Tech Brew Ride Home - Tue. 09/13 – Google Does Google Things

Episode Date: September 13, 2022

Google does what it does best. Kills a product line. As the Twitter whistleblower testifies before congress, did extreme heat in California almost bring Twitter down recently? Amazon has updated the entry-level Kindle. And a review of the recently released iOS 16. Sponsors: Masterworks.com/ride Online.UC.edu Links: Google canceled its next Pixelbook and shut down the team building it (The Verge) Twitter starts rolling out podcasts to Blue subscribers (Engadget) Extreme California heat knocks key Twitter data center offline (CNN) Splatoon 3 has smashed Switch launch records in Japan (VideoGamesChronicle) The Cheapest Kindle Is Now Less Cheap, but It’s Got a Better Screen (Gizmodo) Intel just leaked its 13th Gen processor specs (The Verge) iOS 16 review: unlocking the lock screen (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 Tuesday, September 13th, 2022. I'm Brian McCullough today. Google does what it does best, kills a product line. As the Twitter whistleblower testifies before Congress, did Extreme Heat in California almost bring Twitter down recently? Amazon has updated the entry-level Kindle and a review of the recently released iOS 16. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. Sources are telling the newly redesigned Verge that Google canceled the next version of its pixel book laptop, which was slated for a 2023 release.

Google has also dissolved the team building the pixel book as a part of recent cost-cutting measures. The device was far along in development and expected to debut next year, according to a person familiar with the matter. Members of the team have been transferred elsewhere inside the company. As recently as a few months ago, Google was planning to keep the pixel book going. Ahead of its annual I.O. developer conference, Google hardware chief, Rick Osterlo, told the verge that, quote, we are going to do pixel books in the future. But he also acknowledged that the Chromebook market has changed since 2017 when the original and best pixel book launched.

What's nice about the category is that it has matured, Austerlo said. You can expect them to last a long time, and quote. One way Google might be thinking about the Chrome OS market is, that it simply doesn't need Google the way it once did. Sundar Pachai, Google's CEO has been saying for months that he intends to slow down hiring and cut some projects across the company. In some cases, that means consolidating where investments overlap and streamlining processes, he wrote in a July memo. In other cases, that means pausing development and redeploying resources to higher priority areas. The pixel book team and the pixel book itself were casualties of that consolidation and redeployment. Google's hardware strategy, particularly with the pixel devices, has

been both to make good products and to try to show other manufacturers how to do the same. It began investing in pixel phones as a way to show off what Google's take on Android could look like. More recently, the company is re-engaged in making smartwatches with the Pixel Watch to come in a few weeks and building an Android tablet due to ship next year. Both of those latter devices exist in categories where most Android devices have failed. Google is trying to convince developers, manufacturers, and customers that they can be good. In a similar way. Google spent nearly a decade trying to prove to the world that a high-end Chromebook was a good idea. With the first Chromebook pixel in 2013, it went deliberately over the top,

putting ChromeOS, an operating system Google's then-CEO.S. Google's then-CEO.S. Schmidt had said would be featured on completely disposable hardware onto a gorgeous device with a $1,300 price tag. Google never meant for the Chromebook hardware to matter, but the hardware does matter, and so Google made the best hardware. Still, the pixel and the... later pixel book models were niche devices with high prices, and while Google doesn't break out its Chromebook sales, it was clearly too expensive to make real noise in the broader laptop market, end quote. Mike Elgin tweeted it so I don't have to say it myself, quote, because getting passionate users invested in a product, then killing that product is what Google does

best, end quote. And Nilai Patel also from Twitter, quote, One theory I have about Google is that the company is so relentlessly driven by data that it can only really see the past and never quite invent the future, end quote. Is a similar critique of meta valid? Twitter has begun rolling out its redesigned spaces tab to Twitter Blue subscribers on iOS, including access to popular podcasts and themed audio stations, quoting a gadget. Starting today, Twitter Blue members on iOS can check out the new interface element through the subscription Early Access Labs feature. The tab brings together live and recorded spaces and even offers a selection of popular podcasts you can listen to directly through the app. If the interface Twitter has gone with doesn't look ideal for finding a specific podcast or episode, that's by design. The tab won't

replace dedicated apps like PocketCass. However, it may help you discover something new to listen to, and if in the process you check out a space or two, then the tab has done its job, end quote. I've actually got to head into the city to record a talking head spot for a TV show this afternoon. So I won't be able to check this out myself. If any of you find this podcast, the TechMe Right Home, in there, please send me screenshots and your general impressions. Thanks in advance. By the way, a bunch of Twitter news is happening right now. The Twitter whistleblower is testifying before Congress as I type these words. I'm going to save the reaction to that for tomorrow. Twitter was apparently forced to shut down its entire Sacramento data center recently due to extreme heat in California

and warned internally that if another data center went down, it would or could result in Twitter outages for some users because Twitter is now in a, quote, non-redundant state, which is among the things that the Twitter whistleblower has alleged, that Twitter's security infrastructure especially, but also their infrastructure in general, is in such a state that there are serious worries that the site is forever on the edge of just breaking completely, quoting CNN. Major tech companies usually have multiple data centers in part to ensure their service can stay online if one center fails. This is known as redundancy. As a result of the outage in Sacramento, Twitter is in a non-redundant state, according to Fernandez's Friday memo. She explained that

Twitter's data centers in Atlanta and Portland are still operational, but warned, quote, if we lose one of those remaining data centers, we may not be able to serve traffic to all Twitter's users, end quote. The memo goes on to prohibit non-critical updates to Twitter's product until the company can fully restore its Sacramento Data Center services. All production changes, including deployments and releases to mobile platforms, are blocked with the exception of those changes required to address service continuity or other urgent operational needs, Fernandez wrote. The restrictions highlight the apparent fragility of some of Twitter's most fundamental systems. A problem, Peter Mudge Zatko, Twitter's former head of security,

who turned whistleblower has raised in a disclosure sent to lawmakers and government agencies in July, end quote. Also, according to sources, a majority of Twitter's shareholders voted in favor of the $44 billion sale to Elon Musk, whose $54.20 per share deal looks pricey in the current environment. Quoting Tuvia Elbom on Twitter, pricey? Pricey is 10%, maybe 15% more. It's a 33% increase in the current stock price, end quote. So, yeah, there's logical interest for the shareholders of Twitter to want that money. But this Twitter shareholder, meaning me, voted against the deal because I think Elon is going to break what I like about Twitter.

But, of course, it looks like it's going to break maybe even worse if he doesn't buy the site. So, you know, shrug-shoulders emoji. And as I'm writing this, I'm watching the Nintendo Direct event, hoping to get some more details on the new Zelda game. And hey, news that Golden Eye is coming with online play is nuts and great. But also, quick word on this. Nintendo says Splatoon 3 for Switch, which came out recently sold a record. 3.45 million copies in Japan in its first three days, nearly 600,000 units above Animal Crossing New Horizons first week. quoting Video Game Chronicle. The Splatoon series has enjoyed continued popularity in Japan.

According to Femitsu, Splatoon 2 was the fifth best-selling switch game overall in the country as of March 2022. However, with 4.03 million copies sold as of that month, it's likely the latest entry will overtake its predecessor in just a few weeks. In VGC's Splatoon 3 review, critic Matthew Castle called the game Nintendo's safest sequel. Quote, its back-of-the-box features read more like generous patch notes than a bold invitation to a world of ink-flinging revolution. But if it provides solid fun within those baby steps, does it truly matter? In a game where 0.1 of a percent can result in its biggest thrills, a major splash of paint isn't always required, end quote.

I've never actually tried Splatoon. Maybe it's time to give it a go. Amazon has updated its entry-level Kindle with USBC, 16 gigabytes of storage as the new standard, a blue color option, and improved 300 pPI display, available for $100 with ads, quoting Gizmodo. However, what's still missing from the new entry-level Kindle are color temperature adjustments for the screen lighting. Like its predecessor, it illuminates its e-ink screen with a cool glow from a strip of LEDs for reading when there's not enough ambient light to see the display.

But unlike on recent paperwhite models, you can't switch the lighting to a warmer hue for when you're reading later at night and you don't want to stare at blue light. The Kobo Nia has the same limitation, which means that at least for now, screen lighting temperature adjustments aren't a feature you're going to find on a sub-$100 e-reader. And while the new Kindle starts at $100, that's for the lock screen ad-supported option. If you don't want ads, the price is $120 instead. Both options are 10% pricier than their predecessors, but for a limited time, Amazon is

throwing in a four-month subscription to Kindle Unlimited, which is twice as long. as the usual trial period. Alongside the updated Kindle, Amazon is also releasing a new version of the Kindle Kids, which brings with it all of the same hardware upgrades, including USBC charging, better battery life, extra storage space, and a 300 PPIE ink screen. It also comes with one of three different covers with either a space whale, unicorn valley, or ocean explorer design, as well as a one-year subscription to Amazon Kids Plus. That plan provides access to thousands of books, plus other kid-friendly content. Unlike the standard Kindle, the Kindle Kids also gives parents access to a dashboard where they can set up reading schedules and limit access to content past

bedtimes, plus allow kids to request content such as new e-books without them being able to outright buy it themselves, a welcome limitation in a time of rampant micro-transactions, end quote. So I know I've basically inserted myself into every segment on the show thus far today, but come on Amazon. No update to the Kindle Oasis? I'd love USBC on that bad boy too, and the one I've got is so long on the tooth at this point, the battery life is becoming a serious issue.

Intel appears to have accidentally confirmed specs for its 13th-gen-Raptor Lake CPUs on its Canadian website, including the I-9-13-900K with 24 cores and 32 threads, quoting the verge. A day after confirming an upcoming 13th, gen CPU will run at 6 gigahertz at stock. Intel published and then quickly deleted specs for its core I5-13600K, core I7-13700K, and core I-9-13900K CPUs. Intel posted the specs to its Canadian website and Twitter users were quick to spot them. The specs reveal that the top

of the line I-9-13-900k will have 24 cores and 32 threads, with the performance cores running at a maximum frequency of 5.4 gigahertz. The I7-13700K will ship with 16 cores and 24 threads with up to 5.3 gigahertz on the final performance cores. Finally, the I-5-13-600K comes with 14 cores and 20 threads and a maximum frequency of 5.1 gigahertz on the performance cores. All of this information matches up with leaked slides that appeared online last week. The official looking slides also mentioned that both the 13th gen Core I9 and Core I7 processors will be able to use two performance. performance cores to boost up to 5.8 gigahertz using Intel's thermal velocity boost. Intel still hasn't officially announced its 13th-gen-Raptor-Lake processors, but the company

has teased a 15% improvement in single-threaded performance and a 41% improvement in multi-threaded performance. AMD is set to launch its 16-core Ryzen 9-9-750x chip later this month, and it will be capable of boosting up to 5.7 gigahertz. Intel claims at least one of its 13th gen chips will be able to run at 6 gigahertz at stock. We'll hear a lot more about Intel's 13th gen plans during the company's innovation event on September 27th. It just so happens to be on the same day, AMD is releasing its Zen for Ryzen 7,000 processors, end quote. Finally today, another one of those high priority update notices for you alongside iOS 16. Apple has also released iOS and iPadOS 15.7, macOS monterey 12.6 and macOS big sur 11.7 to fix the eighth actively exploited zero day since January.

So go update all your things, people. Also word that Apple plans to add a clean energy charging feature to iOS 16 later this year, optimizing iPhone charging times for when the power grid is using cleaner energy sources. And if you updated to iOS 16 yesterday, here's David Pierce's Reuters. view in The Verge. He says, lock screen widgets, while not interactive, are an instant upgrade, and the myriad other changes make the iPhone more functional and easier to use. Here's his conclusion, quote. As far as Apple is concerned, I think the company is on the right track. It is clearly invested in turning the iPhone into more than just a collection of apps. It wants the phone to be lively and interactive and to get you what you need without requiring you to enter into somebody

else's universe. The business and antitrust implications of that thinking are complicated and fascinating and not for this review. I like the idea that my iPhone has all my stuff and the wherewithal to show it to me in the right places without me having to go looking for it. But to really make this work, Apple's going to need to push even harder on notifications, widgets, live activities, and even the dynamic island. All the big picture stuff aside, iOS 16 makes most parts of the iPhone at least a little bit better. That's where Apple is now. Polishing Twitter. tweaking, fine tuning. If Apple has whiz-bang new ideas about how tech is supposed to work, I bet they're not coming for the iPhone. The iPhone's just going to keep getting a little better

every year for a lot of years to come. What are you going to do? Switch? Okay, I lied. I'm going to insert myself one more time. I know it really doesn't do anything meaningful, and I know Android has had this forever, but if you have iOS 16 right now, you're going to want to turn on keyboard haptics. It just makes typing more satisfying and makes you wonder how you ever lived without it. To do so, open settings on your iPhone, tap sounds and haptics. Scroll down and select keyboard feedback. Tap the toggle to enable haptics. Thank me later. Talk to you tomorrow.