• Mike Masnick of Techdirt joins us to talk about Twitter's interest in Bluesky — a group looking to implement a social media protocol in place of social media platforms.
• Upload VR's Ian Hamilton explains Oculus's updated terms of service — particularly the changes surrounding data tracking and ad targeting.
• Jason shares The Verge's list of the best gadgets of the decade.
• Mikah goes over YouTube's updated harassment policy.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Jason Howell

Guests: Mike Masnick and Ian Hamilton

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly.

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• Caroline Haskins, formerly of Vice and now of BuzzFeed, joins us to talk about Amazon's Ring. The company, which makes video doorbells and a neighborhood watch app, has made headlines for its close partnership with the police.
• Mishaal Ruh-mawn from XDA Developers gives us a tour of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 765, an SoC with support for 5G connectivity, 120Hz displays, and loads of RAM.
• Jason and Mikah discuss Zoe Schiffer's report, published on The Verge, regarding luggage-maker Away and the company's reportedly toxic work environment.
• Jason tells Mikah about Amazon's new AI-powered keyboard, which can improvise a background track while a musician plays live.

Hosts: Jason Howell and Mikah Sargent

Guests: Caroline Haskins and Mishaal Rahman

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly.

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• (02:00) Phil Nickinson of moderndad.com joins us to talk about the Disney+ "hack" and what consumers can do to protect themselves online.
• (16:37) Android Central's Russell Holly gives us an in-depth look at Google Stadia, including its current round of successes and failures.
• (39:49) Macy's has made the news twice now, thanks to a series of breaches that have left customers' data exposed online. What can you do to protect yourself while shopping online? What should companies be doing? Ant Pruitt and Mikah Sargent discuss.
• (52:26) If you're an iOS user, you may have noticed an uptick in updates. There's a reason for that: A new Bloomberg report says Apple's VP of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, is overhauling the development and testing process for iOS.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Ant Pruitt

Guests: Phil Nickinson and Russell Holly

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly.

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• (02:13) Matt Binder from Mashable breaks apart YouTube's new Terms of Service changes to try to assess what is "Commercially Viable."
• (14:54) After a Federal Court ruled suspicionless phone and laptop search unconstitutional, Sophia Cope from the EFF says the case may make its way to the Supreme Court.
• (29:01) Rene Ritchie from iMore has the brand new MacBook Pro 16" laptop and says that all the problems with the old keyboard design are in the past.
• (48:46) Motorola held an event where it revealed the new Moto RAZR phone, a pricey foldable that appeals to retro-design fans.
• (01:00:10) Apple released its new Health Research app, promised earlier this year to enable iOS users to donate their time and health data to aid in powerful research.

Hosts: Jason Howell and Mikah Sargent

Guests: Matt Binder, Sophia Cope, and Rene Ritchie

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly.

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• (02:09) Kashmir Hill of The New York Times stops by to tell you how to get access to your secret consumer score. Turns out companies are collecting, tabulating, and scoring your online activity to fight fraud, monitor product returns, and track wealth. Hill details the why and the how of these data gatherers.
• (29:15) Android Central's Daniel Bader spent some time with Amazon's new premium smart speaker, the Echo Studio. He shares his thoughts on the device and the target market and explains why one of the Studio's new features should be turned off by default.
• (56:56) Mikah's story of the week: In an exclusive piece, OneZero's Dave Gershgorn details the U.S. military's facial recognition system.

Check out these TWiT episodes:

• Microsoft Ignite Vision Keynote: http://bit.ly/2qAF75i
• Rosemary Orchard on iOS Today: http://bit.ly/33C7Q8R
• John Hodgman on Triangulation: http://bit.ly/2rgjdom

Host: Mikah Sargent

Guests: Kashmir Hill and Daniel Bader

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly.

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• (02:03) With Facebook and Twitter approaching political ads from different perspectives, Seth Rosenblatt from The Parallax talks about how Facebook is resisting the urge to retreat from "free expression."
• (16:04) Heather Kelly from the Washington Post discusses how apps and services are intermingling with school administration resulting in data tracking of students.
• (32:52) The Airpods Pro are out, and Rene Ritchie from iMore shares his thoughts on whether they deserve the "Pro" moniker and who they are for.
• (45:30) Netflix is about to bring variable speed playback to its mobile app.
• (52:30) It's difficult to trace the source of AmazonBasic items like batteries, but it's important to know.

Hosts: Jason Howell and Mikah Sargent

Guests: Seth Rosenblatt, Heather Kelly, and Rene Ritchie

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly.

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• (02:09) Douglas MacMillan of The Washington Post joins us to explain how and why universities are tracking the activity of prospective students.
• (18:22) Remember the Pebble smartwatch? iFixit's Kevin Purdy reveals how Rebble.io is breathing new life into the e-ink device.
• (36:38) Jason and Mikah check out Google's new digital wellbeing apps. Can they keep us from using our phones?
• (44:22) Mikah gets nostalgic about old iOS games, celebrating the introduction of GameClub, a subscription-based service that gives users access to 70+ classic iOS games.
• (50:58) Alfred Ng from CNET explains why American lawmakers have set their sights on TikTok as a potential national security risk.

Hosts: Jason Howell and Mikah Sargent

Guests: Douglas MacMillan, Kevin Purdy, and Alfred Ng

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly.

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• (01:56) Lory Gil from iMore takes a look at the Google Pixel 4 from an iOS perspective to see what she likes and doesn't like in the new phone.
• (20:00) Reed Albergotti from the Washington Post details how kids are circumventing Screen Time control on their iOS devices.
• (35:01) The Internet Archive has added more than 2,000 MS-DOS titles to its online playable catalogue and its a win for historical preservation of video games.
• (40:37) Rick Osterloh, who leads Google's hardware division, thinks it might be prudent to warn house guests that you have a smart speaker in your home.
• (48:45) Sam Abuelsamid from the Wheelbearings podcast covers the downfall of Faraday Future, the failure of the Dyson EV, and what EV owners should do in case of a power outage.

Hosts: Jason Howell and Mikah Sargent

Guests: Lory Gil, Reed Albergotti, and Sam Abuelsamid

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly.

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This is a special Tech News Weekly as we're back in the studio after the forced power outages imposed by PG&E for select northern California residents.

Mikah Sargent and Ant Pruitt discuss the latest news from the China protest controversy, Blackberry innovation and ultra-wideband.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Ant Pruitt

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly.

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• (02:15) Facebook really cares about your perception of its platform. ZDNet's Chris Matyszczyk explains.
• (15:55) Microsoft announces new hardware with its surface line of products as well as the rumored dual-screen devices. Mary-Jo Foley shares her thoughts on the new hardware and the new Windows "phone" running Android.
• (30:30) Yes, you can remove Google services from your day-to-day. Nithin Coca has proven so by going Google-free for one year.
• (42:31) Google contractors reportedly uses homeless people and others to train its facial recognition AI without their knowledge.
• (49:51) Taboola acquires Obrain to grow its market share in recommendation engines online.

Hosts: Jason Howell and Ant Pruitt

Guests: Nithin Coca, Chris Matyszczyk, and Mary Jo Foley

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/tech-news-weekly.

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