WEBVTT - Tech News: Airlines Warn 5G Could Lead to "Catastrophic Event" 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:07.800 Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 0:00:12.119 --> 0:00:15.040 Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 0:00:15.200 --> 0:00:18.280 Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio. 0:00:18.720 --> 0:00:22.439 And how the tech are you? This time for the 0:00:22.480 --> 0:00:28.960 tech news for Tuesday, January two. Yes, I just forgot 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:31.400 the date and I had to look at my computer 0:00:31.520 --> 0:00:33.199 to see what it was. But let's get to the 0:00:33.240 --> 0:00:37.239 tech news. Tomorrow, A T and T and Verizon will 0:00:37.280 --> 0:00:41.040 be switching on the C band five G service around 0:00:41.040 --> 0:00:44.040 the United States, and the airline industry as a whole 0:00:44.120 --> 0:00:46.360 has issued a warning that there will likely be quote 0:00:46.400 --> 0:00:52.160 unquote catastrophic delays as a result. All right, so if 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:54.680 you're not all caught up on this, here is what 0:00:54.880 --> 0:00:57.920 is going on. A T and T and Verizon purchased 0:00:58.080 --> 0:01:01.480 nearly all of the C bay and five G spectrum 0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:05.280 at auction, and those companies have been prepping a rollout 0:01:05.319 --> 0:01:09.760 of five G service for months. The aviation industry appealed 0:01:09.840 --> 0:01:13.720 to have that rollout delayed, citing concerns that the frequencies 0:01:13.840 --> 0:01:19.039 within that spectrum could potentially interfere with sensitive airplane equipment 0:01:19.160 --> 0:01:23.679 like radio altimeters, which tells a plane how far off 0:01:23.760 --> 0:01:27.679 the ground. It is uh. Some aircraft use automated landing 0:01:27.760 --> 0:01:31.960 procedures in which radio altimeters play a crucial role. Understandably, 0:01:32.520 --> 0:01:35.000 if an automated system is to bring an aircraft in 0:01:35.040 --> 0:01:38.280 for landing, it has to know where the ground is. Anyway, 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:40.400 there's been this bit of tug of war between the 0:01:40.400 --> 0:01:44.399 telecom industry and the aviation industry in the United States 0:01:44.400 --> 0:01:48.480 over the whole matter. Now, since the service switches on tomorrow, January, 0:01:49.520 --> 0:01:52.800 the aviation industry has said, hey, yo, we might see 0:01:53.000 --> 0:01:57.200 cancelations ripple across the nation and in the world because 0:01:57.360 --> 0:02:00.400 we're not cleared to fly all the aircraft sent our 0:02:00.440 --> 0:02:05.600 fleet into all the hubs under all circumstances. Okay, so 0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:09.600 the big fear here is that in low visibility situations, 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:13.760 interference from five G could lead to tragedy, and that, 0:02:14.040 --> 0:02:17.440 obviously we want to avoid that. The airlines are asking 0:02:17.440 --> 0:02:20.760 providers like A T and T and Verizon not to 0:02:20.960 --> 0:02:23.960 offer five G service within two miles of major airports. 0:02:24.000 --> 0:02:26.880 In other words, don't operate it, don't transmit in five 0:02:27.000 --> 0:02:30.680 G anywhere within two miles of one of these major hubs. 0:02:31.440 --> 0:02:35.200 I read a really interesting article written by Patrick Belton, 0:02:35.400 --> 0:02:39.160 and I apologize Mr Melton for butchering your name, But 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:44.080 he wrote a piece called why does five G only 0:02:44.200 --> 0:02:46.960 pose a problem for US airplanes? And this was on 0:02:47.080 --> 0:02:50.519 the site light reading dot com that's l I G 0:02:50.800 --> 0:02:54.040 h t Reading And UH I thought it was a 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:57.520 great article and it's a fantastic question to ask, why 0:02:57.560 --> 0:03:00.640 are we really only hearing about that here the United States? 0:03:00.680 --> 0:03:04.160 Why aren't we hearing about in Europe? And uh five 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:06.720 G service has been around in countries like South Korea 0:03:06.800 --> 0:03:10.520 for a while with no reported problems. Now in Europe, 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:15.880 the frequencies they use are just a tad lower in 0:03:15.919 --> 0:03:18.799 the spectrum than here in the United States, and the 0:03:18.840 --> 0:03:24.079 frequencies that radio altimeters use are around like forty two 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:27.600 hundred mega hurts or four point two gig hurts if 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:31.640 you prefer, which provides enough of a gap between the 0:03:31.680 --> 0:03:36.560 altimeter operating frequencies and five G that Europe has essentially 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:39.000 said we're not concerned. We've been told two hundred mega 0:03:39.080 --> 0:03:41.600 hurts is the buffer that we need to make sure 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:44.600 everything is safe. This has more than two hundred mega hurts, 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:46.720 we should be fine. It's actually more than two hundred 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:48.480 mega hurts here in the United States, too, but we're 0:03:48.480 --> 0:03:53.360 still seeing this big issue. So Belton suggests that the 0:03:53.520 --> 0:03:57.600 real thing at play here is money, specifically the money 0:03:57.640 --> 0:04:01.840 that would be needed to upgrade altimeters in aircraft. See 0:04:01.880 --> 0:04:04.360 the Federal Aviation Administration here in the U S the 0:04:04.440 --> 0:04:08.000 f a A has cleared certain aircraft as being safe 0:04:08.000 --> 0:04:10.600 to operate, and that the f a A has tested 0:04:10.600 --> 0:04:14.080 the altimeters against potential five G interference and found them 0:04:14.120 --> 0:04:17.960 to be robust. They do not there is no interference fear. 0:04:18.520 --> 0:04:22.159 But there's no single altimeter standard in place within the 0:04:22.200 --> 0:04:26.040 aviation industry, so just because some altimeters are safe doesn't 0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:28.960 necessarily mean that all of them are, and it could 0:04:29.000 --> 0:04:32.200 mean that some aircraft will have to switch out this 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:36.920 important gear before they're able to operate safely. But then 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:40.400 the question is who pays for those upgrades? Well, the 0:04:40.480 --> 0:04:44.320 telecom industry would really like the aviation companies to do it, 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:48.279 and the aviation industry would really like the telecom industry 0:04:48.320 --> 0:04:51.760 to do it. Essentially, what the aviation industry is saying is, hey, 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:54.880 these things work great. You're the one who's bringing the 0:04:54.920 --> 0:04:58.000 interference into the whole situation, so you should have to 0:04:58.040 --> 0:05:01.479 pay for it. And the telecom industry is saying, hey, 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:06.000 we outlined the parameters of this ages ago. Everyone agreed 0:05:06.000 --> 0:05:08.920 that two mega hurts was enough of a buffer. That's 0:05:08.960 --> 0:05:12.120 in place. If you're saying it's not enough of a buffer, 0:05:12.160 --> 0:05:14.839 even though we had already agreed upon it, well then 0:05:15.000 --> 0:05:17.000 that's on you and you have to fit the bill. 0:05:17.360 --> 0:05:20.800 And that Belton says, is really what is this is 0:05:20.800 --> 0:05:23.719 all about. It's that it's more about political maneuvers and 0:05:23.760 --> 0:05:26.479 an effort to cover the bill than it is about 0:05:26.520 --> 0:05:29.680 the technology itself. Now that might well be the case, 0:05:29.720 --> 0:05:31.680 and like I said, Belton's article is well worth a 0:05:31.720 --> 0:05:34.920 read and I recommend you check it out. Personally, I'm 0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:37.240 hoping the f a A can continue the tests to 0:05:37.320 --> 0:05:40.839 make certain that things are safe and clear and and 0:05:41.200 --> 0:05:43.839 that way open up the way for regular operations for 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:46.599 all airlines. I think the most important thing is to 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:48.919 make sure that no one is at risk of a 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:52.480 terrible accident due to interference. It sounds to me like 0:05:52.520 --> 0:05:55.320 such an outcome would be unlikely, But when it comes 0:05:55.360 --> 0:05:58.520 to these kind of stakes, I feel like you have 0:05:58.680 --> 0:06:01.040 to be certain right. When people's lives are at stake, 0:06:01.480 --> 0:06:04.760 you can't just say it should work right. That's not 0:06:04.760 --> 0:06:09.800 good enough. Last Friday, Bloomberg reported that the US Federal 0:06:09.920 --> 0:06:16.400 Trade Commission, or FTC, is investigating Meta slash Facebook. Specifically, 0:06:16.440 --> 0:06:20.160 the FTC is looking at Meta's virtual reality or VR division, 0:06:20.480 --> 0:06:23.120 and whether or not the company has engaged in tactics 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:27.000 to suppress competition. Now, considering the fact that Meta Slash 0:06:27.040 --> 0:06:30.960 Facebook has a long history of taking actions that I 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:36.719 think you could reasonably argue amount to suppressing competition, this 0:06:37.040 --> 0:06:41.240 doesn't come as a big surprise. Many Oculus fans were 0:06:41.320 --> 0:06:46.600 upset when Facebook, after acquiring Oculus, then tied the VR 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:50.040 services to Facebook accounts, meaning if you wanted to play 0:06:50.160 --> 0:06:53.440 VR games using an Oculus you needed a Facebook account 0:06:53.520 --> 0:06:57.440 in order to do it. Moreover, Oculus being one of 0:06:57.440 --> 0:07:01.320 the most popular VR platforms out there, commanded a pretty 0:07:01.440 --> 0:07:04.600 large slice of the market share, and thus it kind 0:07:04.600 --> 0:07:08.440 of locked developers into creating stuff that had to work 0:07:08.440 --> 0:07:11.320 with Facebook. See, if you're a developer, you don't want 0:07:11.360 --> 0:07:14.080 to spend all your time and money and resources to 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:17.520 build out stuff for platforms that very few people use. 0:07:17.720 --> 0:07:21.040 That's just bad business. Like It's like it's like locating 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:25.480 your store in the middle of a forest where there's 0:07:25.480 --> 0:07:28.640 no towns nearby, You're not gonna get any foot traffic, right, 0:07:28.720 --> 0:07:31.040 so you go to where the people are, and if 0:07:31.040 --> 0:07:34.080 the people happen to be on a system that happens 0:07:34.120 --> 0:07:36.040 to tie in with Facebook, that's how you have to 0:07:36.080 --> 0:07:39.160 play ball. The FTC is looking to see if Meta 0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:42.840 has purposefully made moves to squash an attempts to compete 0:07:42.960 --> 0:07:46.800 in the VR space, and considering the buzz is still 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:50.240 going very strong for the concept of a metaverse, this 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:53.520 kind of problem does get serious. I'm pretty sure that 0:07:53.600 --> 0:07:57.360 Meta the company is really trying to establish itself as 0:07:57.400 --> 0:08:01.520 the definitive metaverse company ups in an attempt to be 0:08:01.560 --> 0:08:04.280 the company that defines the standards that all of their 0:08:04.320 --> 0:08:07.080 companies will have to conform to in order to be 0:08:07.360 --> 0:08:10.040 part of any kind of metaverse in the future. Otherwise 0:08:10.080 --> 0:08:12.000 you're just gonna get a bunch of little kind of 0:08:12.000 --> 0:08:16.119 pocket universes that aren't uh, you know, they don't work 0:08:16.120 --> 0:08:20.000 with one another, right, That would be really frustrating. So 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:23.680 whether the FTC will throw a wrench into the gears 0:08:24.040 --> 0:08:26.960 of Meta's plans, that remains to be seen. A lot 0:08:27.000 --> 0:08:29.600 of folks online are showing very little confidence in that. 0:08:29.720 --> 0:08:33.320 They argue that lawmakers in the US have largely stripped 0:08:33.360 --> 0:08:36.400 the FTC of its enforcement capabilities over the years, but 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:41.400 we'll have to see The Activision blizzard story of one, 0:08:41.440 --> 0:08:44.760 in which multiple employees came forward accusing the company of 0:08:44.840 --> 0:08:50.119 fermenting a toxic and hostile work environment, continues. In twenty two, 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:53.560 the Wall Street Journal reports that the company has quote 0:08:53.600 --> 0:08:57.160 fired or pushed out more than three dozen employees and 0:08:57.200 --> 0:09:01.240 disciplined about forty others since a lie as part of 0:09:01.320 --> 0:09:05.360 efforts to address allegations of sexual harassment and other misconduct 0:09:05.520 --> 0:09:09.120 end quote Further, the w s J reports that, according 0:09:09.120 --> 0:09:12.800 to people who are familiar with the situation, the plan 0:09:13.200 --> 0:09:16.000 was to release a report about all of this before 0:09:16.080 --> 0:09:21.640 Christmas of one, but Activision CEO Bobby Codeck mixed that idea, 0:09:21.760 --> 0:09:24.280 saying it would make the problems seem worse than what 0:09:24.520 --> 0:09:29.240 it really is. Uh huh. Look, I don't know if 0:09:29.280 --> 0:09:32.800 that's true, because the problem actually sounds pretty darn bad 0:09:33.120 --> 0:09:35.599 no matter how you slice it, and if w s 0:09:35.679 --> 0:09:39.199 J's sources are telling the truth, CODEC decided to hold 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:42.960 back on the revelation that the company had taken action 0:09:43.120 --> 0:09:48.520 against like seventy plus employees. Makes it sound even worse right, 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:52.720 it's not a good look if the company is hiding this. Again, 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:55.880 that's assuming that the sources are giving accurate information, but 0:09:55.960 --> 0:09:58.880 I've got no reason to believe otherwise. I should also 0:09:58.880 --> 0:10:02.480 add Activision management have said that the company is instituting 0:10:02.520 --> 0:10:07.320 new policies to address these corporate culture issues, including you know, 0:10:07.360 --> 0:10:10.319 any pay disparity that there is there, and adopting a 0:10:10.440 --> 0:10:14.000 zero tolerance rule for you know, when it comes to harassment, 0:10:14.040 --> 0:10:18.480 specifically sexual harassment. My hope is that the company can 0:10:18.520 --> 0:10:21.559 really turn around and create a positive, creative and profitable environment. 0:10:21.600 --> 0:10:24.520 But stay tuned because there's another story related to this 0:10:24.920 --> 0:10:27.720 that's a big if factor in this. Now. I'm a 0:10:27.760 --> 0:10:30.040 casual gamer and I love games, but I don't want 0:10:30.120 --> 0:10:33.160 games at the expense of someone's dignity or mental health 0:10:33.280 --> 0:10:35.520 or pay or anything like that. So here's hoping that 0:10:35.600 --> 0:10:38.160 Activision is in fact on the right path and that 0:10:38.200 --> 0:10:40.800 employees in the future will feel comfortable and proud of 0:10:40.840 --> 0:10:43.960 being part of that company. Also, while we're on the subject, 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:46.920 let's find a different revenue path that endless micro transactions. 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:52.120 That last bit is way less important, But as I 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:56.000 was writing that last story, a bigger one about Activision 0:10:56.080 --> 0:10:59.560 hit my news feed, So this actually impacts what I 0:10:59.640 --> 0:11:02.840 just said, and that story is that Microsoft has announced 0:11:02.880 --> 0:11:07.120 it intends to acquire Activision Blizzard for sixty eight point 0:11:07.200 --> 0:11:12.240 seven billion dollars in a cash transaction. Sixty eight point 0:11:12.280 --> 0:11:17.520 seven billion with a B dollars. Wow. Microsoft just last 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:21.120 year finalized this acquisition of the video game company Bethesda, 0:11:21.320 --> 0:11:24.800 which is known for titles like Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Dishonored, 0:11:24.800 --> 0:11:29.000 and Doomed, at least the most recent incarnations of Doom. 0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:33.200 If Microsoft buys Activision Blizzard, it will become owner of 0:11:33.240 --> 0:11:36.520 one of the oldest game companies around, because Activision began 0:11:36.600 --> 0:11:39.920 as a group of folks from Atari who left the 0:11:39.960 --> 0:11:43.720 company and then started their own game company. Obviously, all 0:11:43.800 --> 0:11:46.319 of this comes in the middle of that scandal we 0:11:46.320 --> 0:11:48.640 were just talking about, and all the chaos going on 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:52.760 at Activision Blizzard right now. I'm not sure if Microsoft 0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:57.680 is the solution to Activision Blizzards problems, although obviously the 0:11:57.720 --> 0:12:00.520 company will have to make massive changes in order to 0:12:00.640 --> 0:12:04.600 kind of distance itself from that very ugly situation that's 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:08.000 currently an Activision Blizzard. And I also don't know if 0:12:08.040 --> 0:12:11.520 this acquisition will actually go through Microsoft has a bit 0:12:11.559 --> 0:12:15.679 of a dodgy history with regulators. However, that being said, 0:12:16.200 --> 0:12:20.280 even with this acquisition, Microsoft would not be the largest 0:12:20.360 --> 0:12:23.640 video game company in the world. In fact, it would 0:12:23.640 --> 0:12:27.960 be number three, behind Sony Intencent. Those would be ahead 0:12:27.960 --> 0:12:31.480 of Microsoft. So there's a decent argument to be made 0:12:31.520 --> 0:12:34.880 that Microsoft isn't going to harm competition in the space, 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:39.119 at least not globally, because it's not the market dominant 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:44.200 party involved even with the acquisition. Oh Also, Microsoft CEO 0:12:44.440 --> 0:12:47.240 Satya Nadela says that this will play a part in 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:53.880 the development of metaverse platforms because it's all about the metaverse. Baby. Anyway, 0:12:53.960 --> 0:12:57.040 it appears as though Bobby Kodik will continue as CEO 0:12:57.160 --> 0:13:00.880 of Activision Blizzard throughout the acquisition process US, but we'll 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:04.040 likely to part the company once that process is complete, 0:13:04.160 --> 0:13:08.199 which is estimated to be sometime in three and then 0:13:08.240 --> 0:13:11.080 at that point the company will report directly to Phil Spencer, 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:15.440 the CEO of Microsoft Gaming. Okay, it's Jonathan After I 0:13:15.480 --> 0:13:18.200 already recorded the whole episode, and I just wanted to 0:13:18.320 --> 0:13:22.840 jump in and say that the bit about codec leaving 0:13:23.280 --> 0:13:26.480 Activision Blizzard, that was my own interpretation on the news 0:13:26.760 --> 0:13:28.800 I'm seeing a lot of other news that has that 0:13:28.920 --> 0:13:31.280 being an open question about whether or not he would 0:13:31.320 --> 0:13:35.160 stay on with Activision Blizzard or if he would leave 0:13:35.240 --> 0:13:38.240 the company. So because of that, I just wanted to 0:13:38.280 --> 0:13:41.320 address it and say he may still be part of 0:13:41.320 --> 0:13:45.560 Activision Blizzard upon the acquisition, or he may leave. Uh. 0:13:46.440 --> 0:13:49.120 I don't have any insight information one way or the other, 0:13:49.280 --> 0:13:52.160 and I wanted to make that clear before we moved on. Okay, 0:13:52.400 --> 0:13:55.560 I'm gonna hand it back over to past Jonathan. Okay, 0:13:55.559 --> 0:13:57.720 we've got some more stories coming up, but before we 0:13:57.760 --> 0:14:08.600 do that, let's take a quick break. We're back. Elon 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:12.120 Musk recently said that social media accounts that track his 0:14:12.280 --> 0:14:16.679 travel are becoming a security issue, according to Business Insider, 0:14:17.320 --> 0:14:21.880 and uh, yeah, that's a problem. And it's not a 0:14:21.920 --> 0:14:24.840 problem just for Elon Musk, gets a problem for anyone 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:29.280 who's using social media accounts. And look, I make no 0:14:29.400 --> 0:14:31.480 secret about the fact that I am not a fan 0:14:31.760 --> 0:14:35.200 of Elon Musk, but I also feel strongly that as 0:14:35.280 --> 0:14:39.600 we have become more dependent upon various social networking apps 0:14:39.640 --> 0:14:44.320 and services, we've surrendered more information about ourselves, including our 0:14:44.400 --> 0:14:49.280 location and our plans and other important info and often 0:14:49.360 --> 0:14:52.720 we do this because the perceived benefit we get once 0:14:52.760 --> 0:14:57.120 we share that information appears to be legit. Heck, I 0:14:57.120 --> 0:14:59.720 remember when four square was a big deal. Do you 0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:02.800 do you remember four Square? Folks were using that app 0:15:02.840 --> 0:15:05.800 to check into locations all the time, all over the 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:09.280 place and just broadcasting, hey, this is where I'm at. 0:15:10.200 --> 0:15:14.480 But obviously, as we hand over more private information, which 0:15:15.080 --> 0:15:17.760 then arguably at some level becomes public or at the 0:15:17.880 --> 0:15:21.880 very least much less private, then we also end up 0:15:21.920 --> 0:15:26.000 taking back step on stuff like security, Like the more 0:15:26.040 --> 0:15:29.200 information we share, the less secure we are. And you 0:15:29.240 --> 0:15:31.600 don't have to be a billionaire with a tendency to 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:36.000 tick off folks for that to manifest as a security issue. 0:15:36.480 --> 0:15:39.280 I worry about folks who could be the target of stalkers, 0:15:39.520 --> 0:15:43.840 for example, because their online activity, as that the people 0:15:43.840 --> 0:15:46.480 who are targeted their online activity can end up putting 0:15:46.480 --> 0:15:49.440 them in danger, even if they're not actively trying to 0:15:49.480 --> 0:15:54.160 share their whereabouts online. Anyway, This is really just me 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:59.120 reminding you that location based services can come with a risk, 0:15:59.480 --> 0:16:02.400 and it's good to look into which ones you use 0:16:02.680 --> 0:16:07.840 or which services you have that also incorporate location tracking. 0:16:08.240 --> 0:16:11.600 Maybe it's turned on by default and at least is 0:16:11.640 --> 0:16:13.760 a good idea to know which of those apps are 0:16:13.840 --> 0:16:16.520 doing it, even if you don't plan to turn it off, 0:16:16.600 --> 0:16:20.120 just so that you know what's going on. But um, yeah, 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:24.840 like I've recently started scaling way back on the stuff 0:16:24.840 --> 0:16:27.760 that I use. Meanwhile, it's not like there's any surprise 0:16:27.840 --> 0:16:30.320 as to where I'm at. I'm always at home. But 0:16:30.880 --> 0:16:33.840 you know, that's beside the point. I I have started 0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:35.880 to really cut back on that because I've been growing 0:16:35.880 --> 0:16:41.040 more and more concerned about the risks involved. And these 0:16:41.080 --> 0:16:43.760 aren't new risks, by the way. It's not like things 0:16:43.800 --> 0:16:47.040 suddenly got dangerous. These are things that have been pretty 0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:50.760 much an issue ever since location tracking really started to 0:16:50.800 --> 0:16:54.560 become a thing. So I'm not saying like, hey, things 0:16:54.640 --> 0:16:57.040 just got dangerous. It's more like, no, they've always been dangerous. 0:16:57.120 --> 0:17:00.880 I just finally started paying more tension of becoming more 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:04.280 concerned about it for myself, not telling anyone else what 0:17:04.359 --> 0:17:09.280 to do except just be aware, you know. After Jamie Zawinsky, 0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:12.919 who co founded the foundation Mozilla, tweeted his disappointment that 0:17:12.960 --> 0:17:16.880 the organization would begin accepting cryptocurrency donations, the Mozilla Foundation 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:20.280 announced it was pushing the pause button on the whole initiative. 0:17:21.080 --> 0:17:24.280 The timeline for this has been pretty short. The Mozilla 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:28.800 Foundation first announced the plan to accept cryptocurrencies for donations 0:17:28.840 --> 0:17:32.760 to the foundation on New Year's Eve. Zawinsky, who again 0:17:32.920 --> 0:17:36.320 co found in Mozilla, posted in a blog his strong 0:17:36.440 --> 0:17:39.560 disapproval for this move, which is putting it lightly, and 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:43.600 he told Tech Republic writer Brandon viglia Rollo that quote, 0:17:43.800 --> 0:17:47.959 anyone involved in cryptocurrencies in any way is either a 0:17:48.000 --> 0:17:52.040 grifter or a mark end quote which, hey, I found 0:17:52.080 --> 0:17:55.480 someone who's even more critical of cryptocurrency than I am, 0:17:55.520 --> 0:17:59.879 and Zawinsky is like at least seventeen times smarter than I, 0:18:00.040 --> 0:18:04.359 And anyway, Zwinski's objections are similar to the ones that 0:18:04.480 --> 0:18:08.320 I have. One is that proof of work cryptocurrencies, of 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:13.160 which Bitcoin and the current version of Ethereum are both 0:18:13.320 --> 0:18:16.280 proof of work cryptocurrencies, those are the kind that require 0:18:16.359 --> 0:18:19.200 massive amounts of compute power. If you have any hope 0:18:19.280 --> 0:18:23.400 of being an effective cryptocurrency minor, if you're not relying 0:18:23.440 --> 0:18:27.200 on electricity hungry systems, you are not going to compete 0:18:27.440 --> 0:18:31.000 and you will not mind any cryptocurrency. More powerful systems 0:18:31.000 --> 0:18:33.400 will beat you to the punch. So there is an 0:18:33.440 --> 0:18:38.800 incentive to build increasingly power hungry systems, particularly of the 0:18:38.880 --> 0:18:42.400 value of the cryptocurrency in question is in the stratosphere. 0:18:43.200 --> 0:18:45.359 But we're also in a world where this kind of 0:18:45.400 --> 0:18:48.560 power consumption is to put it, lightly look down upon, 0:18:49.119 --> 0:18:53.480 particularly when viewed in the lens of climate change concerns. Again, 0:18:53.600 --> 0:18:57.439 according to tech Republic, quote, a single transaction on the 0:18:57.440 --> 0:19:00.680 Bitcoin blockchain eats up the same amount of energy as 0:19:00.720 --> 0:19:03.920 the average US household on a seventy seven point eight 0:19:04.200 --> 0:19:08.200 day period end quote, so more than two months of use. 0:19:08.280 --> 0:19:11.840 That is a big old wowsers. Now Ethereum goes a 0:19:11.880 --> 0:19:16.080 little lighter. Ethereum. People are using specialized equipment to mind Bitcoin, 0:19:16.480 --> 0:19:18.920 but with Ethereum that's where you typically see the people 0:19:18.920 --> 0:19:21.560 who are using rigs that are reliant on things like 0:19:21.840 --> 0:19:27.159 really fast GPUs. Anyway, with Ethereum, the transaction requires the 0:19:27.200 --> 0:19:29.840 same amount of power as the average US house uses 0:19:29.920 --> 0:19:33.600 over eight days. So not as extreme as Bitcoin, but 0:19:33.680 --> 0:19:37.879 still pretty you know. Massive. Biglia Rollo asks the question 0:19:37.920 --> 0:19:41.440 if perhaps we are now seeing a turning point for cryptocurrency, 0:19:42.040 --> 0:19:44.760 if maybe that means we're going to see more organizations, 0:19:44.880 --> 0:19:50.840 perhaps governments, reject cryptocurrency in the future. If that's the case, well, 0:19:51.200 --> 0:19:54.600 that would likely blast the values of those cryptocurrencies. They 0:19:54.640 --> 0:19:59.800 would plummet if more and more other entities began to reject, 0:20:00.960 --> 0:20:04.920 and that in turn would impact the whole mining operations. 0:20:05.000 --> 0:20:09.680 Right Like, if the value of cryptocurrency goes drastically down, 0:20:10.280 --> 0:20:12.880 it would cost more to mind than you would get 0:20:12.920 --> 0:20:17.400 out of mining, So that would change everything. However, I'm 0:20:17.400 --> 0:20:21.520 not entirely sure that we're at the cusp there. I 0:20:21.560 --> 0:20:23.879 don't know that that's actually happening. There's a lot of 0:20:23.880 --> 0:20:27.439 money already wrapped up in crypto, and the evangelists for 0:20:27.520 --> 0:20:31.119 crypto have shown no sign of backing off. Then again, 0:20:31.560 --> 0:20:34.080 they have their own investment in crypto, right it depends 0:20:34.119 --> 0:20:38.800 heavily upon driving up enthusiasm about cryptocurrency. If confidence and 0:20:38.960 --> 0:20:43.040 enthusiasm drops out, they lose their their investment. So I 0:20:43.040 --> 0:20:44.879 think it's still a little too early to say this 0:20:44.960 --> 0:20:47.640 is the beginning of the end of cryptocurrency. I don't 0:20:47.640 --> 0:20:50.760 actually think that's happening. I think there might be, you know, 0:20:50.960 --> 0:20:55.280 more bumps in the road, But that's just my gut feeling. 0:20:55.960 --> 0:20:59.879 I'm not basing that on any like solid evidence or anything. 0:21:01.320 --> 0:21:04.720 Speaking of cryptocurrency. We've got another story about the related 0:21:04.760 --> 0:21:08.640 topic of n f T s or non fungible tokens. Now, 0:21:08.760 --> 0:21:12.119 n f T s are not cryptocurrency. Uh, they're digital 0:21:12.160 --> 0:21:16.880 tokens on a blockchain that represent ownership over something. So 0:21:17.160 --> 0:21:22.120 it's kind of like a digital certificate of ownership essentially. Anyway, recently, 0:21:22.119 --> 0:21:25.000 an n f T investment group calling itself Spice d 0:21:25.040 --> 0:21:28.399 a O made headlines when it placed the winning bid 0:21:28.480 --> 0:21:31.840 in a Christie's auction for a copy of a book 0:21:32.200 --> 0:21:36.359 about Alejandro Jodorowski and his attempt to make a film 0:21:36.400 --> 0:21:41.480 adaptation of the science fiction novel Dune. So you'all might 0:21:41.520 --> 0:21:45.560 not know this, but you know back in the nineteen eighties, uh, 0:21:45.680 --> 0:21:50.600 David Lynch, the experimental filmmaker and cheery weather reporter, made 0:21:50.640 --> 0:21:54.800 a done adaptation that received a mixed reaction, including from 0:21:55.080 --> 0:22:00.919 Lynch himself, and more recently had Denise Villeneus of releasing 0:22:01.080 --> 0:22:07.000 part of an adaptation, part one of the first do novel. However, 0:22:07.040 --> 0:22:09.600 before any of that, Jedderoski had made a pitch for 0:22:09.680 --> 0:22:12.320 doing this, and that pitch has become the stuff of legends, 0:22:12.320 --> 0:22:18.240 with folks like artist Salvador Dali being involved. At one time. Anyway, 0:22:18.520 --> 0:22:22.560 while that movie never materialized, a book about the whole 0:22:22.560 --> 0:22:25.760 thing did. But it's a very rare book. There are 0:22:25.800 --> 0:22:28.920 only a few copies known to exist, and that brings 0:22:29.000 --> 0:22:32.159 us to the auction now. The expected auction price was 0:22:32.200 --> 0:22:35.080 to be anywhere between twenty five thousand and thirty five 0:22:35.119 --> 0:22:38.560 thousand euro, but Spice d a Oh spent a whopping 0:22:38.640 --> 0:22:44.880 two point six million euro, like a massive amount, that's 0:22:44.880 --> 0:22:48.399 around three million dollars just to buy this book. And 0:22:48.480 --> 0:22:52.400 apparently the group thought that that purchase also gave them 0:22:52.440 --> 0:22:55.560 the copyright to the book, which would mean they could 0:22:55.600 --> 0:22:58.640 do whatever they wanted with the book, including distributing it 0:22:58.720 --> 0:23:02.879 for free, are making derivative works, or just chopping up 0:23:02.920 --> 0:23:06.080 the whole thing and selling all the individual parts of 0:23:06.119 --> 0:23:07.640 the book off as n f T s and then 0:23:07.680 --> 0:23:13.120 just destroying the original physical copy. But they didn't purchase 0:23:13.320 --> 0:23:17.560 the copyright. They purchased a book, so this would be 0:23:17.640 --> 0:23:20.560 no different from you going to a bookstore buying a 0:23:20.600 --> 0:23:25.160 copy of the latest Stephen King novel and then going home. Well, 0:23:25.200 --> 0:23:27.399 I mean you purchased a copy of the book, so 0:23:27.480 --> 0:23:30.080 you don't actually own the copyright to the book, right, 0:23:30.119 --> 0:23:34.080 You just have a copy of the book, because owning 0:23:34.119 --> 0:23:37.439 the copyright would be absurd that they wouldn't work. You know, 0:23:37.680 --> 0:23:39.359 you would only be able to have one copy of 0:23:39.359 --> 0:23:42.800 every single book because otherwise who owns the copyright with 0:23:42.840 --> 0:23:45.040 everyone going to the store. And actually, if I'm to 0:23:45.080 --> 0:23:46.760 make this more like an n f T it would 0:23:46.760 --> 0:23:49.320 really be more like you bought a digital certificate showing 0:23:49.359 --> 0:23:52.080 you owned a copy of that Stephen King book. You 0:23:52.119 --> 0:23:55.920 still wouldn't have the copyright. But apparently Spiced d Ao 0:23:56.119 --> 0:23:59.280 figured that the copyright was part and parcel of this auction. 0:23:59.800 --> 0:24:03.080 Now that situation has been held up to ridicule, however, 0:24:03.119 --> 0:24:05.119 I think it really points out to how poorly n 0:24:05.200 --> 0:24:08.760 f t s have been explained. Sometimes. I think that 0:24:08.800 --> 0:24:11.640 poor explanation has been on purpose because it can work 0:24:11.680 --> 0:24:15.120 to a scam artists favor. If the market doesn't really 0:24:15.200 --> 0:24:18.240 understand what's going on, they're more likely to agree to 0:24:18.359 --> 0:24:23.480 something that's not legit. So while I understand the temptation 0:24:23.920 --> 0:24:28.280 to make fun of Spice d Ao for this misunderstanding, 0:24:28.640 --> 0:24:30.399 I think it's far more fruitful to look at this 0:24:30.480 --> 0:24:32.879 as an indication that better education about n f t 0:24:33.040 --> 0:24:35.680 s is really needed so that folks don't fall into 0:24:35.720 --> 0:24:38.919 these traps. And again, I've made it no secret that 0:24:39.080 --> 0:24:41.679