Daily Tech Headlines – October 25, 2017

DTH_CoverArt_1500x1500DirecTV moves away from satellite service, Microsoft drops Kinect manufacturing, Amazon announces Key to unlock customers’ doors.

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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
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It’s Spoilerin’ Time 192

Brian and Tom are back together and we talk Mindhunter, Firefly (Trash), and Mr. Robot (302). They also revisit Blade Runner 2049 and a Winter Movie Draft update! 

00:41 – Winter Movie Draft 2017
02:44 – Blade Runner 2049
05:19 – Mr. Robot (301-302)
11:31 – Mindhunter (101)
15:02 – Firefly (Trash)

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Today in Tech History – October 25, 2017

Today in Tech History logo1955 – 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.

http://www.edn.com/electronics-blogs/edn-moments/4399387/1st-domestic-microwave-is-sold–October-25–1955

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.

http://h71000.www7.hp.com/openvms/30th/t_past_text.html

2001 – Microsoft Windows XP hit retail shelves for the first time.
http://edition.cnn.com/2001/TECH/ptech/10/25/xp.london.launch/

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

DTNS 3144 – My Kid’s Toy is Smarter than Your Honor Student

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comAre we ready for AI toys? Plus, Facebook messes with the News Feed and wipes out some site traffic and US DoJ backs down on gag orders.
With Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Roger Chang and Patrick Beja.

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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
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Daily Tech Headlines – October 24, 2017

DTH_CoverArt_1500x1500iPhone X in stores, Facebook News Feed Test, US DoJ changes gag order policy.

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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 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 – October 24, 2017

Today in Tech History logo1861 – The first Transcontinental Telegraph line across the United States was completed, ending the need for the Pony Express which had only been around for a year and a half. Pony unemployment skyrocketed.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/western-union-completes-the-first-transcontinental-telegraph-line

1998 – NASA launched Deep Space 1, it’s mission to seek out an asteroid, specifically, asteroid 9969 Braille. When that mission ended up being only partially successful, it went after Comet Borrelly where it got some choice information.

http://science.nasa.gov/missions/deep-space-1/

2003 – The Concorde made its last commercial flight, a victim of air traffic reductions and rising maintenance costs. 100 passengers, including actress Joan Collins and model Christie Brinkley, made the flight from New York to London in the aircraft’s usual three and a half hours. Flights have been slower ever since.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/10/24/concorde.final/

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

Cordkillers 192 – Unsyncable Molly Brown (w/ Jason Murphy)

Nielsen rates Netflix shows whether Netflix ants it or not, Verizon keeps delaying its TV service. and TiVo has a new 4K box!
With special guest Jason Murphy.

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CordKillers: Ep. 192 – Unsyncable Molly Brown
Recorded: October 23 2017
Guest: Jason Murphy

Intro Video

Primary Target

  • Nielsen will now measure TV audiences on Netflix
    – Nielsen Subscription Video on Demand
    – Ratings, reaches, frequency and segmentation reporting for Netflix (and eventually Hulu, Amazon and others)
    – Testers to include NBCUniversal, Disney-ABC, A+E Networks, Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Television, and three (unnamed) others.
    – Will not cover mobile
    – Different than 2014 opt-in reporting service that only gave raw number estimates

How to Watch

What to Watch

What We’re Watching

Front Lines

  • TiVo’s upcoming DVR, the TiVo BOLT VOX, will include voice support
    – Dave Zatz at Zatz Not Funny spotted a product listing on Amazon for a new TiVo BOLT called the BOLT VOX with support for 4K Ultra HD. It’s listed as having 500 GB storage and support for OTA and cable. It also has voice control in the remote.
  • YouTube Red greenlights a Tinder-themed romantic comedy series called Swipe Right
    – YouTube Red greenlit a comedy series about Tinder called Swipe Right, starring Carly Craig from Role Models. Carly plays a single 35-year-old who decides to date all her 252 Tinder matches.
  • Topshop’s ‘Stranger Things’ collection is a fitting tribute to Barb
    – Netflix has partnered with UK’s Topshop and US Target on Stranger Things merchandise including T-shirts and figurines. Netflix also said it will take on $1.6 billion in debt to help it pay for new productions in 2018.
  • Netflix, Amazon, movie studios sue over TickBox streaming device
    – Netflix and Amazon have joined several movie studios in suing TickBox, one of those many Android-based boxes that promises to deliver free TV. While TickBox explicitly says it does not condone piracy and that its box is not to be used for such purposes it also says you can “access movies and shows that are still on Demand and episodes of TV that were just aired. You will never pay to watch any of them.”
  • Snapchat to make original TV-style shows
    – Snap Inc. and NBCUniversal are partnering on a new digital content studio to make original scripted video in the three-five minute long format. The first original show will be produced with US film and TV producers Mark and Jay Duplass and and their new Donut creative studio
  • Chelsea Handler’s Netflix talk show will end after two seasons
    – Chelsea Handler’s Netflix talk show will come to an end after season two. Handler will release a documentary on Netflix where she engages with “people of different ethnicities, religions and political philosophies. She also plans become more engaged in the US political process.

Dispatches from the Front
Hi –

I loved the discussion about Movies Anywhere in Episode 191. I was so excited, I signed up at my first available opportunity. Connecting all the services went VERY smoothly on my cell phone EXCEPT for iTunes (I’m an Android), but I even got that connected once I got to a desktop. Libraries on the various services either updated immediately or with a refresh.

According to this article in The Verge, 4K upgrades are apparently limited to Apple titles:
https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/13/16464000/how-to-use-movies-anywhere-app-features

Example: I own Glory in HD on Vudu (Disc upgrade). It is available on all of the other services, but there is a 4K version on Amazon. I do not have access to that one, even after registering with Movies Anywhere.

I hope other studios get on board with the 4K upgrades. It also irks me that the 4K versions of some movies are only available on one service (two I know about: Star Trek Beyond is only 4K on Vudu, Glory is only 4K on Amazon). This obstacle will slow the adoption of 4K – convenience trumps fidelity!

Your Boss 🙂
– Chris
 

 

On the most recent episode (10/16) you mentioned that MoviesAnywhere links to partners to purchase content. Total bummer (but not surprising) that it does not do price comparison. I use the JustWatch app on my phone to do comparison shopping. It does a good job of aggregating rental and purchase pricing.
Thanks!

Mark
 

 

 

Not sure if you’ve mentioned this website before or not, but gowatchit.com is an extremely useful website showing all the places you can watch a movie, to buy, rent or get tickets to. Includes all kinds of services and on demands from cable.

(Found while looking up a movie called Dealt about a Richard Turner, a blind magician. Brian would probably be interested)

Keep up the great work you guys!

– Justin

 

 

Hey Tom and Brian have you heard about Sinemia? I just recently discovered it when I was considering signing up for MoviePass. They have plans starting off at $10 a month. It’s not unlimited movies like MoviePass, yet you are able to see 2D 3D and IMAX movies. And from what I can tell you’re able to reserve your seat ahead of time unlike MoviePass which requires you to be near the theater.
Keep up the good work guys

Your boss
– Pete

 

Links

2017 Winter Movie Draft
patreon.com/cordkillers

DTNS 3143 – Don’t Cast Kaspersions On Our Antivirus Software

Logo by Mustafa Anabtawi thepolarcat.comIt’s a mailbag Monday as we cover viewer questions and feedback regarding 2-factor authentication, noise in the workplace, and nested playlists.

Featuring Tom Merrit, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang and Veronica Belmont.

MP3

Using a Screen Reader? Click here

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

Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.

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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 – October 23, 2017

DTH_CoverArt_1500x1500Cisco buys BroadSoft, the UK cracks down on gambling kids, Tesla launches Shanghai plant.

MP3

Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.

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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 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 – October 23, 2017

Today in Tech History logo1906 – Alberto Santos-Dumont flew an airplane in the first heavier-than-air flight in Europe at Champs de Bagatelle, Paris, France. Some argue he should be credited with the first flight at all. But that’s a long controversy.
http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/scitech/impacto/graphic/aviation/alberto.html

1995 – A federal judge for the first time authorized a wiretap of a computer network, leading to hacking charges against a young Argentinean for breaking into sensitive US government networks.

http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2009/10/1023first-computer-wiretap/

2001 – Apple announced their new music player, the iPod. Apple used PortalPlayer’s reference platform and hired Pixo to design and implement the user interface. The iPod became the first massively successful digital music player.

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2001/10/23Apple-Presents-iPod.html

2012 – Apple announced the iPad Mini at 7.9 inches.

http://techland.time.com/2012/10/23/apple-announces-ipad-mini-for-329-fourth-generation-ipad/

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