We chat with Gregory A. Wilson, author of The Third Sign, about his newest novel Icarus and the graphic novel based on it that he and artist Matt Slay are working on. It’s about a being who falls from the sky to save a world from tyranny. We also find out if he named his daughter after one of his own fictional characters.
DTNS 2168 – Today We Flap Back
David Prager joins us as we enjoy “Today We Fight Back” “Safer Internet Day” and the idea of an airline gate agent wearing Google Glass being a first class ticket perk.
Warning: David’s video mysteriously disappears 20 seconds into the show. David’s video after that is replaced by YOUR IMAGINATION. Use it wisely.
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 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
Dong Nguyen: Flappy Bird became addictive product Forbes spoke with Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen and got a little more info about his reasons for removing the popular game from the app stores. Nguyen said “Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed. But it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it’s best to take down Flappy Bird. It’s gone forever.” Nguyen met a Forbes reporter at a hotel in Hanoi after meeting with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Duc Dam. Nguyen also said he will continue to develop games and he does not plan to remove his other games, some of which are also highly ranked.
The internet fights back against surveillance: A broad coalition of organizations, companies, and individuals joined together today to take a stance against unwarranted mass spying—over 6,000 websites have demanded reform. Some links:
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/02/today-we-fight-back-against-mass-surveillance
https://necessaryandproportionate.org/take-action/EFF
News From You
spsheridan submitted a GigaOm story about HP deciding its time to start paying for firmware upgrades. In an HP Blog post Monday, ZDNet’s Ed Bott noticed that starting Feb. 19 HP says it will “provide firmware updates through the HP Support Center only to customers with a valid warranty, Care Pack Service or support agreement.” Everybody else has to pay. The new policy applies to ProLiant system ROM and CPLD firmware. Security patches will remain free, as will upgrades to HP’s iLO server management, I/O and controller firmware.
And oh what a little competition can do. jaymz668 pointed us to this Ars Technica story about San Marcos, Texas-based Grande bringing GigaBit Internet to western parts of Austin, Texas this week, several months ahead of AT&T and Google Fiber. Grande’s President Matt Murphy told the Austin American-Statesman that the service will cost $65 per month with no contract required.
More links from the show
Lithium Technologies will acquire Klout, the ranker of popularity on the Internet
Google and Foxconn discuss building robotic manufacturing technologies
Yahoo acqui-hires company that makes Days App
Verizon says they are not throttling Netflix
Two competing wireless charging standards agree to join forces
Cordkillers Ep. 6 – Get off your apps!
Lamarr Wilson joins us to talk about HBO and Netflix’s size debate and whether the Olympics are anti-cordkillers.
CordKillers: Ep. 6 Get off your apps!
Recorded: February 10 2014
Guest: Lamarr Wilson
Intro Video:
Primary Target
- HBO Makes More Money Than Netflix — For Now
- Time Warner revealed HBO numbers Wednesday
Netflix generated $1.2 million in last quarter of 2013. HBO generated $1.3 billion in revenue in the last quarter of 2013.
HBO makes $1.791 billion operating income 2013 (Netflix $228 million)
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes said on the earnings call that HBO and Cinemax added about 2 million customers last year, while Netflix grew by 6 million, and added more than 2 million customers just in Q4.
The company declared in its 2013 Annual Report this week that it intends to spend close to $3 billion on content in 2014. — will spend around $6.2 billion on content over the next 36 months. Netflix Plans expansion in continental Europe.
- Netflix’s sales are now basically on par with HBO’s
- Netflix plans to spend $3 billion on content this year
Secondary Target
Signal Intellegence
Gear Up
Under Surveillance
Front Lines
- Twitch ranked 4th in peak internet traffic, ahead of Valve, Facebook, Hulu
- Justin.tv, owner of video game streaming service Twitch, changes its name to Twitch Interactive
- Hulu signs deals for ‘Fraggle Rock’ spin-off, ‘Cheers’ and more CBS classics
- Here’s A First Look At Mike Judge’s Hilarious Take On Silicon Valley
- A third season of ‘House of Cards’ is coming to Netflix
- Watch a 15-Minute Teaser for the New Game of Thrones Season
- Ken Burns’ New iPad App Turns U.S. History Into Beautiful Mixtapes
On Our Radar
On Screen
- Brian: Archer, The Lego Movie, The After
- Tom: Archer, Top Chef finale, Father Ted, The After, Walking Dead, Downton Abbey, Olympics (OTA)
- Lamarr: Marvel Avengers Assembled, Hulk Agents of Smash, Agents of Shield, Helix, Walking Dead, Game of Thrones Season 2
Dispatches from the Front
- Big thanks to Jay in Toledo who’s sent us great feedback from the TV side of things and hooked us up with an interview with Jerry Anderson at his station in Toledo! You rock Jay!!
- Check out one of my fave web series, the very funny @SubmissionsOnly. http://www.afollowspot.com/2014/02/its-date-submissions-only-comes-back.html
Lisa Glassberg
- I honestly don’t believe I did this https://soundcloud.com/sebgonz/cordkillers
@sebgonz
- Message: On the cordcutting decision… I set my directv account on vacation mode (six months) just to try cordcutting. After setting up a windows media center system I can now kill the directv account with confidence as I’ll be ready to counter any argument with the Directv retention department. Great Show!
George
- I’m proud to say after a long time watching another show about cord cutting and moving to Cord Killers after it was cancelled about a month ago, that I have taken the plunge and cancelled DirecTV.
I cancelled my service on the day of the Big Game, and was able to watch the death of the Broncos just fine with my brand-spanking new Leaf antenna. Go figure.
I had been wanting to cut the cord for a while. Holding me back was my local NHL team, and wrestling. The WWE Network announcement was a game changer for me. A complete no-brainer purchase for me, not just for the PPVs. The weekly shows would be made available on it immediately after they air, and I don’t normally watch Monday Night Raw until Tuesday anyway. I was suddenly only being held back by arbitrary blackout decisions enforced by a regional sports channel. Right as I began seriously considering the feasibility of cord cutting my first year of DirecTV passed and my bill increased by $40 a month. It was a sign.
I put together a spreadsheet showing what my costs would be and I would be saving over $1000 a year. That included a way to watch the Carolina Hurricanes on NHL GameCenter Live. The decision was made. I got the usual retention offers, but their best effort wouldn’t even save me $500 a year.
What was really interesting to me was that I didn’t get any real fight after mentioning the WWE Network. I was expecting to have to explain the crazy notion that I don’t have to spend $55 on a pay-per-view ($65 for WrestleMania). Instead I got sad understanding from the other end of the line.
Charles in Raleigh, NC
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmPuGnaNHdHd5VDZCTFgxYk9WMTFrNDYwV1hVbEE&usp=sharing
- Hey guys, after episode 5 I finally decided to get rid of my cable with Verizon. They offered to charge me $94 for internet and basic cable but I turned them down. I went from paying $213, which also included home phone service I stopped using to $106 a month for a 75/35mbps connection. Thanks guys, keep up the work.
Mike
- I’m a long-time listener of yours from the TWiT days, and have happily followed you to the new cordkillers show, to which I donate through Patreon.I just listened to the most recent episode, and there’s something that bothers me as a listener. When comparing devices to use to cord cut, consistently, there is misinformation pushed about the AppleTV and airplay. As is often the case, the impression is given that AirPlay only supports mirroring mode, in which essentially the app takes over the screen, and is mirrored to the television, rendering the device (tablet/phone) un-useful for any other purpose. This is always contrasted against the Chromecast, which does not dominate the device after the video is slung from the device (android/ios) to the Chromecast. This is NOT the case at all. Mirroring is but one AirPlay mode. Almost all apps though support the second mode, where, just like the Chromecast, the video is targeted to the AppleTV, but then the device is free for other work. Often, I sling a Netflix, YouTube, DailyMotion, etc, etc, etc video to the AppleTV using a button that looks just like the Chromecast button, then continue on to read my email, play a game, etc. It absolutely does NOT dominate the device. Every app doesn’t support it, but most apps do. I think by continuously misrepresenting the capabilities of the AppleTV, which supported this years in advance of the Chromecast, you are spreading misinformation. I say this as a person who owns Android and Apple devices, and has both an AppleTV and a Chromecast. I just tire of the misinformation out there.
Bob
Links
Today in Tech History – Feb. 11, 2014
In 1847 – Proud parents Samuel and Nancy welcomed their seventh and last child into the world. Thomas Edison would grow up to embody the word inventor.
In 1970 – With the launch of Osumi 5, Japan became the fourth country (after the US, USSR and France) to place a satellite into orbit using its own rocket.
In 1997 – The Space Shuttle Discovery launched on Mission STS-82 with the objective of making significant upgrades to the scientific capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope. The upgrades helped turn the Hubble from a punchline, to one of the greatest telescopes ever created.
Like Tech History? Purchase Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.
It’s Spoilerin’ Time: Ep. 5 – Archer, Stand Up Guys and AHS
Tom, Brian, and Nicole discuss Archer: Vice and Nicole attempts to sell Brian and Tom on watching American Horror Story.
DTNS 2167 – Flappy Drone
Andrea Smith joins us to lament the fate of Flappy Bird, duck drones in Dubai and get prepped for protest.
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 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
Developer removes Flappy Bird game from Android and iOS stores Reuters reports that Dong Nguyen removed his popular app Flappy Bird from the Android and iOS App stores, this weekend. Now that it’s gone, phones with the game installed, which still works, have showed up on auction sites like eBay, some with bids in the tens of thousands of dollars. Nguyen posted on Twitter that the game’s success ruined his simple life and he couldn’t take it anymore. He says the removal was not about legal issues, and he would still make games.
Nokia to launch Android-based phone at Mobile World Congress Mashable passes along a Wall Street Journal report that Nokia will launch an Android-based phone later this month at Mobile World Congress. The device will not come with the Google Play app store and will target emerging markets. Microsoft is in the process of finalizing a deal to acquire Nokia’s handset business which predominantly makes Windows Phones.
News From You
AllanAV posted a cleantechnica article to the subreddit. The article describes a Polish Startup producing grapheme. The startup is co-owned by mining company KGHM and the Industrial Development Agency (ARP). It uses technology developed at the Institute of Electronic Materials Technology in Warsaw. That would make the company the only one commercially producing graphene. Graphene-based devices could make a big difference in solar power and energy storage among other industries.
Kylde, our self-described Subreddit janitor, submitted an article from AndroidPolice noting T-Mobile winning its lawsuit against former suitor AT&T over the color purple. A federal court in Texas has ruled that AT&T’s budget carrier AIO Wireless infringed T-Mobile’s corporate trademark magenta. Aio said it was plum not magenta.
And spsheridan and habichuelacondulce both submitted articles from geek.com and geekosystem respectively, discussing a DARPA program to develop a brain implant for soldiers to help trigger memories and overcome memory loss. The device would record and stimulate brain activity.
More links from the show
HTC to focus on low-end smartphones in an effort to boost sagging profits
Huawei to show off a smartwatch at Mobile World Congress later this month
Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange still down
Microsoft opens multi-factor authentication to all Office 365 users
Today in Tech History – Feb. 10, 2014
In 1958 – Scientists at Lincoln Laboratory at MIT bounced radar signals off the planet Venus, calling it the first measurement of interplanetary distances.
In 1996 – Chess’s international grandmaster Garry Kasparov began a six game match against IBM’s Deep Blue. Deep Blue won the first game, the first time that a current world champion had ever been beaten by a computer opponent under regular tournament conditions.
In 2009 – One of Motorola’s communication satellites Iridium 33 collided with defunct Russian satellite Kosmos-2251 destroying both. It was an unprecedented space collision.
Like Tech History? Purchase Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.
Today in Tech History – Feb. 9, 2014
In 1870 – US President Ulysses S. Grant signed a bill authorizing “the Secretary of War to take observations at military stations and to warn of storms on the Great Lakes and on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.” This agency operating under the Signal Service eventually became the National Weather Service.
In 1969 – The Boeing 747 jumbo jet took flight for the first time. It was the first wide-body plane ever produced.
In 1995 – Dr. Bernard Harris became the first African-American to walk in space. Joining him, Michael Foale became the first British-born American to walk in space.
Like Tech History? Purchase Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.
Today in Tech History – Feb. 8, 2014
In 1971 – 10 years after the SEC suggested automation could solve the problem of fragmentation in over-the-counter stocks, the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations or NASDAQ index began trading, the world’s first electronic stock market.
In 1996 – The U.S. Congress passed the Communications Decency Act, part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. In part, it attempted to hold website operators responsible for anyone younger than 18 seeing porn on the Internet. That provision was later struck down by the Supreme Court, however Section 230 which provides safe harbor to service providers is still in force.
In 1996 – John Perry Barlow posted “A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace” written in Davos, Switzerland. He foresaw a “civilization of the Mind in Cyberspace. May it be more humane and fair than the world your governments have made before.”
Like Tech History? Purchase Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.
Giveaway: Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard
Hey all, Moth and Spark by Anne Leonard is coming out Feb. 20 so Viking press gave us 5 copies to giveaway! The book comes out Feb. 20, so we’ll pick that day to announce a winner drawn at random from respondents to this thread.
To enter, head over to our Goodreads thread entitled “If you were a recently freed dragon, what’s the first thing you’d do?“
Listen to the show or check back in the thread on the 20th to find out who wins!