1 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to Tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:14,840 Speaker 1: Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 3 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio 4 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,200 Speaker 1: and I love all things tech. And you know, guys, 5 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:25,919 Speaker 1: technology changes pretty darn quickly, and that's just in a 6 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 1: normal time. During the pandemic, you've got a lot of 7 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 1: other factors that are weighing in that can make things 8 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: change even faster. And some of the episodes that I 9 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:39,840 Speaker 1: have recorded in the last few months have already needed 10 00:00:39,840 --> 00:00:43,840 Speaker 1: some updates. None of them really need a full episode 11 00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 1: as an update, however, So today's episode is going to 12 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,519 Speaker 1: be about a collection of updates on things that I 13 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: have covered in the past few months since the outbreak 14 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:57,080 Speaker 1: of the pandemic. The first episode that I recorded at 15 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 1: home was in the series that I did about the 16 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:06,560 Speaker 1: history of PlayStation uh. The first one was actually PlayStation 17 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:09,679 Speaker 1: Part three and the second one was PlayStation Part four. 18 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 1: And now since then we've had a brand new console, 19 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: the PS five debut. It came out on Thursday, November twelve, 20 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:25,639 Speaker 1: and I am recording this on Friday. Also, for some reason, 21 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: there is a guy in a hockey mask totally getting 22 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:32,760 Speaker 1: in my personal space, but we'll just ignore him for now. 23 00:01:33,280 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: When I recorded those episodes, we had an announcement about 24 00:01:37,880 --> 00:01:41,120 Speaker 1: the PS five and a few details about the console, 25 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 1: but that was about it. However, now it's out, it's 26 00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: actually available for people to purchase, well kind of. We'll 27 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: get to that, and we can talk about some of 28 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: the specs of the PS five and how it contrasts 29 00:01:55,800 --> 00:02:00,920 Speaker 1: with its chief rival, the Xbox Series consoles A, particularly 30 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 1: the the Series X, although the Series S is also 31 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:08,239 Speaker 1: in play, and I'll be sure to talk about those 32 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: a little bit as well, to give you some updates 33 00:02:10,200 --> 00:02:13,680 Speaker 1: on on those. Now, first things first, we got to 34 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:18,079 Speaker 1: talk about how big this ding dang darn thing is. Now. 35 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:22,040 Speaker 1: I do not own a p S five yet. I 36 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,320 Speaker 1: do plan on getting one eventually, and I also plan 37 00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:30,639 Speaker 1: on getting a Series X console eventually, but I'm not 38 00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:33,120 Speaker 1: in a rush to grab them right now, which is 39 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 1: probably a good thing. I've seen photos of the PS 40 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: five and I thought, wow, that's really big once I 41 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,519 Speaker 1: had something to compare it to, particularly a photo that 42 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: had Trish Hershberger in it. Now, she's a tech journalist, 43 00:02:47,840 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 1: She's an awesome person. I've met her a couple of 44 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:53,560 Speaker 1: times great person, and she shared a photo of herself 45 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:56,799 Speaker 1: standing next to a PS five and said it's big 46 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:00,160 Speaker 1: enough to be considered about half of a Trish. Now. 47 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:04,560 Speaker 1: To be fair, Trish is a total Hermia from Midsummer 48 00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:08,760 Speaker 1: Night's Dream. Though she be but little, she is fierce. 49 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:13,079 Speaker 1: And what I mean to say is that Trish is um. 50 00:03:13,200 --> 00:03:18,240 Speaker 1: She's not very tall. The PS five, however, is tall, 51 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: at least as far as consoles go. It's fifteen point 52 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 1: four inches tall to be precise, that's just shy of 53 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:31,880 Speaker 1: thirty centimeters. It's also ten point two four inches deep 54 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:36,480 Speaker 1: or twenty six centimeters, and it's four point zero nine 55 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:41,320 Speaker 1: inches wide or approximately ten point four centimeters. Now, that's 56 00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 1: if you have it standing upright and not down on 57 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:50,400 Speaker 1: its side. You can have it either way, uh, depending 58 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:54,880 Speaker 1: on your setup. But no matter how you position it 59 00:03:54,960 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: that right there is a chalker. It weighs in at 60 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: fourteen pounds that's about six point four kgrams. So part 61 00:04:02,640 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 1: of the early discussion about the PS five is really 62 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 1: just that it's so large that it can actually be 63 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:11,320 Speaker 1: a challenge to fit into an entertainment set up, depending 64 00:04:11,400 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 1: upon the size you're working with. It also has the 65 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:20,400 Speaker 1: white wing like sides and a black center of the console. 66 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:23,520 Speaker 1: That's led some people to call it a reverse ice 67 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 1: cream sandwich, where you would have the ice cream on 68 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 1: the outside and the cookie bread in the middle. There 69 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:34,000 Speaker 1: are actually two different models of the PS five. One 70 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 1: of them has a four K Blu Ray optical drive 71 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:40,000 Speaker 1: and the other one does not. And the one that 72 00:04:40,279 --> 00:04:43,760 Speaker 1: does have the drive is the one that's a touch chunkier. 73 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 1: That's the one that's the four point nine inches wide. 74 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:52,120 Speaker 1: The digital only version is slightly more svelt. The Blu 75 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:57,040 Speaker 1: Ray drive version costs four dollars at least as the 76 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:02,240 Speaker 1: suggested retail price, and the digital only PS five is 77 00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:09,000 Speaker 1: at three um digital only, being digital only delivery, the 78 00:05:09,040 --> 00:05:13,960 Speaker 1: console is physical, but apart from the optical drive, those 79 00:05:14,000 --> 00:05:18,039 Speaker 1: two systems are the same internally. They have the same processors, 80 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:23,600 Speaker 1: same memory, same same storage, same performance. This is one 81 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:27,160 Speaker 1: of the things that sets the two PS five consoles 82 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:31,640 Speaker 1: apart from the two new Xbox consoles. One of the 83 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:34,800 Speaker 1: features that got hyped in the lead up to the 84 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:38,480 Speaker 1: PS five debut was that the system would load games 85 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:42,119 Speaker 1: much more quickly than the PS four, and we didn't 86 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:45,800 Speaker 1: have very many details about what this would actually mean, 87 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: I mean, what does more quickly mean? And fortunately the Verge, 88 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:53,800 Speaker 1: whom I referenced a lot for this particular part of 89 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:57,320 Speaker 1: the episode, they have a helpful table that breaks down 90 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:00,760 Speaker 1: how long it took the PS five versus PS four 91 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:04,600 Speaker 1: to load certain titles that are available for both platforms. 92 00:06:05,000 --> 00:06:07,640 Speaker 1: And that's also a good reminder that early in the 93 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:11,240 Speaker 1: lifespan of these next generation consoles, we're going to see 94 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:14,520 Speaker 1: a lot of cross platform titles that are available either 95 00:06:14,680 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: for the previous generation or the more fancy schmancy new 96 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:24,120 Speaker 1: generation of consoles. There will be and there are games 97 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:27,280 Speaker 1: that are made specifically for the new generation, but a 98 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 1: lot of those titles are going to be available both 99 00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:31,480 Speaker 1: for PS four and PS five, which makes sense if 100 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:35,000 Speaker 1: you're a developer, because you want to sell as many 101 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:38,479 Speaker 1: copies as you possibly can, and maybe not everybody's going 102 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:42,599 Speaker 1: after a brand new console just now. Anyway, onto the 103 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:46,920 Speaker 1: load times. To fire up the new game Spider Man 104 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:50,080 Speaker 1: Miles Morales and I can't wait to play that one. 105 00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:52,400 Speaker 1: But to fire that up on the PS four takes 106 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: about a minute and twenty seven seconds, but on the 107 00:06:55,960 --> 00:07:01,440 Speaker 1: PS five it was just seventeen seconds. Owls Now that's 108 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:05,800 Speaker 1: not to say all loading times will have that dramatic 109 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:09,640 Speaker 1: a difference or will be that fast. Death Stranding, which 110 00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:11,560 Speaker 1: is a game that's been out for a while now, 111 00:07:11,960 --> 00:07:14,440 Speaker 1: will load up in a minute fifty seconds on the 112 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 1: PS four, and the PS five does it in fifty 113 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:22,080 Speaker 1: four seconds. So the PS five is faster, definitely, but 114 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:24,360 Speaker 1: not every game is going to load as quickly as 115 00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:27,840 Speaker 1: the New Spider Man game does. Moreover, if we see 116 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:30,600 Speaker 1: the PS five follow the same path as most hardware, 117 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:33,360 Speaker 1: it will only be a matter of time before game 118 00:07:33,360 --> 00:07:36,480 Speaker 1: developers release games that tax the loading speed of the 119 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:39,800 Speaker 1: PS five, and we'll be back to waiting two minutes 120 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: or more for certain titles to load up. That's just 121 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,080 Speaker 1: the nature of hardware and software, and it ties into 122 00:07:45,120 --> 00:07:50,760 Speaker 1: an observation called Worth's law. Worth's law states that software 123 00:07:50,880 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 1: is getting slower at a rate that's greater than hardware 124 00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:57,000 Speaker 1: is getting faster. So the hardware is getting faster, but 125 00:07:57,040 --> 00:07:59,800 Speaker 1: software is getting slower faster than the hardware is getting faster, 126 00:08:00,040 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 1: if you follow me. Essentially, it's an observation about software 127 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:07,160 Speaker 1: bloat and how as software gets more sophisticated, it does 128 00:08:07,200 --> 00:08:12,280 Speaker 1: not necessarily become more efficient as well anyway. Another related 129 00:08:12,360 --> 00:08:16,320 Speaker 1: issue is in storage space. The PS five solid state 130 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 1: drive is eight five gigabytes, but again according to the 131 00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:24,559 Speaker 1: verge of that, only six hundred and sixty seven point 132 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:29,080 Speaker 1: two gigabytes are actually available for storage for games and stuff. 133 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:32,720 Speaker 1: The rest of that hard drive space is reserved for 134 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:35,200 Speaker 1: system data, or I guess I should say the rest 135 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:38,160 Speaker 1: of the solid state drive space as a reserved for 136 00:08:38,200 --> 00:08:42,320 Speaker 1: that system data. The six hundred sixty seven gigabytes is 137 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:44,679 Speaker 1: a lot. That's a lot of storage, no doubt about it, 138 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:48,080 Speaker 1: But some recent games that have just come out not 139 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:51,360 Speaker 1: too long ago are truly enormous, topping in it more 140 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: than a hundred gigabytes for just one title, and some 141 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 1: of them are getting close to a hundred fifty gigabytes 142 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:00,800 Speaker 1: or more. When you take that into a count, the 143 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:03,960 Speaker 1: massive amount of storage really means you might only be 144 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:07,680 Speaker 1: able to have four or five Triple A titles stored 145 00:09:07,720 --> 00:09:10,040 Speaker 1: on your PS five and ready to go at any 146 00:09:10,080 --> 00:09:13,640 Speaker 1: given time, and other times you may have to uninstalled 147 00:09:13,640 --> 00:09:17,200 Speaker 1: games in order to install a new one, so that 148 00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:19,440 Speaker 1: makes things a little tricky. Now. The PS five does 149 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:23,160 Speaker 1: have a slot for additional Sony certified solid state drives, 150 00:09:23,160 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: to be added in so you can increase your storage, 151 00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:28,960 Speaker 1: but there's no word yet on when those will actually 152 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:32,840 Speaker 1: be available. Reviews of other elements of PS five performance 153 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:36,600 Speaker 1: are a little more modest. The console can put out 154 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:41,359 Speaker 1: four K resolution graphics with hd R and ray tracing 155 00:09:41,400 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: and all that stuff, which is, you know, all about 156 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:48,839 Speaker 1: the visual appeal of this device, but these things only 157 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:51,920 Speaker 1: matter if one you happen to have a television that 158 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:55,440 Speaker 1: supports four K and HDR. If you don't, all that's 159 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:58,040 Speaker 1: going to be lost on you and to the people 160 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: who are making the games have to be able to 161 00:10:00,480 --> 00:10:04,040 Speaker 1: leverage those capabilities. They have to create assets in the 162 00:10:04,080 --> 00:10:08,000 Speaker 1: game that use these features so that you can, you know, 163 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:12,680 Speaker 1: enjoy the benefits of them. So many of the reviews 164 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:16,240 Speaker 1: that I have seen uh say that the games definitely 165 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:21,040 Speaker 1: look better, but that the improvements and graphics are fairly subtle, 166 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:26,000 Speaker 1: Like the jump in graphic quality isn't as great as 167 00:10:26,080 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 1: you have seen in previous generations, And that kind of 168 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:32,240 Speaker 1: makes sense to me. We're at a point of diminishing 169 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:35,800 Speaker 1: returns when it comes to stuff like graphics and video. 170 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:39,800 Speaker 1: There will always be room for improvement, but the jump 171 00:10:39,840 --> 00:10:42,640 Speaker 1: from one generation to the next is going to be 172 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:46,640 Speaker 1: less obvious. It's not like going from eight bit graphics 173 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 1: to sixteen bit graphics, or when we got up to 174 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:53,840 Speaker 1: sixty four bit graphics. Now the improvements are more polish 175 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:58,400 Speaker 1: than they are transformational. This isn't bad, mind you. It 176 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:03,439 Speaker 1: just means that the graphics are aren't necessarily a show stopper. However, 177 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:07,280 Speaker 1: the way the game's load and run seems to be 178 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:10,400 Speaker 1: spectacular based on the reviews. And on top of that, 179 00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:14,440 Speaker 1: reviewers have said really good things about the new PS 180 00:11:14,520 --> 00:11:18,440 Speaker 1: five controller. In the last PlayStation episode that I did, 181 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:22,000 Speaker 1: I said we had yet to see the controller. Now 182 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:25,160 Speaker 1: that we have seen it, folks are really digging it. 183 00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:28,840 Speaker 1: The triggers on the controller have variable tension and haptic 184 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:32,160 Speaker 1: feedback built into them. Now that means that a game 185 00:11:32,160 --> 00:11:36,199 Speaker 1: developer can create situations in which using the triggers feels 186 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:40,560 Speaker 1: different specific to whatever the context is within the game. So, 187 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:44,240 Speaker 1: for example, imagine you've got a game in which your 188 00:11:44,320 --> 00:11:47,920 Speaker 1: character has a bow and they are drawing an arrow 189 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:51,800 Speaker 1: back with that bow, and the trigger that you're using 190 00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:54,880 Speaker 1: is linking to that command to draw the arrow back. 191 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:58,840 Speaker 1: So as you squeeze the trigger, you feel an initial 192 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:03,880 Speaker 1: resistance which represents the tension on the bowstring. But let's 193 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:06,080 Speaker 1: say in another part of the game, you need to 194 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:09,240 Speaker 1: use the same trigger to just pick up a small item, 195 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:12,240 Speaker 1: and this time you feel very little resistance as you 196 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:15,760 Speaker 1: pull the trigger, which represents how easy that action is 197 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:18,440 Speaker 1: within the game to your character. So it's a neat 198 00:12:18,440 --> 00:12:21,320 Speaker 1: way to add some immersive qualities to a game. You 199 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:24,360 Speaker 1: can stress that this thing that you're having your character 200 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:28,480 Speaker 1: do is harder for your character to do because you've 201 00:12:28,679 --> 00:12:31,559 Speaker 1: increased the tension on the control itself. I think that's 202 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:34,560 Speaker 1: pretty genius. The controller can also make a lot of 203 00:12:34,559 --> 00:12:38,600 Speaker 1: different kinds of vibrations. Gone are the simple days of 204 00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:41,960 Speaker 1: the basic rumble pack. Now the vibrating motors inside the 205 00:12:41,960 --> 00:12:45,240 Speaker 1: controller can be manipulated to simulate everything from you know, 206 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:50,280 Speaker 1: walking across crunchy leaves to flying through a war zone 207 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:54,200 Speaker 1: in a helicopter. And I think Sony is in better 208 00:12:54,280 --> 00:12:57,400 Speaker 1: shape when it comes to exclusive titles for the PS 209 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:02,800 Speaker 1: five compared to Microsoft and situation with the new Xbox consoles. 210 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:07,360 Speaker 1: The pandemic has had an enormous impact on the development 211 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:10,680 Speaker 1: cycle for games, and it's also done a serious number 212 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:14,280 Speaker 1: on supply chain management. So it's actually pretty impressive that 213 00:13:14,320 --> 00:13:17,480 Speaker 1: the console and any games are coming out at all, 214 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:21,200 Speaker 1: and not surprisingly, it could be a real challenge to 215 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:24,400 Speaker 1: find a p S five or an Xbox right now 216 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:28,559 Speaker 1: because supplies were limited due to that impact on production. 217 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:32,080 Speaker 1: But let's switch over to the Xbox for just a 218 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:35,240 Speaker 1: few moments, and switching is a good thing to start with, 219 00:13:35,480 --> 00:13:38,319 Speaker 1: as one of the features on the new Xbox Series 220 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:43,320 Speaker 1: S and the Series X is the quick resume technology. 221 00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:46,719 Speaker 1: So say you're playing a game and maybe you hit 222 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:48,920 Speaker 1: a spot where you're not making much progress and you're 223 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:51,800 Speaker 1: getting frustrated, so you decide you're gonna take a break 224 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:55,320 Speaker 1: from playing that game and switch to something else. Maybe 225 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:58,800 Speaker 1: it's another game, maybe it's a video, but the Series 226 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:01,960 Speaker 1: X will suspend your gameplay in the active game as 227 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:06,000 Speaker 1: you swap over to your other task. And then you 228 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:08,040 Speaker 1: let's say you load up a second game and you're 229 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:10,280 Speaker 1: playing that. Then you decide, you know what, I want 230 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:12,800 Speaker 1: to go back to my original game, So you back 231 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:16,120 Speaker 1: out to your little splash menu and you swap back 232 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:18,760 Speaker 1: over to the original game you were playing, and boom, 233 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:21,840 Speaker 1: you're right back in it, and it's super fast. The 234 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:27,239 Speaker 1: Series X and Series S are effectively putting their fingers 235 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:29,400 Speaker 1: on a page in a book for you, so you 236 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:32,280 Speaker 1: can just flip right back to that page without any 237 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:34,640 Speaker 1: real delay. You don't have to wait for the game 238 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,680 Speaker 1: to load back up into the system's memory. It's pretty 239 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:40,880 Speaker 1: impressive to see. And what's going on is that your 240 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 1: game state from game number one is sort of flash 241 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:50,240 Speaker 1: frozen into storage memory on the Xbox, and this memory 242 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:53,760 Speaker 1: is really handy to the Xbox processor, so when you 243 00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:57,280 Speaker 1: swap back to the game, the processor can just fetch 244 00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:00,600 Speaker 1: the game state from memory rather than having to root 245 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:04,440 Speaker 1: around in the solid state drive for that information. As 246 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:07,440 Speaker 1: a feature, I think it follows under the quality of 247 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,960 Speaker 1: life category. It's not transformational, but it's really nice to have. 248 00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:15,560 Speaker 1: The quick resume feature can accommodate between four and six games, 249 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:19,920 Speaker 1: depending on how complex those games are. One big selling 250 00:15:19,960 --> 00:15:22,960 Speaker 1: point for the Xbox. Something that has been important since 251 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:27,320 Speaker 1: the very beginning is backwards compatibility. Sony has had a 252 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:30,320 Speaker 1: kind of spotty past when it comes to supporting games 253 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:34,680 Speaker 1: from older consoles. The company has made more dramatic departures 254 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:38,960 Speaker 1: from older system architecture, which makes it harder to adapt 255 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:42,160 Speaker 1: older games to later systems. The p S three in 256 00:15:42,160 --> 00:15:47,360 Speaker 1: particular was a real challenge because the microprocessor architecture, while powerful, 257 00:15:47,960 --> 00:15:53,480 Speaker 1: was very different from earlier PS state systems. So the 258 00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:56,520 Speaker 1: Xbox follows a philosophy that's much closer to what we 259 00:15:56,600 --> 00:16:00,720 Speaker 1: see with PC games, which really should surprise no body. 260 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:04,280 Speaker 1: And one of the attractions of the Series X and 261 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:08,440 Speaker 1: Series S consoles is that you can play older games 262 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:11,520 Speaker 1: on those systems and you'll end up getting an enhanced 263 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:15,440 Speaker 1: upscaled experience in the process. So you can pull up 264 00:16:15,480 --> 00:16:20,000 Speaker 1: a real classic game like I don't know, Crimson Skies, 265 00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:23,920 Speaker 1: I hope, and it should look pretty good. It's not 266 00:16:23,920 --> 00:16:27,640 Speaker 1: going to magically, you know, convert up to four K resolution. 267 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:29,440 Speaker 1: It doesn't. It's not gonna measure up to the level 268 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:33,040 Speaker 1: of graphics you would see with a brand new game release, 269 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:35,760 Speaker 1: but it will look better than it would on the 270 00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:39,680 Speaker 1: old original Xbox in theory. Anyway. I haven't actually tested 271 00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:42,360 Speaker 1: this out because I don't have an Xbox yet. I 272 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:46,160 Speaker 1: just really like that game, you know, Crimson Skies is 273 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:48,440 Speaker 1: an awesome game, and I really want to play it again. 274 00:16:48,920 --> 00:16:53,600 Speaker 1: Remake Crimson Skies, Xbox, go and go and make a 275 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:57,400 Speaker 1: you know, a new current generation version of Crimson Skies 276 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:01,200 Speaker 1: that game is amazing. Now, I allude did to it earlier, 277 00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:04,240 Speaker 1: and I've talked about it in other episodes. But Microsoft 278 00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:07,760 Speaker 1: has taken a different approach than Sony has with the 279 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:12,520 Speaker 1: two tiers of Xbox consoles. So the Xbox Series X 280 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,240 Speaker 1: is the one that has the optical drive, and it 281 00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:19,840 Speaker 1: costs four dollars, just like Sony's top level PS five, 282 00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:24,200 Speaker 1: but it also is a more advanced machine than the 283 00:17:24,240 --> 00:17:28,800 Speaker 1: digital only Series S is. The Series X has more 284 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:32,640 Speaker 1: data storage, it's got a faster processor, it can support 285 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:36,600 Speaker 1: four K gaming. The Series S is limited to fourteen 286 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:40,480 Speaker 1: four DP resolution for gaming. So while the two models 287 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:44,040 Speaker 1: of the PS five are identical except for one of 288 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: them has an optical drive, the Series X is better 289 00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:52,720 Speaker 1: future proofed than the Series S is. On the other hand, 290 00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:55,960 Speaker 1: the Series S comes in at two dollars, which makes 291 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:59,520 Speaker 1: it one hundred bucks cheaper than the least expensive PS 292 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:02,639 Speaker 1: five one that doesn't have an optical drive. Also, the 293 00:18:02,720 --> 00:18:06,480 Speaker 1: Series S and the Series X have a one terabyte 294 00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:11,000 Speaker 1: storage expansion slot, where you can purchase uh an extra 295 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,040 Speaker 1: SSD up of a terrabyte and plug it into the 296 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:17,400 Speaker 1: back and thus more than double the amount of storage 297 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:21,240 Speaker 1: in your Xbox I think Microsoft is going to struggle 298 00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:23,679 Speaker 1: a little bit on the game front, at least for 299 00:18:23,760 --> 00:18:27,880 Speaker 1: new games, because many titles that were meant to debut 300 00:18:28,160 --> 00:18:31,280 Speaker 1: along with the console have since been delayed by at 301 00:18:31,359 --> 00:18:34,520 Speaker 1: least a few months. And again that's largely the pandemic 302 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:37,399 Speaker 1: having an effect in addition to the normal issues we 303 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:40,240 Speaker 1: see with game development where there can be delays. But 304 00:18:40,359 --> 00:18:44,960 Speaker 1: Microsoft also has game Pass, which is a subscription based 305 00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:48,360 Speaker 1: service that gives players access to more than one hundred 306 00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:52,040 Speaker 1: titles if they subscribe to it. So rather than buying games, 307 00:18:52,080 --> 00:18:54,639 Speaker 1: you subscribe to the service and that gives you access 308 00:18:54,760 --> 00:18:57,440 Speaker 1: to these games and you can play stuff that maybe 309 00:18:57,480 --> 00:19:00,200 Speaker 1: you overlooked or maybe you never had the cat to 310 00:19:00,359 --> 00:19:03,080 Speaker 1: buy that particular title back in the day, and a 311 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:05,480 Speaker 1: lot of game journalists refer to it as the best 312 00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:07,879 Speaker 1: deal in gaming, and it's kind of hard to argue 313 00:19:07,880 --> 00:19:11,760 Speaker 1: with that. So let's say that I, Jonathan Strickland, have 314 00:19:12,119 --> 00:19:15,280 Speaker 1: recently upgraded my television because honestly, the one I have 315 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:18,399 Speaker 1: right now is an outdated, regular old h d t V. 316 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:21,439 Speaker 1: It's not even a smart TV. This hd TV is 317 00:19:21,480 --> 00:19:24,000 Speaker 1: from several years ago, works just fine, so I've never 318 00:19:24,040 --> 00:19:26,600 Speaker 1: replaced it. But let's say that I go ahead and 319 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:28,959 Speaker 1: I upgrade. Now I've got a decision to make. Do 320 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:31,719 Speaker 1: I go with the PS five or do I go 321 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:36,200 Speaker 1: with the Xbox. This is legit a tough question for me, because, 322 00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:39,359 Speaker 1: for one thing, I'm I'm an Xbox die hard fan, 323 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:43,120 Speaker 1: but I don't you know, I don't immediately fall into 324 00:19:43,119 --> 00:19:46,560 Speaker 1: a camp of Xbox good, PS five bad. The new 325 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:49,960 Speaker 1: games for the PS five look insanely good, Spider Man 326 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:53,680 Speaker 1: in particular, and Microsoft looks to lag behind a little 327 00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:56,359 Speaker 1: bit due to those production delays. On the other hand, 328 00:19:56,720 --> 00:20:00,880 Speaker 1: the game Pass deal is fantastic, and I'm all a subscriber. 329 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:04,080 Speaker 1: But by that same logic, I could just continue to 330 00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:07,880 Speaker 1: access game Pass on my Xbox One and then wait 331 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:11,760 Speaker 1: around a little bit longer to upgrade to a series console. 332 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:15,480 Speaker 1: In fact, I would probably do that even if I 333 00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:19,280 Speaker 1: had the brand new, fancy television. I would probably get 334 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:22,080 Speaker 1: the PS five to start off and have a goal 335 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:25,440 Speaker 1: to get a series X later in the future. Now 336 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:27,560 Speaker 1: that's a moot point for me because I do not 337 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:30,320 Speaker 1: currently have a four K TV, so a lot of 338 00:20:30,320 --> 00:20:33,520 Speaker 1: these enhancements would not matter. I wouldn't be able to 339 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:36,440 Speaker 1: see them because my television wouldn't be able to show them. 340 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:38,520 Speaker 1: And also I don't have a whole lot of time 341 00:20:38,560 --> 00:20:40,600 Speaker 1: to play a lot of stuff right now. That's just 342 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:43,760 Speaker 1: a bummer. But when we come back, I'm going to 343 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 1: talk about something else that needs to be updated, a 344 00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:50,399 Speaker 1: video streaming service that I covered during the pandemic that 345 00:20:50,520 --> 00:20:54,480 Speaker 1: ain't round here no more. But first, let's take a 346 00:20:54,600 --> 00:21:08,560 Speaker 1: quick break on August, which feels like a million years ago. 347 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:11,439 Speaker 1: I know everyone says that, but man, it feels like 348 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:15,040 Speaker 1: this year has just lasted forever. Well anyway, On August seventeenth, 349 00:21:15,119 --> 00:21:18,960 Speaker 1: I published an episode about Quimby, the streaming video platform 350 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:21,480 Speaker 1: that had been in development for a couple of years 351 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:25,360 Speaker 1: and had some big names in technology and entertainment behind it. 352 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:28,960 Speaker 1: And that episode is called Quimby Quibble if you want 353 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:31,320 Speaker 1: to check it out. I talked about how the original 354 00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:34,679 Speaker 1: concept for Quimby, which would feature short form videos that 355 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:38,120 Speaker 1: lasted about ten minutes each, was intended to go after 356 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:41,720 Speaker 1: a market of folks, mostly young folks, who are looking 357 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,080 Speaker 1: to pass the time while waiting to do other stuff 358 00:21:45,119 --> 00:21:48,040 Speaker 1: like maybe they're on a train, or they're waiting in 359 00:21:48,119 --> 00:21:51,360 Speaker 1: line for a coffee or whatever, and how the pandemic 360 00:21:51,560 --> 00:21:55,080 Speaker 1: was eliminating the very use case that Quimby was based 361 00:21:55,080 --> 00:21:59,400 Speaker 1: off of, and I concluded with some skepticism about the 362 00:21:59,520 --> 00:22:02,520 Speaker 1: long or viability of the platform, which I didn't think 363 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:06,160 Speaker 1: was particularly promising. Well, it's been a couple of weeks 364 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:10,679 Speaker 1: since the announcement in late October, but Quimby is sadly 365 00:22:10,760 --> 00:22:14,440 Speaker 1: officially shutting down, and I hate that. I was right 366 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:17,479 Speaker 1: to be skeptical, and let's be fair, it was the 367 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:20,879 Speaker 1: only reasonable point of view to take given the circumstances. 368 00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:24,040 Speaker 1: So I'm not really giving myself any credit here. It's 369 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:26,480 Speaker 1: like looking at the ocean and saying, I bet it's 370 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:28,879 Speaker 1: wet in there. It was kind of obvious on the 371 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:31,840 Speaker 1: face of it. I take no pleasure in the failure 372 00:22:32,160 --> 00:22:34,919 Speaker 1: because I think Quimby was giving a lot of really 373 00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:38,160 Speaker 1: creative people an opportunity to do what they love to do, 374 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:41,600 Speaker 1: and seeing something like that go away just stinks. But 375 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:43,880 Speaker 1: at the same time, I think the decision to pull 376 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:47,200 Speaker 1: the plug was the most responsible thing to do. So 377 00:22:47,640 --> 00:22:49,840 Speaker 1: we're going to take a look at the short span 378 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:55,560 Speaker 1: of time from August to October to see what happened. Now, 379 00:22:55,960 --> 00:22:58,639 Speaker 1: let me give a super quick recap of Quimby. I 380 00:22:58,640 --> 00:23:01,080 Speaker 1: already mentioned the use case for the platform the short 381 00:23:01,119 --> 00:23:05,000 Speaker 1: form videos of about ten minutes in length. Some projects, 382 00:23:05,160 --> 00:23:08,520 Speaker 1: like some of the videos on Quimby, were a lot 383 00:23:08,560 --> 00:23:12,560 Speaker 1: like a television series, with each episode being ten minutes 384 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:15,639 Speaker 1: right in a ten minute episode, but some were more 385 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:20,240 Speaker 1: like feature films that got divided up into ten minute chapters, 386 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:23,480 Speaker 1: which presents a challenge when crafting a story, but we'll 387 00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:26,720 Speaker 1: get to that. Some were fiction, some were in the 388 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:30,520 Speaker 1: reality TV space. Some fell into the category of news 389 00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:34,159 Speaker 1: or coverage of stuff like sports or lifestyle. It was 390 00:23:34,200 --> 00:23:37,479 Speaker 1: a pretty broad approach to entertainment as a whole, just 391 00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:40,280 Speaker 1: that it was all in a bite sized form factor, 392 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:43,440 Speaker 1: and the guiding logic was that people are using their 393 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:46,359 Speaker 1: phones to watch stuff more than ever, and frequently do 394 00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:49,119 Speaker 1: so to fill up time where they normally would be 395 00:23:49,160 --> 00:23:53,040 Speaker 1: doing nothing or at least nothing much. Quimby was meant 396 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:56,520 Speaker 1: to tap into the psyche of the TikTok fan base 397 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:00,520 Speaker 1: or snapchat platforms that excel in the present sentation of 398 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:05,199 Speaker 1: short form video clips. But Quimby would marry that with 399 00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:08,920 Speaker 1: the original programming and high production value that you find 400 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:13,240 Speaker 1: in services like Netflix. So yeah, kind of bringing together 401 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:17,199 Speaker 1: the Netflix model and putting that with the TikTok model, 402 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:19,920 Speaker 1: though the videos on Quimby were really, on the whole 403 00:24:20,040 --> 00:24:22,920 Speaker 1: much longer than anything you would have ever seen on TikTok. 404 00:24:23,359 --> 00:24:26,720 Speaker 1: On top of that, the service had a mobile specific 405 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:31,040 Speaker 1: feature that many saws nothing more than really a gimmick, 406 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:33,720 Speaker 1: and some folks just outright hated it. And it was 407 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:38,119 Speaker 1: called Turnstile, and it let you switch between portrait viewing 408 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:41,639 Speaker 1: and landscape viewing on a mobile device, and all the 409 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:44,640 Speaker 1: content would be produced with this in mind, so that 410 00:24:44,760 --> 00:24:47,840 Speaker 1: you would get a full frame presentation in either format. 411 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:50,800 Speaker 1: In other words, you wouldn't get black bars on top 412 00:24:50,840 --> 00:24:53,439 Speaker 1: and below the video. When you switched it over to portrait, 413 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:56,359 Speaker 1: it would become a portrait view, and it would be 414 00:24:56,359 --> 00:24:59,520 Speaker 1: design in such a way where theoretically, at least you 415 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:02,320 Speaker 1: weren't missing anything important. But you have to remember that 416 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:04,720 Speaker 1: in portrait view it means that you have a narrower 417 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:07,680 Speaker 1: view of what's going on, so some stuff that would 418 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:10,600 Speaker 1: typically be in frame might not even be on camera. 419 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:14,320 Speaker 1: So the service really was going all in on the 420 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:18,800 Speaker 1: mobile centric presentation of video. The two main people at 421 00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:22,359 Speaker 1: the helm of Quimby were Jeffrey Catzenberg, former Disney and 422 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:27,360 Speaker 1: DreamWorks executive and Meg Whitman, former CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprises, 423 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:30,280 Speaker 1: and in the year leading up to Quimby's launched, they 424 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:34,120 Speaker 1: both appeared on stage together at various conferences and events 425 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:37,879 Speaker 1: pitching the service, talking about taking aim at a market that, 426 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:43,000 Speaker 1: while I wouldn't say was underserved, hadn't been explicitly catered to. 427 00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:46,200 Speaker 1: I mean, people watch videos on mobile devices all the time, 428 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:49,720 Speaker 1: but Quimby was meant to fit neatly into that style 429 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:52,520 Speaker 1: of viewing from the get go. So the thought was, 430 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:56,240 Speaker 1: if we make content designed to be watched on mobile 431 00:25:56,280 --> 00:26:00,600 Speaker 1: devices in short spans at high production value, you we 432 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:03,080 Speaker 1: will hit that sweet spot for people who are already 433 00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:06,920 Speaker 1: using their devices to do that, but the content doesn't 434 00:26:07,480 --> 00:26:12,400 Speaker 1: conform to the use. Quimby launched with a free trial period, 435 00:26:12,800 --> 00:26:15,880 Speaker 1: after which users would be asked to choose a subscription plan, 436 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:19,840 Speaker 1: and there were two available here in the United States. 437 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:22,680 Speaker 1: The lower plan was four dollars nine cents a month, 438 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:26,000 Speaker 1: and that gave you access to add supported videos on Quimby, 439 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:30,800 Speaker 1: so you still had ads between videos. For seven a month, 440 00:26:31,200 --> 00:26:34,199 Speaker 1: you would get the videos, but with no ads, the 441 00:26:34,320 --> 00:26:38,200 Speaker 1: content was exclusive to the platform, and it was highly produced. 442 00:26:38,240 --> 00:26:40,879 Speaker 1: Like I said, you wouldn't find it anywhere else. But 443 00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:44,840 Speaker 1: the question was would the variety and quality of content 444 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,320 Speaker 1: be enough to convince a large enough subscriber base to 445 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:53,160 Speaker 1: make the operation profitable. Producing content is really expensive, whether 446 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:57,280 Speaker 1: you're funding it directly or you're negotiating with content creators 447 00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:01,800 Speaker 1: who fund production in return for a contract with the platform. 448 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:04,639 Speaker 1: There was little hope that quimby would operate at a 449 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:08,080 Speaker 1: profit right away, as just the cost of making stuff 450 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:10,600 Speaker 1: would mean there would be a growing gap to cover 451 00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:13,919 Speaker 1: with revenue before it could turn a profit now. In 452 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:16,720 Speaker 1: my previous episode about Quimby, I talked about how the 453 00:27:16,760 --> 00:27:20,879 Speaker 1: service was on uncertain ground. Even back in July, just 454 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:23,680 Speaker 1: a couple of months after the service had launched, news 455 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:26,439 Speaker 1: outlets like The Verge reported that quimby was losing around 456 00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:31,080 Speaker 1: nine of users once the free trial concluded, at least 457 00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:33,359 Speaker 1: for those users who signed up during the first few 458 00:27:33,440 --> 00:27:36,520 Speaker 1: days of the app becoming available. Actually, it's a little 459 00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:39,000 Speaker 1: worse than that. The opening sentence of that Verge article 460 00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:42,480 Speaker 1: says streaming service Quimby only managed to convert a little 461 00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:45,920 Speaker 1: under ten percent of its early wave of users into 462 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:51,440 Speaker 1: paying customers, says mobile analytics firm Sensor Tower. So imagine 463 00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:54,560 Speaker 1: you have ten people together and you give each of 464 00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:59,000 Speaker 1: those ten people a a slice of your delicious homemade pie, 465 00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:01,760 Speaker 1: and afterwards you ask any of them who here wants 466 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:04,280 Speaker 1: to buy a pie so you can take it home 467 00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:07,159 Speaker 1: for your family, and only one of them takes you 468 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:09,399 Speaker 1: up on the offer, and even that person is not 469 00:28:09,480 --> 00:28:12,920 Speaker 1: super jazzed about it. That's not great, and it's way 470 00:28:12,920 --> 00:28:15,720 Speaker 1: worse when that apple pie is actually a streaming video 471 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:21,560 Speaker 1: content service with nearly two billion dollars of investment behind it. That, uh, 472 00:28:22,960 --> 00:28:27,480 Speaker 1: that's some apple pie. Still as bad as that sounds, 473 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:30,320 Speaker 1: the Verge piece goes on to explain that in the 474 00:28:30,359 --> 00:28:34,560 Speaker 1: grand scheme of business, this isn't as big of a 475 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:36,919 Speaker 1: disaster as it seems like. On the face of it, 476 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:40,600 Speaker 1: an eight percent conversion rate, that is, getting eight percent 477 00:28:40,680 --> 00:28:44,520 Speaker 1: of your audience to commit to a paid subscription isn't 478 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:48,880 Speaker 1: the worst, but compared to other services like Disney Plus, 479 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:53,120 Speaker 1: it was pretty far behind. Disney Plus had an eleven 480 00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:56,320 Speaker 1: percent conversion rate. So on the face of it, you 481 00:28:56,360 --> 00:28:58,640 Speaker 1: might even say, well, that doesn't sound like it's that much. 482 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:01,960 Speaker 1: I mean, eight percent to eleven percent. What's the big deal? However, 483 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:06,760 Speaker 1: it had You gotta look at the scale. Quimby signed 484 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:10,960 Speaker 1: up nd people in the first few days of going live, 485 00:29:11,720 --> 00:29:14,959 Speaker 1: and that meant that about seventy two thousand of them 486 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:20,800 Speaker 1: converted into subscribers. But Disney Plus nine point five million 487 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:23,720 Speaker 1: people signed up for a trial for Disney Plus. So 488 00:29:23,760 --> 00:29:26,120 Speaker 1: it wasn't just that it was a larger percentage of 489 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:29,440 Speaker 1: a conversion rate, it was also a much bigger scale. 490 00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:33,480 Speaker 1: Quimby tried to recover as it became clear that the 491 00:29:33,560 --> 00:29:38,240 Speaker 1: mobile centric focus was more of a an albatross around 492 00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:41,680 Speaker 1: the company's neck rather than a selling point. Quimby began 493 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:44,479 Speaker 1: to work with set top box devices to produce apps 494 00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:47,720 Speaker 1: for them so that people could watch the content of 495 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:51,240 Speaker 1: Quimby on their televisions rather than just on their phones 496 00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:54,719 Speaker 1: or tablets, and at first the solutions involved services like 497 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:59,160 Speaker 1: Apple Airplay or Google Chrome Cast to you know, cast 498 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:04,000 Speaker 1: the content of a phone or tablet to a device 499 00:30:04,040 --> 00:30:07,360 Speaker 1: that's connected to a television. Just before word came out 500 00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:10,520 Speaker 1: that Quimby was going to shut down, Variety reported that 501 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:14,680 Speaker 1: the company had created apps for Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, 502 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:19,320 Speaker 1: and Google TV Slash Android TV. In addition, the company 503 00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:22,040 Speaker 1: had been in negotiations with Roku to get on there 504 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:25,600 Speaker 1: as well, but all that focus on the mobile experience 505 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:28,959 Speaker 1: was a real issue for the company. We'll never know 506 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:32,120 Speaker 1: if Quimby would have thrived in a world that wasn't 507 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:35,080 Speaker 1: hit by the COVID nineteen pandemic. I mean, I think 508 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:37,720 Speaker 1: it still would have faced an uphill battle even without 509 00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:40,880 Speaker 1: the pandemic, but it is clear that the pandemic really 510 00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:43,880 Speaker 1: shaped how people were accessing media because most of us 511 00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:46,440 Speaker 1: just weren't out and about as much and had less 512 00:30:46,440 --> 00:30:49,720 Speaker 1: of a need to be glued to our mobile devices. Meanwhile, 513 00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:53,640 Speaker 1: the company spent money on some fairly luxurious digs for 514 00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:57,640 Speaker 1: a corporate headquarters. Now, arguably, in the business that is 515 00:30:57,840 --> 00:31:01,400 Speaker 1: show this is a necessity, as having a cool space 516 00:31:01,480 --> 00:31:05,040 Speaker 1: is a great way to impress potential content partners and 517 00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:08,280 Speaker 1: to get them on board. I've seen it happened at iHeart, 518 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:11,720 Speaker 1: in fact, so you could argue that this is understandable, 519 00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:15,160 Speaker 1: but it's also an expense and a pretty hefty one, 520 00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:18,120 Speaker 1: and in a business where things are not going so hot, 521 00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:20,920 Speaker 1: it can be something that critics will point to when 522 00:31:20,920 --> 00:31:25,800 Speaker 1: they discuss bad decisions. However, if Quimby had been successful. 523 00:31:25,960 --> 00:31:28,960 Speaker 1: I'm not sure the nitro coal brew on tap or 524 00:31:29,320 --> 00:31:32,760 Speaker 1: the sleek glass offices would have merited much discussion. I 525 00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:36,280 Speaker 1: don't know that anyone would have pointed it out. Perhaps 526 00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:40,160 Speaker 1: in an act of desperation, Quimby tested out a freemium 527 00:31:40,280 --> 00:31:43,600 Speaker 1: version of its service in Australia and in New Zealand. 528 00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:46,479 Speaker 1: So there you could sign up for a free account 529 00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:49,560 Speaker 1: and you could watch ads supported Quimby content to your 530 00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:53,520 Speaker 1: heart's content. You could still sign up for a paid 531 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:56,880 Speaker 1: subscription and you could go add free as well. Perhaps 532 00:31:56,960 --> 00:31:59,080 Speaker 1: the company was dipping its toe into the water to 533 00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:01,720 Speaker 1: see if, may be it could entice enough users to 534 00:32:01,760 --> 00:32:06,000 Speaker 1: adopt the service if ads were the only revenue generating 535 00:32:06,040 --> 00:32:10,280 Speaker 1: avenue for the basic subscription. But it turned out that free, 536 00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:13,440 Speaker 1: just I guess, wasn't cheap enough for people, because the 537 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:16,680 Speaker 1: offer did not receive that many takers, and as far 538 00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:19,960 Speaker 1: as I can tell, Quimby didn't really try it anywhere else. 539 00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:23,840 Speaker 1: So a little more than six months after it launched, 540 00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:27,680 Speaker 1: and after raising more than one point seven five billion 541 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:31,680 Speaker 1: dollars from investors ranging from the Walt Disney Company to 542 00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:36,640 Speaker 1: JP Morgan Chasing Company to the Chinese mega corporation, Ali 543 00:32:36,680 --> 00:32:41,040 Speaker 1: Baba Katzenberg called an employee meeting to break the bad 544 00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:44,200 Speaker 1: news the company was going to shut down. The three 545 00:32:44,960 --> 00:32:47,920 Speaker 1: million dollars of cash on hand would be redistributed to 546 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:52,520 Speaker 1: the various investors, which raised questions from content creators about 547 00:32:52,560 --> 00:32:56,240 Speaker 1: how or even if they would be paid for their work, 548 00:32:57,040 --> 00:32:59,400 Speaker 1: questions that, as far as I can tell, have not 549 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:03,880 Speaker 1: mostly been answered, which is pretty darn rough now. Depending 550 00:33:03,960 --> 00:33:07,640 Speaker 1: upon which report you read, the announcement either wasn't a 551 00:33:07,640 --> 00:33:11,080 Speaker 1: surprise to most employees or it came as a total shock. 552 00:33:11,640 --> 00:33:13,720 Speaker 1: It seems like there's a bit of a discrepancy there. 553 00:33:14,240 --> 00:33:17,880 Speaker 1: It's hard for me to imagine it as shocking. Not 554 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:21,560 Speaker 1: only was the company facing the challenges I had already mentioned, 555 00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:24,480 Speaker 1: it was also doing so in an environment where content 556 00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:28,000 Speaker 1: creation was either screeching to a halt or having to 557 00:33:28,120 --> 00:33:32,600 Speaker 1: change dramatically to work within the pandemic era. Quimby had 558 00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:36,440 Speaker 1: spent a lot of money on content production early on. 559 00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:40,320 Speaker 1: They frontloaded the service with a lot of original programming 560 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:43,840 Speaker 1: to attract users. But a service like Quimby needs to 561 00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:48,040 Speaker 1: generate new content to refresh offerings on a regular basis, 562 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:50,800 Speaker 1: and the pandemic just isn't a great time to try 563 00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:54,360 Speaker 1: and produce studio quality video content. A lot of people 564 00:33:54,640 --> 00:33:58,400 Speaker 1: have adjusted to working from home studios or at least 565 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:01,600 Speaker 1: very limited sets in local aations, but it is still 566 00:34:01,720 --> 00:34:04,120 Speaker 1: hard to do, and there's still a risk of someone 567 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:06,760 Speaker 1: getting sick, and if someone does get sick, that can 568 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:09,600 Speaker 1: shut down an entire production for a couple of weeks. 569 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:14,000 Speaker 1: It was a pretty bad scenario, perhaps a worst case one. 570 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:16,920 Speaker 1: And maybe it's more accurate to say that people were 571 00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:21,120 Speaker 1: surprised at the timing of the announcement, not that it happened, 572 00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:24,000 Speaker 1: but just that it happened so early. Quimby had just 573 00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:27,240 Speaker 1: secured apps on those set top boxes I mentioned earlier, 574 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:31,560 Speaker 1: and it had raised an enormous amount of investment money 575 00:34:31,600 --> 00:34:34,520 Speaker 1: that there was kind of a general belief that could 576 00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:36,440 Speaker 1: at least be able to stick around a little bit 577 00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:38,960 Speaker 1: longer to see if perhaps it can make everything work. 578 00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:42,400 Speaker 1: But Katzenberg made the decision to call it quits in 579 00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:45,839 Speaker 1: order to avoid losing more investor money. And that was 580 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:49,480 Speaker 1: probably a pretty wise decision on his part, because I 581 00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:52,600 Speaker 1: suspect he will want to launch other businesses in the future, 582 00:34:52,960 --> 00:34:55,359 Speaker 1: and it would be way easier to do that if 583 00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:59,319 Speaker 1: he wasn't burning bridges. Between now and then, around two 584 00:34:59,719 --> 00:35:03,359 Speaker 1: people lost their jobs as a result of Quimby shutting down. 585 00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:07,560 Speaker 1: And then there are the various production studios, the content creators, 586 00:35:07,640 --> 00:35:10,640 Speaker 1: the crews, and all the other people who are impacted 587 00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:14,880 Speaker 1: because their work was for projects that were based on Quimby. 588 00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:17,359 Speaker 1: Behind the scenes, there was a lot of turnover at 589 00:35:17,360 --> 00:35:20,960 Speaker 1: the executive level, with stories leaking that working with Whitman 590 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:24,359 Speaker 1: and Catzenberg could be challenging. Catzenberg in particular, has a 591 00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:29,560 Speaker 1: reputation for micro managing. The service will continue operating until 592 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:33,840 Speaker 1: December one, when it will then all shut down, and 593 00:35:33,880 --> 00:35:36,759 Speaker 1: I think it's a shame from multiple perspectives. It is 594 00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:40,880 Speaker 1: a huge challenge to get something made with real production value. 595 00:35:40,960 --> 00:35:44,640 Speaker 1: If you're a content creator, there just aren't that many opportunities. 596 00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:48,000 Speaker 1: For every TV show or film that you see, there 597 00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:50,960 Speaker 1: are hundreds of ideas that never make it, and some 598 00:35:51,040 --> 00:35:52,600 Speaker 1: of them never even get a chance. Some of them 599 00:35:52,640 --> 00:35:56,319 Speaker 1: are just never even glanced at. So anytime there is 600 00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:59,920 Speaker 1: an opportunity for a creative person to realize their vision, 601 00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:03,960 Speaker 1: I think that's kind of special. And Quimby also created 602 00:36:04,040 --> 00:36:08,239 Speaker 1: an interesting challenge. It's not necessarily a good challenge, but 603 00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:12,440 Speaker 1: an interesting one. And that's this. With content divided up 604 00:36:12,440 --> 00:36:15,840 Speaker 1: into ten minute videos, you have to structure your story 605 00:36:16,239 --> 00:36:19,279 Speaker 1: to fit the format. Now, ideally you would end a 606 00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:21,440 Speaker 1: video in such a way that people would want to 607 00:36:21,440 --> 00:36:25,320 Speaker 1: see the next episode or the next segment of your movie. 608 00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:29,319 Speaker 1: So if you make a movie that's essentially twelve ten 609 00:36:29,440 --> 00:36:33,120 Speaker 1: minute long videos, that means you've got to craft eleven 610 00:36:33,160 --> 00:36:37,239 Speaker 1: cliffhangers that lead towards a satisfying conclusion. It becomes the 611 00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:40,839 Speaker 1: Dan Brown novel of films. And this is really hard 612 00:36:40,880 --> 00:36:43,799 Speaker 1: to sustain. I think of shows like twenty four, a 613 00:36:43,920 --> 00:36:47,120 Speaker 1: television series in which episodes take place in real time 614 00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:50,440 Speaker 1: over the course of twenty four hours. Uh that's a 615 00:36:50,600 --> 00:36:54,160 Speaker 1: twenty four episodes per season, with each episode lasting one hour. 616 00:36:55,160 --> 00:36:58,960 Speaker 1: The beginning and the end of a season of twenty 617 00:36:58,960 --> 00:37:03,400 Speaker 1: four hends to be pretty amazing, and the middle tends 618 00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:07,120 Speaker 1: to be less amazing, as writers are trying to find 619 00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:10,040 Speaker 1: out ways that they can keep the momentum going from 620 00:37:10,080 --> 00:37:13,480 Speaker 1: episode to episode in order to get to their conclusion. 621 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:15,719 Speaker 1: I imagine the same thing was true for a lot 622 00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:20,439 Speaker 1: of Quimby creators. Still, this segment is for you, Quimby. 623 00:37:20,640 --> 00:37:23,720 Speaker 1: We hardly knew ye. In fact, some of us didn't 624 00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:27,000 Speaker 1: know ye at all. Next, we'll look at a few 625 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:30,120 Speaker 1: other stories I talked about after lockdown and how things 626 00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:33,200 Speaker 1: have changed in just a few months. But first let's 627 00:37:33,239 --> 00:37:43,840 Speaker 1: take another quick break. One of the other series of 628 00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:48,560 Speaker 1: episodes that I tackled while working from home was about Panasonic, 629 00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:52,120 Speaker 1: and this should be a pretty quick update right here. 630 00:37:52,239 --> 00:37:55,799 Speaker 1: Panasonic's president at the time of those episodes was a 631 00:37:55,840 --> 00:37:59,400 Speaker 1: man named kasu Hiro Suga, who technically he's still the 632 00:37:59,400 --> 00:38:02,560 Speaker 1: president right now, but he had the unenviable task of 633 00:38:02,640 --> 00:38:07,360 Speaker 1: reversing Panasonics slide into losses under the leadership of the 634 00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:12,200 Speaker 1: previous president, Fumio Otsubo. Now where it comes that Suga 635 00:38:12,360 --> 00:38:16,759 Speaker 1: plans to step down by June of one. His replacement 636 00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:21,920 Speaker 1: will be Yuki Kusumi. Kusumi, like Suga, worked largely in 637 00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:26,840 Speaker 1: the automotive component division of Panasonic. The company also announced 638 00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:29,760 Speaker 1: that by twenty twenty two, it would change the company's 639 00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:32,959 Speaker 1: structure and convert it into a holding company, with each 640 00:38:33,000 --> 00:38:37,239 Speaker 1: division within Panasonic operating more as its own separate entity. 641 00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:39,960 Speaker 1: And the intent here is to make it more clear 642 00:38:40,080 --> 00:38:43,440 Speaker 1: what the deliverables are for each division within the company, 643 00:38:43,520 --> 00:38:46,640 Speaker 1: and also to free up leaders to make their decisions 644 00:38:46,640 --> 00:38:51,000 Speaker 1: more quickly and without any bureaucratic red tape. Now. I 645 00:38:51,040 --> 00:38:55,120 Speaker 1: also did an episode about TikTok, the video social networking 646 00:38:55,160 --> 00:38:57,560 Speaker 1: service that I mentioned earlier. In this episode, when I 647 00:38:57,600 --> 00:39:00,480 Speaker 1: was talking about Quimby and when I last left off 648 00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:04,040 Speaker 1: about TikTok, I mentioned that there was this growing pressure 649 00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:08,320 Speaker 1: for TikTok to split off from the Chinese parent company 650 00:39:08,400 --> 00:39:12,120 Speaker 1: Byte Dance, and that there were a few American company 651 00:39:12,239 --> 00:39:15,080 Speaker 1: suitors that were toying with the idea of an acquisition. 652 00:39:15,640 --> 00:39:19,719 Speaker 1: The deadline for severing ties to that parent company in 653 00:39:19,840 --> 00:39:25,600 Speaker 1: China fell in mid November, which is you know now ish. 654 00:39:25,640 --> 00:39:30,360 Speaker 1: In fact, as I recorded, that deadline was yesterday, November twelve. 655 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:34,439 Speaker 1: UH News recently broke that TikTok's deadline has now had 656 00:39:34,480 --> 00:39:38,000 Speaker 1: a fifteen day extension. This was not because of some 657 00:39:38,080 --> 00:39:41,839 Speaker 1: sort of leniency granted by the US government, but rather 658 00:39:42,000 --> 00:39:45,880 Speaker 1: because the US government failed to do anything after the 659 00:39:45,920 --> 00:39:49,880 Speaker 1: deadline passed and then negotiated a new deadline. But to 660 00:39:49,880 --> 00:39:53,160 Speaker 1: be fair for those of US not paying attention, the 661 00:39:53,280 --> 00:39:56,600 Speaker 1: US government has had a few other concerns going on 662 00:39:56,719 --> 00:40:00,520 Speaker 1: right now, including the aforementioned pandemic and the fall out 663 00:40:00,560 --> 00:40:03,960 Speaker 1: of the twenty twenty election, and boy, howdy is it 664 00:40:04,000 --> 00:40:07,960 Speaker 1: a fun time to be paying attention to politics now. 665 00:40:08,560 --> 00:40:12,600 Speaker 1: There wasn't so much threat of things changing significantly for 666 00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:16,120 Speaker 1: TikTok anyway, even if the government had tried to go 667 00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:20,320 Speaker 1: through with this deadline, because in various court cases, federal 668 00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:24,920 Speaker 1: judges have decided against the Trump administration and blocked the 669 00:40:25,040 --> 00:40:29,320 Speaker 1: orders that the administration was was leveling to ban US 670 00:40:29,400 --> 00:40:34,080 Speaker 1: companies from having transactions with TikTok. In other words, advertisers 671 00:40:34,120 --> 00:40:37,239 Speaker 1: wouldn't be able to advertise on TikTok's platform, that kind 672 00:40:37,239 --> 00:40:42,040 Speaker 1: of thing, and those orders were struck down in federal courts. 673 00:40:42,080 --> 00:40:44,880 Speaker 1: So with those judgments in place, the government really didn't 674 00:40:44,880 --> 00:40:47,080 Speaker 1: have a whole lot of pressure that it could put 675 00:40:47,200 --> 00:40:50,799 Speaker 1: on TikTok. So it's kind of like someone saying, you'd 676 00:40:50,800 --> 00:40:53,839 Speaker 1: better not do that again, or I'll tell you not 677 00:40:53,920 --> 00:40:58,600 Speaker 1: to do it again. It's hardly an intimidating threat. Meanwhile, 678 00:40:58,760 --> 00:41:02,319 Speaker 1: China has grown quite hostile to this whole situation, and 679 00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:06,680 Speaker 1: since any deal would require cooperation between China and US 680 00:41:06,760 --> 00:41:11,120 Speaker 1: companies and authorities, that presents a big challenge as well. 681 00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:15,399 Speaker 1: Now what do I think about all this, Well, I mean, 682 00:41:15,440 --> 00:41:19,799 Speaker 1: I'm still not a huge TikTok fan. From the perspective 683 00:41:19,800 --> 00:41:24,560 Speaker 1: of personal security and privacy. I think it's fine for 684 00:41:24,680 --> 00:41:28,240 Speaker 1: what it's doing except for that security and privacy side. 685 00:41:28,840 --> 00:41:33,880 Speaker 1: But that's like all social networking sites, right. TikTok collects 686 00:41:33,880 --> 00:41:36,759 Speaker 1: a lot of information about users, and that information is 687 00:41:36,800 --> 00:41:38,799 Speaker 1: going to a company, in this case a company that 688 00:41:38,880 --> 00:41:42,000 Speaker 1: happens to be owned by a Chinese parent company. That 689 00:41:42,080 --> 00:41:46,080 Speaker 1: does cause me a little concern, But then I also 690 00:41:46,440 --> 00:41:51,239 Speaker 1: feel concerned regarding US owned social networking sites. Do I 691 00:41:51,280 --> 00:41:56,279 Speaker 1: feel TikTok is more dangerous than say, Facebook, No, I 692 00:41:56,320 --> 00:41:59,279 Speaker 1: actually think Facebook is at least as big of a 693 00:41:59,320 --> 00:42:03,520 Speaker 1: concern as TikTok, and probably a bigger concern from a 694 00:42:03,600 --> 00:42:07,200 Speaker 1: security and privacy point of view. And and it's it's 695 00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:10,400 Speaker 1: potential to do things like undermine the democratic process. I 696 00:42:10,400 --> 00:42:14,520 Speaker 1: think Facebook's the bigger threat. But this is all complicated 697 00:42:14,560 --> 00:42:17,600 Speaker 1: by the fact that the timing of the US government's 698 00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:21,720 Speaker 1: escalation in opposition to TikTok seemed to fall in line 699 00:42:22,120 --> 00:42:25,359 Speaker 1: with a big prank that the TikTok community pulled on 700 00:42:25,400 --> 00:42:29,640 Speaker 1: the Trump campaign staff during the lead up to the election, 701 00:42:30,200 --> 00:42:33,879 Speaker 1: and that has led some people to hypothesize that the 702 00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:38,680 Speaker 1: US scrutiny is fueled not through some concern for national security, 703 00:42:39,040 --> 00:42:43,080 Speaker 1: but rather due to vindictiveness. Now I have no idea 704 00:42:43,160 --> 00:42:45,680 Speaker 1: what's going on at this point. If I'm being honest, 705 00:42:45,719 --> 00:42:49,400 Speaker 1: I don't know what the motivations are. Really. The whole 706 00:42:49,440 --> 00:42:51,799 Speaker 1: thing is a big, confusing mess. What I do know 707 00:42:52,280 --> 00:42:54,680 Speaker 1: is I'm just about fed up with all social networking 708 00:42:54,719 --> 00:42:57,600 Speaker 1: sites out there. In fact, I got off Facebook, although 709 00:42:57,640 --> 00:43:01,879 Speaker 1: admittedly I'm still on it. Are a lot so I'm 710 00:43:01,920 --> 00:43:05,440 Speaker 1: not free of it. Oh. Another story I talked about 711 00:43:05,560 --> 00:43:09,320 Speaker 1: was Epic Games versus Apple, and here's a quick rundown. 712 00:43:09,680 --> 00:43:14,120 Speaker 1: Epic Games publishes many games, among them one called Fortnite, 713 00:43:14,520 --> 00:43:19,080 Speaker 1: which is available on lots of different platforms, including Apple's iOS. 714 00:43:19,640 --> 00:43:23,240 Speaker 1: Epic has micro transactions within the game. The game itself 715 00:43:23,320 --> 00:43:26,120 Speaker 1: is free to download, but then micro transactions are how 716 00:43:26,320 --> 00:43:28,920 Speaker 1: Epic makes money off of it. So players can spend 717 00:43:29,000 --> 00:43:32,680 Speaker 1: real world money to buy digital assets to customize their 718 00:43:32,760 --> 00:43:36,480 Speaker 1: characters in Fortnite. You give them specific costumes and dances 719 00:43:36,520 --> 00:43:39,520 Speaker 1: and that kind of thing. Apple's policy is to take 720 00:43:39,520 --> 00:43:43,239 Speaker 1: a cut of all transactions that occur within apps that 721 00:43:43,320 --> 00:43:46,400 Speaker 1: are in the Apple App Store, a thirty percent cut. 722 00:43:46,640 --> 00:43:50,000 Speaker 1: In fact, Epic Games decided to try and sidestep this, 723 00:43:50,120 --> 00:43:53,080 Speaker 1: and that gave iOS players an option to buy in 724 00:43:53,280 --> 00:43:58,319 Speaker 1: game currency separately from iOS, so you could get more 725 00:43:58,480 --> 00:44:01,839 Speaker 1: in game value for your real world dollar, because there 726 00:44:01,880 --> 00:44:04,920 Speaker 1: wasn't a markup to compensate for that thirty cut that 727 00:44:05,000 --> 00:44:09,239 Speaker 1: Apple would have taken otherwise. Then Apple went nuclear on 728 00:44:09,360 --> 00:44:13,400 Speaker 1: Epic for violating terms of service, and they removed Fortnite 729 00:44:13,400 --> 00:44:17,399 Speaker 1: from the Apple App Store. And then they said to Epic, hey, 730 00:44:17,440 --> 00:44:20,240 Speaker 1: anything you guys are working on, we are no longer 731 00:44:20,320 --> 00:44:23,279 Speaker 1: going to support in iOS. And since that happens to 732 00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:27,480 Speaker 1: include game engines like the Unreal Game Engine, which Epic 733 00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:31,959 Speaker 1: is responsible for, and since many other game developers rely 734 00:44:32,200 --> 00:44:35,400 Speaker 1: on that particular game engine to power their own games, 735 00:44:36,160 --> 00:44:40,640 Speaker 1: this represented a huge problem. So Epic sued Apple for 736 00:44:40,719 --> 00:44:44,920 Speaker 1: anti competitive conduct. Apple filed a couple of counterclaims on Epic, 737 00:44:45,320 --> 00:44:49,440 Speaker 1: saying that Epic was intentionally interfering with Apple's business. The 738 00:44:49,560 --> 00:44:53,560 Speaker 1: judge would throw out Apple's counterclaims, saying that Apple was 739 00:44:53,600 --> 00:44:56,799 Speaker 1: on the losing side of this particular argument, But the 740 00:44:56,800 --> 00:44:59,600 Speaker 1: story is far from over. However, it did represent a 741 00:44:59,680 --> 00:45:03,200 Speaker 1: set back for Apple. Also back in October, a judge 742 00:45:03,239 --> 00:45:05,839 Speaker 1: found in favor of Epic when it came to the 743 00:45:05,880 --> 00:45:08,960 Speaker 1: banning of that game engine I mentioned, the Unreal engine. 744 00:45:09,360 --> 00:45:13,480 Speaker 1: The judge restrained Apple from removing support for the engine, 745 00:45:13,719 --> 00:45:16,319 Speaker 1: which was a huge win for Epic. You might even 746 00:45:16,360 --> 00:45:19,400 Speaker 1: call it an Epic win, but the judge didn't go 747 00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:22,960 Speaker 1: so far as to grant an injunction against Apple that 748 00:45:23,000 --> 00:45:26,680 Speaker 1: would have seen Fortnite get returned to the Apple App Store. 749 00:45:27,600 --> 00:45:30,480 Speaker 1: One judge proposed a trial date for the summer of 750 00:45:31,440 --> 00:45:34,080 Speaker 1: one to settle the whole thing, but so far both 751 00:45:34,120 --> 00:45:36,879 Speaker 1: Epic and Apple have indicated that they would really rather 752 00:45:37,040 --> 00:45:40,000 Speaker 1: have a case where a judge decides the outcome as 753 00:45:40,040 --> 00:45:44,080 Speaker 1: opposed to a jury trial. So we'll see what happens next. 754 00:45:44,520 --> 00:45:47,560 Speaker 1: And a couple of other real quick updates on the 755 00:45:47,640 --> 00:45:50,520 Speaker 1: update on the deep fake story I did. While deep 756 00:45:50,560 --> 00:45:52,680 Speaker 1: fakes didn't really play that much of a role in 757 00:45:52,719 --> 00:45:54,880 Speaker 1: the lead up to the election in the United States, 758 00:45:55,600 --> 00:45:58,800 Speaker 1: there were fears that we would be flooded with fabricated videos, 759 00:45:59,160 --> 00:46:02,799 Speaker 1: but those proved largely be unfounded fears. There was no 760 00:46:02,880 --> 00:46:07,760 Speaker 1: shortage of misinformation, and there were plenty of misinformation video clips, 761 00:46:07,920 --> 00:46:10,279 Speaker 1: but these were mostly video clips that were taken out 762 00:46:10,280 --> 00:46:13,880 Speaker 1: of context, so they were actual video clips of real people, 763 00:46:14,320 --> 00:46:17,480 Speaker 1: not deep fakes, but they were edited in such a 764 00:46:17,520 --> 00:46:19,840 Speaker 1: way to make it seem like a person was saying 765 00:46:20,280 --> 00:46:24,279 Speaker 1: something that they weren't really saying. So we didn't see 766 00:46:24,280 --> 00:46:26,400 Speaker 1: a big influx of deep fakes, but we were still 767 00:46:26,400 --> 00:46:30,799 Speaker 1: flooded with lies in misdirections. So yeah. I also did 768 00:46:30,880 --> 00:46:33,960 Speaker 1: an update on the G four TV episode I recorded 769 00:46:34,680 --> 00:46:37,799 Speaker 1: much earlier, and I did a little talk about the 770 00:46:37,840 --> 00:46:44,000 Speaker 1: network's upcoming resurrection currently scheduled for Since that update, there's 771 00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:46,360 Speaker 1: been a couple of others. There were rumors that Olivia 772 00:46:46,440 --> 00:46:49,520 Speaker 1: Munn is in talks to potentially return as a host 773 00:46:50,040 --> 00:46:52,799 Speaker 1: of a G four TV program. I think that could 774 00:46:52,800 --> 00:46:56,160 Speaker 1: be great if all parties can find agreeable terms. G 775 00:46:56,360 --> 00:46:59,040 Speaker 1: four has also continued to put out casting calls for 776 00:46:59,160 --> 00:47:03,000 Speaker 1: new shows, including a casting call that was a video 777 00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:06,440 Speaker 1: that had original G four TV and and before that, 778 00:47:06,560 --> 00:47:10,920 Speaker 1: Tech TV host Adam Sessler as a character called Crazy 779 00:47:11,040 --> 00:47:14,760 Speaker 1: Adam calling for people to come on down and submit applications. 780 00:47:15,239 --> 00:47:18,160 Speaker 1: I'm certain there are a lot more updates. I could 781 00:47:18,160 --> 00:47:21,320 Speaker 1: probably tackle, but these were the ones that really stood 782 00:47:21,320 --> 00:47:24,319 Speaker 1: out to me. Since my office went into lockdown on 783 00:47:24,440 --> 00:47:31,840 Speaker 1: March that also was a Friday, So I left the 784 00:47:31,880 --> 00:47:34,440 Speaker 1: office on Friday the thirteenth, and I'm recording this episode 785 00:47:34,480 --> 00:47:38,759 Speaker 1: on the next Friday. How about that. Now, I plan 786 00:47:38,880 --> 00:47:41,359 Speaker 1: on dipping into the archives now and then and giving 787 00:47:41,440 --> 00:47:44,560 Speaker 1: up dates on old Tech Stuff episodes. Some of the 788 00:47:44,600 --> 00:47:48,120 Speaker 1: episodes that I've done about companies are now a few 789 00:47:48,200 --> 00:47:51,280 Speaker 1: years old at this point, and those are almost certainly 790 00:47:51,360 --> 00:47:53,360 Speaker 1: due for an update, at least for the companies that 791 00:47:53,400 --> 00:47:55,839 Speaker 1: are still around today. But if you guys have any 792 00:47:55,880 --> 00:47:58,600 Speaker 1: suggestions on episodes that I should follow up on, or 793 00:47:58,640 --> 00:48:02,400 Speaker 1: even brand new episode ideas, let me hear them. The 794 00:48:02,440 --> 00:48:04,560 Speaker 1: best place to get in touch with me is over 795 00:48:04,640 --> 00:48:08,439 Speaker 1: on Twitter. Just tweet at the show text Stuff h 796 00:48:08,600 --> 00:48:12,720 Speaker 1: s W and I'll talk to you again really soon. 797 00:48:17,800 --> 00:48:20,799 Speaker 1: Text Stuff is an I Heart Radio production. For more 798 00:48:20,880 --> 00:48:24,280 Speaker 1: podcasts from My Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, 799 00:48:24,400 --> 00:48:27,560 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.