So, its been a helluva week. Are We Sure that 2020 is Over? And as such, we need to talk politics and tech for a bit. We sort of hate that. But here we are! 1st Amendment, options for platforms, the importance of Section 230 of the Telecommunications Act… we get it in a concise manner!
Your phone is watching you. Still. Is this news? (12/12/20 Part 1)
Jonathan found a great article from a German, and wanted to talk about it. I Always Feel Like Someone is Watching Me… My Phone Was Spying on Me, so I Tracked Down the Surveillants (nrkbeta.no) So, while we sort of know our phones watch us? We never really dive into it. So, lets talk about it! On top of that, we had a caller asking about how to remove Adobe Flash! Uninstall Flash Player for Windows (adobe.com) How to Uninstall Adobe Flash Player on Mac [Updated 2020]
More On SSDs: now and the future! (12/5/20 Part 2)
We continue on with SSDs! SSDs and why you want one – Part 2 This is the alphabet soup segment as we talk about SLC, MLC, eMLC, MTBF, and more! SSD Reliability: Can You Really Rely on Your SSD? (wepc.com) SSD Lifespan: How Long Will Your SSD Work? (enterprisestorageforum.com) Do this to increase your SSD’s lifespan! – CNET SSD optimization in Windows 10 (pugetsystems.com) How to achieve the best transfer speeds with external drives | AKiTiO
macOS 11 Big Sur! Ready to upgrade? Don’t! (11/14/20 Part 2)
macOS 11 is out! Its Big Sur! Ready for it? Don’t do it! OS11 – Wait a bit We talk a little about what’s new, but the trick with the latest and greatest is it comes with new problems. And really, that’s ALL new updates for Windows, Android, etc. There’s no harm in waiting for those to get ironed out, right? https://support.apple.com/mac-backup https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/11/macos-11-0-big-sur-the-ars-technica-review/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/11/macos-big-sur-launch-appears-to-cause-temporary-slowdown-in-even-non-big-sur-macs/ https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-office-will-be-about-20-second-slower-initially-on-apple-silicon-rosetta-2/ https://helpx.adobe.com/download-install/kb/macos-big-sur.html
Zoom Zoom Zoom! It can hiccup! (10/17/20 Part 1)
Zoom is currently one of the most popular video conferencing services out there. When Zoom Won’t Zoom… And, like anything you can use, it can have some troubles now and then. Jonathan goes over some of those gotchas and snafus that with LD and Sam
Roll them dice, and I get the dog. Monopoly time! (10/10/20 Part 1)
Its Monopoly time! Google, Amazon, and Apple have been said to have abused their monopolies in their various spheres of influence. Tech Monopolies! Now who says it? The House! So, lets talk about that… https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/10/house-amazon-facebook-apple-google-have-monopoly-power-should-be-split/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/10/microsoft-thumbs-its-nose-at-apple-with-new-app-fairness-policy/ https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2020/10/08/app-store-fairness-caf-interoperability-principles/ https://9to5mac.com/2019/03/06/microsoft-store-revenue-share/
Time for iOS/iPadOS 14! (10/3/20 Part 2)
So, do you have an iPhone or iPad? Its time for the newest update! Don’t update yet, though! Wait for iOS/iPadOS 14.1. And we should mention that there is an iPhone settlement you might be eligible for… iOS 14 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/09/ios-and-ipados-14-review-iphone-transformation-ipad-iteration/ https://www.pcmag.com/news/the-best-hidden-features-of-ios-14 https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-add-custom-icons-widgets-to-your-iphone-home-screen-in-ios-14 https://www.pcmag.com/news/15-imaginative-ios-14-home-screen-customizations And to Sam’s delight: https://www.theverge.com/21299727/apple-ios-14-home-screen-widgets-windows-phone-live-tiles
The Great Computer Drought of 2020! (9/12/20 Part 1)
Are you looking for a new computer? Where are all the PCs? Oh dear, its sort of a tough time for that. Since the start of the pandemic and the advent of everyone doing everything from home? Computers are in short supply! So, what are you options? What’s the hold-up? We talk about that and more! Jonathan’s tips: Check out the big companies like Dell, HP, etc. Sign up for an account before you’re ready to buy! Be willing to go up. Better to over buy a little than to under buy. Check the websites, newsletters, etc. Companies do have refurbished machines! Check around from them. Ask about return policies ahead of time.
Tik Tok and you don’t stop… (8/8/20 Part 1)
President Trump signed an executive order concerning TikTok and its owner ByteDance, plus Wechat and parent company Tencent. But on top of that? Their subsidiaries and companies they have a business interest in might be affected too! TikTok and slippery slopes Join Jonathan, LD, Sam and special guest Danno! https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-addressing-threat-posed-tiktok/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-addressing-threat-posed-wechat/ For more reading: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/08/trump-plans-tiktok-wechat-ban-declares-apps-national-emergency/ https://www.pcgamer.com/every-game-company-that-tencent-has-invested-in/ https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/7/21358252/tencent-wechat-ban-trump-executive-order-consequences https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/08/beware-of-find-my-phone-wi-fi-and-bluetooth-nsa-tells-mobile-users/ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/centre-bans-59-mobile-apps-including-tik-tok-uc-browser-others/articleshow/76694828.cms#:~:text=India%20Business%20News%3A%20The%20government%20of%20India%20on,apps%20terming%20them%20to%20be%20prejudicial%20to%20the https://www.zdnet.com/article/pentagon-bans-military-from-using-devices-with-gps/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/07/how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-mostly-and-love-my-threat-model/
Sigh…. CONGRESS. (8/1/20 Part 2)
So, Congress has been having tech hearings as of late. Are Tech Giants Monopolies? The trick with hearings is sometimes they’re nothing but pro-wrestling and “look how tough I am” chest beating for an election year. But sometimes there’s real substance to what’s going on. So, what’s going on? https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/07/big-techs-big-day-congress-grills-ceos-over-competition-bias/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/07/telegram-files-eu-antitrust-complaint-against-apples-app-store/ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-apple-spotify-tech-eu-idUSKBN1QU18G https://www.businessinsider.com/australia-to-make-google-and-facebook-pay-for-news-content-2020-7