Search Results for "september 24"

Cordkillers 71 – Decidedly Less Juicy

Cordkillers / May 19th, 2015

Is Hulu or CBS the future of cord-cutting apps? Has TiVo cracked the perfect bundle?

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CordKillers: Ep. 71 – Decidedly Less Juicy
Recorded: May 18, 2015
Guest: None

Intro Video 

Primary Target

Signal Intelligence

Gear Up

  • Plex comes to TiVo
    – Oh TiVo. You keep being so close to a really great cordcutting device.
    – TiVo Roamio getting Plex app 6/8
    – Opera-based version of smart TV apps. 720p only
    – Won’t integrate with universal search
  • TiVo wants to become the legal version of Aereo
    – Multichannel says TiVo plans to use Aereo trademark and customer lists in a legal version of the service
    – TiVo CEO Tom Rogers wants to offer low-cost bundles of channels and streaming services
    – “The answer is pretty clear — it’s kind of the Aereo model, done legally and better.”
    – Event planned in San Jose for July to unveil new Aereo. 
    – Essentially Rogers says that Cable should bundle TiVos with OTA and broadband services in with their Internet.

Front Lines

Under Surveillance

Dispatches from the Front

PLEASE, for the love of everything that is good in the heart of a Mother of Dragons… quit with emails and conversations about spoilers.

The Geeky Brit
–Ian, Ontario, Canada.

 

 

 

Regards WMC demise.

I too am disappointed with Windows 10 not continuing WMC. You mention apps like plex and Kodi. Yes, I use plex myself… but what I will miss most from WMC is the OTA DVR functionality. As of now, I have yet to find ANY other DVR software as easy to setup and use as Media Center.

Since there isn’t really any hope for this, or worth arguing ALL my points, I have a question?

What is the best software available to use PC with OTA tuners to record broadcasts? Preferably something that can handle multiple tuners and has a reliable guide to schedule series… oh and it has to actually RECOGNIZE the TV tuner without extensive manual setup… that was the key of WMC and what angers me most about Microsoft’s decision.

Thanks for the show.

–David C. St. Louis, MO

Go Cards!!

Kodi has OTA DVR functionality

 

 

Cordkillers. Love the show. I was one of the lucky ones to get on the deal for the Lifetime TiVo OTA for $299. Got it last week, and I am loving it. I haven’t had a DVR since I went OTA and been using Hulu as my cloud DVR per say. Now w/ TiVo OnePass, I see myself canceling Hulu (once I catch up on some shows). I can keep up w/ the motto and record what I want so I can watch what I want, when I want (and now CBS!). Cutting another monthly bill is awesome.

–Neil

 

 

 

Hello Everyone,

I have to say I love the prospect of Apple TV. I really loved the speculation where the first month for every app is free and then using that information to tailor a package to you.

The fact of the matter is though I don’t like Apple and mostly likely wouldn’t get an Apple TV. What I really love if the potential for the Roku TV’s. You guys have made comments before about a TV not keeping up with the Software which is a downside to Smart TV’s. If I was going to trust anyone to buck the curve on that it would be Roku. I have had my Roku 1 longer then I’ve had 3 of my TV’s so when it comes to Software keeping up with Hardware Roku I trust. The bonus of that is if after 5 year the hardware isn’t keeping up with the tech, it’s $30 for a stick and $69 for a Roku 2 right now, that is not bad in my opinion.

Thanks for your Time,
–Nicky Marson

 

 

 

Hey guys,

I wanted to add a little bit to your Apple TV predictions. In our house we primarily use Roku boxes simply due to the availability of ALL THE CONTENT. On what other device or platform can you get Amazon Video and Google Play video on the same big screen enabled device? This is what I want on a new Apple TV – apps directly from the content providers – and if the rumor is true about being announced at WWDC I’m hopeful that this might come true.

Here’s my prediction – at WWDC they will announce an Apple TV SDK and a beta that runs on current Apple TVs. This gives developers time to write and test apps prior to any new hardware. Then at this year’s iPhone event the new box is announced. This would allow them to have a fully stocked Apple TV App Store prior to launch like they did with the watch. With the technologies that came with iOS 8 and the watch the foundation is in place for building Apple TV apps as app extensions.

I can’t wait!

Thank,
–John in rainy Billings, MT

 

 

 

Hello Tom and Brian! You were discussing CBS All Access this week and Brian described it as meeting the “completeness” vector. But I wonder if you’ve actually used it?

My wife and I did a trial week to try it out and catch up on some shows we watch on CBS. But when she went to watch Big Bang Theory, it was missing several episodes – at that point, it had only the three most recent plus the first four of the season, but not the ones in between. We checked another show she watches, Criminal Minds, and found a similar result – only the last five episodes, same as is freely available on their website. They also still had the most ads of any streaming service I use – and that behind the paywall!

While it is true that other shows did have the complete current season, it was very hit-or-miss. We wound up cancelling the service because CBS “All” Access did not, in fact, give us access to all of the current season’s programming. For the same basic price as Hulu Plus or Netflix, I would expect that at the very least. Their back catalog is pretty readily available elsewhere too – for instance, I can watch any episode of Star Trek ever on Netflix. For my money, they need to worry less about the back catalog and worry more about actually providing complete current seasons.

Love the show – you guys helped me figure out what I needed to do to cut the cord, and I’m pleased to say we’re one year cable-free and don’t miss it! Thanks!

Sincerely,
–Andrew L

 

2015 Winter Movie Draft
draft.diamondclub.tv

  1. GFQ: $406,655,335
  2. Amtrekker: $372,030,708
  3. Frogpants: $146,708,083
  4. Cordkillers: $36,282,735
  5. Night Attack: $23,446,781
  6. DTNS: $0

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers
Dog House Systems Cordkiller box

DTNS 2362 – Ahey Irisay

Daily Tech News Show / November 10th, 2014

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comVeronica Belmont is on the show and we’ll talk about President Obama’s proposal to reclassify ISPs in the US as commence carriers to solve net neutrality concerns.

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, sebgonz and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes

Today’s guest: Veronica Belmont, co-host of Sword & Laser

Headlines:

The President of the United States of America posted a letter and video today declaring his support for reclassification of Internet Services as Common Carriers under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 as amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. President Obama expressed his opinion that regulations shouwl not allow blocking, paid prioritization or throttling and ISPS should provide increased transparency. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler welcomed the Presidents comments and said he would consider them, presumably along with the 4 million others the FCC has received on the issue.

Facebook’ stand-alone Messenger app now has 500 million monthly active users, according to PC World. The number of monthly active users doubled in the six months, since Facebook cut off access to chat in their main app and required users to download the separate Messenger app. Facebook-owned WhatsApp reported 600 million monthly active users in August.

Reuters reports researchers at FireEye have discovered a bug in iOS that could enable attackers to access sensitive data on devices by getting users to install malicious applications that replace legitimate apps. FireEye calls the attack “Masque Attack.” FireEye disclosed the vulnerability to Apple in July and Apple is working to fix the bug. The WireLurker exploit takes advantage of this vulnerability. FireEye advises iOS users not install apps from unofficial app stores.

CNET reports Apple has put out a tool to help former iOS users disconnect their phone number from iMessage. Some users who switch to a non-Apple phone find text messages are still routed to their iMessage account where they are lost. The solution has been to switch off iMessage on the old phone though some users said that didn’t work. The new tool lets you remove the phone number from iMessage so that text messages are never accidentally routed to your Apple accounts at all.

The Next Web reports Mozilla released some new features for Firefox in celebration of the 10 years since the release of Firefox 1.0 on Nov. 9 2004. Among the new features are an easier sign in process, a walkthrough of privacy features, and a forget button that clears anywhere from 5 minutes to 24 hours of browsing history. DuckDuckGo is also now a standard search option.

Andrew Lewman, executive director of the Tor Project told the BBC that the significance of Europol and US Agency busts of 17 people associated with darknet sites may be overblown. Originally several sites had been reported shut down and rumors circulated that Tor had been compromised. Europol later clarified that 400 pages were closed in association with the services that hosted them. 27 services were seized in the operation. Lewman does not believe Tor itself was compromised in relation to the raids.

Reuters reports Samsung applied for a license to invest $3 billion in a second smartphone factory in Vietnam. This new factory will also be located in Than Nguyen province. Samsung has been increasing production in Vietnam to reduce costs.

Ars Technica reports that Pirate Bay and Flattr co-founder Peter Sunde, also known as brokep, has been freed from a Swedish prison after serving 5 months of an eight month sentence. A Swedish court found Sunde and three other co-defendants guilty of aiding copyright infringement as part of The Pirate Bay. Upon release, Sunde tweeted, “My body just got re-united with my soul and mind, the parts of me that matters and that never can be held hostage.”

TechCrunch reports the United States Postal Service is the latest to have its database targeted. The attack focused on employee data like social security numbers, addresses. Some information recorded from customer calls may also have been accessed. The intrusion was detected in mid-September.

 

 

 

 

 

News From You:

KAPT_Kipper submitted the GigaOm story that the Raspberry Pi foundation has put the Model A+ on sale for $20, making it the most affordable RaspBerry Pi on the market. The A+ comes with the new 40-pin GPIO header which can use the same HAT add-on boards that the B= can use.

habichuelacondulce submitted the Torrent Freak report that based on information it has received, Comcast recently sent out its 1 millionth Copyright Alert notice in the US. That’s about 2,000 notices a day. The alerts are part of the “six strikes” system in the US that aims to educate users about copyright infringement. No impact on actual infringement has been shown as yet.

 

Discussion Section:  POTUS and Net Neutrality

http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/10/president-obama-calls-for-a-free-and-open-internet-wants-it-reclassified-as-a-utility/?ncid=rss

https://gigaom.com/2014/11/10/obama-tells-the-fcc-to-implement-real-net-neutrality-and-hes-serious/

http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/10/7186787/tim-wu-says-obamas-net-neutrality-plan-is-bold-courageous-and-just

http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/10/the-fcc-fires-back-at-the-presidents-net-neutrality-plan/?ncid=rss

http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/10/7186243/obama-just-did-the-right-thing-for-the-internet-and-made-life-hell

http://techcrunch.com/2014/11/10/hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaah-ted-cruz-you-silly-senator/?ncid=rss

http://www.theverge.com/2014/11/10/7186111/obama-net-neutrality-plan-draws-bold-reactions

http://www.whitehouse.gov/net-neutrality

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/11/10/protesters-descend-on-fcc-chairmans-house-over-net-neutrality/

http://www.fs.fed.us/specialuses/commsites/documents/pl-104-104.pdf

http://transition.fcc.gov/Reports/1934new.pdf

Pick of the Day: Atlas Wearables via Andrei

Hi Tom, Jenny, and guest ..

Long time listener … first time caller (?).

About fitness trackers being able to track more, I thought I’d pass along Atlas Wearables (www.atlaswearables.com). Through their Motion Genome Project should be able to recognize different exercises.

2nd production units can be preordered for $249 (!) + S&H for spring 2015

Love the show, Andrei

Tuesday’s Guest: Breki Tomasson, founder of the CSICON podcasting network

DTNS 2354 – CurrentConundrum

Daily Tech News Show / October 29th, 2014

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comAndrew Mayne is on the show and we’ll talk about the CurrentC attack and all this Apple Pay, Google wallet hoopla. Does this mean mobile payments have finally arrived?

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, sebgonz and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes

Today’s guest: Andrew Mayne, magician, illusion designer and filmmaker /co-host of the Weird Things podcast

Headlines

Ars Technica reports the Merchant Customer Exchange let customers know that attackers have obtained some email addresses of people who signed up for more information, or were participating in the pilot program for Current C. Current C is the mobile payment system that uses QR codes and connects directly to your bank. MCE said some of the addresses obtained were for dummy accounts and they do not believe any other data was taken.

Gigaom reports that Reddit has created a crowd funding platform called Redditmade that lets reddit moderators raise funds by selling t-shirts and other items. All the redditors need is the deisgn. There is a time limit of 30 days for a campaign to reach its goal. Good news, the reddit secret santa sticker pack is 6% funded!

Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet reports that Microsoft aims to release the next version of Office 16 client and server applications in the second half of 2015. Speaking at Tech Ed Barcelona, Microsoft’s Julia White confirmed that the company still plans to releasethe next Office client and server apps together. Mary Jo’s sources also say Microsoft is expected to release its Office for Android tablet offering soon, possibly in early November 2014. The company also is expected to disclose timing and possibly a public preview of its next Office for Mac release soon.

The Verge reports on HP’s new Sprout PC, a 23-inch all in one with built-in 3D camera that ‘sprouts’ from the top of the screen and projects images down onto an multi-touch capacitive mat which can control projected objects and applications with 20-point touch, a stylus or a projected keyboard. The camera includes Intel’s RealSense 3D camera, a 14.6-megapixel high-resolution camera, an HP DLP projector, and an LED desk lamp, meaning. It doesn’t just project either it can also scan 2D and 3D objects.The Windows PC comes with 1TB of storage and an Intel i7 processor. It goes on sale November 9th for $1,899.99 and will be demonstrated at select Best Buy and Microsoft Stores this weekend.

Once you scan in your 3D objects you can then print them into a new Multi-Jet Fusion HP 3D commercial and manufacturing printer. CNET reports HP claims the technology is ten times faster than what’s inside existing 3D printers, because it builds an entire surface area, instead of one point at a time. HP also plans to develop new 3D printing materials, using color, ceramic and metal. The product won’t be fully available until 2016, although early customers may get access sometime next year.

Ars Technica reports attackers entered the administrative network of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. An unnamed official told the Washington Post “we are still assessing the activity of concern,” which we think means they don’t know if any data was taken yet. According to the Post’s anonymous sources the attack was discovered in October after a foreign government told US officials.

Hey, It’s me! Good news for Nintendo! Listen to my words closely. Strong sales of Wii U and 3DS software generated quarterly profit of 24.2 billion yen (about $224 million) in net income forthe latest quarter a big raise compared to the loss of over eight billion yen (about $74.2 million)last year. Super Smash Bros. for 3DS sold 3.22 million copies worldwide in September alone. The Wii U sold 6000,000 units to reach a total of 7.29 million, about equal to the Xbox One, which is a year younger of course. 3DS sales lowered to about half of the previous year.

TechCrunch reports former Google Wallet and Paypal guy Osama Bedier showed off his new future-proofed payment terminal, Poynt. The android-based tablet in a dock supports magstripe, chip and pin, NFC, Bluetooth, QR codes and beacon, in one device sold at cost which will be about $299. Poynt is looking to partner with banks and has deals with two of the top five in the US so far.

Tech Crunch reports that internet.org will give free data access to basic web services and local resources to Tanzania via its internet.org app which will be distributed by carrier Tigo. Tanzanians can use Facebook, Messenger, BBC News, and Wikipedia, and get local news, health info, online education, classifieds, and sports coverage. Users can buy access through Tigo if they want to explore more of the web.

News From You

Galcyon pointed out the Verge article that the US FCC is in fact considering a proposal to change the rules regarding what entities are considered multichannel video programming distributors. This is the rule change we’ve mentioned before that would let companies like Verizon or Aereo get the same deals for carrying TV channels over the Internet as cable and satellite providers get. In a blog post, FCC Chair Tom Wheeler wrote “The definition of an MVPD should turn on the services that a provider offers, not on how those services reach viewers.”

h82or8 submitted the Boing Boing post about Daily Dot’s report that Verizon’s new news site ‘Sugar String’ is telling prospective reporters that they will not be allowed to write about US spying or net neutrality. Patrick Howell O’Neil of Daily Dot received messages from SugarString editor-in-chief Cole Stryker detailing the policies. Howell says several other reporters were also recruited under the same stipulations.

and irishtechguy let us know about a Yahoo news story that every county town in Ireland could have access to gigabit Internet within three years. Eircom announced it will begin installing fiber-to-the-home next month through December 2017 covering 66 regions. Eircome is also partnering with Belcarra to bring fiver to rural Ireland. Yesterday the European Commission approved a partnership between Vodafone and ESB to build a similar network which will reach 500,000 premises in 50 towns during the first stage. Both networks will offer open access to ISPs.

Discussion Links:  

http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/10/cvs-rite-aid-supported-alternative-to-apple-pay-already-hacked/

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/10/how-mobile-payments-really-work/

http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/29/week-apple-pay-google-wallet/?ncid=rss_truncated

http://www.mcx.com/blog/answers-to-your-questions/

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/29/technology/apple-pay-runs-afoul-of-a-rival.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share&_r=0

http://www.mcx.com/blog/1028-email-incident-report/

Pick of the Day: Alive Inside via Stephen Ewell

Love the show. I had the chance to see to see a screening of the documentary Alive Inside the other night and they mentioned that it is now available on Netflix, so I thought the DTNS community might find it interesting. It’s a film that highlights the power of technology and music to make a difference in our lives, by highlighting a nonprofit using mp3 players to connect with individuals with Alzheimer’s. Great story and great cause.
Keep up the great work. Let me know if you plan to attend International CES this year and I’d love to meet up.

Thursday’s guest: Christian Cantrell, science fiction author and tech writer

Cordkillers Ep. 40 – I love you for the conditions we are in

Cordkillers / October 13th, 2014

Nielsen is inaccurate but HOW inaccurate? Also whether Amazon should join Ultraviolet. 

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CordKillers: Ep. 40 – I love you for the conditions we are in
Recorded: October 13, 2014
Guest: Derrick Chen

Intro Video 

Primary Target

Signal Intelligence

Gear Up

Front Lines

Under Surveillance

On our Radar

  • Young Ones
  • -YOUNG ONES is set in a near future when water has become the most precious and dwindling resource on the planet, one that dictates everything from the macro of political policy to the detailed micro of interpersonal family and romantic relationships

Dispatches from the Front

Just listened and wanted to point out that in the conversation about Kevin Smith Brian called Tusk a bomb /flop /don’t remember. However since he’s obviously a Smith podcast listener he probably knows but didn’t think about it, but Kevin has really moved away from the traditional money making methods in favor of more musician styled.

I don’t know for sure about the financing of the movie, but if it’s anything like the Super Groovy Cartoon Movie it’s probably mostly self financed. I know he’s planning on touring it to theaters with live performances, so ticket sales will hopefully make up the “traditional rocket sales” loss.

For example Super Groovy cost $69,000 to make, and was never really released to theaters. But with the tour it was paid for in the first few shows, and while I don’t know exactly what it brought in from what he’s said in podcasts I believe it’s something on the order of five million. Think of the pure profit from that with none of the marketing overhead.

It’s work, yes, but almost his own version of crowd funding… Think of it as interactive Patreon. Possibly something like that could be a vehicle for other well known creators to pay for projects they want to do but can’t get a green light.

-Derek in Chattanooga

PS. Brian is completely right, Myst was the streaming pile that Seventh Guest stepped over on its way to level ‘Awesome’ 

 

 

Hey Brian and Tom,

I’m the science teacher in Taylor whose email yall read on the last episode about Netflix offering channels that streamed the same content to everyone at the same time. I was working my Saturday part time job with Austin Moonwalks (Brian: hit me up if you want a deal for one of the girl’s birthdays!) when I heard it and about flipped out. Thanks guys, it was awesome to hear yall talk about it. I don’t expect you to revisit it on the show, but just to clarify: I think I overstated how much I cared about the “communal” experience of watching what everyone else was watching. I didn’t mean for that to be the main focus. That was more of a side-effect. For me, its more about the giving-up of control that I need. For example:

My favorite TV show growing up was Star Trek The Next Generation. I watched it at 9pm every night on FOX 42. (Do you remember before it was KEYE, Brian?). I didn’t get to decide what episode I watched. I watched whatever came on: good or bad, whether I liked it or not. Because THAT was the one that was on, and there was nothing I could do about it. Now, I have every episode of the series at my disposal, but I can’t pick one out to watch. It’s impossible! I even devised a randomizing system to pick one out for me, but even that didn’t quite work because I could still stop and change it if there was a part I didn’t like.

It’s not just TV shows. Do you guys remember before DVRs, just going through the channels and happening on a movie that you liked? Maybe you even had it on DVD or VHS, but hadn’t watched it in years. You could have pulled it out anytime and watched it, but you hadn’t and probably wouldn’t for years to come. But there was something about it being ON TV that made you stop changing channels and watch the whole thing.

That’s the feeling I’m talking about. Watching and ENJOYING something by chance, because that’s what was on, and there was nothing you could do about it.

If Netflix had a Sci-Fi “channel”, it could play movies, TV shows, or even documentaries (all of which came from what Netflix already has), and you could just put it on and watch what was there (knowing that other people were watching it too). Maybe I’d come across a TV show I never would have watched or a good movie I hadn’t seen in a long time and never would have picked-out even if it were suggested. If I don’t like what’s one the Sci-Fi station, I can click on the comedy station and see what’s there.

I guess some might call this “vegging out,” but that’s exactly what I need to do sometimes.

Anyway, sorry to write so much. Just wanted to make sure you understood what I meant, whether you agree or not.

-Andy (better known by 11 year olds as Mr. Morris)

 

 

Hey Brian and Tom,

I was listening to this week’s show and I had an idea. When you discuss the number of “bosses” you have and how to support the show on Patreon, I think you should call the segment “The TPS Report” (Total Patreon Supporters). You could do it with or without a fancy bumper since Tom usually leads in with a factoid from the relevant year but what will he do when you pass 2014 bosses after all? 🙂 Maybe a running gag about new cover sheets would be in order? Just a thought and I am also one of your bosses!

Thanks,

Tony Sheler
Albany, OR

 

 

Brian said a few times in the last episode that the chromecast is ‘open’. I’ve looked into developing for the chromecast and I want to say it definitely is not. If you want to make your app chromecastable you need to have your application approved and your application signing key signed by google. And there’s no way around this. It’s not like Android where you can check the ‘unknown sources’ box and do whatever you want. It is totally controlled.

This may be why the firefox stick could be better. If it’s truly open you may see things available there that you will never see on chromecast. Particularly I’m thinking porn and piracy apps like popcorn time, or even legally grey apps like grooveshark (an app which google has just banned from chromecast see http://thenextweb.com/apps/2014/09/09/grooveshark-longer-supports-chromecast-following-riaa-claim-infringes-artists-copyright ). That freedom and real openness might be just enough to give the firefox dongle an edge.

Clint Armstrong

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers
Dog House Systems Cordkiller box

DTNS 2334 – Embedded ARM Dealers

Daily Tech News Show / October 1st, 2014

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comNicole Lee joins us to talk about ARM’s new version of the mbed OS targeted at the Internet of Things. with OIA, AllSeen, Thread, Zigbee and more out there, will we ever have a unified platform?

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 guests: Nicole Lee, senior editor of social + internet for Engadget

Headlines

Bloomberg Businessweek reports malware targeting the iOS and Android devices of Hong Kong demonstrators has been discovered. Security company Lacoon discovered an Android app purporting to help activists coordinate protests was malware. In tracing its activities Lacoon discovered malware designed to steal information from jailbroken iOS devices. The malicious programs can apparently access your contacts, text messages, call logs, pictures, and keychain.

Microsoft revealed an upcoming addition to Office, called Sway, which can automatically assemble and format presentations. Their called “sways” and are multimedia, animated, interactive presentations that live within a Web container—that can be created, published and viewed from any connected device with access to Microsoft’s OneDrive service. Sway can pull from any website including Facebook and Twitter. And since its Web-based it works across platforms including iOS and Android.

Bloomberg reports Johannes Caspar, Hamburg’s privacy watchdog ordered Google to limit how it combines user data. In 2012 Google changed its privacy policy to unify it and data collection across all its properties. The unification of that data collection is what worries Caspar because it could be misused to “compile detailed movement patterns, detect the social and financial status, and friendship, sexual orientation and the relationship status.” Caspar said users must have the ability to determine how their data is used.

TechCrunch reports Facebook’s VP of Product, Chris Cox posted on Facebook today, apologizing on behalf of the company for any hardship caused by Facebook’s real names policy. Controversy began when a single user flagged hundreds of Facebooks pages of drag queens for using fake names. The pattern wasn’t noticed among the thousands of reports for fake names Facebook deals with daily. Cox said Facebook will improve its tools for dealing with reports as well as provide more deliberate customer service to flagged accounts.

TechCrunch reports that the Windows 10 Technical Preview is now available as a free download for those who want to test drive the new OS, or help hunt bugs in early builds. You can either update a Windows installation or get an ISO to use on a virtual machine or other device. If you join the Windows Insider Program, you’ll be able to submit feedback through a dedicated app. The preview expires in mid-April of 2015. If you want to take the plunge, head to preview.windows.com.

Bloomberg reports that “people familiar with the plans” say Apple will add a gold color option to the latest version of the iPad, which rumors say might be unveiled at a rumored announcement rumored to take place October 21st. Apple oddly, declined to comment, but other Apple products have been gold so that makes this rumor GOLDEN.

GigaOm reports Verizon decided at the last minute not to begin throttling unlimited plan subscribers on its LTE network. The plan had been starting today that when the network was congested to knock the heaviest unlimited plan users down to 3G speeds. Verizon’s statement says after a few months of “dialogue” the company “decided not to move forward with the planned implementation of network optimization for 4G LTE customers on unlimited plans.”

News From You

KAPT_Kipper: Rule Brittania, Brittania rule the Wav Files, and MP3s and VOBs and, well, what I’m trying to say is UK copyright law has been amended and starting today subjects of Her Majesty are free to copy MP3s, CDs DVDs and live broadcasts for personal use, as well as enjoy broader fair use, parody and qiuotation rights. This means you are no longer a bandit filthy outlaw for copying music to your phone or cloud storage folder. You can also quote and parody the work of others without permission.

Don’t mind the gap. The screen gap that is. RunawaySnail submitted a 9 to 5 google report that early purchasers of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 have complained of a small gap between the screen and the device case. GAPGATE!!!!! Today Android Central discovered that the Note 4 owners manual actually references the screen gap, calling it “”a necessary manufacturing feature”” and states that some rocking or vibration of parts may occur. The manual goes on to explain that “”friction between parts may cause this gap to expand slightly.”” GAPGATE OVER! The Galaxy Note 4 went on sale September 26 in Korea.

And Metalfreak sent us a PC World article about the Google Play store, which is attempting to add more transparency by making developers list a price range for in-app purchases in their app descriptions. The article includes a screen grab of EA’s FIFA 15 Ultimate Team with a range from 99 cents to $99.99. The Google Play store does not require developers to list exactly which items cost how much, so your next question, what the heck could be worth $100 in FIFA 15 Ultimate Team remains, for now, unanswered.

Discussion Links: Unify the internet of things!

http://www.engadget.com/2014/10/01/arm-mbed-device-platform/?ncid=rss_truncated

https://mbed.org/ecosystem/partners/

http://www.oracle.com/us/solutions/internetofthings/overview/index.html

http://www.contiki-os.org/

http://www.cnet.com/news/internet-of-things-promote-thread-protocol-at-google/#ftag=CAD590a51e

http://www.cnet.com/news/internet-of-things-gets-a-hand-from-arm-operating-system/

https://allseenalliance.org/

http://openinterconnect.org/

http://linuxgizmos.com/open-interconnect-consortium-takes-on-qualcomms-allseen/ 

Pick of the Day: G.I Joe Coffee Company via Scott Napier

G.I Joe Coffee Company is awesome. They sell fair trade, good quality coffee, but 20% of all proceeds go to support disabled veterans. I know you get tons of picks, but I figured I had to throw one in the mix since it is a cause near and dear to my heart (retired Army and 90% disabled myself).

Thursday’s guest: Anthony Carboni

 

Cordkillers Ep. 38 – Tony Stark in a Cubicle

Cordkillers / September 30th, 2014

Should the FCC allow Internet cable services? Did Amazon have its House of Cards moment? Is Roku sleazy?

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CordKillers: Ep. 38 – Tony Stark in a Cubicle
Recorded: September 29, 2014
Guest: Roberto Villegas

Intro Video 

Primary Target

  • FCC Proposes Defining ‘Linear’ OVDs as MVPDs
  • -Multichannel news has ‘multiple sources’ who say FCC
    – Preparing NPRM define an online video provider that delivers a linear stream of programming as an –MVPD, similar to a cable or satellite operator.
    – Would have access to programming through access rules but also negotiate retrans fees.
    – The FCC tentatively concluded that an MVPD has to have control of both the content and the transmission path .
    – That killed Sky Angel which suspended service when Discovery pulled out
    – New rules would remove requirement for transmission path
    – NCTA argues transmission path necessary. Argues this would be “regulation of the Internet”

Signal Intelligence

Gear Up

  • As Roku grows, it’s moving towards pay-to-play for successful channels 
  • – Roku has 1800 channels. Open to anybody through an API and a few rules
    – Now calling popular channels and asking for revenue deals.
    – Sources told GigaOm’s Janko Roetgerrs they were pretty aggressive
    – Roku Stephen Shannon (Gm SVP content and services) says as revenue increases Roku has more sophisticated offerings which share revenue but increase promotion
    – Roku considers themselves an “Internet Services Company”
    – Margins on $50 boxes are not large

Front Lines

Under Surveillance

Dispatches from the Front

Hey guys,

I’ve loved your show since the FR days.

So you have been talking about spoilers recently, and I have a question for Tom. You mentioned on It’s Spoilerin Time that Brian’s spoilers for the season finale of The Leftovers did not affect your enjoyment of the episode. Then later you discussed Mum, one of the most pivotal episodes of The Shield (amazing show!), and I’m curious if you would have enjoyed that as much if you knew what was going to happen. It sounds like you experienced the gut-punch from this episode that Brian felt when he watched The Leftovers finale. Of course enjoying an episode and having that “Holy s–t!” feeling don’t have to be the same, but I think there are certain scenes that have such an impact, it’s better not to know what’s coming. [And there’s another scene that you will eventually experience with The Shield that will make this one seem tame.]

Oh, and fun fact for Brian: the writer, or at least co-writer of Mum was Kurt Sutter, the creator of Sons of Anarchy (another great show).

Thanks guys. You rock.

 Daryl

 

 Hey guys, it’s your boss. Though it is my first time contacting you, I have been a listener since the days of a show that I think was called “RameFrate”

Literally days away from breaking down and signing up for the service, I decided, on a whim, to connect a coax cable to an empty outlet behind my TV to see if any channels were able to be received. When I did a channel-scan, however, I was shocked to find that I am receiving almost 80 channels for free. Granted most of these are music, shopping, and crappy old movie channels, but I am getting all of the broadcast stations based in Memphis, Sundance, AMC, SEC network, NFL network, and Fox Sports 2, most in HD. When I researched this, I found that many cable providers send a few unscrambled QAM channels out over any active line. Apparently, as long as I continue receiving internet service, these channels are both legal and free. The only drawbacks that I have found are a lack of a channel guide and channels sometimes moving around. All that I really wanted was the local broadcast stations in order to watch local sports programming, so this has saved me from signing up for TV service. I hope that this will be helpful to some of your listeners in the same way that it was to me. Thanks for a great show!

 

Jared

 

 

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers
Dog House Systems Cordkiller box

Today in Tech History – Sep. 29, 2014

Today in Tech History / September 29th, 2014

20140404-073853.jpgIn 1920 – The Joseph Horne department store in Pittsburgh ran an advertisement in the Pittsburgh Sun, describing wireless Victrola music being picked up by radio. Amateur Wireless Sets were on sale for $10.

In 1954 – CERN officially came into being. In addition to countless advancements in science, it would go on to foster the invention of the World Wide Web.

In 1994 – Programmers first demonstrated the HotJava prototype browser to executives at Sun Microsystems Inc. It was an attempt to port the Java language to the Web. It worked.

MP3

Subscribe to the podcast. Like Tech History? Get Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.

Cordkillers Ep. 36 – Rise of the Chaos Monkeys

Cordkillers / September 16th, 2014

We may actually have Internet-delivered TV by mid-2015 but we get a little more excited by Netflix’s chaos monkeys.

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CordKillers: Ep. 36 – Rise of the Chaos Monkeys
Recorded: September 15, 2014
Guest: Andrew Zarian

Intro Video

Primary Target

Signal Intelligence

Gear Up

  • SlingTV review: Convenient TV place-shifting, with an underwhelming new interface
  • -$150 M1 WiFi
    -SlingTV ($300) replaces Slingbox 500
    – Retooled UI coming to 500 as well
    – Gallery feature, which is an overlay on your actual TV, showing you what’s on in a more visual manner
    – Browse current sports scores—and see them ranked by recommended viewer interest via sports website Thuuz
    – Rotten Tomatoes scores and icons in the movie listings

Front Lines

Under surveillance 

Dispatches from the Front

First of all wanted to say that I LOVE THE SHOW and that i finally started watching Breaking Bad, I’m on season 3 and even though i heard almost all the spoiler zone episodes related to the show i dont feel it has ruined my experience.
I also wanted to share with you the fact that i got 416th place in the Summer Movie Draft and I’m really proud of that cause last year I was in the 500 range. Pertaining to the draft is there any way to find the results of previous drafts I kind of want to see my progress through the past years.
Keep up the great work.

Alejandro  Guadalajara Mexico.

 

Now that Bezos owns the Washington Post, how long until a live anchored, online WashPo news service appears on TWITCH to compete with the cable news networks?

Also, the Tivo Roamio may be cheap hardware, but they still want $15 a month for the guide. That’s $230 for the first year, $180 thereafter. For that money I’d buy the ChannelMaster OTA DVR and pay no monthly fee.

StrikitRich

 

One of your bosses here who just upped his pledge. Just wondering if you guys would put a Donate section on the website so people could donate via PayPal or Bitcoin. I like Patreon and all but sometimes I just feel a need to donate money to stuff that I like. And Cordkillers definitely falls into that category. I see Daily Tech News Show now has a donations page and I plan to use it. Just want Cordkillers to jump on board too.

Cheers guys. Love the show.

Anthony 

 

Another summer has come and gone. And while fewer and fewer of us are enjoying these warm months (or cold if you live in the southern hemisphere) at the movies, I walk away from this season with a question. How in the hell did a flying turd on a stick like “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” end up being the number one movie in the draft? Sure you can explain the math to me all day long, but there is no reason that Michael Bay’s passively racist abomination should be the draft leader. Not only should a just and loving God have denied such an occurrence, but the way the movie draft is set up needs to be drastically changed.

Made $137,224,768 more than the winning host team,

Kingpinatron

 

Links

DTNS 2322 – Mojang, Mo’ Money

Daily Tech News Show / September 15th, 2014

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comPatrick 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

DTNS 2320 – Spooning With Google

Daily Tech News Show / September 11th, 2014

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comPatrick 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.