INTERNET

The Internet's Still Putting Up With Us

Last Friday, we released the COVID-19 Traffic Report, which, among other things, breaks down the recent surge in online traffic. 

As a follow up, I chatted with Cloudflare CEO and Emerging Tech Brew subscriber Matthew Prince about internet services and scaling up capacity. Cloudflare provides online infrastructure and security services to other businesses. 

Big and little internets

Prince breaks down the internet into three parts: 

• Lowercase "i" internet—the applications that live on top, such as Facebook, Netflix, and Zoom
• Uppercase "I" Internet—the collection of interconnected global networks 
• The "last-mile" piece—internet service providers (ISPs) that deliver the internets to us

The whole thing is holding up well, Prince says. Tech companies have quickly resolved service disruptions and scaled up infrastructure when needed. If the coronavirus pandemic had happened a decade ago, that may not have been the case. Prince cites cloud services as the key piece of technology that's let businesses distribute and scale online workloads. 

• And usage spikes appear to be plateauing. "We’re all talking about flattening the curve. Another place where we’re kind of flattening the curve is peak internet utilization."

Prince says Netflix and YouTube normally account for ~30% of all internet bandwidth. That number is higher now, which is why it was critical for those streaming companies to lower the default resolution of their videos in late March. 

Kids and nation states

I was also curious to hear Prince's POV on cybersecurity. In the first week of widespread U.S. lockdowns, he said Cloudflare noticed an uptick in standard phishing attacks but with coronavirus-related language.  

• The second week, Cloudflare measured a 70% uptick in attacks online. Many of these incidents took the form of amateur cyberattacks, which tend to rise when kids are out of school. 

We also discussed nation state hacking activity, but I'll leave that for the full interview. Read the Q&A here. 

5G

Not Now, Arsonists

Social media users, including blue checkmark celebs, are circulating a baseless theory linking 5G networks to the coronavirus pandemic. Fact check: nope. 

Not only is this dumb, it's dangerous. In recent days, arsonists set mobile phone masts ablaze in multiple U.K. cities. And other conspiracy theorists have physically threatened broadband engineers. This is the same wireless infrastructure that emergency services and health workers rely on. 

The British government asked social media platforms to please help stop this misinformation from spreading. Worth noting: That's harder to do on messaging platforms that are end-to-end encrypted. 

• YouTube said it will actively remove videos that breach its policies (i.e. content linking 5G and the virus). It will leave up conspiratorial content about 5G that isn't linked to COVID-19.

Bottom line: Now more than ever, we need to make sure networking infrastructure is reliable (obligatory COVID Traffic Report plug). And in locations where it's active, 5G improves bandwidth and speeds.

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VR

AppleVR

Apple is "likely" in the process of acquiring NextVR for ~$100 million, 9to5Mac reported Saturday. The startup, which creates software for VR broadcasts of sports and entertainment events, is probably best known for creating courtside NBA game viewing experiences, but it's also partnered with Wimbledon and Fox Sports. 

If it goes through, this deal is welcome news for NextVR. The company wasn't able to close a Series C round last year and laid off 40% of its workforce. Investors were just more excited about AR at the time. 

The longer play

Apple VR and AR hardware products are on the two to three-year roadmap. The company is reportedly acquiring this VR content house to make sure it has virtual experiences to accompany the hardware. 

My take: AR had the Big Mo pre-pandemic, but the upside for VR is clear during lockdown. Virtual teleportation to a new world becomes a more appealing proposition when you can't go out in the real one. 

BITS & BYTES

Stat: Microsoft Edge became the world's second most popular desktop browser, with 7.6% market share to Mozilla Firefox's 7.2%, per NetMarketShare. And because you're wondering: Google Chrome has 68.5% browser market share.

Quote: "The 5G story is complete and utter rubbish. It is nonsense–the worst kind of fake news"—U.K. National Health Service Director Stephen Powis, who already has plenty on his hands. 

Read: Pew Research has an update on global internet penetration and usage patterns amid COVID-19. 

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WHAT ELSE IS BREWING

• Some school districts, including NYC, have banned Zoom meetings due to security issues. 
• Huawei joined the Open Invention Network, a U.S.-based group dedicated to open-source patent non-aggression.
• Livestream shopping saw over $61 million in transactions last year in China, according to iiMedia. That's expected to more than double this year.
• Washington's facial recognition law, cheered by Microsoft, was written by a state senator who's also a Microsoft program manager.

WHAT'S VIRTUALLY BREWING THIS WEEK

Monday: Arvind Krishna becomes IBM CEO; mobile streaming service Quibi launches

Tuesday: SpaceX's 20th resupply mission leaves the ISS; Huawei's new P40 smartphones are available; TPI webinar on coronavirus and privacy; the Voice of the Car Summit through Wednesday 

Wednesday: Passover begins in the evening; CSIS virtual discussion on U.S.-China tech competition and cooperation; Brookings webinar on the U.S. digital divide; World Car Awards 

Thursday: Make Space Boring virtual conference

Friday: Stock market closed for Good Friday (no Emerging Tech Brew); Final Fantasy VII Remake released for PS4; National Siblings Day 

Weekend: 50th anniversary launch of Apollo 13 (Saturday); Easter (Sunday); International Day of Human Space Flight (Sunday)

TECH THROWBACK

Microsoft was founded on April 4, 1975. Time elapsed since notable Microsoft launches and acquisitions (h/t MIT's CSAIL): 

37 years: Word
35 years: Windows
30 years: Office
25 years: Internet Explorer
19 years: Xbox
11 years: Bing
9 years: Skype acquisition
8 years: Surface
7 years: Nokia acquisition
6 years: Cortana
4 years: LinkedIn acquisition
2 years: GitHub acquisition

My favorite picture of Microsoft cofounders Bill Gates and Paul Allen: 

NBC

TECH THINGAMABOBS

This is a limited-run section to help you pass the time during lockdown. 

For Planet Earth diehards: NYT's virtual Zambia safari. 

For product managers: An Aeon essay about the drawbacks of gamified life.

For fans of Central Park: You can enjoy NYC parks from home. The city is holding online park tours and meditation, fitness, and arts classes.

For the "I told you so" crowd: George W. Bush started planning for a pandemic in 2005. Bill Gates was thinking about "a better response to the next pandemic" in 2010. In 2017, the Pentagon anticipated a dire shortage of ventilators, face masks, and hospital beds.