The baddies are really, really pains in the keister. Hijacking Social Media We talk about it today, whether we like it or not, because it is an election year. Additionally, social media seems to be quite divisive, doesn’t it? Its not an accident! https://www.brainpickings.org/2014/01/03/baloney-detection-kit-carl-sagan/ https://www.bbc.com/news/av/business-38919403/how-do-fake-news-sites-make-money https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/11/18/this-is-how-the-internets-fake-news-writers-make-money/ https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/06/24/how-fake-accounts-constantly-manipulate-what-you-see-on-social-media/ https://www.mcafee.com/blogs/consumer/family-safety/spot-fake-facebook-account/ https://www.wikihow.com/Reveal-a-Fake-Facebook-Account https://opendorse.com/blog/how-to-spot-fake-social-media-followers/
Are you Authentic(ated)? (6/13/20 Part 2)
2FA ought be a part of your digital life. Authenticate This! Yes, it is annoying. But, its not as annoying as someone accessing your account after stealing, hacking, or figuring out your login! Many sites and services offer 2FA via text message, but unfortunately that is the weakest form of it. https://www.cnet.com/how-to/do-you-use-sms-for-two-factor-authentication-heres-why-you-shouldnt/ https://www.protectimus.com/blog/sms-authentication/ So, tell me about some of them… Much like sports teams, the overall landscape does change from year to year, so what’s “best” this year might not be next year. This is a good thing, though. https://gizmodo.com/the-best-authenticator-apps-for-protecting-your-account-1840711013 https://www.pcworld.com/article/3225913/what-is-two-factor-authentication-and-which-2fa-apps-are-best.html
Computer Video: Cards and Integrated 101! basics before buying (6/6/20 Part 1)
Your computer’s video is one of those things that either gets no thought at all or gets massive emphasis placed on it. But, how do you get it? Is it a from an add-in card? Or is it something built into your computer’s CPU or motherboard? Video Cards – Part 1 We talk about all that and more! https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-buying-guide,5844.html https://techguided.com/how-to-choose-a-graphics-card/#4 https://www.tomshardware.com/features/amd-vs-intel-integrated-graphics https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html
Video Cards 101: Work or Play? (6/6/20 Part 2)
Did you know that your video card does real work? That’s right! Its not all video games! Video Cards – Part 2 The humble web browser makes use of it. https://www.lifewire.com/hardware-acceleration-in-chrome-4125122 https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/upgrade-graphics-drivers-use-hardware-acceleration https://www.windowscentral.com/how-force-microsoft-edge-use-best-gpu-windows-10-april-2018-update Video Editing and other content creation makes use of it. https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Premiere-Pro-14-2-H-264-H-265-Hardware-Encoding-Performance-1778/ https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/photoshop-cc-gpu-card-faq.html What the guys are looking at… Jonathan has been looking over the Radeon RX 5700 XT video cards for himself. He like gaming and Virtual Reality, so its a good option for him! https://amzn.to/2Y9xYpX Sam has been looking at the GeForce RTX 2060 for his video editing plus RTX Voice (AI-based noise removal). Probably not a buy for this year, but he’s good at waiting. https://amzn.to/3f6mkDf LD doesn’t game or do video editing. He enjoys streaming video and light internet surfing, so the video in his desktop and laptop are actually great! But, if he decides to start running multiple monitors or even setting his PC up to be a 4K home theater? Well, he might need to start doing some research. He’ll definitely want HDMI, maybe even DisplayPort, and multiple of each if possible. But more than that, he’ll want some great sound… that’s another show, though!
Spaaaaaaaaaaace X! AKA, Jonathan & LD geek out! (5/30/20 Part 1)
Space X just launched a giant tin can into space! Well, if you’re going to over simplify things, that is. But to get to this point there’s a LOT of history and backstory. Which, hey, Jonathan is happily going to be talking about! AMERICA RETURNS TO SPACE Fun, additional reading: https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/29/tech/spacex-nasa-launch-may-30-scn/index.html https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/05/todays-the-day-weather-permitting-america-is-returning-to-space/ https://www.space.com/spacex-demo2-nasa-astronaut-launch-success.html https://www.npr.org/2020/05/30/864514995/spacex-and-nasa-try-once-more-to-launch-astronauts
Politics, Twitter, and Social Media – bleh (5/30/20 Part 2)
The Executive delivered an Executive Order about Internet Censorship this week — an order that is unenforceable. Executive Orders and Section 230 Normally we hate talking about these type of things, and this time it is no different. https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200528/01321044592/two-things-to-understand-about-trumps-executive-order-social-media-1-distraction-2-legally-meaningless.shtml https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/05/why-donald-trumps-war-on-big-tech-is-doomed-to-fail/ https://www.wired.com/story/trump-social-media-executive-order/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/05/28/trump-social-media-executive-order/ And of course, Sam is always keen to point out your ISP might well WANT to be the editor of your internet. A desire that is far more dangerous to free speech than a particular website or platform… https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/07/verizon-net-neutrality-violates-our-free-speech-rights/ Last but not least, we’ll let Mike Pompeo get the last word. Maybe these two should talk pic.twitter.com/it2Yu9eIIG — Ryan Lizza (@RyanLizza) May 27, 2020 Oops.
CPUs! The 2020 mid-year update! (5/16/20)
Intel and AMD have been at it, creating newer, faster, and better CPUs than we’ve seen in a long time. With so much out there, what on EARTH do you get? What should you avoid? Well, we tackle this topic for you today! CPUs! Due to a technical glitch, however, Part 1 of the show was lost. Oh no! But, no fear, here are the notes complete with links! Click to continue!
Recycling and eCycling! Its time to clean up responsibly! (5/9/20 Part 1)
Are you cleaning up the house or office and finding lots of old stuff! Well, ecycling is open! Jonathan called! Saturdays and Tuesdays! E-Cycling’s Back! Can you spare some time to go looking for old computers, electronics, etc? Can it still be used? Can you clean it up and give it to someone? Can you clean it up and SELL it to someone? Are there parts that are still good? Can those be cleaned up and given/sold to someone? This has a LOT of “what about” and“if” questions , plus is a lot of work. Time to Recycle! https://www.epa.gov/recycle/electronics-donation-and-recycling https://www.energizer.com/responsibility/battery-recycling/where-to-recycle-batteries https://interstatebatteries.com/recycling https://www.mauicounty.gov/BusinessDirectoryII.aspx?lngBusinessCategoryID=136
Batteries 101! (5/9/20 Part 2)
A tech reporter from Ananadtech did research finding that one smartphone company’s fast-recharge tech ages your battery prematurely. Wowzers! How do you keep your laptop, phone, and tablet batteries going for a long time? The Battery Episode Taking care of your laptop batteries! https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-care-for-your-laptops-battery/ Laptop batteries have a lifespan of X-many power cycles (0%-100%). Going from 100% to 0% is one power cycle. Going from 100% to 50% is half a power cycle. Cycles are like mileage. As the battery gets older and has more cycles, it starts holding less charge per cycle. Using your laptop’s more power efficient settings will help you get more mileage out of each charge. Windows Battery Saver – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/component-guidelines/battery-saver Windows Power Slider – https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/windows-10-give-power-slider-optimize-speed-battery Mac Energy Saver – https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202824 Shutting down programs or suspending services (like cloud services), wifi, etc., when not in use will help extend battery life. Reducing screen brightness will help as well. Nickel-Metal hydride (NiMH) versus Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) Old NiMH batteries used to develop “memories,” where they would not fully charge. This was a problem with the tech at the time. Li-Ion doesn’t have this problem. You do NOT have to completely discharge the battery before recharging a Li-Ion. Best practice is currently getting down to maybe 20% or so before recharging. You CAN keep Li-Ion batteries plugged in as power management is better now, and the device should stop charging once it hits 100%. Keeping it comfortable. Batteries do not like to get hot! If you’re doing resource heavy work, be sure to give your …
Spring Cleaning! You’ve GOT THE TIME! (4/25/20 Part 1)
You said you’d do it. You’ll find time later. You’re busy right now. The day will come. Spring Cleaning! Well, the day has come! We talk about cleaning out the inside of your computer physically as well as the system it self!