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John Gruber joins Chris and I to talk about AI Hardware, Apple's AI strategy and Apple's Vision Pro launch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Sponsors: Miro.com/podcast Links: US bitcoin ETFs see $4.6 billion in volume in first day of trading (Reuters) Discord is laying off 17 percent of employees (The Verge) U.S. Criminally Charges EBay in Cyberstalking Case (NYTimes) This One-Year-Old Startup Is Hoping to be the Next Google—Can It Succeed? (The Information) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: How AI Replaced the Metaverse as Zuckerberg’s Top Priority (Bloomberg Businessweek) Avi Schiffmann’s Tab AI necklace has raised $1.9 million to replace God (Fast Company) How much detail is too much? Midjourney v6 attempts to find out (ArsTechnica) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Sponsors: Miro.com/podcast Links: US SEC approves bitcoin ETFs in watershed for crypto market (Reuters) Gary Gensler's Begrudging Bitcoin ETF Concession: 'We Did Not Approve or Endorse Bitcoin' (CoinDesk) Google lays off hundreds working on its voice-activated assistant (Semafor) Google reorganizing Pixel hardware: Fitbit’s James Park leaving, layoffs hit AR team (9to5Google) Google Cuts Hundreds of Jobs in Engineering and Other Divisions (NYTimes) OpenAI Launches New Store For Users to Share Custom Chatbots (Bloomberg) Netflix’s Ad Tier Now Has More Than 23 Million Monthly Active Users, Advertising Chief Says (Variety) X removes support for NFT profile pictures (TechCrunch) AI-Generated ‘George Carlin’ Comedy Special Blasted by Comed

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 discovery, like, right now. Sponsors: Shipstation.com, Promocode: Ride Miro.com/podcast Links: SEC Has Not Approved Bitcoin ETFs, but Its Hacked X Account Briefly Said Otherwise (CoinDesk) Amazon’s Twitch to Cut 500 Employees, About 35% of Staff (Bloomberg) Humane lays off 4 percent of employees before releasing its AI Pin (The Verge) Rabbit’s Little Walkie-Talkie Learns Tasks That Stump Siri and Alexa (Wired) SAG-AFTRA Signs Deal With Voiceover Studio for AI Use in Video Games (Variety) Quora raised $75M from a16z to grow Poe, its AI chat bot platform (Quora) DeepMind spin-off aims to halve drug discovery times following Big Pharma deals (Financial Times) CES Videos YouTube Channel Lear

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. Sponsors: Miro.com/podcast Links: OpenAI and journalism (OpenAI Blog) Amazon Debuts Video-Streaming Feature That Rivals Apple AirPlay (Bloomberg) Volkswagen says it’s putting ChatGPT in its cars for ‘enriching conversations’ (The Verge) Sony teased a ‘spatial’ VR headset with a smart control ring (The Verge) Instagram and Facebook Will Stop Treating Teens Like Adults (WSJ) Apple Vision Pro demos in retail stores will begin on February 2 (9to5Mac) Apple asks developers not to refer to their visionOS apps as ‘AR’ or ‘VR’ (9to5Mac) Luma raises $43M to build AI that crafts 3D models (TechCrunch) Hewlett Packard Enterprise Near Deal to Buy Juniper Networks (WSJ) CES Videos YouTube Channel Learn more about yo

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 new shows. Sponsors: Miro.com/podcast Links: The Apple Vision Pro will launch in February (The Verge) Apple’s Biggest Challenges in 2024 Have Little to Do With the iPhone (Bloomberg) Wi-Fi’s next big upgrade is officially here (The Verge) Xreal’s new AR glasses are aimed at the Apple Vision Pro (The Verge) Elon Musk Has Used Illegal Drugs, Worrying Leaders at Tesla and SpaceX (WSJ) Netflix Cuts Over 100 Shows In Major Programming Shift (Bloomberg) The CES YouTube Playlist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Links: Tesla Recalls 1.6 Million Cars in China Due to Autopilot Crash Risk (Bloomberg) Adobe: Online Holiday Sales Reached Record $222 Billion in 2023 (PMNTS) Amazon Captured 29% of Online Orders Before Christmas (Bloomberg) Netflix Considers Ways to Make Money From Videogames in Possible Pivot (WSJ) OpenAI Offers Publishers as Little as $1 Million a Year (The Information) Clicks is a BlackBerry-style iPhone keyboard case designed for creators (The Verge) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: A New Kind of AI Copy Can Fully Replicate Famous People. The Law Is Powerless. (Politico) New Spin on a Revolving Door: Pentagon Officials Turned Venture Capitalists (NYTimes) Boy, 13, Is Believed to Be the First to ‘Beat’

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. Sponsors: Kolide.com/ride Links: Microsoft’s new Copilot key is the first big change to Windows keyboards in 30 years (The Verge) SpaceX Launches First Cell Service Satellites With T-Mobile (Bloomberg) LastPass now requires 12-character master passwords for better security (BleepingComputer) 23andMe tells victims it’s their fault that their data was breached (TechCrunch) Roku Launches First High-End TVs in Search of Revenue Growth (Bloomberg) Dell’s XPS laptop lineup is about to look very different (The Verge) Silicon Valley Startups Had Their Worst Funding Year Since 2019 (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Links: Meet ‘Link History,’ Facebook’s New Way to Track the Websites You Visit (Gizmodo) Fidelity sets Bitcoin ETF fee at 0.39% ahead of expected SEC approvals (Fortune) Samsung Galaxy S24 Unpacked Event Set for Jan. 17 (PCMag) Can Midjourney’s CEO Stop a Storm of Fake Election Images? (Bloomberg) How AI-created fakes are taking business from online influencers (Financial Times) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 to be in. And will 2024 be the year the Internet gets weird again? Links: Telegram rolls out revamped voice and video calls, new delete animation on Android (9to5Google) Bitcoin climbs above $45,000 to 21-month peak as new year kicks off (Reuters) Global Premium Smartphone Market Continues to See Record Sales in 2023 (Counterpoint) Smartphone makers bet on foldables to revive lacklustre market (Financial Times) Nikon, Sony and Canon fight AI fakes with new camera tech (Nikkei Asia) Microsoft’s Copilot app is now available on iOS (The Verge) The Internet Is About to Get Weird Again (Rolling Stone) Link to the YouTube version of the smartphone segment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega

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... I feel like there are so many lessons in these three episodes. Lessons for entrepreneurs today. Lesson for... I dunno. People in the crypto space? My thanks to Stephan Paternot for an insanely great conversation.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 get done with this story, Stephan talks a lot about what happens after... what happens after you've been on a crazy ride like this. How you have to reinvent yourself, and your life, and your career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 he didn’t quite get as personal about the story as I would have hoped. Well, I finally got to talk to the other founder of TheGlobe, Stephan Paternot. And Stephan was… AMAZING. He shared the whole story, the whole wild ride, from a historical angle, from a business angle, from an entrepreneurial angle and also, from a very personal angle. THIS the dot-com era story I’ve been looking for for years. It’s also the story of probably the most important pioneer of social media before there was even a term for such a thing. And by the way… that TV Show that just came out on NAT GEO, Valley of the Boom? THIS IS THAT STORY. Stephan just re-released his book, A Very Public Offering: The Story of theglobe.com and the First Int

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. Sponsors: Robinhood.com/ride Links: Inside the News Industry’s Uneasy Negotiations With OpenAI (NYTimes) Google agrees to settle Chrome incognito mode class action lawsuit (ArsTechnica) LG’s new ultra-lightweight Gram laptops include some OLED screens and AI Boost (The Verge) EXCLUSIVE: Microsoft readies 'next-gen' AI-focused Surface Pro 10 and Surface Laptop 6 with Arm chips and design upgrades for 2024 (Windows Central) Xiaomi Unveils Its First EV, With Ambition to Be China’s Porsche or Tesla (Bloomberg) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The Most Secretive Longevity Lab Finally Opens Its Doors (Bloomberg Businessweek) Lab-grown diamonds go luxury — and rock the industry (Axios) Learn more abo

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? Links: 4-year campaign backdoored iPhones using possibly the most advanced exploit ever (ArsTechnica) Apple can temporarily sell smartwatches after US appeals court win (Reuters) The Late-Night Email to Tim Cook That Set the Apple Watch Saga in Motion (Bloomberg) Seattle’s Zulily will ‘wind down’ its business and liquidate its assets (Seattle Times) Affirm’s stock quintupled this year, beating all tech peers, on buy now, pay later boom (CNBC) ‘Shakeout has begun’ after $5bn streaming loss for Netflix rivals (FT) Inside Apple's Massive Push To Transform The Mac Into A Gaming Paradise (Inverse) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 the 1 kilowatt barrier, you need to liquid cool them. Sponsors: NakedWines.com/ride use code AND password ride Notion.com/ride Links: The Times Sues OpenAI and Microsoft Over A.I. Use of Copyrighted Work (NYTimes) Amazon Prime Video will start showing ads on January 29th (The Verge) Apple’s iPhone Design Chief Enlisted by Jony Ive, Sam Altman to Work on AI Devices (Bloomberg) Big Tech outspends venture capital firms in AI investment frenzy (Financial Times) Anthropic Projects At Least $850 Million in Annualized Revenue Rate Next Year (The Information) Microsoft’s game changer feature reinstalls Windows 11 directly via Windows Update (Windows Latest) GM stops Chevy Blazer EV sales after early softwa

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 the Apple Watch? I’ll explain. Links: Apple quietly released an open source multimodal LLM in October (VentureBeat) Apple Explores A.I. Deals With News Publishers (NYTimes) OpenAI Is in Talks to Raise New Funding at Valuation of $100 Billion or More (Bloomberg) Ubisoft says it's investigating reports of a new security breach (BleepingComputer) GTA 5 source code reportedly leaked online a year after RockStar hack (BleepingComputer) Puzzle game ‘Royal Match’ dethrones ‘Candy Crush’ from top of app store (Financial Times) Apple Watch battle heralds further patent wrangles (Financial Times) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This time we talk about the AOL/Time Warner Merger Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Me on The Newsworthy Podcast talking the tech trends of 2023. Alliterative! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices