This is a quick introduction to the concept of Tom Merritt’s “Pretend I’m Dumb About Star Wars.” The first actual episode arrives next week!
DTNS 2614 – Android Phone Chrome
Some folks are saying Google is ditching Chrome OS and merging it into Android. But we may end up with THREE operating systems from Google instead. What Do we want on our phones and laptops? Darren Kitchen and Tom Merritt discuss.
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Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.
Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.
A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.
If you are willing to support the show or give as little as 5 cents 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
To read the show notes in a separate page click here!
Today in Tech History – October 30, 2015
In 1938 – Orson Welles pwned the US radio audience with his famous broadcast of War of the Worlds. It was correctly introduced as theater but those not paying attention were fooled into thinking the play was the real thing.
In 1987 – NEC started selling the first 16-bit home entertainment system, called the TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem or in Japan, the shorter catchier PC Engine. It was originally more popular in Japan than the FamiCom, which we North Americans call the NES.
In 2012 – Disney and George Lucas announced that Disney would acquire 100 percent of LucasFilm, including ILM, LucasArts and Skywalker Sound. The company also announced it intended to release Star Wars: Episode 7 in 2015.
Like Tech History? Get the illustrated Year in Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.
DTNS 2613 – Happy Little Cloud Service
Twitch, often stereotyped as a place for sweaty boy gamers to trash talk people about games, is doing a marathon of Bob Ross’s “The Joy of Painting.” Take that stereotypers! Tom Merritt and Justin Young discuss the odd journey of Justin.tv to Gaming-only Twitch to a Twitch channel for sculptors.
Using a Screen Reader? Click here
Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.
Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.
A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.
If you are willing to support the show or give as little as 5 cents 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
To read the show notes in a separate page click here!
Announcing: Pretend I’m dumb about Star Wars
In anticipation of the upcoming sequel “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” I will; begin watching a Star Wars movie once a week beginning with The Phantom Menace. Despite having watched Star Wars 6 times in 1977 when it was just called Star Wars or at best Star Wars: The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, I will endeavor to watch these movies as if I knew nothing else. Yes, Jar Jar and all.
Then I will share my impressions with you in a podcast called “Pretend I’m Dumb About Star wars” which will be posted right here on this site.
Keep an eye out here for links and such. And I hear there’s this thing called “The Force” that’s supposed to be with you. Can’t wait to hear what it’s all about. I hope it involves mitochondrial DNA somehow.
UPDATE: Pssst, I made the feed. There are no episodes in it yet but you can subscribe here.
Today in Tech History – October 29, 2015
In 1675 – Gottfreid Leibniz wrote the integral sign in an unpublished manuscript. It’s a sign that would later haunt the nightmares of students and be widely misapplied on blackboards in movies. So happy Integral Day!
In 1969 – The first ever computer to computer link was established on the ARPANET. UCLA student Charley Kline sent the characters l and o to Stanford. The connection crashed before he could finish sending ‘login’. The Internet has been crashy right from the start.
In 1988 – Sega launched the Mega Drive console in Japan. It would be released elsewhere in the world later as the ‘Genesis.’
In 1998 – The Space Shuttle Discovery blasted off on STS-95 with 77-year old John Glenn on board, making him the oldest person to go into space.
In 2012 – Apple announced Scott Forstall would leave the company in one year, and that retail head John Browett had left the company as well.
In 2013 – Motorola announced its modular phone project called Project ARA. It would end up becoming Google’s project after Google sold Motorola.
Like Tech History? Get the illustrated Year in Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.
DTNS 2612 – The City of Virtual Light
Patrick Beja went to Paris Games Week and tried the latest version of Sony’s PlayStation VR. Has it turned him agains the oculus Rift? Can he see the future of VR? Scott Johnson and Tom Merritt aim to find out.
Note: YouTube failed to stream or capture the first 15 minutes of the stream today. Apologies to the video viewers. Let’s all agree to blame the launch of YouTube Red. My wife works at YouTube. Tom.
Using a Screen Reader? Click here
Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.
Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.
A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.
If you are willing to support the show or give as little as 5 cents 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
To read the show notes in a separate page click here!
Today in Tech History – October 28, 2015
In 1793 – Eli Whitney applied to patent his improved cotton gin, capable of cleaning 50 pounds of lint per day, and powering patent metaphors and arguments for centuries to come.
In 1955 – A pair of proud Seattle parents welcomed their new son into the world, having no idea he would become one of the most loved and hated men of all time. Happy birthday William Henry Gates the third. You know him as Bill.
In 1998 – President Bill Clinton signed into law the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, making it illegal for you to use computers the way they were designed to be used, if big companies didn’t want you to.
In 2014 – The W3C published its recommendation of HTML5, the final version of the standard. It included the video and canvas tags among other improvements.
Like Tech History? Get the illustrated Year in Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.
S&L Podcast – #232 – Is This Book A Traitor To Its Genre?
We wrap up our October book pick, The Traitor Baru Cormorant. Some people find the hero less than heroic. Some people find the genre less than fantasy. So why did Tom like it so much? Is HE a traitor? Also a short story vending machine and why we’re so jealous of Ann Leckie’s good taste.
http://swordandlaser.com/home/2015/10/27/sl-podcast-232-is-this-book-a-traitor-to-its-genre
DTNS 2611 – Say Halo to my 60fps
Do you value performance over looks? Eric Franklin and Tom Merritt discuss 343 Industries’ decision to prioritize 60fps over everything else in Halo 5: Guardians.
Using a Screen Reader? Click here
Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.
Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.
A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.
If you are willing to support the show or give as little as 5 cents 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
To read the show notes in a separate page click here!