1.51 Gigabits!
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| 1.51 Gigabits! | |
| Number | 2684 |
| Broadcast Date | FEBRUARY 9, 2016 |
| Episode Length | 43:42 |
| Hosts | Tom Merritt |
| Guests | Patrick Beja |
Can you ever have too much bandwidth? Patrick Beja has a revelation after getting fiber in his new home in Finland. Tom Merritt discusses.
Guest
Headlines
- Amazon released a new game engine called Amazon Lumberyard. The engine integrates connectivity with AWS Cloud and Twitch. One feature is Twitch JoinIn which allows viewers to join the broadcaster in multiplayer games. Twitch ChatPlay makes chat part of the game. Amazon also announced GameLift for session-based multiplayer games though that product has a per user fee.
- Twitter announced it has formed a Trust and Safety Council charged with making Twitter a place where "anyone, anywhere can express themselves safely and confidently." 40 contributors from advocacy groups are listed as part of the council, including child protection agencies, anti-racism groups and groups working to end domestic violence.
- Oculus announced the first Oculus Ready PCs will come from ASUS, Alienware and Dell. Starting Feb. 16 at 8 AM Pacific, you can preorder PC and Rift headset bundles from Best Buy, Amazon and the Microsoft Store. The PCs are the ASUS G20 and G11, the Alienware Area 51 and x51 and the Dell XPS 8900 SE. The Asus G11 is the cheapest at $1499. For those who already preorder a RIFT headset offer codes to purchase a bundle will show up on order status pages Feb. 16.
- Gmail will start showing an unlocked padlock icon on emails to or from providers that don’t support TLS encryption. For any email contacts who’s identity can’t be verified the profile photo will be replaced by a question mark.
- Google Drive users who complete a security checkup of their account will get 2GB of extra storage free. The checkup reviews passwords, two-step verification, apps and devices with access to the account, and account recovery information. The Verge notes Google ran a similar promotion last year and this year’s offer coincides with Safer Internet Day 2016.
- Submitted by spsheridan
- Google has restored the Adblock Fast plugin for Samsung’s Android browser to the Google Play store today. Rocketship Apps which makes the plugin appealed the block and Google reinstated the app without explanation.
- Amazon is providing sommelier services in Japan to recommend wine for purchase and delivery from Amazon. You can get a pick based on what you’re serving for dinner and what your budget is. Plus the sommelier will send an email summarizing your conversation afterwards.
- Google is partnering with India’s Central Water Commission to display flood alerts in its apps and site. Users will be able to track floods and check river level information for more than 170 areas. Floods in Tamil Nadu killed 500 people and displaced almost 2 million at the end of 2015.
- The Verge has uncovered patent applications that show Facebook is developing millimeter-wave data networks, similar to what Starry announced in January. One patent describes adjusting and routing frequency channel assignments to maximize the entire network from the cloud, instead of maximizing the capacity of any one link. Facebook confirmed to The Verge that the research is part of Internet.org’s Connectivity Lab which aims to roll out connectivity in underserved areas.
- Wired’s Jason Tanz wrote a profile of Andy Rubin and his company Playground Global. Rubin wants to create an open platform of hardware and software for intelligent devices. He wants there to be devices that gather real world data everywhere not just data from the Internet. Rubin says he himself is working on a Dashcam to be given away in exchange for data collection.
- Also, Vine is allowing you to edit captions, Bloomberg says it has documents describing how Amazon DOES want to compete with FedEx and UPS, A class action suit is coming to Apple over Error 53, Google won a patent on self-driving trucks that deliver packages, And GameTrailers.com shut down today.
- Wired’s Jason Tanz wrote a profile of Andy Rubin and his company Playground Global. Rubin wants to create an open platform of hardware and software for intelligent devices. He wants there to be devices that gather real world data everywhere not just data from the Internet. Rubin says he himself is working on a Dashcam to be given away in exchange for data collection.
Discussion
Pick of the Day
- I’ve been a long-time user of Waze, but I recently made the permanent switch to Apple Maps. Why? Though it’s touted as being the app to give you the best route possible, Waze had started to become incredibly inaccurate with route times.
For example: after an overnight snowfall, I loaded up Waze and Apple Maps to see which route would be best. Both showed a delay compared to my normal drive time, along with the same recommended route. However, Waze said I would arrive at work 20 minutes faster than Apple Maps’ estimate. After my venture to work was over, Apple Maps ended up providing the correct route time. After repeat experiences of this nature, it became clear that Waze was no longer as trustworthy as I once thought.
Now, Apple Maps is still not perfect, and will sometimes give me directions to the right place but not where I expected to arrive (it once directed me the back of museum instead of to the entrance or parking area), but it’s reliable enough for my needs.
Perhaps this is simply a “your mileage may vary” scenario, but I can only offer this suggestion based on my use case.
p.s. Another killer feature that Apple Maps has over all other iOS navigation apps, especially for podcast listeners, is a feature called “pause spoken audio.” As the title suggests, spoken audio is paused when Siri gives you directions, and it works flawlessly (even with third-party apps like Overcast). - Submitted by Jesse (a.k.a. hometownrival) in Indianapolis
- I’ve been a long-time user of Waze, but I recently made the permanent switch to Apple Maps. Why? Though it’s touted as being the app to give you the best route possible, Waze had started to become incredibly inaccurate with route times.
Messages
- To Tom & Crew:
Enjoyed the conversation you and Scott Johnson had about Brick & Mortar Amazon Stores! I doubt one will come to my area except maybe Carbondale (SIU-C). I will not be a visitor as I have not visited a Mall in years. I even order some groceries on-line as well as plenty of online shopping. I prefer home shipping. I do price check online with Amazon, Walmart, and other companies. Physical stores do not appeal to me. Before Amazon, I did shop at B.Dalton's and Walden Books, but their downfall is that they only gave a Ten Percent discount. Amazon gave 40 to 50 percent off and killed them.
Love the show! Keep up the great work! - Sent by Michael (Mike) Keepper
- To Tom & Crew:
- Tom and Jennie:
On Friday’s show Molly and Scott were discussing the concept of building in VR and it made me think about the potential for architecture. One of the things about designing a space or a building is that you are not working at actual scale so the process can be a bit abstract. How great would it be if you could build a building or space virtually at real scale. Thinking this might really improve the process and allow for better human scaled environments to be created.
Looking forward to day six of DTNS! Thanks as always for making such a great show. - Sent by Russell
- Tom and Jennie:
YouTube
Links
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