629: Throbbing Rocket

Pink slips and "challenging environments" at Hasbro, Etsy, Cruise & Twit; San Fran tech CEO slave contract; Epic will case vs Google; Meta fact-checking plan for Threads; Starlink loses out on subsidies; Microsoft plays nice with unions; Tesla's Swedish Trash Metal, recalls over Autopilot software, Cybertruck; SpaceX & Blue Origin; communing with the whales; more Traitors; Slow Horses; Sliced Bread; streaming consolidation & confusion; Netflix metrics; Murderbot; Apple updates; GM drops CarPlay for... safety; Mistral; E3 is officially dead; Teresa Strasser; Longitude by Dave Sobel; Charlie Stross Accelerando; hello, Computer? Sponsors: 1Password - Get a great deal on the only password manager recommended by Grumpy Old Geeks! gog.show/1password Private Internet Access - Go to GOG.Show/vpn and sign up today. For a limited time only, you can get OUR favorite VPN for as little as $2.03 a month. Show notes at https://gog.show/629/ FOLLOW UP GOG on YouTube Music GOG on YouTube Hasbro to cut 1,100 jobs despite Dungeons & Dragons thriving Etsy stock falls after company lays off 11% of its staff, citing ‘very challenging’ environment Massive Layoffs Hit Troubled Robotaxi Developer Cruise A HEARTFELT FAREWELL: TWIT SAYS GOODBYE TO VALUED TEAM MEMBERS IN THE NEWS San Francisco tech CEO Christian Lanng accused of forcing assistant to sign 'slave contract,' sexual torture Epic win: Jury decides Google has illegal monopoly in app store fight Meta is going to fact-check content on the Threads app Starlink loses out on $886 million in rural broadband subsidies Microsoft agrees to union contract terms involving the use of AI Tesla's Fight With Swedish Unions Just Got Trashy Tesla Recalls 2 Million Vehicles Over Autopilot Software Issue Tesla could still sue Cybertruck owners if they flip their vehicles too soon Watch a Cybertruck get towed by a Ford pickup after the Tesla appears to get stuck off-roading Tesla claims California false-advertising law violates First Amendment Researchers fuse lab-grown human brain tissue with electronics SpaceX shares cinematic footage of last month’s Starship mission Bezos’ Blue Origin aiming to make long-awaited return to launch next week Whale-SETI: Groundbreaking Encounter with Humpback Whales Reveals Potential for Non-Human Intelligence Communication MEDIA CANDY The Traitors UK Slow Horses Gary Oldman looks worlds away from his usual self as he sports a bushy grey beard at screening of Slow Horses in NYC after receiving Golden Globe nod Doctor Who Special 3 Sliced Bread Showtime's Cable Channel Is Changing Its Name to... Paramount+ With Showtime Google begins shifting users from Play Movies & TV ahead of its January shutdown Netflix’s first engagement report reveals its most popular shows and movies Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos Explains Why It Has Been Hiding All That Streaming Data Tucker Carlson Launches Subscription Streamer, Because X Reportedly Couldn’t Do the Job Apple will reportedly reward artists for offering music in spatial audio Apple is making a Murderbot series starring Alexander Skarsgård APPS & DOODADS iOS 17.2 and Apple's new Journal app are now available Apple tvOS 17.2 has a redesigned TV experience and no iTunes Movies or TV Shows apps Apple launches Stolen Device Protection for iPhone with iOS 17.3 beta, here’s how it works GM’s latest excuse for dropping CarPlay is its dumbest yet Everybody’s talking about Mistral, an upstart French challenger to OpenAI OpenAI inks deal with Axel Springer on licensing news for model training E3 is officially dead AT THE LIBRARY Making It Home: Life Lessons from a Season of Little League by Teresa Strasser Longitude by Dava Sobel Accelerando by Charles Stross Glasshouse by Charles Stross