Tag Archives: walkout

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)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 317: Candied Apples

September 10, 2019 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Brand new iPhones in pastel-candy colors, two deluxe “Pro” models with three cameras on the back and a spiffy new iPad were in Apple’s basket of fall announcements this week — along with an updated Apple Watch and two new monthly subscription services for games and movies. El Kaiser and J.D. wade into the Apple news-stream after a look at other headlines, including new government scrutiny for Big, er, Gigundo Tech. Welcome to PTJ 317!

A message about iOS security (Apple)
Apple takes flak for disputing iOS security bombshell dropped by Google (Ars Technica)
A very deep dive into iOS Exploit chains found in the wild (Google Project Zero)
How Google’s Project Zero ended up attacking all iPhone users (iMore)
Texas attorney general leads Google antitrust probe (CNBC)
Google and YouTube Will Pay Record $170 Million for Alleged Violations of Children’s Privacy Law (Federal Trade Commission)
How Each Big Tech Company May Be Targeted by Regulators (The New York Times)
16 Ways Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon Are in Government Cross Hairs (The New York Times)
How Top-Valued Microsoft Has Avoided the Big Tech Backlash (The New York Times)
Your Private Instagram Stories Aren’t Exactly Private (BuzzFeed)
Period Tracker Apps: Maya And MIA Fem Are Sharing Deeply Personal Data With Facebook (BuzzFeed)
Facebook warns about Apple iOS 13 privacy improvement (CNBC)
Understanding Updates to Your Device’s Location Settings (Facebook)
How Apple’s Apps Topped Rivals in the App Store It Controls (The New York Times)
Amazon Employees Are Walking Out Over the Company’s Huge Carbon Footprint
(VICE)
The Polaroid Lab delivers instant prints using your phone display (Engadget)
Polaroid Originals
Kodak PRINTOMATIC Cameras

Apple Event Announcements

Everything Apple Announced at Today’s iPhone Event in Just Seven Minutes (macOS Rumors video)
September 2019 event (macOS Rumors)
Apple Arcade invites you to play something extraordinary (Apple)
Apple TV+ launches November 1, featuring originals from the world’s greatest storytellers (Apple)
Apple introduces new version of the most popular iPad starting at $329 (Apple)
Apple unveils Apple Watch Series 5 (Apple)
Apple introduces dual camera iPhone 11 (Apple)
iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max: the most powerful and advanced smartphones (Apple)

Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 292: Know When to Hold ‘Em, Know When to Fold ‘Em

November 13, 2018 J.D. Biersdorfer Leave a comment

Smartphones that open up into mini-tablets are on the way, thanks to several companies gearing up to expand the traditional rectangular slab into new form factors. Samsung had a big event to introduce its bendy Galaxy X, even though a smaller company called Royole jumped out in front of the pack with its own FlexiPai device a few weeks ago. El Kaiser and J.D. discuss this new look for phones, as well as East Coast expansion efforts by Google and Amazon, and other news of the week. J.D. also explains what those “waterproof” and “water-resistant” ratings for mobile devices really mean. Press the Play button to unfold Episode 292 of Pop Tech Jam!

Links to Stories Discussed on This Week’s Show

This is Samsung’s foldable smartphone (The Verge)
SDC 2018: Samsung Reveals Breakthroughs in Intelligence, IoT and Mobile UX (Samsung)
Comcast making video-streaming box for broadband-only customers (CNBC)
Why the Google Walkout Was a Watershed Moment in Tech (The New York Times)
Google Overhauls Sexual Misconduct Policy After Employee Walkout (The New York Times)
Google Plans Large New York City Expansion (The Wall Street Journal)
Amazon Plans to Split HQ2 Between Long Island City, N.Y., and Arlington, Va. (The New York Times)
Amazon HQ2 in Long Island City, Queens: What the neighborhood is like (CNBC)
Ford buys electric scooter startup Spin (TechCrunch)
Why Children’s Fondness for YouTube Puts the Company at Risk (The Wall Street Journal)
Facebook Had a Good Election Day. But It Can’t Let Up Now (The New York Times)
Amazon begins mailing printed holiday toy catalog (CNBC)

Just How “Waterproof” Is Your Phone?

The Swim Test for Smartphones (The New York Times)
International Electrotechnical Commission
Guide to Ingress Protection Ratings (Element Materials Technology)
Are Galaxy devices waterproof? (Samsung)
Help prevent water damage to your Pixel phone (Google)
About splash, water, and dust resistance of iPhone 7 and later (Apple)

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

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!