Tag Archives: Alexa

PTJ 338: Flight CLUB

May 29, 2020 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Twitter’s act of adding fact-checking labels to a couple of presidential tweets set off a storm in the social-media world — almost at the same time real-life stormy weather caused officials to scrub the NASA-SpaceX launch to the International Space Station, the first on an United States rocket since 2011. El Kaiser and J.D. discuss it all ahead of America’s rescheduled return to space this weekend. Blast off with PTJ 338!

Trump signs executive order targeting Twitter after fact-checking row (BBC News)
Trump’s Order on Social Media Could Harm One Person in Particular: Donald Trump (The New York Times)
Trump’s Illiberal Internet Fairness Doctrine (National Review)
What journalists should know about Communications Decency Act Section 230 (Poynter)
Jack on Twitter
Defying Trump, Twitter Doubles Down on Labeling Tweets (The New York Times)
Facebook and Twitter clash over fact-checking as Trump threats intensify (CNN)
Appeals court ruling suggests little legal traction for Trump’s anti-Twitter campaign (POLITICO)
Twitter adds native “scheduled tweets” function (Twitter support)
Twitter, Facebook Win Appeal in Anticonservative-Bias Suit (Bloomberg)
Arizona sues Google for allegedly violating Android users’ location privacy (The Washington Post)
Microsoft launches Cortana app for Windows 10 without Amazon’s Alexa (VentureBeat)
Apple Buys Machine-Learning Startup to Improve Data Used in Siri (Bloomberg)
Apple acquires the full Fraggle Rock collection in first major licensing play (The Verge)
How Delivery Drones Are Being Used to Tackle COVID-19 (WeRobotics)
Drone drops off Isle of Mull coronavirus masks (BBC)
Visit Isle of Man (Isle of Man Government)

Spaaaaccce!

Space Out and Explore the Universe Without Leaving Home (The New York Times)
Launch America Overview (NASA)
NASA
SpaceX

Episode Links

PTJ 323: Years and Years

December 17, 2019 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

As 2019 winds down, so does another decade of consumer technology. After a quick tour through recent headlines, El Kaiser and J.D. reflect on the highs and lows of the past 10 years in the world of gadgets and services. Come take a trip down geek memory lane here on PTJ 323!

Links to Stories in This Week’s News Segment

Our Progress on Leading the Fight Against Online Bullying (Instagram)
An update to our harassment policy (Official YouTube Blog)
Google and YouTube moderators speak out on the work that’s giving them PTSD (The Verge)
Twitter’s Jack Dorsey created a walled internet garden. Then he realized he hated tending it. (NBC News)
@jack on Twitter
Amazon sellers can’t use FedEx Ground for Prime shipments (CNN)
New Orleans cyberattack: Recovery process will last week or more, FBI aiding investigation (NOLA.com)
The world’s first 3D-printed neighborhood is being built in Mexico for families living on $3 a day (CNN)
Alexa can now respond in the voice of Samuel L. Jackson — here’s how to set it up (NBC News)

The Tech of the Decade

The 10 Best Gadgets of the 2010s (Time)
iPhones, Samsung Galaxy, and more: the 100 gadgets that defined this decade (The Verge)
The Most Iconic Tech Innovations of the 2010s (PCMag.com)
The Biggest Tech Product Flops of the 2010s (PCMag.com)

(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

PTJ 306: Internet Cleanup in Aisle Three!

April 12, 2019 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Freshly returned from spring break, El Kaiser and JD jump into the week’s headlines — including government attempts to regulate technology platforms and robots rolling through Walmart. JD also has a (Hopefully) Helpful Hint for wrangling the massive photo collection stuffed on your smartphone. Push play to hear it all on Episode 306!

Julian Assange Charged by U.S. With Conspiracy to Hack a Government Computer (The New York Times)
WikiLeaks Founder Charged in Computer Hacking Conspiracy (United States Department of Justice)
The UK’s online laws could be the future of the internet—and that’s got people worried (MIT Technology Review)
The Online Harms White Paper (GOV.UK)
Websites to be fined over ‘online harms’ under new proposals (BBC News)
The Deceptive Experiences To Online Users Reduction (DETOUR) Act (Scribd)
U.S. senators introduce social media bill to ban ‘dark patterns’ tricks (Reuters)
YouTube Disables Comments on Livestream of Hearing on Hate Speech (Variety)
#SquadGoals: How Automated Assistants are Helping Us Work Smarter (Walmart Newsroom)
Walmart to expand in-store tech, including Pickup Towers for online orders and robots (TechCrunch)
Asking Alexa for news no longer has to stop with the latest headlines (Nieman Journalism Lab)
Amazon Workers Are Listening to What You Tell Alexa (Bloomberg)
Facebook’s new Watch Party video-streaming feature is wildly popular with pirates, who use it to run illicit movie marathons (Business Insider India)
AP to fact-check video, Spanish-language content on Facebook (Associated Press)
Opera introduces Reborn 3, the first desktop browser with Web 3, faster VPN and ad blocker (Opera blog)
Will Apple Just Kill iTunes Already? (Gizmodo)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

Organizing Your Unwieldy Photo Collection Is Easier Than You Think (The New York Times)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 278: Fun with FragChucks

July 2, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

On this week’s episode, El Kaiser discusses his return to gaming and adventures with hardware, and J.D. explores the world of indoor maps. In tech news this week, Disney marches on to a Fox acquisition, Facebook tries a way to block spoilers, the Dark Net gets busted and this fall’s new Doctor Who series will have its own unique look and sound. Find a cool spot to kick back and spin up PTJ 278!

Links to Stories on This Week’s Show

Disney Wins Approval From Department of Justice for $71 Billion Fox Bid (The Wrap)
Comcast Is Weighing Private Equity Partnerships for Fox Bid (Bloomberg)
Twitter adds support for login verification with USB security key (HelpNetSecurity)
Facebook’s retreat from the news has painful for publishers—including Slate. (Slate)
Keyword Snooze: A New Way to Help Control Your News Feed (Facebook Newsroom)
Apple May Create Subscription Service Bundle That Includes Original TV Content, Apple Music and News (Mac Rumors)
Apple, Samsung Resolve Smartphone Design Fight After 7 Years (Bloomberg)
First Nationwide Undercover Operation Targeting Darknet Vendors Results in Arrests of More Than 35 Individuals Selling Illicit Goods and the Seizure of Weapons, Drugs and More Than $23.6 Million (Department of Justice)
Amazon Alexa devices in hotels raise privacy concerns for some (Purdue News Service)
Amazon to acquire online pharmacy PillPack in a deal that could disrupt the US drugstore business (CNBC)
Snap gaming platform on the way now that Facebook has copied everything else (BGR)
Introducing the first version of BBC Sounds (BBC Blogs)
Doctor Who: Season 11 release date, trailer, plot details and more (CNet)
“Doctor Who” on BBC One (BBC)
Jodie Whittaker is the Doctor! (BBC)
Jodie Whittaker Unveils Brand New Doctor Who Logo (BBC)
Who is Segun Akinola? The composer reinventing the Doctor Who theme (The Guardian)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

Explore the Great Indoors (The New York Times)
How GPS Works (GPS.gov)
GPS.gov

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 276: Game On!

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

A judge cleared the way for AT&T and Time Warner to merge, Apple plans to reinforce its iPhone security, Microsoft made a bunch of announcements — but hey, here comes the annual E3 event to bring in the fun. El Kaiser and J.D. sort through it all before a discussion about the VPNFilter malware — you know, that one the FBI was warning about the other week — and how to protect your router from it. Spin up PTJ 276 to hear it all!

DOJ Won’t Seek to Halt AT&T-Time Warner Merger Pending Any Appeal (Variety)
AT&T Closes Acquisition of Time Warner (The New York Times)
Net neutrality died today as FCC’s vote to repeal rules goes into effect (PC Gamer)
Comcast, AT&T, Verizon say they have no paid prioritization plans (Ars Technica)
SB-822 Communications: broadband Internet access service (California Legislative Information)
Apple to Close iPhone Security Hole That Police Use to Crack Devices (The New York Times)
Microsoft’s next-gen gaming plan: A new Xbox, and streaming for everyone else (Ars Technica)
Power and simplicity—updates to the Office 365 user experience (Microsoft 365 Blog)
Microsoft opens Office 2019 for Mac business preview (Engadget)
Over 100 UK tech leaders back new call for a people’s vote on Brexit (TechCrunch)
Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2018 (Reuters Institute)
See What’s Happening! (Twitter blog)
Exclusive: Microsoft takes aim at Amazon with push for checkout-free retail (Reuters)
John Boyega calls out Star Wars fans after harassment controversy (Polygon)
PC Gaming Show E3 2018: Everything and the kitchen sink (Ars Technica)
Announcing 2018-2019 Fortnite Competitive Season (Epic Games)
‘Skyrim: Very Special Edition’ with Alexa is not a joke, game arrives on Amazon Echo (Business Insider)
“Skyrim” for Amazon Alexa (Amazon)
“Skyrim: A Very Special Edition” (YouTube)

Reset Your Router

Your Wi-Fi Security Is Probably Weak. Here’s How to Fix That. (The New York Times)
VPNFilter exploits endpoints, targets new devices (Cisco Talos)
Justice Department Announces Actions to Disrupt Advanced Persistent Threat 28 Botnet of Infected Routers and Network Storage Devices (US Department of Justice)
Foreign Cyber Actors Target Home And Office Routers And Networked Devices Worldwide (FBI Public Service Announcement)
VPNFilter Destructive Malware (US-CERT)
Cisco Talos VPN Filter malware findings (UK National Cyber Security Centre)
VPNFilter router malware is a lot worse than everyone thought (The Register)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 272: Foiled Again!

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

This past week saw two big developer conferences unload several boxes of announcements, as Google I/O and Microsoft Build fought for media attention like Godzilla vs. Gamera. El Kaiser and J.D. discuss the ramped-up interest in artificial intelligence coming out of both conferences, along with other headlines from around the technosphere. J.D. also offers suggestions for dealing with an excess of emoji, and previews new characters under consideration by the Unicode Consortium. Come sit a spell and join us for Episode 272!

Links to Stories Discussed on This Week’s Episode

Everything Google announced at its 2018 I/O developers conference (Quartz)
Make Google Do It… And Then What? (BuzzFeed)
Build 2018 key takeaways: 10 most important announcements from Microsoft’s big developer conference (GeekWire)
Critical Windows bug fixed today is actively being exploited to hack users (Ars Technica)
Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 17666 (Windows Experience Blog)
Customers can experience first-hand the convenience of the Alexa smart home experience and more in a real home environment (Amazon Press Room)
U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program Selectees (US Department of Transportation)
Squirrel Is a New App That’s Just Like Slack but Made by Yahoo, and We’ll Leave It at That (Gizmodo)
Yahoo just released a group chat app called Squirrel (Android Police)
Introducing Tour Creator (Google blog)
Apple cracking down on applications that send location data to third-parties (9to5Mac.com)
Apple Plans to Sell Video Subscriptions Through TV App (Bloomberg)
FCC says ‘net neutrality’ rules will end on June 11 (Reuters)
Russia’s 2016 Facebook Strategy Exposed in Trove of 3,500 Ads (Bloomberg)
Exposing Russia’s Effort to Sow Discord Online: The Internet Research Agency and Advertisements (House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence)
Full Solo Soundtrack List Hints at What the Movie Is Really About (MovieWeb)

Emoji World

The Unicode Consortium
Overcome With Emoji (The New York Times)
157 New Emojis in the 2018 Emoji List (Emojipedia)
Draft Emoji Candidates (Unicode Consortium)

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

Net neutrality bill moving ahead in California (San Jose Mercury News)
Netflix has considered buying theaters, including Mark Cuban’s Landmark, to gain an Oscar edge, sources say (Los Angeles Times)
Introducing Mobile Previews (Netflix)
MoviePass Parent’s Shares Crushed After Disclosing Pricing of Stock Sale (Variety)
Amazon’s new ‘Alexa Blueprints’ let anyone create custom Alexa skills and responses (TechCrunch)
Alexa Skill Blueprints is a new way for customers to create customized Alexa responses and personalized skills (BusinessWire)
New Android Chat (The Verge)
The key moments from Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony to Congress (The Guardian)
Exclusive: Facebook to put 1.5 billion users out of reach of new EU privacy law (Reuters)
Americans Want Online Information Freedoms Over Government Restriction of Fake News (Pew Research Center)
Microsoft Extension Aims to Improve Google Chrome Security (Fortune)
Hackers once stole a casino’s high-roller database through a thermometer in the lobby fish tank (Business Insider)

Geek Vacation Destination

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 266: Brought to You By the Letters “P” and “S”

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

A preview peep of the new Android P operating system has arrived for developers and Microsoft is adding an “S” mode to the next version of Windows 10. El Kaiser and J.D. also discuss other letters in the news this week, including SEC and OMG, as in “OMG, why is the Amazon Alexa laughing by itself???” You can hear all this and more (including a discussion of software vs. treeware for news consumption) on this week’s episode of Pop Tech Jam!

Links to Stories Discussed on This Week’s Episode

Previewing Android P (Android Developers Blog)
Android P Features and APIs (Android Developers Blog)
Android P DP1: New nav bar button enables app rotation even w/ auto-rotate disabled (9to5Google)
Windows 10 in S Mode coming soon to all editions of Windows 10 (Windows Experience Blog)
AI Platform for Windows Developers (Windows Developer Blog)
Researchers Bypassed Windows Password Locks With Cortana Voice Commands (Motherboard)
Snap is laying off about 100 engineers (CNBC)
Statement on Potentially Unlawful Online Platforms for Trading Digital Assets (SEC.gov)
Amazon launches a low-cost version of Prime for Medicaid recipients (TechCrunch)
Amazon Alexa devices are creepily laughing at their owners for no reason (Consequence of Sound)

Consuming News

For Two Months, I Got My News From Print Newspapers. Here’s What I Learned. (The New York Times)
The Information Diet: A Case for Conscious Consumption by Clay Johnson (O’Reilly Media)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 265: Just Over the Ridge

March 5, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer 2 Comments

Congratulations to the sound team on Dunkirk for the Oscars — we here at Pop Tech Jam had a feeling you were going to win!

But now that we know who won the 2018 Academy Awards, life is still full of burning questions: Who am I? What is my place in the universe? Why do the Klingons on Star Trek: Discovery look so different from the Klingons in the rest of the canonical series? This week, El Kaiser and J.D. discuss The Klingon Question after tackling the technology news of the moment. naDev ‘oH Qap!

Links to Stories Discussed on This Week’s Episode

Twitter Health Metrics Proposal Submission (Twitter blog)
Introducing Uber Health, Removing Transportation as a Barrier to Care (Uber Newsroom)
Google launches Slack competitor Hangouts Chat (Reuters)
ESRB defends “fun” loot boxes as it starts labeling all “in-game purchases” (Ars Technica)
Amazon acquiring Ring to help with Key delivery system (CNBC)
Updates to YouTube Live streaming (YouTube blog)
Google Clips review: a smart camera that doesn’t make the grade (The Verge)
Google Clips camera review: The AI-powered camera takes photos and video (The Washington Post)
Samsung’s Galaxy S9 is official: Fingerprint sensor finally in the right place (Android Police)
Built for the Way We Communicate Today: Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ (Samsung Pressroom)
Apple Turns Up Audio Ambition With High-End Headphones (Bloomberg)
T-Mobile and Sprint name first 5G cities, as race to build next-gen network intensifies (GeekWire)
5G Cell Service Is Coming. Who Decides Where It Goes? (The New York Times)
PayPal Settles FTC Charges that Venmo Failed to Disclose Information to Consumers (Federal Trade Commission)
Amazon’s Battle to Bring Conversational AI Into Your Home (WIRED)
‘Alexa, How Can Podcasters Make Money From Voice Assistants?’ (The Wall Street Journal)

Star Trek Continuity

Klingon Head Ridges Will Finally Be Explained on Star Trek: Discovery, with Science (io9)
Star Trek: Discovery’s Klingons may look unfamiliar for a reason (Polygon)
The Klingon Forehead Problem (Ex Astris Scientia)
The Evolution of Klingon Foreheads (Ex Astris Scientia)
Klingon augment virus (Memory Alpha Wiki)
Alex Kurtzman Explains Star Trek: Discovery’s Klingons (io9)
Does continuity matter for Star Trek: Discovery?
(The Verge)
Star Trek: Discovery’s Changes To Klingon Canon Are The Worst Part Of A Great Show (ScreenRant)
The “Wand Order Problem” (The Harry Potter Lexicon)
Mistakes in the Harry Potter books (Harry Potter Wiki)

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!