Search Results for "september 10"

Patrick Beja is on today. We’ll chat about the EU’s pursuit of remedies against Google’s dominant search position. Witch hunt or monoply-killing? Maybe neither.

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,

Today’s title ” ” was chosen by  at showbot.replex.org

Headlines

Geekwire reports on former Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie’s new service called Talko. That’s with an L. It lets users do things to voice calls, like tag them, bookmark moments, and record and share them. Users can also share text messages and photos through the app during a call. It can even do clever things like let you exchange recorded voice memos and then seamlessly turn those into a live call if you want. Ozzie co-founded Talko with Matt Pope and Eric Patey. The app is free to use and out first for iOS.

During his annual competition report to the European Union’s “committee on economic and monetary affairs,” Joaquin Almunia officially acknowledged that his department has asked Google for more changes to their proposed search settlement. At issue, is that Google favors its own services in search results. In February Google proposed several changes, most significantly, displaying three competing services next to its own. Opponents complained that the proposal did not do enough to mitigate Google’s dominant position in the EU marketplace.

Ars Technica reports the US Federal Trade Commission has filed a civil lawsuit against Butterfly Labs akl BFL alleging fraudulent and deceptive practices. The feds believe BFL’s founders spent millions on saunas and guns while failing to deliver promised bitcoin mining equipment. It’s pretty much just like the scams pulled off in San Francisco in 1849.

CNET reports Microsoft has set September 29th as the new date for the launch of the Xbox One in China. In compensation for the delay, pre-order customers will receive two free games. Microsoft will be the first game console maker to launch in China since a ban on game consoles was lifted. The Xbox One will cost 3,699 RMB ($600) without Kinect and 4,299 RMB ($700) with Kinect.

Remember that TechCrunch report yesterday that said Apple was going to shut down the Beats music service? The New York Times reports Apple spokesman Tom Neumayer said “This is not true.” An uncharacteristic flat denial from Apple. Well it’s uncharacteristic for Apple comment on such things at all.

Android Police reports Microsoft announced a Wireless Display Adapter that fits into the back of your TV (or monitor) and mirrors content from any Miracast-enabled device. For $60 you get a little black cable with HDMI at one end and USB (for power) at the other. That will let you mirror any Miracast-enabled device’s screen.

The Verge reports Paypal has partnered with Coinbase, BitPay and GoCoin to process bitcoin payments for some merchants in North America. If you sell intangible items like music, ringtones and the like through the PayPal Payments Hub, you can accept bitcoins now.

The Next Web reports that Jolla’s Sailfish-OS phone is on sale in India now, through Snapdeal.com. Jolla has been selling the phone in Europe through its own site since December. Customers in India will pay 16,499 Rupees ($270 USD) if they want to pick one up.

News From You

alanchar passes along the Wired report that AT&T is offering a new bundle for $39 a month, that includes 45Mbps Internet, HBO and basic cable. That sounds similar to the Comcast and TWC HBO and basic packages maybe. But WAIT there’s more! AT&T also includes one year of Amazon Prime which gets you instant streaming video the Kindle lending libray AND free two-day shipping. Take that Comcast!

tm204 passes along an Engadget report that Google Now has a new card in the deck. If you search for a plane ticket in Google Flights, Google Now will slip you a Flight price monitor card to keep you updated as prices change based on your recent destination or itinerary searches. Android Police notes that searching for flights on major travel sites like Orbitz or Kayak does not trigger a Google Now card.

AllanAV passes along the Wired article about four MIT students going to court to defend against a subpoena demanding the source code of a project called Tidbit. The tool was created for the Node Knockout hackathon and designed to let website visitors voluntarily use their computers to mine bitcoins in exchange for an ad-free experience at a website. The New Jersey attorney general claims the programmers violated New Jersey computer crime laws and demanded the source code and details of its users bitcoin wallets. The code was never fully functional. MIT has asked the subpoena to be withdrawn and the EFF is aiding with the defense.

Discussion Links: What does the E.U. want?

http://www.theverge.com/2014/9/23/6832389/eu-antitrust-chief-reverses-decision-says-google-must-improve-offer

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-14-615_en.htm
http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/14/5412690/google-publishes-full-text-of-eu-antitrust-agreement-to-quiet-critics

http://googlepolicyeurope.blogspot.nl/2014/02/settlement-with-european-commission.html

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-14-87_en.htm

http://services.google.com/fh/files/blogs/google_commitments_full_2014.pdf

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-08/eu-seeks-google-concessions-to-rescue-antitrust-pact.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/05/technology/opposition-grows-in-europe-to-google-antitrust-proposal.html

Pick of the Day:  

If iPhone and iPad users want to get taste of Android’s upcoming Material Design aesthetic, and get a great news app, they can try out Google Play Newstand which was released in the App Store today. This replaces its older Currents, and is a huge improvement. You can select which categories of news you want, and can customize the sources feeding into it. For me, it has replaced Feedly altogether and I am also using Flipboard a lot less as well. This is one Google App that works well as a stand-alone even if you are not into the Google ecosystem. Fast and nicely designed.

Plug of the Day: Plug of the day: Tuesday plug: The Sword and Laser Anthology collects 20 amazing stories from new writers in the Sword and Laser book club audience. 10 SciFi and 10 fantasy stories with an introduction by Patrick Rothfuss. Get a copy at swordandlaser.com/store

Wednesday’s guest: Brian Brushwood

Michael Wolf joins us as the world downloads iOS8 and deletes all their pet photos to make room. Plus we’ll discuss whether the Apple Watch is too dependent on the iPhone.

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:  Michael Wolf of the NextMarket podcast and the Smart Home Show

Headlines

Feel that? That’s the feeling of almost an entire week of factual coverage of Apple products coming to an end. As iOS 8 rolls out and the IPhone 6 reviews have all been posted, people familiar with the matter have wasted no time slipping out the latest Apple rumor. The Daily Dot is the vector stating Apple will announce two new iPads and launch OS X Yosemite on October 21st.

GigaOm reports BitTorrent opened up the alpha test of its secure messaging app Bleep Wednesday. Apps for OS X and Android were released as well as an update of the existing Windows client. Bleep offers end-to-end encryption for instant messages as well as a number of features that make it difficult to determine which users are communicating with each other.

The Verge reports Logitech announced the ‘Harmony Living Home’ line of remotes. The three new models and have more intuitive software to help you control certain brands of connected thermostats lightbulbs, blinds, smart locks and your home theater. The remotes start at $99 and range up to the $349 Ultimate Home remote that has a 2.4 inch display. It also allows you to customize ‘experiences’ to occur when you wake up, or when an in-law is yelling at you. Oh wait. They don’t have that last button– yet.

According to Reuters, the online review site Yelp, and mobile app developer TinyCo have both agreed to settle separate charges that they improperly collected children’s information online under the Children’s Online Protection Act. Yelp will pay a $450,000 civil penalty for collecting name, email and location information from children under 13 without parental consent; TinyCo will pay $300,000 for targeting young children with brightly colored characters in apps which also collected email addresses from children.

And The Verge reports that Chinese mobile phone company ZTE has a new phablet for sale in the US starting September 24th. The ZMax is exclusive to TMobile, runs on Android 4.4 KitKat and features a 5.7-inch display with 720p resolution, an 8-megapixel camera, quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor and 16GB of internal storage. The ZMax sells for $252, or $10.50 per month for 24 months. Says the Verge, “The ZMax isn’t a striking phone” but hey, maybe we all need a break from those big fancy phablets with their fancy chamfered edges and cuved backs and whatnot.

News From You

KAPT_Kipper pointed out the NASA post that the US space agency have granted contracts to Boeing and SpaceEx to carry crew into space. Each contractor will conduct manned test mission to gain certification then carry out 2-6 crewed missions to the ISS. And it turns out Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin got in on a little of Boeing’s money. United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed will team up with Blue Origin with ULA building capsules and Blue Origin building BE-4 rockets to launch them. The goal of NASA’s program is to end reliance on Russia by 2017.

the_corley posted an R&D Mag story that researchers at the University of Missouri have created a long-lasting efficient nuclear battery that could be used in automobiles and space flight as described in a research published in Nature. Don’t let the nuclear scare you. associate professor if electrictal and computer engineering and nuclear engineering Jae W. Kwon says this is similar to technology already used in fire detectors and exit signs. The battery uses strontium-90 in a water-based solution with a titanium dioxide electrode. In other words, a liquid that doesn’t freeze easily that outs out efficient electricity.

matalfreak and diggsalot both noticed articles on the Cosmos Browser which transfers data over SMS. This is very useful for users who can’t afford a phone with a data plan. Developer Stefan Aleksic of ColdSauce developed the text-only browser which texts URLs to a Twilio number which forwards it to a Node.JS service that gets the HTML, strips it of everything but the text, compresses it and sends it along as as series of SMS messages. The browser receives the messages decompresses them and displays the text. The code is open soruce and targeted at Android devices. Look for the Cosmos Browser from ColdSauce on GitHub.

Discussion Links:

http://blog.nextmarket.co/post/97743589899/apple-watchs-biggest-problem-is-the-iphone

http://research.gigaom.com/report/flash-analysis-first-impressions-of-the-apple-watch/flash-survey-analysis/

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140909204146-6139636-the-battle-for-the-phone-agnostic-smartwatch-is-still-wide-open-post-apple-watch?trk=prof-post

http://www.zdnet.com/apple-rolls-out-ios-8-to-iphone-ipad-users-heres-how-to-get-it-7000033693/

https://gigaom.com/2014/09/17/meta-review-iphone-6-iphone-6-plus/

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: 

You where talking about prepaid sims and other international data options. I was doing some research the other day and found a 3G hotspot solution that cost $10 a day for unlimited data and supported in over 40 countries. The service is called skyroam at www.skyroam.com might be worth taking a look at for the data hog on the go.

Derrick writes: “I wanted to also throw out Tep Wireless as another option when travelling abroad. They offer 3G mobile hotspots and cover a good portion of the world. I always use it on my trips to Europe, paying about $6-7 for 150MB/day (unused data is rolled over). They can ship it or you can pick/drop off at airports so it’s really convenient. It’s a great option if you don’t need phone/SMS and only need data. Plus you can attach as many devices as you want to it.

Tomorrow’s guest: Peter Wells of Reckoner, Australia

Patrick 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

Patrick 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.

 

 

 

Scott Johnson, Veronica Belmont and Allison Sheridan  fill in for Tom on vacation and talk all about Apple’s  big day.

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

As expected, Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled the Apple Watch today. It’s a rounded rectangular smartwatch with a sapphire crystal display. The watch needs to pair with an iPhone. In addition to a touchscreen, the Apple Watch includes a “digital crown,” a small dial on the side of the watchface which is used to scroll through a list or zoom in on a map. Pressing the crown jumps you back to the home screen. The watch knows when you’re raising your wrist to look at it and activates the screen. The device measures force and provides haptic feedback through a “Taptic Engine”. A Digital Touch feature lets you ping friends, draw on the touch screen and share your heart beat. Sensors on the back of the watch track your pulse. There are six different interchangeable watch bands and three different ‘lines’: Apple Watch, Apple Watch Sport and an 18k gold Apple Watch Edition. The watch supports iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5C and iPhone 5. Apple Watch starts at $349 dollars and will go on sale in early 2015.

Apple also revealed two new smartphones with larger displays — the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus. Both devices are also thinner–the iPhone 6 measures 6.9mm–the Plus is 7.1mm. The larger phones feature higher resolution, and a landscape mode for the home screen, similar to the ipad. Under the hood there’s a new A8 processor– a 64-bit chip that features 2 billion transistors and up to 25 percent faster CPU performance, with 50% faster graphics performance, according to Apple. The 16GB iPhone 6 will cost $199, 64GB will cost you $299, and there’s a new 128GB version at $399 — all with a two-year contract. The new phones are coming to US and 8 other countries September 19th, and are available for pre-order September 12.

Apple ALSO unveiled Apple Pay, an NFC payment feature for the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus and the Apple Watch. It will launch in October as a free update to iOS 8, and it will be supported by 220,000 merchants that already support contactless payments. Apple Pay uses near field communication, along with a new chip called the Secure Element that stores payment information in an encrypted, secure fashion. All transactions will be conducted with a one-time code that doesn’t transfer personal shopping information to Apple (or credit card information to individual cashiers), and payments can also be immediately suspended by using Find My iPhone.

Home Depot confirmed that its payment security system was breached in a malware attack, similar to an attack on Target in 2013. Home Depot says the breach may have begun in April, and could affect purchases in all 2,200 US Home Depot stores. Home Depot says pin numbers were not stolen, but Brian Krebs of KrebsonSecurity reports that Home Depot customers credit and debit card numbers are for sale online, including the cardholder’s full name and the city, state and zip code of the Home Depot where they made a purchase.

Amazon announced it’s bringing its Prime Instant Video streaming service to all Android phones in the U.S., U.K. and Germany. Users will be able to shop from their phones and have access to the “tens of thousands” of TV shows and movies currently available on the Prime Instant Video service. It’s a little complicated to install though–users will have to download and install the main Amazon app, then go into the app and use in-app tools to download and install the Amazon Instant Video player app. You’ll also need to enable a setting on your phone that permits you to install apps from “unknown sources” – meaning locations beyond the official Google Play store. But hey, Amazon videos on Android!

News From You: 

anotherjmartin posted the top vote-getter in the subreddit today: Ars Technica reports that AT&T and Verizon have asked the US FCC *not* to change its definition of broadband from 4 megabits per second to 10 megabits per second. The FCC periodically raises its definition of what internet service can be considered broadband. In a recent filing, AT&T claimed 10 megabits per second “exceeds what many Americans need today to enable basic, high-quality transmissions.” The lobbying organization for US cable companies also filed in support of the “it’s good enough, please don’t make us upgrade our infrastructure” position. The FCC is also considering whether cellular service can qualify as a “functional equivalent for fixed broadband.”

lionelhaverford submitted this little gem about the perils of branding. The Verge reports that Microsoft made a $400 million dollar deal with the NFL so that the Surface could be “The Official Tablet of the NFL“, which is why you saw Drew Brees reviewing plays on the tablets this past Sunday. Just one problem: Fox’s announcers, who are not a part of the deal, kept calling the Microsoft tablets i-pads or “these iPad-like tools.” To which Mr. Spacely responded, “JETSON!!!!”

Discussion Links: Apple Day!

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/09/apple-reveals-long-rumored-apple-watch/

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/09/apple-unveils-the-4-7-inch-iphone-6/?ncid=rss_truncated

http://gigaom.com/2014/09/09/apple-intros-a8-chip-because-bigger-iphones-need-more-horsepower/

http://gigaom.com/2014/09/09/apples-live-stream-stumbles-fails-amid-huge-demand/

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/09/09/with-apple-watch-a-naming-tradition-ends/

http://recode.net/2014/09/09/what-we-still-dont-know-about-the-apple-watch-and-apple-pay/

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/09/us-apple-launch-u2-album-idUSKBN0H42ED20140909?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews

http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/09/the-iphone-6-and-apple-watch-keynote-video-is-now-available-for-replay/?ncid=rss

http://techcrunch.com/2014/09/09/apples-new-iphones-get-dslr-like-camera-features/?ncid=rss

 

Pick of the day: Tim’s Vermeer via Lisa Boban

Usually the pick of the day is a piece of tech,an app or website. But I’d like to suggest a documentary that appealed to me as a geek. “Tim’s Vermeer” follows inventor Tim Jenison as he attempts to discover and recreate the technology which may account for the ability of Johannes Vermeer to create paintings with stunning color accuracy. Art and Technology are shown as complementary disciplines, and not apposing forces. It’s a wonderful ride. It’s available on all the usual rental sites (iTunes, Google Play, Vudu).

 Plug of the day: The Sword and Laser Anthology

The Sword and Laser Anthology collects 20 amazing stories from new writers in the Sword and Laser book club audience. 10 SciFi and 10 fantasy stories with an introduction by Patrick Rothfuss. Get a copy at swordandlaser.com/store

Breaking News after the show: 

Microsoft is reportedly buying ‘Minecraft’ developer Mojang for $2 billion

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/09/microsoft-buying-mojang-minecraft/?ncid=rss_truncated

 

Verizon offers free iPhone 6 in return for two-year contract, used phone

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/09/us-apple-launch-verizon-idUSKBN0H42CZ20140909?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews

Tomorrow’s co-hosts: Patrick Beja and Jon Strickland!