1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:16,160 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff tech News edition 3 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:21,520 Speaker 1: for Tuesday, January five, twenty twenty one. I'm your host, 4 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:24,960 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio 5 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,000 Speaker 1: and I love all things tech. And welcome to the 6 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:31,960 Speaker 1: very first episode of tech Stuff, covering tech news every 7 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,920 Speaker 1: Tuesday and Thursday. And I'll bring you headlines from the 8 00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:39,120 Speaker 1: tech world and give you a little context and maybe 9 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:42,920 Speaker 1: some of that old Strickland flair which usually manifests as 10 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:46,720 Speaker 1: puns and stupid references. Spoiler alert, you'll get at least 11 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: one of those in this episode. So let's hit the 12 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:52,960 Speaker 1: headlines now. In this first section, I thought I would 13 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: cover some of the heaviest topics, and our first is 14 00:00:56,280 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 1: a big one. My top story is that a judge 15 00:00:59,720 --> 00:01:02,880 Speaker 1: in the United Kingdom has denied a request from the 16 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:06,960 Speaker 1: United States to extradite Julian Assange to the u S. 17 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:11,880 Speaker 1: Assange is the founder of Wiki Leaks, or is often 18 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,920 Speaker 1: credited as such. That is, the organization dedicated to publishing 19 00:01:15,959 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 1: internal documents from governments, companies, and other organizations in an 20 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 1: effort to increase transparency. The official wiki Leaks site puts 21 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,880 Speaker 1: it like this, Our goal is to bring important news 22 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:34,160 Speaker 1: and information to the public. We provide an innovative, secure, 23 00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 1: an anonymous way for sources to leak information to our journalists. 24 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:42,400 Speaker 1: Then they mentioned that that way is their electronic dropbox. 25 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,399 Speaker 1: One of our most important activities is to publish original 26 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:50,600 Speaker 1: source material alongside our news stories, so readers and historians 27 00:01:50,640 --> 00:01:54,840 Speaker 1: alike can see evidence of the truth end quote. The 28 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:58,600 Speaker 1: organization has been connected to several high profile events around 29 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:03,800 Speaker 1: the world, just early involving clandest in government activities or 30 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:08,799 Speaker 1: ethically questionable corporate practices. Sometimes you end up getting both 31 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 1: at the same time, and as such, the organization is 32 00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:17,640 Speaker 1: frequently under let's call it intense scrutiny and pressure, political 33 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 1: and business and otherwise. It has also occasionally shown a 34 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:26,480 Speaker 1: tendency to promote baseless conspiracy theories and be used as 35 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:31,079 Speaker 1: sort of an end to push Asane's particular political views. 36 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:35,800 Speaker 1: For example, during the twenty sixteen election cycle, WikiLeaks published 37 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,080 Speaker 1: many reports that were seen as particularly harmful for Hillary 38 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:45,000 Speaker 1: Clinton's ultimately unsuccessful campaign to become president. In addition, Julian 39 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: Assange made statements saying Clinton would be a bad president 40 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:53,239 Speaker 1: and later investigations showed that WikiLeaks representatives had sent numerous 41 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 1: messages to Donald Trump Jr. Coaching him on how the 42 00:02:56,760 --> 00:03:00,840 Speaker 1: Trump campaign might contest election results of things not go 43 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:03,959 Speaker 1: their way now. In the end, the election, of course, 44 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:07,280 Speaker 1: went to Trump in twenty sixteen, but as we see 45 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 1: his administration push very hard to overturn the election results 46 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:14,360 Speaker 1: from twenty twenty, it seems like some of that playbook 47 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:17,960 Speaker 1: might still be in use. Various agencies in the United 48 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 1: States have been investigating Wiki leaks and Assange all the 49 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 1: way back since in a federal grand jury indicted Assange, 50 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 1: though at the time only a relatively small number of 51 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 1: people actually knew what that indictment was because it was 52 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:39,120 Speaker 1: a sealed indictment. However, in twenty nineteen, Assange lost his 53 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:43,440 Speaker 1: asylum status at the Ecuador embassy in London. That in 54 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: itself is a long story. Assange had been there since, 55 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:52,960 Speaker 1: but in twenty nineteen British officers would arrest Assange once 56 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: Ecuador no longer gave him asylum, and this all stemmed 57 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 1: from a twenty twelve decision in which the UK was 58 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 1: going to extradite Assange to Sweden after Assange had become 59 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:07,600 Speaker 1: the focus of a sexual assault case. Now that's when 60 00:04:07,600 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 1: Assange skipped bail and sought asylum at the Ecuador embassy. 61 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 1: So this arrest was in response to him skipping bail. 62 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:20,760 Speaker 1: The Swedish authorities who were pursuing that sexual assault case 63 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:24,960 Speaker 1: against Assange had dropped charges in twenty nineteen. Now, Sange, 64 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:27,039 Speaker 1: for his part, said the only reason that he was 65 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:30,479 Speaker 1: fighting extradition to Sweden in the first place was that 66 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:33,160 Speaker 1: he saw that as a stepping stone for him getting 67 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:36,000 Speaker 1: extradited to the United States. In other words, he was saying, 68 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:40,120 Speaker 1: don't send me to Sweden because they're not really interested 69 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: in pursuing a case against me. There's no case against me. 70 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: They just want to get me so that I can 71 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:47,920 Speaker 1: then be sent to the United States. So the UK 72 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:52,159 Speaker 1: authorities took a Sage into custody, and then American lawyers 73 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:54,920 Speaker 1: delivered a couple of indictments and demanded a Sange be 74 00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: extradited to the US to stand trial, which kind of 75 00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:01,440 Speaker 1: you know, goes to report what Assange was saying would 76 00:05:01,480 --> 00:05:03,000 Speaker 1: happen if he had been sent to Sweden in the 77 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,719 Speaker 1: first place. So first up among those indictments was the 78 00:05:06,800 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 1: sealed indictment which related back to a league from Chelsea Manning, 79 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:14,599 Speaker 1: and we learned that this indictment charges a Sange with 80 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:20,640 Speaker 1: conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. That's essentially a a hacker charge, 81 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:23,560 Speaker 1: and it has a maximum of a five year sentence. 82 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,359 Speaker 1: So while it's a crime, you wouldn't consider it something 83 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:33,159 Speaker 1: that a country would spend a decade plus pursuing. However, 84 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: closely following that was another indictment, this one including seventeen 85 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:41,279 Speaker 1: charges against a Sange and stating that he violated the 86 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:45,279 Speaker 1: Espionage Act of nineteen seventeen. Now, this one is a 87 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 1: much more serious charge or series of charges, I guess 88 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:50,599 Speaker 1: I should say, and it carries with it a potential 89 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:54,039 Speaker 1: maximum sentence of more than a hundred fifty years in prison. 90 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: Now there's a lot to say about those charges, including 91 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: the implications of what it would mean for journals if 92 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:04,560 Speaker 1: Assange were found guilty of them, but as of right 93 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:08,080 Speaker 1: now that's a moot point because the UK judge denied 94 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:12,039 Speaker 1: the extradition demands. The UK judge stated that Assange is 95 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:14,280 Speaker 1: not mentally fit for such a thing, that he might 96 00:06:14,320 --> 00:06:17,520 Speaker 1: be a suicide risk were that to go through. So, 97 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:21,040 Speaker 1: in other words, the request is denied due to concerns 98 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:24,760 Speaker 1: for the health of the accused. The US can appeal 99 00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 1: this decision, but as of this recording, Assange remains in 100 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:31,120 Speaker 1: custody in the UK. There have been talks of a 101 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:35,240 Speaker 1: possible presidential pardon from Donald Trump. That would be interesting 102 00:06:35,320 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 1: because it was largely his administration that has pushed for 103 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:42,919 Speaker 1: the charges under the Espionage Act. The Obama administration chose 104 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:45,719 Speaker 1: not to do that, largely because of those concerns of 105 00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:48,920 Speaker 1: how it would affect journalists. It's not like they had 106 00:06:48,920 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: a soft spot for Assange, but more that it was 107 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:56,880 Speaker 1: hard to justify those charges if journalists would not be 108 00:06:56,960 --> 00:06:59,760 Speaker 1: held to the same measure. I'm sure we're gonna have 109 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:02,480 Speaker 1: all lot more to talk about this story later on 110 00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:06,120 Speaker 1: this year. But moving on over at Google, more than 111 00:07:06,160 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: two hundred employees have signed cards supporting the formation of 112 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:16,560 Speaker 1: an employee union called the Alphabet Workers Union. Employee union 113 00:07:16,720 --> 00:07:20,040 Speaker 1: is a difficult phrase for me to say, but Alphabet, 114 00:07:20,040 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 1: in case you weren't aware, is the name of the 115 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:26,680 Speaker 1: holding company under which Google sits, along with companies like Weymo. 116 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: The unionization follows several instances and which employees collectively protested 117 00:07:33,520 --> 00:07:37,640 Speaker 1: Google corporate moves from being involved with military projects like 118 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:42,960 Speaker 1: Project Maven to Google's forced arbitration policy. Now that last 119 00:07:43,000 --> 00:07:45,680 Speaker 1: one is a policy in which Google requires employees to 120 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:50,320 Speaker 1: first pursue any concerns they might have that could even be, 121 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:53,320 Speaker 1: you know, legal concerns. They have to first pursue them 122 00:07:53,360 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: internally with Google HR before they can then look to 123 00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 1: external solutions like lead election. This became particularly important when 124 00:08:03,240 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 1: Andy Rubin, a former Google executive and father of the 125 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:12,680 Speaker 1: Android smartphone platform, left Google amid sexual harassment allegations very 126 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 1: credible ones, while also pocketing a ninety million dollar exit package. 127 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:22,640 Speaker 1: Membership in the union is being extended or will be extended, 128 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:26,520 Speaker 1: not just a full time employees, but also Google contractors, 129 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:30,320 Speaker 1: who lack many of the benefits that full time Googlers have. 130 00:08:31,000 --> 00:08:34,600 Speaker 1: They also represent the bulk of the workforce at Google. 131 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:38,880 Speaker 1: The plan is for the Alphabet Workers Union to work 132 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:42,960 Speaker 1: with the Communications Workers of America or c w A 133 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:47,400 Speaker 1: in order to unionize, and if the process succeeds, Google 134 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 1: employees will devote a percentage reportedly one per cent of 135 00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:56,240 Speaker 1: their salary or their earnings from the company to union fees, 136 00:08:56,400 --> 00:09:00,000 Speaker 1: which will pay for organization and legal fees, among other things. 137 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:03,280 Speaker 1: Wings The hope is to put pressure on Google leadership, 138 00:09:03,440 --> 00:09:06,959 Speaker 1: which has been under criticism from multiple parties, both internally 139 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:10,600 Speaker 1: and externally over the past few years for everything from 140 00:09:10,600 --> 00:09:15,720 Speaker 1: protecting executives from investigations into sexual harassment allegations to suppressing 141 00:09:15,760 --> 00:09:22,200 Speaker 1: employee attempts to organize protests. Next, Tesla just fell short 142 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: of its goal of producing five hundred thousand vehicles in 143 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:31,400 Speaker 1: even with a global pandemic in play. The company reported 144 00:09:31,440 --> 00:09:36,320 Speaker 1: that it had shipped four hundred thousand, five hundred fifty 145 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 1: vehicles in the year, and that's pretty impressive. But also 146 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: it's a reminder that Elon Musk was a vocal opponent 147 00:09:44,840 --> 00:09:48,640 Speaker 1: of government measures aimed at reducing the spread of COVID nineteen. 148 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:53,400 Speaker 1: He frequently promoted unscientific statements on Twitter, where he has 149 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:56,560 Speaker 1: lots of followers, and that's a very polite way of 150 00:09:56,559 --> 00:10:00,280 Speaker 1: saying he was spreading misinformation like crazy, and he did 151 00:10:00,280 --> 00:10:03,360 Speaker 1: that several times about the virus throughout the year. He 152 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:07,600 Speaker 1: also reopened his Tesla factory early. He defied a county 153 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:10,960 Speaker 1: order that said that businesses like that were to remain 154 00:10:11,080 --> 00:10:13,920 Speaker 1: locked down and closed, and he just up and up 155 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 1: said no, we're going to reopen, and it didn't take 156 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:19,360 Speaker 1: long at all for COVID cases to break out among 157 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:23,480 Speaker 1: the factory staff. As for Musk, he actually contracted COVID 158 00:10:23,520 --> 00:10:28,359 Speaker 1: as well in November. His case was reportedly a mild one, 159 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:32,920 Speaker 1: and he perhaps changed his tune a little bit after that. 160 00:10:33,640 --> 00:10:36,760 Speaker 1: So Tesla very nearly made its production goal for twenty 161 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:40,800 Speaker 1: but one does wonder what the cost of that was. 162 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:46,520 Speaker 1: Let's switch on over to SpaceX, another company associated with 163 00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:50,959 Speaker 1: Elon Musk. SpaceX recently announced some interesting plans on how 164 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:54,559 Speaker 1: the company is going to retrieve the super heavy rockets 165 00:10:54,800 --> 00:10:59,880 Speaker 1: for reuse. Uh So, right now SpaceX launch vehicles used 166 00:11:00,000 --> 00:11:04,400 Speaker 1: Alcon nine boosters, and these boosters have legs on them, 167 00:11:04,600 --> 00:11:08,120 Speaker 1: so the boosters actually will use their thrusters their engines 168 00:11:08,200 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 1: to orient themselves vertically and slow their descent and land 169 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:15,600 Speaker 1: on those legs at the base of the boosters. But 170 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:21,559 Speaker 1: SpaceX plans for the super heavy boosters to not have legs. 171 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:24,240 Speaker 1: So how are those going to land safely so that 172 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:28,480 Speaker 1: they can then be retrieved and prepped for future use. Well, 173 00:11:28,480 --> 00:11:31,480 Speaker 1: it's going to come down to the launch tower that's 174 00:11:31,600 --> 00:11:34,800 Speaker 1: used as a stabilizer for when the space vehicle initially 175 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:38,800 Speaker 1: launches from Earth. If you've ever seen images or been 176 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:41,960 Speaker 1: at a launch, you've seen, you know, the rocket, the 177 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:44,520 Speaker 1: thing we think of as a rocket being very close 178 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:48,840 Speaker 1: to a giant tower, a stabilization tower. That's the secret here. 179 00:11:49,679 --> 00:11:52,840 Speaker 1: So when the booster is returning to Earth after it 180 00:11:52,920 --> 00:11:57,720 Speaker 1: has launched its payload, the tower will help catch the 181 00:11:57,800 --> 00:12:01,840 Speaker 1: returning super heavy booster. The launch vehicle will use its 182 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:04,520 Speaker 1: engines to orient itself and slow it's descent, just like 183 00:12:04,559 --> 00:12:07,440 Speaker 1: a Falcon nine would. So it's not like, you know, 184 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:09,080 Speaker 1: they're just gonna rush up to the top of the 185 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:11,199 Speaker 1: tower and put a big old catcher's mid on the 186 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:13,160 Speaker 1: end of it so that it can, you know, try 187 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:17,040 Speaker 1: and and catch that pop fly super booster. The arm 188 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:19,480 Speaker 1: will have a essentially kind of a hook on it 189 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:23,520 Speaker 1: in order to catch the booster as it descends slowly, 190 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 1: so the engines on the booster will be engaged, it 191 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:30,760 Speaker 1: will be descending, and then it will descend next to 192 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:33,400 Speaker 1: the tower so that the tower can hook on to 193 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:37,360 Speaker 1: this super booster, and thus it never really touches down 194 00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:39,600 Speaker 1: on the ground. It hangs there at the end of 195 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:43,040 Speaker 1: the the arm on the tower. Now, according to SpaceX. 196 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:45,200 Speaker 1: The goal is to cut down on the costs of 197 00:12:45,280 --> 00:12:48,280 Speaker 1: building and operating the boosters because they won't you know, 198 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:52,880 Speaker 1: need that extra material for legs, and it will also 199 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:56,839 Speaker 1: potentially cut down on the time spent between launches. Now ideally, 200 00:12:57,400 --> 00:13:01,000 Speaker 1: the returning booster could be serviced on the very pad 201 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:04,520 Speaker 1: that it launched from, prepping it for its next mission. 202 00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:07,320 Speaker 1: In fact, the company has the ambitious goal of making 203 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:11,360 Speaker 1: the turnaround time less than an hour between touchdown and 204 00:13:11,440 --> 00:13:15,199 Speaker 1: the next launch, which is crazy. If SpaceX can make 205 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:18,960 Speaker 1: that work, it would create the opportunity for an unprecedented 206 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:23,959 Speaker 1: number of space applications, from satellite launches to spacecraft with 207 00:13:24,120 --> 00:13:26,959 Speaker 1: you know, actual human beings aborted. But all of this 208 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:30,040 Speaker 1: right now is just in the planning stages. The super 209 00:13:30,040 --> 00:13:33,240 Speaker 1: heavy boosters themselves will not be ready for testing until later, 210 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:36,520 Speaker 1: but it could be a super nifty way for us 211 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:39,680 Speaker 1: to launch stuff into space and then reuse those very 212 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:43,120 Speaker 1: expensive boosters. We've got a lot more news, but before 213 00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:54,000 Speaker 1: we get to that, let's take a quick break. Welcome back, 214 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:57,600 Speaker 1: and now let's all get ready to be terrified as 215 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:00,480 Speaker 1: we enter a news section I'd like to call I 216 00:14:00,640 --> 00:14:04,960 Speaker 1: just can't hack it because well, all has to do 217 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:08,800 Speaker 1: with hacking. Now, when it comes to hacks, the Solar 218 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 1: Winds story just gets worse as time goes on. All right, 219 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:16,480 Speaker 1: to catch you up, a company called Solar Winds makes 220 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:21,440 Speaker 1: enterprise level software and it helps customers manage various I assets. 221 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:25,200 Speaker 1: And we're talking about heavy duty software here, the type 222 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:27,320 Speaker 1: of thing that would be used by you know, big 223 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:32,920 Speaker 1: companies or even bigger government agencies and organizations. One of 224 00:14:32,960 --> 00:14:36,080 Speaker 1: those pieces of software is called Orion, which is a 225 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 1: particularly popular piece of I T management software that thousands 226 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:45,080 Speaker 1: of Solar Winds customers rely upon, tens of thousands in fact, 227 00:14:45,520 --> 00:14:50,080 Speaker 1: and at some point hackers compromise the Orion software on 228 00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 1: the Solar Winds side, So they managed to infiltrate and 229 00:14:55,000 --> 00:15:00,120 Speaker 1: inject malicious code directly into the Orion code at the 230 00:15:00,160 --> 00:15:04,560 Speaker 1: Solar Winds location. And then that meant that whenever Solar 231 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:07,760 Speaker 1: Winds would push out an update or a patch to 232 00:15:08,600 --> 00:15:12,400 Speaker 1: its customers, that malicious code went along for the ride. So, 233 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:16,440 Speaker 1: if you're familiar with typical information security procedure, you know 234 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:19,200 Speaker 1: it's usually a good idea to install patches when they 235 00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:23,840 Speaker 1: come out because those patches could address security vulnerabilities and 236 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:26,480 Speaker 1: thus make you less likely to become a target. But 237 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:30,120 Speaker 1: in this case, a patch would push out the malware 238 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:34,360 Speaker 1: that would then infect customer systems and give hackers administrative 239 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:38,720 Speaker 1: level access to their systems. According to Microsoft, a hacker 240 00:15:38,760 --> 00:15:42,920 Speaker 1: could impersonate any of the affected organizations existing users, which 241 00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:48,320 Speaker 1: is yawza. Microsoft said that its own systems were affected 242 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:52,720 Speaker 1: quote beyond just the presence of malicious solar winds code 243 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:56,560 Speaker 1: end quote, which does not sound like good news at all. 244 00:15:57,160 --> 00:16:00,440 Speaker 1: What is slightly better is that, according to micro Soft, 245 00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:04,200 Speaker 1: the hackers couldn't actually make changes to critical stuff. They 246 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:07,720 Speaker 1: could snoop and they could view source code, so they 247 00:16:07,720 --> 00:16:09,880 Speaker 1: could go and look at the source code for various 248 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:14,240 Speaker 1: Microsoft products. Which that's not great news for Microsoft. It 249 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:19,680 Speaker 1: represents a potentially disastrous existential crisis for the company if 250 00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:23,440 Speaker 1: the source code for their products were to be released, Um, 251 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:26,120 Speaker 1: that could mean that someone else could potentially, you know, 252 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:30,280 Speaker 1: make their own version of Microsoft products. Well. The company 253 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:32,800 Speaker 1: has also stated that none of its resources appear to 254 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:35,920 Speaker 1: have been used by the hackers to attack other targets, 255 00:16:35,960 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: so that's also some good news. Now. The prevailing theory, 256 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:44,160 Speaker 1: based on investigations, is that these hacks originated out of Russia, 257 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:48,640 Speaker 1: and they constitute one of the largest espionage projects ever conducted. 258 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:52,360 Speaker 1: Affected systems include those belonging to the US Department of 259 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:56,840 Speaker 1: Homeland Security and the National Institutes of Health, among numerous 260 00:16:56,840 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 1: other high profile, highly sensitive department in US government. So 261 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:05,240 Speaker 1: how is this attack so successful? Well, there are a 262 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:08,960 Speaker 1: few contributing factors. One is that in an election year, 263 00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:13,320 Speaker 1: much of the US cybersecurity assets were focusing on the election, 264 00:17:13,600 --> 00:17:16,800 Speaker 1: which may have meant fewer assets were available to monitor 265 00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:21,000 Speaker 1: everything else. Another is that the hackers were targeting a 266 00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:25,359 Speaker 1: trusted tool, compromising that tool, and then counting on the 267 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:28,280 Speaker 1: software supply chain to do all the rest of the 268 00:17:28,280 --> 00:17:32,879 Speaker 1: work for them. They didn't have to distribute the malware 269 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:37,080 Speaker 1: to all their various targets. They hit this one source 270 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:40,760 Speaker 1: and it did the distribution for them, so they just 271 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:43,720 Speaker 1: let solar Winds do all the work that way. And 272 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:47,280 Speaker 1: of course all these companies and agencies had no reason 273 00:17:47,359 --> 00:17:50,960 Speaker 1: to suspect that solar Winds was going to compromise their systems. 274 00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:54,520 Speaker 1: They were a trusted partner. So the hackers themselves are 275 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:57,600 Speaker 1: really careful, and they were able to escape detection until 276 00:17:57,680 --> 00:18:02,520 Speaker 1: December twenty and we still don't know when this attack 277 00:18:02,600 --> 00:18:05,879 Speaker 1: officially started. It looks like it started at least as 278 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:09,239 Speaker 1: far back as March, but maybe earlier than that. We 279 00:18:09,280 --> 00:18:13,520 Speaker 1: don't know how bad the attack was, how how widespread 280 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:16,359 Speaker 1: it is, and how deeply ingrained it is in various systems, 281 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:20,600 Speaker 1: But I think it's safe for us to call it really, really, 282 00:18:21,359 --> 00:18:26,320 Speaker 1: really bad. I think that's on track. On Monday, January three, 283 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:29,600 Speaker 1: twenty one, T Mobile revealed that it had been the 284 00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:33,240 Speaker 1: target of a security breach. Moreover, the hackers may have 285 00:18:33,359 --> 00:18:37,639 Speaker 1: gained access to sensitive information, including call related information made 286 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:41,320 Speaker 1: by T Mobile customers. Now, according to the company, this 287 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:45,840 Speaker 1: breach did not include stuff like customer names or their 288 00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:51,320 Speaker 1: addresses either snail mail or email, or their pen or 289 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:55,760 Speaker 1: their social Security number or their payment information or other 290 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:59,600 Speaker 1: supersensitive data that would be really handy if someone had 291 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:02,879 Speaker 1: the hint of stealing identities, so that part is good 292 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:07,120 Speaker 1: that that information was not compromised. But at least some accounts, 293 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:11,360 Speaker 1: maybe as many as two hundred thousand of them, were accessed. 294 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:15,960 Speaker 1: Now according to T Mobile, the information that was accessible 295 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:20,760 Speaker 1: may include stuff like phone numbers, number of lines subscribed to, 296 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:24,080 Speaker 1: and in a small number of cases, some call related 297 00:19:24,119 --> 00:19:28,560 Speaker 1: information collected as part of normal operation and service. I 298 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:32,120 Speaker 1: don't actually know what that means now. T Mobile has 299 00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:34,960 Speaker 1: a history of security breaches, so this is not great 300 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:38,280 Speaker 1: news for them. There's currently an investigation into where those 301 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:41,600 Speaker 1: hacks may have originated, and the company has reached out 302 00:19:41,640 --> 00:19:45,560 Speaker 1: to customers who were affected by this, the people who 303 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:50,199 Speaker 1: own the accounts that were accessed. Moving on, ticket Master 304 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:55,200 Speaker 1: is a big ticket sales and distribution company, and it 305 00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:58,399 Speaker 1: has venues as its clients. I often think of myself 306 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:01,520 Speaker 1: as a ticket Master customer if I'm purchasing something to 307 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:05,359 Speaker 1: go see a show or whatever, but really the big 308 00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:10,159 Speaker 1: customers for Ticketmaster are the theaters and concert venues and 309 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:12,639 Speaker 1: things like that. And the way this works is that 310 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:16,920 Speaker 1: the venues will set aside tickets for Ticketmaster and they 311 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:20,400 Speaker 1: get to decide what the face price value of those 312 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:24,040 Speaker 1: tickets are. So if you see a ticket on Ticketmaster, 313 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:27,959 Speaker 1: know that that price was decided upon by the venue, 314 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:32,159 Speaker 1: not by Ticketmaster. But Ticketmaster does put in service fees 315 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:36,200 Speaker 1: that generates revenue for the company. So if you've ever 316 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:39,399 Speaker 1: seen a ticket where there's crazy high service fees, just 317 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:43,879 Speaker 1: that's where Ticketmaster's revenue comes in. I have personally seen 318 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:48,600 Speaker 1: tickets where the service fees were fifty of the ticket price, 319 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:53,040 Speaker 1: which I think is truly ridiculous. Anyway, Ticketmaster was found 320 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:57,719 Speaker 1: guilty of illegally accessing computer systems belonging to a competitor. So, 321 00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:00,960 Speaker 1: in other words, they were found guilty of hacking. And 322 00:21:00,960 --> 00:21:05,240 Speaker 1: in this case, the competitor was crowd Surge. Live Nation 323 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:10,440 Speaker 1: that's a Ticketmaster's parent company hired a guy named Stephen 324 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:15,280 Speaker 1: Meade in two thousand thirteen, and Mead was crowd Surge's 325 00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:21,720 Speaker 1: former general manager of US operations. Mead revealed passwords to 326 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:25,520 Speaker 1: a tool called artist Toolbox, and that was an app 327 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:29,440 Speaker 1: that provided real time data about tickets that were being 328 00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:33,359 Speaker 1: sold by crowd Surge. So Ticketmaster had an inside view 329 00:21:33,600 --> 00:21:38,679 Speaker 1: as to crowd surges actual business. Now, according to the charges, quote, 330 00:21:38,960 --> 00:21:44,320 Speaker 1: Ticketmasters employees brazenly held a division wide summit at which 331 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:48,320 Speaker 1: the stolen passwords were used to access the victim company's computers, 332 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:52,680 Speaker 1: as if that were an appropriate business tactic end quote. 333 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:56,560 Speaker 1: Crowd Surge filed the lawsuit against Live Nation, you know, 334 00:21:56,560 --> 00:22:01,320 Speaker 1: Ticketmaster's parent company, in so this shows that these cases 335 00:22:01,520 --> 00:22:04,840 Speaker 1: take a real long time to get through the entire 336 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:08,080 Speaker 1: court system. Ticketmaster was found guilty. They're going to have 337 00:22:08,119 --> 00:22:11,360 Speaker 1: to pay a ten million dollar fine, and they also 338 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:14,640 Speaker 1: have to create and maintain a compliance and ethics program 339 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:16,840 Speaker 1: to prevent this sort of stuff from happening again in 340 00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:21,959 Speaker 1: the future. Also, the people who were primarily responsible for 341 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:25,879 Speaker 1: this whole thing are no longer with the company. And 342 00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:29,879 Speaker 1: to round out our hackasan let's talk about Adobe Flash. 343 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:34,240 Speaker 1: You remember Adobe Flash. It's the browser plug in that 344 00:22:34,359 --> 00:22:38,080 Speaker 1: was designed to allow for more rich web based content 345 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:43,160 Speaker 1: and experiences. So Flash enabled a lot of that sort 346 00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:46,639 Speaker 1: of rich content stuff like audio and video, and and 347 00:22:46,800 --> 00:22:50,840 Speaker 1: games and other elements that became common on the web. 348 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:54,159 Speaker 1: But the plug in also became a focal point for 349 00:22:54,240 --> 00:22:57,200 Speaker 1: various criticisms, especially by the time you get to about 350 00:22:57,280 --> 00:22:59,840 Speaker 1: twenty ten or so. And the plug in was also 351 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:03,440 Speaker 1: owned to expose users to security vulnerabilities, which been it 352 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:07,159 Speaker 1: offered up chances for hackers to exploit that plug in 353 00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:12,360 Speaker 1: and thus cause mischief. And generally speaking, it's a bad 354 00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:16,959 Speaker 1: idea to install the security vulnerability into your system, as 355 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:20,080 Speaker 1: all the people who are affected by this Solar Winds 356 00:23:20,119 --> 00:23:23,280 Speaker 1: hack have learned. Now over the past several years, there's 357 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:26,320 Speaker 1: been a pretty consistent move away from Flash to the 358 00:23:26,359 --> 00:23:30,200 Speaker 1: point that very few sites online still use it. Most 359 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:34,560 Speaker 1: of them have switched to other tools, primarily HTML five, 360 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:37,760 Speaker 1: which supports a lot of the functionality of Flash, so 361 00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:42,880 Speaker 1: you could build out web tools and web features that 362 00:23:43,200 --> 00:23:45,440 Speaker 1: did the same thing Flash did, but without having to 363 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:49,800 Speaker 1: actually use the plug in in. Adobe announced it was 364 00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:52,240 Speaker 1: going to end support for the Flash player by the 365 00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:57,720 Speaker 1: end of twenty looking at my calendar, it is now so. 366 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:01,320 Speaker 1: Adobe says it will block content from running in Flash 367 00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:05,160 Speaker 1: players starting on January twelve of this year, and Adobe 368 00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:09,680 Speaker 1: also urges all users who have the Flash browser plug 369 00:24:09,720 --> 00:24:14,560 Speaker 1: in to uninstall it on their computers because it will 370 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:18,360 Speaker 1: at that point only represent a potential open door for hackers. 371 00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:23,720 Speaker 1: There will be no legitimate use for Flash at that stage. Okay, 372 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:28,480 Speaker 1: we've gotten through the hacking news for this Tuesday. Let's 373 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:31,960 Speaker 1: move on to something else after we take this quick break. 374 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:43,240 Speaker 1: Let's wrap up our first tech stuff news episode with 375 00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:47,959 Speaker 1: a few eclectic items, and we're gonna go back to Microsoft. 376 00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:50,639 Speaker 1: So besides the fact that they're dealing with the solar 377 00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:53,200 Speaker 1: winds problem, which I'm not gonna go back into, that's 378 00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:59,240 Speaker 1: the bummer, right, Microsoft has planned a revamp for Windows, apparently, 379 00:24:59,760 --> 00:25:03,400 Speaker 1: not that the company has necessarily said anything officially. However, 380 00:25:03,960 --> 00:25:08,280 Speaker 1: The Verge reported that a job listing on Microsoft's site 381 00:25:08,960 --> 00:25:11,560 Speaker 1: would be the source of this big piece of news, 382 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:15,480 Speaker 1: and that job listing, which was for a software engineer, says, quote, 383 00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:19,400 Speaker 1: on this team, you'll work with our key platform Surface 384 00:25:19,600 --> 00:25:22,359 Speaker 1: and O e M partners to orchestrate and deliver a 385 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:27,120 Speaker 1: sweeping visual rejuvenation of Windows experiences, to signal to our 386 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:31,520 Speaker 1: customers that Windows is back, and ensure that Windows is 387 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:36,560 Speaker 1: considered the best user OS experience for customers. End quote. Now, 388 00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:39,800 Speaker 1: I don't think they should call to come back. Windows 389 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:42,400 Speaker 1: has been here for years, so I don't know if 390 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:48,639 Speaker 1: the ladies love Windows. Interestingly, it's kind of cool and 391 00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:52,520 Speaker 1: weird to see Microsoft really turn its attention two Windows. 392 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:56,919 Speaker 1: Jerry Nixon once called Windows tend the quote last version 393 00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:00,920 Speaker 1: of Windows end quote, meaning that Microsoft would push out 394 00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:05,520 Speaker 1: updates to that OS over time, but Windows ten would 395 00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:09,520 Speaker 1: just remain the official operating system of Microsoft, rather than 396 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:13,080 Speaker 1: going with an all new version. So this story seems 397 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:16,639 Speaker 1: to support that because we're not talking about Windows eleven, 398 00:26:17,119 --> 00:26:21,360 Speaker 1: so that to me is kind of fascinating. Various reports 399 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:24,480 Speaker 1: say that Microsoft is planning some changes to the user 400 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:28,200 Speaker 1: interface of Windows ten and to modernize it. Now, here's 401 00:26:28,200 --> 00:26:30,960 Speaker 1: hoping that they make changes in a way that doesn't 402 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:35,600 Speaker 1: totally alienate the user base. I find that most users 403 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:39,160 Speaker 1: tend to despise change, even if the changes are good ones. 404 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:42,680 Speaker 1: But often they are not good ones. I think about 405 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:45,800 Speaker 1: every time that Microsoft has tried to make a bold 406 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:50,040 Speaker 1: move from a UI perspective, it frequently gets a lot 407 00:26:50,119 --> 00:26:54,359 Speaker 1: of pushback. Now, sometimes those implementations are just not great. 408 00:26:54,920 --> 00:26:58,520 Speaker 1: Windows Vista was a problem. Windows eight, A lot of 409 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:01,840 Speaker 1: people really hated a specially the tiles version, which seemed 410 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:06,160 Speaker 1: to be more geared toward a touch screen experience. And 411 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:09,200 Speaker 1: I don't know about you, but I still primarily interact 412 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:13,239 Speaker 1: with my computers using a keyboard and mouse, not a 413 00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:17,000 Speaker 1: touch screen. So here's hoping that this revamped look for 414 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:21,399 Speaker 1: Windows is not going to make some similar missteps, and 415 00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:27,200 Speaker 1: that what we get our actual genuine improvements. That's my hope. Microsoft, 416 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:28,960 Speaker 1: by the way, has said that they are doing this, 417 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:33,560 Speaker 1: or rather analysts have said Microsoft is doing this largely 418 00:27:33,640 --> 00:27:38,520 Speaker 1: because there was an uptick in Windows use during the pandemic. 419 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:42,200 Speaker 1: Not a big surprise there as people started to turn 420 00:27:42,240 --> 00:27:46,879 Speaker 1: to their computers to access more stuff in what I 421 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:50,919 Speaker 1: am told is the outside world. I assume it still exists. 422 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:55,240 Speaker 1: I just haven't seen it in a long time. Okay, 423 00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:58,960 Speaker 1: So our next story is about Netflix and Amazon Prime 424 00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:03,480 Speaker 1: and other streaming po platforms in India. So these platforms 425 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:07,520 Speaker 1: have really given Indian filmmakers and series creators a new 426 00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,719 Speaker 1: outlet and a new way to reach audiences, not just 427 00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:16,280 Speaker 1: within India but beyond. Amazon Prime recently reported that one 428 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:19,560 Speaker 1: fifth of all the people who are watching content that's 429 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:23,520 Speaker 1: originating from India are actually outside of India. So, in 430 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:27,680 Speaker 1: other words, Indian series and Indian movies are being watched 431 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:31,440 Speaker 1: by people outside of India of the time, which is 432 00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:36,000 Speaker 1: pretty cool. That extended reach also means that more series 433 00:28:36,040 --> 00:28:39,440 Speaker 1: from India and more films from India are being recognized 434 00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:44,240 Speaker 1: by awards organizations. You know know, they're getting some critical reception 435 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:47,360 Speaker 1: that otherwise they never would get. It be very insular 436 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:51,840 Speaker 1: where most of the the cinema and series out of 437 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:55,440 Speaker 1: India remain in India, so that's kind of neat. But 438 00:28:55,840 --> 00:29:00,920 Speaker 1: Indian television and cinema is also highly controlled in that country. 439 00:29:01,200 --> 00:29:05,240 Speaker 1: The Indian government has strict regulations in place and those 440 00:29:05,320 --> 00:29:09,800 Speaker 1: put incredible restrictions on what filmmakers and series makers can show. 441 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:12,160 Speaker 1: There's a lot of stuff they are not allowed to do, 442 00:29:12,800 --> 00:29:17,000 Speaker 1: and the streaming platforms were not subject to those regulations. 443 00:29:17,040 --> 00:29:21,960 Speaker 1: Once again, we see technology outpacing the legal system. It 444 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:25,440 Speaker 1: doesn't just happen here in the United States, happens everywhere, 445 00:29:25,800 --> 00:29:29,080 Speaker 1: and so the platforms became a place where people could 446 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:32,200 Speaker 1: tell stories that otherwise they would be unable to tell 447 00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:36,760 Speaker 1: in traditional media because of those restrictions. However, that inevitably 448 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:40,280 Speaker 1: drew criticism from people who said that that kind of 449 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:45,800 Speaker 1: content was harmful to Indian society, essentially saying, you're doing 450 00:29:45,840 --> 00:29:48,920 Speaker 1: the stuff that we've already told TV and movies they 451 00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:51,880 Speaker 1: can't do because we think it's harmful, so we have 452 00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:56,120 Speaker 1: to stop you now too. In November of the government 453 00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:59,560 Speaker 1: declared that streaming services should fall under the same sort 454 00:29:59,600 --> 00:30:03,920 Speaker 1: of regular lations as traditional media. In India, the streaming 455 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:07,040 Speaker 1: platforms kind of banded together. You know, normally they compete 456 00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:10,880 Speaker 1: against one another. They don't necessarily want anyone else to 457 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:14,120 Speaker 1: do as well as they're doing. However, this is an 458 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:18,200 Speaker 1: act of self preservation. They want the government to allow 459 00:30:18,320 --> 00:30:22,800 Speaker 1: them to adopt a self regulation code and then use 460 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:26,080 Speaker 1: that rather than government intervention. So this would be similar 461 00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:28,920 Speaker 1: to stuff like the m P A A or the 462 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:31,560 Speaker 1: E S R B for video games. This is the 463 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:35,920 Speaker 1: idea of having an industry regulate itself and protecting itself 464 00:30:35,920 --> 00:30:39,200 Speaker 1: from government intervention. I don't know if that's going to 465 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:41,200 Speaker 1: work out. We'll have to keep an eye on this 466 00:30:41,280 --> 00:30:44,360 Speaker 1: and see how the story progresses. Now, how about a 467 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:47,240 Speaker 1: little bit of Atari. And that was a big Autari 468 00:30:47,360 --> 00:30:50,840 Speaker 1: fan growing up in the early eighties. Atari was synonymous 469 00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:54,960 Speaker 1: with video games. The Atari twenty video game console was 470 00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:59,440 Speaker 1: a breakout success. One of my favorite memories as a 471 00:30:59,520 --> 00:31:04,520 Speaker 1: kid as playing on my old Attari. But the video 472 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:08,720 Speaker 1: game Crash really did a serious number on Atari. The 473 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:13,200 Speaker 1: company would split into two, with different parts going to 474 00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:17,880 Speaker 1: different owners, and the Attari of today is not really 475 00:31:18,040 --> 00:31:22,200 Speaker 1: related to that Attari of the late seventies and early eighties. 476 00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:25,440 Speaker 1: It's more of a product of various companies purchasing the 477 00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:29,960 Speaker 1: brand name of Atari and then selling it or going 478 00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:33,080 Speaker 1: bankrupt and some other entity comes in and swoops it up. 479 00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:35,960 Speaker 1: It's more like that, So it's more like the name 480 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:40,160 Speaker 1: exists and it can still be stamped on two different products. 481 00:31:40,160 --> 00:31:43,680 Speaker 1: And some of the intellectual property still belongs to the 482 00:31:43,720 --> 00:31:47,480 Speaker 1: Atari brand. But it's a very different company today than 483 00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:51,120 Speaker 1: what it was in the eighties. Back in Atari was 484 00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:54,360 Speaker 1: in bankruptcy, but since then it has made a nice 485 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:58,840 Speaker 1: little recovery. In it reported a two point four million 486 00:31:58,880 --> 00:32:02,840 Speaker 1: dollar profit. It made thirty million in revenue, and that's 487 00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:06,200 Speaker 1: not too bad, but much of that profit is dependent 488 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:09,600 Speaker 1: upon video game licenses that are set to expire before 489 00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:12,280 Speaker 1: too long, so they're looking ahead to say what do 490 00:32:12,320 --> 00:32:16,560 Speaker 1: we do next in order to remain a viable company. Uh. 491 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:20,320 Speaker 1: Today Atari is a very modest company. There's something like 492 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:24,200 Speaker 1: twenty eight employees there, and it announced things like the 493 00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:29,080 Speaker 1: VCS console in which was a throwback to the Ayred. 494 00:32:29,120 --> 00:32:32,800 Speaker 1: It looks a lot like the Atari twenty. However, it 495 00:32:32,840 --> 00:32:36,400 Speaker 1: can play not just classic games, like classic Atari titles, 496 00:32:36,600 --> 00:32:39,400 Speaker 1: it can also stream modern games, so think of something 497 00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:43,880 Speaker 1: like Google Stadium, but in an Atari twenty form factor. 498 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:48,120 Speaker 1: And reportedly it can stream games of four K resolution 499 00:32:48,200 --> 00:32:51,600 Speaker 1: at sixty frames per second, assuming you've got the pipes 500 00:32:51,640 --> 00:32:54,680 Speaker 1: big enough for that kind of Internet activity. And that's 501 00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:57,280 Speaker 1: a big step up from the old twenty six hundred days. 502 00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:01,440 Speaker 1: I can't even begin to stress that these consoles finally 503 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:04,760 Speaker 1: started shipping in after a couple of big delays on 504 00:33:04,800 --> 00:33:08,320 Speaker 1: the horizon. Attari has made a licensing deal with a 505 00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:12,640 Speaker 1: hotel chain to develop Atari themed hotels in eight different markets, 506 00:33:13,240 --> 00:33:17,800 Speaker 1: probably looking at twenty two as the earliest date for 507 00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:20,960 Speaker 1: those to start to open, which not a big surprise. 508 00:33:21,000 --> 00:33:25,640 Speaker 1: The pandemic has had an enormous impact on construction, not 509 00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:29,280 Speaker 1: to mention travel and hospitality. But the idea is that 510 00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:34,480 Speaker 1: these hotels will convey that retro sense of gaming that 511 00:33:34,680 --> 00:33:39,160 Speaker 1: Atari evokes, and that gaming will be worked into the 512 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:42,600 Speaker 1: themes of the hotel. I assume you would even be 513 00:33:42,760 --> 00:33:46,400 Speaker 1: playing games in your hotel room. I can't imagine going 514 00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:50,600 Speaker 1: to an Atari themed hotel and not having that capability 515 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:54,040 Speaker 1: built into the entertainment system. So that'll be really interesting 516 00:33:54,080 --> 00:33:58,240 Speaker 1: to see. And maybe this is the start of a 517 00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:01,640 Speaker 1: new era in Atari his tree, which would be pretty cool. 518 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:06,960 Speaker 1: And our last story is about Epic Games, the company 519 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:12,520 Speaker 1: that is behind the incredible success Fortnite. Uh this is 520 00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:17,800 Speaker 1: not another story about Epic versus Apple or Epic versus Google. Instead, 521 00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:22,200 Speaker 1: it's Epic versus the mall, or rather Epic and the Mall, 522 00:34:22,320 --> 00:34:25,680 Speaker 1: so Epic Games is taking control of a shopping mall 523 00:34:26,280 --> 00:34:31,280 Speaker 1: in Carrie, North Carolina, and it's called the Carrie Town Center. 524 00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:33,960 Speaker 1: And the idea here is that Epic is going to 525 00:34:34,040 --> 00:34:38,000 Speaker 1: turn this into their headquarters for Epic Games. And the 526 00:34:38,040 --> 00:34:41,760 Speaker 1: long term plan is for this to open by twenty 527 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:45,759 Speaker 1: four and it will have offices in it, it will 528 00:34:45,760 --> 00:34:48,560 Speaker 1: have recreational spaces in it. At the time that I'm 529 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:52,640 Speaker 1: recording this, there aren't any like artist renditions of what 530 00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:55,440 Speaker 1: it's going to look like or anything yet. But the 531 00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:59,920 Speaker 1: idea is to convert this dormant space into something useful, 532 00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:02,560 Speaker 1: and that's really important. I mean, malls have been in 533 00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:06,640 Speaker 1: a serious decline even before we had the pandemic, with 534 00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:09,759 Speaker 1: you know, more people turning to online shopping and other 535 00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:13,920 Speaker 1: means of shopping for stuff. Then the pandemic of course 536 00:35:13,960 --> 00:35:17,920 Speaker 1: made that way worse. It created an environment where in 537 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:21,680 Speaker 1: person shopping is frankly dangerous. So as a result, many 538 00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:27,240 Speaker 1: malls are becoming waste lands, and shops can't afford to 539 00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:31,360 Speaker 1: maintain a space in a place where people can't go anyway, 540 00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:34,600 Speaker 1: So a lot of of the customers of malls, the 541 00:35:34,719 --> 00:35:39,040 Speaker 1: stores are closing down or at least removing their presence 542 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:43,080 Speaker 1: from malls around the country. Some malls and shopping centers 543 00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:47,319 Speaker 1: near me were already practically empty well before the pandemic hit, 544 00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:51,160 Speaker 1: just that the economics of shopping had changed so much 545 00:35:51,239 --> 00:35:54,040 Speaker 1: that it didn't make sense to maintain the space there. 546 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:57,440 Speaker 1: So then the question rises, what do you do with 547 00:35:57,520 --> 00:36:00,480 Speaker 1: this real estate? How do you pivot to putting it 548 00:36:00,520 --> 00:36:03,640 Speaker 1: to good use so that it isn't just a blight 549 00:36:03,800 --> 00:36:07,360 Speaker 1: on communities and epic games. Taking over this mall to 550 00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:11,640 Speaker 1: turn it into a headquarters is one way that we're 551 00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:14,960 Speaker 1: seeing that kind of stuff happen. It's interesting to me 552 00:36:15,080 --> 00:36:19,840 Speaker 1: because we've also talked about how things like autonomous cars 553 00:36:19,880 --> 00:36:24,279 Speaker 1: if they ever do become a practical reality, and there 554 00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:28,240 Speaker 1: are fleets of autonomous cars operating kind of like uber 555 00:36:28,360 --> 00:36:31,440 Speaker 1: or lift or a taxi cab service. What do you 556 00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:35,640 Speaker 1: do once those have reached a level of saturation that 557 00:36:35,719 --> 00:36:39,520 Speaker 1: people no longer really worry about a personal vehicle, so 558 00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:42,520 Speaker 1: there's no longer a need for stuff like parking lots. 559 00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:44,840 Speaker 1: What do you do with that space? How do you 560 00:36:44,880 --> 00:36:47,680 Speaker 1: reclaim it? It's kind of interesting that we're seeing this 561 00:36:47,760 --> 00:36:51,800 Speaker 1: play out in the space of malls right now, because 562 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:55,000 Speaker 1: it's it's perhaps going to teach us some lessons of 563 00:36:55,560 --> 00:36:59,520 Speaker 1: good things to do versus mistakes to avoid that we 564 00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:02,319 Speaker 1: might apply in the future. And now that we're in 565 00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:04,239 Speaker 1: a world where a lot of people are working from 566 00:37:04,239 --> 00:37:08,000 Speaker 1: home and a lot of companies are determined to keep 567 00:37:08,080 --> 00:37:10,879 Speaker 1: that going even after we have gotten to the other 568 00:37:10,880 --> 00:37:14,080 Speaker 1: side of the pandemic, these are questions that we have 569 00:37:14,200 --> 00:37:17,880 Speaker 1: to continually revisit because we don't want all that space 570 00:37:17,920 --> 00:37:21,000 Speaker 1: to just go to waste. That would be a real shame. 571 00:37:21,440 --> 00:37:23,239 Speaker 1: But how do you make the best use of it 572 00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:27,560 Speaker 1: in a way that's responsible and actually adds value. These 573 00:37:27,600 --> 00:37:30,279 Speaker 1: are the sort of questions we're gonna be asking and 574 00:37:30,360 --> 00:37:33,160 Speaker 1: answering over the next couple of years, I would imagine, 575 00:37:33,520 --> 00:37:38,360 Speaker 1: and maybe we'll see other types of reimagining of spaces, 576 00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:42,920 Speaker 1: allah epic games taking over a mall. I guess that's 577 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:46,319 Speaker 1: my way of saying that my hope is to one 578 00:37:46,400 --> 00:37:51,160 Speaker 1: day take over a large, previously occupied space and turn 579 00:37:51,239 --> 00:37:55,840 Speaker 1: it into a big paintball UH facility so that people 580 00:37:55,920 --> 00:38:00,000 Speaker 1: can do their own versions of counter Strike in person, 581 00:38:00,040 --> 00:38:03,799 Speaker 1: and because I'm a kid at heart, all right. That 582 00:38:03,920 --> 00:38:08,360 Speaker 1: wraps up our first episode of tech News Headlines for 583 00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:11,560 Speaker 1: Tech Stuff. We'll be doing this again on Thursday. And 584 00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:15,160 Speaker 1: remember the episodes that air on Mondays and Wednesdays will 585 00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:17,680 Speaker 1: be our traditional tech Stuff episodes, and Fridays, of course 586 00:38:17,719 --> 00:38:21,360 Speaker 1: will be our classic tech Stuff episodes. And so on 587 00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:29,920 Speaker 1: that note, I'll talk to you again really soon. Text 588 00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:33,360 Speaker 1: Stuff is an I Heart Radio production. For more podcasts 589 00:38:33,400 --> 00:38:36,160 Speaker 1: from my Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, 590 00:38:36,280 --> 00:38:39,440 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.