The most pirated movies of 2013 don’t stop a record year at the box office. Also Intel CEO Brian Krzanich explains the problem with getting into streaming video. Netflix is either hostile or awesome or both.
S&L Video REWIND – The Hobbit Wrap-Up: December Book Club
This video is part of our re-release of the first season of Sword and Laser videos as they exit exclusivity. This episode originally posted December 28, 2012.
Download the episode here.
Subscribe to the video encores as a podcast, and in iTunes!
And of course get all the show notes at the original post from last year.
DTNS 2142 – The fungi at CES 2014
Tom chats with Lamarr Wilson about what’s happening at CES 2014 in las vegas.
Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.
Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.
Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the music and Martin Bell for the new opening theme!
Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!
Kylde has joined TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreeddit! Thanks Kylde!
Show Notes
Pebble turning heads at CES: TNW reports Pebble will launch an app store by the end of January. Developers should submit their apps by Jan. 9. We also got a peek at the new luxury model, Pebble Steel smart watch for $249 shipping Jan. 28 in brushed stainless or Black Matte.
Intel unveils RealSense: Engadget reports Intel’s making a big deal about RealSense at CES. The first product with the name is a 3D camera that Intekl promises helps devices see depth much like the human eye, and can even read emotions in faces. The RealSense 3D camera will come to tablets, Ultrabooks, notebooks and all-in-ones, from the likes of Acer, ASUS, Dell, Fujitsu, HP, Lenovo and NEC in the second half of this year.
Has AT&T sparked a net neutrality war? Ars Technica reports the US carrier confirmed a plan to allow content providers to pay in order to exempt their content from a user’s data cap. As an example, Netflix could pay AT&T and any Netflix video watched on an AT&T phone wouldn’t count against the users cap. To find out more users or businesses can go to att.com/sponsoreddata. Jon Brodkin who wrote the article for Ars Technica will be on the show tomorrow.
News From You:
BBC reports Zynga is now taking Bitcoin as a payment option. Zynga has partnered with BitPay to allow the purchase of virtual items in some Zynga games using BitCoins. (Submitted by KAPT_Kipper)
Roku announced Sunday it has partnered with TCL and HiSense to release TV’s with Roku’s software built in starting in the autumn of 2014. (Ars Technica, submitted by WhoEver63)
Engadget has leaked the 12 partners for Valve’s Steam machine. iBuyPOwer and Digital Storm were already known, but Engadget says Alienware, Falcon Northwest, CyberPowerPC, Origin PC, Gigabyte, Materiel.net, Webhallen, Alternate, Next, Zotac and Scan Computer will join the party tonight. (Submitted by Splendor78)
The Verge reports on Vizio’s first consumer grade 4K TV. Called the P Series, models will be will be available between 50 and 70 inches and priced “aggressively”. (Submitted by Webitube)
Engadget explores Corning’s anti-microbial Gorilla Glass that inhibits algae, mold, mildew and fungi as well as bacteria. The glass uses an ionic silver coating for the germ-killing, but claims it’s intrinsic to the surface meaning it will last for the lifetime of the device. (Submitted by tsluss07).
More CES links from the show:
First LG Smart TV running WebOS goes public at CES:
Google unveils the Open Automotive Alliance to in collaboration with Audi, GM, Honda, Hynudai and Nvidia:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2429123,00.asp
Wearables at CES include LG’s Lifeband fitness tracker:
Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang unveils the 192-core Tegra K1 mobile processor for Android devices at CES:
http://www.theverge.com/2014/1/5/5278206/nvidia-debuts-tegra-k1-192-core-processor
Today in Tech History – Jan. 6, 2014
In 1838 – Samuel Morse, with his partner, Alfred Vail, gave the first public demonstration of their new electric telegraphic system at the Speedwell Iron Works in Morristown, NJ. They used Morse’s specially designed code to send the message ““A patient waiter is no loser.”
In 1851 – Leon Foucault proved the rotation of the Earth experimentally. He wrote in his journal that he made the discovery at 2:00 AM working with his famous pendulum in the cellar of his house.
In 2004 – Apple debuted the iPod Mini, a diminutive 4GB version of the iPod available in five colors at $249.
Like Tech History? Purchase Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.
Today in Tech History – Jan. 5, 2014
In 1948 – Warner Brothers showed the very first color newsreel, featuring the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl football game.
In 1972 – President Richard M. Nixon announced that NASA would develop a space shuttle system, emphasizing its reliability, reusability and low cost.
In 1984 – Richard Stallman began working on the GNU Operating system,a free UNIX-like OS. GNU/Linux is seen as the most successful outgrowth of that project.
Like Tech History? Purchase Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.
DTNS 2141 – Reupload: Quanto smash!
This is a reupload of Friday’s episode for some users of iTunes having problems with that ep. If you already have 2141 you can delete this. My apologies for the inconvenience – Tom
Darren Kitchen of Hak5 joins me to talk about Quantum Computers and free Harvard coding classes, while Len Peralta illustrates the show and introduces us to Quanto!
Autopilot S3E11 – TJ Hooker
Join Scott and Tom as they break down this week’s pilot: TJ Hooker!
T. J. Hooker is an American police drama television program starring William Shatner in the title role as a 15-year veteran police sergeant. The series premiered as a mid-season replacement on March 13, 1982, on ABC and ran on the network until May 4, 1985. The show was then picked up for a further single season by CBS
Today in Tech History – Jan. 4, 2014
In 1642 – Sir Isaac Newton was born in Woolsthorpe in England and would go on to develop describe universal gravitation and the three laws of motion as well as star in Neal Stephenson’s The Baroque Cycle.
In 1958 – Sputnik I the first manmade object to orbit the earth, fell back into the atmosphere and disintegrated, after 92 days in space.
In 2004 – One half of NASA’s Mars Rover team, Spirit, landed on Mars to analyze the planet’s rocks, looking for evidence of water. Its partner rover Opportunity was 21 days behind. Spirit is no longer active, but Opportunity keeps on chugging along.
Like Tech History? Purchase Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.
DTNS 2141: Quanto smash!
Darren Kitchen of Hak5 joins me to talk about Quantum Computers and free Harvard coding classes, while Len Peralta illustrates the show and introduces us to Quanto!
Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.
Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.
Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the music!
Big thanks to Sam Smith for the logo!
Show Notes
Today in Tech History – Jan. 3, 2014
In 1957 – Hamilton Electric held a press conference to announce the World’s First Electronic Watch. The Hamilton Electric 500 never needed winding, just batteries.
In 1977 – Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak incorporated Apple Computer Company. Ron Wayne famously backed out, selling his shares for $800. Ouch.
In 1999 – The US Mars Polar Lander was launched. It would spend most of the year wending its way towards Mars before it lost communication with Earth in December, presumably after crashing.
In 2009 – “Satoshi Nakamoto” created a virtual currency called Bitcoin posting an announcement and 31,000 lines of code on the Internet.
Like Tech History? Purchase Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.