12 things you need to know in tech today
Here’s your daily tech digest, by way of the DGiT Daily newsletter, for Friday, May 10, 2019!
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1. The odd thing about Google I/O 2019
Google I/O started with a bang on day one, as we recapped, with a typically busy keynote featuring new hardware and software announcements. It was a big keynote. And…that’s about it?
Multiple reports from the ground from a variety of people suggested the festival of Google for developers was …a touch lackluster? Not exactly buzzing?
The sense from the ground:
- What’s clear is that Google didn’t go all out this year. The feeling is that Google I/O was wound back even further: from a spectacle to more of a quieter conference than ever.
- That started with less pre-conference hype and delivered with less conference excitement.
- If you followed the sessions along at home, you got just about the same as the developers that forked out hundreds.
- While Googlers were on hand for one-on-one time, the feeling was that there were fewer of them available than usual.
- Coverage was down too: less live blogs, while news out of day two and day three was scarce.
- Remember when Sergey Brin presented on stage as his friend JT jumped out of a plane with Google Glass, live streaming? Those days are over.
- Here’s Google’s blog with 100 things it announced. With at least eight of those things part of the Pixel 3a announcement, that number is a real stretch.
Why Google I/O 2019a?
- A good question with no obvious answer: why was hardware the biggest talking point?
- According to one outlet, the Pixel 3a wasn’t even meant to launch at Google I/O anyway.
- The big guess as to why things were a little quieter is that Google has had to switch gears to focus on privacy-first initiatives for its apps and tools.
- This may have hindered rapid development and required more checks and balances across new features, releases, and so on.
- It’s possible the growing ‘Big Tech Is Scary’ narrative might have pushed Google to not unveil anything that could’ve been deemed ‘creepy’.
Bonus: Maybe the real-world issues with Google Duplex explains it?
- Google Duplex, the amazing surprise from Google I/O 2018, has existed for a year now.
- 365 days later, The Verge has a great read on how restaurants are still confused by the service.
- (It is polite, though!)
2. Jeff Bezos (acting as the Blue Origin founder rather than Amazon) unveiled Blue Moon, the company’s robotic lunar lander scheduled for a 2024 landing. “This is an incredible vehicle, and it’s going to the Moon,” said Bezos (Blue Origin + video replay).
3. Also, master of memes Elon Musk mocks Jeff Bezos’ Blue Moon lander via tweet (CNET).
4. Google Pixel 3a is easier to repair than Pixel 3, according to iFixit (Android Authority).
5. Amazon Alexa transcripts live on, long after you delete voice records(CNET).
6. Uber prices IPO at $45 per share, raises $8.1 billion. That’s less than what insiders paid for shares three years ago (TechCrunch).
7. Meanwhile, following yesterday’s forced arbitration story, Uber has mass-settled with drivers at a cost of at least $146 million (Law.com).
8. Sick of getting returned sneakers, Nike tries a new sizing app with 2mm accuracy (Bloomberg).
9. The surprising origins of absurd gaming hardware (Gizmodo).
10.Tesla restructures Autopilot software team, guess who takes the reins? Ol’ Musky (Electrek).
11. Also, when is leasing a car better than buying? (Lifehacker).
12. The world’s first 3D-printed village is coming to Latin America this summer (Curbed.com).
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