Category: podcast

Note: I said it was podcast 208 during the recording. It is actually number 207. Sorry ’bout that!

1. Google Chrome will have a selective ad blocker in 2018. Ref: Google
2. Google Sheets now has the ability to create graphs and charts by asking questions in words/text. Ref: Google
3. Amazon Echo now supports named timers. Ref: Amazon

Travel tech observations:

4. Rented a 2017 Toyota Corolla and found that the built-in USB could charge and iPhone 7+ but not a Nexus 6 when running Google Maps while driving. However, using a third party charge plugged in to what used to be called a cigarette lighter was able to charge the Nexus 6.
5. You can find more that streets and businesses with Google Maps. Searching for “Yoda fountain” in San Francisco leads you to the statue of Yoda from Star Wars outside of a Lucas Films building in Presidio.
6. Virgin America’s odd USB ports placement on passenger seats
7. WWDC 2017. What do we know so far: Ref: MacRumors

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

In this podcast, Jon Westfall and I discuss:

1. Google I/O. Ref: The Verge
2. Google Home can make calls… and so can Alexa now!
3. Gogo Wireless Entertainment fail on Alaska Airlines
4. Chromebook OS Android app issues
5. Jon Recommends Deviant Ollum’s “From Pit to Penthouse” (YouTube): Elevator hacking.
6. Recent Ransomware attacks: We all know how to keep ourselves safe (keep patches up to date), but what if your employer doesn’t keep your work files adequately protected (e.g., NHS issues in England). What are options that employees can try?

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

Jon Westfall and I are joined by guest panelists Jack Cook, Sven Johannsen, and Don Sorcinelli for this podcast. We discuss:

1. Mini-rant: Local Apple Store Lightning-to-3.5mm-headphone jack out-of-stock.
2. Google Voice Kit for Raspberry Pi
3. NPR: For the first time in history, federal researchers report that a majority of U.S. homes rely on cellphones alone for a telephone connection, without a landline
4. Windows 10 S: “Streamlined for security and superior performance”
5. Microsoft Surface Laptop
6. The next Windows Phone?

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

Jon Westfall and I are joined by an old friend of mine – well known Hawaii technologist Ryan Ozawa.

1. A sign that the world will end soon: Microsoft Xamarin Visual Studio for Mac announced (preview version).
2. Ref: Ars Technica. “…while many executive branch employees now have PIV cards with [smart] chips embedded in them, Senate employees get ID cards with a picture of a chip on them.”

Ryan’s news items:

3. Uber getting scolded by Tim Cook for using private APIs to ‘fingerprint’ users in a way that survives even after the app is deleted.
4. Facebook going big into Augmented Reality as a platform, trying to kill Snapchat over and over, helping creators monetize stolen videos
   Samsung S8, LG G6, and whatever Apple announces this Fall: Apple self-driving cars? Siri speaker?
5. Questions for Ryan

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.

1. New Google Earth for the web
2. New Microsoft To-Do (was Wunderlist)
3. Ballmer Discovers joys of open data. USAFacts.org
4. Coin’s competitor, Plastc, announced it’s filing for Chapter 7, and the cards that Jon pre-ordered (for a hefty sum, $150) will never ship. No idea if any money will ever make it back to the backers. And while Jon’s pretty irked about the loss of money, he’s hopeful that maybe this means electronic payments via cell phones / watches will eventually replace credit cards. Jon first mentioned Coin back in Podcast 69

Available via Google Music Podcasts and Apple iTunes.