DTNS 2394 – Boss co-host show

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comWe talk with a couple listeners/bosses of the show about why they are interested in tech and what they do with tech themselves.

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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 in Tech History – Dec. 25, 2014

20140404-073853.jpgIn 1741- In Uppsala, Sweden, Anders Celsius first used a Delisle thermometer he had marked up with 100 gradations between boiling and freezing. It was the first use of the centigrade scale of temperature.

In 1959 – Sony announced its first television set, the transistor-based TV-301. It would go on sale in Japan the following May.

In 1990 – Tim Berners-Lee with help from CERN computer scientist Robert Cailliau and others— set up the first successful communication between a Web browser and server via the Internet.

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

Today in Tech History – Dec. 24, 2014

20140404-073853.jpgIn 1955 – As NORAD tells the story, a misprinted phone number caused Continental Air Defense Command, CONAD to start getting calls from children for Santa Claus, so Director of Operations Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for signs of St. Nick. NORAD was created in 1958 and they’ve kept up the tracking tradition ever since.

In 1955 – The Associated Press syndicated a story that Santa Claus was being guaranteed safe passage into the United States. The story reported that, “CONAD, Army, Navy and Marine Air Forces will continue to track and guard Santa and his sleigh on his trip to and from the U.S.”

In 1968 – The crew of Apollo 8 delivered a live, televised Christmas Eve broadcast after becoming the first humans to orbit another space body.

In 1999 – The very seasonal HTML 4.01 was published by the World Wide Web Consortium. HTML 4.01 remained the HTML standard for well over a decade.

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

DTNS 2393 – New in 2014

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comLamarr Wilson, Roberto Villegas and Richard Stroffolino join Tom to talk about new things in tech that came along in 2014. Turns out these folks had their own new things too!

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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

DTNS 2392 – Holiday all-stars

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comPatrick Beja is on our last live show of the year and we’ll try to avoid talking about Sony too much but The Interview IS coming out after all. Plus the dangers of ignoring 2FA rear their ugly head. And Len Peralta will illustrate the show!

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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

Today’s guest: Patrick Beja and the DTNS Holiday All Stars!

Headlines

Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton says The Interview will show in a a number of theaters on Dec. 25 and that company is trying, “to secure more platforms and more theaters so that this movie reaches the largest possible audience.” Sources tell Hollywood Reporter Sony will offer the movie as video on demand the same day it is in theaters. The Plaza Theater in Atlanta and The Alamo Drafthouse in Dallas/Fort Worth have both stated that they will show the film.

In related news, chubby_cheese submitted a link to the subreddit advertising for a new job at Sony Corporation of America in Washington DC called Director of Vulnerability Management.

Recode reports North Korea’s Internet connection suffered a second day of trouble. DYN Research reported the country experienced another outage for an hour earlier today. North Korea’s four links to the Internet are supplied by a joint venture called Star JV with connectivity supplied by China Unicom.

habichuelacondulce submitted the NYTimes post that the attack against JPMOrgan Chase’s network earlier this year was a result of a misconfigured server. People who have been briefed on internal and outside investigations into the attack, say one network server had not been upgraded to require two-factor authentication. Attackers had stolen an employee’s login credentials but a second-factor scheme would have thwarted that approach.

OS X users were greeted with a new kind of security update yesterday. Apple pushed out its first automatic security update which does not require any interaction from the users. The patch fixed a vulnerability in the network time protocol common to all Unix-based systems. Apple added the ability to do automatic patches two years ago— but this is the first time the company has used it.

Mac Rumors points out patent consortium Rockstar has sold more than 4,000 telecommunicatiosn patents to RPX. An RPX subsidiary, RPX Clearinghouse will license the patents to a syndicate of tech companies including Cisco and Google. Rockstar had been suing companies, including Google and Cisco, prior to selling the patents to RPX. Google and Cisco recently settled their disputes. Rockstar has agreed to drop its existing suits against Samsung, LG and HTC.RPX will license the patents on FRAND terms.

CNET reports that that Anouk Wipprecht has updated her personal space defensice Spider Dress with Intel Edison processors and some new 3D printed elements. The dress features spider-legg-like epaulettes connected to sensors. When respiration increases or proximity sensors detect a nearby body, the legs react.

PC Mag reports the FCC has paused the process for consideration of a proposed merger between Comcast and Time Warner Communications. Time Warner had withheld 7,000 requested documents and another 31,000 allegedly went missing. The FCC wants the extra time to review the new material. The pause will last until Jan. 12.

News From You

diggsalot submitted the Phandroid article letting us know that Disney World is activating Apple Pay Wednesday Dec. 24th which has the side benefit of supporting Google Wallet as well. Restaurants and shops will get it first with portable payment terminals to be upgraded later. DisneyLAND expects to get Apple Pay sometime in 2015.

And habichuelcondulce pointed out the Business Insider story that Global Music Rights is demanding YouTube remove thousands of songs for not having performance rights. YouTube is covered by ASCAP/BMI licenses for many musical performances but Global Music Rights performers are not covered under those forganizations any longer. Google claims YouTube does have license covering the performance rights and that Global Music Rights can file DMCA claims if they disagree. Artists like Pharrell, the Eagles Chris Cornell and Smokey Robinson are part of Global Music Rights.

 

 

Discussion Links: Who are all these holiday people?!?

Happy Holidays and New Years! We’ll be back on Sunday January 4th, 2015 (!) with a live CES Preview Show

Today in Tech History – Dec. 23, 2014

20140404-073853.jpgIn 1947 – John Bardeen and Walter Brattain demonstrated their new discovery, transistor, at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey. William Shockley, who contributed to the invention, missed the presentation.

In 1968 – Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, James A. Lovell, Jr., and William A. Anders made the lunar-orbit-insertion maneuver on their way to becoming the first humans to orbit the Moon.

In 1986 – Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager touched down at Edwards Air Force Base in the experimental airplane Voyager, completing the first non-stop, round- the- world flight without refueling.

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Cordkillers 50 – State-sponsored Satire

What should Sony do with The Interview? Will anyone watch Vessel? Do you want a wristband to pause your TV?

 

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CordKillers: Ep. 50 – State-sponsored Satire
Recorded: December 22, 2014
Guest: Justin Robert Young

Intro Video 

Primary Target

  • You Will Get to See “The Interview,” Sony Lawyer Says
  • -Sony lawyer David Boies told Meet the Press Sunday:
    -“Sony has been fighting to get this picture distributed. It will be distributed.”
    – “What Sony is trying to do is to get the picture out to the public but at the same time to be sure the rights of its    employees and the rights of the movie going public are going to be protected.”

Signal Intelligence

  • Former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar Pulls Back the Curtain on Vessel, His YouTube Rival
  • – Jason Kilar posted 12/17 Vessel last week trying to encourage creators to apply.
    – Creators give Vessel a 3-day exclusive
    – Creators paid out of a pool of 60% of subscription revenue PLUS 70% of ad revenue (YT shares out 55% of ad revenue)
    – Has Shane Dawson and Ingrid Nilsen and Alec Baldwin
    – Has Time Inc. and Warner Music Group deals
    – Subscribers pay Vessel $3 a month plus watch ads
    – Free tier has ads too but not the early access
    – Vessel still won’t go live until next year.

Gear Up

Front Lines

Under Surveillance

2014 Winter Movie Draft
draft.diamondclub.tv

  1. Scott: $362,056,280
  2. Tom: $299,168,428
  3. Brian: $201,148,554
  4. Brett: $129,002,243
  5. John: $57,795,715
  6. Justin: $55,114,516

Dispatches from the Front

I think HBO will offer a two tier pricing structure. A 24.99 per month plan and a 19.99 per month plan with a 12 month contract. They will do this to discourage people from signing up just to watch a season of a particular show. I would guess there is more overhead if a lot of people subscribe to watch Game of Thrones and then cancel. Then they resubscribe to watch True Detective and again cancel when that season is over. This type of behavior will happen a lot more with a streaming service as I am sure it will be easier to cancel than trying to cancel from a cable company.

 

Ken

 

 

OK, so as your boss, I thought it would be a good idea for us to have this little chat. You see, as I look at my Patreon, I’ve been your supervisor now for 368 days… you know what that means? It means several things:

1.) I’m not a crappy boss, because you’re still here

2.) I need to give you more work, (see #1)

3.) It’s time for our annual employee performance review – please see attached, sign, and have back on my desk by close of business today.

Also based on you’re scores (if budget allows for it in 2015) there will be a Merritt increase for cost of living allocation, congratulations.

Thank you for your service to the organization, and let’s make 2015 a very successful year.

Your Boss

BigJim <>

 

 

 

Hi guys,
My wife and i just finished watching all episodes of Marco Polo ,we really enjoyed it, well, much more than you guys did. We were really looking forward to your spoilers on Marco Polo, , we agree with your initial critique of the 1 st ep , story really gets better after 3rd ep.

After watching it, what a disappointment the MP segment of spoilers was. you actually dd not even spoil anything. You guys became Shwood & Meritt @themovies, and proceeded to thrash the heck out of MP. Calling it a netflix flop ( maybe to those who didnt watch the entire show) , no story, etc. what bothered me, was you actually formed your opinions, not on 1 ep , but what you assumed the whole movie would be after only watching 45 min of a 500 min movie, wow, i could understand if you watched 5 or 6 eps and give up on it, .
I Just feel you were very harsh on MP, especially, since you spent so little time viewing it.

In past eps, you guys would want to stop watching certain show, but was told by the other, “just stick with it” it get better. imo, MP does get much better., Not games of thrones better, but what show right now does.?

you still might come to same conclusions of MP even if you had watched all episodes , now, that’s fair, but bashing a entire show based only 1 episode, i think thats a disservice to your viewer. But then again, i might be way off .

Some shows/ documentaries we loved an you might want to checkout, or not. Damages, The Killing, Happy Valley, Luther, Ripper Street, Peaky Blinder, Black Fish, Altman, Cray Love, Hot Coffee, Talhotblond, and one the best reality docs ‘Dear Zachary’.

thanks for your time.

cordially,
John G

Oh yeah, love the show

 

 

 

 AHEM! -> “Black Mirror: White Christmas
This feature-length special of Charlie Brooker’s dark drama series stars Mad Men’s Jon Hamm and consists of three interwoven stories. In a mysterious and remote snowy outpost, Matt and Potter share a Christmas meal, swapping creepy tales of their earlier lives in the outside world. Matt is a charismatic American trying to bring the reserved, secretive Potter out of his shell. But are both men who they appear to be? With Rafe Spall and Oona Chaplin
Channel 4 9:00pm Tue 16 Dec”

I guess you’ll have to wait to watch it since you don’t believe in VPN’s 😉

Carlos

 

 

 

Hey guys,
Last summer I wrote in to share my experience of reading the Game of Thrones books after having seen the show. After finishing the last book (and getting depressed when searching for info on the book 6 release) I decided to rewatch the series.
My wife had never expressed any interest in the show and had repeatedly told me that it wasn’t the type of genre she likes. I convinced her to at least watch the first episode with me and told her that she could go back to her other shows afterward. When the credits rolled on that first episode she grabbed the remote and immediately started episode 2. Now she makes me call her Khaleesi.
I thoroughly enjoyed the rewatch. The scenes have so much more meaning to me and I knew who everyone was and where everyone came from. Sharing it with my wife I immediately became that guy, the one who would pause the show every 10 minutes to fill her in on who people were and their back story. I also took great pleasure in seeing her reaction to the big series moments.
Now we both anxiously await the next season and it’ll definitely be a show that’s been added to the “don’t commit TV adultery” list.

Thanks,
Scott from Houston

 

Links

patreon.com/cordkillers
Dog House Systems Cordkiller box

DTNS 2391a – North Korea Internet Outage

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comA really short show in which Tom catches up on one headline missed in the show earlier in the day.

MP3

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

Attack Is Suspected as North Korean Internet Collapses

DTNS 2391 – The Interview: Dictator’s Cut

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comBreki Tomasson is on the show and we’ll talk about a self-destructing Blackberry, a new kind of battery storage and what Sony should do with “The Interview.”

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

Today’s guest: Breki Tomasson, founder of the CSICON podcasting network 

Headlines

Venturebeat reports that Google announced today that it has completed the first prototype of its self-driving vehicle. This is Google’s first fully functional self-driving car, complete with headlights, a steering wheel and pedal systems. Google says it plans to spend the holiday season driving it around the test track, with the goal of bringing the vehicle to Northern California streets in 2015.

Let’s catch you up on the weekend in Sony Pictures News. North Korea’s KCNA state news agency said regarding the group responsible for the attacks, “We do not know who or where they are but we can surely say that they are supporters and sympathizers with the DPRK.” The statement also suggested the US and North Korea should cooperate on an investigation to find the true perpetrators and said if the US did not cooperate the country would take counteraction against the US. Japan condemned the attacks but did not blame North Korea by name. Finally, Reuters reports that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the US Secretary of State that China “opposes all forms of cyberattacks and cyber terrorism,” but also stopped dhort of blaming North Korea. China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said “Before making any conclusions there has to be a full (accounting of) the facts and foundation.”

The New York Times passed along that Doug Madory, the director of Internet analysis at Dyn Research reports North Korea has lost access to the Internet. Access became unstable Friday, worsened over the wekend and disappeared by Monday morning. The difficulties seem consists with a DDoS attack according to Madory. The cause of the problem is unclear and no organization has claimed responsibility. North Korea has only 4 networks connecting it to the rest of the Internet, all running through China. The government might have taken the network down or it could be the work of outside actors.

The Next Web reports South Korean nuclear plant operator Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Coo. or KHNP is running cyber warfare drills after documentation such as manuals was copied from its servers and posted online last week. An account that posted the leaked documents on Friday warned that unless three reactors were closed by Christmas, people should “stay away” from them. KHNP has said the leaked data does not undermine the safety of the reactors which are also not on the same network as the severs that were compromised.

The Next Web repots that Google will begin selling Android One phones in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka in the next few weeks. Micromax, Karbonn and Spice from India, and Bangladeshi manufacturer Symphony will also begin retailing Android One devices, beginning with its Road A50.

Reuters reports Blackberry is working with Boeing on a high-security Android-based smartphone that would wipe it’s data if tampered with. Reuters says the phone uses dual SIM slots and can be configured to connect with biometric sensors and satellites. Boeing has begun offering the phone to potential customers.

ZDNet notes a recent ITG research report states Apple Pay was responsible for 1 percent of digital payment dollars spent in November while Google Wallet accounted for 4 percent. The report also indicated Apple Pay customers tend to return to merchants who accept Apple Pay. 60 percent of Apple Pay customers used Apple Pay on multiple days in November.

And just a note that a page has gone back up at thepiratebay.se with a pirate flag, a counter marking the time since the raid took the site down, and an AES string. A Slashdot posting notes the domain is pointing to a server in Moldova.

News From You

metalfreak sent us a PC World report that the new developer builds of the Chromebook software let users ask the laptop questions using the “OK Google” voice command. The feature is still experimental, with no guarantee of ending up in a consumer version of the Chromebook OS.

johndezember pointed out the Technology Review article on a new kind of battery invented by Jay Whitacre, a professor of materials science at Carnegie Mellon University. Electrical current in the battery is generated as sodium ions from a saltwater electrolyte shuttle between manganese oxide–based positive electrodes and carbon-based negative ones. The batteries are expected to last twice as long as lead-acid batteries and cost about the same to make. Their slow charhe and discharge makes them suitable for things like storing power from a solar panel. The professor’s startup, Aqion Energy is about to start full-scale production of the batteries at a factory in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania.

Discussion Links: What’s next for Sony?

http://recode.net/2014/12/21/you-will-get-to-see-the-interview-sony-lawyer-says/

https://gigaom.com/2014/12/22/the-fair-use-case-to-show-the-interview-if-sony-will-not/

http://www.2600.com/?q=content/offer-sony-2600

http://www.theverge.com/2014/12/22/7435199/sony-the-petition-petition-by-independent-movie-theaters

Pick of the Day: 

Hey DTNS folks. Tom made a comment about folks who didn’t have access to the Google Play store sometimes using Amazon as an alternate marketplace, so I wanted to share my favorite source for Android software, https://f-droid.org/. F-droid is a repository of free and open source software. You initially side load the app, but then it functions just like any app store, except it’s free, (both gratis and libre).

——–Nile