Episodes

Jan. 13, 2024

(Bonus) John Gruber Talks Apple And AI

John Gruber joins Chris and I to talk about AI Hardware, Apple's AI strategy and Apple's Vision Pro launch.
Jan. 12, 2024

Fri. 01/12 – Perplexity, The AI Challenger To Google Search

How did bitcoin do on its first day of ETF trading? Where are all these tech layoffs coming from? The weird case of eBay executives allegedly harassing people. A look at the AI company taking direct aim at Google Search. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.
Jan. 11, 2024

Thu. 01/11 – Bitcoin ETFs, For Real This Time

The Bitcoin ETFs are here. For real, this time. OpenAI’s GPT store is here. Surprising new layoffs at Google. Netflix continues to show signs that ads are working for them. The Rabbit R1 continues to be a shocking success. And say hello to an AI George Carlin.
Jan. 10, 2024

Wed. 01/10 – The X Post That Sent Crypto Reeling

The SEC’s X account was compromised by somebody jumping the gun on that Bitcoin ETF thing. Layoffs are back, even at companies that are about to ship their first, high profile products. The hardware AI device at CES that everybody was talking about yesterday. And what AI could do for medical drug d…
Jan. 9, 2024

Tue. 01/09 – Do We Need ChatGPT In Our Cars?

OpenAI responds to the lawsuit from the NYTimes. Do you need ChatGPT in your car? VW thinks you do. Sony teases a “spatial” VR headset. Apple only wants you to call the Vision Pro “spatial computing.” And how you too can sign up to get a demo of the Vision Pro in a couple of weeks.
Jan. 8, 2024

Mon. 01/08 – Vision Pro Announce Steals CES Spotlight

We now know when the Vision Pro is coming. February 2nd. But you can pre-order on January 19. Xreal’s new Vision Pro competitor. New Wifi announcements from CES. That big Elon possibly using drugs story from the Journal this weekend. And for the first time ever, Netflix is cutting back on producing…
Jan. 5, 2024

Fri. 01/05 – Bringing Back The Hardware Keyboard For Smartphones?

Another big Tesla recall, this time in China, this time, all of them. Every car they ever sold. BNPL is… not dead? Not if holiday shopping data is to be believed. That Blackberry-style iPhone keyboard case that everybody is talking about. And, of course, the weekend Longreads suggestions.
Jan. 4, 2024

Thu. 01/04 – A New Keyboard Button Just For AI

Your Windows keyboard is getting its first new key in 30 years. Elon might offer you a cellular plan someday. Is 23andMe blaming the victims of that big data breach? Roku is going high end. XPS laptops are getting bigger. And yes, 2023 was a bad year for all sides of the Venture Capital game.
Jan. 3, 2024

Wed. 01/03 – Why Is Facebook Rolling Out Link History?

Facebook has a new feature, Link History, but why are they doing this and why now? I’m asking. A look at those jockeying to get ahead of a bitcoin ETF. The next Galaxy event is official. A look at the big AI player we seldom talk about. And a look at the AI influencers who are flooding social media.
Jan. 2, 2024

Tue. 02/01 – The Premium Smartphone Market, And The Premium-Premium

Telegram has completely redesigned its app. Microsoft has brought Copilot to iOS. Camera makers are remaking their hardware for the age of AI. There’s the premium smartphone market, and then there’s the premium premium market segment, and those are the only parts of the smartphone market you want t…
Jan. 1, 2024

(IHP) TheGlobe.com Saga Part III

Part three of our epic conversation with Stephan Paternot. Here's what happens when you've been through the wringer. When you've been to the top of the rollercoaster and also down to the bottom. Here's how you take stock of your life, how you reinvent yourself, re-find you entrepreneurial spirit...…
Dec. 31, 2023

(IHP) TheGlobe.com Saga Part II

Ok, part 2 of the Stephan Paternot mega-episode right now. This is where we get into the meat of it, the good stuff, the whole crazy roller coaster ride of being the hottest startup of the dotcom era. And I was going to make this the last episode, but as I was editing this, I realized that after we…
Dec. 30, 2023

(IHP) TheGlobe.com Saga Part I

The story of the quintessential dotcom company. Also, if you squint, you can see the birth of social media. I said in the book, I think TheGlobe.com was the quintessential dot-com company. We spoke to one of the cofounders previously, Todd Krizelman. Todd was great, but he was time constrained and …
Dec. 29, 2023

Fri. 12/29 – The Media Industry’s Delicate Dance With AI

OpenAI has been talking to everybody in media, it turns out. But how would a partnership turn out for media? Google settles another big lawsuit. The first of the gadget announces for CES season have begun. Can Xiaomi do with cars what it did with cellphones? And the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.
Dec. 28, 2023

Thu. 12/28 – Will 2024 Be The Year Apple Gets Serious About Gaming On Macs?

Researchers have found a gnarly zero-click, zero-day iMessage hack that has been exploited. Apple can sell watches again! What was the best performing tech stock of 2023? Will 2024 be the climax of the streaming wars? And will 2024 be the year Apple finally gets serious about gaming on the Mac?
Dec. 27, 2023

Wed. 12/27 – NYT Sues OpenAI

The NYT has broken the seal and sued OpenAI and Microsoft. Ads are coming to Prime Video in mere days. More rumors about Jony Ive founding an AI hardware startup with Sam Altman. Anthropic seems to be provide OpenAI isn’t the only one that can make money in the AI space. And when chips go beyond th…
Dec. 26, 2023

Tue. 12/26 – Apple’s AI Strategy Comes Into View

Apple’s whole AI strategy has been coming into focus these last couple of weeks. Two stories on this, including Apple’s first announced LLM. OpenAI is fundraising again. Hackers are targeting gaming studios again. And as President Biden didn’t deliver the pardon, what is this patent case against th…
Dec. 25, 2023

(Bonus) Brian On Acquired Podcast Part 2

This time we talk about the AOL/Time Warner Merger
Dec. 24, 2023

(Bonus) Brian On Acquired Podcast Part 1

The first time I went on the Acquired Podcast, back in March of 2017. We talked about Yahoo's acquisition of Overture. I know you probably haven't heard of either of those names, but in a roundabout way, this is the story of how Google makes so much money.
Dec. 23, 2023

(Bonus) Brian On The Newsworthy Podcast

Me on The Newsworthy Podcast talking the tech trends of 2023.
Dec. 22, 2023

Fri. 12/22 – The Hyperloop Is Dead

The hyperloop dream is dead. The attempt to bridge the iMessage divide is dead. China’s gaming industry isn’t dead, but it’s pretty wounded. The crazy story of that teenage hacker who leaked the GTA VI stuff. The weekend longreads suggestions, and at the very end, a unique look back at the evolutio…
Dec. 21, 2023

Thu. 12/21 – Big Galaxy S24 Spec Leaks; And What Is “Galaxy AI?”

The Galaxy S24 lineup had a big spec leak. So what do the new phones have and what is Galaxy AI? Get ready cause the Apple Vision Pro hype tsunami is about to wash over us. A big merger might happen soon to confirm the consolidation phase of the Streaming Wars is upon us. Waymo has data that says i…
Dec. 20, 2023

Wed. 12/20 – Sony Has Sold 50 Million PS5s

Rite Aid was apparently doing some crazy stuff with facial recognition software. Sony says the PS5 is killing it. ByteDance is definitely killing it. Microsoft CoPilot can now compose songs. And maybe the real reason OpenAI is making deals with publishers.
Dec. 19, 2023

Tue. 12/19 – Google Might Owe You Some Money

Google has settled lawsuits from the states, has agreed to offer new billing tools, and may owe YOU some money as they’ve agreed to pay $700 million dollars in restitution. What happens to adobe and Figma now that they’ve got to go their own ways? Why do hackers love targeting game developers? And …