Episodes

April 24, 2023

Mon. 04/24 – And More Twitter Stuff

Would you believe me if I told you there was more Twitter chaos over the weekend. More details on the Apple headset. Is ARM about to abandon its Switzerland strategy? Interesting data about how Netflix dominates TV watching. And sad data about the down rounds we can expect for the foreseeable futur…
April 23, 2023

(Bonus) Chamath Palihapitiya Interview

Again, my Internet History Podcast interview with Chamath Palihapitiya of the All In podcast from 2016.
April 22, 2023

(Bonus) Jason Calacanis Interview

Again, this is a republishing of my Jason Calacanis interview from the Internet History Podcast.
April 21, 2023

Fri. 04/21 – Twitter Stuff

More… I dunno… Twitter things are happening. Google is consolidating its AI efforts. We now have a hint about what that startup Humane might be creating. The US wants to get a jump start on 6G technology. And pour one out for BuzzFeed News.
April 20, 2023

Thu. 04/20 – Elon’s Having A Heck Of A 4/20

Are Elon and Microsoft fully at war at this point? Does Coinbase already have one foot out the country at this point? Is OpenAI careening toward a run-in with GDPR? And, Stability AI’s big play to compete with Chat GPT.
April 19, 2023

Wed. 04/19 – The End Of Netflix’s Red Envelopes

That Netflix ad tier seems to be paying off. But it’s also the end of the road for those famous red envelopes. We’re about to see a foldable Pixel phone. More layoffs from Meta. More links in bio for Instagram. And forget data being the new oil. What if data was the new fertile farmland to be rente…
April 18, 2023

Tue. 04/18 – Is The AI Era Kicking Off A New Generation Of Silicon?

Is the AI revolution going to kick of a silicon revolution with a whole new generation of chips? Coinbase would consider leaving the US if it can’t get clarity from regulators. Is the Apple savings account the savings account for you? A look at Twitter competitor Bluesky. And what happens if you ta…
April 17, 2023

Mon. 04/17 – Is Google About To Lose Samsung?

Hey everybody, back from Ireland, and man, the universe dumped all the news on me this morning. Google is rushing to add AI to search because they’re afraid Samsung is about to jump ship to Bing. More chaos at Twitter. Meta has to make nice with advertisers. Spotify seems to be abandoning it’s payw…
April 14, 2023

Fri. 04/14 - AWS Enters the Gen AI Race

AWS has begun offering customers access to LLMs made by Anthropic, Stability AI, and AI21 Labs, as they look to be a neutral platform for generative AI features. WhatsApp is rolling out new verification and protection features, including defenses against SIM jacking and social engineering attacks. …
April 13, 2023

Thu. 04/13 - They're Trying Their Damnedest To Ruin The HBO Brand

The stocks of Apple suppliers Cirrus Logic and AAC are down after reporting that iPhone 15 Pro models won’t have solid-state buttons after all. IBM is reportedly looking into selling The Weather Company, for quite a bit less than they paid for it in 2015. LinkedIn has new identity verification via …
April 12, 2023

Wed. 04/12 - Twitter Inc. No Longer Exists?

Elon Musk did a big spontaneous interview with the BBC last night on Twitter Spaces, but here’s two things that didn’t make the interview: Twitter appears to be working on generative AI for reasons yet unknown and Twitter Inc. doesn’t exist as a company anymore. Global VC funding for crypto startup…
April 11, 2023

Tue. 04/11 - China's ChatGPT Competitors Are Here

Alibaba revealed its ChatGPT-style bot, and mere hours later the Cyberspace Administration of China announced plans to require security reviews of generative AI tools before they’re released. The Winklevoss twins made a $100 million loan to their crypto exchange, Gemini Trust, after it failed to ra…
April 10, 2023

Mon. 04/10 - Would You Believe Me If I Told You Elon Changed His Mind?

Twitter has stopped throttling tweets with Substack links in them, but only after Elon Musk denied they were ever blocked. About 270 US Apple Stores have held staff meetings about unionization risks in the past two weeks. A New York Times article about the environmental and economic impact of bitco…
April 8, 2023

(BNS EP) Anyone In Control Of Big Tech? W/ David Auerbach

Check out David Auerbach's books:Meganets: How Digital Forces Beyond Our Control Commandeer Our Daily Lives and Inner RealitiesBitwise: A Life in Code
April 7, 2023

Fri. 08/07 – Twitter Blocking Substack?

Shenanigans from some Elon companies. Twitter looks like it’s blocking Substack. Not just links to Substack but even mentioning the name, the word Substack, in some cases. Oh, and Tesla employees apparently liked to view videos from your car and share them with each other internally. Last quarter w…
April 6, 2023

Thu. 04/06 – The Secret Bitcoin Easter Egg On Your Mac

More examples of chatbots hallucinating might lead to the first lawsuits. Did you know that you have a copy of the bitcoin white paper on your Mac right now? You don’t know it, but you do. I’ll tell you why. Substack is the latest to launch a Twitter clone. And why E3 had to die. It’s called direct…
April 5, 2023

Wed. 04/05 – The Grand Theory Of AI Varietals

Sony might be developing a sort of PS Vita mark 2. Sad news of the death of a well-known silicon valley luminary. Meta says its not going to be left behind in the AI race. What happens if the kids aren’t keen on the Metaverse. And I sketch out an example of our grand theory of AI varietals.
April 4, 2023

Tue. 04/04 – Dogecoin Twitter Logo (Cause Why Not?)

We’ve said before that Elon owns Twitter, so if he decides to change the logo to a Shiba Inu, you know, why not? Apple kinda sorta bites the bullet on layoffs. What’s going on with the Apple Weather app? Do we want universities to call the use of ChatGPT plagiarism? And data on the corporate takeov…
April 3, 2023

Mon. 04/03 – Schrödinger’s Blue Check

The blue checks went away on Twitter over the weekend. Or did they? More interesting details on those Pinduoduo app allegations. In a headline from 2019, Paris says no to e-scooters. And what does the recent move by GM say about the relationship between the car companies and the tech platforms?
March 31, 2023

Fri. 03/31 – Is E3 Dead?

I can tell you E3 is officially cancelled this year, but I’m kinda thinking it might be dead for good. Bunch of stuff about Twitter and checkmarks. Italy has temporarily banned ChatGPT. Some of the signatories of that AI letter are having second thoughts. And, of course, the weekend longreads sugge…
March 30, 2023

Thu. 03/30 – No Headset Reveal At WWDC?

Wait, are we NOT going to see the new Apple headset at WWDC? Twitter’s new API tiers? Ads are coming to Bing Chat. Is Elon Musk guilty of laundering his grudge against OpenAI through AI concern trolling? And is TikTok creating more one hit wonders?
March 29, 2023

Wed. 03/29 – Hit Pause On AI Development?

Over 1,000 big names sign a petition urging a pause on AI development. What analysts think AI could to for or to the economy. North Korean hackers allegedly have a new trick. And did you know ByteDance has an Instagram rival? Well, it looks like they’re putting the pedal to the metal on that.
March 28, 2023

Tue. 03/28 – Rise Of The Blue Checks

I titled an episode last week “Twilight Of The Blue Checks.” Well, today is the sequel, “Rise Of The Blue Checks” cause starting April 15, you’ll have to be a blue check to appear on Twitter’s For You tab. Also: the feds go after Binance. Disney cuts its entire metaverse unit. And the UK cancels it…
March 27, 2023

Mon. 03/27 – SVB Finds A New Home

Looks like the short, sharp, SVB saga has reached the beginning of a conclusion. Twitter source code has been leaked. The doubts inside Apple about the upcoming mixed reality headset. Why has no one presented any evidence for why TikTok might need to be banned? And, again, will generative AI lead t…