* TikTok Finally Sold (I guess...) * iRobot Bankruptcy * The New Legitimacy of Online Gambling TikTok Finally Sold (I guess...) This is arguably the biggest tech story of the week and is an almos...

* Apple losing its appeal * Executive order on AI legislation * Disney's deal with OpenAI * Paramount's hostile takeover attempt **Apple Losing its Appeal** [note: Yeah, I see the ironic pun there. I am resisting.] Last week, I pondered the departure of Apple's Alan Dye and this week, Apple's troubles seem to continue to mount with the conclusion(?) of its saga with Epic Games. Apple lost its appeal on the contempt charge relating to its 2021 loss on alternative payment systems for iOS/iPadOS apps. The appeals court upheld the sanctions but is allowing for Apple to charge a "reasonable" fee for platform expenses. That portion will go back to the district judge where the fee structure will be finalized. I generally try not to do many in-app purchases as a matter of course. When possible, I prefer to buy my subscriptions or software online direct from the company that makes it. This is not always possible, especially with mobile-first apps. I completely understand from a developer's perspective that it's often just less stress and mess to let someone else who has already developed the means to accept payments to go ahead and accept the payments. I have an Etsy store and haven't been at all motivated to sell items directly on my website even though tools like Shopify make it much easier to do than it was in the past. For a small seller or developer, not having to set up anything other than hooking into the already existing Apple store system is probably pretty enticing. You generally trust that Apple is going to pay you the money you're owed, and everything is going to work. You don't have as much troubleshooting and therefore you have less drama. Eventually, as you grow, the dynamics and economics can shift, and larger players will find it more profitable to collect all the money themselves and put their own systems into place to do so. And if going that route can save some money for the consumer, even better, right? Well, not if you're Apple and you rather enjoy taking a cut of revenue from every developer that sells items on your platform. I'm reminded of the old argument from the early days of the App Store that the splits were even more unfair in the old days. I'm certainly old enough to remember those particular old days; the days of buying apps for your Palm or Windows Mobile PDA on various software stores. Buying software for your PDA wasn't nearly as common then as buying software for your laptop, but stores existed to buy applications of all kinds. We bought navigation software, planners, spreadsheet and document editors, book readers, and even games. I remember those days fondly because I was a consumer and not a developer. We're often reminded that the splits on those stores weren't as favorable as the generous split Apple and eventually Google were offering. Things were much less transparent back then. If I paid $50 for the privilege of running something like TomTom Maps on my HP iPaq or Sony Clie, I had no idea how much was going to TomTom vs. the store I used to procure the software. It probably never even crossed my mind. But in today's world, with companies constantly communicating cacophonies of [potentially] conflicting messaging, we have so much more information to sort and arrange into neat mental piles. I vaguely remember Steve Jobs talking about how they'd take only 15% and how much better that was than the old stores. That wasn't lost on me. It wasn't intended to be lost on me. Apple wanted everyone to know that they were doing everyone a favor here: developers get a great platform on which to sell their fabulous apps, and consumers get a great platform on which to buy... fart apps, it seemed. The early days were rough. What stays with me here is that I don't think any of this has meant anything to Apple at all. That original ethos of we're offering everyone a fair deal here and we have the best thing going is really the heart of Apple in a tiny nugget. It is inconceivable that anyone should want to circumvent the beautiful thing they are offering you. It is perhaps even theft. In a way, it reminds me of Trump's recent claim that democrats decrying illegal military orders were traitors worthy of execution. _I am offering you everything. There is nothing but darkness beside me._ I do not think there was a single lesson learned here by Apple except perhaps to try - and I mean try with the least enthusiasm possible - to keep the hubris to itself as much as possible when it comes to court cases. Acting classes, maybe, to learn to fake humility. **Executive Order on AI Legislation** I am not equipped to wax even unpoetically on the idea of federalism from a US constitutional perspective. I think even whatever I learned about this in civics class didn't prepare me for how fraught a topic this would become. Nevertheless, what does seem clear to me is that ultimately this is about money and power and that the money has gone out from the big tech companies who gain the most from AI so that they can have more power to ensure they can continue to therefore rake in the money to reap the rewards that are surely inherent in selling AI services to the masses... The money and power parts are boring, though. It's the story of humanity. What is more interesting to me is what would be the result of completely unfettered AI development? We have already seen positive and negative impacts. And because the seemingly positive impacts are so significant, many prefer to try to push aside concerns about the negative pieces. We could cure cancer! How could you not want to cure cancer! No one will have to work anymore! Don't you want to spend your whole days doing whatever it is you love to do! Why do you hate fun? If there were truly no guardrails and the companies did whatever they believed would make them the most money, one has to wonder if doing anything good would even pay off. Curing cancer is something probably most normal people would consider an exceptionally positive outcome that might justify letting AI run rampant a bit. But curing cancer would eliminate revenue streams for a lot of companies with deep pockets. Only sick people need medicine. Only bodies with damage need surgery. I'm not naive enough to believe that anything AI could do to help humanity wouldn't be met by a swift reverberation from the company profiting off whatever misery AI could help resolve. It is so much more profitable for the powerful if humanity is kept more or less where it is now and profits continue to go more or less exactly where they are going now. Do not expect AI to save humanity. But at the same time, do not expect that the government, whose pockets are stuffed with money from those powerful profiteers, to save humanity either. **Disney's Deal with OpenAI** I admit I wasn't paying enough attention to this aspect of the AI drama. As a musician, I see a clear path to where art of all kinds is threatened in some way by AI. My husband, who is also a musician, recently sent me a number of AI-generated renditions of songs that impressed him. And most of us have heard of the countless AI-generated country songs that have both delighted and horrified people. I do think that in some spaces, AI-generated music could take over. I have had it in my heart for many months to sit down and write some decent music to use in my own YouTube videos. I have a couple of snippets I've used but I've never really taken the time to really compose stuff I feel good about. It's a multi-step process. I have to pull out my MIDI controller keyboard (because I'm a pianist and that's where I'll always start), connect it to some kind of computer, fire up some kind of digital audio workstation (DAW) software, and lay down some tracks. Along the way there are likely to be some bumps. I'll have to update the software. I'll have to download a plugin. Oh, I was on a free trial and that's ended so I have to pay for the software. I'll have to update the computer. I'll have to find the right patches. I'll have to do some editing. And yes, there are AI tools to make some of this less of a hassle, but for the most part, I want my music to be all me even if that means it isn't mathematically perfect. But how many people can't even execute those steps? The same people who use license music or get music from companies that specialize in offering music for content creators are a superset that contains a subset of people that will prefer to skip all that and just have an AI tool spit out a banger in the style of whatever they want. And why not pay for a subscription and have the AI create as much stuff as you like. That's where my mind has been when it comes to AI in the recent months. I haven't been thinking about copyright at all other than getting my own stuff filed as/when appropriate. So, of course Disney, the master of all things copyright, should be the first to step out in this space and try to define the terms under which its IP can be used. I am greatly interested in seeing what curated videos Disney will deem acceptable for its streaming platforms. What will it really mean to be able to use Disney characters in Sora videos? I am sure that there are some thick guardrails currently in development to ensure this does not become an embarrassment for Disney. I don't know that this will result in any new iconic representations of those characters. And there are details that I'm not sure we know. Will there be limits on the volume/output using Disney characters? Does the extra cost to OpenAI insinuate extra cost to Sora users that may want to use these characters in their videos? I have a hard time believing this will be a willy-nilly approach. Disney does not like chaos. I should have strong feelings about this, but it's Disney and they have been such a force for copyright domination that I don't. Over time, more and more of their portfolio will fall into the public domain and while I understand that is concerning from a revenue perspective, I do nevertheless wish they would spend more time creating rather than litigating. They have had so many characters and franchises over the years and if they'd put a little more effort into finding and pushing the successor to Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck and all that stuff, they'd be in a better place. And I'm not saying that they should throw away Mickey Mouse and all that. What I am saying is that for the most part, artists create and keep creating. You may initially or eventually create that masterpiece, that #1 hit, that best-selling book, that award-winning photo, that whatever. But you're likely to keep creating stuff because in your heart you want to create something better than that thing that defined you. Walt Disney died in 1966 and while Disney has continued to create characters ever since then, I'm not sure they've ever really felt they needed a plan for what their halo character or emblem should be once the image of Mickey Mouse goes into the public domain. Of course, it's true that they have trademark protection and versions of the mouse that were created after the Steamboat Willie days are still protected, yet there is this sense that Disney doesn't want to create the thing that is better than what currently defines them. Maybe that's because when Walt died, the artist died and the company we're left with views itself as a steward (landlord?) of past art rather than an innovator for new art. I guess that's why it's a small world for acquisitions and deals after all. **Paramount's Hostile Takeover Bid** Last week, it had not occurred to me that Paramount would strike back (yeah, I'm on theme this week). I think because I am a person who tends to learn the rules and more or less follows them, this seemed like a done deal assuming it could get approved by the FTC and DOJ. Of course, I knew that hostile takeovers happen. Some of them have been market-redefining case studies and reminders for why the word "hostile" is baked in. All the same, I was somewhat surprised to read the news on Monday and see that here was another company saying _I am offering you everything and there is nothing but darkness besides me_. OK, OK, that's not really all that's going on here. What Paramount is really saying is that I kinda need you so I can be everything and I'm not letting you get away without a fight. Look, I'm not the best person to speak on whether Paramount would truly be better if they win this war. I do understand that on paper they have a lot to gain. But if my thoughts on previous stories haven't made it plain, I do think that companies should try to compete and do better and acquisitions and deals aren't always the best path forward. There is still room in the industry for new ideas. Doesn't anyone have any ideas anymore? Do they just want to continue to throw money at old characters and old stories? Sure, it's true that Warner, like Disney, does create new stuff from time to time. But so much of the industry seems more motivated to squeeze as much money out of past hits than to invest time and money into making new hits. Maybe I'm seeing this all from the wrong angle. I know that ultimately these are businesses and businesses are in it for the money and for them it doesn't really matter from which angle that money comes as long as it pours in. I saw a headline saying Paramount says money is no object when it comes to buying WBD. So, they're saying they can make it rain. But making it rain could also mean watering the soil and allowing fresh new plants to sprout. Maybe try making it rain that way, Ellison.

* Chief design officer Alan Dye leaves Apple for Meta * Samsung unveils its dual-fold 10” foldable * Micron stops selling memory to consumers; RAM is for AI now * Netflix agrees to buy Warner Bros ...

The earphones with MEMS drivers keep coming in hot. Today we have a look at the latest from SoundPeats to perhaps topple the Capsule3 Pro+ from its perch. Hardware The Air5 Pro+ (henceforth Air5P+) come in a standard SoundPeats-shaped case. It is very similar to the Capsule3 Pro+ (henceforth C3P+

About a year ago, I learned about a relatively new driver type for consumer wireless headphones, the small but mighty xMEMS driver. xMEMS had been used in microphones for many years but putting them i...

When I was testing the Nothing Ear 3, I got the Robin at about the same time but that first pair had a defective left earphone, and I had to get a replacement set. But just from that first listen with just the right earphone, I suspected the Robin’s

When I was testing the Nothing Ear 3, I got the Robin at about the same time but that first pair had a defective left earphone, and I had to get a replacement set. But just from that first listen with just the right earphone, I suspected the Robin’s audio experience was going to be one I’d likely appreciate. When I did get the replacement set, I was somewhat surprised at how the Robin manages to supply me with an amount of bass that I enjoy but without clouding or muddying up the midrange. Vocals sounded present and clear and instruments sounded the way I expected them to. There was none of the extra bright treble from the Nothing Ear 3 nor was there the overwhelming bass those produce with their out-of-the-box sound. The Robin didn’t strike me as perfectly neutral, but much more balanced than many of the other earphones I’d tested in recent months. Nevertheless, the Robin strikes me as a bit polarizing. The packaging, the case, the audio prompts, and the entire aesthetic are very much classic Moondrop but dialed up quite a bit to accommodate Robin, who, I'm told, is a video game character from _Honkai: Star Rail_. This explains why that name appears on the box. If, like me, you weren't aware of this game, then the entire packaging is lost on you, and it all comes across as very strange. Strange enough that I really wondered who would even push past all this crazy purple packaging to even get to the earphones themselves, but apparently people do. Purple yarn and stuffed Shamu toy not included The Robin introduces themselves (herself?) to you when it starts up and it talks to you as you cycle through modes, saying such delightful phrases in her high-pitched happy voice as “I’ve connected you to the outside world!” or “It’s quieted down now”. There is a silkscreen style picture of Robin on the lid of the earphones case just to ensure you can’t get away from the reality of what you’ve bought. Robin is also pictured on the lid of the charging case I like that Moondrop included a case for the case, so you don’t _have_ to see Robin every time you reach for the earphones. And even better, the case is purple, and purple is my favorite color. You even get a small transparent acrylic plaque (it's the same image as on the front of the retail box) in the box to adorn your desk or nightstand. That’s what it’s for, right? Honestly, all of this is just a little oddball to me. I like my audio gear to have a little less personality. I found myself wondering many times during my testing who would buy this product. It comes across to me, a woman, as expressly girly and even a little childish, but my husband assured me there is a market for this kind of thing. I am not the target demographic, and I would surely never have even looked at these had it not been for a YouTube commenter telling me I should look into them after my brief foray with the SoundPeats H3, which do not work for my ear anatomy. Curious aesthetics and ambience aside, most things work as they should. I was able to successfully connect the Robin to the Moondrop app and change settings and update the firmware to version 1.3.0. I found that I preferred the Robin in their standard EQ preset and I did not spend a lot of time trying to customize a sound I already liked quite a bit. Nevertheless, just as with the Space Travel 2, you can download DSP settings that others have created and try out different sound curves to see what appeals to you. There did not appear to be as many available for the Robin as there were for the Space Travel 2, though. The noise cancelling on the Robin is about average. Because they are earphones with tips that are expected to seal the canal, they block a good amount of noise passively. Enabling ANC blocks out noise fairly well; they were a little bit more effective for me than the Nothing Ear 3, but I think the shape of the Robin and the ever so slightly longer nozzle work better for my ears. I wouldn’t buy the Robin for their noise canceling, but I think it’s fine for use around the house or in an office environment. I’d probably want over-the-ear headphones with stronger ANC for travel and transport. In my collection, I unexpectedly found that the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro (henceforth B3P) provided the best comparison point for the Robin. I say unexpectedly because I rarely listen to the B3P. I bought them after their last major firmware update and at a time when they were on sale and I was able to grab a deal on an open box from Best Buy. I bought them because they have planar drivers and they’re Samsung, so I knew they’d work well for my Samsung-heavy gadget stash. I think I listened to them originally to do some testing and analysis and then promptly put them away because I had other things to take my attention. So, I was legitimately surprised when I pulled them out of their hiding place and pitted them against the Robin as I remembered they also have planar drivers and therefore might make a good competitor. Immediately, I wondered why I never listen to the B3P. Everything was pretty much as I like it; bass that hits hard but doesn’t overwhelm, vocals that are clear and present, treble that isn’t overly bright or peaky. It’s also the way I would describe the Robin. The B3P push the bass just a tad bit harder but the Robin have a more prominent midrange. These differences are slight but noticeable if you are paying attention. What I realized after listening to both of these for lots of A/B testing is that I prefer both of these over many of the other earphones in my collection, including my beloved Creative Aurvana Ace Mimi and the Technics AZ80. And because both of these have some tuning capabilities, you can probably get them both close to your ideal sound curve. The Robin earphones have nice detail and a little bit more airiness to the sound than the B3P but vocals feel up-close and intimate in a way that may not feel as open and wide as the B3P. But I wouldn’t say that either is especially wide in terms of sound stage. This is arguably hard to achieve in earphones anyway, so I don’t even go looking/listening for it except as a point of reference for reviews. I popped in the Robin as I was testing the Nothing Ear 3 and I really shouldn’t have done that because these wrecked the Nothing for me. It seems that the mainstream prefers the stem-style earbud and to be fair, they are more comfortable. But when it comes to fit and seal, I find that the in-ear monitor body style the Robin has works better for my ears in terms of allowing me to get the best out of these earphones. The way stem-style earbuds hang from my ears means you might need a deeper fit for the best sound and most effective noise canceling, but many of these buds of this style don’t have that deeper fit. For casual listening, I prefer a more comfortable fit. But if I want to listen to music for the sake of listening to music, the IEM approach just works better for me. That said, they aren’t at all the most comfortable earphones I’ve ever tried. They are just about as big as they can be and still fit my ears. But I can’t wear them for a long time. After a while, they just start to feel big and unwieldy in my ears and I need to take a break from them. I’d definitely take the B3P in terms of comfort and longer listening sessions. The Moondrop Robin vs. the Moondrop Space Travel 2 The Robin earphones are what I hoped in some respects to get from my time with the SoundPeats H3. The H3 have very nicely presented midrange, but if they don’t work for your ears - as they don’t for mine - you don’t get the benefit of the low end that they can produce. I can get a taste of it if I shove them in my ears and hold them in place, but I can’t live like that. The Robin earphones give me that bit of bass without having to experience such instant discomfort but still give me that immersive midrange I crave. The Moondrop app gave me only a few hiccups. It usually takes a while to connect to the earbuds, but once connected, it generally worked fine for me. I had an issue with a firmware update, but trying again it worked fine. In the app you can modify ANC, gain, EQ presets, load up DSP presets, and update firmware. There does not seem to be any way to modify the control scheme, and you don’t get volume controls. This isn’t a deal killer for me, but I know it is for many people. In the end, I find that I am very happy with the Robin but I’m also pretty happy with the B3P. It is nice to have planar drivers in earphones that are available for the mass market and aren’t relegated to audiophile and audio nerds anymore. The Robin’s retail price is lower than the B3P, so I’d steer people that way if they’re interested in this type of driver, but the B3P are often on sale and with the Buds 4 Pro surely on the horizon, they’ll probably become even cheaper. So many options. Only two ears. Note: Links below are Amazon affiliate links. Buying products using these links helps support me by allowing me to continue buying products to review here and on my YouTube channel (YouTube review link below). To buy at Amazon: Amazon.com: Moondrop Robin Earphone Honkai Star Rail Robin’s Earphones TWS Hybrid Dynamic Driver + Planar Driver ANC TWS Earphones (English Version) : ElectronicsBuy Moondrop Robin Earphone Honkai Star Rail Robin’s Earphones TWS Hybrid Dynamic Driver + Planar Driver ANC TWS Earphones (English Version): Earbud Headphones - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases<img alt="Moondrop Robin Earphone Honkai Star Rail Robin's Earphones TWS Hybrid Dynamic Driver + Planar Dri..." src="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/aplus-media-library-service-media/e3acacc6-f583-4e8b-b72f-4e3793a8289e.__AC_SR166,182___.jpg"/> YouTube review:

YouTube video by J.P. Whiteside