Episodes

April 5, 2022

Tue. 04/05 – Twitter Ads “Passive Investor” Elon Musk To Its Board

So much for that “passive” stake. Twitter has appointed Elon Musk to its board of directors. Amazon is gunning for SpaceX in the race to deliver internet from space. Some datapoints around the whole question of wash trading in the NFT market. And what if I told you there was ANOTHER wildly popular …
April 4, 2022

Mon. 04/04 – Elon Musk To Take Twitter Private? Funding Secured?

So, Elon Musk has taken a 9.2% stake in Twitter. I’d point out that the last time Twitter had an activist investor, it led to Jack Dorsey stepping down as CEO. Is drone delivery suddenly, and rapidly, becoming a reality? The nation of the United Kingdom is going to issue an NFT. And Mark Gurman’s m…
April 2, 2022

(Bonus) Inventing FaceTime And iMessage With Apple Engineer Justin Santamaria

Justin Santamaria was once an Apple lead engineer on iPhone, where he created iMessage, FaceTime, the blue/green text bubbles and even unlocked emojis so people outside Japan could use them. Now, as cofounder of Future, he’s using text communication to pair people with a world-class trainer for unl…
April 1, 2022

Fri 04/01 – Is E3 Dead? Or Just Resting?

E3 is officially cancelled this year, which is making people wonder if it’s officially dead and we just don’t know it yet. More signs of serious trouble in the food delivery space. Facebook has fixed a bug that let harmful content into the news feed for six months. And of course, the weekend longre…
March 31, 2022

Thu. 03/31 – Hackers Forging Emergency Data Requests

Another day of all the hacking news. Now the hackers are forging Emergency Data Requests. Apparently there have been vulnerabilities in Wyze security cameras that no one bothered to fix. TSMC warns of a tech slowdown. Masa Son orders his lieutenants to slow down investing just a bit. And yes, burri…
March 30, 2022

Wed. 03/30 – The Axie Infinity Hack

I explain the (latest) biggest crypto hack of all time, this time affecting Axie Infinity. Meta is paying to dish dirt on TikTok. Changes to Google Calendar could kneecap a bunch of startups, while the DOJ is investigating Google Maps. And signs of difficulty in two red-hot startup sectors, the ins…
March 29, 2022

Tue. 03/29 – And Now NFL+ ?

Sony’s answer to Xbox Game Pass is here. Spotify wants to TikTok-up your podcast listening. Have you ever gotten a spam text from your own phone number? Okta still has some ‘splaining to do. And forget AppleTV+, Disney+, I dunno… BobRoss+, how about NFL+? Isn’t it inevitable?
March 28, 2022

Mon. 03/28 – Apple Wins Best Picture Oscar

Apple wins a best picture Oscar. Bigger camaras mean bigger bumps in upcoming iPhones. Urgent Chrome update you need to be aware of. You probably guessed that that person bugging you on LinkedIn might be faked. And Fashion Week, but in the Metaverse.
March 26, 2022

(TWTR SPC) Mark Gurman On Apple

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman comes on to dissuade us of our Apple delusions.
March 26, 2022

Profile Of Ukrainian Startup Lemon.io

Listeners from Ukraine got in touch to tell us what it has been like for one particular tech startup in Ukraine these last few weeks. From the founder of the company: Lemon.io, Alekskandr Volodarsky, @volodarik these are the charities he recommends:
March 25, 2022

Fri. 03/25 – Will Europe’s DMA Force AIM And MSN Messenger To Talk To Each Other?

Will the new EU Digital Markets Act mean that all messaging could soon become as interoperable as email? Some serious smoke around the whole grand unifying Apple subscription fire. Why Instacart is voluntarily lowing its valuation. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.
March 24, 2022

Thu. 03/24 – Is A 16-Year-Old Behind Lapsus$?

Have we uncovered the hackers behind Lapsus$, that crazy new hacker group? Another crack in the App Store wall as Google unilaterally decides to test alternative payment systems? Uber is actually teaming up with the Taxi drivers here in New York City. And would you buy a 15 inch MacBook Air?
March 23, 2022

Wed. 03/23 – Maybe Apple Should Just Start A Bank

Customers are getting frustrated with Okta over that potential Lapsus$ hack. Apple’s acquisition of an open banking startup is interesting. Yuga Labs is the (forgive me) 800lb gorilla of the NFT space. And why Zuckerberg’s personal remote work regimen might explain why he’s so obsessed with having …
March 22, 2022

Tue. 03/22 – A Day Of All The Infosec News

When it rains, it pours cybersecurity news. The White House warns that Russian hacks may be incoming. Lapsus$ has now allegedly hit Okta and Microsoft. A big alleged hack to HubSpot might hurt a bunch of crypto companies. And why does that Apple Studio display have 64GB of storage it’s (mostly) not…
March 21, 2022

Mon. 03/21 – Telegram Was Banned In Brazil Until It Wasn’t

An alternative title to today’s show could be Schrödinger’s Brazilian Telegram Ban. I’ll explain. Ukrainians say Elon Musk’s Starlink donation is proving quite useful. Toronto has become the third-largest tech hub in North America. Should Apple make routers again? And where will the advertising dol…
March 19, 2022

(TWTR SPC) Every.to And Mac Studio

We talked to Nathan Baschez and Dan Shipper, the founders of the media startup Every.to. We talked to them about the realities of being two years in as a modern, from the ground up media company, the shifting landscape in the “creator economy” (remember that?) And a lot about Substack and its busin…
March 18, 2022

Fri. 03/18 - $APE GMI?

Australia sues Meta for alleged cryptocurrency scam ads. Bored Apes Yacht Club had, what we might call a busted IPO, if that was term we were using. Amazon is now officially the proud owner of James Bond. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.
March 17, 2022

Thu. 03/17 – Netflix Wants You To Make Your Freeloaders Pay Up

Google kind of returns to an in person I/O but just a little bit. The harsh new British law that could put tech executives behind bars. Netflix says the free ride of password sharing is over. Though, the gravy train of subsidized 15 minute delivery seems to be back on. Oh, and the rave reviews of t…
March 16, 2022

Wed. 03/16 – NFTs Coming To Instagram “Soon”

Meta has a new Family Center to keep kids monitored. Zuck says NFTs are coming to Instagram “soon.” Google’s Stadia strategy is coming into focus, and it’s interesting. Is Vimeo threatening longtime users to pay up? And a review of the latest iPad Air iteration.
March 15, 2022

Tue. 03/15 – Rebuilding The Cable Bundle, Example #937

Layoffs at Arm signal the IPO is nigh. Microsoft has brought that fast loading games technology from Xbox to Windows. Twitter heard you were made and has backed down. Crypto dodges another bullet in the EU. And some solid, tangible numbers to prove that streaming has taken over Hollywood.
March 14, 2022

Mon. 03/14 – Foxconn Shutting Factories Cause Of Covid. Again.

Well, what can I tell you. Foxconn is shutting factories in China again cause of the new Omicron outbreak there. Will Apple only give new chips it its pro phones going forward? Why people are mad at Twitter now. How people actually watch Netflix. And… checks notes... A robot goat.
March 12, 2022

(Bonus) Who Is Chris Messina?

As I said on Friday's show, I figured that since Chris Messina has been co-hosting with me for about a year, maybe it's time to republish the Internet History Podcast episode I did with him. After all, many of you might know him as the inventor of the hashtag, but did you know about all of the earl…
March 11, 2022

Fri. 03/11 – Russia Bans Instagram And Designates Meta As An “Extremist Organization”

Russia moves to ban Instagram and designate Meta as an “extremist organization.” The EU and UK open an antitrust probe into Google and Meta about ads collusion. Stripe now supports crypto. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.
March 10, 2022

Thu. 03/10 – Apple Hasn’t Forgotten About The Mac Mini

Apple hasn’t forgotten about the Mac Mini. Amazon’s first stock split since the dotcom era. Tinder leans into background checks as a service. Hands on with the new Magic Leap 2 AR glasses. And forget about delivery by drone, now imagine getting packages delivered to you from space. The wildest star…