Tech Brew Ride Home - Fri. 10/09 – Microsoft Game Pass To Do An App Store End-run?

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 TechMeme right home for Friday, October 9th, 2020. I'm Brian McCullough today. Again, could gaming and Microsoft specifically be the thing that cracks the app store open? More hints of consolidation in the semiconductor industry that is massively in flux. A major milestone in

Starting point is 00:00:50 self-driving cars has been passed. Could hybrid cable fiber networks compete with 5G? And in the weekend, long-read suggestions this week, what operating systems do NASA's spacecraft actually run on? Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. Sources are telling Business Insider that Microsoft has been telling employees that GamePass will absolutely be on iOS and iPadOS in 2021, probably via a direct browser-based solution. Quote, we absolutely will end up on iOS. Microsoft's gaming boss, Phil Spencer, told employees, according to two people with direct knowledge of his comments, Microsoft did not comment at the time of publication. Apple has not yet responded to a request for comment. Microsoft last month

Starting point is 00:01:34 added a key new feature to GamePass. It's Netflix-style subscription service that gives Xbox and PC gamers access to a vast catalog of games. Now GamePass subscribers can stream many of the included titles directly to their Android phones or tablets, no console required. Notable by its absence at the features launch was support for Apple's iPhone and iPad. An Apple spokesperson told Business Insider this summer that it doesn't allow for game streaming in apps like GamePass or Google Stadia because it is unable to review each game. in the services respective libraries, end quote. So I'm leading with this today because I continue to believe that if the app store ever gets

Starting point is 00:02:14 cracked open at some point in the future, it's probably going to be because of gaming. As I said before, number one, gaming is a huge industry, bigger than Hollywood by multiples. It's basically a terrible look that such a big industry is being held back by one company's policies. Should anyone really powerful, say Microsoft, start to point that out in a major way, I believe that Apple's position vis-a-vis the App Store becomes untenable. But also, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and others have big investments in cloud computing, and they need something big and consumer-facing like cloud gaming to justify those investments. In other words, they can apply pressure on Apple directly should they choose to. Now, yes, this story seems to suggest Microsoft is

Starting point is 00:03:00 going to do a browser workaround, but in a way, that's strategic signaling as well. As Board at Work tweeted, this is good news. Looks like Microsoft is taking the same solution as Amazon is. That's going to be great for Windows arm, end quote, which is an angle I hadn't considered. But also, the idea here could be something like, hey, Apple, we'll go our own way if we have to, and you'll get nothing. But what if you played ball just a little bit? You could get something. Not 30% something, but something, which is, you know, better than nothing. And also make note of this posturing. Microsoft yesterday announced 10 what it called principles for its app store,

Starting point is 00:03:40 including letting developers choose a payment system for in-app payments that it says should be a model for others, quoting Axios. In addition to offering developers the option to use alternative payment mechanisms for in-app purchases, Microsoft pledged that it will, among other things, allow competing app stores, hold its own apps to the same standards as those of other companies, allow app makers to decide what they do and don't want to sell within their app, and allow any developer in its store, quote, as long as it meets objective standards and requirements,

Starting point is 00:04:09 including those for security, privacy, quality, content, and digital safety, end quote. In other words, that is the sort of noise that Microsoft could start to make a lot more of. What I'm suggesting is, sure, Apple versus Epic is creating all the fireworks right now, But if anyone has the real heft to push Apple to the mat and maybe make them cry, Uncle, it could really be Microsoft, which would be, well, historically ironic, you'd have to say. Scrappy, plucky underdog Microsoft doing battle with the big bad ogre Apple. And we've been talking a lot about how crazy the semiconductor space has gotten this year. The whole industry feels like it's in flux.

Starting point is 00:04:54 All of a sudden, the entire multi-decade chessboard has been tossed in the air for this industry. and consolidation is a huge part of that. You know, things like Nvidia buying arm. We'll be on the lookout for more because sources are telling the Wall Street Journal that AMD is in advance talks to buy rival chipmaker Xilinks for more than $30 billion in a deal that could be finalized as early as next week. The addition of Xilinks led by CEO Victor Peng would put AMD on a more even competitive footing with Intel and give it a bigger position in fast-growing telecommunications and defense

Starting point is 00:05:29 markets. San Jose, California-based Xilinx chips are used in wireless communications, data centers, and industries such as automotive and aerospace. Its shares have been hurt by trade tensions between the U.S. and China, and especially the Trump administration's limitations on shipments to China's Huawei technologies because of security concerns. Analyst's estimated Huawei accounted for roughly 6 to 8 percent of Xilin's revenue. AMD's market value now tops $100 billion, after its shares sold 89% this year, as the coronavirus pandemic Stokes demand for PCs, gaming consoles, and other devices that use the company's chips. The surge in AMD shares could emboldened the company to make an acquisition using its stock as currency. Xilinks has a market value of about $26 billion

Starting point is 00:06:13 with its shares up about 9% so far this year just ahead of the SMP's 7% rise, end quote. As Kaiser Soze, CFA said on Twitter, quote, As a Xylinks long, I would be pissed if they sold for only a 15%ish, premium. Xilinx is a premier semiconductor company with great margins, end quote. Yeah, but when consolidation comes to your industry, it's often a game of musical chairs. Sometimes the smart move is to tie the knot when you can, or else you might be left high and dry when the music stops. A big, notable milestone has been passed in the whole self-driving technology game. Waymo says it will make its fully driverless ride hailing service in suburban Phoenix open to the public.

Starting point is 00:07:01 Quoting Bloomberg. Alphabet's self-driving car unit began faring a select group of a few hundred customers known as early riders in vehicles without safety drivers in the summer of 2019. After receiving feedback from those riders who were bound by non-disclosure agreements to not discuss their experiences publicly, the company is making driverless rides in its Chrysler Pacifica minivans available to all users in the Phoenix area. Quote, it's a really, really big deal, we think, for us and for the world, said Waymo Chief Executive Officer John Kraftchick in a conference call with

Starting point is 00:07:31 reporters on Wednesday. Beginning Thursday, any existing Waymo 1 customer can hail a driverless minivan from a fleet of more than 300. The vehicles will be operating in a smaller, roughly 50-square-mile service area. Passengers are free to invite friends and family and to share their experiences on social media. Waymo plans to open the service to new customers within a few weeks. At that point, we'll have general access to anyone who chooses to download the app, Craftchick said. Waymo plans to reintroduce safety drivers for some rides as it expands its Phoenix. service area, but is not allowing passengers and vehicles with safety drivers until it finishes installing barriers between the front and back rows. For the next several weeks, perhaps a month

Starting point is 00:08:10 or more, every ride, 100% of our rides with Waymo 1 will be fully driverless, said Craftchick, end quote. So this probably is not enough to satisfy my true driverless being widely or even modestly available by the end of 2020 bet. One single 50-square-mile area and one single city doesn't satisfy the criteria, I think. But this is still worth noting as a very big first step for this technology overall. As Martin Varsafsky tweeted, quote, awesome news that probably will not be given the relevance it deserves. For the first time ever, a fleet of robotaxies opens to the general public. You download an app, order a quote Uber, but it comes without a driver. Bravo, end quote. Google Assistant can now search and control third-party Android apps, starting with the top 30 apps currently in the Play Store with support for more coming soon, quoting and gadget.

Starting point is 00:09:11 Before today, if you ask Siri or the Google Assistant to check the news on Twitter, you'll either be shown the at-check news account on the Twitter website or articles about the social network on Apple News. For Android users, voice commands are about to get a lot smarter. Google just announced that the Assistant will be able to search. and control your third-party apps when you ask it to. So when you ask for the news on Twitter, you'll see the latest trending tweets instead of a random account. This isn't available to every single Android app out there just yet. Google said Assistant will work with the top 30 apps on the Play Store with support for more coming soon. The apps will have to be already installed on your phone for the Assistant to be able to pull up results directly within them. I asked it to send a message on Twitter and the Assistant brought up the app's Compose page, letting me select my recipient.

Starting point is 00:09:56 You could also ask your phone to search cross-stitch baby Yoda's on Etsy or lace up my Nike Adaps if you have the shoes and companion app. The self-lacing shoes will start tightening without you having to first hunt for the app and then selecting the right option, end quote. While 5G has gotten all the hype with the biggest boosters claiming it could make the need for wired internet services redundant, what if I told you that innovation in wired connections might still be possible? Comcast says that symmetrical gigabit upload and download speeds can be achieved through cable internet, detailing a trial using a hybrid fiber cable network, quoting Ars Technica. Comcast's cable internet still has a heavy emphasis on download speeds, as even its gigabit download service only comes with 35 mbPS uploads.

Starting point is 00:10:52 But that might not be the case forever, as today Comcast announced a technical milestone that can deliver gigabit-plus download and upload speeds over existing cable wires. Specifically, Comcast said it conducted a trial delivering 1.25 GbPS upload and download speeds over a live production network using network function virtualization or NFV combined with the latest doxis technology. Comcast installed the service at a home in Jacksonville, Florida, where, quote, the technology team consistently measured speeds of up to 1.25 GPPs, upload and 1.25GpBS download over the connection, end quote. The speeds were delivered over a hybrid fiber cable network with the coaxial cable

Starting point is 00:11:38 providing the final connection to the home. That's nothing new. Comcast has been using both fiber and cable for years, but Comcast said the trial benefited from the company's quote, ongoing effort to extend fiber further into neighborhoods, end quote. Normally, symmetrical gigabit speeds require a fiber to the home connection, but many more homes. have cable than fiber, so a symmetrical gigabit technology could be deployed faster if it doesn't require bringing fiber all the way to each building. Comcast, the nation's largest broadband provider, did not say when or whether a symmetrical 1.25 GPPPS service will go on sale. For now, more testing is required. Quote, in the coming weeks, Comcast will expand the trail to more

Starting point is 00:12:19 homes as we continue to test the performance of the service under multiple different home and network environments, the company said, end quote. Of course, time for you. the caveats. If this does prove scalable, you'd still expect to wait at least years, maybe even decades for this to reach your home. And that assumes cable companies would want to invest the money it would take to make this sort of infrastructure possible, as we've seen with AT&T and fiber, they often don't want to. And even if they did, they'd want to charge more, of course. And even if they did that, they'd probably still want to cap your data right. But still, I'm all for any possible future where the telcos and the cable companies are in a cage

Starting point is 00:12:56 match trying to compete on price and internet speeds. Time for the weekend long-reach suggestions. First up, in all of the back and forth about TikTok bans, tariffs, and stripping Huawei tech from 5G networks, it should not be overlooked that what began as U.S. government pressure to boycott specific entities has functionally broadened out to essentially attempt to cut China out of the tech supply chain entirely. This is from the Niki Asian Review. quote, Washington has weaponized tech supply chains, for example, in semiconductors in order to slow down

Starting point is 00:13:36 China's technology ambitions, said Alex Capri, a research fellow at the Singapore-based Hinrich Foundation and visiting senior fellow of National University of Singapore Business School. The U.S. is aiming to, quote, suppress Beijing's techno-authoritarianism model, he said. The message, as understood by the Taiwanese executives, was urgent. Move production facilities out of China, reduced ties with Chinese clients like Huawei, stand with the U.S. or face the potential worst-case scenario of becoming Washington's next target, end quote. You know, part and parcel with all of this is the signal that China has also been receiving loud and clear, that it needs to create an entire parallel tech supply chain and tech stack that is

Starting point is 00:14:17 fully homegrown and independent. So forget a bifurcated internet. Imagine a world 20 years from now with two completely parallel tech industries. That would sort of start to feel like the old Cold War world of 50 years ago when we had two entirely separate yet parallel global economies on the planet Earth. Over at medium, Eric Fung takes a stab at explaining how and why formats like Snapchat stories or TikTok videos become hits. It's something we've been thinking a lot about lately, right? Well, more deep dives and how this functionally works. Quote, why does any media format become a dominant format? What makes a media format go from introduction to creators to widely used by creators. It comes down to two things. Simplicity and storytelling. For a media format to be

Starting point is 00:15:06 widely adopted, it's important for it to be easy to create content with. Similarly, it helps if that format can be used to tell rich, complex narratives. So more simplicity and more storytelling leads to a more valuable and popular media format. But here's the rub. Simplicity and storytelling are inversely correlated. The more storytelling capabilities you want out of your media format, the more complex the media format inevitably becomes, end quote. We've spoken a lot about companies and tech that have been killing it during COVID times. Well, spare a thought for the mask barons who have been killing it selling masks on Etsy, and they've been making millions doing that, quote, small sellers notched mask sales in the hundreds, sometimes outselling everything.

Starting point is 00:15:53 else their store had sold to date. Float said she saw sales hit $3,000 for the month of July. Smith and Cobb estimate they've sold around 2,000 masks through Etsy, bringing in sales of more than $25,000 since April. The money was particularly helpful at a time when the pandemic had shut down a lot of jobs. Jackson's husband was furloughed at one point. Float is a teacher and doesn't get paid during summer break. For Etsy's biggest mask shops, those numbers are orders of magnitude larger. One apparel company sold around 500,000 fabric masks across three Etsy stores bringing in more than $4.1 million in sales between April and mid-September. The owner, who asked to remain anonymous to hide their business's financial information from family, said it was a more than 2,000

Starting point is 00:16:35 increase over the shop's sales for the entirety of 2019. Another major seller, Charlotte Chang, sold more than 200,000 fabric masks through her store, Double Joy Designs, raking in around 1.5 million in sales. She had only been on Etsy for a matter of months. She had only been on Etsy for a matter of months before the pandemic hit, having started a t-shirt shop in September 2019. That put her in just the right position, though. She was already working with a factory to make clothing, so she directed them to make masks instead, end quote. Next, this only posted this morning, so I haven't read it all the way through, but a long-term investigation by one zero makes the provocative claim that a major online learning platform, Acellus, which is used by thousands of U.S. students, might have been created

Starting point is 00:17:17 by a subterranean religious cult. Quote, this September, Acellus came under intense scrutiny after the Wall Street Journal and other news outlets surfaced the company's apparently racist and problematic educational materials. The Wall Street Journal also raised claims that Acellus's creator, a man named Roger Billings, was the leader of a, quote, religious sect, end quote, a Mormon offshoot called the Church of Jesus Christ in Zion. Billings denied accusations that he is a polygamist, cult leader, and that he ever molested

Starting point is 00:17:45 children in an interview with the journal. But a one-zero investigation into Billings, the church, and the Acellus platform, based on documents from state departments of education, school accrediting bodies, and the Church of Jesus Christ in Zion, as well as interviews with former church followers, educators using Acellus, and parents whose children have been exposed to the platform reveal alarming details about the fringe community that Billings established and how he created the widely adopted learning program, end quote. And finally, you've heard the old saw about the code that took humans to the moon, but have you ever wondered what operating systems actually operate, say, the current solar orbiter mission? In one of the most fascinating things I've read in months, Ars Technica takes a close look at the software behind the probes, the orbitors, the rockets, everything. Say hello to operating systems like VXWorks, R-TEMs, and even space change.

Starting point is 00:18:41 OS. I didn't even know this whole universe, forgive the pun, even existed. It's because to operate in space, you need a functionally different kind of OS, quote. Spacecraft-like Solar Orbiter are almost always run by real-time operating systems that work in an entirely different way than the ones you and I know from the average laptop. The criteria by which we judge Windows or Mac OS are fairly simple. They perform a computation, and if the result of this computation is correct, then a task is considered to be done correctly. Operating systems used in space add at least one more central criterion. A computation needs to be done correctly within a strictly specified deadline. When a deadline is not met, the task is considered failed and terminated. And in spaceflight, a misdeadline

Starting point is 00:19:28 quite often means your spacecraft has already turned into a fireball or straight into an incorrect orbit. There's no point in processing such tasks any further. Things must adhere to a very precise clock. the time as measured by the clock is divided into singular ticks. To simplify it, space operating systems are typically designed in such a way that each task is performed within a set number of allocated ticks. It can take three ticks to upload data from sensors, four ticks are devoted to firing up engines and so on. Each possible task is assigned a specific priority so a higher priority task can take precedence

Starting point is 00:20:03 over the lower priority task. And this way, a software designer knows exactly which task is. going to be performed in any given scenario and how much time it is going to take to get it done, end quote. Absolutely fascinating stuff. That's all for this week. No weekend bonus episode this weekend. No feed drops. I'll be busy playing with the kids all weekend and squeezing in Crusader Kings sessions when I can. Maybe I'll look into streaming a session at some point this weekend. No promises I could actually figure out how to do that, but I don't know, watch my Twitter feed. I'll announce it there if I do it. As ever, my Twitter is at Brian MCC. This show's subreddit is our slash

Starting point is 00:20:47 right home if you want to spend this weekend chatting with other listeners. And the show's YouTube page is just about to cross a thousand subscribers. Again, there's a video of all of the recent weekend bonus episodes on there if you want to see what a mess my house is. And a lot of the segments that we do are broken up every day as news clips. So if you ever wanted to just set a playlist on YouTube and, you know, listen to the podcast that way, you could do that as well. Just search for TechMeme podcast on YouTube. Talk to you on Monday.

Tech Brew Ride Home - Fri. 10/09 – Microsoft Game Pass To Do An App Store End-run?

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