Techmeme Ride Home

As I said on Friday, we’re going to delve into Sports Tech in a meaningful way for the first time. This will cover the streaming wars from a new angle because, where is sports in all that? This will be esports, the streaming wars surrounding game streaming, the new betting economy, this will be wearables and actual sports tech products. My guest is Will Martin, who’s Sports Tech Newsletter is something you should subscribe to immediately if you like this space. Subscribe to the Sports Tech Live newsletter Sponsor: Tiny Capital Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No ads in WhatsApp… for now. We have all the details on the Peacock streaming service. The other streaming wars are taking their toll on Twitch. Jack Dorsey asked Elon Musk how to fix Twitter. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Metalab.co Links: Facebook Backs Off Controversial Plan to Sell Ads in WhatsApp (WSJ) NBC’s Peacock streaming service will launch on July 15th with three different price tiers (The Verge) Twitch's loss of top streamers impacts hours watched and streamed in Q4 2019, report says (TechCrunch) Huawei P40 Pro leak shows off five-camera bump and ceramic body (The Verge) Jack Dorsey Asks Elon Musk How to Fix Twitter (Bloomberg) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: How Mormons Built the Next Silicon Valley While No One Was Looking (Marker) All the money in the world couldn’t make Kinect happen (Polygon) The Promise of Cloud-Native Games (A16Z/Jonathan Lai) The Metaverse: What It Is, Where to Find it, Who Will Build It, and Fortnite (MatthewBall.vc) Is

Apple has acquired a pretty interesting AI startup, the Chromium-based Edge browser is here, but there is trouble in Mozilla land, Fitbit is first to market with blood oxygen monitoring, the state of the app economy and ‘instant’ weather forecasts from Google. Sponsor: Metalab.co Links: Exclusive: Apple acquires Xnor.ai, edge AI spin-out from Paul Allen’s AI2, for price in $200M range (GeekWire) XNOR.ai frees AI from the prison of the supercomputer (TechCrunch) Microsoft launches Chromium Edge for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, and macOS (VentureBeat) Mozilla lays off 70 as it waits for new products to generate revenue (TechCrunch) Fitbit quietly enables blood oxygen tracking on its wearables (Engadget) Venture capital slowly seeps outside of Silicon Valley (Axios) App stores saw record 204 billion app downloads in 2013, consumer spend of $120 billion (TechCrunch) Google says new AI models allow for ‘nearly instantaneous’ weather forecasts (The Verge) Subscribe to the ad-free feed here

More juicy details about the Galaxy S20 lineup, Google Smart Lock lets you do 2FA on your iPhone, proof that no-code development is the new hotness, why do the Feds even need Apple to unlock those iPhones, and Jack Dorsey says we are never, ever, ever going to get… a Edit Tweet button. Probably. Sponsors: Metalab BelovedRobot.com/ridehome Links: Exclusive: Leaked Samsung Galaxy S20+ Hands-on confirms 120Hz display, ultrasonic under-display fingerprint scanner, and no headphone jack (XDAdevelopers) You can now use iPhones as Google security keys for 2FA (9to5Google) Google acquires no-code app development platform AppSheet (VentureBeat) Four years after being acquired, Hipmunk is shutting down (TechCrunch) Apple Takes a (Cautious) Stand Against Opening a Killer’s iPhones (NYTimes) European Venture Report: VC Dollars Rise In 2019 (Crunchbase News) Disney+ was the most downloaded app in the US in Q4 2019 (TechCrunch) Twitter’s Jack Dorsey on edit button: ‘We’ll probably never do it’ (The Verg

Apple once again refuses to unlock an iPhone for the Feds, Visa buys Plaid, a macOS beta hints at future ‘Pro Mode’, super crucial Windows update you should download right away and why today is also the end of the Windows 7 Era. Sponsors: Metalab.co LegalZoom.com (promo code RIDE at checkout) Links: Apple Said It Is Helping In The Pensacola Shooting Investigation, But It Won't Unlock The Shooter's iPhones (Buzzfeed News) Visa to acquire Plaid, the fintech powering Venmo and other banking apps, in $5.3 billion deal (CNBC) Epic says its PC game store now has more than 100 million users (The Verge) macOS beta hints at future ‘Pro Mode’ to boost performance on portable Macs (9to5Mac) PC shipments grew in 2019 ahead of bet on 5G and dual-screen devices (VentureBeat) Cryptic Rumblings Ahead of First 2020 Patch Tuesday (KrebsOnSecurity) MICROSOFT BIDS FAREWELL TO WINDOWS 7 AND THE MILLIONS OF PCS THAT STILL RUN IT (The Verge) Free Windows 10 upgrade still works for many Windows 7 users. Here's

Are you ready to get hyped for the Galaxy S20 cause yes, that’s the name. We’re skipping some numbers. TikTok might be cloning Snapchat’s Discover feed. Is GDPR actually doing anything and/or is it enforceable? And could Casper be a make or break test for the Unicorn ecosystem? Sponsors: LinkedIn.com/ride Metalab.co Links: Exclusive: This is the Samsung Galaxy S20+ (XDAdevelopers) TikTok explores curated content feed to lure advertisers (FT) Cookie consent tools are being used to undermine EU privacy rules, study suggests (TechCrunch) A billion medical images are exposed online, as doctors ignore warnings (TechCrunch) Casper's IPO could be a bellwether for unprofitable startups in the post-We-Work era (TechCrunch) Casper files to go public, shows you can lose money selling mattresses (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Checkin on the health-tech space with the only reporter I follow religiously around this space: Christina Farr. Why are hospitals suddenly in the middle of a health data gold rush? Why are you more likely to have your health records hacked then every be able to get them in your own hands? Sponsors: Tiny Capital DoubleUp.agency Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More trouble for Softbank startups, more layoffs at scooter startups, VC deals plateaued last year but music streaming continues to skyrocket, how much money does Netflix lose to password sharers and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Stackbit.com/techmeme Tiny Capital Links: SoftBank-Backed Oyo Firing Thousands Across China and India (Bloomberg) E-scooter startup Lime shuts in 12 markets, lays off around 100 (Axios) The Q4/EOY 2019 Global VC Report: A Strong End To A Good, But Not Fantastic, Year (Crunchbase News) U.S. Music Streams Topped a Trillion in 2019 (WSJ) Streaming Services Reckon With Password-Sharing "Havoc" (The Hollywood Reporter) I’m a Millennial, and I Don’t Understand What Quibi Is Trying to Do (Fortune) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: QUIBI VERSUS THE WORLD (The Verge) The hidden world and overlooked problems of acting in video games (Washington Post) Why your favorite celebs are ditching Twitter for an app you’ve never heard of (Fast Company) AN

Twitter will allow you to limit who can reply to your tweets, iPhone sales in China seem to have rebounded, the Chinese version of TikTok is why TikTok can distance itself from China, AI is going to pick which movies get made, and why sex tech finally has a home at CES. Sponsors: Tiny Capital Links: Twitter will put options to limit replies directly on the compose screen (The Verge) Firefox gets patch for critical 0-day that’s being actively exploited (Ars Technica) iPhone Hits Double-Digit Growth in China, Official Data Show (Bloomberg) Douyin, TikTok app in China, hits 400 million daily active users (TechCrunch) Warner Bros. Signs Deal for AI-Driven Film Management System (Exclusive) (The Hollywood Reporter) At CES 2020, the AirPods Pro competitors arrived in droves (The Verge) Sex-Tech Companies Are Having More Fun Than the Rest of Us at CES (Wired) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another interesting Facebook memo from Boz, Intel previews its next generation of mobile GPUs, more troubles in Softbank startup land, Quibi had a bit of a launch event today, and I saw Charmin’s toilet paper delivery robot.  Sponsors: Tiny Capital BelovedRobot.com/ridehome  Links: Don’t Tilt Scales Against Trump, Facebook Executive Warns (NYTimes) CES 2020: Intel previews Tiger Lake mobile processors and discrete GPU (CNET) Getaround to Lay Off About One-Fourth of Staff (The Information) ClassPass, finally a unicorn, raises $285M in new funding (TechCrunch) Quibi unveils "Turnstyle," its flagship mobile video format (Axios) Quibi's secret weapon: Videos that work in portrait and landscape mode (Engadget) Mind-blowing Delta board shows 100 passengers personalized flight details at the same time (Mashable) I tried Nreal’s mixed reality glasses at CES and now I want a pair (Android Authority) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sonos goes nuclear on Google, though it really has Amazon in mind also; Facebook bans deep fakes… in a way; a whole bunch of really interesting laptop stuff, Sony makes a car, and you make a fashion statement and protect yourself from air pollution at the same time… all the stuff from Day 2 at CES. Sponsors: Tiny Captial Capterra.com/ride Links: Sonos, Squeezed by the Tech Giants, Sues Google (NYTimes) Enforcing Against Manipulated Media (Facebook Newsroom) Facebook bans deepfakes, but new policy may not cover controversial Pelosi video (Washington Post) Sony surprises with an electric concept car called the Vision-S (The Verge) Mercedes-Benz unveils an Avatar-themed concept car with scales (The Verge) Lenovo's ThinkBook Plus Laptop Has a Second Screen on the Lid (TomsHardware) Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Fold is a $2,499 PC with a folding OLED screen (The Verge) Lenovo's Yoga 5G laptop packs nine antennas and Snapdragon power (Engadget) Ring adds privacy dashboard to app in response to securit

Samsung tries to scoop CES, Amazon’s Fire TV Edition wants to leapfrog Roku TV, Samsung wants the Galaxy Chromebook to change the way you think about Chromebooks, is Softbank ghosting startups even after delivering term sheets, and a roundup of day one of CES. Sponsors: Wealthfront.com/techmeme Ashford.edu/ride Links: Fire TV Edition expands to more soundbars, plus cars, cables boxes and more (TechCrunch) Roku TV adds 15 more brand partners plus a new 'Roku TV Ready' program (TechCrunch) THE SAMSUNG GALAXY CHROMEBOOK IS BEAUTIFUL, FAST, AND EXPENSIVE (The Verge) Scoop: SoftBank shafts startups (Axios) News coverage gets geo-fragmented (NiemanLab) Samsung details its stunning bezel-less 8K TV (The Verge) The 10 Neatest Things We've Seen at CES So Far (Wired) Intel just confirmed it’s building this tiny modular desktop gaming PC (The Verge) Processor With Dieter Bohn Newsletter Signup Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google’s AI has a medical breakthrough, Apple raids HBO for maybe it’s biggest name, Instagram seems to be plateauing by one metric—going gangbusters in another, what to expect from CES and, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: WeWorkRemotely Links: A.I. Is Learning to Read Mammograms (NYTimes) Apple Deal Returns Former HBO Boss Richard Plepler to Spotlight (NYTimes) HERE’S WHAT’S NEXT FOR GADGETS IN 2020 (The Verge) Snapchat quietly acquired AI Factory, the company behind its new Cameos feature, for $166M (TechCrunch) Instagram User Growth in the US Will Drop to Single Digits For the First Time (eMarketer) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: How to lose a monopoly: Microsoft, IBM and anti-trust (Benedict Evans) Windows: Facing the New Decade (2010–2020) (Steven Sinofsky) Ghosts in the Clouds: Inside China’s Major Corporate Hack (WSJ) 'Shattered': Inside the secret battle to save America's undercover spies in the digital age (Yahoo News) This time, for sure! Ars Technica’s

Dell kicks off CES season with two new laptops, Imagination Technologies is back in Apple’s good graces, the IRS is finally sticking it to tax prep software firms, and a grand unified theory of the Google Civil War. Sponsors: WeWorkRemotely MintMobile.com/ride Links: Dell’s latest XPS 13 has a new design with a bigger display and Ice Lake chips (The Verge) Dell debuts 5G-ready Latitude 9510 laptop, adds iOS mirroring to PCs (VentureBeat) Apple restores Imagination GPU chip agreement after public dispute and employee poaching (9to5Mac) IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete With TurboTax (ProPublica) I Was Google’s Head of International Relations. Here’s Why I Left. (Ross LaJeunesse/Medium) Google veterans: The company has become ‘unrecognizable’ (CNBC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A major internet of things data leak, China is about to turn on its GPS competitor, would you like to star in a bitmoji TV show, a look back at the year in unicorns and is the VC gravy train over for us consumers, at least? Sponsors: WeWorkRemotely GiveWell.org/ridehome Links: IoT vendor Wyze confirms server leak (ZDNet) China decouples from US in space with 2020 'GPS' completion (Nikkei Asian Review) SPOTIFY TO SUSPEND POLITICAL ADS IN 2020 (AdAge) Snapchat will launch Bitmoji TV, a personalized cartoon show (TechCrunch) The New Unicorns Of 2019 (Crunchbase News) Israel doubles number of unicorns in 2019 (Globes) Tech Startups Face New Investor Mandate: Profits Over Discounts (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A late holiday gift for YouTube creators, an important new rule for drone operators, to what degree has the Chinese government enabled Huawei’s success, and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: GiveWell.org/ridehome Mealime Links: YouTube gives creators more control over copyright claim disputes with new update (The Verge) New rule would make it possible to track and identify nearly all drones flying in the U.S. (CNBC) State Support Helped Fuel Huawei’s Global Rise (WSJ) Inside Documents Show How Amazon Chose Speed Over Safety in Building Its Delivery Network (Pro Publica) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Where Are the Tech Zillionaires? San Francisco Faces the I.P.O. Fizzle (NYTimes) Netflix was the best-performing stock of the decade, delivering a more than 4,000% return (CNBC) 11 Lessons from the Success of Disney+ (MatthewBall.vc) Tuvalu is a tiny island nation of 11,000 people. It’s cashing in thanks to Twitch. (WSJ) How Atari took on Apple in the 1980s home PC w

Travis Kalanick has cut all ties with Uber, Sling does indeed have streaming pricing power, livestreams are the new telethons, YouTube considered doing the right thing but passed, and is Catalyst fundamentally flawed? Sponsors: Mealime GiveWell.org/ridehome Links: Travis Kalanick severs all ties with Uber, departing board and selling all his shares (CNBC) Sling TV gets more expensive, raises cheapest subscription price to $30 (The Verge) Pyka and its autonomous, electric crop-spraying drone land $11M seed round (TechCrunch) Pentagon tells military personnel not to use at-home DNA kits (NBC News) Livestreams are the new telethons, and they’re raising millions for charities (Washington Post) Inside YouTube’s Year of Responsibility (Bloomberg) Catalyst and Cohesion (WormsandViruses.com) Catalyst, Two Months In (Daring Fireball) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Government says ToTok is a full on spying app, TikTok wants to distance itself from allegations that it might be a spying app, out of nowhere, could Rivian be Tesla’s biggest competitor, and what does it mean if Travis Kalanick sells all of his Uber stock? Sponsors: GiveWell.org/ridehome Mealime Links: It Seemed Like a Popular Chat App. It’s Secretly a Spy Tool. (NYTimes) U.S. Navy bans TikTok from government-issued mobile devices (Reuters) DraftKings going public via reverse merger (Axios) Rivian adds $1.3 billion in funding for its electric utility and adventure vehicles (TechCrunch) Uber Co-Founder Travis Kalanick Cuts Stake in Company by More Than 90% (WSJ) Boeing Starliner Lands in New Mexico After Clock Error Prompts Early Return (NYTimes) Starliner makes a safe landing—now NASA faces some big decisions (Ars Technica) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does Apple have a secret team to do an end run around telecom carriers, Google buys a game studio, IAC buys Care.com, Ripple is an interesting raise, and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Tiny Capital GetQuip.com/ride Booknotesapp.com (or on iPhone and Android) Links: Apple Has Secret Team Working on Satellites to Beam Data to Devices (Bloomberg) Google buys triple-A game dev Typhoon Studio to beef up Stadia (VentureBeat) Care.com shares surge after Barry Diller’s IAC agrees to buy online caregiver marketplace (CNBC) Ripple Raises $200 Million as Part of Bid for XRP Adoption (Fortune) Robocall fines rise to $10,000 per call under newly passed law (The Verge) Labels & Publishers Win $1 Billion Piracy Lawsuit Against Cox Communications (Billboard) The Booknotesapp.com Weekend Longreads Suggestions: SoftBank Vision Fund Employees Depict a Culture of Recklessness (Bloomberg Businessweek) Shopify: A StarCraft Inspired Business Strategy (Non-GAAP Thoughts) IKEA 2.0 (

That big NYTimes piece about location data, is Facebook taking another run at creating its own OS, is Apple considering buying James Bond, is Spotify building a social graph, and do e-athletes need gaming socks? Sponsors: TinyCapital.com Rhone.com/ridehome Links: Twelve Million Phones, One Dataset, Zero Privacy (NYTimes) Facebook will bar posts, ads that spread disinformation about the U.S. Census (Washington Post) To Control Its Destiny, Facebook Bets Big on Hardware (The Information) Apple Held Preliminary Talks With Pac-12 Conference, MGM (WSJ) Spotify prototypes Tastebuds to revive social music discovery (TechCrunch) A milestone: Earthquake early warning system sends first public alert to smartphones in California (Los Angeles Times) TiVo to Merge With Entertainment-Tech Firm Xperi in $3 Billion Deal (Variety) Puma’s first ‘active gaming footwear’ is a sock (Engadget) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices