Tech Brew Ride Home - Thu. 06/24 – New Windows!

Episode Date: June 24, 2021

The new Windows is Windows 11. Google delays the Adpodcalypse. BuzzFeed finally to go public. Comcast is having issues with Peacock. Google and Jio’s cheap smartphone is announced. Is the biggest ever crypto crime story evolving right now in South Africa? And RIP John McAfee. Sponsors: RocketLawyer.com/workconfidently Cybereason.com Links: Microsoft announces Windows 11, with a new design, Start menu, and more (The Verge) Google delays Chrome's cookie-blocking privacy plan by nearly 2 years (Cnet) BuzzFeed announces plans to go public via SPAC, targets $1.5 billion valuation (CNBC) Inside Comcast’s Plan to Become a Streaming Giant (Wall Street Journal) Google and India’s Jio Platforms announce budget Android smartphone JioPhone Next (Tech Crunch) South African Brothers Vanish, and So Does $3.6 Billion in Bitcoin (Bloomberg) John McAfee, Software Pioneer Turned Fugitive, Dies in Spanish Prison (New York Times) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 Thursday, June 24th, 2021. I'm Brian McCullough today. The new Windows is here. It's Windows 11. Google delays the adpocalypse a little bit. BuzzFeed is finally able to go public. Comcast is having issues with Peacock. Google NGio's cheap smartphone is finally announced and is the biggest ever crypto crime story evolving right now in South Africa? Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. Well, it was sort of hard to watch because their streaming video had so many hiccups and lags. I actually had to go to YouTube to watch it effectively, which is weird for a cloud computing leader.

Anyway, Microsoft announced Windows 11 today with a simplified UI, new Windows store, new start menu, etc. And again, it is officially being called Windows 11. I guess the OS world is finally ready to move beyond the 10 paradigm, quoting the verge. Windows 11 includes a new start menu and updated start button that are both centered on the taskbar. This UI is very similar to what we first saw in Windows 10X, a project originally planned for dual screen devices that Microsoft eventually canceled. A lot of the UI work that went into Windows 10X is appearing in Windows 11. The new start menu drops the live tiles that were originally introduced with Windows 8 and ops for more of the typical launcher you'd find in Chrome OS or Android. There are apps, recent documents, and a separate search interface.

Much of the centered appearance is clearly influenced by macOS and ChromeOS, and Windows 11 also includes the rounded corners we've seen in both Android and iOS. Windows Chief Panos Penae says, quote, the team has obsessed over every detail, end quote. Windows 11 will also include updated dark and light modes that look a lot better than what we've seen in Windows today. There's also something Microsoft is calling Snap Layouts, which allow you to quickly snap out. into the various modes that Windows 11 supports. This new version of Windows 11 will also remember where your apps are stored thanks to something called Snap Group layouts. It looks like a useful way to support multiple monitors and ensure that apps always open on the correct screen. That's particularly helpful if you're using a laptop hooked up to a monitor or a traditional desktop

machine with multiple displays. Performance is also a big focus for Windows 11. Windows updates are 40% smaller and more efficient as they now happen in the background. Hopefully that will mean that Windows 11 doesn't disturb you in the middle of work. Windows is also integrating Microsoft Teams directly into Windows 11 for both consumers and commercial users. Teams is integrated directly into the task bar, allowing Windows 11 users to call friends, family, or coworkers. It's clear that this is a big shift away from Skype, which was bundled as part of Windows 10. Windows widgets and touch gestures are also a big part of Windows 11. Widgets is a personalized feed powered by AI and builds on the widgets we've seen Microsoft introduce in Windows 10.

It slides in from the left-hand side of Windows 11, and you can also make it full screen. Built-in widgets include a news feed, weather, and maps. Interestingly, these widgets also include one that let you tip local creators directly from within Windows 11. Xbox is a big part of Microsoft, and we also got to hear from Xbox executive Sarah Bond about PC gaming with Windows 11. Auto-HDR, a feature in Xbox Series X and S, will be part of Windows 11. Enabling Auto-HBR will add high-dynamic range HDR to a large number of DirectX-11 and DirectX-12 games as long as you have a compatible HDR monitor. Microsoft is also promising speed and performance improvements for Windows 11.

Direct Storage will be part of Windows 11, a big new feature from Xbox Series X and S. Direct Storage will require the latest NVME drives to speed. speed up game load times on Windows 11, and game developers will need to enable this technology to boost load times further. Xbox GamePass is also being integrated into Windows 11 thanks to a new Xbox app that the company has been testing for months. This also includes X-Cloud integration into the Xbox app so you can stream games from Microsoft's Cloud 2. Finally, one of the biggest parts of Windows 11 is the new store. It's redesigned and will support a whole host of apps that haven't typically been available in the Windows App Store. That includes apps from Adobe Creative Suite

and Android apps, including TikTok and Instagram. Developers can use their own commerce engines, and Microsoft won't take a cut. Devs can even use their own payment systems if they want to, end quote. So big shot across somebody's bow there, right? Quote, Windows has always stood for sovereignty for creators, said Satchinadella, wrapping up the event. Meanwhile, Google announced that it will delay plans to block third-party cookies from early 2022, as it was originally scheduled, to late 2023, in order to find ways to protect privacy without hurting ad-dependent publishers, quoting CNET. Last year, the search giant said it would prevent the world's most widely used browser from accepting the snippets of text called third-party cookies that help advertisers, publishers, and data brokers profile you to help advertisers target ads toward you. The change would prevent an advertiser that recorded your visit to a dieting website from later showing you ads for weight loss programs on other sites, for example. On Thursday, Google pushed that move out by nearly two years, allowing itself more time to develop and test privacy preserving alternatives to third-party cookies and for websites to adopt the changes.

The company said it had delayed the change part of a collection of adjustments to what Google calls its privacy sandbox to chart a better course for advertisers and everyone else on the web. One part of Google's rationale for pushing back its plan is that moving too fast will encourage tracking companies to use sneakier tracking methods than cookies. One such method, fingerprinting, uses trackers to gather browser configuration details such as the version you're using and which fonts you've downloaded. With enough of those details, trackers can identify you accurately. Google believes blocking third-party cookies at this stage is actually bad for people using the web because it drives tracking companies to convert approaches such as

fingerprinting. Unlike cookies, users cannot clear their fingerprint and therefore cannot control how their information is collected or used. We don't think that's a sustainable long-term investment, Google said in a statement to CNET, end quote. One of the longest running sagas in digital media seems to be heading for a denouement. BuzzFeed has announced plans to go public via merger with a SPAC. The SPAC is called 895th Avenue Partners, and they're targeting a $1.5 billion valuation. Quoting CNBC. BuzzFeed also plans to acquire complex networks, a digital publisher that specializes in streetware, music, and culture for $300 million.

The deal is made up of $200 million in cash and $100 million in equity in BuzzFeed, the company said. They added, it will, quote, immediately accelerate BuzzFeed's revenue growth, end quote. With this acquisition, BuzzFeed becomes even better position to thrive in an age of media consolidation, the company said. BuzzFeed in November acquired news site HuffPost from Verizon. Verizon Media for an undisclosed amount. BuzzFeed generated $321 million in annual revenue and $31 million in adjusted EBITDA in 2020, in large part due to its e-commerce business, a spokesperson previously told

CNBC. The company is estimating $654 million in revenue in 2022 and $117 million in adjusted EBITDA according to an investor presentation, end quote. Sources are telling the Wall Street Journal that Comcast's entrant into the streaming wars, Peacock had fewer than 10 million paid subscribers as of May. Thus, Comcast is rumored to be considering a deal or some sort of merger with Viacom CBS or outright acquiring Roku as it seeks to become a streaming giant, or at least be one of those left standing, as we've discussed. Quoting the journal. Comcast CEO Brian Roberts, 61 years old and known as an aggressive dealmaker in his two decades at top Comcast has told people close to him that he doesn't feel. a need to seek a merger, but he is scoping out options and ideas on the table include a potential tie-up with ViacomCBS CBS or an acquisition of Roku, one of the people said. On the distribution side, Roberts is aiming to make Comcast a rival to Roku and Amazon in delivering streaming apps

into living rooms, just as it has long-delivered cable TV channels, people close to him said. Under a plan known internally as Plotco, Comcast is working with Walmart and Chinese manufacturer Highsense to develop smart TVs that could be in stores later this year, some of the people said. Consumers would turn on their sets, which would run on Comcast software and might take the company's branding and get a menu of streaming apps, much as they would on a Roku or Amazon Fire TV device, the people said. The goal is to turn Comcast known as a regional US cable company into a player beyond its traditional cable footprint. The Comcast platform for delivering apps as envisioned in the Platco initiative will heavily promote and spotlight and,

Universal's Peacock streaming app launched last summer. People close to Comcast said that would give it a home court advantage similar to how Amazon's prime video streaming service is the anchor tenant on Amazon Fire TV devices. On the content side, Roberts is pressing NBC Universal to be more aggressive with Peacock, which has been successful at generating advertising revenue, but is far behind industry leaders in subscriptions. Peacock offers a $9.99 per month ad-free tier and a $4.99 a month ad-supported option, Comcast Cable and Internet customers get the service at no extra charge. Comcast said in late April that Peacock had 42 million signups, but fewer than 10 million consumers paid for the service as of May,

according to one of the people close to the company. Netflix had about 208 million global subscribers as of the first quarter, and Disney had 103.6 million worldwide. Mr. Roberts plans to increase spending on streamed programming considerably, the people close to the company said, Comcast said it was spending $2 billion on content for Peacock over its first two years, while Netflix plans to spend $17 billion this year alone, end quote. Follow up now to a big story from last year.

It's come to fruition. Google and geo-platforms have announced Geophone Next, an affordable phone powered by an optimized version of Android, which will debut in the Indian market on September 10th, quoting TechCrunch. The Geophone Next will be a... an ultra-affordable 4G smartphone, said Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries at its annual general meeting Thursday, though he didn't reveal the price or the hardware specifications of the handset. The Geophone Next will ship with a range of features including read aloud and translate

now that will work with any text on the phone's screen, including web pages, apps, messages, and even photos. It also features a, quote, fast, high-quality camera, which will support HDR, and the Geophone Next will be protected by the latest Android releases and security updates, Google said, though it didn't share the precise duration for this coverage. Even as most smartphones that ship in India, the world's second largest market, are priced at $150 or less, customers looking for a smartphone priced under $100 are left with little choice, and that choice has shrunk in recent years. Smartphone makers are aware of this white space in the market, but have found it incredibly challenging to meet the demand.

Some, including Geo Platforms, earlier explored a range of feature phones to reach people in small cities and towns in India. Geo Platform's KaiOS powered feature phone called Geophone had amassed 100 million customers as of late February this year, end quote. Two South African brothers, who founded crypto investment firm Afrikt, have reportedly vanished with around 69,000 bitcoins worth more than 3.6 billion. billion dollars after allegedly informing clients of a hack, quoting Bloomberg. A Cape Town law firm hired by investors says they can't locate the brothers and has reported the matter to the Hawks, an elite unit of the National Police Force. It's also told crypto exchanges across the globe

should any attempt be made to convert the digital coins in question. Following a surge in Bitcoin's value in the past year, the disappearance of about 69,000 coins worth more than $4 billion at their April peak would represent the biggest ever dollar loss in a cryptocurrency scam. The first signs of trouble came in April as Bitcoin was rocketing to a record. Afrocript chief operating officer Amir KG, the elder brother, informed clients that the company was the victim of a hack. He asked them not to report the incident to lawyers and authorities as it would slow down the recovery process of the missing funds. Some skeptical investors roped in the law firm Hennocom attorneys and a separate group started liquidation proceedings against Afript. Quote, we were immediately suspicious as the announcement

implored investors not to take legal action, Hanukam attorney said in reference to emailed questions. Quote, Afrocript employees lost access to the back-end platforms seven days before the alleged hack, end quote. The firm's investigation found Afrocript's pooled funds were transferred from its South African accounts and client wallets, and the coins went through tumblers and mixers, or to other. large pools of Bitcoin to make them essentially untraceable, end quote. Finally today, John McCaffey, the founder of the anti-virus software company and platform bearing his name, was found dead in a Spanish jail cell by apparent suicide, according to his lawyer. This came hours after news that he would be extradited to face federal charges in the U.S.

If you're not familiar with the whole saga, I encourage you to read the obituary. in the New York Times, from which I will quote, quote. After selling his pioneering virus fighting firm in 1994 and losing most of his fortune during the 2008 financial crisis, Mr. McCaffey led a parapetetic life that included a turn to paranoia and a string of arrests around the globe. That all culminated in his detention in Spain in 2020 after prosecutors in the United States accused him of not filing tax returns for several years. The indictment filed by the Justice Department said Mr. McCaffey had earned millions from, quote, promoting cryptocurrencies, consulting work, speaking engagements, and selling the rights to his life story for a documentary, end quote,

and had tried to avoid taxes by using cryptocurrency and channeling the money through bank accounts. He could have faced prison time if convicted, end quote. If you check out last night's Twitter space over on the Spacecast's feed, not only will you hear Kaya Yurev and Chris Messina go deep on the, new worlds of social audio, but right from the top, the great Sono Choichi from A16Z comes on to answer all of our questions about future.com and A16Z's plans and goals for their new media property. Again, stuff you can't hear anywhere else, so check it out. Talk to you tomorrow.