1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to tex Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:14,840 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host 3 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,920 Speaker 1: job in Strickland. I'm an executive producer with iHeart Radio 4 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:20,560 Speaker 1: and a love all things tech, and let me cover 5 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:22,799 Speaker 1: a couple of things before we get to the news today. 6 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:25,400 Speaker 1: One of those is that I might sound a little different. 7 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:29,440 Speaker 1: That's because super producer Tari sent me a brand new 8 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:33,519 Speaker 1: microphone that is a serious upgrade from the one I 9 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 1: had been using, So if it sounds a little different, 10 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:40,400 Speaker 1: that's why. Uh. Second, I will be on vacation next week, 11 00:00:40,800 --> 00:00:45,320 Speaker 1: but I will be running some reruns about General Electric 12 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:48,400 Speaker 1: during the time I'm gone. Since we now know that 13 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:51,000 Speaker 1: g E is going to split up into three companies 14 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:53,600 Speaker 1: in the near future, I thought it would be a 15 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: good thing to go back over the history of that company. 16 00:00:56,240 --> 00:00:59,319 Speaker 1: So those will be publishing next week as well as 17 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 1: well as a Smart Talks with IBM episode which should 18 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: come out Thursday, and then I'll be back for part 19 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:08,399 Speaker 1: of the following week and then we go into US Thanksgiving. 20 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:12,319 Speaker 1: But that's all of the way. Now let's cover the 21 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:18,039 Speaker 1: tech news for Thursday, November eleven one. So I'm going 22 00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 1: to start off this News episode with a correction and 23 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:24,640 Speaker 1: an explanation about the story that I mentioned earlier this week. 24 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:27,679 Speaker 1: So on Tuesday, I talked about how Elon Musk had 25 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: set up a Twitter poll about whether or not he 26 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,160 Speaker 1: should sell off ten percent of the stock he was 27 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 1: holding in Tesla, and he framed it as a response 28 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:41,759 Speaker 1: to US lawmakers who said that, you know, stocks are 29 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:44,600 Speaker 1: unrealized gains that wouldn't be taxed, and that this was 30 00:01:44,640 --> 00:01:48,559 Speaker 1: a way that the ultra rich billionaires like Elon Musk 31 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:51,720 Speaker 1: use in order so that they don't have to pay 32 00:01:51,800 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: taxes on that. So essentially he was saying the US says, 33 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:57,960 Speaker 1: I'm trying to avoid paying taxes, should I sell ten 34 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: percent of my stock? Because then you see, by selling 35 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 1: the stock, he would have to pay taxes on the 36 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:06,880 Speaker 1: money he earned from that sale. Now, in the story, 37 00:02:06,960 --> 00:02:09,720 Speaker 1: I believe I mentioned that it would be worth around 38 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 1: twenty one billion dollars. Business Insider reports that Musk exercise 39 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:18,760 Speaker 1: two point one five million stock options for six dollars 40 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:22,640 Speaker 1: cents a share each. That means he actually purchased the 41 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 1: stock at that price that set him back thirteen point 42 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:29,000 Speaker 1: four billion bucks. Then he sold off around four and 43 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:31,919 Speaker 1: a half million shares for a total of around five 44 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: billion dollars, And you might say, hey, five billion dollars 45 00:02:36,639 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 1: is significantly less than twenty one billion. But then Musk 46 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: sold off less than his ten percent of holdings he 47 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:46,240 Speaker 1: had mentioned in Twitter. In fact, it was less than 48 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:51,919 Speaker 1: three percent that he sold off, So that is where 49 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:54,359 Speaker 1: part of that discrepancy comes in. But the big thing 50 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 1: that Business Insider reported was that Musk had been planning 51 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:00,520 Speaker 1: to sell off that stock for months and that the 52 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:03,840 Speaker 1: poll was really more of a stunt than anything else. 53 00:03:04,160 --> 00:03:06,520 Speaker 1: And honestly, if I had used a little bit of 54 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:10,280 Speaker 1: critical thinking, if I had taken my own advice, I 55 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:13,399 Speaker 1: might have come to a similar conclusion. But I fell 56 00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:16,080 Speaker 1: short on that, which just goes to show that critical 57 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 1: thinking is an active skill that you have to work at. Anyway. 58 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:24,640 Speaker 1: According to Business Insider, regulatory filings showed that Musk always 59 00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 1: planned on this course of action because those stock options 60 00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 1: that he exercised were set to expire next year and 61 00:03:31,639 --> 00:03:34,680 Speaker 1: he had to act before they actually did expire. On 62 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: top of that, he's going to face a pretty big 63 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:40,960 Speaker 1: tax bill coming up, like a ten billion dollar one, 64 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,920 Speaker 1: so liquidation was kind of a necessity. So might did 65 00:03:44,920 --> 00:03:47,760 Speaker 1: he post the Twitter poll. If all this was already 66 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 1: planned well, Speculation says that Musk might have done this 67 00:03:51,840 --> 00:03:54,760 Speaker 1: in order to soften the news that the CEO of 68 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:57,640 Speaker 1: a company was selling off a large block of stocks 69 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:00,800 Speaker 1: in that company, because that's a message that could have 70 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:04,920 Speaker 1: a dramatic impact on the company's stock price. So instead 71 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: of the media saying Musk suddenly dumps millions of shares 72 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: of Tesla, the media says, Musk asks Twitter if he 73 00:04:12,760 --> 00:04:17,600 Speaker 1: should sell stock. So the price of Tesla stock still 74 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 1: took a hit, but by shifting accountability to Twitter rather 75 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:26,359 Speaker 1: than to himself, Musk can avoid the appearance that the 76 00:04:26,480 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 1: CEO of a company has lost confidence in their own company, 77 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:34,840 Speaker 1: because that really that doesn't reflect reality anyway. So yeah, 78 00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:37,960 Speaker 1: I was one of those stooges who pushed that narrative forward. 79 00:04:38,920 --> 00:04:41,359 Speaker 1: Dang it critical thinking, why are you got to be 80 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:46,120 Speaker 1: so hard? I also mentioned on Tuesday that hackers accessed 81 00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:50,919 Speaker 1: user information on the broker company robin Hood's internal systems, 82 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:55,640 Speaker 1: robin Hood allowing people to create accounts and then you know, 83 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:59,719 Speaker 1: get involved in in stock market trades and stuff. Initially, 84 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:03,200 Speaker 1: it's sounded as though the information that hackers accessed was 85 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:07,280 Speaker 1: limited to stuff like email addresses for the vast majority 86 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:10,800 Speaker 1: of those affected, UH, the names and physical addresses, and 87 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:16,039 Speaker 1: some similar information for a smaller number. So the vast 88 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:19,839 Speaker 1: the vast majority of users who were affected, it was 89 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:25,160 Speaker 1: supposedly just their email address. Now Motherboard has released screenshots 90 00:05:25,160 --> 00:05:28,560 Speaker 1: showing the internal tools that the hackers used to get 91 00:05:28,560 --> 00:05:31,680 Speaker 1: a closer look of at least a few accounts, maybe 92 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:34,560 Speaker 1: as few as ten UH, and they had access to 93 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:39,080 Speaker 1: stuff like bank transfer histories, which devices were authorized to 94 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 1: access the account customers, support conversations with certain users, and 95 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:46,800 Speaker 1: that kind of thing. There's no word on whether the 96 00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:49,840 Speaker 1: hackers actually used the tools to make changes to the accounts. 97 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,160 Speaker 1: Robin Hood says that did not happen, but it does 98 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 1: look like they would have at least been able to 99 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:58,679 Speaker 1: if they had wanted to. Also, no word on whether 100 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:02,400 Speaker 1: the hackers purposefully targeted the small number of accounts that 101 00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:05,320 Speaker 1: received a more extensive probing or whether that was just 102 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:10,280 Speaker 1: you know, random. In YouTube News, the platform is saying 103 00:06:10,320 --> 00:06:13,080 Speaker 1: goodbye to a feature that's been around for years, and 104 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:18,039 Speaker 1: that is of the public dislike tally. The dislike button 105 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:21,760 Speaker 1: is sticking around, but the tally is going away. Anyone 106 00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 1: familiar with YouTube knows that the like and dislike options 107 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:27,599 Speaker 1: below a video or there. I mean, you often have 108 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: creators saying, if you enjoyed this video, hit that little 109 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:35,320 Speaker 1: like button. Like that's pretty common, and the assumption goes 110 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:39,320 Speaker 1: that the likes factor into YouTube's recommendation algorithm and thus 111 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:42,680 Speaker 1: makes it more likely that the video will one get 112 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:46,160 Speaker 1: greater exposure to other users, and two that if you 113 00:06:46,200 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 1: like a video, YouTube is going to probably serve you 114 00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 1: up stuff that's similar. Now, I say assumption because YouTube 115 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:56,600 Speaker 1: is pretty darn quiet about how it's recommendation engine actually works, 116 00:06:57,000 --> 00:07:00,200 Speaker 1: and it's frequently tweaking the system. And for a just 117 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:04,640 Speaker 1: you could actually see the tally of likes and dislikes 118 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,840 Speaker 1: below the video. But now YouTube is going to hide 119 00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 1: the number of dislikes that a video actually receives. The 120 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 1: dislike button is still going to be there, but you 121 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:17,000 Speaker 1: won't see how many times folks have clicked on this. Uh, 122 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:19,160 Speaker 1: this YouTube says is meant to prevent a kind of 123 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: snowball effect that sometimes happens where folks will dislike a 124 00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: video and the number will go up, and then more 125 00:07:26,120 --> 00:07:28,240 Speaker 1: people will pile on and it becomes kind of an 126 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 1: avalanche of dislikes, and some folks join in on that 127 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:33,560 Speaker 1: activity even if they've never watched the video in the 128 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 1: first place. I made this argument on Twitter that for 129 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:40,520 Speaker 1: a very long time, the Justin Bieber music video for 130 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:45,000 Speaker 1: Baby was the most disliked video on YouTube, and I 131 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:48,880 Speaker 1: am certain that a large number of people who hit 132 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:52,240 Speaker 1: dislike on that video had never bothered to watch it. 133 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:54,080 Speaker 1: They just kind of thought it was funny to pile 134 00:07:54,160 --> 00:07:56,640 Speaker 1: on and dislike the video. I'm not saying the video 135 00:07:56,680 --> 00:07:58,920 Speaker 1: is good, by the way, I'm just saying that I 136 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:03,480 Speaker 1: am convinced that it earned way more dislikes than people 137 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:08,320 Speaker 1: actually watched in that in that sense, So the ideas 138 00:08:08,360 --> 00:08:12,240 Speaker 1: this will help prevent those kind of instance and you know, 139 00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:16,840 Speaker 1: hopefully reduce the amount of abuse people have heaped onto 140 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 1: creators using the dislike button. Now, the video creators will 141 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:24,520 Speaker 1: still be able to see dislike counts through their analytics, 142 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:28,840 Speaker 1: and the dislikes should help YouTube continue to tune recommendations 143 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:31,920 Speaker 1: more to the individual users so that you're not flooded 144 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:34,480 Speaker 1: with more videos that you don't like. And I actually 145 00:08:34,520 --> 00:08:37,160 Speaker 1: do like that because I I recently, you know, this 146 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:40,000 Speaker 1: is a personal story, I watched some videos about camping. 147 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:42,960 Speaker 1: Not that I think I'm gonna go camping anytime soon, 148 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:45,160 Speaker 1: but for some reason I got on this camping kick, 149 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 1: and now YouTube occasionally suggests hunting videos to me. And 150 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:54,080 Speaker 1: I've got nothing against hunting, at least as long as 151 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:57,120 Speaker 1: it's not trophy hunting. I think trophy hunting is cruel 152 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:02,760 Speaker 1: and horrifying and awful and unnecessary. But whether it's you know, 153 00:09:02,920 --> 00:09:06,200 Speaker 1: subsistence hunting or not, I don't want to watch videos 154 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:09,960 Speaker 1: about it. That's not my bag. So knowing the dislike 155 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 1: feature is really more so that viewers can shape their 156 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:17,520 Speaker 1: recommendations and less about mob mentality is cool. Whether or 157 00:09:17,520 --> 00:09:20,360 Speaker 1: not it works remains to be seen. I'm sure there 158 00:09:20,360 --> 00:09:24,280 Speaker 1: will still be campaigns against certain videos or creators that 159 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:27,679 Speaker 1: will commence tons of folks to dislike specific videos, even 160 00:09:27,760 --> 00:09:30,560 Speaker 1: if they've never watched the video. But maybe it won't 161 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:32,520 Speaker 1: be as bad as it was before because you won't 162 00:09:32,559 --> 00:09:35,080 Speaker 1: see how effective the attack is. There will be no 163 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:39,959 Speaker 1: number associated with dislikes. Also, let's take a moment to 164 00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:44,160 Speaker 1: mourn the passing of an amazing internet meme joke, and 165 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:47,680 Speaker 1: that is of the neutral Response video, which is a 166 00:09:47,720 --> 00:09:51,120 Speaker 1: clip from the show Futurama and in the clip, there's 167 00:09:51,160 --> 00:09:54,440 Speaker 1: an alien from this planet that's just filled with people 168 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:58,360 Speaker 1: who have neutral tendencies, and the alien says, I have 169 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:01,760 Speaker 1: no strong feelings one way or the other. And the 170 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:05,240 Speaker 1: joke was that the number of likes and dislikes for 171 00:10:05,360 --> 00:10:08,920 Speaker 1: that video have balanced out, like whenever anyone would like 172 00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:10,959 Speaker 1: the video, someone else would come along and dislike it 173 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:13,960 Speaker 1: in order to keep them even so, the current tally 174 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:18,720 Speaker 1: is at five fifty four thousand each more or less. Well, 175 00:10:18,800 --> 00:10:24,440 Speaker 1: once dislikes disappear, that collective joke will be over. So 176 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:28,280 Speaker 1: that's a little sad. It seems like the concept of 177 00:10:28,280 --> 00:10:30,680 Speaker 1: the metaverse is gonna be a theme for a while. 178 00:10:31,080 --> 00:10:32,959 Speaker 1: I think it's a little bit odd because the concept 179 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:36,680 Speaker 1: itself isn't really that new, and arguably you could even 180 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:39,839 Speaker 1: call stuff like Second Life a type of metaverse, and 181 00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:42,880 Speaker 1: that's been around for ages. Anyway. The reason I even 182 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 1: mentioned it is that the Soul Metropolitan Government, as in 183 00:10:46,559 --> 00:10:49,959 Speaker 1: Soul Korea, has announced it will create its own metaverse 184 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:53,760 Speaker 1: with Blackjack and no way, I'm still thinking about Futurama quotes. 185 00:10:53,840 --> 00:10:56,280 Speaker 1: No uh, I mean it's going to create a metaverse 186 00:10:56,360 --> 00:11:00,280 Speaker 1: meant to allow quote citizens to conveniently meet with Avatar 187 00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:04,200 Speaker 1: officials to deal with civil complaints and consultations end quote. 188 00:11:04,520 --> 00:11:07,880 Speaker 1: So essentially, this would replace the need to physically travel 189 00:11:07,920 --> 00:11:11,480 Speaker 1: to a municipal office for an in person appointment, which 190 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:13,320 Speaker 1: is not a bad thing considering it, you know, there's 191 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:16,720 Speaker 1: a pandemic going at all. It's interesting that they're going 192 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 1: the avatar route. To me, I'm not sure how that 193 00:11:20,679 --> 00:11:25,360 Speaker 1: is more beneficial oversay a video conference called directly with 194 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:27,599 Speaker 1: whomever it is you need to meet, Like, how is 195 00:11:27,640 --> 00:11:31,040 Speaker 1: it better than that? But the city government is willing 196 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:34,400 Speaker 1: to invest around three billion dollars into the project, which 197 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:36,760 Speaker 1: is part of a larger city plan that aims to 198 00:11:36,840 --> 00:11:41,160 Speaker 1: transform Soul by twenty and I guess one benefit is 199 00:11:41,400 --> 00:11:44,839 Speaker 1: the metaverse proposal would also include the ability to virtually 200 00:11:44,960 --> 00:11:49,520 Speaker 1: attend mass events like imagine a giant concert that kind 201 00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:52,080 Speaker 1: of thing. You could virtually be there and you would 202 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:56,600 Speaker 1: be surrounded by other virtual people watching a virtual concert, 203 00:11:57,040 --> 00:11:58,920 Speaker 1: so you could still be part of a group experience 204 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:01,840 Speaker 1: without actually having to leave house. Now, again, it's hard 205 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:05,160 Speaker 1: for me to see this as being better than just say, 206 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:09,040 Speaker 1: watching a live stream video of the concert. Uh. I 207 00:12:09,080 --> 00:12:12,360 Speaker 1: know that virtual reality can be really immersive. I've experienced 208 00:12:12,360 --> 00:12:15,480 Speaker 1: that myself. I get that, and probably there is some 209 00:12:15,520 --> 00:12:18,280 Speaker 1: sort of psychological boost compared to just watching a live 210 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:21,240 Speaker 1: stream video on a classic screen. But I think part 211 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:23,320 Speaker 1: of me would still be thinking to myself, it's weird 212 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:25,160 Speaker 1: that I have to put on all this VR gear 213 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:29,240 Speaker 1: just to witness this. You know. Then again, I've also 214 00:12:29,480 --> 00:12:32,720 Speaker 1: always been a little anxious in crowds. That has actually 215 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:37,080 Speaker 1: gotten way worse since the pandemic. So maybe it's just 216 00:12:37,200 --> 00:12:40,240 Speaker 1: that this particular thing is not for me anyway. There's 217 00:12:40,280 --> 00:12:42,679 Speaker 1: some aspects to VR metaverse stuff that I can totally 218 00:12:42,679 --> 00:12:46,720 Speaker 1: get behind, like the idea of improved accessibility for folks 219 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:50,720 Speaker 1: who otherwise would have trouble attending physical events. I think 220 00:12:50,800 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: that's great to give people who otherwise couldn't have that 221 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:57,839 Speaker 1: chance to do it. That is fantastic. However, you also 222 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:02,400 Speaker 1: have to acknowledge this has improved accessibility assuming you're able 223 00:13:02,440 --> 00:13:04,920 Speaker 1: to afford the hardware you need in order to run 224 00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:10,200 Speaker 1: VR properly. To me, that's still an accessibility barrier. We 225 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:12,200 Speaker 1: have a few more stories to cover, but before we 226 00:13:12,240 --> 00:13:21,640 Speaker 1: get to that, let's take a quick break. Before the break, 227 00:13:21,679 --> 00:13:24,640 Speaker 1: I talked a little bit about accessibility. Sticking with that 228 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:28,200 Speaker 1: that theme, of the United States government has sued the 229 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:32,080 Speaker 1: ride hailing company Uber, saying that the company has failed 230 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:37,000 Speaker 1: to ensure equitable fairs for passengers with disabilities. So Uber 231 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:42,280 Speaker 1: has this weight time fee, and it's the idea is 232 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:45,520 Speaker 1: that the weight time fee charges a passenger if they 233 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:49,680 Speaker 1: force a driver to wait a couple of minutes once 234 00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:52,960 Speaker 1: they arrive at a destination UH to pick someone up. So, 235 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:55,600 Speaker 1: in other words, if I call an Uber and the 236 00:13:55,679 --> 00:13:58,640 Speaker 1: Uber pulls up outside my house, but I'm still inside 237 00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:01,840 Speaker 1: puttering around, trying to get stuff done, putting on shoes, 238 00:14:02,040 --> 00:14:04,760 Speaker 1: whatever it may be, and I'm making the driver weight, 239 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:07,880 Speaker 1: then Uber charges me for the fact that I have 240 00:14:08,400 --> 00:14:13,040 Speaker 1: inconvenience the driver, I have taken time away from the driver. 241 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:16,079 Speaker 1: That's time that they could potentially be earning on another fair. 242 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:21,360 Speaker 1: That's the idea behind the policy. Unfortunately, this policy would 243 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:25,440 Speaker 1: also adversely affect people with disabilities who need more time 244 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:28,360 Speaker 1: to get into a vehicle. If they are actually taking 245 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:32,560 Speaker 1: more time to get into the vehicle and the driver 246 00:14:32,720 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 1: is sitting there for a few minutes, this policy would 247 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:40,120 Speaker 1: pop into effect and the passengers would be essentially monetarily 248 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:42,400 Speaker 1: penalized for the fact that they can't get into a 249 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:46,600 Speaker 1: car very fast, and that's just discrimination as defined by 250 00:14:46,640 --> 00:14:49,760 Speaker 1: the Americans with Disabilities Act. So that's why the United 251 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:53,080 Speaker 1: States government has sued Uber. Uber, by the way, has 252 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:57,400 Speaker 1: introduced a feature in its app that will waive weight 253 00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:02,880 Speaker 1: time fees for passengers who are certified as being disabled. 254 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:07,040 Speaker 1: I'm not sure what that certification process actually is. I 255 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:10,080 Speaker 1: don't know how they determine that, but the Department of 256 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:14,840 Speaker 1: Justice is seeking damages from Uber to compensate passengers who 257 00:15:14,840 --> 00:15:17,960 Speaker 1: had been affected by this policy, as well as just 258 00:15:18,040 --> 00:15:22,520 Speaker 1: mandating that that policy cannot apply to people with disabilities 259 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:26,880 Speaker 1: because otherwise it does discriminate and the Americans with disabilities 260 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:32,400 Speaker 1: that makes that illegal. So interesting story. Sony has recently 261 00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:35,720 Speaker 1: revealed that, due to ongoing supply chain issues, the company 262 00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:39,720 Speaker 1: expects to produce fewer PlayStation five consoles than they had 263 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:43,320 Speaker 1: originally planned, by the tune of one million units. Now. 264 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:46,760 Speaker 1: Their fiscal year ends in March or at the beginning 265 00:15:46,800 --> 00:15:48,960 Speaker 1: of March, I believe, and so I think the original 266 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:51,560 Speaker 1: plan was to produce sixteen million units. It's going to 267 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:54,280 Speaker 1: be closer to fifteen million, and the sales goal was 268 00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:57,800 Speaker 1: for fourteen point eight million, which means there's not a 269 00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:00,000 Speaker 1: whole lot of margin there. They have to pray much 270 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:03,240 Speaker 1: sell every single unit they make in order to meet 271 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:06,520 Speaker 1: the numbers that they had projected. The PS five launched 272 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:09,640 Speaker 1: almost exactly a year ago. The original launch date was 273 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:14,520 Speaker 1: November twelve, and it has been consistently challenging to find 274 00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:17,480 Speaker 1: in stores. You know, actually had the chance to snag 275 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:20,160 Speaker 1: one a couple of weeks ago, but a dilly dallied 276 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:24,240 Speaker 1: and then that chance went bye bye. And you know, 277 00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:26,160 Speaker 1: I'm sure a lot of you gamers out there have 278 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:29,960 Speaker 1: had similar experiences. And unfortunately, this means there will be 279 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:33,840 Speaker 1: fewer consoles produced than planned. That means it's still going 280 00:16:33,880 --> 00:16:36,120 Speaker 1: to be difficult to find them in stores, which is 281 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:39,320 Speaker 1: a real blow, particularly since we're into the holiday gift 282 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:42,800 Speaker 1: buying season. Uh that, by the way, is sure to 283 00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:45,520 Speaker 1: be impacted by various supply chain issues. A lot of 284 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:48,240 Speaker 1: people have found that just the stuff that they were 285 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:50,800 Speaker 1: planning on buying is taking way longer to get to 286 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:54,960 Speaker 1: them than they had originally thought. That's gonna keep going, right, 287 00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:57,640 Speaker 1: I mean, the supply chain crunch is a real one, 288 00:16:57,760 --> 00:17:02,640 Speaker 1: and it has created bottle throughout the entire system where 289 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:07,679 Speaker 1: you know, suddenly a facility gets flooded with products and 290 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:09,640 Speaker 1: then it has to figure out how does it deal 291 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:12,040 Speaker 1: with that to pass it further down the chain. This 292 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:14,800 Speaker 1: is a domino effect, a cascading effect that we see 293 00:17:14,800 --> 00:17:19,359 Speaker 1: throughout the supply chain. So as a tech person, typically 294 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:22,360 Speaker 1: I would be expected to suggest certain like Black Friday 295 00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:25,359 Speaker 1: or Cyber Monday deals that focus on stuff like TVs 296 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:29,040 Speaker 1: and electronics and sound systems, that kind of thing. This year, 297 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:34,000 Speaker 1: I humbly suggest that if you plan on buying holiday presents, 298 00:17:34,119 --> 00:17:39,480 Speaker 1: patronize like local shop owners and artists and tradespeople instead, 299 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:43,000 Speaker 1: it will be a bigger benefit to your immediate community. 300 00:17:43,520 --> 00:17:46,040 Speaker 1: And if enough of us actually do that, it will 301 00:17:46,080 --> 00:17:48,679 Speaker 1: relieve some of the insane pressure that's on the supply 302 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:53,000 Speaker 1: side of the supply chain economy right now, and things 303 00:17:53,119 --> 00:17:56,760 Speaker 1: can get to a better equilibrium. But only if enough 304 00:17:56,800 --> 00:17:59,920 Speaker 1: of us actually kind of at least remove that part 305 00:18:00,080 --> 00:18:03,080 Speaker 1: to the pressure on the system, Like the demand side 306 00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:08,080 Speaker 1: is still super high, and that's just kind of exacerbating 307 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:12,520 Speaker 1: an already tough situation. Okay, let's go back to South Korea. 308 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:16,000 Speaker 1: I mentioned them earlier in the episode. Well, the country 309 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:19,760 Speaker 1: recently unveiled a traffic control system designed to handle urban 310 00:18:19,960 --> 00:18:24,000 Speaker 1: air mobility vehicles or u a m s, which is 311 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:27,840 Speaker 1: a fancy way of saying flying machines what take passengers 312 00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:31,600 Speaker 1: from one place to another place, or a flying taxi 313 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:34,760 Speaker 1: in other words. And these typically take the form factor 314 00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:38,960 Speaker 1: of a really large multi rotor drone type thing, because 315 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:42,679 Speaker 1: it's not drones, more like a multi rotor helicopter in 316 00:18:42,680 --> 00:18:45,040 Speaker 1: a way. So think of like like the drones you 317 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:49,080 Speaker 1: would see that are remote controlled, but much much bigger 318 00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:53,160 Speaker 1: and sometimes with more rotors. The traffic control system would 319 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:55,919 Speaker 1: be a necessary component if flying taxis are to be, 320 00:18:56,200 --> 00:18:58,800 Speaker 1: you know, a real thing, Like if they're to become 321 00:18:59,480 --> 00:19:04,360 Speaker 1: an integral component in transportation, then you've got you've got 322 00:19:04,359 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 1: to have some sort of system to be able to 323 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:09,520 Speaker 1: handle that. So the country is actually testing this to 324 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:12,119 Speaker 1: kind of work out the design flaws and to tweak 325 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:14,800 Speaker 1: things in order to set a foundation for a future 326 00:19:14,840 --> 00:19:18,919 Speaker 1: with flying vehicles that are actually an actively carrying people 327 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:22,080 Speaker 1: to and fro. The test involved a vehicle made by 328 00:19:22,119 --> 00:19:25,800 Speaker 1: a company called Volocopter, and according to the Korean Times, 329 00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:30,240 Speaker 1: that particular vehicle is one that can either be piloted 330 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:35,040 Speaker 1: by a human or it can operate in an autonomous mode. Currently, 331 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:38,960 Speaker 1: South Korea requires a pilot to be present should any 332 00:19:39,040 --> 00:19:42,520 Speaker 1: passengers be inside the vehicle, so you cannot, you know, 333 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:46,520 Speaker 1: use this like an autonomous taxi under South Korean law currently. 334 00:19:46,600 --> 00:19:49,560 Speaker 1: I think that's a wise decision. The government says it's 335 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:52,400 Speaker 1: necessary both as a safety measure and also to help 336 00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:56,159 Speaker 1: secure passenger confidence in the system. Makes sense to me. 337 00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:00,119 Speaker 1: The Korean Times also reports that the expected cost or 338 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:03,760 Speaker 1: a customer to take a ride from the Incheon International 339 00:20:03,800 --> 00:20:08,680 Speaker 1: Airport to Central Soul to be around nine dollars American 340 00:20:08,760 --> 00:20:13,320 Speaker 1: the equivalent of ninety dollars when the pilot program No 341 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:17,359 Speaker 1: Pun Intended launches No Pun Intended, which is supposed to 342 00:20:17,359 --> 00:20:21,280 Speaker 1: be in However, they say that that price should drop 343 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:27,720 Speaker 1: dramatically once the technology and the business matures, so within 344 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:31,560 Speaker 1: a decade they expect the cost to drop low enough 345 00:20:31,600 --> 00:20:33,720 Speaker 1: so that it would be the equivalent of less than 346 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:37,240 Speaker 1: twenty dollars per trep. That to me is phenomenal. I 347 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:40,080 Speaker 1: think it's really optimistic, but I would love to see 348 00:20:40,080 --> 00:20:42,960 Speaker 1: it happen, assuming, of course, that the system has proven 349 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:46,920 Speaker 1: to be safe and reliable. Finally, I've written and talked 350 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:50,080 Speaker 1: about brain computer interfaces quite a few times. I always 351 00:20:50,119 --> 00:20:54,520 Speaker 1: find them fascinating. Creating technology that can detect and interpret 352 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:57,600 Speaker 1: brain waves and then produce some sort of meaningful output 353 00:20:58,359 --> 00:21:01,920 Speaker 1: is really cool, particularly for people who have limited or 354 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:05,640 Speaker 1: no motor functions and who otherwise would find it challenging 355 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:09,840 Speaker 1: or even impossible to communicate well. Science Alert reported earlier 356 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:12,960 Speaker 1: this week on a research program called brain Gate that 357 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:16,840 Speaker 1: has developed an interface that allows a paralyzed subject, a 358 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:20,520 Speaker 1: man who volunteered to be part of this, to generate 359 00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:25,399 Speaker 1: text on a screen just by imagining his own handwriting, 360 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:29,680 Speaker 1: so he can think about writing a word by hand, 361 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:33,760 Speaker 1: even though he lost all uh control of his limbs 362 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:37,760 Speaker 1: years ago, and that thought will then be interpreted by 363 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:40,439 Speaker 1: the system, and then the text will appear on a 364 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:44,880 Speaker 1: screen reflecting the letters he was imagining himself writing. Now, 365 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:48,040 Speaker 1: I've heard of other systems that use training sessions so 366 00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:50,639 Speaker 1: that someone can learn how to control a cursor with 367 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:53,040 Speaker 1: their mind, and they can move the cursor around to 368 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:56,080 Speaker 1: kind of type things out on an on screen keyboard, 369 00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:58,439 Speaker 1: very similar to how you would use an on screen 370 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:01,120 Speaker 1: touch keyboard. But this is the first time I've heard 371 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:05,119 Speaker 1: about something that can interpret the thoughts about writing a 372 00:22:05,160 --> 00:22:09,960 Speaker 1: word and use that to display that same word on screen. Now, 373 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:12,880 Speaker 1: it's still a slow process. The subject in the research 374 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:17,160 Speaker 1: project could right around nine characters per minute, that's about 375 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:20,119 Speaker 1: eighteen words per minute, but they could do it with 376 00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:25,840 Speaker 1: like accuracy before auto correct was brought in. And it 377 00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:29,959 Speaker 1: still requires surgery to implant electrodes into the brain, so 378 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:33,119 Speaker 1: this is not like some hat you put on and 379 00:22:33,160 --> 00:22:36,560 Speaker 1: you can use it. It is an invasive process, but 380 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:39,560 Speaker 1: for people who would otherwise find themselves unable to communicate, 381 00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:43,840 Speaker 1: this technology is incredibly powerful. It's also fascinating to me 382 00:22:43,880 --> 00:22:47,119 Speaker 1: that the brain can retain abilities related to fine motor 383 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:52,040 Speaker 1: movements even years after someone has lost that actual physical capability. 384 00:22:52,119 --> 00:22:54,679 Speaker 1: So not only are we learning more about how to 385 00:22:54,760 --> 00:22:59,359 Speaker 1: develop these systems, we're learning more about the resilience of 386 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:03,080 Speaker 1: the brain and how the brain operates. So those learnings 387 00:23:03,119 --> 00:23:07,760 Speaker 1: will inform future implementations which will continue to improve. And 388 00:23:07,880 --> 00:23:11,720 Speaker 1: my hope is that in the future will have systems 389 00:23:11,760 --> 00:23:15,239 Speaker 1: that give people a lot more independence and autonomy and 390 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:20,480 Speaker 1: communication abilities and to dramatically improve their quality of life, 391 00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:24,920 Speaker 1: even in the case where they have lost or maybe 392 00:23:25,040 --> 00:23:28,960 Speaker 1: never even had abilities to to move around. I think 393 00:23:28,960 --> 00:23:33,240 Speaker 1: that that is really phenomenal. All right, that wraps up 394 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:37,640 Speaker 1: the news episode for Thursday, November eleven, twenty one. If 395 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:39,760 Speaker 1: you have suggestions for topics I should cover in future 396 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:42,440 Speaker 1: episodes of tech Stuff, please reach out. The best way 397 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:44,520 Speaker 1: to do that is on Twitter. The handle for the 398 00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:48,040 Speaker 1: show is tech Stuff hs W. I'm out next week. 399 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:51,640 Speaker 1: You'll get your g E episodes in place of me, 400 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:54,840 Speaker 1: and there will also be a Smart Talks with IBM 401 00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:58,640 Speaker 1: episode on Thursday. But I will be back the following Monday, 402 00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:01,560 Speaker 1: so catch you on the flip side. And if you 403 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:04,160 Speaker 1: are walking around Disney World, look for a bald guy 404 00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:08,400 Speaker 1: who's probably staring on his phone because of Genie Plus. 405 00:24:08,400 --> 00:24:11,320 Speaker 1: But that's a that's a topic for another podcast. All right, 406 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:20,920 Speaker 1: Bye bye, I'll talk to you again really soon. Text 407 00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:24,400 Speaker 1: Stuff is an I Heart Radio production. For more podcasts 408 00:24:24,400 --> 00:24:27,160 Speaker 1: from I Heart Radio, visit the i Heart Radio app, 409 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:30,439 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.