Tag Archives: privacy

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint, Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 294: Location, Location, Location

December 10, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Of course, your apps are tracking you! El Kaiser told you that years ago, but The New York Times now fills in the details. J.D. rounds up the headlines from the past two weeks for discussion and also offers a (Hopefully) helpful Hint about recording your family’s history in audio and video this holiday season. Pull up a chair and join us for PTJ 294!

Links to News Stories on This Week’s Show

Your Apps Know Where You Were Last Night, and They’re Not Keeping It Secret (The New York Times)
Community Standards (Facebook)
Facebook’s Sexual Solicitation Policy is a Honeypot for Trolls (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
A better, more positive Tumblr (Tumblr)
Tumblr will ban all adult content on December 17th (The Verge)
AlphaFold: Using AI for scientific discovery (DeepMind)
Microsoft Putting Edge on Chromium Will Fundamentally Change the Web (Motherboard)
Justice Dept. investigating millions of fake anti-net neutrality comments: report (TheHill)
China bans many iPhone models in Qualcomm patent dispute (Axios)
Kuo: ‘All-new design’ AirPods in 2020, wireless charging model in first quarter 2019 (9to5Mac)
Apple Will Wait Until at Least 2020 to Release a 5G iPhone (Bloomberg)
Microsoft Is Worth as Much as Apple. How Did That Happen? (The New York Times)
Google acquires India-focused app Where is My Train (Android Authority)
EU questioning companies about Google’s search practices: report (TheHill)
Marriott Hacking Exposes Data of Up to 500 Million Guests (The New York Times)
AT&T details its streaming service plans as it weighs a sale of its Hulu stake (TechCrunch)
E Ink’s new digital paper lets you draw with almost no lag (The Next Web)
The U.S. Army Has A New Plan To Recruit Gamers (Kotaku)
Nasa’s Voyager 2 probe ‘leaves the Solar System’ (BBC News)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

Record and Share Your Family History in 5 Steps (The New York Times)
10 Types of Microphones (HowStuffWorks)
StoryCorps apps
Oral History Interviews (The American Folklife Center)
Conducting Oral Histories with Family Members (UCLA Library)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 291: Walk This Way

November 4, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

There’s been a lot of movement in the tech world the past week — Google employees got to their feet to protest the company’s treatment of women, Apple rolled out new hardware and Facebook got slapped officially with a big fine for misuse of customer data. El Kaiser and J.D. discuss the tech news from the past 10 days or so, and with the U.S. elections looming, also offer a few resources for voters. Roll on over to PTJ 291!

Links to News Stories Discussed This Week

Google staff walk out over women’s treatment (BBC News)
Google Walkout: Employees Stage Protest Over Handling of Sexual Harassment (The New York Times)
Google Faces Internal Backlash Over Handling of Sexual Harassment (The New York Times)
How Google Protected Andy Rubin, the ‘Father of Android’ (The New York Times)
Google sacks dozens over sexual harassment (BBC News)
Apple event: New iPads, Macs announced (CNN)
Tim Cook calls for strong US privacy law, rips “data-industrial complex” (Ars Technica)
Former Facebook security chief questions Apple’s privacy double standard in China (Apple Insider)
ICO issues maximum £500,000 fine to Facebook for failing to protect users’ personal information (ICO)
Facebook is building Lasso, a video music app to steal TikTok’s teens (TechCrunch)
This Thermometer Tells Your Temperature, Then Tells Firms Where to Advertise (The New York Times)
Google wants to improve your smart home with iRobot’s room maps (The Verge)
Twitter Q3 2018 earnings (CNBC)
FY19Q1 – Press Releases – Investor Relations (Microsoft)
Microsoft’s gaming revenue surges 44% in Q1 2019 (VentureBeat)
IBM to acquire Red Hat in deal valued at $34 billion (CNBC)
Portrait by AI program sells for $432,000 (BBC News)

GO VOTE

Vote411.org
John Oliver’s Plug for Vote411 Sparks Huge 2000 Percent Spike for Voter Information Site (San Francisco Chronicle)
Alexa can now talk about the midterm elections (VentureBeat)
Ballotpedia

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 288: Hot New Suits for Fall

October 6, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

It’s not just the leaves starting to waft through the air here in North America — plenty of lawsuits are swirling as well. El Kaiser and J.D. discuss some of the bigger ones, including legal action aimed at California’s new net neutrality rules and Facebook’s latest woes. And for those who aren’t fans of the new Gmail web design, J.D. has some tips for making the interface feel more familiar. Click on through to PTJ 288!

Links to Stories Discussed on This Week’s Show

The Trump administration is suing California to quash its new net neutrality law (The Washington Post)
Facebook’s Massive Security Breach: Everything We Know (WIRED)
Facebook Faces Potential $1.63 Billion Fine in Europe Over Data Breach (The Wall Street Journal)
Content Moderator Sues Facebook, Says Job Gave Her PTSD (Motherboard)
Facebook’s recent ‘bear hug’ of Instagram frustrated its independent founders (Recode)
Instagram Founders Resign Over Differences With Facebook (New York)
SEC settles charges with Tesla’s Elon Musk, will remain as CEO (CNBC)
LinkNYC’s 5 million users make 500,000 phone calls each month i
Use of internet, social media, digital devices plateaus in US (Pew Research Center)
Amazon And Snapchat Form A Powerful Partnership (Forbes)
Google Chief Agrees to Testify to Congress (The New York Times)
Google Names New Privacy Chief, Offers Framework for Regulation (Bloomberg)
Google Privacy Framework Document (Google)
Introducing Google Discover: Discover new information and inspiration with Search, no query required (Google blog)
Safari’s “Siri Suggested” Search Results Highlighted Conspiracy Sites And Fake News (BuzzFeed News)
Microsoft reveals huge Windows 10 news ahead of major update (Express)
Windows 10 October 2018 Update: The 7 best new features (CNET)
Windows 10 October 2018 Update may be released on October 2 (Neowin)
Microsoft Whiteboard launches on iOS, hits the web in preview (Windows Central)
Mouse and Keyboard Support for Xbox One Developers (Xbox Wire)
Yes, Lakers Legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Is Writing For “Veronica Mars” (LAist)
“Doctor Who” Returns Oct. 7, 2018 (BBC)

The New Gmail Is Here to Stay

Learn what’s new in Gmail (Gmail Help)
5 ways the new Gmail can help you get more done (Google Keyword blog)
Gmail Support Page
See Gmail in standard or basic HTML version (Gmail Help)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 284: Rock the Vote

August 26, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Election security — or lack thereof — dominated the headlines this week as social-media platforms moved to boot trolls and industry leaders met to discuss what to do with the U.S.midterms looming. Meanwhile, Walmart and Kobo teamed up on ebooks, rumors about Apple’s fall event popped up right on time, Samsung released its Galaxy Note9 and Google is trying to find regular doses of good news out there. All this and more on Episode 284!

Links to Stories Discussed in This Week’s Show

Hackers Attempt a Repeat Performance at the D.N.C. (Vanity Fair)
Hack attempt on DNC voter database was a false alarm, the national committee says (The Washington Post)
Facebook Identifies New Influence Operations Spanning Globe (The New York Times)
Taking Down More Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior (Facebook Newsroom)
An update on state-sponsored activity (Google Keyword blog)
Tech Companies Are Gathering For A Secret Meeting To Prepare A 2018 Election Strategy (BuzzFeed)
It’s Too Late to Protect the 2018 Elections. But Here’s How the U.S. Can Prepare for 2020. (Lawfare)
A Note From Twitter Security
Jack Dorsey On Deleting Tweets, Banning Trump, And Whether An Unbiased Twitter Can Exist (BuzzFeed)
Tiny Doylestown Borough battled Verizon over 5G and won a big settlement (Philly.com)
Here’s a first look at Facebook’s “Aloha” voice assistant that might power its smart speaker (BGR)
Walmart and Kobo Launch Walmart eBooks, Including an Audiobook Subscription for $9.99 (Walmart News)
Investigation Finds It’s Hard to Turn Off Google Location Tracking (eWeek)
A Lawsuit Over Google’s Sneaky Location Tracking Could Be a Game-Changer (Gizmodo)
The Right to not be Tracked: a Spotlight on Google Maps and Android Location Tracking (Rise Lab / UC Berkeley
Manage or delete your Location History (Google Account Help)
Yup, we know exactly when Apple’s 2018 iPhones will be released (BGR)
Samsung’s Galaxy Note9: Too Much Phone for Most of Us (The New York Times)
Samsung Galaxy Note S9
Nikon mirrorless Z7 and Z6 full-frame cameras launch (BBC News)
Xbox All Access: Xbox Live Gold, Game Pass, and consoles to be bundled in new plans (On MSFT)
Hey Google, tell me something good (Google Keyword blog)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

When Troubleshooters Run Into Trouble (The New York Times)
Decoding Windows Error Messages (The New York Times)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 279: The Long Arm of the Law

July 9, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

In that quiet time of the year between developer conferences and the back-to-school sales, product announcements are scarce — but the hazy, lazy days of summer are no vacation for the legal world! As El Kaiser and J.D. discover on this week’s episode, court rulings and decisions by lawmakers dominated the news this week, with a few bug revivals thrown in for good measure. J.D. also explores the new Windows 10 Timeline feature in Microsoft’s latest operating-system update, so beat the heat and find a cool place to settle in with Episode 279!

Links to News Stories on This Week’s Episode

EU lawmakers vote against tough line on copyright reform (Reuters)
Kim Dotcom loses latest appeal against US extradition (BBC News)
Yelp can’t be forced to take down libelous reviews, court rules (The Verge)
Why California Privacy Law Promises Chaos by 2020 (eWeek)
Third-party developers could have been reading your Gmail messages – here’s what to do about it (London Evening Standard)
Ensuring your security and privacy within Gmail (Google Blog)
New Facebook privacy mishap: A software bug that ‘unblocked’ people (Recode)
Letting People Know About a Blocking Bug (Facebook Newsroom)
Facebook’s Political Rule Blocks Ads for Bush’s Beans, Singers Named Clinton (Bloomberg)
Facebook Ads Offer Peek at Looming Supreme Court Fight (The New York Times)
Ugandans Aren’t Happy With New Tax for Using Social Media (Time)
Akamai Releases Summer 2018 State of the Internet Security Report (Akamai)
This password-stealing malware just added a new way to infect your PC (ZDNet)
Tech-support scammers revive bug that sends Chrome users into a panic (Ars Technica)
Samsung Note 9 Premium Smartphone to Debut on Aug. 9 (eWeek)
Amazon Takes a Page From Toys ‘R’ Us With a Holiday Catalog (Bloomberg)
An Archive of Radio Shack Catalogs

Windows 10 Timeline

Introducing Windows Timeline (Windows channel on YouTube)
Get help with timeline (Microsoft)
How to Use Timeline With Windows 10 (The New York Times)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint, Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 273: Still the Right Stuff

May 21, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Yanny or Laurel? El Kaiser was too busy mixing up podcasts to weigh in, and J.D. thought the whole thing was dumb and tuned into Queen Ida and the Bon Temps Zydeco Band instead — but The New York Times built a handy little tool to demonstrate how audio frequencies factor into the matter. Beyond all that, Episode 273 serves up the week’s tech news, pours one out for Tom Wolfe and contemplates the strange notion of secure and private email. Give a listen!

Links to Stories Discussed on This Week’s Episode

Senate votes to overturn Ajit Pai’s net neutrality repeal (Ars Technica)
Twitter is going to make third-party apps worse starting in August (The Verge)
Microsoft Plans Low-Cost Tablet Line to Rival iPad (Bloomberg)
Facebook adds Voice Posts, Stories archive, and new cloud storage features (The Verge)
Facebook lets advertisers target users based on sensitive interests (The Guardian)
Mark Zuckerberg to Meet European Parliament Members Over Facebook’s Data Use (The New York Times)
Jigsaw’s Project Shield Will Protect Campaigns From Online Attacks (Wired)
YouTube is going to charge more to see ad-free shows like ‘Cobra Kai’ (Recode)
Music on YouTube will now include expanded artist credits and link to official video (9to5Google)
Amazon Prime members get exclusive savings at Whole Foods (Amazon Press Room)
Scott Kelly: How Tom Wolfe Changed My Life (The New York Times)

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

Finding Privacy for Email (The New York Times)

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 268: Rock ‘Em, Shock ‘Em

April 6, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

El Kaiser and J.D. return from Spring Break and head right into the news of the week, which includes Spotify’s initial public offering, an iPad update from Apple, background information on the latest credit-card hack and this year’s collection of April Fools jokes by corporate America. J.D. also takes a look at the revamped version of Mozilla Firefox — and new changes on the way to make it a “mixed reality” browser. Come join us for Episode 268!

Links to Stories Discussed in This Week’s Episode

Spotify poised to be a $25bn company on eve of IPO (The Guardian)
Spotify’s IPO confirms it’s worth more than Hewlett-Packard and General Mills (Quartz)
Apple Plans to Use Its Own Chips in Macs From 2020, Replacing Intel (Bloomberg)
Apple spring event 2018: A new iPad and 4 other takeaways (CNN Tech)
ESPN’s streaming service, ESPN+, to launch April 12 (TechCrunch)
Over-the-top-only U.S. households nearly tripled since 2013, impacting TV ad dollars (TechCrunch)
Fin7 Syndicate Hacks Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor Stores (Gemini Advisory)
Card Data Stolen From 5 Million Saks and Lord & Taylor Customers (The New York Times)
Group Steals 5 Million Credit Cards From Saks Fifth Avenue (Tom’s Hardware)
Panerabread.com Leaks Millions of Customer Records (KrebsOnSecurity)
Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook’s future, fake news, and Russian mischief (Vox)
Facebook plans crackdown on ad targeting by email without consent (TechCrunch)
Google-Led Plan to Upend Wireless Industry Gains Momentum (Bloomberg)
In U.S. Brawl With Huawei, Rural Cable Firms Are an Unlikely Loser (The Wall Street Journal)
Announcing 1.1.1.1: the fastest, privacy-first consumer DNS service (Cloudflare blog)
2018 April Fools’ Roundup: All the jokes from around the web (Android Police)
April Fools at ThinkGeek (ThinkGeek)

Firefox Rising

Mozilla Brings Firefox to Augmented and Virtual Reality (The Mozilla Blog)
Starting Fresh With Firefox (The New York Times)
The New Firefox (Mozilla)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS | More Subscription Options

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 244: Across the Universe

August 9, 2017 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Whether it be The Defenders kicking butt across the New York City zone of the Marvel Universe or NASA’s assorted spacecraft exploring the real universe, this week’s episode of Pop Tech Jam has you covered. El Kaiser and J.D. get their geek on with plenty of chatter about comics, consumer technology and spaaaaaace! Won’t you join us?

Links to Stories in This Week’s Episode

The Defenders (Netflix)
The Marvel Cinematic Universe Timeline (Infogrades)
Marvel Cinematic Universe Timeline (AllTimelines.com)
The Great American Eclipse is 2 weeks away. Are you ready? (Space.com)
Here’s what it’s be to be the planetary protection officer at NASA (Seeker)
Planetary Protection Officer job posting (USAJOBS)
After 5 years on Mars, NASA’s Curiosity rover is still making big discoveries (Space.com)
Nostalgic Voyager documentary relives first exploration of the solar system (Science News)
NASA Voyager mission
Send a #MessageToVoyager (NASA)
Government to strengthen UK data protection law (GOV.UK)
Exclusive: Here’s the full 10-page anti-diversity screed circulating internally at Google (Gizmodo)
Google fires employee behind controversial diversity memo (Bloomberg)
Fresh leak of the upcoming Google Pixel 2 confirms our fears
(Android Authority)
Enjoy your entertainment virtually anywhere with the rugged and durable Samsung Galaxy S8 Active, available at AT&T on Aug. 8 (AT&T)
US military to shoot down consumer drones (BBC News)
DoD cracks down on use of drones over installations (US Department of Defense)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS | More Subscription Options

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 229: Private Investigations

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

Protections for consumer privacy and data collection took a hit this past week, as regulations were rolled back into nonexistence — sending some concerned Netizens to software they hope will help shield their online activity. The big question: Does it work?

Meanwhile, Yahoo and AOL take an Oath, Samsung’s Galaxy S8 reveals some enviable features, Amazon finds yet another way to get your cash and Google tries to make sure perfectly nice advertisements don’t end up on hateful YouTube videos. Join El Kaiser and J.D. as they discuss it all in Episode 229!

Links to Stories in This Week’s Show

Amazon launches Amazon Cash, a way to shop its site without a bank card (TechCrunch)
Amazon Cash (Amazon)
5 Samsung Galaxy S8 features Apple should steal for iPhone 8 (Macworld)
Microsoft touts Microsoft-customized edition of Samsung Galaxy S8 (ZDNet)
Apple Mac Pro design was a bad bet, admits firm (BBC)
Facebook rocket: what is the new icon? (Wired UK)
Artificial intelligence is key to defeating future hackers (The Hill)
Google training ad placement computers to be offended (The New York Times)
Spotify Premium users will get some albums two weeks before free users (TechCrunch)
Verizon announces new name brand for AOL and Yahoo: Oath (The New York Times)
Marissa Mayer will not be part of the new AOL-Yahoo combined company called Oath (Recode)
FCC limits order on Charter extending broadband service (Reuters)
ACA pleased FCC eliminated broadband overbuild mandate in Charter-TWC-BHN merger order (American Cable Association)
New bill would crack down on border phone searches without warrants (The Verge)
The Protecting Data at the Border Act (United States Senate)
Trump signs bill to roll back privacy rules into law (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
Post-FCC privacy rules, should you VPN? (Krebs on Security)
Choosing the best VPN for you (thatoneprivacysite.net)
Is Tor Really Anonymous and Secure? (How-To Geek)
TOR browser (The TOR Project)
VPNs Won’t Save You from Congress’ Internet Privacy Giveaway (Wired)
Search Internet History

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | RSS | More Subscription Options

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!