Tech Brew Ride Home - Thu. 06/09 – Who Needs A Gaming Console? Not Xbox Or Samsung.

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 Thursday, June 9th, 2020. I'm Brian McKele today. Who needs a gaming console?

Starting point is 00:00:40 Not Xbox, not anymore. Twitter is going to give Elon the fire host treatment. Dell unveils some new XPS goodness. Apple does its own banking, more signs of the NFT market cooling off, and a popular developer tool is riding off into the sunset. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. Remember when I said when Apple went on and on about how Macs were good for gaming now, they have chips inside them that can do gaming.

Starting point is 00:01:11 But I said hardware is increasingly not an issue for gaming at all. When I said that, I was thinking about stuff like this. Microsoft has partnered with Samsung to launch its Xbox TV app on June 30th, which will let Xbox GamePass ultimate subscribers play Xbox games without a console. Quoting the Verge. Microsoft is launching its Xbox TV app later this month, allowing owners of Samsung's 22 Smart TVs, and monitors to play Xbox games without a game console.

Starting point is 00:01:42 Xbox GamePass Ultimate subscribers will be able to access more than 100 games through Samsung's 22 Smart TVs streaming through the cloud, powered by custom Xbox Series X hardware. Fortnite is even available to stream free of charge if you're not a GamePass Ultimate subscriber. The Xbox TV app will work very much like Netflix does on TVs and will be available from Samsung's Gaming Hub on June 30th in 27 countries. You simply log into your Microsoft account.

Starting point is 00:02:08 in the app and stream Xbox games just like you would through Xbox cloud gaming in a browser. Microsoft and Samsung will support a large number of controllers for the Xbox app, including the range of Xbox controllers, Sony's dual sense, and many more. You simply connect a controller via Bluetooth and you're good to go. Unfortunately, Microsoft isn't bumping up its streaming resolution to 4K, so games will be limited to 1080P streaming at 60 frames per second. Microsoft has partnered with Samsung here for the initial rollout of the Xbox app, but it's not clear when the app will be available on other TVs or even older Samsung

Starting point is 00:02:43 models, end quote. Cameron Falkner at the Verge has already gotten his hands on with this, and he says that games load quickly and work with Xbox and PS5 controllers. A high-speed connection is essential, though, because, again, this sort of seamless streaming gaming don't need no hardware, but it sure does need broadband. By the way, Microsoft also gave details on what it calls Project Moorcroft, designed to bring early game demos to Xbox GamePass rolling out within the next year with a focus on indie developers, quoting the verge once more. Game demos like this are a lot of work for developers, especially getting them ready for what was the usual annual E3 conference. While E3 is not happening in person or even virtually this year,

Starting point is 00:03:29 Microsoft is setting up this program to financially reward developers that are willing to take the time to create these demos. Project Moorcroft is still being worked on inside Microsoft, but the plan is for curated game demos to start rolling out within the next year. The initial focus will be on independent developers and any game developer will be compensated and be able to view how their demos perform, end quote. I'd like to spend as little time on this as we possibly can, but sources are saying Twitter's board has agreed to comply with Elon Musk's demands for internal data on bots on the Twitter platform by offering access to its full so-called fire hose of data, quoting the Washington Post. The fire hose is the massive stream of data

Starting point is 00:04:16 comprising more than 500 million tweets posted each day, according to a person familiar with the company's thinking, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the state of negotiations. The information could be provided as soon as this week, the person said. Currently, some two dozen companies pay for access to the trove, which comprises not only a real-time record of tweets, but the devices they tweet from, as well as information about the accounts that tweet. Musk's legal team contends the data stream is essential for understanding the amount of spam and bot activity on its platform, a figure that could influence the company's ad revenue according to a letter sent to Twitter on Monday. Musk has said the deal is on hold until he secures the information, adding to speculation he's trying to pull out or renegotiate his purchase for a lower price.

Starting point is 00:04:58 When he signed his initial deal to buy the company in April, he waived a right to look deeply at Twitter's finances and internal workings. The purchase agreement requires that Musk go through with the deal unless he can show the company, misled him or a major event has changed its value, end quote. Dell has announced redesigned versions of the XPS 13 laptop and XPS 13 2 and 1, transforming the 2 and 1 into a detachable surface rival, adding Intel's 12th-gen CPUs and more, quoting a gadget. While all eyes are on the flashy new XPS 13 Plus, Dell hasn't forgotten about its mainstay premium ultra-portable or its convertible cousin.

Starting point is 00:05:41 This year, the XPS 13 has been redesigned to be slimmer and more power efficient. The XPS 13 2 and 1, meanwhile, has been transformed from a foldable laptop into a detachable surface competitor. Both are being positioned to make room for their new family member. If you want power, you'll want the XPS 13 plus with its beefy 28 watt CPU. But if portability matters more to you, then the XPS 13 and XPS 13 2 and 1 may be more appealing. Here's how you can tell Dell is thinking of the XPS 13 differently. It's now running 9 watt 12th-gen Intel processors, whereas last year's model was powered by 15-watt 11th-gen chips. According to Dell, you can get the new CPU to run at 12 watts in performance mode,

Starting point is 00:06:23 which gives you the same performance as the previous processors. While we haven't tested the XPS 13, that claim makes sense, given the massive performance gains we've seen from Intel's new hybrid processor design, which rely on a combination of high power and high-efficiency cores. Dell also managed to craft a motherboard that's 1.8X smaller than last year's model. Notably, it's also the most compact motherboard the company has ever created. The new setup is so efficient, it only needs a single fan to cool the entire system down from the two fans in last year's model. Dell tells us that fan could be noisier than before when it's running at full blast, but for typical usage, it'll be quieter.

Starting point is 00:06:58 On top of generating less heat, having more internal space gives Dell room to throw in larger speaker enclosures, as well as a bigger battery, now rated at 12 hours of juice. As a fan of Dell's previous Xbox 13 2-1 notebooks, I'm also intrigued to see how the company tries to tackle a premium detachable, especially after the failure of the XPS 12. The new 2-1 sports a 13-inch screen is powered by 12th-gen Intel chips. And notably, it's also Dell's first PC with built-in 5G. At 1.6 pounds for the Wi-Fi model or 1.8 pounds for the 5G, the 2-1 tablet also weighs less than the 1.96-pound Surface Pro 8, end quote. This is interesting. Mark German says Apple will handle Apple Paylater's lending in-house. A first for the company. In-house subsidiary, Apple Financing LLC, will oversee credit checks and make loan decisions on that by now pay later thing that they announced earlier this week at WWDC. Quote, a wholly owned subsidiary will oversee credit checks and make decisions on loans for the service, which is called Apple Pay Later. The business, Apple financing LLC, has necessary state lending licenses to offer the feature, though it operates separately from the main Apple Corporation, the company said, in response to Bloomberg questions. The move marks the first time Apple is handling key financial tasks like loans, risk management, and credit assessments.

Starting point is 00:08:26 It's a significant shift for a company that got its start selling computers. Until now, Apple's financial services have been backed by third-party credit processors and banks. The Apple Card Credit Card, for instance, relies on Goldman Sachs Group. for lending and credit assessment. Goldman Sachs retains a smaller role in the new program, though. The financial firm is the issuer of the MasterCard payment credential that's used to complete Apple pay later purchases. Apple financing doesn't have its own bank charter.

Starting point is 00:08:54 Apple has been working to move many elements of its financial services in-house as part of a secret initiative dubbed breakout. In addition to taking on lending, credit checks and decision-making, Apple is working on its own payment processing engine that may eventually replace CoreCard Corp. Bloomberg reported in March. It's also working on new customer service functions, fraud analysis, tools for calculating interest and rewards for other services, end quote. So kind of like how the major automakers are really just banks that happen to make cars in order to support their finance habit. And airlines are basically just credit card reward schemes tied to, you know,

Starting point is 00:09:29 flying people around the world. Why shouldn't Apple use their hardware business to do banking and lending and all the rest? But that makes me wonder, for all of their privacy. pronouncements about keeping third parties from surveilling you inside their ecosystem, seeing what you do on your devices. I assume Apple is going to use data they glean about you and your activity inside their ecosystem to inform their credit decision-making processes right. Surely they have plenty of data on us, but I would imagine that they're not going to shout that to the rooftops, right? Crypto-omnibus segment here, Ethereum's proof of stake merge upgrade has gone live on Ethereum's oldest test.

Starting point is 00:10:14 net for blockchain development testing before eventually we assume being deployed on the main net soon, quoting decrypt. Ethereum's merge, the blockchain's much-anticipated transition from its current proof-of-work mechanism to a proof-of-state consensus algorithm will be one step closer today if the planned trial upgrade on the Robsden public test net goes as planned later today. First rolled out in 2016, Robsden is Ethereum's oldest test net that allows for blockchain development testing before deployment on the main net. Similar to other test nets, it is identical to the main net, with the key difference being that no real funds are at risk if any technical issues occur.

Starting point is 00:10:53 The date for the upgrade was first announced on May 18th when Ethereum Core developer Terence Tzow broke the news that configuration for Robson's beacon chain, a POS network that runs alongside Ethereum's mainnet, had been merged and client releases should be expected soon, end quote. Also, apparently 54% of ape coin owners. voted in favor of remaining on Ethereum after Yuga Labs floated the idea of creating its own blockchain after its huge metaverse land sale. This doesn't sound that interesting on the surface, but in the background, I wonder if this is very interesting. Like, one of the big ideas behind Web3 is the idea that the community has a say, that interests with all parties are aligned.

Starting point is 00:11:32 So if the community voting with their apes says, we want to stay on the Ethereum blockchain, then that has to happen, right? But, you know, all those big investors who poured a bunch of money into Yuga Labs recently, I wonder to what degree they were basing their investment decisions on Yuga and the Apes having greater control over their own destiny, which could be achieved partially by owning their own blockchain. In other words, I'm wondering if the investors are happy about this. And finally, continuing to keep an eye on NFTs in general, according to the block weekly NFT sales declined by just over 70% from a high of nearly 1 million units in the third week of 2022 to a little around or over 250,000 at the end of May 22, quoting TechCrunch.

Starting point is 00:12:20 The decline in NFT sales volume is not new, but it has grown in severity in recent weeks, adding fresh heft to the argument that the crypto or Web3 market is in a period of correction what some describe as a winter. The decline in NFT sales does not come amid a freeze in recent funding rounds for NFT-focused companies, however, a quick scan of TechCrunch headlines, in fact, shows the opposite. Sure, Yuga Labs of Board APE fame raised a $450 million round from A16Z at a lofty $4 billion valuation in March, but there has been much activity since that event. In April, Glow Labs raised $4.15 million in seed capital for its NFT-related project that wants to help creators to deploy a smart contract with no coding required in a matter of seconds, allowing them to

Starting point is 00:13:04 create customized loyalty offerings without much hassle, as we wrote. In early May, Akanah raised $6.9 million for its plans to help brands and creators turn physical items such as streetware, collectibles, cars, and artwork into NFTs. And the list of recent NFT-related deals continues. Zora Labs raised $50 million in May. Its protocol, TechCrunch set at the time, allows artists and developers to create NFT marketplaces and collections. Less than a week later, Ariane announced that it had raised $21 million for its work assisting digital ownership and authenticity certificates on behalf of partner brands. And in late May, Ayokin, a yoke and, raised $1.4 million for its creator-focused NFT marketplace. All those funding events are predicated on the NFT market growing. TechCrunch cited data in April, for example, that the NFT market reached $41 billion in 2021, and another source around the same time said that the market could be double this year. But it doesn't look that way, and quote. Finally today, potentially important heads up for you developers out there. GitHub is sunsetting Adam, the text editor for developers it launched in 2011. and will archive all projects under the Adam organization on December 15, 2022,

Starting point is 00:14:20 quoting TechCrunch. Adam served as the foundation for the electron framework, which paved the way for thousands of apps including Microsoft Visual Studio Code, Slack GitHub's own GitHub desktop. But GitHub asserts that Adam community involvement has declined as new tools have emerged over the years. Adam itself hasn't seen significant feature development for the past several months beyond maintenance and security updates.

Starting point is 00:14:43 GitHub says that it'll refocus its efforts on Microsoft Visual Studio Code, VS Code, and GitHub Code Spaces, its cloud-powered development environment going forward. Curiously, VS code launched in 2015 as something of an answer to Adam. Microsoft's acquisition of GitHub in 2018 brought Adam and VS Code under one roof, cannibalizing the latter. But VS code's popularity continued to grow. According to Stack Overflow's 2021 developer survey, just 13% of developers use Adam as their primary environment versus VS code.

Starting point is 00:15:13 code is used by 71%. It's not the end for Adam necessarily. Once archived, the code will be available for developers to inspect and build on, and one of the project's core contributors, Max Brunsfeld, is leading an effort to launch a spiritual successor called Zed, which will launch in private alpha this week, end quote. Tonight, Twitter space, the usual time, 9 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. Pacific. We're going to talk WWDC. We're going to talk about my impressions of my Mac studio. We're going to talk to the great Chris Maddern about the New York City tech scene and the recent big news he announced about what he's working on next. See you all there. And quick shout out to Sensel, the first portfolio company I ever told you about. This morning they announced their big

Starting point is 00:16:09 series B round, which Ride Home Fund was a part of, of course, and they announced that Lenovo was involved in this round as well, making a big strategic investment. So congrats to Sensal. Let's go. Hashten Proud Investor, all that usual VC Twitter stuff. Talk to you tomorrow.

Tech Brew Ride Home - Thu. 06/09 – Who Needs A Gaming Console? Not Xbox Or Samsung.

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