Chilling Tales: “To Be Human” by Andrew Harmon + Feat. Tom Merritt of Sword and Laser

Guest Appearances / August 29th, 2015

I was honored to be asked to narrate a story for Chilling Tales about an intelligent experimental android taking on a family trip to a cabin in southern Illinois. So much fun. SO MUCH DARK. Hope you enjoy.

In this tale of terror by CTFDN staff writer Andrew Harmon, an enterprising technology expert takes a multi-million dollar artificial-intelligence robot along on his family trip to his lakeside cabin in advance of its unveiling at an upcoming event. This robot, named George on account of his curious nature, is not like other A.I. robots; George learns by observing. At first, this sounds like a unique and wonderful concept. However, the protagonist’s wife, Chelsea, isn’t quite so sure about her robotic roommate, and is hesitant to spend a day alone with it when her husband is called into work suddenly. Perhaps her fears were not so unfounded. As the family discovers that George’s utmost desire is to become human, they’ll learnt he lengths he is willing to go to in order to get what he wants.

Today in Tech History – August 29, 2015

Today in Tech History / August 29th, 2015

20140404-073853.jpgIn 1831 – Michael Faraday discovered electromagnetic induction, which is used in power generation and power transmission by generators, transformers, induction motors, electric motors, synchronous motors, and solenoids.

In 1965 – Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper, orbiting 100 miles above the Earth in Gemini 5 talked with aquanaut M. Scott Carpenter in Sealab II, 205 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. It happened to be Cooper’s wedding anniversary.

In 1990 – The British Computer Misuse Act went into effect. The Act resulted from a long debate in the 1980s over failed prosecutions of hackers.

In 1997 – Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings founded Kibble Inc. The service initially let you rent individual DVDs by mail without late fees. There was no subscription service and no streaming. And the service was later renamed Netflix.

In 2003 – Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis founded Skype, the Voice over Internet Provider that would go on to dominate the space.

Like Tech History? Get the illustrated Year in Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.

DTNS 2569 – Are You VR Experienced?

Daily Tech News Show / August 28th, 2015

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comHTC’s Vive VR headset won’t ship in large numbers until 2016. So Lamarr Wilson and Tom Merritt discuss what the VR headset landscape will look like after Vive Oculus and Project Morpheus have all shipped next year.

MP3

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A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here or giving 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!

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Today in Tech History – August 28, 2015

Today in Tech History / August 28th, 2015

20140404-073853.jpgIn 1845 – Scientific American began publication with the issue for this day. It would become the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States.

In 1991 – The crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis sent an electronic mail message using AppleLink. The message read: “Hello Earth! Greetings from the STS-43 Crew. This is the first Applelink from space. Having a GREAT time, wish you were here!”

In 2009 – Apple released Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard featuring many minor improvements and integration with Microsoft Exchange.

Like Tech History? Get the illustrated Year in Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.

Playoffs 1st Round Lines

FSL Tonight/ Shows / August 28th, 2015

The playoffs are upon us. This year Shecky has decided to offer some additional propositional bets to make the games even more interesting this week. Without any delay here are your Playoff Lines.

As always, Bet Early and Bet Often!

playoff lines

DTNS 2568 – The Force Touch Is Strong(ly Rumored)

Daily Tech News Show / August 27th, 2015

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comSo we have a fact about the next Apple announcement which will happen September 9th. Allison Sheridan, Jeff Cannata and Tom Merritt take their best guesses at what will be announced. Also, robots that make pizza.

MP3

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 enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here or giving 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!

(more…)

Today in Tech History – August 27, 2015

Today in Tech History / August 27th, 2015

20140404-073853.jpgIn 1962 – NASA launched the Mariner 2 unmanned space mission to Venus.

In 1989 – The first direct-to-home TV satellite launched from Cape Canaveral. Marco Polo I delivered the British Satellite Broadcasting service to homes in the UK.

In 2003 – Fairbanks, Alaska got the world’s biggest UPS backup. The city hooked up the world’s largest storage battery, built to provide an uninterrupted power supply of 40 megawatts.

Like Tech History? Get the illustrated Year in Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.