Lamarr Wilson is on he show to talk about the frightening prospect of Google owning Dropcam and everything else that watches you in your home. Plus why startups should not have thought it was OK to sell public parking spaces.

MP3

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 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:   Lamarr Wilson,  host of Mashable’s YouTube Weekly & Socially Awkward

Headlines

WinBeta reports the Microsoft Store is offering up to $650 in-store credit when you trade in select MacBook Air models, as long as you use the credit to buy a Surface Pro 3. Also the MacBook Air must turn on and not have water damage.

TechCrunch reports Microsoft has doubled and rounded up the amiunt of free storage you get in your Microsoft OneDrive account from 7 GB to 15. That shoots up to a Terrabyte if you’re an Office 365 customer at $6.99 a month and 1 TB per user for 5 users at $9.99 a month. Additional plans drop to $1.99 monthly for 100 gigabytes, or $3.99 each month for 200 gigabytes.

Google subsidiary Nest Labs is using its own money to go out and get itself something nice. Dropcam. The makers of devices that know whether your house is the right temperature or burning down, can now know whether your pet is roaming around or your being burglarized. Nest says Dropcam will fall under Nest’s privacy policy which does’t share data with any company including Google, without the user’s permission.

The NextWeb reports Google Glass is finally leaving its home market and is now available in the UK’s Google play store for £1,000. Google is also selling the frames from its Titanium collection as an optional add-on. Back in the US, new frames designed by Diane von Furstenberg have gone on sale. The bundle of Glass plus shades and frames runs $1800.

ReCode reports a startup called Cruise will start taking preorders Monday for an aftermarket kit that will convert your late model Audi to a self-driving car while on San Francisco Bay area highways. The kits cost $10,000 and installation will begin in 2015.

News From You

metalfreak posted the top story on SubReddit from Ars Technica about the risks of AT&T and Comcast’s free WiFi hotspots. As Darren Kitchen has pointed out before, phones are set up to connect by default to the ssid’ attwifi and xfinitywifi. Malicious operators could set up devices that broadcast that ssid, capture login and password info then direct the device to the Internet so the device owner never knows the accoutn has been compromised. Best not to automatically connect to those kinds of hotspots, or if you’re an ATT phone owner, disable the setting on your phone that does so.

The 2nd most popular story, also from metalfreak and Ars Technica provides an alternative. Members of the “Open Wireless Movement,” including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Free Press, Mozilla, and Fight for the Future aim to get WiFi router owners to open up hotspots through the website openwireless.org. One project for example is open-sourced router firmware called Open Wireless Router lets you safely share a portion of your router with anyone nearby, password-free. The software prioritizes owner traffic and walls off guests from snooping.

Finally KAPT_Kipper points out the Verge article that security researcher Robert David Graham found at least 309,197 servers still vulnerable to the Heartbleed exploit. Graham found more than 600,000 vulnerable servers immediately after Heartbleed was discovered, but that dropped to 318,239 within a month. However in the past month only 9,042 more servers were patched. 

Discussion Section Links:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/20/nest-is-acquiring-dropcam-for-555-million/?ncid=rss_truncated

http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/23/5834962/man-who-created-ipod-now-running-googles-hardware-future

https://nest.com/blog/2014/06/20/the-nest-family-is-growing/

http://recode.net/2014/06/20/googles-nest-buys-dropcam-for-555-million/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtT3oY8eJ_Q&list=UUOcE8WdQOSeqFczVxGatGKg
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/06/23/san-francisco-rent-public-parking-space-monkey-parking-sweetch-parkmondo/11263723/

Pick of the day: Light-Bot via Matt from Vegas

Matt from Vegas has our pick of the day, what he calls a ‘teaching kids to code’ game: “Hey DTNS I love the show and listen daily. I found this over the weekend and loved it. My 7 year old is completely hooked and for once I don’t care that she’s taken my tablet over. It’s a game that is teaching her programming called Light-Bot. It’s on IOS and Android and is just awesome. I know there are a number of games in this category and they’re all fantastic, just thought I would share this one that I ran across. 

Calendar Item of the Day: CE Week New York

Today is the start of CE Week, the consumer electronics industry’s annual mid-year check-in in New York City.The Exhibits and Conference Program, better known as as ‘the place with all the shiny things you covet’, begins Wednesday June 25 — we’ll have a preview on tomorrow’s show. Want more? Check out ceweekny.com

Tuesday’s Guest: Jeremy Kaplan, editor-in-chief of Digital Trends.com 

Darren Kitchen is on the show to talk about the US House’s restrictions on surveillance by the NSA, the National Park Service’s restrictions on drones, and why Saturn might be the best place to take a quadcopter. Plus Len Peralta is here to illustrate the show!

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 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:   Darren Kitchen and Len Peralta

Headlines

People familiar with the matter are BACK! Remember yesterday’s Reuters rumors about an Apple iWatch? Well the Wall Street Journal has even RUMORY Rumors that say the non-existent unannounced watch will have 10 sensors including ones to track health and fitness and come in multiple screen sizes. Now those are just statements from unidentified sources, however, somebody willing to go ON the record was KGI Securities analyst Ming-chi Kuo who said, “watches are fashion accessories.”

TechCrunch reports three Georgia Tech students claim to have hacked the Yo app. That’s the app that searches your contacts for other people that have the Yo app and then allows you to send each other messages that say Yo both outloud and in text. The GT students emailed TechCrunch details on their ability to get any Yo phone number, spoof Yos, spam users and send notifications with any text. Yo founder Or Arbel says some of the security issues have been fixed and they are working on the others. 

TechCrunch reports Path is separating out a messaging app called Path Talk from the main Path app. Path Talk has ambient status updates that let friends know things like when you’re traveling, nearby, and or have a low battery. Path also bought TalkTo and will roll its features into PathTalk soon. TalkTo lets you text businesses and provides the backend communication over the phone for businesses that don’t take texts.

The Next Web reminds us the Microsoft Surface Pro 3’s i5 processor version goes on sale in the US and Canada today starting at $799. The i3 and i7 models will follow on August 1. As a side note The Verge passes on Paul Thurott of WinSuperSite’s discovery that the Surface Pro 3 user guide has references to a Surface Mini. A lot of people expected a smaller Surface to be unveiled at the announcement on May 20.

CNET reports that search results for music on Android phones now returns links to launch music apps where you can listen to that music. Android detects which apps you have installed and offers you links to launch them. This only works for Google Play, iHeart Radio, Rdio, Spotify, TuneIn, or YouTube. It also only works in the US but Google plans to expand to other countries and other services. 

News From You

tekkyn00b posted the TechCrunch story that the US House of Representatives passed an amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill, placing limits on on how the NSA can gain access to communication, including email, online browsing, and chat histories. The amendment received bipartisan support, passing 293-123. It must also be approved by the US Senate.

ssnapier sent along the Verge article that the FCC has issued its largest fine in history, $34.9 million, to CTS Technology, a Chinese company that has been selling hundreds of models of signal jammers, which are against the law in the US. The jammers could block radio communications including cell phone, WiFi, Bluetooth, satellite radio and GPS, sometimes up to half a mile away. CTS must stop selling and marketing the jammers to US customers and hand over information about who bought them.

tm204 has the post from ComputerWorld about the passing of another print tech magazine. June 23 will be the last dead tree edition of Computerworld. Computerworld’s website will continue and get a redesign later this summer. A new tablet version of the magazine will launch August 1. 

metalfreak submitted the Ars Technica report that Johns Hopkins University professor Matt Green asked one of the developers of TrueCrypt for permission to fork the existing code to start a new independent version. TrueCrypt’s developers ceased work on the project at the end of May. One of the developers responded to Green, “I don’t feel that forking truecrypt would be a good idea, a complete rewrite was something we wanted to do for a while. I believe that starting from scratch wouldn’t require much more work than actually learning and understanding all of truecrypt’s current codebase.” 

Discussion Section Links: Drone and where in the galaxy you can fly them

http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/20/5828046/us-park-service-directing-national-parks-to-ban-drones

http://rt.com/usa/167124-nasa-send-quadcopter-drone-titan/

http://phys.org/news/2014-06-nasa-titan-potential-prebiotic-chemistry.html http://www.nasa.gov/content/titan-aerial-daughtercraft/#.U6R_yo1dXA4

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-cassini-titan-20140618-story.html

Alternate awesome titles:

Title: No drones in parks. DRONES IN SPAAAAACE!

Title: “Drones Are OP Please Nerf”

TItle: I was offered a griffen, so I’m going with the horde.

Title: Yodor

Title: That drone is after my picnic basket!

Title: “Full NASA Regalia”

Title: Parks and Drone Limitations

Title: “Is that a hodor mini?”

Title: So I married a drone

Title: “Park Your Drone”

Title:  “Hodorcrypt”

TItle: This is a drone-free park

Pick of the day:  Duolingo via Tom

Monday’s Guest: Lamarr Wilson

Russ Pitts is on the show and we’ll chat about Minecraft’s problems with openness, plus a little on the electric Harley, T-Mobile free music and more.

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 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:  Russ Pitts, journalist of the first order 

Headlines

The top story on our subreddit today from habichuelcondulce et. al was T-Mobile USA’s announcement yesterday of new features of their mobile phone plans. The centerpiece is an exemption for music services from counting against the 1Gb, 3GB, or 5 GB data plans. T-Mobile has also partnered with Rhapsody on an exclusive Internet radio service called unRadio which will have no ads and unlimited skips. The service will be $4 a month or free to unlimited plan subscribers. Also starting June 23, customers can ‘test drive’ an iPhone 5S on T-Mobile to get an idea of how the service works in their area.

Engadget reports Intel has launched a video messaging service. Yes, that Intel. The service uses facial recognition to animate an avatar based on your facial expressions. Users can get free avatars or pay for fancier ones like care bears, annoying orange or Mr. Bill for 99 cents. 

Engadget reports BlackBerry earnings were less bad than usual. Reveue declined only 1% compared to the previous quarter. Although smartphone sales fell from 3.4 million last quarter to 2.6 million this quarter, 54% of revenue came from services, which CEO John Chen believes will make the company profitable by 2016. That doesn’t mean BlackBerry will stop making phones right away. Chen announced a phone launch event in London will unveil the BlackBerry Passport later this year.

The Next Web reports Google will give $50 million to organizations that encourage girls to take an interest in computer science at an early age. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki wrote a blog post about the program called “Made with Code” organizations like Girls Inc., Girl Scouts of the USA, MIT Media Lab and the National Center for Women & Information Technology, among others. You can find out more at https://www.madewithcode.com/

News From You

soldierblade submitted the GigaOm story that the US Supreme Court delivered a unanimous decision against a patent owned by Alice Corp for a computer program regarding a settlement mechanism. CLS Bank argued the mechanism was centuries old and turning it into a computer program should not make it patentable. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote, “We conclude that the method claims, which merely require generic computer implementation, fail to transform that abstract idea into a patent-eligible invention.” The decision is a blow to software patents, but how much of a blwo remains to be determined.

KAPT_Kipper posted the Ars Technica story that the US Marshals service committed the email faux pas of cc-ing rather than bcc-ing revealing everyone interested in their upcoming bitcoin auction. The email was intended for anyone who had e-mailed a question to the general mailbox to ask about the auction. While it doesn’t prove the recipients will join the auction, it does reveal the names of 17 investors, financiers and bitcoin company executives who were at least interested. 

spsheridan pointed out that Twitter announced the acquisition of SnappyTV, which clips edits and distributes TV show clips across a variety of platforms like social networks and mobile devices. Twitter intends to integrate SnappyTV into its products. 

Metalfreak posted the Computerworld article about the US Postal service spending up to $100,000 to research the use of low-cost sensors and wireless tech to help the delivery of mail. The USPS is looking for proposals from suppliers with “expertise and critical knowledge” of the Internet of Things, data strategy and analytics. Everything the post office uses — mailboxes, vehicles, machines, “or a letter carrier” — could be equipped with a sensor to create what it terms the “Internet of Postal Things,” in order to reduce maintenance costs and optimize routes. 

KAPT_Kipper noted the Engadget report that Harley-Davidson announced its ‘Project LiveWire’ electric motorcycle today. Marketwatch reports the bike will launch on a 30-city tour in the US allowing customers to ride the bike and offer feedback. The tour will continue with more cities as well as dates in Canada and Europe next year.

And therobertonline submitted the CNET report that Netflix has signed a deal with comedian Chelsea Handler to create a late night style talk show to debut on the service in 2016. Netflix plans to reimagine the late night format and launch the show in all its territories. Netflix will premiere a one-hour standup special from Handler on October 10 and four docu-comedy specials from her in 2015 in advance of the talk show.

Discussion Section Links: Minecraft steps into a minefield

http://www.polygon.com/2014/6/18/5819274/mojang-multiplayer-servers

http://kotaku.com/why-people-are-mad-about-minecrafts-new-changes-1592190004

https://mojang.com/2014/06/lets-talk-server-monetisation/

https://mojang.com/2014/06/lets-talk-server-monetisation-the-follow-up-qa/

http://notch.net/2014/06/literally-worse-than-ea/

http://kotaku.com/mojang-is-trying-to-kill-pay-to-win-on-minecraft-server-1591663994

http://sterlingplays.com/

Pick of the day:  Auphonic.com via Jeremy Dennis

Auphonic.com is a free automatic audio post-processor. I’ve been using it on my podcast for a while because Levelator just wasn’t doing a good job on one of our host’s audio tracks that was really quiet. Auphonic does a great job cleaning our audio and we also have it add our tags, chapter marks, and album art to the files before it uploads the file to our web host. It’s an awesome service that has shaved a good chunk of time from our podcast editing process.

Pocketcast and Le Rendez-vous Tech via Joe Fox

Hi gang, I have a pick for you that’s not a pick so much as a tip. Lately, I’ve been listening to Patrick Beja’s Le rendez-vous Tech, which has been recommended a lot on your show. But sometimes they talk a little fast (mostly the guests — I find Patrick’s cadence very easy to understand), so I’ll slow down playback to about 85 percent using my podcatcher of choice, Pocket Casts. I don’t know how common a feature that is, but it’s really helpful for getting a handle on rapid French.

Friday’s Guests: Darren Kitchen and Len Peralta

Rene Ritchie is on the show with a dynamic perspective on whether Amazon’s new Fire Phone is worth your attention.

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 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:  Rene Ritchie, of imore.com 

Headlines

Amazon’s Jeff Bezos announced the Fire Phone today at an event in Seattle. The 4.7-inch has a quad-core 2.2GHz processor, Adreno 330 graphics and 2 GB of RAM, running Amazon’s forked version of Android. It comes with a new feature called Firefly that can recognize objects and audio and give options to purchase them from Amazon. It uses infrared sensors to detect head position give a kind of 3D presentation. The 3D feature is available in an SDK for app developers. The phone is only available in the US on AT&T. A 32GB model costs $199 with a 2 year contract or $649 without. A 64GB is $299 or $749. Both come with 12 free months of Amazon Prime. 

TechCrunch reports Adobe announced upgrades to its software and two new pieces of hardware. All 14 apps in Creative Cloud got an upgrade and the company introduced a new Creative SDK for mobile developers along with 5 new mobile apps, Adobe Sketch, Adobe Line, Photoshop Mix, Lightroom for iPhone and Creative Cloud for iPad and iPhone. AS for hardware Adobe Ink is three-sided digital stylus and Adobe Slide is a precision ruler. The hardware is sold as a bundle for $199 in the US. Adobe also is offering new subscription plan including a $10 a month plan for photographers that gives access to mobile and desktop photo apps like Lightroom and Photoshop. 

Recode reports Blackberry CEO John Chen says the Amazon App Store will be available for BlackBerry 10 devices with the launch of BlackBerry OS 10.3 later this year. BlackBerry currently offers its own Android store to make it easy to port Android apps to Blackberry. 

GigaOm reports Facebook has built a networking switch called Wedge that runs a Facebook-created distro of Linux called FBOSS. Both will be provided to the Open Computer Foundation as open source designs. The goal is to make switches modular and controlled by software that can be updated as needed without learning proprietary networking languages.

The Telegraph reports the European Court of Justice has been asked to rule on whether the Irish Data Protection Commissioner should be forced to investigate allegations that Facebook passed data to the US NSA. The Data Commissioner says Facebook is allowed to pass data to the US under current safe harbor rules. An Austrian group called Europe-v-Facebook argues that doing so gives the NSA the opportunity for surveillance without probable cause, in violation of the law. 

News From You

tm204 submitted the 9to5 Mac story that Apple has released a new low-end model of the iMac. at $1099. The new model features a 1.4 GHz dual-core i5 500 GB hard drive, low-end Intel HD 5000 integrated graphics, and a 21.5-inch screen. 

ubrkifix submitted a ComputerWorld article quoting John Du, director of GM’s China R&D Division, Speaking at the Telematics Detroit 2014 conference about a new social driving app. The prototype called DiDi Plate uses an Android phone’s camera to scan a license plate, send it to a cloud ID service, and allow the driver to send a text to the owner of that plate. Du said “Even if the other driver didn’t register this app, you can still give them greetings and comments.” Great for getting someone to move their car if it’s blocking you, or extending opportunities for road rage. 

habichuelacondulce has the Albany Times-Union story that Elon Musk wants to build one of the world’s largest solar panel factories in Buffalo. IN addition to SpaceX, Tesla, and potentially a Hyperloop company, Musk is the chairman of SolarCity. His company just acquired Silevo which had contracted with the state of New York to build a solar panel factory. However in true Musk fashion he has decided that instead of building a 200 mw factory, he’d like to build a gigawatt factory. Because, crazy rich genius guy. Oddly and probably totally unrelated,on the same day Musk bought Silevo, Monday, New York’s governor signed a bill to allow Musk’s Tesla dealerships to continue to sell cars directly and open new locations. Just coincidence.

KAPT_Kipper submitted the Next Web story that Sharp has a new ‘free-form’ display technology that frees displays form the tyranny of the rectangular bezel. Sharp touts its own proprietary circuit design methods that take a different method for organizing power amplifiers, meaning there no longer has to be a minimum width to the bezel to accommodate the gate driver drive circuit. That means the LCD screen can be made in whatever shape a designer wants. Right now the displays are prototypes but Sharp intends begin mass production at the earliest possible date, which could mean any time really.

Discussion Section Links: Amazon on FIYAH

http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/18/5821490/amazon-fire-phone-to-sell-on-ATT-for-199-on-contract

http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Fire-Phone-32GB-AT/dp/B00EOE0WKQ/

Pick of the day: Media Goblin via metalfreak

If you’re concerned that YouTube may be heading down the road to a full on block-apocalypse, Metalfreak writes in with a FLOSS (Free Libre Open Source Software) alternative to YouTube: MediaGoblin is a free software media publishing platform that anyone can run. You can think of it as a decentralized alternative to Flickr, YouTube, SoundCloud, etc.

Thursday’s Guests: Annie Gauss and Russ Pitts, journalists of the first order 

Molly Wood and Patrick Beja are on and we’ll talk about YouTube’s threat to block indie labels videos and how they could possibly think they could get away with it.

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 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:  Molly Wood columnist for the New York Times & Patrick Beja of Le Rendez-vous Tech

Headlines

TechCrunch reports that Facebook finally released the Slingshot app for iOS and Android. That’s the app they accidentally published to the Apple app store back on June 9. The app lets you send photos and videos to contacts. The twist is the recipients can’t see what you sent until they send you something back. Slingshot also doesn’t store the photos and videos permanently.

Engadget passes along that sources tell the Wall Street Journal that AT&T has signed a deal to be the exclusive carrier in the US for a forthcoming Amazon phone. Amazon has scheduled an announcement for tomorrow morning.

Recode reports Apple agreed to settle a class action suit regarding ebook pricing. Plaintiffs had sought $840 million in damages but the details of the settlement were not made public. Apple is still appealing the court’s ruling from last year that it violated federal and state antitrust rules. Payment of the settlement is contingent on the outcome of that appeal.

The Financial Times reported today that YouTube would begin blocking music videos from certain Indie Labels if they did not agree to new licensing terms that include provisions for a new music service YouTube is preparing to launch. Robert Kyncl, Google’s Vice President and Global Head of Business at YouTube, told the FT blocking would happen in “a matter of days.” Kyncl says record labels representing 95% of the music industry have agreed to terms. The remaining labels, represented by the rights agency Merlin are reportedly holding out for a better deal. The independent music companies association, Impala, is asking the European Commission for emergency assistance regarding the matter.

TechCrunch reports the Nest Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detector is now back on sale in the US after two months. The device was removed from sale April 3rd, due to safety concerns. A function that allowed users to wave to silence the alarm, could have prevented real alarms from sounding. That wave feature is now disabled.

News From You

AndrewTerry posted the Privacy International article that the UK’s GCHQ made public the fact that it monitors social network users in the UK on services such as Facebook, Twitter and Google. The policy was made public after a legal challenge by several civil liberties organizations. GCHQ justifies the surveillance based on the fact that such communications are considered ‘external communications.’ Privacy organizations worry that even text messages and email sent through such services could be intercepted.

melchizedek74 pointed out the Android Central story about an Indiegogo campaign for an Android 4.4-powered wireless router called Soap. The router works with an Android app to allow easier administration of the router and the devices connected to it. It can also replace hubs needed for home automation devices. Multiple Soap routers can also form a mesh network. The early bird price is $129 for the entry-level model on up to $229 for the top-end.

Inge_Aning submitted the Verge story that US Senators Patrick Leahy and Doris Matsui are proposing a bill that would requite the FCC to use its authority to prevent paid prioritization of Internet content by ISPs. The Online Competition and Consumer Choice Act would not solve the FCC’s problem over how to justify its authority to enforce such requirements. 

metalfreak submitted the Verge article that DARPA is developing anonymity tools to supplement and replace Tor as part of the Safer Warfighter Communications program. One project in particular called Service-Oriented Netcoded Architecture for Tactical Anonymity (SONATA), is decribed as a next-generation Tor. SONATA traffic is “mixed” at each relay in the network by randomly multiplying traditional packets by a constant and adding them together, while also switching up secondary markers that would identify traffic. DARPA is also investing in Cruveball a decoy routing system.

Discussion Section Links: Hey, YouTube, what’s a BLOCK?

http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/17/5817408/youtube-reportedly-block-videos-indie-artists

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ea6728e2-f568-11e3-afd3-00144feabdc0.html

http://arstechnica.com/business/2014/06/artists-who-dont-sign-with-youtubes-new-subscription-service-to-be-blocked/

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c7b69d06-ebc1-11e3-ab1b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz34vDHuDTv

Pick of the day: InoReader via Sam from sometimes beautiful NJ

When Google Reader left the cloud for the great RSS reader in the sky, I tried many of the replacement options, but only felt comfortable with InoReader. It uses the same API, so many of the third-party tools work out of the box. The developers are active and responsive to bug reports and community suggestions. I’m addition, they introduced some new and interesting features like rules (similar to email filters) and PDF generation from articles (e.g. for printing or archival).Sam from sometimes beautiful NJ

Wednesday’s Guest: Rene Ritchie, of imore.com 

Mike Schramm joins us to settle once and for all who won E3. Because it’s a game. Also self-driving Dutch trucks and what Amazon’s really up to.

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 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:  Mike Schramm, manager of qualitative insights at EEDAR

Headlines

The New York Times reports the US Department of Transportation seeks explicit authority from the US Congress to regulate driving navigation aids, including apps on smartphones. The President’s proposed transportation bill includes a provision to give the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration the authority to set restrictions on apps and order changes if they are deemed dangerous. Software makers say the rules would be unenforceable and a drag on innovation. 

TechCrunch passes along that Amazon announced it now has more than 240,000 apps in the Amazon App store, available in almost 200 countries. As a comparison both Apple and Google have reported around 1.2 million apps in their stores. Amazon touted an IDC study, funded by Amazon, that developers make as much money or more on Kindle Fire than any other platform.

The Next Web reports BlackBerry announced BBM Protected, bringing enhanced messaging security to its enterprise customers. Business users with BlackBerry Device Software 6.0 or newer on BES 5 and some customers with BlackBerry 10 smartphones with gold licenses on BES10 can start using the new feature from today. The extra layer of encryption means BBM Protected users can only send messages to other users of BBM Protected if they want the message protected.

BloombergBusinessWeek has the story of Microsoft introducing a new data analysis service that predicts behavior. The machine learning service lets users build algorithms to predict things like purchasing patterns and electricity usage. Azure Machine Learning can then host the results on the Web through Microsoft Azure’s cloud service. Microsoft believes the service could speed up work for data scientists but also benefit non-mathematicians as well. Microsoft will offer a public preview of the service, which was code-named Project Passau, in July.

Reuters reports a group of companies in the Netherlands hope to have self-driving trucks making deliveries from Rotterdam to other Dutch cities within the next five years. Initial testing would start on computer simulations and the trucks will be tested on a closed track before ultimately driving out on public roads. The proposal is backed by Transport and Logistics Netherlands, DAF Trucks, Rotterdam Port and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research.

GigaOm reports The European Commission has revealed an agreement with South Korea to “work towards a global definition of 5G” and share spectrum and standards. The two governments will work together on cloud and Internet-of-things research as well. China’s Huawei, Japan’s NTT Docomo, the U.S.’s Intel are all independently working on 5G.

News From You

spsheridan sent the science alert story about an artificial pancreas controlled by a smartphone to help regulate blood glucose levels. Clinical Trials showed it worked better at regulating glucose levels than fingerstick tests or manually injected insulin. A team from Boston University developed the system which uses a removable sensor inserted under the skin to beam real time glucose levels to a smartphone. The app calculates what’s needed to balance blood sugar and sends a signal to an implanted pump. Patients can even input what they’re eating so the app knows what to expect.

KAPT_Kipper posted the TorrentFreak article that Automattic, proprietors of WordPress are seeking $10,000 plus $14,250 in attorney’s fees for alleged abuse of copyright takedown notices. Oliver Hotham wrote an article on his WordPress blog last November about “Straight Pride Uk.” including a quote from the organization’s press officer, Nick Steiner. Steiner sent a copyright takedown notice to WordPress alleging Hotham had violated his copyright. Hotham and Automattic, claim the quote was fair use and did not violate copyright and therefore Steiner’s takedown notice, which did result in the post being removed, was an abuse of the system.

metalfreak posted the Ars Technica article that a list of Microsoft patents that apply to Android has been published on the Chinese language version of the Ministry of Commerce website. The list was compiled apparently as a result of the government’s antitrust review of Microsoft’s purchase of Nokia. The list is part of a page regarding the conditions related to approval of the merger. The English-language version of the page does not include the list of patents. 

spsheridan pointed out the BBC story that the US government is lifting restrictions on satellite images. Up until now, services like Bing Maps could not use images where features smaller than 50 cm were visible. That restriction has been lowered to 31 cm. A company called Digital Globe applied to the US Department of Commerce asking for restrictions to be lifted. The company’s Worldview-3 satellite is due to launch in August.

And metalfreak posted the Ars Technica story that a Bitcoin mining contributor known as GHash has been topping 51 percent of Bitcoin’s total cryptographic hashing output for a span of 12 hours on June 12. Any one entity processing more than 50% can be troublesome to the decentralized nature of the system. A miner with more than 50% could theoretically spend the same coins twice, reject competing miners’ transactions, or extort higher fees from people with large holdings. Researchers from Cornell University detected the peak and have recommended a hard Bitcoin Fork.

Discussion Section Links: 

http://www.gamepur.com/news/15105-sony-vs-microsoft-vs-nintendo-e3-2014-comparison-time-spend-showing-games-e.html

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-nintendo-and-microsoft-which-company-won-e3-2014/1100-6420499/

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-sony-won-e3-2014/1100-6420501/

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-nintendo-won-e3-2014/1100-6420391/

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-microsoft-won-e3-2014/1100-6420502/

http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/15/i-hath-seen-the-future-of-videogames/

http://o.canada.com/technology/gaming/microsofts-xbox-one-wins-e3-2014-with-renewed-focus-on-games

Pick of the day: Seat Guru via Loren Ahrens

In episode 2256 you mentioned travel apps, which reminded me of Seat Guru. It’s available online and through the app stores. I travel 35+ weeks a year to different locations so sticking with a single airline is impossible. When I’m not sure of the seat layout on an airline, or when I have someone new join the team, I suggest and use Seat Guru to help book the best seat available. My travel tip – The exit rows have additional room and the back row of most airlines overwing exits recline, unlike the forward row. Choose wisely my friend.

Tuesday’s Guests: Molly Wood columnist for the New York Times & Patrick Beja of Le Rendez-vous Tech

Eric Olander is on to chat about Huawei, Xiaomi, and the coming disruption in smartphones that has Samsung and Apple in its sites. Also how Microsoft is fighting the US government.

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 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 guests:  Eric Olander co-host of the weekly China in Africa podcast

Headlines

The Verge reports Samsung announced two new tablets Thursday, an 8.4-inch and 10.5-inch Galaxy Tab S. The tablets are similar to the Tab Pro and Tab 4 lines but thinner at 6.6mm and sporting Super AMOLED screens. Samsung emphasized the screens not only have 2560 x 1600 resolution but a wider color range for more natural colors. Both devices will be available beginning July 4 in Europe, and sometime in July in the US. The 16GB 8.4-inch WiFi-only tablet will run €399/$399/£349 and the 10.5-inch version €499/$499/£449. Models with LTE will follow and run about €100 more.

Forbes reports Google plans to launch a health service called Google Fit, which would aggregate data from popular fitness trackers and apps. Similar to Apple’s Healthkit, the service would use an open API to allow apps to share information with the new Google Fit ecosystem. Forbes sources say the service will launch at Google I/O June 25-26. 

The Verge reports Apple announced a replacement program for European iPhone adapters sold between October 2009 and September 2012. The adapter is at risk of overheating. The affected adapter, Model A1300, was packaged in with European sales of the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S, and was also sold separately. Customers should book an appointment at an Apple store or authorized service provider, or contact Apple Technical Support to make the exchange.

CNET reports Facebook has updated its Messenger app for iOS and Android. Version 6.0 includes the ability to record and send video clips without leaving the app, though there’s a limit of 15 seconds. Another new feature lets you press and hold the like button longer to register a “Big Like”. 

PC World reports AT&T has joined Verizon in filing a friend of the court brief in support of Microsoft’s resistance to hand over email from a server in Dublin, Ireland, to a US Government investigation. Microsoft argues the investigators should get an Irish judge to issue the order through the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty or MLAT process. The US argues the location of the company, in this case Microsoft, is what matters, not the location of the server. AT&T wrote “this practice rests on an understanding that when it comes to data storage and privacy protections, location matters.” And warned that if the US ignores MLAT, then other countries might too and take data from US servers. 

News From You

HobbitfromPA got a good number of upvotes on the Ars Technica story that Jonathan Daniel, the man who parodied Peoria Illinois mayor on Twitter is suing Peoria’s mayor and police for violating his civil rights. Daniel created a parody account called @peoriamayor using a picture of mayor Jim Ardis. In response Peoria’s mayor got Twitter to shut down the account, but also threatened to prosecute Daniel for impersonating a public official, and had police raid search and seize property. No charges of impersonation were filed, although police did charge Daniel’s roommate with felony possession of marijuana.

metalfreak posted the Network World story that Google has started an open-source project called PDFium to create a PDF software library which developers can incorporate into apps on a variety of platforms. Google intends to replace its current closed-source PDF reader with the project. The rendering engine for the project was developed by Foxit, a long-time maker of PDF-reading software. The code will carry a BSD-3 clause software license.

KAPT_Kipper posted the Ars Technica story that IPv4 addresses have just about run out from all major registries. Asia’s APNIC, Europe’s RIPE NCC and Latin America’s LACNIC will only allow operators to get one more block of 1024 addresses and then that’s it. ARIN, the North America registry just reached it’s last phase in April, so it’s still letting ISPs come back for more for now. Only Africa’s AfriNIC is continuing to supply IPv4 addresses as needed. So IPv6. You’re up.

spsheridan posted the CNET story that the US Marshals Service announced Thursday  will auction nearly 30,000 bitcoins seized from Silk Road last October. The auction will take place June 27. Interested bidders mist register by June 23 and make a $200,000 wire transfer to a government bank to hold their place. The US Marshals Service will carry out the auction by selling nine blocks of 3,000 bitcoins and a tenth block of 2,657 bitcoins.

And KAPT_Kipper pointed out the BBC story that Xbox One owners complain a new TV ad featuring Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul messes with their Xbox. In the ad for the Xbox One, Paul says “XZbox On” which apparently activates some Xbox One’s voice command interface turning the console on. 

Discussion Section Links: Huawei

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2014/06/13/huawei-renews-focus-on-europe/?mod=rss_Technology

http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/12/huawei-launches-an-online-store-to-sell-its-own-unlocked-phones/

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-06-06/huawei-says-it-can-beat-xiaomi-in-race-to-be-chinas-top-smartphone-brand

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-06-04/chinas-xiaomi-the-worlds-fastest-growing-phone-maker

http://www.cnet.com/pictures/xiaomi-mi3s-brings-style-to-android-pictures/

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/05/28/biden-name-one-innovative-product-from-china/

Pick of the day: Tripit & FlightAware via Tom 

Monday’s Guest:  Mike Schramm

Patrick Beja joins the show to talk about just how open Tesla’s ‘open source’ patents could be, plus news about Facebook and your privacy, Google investing in Virgin Galactic and a cup that sense what you’re drinking.

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 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 guests:  Patrick Beja, host of Le rendez-vous Tech

Headlines

PC World reports Facebook is making changes to how ads work. One change will put blue arrows by ads in the news feed. When you click a blue arrow it lets you see which of your preferences caused an ad to appear and allows you to tweak those preferences so more relevant ads will show up. IN a somewhat less privacy-friendly maneuver, Facebook also announced it will now track your Web and app activity and will not respect Do Not Track settings. Users can opt out at the Digital Advertising Alliance opt-out page at http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ or use settings in iOS and Android.Or block cookies. Or don’t use Facebook.

BloombergBusinessWeek reports Intel’s appeal against a 2009 fine of €1.06 billion was rejected in its entirety by the EU’s general court. Intel was found to have broken antitrust laws in Europe by giving rebates to manufacturers who chose Intel chips over AMD. 

CNET reports on an Yves Behar designed smart cup called Vessyl from a San Francisco startup called Mark One. The thermos-like cup is covered in sensors and can detect and track what you drink and how much of it. Sensors track amount of caffeine, sugar, calories, and a proprietary hydration metric called Pryme. Mark One will sell the Vessyl through its website at a pre-order price of $99. If the company raises $50,000 the cup will retail for $199.

Elon Musk wrote on the Tesla blog today that the electric car company will “not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.” The idea is to encourage competing carmakers to get into the business of making electric cars and accelerate their development and growth.

Sky News reports Google is in talks with Virgin Galactic for deal that would give Google a stake in the company and some technological assistance in its plans to launch satellites to provide wireless Internet. Virgin Galactic would get cash. While the deal is not final, Sky news sources estimate Google might invest $30 million and come away with a 1.5% stake.

News From You

Our top story on the subreddit came from melchizedek74. The Verge reports on Amazon following through from yesterday’s rumor and launching Prime Music a free streaming music service fro subscribers to Amazon Prime. Ad-free access to a million songs now comes along with free shipping, video streaming and ebook lending. Prime Music features curated playlists and forthcoming apps for Kindle Fire, iOS, Android, PC and Mac. The service will not have new releases, or popular songs from Universal Music.

tekkyn00b pointed out the Verge report that Starbucks plans to install Powermat wireless charging stations in table in its coffee stores in the US, starting in the San Francisco area. Most phones have Qi built in, but powermat cases are available for popular phones like the Galaxy and iPhone and a receiver “ring” will be available inexpensively to fit most cell phones. We don’t know if the rings will be sold by Starbucks.

tekkyn00b also submitted the Verge article that a US Appellate Court for the 11th Circuit has ruled that police must obtain a warrant before collecting cellphone location data. The court determined cell tower connections constitute a Fourth Ammendment issue. This ruling contradicts a ruling made in a different circuit almost a year ago. 

And Hurmoth submitted Jon Brodkin’s Ars Technica article explaining why Netflix’s performance on Verizon has not improved as fast after striking an interconnect deal as Comcast’s did. The article is worth the read if you really want to understand, but essentially, Netflix and Comcast started working on the Interconnection long before their deal was signed. Verizon and Netflix started working on their interconnection once the two companies had an agreement. Rollout begins in ernest next month and will continue through the 4th quarter.

Discussion Section Links: All our patents are belong to you

http://www.teslamotors.com/blog/all-our-patent-are-belong-you

http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/09/tesla-wants-to-open-its-supercharger-standard-to-other-electric-car-makers/

http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/17/twitter-announces-innovators-patent-agreement-gives-ip-control-to-engineers-and-designers/

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/06/new-study-suggests-patent-trolls-really-are-killing-startups/

Pick of the day: Newsblur via SkyJedi

Since Feedly is being buried under a sea of Ddos Trollery, I’ll share my RSS solution: Newsblur. It has free and premium sides, iOS and Android apps. Import your feeds from any service. They also have sharing, and all the other bells and whistles of a modern day RSS reader.

Friday’s Guest:  Eric Olander co-host of the weekly China in Africa podcast

Peter Wells joins the show to talk about the TweetDeck XSS attack, DDoS attacks agains Evernote and Feedly, and why the Internet seems to be falling apart lately.

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 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 guests:  Peter Wells, editor of Reckoner, Australia

Headlines

The Internet was shaken today when Tweetdeck users everywhere began retweeting javascript code most ofen involving a heart symbol. It was not love they were spreading, but a cross-site scripting attack. It also manifested as popups with avrious messages like yo and XSS in Tweetdeck. Twitter fixed the vulnerability but then shut down Tweetdeck services for an hour to confirm the fix. It affected users of Tweetdeck in Chrome and reportedly users of the Windows app. Hat tip to melchizedek74 who submitted this on the subreddit.

The Washington Post reports Microsoft is contesting a search warrant issued by a judge in New York compelling the company to turn over customer data stored in a server located overseas. The emails in question are on a server in Ireland and connected to a drug-trafficking investigation. Verizon filed a friend of the court brief supporting Microsoft. Microsoft believes US investigators should file the request with an Irish district court judge. The US government believes the location of the records is irrelevant, only the location of the company matters.

Reuters reports Taxi drivers slowed traffic in London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid and Barcelona in protest against Uber, a US company that allows users to summon cars for rides via an app. Taxi drivers across Europe say Uber breaks local taxi rules, violates licensing and safety regulations and its drivers fail to comply with local insurance rules. Uber says its drivers comply with all local regulations.

TechCrunch reports Pinterest launched “Guided Search” on its mobile apps which surfaces related terms at the top of the screen as enter a keyword in the search box. The search bar is also much more prominent on the site now. The change is rolling out to English-speaking users over the next few weeks with more languages to follow.

CNET reports the $25 Firefox Phone is coming to India. Intex and Spice, will build Firefox OS phones based on a processor from Chinese company Spreadtrum and sell them for around Rs 1,500 in the next few months. Mozilla also announced Chunghwa Telecom, the largest mobile network operator in Taiwan, has signed up with Firefox OS. ZTE’s Open II and Alcatel’s One Touch Fire E are still scheduled to go on sale this summer.

TechCrunch reports Parrot, the popularizer of the quadcopter drone has some price and release dates for its latest creations shown off at CES earlier this year. The Jumping Sumo, which rolls around on the ground on two wheels, squeeze through small places, and well, jump has a 20 minute battery life and will be available in August for $160. The Rolling Spider is a quadcopter that can also work with two optional wheel attachments allowing it to scale walls and ceilings with an 8 minute battery life. Yeah. . It will arrive in August for $100. As a sidenote the US FAA approved the first drone for commercial use Tuesday. AeroVironment will fly unmanned Puma aircrafts over Prudhoe Bay in Alaska to survey oil pipelines, roads, and equipment for BP.

News From You

KAPT_Kipper has our top story on the subreddit, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports Comcast has turned on the first 50,000 of its residential hotspots in Houston, to use WiFi routers in homes to provide wider WiFi service for Comcast customers. The routers separate access from the home users network and offer it with the SSID xfinitywifi. Comcast says it shouldn’t impact home service since public hotspot users are provided through a separate channel on the modem called a “service flow.” Controversially the service is turned on by default without the subscriber’s consent. Customers have to log into their Comcast account and turn the service off themselves. 

metalfreak pointed out the TechGage post about Civilization V coming to Linux via Steam OS. It’s also on sale to boot. That addition helped the number of unique Linux titles at Steam to pass the 500 landmark. Currently, TechGage counts 516 Steam games available for Linux.

spsheridan posted the Ars Technica story that US FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler wrote a blog post titled “Removing Barriers to Competitive Community Broadband” shortly after meeting with Mayor Andy Berke of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Wheeler wrote, I believe that it is in the best interests of consumers and competition that the FCC exercises its power to preempt state laws that ban or restrict competition from community broadband.” Wheeler has said similar things before but the FCC has no stated plans to act on the statements.

And supey777 pointed out the Sydney Morning Herald article that ISP iiNet’s regulatory officer Steve Dalby is encouraging customers to write letters expressing opposition to the government’s piracy crackdown. Attorney-General George Brandis made statements that he was considering a scheme of piracy notices and requiring blocks for certain websites. Mr. Dalby believes the graduated response proposal would incur costs with ISPs and have no effect. 

Discussion Section Links: 

http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/11/tweetdeck-fixes-xss-vulnerability/

http://hiddentext.wordpress.com/2014/06/11/xss-and-tweetdeck-and-the-person-behind-the-discovery/

http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/11/5800370/tweetdeck-vulnerability-lets-attackers-execute-code-remotely

http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/00002167.html

http://dc406.com/component/content/article/643-tweetdeck-chrome-extension-xss-vulnerability.html

http://www.electronista.com/articles/14/06/11/evernote.recovers.from.multi.hour.ddos.attack.feedly.continues.to.suffer/

http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/11/feedly-evernote-and-others-become-latest-victims-of-ddos-attacks/

http://www.scmagazine.com/online-gambling-site-hit-by-five-vector-ddos-attack-peaking-at-100gbps/article/355020/

http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/04/meetups-multi-day-outage-was-due-to-a-newer-more-powerful-type-of-ddos-attack/

http://www.digitalattackmap.com/#anim=1&color=0&country=ALL&time=16232&view=map

http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/11/5800634/p-f-changs-investigating-possible-credit-card-hack

Pick of the day:  Bialetti.com  via Peter Wells

Thursday’s Guest:  Patrick Beja of L’Ordre du français philosophes Technologie 

And just because, here’s the full text of the email we got defending the future of Steam…very well written!

“Hey Tom!  Travis from Quaint Bristol Tennessee.

Raj Deut is on the show from E3. Did Sony keep the lead in Mindshare? Is there any hope for Nintendo? Plus a wearable SIM card that can authenticate any device.

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 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 guests:  Raj Deut, of Reckoner Australia and 1,000 Words On

Headlines

Nintendo held a virtual E3 announcement again this year, streamed over the Internet. The main star was Super Smash Brothers for Wii U and 3DS, that lets you put yourself, or at least your Mii avatar, into the game. It also will work with 10 new Nintendo toys that connect with the Wii U through NFC on the touchscreen controller. Nintendo showed off several more games including an open world Zelda and a Mario Maker tool that lets you design your own Super Mario levels, both coming in 2015. Also coming next year is a new property called Splatoon, a family-friendly FPS that uses paint balls and lets participants swim through the paint. After the stream, Shigeru Miyamoto was showing off a prototype for a new Starfox game in development.

Sony made a big deal about exclusives in their E3 press conference Monday night, and didn’t shy away from talking hardware and services. Bungie’s Destiny will be available in Alpha Thursday, with a multiplayer beta coming July 17 and shipping September 9 bundled with a white version of the PS4. Among the avalanche of other games, were a look at The Order: 1886 coming in August and Uncharted 4 exclusive. Far Cry 4 will allow players to invite friends to play even if they don’t own the game and Little Big Planet 3 made a urprise appearance. Sony announced two game title for its virtual reality headset Project Morpheus, called Jurassic Encounter and Street Luge. The PlayStation Now game streaming service built on Gaikai will arrive in beta July 31. And the PlayStation Vita TV will come to the US can Canada under the simpler name PLayStation TV for $99 or $139 bundled with a memory card and controller. Sony’s also getting into the original content game on the PS4 with an animated series called “Powers” based on the comic book and a Ratchett and Clank movie coming in 2015.

Engadget reports Google has agreed to spend $500 million to purchase Skybox Imaging, which builds small high-resolution imaging satellites. The satellite tech could help Google Maps but also might be used as relay to spread wireless Internet around the world.

Gigaom report Honeywell launched its first Smart thermostat Tuesday called the Lyric.Unlike the Nest which attempts to learn your habits, the Lyric uses geofencing to tell if someone is home optimizing for comfort when you are and energy-savings when you’re not. It also uses humidity sensors to tell when a fan would be better at keeping things cool vs. AC. The Lyric will be available in August for $279.

VentureBeat reports Oculus VR has hired Jason Rubin to head its worldwide studios. Rubin cofounded Naught Dog game studio co-created the game Crash Bandicoot. Rubin will run content studios in Seattle; San Francisco; Menlo Park, Calif.; Dallas; and Irvine, Calif.

The Verge reports NTT Docomo announced a prototype of Portable SIM, intended to replace a phone’s SIM card. The prototype incoroprates Bluetooth, NFC and SIM into a credit-card sized unit that makes it possible to authenticate phones and other devices and allow them to make calls and connect to dat networks without having to have a SIM card inside. The device can also store profile data and credentials for other services like Amazon and Google. The carrier hopes to reduce the size even more to make it fit in a wearable device like a bracelet.

News From You

spsheridan submitted the Next Web article that Amazon has updated its Kindle apps for iOS and Android to include access to audiobooks without leaving the app. Kindle books have been able to sync with select audiobooks from Audible for awhile, but users needed to launch a separate audible app. Now, while reading a Kindle book, one tap launches the audio version and picks up from the page you’re looking at. Amazon says about 45,000 Kindle titles have the feature enabled.

JohnEllsworth3 posted the FastCompany story that the Facebook temporary message app called Slingshot that appeared in the Apple app store yesterday, appeared by mistake. A Facebook spokesperson told the Associated Press: “Earlier today, we accidentally released a version of Slingshot, a new app we’re working on.” Oops. But hey they’re very excited for you to try it out. Just not yet.

russiancatfood pointed out the Ars Technica article that gives Netflix the latest word in their spat with Verizon. Yesterday we mentioned Netflix said they would remove controversial error messages being tested on some users, that said things like “The Verizon network is crowded.” Netflix General Counsel David Hyman sent an official response to Verizon reiterating that the test of the error messages would end June 16 but adding that doesn’t mean they won’t bring them back. Hyman wrote, “…we are evaluating rolling it out more broadly. Regardless of this specific test, we will continue to work on ways to communicate network conditions to our consumers.” 

Discussion Section Links: E3 Part Two!

http://reckoner.com.au/2014/06/e3-media-briefing-breakdown-ubisoft-sony/

http://www.cnet.com/news/nintendo-lays-out-gameplan-for-wii-u-with-hefty-lineup-of-software/

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-nintendo-wii-u-star-fox-hands-on-and-miyamoto-q-a/1100-6420327/

Pick of the day:  ZipList via Matt Maher

This pick is in response to your Big Oven pick. I’ve been using ZipList for a couple years now and I love it. I was approaching this type of app from the opposite direction. You were looking for a recipe app that could make grocery lists, and I was looking for a grocery list app that could draw from recipes. Consequently I think the focus of the two services is different. Grocery lists are more important to me, so ZipList works a little better for my uses. For one thing, my wife and I have a shared list that we can both add to, which makes shopping SO much easier.

ZipList also has a slew of great features. One of my favorite is that I can set up a number of stores that I go to regularly. I can then edit those stores and tell ZipList the exact order of the aisles, thereby making shopping trips a breeze because I can just sail through from one end of the store to the other. It also lets me add a bunch of items to one list, and then I can choose to only show one store at a time. That way I can take a single list, but go to Costco and Safeway without seeing the items for the store I’m not in at the moment. I highly recommend the service and app.

Wednesday’s Guest: Peter Wells, who also writes cool tech stories at Reckoner, Australia