Botty By Nature
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| Botty By Nature | |
| Number | 3208 |
| Broadcast Date | JANUARY 29, 2018 |
| Episode Length | 29:58 |
| Hosts | Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane |
| Guests | Veronica Belmont |
Apple plans on releasing three new Macs with custom co-processors later this year. Military users of the fitness tracker Strava may of inadvertently exposed sensitive location data. And is the US considering a building a government 5G network to combat spying?
Guest
Quick Hits
- WhatsApp has added compatibility with Apple's CarPlay becoming the first third-party messaging service on the platform. CarPlay users can now see unread WhatsApp messages and ask Siri to read them and reply. WhatsApp has worked with Android Auto for some time.
- CNBC's sources say Dell is considering a reverse merger with VMWare in order to make Dell a publicly traded company again. Dell owns more than 80% of VMWare.
- Amazon released a Super Bowl ad teaser -- because we live in a world where commercials get teaser trailers-- where Alex-A loses her voice and the team tells Jeff Bezos they have replacements ready. New alternate voice features for the Echo coming or silly publicity stunt? We'll find out February 4 when the Super Bowl ads are posted online.... or if you like watch the game or something.
- Microsoft has acquired PlayFab, a gaming back-end service that helps developers launch games online faster. The Seattle based startup previously raised about $13M in funding and will be integrated into Microsoft’s Azure gaming group.
Top Stories
- In a story about Apple's chip-making strategy, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports a source tells him "Apple is working on at least three updated Mac models with custom co-processors for release as soon as this year, including updated laptops and a new desktop."
- Fitness tracker Strava published a heat map last November showing activity from its users around the world. This weekend, Australian conflict analyst Nathan Ruser showed how he used the map to discover activities around US military bases in regions where other users are rare sometimes revealing previously unknown military locations. Users of Strava can turn off data sharing.
- In a presentation being developed on options to combat Chinese spying on US phone calls, the US national security team considers the option of a government- built 5G network. An official confirmed the idea to Reuters after an Axios report revealed it. Multiple White House officials told Recode the document is dated and the idea was merely floated by a staff member, not seriously proposed as policy. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai says he opposes the idea. US Carriers along with Japan and Korea will be among the first to launch 5G service this year.
- New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is opening an investigation into Devumi, a firm accused of stealing identities in order to create fake social media accounts and sell followers. The New York Times published an account Saturday of people who said their details and profiles had been copied to be used as bots. Devumi offers customers the chance to order up to 250,000 Twitter followers, with prices starting at $12. Clients can also buy "likes" and retweets. Twitter says is working to stop such tactics. It allows automated accounts but they may not be bought or sold. Twitter also says it will suspend accounts that purchase followers, retweets or likes.
- Mycroft is introducing the Mycroft Mark II, a follow up to their 2015 smart speaker. The Mark II has an array of six mics, a 10-watt speaker with dual two-inch full-range drivers and a 4-inch LCD panel. Mycroft uses open source software on its smart speakers and does not rely on ads or selling user data. User data is only stored if the user requests it in order to improve capabilities. The Mycroft Mark II Kickstarter campaign is funded but you can still back it for $129 to get the Mark II for shipping in December.
- Nikkei reports that Apple will reduce its iPhone X production target for Q1 to 20 million. Nikkei did not cite a source in saying the cut was as a result of slower-than-expected holiday shopping. UBS says its surveys show the percentage of people looking to buy the iPhone X has dropped from 43% to 37%. Canaccord Genuity analysts have lowered their second-quarter iPhone shipment estimates to 59.9 million units from 66 million units. Austrian component maker AMS AG, which makes optical sensors used by Apple raised its revenue outlook on rising demand for use of its sensors in phones. Last year Nikkei reported that Apple cut orders by 10 percent in Q1 while iPhone shipments grew 4.7% for the quarter. Apple Insider points out that the complexity of Apple's supply chain makes it very difficult to deduce sales outcomes from changes in supply inventory.
Tim Cook in 2013: "Yields might vary, supplier performance can vary, the beginning inventory positions can vary, I mean there's just an inordinately long list of things that would make any single data point not a great proxy for what's going on."
Slowing ramp from one parts maker can cause cuts in production targets for another parts maker with no affect on sales.
- Nikkei reports that Apple will reduce its iPhone X production target for Q1 to 20 million. Nikkei did not cite a source in saying the cut was as a result of slower-than-expected holiday shopping. UBS says its surveys show the percentage of people looking to buy the iPhone X has dropped from 43% to 37%. Canaccord Genuity analysts have lowered their second-quarter iPhone shipment estimates to 59.9 million units from 66 million units. Austrian component maker AMS AG, which makes optical sensors used by Apple raised its revenue outlook on rising demand for use of its sensors in phones. Last year Nikkei reported that Apple cut orders by 10 percent in Q1 while iPhone shipments grew 4.7% for the quarter. Apple Insider points out that the complexity of Apple's supply chain makes it very difficult to deduce sales outcomes from changes in supply inventory.
Mailbag
- Dear Tom/Sarah/Roger - I am currently on vacation back home here in India and wanted to give you an update on some things i have observed here.
1. Android is King and the $100-$200 market has the maximum competition. Apple is very niche and almost non existent outside metros which is understandable given the considerable markup on apple products here in India. The sheer variety of Android devices is overwhelming when I tried to buy my Mother-in-law a new phone. But as always competition is good and wish the US market gets somewhere close to this.
2. Mobile Payments - Almost every major company has it's own but PayTM is far above the leader with acceptance even at Govt Toll booths. There are multiple efforts on from the govt to standardize this but the prevalence of mobile payments is astounding.
3. AADHAR - That is the Indian Govt unique ID program and is mandatory for even purchasing a prepaid SIM. I did not even have to take a Photo ID. The store had a external Finger print reader and in conjunction with my fingerprints was able to confirm my ID. This was pretty scary as the AADHAR needs to be linked to your bank accounts, Cell phone, Mutual funds and gas company etc. Seems a lot like the beginning of a police state.
4. Dual SIMs - Pretty much every phone is a dual SIM and almost everyone I knew was using 2 SIMS. The LTE speeds on Reliance JIO one of the new players was consistently above 35 Mbps.
Some of these are pretty new to me as I haven't traveled home often since I came to work in the US more than 6 years ago and though you may find this interesting as well.
Thanks, - Sent by Josh Muthumani
- Dear Tom/Sarah/Roger - I am currently on vacation back home here in India and wanted to give you an update on some things i have observed here.
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Botty By Nature |
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