File:Bad Voltage 2x40 (IA badvoltage2x40).mp3

Stuart Langridge, Jono Bacon, and Jeremy Garcia present Bad Voltage, in which we appeal for Colgate corporate sponsorship, nobody adds a fake notch, and:

• [00:01:30] Google release the <a href="https://www.techradar.com/reviews/google-pixel-3-review">Pixel 3</a> phone and Pixel Slate ChromeOS tablet/laptop, with no surprises given all the press leaks ahead of time
• [00:16:30] Google announce the <a href="https://www.blog.google/technology/safety-security/project-strobe/amp/">upcoming shutdown of Google Plus</a>, citing “low usage and engagement”. It also seems they had a privacy leak of G+ user data which <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/08/google-reportedly-exposed-private-data-of-at-least-hundreds-of-thousands-of-plus-users.html">it’s being claimed they covered up to avoid looking bad</a> and might also have contributed to the decision. Something of a eulogy is required from us, G+ users in the past
• [00:31:48] Microsoft <a href="https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/10/10/microsoft_open_invention_network/">contribute 60,000 software patents to the open source world</a>, which is pretty much an unambiguously good thing, surely?
• [00:41:26] Tim Berners-Lee unveils <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90243936/exclusive-tim-berners-lee-tells-us-his-radical-new-plan-to-upend-the-world-wide-web">Solid, his new plan to upend the World Wide Web</a>. Some thoughts on the philosophy it’s trying to bring, and whether it’s going to overturn everything (spoiler alert: no)
• [00:52:18] GDPR seems to be changing things, but in unpredictable ways: <a href="https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/10/12/gdpr_helps_google/">website trackers are down 4% in the EU, but up for US users</a>. What’s that all about?
• [00:56:05] A call to our community: <a href="https://www.cnet.com/news/almost-half-of-us-cell-phone-calls-will-be-scams-by-next-year-says-report/">Almost half of US cellphone calls will be scams by next year</a>,

and Jeremy’s seeing this up at the sharp end. Are you also experiencing
this radical rise in scam phone calls? Is this specific to the USA?