The Rabbit R1 is Just an App??
Summary
TLDRThe podcast episode features a lively discussion on various tech-related topics. The hosts start by debating the potential of YouTube Shorts being extended beyond one minute, considering user engagement and content depth. They then delve into their experiences with the Rabbit R1, an AI assistant device, discussing its bright orange design, functionality, and the recent software update that improved battery life and user interface. The conversation also touches on the Bird Buddy app, a social media platform for bird enthusiasts, and the rise in birding-related sales for Nikon. In the tech news segment, they cover Tesla's unexpected layoff of its supercharger team and the implications for the EV market. The hosts express their excitement for upcoming headphone reviews and discuss the Meta Quest's new features. The episode concludes with trivia questions that blend technology and ornithology, providing both entertainment and education.
Takeaways
- 📺 The podcast discusses the potential for YouTube Shorts to extend beyond one minute, with varying opinions on the ideal length for short-form content.
- 🎵 The hosts share their experiences with the Bird Buddy app, which identifies bird species through a bird feeder equipped with a camera and shares the footage on a social media-like platform.
- 🚗 A conversation about Tesla's decision to lay off their entire supercharger team, which is a surprising move considering the importance of the supercharger network for electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
- 🎧 Thoughts on various headphone products, including the Nothing Ear (1) and Ear (2), Bose's clip-on earbuds, and the Fairphone Fair Buds, are shared, highlighting their features, sound quality, and design.
- 📡 Discussion about the Meta Quest's new update allowing it to view immersive panoramic images, and the potential for the Horizon OS to be licensed to third parties, similar to how Android is used across various devices.
- 📱 The revelation that the Rabbit R1's OS can be side-loaded onto a Google Pixel phone, leading to debates on whether the device should just be an app rather than standalone hardware.
- 🕊️ A trivia question about a bird-themed app that Microsoft advertised for Windows Phone 7 but wasn't actually available on the platform, which turned out to be Angry Birds.
- 🔊 Commentary on the sound quality and user experience of different earbuds, with a focus on comfort, battery life, and noise cancellation features.
- 📸 A brief mention of the Nikon brand's rise in sales, potentially due to the increase in birdwatching and the challenge of capturing fast-moving birds in photography.
- 🤔 Contemplation on the future of AI assistants and their potential integration with smartphones, as well as the impact of companies like Google and Apple on the market.
- 📸 Discussion on the appeal of the Rabbit R1's design and color, and how physical product design can create hype and desire for a product beyond its functional app-based equivalent.
Q & A
What is the main topic of discussion in the beginning of the transcript?
-The main topic of discussion in the beginning of the transcript is the concept of YouTube Shorts and the idea of potentially extending their length beyond one minute.
What app is mentioned for identifying birds and providing related information?
-The app mentioned for identifying birds and providing related information is Bird Buddy.
What was the reason behind Tesla laying off their entire supercharger team?
-The reason behind Tesla laying off their entire supercharger team is assumed to be cost-cutting, as referenced in the discussion about the company's stock price and profit margins.
What is the common name of the bird with the scientific name 'Cyanothis caerulea'?
-The common name of the bird with the scientific name 'Cyanothis caerulea' is not provided in the transcript, but a trivia question related to birds is mentioned, which suggests that it might be a type of finch.
What is the significance of the term 'NACS' in the context of electric vehicle charging?
-NACS (presumably referring to a charging standard or network) is significant because it is mentioned as a point where other EV manufacturers are switching their ports or shipping adapters to be compatible with Tesla's Supercharger Network.
What is the general sentiment towards the idea of extending the length of YouTube Shorts?
-The general sentiment towards extending the length of YouTube Shorts is mixed, with some participants expressing the need for more time to convey their thoughts, while others argue that the current limit prevents content from becoming too long.
What is the discussion about the future of the Tesla Supercharger Network?
-The discussion suggests that despite Tesla's decision to lay off their supercharger team, there is an expectation that the network will continue to grow, albeit at a slower pace, with a focus on maintenance and uptime rather than rapid expansion.
What is the Bird Buddy app and how does it work?
-The Bird Buddy app is a social media platform centered around birds. It connects to a bird feeder that sends notifications when birds are present. Users can view live footage, identify bird species, and share their bird encounters with others.
What is the discussion about the Nikon company?
-The discussion about Nikon highlights the company's recent increase in sales, which is attributed to the growing popularity of birding as a hobby. The challenge of photographing fast-moving birds has led to increased interest in Nikon's products.
What is the debate about the utility of having a separate device like the Rabbit R1 instead of an app on a smartphone?
-The debate centers around the practicality and added value of a dedicated device like the Rabbit R1 versus using an app on a smartphone. The participants discuss the marketing appeal and physical presence of a standalone device, despite the functionality potentially being replicated on a phone.
What is the discussion about the potential of large language models in AI assistants?
-The discussion explores the future possibilities of large language models in AI assistants, suggesting that these models could offer significant improvements in functionality and user experience, but also acknowledging the current limitations of such devices.
Outlines
😀 Podcast Discussion on YouTube Shorts and Bird Buddy App
The podcast begins with a conversation about YouTube Shorts and the limitations of the one-minute format. The hosts discuss their experiences with the Bird Buddy app, which allows users to identify bird species through their feeders. They talk about the app's features, such as live streaming, species identification, and the social media aspect of sharing bird sightings.
🚗 Tesla's Unexpected Layoff of Supercharger Team
The discussion shifts to Tesla's surprising decision to lay off its entire supercharger team. The supercharger network is a significant advantage for Tesla, and the hosts express their concerns about the future growth and maintenance of the network. They also touch upon the potential impact on other EV manufacturers that were planning to use the Tesla supercharger network.
📡 The Future of Meta's Horizon OS and VR Technology
The hosts talk about Meta's decision to license its Horizon OS to third parties, which could potentially lead to more widespread adoption of VR technology. They discuss the implications of this move for the metaverse and the possibility of a gaming-focused VR collaboration between Meta and Xbox.
🕶️ Experience with Meta Glasses and the Evolution of VR
The conversation includes a host's personal experience using Meta Glasses on vacation and the impressive first-person perspective they provide. They discuss the potential for using such devices in various scenarios and the continuous improvement of VR technology, including the recent update to the Quest 3 for viewing immersive panoramic images.
🎧 Review and Update on Rabbit R1 AI Device
The hosts share their updated thoughts on the Rabbit R1, an AI device that has received an OTA update to improve battery life and other functionalities. They discuss the device's bright orange color, the challenges of reviewing unfinished gadgets, and the improvements made by the update, including better standby battery life and a more responsive scroll wheel.
📱 The Dilemma of Smartphone-like AI Assistants
The discussion focuses on the question of why consumers would need a device like the Rabbit R1 when they already have smartphones. The hosts ponder the future of AI assistants and the potential for these devices to become more integrated into daily life, especially if they can offer unique benefits beyond what smartphones currently provide.
🎵 Headphone Roundup and Review
The hosts review various headphones and earbuds, discussing their experiences with different models, including the Nothing Ear (1), Bose earbuds with a clip-on design, Fairphone's repairable earbuds, and the Beats Solo 4. They cover aspects such as sound quality, comfort, design, and special features like wireless charging and noise cancellation.
🐦 Trivia Questions Involving Birds and Technology
The podcast concludes with a trivia segment where the hosts answer questions related to birds and technology. They discuss the scientific name of a bird and its common name, as well as a past controversy involving Microsoft and a bird-themed app that was featured in advertising but not yet available on Windows Phone 7.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡YouTube Shorts
💡Bird Buddy App
💡Nikon Sales
💡Tesla Supercharger Network
💡Meta Horizon OS
💡Rabbit R1
💡Android Authority
💡Twitter Thread
💡Instagram Reels
💡Bluetooth Headphones
💡TikTok Algorithm
Highlights
Discussion on the limitations of YouTube Shorts being only one minute long and the desire for longer content.
Introduction of the Waveform podcast with hosts Marquez, Andrew, and David, covering a mix of tech stories.
Mention of the Bird app, a social media platform for bird watching, and its features like live video and species identification.
Debate on the importance of the Tesla Supercharger network and the surprising layoff of the team managing it.
Talk about the rising interest in birding and its impact on camera sales, particularly for Nikon.
Meta's decision to license the Horizon OS to third parties, potentially expanding the VR market.
Impressive battery life improvement in the Rabbit R1 device after an OTA update.
The Rabbit R1's scroll wheel acceleration improvement and the ongoing debate about its utility.
The revelation that the Rabbit OS can run on an Android phone, blurring the line between app and hardware.
Discussion on the future of AI assistants and the potential for them to become more integrated into our daily lives.
The challenge of reviewing unfinished gadgets and the ethical considerations of doing so.
Headphone roundup featuring Nothing Ear (1) and other new tech products.
Comparison of different earbuds, including Bose, Fairphone, and Beats, discussing their features and user experiences.
The significance of the 'X' in Xbox and its relation to DirectX, a collection of programming interfaces for multimedia, particularly gaming.
Trivia question about a bird-themed app falsely advertised as being available for Windows Phone 7 by Microsoft.
Humorously discussing the hatred towards pigeons while morning doves are favored, despite being the same species.
The importance of wireless charging for earbuds and how it affects user convenience.
Transcripts
are we gonna not talk about the YouTube
thing or I think I'll just that's just
like a question like last night I was
talking to Claire and I was like how is
shorts still only one minute cuz I was
trying to write my nothing short then it
would be
long okay this just proves that this
could be a fun conversation but I think
we just do the headphone round up this
week and then next J right now wait I
don't get it what why would YouTube
shorts ever be longer cuz they're
vertical
[Music]
yo what is up people of the internet
welcome back to another episode of the
waveform podcast we're your hosts I'm
Marquez I'm Andrew and I'm David and uh
today we got a mix of stories it's kind
of a it's one of those weeks where a
bunch of little stuff well a bunch of
mediumsized stuff happened medium all
over the place stuff yeah a bunch of
very unrelated the the tangents this
week are going to be off the chain
medium rare week yeah from any anywhere
from uh the R1 reviews being out uh
sorry I just processed your joke solid
um Tesla cutting their supercharger team
out of nowhere uh we got some headphones
to talk about it's a good time I can't
wait to hear the Segways this week yeah
it's G to be fun speaking of Segways but
first what do you
[Laughter]
remember do you remember that Bird app
social media we were talking about
Twitter a while
ago this the other one the better one
bird bir buddy bird buddy they sent us
one and I installed it do you have Birds
I got Birds boy do you have a oh that
one's cool do you have like a cool
variety of birds or something I've only
had they so it's really cool so these
are birds that are in my front yard you
see that beak it says the name of the
bird if a new species comes up like if I
go back when these were new oh this blue
jay is awesome and you get video of them
too eating the seeds that's just a blue
jay's tail feather
um yeah it's pretty awesome and it's
just like social media with birds yeah
and I can share this to everybody I can
pick which postcards I want to post
awesome Cardinals uh house finch the
craziest one so far yeah those are the
only three I've gotten so far but lots
of them and this blue jay picture is
awesome that's pretty hard just eating
the seed album cover album cover new
waveform thumbnail have you got in
anything that's not a bird yet not yet
okay a squirrel it was funny in said it
would take a couple weeks before they
might trust the bird feeder but they
were there like day two tell Tim to uh
put that blue J in the thumbnail in the
thumbnail just just behind one of our
heads like it's one of the other hosts
no one's going to know why that would be
awesome but yeah this app's pretty
awesome the bird feeder is pretty cool
it's a little pricey but do you get a
notification every time a bird shows up
you can change how you want it so mine
is if it's like Just Happening it'll be
like quick you can watch this bird live
and then at the end of the day it'll be
like you had x amount of birds show up
and these many different species and
then you can do a recap of all the ones
that came how's the solar roof do you
have to recharge it I have not had to
recharge it yet my only gripe right now
is I think I need to move it closer to
my house because the Wi-Fi connection
seems like it's going out a little which
isn't that's fault and 4K or 1080p
footage is locked behind a bird Buddy
Pro account oh which wait they only give
you 4K upell 720 I think it's 720 it's
pretty solid and I guess you're just
looking up birds so maybe I don't need
high res of you need 1080 you need 1080
4K baby what are you talking about how
much do you have toay how much is it I
don't know I don't feel like paying for
yeah I wouldn't either that's fair but
there's some people out there who might
appar think I can also send all of you
guys links to like join and watch this
bird feeder if you want the fact that
you haven't done that already I did and
nobody listened in slack you did where
send it vacation I'll send it again but
I'm pretty sure I send an invite code to
everyone in slack you can only have two
people so we'll just have to do so it's
the going to be the first two we'll have
to do like just a a bird iPad in this
office for anyone who wants to watch
such a good idea big brain it's like the
the emulating the pom Prix but yeah
putting a did it pick me up mowing the
lawn the other day Lon I don't think I
don't think it'll grab people but
squirrels though and then it'll say bird
type squirrel I can't wait for that to
happen nice yeah that's the bird Buddy
app fun that's fun speaking of birds
really quick I was doing some research
on Nikon because we were talking about
them a lot recently turns out they've
been kind of blowing up in the last
couple of years like their sales have
gone way up and remember that thought
keep going okay and a big reason is
because people are getting really into
birding right now yeah yeah cuz it's
awesome I love that for Humanity yeah
and I was talking to someone and they
were like yeah people are probably
getting into birding cuz it's like the
last thing that's kind of hard to shoot
cuz Birds move really fast and you have
to like get the midair and like it's
very it's pretty difficult to Wildlife
photography is fun and super difficult
especially like when you're used to
taking video and portraits like in a
controlled space and then you get zero
control over it you're like it's like
sports photography but smaller subjects
yeah and in Sports Photography they're
running in a circle over and over again
can find rectangle yeah yeah that's fair
yeah with like Wildlife you're like can
you go a little closer to that tree like
my framing is just not like set up here
and look at me but don't eat me but yeah
right exactly wait what what did I hold
the thought about with Nikon so you said
they it's been blowing up recently
speaking of blowing up I knew where that
was nice um Tesla laid off they just
blew up their entire supercharger team
it's just gone yeah specifically it
seems like Elon just did it one day wait
they shut down the supercharges no no
they laid off the entire supercharger
team now for those unfamiliar Tesla
superchargers pretty important part of
Tesla right um for when we talk about
electric cars almost every time we talk
about Tesla's Advantage we talk about
the supercharger Network which is if you
need to charge this car on a road trip
somewhere the only reliable consistently
reliable way to do that from our own
experience for years has been the
supercharger Network to the point where
one by one over the past few months
basically every EV maker that ships cars
to America is going to be switching
their port or shipping adapters to the
nacs port to to use Tesla Supercharger
Network because it's such a big selling
point here so all that being said Tesla
very suddenly laying off the entire
supercharger team which includes all the
permitting all of the site maintenance
all of the uh future planning and
basically just shutting down growth of
the supercharge Network like nipping it
right on on that day over 500 people
yeah seems like a pretty bold move yeah
um I think everyone sort of assumes that
it's for cost cutting and you know Tesla
stock price is doing one thing and we
want their you know profits to do the
other thing and so you know there's a
lot going on and pretty crazy ruthless
business decisions get made by this guy
all the time so yeah the supercharger
team is the latest victim completely
gone on uh I don't know how do we feel
like this is going to go yeah it's kind
of wild because like you said everyone
is moving to nacs and that layoff
included Rebecca tanushi who was the
senior director of EV charging and was
the person that pretty much like handled
all of the deals convincing all of the
other companies to switch to nacs yeah
so they kind of finished doing that and
then now the entire team is gone and
there were a bunch of employees that
literally said they were breaking ground
on new
and then they just got the news and all
of a sudden they just have to stop yeah
so it seems like at some point we're
going to feel the effects of it and I
think it would be well okay so there was
an Elon tweet about how oh we're
stopping growth and we're focusing on
just maintenance and uptime yeahor I was
just going to say like that my initial
thought on this and I don't follow stock
prices I don't know anything about
business but like when I first saw this
it felt like oh we built this crazy
supercharging system everybody loves it
it's the most reliable
everybody's going to it now thanks for
building it later like it's easier to
maintain something that you built
already instead of building it but it
seems like there's more of it yeah well
except for the fact that the amount of
cars using it is about to like
5x yes I'm not saying it's a good
decision but my first thought was like
it feels like they did it all and I feel
like we see that in Tech a lot it's like
oh thanks for building this awesome
software something like that inter good
luck building something some else we
what we need now the Peace of Mind
knowing that you're always going to have
a supercharger nearby is so important to
like ownership of an EV yeah s to
interrupt there's a lot of upcoming
locations on the map where people are
like I can't wait for that one cuz then
I can finally do this route I can
finally do this drive now it looks like
those aren't going to happen uhhuh so
yeah that's that's a bummer for those
yeah he tweeted Tesla still plans to
grow the supercharger Network just at a
slower pace for new locations and more
focus on 100% uptime And expansion of
existing locations so I don't know if
that means just adding more stalls to
existing
locations um the uptime is already
pretty dang good like they've had very
good uptime historically yeah I could
see focusing on uptime like you said if
it's going to be so many more people
maybe there's higher opportunity of the
uptime not being as good yeah and focus
on that but even if that is the focus
firing 500 people yeah and slowing the
growth of the network cuz no matter how
good the network is if we're talking
about gas cars the network looks like
crap yeah that's that's the two sides of
that car is like when you compare the
Tesla superer Network to gas cars it
seems like they need they have a lot of
growth to do but on the other side when
you compare the supercharge Network to
everyone else no longer needing to build
up their Network because they all just
signed on to do nacs it's like yeah we
won no one else is going to come close
to the Tesla super Jer network no need
to build it up anymore yeah it it feels
like when we're talking about like even
just Tesla or rivan in vehicle software
you're like like this is the best in
vehicle software of any car and you're
like how is it to an iPad it's like well
it's terrible yeah so like yeah there's
still so much room for growth here did
you guys read that story a couple weeks
ago about the I think it was an F-150
Lightning or no it was a rivan owner
that charged his car at a supercharger
and it was like right after he got his
adapter and he had a Tesla owner like
call the cops on him because he was like
it is illegal for you to do this you can
be doing this and he's like bro no they
opened it up and he's like no this is
only for Tesla users yeah little culty
little weird okay yeah the problem is
the signs still say Tesla charging only
that's true oh do they I've never not
all the signs at supercharger have a big
T and it says Tesla Supercharger
supercharging only which they obviously
mean just because don't park here and
take up a spot but previously it was
only Teslas that's very funny yeah I
it's also hilarious that person called
the cops
the biggest overreaction ever oh yeah
yeah did you also see rivan has decided
to open up their their Adventure Network
to all EVS all five of them yeah
everyone so I mean they don't have a ton
of chargers obviously but they do plan
on switching to and updating with necs
and allowing everyone to charge on their
Adventure Network as well well maybe
half of these Engineers will go to rivan
and start expanding the rivan if charge
I wonder how much capital and how big of
a head start Tesla's network has over a
realistic competitor to like make a
difference I feel like an insane amount
like even if you start building a
secondary nacs Network today I guess you
don't have to start you could just be
electri America and just start like
switching them all to nacs and building
a ton more could that realistically be
the like standard of up time someday I
don't know no seems despite the Head
Start if there were ever a time to want
to try and chip away at that Head Start
it's when they fire 500 people who built
that Head Start so who knows yeah all
right I'm working on a hold on too late
wait you don't have a you're working on
a segue yeah oh but this is a tough I've
got one this is a you do you have one
I'm willing to hear it speaking of what
could be happening on the horizon with
things like the Tesla Supercharger
network but also Meta Meta just start
started licensing The Horizon OS that it
uses on its Quest To Third parties ah
yeah yeah they did I find really funny
because I don't know if you guys
remember back when Microsoft was trying
to make Windows AR headsets and they
they like open sourced it so like Dell
made a headset it was mixed reality it
was Windows mixed reality Dell made a
headset uh Lenovo made a headset isus
made a headset it was like
2016 or
2017 um when the quest was first
starting to like take off like Oculus
connect one or two so Windows was like
we got to get in on this and they made
like paint 3D and all of these 3D
applications that sounds awesome I mean
it was pretty Co 3D yeah bro so they
basically just like wanted you to be
able to use Windows in mixed reality and
so all of these third parties made a
bunch of Hardware to be able to use with
it nobody bought it and then Microsoft
didn't support it they didn't keep it up
like at all they just didn't keep
updating it at all they eventually just
gave up and this is kind of the Playbook
it seems like very Google of them yeah
except like Google at least makes like
the underlying stuff sometimes Microsoft
basically didn't sell Hollow lens to
regular people so they didn't have a
first-party headset so they just relied
on third parties to make the headsets
that would work with Windows mixed
reality and now meta decided that it's
going to license Horizon OS so now if
you're Lenovo or Dell or Asus you can
just build basically a quest for but
running your own
Hardware um Vision Pro yeah they want to
be they want to be Android right they're
all meta is now all about open source
and they're all about like I guess we
can't build the metaverse by ourselves
and all this stuff um they're also
making a limited run gaming focused
quest with Xbox just for Xbox that makes
a ton of it's they're they're trying to
I I see what that's going to be
PlayStation has PlayStation VR and and
like it's not the most popular but like
Xbox is going to want to do that
eventually why wouldn't meta be the one
that could make money off of that yeah
that makes it too much sense honestly