Techmeme Ride Home

All things metaverse! Why is it on everybody's lips at the moment? When will it arrive? Is it already (kinda) here? With @janineyorio from Republic.co. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I try to explain this whole controversy about Apple scanning your photos. Yelp will list business’ vaccination policies. I guess I’m bullish on autonomous tractors. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Quantummetric.com/podoffer offer code PODCASTCODE Metalab.com Links: Apple confirms it will begin scanning iCloud Photos for child abuse images (TechCrunch) Yelp will let businesses list their vaccination policies (The Verge) John Deere buys autonomous tractor startup Bear Flag Robotics (TechCrunch) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The End of Venture Capital as We Know It (The Information) Deal Of The Century: How Michael Dell Turned His Declining PC Business Into A $40 Billion Windfall (Forbes) The Metaverse Has Always Been a Dystopian Idea (Vice) How Olympic Surfing Is Trying to Ride the Machine Learning Wave (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google has refreshed the entire Nest lineup and I guess TPU’s will be a thing going forward. Ethereum’s latest hard fork is live and bringing big changes. There’s a new Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative with Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and the government all combatting cyberattacks. And if some companies are seeing a Covid Times hangover, nobody bothered to tell Hopin. Sponsors: WealthFront.com/techmeme Metalab.com Links: Google’s new Nest cameras and doorbell have lower prices and more smarts (The Verge) Ethereum just activated a major change called the ‘London hard fork’ — here’s why it’s a big deal (CNBC) Senators propose exclusion of miners, software developers in infrastructure bill's crypto 'broker' definition (The Block) U.S. Taps Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Others to Help Fight Ransomware, Cyber Threats (WSJ) Nintendo profits decline year-on-year as Switch hits 89 million sold (The Verge) Two-year-old events start-up Hopin boomed in the pandemic. Now it’s a $7.75 billion business (CNBC)

Robinhood’s shares are up so much after that busted IPO that trading had to be halted today. What gives? Also, what’s up with the rush into Buy Now Pay Later all of the sudden? Vudo will become Roku’s official video store. Superhuman raises another round. And do you need a smart soap dispenser in your life? Probably not. Metalab.com TinyCaptial.com Links: Robinhood surges as much as 81% in second day of wild trading (CNBC) Apple, Affirm to Join on Buy Now, Pay Later for Canadian Purchases (Bloomberg) WhatsApp launches its ‘View Once’ disappearing photos and videos (The Verge) New ‘Google Identity Services’ consolidate sign-in for 3rd-party apps, includes ‘One Tap’ (9to5Google) FandangoNOW and Vudu merge into a new streaming service with titles to rent, buy or stream free (TechCrunch) Blizzard’s head of HR is out (The Verge) Superhuman Raises $75 Million For Its Waitlist-Only Email Productivity App (Forbes) This $55 Amazon Smart Soap Dispenser is dumb as dirt (The Verge) Smart homes and v

Google unveils the new Pixel 6 lineup, but the really interesting detail is the chip inside them. Apple makes Magic Keyboard with Touch ID available as a standalone product. Microsoft makes Windows as a service live. Now China says games are the opium of the spirit. And what if drone delivery is running into the same wall as self-driving cars? Sponsors: SetApp.com Metalab.com Links: THIS IS THE PIXEL 6, GOOGLE’S TAKE ON AN ‘ULTRA HIGH END’ PHONE (The Verge) Microsoft's Windows 365 Cloud PC service will range from $20 to $162 per user per month (ZDNet) Apple Makes Magic Keyboard With Touch ID Available for Separate Purchase (MacRumors) Tencent Sinks After China Denounces Online Gaming (WSJ) Xiaomi Tops European Smartphone Market in Q2 2021 (Strategy Analytics) The slow collapse of Amazon’s drone delivery dream (Wired UK) Spotify is testing a less restrictive ad-supported tier costing $0.99 a month (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

YouTube is demoing a diet version of YouTube. Square is paying a pretty penny to join the buy now, pay later sweepstakes. Did an Intel exec accidentally leak the specs for Thunderbolt 5? And did Google’s quantum computer create a perpetual motion machine? Sponsors: UE.com/fits, use promocode RIDE for 15% of Ultimate Ears FITS Grammarly.com/techmeme Links: YouTube ‘Premium Lite’ subscription offers ad-free viewing for less (The Verge) Twitter's Dorsey leads $29 bln buyout of lending pioneer Afterpay (Reuters) Intel Executive Posts Thunderbolt 5 Photo then Deletes It: 80Gbps and Pam-3 (AnandTech) Tech Startup Financing Hits Records as Giant Funds Dwarf Venture Capitalists (WSJ) Eternal Change for No Energy: A Time Crystal Finally Made Real (QuantaMagazine) Robinhood Sold IPO Shares to More Than 300,000 of Its Customers (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are ads a bigger cash cow for Amazon than even AWS? Follow up on Robinhood’s trading debut. How the SEC is dealing with the Chinese tech stock problem. Gopuff indicates that grocery delivery is still white hot to investors. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Voices.com Metalab.co Links: Amazon Gets Record $888 Million EU Fine Over Data Violations (Bloomberg) Robinhood falls in its public market debut, closes more than 8% lower at $34.82 per share (CNBC) U.S. SEC says Chinese IPO hopefuls must provide additional risk disclosures (Reuters) Gopuff confirms new $1B cash injection at a $15B valuation to expand its instant grocery delivery service (TechCrunch) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Groceries in 10 Minutes: Delivery Start-Ups Crowd City Streets Across Globe (NYTimes) THE SUMMER INTEL FELL BEHIND (The Verge) Why the US can’t just beam internet into authoritarian states like Cuba (Quartz) Social-Media Manager, the Most Millennial Job, Comes of Age (WSJ) Hollyw

Tech companies dip their toes into vaccine mandate waters. Facebook in so many words says Apple’s privacy changes are about to impact earnings. Will Didi take itself private again to please the Chinese government? Is Peacock doing better than I at least thought? And a crypto startup is sliding into the biggest growth market I’ve seen in this space yet. Sponsors: NordPass.com/techmeme or code techmeme for 50% off for 2 years Metalab.co Links: Most Apple Stores to Require Masks Again for Shoppers, Staff (Bloomberg) Facebook beats earnings expectations, but warns of significant growth slowdown (CNBC) Didi Global Considers Going Private to Placate China and Compensate Investors (WSJ) Robinhood CEO on the meme stock craze: ‘I think it’s a real thing’ (CNBC) Peacock Reaches 54M Sign-Ups Thanks to Olympics, 20M Monthly Active Users (The Streamable) OpenAI proposes open-source Triton language as an alternative to Nvidia's CUDA (ZDNet) Bitcoin Seized by DOJ Headed to Crypto Custodian Anchorage in $

Apple reports earnings but warns of component shortages. Microsoft set profit records but noted shortage materially affected some divisions. Alphabet had good earnings too, but the real story there is YouTube. About the staff walkout at Activision Blizzard. Is Apple asking leakers to snitch on their sources? And an interesting raise to do next generation search on iOS. Sponsors: UpStart.com/techmeme Oracle.com/goto/ride Links: Apple’s iPhone hot streak is going to run into the global chip shortage (CNBC) Xbox hardware sales spike 172% as Microsoft reports $3.7B in quarterly gaming revenue (GeekWire) YouTube Q2 Ad Revenue Hits Record $7 Billion as Alphabet Trounces Estimates (Variety) Taiwan Greenlights TSMC's 2nm Fab: Coming Online in 2024 ~ 2025 (Tom's Hardware) Activision CEO Apologizes After Employees Threaten to Walk Out (Bloomberg) Apple Tells Leaker to Snitch on Sources or It Will Report Them to the Police (Motherboard) Brain Technologies raises $50M+ for the launch of Natural, a natur

Tesla is profitable beyond all caveats and hedges. Intel continues to telegraph its turnaround plans. Tangible numbers of the Chinese tech carnage. Instagram changes the rules for teens on the platform. And what are Facebook’s ultimate designs on building a Metaverse? Sponsors: Metalab.co TinyCapital.com Links: Tesla finally made a profit without the help of emission credits (The Verge) Tesla records $23 million in bitcoin-related impairments after cryptocurrency’s second-quarter plunge (CNBC) Intel to build Qualcomm chips, aims to catch foundry rivals by 2025 (Reuters) Apple releases fix for iOS and macOS zero-day, 13th this year (The Record) China Crackdown Makes Hong Kong Index World’s Biggest Tech Loser (Bloomberg) Instagram's new protections for teens come as experts say tween venture poses big risks (NBC News) Facebook announces Metaverse product group headed by Instagram VP Vishal Shah (Protocol) Element bolsters decentralized team messaging with $30M raise (VentureBeat) Le

Is the DOJ probing Tether for bank fraud? When might FaceID come to the Mac? What do leaked photos tell us about the next Surface Duo? And I will spend the entire second half of the show trying my best to explain the seeming tech apocalypse happening in China right now. Sponsors: KiwiCo.com/ride for first month free SetApp.com Links: Tether Executives Said to Face Criminal Probe Into Bank Fraud (Bloomberg) Leaders in Cryptocurrency Industry Move to Curb the Highest-Risk Trades (NYTimes) Gurman: Face ID on the Mac Coming Within a 'Couple of Years' (MacRumors) Leaked Surface Duo 2 photos reveal new triple camera system (The Verge) China Bans For-Profit School Tutoring in Sweeping Overhaul (Bloomberg) China’s education sector crackdown hits foreign investors (Financial Times) Why is China smashing its tech industry? (Noahpinion.substack.com) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus, the Hyper fund from Product Hunt, Automattic's acquisition game, and Twitter tests downvotes? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alphabet has a new moonshot company. Existing Big Bet DeepMind might have had a big breakthrough. Why Snap and Twitter are sharing an earnings narrative right now. Hint: it’s cause they’re growing again. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: CreditKarma.com/podcast SetApp.com Links: Google parent Alphabet launches Intrinsic: a new company to build software for industrial robots (The Verge) DeepMind creates ‘transformative’ map of human proteins drawn by artificial intelligence (The Verge) Twitter posts fastest revenue growth since 2014 in pandemic rebound (CNBC) Snap pops more than 16% on earnings beat and user growth (CNBC) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: What Ever Happened to IBM’s Watson? (NYTimes) Startup Claims Breakthrough in Long-Duration Batteries (WSJ) The Novel Material That’s Shrinking Phone Chargers, Powering Up Electric Cars, and Making 5G Possible (WSJ) Robotaxis: have Google and Amazon backed the wrong technology? (Financial Times) Learn mor

Twitter is testing downvotes. Tumblr gets into the subscription game. Google unveils a unified backup service for Android. Is HBO Max leading the pack of followers in the musical chairs streaming wars contest? The FTC is getting serious about right to repair. And let me introduce you to the Airbnb for back yard swimming pools. Sponsors: Masterworks.io promocode RIDE TinyCapital.com Links: Twitter for iOS begins testing dislike button for some users (9to5Mac) Clubhouse is no longer invite-only (The Verge) Tumblr Introduces Paid Subscription Tool to Woo Younger Bloggers (WSJ) ‘Backup by Google One’ is Android’s new unified backup system (9to5Google) China Weighs Unprecedented Penalty for Didi After U.S. IPO (Bloomberg) HBO Max and HBO Gain 2.8 Million Subscribers in Q2, AT&T Raises Year-End Target for Streaming Service (Variety) FTC pledges to fight unlawful right to repair restrictions (The Verge) An ‘Airbnb for Pools’ Is Making a Splash This Summer (WSJ) Learn more about your a

Netflix’s growth has hit a wall, and so here come the games. What to do about a problem like those NSO hacks? Samsung’s next Unpacked event is announced. One of the biggest crypto raises of all time. And will Apple ever join the Android ecosystem and kill off SMS once and for all? Sponsors: Calm.com/techmeme TinyCapital.com Links: Netflix’s gaming expansion starts with mobile (The Verge) On the list: Ten prime ministers, three presidents and a king (Washington Post) A case against security nihilism (Matthew Green) Samsung will announce new foldables on August 11 (TechCrunch) Biden Names Tech Foe Jonathan Kanter as DOJ Antitrust Chief (Bloomberg) Zoom announces general availability of Zoom Apps and its new virtual events platform (ZDNet) Crypto Exchange FTX Valued at $18 Billion in Funding Round (WSJ) YouTube’s newest monetization tool lets viewers tip creators for their uploads (TechCrunch) Verizon is also switching to Android Messages as default for RCS (The Verge) Set a reminder for

Apple puts a pause on its return to the office plans. Rumors of a new iPad mini redesign. Product Hunt launches an investment fund. If you want a tool to see if you’ve been pwned by NSO’s Pegasus software, I’ve got you. And Bezos in space… Sponsors: TinyCapital.com Links: Apple Delays Office Return by At Least a Month as Covid Spikes (Bloomberg) Exclusive: Apple planning redesigned iPad mini with A15 processor, USB-C port, more (9to5Mac) Hyper is a new fund that offers $300k checks and promise of a media slingshot for founders (TechCrunch) DuckDuckGo launches new Email Protection service to remove trackers (The Verge) Edward Snowden calls for spyware trade ban amid Pegasus revelations (The Guardian) 'Best day ever': Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin rocket touch down after historic spaceflight (USAToday) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The NSO Group is back in the headlines, and it’s maybe, the worst allegations of hacking for hire yet. The US and NATO blame China for the Exchange Server hacks. Does iOS now split the market with Android, at least in the US? And is Tesla charging customers for hardware they already paid for? Sponsors: Streak.com/techmeme TinyCapital.com Links: Private Israeli spyware used to hack cellphones journalists, activists worldwide (Washington Post) U.S. and key allies accuse China of Microsoft Exchange cyberattacks (Axios) Zoom is buying cloud contact center provider Five9 for $14.7 billion (CNBC) CIRP: iPhone catches up to Android, now accounts for 50% of new smartphone activations in the US (9to5Mac) Tesla is charging owners $1,500 for hardware they already paid for (Electrek) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bloomberg's @Lucas_Shaw comes on to explain the math of that Black Widow stream release story from Monday. Then @alexeheath from the Verge explains the death of Fleets, the creator thirst at Facebook and then we all get into the questioning the real value/process of Twitter verification. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Intel is considering a major acquisition to leapfrog back into semi-conductor contention. Valve releases its long rumored hardware device. Why they were able to make a deep face of Anthony Bourdain’s voice. And of course, the weekend longread suggestions. Sponsors: CreditKarma.com/podcast Cybereason.com Links: Intel Is in Talks to Buy GlobalFoundries for About $30 Billion (WSJ) Valve’s gaming handheld is called the Steam Deck and it’s shipping in December (The Verge) New Anthony Bourdain documentary deepfakes his voice (The Verge) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: THE GAME MAKERS AND ARTISTS PUSHING ROBLOX TO ITS LIMITS (The Verge) Obscure Cyber Agency Becomes Nemesis of China's Tech Giants (Bloomberg) Tiger Global vs. SoftBank: Inside the investing playbooks that upended Silicon Valley (Protocol) Moderna’s Next Act Is Using mRNA vs. Flu, Zika, HIV, and Cancer (Bloomberg Businessweek) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Netflix hires a big name gaming executive. Twitter retires Fleets. Facebook wants to make it rain for creators. TSMC says the chip shortage is starting to ease. Amazon launches serialized storytelling. And one of the biggest unicorns in the world, just 6x’d in less than a year. Sponsors: WealthFront.com/techmeme Canva.me/techmeme Links: Netflix Plans to Offer Video Games in Push Beyond Films, TV (Bloomberg) Twitter is shutting down Fleets, its expiring tweets feature (The Verge) Facebook plans to pay creators $1 billion to use its products. (NYTimes) TSMC Expects Auto-Chip Shortage to Abate This Quarter (WSJ) Amazon launches its mobile-first Kindle Vella serialized story platform (Engadget) Revolut confirms a fresh $800M in funding at a $33B valuation (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices