1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:17,840 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with iHeart Radio and 4 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:20,239 Speaker 1: how the tech are you. It's time for the tech 5 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:25,320 Speaker 1: News for Tuesday, November one, two thousand twenty two, and 6 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:28,720 Speaker 1: we're gonna start off with some semi stale news. When 7 00:00:28,720 --> 00:00:34,080 Speaker 1: I published the last news episode, which was on last Thursday, 8 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:37,400 Speaker 1: Elon Musk had yet to finalize his acquisition of Twitter, 9 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:41,879 Speaker 1: but that actually did happen later on that day last Thursday, 10 00:00:42,120 --> 00:00:45,640 Speaker 1: and Musk changed his bio on Twitter to Chief Twit. 11 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:48,840 Speaker 1: He's changed it a couple of times since then. Since 12 00:00:48,920 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 1: that moment, a lot has happened and continues to happen 13 00:00:53,920 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: over at Twitter. Musk fired former CEO Paragugrival, former Chief 14 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: Finance Chill officer Ned Siegel, policy head vi J. Gutty, 15 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:09,360 Speaker 1: and general counsel Sean Edgett to start. Musk subsequently named 16 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:14,560 Speaker 1: himself CEO, which makes Musk the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX 17 00:01:14,600 --> 00:01:18,880 Speaker 1: and Twitter. At the same time. He has also dissolved 18 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: Twitter's board of directors and named himself sole director. So 19 00:01:22,240 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 1: now Musk answers only to himself as both CEO and director, 20 00:01:26,800 --> 00:01:30,040 Speaker 1: though I gotta be fair. Twitter is now a private company, 21 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:33,640 Speaker 1: so it has different needs from a publicly traded company, 22 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:38,199 Speaker 1: so a board of directors isn't necessarily performing the same 23 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 1: function at Twitter as it would have when it was 24 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:45,440 Speaker 1: still a publicly traded company. The Washington Post, which previously 25 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 1: reported that Musk planned to lay off as much as 26 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: seventy of staff, which Musk later refuted, says now that 27 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:56,800 Speaker 1: up to the company could be laid off shortly, with 28 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 1: a possible overall cut in the long term. In fact, 29 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:05,600 Speaker 1: according to several reports, the plan was to have some 30 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: of those cuts take effect before today, because November one 31 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:12,720 Speaker 1: marks when several Twitter employees will receive grants of shares. 32 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: But Elon Musk has straight up denied this news said 33 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:19,280 Speaker 1: that's not true. It was never the plan. He is 34 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:23,920 Speaker 1: also considering changing the verification process at Twitter right now. 35 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: The way verification works is Twitter looks into accounts held 36 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:32,240 Speaker 1: by quote unquote notable people, and then in at least 37 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:35,440 Speaker 1: cases where Twitter agrees that they're notable, will go through 38 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: the process to verify that the Twitter account actually belongs 39 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,800 Speaker 1: to the person claiming to be that person, right, like 40 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: in my case, to make sure that it's me, not 41 00:02:47,760 --> 00:02:50,920 Speaker 1: someone posing as me. That's why I put notable in 42 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:55,320 Speaker 1: in quotes kind of because my personal Twitter handle does 43 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:58,400 Speaker 1: have a verification check I've got that little blue check mark, 44 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:02,200 Speaker 1: and I do not and I qualify as notable, but 45 00:03:03,000 --> 00:03:06,360 Speaker 1: there I am. Anyway, Musk is considering making this whole 46 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 1: verification process a paid for feature wrapped into another subscription service, 47 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 1: and that the service, which currently goes for about five 48 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:19,640 Speaker 1: bucks a month, would then be twenty dollars a month 49 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:21,600 Speaker 1: and you would have to pay that in order to 50 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: maintain your verified status. We don't know much more about this, 51 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: like would this mean that anyone with the financial means 52 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: could get the verification tick? So it's not whether or 53 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 1: not you're notable, it's whether or not you're willing to 54 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: spend two bucks a year to get it. If so, 55 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:45,680 Speaker 1: would that mean that the tick even has any real 56 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: value anymore? For those power users still on Twitter, are 57 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 1: they going to cough up the cash to maintain their status? 58 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:54,040 Speaker 1: I mean, I can tell you that I'm not going to, 59 00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:57,720 Speaker 1: But then I've used Twitter maybe four or five times 60 00:03:57,720 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: over the last half a year, so it would be 61 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: a waste of money for me to do that, no 62 00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: matter what, or could it mean that someone could actually 63 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:11,520 Speaker 1: pose as someone else, pay the money, get the verification tick, 64 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: and then be seen as a legitimate voice for that 65 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:17,200 Speaker 1: person when in fact they have no connection. Is that 66 00:04:17,240 --> 00:04:21,640 Speaker 1: a possibility? According to the Verge, which cited internal emails 67 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: as a source, Currently, verified accounts like mine will have 68 00:04:25,720 --> 00:04:28,360 Speaker 1: ninety days to subscribe to the new process or else 69 00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:31,880 Speaker 1: lose that blue tick mark. Shucks, I guess it'll be 70 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 1: gone for me. Musk also hinted that he's interested in 71 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:40,000 Speaker 1: bringing back the short form video platform Vine, which Twitter 72 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:44,160 Speaker 1: bought in two thousand twelve and then began to sunset 73 00:04:44,279 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: in sixteen. It would take a few years before it 74 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 1: was dead dead. Uh. Kind of interesting because you could 75 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:55,359 Speaker 1: argue that Vine in many ways presaged the arrival of 76 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:59,119 Speaker 1: platforms like TikTok, although Vine was a very short form 77 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:02,359 Speaker 1: video platfor form um and it took a lot of 78 00:05:02,400 --> 00:05:06,360 Speaker 1: work to make a really good Vine. Reports say that 79 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:10,640 Speaker 1: Musk has given various teams within Twitter extremely tight deadlines 80 00:05:11,279 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 1: to see these projects through, like the overhaul of the 81 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 1: verification process and the resurrection of Vine, like a crazy 82 00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:24,400 Speaker 1: aggressive deadline, at least in some cases, like by the 83 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:29,360 Speaker 1: end of this week kind of stuff. Musk has also 84 00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: really pushed hard on the Twitter staff already, and we 85 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:38,599 Speaker 1: know more about the folks who helped fund Musks take 86 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:43,000 Speaker 1: over a Twitter, which is causing other kinds of scandal. Uh. 87 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:47,279 Speaker 1: The people who helped Musk get the financing to to 88 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:51,800 Speaker 1: make this purchase include the former CEO of Twitter, the 89 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:56,880 Speaker 1: co founder, Jack Dorsey, investor Jason Kellicanis is another one, 90 00:05:57,640 --> 00:06:00,799 Speaker 1: and a company that represents the interest of the Prince 91 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:05,720 Speaker 1: of Saudi Arabia is a major investor in this new Twitter. 92 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:08,680 Speaker 1: You might remember. The Prince of Saudi Arabia is the 93 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:11,600 Speaker 1: same guy who's been accused of ordering the assassination of 94 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:15,880 Speaker 1: journalist Jamal ka Shogi and is currently leading a country 95 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:19,360 Speaker 1: that has a horrifyingly long list of human rights crises 96 00:06:19,400 --> 00:06:22,800 Speaker 1: to its name. The Saudi Arabian angle, in particular, has 97 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:25,240 Speaker 1: prompted U S Senator Chris Murphy to ask for a 98 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 1: government review of Twitter's deal on the grounds of national security. 99 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 1: So this story is not yet over. I expect we're 100 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:36,320 Speaker 1: going to see a pretty tumultuous time for Twitter in 101 00:06:36,360 --> 00:06:39,799 Speaker 1: the near term. Let's switch gears, which is a pun. 102 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 1: But you don't know it yet. We're gonna talk about Tesla. Okay, 103 00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:47,800 Speaker 1: now you know. Anyway, Reuters reports that the Electric Vehicle 104 00:06:47,839 --> 00:06:51,279 Speaker 1: Company hopes to go into mass production of its cyber 105 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 1: truck by the end of next year. Elon musk Are 106 00:06:55,160 --> 00:07:00,160 Speaker 1: initially unveiled the cyber truck back in twenty nineteen two. Well, well, 107 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: let's say it was not too universal acclaim. Some folks 108 00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:07,159 Speaker 1: found the design to be puzzling. Uh. The event also 109 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:11,240 Speaker 1: had some technical issues. For example, after proclaiming the armor 110 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:15,280 Speaker 1: glass windows on the truck to be virtually unbreakable, Franz 111 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:19,160 Speaker 1: von Holshausen through a metal ball the driver's side window 112 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:23,040 Speaker 1: to demonstrate this, except the metal ball shattered two of 113 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:26,760 Speaker 1: the windows. Musk said the reason for that was because 114 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: earlier in the demonstration they showed how tough the doors 115 00:07:30,400 --> 00:07:32,760 Speaker 1: on the truck were and they struck it with a sledgehammer, 116 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 1: and that that subsequently weakened the windows and that's why 117 00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:39,480 Speaker 1: they shattered with the metal ball. Anyway, it was one 118 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:42,760 Speaker 1: setback in that unveiling, but another was that a lot 119 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 1: of folks found the angular design of the truck's body 120 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 1: to be unusual and not in a cool way. Tesla 121 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 1: stock dropped a bit in value after the unveiling, but 122 00:07:53,280 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 1: according to the company, around a quarter of a million 123 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 1: pre orders came in just five days later, so it 124 00:07:58,960 --> 00:08:02,480 Speaker 1: seemed like it was finding its audience. The plan was 125 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:05,600 Speaker 1: to go into production by late one, but delays, not 126 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:08,320 Speaker 1: the least of which came courtesy of the pandemic, have 127 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:12,240 Speaker 1: pushed that back a few times now to late twenty three. 128 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:15,920 Speaker 1: Acquaint reuters, I'm curious if the folks who plopped down 129 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:18,920 Speaker 1: to Ben Franklin. Uh, that's a hundred bucks to y'all 130 00:08:18,960 --> 00:08:22,040 Speaker 1: non Americans out there to reserve a cyber truck are 131 00:08:22,160 --> 00:08:25,560 Speaker 1: still excited about the prospect of potentially owning one by 132 00:08:25,560 --> 00:08:28,360 Speaker 1: the end of next year. At least a hundred bucks 133 00:08:28,440 --> 00:08:31,200 Speaker 1: isn't really that much money when you compare it to 134 00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:34,800 Speaker 1: the final selling price of the cyber truck that's likely 135 00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:38,400 Speaker 1: going to range between forty dollars to seventy thousand dollars, 136 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:41,800 Speaker 1: depending upon the truck's configuration, as the truck will come 137 00:08:41,840 --> 00:08:46,840 Speaker 1: in single, double, and triple motor versions. Now for a 138 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:51,360 Speaker 1: bunch of Meta news. On Monday, Meta's company Instagram dealt 139 00:08:51,400 --> 00:08:54,360 Speaker 1: with a software bug that impacted thousands of users around 140 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:58,320 Speaker 1: the world, people reporting that Instagram suspended their accounts for 141 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 1: no reason and others were just unable to access their 142 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:05,040 Speaker 1: accounts at all. Whatever the bug was, it took several 143 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:07,679 Speaker 1: hours for Meta to fix it. By the end of 144 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:11,160 Speaker 1: the day on Monday, reports from affected users had dwindled significantly, 145 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:13,959 Speaker 1: indicating that people were able to get back to watching 146 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:16,640 Speaker 1: reels and wondering why they don't see photos of their 147 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 1: friends on there anymore. An activist group called Some of 148 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:24,480 Speaker 1: Us That's s U m of us published a report 149 00:09:24,559 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 1: over the weekend titled stop the Steal two point oh. 150 00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:31,440 Speaker 1: How Meta and TikTok are promoting a coup. This time, 151 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:34,080 Speaker 1: the focus was not on US elections, but rather the 152 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:38,200 Speaker 1: ones that happened this past Sunday in Brazil. In that contest, 153 00:09:38,240 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 1: the incumbent President bolson Aro, a hard right conservative, faced 154 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:46,560 Speaker 1: off against a former president, Lula da Silva, a leftist candidate. 155 00:09:47,200 --> 00:09:50,840 Speaker 1: The report alleges that Meta and TikTok both pushed forward 156 00:09:50,880 --> 00:09:55,160 Speaker 1: false narratives promoted by boson Naro, namely that the election 157 00:09:55,200 --> 00:09:58,200 Speaker 1: process wasn't to be trusted. If he lost, it would 158 00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:01,040 Speaker 1: be indicative that the system doesn't work, that kind of thing, 159 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:03,640 Speaker 1: like if I win, everything's great, and if I lose, 160 00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:08,240 Speaker 1: it's because the system is broken and corrupt. The group 161 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:12,360 Speaker 1: accused both Meta and TikTok with allowing baseless conspiracy theories 162 00:10:12,400 --> 00:10:15,600 Speaker 1: to spread across their platforms, and that since these messages 163 00:10:15,640 --> 00:10:19,320 Speaker 1: included calls for a military coup, that the platforms were 164 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:23,360 Speaker 1: taking a prominent role in the destabilization of Brazil. A 165 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:26,880 Speaker 1: campaign director with the group named Flora rebell oh Ar 166 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:31,160 Speaker 1: Dwine did not mince words. She said, at this point, 167 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:34,320 Speaker 1: it is safe to say that Meta has become Bolsonaro's 168 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:38,800 Speaker 1: official disinformation machine. Their report comes in on the heels 169 00:10:38,800 --> 00:10:41,320 Speaker 1: of another one from the human rights group Global Witness, 170 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:46,480 Speaker 1: which submitted political ads in Brazil containing misinformation to both 171 00:10:46,520 --> 00:10:52,040 Speaker 1: YouTube and Meta. They found that YouTube accepted every single ad. 172 00:10:52,480 --> 00:10:55,800 Speaker 1: Facebook was a little better. They only accepted half of 173 00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:58,920 Speaker 1: the ads. So I guess good for Facebook for performing 174 00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:03,560 Speaker 1: better than YouTube, which just accepted falsehoods without question. Anyway, 175 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:07,440 Speaker 1: the election finally happened this past Sunday, and Lula da 176 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:10,480 Speaker 1: Silva squeaked out a win over Bolsonaro, and I mean 177 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:14,280 Speaker 1: squeaked out like a percentage point. It remains to be 178 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:17,960 Speaker 1: seen if the incumbent president will actually peacefully hand over power. 179 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:22,040 Speaker 1: One bit of news I missed last week was that 180 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:25,640 Speaker 1: Business Insider reported employees at Meta are facing some really 181 00:11:25,679 --> 00:11:29,439 Speaker 1: tough conditions, maybe not quite as chaotic as Twitter staff are, 182 00:11:29,559 --> 00:11:33,120 Speaker 1: but not that far behind either. Reportedly, managers are telling 183 00:11:33,120 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 1: employees they need to up their output significantly if they 184 00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:39,640 Speaker 1: want to make it through potential layoffs. One unnamed worker 185 00:11:39,679 --> 00:11:42,000 Speaker 1: in the report said, quote, you have three months to 186 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:45,360 Speaker 1: prove your worth, put in two effort, or you can 187 00:11:45,400 --> 00:11:49,120 Speaker 1: resign now if you don't like it. End quote. That 188 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:52,840 Speaker 1: sounds pretty harsh. Mark Zuckerberg has indicated recently that he 189 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 1: thinks Meta staff is bloated, that there are more folks 190 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:58,760 Speaker 1: that are there than are needed to get the work done, 191 00:11:59,240 --> 00:12:01,600 Speaker 1: and that the company is not being nearly as productive 192 00:12:01,679 --> 00:12:05,200 Speaker 1: or efficient as it can be, which may well be true, 193 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:09,199 Speaker 1: but it sounds like employee morale is generally pretty low 194 00:12:09,679 --> 00:12:11,960 Speaker 1: and lots of folks are trying to line up other 195 00:12:12,000 --> 00:12:14,760 Speaker 1: options should they find themselves in the job market in 196 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:17,800 Speaker 1: the near future. When you take this news and stride 197 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:21,360 Speaker 1: with Zuckerberg being absolutely dedicated to his metaverse, vision even 198 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:25,120 Speaker 1: in the face of skepticism and resistance, it starts to 199 00:12:25,160 --> 00:12:27,840 Speaker 1: look ugly because people begin asking if Meta is even 200 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:30,560 Speaker 1: on the right course, or if Zuckerberg is chasing after 201 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,199 Speaker 1: a vision that's never going to be the big hit 202 00:12:33,320 --> 00:12:37,160 Speaker 1: he's banking on. One thing is clear, the company's reputation 203 00:12:37,160 --> 00:12:39,800 Speaker 1: has taken a massive beating over the last couple of years. 204 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:42,760 Speaker 1: The stock price for Meta is down to around nine 205 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:45,800 Speaker 1: dollars per share, which sounds like a lot, don't get 206 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:48,559 Speaker 1: me wrong, But if you look at the high point 207 00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:51,320 Speaker 1: over the last fifty two weeks, the high point for 208 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:55,040 Speaker 1: that stock was three hundred fifty three dollars per share. 209 00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:57,880 Speaker 1: Now it's down to ninety four. The company has lost 210 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:01,439 Speaker 1: a ton in market capital as a shan and investors 211 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:04,920 Speaker 1: are clearly worried about where Meta is headed. Will layoffs 212 00:13:04,920 --> 00:13:08,360 Speaker 1: help the company or is this a bigger issue that 213 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:12,439 Speaker 1: requires Mark Zuckerberg to reevaluate his position on the metaverse initiative? 214 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:17,120 Speaker 1: Smarter people than I have to answer that question. All Right, 215 00:13:17,400 --> 00:13:19,680 Speaker 1: we're gonna go to a quick break, but we'll be 216 00:13:19,679 --> 00:13:31,719 Speaker 1: back with more news. Right after this. We're back, we 217 00:13:31,800 --> 00:13:34,800 Speaker 1: get some more Meta news, and you know it was 218 00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:39,000 Speaker 1: the prolific poet Carly ray Jepson, who once said, Hey, 219 00:13:39,600 --> 00:13:43,920 Speaker 1: I just met you and this is crazy, but here's 220 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:47,320 Speaker 1: my number, so call me maybe. Well, we know that 221 00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:50,600 Speaker 1: c r J didn't need to say that to Meta, because, 222 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:53,960 Speaker 1: as it turns out, Meta has lots of people's phone numbers, 223 00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:56,600 Speaker 1: even if they never signed up for an account on 224 00:13:56,640 --> 00:14:00,520 Speaker 1: any of their platforms, they probably have your phone and 225 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:03,679 Speaker 1: your email, whether you've ever been on a Meta platform 226 00:14:03,800 --> 00:14:07,120 Speaker 1: or not. So it turns out Meta has tons of 227 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:10,360 Speaker 1: phone numbers and emails all of people who have never 228 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:13,079 Speaker 1: had a Facebook or an Instagram account. And you might 229 00:14:13,080 --> 00:14:16,080 Speaker 1: wonder how did that happen? Well, if someone you know 230 00:14:16,600 --> 00:14:20,960 Speaker 1: has your contact information in their contacts and then they joined, 231 00:14:21,000 --> 00:14:24,880 Speaker 1: say Facebook, and in the process they allow Facebook to 232 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:30,000 Speaker 1: access their contact list, boom, your information has gone from 233 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:34,320 Speaker 1: their contact list into Meta's database, even without your consent 234 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:38,320 Speaker 1: or participation. Isn't that awesome? It actually reminds me a 235 00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:41,080 Speaker 1: lot of the Cambridge Analytica scandal from several years ago. 236 00:14:41,440 --> 00:14:44,320 Speaker 1: If you recall that all got started when an app 237 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:48,200 Speaker 1: developer took advantage of a loophole and Facebook's API and 238 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:51,600 Speaker 1: created an app that people could download and use they 239 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:54,520 Speaker 1: would get paid for using it. It was a survey app, 240 00:14:55,280 --> 00:14:58,320 Speaker 1: and what they would do when they when they downloaded 241 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:00,920 Speaker 1: it installed it is they would share of their access 242 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:04,720 Speaker 1: to their Facebook context, which gave the developer the chance 243 00:15:04,760 --> 00:15:08,680 Speaker 1: to view all of the downloaders friends as if the 244 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:12,560 Speaker 1: developer were one of those friends, like they could see 245 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:16,720 Speaker 1: it as if they were the account, the primary account. Anyway, 246 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:20,080 Speaker 1: there's a decent chance your contact information is in this database, 247 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:24,120 Speaker 1: even if you've never touched Facebook or Instagram. Earlier this year, 248 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:26,600 Speaker 1: Meta actually created a tool that lets you check to 249 00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:29,480 Speaker 1: see if your info is in that database, and it 250 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:32,360 Speaker 1: gives you the option to delete your information from that 251 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:36,920 Speaker 1: database and even block Meta from ever including it again. Curiously, 252 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:41,040 Speaker 1: Meta has not advertised this tool. They have not alerted 253 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:44,200 Speaker 1: people that it exists. In fact, a link to it 254 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:47,040 Speaker 1: is buried in a very long page about how the 255 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:50,920 Speaker 1: company handles non user information, which means, if you don't 256 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:54,960 Speaker 1: use Facebook, you would have to navigate to this page 257 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,680 Speaker 1: for people who don't use Facebook to learn about how 258 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:01,600 Speaker 1: your information may have been collected by the company, which 259 00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:04,440 Speaker 1: sounds counterintuitive, right, How many people are gonna do that? 260 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 1: You're onto something there? But anyway, if you would like 261 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:10,920 Speaker 1: to see if your info is in Meta's clutches, and 262 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:13,160 Speaker 1: if you want to delete it, you can do so 263 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:18,760 Speaker 1: by going to this U r L Facebook dot com 264 00:16:18,800 --> 00:16:24,160 Speaker 1: slash Contacts slash removal that will let you check your 265 00:16:24,160 --> 00:16:27,880 Speaker 1: phone number and your email address against the database, and 266 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:31,120 Speaker 1: if the info comes up because someone shared their contact 267 00:16:31,160 --> 00:16:33,480 Speaker 1: list and you happen to be in it, you can 268 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:38,240 Speaker 1: have it deleted and scrubbed from Meta's databases. Again, they 269 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:40,920 Speaker 1: don't really let you know that this thing exists, but 270 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:47,280 Speaker 1: it does. Today, Google kills off yet another product. Hangouts 271 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:51,160 Speaker 1: is going to join other Google casualties like Wave and 272 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 1: Google Plus and honestly countless others. There are entire websites 273 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:59,760 Speaker 1: that are dedicated to documenting all the projects Google either launched, 274 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,680 Speaker 1: are acquired, and then subsequently shut down. There is no 275 00:17:03,760 --> 00:17:08,120 Speaker 1: shortage of them. Hangouts was sort of Google's attempt at 276 00:17:08,320 --> 00:17:12,439 Speaker 1: unifying various messaging services across the company. You know, the 277 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:14,800 Speaker 1: company had launched a whole bunch of different ones under 278 00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:20,320 Speaker 1: different divisions because Google didn't really structure messaging as a 279 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:24,560 Speaker 1: central pillar of product development. Instead, messaging would fall under 280 00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:27,879 Speaker 1: the domain of different departments. So you've got a bunch 281 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:32,560 Speaker 1: of separate products that were all geared toward messaging, like 282 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:37,600 Speaker 1: Android had one, and Gmail had one, and Google Plus 283 00:17:38,160 --> 00:17:41,359 Speaker 1: all had their own messaging systems. Hangouts started as the 284 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:45,560 Speaker 1: Google Plus entry and was ultimately an attempt to unify 285 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:49,600 Speaker 1: all these disparate strategies into a single product, and for 286 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:52,639 Speaker 1: a short while, Hangouts managed to do that, Like You 287 00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:55,480 Speaker 1: managed to have all these other things folded into Hangouts, 288 00:17:55,840 --> 00:18:01,359 Speaker 1: which unified Google strategy and arguably was a really good move. However, 289 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:06,080 Speaker 1: the problem was Hangouts was under the domain of Google Plus, 290 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:11,720 Speaker 1: and Google Plus was a massive failure. Despite an initial 291 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:17,879 Speaker 1: spike in interest as the service launched, it failed to 292 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:22,680 Speaker 1: get a sustainable user base going. So once Google Plus 293 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:26,240 Speaker 1: got struck that man, Hangouts was kind of without a 294 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:30,200 Speaker 1: parent anymore and it languished, and so you didn't really 295 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:34,160 Speaker 1: have this centralized position, the centralized strategy when it comes 296 00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:37,920 Speaker 1: to messaging, and Google would then also capitulate to the 297 00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:41,200 Speaker 1: demands of cell phone carriers because the cell phone carriers 298 00:18:41,440 --> 00:18:45,760 Speaker 1: didn't like the idea of SMS being lumped in with 299 00:18:45,960 --> 00:18:50,879 Speaker 1: other messaging services. They wanted an independent SMS app in 300 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:54,280 Speaker 1: order to maintain a hold on that type of messaging. 301 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:56,760 Speaker 1: They didn't want it to be lumped in with all 302 00:18:56,800 --> 00:19:00,560 Speaker 1: the other kinds of messaging services. So the a placement 303 00:19:00,560 --> 00:19:03,840 Speaker 1: for Hangouts today, at least in Gmail, is Google Chat. 304 00:19:04,600 --> 00:19:07,680 Speaker 1: It is not as good as Hangouts was at its peak. 305 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:11,080 Speaker 1: It's definitely an inferior product. I use it all the 306 00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:14,440 Speaker 1: time with my co host aerial Casting for our show 307 00:19:14,520 --> 00:19:18,080 Speaker 1: Large Neugron Collider. We use Google Chat to stay in 308 00:19:18,119 --> 00:19:22,200 Speaker 1: contact with each other, but it is not the same 309 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:24,840 Speaker 1: as Hangouts at its peak. Now Hangouts has not been 310 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:28,640 Speaker 1: good for ages. It really suffered once it lost its 311 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:32,359 Speaker 1: lifeline with Google. Plus. The simple fact is Google really 312 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:35,160 Speaker 1: fumbled the ball when it comes to messaging. It cannot 313 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:38,600 Speaker 1: hold a candle to Apple, which has made its own 314 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,639 Speaker 1: I message platform a bit of a status symbol, not 315 00:19:41,760 --> 00:19:44,760 Speaker 1: just a bit is a status symbol, and in fact, 316 00:19:44,840 --> 00:19:47,520 Speaker 1: it has a very quick way to identify those poor 317 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:50,960 Speaker 1: schlubs who are messaging with an Android phone rather than 318 00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:54,679 Speaker 1: an iPhone by having that different color little bubble pop up. 319 00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:57,840 Speaker 1: Now I say this as an Android user, I have 320 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:01,359 Speaker 1: no interest in switching to iPhone, but I do admit 321 00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:05,000 Speaker 1: like iPhone has a lock on the status of messages 322 00:20:05,119 --> 00:20:08,719 Speaker 1: and you can be looked down upon for using an 323 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:12,160 Speaker 1: Android phone from Apple users. And you know what, if 324 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:14,320 Speaker 1: I cared about what they thought, I bet that would 325 00:20:14,359 --> 00:20:17,840 Speaker 1: hurt my feelings. And other Google news, the company will 326 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:21,400 Speaker 1: no longer require app developers in India to use Google's 327 00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:25,720 Speaker 1: own billing system for in app purchases. We've seen this 328 00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:30,120 Speaker 1: story unfold all around the world at different speeds and scales. 329 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:33,720 Speaker 1: More and more regions are pushing back against both Apple 330 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:37,040 Speaker 1: and Google for their policies that require app developers to 331 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:41,200 Speaker 1: only use the in house building systems of the respective platforms. 332 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:45,520 Speaker 1: And that's because those in house building systems guarantee a 333 00:20:45,600 --> 00:20:50,439 Speaker 1: cut for the platforms themselves. So we're typically talking about 334 00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:53,560 Speaker 1: a thirty percent cut. It can be lower, like as 335 00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:56,240 Speaker 1: low as fifteen percent, but it's typically a thirty percent 336 00:20:56,280 --> 00:21:00,639 Speaker 1: cut of every in app purchase goes to Apple or Google, 337 00:21:00,840 --> 00:21:03,560 Speaker 1: depending on what platform you're on, um as sort of 338 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:07,080 Speaker 1: the cost of doing business. This is why Apple CEO 339 00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:10,280 Speaker 1: Tim Cook has been so bullish on adopting a services 340 00:21:10,320 --> 00:21:14,880 Speaker 1: strategy rather than focusing on hardware production the way Apple 341 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:18,960 Speaker 1: typically was thought of, because services provide a steady stream 342 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:20,919 Speaker 1: of revenue and all you really have to do is 343 00:21:20,960 --> 00:21:25,359 Speaker 1: provide the platform right, and in many places we're starting 344 00:21:25,359 --> 00:21:29,600 Speaker 1: to see governments labeled the policy as anti competitive and unfair. 345 00:21:30,560 --> 00:21:33,199 Speaker 1: So we've seen lots of calls for the companies to 346 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:36,840 Speaker 1: allow developers to use whichever building service they want. They 347 00:21:36,840 --> 00:21:39,080 Speaker 1: can go with the in house building service, or they 348 00:21:39,119 --> 00:21:42,840 Speaker 1: could choose a third party building service. That's a move 349 00:21:42,880 --> 00:21:46,479 Speaker 1: that both Apple and Google have repeatedly resisted around the world. 350 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:50,000 Speaker 1: In some cases, we've seen stories where a company has 351 00:21:50,040 --> 00:21:54,359 Speaker 1: placed like Apple has placed restrictions so that a developer 352 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:58,840 Speaker 1: technically can choose a third party building system, but we'll 353 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:01,560 Speaker 1: have to spend even more money if they use the 354 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:04,480 Speaker 1: alternative then if they stick with the in house method. 355 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:06,919 Speaker 1: So in other words, apples like, oh, sure you can 356 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:08,600 Speaker 1: choose a third party, but now you're gonna have to 357 00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:13,160 Speaker 1: pay us. That kind of approach, which obviously doesn't fly 358 00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:17,600 Speaker 1: well in the face of regulators. India's Competition Commission ordered 359 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:20,479 Speaker 1: Google to make this change, allowing developers to choose whichever 360 00:22:20,520 --> 00:22:23,520 Speaker 1: building system they wish, and now, at least in India 361 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:26,879 Speaker 1: they can. We may see such things roll out to 362 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:29,040 Speaker 1: other parts of the world. Like I said, the European 363 00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:31,920 Speaker 1: Union has really been pushing on this, We've seen sub 364 00:22:31,960 --> 00:22:34,800 Speaker 1: movement here in the United States. Um, it's not the 365 00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:38,160 Speaker 1: same everywhere, but we are starting to see a growing 366 00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:43,240 Speaker 1: movement to prevent companies like Apple and Google from dominating 367 00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:49,720 Speaker 1: the space using you know, this in house approach. Over 368 00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:54,200 Speaker 1: on the same Brain YouTube channel, Microsoft Xbox head Hauncho 369 00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:58,359 Speaker 1: Phil Spencer said, quote, We're not taking Call of Duty 370 00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:02,840 Speaker 1: from PlayStation that it's not our intent. Our intent is 371 00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:05,080 Speaker 1: not to do that, and as long as there's a 372 00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:08,240 Speaker 1: PlayStation out there to ship to, our intent is that 373 00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:11,800 Speaker 1: will continue to ship Call of Duty on PlayStation, similar 374 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:14,480 Speaker 1: to what we've done with Minecraft since we owned that 375 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:18,760 Speaker 1: end quote. You might think why would Phil Spencer say this, Well, 376 00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:23,199 Speaker 1: there's been this growing concern since Microsoft is pursuing an 377 00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:27,560 Speaker 1: acquisition of the company Activision Blizzard, that Microsoft would then 378 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:32,840 Speaker 1: restrict the distribution of titles from Activision Blizzard to either 379 00:23:33,119 --> 00:23:37,159 Speaker 1: just PCs and Xboxes or essentially anything other than Sony 380 00:23:37,240 --> 00:23:42,879 Speaker 1: PlayStation because Sony is the biggest competitor in the video 381 00:23:42,920 --> 00:23:48,720 Speaker 1: game space from Microsoft perspective. So by using that Minecraft example, 382 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:52,960 Speaker 1: Spencer is pointing out that Microsoft has really expanded access 383 00:23:52,960 --> 00:23:56,000 Speaker 1: to Minecraft, and it really does seem these days like 384 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:59,200 Speaker 1: pretty much anything with a screen can run a Minecraft game. 385 00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:02,359 Speaker 1: So Spwer is making a case that Microsoft plan to 386 00:24:02,400 --> 00:24:06,679 Speaker 1: acquire Activision Blizzard does not represent a threat to the 387 00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:10,320 Speaker 1: greater video game landscape, that a company like Sony could 388 00:24:10,359 --> 00:24:15,120 Speaker 1: continue to expect Activision Blizzard titles having PlayStation versions. Why 389 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:17,439 Speaker 1: is he doing that? Well? Over in Europe, Microsoft is 390 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:23,080 Speaker 1: facing some potential government investigations into its acquisition deal, and 391 00:24:23,160 --> 00:24:27,040 Speaker 1: those investigations could scuttle the whole deal or at the 392 00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:31,400 Speaker 1: very least delay it. Neither outcome is something that Microsoft 393 00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:35,320 Speaker 1: is particularly interested in seeing. So the chief concern appears 394 00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:40,480 Speaker 1: to be that Microsoft consolidates and becomes an anti competitive 395 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:45,760 Speaker 1: video game company, preventing Sony from access to titles that 396 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:49,400 Speaker 1: are really popular with gamers and forcing gamers to buy 397 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:52,840 Speaker 1: Microsoft platforms if they want to access those games. And 398 00:24:52,920 --> 00:24:55,520 Speaker 1: Microsoft is saying that's not on our plan at all, 399 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:58,080 Speaker 1: it doesn't make sense, will make way more money if 400 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:03,200 Speaker 1: we continue to make titles for the PlayStation. Uh. Microsoft 401 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:07,600 Speaker 1: supporters have claimed that Sony is fueling the fear in Europe, 402 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:11,760 Speaker 1: that it's Sony representatives who are talking to regulators and 403 00:25:11,800 --> 00:25:15,760 Speaker 1: getting them concerned about this deal and effort to investigate 404 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:20,320 Speaker 1: and potentially derail it. Uh. I don't know if that's 405 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:22,919 Speaker 1: true or not, but that's the reporting that's going on 406 00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:25,879 Speaker 1: over in Europe. As for what I think, well, I 407 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:28,200 Speaker 1: think Sony definitely has a bias here. I mean, Sony 408 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:31,359 Speaker 1: has an interest, a vested interest in seeing that this 409 00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:33,800 Speaker 1: doesn't go through because they don't want to see Microsoft's 410 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:38,400 Speaker 1: influence grow in a competitive market in the video game space. Uh. 411 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:42,000 Speaker 1: So I don't think that the arguments are completely earnest 412 00:25:42,040 --> 00:25:45,800 Speaker 1: and sincere. However, I also think that consolidation leads to 413 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:49,960 Speaker 1: bad outcomes in the long run, and that increased competition 414 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:53,040 Speaker 1: leads to the best outcomes for consumers. So it's complicated, 415 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:56,680 Speaker 1: especially in the video game space, like we're seeing more 416 00:25:56,720 --> 00:26:02,040 Speaker 1: and more really big companies absolute really dominate that market, 417 00:26:02,119 --> 00:26:05,199 Speaker 1: where you you're getting down to just less than you know, 418 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,040 Speaker 1: you could count the number of massive companies on one hand, 419 00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:12,440 Speaker 1: and when you start to see that competition dwindle. Uh. 420 00:26:13,160 --> 00:26:16,560 Speaker 1: The consumer typically is the person who suffers the most 421 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:20,240 Speaker 1: in the long run. So while I don't think Sony's 422 00:26:20,359 --> 00:26:24,960 Speaker 1: argument is particularly genuine, I also am a little concerned 423 00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:29,520 Speaker 1: about seeing fewer and fewer players in the video game space. 424 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:33,840 Speaker 1: And that's not even touching on all the the controversy 425 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,560 Speaker 1: coming out of Activision Blizzard in the various reports we've 426 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:41,639 Speaker 1: heard over the last year and a half. Really, Okay, 427 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:44,000 Speaker 1: we've got a couple more stories to go through before 428 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:55,959 Speaker 1: we get to those. Let's take another quick break. Before 429 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:58,680 Speaker 1: the break, we were talking about Microsoft. I mentioned that 430 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:03,400 Speaker 1: there's a suspicion and that Sony has been influencing regulators 431 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:06,800 Speaker 1: and the EU too kind of view the Activision Blizzard 432 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:10,720 Speaker 1: acquisition with a skeptical eye. But we also have some 433 00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:15,000 Speaker 1: specific Sony news to cover. The company's latest earnings release 434 00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:17,800 Speaker 1: call has some bad news in it with regard to 435 00:27:18,040 --> 00:27:21,439 Speaker 1: video games. The company revealed that saw a drop in 436 00:27:21,520 --> 00:27:25,040 Speaker 1: PlayStation Plus subscribers. So, for those of you all who 437 00:27:25,080 --> 00:27:28,680 Speaker 1: are not in on the whole PlayStation lingo, PlayStation Plus 438 00:27:28,920 --> 00:27:32,840 Speaker 1: is a monthly subscription service for PS four and PS 439 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:38,119 Speaker 1: five owners. That service gives those owners access to online play. 440 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:41,280 Speaker 1: So if you don't have this service, you can't play 441 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:45,200 Speaker 1: online games on the PS four and PS five. There 442 00:27:45,240 --> 00:27:49,560 Speaker 1: are three separate tiers of subscriptions. The basic tier is 443 00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:53,920 Speaker 1: called Essential, then you have Extra, then you have Premium, 444 00:27:54,119 --> 00:27:56,639 Speaker 1: and Obviously, these are at three different price points, and 445 00:27:56,680 --> 00:27:59,359 Speaker 1: as you would imagine, the more expensive you go, the 446 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:02,280 Speaker 1: more benefit as you get, mostly in the form of 447 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:06,240 Speaker 1: access to additional PS four and PS five titles. It's 448 00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:09,920 Speaker 1: a lot like Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass service. The two 449 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:13,760 Speaker 1: are similar in many ways, and Microsoft has really been 450 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:17,639 Speaker 1: pushing hard on Xbox Game Pass, kind of positioning it 451 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:21,360 Speaker 1: in an attempt to make that model the future of gaming. 452 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:24,600 Speaker 1: And you can understand why because if you get people 453 00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:29,880 Speaker 1: hooked in on subscriptions, you've got a guaranteed ongoing revenue source, right, 454 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:34,000 Speaker 1: Whereas if you're just focused on producing games, your next 455 00:28:34,040 --> 00:28:37,879 Speaker 1: title might be a clunker and a big failure and 456 00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:40,400 Speaker 1: you don't make that much money. You might lose money 457 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:43,120 Speaker 1: on it because you spent so much in production you 458 00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:46,720 Speaker 1: weren't able to recapture that in sales. If you're switch 459 00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:50,080 Speaker 1: your your bottle around where you're selling subscriptions as opposed 460 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:53,640 Speaker 1: to focusing on selling games, well yeah, you might release 461 00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:56,400 Speaker 1: some clunkers, but you still have all the great titles 462 00:28:56,560 --> 00:28:59,960 Speaker 1: that that subscription has access to, which keeps people coming 463 00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:03,280 Speaker 1: back over and over again. So Sony is trying to 464 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:05,680 Speaker 1: do the same thing and in fact, both companies have 465 00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:08,640 Speaker 1: been trying to do this for for years. But Sony 466 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:11,920 Speaker 1: is losing some traction because while the division still managed 467 00:29:11,960 --> 00:29:16,720 Speaker 1: to increase revenue year over year, it did lose some subscribers, 468 00:29:16,720 --> 00:29:20,400 Speaker 1: a few million subscribers, so at least it's not losing money, 469 00:29:20,480 --> 00:29:24,120 Speaker 1: it's just losing people. The earnings report also revealed that 470 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:27,040 Speaker 1: Sony's sales of the PS five have remained flat year 471 00:29:27,040 --> 00:29:29,680 Speaker 1: over year, which is not a surprise. You can really 472 00:29:29,800 --> 00:29:32,640 Speaker 1: chalk that up to being the fault of the supply chain. 473 00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:36,680 Speaker 1: Ever since its launch, PS five has kind of trickled 474 00:29:36,720 --> 00:29:40,400 Speaker 1: into stores here and there, and ear gamers just scoop 475 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:43,280 Speaker 1: up units as quickly as they hit store shelves. The 476 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:46,680 Speaker 1: supply chain issues Sony has faced since the pandemic began 477 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:52,160 Speaker 1: have not improved significantly. Sony has subsequently adjusted its profits 478 00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:54,880 Speaker 1: forecast for this year. They reduced it from two hundred 479 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:58,760 Speaker 1: fifty five billion in down to two hundred twenty five 480 00:29:59,240 --> 00:30:02,560 Speaker 1: billion year, so reducing it by thirty billion yen that's 481 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:08,000 Speaker 1: about oh two million dollars. I think anyway, the company 482 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:11,959 Speaker 1: will find ways to increase production on the PS five eventually, 483 00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:14,640 Speaker 1: at least I hope so because if it does, I 484 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:17,760 Speaker 1: suspect that will go a very long way towards turning 485 00:30:17,800 --> 00:30:21,720 Speaker 1: things around. With a larger PS five user base out there, 486 00:30:21,760 --> 00:30:23,800 Speaker 1: you're going to find more developers who will focus on 487 00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:28,280 Speaker 1: producing games meant just for the PS five, because right 488 00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:32,400 Speaker 1: now a lot of developers are kind of straddling console 489 00:30:32,520 --> 00:30:36,120 Speaker 1: generations because there just aren't enough PS five users out 490 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:40,560 Speaker 1: there to justify a fully committed production of a current 491 00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:45,160 Speaker 1: generation game. So instead we're seeing companies make games that 492 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:48,000 Speaker 1: could be played on either the PS four or PS five, 493 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:50,880 Speaker 1: which means they're they're pulling their punches, they're holding back. 494 00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:54,000 Speaker 1: They haven't really focused on making games that take full 495 00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:58,800 Speaker 1: advantage of current console generations capabilities. And again, it makes sense. 496 00:30:59,120 --> 00:31:03,160 Speaker 1: If your user base is small, you can't pour the 497 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:06,240 Speaker 1: same amount of money and effort into making games for 498 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:08,960 Speaker 1: it because you'll never get a return on that investment. 499 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:12,280 Speaker 1: So this is kind of a chicken and egg problem here. 500 00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:16,640 Speaker 1: Until there are more PS five units out there, then 501 00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:19,960 Speaker 1: there's no real incentive for developers to really go all 502 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:24,680 Speaker 1: in on creating current generation games. This, by the way, 503 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:27,720 Speaker 1: also applies to Microsoft, not just to Sony. It's just 504 00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:33,520 Speaker 1: this was specifically about the Sony's Earnings Call. Finally, researchers 505 00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:36,760 Speaker 1: at the University of Florida have discovered a potentially catastrophic 506 00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:41,160 Speaker 1: vulnerability in LDAR systems that are used by several companies 507 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:45,880 Speaker 1: as they're working towards creating autonomous vehicles. Namely, the researchers 508 00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:50,200 Speaker 1: found that by using a well aimed and precisely timed laser, 509 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:55,120 Speaker 1: a person could create blind spots in ALDAR system and 510 00:31:55,160 --> 00:31:58,320 Speaker 1: that would mean that an autonomous vehicle could potentially be 511 00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:03,080 Speaker 1: unable to detect obstacle, including pedestrians, that are masked by 512 00:32:03,120 --> 00:32:06,000 Speaker 1: this blind spot. So it's not that different to having 513 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:09,000 Speaker 1: someone shine a very bright light in your eyes. You 514 00:32:09,040 --> 00:32:11,680 Speaker 1: can't make out anything that could be behind that light. 515 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:16,920 Speaker 1: Same sort of thing. Now, the research makes it sound 516 00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:20,280 Speaker 1: like these pieces that you would need to create this 517 00:32:20,360 --> 00:32:23,160 Speaker 1: kind of system are pretty cheap and easy to get, 518 00:32:23,240 --> 00:32:26,880 Speaker 1: so it would not be hard to put together something 519 00:32:26,920 --> 00:32:30,240 Speaker 1: that would be capable of fooling light our systems or 520 00:32:30,360 --> 00:32:34,400 Speaker 1: masking light our systems. But the actual attack sounds like 521 00:32:34,440 --> 00:32:36,880 Speaker 1: it would require a certain level of sophistication and skill 522 00:32:36,960 --> 00:32:40,280 Speaker 1: because you would need to accurately track the vehicle, aim 523 00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:43,360 Speaker 1: and time the firing of the laser in order to 524 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:48,720 Speaker 1: mask the light are properly, but it is possible the 525 00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:50,840 Speaker 1: researchers were able to do it, and if they're able 526 00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:53,640 Speaker 1: to do it, then a bad actor would be able 527 00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:56,400 Speaker 1: to do this. So it is a vulnerability, and so 528 00:32:56,520 --> 00:33:00,160 Speaker 1: the researchers are urging companies that produce and use these 529 00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:03,120 Speaker 1: kinds of light our systems to factor that in and 530 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:08,480 Speaker 1: to build in protections against such attacks, effectively patching the vulnerability. 531 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:11,840 Speaker 1: In fact, the scientists who worked on this project even 532 00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:16,240 Speaker 1: suggested upgrades that would protect vehicles and their passengers from 533 00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:18,680 Speaker 1: such attacks in the future, which is great, right, It's 534 00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:21,360 Speaker 1: not just pointing out a problem, but saying here's the 535 00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:25,560 Speaker 1: solution to that problem, so that we're not just automatically 536 00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:30,800 Speaker 1: striking this from being a possible technology in the future. Rather, 537 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:34,480 Speaker 1: it's being aware of the limitations and taking steps to 538 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:40,120 Speaker 1: overcome those limitations before it becomes like a potential target 539 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:43,840 Speaker 1: where we could have a tragedy occur as a result 540 00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:48,600 Speaker 1: of failing to address this vulnerability. All right, that's the 541 00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:52,080 Speaker 1: news for Tuesday, November one, two thousand twenty two. Hope 542 00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:54,080 Speaker 1: you're all well. If you'd like to get in touch 543 00:33:54,120 --> 00:33:57,400 Speaker 1: with me. Well, there there's currently two ways. We'll see 544 00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:00,160 Speaker 1: how long the second way lasts. The first one is, 545 00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:02,640 Speaker 1: of course, to download the I Heart Radio app. It's 546 00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:04,680 Speaker 1: free to download, it's free to use. There's a little 547 00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:07,640 Speaker 1: microphone icon if you navigate over to tech Stuff. You 548 00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:10,280 Speaker 1: just put tech Stuff in the search bar, it'll pop 549 00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:12,759 Speaker 1: on up. You see that microphone icon that lets you 550 00:34:12,840 --> 00:34:15,359 Speaker 1: record a voice message up to thirty seconds and link 551 00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:18,160 Speaker 1: for us. Let me know what you would like. Uh. 552 00:34:18,200 --> 00:34:20,759 Speaker 1: If you would like me to play the audio from 553 00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:23,279 Speaker 1: your your request, you just let me know. I'm not 554 00:34:23,280 --> 00:34:25,720 Speaker 1: gonna do it without your permission, So if you don't, 555 00:34:25,880 --> 00:34:27,680 Speaker 1: don't worry about it. Just tell me what you would 556 00:34:27,719 --> 00:34:30,799 Speaker 1: like me to talk about. The other way, as of now, 557 00:34:30,840 --> 00:34:33,520 Speaker 1: anyway is Twitter. I keep making that joke, but one 558 00:34:33,560 --> 00:34:35,640 Speaker 1: of these days it's gonna be real. But yeah, it's 559 00:34:35,640 --> 00:34:37,799 Speaker 1: Twitter for now, and the handle for the show is 560 00:34:37,880 --> 00:34:43,160 Speaker 1: tech Stuff hs w uh. As of now, services still 561 00:34:43,320 --> 00:34:46,320 Speaker 1: something I'm on. I realized that more and more people 562 00:34:46,680 --> 00:34:50,680 Speaker 1: are kind of migrating away from it for various reasons. 563 00:34:50,680 --> 00:34:52,920 Speaker 1: There are a lot of different reasons to be concerned 564 00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:55,600 Speaker 1: about it, and then I'm concerned about it too, obviously, 565 00:34:56,400 --> 00:34:59,520 Speaker 1: But I still check it, so if you do still 566 00:34:59,560 --> 00:35:01,759 Speaker 1: use Twitter, and no judgment. By the way, if you 567 00:35:01,800 --> 00:35:04,160 Speaker 1: want to use Twitter, I don't. I think that's fine. 568 00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:06,800 Speaker 1: That's your right you do it. I don't judge you 569 00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:09,359 Speaker 1: at all. I think it's fine. But if you still 570 00:35:09,440 --> 00:35:11,239 Speaker 1: use it, leave me a message on there, let me 571 00:35:11,280 --> 00:35:12,800 Speaker 1: know what you would like me to talk about in 572 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:17,640 Speaker 1: the future, and I'll talk to you again really soon. Yeah. 573 00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:24,799 Speaker 1: Text Stuff is an I heart Radio production. For more 574 00:35:24,840 --> 00:35:28,240 Speaker 1: podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, 575 00:35:28,400 --> 00:35:31,520 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.