Tag Archives: social media

PTJ 359: Face Plant

Facebook’s very bad month continues after more testimony and interviews by Frances Haugen, the whistleblower and main source behind The Wall Street Journal’s “Facebook Files” series — as well as a report from its own Oversight Board about the company’s lack of transparency. El Kaiser and J.D. discuss it all along other recent tech headlines, including Apple’s second fall product event and Google’s new Pixel phone. And for audio fans looking for great big sound on a budget, El Kaiser has a review of the Status Flagship ANC Bluetooth noise-cancelling headphones. Headphones, earbuds, speakers — no matter how you listen, PTJ 359 is here!

PTJ 338: Flight CLUB

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!

Spaaaaccce!

PTJ 316: Jacked

As The Summer of 2019 winds down, El Kaiser and J.D. discuss (among other things) the buzz around Apple’s annual fall iPhone event, Twitter’s account security issue with one of its major users, Facebook’s latest attempts at transparency in political advertising and Amazon’s growing video-surveillance network. And, as nerds, we used to always run after the shiny new gadget to have the latest and greatest gear — but have we gotten over that particular fear of missing out? Spin up PTJ 316 to hear it all!

PTJ 304: Singing Backup

On this week’s episode, El Kaiser and J.D. work through the recent headlines — the good, the bad and the completely horrible — and offer a few tips for backing up personal content you’ve posted on social media. Because it’s not like any of those free services can be trusted to DO IT FOR YOU. Spin up PTJ 304 right here!

Public Service Announcement: Protect Your Social Media Content

PTJ 302: Social Disorder

Has social media become more trouble than it’s worth? El Kaiser and J.D ponder the topic while discussing virtual-reality pioneer Jaron Lanier’s 2018 book, “Ten Arguments For Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now.” And as always, this week’s episode of Pop Tech Jam serves up a look at the recent tech headlines. Fire up Episode 302 to hear it all!

News Stories Discussed on This Week’s Show

Is It Time to Dump Social Media?

PTJ 287: Say “Hey,” Kids

If it’s September, Apple has a new iPhone to sell you. El Kaiser and J.D. discuss this year’s crop of gear, along with news from FitBit, Amazon and GoPro.  And, as election season looms closer, J.D. has some advice and links for those who see misinformation on social-media sites and want to stop it from spreading. Buckle up for Episode 287, y’all!

Links to Stories Discussed on This Week’ s Show

Help Stomp Out Fake News

 

PTJ 279: The Long Arm of the Law

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

Windows 10 Timeline

PTJ 274: Golden State

Even without the NBA finals in the mix, it’s been a busy time out in California with a fierce net-neutrality bill passing a hurdle in the state senate and Mary Meeker’s mega-slideshow on Internet trends. El Kaiser and J.D. surf through the week’s tech news before stopping to ponder life without Twitter — if only just for a little while. Punch up Episode 274 and have a listen!

Downshifting Twitter

PTJ 253: Trolling Right Along

It’s been a heavy week of Congressional hearings over foreign influence in a U.S. election and another terrorist attack in New York City — and technology was all over both events. El Kaiser and J.D. ponder the recent developments, as well as the arrival of the iPhone X and an iOS 11.1 update that brings a hedgehog emoji character at last. El Kaiser also has an in-depth interview with two opinionated technology experts on the gear they’ve incorporated into their everyday lives. Come join us for Episode 253!

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

PTJ 202 News: Chew On This

Who says you shouldn’t release new products in August? Google’s all out with the shiny, releasing the final version of its Android 7.0 operating system to compatible Nexus devices. [Sorry about that, Nexus 7 owners.] For a deep review of the new system, check out what Ars Technica has to say. (Hint: Ars Technica has a lot to say.)

Yes, the month of August seems to make everyone want to shop, and not just for Trapper Keepers and sturdy jeans for school. Pinterest just bought the streamlined reader app Instapaper. Microsoft has acquired the firm Genee, which specializes in intelligent scheduling coordination and optimization, or rather, letting bots run your calendar and send you reminders. (In a blog post, Microsoft said it plans to use the Genee technology in its Office 365 suite.) Microsoft is also getting closer to Lenovo, as the China-based hardware company announced plans to preload Microsoft Office mobile apps on certain Android-based devices it sells.

babsAnd Apple’s been shopping too, acquiring Gliimpse, a startup specializing in personal health-data management. Apple also made news recently with the decision to replace the revolver emoji in the coming iOS 10 system with a squirt gun to artistically make a comment about gun violence. The iOS 10 system itself is expected out by the next month and if a certain diva is to be believed, it might just be on Friday, September 30th. Actress and recording artist Barbra Streisand told NPR that she personally complained to Apple CEO Tim Cook about the way the Siri virtual assistant pronounces her name and he agreed to fix it.

No official word on when the annual fall Apple Special Event will be slurping up all the media bandwidth next month. Some observers like WhenIsKeynote.com are going with September 6th, the day after Labor Day, while others predict it’ll be sometime around September 13th. Major iPhone changes are not expected this year and some blogs are already skipping ahead to 2017 with the breathless anticipation of an overhauled handset design, including a curved display not unlike the Samsung Edge.

echoAmazon is looking to grab some more customers by going cheap. The ReCode site hears the übermegaeverything store is looking to launch a cheap streaming music service that only works on its Amazon Echo speaker assistant and may cost about $5 a month.

The state of Massachusetts is taking a stand of its own in favor of a taxi-cab industry that’s been taking it on the chin from ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. As the Reuters news agency reports, the Bay State plans to levy a 20-cent tax per trip on a ride-hailing service and a nickel of that will go right to the taxi industry until the year 2021.

Also taking a stand: Dozens of human rights and civil liberties organizations who have signed a letter protesting the Department of Homeland Security’s proposed plan to screen the social media accounts for foreign visitors to the country. The comment period for the proposal ended on this Monday.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Sony is getting into downsizing mode with a thinner design for its PlayStation 4 console called the PS Slim.  Sony is said to be planning a media event on September 7th to share the news.

tux25This week marks the 25th anniversary of the Linux operating system kernel. On August 25, 1991, one Linus Benedict Torvalds posted a message in a Usenet group announcing a little project and suffice it to say, some people paid attention.  Here’s to the next 25, Penguin Nation.

The enthusiasm for the Pokémon Go mobile game seems to be fading a bit. Does Pikachu get a third act?

Twitter has finally added that eye-soothing dark night mode to the iOS version of its app. Android users have been enjoying the feature since last month.

The once hot Gawker website shut down for good this week. Gawker’s founder Nick Denton put up one final post.

And finally, after two years in the wilds of space, one of the two Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory spacecraft, known as STEREO-B, has reestablished contact with NASA after going silent in October 2014. The agency’s website explains how the bond was broken, in case you were wondering. NASA engineers had been trying to get back in touch with the craft for the past 22 months and were finally able to establish a lock on STEREO-B’s downlink carrier on August 21st — thanks to the Deep Space Network array of giant radio antennas. Don’t you go running off again, STEREO-B, you hear?

stereoB