Peter Wells joins us from Australia where it’s already iPhone release day. We’ll chat about Apple’s new privacy promises and whether we can blame Australians if Netflix starts blocking VPNs.

MP3

Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.

Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.

A special thanks to all our Patreon supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here at the low, low cost of a nickel a day on Patreon. Thank you!

Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!

Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes

Today’s guest:  Peter Wells of Reckoner, Australia

Today’s title “Canary in a Coal Mine” was chosen by tondagossa at showbot.replex.org

Headlines

Bloomberg reports Larry Ellison intends to step down as CEO of Oracle and hand over CEO duties to president Mark Hurd and president and CFO Safra Katz. Ellison will become chairman, replacing Jeff Henley who becomes Vice Chairman. Ellison will also take on the title of chief technology officer. Ellison co-founded Oracle in 1977 when it was called Software Development Laboratories.

Amazon announced a revamp to its Kindle lineup yesterday. Here’s the list. The Fire HD now comes in two sizes. A 6-inch for $99 and 7-inch for $139 both shipping next month. For $50 extra you can make them Kids editions with a free year of kid-friendly Amazon FreeTime Unlimited, a big durable case and a two-year warranty. The HDX 8.9 got a faster processor and the addition of Firefly among other things. The entry-level e-Ink Kindle stays at $79 but gets a touch screen and more memory in October. Amazon also announced Family Library for sharing books, audiobooks, Prime Instant videos, apps and games among family members. But the star of the show was the Kindle Voyage. The screen is eInk but 300 ppi, high contrast fro even paperwhitier than the paperwhite, ambient light setting that adjusts gradually, a flush glass screen that’s not glossy or reflective, and a function to squeeze the right or left bezels to turn pages. The Kindle Voyage ships in October for $199 for WiFi or $269 more for a 3G-enabled version.

Apple posted a new privacy policy and a whole subsite at apple.com/privacy explaining changes in iOS8 as well as pre-existing privacy protections. The subsite has sections on privacy design, privacy management and government requests. In an introductory letter to the site, CEO Tim Cook says Apple has never put back doors in their products for the government. The site also claims that most of your data is now encrypted on the device with a passcode and cannot be recovered by Apple even if it wanted to.

ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley reports Microsoft conducted its second round of layoffs Thursday letting go 2,100 people. Microsoft let go 13,000 in July of a total of 18,000 they intend to cut. That leaves 2900 still to go by July 2015. 747 of the current 2100 were in Washington State with the rest distributed globally.

The Verge reports that the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will go on sale in the US on October 17th. If you live in the UK, the phablet will go on sale October 10th. Pre-orders begin tomorrow in both countries. On the carrier side, AT&T announced it will ship the Note 4 beginning October 14th for $299.99 on-contract, and $825.99 for the unsubsidized, contract-free version. You can also pay for the phone in monthly installments of $34.42 over 18 months or $41.30 over 12 months. If you want a Note 4 from T-Mobile, you’ll have to wait until Sept 24th to pre-order, but it will still arrive October 17th and you can have up to 24 months to pay it off. And Verizon and Sprint ask you to please hold, they will get right back to you about their Note 4 availability.

GigaOm reports Twilio will add MMS support for regular phone numbers. Twilio allows developers to embed multimedia messaging into apps. The new function means companies can use a single phone number for voice, text and multimedia, similar to existing offers from companies like ZipWhip and Bandwidth. No more shortcodes necessary.

News From You

habichuelacondulce passes along another Ars Technica article about the ongoing debate over what is considered broadband. Last week AT&T and Verizon said 4Mbps was sufficient. This week, US FCC chairman Tom Wheeler told a Congressional Committee that 4Mbps is too slow and that Internet service providers who accept government subsidies to connect rural areas should offer at least 10Mbps to avoid a ‘digital divide’ between city and country internet users. Wheeler says he hopes to “have that issue tidied up” by the end of this year.

KAPT_Kipper submitted the MobileSyrup post that Microsoft has changed its developers fee to a lifetime subscription you only have to pay once. One developer account serves for Windows or Windows Phone stores. Developers were previously charged $19 annually for an individual account. Now they just have to pay once to get in and that’s it. That also means existing accounts will not expire.

And diggsalot submitted a Torrent Freak article stating that Simon Bush, CEO of the Australian Home Entertainment Distributors Association says some of his members are lobbying Netflix to block users that connect through a VPN. Coincidentally, an estimated 200,000 Australians are estimated to use the US version of Netflix. Quickflix CEO Stephen Langsford renewed his calls for Netflix to block VPN users, accusing Netflix of profiting off “back door” tactics. Of course, banning VPN use of Netflix would affect non-Australian users with a legitimate account as well. So thanks ALOT, Australia.

Discussion Links:

http://www.apple.com/privacy/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/2014/09/17/2612af58-3ed2-11e4-b03f-de718edeb92f_story.html

http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/18/6409915/apples-privacy-statement-is-a-direct-shot-at-google-and-i-love-it

http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/18/6404767/apple-offers-mixed-signals-whether-police-can-access-your-data

http://www.wired.com/2014/09/apple-iphone-security/

https://gigaom.com/2014/09/18/apples-warrant-canary-disappears-suggesting-new-patriot-act-demands/

http://images.apple.com/privacy/docs/iOS_Security_Guide_Sept_2014.pdf

Plug of the Day:  ‘Events of a Different Nature‘ by Tom Merritt

I want to let you know I have a new self-published book out called ‘Events of A Different Nature.’ It’s about two dogs who solve crimes. NOW WAIT. It’s not nearly as cute as it may sound. It’s more Raymond Chandler than Wind in the Willows and they never once admit that they’re dogs or in any way inferior to humans. So if you want to check it out you can find a free version as well as print and versions for various ebook platforms at tommerrittbooks.com

Pick of the Day: Knowroaming via Marc Gibeault and xcomglobal via Kayo

“I bought Knowroaming when it was first announced (on Indiegogo I think) but had the occasion to use it only last week-end. And now I think it’s the best tool for travelling with your phone!
-Good rates anywhere for voice/messages/data
-No need to think about it in advance; you arrive at destination and install the profile and it works. You get back home, you remove the profile and it’s done.
-Switches to the strongest network
-Easy to use app and website where you buy credits. That also mean you cannot spend more than you planned without knowing.
Only drawback for some; it requires an unlocked phone.”
For those with locked phones, Kayo has another option: “”I used xcomglobal in Vancouver and it worked great. It was about $15 per day which sounds pricey but it was the same price as hotel wifi, and all of our phones were locked so we couldn’t rent a SIM card anyway. I took a portable battery with me so my family and I had access to the internet all day. I was so happy that when I sent along a thank you post-it with the returned device, they wrote back and gave me a 10% coupon code (embarrassingly, it’s ‘kayolovesxcom’) to share with others. It’s good for a year from June. (I don’t get a kickback for that and I don’t work for this company, btw.)

In Japan, I used a similar service from Global Advanced Communications and that worked really well too. Their coverage was good and the speed was faster than my Comcast connection at home. My brother recently used his free T-mobile 2G roaming plan in the Tokyo area and he was pleased with it as well. Hope that helps!”

Tomorrow’s guests:  Eklund and Len Peralta and maybe a new iPhone.

Michael Wolf joins us as the world downloads iOS8 and deletes all their pet photos to make room. Plus we’ll discuss whether the Apple Watch is too dependent on the iPhone.

MP3

Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.

Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.

A special thanks to all our Patreon supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here at the low, low cost of a nickel a day on Patreon. Thank you!

Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!

Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes

Today’s guest:  Michael Wolf of the NextMarket podcast and the Smart Home Show

Headlines

Feel that? That’s the feeling of almost an entire week of factual coverage of Apple products coming to an end. As iOS 8 rolls out and the IPhone 6 reviews have all been posted, people familiar with the matter have wasted no time slipping out the latest Apple rumor. The Daily Dot is the vector stating Apple will announce two new iPads and launch OS X Yosemite on October 21st.

GigaOm reports BitTorrent opened up the alpha test of its secure messaging app Bleep Wednesday. Apps for OS X and Android were released as well as an update of the existing Windows client. Bleep offers end-to-end encryption for instant messages as well as a number of features that make it difficult to determine which users are communicating with each other.

The Verge reports Logitech announced the ‘Harmony Living Home’ line of remotes. The three new models and have more intuitive software to help you control certain brands of connected thermostats lightbulbs, blinds, smart locks and your home theater. The remotes start at $99 and range up to the $349 Ultimate Home remote that has a 2.4 inch display. It also allows you to customize ‘experiences’ to occur when you wake up, or when an in-law is yelling at you. Oh wait. They don’t have that last button– yet.

According to Reuters, the online review site Yelp, and mobile app developer TinyCo have both agreed to settle separate charges that they improperly collected children’s information online under the Children’s Online Protection Act. Yelp will pay a $450,000 civil penalty for collecting name, email and location information from children under 13 without parental consent; TinyCo will pay $300,000 for targeting young children with brightly colored characters in apps which also collected email addresses from children.

And The Verge reports that Chinese mobile phone company ZTE has a new phablet for sale in the US starting September 24th. The ZMax is exclusive to TMobile, runs on Android 4.4 KitKat and features a 5.7-inch display with 720p resolution, an 8-megapixel camera, quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor and 16GB of internal storage. The ZMax sells for $252, or $10.50 per month for 24 months. Says the Verge, “The ZMax isn’t a striking phone” but hey, maybe we all need a break from those big fancy phablets with their fancy chamfered edges and cuved backs and whatnot.

News From You

KAPT_Kipper pointed out the NASA post that the US space agency have granted contracts to Boeing and SpaceEx to carry crew into space. Each contractor will conduct manned test mission to gain certification then carry out 2-6 crewed missions to the ISS. And it turns out Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin got in on a little of Boeing’s money. United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed will team up with Blue Origin with ULA building capsules and Blue Origin building BE-4 rockets to launch them. The goal of NASA’s program is to end reliance on Russia by 2017.

the_corley posted an R&D Mag story that researchers at the University of Missouri have created a long-lasting efficient nuclear battery that could be used in automobiles and space flight as described in a research published in Nature. Don’t let the nuclear scare you. associate professor if electrictal and computer engineering and nuclear engineering Jae W. Kwon says this is similar to technology already used in fire detectors and exit signs. The battery uses strontium-90 in a water-based solution with a titanium dioxide electrode. In other words, a liquid that doesn’t freeze easily that outs out efficient electricity.

matalfreak and diggsalot both noticed articles on the Cosmos Browser which transfers data over SMS. This is very useful for users who can’t afford a phone with a data plan. Developer Stefan Aleksic of ColdSauce developed the text-only browser which texts URLs to a Twilio number which forwards it to a Node.JS service that gets the HTML, strips it of everything but the text, compresses it and sends it along as as series of SMS messages. The browser receives the messages decompresses them and displays the text. The code is open soruce and targeted at Android devices. Look for the Cosmos Browser from ColdSauce on GitHub.

Discussion Links:

http://blog.nextmarket.co/post/97743589899/apple-watchs-biggest-problem-is-the-iphone

http://research.gigaom.com/report/flash-analysis-first-impressions-of-the-apple-watch/flash-survey-analysis/

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140909204146-6139636-the-battle-for-the-phone-agnostic-smartwatch-is-still-wide-open-post-apple-watch?trk=prof-post

http://www.zdnet.com/apple-rolls-out-ios-8-to-iphone-ipad-users-heres-how-to-get-it-7000033693/

https://gigaom.com/2014/09/17/meta-review-iphone-6-iphone-6-plus/

Plug of the Day:  ‘Events of a Different Nature‘ by Tom Merritt

I want to let you know I have a new self-published book out called ‘Events of A Different Nature.’ It’s about two dogs who solve crimes. NOW WAIT. It’s not nearly as cute as it may sound. It’s more Raymond Chandler than Wind in the Willows and they never once admit that they’re dogs or in any way inferior to humans. So if you want to check it out you can find a free version as well as print and versions for various ebook platforms at tommerrittbooks.com

Pick of the Day: 

You where talking about prepaid sims and other international data options. I was doing some research the other day and found a 3G hotspot solution that cost $10 a day for unlimited data and supported in over 40 countries. The service is called skyroam at www.skyroam.com might be worth taking a look at for the data hog on the go.

Derrick writes: “I wanted to also throw out Tep Wireless as another option when travelling abroad. They offer 3G mobile hotspots and cover a good portion of the world. I always use it on my trips to Europe, paying about $6-7 for 150MB/day (unused data is rolled over). They can ship it or you can pick/drop off at airports so it’s really convenient. It’s a great option if you don’t need phone/SMS and only need data. Plus you can attach as many devices as you want to it.

Tomorrow’s guest: Peter Wells of Reckoner, Australia

Andrea Smith talks about things you should know about mobile data and SIM cards when traveling, plus the real reason why Microsoft bought Minecraft.

MP3

Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.

Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.

A special thanks to all our Patreon supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here at the low, low cost of a nickel a day on Patreon. Thank you!

Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!

Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes
Today’s guest:  Andrea Smith, technology journalist

Headlines

Cult of Mac says it has talked to folks inside Apple who say the NFC chip on iPhone 6 and 6 Plus will only be used by Apple Pay. That’s similar to TouchID which was not accessible to developers at launch. TouchID has opened up a bit in iOS8, and many hope that the iPhone’s NFC will open up to developers down the road as well.

You know how Microsoft says they’re a productivity and platform company. Well PC Mag reports on a few new peripherals that fall in the productivity side of the equation. The most intriguing is the Universal Mobile Keyboard that connects by Bluetooth to Windows, Android and iOS devices. It’s coming to US and Canada in October fort $80. A new standalon Arc Touch Bluetooth Mouse will come Sept. 18 for $70. The Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3500 is back with fancy artwork this moth for $30. And a version of the Xbox One controller meant for Windows packs in a 9-foot USB to microUSB cable for $60 starting in November.

$350 for a watch made by somebody from Apple that won’t come until next year? We can do better. The Unofficial Apple Weblog reports the Misfit Flash tells time, tracks activity and sleep, and syncs with the Misfit App on an iPhone. While it doesn’t have apps, it does runs on an actual watch battery, so no recharging. It also comes in seven colors, is waterproof down to 30 meters and only costs $49.99. It will be available in stores in October and you can pre-order starting today. Oh and the company is led in part by former Apple CEO John Sculley. You know the guy who fired Steve Jobs.

Reuters reports the US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals in Washington threw out a jury order that would have required Apple to pay VirnetX Holding Corp. $368.2 million for VPN patents. The decision does not find Apple innocnent of infringing but determined the trial judge incorrectly instructed jurors on how to calculate damages. The appeals court returned the case to the U.S. District Court in Tyler, Texas, for further proceedings.

Eweek has it that Docker, maker of open-source container virtualization tech, closed a $40 million Series C round of funding. The funding is a big vote of confidence for Docker 1.0 which will create a commercial ecosystem around the tech. Docker lets developers build their app in any language, then put them in a Docker container that allows them to run anywhere.

TechCrunch reports IBM has announced a new cloud application called Watson Analytics, to help business users crunch big data. And yes, IBM execs say the underlying technology includes the the same ability to process natural language queries that helped Watson the Giant Supercomputer beat Ken Jennings at Jeopardy. The product goes into beta this month and is slated for general release by the end of the year. The program will run on a variety of platforms including tablets, smartphones and PC/laptop. Oh also, there’s a FREE version.

 

 

News From You

KAPT_Kipper pointed out the Ars Technica article that a jury in Marshall, Texas (Go Mavericks) found CBS guilty of infringing a patent from Personal Audio LLC and ordered to pay $1.3 million. Personal Audio holds a patent on a System for disseminating media content representing episodes in a serialized sequence. The patent was filed in 2009 and published Feb. 17, 2012. What CBS did was put a compilation file together, in this case a “web page” made from “HTML” and then transmitted episodic content through that file over the Internet. The decision allows Personal Audio to move forward with suits against NBC and Fox. The EFF is challenging the validity of the patent with the patent office later this year.

tm204 submitted the Engadget report that security researcher Benjamin Daniel Musser discovered a security hole in the Manage Your Kindle page. An coorrupted ebook, for example one with a script in the title, could be created to access your cookies and subsequently your Amazon account credentials. Musser discovered the hole in October and Amazon patched it but it resurfaced recently. Musser says if your carefuk about what ebooks you load into your Kindle it should be easy to avoid the problem.

gewbert passes along The Verge report that Roku has sold more than 10 million streaming players since 2008. Apple annoucned earlier this year it had sold 20 million Apple TVs since 2007. Roku has now amassed 1,800 channels and users have streamed more than five billion hours of content since the service launched. Roku currently sells a $49 streaming stick and three set-top boxes, including the $99 Roku 3.

Discussion Links: Roam if you want to…

http://www.zdnet.com/the-american-business-travelers-guide-to-europe-on-5-a-day-in-smartphone-charges-7000033703/

Plug of the Day:  ‘Events of a Different Nature‘ by Tom Merritt

I want to let you know I have a new self-published book out called ‘Events of A Different Nature.’ It’s about two dogs who solve crimes. NOW WAIT. It’s not nearly as cute as it may sound. It’s more Raymond Chandler than Wind in the Willows and they never once admit that they’re dogs or in any way inferior to humans. So if you want to check it out you can find a free version as well as print and versions for various ebook platforms at tommerrittbooks.com

Pick of the Day: Darik’s Boot and Nuke via Brian Burgess

One of the free tools I use a lot, especially when I want to completely nuke a computer and do a “real” clean install of Windows is Darik’s Boot and Nuke (DBAN): http://www.dban.org/
Or, if you want to blow away a drive that’s heavily infected with viruses and other malicious code it’s perfect. You burn it to a disc and then boot from it and use the command line interface. For most consumers the “Quick or Auto Nuke” option is good enough, but for the truly paranoid you can your drive to near Department of Defense standards. You can set it to overwrite the drive up to 7 times.

Tomorrow’s guest: Michael Wolf of the NextMarket podcast

Patrick Beja is with us today and we’ll discuss whether or not Microsoft buying Mojang is good for anyone– or everyone.

MP3

Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.

Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.

A special thanks to all our Patreon supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here at the low, low cost of a nickel a day on Patreon. Thank you!

Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!

Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes

Today’s guest:  Patrick Beja, host of Le Rendez-vous Tech, and DTNS contributor

Headlines

Microsoft announced this morning that it is in fact acquiring the makers of Minecraft, Mojang for $2.5 billion. On Xbox.com, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer wrote that the company plans to continue to make Minecraft available across competing platforms. Mojang cofounders Notch aka Markus Persson Carl Manneh and Jakob Porser will not stay with the company. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.

It’s the Monday after a new iPhone went on sale, which means it’s time for Apple to announce how the sales broke records and outran their supplies– causing delays in shipments. CNET reports Apple announced Monday that first day preorders of the new iPhones topped 4 million in the first 24 hours setting a record and outpacing initial supplies causing shipping delays until October.

GigaOm reports Google announced new manufacturers of entry-level Android One devices as the first round handsets go on sale in India. Android One devices are affordably priced and must minimum standards like a 4.5-inch screen and a 5-megapixel camera. Google helps source parts to keep costs down as well as striking deals with carriers for some free data for Android updates and app downloads. Monday saw the Micromax Canvas A1, the Spice Dream Uno and the Karbonn Sparkle V all around 6400 Rupees or $105. Acer, Alcatel, Asus, HTC, Intex, Lava, Lenovo, Panasonic and Xolo are all on board for future Android One devices. The next wave of rollouts will expand to Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka by the end of the year.

Remember the good old days of last week, when Apple gave everyone with an iTunes account a free album from one of the world’s biggest rock bands to promote the iPhone 6? Remember how much people complained because a free album was automatically downloaded to their devices without their permission? According to the BBC, Apple has now given users a special tool to remove U2’s ‘Songs of Innocence’ available at itunes.com/soi-remove. Also, this is why we can’t have nice things.

The Verge reminds us today, September 15th is the last day to file responses to comments regarding the US FCC’s proposed Open Internet Guidelines. The FCC press secretary announced that over 3 million comments have come in. The Sunlight Foundation analyzed 800,000 earlier comments and found that around two-thirds of them asked the FCC to reclassify broadband, while about 5 percent opposed tighter regulations. After comments close tonight, the FCC will use them to decide on a final proposal, which Wheeler hopes to pass by the end of 2014.

News From You

Cosmicvibes posted an Inquisitr story about Comcast threatening to disconnect Tor users, but an Ars Technica story quotes Comcast spokesperson Charlie Douglas saying “This story is wildly inaccurate. Customers are free to use their Xfinity Internet service to visit any website or use it however they wish otherwise.” Douglas added “”We have found no evidence that these conversations took place.” VP of Internet communications and engineering at Comcast Jason Livingood wrote in a blog post today “Our customers can use Tor at any time, as I have myself.” Not the usual Comcast apology and backtracking we’ve seen lately.

habichuelacondulce submitted a Time Magazine report about the Chinese city of Chongqing, which has come up with a way to remind its 28 million residents about the dangers of looking down at their phones while walking. The city used white paint to divide the sidewalks of its entertainment district into two lanes–one for people walking while using cell phones, and one for all the other people. A Chinese official said the markings were designed to protect elderly people and children from unnecessary collisions, but clarified that the initiative was designed to be satirical.

KAPT_Kipper submitted the TechCrunch article about Netflix finally launching in France. Patrick you can subscribe for €7.99 per month, €8.99 per month with HD streaming and 2 simultaneous streams, and €11.99 for 4K streaming and four simultaneous streams. The selection is thin at launch even missing House of Cards whose French rights are held by Canal+.

spsheridan posted the PC World story about research published in the journal Nature Materials on Sunday challenging the notion that slowly charging a battery and preventing fast discharges help prolong battery life. The researchers led by Stanford’s William Chueh, found the evenness of the charging, not the speed is the key factor and could increase the useful life of a battery from a couple years to a decade. They also could use their findings to allow faster discharging without damage. The researchers are engaging in further experiment to simulate typical use and are in talks with electronics companies.

KAPT_Kipper passes along an Ars Technica writeup of some fine original reporting by Vox Media’s Tim Lee analyzing the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling on patents back in June. Since that decision, there have been eleven federal judicial rulings striking down patents as “abstract” which is a high number according to Ars Technica. The list only highlights patents that have lost under Section 101 of the US patent law, which governs when a patent is an “abstract idea” that can’t be patented.Many of the patents being knocked out are “do it on a computer” patents that take everyday activity and add computer jargon. Check out Tim Lee’s article for the full list of decisions.

Discussion Links: Microsoft and Mojang to marry

https://gigaom.com/2014/09/15/microsoft-pays-2-5b-for-minecraft-as-notch-makes-his-game-exit/

http://www.cnet.com/news/microsoft-to-buy-minecraft-maker-mojang/#ftag=CAD590a51e

http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/15/6151941/minecraft-mojang-notch-goodbye-letter

http://news.xbox.com/2014/09/games-minecraft-to-join-microsoft

https://mojang.com/2014/09/yes-were-being-bought-by-microsoft/

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/minecraft-to-join-microsoft-275112831.html

http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-buys-mojang-minecraft-five-reasons-it-makes-strategic-sense-7000033640/

Plug of the Day:  ‘Events of a Different Nature‘ by Tom Merritt

I want to let you know I have a new self-published book out called ‘Events of A Different Nature.’ It’s about two dogs who solve crimes. NOW WAIT. It’s not nearly as cute as it may sound. It’s more Raymond Chandler than Wind in the Willows and they never once admit that they’re dogs or in any way inferior to humans. So if you want to check it out you can find a free version as well as print and versions for various ebook platforms at tommerrittbooks.com

Pick of the Day: Digital offerings from the public library via DonkeyHotey

Your public library has audio books and ebooks for free. Just go in to the library and sign up. They give you credentials and voila you have access to countless books. My local library is part of the OverDrive lending system. It works great for me.

Tomorrow’s guest: Andrea Smith

It’s the hak5 DTNS takeover with Darren Kitchen and Shannon Morse! Len Peralta illustrates the madness and Jennie makes a cameo. Much hacking is discussed.

MP3

Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org–Please SUBSCRIBE HERE

A special thanks to all our Patreon supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here at the low, low cost of a nickel a day on Patreon. Thank you!

Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!

Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes

GUESS WHAT. Recode reports that iPhone 6 pre-orders went live last night, and a lot of people bought the new phone. So many people bought it that Apple’s website had trouble keeping up, and Apple and all the phone companies seem to have sold out all their pre-orders. An AT&T spokesperson said demand for the new iPhones is higher than they’ve seen in either of the past two years. Does any of this surprise you?

The entire DTNS subreddit wants you to know that in 2008, the United States government threatened Yahoo with a $250,000 dollar a day fine, forcing the company to hand over large amounts of user data. The Washington Post reports that 1,500 pages of unsealed court documents from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review revealed a secret and eventually unsuccesful lawsuit by Yahoo. The company was eventually forced to become one of the first to participate in the US NSA’s controversial PRISM program. Eventually, most major U.S. tech companies, including Google, Facebook, Apple and AOL also agreed to participate.

PCMag reports that SanDisk has released an SD card that can store 512 gigabytes of storage. The card was made for people who will be filming in new higher resolution HD formats, and is temperature-proof, waterproof, shock-proof, and x-ray-proof. Oh, and it costs $800 dollars. So don’t lose it and always remember to LABEL YOUR CARDS.

Reuters reports that T-Mobile US added 552,000 postpaid customers in August, more customer additions than any other month in the history of the company. CEO John Legere told investors that the wave of new subscribers was partly due to a promotion that allows customers to add four lines for $100 a month. The company also added 208,000 pre-paid customers in August.

The Los Angeles Times reports that the Curiosity Rover has reached Mount Sharp after a 25-month journey on the surface of Mars. The rover will begin to climb the lower portion of the three mile high mountain, and will eventually start drilling deep into the planet’s geological record, looking for evidence that life might have once existed on the Red Planet.

If you dream of a world where it’s possible to buy a subscription to HBO GO without having to get cable or satellite service, OR mooching your parents password, hear this: Gizmodo reports that Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes told a room full of investment bankers that HBO is “seriously” considering allowing users to purchase a standalone subscription without paying a cable provider for all the other TV.

The Verge reports that efforts to bring drones to the ocean are now underway. At a nautical trade fair in Hamburg, a shipping research firm unveiled an electric concept vessel call the ReVolt, which would ferry cargo containers between ports without human crew. The ReVolt carries up to 100 shipping containers at 6 knots.

The best way to waste time in an office is under attack — by robots! Ars Technica reports that Japan’s Fuji Xerox company spent its summer testing a prototype of an autonomous roaming robot printer. The robot uses laser light remote sensing to deliver a color laser printer to your location. That’s right, no more leisurely walks to the printer by way of your friend’s cubicle by way of the kitchen–that printer is coming to YOU. Before you bemoan the loss of all good things, remember this ALSO means no one will accidentally grab the printout of your disastrous 2nd quarter performance review. Fuji has not announced plans to actually release the roaming printer into the wild, but that’s what they said about those dinosaurs in Jurassic Park and look how THAT turned out.

News From You:

KAPT_Kipper passes along an Engadget report that a European Union court says it’s OK for libraries to digitize books and distribute them to reading terminals without first asking permission from publishers. The law still prevents the digitized copies from being stored on USB keys or printed out by users.

KAPT_Kipper also submitted The Verge report that the US military is trying to develop a flexible robotic exoskeleton to make soldiers stronger and safer without weighing them down. DARPA recently issued a $2.9 million contract to Harvard researchers to build what they’re calling the ‘Soft Exosuit.’ The suit fits around a wearer’s waist and legs; it’s made of textiles, woven into straps, containing microprocessors, sensors, and a power supply. Additional motors are also located in a strap that goes around the wearer’s waist. Researchers already have several working prototypes, which could eventually also be used to help people with mobility issues and paralysis to move again.

And spsheridan sends us an IFLScience report that scientists at Princeton have been able to lock individual light photons together so that they behave like a solid object. The researchers constructed an “artificial atom.” They then brought this close to a superconducting wire carrying photons. Due to the bizarre rules of the quantum universe, the atom and the photons became entangled so the light photons started to behave like atoms. Researcher Darius Sadri said, “in one mode of operation, light sloshes back and forth like a liquid; in the other, it freezes.” The team hopes to use solid light to simulate subatomic behavior which is difficult to observe.

Discussion Section Links: Google Hacks and Apple Pay breakdown

http://www.scmagazine.com/google-says-gmail-credential-dump-not-result-of-company-breach/article/371092/

http://nullprogram.com/gmail-bloom-filter/
http://wap.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/email-services-like-gmail-may-be-banned-for-official-use-114091201100_1.html

http://mashable.com/2014/09/12/should-you-trust-gmail-password/
http://www.zdnet.com/apple-pay-and-security-could-tokenization-be-the-tool-that-curbs-data-breaches-7000033585/

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101992749

Pick of the Day: It’s a drone! Hubsan H107L X4 Mini RTF RC Quadcopter 

Plug of the Day: mobile.alphageekradio.com

Monday: Tom is back! Tom is back! Tom is back! Seriously, Tom is back!

Patrick Beja and Nicole Spagnuolo fill in for Tom and talk Yelp laws and disappearing Facebook posts.

MP3

Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org–Please SUBSCRIBE HERE

A special thanks to all our Patreon supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here at the low, low cost of a nickel a day on Patreon. Thank you!

Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!

Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes

The Next Web reports that Facebook has begun testing a new feature for its iPhone app that allows users to set an expiration date on posts, anywhere from one hour to seven days. Facebook told The Next Web that this is a pilot program, and that expired posts could take 90 days to delete from Facebook’s servers. The Verge chimes in with what seems to be the most pressing question: What kind of information would you want to share with EVERYONE YOU KNOW, but only for one hour?

ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley reports that two German sites have posted 20 screenshots of what looks to be a leaked build of Windows Threshold. The pictures show off a new ‘mini’ Start Menu, and the ability to run Metro-Style/Modern apps in windows on the Desktop. ComputerWorld says the pix reveal an operating system that “could go a long way towards making desktop users happy with Windows again.”

The Next Web reports that Blackberry announced that is buying Movirtu (Mow-veer-too), a UK startup that allows multiple phone numbers to be active on a single device. Movirtu’s Virtual SIM platform allows separate billing for voice, data and messaging on each number, allowing employees to switch between business and personal profiles without carrying multiple devices or SIM cards, and allowing for separate charges to be billed to the company and the employee.  Said all employees everywhere…thanks ALOT, Movirtu.

Engadget reports LG has announced that its first two curved 4k OLED televisions will go on sale in the United States very soon. The 65-inch version will ship in October, with a retail price of $10,000 dollars. The 77-inch model will arrive in November at “select retailers” and cost $25,000 dollars. And while you’re catching your breath, LG announced that there’s a 105-inch Ultra HD TV coming in November for the low low price of $100,000 dollars. If you’re willing to sacrifice a few inches, there’s a 98-inch version for $40,000.

Recode reports that Apple has not yet set a release date for the new iPhone 6 in China, the world’s biggest smartphone market. When the iPhone 5s and 5c were released, China was a part of the first wave of countries that received the phone. Chinese media speculated that Apple had not yet received routine certification from Chinese regulators. Said Apple? “China is a key market for us and we will get there as soon as possible.”

The Next Web reports that the state of California has passed a law preventing businesses in the state from penalizing customers who write bad reviews about their properties. The law bans businesses from enforcing non-disparagement clauses in their customer contracts. California businesses could face fines up to $10,000 for violating the new law. We’ll talk more about this in our discussion section.

And this one goes out to all you Australian music fans out there. TorrentFreak reports on new research from Spotify that says music piracy via BitTorrents has decreased in that country by twenty percent since Spotify launched there in 2012. The drop was mostly driven by casual file-sharers; Spotify says the number of hard-core pirates remains stable.

Wondering whether yesterday’s Internet Slow Down Day had any effect? PC World reports that there were 286,000 calls made to US Congressional offices and the White House yesterday, and the US FCC registered more than 111,000 new comments regarding its proposed guidelines. Activist group Fight of the Future says that number might be even higher — claiming it received more than five hundred thousand FCC comments via its site. The numerical discrepancy may be due to the FCC’s overworked servers. And The Verge reports that comments on the US FCC’s proposed net neutrality rules have now surpassed comments on the infamous Janet Jackson ‘nip slip’ during 2004’s Superbowl Halftime Show. Good job internet!

News From You:

FranzGames submitted a report from Circa that a coalition of tech companies including Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Tumblr, and Yahoo sent a letter to the US Congress on September 9th, asking lawmakers to pass the Email Privacy Act. The Act would update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 to require federal law enforcement agencies to get a a warrant if they want to read an email or force a service to disclose a user’s location. The process to update the bill has been delayed by lawmakers’ attempts to add other provisions to the legislation.

ccastro425 submitted this gigaom report that Google will extend its “Try Before You Buy” refund window from 15 minutes to two hours. So if you think you can read the Merck Veterinary Manual in two hours, you’ve just saved yourself $49 dollars and 95 cents! Think you can memorize the 5 Minute Sports Medicine App in 2 hours? Boom. You just saved 99 bucks.

MacBytes passes along a Verge Report that NASA will begin shooting laser pulses at earth from the International Space Station. Before you head to the bunker, it turns out the laser pulses are an attempt to determine the amount of carbon being stored by earth’s forests. Project GEDI, which stands for Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation, would send out up to 16 billion laser pulses a year to make a 3-D map of the forests. The laser light show is expected to launch to the ISS in 2018.

Plug of the day: It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for a great column by Molly Wood on nytimes.com. This week Molly writes about The Apple Watch, and how Apple has passed the burden of discovering the killer app for the watch to developers. And that, says Molly, is a good thing. Check it out!

Pick of the day: Asana project management platform via Elliott Kieff

Hello Jennie, and amazing guest hosts:

Asana.com is a project management online platform meant for companies to work through projects, collaborate, and organize. The creators of Asana are Dustin Moskovitz(Co founder of Facebook) and Justin Rosenstein. Now I do not use this for work but rather all the projects I have being a home owner and car enthusiast . When doing a full restoration on my Datsun I can keep track of progress, ordering of parts, and completed tasks. The best part about Asana is its free. Just login and start a project. Love the shows.

Your DTNS and Cordkillers Boss, Elliott

Tomorrow’s co-host: It’s hak5 takeover day! Shannon Morse and Darren Kitchen take over DTNS, and Len Peralta will be here to illustrate the headlines.

 

 

 

Patrick Beja and Jonathan Strickland fill in for Tom on vacation, ask lingering Apple questions, and mull Microsoft Mojang rumors. Also today is an audio only show.

MP3

No video today : (

A special thanks to all our Patreon supporters–without you, none of this would be possible. If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here at the low, low cost of a nickel a day on Patreon. Thank you!

Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!

Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes

One of the unanswered questions from yesterday’s Apple bonanza is “how long will the Apple Watch’s battery last?” According to John Paczkowski’s sources, it’s about a day. The writer for Code/Red cites Apple spokeswoman Nat Kerris, who doesn’t go so far as to say the watch’s battery will only last a day. Rather, she says that Apple expects watch owners to charge their devices every night when they go to bed.

PC Mag has gathered up reports from sources including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times that say Microsoft is interested in acquiring a little game company called Mojang. The company behind the mega blockbuster Minecraft is reportedly being courted to the tune of $2 billion. This comes as a surprise to many Minecraft fans as the game’s creator, best known by his handle Notch, has resisted outside investment for the most part.

Music streaming service Deezer is getting ready to follow in Spotify’s footsteps. The music service is virtually unknown in the US but traces its history back to 2006 in France. What sets it apart from other services? It streams in the lossless FLAC format at a higher quality than competitors like Rdio and Spotify. The US service is exclusive to Sonos sound systems and will launch at a promotional cost of $14.99 per month after a 30-day free trial, eventually rising to $19.99.

Is your gmail password safe? Engadget reports that around five million gmail account passwords have been posted to a Russian Bitcoin forum. Google says that the passwords were all obtained through phishing and other user-targeting tactics. The company claims that its own servers haven’t been breached.

Twitter, Netflix, Reddit, Vimeo and dozens of other Internet companies are holding a symbolic “slowdown” today in protest of US Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler’s net neutrality proposal, which would allow broadband providers to charge companies like Netflix for prioritized, fast-lane access to consumers. In case you were wondering there’s no actual slowing down of the internet today — site will feature a spinning wheel icon as well as a link to comment on the proposal at the FCC’s website.

James Temple at Re/Code reports that yesterday’s tech news wasn’t all about Apple. At the Intel developer forum, the company announced that a team of Intel designers had created a platform that can transform a standard electric wheelchair into a “data driven, connected” machine. The project received an endorsement from famed physicist Stephen Hawking. The platform incorporates sensors that monitor the wheelchair owner’s health, the status of the chair itself and even give reports on the wheelchair accessibility of places you plan to visit.

According to The Verge, an internal Microsoft document reveals the company is discontinuing the brand names Nokia and Windows Phone. But that doesn’t mean it’s out of the mobile space. In the future, the OS on phones will just be called Windows. So you can have a Windows phone, but not a Windows Phone phone. That should help clear up confusion. This aligns with Microsoft’s strategy to have a universal experience across PCs, the Xbox and smartphones. No word yet if the next Xbox console will be renamed Windows Box.

News From You

habichuelacondulce passes along a CNET report about US FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. Wheeler spoke to the CTIA Wireless Association in Las Vegas yesterday, telling the group he used to lobby for that he had a new client now, “the American people” and that the industry had be better competitive if they wanted to keep regulation light. Wheeler also expressed doubts that wireless and wireline broadband networks should be treated differently when it comes to keeping the internet open.

Tom Wheeler wasn’t the only US government official talking about net neutrality yesterday. motang submitted The Verge report about Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader who represents San Francisco. Pelosi is asking the Federal Communications Commission to reclassify broadband as a utility using Title II of the Communications Act — exactly what net neutrality advocates have been pushing for. In a letter to FCC chair Tom Wheeler, Pelosi writes that Title II is “an appropriate tool to refine modern rules,” and that it can do so without the FCC overburdening broadband providers.

And KAPT_Kipper brings us the sad news the original iPod classic has been removed from the online Apple Store after almost thirteen years. The Classic, which launched in October 2001, featured the then-revolutionary Click Wheel, held 5 WHOLE gigabytes of music, and of course, it didn’t work with Windows. [Significance]

Patrick’s Pick of the Day: Alien Blue for  iOS

Plug of the Day:  DTNS t-shirts

Daily Tech News Show Shirt with Mustafa from thepolarcat.com’s logo now available in white, black and Ash at Slashloot.com. Look in the podcasts section.

 

Tomorrow’s guest hosts: Patrick Beja and Nicole Spagnuolo