Today in Tech History – October 29, 2015

20140404-073853.jpgIn 1675 – Gottfreid Leibniz wrote the integral sign in an unpublished manuscript. It’s a sign that would later haunt the nightmares of students and be widely misapplied on blackboards in movies. So happy Integral Day!

In 1969 – The first ever computer to computer link was established on the ARPANET. UCLA student Charley Kline sent the characters l and o to Stanford. The connection crashed before he could finish sending ‘login’. The Internet has been crashy right from the start.

In 1988 – Sega launched the Mega Drive console in Japan. It would be released elsewhere in the world later as the ‘Genesis.’

In 1998 – The Space Shuttle Discovery blasted off on STS-95 with 77-year old John Glenn on board, making him the oldest person to go into space.

In 2012 – Apple announced Scott Forstall would leave the company in one year, and that retail head John Browett had left the company as well.

In 2013 – Motorola announced its modular phone project called Project ARA. It would end up becoming Google’s project after Google sold Motorola.

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

DTNS 2612 – The City of Virtual Light

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comPatrick Beja went to Paris Games Week and tried the latest version of Sony’s PlayStation VR. Has it turned him agains the oculus Rift? Can he see the future of VR? Scott Johnson and Tom Merritt aim to find out.

Note: YouTube failed to stream or capture the first 15 minutes of the stream today. Apologies to the video viewers. Let’s all agree to blame the launch of YouTube Red. My wife works at YouTube. Tom.

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

If you are willing to support the show or give as little as 5 cents a day on Patreon. Thank you!

Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!

Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke, sebgonz and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes
To read the show notes in a separate page click here!

Today in Tech History – October 28, 2015

20140404-073853.jpgIn 1793 – Eli Whitney applied to patent his improved cotton gin, capable of cleaning 50 pounds of lint per day, and powering patent metaphors and arguments for centuries to come.

In 1955 – A pair of proud Seattle parents welcomed their new son into the world, having no idea he would become one of the most loved and hated men of all time. Happy birthday William Henry Gates the third. You know him as Bill.

In 1998 – President Bill Clinton signed into law the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, making it illegal for you to use computers the way they were designed to be used, if big companies didn’t want you to.

In 2014 – The W3C published its recommendation of HTML5, the final version of the standard. It included the video and canvas tags among other improvements.

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

S&L Podcast – #232 – Is This Book A Traitor To Its Genre?

We wrap up our October book pick, The Traitor Baru Cormorant. Some people find the hero less than heroic. Some people find the genre less than fantasy. So why did Tom like it so much? Is HE a traitor? Also a short story vending machine and why we’re so jealous of Ann Leckie’s good taste.

http://swordandlaser.com/home/2015/10/27/sl-podcast-232-is-this-book-a-traitor-to-its-genre

DTNS 2611 – Say Halo to my 60fps

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comDo you value performance over looks? Eric Franklin and Tom Merritt discuss 343 Industries’ decision to prioritize 60fps over everything else in Halo 5: Guardians.

MP3

Using a Screen Reader? Click here

Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.

Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.

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

If you are willing to support the show or give as little as 5 cents a day on Patreon. Thank you!

Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!

Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke, sebgonz and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes
To read the show notes in a separate page click here!

Today in Tech History – October 27, 2015

20140404-073853.jpgIn 1904 – The first underground New York City subway line opened. The line ran from City Hall in lower Manhattan through Grand Central, Times Square and ended north in Harlem. Rides cost five cents.

In 1994 – HotWired launched bringing with it the first large quantity sales of banner ads. AT&T, Zima, MCI, Volvo, Club Med and 1-800-COLLECT all plunked down for the privilege.

In 2005 – The European Space Agency launched its first satellite, a micro-satellite called the SSETI Express Satellite, designed and built by European students.

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

Cordkillers 93 – Other Tubes Named Red

Is YouTube Red genius or idiocy? Why Canada wins at Star Wars and how the old Apple TV scooped the new one. 

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CordKillers: 93 – Other Tubes Named Red
Recorded: October 27 2015
Guest: Jaime Ruiz-Avila

Intro Video

Primary Target

  • YouTube Red
    – $9.99 launching Oct. 28
    – Removes ads from all YouTube vids, gives access to YouTube Music and Google Music
    – New YouTube Music app coming
    – Saving videos for offline playing
    – Exclusive YouTube Originals launching in 2016
    – 98% of creators signed up
    – Those who currently monetize and don’t agree to terms will see videos made private
    – ESPN has some contracts that forbid ad-free videos so ESPN is pulling out but not all of Disney
    – ESPN issue might have to do with offline viewing, or ‘subscription package’
  • YouTube Originals
    – YouTube Originals
    – Scare PewDiePie. From Robert Kirkman’s Skybound and Maker Studios.
    – nNtitled CollegeHumor Project – anthology series
    – Sing It! – Fine Bros. satire of reality singing competitions
    – Lazer Team – Rooster Teeth and Fullscreen scifi small-town losers find alien ship
    – Doc of Lilly Singh’s global tour
    – Joey Graceffa murder mystery
    – 360 Project from MatPat of Game Theory – science behind video games w/ gamers experiencing real life versions
    – Fight of the Living Dead – YouTube stars trapped in realistic zombie scenarios
    – I am Tobuscus – Toby Turner scripted comedy about being a YouTube star
    – Single by 30 – WongFu romantic drama
  • YouTube Will Completely Remove Videos Of Creators Who Don’t Sign Its Red Subscription Deal
  • Ignore all the sensationalist hand-wringing about YouTube Red
  • ESPN is disappearing from YouTube — here’s why

Signal Intelligence

  • Canada Netflix will get Force Awakens first for streaming
    -Netflix in Canada will get Star Wars: The Force Awkens for streaming in 2016
    – In US, Starz has deal with movies that come out through end of 2015
    – In Canada Disney deal with Netflix starts with 2015 titles in US with 2016 titles

Gear Up

Front Lines

  • Time Warner Cable will test internet-only TV in NYC next week
    – Engadget’s sources say Time Warner Cable will start beta testing a version of its TV service for Internet-only subscribers in New York City. Participants will supposedly get a free Roku 3 and be offered a $10 starter pack an option with Showtime and Starz for $20 and a version with all that plus most f the usual cable channels for $50. No DVR functions but there is on demand the ability to stream on 4 devices at a time. Time Warner currently has apps for Xbox, Android, iOS, Fan TV, Kindle Fire and Samsung’s Smart TVs.
  • Actually, TV viewership is quite stable
    – Pivotal Research Group found TV viewing is stable if you count all devices including game consoles and phones. TV viewing among 18-49s is up 0.3%. 2-17 down 0.2% and over 50 up 3%. Viewing on connected devices like Roku rose from 2% last year to 5% this year. They do NOT count Netflix as traditional TV. 18-49s with Netflix watched 5% less traditional TV while those without Netflix watched 11% more. 
  • Yahoo Livestream of NFL Game Nets 15 Million Viewers — But Most of Them Didn’t Count by TV Metrics
    – Sunday Yahoo streamed an NFL game between the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars. Yahoo got more than 33.6 million streams. Well if you narrow that down to unique users they got 15 million! Or if you want to know how many people were actually watching at any given moment they got 2.3 million! That’s compared to an average simultaneous viewing of a broadcast NFL game of about 10-20 million. 
  • Why Yahoo wrote down $42 million for ‘Community’
    – More Yahoo news. During its earnings call last week, Yahoo said it would write down about $42 million in costs from its video division based largely on three shows including Community. Yahoo CFO Ken Goldman said Yahoo’s management “couldn’t see a way to make money over time.”
  • Vice is launching a long-rumored cable TV network
    – Vice said Thursday it plans to launch a TV network in the US and a dozen across Europe. Vice will buy networks in some locations and partner in joint ventures in others. No word on which will happen where. The idea is to buy networks on the cheap then leverage content made there into mobile and online. 
  • Vudu starts streaming 4K movies to the Roku 4
    – More 4K content headed your way as Vudu makes 12 movies in its catalog available for 4K viewing on Roku 4, with prices of $10 for a rental and $25 – $30 to purchase. The offerings should be coming to other platforms like the Vizio 4K TVs soon.

Under Surveillance

Dispatches from the Front
Tom mentioned his new chipped card’s number didn’t change, but the CVV code should have. When I activated my new card a few months ago, I couldn’t figure out for the next week why the card was working some of the time and other times it wasn’t. It didn’t click that the only time it wasn’t working was when I was paying online through saved information. Without updating that new CVV code from the back of the card, the Netflix plans wouldn’t renew even if the card number was unchanged.

–  hornakapopolis

 

 

 

 

“Hey Brian and Tom,

Last week’s show you all were talking about how close we are to the NFL running their own distribution and putting their games online. 

I’d love if this were true, but the economics might not pan out in the NFL’s favor. Currently the NFL is making roughly $6 BILLION a year from CBS, FOX, NBC ($3.1B), ESPN ($1.9B), DirecTV Sunday Ticket ($1B) for rights to games. 

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/dec/15/business/la-fi-ct-nfl-deals-20111215

Also they’ve signed these deals to last till 2022.

If the networks decided not to renew deals when they’re up because the NFL wants to stream games online they’re gonna have a hard time making the same kind of money. 

20M subscribers paying $25/mo. = $6 Billion/yr 

or 

50M  subscribers paying $10/mo. = $6 Billion/yr

This doesn’t include infrastructure of network or cost to have others host. Not to mention marketing, customer service etc. 

The only way I see it could being possible sometime in the future is if they managed to get a deal similar to what the MLB has with the networks…still show games on TV (probably at a lower rate than the $3.1B now) while offering a “”premium”” service that’s over the top everywhere. This would of course take the rug from under the DirecTV so that would be more revenue to make up. Unfortunately I don’t think they can reach  beyond the most diehard fans if the price is anything over $15/mo. 

I think the NFL will eventually start chipping away, it’s inevitable. Maybe starting with an exclusive deal with Apple or Amazon to have a toe in the streaming box game without totally offending their currently partners. Whatever the case sports fan, particularly NFL fans will have to get by with over the air, Sling or Sunday Ticket. 

You guys keep being awesome!

Cheers,
James
(I’m the guy who stopped you at Ralph’s Tom ☺)”

 

 

 

“Hey Guys, 

I wanted to point to you this weekend’s report on Box Office Mojo. The author notes how the latest Paranormal Activity movie had a weak opening, but is using a new strategy with Video on Demand. He notes that once the movie is playing on less than 300 theaters, it be available for VOD. In exchange, participating theaters will receive a portion of the VOD profits. This approach shortens the theatrical window significantly, and I’m curious how it will be accepted by studios, theaters, and viewers.

Thanks for a great show every week. 

Your boss,
Mike

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4116&p=.htm”

 

 

 

1) horse racing and fantasy sports as I understand it are examples of parimutuel betting. The idea is the betting or house can’t influence the odds. (https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/24n5vb/eli5_why_is_it_legal_to_bet_on_horse_races_but/)

technically Hearthstone, Poker, and Sports are not gambling in a way that can influence the game (as long as the teams aren’t involved in/make money on the bets) so it seems a bit arbitrary

2) NBA commissioner is pro betting (http://time.com/3584866/nba-adam-silver-legalize-pro-sports-betting/)

Chris

 

 

 

Hey Tom and Brian,
Love the show been a fan since Framerate. I suggest Longmire to replace The Shield. It has 4 seasons with a fifth yet to be confirmed but most likely coming all on Netflix. The show is a modern day western and has deep and realistic characters with actions that are understandable and relevant. It is a loose police procedural about a Wyoming county sheriff solving a murder of the week, but there is a deeper, more consistent overall story that stretches season to season. The dichotomy between the characters, cultures (local Native Americans vs. white population, rich vs. poor), landscapes, and what’s ethically right vs what’s the law is so enriching but not so politically driven as other shows. Walt Longmire is just a great character as Walter White.

Also, can I make a suggestion on maybe letting us viewers and “bosses” know what you guys will spoil a week in advance (or few days via Twitter, etc). I get you guys are busy and can only watch a limited shows. But I like to follow along with Spoilern’ Time and sometimes you’ll start new shows or movies, like Beasts of No Nation, and some of weren’t aware and it’s hard to go back and listen. Anyway just my suggestion.

Thanks and keep up the phenomenal job.

Regards,

Judson M.

 

 

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers

2015 Winter Movie Draft

 

 

DTNS 2610 – The Hunt For Red Cord Cutters

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comDo social networks provide meaningful info about current events? They want to, to you and to journalists. Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt talk about Twitter and Facebook’s rocky relationship with news.

MP3

Using a Screen Reader? Click here

Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.

Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.

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

If you are willing to support the show or give as little as 5 cents a day on Patreon. Thank you!

Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!

Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke, sebgonz and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes
To read the show notes in a separate page click here!

Today in Tech History – October 26, 2015

20140404-073853.jpgIn 1936 – The first electric generator went into full operation at Hoover Dam, about a month after President Roosevelt had dedicated the dam and tried to encourage people to call it the Boulder Dam.

In 1992 – Software deployment issues in CAD, the new ambulance dispatch system in London, caused 30-45 deaths. Poor training, a memory leak and no load testing contributed to the failure.

In 2004 – Apple debuted the iPod photo, capable of displaying digital photographs and album art on a built-in color screen.

In 2012 – Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system went on sale, with its tile-based start screen.

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

Today in Tech History – October 25, 2015

In 1955 – Tappan introduced the first microwave oven for home use. It sold for $1,295. Raytheon developed the Radarrange after engineer Percy LeBaron Spencer was working on an active radar set and accidentally melted a candy bar in his pocket.

In 1977 – VAX/VMS was born. At a shareholder meeting, DEC, the Digital Equipment Corporation, released VMS v1.0 the first version of what we later would call OpenVMS, along with the VAX 11/780 architecture which increased the PDP-11 address space.

In 2001 – Microsoft Windows XP hit retail shelves for the first time.

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