Episodes

May 11, 2023

Thu. 05/11 – Twitter Encrypts DMs? (Corrected)

Twitter finally rolled out encrypted DMs… or did they? More drips and drabs from yesterday’s Google event including an AI music generating tool that sounds pretty wild. Even the crypto miners are pivoting to AI. And why tech has warmed up to the concept of nearshoring.
May 10, 2023

Wed. 05/10 – Google I/O

I’m writing this this morning before Google’s I/O, so I’m assuming that’s going to be the entirety of this episode. But who knows. Maybe I’ll be able to squeeze something non-Google stuff at the end. Join me in the time machine, won’t you, and find out. In the meantime, here’s what Sundar had to sh…
May 9, 2023

Tue. 05/09 – AI Comes To The Drive Through Window

More roiling questions about crypto and regulator enforcement. Nintendo’s Switch is getting long in the tooth. AI’s are coming to the Wendy’s drive through lane. An AI startup to protect against AI. And more of what we can expect from Google’s big day tomorrow.
May 8, 2023

Mon. 05/08 – The Big Discord Username Shift

What to expect from Google IO. The big discord username switch. Sam Altman’s side hustle is launching a thing. But also a look at the regulatory issues his OpenAI is facing in Europe. And what if I told you an Ikea chair can short out your monitor. It’s weird, but it can.
May 7, 2023

(Bonus) Brian On Big Technology Podcast

This is the crossover episode of when I went on the Big Technology podcast on Friday. We ask where the moat is in AI? And we celebrate Ed Sheeran if you can believe it.
May 6, 2023

(Bonus) @semaforben On The Golden Age Of Digital Media And His AMAZING New Book About It

This is the book I've been dying for someone to write! This is how digital media happened for 20 years! Traffic: Genius, Rivalry, and Delusion in the Billion-Dollar Race to Go Viral. Yay to finally having Ben Smith on the pod!
May 5, 2023

Fri. 05/05 – Can Open Source Win Out Over Open AI? (Corrected)

Apple earnings recap. A new, free code generating AI tool. Which, actually, lots of people are starting to ask the question: will open source AI actually come out on top in the AI revolution? And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors:Mindbloom.com/techmeme and promocode techmemeO…
May 4, 2023

Thu. 05/04 – The Regulators Come For AI

The regulators have not been sleeping on the AI revolution. Everybody wants to get in on the blue checkmark game. But this time, with actual utility. Airbnb now offers to rent out single rooms. Can ChatGPT out invest professional money managers? And the return of the flip phone. No, not a foldable …
May 3, 2023

Wed. 05/03 – How A Pixies Song Broke Google Assistant

Google releases a new feature to put another nail in the password coffin. Malware merchants are using generative AI. A deep dive into what Bluesky is like right now. The best explainer of quantum computing I’ve ever seen. And how a Pixies song is breaking Google assistant and making people miss the…
May 2, 2023

Tue. 05/02 – The Writer’s Strike Inspired By AI

Looks like that Hollywood strike inspired by AI fears is a go. Apple and Google want to set a new standard to prevent modern digital stalking. Pornhub is boycotting Utah. Mastodon is trying to make it less confusing to give them a try. And what is one of the biggest reasons companies are wary of gi…
May 1, 2023

Mon. 05/01 – Why Hollywood Fears AI

Gurman says the big Apple Watch OS overhaul is nigh. I can already tell you what the biggest tech IPO of 2023 is going to be. Are there signs tech earnings have turned or a corner, or, at least, have bottomed out? And why the AI revolution is behind the potential of a major labor strike in Hollywoo…
April 30, 2023

(IHP Bonus) Mike Slade on Steve Jobs' Return To Apple

Another bonus episode from the Internet History Podcast. As promised, Mike Slade is back to tell stories from the period 1998 through 2004, when he was Special Assistant to Steve Jobs. Background details on the iMac, the iPod and the iPhone and more!
April 29, 2023

(IHP Bonus) Mike Slade on NeXT and Steve Jobs' Return to Apple

Another bonus episode from the Internet History Podcast. I originally wanted to talk to Mike Slade about Starwave, the innovative company that launched some major names onto the web, including ESPN.com, ABCNews.com, MrShowbiz.com, and after an eventual sale to Disney, put together the pieces that e…
April 28, 2023

Fri. 04/28 – Microsoft Gets Out Of The Mice Business

More signs that vital communications infrastructure is abandoning Twitter. Reddit is testing Discord-like chat channels. Big layoffs at Clubhouse. Microsoft exits the peripherals business after 40 years. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads suggestions.
April 27, 2023

Thu. 04/27 – Meta Does Good

Meta reported earnings that surprised investors in the good way. But that doesn’t mean they’re backing off the Metaverse. Global smartphone shipments continue to plummet. Might congress ban children from social media? Amazon gets out of the health tracker business. And the interesting way that reje…
April 26, 2023

Wed. 04/26 - The UK Is Blocking Microsoft’s Activision Acquisition

The UK is blocking Microsoft’s Activision Acquisition. A quick rundown of Microsoft and Alphabet earnings. The new Mavic drone is a beast. Cruise has actually expanded its self-driving taxi service. And a look at the mounting pressure on Binance and CZ.
April 25, 2023

Tue. 04/25 – The AI Revolution Comes For Drake

Methinks Coinbase is orchestrating laying the groundwork for a showdown with US regulators. Slack rolls out Canvas, which seems pretty cool. AI Guardrails from Nvidia. A browser built for AI tools from Opera. And I delve into the whole story about that AI generated Drake song that has gone viral.
April 24, 2023

Mon. 04/24 – And More Twitter Stuff

Would you believe me if I told you there was more Twitter chaos over the weekend. More details on the Apple headset. Is ARM about to abandon its Switzerland strategy? Interesting data about how Netflix dominates TV watching. And sad data about the down rounds we can expect for the foreseeable futur…
April 23, 2023

(Bonus) Chamath Palihapitiya Interview

Again, my Internet History Podcast interview with Chamath Palihapitiya of the All In podcast from 2016.
April 22, 2023

(Bonus) Jason Calacanis Interview

Again, this is a republishing of my Jason Calacanis interview from the Internet History Podcast.
April 21, 2023

Fri. 04/21 – Twitter Stuff

More… I dunno… Twitter things are happening. Google is consolidating its AI efforts. We now have a hint about what that startup Humane might be creating. The US wants to get a jump start on 6G technology. And pour one out for BuzzFeed News.
April 20, 2023

Thu. 04/20 – Elon’s Having A Heck Of A 4/20

Are Elon and Microsoft fully at war at this point? Does Coinbase already have one foot out the country at this point? Is OpenAI careening toward a run-in with GDPR? And, Stability AI’s big play to compete with Chat GPT.
April 19, 2023

Wed. 04/19 – The End Of Netflix’s Red Envelopes

That Netflix ad tier seems to be paying off. But it’s also the end of the road for those famous red envelopes. We’re about to see a foldable Pixel phone. More layoffs from Meta. More links in bio for Instagram. And forget data being the new oil. What if data was the new fertile farmland to be rente…
April 18, 2023

Tue. 04/18 – Is The AI Era Kicking Off A New Generation Of Silicon?

Is the AI revolution going to kick of a silicon revolution with a whole new generation of chips? Coinbase would consider leaving the US if it can’t get clarity from regulators. Is the Apple savings account the savings account for you? A look at Twitter competitor Bluesky. And what happens if you ta…