Tag Archives: Amazon

PTJ 356: Season’s Greetings!

August 11, 2021 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Like Clippy in a Microsoft Teams background, El Kaiser and J.D. are back after a somewhat inadvertent hiatus! The new season of Pop Tech Jam kicks off with El Kaiser’s thoughts on the most recent Suicide Squad reboot/remake/reimagining and includes J.D.’s usual roundup of technology and nerd news headlines — plus some tips for tidying your phone’s home screen and making the most of shortcut menus and widgets. Join us here on PTJ 356!

The S uicide Squad (2021 trailer)

T-Mobile Confirms It Was Hacked (VICE Motherboard)
U.S. Will Investigate Tesla’s Autopilot System Over Crashes With Emergency Vehicles (The New York Times)
Galaxy Unpacked 2021 (Samsung)
App Store Law Would Be a Direct Hit on Apple and Google (Bloomberg)

Microsoft Teams: Now you can invite Clippy to your next meeting (ZDNet)
Apple Readies New iPhones With Pro-Focused Camera, Video Updates (Bloomberg)
iPhone 13: Everything we know so far (Macworld)
Is Windows 11 the beginning of the end for Skype? (BBC News)
The Incredible Disappearing Return-to-Office Plans (Bloomberg)
Google planning Silicon Valley campus, hardware lab (CNBC)
Pay cut: Google employees who work from home could lose money (Reuters)
Amazon resumes mask mandate in warehouses amid rising Covid cases (CNBC)
When Amazon Customers Leave Negative Reviews, Some Sellers Hunt Them Down (The Wall Street Journal)
Here’s How Amazon Third-Party Sellers Reportedly Hound Customers Who Leave Bad Reviews (Gizmodo)
Expanded Protections for Children (Apple)
Apple FAQ on Expanded Protections for Children (Apple PDF)
Apple’s New ‘Child Safety’ Initiatives, and the Slippery Slope (Daring Fireball)
Apple defends new photo scanning child protection tech (BBC News)
Giving kids and teens a safer experience online (Google Keyword blog)
Google to Increase Privacy for Teenagers in Search and on YouTube (The New York Times)
Roku to release 23 more Quibi shows on Aug. 13 (CNET)
Safety brief: Don’t hide a WWII-era Panther tank in your basement (Task & Purpose)
Take Control of Your Home Screen (The New York Times)

Episode Links

PTJ 355: The Empire Hacks Back

June 7, 2021 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

In this week’s episode of Pop Tech Jam, El Kaiser and J.D. discuss the headlines from the world of tech, including the U.S. government’s own Bitcoin grab as it claws back the Colonial Pipeline ransom. El Kaiser would like Batman to have at least one nice day and J.D. ambles through the major announcements from this year’s Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference. Just push play to hear it all on PTJ 355!

Batman: Rebirth (DC Comics)
Justice Dept. says it recovered most of the ransom paid after the Colonial Pipeline cyber attack. (The New York Times)
Colonial Pipeline Cyber Attack: Hackers Used Compromised Password (Bloomberg)
Apple employees push back against returning to the office in internal letter (The Verge)
G7: Rich nations back deal to tax multinationals (BBC News)
G7 tax deal: Amazon, Google and Facebook respond (CNBC)
Google fined by France for abusing online advertising position (CNBC)
Facebook’s Marketplace Faces Antitrust Probes in EU, U.K. (WSJ)
In Response to Oversight Board, Trump Suspended for Two Years; Will Only Be Reinstated if Conditions Permit (About Facebook)
Apple pays out millions in compensation to student after iPhone repair facility shared her explicit personal images online (9to5Mac)
Jeff Bezos is going to space on first crewed flight of rocket (CNN)
Apple WWDC 2021 Keynote
iOS 15 Highlights (Apple Newsroom)
macOS Monterey Preview (Apple Newsroom)
watchOS 8 Announcement (Apple Newsroom)
iPadOS 15 Features (Apple Newsroom)

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 352: What the FLoC?

April 13, 2021 J.D. Biersdorfer 1 Comment

New stuff! We finally have lots of new products to talk about! El Kaiser and JD discuss a flurry of hardware announcements from several tech companies, as well as Google’s new FLoC tracking system and the results of Amazon’s union vote. El Kaiser also shares his thoughts on HBO’s His Dark Materials series and JD has tips for home design before you actually move into the home. Join us here on PTJ 352!

His Dark Materials (HBO)
A Journey into the History of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials (Barnes & Noble)
Introducing the new Roku Express 4K+ and Roku Voice Remote Pro (Roku blog)
Roku announces new $40 Express 4K+ streamer, Voice Remote Pro (Ars Technica)
Spotify Launches Our Newest Exploration: A Limited Release of Car Thing, a Smart Player for Your Car (Spotify)
Car Thing (Spotify)
Introducing Surface Laptop 4 and new accessories for enhanced meeting experiences (Microsoft Devices Blog)
Microsoft announces new webcam and USB-C speaker for the work from home era (The Verge)
Siri Reveals Apple Event Planned for Tuesday, April 20 (MacRumors)
Apple Working on Combined TV Box, Speaker to Revive Home Efforts (Bloomberg)
Google Play Movies & TV app to shut down in June (9to5Google)
Google’s FLoC Is a Terrible Idea (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
Why Brave Disables FLoC (Brave browser)
Use the DuckDuckGo Extension to Block FLoC, Google’s New Tracking Method in Chrome (Spread Privacy)
DuckDuckGo’s Solution to Google’s Latest Privacy Controversy (Consumer Reports)
More than 500 Alphabet employees demand Google stop protecting harassers in open letter (The Verge)
After Working at Google, I’ll Never Let Myself Love a Job Again (The New York Times)
Sixty-Week Delay on Router Orders Shows Scale of Chip Crisis (Bloomberg)
This won’t be the last big campaign to unionize an Amazon facility (The Washington Post)
Phone app alerts users to look up while walking (BBC News)
How to Decorate Your New Home Before You Move (The New York Times)

Episode Links

PTJ 351: Going Places

March 30, 2021 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

After several weeks of unexpected hiatus, El Kaiser and JD return to catch up on the Justice League Snyder cut, NFTs, eco-friendly map directions, NASA’s Mars helicopter — and a whole bunch of Bluetooth headphones. Spin up Episode 351 right here!

Zack Snyder’s Justice League (HBO Max)
The Bloody Second Act of ‘Invincible’ and Robert Kirkman (The Ringer)
Redefining what a map can be with new information and AI (Google Keyword blog)
Google is making some big upgrades to directions in Google Maps (The Verge)
Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference is back in its all-online format (Apple)
WWDC 2021 (Apple)
Contentious Union Vote at Amazon Heads to a Count (The New York Times)
There’s Something Fishy About Amazon’s Anti-Union Twitter Army (Gizmodo)
Boston Dynamics introduces ‘Stretch’, new warehouse worker robot (Reuters)
SolarWinds hack got emails of top DHS officials (Associated Press)
Exclusive: Visa moves to allow payment settlements using cryptocurrency (Reuters)
Exclusive: PayPal launches crypto checkout service (Reuters)
Buy This NFT Column on the Blockchain! (The New York Times)
Another SpaceX spaceship prototype explodes, joining Starship graveyard in Texas after ‘exciting’ test (Click Orlando)
NASA Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Prepares for First Flight (NASA)
Mars Helicopter tech demo (NASA)
Paris’s Louvre Museum just put its entire collection online (Time Out)

El Kaiser’s Headphone Mega-Roundup

Episode Links

PTJ 349: Now, Voyagers

January 27, 2021 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

As the last week of January rolls in, so do the Internet themes and memes — including TikTok’s flirtation with sea shanties and the cold-weather fashion of Senator Bernie Sanders. El Kaiser and J.D. ponder the latest Web whimsy, as well as Google and Apple’s fight against the ongoing problems of the world, other tech news and fun things to do with your smartphone’s camera. Hear it all on PTJ 349!

Sea Shanty TikTok (TikTok)
The Music Theory of Tik Tok Sea Shanties (YouTube)
Everyone’s Singing Sea Shanties (or Are They Whaling Songs?) (The New York Times)
‘It’s just Bernie being Bernie’ — How a photo of Sanders wearing mittens at Inauguration Day went viral (CNBC)
Bernie Sanders / Sea Shanty Meme Mashup
“Star Trek: Discovery”
“Star Trek: Picard”
How we’re helping get vaccines to more people (Google blog)
Apple launches major new Racial Equity and Justice Initiative projects to challenge systemic racism, advance racial equity nationwide (Apple)
Propel Center Global HBCU Campus for Innovation
NBCUniversal is bringing its live events to Twitter users globally (CNBC)
Introducing Birdwatch, a community-based approach to misinformation (Twitter blog)
Increasing Transparency Around US 2020 Elections Ads (Facebook blog)
The Internet Is a Crime Scene, And After the Capitol Riots We Need Better Information Governance Rules for Treating It Like One. (Foreign Policy)
What the Biden administration means for Amazon (CNBC)
Google workers across the globe announce international union alliance to hold Alphabet accountable (The Verge)
Apple Elaborates on Potential for iPhone 12 and MagSafe Accessories to Interfere With Implantable Medical Devices (MacRumors)
Microsoft backtracks on Xbox Live Gold price hike (The Verge)
Clubhouse announces plans for creator payments and raises new funding led by Andreessen Horowitz (TechCrunch)
4 Ways to Do More With Your Smartphone Camera (The New York Times)

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 345: At Last

October 19, 2020 J.D. Biersdorfer 2 Comments

What day is it? Does it matter? Time may be a flat circle that got hit by the Covid Truck for many people, but things have happened this month: Apple finally rolls out its four iPhone 12 models, Facebook finally bans Holocaust-denial content and and a House committee finally produces its report on Big Tech and monopoly. El Kaiser and J.D. muse upon it all, along with with a new set of headphones that gets the Rosado Review. Hear it all on PTJ 345!

• Six Russian GRU Officers Charged in Connection with Worldwide Deployment of Destructive Malware and Other Disruptive Actions in Cyberspace (United States Department of Justice)
• The Citizen Browser Project—Auditing the Algorithms of Disinformation (The Markup)
• Facebook says it rejected 2.2m ads for breaking political campaigning rules (The Guardian)
• Twitter, Responsibility, and Accountability (Stratechery by Ben Thompson)
• Apple Launches ‘Apple Music TV,’ a 24-Hour Music Video Livestream (Variety)
• Apple introduces iPhone 12 Pro an d iPhone 12 Pro Max with 5G (Apple Newsroom)
• Apple announces iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini: A new era for iPhone with 5G (Apple Newsroom)
• Apple introduces HomePod mini: A powerful smart speaker with amazing sound (Apple Newsroom)
• Removing Holocaust Denial Conten t (About Facebook)
• Why Facebook Can’t Fix Itse lf (The New Yorker)
• The new Nest Thermostat: more energy savings for more people (Google Nest)
• Amazon’s Latest Gimmicks Are Pushing the Limits of Privacy (WIRED)
• Amazon launches an AR app that works with new QR codes on its boxes (TechCrunch)
• The House Antitrust Report on Big Tech (The New York Times)
• Google’s merger with ITA helped it grow into the giant that the Justice Department is scrutinizing (The Washington Post)
• E U targets Big Tech with ‘hit list’ facing tougher rule s (Financial Times)
• Exclusive: TikTok rival Triller explores deal to go public – sources (Reuters)
• Disn ey reorganizes to focus on streaming, direct to consumer (CNBC)
• AKG K553 MKII Headphones

Episode Links

PTJ 341: Tick Tock

July 21, 2020 J.D. Biersdorfer 2 Comments

How long until a hacked social-media platform causes real damage in the world? Are TikTok’s days in the US numbered? Is time running out for political ads on Facebook? Is anybody watching Quibi? El Kaiser and JD have questions — and opinions. Also, what local stores and restaurants are still open as the COVID-19 pandemic eases up or crashes down around the country? Just dial up PTJ 341 to find out answers to at least some of these questions!

Stories in This Week’s News Segment

An update on our security incident (Twitter)
Hackers Tell the Story of the Twitter Attack From the Inside (The New York Times)
EBay Nears Deal to Sell Classified-Ad Unit to Adevinta (The Wall Street Journal)
Spotify Fans Can Better Connect to Creators With New Video Podcasts (Spotify)
Apple commits to be 100 percent carbon neutral for its supply chain and products by 2030 (Apple)
TikTok: Amazon says email asking staff to remove app ‘sent in error’ (BBC)
TikTok Users Respond to Potential Ban (The New York Times)
DNC and RNC warn campaigns about using TikTok (CNNPolitics)
House votes to ban TikTok on federal devices (Politico)
Under fire from Washington, TikTok touts U.S. job growth (Axios)
Facebook Considers Banning Political Ads Before US 2020 Election (Bloomberg)
Facebook’s Civil Rights Meeting Didn’t Go Well (The New York Times)
SiriusXM Is Buying Stitcher in Deal Worth Up to $325 Million (Variety)
Apple allocates more than $400 million to combat California housing crisis (Apple)
Is Anyone Watching Quibi? (Vulture)
Quibi App Free Trial to Paying Customer Conversions Very Low (Vulture)
The Data-Driven Tech Engine at the Heart of Hollywood’s Content Factories (The Wall Street Journal)
Top Ubisoft Executives Out Amid Allegations Of Company-Wide Misconduct (Kotaku)
Mozilla suspends Firefox Send service while it addresses malware abuse (ZDNet)
Linux team approves new terminology, bans terms like ‘blacklist’ and ‘slave’ (ZDNet)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

COVID-19 Google Maps updates

Episode Links

PTJ 339: Power to the People

June 8, 2020 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Welcome to June here in the year 1918 + 1929 + 1968! El Kaiser and J.D. drop in for a quick roundup of tech news, including rising tensions at social media companies, ongoing pandemic fallout and the newfound popularity of… online word-processing software. Take a break and dial up PTJ 339!

Doctor Who
How Google Docs became the social media of the resistance (MIT Technology Review)
Early Facebook Employees Disavow Zuckerberg’s Stance on Trump Posts (The New York Times)
Facebook Employees Stage Virtual Walkout to Protest Trump Posts (The New York Times)
Facebook removes nearly 200 accounts tied to hate groups (Associated Press)
Civil rights leaders blast Facebook after meeting with Zuckerberg (Axios)
Snap will stop promoting Trump’s account after concluding his tweets incited violence (The Verge)
Read: Transcript of Mark Zuckerberg’s meeting with Facebook employees (Vox)
Google in $5bn lawsuit for tracking in ‘private’ mode (BBC News)
Amazon warehouse workers’ lawsuit alleges ‘sloppy contact tracing’ (CNBC)
Zoom won’t encrypt free calls because it wants to comply with law enforcement (The Next Web)
Airbnb Joins Vacation-Rental Sites Seeing Surge in Summer Demand (Bloomberg)
CES set for an in-person event in 2021 (TechCrunch)
Someone Is Putting Cowboy Hats on Pigeons in Las Vegas (The New York Times)
You are probably spreading misinformation. Here’s how to stop. (The Washington Post)
Snopes.com
Let’s Clean Up the Toxic Internet (The New York Times)
How Russian Facebook Ads Divided and Targeted US Voters Before the 2016 Election (Wired)
Congress just published all the Russian Facebook ads used to try and influence the 2016 election (Vox)
Misinformation About George Floyd Protests Surges on Social Media (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!