Plus the fascinating audio isolation AI Google's developed, and leaked memos!

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• Elon Musk says ‘humans are underrated,’ calls Tesla’s ‘excessive automation’ a ‘mistake’ | TechCrunch — In a rare mea culpa for the mercurial billionaire, Tesla CEO Elon Musk acknowledged that the company has been too reliant on robots for production.
• Russia starts blocking Telegram for failing to turn over encryption keys — The Russian state telecommunication regulator has began blocking Telegram as expected.
• Pandora's CEO is doubling down on podcasts
• In a Leaked Memo, Apple Warns Employees to Stop Leaking Information - Bloomberg — Company memo says it found 29 ‘leakers’ last year, 12 arrested
• 'GrayKey' iPhone Unlocking Box Seeing Wide Adoption Among Law Enforcement — Motherboard found that regional police forces like the Maryland State Police, the Indiana State Police, and the Miami-Dade County Police have purchased or are soon purchasing GrayKey technology
• Gmail’s new design will include a ‘Confidential Mode’ — Gmail on the web is getting a big update in the coming weeks with a new design and features, but Google is also introducing a new Confidential Mode.
• Google works out a fascinating, slightly scary way for AI to isolate voices in a crowd — Google researchers have developed a deep-learning system designed to help computers better identify and isolate individual voices within a noisy environment.

Then we'll cover a study that shows just one percent of Reddit users cause 75 percent of the drama, follow up on some topics, and discuss our thoughts for Season 2.

We set off to SCaLE this year with a goal in mind, but quickly realized the trip and this season of Tech Talk Today, we're going to be about something entirely different.

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• Feds pushing new plan for encrypted mobile device unlocks via court order — The Department of Justice is pushing for a new industry proposal that would grant law enforcement access to encrypted digital devices with a warrant, according to a new report by The New York Times.
• Valve has 1,700 CPUs working non-stop to bust CS:GO cheaters | PC Gamer — Right now there are about 600,000 5v5 CS:GO matches per day, and to evaluate all players in those matches Valve needed about four minutes of computation, amounting to 2.4 million minutes of CPU effort per day. You need about 1,700 CPUs to do that daily work.
• Face ID Deemed Too Costly To Copy, Android Makers Target In-Display Fingerprint Sensors Instead — Android phone makers are 'rushing' to implement fingerprint sensors under the display for upcoming handsets," reports 9to5Mac, citing a new report from Digitimes. "Android manufacturers have decided that recreating the 3D facial recognition used by iPhone X is simply too costly to include, and are instead focusing on implementing Qualcomm's ultrasonic fingerprint scanners.
• State Department Seemingly Buys $15,000 iPhone Cracking Tech GrayKey — On March 6, the State Department ordered an item from Grayshift for just over $15,000, according to a purchase order listing available on the U.S. government's public federal procurement data system.
• Since October, Apple has signed 12 TV projects, nine of them “straight-to-series”; sources say the company aims to roll them out between March and summer 2019 — Since October, Apple has made deals for 12 projects, nine of them “straight-to-series” orders — an aggressive method of creating new programming that skips the pilot-episode stage.
• Deals Like AT&T-Time Warner Won't Solve TV-Streaming Mess - Bloomberg — Media companies are scrambling to get bigger and create their own online-video services, which don't make much money or even meet consumers' needs.
• One percent of Reddit users cause 75 percent of the drama — In the self-published research from Srijan Kumar, Jure Leskoec, William Hamilton, and Dan Jurafsky of Stanford University, “intercommunity conflict” is defined as “negative sentiment to comment in another community.” These users wouldn’t necessarily qualify as trolls or sockpuppets; they’re instigators, posting links to other subreddits and encouraging other users to target, harass, and fight with users on that subreddit.

Plus the huge space station that's falling to earth, we talk a little GDPR, and own up to the big mistake Chris made.

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• Umm, @ChrisLAS , when did the USA population grow to > 500 million — Umm, @ChrisLAS , when did the USA population grow to > 500 million (I had to do a double take when listening)? Plus not sure that every man, woman and child is on it in the USA ;-) Just thought I'd check :-) #techtalktoday #CambridgeAnalytics
• Facebook is limiting developers' access to account data — here's how that will impact them - Business Insider — Facebook will limit developer access to user data in response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the company announced on Wednesday.
• SpaceX founder Elon Musk piles on as Facebook's woes continue — The blowback against Facebook over the Cambridge Analytica scandal hit a crescendo Friday when Elon Musk ordered pages for SpaceX and Tesla Motors deleted.
• Craigslist pulls personal ads after passage of sex-trafficking bill — Online classified site Craigslist has pulled its entire personal ad section after Congress passed a new sex-trafficking bill that puts more liability on Web sites.
• An Introduction to the GDPR — The GDPR is the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation. Its purpose is to “harmonize data privacy laws across Europe, to protect and empower all EU residents’ data privacy, and to reshape the way organizations across the region approach data privacy for EU residents wherever they work in the world.”
• GDPR explained in 2 minutes - YouTube — The General Data Protection Regulation is an EU regulation that aims to harmonize the data protection regulations and strengthen data protection for all individuals in the European Union. GDPR was approved by the European Parliament on April 14th 2016 and it starts to apply in May 25th 2018.
• To comply with GDPR, Google asks publishers to manage user-data consent for ad targeting in EU - Search Engine Land — Google is asking publishers in Europe to obtain consent for data use and ad targeting under the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) privacy rules, which go into effect May 25. Companies operating in Europe are required to gain opt-in consent for collection and use of personal data under the new regulation.
• Telegram Ordered to Hand Over Encryption Keys to Russian Authorities | Threatpost | The first stop for security news — Russia’s top court ruled Tuesday that the Telegram messaging service, with 9.5 million active Russian users, must hand over encryption keys to authorities.
• New York City May Grant Employees the ‘Right to Disconnect’ — The “Right to Disconnect” bill, introduced by Brooklyn Councilman Rafael Espinal on Thursday afternoon, would make it illegal for private employers with 10 or more employees to require their employees to answer work-related calls or emails outside of their official work hours. Employers would have to establish a policy informing workers of their rights.
• Amazon Patents Delivery Drones That Detect Screaming, Flapping Arms, May Smell Human Fear — The patent, US9459620B1, covers how an unmanned drone might interact with and respond to humans it encounters while making a delivery.
• MoviePass™ Lowers Price to $6.95 per Month | Business Wire — MoviePass™ lowers annual subscription price to $6.95 per month
• Tiangong-1 Reentry Tracker — Tiangong-1 is currently predicted to reenter the Earth’s atmosphere around April 1st, 2018 ± 3 Days.
• Slice of Sauce™: an All-Natural, No-Mess "Slice" of Ketchup by Bo's Fine Foods — Kickstarter — Bo’s Original Slice of Sauce™ is an individual slice of flavor-packed condiment offering a portable, convenient, clean label experience
• The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires — It is easy to forget that every development in the history of the American information industry–from the telephone to radio to film–once existed in an open and chaotic marketplace inhabited by entrepreneurs and utopians, just as the Internet does today. Each of these, however, grew to be dominated by a monopolist or cartel. In this path breaking book, Tim Wu asks: will the Internet follow the same fate? Could the Web–the entire flow of American information–come to be ruled by a corporate leviathan in possession of "the master switch"?
• MEET UP LOCATION: Belltown Brewing — Belltown Brewing is the neighborhood's brewhouse. Be there 8pm!

Plus Google, Target, and Walmart's unholy alliance to battle Amazon and Twitter's Cryptocoin crackdown.

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• Uber Halts Autonomous-Car Testing After Fatal Arizona Crash — The 49-year-old woman, Elaine Herzberg, was crossing the road outside of a crosswalk when the Uber vehicle operating in autonomous mode under the supervision of a human safety driver struck her, according to the Tempe Police Department.
• Google plans to boost Amazon competitors in search shopping ads — Google made the announcement on its AdWords blog this morning, detailing an initiative called Shopping Actions. Through this feature, retailers can leverage a "universal cart" that allows customers to easily shop across mobile, desktop and voice-controlled devices. Basically, Google says this will make it much easier for you to shop by voice or with a phone/computer from a number of stores.
• Cambridge Analytica harvested data from millions of unsuspecting Facebook users — Cambridge Analytica, a company that profiled voters for Donald Trump’s campaign, allegedly harvested private information from more than 50 million Facebook profiles, which they used to influence and wage a "culture war" during the 2016 election.
• New York professor sues Cambridge Analytica to find out what it knows about him
• Facebook wants more video creators to compete with YouTube, so it’s rolling out a subscription feature - Recode — Facebook will soon let you subscribe to your favorite creator for $5 a month.
• GrayKey iPhone unlocker poses serious security concerns — According to Forbes, the GrayKey iPhone unlocker device is marketed for in-house use at law enforcement offices or labs.
• Twitter Will Ban Most Cryptocurrency-Related Ads — Twitter plans to ban most cryptocurrency-related ads in the next few weeks, as Sky News first reported and a source confirms to Axios. Why it matters: The recent boom in cryptocurrencies and digital tokens has unsurprisingly attracted some fraudsters. Twitter is following in the footsteps of Facebook and Google, though it's been having its own problems with accounts promoting scams.

Plus Geek Squad's cozy relationship with the FBI, Intel's hardware fix for Spectre is closer than you thought, and what the hell is a Steve?

Then our Kickstarter of the week, big Jupiter Broadcasting news, and more.

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• Coder Radio 300 Shirt and Hoodie
• Coder Coasters
• Coder Radio 300 Poster
• Google to Weed Out Cryptocurrency Ads | Online Advertising | TechNewsWorld — The ban includes, but is not limited to, initial coin offerings, cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency wallets and cryptocurrency trading advice.
• YouTube didn’t tell Wikipedia about its plans for Wikipedia - The Verge — YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki announced that the platform would start adding information from Wikipedia to conspiracy-related videos within the next few weeks.
• Intel redesigned its 8th-gen processors to patch ‘Meltdown’ flaws — The changes will start with Xeon Scalable "Cascade Lake" processors and 8th-generation Core chips shipping in the second half of this year.
• Lyft is testing a Netflix-style monthly subscription plan - The Verge — Lyft is testing monthly subscription plans for high-frequency users, a sign that the company is shifting toward a Netflix or Spotify model for transportation.
• MoviePass Wants To Gather a Whole Lot of Data About Its Users — Lowe said that was possible because "we get an enormous amount of information. Since we mail you the card, we know your home address . . . we know the makeup of that household, the kids, the age groups, the income. It's all based on where you live. It's not that we ask that. You can extrapolate that. "Then," Lowe continued, "Because you are being tracked in your GPS by the phone . . . we watch how you drive from home to the movies. We watch where you go afterwards, and so we know the movies you watch. We know all about you. We don't sell that data. What we do is we use that data to market film."
• Amazon is testing a “brief mode” for Alexa that replaces verbal responses with beeps - The Verge — This seems to be the only difference with brief mode — using beeps instead of verbal cues to acknowledge successful commands — but it’s not hard to imagine how Amazon might expand its applications. (We’ve reached out to the company to find out and will update the story if they reply.)
• Geek Squad's Relationship with FBI Is Cozier Than We Thought — Some of these reports indicate that the FBI treated Geek Squad employees as informants, identifying them as “CHS,” which is shorthand for confidential human sources
• No, Space Did Not Permanently Alter 7 Percent of Scott Kelly's DNA - Slashdot — The mistake stems from an inaccurate interpretation of NASA's ongoing Twins Study. When Scott went to space in 2015, his identical twin Mark -- also a former NASA astronaut -- stayed on the ground. The idea was that Mark would serve as a control subject -- a nearly identical genetic copy that NASA could use to figure out how the space environment changed Scott's body. Some fascinating results have come out of the experiment. For one thing, Scott's gut bacteria changed significantly while he was in space. And yes, he did experience genetic changes. The protective caps on the ends of his DNA strands -- known as telomeres -- increased while in space. But space didn't permenantly alter 7 percent of his DNA. [...] NASA also confirmed this in a statement to The Verge: "Scott's DNA did not fundamentally change," a NASA spokesperson said. "What researchers did observe are changes in gene expression, which is how your body reacts to your environment. This likely is within the range for humans under stress, such as mountain climbing or SCUBA diving."
• Steve, a Famous Northern Light, Stays Mysterious (and Keeps His Name) - The New York Times — Now a research paper has shed light on what Steve actually is, and scientists have proposed a moniker: Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement.
• Deadwood 1876: A Safe-Robbing Game of Teamwork & Betrayal by Travis Hancock — Kickstarter — Work with your team to collect the most gold and then fight your teammates to the death to keep it all for yourself. 2-9 Players.

Then McAfee buys TunnelBear, Netflix shares some data on you, and Ghostery goes open source.

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• Pop!_OS Weekly Update: 17.10 Beta & New Community... — System76 is happy to welcome our new Community Manager: Sriram Ramkrishna, or ‘Sri’ as he likes to be called! His role will be to help create and evolve strong relationships between our upstream projects and the Free and Open Source community as well as continue our fabulous relationship with our customers through our social media channels.
• Ad-Blocker Ghostery Just Went Open Source — Many of Ghostery’s users struggled to understand the company’s old, complicated business model.
• Oculus brings Rift VR headsets back to life with a software fix — The fix is available from the Oculus Rift website, and includes a certificate that hasn’t expired. Oculus thanked owners for their patience in a Twitter message today, and co-founder Nate Mitchell apologized for the embarrassing lapse. Mitchell also promised Rift owners affected by the issues “will be provided with an Oculus store credit.”
• McAfee acquires VPN provider TunnelBear — TunnelBear hadn’t taken on any known outside funding, so McAfee is unlikely to have broken the bank over this acquisition. However, TunnelBear had also previously revealed that it is profitable, so was likely in position to wait until the offer was right.
• Netflix data: 70 percent of viewing happens on TVs — Netflix says 70 percent of its streams end up on connected TVs instead of phones, tablets or PCs.
• Lawmakers approve year-round Daylight Saving Time. — Lawmakers agree for more daylight, but Gov. Rick Scott still must sign and then the U.S. Congress must pass a law to move the Sunshine State into Daylight Savings Time year-round.

But it almost didn't happen.

Plus the tech news, Kickstarter of the week, and our plans for Season 1.

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• Facts About SpaceX's Falcon Heavy Rocket — Musk first announced a bigger rocket — the Falcon Heavy — in 2011. At the time, he said the rocket would carry 117,000 lbs. (53,000 kilograms) of cargo to orbit — twice the capacity of the space shuttle. Musk also predicted the first Falcon Heavy flight would come in 2013.
• Fresh off Falcon Heavy, Elon Musk launches broadband test satellites - ABC News — On Thursday, SpaceX on Thursday launched a pair of prototype satellites intended to form the basis for Starlink, a constellation of about 11,000 satellites that are designed to beam broadband internet down to Earth.
• Amazon plans to open as many as six more cashierless Amazon Go stores this year — New futuristic convenience stores could appear in Seattle and Los Angeles.
• Since October, Apple Made Around 1,600 Accidental 911 Calls — “We’ve been seeing these calls for the last four months from Apple,” said police dispatcher Jamie Hudso
• Using a laser to wirelessly charge a smartphone safely across a room — The beam charges the smartphone via a power cell mounted on the back of the phone. A narrow beam can deliver a steady 2W of power to 15 square-inch area from a distance of up to 4.3 meters, or about 14 feet.
• Kitchen Robot with Multi-Zone Cooking & Refrigeration by Suvie — Gourmet meals from fresh, raw ingredients ready when you come home; designed by former Apple engineer, appliance expert & gourmet chef.
• Google plans deeper Assistant integration with phones and wireless carriers — The other two announcements being made today will arrive throughout the year: deeper integration between the Assistant and both smartphones and carriers.