Is Better Call Saul a sequel after all? The Shield goes international, Marco Polo ends, Walking Dead elevates.
01:10 – Better Call Saul (Ep. 2)
09:46 – The Shield (411)
15:45 – Marco Polo (Ep. 10)
21:07 – The Walking Dead (Eps. 7-10)
Today in Tech History – Feb. 18, 2015
In 1838 – In the small town of Chirlitz of the Austrian Empire Ernst Mach was born. His work in aerodynamics and supersonic speeds, led to the unit of measurement that bears his name. He would die one day after his birthday in 1916.
In 1908 -Dr Lee de Forest received a patent for “Space Telegraphy” which described a three-element vacuum tube later called the triode, which could amplify feeble electric currents, and proved especially useful for radio reception. Sorry it was not about Moon telegrams.
In 1977 – The Enterprise space shuttle orbiter prototype made the first of five “captive-inactive” flight tests, testing structural integrity and performance handling, while attached to the top of a 747 jumbo jet.
Subscribe to the podcast. Like Tech History? Get the illustrated Year in Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.
S&L Podcast – #206 – How Tyrion Could Die
We have a whole Wheel of Time pilot mystery to solve and then on top of it George RR Martin says any character in the Game of Thrones series could be killed even if they’re safe in the book. WHAT?! Hands off the Imp! Also we explore the mystery of why Tom didn’t like Annihilation more, even though he wanted to.
WHAT ARE WE DRINKING?
Tom: Longboard Lager
Veronica: Old Potrero Whisky
QUICK BURNS
Wheel of Time Pilot weirdness
Game of Thrones TV show will start killing chracters independently from the book
Sean: Here’s something related to GoT/ASoIaF that’s not depressing and/or annoying – Martin’s original outline/proposal for the series.
AndrewP: Milla Jovovich will star in an adaption of GRR Martins ‘The Lost lands’ stories.
Terpkristin: Obviously, everybody is upset that the next book in the Song of Ice and Fire series (The Winds of Winter) is not coming in 2015. However, there is some good news as GRRM announced that his Dunk & Egg stories are finally coming to a stand-alone collection on October 6. This edition will be illustrated “on virtually every page” by Gary Gianni. GRRM’s announcement can be read at his LJ site.
David: They’ve announced that the first in Butcher’s new Cinder Spires series, The Aeronaut’s Windlass, is out in September
Kevin: Tor.com announces its first line up of novellas to be published later this year from it’s new imprint
Ben: the Locus Recommended Reading List itself is a worthy quick burn. Each year it comes out in February highlighting what Locus Reviewers collectively regard as the best genre work to come out in a given year. It covers everything from YA to grimdark and from literary SFnal works to action heavy space opera. Its much longer than an award’s short list and many people use the list to give them ideas what great works they might have missed from the previous year.
BOOK OF THE MONTH DISCUSSION
Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
Sean: The problem of motivation
Daniel: This book is not normal narrative
John (Taloni): What genre is it actually (expect spoilers)
From Annihilation to Acceptance: A Writer’s Surreal Journey
Next Month: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
ADDENDUMS
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You can also support the show by buying books through our links! Find links to the books we talk about and some of our favorites at swordandlaser.com/picks
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DTNS 2431 – Nadella Opens Windows
Patrick Beja is on the show to talk about Microsoft integrating with competing cloud platforms, committing to international privacy standards, allowing everyone to develop apps for the Xbox. What is this strange new Satya Nadella-run company?
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Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.
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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: Patrick Beja, DTNS contributor and host of Le Rendez-Vous Tech, Pixels and The Phileas Club
Headlines:
Ars Technica passes along the WSJ info from sources that Apple wanted more sensors on the Apple Watch but left them out for lack of reliability. Among the sensors erejected were a skin sensor that could measure stress and heart rate and one that measured blood pressure and Oxygen in the blood. WSJ also reports Apple ordered between 5-6 million united to be manufactured for the first quarter of the watch’s availability.
Microsoft announced today that its Office for iOS apps now support iCloud as well as File Picker— allowing any cloud storage service to integrate with Office for iOS. Similar support for Android and Windows 10 is coming. Microsoft also announced a Cloud Partner Program for Office online that launches with Box, Citrix and Salesforce as partners.
Microsoft also announced adoption of the International Standards Organization’s Standard for cloud privacy. The policy means Microsoft is committed to letting you control your cloud data, providing transparency about how its handled, placing strict limits on public use, including not using it to sell ads, and informing on government requests for your data when the law allows. The British Standards Institute has verified Azure office 365 and Dynamics CRM are aligned with the code of practice.
The Verge reports that Sony is taking pre-orders for the developer version of its own augmented reality glasses called SmartEyeglass that connect to your smartphone. The glasses look like heavy wrap arounds, and attach by a cord to a circular, err, thing? Controller? Hoozywhatsit? — that houses the battery,speakers, microphones, NFC and touch control sensors. The controller clips on to the lapel of your trendy raincoat to announce to everyone on the street that you are using augmented reality glasses— in case the heavy black glasses on your face didn’t do that already. The glasses go on sale March 10th for $840.
TechCrunch reports that IDC believes Xiaomi has passed Samsung as China’s number one smartphone maker. IDC estimates Xiaomi’s marketshareat 12.5% in 2014 compared to 5.3% in 2013. Samsung’s share dropped from 18.8% to 12.1% over the same period. Xiaomi’s success could be attributed to its low prices, online flash sales as well as a combination of fewer models and longer average selling time per device.
TechCrunch reports Pebble has brought Android Wear support out of beta and made it available for everyone. That means Android apps on your phone that support Android Wear can work with the Pebble now. Pebble’s integration works with phones running Android 4.0 and newer. Users should update their Pebble to the firmware v2.9 and update to the latest Pebble Android app (v.2.3.0)
The Next Web is reports the release of Android One phones in the Philippines. Andoird One is the program to bring full Android to affordable phone models on a standardized platform.The Cherry One and MyPhone Uno, will go on sale in a few weeks. Both phones feature dual SIM support, a MicroSD slot, a special offline YouTube playback feature and special data plans.
News From You:
starfuryzeta submitted the Verge article pointing out Microsoft announced at the Stanford Cybersecurity Summit on Friday that Windows 10 will support Fast Identification Online, AKA FIDIO. FIDO uses localized authentication to replace passwords. Microsoft, Google, PayPal, and Bank of America are all supporting the open standard.
tninja3000 sent us the Wired news that the company building Elon Musk’s HyperLoop is going public. With Musk’s permission, crowdfunding outfit JumpStartFun created Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, Inc. which gathered 200 engineers together to brainstorm in exchange for stock options. These engineers have day jobs at places like NASA, Boeing and Airbus.
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies will go public in Q3 2015, hoping to raise $100 million towards developing a useful prototype.
Yesterday we mentioned the infected firmware on hard drives being spread by folks Kaspersky calls the Equation Group. Buried in one of the exploits was an MD5 hash that Kaspersky could not crack. KAPT_Kipper submitted the Ars Technica report that after asking from help from the wider community, password crackers Jens Steube and Philipp figured out the plaintext behind the hash was Arabic for “unregistered.” The hash was probably meant to prevent infecting unwanted users. Six other hashes in different exploits remain unknown.
Discussion Section Links: Microsoft
http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/17/8050743/microsoft-xbox-one-apps-sdk-plans
http://blogs.office.com/2015/02/17/new-cloud-storage-integration-office/
http://www.engadget.com/2015/02/17/microsoft-adopts-cloud-privacy-standard/?ncid=rss_truncated
https://medium.com/@jason/microsoft-is-interesting-again-very-f9c5bef7116
Pick of the Day: Forecast.io
Hello Tom, Jenny, and esteemed Guest du jour,
I am a long time listener, first time emailer and Co-Executive Producer of the show. I am kind of addicted to weather websites and, with all the weather that we have experienced on the east coast lately, I wanted to pass on my new favorite website for viewing up-to-the-minute and forecast information. It’s forecast.io and it uses the same data that is fed into the darksky app but it’s web based and free. Check it out and you’ll be hooked too! Love the show and keep up the great work!
–Mark Kerzner, Centreville, Maryland
Wednesday’s guest: Justin Robert Young
Today in Tech History – Feb. 17, 2015
In 1965 – The Ranger 8 probe launched on its mission to photograph the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon. The photos paved the way to select the area as the site of the first manned Moon landing.
In 1996 – World chess champion Garry Kasparov defeated Deep Blue in game 6 winning the match 4-2. He would lose the next match.
In 2000 – Microsoft released Windows 2000, the successor to Windows NT 4.0, and the final Windows release to display the “Windows NT” designation.
Subscribe to the podcast. Like Tech History? Get the illustrated Year in Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.
Cordkillers 58 – Sony’s Doing it with Marvel
Spider Man is coming from Sony and Marvel knows who he is. Also CBS’s online efforts are exceeding expectations and Sling TV gives away hardware.
DTNS 2430 – Headlines Edition
It’s the Presidents Day holiday in the US, so here’s a brief headlines only edition of the show to fill the gap.
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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
East Meets West 331 – Extreme reactions
Roger’s a Dad. Repeat. Roger’s a Dad. Why your baby’s crying is like the lottery. Why baby’s are like skydiving. A little about why we laugh. How humans can get better at estimating chances. Do cities make you literally crazy? Why do we live in cities anyway?
Download the episode at this link.
Today in Tech History – Feb. 16, 2015
In 1880 – 30 engineers from eight states met in the New York editorial offices of the American Machinist to found the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
In 1968 – The first-ever 911 call was placed by Alabama Speaker of the House Rankin Fite from Haleyville City Hall to US Rep. Tom Bevill at the city’s police station.
In 1978 – After a particularly harsh January gave them plenty of time for programming, Ward Christensen and Randy Suess completed the Computerized Bulletin Board System (CBBS) in Chicago. It was the first BBS.
Subscribe to the podcast. Like Tech History? Get the illustrated Year in Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.
Today in Tech History – Feb. 15, 2015
In 1897 – Ferdinand Braun published a paper in the journal Annalen der Physik und Chemie describing his “Braun tube”, the first cathode-ray oscilloscope, which paved the way for the modern CRT.
In 1946 – A few days after its first public demonstration, the first practical all-digital computer, ENIAC was formally dedicated.
In 1995 – The FBI arrested Kevin Mitnick on charges of wire fraud and breaking into the computer systems of several major corporations.
Subscribe to the podcast. Like Tech History? Get the illustrated Year in Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.