Today in Tech History – November 29, 2017

Today in Tech History logo1777 – The Spanish founded California’s first civilian settlement called Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe. It would become the future state’s first capital and eventually the heart of Silicon Valley.

http://www.sanjoseca.gov/about.asp

1910 – The first US patent for a traffic signal system was issued to Ernest E. Sirrine. It switched an illuminated sign between the words “stop” and “proceed.”

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=0976939.PN.&OS=PN/0976939&RS=PN/0976939

1972 – Nolan Bushnell installed a coin-operated arcade game at Andy Capp’s tavern in Sunnyvale, California. It only played Allan Alcorn’s Pong. Within four months there were 10,000 across the country.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3900/the_history_of_pong_avoid_missing_.php?print=1

1974 – The January issue of Popular Electronics was published featuring the Altair 8800 microcomputer from Micro Instrumentation Telemetry Systems in Albuquerque, New Mexico on the cover. For $439 you got everything you needed to build a computer in one kit boasting 256 bytes of memory!

http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/PopularElectronics/Jan1975/PE_Jan1975.htm

Read Tom’s science fiction and other fiction books at Merritt’s Books site.

DTNS 3167 – Los Cines Mexicanos son más Inteligente

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comMicrosoft puts tabs in everything, another promise of hybrid electric planes, and how Netflix affects content distribution in Mexico and beyond.
With Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang and Dan Campos.

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 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 Anthony Lemos of Ritual Misery for the expanded show notes!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, Jack_Shid, KAPT_Kipper, and scottierowland on the subreddit

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

Daily Tech Headlines – November 28, 2017

DTH_CoverArt_1500x1500Softbank putting money into Uber, Facebook Suicide Prevention efforts roll out worldwide, Tumblr’s founder is leaving.

MP3

Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.

Follow us on Soundcloud.

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 theme music.

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

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, Jack_Shid, KAPT_Kipper, and scottierowland on the subreddit

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

Cordkillers 197 – Kibbles in My Keyboard

New plans for Marvel, Plex can delete commercials from your DVR recordings, and we check in on the gear and services we use to watch our stuff.

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CordKillers: Ep. 197 – Kibbles in My Keyboard
Recorded: November 27 2017
Guest: None

Intro Video

Primary Target

How to Watch

  • Tom’s device report or Why I still need a Roku even though I find myself using Apple TV more and more.

What to Watch

  • Why Eileen and Tom seemed to have started “collecting” movies again.

What We’re Watching

Front Lines

  • House of Cards ‘hopes to resume soon’ – without Kevin Spacey
    – Production on House of Cards season six is expected to resume December 8 without Kevin Spacey. Writers have been working during the hiatus, presumably to figure out what to do with Spacey’s character, Frank Underwood.
  • Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige says the next 20 Marvel films will be ‘completely different’
    – Marvel has 22 films from the release of Iron Man to the end of Phase Three with a fourth Avengers film in 2019. But in an interview with Vanity Fair, Kevin Feige said “we’ve got another 20 movies on the docket that are completely different from anything that’s come before — intentionally.” As well as “There will be two distinct periods. Everything before Avengers 4 and everything after.” The only films acknowledged in this fourth phase are Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy sequels.
  • Plex’s DVR now lets you skip the commercials… by removing them for you
    – Plex confirmed to TechCrunch that it is a rolling out a feature for it’s over-the-air DVR function that will automatically remove commercials from recordings. Plex’s documentation warns the feature can take some time and cause high CPU utilization. It’s available in beta now for PLex Pass subscribers.
  • YouTube TV gets picture-in-picture support on Android Oreo
    – YouTube TV subscribers lucky enough to have a device that can upgrade to Android Oreo can now do picture in picture. That means you can keep the video from TV streaming while you do other things on your phone or tablet. Netflix, Chrome, VLC, and Facebook also support the feature.
  • Netflix’s She’s Gotta Have It tells a familiar story in a new way
    – Spike Lee has created a Netflix series based on his 1986 debut movie “She’s Gotta Have It.” The series focuses on struggling Brooklyn artist Nola Darling who’s in a casual relationship with three very different men. It premiered on Netflix November 23rd.
  • This Could Be the First Look at Altered Carbon, Netflix’s Very Expensive New Scifi Series
    – A Reddit account called Last Envoy has been posting images that look to be art referring to Netflix’s upcoming 10-episode series “Altered Carbon” based on the book by Richard K. Morgan The GIFS depict the Skin Jobs Dive Bar, Smokes N Vapr shop, and a noodle joint. Netflix isn’t commenting.
  •  

Dispatches from the Front

Hey guys!

Just wanted to follow up after my email caused a stir regarding how I have been using Moviepass.

It does take 7 movie tickets in order to get enough points for a free small popcorn, and I upgrade it to a large for $2.00. Before Moviepass, I NEVER bought conscessons (I’m in my mid 20s) and now I spend $2 almost every time I see a movie. It’s not like they are losing money I would have spent, I wouldn’t buy popcorn at all and just see the movie. Based on the ticket cut and how cheap popcorn is to make, I believe Regal is still benefiting from my Moviepass adventures.

Regarding the Moviepass terms of service, I’ll need to take a closer look…

Thanks for the show,
Joshua

 

 

Hey guys,
I cut the cord yesterday and stumbled across your podcast (and love it!). Since I’ve only listened to a couple episodes so far, maybe you’ve already addressed these topics (and sorry if that’s the case) but I had a couple of questions for you.
A little background first – I live in West LA, my cable company was Spectrum, I currently have Netflix and Hulu subscriptions and view them on the Roku. I also ordered an HDTV antenna to install on my roof and suspect I’ll be able to get the main channels for free. Now, the questions – 1) I need a new internet provider… not sure where to go… were you guys in the same situation? What was your solution? (Spectrum was charging too much and wouldn’t budge on price so I cancelled it on a whim, it will be shut off on Dec 12).
2) My only real issue now is how I’ll watch my favorite show (Better Call Saul!). There’s no AMC on Hulu and I really don’t want to pay Sling $20/month for ONE SHOW. Is there another way to watch it when it airs again? Should I buy episodes as they air on Amazon Prime? Assuming they’re available the next day. Is there a better way?
Thanks again for the podcast. Great job, and I’ll pass the word along to my friends!
Lisa

 

 

Hello Tom and Brian,

I wondering if you think Disney’s new streaming service could be the return of the “Disney Vault”?

For the audience members who might not know what this it. During the VHS era, Disney would pull movies from stores and they would disappear for years to be re-released in some sort of new edition that had nothing new about it.

I am wondering if we could something like that happen with all Disney content. You go on iTunes, Google Play, Netflix, etc. and movies like Star Wars, The Marvel Cinematic Universe and Disney Animation can not be purchase or watched unless you subscribe to Disney’s Streaming Service. Then every time there is an anniversary of a films release they allow it to be sold on other platforms for a limited time at a marked up price.

Also, I could see Disney tier their service where you pay different prices for access to more popular content.

What are your thoughts on this? Speak to me oh Captains of Cordkilling!!

Josh

     

Links

2017 Winter Movie Draft
patreon.com/cordkillers

Today in Tech History – November 28, 2017

Today in Tech History logo1660 – Twelve men, including Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, and Sir Robert Moray met after Wren’s astronomy lecture to discuss the formal constitution of a society of philosophers that would become the Royal Society. It still exists and recently opened its archives on the Web.

http://royalsociety.org/about-us/history/

1814 – For the first time, an automatic steam-powered press printed The Times in London. German inventors Friedrich Koenig and Andreas Friedrich Bauer built the press. The Times quickly pointed out that they would not layoff workers, but instead increase printing, bringing the paper to a wider audience.

http://books.google.com/books?id=WAoGd7HfTB8C&pg=PA35&lpg=PA35&dq=november+28+1814+steam+Times&source=bl&ots=a6qKyzOeYD&sig=UjjQ47T_VoOpSMpaASm3dJ8UiW4&hl=en#v=onepage&q=november%2028%201814%20steam%20Times&f=false

1964 – NASA launched Mariner 4 toward Mars where it would conduct the first successful flyby of the red planet.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/missions/index-past.html

Read Tom’s science fiction and other fiction books at Merritt’s Books site.

DTNS 3166 – Fidget Phone

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comThe future of robots in the warehouse, plus methadone for your phone addiction and Facebook’s efforts at suicide prevention.
With Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Roger Chang and Thomas McLeod

MP3

Using a Screen Reader? Click here

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

Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.

Follow us on Soundcloud.

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 Anthony Lemos of Ritual Misery for the expanded show notes!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, Jack_Shid, KAPT_Kipper, and scottierowland on the subreddit

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

Daily Tech Headlines – 11/27/2017

DTH_CoverArt_1500x1500Amazon offers new VR/AR development platform, Snapchat can recognize your dog now, and a new Galaxy S phone might arrive at CES.

MP3

Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.

Follow us on Soundcloud.

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 theme music.

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

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, Jack_Shid, KAPT_Kipper, and scottierowland on the subreddit

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

Today in Tech History – November 27, 2017

Today in Tech History logo1971 – The Soviet Union’s Mars 2 orbiter released its descent module which probably had too steep an angle of entry, and malfunctioned and crashed. But hey, it was still the first manmade object to reach the surface of Mars.

http://history.nasa.gov/printFriendly/marschro.htm

1998 – The Sega Dreamcast game console launched in Japan.
http://www.giantbomb.com/dreamcast/3045-37/

2001 – Scientists announced they had used the Hubble telescope to detect and analyze the atmosphere on an extrasolar planet for the first time. The planet HD 209458 b, unofficially called Osiris was found to have sodium in its atmosphere.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast27nov_1/

Read Tom’s science fiction and other fiction books at Merritt’s Books site.

DTNS LABS – INTERVIEW – Joe Keeley

DTNS Labs LogoTom chats with Joe Keeley, CTO at MartianCraft, about developing for iOS.

MP3

For all DTNS shows, please SUBSCRIBE HERE.

Follow us on Soundcloud.

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 Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the DTNS logo and Ryan Officer for the DTNS Labs take!

Today in Tech History – November 26, 2017

Today in Tech History logo1894 – Norbert Wiener was born in Columbia, Missouri. He would get his BA in mathematics at age 14 but is most remembered for his theory of regulation and of signal transmission which he called “cybernetics”

http://www.isss.org/lumwiener.htm

1922 – “Toll of the Sea” debuted. It was the first color movie that didn’t require a special projector, the second technicolor film ever, and the first in wide release.
http://archive.org/details/TheTollOfTheSeanovember261922

2003 – The final flight of a Concorde ended when the supersonic jet touched down at Filton, Bristol, England, the airfield where it was built.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bristol/somerset/3238674.stm

Read Tom’s science fiction and other fiction books at Merritt’s Books site.