Category Archives: Podcast

PTJ 319: Secrets and Lies

October 14, 2019 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

El Kaiser and J.D. discuss the recent technology headlines, including Facebook’s wobbly Libra cryptocurrency, yet another iOS 13 update and political chaos around the globe. Also, there’s a giant Ouija board up in Salem, Massachusetts. And, leaving his beloved 3.5-mm headphone jack behind, El Kaiser takes a walk on the wireless side with a pair of Jabra Bluetooth earbuds.
Listen up here in PTJ 319!

High Schools to TikTok: We’re Catching Feelings (The New York Times)
Twitch is testing out watch parties, at long last (Polygon)
WAV audio files are now being used to hide malicious code (ZDNet)
Google Pixel 4: Android And Assistant Are Evolving (Forbes)
Hands-on with Pixel 4 and 4 XL: Google’s new phones only have minor differences (CNet)
The Reason Your Photos Are About to Get a Lot Better (The New York Times)
EBay, Visa, Mastercard, Stripe abandon Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency (CNBC)
Defiant Zuckerberg Says Facebook Won’t Police Political Speech (The New York Times)
Facebook’s Hands-Off Approach to Political Speech Gets Impeachment Test (The New York Times)
Elizabeth Warren targets Facebook’s ad policy — with a Facebook ad (CNN)
Why Facebook can’t stop politicians from lying (The Verge)
Facebook to Pay $40M in Proposed Settlement in Video Metrics Suit (Hollywood Reporter)
Google’s Pixel 4 hardware event: rumors, leaks, and what to expect (The Verge)
Kuo: iPhone SE 2 Launching in Q1 2020 with A13 at $399 Price (MacRumors)
Apple Adds Option to Delete Siri History and Opt Out of Sharing Audio Recordings in iOS 13.2 (MacRumors)
Is Amazon Watching You? Cloud Cam Footage Reviewed By Humans (Bloomberg)
Apple Removes App That Helps Hong Kong Protesters Track the Police (The New York Times)
Apple, Google Pull Hong Kong Protest Apps After China Uproar (Wall Street Journal)
Blizzard Boycott After Hearthstone Player Punished For Hong Kong Protest Support (BuzzFeed News)
World’s Largest Ouija Board Unveiled in Salem, Ma. (Geek.com)
Ouijazilla! (Talking Board Historical Society)
Jabra Elite 65t Bluetooth earbuds

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 318: Honk If You Love ‘Untitled Goose Game’

October 6, 2019 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

As crisp autumn breezes swirl through New York City at last, El Kaiser and J.D. get back to business, pondering new studies on social media’s effect on news and mental health, Apple’s bugfest of an iOS 13 release and a recent addictive video game about a horrible little goose loose in a quiet English village. El Kaiser also shares his observations on some recently acquired gear. Pour yourself a cup of hot cider and settle in for PTJ 318!

Americans Are Wary of the Role Social Media Sites Play in Delivering the News (Pew Research Center)
College students who go off Facebook for a week consume less news and report being less depressed (Nieman Journalism Lab)
With Facebook’s Coming News Tab, Only Some Will Get Paid (Wall Street Journal)
What Is Facebook Dating For? (The Atlantic)
TiVo Debuts the Edge DVR and TiVo+, Its Own Live Streaming Service (Digital Trends)
Instagram makes its ‘Restrict’ anti-bullying tool available to everyone (Engadget)
Tesla’s Smart Summon feature is already causing chaos in parking lots across America (The Verge)
U.S. online privacy rules unlikely this year, hurting big tech (Reuters)
Apple iOS 13 Is Full Of Bugs, Reports Warn (Forbes)
Apple Releases iOS 13.1.2 and iPadOS 13.1.2 with Fixes for Camera, iCloud Backup, HomePod Shortcut, and Flashlight Bugs (MacRumors)
iOS 13: Security and privacy settings you need to tweak and check (ZDNet)
How a horrible goose topped the gaming chart (BBC News)
Samsung Galaxy Note
Samsung Galaxy Watch

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 317: Candied Apples

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

Brand new iPhones in pastel-candy colors, two deluxe “Pro” models with three cameras on the back and a spiffy new iPad were in Apple’s basket of fall announcements this week — along with an updated Apple Watch and two new monthly subscription services for games and movies. El Kaiser and J.D. wade into the Apple news-stream after a look at other headlines, including new government scrutiny for Big, er, Gigundo Tech. Welcome to PTJ 317!

A message about iOS security (Apple)
Apple takes flak for disputing iOS security bombshell dropped by Google (Ars Technica)
A very deep dive into iOS Exploit chains found in the wild (Google Project Zero)
How Google’s Project Zero ended up attacking all iPhone users (iMore)
Texas attorney general leads Google antitrust probe (CNBC)
Google and YouTube Will Pay Record $170 Million for Alleged Violations of Children’s Privacy Law (Federal Trade Commission)
How Each Big Tech Company May Be Targeted by Regulators (The New York Times)
16 Ways Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon Are in Government Cross Hairs (The New York Times)
How Top-Valued Microsoft Has Avoided the Big Tech Backlash (The New York Times)
Your Private Instagram Stories Aren’t Exactly Private (BuzzFeed)
Period Tracker Apps: Maya And MIA Fem Are Sharing Deeply Personal Data With Facebook (BuzzFeed)
Facebook warns about Apple iOS 13 privacy improvement (CNBC)
Understanding Updates to Your Device’s Location Settings (Facebook)
How Apple’s Apps Topped Rivals in the App Store It Controls (The New York Times)
Amazon Employees Are Walking Out Over the Company’s Huge Carbon Footprint
(VICE)
The Polaroid Lab delivers instant prints using your phone display (Engadget)
Polaroid Originals
Kodak PRINTOMATIC Cameras

Apple Event Announcements

Everything Apple Announced at Today’s iPhone Event in Just Seven Minutes (macOS Rumors video)
September 2019 event (macOS Rumors)
Apple Arcade invites you to play something extraordinary (Apple)
Apple TV+ launches November 1, featuring originals from the world’s greatest storytellers (Apple)
Apple introduces new version of the most popular iPad starting at $329 (Apple)
Apple unveils Apple Watch Series 5 (Apple)
Apple introduces dual camera iPhone 11 (Apple)
iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max: the most powerful and advanced smartphones (Apple)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 316: Jacked

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

As The Summer of 2019 winds down, El Kaiser and J.D. discuss (among other things) the buzz around Apple’s annual fall iPhone event, Twitter’s account security issue with one of its major users, Facebook’s latest attempts at transparency in political advertising and Amazon’s growing video-surveillance network. And, as nerds, we used to always run after the shiny new gadget to have the latest and greatest gear — but have we gotten over that particular fear of missing out? Spin up PTJ 316 to hear it all!

Twitter C.E.O. Jack Dorsey’s Account Hacked (The New York Times)
Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker | D23 Special Look (StarWars.com | YouTube)
The Mandalorian: Official Trailer (Disney+ | YouTube)
Apple Invites Media to September 10 Event at Apple Park: ‘By Innovation Only’ (MacRumors)
Apple is turning Siri audio clip review off by default and bringing it in house (TechCrunch)
Improving Siri’s privacy protections (Apple)
Apple offers customers even more options for safe, reliable repairs (Apple)
Huawei plans high-end phone launch under cloud of Google ban (Reuters)
Google set to move Pixel production from China to Vietnam (9to5Google)
Doorbell-camera firm Ring has partnered with 400 police forces, extending surveillance concerns (Washington Post)
Working Together for Safer Neighborhoods: Introducing the Neighbors Active Law Enforcement Map (The Ring Blog)
Updates to Ads About Social Issues, Elections or Politics in the US (Facebook Newsroom)
Telltale Games is being revived (Polygon)
Telltale Games Press Release
The Joys of Being a Late Tech Adopter (The New York Times)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint, Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 315: Rise Up

August 7, 2019 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Hoverboard travel is here! In experimental trips across the English Channel, anyway. El Kaiser and J.D. take off through the week’s headlines, including more accusations of retaliatory workplace culture at Google, the move toward “pay with your face” forms of authentication and requirements for getting one of those new Apple Cards. J.D. also hosts a (Hopefully) Helpful Hint about getting more of that notepad program on your smartphone. PTJ 315 awaits!

Terminating Service for 8Chan (Cloudflare)
Apple is spending more than ever on R&D to fulfill the ‘Steve Jobs Doctrine’ (Patently Apple)
Amazon Gives Option to Disable Human Review of Alexa Recordings (Bloomberg)
Our hardware sustainability commitments (Google)
Google Employee Alleges Discrimination Against Pregnant Women in Viral Memo (VICE)
Apple Card Customer Agreement goes live on Goldman Sachs’ website ahead of August launch, warns about jailbreaking (9to5Mac)
Apple Card customer agreement (Goldman Sachs)
Half of all Google Chrome extensions have fewer than 16 installs (ZDNet)
Streaming media player growth slows, smart TVs step up (nScreenMedia)
As China turns towards facial recognition payments, are QR codes on their way out? (South China Morning Post)
For Many Diabetes Patients, Skin Patches and Phones Are Replacing Finger Pricks (The Wall Street Journal)
Flyboarding Frenchman crosses English Channel (BBC News)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

Collecting Your Thoughts Is Good. Organizing Them Is Even Better. (The New York Times)

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

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint, Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 312: Call the Law

June 24, 2019 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Big Government finally seems to be paying attention to Big Tech, but will anything actually change? El Kaiser and JD discuss some of the assorted bits of legislation aimed at regulating intrusive technology. And, in a (Hopefully) Helpful Hint, JD offers tips for whipping up your own letterhead in case you need to fire off an old-fashioned epistle by post or PDF. Episode 312 awaits!

Is Firefox better than Chrome? It comes down to privacy. (The Washington Post)
YouTube under federal investigation over allegations it violates children’s privacy (The Washington Post)
YouTube weighs changes to how it handles children’s content (CNN)
The Most Popular Kids’ Video Site in the World Isn’t for Kids (Bloomberg)
How 13 Became the Internet’s Age of Adulthood (WSJ)
Senators Markey and Hawley Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Update Children’s Online Privacy Rules (Sen. Ed Markey)
Exclusive: Mark Warner wants Google, Facebook to put a price on your data (Axios)
Senate Bill 748
House Bill 946
Robocalls prompt bipartisan push in Congress (The Washington Post)
Robocalls are overwhelming hospitals and patients, threatening a new kind of health crisis (The Washington Post)
Coming in 2020: Calibra (Facebook Newsroom)
Facebook announces Libra cryptocurrency: All you need to know (TechCrunch)
Libra, Facebook’s new cryptocurrency, isn’t likely to make it far (Axios)
NASA hacked because of unauthorized Raspberry Pi connected to its network (ZDNet)
Raspberry Pi 4 on sale now from $35 (Raspberry Pi)
Google was never really serious about tablets (The Verge)
Walmart and Amazon want to see inside your house. Should you let them? (Los Angeles Times)
What Happens After Amazon’s Domination Is Complete? Its Bookstore Offers Clues (The New York Times)
Helping kids learn to evaluate what they see online (Google blog)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

Get More From Your Letters With Custom Stationery for Print or Pixels (The New York Times)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 311: Slide Tackle

June 14, 2019 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

On this week’s show, JD takes a short break from watching the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 to round up some news with El Kaiser — including the annual Mary Meeker Internet Trends presentation, legal looks at Big Tech and game-world announcements. El Kaiser, ever on the hunt for good-sounding audio gear at reasonable prices, offers his review of the Mixcder E9 wireless headphones. Have a listen to PTJ 311!

Links to News Stories on This Week’s Show

Mary Meeker’s most important trends on the internet (Vox)
US regulator acts over plague of nuisance phone calls (BBC News)
Sprint and T-Mobile Merger Faces New Hurdle With Lawsuit by States (The New York Times)
House Opens Tech Antitrust Inquiry With Look at Threat to News Media (The New York Times)
Amazon is creating detailed 3D models of suburbia to train its new delivery robots (The Verge)
Apple to Buy Drive.ai in Bid for More Autonomous Vehicle Talent (Bloomberg)
What Does Apple Know About You? (Axios)
NFC gets a lot more powerful in iOS 13 (TechCrunch)
Apple Accidentally Leaks Radical iPhone Upgrade (Forbes)
Telegram faces DDoS attack in China… again (TechCrunch)
Huawei Is Said to Demand Patent Fees From Verizon (The New York Times)
Microsoft deletes massive face recognition database (BBC News)
Why airport facial recognition raises privacy concerns (The Washington Post)
Google Fails to Have Lawsuit Originally Brought by James Damore Thrown Out (Gizmodo)
Exclusive interview: Google CEO defends YouTube practices (Axios)
YouTube CEO apologizes to LGBTQ community after outcry (The Verge)
Amazon to shut down its Amazon Restaurants business in the U.S. (GeekWire)
This week’s dead Google product is Google Trips, may it rest in peace (Ars Technica)
Stadia: everything you need to know about Google’s game-streaming service (TechRadar)
Microsoft Project Scarlett Xbox: 8K graphics, SSD, and ray-tracing in 2020 (The Verge)

Headphones Review

Mixcder E9 Wireless Active Noise Cancelling Headphones

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 310: Apple-Picking Time

June 3, 2019 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

El Kaiser and J.D. were off binging Good Omens, but finished just in time for Apple’s 2019 edition of its World Wide Developers Conference. This week’s episode discusses the major announcements from the keynote — including a revamp of El Kaiser’s absolute favorite piece of Mac desktop hardware. Looming government regulation, verified Rotten Tomatoes reviews and a virus-riddled laptop celebrated as art are also in this week’s headlines. Listen in to Episode 310!

Links to Stories in This Week’s News Segment

“Good Omens” (Official Trailer | Prime Video)
How Amazon’s Good Omens series pays tribute to author Terry Pratchett (Polygon)
Robert Pattinson Is Officially ‘The Batman’ (Variety)

Apple’s WWDC Highlights: Death of iTunes and $6,000 Macs (The New York Times)
Why the iPhone 11 successor could be the phone to get (CNET)
Apple Suddenly Confirms Three New iPhones (Forbes)
Amazon could face heightened antitrust scrutiny under a new agreement between U.S. regulators (The Washington Post)
Google Is at the Center of a Storm Brewing Over Big Tech (The New York Times)
Twitter Is Running Lots More Ads, And Some Are Scammy Or Just Bad (BuzzFeed News)
Snapchat Employees Abused Data Access to Spy on Users (VICE)
An Update on How We Are Doing At Enforcing Our Community Standards (Facebook Newsroom)
Opinion | Nancy Pelosi and Fakebook’s Dirty Tricks (The New York Times)
IGTV Now Supports Landscape Videos (Instagram)
How Ireland became Europe’s data watchdog (BBC News)
What’s for dinner? Order it with Google (Google blog)
Amazon interested in buying Boost from T-Mobile, Sprint (Reuters)
Mobile carrier AT&T will now accept payments in crypto (The Block)
Amazon Is Working on a Device That Can Read Human Emotions (Bloomberg)
We’re introducing Verified Ratings and Reviews to Help You Make Your Viewing Decisions (Rotten Tomatoes)
Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass is coming to PC (Engadget)
Metadata is the biggest little problem plaguing the music industry (The Verge)
Auction for a laptop full of malware closes at $1.3 million (updated) (Engadget)

Apple World Wide Developers Conference 2019 Announcements

New iPod touch delivers even greater performance (Apple)
Apple previews iOS 13 (Apple)
The new iPadOS powers unique experiences designed for iPad (Apple)
Apple unveils powerful, all-new Mac Pro and groundbreaking Pro Display XDR (Apple)
watchOS 6 advances health and fitness capabilities for Apple Watch (Apple)
tvOS 13 powers the most personal cinematic experience ever (Apple)
Apple WWDC 2019 Keynote Video (Apple)
The Mac Pro Cheese Grater Is Back (And It Looks Powerful as Hell) (Gizmodo)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint, Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 309: Vaporized

May 20, 2019 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Game of Thrones may be over on HBO, but El Kaiser and J.D are still here talking tech, pop culture and everything else in between. This week’s episode ponders the blacklist effect on Chinese telecom company Huawei and potential problems with accurate weather forecasting because satellites measure water vapor in the 23.8 GHz band on the wireless spectrum and the Federal Communications Commission is selling off adjacent frequencies. J.D. also has a suggestion for parents who need a project for their bored kids. All this and more, right here on Episode 309!

Links to News Stories on This Week’s Episode

Exclusive: Google suspends some business with Huawei after Trump blacklist (Reuters)
Trump Huawei Ban Ripples Across Industry as Supplies Halted (Bloomberg)
Snapchat’s new gender-changing filter provokes strong reactions (Axios)
Kissing Babies, Loving Scrapple, Fighting Viral Hoaxes: ’20 Race’s New Routine (The New York Times)
Google Glass Enterprise Edition 2 drops to $999 and adds Qualcomm’s XR1 (VentureBeat)
Microsoft’s Edge for Mac browser now available in preview (The Verge)
Your 5G Phone Won’t Hurt You. But Russia Wants You to Think Otherwise. (The New York Times)
5G Networks Could Throw Weather Forecasting Into Chaos (WIRED)
Twitch Streamers Are Getting Paid $50,000 An Hour To Play New Games: They Deserve It (Forbes)
Tim Cook visits Ellis Marsalis Music Center in New Orleans (9to5Mac)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint: Give Your Kids A Movie-Making Project

How to Add Hollywood Special Effects to Your Videos (The New York Times)

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!