Tech Brew Ride Home - Tue. 03/05 – The Linux Phoenix?

Episode Date: March 5, 2024

The big DMA deadline is mere hours away. A big Twitter related lawsuit has arrived that I kind of can’t believe took this long. Nothing releases a pretty compelling cheap phone. Waymo is bringing its driverless taxi service to Los Angeles. And is Linux quietly having a moment? Links: Google rolls out changes for users, apps developers as EU tech rules loom (Reuters) Instagram now lets you edit DMs up to 15 mins after sending them (TechCrunch) M3 MacBook Pro will gain multi-display support in software update (9to5Mac) Former Twitter Executives Sue Musk Over Unpaid Severance (WSJ) The Nothing Phone 2A proves thoughtful design can come at a budget price (The Verge) Waymo can now charge for robotaxi rides in LA and on San Francisco freeways (TechCrunch) Linux Crosses 4% Market Share Worldwide (Linuxiac) 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 Tuesday, March 5th, 2024. I'm Brian McKella today. The big DMA deadline is mere hours away. A big Twitter-related lawsuit has arrived that I kind of can't believe took this long. Nothing releases a pretty

compelling cheap phone. Waymo is bringing its driverless taxi service to Los Angeles and is Linux quietly having a moment? Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. Thursday, March 7th is the day that all the big tech platforms, alphabet, Amazon, Apple, bite dance, meta, even Microsoft have to comply with that new European Digital Markets Act or face fines. Well, Google finally outlined its updates to comply with the DMA. Search changes to prioritize large intermediaries and aggregators, new tools for app developers and more, quoting Reuters. Changes to search results mean large intermediaries and aggregators will get more traffic while hotels, airlines, merchants, and restaurants will get less, Google said in a blog post. Users will be asked for

their consent to allow Google to share their data across Google products and services, app developers will be able to use alternative billing systems and not just Google plays billing, while a new program will allow them to directly lead European users outside the app to promote their products. Google will also launch data portability software in Europe this week, making it easier for developers to move user data to a third-party app or service, end quote. And quoting TechCrunch. Today, Google is also announcing that it stopped the default linking of personal data across user accounts for certain of its products, which it's previously used to power personalization, in quotes, of content and ads. This pro-privacy change is happening because the

DMA bans the use of people's data for advertising without their consent. But Google isn't going gentle into this data goodnight. The ad tech giant is the DMA gatekeeper with by far the largest number of regulated platforms eight in total, namely Google Maps, Google Play, Google Shopping, Google Ads, Chrome, Android, Google Search, and YouTube, which is why it's setting out such a smorgasbord of changes across multiple products. Yesterday, TikTok, which is also in the scope of the DMA, announced its own API for data portability, all the gatekeepers will have to do this. EU lawmakers hope the regulations data portability requirements will fire up competition

against gatekeepers by facilitating service switching and or multi-homing, making it easier for users to port their data to third-party app or services for businesses to get access to data so they can cater to users. Despite a high level of DMA risk for Google, on account of how many of its services are in scope of the regulation, at times, its blog post spins the idea it's already well on the way to being compliant with the regulation, as it suggests it already fulfills some of the requirements, such as the ability for users of its mobile platform Android to install alternative app stores and side load apps, end quote. Instagram. Now lets users edit DMs up to 15 minutes after sending them, along with the ability to pin three messaging threads. to the top of their inbox and save their favorite stickers. Quoting TechCrunch. The ability to edit your DMs lets you fix a typo or change things around if your message doesn't quite sound right. To edit a message, you need to press and hold it and then choose edit from the drop-down menu.

Once you edit a message, the purple text bubble will have an edited label on top of it to notify the other person that the message has been changed. The feature works similar to Apple's edit feature for iMessage, which launched nearly two years ago. As for the option to pin a chat to top of your inbox, you will be able to do so by swiping left or tapping and holding on the chat, then tapping pin. You can choose to unpin a thread at any time. The feature can be used to quickly access the chats that you visit often, but it could also be used as a way to remind yourself to come back to a specific conversation at a later time. Instagram also recently started allowing all users to turn read receipts off for all of their chats or specific ones. You can turn off read receipts

for all chats by going into your account settings, tapping messages, and story replies, and then clicking on the show-read receipts button and then toggling them off. The company first started testing the feature back in November, end quote. Apple says that after a forthcoming software update, the M3 14-inch MacBook Pro will be able to drive two external displays with its lid closed, just like the M3 MacBook Airs announced yesterday. Quoting 9 to 5 Mac. No details yet on which software update, although MacOS Sonoma 14.4,

is still in developer and public beta. The M3 MacBook Air in 13 and 15-inch sizes hit stores on Friday. Both the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro have an interesting recent history with multi-display support. Before now, Apple has limited external monitor support to a single monitor, even if the lid is closed for M1 through M3 chips. Actual multi-display support was limited to the M1 Pro and up. The Mac Mini was a bit of an exception. The M-1 and M-2 variants feature an HDMI port capable of driving a second display. In a sense, the new last. laptop feature catches up with the Mac Mini. The Mac Mini has no built-in display to drive and works with up to two external monitors. Now that's true for M3 laptops as well. Prior to switching

to Apple Silicon, modern MacBook Airs supported two external displays as well as the built-in display. Apple still hasn't prioritized that level of support for the MacBook Airline. However, the feature has been available since day one for Pro Max and ultra-variations of Apple's M-chips for the Mac. For power users, the upgraded versions of Apple Silicon chips still offer the advantage of being able to utilize the built-in display while using two external displays, end quote. Twitter's former CEO, CFO, legal chief, and general counsel are suing Elon Musk over more than $128 million in what they say are unpaid severance payments, as well as Musk's claim, that he had cause to fire them when he took over Twitter, quoting the journal.

The executives who led the company during a lengthy and at times hostile takeover process in which they sued the billionaire to follow through with the acquisition after Musk changed his mind, say he fired them citing gross negligence and willful misconduct, which they deny. Musk said at the time they were fired for cause and he didn't have to pay severance. The plaintiffs are Parag Agrawal Twitter's former chief executive, Ned Siegel, its former chief financial officer, Vijay Gaddi, its former chief legal officer, and Sean Edgeett, its former general counsel. This is the Musk playbook to keep the money he owes other people and force them to sue him, the group alleges, even in defeat, Musk can impose delay, hassle, and expense on others,

less able to afford it. Because Musk decided he didn't want to pay plaintiff's severance benefits, he simply fired them without reason, then made up fake cause and appointed employees of his various companies to uphold his decision. The group continues in the complaint. The executives say they were told multiple reasons for their firings, including one related to Twitter's payment of so-called success fees to attorneys who worked on the acquisition. Other reasons include alleged corporate waste and the handling of employee retention bonuses and severance plans, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs say those reasons are pretextual and insupportable. They also say the decisions in question were approved by Twitter's board at the time.

In the complaint filed Monday, the executive cite a passage from Walter Isaacson's biography of Musk, which says Musk closed the deal a day early because he thought it would prevent those executives from having their stock options vest when the market opened the next morning. There was a, quote, $200 million differential in the cookie jar between closing tonight and doing it tomorrow morning. The book quotes Musk as saying, end quote. Nothing has debuted the 6.7-inch phone 2A, its first budget phone with a 5,000-m-amp-hour battery and a Media Tech chip, starting at 319 pounds. Comes with 8 gigabytes of RAM and 128 gigabytes of storage, which that's a pretty good deal.

Quoting the Verge. The 2A is Nothing's third phone and its first attempt at a truly inexpensive device. And it's very budget-friendly. The phone 2A goes on sale today starting at 319 pounds or 329 euro for a model with 8 gigabytes of RAM and 128 gigabytes of storage. A 12-gigabyte 256-gabyte version will cost 349 pounds or 379 euro. Pre-orders open today and the phone will ship on March 12th. The 256-gabyte variant will be sold in the U.S. for 3149. $49, but there's a catch. It's only available through a developer program, and the phone will only work on T-Mobile.

That's our loss, because nothing has created a device that really stands out from the crowd. The design is unmistakably nothing. From the transparent back panel to the stylish monochrome UI, the centered camera module includes a 50-mixel main with optical stabilization, which is very rare in phones under $500. There's a 50-mapixel ultra-wide and a 32-magixel front-facing camera. Three light strips around the rear cameras make up the phone 2A's glyph interface, bringing over familiar features from the phone 2 like Flip to Gliff to quickly silence the phone and instead be notified via its flashing lights. Given all of the above, $349 is an extremely reasonable asking price.

Sure, the outer frame and back panel are plastic, it's only splash-resistant, and the Glyf interface is still mostly a curiosity, but it's only $349.49. It's easier to understand why certain features like a more robust IP rating aren't here, more so than on the $599 phone, too. That price tag also makes it easier to appreciate what is here. The Glyph interface feels like a fun extra, and the informative always on display is one of my favorites on any phone. There's NFC for contactless payments, which isn't always the case on budget phones, and if you're unsure exactly where to tap the device, you can just look. It's right there on the back of the phone. Likewise, Nothing's minimalist UI feels almost like a luxury in this category where you'll occasionally find the worst kind of

bloatware. It's almost too good to be true, and if you live in the U.S., that's kind of the case. The phone 2A is only available through Nothing's developer program, which is open to anyone, but the device only works on T-Mobile's network. It supports the carrier's N-41 band, which is really the backbone of its 5G network, but Verizon's and AT&T's 5G networks aren't supported. if you're on T-Mobile, it seems a little dicey to rely on the phone 2A as a daily driver without full support on LTE and low-band 5G. Disappointing, but hey, cool phones skipping the U.S., that's nothing new, end quote. California's Rhodes Regulator has approved Waymo's proposal to expand its fared, driverless

robotaxy services to parts of Los Angeles, as well as more of the San Francisco Peninsula, in its biggest regional expansion yet. Quoting TechCrunch, the approval removes the last barrier for the Alphabet Company to charge for rides in those expanded areas. Importantly, it opens up new territory for Waymo in one of the country's largest cities and unlocks a route to San Francisco International Airport, which is located south of the city. Waymo has operated a commercial service 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout the city of San Francisco since receiving approval from the commission in August. Waymo is also allowed to give people free driverless rides in parts of Los Angeles, but until today's approval, it was not able to charge for rides

in Los Angeles. Waymo says 50,000 people have joined the waitlist to use the new service in that city. Finally today, something really nerdy for you, according to Stat Counter, Linux hit a 4.03% share of the desktop OS market in February. This is after it took Linux 30 years to achieve a 3% market share, a level that it hit just back in June of last year. So I know desktop market share, who cares, but 1% market share grab in just eight months, is the dream of the 90s alive for some reason? Quoting Linuxiac. The rise in Linux's popularity can be attributed to several factors. Firstly, the open-source nature of Linux has made it a favorite choice among developers,

IT professionals, and tech enthusiasts who appreciate the flexibility and control it offers. Additionally, the security and stability of Linux have been key selling points, making it an attractive option for both personal and professional use. However, while having great features is important and attractive presentation often captures attention first, something both Windows and MacOS understand well, this is precisely where the top Linux desktop distros have made remarkable strides, significantly enhancing their appearance and user-friendlyness in recent years. With the continuous improvement and user-friendly designs of distributions such as Ubuntu, Fedora, Mint, and many others, Linux has become more accessible to a broader audience, including those who may not be as technically inclined. Is the much-anticipated Linux on the desktop? year upon us? Well, not exactly. The truth is, seeing Linux dominate desktops anytime soon is quite unlikely, but then again, achieving widespread desktop dominance was never the primary aim of Linux. It's more of an ongoing, light-hearted debate among enthusiasts than a serious expectation. However, it's worth noting and celebrating that Linux desktop usage has surpassed

4% and even saw growth of 1% in just the last 8 months, a feat that was beyond the expectations of many. So let's take a moment to appreciate this achievement. It may seem small to some, but it's a significant stride forward for those who hold Linux dear, end quote. I will make note of the fact that as I'm recording this, Bitcoin has apparently surpassed its all-time high, briefly touching $69,000 a coin. Don't know if there's much else I can tell you about that, but we'll see tomorrow. Quick note that tomorrow's show might be a tad late,

maybe 2 p.m. Eastern instead of noon, like usual. Just a bunch of stuff piled up tomorrow. and quick ask from the hive mind, have they stopped manufacturing Heath bars? Heath, the toffee candy bars. First they disappeared from my corner bodega, but then in the last few weeks, I can't find them in any bodega in Park Slope. I've been trying to look every time I stop into a bodega to get something. Is it just my neighborhood? Is it just Brooklyn? Is it New York City? Next time you stop in to get gas, maybe later today or whatever, head inside and see if they have Heath bars. I only discovered Heath bars for the first time like six months ago, and it would suck

if I got into the Heath Hive right before it ended. Talk to you tomorrow.