An academic approach to Twin Peaks, A total Vic move on The Shield and the rest of Transparent.
01:01 – Twin Peaks
10:28 – The Shield
15:15 – Transparent
Today in Tech History – Nov. 5, 2014
In 1895 – The US Patent office granted George B. Selden the US patent for his road engine, often considered the first car. He made good money licensing the patent, until Henry Ford crushed him in court. Hence the reason none of us drive Seldens.
In 1994 – Ken McCarthy of the Internet Gazette along with Marc Andreessen of the brand new Netscape (still called Mosaic Communications Corp) and Mark Graham held the first conference to focus on the commercial potential of the World Wide Web.
In 2007 – China’s first lunar satellite, the Chang’e 1 went into orbit around the Moon. The spacecraft operated until March 2009.
In 2007 – The Open Handset Alliance introduced a little something called the Android operating system for mobile phones. Few people expected it to seriously challenge the dominance of Blackberry and Palm.
Subscribe to the podcast. Like Tech History? Get Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.
DTNS 2358 – GCH-QQ
Patrick Beja is in and we’ll talk about GCHQ Director Robert Hannigan’s argument that tech companies need to work more closely with the government on surveillance because privacy is not an absolute right. Also Disney Movies are easier to watch!
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, independent podcaster, DTNS contributor and host of Le Rendez-vous Tech, The Phileas Club and Pixels podcasts
Headlines
GigaOm reports Amazon has made unlimited full-resolution photo storage available to subscribers to its Amazon Prime service. The feature was previously only available to the owner of an Amazon Fire Phone. To take advantage of the offer, Prime subscribers need to install the Amazon Cloud Drive Photos app for Android or iOS. The apps automatically upload photos taken on mobile devices. The photos can be shown back on a variety of devices including PlayStations 3 and 4 and Fire TV.
TechCrunch reports Microsoft has partnered with Dropbox to integrate the cloud storage service into Microsoft Office 365. Dropbox users will be able to edit office docs from Dropbox’s app and access Dropbox Docs from Office apps. And by the first half of 2015 Dropbox plans to support Office Online directly from its web app.
ZDNet reports from the Google Cloud Platform Live summit that Google announced several new cloud features. Google Cloud Interconnect, will serve as a “backbone” for Internet-scale apps with direct peering, carrier interconnect and VPN connectivity options. Google also introduced Container Engine, a system for running and linking app components running on individual virtual machines to launching portable Docker containers. And of course the inevitable price drops.
ZDNet reports that Intel Capital will be investing $62 million in 16 different startups, including Braigo Labs. Braigo was founded by Shubham Banerjee, who built a portable Braille printer out of a Lego Mindstorm EV3 kit when he was twelve years old. (Braille + Lego = Braigo). Traditional Braille printers cost around two thousand dollars, but Banerjee’s first model cost about $350.
Reuters reports Nigerian phone tower group IHS has raised $2 billion in equity and $600 million in debt to finance infrastructure spending and acquisitions. Tower companies like IHS reduce building and maintenance cost for carriers by hosting multiple tenants on the same towers. Security costs and electricity shortages make tower operations more expensive in Africa.
Recode’s Walt Mossberg, called up the head of MCX, Dekkers Davidson and asked him about the Consortium’s exclusivity clause that has some members turning off support for NFC-based payment systems like Google Wallet. Davidson stated that MCX needed exclusivity for now to provide “breathing room” for the development of CurrentC. This exclusivity will apparently end in “months, not years.” Davidson also denied that MCX ordered CVS to turn off Apple Pay. Mossberg is now shopping at Walgreens.
The last of the three Pirate Bay co-founders has been arrested in Thailand according to CNET. Frederik Neij was caught crossing from Laos where he had been living, into Thailand. Neij, along with fellow Pirate Bay co-founders Gottfrid Svartholm Warg and Peter Sunde and Swedish telecom owner Carl Lundstrom, were each sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to collectively pay 30 million Swedish kronor in damages to copyright holders in 2009.
News From You:
scottierowland submitted The Verge report that the Disney Movie Anywhere App has come to Android which means you can buy a Disney movie on iTunes and watch it on your Android device. The reverse is true as well since Disney already has an app for iOS.. While the app is not yet available on Windows Phones, Disney CTO Jamie Voris said the company intends to add new partners wherever it can. The Android app is available today, and free digital copy of Wreck it Ralph is waiting for you on the other end of the signup page.
KAPT_Kipper reports that Nest is releasing an update to its smart thermostat that will improve its ability to learn your schedule from your adjustments after the initial two-week learning period. Customers had complained to much manual input had been required for the thermostat to learn properly over the first couple of weeks. The main screen will be updated as well to show the outside weather.
habichuelacondulce submitted the Wired story that researchers at Newcastle University have discovered a weakness in chip and pin credit cards also called EMV cards for Europay, MasterCard Visa. EMV cards can make contactless payments. When doing so the PIN part is left out and transaction is limited to £20 when processed in the UK. UNLESS the transaction isn’t in pounds. Then apparently there is no limit. Someone could carry malicious terminals to say Heathrow airport and conduct wireless transactions in non-UK currencies on passersby without their knowledge. The researchers plan to present their findings this week at a ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security in Arizona.
Discussion Section:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/c89b6c58-6342-11e4-8a63-00144feabdc0.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-29894104
https://www.eff.org/secure-messaging-scorecard
Pick of the Day: Asana Project Management via Elliott
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. (Jill Duffy at PCMAg points out No offline capabilities. Not ideal for graphics-intensive project management. No chat. No multi-day assignments. No message boards.)
Tomorrow’s guest: Peter Wells of Reckoner, Australia
Cordkillers Ep. 43 – Gear Three Ways
Starz joins the party and YouTube tries to become the next HBO. Also why Roku is NOT winning the set-top box race.
Today in Tech History – Nov. 4, 2014
In 1879 – James Jacob Ritty patented the first cash register as “Ritty’s Incorruptible Cashier”. He was motivated to invent it by the no-good thieving employees at his saloon.
In 1939 – Packard Motor Co. exhibited the first air-conditioned automobile at the 40th Automobile Show in Chicago, Illinois.
In 1952 – Fresh off census duty, the UNIVAC computer projected General Dwight David Eisenhower would defeat Adlai Stevenson for President of the US. All the polls showed Stevenson had a clear advantage so CBS delayed using the projection fearing inaccuracy.
Subscribe to the podcast. Like Tech History? Get Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.
DTNS 2357 – Spotify’s TROUBLE TROUBLE *goat yells*
Ek from Hockeybuzz joins us to talk about whether Spotify and other streaming services are fair to artists.
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: Eklund of hockeybuzz.com and noted Taylor Swift expert
Headlines
The Nexus 9 and Nexus Player both are on sale in Google’s Play store today. Android Police reports the Nexus 9 ships in the US in couple of days unless you want the ‘sand’ color or an LTE model which are still listed as coming soon. Its also available for in store pickup at some Best Buys. The Nexus Player takes a couple of weeks to ship. The Nexus 9 is available in many countries worldwide. The Nexus Player is only available in the US and Canada.
9to5 Mac got hold of a transcript of an internal Apple Retail video in which VP of Retail and Online Stores, Angele Ahrendts says “we’re going into the holidays, we’ll go into Chinese New Year, and then we’ve got a new watch launch coming in the spring.” Chinese new year takes place on February 19th. Officially Apple has said early 2015 as the watch’s launch so I guess that means late FEb. or March are likely launch times.
Cult of Mac reports that USAA, PNC Bank, US Bank, Barclaycard and the Navy Federal Credit Union have added support for Apple Pay today.That’s four days ahead of schedule for USAA and PNC, although Cult of Mac reports some PNC customers are having issues verifying credit cards. Regarding the launch, Randy Hopper, vice president of credit cards at Navy Federal said, “our members live fast-paced and mobile lives.” In other words, they feel the NEED, the NEED FOR SPEED!
The Guardian reports All of musician Taylor Swift’s back catalog has been removed from Spotify and some other streaming services like Deezer. Swift’s latest album has not been made available on any streaming service, likely to help boost album and download sales. The album, 1989, may break Britney Spears record for highest selling first week by a female solo artist in the US. The New York Post recently reported that Swift’s label ‘Big Machine’ is up for sale.
The Verge reports both Verizon and AT&T announced they expect to reach voice over LTE interoperability sometime in 2015. VoLTE routes calls over the company’s data networks meaning Skype-like voice quality for cell phone calls. Among the phones that currently support VoLTE are the iPhone 6, Galaxy S5 and LG G2.
Gizmodo has a look at the the new Google Calendar App that was part of the Android 5.0 Lollipop rollout. The app combs your inbox and finds event-based data you might want and allows you to add events in sentence form, letting the app fill in the blanks with addessess from Google maps and attendees from Google Contacts. It also features something called ‘Assists’ which will suggest people and places as you type and learn over time. It’s Android Lollipop only for now, but coming to Google Play in the coming weeks and eventually to iOS.
News From You:
KAPT_Kipper submitted the Verge report that you will never be getting anything done at work ever again. The Internet Arcade, a web-based library of coin-operated arcade games, has just released NINE HUNDRED classic arcade games for you to play in your browser. Scrolling through the list is like getting whacked in the head with a nostalgia brick: It’s got everything from Astro Invader to Zzyzzyxx, including Millipede, many members of the Pac-Man family, Sega’s Champion Baseball and Outrun, and Atari’s Temple of Doom and Return of the Jedi games. Report all bugs and tearful thanks to Jason Scott, Internet Arcade Operator.
OMGCluck pointed out the Mozilla Blog post about a browser coming for developers. Mozilla promises the new browser development tool will “debug the whole Web, allowing you to more easily build awesome Web experiences. It also integrates some powerful new tools like WebIDE and the Firefox Tools Adapter.” The tool should arrive November 10. Names suggested in the DTNS Subreddit include earthbadger, windferret, revolverocelot and SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!
And finally MikePKennedy passed along the Engadget report that the Xbox One could get more affordable, even after the holiday discount ends. Apparently an AMD chip designer updated his LinkedIn resume with the information that he worked on a more efficient “cost-reduced” version of the Xbox One processor. Then the guy made his LinkedIn page private, because oops! Leaked AMD product roadmaps suggest the technology could be coming in 2015.
Discussion Section: T-Swift v. Spotify
http://thenextweb.com/media/2014/11/03/taylor-swift-removes-music-spotify-streaming-services/
https://news.spotify.com/us/2014/11/03/taylor-swifts-decision/
http://www.oregonlive.com/music/index.ssf/2014/07/spotify_broken_math_streaming_artists.html
http://www.spotifyartists.com/welcome-to-spotify-for-artists/
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AkasqHkVRM1OdHg2eWZRYVp1YmgyUDFvbWtwLWNCN0E#gid=0
Pick of the Day: Bluetooth Multipoint via Komei in Fremont
Hi Tom, Jennie,
I wanted to mention Bluetooth Multipoint as my pick today since it’s a good feature with such a generic and un-google-able name that nobody cares to notice 
Multipoint Bluetooth headphones can pair with more than one device at the same time.
I love listening to audio podcasts on my phone and watching video podcasts on the laptop on my bus commute. Before getting Multipoint headphones, it used to take sometimes up to a few minutes to unpair and re-pair every time I switch devices. Now my Multipoint Bluetooth headphones will play the audio from whichever device I’m using.
The model I’m using is LG HBS730 but I believe other ones work the same way, too.
One more thing. One of the most useful features of smart watches is the playback control and most people don’t seem to talk about it. I have a Pebble and I can play, pause, and skip backward/forward without touching my phone (just like with a Bluetooth headset). Have you noticed, on the most rough section of the freeway, every “tap” on the phone screen becomes a “swipe” and you can never press the pause and skip buttons? I don’t have that problem with my Pebble.
Cheers, Komei from “nothing really goes on but a chill place to live” Fremont
Thoughts on Amazon Fire phone from Christian Cantrell:
Hi, Tom and Jennie. I have a slightly different perspective on Friday’s story about David Limp and his comments regarding the pricing of the Amazon Fire Phone.
As a quick refresher, Limp said: “We didn’t get the price right. I think people come to expect a great value, and we sort of mismatched expectations. We thought we had it right. But we’re also willing to say, ‘we missed.’ And so we corrected.”
Fair enough, but value is not just a function of price. It’s also a function of benefit. In other words, just as you could say the phone was priced too high, you could also say that phone was not good enough. $199 is not a remotely unreasonable price for a good smartphone, but it’s far too much to ask for a mediocre mobile experience.
The reality is that Amazon significantly overestimated the Fire Phone’s appeal (as opposed to pricing it incorrectly). They were relying on Dynamic Perspective, Firefly, and Mayday to capture customers’ imaginations, but Dynamic Perspective feels like a gimmick, Firefly feels like it should just be an app (and is somewhat insulting to build into a phone since its entire purpose is to get you to spend more money with Amazon), and Mayday–while actually a very innovative feature–requires consumers to anticipate having a bad experience in order to give the perception of value, which nobody really wants to do when they’re trying to get excited about a new phone.
I certainly don’t fault Amazon for trying to innovate around mobile platforms, nor do I blame them for spinning the phones’ poor sales. But the reality is that as long as the sole reason for the Fire Phone’s existence is to reduce the friction between Amazon and your money, I just don’t think it can compete with incredibly compelling alternatives from Apple, Google (and partners), and even from Microsoft.
If Amazon wants to sell a phone, they should put “pure” Android on it, ditch their app store, pre-install Amazon apps (to the extent Google’s terms will allow), and sell it for as cheap as possible. Otherwise, I think they’re wasting their time and possibly dwindling R&D budget.
Best, Christian
Tomorrow’s guest: Patrick Beja, independent podcaster and DTNS contributor.
Oh, and check out the pilot of Patrick’s new video game podcast, featuring Tom Merritt:
http://frenchspin.com/2014/11/pixels-pp1-state-industry/
Today in Tech History – Nov. 3, 2014
In 1957 – The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2 carrying the first animal ever to enter orbit, a dog named Laika. It would go on to inspire the saddest Jonathan Coulton song ever, “Space Doggity” and the band Laika and the Cosmonauts.
In 1973 – NASA launched Mariner 10 towards Mercury. It would become the first space probe to reach the planet.
In 1992 – Tim Berners-Lee posted a page describing the World Wide Web. It’s the oldest page still served on the Web.
Subscribe to the podcast. Like Tech History? Get Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.
Today in Tech History – Nov. 2, 2014
In 1815 – George Boole was born in Lincolnshire, England AND he became a mathematician who laid down the foundations Boolean logic XOR Boolean Algebra. Search engine power users everywhere thank him.
In 1920 – KDKA in Pittsburgh started broadcasting as the first commercial radio station in the US. The first broadcast? Election results. Actual results, not projections.
In 1936 – BBC Television Service went on the air with the world’s first regular “high definition” service. Back then high definition meant 200 lines not 1080. The channel became BBC One in 1964.
Subscribe to the podcast. Like Tech History? Get Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.
Today in Tech History – Nov. 1, 2014
In 1870 – The United States Weather Bureau (now known as the National Weather Service) made its first actual weather report. 24 observers sent reports by telegram to Washington DC.
In 1963 – The largest radio telescope ever constructed, the Arecibo observatory opened in Arecibo Puerto Rico. It would be used for many major discoveries including the first direct imaging of an asteroid.
In 1968 – The MPAA and 2 other industry organizations introduced the voluntary ratings system. G meant good for all ages, M meant mature audiences, R was restricted and X… well you know what X means. It would serve as a model for future voluntary systems like that used by the video game industry.
Subscribe to the podcast. Like Tech History? Get Tom Merritt’s Chronology of Tech History at Merritt’s Books site.
DTNS 2356 – “Neutrailty” is the new “Unlimited”
Darren Kitchen is back and we’ll chat about the possible hybrid solution to net neutrality being considered but he FCC. Also Len Peralta attempts his most ambitious in-show illustration yet!
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: Darren Kitchen and Len Peralta, in costume. Because it’s Halloweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!
Check out Len’s awesome Halloween artprov:
Headlines
The Verge reports Facebook has created facebookcorewwwi.onion in order to provide Tor-eabled browsers to make an end-to-end encrypted connection to Facebook’s servers. Security researcher Runa A. Sandvik noteed on Twitter this is the first time a website with a Certificate Authority for establishing secure connections has done so for Tor users. Tor allows people to greatly reduce the chances that their IP address or location can be discovered.
GigaOm reports Google confirmed reports that Andy Rubin is leaving Google. Rubin helped developer the Android operating system which was acquired by Google in 2005. He also co-founded Danger, the makers of the Sidekick. Rubin led Google’s Android efforts until March 2013, when Sundar Pichai took over. Pichai took over most of Google’s key product areas earlier this week. The Wall Street Journal reports Rubin will launch a hardware startup incubator.
Wired reports that Virgin Galactic’s Spaceship Two crashed after suffering a “serious anomaly” during a test flight over the Mojave desert. The California Highway Patrol is reporting one fatality, according to the AP. Today was the 55th time SpaceShipTwo had flown, the 35th time the vehicle flew on its own, detached from the airplane that carries it airborne, the fourth time it had actually fired its rocket, and the first time it used a new polyamide-based rocket fuel—effectively a plastic-based fuel rather than the rubber-based fuel that had been used previously.
The Verge reports that Microsoft released a new Outlook for Mac today, available for Office 365 subscribers. The user interface has been updated, and the program delivers full push email support and online access to your archived Exchange mail. Beta Mac versions of updated Office suite like Word, Excel and Power Point will be available in the first half of 2015 with a consumer release to follow in the 2nd half of the year.
Boing Boing passes along a Virginia Beach Circuit Court decision ruling that an individual in a criminal proceeding can not be forced to divulge a passcode for a mobile device because it would violate protections against self-incrimination. However the court held that an individual can be compelled to unlock fingerprint protected devices. The analog is that a defendant can be compelled to hand over a key to a safe but not divulge its combination.
Amazon Senior Vice President of Devices David Limp told Fortune Magazine Amazon did not get the price right on the Fire phone. He said, “People come to expect a great value, and we sort of mismatched expectations.” Last week Amazon CTO Tom Szkutak revealed that Amazon still has $83 million dollars worth of unsold phones. The Fire phone debuted at $199 for 32 gigabytes. When the company slashed the phone to 99 cents, sales improved. Amazon intends to continue to iterate and release new versions of phone software and hardware.
Reuters reports that Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, aka Anakata co-founder of The Pirate Bay was sentenced to three and a half years in prison today. Svartholm was found guilty of hacking into the mainframe of an IT provider in Denmark in 2012. Svartholm’s accomplice, a 21-year-old Dane who successfully applied for his name not to be made public, was sentenced to six months in prison for complicity in a hacking attempt in February 2012 but walked free from the court as he had already served 17 months in pre-trial detention.
CNET reports on a trending Weibo post showing off a smartphone being developed by China’s Vivo that is 3.85 mm thick. That would put it about one half the size of an iPhone 5S. Like the 4.85 mm Oppo R5, the Xplay 3S is too thin for a headphone jack. Vivo is the maker of the Xplay 3S the first phone to boast a “2K” display, with a 2,560×1,440-pixel resolution.
Reuters reports Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said Friday that all smartphones and tablets sold in the country must be sold with their SIM cards unlocked at customer request, starting in May 2015. The move expected to push NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and SoftBank to be more competitive on pricing. It also may increase market share for MVNOs like Aeon and Rakuten.
News From You
Hurmoth sent the Ars Technica story that will be our main discussion today. The Wall Street Journal says the FCC is considering a hybrid approach to broadband regulation similar to those proposed by Mozilla and the Center for Democracy and Technology. Broadly speaking the plan would leave the relationship between ISPs and its customers regulated as an information service as it is now. However it would crate a new classification for the relationship between edge providers, like websites and ISPs. The FCC would regulate that relationship under Title II as a common carrier.
Draconos submitted a post from effecthacking noting that security researcher David Longenecker identified a flaw in RT series ASUS wirelesss routers that could allow a man in the middle attack during a firmware update. Because Asus did not use SSL it could fool the router into connecting to the wrong server. File checking by ASUS did thwart malicious sofwtare, though Mogenecker was able to get a router to ‘upgrade’ to older firmware. ASUS issued an undocumented fix in firmware 3.0.0.4.376.1123 to resolve this vulnerability.
KAPT_Kipper submitted the Gigaom report that Viktor Orban, the Prime Minister of Hungary suspended plans for a new tax on Internet use. Tens of thousands of Hungarians protested the plan, which would have made ISP’s pay about 62 cents per gigabyte of data used. Orban claimed the debate had been twisted and the draft would need to be amended but promised a ‘national consultation’ on the matter beginning in January. It’s the first time opposition parties to Orban’s Fidesz have been united on an issue.
Discussion Links:
http://recode.net/2014/10/31/fcc-eying-net-neutrality-plan-that-will-make-no-one-happy/
https://blog.mozilla.org/netpolicy/
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/comment/view?id=6017611807
https://blog.mozilla.org/netpolicy/2014/05/05/protecting-net-neutrality-and-the-open-internet/
http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-solution-to-the-f-c-c-s-net-neutrality-problems
https://d1ovv0c9tw0h0c.cloudfront.net/files/2014/09/FCC-Reply-Comments-Open-Internet.pdf
http://publicpolicy.verizon.com/assets/docs/10_29_14_Verizon_Title_II_White_Paper.pdf
http://apps.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/view?id=60000977151
Pick of the Day: Private Tunnel via Tom
Private Tunnel
Monday’s guest: Eklund of hockeybuzz.com