WEBVTT - Tech News: Apple Introduces the iPhone 15. Tari Calls it the iPhone 14. 0:00:04.440 --> 0:00:12.639 Welcome to Tech Stuff, a production from iHeartRadio. Hey there, 0:00:12.680 --> 0:00:15.800 and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. 0:00:15.840 --> 0:00:18.960 I'm an executive producer with iHeartRadio. And how the tech 0:00:19.079 --> 0:00:23.919 are you, y'all? I am in the studio recording today, 0:00:23.960 --> 0:00:28.920 which means that super producer Tari is actually listening on 0:00:28.960 --> 0:00:32.919 the cans right now across the room from me in 0:00:32.960 --> 0:00:35.720 the control room. And this is the first time we've 0:00:35.760 --> 0:00:42.680 done this, possibly since the pandemic. It has been a while, y'all, 0:00:43.320 --> 0:00:46.839 and already Tari is making her presence felt on this show, 0:00:47.200 --> 0:00:52.040 largely by suggesting numerous inappropriate titles for the episode, so 0:00:52.640 --> 0:00:58.440 her assistance, as always, is invaluable. Anyway, what we're going 0:00:58.520 --> 0:01:01.720 to talk about first is, well, you know, around this 0:01:01.840 --> 0:01:04.480 time of year you can count on a few things 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:07.880 here in the United States. For example, folks are already 0:01:07.920 --> 0:01:12.240 obsessing over Halloween, honestly, with my friend's list that actually 0:01:12.319 --> 0:01:16.080 started last month. Pumpkin spice flavors have made their way 0:01:16.080 --> 0:01:19.000 into pretty much everything you are able to eat or 0:01:19.120 --> 0:01:22.399 drink at this point. And also, you know that if 0:01:22.400 --> 0:01:24.440 it's this time of year, Apple's going to hold an 0:01:24.440 --> 0:01:29.840 event highlighting the next generation iPhone. This is where Tari's 0:01:29.840 --> 0:01:33.680 suggestions for titles came in, because technically they showed off 0:01:33.720 --> 0:01:36.600 the iPhone fifteen, but Tari says, it's more like they 0:01:36.640 --> 0:01:40.200 reintroduced the iPhone fourteen, or maybe the iPhone fifteen is 0:01:40.240 --> 0:01:44.959 really iPhone fourteen A or Part two or something like that. 0:01:45.240 --> 0:01:47.720 This already gives you a hint as to how certain 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:53.480 Apple devotees are feeling toward the Apple fifteen. So what 0:01:53.800 --> 0:01:57.440 is different, Well, there is one big difference, and that 0:01:57.560 --> 0:02:00.240 is that this is the first iPhone to have the 0:02:00.320 --> 0:02:03.920 USBC charging port. This was a change that Apple had 0:02:03.960 --> 0:02:08.200 to make because the EU government has mandated that all 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:12.600 smartphones as well as several other digital devices are going 0:02:12.680 --> 0:02:17.079 to have to adopt the USBC standard for charging, and 0:02:17.160 --> 0:02:19.360 that means that people will be able to use the 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:23.080 same USBC cables to charge their stuff, rather than have 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:26.600 to hunt between two or three different kinds of cables 0:02:26.600 --> 0:02:29.120 with different connectors. Now that's not to say that all 0:02:29.200 --> 0:02:34.120 USBC cables are equal. They're not, so there still can 0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:37.280 be some cable confusion, but less so than there would 0:02:37.320 --> 0:02:41.880 be if you've got like five different proprietary connectors or whatever. Also, 0:02:42.680 --> 0:02:47.680 Apple announced that the dynamic Island feature, which previously was 0:02:47.800 --> 0:02:51.720 only available on the phone fourteen Pro and the iPhone 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:54.919 fourteen Pro Max, is actually going to be on all 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:58.480 the iPhone fifteen models. So there's one difference, Tari. You 0:02:58.520 --> 0:03:02.799 get your dynamic island. You know that little black oval 0:03:02.840 --> 0:03:05.440 at the top of the screen that gives you your notifications. 0:03:05.919 --> 0:03:08.440 So you know, I don't know what you're complaining about 0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:11.480 USBC port Dynamic Island sounds to me like you guys 0:03:11.520 --> 0:03:16.880 are getting tons of upgrades. Anyway. There are two broad 0:03:17.040 --> 0:03:21.040 versions of the basic iPhone fifteen. The base model has 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:23.880 a screen that measures six point one inches on the diagonal. 0:03:24.120 --> 0:03:26.520 That one starts at seven hundred and ninety nine dollars. 0:03:26.880 --> 0:03:29.200 Then you have the iPhone fifteen Plus, which is a 0:03:29.200 --> 0:03:32.360 little bit bigger. It's six point seven inches and it 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:35.920 will start at eight ninety nine. Then you've also got 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:39.360 the Pro and the Pro Max models as well. These 0:03:39.400 --> 0:03:43.120 will have the A seventeen Pro processor. Of the iPhone 0:03:43.200 --> 0:03:45.360 fifteen will have the A sixteen, which was what you 0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:49.000 saw on the I fourteen Pro, So yeah, A seventeen 0:03:49.040 --> 0:03:54.040 Pro processor. The iPhone fifteen Pro Max has a forty 0:03:54.040 --> 0:03:59.760 eight megapixel camera and a five times telephoto lens, so 0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:02.600 well there's that as well. The Pro starts at nine 0:04:02.680 --> 0:04:05.840 hundred ninety nine dollars, the Promax starts at one one 0:04:05.960 --> 0:04:08.920 hundred ninety nine dollars. All of these phones will be 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:13.360 available for pre orders starting tomorrow. Apple also had updates 0:04:13.360 --> 0:04:16.120 to some other product lines, like air pods and the 0:04:16.160 --> 0:04:20.279 Apple Watch. I think for the most part, we just 0:04:20.320 --> 0:04:25.240 saw sort of incremental changes in this update, apart from 0:04:25.320 --> 0:04:28.799 that migration to USBC, which is pretty that's a pretty 0:04:28.839 --> 0:04:31.560 big thing, but everything else was a kind of smaller 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:36.240 innovation or incremental improvement. But you also have to realize 0:04:36.360 --> 0:04:39.960 that the smartphone is a mature technology at this point, 0:04:40.160 --> 0:04:43.840 right It's been around for more than a decade, so's 0:04:44.000 --> 0:04:47.320 it's hard to imagine coming out with something that's significantly 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:50.480 different from what we're already used to. Doesn't mean it's impossible, 0:04:51.080 --> 0:04:56.839 but as technology form factors mature, it's less realistic to 0:04:56.920 --> 0:05:01.119 expect huge updates and innovations in the They still can happen, 0:05:01.480 --> 0:05:07.040 but they're fairly rare. Yesterday, US Senate Majority Leader Chuck 0:05:07.120 --> 0:05:12.839 Schumer hosted an insight forum focusing artificial intelligence. Among the attendees, 0:05:12.880 --> 0:05:18.480 were the CEOs of Meta, Microsoft, Google, and Open Ai. Plus. 0:05:18.560 --> 0:05:22.160 You had Elon Musk there and the president of Nvidia 0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:26.120 was there too. The event happened behind closed doors and 0:05:26.160 --> 0:05:30.840 no media was invited. However, some of the executives gave 0:05:31.760 --> 0:05:34.920 a statement after the meeting was over, and not surprisingly, 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:39.120 most of these executives were calling for a methodical and 0:05:39.240 --> 0:05:43.520 careful approach toward legislation and regulation. Now. They argue that 0:05:43.640 --> 0:05:49.520 AI has enormous potential to benefit business and society and 0:05:50.240 --> 0:05:53.000 warning that if the government is a little too strict 0:05:53.040 --> 0:05:56.280 with regulations, this can stifle innovation. It's an argument we 0:05:56.320 --> 0:06:01.400 have heard before, but one dissenting voice was Elon Musk. 0:06:02.000 --> 0:06:05.719 Musk actually said that a federal oversight committee or agency 0:06:06.400 --> 0:06:09.120 would be appropriate, like to have a part of the 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:14.599 government specifically to oversee AI development and deployment. He argued 0:06:14.640 --> 0:06:17.239 that companies don't really have an incentive to run AI 0:06:17.360 --> 0:06:21.320 projects responsibly if you don't have these sorts of constraints, 0:06:21.800 --> 0:06:24.000 and I kind of agree with him. We have seen 0:06:24.040 --> 0:06:26.919 time and again that in the absence of regulations, companies 0:06:26.920 --> 0:06:30.400 will take advantage of the very long leash they are 0:06:30.400 --> 0:06:33.560 allowed to be on, and this can lead to consequences 0:06:33.640 --> 0:06:37.400 that then we have to handle and far too late 0:06:37.880 --> 0:06:40.200 then the government will step in to do something about it. 0:06:40.600 --> 0:06:42.520 According to Schumer, the purpose of the meeting was for 0:06:42.560 --> 0:06:45.040 members of the US government to gain a better understanding 0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:48.000 around AI. You know what it is, what it can do, 0:06:49.279 --> 0:06:52.560 what the potential risks are, what are the benefits. And 0:06:52.600 --> 0:06:55.680 that is also understandable. While I cover tech for a 0:06:55.720 --> 0:06:58.880 living and I have a decent but by no means exhaustive, 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:03.960 understanding of artificial intelligence, it could be easy to develop 0:07:03.960 --> 0:07:07.200 a view of the technology that's far too specific and 0:07:07.279 --> 0:07:10.160 far too narrow, or to just have a totally mistaken 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:13.920 concept of what AI is all about. Schumer was quick 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:16.200 to point out that this forum was to help educate 0:07:16.320 --> 0:07:19.480 leaders and that any legislation that follows will take some 0:07:19.720 --> 0:07:22.720 time to draft and then to amend, and then to 0:07:22.800 --> 0:07:25.640 vote unto law. So really this was just an early 0:07:25.760 --> 0:07:29.200 step in the process. We shouldn't expect to see AI 0:07:29.480 --> 0:07:33.320 legislation roll out anytime soon. I've got some more updates 0:07:33.360 --> 0:07:38.160 on the cybersecurity issue that has severely impacted MGM resorts, 0:07:38.360 --> 0:07:42.640 So in case you missed this news on Monday, properties 0:07:42.680 --> 0:07:47.160 belonging to the company MGM resorts in cities like Las Vegas, 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:52.080 Atlantic City, Detroit and others started to encounter massive computer 0:07:52.160 --> 0:07:55.880 system problems. Those problems shut down many, but not all, 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:59.080 of the slot machines in some of these casinos. They 0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:04.239 took ATM offline. They forced MGM to replace their normal 0:08:04.280 --> 0:08:07.600 website with a new landing page directing people to contact 0:08:07.800 --> 0:08:10.720 resorts by phone for stuff like reservations and that kind 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:14.600 of thing, and lots more other issues. And we can't 0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:18.960 be sure how extensive these attacks were or what other 0:08:19.120 --> 0:08:22.360 systems could be affected. In fact, we don't even know 0:08:22.520 --> 0:08:24.240 for a fact that it's an attack, or at least 0:08:24.320 --> 0:08:27.920 MGM Resorts has not come out and said that explicitly. 0:08:28.760 --> 0:08:33.640 We don't know if the issue has impacted customer data. Personally, 0:08:33.720 --> 0:08:36.720 I'm very interested in that because literally a couple of 0:08:36.720 --> 0:08:39.079 hours before all this happened, I made a ding dang 0:08:39.120 --> 0:08:42.640 reservation at an MGM property for an upcoming work trip. 0:08:43.120 --> 0:08:47.520 Come on anyway. At first, a cybersecurity research group called 0:08:47.640 --> 0:08:51.200 VX Underground posted a message on X you know, formerly 0:08:51.400 --> 0:08:54.600 known as Twitter, that claimed a Russian based hacker group 0:08:54.960 --> 0:08:58.280 known as black Cat also known as Alpha so it's 0:08:58.480 --> 0:09:05.160 spelled alph that this group was behind the attack, and further, 0:09:05.280 --> 0:09:09.319 according to this research group, the hackers gained access through 0:09:09.320 --> 0:09:13.360 the old fashioned and tried and true method of social engineering. 0:09:13.880 --> 0:09:16.840 They allegedly called someone in it and they got access 0:09:16.880 --> 0:09:20.040 to the system that way. However, more recent reports mentioned 0:09:20.080 --> 0:09:22.920 a different hacker group as being responsible for the attack, 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:27.880 or perhaps working in collusion with Alpha. This other group 0:09:27.960 --> 0:09:31.319 is called Scattered Spider, and hackers in that group are 0:09:31.640 --> 0:09:34.040 mostly located in places like the United States and the 0:09:34.120 --> 0:09:38.000 United Kingdom. The general consensus is that this is a 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:41.760 ransomware attack, though again MGM Resorts is not yet commented 0:09:41.960 --> 0:09:46.400 on that. And interestingly, it appears as though Caesar's Entertainment, 0:09:46.559 --> 0:09:50.000 which also owns multiple casinos and resorts, was attacked by 0:09:50.040 --> 0:09:52.640 this very same group a few weeks ago, and according 0:09:52.640 --> 0:09:56.800 to some unnamed sources, the company agreed to pay millions 0:09:56.880 --> 0:10:00.000 of dollars in ransom to regain control of their sets. 0:10:00.360 --> 0:10:03.439 And if that's true, the company has yet to disclose 0:10:03.480 --> 0:10:06.680 that attack. And I feel that if in fact it 0:10:06.760 --> 0:10:09.480 is true that Caesar's Entertainment was attacked a few weeks ago, 0:10:10.000 --> 0:10:12.920 MGM Resorts executives are going to be seeing red because 0:10:12.920 --> 0:10:16.240 they might feel that maybe had they known about the 0:10:16.280 --> 0:10:20.000 attack on Caesar's, they might have been better prepared for 0:10:20.040 --> 0:10:26.200 the one that hit them now. Anyway, apparently the rest 0:10:26.200 --> 0:10:29.120 of the story kind of fits what VX Underground reported 0:10:29.240 --> 0:10:33.280 that hackers seemingly got access through social engineering, although the 0:10:33.280 --> 0:10:36.720 most recent account says that they targeted a third party 0:10:36.800 --> 0:10:40.560 IT vendor and got access through them. And this is 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:45.000 really bonkers because presumably these IT professionals should be on 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:48.960 the lookout for social engineering attacks. Anyway, it really hammers 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:51.679 home that people tend to be the weakest link in 0:10:51.880 --> 0:10:55.960 security systems, and that companies are justified in educating and 0:10:56.000 --> 0:11:00.240 testing their employees regarding cybersecurity practices and good gull on 0:11:00.280 --> 0:11:02.959 a selfish level, I sure hope this is sorted out 0:11:03.000 --> 0:11:05.800 by the time I had to Vegas next week. Also, 0:11:06.320 --> 0:11:09.559 paying ransoms is a bad idea. Companies should not do 0:11:09.640 --> 0:11:12.560 that because paying a ransom sends the message that the 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:17.040 attack wasn't just successful, it was profitable, and that means 0:11:17.320 --> 0:11:21.720 you get more attacks in the future. Okay, while I 0:11:21.880 --> 0:11:25.160 regain my composure, let's take a quick break to thank 0:11:25.200 --> 0:11:38.840 our sponsors. We're back. As I mentioned in Tuesday's episode, 0:11:39.120 --> 0:11:42.240 Google is on trial this week. The US Department of 0:11:42.320 --> 0:11:45.720 Justice has accused Google of engaging in non competitive practices, 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:49.240 using the company's dominant position in web search to stifle 0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:53.319 any potential competition, and according to the DOJ, part of 0:11:53.360 --> 0:11:56.319 those efforts include paying billions of dollars a year to 0:11:56.480 --> 0:12:00.240 smartphone companies and web browser companies to make Goo Google 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:04.160 the default search engine on those devices and browsers. The 0:12:04.200 --> 0:12:07.680 DOJ says that Google spends around ten billion dollars a 0:12:07.720 --> 0:12:11.199 year in payments to companies like Samsung and Apple and 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:14.280 Mozilla and others for the privilege of Google Search being 0:12:14.360 --> 0:12:17.320 the default go to search engine, and that this prevents 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:19.920 any other company from having a fair shot. Now, we're 0:12:19.960 --> 0:12:22.360 still in the very early stages of this trial and 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:24.800 there's no telling where it will go. For one thing, 0:12:24.960 --> 0:12:27.800 another news article revealed that the judge in this case, 0:12:28.160 --> 0:12:32.160 I'm at Meta, may not have a really strong grasp 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:36.240 of the tech being discussed. According to Ours Technica, Meta 0:12:36.559 --> 0:12:40.720 has asked if Mozilla is a browser or a search engine, 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:43.640 which I get it. If you're not using this stuff 0:12:43.679 --> 0:12:45.560 a lot, and you're not covering the world of tech, 0:12:46.080 --> 0:12:49.920 you might not know what Mozilla is. But it could 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:52.320 mean that this could be a particularly complicated case for 0:12:52.360 --> 0:12:55.040 the judge to preside over. And as you might imagine, 0:12:55.440 --> 0:12:59.360 Google's lawyers say that the company really hasn't done anything 0:12:59.400 --> 0:13:01.640 wrong and that it just makes a superior product and 0:13:01.679 --> 0:13:03.959 that's why it has a dominant position in the market. 0:13:04.000 --> 0:13:08.559 It's not that they have acted unfairly to get and 0:13:08.679 --> 0:13:12.040 hold that position, rather than no one else makes stuff 0:13:12.040 --> 0:13:15.400 that's as good as Google does. A paper just published 0:13:15.400 --> 0:13:18.800 in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders lays out 0:13:18.840 --> 0:13:24.000 a case that TikTok videos covering autism have information that 0:13:24.160 --> 0:13:28.320 is quote not aligned with the current scientific understanding of 0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:32.560 autism end quote. This is according to Eric Dolan Ofsypost 0:13:32.679 --> 0:13:36.199 dot org. So the researcher has created a brand new 0:13:36.240 --> 0:13:38.960 TikTok account because they wanted to make sure that they 0:13:38.960 --> 0:13:41.920 didn't have any algorithmic bias if they used an already 0:13:42.000 --> 0:13:44.760 existing account, so brand new account. Then they started searching 0:13:44.760 --> 0:13:49.400 for videos and they use the search query hashtag autism. 0:13:49.840 --> 0:13:53.240 They then weeded out things like duplicate videos, so if 0:13:53.240 --> 0:13:56.000 it showed up more than once, they would eliminate the extras. 0:13:57.120 --> 0:14:01.480 They eliminated any videos from non English speaking hosts. They 0:14:01.480 --> 0:14:04.040 took those out to They also got rid of any 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:07.880 videos that didn't cover autism but were showing up in 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:11.560 search results. And what they had left once they did 0:14:11.559 --> 0:14:15.040 that initial culling was three hundred and sixty five videos, 0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:18.120 one for every day of the year. They then went 0:14:18.440 --> 0:14:21.120 further and they continued to weed out videos. They took 0:14:21.160 --> 0:14:24.840 out ones that were more about a person's experience with autism, 0:14:24.920 --> 0:14:27.600 you know, kind of like life story stuff, and they 0:14:27.600 --> 0:14:30.960 wanted to focus solely on videos that were claiming to 0:14:30.960 --> 0:14:35.520 be educational or informational to be providing information about autism. 0:14:35.600 --> 0:14:38.280 They wanted to just focus on those. This got them 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:43.720 down to one hundred thirty three videos. Then they started 0:14:43.760 --> 0:14:47.280 to really look at these videos and compare them against 0:14:47.360 --> 0:14:52.200 the body of accepted scientific knowledge surrounding autism to see 0:14:52.240 --> 0:14:56.680 how accurate. They were. They would label videos as being inaccurate, 0:14:57.320 --> 0:15:02.280 containing over generalizations, or being accurate right. They would look 0:15:02.320 --> 0:15:04.480 and say, which of these does this fit or how 0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:08.400 many instances are we finding per video. They would also 0:15:08.560 --> 0:15:11.600 only label a video inaccurate if something in the video 0:15:11.800 --> 0:15:16.200 clearly contradicted accepted scientific knowledge. So they wanted to be 0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:19.840 as fair as possible in this approach. Even with all 0:15:19.840 --> 0:15:23.640 those steps, they found that seventy three percent of those 0:15:23.640 --> 0:15:27.680 one hundred thirty three videos contained at least some inaccurate 0:15:27.720 --> 0:15:32.400 information or over generalized claims regarding autism. They also noted 0:15:32.400 --> 0:15:34.680 that these videos get a lot of views, like the 0:15:34.680 --> 0:15:37.800 one hundred thirty three videos collectively accounted for nearly two 0:15:37.880 --> 0:15:43.240 hundred million views, and while the medical professionals who were 0:15:43.400 --> 0:15:47.680 hosting videos were more likely to get things correct, they 0:15:47.720 --> 0:15:51.720 weren't necessarily the most viewed videos. There were other content creators, 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:55.560 either those who claimed to have autism or to be 0:15:55.600 --> 0:15:59.320 a caregiver for someone with autism, that were giving information 0:15:59.400 --> 0:16:02.600 that just won scientifically correct or at least not in 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:06.880 agreement with the scientific consensus on autism. So the researchers 0:16:06.880 --> 0:16:10.240 are actually suggesting that TikTok works to create a space 0:16:11.000 --> 0:16:13.840 where people who want to talk about autism and talk 0:16:13.840 --> 0:16:16.680 about their life experiences and that sort of thing, that 0:16:16.720 --> 0:16:19.360 they have a space where they can do that, but 0:16:19.400 --> 0:16:23.560 that that space is separate from discussions that are about 0:16:24.040 --> 0:16:29.280 the scientific understanding of autism to try and minimize the 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:34.240 dissemination of misinformation about autism. They so that it's good 0:16:34.240 --> 0:16:38.520 to have the platform to expand people's understanding of autism 0:16:38.560 --> 0:16:42.160 and to reduce stigma. That's good. What we don't want 0:16:42.200 --> 0:16:45.720 to do is to fuel misinformation. So I think it 0:16:45.800 --> 0:16:50.800 was actually a pretty measured approach outlined in the paper. 0:16:51.000 --> 0:16:53.800 The study itself is called The Reach and Accuracy of 0:16:53.840 --> 0:16:58.880 Information on Autism on TikTok. The Verge reports that TikTok 0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:03.440 has started to include excerpts from and links to Wikipedia 0:17:03.600 --> 0:17:07.240 articles in your search results. This seems to follow the 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:10.720 trend of younger people treating TikTok as a search engine, 0:17:11.280 --> 0:17:13.440 which I still have to wrap my mind around because 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:16.760 I'm old. The Verge reached out to TikTok, and a 0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:21.040 spokesperson confirmed that the platform has partnered with Wikipedia and 0:17:21.080 --> 0:17:23.760 that in fact, this feature has actually been live for 0:17:23.800 --> 0:17:27.520 several weeks. It's just been gradually rolling out, and TikTok 0:17:27.560 --> 0:17:29.679 didn't make a big old fuss about it. They just 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:32.520 kind of let it roll out. Now. I do not 0:17:32.680 --> 0:17:36.280 use TikTok, so I have not seen this in action myself, 0:17:36.320 --> 0:17:40.600 but apparently the Wikipedia stuff appears between videos in your 0:17:40.640 --> 0:17:43.600 search results. So you search for something, you scroll down 0:17:43.960 --> 0:17:46.960 and in between video like four and five, there might 0:17:47.000 --> 0:17:51.200 be a Wikipedia excerpt or link there, and it's not universal. 0:17:51.240 --> 0:17:54.359 You're not guaranteed to see Wikipedia content connected to any 0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:58.040 in every search. Some topics appear to have Wikipedia in 0:17:58.040 --> 0:18:03.160 tries included, and others. TikTok is also plopping down videos 0:18:03.359 --> 0:18:08.280 from sponsors in between those search results. So it sounds 0:18:08.320 --> 0:18:11.280 like using TikTok is starting to become more like using 0:18:11.359 --> 0:18:15.040 a regular web search engine. You know, you get some excerpts, 0:18:15.560 --> 0:18:18.399 you get some summaries, you get some links to the 0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:21.080 stuff you are actually looking for, and you get a 0:18:21.080 --> 0:18:27.200 whole bunch of sponsored content peppered throughout fun times. A 0:18:27.280 --> 0:18:32.440 high profile Russian journalist and publisher named Galina Timchenko revealed 0:18:32.440 --> 0:18:36.320 this week that her iPhone was compromised by the NSO 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:40.560 Group's spyware product Pegasus earlier this year, so in case 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:44.200 you need a refresher. Pegasus is a piece of software 0:18:44.640 --> 0:18:47.520 that lets someone send an I message to a target 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:51.280 iPhone or iOS device, and because of a flaw in 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:55.879 Apple's software, this message would compromise that target device and 0:18:55.920 --> 0:19:00.320 turn it into a surveillance gadget. The attacker could activate 0:19:00.440 --> 0:19:04.040 the device's camera and its microphone remotely, so you can 0:19:04.400 --> 0:19:08.560 spy using a person's own phone. You can also like 0:19:08.640 --> 0:19:12.120 search stuff that's in the phone's memory and essentially access 0:19:12.160 --> 0:19:16.119 all of its contents. Anyway, according to MEDUSA, that's a 0:19:16.160 --> 0:19:21.240 news outlet that Galina Timchenko co founded, someone used Pegasus 0:19:21.520 --> 0:19:25.040 to infiltrate Timchenko's phone just a few hours before she 0:19:25.119 --> 0:19:28.720 was scheduled to meet with exiled members of Russia's media 0:19:28.960 --> 0:19:32.440 in a meeting in Berlin. MEDUSA says this is the 0:19:32.480 --> 0:19:35.919 first confirmed case of a Russian journalist being the target 0:19:35.960 --> 0:19:39.199 of a Pegasus attack, which isn't a surprise. The NSO 0:19:39.320 --> 0:19:44.399 group says that the tool, the Pegasus tool will not 0:19:44.520 --> 0:19:48.520 work on phone numbers from the United States or from Russia, 0:19:48.560 --> 0:19:51.120 and they won't do business with Russia, and Russia won't 0:19:51.119 --> 0:19:54.680 do business with them, largely because Russia believes in funding 0:19:54.720 --> 0:19:59.600 their own spyware technologies. They don't outsource it, they build 0:19:59.600 --> 0:20:05.800 that stuff themselves. So anyway, NSOL Group has said that 0:20:05.840 --> 0:20:11.320 Pegasus was intended for people to use to identify and 0:20:11.920 --> 0:20:16.280 surveil like terrorists and other dangerous people. But we've seen 0:20:16.359 --> 0:20:20.520 time and again that NSO groups customers have been using 0:20:20.520 --> 0:20:24.359 Pegasus to really spy on anybody they don't like and 0:20:24.400 --> 0:20:29.160 that includes journalists and activists and other politicians that sort 0:20:29.200 --> 0:20:33.040 of stuff, not active threats against the state, and so 0:20:33.320 --> 0:20:36.320 NSO groups claims that it's kind of innocent of all 0:20:36.400 --> 0:20:41.040 these issues fall on deaf ears for me anyway, because 0:20:41.080 --> 0:20:44.640 I think it's pretty clear their customers include some very 0:20:44.720 --> 0:20:47.240 not nice people who are using this tool to spy 0:20:47.320 --> 0:20:52.399 on folks who are not an active like threat existential 0:20:52.480 --> 0:20:56.480 threat to the state. So yeah, still no word exactly 0:20:56.520 --> 0:21:01.080 on who might have been responsible for this attack. You know. 0:21:01.119 --> 0:21:04.880 The thought is that it probably wasn't Russia, but it's 0:21:05.160 --> 0:21:08.399 hard to say or if it was Russia, the attack 0:21:08.560 --> 0:21:12.000 was carried out through an intermediary of some sort, So yeah, 0:21:12.119 --> 0:21:16.199 no telling who it was that directed the attack on 0:21:16.280 --> 0:21:21.280 Galina Timchenko. But yeah, it's a continuing issue and now 0:21:21.280 --> 0:21:25.240 has affected a Russian journalist. She joins the ranks. All right, 0:21:25.640 --> 0:21:27.440 we're gonna take another quick break. When we come back, 0:21:27.440 --> 0:21:38.920 I've got a few more news stories to cover. Okay, 0:21:39.040 --> 0:21:41.080 let's wrap up with some more news stories. This is 0:21:41.080 --> 0:21:44.320 a big one. So there's this rumbling over in the 0:21:44.400 --> 0:21:46.760 video game development world, and I don't mean the little 0:21:46.760 --> 0:21:50.479 motors that cause game controllers to vibrate There's a company 0:21:50.520 --> 0:21:54.200 that's called Unity, right. They make a popular game engine, 0:21:54.240 --> 0:21:58.280 the Unity Engine, and this company has announced a big 0:21:58.359 --> 0:22:02.359 change in its subscription tier that has upset a lot 0:22:02.760 --> 0:22:06.480 of developers. So the way this used to work is 0:22:06.520 --> 0:22:09.960 that as a developer, you would subscribe to a tier 0:22:10.080 --> 0:22:13.360 of service with Unity, and in return, you would get 0:22:13.400 --> 0:22:15.919 access to the Unity Engine and you would get a 0:22:15.960 --> 0:22:19.440 suite of editing tools, and that was it. You would 0:22:19.520 --> 0:22:22.840 pay the subscription that would give you access and you 0:22:22.880 --> 0:22:25.480 went on your merry way. There were no royalty fees 0:22:25.520 --> 0:22:27.800 you had to worry about. In fact, if you were 0:22:27.840 --> 0:22:31.640 a really small developer, let's say that you made less 0:22:31.680 --> 0:22:36.320 than one hundred thousand dollars per month in revenue, well 0:22:36.760 --> 0:22:39.800 then you would get no fees at all to subscribe 0:22:39.800 --> 0:22:42.119 to the Personal Tier, the lowest tier of service of 0:22:42.280 --> 0:22:46.480 Unity Engine. However, now Unity has announced that starting next year, 0:22:47.040 --> 0:22:50.560 the company will charge developers a certain amount per install 0:22:50.960 --> 0:22:54.800 once a title reaches a particular threshold. So, for example, 0:22:54.960 --> 0:22:57.800 let's say you're an independent game developer and you have 0:22:57.880 --> 0:23:01.000 subscribed to that Unity Personal Tier or the lowest tier, 0:23:01.920 --> 0:23:04.680 you will have to fork over twenty cents per install, 0:23:05.040 --> 0:23:08.840 not per sale, per install of your game once you 0:23:09.240 --> 0:23:12.800 have hit two hundred thousand dollars in annual revenue or 0:23:12.840 --> 0:23:15.320 you have hit an install base of two hundred thousand 0:23:15.320 --> 0:23:18.920 players for that game. For customers who are paying more 0:23:19.000 --> 0:23:22.240 money for a higher tier of service, they'll actually see 0:23:22.240 --> 0:23:25.639 a lower per install fee and a higher threshold they 0:23:25.680 --> 0:23:27.760 have to meet before they have to pay it. So, 0:23:28.040 --> 0:23:30.359 in other words, if you're paying more money for a 0:23:30.440 --> 0:23:34.960 higher subscription tier, you're paying fewer royalties or less amount 0:23:35.000 --> 0:23:38.359 of royalties, at least on a per install basis. So 0:23:38.440 --> 0:23:41.760 developers got really really upset. Some of them called out 0:23:41.800 --> 0:23:45.879 to the developer community to stop using Unity Engine full stop. 0:23:46.080 --> 0:23:49.200 Just don't use Unity, use something else. And they have 0:23:49.280 --> 0:23:51.960 accused Unity of pulling sort of a bait and switch 0:23:52.000 --> 0:23:56.480 routine which got companies invested in using the Unity Engine 0:23:57.000 --> 0:23:58.680 and then they had the rug pulled out from under 0:23:58.720 --> 0:24:03.400 them with this change in policy. One developer, Megacrit, which 0:24:03.440 --> 0:24:06.879 produced the game Slay the Spire, posted a message that 0:24:07.000 --> 0:24:10.240 said its next game, which has already been in development 0:24:10.280 --> 0:24:13.560 for two years, will actually migrate to a different game 0:24:13.560 --> 0:24:17.560 engine if Unity does not change its policy. That's a 0:24:17.600 --> 0:24:19.160 heck of a thing to say, To say you're willing 0:24:19.160 --> 0:24:22.280 to throw away essentially two years of work in order 0:24:22.359 --> 0:24:26.679 to switch over. They also posted the statement quote we 0:24:26.760 --> 0:24:30.120 have never made a public statement before that is how 0:24:30.200 --> 0:24:34.880 badly you fed up end quote, only they didn't use 0:24:34.920 --> 0:24:39.160 the word ft if you catch my drift. Eurogamer reports 0:24:39.160 --> 0:24:42.119 that Unity executives sold off thousands of their shares in 0:24:42.160 --> 0:24:45.840 the company earlier this year, which some might interpret as 0:24:45.880 --> 0:24:49.040 the executives knowing that this change would likely lead to 0:24:49.119 --> 0:24:53.160 a decline in Unity's share price. It certainly looks suspicious 0:24:53.200 --> 0:24:56.360 considering the timing. In fact, the CEO of the company 0:24:56.600 --> 0:25:00.440 has sold more than fifty thousand shares this year, bought 0:25:00.680 --> 0:25:04.320 no shares in this company this year two thousand of 0:25:04.359 --> 0:25:07.399 those transactions or those shares, I should say, we're done. 0:25:07.480 --> 0:25:11.880 Just last week. Unity has now backtracked a little bit 0:25:12.240 --> 0:25:15.320 on this policy. They are now saying that the charges 0:25:15.359 --> 0:25:19.479 will only come after a user has first installed the title, 0:25:19.600 --> 0:25:22.119 and that's it just the first time. The reason for 0:25:22.160 --> 0:25:25.640 that is that some developers were concerned that users who 0:25:25.720 --> 0:25:31.320 are particularly angry at a developer could potentially install the 0:25:31.520 --> 0:25:35.760