🌶️ Hot Fudge Sunday for 2024-08-25

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https://hot.fudge.org

💰 + 🪖 The amounts being raised related to pursuit of US Government / Military contracts seems to be getting more press recently as software and AI/ML becomes the latest in technological progression.

Fabric Cryptography, a startup working on a “verifiable processing unit” chip for cryptography, raised a $33M Series A co-led by Blockchain Capital and 1kx

Fabric Cryptography, a startup working on a “verifiable processing unit” chip for cryptography, raised a $33M Series A co-led by Blockchain Capital and 1kx

By Bradley Keoun / CoinDesk. View the full context on Techmeme.

💰 + 🔐 Seeing funding coverage for companies with “cryptography” in the name vs. cryptocurrency or $omethingCoin might just mean that nature is healing.

South Korean AI chip makers Rebellions and Sapeon agree to merge; Rebellions has raised $225M+, and Sapeon's shareholders include SK Telecom and SK Hynix

South Korean AI chip makers Rebellions and Sapeon agree to merge; Rebellions has raised $225M+, and Sapeon's shareholders include SK Telecom and SK Hynix

By Joyce Lee / Reuters. View the full context on Techmeme.

💰 + 🤖 M&A is alive and well in 2024 which means this pattern will likely occur a few more times before end of the year.

AMD agrees to buy New Jersey-based ZT Systems, founded in 1994 to design and make servers, server racks, and other infrastructure, for $4.9B, closing in H1 2025

AMD agrees to buy New Jersey-based ZT Systems, founded in 1994 to design and make servers, server racks, and other infrastructure, for $4.9B, closing in H1 2025

By Asa Fitch / Wall Street Journal. View the full context on Techmeme.

💰 + 🤖 Speaking of M&A, the vertical integration for solving key customer challenges is very impressive when there is a specific carve out intended to focus on the accretive value of the combination and simultaneously widen access to growth in the process for the remaining entity… and it probably anticipates regulatory approval questions before they are posed.

🤪 Wacky Wednesday for 2024-08-21

Each Wednesday I go through dozens of Slack communities and select the most interesting shared links found. This will always be a safe for work list. 🙈

https://inews.co.uk/opinion/comment/the-long-and-underappreciated-history-of-male-witches-and-the-countries-where-more-people-accused-of-witchcraft-were-men-354563

GitHub - d07RiV/diabloweb: Diablo 1 for web browsers

GitHub - d07RiV/diabloweb: Diablo 1 for web browsers

Diablo 1 for web browsers. Contribute to d07RiV/diabloweb development by creating an account on GitHub.

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/03/26/394339284/how-snobbery-helped-take-the-spice-out-of-european-cooking
GitHub - drakh/acid-generator: acid bassline generator

GitHub - drakh/acid-generator: acid bassline generator

acid bassline generator. Contribute to drakh/acid-generator development by creating an account on GitHub.

change
True story.
https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/curtis-eckerman-photographer-moth-man/
hotdogs!
No substitutions please.

🔙 Throwback Thursday for 2024-08-22

Throwback Thursday is based upon the classic Fudge Sunday Weekly newsletter sections for "Shot and Chaser".

Basically, Throwback Thursday is a look back at a prior prediction or past news coverage and how that worked out in the present.

Encryption has been an increasingly thorny topic in the news as technology, privacy, and policy collide. For example, if you were to look back a few years ago, you might have thought the Sky ECC story was over.

US DOJ indicts CEO of encrypted phone company Sky for selling devices to drug traffickers, the second such company to face charges after Phantom Secure

US DOJ indicts CEO of encrypted phone company Sky for selling devices to drug traffickers, the second such company to face charges after Phantom Secure

By Joseph Cox / VICE. View the full context on Techmeme.

In fact, the story was only just beginning. This week, Sky ECC made news again.

US court records: US agencies are increasingly accessing parts of the 500M encrypted message haul retrieved from the hack of encrypted phone company Sky in 2021

US court records: US agencies are increasingly accessing parts of the 500M encrypted message haul retrieved from the hack of encrypted phone company Sky in 2021

By Joseph Cox / 404 Media. View the full context on Techmeme.

What makes this story interesting is the parallels of accessing encrypted messages years later as we face a future Y2Q. Notably, NIST standards for PQC arrived recently as well.

https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2024/08/nist-releases-first-3-finalized-post-quantum-encryption-standards

✅ Final Thoughts Friday for 2024-08-23

As a reminder, I’ve committed to four events for the remainder of this year.

As for me, the week in review is about being thankful for new and ongoing client work, amazing weather, and catching up with folks I haven’t spoken to for years. I also got around to finishing some languishing personal projects that have nothing to do with technology.

Switching gears back to technology, the bigger tech stories this week seemed to be AMD+ZT, Twitter drama, Microsoft Recall, Apple iOS capitulation, and US DOJ vs RealPage. My thinking is this:

  • As I've said, in numerous digital locations, expect more mergers and acquisitions in pursuit of forming moats and furthering vertical integration. AMD combining with ZT makes a lot of sense when you consider the number of chips that go into hyperscale cloud service provider data centers.
  • I no longer use Twitter. However, coverage on Twitter drama is something I cannot escape apparently and boy is there drama.
  • Considering the recent security concerns with Microsoft in general, a slower rollout makes sense. If anything, this delay will likely provide a window for the required upgrades in systems and devices to keep up with the demands of a Microsoft Recall workload itself.
  • As someone that enjoys iOS beta releases, seeing the EU compel one of the most valuable companies on the planet to alter course can be a bit surreal. Ultimately, this change in course is a net benefit to all.
  • While I haven't been in the rental market recently, this allegation against RealPage is a bit of a confirmation for my prior bias. When I've considered relocating to other cities and reviewed rental pricing, anecdotally, the oddly similar patterns were hard to not notice, and perhaps the US DOJ will eventually prove this was not coincidental in a court of law.
AMD agrees to buy New Jersey-based ZT Systems, founded in 1994 to design and make servers, server racks, and other infrastructure, for $4.9B, closing in H1 2025

AMD agrees to buy New Jersey-based ZT Systems, founded in 1994 to design and make servers, server racks, and other infrastructure, for $4.9B, closing in H1 2025

By Asa Fitch / Wall Street Journal. View the full context on Techmeme.

PitchBook: seven banks' ~$13B loans to Musk to buy Twitter have been “hung” for two years, weighing on balance sheets, the worst buyout for banks since 2008-09

PitchBook: seven banks' ~$13B loans to Musk to buy Twitter have been “hung” for two years, weighing on balance sheets, the worst buyout for banks since 2008-09

From Wall Street Journal. View the full context on Techmeme.

Microsoft says Recall will be available to Windows Insiders in October 2024, after delaying the AI feature's launch in June over security and privacy concerns

Microsoft says Recall will be available to Windows Insiders in October 2024, after delaying the AI feature's launch in June over security and privacy concerns

By Tom Warren / The Verge. View the full context on Techmeme.

Apple unveils iOS changes to comply with the EU's DMA: browser choice screen updates, more default app settings, and the ability to delete certain system apps

Apple unveils iOS changes to comply with the EU's DMA: browser choice screen updates, more default app settings, and the ability to delete certain system apps

By Chance Miller / 9to5Mac. View the full context on Techmeme.

The US DOJ sues RealPage, alleging its software helps property managers collude to drive up rental prices on millions of units, violating antitrust law

The US DOJ sues RealPage, alleging its software helps property managers collude to drive up rental prices on millions of units, violating antitrust law

From Bloomberg. View the full context on Techmeme.

🔮 Sneak Peak Saturday for 2024-08-24

Peak 🏔️ vs. Peek 👀

By Friday, everything seems to be reaching the peak of getting news turned in before a deadline or dread-line. It sometimes seems like we reach a fever pitch in news coverage throughout the week.

Then there is a trope, cliché, or bromide about slow news days and the quietly mentioned news updates sent on a Friday — to try and sneak it past wider coverage. Or, in a nutshell, peak patronizing publishing.

In that spirit, here are a few stories that you might have missed on the slow news of a Friday.

Insert Let's See Who This Really Is Meme

Silverbear, an investor named in Bolt's financial docs for a $450M raise, says it was “never in this deal”, as some investors consider legal action against Bolt

Silverbear, an investor named in Bolt's financial docs for a $450M raise, says it was “never in this deal”, as some investors consider legal action against Bolt

From Forbes. View the full context on Techmeme.

Insert Ceiling Cat Meme

US SEC filing: oilfield services company Halliburton says it has taken some systems offline after discovering that an unauthorized party had gained access

US SEC filing: oilfield services company Halliburton says it has taken some systems offline after discovering that an unauthorized party had gained access

By Colin Kellaher / Wall Street Journal. View the full context on Techmeme.

Insert We're All Trying To Find The Guy Who Did This Meme

Microsoft plans to hold an event on September 10 with CrowdStrike and other cybersecurity vendors to discuss how to prevent incidents like the July 19 outage

Microsoft plans to hold an event on September 10 with CrowdStrike and other cybersecurity vendors to discuss how to prevent incidents like the July 19 outage

By Jordan Novet / CNBC. View the full context on Techmeme.

Insert That Wasn't Me, That Was Patricia Meme

Documents: state-linked Chinese entities are using cloud services from AWS or its rivals to access advanced US chips and AI models they cannot acquire otherwise

Documents: state-linked Chinese entities are using cloud services from AWS or its rivals to access advanced US chips and AI models they cannot acquire otherwise

From Reuters. View the full context on Techmeme.

Insert Anthony Adams Rubbing Hands Meme

SpaceX says Starlink satellite internet kits purchased in one of six regions and activated in another are subject to an “outside region fee” of $200 to $300

SpaceX says Starlink satellite internet kits purchased in one of six regions and activated in another are subject to an “outside region fee” of $200 to $300

By Andrew Liszewski / The Verge. View the full context on Techmeme.

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