Night of The Living Scooters
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| Night of The Living Scooters | |
| Number | 3598 |
| Broadcast Date | AUGUST 19, 2019 |
| Episode Length | 29:45 |
| Hosts | Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Anthony Lemos |
Reddit is testing its Public Access Network, or RPAN, as a limited-time livestream experiment, set to run from 9 am to 5 pm through the end of this week before a full rollout in the coming months. The cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced plans to launch an “independent regional version of Libra,” called Venus. Nvidia announced its competing GeForce Now streaming service will be coming to Android through a new mobile later this year, similar to Google’s upcoming Stadia service.
Quick Hits
- Sources tell Reuters the U.S. Commerce Department is expected to extend the delay on the US trade embargo against Huawei, granting the company a “temporary general license” to buy from US suppliers for 90 days. The license would enable Huawei to buy supplies, maintain existing telecommunications networks and provide software updates to Huawei handsets. However, Huawei would still be barred from buying components for new devices.
- Spotify's new Premium Family Plan will give parents filter options to block songs that include swearing, violence, drugs and more through an explicit content filter that can be applied to individual accounts. Another feature called "Family Mix," gives users access to personalized playlists for the whole family, and Family Hub makes it easier to add and remove users, adjust parental controls and update account info. Roku's own Roku Channel is launching a new "Kids and Family" section alongside the channel’s other content, including its free, ad-supported movies and television, live TV and subscriptions. Roku's also rolling out Parental Control features so parents have more control over what their kids can watch within the channel.
- Disney released launch dates and pricing for its Disney+ streaming service. The US starts Nov 12th for $7/month or prepaid $70/year. Canada and the Netherlands, will also start in Nov 12th for $8.99CAD per month and €6.99 per month. Australia and New Zealand will follow on November 19th, priced at $8.99AUD per month and $9.99NZD per month. Platforms supported at launch include Apple TV and iOS devices, Android mobile devices, Chromecast and Android TV, web browsers, Roku, Xbox One and PS4.
- AI startup Cerebras Systems unveiled the largest semiconductor chip ever made. The Cerebras Wafer Scale Engine is a 1.2 transistor processor designed to specifically tackle AI. It features 400,000 cores on 42,225 square millimeters. Unlike traditional processors in which a batch of processors are created on a single 12” silicon wafer, only a single Scale Engine processor is created from a silicon wafer.
- Xiaomi announced it is working with fellow Chinese OEMs Oppo and Vivo to develop an interoperable peer-to-peer file transfer system for their Android-based devices. The protocol will use Bluetooth to pair devices with a goal of 20MB/s transfer speeds. A beta will be available by the end of August, and Xiaomi stated other smartphone makers can apply to join.
Top Stories
- The cryptocurrency exchange Binance announced plans to launch an “independent regional version of Libra,” called Venus. Venus would be based on the Binance Chain blockchain and develop “localized” stablecoins and digital assets pegged to fiat currencies. Binance will provide technical support and compliance control, while offering its existing technical infrastructure and regulatory establishments for venus. CEO Changpeng Zhao said he hopes Venus helps push overall cryptocurrency adoption and is happy to co-exist with Libra.
- Reddit is testing its Public Access Network, or RPAN, as a limited-time livestream experiment, set to run from 9 am to 5 pm through the end of this week before a full rollout in the coming months. Alex Le, Reddit’s VP of product says, "We know that our users are familiar with streaming across their internet experience, because they’re seeing it on other platforms. It’s become an expectation that a platform should offer this." Le says the network will be tightly curated with a maximum of 100 concurrent streams that run for no longer than 30 minutes each. The Reddit community will be able to upvote and downvote streams and live chat during broadcasts which anyone can start. Restrictions for livestreams include no NSFW, no dangerous or illegal activity, and no "quarantine eligible" content that Redditors might find offensive or upsetting.
- Nvidia announced its competing GeForce Now streaming service will be coming to Android through a new mobile app later this year, similar to Google's upcoming Stadia service. GeForce Now will officially launch out of its current public beta for Mac, PC, and Shield TV, with “flagship devices from LG and Samsung.” Stadia will first come to the Pixel 3, Pixel 3a, and the assumed Pixel 4 in November. A Bluetooth gamepad will be required, as “some games will be unplayable on an Android phone without a gamepad.” Nvidia is also rolling out GeForce RTX servers for “next-generation gaming in the cloud" with data centers in Northern California and Germany.
- Twitter and Facebook have suspended numerous accounts suspected to be tied to a Chinese state-backed information campaign amidst current protests in Hong Kong. Twitter suspended 936 accounts associated with the believed misinformation campaign, accusing them of trying to “sow political discord in Hong Kong, including undermining the legitimacy and political protest movement on the ground.” In a blog post Twitter says, "Going forward, we will not accept advertising from state-controlled news media entities. Any affected accounts will be free to continue to use Twitter to engage in public conversation, just not our advertising products." Twitter says it proactively suspended ~200K “spammy” accounts, before they became “substantially active,” alongside its initial ban of 936 China-linked accounts. As for Facebook, the company says a tip from Twitter led it to remove seven pages, three groups and five accounts involved in coordinated inauthentic behavior targeting Hong Kong.
- Scooter maker Segway-Ninebot unveiled the semi-autonomous three-wheeled KickScooter T60, which can return itself to a charging station without a driver. Early customers for the new scooter include Lyft and Uber. Segway-Ninebot will start road testing in September, with hopes for a Q1 2020 launch. The price is estimated to be close to 10,000 yuan ($1,420).
- Officials in Texas say a coordinated ransomware attack hit 23 local Texas governments on the morning of August 16th. Governments reported having issues accessing the Texas Department of Information Resources. The ransomware encrypts files and adds the .JSE extension to affected files, although no ransom note was left directing payment. Texas DIR, Texas Division of Emergency Management, the FBI, DHS, and the Texas Department of Public Safety coordinated on recovery efforts.
Mailbag
- During your discussion of the Amazon Choice program on episode 3597, Sarah noted that it was sometimes hard to trust reviews on products due to the prevalence of fake reviews trying to game the ratings system. A company called "FakeSpot" offers an effective tool (in my opinion) in combating fake reviews and companies who use them by analyzing reviews of products and producing a "trustworthy" score graded "A" through "F". They offer plugins for most popular browsers which inserts the product grade right on the page, or you can paste the product URL into their website for a full report. If they haven't analyzed a particular product yet, or their analysis is out of date, you can reanalyze the product for more up-to-date reviews. They support a number of e-commerce sites, including Amazon, Walmart and Best Buy, and other consumer review sites such as Yelp and Trip Advisor. I've been using it for years and have found FakeSpot to be an invaluable tool in identifying good products in vast landscape of Amazon.
- Sent by Dave from Los Angeles
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| Preceded by: "Phone for Convenience, DSLR for Quality" |
Night of The Living Scooters |
Followed by: "Grading on an Algorithmic Curve" |