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Google is changing its rules around political ads, PayPal is acquiring Honey for a ton of money, why have a Dash Button when you can have a Dash Shelf? Route puts all your orders in one place and I’m afraid Google’s original culture is definitively dead. Sponsors: Castro.fm SVB.com/next Links: An update on our political ads policy (The Keyword/Google) Google to Limit Targeting of Political Ads (NYTimes) Facebook Weighs Steps to Curb Narrowly Targeted Political Ads (WSJ) PayPal to acquire shopping and rewards platform Honey for $4B (TechCrunch) Amazon unveils new Dash Smart Shelf that automatically reorders items when supplies run low (GeekWire) Route's app auto-tracks all your packages, raises $12M (TechCrunch) Inside Apple’s iPhone Software Shakeup After Buggy iOS 13 Debut (Bloomberg) Google Hires Firm Known for Anti-Union Efforts (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hackers could take over your Android cameras, the police can do whatever they want with your Ring videos, if your Disney+ account is hacked, is it probably your fault? An amazing breakthrough in solar technology and why fishing by drone has become a thing. Sponsors: Castro Rhone.com/ridehome Links: Android Camera App Bug Lets Apps Record Video Without Permission (BleepingComputer) Police can keep Ring camera video forever and share with whomever they’d like, Amazon tells senator (Washington Post) Amazon says it’s considered face scanning in Ring doorbells (Associated Press) Hacked Disney+ accounts are reportedly being sold for as little as $3 (CNBC) Apple expands in Austin (Apple Newsroom) Secretive energy startup backed by Bill Gates achieves solar breakthrough (CNN) A new solar heat technology could help solve one of the trickiest climate problems (Vox) Tackle Box for the Modern Fisherman: Rod, Reel, Drone (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple’s planning an awards ceremony? Amazon has a new fire TV accessory, Spotify launches Your Daily Podcast, Google announces Your News Update, Ransomware comes for the vets, and the hidden cost hurdle for electric cars. Sponsors: Castro SVB.com/next Links: Apple announces press event on Dec. 2 (CNBC) Amazon’s latest Fire TV accessory is an IR blaster that lets your Echo control your TV (The Verge) AMAZON EXPANDS FREE MUSIC STREAMING SERVICE TO APPLE, ANDROID DEVICES (MusicBusinessWorldwide) Google is putting an algorithmic audio news feed on its Assistant (The Verge) Ransomware Bites 400 Veterinary Hospitals (Krebs on Security) Why the electric-car revolution may take a lot longer than expected (MIT Technology Review) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Mustang Mach-E wants to out Tesla Tesla, John Legere is stepping down from T-Mobile, .org domain names might be getting a lot more expensive, and the reviews on Google Stadia are decidedly mixed, but at least it works. Sponsors: Castro Mealime Links: FORD’S MUSTANG MACH-E IS AN ELECTRIC SUV WITH UP TO 300 MILES OF RANGE (The Verge) UP CLOSE WITH FORD’S ELECTRIC MUSTANG SUV, THE MACH-E (The Verge) Wayve raises $20 million to give autonomous cars better AI brains (VentureBeat) John Legere to step down as T-Mobile CEO next year (CNBC) The org that doles out .org websites just sold itself to a for-profit company (The Verge) ByteDance to take on rivals with music streaming launch (Financial Times) HP board unanimously rejects Xerox’s bid to acquire the company (CNBC) GOOGLE STADIA REVIEW: THE BEST OF CLOUD GAMING IS STILL JUST A BETA (The Verge) Stadia the Technology? Awesome. Stadia the Service? Not So Much (Vice) Stadia tech review: the best game streaming yet, but far from ready (Eur

So, that Razr event, out in LA... obviously I didn’t get to cover it live… and if there was ever a recent hardware event crying out for “hands-on” reporting, this was one. So, I reached out to someone who was there: QZ.com’s Mike Murphy, and actually, his take was pretty different than some of the others I read to you on Thursday. Come for that, and stay for the reality check about what will really make the 5G revolution happen. Sponsors: Mealime GetQuip.com/ride Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple takes down vaping apps from the App Store, why is Google going ahead with the Stadia launch this month? Amazon protests the JEDI decision, the TikTok juggernaut rolls on—especially in India—and, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: PixelUnion.net Vistaprint.com promo code Ride50 Links: Exclusive: Apple to remove vaping apps from store (Axios) November 2019 Xbox One Update Brings Xbox Action for the Google Assistant, Gamertag Updates, Text Filters and More (XBox Wire) Microsoft to launch xCloud in 2020, with PS4 controllers and PC streaming on the way (The Verge) Google demos Stadia UI and lists several missing launch features (Engadget) Amazon cites ‘unmistakable bias’ in Microsoft’s military cloud contract win (CNBC) TikTok surpasses 1.5 billion downloads — with almost 500M in India (TNW) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: WeFail: How the doomed Masa Son-Adam Neumann relationship set WeWork on the road to disaster (Fast Company) How VCs Make Money (VCStarterKit)

There’s a new Razr phone with a foldable screen that might actually work? That Apple Prime bundle might be coming sooner rather than later. That Apple Research app is here right now. Why did 1Password raise a bunch of money for the first time ever? And can Netflix use Nickelodeon to fend off Disney? Sponsors: PixelUnion.net leap.FidelityCareers.com Links: Motorola's foldable Razr: Inside the remaking of a flip phone icon (CNET) MOTOROLA RESURRECTS THE RAZR AS A FOLDABLE ANDROID SMARTPHONE (The Verge) Apple Plans Mega Bundle of Music, News, TV as Early as 2020 (Bloomberg) Apple launches Research app, US users can enroll in three health studies (9to5Mac) In Its First Funding In 14 Years, Toronto’s 1Password Raises $200M Series A Led By Accel (Crunchbase) Netflix and Nickelodeon partner on original programming, following Disney+ launch (TechCrunch) First ‘Tuned by THX’ home theater speakers need no A/V receivers — or wires (Digital Trends) Support the pod directly! Subscribe to the ad-free fe

The new 16-inch MacBook pro might actually have a keyboard that works! Google wants you to bank with them. The Brave browser comes out of beta. And there’s an AI that can predict if you’ll die in the next year… but doctors don’t know how it does it. Sponsors: PixelUnion.net Capterra.com/ride Links: APPLE’S 16-INCH MACBOOK PRO IS HERE AND IT HAS A GOOD KEYBOARD (The Verge) 16-Inch MacBook Pro First Impressions: Great Keyboard, Outstanding Speakers (Daring Fireball) Next in Google’s Quest for Consumer Dominance: Banking (WSJ) Brave 1.0 launches, bringing the privacy-first browser out of beta (The Verge) DoorDash Picks Up Another $100 Million at Nearly $13 Billion Valuation (Bloomberg) Border officials can’t have ‘boundless’ access to search devices, court rules (The Verge) AI can predict if you'll die soon - but we've no idea how it works (New Scientist) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google has hoovered up the health records of millions of folks without telling anyone, Instagram debuts a TikTok competitor, Facebook debuts Facebook Pay, WordPress.com debuts recurring payments and Disney+ literally just debuts. Sponsors: PixelUnion.net Netgear.com/bestwifi Links: Google’s ‘Project Nightingale’ Gathers Personal Health Data on Millions of Americans (The Wall Street Journal) Instagram Stories launches TikTok clone Reels in Brazil (TechCrunch) Facebook Pay is a new payment system for WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook (The Verge) Facebook finally lets you banish nav bar tabs & red dots (TechCrunch) Whoop, the sports tech and analytics company that makes discreet wearables, raises $55M (TechCrunch) WordPress.com sites can now accept subscriptions with new 'Recurring Payments' feature (TechCrunch) Disney+ experiencing ‘unable to connect’ errors on launch day (The Verge) Here’s what time every episode of The Mandalorian and other Disney+ shows go live (The Verge) Learn

New York State is investigating the Apple Card for alleged gender bias, sources say Apple thinks AR glasses could someday replace the smartphone, Dara Khosrowshahi said some things he regrets, and Amazon is gonna launch a grocery store not called Whole Foods. Sponsors: PixelUnion.net PaintYourLife.com: Text RIDE to 64-000. Links: Viral Tweet About Apple Card Leads to Goldman Sachs Probe (Bloomberg) @dhh Thread About the Apple Card (dhh.dk) Uber CEO backtracks after calling Saudi murder of Khashoggi "a mistake" (Axios) Apple Eyes 2022 Release for AR Headset, 2023 for Glasses (The Information) Amazon will launch new grocery store as alternative to Whole Foods (CNET) DoorDash Won Food Delivery by Seizing the Suburbs and $2 Billion (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello! @jyarow and @fmanjoo are back! Sponsors: Castro.fm Molekule.com and enter "ride10" at checkout Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Disney Plus will be on Amazon’s Fire TV when it launches next week, Andreessen Horowitz launches a completely free crypto school, Twitter seems to have woken up all of the sudden, T-Mobile really wants that merger with Sprint to happen, and, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Metalab.co Netgear.com/bestwifi SVB.com/next Links: Disney stock rises after beating on top and bottom lines (CNBC) Andreessen Horowitz launches free crypto startup school (TechCrunch) Twitter Is Trying To Fix The Dunk And Ratio (BuzzFeed) T-Mobile dangles $15 plan, 5G gains, big freebies to get Sprint deal done (CNET) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Pessimists Archive Podcast The new dot com bubble is here: it’s called online advertising (The Correspondent) THE BIG BITCOIN HEIST (Vanity Fair) We are living in Hideo Kojima’s dystopian nightmare. Can he save us? (Washington Post) A critical analysis of scroll bars throughout history (The Verge) The Making of the World’s Greatest Investor (WSJ)

Twitter employees charged with spying for Saudi Arabia, those weird text messages a whole bunch of people received overnight, the most powerful desktop CPUs in the world, Ghost Locomotion wants to turn existing cars into autonomous vehicles, Wrench will repair your car on demand, and what smart speaker seems to be unhackable? Sponsors: Metalab.co SVB.com/next Links: Former Twitter employees charged with spying for Saudi Arabia by digging into the accounts of kingdom critics (Washington Post) Alphabet’s board of directors is investigating executives over inappropriate relationships (CNBC) A ton of people received text messages overnight that were originally sent on Valentine’s Day (The Verge) AMD unveils world's most powerful desktop CPUs (ZDNet) Uber faces costly choices after expert finds it uses Waymo self-driving tech (Reuters) Ghost raises $63.7 million to develop an aftermarket kit that gives cars self-driving capabilities (VentureBeat) Wrench's on-demand vehicle repair and maintenance

Twitter announces Topics, Xerox might take a run at HP, Uber’s getting into the ads business, Ford’s electric Mustang makes Tech Crunch angry, and the best blockchain startup idea I’ve heard of in a long time. Sponsors: Metalab.co Leap.FidelityCareers.com Links: Twitter is rolling out Topics, a way to follow subjects automatically in the timeline (The Verge) Xerox Considers Takeover Offer for HP (WSJ) California Says Facebook Failed to Comply With Subpoenas (NYTimes) California asks for court order forcing Facebook to hand over Cambridge Analytica documents (The Verge) Self-Driving Uber in Crash Wasn’t Designed to See Jaywalkers (Bloomberg) Uber is entering the ads business (TechCrunch) Neural Magic raises $15 million to boost AI inferencing speed on off-the-shelf processors (VentureBeat) How Arweave's Permaweb cheaply hosts sites & apps forever (TechCrunch) Ford built an electric Mustand with a manual transmission. And we're mad. (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. V

How are things in Masa Son’s world post-WeWork? How long until Uber will be profitable? How is the new Surface Pro X to use? Why is iOS aggressively quitting background apps? And why data scoring companies are maybe worse than credit score companies. Sponsors: SVB.com/next Metalab.co Links: SoftBank imposes new standards to rein in start-up founders (Financial Times) WeWork Isn’t the Only Stumble for SoftBank’s Vision Fund (WSJ) Uber Books Another Quarterly Loss as Revenue Climbs (WSJ) MICROSOFT SURFACE PRO X REVIEW: HEARTBREAKER (The Verge) Xiaomi unveils its 108-megapixel smartphone (Engadget) Actively exploited bug in fully updated Firefox is sending users into a tizzy (ArsTechnica) IOS 13.2 IS OVERZEALOUSLY KILLING APPS IN THE BACKGROUND (Daring Fireball) I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score. Now You Can Get Yours, Too. (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your smart speakers aren’t secure in a wild new way, crazy product announcement day from Microsoft and Adobe, crazy new logo design day from everyone but especially Facebook, and Wikipedia makes a big change to citations. Sponsors: Metalab.co go.conga.com/techmeme SoFi.com/ride Links: Hackers Can Use Lasers to ‘Speak’ to Your Amazon Echo or Google Home (Wired) Microsoft’s new Office app for iOS and Android combines Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (The Verge) Microsoft's Chromium Edge browser arrives January 15th (Engadget) Microsoft Teams is getting Outlook integration, tasks support, and more (The Verge) Microsoft Ignite 2019: Meet Project Cortex, Office 365 knowledge-management service (ZDNet) Microsoft is bringing Cortana to Outlook for iOS and Android with a new ‘masculine’ voice (The Verge) Introducing Our New Company Brand (Facebook Newsroom) Photoshop for iPad is now available in the App Store (WCCFTech) The Internet Archive Is Making Wikipedia More Reliable (Wired) Learn mo

Steve Case is obviously an internet and technology legend, as the founder of America Online. But as I said when I did a segment about it this week, I’ve always been fascinated with his Rise of the Rest Tour and Fund because, look, the whole basic principle of the project is to try new things, try to find new ideas and new people in new places. So after doing the segment on the new Rise of the Rest Fund II, I reached out to Steve to learn more about what he’s been learning as he’s been barnstorming the country to try to find exciting new companies outside of the major tech hubs. Sponsor: WeWorkRemotely Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google acquires Fitbit, Apple TV+ officially launches, might the US Government be about to bring the hammer down on TikTok, and of course, the Weekend Longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Tiny Capital Leap.FidelityCareers.com Links: Google to acquire Fitbit, valuing the smartwatch maker at about $2.1 billion (CNBC) Maps Incognito is launching for Google Maps Android Users (Google Maps Help) Apple TV+ is now live in the TV app: Start watching Apple’s original TV shows and movies (9to5Mac) Exclusive: U.S. opens national security investigation into TikTok - sources (Reuters) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: 50 years ago today, the internet was born in Room 3420 (Fast Company) Talking with former Facebook security chief Alex Stamos (CJR) Everything is Amazing, But Nothing is Ours (AlexDanco.com) The Gross Margin Problem: Lessons for Tech-Enabled Startups (Craft) The Ransomware Superhero of Normal, Illinois (ProPublica) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twitter says it will ban ALL political advertising, Cognizant says it is getting out of the content moderation business, Facebook earnings are good, Apple earnings are good… and evolving, and can the Chinese monitor SMS messages at the provider level, at scale? Sponsors: Tiny Capital Leap.FidelityCareers.com Links: Jack Dorsey's Twitter Thread Zuckerberg defends politician ads that will be 0.5% of 2020 revenue (TechCrunch) Aaron Sorkin: An Open Letter to Mark Zuckerberg (NYTimes) Facebook shares rise on strong Q3, users up 2% to 2.45B (TechCrunch) A Facebook content moderation vendor is quitting the business after two Verge investigations (The Verge) Apple is laying the groundwork for an iPhone subscription (CNBC) Researchers unearth malware that siphoned SMS texts out of telco’s network (ArsTechnica) Unraveling the Secret Origins of an AmazonBasics Battery (OneZero) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WhatsApp sues the NSO Group about that crazy exploit, Uber is threating to sue Los Angeles about a crazy tracking program that I’m not sure about, we’ve got the full details surrounding HBO Max, an activist is taking Facebook’s political advertising policy to its logical conclusion, and how come none of you told me about Mario Kart Tour? Sponsors: Tiny Capital Pessimists Archive Podcast Links: Why WhatsApp is pushing back on NSO Group hacking (Washington Post) WhatsApp Says Israeli Firm Used Its App in Spy Program (NYTimes) The New HBO Max is competing with Netflix by giving you Friends and Game of Thrones for $15 a month (Recode) Report: Apple to Use Qualcomm's X55 5G Modem in All Three 2020 iPhones (MacRumors) Uber in talks with Los Angeles as scooter location data lawsuit looms (CNET) Privacy groups actually side with Uber in scooter data fight (Mashable) This man is running for governor of California so he can run false Facebook ads (CNN Business) Mario Kart Tour Has a Rocket Start Wit