Lyft officially files for its IPO and do the numbers reveal concern for Uber, New York wants Jeff Bezos to reconsider, Tesla slashes prices, physical sales trump downloads when it comes to music, and the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Tiny.website DatadogHQ.com/rid...

Amazon Day gives you the ability to schedule your Prime Deliveries, Motorola teases more details about the foldable resurrection of the Razr phone, the state of the smartwatch market, and seemingly every messaging platform might soon have a crypto coin. Sponsors: Tiny.Websit...

Fast flash storage for phones, TikTok passes a billion downloads, FedEx rolls out its own delivery bot, why you might be overpaying for cloud computing and why China wants to map the faces of pigs. Sponsors: Tiny.website DataDogHQ.com/ridehome Links: Samsung's new 512GB fl...

The Game of Thrones when it comes to modern tech platforms is very much up in the air, Satya Nadella defends making the HoloLens for the US Army, could the FTC undo previous tech mergers and that big Casey Newton piece about Facebook content moderators. Sponsors: Tiny.website DataDogHQ.com/ridehome Links: Apple Music Integration Possibly Coming to Google Home Devices  (MacRumors) Apple Plans Sleep Tracking Feature for Future Watch (Bloomberg) Microsoft CEO defends US military contract that some employees say crosses a line (CNN Business) New FTC task force will take on tech monopolies (The Verge) Coinbase Lists Controversial Cryptocurrency XRP, Price Jumps 10% (Fortune) This 18,000mAh battery has a phone in it (The Verge) THE TRAUMA FLOOR (The Verge) Facebook Grappling With Employee Anger Over Moderator Conditions (Bloomberg)

It’s a whole slew of headlines from Mobile World Congress: more foldable phones, dates for 5G chip sets and 5G coverage rollouts, and Microsoft unveils its HoloLens2. Plus: why Wikidata proves the bots still need us. Sponsors: Wix.com/podcast DataDogHQ.com/ridehome Links: ...

Taylor Lorenz, over at the Atlantic has the influencer beat down. I’ve told you about so many of her stories, often as longreads. You think influencers… the universe of YouTube stars, Instagram stars, social media stars generally is a niche thing? No way. This is already a huge industry with a ton of money sloshing around in it, and Taylor covers it better than anyone else. Sponsors: Bubble.is (coupon code "ride") Burrow.com/tech

Last week there was a bunch of gaming news, and if you’ll recall, I put a shout out to see if anyone could tell me what the heck is going on in the gaming space. Well, Jason Schreier, the news editor of Kotaku answered my Bat Signal, and so, here it is. The state of the video game industry, how has Fortnite changed it, does Fornite have a competitor in Apex legends, and even… what is the state of VR gaming? Sponsors: Burrow.com/tech Bubble.is (coupon code "ride")

Facebook is shutting down its controversial Onavo app, Google’s streaming gaming service might get some hardware to go along with it, the most acquisitive unicorns and the weekend longreads suggestions. Here’s what you missed today in the world of tech.  Sponsors: The C...

Take-aways from all the hands-on reports with the new Samsung Galaxy S10 phones, hands-OFF reports about the Galaxy Fold, Apple teams up with Goldman Sachs on a new credit card, YouTube faces yet another scandal running ads on horrible content, and a look at how law enforceme...

The foldable phone is here! And some regular new Galaxies too. Other stuff... (I'm late posting today... sorry! In a rush!) Sponsors: Castro Podcast App DataDogHQ.com/ridehome joybird.com/RIDE - 25% off your first order using code RIDE Links: Samsung’s foldable phone is the Galaxy Fold, available April 26th starting at $1,980 (The Verge) Xiaomi's triple-camera Mi 9 has a fast 20W wireless charger (Engadget) Google says the built-in microphone it never told Nest users about was 'never supposed to be a secret' (Business Insider) Google Set To Unveil Netflix-Like Game Streaming Service (Fortune) Apple Plans on Combining iPhone, iPad, Mac Apps by 2021 (Bloomberg) Princeton Tech Meetup 69 w/ Brian McCullough

Qualcomm unveils a second gen 5G chip, Huawei’s founder hits back at the US, his biggest investors push back at Masa Son, and why emoji are causing problems in increasing numbers of court cases. Sponsors: The Castro Podcast App Promocode Ride at Vistaprint.com Links: Before the first 5G phone is out, Qualcomm is already moving on to its second-gen 5G modem (The Verge) The US cannot crush us, says Huawei founder (BBC News) How Huawei Targets Apple Trade Secrets (The Information) Walmart’s US e-commerce sales up 43% in Q4, thanks to growing online grocery business (TechCrunch) Key Investors Are Unhappy With SoftBank Tech-Investment Fund (WSJ) Mining Giant Bitmain Posts $500 Million Loss in IPO Financial Filing (Coindesk) Emoji are showing up in court cases exponentially, and courts aren’t prepared (TheVerge)

Parliament calls Facebook a “digital gangster,” Australia’s Parliament was hacked, a full year of Apple lineup rumors, and since it’s a holiday here in the US, a mini longread segment.  Sponsors: The Castro Podcast App Flatironschool.com/techmeme Links: UK parliament calls for antitrust, data abuse probe of Facebook (TechCrunch) Australia's major political parties hacked in 'sophisticated' attack ahead of election (The Sydney Morning Herald) Kuo: 16-inch MacBook Pro, 31-inch 6K display, iPhones w/ upgraded Face ID & bilateral wireless charging coming in 2019 (9to5Mac) Etsy sellers say their bank accounts were emptied in major billing snafu (BoingBoing) Elroy Air raises $9.2 million for delivery drones that can carry up to 500 pounds (VentureBeat) Google’s Waymo risks repeating Silicon Valley’s most famous blunder (ArsTechnica)

Mark Gurman of Bloomberg, the reporter who gets Apple scoops like no other. Quick catch up with Mark about his recent scoops, but also some Apple analysis in general:  Apple has spent as much as 3 billion dollars on its original content for its new streaming service.  But… they have probably fewer than 10 original movies locked and loaded. When it comes to “Project Titan,” Apple’s self driving car project, Apple still doesn’t have any idea where any of this is headed.  I was skeptical we’d actually see an Apple AR headset. Actual Apple Googles. Mark thinks we really will... but not until 2021, or 2022. Sponsors: Capterra.com/ride LinkedIn.com/ride

Remember that first weekend longread from yesterday, from NBC’s Tech Correspondent Jacob Ward? As I said, it triggered some things that I’ve been thinking about for a while. About data and data harvesting and data capitalism. So, I reached out to Jacob to delve further, and I’m glad I did. Super provocative deeper dive into the ideas of THIS piece: Why data, not privacy, is the real danger (NBC News) Sponsors: Capterra.com/ride LinkedIn.com/ride

More fallout and analysis of Amazon ghosting NYC, more signs of blockchain actually taking hold on Wall Street, Samsung’s lineup of gadgets leaks and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Tiny.website DataDogHQ.com/ridehome Links: The U.S. government and ...

Amazon says thank you, but no thank you, to New York City, JP Morgan has its own crypto token, Google might try to come at the iPhone on price, and the legendary Lee Clow retires.  Sponsors: Tiny.website DataDogHQ.com/ridehome Links: Amazon Pulls Out of Planned New York City Headquarters (NYTimes) JP Morgan is rolling out the first US bank-backed cryptocurrency to transform payments business (CNBC) Google plans cheaper smartphone to draw users into internet empire (Nikkei Asian Review) Software pirates use Apple tech to put hacked apps on iPhones (Reuters) Lee Clow, mastermind behind Apple’s ‘Think Different’ & ‘Get a Mac’ campaigns retires (9to5Mac) The Tiny Type Museum and Time Capsule (Glenn Fleishman)

An Apple event focused on services, a former Apple Vice President charged with insider trading, the larger gaming industry is having issues, and why your GPS device might have issues on April 6th of this year. Sponsors: Tiny.website Wix.com/podcast DataDogHQ.com/ridehome Links: Apple Plans News Event For March 25 (BuzzFeed News) Publishers Chafe at Apple’s Terms for Subscription News Service (WSJ) The former Apple lawyer who was supposed to keep employees from insider trading has been charged with insider trading (CNBC) Amazon opens up Alexa store for anyone to create and publish custom skills (The Verge) Activision Blizzard cuts hundreds of jobs despite ‘record revenue’ year (Polygon) Fun fact: GPS uses 10 bits to store the week. That means it runs out... oh heck – April 6, 2019 (The Register)

Amazon acquires Eero, Apple is putting marketing muscle behind AR, looks like everyone was abusing Apple’s Enterprise Certificate program, and the new video game sensation giving Fortnite a run for its money. Sponsors: DataDogHQ.com/ridehome Tiny.website Links: Why Amazon buying Eero feels so disappointing (The Verge) Your Smart Light Can Tell Amazon and Google When You Go to Bed (Bloomberg) Apple Taps iPhone Executive to Be First Head of Marketing for AR (Bloomberg) Apple fails to block porn & gambling “Enterprise” apps (TechCrunch) More than 26 million people have taken an at-home ancestry test (MIT Technology Review) Apex Legends Quickly Surpasses Fortnite (Thurrott.com)

The Trump Administration wants America to get serious about AI, Patch is actually profitable, Reddit raises a round, Apple Health for vets and hands on with AR navigation on Google Maps. Sponsors: Tiny.website DataDogHQ.com/ridehome Links: Trump to lay out an AI plan (Axios) US military equipped with tiny spy drones (ZDNet) It’s the Real World—With Google Maps Layered on Top (WSJ) The alternative to your dying local paper is written by one person, a robot, and you (Recode) Reddit raised $300 million at a $3 billion valuation — now it's ready to take on Facebook and Google (CNBC) Driverless delivery startup Nuro gets $940 million SoftBank investment (Reuters) Apple teaming up with US Department of Veterans Affairs to bring digital health records to iPhone (9to5Mac) When Amazon Went From Big to Unbelievably Big (The Atlantic)

Remember this longread piece? Is Spotify’s Model Wiping Out Music’s Middle Class? It's stuck with me because, a) I didn't quite understand how the math worked out and b) I thought it was an interesting take on the ARTIST side of the equation as we move to a streaming/subscription/one-app-for-that future. So, we're talking to the author of the piece, Victor Luckerson, for more insight.

I’ve told you plenty that this year, one of the big narratives, one of THE big stories... will be 5G. But what exactly IS 5G? Well, I spoke to Peter Linder, the head of 5G marketing, and evangelist at Ericsson. Here are all the answers to your questions, to prepare us for Mobile World Congress, which is coming later this month, and where all of this 5G stuff might finally begin to happen. For real.

Yes, we’re gonna talk about the Bezos thing, is Amazon reconsidering HQ2, Sprint sues over 5G, maybe digital media is just fine, and the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: FlatironSchool.com/techmeme Metalab.co Links: No thank you, Mr. Pecker (Jeff Bezos on Medium) F...

Germany is this week’s headache for Facebook, Twitter mixes up its MAU and DAU game, Cluno is subscriptions but for cars and Optimus Ride is what we mean by starting small with autonomous vehicles. Sponsors: Metalab.co DataDogHQ.com/ridehome Links: Facebook ordered by Germany to gather and mix less data (BBC) How Facebook’s Tiny China Sales Floor Helps Generate Big Ad Money (NYTimes) Twitter Q4 Earnings (TechCrunch) Skype Can Now Blur Your Background So You Don't Have to Frantically Tidy Your Room (Gizmodo) Car subscription service Cluno scores $28M in Series B funding (TechCrunch) Another self-driving car startup is starting small, and that’s a good thing (The Verge) Original WWII German message decrypts to go on display at National Museum of Computing (The Register)

THE expert on the Podcasting Industry breaks down today's big news. Subscribe to Nick's newsletter, HotPod. This episode has a full transcript.

Podcasting has its biggest news day ever, some pretty big executive shakeups, the new emojis for 2019 and how to steal a million dollars from an ATM without anyone noticing.  Sponsors: QCon.ai Promocode: QCONAI2019  Metalab.co Links: Spotify has bought two podcast startups and it wants to buy more (ReCode) Relaxation app Calm raises $88 million, valuing it $1 billion (CNBC) Facebook’s top PR exec is leaving (ReCode) 230 New Emojis in Final List for 2019 (EmojiPedia) Programmer finds ridiculous ATM loophole that let him withdraw $1 million in cash (The Verge)

It’s getting more expensive for Google to make money, Facebook turns fifteen, choosing your own adventure is becoming a trend, and one specific way Fortnite is measurably bigger than the Super Bowl.  Sponsors: Metalab.co DataDogHQ.com/ridehome Eero.com/ride and code: ride at checkout Links: Being Google is getting very expensive (QZ) Zuckerberg's Facebook Post Facebook Makes First Blockchain Acquisition With Chainspace: Sources (Cheddar) Boring Game Plus New Orleans Rebellion Leads to Ratings Drop (NYTimes) 'Fortnite' Had 10 Million Concurrent Players In The Marshmello Concert Event (Forbes) iPhone XR Review (AnAndTech) Amazon Alexa Now Lets You Choose Your Own Adventure (Geek.com)

Soon you can play Xbox live everywhere, Google unveils Live Transcribe, Slack files to go public, the most crypto story ever and why CAPTCHA’s have gotten so difficult. Sponsors: QCon.ai - Save $75 with code: QCONAI2019 Metalab.co Links: Microsoft wants to bring Xbox Live cross-platform gaming to Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, and more (WindowsCentral) Slack confidentially files to go public (CNBC) Crypto Exchange Says It Can't Repay $190 Million to Clients After Founder Dies With Only Password (Gizmodo) Locast, a Free App Streaming Network TV, Would Love to Get Sued (NYTimes) MacBook keyboard failures could end with introduction of glass panel keyboards (AppleInsider) WHY CAPTCHAS HAVE GOTTEN SO DIFFICULT (The Verge)

Ars Technica's Timothy B. Lee gives me odds on my self-driving car wager. Sponsor: Eero.com/ride promocode: ride

For years, Jay Yarrow and Farhad Manjoo had a podcast, the Jay and Farhad show. You might remember Jay from his time at BusinessInsider (he’s an executive editor at CNBC now) and Farhad of course is a NYTimes columnist. Well, they stopped doing the podcast late last year, which was a super bummer for a lot of us. Jay and Farhad had a super cool chemistry and I know a lot of people for whom the show was unmissable. Well, I got Jay and Farhad to put the band back together, so you’re about to hear a special reunion episode of the Jay and Farhad show! We talk Apple! Facebook! Layoffs! (No twitter, oddly...) It's great! Sponsors: Vistaprint.com. Code: ride Burrow.com/tech Code: tech

Turns out Google poked Apple in the eye also, layoffs hit Vice, Amazon reports earnings and reports that a ton of people responded to that minimum wage hike, and of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: DataDogHQ.com/ridehome Tiny.website Links: Apple restor...