Tag Archives: Netflix

PTJ 377: Tangled Up in Blue

July 26, 2024 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

If a few lines of bad computer code from a cybersecurity company can cause an epic global IT meltdown/Blue Screen of Death festival across the Windows systems that run the airlines, healthcare, banking and other major industries, J.D. and El Kaiser ponder: Just how sturdy is the world’s technological infrastructure these days? Along with a quick news roundup, El Kaiser also shares his thoughts on two popular streaming TV shows and J.D. has advice on decluttering your phone after years of photo cruft. Come fly with us on PTJ 377!

Star Trek: Discovery (Paramount+)
Star Trek: Section 31 Shares First-Look Image (Nerdist)
Stranger Things (Netflix)
What we know about global IT outage (BBC News)
Chaos and Confusion: Tech Outage Causes Disruptions Worldwide
(The New York Times)
Technical Details on Today’s Outage (CrowdStrike)
Statement on Falcon Content Update for Windows Hosts (CrowdStrike)
What Happened to Digital Resilience? (The New York Times)
Netflix beats estimates as ad-supported memberships rise 34% (CNBC)
Halo Canceled at Paramount+ After 2 Seasons (Deadline)
Apple just announced the next slate of Vision Pro immersive experiences (The Verge)
Google’s goo.gl links will stop working in August 2025 (9to5Google)
USPS shared customer postal addresses with Meta, LinkedIn and Snap (TechCrunch)
Goodbye for Now to the Robot That (Sort Of) Patrolled New York’s Subway (The New York Times)
On NYC beaches, angry birds fight drones patrolling for sharks and struggling swimmers (AP News)
How to Clean Up Your Phone’s Photo Library to Free Up Space
(The New York Times)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 374: BADGE IN

November 16, 2023 J.D. Biersdorfer 6 Comments

On this episode of Pop Tech Jam, El Kaiser shares his love for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. J.D. keeps the Trek vibe going with a short news roundup that includes a report on Humane’s new $700 wearable AI pin that brings to mind a Next Generation communicator badge — with a whole lot of AI under the hood. Beam up for PTJ 374!

• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
• Silicon Valley’s Big, Bold Sci-Fi Bet on the Device That Comes After the Smartphone (The New York Times)
• Humane AI Pin (with video)
• Former Apple designers launch $700 Humane AI Pin as smartphone replacement (CNBC)
• Apple Plans Ambitious iOS 18 and macOS 15 Updates, Seeks to Squash Bugs (Bloomberg)
• Payments app Zelle begins refunds for imposter scams after Washington pressure (Reuters)
• Meta Threads users can now stop their posts from showing on Instagram (The Verge)
• Genetic testing company 23andMe denies data hack, disables DNA Relatives feature (USA Today)
• 23andMe data theft prompts DNA testing companies to switch on 2FA by default (TechCrunch)
• Netflix to Prioritize Scripts for Wednesday Season 2 & Stranger Things Final Season (MovieWeb)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 363: Bye, ’Pod

March 4, 2022 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

On this episode, El Kaiser and J.D. catch up after an unintentional hiatus to discuss current events — including Elon Musk’s fluctuating deal to buy Twitter, the rapid demise of CNN+ and Apple’s decision to retire the iPod after 21 years. Spin up PTJ 363 right here!

Hackers R eplac e Russian TV Schedules During ‘Victory Day’ With Anti-War Messages (InfoSecurity)
Anon ym ous Hacks 2 Russian Industrial Firms, Leak 112GB of Data for Ukraine (HackRead)
Why BBC Revived Shortwave Radio Dispatches in Ukraine (The New York Times)
BBC News la unches ‘dark web’ Tor mirror (BBC News)
Inside the Implosion of CNN+ (The New York Times)
Elon Musk says he might try to renegotiate $44B Twitter deal for less (The Washington Post)
Twitter CEO fires back at Elon Musk, who responds with poop emoji (MarketWatch)
Apple’s iPod Announcement
Farewell to the iPod (The New York Times)
Apple to discontinue the iPod after 21 years (BBC News)
The iPod is dead (TechCrunch)
Apple Together Brings Corporate Workers Into the Union Effort (WIRED)
Netflix Exploring Live Streaming For First Time; Unscripted & Comedy (Deadline)
The Week in Business: Crypto’s ‘Death Spiral’ (The New York Times)
Cryptocurrencies Melt Down in a ‘Perfect Storm’ of Fear and Panic (The New York Times)
Crypto crash: Stablecoin collapse sends tokens tumbling (BBC News)
E.U. Takes Aim at Social Media’s Harms With Landmark New Law (The New York Times)
The Digital Services Act package (European Commission)
Uber Eats Dabbles With Delivering Food Via Robots (Gizmodo)
Royal Mail wants fleet of 500 drones to carry mail to remote UK communities (BBC News)

‘The Batman’ Review: Robert Pattinson Goes Darker Than ‘Dark Knight’ (Variety)
The Book of Boba Fett (Disney+)

Set Your Schedule in Your Smartphone’s Free Calendar (The New York Times)

Episode Links

PTJ 329: Root, Root, Root for the Home Team

March 22, 2020 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

As more states and cities tell citizens to stay out of public places and do their part to help stop the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, El Kaiser and J.D. fire up the microphones in their respective recording bunkers to discuss the latest tech news. El Kaiser also offers his pro tips for looking and sounding better on those office video-conference meetings, and J.D. has a few ideas for parents trying to keep the kids busy after they’ve finished their online lessons for the day. It’s all here on PTJ 329 — right in the comfort of your own home!

Links to Stories in This Week’s Episode

Google’s coronavirus website finally launches alongside enhanced search results (The Verge)
Google’s COVID-19 information page
Delivering information and eliminating bottlenecks with CDC’s COVID-19 assessment bot (The Official Microsoft Blog)
Apple updated Siri to help people who ask if they have coronavirus (CNBC)
Internal memo: Jeff Bezos tells Amazon employees he’s ‘wholly focused’ on the COVID-19 crisis (GeekWire)
A message from our CEO and founder (Amazon)
Netflix to Cut Streaming Video Bit Rates in Europe for 30 Days (Variety)
Mass move to work from home in coronavirus crisis creates opening for hackers: cyber experts (Reuters)
How Zoom Became King of the Quarantine Economy (Adweek)
‘Zoombombing’: When Video Conferences Go Wrong (The New York Times)
Emergency Support for Workers in the Creative Community (Netflix)
Exclusive: Amazon raises overtime pay for warehouse workers (Reuters)
New MacBook Air has more to love and is now just $999 (Apple)
Apple unveils new iPad Pro with LiDAR Scanner and trackpad support in iPadOS (Apple)
Believe it: Orchestra plays Beethoven 9th from their homes (Slipped Disc)
Must Watch: Toronto vs Rotterdam in The Home-Play Finals (Slipped Disc)

#StayHome Projects to Keep You (or the Kids) Busy

Make Your Own Animated Movies, Frame by Frame (The New York Times)
How to Add Hollywood Special Effects to Your Videos (The New York Times)
How to Take Music Lessons Whenever (and Wherever) Works for You (The New York Times)
How to Rescue, Repair and Revive Old Family Photos (The New York Times)
Can You Draw This? Of Course You Can! (The New York Times)
From Camera Roll to Canvas: Make Art From Your Photos (The New York Times)
Get Those Records, Tapes and CDs Onto Your Smartphone (The New York Times)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 325: Fan Dance

January 27, 2020 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

On this week’s show, El Kaiser holds forth on the current state of three of his favorite things: DC Comics, Doctor Who and Star Wars. J.D. has a quick roundup of recent tech news, including the return both of a beloved flip phone and a popular short-form video platform. All this and more on Pop Tech Jam 325!

“Crisis on Infinite Earths” (DC Universe)
Crises on Infinite Earths (CW Crossover)
US mobile app subscription revenue jumped 21% in 2019 to $4.6B across the top 100 apps (TechCrunch)
ABC News to bolster streaming service with live programming (Associated Press)
Apple TV+ May Have Over 33M Users But ‘Vast Majority’ Aren’t Paying (Variety)
Apple TV+ numbers: Bigger than Disney+ and Hulu, behind Amazon and Netflix (Loop Insight)
Netflix’s New Ratings Math Sacrifices Clarity for Flashy Numbers (Hollywood Reporter)
Will the new Motorola Razr fly — or flop? (Tom’s Guide)
Galaxy Z Flip has a tiny outer display, fingerprint scanner (9to5Google)
An AI Epidemiologist Sent the First Warnings of the Wuhan Virus (WIRED)
Vine Has a New Successor: The 6-Second Video App Byte (Time)
Today in History 1921: The word ‘Robot’ enters the English language (Boing Boing)
Doctor Who
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 299: Tumblin’ Down

January 31, 2019 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

The winter temperatures in the American Midwest may have plummeted, but in the technology world, it’s Apple and Facebook bouncing off the floor — and into each other over user privacy. El Kaiser and J.D. chew through the events of the past week, and also pause to ponder another question: How many streaming services can one actually have until it feels like paying the same old big bucks for a cable subscription? Click up Episode 299 to hear it all!

Links to News Stories Discussed on This Week’s Show

Apple Bug Lets IPhone Users Listen in on Others Via FaceTime (Bloomberg)
Apple Was Slow to Act on FaceTime Bug That Allows Spying on iPhones (The New York Times)
Attorney General James and Governor Cuomo Announce Investigation Into Apple FaceTime Privacy Breach (New York State Attorney General’s Office)
Apple Music takes flight on American Airlines (Apple)
New iPhone, iPad in 2019 and 2020: What to Expect from Apple (Bloomberg)
Apple bans Facebook’s Research app that paid users for data (TechCrunch)
Apple is punishing Facebook big-time for breaking its rules (Recode)
Apple blocks Facebook from running its internal iOS apps (The Verge)
Google will stop peddling a data collector through Apple’s back door (TechCrunch)
Maybe Only Tim Cook Can Fix Facebook’s Privacy Problem (The New York Times)
Facebook Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2018 Results (Facebook)
Does Facebook Really Know How Many Fake Accounts It Has? (The New York Times)
What you need to know about the sunset of consumer Google+ on April 2 (Google Cloud Blog)
IBM Research Releases ‘Diversity in Faces’ Dataset to Advance Study of Fairness in Facial Recognition Systems (IBM Blog Research)
MIT robot combines vision and touch to learn the game of Jenga (MIT News)

Swimming in Streams

How Long Do We Have Until We Reach Peak Streaming Service? (Gizmodo)
Expect peak streaming to further fragment the industry (The Business Journals)
Guide to Streaming Video Services (Consumer Reports)
Best Streaming Video Services 2019 (Tom’s Guide)
The Complete List of Streaming Services – 100+ Services (Flixed)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint, Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 298: Over Easy

January 22, 2019 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Famous eggs, self-delivering scooters, rabbit-ears making a comeback and YouTube tries to ban stupidity — El Kaiser and JD catch up on a big pile of technology news from the past week or two. And in a (Hopefully) Helpful Hint, J.D. explains how to use a free, pre-built spreadsheet to track your finances. Roll on into PTJ 298 to hear it all!

Stories Discussed on This Week’s Show

Facebook’s WhatsApp limits text forwards to five recipients to curb rumors (Reuters)
Uber plans to develop self-driving electric scooters and bicycles (The Daily Telegraph)
Google Maps wants to help you avoid that speeding ticket (Mashable)
Material Design for Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Sites on Web (G Suite Updates Blog)
Oscars: ‘Roma’ Lands Netflix Its First Best Picture Nom (The Hollywood Reporter)
Netflix just announced the biggest price increase in the history of its streaming service (BGR)
Netflix in advanced talks to join major Hollywood lobbying group (Poltico)
Nielsen: 16M U.S. homes now get TV over-the-air, a 48% increase over past 8 years (TechCrunch)
YouTube bans dangerous pranks following Bird Box, Tide Pod challenges (The Verge)
An issue with protected Tweets on Twitter for Android (Twitter Help)
DuckDuckGo Taps Apple Maps to Power Private Search Results (Spread Privacy)
Twitter is bringing back the chronological timeline, and in a sensible way (Android Authority)
Facebook’s ’10 Year Challenge’ Is Just a Harmless Meme—Right? (WIRED)
Facebook’s own employees appear to be leaving 5-star Amazon reviews for the Portal camera (The Verge)
Facebook launches petition feature, its next battlefield (TechCrunch)
You Deserve Privacy Online. Here’s How You Could Actually Get It (Tim Cook in TIME)
Apple Pay coming to Target, Taco Bell and more top US retail locations (Apple)
Google: data is more like sunlight than oil (Business Insider)
Who’s ‘Scam Likely’ and why do they keep calling you? (USA Today)
Roku Removes Infowars Channel Following Backlash (Variety)
An Egg, Just a Regular Egg, Is Instagram’s Most-Liked Post Ever (The New York Times)
Ishan Goel tells TooFab why world_record_egg struck such a powerful pop culture chord, and warns about the dark side of viral success. (TooFab)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

The Easy (and Free) Way to Make a Budget Spreadsheet (The New York Times)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint, Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 281: The Jet Set

July 20, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

In this week’s show, J.D. and an overworked El Kaiser discuss the week’s news, including Google’s big fine and Amazon Prime Day’s big fail. There’s also an exciting turn of events for those wishing rocket jet-packs were real. J.D. also has a (Hopefully) Helpful Hint about making your Windows PC or Mac clean up after itself. Hear it all now on Episode 281!

Links to Stories Discussed on This Week’s Episode

E.U. Fines Google $5.1 Billion in Android Antitrust Case (The New York Times)
Antitrust: Commission fines Google €4.34 billion for illegal practices regarding Android mobile devices to strengthen dominance of Google’s search engine (European Commission Press release)
Android has created more choice, not less (Google Keyword blog)
Zuckerberg: The Recode interview (Recode audio)
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Recode Decode: Full transcript (Recode)
Zuckerberg clarifies: ‘I personally find Holocaust denial deeply offensive, and I absolutely didn’t intend to defend the intent of people who deny that.’ (Recode)
Amazon’s website crashed as soon as Prime Day began (The Verge)
Amazon’s Website Crashes on Prime Day (The Atlantic)
Amazon sells more than 100 million products on Prime Day event (Reuters)
Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket aces dramatic test launch (NBC News)
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos beats Bill Gates in new rich list (BBC News)
See What’s Next…On TV (Netflix blog)
Gravity Industries
Selfridges’ flying ‘Iron Man’ suit is now on sale to the public (The Daily Mail)
Samsung Plans to Launch Foldable-Screen Phone Early Next Year (The Wall Street Journal)

Reports of an unidentified flying man at #SelfridgesLondon have been confirmed. Introducing Gravity Industries, the world’s first jet suit, exclusively available at #Selfridges #takeongravity Gravity Industries Jet Suit pic.twitter.com/Jo9ilPkRWo

— Selfridges (@Selfridges) July 18, 2018

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

New Ways to Delete Old Files (The New York Times)
How to Free Up Space on Your Mac (The New York Times)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 280: Purge Surge

July 13, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Several companies have now stepped up the fight against fake news — most noticeably, Twitter, as the service finally began to delete fake accounts and return follower totals back to the realm of real people. El Kaiser and J.D. discuss the efforts, as well as the state of streaming television, Apple’s latest updates and the things one can find for sale on the Dark Net. In a (Hopefully) Helpful Hint, J.D. has some tips for how to stay charged up when traveling. All aboard Episode 280!

Links to Stories Discussed on This Week’s Show

Confidence in follower counts (Twitter blog)
WhatsApp launches a feature that labels forwarded messages (Poynter)
YouTube to fight fake news with links to real news and context (Ars Technica)
YouTube TV Service Suffers Outage in Middle of England-Croatia World Cup Semifinal (Variety)
How to Watch the First Funded News Shows on Facebook Watch (Facebook Newsroom)
Findings, recommendations and actions from ICO investigation into data analytics in political campaigns (UK Information Commissioner’s Office)
Live TV Streaming Service Philo Raises $40 Million in Funding (The Wrap)
European Networks Are Joining Forces to Take On Netflix and Amazon (Hollywood Reporter)
Helping creators protect their content (YouTube Creators Blog)
Downloading on Netflix Just Got Smarter (Netflix blog)
FCC Set to Propose Easing of Children’s Television Rules (Variety)
3D-printed guns: Settlement paves way for DIY weapons (San Jose Mercury News)
Hacker Found Selling US Military Document on the Dark Web (Silicon Angle)
Apple updates MacBook Pro with faster performance and new features for pros (Apple Newsroom)
New Apple products expected this fall include iPhones, iPads, Macs, AirPods, Apple Watches (Business Insider)
It looks like a Google partner might’ve just leaked Android P’s real name (BGR)
“Google Was Not a Normal Place”: Brin, Page, and Mayer on the Accidental Birth of the Company that Changed Everything (Vanity Fair)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint: Power to Go

Emergency Charging Options on the Road (The New York Times)
The Risk in Using a Public Phone Charger (The New York Times)
How to Pack and Prepare Your Smartphone for Traveling This Summer (The New York Times)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 270: On the Hook

May 3, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

California fires a shot across the bow of the FCC’s net neutrality repeal, Amazon’s Alexa has a new do-it-yourself project for users and even aquariums aren’t safe on the Internet of Things. El Kaiser and J.D. sort through the technology news of the past 10 days before discussing a great vacation destination for aviation and NASA nerds: The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virgina, home to the National Air & Space Museum’s big collection of airplanes and spacecraft. Jump into it all here in Episode 270 of Pop Tech Jam!

Links to Stories Mentioned On This Week’s Show