1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:14,760 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:17,840 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio. 4 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:20,360 Speaker 1: And how the tech are you. It's time for the 5 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:25,959 Speaker 1: tech news for March twenty twenty two. And while I 6 00:00:26,000 --> 00:00:28,480 Speaker 1: see a lot of folks behaving as if the pandemic 7 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: we're totally over, we're not really out of the woods yet. 8 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:36,320 Speaker 1: Over in China, there's been a concerning COVID nineteen outbreak, 9 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:41,640 Speaker 1: technically the largest in two years, and in response, various 10 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:45,920 Speaker 1: regional and city government officials have tightened restrictions in different 11 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 1: areas of China in an effort to stop the spread 12 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:51,560 Speaker 1: of the virus, and that has subsequently had a huge 13 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:56,560 Speaker 1: impact on certain manufacturing facilities in Shinjin uh These include 14 00:00:56,600 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 1: fox con, which is the company that supplies many component 15 00:01:00,040 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: it's for various apple products. But in addition, you have 16 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:09,559 Speaker 1: other companies like Intel, Volkswagen, and Toyota having major manufacturing 17 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:12,800 Speaker 1: facilities in the area that have had to scale back 18 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:16,679 Speaker 1: or even halt production. The Chinese government has created an 19 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: allowance for companies if those companies are able to create 20 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:23,120 Speaker 1: a sort of bubble for their workers. And by bubble, 21 00:01:23,600 --> 00:01:25,959 Speaker 1: I mean there really has to be a controlled, closed 22 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:29,959 Speaker 1: environment within which workers aren't just doing their jobs but 23 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: are actually living there as well. In other words, it's 24 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:35,520 Speaker 1: only a bubble if there's no way out of it. 25 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 1: Though this does not necessarily mean that employees would be 26 00:01:38,480 --> 00:01:41,760 Speaker 1: you know, confined to the same structure for both working 27 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,600 Speaker 1: and living. You know, they might have like a dormitory 28 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:50,120 Speaker 1: or something in addition to the factory. Still, that's a 29 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: big yikes. Some companies like fox Con are attempting to 30 00:01:53,880 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 1: shift operations to other manufacturing facilities inside China that are 31 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:02,120 Speaker 1: not seeing the same eyes in COVID cases. And it's 32 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:05,080 Speaker 1: too early yet to say for sure to what extent 33 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:08,600 Speaker 1: these events are going to have on things like supply 34 00:02:08,720 --> 00:02:12,960 Speaker 1: chain issues, but some analysts already are worried that we 35 00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: could see the effects of this lasting as long as 36 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:18,480 Speaker 1: six months before we're able to close the gap that 37 00:02:18,520 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: would be created by you know, these these slowdowns and 38 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:27,720 Speaker 1: and stoppages. Some might argue that China's zero case policy 39 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:32,079 Speaker 1: toward COVID is too extreme and should be amended. Uh, 40 00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 1: And it's kind of hard to push back on that. 41 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 1: So on the one hand, obviously you don't want outbreaks. 42 00:02:38,120 --> 00:02:41,000 Speaker 1: On the other, shutting everything down every time there's a 43 00:02:41,080 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 1: rise in cases causes massive disruptions like these. However, as 44 00:02:45,560 --> 00:02:48,560 Speaker 1: long as the illness poses a significant risk to people's lives, 45 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: I personally find it very hard to say, you know, 46 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 1: it's worth the risk. So this is a really tough call. 47 00:02:54,639 --> 00:02:57,919 Speaker 1: And I'm not saying that I have all the answers. 48 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:02,280 Speaker 1: I know I don't want people to get sick, but 49 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:07,640 Speaker 1: I also recognize the challenges that come about when you 50 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:11,840 Speaker 1: know you have these massive interruptions and supply chains. Speaking 51 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: of fox Con, the company is rumored to have submitted 52 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:18,760 Speaker 1: a proposal to build a nine billion dollar manufacturing facility 53 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: in Saudi Arabia. This facility would make microchips and electronic 54 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:26,960 Speaker 1: components for other companies, you know, stuff like displays, that 55 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: kind of thing. Again, for the fox cons customers are 56 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:34,399 Speaker 1: not people like you and and me. That's it's big 57 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:39,119 Speaker 1: companies like Apple Now. Reportedly, the logic behind this move 58 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:43,080 Speaker 1: largely comes from the tenuous relationship between China and the 59 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:47,960 Speaker 1: United States. Most of fox CON's customers, like the aforementioned Apple, 60 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:51,840 Speaker 1: are from outside China. Of course, Saudi Arabia has its 61 00:03:51,880 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 1: own tenuous relationship with the US. The country is associated 62 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:58,240 Speaker 1: with a multitude of human rights violations as well as 63 00:03:58,280 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: crimes such as the murder of journalist Jamal Kashow Game. 64 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: There have been numerous dignitaries and activists who have repeatedly 65 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: called upon the United States to impose sanctions against Saudi Arabia. 66 00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:13,440 Speaker 1: To get into all of that would require really an 67 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:16,560 Speaker 1: entire series of podcasts, and I'm pretty sure by the 68 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:19,800 Speaker 1: end of that I would be a jaded, cynical husk 69 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:23,320 Speaker 1: of a host. But anyway, fox Con is reportedly looking 70 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: at other potential sites as well, including the United Arab Emirates, 71 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:32,880 Speaker 1: so it's not just Saudi Arabia. Russia has blocked Instagram, which, 72 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 1: according to Adam Massari, the head of Instagram, means that 73 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:39,800 Speaker 1: eighty million people within Russia will be cut off from 74 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:42,720 Speaker 1: each other. I personally think that that statement goes a 75 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: little far, because presumably Russians are using other means of 76 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:49,239 Speaker 1: staying in touch. Plus it ignores the use of tools 77 00:04:49,279 --> 00:04:52,640 Speaker 1: like VPNs virtual private networks in order to get around 78 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:57,240 Speaker 1: things like regional bands. But you know, it really does 79 00:04:57,320 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 1: represent a pretty major move on the part of the 80 00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:02,520 Speaker 1: Russian government meant. Now, the reason for the ban, Russian 81 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:06,360 Speaker 1: officials have said is that Meta quote made an unprecedented 82 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 1: decision by allowing the posting of information containing calls for 83 00:05:09,839 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 1: violence against Russian citizens on its social networks Facebook and Instagram. 84 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: End quote. Now, in this case, those calls for violence 85 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:24,160 Speaker 1: refer mainly to posts that urge Ukrainians to defend themselves 86 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:28,400 Speaker 1: against Russian soldiers. Meta reps have said that they made 87 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:31,800 Speaker 1: the determination that these messages should be protected under freedom 88 00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:35,120 Speaker 1: of speech because they are framed within the context of 89 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: self defense and fighting back against an invasion, as opposed to, 90 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: you know, calling out attacks on a people for some 91 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:48,680 Speaker 1: other reason. So the Russian government has been hard at 92 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:51,960 Speaker 1: work presenting the invasion in as positive a light as 93 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:55,720 Speaker 1: possible back in Russia, and my guess is that this 94 00:05:55,960 --> 00:06:00,280 Speaker 1: became increasingly difficult as social networks sort of bypassed Ussian 95 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 1: propaganda channels. Also, um, I just want to say it's 96 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:08,839 Speaker 1: pretty darn hypocritical to hear Russian officials declare Meta a 97 00:06:08,839 --> 00:06:13,840 Speaker 1: platform that facilitates and encourages extremism, because well, we all 98 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: know that Russian operatives have long been at work leveraging 99 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 1: social networking platforms in general and Facebook in particular in 100 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:25,719 Speaker 1: an effort to push radical extremist ideologies in other countries 101 00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:31,200 Speaker 1: and to disrupt their, you know, political processes, particularly here 102 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:34,279 Speaker 1: in the United States. So yeah, Meta is kind of 103 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:38,440 Speaker 1: awful in that way, but it always has been in 104 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:42,240 Speaker 1: Russia has depended upon it in the past, So you know, 105 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:45,840 Speaker 1: I guess, I guess there are no good guys in 106 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:49,920 Speaker 1: that particular scenario. Now, one thing that Meta is doing 107 00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 1: that arguably isn't terrible is it is offering to educate 108 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:59,880 Speaker 1: influencers and politicians in Australia in advance of an upcome 109 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:03,040 Speaker 1: election this May, and the goal is to help folks 110 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:07,640 Speaker 1: stop the spread of misinformation on social networking platforms, which 111 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 1: is a nice change of pace really, seeing as how 112 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:15,760 Speaker 1: misinformation can very quickly spread online, going straight through influential 113 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:19,960 Speaker 1: people and then going out to the rest of us. 114 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 1: So these influencers and politicians are are going through kind 115 00:07:23,680 --> 00:07:27,480 Speaker 1: of a boot camp training session on how to spot 116 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:30,800 Speaker 1: and prevent misinformation. And this is on top of other 117 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:34,120 Speaker 1: measures designed to scrub the tarnish off of Facebook when 118 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 1: it comes to issues like potential election interference. The company 119 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:41,600 Speaker 1: also said it will require full disclosure of the names 120 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 1: of organizations and folks who pay to run political advertising 121 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 1: on the platform in Australia, so there won't be any 122 00:07:49,800 --> 00:07:53,920 Speaker 1: allowance for like mystery money ads being run on there. 123 00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:57,720 Speaker 1: They will all have to be you know, have some 124 00:07:57,840 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: name there to hold accountability for those ads. Candidates in 125 00:08:02,440 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 1: the election will be required to activate two factor authentication 126 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:09,320 Speaker 1: in order to avoid the possibility of someone hacking a 127 00:08:09,400 --> 00:08:13,880 Speaker 1: candidates profile or page. Also removes that whole plausible deniability 128 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:17,920 Speaker 1: thing where maybe someone posts something that ends up blowing 129 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:20,000 Speaker 1: up in their face that they can't say, oh, I 130 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:24,280 Speaker 1: was hacked if they're they've got like two factor authentication active. 131 00:08:24,720 --> 00:08:28,360 Speaker 1: I mean, technically, if you're really determined hacker and you 132 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: get hold of someone's phone, two factor authentication is still 133 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:35,559 Speaker 1: something you could crack, but it's less likely. Company representatives 134 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:38,800 Speaker 1: say that Meta isn't taking any political side itself, so 135 00:08:38,880 --> 00:08:42,040 Speaker 1: it's not favoring one side over the other. Instead, it's 136 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:44,360 Speaker 1: opening up these tools for all to use in an 137 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:48,240 Speaker 1: effort to assure a fair process. Hopefully we'll see similar 138 00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:52,439 Speaker 1: strategies deployed around the world. Due to pressure from Google. 139 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:59,400 Speaker 1: The Android app Advanced has shut down. You might not 140 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:02,760 Speaker 1: know what Vanced is. You might be wondering what the 141 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:05,800 Speaker 1: heck I'm talking about. I mean I I certainly didn't 142 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:09,800 Speaker 1: know what it was before today, But Vanced v A 143 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 1: n C E D was an app that let users 144 00:09:13,400 --> 00:09:17,840 Speaker 1: view YouTube videos without all those ads and without having 145 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:21,040 Speaker 1: to subscribe to YouTube to do it, so you could 146 00:09:21,040 --> 00:09:25,600 Speaker 1: actually bypass ads using the Vanced app. Google sent Vanced 147 00:09:25,600 --> 00:09:28,560 Speaker 1: a cease and desist letter and the company announced it 148 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:32,720 Speaker 1: would shut down operations. So the current Vanced app will 149 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:36,080 Speaker 1: continue to work for the time being, at least for 150 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:38,280 Speaker 1: those who have already installed it. So it's not like 151 00:09:39,040 --> 00:09:42,600 Speaker 1: Google went into everyone's phones and wiped the app. Clear, 152 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:46,360 Speaker 1: It's still on phones. However, it's just a matter of 153 00:09:46,400 --> 00:09:50,520 Speaker 1: time before, you know, changes in operating systems and stuff 154 00:09:50,679 --> 00:09:54,280 Speaker 1: eventually render that app inoperable, Like eventually they were going 155 00:09:54,320 --> 00:09:57,840 Speaker 1: to be incompatibilities and the app just won't work anymore. 156 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:00,560 Speaker 1: But for the time being, it still works. And on 157 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:03,280 Speaker 1: the one hand, I totally get it. I mean, YouTube, 158 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:06,360 Speaker 1: when you really boil it down, is an advertising platform, 159 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:10,640 Speaker 1: just like Google Search is really an advertising platform. Facebook 160 00:10:10,840 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 1: is really an advertising platform, and when you offer folks 161 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:19,360 Speaker 1: away around advertising and one that does not involve paying 162 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:23,600 Speaker 1: into a subscription instead. That kind of undermines the whole business. 163 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:26,200 Speaker 1: But on the other hand, it does sound like Vanced 164 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:29,520 Speaker 1: offered up a lot of features that YouTube just doesn't include, 165 00:10:29,559 --> 00:10:32,280 Speaker 1: but sounded kind of nifty, like it would be really 166 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,880 Speaker 1: neat to see, you know, if YouTube had instead acquired 167 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:39,720 Speaker 1: Advanced and then incorporated some of those features, that would 168 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:43,040 Speaker 1: have been neat. And I wonder if Google would have 169 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:46,360 Speaker 1: come after Advanced if the app had not allowed users 170 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:51,680 Speaker 1: to bypass ads. Uh maybe or maybe not. Google has 171 00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,560 Speaker 1: been cracking down on apps and services that tap into 172 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:58,840 Speaker 1: you know, Google databases and libraries like YouTube's library of 173 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:01,880 Speaker 1: content without you know, getting actual permission to be able 174 00:11:01,920 --> 00:11:06,079 Speaker 1: to do that, And uh yeah, it's entirely possible that 175 00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:08,680 Speaker 1: Google still would have come after Vanced even without the 176 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:13,080 Speaker 1: add thing. But anyway, farewell, Vanced, I never knew. Ye. 177 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:16,880 Speaker 1: We have more news to cover, but first, let's take 178 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:27,440 Speaker 1: a quick break. A restaurant group in Florida has filed 179 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:31,600 Speaker 1: a lawsuit against Google, alleging that the company has circumvented 180 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:35,280 Speaker 1: restaurants with an order online option that more often than 181 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:40,240 Speaker 1: not takes users to food delivery services rather than to 182 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:44,800 Speaker 1: the restaurants owned and operated site. And here's where we 183 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:47,959 Speaker 1: get into some of the big issues with food delivery services, 184 00:11:48,120 --> 00:11:51,400 Speaker 1: and one of those is that restaurants often see little 185 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 1: if any profit when working with these food delivery services 186 00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:59,640 Speaker 1: because the services take a hefty cut of any order, 187 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:03,559 Speaker 1: up to like thirty of the order in some cases, 188 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:08,080 Speaker 1: and so a lot of restaurants would obviously much preferred 189 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:10,720 Speaker 1: if you would just order directly from them and not 190 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:15,240 Speaker 1: use these delivery services. The problem is most restaurants can't 191 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:19,719 Speaker 1: afford to employ a fleet of delivery drivers, so this 192 00:12:19,800 --> 00:12:24,320 Speaker 1: limits customers to either dining in at those restaurants or 193 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:28,160 Speaker 1: going with take out, maybe even curbside pickup options, but 194 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 1: obviously that's not as convenient or you know, in the 195 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:34,200 Speaker 1: case of areas that might have a high COVID out break, 196 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:37,720 Speaker 1: it might not be particularly safe, particularly when we're talking 197 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:41,200 Speaker 1: about dining in. So if these allegations are true, and 198 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:44,800 Speaker 1: if Google has been steering visitors to food delivery services 199 00:12:44,880 --> 00:12:49,040 Speaker 1: and away from the restaurants, clearly that could really hurt 200 00:12:49,120 --> 00:12:53,160 Speaker 1: the restaurant in question. Google, however, disputes the claims and 201 00:12:53,240 --> 00:12:56,320 Speaker 1: says that it works with restaurants to incorporate in house 202 00:12:56,480 --> 00:13:01,240 Speaker 1: online ordering systems so that the restaurants system peers alongside 203 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:05,840 Speaker 1: all the food delivery services. Google also said that clicking 204 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:09,160 Speaker 1: on the online order option really just takes users to 205 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:11,800 Speaker 1: a page where they can choose among the various online 206 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:16,560 Speaker 1: ordering services, which would presumably also include the restaurant's own 207 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:19,440 Speaker 1: options if it has one. Now, this gets a little 208 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:22,200 Speaker 1: bit more complicated because a lot of restaurants will rely 209 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:27,120 Speaker 1: on third party companies to handle online orders. And that's understandable. 210 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:29,560 Speaker 1: I mean, it's hard enough just running a restaurant without 211 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:34,240 Speaker 1: also handling, you know, an online portal to your ordering system. 212 00:13:34,280 --> 00:13:38,320 Speaker 1: So a lot of restaurants will end up partnering with 213 00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:41,200 Speaker 1: a third party company that will handle the online order part. 214 00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:45,240 Speaker 1: But those services might show up as something unfamiliar to 215 00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:47,800 Speaker 1: visitors when they're looking to order a meal. Right instead 216 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:51,559 Speaker 1: of it's saying, you know, you know, Joe's restaurant, it 217 00:13:51,720 --> 00:13:55,120 Speaker 1: might have the name of the third party service that 218 00:13:55,280 --> 00:13:57,360 Speaker 1: handles the online orders, and you might think, well, I 219 00:13:57,400 --> 00:14:01,280 Speaker 1: don't even know what that is, and you skip it. Anyway. 220 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:04,400 Speaker 1: The Restaurant Group claims that Google's services amount to a 221 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:08,160 Speaker 1: bait and switch that harms restaurants, and Google meanwhile saying 222 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:11,600 Speaker 1: it's taking steps to make sure that restaurants are fairly represented. 223 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:15,760 Speaker 1: Uh my big takeaway pun intended was that if there 224 00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:18,800 Speaker 1: is an option to order directly from a restaurant, it's 225 00:14:18,840 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 1: probably best to do that if you want the restaurant 226 00:14:21,560 --> 00:14:24,600 Speaker 1: to you know, stick around, and in many cases it 227 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:28,040 Speaker 1: will likely be cheaper than ordering through a delivery service 228 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:31,240 Speaker 1: as well. Uh, this is a tough one. I mean, 229 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:34,880 Speaker 1: there's so much going on here because you also you 230 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: have to feel for the gig economy workers who are 231 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:40,880 Speaker 1: actually doing the driving and delivering. You know, it's not 232 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:43,680 Speaker 1: their fault that the service they work for is taking 233 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:47,040 Speaker 1: this big chunk out of the orders that are going 234 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:53,120 Speaker 1: to restaurants. So yeah, complicated stuff. Meanwhile, Google employees are 235 00:14:53,200 --> 00:14:58,000 Speaker 1: reportedly unhappy with the company. That's according to an employee 236 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:01,480 Speaker 1: survey that Google conducts every year, and it indicates that 237 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:05,600 Speaker 1: more employees than last year feel they aren't being compensated 238 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 1: properly for their jobs. The company also scored poorly when 239 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:11,760 Speaker 1: it came to employees views on how well the company 240 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:16,160 Speaker 1: executes its mission. Now, the mission itself and the company's 241 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:20,480 Speaker 1: core values got very high marks. Employees feel good about those, 242 00:15:20,920 --> 00:15:23,000 Speaker 1: So this kind of sounds to me like a lot 243 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 1: of Google employees like the talk, but they feel like 244 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:30,280 Speaker 1: the walk just ain't measuring up. This also comes at 245 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:32,880 Speaker 1: a time when the company is moving to bring employees 246 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:35,960 Speaker 1: back into the office for at least three days a week, 247 00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:40,160 Speaker 1: and it's a tough message to Google management, right, I mean, 248 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:43,840 Speaker 1: retaining employees has become a bit of a challenge ever 249 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:47,160 Speaker 1: since the pandemic hit. I'm sure we've all heard about 250 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:51,040 Speaker 1: the Great Retirement, in which there's this trend of folks 251 00:15:51,120 --> 00:15:53,880 Speaker 1: who are choosing to resign and then live off savings 252 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:57,800 Speaker 1: rather than continue to work, and tech companies have had 253 00:15:57,840 --> 00:16:01,120 Speaker 1: to offer more competitive pack pages in an effort to 254 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:05,280 Speaker 1: attract and keep talent because there's a smaller talent pool 255 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:09,400 Speaker 1: and it's easy to for them to jump ship. It's 256 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:11,480 Speaker 1: actually starting to remind me a bit of the heyday 257 00:16:11,560 --> 00:16:14,920 Speaker 1: of the dot com era, where you would see talent 258 00:16:15,240 --> 00:16:18,160 Speaker 1: going from company to company just following the best compensation 259 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:21,720 Speaker 1: or benefits packages, and those days, those were usually tied 260 00:16:21,760 --> 00:16:24,680 Speaker 1: to stocks, which ultimately proved to be a huge mistake 261 00:16:24,800 --> 00:16:27,920 Speaker 1: because tons of dot com companies went under after the 262 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:31,880 Speaker 1: bubble burst and those stocks became worthless. But according to CNBC, 263 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:35,880 Speaker 1: more than half of Google employees surveyed felt that their 264 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:41,080 Speaker 1: compensation wasn't competitive. At Google, slightly more than half of 265 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:45,359 Speaker 1: all employees still called the compensation quote fair and equitable 266 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:49,280 Speaker 1: end quote. So I'm guessing some employees are miffed that 267 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:53,480 Speaker 1: various executives and leaders at Google recently received pay raises 268 00:16:53,520 --> 00:16:57,280 Speaker 1: and bonuses, and the company itself is making serious bank 269 00:16:57,360 --> 00:17:00,800 Speaker 1: its revenue is through the roof right, and and yet 270 00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:04,600 Speaker 1: the head of compensation, Frank Wagner, said last December that 271 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:07,080 Speaker 1: Google would not be issuing a blanket raise to help 272 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:12,080 Speaker 1: employees address issues with inflation. Not a great look, particularly 273 00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:13,879 Speaker 1: as we appear to be at a turning point in 274 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:18,120 Speaker 1: America where stuff like employee organization and unions and group 275 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 1: negotiations are really starting to gain traction switching gears. The 276 00:17:22,920 --> 00:17:26,240 Speaker 1: Israeli government confirmed reports recently that it was the target 277 00:17:26,320 --> 00:17:30,359 Speaker 1: of a massive distributed denial of service or di DOS attack. 278 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 1: In case you're not familiar with that term, it refers 279 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:36,960 Speaker 1: to a kind of attack where hackers direct a bunch 280 00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:40,680 Speaker 1: of computers. I mean, we're potentially talking thousands or even 281 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:44,320 Speaker 1: tens of thousands of computers to send messages to a 282 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:48,480 Speaker 1: target or selection of targets in an attempt to overwhelm 283 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:52,320 Speaker 1: those targets and cause them to underperform or even crash. 284 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:56,080 Speaker 1: So the analogy I like to use is imagine that 285 00:17:56,359 --> 00:17:59,520 Speaker 1: you are absolutely required to answer your doorbell. If your 286 00:17:59,560 --> 00:18:02,440 Speaker 1: doorbell rings, you have no choice. You have to answer it. 287 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:05,679 Speaker 1: But you also have to do your taxes, So you 288 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:08,800 Speaker 1: sit down, you start doing your taxes. The doorbell rings, 289 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:11,000 Speaker 1: so you stop your work. You head on over to 290 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:13,880 Speaker 1: the door and you open it, but there's no one there, 291 00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:16,359 Speaker 1: so you close the door, you turn around, you start 292 00:18:16,440 --> 00:18:18,640 Speaker 1: walking back so you can get back to doing your taxes, 293 00:18:18,680 --> 00:18:21,399 Speaker 1: and the doorbell rings again, so you turn back around 294 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:23,320 Speaker 1: and you have to go to the door and open 295 00:18:23,359 --> 00:18:25,719 Speaker 1: it and there's still no one there. Now repeat that 296 00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:27,880 Speaker 1: millions of times, and you see how you would never 297 00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:31,239 Speaker 1: get any work done well. Adidas attack is kind of 298 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:34,440 Speaker 1: doing the same thing, only with electronic messages rather than 299 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:38,520 Speaker 1: a ding dong ditch approach. While there is no confirmation 300 00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:41,560 Speaker 1: as of yet about who is behind the attack, the 301 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:45,320 Speaker 1: general suspicion falls on Iranian cyber Crime Group. This is 302 00:18:45,359 --> 00:18:50,359 Speaker 1: according to the Jerusalem Post. The attack affected numerous Israeli 303 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:53,520 Speaker 1: government websites as well as some media outlets in Israel, 304 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:56,760 Speaker 1: and the Israeli government has called for a state of 305 00:18:56,800 --> 00:19:00,120 Speaker 1: emergency and launched an investigation to determine if the attack 306 00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:04,480 Speaker 1: went beyond just a denial of service attack and is 307 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:07,919 Speaker 1: looking to see if perhaps the hackers access to any 308 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,439 Speaker 1: you know data or stoleny data as well. Tesla's senior 309 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:16,000 Speaker 1: directory of public Policy, Rowan Patel, sent a letter to 310 00:19:16,160 --> 00:19:20,240 Speaker 1: US Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal earlier this month. 311 00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:24,080 Speaker 1: This was in response to inquiries that these senators had 312 00:19:24,119 --> 00:19:29,600 Speaker 1: previously made regarding quote significant concerns end quote about Tesla's 313 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:33,960 Speaker 1: autopilot and full service Drive or f s D features. Now, 314 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:35,919 Speaker 1: if you've been listening to tech stuff for a while, 315 00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:40,600 Speaker 1: you have undoubtedly heard me complain about the naming conventions 316 00:19:40,640 --> 00:19:43,400 Speaker 1: that Tesla uses, because I feel they give a false 317 00:19:43,400 --> 00:19:48,479 Speaker 1: expectation about what they're those features can do, and to me, 318 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:51,840 Speaker 1: it does really feel like a bait and switch. I mean, 319 00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:55,199 Speaker 1: I think if you call it full self driving, that 320 00:19:55,359 --> 00:19:58,639 Speaker 1: kind of suggests that the car can fully drive itself. 321 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:01,320 Speaker 1: I mean, I don't think I'm being unreasonable about that, 322 00:20:02,000 --> 00:20:05,280 Speaker 1: But according to Patel, that's not really the intent. Because 323 00:20:05,480 --> 00:20:09,520 Speaker 1: Patel actually refers to both autopilot and FSD as level 324 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:13,959 Speaker 1: two on the scale of autonomy. So the autonomy scale 325 00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:17,960 Speaker 1: goes from zero to five. Zero is a vehicle that 326 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:21,959 Speaker 1: has no autonomous features whatsoever. Five would be a vehicle 327 00:20:22,000 --> 00:20:25,639 Speaker 1: that is fully autonomous and capable of operating in any 328 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:29,560 Speaker 1: environment or in any situation where a human driver could 329 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:32,720 Speaker 1: also operate. So level two, as you might imagine, is 330 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:36,399 Speaker 1: fairly low down on that scale, and again it raises 331 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:40,160 Speaker 1: the question, if it's just leveled two, why call it 332 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:45,199 Speaker 1: full self driving anyway. Patel's letters stated that these modes 333 00:20:45,280 --> 00:20:50,240 Speaker 1: provide definitive safety benefits and cited metrics that appear to 334 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:53,600 Speaker 1: show that Tesla drivers who are using these types of 335 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:57,240 Speaker 1: features are far less likely to get into accidents than 336 00:20:57,480 --> 00:21:01,280 Speaker 1: other drivers who are driving other types of vehicles. Critics 337 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:05,040 Speaker 1: then complained that Tesla was using different data sets to 338 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:09,120 Speaker 1: show this, that the data for other drivers included all 339 00:21:09,119 --> 00:21:13,320 Speaker 1: sorts of situations, from driving on neighborhood streets to cruising 340 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:16,640 Speaker 1: on highways, while Tesla was focusing really on highway operation 341 00:21:16,680 --> 00:21:21,120 Speaker 1: because that's where you can enable Autopilot and FSD. In addition, 342 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:25,040 Speaker 1: the Senators have reportedly not been terribly impressed with the letter, 343 00:21:25,119 --> 00:21:29,280 Speaker 1: saying that Tesla is really just deflecting, so it doesn't 344 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:32,399 Speaker 1: seem like they are they are buying into Tesla's line. 345 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:36,280 Speaker 1: We've got a few more stories, but first, let's take 346 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:45,880 Speaker 1: a quick break. Have you ever looked at your bill 347 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:50,520 Speaker 1: from your Internet service provider and thought that's weird. Sure 348 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,800 Speaker 1: are a lot of extra fees built into this thing. Well, 349 00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:57,600 Speaker 1: Carl Bode recently wrote an article for tech Dirt titled 350 00:21:58,119 --> 00:22:01,600 Speaker 1: big I s p s avoided twenty twenty law banning 351 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:06,399 Speaker 1: predatory modem rental fees by simply calling them something else. 352 00:22:07,320 --> 00:22:10,560 Speaker 1: So that headline pretty much kind of spells out the story. 353 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:13,800 Speaker 1: So Bode rights about I s P companies. They got 354 00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:17,600 Speaker 1: in trouble because they were charging an equipment rental fee 355 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:20,439 Speaker 1: to customers who you know, actually owned the equipment they 356 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:23,800 Speaker 1: were using. They weren't actually renting anything from the I 357 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,840 Speaker 1: s p s. So it's pretty standard practice here in 358 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:29,160 Speaker 1: the United States for I s p s to lump 359 00:22:29,200 --> 00:22:34,480 Speaker 1: in a modem slash router with your service, and for 360 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:38,760 Speaker 1: that the customer pays a rental fee. On a monthly basis, 361 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:44,240 Speaker 1: but customers can actually use their own modem and router 362 00:22:44,800 --> 00:22:47,240 Speaker 1: and register that with their I s P. I mean, 363 00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:50,280 Speaker 1: you can do that, you don't have to use the 364 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 1: one provided by the the I s P itself. But 365 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:56,720 Speaker 1: then they found many of them that they were still 366 00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:59,560 Speaker 1: being charged a rental fee, and being charged to rent 367 00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:02,359 Speaker 1: something that you're not renting is you know, not legal. 368 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:05,480 Speaker 1: And Congress finally kind of pushed back on I s 369 00:23:05,480 --> 00:23:09,119 Speaker 1: p s about it by passing a law that expressly 370 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:13,399 Speaker 1: forbid that kind of practice. But then, as Boat explains, 371 00:23:13,680 --> 00:23:15,240 Speaker 1: the I s p s found kind of a way 372 00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:19,560 Speaker 1: to recontextualize those fees and pump them back into bills. 373 00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:24,359 Speaker 1: They just called them other stuff. And Bod's point is 374 00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:27,399 Speaker 1: that this approach lets I s p s advertise a 375 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:32,760 Speaker 1: lower rate because the base rate that they're charging that 376 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:36,040 Speaker 1: can be really low and it can be very steady, 377 00:23:36,119 --> 00:23:38,640 Speaker 1: so they can say, like, we we charge the lowest 378 00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:42,960 Speaker 1: rates you you have a base rate that is really competitive. However, 379 00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:45,480 Speaker 1: then they get all these hidden fees that they throw 380 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:49,920 Speaker 1: in that boost the expense, and that's when your bill 381 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:52,960 Speaker 1: starts going up and up and up, and often these 382 00:23:53,000 --> 00:23:56,200 Speaker 1: mysterious vs don't seem to, you know, correlate with anything 383 00:23:56,240 --> 00:23:59,040 Speaker 1: other than lining the pockets of I s P shareholders 384 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:03,480 Speaker 1: and executives. Anyway, bodes piece is well worth a read. 385 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:06,560 Speaker 1: He gets pretty salty about it in the article, but 386 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:09,520 Speaker 1: it can't exactly blame him if you want to read 387 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:12,639 Speaker 1: it again. That is on tech Dirt, and the article 388 00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:16,840 Speaker 1: is called big I s P s avoided law banning 389 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:20,760 Speaker 1: predatory modem rental fees by simply calling them something else. 390 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:24,120 Speaker 1: Check it out now. It's not often that my tech 391 00:24:24,200 --> 00:24:27,399 Speaker 1: news segment includes a bit about Snoop Dogg. Uh. Not 392 00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:30,720 Speaker 1: too long ago, Snoop Dogg acquired the famous death Row 393 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:34,200 Speaker 1: Records music label, which published music from legends like Dr 394 00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:37,159 Speaker 1: Dre and Tupac Shakur and of course the d O 395 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:40,840 Speaker 1: double G himself. But now fans are becoming frustrated because 396 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:44,120 Speaker 1: a lot of music from many of death Rows artists 397 00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:48,399 Speaker 1: has been disappearing from various streaming services like Spotify and 398 00:24:48,480 --> 00:24:52,000 Speaker 1: Apple Music. And this, paired with Snoop's announcement that death 399 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:54,280 Speaker 1: Row will be an n f T label, has a 400 00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:57,439 Speaker 1: lot of folks ticked off in f T s. If 401 00:24:57,440 --> 00:25:01,240 Speaker 1: you recall that stands for non fungible tokens. Essentially, they 402 00:25:01,280 --> 00:25:05,720 Speaker 1: represent ownership of a piece of digital media or digital 403 00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:08,239 Speaker 1: art Snoop Dogg has said that death Row is going 404 00:25:08,280 --> 00:25:10,720 Speaker 1: to be a quote the first major in the metaverse 405 00:25:10,880 --> 00:25:15,160 Speaker 1: end quote. I I assume he means major music label here. 406 00:25:15,680 --> 00:25:18,399 Speaker 1: But there's been a pretty serious backlash against n f 407 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:21,840 Speaker 1: t s from all but a core group of faithful followers, 408 00:25:22,359 --> 00:25:25,199 Speaker 1: and generally speaking, people are not super happy when they 409 00:25:25,240 --> 00:25:27,600 Speaker 1: lose access to stuff that they used to be able 410 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:32,439 Speaker 1: to get to, and this has led to quite a 411 00:25:32,440 --> 00:25:34,720 Speaker 1: few folks to go on to Twitter and lament that 412 00:25:34,760 --> 00:25:37,359 Speaker 1: they will have to go back to the Stone Age 413 00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:40,760 Speaker 1: and you know, listen to their old CD collection. Now 414 00:25:40,760 --> 00:25:43,280 Speaker 1: I'm being a little bit facetious here, but you know, 415 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:46,359 Speaker 1: streaming music is also way more convenient than relying on 416 00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:49,439 Speaker 1: physical media because you can listen to it anywhere as 417 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:52,240 Speaker 1: long as you have an Internet connection. You don't have 418 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:55,720 Speaker 1: to carry around, you know, a physical player of some sort. 419 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:58,480 Speaker 1: You just need you know, a connected device like a phone. 420 00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:03,560 Speaker 1: So I do admit like losing access to streaming stuff 421 00:26:03,880 --> 00:26:06,840 Speaker 1: is a bit of a kick in the teeth. Interestingly, 422 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:14,280 Speaker 1: the Verge reports that CD sales actually increased in UM 423 00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:17,360 Speaker 1: compared to that actually marks the first time we've seen 424 00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:22,560 Speaker 1: CD sales go up since two thousand four. Since two 425 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:28,480 Speaker 1: thousand four, every single year sales declined until now. That's 426 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:31,320 Speaker 1: not to say that CDs are back baby, but rather 427 00:26:31,560 --> 00:26:33,639 Speaker 1: the steady decline in sales had a little bit of 428 00:26:33,640 --> 00:26:36,720 Speaker 1: a bump last year. Now. Perhaps part of that reason 429 00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:38,760 Speaker 1: is because people want to make sure they can listen 430 00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:41,040 Speaker 1: to music and they don't have to worry if their 431 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:45,280 Speaker 1: favorite artist happens to disappear from a streaming service. Maybe 432 00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:46,760 Speaker 1: part of it is that a lot of us were 433 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:49,159 Speaker 1: isolating at home, so it wasn't as important to us 434 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:52,640 Speaker 1: that we have music available via streaming, you know, and 435 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:56,280 Speaker 1: so we weren't going anywhere we could just listen to 436 00:26:56,359 --> 00:26:59,120 Speaker 1: c d s instead. It's not like it was that inconvenient. 437 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:01,879 Speaker 1: And then or, of course, is the appeal of owning 438 00:27:01,880 --> 00:27:05,439 Speaker 1: a physical thing and not just access to something. I 439 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:07,600 Speaker 1: definitely feel like that's a big part of the attraction 440 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:10,080 Speaker 1: to Vinyl UM. I know there are a lot of 441 00:27:10,359 --> 00:27:14,159 Speaker 1: audio files out there who just swear that Vinyl provides 442 00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:18,320 Speaker 1: the superior experience. I'm not entirely sold on that, but 443 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:21,879 Speaker 1: I do collect Vinyl I casually collected. I have to 444 00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:24,280 Speaker 1: stress it's very casual because I just don't have the 445 00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:26,280 Speaker 1: room for a big collection. And also I can stop 446 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:29,399 Speaker 1: at any time, just shut up. But um yeah, I 447 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:30,919 Speaker 1: think that that's a big part of it, is that 448 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:35,159 Speaker 1: owning something physical and not just owning access or having 449 00:27:35,240 --> 00:27:40,040 Speaker 1: the opportunity to access something. Whether all this increase you know, 450 00:27:40,440 --> 00:27:43,359 Speaker 1: of sales marks a general reverse of the trend or 451 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:46,199 Speaker 1: not remains to be seen. I think it's probably just 452 00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:49,520 Speaker 1: a little bump and we'll see CD sales continue to 453 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:53,560 Speaker 1: decline after this year. But then if more music labels 454 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:56,200 Speaker 1: follow Death Rows example and go the n f T route, 455 00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:00,119 Speaker 1: we can actually see CD sales take off instead. I 456 00:28:00,119 --> 00:28:02,520 Speaker 1: I know that, you know, I'd be more inclined to 457 00:28:02,560 --> 00:28:06,119 Speaker 1: go the c D route rather than this whole n 458 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:10,320 Speaker 1: f T approach. Finally, over in Europe, the EU Parliament 459 00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:13,440 Speaker 1: has drafted a legislation that, if adopted, will require some 460 00:28:13,480 --> 00:28:18,560 Speaker 1: pretty big changes for major companies like Apple. Namely, the 461 00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:22,879 Speaker 1: legislation focuses on batteries, and as the EU pushes towards 462 00:28:22,880 --> 00:28:27,000 Speaker 1: a carbon neutral or perhaps even carbon negative future, it's 463 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:29,879 Speaker 1: clear that to get there will require a heavy reliance 464 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:33,880 Speaker 1: on batteries. However, the EU has also acknowledged that batteries 465 00:28:33,920 --> 00:28:37,920 Speaker 1: come with their own problems, and so this legislation aims 466 00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:41,000 Speaker 1: to do tons of stuff, from requiring companies to provide 467 00:28:41,040 --> 00:28:46,320 Speaker 1: evidence of carbon footprint involved in producing batteries, to practicing 468 00:28:46,400 --> 00:28:49,479 Speaker 1: due diligence to make sure that the sourcing, processing and 469 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:53,240 Speaker 1: trading of materials used in producing batteries is done in 470 00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:56,800 Speaker 1: an ethical and responsible way. This is a really big 471 00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:59,080 Speaker 1: deal because a lot of those materials come from countries 472 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:02,800 Speaker 1: that have of at the very least a spotty record 473 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:05,760 Speaker 1: on stuff like human rights. But as for that bit 474 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:08,360 Speaker 1: about how it would really affect companies like Apple, well, 475 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:11,600 Speaker 1: part of the legislation says that companies will have to 476 00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:17,360 Speaker 1: make batteries and their products easily removable and replaceable. Apple, 477 00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:22,640 Speaker 1: like a lot of tech companies, doesn't tend to do that. Um. 478 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:26,680 Speaker 1: In fact, when you look at handsets, tablets, and even laptops, 479 00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:31,760 Speaker 1: a lot of manufacturers do not make the batteries easily removable. 480 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:34,320 Speaker 1: I love it when a laptop has a battery that 481 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:38,360 Speaker 1: you can easily remove and potentially replace. I think that's great. Um. 482 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,400 Speaker 1: I have a laptop that I use all the time 483 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:42,680 Speaker 1: that doesn't do that. I actually looked up how to 484 00:29:42,760 --> 00:29:48,120 Speaker 1: replace the battery and it requires complete disassembly of the laptop, 485 00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:50,920 Speaker 1: So it's not like something that most people, including myself, 486 00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:54,520 Speaker 1: are going to try. So I don't mean to single 487 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:58,080 Speaker 1: out Apple here, because it is common throughout the industry. 488 00:29:58,360 --> 00:30:01,680 Speaker 1: It's just that Apple has a particular the reputation for 489 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:08,520 Speaker 1: making their stuff difficult to you know, maintain and repair yourself. 490 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:11,640 Speaker 1: But from what I can tell, this legislation would mean 491 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:14,560 Speaker 1: companies would have to change their designs to make batteries 492 00:30:14,600 --> 00:30:18,480 Speaker 1: easier to remove, at the very least by independent operators 493 00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 1: like repair shops. And again, this is all in an 494 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:24,760 Speaker 1: effort to create rules around the production, use, and end 495 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:28,000 Speaker 1: of life treatment of batteries. So it's pretty important stuff 496 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:30,600 Speaker 1: and I'll be very curious to see how things evolve 497 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:34,080 Speaker 1: if this legislation in fact is adopted. I wonder if 498 00:30:34,080 --> 00:30:38,120 Speaker 1: we're gonna see companies like Apple market different models of 499 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:42,040 Speaker 1: their products in the EU that have these easily removable 500 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:45,360 Speaker 1: batteries versus everywhere else, or if they will adopt a 501 00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:50,280 Speaker 1: more global approach. Um. I don't know it it's it's 502 00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:52,720 Speaker 1: a it's a big deal though, so I just wanted 503 00:30:52,760 --> 00:30:56,560 Speaker 1: to end on that. If you have suggestions for topics 504 00:30:56,600 --> 00:30:59,360 Speaker 1: I should cover in future episodes of tech Stuff, please 505 00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:01,360 Speaker 1: reach out to me on Twitter. The handle for the 506 00:31:01,360 --> 00:31:05,360 Speaker 1: show is tech Stuff H s W and I'll talk 507 00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:14,440 Speaker 1: to you again really soon. Y. Tech Stuff is an 508 00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:18,120 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio production. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, 509 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:21,640 Speaker 1: visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 510 00:31:21,720 --> 00:31:23,240 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.