Hello there!
Thank you for helping me take this tech newsletter from an experiment to a regular and if I may say so, satisfying gig!
I’ll be taking a break from it until January 2nd, but know I’ll be back at it right after the first of the year and into CES!.
So I’m making this last issue of 2023 free for all as well.
Happy holidays everyone! And Happy New Year!
Tom
Big Story
"Sony won't take away your PlayStation-bought Discovery shows after all"
"Update on Discovery Entitlements Affected Titles (December 21, 2023)"
Sony announced that the Discovery content it was going to have to remove from PlayStation user's purchased libraries will not happen after all thanks to updated licensing arrangements. This situation resulted from Sony not having the full rights to continue to offer the shows despite selling them to you as if it did. But I also put blame on Discovery for pulling those licenses. Sony made a bad deal. Sony didn't try to do more to compensate people for lost shows as has happened in other similar situations. But Discovery was the one pulling the content not Sony. Thankfully the two sides have decided for whatever reason, to agree on something that will let PlayStation users continue to access whatever of the around 1200 titles that would have been affected.
The conclusion I draw from this is that public pressure works. It gets short shrift for its ability to make companies figure their stuff out. Over the last ten years there have been lots of fears about companies pulling purchased digital goods. And the terms definitely give companies the ability to pull your digital purchases, which is why I view them as long-term rentals. But the cases of people actually losing access are pretty rare and this is a victory for consumers.
ALSO
"A merging of Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount would be very bad - The Verge"
First of all let me say I think Alex Cranz wrote a pe3rfectly reasonable argument for why this merger is bad. But I disagree with some of it. And here's why.
- The argument that streaming has brought rising prices.
All prices are rising. So that's not alone evidence of a failure of the streaming market. And these prices were artificially low during customer acquisition, so it's perfectly normal for prices to rise once the market reaches maturity and no longer is willing to lose money to acquire users. And it's still cheaper to get as much content as you watched on cable, over the internet. By a lot.
- The argument that there is going to be less competition after this merger.
I mean, yes. When two companies become one there is one less company. But this ignores that we have recently added a lot more companies to the mix. In addition to the studios that provided TV networks on broadcast and cable in in the mid-2000s, we now have programing provided by Netflix, Apple, Amazon, and Google. YouTube still produces some original premium content. And that's just the big ones. There's also Roku and other smaller original content makers out there. So there is vastly more competition than there used to be and the consolidation of two of the old guard almost feels unavoidable.
I have no skin in this game. I don't work at a big company. So I share the desire for a competitive landscape of excellent shows. I just don't see the signs of panic— yet. I'll be watching but this isn't it as far as I can tell.
Other Stories
"Androids may soon be getting a battery health indicator - The Verge"
Android Authority's Mishaal Rahman (also found on the Android Faithful podcast) note that Google introduced a new "battery information" page in the About phone section of settings. It shows the manufacture date and cycle count of the device's battery thanks to a new Android 14 API. But Rahman notes that lots of other battery data is available in that API as well, including state of health, which estimates the battery's full charge capacity. And a battery health page has shown up in Android 14 QPR2 Beta 2 but only if you know it's there and manually activate it. None of this confirms Google will add a battery health indicator to Android, but it sure looks like the pieces are there.
"High-speed train company Hyperloop One shuts down"
Yeah, you're going to see this reported as the end of the Hyperloop but it's not. Don't get me wrong, Hyperloop may never catch on but multiple companies, including the Boring Company are still developing it.
"Lapsus$ teen sentenced to indefinite detention in hospital • The Register"
Two British teens from the Lapsus$ gang got their sentences in the UK. The gang compromised Uber, Nvidia, Revolut, and Grand Theft Auto maker Rockstar Games. Arion Kurtaj, 18 was declared mentally unfit to stand trial, and has been sentenced to hospital care until such time as the mental health tribunal says he can leave. A second unnamed 17-year-old was given a youth rehabilitation order.
"Tencent loses over $43 billion in market value after China proposes new online gaming rules"
China's National Press and Publication administration issued draft guidelines on restrictions meant to keep children from spending too much time playing video games. Among the restrictions, online game operators must not provide or condone high-value or expensive virtual item sales. They cannot offer daily login rewards and warnings and limits must be placed on players that show "irrational consumption behavior." Along with the draft guidelines the administration also approved a round of new games for publication.
"Beeper’s team met with the Justice Department. - The Verge"
Godspeed Beeper.
Last month EU politicians said they had reached a deal to require employees of certain "gig work" platforms like Uber should be presumed employees if two or more of five indicators were identified related to the control and direction of work. However EU laws need to pass the parliament and the European Council. Usually these agreements are made to insure that a law will pass both. But this directive did not pass the Council which is made up of representatives from each European country. Spain blamed multiple governments and France is believed to be resistant to the legal presumption of employment. If minor changes can't be made to satisfy the council, the directive would have to go back to negotiations and might not be resolved before the next EU elections.
This story is tricky so let's set a few things straight. Apple is banned by the US International Trade Commission from importing watches that have a blood oxygen sensor that violates the patents of a company called Masimo. Apple has decided to stop selling its two watches that have that sensor, the Series 9 and Ultra 2. And it can send more supplies to third parties, but those third parties can continue to sell whatever they have in stock. OK. So knowing all that helps you understand this. Apple cannot replace your out off warranty watch if it has a blood oxygen sensor. Because that would be distributing the watch that violates the patent. The only thing it can fix therefore is software issues. However if your watch is in warranty, Apple can honor the warranty and replace it. You also can't exchange a Series 9 or Ultra 2 you bought earlier this year for a different one. Apple is appealing the ruling as well as developing workarounds that don't violate the patent.
"Google’s ChatGPT competitor Bard is nearly as good — just slower - The Verge"
The Verge conducted tests of ChatGPT Plus and Gemini Pro to see how they compared. Overall each model was better at some things than the other and Emilia David wrote "Bard is largely capable of going toe-to-toe with ChatGPT Plus, although it can’t offer some features like image generation yet." David also found Bard a little slower and more likely to decline to answer questions due to restrictions meant to prevent controversial or inaccurate responses. David also noted Bard is free and ChatGPT Plus costs $20 a month.
"ASUS ROG OLED monitor to feature switchable Full-HD/480Hz and 4K/240Hz modes - VideoCardz.com"
Hey look it's our first CES trend! Buttons that switch from 4K 240Hz to 1080 480Hz.
"Microsoft ending support for Windows 10 could send 240 mln PCs to landfills - report | Reuters"
OK but it probably won't? We're also going to see a bunch of stories about just how many PCs are using Windows 10 even though it's out of support. Sorry, but this feels a bit like a scare story and somewhat misleading. Which is disappointing because it will let people who don't want to address the problem of waste use it to convince people that waste is not a problem.
"Substack says it will not remove or demonetize Nazi content - The Verge"
Most of the people who really disagree with Substack obviously aren't reading this because it's on Substack. My feelings are pretty mixed. Don't love platform makers being in the position of deciding where the lines are and prefer them to be neutral and public opinion and choice punish the bad folks. On the other hand something about how Substack has handled this puts me off as if they are using a sound argument as a get out of jail free card. And then there' the issue, that unlike Wordpress, Substack takes a more active role in promoting content, so it's not exactly a neutral platform. And I get that what they're saying is they will not promote the content they deem bad. Which is a legitimate method. Ask anyone who ever got tanked by SEO changes. So if I had my preference it would be to have them pick a lane. Either back off of being involved in content altogether, which makes their neutral platform argument more solid. Or lean into the idea that you actively want to suppress unpalatable viewpoints a little more avowedly and stop taking a little from either argument.
Interesting Reads
"Spotify starts ‘disinvesting’ in France in response to new music-streaming tax | TechCrunch"
"Toshiba sees power chips as immediate growth driver after $14 bln buyout | Reuters"
"Ginny & Georgia, YA/Female-Led Titles Dominate Netflix Viewership – Deadline"
"ASML (ASML NA) Ships First High-NA Extreme Ultraviolet System to Intel (INTC) - Bloomberg"
"China's BYD to build new energy vehicle production base in Hungary | Reuters"
If you take Substack’s statement at face value, you’re a mook. They want the benefits of pretending they’re the government without the responsibilities of pretending they’re the government. Section 230 is the fool’s ersatz of common-carrier regulation.