Welcome back to another week of MashTalk. On this week's podcast, the Mashabletech team chats about Uber's sexism in the workplace problems, Instagram's new albums feature, and the latest Apple rumors.
As always, MashTalk is hosted by Tech Editor Pete Pachal with commentary from Chief Correspondent Lance Ulanoff and Senior Tech Correspondent Raymond Wong.
SEE ALSO:Why sexual harassment scandals like Uber's are bound to persist in techTo tell us all about Uber's nightmare situation (1:36), we brought in our special guest, Business Editor Jason Abbruzzese.
Uber's wild ride
If you haven't kept up with the Uber saga, here's the lowdown: Former Uber engineer Susan J. Fowler penned a harrowing essay about sexism and inept HR practices at the ride-sharing giant. In it, she shares details of sexual harassment and corporate negligence that reads like something out of a TV drama.
You really have to read it for yourself to understand how deeply rooted the problems are -- problems that likely won't be quickly solved despite the full investigation that Uber's CEO Travis Kalanick promised shortly after the allegations.
More than anything, Uber's problems extend beyond the just one company. Sexism in the workplace is a problem at many companies and the male-dominated startup culture of Silicon Valley in particular.
Fowler's story is a wakeup call for all companies (4:56)and a reminder that this type of culture is notOK and shouldn't be tolerated.
Exactly what steps should Uber take to save the company's ruined image? Lance has a handful of ideas (6:04).
Picture not perfect
Moving on, we debate whether Instagram is ruined now that "albums" are here (14:04). Yes, the feature Instagram previously tested on Android is now official.
Pete, who wrote the obituary for Instagram a weeks back, thinks Instagram's very essence is gone now that people will just throw up an album of all their pics instead of carefully curating their bestones to publish.
While I agree to some degree (being the purist that I am), I understand that Instagram no longer cares to be the place where the best content is, but simply theplace for allcontent, whether that's photos, videos, memes or whatever.
Everyone: F*ck.
— Raymond Wong 📱💾📼 (@raywongy) February 22, 2017
Everyone tomorrow: Meh. Wassgood? https://t.co/qsapJZjAkz
It will, however, be interesting to see how brands use albums to tell stories (19:23)in multiple photos. This is basically the return of the slideshow.
Maximum iPad
And lastly, we talk new iPads. Apple's expected to hold an event in March to announce new iPads -- four if the latest rumors are right (22.41).
According to Macotakara, Apple will update its existing 7.9-inch iPad mini, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, 12.9-inch iPad Pro and add a new 10.5-inch iPad to the family.
All of them are due for an update so the timing is definitely right (23:55). Will all of them get Apple Pencil support? And is there even a point in a new iPad mini given how popular the Plus-sized iPhones are bow (26:34)?
And, as always, don't forget to leave your questions and comments by tweeting @Mash_Talkwith the #MashTalk hashtag. We welcome all feedback.
TopicsAppleInstagramiPadUber