(Hopefully) Helpful Hint, Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 260: WHOPPERS

January 29, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

The backlash against the Federal Communication Commission’s rollback of net neutrality regulations continues — even a certain monarchy-themed hamburger establishment has weighed in with a video. El Kaiser and J.D. discuss the latest developments concerning the Open Internet, and also ponder Twitter’s photo-cropping skills, the Google gestalt and listening to Netflix in other languages. Click on into Episode 260 to hear it all, and don’t forget to celebrate Data Privacy Day afterwards — go offline and read a treeware book or something!

Links to Articles in This Week’s News Segment

Give Good the Advantage: Chronicle Blog (Medium)
Why I left Google to join Grab by Steve Yegge (Medium)
Samsung officially sets Galaxy S9 unveiling for Feb. 25 (CNET)
Apple HomePod (Apple)
Speedy Neural Networks for Smart Auto-Cropping of Images (Twitter blog)
Twitter aiming to make video sharing more Snapchat-like in upcoming app (9to5Mac)
Cuomo demands ISPs follow net neutrality for government contracts (New York Daily News)
De Blasio administration pushes Congress to restore net neutrality via legislation (New York Daily News)
AT&T Is Full of [Bad Word] With Its Full-Page Net Neutrality Ads (Gizmodo)
Burger King Makes the Case for Net Neutrality (Variety)
San Jose mayor resigns from FCC advisory panel (TheHill)
GAO to investigate bot-driven net neutrality comments (Federal Computer World)
Apple’s Getting Back Into the E-Books Fight Against Amazon (Bloomberg)
Apple finally enables life-saving iPhone emergency settings (The Next Web)
Microsoft introduces new privacy tools ahead of Data Privacy Day (Microsoft)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

Another Netflix price hike? Here are the reasons it could try again (USA Today)
Why does Netflix change prices? (Netflix help guide)
Watching Netflix en Français (The New York Times)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint, Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 259: Face Time

January 18, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Whether it be tech giants facing Congressional committees or the Google Cultural Institute showing people the power of facial-recognition algorithms, El Kaiser and J.D. have things to say about it all. Also in the mix: Several states and advocacy groups have fired up the Lawsuit Machine and aimed it at the Federal Communications Commission’s recent repeal of the net neutrality rules. Oh, and here are a pair of newsflashes: Apple has lots of money and Facebook maybe didn’t do so much to stop misinformation on its platform last year. Spool up Episode 259 for the details!

Links to Stories Discussed on This Week’s Episode

Flurry of Lawsuits Filed to Fight Repeal of Net Neutrality (The New York Times)
Google’s Project Fi now caps data bills at $60 (TechCrunch)
Project Fi (Google)
Apple Gives Employees $2,500 Bonuses After New Tax Law (Bloomberg)
Apple accelerates US investment and job creation (Apple)
Apple expands Siri’s ‘Give me the news’ feature to non-beta users & the U.K. (9to5Mac)
Bitconnect, which has been accused of running a Ponzi scheme, shuts down (TechCrunch)
Facebook is a ‘living, breathing crime scene,’ says one former tech insider (NBC News)
Monitoring fake news was never a priority, says ex-Facebook worker (NBC News)
Facebook, Google tell Congress they’re fighting extremist content with counterpropaganda (CNBC)
Facebook introduces Watch Party to let you watch shows together with friends (The Verge)
‘It Took Us by Surprise’: Even Google Was Shocked by the Success of Its Megaviral Face-Matching Art App (ArtNet.com)
Google Arts & Culture
Google Arts & Culture for Android
Google Arts & Culture for iOS

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

Keeping Data Secure When Your Laptop Is in the Shop (The New York Times)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 258: WELCOME OUR NEWEST ROBOT OVERLORDS

January 16, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

The annual Consumer Electronics Show wrapped up in Las Vegas last week, leaving El Kaiser and J.D. plenty of new gadgets to mull, from “intelligent” toilets to high-concept “social-empathy robots.” But other stuff happened outside of Vegas, too — Facebook changed up its News Feed, Spectre and Meltdown patches rolled out, and half of California seems to be suing Apple over that iPhone slowdown move. Spin up Episode 258 to hear it all!

Links to Stories on This Week’s Episode

Facebook Couldn’t Handle News. Maybe It Never Wanted To. (BuzzFeed)
Facebook is testing a new section of the app specifically for local news and events (Recode)
Understanding the performance impact of Spectre and Meltdown mitigations on Windows Systems (Microsoft Secure)
Now 30 class action suits against Apple over iPhone throttling; latest alleges five wrongdoings (9to5Mac)
Senator questions Apple over intentional iPhone slowdowns (Ars Technica)
Tech Backlash Grows as Investors Press Apple to Act on Children’s Use (The New York Times)
Alexa is eating Siri’s lunch at CES 2018, and HomePod isn’t going to make a difference (Macworld)
Cortana coming to more devices in 2018 through Devices SDK and new reference designs (Building Apps for Windows blog)
Samsung to unveil Galaxy S9 at MWC, not CES (ZDNet)
YouTube Removes Logan Paul From Preferred Program, Puts ‘Thinning’ Sequel on Hold (Hollywood Reporter)
How the Democrats are using Republicans’ favorite move to try to preserve net neutrality (BGR.com)
Snuggle robots and talking toilets: CES 2018’s wildest gadgets (The Washington Post)
10 of the Coolest Gadgets We Saw at CES 2018 (Time)
Numi Intelligent toilet with KOHLER Konnect (Kohler)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 257: Lucha Libre

January 5, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

The new year is here and so far, 2018 is already throwing its five moves of doom around the ring: Massive security flaws in the world’s computer processors, a giant lawsuit against Spotify, the government’s white-hat hacker shortage, YouTube drama and all kinds of bad behavior on Twitter. El Kaiser and J.D. discuss it all here in Episode 257 of Pop Tech Jam, so just push Play for the main event!

Links to Stories Discussed in This Week’s Episode

Researchers Discover Two Major Flaws in the World’s Computers (The New York Times)
What You Need to Do Because of Flaws in Computer Chips (The New York Times)
Today’s CPU vulnerability: what you need to know (Google Security blog)
Meltdown and Spectre (Graz University of Technology)
Fight for the Future: Vote for Net Neutrality
Apple will replace old iPhone batteries, regardless of diagnostic test results (The Verge)
Spotify Hit With $1.6 Billion Copyright Lawsuit Over Tom Petty, Weezer, Neil Young Songs (Hollywood Reporter)
Alphabet’s Google explores sale of restaurant reviewer Zagat (Reuters)
The Logan Paul Suicide Video Shows YouTube Is Facing A Crucial Turning Point (BuzzFeed)
NSA’s top talent is leaving because of low pay, slumping morale and unpopular reorganization (The Washington Post)
Woman receives bionic hand with sense of touch (BBC News)

Avoid the Twitter Litter

Twitter Rules and policies (Twitter)
Would Twitter Ever Suspend Trump’s Account? (The New York Times)
Messages Are Projected On Twitter HQ After Trump’s North Korea Tweets (Huffington Post)
Adjusting Twitter’s Sensitivities (The New York Times)
How to control your Twitter experience (Twitter Help)
How to mute accounts on Twitter (Twitter Help)
How to use advanced muting options (Twitter Help)
How to block accounts on Twitter (Twitter Help)
How to use advanced block options (Twitter Help)
Twitter media policy (Twitter)

The independent audio magazine devoted to mashing up pop culture, technology and more. J.D. Biersdorfer and Pedro Rafael Rosado are your hosts. It's an Internet Radio revolution!