Tag Archives: Apple

PTJ 249: “Alexa, Activate My New York Comic Con Badge!”

October 2, 2017 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

It’s not just the abundance of pumpkin spice revving up the Big Apple air the first week of October — it’s the buzzy excitement of New York Comic Con returning once again to the Jacob K. Javits Center on the west side of Manhattan for four days of high-octane pop-culture fun. J.D. gets an insider’s view of the expo from Rich Bernatovech and Jamie Fay, two local comics creators who’ve been attending the event for years. This week’s episode also features a ramble through the recent tech headlines — including Amazon’s avalanche of Alexa gear — and a certain El Kaiser who’s more than a little leery of Apple’s new Face ID technology. Bang! Pow! Play!

Links to Stories on This Week’s Show

Twitter, With Accounts Linked to Russia, to Face Congress Over Role in Election (The New York Times)
Tweeters get cheeky after Twitter ups character limit (BBC News)
Facebook to Turn Over Russian-Linked Ads to Congress (The New York Times)
President Trump is accusing Facebook of being ‘anti-Trump’ (Recode)
Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook
Update on German Elections (Facebook)
Trying to Stem Fallout From Breach, Equifax Replaces C.E.O. (The New York Times)
Equifax Will Offer Free Credit Locks for Life, New CEO Says (Bloomberg)
Introducing the Next Generation of Echo: the All-New Amazon Echo and Echo Plus (Business Wire)
Introducing the All-New Amazon Fire TV with 4K Ultra HD and High Dynamic Range (Amazon)
Amazon Introduces a New Member of the Echo Family: Echo Spot (Amazon)
Amazon’s Echo Plus features a built-in smart home hub for $149 (Techcrunch)
Amazon announces $20 Echo Buttons for playing trivia games (The Verge)
Amazon Unveils $35 Gadget for Hands-Free Landline Phone Calls (Bloomberg)
About Face ID advanced technology (Apple Support)

Interview With Rich Bernatovech and Jamie Fay

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PTJ 248: Knock, Knock

September 23, 2017 J.D. Biersdorfer 2 Comments

Who’s there? It’s this week’s episode of Pop Tech Jam, with ideas for coping with the current state of the world. From SEC hackers to Nest’s new indoor/outdoor security system to Equifax still doing harm to its customers, it’s been a busy seven days. But hey, NASA has a free illustrated ebook on the recent Cassini mission you can download, so the week wasn’t all bad and El Kaiser offers up a review of two audio amplifiers to make your tunes sound better through your headphones when you’re on the go. In light of Mother Nature’s recent activities, J.D. shares a few lists of places you can send money to help earthquake and hurricane disaster recovery efforts in Mexico, Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the other Caribbean islands.
PTJ 248 is here to help!

Links to Stories on This Week’s Episode

Google and HTC Announce US$1.1 Billion Cooperation Agreement (HTC)
Google Is Buying HTC’s Smartphone Expertise for $1.1 Billion (The New York Times)
Statement on Cybersecurity (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
SEC says hackers may have traded using stolen insider information (Reuters)
Apple TV 4K review: so close, so far (The Verge)
Nest Expands into Home Security with First Security System Designed to Be Easy on Residents, Tough on Intruders (Nest blog)
Facebook will strengthen enforcement of ad targeting policies, add more human oversight, and urge users to report potential abuses directly (Sheryl Sandberg on Facebook)
Fake website fools Equifax staff (BBC)
The Better Together Update is here! (Minecraft.com)
The Saturn System Through the Eyes of Cassini (NASA)

iPhone Audio Amps

(Hopefully) Helpfully Hint: How to Effectively Donate to Disaster Relief Funds

Where you can donate to help with hurricane and earthquake relief and recovery (Vox.com)
Places to donate to Mexico/Puerto Rico relief (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee)
How to Help Victims of Hurricane Maria (The New York Times)
Charity Navigator

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PTJ 247: Hello, Epic Equifail! Goodbye, Cassini!

September 18, 2017 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

As the scale of the epic security fail at the Equifax credit bureau comes into focus, El Kaiser and J.D. throwback to Episode 159 and a previous conversation about freezing your credit to ice out identity thieves. Among other headlines this week: The end of NASA’s historic Cassini mission to Saturn. Later in the show, El Kaiser shares his tips for dumping useless followers on social media and J.D. has advice for parents dealing with new teenage drivers. Oh, and Apple did a thing a few days ago, too. Spin up Episode 247 and join in!

Links to Stories in This Week’s Episode

Pop Tech Jam Episode 159: Put Your Credit on Ice…Online
Failure to patch two-month-old bug led to massive Equifax breach (Ars Technica)
FTC probes Equifax; top Democrat likens it to Enron (Reuters)
Ayuda! (Help!) Equifax Has My Data! (Krebs on Security)
Congress will hold two hearings on the massive Equifax data breach (Recode)
Equifax’s credit report monitoring site is also vulnerable to hacking (ZDNet)
We tested Equifax’s data breach checker — and it’s basically useless (ZDNet)
Here are all the big products Apple announced on Tuesday (CNBC)
iOS 11 to be released to the public on September 19 for iPhone and iPad (9to5Mac)
October 4th is new Pixel day, confirmed by Google with video and billboard (Android Police)
Privacy enhancements coming to the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (Windows Experience blog)
Trump administration orders purge of Kaspersky products from U.S. government (Reuters)
DHS Statement on the Issuance of Binding Operational Directive 17-01 (Department of Homeland Security)
Mueller Probe Has ‘Red-Hot’ Focus on Social Media, Officials Say (Bloomberg)
Facebook bans monetization of violence, porn, drugs, hate (TechCrunch)
Cassini Spacecraft Makes Its Final Approach to Saturn (NASA)
Excitement and Tears as NASA Goddard Team Prepares for Cassini Finale (NASA)
Cassini’s End of Mission (NASA)

Social-Media Ghostbusting Services

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

Apps to Provide Peace of Mind With a Teenager Behind the Wheel (The New York Times)
Eyes on the Road, Not on the Phone (The New York Times)

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PTJ 246: What’s the Frequency, Siri?

September 11, 2017 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

After a two-week summer vacation, El Kaiser and J.D. return to the studio to catch up on the week’s technology news: Facebook ‘fesses up to a chunk of Russian ad buys during the election, Amazon looks to expand its corporate footprint, researchers have discovered a way to hack most of the popular voice-activated assistant programs by sonic frequency — and the headlines just keep on coming. El Kaiser also previews two new pieces of gear from OWC and Anker for ultrabookers who need to pack their own USB ports and J.D. reports on a couple of scams gaining steam around the Internet. Summer’s over, folks! We’re back to work here on Episode 246!

Links to Stories Mentioned in This Week’s Episode

An Update On Information Operations On Facebook (Facebook Newsroom)
Russian firm tied to pro-Kremlin propaganda advertised on Facebook during election (The Washington Post)
Facebook is now using Instagram to push Stories on more people (Mashable)
Facebook Offers Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for Music Rights (Bloomberg)
Apple Reaches Music Deal With Warner, Eyes Sony Pact (Bloomberg)
Apple Event on September 12 (Apple)
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8: The Best Screen, for a Hefty Price (The New York Times)
Amazon to build second HQ in North America, seeks proposals from cities for $5B campus with up to 50K jobs, ‘full equal’ to Seattle operations (GeekWire)
John Deere is Paying $305 Million for Blue River Technology (Fortune.com)
A Simple Design Flaw Makes It Astoundingly Easy To Hack Siri And Alexa (Fast Company Design)
DolphinAttack: Inaudible Voice Commands (Academic paper)
YouTube Live: faster, easier and more accessible (YouTube Creator blog)
Urgent DACA legislation is both an economic imperative and humanitarian necessity (Microsoft on the Issues)
Lenovo Settles FTC Charges it Harmed Consumers With Preinstalled Software on its Laptops that Compromised Online Security (Federal Trade Commission)
Boston Red Sox Used Apple Watches to Steal Signs Against Yankees (The New York Times)

EL Kaiser’s Gear Preview

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

Fake Dropbox Please verify your email address delivers Locky ransomware (My Online Security)
Legit Conformation Email? (Dropbox Forum)
Protect your Dropbox account from phishing and malware (Dropbox)
How to Avoid Phony Facebook Phone Lines (The New York Times)

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PTJ 243: Sound and Fury

August 2, 2017 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

After a discussion about the stirring audio mix used to back the film Dunkirk, El Kaiser and J.D. make a lot of noise about this week’s technology news — including new government regulation around the world. However, if it all gets to be too much, perhaps a nice friendly drone will deliver a tureen of soup right to your door. Settle in and listen away to Episode 243!

Links to Stories Mentioned on This Week’s Show

iPhone 8 infrared face detection and general device design revealed in HomePod firmware (MacRumors)
Microsoft targets Google and Apple in schools with ‘Surface Plus’ hardware subscription program (GeekWire)
Microsoft sunsets if Word Flow keyboard for iOS, encourages users to try Swiftkey (OnMSFT)
Gboard for iPhone adds drawing, Maps and YouTube (Google blog)
Google Image Search gets more like Pinterest by connecting you to recipes, products and more (TechCrunch)
Putin signs controversial law tightening Internet restrictions (Radio Free Europe)
Apple removes VPN apps from the App Store in China (TechCrunch)
The chiefs of Facebook, Google and other tech giants aren’t committing to testify to the U.S. Congress on net neutrality (Recode)
U.S. senators to introduce bill to secure ‘internet of things’ (Reuters)
EPIC files FTC complaint to stop Google from tracking in-store purchases (Electronic Privacy Information Center)
Spotify crosses 60M paid subscribers as it prepares to go public later this year (9to5Mac)
Facebook is working on a video chat device (Bloomberg)
Linden Lab launches open beta for social VR platform Sansar (VentureBeat)
Hackers threaten ‘Game of Thrones,’ as HBO confirms cyberattack (The New York Times)
The flying kettle (European Space Agency)

Film Audio Discussion

Ticking Watch. Boat Engine. Slowness. The Secrets of the ‘Dunkirk’ Score. (The New York Times)
The sound illusion that makes Dunkirk so intense (Vox)
The New York Philharmonic: The Star Wars Film Concert Series

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PTJ 242: So Long, Old Paint?

July 29, 2017 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Close Encounters of the Third Kind is coming back for a 40th-anniversary run, but a couple of old standbys are getting boxed up for the software attic. El Kaiser and J.D. take a stroll through the week’s headlines and talk later about Google Street View — and how those who love it can make their own outdoor 360-images. Punch that Play button and come on along!

Links to Stories on This Week’s Episode

EU increases pressure on Facebook, Google and Twitter over user terms (Reuters)
Alphabet adds to cash pile despite higher costs, antitrust fine (Reuters)
iPhone 8 launch date: Expect hint in Apple’s earnings call next week (Business Insider)
Second version of HoloLens HPU will incorporate AI coprocessor for implementing DNNs (Microsoft Research blog)
“Perverse” malware infecting hundreds of Macs remained undetected for years (Ars Technica)
Roomba vacuum maker iRobot betting big on the ‘smart’ home (Reuters)
NASA invites you to become a citizen scientist during US total solar eclipse (GLOBE.gov)
GLOBE Observer app
Helping people in a crisis (Google blog)
Flash & the future of interactive content (Adobe Conversations blog)
Microsoft Paint’s days may be numbered (The New York Times)
MS Paint is here to stay (Windows blog)
Google Street View
Google Street View apps
Finding a map’s date on Google Street View (The New York Times)
Pedro Rafael Rosado’s Instagram feed
J.D. Biersdorfer’s Instagram feed
Wandering Livestock on Instagram

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PTJ 240: Hall Monitor

July 1, 2017 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

It’s almost like we needed the Justice League to come sort things out with all the disruptions erupting all over the technology scene this week. So, you ask, what happened? Yet another ransomware attack spread rapidly worldwide, the European Commission got all up in Google’s business on an antitrust charge, and Walmart had a slapfight with Amazon over the cloud. Meanwhile, Twitter and some of its pals are teaming up to fight the spread of violent extremism, Facebook wants to do TV and Apple’s getting ready to chuck a bunch of old apps off the iOS 11 wagon. But on the bright side, we’ve now had J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series with us for 20 years now. Come hang with El Kaiser and J.D. as they try to make sense of the week here on Episode 240 of Pop Tech Jam!

Links to Stories on This Week’s Episode

Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (Twitter)
Zack Snyder steps down from Justice League after daughter’s death, Joss Whedon takes helm (EW.com)
New cyberattack spreads from Russia to Britain (The New York Times)
UK Parliament cuts email access after cyberattack (SecurityWeek)
Antitrust: Commission fines Google €2.42 billion for abusing dominance as search engine by giving illegal advantage to own comparison shopping service (European Commission)
The European Commission decision on online shopping: the other side of the story (Google)
Amazon accuses Walmart of bullying in cloud computing clash (BBC News)
Uber founder Travis Kalanick resigns as C.E.O. (The New York Times)
Justin Caldbeck takes indefinite leave of absence from Binary Capital (Axios)
Facebook is going Hollywood, seeking scripted TV programming (The Wall Street Journal)
Public iOS 11 beta now available — here’s how to get it (BetaNews)
Repair is the new green (iFixit)
Zillow sends cease and desist letter to McMansion Hell, the architectural criticism blog we need right now (Gizmodo)
Cash ‘lives on’ after 50 years of ATMs (BBC News)
The man who really invented the cash machine (BBC News)
Harry Potter: How the boy wizard enchanted the world (BBC News)

Welcome to the 64-Bit World

The end of the road for some apps (The New York Times)
Photographers, beware of upcoming macOS transition issues (PetaPixel)

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PTJ 237: Days of Wonder

June 8, 2017 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference opened this week, bringing a ton of announcements and new-product demos to the faithful. Don Donofrio drops by to sort it all out with El Kaiser and JD. Meanwhile, governments fight with the Internet on multiple fronts and a certain Amazon Princess conquers the worldwide box office. All this and more on Episode 237!

Links to Stories in This Week’s Episode

Top-secret NSA report details Russian hacking effort days before 2016 election (The Intercept)
Contractor charged with the first leak under Trump (The New York Times)
London attack: Tech firms fight back in extremism row (BBC)
Uber fires more than 20 employees in harassment probe (Bloomberg)
Major web companies and public interest groups announce Internet-Wide Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality (Fight for the Future)
July 12th: Internet-wide day of action to save Net Neutrality (Battle for the Net)
IDC: Wearables grew 17.9% in Q1 2017, Xiaomi and Apple overtake Fitbit (VentureBeat)
SteamVR is coming to Mac—and Apple says it will actually work (Ars Technica)
(9to5Mac)
Microsoft leak reveals new Windows 10 Workstation edition for power users (The Verge)
Wonder Woman sets a record opening for a female-directed feature (BoxOfficeMojo.com)

Apple Stuff

Apple previews iOS 11
Apple introduced the new iPad Pro
Apple refreshes the iMac
Apple updates the MacBook and MacBook Pro
Apple gives a sneak peak at the new iMac Pro
Apple demos macOS High Sierra
Apple introduces HomePod
Apple announces watchOS 4
Apple revamps the App Store
Apple WWDC Keynote video
WWDC 2017 (MacRumors)

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PTJ 236: Corporate Spies

May 26, 2017 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

On this week’s show. El Kaiser and J.D. discuss Google and Twitter’s current wave of privacy-policy changes and data-sharing with advertisers (all taking place before Facebook’s latest flap). Also in the news this week: patent trolls, resolution motion-sensor camera, Russian hackers actually hacking Russians and Iris, the data-sniffing dog. Buffer up and have a listen to Episode 236 of Pop Tech Jam!

Links to Stories in This Week’s Episode

Revealed: Facebook’s internal rulebook on sex, terrorism and violence (The Guardian)
U.S. top court tightens patent suit rules in blow to ‘patent trolls’ (Reuters)
Apple and Nokia settle patent dispute with new licensing agreement (MacRumors)
Nokia and Apple sign patent license and business cooperation agreement, settle all litigation (Apple Newsroom)
Google now knows when its users go to the store and buy stuff (The Washington Post)
The most important announcements from Google I/O 2017! (Android Central)
Exclusive: Nest is working on a 4K camera with advanced smart features (Android Police)
Hackers hit Russian bank customers, planned international cyber raids (Reuters)
DISH Debuts Hands-Free TV on Hopper DVR with Amazon Alexa (About DISH)
Meet the new Surface Pro (Windows Blog)
Hackers defeat Samsung Galaxy S8 iris scanner (Security Week)
Meet Iris of the FBI’s canine force who has a nose for data (NBC News)
Building new data controls and updating our privacy policy (Twitter blog)
Twitter’s updated privacy policy, effective June 18^th, 2017 (Twitter)
How to opt out of Twitter’s new privacy settings (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
If you have a Twitter account, change these privacy settings now (CNET)

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PTJ 235: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

May 20, 2017 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Journalist Laura M. Holson is back in the house this week with a discussion of how the cosmetics superstore Sephora is using technology and social interaction to sell beauty products. On the opposite side beauty, though, is the ugly — and last week’s massive global ransomware outbreak even got into fugly territory. El Kaiser and J.D. discuss the attack and the other notable news bits of recent days in this jam-packed episode of Pop Tech Jam.

Links to Stories Mentioned on This Week’s Show

In computer attacks, clues point to frequent culprit: North Korea (The New York Times)
Ransomware’s aftershocks feared as U.S. warns of complexity (The New York Times)
‘Accidental hero’ halts ransomware attack and warns: this is not over (The Guardian)
The WannaCry ransomware hackers made some real amateur mistakes (Wired)
The need for urgent collective action to keep people safe online: Lessons from last week’s cyberattack (Microsoft on the Issues)
HTC wants you to squeeze its new phone (The Verge)
Snap unveils new camera ads trying to stay ahead of Facebook (Bloomberg)
Instagram launches selfie filters, copying the last big Snapchat feature (TechCrunch)
Nintendo developing ‘The Legend of Zelda’ smartphone game (The Wall Street Journal)
Latest update brings new features to Google Home (AndroidHeadlines)
Apple plans laptop upgrades to take on Microsoft (Bloomberg)
The MP3 is officially dead, according to its creators (The Record : NPR)
Your MP3s are going to be just fine (The Washington Post)
How Sephora is thriving amid a retail crisis (The New York Times)

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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!