bobby Codek, 72 00:04:59,640 --> 00:05:02,880 Speaker 1: had been aware of these problems for years and had 73 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:07,080 Speaker 1: failed to do anything about them. We heard many stories 74 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:09,760 Speaker 1: that were familiar to anyone who was paying attention during 75 00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:13,160 Speaker 1: the Me too movement that the company's HR department was 76 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:17,680 Speaker 1: serving more as a shield for the company than as 77 00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:21,240 Speaker 1: a department looking out for employees. That's something that the 78 00:05:21,240 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 1: more cynical folks out there will say is the real 79 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:27,680 Speaker 1: reason HR exists in the first place, not to protect employees, 80 00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:31,919 Speaker 1: but to protect the company. Now in retrospect, it was 81 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:35,760 Speaker 1: clear that this Microsoft deal was moving behind the scenes 82 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: while this Activision Blizzard scandal story was unfolding back in 83 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:45,239 Speaker 1: but while the scandal was unfolding, folks were wondering why 84 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: the company was being so reluctant to address the concerns 85 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:52,480 Speaker 1: that were being brought forth. Meanwhile, Activision Blizzard was also 86 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:56,200 Speaker 1: accused of trying to discourage employees from unionizing. There were 87 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:59,359 Speaker 1: pockets of employees in the company who wanted to organize 88 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:01,919 Speaker 1: into a union and in order to negotiate better working 89 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:05,640 Speaker 1: conditions and compensation. It's illegal in the United States for 90 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:08,840 Speaker 1: a company to try and prevent that from happening, so 91 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:13,440 Speaker 1: that was also unfolding at the time. Microsoft's announcement was 92 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 1: a bit of a relief for some people. The reaction 93 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:20,840 Speaker 1: among certain folks was that Microsoft was probably going to 94 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:23,760 Speaker 1: clean house if it took possession of Activision Blizzard, that 95 00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:27,280 Speaker 1: it would do what the leadership at Activision Blizzard had 96 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:30,720 Speaker 1: seemed reluctant to do. But others worried that this would 97 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:33,600 Speaker 1: just mean employees would have an even harder time organizing 98 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:38,479 Speaker 1: because Microsoft was not exactly known for championing the rights 99 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:42,040 Speaker 1: of workers. And then there were questions about whether or 100 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:47,839 Speaker 1: not various regulatory bodies around the world would resist this acquisition. 101 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:52,839 Speaker 1: After all, Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are both involved in 102 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:55,920 Speaker 1: the video game business, and you could argue, well, yeah, 103 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:58,880 Speaker 1: that's just one part of Microsoft's overall business. It's not 104 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: their primary foecus. But it's still a major company in 105 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: the video game industry. So would regulators view the acquisition 106 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 1: as a reduction in overall competition within the market? Would 107 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:16,640 Speaker 1: they worry that this newly merged entity would end up 108 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:21,320 Speaker 1: hurting consumers down the line and discouraging competition. Now, over 109 00:07:21,360 --> 00:07:27,240 Speaker 1: the course of these concerns started bubbling up. Now he 110 00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 1: first really started seeing some resistance in the European Union. 111 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:34,320 Speaker 1: There were reports that Sony, another big player in the 112 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:38,520 Speaker 1: video game space, was bending the ear of regulators in 113 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 1: the EU and the UK. That there were concerns that 114 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:46,640 Speaker 1: these merged companies would hold certain popular titles like Call 115 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: of Duty and not publish them to Sony's PlayStation platform. Now, 116 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:55,560 Speaker 1: Microsoft representatives said repeatedly that there were no such plans 117 00:07:55,600 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: to withhold titles from Sony players. They were arguing that 118 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 1: if they were to do that, they would be leaving 119 00:08:01,400 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: money on the table and that it would make no 120 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:07,480 Speaker 1: sense financially to prevent them from going to to the PlayStation. 121 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:11,040 Speaker 1: But then over here in the United States, the Federal 122 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:15,760 Speaker 1: Trade Commission or f TC, got involved. It has brought 123 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:19,360 Speaker 1: a case against Microsoft an Activision Blizzard to prevent the merger, 124 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:23,760 Speaker 1: and the analysts that I follow say that the cases, 125 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 1: in their opinion, a fairly weak one, that while Microsoft 126 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:32,040 Speaker 1: and Activision Blizzard our competitors, that this merger does not 127 00:08:32,160 --> 00:08:36,200 Speaker 1: necessarily indicate a reduction in competition for the overall market. 128 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:40,040 Speaker 1: It seems to me that the general consensus is this 129 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:43,840 Speaker 1: deal will go through, but it will take longer than 130 00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:47,360 Speaker 1: what Microsoft had hoped for originally. Now I say it 131 00:08:47,480 --> 00:08:50,440 Speaker 1: seems because I just don't know. It may very well 132 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:55,760 Speaker 1: be that Microsoft will abandon its deal because on a 133 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 1: similar note, this past year we saw one proposed merger 134 00:09:00,280 --> 00:09:04,600 Speaker 1: fall through in the tech space due to regulatory obstruction. 135 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:08,720 Speaker 1: In Video, the chip making company that's best known for 136 00:09:08,840 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: its graphics processing cards, had announced way back in that 137 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:18,760 Speaker 1: it intended to purchase the British semiconductor company ARM, best 138 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:22,200 Speaker 1: known as the company that designs arms CPUs. So what 139 00:09:22,400 --> 00:09:26,280 Speaker 1: ARM usually does is it designs the CPU architecture and 140 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:30,880 Speaker 1: then license that design out to fabricators that actually make 141 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:36,520 Speaker 1: the chips well. Way back in a Japanese conglomerate, soft Bank, 142 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:41,640 Speaker 1: which is a truly enormous company, purchased ARM for lots 143 00:09:41,679 --> 00:09:46,000 Speaker 1: and lots of money, like many billions of dollars. So 144 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:50,120 Speaker 1: in Nvidia was going to buy ARM from soft Bank 145 00:09:50,480 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 1: for forty billion dollars, pending regulatory approval. That approval did 146 00:09:57,640 --> 00:10:02,079 Speaker 1: not come. UK regulators were concerned that ARMS operations are 147 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:04,760 Speaker 1: a matter of national security. Keep in mind, ARM is 148 00:10:04,880 --> 00:10:09,880 Speaker 1: a British company. Obviously, this is already complicated by the 149 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:13,720 Speaker 1: fact that ARMS current owner is a Japanese company, so 150 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:17,679 Speaker 1: it's interesting that national security became a big concern for 151 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:22,760 Speaker 1: this particular transaction. Uh I will say that soft Bank 152 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:29,240 Speaker 1: reportedly is preparing ARM for a public offering next year, 153 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:32,640 Speaker 1: so in other words, ARM will again become a a 154 00:10:32,800 --> 00:10:36,160 Speaker 1: traded company on the stock market like it was before 155 00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:41,000 Speaker 1: soft Bank took possession of the company back in. Meanwhile, 156 00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:46,200 Speaker 1: companies that rely on ARM processors, which include competitors to 157 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:50,559 Speaker 1: in Vidia, we're worried that in Video's acquisition of ARM 158 00:10:50,600 --> 00:10:53,600 Speaker 1: means that they would get cut off from access to 159 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: those ARM processors, or that they would see a big 160 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:01,640 Speaker 1: price hike, and thus this would be bad for competition. 161 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:06,400 Speaker 1: So those companies were objecting to this proposed merger, and 162 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:09,840 Speaker 1: the myriad of concerns from different sources ultimately led to 163 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,760 Speaker 1: Nvidia and ARM walking away from this deal that happened 164 00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:18,160 Speaker 1: way back in February twenty two. By my reckoning, that 165 00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:23,640 Speaker 1: was fifty years ago. It might just feel like that now. 166 00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:28,120 Speaker 1: Some may point to this failed merger as one of 167 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:31,000 Speaker 1: the signs that the world in general is starting to 168 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 1: push back against big tech, and I'm going to talk 169 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:38,160 Speaker 1: more about that in just a second. But the Nvidia 170 00:11:38,240 --> 00:11:42,359 Speaker 1: and ARM deal had a lot of complicating and unique factors, 171 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:46,839 Speaker 1: from concerns about competition to that national security angle, which 172 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:51,520 Speaker 1: you know most mergers in tech don't involve. And then 173 00:11:51,559 --> 00:11:54,320 Speaker 1: there was a further monkey wrench thrown into the works 174 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:58,120 Speaker 1: in the form of a Chinese subsidiary of ARM, Armed 175 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:01,680 Speaker 1: China that really did not want to see the parent 176 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:05,560 Speaker 1: company change hands to an American owner. So you actually 177 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:10,840 Speaker 1: had a part of ARM itself that was objecting to 178 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:16,079 Speaker 1: this merger. So, in other words, this Nvidio ARM deal 179 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:20,160 Speaker 1: had a lot of factors that I don't think translate 180 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:24,360 Speaker 1: to the industry at large. They were unique for that 181 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:29,120 Speaker 1: specific set of circumstances. But all that being said, twenty 182 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:34,360 Speaker 1: two undeniably was a year in which we saw growing 183 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:39,080 Speaker 1: scrutiny and resistance to so called big tech around the world. 184 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:42,160 Speaker 1: By the way, big tech that's just a phrase that 185 00:12:42,200 --> 00:12:46,360 Speaker 1: refers to obviously the largest, most influential companies within the 186 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:50,400 Speaker 1: tech space. And sometimes people who use big tech are 187 00:12:50,520 --> 00:12:54,120 Speaker 1: really being more precise in that they're being imprecise in 188 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:58,680 Speaker 1: their language, but they're specifically referencing four or five companies, 189 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:04,600 Speaker 1: in particular Apple, Meta, Google, Amazon, and if they're referring 190 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:08,280 Speaker 1: to five, they throw Microsoft in there too. But big 191 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:12,960 Speaker 1: tech can also refer to other influential companies like Nvidia, 192 00:13:13,240 --> 00:13:17,240 Speaker 1: or Oracle, or or ten Cent or Intel, those kind 193 00:13:17,240 --> 00:13:20,840 Speaker 1: of things. So when you read the phrase big tech, 194 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:24,320 Speaker 1: just keep in mind a lot of journalists use that 195 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:27,840 Speaker 1: as shorthand for those five companies I first mentioned. Others 196 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:33,240 Speaker 1: will use it to just reference big, powerful, influential tech 197 00:13:33,320 --> 00:13:36,080 Speaker 1: companies in general. And here in the United States we 198 00:13:36,120 --> 00:13:39,600 Speaker 1: saw some progressives but into positions of authority with regard 199 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:43,600 Speaker 1: to ensuring that markets stay fair and competitive, which was 200 00:13:43,679 --> 00:13:47,320 Speaker 1: a real change of pace from the last I don't know, 201 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:51,000 Speaker 1: like forty years. So they include Lena Kahn, who is 202 00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:53,559 Speaker 1: the chair of the Federal Trade Commission or f TC, 203 00:13:53,800 --> 00:13:57,200 Speaker 1: so she's the one leading the US charge against Microsoft 204 00:13:57,280 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 1: and the Activision Blizzard merger. And there's also Jonathan Canter, 205 00:14:02,559 --> 00:14:06,520 Speaker 1: who leads the Antitrust Division at the Justice Department. Figures 206 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:09,640 Speaker 1: like these are starting to throw roadblocks in the way 207 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:12,800 Speaker 1: of large tech companies which have long been used to 208 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:16,800 Speaker 1: being able to get their own way. For example Meta. 209 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:20,120 Speaker 1: Now we're going to talk way more about Meta later 210 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:22,600 Speaker 1: on in this series of episodes about the big stories 211 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:27,240 Speaker 1: of two, but within this context, regulators have moved to 212 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:30,800 Speaker 1: block Meta from acquiring a tiny little VR company called 213 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:36,680 Speaker 1: Within Unlimited and it's fitness app called Supernatural. They're saying 214 00:14:36,720 --> 00:14:40,040 Speaker 1: that because the VR industry in general is a pretty 215 00:14:40,080 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 1: small one, there are not that many players in the 216 00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:48,479 Speaker 1: VR space, that Meta acquiring another VR company reduces competition 217 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:52,400 Speaker 1: in that space, and that this would be bad for 218 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:57,000 Speaker 1: VR moving forward. If VR and Meta becomes synonymous with 219 00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:01,520 Speaker 1: one another, that could mean a reduction in competition and innovation, 220 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:05,160 Speaker 1: and that's a bad thing. Now, we've also heard politicians 221 00:15:05,200 --> 00:15:07,720 Speaker 1: float the idea of forcing Meta to break up into 222 00:15:07,760 --> 00:15:10,840 Speaker 1: smaller companies, similar to how the US government broke up 223 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:13,480 Speaker 1: a T and T many years ago. Though I should 224 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:16,480 Speaker 1: point out a T and T kind of recombined over 225 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:19,360 Speaker 1: the years, like Terminator one thousand style, like all those 226 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:24,680 Speaker 1: little drops of mercury. So we'll see if that happens. Okay, 227 00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:27,120 Speaker 1: We've got a lot more to talk about with this 228 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 1: line of tech stories from two, but before we do that, 229 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:45,400 Speaker 1: let's take a quick break. We're back, Okay. So we 230 00:15:45,400 --> 00:15:49,160 Speaker 1: were talking about regulations and the tech industry and sort 231 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:53,680 Speaker 1: of a pushback on big tech. Well we really saw 232 00:15:53,720 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 1: that take form over the European Union. Uh, they have 233 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:00,640 Speaker 1: been pushing back against big tech quite a bit this year, 234 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:05,600 Speaker 1: including Meta. At the end of this year, in two, 235 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:08,800 Speaker 1: a story that's unfolding as I'm recording this, the European 236 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:13,600 Speaker 1: Commission launched an antitrust investigation into Meta, specifically over how 237 00:16:13,640 --> 00:16:18,479 Speaker 1: the company handles classified ads on Facebook. So the regulators 238 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:22,200 Speaker 1: are arguing that Meta gives preferential treatment to its own 239 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: Facebook marketplace classified ads over other types of classified ads 240 00:16:27,520 --> 00:16:30,680 Speaker 1: that could be posted to Facebook. This aligns with a 241 00:16:30,680 --> 00:16:34,360 Speaker 1: similar case against Meta brought by the Competition and Markets Authority, 242 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:40,640 Speaker 1: which is the regulatory authority in the UK. Similarly, we 243 00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:45,560 Speaker 1: saw more arguments against Apple and also Google's policies of 244 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:49,560 Speaker 1: taking a cut of all in app purchases made in 245 00:16:49,680 --> 00:16:54,840 Speaker 1: iOS or Android apps, respectively. Now Apple tends to get 246 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:59,480 Speaker 1: a lot more focus about this, perhaps because until very recently, 247 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:05,439 Speaker 1: the company was strictly focused on only allowing users to 248 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:09,960 Speaker 1: download apps through the official Apple App Store, whereas Google 249 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:15,560 Speaker 1: via Android has allowed sideloading since the very beginning. Uh 250 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:18,760 Speaker 1: Android sideloading is when you are able to load an 251 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:23,119 Speaker 1: app that's not in the official app store, and while 252 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:26,320 Speaker 1: Google makes it possible, the company does warn users that 253 00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:31,240 Speaker 1: this particular ability could lead to problems because you might 254 00:17:31,359 --> 00:17:35,960 Speaker 1: end up downloading an app that is malicious, so there 255 00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:39,320 Speaker 1: are risks involved. But Google says, hey, you're adults, you 256 00:17:39,359 --> 00:17:43,400 Speaker 1: can make these decisions for yourself. Apple says, you know what, 257 00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:45,159 Speaker 1: you don't know what's good for you. We're going to 258 00:17:45,280 --> 00:17:47,520 Speaker 1: prevent that from happening, so you can only get them 259 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:50,400 Speaker 1: through the app store there too. I'm being a little 260 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:52,640 Speaker 1: facetious with this, but they are These are two fundamentally 261 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:56,320 Speaker 1: different approaches to how you allow your customers to get 262 00:17:56,359 --> 00:17:59,320 Speaker 1: access to apps to run your devices. Apple wants a 263 00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:04,400 Speaker 1: much more con trold ecosystem that's not likely to run 264 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:09,960 Speaker 1: a foul of Apple's other policies and procedures. So at 265 00:18:10,000 --> 00:18:12,680 Speaker 1: the end of two we learned that Apple is now 266 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:16,040 Speaker 1: preparing to change this policy. It's going to open up 267 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:18,960 Speaker 1: iOS devices to third party app stores in order to 268 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:22,840 Speaker 1: be compliant with EUS Digital Markets Act, which I'll talk 269 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:25,520 Speaker 1: about later in this episode. So this is not going 270 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: to happen immediately, but it should become a reality next year, 271 00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:31,800 Speaker 1: which is a good thing because this particular EU requirement 272 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:36,480 Speaker 1: will go into effect in T four. Now, you might 273 00:18:36,520 --> 00:18:39,879 Speaker 1: remember that this issue really made headlines. The issue of 274 00:18:40,000 --> 00:18:43,320 Speaker 1: in app payments really made headlines when Epic Games, the 275 00:18:43,359 --> 00:18:48,200 Speaker 1: company behind the massively popular title Fortnite, attempted to circumvent 276 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:53,480 Speaker 1: Apple's ecosystem by allowing players who play Fortnite on iOS 277 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:56,600 Speaker 1: devices to kind of have a work around so that 278 00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:59,280 Speaker 1: they can make purchases within the game, but not through 279 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:03,879 Speaker 1: Apple's official in app payment system. This was back in 280 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:07,919 Speaker 1: and then you had this massive battle between Apple and 281 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:11,320 Speaker 1: Epic that stretched into several court cases and lasted more 282 00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:15,280 Speaker 1: than a year. Neither side was totally victorious by the 283 00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:17,880 Speaker 1: end of it, but it's snowballed in. Over the last 284 00:19:17,880 --> 00:19:20,880 Speaker 1: two years, we've seen growing resistance to this in app 285 00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:25,040 Speaker 1: payment policy, though apparently it was news to Elon Musk, 286 00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:27,320 Speaker 1: as he made a big stink over it while pushing 287 00:19:27,359 --> 00:19:32,360 Speaker 1: Twitter's subscription tier Twitter Blue. But we'll talk way more 288 00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:36,200 Speaker 1: about Elon Musk and Twitter in another episode, not this one. 289 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:39,200 Speaker 1: I just don't have it in me. Plus, there's an 290 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:42,879 Speaker 1: ongoing story that is unfolding as I'm recording these, so 291 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:46,640 Speaker 1: I kind of want to see how it turns out anyway. 292 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:50,040 Speaker 1: To be clear, the issue isn't so much that Apple 293 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:53,440 Speaker 1: and Google take a cut of every in app transaction. 294 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:57,560 Speaker 1: That's not really the problem. I mean payment processors as 295 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:00,119 Speaker 1: a rule take a cut of every transaction. That's how 296 00:20:00,160 --> 00:20:03,879 Speaker 1: they make money. The problem is that Apple and Google 297 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:08,919 Speaker 1: prevent any alternative in app payment systems on their platforms. 298 00:20:08,960 --> 00:20:11,320 Speaker 1: So the argument is that when there are no alternatives, 299 00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:14,359 Speaker 1: there's no competition. And Apple tried to kind of be 300 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:17,760 Speaker 1: a little cheeky about this earlier this year and allowed 301 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:21,399 Speaker 1: some third party payment systems for certain types of apps, 302 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:26,360 Speaker 1: but they also charged a premium for merchants to use 303 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:30,520 Speaker 1: these alternatives. So that meant that the app developer would 304 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:34,399 Speaker 1: actually see even more money diverted away from them and 305 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:38,480 Speaker 1: to the payment processor and to Apple, and would receive 306 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:41,480 Speaker 1: even less of every single transaction if they went with 307 00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:45,080 Speaker 1: an alternative to Apples in app payment system. And you 308 00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:47,600 Speaker 1: can bet that move did not go over well. Everyone 309 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:50,360 Speaker 1: said like, hey, we totally see what you're doing. Apple, 310 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:53,400 Speaker 1: cut it out now. It will be interesting to see 311 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:55,879 Speaker 1: how these stories unfold next year. The EU and the 312 00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:59,399 Speaker 1: UK in particular are taking a really tough stance. The 313 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:03,520 Speaker 1: US also is, but the US has had, like I said, 314 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:09,520 Speaker 1: decades of being very hands off, very uh almost lassa 315 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:14,000 Speaker 1: fair about how how companies have been able to conduct 316 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:18,560 Speaker 1: themselves and to consolidate. So this is like trying to 317 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:21,480 Speaker 1: act against a lot of momentum that had been building 318 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:23,200 Speaker 1: up for for years and years and years. In the 319 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,119 Speaker 1: United States, it's a little different here all right. Now, 320 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:29,960 Speaker 1: let's talk about the Use Digital Services Act and the 321 00:21:30,040 --> 00:21:34,000 Speaker 1: Digital Markets Act. These are two pieces of legislation that 322 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:36,760 Speaker 1: are shaking things up for tech in general, and both 323 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:40,800 Speaker 1: of them were put into effect this year, or at 324 00:21:40,840 --> 00:21:45,000 Speaker 1: least enacted this year. The the actual rules end up 325 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:49,560 Speaker 1: having kind of a rolling effect on when they come 326 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:53,359 Speaker 1: into full power, so there will be time for the 327 00:21:53,359 --> 00:21:56,480 Speaker 1: tech industry to comply with all the different rules. The 328 00:21:56,520 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 1: European Commission to the European Parliament proposed both of legislation 329 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:04,960 Speaker 1: way back in December, so it wasn't until this year 330 00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:08,640 Speaker 1: that they were both passed into law after receiving lots 331 00:22:08,640 --> 00:22:11,960 Speaker 1: of revisions and tweaks and whatnot. Now, in both cases, 332 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:15,439 Speaker 1: the acts helped bring into alignment the laws that the 333 00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:18,800 Speaker 1: various member countries of the European Union have had in 334 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 1: place relating to specific Internet matters. So what the heck 335 00:22:23,800 --> 00:22:27,480 Speaker 1: did these laws say? Well, the Digital Services Act or 336 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: d s A is primarily focused on illegal content on 337 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:36,879 Speaker 1: the Internet and IT and related issues like content moderation policies. 338 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:40,280 Speaker 1: Now there are some policies that are going to sound 339 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:43,680 Speaker 1: very familiar to my fellow Americans. At least, my fellow 340 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:46,960 Speaker 1: Americans are up to speed on concepts like safe Harbor 341 00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:51,760 Speaker 1: and section to thirty of the Communications Decency Act, namely 342 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:57,520 Speaker 1: that a platform or an intermediary as the EU calls them, 343 00:22:57,720 --> 00:23:01,359 Speaker 1: is not liable for the content that users post to 344 00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:05,040 Speaker 1: that platform, meaning a platform is not to be held 345 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:09,200 Speaker 1: as the responsible party for a user posting something illegal 346 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:13,280 Speaker 1: to that platform. So, for example, if I were to 347 00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:17,880 Speaker 1: post illegal drug information like maybe I'm trying to sell 348 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:21,359 Speaker 1: drugs on Facebook, and I post that to Facebook in 349 00:23:21,400 --> 00:23:25,000 Speaker 1: the EU, and it's against the law that Facebook would 350 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:27,600 Speaker 1: not be held accountable for the fact that I did that, 351 00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:32,760 Speaker 1: except that this protection does have strict limits. Namely, once 352 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:37,359 Speaker 1: a platform becomes aware of the illegal material, it has 353 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:42,400 Speaker 1: to act to remove that material. Failure to act means 354 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:45,040 Speaker 1: the platform will be held responsible for allowing the illegal 355 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:47,919 Speaker 1: material to stay up online and they can face some 356 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:53,720 Speaker 1: really hefty fines like ten of their overall revenue in 357 00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:59,200 Speaker 1: the EU. That's massive. So also, because the EU is 358 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:01,920 Speaker 1: applying these rules to sites and services that have more 359 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:06,480 Speaker 1: than forty five million EU users, it's pretty clear that 360 00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:11,159 Speaker 1: regulators are really aiming this at big tech. This is 361 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:14,960 Speaker 1: a more strict stance than what we see here in 362 00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:18,359 Speaker 1: the US with Section to thirty of the Communications Decency Act. 363 00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:22,040 Speaker 1: The Digital Services Act also aims to strip away the 364 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:25,960 Speaker 1: mystery behind how sites and services like Facebook and TikTok 365 00:24:26,040 --> 00:24:31,399 Speaker 1: and YouTube work algorithmically. So essentially, the d s A 366 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:35,080 Speaker 1: says companies have to be able to explain how their 367 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:39,560 Speaker 1: recommendation algorithms work and and to do so, you know, 368 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:42,879 Speaker 1: beyond just hey, it just suggests things that things you'll like. 369 00:24:43,720 --> 00:24:46,200 Speaker 1: So they have to explain how the algorithms pick and 370 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:50,479 Speaker 1: choose what contents is served up to users. They also 371 00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:53,679 Speaker 1: have to be clear on how the company decides what 372 00:24:53,920 --> 00:24:58,159 Speaker 1: content to remove and when to remove it. So for 373 00:24:58,359 --> 00:25:02,320 Speaker 1: companies that have policies they will remove certain types of material, 374 00:25:02,359 --> 00:25:04,720 Speaker 1: they have to be very transparent in how they make 375 00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:09,040 Speaker 1: these determinations. The d s A requires companies to explain 376 00:25:09,119 --> 00:25:12,439 Speaker 1: how they match advertisers to users, you know, and what 377 00:25:12,600 --> 00:25:15,639 Speaker 1: goes into targeted advertising, what kind of data gets pulled 378 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:19,160 Speaker 1: and used for that purpose. Now, considering the e use 379 00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:24,159 Speaker 1: protective stance around citizen data in the European Union, I 380 00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:26,520 Speaker 1: suspect that last bit is going to end up shaking 381 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:29,800 Speaker 1: things up considerably for companies that depend heavily on ad 382 00:25:29,840 --> 00:25:33,840 Speaker 1: revenue like Meta and Google. All right, well, let's switch 383 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:37,359 Speaker 1: over to the Digital Markets Act or d m A. 384 00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:40,280 Speaker 1: So while the d s A is focused on illegal 385 00:25:40,359 --> 00:25:44,119 Speaker 1: content online, the d m A aims to make e 386 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:48,320 Speaker 1: commerce more fair and equitable. As such, it is aimed 387 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:53,600 Speaker 1: to encourage competition and to prevent monopolies and anti competitive practices. 388 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:55,679 Speaker 1: So the goal of the d m A is to 389 00:25:55,720 --> 00:25:59,400 Speaker 1: put a check on big text so that the larger, 390 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:03,200 Speaker 1: morris ablished companies can't just push around, or gobble up 391 00:26:03,320 --> 00:26:08,720 Speaker 1: or stamp out smaller companies. Now, considering that several tech 392 00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:12,920 Speaker 1: companies got to where they are largely through numerous acquisitions, 393 00:26:12,960 --> 00:26:16,560 Speaker 1: this could also be a huge blow to certain corporations 394 00:26:16,560 --> 00:26:19,320 Speaker 1: out there. Uh. If you were to search any of 395 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:24,320 Speaker 1: the Big Tech five and include the word acquisitions or mergers, 396 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:28,320 Speaker 1: you'd probably end up with a pretty lengthy list. Over 397 00:26:28,359 --> 00:26:32,119 Speaker 1: the years, Meta in particular has a reputation for acquiring 398 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:36,320 Speaker 1: companies that would otherwise pull attention away from metas platforms. 399 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:39,840 Speaker 1: The company is known for either buying up potential competitors 400 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:43,080 Speaker 1: or attempting to copy them in an effort to minimize 401 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:47,520 Speaker 1: their ability to pull Meta users away to other platforms. 402 00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:50,679 Speaker 1: It is, by no means the only company to follow 403 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:55,400 Speaker 1: this philosophy, I should add, it's just notorious for doing it. 404 00:26:55,400 --> 00:26:58,720 Speaker 1: It's pretty obvious that Meta is in the crosshairs in 405 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:02,359 Speaker 1: particular with the d m A. One of the acts 406 00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:04,760 Speaker 1: measures is to make it illegal for any company that 407 00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:09,000 Speaker 1: owns more than one platform from combining data from the 408 00:27:09,119 --> 00:27:12,240 Speaker 1: two or more platforms about the same users. So, in 409 00:27:12,280 --> 00:27:16,880 Speaker 1: other words, if you're Meta and you have users on 410 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:20,640 Speaker 1: Facebook and on Instagram and they live in the EU, 411 00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:24,440 Speaker 1: you cannot take the data of those users from Facebook 412 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:27,720 Speaker 1: and the data from those users on Instagram and combine 413 00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:33,400 Speaker 1: them into one big database of information about those specific people. Right. 414 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:38,359 Speaker 1: You can't combine these sources, and it's likely going to 415 00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:41,960 Speaker 1: cause some technical challenges for some of these companies, which 416 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:47,400 Speaker 1: presumably have kind of developed into being an enormous data funnel, 417 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:50,840 Speaker 1: just gobbling up all the information from every outlet and 418 00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:55,480 Speaker 1: combining it into like a a tasty data stew. The 419 00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:59,520 Speaker 1: d m A concerns itself with gatekeepers. These are tech 420 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:03,200 Speaker 1: company that dominate in one or more areas within the 421 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:09,080 Speaker 1: tech industry in general. So, for example, Google is indisputably 422 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:13,439 Speaker 1: the dominant force in Internet search, and as such it 423 00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:18,000 Speaker 1: is a gatekeeper in that respect. Apple is a gatekeeper 424 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:23,040 Speaker 1: for payment services on iOS. Meta is a gatekeeper for 425 00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:28,159 Speaker 1: social networking. These are the kind of ideas Amazon also 426 00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:32,040 Speaker 1: big gatekeeper for online shopping. So the d m A 427 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:36,159 Speaker 1: says it is against the rules for any gatekeeper in 428 00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:40,080 Speaker 1: whichever realm of tech they're looking at, to give its 429 00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:46,040 Speaker 1: own services preferential treatment over competitors. Amazon has been accused 430 00:28:46,080 --> 00:28:49,560 Speaker 1: of doing this sort of thing in multiple places around 431 00:28:49,560 --> 00:28:52,760 Speaker 1: the world, in India here in the United States. So 432 00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:56,760 Speaker 1: the accusation is that Amazon tends to promote Amazon owned 433 00:28:56,920 --> 00:29:02,280 Speaker 1: or Amazon affiliated brands over the belonging to competitors. So 434 00:29:02,560 --> 00:29:05,800 Speaker 1: the d m A is saying, hey, you can't do that. 435 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:08,120 Speaker 1: That's not fair. It would be kind of like if 436 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:10,840 Speaker 1: you were to go into a grocery store and all 437 00:29:10,960 --> 00:29:16,000 Speaker 1: the store owned products are prominently displayed and they're easy 438 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:19,120 Speaker 1: to reach, and then all the other brands from anyone 439 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:21,680 Speaker 1: else are tucked out of the way and they're like 440 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:25,520 Speaker 1: place really high up on the shelves or whatever. That's 441 00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:28,640 Speaker 1: an unfair practice, and that's what the d m A 442 00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:31,840 Speaker 1: is looking to prevent in the future. The d m 443 00:29:31,840 --> 00:29:34,280 Speaker 1: A and the d s A have a lot more 444 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:37,880 Speaker 1: in them, but I am probably gonna do full episodes 445 00:29:37,920 --> 00:29:41,560 Speaker 1: about each of them. The important thing for this episode 446 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:45,760 Speaker 1: is that these two massive pieces of legislation unify the 447 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:49,360 Speaker 1: use approach to online content and business, and they send 448 00:29:49,360 --> 00:29:53,000 Speaker 1: a message to the big tech companies that they aren't 449 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:55,640 Speaker 1: going to have quite as much freedom to do whatever 450 00:29:55,680 --> 00:30:01,040 Speaker 1: they please moving forward. Okay, still got some more stories 451 00:30:01,080 --> 00:30:04,000 Speaker 1: to cover before we conclude this particular episode, But first 452 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:18,400 Speaker 1: let's take another quick break. We're back, and you know what, 453 00:30:18,440 --> 00:30:20,600 Speaker 1: We're still going to talk about the EU. But now 454 00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:23,080 Speaker 1: let's talk about another measure that has forced one of 455 00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:26,840 Speaker 1: the big tech companies to make some pretty significant changes 456 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:30,520 Speaker 1: in the near future. The European Parliament passed a measure 457 00:30:30,680 --> 00:30:35,040 Speaker 1: that will require all mobile devices, including phones and cameras 458 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:38,320 Speaker 1: and things like that, to adopt the us B C 459 00:30:38,800 --> 00:30:42,640 Speaker 1: charging port by the end of so In other words, 460 00:30:42,960 --> 00:30:45,160 Speaker 1: if you make a mobile device and you want to 461 00:30:45,200 --> 00:30:47,840 Speaker 1: sell it in the EU, it has to have a 462 00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:53,280 Speaker 1: USBC charging port equipped by It's also going to apply 463 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:59,760 Speaker 1: to laptop computers. Now, this law passed by overwhelming majority, 464 00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:04,040 Speaker 1: her six hundred and two votes in favor of the measure. 465 00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:07,880 Speaker 1: There were only thirteen votes against it, and then there 466 00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:11,480 Speaker 1: were eight members that abstained from the voting. And this 467 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:14,080 Speaker 1: measure means that one company in particular has to make 468 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:18,400 Speaker 1: a big change. In that company is Apple. Now, Apple 469 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:22,360 Speaker 1: has long leaned on proprietary charging ports and cables for 470 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:27,000 Speaker 1: many of its products since Apple iPhones as well as 471 00:31:27,040 --> 00:31:30,400 Speaker 1: several other Apple products have used what Apple calls the 472 00:31:30,600 --> 00:31:35,200 Speaker 1: lightning connector. By using a proprietary approach, Apple could achieve 473 00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:38,960 Speaker 1: a few goals. For one, the company could actually design 474 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:42,520 Speaker 1: ports and cables that had features that the USB standard 475 00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:47,000 Speaker 1: didn't at the time anyway, So that includes the ability 476 00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:51,280 Speaker 1: to plug a lightning cable into a charging port in 477 00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:54,600 Speaker 1: either direction. In other words, there's no right side up 478 00:31:54,680 --> 00:31:57,840 Speaker 1: or anything like that. That's a good thing for consumers. 479 00:31:57,840 --> 00:32:00,640 Speaker 1: It makes it easier to use the the cables. I 480 00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:04,120 Speaker 1: don't know how many times I've had like a USB 481 00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:07,720 Speaker 1: micro or USB Mini cable and I spent the first 482 00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:10,920 Speaker 1: minute trying to figure out if I was trying to 483 00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:14,360 Speaker 1: plug it in upside down or not. So, yeah, plugging 484 00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:16,560 Speaker 1: an older USB cables can be kind of a pain. 485 00:32:16,640 --> 00:32:19,600 Speaker 1: So this was a good thing. But Apple had other 486 00:32:19,640 --> 00:32:23,280 Speaker 1: reasons for doing this approach. Whether we're a lot more 487 00:32:23,320 --> 00:32:27,240 Speaker 1: self serving. So a proprietary approach gives Apple more control 488 00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:31,000 Speaker 1: over the supply chain, right and any company that wanted 489 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:33,960 Speaker 1: to make its own lightning cables would have to pay 490 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:36,400 Speaker 1: Apple a licensing fee in order to do it, so, 491 00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:41,160 Speaker 1: in other words, locking down the ecosystem created revenue streams 492 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:44,360 Speaker 1: for Apple. You couldn't just go and buy a generic 493 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:47,719 Speaker 1: lightning cable and Apple gets no cut. Apple would get 494 00:32:47,760 --> 00:32:49,840 Speaker 1: a cut no matter what, whether it came from Apple 495 00:32:50,440 --> 00:32:51,960 Speaker 1: or it came from a company that was paying a 496 00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:55,960 Speaker 1: licensing fee to Apple. Now it might be more convenient 497 00:32:56,000 --> 00:33:00,160 Speaker 1: for Apple users if their tech worked with industry standard cables, 498 00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:01,920 Speaker 1: right like if it worked with the same cables that 499 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:04,720 Speaker 1: everything else works with. But that would mean Apple would 500 00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:08,360 Speaker 1: be leaving money on the table. So Apple had resisted 501 00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:11,920 Speaker 1: this for quite some time. Let the use regulations now 502 00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:15,120 Speaker 1: require Apple to play ball. The EU regulators said that 503 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:18,200 Speaker 1: by adopting the standard, there will be a reduction of 504 00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:23,560 Speaker 1: E waste. People won't need to keep different incompatible cables 505 00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:26,800 Speaker 1: in like a junk drawer, and then when one cable 506 00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:28,560 Speaker 1: wears out, they have to go and hunt for the 507 00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:32,320 Speaker 1: right one in order to have a replacement. Now they'll 508 00:33:32,320 --> 00:33:35,280 Speaker 1: be able to grab any USBC cable they happen to have, 509 00:33:35,840 --> 00:33:39,240 Speaker 1: and that will work just fine. Apple has said that 510 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:41,960 Speaker 1: forcing the company to adopt the standard is going to 511 00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:45,560 Speaker 1: hurt consumers, But I don't think that very many people 512 00:33:45,640 --> 00:33:49,560 Speaker 1: took those arguments seriously. And so Apple looks like it's 513 00:33:49,560 --> 00:33:52,480 Speaker 1: going to conform to the US wishes, which also means 514 00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:56,560 Speaker 1: that we will likely see the same thing happen worldwide, 515 00:33:57,040 --> 00:33:59,200 Speaker 1: though who knows. Maybe Apple will try to keep two 516 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:02,600 Speaker 1: separate line some products going where it keeps the lightning 517 00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:07,000 Speaker 1: port everywhere else and it just does USBC for the EU. 518 00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:10,360 Speaker 1: We'll have to see. I don't think that would happen, 519 00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:13,600 Speaker 1: just because I would imagine that that really complicates the 520 00:34:13,640 --> 00:34:17,480 Speaker 1: supply chain and the manufacturing process, and it's just easier 521 00:34:17,520 --> 00:34:21,040 Speaker 1: to adopt it worldwide. But we'll have to see. Okay, 522 00:34:21,120 --> 00:34:26,240 Speaker 1: let's talk about another technological battle between government agencies and 523 00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:30,080 Speaker 1: industries and tech companies. And this time, really we're looking 524 00:34:30,120 --> 00:34:33,080 Speaker 1: at two tech industries that are in a battle with 525 00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:37,279 Speaker 1: one another. That would be the telecommunications industry and the 526 00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:42,000 Speaker 1: aviation industry. So the United States Federal Aviation Administration or 527 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:45,680 Speaker 1: f a A is involved in this as well. Now, 528 00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:50,920 Speaker 1: this all has to do with five G wireless communication, 529 00:34:51,080 --> 00:34:55,160 Speaker 1: and this requires a bit of explanation. First of all, 530 00:34:55,239 --> 00:34:59,680 Speaker 1: let's demystify five G for a second. It's very easy 531 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:03,280 Speaker 1: to refer to five G as being this super fast 532 00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:09,200 Speaker 1: wireless internet connectivity solution, but really that's kind of misleading. 533 00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:13,440 Speaker 1: For one thing, we're not so much talking about data speed, 534 00:35:13,480 --> 00:35:16,560 Speaker 1: we're talking about bandwidth. So in other words, it's not 535 00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:20,200 Speaker 1: how fast the zeros and ones are zooming around. Rather, 536 00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:23,319 Speaker 1: it's how many zeros and ones can zoom around at 537 00:35:23,360 --> 00:35:26,480 Speaker 1: the same time and be accepted by your device or 538 00:35:26,520 --> 00:35:31,080 Speaker 1: sent from your device. There's also the matter of latency, 539 00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:35,719 Speaker 1: that's the delay between an action and its reaction. Now, 540 00:35:35,760 --> 00:35:39,440 Speaker 1: you want latency to be really low for certain operations. Actually, 541 00:35:39,480 --> 00:35:42,040 Speaker 1: really you typically want latency to be low for everything 542 00:35:42,080 --> 00:35:46,360 Speaker 1: because we've really grown impatient. We hate watching delays. But 543 00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:50,759 Speaker 1: some operations low latency is absolutely critical, and one of 544 00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:55,319 Speaker 1: five G s promises is a reduction in latency. But 545 00:35:56,280 --> 00:35:59,799 Speaker 1: five G itself actually comes in a few different flavors. 546 00:36:00,239 --> 00:36:03,960 Speaker 1: To be more accurate, there are a few different frequency 547 00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:08,719 Speaker 1: bands within the electromagnetic spectrum that are called five G, 548 00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:14,040 Speaker 1: and at the lower frequencies, five G isn't super duper fast, 549 00:36:14,200 --> 00:36:19,000 Speaker 1: or rather doesn't have this enormous bandwidth, but it can 550 00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:22,840 Speaker 1: work over long distances, has a longer transmission range. Not 551 00:36:23,080 --> 00:36:28,600 Speaker 1: the highest of five GS frequencies. You've got incredible bandwidth, 552 00:36:29,160 --> 00:36:32,560 Speaker 1: but you have a very short range of transmission. Plus 553 00:36:33,280 --> 00:36:37,080 Speaker 1: at the very high frequencies, the waves have trouble penetrating 554 00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:40,440 Speaker 1: solid surfaces. So if there happens to be a wall 555 00:36:40,560 --> 00:36:43,239 Speaker 1: or a ceiling or something like that between you and 556 00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:46,360 Speaker 1: the transmitter, you're not going to be able to enjoy 557 00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:51,799 Speaker 1: those fibro light connections on your device through that particular transmitter. Now, 558 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:54,040 Speaker 1: the reason I say all this is because the marketing 559 00:36:54,040 --> 00:36:57,400 Speaker 1: of five G can leave out some of these details, 560 00:36:57,480 --> 00:37:00,120 Speaker 1: and so the basic consumer might expect to have an 561 00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:05,080 Speaker 1: incredible wireless connection on their five G device, but in reality, 562 00:37:05,239 --> 00:37:07,760 Speaker 1: when they actually use their device, they find the speed 563 00:37:07,800 --> 00:37:12,920 Speaker 1: that they're enjoying isn't necessarily that much more impressive than 564 00:37:12,960 --> 00:37:16,319 Speaker 1: what they had with LTE. But anyway, not all five 565 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:20,080 Speaker 1: G is equal. That's kind of what I'm getting at now. 566 00:37:20,320 --> 00:37:23,480 Speaker 1: The bit about five G that's important for this story 567 00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:27,920 Speaker 1: is that high power, high frequency five G has the 568 00:37:27,920 --> 00:37:33,320 Speaker 1: potential to interfere with specific older aviation equipment, in particular 569 00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:38,480 Speaker 1: radio altimeters. These are used by aircraft to determine altitude, 570 00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:42,839 Speaker 1: in other words, how far from the ground the plane is, 571 00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:47,600 Speaker 1: and as you can imagine, that data is pretty darn important, 572 00:37:47,640 --> 00:37:53,600 Speaker 1: particularly for takeoffs and landings in low visibility situations specifically, 573 00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:56,520 Speaker 1: so pilots kind of need to know how close they 574 00:37:56,520 --> 00:37:59,840 Speaker 1: are to the ground in those situations. So then you 575 00:38:00,040 --> 00:38:03,000 Speaker 1: have the us f a A, which is looking out 576 00:38:03,040 --> 00:38:06,279 Speaker 1: for airlines and airports and such, essentially looking up for 577 00:38:06,320 --> 00:38:09,239 Speaker 1: the aviation industry. Then on the other side, you had 578 00:38:09,280 --> 00:38:12,320 Speaker 1: the telecommunications companies like A, T and T and Verizon. 579 00:38:12,719 --> 00:38:17,800 Speaker 1: They were looking to expand five G C band services 580 00:38:17,840 --> 00:38:22,399 Speaker 1: across the country, including in areas that are around airports, 581 00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:26,719 Speaker 1: and that's where you get our initial conflict. You had 582 00:38:26,800 --> 00:38:29,839 Speaker 1: the telecommunications companies that were looking to tap into more 583 00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:34,200 Speaker 1: customers selling them five G services, and you had the 584 00:38:34,280 --> 00:38:37,920 Speaker 1: airline industry concerned that these services could potentially interfere in 585 00:38:38,000 --> 00:38:42,480 Speaker 1: aircraft operations. Now, the solution to this problem is actually 586 00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:49,600 Speaker 1: fairly straightforward. Aircraft need a retrofit to shield radio altimeters 587 00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:54,080 Speaker 1: from five G interference. Essentially, they need to swap out apart. 588 00:38:54,360 --> 00:38:57,000 Speaker 1: They need the old radio altimeters to be pulled out 589 00:38:57,520 --> 00:39:00,160 Speaker 1: and new and improved radio altimeters that are resist sent 590 00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:04,040 Speaker 1: to this kind of interference to be installed. That's the solution. 591 00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:08,600 Speaker 1: So it's literally about updating equipment to avoid the problem. 592 00:39:08,680 --> 00:39:12,279 Speaker 1: But here's the thing. That equipment is wicked expensive. We're 593 00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:16,440 Speaker 1: talking like twenty grand per instance. And then when you 594 00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:20,319 Speaker 1: think about the fleets of aircraft across different airlines or 595 00:39:20,680 --> 00:39:24,239 Speaker 1: the number of aircraft that specific companies like Boeing sell, 596 00:39:25,360 --> 00:39:29,280 Speaker 1: that mounts up really quickly. So there was another matter 597 00:39:29,360 --> 00:39:32,880 Speaker 1: that needed to be settled. Who is going to pay 598 00:39:32,960 --> 00:39:36,480 Speaker 1: for it? Now? As you can imagine, neither the aviation 599 00:39:36,560 --> 00:39:41,080 Speaker 1: industry nor the telecommunications industry wanted to be responsible for 600 00:39:41,160 --> 00:39:43,160 Speaker 1: holding the bag when it came time to pay for 601 00:39:43,200 --> 00:39:47,120 Speaker 1: these upgrades. The telecommunications industry was like, hey, this is 602 00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:50,560 Speaker 1: your technology, it's your responsibility to do the upgrades. The 603 00:39:50,600 --> 00:39:54,360 Speaker 1: aviation industry was like, hey, we wouldn't need to upgrade 604 00:39:54,400 --> 00:39:58,080 Speaker 1: if you didn't start blasting interference near airports, so you 605 00:39:58,120 --> 00:40:01,799 Speaker 1: should pay for the changes and early. That's what this 606 00:40:02,200 --> 00:40:05,640 Speaker 1: mostly boiled down to. So there was this kind of 607 00:40:05,680 --> 00:40:10,400 Speaker 1: standoff between the telecommunications companies that were putting into place 608 00:40:10,520 --> 00:40:13,920 Speaker 1: plans to launch these five G services around airports, and 609 00:40:13,920 --> 00:40:17,239 Speaker 1: then you had the aviation industry that was saying, hey, 610 00:40:17,280 --> 00:40:19,840 Speaker 1: if you do that, you're going to cause delays and worse, 611 00:40:19,880 --> 00:40:22,600 Speaker 1: and it will be on your head. It was kind 612 00:40:22,640 --> 00:40:25,080 Speaker 1: of like they were playing chicken with each other, and 613 00:40:25,160 --> 00:40:27,359 Speaker 1: once you understood what was going on, it got a 614 00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:33,200 Speaker 1: little frustrating. In January of twenty two, the telecommunications companies 615 00:40:33,320 --> 00:40:36,719 Speaker 1: reduced the transmission power of five G towers that were 616 00:40:36,760 --> 00:40:40,399 Speaker 1: near certain very busy airports in the United States. This 617 00:40:40,480 --> 00:40:44,399 Speaker 1: was a concession to avoid safety problems, particularly in low 618 00:40:44,480 --> 00:40:49,200 Speaker 1: visibility situations. While everyone started to work on a more 619 00:40:49,280 --> 00:40:53,440 Speaker 1: permanent solution, the deployment of five G around airports in 620 00:40:53,480 --> 00:40:57,480 Speaker 1: certain markets has been on hold in the meantime. This 621 00:40:57,640 --> 00:41:02,440 Speaker 1: also has an impact on some populations that typically are 622 00:41:02,560 --> 00:41:07,640 Speaker 1: underserved or sometimes unserved, because a lot of the neighborhoods 623 00:41:07,640 --> 00:41:10,719 Speaker 1: around airports tend to be for you know, lower income 624 00:41:10,920 --> 00:41:14,000 Speaker 1: areas of cities, and so part of the argument is 625 00:41:14,040 --> 00:41:18,160 Speaker 1: that by delaying this, it is hurting those populations who 626 00:41:18,239 --> 00:41:20,680 Speaker 1: don't have access to the technology they need in order 627 00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:24,480 Speaker 1: to be connected productive members of society, which, you know, 628 00:41:24,560 --> 00:41:28,920 Speaker 1: there's some validity to that argument. Things are supposed to 629 00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:32,040 Speaker 1: be on track next year, because that's when A. T 630 00:41:32,160 --> 00:41:36,440 Speaker 1: and T and Verizon are gonna lift their self imposed 631 00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:40,960 Speaker 1: restrictions that they've placed on themselves in order to you know, 632 00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:45,880 Speaker 1: comply with the needs of the aviation industry, but recently 633 00:41:45,960 --> 00:41:51,320 Speaker 1: Boeing asked federal regulators to delay that to to essentially 634 00:41:51,360 --> 00:41:54,560 Speaker 1: force A ten too and Verizon to hold off on 635 00:41:54,760 --> 00:41:58,600 Speaker 1: rolling those technologies out because they still need more time 636 00:41:58,760 --> 00:42:01,839 Speaker 1: to upgrade systems on planes to make sure that they 637 00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:05,640 Speaker 1: are resistant to five G interference. So this is an 638 00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:11,760 Speaker 1: ongoing struggle. Interestingly, meanwhile, in the EU, there are plans 639 00:42:11,760 --> 00:42:15,359 Speaker 1: to allow passengers to use five G devices while they're 640 00:42:15,360 --> 00:42:18,920 Speaker 1: actually on a flight. So here in the States the 641 00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:22,359 Speaker 1: issue involves five G cell towers near airports. Like, we're 642 00:42:22,360 --> 00:42:25,480 Speaker 1: not even talking about people in airplanes right now, we're 643 00:42:25,480 --> 00:42:31,160 Speaker 1: talking about the actual physical infrastructure around airports. Meanwhile, in 644 00:42:31,239 --> 00:42:34,319 Speaker 1: the EU, next year, passengers will be able to use 645 00:42:34,360 --> 00:42:37,719 Speaker 1: their cellular phones while flying through the air. And you 646 00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:40,480 Speaker 1: might wonder what makes it safe to do that in 647 00:42:40,520 --> 00:42:44,040 Speaker 1: the EU, But it's unsafe in the United States. And 648 00:42:44,080 --> 00:42:46,160 Speaker 1: a big part of that hearkens back to what I 649 00:42:46,200 --> 00:42:49,640 Speaker 1: said earlier about there being different flavors of five G 650 00:42:50,160 --> 00:42:52,640 Speaker 1: in the United States. The matter is about the so 651 00:42:52,719 --> 00:42:56,560 Speaker 1: called C band of five G frequencies, these higher frequency, 652 00:42:56,640 --> 00:43:01,720 Speaker 1: higher power UH transmissions than what you find in the EU. 653 00:43:02,760 --> 00:43:06,840 Speaker 1: The EU uses lower five G frequencies than what we 654 00:43:06,920 --> 00:43:11,000 Speaker 1: see around the United States, so it's not an Apple's 655 00:43:11,040 --> 00:43:15,080 Speaker 1: Apples thing. Five G is not five G depending upon 656 00:43:15,120 --> 00:43:17,160 Speaker 1: where you are, or at least it's not the same 657 00:43:17,200 --> 00:43:21,160 Speaker 1: five G. Now, all that being said, I'm not sure 658 00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:23,480 Speaker 1: the average person is going to get great reception on 659 00:43:23,600 --> 00:43:26,239 Speaker 1: flights in the EU, even if they are allowed to 660 00:43:26,360 --> 00:43:30,439 Speaker 1: use five G devices. Cell towers have a limited transmission range. 661 00:43:30,840 --> 00:43:32,880 Speaker 1: This is why we need a lot of cell towers, 662 00:43:33,120 --> 00:43:35,759 Speaker 1: because what happens is one cell tower will hand off 663 00:43:35,800 --> 00:43:38,680 Speaker 1: service to the next, So as you move toward the 664 00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:43,319 Speaker 1: edge of cell tower a's range of service, it can 665 00:43:43,400 --> 00:43:46,400 Speaker 1: hand you off to cell tower B and your service 666 00:43:46,520 --> 00:43:48,920 Speaker 1: isn't interrupted. But when you're way up in the sky, 667 00:43:49,040 --> 00:43:52,720 Speaker 1: there's a distinct shortage of cellular towers around you, so 668 00:43:53,320 --> 00:43:56,640 Speaker 1: you might not be able to get any signal anyway 669 00:43:56,719 --> 00:43:59,280 Speaker 1: because you'll be at too high in altitude to do it. 670 00:43:59,280 --> 00:44:02,040 Speaker 1: It would be passe sable to actually outfit planes with 671 00:44:02,520 --> 00:44:06,439 Speaker 1: pico cell towers, essentially these tiny little cell towers, and 672 00:44:06,520 --> 00:44:09,480 Speaker 1: they would be able to cover the range of the 673 00:44:09,840 --> 00:44:13,319 Speaker 1: aircraft with cell signals and then it would beam a 674 00:44:13,400 --> 00:44:19,080 Speaker 1: concentrated data stream at terrestrial towers on the ground, but 675 00:44:19,160 --> 00:44:22,640 Speaker 1: that would require even more equipment updates to planes, and 676 00:44:22,680 --> 00:44:26,239 Speaker 1: we're seeing how that's going so far. So all right, 677 00:44:26,560 --> 00:44:29,160 Speaker 1: that is enough for this first episode about some of 678 00:44:29,160 --> 00:44:33,920 Speaker 1: the big tech stories of two, and we're just getting started. 679 00:44:34,000 --> 00:44:36,360 Speaker 1: We're gonna have a bunch more of these episodes because 680 00:44:36,880 --> 00:44:40,080 Speaker 1: there's so much to talk about. I mean, Elon Musk 681 00:44:40,120 --> 00:44:42,160 Speaker 1: and Twitter alone, I have a feeling is going to 682 00:44:42,239 --> 00:44:45,279 Speaker 1: be at least half an episode. We'll see. I don't 683 00:44:45,280 --> 00:44:47,960 Speaker 1: know how much my tolerance can handle at this point 684 00:44:48,320 --> 00:44:51,560 Speaker 1: because it's been such a crazy story this whole year, 685 00:44:51,719 --> 00:44:55,640 Speaker 1: and that's the story that's currently unfolding as I record this. 686 00:44:55,920 --> 00:44:57,759 Speaker 1: We're all waiting to find out if Elon Musk is 687 00:44:57,760 --> 00:45:00,160 Speaker 1: actually going to step down as CEO, because he all 688 00:45:00,160 --> 00:45:04,560 Speaker 1: the poll about it and asked his his followers should 689 00:45:04,560 --> 00:45:07,200 Speaker 1: he step down or not, and the majority said yes 690 00:45:07,239 --> 00:45:11,759 Speaker 1: you should. So we're waiting to hear what that amounts to. 691 00:45:12,239 --> 00:45:16,200 Speaker 1: I'm sure i'll talk about that and later on this week. Anyway, 692 00:45:16,239 --> 00:45:19,840 Speaker 1: I hope you're all well. I hope your two was 693 00:45:19,880 --> 00:45:23,560 Speaker 1: a good one. I hope three is even better, and 694 00:45:23,600 --> 00:45:33,960 Speaker 1: I'll talk to you again really soon. Tech stuff is 695 00:45:33,960 --> 00:45:37,239 Speaker 1: an i heart Radio production. For more podcasts from my 696 00:45:37,400 --> 00:45:41,000 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 697 00:45:41,120 --> 00:45:43,080 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.