Tech Brew Ride Home - Thu. 10/06 – The Made By Google Event

Episode Date: October 6, 2022

All the headlines from the Made By Google event. Elon sure wants to avoid being deposed. Why a guilty verdict for Uber’s former Chief Security Officer could have broader ramifications in the tech world. And the new text to video AI systems, this time, from Google. Sponsors: Titan.com/ride Ted Tech Podcast Links: Google unveils Pixel 7 Pro with Tensor G2 processor, 5x telephoto, starts at $899 (9to5Google) Google gets serious about wearables with the Pixel Watch (TechCrunch) Elon Musk’s deposition delayed as he wrangles with Twitter over deal (Financial Times) Former Uber Security Chief Found Guilty of Hiding Hack From Authorities (NYTimes) Former Uber security chief convicted of covering up 2016 data breach (Washington Post) Google answers Meta’s video-generating AI with its own, dubbed Imagen Video (TechCrunch) 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 Mean Right Home for Thursday, October 6, 2022. I'm Brian McCullough today. All the headlines from the Made by Google event. Elon sure wants to avoid being deposed why a guilty verdict for Uber's former chief security officer

could have broader ramifications in the tech world and the new text-to-video AI systems, this time from Google. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. The Made by Google event was held in Brooklyn this morning, and though I was rejected in my request to cover the event in person, rude. It was still an impressive lineup, a Pixel 7, a pixel 7, a brand new first ever pixel watch, and a pixel tablet. Every few years, Google swears it's really serious about hardware this time, and this year is no different. Google has apparently requested manufacturers make 8 million units of the Pixel 7 smartphones its largest ever order.

They're aiming to double smartphone sales in 2023, they say. The first ever Pixel Watch is also a big deal. And look, doing a tablet is a big deal, considering Android tablets still haven't really become a thing. But let's start with the phones. Google announced the Pixel 7 Pro with a 6.7 inch 120 hertz LTPO display, an updated camera bar, tensor G2 chips, up to 256 gigabytes of storage, and, Android 13, as well as face unlock, all of this starting at $899. Quoting 9 to 5 Google.

Coming with a 6.7 inch QHD plus screen, the Pixel 7 Pro treads familiar territory with a 120-hertz refresh LTPO, low-temperature polycrystalline oxide screen. That can dip as low as 10 hertz in specific scenarios. A less-pronounce curve at the edges of the display also helps decrease the bezzles from a visual perspective. Google says that the screen has a 20% higher peak brightness, which will help when viewing in brightly lit environments. The OLED retains a Gorilla Glass Victus Glass panel, which is the same material used on the Pixel 6 Pro. Google has made changes to the camera bar design that was introduced with the Pixel 6 series last year. A polished, anodized aluminum frame now encapsulates

the camera with cutouts for the triple lens configuration found at the rear of the Pixel 7 Pro. An IP68 water and dust resistance rating is also present to ensure that ingress protection is available. The updated camera bar includes a 50 megapixel main sensor, 12 megapixel ultra-wide, and upgraded 48 megapixel 5X telephoto zoom lens. An LED flash rounds out the onboard rear camera system. The centered front-facing camera is rated at 11.1 megapixels. The second generation TensorFlow G2 is at the heart of the Pixel 7 Pro, which offers minor performance improvements over its predecessor. Built upon a four-nanometer manufacturing process, it utilizes three-core, two-plus-to-two-plus-four clusters, tensor processing unit or TPU for

machine learning, and Titan M2 security co-processor. Software-based face unlock is also available in tandem with an in-display fingerprint sensor. Unlike on Pixel 4, there is no 3D face scanner found on the Pixel 7 Pro. Alongside the updated Tensor G2, the Pixel 7 Pro includes 12 gigabytes of LPDR5 RAM, with 128 or 256 gigabytes of UFS 3.1 storage also available, region dependent, however. Android 13 comes preloaded with upgrades to Material U and Dynamic Color-Thaming, which was introduced with Android 12 last year. Improvements include a combined security and privacy menu that fuses on-device and account settings. Other highlights include an improved photopicker per app language controls, plus much more. Pixel 7 Pro is guaranteed five years of security updates with

three OS upgrades set to be offered. The Pixel 7 Pro comes in Obsidian, which is black, snow, which is white slash silver, and hazel, green slash gold. Pre-orders open today at the Google store in 17 countries with devices shipping from October 13th, end quote. The regular Pixel 7 gets a smaller 6.3 inch display, same TensorFlow G2 updated, 50 megapixel and 12 megapixel rear cameras, Wi-Fi 6E Plus, face unlock, and Android 13, and that is starting at $599. Pixel 7s will be the first phones to come with a free VPN. Your browsing activity won't be associated with your Google account, Google says, all as a part of their Google One service. Google says Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro users will get free access to the VPN service later in 2022, but other Google 1 features still require a subscription. Also, a software feature was announced called Clear Calling,

which uses machine learning to improve background noise and enhance your voice on phone calls, coming later this year as well via updates. Also, those new TensorFlow G2 systems in a chip, on a chip, are giving pixel users new camera features like NightSight and FaceTime. unblur while retaining a similar architecture to the G1. As for the Pixel Watch, quoting TechCrunch, over the past decade, Google's name has been conspicuously absent among big-name brands in the smartwatch conversation. Sure, it's long had a dog in the race in the form of Android Wear slash Android OS, but without its own hardware, it's hard to argue that the company was ever truly all in on the category.

Pixel Watch is an attempt to leverage a decade and a half of Fitbit development, several generations of wear, $40 million fossil IP acquisition we don't really talk about much anymore. If nothing else, you got to hand it to Google for going in with guns blazing here. The company clearly recognized that entering yet another mature space requires at the very least, bringing yourself up to speed with the competition. It's a lesson the company learned the hard way with both its smartphone and earbud offerings. I spent a bit of time with the Pixel Watch ahead of today's launch event, and two things immediately struck me. First, it's nice looking, premium and refined. Second, it's small. Like, I was genuinely surprised by how small Google went here. The watch is only available in a single case size,

41 millimeters. Of course, my perspective was at least somewhat skewed by the fact that I had the 49mm Apple Watch Ultra on for the briefing. For reference, 41mm is the smaller of the two standard Apple Watch 8 series cases. The watch case is round and polished, a kind of pebble design, the shape, not the company that got bought by the company Googlebot, complemented by a digital crown. If I had a guess, I would say the fossil acquisition formed the foundation of the design, while Fitbit is delivering the fitness and sleep tracking at the center of the product, as the line stands right now, Fitbit's Versa is effectively the lower cost model, while the Pixel Watch is an effort to deliver the same kind of premium smartwatch offering we expect

from the likes of Samsung and Apple. Fitbit's offering immediately brings to the table continued heart rate monitoring, ECG-slash-A-fib detection, sleep detection, and a slew of workout-themed content, courtesy of Fitbit Premium. Unsurprisingly, the company has dropped Fitbit Pay in favor of Google Pay, leaving one to wonder whether the former is long for this world. The curved front display is covered by Gorilla Glass for added scratch protection while the bands utilize a proprietary connector. At launch, Google is offering optional accessory bands in a wide range of materials and colors, woven, stretch, active, two-tone leather and crafted leather straps with metal mesh and metal links

arriving in the spring. The company will also be offering it up to third parties to make their own. The company says the battery should last, quote, up to 24 hours. That's obviously a step down from the versus claim of multiple days on a charge. The real test, however, will be seeing how it stacks up against the Apple Watch's middling life. The Pixel Watch is up for pre-order now. The Wi-Fi-only version starts at $350, while the LTE model starts at $400, end quote. Google said the pixel lineup didn't feel right, didn't feel complete without a larger screen, so say hello to the Google Pixel tablet. It's It comes with a charging dock that has a speaker attached. So basically, it's like a nest hub, but that you can take the screen off and use as a tablet. Basically, imagine a home assistant like we've gotten used to, but with Google leaning into using the tablet as well, since Google says 80% of tablet usage is at home anyway. But other than that, it's just an Android tablet, and it's not coming until next year. No word today on pricing.

It seems like Elon really doesn't want to be deposed. Something that got a bit lost over the last 48 hours was the fact that the trial was still on. In fact, Elon's already rescheduled deposition is supposed to be happening right now today, although sources were saying this morning that Twitter has agreed to delay the deposition of Elon Musk by its lead litigation attorney on October 6th in Austin, Texas, as both sides hash out the resumption of the $44 billion deal, quoting the Financial Times. Musk was scheduled to appear at 9.30 a.m. on Thursday at the offices of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich, and Rosati in Austin, Texas, where Tesla is headquartered, according to court papers. He was set to be deposed for two days by Twitter's lead litigation attorney, Bill Savitt, of Watchtell Lipton. Musk had canceled a previously scheduled deposition over concerns about COVID-19 exposure, according to a letter filed with the court this week by Twitter. lawyers. The latest delay comes as Twitter is seeking precise contractual protections from the court

to guarantee that Musk would close the deal given the already frat relationship between the sides. Musk and Twitter previously held talks about potential price cuts to the deal. However, these were unsuccessful according to a person familiar with the matter. The Wall Street Journal first reported the discussions, end quote. Yes, the reporting on that is that in the weeks before the revived $44 billion bid, Elon's representatives asked, Twitter about doing the deal at an up to 30% discount or around $31 billion in valuation. But you know, clearly there's only been one side with leverage in the last few weeks, the Twitter whistleblower notwithstanding. And I'm saying Elon Musk does not have that sort of

leverage at the moment. A U.S. federal court jury has found ex-Urbber Chief Security Officer Joe Sullivan guilty for not disclosing a 2016 breach of customer. and driver records to regulators, quoting the New York Times. In 2016, while the Federal Trade Commission was investigating Uber over an earlier breach of its online systems, Mr. Sullivan learned of a new breach that affected the Uber accounts of more than 57 million writers and drivers. The jury found Mr. Sullivan guilty on one count of obstructing the FTC's investigation and one count of misprision or acting to conceal a felony from authorities. The case, believed to be the first time a company executive faced criminal prosecution over a hack could change how security

professionals handle data breaches. The way responsibilities are divided up is going to be impacted by this. What's documented is going to be impacted by this. The way bug bounty programs are designed is going to be impacted by this, said Chenmai Sharma, a scholar in residence at the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law, and a lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, end quote. Yes, that's exactly why I'm noting this story. quoting at Hostile Spectrum on Twitter, this Uber verdict is really going to destroy CISO positions. If one can brief legal, obtain approval by the CEO, and still be hung out to dry for response actions that 800 other firms have likely taken with far less structural cover, then there can't be enough money to sign on, end quote. And quoting from the Washington Post.

Most security professionals had been anticipating Sullivan's acquittal, noting that he had kept the CEO and others who were not charged informed of what was happening. Personal liability for corporate decisions with executive stakeholder input is a new territory that's somewhat uncharted for security executives, said Dave Shackleford, owner of Voodoo Security. I fear it will lead to a lack of interest in our field and increase skepticism about Infosec overall. John Johnson, a virtual chief information security officer for multiple companies, agreed. Your company leadership could make choices that can have very personal repercussions to you in your lifestyle, he said. Not saying everything Joe did was right or perfect, but we can't bury our

head and say it will never happen to us, end quote. Prosecutors argued in Sullivan's case that his use of a nondisclosure agreement with the hackers was evidence that he participated in a cover-up. They said the break-in was a hack that was followed by extortion as the hackers threatened to publish the data they took, and so it should not have qualified for Uber's bug bounty program to reward friendly security researchers. But the reality is that as the hacking of corporations has gotten worse, the way companies have dealt with it has moved far past the letter of the law when Sullivan was accused of breaking it. Bug bounties usually require nondisclosure deals, some of which lasts forever. Bug bounty programs are being misused to hide vulnerability information. In the case of Uber,

they were used to cover up a breach. Katie Moseuris, who established a bug bounty program at Microsoft and now runs her own vulnerability resolution company said in an interview, end quote. Quoting Whitney Merrill on Twitter, though, quote, a lot of people are conflating legal issues when discussing the Joe Sullivan Uber case. Be careful of the red herrings. It's not about breach notification. It's not about bug bounties. It's about lying to a regulator about information responsive to an open investigation and subpoena, end quote.

Finally, today there's already another one. In fact, another two. Google has unveiled two text to video AI generators. Imagine video, a higher image quality system, and Finaki, which prioritizes coherency and length over video quality, quoting TechCrunch. Not to be outdone by Meta's make-a-video. Google today detailed its work on Imagine Video, an AI system that can generate video clips given a text prompt, e.g. a teddy bear washing dishes. While the results aren't perfect, the looping clips the system generates tend to have artifacts and

noise, Google claims that Imagine Video is a step towards a system with a, quote, high degree of controllability and world knowledge, including the ability to generate footage in a range of artistic styles. Imagine Video builds on Google's Imagine, an image-generating system comparable to OpenAI's Dolly 2 and stable diffusion. Imagine is what's known as a diffusion model, generating new data, eG videos, by learning how to destroy and recover many existing samples of data. As it's fed the existing samples, the model gets better at recovering the data it previously destroyed to create new works. As the Google research team behind Imagine Video explains in a paper, the system takes a text description and generates a 16-frame, three-frames per second

video at 24 by 48 pixel resolution. Then the system upscales and predicts additional frames, producing a final 128 frame, 24 frames per second video at 720p. Google says that, Imagine Video was trained on 14 million video taxpayers and 60 million image text pairs, as well as the publicly available Lyon, L-A-I-O-N-400M image text dataset, which enabled it to generalize a range of aesthetics. Not so coincidentally, a portion of Lyon was used to train stable diffusion. In experiments, they found that Imagine Video could create videos in the style of Van Gogh paintings and watercolor. Perhaps more impressively, they claim that ImagineVeon. video demonstrated an understanding of depth and three-dimensionality, allowing it to create videos like drone fly-throughs that rotate around and capture objects from different angles without distorting

them. In a major improvement over the image-generating systems available today, Imagine Video can also render text properly. While both Stable Diffusion and Dali 2 struggle to translate prompts like a logo for diffusion into readable type, Imagine Video renders it without issue, at least judging by the paper. That's not to suggest that Imagine Video is without limitations. as is the case with make a video, even the clips cherry-picked from Imagine Video are jittery and distorted in parts, with objects that blend together in physically unnatural and impossible ways. Overall, the problem of text-to-video is still unsolved and were unlikely to reach something like Dolly 2 or Mid-Journey in quality soon, said a Google representative.

To improve upon this, the Imagine Video team plans to combine forces with the researchers behind Finaki, another Google Text to Video system debuted today. that can turn long, detailed prompts into two-minute-plus videos, albeit at lower quality, end quote. Nothing for you today. Talk to you tomorrow.