Veronica Belmont is on the show to talk about how engineers in Havana, Cuba have created their own Internet for the city even without a direct connection to the rest of the world.

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Show Notes

Today’s guest:  Veronica Belmont!

Headlines

GigaOm reports Cablevision is launching a WiFi only cell phone service called Freewheel next month. existing Cablevision Internet customers can add the unlimited talk, text and data for $9.95 a month. Others pay $29.95 a month. The service works with any WiFi access point but takes advantage of existing customers WiFi hotspots as well as CableWiFi participants like Comcast, Cox and TimeWarner. Only the Motorola Moto G for $99.95 will work with the service through preloaded apps.

CNET passes along the revelation of Motorola’s Douglas Woodside that the Nexus 6 would have had a fingerprint sensor on the back if Apple hadn’t bought AuthenTec in 2012. Woodside told the Telegraph in an interview that once AuthenTec was out of the marketplace other providers “weren’t there yet.”

TechCrunch reports Facebook has a launched a simplified Android app called Facebok Lite, meant for low-end devices in emerging markets. The app was made available over the weekend in Bangladesh, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. It’s based on the feature phone version Snaptu, but adds push notifications and camera integration among a few other features.

TechWorld notes that KGI Securities Analyst Ming Chi Kuo has issued a research note saying the Apple watch will go on sale in March and sell 5 million in Q1. Kuo also says that number you’re thinking of is 12, yes she will call back but not with the message you want, and that a favorable event will happen to scorpio if they take a great risk. Do not doubt the powers of Ming Chi Kuo. Also a 12-inch MacBook Air is coming.

In a story by Reuters according to state broadcaster TRT the Turkish court has ordered Facebook to block pages deemed offensive for allegedly insulting the Prophet Mohammad. Under threats of having the entire Facebook site blocked. The court order follows recent government efforts to crack down on material offending religious sensibilities including an inquiry into a newspaper that reprinted parts of Charlie Hebdo in the wake of attacks on the publisher in Paris.

The Verge has a story detailing efforts by Comcast to overcome opposition to its merger with Cable Giant and rival Time Warner with a ghost letter writing campaign to the FCC from politicians in the affected communities. Comcast asserts that the letters show its broad grassroots backing. The Verge says records show that a Comcast official sent the exact wording of a letter to a councilman and that finishing touches were put on the letter by a former FCC official named Rosemary Harold, who is now a partner at one of the nation’s foremost telecom law firms in Washington, DC.

The Verge reports that Oculus has revealed its Story Studio, an internal team exploring virtual reality cinema. At Sundance, they introduced the movie called Lost, a real-time computer generated VR experience for the Crescent Bay prototype. The movie is directed by Saschka Unseld, a former Pixar animator, and is about five minutes long, but could be as short as three and a half minutes or as long as ten, because it takes place in a virtual environment where the viewers actions change the pace of storytelling. The Verge article has a ton of awesome details about how the team came to be, and what the future might hold for interactive cinema.

The Verge also has the news that AT&T has closed a deal to purchase Nextel Mexico, a wireless provider with around 3 millions subscribers and a network estimated to cover 76 million people. AT&T will pay $1.875 billion for the company. You may recall that in November, AT&T reached a deal to acquire lusacell and its 9.2 million subscribers. That deal was finalized Jan. 20. Telcel still has the biggest share of Mexico’s wireless market at 70%.

News From You: 

KAPT_kipper pointed out the Guardian article about Google disclosing that it had turned over email and IP addresses related to three Wikileaks staffers in response to a secret warrant served in March 2012. Google revealed the information to WikiLeaks December 24. The company stated a gag order had prevented the company from revealing the information earlier. The staffers were investigations editor Sarah Harrison; spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson; and senior editor Joseph Farrell. Twitter was ordered to the same in January 2011 for Icelandic MP Birgitta Jonsdottir, but alerted her sooner allowing her to fight the order, although she lost that fight.

starfuryzeta sent us the TechCrunch report that that Dish’s new streaming video subscription service SlingTV will begin rolling out to people who pre-registered tomorrow. Subscribers will get 20 live TV channels for $20 a month, that can be accessed from Android, iOS, FireTV and Roku apps. The content will include ESPN, TBS, TNS, CNN HGTV, DIY and Food Network, with the ability to add news and childrens channel packages for $5 a month.

Alexhoward submitted the AP article that concerns about navigation app Waze were raised at a meeting of the National Sheriffs Association winter conference in Washington. Of particular concern is a function that allows Waze users to note to each other where police are located. Sheriff Mike Brown of Bedford County, Va called the feature a “police stalker”. Waze spokeswoman, Julie Mossler, said the company shares information with the New York Police Department and others. Nuala O’Connor, head of the Center for Democracy and Technology says that sharing of information with law enforcement is the bigger concern. So nobody is happy. Except maybe drivers who avoided traffic jams.

Discussion Section Links: Cuba’s secret network no longer secret

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CB_CUBA_SECRET_NETWORK?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

http://mashable.com/2014/04/03/internet-freedom-cuba/

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/23/cuba-offline-internet-weekly-packet-external-hard-drives

Pick of the Day: 

So I’ve been enjoying this stuff for years now, but it never occurred to me (until just now) that maybe not everyone knows bands like this even exist…

!!! Video Game Music Cover Bands !!!

It’s perfect work music because there are no words, they are all songs you already know and love, and presumably they were originally written with the purpose of keeping the player motivated and alert.

There’s enough bands out there that you can find whatever genre fits the mood you are looking for, but the standouts to me are the OneUps. Really high quality lounge-y jazzy covers of everything from Battletoads to Plants v. Zombies. In my book, they are geniuses.

If you aren’t into jazz, and are looking for some more upbeat stuff, definitely check out Vomitron, Year 200x and Charlie Parra del Riego – these are more metal-y covers, but also really really well done (year 200x’s cover of Ducktales Moon theme is particularly bad ass).

OR if you are looking for LOL’s, check out Brentalfloss, a youtuber that’s since put out a couple of studio quality albums of his covers. His spin is adding literal, hilarious and often NSFW lyrics to all of the classics.

Finally of note there are quite a few full orchestral albums out there as well that y’all might find enjoyable. Just search spotify and they’ll readily come up.

Sorry this is so long, but I thought if maybe you guys hadn’t stumbled onto this stuff yet, maybe you’d get some enjoyment out of it as well!

Links:

The OneUps

Charlie Parra del Riego – Videogames go metal
Vomitron – No NES for the Wicked
Year 200X

brentalfloss

Thanks for the daily awesomeness, you guys!
-Dr. Karl

Tomorrow’s guests: Patrick Beja and Justin Robert Young

Darren Kitchen and I chat with Sean Hollister about his experience trying Microsoft’s HoloLens and ask Ek from HockeyBuzz about the NHL putting GoPros on hockey player’s heads during the all-star game.

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Jennie’s Friday Art!

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, Sean Hollister, and Hockeybuzz’s Ek 

Headlines

If you’re a Windows Insider, Engadget points out the new Windows 10 Technical Preview is now available via Windows Update. That gives you Continuum if you have a hybrid device, the new Xbox app and Cortana. Though Cortana on the desktop can take down notes and answer questions she’s still having a little trouble with complex reminders. No Project Spartan or Office update yet either. You can get the download at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/preview-download

9to5 Mac has sources that say the battery in the Apple Watch may not last as long as Apple hoped. If you believe the sources the watch uses an Apple S1 chip, similar to the A5 running SkiHill, a modified iOS with a retina-class color display. Supposedly Apple wanted 3 days of pure standby time life but is only getting between 2 and 3 days. The sources also say 3,000 watches are in the wild being tested around the world and the watch is on track to ship in March.

TechCrunch reports Microsoft has acquired open-source analytics company Revolution Analytics which focuses on the R programming language for statistical computing. In marketing speak that means Microsoft wants to “use the power of R and data science to unlock big data insights with advanced analytics.” So like data mining. Um in simpler terms? Kind of a really super powerful spreadsheet that helps find trends that help drug makers and scientists discover things.

The Verge reports Uber has applied for a taxi license in New Delhi and resumed operations. Uber was banned a month ago after a driver was accused of raping a passenger. Uber will only allow drivers who have reverified police clearance within the last six weeks. Uber is also conducting background checks on all drivers and implementing vehicle documentation reviews.

ReCode reports Box.com’s IPO got off to a healthy start. The online storage company priced 12.5 million shares at $14 each and opened trading at $20.20, and closed at $23.23. Box raised $175 million in the offering which valued the company at $1.7 billion.

Ars Technica reports that the Raphael Pirker a drone operator who was fined $10,000 by the FAA for illegally operating the drone and flying it in a “reckless manner” has settled his lawsuit with the government. Pirker has agreed to pay $1100 and drop the lawsuit challenging his citation, that claimed the FAA was enforcing a non-existent law against drone operations. FAA ban on small drone flights for commercial applications are still in effect. Pirker used a drone while shooting a commercial for the University of Virginia.

According to a story by the NY Times the Winklevoss Twins are looking to take the Bitcoin virtual currency mainstream by creating the first regulated Bitcoin exchange for US customers, a “Nasdaq of Bitcoin”. The brothers have begun hiring engineers from hedge funds and engaged a bank and regulators hoping to open their exchange in the next few months. The exchange will be named Gemini.

News From You: 

KAPT_Kipper sent us the Ars Technica article that Google’s Project Zero has published three 0-day vulnerabilities in Apple’s OSX. Project Zero finds vulnerabilities and gives software manufacturers 90 days to deal with them before making the vulnerabilities public. These three were reported to Apple on October 20, 21st and 23rd,2014. One of the issues may have been mitigated in OS X Yosemite and all three appear to require prior access to machines. The program recently published three vulnerabilities in Windows.

tm204 pointed out the Skift article about Expedia acquiring Travelocity for $280 million. Expedia gets the websites in US and Canada. Swiss-based Bravofly has an ahreement to acquire Travelocity Europe AKA lastminute.com, pending regulatory approval.

Discussion Section Links: 

 http://gizmodo.com/project-hololens-hands-on-incredible-amazing-prototy-1680934585

http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/23/gopro-live-broadcast-nhl/?ncid=rss_truncated

http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/23/gopro-nhl-partnership/

http://gopro.com/news/gopro-and-nhl-new-partnership-will-change-the-way-you-watch-hockey

Pick of the Day:  Kuissential SlickFroth 2.0 – Electric Milk Frother, Cappuccino Maker via Christian

Hi Tom!

In response to whether Google is capable of offering decent customer support for a possible MVNO, I wanted to share my experience.

My general rule of thumb is that Google had fantastic support for anything they do where you pay them money directly. This includes Google Apps, the play store, Nexus devices, etc. In those instances I’ve had some of the best customer service I’ve ever experienced in the tech world. It’s only in Google services like gmail and calendar where Google had nonexistent customer service (at least I haven’t found it).

This is why I have no doubt that a Google MVNO would have superb customer service. I also think they’d probably do a great job at disrupting the market with great process and bandwidth caps. Maybe they won’t even have bandwidth caps!

Matt Maher
Sterling, VA

Peter Frazier wonders if Google as an MVNO would lead to free data on Chromebooks. Here’s his line of thinking:

“I wonder just how much data browsing is after subtracting away audio and video streaming?

If they took Chrome OS in a direction where the on board storage was beefed up, and Google Music was a lot smarter about caching your most played songs when on WiFi.

Throw in an option to only use video on WiFi. Now that were starting to see ‘download video’ from YouTube, you could expand the caching of some of your ‘watch later’ as well, and put more development time into that aspect of YouTube to make it a lot more seamless and the videos are just there.

Also they have the ‘low bandwidth’ option on phones, what if they brought that to Chrome OS as well in a HUGE way. Same content but using considerably less bandwidth.

I’m thinking if this was on their plan of attack for the last year, they ‘could’ provide an all you could eat data plan for a large portion, if not all, of our day to day browsing when you buy a chromebook. If they get the bit’s down enough, and adjust the advertising strategy on this class of Chromebook it in theory could be viable.

Monday’s guest:  Veronica Belmont

Shannon Morse joins us. Do we want Google to be our mobile phone service? Also a little more from the experts about HOLOGRAMS!

MP3

Using a Screen Reader? click here

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: Shannon Morse, tekthing.com and hak5.org

Headlines

The Verge reports BlackBerry CEO John Chen published an open letter to the US Senate supporting the principles of net neutrality. Most of it is what you’d expect. However Chen accuses Apple and Netflix of discriminating against its users for not making apps for BlackBerryOS. He writes: “All wireless broadband customers must have the ability to access any lawful applications and content they choose, and applications/content providers must be prohibited from discriminating based on the customer’s mobile operating system.”

The Next Web reports Kim Dotcom’s Mega has launched an audio and video chat service with end to end encryption. Any registered Mega user can try out the beta service. Text chat is expected to be added soon as well as video conferencing. MegaChat users made more than a half million video calls in the first hour after launch. But nobody but the participants knows what happened in them.

The Next Web reports that Twitter is rolling out a new feature called Recap, today for iOS and in the next few weeks to Android and Web. A heading will appear called “while you were away…” that will show users the best tweets that happened– wait for it– while they were away. The more you use Twitter, the more recaps you’ll see. Which tweets you see will be determined by “engagement and other factors” according to the company. You won’t be able to adjust how it works or even turn it off, but hitting X at the top of the summary often enough will direct the system to show fewer recaps.

ZDNet’s Mary Jo Foley clarifies that Microsoft Office for Windows 10 will be preinstalled for free on Windows 10 smartphones and tablets as long as they are smaller than 8 inches. The suite of “touch-first” apps will be available from the Windows Store for Windows devices with larger screen sizes. If you want to take a look at the new apps, Microsoft posted a blog with screen caps. Microsoft also officially has named the next version of Office for the desktop, Office 2016. Office universal apps will be available with the Windows 10 technical preview in the coming weeks and general availability for the Office for Windows 10 suite will be “later this year.”

Also from Engadget, Nvidia has released a GPU targeting AMDs video cards at the $200 price point. Although the recently released GTX 970 and 980 are powerful, their high costs ($350 -$600+) have turned many towards AMDs cheaper but still capable Radeon offerings. Nvidia’s Maxwell based GTX 960 sports 1025 CUDA cores and clock speed of 1.1 GHz although with overlocking and decent cooling the GPU speed can be bumped up to 1.5 GHz. For the past year AMD has been able to leverage the $200 sweet spot in GPU price/performance arena, but with the release of GTX 960 AMD will be under pressure with their next generation of products.

Ars Technica lets us know about a report from cloud backup provider Backblaze on the reliability of its hard drives. HGST, owned by Western Digital now, led the way with low failure rates. For instance 2 TB 7K2000s were on average 3.9 years old but had a failure rate of 1.1%. Seagate improved a little from the last Backblaze report but still 23.8% for the Barracuda 7200.11 and 9.6% for the Barracuda LP. The 3TB Barracuda 7200.14 had an awful 43.1% failure rate with an average of 2.2 years in service. However newer Seagate model 4 TB HDDD15 only had a 2.6% failure rate albeit after an avaerage 0.9 years in service.

The Verge reports journalist Barrett Brown has been sentenced to 63 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of transmitting threats, accessory to hacking charges, and interfering with the execution of a search warrant. Brown uploaded YouTube videos containing threats, tried to redact sensitive email procured by hackers and hid laptops in a kitchen cabinet. Brown had been originally charged with fraud for sharing a link to an Anonymous IRC chat room where stolen credit card details were being shared. Those charges were dropped. Brown has served 28 months in prison during trial which will count toward his sentence.

News From You: 

tm204 posted the VentureBeat story that Amazon has introduced a program t help produce ebooks for students. The Kindle Textbook Creator, now in open beta, can make books to be sold through the Kindle Direct Publishing EDU service. It’s available for OSX and Windows. The books can have flashcards, allow note-taking, and highlighting, “cut” segments out to a separate notebook, or annotate with context.

metalfreak pointed out the PC World article noting that Documents, prepared by the Latvian presidency of the Council of the EU, note that blocking or filtering content in the “public interest” as part of a proposed net neutrality law could violate privacy laws that protect the confidentiality of communication. Last week EU ministers called on ISPs to do just such blocking and filtering of extreme content. The Latvian presidency plans to discuss changes to three articles of the proposed text at a meeting of the Council’s working party on Jan. 27

starfuryzeta sent us an Associated Press report about a drone overloaded with methamphetamine that crashed into a supermarket parking lot in Tijuana, Mexico. Tijuana police said six pounds of meth were taped to the six-propellor remote controlled craft. Authorities are investigating where the flight originated, but said it was not the first time they’d seen a drone used to smuggle drugs. Said the drone, “I am the one who flies.”

Discussion Section Links: 

http://www.cnet.com/news/google-reportedly-wants-to-sell-wireless-service-through-sprint-t-mobile/#ftag=CAD590a51e

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/01/22/google-could-become-a-wireless-carrier-heres-what-that-means-for-you/

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2391605/google-to-become-mvno-in-rumoured-deal-with-us-carriers

https://www.theinformation.com/Google-s-Next-Telecom-Move-Becoming-a-Wireless-Carrier?token=ab0427829572f58d05a85f83758ffdb5

Pick of the Day: Freedom(TM) by Daniel Suarez via Paul Wheatley

Boss #1248 Paul writes, “Hi Tom, Hope you are well?

The HoloLens Microsoft announced yesterday got me very excited for a possible future 2nd dimension overlaid over our current dimension described in the book Freedom(TM) by Daniel Suarez, this is the sequel to Daemon. Both are excellent reads and great audio books on Audible.

The book describes a dimension overlaid using hologram glasses (and contact lenses) using augmented reality, but where people can almost entirely live in that dimension, separate currency, jobs, relationships, experience point and levelling up in ‘real’ life. Of course the book details it in a partially scary way but i for one welcome our Daemon overlords and cannot wait for this second dimension to be created.

Tomorrow’s guest:  Darren Kitchen