Tech News Today 492: When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong

Hosts: Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Iyaz Akhtar and Chad Johnson

New Xbox with 2-year contract costs more! Amazon making sitcoms, Why won’t Facebook take advertisers money, and more.

Guest: Jeff Bakalar

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Submit and vote on story coverage at technewstoday.reddit.com.

We invite you to read, add to, and amend our show notes at wiki.twit.tv.

Thanks to Cachefly for the bandwidth for this show.

Running time: 42:37

Tech News Today 491: The Future Has Four Legs

Hosts: Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane and Iyaz Akhtar

Can gestures and Cascades save RIM? Donate your organs on Facebook, Twitter uses your friends to stay relevant, and more.

Guest: Kevin Purdy

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Submit and vote on story coverage at technewstoday.reddit.com.

We invite you to read, add to, and amend our show notes at wiki.twit.tv.

Thanks to Cachefly for the bandwidth for this show.

Running time: 46:37

Tech News Today 490: Facing The Existential Threat

Hosts: Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Iyaz Akhtar and Chad Johnson

Microsoft buys some Barnes and Noble love, UK blocks Pirate Bay, can Skype spy on you, and more.

Guest: Russ Pitts

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Submit and vote on story coverage at technewstoday.reddit.com.

We invite you to read, add to, and amend our show notes at wiki.twit.tv.

Thanks to Cachefly for the bandwidth for this show.

Running time: 52:31

Autopilot 06 – The A-TEAM

Autopilot 06 – The A-TEAM

The A-Team is an American action adventure television series about a fictional group of ex-United States Army Special Forces personnel who work as soldiers of fortune, while on the run from the Army after being branded as war criminals for a “crime they didn’t commit”. The A-Team was created by writers and producers Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell (who also collaborated on Wiseguy, Riptide, and Hunter) at the behest of Brandon Tartikoff, NBC’s Entertainment president. Despite being thought of as mercenaries by the other characters in the show, the A-Team always acted on the side of good and helped the oppressed. The show ran for five seasons on the NBC television network, from January 23, 1983 to December 30, 1986 (with one additional, previously unbroadcast episode shown on March 8, 1987), for a total of 98 episodes.

S&L Podcast – #99 – The Game of Sword Picks

It’s an epic struggle… With The Magicians finally given our last words, and Hyperion by Dan Simmons kicked off, attention turns to the June “sword” pick. But while Veronica struggles with her penchant for democracy and her desire for supreme power, she comes up against one sobering fact: In the game of sword picks, you win or you read Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?

Tom: 2009 Château Haut-Sorillon

Veronica: St. george Absinthe Verte

QUICK BURNS

Neal Stephenson on Science Fiction, Building Towers 20 Kilometers High … and Insurance

Sci-fi author sues Ubisoft over Assassin’s Creed copyright infringement

Macmillan’s Tor/Forge goes DRM-free

IO9 listing the top 100 albums sff fans should listen to 

10 Untranslatable Words (And When You’ll Want to Use Them) 

CALENDAR 

BARE YOUR SWORD

Other Polarizing Books 

Author Promo (Share Your Stuff!) > Help, please, oh gods of science

What Else Are You Reading? > Any fans of tie-in fiction? 

TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES

Warner Bros. releases ‘Casablanca,’ ‘Ben-Hur,’ and other scripts as enhanced ebooks

BOOK WRAP-UP 

The Magicians by Lev Grossman 

Last thoughts! We will have Mr. Grossman on the next video episode of Sword and Laser so submit your questions on GoodReads.

Next book will be Hyperion by Dan Simmons 

Won the Hugo in 1989 – First book of the Hyperion Cantos (which some people may get bugged by because it definitely leads into a series)

From Wikipedia:

It’s what is called a Frame Story – A frame story (also frame tale, frame narrative, etc.) is a literary technique that sometimes serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, whereby an introductory or main narrative is presented, at least in part, for the purpose of setting the stage either for a more emphasized second narrative or for a set of shorter stories. The frame story leads readers from a first story into another, smaller one (or several ones) within it. Mimics the canterbury Tales in many ways.  Stories are told on a pilgrimage.

Hyperion is in development for a 2013 release (definitely subject to change since it hasn’t started production yet). According to a 2008 io9 report the writer Trevor Sands will simplify Hyperion and mash it up with the sequel Fall of Hyperion http://io9.com/375998/dan-simmons-hyperion-books-will-be-smooshed-together-into-one-movie

And we’re working on the June Pick.

EMAIL / VOICEMAILS

First, I love the show. I’m a fellow podcaster over at Guys Can Read. We do book reviews and interviews with authors like R. A. Salvatore and Daniel H. Wilson. 

Also, I thought your listeners would be interested in my book launch into space! Here is the video. If you need any other media information just let me know. 

Hope you guys enjoy!

Kevin

ADDENDUMS

This podcast is brought to you by Audible.com the internet’s leading provider of audiobooks with more than 100,000 downloadable titles across all types of literature and featuring audio versions of many New York Times Best Sellers.For listeners of this podcast, Audible is offering a free audiobook, to give you a chance to try out their service. For a free audiobook of your choice go to audiblepodcast.com/sword.