The summer travel season has yet to hit high gear in the U.S. but delays at security lines at airports are already extensive and don’t look to get better anytime soon. This week J.D. offers up a rundown on apps and websites that can help alleviate the stress of airport travel in the 21st Century. Also on the show, El Kaiser joins J.D. for a detailed roundup of the weeks technology news.
Remember, at Pop Tech Jam we’re always optimized for fun!
The countdown to the opening of the newest “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” has officially begun! This week saw the release of a new trailer, an official movie poster, and pre-sale tickets. One thing noticeably absent from all the hoopla: Luke Skywalker. Also on the show, El Kaiser delivers his annual “State of the Podcast” rant and J.D. takes a look at note taking apps for mobile devices. Oh yeah, and we lots and lots of tech news.
Where in the world is J.D. Biersdorfer? Everyone’s favorite geek-culture podcaster and technology columnist spent some time in New Orleans at the Krewe of Chewbacchus Mardi Gras parade but that didn’t stop her from bringing us all the tech news goodness you’ve come to expect from the PTJ team.
As if that weren’t enough, J.D. also found time to fill us in on how Google has muscled in on Doctor Who’s time-travel racket.
What about El Kaiser? He’s still trying to decide if J.D. is a hologram or not.
Why are you still reading this? Listen to the episode already!
J.D. will help you get to your destination by plane, train or automobile as she runs down some useful travel apps just in time for the power eating U.S. holiday known as Thanksgiving.
El Kaiser finally gets an invitation to Google Inbox and…let’s just say things don’t go smoothly.
In the news the European Space Agency is still on comet duty; AT&T gets called out by the FCC; the Federal Trade Commission has settles a score with TRUSTe; the US State Department gets hacked; New York City plans to convert payphones into spiffy hotspots; Facebook continues spinning off features of its service; Disney partners with Walmart’s Vudu streaming service; and Google and Stanford University work on software that uses artificial intelligence to create descriptive photo captions.
Oh, and KaiserNet is finally active… MUAH HA HA HA!
I make my living with my ears so it would be foolish, and more than a little irresponsible, if I didn’t take care of them. The older I get, the more diligent I am in my efforts to prevent hearing loss.
Rock and Hip Hop concerts are out, so are clubs and large scale sporting events. On the rare occasion that I attend one of the above I cram my ears full of uncomfortably bulky earplugs or big, honking wads of cotton.
Longtime listeners of the show know El Kaiser has worked extremely hard at eliminating bulk and the only “wad” he’s interested in would be the cash one he dreams of someday carrying in his pocket.
When a friend passed along some DUBS acoustic filters I scoffed. $25 dollars for ear plugs? Calling them “advanced tech ear plugs” read like a bunch of marketing hoo-hah.
Puhleeze.
Longtime listeners of the show know El Kaiser likes to save money and detests marketing hoo-hah. He also really, really likes scoffing.
DUBS claims to reduce volume without sacrificing the clarity of sound. The reusable earplugs feature something called “Dynamic Attenuation” that promises to deliver optimal hearing protection while preserving sound fidelity.
Doppler Labs are focused on developing products they’ve dubbed (pun intended) “hearables” — wearable technology for the ears and DUBS is their first product. They pledge that “whether you’re in the city, at a concert, on a plane or at the game, the DUBS protect your ears to keep you going louder, longer.”
By the way, did I mention these little suckers are very, very stylish?
Longtime listeners of the show know El Kaiser likes style almost as much as he likes saving money. Oh yes. Yes he does.
I tested the DUBS at a concert in New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden and on the infamous New York City subway. The DUBS performed exactly as advertised.
When the express trains rumbled through my regular station stop I used the snazzy pink DUBS ear plugs to help mitigate the thunderous clatter. The 12 decibal noise reduction made the commute bearable without the disconcerting muffled silence you get with traditional plugs or the ringing in the ears you get from turning up the volume way too loud on your media player. At the concert the DUBS made the din bearable and several concertgoers complimented me on them.
While there are several cheaper alternatives to the $25 dollar DUBS from companies like Etymotic, Hearos and Earpeace none come close to matching the Doppler Labs ear plugs in design. The DUBS will keep your ears healthy without sacrificing your swag.
DUBS acoustic filters will be available for sale beginning September 27th, 2014 with an official launch at the Global Citizen Festival in NYC’s Central Park. Best Buy retail stores will carry them in early October.
Longtime listeners of the show know El Kaiser believes Noise Induced Hearing Loss is a serious problem. Keep all your senses healthy!
First and foremost I hope everyone in the U.S. of A. is having a safe and enjoyable Independence Day celebration today. I’m very patiently waiting for the first wave of hamburgers and hot dogs to make their way off the backyard grill. Okay, patiently might be a stretch. The scene is closer to this around here:
If you’ve listened to this week’s fun-filled episode you already know that we’re giving Jammers out there the opportunity to rewrite a bit of Pop Tech Jam history. The plan is to let you, the audience, invent a new origin story for El Kaiser.
The Kaiser moniker was bestowed upon me by J.D. on a little old show we used to do for an internationally recognized news organization that shall remain nameless… *cough* The New York Times *cough* … and since Pop Tech Jam has no affiliation with that unnamed media behemoth I decided to play it safe and apply a bit of good old fashioned retroactive continuity.
The not-all-that-reliable-but-a-heckuva-lot-of-fun Urban Dictionary defines Retcon (all the cool kids call it that) as “adding or altering information regarding the back story of a fictional character or world, regardless of whether the change contradicts what was said before”.
Send your version of El Kaiser’s origin via email to prr@poptechjam.com or jdb@poptechjam.com, via Twitter, Facebook and Google+ or as a comment to this post. The prize will be a shoutout on the show, one of the very first PTJ branded t-shirts or mugs we expect to have in our grubby little hands soon, and our sincerest gratitude!
Again, we wish you all a happy 4th of July weekend for those of you in ‘Murica and a happy weekend for those of you on the rest of this wonderful blue ball! Now if you’l excuse me I have to prepare my outfit for this evening’s fireworks. Whaddaya think?
