Tech Brew Ride Home - Thu. 09/22 – Instagram To Crack Down On Nudes

Episode Date: September 22, 2022

More gaming hacks. Instagram wants to stop unsolicited sending of nudes. Layoffs come for Meta in all but name. The end-run Google wants to do around Dolby. Getty Images bans AI art. Larry Page’s flying car startup is shutting down. And a review of the new Apple Watch Ultra. Links: 2K Games says hacked help desk targeted players with malware (BleepingComputer) Instagram’s finally working on protecting users from unsolicited nude photos (The Verge) Meta Quietly Reduces Staff in Cost-Cutting Push (WSJ) Google wants to take on Dolby with new open media formats (Protocol) Getty Images bans AI-generated content over fears of legal challenges (The Verge) TikTok’s BeReal clone app is gaining traction outside the US (The Verge) Google co-founder’s flying car startup is winding down (CNBC) Apple Watch Ultra review: an aspirational debut (The Verge) 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 Tech meme right home for Thursday, September 22nd, 2022. I'm Brian McCullough today. More gaming hacks.

Instagram wants to stop unsolicited sending of nudes. Layoffs come for meta and all but name. The end run. Google wants to do around Dolby, Getty Images, Bands, AI Art. Larry Page's Flying Car startup is shutting down and a review of the new Apple Watch Ultra. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. Don't know if the hackers are targeting gaming companies. more all of the sudden, or if they're just getting lucky with gaming companies recently,

and this is a coincidence. But now, take two interactives 2K, the publisher of games like Bioshock, Xcom, and a whole bunch of popular sports games, says a hacker accessed its help desk and started sending customers links to malware, quoting bleeping computer. The unauthorized party sent a communication to certain players containing a malicious link. Please do not open any emails or click on any links that you receive for the 2K Games Support account. 2K Games Support account tweeted. 2K added that its support portal was taken offline earlier

while the video game publisher investigates and addresses the incident's fallout. The company said it would issue a notice to let players know when it would be safe to start interacting with its support staff again, end quote. Instagram is reportedly working on a feature to protect users from receiving unsolicited nude photos in their DMs. Meta says the tech won't allow the company to view the photos, just help them block them for you. Quoting the Verge. The tech giant likened these controls to its hidden words feature, which allows users to automatically filter direct message requests containing offensive content.

According to meta, the technology will not allow meta to view the actual messages nor share them with third parties. We're working closely with experts to ensure these new features preserve people's privacy while giving them control over the messages they receive. Meta spokesperson Liz Fernandez said. Meta says it'll share more details about the new feature in the next few weeks as they get closer to testing. A report published earlier this year by the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a British nonprofit organization, found that Instagram's tools failed to act upon 90% of image-based abusive direct messages sent to high-profile women.

Many were sent sexual images by men, and not even the hidden words feature could completely filter out swear words like, well, imagine a swear word, but then you put like an asterisk or two in there. Meanwhile, last year, the Pew Research Center published a report that found 33% of women under 35 had been sexually harassed online, end quote. I told you recently the whispers were that layoffs might even be coming to meta soon. Well, not yet, it seems, but maybe they're already here in spirit. Sources are telling the journal that to cut costs by more than 10% in a few short months, meta is nudging out staff by reorganizing departments and giving them a limited window to apply for other roles. Quote, the reductions are expected to be a prelude to deeper cuts, according to people informed of the company's plans.

While some savings will come from cuts to overhead and consulting budgets, the people said much of it is expected to come from reduced employment. Among some meta employees, the process of reapplying for jobs within a limited window internally is known as a sort of human resources purgatory they call the 30-day list. Meta has long had a practice that employees whose roles are eliminated are subject to termination if they can't find a new job internally within a month. Many other companies also make efforts to reassign employees whose groups are closed or restructured. At Meta, historically, it was usually only employees that were deemed undesirable who failed to land new positions. Now affected employees and managers say workers with good reputations and strong performance reviews are being pushed out on a regular basis. Meta reported having 83,553 employees

at the end of the second quarter, up 32% from a year ago, end quote. A leaked presentation seen by protocol apparently shows that Google is working on royalty-free media formats for HDR video and 3D audio in an effort internally known as Project Caviar. Quote, Google is gunning for Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision. The company is looking to introduce two new media formats to offer HDR video and 3D audio under a new consumer-recognizable brand without the licensing fees, hardware manufacturers currently have to pay to Dolby. The company's primary focus for Project Caviar is YouTube, which does not currently support Dolby Atmos or Dolby Vision. However, Google also aims to bring

other industry players on board, including device manufacturers and service providers. This makes Project Caviar one of Google's most ambitious pushes for open media formats since the company began working on royalty-free video codecs over a decade ago. Google's open media efforts have until now primarily focused on the development of codecs. The company acquired video codec maker On 2 in 2009 to open source some of its technology. It has also played a significant role in the foundation of the Alliance for Open Media and Industry Consortium that is overseeing the royalty-free AV-1 video codec. Project Caviar is different from those efforts in that it is not another codec. Instead, the project focuses on 3D audio and HDR video formats that make use of

existing codecs, but allow for more rich and immersive media playback experiences, much like Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision do. Dolby makes most of its money through licensing fees from hardware manufacturers. The company charges TV manufacturers $2 to $3 to license Dolby Vision. According to its cloud media solutions, senior vice president, Giles Baker, Dolby hasn't publicly disclosed licensing fees for Atmos. It charges consumers who want to add immersive audio to their Xbox consoles $15 per license, but the fee hardware manufacturers have to pay

is said to be significantly lower. Google isn't the first company that is trying to establish an alternative to Dolby's formats. Samsung in particular has long resisted paying Dolby more money than necessary. The TV maker co-developed HDR 10 Plus as a royalty-free alternative to Dolby Vision and isn't supporting Dolby Vision on any of its TV sets. However, attempts to make HDR10 plus a household name have largely failed. That's in part because of Dolby's strong existing brand, as well as its licensing strategy. Instead of charging streaming services for the use of Dolby Vision, the company has been using these distributors as evangelists for the format,

allowing them to market it as a premium feature. Dolby Vision has gained support from many services, including Netflix, Disney Plus, and HBO Max. In addition to making these new formats available for free, Google also wants to make them more attractive to device manufacturers and consumers alike by adding functionality beyond what Dolby Atmos and Vision offer. On the audio side, this includes greater flexibility around a larger variety of audio setups. For video, Google wants to focus on capture, allowing consumers to record

video in HDR 10 Plus and then share it via YouTube and other services. Google is well positioned to push the industry to adopt Project Caviar. Apple has thrown its support behind Dolby Vision, but the format has gained close to zero support from Android phone manufacturers, giving Google an opening to promote a royalty-free alternative with a big focus on video capture. At the same time, Google has a lot of influence on the makers of smart TVs and streaming devices, thanks to YouTube. YouTube being a must-have app. Google has previously used this influence to push companies like Roku to support AV1 Video Codex and could do so again to advance project caviar, end quote. Getty images has banned the uploading and selling of images generated with AI tools like

Dali, Mid-Journey, and Stable Diffusion, citing concerns that users may face legal risks. Quoting The Verge. There are real concerns with respect to the copyright of outputs from these models and unaddressed rights issues with respect to the imagery, the image metadata, and those individuals contained within the imagery, said Getty Images CEO Craig Peters. Given these concerns, he said, selling AI artwork or illustrations could potentially put Getty images users at legal risk. We are being proactive to the benefit of our customers, he added. The creators of AI image generators say the technology is legal, but that's no guarantee this status won't be contested. Software like Stable Diffusion is

trained on copyrighted images scraped from the web, including personal art blogs, news sites, and stock photo sites like Getty Images. The act of scraping is legal in the U.S., and it seems the output of the software is covered by fair use doctrine. But fair use provides weaker protection to commercial activity like selling pictures, and some artists whose work has been scraped and imitated by companies making AI image generators have called for new laws to regulate this domain. One of Getty Image's biggest competitors, Shutterstock, seems to be limiting some searches for AI content but hasn't yet introduced specific policies banning the material. Other platforms have removed AI imagery for reasons other than protecting consumers.

Furry-focused social art site Fur Affinity, for example, said it banned AI artwork because it undermines the work of human artists, end quote. Real quick, according to Censor Tower, TikTok Now, that Be Real clone that debuted just on September 18th, is in the top 10 of social networking apps in 39 countries and the top 100 in terms of all apps overall in 24 countries. Quoting the verge. In the U.S., there is no separate app for this new service. In U.S. versions of the TikTok app, the now tab appears next to users for you pages.

At the time of announcing the now feature TikTok indicated, it could spin off as a standalone app in regions outside the U.S. in the future. The company said it was experimenting with now over the next coming weeks, end quote. Well, those experiments seem to be going pretty well so far. Google co-founder Larry Page's flying car startup, Kitty Hawk, says it will wind down its operations and is working on the details of what's next. That's in its own words, quoting CNBC. Kitty Hawk was founded as Z Arrow in 2010 when Page recruited Sebastian Throon, who had worked on self-driving cars and other experimental projects at Google to create electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. The company unveiled a demonstration video of a flying car in 2017. Thruen said he envisioned a time when people would be able to hail flying cars through an app like Lyft or Uber.

Kitty Hawk showcased a flying car model called the flyer in 2018 that could hold up to one person and fly up to 20 miles. Throon told CNBC in an interview earlier that year that the models could take to the skies within five years. The company announced a strategic partnership with airplane manufacturer Boeing the following year. However, by 2020, Kitty Hawk announced plans to shut down its flyer program and shifted focus to its electric aircraft called HeavySize. according to reports. Today's announcement will not affect the partnership with Boeing, a spokesperson told CNBC, end quote. Finally today, the Verges review of the Apple Watch Ultra. I'm actually intrigued by the Ultra, even though I have no intention of getting one, just because I'm not sure if this is a product cul-de-sac for Apple or not. Like just trying to take on Garmin still feels pretty niche to me,

and yet maybe they can enhance a category like they've done in the past in other categories. The Verge says that the Ultra is comfortable, sports a good battery life, the action button is handy, and it's durable overall, but no offline maps or turn-by-turn navigation is weird, and they feel like it might be too big for some. Quote, for people with extremely petite wrists under 130 millimeters around, the Ultra just may not be physically possible. And even some folks with larger wrists don't want a huge honking watch.

My issue with big smartwatches has always been comfort. Many are simply too heavy for me, so when I got a demo of the Ultra after Apple's launch event, I was pleasantly surprised by how light it felt for its size. Now that I've worn it for a full week, it solidified my theory that a 49-millimeter rectangular watch wears like a 50- or 51-millimeter round watch. Thanks to its titanium body, it weighs 61.3 grams without the strap. which isn't too far off from the 61 grams of the 51mm Phoenix 7X.

I do notice the weight when I'm running compared to the Series 8, but like the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro, it's not egregious, and the lighter than expected weight helps offset the big dimensions. Several design tweaks make the ultra-visually distinct from the Series 8 and SE watches. The digital crown is larger with deeper grooves that make it easier to turn mid-workout, and a raised guard to prevent accidental presses. It's also got an additional physical control in the form of a customizable action button, like the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.

The Ultra has a raised lip to protect the screen, though it's much shallower than the Samsung's. Unlike every other Apple Watch, the Ultra's face screen is completely flat, making it less likely to get dinged if you smack it against something. It also makes the Ultra really look like a mini iPhone on your wrist. Apple has always been conservative with battery life estimates for the watch, sticking with acclaimed 18 hours of battery life for the past few years, even if you're likely to get a bit more in practice. The Ultra's 36-hour battery estimate is also a bit conservative. If you're not partaking in a triathlon, you're likely going to get closer to 48 hours. And that's without low-power mode enabled. It's still only been a week, but I've been regularly blowing past the 36-hour estimate. And with its fast charging ability, the Ultra is definitely the best Apple Watch for sleep tracking. I've never felt like I needed to turn on the low-power mode with my daily training schedule. The action button, a large physical button on the opposite side of the digital crown, is a much-needed addition.

Physical buttons are simply more reliable when you want to flip through workout views mid-exercise. They're also immune to sweaty fingers and gloves. It not only improves accessibility, but it's also programmable. Apple should just put it on every watch, not just the Ultra. You'll be prompted to program the action button during setup, though you can also do it from the settings menu. Your options are a workout, stopwatch, waypoint, backtrack, dive, flashlight, and shortcuts. Depending on which one you select, you'll either open up the associated app or see a list of gestures. For example, if you set it to workout, you can decide whether a

single press will open the workout app, where enabled the precision start feature. The latter will launch right into the workout of your choice without the traditional 321 countdown. There are also secondary actions once you're within an app. Triathletes can also use the action button to manually switch from one leg of the race to the next, while runners can use it to mark segments. Holding the action button for five seconds will also trigger a siren. But one thing I really love is how it gives you a more intuitive way to pause workouts using physical controls. On other Apple Watches, you can pause by pressing the digital crown and side button at the same time. Depending on how you orient the watch, it may not be comfortable, e.g. wearing it on your right wrist with the crown and side button on

the right. Now that the action button is here, you can just press any two of these three buttons to pause. It's subtle, but it ensures that you can easily pause regardless of which way you've oriented the watch. The Ultra is the better bet if you want a watch that's as excellent indoors in everyday life as it is outdoors. But if you don't care as much about smart features or battery life is your number one must have, stick with your Garmin or Polar or Coros. If you want every conceivable chart, map, and graph under the sun, the Ultra isn't going to scratch that itch. While Apple is going to sell a ton of these to weekend warriors, tech dads, and aspiring non-couch potatoes, I'd argue the ultra is best for athletes hovering at the cusp between

intermediate and advanced levels. The battery life is best for weekend excursions, and the simpler UI and metrics are preferable if you've yet to crave overly complex charts. Hardcore athletes or explorers are more likely to want extra features they're used to that the Ultra doesn't have yet. All in all, the Ultra is one of the best debuts of a new product category that I've seen in a while. A lot of thought was put into the Ultra, and it shows. It's not enough to make garment shake in its boots just yet, but it's more than enough to peak interest and spark competition. Apple's officially a viable contender in the Rugged Watch category, and I can't wait to see what comes next, end quote. I was out on a run recently, and that early Sigur Ross album,

the one where the title is just parentheses, came on the old Apple music. The last song on that album, if you know the album, it's funny, because the chorus sounds like they're saying, Yusylon, Yusilon, as if it's a lover's lament from Battlestar Galactica or something. But also, the song gets like hella loud at the end, like full-on crescendo of noise. Anyway, quick story. Back in 2002, I took a girl to see Siguross in Detroit, and she wasn't really familiar with the band, and even though they had half an orchestra on stage when that last song came on and it was just blaring, dissonant noise and white light, it quite literally blew her hair back, and she did not like it, did not care for it,

came out of the concert a little shook, and not pleased with me for taking her on what she figured was an unpleasant date. That woman did not become my wife. Eight years later, I took another date to another concert in Detroit. This time it was LCD sound system on the This Is Happening tour. Like that album, they opened the show with the song Dance Yourself Clean, and as that that song was building up with its deceptive, gentle opening. I whispered in my date's ear, who again was not familiar with the band, get ready, I whispered. And again, if you know the song when that friggin beat came in and the lights just exploded and it was the loudest thing I had ever heard and we were in the mosh pit right below the stage and everything. And her eyes,

they popped out of her head and she proceeded to dance like nobody's business. To this day, Dance Yourself Clean is one of her favorite songs. That one of her favorite songs. woman did become my wife. Happy 10th wedding anniversary to my beautiful bride. Get yourself someone whose reaction to getting their hair blown back at a concert is to be like, well, might as well start dancing like crazy. Talk to you tomorrow.