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Team USA Showcases What’s Great About America at Tokyo 2020

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I Was Worn Out After This Race

I don’t know about you, but I got my first night of good sleep in two weeks. Why? Because I was up crazy late watching Olympic coverage.

Me, Stress Watching the Olympic Games

I was there at 2am local when the US Women’s Volleyball won gold. I was up late, watching Ashleigh Johnson deflect, deviate, divert, and deflect balls during Women’s Water Polo. I was up late, wrote down, and co-opted Caeleb Dressel’s mantra, “Progress, not Perfection,” as he swam his way to gold after gold. (I, like Rowdy Gaines, nearly had a heart attack during the Medley Relay) My heart was pumping through my chest as I watched Alison Felix win her 11th medal.

When Sabrina Say This Dude Wearing Glasses, She Was Sold

Every two years (don’t forget the Winter Olympics) my wife and friends like to remind me how corny and Pollyanna I get when I’m up late cheering on whoever is wearing the Red, White, and Blue.

I’m very much not a jingoistic fan of the United States, but every two years I can look at Team USA and see all of the best things about the United States. One of USA’s overarching ideals is this idea of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Team USA is a racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic mix of men, women, minorities, ridiculous rich and privileged, and ridiculously poor and struggling athletes.

Unlike most of the world’s countries, America is an idea. The reason why America works is despite what you are if you have the ridiculous belief that this place works, and if you’re given the space to do your thing, you can succeed.

It gives me pause because as we see on TV; for the most part, most countries are filled with people who mostly look the same. Others are known to be importing minorities for their events. (Everybody does it, even the US) I celebrate the fact that minority women wear the world’s gymnastics crowns (and nails), a black guy who’s a former welfare recipient is one of the world’s fastest, and women would be in the Top 5 of medal winners if they were their own country. I think this is great!

I admit to looking for the best in things, and I also admit to being Pollyanna from time-to-time. In our country, right now, we are witnessing numerous states trying to suppress minorities from voting, we’re seeing a proliferation of laws affecting women’s rights, and we’re still fighting for equality amongst the masses, I can only hope and wish people will recognize that we are strongest and our most innovative in our diversity, and shine when we allow everyone to compete.

SONY Mysteriously Sells 10MM PS5 Consoles, Olympics Tech on Display, Google+ Payouts Begin

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I’m tired. I’m an Olympics junkie, and I’ve been staying up late every night yelling and cheering on Team USA. I haven’t gotten sleep for two straight weeks. I’m on with Mark Starling, Seth, John, and the First News 570 crew. This week’s big news is little: SONY sells 10 million PlayStation 5s, I do a 3 meter dive into Olympics tech, and El Goog starts paying out Google+ damages. You can listen to Mark and I point and laugh while talking about the wild and crazy technology world every Thursday morning, LIVE at 6:43am Eastern.

Admittedly, I’d Rock One of These Blazers

SONY SELLS 10 MILLION PS5 CONSOLES, BUT TO WHOM

Last week, SONY announced they have sold more than 10 million PlayStation 5 consoles. That’s 2 million more sold since April. According to sales, the PS5 has reached more households than the PlayStation 5. But, but, but…who owns one?! I know of no gamers who own a PS5. Where are all of the unboxing videos of PS5s? SONY was reporting that supply shortages may limit PS5 sales, but now the company has reported they’ll be able to sell over 22 million PlayStations. By comparison, the XBOX S and X consoles have sold 6.5 million units leading up to July.

TOKYO 2020 MAY NOT HAVE MANY SPECTATORS, BUT LOTS OF TECH

Every four years, you can count on a huge boost in technology. Why? Because of the Olympics. From time measurement to sensor technologies we’re guaranteed to see new innovations used when getting it right counts most. Delayed a year, Tokyo 2020 has plenty of new tech to geek out about. This year’s tech included new sensor technologies used to measure heart rate, breathing rate, and other biometric analytics during the archery events. Archers may seem to stand completely still, but they’re slightly moving. These sensors give viewers an indication of how much concentration and control is involved in the event. Viewers watching the Olympic Broadcasting Service will see new 3D and AI powered overlays indicating when sprinters reach their top speed. There will be robots deployed in this year’s Olympics to pick up javelins, hammers, and shot puts for the throwing events. These robots mean there are fewer people needed to maintain the events this year. Ralph Lauren is the official outfitter for Team USA this year, and to combat the excruciating heat in Tokyo Team USA will be wearing air conditioned clothing. Ralph Lauren says their clothing will incorporate tech that similar to computer server cooling systems giving athletes a cool sensation when temperatures run high.

EL GOOG BEGINS PAYING OUT AFTER PRIVACY LEAK

Google+, yeah that right, Google+ was leaking private profile data like a sieve between 2015 and 2018. Google admitted that they new about the data leaks and did nothing about it. In the lawsuit, they agreed to pay $7.5 million. Only 1.7 million signed on for the lawsuit before the October 2020, and after administrative and legal fees were paid, the payout amounted to a grand total of $2.15 per member of the class. G+ was phased out in 2014 in a bid to break up the service into separate products, but it stuck around and leaked profile information until 2018. The service was eventually halted in April 2019.

Krispy Kreme Sells Xbox Donuts, US Tech Boom Continues, Chinese Tech Boom Fizzles

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It’s Thursday and I’m tired! NYC wore my ass out. I’m on with Mark Starling, Seth, John, and the First News 570 crew. The big news is Big Tech’s booming surge on profits, Krispy Kreme sells the Nexus Level, and Chinese tech stocks lose a cumulative $1 trillion of value. You can listen to Mark and I point and laugh while talking about the wild and crazy technology world every Thursday morning, LIVE at 6:43am Eastern.

Everyone Has a Gimmick

XBOX TURNS 20 AND GETS A DONUT

Microsoft and Krispy Kreme will be engaging in a joint marketing campaign on the 20th anniversary of the Xbox console. KK will be offering consumers across the UK an Xbox themed donut. The donut will be smothered with white icing, and crossed with the customary green icing in a big ‘X’. They are calling it the Nexus Level donut, and will be giving consumers who purchased a dozen donuts a chance to win an Xbox mini system.

TECH GIANTS TOAST CHAMPAGNE ON ANOTHER RECORD SETTING QUARTER

One of my business planning teachers told me not to tap the champagne just yet after having a spectacular quarter, and Big Tech shouldn’t pat themselves on the back just yet. Apple, Microsoft, and El Goog have all announced record setting PROFITS, not revenues, yesterday. Apple reported doubling profits from the previous quarter and Microsoft reported an increase of 47%. These record breaking profit announcements are coming at a time when the government and the public are scrutinizing large technology companies for having too much influence and too much information on the public. The Biden administration has appointed another tech-trust-buster to head another agency this week. The powers that be are talking about antitrust actions, curbing tech company size, and other legal options to curb runaway technology companies.

CHINESE STOCKS LOSE HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF VALUE AFTER INTERFERENCE

In related news, and an ominous lesson on the impact of gubment interference, Chinese technology companies have lost investors hundred of billions of dollars. Investors have been selling off significant amounts of Chinese technology company stocks as the Chinese government imposes new regulations and laws on the companies. Since February, Chinese tech stocks have lost a whopping $1 trillion (Trillion with a ‘T’) of value. Tencent has stopped new user registrations citing new laws and regs from the government. Meituan, a food delivery service, has lost $62 billion in value since last Friday thanks to complying with government regulations. You may be asking, “huh, what regulations?” Remember, China is a police state with firm requirements on reporting the actions and behaviors of online users. Many of these application ideas originated in the US, which liberally maintains user privacy through encryption and security. China has no scruples when it comes to knowing what you’re doing, who you’re doing it with, and where you’re doing it, online.

FRAT BOY CULTURE AND BILL COSBY PORTRAIT AT CENTER OF BLIZZARD SUIT

Activision President, J. Allen Brack and World of Warcraft designer, Alex Afrasiabi are at the center of a sexual harassment lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges Afrasiabi sexually harassed Blizzard employees and other women at his hotel room during BlizzCon, a Blizzard Entertainment convention. The allegations state that Afrasiabi called his hotel room the Cosby Suite and lionized the room with a large portrait of the formerly convicted rapist. Behavior like this is sickening and pathetic, and unfortunately isn’t unusual in the technology and programming world. I’ve worked with many women who can share stories like this, and it doesn’t get any easier hearing their stories. The culture needs to change.

Another Billionaire Blasts Off, Zoom Offers Apps and Games, Ain’t No Chips for Cars

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It’s Thursday and I’m heading to New York! It’s been a while since I’ve gone away and I’m looking forward to some R&R at a B&B. I’m on with Mark Starling, Seth, John, and the First News 570 crew. The big news this week is Bezos blasting off on the 52nd anniversary of Apollo 11. After that, Zoom is going to be offering an in-Zoom marketplace, and the microchip shortage is going to doom auto sales into 2022. You can listen to Mark and I point and laugh while talking about the wild and crazy technology world every Thursday morning, LIVE at 6:43am Eastern.

Don’t Laugh. Okay, Laugh. We All Know What It Looks Like

BEZOS BLASTS OFF HIGHER THAN BRANSON BUT RETURNS WITH CRITICISM

On Tuesday, Jeff Bezos blasted off on a fully automated spaceflight. His Blue Origin spacecraft reached an altitude of 66 miles above the Earth’s surface besting Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic flight by about 10 miles. The flight happened on the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing lasted about 10 minutes with Bezos’ crew spending another 11 minutes on the ground. After setting foot back on Earth, Bezos went on to thank Amazon’s employees and customers for giving him the wealth to pay for the flight. His remarks were promptly met with criticism however since he and Amazon effectively pay no taxes. Which means, his flight was subsidized by American taxpayers. It’s still no mean feat to get into space. I ain’t knocking that. I could have worn my cosplay for this flight.

ZOOM OFFERS TEAM BUILDING APP MARKETPLACE, WORKERS GROAN

Yesterday, the remote worker’s best friend, Zoom, announced it will be integrating third party apps in its online conferencing platform. As things open up, and employers are planning to return employees back to offices this fall Zoom is looking for a way to maintain its edge with its 300 million daily conference users. Zoom has a marketplace of 1500 apps but each one needs to be download individually. Zoom’s new marketplace will offer in-Zoom app downloads. At launch there will be 50 apps available. Zoom’s product lead for apps, Ross Mayfield, envisions a future where meeting participants can play games as team building exercises. Given how popular Zoom happy hours were during the pandemic, this sounds like a good idea. However, as outside opens back up, some people may want to go to a real happy hour.

MICROCHIP SHORTAGE TO DAMPER AUTO SALES INTO 2022

Yesterday, Carlos Tavares, CEO of the world’s 4th largest automaker, Stellantis, said that the global microchip shortage will affect automaker’s ability to produce cars into 2022. But…it won’t be as bad as it is now. The problem is that the semiconductor factories and foundries that produce microchips for today’s vehicles are lagging way behind in production. Car sales have spiked since things have opened back up, but there aren’t enough chips to go around to build the radio, accessories, and ignition timers needed for modern vehicles. Some automakers are dropping features on some vehicles while others are building their cars and parking them until chips become available. Either way, consumers are going to be paying for it.

Billionaire Blasts Off, Microsoft Streams Anywhere, and Some Fool Bought Mario 64 for 1.5 Mil

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It’s the unofficial start of the weekend! If you want to see me, I’ll be at Blerdcon this weekend, partying with the geek contingent. I’m on with Mark Starling, Seth, John, and the First News 570 crew. The big news this week includes Virgin Galactic’s launch, a Super Mario 64 cart sold for 1.5 million, and Microsoft’s new PC streaming service.. You can listen to Mark and I point and laugh while talking about the wild and crazy technology world every Thursday morning, LIVE at 6:43am Eastern.

It’s a Limo in Space

RICHARD BRANSON BLASTS OFF INTO LOW EARTH ORBIT

The big news over the weekend is Sir Richard Branson blasting off into the upper atmosphere. Thanks to Virgin Galactic’s launch last Saturday, the Space Tourism industry has kicked off. Virgin Galactic blasted off from its New Mexico space port and reached an altitude of 53.5 miles above Earth’s surface. The ship was piloted by two experience space fliers, and once Virgin Unity reached altitude, Branson and his passengers unstrapped themselves for a brief experience of weightlessness. Virgin Galactic took off before Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launch scheduled for July 20th. Branson has had a lot of critics, I’m one of them. It’s not exactly fair that billionaires are blasting themselves off on tax credits and taxpayer funded space infrastructure, but…previous generations have had their climbers of Everest, sailors and pilots around the world, and travelers to the lowest depths. A big part of me takes my hat off to Richard Branson because he is one of the world’s pioneers. A civilian (a rich civilian) having blasted off into space. Hats off, Noah!

MICROSOFT ANNOUNCES TECH ALLOWING PCS TO STREAM ANYWHERE

In the, that-sounds-really-cool, category, Microsoft announced a new subscription service users can pay for and stream their PCs to any connected device. Under the covers, it sounds like a play on virtualization technology, but the idea that any old civilian doesn’t have to transport their computer and data to another location is cool. Businesses will get first crack at the service. Keep in mind however, that subscription services like this are often times more expensive than just buying a computer.

SMH! SUPER MARIO 64 SELLS FOR A MILLION

This is a family website and I can’t say what I really want to say, but in, “are you kidding me news,” a mint condition, sealed Super Mario 64 cartridge sold for $1.5 million. This price breaks the record making it the most expensive video game ever sold. Which just means there are some people in this world who have way too much money, and should be taxed heavier. The Nintendo 64 cartridge sold for two the amount of the second most expensive game, an original Legend of Zelda (the gold cartridge one) game sold for $870,000.

And by the way, REvil’s website is nowhere to be found on the Net. The front facing one, or the dark web.

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