Episodes

March 24, 2021

Wed. 03/24 – Buying Teslas With Bitcoin Is More Bullish For Whom?

You can now use Bitcoin to buy a Tesla. You can now DM anyone on Slack. Intel is now doing what Ben Thompson has been telling them to do for years. What Medium is doing to journalists is dumb. What Verizon is doing with Yahoo+ is dumb. And is the Chief Impact Officer title a real role, or is it… du…
March 23, 2021

Tue. 03/23 – Microsoft To Buy Discord?

Microsoft is reportedly in talks to buy Discord but Discord might just take itself public instead. A ton of video game news including an Xbox rebranding, a new Niantic partnership with Nintendo, and new rumors of that upgraded Nintendo switch. A new consortium wants to take the pain out of browser …
March 22, 2021

Mon. 03/22 – Unusual Trouble At Red-Hot Startup Dispo

Red hot app Dispo is losing some big name investors and the founder is leaving the startup’s board. As anticipated, Zoom goes platform. Microsoft is beginning a soft HQ reopening. The secret sensor found in the HomePod mini. And the smart startup that has cloned Amazon’s biggest competitive moats, …
March 20, 2021

(Bonus) Are NFT's Bad For Artists? And An Interesting Raise Sampler

Last weekend a listener to this show, Ti Zhang, (@zero_chill_tea) tagged me on twitter around a conversation they were having about NFTs and the degree to which, lots of folks in the art world are not so thrilled with the advent of NFTs. They said, sure, we see all the headlines around famous artis…
March 19, 2021

Fri. 03/19 – A Rebel Alliance, Led By Facebook, And Born In A Clubhouse Room?

It’s app platform product news day! Instagram is working on a version of the service suitable for kids. Twitter wants you to watch YouTube in-stream. Telegram is basically adding all the Clubhouse features I’ve been dreaming of. Was an anti-Apple rebel alliance born last night in a Clubhouse room? …
March 18, 2021

Thu. 03/18 – An April Apple Event?

It’s an Apple rumor Thursday from both the boys, Gurman and Kuo. Sony is taking what it’s learned from the DualSense controllers and bringing that to VR. YouTube rolls out its TikTok rival. Spotify wants you to know it gets artists paid. And I do my best to explain the whole creator economy controv…
March 17, 2021

Wed. 03/17 – Samsung’s 2nd Unpacked Brings New A-series Phones

Samsung’s second Unpacked event of the year brings new midrange phones. But are they really discontinuing the Galaxy Note, and are chip shortages the real reason why? Are reductions in app store fees really what they’re cracked up to be? Has Uber had a change of heart or just an acknowledgement of …
March 16, 2021

Tue. 03/16 – The 2nd Gen Nest Hub Gets Sleep Tracking

Google’s 2nd gen Nest Hub gets sleep tracking thanks to the Soli chip. Intel’s 11th Gen desktop chips launch. Xi brings the hammer down on Chinese tech. And the craziest cellphone hack I’ve ever heard isn’t a hack at all, since it’s in a nutso-buttso unregulated grey area.  Sponsors:Fundrise.com/t…
March 15, 2021

Mon. 03/15 – Stripe The Most Successful (Private) SV Startup Ever?

Stripe, by some measures, has become the most successful Silicon Valley startup of all time, with their recent raise. Airtable too has an impressively interesting raise. Facebook wants to find you a vaccine appointment. The US is looking to overhaul its cybersecurity missile shield. And checking in…
March 12, 2021

Fri. 03/12 - Netflix Is Cracking Down On Password Sharing

Netflix is cracking down on password sharing. Apple sues a former employee for allegedly stealing trade secrets. Masa Son is back, baby! I guess we have to watch ads on our $1500 smart tvs now, and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.EditorX.comThoughtWorks Technology Podcast Links:Netfl…
March 11, 2021

Thu. 03/11 – The Roblox Debut

Roblox’s public market debut and why people are so excited about it. Twitter to open up spaces to everyone next month. An Apple silicon friendly version of Photoshop sports so eyebrow raising performance gains. Are iPhones about to get heavier? And the NFT sales record has been shattered thanks to …
March 10, 2021

Wed. 03/10 – Now The Hackers Are In The Security Cams

Hackers breached the security cameras used by everybody from prisons and hospitals to Tesla factories. Why you will no longer “subscribe” to this podcast, but will “follow” it. Why T-Mobile is signing everyone up to have their usage data tracked by advertisers. And Facebook’s 10 year roadmap for AR…
March 9, 2021

Tue. 03/09 – An FTC Commissioner To Make Silicon Valley Cower?

Is Joe Biden about to name the architect of the current antitrust movement to a seat on the FTC? Are other bad actors swooping in to take advantage of the SolarWinds hack? Is Microsoft gonna play both sides of the fence with new Surface devices? And why popular YouTubers are suddenly building their…
March 8, 2021

Mon. 03/08 – Apple AR Contact Lenses As The Apple Rumor Singularity

Ming-Chi Kuo’s grand unified Apple rumor includes AR enabled contact lenses. Is the US about to retaliate in kind for the SolarWinds hack? Mobile World Congress is gonna go ahead and do it live! And in person. Why is Google making Google Pay worse? And do we need a new podcast wager about meaningfu…
March 6, 2021

(Bonus) What Are NFTs? With CoinDesk's Brady Dale

I don’t think this one requires any in depth intro. The great Brady Dale of Coindesk, walks us though the whole NFT phenomenon. What are NFTs? How do they work? Why are people so crazed about them at the moment?
Guest: Brady Dale
March 5, 2021

Fri. 03/05 – Eyes Emoji On Tim Wu Joining The Biden Administration

Tim Wu joined the Biden administration and that sound you hear is a big collective gulp from Silicon Valley. A tweet undo button has been unearthed. Turntable.fm has resurfaced. New data suggests the death of silicon valley has been exaggerated. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sp…
March 4, 2021

Thu. 03/04 – Is Square Buying Tidal A Watershed Moment For The Creator Economy?

Square is acquiring a majority stake in Tidal, and either this makes little sense, or it’s a watershed moment in this NFT/creator economy phenomenon that’s suddenly washing over all of us. Apple walks the walk in terms of data portability. But they’re facing serious new anti-trust scrutiny in the U…
March 3, 2021

Wed. 03/03 – Google (Sorta) Pivots To Privacy

Google says it’s getting out of the ad tracking game. Kinda. I’ll explain what’s really going on here. Headline wrapup from Microsoft’s Ignite conference includes AR excitement. Brave is launching a privacy search engine. And why Amazon’s app icon redesign reminded people of Hitler’s mustache. Spo…
March 2, 2021

Tue. 03/02 – iPhone 13 To Go Notch-Less?

Is the iPhone about to lose the notch and join the hole-punch universe? Whole bunch of new features for Microsoft Teams, and also a new Microsoft smart-speaker. Instacart has a monster raise. Grimes has a monster NFT sale. Discovery+ is an interesting dark-horse in the streaming wars. Oh. And “fly”…
March 1, 2021

Mon. 03/01 – Instagram Launches Live Rooms For Group Broadcasts

Instagram launches Live Rooms for group broadcasts, which, depending on how you use it is either basically FaceTime for Instagram, or another shot across the Clubhouse bow. Is the micromobility space revving up to roar back to health? Are US-based drone makers about to step into the void left by DJ…
Feb. 27, 2021

(Bonus) Techmeme Experience On Clubhouse

Chris Messina and I go deeper on some of the news of the week.
Feb. 26, 2021

Fri. 02/26 – Twitter Does ALL The Things (Even $$$ For Tweets)

Twitter just wants to give us everything all of the sudden, including charging for tweets, sort of groups based on interests, and even blocking and muting accounts. Google gives devs a Sleep API. Why has LastPass decided to piss everyone off all of the sudden? Why Xiaomi is the up-and-comer to keep…
Feb. 25, 2021

Thu. 02/25 – The Biden Administration Addressed The Chip Shortage

The Biden administration signs an executive order addressing the chip shortage. I’ll tell you why this is evolving into a big deal. Coinbase files its S-1 so we get to look under the hood of their business for the first time. Paramount+ reveals pricing and content details for the first time. And ti…
Feb. 24, 2021

Wed. 02/24 - Facebook Defends Its Stance In Australia

Facebook defends its stance in Australia. MicroStrategy doubles down on its stance vis-à-vis bitcoin. Is “Sign In With Apple” the new stick the antitrust folks might use to beat Apple with? But conversely, have you noticed that social networking has gotten hella competitive lately? What does that m…