Daily Tech News Show

Canada’s Competition Bureau sues Google for anti-competitive online advertising, the European Commission ends an investigation into Amazon over taxes, and Meta plans to build a $10 billion, 40,000+ kilometer fiber-optic subsea cable.

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Australia bans social media for teens under 16, China said it would take "necessary actions" to protect Chinese firms if the U.S. escalated chip control measures, and the FTC is investigating Microsoft over antitrust concerns.

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President of SCE Worldwide Studios, Shuhei Yoshida, steps down from his 38 years. Scott shares his thoughts on Yoshida’s legacy. Plus OpenAI shuts down access to its video generative AI tool, Sora, after artists given early access released a version of the tool publicly alongside a statement decrying “being lured into ‘art washing’ to tell the world that Sora is a useful tool for artists”. And a Hugging Face machine learning librarian a dataset composed of one million Bluesky posts.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

A UK company has developed a gamma ray detector mounted on a robotic dog that can assess soil quality. Do the domestically manufactured chips in Huawei’s Mate 70 smartphone point to progress in China’s semiconductor industry? And the musician Drake has filed a lawsuit in New York’s Supreme Court alleging Universal Music Group used bots and bribes to inflate the popularity of rival Kendrick Lamar’s song “Not Like Us”.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe.

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How does holiday pricing work and what motivates sellers to drop prices during the holiday shopping season? Big Jim explains. Plus the media is warning that AI development has reached its peak, but is it true? Andrew Mayne cuts through the FUD. And The Information says the iPhone 17 “Air” rumored to be coming next year will be between 5 and 6 millimeters thick compared to the iPhone 16 at 7.8 mm.

Starring Tom Merritt, Nica Montford, Andrew Mayne, James Thatcher, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Robert Heron is here with a holiday home theater buying guide! Not sure which TV deals are the best? Robert will steer you right. Plus OpenAI wants to make its own browser according to The Information. And Threads is overhauling its search and trend features as Bluesky closes in on engagement numbers.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Robert Heron, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe.

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The US DOJ is proposing a breakup of Google's Browser and potentially its OS business as well. How likely is that? Plus Facebook Messenger has added support for HD video calls, audio and video voice messages, generative backgrounds, and support for Apple’s Siri. Tubi has introduced a new short-form video feature called “Scenes” that lets users explore short clips from over 250,000 popular television programs and films.

Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Why has Niantic, creators of the Pokémon Go mobile game, turned that into an AI tuned to geospatial information? Plus a system update for the PlayStation Portal lets users play games directly from the cloud. And Amazon introduces a new Echo product. The Echo Show 21.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Tom Merritt and Huyen Tue Dao summarize the top announcements from Microsoft Ignite. Microsoft really is a cloud company. Plus Sony's potential big anime and video game acquisition and Andrew Heaton explains how he used AI to make an entire musical.

Starring Tom Merritt, Huyen Tue Dao, Andrew Heaton

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Trisha gives us the details on Mediatek’s “This Chip Changes Everything”. Plus the Belgian region of Flanders is offering data wallets based on the solid protocol. And Pew Research Center found that about 20% of people surveyed in the US get news from influencers on social media.

Starring Tom Merritt, Trisha Hershberger, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Bluesky is on the uptick, Google will help you geolocate your gift shopping, and Max Scoville helps you find gift for all the gamers in your life.

Starring Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Max Scoville, Len Peralta, Amos, Joe.

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The world of satire takes a great leap as The Onion buys InfoWars. No joke! Plus Spotify is changing the name of its podcasting service from Spotify for Podcasters to Spotify for Creators. And Disney announced that Disney+ added 4.4 million new subscribers to pass 120 million. Netflix has 287 million.

Starring Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe.

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1% of users in Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain will no longer receive EU news sources in their search results as part of a Google test. Plus Just Eat sells Grubhub to Wonder for $650M. And GOG launches a new initiative to preserve older video games.

Starring Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Jenn Cutter, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Signal offers an alternative to Zoom, why the Mac Mini power button is on the bottom, and Meta won’t track you in Europe but you won’t be able to skip ads.

Starring Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Amos, Joe.

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While Amazon tries to save seconds with smart glasses, Swiggy delivers groceries in less than 13 minutes. And Apple makes parts available to fix your own iPhone 16.

Get show notes here.

As Google pushes Gemini AI into its developer tools we ask what do developers think? Plus TikTok launched a feature Thursday which lets you share a song from Apple Music or Spotify into TikTok. And Apple has expanded High Power Mode to Macs with the M4 Pro chip.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Huyen Tue Dao, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Australia’s PM proposes a law that would ban social media for anyone under the age of 16. Plus a feature in iOS 18.2 developer beta could let users share the location of lost or missing items through Find My app. And Canada's government has ordered TikTok to cease operations in the country.

Starring Robb Dunewood, Sarah Lane, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Why is Netflix delisting its interactive titles and what does it say about the company’s video gaming ambitions? Plus Nintendo outlines backward compatibility with the 2nd generation Switch. And why has OpenAI bought Chat.com?

Starring Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Amazon announced it will start drone delivery tests in the Phoenix Metro Area after receiving FAA approval for its new MK30 drone. Plus Amazon has also launched a new Prime Video AI-powered tool called X-Ray Recaps that generates personalized summaries of TV seasons, episodes, or even specific parts of episodes. And Perplexity CEO causes a stir after suggesting AI could replace striking NYT workers.

Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Are the fire risks of EVs overblown? Tim Stevens is here to clear away the FUD. Plus The social media platform X is rolling out its controversial update to the block feature which will now allow users you’ve blocked to see your public posts. And why is X unblocking people from following accounts they've been blocked from? 

Starring Robb Dunewood, Tim Stevens, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Windows 10 support ends October next year. So what are your options if you want to keep it running past that date? Plus the EU has signed a contract to build its own Satellite broadband network. And Apple reported its fiscal 2024 fourth-quarter results, achieving a record revenue of $94.9 billion, 6% up over the previous year.

Starring Sarah Lane, Patrick Norton, Jenn Cutter, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe.

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500 Amazon.com employees have written a letter asking for a reversal of the company’s return to a five day a week office policy. Plus Meta reported its Q3 revenue was up 19% YoY to $40.59B with Meta’s AI seeing over 500 million users. And OpenAI has finally announced search capabilities with an enhanced ChatGPT for pro users.

Starring Sarah Lane, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Ubisoft has released a blockchain game. Plus following announcements for new M4 powered iMacs and Mac Minis, Apple announces new M4 MacBook Pros. And why has Ubisoft stock dropped 39% in the past quarter and what does it mean for the health of the company?

Starring Robb Dunewood, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe.

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How has Tubi managed to build an audience that rivals Disney+ while spending less money with little to no exclusive content? Plus right after the announcement of new M4 iMacs, Apple has revealed M4 powered Mac Minis. And Meta is working on an AI-powered search engine to decrease its dependence on Google and Microsoft.

Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Charlotte Henry, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Allison shares her experience with using an generative AI version of her voice to do a recent NosillaCast episode. Plus Apple announces new M4 iMacs and the roll-out of Apple Intelligence. And a new alternative to TikTok called Loops has opened for sign-ups. Will it succeed?

Starring Sarah Lane, Allison Sheridan, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

We take a look at Google’s Pixel Studio App for the Pixel 9 and ask the question is on-device generative AI image tool really needed? Plus Meta has announced a multi-year deal with Reuters to integrate real-time news content into its AI chatbot. And At the Bloomberg Tech Summit Arm CEO, Rene Haas, predicted AI will progress more quickly than the internet itself.

Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Tasia Custode, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Microsoft released a report Wednesday, accusing attempts by foreign adversaries to stir up anger or confusion in the U.S prior to the upcoming presidential election. Spotify has introduced a new auto-moderation feature for podcasters. And Justin Robert Young talks about how AI could affect access to our political representatives.

Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Justin Robert Young, Amos, Joe.

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Why has Netflix closed its AAA game studio and does it portend bigger things? Plus air-taxis cleared another hurdle as the US Federal Aviation Administration issued new rules Tuesday for air-taxi VTOLs. And Arm has canceled Qualcomm’s chip architecture license, and it’s not such a big deal.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Anthropic updated its Claude 3.5 Sonnet model allowing it to interact with desktop computer apps letting users potentially automate certain software tasks. Plus Meta suspends Instagram and Threads accounts that reposted public information tracking private jets. And Meta tests facial recognition again to combat celebrity impersonations and for account unlocking.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Ariel Waldman shares their experience using technology in Antarctica to shoot a documentary. Plus Dr Nicole Ackermans gives us a report on the tech she found at Neuroscience 2024. And Shannon gives us a review of Meta’s new Quest 3S VR headset.

Starring Tom Merritt, Shannon Morse, Ariel Waldman, Craig Porter, Dr. Niki Ackermans, Roger Chang, Joe.

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OpenAI and Microsoft are having relationship problems, Netflix earnings call is more about where the company is heading versus where it is, and Dr Niki joins us to talk about the 2024 Nobel Prize Laureates.

Starring Tom Merritt, Niki Ackermans, and Roger Chang, Joe, Amos.

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Apple Business Connect lets businesses without a physical location manage how they appear in Apple’s services. How one company is making portable solar power easier to carry. And a company called Hiya has a new product that can reliably detect AI generated voices.

Starring Tom Merritt, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe.

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SAG-AFTRA will re-enter negotiations with the bargaining group representing triple A game studios. What’s at stake and will they be able to come to an agreement before the end of the year? Plus the US FCC approved a notice of inquiry to examine whether data caps harm consumers and competition. And Amazon announced a slew of new products including their first color e-reader, the Kindle Colorsoft.

Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Apple has revealed a new iPad Mini with updated specs. But they’re not alone. A number of companies have announced new or updated products just in the time for the holiday gift buying season. Plus Spotify said it is testing bringing music videos to 85 more markets. And a roundup of the latest news surrounding Google.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Adobe kicks off the Adobe Max creativity conference in Orlando, The Honor Magic 7 smartphone launches October 30th in China, and the Internet Archive is back online.

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How do you backup your data before a natural disaster? Plus the latest news with Steam and Steam Deck. And Tesla unveils its Cybercab, with Musk claiming they expect Full Self-Driving on Texas and California roads next year.

Starring Tom Merritt, Patrick Norton, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Amazon announced it will sell Apple TV+ as an add-on to its Amazon Prime Video feature. Plus Meta is adding more features to Threads including a way to allow users to repost IG Reels on Threads. And a new study reveals TikTok isn’t as important to users as a source of news or politics.

Starring Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe.

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The US Department of Justice says a breakup of Google is an option. Plus the Wimbledon tennis tournament is adopting AI powered live electronic line calling, replacing human judges. And why have all the recent Nobel prizes for AI work been given in different categories?

Starring Tom Merritt, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Neural Network researchers Geoff Hinton and John Hopfield have been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics. Plus A Virginia congressional candidate has created an AI chatbot just in case the incumbent doesn’t show up for the October 17th debate. And Adobe is proposing a way to watermark content to stop AI thefts. Will the community support it?

Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Roger Chang, Joe.

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The US FCC has given Starlink and T-Mobile “Special Temporary Authority” for direct-to-cell satellite service in North Carolina. Plus 23andMe suffered a data breach in December last year. How can you data have you with the service? And the latest Apple product predictions from Mark Gurman.

Starring Tom Merritt, Nica Montford, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Why are big tech companies talking about building power plants and what does nuclear energy have to do with it? Plus Automattic employees who disagreed with the handling of the WP Engine dispute were offered a severance package to leave the company. And Meta Unveils AI Video Generator and rolls out a redesign of Facebook for Gen-Z.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Molly Wood, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Google will begin rolling ads into AI Overview summaries and releasing a separate AI-organized pages, a tool that provides AI aggregated content related to search queries. Plus California’s governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 2839 a bill which targets the distributors of political deep fakes into law. And two Harvard students demonstrated how smart glasses and facial recognition technology can dox people’s identities in real-time.

Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Will Epic’s reduced royalty rates for developers using the Unreal Engine pay off? Plus Charter cable will distribute Comcast’s Peacock to its cable TV customers at no extra charge. And Apple takes down Juno’s third-party YouTube app for the Vision Pro and the Switch emulator, Ryujinx, from the app store.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe.

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We go through all the big new features and enhancements for Copilot that Microsoft announced today. Plus Serve Robotics is partnering with Wing Aviation to expand autonomous delivery options. And Google unveiled new voice options for Gemini plus new AI specific keys for Chromebooks.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

PC Mag’s Iyaz Akhtar gives us a head to head comparison between the Samsung Galaxy S24 and Apple’s iPhone 16. Plus DirecTV has reached an agreement to acquire EchoStar’s TV business. And Epic has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google and Samsung, alleging a conspiracy against third-party app stores.

Starring Tom Merritt, Iyaz Akhtar, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Jason Howell is here to share his hands-on review of the Google TV Streamer, the replacement for the Chromecast. Plus the National Institute of Standards and Technology aka NIST, is proposing to bar nonsensical password rules that make security less safe.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Jason Howell, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe.

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LG brings ads to the screensaver of its Smart TVs. Plus Google introduced new features for NotebookLM enabling it to summarize YouTube videos and audio files. And why have CTO Mira Murati, Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew, and a research VP, Barret Zoph, left OpenAI?

Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe.

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We analyze all the big announcements from the Meta Connect 2024 conference. And Logitech launches MX Creative Console, a peripheral that integrates with Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Google aims to make Gemini AI a key part of the Workspace productivity suite. Duolingo has two new features for language learning: Adventures, and AI video calls. And Ford’s patent application for in-vehicle advertisements based on info derived from your driving behavior has privacy advocates concerned.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Nate explains how he auto-subtitles old foreign TV shows he collects as a hobby. Plus, Google Streamer, Google’s replacement for the Chromecast, goes on sale today. And Sam Altman is working with former Apple executives on an AI device.

Starring Tom Merritt, Nate Lanxon, Roger Chang, Joe.

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“AI For Humans” host, Kevin Pereira, is here to detail all the AI tools he uses in the making of his show. Plus what did Apple do to make active noise cancellation effective on the AirPods 4. And Huawei and Apple go head to head with the launch of their flagship phones.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Kevin Pereira, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Allison Sheridan shares the tech she used on her recent vacation Safari. And the US House Energy and Commerce Committee has approved the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0).

Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Allison Sheridan, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Intel loses out to AMD for a contract to make chips for Sony’s PS6. Plus YouTube introduced a number of new features like Hype, to help smaller channels and expand its “Community” feature for creators. And the NDA on iPhone 16 reviews has lifted and reviews are coming out.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Google outlines plans to include identifying if an image was taken with a camera, digitally edited or AI generated. Plus the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study shows partial automation tech increases driver distraction. And starting today Instagram is putting every user under the age of 18 into “Teen Accounts”.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Microsoft unveils a raft of new Copilot products and features including Copilot Pages. Plus a round-up of the latest Apple news on iOS 18, iPad, Watch and Mac updates released today. And do dating apps make it easier to find a partner?

Starring Tom Merritt, Chris Ashley, Roger Chang, Joe.

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How can simple food dye 

turn a lab mouse's skin transparent? Plus can AI chatbots be better at weening people off conspiracy theories? And the technology integrated new sports arenas that make them greener and more hygenic.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Dr. Nicole Ackermans, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Amos

Full episode show notes here.

Want to make your own podcast and not have to speak into a mic? Well, Google’s NotebookLM new “Audio Overview” feature will turn your notes into a podcast. Plus Google Wallet will be allowing users to digitize their US passport as an alternative to waiting for each state to add digital ID support. And the FDA approves Apple’s AirPods Pro as over-the-counter hearing aids!

Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Sony’s PS5 Pro comes with a larger GPU, faster render times, advanced ray-tracing support and a $700 price tag. Is it a worthwhile upgrade? Plus Meta quietly scrapped every Australian user's account to train its generative AI since 2007. And Nuro, the delivery robot company, will license its technology out to automakers and mobility providers.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Screen legend, James Earl Jones, has passed away, but his unmistakable voice will live on forever. We explore the details that will allow Lucasfilm to use his voice for future iterations of Darth Vader. Plus Amazon’s Thursday Night Football will offer AI powered alerts to give home viewers a prediction of game strategies the teams will use. And Apple confirms the rollout schedule for iOS 18, iPadOS 18, watchOS 11, macOS Sequoia, and Apple Intelligence.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe.

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We got full coverage of all the big announcements from Apple’s “It’s Glowtime” event including: Watch Series 10, iPhone 16 line, AirPods 4 and iOS 18. And Google begins its second antitrust trial regarding its online ad dominance with the Justice Department calling for a breakup of the company.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Nica Montford, Terrance Gaines, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Patrick discusses the Sonos update that is supposed to "fix" their controversial app revamp and shares alternatives for folks who want to use something else. Plus new display form factors from IFA. And watching the NFL gets complicated. 

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Patrick Norton, Roger Chang, Amos, Joe.

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Android 15 is releasing this fall. What can users expect from the latest Android OS and why is the roll-out timeline so weird? And we talk to Jen Briney about the reasons why manufacturers are lobbying against legislation to allow the US military to repair its own hardware.

Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Ron Richards, Jen Briney, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Nvidia faces headwinds with US regulators and from the stock market. Plus security researchers at NinjaLab have found a potential attack vector for YubiKey. And the latest with Intel’s Lunar Lake processors.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Cox Media Group, a marketing firm, has admitted to investors that it listens in on user conversations to place ads on smartphones. Plus Canva is jacking up its prices for some users by nearly 300%. And what research into 28-years of data on cell phone use and increased rates of cancer found.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

EVs are crucial in the pivot towards a renewable energy future but what do you do with their batteries when they reach the end of their life? Plus the Wall Street Journal’s sources say Apple is in talks to invest in OpenAI. And what does Amazon have in store for its version of Alexa?

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Molly Wood, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Why are major websites opting out of being scrapped Apple’s generative AI training? Plus Nvidia reports an increase in 122% revenue. And Alphabet Inc.’s Google will resume letting some consumers generate images of people using Gemini.

Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Roger Chang, Joe.

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Why is the CEO of Procreate promising the company will never integrate generative AI into its products? Plus Patrick Beja is here to give us the French perspective on the French arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov. And the NotePin from Plaud promises to be a better AI wearable for remembering everything.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Patrick Beja, Roger Chang, Joe.

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France’s Prosecutor of the Republic has published an explanation of the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov. Garmin introduced a couple new smartwatches. And China is restricting exports of rare earths in response to bans on exporting chip technologies to the country.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

The Verge asks how society will need to change its views that photos are irrefutable proof of an event occurring, as on-device generative AI image editing becomes widespread. Plus a new Android malware clones stolen NFC data. And Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of encrypted chat app Telegram, was arrested by French authorities outside of Paris

Starring Tom Merritt, Shannon Morse, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

In the inaugural episode of IT SPARC Cast, John Barger and Lou Schmidt dive into the latest happenings in the IT world with a mix of insights and a touch of humor.

Starring John Barger and Lou Schmidt

Brad and Will take a closer look at Microsoft's IntelliMouse Explorer. These days it's hard to remember that it was Microsoft who banished the infernal ball and introduced the optical mouse to the mainstream, so we head back to 1999 and discuss what mice were like beforehand, how mechanical and optical sensors work, debate PS/2 versus USB, make an argument that the whole PC gaming accessory ecosystem owes its existence to this product, and more.

Starring Brad Shoemaker, Will Smith

You can follow Brad and Will on their podcast at https://techpod.content.town.

Microsoft has officially announced that it is deprecating the Windows Control Panel, YouTube has introduced a new AI assistant to help creators recover hacked accounts, and SpaceX is set to attempt the first-ever private spacewalk.

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 Bodie and Robb share their insights on where podcasters should go to host their podcast files and which platforms to share your shows on.

You can follow Bodie and Robb at https://shows.acast.com/beyond-the-post podcast.

Article Links:

Microsoft is going to retry its rollout of Recall to Windows Insider PCs beginning in October, The U.S. FTC fines Lingo Telecom $1 million for its role in transmitting deep fake robocalls of President Biden, and Cloud storage company Dropbox has acquired AI-powered scheduling tool Reclaim.ai.

Link to Show Notes

Scott Johnson shares his experience on the best art apps you can get for your tablet.

Starring Scott Johnson

You can find Scott's work at https://www.frogpants.com or follow him at https://x.com/scottjohnson.

Blair is "the Zoologist" and sitting animal expert who co-hosts the weekly science news podcast, This Week in Science. Her husband Brian is a nursing student and avid gamer of all types (video, board, card, role-playing, etc), and their friend Jesse is a podcast host, writer, and "your teacher's favorite teacher" who is also a games enthusiast. Together, we will explore the worlds of Pokemon, Zelda, Horizon, Dune, Lord of the Rings, Dungeons and Dragons, and whatever else we fancy to discuss the real world inspiration for the fantastical creatures you can find in your favorite fiction. 

Find Blair Bazdarich talking animal news at www.twis.org, Jesse McGrath discussing what makes life "very quite lit" on Jesse and Wilder's Guide to Life wherever you find your podcasts or on X, and Brian Pagano if you wake up in a Bay Area Emergency Room - he will be pleased as punch to help get you back on your feet.

The FBI accuses Iran of launching cyber operations against both U.S. presidential campaigns, Apple will make its highest-end iPhones in India for the first time, and Zoom has raised support on webinar calls from 100,000 to 1 million simultaneous viewers.

Link to Show Notes

Welcome to "Behind The Data". We all know that data is all around us -- it powers every algorithm, predictive model, and AI tool that is revolutionizing our lives. But where does it come from? Who collected it? How do we know if it's any good? For every dataset shaping our lives, there is a person or team making impactful decisions about what to track and how to track it that we are barely talking about. In this show we go behind the data to understand the stories and incentives behind how all this data came to be, why it matters for our lives, and how we can play a role in shaping it going forward.

Starring Andrea Jones-Rooy, Dhrumil Mehta

Andrea Jones-Rooy: www.datascienceneedsyou.com, www.instagram.com/jonesrooy

Guest Dhrumil Mehta: https://dhrumilmehta.com, https://twitter.com/datadhrumil

Materials referenced in the show:

Example polling tracker (the current version is not one that Dhrumil and I worked on): https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/national/

Nate Silver article, "The Media Has a Probability Problem", FiveThirtyEight

Harry Enten article, "Fake Polls are a Real Problem", FiveThirtyEight

Harry Enten article, "Trump is Just a Normal Polling Error Behind Clinton", FiveThirtyEight

Dhrumil's polls LLM: http://pollfinder.ai

What can businesses do to be more resilient against future CrowdStrike like outages? Plus Fortnite is available again for iOS in the EU and for Android worldwide. And over 2.7 billion data records with Social Security numbers were leaked onto a hacking forum. Should you be worried?

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Steve Zalewski, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

Former Google CEO, Eric Schmidt, recants his view that remote work policies are hindering Google’s AI competitiveness. But does he mean it? Plus Google is expanding the rollout of its generated summaries for search results, called “AI Overviews.” And the New England Journal Brian-Computer Interface (BCI) developed by scientists at the University of California, Davis.

Starring Sarah Lane, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

The US DOJ is considering asking a judge to break up Google. Apple announced support for access to the iPhone’s NFC chip in iOS 18.1. And Valve confirms SteamOS support for Asus’s ROG Ally handheld gaming PC.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

We detail all the highlights from today’s Made By Google event including the new Pixel 9 hardware, AI services and Pixel Watch 3!. Plus some folks are mad that The Verge published screenshots from Valve’s unannounced game. And Password manager Dashlane shared its first Passkey Report.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Jason Howell, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

We explain the hack of the Trump campaign by an foreign state actor and the possible threat to US elections. Justin explains how to find out who’s really soliciting donations on behalf of a electoral campaign. And the Verge’s Sean Hollister explains the limitations of the PSVR2 PC adapter.

Starring Tom Merritt, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe.

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David Spark is here to give us the highlights from this year’s Black Hat security conference. Plus Apple reveals a fee structure for apps that link to outside websites for purchase in the EU. And eVTOL air taxi startup Archer Aviation hopes to have its service up and running in Los Angeles by 2026.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, David Spark, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

We do a deep dive into AlphaFold 3 and how its impact on scientific research with Dr Niki. Plus The Financial Times reports that Google worked with Meta to roll out ads that targeted children, despite violating Google’s own rules.

Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Dr. Niki Ackermans, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

Reddit plans to experiment with search result summaries generated by Large Language Models. CrowdStrike details what caused the Falcon Sensor bug to crash Windows machines around the world. And the Borderlands movie releases in the US this Friday. Is this a sign that the game has made it, or are movie adaptations an unneeded distraction?

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

Google announces the TV Streamer, a replacement for the 11-year old Chromecast device. Plus we have the latest on Uber's autonomous car ride-hailing service. And what does Google loss in the DOJ’s big monopoly trial over search business mean for the company?

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

As Nvidia runs into delays producing its next-gen Blackwell B200 chips and startup AI chip competitor Groq lands new funding some investors are questioning if generative AI is really ready for primetime. Plus OpenAI is looking into watermarking content produced by ChatGPT and we pick our favorite new tech product from the headlines.

Starring Tom Merritt, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

Details about Google’s new Pixel phones and watch have already leaked. What do we know about the Pixel 9 hardware and why does Google have so many leaks? Plus Suno has admitted its generative music AI model was trained on copyrighted songs scraped from the Internet but that it’s protected under fair-use. And we take a look at Apple’s Q3 earnings report.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Ron Richards, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

The Kids Online Safety Act or KOSA, and the Children Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) has been passed by the US Senate. What’s in these two bills and what do they mean for online platforms that target teens and youth? Plus Reddit CEO Steve Huffman wants Microsoft and others to pay to scrape data from the site. And Google introduces new Gemini-powered tools for Chrome desktop like Lens for desktop, natural language integration for search history and more!

Starring Sarah Lane, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

Why are Xbox sales dropping and is it intentional? How can you keep your games when the digital store that sells them closes up? Plus can an AI powered pendant keep you from feeling lonely. And Intel and Ryzen release their CoPilot+ ready processors.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

Apple bringing RCS to iPhone with iOS 18 is a win for folks who send cross-platform messages. But how will businesses benefit? Brett Rounsaville is here to explain. Plus Amazon expands its Fast Delivery service into rural areas. And neurotech startup Synchron revealed it’s successfully interfaced its brain implant to the Apple Vision Pro.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Brett Rounsaville, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

Apple delayed the roll out of its Apple Intelligence until iOS 18.1 update in October. Plus Synology’s BeeStation hopes to streamline the data backup process for users who don’t want to be a part-time sysadmin. And Microsoft reveals more details about the CrowdStrike crash.

Starring Tom Merritt, Nica Montford, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

Wil Harris is here to explain how he cleared out the bugs from his latest website update. Plus will OpenAI’s SearchGPT be the search tool to unthrone Google’s reign? And how is X using your data to train its Chatbot Grok?

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Wil Harris, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

Elon Musk is asking Tesla shareholders to invest $5 billion into his newest startup, xAI. Meta’s Oversight board deems the company’s rules are “not sufficiently clear” in preventing sexually explicit AI-generated images of real people, calling for changes.

Starring Sarah Lane, Robb Dunewood, Justin Robert Young, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

241 Bethesda game developers unionized last Friday. Is this sign of more unionization efforts in the gaming industry? Plus CrowdStrike releases more information about its faulty update that brought systems to a halt. And Stability AI introduces a new generative video model called Stable Video 4D.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Scott Johnson, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

We look at a number of pet health tech startups that are innovating the way we take care of our four-legged companions. Plus Google has decided not to deprecate third party cookies in the Google Chrome browser. And Amazon has sold more than 500 million Alexa-enabled hardware devices with a new paid-tier version coming out soon. What’s in store for this venerable Amazon device?

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Cate Lawrence, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

The summer season is here and if you’re traveling to a fan convention or a vacation getaway, Trisha Hershberger has some tips on tech to bring with you to make the most of your experience. Plus the reviews for ASUS’s ROG Ally X are out. What do the critics like and not like about the company’s latest handheld gaming PC. And we have a roundup of stories on the effects of last week's CrowdStrike outage.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Trisha Hershberger, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.

Iyaz is here with a review of Samsung’s flagship foldable Galaxy Z Fold 6. And We explain what happened with a CrowdStrike bug that crippled PCs around the world.

Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Iyaz Akhtar, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe.

Link to the Show Notes.