Hoarding The Streams
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
| Hoarding The Streams | |
| Number | 3587 |
| Broadcast Date | AUGUST 2, 2019 |
| Episode Length | 32:17 |
| Hosts | Tom Merritt, Roger Chang |
| Guests | Patrick Norton |
Are expectations for what consumers are willing to pay for new streaming services too high?
Guest
Quick Hits
- Apple has followed Google in suspending its program to review a small percentage of Siri voice requests in an effort to improve responses. Apple says it will review the process and issue an update to Siri giving users a choice to not participate in the review process.
- The US FCC voted to approve Digital Opportunity Data Collection rules that would require ISPs to provide more accurate maps of broadband coverage. ISPs will need to provide geospatial maps of where they provide service rather than being able to report a census block (600-3,000 people) served by having one house connected or being close enough to network facilities that it could provide service. The new system requires actual connections or connections that only require drop cable not new base stations. The rules also call for the creation of a crowdsourcing system to collect public input on the accuracy of ISP coverage maps.
- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has joined the lists of state attorneys suing to block the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint, bringing the total number of states to 15. The merger has received approval from the Department of Justice and FCC with provisions for transferring some prepaid service, infrastructure access and spectrum to Dish. However, the objections of the state attorneys need to be resolved before the merger can occur.
Top Stories
- Google announced that starting in early 2020 it will offer a search engine selection screen during setup of an Android device that will become the default search on Android's home screen and in the Chrome browser. Along with Google, three other search providers will be offered, with the options determined by sealed bid indicating how much a company will pay per user selection. Search engine operators must meet a minimum bid and be among the three highest bids in order to show up on an EU country's search engine selection screen. If fewer than three meet the minimum bid, the remaining slots will be filled at random. Google says "an auction is a fair and objective method to determine which search providers are included in the choice screen. It allows search providers to decide what value they place on appearing in the choice screen and to bid accordingly." The deadline for search providers to apply for inclusion is September 13, with winning bids to be confirmed by October 31.
- The US Federal Trade Commission is investigating an agreement between Amazon and Apple to sell Apple products directly on Amazon. As part of the deal, Amazon agreed to only allow Apple-authorized resellers to sell Apple products on Amazon, eliminating many small sellers of refurbished items. A Minnesota man named John Bumstead says he was contacted by a group of FTC officials who wanted to know how selling on Amazon and eBay worked and how being barred from selling Apple products on Amazon had affected his business.
- Nintendo and Tencent announced more details in how the Switch console will be rolled out in China. Tencent will host servers and cloud services for the Switch's online platform, and handle localizing games to Simplified Chinese. The Nintendo eShop will have Tencent's WeChat payment system integrated. Nintendo also confirmed that Super Mario Odyssey and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be coming to the Chinese market. No date or price has been announced as the companies still need government approval. China had a ban on consoles from 2000 to 2015 when the PS4 became available.
- The US Department of Defense has delayed a decision to award a contract for the development of its Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure or JEDI program. Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure are the last two bidders being considered to run the program which will offer AI analysis and hosting of classified information plus other services over a ten year period. The contract will likely be worth more than $10 billion. US Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark T. Esper took over the position July 23 and wants to review the process. Secretary Esper was previously Secretary of the Army. Amazon had been expected to win the JEDI contract. It has an existing contract with the CIA. Microsoft is expected to win the Defense Enterprise Office Solutions (DEOS) contract which involves providing email, calendar, video-calling and other productivity tools to the US military.
Discussion
- CBS All Access on the Streaming Wars to Come: ‘We Don’t Fear These Changes’
- The cord-cutting conundrum: What consumers won’t pay for content
Mailbag
- In addition to the discussion yesterday about how patent law should apply to creations by AI, we also got some other areas of intellectual property law that people thought need resolving.
- Robert wondered what's being done about all the AIs creating books and music.
- And Brian was curious how we'll handle liability of AI, something that is being worked out right now in the autonomous car world.
YouTube
Links
| Preceded by: "Patent Pretending" |
Hoarding The Streams |
Followed by: "The Cow Jones Industrial Average" |