Tech Brew Ride Home - Mon. 04/12 – Microsoft Acquires Nuance

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 Monday, April 12th, 2021. I'm Brian McCullough today. Microsoft acquires the biggest name in Speech Tech. Apple is maybe developing some home gadgets that I feel like they should have done years ago. Might we see new iPads by the end of the month? Google wants you to stop walking and texting and a review of the new Mercedes-Benz entrant in the EV Wars. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. Microsoft has acquired Speech Tech, Tech, Microsoft has acquired Speech Tech, Tech, company Nuance for $19.7 billion in cash, a 23% premium on its Friday closing price on the stock market, quoting CNBC. The nuance acquisition represents Microsoft's largest acquisition since it bought LinkedIn

Starting point is 00:01:20 for more than $26 billion in 2016. It's the latest sign Microsoft is hunting for more growth through acquisitions. The company is also reportedly in talks to buy the chat app Discord for about $10 billion. On top of that, Microsoft made an effort to buy TikTok's U.S. business last year for about $30 billion before the deal was derailed. Last month, Microsoft completed its $7.6 billion acquisition of gaming company Xenamax. Nuance would be aligned with the part of Microsoft's business that serves businesses and governments. Nuance derives revenue by selling tools for recognizing and transcribing speech in doctor office visits, customer service calls, and voicemails. In its announcement, Microsoft said Nuances' technology will be used to augment Microsoft's

Starting point is 00:02:06 cloud products for health care, which were launched last year. In an interview on CNBC's Squawk on the Street, Monday, Microsoft's CEO Sachinadella, highlighted nuances health care tools as the key driver behind the acquisition, quote, we've seen a massive acceleration of digital transformation, healthcare in particular, Nadella said, when you think about the provider market, digital tech is going to be the key, end quote. that Microsoft recently shut down its voice assistant, Cortana, because, as you may or may not be aware, nuance was at one point, quote, the fundamental provider of voice recognition for Apple, i.e. it was the tech behind Siri. There have been rumors for years that Apple would be the one to

Starting point is 00:02:50 acquire nuance for that very reason, although I do feel like there's probably not much nuance tech left inside of Siri at this point. But then again, nuance powers most speech-to-tech stuff out there right, even in things like Microsoft Word. I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong and outdated on that. I knew that nuance has been around forever, having been founded back in 1992. But this morning, friend of the podcast, Eric Jackson, clued me into the fact that nuance as a company basically represents a giant sector roll-up of a whole bunch of companies like speechworks, scan soft, learn out, etc., that represented a small generational mini-bubble in speech tech startups. Speaking of Siri, at least tangentially, it's Mark Gurman Apple Rumor Monday,

Starting point is 00:03:45 as Mark's sources have told him that Apple is in the early stages of developing some products that combine Apple TV with home pod speakers and also FaceTime cameras and smart home functions. in other words, a Facebook portal Echo Show competitor, but also a more comprehensive Apple TV device. Let's take that last one first. The company is working on a product that would combine an Apple TV set-top box with a home pod speaker and include a camera for video conferencing through a connected TV and other smart home functions, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters. The device's other capabilities would include standard Apple TV box functions like watching,

Starting point is 00:04:27 video and gaming, plus smart speaker uses such as playing music and using Apple's Siri Digital Assistant. If launched, it would represent Apple's most ambitious smart home hardware offering to date. The Cupertino-California-based technology giant is also mulling the launch of a high-end speaker with a touchscreen to better compete with market leaders, Google, and Amazon, the people said. Such a device would combine an iPad with a home pod speaker and also include a camera for video chat. Apple has explored connecting the iPad to the speaker with a robotic arm that can move to follow a user around a room, similar to Amazon's latest Echo Show gadget, end quote. So let me back up and reverse these again. That Apple TV device, just jamming an Apple TV

Starting point is 00:05:13 into a home pod that would presumably be in a soundbar-like form factor makes a ton of sense, right? In fact, why haven't they done that before? But the Echo Show slash Face portal competitor. Again, why haven't they done that before? In fact, the headline says early stages. Are you kidding me? That can't possibly be true. Surely they've been mocking this stuff up for years. You might remember during the lockdown, I told you that we broke down and got a Facebook portal. In fact, we have two, the one that you sit on the TV and turns your TV into a video conferencing device, and then one for the kitchen that sits on the counter. As a father who has spent the past six years as a cinematographer, for constantly shoving cameras in everyone's faces in order to have conversations. It's great. I love

Starting point is 00:05:59 the portal, actually. You turn it on and you sit down anywhere in the room and the camera moves to follow you. If the kids move around, it follows them. It basically allows you to sit back and have a relaxed video call in a normal way. It's become my preferred Zoom video call device, in fact. Now, package that into an Apple TV device and it basically turns your living room into your video conference room for family purposes, but also, why hasn't Apple done a kitchen device yet? When we let them, the only thing the kids use the Google Nest Hub for is watching YouTube videos. So imagine if you had an Echo Show competitor or a Google Nest Hub competitor that you could put into any room, and then you had Apple TV capabilities in there so people could

Starting point is 00:06:45 watch shows and Apple Arcade, et cetera. Number one, Apple should definitely do the TV version of this for reasons I just said. But number two, they should do the kitchen counter version of this as well, because it could become your family's combination chat with friends, consume social media, watching TV device. Like, in the future, this would be the TV that you would put in your kids' bedrooms, because it could do it all. I know they just do it on their phones now, but believe me, this would be a big hit with entire families. Plus, it would extend the FaceTime and IMessage franchises, slash, as we've learned, Recently, Apple knows their lock-in features as well.

Starting point is 00:07:25 I know I would certainly like to stop using a camera made by Facebook inside my home. Also Apple, but a follow-up story now, sources are telling Mark German and Debbie Wu that while Apple is facing supply chain constraints due to issues with mini-LED display production, it still plans to debut two new iPad pros later this month, quote, the Cupertino-California-based tech giant, plans to showcase a new mini-l-D display technology in the 12.9-inch iPad Pro set to be announced as early as the second half of April, but the firm's overseas suppliers are dealing with poor manufacturing yields, the people who asked not to be named discussing sensitive matters said.

Starting point is 00:08:11 At least one of the mini-LED makers has had to recently pause production as a result, one person added. Apple still intends to announce updated iPad Pro tablets in two sizes, As early as this month, other people familiar with its product roadmap said, the mini-l-D screen, which will improve contrast ratios and deliver a brighter picture, will be exclusive to the pricier 12.9-inch model. The production hiccup could mean that the larger iPad Pro will ship later and be available in constrained quantities to begin with, the people said, end quote. And a follow-up to something we talked a lot about at the beginning of the year. Over the weekend, China announced it was imposing a record $2.8 billion fine on Alibaba for what it called monopolistic business practices. Alibaba, for its part, said it would accept the penalty, quote, sincerely.

Starting point is 00:09:08 And now this morning, Alibaba adjacent Ant Group announced that it will become a financial holding company that is regulated more like a bank among other changes, quoting Bloomberg. At a meeting on Monday, the central bank ordered Ant to Reck. its business in five areas, including eliminating unfair competition in its payments business, managing liquidity risks in its major fund products, ending a monopoly on information and improving corporate governance, according to a government statement. It also told the firm to cut the outstanding value of its money market fund. The overhaul creates a definitive supervision framework for the biggest player in the country's sprawling fintech sector. The government shocked markets in November by suspending billionaire Jack Ma's planned IPO of Ant, citing a changed regulatory

Starting point is 00:09:56 environment days before its trading debut, end quote. Yeah, so the Chinese Communist Party crackdown on high-flying tech companies, at least those who are most directly adjacent to financial markets, has in fact happened. This is that. And the smart money thinks it won't end with just these two Jack Ma founded companies being made examples of. The Financial Times says that employees at Tencent, Meituan, and other Chinese tech giants are expecting increased antitrust scrutiny and penalties for them as well

Starting point is 00:10:29 after Alibaba's record $2.8 billion fine. For example, regarding Tencent, quote, employees at Tencent Music and Maytuan are concerned they could be targeted next by Beijing's emboldened competition regulators who have stepped up scrutiny on dealmaking and anti-competitive practices in its once lightly regulated technology sector.

Starting point is 00:10:48 Unlike the antitrust investigation into Alibaba's e-commerce practices, an antitrust investigation into social media giant Tencent would be more complicated, a Shenjin official who oversees tech companies said. Such an investigation could cover their gaming business, music licensing, online lending, and their M&A empire, the official added, of all China's non-financial companies, Tencent invested the most in startups last year. Last month, Tencent said it had sought out a meeting with antitrust regulators who had previously find it for not proactively seeking approval on previous acquisitions.

Starting point is 00:11:25 Tencent Music, Tencent's joint venture with Spotify, has also been preparing to face an antitrust investigation into their licensing deals and had deliberately given up some deals in recent months as a result, said for employees in the unit. The official added, the investigation could also look into the way Tencent's WeChat social media platform, so dominant in China that it is often referred to by users as a public utility, blocks the loading. of links from rivals, Alibaba's Taubao and short video platform Doyen. Tencent maintains this is a result of their general policies protecting users from certain third-party links and that they allow rival platforms to host their own WeChat channels, end quote. If you like me already find

Starting point is 00:12:14 those stand reminders from your Apple Watch annoying, maybe you like me will be not so sure what to make of this. Google is rolling out heads up. a digital well-being feature that tells users to raise their head when walking while on pixel devices, quoting XDA developers. As you can see, the feature hasn't changed much since we first spotted it in the tear-down last year. The setup screen shows the same description. Watch your step with heads-up. If you're walking while using your phone, get a reminder to focus on what's around you.

Starting point is 00:12:47 Use with caution. Heads-up doesn't replace paying attention, end quote. Tapping on the next button at the bottom of this screen begins the set up. process after which the feature pushes a reminder every time you use your phone while walking. You can find the new heads-up feature within the Reduce Interruption section of the Digital Well-Being App Settings. Once it's enabled, you can find a couple of additional settings within the same section. There's a new toggle to disable the reminders, permission controls for physical activity and location, add a feedback option. At the moment, the new heads-up feature

Starting point is 00:13:20 seems to be rolling out only on Google's pixel devices with the latest Digital Well-Being Beta update. In case you haven't received it yet, you can update to the latest beta release by following the Play Store link below and joining the beta program. Currently, we have no information from Google regarding a broader rollout. However, we expect the company to release the feature on more Android devices in the near future. We'll let you know as soon as that happens, end quote. Okay, so this is a service that hopes to stop you from walking into traffic whilst texting on your phone. That's cool and all, but still, isn't it annoyingly nanny-like? I feel like this is another thing that I would definitely turn off immediately. Finally, today, we're busy putting together the next interesting

Starting point is 00:14:08 gadgets episode, and this one popped out as cool enough that I figured we wouldn't wait for that episode to share it with you. It's a gadget review, but the gadget being reviewed in this case is the 2022 Mercedes-Benz EQS, their new luxury electrified S-class sedan. Andrew Hawkins at the Verge has a review out, and first thing he wants you to know is this is not your father's Tesla interior. Quote, Mercedes has no interest in minimalist electric car design. The stark buttonless interiors of the Tesla Model 3 are fine for those who want to be reminded of a, quote, completely cleared, blackwashed Bauhaus living room, as a German writer once appropriately described Elon Musk's mass market EV. With the EQS, Mercedes, Mercedes, Mercedes,

Starting point is 00:14:56 ladies is saying avidogen to the idea of sparsely appointed EV interiors. It has the largest screen, the highest range so far, the most features, a truly shocking number of physical touchpoints, the softest headrests, I could go on and on. This is an all-electric S-class in the truest sense. I got a chance to test out the EQS for a few hours, about a week before its official launch, and while it was delightful to drive, and I truly appreciated getting to cosplay as a wealthy luxury car guy. I had to wonder what the point of all this extra stuff was. Why do I need a gazillion different colored options for ambient lighting? Why does the front passenger need their own dedicated screen embedded in the dashboard? Why was there a fingerprint scanner and a facial

Starting point is 00:15:43 recognition scanner? How much is too much massage for a driver's seat? The obvious answer is that S-class customers expect the best. But more is not necessarily better. All of this stuff is not inherently bad, but there was a lingering sense that a lot of it was superfluous. To paraphrase the good Dr. Ian Malcolm, Mercedes engineers were so preoccupied with whether they could add a shimmering water effect to the bodies of water in the EQS's 3D map that they didn't stop to think if they should, end quote. Sounds like they threw the entire kitchen sink at this thing, which, you know, is not always a good thing. Since we're gadget folk, you might be interested to know that the whole UI system that Mercedes calls the Hyperscreen

Starting point is 00:16:31 is powered by eight CPU cores, 24 gigabytes of RAM, and 46.4 gigabytes per second RAM memory bandwidth. There's also an apparently impressive heads-up display that works really well, it seems, for turn-by-turn directions, and the EQS has one of those fancy new fake motor noises that we've been hearing about, which you can turn on if you think you're rolling too quietly. but the conclusion of this review, quote, Ultimately, I wasn't completely seduced by the EQS. It's a beautiful electric car with so much going on above and below the surface that I feel like I'd need at least a month in order to sort it all out.

Starting point is 00:17:08 The hyperscreen lives up to its name for better or worse, and while it will certainly be popular among a certain segment of moneyed car buyers, the EQS will not revolutionize the electric car market. Obviously, no luxury electric segment would be complete without a battery-powered S-class, Mercedes is widely seen as lagging behind other major automakers in the release of new electric vehicles. The company's $68,000 EQC SUV was supposed to start shipping in the U.S. at the start of 2020, but that was pushed to 2021. Now it looks like the EQS will actually be Mercedes first EV to come to North America. That means there will be a lot riding on it when it does come out.

Starting point is 00:17:48 And if the company is going to make good on its promise to release 10 new EVs by 2022, it really needs to smash that acceleration pedal, or at the very least turn off the one pedal driving, end quote. I believe this was the car that I saw at that last CES before the pandemic struck. Again, people like to hate on CES, but I can't wait for conferences to come back so that I can see things like this in person again. That is all for today. Hope you had a good weekend. Talk to you tomorrow.

Tech Brew Ride Home - Mon. 04/12 – Microsoft Acquires Nuance

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