Meta’s Community Notes launch is imminent, and Tom sits down with Brian Ibbott to talk about what it takes to bring The Morning Show to Las Vegas. (15:58)
Starring Jason Howell and Shannon Morse.
JASON: This is the Daily Tech News for Thursday, March 13th, 2025. We tell you what you need to know, follow up on the context of those stories and help each other understand.
SHANNON: Today Brian Ibbott tells us about the Tech behind TMS Vegas and we read from your emails.
I’m Jason Howell,
I’m Shannon Morse.
JASON: Let’s start with what you need to know with the big story.
BIG STORY
Intel appoints chip industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as CEO
Intel appoints Lip-Bu Tan as CEO
Intel CEO Signals That He’ll Stick With Contentious Foundry Plan
JASON: Intel has appointed Lip-Bu Tan as the company's new CEO effective March 18. Former CEO Pat Gelsinger stepped down back in December which led to interim co-CEOS David Zinsner and Michelle Johnston Holthaus leading the company until now.
Lip-Bu Tan has a degree in nuclear physics from MIT and Business Administration studies in California. He had worked with Intel since 2002 on the board overseeing its manufacturing efforts, but stepped away from his role with the company last August to protest Gelsinger's risk-averse approach to running the company.
As such, his appointment as CEO, along with his rejoining the board, signals stability, particularly as he has communicated his intent to maintain Intel's foundry strategy, a costly but in many eyes necessary approach for the future of the company.
Intel's decision to stick with the foundry plan would mean directly competing with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), a notable and dominant player in the field. It does pose challenges, including heavy investments in manufacturing and competition in advanced AI chips, where Nvidia is a formidable force.
A little more background on Tan: He served as CEO of Cadence Design Systems from 2009-2021 and is largely seen as being pivotal to that company's turnaround. During his time there, he secured deals with TSMC that led to major deals with Apple. The company also saw 3,200% stock appreciation during his time in that role.
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JASON: There’s more we need to know today, let’s get to the briefs.
BRIEFS
The Third Beta of Android 16
SHANNON: Google announced that Android 16 has reached Platform Stability with its third beta release this morning. There aren’t many new features at this late stage, other than the inclusion of Auracast broadcast audio support on Pixel 9 devices with compatibility for LE Audio hearing aids. Another accessibility feature included is an outline text option for high contrast text. Android 16 is scheduled to release in full sometime during Q2 2025.
Google Play @ GDC: Cross-Platform Gaming Revolution - Play Without Boundaries
Google @ GDC: Vulkan Takes Center Stage for Graphics
JASON: Google announced new gaming features timed with this year's Game Developers Conference. Google Play Games on PC will become broadly available this year with support for all mobile games by default and playability badges that indicate compatibility. Also, custom controls, a game sidebar, and multi-account support along with integrating Play Points into the PC gaming experience. Google also announced that Vulkan is Android’s official graphics API in Android 16, with improved ray tracing and multithreading.
Samsung will cut its Galaxy Store commission to 80/20 for games
SHANNON: Samsung has announced that it is changing its revenue share model for games in the Galaxy Store to an 80/20 split. Prior to the change, Samsung took 30 percent of an app's revenue which was more or less on par with Google's offering of 30 percent beyond $1 million in earnings. Google does take only 15% for the first $1 million, however. Regardless, an 80/20 split works in developer's favor even if the Galaxy Store is smaller than the Google Play Store. The new model kicks into gear on May 15, 2025.
Meta is launching Community Notes in the US next week
Meta’s Community Notes will use open-source technology from Elon Musk’s X
JASON: Meta is set to launch its version of Community Notes, its redesigned approach to fact checking, on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads on March 18 in the US. The new system is inspired by X's system that involves contributors suggesting and rating notes to verify information with notes appearing when contributors agree on their helpfulness. In fact, it uses the same open-source algorithm driving X's Community Notes implementation, albeit with plans to tweak the algorithms to better fit Meta's needs over time.
Spotify launches a program to publish audiobooks from independent authors
SHANNON: Spotify announced an expansion of its audiobook offerings with a new publishing program that enables authors to potentially turn their short-stories into audiobooks on the platform and elsewhere. If chosen by Spotify, the story will be produced and distributed and the author will be paid an advance along with royalties. Requirements include less than 20,000 English words in the romance, mystery, sci-fi, thriller, and fantasy genres.
Message threads are coming to WhatsApp
JASON: A new WhatsApp feature has been spotted in the most recent beta for Android that hints at the arrival of threaded conversations in the messaging app. Message threads are likely to apply to conversations, group chats, communities, and channels, and users will be able to tap on a message to view all comments tied to that chain. No word on when this will see a wider release as it's still in development.
Mozilla warns users to update Firefox before certificate expires
SHANNON: Mozilla is urging Firefox users to update their browsers to the latest version to prevent security risks associated with the impending expiration of a key root certificate that takes place tomorrow, March 14, 2025. Users should update to Firefox 128 or later to avoid the disabling of extensions and potential exposure to malicious add-ons, untrusted certificates, and compromised password alerts. This applies to all platforms except for iOS as it has a separate certificate management system.
Samsung launches $10,000 bundle of eight big TVs
JASON: Who doesn't want a bundle of eight ginormous Samsung TVs? Samsung is targeting sports fans with the Buzzer Beater Bundle ahead of college basketball's March Madness tournament. For $10,307.42, you too can get a 98-inch 4K Crystal UHD TV, a 65-inch 8K QLED, three 65-inch 4K QLEDs, and three 55-inch 4K QLED TVs. Bought alone, the group is valued at around $16,000, so you save almost $6,000 when you buy in bulk! There are sports ball fans... and then THERE ARE SPORTS BALL FANS.
SHANNON: Those are the essentials for today. Let’s dive a little deeper into the ongoing stories and follow up.
IN DEPTH
JASON: Every year The Morning Stream takes its show on the road to Las Vegas for a week of games and fun. Tom talked to Brian Ibbott from TMS about the tech they need to take with them.
PROMO
SHANNON: If you have feedback about anything that gets brought up on the show… Get in touch with us on the socials. @DTNSshow on X (Twitter), Instagram, Threads!, Blue Sky, and Mastodon (mstdn.social). For TikTok and YouTube, you can find us at Daily Tech News Show.
HELPING EACH OTHER UNDERSTAND
JASON: We end every episode of DTNS with some shared wisdom. Today Michael has a wish.
SHANNON: I want an inexpensive electric car...
I bought a used Toyota Camry and keep it for 20 years...
2005, 170,000 miles so far :)
Best wishes,
Michael
JASON: Thanks to Brian Ibbott and Michael for contributing to today’s show. And thank YOU for being along for Daily Tech News Show. The show is made possible by our patrons on Patreon.
DTNS has a live version called DTNS Live on YouTube and Twitch. Find details on that and more on dailytechnewsshow.com.
Talk to you tomorrow.
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