Tech Brew Ride Home - Fri. 06/10 – The Next Big—And Small—Things From Apple.

Starting point is 00:00:00 On April 4th, 2023, around 2 in the morning, a man was found stabbed multiple times on a sidewalk in downtown San Francisco. Hey, who did this to you? What happened next turned the story into a political firestorm. Reports have identified the victim as Bob Lee, the founder of Cash App. From Bloomberg Podcasts, this is Foundering, the Killing of Bob Lee, beginning April 16. Welcome to the Tech meme right home for Friday, June 10th, 2020. I'm Brian McCullough today. Is it time for Apple to refresh those Yao Ming and Vern Troier Powerbook ads from the early aughts? Could meta not release its big Metaverse hardware play for years?

Starting point is 00:00:49 The NHTSA's investigation into Tesla's autopilot seems to be getting serious. Speaking of Austin Powers actors, Seth Green, ransomed his ape, and of course the week on long read suggestions. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. As WWDC winds down for another year, looks like the Apple rumor mongers felt the need to step up for some of the spotlight. Ross Young says Apple is developing a 14.1 inch iPad Pro with a mini-l-D display and pro motion, likely for an early 2023 release. Quoting Mac rumors. The first report about even larger iPad Pro models came from Bloomberg's Mark German last year. In the first edition of his Power on newsletter, German said Apple was exploring iPads with

Starting point is 00:01:34 larger displays. I am told that Apple has engineers and designers exploring larger iPads that could hit stores a couple of years down the road at the earliest. They're unlikely for next year with Apple's attention on a redesigned iPad Pro in the current sizes for 2022, and it's possible they'll never come at all. But a big iPad would be the perfect device for many people, including me, and would continue to blur the lines between tablet and laptop. The latest rumor about a 14.1 inch iPad Pro from Majin Boo and Ross Young, in addition to German's previous comments, suggests that an even larger iPad Pro model is more likely to emerge than previously thought and could arrive sooner rather than later.

Starting point is 00:02:12 More immediately, Apple is expected to launch new iPad Pro models with wireless charging, end quote. And remember those Yao Ming and Vern Troir commercials from early in the 2000s from Apple, the next big and little thing from Apple commercials on the area, airplane, German himself says that Apple is planning a 15-inch MacBook Air for 2023 and a 12-inch laptop for the end of 2023 or early 2024. Also, MacBook Pros with M2 Pro or M2 Max chips for 2022, quoting Bloomberg. The 15-inch model under development is a wider version of the 13.6-inch MacBook Air that Apple announced this week. That design unveiled at the developers' event Monday is thinner than recent models, relies on the M2 chip, and abandons the previous wedge-shaped frame.

Starting point is 00:03:04 It's considered to be the biggest overhaul to the MacBook Air since it was introduced by Steve Jobs in 2008. Apple had previously considered a 15-inch variation for this year's MacBook Air, but shelved those plans to focus on the 13.6-inch version. Still, even that model will take time to reach consumers. Despite the unveiling this week, supply chain constraints will prevent it from going on sale until July. Apple has also begun work on a new 12-inch. laptop and is considering launching it at the end of 2023 or early 2024. If Apple moves forward with the release, it would represent the company's smallest laptop since it discontinued the 12-inch

Starting point is 00:03:38 MacBook in 2019, end quote. Not sure at all what to make of this. A source is telling the information that meta has decided not to release the first version of its AR glasses, originally scheduled for 2024, to instead focus on the second version with a release for that, unlikely for years. Quote, meta has decided to not commercially release what was to be the first version of the AR glasses codenamed project Nazar, which was reportedly scheduled to launch commercially in 2024. The glasses are expected to become a demonstration product instead, according to a person familiar with the matter. Meta now plans to prioritize what was going to be the second version of the glasses internally codenamed Artemis. The shift means meta is unlikely

Starting point is 00:04:28 to release a version of the glasses for several years. At the same time, the AR software team working on the Nazar glasses will focus on building a software development kit, according to people familiar with the matter. Such kits typically consist of software tools and programs that developers can use to build apps for devices, end quote. So this is either partially corroborated or contradicted by Alex Heath in the Verge, who says sources have told him that meta will distribute the first version of its AR glasses, codenamed Orion, exclusively to developers helping them build software for future devices. Quote,

Starting point is 00:05:02 Meta has decided to not sell the first version of its full-fledged AR glasses codenamed Orion and will instead distribute them to developers so they can build software experiences for the device in future versions, a person familiar with the matter told the verge. The company is also shelving plans to release a smartwatch with a detachable display and two cameras in favor of a design better suited to control a later version of the glasses. The first version of the AR glasses,

Starting point is 00:05:25 which have been in development for three years was always going to be geared toward developers and early adopters, but executives hadn't decided whether to sell them broadly until now, the person said. Employees working in Mehta's Reality Labs Division building VR and AR hardware were informed of the decision this week. The information first reported the news on Thursday. Version 2 of the glasses codenamed Artemis remains on track for a consumer release at a higher production volume with a less bulky design and more advanced display technology. And as soon as next year, Meta also still plans to release an entry-level cheaper version of AR glasses, codenamed Hypernova, which will pair with a nearby phone to show incoming messages and other notifications

Starting point is 00:06:03 through a smaller heads-up display, end quote. So, mix all that up with the rumors that Meta is going to stop selling its portal smart display as a consumer product, instead focusing on selling future versions to businesses, and boy, oh boy, the road to the Metaverse is suddenly, shrouded in fog. Here's the thing. Let's say meta really doesn't release its big play in the glasses slash headset space for years. And in the meantime, Apple will likely have released theirs. And wouldn't that mean they would capture the public mine share for this new product category, if not actual market share? Like, you know, normal folks only know the Apple Watch and maybe the Fitbit. So will consumers

Starting point is 00:06:48 by the time Meta gets around to releasing, only no eyeglasses or whatever they're going to be called by the time meta's play hits the market. If so, that's wild. Because remember, all Zuck really wants is his iPhone moment, his chance to define and own a new market and the platform to go along with it. If I were a Facebook shareholder, I'd be worried that maybe Apple's going to eat his lunch and given all of the money that's being poured into this as sort of a long-term Hail Mary play, I'd be kind of really nervous. AMD has updated its Zen architecture roadmap, including Zen 4 improvements in 2022 and Zen 5 in 2024 with a mix of 4 nanometer and 3 nanometer processes and AI and ML optimizations, quoting a nan tech.

Starting point is 00:07:38 At this point, AMD is expecting to see a greater than 25% increase in performance per watt with Zen 4 over Zen 3 based on desktop 16C chips running Cinebench. Meanwhile, the overall performance improvement stands at greater than 35 percent, no doubt taking advantage of both the greater performance of the architecture per thread and AMD's previously disclosed higher TDPs, which are especially handy for uncorking more performance in MT workloads. Meanwhile, carrying AMD's Zen architecture roadmap into 2024 is the Zen 5 architecture, which is being announced today, given that AMD isn't yet shipping Zen 4. Their details on Zen 5 are, understandably, at a very high level.

Starting point is 00:08:18 Nonetheless, they also indicate that AMD won't be resting on their laurels and have some aggressive updates planned. The big news here is that AMD is terming the Zen 5 architecture as an all-new micro-architecture, which is to say it's not merely going to be an incremental improvement over Zen 4, end quote. Also, AMD's upcoming RDNA3 GPU architecture will apparently use a chipplet design and target a greater than 50% performance per watt uplift versus RDNA2. the first chips of these are coming in 2022. The NHTSA has upgraded its Tesla autopilot investigation to a, quote, engineering analysis investigation, which typically precedes possible recalls, and it is expanding the number of vehicles it is investigating from $76,000 to $830,000, quoting the verge. This next phase will involve additional tests and crash analyses to, quote, explore the degree to which

Starting point is 00:09:22 autopilot and associated Tesla systems may exacerbate human factors or behavioral safety risks by undermining the effectiveness of the driver's supervision, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA said in documents posted on its website Thursday. The NHTSA is also expanding the number of Tesla vehicles that could be affected by the investigation from $765,000 to $830,000. The probe covers Tesla models S, X, 3, and Y vehicles that were released from 2014 through 2021. The agency is looking into 16 crashes in which Tesla owners using autopilot crashed into stationary emergency vehicles, resulting in 15 injuries and one fatality. Most of these incidents took place after dark with the software ignoring scene control measures including warning lights, flares, cones, and an illuminated arrowboard, end quote.

Starting point is 00:10:16 Seth Green has gotten his board ape back after losing it to a fishing scam. Transaction records suggest Green may have paid 165 ETH worth of. around $297,000 to a Mr. Cheese in order to get his ape back. I'm going to say that that's a sentence that would make no sense to anyone if I went back in a time machine and reported this story back in 2015, quoting BuzzFeed News. The exchange appears to have occurred by way of a crypto escrow platform called NFT trader, where records reveal the ape departing cheese's wallet and eventually landing in the Fred Simeon account that presently contains it. Green has previously stated that he named the ape Fred Simeon and seemingly runs a Twitter account created for the

Starting point is 00:10:59 character. An unnamed wallet, likely belonging to Green, it's been used to purchase NFTs that now exist in his public vault, transferred 165 ether or approximately $297,000 to an address operated by NFT trader to exchange the ape. The ether appeared in a wallet belonging to Darkwing 84, a Mr. cheese alias minutes later. The transaction suggests Green may have repurchased the ape for nearly $100,000 more than Cheese originally paid for it, despite threatening to sue Cheese if they refused to return it to him. A real bummer for anyone who had their fingers crossed for a Green v. Cheese lawsuit. Worth noting, Green recently tweeted that he had made contact with Cheese on May 25th following numerous appeals from the actor to return the ape, end quote.

Starting point is 00:11:48 Time for the weekend. Long read suggestions. First up, sorry to say that hurricane season is upon us again here in the States. And CNET says, could help get 5G back up and running after a storm hits. Quote, over the past few years, AT&T has stabilized coverage at disaster sites by driving in trucks called cows or sell on wheels. It later expanded the approach with a fleet of flying cows or cell on wings that provide network service to larger areas. Last month, AT&T began testing its first 5G-equipped flying cows, so its aerial networks ultimately can connect to more people and devices than with earlier 4G technology. Its test took place in a remote part of Missouri,

Starting point is 00:12:31 far from any other mobile networks. AT&T expects its 5G flying cows to be available in about a month as the company upgrades its drones and the fiber optic tethers that link them to the trucks that serve as communication and power bases. The drones are staged already in warehouses ready for use. We have them on the West Coast for fire season, in the southeast for hurricane season, and in the Midwest for flood season, an AT&T spokesperson said, and quote. Then, Forbes has a profile of Palmer Lucky, and for whatever you think of his sometimes controversial personality, the dude clearly seems to be on to something by essentially creating a 21st century defense contractor with his $8 billion defense tech startup, Anderil, quote,

Starting point is 00:13:14 Anderil, which generated and estimated $150 million in revenue last year, develops much of its technology on its own dime. a high-stakes wager that inverts how military contractors normally operate. Rather than waiting for the Department of Defense, to launch a multi-year process of defining tech requirements and inviting bids to develop prototypes, Anderil plows ahead and makes weapons and surveillance systems that it believes the government will want as long as they work. We want to be the company that when the DoD needs something, we're the first people they think of, says Lucky.

Starting point is 00:13:44 Two previously undisclosed projects. A fast-armed drone that Lucky says is intended in some cases to replace mandator. fighters in the job of scrambling to intercept air zone violators. Then there's a large surveillance drone, shown on the condition that it not be described in detail, designed to launch and land vertically, making it runway independent, and to fly long distances autonomously, making it seemingly suited for the vast reaches of the Pacific. There's no formal Pentagon request for either, end quote. The New Yorker takes a look at one disgruntled hacker that allegedly might have, you know, basically given away the CIA's crown jewels of secrets in nothing more than a fit of peak.

Starting point is 00:14:26 Quote, the FBI began an investigation and agents began working around the clock, but in atmosphere of paranoia enshrouded the inquiry. One FBI agent described how a CIA officer who was approached for an interview reacted with reflexive suspicion, pointing out that anyone, quote, can say they're an FBI agent. The Bureau was pursuing what it calls an unsub or unknown subject investigation. Quote, a crime had been committed. We didn't yet know who had committed it. One of the lead investigators, Richard Evanchek, later testified. Fairly quickly, the agents ruled out a foreign power as the culprit, deciding that the unsub must be a CIA insider. They zeroed in on the classified computer network from which the data had been stolen and on the agency employees

Starting point is 00:15:08 who had access to that network. Among those who did were the OSB hackers on the ninth floor of the agency's secret cyber installation in Virginia. This was befuddling prospect. The OSB engineers devoted their professional lives to concocting clandestine digital weapons. Making public the source code would render their inventions useless. Why destroy your own work? As the FBI interviewed members of the team, a suspect came into focus. Joshua Schulte, Voldemort. He had left the agency in November 2016 and was said to have been disgruntled. He now lived in Manhattan where he worked as a software engineer at Bloomberg. As Schulte was leaving the office one evening, Evanchek, and another FBI agency.

Starting point is 00:15:46 intercepted him. When they explained that they were investigating the leak, he agreed to talk. They went to a nearby restaurant, Pershing Square, opposite Grand Central Terminal. Schulte may not have realized it, but the other patrons seated around them were actually plain-closed FBI agents who were there to monitor the situation and to intervene if he made any sudden moves. Schulte was amiable and chatty, but when Avanchek looked down, he noticed that Schulte's hands were shaking, end quote. And finally, I believe we've mentioned it before that Nintendo has a big piracy case that it is pursuing in the courts against a man named Gary Bowser, which is funny,

Starting point is 00:16:22 because, you know, Bowser is the name of Mario's nemesis. But Kutaku says, there's a ton more pathos to this case than humor, quote, none of the above changes the fundamentals of the story or Bowser's guilt. The man committed a crime, knows he did, and has been punished for it. But like I said, it does provide some context for the events beyond man does crime and maybe helps show that cases like this are more complicated than press releases sent out by Nintendo and federal authorities are capable of getting across, end quote. This weekend's bonus episode is last night's Twitter space where Chris and I broke down the week that was with WWDC stuff. Also, Chris Maddern came on to break some startup founding and interesting raise news that I didn't get a chance to cover,

Starting point is 00:17:15 and at the end, I finally tell you all about how my transition to this Mac studio has gone. Enjoy all that. Talk to you on Monday.

Tech Brew Ride Home - Fri. 06/10 – The Next Big—And Small—Things From Apple.

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