Do you like to live dangerously? Do you want to be on the exciting, cutting edge of technology? Windows 11 and Beta Software Well, the way you do that is by using software and operating systems that are under development. They go by several different names: alphas, betas, developer previews, previews, early access, and other cheerful terms. What can you expect? Headaches, incomplete features, the worst stability, and more. We’ll talk about that.
The Ethics of Deepfakes (8/7/21 Part 1)
Did you know that Anthony Bourdain – who passed away in 2018 – can be heard in a new documentary? Well, its not really Anthony. Deepfakes Rather, his voice was created using an AI to generate a recreation of it. Work from beyond the grave, as it were. https://www.npr.org/2021/07/16/1016838440/ai-brought-anthony-bourdains-voice-back-to-life-should-it-have https://www.newyorker.com/culture/annals-of-gastronomy/the-ethics-of-a-deepfake-anthony-bourdain-voice?utm_source=pocket-newtab https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57842514
Fear of Hacking: Is it holding you back? (7/24/21 Part 2)
Are you afraid of being hacked? Of getting scammed? Of getting a virus that’ll eat your computer and your cat? Opening an email that’ll melt your brain? FEAR Let’s talk about fear and computing.
News Buffet for lunch! (7/17/21 Part 1)
Its a news buffet sort of day! News Buffet! California passes an amazing broadband plan – https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/07/california-passes-historic-plan-for-statewide-open-access-fiber-network/ REvil goes silent – https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57826851 Got a car? Or other electronic device? This is possibly good news for the near future… https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2021/07/tsmc-signals-global-chip-crunch-may-be-easing/
REvil and Kaseya: Big Money in Malware (7/10/21 Part 1)
Are you ready for more malware? Nope, neither were we. Kaseya, Malware, and REvil stuff But, alas, here we are. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/code-huge-ransomware-attack-written-avoid-computers-use-russian-says-n1273222 https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2021/07/03/ransomware-attack-before-holiday-leaves-companies-scrambling/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/07/up-to-1500-businesses-infected-in-one-of-the-worst-ransomware-attacks-ever/
Right To Repair: Are we there yet? (7/10/21 Part 2)
You own that thing, you can do what you want or need to do with it, right? Not necessarily. Right to Repair – An update Could things change to be more pro-consumer and pro-small business? Absolutely! https://www.repair.org/ https://www.eff.org/issues/right-to-repair https://www.ifixit.com/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/07/bidens-right-to-repair-order-could-stop-companies-from-blocking-diy-fixes/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2019/06/hackers-farmers-and-doctors-unite-support-for-right-to-repair-laws-slowly-grows/ And from Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple computers:
Windows 11 is coming! (6/26/21 Part 1)
Windows 11 is coming! Windows 11 is coming – Part 1 Yes, the Engineers beat Marketing into submission, and there’s a Windows 11 coming. Need some reading? Check to see if you can run Windows 11 on your computer! https://aka.ms/GetPCHealthCheckApp https://www.pcworld.com/article/3622939/microsoft-officially-unveils-windows-11.html https://www.computerworld.com/article/3623268/what-enterprise-needs-to-know-about-windows-11.html https://www.reviewgeek.com/90087/windows-11-is-windows-10-with-apple-polish/
Windows 11 stuff for Regular People! (6/26/21 Part 2)
Since we went over some of the concerns we had for Windows 11 in the first hour? Now its time for the more fun things about Windows 11! Windows 11 is coming – Part 2 New features, new looks, and more! https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/06/microsoft-details-windows-11-with-new-ui-and-android-app-support/ https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/06/microsofts-windows-subsystem-for-android-sounds-a-lot-like-chrome-os/ https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/06/gaming-on-windows-11-directstorage-api-auto-hdr-will-require-os-update/ https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-will-require-windows-11-laptops-to-support-bluetooth-and-precision-touchpad/ https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-will-not-take-a-cut-from-developers-using-third-party-payment-systems-in-apps/
You don’t need to be a whiz to update Windows! (6/19/21 Part 1)
We’ve had folks asking us about updating Windows. Windows Updates and Pitfalls Microsoft, in typical fashion, doesn’t explain this sort of thing well so we tackle that and a few other things too! https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/update-windows-10 https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/update-windows-10-3c5ae7fc-9fb6-9af1-1984-b5e0412c556a https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-update-faq-8a903416-6f45-0718-f5c7-375e92dddeb2
R.I.P. Internet Explorer: August 16, 1995-June 25, 2022 (2/22/21 Part 2)
Goodbye IE! Rest In Peace, Internet Explorer. Are we being a little premature here? The announced end of support is June next year. But, honestly, the writing has been on the wall since 2015 when Edge became the new default for Windows, becoming more obvious when they moved Edge from its Trident roots to Chromium. As always, there are companies and governments dragging their feet. And the new trend of removing “dangerous,” unsupported software isn’t one we necessarily like. So join us as Jonathan, LD, and Sam talk about this!