Welcome to the Tech Meme Ride Home for Thursday, August 6, 2020.

I'm Brian McCullough today.

Will the U.S. government's Clean Network Plan lead to the definitive fracturing of the internet that we've all

feared. Nintendo is killing it thanks to COVID and Animal Crossing. Our Samsung's

new earbuds actually cool beans.

You no longer have to pay Apple $700 just to put wheels on your Mac Pro,

and why wireless charging could be a global environmental disaster

waiting to happen.

Here's what you missed today in the world of

tech. In a speech yesterday Secretary of State Mike Pompeo outlined a new

five-pronged, quote-unquote, clean network effort designed to curb

potential national security risks allegedly posed by technology from China. This would specifically include banning

untrusted Chinese apps from US App Stores. Let me go through the five

prongs line by line.

First, a concept called clean carrier.

The U.S. government is, quote, working to ensure that

untrusted Chinese telecoms can't provide or interfere

with U.S. communications.

Second, clean store.

Quote, we want to see untrusted Chinese apps removed from U.S.

App stores, end quote.

Third, clean apps. Pompeo said he wants to keep Huawei and other Chinese

...