Tag Archives: Samsung

PTJ 362: New Galaxies

February 15, 2022 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Samsung has kicked off the year in new phone hardware with updates to its Galaxy line — including a $1200 Ultra model that comes with five cameras, a stylus and a 6.8-inch screen. El Kaiser and JD ponder the possibilities, along in a roundup of other tech headlines and a preview of this year’s new crop of emoji (disco ball!) coming to iOS and Android. El Kaiser also continues his exploration of Marvel and DC Comics adaptations for the big and small screens. All this and more on PTJ 362!

Crypto apps soar in popularity after Super Bowl splurge (The Block)
Microsoft announces new app store principles, aligning with Open App Ma rkets Act (The Washington Post)
Open App Markets Act (Congress.gov)
Tinder to Eliminate Age-Based Pricing for Premium Features (PCMag)
New s From Tinder Newsroom
Making ‘Dinobabies’ Extinct: IBM’s Push for a Younger Work Force (The New York Times)
Everything you need to know from Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked 2022 event (The Verge)
Apple unveils contactless payments via Tap to Pay on iPhone (Apple)
Apple debuts Tap to Pay feature for iPhone, here are the details (9to5Mac)
Apple’s ‘realityOS’ for Rumored AR/VR Headset Referenced in Source Code (MacRumors)
Peloton co-founder steps down after rough ride (AP News)
Amazon and Nike exploring Peloton takeover, reports say (BBC News)
For the first time in its history, Facebook is in decline. Has the tech giant begun to crumble? (The Guardian)
Meta SEC Form 10-K 2021
Meta says it may shut down Facebook and Instagram in Europe (CNBC)
We’re Fine Without Facebook, German and French Ministers Say (Bloomberg)
See All 37 New Emojis Coming to Your Phone in Apple’s iOS 15.4 Update (Business Insider)
Emoji Version 14.0 (Emojipedia)
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Paramount+)
Obi-Wan Kenobi (Disney+ Originals)
Peacemaker (HBO Originals)
DC Comics TV
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Martin Scorsese: I Said Marvel Movies Aren’t Cinema. Let Me Explain. (The New York Times)
Martin Scorsese’s fight against Marvel isn’t really about Marvel movies (Vox)
Tom Holland hits back at Martin Scorsese’s comments that Marvel films aren’t “cinema” (NME)

Episode Links

PTJ 354: Infrastructure, Weak

May 13, 2021 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

This month’s Colonial Pipeline hack, the massive bot farm lurking on Facebook last fall and Amazon’s constant battle with counterfeit products illustrate the huge vulnerabilities that exist in many U.S. companies as the world grows ever more digital. But in cheerier news, El Kaiser and J.D. also discuss the country’s broadband connectivity fund to help narrow the digital divide and kweliTV, a streaming service that highlights authentic Black stories. El Kaiser also shares his views on Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and a new Android tablet from Samsung. Come join us here on PTJ 354!

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (Disney+)
Cyberattack Forces a Shutdown of a Top U.S. Pipeline (The New York Times)
Hacking group DarkSide responsible for Colonial Pipeline shutdown (CNBC)
FCC approves $7B broadband connectivity fund (CNET)
This is a map of America’s broadband problem (The Verge)
Sony Warns Tight PlayStation 5 Supply to Extend Into Next Year (Bloomberg)
Next-Gen PlayStation VR Is 4K Plus Eye-Tracking & Vibration (UploadVR)
Apple vs Epic Court Case Roundup (Kotaku)
Amazon blocked 10 billion counterfeit listings and spent $700M fighting fraud on its site last year (GeekWire)
Researchers Say They’ve Uncovered a Massive Facebook Bot Farm From the 2020 Election (Mother Jones)
Inside a Facebook bot farm that pumps out 200k+ political posts per month (Comparitech)
Facebook wants to make sure you’ve read the article you’re about to share (The Verge)
WhatsApp will gradually stop you calling or messaging contacts if you don’t agree to its new privacy policy (Business Insider)
WhatsApp FAQ
Dozens of state AGs asked Facebook to cancel plans for kids Instagram (Protocol)
She was tired of seeing Black stereotypes on TV. So she started her own streaming service. (CNN)
Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 / S7+
Apple iPad

Episode Links

PTJ 348: Beer Me, Rosie

January 12, 2021 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

As 2021 starts off feeling like the surprise end-credit sequence to 2020, El Kaiser and J.D. discuss Twitter’s big move, the power of social-media companies and a little trade Vegas-based expo called the Consumer Electronics Show that’s having its first-ever all-virtual edition. All this, plus thoughts on “Wonder Woman 1984” and Apple’s beefy new over-the-ear headphones, right here on PTJ 348!

Wonder Woman 1984 (Trailer)
Twitter Permanently Bans Trump, Capping Online Revolt (The New York Times)
Permanent suspension of @realDon aldTrump (Twitter blog)
All the platforms that have banned or restricted Trump s o far (Axios)
Tr ump and T witter clash with White House preparing to blast big tech (The Washington Post)
Twitter Fall 7% Following Permanent Trump Ban (Bloomberg)
Merkel among EU leaders questioning Tw itter’s Trump ban (Politico)
Parler sues Amazon for cutting off its services (CNN)
Parler ban pushes r andom app ‘Parlor’ to top of app store charts (Mashable)
Eve ry Delete d Parler Post, Many With Users’ Location Data, Has Been Archived (Gizmodo)
He Created the Web. Now He’s Out to Remake the Digita l World. (The New York Times)
Google Stadia and GeForce Now are coming to LG TVs in 2021 (The Verge)
Amazon, Walmart Tell Consumers to Skip Retu rns of Unwanted Items (The Wall Street Journal)
What to expect from the first-ever vir tual CES (Ars Technica)
T he Verge: CES Expo Announcements
CES 2021 on CNet
Samsung’s CES 2021 robots will clean your house and pour you a glass of wi ne (CNET)
Apple AirPods Max
Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Noise-Canceling Hea dphones
Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Noise-Canceling Headphones

Episode Links

PTJ 326: Who’s Zoomin’ Who?

February 13, 2020 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Greetings from the depths of February, where El Kaiser shares an appraisal of his recent binge-watching content, The Good Place and Letterkenny. February also means Mobile World Congress — but not this year, thanks to concern over the coronavirus. After a stroll through the other recent tech headlines, J.D. also offers a (Hopefully) Helpful Hint about protect you and yours from an increasingly common bank scam. Punch up PTJ 326 to hear it all!

“The Good Place” (NBC)
“Letterkenny” (Hulu)
The world’s biggest phone show has been canceled due to coronavirus concerns (The Verge)
Coronavirus: Sony and Amazon pull out of major tech show (BBC News)
Samsung’s new phones bring flip screens, 100-times zoom — and $1,400 price tags (The Washington Post)
Foldable Phones Are Here. Do We Really Want Them? (The New York Times)
Facebook will pay Reuters to fact-check Deepfakes and more (TechCrunch)
Facebook’s Twitter and Instagram accounts hacked (BBC News)
Ransomware Attacks Grow, Crippling Cities and Businesses (The New York Times)
In Amazon’s Bookstore, No Second Chances for the Third Reich (The New York Times)
Google Maps is turning 15! Celebrate with a new look and features (Google)
15 weird Google Maps stories to celebrate the 15th anniversary (Mash Viral)
Online Dating: The Virtues and Downsides (Pew Research Center)
This App Automatically Cancels and Sues Robocallers (VICE)
Do Not Pay / Robo Revenge

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 313: Bye, Design

July 1, 2019 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

On this week’s episode. El Kaiser and JD discuss Jony Ive’s departure from his long-time design post at Apple, Facebook’s attempts at civil rights and the latest in cat-flap technology. And, after decades of living the 3.5mm life, El Kaiser also unboxes his very first set of Lightning-connector earbuds and tests them out. Have yourself a listen here on Episode 313!

Jony Ive ‘dispirited’ by Tim Cook’s lack of interest in product design: WSJ (The Verge)
Jony Ive made the entire tech world care about design (The Verge)
Why Jony Ive’s greatest achievement wasn’t the iPhone. It was the original iMac (Digital Trends)
Publishers Not Making Much Money From Apple News+ (MacRumors)
The Bixby Marketplace is Now Officially Open in the U.S. and Korea (Samsung Global Newsroom)
A Second Update on Our Civil Rights Audit (Facebook Newsroom)
Amazon Air is expanding to Alaska in a warning shot to UPS, FedEx (Business Insider)
The Huawei rollercoaster continues as Google gets a green light to license Android again (PCWorld)
Huawei may get its US supply chain back after Trump’s policy “U-turn” (CNN)
The Hidden Cost of GoFundMe Health Care (The New Yorker)
Former Equifax employee sentenced for insider trading (Department of Justice)
Cat flap uses AI to punish pet’s killer instincts (BBC News)
If Tom Brings Jerry Home, ML Locks the Cat Door (Synced)

Earbud Unboxing

RHA MA650i Earbuds with Lightning connector

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 302: Social Disorder

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

Has social media become more trouble than it’s worth? El Kaiser and J.D ponder the topic while discussing virtual-reality pioneer Jaron Lanier’s 2018 book, “Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now.” And as always, this week’s episode of Pop Tech Jam serves up a look at the recent tech headlines. Fire up Episode 302 to hear it all!

News Stories Discussed on This Week’s Show

What’s Next for Smartphones? Samsung’s New Galaxy Line Offers a Few Answers (The New York Times)
Samsung debuts the Galaxy S10e, S10, and S10+ (VentureBeat)
Samsung’s foldable phone is the $1,980 Galaxy Fold (The Verge)
Galaxy S10’s in-screen fingerprint scanner is ultrasonic. Here’s exactly what that means (CNet)
Apple Is Said to Target Combining IPhone, IPad, Mac Apps by 2021 (Bloomberg)
Google to Unveil Netflix-Like Game Streaming Service in March (Fortune)
Google plans to announce long-rumored ‘Yeti’ hardware at GDC event (9to5Google)
Facebook reportedly gets deeply personal info from some apps, like ovulation times and heart rate (CNBC)
Facebook will shut down its spyware VPN app Onavo (TechCrunch)
Improving Location Settings on Android (Facebook Newsroom)
‘Sustained and ongoing’ disinformation assault targets Dem presidential candidates (Politico)
Russian Hackers Targeted European Research Groups, Microsoft Says (The New York Times)
Defending Democracy Program (Microsoft)
How an Investigation of Fake FCC Comments Snared a Prominent D.C. Media Firm (Gizmodo)
On YouTube, a network of paedophiles is hiding in plain sight (WIRED UK)
Pinterest Quietly Blocks All Vaccine-Related Searches, Which Is One Solution, I Guess (Gizmodo)
Ten threats to global health in 2019 (World Health Organization)
Nike app for self-tying shoe comes undone (BBC)

Is It Time to Dump Social Media?

“Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now” by Jaron Lanier
Click ‘Delete’ to Save Your Soul (The New York Times Book Review)
Jaron Lanier interview on how social media ruins your life (Channel 4 on YouTube)
We Need to Remake the Internet: Jason Lanier TED Talk

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 297: Yes, It’s Time for Our Annual Smart Toilet Update

January 10, 2019 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Early January is here at last and El Kaiser and J.D. are ready to explore all the unique creations launched on the floor of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. And as with last year’s round-up, the specifications and features on the Kohler Intelligent Toilet amaze. This week’s episode also features a look at recent technology news and a rave review for the animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse film. Jump into 2019 with Episode 297!

Links to Stories on This Week’s Show

No, Samsung isn’t pre-installing Facebook on your phone (The Next Web)
How a Russian firm helped catch an alleged NSA data thief (POLITICO)
Less than you think: Prevalence and predictors of fake news dissemination on Facebook (Science Advances)
People older than 65 share the most fake news, a new study finds (The Verge)
Microsoft adds more mobile, scheduling capabilities to Teams for firstline workers (ZDNet)
Three new ways Microsoft Teams empowers Firstline Workers to achieve more (Microsoft 365
AT&T promises nationwide 5G in early 2020 — using sub-6GHz spectrum (VentureBeat)
Pick up where you left off on Search (Google Keyword blog)
Building a Better World Wide Web (Chromium Blog)
Blog)
Instagram now lets you regram your posts to multiple accounts (TechCrunch)
Tim Cook: Apple wearables revenue is already exceeding peak iPod sales (CNBC)
Twitter will livestream some NBA game footage for the first time (Recode)

Consumer Electronics Show 2019

CES 2019: It’s the Year of Virtual Assistants and 5G (The New York Times)
CES 2019: Bread robots, bendy phones, talking toilets and everything else from day 1 (The Independent)
Hey Google, what’s new with the Assistant at CES this year? (Google)
Self-rolling suitcases and roll-up TVs: CES 2019’s craziest and coolest gadgets (The Washington Post)
The weirdest gadgets from CES 2019 (TechRadar)
Weird CES: The bizarre things we didn’t expect to see (Android Authority)
The Best Smart Toilets of CES 2019. Yup, We Said Smart Toilets (Digital Trends)
Kohler’s smart toilet promises a ‘fully-immersive experience’ (The Verge)
Numi 2.0 Intelligent toilet with KOHLER Konnect (Kohler)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 292: Know When to Hold ‘Em, Know When to Fold ‘Em

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

Smartphones that open up into mini-tablets are on the way, thanks to several companies gearing up to expand the traditional rectangular slab into new form factors. Samsung had a big event to introduce its bendy Galaxy X, even though a smaller company called Royole jumped out in front of the pack with its own FlexiPai device a few weeks ago. El Kaiser and J.D. discuss this new look for phones, as well as East Coast expansion efforts by Google and Amazon, and other news of the week. J.D. also explains what those “waterproof” and “water-resistant” ratings for mobile devices really mean. Press the Play button to unfold Episode 292 of Pop Tech Jam!

Links to Stories Discussed on This Week’s Show

This is Samsung’s foldable smartphone (The Verge)
SDC 2018: Samsung Reveals Breakthroughs in Intelligence, IoT and Mobile UX (Samsung)
Comcast making video-streaming box for broadband-only customers (CNBC)
Why the Google Walkout Was a Watershed Moment in Tech (The New York Times)
Google Overhauls Sexual Misconduct Policy After Employee Walkout (The New York Times)
Google Plans Large New York City Expansion (The Wall Street Journal)
Amazon Plans to Split HQ2 Between Long Island City, N.Y., and Arlington, Va. (The New York Times)
Amazon HQ2 in Long Island City, Queens: What the neighborhood is like (CNBC)
Ford buys electric scooter startup Spin (TechCrunch)
Why Children’s Fondness for YouTube Puts the Company at Risk (The Wall Street Journal)
Facebook Had a Good Election Day. But It Can’t Let Up Now (The New York Times)
Amazon begins mailing printed holiday toy catalog (CNBC)

Just How “Waterproof” Is Your Phone?

The Swim Test for Smartphones (The New York Times)
International Electrotechnical Commission
Guide to Ingress Protection Ratings (Element Materials Technology)
Are Galaxy devices waterproof? (Samsung)
Help prevent water damage to your Pixel phone (Google)
About splash, water, and dust resistance of iPhone 7 and later (Apple)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 284: Rock the Vote

August 26, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Election security — or lack thereof — dominated the headlines this week as social-media platforms moved to boot trolls and industry leaders met to discuss what to do with the U.S.midterms looming. Meanwhile, Walmart and Kobo teamed up on ebooks, rumors about Apple’s fall event popped up right on time, Samsung released its Galaxy Note9 and Google is trying to find regular doses of good news out there. All this and more on Episode 284!

Links to Stories Discussed in This Week’s Show

Hackers Attempt a Repeat Performance at the D.N.C. (Vanity Fair)
Hack attempt on DNC voter database was a false alarm, the national committee says (The Washington Post)
Facebook Identifies New Influence Operations Spanning Globe (The New York Times)
Taking Down More Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior (Facebook Newsroom)
An update on state-sponsored activity (Google Keyword blog)
Tech Companies Are Gathering For A Secret Meeting To Prepare A 2018 Election Strategy (BuzzFeed)
It’s Too Late to Protect the 2018 Elections. But Here’s How the U.S. Can Prepare for 2020. (Lawfare)
A Note From Twitter Security
Jack Dorsey On Deleting Tweets, Banning Trump, And Whether An Unbiased Twitter Can Exist (BuzzFeed)
Tiny Doylestown Borough battled Verizon over 5G and won a big settlement (Philly.com)
Here’s a first look at Facebook’s “Aloha” voice assistant that might power its smart speaker (BGR)
Walmart and Kobo Launch Walmart eBooks, Including an Audiobook Subscription for $9.99 (Walmart News)
Investigation Finds It’s Hard to Turn Off Google Location Tracking (eWeek)
A Lawsuit Over Google’s Sneaky Location Tracking Could Be a Game-Changer (Gizmodo)
The Right to not be Tracked: a Spotlight on Google Maps and Android Location Tracking (Rise Lab / UC Berkeley
Manage or delete your Location History (Google Account Help)
Yup, we know exactly when Apple’s 2018 iPhones will be released (BGR)
Samsung’s Galaxy Note9: Too Much Phone for Most of Us (The New York Times)
Samsung Galaxy Note S9
Nikon mirrorless Z7 and Z6 full-frame cameras launch (BBC News)
Xbox All Access: Xbox Live Gold, Game Pass, and consoles to be bundled in new plans (On MSFT)
Hey Google, tell me something good (Google Keyword blog)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

When Troubleshooters Run Into Trouble (The New York Times)
Decoding Windows Error Messages (The New York Times)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint, Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 282: Confidence Level

July 27, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

On this week’s episode, El Kaiser and J.D. discuss the things that are making the tech world shake, rattle and roll — including Amazon’s facial recognition software not passing muster with the American Civil Liberties Union, Facebook’s stock price plummeting and the possibility of the Broadway musical Hamilton coming to Netflix. In the (Hopefully) Helpful Hint, J.D. also describes a new scam going around that shows off an old password you’ve actually used in the past. Ride along with Episode 282!

Links to Stories on This Week’s Show

Amazon’s Rekognition messes up, matches 28 lawmakers to mugshots (Ars Technica)
Facebook Reports Second Quarter 2018 Results (Facebook)
Facebook Stock Tumbles as User and Sales Growth Slows After Scandals (The New York Times)
Facebook’s $100 billion-plus rout is the biggest loss in stock market history (CNBC)
Senate Intel Panel Plans Hearing With Facebook, Google, And Twitter Execs (BuzzFeed News)
Watch Party Launches Around the World (Facebook Newsroom)
Facebook rolls out social video feature Watch Party to all Groups (Marketing Land)
YouTube hits Infowars with strike for hate speech, child endangerment (The Hill)
Trump Criticizes Twitter for ‘Shadow Banning’ Some Republicans (Bloomberg)
Twitter will lock your account if you change your display name to Elon Musk (The Verge)
Building on our cloud security leadership to help keep businesses protected (Google Keyword blog)
Google unveils 2FA ‘Titan Security Key’ w/ custom firmware, coming to Google Store (9to5Google)
A milestone for Chrome security: marking HTTP as “not secure” (Google Keyword blog)
Chrome now alerts you to unsecured HTTP sites (Engadget)
Samsung Display’s ‘Unbreakable Panel’ Certified by Underwriters Laboratories (Samsung Newsroom)
Round-up: user ‘solutions’ for thermal throttling of the i9 2018 MacBook Pro (Apple Insider)
The MacBook Pro’s throttling issues are fixed, but Apple hasn’t solved its biggest problem (Macworld)
Spotify added 8 million paid subscribers thanks to family plans (Engadget)
Liquid water ‘lake’ revealed on Mars (BBC News)
‘Hamilton’ Filmed Performance With Lin-Manuel Miranda Could Hit Big Screen: Report (Deadline)
myMTA app for Android and iOS
New York Today: A New App From the M.T.A. (The New York Times)
MTA Launches Test Version of System-Wide ‘MYmta’ App and New Responsive Website Designed by Customers (Metropolitan Transit Authority)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

- An Old Scam With a New Twist (The New York Times)
- Krebs on Security

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!