Tech Brew Ride Home - Thu. 10/05 – Now The Regulators Are Coming For The Cloud Providers

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, October 5th, 2023. I'm Brian McCullough today. A new front in the regulation battle is opening up for major cloud platforms. What is the point of removing article headlines in X posts? Amazon's Project Kuiper is launching literally and is the new camera on the iPhone 15 max the biggest smartphone camera upgrade ever? Here's what you missed today in the world of tech. The CMA of the UK have their sites set on something new. announcing an investigation into public cloud providers in the UK following a referral from

Starting point is 00:01:13 offcom. And the CMA says the probe will conclude by April 2025, quoting the verge. The clouds are gathering over Microsoft's Azure operations in the EU and now the UK, with the launch of a new investigation into major cloud service providers that also includes Amazon. The UK's competition and markets authority, or CMA, is just about to wrap up its concerns over cloud gaming with Microsoft's proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition, but it will soon turn its attention to Microsoft's Azure Cloud Offerings and Amazon Web Services. It's part of a fresh investigation into public cloud providers in the UK after Telecom's regulator Offcom identified a number of features in the supply of cloud services that make it more difficult for

Starting point is 00:01:57 customers to switch and use multiple cloud suppliers, end quote. Offcom found issues with charges that cloud customers have to pay to move their data out of the cloud, discounts to only use one cloud provider and technical barriers to switching between cloud providers. The CMA specifically calls out Microsoft 2, quote, Offcom's report also outlines concerns it has heard about the software licensing practices of some cloud providers in particular Microsoft, says the CMA in its press release today. Although the CMA doesn't specifically name Amazon, Offcom's market study, identified that both Microsoft and Amazon control around 70 to 80% of the public cloud infrastructure

Starting point is 00:02:34 in the UK, and that it was, quote, particularly concerned about the practices of Amazon Web Services and Microsoft because of their market position, end quote. Offcom and the CMA aren't alone in their concerns over cloud market competition either. The cloud infrastructure services providers in Europe, or SISP trade group, which includes Amazon filed an antitrust complaint with the EU last year. The group argues, quote, Microsoft uses its dominance in productivity software to direct European customers to its own Azure cloud infrastructure to the detriment of European cloud infrastructure providers and users of IT services, end quote. Microsoft offered some licensing concessions

Starting point is 00:03:13 more than a year ago, but they haven't been enough to address the ongoing complaints. Google even publicly called out Microsoft's cloud software licensing, quote, tax earlier this year arguing that businesses have to pay extra when they want to run software like Office on other cloud networks, end quote. So basically, the offcom has found that hyperscalers like AWS and Microsoft Azure are making it difficult for businesses to switch or check out, Hotel California style. It's been a while since we checked on Twitter, as I'm still purposefully calling it, X has begun removing preview headlines from posts with article links, showing only the lead image and domain name. You might have noticed this. If you see a link to, say, ESPN, you see the

Starting point is 00:04:05 picture of, say, Cristiano Ronaldo that the article is about, but you have no idea what the article is actually about because the headline is now gone, which, I mean, I just have no idea why that would be useful, but quoting the rap. Prior to the implemented change, when any account posted a link, to X, the tweet would include a featured image, a headline, and a brief description of the story. But now X cards only display the featured image from the article without additional context. If the account posting the link wants a headline or synopsis, they will have to do it manually. It appears that the change has only impacted mobile users and has not yet made its way to X for desktop. Musk announced that this change was coming back in August in an attempt to reduce clickbait-style posts

Starting point is 00:04:47 and shrink the size of posts in a user's feed as well as to improve the site's aesthetics, end quote. Yes, but, first of all, this is maybe the most user-unfriendly thing ever. How do I know if I want to click through on a tweet if I don't know what it's about? But speaking specifically of aesthetics, isn't this just going to incentivize people to post images with headlines in them all garish and I can has cheeseburger style? Something, something. It's almost like he's running an experiment to see what will be the one thing that will finally drive everyone away. Meanwhile, an analyst called Guideline says that X's monthly U.S. ad revenue has declined more than 55% year-over-year in each of the 10 months since Elon Musk's Twitter takeover in October 2022 through August 2023. Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Smart Tag 2 with an updated design, Bluetooth, ultra-wideband, but it is still compatible only with Samsung devices. It will be available on October 10th for $30,000, quoting 9 to 5 Google. The original Galaxy Smart Tag made its debut with two variants that could track items in the same

Starting point is 00:05:57 style as the now infamous Apple Air Tag. Using Bluetooth, ultra-wideband, or a combination of the two, users could find their items easily and all off the backs of a network of Galaxy Smartphones and tablets in the vicinity. With the sequel, Samsung is simplifying things with just a single variant that supports Bluetooth and ultra-wideband, but also has a drastically updated design. The new look has an integrated loop that can be used to attach the device to a keychain bag and other items. The new design also leaves room for a larger battery, which Samsung claims can last for up to 700 days. But notably, the Smart Tag 2 is still a device that solely works with

Starting point is 00:06:33 Samsung smartphones. While Google's Find My Device Network isn't live yet, because Google is letting Apple call the shots, it would have been awesome to see Samsung's excellent hardware paired with a network that works across all Android phones. The Galaxy Smart Tag 2 will be available starting on October 10 in black and white color options and will cost $299.99, end quote. P.S. worth noting that after the Pixel event yesterday, Google has officially rolled out Android 14 with bells and whistles including customizable lock screens, expanded pass-key support, on-device health features, and more, starting with the Pixel 4A, 5G, and Up, quoting the Verge. The update brings with it some new security features like deeper pass-key support, privacy protections,

Starting point is 00:07:22 to deal with shady data brokers, and a plethora of UI, customization, and health updates. The big feature for the new version of the OS, or at least the most immediately cool one, is that Android 14 gives you new lock screen customizations. You can swap between different clock styles and formats, making the phones style a bit more personal. Google is also adding an AI-powered wallpaper generator. Unfortunately, that feature will only be available on the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro at launch. Then there's expanded pass-key support, which will let you use your fingerprint to sign in to 3rd.

Starting point is 00:07:52 party apps. Apps can use Android's new credential manager to pull together all of a user's sign-in methods like passwords and sign-in with Google as a way to simplify the login experience and present just the most secure option. Other new features include better camera extension support, 10-bit HDR image support, and Android's new Health Connect feature, which stores health and fitness data on device similar to Apple Health. You can check out the Android 14 update notes for pixel devices on Google's website, end quote. Amazon's Project Kuiper plans to launch its first two demo internet satellites, Kuiper Sat 1 and Kuiper Sat 2, tomorrow, quoting Gizmodo.

Starting point is 00:08:37 Amazon's Space Initiative, Project Kuiper is scheduled to launch its first two satellites, Kuiper Sat 1 and Sat 2 on Friday, October 6th. The scheduled event will take place at Cape Carnarval Space Force Station in Florida, with the demo satellites riding aboard United Launch Alliance's Atlas V Rocket. The launch window for the mission opens at 2 p.m. Eastern under an 80% favorable weather forecast, according to an emailed ULA statement. The upcoming mission dubbed Proto Flight is crucial as it signifies Amazon's entrance into the satellite broadband market, a space primarily occupied by SpaceX's Starlink and London-based Open Web. According to stats kept by Jonathan McDowell of Harvard-Smithsonian,

Starting point is 00:09:17 SpaceX currently boasts 4,812 working Starlink satellites with open web operating, 632 satellites in orbit. While Starlink focuses on direct consumer services, one web primarily caters to internet service providers, Amazon's Project Kuiper, which kicked off its research and development phase in 2018, is poised to be a bit like both. The company plans to provide both small customer terminals and a ground-based communications network.

Starting point is 00:09:44 Vodafone and its African branch Vodacom have partnered with Amazon to use Project Kuiper to expand their 5G-4G networks. This new collaboration announced in September mirrors Amazon's 2021 deal with Verizon to enhance telecom services in the United States. Similar to claims made by SpaceX and OneWeb, Kuiper satellites promised to, quote, bridge the digital divide by providing fast, affordable prodband to communities unserved or underserved by traditional communications technologies, according to Amazon. The plan is for Atlas V, or I guess that's probably Atlas 5, right, to deploy the two satellites and an altitude of 311 miles or 500 kilometers, Amazon's teams will be on

Starting point is 00:10:23 stand by, awaiting first contact with the satellites, ensuring their solar arrays deploy for power and monitoring onboard electronics in the challenging environment of space. The demo mission aims to validate the entire project Kuiper System. Engineers plan to test ground components to ensure uninterrupted communication between satellites, ground stations, and the Kuiper System, and AWS. The company is operating under a tight timeline with a federal communications commission license, stipulating the deployment of half of its satellite constellation by July 26, Despite initial challenges, including a switch from ABL space systems, RS1 rockets to ULA due to developmental delays, Amazon claims to be on track. The company anticipates serving its earliest Project Kuiper customers by the end of 2024, even though the full satellite deployment might stretch until 2009.

Starting point is 00:11:11 The company has secured 77 heavy lift launches with commercial launch providers, including Arian Space, ULA, and Bezos' own Blue Origin. Technically, Project Koiper and Blue Origin are separate entities, but potential collaborations between the two are likely for better or worse, end quote. More nuggets shaken loose from the USV Google trial suggests that Apple has been playing lots of footsy with other search engines beyond Google, even if they've never tied the knot. Apparently, in 2018 and 2019, Duck Duck Go discussed becoming Safari's default search engine for private mode, quoting Bloomberg. The details of those talks and Apple's discussions about buying Microsoft's Bing search engine in 2018 and 2020 were revealed late Wednesday in transcripts unsealed by the judge overseeing the U.S. government's antitrust trial against Google. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled Wednesday that he would unseal the testimony of Duck DuckGo chief executive officer Gabriel Weinberg and Apple Executive, and Apple executive John G. and Andrea, both of whom testified in the Washington trial in closed sessions. Weinberg testified that DuckDuck Go had about 20 meetings and phone calls with Apple executives.

Starting point is 00:12:24 including the head of Safari in 2018 and 2019, about becoming the default search engine for private browsing mode. In private mode, Safari doesn't track websites that a user visits or keep a history of what a person has accessed. We were talking about it. I thought they would launch it, Weinberg said, noting that Apple had integrated several of Duck, Duck Go's other privacy technologies into Safari. Multiple times we've gotten integrations all the way through the finish line. Really, almost everything we pitched except for search, end quote. But Gian-Andrea, who joined Apple as the head of search in 2018, said that, to his knowledge, Apple hadn't considered switching to Duck, Duck Go. In a February 2019 email to other Apple executives, Giannaudera said it was, quote, probably a bad idea to switch to Duck, DuckGo for private browsing and Safari. Quote, the motivating factor for setting Duck. Duck Go as the default for private browsing was an assumption that it would be more private, Giann Andrea testified.

Starting point is 00:13:13 Because Duck, Duck Go relies on Bing for its search information, it also likely provides Microsoft some user information, he said, which led him to believe that Duck, Duck Go's, quote, marketing about privacy is somewhat incongruent with the details, end quote. If Apple seriously wanted to switch to Duck, Duck, Go, quote, I would probably insist on doing a lot more due diligence with Duck, Duck Go, he said, end quote. And finally today, a bit of a review, but a review of one specific feature of one specific phone. In this in-depth iPhone 15 Pro Max camera review, photography site Lux, says that the native 24-mixel capture and 5X lens on the Pro Max represent one of the biggest camera upgrades in the iPhone's history.

Starting point is 00:14:00 The annual iPhone announcement feels like the Super Bowl of Tech, a huge event that everyone tends to have an opinion about. It's exciting to have a quick hot take, and in the interest of a quick response, it's easy to look at specifications and fact sheets to jump to conclusions. That would lead you to believe the iPhone 15 Pro Max offers little beyond its 120-millimeter equivalent lens, but this is impossibly far from the truth. For the everyday user, iPhone 15 and 15 Pro probably offer one of the biggest camera upgrades in the history of the iPhone. Yet people seem to

Starting point is 00:14:30 have missed this. How did that happen? It is the details that tie all of Apple's camera hardware and software improvements together. Most iPhone users took 12 megapixel photos, had a smallish zoom range, and had to switch to a separate mode for portrait photos. With iPhone 15 Pro Max's default 24-mixel resolution, added lenses under the main camera lens, automatic depth capture for portraits, and that 5x lens, this release might not blow away on a spec sheet, but it is massive for everyone who uses an iPhone to take photos. Meanwhile, the pros get the action button, a big step toward the phone itself becoming a dedicated camera. While I did not touch on it in this photography article, pro res log capture and external video recording are also a big deal.

Starting point is 00:15:13 For photography, this was the year of reach and depth, and it will be up to us, to pour our own creativity into that to appreciate, end quote. As I say, this was a pretty in-depth article, so read the whole thing for all the nitty-gritty technical details. Finally, finally today, an interesting raise. Vera, an article about them from TechCrunch. I'm putting this here because the Ride Home AI Fund and the Ride Home Rolling Fund are investors in Vera, so I didn't want you to think I'm talking my book in the middle of other news, but I am mentioning Vera because if you read it, the article, I think what Vera is offering is something a lot of businesses currently looking to deploy AI are going to need.

Starting point is 00:16:00 And since there's a wait list to try Vera, if you find Vera interesting, let me know and I'll put you in touch with them, Brian at Techmeme.com. Also, don't forget the Ride Home AI Fund is still raising. So if you want to put some money in companies like Vera, who was, I believe, the second investment the Ride Home AI Fund made, get more info about the fund at ridehomefund.com. Talk to you tomorrow.

Tech Brew Ride Home - Thu. 10/05 – Now The Regulators Are Coming For The Cloud Providers

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