DTNS 2572 – Acer Detect

Daily Tech News Show / September 2nd, 2015

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comIt’s an avalanche of product announcements from IFA in Berlin, phones, watches and even a modular desktop PC. Plus, it’s the sequel to Fanmail Friday– What’s Up Wednesday?– where Tom Merritt and Scott Johnson read a bunch of your expert emails about Apple content, Nielsen ratings, smartphone glucose monitors and more.

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

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here or giving 5 cents a day on Patreon. Thank you!

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

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

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

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

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It’s Spoilerin’ Time 86

Cordkillers / September 2nd, 2015

Movie Draft Update, Mr. Robot Speculation, 500 Days of Summer, Rick and Morty (206), The Shield (703), Feedback (Rick & Morty)

01:07 – Movie Draft Update

03:31 – Mr. Robot Speculation

9:29 – 500 Days of Summer

14:01 – Rick and Morty (206)

17:36 – The Shield (704)

24:23 – Feedback (Rick & Morty)

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Today in Tech History – September 2, 2015

Today in Tech History / September 2nd, 2015

20140404-073853.jpg
In 1859 – A unique combination of solar events including a magnetic explosion severely affected the young telegraph network in North America and Europe. Wires shorted out, fires started and some machines reportedly worked even when disconnected from batteries.

1997 – IBM announced that its RS/6000 SP model parallel supercomputer, was now 58 percent faster than Deep Blue, the computer that beat Kasparov at chess.

In 2001 – At ECTS in London, Blizzard announced an online RPG version of its popular Warcraft franchise, called “World of Warcraft”.

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

DTNS 2571 – Just Use a Bigger Tube

Daily Tech News Show / September 1st, 2015

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comDoes every tech company need to get into making TV shows and movies? Tom Merritt and Patrick Beja discuss the report of Apple’s original programming and more.

MP3

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

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

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here or giving 5 cents a day on Patreon. Thank you!

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

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

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

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

(more…)

Today in Tech History – September 1, 2015

Today in Tech History / September 1st, 2015

20140404-073853.jpgIn 1902 -Georges Méliès’ film Le voyage dans la lune (A Trip to the Moon) debuted in France. It is often considered the first real science fiction film.

In 1994 – The United States Library of Congress held the first of several meetings to plan the conversion of its materials to digital form and make them accessible by computer networks.

In 1996 – Apple released its Pippin game console in the US. The idea was to provide an inexpensive game-focused computer. Apple licensed third parties like Bandai to make Pippin consoles.

In 2008 – Google launched its Web browser called Google Chrome.

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

It’s Spoilerin’ Time 85

Cordkillers / August 31st, 2015

Movie Draft Update, Fear the Walking Dead (101), Mr. Robot (109), Rick and Morty (205), The Shield (703)

02:14 – Movie Draft Update

04:21 – Triage/Feedback

06:21 – Fear the Walking Dead (101)

10:06 – Mr. Robot (109)

23:57 – Rick and Morty (205)

30:22 – The Shield (703)

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DTNS 2570 – Enter The Snapdragon!

Daily Tech News Show / August 31st, 2015

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comSmartwatches are narrowing in on a few standard features, like notifications, fitness tracking and proactive alerts. But are the features that wearables still need to have to make us want one? Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt discuss.

MP3

Using a Screen Reader? Click here

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

Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.

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

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here or giving 5 cents a day on Patreon. Thank you!

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

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

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

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

(more…)

Today in Tech History – August 31, 2015

Today in Tech History / August 31st, 2015

20140404-073853.jpgIn 1897 – Thomas Edison received a patent for the kinetographic camera, the forerunner of the motion picture film projector.

In 1994 – Stockholders approved the merger of Aldus Corp. and Adobe Systems Inc. It united the two driving forces behind desktop publishing software. Aldus Pagemaker became Adobe Pagemaker.

In 1997 – The developer release of Apple’s new OS, code name Grail1Z4 / Titan1U was released. It was known formally as Rhapsody and would evolve into OS X.

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

Tom at DragonCon in Atlanta 9/3-9/7

Speaking Appearances / August 30th, 2015

ecwinHey folks, I’m excited to be heading back to DragonCon in Atlanta on Labor Day weekend. This year there will be live Daily Tech News Show, Sword and Laser, FSL Tonight, and I’ll be jumping in on Justin and Ashley’s podcast wedding and Night Attack as well as a few other panels!

If you’re going to be at DragonCon I hope you can swing by at least one of the events and say hello! Here’s the schedule.

FRIDAY September 4
Fictional Writing & Skepticism 01:00 pm Location: 204-207 – Hilton
Description: A few top authors—who are also skeptics—discuss what effect their personal skepticism has on their writings.

Daily Tech News Show—Live! 04:00 pm Location: Crystal Ballroom – Hilton
Description: Live DTNS with Tom Merritt, Veronica Belmont, Justin Robert Young and Jonathan Strickland. Illustrations by Len Peralta.

FSL Tonight Live! 07:00 pm
Location: A601 – A602 – Marriott
Description: Get the coverage of the big finale between the Coruscant Senators and Skaro Exterminators right after the game. Find out the champion and what teams will be elevated into the league next season!

SATURDAY September 5
Navigating the Media/Online Frenzy 11:30 am
Location: Embassy D-F – Hyatt
Description: What else is out there besides Facebook? How to generate “buzz” about a book to promote sales.

Sword and Laser Podcast—Live! 02:30 pm
Location: Crystal Ballroom – Hilton
Description: Belmont & Merritt’s podcast on all things sci-fi and fantasy with author Cherie Priest.

Jurymore & Friends 04:00 pm
Location: Crystal Ballroom – Hilton
Description: Justin Robert Young & Ashley Paramore get married with super-special guests!

SUNDAY September 6
SkepTech 01:00 pm
Location: 204-207 – Hilton
Description: Skeptical thinking isn’t always about Bigfeet, ghosts, & tarot…Sometimes it can be in your tech, too!

2015 Parsec Awards 05:30 pm
Location: Regency V – Hyatt
Description: Tom and Veronica host the Parsec Awards for Sci-fi & Fantasy Original Content and Speculative Fiction.

Night Attack Live! 10:00 pm
Location: Crystal Ballroom – Hilton
Description: An irreverent fun-fest featuring unusual guests, bizarre games and more!