Meta’s Smart Glasses Get a Display - DTNS 5107  ## Metadata - Author: [[Daily Tech News Show]] - Full Title: Meta’s Smart Glasses Get a Display - DTNS 5107 - Category: #podcasts - URL: https://share.snipd.com/episode/97369e12-d84e-4399-95cb-44959927520b ## Document Notes ## Highlights - **Meta Adds A Real Display To Ray‑Bans** - Meta's new Ray-Ban Display glasses put a 600x600, 20° color LCoS display in the right lens for lightweight info overlays. - The display targets short tasks like messages, directions, captions, and small videos rather than immersive AR. Transcript: Tom Merritt Okay, lots to talk about here, but the big one is the smart glasses with a display. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg kicked off Meta's Connect developer conference on Wednesday evening. Nice little, you know, fireside chat feel with his evening announcement. Most anticipated announcement was the Meta Ray-Ban display. The first smart glasses with Meta having a display in them. If you want to be specific, it's a full color L-COS display. Not L-CARS, Star Trek fans, L-COS, L-C With a reflective waveguide. So you don't really see it unless you look really hard at the glasses because it reflects onto the glasses. You might see a little bit of a gradient in there if you look really close. It is not an immersive display. It's not meant to be. It's a 20 degree field of view. So it's like a small square, 600 by 600 pixels, shows up in the right side of your view. It's on the right lens only, but it can get up to 5,000 nits of brightness. So when you're outside in sunlight, you should be able to see it still. You can watch small videos on it. You can read messages. You can get info like directions. You can even make video calls, although Mark Zuckerberg couldn't because the demo failed when he was trying to do it. It can also show you a preview of what's in a connected phone's camera. So if you are making a video call, you could use that and then see what you look like. It can show you live captions of what someone is saying to you, which could be good if you're hearing impaired, but also could be used for live translation. The display disappears when it's not in use. So most of the time you won't see the display. You control it by swiping along the frame as you do with regular Ray-Bans or with a new metaneural band. This is available in three sizes. You put it around your wrist and it uses electromyography or EMG to detect your muscle movements. It kind of detects the electrical activity in your wrist muscles, and that allows you to use gestures. So you can swipe a thumb across your hand. Pinching the thumb and index finger gives you select. Thumb and middle finger gives you back. Double tapping the thumb activates the voice assistant, and you can twist your hand to control things like music volume as if you were turning a knob. Later this year, Meta promises it will get the ability to recognize handwriting done in the air. It also promises 18 hours of battery life. Like the other non-visual smart glasses from Meta, has a 12 megapixel camera, has 1080p video, and it can go six hours on a charge. So the wrist thing has 18 hours of battery life, the glasses, six hours. And if you put them in the case, you can get an additional 30 hours of them. At launch, it doesn't work with everything. You're not going to be able to mirror stuff. So there's a pairing situation going on and each app has to support it. It works with Meta AI's app, of course, works with Facebook Messenger. It works with WhatsApp. There's a special app for it coming from Spotify. And Instagram will only support it for direct messages at launch, though they say they're going to add Reels playback later this year. The Meta Ray-Ban display glasses go on sale September 30th for $799. ([Time 0:03:03](https://share.snipd.com/snip/156c7236-5cf4-40da-9e19-77cb1827de56)) - **Try Before You Buy For Fit And Visibility** - Try the glasses in person before buying since the display is subtle and available in limited sizes and finishes. - Visit a retailer for fitting and to evaluate brightness, comfort, and app compatibility before paying $799. Transcript: Tom Merritt So most of the time you won't see the display. You control it by swiping along the frame as you do with regular Ray-Bans or with a new metaneural band. This is available in three sizes. You put it around your wrist and it uses electromyography or EMG to detect your muscle movements. It kind of detects the electrical activity in your wrist muscles, and that allows you to use gestures. So you can swipe a thumb across your hand. Pinching the thumb and index finger gives you select. Thumb and middle finger gives you back. Double tapping the thumb activates the voice assistant, and you can twist your hand to control things like music volume as if you were turning a knob. Later this year, Meta promises it will get the ability to recognize handwriting done in the air. It also promises 18 hours of battery life. Like the other non-visual smart glasses from Meta, has a 12 megapixel camera, has 1080p video, and it can go six hours on a charge. So the wrist thing has 18 hours of battery life, the glasses, six hours. And if you put them in the case, you can get an additional 30 hours of them. ([Time 0:04:36](https://share.snipd.com/snip/791658d6-0748-4633-a044-c6d01ecfda7d)) - **Wristband EMG Controls Complement The Display** - Meta pairs the glasses with a metaneural wristband that uses EMG for gesture control and promises future in-air handwriting recognition. - Separation of controls (wristband) and display (right lens) signals Meta's phased approach to wearables input and accessibility. Transcript: Tom Merritt This is available in three sizes. You put it around your wrist and it uses electromyography or EMG to detect your muscle movements. It kind of detects the electrical activity in your wrist muscles, and that allows you to use gestures. So you can swipe a thumb across your hand. Pinching the thumb and index finger gives you select. Thumb and middle finger gives you back. Double tapping the thumb activates the voice assistant, and you can twist your hand to control things like music volume as if you were turning a knob. Later this year, Meta promises it will get the ability to recognize handwriting done in the air. ([Time 0:04:48](https://share.snipd.com/snip/a85b2703-156c-4d5e-8c99-1dd9fa15927f)) - **Battery And App Limits Shape Real‑World Use** - The glasses offer 6-hour active use with 30 extra hours from the case while the wristband claims 18 hours. - App support is limited at launch, so functionality depends on individual apps adding compatibility. Transcript: Tom Merritt So the wrist thing has 18 hours of battery life, the glasses, six hours. And if you put them in the case, you can get an additional 30 hours of them. At launch, it doesn't work with everything. You're not going to be able to mirror stuff. So there's a pairing situation going on and each app has to support it. It works with Meta AI's app, of course, works with Facebook Messenger. It works with WhatsApp. There's a special app for it coming from Spotify. ([Time 0:05:38](https://share.snipd.com/snip/0ca754eb-31e8-49d3-8e24-5e44b730ba62)) - **Comparison To Early Wayfarer First‑Gen** - Tom compared the new glasses to first‑gen Wayfarer smart glasses that had poor battery and capture. - He sees the Ray-Ban Display as an early first generation that shows a path for future improvement. Transcript: Tom Merritt But Jen, what do you think of these? Jenn Cutter Because I am selfish. I'm thinking like, do I have a use case for this? I don't. But for accessibility reasons, I can see this really taking off. There's so much good in there to help people who maybe just like, I know the audio ones do a lot, but having the video aspect of it is just going to add a lot for people. Like I'm kind of thinking of like, if my grandma was still around, I would kind of be tempted to get this for her so she can still go around downtown Toronto and get the easy directions, But also have that comfort of having the visual thing right in front of her when she needs it. Yeah. Tom Merritt These remind me of the first gen Wayfarer glasses that they don't sell anymore that had like 20 minutes of battery life and, you know, barely could capture anything, you know, uh, 720p And like these are, these show the way for the next model. These are very first gen. ([Time 0:06:37](https://share.snipd.com/snip/d62a2391-f757-49a4-978c-c988cab0036b)) - **Sport‑Focused Smart Glasses Target Athletes** - Oakley Meta Vanguards target athletes with wraparound fit, helmet‑friendly controls, IP67 rating, and Garmin/Strava integration. - They prioritize louder audio, 3K video, and longer battery life for sports capture and performance telemetry. Transcript: Tom Merritt The Oakley Meta Vanguards were announced. We just got the Oakley Houstons earlier this year, but the Vanguards are wraparound smart glasses meant for sports. So you're snowboarding, you're mountain biking, you're going to want to look at these. The button for video and photos is on the underside of the frame. So if you're wearing a helmet, which you should be, if you're doing those kinds of sports, you can get to that button easier. They claim nine hours of battery life, can do 3K video. Speakers are six decibels louder and they're IP67 dust and water resistant. They're also designed to connect with Garmin fitness wearables. So you can hear your stats and use the meta AI assistant to ask it about your stats. It also can connect to Strava and show performance graphics or tell you performance graphics. They sell for $499, shipping October 21st. So they're $100 more than the Oakley Houston's. And you can choose four frames and lens colors. ([Time 0:08:21](https://share.snipd.com/snip/81467fde-32b4-4e89-b4c7-8fddea933fd9)) - **Wanting Sports Glasses For Hockey Footage** - Jenn said she wants the Oakley Vanguards for capturing hockey and skating under a helmet, praising the retro reflective look. - She noted the glasses fit her sports filming needs better than Ray-Bans but are costly in Canadian currency. Transcript: Jenn Cutter I want them. I want them so bad. Now it's, it's slightly unfair to judge them from the excellent Red Bull presentation they did. Cause if you need a hype sports presentation, that's sick on video, you go to Red Bull, but I have wanted to be able to show people hockey for years and years and years. I've tried every kind of GoPro configuration. The Ray-Bans are not good for this, but this is perfect. It fits under my helmet. It will hopefully allow people to show skating and the fluidity of hockey without making them motion sick. Yeah. But it is definitely way out of my price range once you make it into Canadian dollars. But I hope that others will do this. And I'd love to see the NHL jump on this outside of Red Bull make their own videos. Tom Merritt Yeah, this is definitely going to be an extreme sports thing, but I hadn't even thought about arena sports. You're right. Jenn Cutter Yeah, well, if it fits under a helmet, let's go. ([Time 0:09:22](https://share.snipd.com/snip/dc5abe84-fdeb-43d2-805a-6b54ce06e5b6)) - **Incremental Hardware Upgrades Continue** - Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 improves audio models with eight-hour battery and 3K video but increases price to $379. - Incremental hardware iterations show Meta's gradual approach to improving wearables usability. Transcript: Tom Merritt That's cool. Also, we got an upgrade to the Ray-Ban Meta. They are now called Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2s. These are audio-only smart glasses. But if you haven't bought them or if, like me, you're still stuck on the earliest, almost useless gen, the battery life is now eight hours. That's up from four on the previous version. And they upgraded the video to 3K. Price also went up as well from $299 to $379. And those are available now. ([Time 0:10:23](https://share.snipd.com/snip/d9724c65-3133-43fa-af6c-bda02486806f)) - **Meta Upgrades Horizon For Scale And Video** - Meta updated Horizon Worlds with a new engine claiming 4x faster load and 100 users per instance, aiming to scale virtual gatherings. - Horizon TV Hub aggregates streaming inside Quest headsets, aligning VR with familiar TV‑app models. Transcript: Tom Merritt The Horizon TV Hub is a new way to watch video and Quest headsets. So it aggregates video from multiple sources in one place. It's kind of like the Apple TV app or the Google TV app, which brings together Disney, Amazon, Peacock, Twitch, and some movies from Blumhouse and Universal. As for the Metaverse, the Meta Horizon World's engine has been replaced. So for those of you who use Horizon to hang out in a virtual world, you're getting Meta's own Horizon engine, which it says will load four times faster and increase the number of participants On one instance to 100 at a time. ([Time 0:10:55](https://share.snipd.com/snip/3310d87a-93fd-4ba0-8fc3-87fc91c89a1f)) - **NVIDIA Stakes Intel To Lock In Collaboration** - NVIDIA is taking a 4–5% stake in Intel as part of a partnership to integrate NVLink and make Intel x86 RTX SoCs. - The deal could secure Intel sales and pave toward deeper cooperation or future consolidation between the companies. Transcript: Tom Merritt NVIDIA and Intel announced a joint partnership on Thursday, which sees NVIDIA take a four to 5% stake in Intel and work on a bunch of other stuff together. The two companies are going to integrate NVIDIA's NVLink data and control code interface into Intel CPUs. That'll be attractive to data center enterprise level folks. Intel will make a line of x86 CPUs specifically made for NVIDIA's AI infrastructure platform. Again, another attractive thing for people building data centers, could sell Intel some more chips. And for us home users, Intel will integrate NVIDIA RTX GPU chiplets into its x86 system on a chip to come in a wide range of PCs, especially gaming PCs. Those will be called the Intel x86 RTX SOCs. Jenn Cutter See, like we're all pretty in this, like we follow Intel, we follow NVIDIA. And by we, I am including all of you lovely listeners out there. But like, if I asked any of my normie friends, they would be able to name Intel as a chip manufacturer, but have no idea about the health of it or how it is struggling right now. I suppose that's true. Tom Merritt Although Intel has made some mainstream news when the United States government took a stake or announced that it would take a stake in Intel. So that may have made a few more people aware of the troubles Intel has. But yeah, as followers of this show know, Intel has been on the rocks. It's gone through multiple CEOs. It's been declining. You know, it's not going out of business anytime soon, but it's had problems. This really points the way to a future for Intel where it's got a very successful client, so a built-in supply of chip sales, and possibly a long-term route for merger or acquisition With NVIDIA down the road. It starts with a 4% to 5% stake. ([Time 0:17:06](https://share.snipd.com/snip/f8a35f01-f5de-415a-8efb-ad6d7b2c235e)) - **Deal Could Reinvigorate Intel's Product Roadmap** - The NVIDIA‑Intel partnership may create Intel CPUs optimized for NVIDIA AI infrastructure and integrated RTX GPU chiplets for PCs. - This could revive Intel's market position by guaranteeing customers optimized x86+GPU solutions. Transcript: Tom Merritt No matter what, this is good news for Intel. It's going to sell more chips and it's got a positive looking future marketplace that it didn't have before. Yeah. Jenn Cutter And in terms of like, obviously they've done well with businesses and stuff, but to get this kind of integrated gaming thing, gamers are also the other market that have continued to Buy high-end hardware. ([Time 0:19:06](https://share.snipd.com/snip/db593cac-bd94-4050-9766-a3251f9c3ebe)) - **Watch For Intel x86 RTX SoC Options** - If you need integrated graphics, consider Intel x86 RTX SoCs as a potential future option for gaming and second PCs. - Keep an eye on product announcements before assuming all gamers will accept integrated GPUs. Transcript: Tom Merritt And if you're, I know most people listening who play video games are probably going to say, I don't want an integrated GPU, but if you did, or if you had to, or if it was a second PC, wouldn't It be nice for it to be an NVIDIA RTX? ([Time 0:19:32](https://share.snipd.com/snip/f11b976f-45fa-4008-a316-1f79295435f1)) - **Case Mic Extends Earbud Functionality** - Nothing Ear 3 uses a microphone in the case for superior beamforming and can serve as an external mic for certain apps. - The case mic supports multiple conferencing apps, making it useful for mobile creators and calls. Transcript: Jenn Cutter That mic has better beam forming than you could fit in earbuds, so you can block out everything that isn't your voice. It works with some but not all apps, including Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, WhatsApp, and WeChat for calls and voice members for both Android and iOS, as well as Blackmagic's video app. The Ear 3s are available to order now for $179 and ship September 25th. Tom Merritt That's interesting. I'm not sure if it's enough to make me get the nothing Ear 3s, but it's an interesting option. And if anybody has these and tries it out, let us know how that works. ([Time 0:19:56](https://share.snipd.com/snip/9a893f99-d385-4028-a9c0-1592075cdde5)) - **China Moves Influence AI Hardware Availability** - Geopolitics affect AI hardware: China briefly restricted NVIDIA RTX Pro 6000D purchases but then signaled openness to supply chain dialogue. - Those mixed signals matter for AI hardware availability and the broader TikTok/framework negotiation context. Transcript: Jenn Cutter A twofer. Tom Merritt Flexibility. Friday is the scheduled call between the presidents of China and the U.S., after which supposedly we will get details on the sale of TikTok's U.S. Operation. Meanwhile, the strategic pieces keep moving around in the background. This is all China trying to position itself for leverage in that final deal. China ended its antitrust probe into Google over the dominance of Android. One can suspect maybe that was a condition of this deal that the U.S. Put forth. It also appeared to soften a bit regarding NVIDIA. Earlier in the week, if you missed it, the Cyberspace Administration of China ordered ByteDance, Alibaba, and other companies to stop testing and cancel orders for NVIDIA's RTX Pro 6000D. That's not as popular, you probably haven't heard of it as much as the H20, which is for data centers. The 6000D is for workstations. So it allows you to do AI development, some 3D rendering on the workstation. China's ministry spokesperson told a press conference on Thursday that it will keep dialogue open regarding supply chains. ([Time 0:20:50](https://share.snipd.com/snip/3cb80985-5dc1-4d14-bfa5-e08d84fadbf7)) - **Frameworks Signal Momentum, Not Certainty** - A framework deal on TikTok's US sale suggests progress but not certainty; setbacks and softening rhetoric can coexist. - Tom rates the odds of a finalized deal at about 72% given recent extensions and diplomatic signals. Transcript: Tom Merritt This is all China trying to position itself for leverage in that final deal. China ended its antitrust probe into Google over the dominance of Android. One can suspect maybe that was a condition of this deal that the U.S. Put forth. It also appeared to soften a bit regarding NVIDIA. Earlier in the week, if you missed it, the Cyberspace Administration of China ordered ByteDance, Alibaba, and other companies to stop testing and cancel orders for NVIDIA's RTX Pro 6000D. That's not as popular, you probably haven't heard of it as much as the H20, which is for data centers. The 6000D is for workstations. So it allows you to do AI development, some 3D rendering on the workstation. China's ministry spokesperson told a press conference on Thursday that it will keep dialogue open regarding supply chains. Now, that's far from saying we will reverse that decision about prohibiting purchases of RTX Pro 6000Ds. But it's something you would not expect them to say if they were going to maintain a hard line on that. Jenn Cutter Yeah, I think as we've learned recently across the board, anytime you hear about a framework deal, you know that there's very little imprint in stone and anything can happen. But yeah, from China, this is a step. You don't usually hear this kind of soft speaking out of it. Yeah. Tom Merritt And I think it's almost just as wrong to say, well, a framework deal means nothing, which is not what you were saying, of course, but somebody might, right? It's just as wrong to say that as to say a framework deal means it's all done. Framework deal means we think we can finish it. But especially when you're dealing with these two, it's far from a guarantee. I have a feeling this is going to happen. ([Time 0:21:04](https://share.snipd.com/snip/fd4fda87-92eb-4548-99b6-c36c254cc8db)) - **Prepare For Steam's 64‑Bit Transition** - Expect Steam to drop 32‑bit Windows app support next year and migrate to 64‑bit only. - Developers and players should plan for compatibility but Steam will still run 32‑bit games via other means. Transcript: Jenn Cutter Valve announced it will convert its Steam app to 64-bit soon and stop supporting the 32-bit version of the Windows app starting next year. Windows 10 is soon to enter extended support, and it is the only version of Windows available in 32-bit. You'll still be able to play 32-bit games in Steam. You just won't get a 32-bit version of the Steam app. Tom Merritt Yeah, the news here to me was like Steam is still a 32-bit app. I didn't know that. Jenn Cutter Yeah, I did not know that as well. I'm trying to think of like what was the last 32-bit system I owned, but I'd have to reach pretty far back for that. Tom Merritt And it runs on your 64-bit Windows systems just fine, but they're going to fix that. And when they do, that means they're not going to support the old one. They're not going to maintain two versions of it, which makes sense as, you know, Windows 10 is 64-bit most of the time. It's just the only one that does do a 32-bit system. ([Time 0:23:36](https://share.snipd.com/snip/4af491dd-6ed9-41e1-9d1d-ab2f4fb4bfbb)) - **Copilot Features Enter Core Windows Apps** - Microsoft is adding Copilot features into Notepad, Paint, and Snipping Tool on Copilot Plus PCs, blending local and cloud AI. - These small but practical updates show Microsoft embedding AI into everyday productivity tools. Transcript: Tom Merritt So if you have a Copilot Plus PC, Notepad can now do summarize, write, and rewrite Copilot features without you needing to subscribe to Microsoft 365. And you may say, oh, because they do it on the Copilot processor, which is true. But that also includes cloud processing. If you want, you can choose to do that. Paint gets the option to save project files so you can resume work on them later. And an opacity slider for the pencil and brush tools. And the snipping tool gets a markup feature. ([Time 0:24:35](https://share.snipd.com/snip/b7764850-f1ec-4bf6-9981-89104b6ed4c2)) - **India Drives Gemini 2.5 Adoption** - India leads adoption of Google's Gemini 2.5 (Nano Banana), with Gemini topping free app charts there. - Regional AI usage patterns can diverge significantly from global trends. Transcript: Jenn Cutter India is the country making the most use of Gemini 2.5 flash image, aka Nano Banana. Gemini is at the top of the free app charts for both Google and Apple in India. ([Time 0:25:57](https://share.snipd.com/snip/a93b41f7-9f38-4170-aadc-1182418bbd34)) - **MicroCo Repackages Short‑Form Drama For Phones** - MicroCo revives the Quibi idea by producing ultra‑short vertical dramas of 1–3 minutes optimized for phones and platform distribution. - Their studio model focuses on vertical format, platform neutrality, and Hollywood networks instead of a closed app. Transcript: Jenn Cutter Will that help? Tom asked Andy Beach to help us decide. Tom Merritt Andy, thanks so much for bringing us the latest Quibi. Andy Beach It feels like it's the same thing all over again, doesn't it, Tom? Tom Merritt Yeah, maybe they'll do a Quibi-ized version of Groundhog Day. So tell me about MicroCo, which is an amazing name for a company that is going to try once again to do high quality short form video. What are they doing that will help them succeed where others like Quibi have not? Andy Beach Well, so this was a New York Times article I found, and I was fascinated by it because I do think there has been a lot of talk recently in particular. I would say within the last two months, I've seen a lot of content around micro dramas and short form fictional works, in part a lot because of sort of the power of AI to do productions. And because of the expense of AI for long form, it's still being used for short form. So this new startup out of LA, it's called MicroCo. They are coming back at the Quibi model with a few subtle differences that I think will help. It's co-founded by a Hollywood veteran, Lloyd Braun. It's backed by Cineverse and Banyan Ventures. And they're looking to create ultra short dramas. So they're targeting the one to three minute range. And they are looking at it just being optimized for a vertical phone viewing. ([Time 0:27:41](https://share.snipd.com/snip/9e840351-fc8a-4cc1-9b2d-2723cccc0442)) - **AI Lowers Cost And Guides Content Decisions** - MicroCo plans heavy use of AI to cut animation costs (claims up to 90%) and to analyze audience data for iterative content choices. - They will adapt Cineverse's back catalog and use AI metrics to select stories likely to succeed in micro drama format. Transcript: Andy Beach They believe that they can get particularly, and there is a pretty heavy focus right now on animated as an early start. And they believe that AI will reduce their animation cost by as much as 90% or effectively making it about $1 hundred dollars per minute for these finished works that's crazy uh i know Tom Merritt This is huge in china i'm trying to look up the uh the name of one of these that my wife watches all the time uh on viki but there's these you know these short animated adventures you know That are 10 minutes long which is a little longer than what we're talking about here uh but there's ones that are even shorter. Andy Beach Uh, it is, well, they are a lot of those, uh, a lot, this is definitely adapted from Asian micro dramas, which are popular in Korea, China, Japan, multiple places. They often are, even though the, the dramas themselves might be anywhere from one to three minutes, but they're usually multi-episode. And those episodes for what we think of as a season or a complete story could be as many as 60 different episodes. Yeah, yeah. Tom Merritt I think it was called Soul Land, the one that I'm looking for. Andy Beach Yeah, yeah. I have seen that one online before. And I think the reality is they're trying to tell still potentially an hour long story. They're just doing it over 61 minute episodes. Tom Merritt Okay. So, so they're using some generative models to get the cost down, which, you know, a bunch of people are going to be angry about that, but maybe they can still get celebrities to join them Despite that. That that's going to be a little complicated, I guess, in Hollywood. But otherwise, if they have good stories and if they are not gatekeeping it, it seems like, okay, it'll be easy for people to discover them, which is one of the things that brought down Quibi is people had to download Quibi to watch it. What else is going to make them stand out besides just the production value? Like, is there, are they using any AI or other things to try to figure out, you know, how to meet public tastes? Andy Beach So one of the first things they're doing is they are using back catalog. Cineverse has an existing 71,000 title library, and part of it will be taking and adapting some of that existing content into a micro drama format. So they have a rich pool to start. And what they will likely then do is use AI to very closely scrutinize and monitor what's being successful and what's not, and use that to make decisions about the types of new content That they're creating out of the gate. So they're not necessarily going to rush out and empower a wide range of artists to just go create anything. And then, you know, one out of five, or really in Hollywood, it's probably one out of 30 is successful. They're going to start with some existing material, which is always cheaper to start with to begin with. And then they can use the results of that to really go pick and choose the right kinds of stories that fit the micro drama or the short form content in a more serious way. ([Time 0:30:53](https://share.snipd.com/snip/e57a5f08-52a2-4e67-ac79-d5127adfc4c9)) - **Micro Episodes Can Build Long Serialized Stories** - Micro dramas often string many one‑to‑three minute episodes into longer serialized arcs, mirroring popular Asian micro‑drama formats. - This episodic micro format lets creators tell hour‑long stories across dozens of tiny installments. Transcript: Tom Merritt Love this idea of stakes within three seconds, dramatic hooks by 23. Boom, boom, stamp it out. We know the formula. Honestly, people who make shorts tell me the same thing. Andy Beach I was at the Brian Brushwood weird things seminar and it felt like I was listening to him. If he read this article, he would be violently nodding along. Fantastic. Tom Merritt Well, I now have MicroCo on my radar. And so I don't know if it'll be obvious when something comes from MicroCo. I don't know if they'll have a big MicroCo branding on it or not, but I'll be looking to see if I can identify what's coming from them. This is cool, Andy. Thanks for bringing this to us. Andy Beach Yeah, no, absolutely. I'll be keeping an eye on it. ([Time 0:34:00](https://share.snipd.com/snip/8ec52a1e-6800-4099-a2fc-6df9314906e8)) - **Four Ways To Unlock Means Four Attack Surfaces** - Anonymous Picker warned that a lock offering four unlock methods increases attack surfaces and may mean more ways to break in. - Tom cautioned that most household locks already have vulnerabilities and risk must be judged by individual threat models. Transcript: Jenn Cutter Today, Anonymous Picker was among several people to have a concern about TCL's new four-way door lock. Tom Merritt Right, because it gave you four different ways to unlock it, Picker wrote. As someone who has a background in both lockpicking and cybersecurity, I wouldn't say I'm excited about the smart lock mentioned in a recent DTNS episode, which touts the ease of having Four ways to open it. When I hear that, I hear this lock has four ways to crack it. If you trust the company, that might be fine, but you are asserting that you believe the vendor is an expert at preventing all those attacks. Maybe this vendor is the one that can do it, but every week I see examples where vendors didn't anticipate an issue with something because it wasn't their main area of focus. To help folks understand the risks, there's a great online account called The Lockpicking Lawyer. It's an eye-opening resource for understanding the vulnerabilities that folks might want to be aware of before making a purchase. And no, I'm not affiliated with that account. I just agree with the insights I've seen there. Keep up the good work. Love the show. Anonymous Picker. Jenn Cutter I would love to also second The Lockpickingicking lawyer. It showed up in my recommendations years ago and I was like, fine, I'll click. And I was like, oh man, this is fascinating. It is excellent production. It's very informative and really fun. It's worth checking out. Tom Merritt Without disagreeing with anything our anonymous picker said, and without me intending to undermine the message, I would say that this is kind of true of all locks. Like most people don't have the most secure lock on their house that they could get. Locks can be picked if someone really wants to. Adding three more ways to pick it to me probably doesn't appreciably increase the risk for most people because someone could just do a good old-fashioned lock pick on a lock with only One way to get into it. ([Time 0:37:36](https://share.snipd.com/snip/06a7d7e7-521b-41a0-aa3e-289fc47f7821))