Iyaz Akhtar and Sean Hollister are on the show. We’ve got news coming out of E3 from Microsoft who swears they love games so please forgive them. Also did a chatbot pass the Turing test? Sort of.

MP3

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 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 and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes

Today’s guests:  Iyaz Akhtar, CNET and GFQ Network

Headlines

CNET reports Microsoft made its E3 announcements and focused on games and thanking fans. The star of the show was Halo. The Master Chief Collection will come to Xbox One November 11, allowing players to take on almost every Halo game including Halo 2 multiplayer. Purchasers also get a crack at the beta of Halo 5 Guardians which isn’t scheduled for release until sometime in 2015. Further hitching their hopes to Halo, Microsoft announced Halo Nightfall, a live-action weekly series directed by Sergio Mimica-Gezzan and produced by Ridley Scott. The series will be part of the Master Chief Collection.

Of course Microsoft had lots of other things to announce as well, but the focus was firmly on games. A sequel called Rise of Tomb Raider was announced coming in late 2015 as well as the announcement of a new Crackdown. Foul-mouthed squirrel Conker is coming to Project Spark. The hit mobile game Threes comes to the decidedly not mobile Xbox One this year. And Sunset Overdrive got a release date of October 28th. 

Engadget reports EA announced developer DICE is making Star Wars: Battlefront for a spring 2015 launch. Also the Sims 4 will come to PCs September 2nd. Sims will have “heart,” can die of laughter and can be imported into someone else’s game.

The Next Web reports Microsoft has redesigned Skype for iOS from the ground to give it a consistent look and feel with Windows Phone and Android apps. Microsoft promises the app will be five times faster, with smoother scrolling and synced notifications. Users will also be able to start group chats from the main hub and send messages and photos to offline users. The new app will arrive in Apple’s App Store in about a week. 

Ars Technica reports Netflix released a new monthly speed index for May showing Verizon FiOS dropping two slots behind DSL providers Frontier and Windstream. Netflix reached an interconnection deal with Verizon that should improve performance but is still being set up. GigaOm reports Netflix also announced they will stop a test on June 16 that shows error messages claiming a particular ISP is “crowded” when connections suffer. 

TechCrunch reports Minecraft creator MArkus Persson AKA Notch has released his latest game called Cliffhorse in which you control a horse on a hilly green landscape as it pushes a ball. The game is free to download though users can choose to pay dogecoin or Bitcoins if they like and is available for Windows.

TechCrunch reports Facebook has launched a new app called Slingshot that lets you send annotated pictures and videos to friends, who can only see them if they send something back. Unlocked shots can be held to view later, but once swiped away they are not stored. The app is not available in all markets around the world.

News From You

KAPT_Kipper submitted the BBC story that Sony sold 18.7 million game consoles in its fiscal year that ended in March putting it in front of Nintendo which sold 163 million. That’s the first time Sony has passed Nintendo in 8 years. Nintendo fans may take solace int he fact that figures released for the last week of May, showed 19,312 Wii Us were bought in Japan compared to just 6,022 copies of the PS4.

melchizedek74 posted the CNET story about Amazon expanding their “Login and Pay” service to allow for recurring payments like subscriptions. Login and Pay lets customers use their Amazon account and its associated payment methods, to buy products on non-Amazon sites. Amazon has been testing the new subscription portion of the service with mobile phone service company Ting.

Our top story on the subreddit today, comes from tekkyn00b. The Verge reports developer Frederic Jacobs noticed that iOS 8 will randomize a phone’s MAC address when searching for WiFi hotspots, reducing the chances that your phone can be identified. Lots of businesses, especially at malls and shopping centers, gather the publicly broadcast MAC addresses in order to gather marketing data on shoppers. While shops promise they do not collect personally identifiable information, randomizing the MAC address broadcast to WiFi will make sure of it.

And Berke80 sent in the Engadget story that Elon Musk told folks at the UK launch of the Tesla Model S yesterday, that he wants to open the designs of the Supercharger system in order to make a standard that other car makers can adopt. Musk would require participating companies to include charging costs in the cost of the car and help pay to maintain the supercharger network.

Discussion Section Links

http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/9/5793642/halo-nightfall-digital-series-coming-to-xbox-from-producer-ridley-scott

http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/09/halo-master-chief-collection/?ncid=rss_truncated

http://www.cnet.com/news/lara-croft-plans-to-raid-the-xbox-holiday-2015/#ftag=CAD590a51e

http://thenextweb.com/media/2014/06/09/halo-nightfall-digital-series-headed-xbox-one-remastered-halo-compilation-november/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=profeed&utm_reader=feedly

http://www.cnet.com/news/halo-5-confirmed-for-2015-halo-master-chief-collection-out-in-november/#ftag=CAD590a51e

http://www.cnet.com/news/e3-2014-microsoft-xbox-one-focus-is-all-about-games/#ftag=CAD590a51e

http://recode.net/2014/06/09/an-ai-program-allegedly-passed-the-turing-test-so-what/

http://io9.com/why-the-turing-test-is-bullshit-1588051412
http://www.princetonai.com/

Pick of the day:  PC Perspective’s Hardware Leaderboard via Andy Welch

Andy Welch has our pick of the day: “For building a desktop, I’d like to recommend PC Perspective’s Hardware Leaderboard as a very useful reference. I don’t have time (or interest) in keeping up with the latest in pc hardware, but when I need a new desktop pc every few years, this is a great spot that I go to. They update it monthly to provide an updated list of major components based on current prices and technology. They show 4 different builds from about $500 low end, $1000, $1300, and $3000 top end. I’ve used it myself and recommend it to others all the time.”

Tuesday’s Guest: Raj Deut, of Reckoner Australia and 1,000 Words On

Darren Kitchen and Eklund are on the show today to talk about companies responding to the 1st anniversary of the PRISM leaks from Edward Snowden. Also Len Peralta will be here to illustrate!

MP3

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 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 and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes

Today’s guests: Darren Kitchen of hak5.org, Len Peralta of the arts & Eklund of hockeybuzz.com 

Headlines

As MRAnthropology submitted on the subreddit, The Guardian reports mobile phone carrier Vodafone published a Law Enforcement Disclosure Report revealing how many requests for personal information the company gets by country, where it was legal to report such information. Vodafone also revealed wires have been connected directly to it and other telecom’s networks to allow government agencies to listen record and track the whereabouts of customers. These wire taps do not require warrants and Vodafone is allowed no oversight. Information on taps was not disclosed about Albania, Egypt, Hungary, India, Malta, Qatar, Romania, South Africa and Turkey where it is illegal to reveal intercepts. Ireland denied Vodafone permission to publish such info. Vodafone is making a call to end direct access to communications data. direct government wiretaps.

Nikkei Asian Review reports that sources say Apple will bring out a watch-like device running iOS this October. The device would have a curved OLED screen and collect health-related data, as well as send and received messages sent by smartphone. Apple will also partner with Nike to integrate services according to the rumor.

The Next Web reports Yahoo continues its move to get rid of third-party log ins on its site. Yahoo’s photo-sharing site, Flickr will no longer accept Facebook or Google IDs as logins after June 30. Users of Flickr are urged to create a Yahoo account if they don’t already have one, and then link that account to Flickr.

TechCrunch reports Amazon’s secret June 18 announcement will be a phone with a 3D interface, but then every self-respecting blog is reporting that. What TechCrunch found out is that the phone will use Omron’s Okao Vision face sensing technology to track the user’s head and project the three image in the right way. The tech allows a user to tilt their head to access side panels hidden from the interface otherwise. The system which uses four infrared cameras can also recognize faces and and estimate gender, age and ethnicity although TechCrunch doesn’t believe Amazon has taken advantage of these last features.

The Next Web reports Google announced its Play Movies and TV Chrome app now has an offline mode on Chrome OS. That means you can watch shows on your Chromebook even when you’re in a place without Internet like some backwards airline or city park bench. Google also announced that it is making Chromebooks available in nine more countries – New Zealand, the Philippines, Norway, Denmark, Mexico, Chile, Belgium, Spain and Italy.

Engadget reports the University of Michigan will open up its Mobility Transformation Facility this autumn for testing self-driving cars. The 32-acre research center will have a four-lane highway, city streets and road signs, street lights, roundabouts and various road surfaces. Pop-up pedestrians and mechanized bicycles will also keep things interesting. A Ford Fusion Hybrid will be the first test vehicle, but General Motors and Toyota are also involved. No plans to make Freshman use the facility to walk to class.

Engadget reports on the release of Ted Nelson’s Xanadu, released in April at Chapman University after 54 years in development. Nelson coined the term “hypertext” and began work on Xanadu in 1960. The software can embed clickable links in documents that when clicked lead to targeted information without closing the original document, shrinking out of the way or scaling up for side-by-side comparison. Nelson didn’t have the resources to beat Tim Berners-Lee to the punch but Nelson still believes Xanadu could replace a lot of what people use PDF’s for.

News From You

MikePKennedy submitted the Engadget report on VICE’s claims that US cable companies are funding groups that pretend to represent consumers in the campaign over net neutrality rules. Broadband for America for instance describes itself as a coalition involving “independent consumer advocacy groups,” and is funded by the NCTA. The American Consumer Institute is fighting against net neutrality and receives its funding from the CTIA. 

KAPT_Kipper submitted the Wall Street Journal post that research from Adobe shows Google’s browsers are the most popular in the US now, passing Microsoft. The survey combines desktop and mobile browsers. Google’s Chrome and Android browsers had 31.8% share in April, up from around 26% the prior year. Internet Explorer had 30.9% share, down from roughly 37% a year ago. IE is still the most popular on desktops alone though with 43% and Safari is the mot popular on mobile with 59%. But neither is popular on the other platform and Google is popular on both.

Discussion Section Links

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/microsoft-to-us-stop-hacking-data-centers-2014-06-05

http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_on_the_issues/archive/2014/06/04/unfinished-business-on-government-surveillance-reform.aspx

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/03/google-offers-new-encryption-tool/?_php=true&_type=blogs&hpw&rref=technology&_r=0

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jun/06/vodafone-reveals-secret-wires-allowing-state-surveillance
http://www.vodafone.com/content/sustainabilityreport/2014/index/operating_responsibly/privacy_and_security/law_enforcement.html#eocp

Pick of the day:  Big Oven via Tom!

http://www.bigoven.com/ 

Schedule for live streams of Phoenix ComicCon via Alpha Geek Radio available here:  http://bit.ly/AGRPhoenix

Monday’s Guest: Iyaz Akhtar  

Veronica Belmont is on the show and we’ll talk about the boost to Xbox graphics Microsoft just got by unbundling the Kinect. Also Twitch shows research that gamers are happier, more well-adjusted and love their families more than non-gamers.

MP3

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 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 and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes

Today’s guests: Veronica Belmont, co-host of Sword & Laser

Headlines

TechCrunch reports Google has admitted its Project Tango tablet exists and will make it available to developers in late June for $1024. Project Tango is a 3D sensing system previously shown by Google in a smart phone using two cameras and rear depth sensor. The tablet carries these cameras as well as an NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a 1080p display, stock Android 4.4, WiFi, Bluetooth LE and 4G LTE. If you’re interested you’ll need to sign up at google.com/atap/projecttango/ as the developer kits these tablets are a part of will be available in limited quantities. 

TechCrunch reports that the dating app Tinder is launching something called “Moments” allowing people who have been matched to share temporary messages including photos which only exist for 24 hours. Users can choose to like or dislike a photo and strike up a conversation based on it. What could possibly go wrong?

ZDNet reports Microsoft is making its Kinect for Windows v2available for preorder today, June 5 for $199 through the Microsoft store. Sensors will be shipped around July 15 along with the release fo the accompanying SDK. Developers can build applications for the new sensor with C++, C#, or Visual Studio Basic by using Microsoft Visual Studio 2010. General availability of Kinect for Windows will come a few months later. 

CNBC reports Verizon has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Netflix over the buffering message Netflix displays when having streaming issues that says “The Verizon Network is crowded right now.” Verizon general counsel Randal Milch wrote in the letter to Netflix general counsel David Hyman that Verizon wanted Netflix to immediately stop showing the message, as well as provide a list of customers to whom the message had been shown or Verizon may “pursue legal remedies.” Netflix Spokesman Jonathan Friedland said “We are trying to provide more transparency, just like we do with the ISP Speed Index, and Verizon is trying to shut down that discussion.” 

Reuters reports Barnes and Noble will develop a tablet with Samsung to boost ebook sales. The tablets would feature Barnes and Noble’s Nook software. A 7-inch version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook is set for n early August launch in the US. Barnes and Noble will continue to offer its Nook GlowLight e-book reader.

Here’s what Amazon’s doing. The Next Web reports on Amazon launching a page where anyone can ask to be invited to a June 18th event in Seattle where Amazon will announce something that makes people in their promotional video say “whoa” a lot. Rumors have abounded that Amazon was developing a smart phone with a 3D interface. Which might make even paid actors convincingly say whoa. If you would like to test out whether the announcement will make you say whoa, sign up for an invite at www.amazon.com/oc/launchevent

News From You

Our top story on the Subreddit was a Slashdot post submitted by Kylde, pointing to a Motherboard article that details all the ways fiber has been built in many places in the US and then blocked from use by telecoms to protect profit margins. The article covers a range of situations usually involving city governments granting contracts to companies like Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, and Verizon to build fiber networks in exchange for not allowing any other entities to use them. Which often means nobody but the city government gets to use them. 

daddn sent us the Forbes article that passes along info from 9to5Mac whose sources say Apple submitted specs to its licensing partners for headphones that use the lightning connector instead of the headphone jack. The advantage would be digital audio and more options for headphones to control apps. The downside would be if Apple used the ability to get rid of the headphone jack in future devices. Current devices would need a firmware update to enable the functionality if it ends up to be true. 

tekkyn00b sent us the TechCrunch story about an easter egg discovered in Google’s end-to-end encryption extension by Zen Albatross. A comment that reads “SSL added and removed here” followed by a winky. It’s a reference to the same phrase showing up in a leaked NSA document that illustrated how the NSA was able to spy on encrypted traffic from Google. 

habichuelcondulce submitted the Reuters story citing a person who says Sprint has agreed to acquire T-Mobile for around $32 billion. The deal is not final according to the source, as both sides have to do due diligence and arrange financing.Deutsche Telekom owns 67% of T-Mobile while Softbank owns the majority of Sprint. The deal would also require regulatory approval. AT&T sought to acquire T-Mobile three years ago but was blocked by the US Department of Justice. 

And bluntheadtrauma posted the ZDNet article about a fix to OpenSSL for a potential man in the middle attack. Unlike Heartbleed which affected any server, the attacker would need to control a network connection to exploit this vulnerability and non-OpenSSL clients (IE, Firefox, Chrome on Desktop and iOS, Safari etc) aren’t affected. All OpenSSL installations should be upgraded in any case.

 

 

Discussion Section Links

http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/05/microsofts-xbox-one-controllers-now-work-with-pcs/?ncid=rss

http://majornelson.com/2014/06/05/pc-drivers-for-the-xbox-one-controller-available-now/

http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/05/microsoft-xbox-one-is-faster-without-kinect/

https://twitter.com/XboxP3

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-06-04-xbox-one-dev-kits-receive-more-gpu-bandwidth

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2459037,00.asp

Pick of the day:   Mint.com via Producer Jennie

Jennie’s pick of the day is Mint.com This online budgeting service is simple and easy to set up/use. It reminds you about upcoming bills, warns you when you’ve gone over budget in a particular category, and provides suggestions on ways to save money.  While it’s not meant to be full-fledged accounting software like Quicken, Mint is an excellent day-to-day reality check on just how much you’re spending.  Free.

Schedule for live streams of Phoenix ComicCon via Alpha Geek Radio available here:  http://bit.ly/AGRPhoenix

Friday’s Guests:  Darren Kitchen of hak5.org, Len Peralta of the arts & Eklund of hockeybuzz.com 

Allison Sheridan Sheridan is on the show and we’ll talk about Netflix’s error message spat with Verizon and Google’s new end-to-end email encryption scheme.

MP3

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 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 and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes

Today’s guests: Allison Sheridan, Allison Sheridan, host of NosillaCast at podfeet.com

Headlines:

Our top story on the subreddit was submitted by davidpolanco today. The New York Time reports   Google released source code Tuesday for a Chrome extension called “End to End” that would provide OpenPGP encryption for messages within a browser. In other words, end to end encryption for Gmail users. Google wants developers to look for security vulnerabilities before the extension is released for wide use. Google will pay for any bugs found through its Vulnerability Reward program. Google already encrypts Web traffic to its Gmail product but that only works if the recipients provider also encrypts. Google released a report showing that 40-50 percent of email did not end up encrypted at the other end. Comcast was one of the worst with only 1% of its email ending up encrypted. Comcast told the Wall Street Journal its working on an encryption program for its customers that it hopes to roll out within weeks. 

Ars Technica reports that Microsoft has announced dozens of social and media apps will come to the XBox One as part of the next update. Among the apps announced for US users are HBO Go, Twitter, several cable TV network apps. All of these apps will be available without an Xbox Live paid account, as will existing apps like Netflix. Microsoft did not announce when the update will arrive but the company will have their E3 announcement in just 5 days. 

The BBC reports authorities in the Central African Republic have banned the use of SMS text messaging in the country as an emergency measure. Demonstrations have been taking place in the capital, Bangui, and a mass text campaign called for a general strike. Mobile phone users in CAR now get a message in French saying “SMS not allowed”. A government source told AFP the suspension might only last a few days.

The Washington Post reports The US Secret Service posted a work order Monday for software that can detect sarcasm in social media. The order also wants the software to synthesize large sets of data and present it visually. And it must be compatible with IE8. So if you think you can identify influencers in real time on a heat map and detect when posts are being sarcastic, and root out false positives, just submit your proposal by tomorrow, June 9 at 5 PM. I’m sure that’s plenty of time.

The Next Web reports LinkedIn revamped its premium accounts so paying members can choose a custom background, larger photo, and expanded header. Premium users also get keyword suggestions and receive emphasis in search. Paying members also get a full 90-day list of who viewed their profile and how they rank against first-degree connections. A new premium starter package including the new features will cost $10 a month.

The waterproof Sony Smartband is finally coming to secondary markets like the US and UK for $99 and £80 respectively. The band counts steps and tracks sleep activity but also notes weather and vibrates for incoming text messages and phone calls. Sony released the band in Europe earlier this year for 99 Euros.

News From You

KAPT_Kipper submitted the Verge story that Vox Media designer Yuri Victor noted a new error message on Netflix last night when the service hit a bandwidth snag. It read, “The Verizon network is crowded right now.” Netflix’s Jonathan Friedland confirmed that the company is testing the phrasing for its messages. Verizon responded that the message deliberately misleads customers.  

spsheridan posted a Reuters story about China’s People’s Daily stating on its blog that companies such as Yahoo, Cisco, Microsoft and Facebook should be punished as pawns of the US Government. The post referred to the companies involvement in the PRISM spying program leaked by Edward Snowden and published June 6 last year. The English-language China Daily echoed the sentiments. 

dwsoulsby submitted the TechRadar story about Intel’s goal to make computing wire free by 2016. Intel’s SVP of Computing Kirk Skaugen said it would do so using an upcoming CPU reference design codenamed Skylake – which will succeed Broadwell – that uses the company’s WiGig tech (rather than cables) to carry and display data signals. WiGig can send data at 7Gbps over short distances, making it candidate to replace HDMI, USB, DisplayPort and other short distance wires. Skaugen also said the company is looking at integrating wireless charging.

TheLinuxNinja pointed out the Wires article about a program created by Berlin artist Julian Oliver called Glasshole.sh. It detects any Google Glass device attempting to connect to a WiFi network by MAC Address. It then ses the program Aircrack-NG to impersonate the network and send a “deauthorization” command, cutting the headset’s Wi-Fi connection. Oliver has only tested the device on his own studio’s network. 

Discussion Section Links: 

http://www.cnet.com/news/netflix-takes-aim-at-verizon-over-slow-data-speeds/#ftag=CAD590a51e

http://www.theverge.com/2014/6/4/5780006/verizon-slams-netflix-pr-stunt-that-told-users-their-isps-were

http://publicpolicy.verizon.com/blog/entry/shifting-blame

http://ispspeedindex.netflix.com/

http://ispspeedindex.netflix.com/usa

https://twitter.com/yurivictor/status/473978204852453376

https://twitter.com/jsf33/status/473992321394954241

http://gigaom.com/2014/06/04/isp-to-netflix-please-come-to-hong-kong/

http://reg.hkbn.net/WwwCMS/upload/pdf/en/140604%20Letter%20to%20Netflix%20Signed%20Scanned%20Copy.pdf

Pick of the day:   Air Droid via Kevin Kipp

After hearing you talking about device management and wireless file transfers coming soon to Apple’s ecosystem (WWDC 2014), I thought I’d suggest AirDroid as a pick of the day. It allows you to send and receive SMS via your phone, manage contacts, clipboard content, files, media and apps, locate your phone, stream video from your phone’s camera(s) or stream the screen of your device all through a web interface.

As long as your phone (can be wireless via wifi) is on the same network as your computer (connection here can be wired or wireless), they can link up making this great for using it anywhere. You just pull up the easy to remember URL (web.airdroid.com), scan a QR code on the screen, and you’re connected.

It’s great at home, the office, or even at a friend’s computer for quick direct file transfers.

Schedule for live streams of Phoenix ComicCon via Alpha Geek Radio available here:  http://bit.ly/AGRPhoenix

Thursday’s Guest: Veronica Belmont, of the internet