1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:15,040 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:18,280 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio. 4 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:22,439 Speaker 1: And how the tech are you? This time for the 5 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:28,960 Speaker 1: tech news for Tuesday, January two. Yes, I just forgot 6 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:31,400 Speaker 1: the date and I had to look at my computer 7 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:33,199 Speaker 1: to see what it was. But let's get to the 8 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:37,239 Speaker 1: tech news. Tomorrow, A T and T and Verizon will 9 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: be switching on the C band five G service around 10 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:44,040 Speaker 1: the United States, and the airline industry as a whole 11 00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: has issued a warning that there will likely be quote 12 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:52,160 Speaker 1: unquote catastrophic delays as a result. All right, so if 13 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: you're not all caught up on this, here is what 14 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: is going on. A T and T and Verizon purchased 15 00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: nearly all of the C bay and five G spectrum 16 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:05,280 Speaker 1: at auction, and those companies have been prepping a rollout 17 00:01:05,319 --> 00:01:09,760 Speaker 1: of five G service for months. The aviation industry appealed 18 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 1: to have that rollout delayed, citing concerns that the frequencies 19 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:19,039 Speaker 1: within that spectrum could potentially interfere with sensitive airplane equipment 20 00:01:19,160 --> 00:01:23,679 Speaker 1: like radio altimeters, which tells a plane how far off 21 00:01:23,760 --> 00:01:27,679 Speaker 1: the ground. It is uh. Some aircraft use automated landing 22 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:31,960 Speaker 1: procedures in which radio altimeters play a crucial role. Understandably, 23 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: if an automated system is to bring an aircraft in 24 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,280 Speaker 1: for landing, it has to know where the ground is. Anyway, 25 00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:40,400 Speaker 1: there's been this bit of tug of war between the 26 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:44,399 Speaker 1: telecom industry and the aviation industry in the United States 27 00:01:44,400 --> 00:01:48,480 Speaker 1: over the whole matter. Now, since the service switches on tomorrow, January, 28 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:52,800 Speaker 1: the aviation industry has said, hey, yo, we might see 29 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:57,200 Speaker 1: cancelations ripple across the nation and in the world because 30 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:00,400 Speaker 1: we're not cleared to fly all the aircraft sent our 31 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:05,600 Speaker 1: fleet into all the hubs under all circumstances. Okay, so 32 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: the big fear here is that in low visibility situations, 33 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 1: interference from five G could lead to tragedy, and that, 34 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 1: obviously we want to avoid that. The airlines are asking 35 00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 1: providers like A T and T and Verizon not to 36 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:23,960 Speaker 1: offer five G service within two miles of major airports. 37 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: In other words, don't operate it, don't transmit in five 38 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: G anywhere within two miles of one of these major hubs. 39 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:35,200 Speaker 1: I read a really interesting article written by Patrick Belton, 40 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:39,160 Speaker 1: and I apologize Mr Melton for butchering your name, But 41 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:44,080 Speaker 1: he wrote a piece called why does five G only 42 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:46,960 Speaker 1: pose a problem for US airplanes? And this was on 43 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:50,519 Speaker 1: the site light reading dot com that's l I G 44 00:02:50,800 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 1: h t Reading And UH I thought it was a 45 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:57,520 Speaker 1: great article and it's a fantastic question to ask, why 46 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 1: are we really only hearing about that here the United States? 47 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 1: Why aren't we hearing about in Europe? And uh five 48 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:06,720 Speaker 1: G service has been around in countries like South Korea 49 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:10,520 Speaker 1: for a while with no reported problems. Now in Europe, 50 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 1: the frequencies they use are just a tad lower in 51 00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:18,799 Speaker 1: the spectrum than here in the United States, and the 52 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:24,079 Speaker 1: frequencies that radio altimeters use are around like forty two 53 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 1: hundred mega hurts or four point two gig hurts if 54 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 1: you prefer, which provides enough of a gap between the 55 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:36,560 Speaker 1: altimeter operating frequencies and five G that Europe has essentially 56 00:03:36,560 --> 00:03:39,000 Speaker 1: said we're not concerned. We've been told two hundred mega 57 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: hurts is the buffer that we need to make sure 58 00:03:41,600 --> 00:03:44,600 Speaker 1: everything is safe. This has more than two hundred mega hurts, 59 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 1: we should be fine. It's actually more than two hundred 60 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 1: mega hurts here in the United States, too, but we're 61 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 1: still seeing this big issue. So Belton suggests that the 62 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: real thing at play here is money, specifically the money 63 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:01,840 Speaker 1: that would be needed to upgrade altimeters in aircraft. See 64 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: the Federal Aviation Administration here in the U S the 65 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:08,000 Speaker 1: f a A has cleared certain aircraft as being safe 66 00:04:08,000 --> 00:04:10,600 Speaker 1: to operate, and that the f a A has tested 67 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 1: the altimeters against potential five G interference and found them 68 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:17,960 Speaker 1: to be robust. They do not there is no interference fear. 69 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:22,159 Speaker 1: But there's no single altimeter standard in place within the 70 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:26,040 Speaker 1: aviation industry, so just because some altimeters are safe doesn't 71 00:04:26,080 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 1: necessarily mean that all of them are, and it could 72 00:04:29,000 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 1: mean that some aircraft will have to switch out this 73 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:36,920 Speaker 1: important gear before they're able to operate safely. But then 74 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:40,400 Speaker 1: the question is who pays for those upgrades? Well, the 75 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:44,320 Speaker 1: telecom industry would really like the aviation companies to do it, 76 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:48,279 Speaker 1: and the aviation industry would really like the telecom industry 77 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: to do it. Essentially, what the aviation industry is saying is, hey, 78 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:54,880 Speaker 1: these things work great. You're the one who's bringing the 79 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:58,000 Speaker 1: interference into the whole situation, so you should have to 80 00:04:58,040 --> 00:05:01,479 Speaker 1: pay for it. And the telecom industry is saying, hey, 81 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 1: we outlined the parameters of this ages ago. Everyone agreed 82 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:08,920 Speaker 1: that two mega hurts was enough of a buffer. That's 83 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:12,120 Speaker 1: in place. If you're saying it's not enough of a buffer, 84 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:14,839 Speaker 1: even though we had already agreed upon it, well then 85 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:17,000 Speaker 1: that's on you and you have to fit the bill. 86 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,800 Speaker 1: And that Belton says, is really what is this is 87 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:23,719 Speaker 1: all about. It's that it's more about political maneuvers and 88 00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:26,479 Speaker 1: an effort to cover the bill than it is about 89 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:29,680 Speaker 1: the technology itself. Now that might well be the case, 90 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:31,680 Speaker 1: and like I said, Belton's article is well worth a 91 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:34,920 Speaker 1: read and I recommend you check it out. Personally, I'm 92 00:05:34,920 --> 00:05:37,240 Speaker 1: hoping the f a A can continue the tests to 93 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:40,839 Speaker 1: make certain that things are safe and clear and and 94 00:05:41,200 --> 00:05:43,839 Speaker 1: that way open up the way for regular operations for 95 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:46,599 Speaker 1: all airlines. I think the most important thing is to 96 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:48,919 Speaker 1: make sure that no one is at risk of a 97 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:52,480 Speaker 1: terrible accident due to interference. It sounds to me like 98 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:55,320 Speaker 1: such an outcome would be unlikely, But when it comes 99 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:58,520 Speaker 1: to these kind of stakes, I feel like you have 100 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:01,040 Speaker 1: to be certain right. When people's lives are at stake, 101 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:04,760 Speaker 1: you can't just say it should work right. That's not 102 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:09,800 Speaker 1: good enough. Last Friday, Bloomberg reported that the US Federal 103 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: Trade Commission, or FTC, is investigating Meta slash Facebook. Specifically, 104 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:20,160 Speaker 1: the FTC is looking at Meta's virtual reality or VR division, 105 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:23,120 Speaker 1: and whether or not the company has engaged in tactics 106 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:27,000 Speaker 1: to suppress competition. Now, considering the fact that Meta Slash 107 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 1: Facebook has a long history of taking actions that I 108 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:36,719 Speaker 1: think you could reasonably argue amount to suppressing competition, this 109 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:41,240 Speaker 1: doesn't come as a big surprise. Many Oculus fans were 110 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:46,600 Speaker 1: upset when Facebook, after acquiring Oculus, then tied the VR 111 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:50,040 Speaker 1: services to Facebook accounts, meaning if you wanted to play 112 00:06:50,160 --> 00:06:53,440 Speaker 1: VR games using an Oculus you needed a Facebook account 113 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:57,440 Speaker 1: in order to do it. Moreover, Oculus being one of 114 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:01,320 Speaker 1: the most popular VR platforms out there, commanded a pretty 115 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:04,600 Speaker 1: large slice of the market share, and thus it kind 116 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:08,440 Speaker 1: of locked developers into creating stuff that had to work 117 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:11,320 Speaker 1: with Facebook. See, if you're a developer, you don't want 118 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: to spend all your time and money and resources to 119 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:17,520 Speaker 1: build out stuff for platforms that very few people use. 120 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:21,040 Speaker 1: That's just bad business. Like It's like it's like locating 121 00:07:21,040 --> 00:07:25,480 Speaker 1: your store in the middle of a forest where there's 122 00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:28,640 Speaker 1: no towns nearby, You're not gonna get any foot traffic, right, 123 00:07:28,720 --> 00:07:31,040 Speaker 1: so you go to where the people are, and if 124 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 1: the people happen to be on a system that happens 125 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:36,040 Speaker 1: to tie in with Facebook, that's how you have to 126 00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:39,160 Speaker 1: play ball. The FTC is looking to see if Meta 127 00:07:39,200 --> 00:07:42,840 Speaker 1: has purposefully made moves to squash an attempts to compete 128 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: in the VR space, and considering the buzz is still 129 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:50,240 Speaker 1: going very strong for the concept of a metaverse, this 130 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:53,520 Speaker 1: kind of problem does get serious. I'm pretty sure that 131 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:57,360 Speaker 1: Meta the company is really trying to establish itself as 132 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:01,520 Speaker 1: the definitive metaverse company ups in an attempt to be 133 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:04,280 Speaker 1: the company that defines the standards that all of their 134 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:07,080 Speaker 1: companies will have to conform to in order to be 135 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:10,040 Speaker 1: part of any kind of metaverse in the future. Otherwise 136 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:12,000 Speaker 1: you're just gonna get a bunch of little kind of 137 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:16,119 Speaker 1: pocket universes that aren't uh, you know, they don't work 138 00:08:16,120 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: with one another, right, That would be really frustrating. So 139 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:23,680 Speaker 1: whether the FTC will throw a wrench into the gears 140 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 1: of Meta's plans, that remains to be seen. A lot 141 00:08:27,000 --> 00:08:29,600 Speaker 1: of folks online are showing very little confidence in that. 142 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:33,320 Speaker 1: They argue that lawmakers in the US have largely stripped 143 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:36,400 Speaker 1: the FTC of its enforcement capabilities over the years, but 144 00:08:36,440 --> 00:08:41,400 Speaker 1: we'll have to see The Activision blizzard story of one, 145 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:44,760 Speaker 1: in which multiple employees came forward accusing the company of 146 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:50,119 Speaker 1: fermenting a toxic and hostile work environment, continues. In twenty two, 147 00:08:50,440 --> 00:08:53,560 Speaker 1: the Wall Street Journal reports that the company has quote 148 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 1: fired or pushed out more than three dozen employees and 149 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:01,240 Speaker 1: disciplined about forty others since a lie as part of 150 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:05,360 Speaker 1: efforts to address allegations of sexual harassment and other misconduct 151 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:09,120 Speaker 1: end quote Further, the w s J reports that, according 152 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:12,800 Speaker 1: to people who are familiar with the situation, the plan 153 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:16,000 Speaker 1: was to release a report about all of this before 154 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:21,640 Speaker 1: Christmas of one, but Activision CEO Bobby Codeck mixed that idea, 155 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:24,280 Speaker 1: saying it would make the problems seem worse than what 156 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:29,240 Speaker 1: it really is. Uh huh. Look, I don't know if 157 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:32,800 Speaker 1: that's true, because the problem actually sounds pretty darn bad 158 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:35,599 Speaker 1: no matter how you slice it, and if w s 159 00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:39,199 Speaker 1: J's sources are telling the truth, CODEC decided to hold 160 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:42,960 Speaker 1: back on the revelation that the company had taken action 161 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:48,520 Speaker 1: against like seventy plus employees. Makes it sound even worse right, 162 00:09:48,600 --> 00:09:52,720 Speaker 1: it's not a good look if the company is hiding this. Again, 163 00:09:52,760 --> 00:09:55,880 Speaker 1: that's assuming that the sources are giving accurate information, but 164 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:58,880 Speaker 1: I've got no reason to believe otherwise. I should also 165 00:09:58,880 --> 00:10:02,480 Speaker 1: add Activision management have said that the company is instituting 166 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:07,320 Speaker 1: new policies to address these corporate culture issues, including you know, 167 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:10,319 Speaker 1: any pay disparity that there is there, and adopting a 168 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:14,000 Speaker 1: zero tolerance rule for you know, when it comes to harassment, 169 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:18,480 Speaker 1: specifically sexual harassment. My hope is that the company can 170 00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:21,559 Speaker 1: really turn around and create a positive, creative and profitable environment. 171 00:10:21,600 --> 00:10:24,520 Speaker 1: But stay tuned because there's another story related to this 172 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:27,720 Speaker 1: that's a big if factor in this. Now. I'm a 173 00:10:27,760 --> 00:10:30,040 Speaker 1: casual gamer and I love games, but I don't want 174 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:33,160 Speaker 1: games at the expense of someone's dignity or mental health 175 00:10:33,280 --> 00:10:35,520 Speaker 1: or pay or anything like that. So here's hoping that 176 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:38,160 Speaker 1: Activision is in fact on the right path and that 177 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:40,800 Speaker 1: employees in the future will feel comfortable and proud of 178 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:43,960 Speaker 1: being part of that company. Also, while we're on the subject, 179 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:46,920 Speaker 1: let's find a different revenue path that endless micro transactions. 180 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:52,120 Speaker 1: That last bit is way less important, But as I 181 00:10:52,160 --> 00:10:56,000 Speaker 1: was writing that last story, a bigger one about Activision 182 00:10:56,080 --> 00:10:59,560 Speaker 1: hit my news feed, So this actually impacts what I 183 00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:02,840 Speaker 1: just said, and that story is that Microsoft has announced 184 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:07,120 Speaker 1: it intends to acquire Activision Blizzard for sixty eight point 185 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:12,240 Speaker 1: seven billion dollars in a cash transaction. Sixty eight point 186 00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:17,520 Speaker 1: seven billion with a B dollars. Wow. Microsoft just last 187 00:11:17,559 --> 00:11:21,120 Speaker 1: year finalized this acquisition of the video game company Bethesda, 188 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:24,800 Speaker 1: which is known for titles like Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Dishonored, 189 00:11:24,800 --> 00:11:29,000 Speaker 1: and Doomed, at least the most recent incarnations of Doom. 190 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:33,200 Speaker 1: If Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard, it will become owner of 191 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:36,520 Speaker 1: one of the oldest game companies around, because Activision began 192 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:39,920 Speaker 1: as a group of folks from Atari who left the 193 00:11:39,960 --> 00:11:43,720 Speaker 1: company and then started their own game company. Obviously, all 194 00:11:43,800 --> 00:11:46,319 Speaker 1: of this comes in the middle of that scandal we 195 00:11:46,320 --> 00:11:48,640 Speaker 1: were just talking about, and all the chaos going on 196 00:11:48,679 --> 00:11:52,760 Speaker 1: at Activision Blizzard right now. I'm not sure if Microsoft 197 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:57,680 Speaker 1: is the solution to Activision Blizzards problems, although obviously the 198 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:00,520 Speaker 1: company will have to make massive changes in order to 199 00:12:00,640 --> 00:12:04,600 Speaker 1: kind of distance itself from that very ugly situation that's 200 00:12:04,679 --> 00:12:08,000 Speaker 1: currently an Activision Blizzard. And I also don't know if 201 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:11,520 Speaker 1: this acquisition will actually go through Microsoft has a bit 202 00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:15,679 Speaker 1: of a dodgy history with regulators. However, that being said, 203 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:20,280 Speaker 1: even with this acquisition, Microsoft would not be the largest 204 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:23,640 Speaker 1: video game company in the world. In fact, it would 205 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:27,960 Speaker 1: be number three, behind Sony Intencent. Those would be ahead 206 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:31,480 Speaker 1: of Microsoft. So there's a decent argument to be made 207 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:34,880 Speaker 1: that Microsoft isn't going to harm competition in the space, 208 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:39,119 Speaker 1: at least not globally, because it's not the market dominant 209 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:44,200 Speaker 1: party involved even with the acquisition. Oh Also, Microsoft CEO 210 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:47,240 Speaker 1: Satya Nadela says that this will play a part in 211 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:53,880 Speaker 1: the development of metaverse platforms because it's all about the metaverse. Baby. Anyway, 212 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:57,040 Speaker 1: it appears as though Bobby Kodik will continue as CEO 213 00:12:57,160 --> 00:13:00,880 Speaker 1: of Activision Blizzard throughout the acquisition process US, but we'll 214 00:13:00,960 --> 00:13:04,040 Speaker 1: likely to part the company once that process is complete, 215 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:08,199 Speaker 1: which is estimated to be sometime in three and then 216 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:11,080 Speaker 1: at that point the company will report directly to Phil Spencer, 217 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:15,440 Speaker 1: the CEO of Microsoft Gaming. Okay, it's Jonathan After I 218 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:18,200 Speaker 1: already recorded the whole episode, and I just wanted to 219 00:13:18,320 --> 00:13:22,840 Speaker 1: jump in and say that the bit about codec leaving 220 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:26,480 Speaker 1: Activision Blizzard, that was my own interpretation on the news 221 00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:28,800 Speaker 1: I'm seeing a lot of other news that has that 222 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:31,280 Speaker 1: being an open question about whether or not he would 223 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:35,160 Speaker 1: stay on with Activision Blizzard or if he would leave 224 00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:38,240 Speaker 1: the company. So because of that, I just wanted to 225 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:41,320 Speaker 1: address it and say he may still be part of 226 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:45,560 Speaker 1: Activision Blizzard upon the acquisition, or he may leave. Uh. 227 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:49,120 Speaker 1: I don't have any insight information one way or the other, 228 00:13:49,280 --> 00:13:52,160 Speaker 1: and I wanted to make that clear before we moved on. Okay, 229 00:13:52,400 --> 00:13:55,560 Speaker 1: I'm gonna hand it back over to past Jonathan. Okay, 230 00:13:55,559 --> 00:13:57,720 Speaker 1: we've got some more stories coming up, but before we 231 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:08,600 Speaker 1: do that, let's take a quick break. We're back. Elon 232 00:14:08,720 --> 00:14:12,120 Speaker 1: Musk recently said that social media accounts that track his 233 00:14:12,280 --> 00:14:16,679 Speaker 1: travel are becoming a security issue, according to Business Insider, 234 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:21,880 Speaker 1: and uh, yeah, that's a problem. And it's not a 235 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:24,840 Speaker 1: problem just for Elon Musk, gets a problem for anyone 236 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:29,280 Speaker 1: who's using social media accounts. And look, I make no 237 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:31,480 Speaker 1: secret about the fact that I am not a fan 238 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 1: of Elon Musk, but I also feel strongly that as 239 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:39,600 Speaker 1: we have become more dependent upon various social networking apps 240 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:44,320 Speaker 1: and services, we've surrendered more information about ourselves, including our 241 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:49,280 Speaker 1: location and our plans and other important info and often 242 00:14:49,360 --> 00:14:52,720 Speaker 1: we do this because the perceived benefit we get once 243 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:57,120 Speaker 1: we share that information appears to be legit. Heck, I 244 00:14:57,120 --> 00:14:59,720 Speaker 1: remember when four square was a big deal. Do you 245 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:02,800 Speaker 1: do you remember four Square? Folks were using that app 246 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:05,800 Speaker 1: to check into locations all the time, all over the 247 00:15:05,840 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 1: place and just broadcasting, hey, this is where I'm at. 248 00:15:10,200 --> 00:15:14,480 Speaker 1: But obviously, as we hand over more private information, which 249 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:17,760 Speaker 1: then arguably at some level becomes public or at the 250 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:21,880 Speaker 1: very least much less private, then we also end up 251 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:26,000 Speaker 1: taking back step on stuff like security, Like the more 252 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:29,200 Speaker 1: information we share, the less secure we are. And you 253 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:31,600 Speaker 1: don't have to be a billionaire with a tendency to 254 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:36,000 Speaker 1: tick off folks for that to manifest as a security issue. 255 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:39,280 Speaker 1: I worry about folks who could be the target of stalkers, 256 00:15:39,520 --> 00:15:43,840 Speaker 1: for example, because their online activity, as that the people 257 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:46,480 Speaker 1: who are targeted their online activity can end up putting 258 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 1: them in danger, even if they're not actively trying to 259 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:54,160 Speaker 1: share their whereabouts online. Anyway, This is really just me 260 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:59,120 Speaker 1: reminding you that location based services can come with a risk, 261 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:02,400 Speaker 1: and it's good to look into which ones you use 262 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:07,840 Speaker 1: or which services you have that also incorporate location tracking. 263 00:16:08,240 --> 00:16:11,600 Speaker 1: Maybe it's turned on by default and at least is 264 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:13,760 Speaker 1: a good idea to know which of those apps are 265 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,520 Speaker 1: doing it, even if you don't plan to turn it off, 266 00:16:16,600 --> 00:16:20,120 Speaker 1: just so that you know what's going on. But um, yeah, 267 00:16:20,280 --> 00:16:24,840 Speaker 1: like I've recently started scaling way back on the stuff 268 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,760 Speaker 1: that I use. Meanwhile, it's not like there's any surprise 269 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:30,320 Speaker 1: as to where I'm at. I'm always at home. But 270 00:16:30,880 --> 00:16:33,840 Speaker 1: you know, that's beside the point. I I have started 271 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:35,880 Speaker 1: to really cut back on that because I've been growing 272 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:41,040 Speaker 1: more and more concerned about the risks involved. And these 273 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:43,760 Speaker 1: aren't new risks, by the way. It's not like things 274 00:16:43,800 --> 00:16:47,040 Speaker 1: suddenly got dangerous. These are things that have been pretty 275 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:50,760 Speaker 1: much an issue ever since location tracking really started to 276 00:16:50,800 --> 00:16:54,560 Speaker 1: become a thing. So I'm not saying like, hey, things 277 00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:57,040 Speaker 1: just got dangerous. It's more like, no, they've always been dangerous. 278 00:16:57,120 --> 00:17:00,880 Speaker 1: I just finally started paying more tension of becoming more 279 00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:04,280 Speaker 1: concerned about it for myself, not telling anyone else what 280 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:09,280 Speaker 1: to do except just be aware, you know. After Jamie Zawinsky, 281 00:17:09,400 --> 00:17:12,919 Speaker 1: who co founded the foundation Mozilla, tweeted his disappointment that 282 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:16,880 Speaker 1: the organization would begin accepting cryptocurrency donations, the Mozilla Foundation 283 00:17:16,880 --> 00:17:20,280 Speaker 1: announced it was pushing the pause button on the whole initiative. 284 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:24,280 Speaker 1: The timeline for this has been pretty short. The Mozilla 285 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:28,800 Speaker 1: Foundation first announced the plan to accept cryptocurrencies for donations 286 00:17:28,840 --> 00:17:32,760 Speaker 1: to the foundation on New Year's Eve. Zawinsky, who again 287 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:36,320 Speaker 1: co found in Mozilla, posted in a blog his strong 288 00:17:36,440 --> 00:17:39,560 Speaker 1: disapproval for this move, which is putting it lightly, and 289 00:17:39,600 --> 00:17:43,600 Speaker 1: he told Tech Republic writer Brandon viglia Rollo that quote, 290 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:47,959 Speaker 1: anyone involved in cryptocurrencies in any way is either a 291 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:52,040 Speaker 1: grifter or a mark end quote which, hey, I found 292 00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:55,480 Speaker 1: someone who's even more critical of cryptocurrency than I am, 293 00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:59,879 Speaker 1: and Zawinsky is like at least seventeen times smarter than I, 294 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:04,359 Speaker 1: And anyway, Zwinski's objections are similar to the ones that 295 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:08,320 Speaker 1: I have. One is that proof of work cryptocurrencies, of 296 00:18:08,359 --> 00:18:13,160 Speaker 1: which Bitcoin and the current version of Ethereum are both 297 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:16,280 Speaker 1: proof of work cryptocurrencies, those are the kind that require 298 00:18:16,359 --> 00:18:19,200 Speaker 1: massive amounts of compute power. If you have any hope 299 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:23,400 Speaker 1: of being an effective cryptocurrency minor, if you're not relying 300 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:27,200 Speaker 1: on electricity hungry systems, you are not going to compete 301 00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:31,000 Speaker 1: and you will not mind any cryptocurrency. More powerful systems 302 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:33,400 Speaker 1: will beat you to the punch. So there is an 303 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:38,800 Speaker 1: incentive to build increasingly power hungry systems, particularly of the 304 00:18:38,880 --> 00:18:42,400 Speaker 1: value of the cryptocurrency in question is in the stratosphere. 305 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:45,359 Speaker 1: But we're also in a world where this kind of 306 00:18:45,400 --> 00:18:48,560 Speaker 1: power consumption is to put it, lightly look down upon, 307 00:18:49,119 --> 00:18:53,480 Speaker 1: particularly when viewed in the lens of climate change concerns. Again, 308 00:18:53,600 --> 00:18:57,439 Speaker 1: according to tech Republic, quote, a single transaction on the 309 00:18:57,440 --> 00:19:00,680 Speaker 1: Bitcoin blockchain eats up the same amount of energy as 310 00:19:00,720 --> 00:19:03,920 Speaker 1: the average US household on a seventy seven point eight 311 00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:08,200 Speaker 1: day period end quote, so more than two months of use. 312 00:19:08,280 --> 00:19:11,840 Speaker 1: That is a big old wowsers. Now Ethereum goes a 313 00:19:11,880 --> 00:19:16,080 Speaker 1: little lighter. Ethereum. People are using specialized equipment to mind Bitcoin, 314 00:19:16,480 --> 00:19:18,920 Speaker 1: but with Ethereum that's where you typically see the people 315 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:21,560 Speaker 1: who are using rigs that are reliant on things like 316 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:27,159 Speaker 1: really fast GPUs. Anyway, with Ethereum, the transaction requires the 317 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:29,840 Speaker 1: same amount of power as the average US house uses 318 00:19:29,920 --> 00:19:33,600 Speaker 1: over eight days. So not as extreme as Bitcoin, but 319 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:37,879 Speaker 1: still pretty you know. Massive. Biglia Rollo asks the question 320 00:19:37,920 --> 00:19:41,440 Speaker 1: if perhaps we are now seeing a turning point for cryptocurrency, 321 00:19:42,040 --> 00:19:44,760 Speaker 1: if maybe that means we're going to see more organizations, 322 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:50,840 Speaker 1: perhaps governments, reject cryptocurrency in the future. If that's the case, well, 323 00:19:51,200 --> 00:19:54,600 Speaker 1: that would likely blast the values of those cryptocurrencies. They 324 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:59,800 Speaker 1: would plummet if more and more other entities began to reject, 325 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:04,920 Speaker 1: and that in turn would impact the whole mining operations. 326 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:09,680 Speaker 1: Right Like, if the value of cryptocurrency goes drastically down, 327 00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:12,880 Speaker 1: it would cost more to mind than you would get 328 00:20:12,920 --> 00:20:17,400 Speaker 1: out of mining, So that would change everything. However, I'm 329 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:21,520 Speaker 1: not entirely sure that we're at the cusp there. I 330 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:23,879 Speaker 1: don't know that that's actually happening. There's a lot of 331 00:20:23,880 --> 00:20:27,439 Speaker 1: money already wrapped up in crypto, and the evangelists for 332 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:31,119 Speaker 1: crypto have shown no sign of backing off. Then again, 333 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:34,080 Speaker 1: they have their own investment in crypto, right it depends 334 00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:38,800 Speaker 1: heavily upon driving up enthusiasm about cryptocurrency. If confidence and 335 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:43,040 Speaker 1: enthusiasm drops out, they lose their their investment. So I 336 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:44,879 Speaker 1: think it's still a little too early to say this 337 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:47,640 Speaker 1: is the beginning of the end of cryptocurrency. I don't 338 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:50,760 Speaker 1: actually think that's happening. I think there might be, you know, 339 00:20:50,960 --> 00:20:55,280 Speaker 1: more bumps in the road, But that's just my gut feeling. 340 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:59,879 Speaker 1: I'm not basing that on any like solid evidence or anything. 341 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:04,720 Speaker 1: Speaking of cryptocurrency. We've got another story about the related 342 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:08,640 Speaker 1: topic of n f T s or non fungible tokens. Now, 343 00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:12,119 Speaker 1: n f T s are not cryptocurrency. Uh, they're digital 344 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:16,880 Speaker 1: tokens on a blockchain that represent ownership over something. So 345 00:21:17,160 --> 00:21:22,120 Speaker 1: it's kind of like a digital certificate of ownership essentially. Anyway, recently, 346 00:21:22,119 --> 00:21:25,000 Speaker 1: an n f T investment group calling itself Spice d 347 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:28,399 Speaker 1: a O made headlines when it placed the winning bid 348 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:31,840 Speaker 1: in a Christie's auction for a copy of a book 349 00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:36,359 Speaker 1: about Alejandro Jodorowski and his attempt to make a film 350 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:41,480 Speaker 1: adaptation of the science fiction novel Dune. So you'all might 351 00:21:41,520 --> 00:21:45,560 Speaker 1: not know this, but you know back in the nineteen eighties, uh, 352 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:50,600 Speaker 1: David Lynch, the experimental filmmaker and cheery weather reporter, made 353 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:54,800 Speaker 1: a done adaptation that received a mixed reaction, including from 354 00:21:55,080 --> 00:22:00,919 Speaker 1: Lynch himself, and more recently had Denise Villeneus of releasing 355 00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:07,000 Speaker 1: part of an adaptation, part one of the first do novel. However, 356 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:09,600 Speaker 1: before any of that, Jedderoski had made a pitch for 357 00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:12,320 Speaker 1: doing this, and that pitch has become the stuff of legends, 358 00:22:12,320 --> 00:22:18,240 Speaker 1: with folks like artist Salvador Dali being involved. At one time. Anyway, 359 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:22,560 Speaker 1: while that movie never materialized, a book about the whole 360 00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:25,760 Speaker 1: thing did. But it's a very rare book. There are 361 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:28,920 Speaker 1: only a few copies known to exist, and that brings 362 00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:32,159 Speaker 1: us to the auction now. The expected auction price was 363 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:35,080 Speaker 1: to be anywhere between twenty five thousand and thirty five 364 00:22:35,119 --> 00:22:38,560 Speaker 1: thousand euro, but Spice d a Oh spent a whopping 365 00:22:38,640 --> 00:22:44,880 Speaker 1: two point six million euro, like a massive amount, that's 366 00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:48,399 Speaker 1: around three million dollars just to buy this book. And 367 00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:52,400 Speaker 1: apparently the group thought that that purchase also gave them 368 00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:55,560 Speaker 1: the copyright to the book, which would mean they could 369 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:58,640 Speaker 1: do whatever they wanted with the book, including distributing it 370 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:02,879 Speaker 1: for free, are making derivative works, or just chopping up 371 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:06,080 Speaker 1: the whole thing and selling all the individual parts of 372 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:07,640 Speaker 1: the book off as n f T s and then 373 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:13,120 Speaker 1: just destroying the original physical copy. But they didn't purchase 374 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:17,560 Speaker 1: the copyright. They purchased a book, so this would be 375 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:20,560 Speaker 1: no different from you going to a bookstore buying a 376 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:25,160 Speaker 1: copy of the latest Stephen King novel and then going home. Well, 377 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:27,399 Speaker 1: I mean you purchased a copy of the book, so 378 00:23:27,480 --> 00:23:30,080 Speaker 1: you don't actually own the copyright to the book, right, 379 00:23:30,119 --> 00:23:34,080 Speaker 1: You just have a copy of the book, because owning 380 00:23:34,119 --> 00:23:37,439 Speaker 1: the copyright would be absurd that they wouldn't work. You know, 381 00:23:37,680 --> 00:23:39,359 Speaker 1: you would only be able to have one copy of 382 00:23:39,359 --> 00:23:42,800 Speaker 1: every single book because otherwise who owns the copyright with 383 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:45,040 Speaker 1: everyone going to the store. And actually, if I'm to 384 00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:46,760 Speaker 1: make this more like an n f T it would 385 00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:49,320 Speaker 1: really be more like you bought a digital certificate showing 386 00:23:49,359 --> 00:23:52,080 Speaker 1: you owned a copy of that Stephen King book. You 387 00:23:52,119 --> 00:23:55,920 Speaker 1: still wouldn't have the copyright. But apparently Spiced d Ao 388 00:23:56,119 --> 00:23:59,280 Speaker 1: figured that the copyright was part and parcel of this auction. 389 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:03,080 Speaker 1: Now that situation has been held up to ridicule, however, 390 00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:05,119 Speaker 1: I think it really points out to how poorly n 391 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:08,760 Speaker 1: f t s have been explained. Sometimes. I think that 392 00:24:08,800 --> 00:24:11,640 Speaker 1: poor explanation has been on purpose because it can work 393 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:15,120 Speaker 1: to a scam artists favor. If the market doesn't really 394 00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:18,240 Speaker 1: understand what's going on, they're more likely to agree to 395 00:24:18,359 --> 00:24:23,480 Speaker 1: something that's not legit. So while I understand the temptation 396 00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:28,280 Speaker 1: to make fun of Spice d Ao for this misunderstanding, 397 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:30,399 Speaker 1: I think it's far more fruitful to look at this 398 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:32,879 Speaker 1: as an indication that better education about n f t 399 00:24:33,040 --> 00:24:35,680 Speaker 1: s is really needed so that folks don't fall into 400 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:38,919 Speaker 1: these traps. And again, I've made it no secret that 401 00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:41,679 Speaker 1: I do not like n f T s. I I 402 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:44,560 Speaker 1: have a really bad feeling about them. I feel like 403 00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:48,560 Speaker 1: it's just a speculative market that has not doesn't really 404 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 1: have anything underneath it. Maybe in a universe where digital 405 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:57,640 Speaker 1: goods have more applicability across different platforms, I could see 406 00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:00,760 Speaker 1: n f t s really mattering. I mean, that's like 407 00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:04,000 Speaker 1: the whole Web three slash metaverse argument. But we're not 408 00:25:04,160 --> 00:25:06,800 Speaker 1: there yet, and there's no guarantee that the stuff that's 409 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:09,359 Speaker 1: going on today is even going to be around by 410 00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:13,560 Speaker 1: the time we do get there, So I'm not Yeah, 411 00:25:13,720 --> 00:25:16,560 Speaker 1: I'm very negative about n f t s in general. 412 00:25:17,800 --> 00:25:20,600 Speaker 1: You know, my heart goes out to all the elite 413 00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:23,320 Speaker 1: athletes out there in the world who have dedicated pretty 414 00:25:23,400 --> 00:25:26,720 Speaker 1: much all of their lives to becoming the best in 415 00:25:26,800 --> 00:25:30,640 Speaker 1: their respective fields so that perhaps one day they might 416 00:25:30,720 --> 00:25:36,480 Speaker 1: compete in the Olympics. That is a huge dedication. It requires, 417 00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:40,040 Speaker 1: you know, discipline on a level that is foreign an 418 00:25:40,080 --> 00:25:45,160 Speaker 1: alien to me. The Beijing Olympics have already been scrutinized 419 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:48,719 Speaker 1: for lots of legitimate reasons. One that China has a 420 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:52,320 Speaker 1: brutal history that ranges from denial of human rights to 421 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:57,400 Speaker 1: outright genocide to uh Several nations, including the United States, 422 00:25:57,560 --> 00:26:01,000 Speaker 1: the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand with Sluania, have all 423 00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:04,720 Speaker 1: announced a diplomatic boycott of the Games. Now, they're still 424 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:08,480 Speaker 1: allowing their athletes to travel to China and compete in 425 00:26:08,520 --> 00:26:11,919 Speaker 1: the games. They're not, you know, pulling out the games entirely, 426 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:15,919 Speaker 1: but they're not sending any diplomatic officials to attend the 427 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:20,320 Speaker 1: games at all or to participate in any way. Three 428 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:23,439 Speaker 1: That because of the pandemic, the games are closed to 429 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:27,520 Speaker 1: all but quote unquote selected spectators, which really changes things 430 00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:30,200 Speaker 1: dramatically for everyone involved. This is not that different from 431 00:26:30,240 --> 00:26:33,280 Speaker 1: the Tokyo Games in many ways, and that Tokyo didn't 432 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:36,720 Speaker 1: allow anyone from outside Japan to come in as a spectator. 433 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:39,800 Speaker 1: China is doing the same thing. In fact, originally China 434 00:26:39,840 --> 00:26:42,000 Speaker 1: had said they weren't going to allow spectators at all, 435 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:43,880 Speaker 1: but now they kind of walked that back a little 436 00:26:43,880 --> 00:26:46,879 Speaker 1: bit and said that some selected spectators will be allowed 437 00:26:46,920 --> 00:26:51,760 Speaker 1: to attend. Honestly, I think that's the responsible thing to do. Um, 438 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:55,600 Speaker 1: you know, I don't I feel badly for the athletes 439 00:26:55,640 --> 00:26:59,119 Speaker 1: who deserve to be able to appear in front of 440 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:02,720 Speaker 1: in a pre should have crowd, but not at the 441 00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:05,640 Speaker 1: expense of people's safety. That's the issue I have there, 442 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:08,200 Speaker 1: So I'm in agreement with that part, but it's still 443 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:10,840 Speaker 1: a big part of why these games are being scrutinized. 444 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:14,879 Speaker 1: Ah So presumably the spectators who are selected will not 445 00:27:14,920 --> 00:27:18,800 Speaker 1: be anyone from outside of China. But fourth China is 446 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:21,480 Speaker 1: going to require all visitors to download an app called 447 00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:24,719 Speaker 1: My twenty twenty two and it's for the purposes of 448 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:29,040 Speaker 1: COVID monitoring. So that's understandable, right, Like the idea that 449 00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:31,399 Speaker 1: you need to have a way to verify that you 450 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:34,520 Speaker 1: have in fact received the vaccinations and the boosters and 451 00:27:34,560 --> 00:27:37,879 Speaker 1: negative tests and all that. That makes sense, and it 452 00:27:37,880 --> 00:27:43,639 Speaker 1: includes everybody like visitors, athletes, and media. But the reason 453 00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:47,880 Speaker 1: that fourth item makes the list is that security experts 454 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:51,400 Speaker 1: have expressed concerns about this app. They say it has 455 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:54,760 Speaker 1: poor security and it lacks encryption for many of its files, 456 00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:58,199 Speaker 1: and when you consider that those files are related to 457 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:02,879 Speaker 1: people's medical histories and personal information, that's a big red flag. 458 00:28:03,720 --> 00:28:06,200 Speaker 1: So it could put individuals at risk from a data 459 00:28:06,280 --> 00:28:09,440 Speaker 1: security standpoint. The experts also say they found a list 460 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:14,200 Speaker 1: of quote unquote censorship keywords built into the app. This 461 00:28:14,280 --> 00:28:17,320 Speaker 1: raises a concern that the app might be used by 462 00:28:17,359 --> 00:28:20,600 Speaker 1: the Chinese government to censor those who are attending the 463 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:24,560 Speaker 1: Olympics and prevent them from using their devices to communicate 464 00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:27,240 Speaker 1: stuff that the government would rather folks not talk about, 465 00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:30,960 Speaker 1: you know, like Gina Side for example. The experts suggest 466 00:28:31,359 --> 00:28:35,400 Speaker 1: anyone going to the Beijing Olympics should use a burner 467 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:39,120 Speaker 1: phone and create an email address just for the purposes 468 00:28:39,240 --> 00:28:42,080 Speaker 1: of that visit, to limit the impact that the app 469 00:28:42,280 --> 00:28:45,640 Speaker 1: might have on them. But even with these precautions, you 470 00:28:45,640 --> 00:28:47,720 Speaker 1: have to remember that everyone is going to have to 471 00:28:47,720 --> 00:28:51,320 Speaker 1: submit some important information, including stuff like medical history and 472 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:58,560 Speaker 1: passport data. So another not so positive thing about the 473 00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:02,080 Speaker 1: Beijing Olympics. I should go ahead and say to UH, 474 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:07,640 Speaker 1: I historically have got a pretty negative opinion about the 475 00:29:07,680 --> 00:29:10,720 Speaker 1: meta around the Olympics, not the Olympic Games themselves, but 476 00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:13,600 Speaker 1: rather like the International Olympic Committee. I've got some major 477 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:17,360 Speaker 1: issues with that organization and how it operates UH and 478 00:29:17,440 --> 00:29:22,200 Speaker 1: appears to have lots of conflicts there. Um, So I 479 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:27,120 Speaker 1: don't mean to single out Beijing Olympics unfairly in this regard. 480 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:29,719 Speaker 1: There are issues I've seen with pretty much every Olympics 481 00:29:30,040 --> 00:29:34,200 Speaker 1: and how they were conducted and how cities responded, including 482 00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:38,280 Speaker 1: my own city of Atlanta back in But that's a 483 00:29:38,320 --> 00:29:40,800 Speaker 1: discussion that I will spare you because I don't think 484 00:29:40,800 --> 00:29:43,440 Speaker 1: there's a podcast that you can make that would make 485 00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:47,840 Speaker 1: that that rant uh interesting to anyone other than myself. 486 00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:51,000 Speaker 1: So we'll move on, and with that, we're gonna take 487 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:53,080 Speaker 1: another quick break and we'll come back with a few 488 00:29:53,120 --> 00:30:04,200 Speaker 1: more stories. You know, as the great Tom Jones would say, 489 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:07,720 Speaker 1: it's not unusual in the world of tech to cover 490 00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:11,320 Speaker 1: patent disputes. I'm pretty sure that's what that song was about. 491 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:16,160 Speaker 1: Companies are really big on generating and then guarding patents, 492 00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:19,560 Speaker 1: So applying for a patent means that you have to 493 00:30:19,600 --> 00:30:24,280 Speaker 1: make your invention public, right like, there two broad paths 494 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:27,360 Speaker 1: you can take when you invent something. One is you 495 00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:29,440 Speaker 1: try and keep it secret, and you try and make 496 00:30:29,480 --> 00:30:33,960 Speaker 1: it a proprietary the trade secret, and you don't share 497 00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:37,240 Speaker 1: it with anyone, and you try to take advantage of 498 00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:40,960 Speaker 1: the market with this trade secret in your possession. However, 499 00:30:41,800 --> 00:30:45,120 Speaker 1: that might mean that someone else finds out how you're 500 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:47,440 Speaker 1: doing what you're doing, and they make a copy of 501 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:49,440 Speaker 1: it and they do the same thing, and you have 502 00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:51,800 Speaker 1: no protection there because you kept it a trade secret. 503 00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:56,040 Speaker 1: The other pathway is that you can apply for a patent. 504 00:30:56,320 --> 00:30:58,120 Speaker 1: When you apply for a patent, you have to explain 505 00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:01,960 Speaker 1: how you're doing what you're doing, at least in general terms. 506 00:31:02,240 --> 00:31:09,520 Speaker 1: Um the actual specific implementation can be a little more nuanced, 507 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:13,480 Speaker 1: but you have to broadly explain how your invention works. 508 00:31:14,160 --> 00:31:16,880 Speaker 1: And that means that anyone can get hold of that patent. 509 00:31:16,960 --> 00:31:19,880 Speaker 1: Because patents are publicly filed, anyone can get hold of 510 00:31:19,920 --> 00:31:21,840 Speaker 1: it and review it and see how you're doing what 511 00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:25,760 Speaker 1: you're doing. However, the patent grants you the right to 512 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:29,960 Speaker 1: exploit that invention any way you want, and you have 513 00:31:30,080 --> 00:31:33,360 Speaker 1: exclusive rights to exploit that invention any way you want, 514 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:38,040 Speaker 1: and that can include licensing that invention out to other parties. 515 00:31:38,520 --> 00:31:40,960 Speaker 1: So that's why a lot of companies are big on 516 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:45,040 Speaker 1: generating and guarding patents. It's a way to get a 517 00:31:45,120 --> 00:31:48,240 Speaker 1: market advantage. You can even make an enormous amount of 518 00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:54,480 Speaker 1: revenue just licensing out patents and not actually doing anything yourself. Well, recently, 519 00:31:55,000 --> 00:32:01,160 Speaker 1: the Swedish company Ericsson sued Apple for patent infringement. More specifically, 520 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:05,120 Speaker 1: the issue is that Apple secured a license for certain 521 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:11,200 Speaker 1: technologies that Ericsson holds the patents for, and the license expired. Now, 522 00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:14,880 Speaker 1: Apple and Ericson have been deadlocked in negotiations relating to 523 00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:18,880 Speaker 1: renewing that license, and once it expired, Erickson turned up 524 00:32:18,920 --> 00:32:22,720 Speaker 1: the pressure by filing this lawsuit against Apple. There are 525 00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:26,960 Speaker 1: twelve total patents involved here. Apple, for its part, has 526 00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:31,800 Speaker 1: sued Ericson for its negotiating strategy. Now I'm assuming that 527 00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:35,040 Speaker 1: Apple means that Ericson it is that, you know, they 528 00:32:35,200 --> 00:32:38,560 Speaker 1: their whole plan was to run down the clock so 529 00:32:38,600 --> 00:32:41,600 Speaker 1: that the licenses would expire and then Rickson could sue Apple. 530 00:32:42,400 --> 00:32:46,040 Speaker 1: And thus the negotiations were dragging on because Ericson wanted 531 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:49,720 Speaker 1: to have this leverage. So I think that's probably the 532 00:32:49,800 --> 00:32:52,640 Speaker 1: heart of Apple's lawsuit against Rickson. By the way, all 533 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:56,200 Speaker 1: of this pretty much played out the same way back 534 00:32:56,240 --> 00:32:59,680 Speaker 1: in two thousand fifteen, which is when Apple and Rickson 535 00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:03,600 Speaker 1: had to renew their licenses the last time, and ultimately 536 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:07,520 Speaker 1: that reached the resolution of up a new patent licensing agreement. 537 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:10,480 Speaker 1: So I expect we're going to see something similar happen 538 00:33:10,880 --> 00:33:14,840 Speaker 1: this year. The Financial Times reports that last December, for 539 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:19,800 Speaker 1: the first time ever, electric vehicles outsold diesel vehicles in Europe. 540 00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:23,360 Speaker 1: Diesel vehicles are more popular in Europe than over here 541 00:33:23,400 --> 00:33:25,840 Speaker 1: in the United States. Like here in the US, you 542 00:33:25,840 --> 00:33:29,440 Speaker 1: don't run into that many diesel powered vehicles. There are some, 543 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:34,959 Speaker 1: but most consumer vehicles are using gasoline powered engines, not 544 00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:39,440 Speaker 1: diesel powered engines. Many European nations began to favor diesel 545 00:33:39,760 --> 00:33:43,440 Speaker 1: after the various oil crises in the nineteen seventies. Diesel 546 00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:47,360 Speaker 1: vehicles are more fuel efficient than gasoline powered cars. However, 547 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:51,920 Speaker 1: diesel vehicles still emit pollutents that they're different pollutants than 548 00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:55,080 Speaker 1: the ones you get with gasoline powered vehicles, but they 549 00:33:55,120 --> 00:33:58,640 Speaker 1: still pollute. And diesel vehicles really took a beating in 550 00:33:58,680 --> 00:34:02,040 Speaker 1: the reputation department in the wake of Volkswagen's so called 551 00:34:02,120 --> 00:34:08,160 Speaker 1: diesel Gate. That was when Volkswagen was found incorporating devices 552 00:34:08,200 --> 00:34:11,160 Speaker 1: that were meant to full testing equipment when you were 553 00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:14,200 Speaker 1: running emissions testing, so that the diesel vehicle appeared to 554 00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:18,040 Speaker 1: be operating at a level of efficiency that it wasn't 555 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:21,040 Speaker 1: operating at when you actually had the car out on 556 00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:24,319 Speaker 1: the road. Essentially, it was a switch, and the switch said, 557 00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:28,400 Speaker 1: all right, if there's a test being performed, throttle back 558 00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:32,719 Speaker 1: on all the operations so that the emissions test is 559 00:34:33,280 --> 00:34:35,600 Speaker 1: we can pass it. And when you're you detect that 560 00:34:35,640 --> 00:34:39,399 Speaker 1: we're actually out on the road, remove those throttles so 561 00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:42,760 Speaker 1: that you don't have a hit to performance. That's essentially 562 00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:46,080 Speaker 1: what was going on. Also, governments in Europe have been 563 00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:49,279 Speaker 1: offering incentives and rebates for folks to move over to 564 00:34:49,320 --> 00:34:54,120 Speaker 1: electric vehicles and simultaneously have been putting forth more strict 565 00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:57,640 Speaker 1: rules about emissions, which has put a lot of pressure 566 00:34:57,680 --> 00:35:01,840 Speaker 1: on car companies to switch to manufacturing electric vehicles because 567 00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:07,799 Speaker 1: it has just become a technological hurdle that's possibly impossible 568 00:35:07,840 --> 00:35:11,880 Speaker 1: to overcome to make a diesel engine that meets the criteria. 569 00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:14,800 Speaker 1: So this is not just a simple story of people 570 00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:18,279 Speaker 1: in Europe who want electric vehicles more now. This is 571 00:35:18,800 --> 00:35:21,160 Speaker 1: a larger story about a concerted effort to make a 572 00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:24,800 Speaker 1: fundamental change to the fleet of vehicles in operation in Europe, 573 00:35:25,520 --> 00:35:31,120 Speaker 1: mostly in light of the issue of climate change. And finally, 574 00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:35,400 Speaker 1: NASA's Curiosity Rover has discovered that the carbon bound to 575 00:35:35,560 --> 00:35:38,719 Speaker 1: minerals on the surface of Mars has a high concentration 576 00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:43,560 Speaker 1: of light isotopes of carbon, specifically carbon twelve. And the 577 00:35:43,600 --> 00:35:47,680 Speaker 1: reason that this is interesting is that organic critters here 578 00:35:47,680 --> 00:35:51,880 Speaker 1: on Earth are lousy with carbon twelve. So naturally this 579 00:35:51,920 --> 00:35:55,240 Speaker 1: has led to a discussion about where did that carbon 580 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:58,920 Speaker 1: twelve that's found on Mars? Where is it coming from? 581 00:35:58,960 --> 00:36:01,960 Speaker 1: And there are a lot of hypotheses. One of those 582 00:36:02,239 --> 00:36:05,840 Speaker 1: is that the carbon twelve in fact is ancient evidence 583 00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:10,919 Speaker 1: that life once existed on Mars. However, it's not the 584 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:15,520 Speaker 1: only hypothesis, right, so it's not a foregone conclusion that 585 00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:18,360 Speaker 1: this is, you know, cut and dried evidence that life 586 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:22,320 Speaker 1: was once on Mars. There are other hypotheses that suggest 587 00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:26,440 Speaker 1: the carbon might have come from other inorganic sources. And 588 00:36:26,520 --> 00:36:29,720 Speaker 1: since so far we've yet to uncover any direct evidence 589 00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:33,920 Speaker 1: of life on Mars, we haven't found any definitive fossils 590 00:36:34,000 --> 00:36:37,759 Speaker 1: or anything like that, the question remains an open one. Now. 591 00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:40,200 Speaker 1: It could well be that one day we'll discover the 592 00:36:40,239 --> 00:36:43,800 Speaker 1: carbon twelve came from outer space. You know, maybe Mars 593 00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:47,120 Speaker 1: passed through a cloud of gas and dust many many 594 00:36:47,239 --> 00:36:50,480 Speaker 1: millions of years ago, and we find out that that's 595 00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:54,280 Speaker 1: where the carbon twelve came from. Or maybe we'll establish 596 00:36:54,320 --> 00:36:57,760 Speaker 1: that once upon a time, at least in microbial form, 597 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:00,879 Speaker 1: life flourished on the Red planet. Now. I think it's 598 00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:06,239 Speaker 1: exciting in either case, because learning the source represents us 599 00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:08,719 Speaker 1: pushing back our ignorance. I think it's always a good 600 00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:12,239 Speaker 1: thing when we do that, like whether the answer is 601 00:37:12,320 --> 00:37:15,680 Speaker 1: truly invigorating or not, but I will admit I would 602 00:37:15,680 --> 00:37:18,400 Speaker 1: be way more jazzed to hear about life on Mars 603 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:24,080 Speaker 1: or to hear David Bowie's song Life on Mars. Gosh, 604 00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:28,400 Speaker 1: I miss David Bowie. Alright. That wraps up the news 605 00:37:28,560 --> 00:37:32,759 Speaker 1: for Tuesday, jan twenty two. If you have suggestions for 606 00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:34,920 Speaker 1: topics I should cover in future episodes of tech Stuff, 607 00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:37,719 Speaker 1: reach out to me. The best way to do that 608 00:37:37,800 --> 00:37:40,200 Speaker 1: is on Twitter. The handle for the show is text 609 00:37:40,239 --> 00:37:44,959 Speaker 1: Stuff hs W and I'll talk to you again really soon. 610 00:37:50,440 --> 00:37:53,480 Speaker 1: Tex Stuff is an I Heart Radio production. For more 611 00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:56,919 Speaker 1: podcasts from my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, 612 00:37:57,080 --> 00:38:03,160 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite