Episodes

July 24, 2023

Mon. 07/24 – This Podcast Is Now Called X Ride Home

Elon makes good on his promise to rebrand Twitter as… X. Moar price hikes in streaming! Worldcoin has officially rolled out its token, so long as you’ve scanned your eyeball. Let me introduce you to the Flipper Zero. And should it be titled: Hollywood Strike: Rise Of The TikTok Stars?
July 21, 2023

Fri. 07/21 – Reddit Doesn’t Blink

Reddit is choosing violence with their biggest holdouts. More data on the ebbing of Threads usage. AI seems to be bringing Sergey Brin back into the office. Why you should be getting your paycheck quicker. And an Oppenheimer-themed Weekend Longreads Suggestions.
July 20, 2023

Thu. 07/20 – An Apple GPT

Rumors that Apple already has an LLM framework and their own generative chatbot. Google is shopping an AI bot that can write news stories to various journalism outlets. Has GPT-4 actually gotten dumber of late? More streaming price raises. And it’s the last chance saloon for Microsoft’s AR headset …
July 19, 2023

Wed. 07/19 – More Proof The Big Folks Are Winning AI (For Now)

Microsoft announced aggressive pricing for their AI products and got rewarded with an all-time high stock market valuation. More price aggression in the streaming wars. Meta released Llama 2. Google is asking for employees to voluntarily work on air gapped machines. And let me introduce you to the …
July 18, 2023

Tue. 07/18 – Checking In With Threads

It’s been… two weeks. Let’s check in on how Threads is doing. Streaming players continue to raise prices. Microsoft still plans on fighting for its prize. Are the incumbents winning the AI race? And the interesting startup that wants to use light instead of electricity in computer chips.
July 17, 2023

Mon. 07/17 – Sony And Microsoft Stop Fragging Each Other Over Call Of Duty

Sony and Microsoft have made nice. Bitcoin ETFs continue to look like a possibility. How the Vision Pro is shaking up Apple’s org structure in a meaningful way for the first time since the Steve Jobs Era. And why Netflix’s recent turnaround have rekindled those perpetual rumors that Apple is gonna …
July 14, 2023

Fri. 07/14 – Twitter Starts Showing People The Money

Elon has made good on his promise to share ad revenue with some big Tweeters. The fact that you can’t use Threads in Europe continues to be weird. Meta unveils a new AI image generator that they say is significantly smaller and better. Why AI is at the center of the Hollywood strike part eleven. An…
July 13, 2023

Thu. 07/13 – Elon Launches An AI Company

Elon has launched his own AI company with some pretty big names involved. The FTC will appeal! Roblox is coming to Zuckerberg’s metaverse. Meta does plan to commercialize LLaMA. And a cool new “do a napkin sketch and have AI turn it into an actual work of art” tool.
July 12, 2023

Wed. 07/12 – Microsoft Wins Big In The FTC Case

A big win for Microsoft leads critics of FTC chair Lina Khan to come out of the woodwork. Anthropic has released its Claude 2 chatbot. Say hello to the Nothing Phone (2). And while the market caps of the big players might have been boosted by AI, might the need for on premises AI lead to a unique o…
July 11, 2023

Tue. 07/11 – A Meaningful Anti-Tracking Law

Could Massachusetts pass the first meaningful anti-tracking law in the country? With social media in transition, what’s the lane for someone like Tumblr? Instagram is going after Twitter, but is someone coming for Instagram at the exact same time? And the sad state of affairs for video game history.
July 10, 2023

Mon. 07/10 – Evernote Deadpool?

Time to get worried about your Evernote files. Looks like Meta won’t have to leave the EU. OpenAI has a new product that people are raving about. More analysis of if AI can be useful to doctors. And I’ll tell you the one simple reason Threads has hit 100 million users so fast. The answer is right i…
July 7, 2023

Fri. 07/07 – I’ve Never Seen Anything Like Threads

It’s been my job for over a decade now to analyze the competitive landscape of the tech industry, and I’ve simply never seen anything like what Threads has achieved in less than 48 hours. Though, Elon is threatening to sue. Uber, DoorDash and GrubHub are suing NYC. Volkswagen is rolling out its sel…
July 6, 2023

Thu. 07/06 – Uh, Did Threads Just Win?

There’s only one story today. Threads. Threads. Threads. Has Threads already won?
July 5, 2023

Wed. 07/05 – Twitter Chaos: The Real Fireworks

Chaos at Twitter emphatically did NOT take the 4th of July weekend off. Instagram’s Twitter clone looks like it’s going to take advantage of this chaos to launch now. The Reddit app apocalypse has happened. Oh, and the mods for Reddit AMA’s have downed tools. And how drone technology is disrupting …
July 4, 2023

(IHP) Amazon's Founding Part 2

Originally published April 2015It’s part two of our Amazon founding story. How did Amazon come to completely dominate e-commerce? How did Jeff Bezos’ “Get Big Fast” strategy evolve? How and why did Amazon become the quintessential “dot com” and dot-com-era stock? The answers are within. Bibliog…
July 3, 2023

(IHP) Amazon's Founding Part 1

Finally, the long-promised foray into e-commerce, starting with… not the first… but practically the first… player in the space… and ironically enough, the 800 pound gorilla in the space to this day. Amazon. Dot com. We examine Jeff Bezos, the man. We consider Amazon, the idea. We look at e-commerce…
June 30, 2023

Fri. 06/30 – Apple $3T?

Second time the charm for Apple to close above $3 trillion? Google says it will remove news links in Canada. Meta will allow you to download apps directly from Ads. Self driving cars are giving cops more surveillance tape. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.
June 29, 2023

Thu. 06/29 – Big Interesting (AI) Raises

Satya Nadella had his day in court. Looks like the FTC is finalizing its big case against Amazon. YouTube has advertisers asking for refunds. Big new interesting raises in the AI space. And ahead of the Fourth of July travel weekend, we may not have the autonomous driving we want, but maybe we can …
June 28, 2023

Wed. 06/28 – Who Needs A Mac Pro?

Even in bankruptcy, even FTX is like, maybe we’ll hold on to these AI investments. Could Windows itself become a fully cloud product? Has Google canceled its AR project? How AI is making even Billy Bean look like old school baseball. And who needs a Mac Pro when you’ve got a perfectly good Mac Stud…
June 27, 2023

Tue. 06/27 – What If OpenAI Did Its Own Copilot?

Checking in with the FTC vs. Microsoft case. Checking in with the effort to recover funds from FTX. What if OpenAI did its own Copilot? Would Microsoft be pissed? And reviews of the Pixel Fold include one reviewer’s unit dying after a mere few days.
June 26, 2023

Mon. 06/26 – The M&A Deluge In AI Begins

Well, this AI moment is only about 6 months old, but it looks like the mergers and acquisitions are beginning in earnest. Wait, we’re still worried about 5G interfering with airplanes? Amazon wants your local florist to deliver your packages. An Amazon/FTC kerfuffle we missed. And what are the OTHE…
June 24, 2023

(Portfolio Profile) The Player's Lounge

Find out more at ThePlayerslounge.io
June 23, 2023

Fri. 06/23 – Meta To Turn Off The (Canadian) News Spigot?

Are Canadians about to lose their access to news on Instagram and maybe Google too? More details about what that Apple headset will actually be like to use. The newest claimant to the supercomputer crown is about to come online. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.
June 22, 2023

Thu. 06/22 – So, Elon And Zuck Are Gonna Fight, I Guess

Well, I guess Elon and Zuck are gonna fight? Literally? New Stability AI. Xbox prices are going up. The visionOS SDK is out. A Motorola Razr Plus review. And why celebrities are racing to duplicate themselves using AI.