Tech Brew Ride Home - Tue. 09/27 – The First Meaningful AR Product To Hit These Shores?

Episode Date: September 27, 2022

Sam Bankman-Fried finally scoops up Voyager’s assets. Meta says Russia has launched the biggest disinformation campaign of the war. Nreal has finally brough the first real contender for the AR wars to American shores for the first time. And would you consider a Metaverse white paper from the sci-fi writer than inspired the very notion of a Metaverse? Sponsors: Online.UC.edu Masterworks.com/ride ** Links: Crypto Exchange FTX Wins Bankrupt Firm Voyager’s Assets (Bloomberg) ‘Smash and grab’: Meta uncovers Russia's ‘largest and most complex’ info op since the war began (Protocol) Meta makes it easier to switch between Facebook and Instagram accounts (CNBC) Nreal’s $379 AR glasses launch in the US today (The Verge) If you still miss Google Reader, Substack has a new web-based RSS client (The Verge) Walmart enters the metaverse with Roblox experiences aimed at younger shoppers (CNBC) Neal Stephenson’s Lamina1 drops white paper on building the open metaverse (GamesBeat) **Net est. returns for all realized and unrealized offerings is 15.3%, from inception through 6/30/22. See important Reg A and performance disclosures at masterworks.io/cd 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 27th, 2022. I'm Brian McCullough today. Sam Bankman-Fried finally scoops up Voyager's assets.

Meta says Russia has launched the biggest disinformation campaign of the war. Enreal has finally brought the first real contender for the AR Wars to America's shores for the first time. And would you consider a Metaverse white paper from the sci-fi writer that inspired the very notion of a Metaverse? Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. F-TX-U.S. has won the auction for bankrupt crypto brokerage Voyager Digital's assets with a bid valued at around $1.4 billion. It includes an additional consideration worth around $111 million, quoting Bloomberg. Customers will be able to transfer to the FTX U.S. platform after the conclusion of the bankruptcy

process, Voyager said, adding the purchase agreement will be presented for approval in court on October 19. The purchase follows several earlier attempts by FTCS to bail out or acquire Voyager. The New York-based platform had about 3.5 million users at the end of March and 1.19 million funded accounts. Voyager filed for bankruptcy protection in July after a failed attempt by Alameda research, a training house affiliated with FTCS to bail it out with a revolving line of credit. That same month, FTCS and Alameda disclosed a joint bid for Voyager, but Voyager called it a low-ball offer. In September, Alameda said it would return about $200 million worth of Bitcoin and ether it had borrowed from Voyager by the end of the month. Bankman Freed has been aggressively buying up distressed crypto companies this year, scooping up millions of customers and valuable technologies at a cheaper price than they traded at just half a year ago.

Earlier this year, FTCS propped up the crypto platform BlockFi and was exploring a potential takeover of Robin Hood markets where Bankman Fried owns a stake. He is estimated to own more than 50% of FTX, 70% of FTX US, and almost all of Alameda. FTC is in the process of raising a $1 billion funding round, according to a source familiar with the deal, which hasn't closed yet or been made public, end quote. Meta has detailed an influence operation allegedly by Russia, impersonating news websites to spread anti-Ukraine content in Europe, and also won by China allegedly targeting the U.S. and Chechia, Quoting Protocol. In a new report published Tuesday, Meta called it Russia's, quote, largest and most complex influence operation since the war in Ukraine began. According to the report

between June and September, Russian agents set up more than 60 websites that spoofed actual new sites, including those of the Guardian and German publishers Der Spiegel and Build. These sites, which primarily targeted users in Germany, France, Italy, Ukraine, and the UK, were meticulous imitations of the real thing, borrowing not just the format and design of the actual news sites, but in some cases the photos and bylines of real reporters. The Russian actors use those sites and fake online petitions to push false narratives, including that Ukraine had staged the murder of civilians in Buccia, and then promoted their work on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, telegram, Twitter, change.org, avaz, and even live journal. The report reads,

all in, Facebook and Instagram removed nearly 2,000 accounts, more than 700 pages, and one group, and detected some $105,000 in advertising. Facebook and Instagram work to shut the network down, more websites continued popping up. This suggests a persistence and a continued investment in the cross-internet activity. David Agronovich, Meta's director of Global Threat Disruption, said on a call with reporters. In some cases, the posts were boosted by official Russian diplomatic pages. But while the network of websites was developed with care, the fake accounts were more of a, quote, smash and grab.

The report said many of them were detected by the company's automated systems before Meta even began its investigation. It presents as a really unusual combination of sophistication and brute force, Agranovich said. In addition to the Russian network, META also detected a Chinese influence operation targeting the U.S. and Chechia, while less expansive than the Russian network, the Chinese operation was noteworthy, meta-executive said, for the way it tried to stake out both sides of contentious topics like gun rights and abortion access. While it failed, it's important because it's a new direction for Chinese influence operations. said Ben Nimmo, Meta's Global Information Operations Threat Intelligence Lead, end quote.

By the way, Meta has begun testing a single interface to manage your Facebook and Instagram accounts and has streamlined registration to help new users create accounts on both services, quoting CNBC. One of the features lets people switch between Facebook and Instagram accounts, as long as they have added both to the accounts manager. Once the accounts have been linked, people can toggle between the two apps and see notifications for both apps. It also works for people who have multiple accounts. Meta also modified its user registration process so it's easier to log in and create new Facebook and Instagram accounts. This could help new users create accounts on both services as opposed to just one of the apps,

which is seen as a way to court more users. Meta said the new account management features are, quote, currently limited to Facebook and Instagram, but that the company will continue to explore how to improve connected experiences across all of our technologies, end quote. The company debuted meta accounts in July that allowed people to access its virtual reality headsets without having to use their Facebook accounts. That change was in answer to complaints from Quest VR users, end quote. Very interesting gadget for us, since I've been talking about this company, ever since I demoed a previous version of their hardware at CES. What was it? Three years ago now.

Chinese startup Enreal has launched its $379 air-ar glasses in the U.S. Adding iPhone support thanks to a $59 dongle. It's also expanding on the $599 NREL light glasses from 2021, quoting the verge. The NREAL air glasses unveiled for Asian markets last year are available on Amazon starting today for $379. The initially Android exclusive glasses are also getting iPhone compatibility, but only with a $59 dongle. It's the Chinese startup's latest move into the global AR market as it races Apple, Meta,

and other tech giants for the growing niche. The Enreal airglasses are a cheaper alternative to the Enreal light, which launched for $599 in the U.S. last year. They're smaller and lighter than the Enreal light, which look like a bulky pair of sunglasses, but come with significantly paired back capabilities. Most notably, where the light used outward-facing cameras to track movement in physical space, the airglasses scrap the cameras and only track a user's rotation. Their field of view is also a little narrower at 46 degrees instead of 52, and Enreal promises they will consume 50% less power than their fuller featured counterpart. The air is intended to be a personal theater for streaming services like Netflix and YouTube. When you plug them into a phone

or computer, Enreal says they offer the equivalent of watching a 130-inch screen from three meters away or a 201-inch screen from a distance of 6 meters. You can also stream games on Android from services like Xbox cloud gaming and steam. And unlike a VR headset, Enreal's glasses project images in front of you without blocking the rest of your vision, letting you maintain some situational awareness while you're watching TV. Unreal has focused mainly on 5G Android phone compatibility, but the light already allows users to mirror the screens of laptops and officially supported Android phones, and the new adapter officially offers mirroring for iPhones. iOS devices still aren't getting access to Nebula, a launcher that enables additional features, but they can stream.

Netflix, Hulu, and other apps onto the glasses through mirroring. Conversely, Unreal is launching a MacOS version of Nebula for MacBook Pro and Air computers that use Apple chips, offering a more full-featured experience that lets you project multiple displays around your laptop, end quote. Which sounds like something I really want to test out. And another interesting new product. Newsletter company Substack has launched Reader for the web with search, keyboard shortcuts, dark mode, recommendations, and an add RSS feature for non-substack publications.

So a rebirth of the good old Google Reader? Maybe, quoting the Verge. Now users can organize all of their substack subscriptions in one web page that they can view from their laptop or PC. The app also integrates with third-party RSS feed so users can check out posts from other publications, too. The new desktop client keeps old Google Reader users in mind with familiar keyboard shortcuts, for example, yet also sports new settings like dark mode.

Substack prioritizes posts generating the most subscriptions in one inbox, which users can click to open and read in a new window, for example. Readers can also like or save posts from the feed itself. All of the content syncs to Substack's iOS mobile app released earlier this year, so users can view the same web reader feeds from their smartphone. Substacks also still working on a similar mobile app for Android, yet given how clearly designed the new web app is for mobile and how similar it is to the iOS app, Android users could use this as a substitute in the meantime, which perhaps may have been intentional.

Admittedly, the new RSS feed isn't all that different from other ones that popped up after Google Reader shut down, nor as feature-rich as competitors like Feedly, which offers perks like Evernote integration, yet it does offer features that heavy substack consumers could find valuable. Subsdack's web app, for example, lets users explore other. newsletters by their interests. Readers additionally receive recommendations from writers they subscribe to. Yet while Substack is clearly using the feed to promote its own content, it steers clear of more distracting advertisements like pop-ups, end quote. Walmart yesterday debuted Metaverse experiences. They called Walmart Land and Walmart's Universe of Play. They did this inside Roblox,

which Walmart calls a testing ground to try to reach younger shoppers and, you know, fill around with Metaverse Ideas, quoting CNBC. Walmart is experimenting with new ways to reach shoppers, particularly after seeing the pandemic shake up shopping habits and fuel consumers' engagement with social media, apps, and gaming websites. The Big Box retailer has hosted shoppable live streaming events on TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube. It has created meal recipes through a partnership with Meredith, the media company that owns all recipes, parents, and better homes and gardens.

It has also rolled out an augmented reality-powered tool on Pinterest that allows shoppers to see how furniture or decor would look in their own homes. Roblox will serve as a testing ground for Walmart as it considers moves into the Metaverse and beyond, said William White, Walmart's chief marketing officer. He said the experiences are designed with the next generation of shoppers in mind, particularly Gen Z, generally defined as around age 25 or younger. White said the company is looking to learn from the partnership. Walmart quietly filed for Metaverse-related trademarks earlier this year.

Some of the trademarks indicated interest in making or selling virtual goods and offering users virtual currency as well as non-fungible tokens or NFTs. White declined to share if or how Walmart will use those trademarks. For now, he said Walmart won't make money from its immersive experiences. Gamers can earn tokens and other rewards to put toward virtual merchandise on Roblox. National brands, such as toy label, LOL surprise, and skull candy headphones were included in the experiences based on their popularity with Roblox's younger audience of gamers, not based on paying, he said, end quote. Look, I'm including this here, obviously, to have a bit of a laugh. I'll admit that. I'm old enough to remember almost 20 years ago when all the brands rushed to put up storefronts

in Second Life. Yes, kids, search Wikipedia for Second Life. It's still around, by the way. Point is, I'm not afraid to say it. No one will choose to go to Walmart inside the Metaverse for reasons other than morbid curiosity. That is just a fact. Finally, today, I've said it before and I'll say it again, a whole generation read the book Snow Crash and fell in love with the concept of the Metaverse via that book. That one book is responsible for untold billions in investments in VR and Metaverse concepts over the last 25 years. So I guess it's appropriate, question mark. That sci-fi author Neil Stevenson, author of Snow Crash, has a blockchain technology startup called Lomina One, which has posted a white paper about building an open metaverse,

which it is calling the Metaverse, like the old English style, the, the Metaverse. Quoting Games Beat. Neil Stevenson's Llamina One blockchain technology startup dropped a white paper today on building the Open Metaverse. It's quite the manifesto. In the document the company said its mission is to deliver a layer one blockchain, interoperating tools and decentralized services optimized for the Open Metaverse, providing communities with infrastructure, not gatekeepers, to build a more immersive internet.

The effort includes some new original content, Under active early stage development, Neil Stevenson's The Metaverse promises a richly imagined interactive virtual world with an unforgettable origin story, the paper said. Built on the Lamina One chain, creators will come to experience Neil's vision and stay to develop their own. Stay tuned for more details on that, the paper said. Laminah 1 said, the Metaverse represents the evolution of our lives online, graduation to rich 2D and 3D worlds in which we fluidly create, explore, and socialize, and transact. As we usher in this bold new era of content creation and participation, we must revisit the centralized business models of Web2 to empower creators and consumers with greater agency, ownership, and privacy.

A creative community that is free to innovate and transact will give rise to a thriving economy. Llamina 1 delivers critical infrastructure to enable the trillion-dollar economy of the open metiverse. The aim is to correct the sins of the past. The paper said that Web 2 introduced a period of rapid innovation and unprecedented access to entertainment, information, and unprecedented access to entertainment, information, and goods on a global scale, streamlined tools, and usability brought creators and innovators to the web en masse to build digital storefronts, engage, and transact with their customers. But they want to go further. Quote, we are makers, we are builders, the company said. We are passionate about the potential of Laminah 1 to change the way we make and monetize the next generation of content,

and we share the needs and interests of our fellow open metaverse enthusiasts. We invite you to join us in building the most powerful network of creative people on the planet, end quote. Sounds exactly like what all the VCs have been saying. Nothing for you today. Talk to you tomorrow.