TEH Podcast

TEH

Tech from an Enthusiast Point of View

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199 episodes
Updated Wednesday

Episodes199

Newest first

Apr 15, 2020 · 1 hr 7 min
TEH 094: Social Zoom, location tracking, long distance sandwiches, and hopeful graphiti
In This Episode: Tracking viral infections on cell phones, baseball game games, spelling sports, great binge shows, and homeless in a pandemic. This week the TEH Podcast is hosted by Leo Notenboom, the “Chief Question Answerer” at Ask Leo!, and Gary Rosenzweig, the host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. Our guests are … Kay Savetz, the man behind freeprintable.net and faxzero.com. Ken Gagne, Technical Account Manager at Automattic works and man about the world. Games: Jackbox Cards Against Humanity: Family Edition (You’ll find longer Bios on the Hosts page.) Show Notes & Links Ken: Contract Tracing can help us trace who we’ve been in contact with during a pandemic. Admittedly not a perfect system, but an attempt to use phones to trace infection rates. Apple and Google are collaborating on the tech. Gary: Sports. ESPN is reduced to running Spelling Bees. Baseball teams are playing Play Station games for their fans. Baseball, for real… Chinese Professional Baseball League Becomes first to play ball in 2020… real games with nobody in the stands. Streaming Chinese Baseball It’s odd to watch it with no audience, some shows are adding sound effects. Saturday Night Live pulls off a social distance episode. Leo: – How Steak-umm Became The Tweeting Voice Of Reason in a Pandemic – examples of how social media and positions of ~power can meet and help. Great quote: “Communicators aren’t experts, and experts aren’t communicators” Possibly Off Topic, But Cool Leo: Good Graffiti? Street artists are painting hopeful art on boarded up businesses! Online list of local restaurants with gift cards Even Andrew Lloyd Webber is making YouTube productions free: Jesus Christ Superstar Gary: Westworld… Season 3 is great science fiction. Ken: Watching anything Star Trek, Thumbs up on Picard, The Good Place, Timeless, The Flash… and more. Kay: Saving old software: Saved from the dust… Bankster for the Atari 800 Checkers for the Atari VCS Ken: Wrapping up my Apple II blog – Ten years blogging about a computer that has not been manufactured since 1993, finally said everything that needs to be said. BSP: Blatant Self-Promotion Leo: Refreshing Windows 10 Without a Re-install or Reset – an Ask Leo! Live event Gary: The Obvious Mac Keyboard Shortcut that You May Not be Using Kay: Printable Board Games and Printable Rulers Ken: And then a new blog… Road Bits
Apr 8, 2020 · 50 min
TEH 093: The Masked Bandit Version (and low-tech howling)
In This Episode: The tech world quickly upgrades to online ordering for pickup, free education and every kind of human connection. We now have talk shows without audiences to neighborhood howling. This week the TEH Podcast is hosted by Leo Notenboom, the “Chief Question Answerer” at Ask Leo!, and Gary Rosenzweig, the host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. (You’ll find longer Bios on the Hosts page.) Show Notes & Links Leo: Be sure to support your local eateries and small businesses as they adjust to our new normal. How tech is helping out: Leo’s friend’s local beer bar and tap room quickly added a WordPress plugin to their website allowing them to pivot and take orders online. Pizza is your friend in the world of crises… now with touchless delivery. Gary: Everyone is podcasting. We can learn a lot tech-wise by watching the “Professionals” stream on their cell phones. Everyone is using basically the same tech. The difference is in the content. Leo: It’s like golden age of podcasting and live streaming. Everyone is podcasting including my bloodbank. Leo: There is so much free education available now. … if you do have free time! Gary: Denver local library giving free courses on Udemy. Leo: Zoom is turning their focus towards security — will they sacrifice ease of use? Zoom chief Eric Yuan says he was not prepared for flood of security and privacy complaints – Gary: Spammers are phishing Zoom downloads, people aren’t creating passwords and then getting hacked. But true security comes down to how honestly a business faces it and how quickly they patch things (Zoom has been honest and fast with patches). Zoom CEO: ‘I Really Messed Up’ on Security as Coronavirus Drove Video Tool’s Appeal Possibly Off Topic, But Cool Gary: In the Pandemic Stay-at-home world people are communicating. Some neighborhoods are clapping to thank health care workers (usually close to hospitals so the staff can hear). And now evening Howling is a stay-at-home coping mechanism. You can sit on your porch, in your backyard, and people and dogs start howling at 8:00 pm. Leo: Kay sent Marco Polo (video sharing ap) proof that howling is happening in Portland. BSP: Blatant Self-Promotion How Can a PIN Be as Secure as a Password? Using the New Drop Caps Feature Of Mac Pages
Apr 1, 2020 · 49 min
TEH 092: Entertainment, home connection, and changing tech (what happened to Skype?)
In This Episode: We talk about changing names, sharing on a Mac (or is that Sharon?), connection software, digital sharing in a time of quarantine, and copyright issues that arise. This week the TEH Podcast is hosted by Leo Notenboom, the “Chief Question Answerer” at Ask Leo!, and Gary Rosenzweig, the host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. Our guest is … Kay! Who treats us to the technicalities of name change (remember Kevin?) (You’ll find longer Bios on the Hosts page.) Show Notes & Links Leo: The revolution was supposed to be Skyped! Why are we all Zooming and not Skyping? Team Viewer Executable helps tech support connect HouseParty http://houseparty.com – Multi-person video conversations. Marco Polo https://www.marcopolo.me – a fun, private way to email videos. CU-SeeMe – Internet videoconferencing client Gary: Archive.org’s National Emergency Library has changed policies Is it a great resource for everyone during this time of crisis, or blatant copyright violation that steals from writers at a time when they need it most. Read about the controversy. Possibly Off Topic, But Cool Leo: Blue Skies from Picard Gary: Dispatches From Elsewhere on AMC (the old home town Philidalphia) Kay: Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet BSP: Blatant Self-Promotion Leo: How Do YOU Back Up, Leo? Gary: Creating Simple Database Lists In Mac Numbers Calculations not required Kay: Final Directive: Get Your Life (and Death) in Order – Death Planner
Mar 25, 2020 · 53 min
TEH 091: Furniture stores make masks, sharing with kids, and a break for new computers!
In This Episode: Incredible local support in time of crises, broken dryers, and a short break from the end of the world to look at new computers! This week the TEH Podcast is hosted by Leo Notenboom, the “Chief Question Answerer” at Ask Leo!, and Gary Rosenzweig, the host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. (You’ll find longer Bios on the Hosts page.) Show Notes & Links Leo: Technology is helping people come together Local furniture store making masks Tesla steps up with ventilators News from Bleeping Computer: TeamViewer Stops Commercial Use Checks in Coronavirus-Affected Regions Internet continues to work! Gary: Connecting with kids: Zoom for story book reading. Let’s look at new Apple computers so we’re not always talking about the end of the world. New MacBook Air and iPad Pro! Ain’t It Cool! Leo: It’s cool that I can purchase parts for my dryer and get them delivered. Gary: Mobilizing for “war.” PAPRs built with parts from F-150 truck cooled seating. BSP: Blatant Self-Promotion Leo: How Much Can I Trust Information on the Internet? Gary: Reading books to kids online using Mac Messages
Mar 18, 2020 · 1 hr 5 min
TEH 090: Technology and Social Distancing with Pizza Delivery
In This Episode: Helping local businesses by frequenting restaurant takeout. How technology is keeping people in touch – with a thanks for recent increases in bandwidth! Teaching aids, good flix, and let yourself be seen. This week the TEH Podcast is hosted by Leo Notenboom, the “Chief Question Answerer” at Ask Leo!, and Gary Rosenzweig, the host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. (You’ll find longer Bios on the Hosts page.) Show Notes & Links Leo: Seeing LOTS of people reaching out / offering for connection online. GREAT use of technology and it’s working. (WoW as a joke, Discord and Twitch for reals) Discord for your classroom Gary: Gary’s test of Zoom? Music artists are streaming live performances all the time now. Life outside this world Gary looking at test numbers, with some ideas about levels of screening. Randy’s EMS chart of symptoms (below) Possibly Off Topic, But Cool Leo: Movies being brought in early for at-home entertainment. Altered Carbon Season 2 Gary: Black Magic Design RX580 Review BSP: Blatant Self-Promotion Leo: Let Yourself be Seen and Heard Gary: Video Chat and stay in Touch With Others Apple and Cross Platform
Mar 11, 2020 · 51 min
TEH 089: Blood and browsing connections. Tinder tells us what it’s like in China
In This Episode: A health crises we can fix, how technology opens up a window into life with the Corona virus, and contemplating how much dirty stuff we touch. This week the TEH Podcast is hosted by Leo Notenboom, the “Chief Question Answerer” at Ask Leo!, and Gary Rosenzweig, the host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. (You’ll find longer Bios on the Hosts page.) Show Notes & Links Leo: Connectivity is awesome when you suddenly need to work at home … BUT … will current systems handle the load? Leo tries a new webinar tool. Here is the video Leo is talking about: Webinar Replay: Backing Up in Windows 10 and Ask Leo! Anything Gary: Tinder and TikTok have become vital news services about life with Coronavirus in China Tinder Has Become A News Service About Coronavirus, Which Is Not What God Intended – Buzzfeed Possibly Off Topic, But Cool Leo: Stuff You Should Know podcast features geeky news for those who dabble in everything. Face touching with Weird Al Phone Soap Gary: Charging my MacBook Pro with an iPhone Charger, takes a while… and what’s on that pen? BSP: Blatant Self-Promotion Leo: My Most Important Articles Gary: HTML5 games staying alive for Jig Saw Puzzles Get ad free games with Patreon
Mar 4, 2020 · 1 hr
TEH 088: Real Viruses and How Old Games Die
In This Episode: Leo speaks from the epicenter of the Corona virus outbreak and Gary tries to figure out how to archive old games that won’t play without flash… and finally, bye bye Mr. Robot. This week the TEH Podcast is hosted by Leo Notenboom, the “Chief Question Answerer” at Ask Leo!, and Gary Rosenzweig, the host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. (You’ll find longer Bios on the Hosts page.) Show Notes & Links Coronavirus -> Be Skeptical Scammers and the coronavirus 19 Criminal scams Wikipedia Chart YubiKey w/ Google & Lastpass (& more w/ NFC) Get a YubiKey Gary contemplates the end of flash Check out Gary’s site for some of his games Possibly Off Topic, But Cool Gary: Server issues and a surprising fix. Leo: Why I miss Mr. Robot. (“That’s not how it works!”) Tracing phones… vampires, passwords… and eeeek! BSP: Blatant Self-Promotion Leo: My new machine is awesome Designing my new desktop, awesome processor, what kind of machine gets Leo excited! Gary: Create Beautiful Photo Slideshows In Mac Keynote See cool videos about Mac stuff!
Feb 27, 2020 · 1 hr 2 min
TEH 087: Regulated chargers, microphones, and installs as easy as Apple
In This Episode: Scrutinizing the security of submit buttons, what Europe is doing about charging, and Win10 installs are getting as easy as Apple. This week the TEH Podcast is hosted by Leo Notenboom, the “Chief Question Answerer” at Ask Leo!, and Gary Rosenzweig, the host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. (You’ll find longer Bios on the Hosts page.) Show Notes & Links “Ask Gary” Is there a way to tell if a “Submit” button goes to an https secure connection before you click it? How can an https website still not be secure? Gary: The EU’s decision to force phone makers to use the same “charger.” How this affects Apple users. EU Charging Standard proposals – Article on MacRumors. Leo’s workaround – a multi-cord. Leo: Installing Windows 10 is easier than ever, and getting easier. Are they catching up with Mac? Possibly Off Topic, But Cool Gary: Fighting with microphones and different sounds when recording. Leo: shares the Rode Wireless Go BSP: Blatant Self-Promotion Leo: Results of a year long laptop experiment – And getting a new machine. Gary: Mastering Your Mac’s Word Processing App – New Course. Use the coupon code ernest
Feb 19, 2020 · 1 hr
TEH 086 – Huge drives, Bibles and Who’s Watching?
In This Episode: Using software to transcribe audios and look at photos; what might be coming out of your doorbell — and how many Bibles are in “huge”? This week the TEH Podcast is hosted by Leo Notenboom, the “Chief Question Answerer” at Ask Leo!, and Gary Rosenzweig, the host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. (You’ll find longer Bios on the Hosts page.) Show Notes In the warmup, we talk about how far in advance we work on articles and content, and the usefulness of showing production notes to the dogs. Top Stories Leo: Using Youtube for transcriptions. It’s a little convoluted, but works! Gary: The juxtaposition of crime and privacy in identifying the content of images – How “hashes” are used to find bad content, and who might be looking at your email. Possibly Off Topic, But Cool Leo: Digital Planet podcast from the BBC. Example: last week they discussed repairing Voyager 2. Gary: You can get 16TB drives! They’ve gotten so big it’s amazing and even data hogs don’t need that much. (That’s greater than 3 million Bibles) BSP: Blatant Self-Promotion Leo: How do I backup my computer? Gary: New Course on Mac Pages (Word Processor)
Feb 13, 2020 · 1 hr 3 min
TEH 085: Politics, Privacy, Podcasts, and a Mythic Quest
In This Episode: How social media is managing miss-information online during an election year, managing the privacy of your credit card number, easy listening to podcasts, ways to watch ApppleTV and more. This week the TEH Podcast is hosted by Leo Notenboom, the “Chief Question Answerer” at Ask Leo!, and Gary Rosenzweig, the host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. (You’ll find longer Bios on the Hosts page.) Show Notes & Links Gary: YouTube and Twitter are monitoring content more closely with election coming up. They are all doing it differently! How YouTube supports elections – YouTube’s blog Youtube will police videos more closely – Wired Twitter’s approach to synthetic and manipulated media – Twitter’s blog Leo: Privacy.com and how you can use it for safe purchases and gifts. Possibly Off Topic, But Cool Leo: PocketCasts Gary: Mythic Quest BSP: Blatant Self-Promotion Leo: Diagnose Web Pages With Inspect – Use it to understand why pages are displaying the way they are. Gary: Numbers Experiment: Flowsheets (via Gary’s Patreon)
Feb 7, 2020 · 1 hr 4 min
TEH 084: Caucus Ruckus
In This Episode: New computer and the fateful Iowa Caucus app! This week the TEH Podcast is hosted by Leo Notenboom, the “Chief Question Answerer” at Ask Leo!, and Gary Rosenzweig, the host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. (You’ll find longer Bios on the Hosts page.) Show Notes & Links Leo: New machine: Puget Systems (The new machine’s configuration.) Leo’s New System’s thermal image Gary: Iowa Caucus app… New York Times The Verge Topical XKCD comic Possibly Off Topic, But Cool Leo: “Celestron Elements ThermoCharge, 2-in-1 Device” Gary: Academy awards predictions? Or, maybe who is deserving? The list via IMDB BSP: Blatant Self-Promotion Leo: What Security Software Do You Recommend? Gary: 10 Mac Shortcuts I Use Every Day
Jan 31, 2020 · 1 hr 5 min
TEH 083: Back and Better Than Ever — Edge?
In This Episode: We’re back, just a little tweaked. Something’s clearly frozen over because Edge is good now. Apple’s privacy push is actually working. 1960s Lunar Orbiter images, saved from loss, are amazing. Plus: Picard, The Innovators, and retirement accounts for kids. This week the TEH Podcast is hosted by Leo Notenboom, the “Chief Question Answerer” at Ask Leo!, and Gary Rosenzweig, the host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. Our guest is Randy Cassingham, founder of This is True. (You’ll find longer Bios on the Hosts page.) Show Notes & Links Get the latest version of Microsoft Edge here. News reports on Apple’s privacy features: Apple’s new privacy features have further rattled the location-based ad market (via Digiday), and Amazon Turns Up The Volume On TV Ads; How Apple ITP Shuts Down Tracking (via Ad Exchanger) AmIUnique? (Quite possibly!) Possibly Off Topic, But Cool The This is True podcast, Episode 059: Rescuing History (with more links and PICTURES!) Star Trek: Picard The Innovators by Walter Isaacson Heroic Stories and Not All News Is Bad (mentioned in the introduction) BSP: Blatant Self-Promotion Leo: Is a Microsoft Office Subscription Worth It? (Spoiler: for almost everyone the answer is yes.) Gary: 13 Alternate Ways To Use Emoji On Your Mac Randy: Podcast 059: Rescuing History – A wild story of several civilians who rescued a piece of history — a little-known account from the sidelines in the race to the moon. And a shout-out to The Smashing Security Podcast — informative and fun. The TEH Podcast is sponsored by Ask Leo!, Mac Most, This Is True, and Free Printables.
Oct 3, 2019 · 59 min
TEH 082: Literally Literally Means Literally
In This Episode: Live on silicon from an Undisclosed Location in the TEH Tower! New Tesla updates in self-driving and audio streaming. How we all know each other. Windows 10X. This Week’s Hosts Randy Cassingham, founder of This is True. Leo Notenboom, “Chief Question Answerer” at tech education site Ask Leo! Gary Rosenzweig host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. Kevin Savetz, web site publisher and Computer Historian at Atari Podcast. Allen Wyatt, computer book author and publisher of tips.net. Eric Wyatt, founder of Branding Power. Longer Bios on the Hosts page. Show Notes In the warmup, we talked about getting together in person. Leo took a chance on the way in his Tesla: he took a major Tesla software update while on the road (and tested the new “Enhanced Summon” — see video below — and got to try a new streaming option in his car. Kevin talked about an alternative iOS app store that doesn’t require a jailbreak (Engadget). Gary says Merriam-Webster has announced “new words” in its dictionary: the one we especially liked is “solopreneur” (M-W press release). We talked about how it is we all know each other: we’re all in a 20-year-old mastermind group that Randy started more than 20 years ago. Leo talked about a new version of Windows 10 (“X”) for Surface devices. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=375lqELw9ck Here Tesla! Here Tesla Tesla! — It’s moving, and no one is inside. Good boy!
Sep 24, 2019 · 1 hr 2 min
TEH 081: To Be Continued…
In This Episode: Kevin’s new puppy. Gary’s new iPhone. Apple Arcade and whether only 100 is really any different than the “top” 100. We briefly discuss a quantum computing breakthrough that maybe both true and not true. A death among Leo’s acquaintances has him reminding us to make sure someone can access your accounts in case of disasters. We then go on to spend most of the episode discussing the state of streaming, the various networks we’re all going to have to sign up for, and how it’s a case of “be careful what you wish for”. We’d never watch an 8 hour movie, but we’ll happily binge watch a 10 episode streaming show. Story arc’s are all the rage, so be sure to tune in next week… This Week’s Hosts Leo Notenboom, “Chief Question Answerer” at tech education site Ask Leo! Gary Rosenzweig host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. Kevin Savetz, web site publisher and Computer Historian at Atari Podcast. Longer Bios on the Hosts page. Show Notes Kevin has a new puppy! A three month old “adorably cute” Australian Labradoodle. Gary’s playing with his new iPhone and really loving the camera and some of it’s new features, particularly night view. We discuss Apple Arcade, and whether having only 100 curated games is really that different than a top-100 or 100 curated games in addition to thousands of others. The general feeling, though, is that games will get better as a result. In another headline grabbing non-event did Google make a significant progress on quantum-computing, or did they not? An article has been retracted that might indicate so, or is this really Schrodinger’s Article? Engaget: Google may have taken a step towards quantum computing ‘supremacy’ (updated) Leo mentioned a death in his circle of friends, and reminds us all of the importance of making sure your digital world is accessible somehow in case of disasters (not limited to death). Leo signed up for Disney+ which lead to a lengthy discussion of streaming options. Kevin points out that it’s a case of “be careful what you ask for” compared to our complaints of some years ago. Several shows are making major moves to streaming networks. Leo also reminisces to the days of the 10ft “Big Ugly Dish” and some of the political gaffs that enabled. Kevin’s been watching Glow (Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling) on Netflix. The streaming services walk away with most of the Emmys. So much good TV. We noted that most episodic television now has major story arcs across seasons. We’d never watch an 8 hour movie, but we’ll happily watch — if not binge — the equivalent amount of story delivered in half hour chunks.
Sep 17, 2019 · 1 hr 3 min
TEH 080: Now In 3D!
In This Episode: Kevin’s blowing his AV budget. Leo spent time behind the camera. Gary follows up on last week’s Apple announcement, and is eagerly awaiting a new iPhone. Netflix is losing more than just subscribers. MoviePass is no longer. People will over-react to a LastPass issue. Subscription models leads to better software. This Week’s Hosts Leo Notenboom, “Chief Question Answerer” at tech education site Ask Leo! Gary Rosenzweig host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. Kevin Savetz, web site publisher and Computer Historian at Atari Podcast. Longer Bios on the Hosts page. Show Notes Kevin’s moved and looking to build out his new AV room, and getting tempted by some very very nice equipment, leading to a discussion of satellite, cable, 4k, 8k and whatever happened to 3-D? He also tells us how to get into his garage using a not-very-secure garage door opener. (Mentioned: KnowBe4.com.) Leo’s behind the camera recording a presentation for a nonprofit — complete with overdriven mic (Leo’s fault for not testing first). (Mentioned: Rode wireless go.) Gary discussed some of the items presented a the recent Apple event. He’s got a new iPhone on order that he should be able to pick up later this week. Kevin stumbled into an interesting article on Variety (via the iPhone Google App) that noted that NetFlix is no longer the number one source of download traffic on the internet — having been eclipsed by all the other video providers online, except YouTube, in aggregate. Related? MoviePass is no longer, leading to even more discussion of video, streaming, and how Gary’s tree was causing him grief. Leo rants about the expected over-reaction to the announcement of a LastPass (fixed) vulnerability. Gary rants about how subscription software supports developers and leads to better software in the long run. Leo chimes in that paying for something as important as security software (like LastPass) he wants to pay to give them the incentive to keep the software excellent. In the process we discover that there really is a subscription model even for common place hammers.
Sep 10, 2019 · 1 hr 2 min
TEH 079: This is a Test; This is Only a Test
In This Episode: Thunder & lightning (very very frightening!), vintage computers in German, what to expect from the next Apple event (or not), Notepad and other apps(we hope?) moving to the Microsoft Store, Windows PowerToys, How Twitter CEO’s Twitter account was hacked, Disney goes a’LARPing, and the FCC REALLY doesn’t like it when you use the emergency broadcast tones. This Week’s Hosts Leo Notenboom, “Chief Question Answerer” at tech education site Ask Leo! Gary Rosenzweig host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. Kevin Savetz, web site publisher and Computer Historian at Atari Podcast. Longer Bios on the Hosts page. Show Notes This last weekend Leo was out supporting the regional two-day Bike MS event, during which an unusual overnight thunder and lightning storm got everyone’s attention, and made sleeping difficult. More on why this is so unusual for the area from The Seattle Times. In addition to moving to a new home, and coming to us from his brand new basement office, Kevin attended the Fujiama Atari Show … in Germany. We discussed the upcoming Apple event, what might or might not be announced, and whether 5G is something worth waiting for. (Spoiler: probably not.) Leo mentioned that Notepad is moving to the Microsoft Store, and hoped that more apps would make the move. In addition the venerable PowerToys for Windows is coming back, this time as a free open-source project. This week’s irony: the CEO of Twitter had his Twitter account hacked, apparently by very simple means: social engineering of telephone company customer service agents resulting in a SIM swap. (Consider putting a PIN on your mobile account, Jack.) Disney is getting deeper into LARP (Live Action Role Playing — though they wouldn’t call it that) with a Star Wars themed “cruise”. Young Sheldon gets in trouble, along with The Walking Dead and others for airing the Emergency Broadcast System tones. The FCC does not approve.
Aug 20, 2019 · 1 hr 1 min
TEH 078: We’re All Under Constant Attack
In This Episode: A week with Apple Card. Discontinued vodka. 78 RPM vinyl, and the potential for laser record players. Bill Nye sells out while Mac Book sells Surface. Server security: everything connected to the Internet is under constant attack (even you)! This Week’s Hosts Randy Cassingham, founder of This is True. Leo Notenboom, “Chief Question Answerer” at tech education site Ask Leo! Gary Rosenzweig host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. Longer Bios on the Hosts page. Show Notes Gary spent a week with his new Apple Card, although he just got the physical card today. This lead to a bit of a discussion of the progression of payment technology from contact-less Apple and Google Pay, to the need (or lack there of) for signatures at point of sale. Randy spend some time lamenting that his favorite coffee-flavored vodka, Sobieski, has been discontinued. (Leo’s shares the sentiment … it was good, emphasis on was.) In a riff off of this week’s episode number, Leo points out that a) shouldn’t 78RPM be higher fidelity than 33⅓? (OK, ok, there are reasons.) And why do we need physical needles any more anyway? Couldn’t a laser do the job? (And Leo remembers a video of Chris Pirillo on Call for Help from some years ago.) Bill Nye the Shill Guy (Photo: Microsoft) Bill Nye (the “Science Guy”) did an ad for Google’s Chromebooks dissing Windows. Did he sell out? Probably. Was it in poor taste? Perhaps, but not necessarily as bad as Microsoft finding an individual whose real name is Mac Book, and orchestrating an ad where “Mac Book recommends Microsoft Surface”. With luck both ads will be gone soon. In addition, a recent ZDNet author talks to a Best Buy salesman for the Chromebook versus Windows word on the street. (Spoiler: Windows wins in the real world.) We ended on a discussion of server security, and the fact that anything and everything connected to the internet is under constant attack. Be it a server, a computer, a router … all are being constantly, and continually probed for vulnerabilities. In particularly we all agreed that every WordPress site must include some kind of security plug-in to further harden the site. (Leo and Randy use iThemes Security.) Randy’s recent comment on Twitter called out Digital Ocean, but there are many other problem hosts.
Aug 13, 2019 · 1 hr 3 min
TEH 077: Windows is Boring
In This Episode: Mr. Pick’s operating system. Gary builds his own course site and gets an Apple card. Ask Leo! turns 16. The origins of “Upper Case”. Ransomware strikes digital cameras? A simple cable that can hack your computer. Alan Turing gets more long overdue recognition. Windows is boring. A DMV prank backfires. “Do not swat.” This Week’s Hosts Leo Notenboom, “Chief Question Answerer” at tech education site Ask Leo! Gary Rosenzweig host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. Kevin Savetz, web site publisher and Computer Historian at Atari Podcast. Longer Bios on the Hosts page. Show Notes We started with recent activity including’s Kevin’s lastest newsletter scans, one for the Pick operating system that none of us had heard of, and another for the Semaphoe Signal for Apple Lisa and Mac users. Gary’s building out his own course delivery platform on courses.macmost.com/; he also got one of the first Apple charge cards within seconds of application. Leo spaced and announced the 16th anniversary of Ask Leo! as the fifteenth (how time flies!), and shared an interesting item from the Now I Know newsletter on the origins of the term “upper case.” The Hacker News, among others, is reporting a newly discovered vulnerability in some models of Canon cameras: ransomware! Apparently it can even be done wirelessly. Speaking of unexpected hacks, Gary shared an item from MacRumors on fake, or modified original, lightning cables that look just fine but can actually also independently do nasty things to the computer to which they’re connected. Alan Turing is slated to appear on the UK’s 50 pound note. (Via the BBC, of course.) A pioneer in our industry getting more long overdue recognition. According to PC World the next “feature update” to Windows 10 will be less feature and more stability and improvement changes — meaning it’ll be boring, which many will appreciate. Via Mashable, don’t get “NULL” a personalized license plate, you may regret it – one person did. (In that same vein, Keven reminded us of the XKCD comic Exploits of a Mom.) If you’re at risk, apparently there’s something close to a do not swat registry. Really? Really.
Jul 30, 2019 · 59 min
TEH 076: Seeing is Not Believing
In This Episode: Adobe’s AI for detecting photoshop alteration leads to a discussion on deepfake video, implications on society, and what, if anything, can be done. Elon Musk posts an awesome video of a booster return and landing. Cameras using lasers to take 3-D photos. More help in the fight against ransomware. Kevin’s cleaning up cables, and Leo’s cleaning up after Corgis. This Week’s Hosts Randy Cassingham, founder of This is True. Leo Notenboom, “Chief Question Answerer” at tech education site Ask Leo! Gary Rosenzweig host and producer of MacMost, and mobile game developer at Clever Media. Kevin Savetz, web site publisher and Computer Historian at Atari Podcast. Longer Bios on the Hosts page. Show Notes With all four hosts back we recapped what we’d been up to. Leo got a new Android tablet, and is prepping for the upcoming Corgi picnic. Randy’s been traveling, a lot. Gary, that old dog, has been learning new tricks in the form of a new programming language and a new app: Bubble Blocks Puzzle. Kevin went to the KansasFest Apple II conference and is dealing with cable/electronics recycling. Triggered by an article on how Adobe has an AI that can detect Photoshoped changes, much of the hour was spent discussing “deep fake” videos, fake photos, and their impact on society. Leo’s both encouraged by the advancement in detection technology, but similarly worried about the advancements in faking technology. We agreed everyone should just be more skeptical. SpaceX Falcon 9 launches toward the International Space Station for CRS-18 (Cargo Resupply Services) on Thursday, July 25. (Photo: NASA, click to see larger.) Randy shared something special about the recent SpaceX launch: extra-cool video shared on Twitter by Elon Musk! What we’re seeing is not just synchronized uninterrupted video from four angles, but there’s apparently a microphone on the booster, so you can hear the whoosh of the wind (and the engine firing). Gary mentioned an article that pointed out that future phone cameras could have (fricken’) lasers! Time-of-flight cameras actually use the speed of light to create what is effectively a surface map of their subject. Leo closed by mentioning that in an upcoming Ask Leo! article he’ll be discussing two new tools in the war against ransomware: Macrium Reflect’s ability to lock image backups to prevent encryption, and OneDrive and Dropbox’s addition of “roll back” features.