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It’s a day ending in -a-y, so that must mean Google discontinued another flagship product. Microsoft reports that its next growth industry is cybersecurity. Ring has basically doubled the amount of police and fire departments that can request access your doorbell videos. And what happened when Elon Musk showed up in Clubhouse last night. Sponsors: SmartAsset.com/techmeme Metalab.co Links: [Update: Final] Pixel Slate discontinued and removed from Google Store (9to5Google) Apple’s iCloud Passwords extension for Chrome on Windows is now available (9to5Google) Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella: There is ‘a big crisis right now’ for cybersecurity (Yahoo Finance) Facebook Knew Calls for Violence Plagued ‘Groups,’ Now Plans Overhaul (WSJ) US police and fire departments partnering with Amazon’s Ring passes 2,000 (Financial Times) New Linux SUDO flaw lets local users gain root privileges (Bleeping Computer) Augmented Reality Gets Pandemic Boost (WSJ) Elon Musk busts Clubhouse limit (TechCrunch) Recording of Musk on Clubhouse (Final Stand/YouTube)

The best of the gadgets announced this month at CES. Again. Thank you for subscribing to the RideHome+ feed. Your support is much appreciated. Hopefully you'll enjoy these new episode types.   Links: This Nifty Strap Lets You Control the Apple Watch With Gestures (Gizmodo) Sony reveals full details on its upcoming 360 Reality Audio speakers (Engadget) Sony's new premium speaker looks like a giant electric razor (Android Police) LG TO REINFORCE INDUSTRY DOMINANCE WITH ULTIMATE TV TECHNOLOGY (LG Newsroom) LG’s 2021 TV lineup includes its brightest OLED ever (The Verge) This new module keeps Philips Hue bulbs connected even when the wall switch gets flipped (TechCrunch) Asus’ new Chromebook CX9 offers military-grade durability (The Verge) Asus ZenBeam Latte projector is as portable as a cup of coffee (SlashGear) Razer Unveils RGB Face Mask and Immersive Gaming Chair Concepts (IGN) Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 2 i bakes a bigger, better e-ink touchscreen into the lid (SlashGear) TCL 20 5G and TCL 20 SE are new affordable smartphones for entertainment (GSMArena) Vuzix’s new microLED smart glasses look like tech you’d actually want to wear on your face (The Verge) Vuzix’s new microLED-powered smart glasses will arrive this summer (TechCrunch) This is Sony’s Airpeak drone (The Verge) (Sign up to give Airpeak feedback here) Linksys unveils a next-gen router that senses motion in your home (CNET) Western Digital SSDs (AnAndTech) YSL’s lipstick pod gadget will create whatever shade you want (The Verge) Samsung's new robot vacuum uses lidar and empties its own bin like a fancy Roomba (CNET) How Samsung’s JetBot 90 AI+ Reimagines Cleaning (Samsung Newsroom)  

What once was a story about Game Stop and Reddit, has suddenly become a story about Robinhood. I’ll catch you up. Everybody wants in on the newsletter game all the sudden. Hyundai is having second thoughts about building an Apple Car, and a special stonks themed edition of the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: WeWorkRemotely.com code TECHMEME15 at checkout ManlyBands.com/techmeme   Links: Robinhood, in Need of Cash, Raises $1 Billion From Its Investors (NYTimes) Facebook is said to be planning newsletter tools to court independent writers. (NYTimes) Hyundai wrestles with the risks of embracing Apple (Reuters) SEC scrutiny delays Roblox stock market listing (CNBC)   Weekend Longreads Suggestion: Inside the Reddit army that's crushing Wall Street (CNN Business) The Big Short SQUEEZE from $5 to $50? Could GameStop stock (GME) explode higher?? Value investing! (Roaring Kitty) How a Penny Stock Explodes From Obscurity to 451% Gains Via Chat Forums (Bloomberg) Think Americans Wouldn’t Wager on Russian Table Tennis? Care to Bet? (NyTimes) CashApp Is King (Aika's Newsletter) Can Growth Go Out of Style? (Irrelevant Investor) YouTube’s Spammy Sex Bots Make a Ton of Money (OneZero) Who’s Making All Those Scam Calls? (NYTimes Magazine)

We finally get to the whole GameStop story cause Robinhood has frozen trading for some folks looking for fresh “tendies.” Apple and Facebook release absolutely killer earnings. As expected. But are they about to go to world war in court? Tesla’s earnings disappoint. And Facebook’s Oversight Board issues its first rulings. Sponsors: Netgear.com/bestwifi TinyCapital.com   Links: Robinhood restricts trading in GameStop, other names involved in frenzy (CNBC) How WallStreetBets Pushed GameStop Shares to the Moon (Bloomberg) WallStreetBets Founder Reckons With Legacy Amid Stock-Market Frenzy (WSJ) 'Smack It Like E. Honda': Buying NFTs for Pleasure and Profit (CoinTalk) Mark Zuckerberg says Apple is now one of Facebook’s biggest competitors (CNBC) Facebook Preps Antitrust Lawsuit Against Apple (The Information) Apple's App Tracking Transparency Feature will be enabled by default and arrive in 'early spring' on iOS (TechCrunch) Tesla disappoints Wall Street despite strong profits (CNN Business) Facebook's 'Oversight Board' overturns 4 cases in first rulings (NBC News)

Microsoft earnings are insane, as expected. Wonder Woman might have made HBOMax a contender. YouTube is still the king of getting creators paid. What if I told you Atari doesn’t want to be left out of the game streaming wars. And listen to the end of this episode for the big podcast announcement I’ve been promising. Sponsors: PingIdentity.com Oracle.com/goto/ride Links: Microsoft profits jump 33 percent as pandemic continues shift to cloud computing. (NYTimes) AT&T Q4: HBO Max Activations Double to 17.2 Million, Warner Bros. Revenue Declines 21% (Variety) Apple fixes another three iOS zero-days exploited in the wild (ZDNet) Apple just had its best quarter in India (TechCrunch) YouTube has paid more than $30 billion to creators, artists, and others over the last three years (The Verge) Plex is launching a game subscription service filled with Atari games (The Verge) Google open sources Tilt Brush VR software as it shuts down internal development (TechCrunch)

Twitter acquires a Substack competitor. It’s also iterating product in terms of… check’s notes: content moderation? The black hats are targeting the white hats in infosec. Interesting executive shuffle at Apple. A $2500 smartphone from Sony that really might be a “pro” device. And would you let me put a 5G gear box in your front lawn? You might not have a choice. Sponsors: NewYorker.com/techmeme promocode: techmeme Jamf.it/techmeme Links: Twitter acquiring newsletter publishing company Revue (Axios) Twitter launches 'Birdwatch,' a forum to combat misinformation (NBC News) Google warns of ‘novel social engineering method’ used to hack security researchers (The Verge) Dan Riccio Transitioning to New Project, John Ternus to Lead Apple's Hardware Engineering Team (MacRumors) Sony’s creator-focused Xperia Pro arrives in the US priced at $2,499 (The Verge) Americans spend average of $47 a month on streaming services (The Desk) 5G boxes are coming to people’s homes, whether they want them or not (The Verge)

Clubhouse has become a unicorn in, what… nine months? Google is making its facilities available as vaccine centers, while its workers are union organizing globally. Apple wants you to get up and walk. And why the SPAC frenzy could potentially transform the startup ecosystem over the coming months. Sponsors: Uber.com/techmeme Kiwico.com promocode: ride Links: Clubhouse announces plans for creator payments and raises new funding led by Andreessen Horowitz (TechCrunch) Big Revolution - Inside the Clubhouse (Big Revolution) Google will turn some of its offices into COVID-19 vaccination sites (Engadget) Google Maps and Search to show COVID-19 vaccination locations (LaptopMag) Exclusive: Google workers across the globe announce international union alliance to hold Alphabet accountable (The Verge) Apple officially launches new ‘Time to Walk’ feature for Apple Watch and Fitness+ (9to5Mac) Apple warns iPhone 12 and MagSafe accessories can interfere with medical devices (Silicon Angle) SPAC boom could finally provide an exit ramp for digital publishers like Buzzfeed and Vice Media (CNBC) When SPACs Attack! A New Force Is Invading Wall Street. (WSJ)

In 2017, scientists sighted the first interstellar object, the first thing we definitively know came from outside our solar system… something that was not bound to the gravity pull of our sun. But that was just the beginning of the oddness exhibited by the object known as Oumuamua. It didn’t behave like a comet. It didn’t seem to be made of materials we expect. It was shaped in a way that nothing in nature should be shaped like. And as it curved around our sun, it actually accelerated in a way that we couldn’t account for by the laws of physics. In his new book, Extraterrestrial: The First Sign of Intelligent Life Beyond Earth, which comes out Avi Loeb, Harvard’s top Astronomer, argues that Oumuamua was most likely an alien craft, or artifact of some kind. It likely had some sort of solar sail mechanism, and actually, suggests it might be functioning as some sort of interstellar buoy. We’re going to get into that in this episode, but stay to the end, because forget small satellites, do you know we could shoot a super small probe, about the size of a small satellite, attached to a solar sail and pushed by a laser right now, today? Humanity could reach another star for the first time in just 20 years… in all of our lifetimes, and we could get the data and pictures back within 24 years. Avi is working on this with the backing of Yuri Milner and Mark Zuckerberg among others. So, come for Oumuamua, and stay for the crazy space project that, in my opinion, should be the one we all band together to pursue. Sponsors: Netgear.com/bestwifi Metalab.co

What does it mean for Alphabet if it’s starting to cut bait on its “moonshots?” Is Google going to cut bait entirely, on the entire country of Australia? More signs that Apple is atoning for their laptop design sins. Looks like we were right, Plaid is very much, no Visa, no cry. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Tovala.com/ride Metalab.com Links: Alphabet Pops Loon’s Balloons—but Won't Call It a Failure (Wired) Google threatens to shut down search in Australia if digital news code goes ahead (The Guardian) Apple Plans Thinner MacBook Air With Magnetic Charger in Mac Lineup Reboot (Bloomberg) Plaid Shareholders Field Offers at $15 Billion After Merger Collapse (The Information) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Biden picks Jessica Rosenworcel as acting FCC chief (NBC News) The Inside Story of How the Lowly PDF Played the Longest Game in Tech (Marker) The Moderation War Is Coming to Spotify, Substack, and Clubhouse (OneZero) SAMSUNG GALAXY S21 ULTRA REVIEW: THE REAL DEAL (The Verge) Samsung Galaxy S21 review: The best Android phone for the money (Engadget)

Apple’s first foray into VR is coming next year, says Mark Gurman, but the real game is in AR and that’s a ways down the road. Amazon wants to help roll out the vaccines. Are laptops getting taller? One chat app to unify them all? And everybody wants a dark mode, even the White House. Sponsors: NewYorker.com/techmeme promocode: techmeme Tovala.com/ride Links: Apple’s First Headset to Be Niche Precursor to Eventual AR Glasses (Bloomberg) LG considers exiting smartphones in 2021 (The Verge) Amazon sends letter to President Biden, says it is ‘ready to assist’ with U.S. vaccination efforts (GeekWire) Facebook refers Trump ban to independent Oversight Board for review (Axios) Goodbye and good riddance to the 16:9 aspect ratio (The Verge) Pebble founder promises iMessage on Android and Windows with universal chat app (The Verge) WhiteHouse.gov now has dark mode (The Verge)

Is Andreessen Horowitz about to spin up its own media platform? Anthony Levandowski gets a pardon and Jack Ma resurfaces. Netflix is about to start printing money, and they’re about to give you a “shuffle play” button. And why Ben Thompson thinks Intel is in even more trouble than everybody thinks. Sponsors: Grammarly.com/techmeme Tovala.com/ride Links: Andreessen Horowitz Looks to Launch Opinion Publication as Its Media Ambition Grows (The Information) The Unauthorized Story of Andreessen Horowitz (Newcomer) Donald Trump pardons ex-Waymo, Uber engineer Anthony Levandowski (Engadget) Jack Ma Emerges for First Time Since Ant, Alibaba Crackdown (Bloomberg) Brave becomes first browser to add native support for the IPFS protocol (ZDNet) Netflix shares rise on strong subscriber growth, considers share buybacks (CNBC) Netflix’s ‘Shuffle Play’ feature will roll out to all users worldwide this year (TechCrunch) Intel Problems (Stratechery) Twitter Thread on the Intel stuff

Qualcomm unveils the Snapdragon 870. Cruise, Microsoft and GM all get together in a beautiful marriage that is just as much about cloud computing as it is self-driving. Has the policy controversy endangered WhatsApp in India? And why the whole Smart Home and Internet of Things industry might be taking a breather. Sponsors: Fundrise.com/techmeme MintMobile.com/ride Links: Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 870 reheats the Snapdragon 865 for 2021 phones (The Verge) Microsoft invests in Cruise in new $2 billion round (TechCrunch) India asks WhatsApp to withdraw new privacy policy over ‘grave concerns’ (TechCrunch) 5G Rivals Face an $81 Billion Tab After Spectrum Buying Spree (WSJ) DuckDuckGo surpasses 100 million daily search queries for the first time (ZDNet) Electric car batteries with five-minute charging times produced (The Guardian) CES 2021: A deep breath for the smart home to determine its future (Stacey On IOT)

The first ever interesting raise omnibus episode! Links: Hipcamp, ‘Airbnb of the Outdoors,’ Raises $57 Million (The Information) Local news app News Break raises $115M (TechCrunch) Perfect Corp., developer of virtual beauty app YouCam Makeup, closes $50 million Series C led by Goldman Sachs (TechCrunch) Veo raises $25M for AI-based cameras that record and analyze football and other team sports (TechCrunch) Graphcore raises $222M for its ultrafast AI chips (SiliconAngle) AI chipmaker Graphcore raises $22M at a $2.77B valuation and puts an IPO in its sights (TechCrunch) Fintech startup Oxygen raises $17M in Series A round (SiliconAngle) AMP Robotics raises $55 million for AI that picks and sorts recyclables (VentureBeat) WeLink raises $185M to deliver high-bandwidth wireless internet to the home using 5G (TechCrunch)

Is Apple finally throwing in the towel and giving us the sort of laptops we actually want? With these IPO first-day pops, forget banks screwing startups, are VC’s also undervaluing companies right now in a way that is unfair? Amazon wants to do in cars what it’s done successfully in homes. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: Oracle For Startups - oracle.com/goto/ride Metalab.co Links: Kuo details 2021 MacBook Pro: new design with squared-off sides, MagSafe connector and IO return, Touch Bar removed (9to5Mac) Apple Plans Upgraded MacBook Pros With Return of Magnetic Charging (Bloomberg) Online clothing reseller Poshmark closes up more than 140% on first day of trading (CNBC) Amazon opens Alexa AI tech for the first time so car makers can build custom assistants (The Verge) Galaxy Book Flex2: Samsung’s first 5G laptop has an 11th-gen Intel Processor (Digital Trends) Shares in China’s Xiaomi tumble after US investment ban (Financial Times) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Is Letterboxd Becoming a Blockbuster? (NYTimes) Why the Canadian Tech Scene Doesn’t Work (AlexDanco.com) An Oral History of Wikipedia, the Web’s Encyclopedia (OneZero) CRISPR and the Splice to Survive (The New Yorker) Spotify Bets Big on Podcasts as a Path to Profitability (Bloomberg Businessweek)

All the news from the Galaxy Unpacked event. The tech stock IPO first day pop bubble continues. Asus persists with that dual screen laptop thing. BMW has a new way to unlock your car with your phone. And Google absolutely swears it won’t use your fitbit data against you. Swears. Sponsors: Metalab.co TinyCapital.com Links: SAMSUNG GALAXY S21, S21 PLUS, AND S21 ULTRA FIRST LOOK: POLISHED DESIGN (AND PRICES) (The Verge) The Galaxy S21 Ultra packs two telephoto lenses and supports the S Pen (Engadget) Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag is a $29.99 Tile competitor (The Verge) Max Levchin’s Affirm pops nearly 100% in market debut (CNBC) Asus’ 2021 laptop line includes two new dual-screen ZenBooks (The Verge) BMW’s Digital Key Plus will let iPhones unlock the iX from a pocket or bag (The Verge) Google's Fitbit acquisition is official (TechCrunch)

The Visa/Plaid merger is called off, and I’ll tell you why I think this is a sign of the current situation for tech. More tectonic shifts in the chip industry including Qualcomm acquiring a startup and Intel losing its CEO. More smoke around the fire story of an Apple Car. And Facebook has noticed you downloaded Signal. Sponsors: Netgear.com/bestwifi Metalab.co Links: Visa Abandons Planned Acquisition of Plaid After DOJ Challenge (WSJ) Qualcomm eyes challenge to Apple, Intel with $1.4 billion deal for chip startup (Reuters) Intel CEO Bob Swan to step down, VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger to replace him (CNBC) AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su: Interview on 2021 Demand, Supply, Tariffs, Xilinix and EPYC (AnandTech) Every Deleted Parler Post, Many With Users' Location Data, Has Been Archived (Gizmodo) Parler Users Breached Deep Inside U.S. Capitol Building, GPS Data Shows (Gizmodo) Exclusive: Apple held talks with EV startup Canoo in 2020 (The Verge) WhatsApp clarifies it’s not giving all your data to Facebook after surge in Signal and Telegram users (The Verge)

Intel’s new flagship chips are here. Lenovo’s new laptop lineup is here. Walmart wants in on the fintech startup game. GM is spinning off a new electric delivery truck startup. And I know foldable phones haven’t exactly taken over the world, but could I interest you in a rollable phone? Sponsors:  NewYorker.com/techmeme BuyRaycon.com/tech Links: Intel Previews 11th Gen Core Rocket Lake: Core i9-11900K and Z590, Coming Q1 (AnandTech) Lenovo’s new ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga is less than half an inch thick (The Verge) Walmart to create fintech start-up with investment firm behind Robinhood (CNBC) Aptiv unveils new self-driving platform with wireless upgrades (Reuters) GM unveils electric delivery van with 250 miles of range as part of new spinoff business (The Verge) Parler sues Amazon, leveling far-fetched antitrust allegations (The Verge) Following Trump Ban, Facebook Tells Employees to Avoid Wearing Company-Branded Apparel (The Information) LG’s Rollable phone is real and launching in 2021 (The Verge)

Once again, did some things happen since we last spoke? A run-down of, especially, the Parler situation. And it’s the first day of CES. Here’s what we’re missing in terms of gadget announcements, cool gadgets we’d love to get hands-on time with and the weird gadgets that make CES so fun. Sponsors: KiwiCo.com promocode: ride ExpressVPN.com/techmeme Links: Amazon Is Booting Parler Off Of Its Web Hosting Service (Buzzfeed) Parler CEO Says Service Dropped By “Every Vendor” And Could End His Business (Deadline) San Francisco police are prepping for a pro-Trump rally at Twitter headquarters (TechCrunch) HP launches new Envy 14 laptop, Elite Folio 2-in1 tablet, and new… earbuds? (Android Authority) Lenovo's ThinkReality A3 Smart Glasses can show up to five virtual displays (Engadget) HyperX made its first 60-percent mechanical gaming keyboard (The Verge) WHY CHAMBERLAIN BUILT A $3,000 AUTOMATIC GARAGE DOOR FOR YOUR DOG (The Verge)

Interesting new Apple Car rumors, including how they’ve basically raided Tesla for talent, apparently. Alex Stamos and Chris Krebs have formed the security Avengers. People do seem to be jumping ship from WhatsApp. Why Roku is maybe the dark horse of the Streaming Wars. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Sponsors: TinyCapital.com DoubleUp.agency Links: Hyundai Motor says it’s in early talks with Apple to develop a car, sends shares soaring 19% (CNBC) SolarWinds hires former Trump cyber security chief Chris Krebs (Financial Times) Encrypted Messaging App Signal Sees Surge in Popularity Following WhatsApp Privacy Policy Update (MacRumors) Roku TV Was the Top Selling Smart TV OS in 2020 (The Streamable) A New Service Seeks to Streamline Your Streaming (WSJ) ‘TV Remote’ is an app that turns your iPhone into a universal control for your TV (9to5Mac) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Xbox: The Oral History of an American Video Game Empire (Bloomberg) FarmVille Once Took Over Facebook. Now Everything Is FarmVille. (NYTimes) Archaeology is going digital to harness the power of Big Data (Ars Technica) Here are the 6 most exciting space missions of 2021 (TNW)

Some stuff happened yesterday at the US Capital, and there’s a tech angle to it. Is SolarWinds just the beginning of the supply chain compromises? There’s new wi-fi coming that is faster and broader. Did the Georgia runoff mean the floodgates are now open for tech antitrust? And what the final segment pre-supposes is: putting a 55 inch display inside a car is a good idea. Sponsors: TinyCapital.com Liftoff.to Links: Twitter and Facebook Lock Trump’s Accounts After Violence on Capitol Hill (NYTimes) Widely Used Software Company May Be Entry Point for Huge U.S. Hacking (NYTimes) SuperData: Games grew 12% to $139.9 billion in 2020 amid pandemic (VentureBeat) Wi-Fi industry launches next-gen 6E certification, and new devices are up next (CNET) Democrats have won the Senate. Here’s what it means for tech. (Protocol) Mercedes-Benz unveils its absolutely massive 56-inch ‘Hyperscreen’ display (The Verge)