The most popular and most important posts on Stratechery in 2022.
Ben Thompson
Twitter’s Link Ban, Network Portability, China and the Trailing Edge
Twitter’s link ban is not a new tactic to the company, or the industry, and shows where regulation goes wrong. Then, China doubles down on trailing edge semiconductor capacity.
An Interview with Gregory C. Allen About the Past, Present, and Future of the China Chip Ban
An interview with Gregory C. Allen about the Biden administrations China chip export controls, plus the broader historical context of U.S.-China relations, the history of Silicon Valley and the U.S. military, and the factors that drove the globalization of chips in the first place
The App Store and the Digital Markets Act, Third-Party App Stores, Messaging Interoperability Madness
The impact of the Digital Markets Act on App Stores and messaging.
Apple iCloud Encryption, CSAM Scanning and Convergent Encryption
Apple announced end-to-end encryption for iCloud, even as it officially abandoned its on-device CSAM-scanning approach; the details of its plan leave open the door for scanning in the cloud.
Consoles and Competition
Reviewing the history of video games explains why Sony is dominant today, and why Microsoft is actually introducing competition, not limiting it.
An Interview with Coinbase Founder and CEO Brian Armstrong about FTX and Crypto Realities
An interview with Coinbase founder and CEO Brian Armstrong about FTX, the value (or not) of crypto, and whether or not this current downturn is different.
TSMC in Arizona, Arizona Challenges, Realities and Motivations
There is a lot of excitement about TSMC’s announcements in Arizona, but the reality is a bit more grim, even if the motivations of everyone involved are understandable.
Lensa and Stable Diffusion, Stable Diffusion and Apple Silicon, Open Questions
More AI developments, first in terms of iPhone apps and Stable Diffusion, and the Apple Silicon optimizations. Then, open questions about the AI market going forward.
AI Homework
The first obvious casualty of large language models is homework: the real training for everyone, though, and the best way to leverage AI, will be in verifying and editing information.