Tech Brew Ride Home - Thu. 08/22 - Google Deserts Desserts (h/t The Verge)

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 Thursday, August 22nd, 2019. I'm Brian McCullough today. Will we see an iPhone pro next month? Google has a new proposal for ad tracking, Android desserts, dessert nomenclature, why hasn't tech solved parking yet, and why the Irishman might be a major fork in the road for Netflix? Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. Checking my calendar here, ah yeah, it's silly.

Starting point is 00:01:07 season again. We're a month out from a new iPhone, so expect the rumor mills to be working overtime these next few weeks. Sources are telling Mark German and Debbie Wu at Bloomberg that Apple is planning to launch a camera-focused iPhone Pro with a three-censor camera system for better low-light photos and video recordings. Oh, and also new iPads are coming, and a bigger MacBook Pro is coming. So, first with that, the refreshed iPad pros, German expects, are going to get the usual camera and chip updates that you would expect. Also, there could be a new entry-level iPad with a larger screen. And as for that MacBook Pro, German says, we could be getting one with a 16-inch screen, which would be the largest laptop screen Apple has made in years. Though, thinner bezels might

Starting point is 00:01:59 keep the overall size of that laptop close to the 15-inch. existing MacBook Pro sizes. But on to that iPhone news, quote, Apple is planning to launch three new iPhones, as it has done each year since 2017. Pro iPhone models will succeed the iPhone 10s and iPhone 10s, as well as also a successor to the iPhone 10R. The main features of the pro iPhones will be a new camera system on the back with a third sensor for capturing ultra wide angle photos and videos. The extra camera will let users zoom out and capture a larger field of view. The sensors will capture three images simultaneously and use new artificial intelligence software to automatically correct the combined photo if, for example, a person is accidentally cut out of one of the shots.

Starting point is 00:02:47 The new system will also take higher resolution pictures rivaling some traditional cameras. Photos taken in very low light environments will improve too. The high-end handsets will have significantly upgraded video recording capabilities, getting them close to to professional video cameras. Apple has developed a feature that allows users to retouch, apply effects, alter colors, reframe, and crop video as it is being recorded live on the device, end quote. Also, also, also, the new phones will have reverse wireless charging, so you'd be able to charge your wireless charging case AirPods just by leaving them atop your phone. they'll have a new multi-angle face ID sensor.

Starting point is 00:03:32 The better to unlock your phone while it's lying flat on the table next to you, say. Also, better water resistance. And, of course, no 5G because that comes next year. Also, don't expect a redesign. This year's phones will look basically identical to last years. Whole slew of Google news today. First up, Google has proposed new privacy and anti-eastern, fingerprinting controls aimed at making it harder for online marketers and advertisers to track users

Starting point is 00:04:07 across the web. This is in conjunction with changes to how cookies will work in Chrome that Google has previously announced. In essence, Google is proposing a new open standard that will give you more control over how personalized content can be for you on the web while still protecting your privacy. Quoting TechCrunch, here is the technical side of what Google is proposing today. To prevent the kind of fingerprinting that makes your machine uniquely identifiable as yours, Google is proposing the idea of a privacy budget. With this, a browser could allow websites to make enough API calls to get enough information about you, to group you into a larger cohort, but not to the point where you give up your anonymity. Once a site has exhausted this budget, the browser stops responding to any further calls.

Starting point is 00:04:57 some browsers already implement a very restrictive form of cookie blocking. Google argues that this has unintended consequences and that there needs to be an agreed-upon set of standards. The other browser vendors, for the most part, we think, really are committed to an open web, said Justin Shaw, Google's engineering director for Chrome Security and Privacy, who also stressed that Google wants this to be an open standard and develop it in collaboration with other players in the web ecosystem, end quote. Although, of course, as ever when Google does things like this, the devil will be in the details, i.e., to what degree, will this new standard favor Google's existing advertising infrastructure, thus further entrenching its position in the advertising ecosystem at the expense of competitors?

Starting point is 00:05:47 And big news, if you care about nomenclature, Google has officially abandoned the practice of using dessert-themed names for new Android-Wanthropes. releases. What you formerly knew as Android Q is now Android 10. Oh, and also Android got a new Android logo and color. But back to the important stuff. Going forward, the next version of Android will be Android 11, and the next one will be 12 and so on and so forth until the heat death of the universe, presumably. Quoting the verge, going with a new naming scheme for the 10th version of Android makes a bit of sense. It's a landmark release. Still, given how difficult it is to put a common dessert to the letter Q, I noted to Google's Samir Samat, VP of product management for Android, that it was awfully convenient that Google picked this release to switch up the naming

Starting point is 00:06:43 scheme. Quote, we're going to deal with that skepticism, he says. Google's actual reason for switching the naming, he says, isn't that Q is hard, but rather that desserts aren't very inclusive. Quote, we have some good names, but in each and every case, they leave a part of the world out, he argues. Android is a global brand used by more people. in India and Brazil than in the U.S., so going with an English word for the dessert leaves some regions out. Pie isn't always a dessert. Lollipop can be hard to pronounce in some regions, and marshmallows aren't really a thing in a lot of places, Samat says. Numbers at least are universal, end quote. And as for that logo, Google says, it's now a more modern wordmark, but it still has

Starting point is 00:07:27 that little green robot guy, not throwing the robot out with. the branding bathwater, apparently. And really quick, Google has also officially rolled out a redesign for the Play Store using its material design language and creating two different and distinct destinations for games versus apps. Here's a summary of the changes straight from the Android's mouth. Quote, to make browsing faster and easier, we've introduced a new navigation bar at the bottom of the Play Store on mobile devices and a new left navigation on tablets and Chrome OS.

Starting point is 00:08:03 There are now two distinct destinations for games and apps, which helps us better serve users the right kind of content. Once users find the right app or game, the updated store listing page layout surfaces richer app information at the top of each page as well as a more prominent call-to-action button. This makes it easier for users to see the important details and make a decision to install your app. You'll also notice our new icon system with a uniform shape, helping content to stand out more. over UI. If you haven't done so already, make sure to update your icon following the new icon specifications as soon as possible, end quote. So this is an odd one. Google DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleiman has been placed on leave by DeepMind for unspecified reasons. In a lot of people's minds, Suleiman is DeepMind. He's the head of the company's applied division, which seeks real-world

Starting point is 00:09:06 uses for the company's research into things like health and other fields. And he's basically the public face of the company doing all of those AI panels at conferences and whatnot. Quote, Mustafa is taking time out right now after 10 hectic years, a deep mind spokeswoman said. She didn't say why he was put on leave. Again, nothing really to add to this at this point except just raised eyebrows. Though Bloomberg, in its people, about this did note this, quote, DeepMind was heavily criticized for its work in the UK health sector. DeepMind Health's first product was a mobile app called Streams that was originally designed to help doctors identify patients at risk of developing acute kidney injury. In July

Starting point is 00:09:52 2017, the UK's data privacy watchdog said DeepMind's partner in the project, London's Royal Free Hospital illegally gave DeepMind access to 1.6 million patient records. Suleiman apologized in a statement at the time. In late 20, 2018, Alphabets Google said the team that created streams would join a new Google division called Google Health. The Deep Mind Health brand was shelved and Suleiman was removed from the day-to-day running of the unit, end quote. When Uber and Airbnb and all the rest first hit the scene about 10 years ago, the most obvious revolution to me was how all of these new ideas were so amazing at eliminating inefficiencies, right? You could rent out your house when you're

Starting point is 00:10:38 not using it instead of letting it go fallow. And I'm old enough to remember standing on a street corner on the far west side of Manhattan in desperate need of a cab, but not seeing anything on the horizon. Meanwhile, frustrated with the absolute certainty that somewhere, probably nearby, there was a cabby desperate for a fare. So, given all of the on-demand companies, I swear I thought we would have been further along on this other problem, the finding a parking space problem. Well, Spot Hero, which allows users to buy and sell parking spaces, has raised a $50 million Series D, led by Macquarie Capital, bringing the total of the company has raised lifetime to $118 million, quoting Venture Beat. The fiscal vote of confidence comes after a year during which Spot Hero reached half a billion dollars in all-time sales and 900-plus distribution partnerships and integrations, including with Google Assistant, wage, wage, works, weighs, hurts, cartigo, we work, and move it. The company claims it's on pace to hit

Starting point is 00:11:43 $1 billion in transactions within the next year as it aims to double its engineering head count to over 100 people. Spot Hero was founded in 2011 with the mission of bringing underutilized and often invisible parking spaces online, thereby reducing the need to build new parking structures in crowded cities. To this end, it currently operates over 7,000 parking locations in 300 cities in the United States and Canada and handles millions of reservations through its website and apps each month. A portion of Spot Heroes' garages are outfitted with sensors that allow car operators to automatically book and pay for parking spaces, including license plate scanners and connected parking meters. On the software side, the Hero Connect software development kit and API

Starting point is 00:12:25 facilitates payment and lets vehicles, carmakers, ride-sharing services, and cities exchange parking data, end quote. Of course, as this piece notes, the whole idea of parking as a service runs counter to another beloved next big thing in tech investing, driverless cars. What if folks are right and cars won't even need parking spaces in 10 years' time because they're just always out there circulating as a fleet? But apparently Spot Hero believes that it can position itself well for that future reality, If it comes to pass, the idea would be Spot Hero could provide a place for fleets of autonomous vehicles from the Ubers, the Waymos, the cruises of the world to park and recharge and clean and the like for their fleets of driverless cars. Spot Hero has announced that more than 500 of its parking garages in Chicago have already been adapted to accommodate autonomous vehicles. Finally today, friend of the show Julia Alexander has an interesting piece up about a possible crossroads for Netflix.

Starting point is 00:13:35 Have you heard of the upcoming Martin Scorsese film The Irishman? Tells the story of Jimmy Haffa. Robert De Niro, Al Pacino are in it, Anna Pacquin, and Bobby Cannavalli are in it. They managed to get Harvey Keitel and Joe Pesci out of mothballs to be in it. It's expected to come to Netflix in December, and it's one of the most anticipated movies of the year, but there's one small problem. Will it get a theatrical release? the director, Martin Scorsese, wants a theatrical release to make the movie eligible for awards

Starting point is 00:14:10 consideration. But major theater chains are rejecting the film unless they can have a minimum 12-week exclusive release window. This is why that is important. Quote, the dilemma creates a major fork in the road for Netflix going forward, especially as the streaming wars kick off. Netflix is a subscriber-focused company. It wants to do right by its more than 150 million customers. That makes theatrical releases less important. Normally that's fine, but the Times reports that Scorsese is pushing the company on a, quote, robust national theatrical release. Like so many famous directors, he'd still prefer the perceived prestige and improved technical conditions of a big screen movie. Netflix is left with a problem.

Starting point is 00:14:55 Its business has two facets, building its subscriber base and securing content. After Paramount Pictures walked away from the Irishman because, of the $160 million budget, Netflix saw an opportunity. The company was losing precious license content, as Disney, Warner Media, NBC Universal started revving up to launch their own streaming services. The company needed a huge win. It wanted a movie that would bring people to the service and keep them signed up in hopes of more. A new mobster movie from the King of Mobster Cinema with a cast led by De Niro and Pacino sounded like a good bet. It was a win-win. The Irishman needed Netflix to fund it, and Netflix needed a Scorsese picture, end quote.

Starting point is 00:15:36 So the problem here is, in this moment when it needs to attract talent, not all talent will be on board with Netflix, even if Netflix throws all of the money in the world at them, if that talent still wants a theatrical release. But why should Netflix do a theatrical release when the whole point is to get subscribers? And there's a, an interesting angle here, because think about it, Warner Brothers, Disney, even Amazon, they'd all be fine with theatrical release for a few weeks and then bringing it over for subscribers, because in fact, that has sort of always been their basic strategy. Windowing. Streaming just allows a Disney or a Warner Brothers, now that they have streaming services, to get another bite of the Apple.

Starting point is 00:16:26 Amazon, for its part, has so far been just fine, playing by the movie. theater rules. People like Christopher Nolan have already said that they'd be more open to working with Amazon in the future because Amazon offers theatrical opportunities. Think even of Benny Off and Weiss. Sure, they've signed up to make TV shows for Netflix, but they're still doing movies, the Star Wars movies, for Disney. And you'd imagine if they did a movie for Netflix, they'd want a theatrical release as well. So thus, The Crossroads, quote, deciding to for a full theatrical release for the Irishman would send the message to famous directors like Scorsese that Netflix can't or won't bend the rules. Adhering to AMC's policies might

Starting point is 00:17:11 have an adverse effect on Netflix's subscriber base, who are used to seeing a Netflix original on their homepage the day it's released. But there's the added pressure from the intensifying streaming wars, which have more companies competing for the same audience and for those overall talent deals. You could call that aspect of the business, The Creator Wars. Hey, sorry about that snafu yesterday where the intro to the show got cut off prematurely. I actually did notice it right before hitting published, but I was running late, and I knew the re-recording and re-editing necessary would take at least 15 to 20 minutes,

Starting point is 00:17:52 so I just said, heck with it. Hope you can forgive me. Also, yes, it's hydra bad, not Hyderabad or whatever it is that I said. I even phonetically spelled that out in the script because I knew I would probably make that mistake, but it still slipped out. Anyway, my apologies, of course. But hey, not quite as bad as when I butcher German names and words, right? Anywho, another classified ad for you, another podcast recommendation for you. Check this out.

Starting point is 00:18:27 Nintendo Dispatch is a weekly Nintendo podcast with Nintendo fans Michael, Christina, and James. Each week, they break down the latest. news, game releases and happenings in the Nintendo universe. No topic or game system is off limits as they discuss the Nintendo Switch, 3DS, Nintendo's mobile games, theme parks, merchandise, and whatever else awesome Nintendo is doing. Join them each week. For a new episode of awesome, go to nintendodispatch.com for more info or simple. Search Nintendo Dispatch on your podcast app right now and subscribe. Thank you.

Tech Brew Ride Home - Thu. 08/22 - Google Deserts Desserts (h/t The Verge)

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.