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S&L Podcast – #160 – Scully Writes a Book, Ringo is a God

Shows/ Sword and Laser / January 20th, 2014

We’ve got some awesome news about new books from Peter F. Hamilton, Richard Morgan, Joe Abercrombie and Gillian Anderson. Plus we wrap up our January book, The Einstein Intersection.

Download direct file here!

QUICK BURNS

Cover art for HALF A KING by Joe Abercrombie

Richard Morgan completes THE DARK DEFILES

Peter F. Hamilton update

X-Files’ star Gillian Anderson writing sci-fi book series

FINALISTS: 2013 Philip K. Dick Award

CALENDAR

Read down to Feb. 4

TV, MOVIES AND VIDEO GAMES

The first Outlander trailer is all epic battles (with a hint of sex)

First Game of Thrones season 4 trailer shows why Westeros is hell

READ THEM NOW, WATCH THEM LATER: SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY AND HORROR ADAPTATION WATCH

BOOK CHECK-IN

Best websites that explain the Einstein Intersection

The role of music in Einstein Intersection

Pronouny things

Knowing the genre

February Pick

Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Leguin

BARE YOUR SWORD

The “Party Scene” in classic Sci-FI

EMAIL

—

On your last podcast you talked about the “controversy” of picking a weirder, lesser known title like “The Einstein Intersection” over something more well known, like “Nova.” But those weird picks, informed by the personal tastes of you two, are so much more interesting than standard picks that I might come across just by googling “top Delaney novels.” The weirder picks you guys do don’t always sync up exactly with my tastes, but they’re always interesting, and they’re often something I never would have had the pleasure of coming across on my own.

I personally am loving the weird beauty of The Einstein intersection, and I thought it a good idea to let you guys know that not everyone hates the decision to sometimes go off the beaten path.

-Rob

ADDENDUMS

Audible is offering Sword & Laser listeners a FREE audiobook , along with a 30day trial. Go to audiblepodcast.com/swordlaser to take advantage of this special offer!!

DTNS 2152 – Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Daily Tech News Show / January 20th, 2014

Tony Fadell promises Nest won’t spy and Amazon wants to read your mind. Just a few quick headlines as it’s a holiday in the US.

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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

And special thanks to Katie Best and Jennie Josephson for putting our News From you episodes together last week.

Show Notes

Season 2 Teaser!

Shows/ Sword and Laser / January 20th, 2014

We are wrapped on Season 2! We shot twelve episodes over three days, so needless to say…. we are pooped. But the important thing is that we have twelve amazing Author Spotlights in the can, and we can’t wait to share them with you!

So stay tuned! Edits are going to start this week, and we should have the first episode rolling out in Feb. Remember, it’s all thanks to you wonderful Kickstarter fans, and we are eternally grateful!

Today in Tech History – Jan. 20, 2014

Today in Tech History / January 20th, 2014

In 1929 -The movie “In Old Arizona” was released. It was the first full-length talking motion picture in the U.S. to be filmed outdoors.

In 1934 – Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd., the photographic and electronics company known today as Fujifilm, was founded in Tokyo, Japan.

In 1981 – The inauguration of US President Ronald Reagan is the world’s first broadcast to feature live teletext subtitles for the hearing impaired.

In 2009 – The inauguration of US President Barack Obama became the most widely-streamed Presidential inauguration to that time. According to Akamai’s Net Usage Index, web traffic peaked at 5.4 million requests per minute — and two terabits per second.

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Like Tech History? Purchase Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.

Today in Tech History – Jan. 19, 2014

Today in Tech History / January 19th, 2014

In 1883 -The first electric lighting system using overhead wires went into service in Roselle, New Jersey.

In 1983 – Apple released the Lisa, the second commercial computer with a graphical user interface (after the Xerox Star). It only cost $9,995 too!

In 1986 – Brain became the first computer virus released into the wild. It was a boot sector virus transmitted by floppy disks. The Farooq Alvi Brothers of Lahore, Pakistan created the virus.

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Like Tech History? Purchase Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.

Today in Tech History – Jan. 18, 2014

Today in Tech History / January 18th, 2014

In 1902 – Nikola Tesla filed a patent application for wireless energy transmission. The patent was granted 12 years later. We’re still waiting for the kinks to get worked out.

In 1903 – The first two-way transatlantic communication, and first wireless telegram was sent between North America and Europe. US President Teddy Roosevelt and King Edward VII. They wrote to each other how awesome the wireless telegraph was.

In 2012 – Many websites, led by Reddit, Wikipedia and others, conducted an Internet “blackout” to protest the US SOPA/PIPA bills.

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Like Tech History? Purchase Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.

DTNS 2151 – News from You 2

Daily Tech News Show / January 17th, 2014

Tom’s still on assignment for Sword & Laser, but his listeners fill in for him again with the “News From You.” Also, Darren Kitchen of Hak5 reports from SchmooCon 2014.

MP3

Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.

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

And special thanks to Katie Best and Jennie Josephson for putting these episodes together.

Show Notes

News From You:

Greg Skinner (TVsEgon) kicks of the show by sharing some thoughts on Cisco’s Internet of Things predictions.

Another listener asks a simple question about the Internet of Things: Why?

Chimaera on the BBC’s report that China wants to clone all the things…starting with pigs.

Adam Paulauski has some questions about net neutrality.

EternalSword reports on the recent League of Legends and f.gwenifill DoS attacks.

Veronica Belmont reports in on a cool new rock found on Mars. Veronica, Mars.

Steve Wooding on router vulnerabilities. Also, the port scanner.

Scott from Columbus has some thoughts on 3-D printing.

Steve for Steve’s Tech News on Windows 9

Carl from New York on the logistical issues of switching from AT&T to T-Mobile.

Benjamin J on Symantec filing a patent for protecting BitTorrent users.

Stephenater on the cloud security concerns for (non-NSA) federal workers.

An electronic voice (!) on the NSA hacking non-internet connected computers.

Nathan Lock is back with his roundup of tech news in the UK including more Smart TV advances and how technology is helping to find the happiest place in the U.K. Hint: It’s a pub.

Chase Nunes on the new Xbox One “Titanfall” Wireless Controller

Josh Page reports on the the miiPC at CES.

Rob Reed shares a Fortune article about how Uber and other companies are changing life for the cab drivers, not just the passengers.

Patrick Beja from France has some Tech Thoughts on the effects of app-centric computing.

And finally, Russ Pitts on Take This, an organization that provides empathy, education and support about mental health and wellness.

Today in Tech History – Jan. 17, 2014

Today in Tech History / January 17th, 2014

In 1871 – Andrew S. Hallidie received a patent for an “endless wire rope way” which he would put into practice as the cable car system in San Francisco, California.

In 1882 – Thomas Edison received a patent for adding a carbon microphone to the telephone. The patent described finely divided conducting material, like carbon, between metal cups mounted on arms that attached to the mouthpiece diaphragm.

In 1928 – Anatol M. Josepho received a the first U.S. patent for a fully automatic photographic film developing machine. The Photomaton better known as a PhotoBooth in the US still survives as an app and in dark corners of subway stations.

In 1949 – The first synchrotron installed at the Radiation Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, reached its design energy of 300 MeV.

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Like Tech History? Purchase Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.

DTNS 2150 – News From You

Daily Tech News Show / January 16th, 2014

Tom’s on assignment for Sword & Laser, but he’s got a great fill-in host…you! Also: Darren Kitchen of Hak5 files a report en route to ShmooCon 2014.

MP3

Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.

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

And a special thanks to Katie Editor for editing today’s show!

Show Notes:

Spotify drops free web listening time limit: http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/15/spotify-limits/

Facebook adds trending topics: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2014-01-16/facebook-adds-trending-topics-to-site

Starbucks storing mobile passwords in clear text: http://www.wtop.com/628/3543679/Starbucks-storing-mobile-passwords-in-clear-text

News From You:

Rich From Cleveland kicks off News From You with thoughts on the 4k TV’s coming out of CES.

Dominique Corriveaux’s has some ideas about on 4k TV prices.

Stephenater on wearable tech and whether it will translate beyond the ‘tech-o chamber’.

Anthony From Long Island on issues with the Fitbit Force.

Paul Kitchen on future IPv6 concerns.

Nathan Lock with updates from the UK tech scene on changes to Humax for Freesat, and the death of O2′s Wallet.

TJoe reports on Android on Atom.

Randall Bennett from Vidpresso on apps vs desktop platforms.

Toby Pinder on quantum bitcoin mining.

Google’s acquisition of Nest is still on your collective mind:

DJ has long-term concerns about Google’s track record of shutting down ‘unused’ services.

A listener from Edmonton has thoughts about Nest and Google’s customer service track records.

Nicole Lee of Engadget sends her take on the Google/Nest pairing.

In fact, Google in general is occupying your collective thoughts:

Richardya on Google’s methods of acquiring new users.

Scott Johnson of FrogPants Studios and Current Geek has some predictions on Google’s future.

Adam Christianson from the Maccast has some final thoughts on Google, including that that one we’re all thinking…you know, the one it might be time to worry about?

Molly Wood has a special message for Tom.

And finally, Patrick Beja checks in from France with a tech thought worth pondering about hackers.

Today in Tech History – Jan. 16, 2014

Today in Tech History / January 16th, 2014

In 1969 – The Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 spacecraft successfully docked in orbit. Yevgeny Khrunov moved from Soyuz-5 to Soyuz-4 and Alexei Yeliseyev went from 4 to 5, marking the first time spacefarers went up in one craft and returned to Earth in another.

In 1986 – The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) met for the first time in San Diego to supervise the design and deployment of Internet protocol.

In 2007 – Blizzard released the first expansion to it’s wildly successful World of Warcraft game. The Burning Crusade raised the level cap and allowed players flying mounts, at least when they were in Outland.

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Like Tech History? Purchase Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.