Amazon had a record-breaking holiday season in 2018, with over one billion items bought and millions of Prime memberships sold.
Amazon
Facebook Gave Tech Firms Access to Your Data
Facebook allowed other tech firms to access user’s personal data to a far greater degree than was known by them.
New 'Peanuts' Content Coming Exclusively to Apple
Apple’s forthcoming streaming service will be the exclusive home of new ‘Peanuts’ series, specials and, shorts.
Google Won't Sell Facial Recognition Software. Yet.
A senior Google executive said the company will work through technology and policy issue before it sells its facial recognition software.
Apple Offers HomePod Discount Code to UK Apple Music Subscribers
UK Apple Music subscribers received a code offering them £50 off a new HomePod device, worth £269, until 16 December.
Amazon Robot Attacks Employees With Bear Spray
An Amazon robot sent 24 workers to the hospital after it tore open a can of bear spray in a warehouse, while 30 workers were treated on scene.
Amazon Announces Prime Bestsellers for 2018
Amazon Prime has revealed its 2018 bestsellers, with its own Fire Stick and Echo Dot the most purchased items.
Apple Music Coming to Amazon Echo
Users will be able to ask Alexa to access their Apple Music starting December 17th via a new skill.
YouTube Moving Away from Scripted Programming
YouTube is changing strategy and moving away from scripted programming and will refocus on advertising instead.
Amazon's Eventual Failure, Silicon Valley's Soul – TMO Daily Observations 2018-11-19
Kelly Guimont, Andrew Orr, and John Martellaro chat about Amazon eventually failing and if Silicon Valley has a soul to lose.
Looking for Amazon Apple Products? Soon It Will Sell More
The online shopping giant recently signed a deal to expand the selection of Apple offerings in its store.
Disney Unveils Disney+, Coming 2019
The confirmation of the heavily anticipated Netflix challenger came from the firm’s Chairman and CEO Bob Iger during an earnings call on Thursday.
SALE: 12-Inch MacBook With 512GB SSD for $999
Amazon has some early Black Friday deals going on, and one of them is a refurbished 12-inch MacBook with a 512GB SSD for only US$999.
Amazon to Offer Free Shipping for 2018 Holiday Season
You’ll get all of your orders before Christmas, even if you’re aren’t a Prime member.
Apple's Competitors Increasingly Build Hardware to Lock Users Into Software
The days of only writing software that resides on a major platform like PCs and Macs are coming to a close. Now, every major tech company wants to sell you its own brand of hardware.
Deconstructing Bloomberg's Spy Chip Report, 7 Years of Siri - TMO Daily Observations 2018-10-08
Bryan Chaffin and John Martellaro join Jeff Gamet to look at the responses to Bloomberg’s China spy chip report, and what could account for the strong denials from Apple and Amazon. They also look at the state of Siri on the voice assistant’s 7th anniversary.
Amazon's Big Echo and Alexa Product Launch - TMO Daily Observations 2018-09-21
Kelly Guimont and Bryan Chaffin join Jeff Gamet to look at the new Echo and Alexa products Amazon announced on Thursday.
Audible Brings Its Audio Books to Apple Watch
Amazon’s Audible added support for Apple Watch to its iOS app. With version 3.0 of the Audible app for iOS, users will be able to sync their audio books to their Apple Watch, and play them back over Bluetooth without having their iPhone handy. You’ll be able to rewind, pause, and set a sleep timer from your Apple Watch, too. The company also announced that monthly subscribers get two Audible Originals and one audiobook per month included with their subscription. Version 3.0 of the Audible app is on the App Store now. It’s a free download.
Apple/Amazon Trillions, 5 Eyes Magic, iPhone Battery Replacement Reminder - ACM 478
Amazon was briefly the second company—after Apple—to be valued at US$1 trillion. Bryan Chaffin is joined by Jim Tanous to discuss what makes the two companies, and their valuations, different. They also examine the recent 5 Eyes statement attacking encryption, and then remind everyone to take advantage of Apple’s iPhone batter replacement program while they can.
Amazon's US Open Tennis Coverage Is Struggling, and Premier League Fans Should Be Worried
Amazon has encountered problems as it began broadcasting the US Open tennis tournament. Premier League fans will be worried.
HomePod's Limited Market Share, Netflix vs In-app Subscriptions - TMO Daily Observations 2018-08-22
John Martellaro and Kelly Guimont join Jeff Gamet to discuss HomePod’s lack of growth in the smart speaker market, plus they look at Netflix’s plan to cut off Apple from in-app subscription purchases.
Walmart and Kobo Partner to Launch Walmart eBooks
Walmart is desperate to compete with Amazon, and this new service is another volley in the battle. It offers both eBooks and audiobooks.
AI Limitations, iMac Pro Kernel Panic Problem, Bryan’s HomePod Experiment - ACM 472
In this episode, Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet discuss the current limitations of AI, and what real AI in the future might be like. They also talk about Apple’s T2 kernel panic issue and follow up on Bryan’s dual-HomePod TV experiment.
Apple Interface Consistency, Storage Permutations, Walmart Streaming Video - ACM 471
In this age of different devices and platforms, Bryan Chaffin and Jeff Gamet talk about the lack of consistency in Apple’s interfaces compared to the days when “Apple” meant “Mac.” They also go over some listener feedback (read criticism) about their rant last week on Apple’s storage pricing for new MacBook Pro models. Lastly, they discuss whether not Walmart can make a go in the streaming video market, and how that might actually work.