Tech Brew Ride Home - Wed. 09/14 – The iPhone 14 Reviews Are Out

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 Wednesday, September 14th, 2022. I'm Brian McCullough today. Arrest warrants for those behind Luna and UST. Anti-cheating technology comes to video games.

Starting point is 00:00:46 Apple is going all in on three nanometer chips and soon. Mudge's testimony before Congress yesterday. A first hands-on with the new PlayStation VR thingy and the reviews of the iPhone 14 are out and they're oddly tepid. Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. A South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for Terraform Labs founder Du Kwan and five others located in Singapore following the collapse of Luna and UST, quoting Bloomberg. All six individuals are located in Singapore. The prosecutor's office said, Du Kwan didn't immediately reply to an email seeking comment. In July, prosecutors raided the home of Terraform Labs co-founder Daniel Shin

Starting point is 00:01:32 as the probe into allegations of illegal activity behind the collapse of TerraUSD deepened. Kwan has said he plans to cooperate when the time comes in an interview with Cryptomedia startup coinage that floated the prospect of jail time. Kwan said, quote, life is long. The U.S. Treasury has clarified its tornado cash guidance and is telling users who used the service for lawful transactions to apply for a license to withdraw their funds. Quoting Axios. On August 8th, Treasury announced that the smart contracts that made up the Tornado Cash transaction privacy application on Ethereum had fallen under U.S. sanctions,

Starting point is 00:02:18 meaning that no U.S. person could use it. There is currently $200 million sitting in Tornado Cash's smart contracts now, according to Defi Lama, which is less than half of what was in there at the time the sanctions were announced. Much of that likely belongs to U.S. citizens or residents who are nervous about withdrawing funds and violating sanctions. The new guidance provides a way for users to lawfully withdraw their funds. They need to be prepared to give all the relevant information about their transaction to Treasury when they apply for a license. According to the new guidance, the sanctions don't forbid others from using Tornado Cash's code,

Starting point is 00:02:52 discussing it, or even teaching others about it so long as they don't interact with the sanctioned Ethereum address, end quote. An EU court has backed the European Commission's decision to find Google over Android antitrust breaches, but also trimmed the fine from $4.3 billion to $4.1 billion. Google can also appeal the ruling further, quoting Bloomberg. The General Court largely confirms the Commission's decision that Google imposed unlawful restrictions on manufacturers of Android mobile devices and mobile network operators in order to consolidate the dominant position of its search engine.

Starting point is 00:03:34 The Luxembourg-based EU tribunal said in a statement, The Android case is one of a trio of decisions that have been the centerpiece of EU antitrust chief Margath Vestager's bid to reign in the growing dominance of Silicon Valley. She finds Alphabet's Google more than 8 billion euros and has since opened new probes into the company's suspected stranglehold over digital advertising, end quote. EA has unveiled EA anti-cheat, a kernel-level anti-cheat system for some PC games, launching September 23rd to take on cheat devices. developers building kernel-level exploits. Quoting in Gadget. In a blog post, EA's Senior Director of Game Security and Anti-Cheat, Elise Murphy, wrote that the company created EA anti-cheat, otherwise known as EAAAC, because, quote, third-party anti-cheat solutions

Starting point is 00:04:29 are often opaque to our teams and prevent us from implementing additional privacy controls or customizations that provide greater accuracy and granularity for EA-specific game modes, end quote. It should also be able to address security issues head on. EAAAC won't be used in all EA games, though the publisher says it's necessary for competitive titles with an online focus such as FIFA 23. This year's addition includes crossplay support and in theory, EAAC should prevent console players from having to deal with PC cheaters. The company may take different anti-cheat approaches in different games without leaderboards or competitive systems. As such, it wouldn't be a surprised to see EA add EAAC to the likes of Apex Legends, but it seems unlikely to be patched

Starting point is 00:05:16 into the 2021 game of the year. Don't take my word for it. It takes two. The tool will only be active when a game with EAAC is running on your PC. It will be uninstalled when you remove all EA games that require it. You can uninstall EAAC manually, but the likes of FIFA 23 won't be playable. Murphy wrote that EAAAC will have negligible impact on your gameplay, so it shouldn't diminish performance. EA isn't the first publisher to adopt a kernel-level anti-cheat approach. Riot and Activision use similar tools in Valerant, Call of Duty, Vanguard, and Call of Duty Warzone, end quote. Sources say Apple is planning to use TSM's N3-Nameter chipmaking process, expected in the second half of 2023 for its A-17 chips,

Starting point is 00:06:10 in some 2023 iPhones and its M3 chips for Macs, quoting Niki Asia. Apple aims to be the first company to use an updated version of Taiwan Semiconductor manufacturing company's latest chipmaking technology next year, with plans to adopt it for some of its iPhones and Mac computers sources briefed on the matter told NK Asia. N3E will offer better performance and energy efficiency than the first version of the tech. TSM said in a recent technology symposium in Hinchu, industry sources said the upgraded production.

Starting point is 00:06:40 tech is also designed to be more cost-effective than its predecessor. As TSM's largest customer and the biggest driver for new semiconductor technologies, Apple is still its most loyal partner when it comes to adopting the latest chip tech. The U.S. Tech Giant will be the first to use TSM's first generation of three-nanometer technology using it for some of its upcoming iPads, NK-Asia reported earlier. Previously, Intel told TSM that it would like to secure three-nanameter production by this year or early next year to be among the first wave of adopters like Apple, but it has since delayed its orders to at least 2024, three people told NK Asia. However, 2023 could mark the second year in a row that Apple uses TSM's most advanced

Starting point is 00:07:20 chip-making technology for only a part of its iPhone lineup. In 2022, only the premium iPhone 14 Pro range has adopted the latest A16 core processor, which is produced by TSMC's four nanometer process technologies the most advanced currently available. The standard iPhone 14 range uses the older A-15, which was used in the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro models released in the second half of 2021, end quote. The Verge and other venues got hands-on sessions with PlayStation's forthcoming VR2 headset, saying that it was easy to set up, a joy to use, the OLED display looks great, refreshed sense controllers are an improvement, gameplay is fun, and a ton more. It sounds really good, actually.

Starting point is 00:08:09 quote, the sense controllers seem like they'll be far better than the tech used in the previous generation. The haptics were excellent, which may not be too surprising if you felt Sony's excellent haptics in the dual sense. The touch detection was a really handy way to interact with VR worlds. Sure, you can pick up weapons, but it also allows you to flex your fingers and interact with objects in a more natural way. It wasn't perfect, nor was it available in every game we tried. But when it worked, it added an extra layer of immersion. The PSVR2's single cable setup was much appreciated as well. The original PSVR required an extra box and a bevy of cables to work,

Starting point is 00:08:47 so just plugging one cable directly into a PS5 is a way less complicated solution. Though it's not as nice as a fully standalone no-wire's headset like the MetaQuest series. And usually VR games require you to take a break every now and then so you don't develop a pounding migraine. But that wasn't as much of an issue with the PSVR2. can go for a decent chunk of time without feeling the strain. As for the games themselves, we got to try a few titles, Horizon Call of the Mountain, a version of Resident Evil Village optimized for PSVR 2, The Walking Dead Saints and Sinners, Chapter 2, and the newly announced Star Wars Tales from the Galaxy's Edge Enhanced Edition. Horizon Call of the Mountain was the most technically advanced,

Starting point is 00:09:29 probably because it was built from the ground up for the PSVR 2. The sense of scale in the game is amazing and watching a gigantic mechanical dino walk directly overhead felt like visiting a post-apocalyptic Jurassic Park. Rock climbing was also incredibly fun, provided you resisted the urge to look down at the chasms below. The new sense controllers vibrate when you touch objects, so it added an extra layer of physicality when you draw your bow and shoot an arrow. We were also immensely impressed at how much thought went into building an interactive world. Can you just break plates and toss boxes off a cliff? Yep. Can you pick up a hammer and bang a gong even though there's no plot reason to do so? Also, yes. One thing we don't know yet, the cost. Sony didn't share that as part of the hands-on event.

Starting point is 00:10:15 But with meta's new high-end quest headset on the horizon, of which a prototype leaked this weekend, and Apple's long-rumored reality headset apparently close to launching, hopefully Sony prices the PSVR2 headset competitively, maybe around $400 to encourage PlayStation gamers to pick one up, end quote. Hmm. More trouble for Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse Quest. See what I did there. What if PlayStation is about to swoop in and plant a big flag on the gaming end of the Metaverse experiment? Given that the Sony device gets to basically piggyback on the processing and rendering power of the PS5,

Starting point is 00:10:53 that's why they can deliver maybe a better experience and at a lower price than we, what we expect the new quest and even the new Apple device to come in at. We expect those to be pretty pricey. So is that why Zuck is so intent on positioning his thing as the future of, again, work? In his congressional testimony yesterday, Twitter whistleblower Peter Zatko, aka Mudge, detailed Twitter's lack of logging, ignoring hackers' ongoing efforts to access its systems, how the FTC let the company, quote, grade its own homework and much more. Lots of eyes emoji stuff here, quoting TechCrunch. A redacted version of Mudge's whistleblower complaint released last month said that Twitter received specific information from the U.S. government

Starting point is 00:11:45 that, quote, one or more particular company employees were working on behalf of another particular foreign intelligence agency, end quote. The nationality of the foreign intelligence agents were not disclosed at the time. But Mudge told the panel that the spy was an agent of China's Ministry of State Security, or MSS, the country's main intelligence agency. He added that because Twitter engineers, about 4,000 employees have brought access to company data, a foreign agent hired as an engineer would have access to personal user information and potentially other sensitive company information, such as Twitter's plans to censor information in a certain region, or concede to demands of a government request. But because Twitter

Starting point is 00:12:25 did not closely monitor or log employees access, according to his complaint, Mudge said it was, quote, very difficult to identify what specific data was taken by Twitter employees as foreign agents. A common theme in Mudge's complaint is that Twitter did not have the visibility to know what data engineers had access to or what user data or company information they were accessing. But one system that tracked logins for Twitter engineers found that it was registering thousands of failed attempts to log into Twitter's systems each week, Mudge told members of Congress. Mudge said in his complaint that the company saw as many as 3,000 failed attempts each day describing it as a, quote, huge red flag. Mudge said then-Twill

Starting point is 00:13:06 chief technology officer Paragagraw-Agrawal, now chief executive, did not assign anyone to diagnose or fix the issue the complaint added. Given the focus of Twitter's apparent lacks access controls to users' information, lawmakers ask Mudge what specific kind of data Twitter collects from its users. Mudge said Twitter does not fully understand the scale of what data it collects. He said among the data Twitter collects includes a user's phone number, the current and past IP addresses that the user is connecting from, current and past email addresses, the person's approximate location based on IP addresses, and information about the person's device or browser they are accessing Twitter from,

Starting point is 00:13:43 such as the make and model and user's language. Mudge said it was possible that engineers had access to this information and would be an attractive target for foreign intelligence agencies. One of the reasons he cited was that it would be helpful for governments to target particular groups and keep tabs on what Twitter knows about their agents or information operations. Mudge's complaint and subsequent testimony lands just months after Twitter paid $150 million in a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission for violating its 2011 privacy agreement after the company used email and phone data for securing their accounts, but then used that same information for targeted advertising.

Starting point is 00:14:19 Mudge told lawmakers that while government agencies have a responsibility to, enforce the law and that they have the right intent, he accused the FTC of being, quote, a little over its head by allowing companies to, quote, grade their own homework. In response to a question by Senator Richard Blumenthal, Mudge referenced the 2011 privacy agreement and asked, quote, how has Twitter been passing this, end quote? Speaking of the regulators and their enforcement powers, Mudge told lawmakers, quote, what I have seen, the tools in the tool belt are not working, end quote. Finally today, it's review embargo day. Let's start with Allison Johnson's review of the iPhone 14 in The Verge. She says it sports an improved selfie camera and good battery life, but feels like an

Starting point is 00:15:10 iPhone 13S with no pro motion and the e-sim transition could be painful. Her conclusion, quote, Most people should consider other options, but there is an argument for the iPhone 14 if you meet a narrow set of criteria. You're on an iPhone 12 or older. You really want the satellite SOS feature. You prefer a 6.1 inch screen size. It is, after all, the right one. You want the best camera quality at this price point. You just need a new phone right now. And your carrier is offering a sweet trade-in deal. For this particular set of circumstances, the iPhone 14 will suit you just fine. Otherwise, it's well worth taking a look at your other options. When you shift to new technologies in a product line, you have to put a stake in the ground somewhere. One product will be the new thing,

Starting point is 00:15:56 and the other will be the old. The 14 is on the old side of that dividing line. The old was good, and so is the iPhone 14, but in the broader landscape of good phones you can buy right now, iOS or otherwise, it's hard to see an argument for the 14, end quote. She gave it a 7 out of 10, which is the lowest score I can remember for an iPhone. Next, Nilai Patel says of the iPhone 14 Pro. Excellent performance, and the 48 megapixel camera is incredible, but the dynamic island isn't fully utilized yet, and camera sharpening is too much. From his conclusion, quote, The way I've been thinking about Apple's current iPhone lineup is that the iPhone Pro was the culmination of a lot of ideas for Apple. It was confident and complete and kind of hard to criticize.

Starting point is 00:16:44 The iPhone 14 is basically a slight remix of the 13, and it feels like the same combination of ideas in many ways. The iPhone 14 Pro, on the other hand, is the clear beginning of lots of new ideas, like the Dynamic Island, the new camera, and that satellite connectivity system. Because these ideas are new, they're inherently incomplete. But they're worth criticizing, which is its own kind of victory and a sign that Apple isn't holding still with the future of the iPhone. I think we could all stand to think more deeply about how our smartphones work, and things like the Dynamic Island are evidence that Apple is still thinking deeply about parts of the iPhone experience. What I don't know is if all these new ideas are worth it yet. If you're the sort of

Starting point is 00:17:24 person who's willing to accept some rough edges to be on the bleeding edge, you're going to have a lot of fun with the iPhone 14 Pro. In many ways, you'll be figuring it out right alongside Apple. But if you're happy with your current phone, it might be worth holding out for another year to see how some of these things work out, end quote. He gave it an 8 out of 10. Sorry, premium subscribers. I screwed up yesterday and uploaded the wrong file originally. Instead of the show, you end up getting just one of the ads. I literally just dragged over the wrong file. I'm sorry, that wasn't Supercast's fault. It was mine. And when I became aware of it, I was already stuck in a TV studio for three hours, so I couldn't do anything about it until I got back. Again, I'm very sorry.

Starting point is 00:18:17 I was running around Manhattan yesterday going like four different places even before I taped that TV interview. It would have helped if there was somewhere I could stop off and sit down and check in, but there really wasn't that as an option. Why isn't there something between, say, a Starbucks on the low end and a Soho house on the high end, just somewhere in every neighborhood in every city that functions sort of like those sky lounges at airports. You know, you go in, you use the bathroom, maybe get a cup of coffee, sit down in a comfy chair, grab some Wi-Fi, check emails and such. Seriously, I know Soho House exists, but that's a couple thousand bucks a year, and it's got pools and restaurants and even hotel rooms.

Starting point is 00:19:02 It's overkill, and there's only three of them in all of New York City. I'm talking about something less than that, an airport lounge-style place. You only need to stop in for 20 minutes in between appointments to get out of the rain or snow or like yesterday to cool off so you don't show up to your next thing all sweaty. I feel like people would pay as much as $50 to $100 a month for that sort of thing easy. Didn't a bunch of startups try something similar to this at the beginning of the WeWork era? Didn't Pachy McCormick work at one? Does nothing like this exist currently?

Starting point is 00:19:37 Anyone want to found it for me? I'd invest. Talk to you tomorrow.

Tech Brew Ride Home - Wed. 09/14 – The iPhone 14 Reviews Are Out

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