links Archives - Lon Seidman & Lon.TV Blog

Today’s Links

admin — Tue, 05 Jul 2022 11:28:00 +0000

NASA is right to examine UFOs – Washington Post

Simply Mac Closes its Doors, Many Customers Left Without Their Devices – The Mac Observer

Some Macs are getting fewer updates than they used to. Here’s why it’s a problem – ARS Technica

Today’s Links

admin — Sun, 03 Jul 2022 13:26:10 +0000

Chevy Tried Auctioning a Corvette Z06 and NFT Combo, and Nobody Bid On It – Motor Trend

Is Spectrum killing TiVo / CableCARD support? Answer: It’s complicated – TechHive

$70,000 RC Airplane? L-39C XXXL by Tomahawk Aviation – FPVicious (YouTube)

Today’s Links

admin — Fri, 01 Jul 2022 16:41:00 +0000

YouTube removes criticism of dangerous fractal wood burning instructions, but leaves up the lethal tips – Boing Boing

Dragon’s Lair III for the Apple IIgs Released – Brutal Deluxe Software

FBI: Scammers Are Interviewing for Remote Jobs Using Deepfake Tech – PCMag

Today’s Links

admin — Thu, 30 Jun 2022 23:09:41 +0000

The tiniest Raspberry Pi gets a new version with built-in Wi-Fi – ARS Technica

FCC authorizes SpaceX to provide mobile Starlink internet service to boats, planes and trucks – CNBC

Couple bought home in Seattle, then learned Comcast Internet would cost $27,000 –ARS Technica

‘Cryptoqueen’ allegedly defrauded investors of billions – FBI

Today’s Links

admin — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 18:59:00 +0000

New YTStealer Malware Aims to Hijack Accounts of YouTube Content Creators – Hacker News

Apple Plans to Launch MacBook Air With M2 Chip on July 15 – Macrumors

Netflix Released a Creative Commons licensed short film in 2016 – Variety

Today’s Links

admin — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 10:49:00 +0000

Lost and Found: USB Sticks with Data on 460,000 People – The New York Times

Amazon significantly improves Network Status Test on Fire TVs with new speed test feature and more – AFTVNews

AMD Introduces USB 4 Support in Chipset Update for Ryzen 6000 Mobile – Toms Hardware

Today’s Links

admin — Tue, 28 Jun 2022 10:36:12 +0000

Can You Recycle a Hard Drive? Google Is Trying to Find Out – Wired

Valve Is Doubling Steam Deck Deliveries, So Check Your Emails – Kotaku

Fall Guys Free-To-Play Reaches 20 Million Players In The First 48 Hours – Nintendo Life – Nintendo Life

Meme-Stock Probe Finds Robinhood Woes Were Worse Than It Let On – Yahoo Finance

Today’s Links

admin — Fri, 24 Jun 2022 20:17:41 +0000

Scammers May Have Found A Way To Hide Defective Memory On Used Mining GPUs – Hot Hardware

Today’s Links

admin — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 22:59:33 +0000

Behold the Magnetar, nature’s ultimate superweapon – Ars Technica

Sunbathing walrus sinks boats in Norway – NBC News

Today’s Links

admin — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 11:27:42 +0000

Vegas Company Promised Fast Internet. Rural America Waits…and Waits – Wall Street Journal

Kellogg to Separate Into Three Companies Focusing on Snacks, Cereal and Plant-Based Foods – CNBC

Megaupload Pair Plead Guilty, Kim Dotcom Turns Anger on Former Friends – TorrentFreak

Today’s Links

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 12:58:19 +0000

When Customers Say Their Money Was Stolen on Zelle, Banks Often Refuse to Pay – NYTimes

Is Google Dying? Or Did the Web Grow Up? – The Atlantic

Telegram is ‘not a secure platform,’ NATO-backed strategic comms chief warns – Washington Examiner

As cryptocurrency tumbles, prices for new and used GPUs continue to fall – Ars Technica

Today’s Links

admin — Mon, 20 Jun 2022 11:31:43 +0000

Dolphin Builds for Windows on ARM Are Now Available to Download – /r/Emulation on Reddit

Amazon removes Developer Options from Fire TVs with latest software update – AFTVNews

Twin Galaxies founder Walter Day Interview on the 80’s Arcade Scene – Ted Dabney Experience Podcast

AirTag Shipments Reportedly Grown Over Time, Making Second-Generation Model More Likely – MacRumors

Today’s Links

admin — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 19:47:36 +0000

The biggest corporate holder of bitcoin is facing a reckoning – Quartz

USB-C iPhone could become mandatory in the US as senators push for common charger law – 9to5 Mac

Apple Just Wrecked 15+ Startups In Less Than 1 Hour – Medium – Jano Le Roux

NASA’s Perseverance Rover Captures Video of Solar Eclipse on Mars – NASA JPL

Today’s Links

admin — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 16:49:00 +0000

“Chili’s Baby Back Ribs” behind-the-scenes recording session from 1998. – Todd Spence, Twitter

Convicted scammer Anna Sorokin says she is now selling NFTs – NBC News

Prime Day 2022 will be July 12 & 13, with deals starting as early as June 21 – AFTVNews

Elon Musk Tells Staff Twitter Should Allow ‘Pretty Outrageous’ Tweets but that the platform doesn’t have to give those posts reach. – Bloomberg

Today’s Links

admin — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 13:47:20 +0000

US Patent and Trademark Office Filing its Own Trademark – Erik Leton/Twitter

M2 MacBook Air smokes the M1 in leaked benchmark tests – iMore

Europe cracks down on data cap exemptions in update to net neutrality rules – Ars Technica

“Tough to forge” digital driver’s license is… easy to forge – Ars Technica

Today’s Links

admin — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 11:39:08 +0000

Is LaMDA Sentient? An Interview – Medium

The Google engineer who thinks the company’s AI has come to life – Washington Post

Telegram CEO hopes for ‘regulatory action’ over iPhone browser tech block – iMore

MiSTer FPGA News & Updates – PSX Accuracy, GUN4IR, Dragon’s Lair & More – RetroRGB / Lu

The best demos to play during this week’s Steam Next Fest – PC Gamer

Credentials for thousands of open source projects free for the taking—again! – Ars Technica

Today’s Links

admin — Mon, 13 Jun 2022 01:12:50 +0000

Bizarre Drone Swarms That Harassed Navy Ships Demystified In New Docs – The Drive

New CRISPR-based map ties every human gene to its function – MIT News

AOL 3.0 is Back – Re-AOL

Today’s Links

admin — Sat, 11 Jun 2022 04:37:29 +0000

NASA’s second mobile launcher is too heavy, years late, and pushing $1 billion – Ars Technica

How Elon Musk’s space satellites changed the war on the ground – POLITICO

Microsoft accidentally allowed unsupported PCs to upgrade to Windows 11 22H2 – Ars Technica

Today’s Links

admin — Thu, 09 Jun 2022 17:40:16 +0000

Microsoft releases Game Pass cloud streaming app for Samsung Smart TVs, announces additional game streaming options for purchased games – Xbox

Vivaldi web browser now has an email client, calendar, and RSS reader built in – Liliputing

Roku Staffers Swirl in Netflix Acquisition Rumors – Next TV

Today’s Links

admin — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 13:33:55 +0000

A Cancer Trial’s Unexpected Result: Remission in Every Patient – NY Times

Apple Will Be Forced To Use USB-C Charger In iPhones Under Landmark EU Agreement – Forbes

MacOS will soon block unknown USB-C accessories by default – TechCrunch

Everlong Foo Fighters (Piano Shopping Mall) – YouTube

Today’s Links

admin — Mon, 06 Jun 2022 21:22:13 +0000

Amazon is launching an invite-based ordering option, starting with the PS5 and Xbox Series X – Techcrunch

Musk Threatens to Walk Away from Twitter Deal – AP

Sega Has Considered Dreamcast & Saturn Mini But Is Worried About Extreme Costs – Nintendolife

‘No Man’s Sky’ is Coming to iPad in Addition to Mac Later this Year – Touch Arcade

Today’s Links

admin — Mon, 06 Jun 2022 11:54:33 +0000

Man murdered after girlfriend used AirTag to investigate cheating – AppleInsider

Sega, still doing what Nintendon’t, announces a tiny Sega CD retro console – Ars Technica

‘Father of MIDI’ Dave Smith Dies At 72 – Slashdot

Beavis and Butt-Head’s streaming-only return on June 23 is sci-fi for morons – Ars Technica

Links for Today

admin — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 14:36:00 +0000

Ring announces new features, raises its basic subscription price for the first time since 2017 – TechCrunch

iPadOS 16 preview: Rumored features could bring Mac-like capabilities to the tablet – Macworld

New bookstore owners discover secret subterranean room with tunnel down the street – Boing Boing

Mariah Carey Sued For “All I Want For Christmas Is You” By Louisiana Country Songwriter – Deadline

Links for Today

admin — Fri, 03 Jun 2022 11:28:39 +0000

Ford Is Going to 100% Online, Fixed-Price Sales For EVs – Road and Track

Cruise can now charge for fully driverless rides in San Francisco – Engadget

Today’s Links

admin — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 19:05:31 +0000

Code execution 0-day in Windows has been under active exploit for 7 weeks – Ars Technica

John Deere Still Sucks On ‘Right To Repair,’ Despite Years Of Promises – Techdirt

Coffee Drinking Linked to Lower Risk of Dying, New Study Finds – The New York Times

OpenSea executive used NFTs for insider trading, prosecutors allege – The Washington Post

Physicists just rewrote a foundational rule for nuclear fusion reactors that could unleash twice the power | Space.com

The Steam Deck’s Docking Station has been delayed indefinitely – PC Gamer

Today’s Links

admin — Mon, 30 May 2022 13:35:28 +0000

MiSTer FPGA News & Updates – Super GameBoy, CD32, Commodore 128 & More – RetroRGB

New ‘GoodWill’ Ransomware Forces Victims to Donate Money and Clothes to the Poor – Hacker News

Some top 100,000 websites collect everything you type—before you hit submit – ARS Technica

How Apple, Google, and Microsoft will kill passwords and phishing in one stroke – ARS Technica

Browser in the Browser (BITB) Phishing Technique – Infinite Logins (YouTube)

Links for Today

admin — Sat, 28 May 2022 17:20:13 +0000

Metal Jesus’ Map of Seattle Area Retro Game Stores – Google Maps / Metal Jesus

AYA Neo Air Plus is a $289 gaming handheld with an AMD Mendocino processor – Liliputing

Steam Deck Parts and Repair Guides – iFixit

After 30 years, the world can now play the lost Marble Madness II – Ars Technica

1st look: NASA visitor complex to open ‘Gateway’ to future of space travel – Space.com

Tom Cruise’s Top Gun Maverick’ Opens to $124 Million at Box Office – Variety

Today’s Links

admin — Fri, 27 May 2022 19:13:53 +0000

All Amazon Cloud Cams to stop working in December — Customers will get a free Blink Mini Camera – AFTV News

The Grave Insult of Being Sent the Proper Tools to Perform a Complicated Task (Another Verge miss) – Daring Fireball

7 Ways Uncanny AT&T ‘You Will’ Ad Predicted the Future – Gizmodo

Today’s Links

admin — Thu, 26 May 2022 16:35:28 +0000

Broadcom to Acquire VMware in $61 Billion Enterprise Computing Deal – NY Times

‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey’ Director Teases Slasher Film Plot: ‘Pooh and Piglet Go on a Rampage’ (Winnie the Pooh is now in the public domain) – Variety

Today’s Links

admin — Thu, 26 May 2022 01:22:59 +0000

NASA, Boeing Complete Starliner Uncrewed Flight Test to Space Station – NASA

Smashing Pumpkins’ 1988 Appearance on a Public Access TV Show – YouTube

Streaming Was The Star Of This Year’s Upfronts – AdExchanger

The inside story of Chernobyl during the Russian occupation – The Economist

Today’s Links

admin — Tue, 24 May 2022 23:39:55 +0000

86Box (a classic PC Emulator) updated with Apple Silicon support – 86Box.Net

Afterdark for the NES – Design a screensaver and download a custom NES ROM – No Bad Memories.com

Links for Today

admin — Mon, 23 May 2022 22:47:13 +0000

Interview with Zophar – RetroRGB

Zola says user accounts were hacked, but still doesn’t offer 2FA – Techcrunch

NASA Programmer Remembers Debugging Lisp in Deep Space – The New Stack

Latest GOG Sale Celebrates EA’s 40th Anniversary – WC News

New York City Removes the Last Payphone From Service – NBC Connecticut

Links for Today

admin — Mon, 23 May 2022 13:21:25 +0000

Communicating with orbiting amateur radio satellites with a handheld! – Work-Sat.com

Why have aliens never visited Earth? Scientists have a disturbing answer – Space.com

Star Wars designer behind the Death Star and X-wing dies aged 90 – Sky News

Links for Today

admin — Fri, 20 May 2022 22:58:27 +0000

Miami’s mayor backed MiamiCoin crypto—then its price dropped 95% – Quartz

ColecoVision ADAM comes to MiSTer! – Github

Starliner makes first docking with ISS on OFT-2 mission – NASA Spaceflight

Scientists discover an ancient forest inside a giant sinkhole in China – NPR

America’s Deadliest Train Is Getting Even Faster, Going Farther – Jalopnik

California Developed Stick-On License Plates, No Bumper Drilling Required – Motor Trend

Links for Today

admin — Thu, 19 May 2022 14:54:23 +0000

The Flat Apple Watch Rumors Return – MacSparky

MiSTer’s PSX Core 16:9 Mode Explained – RetroRGB

Starliner Launches to Space Station on Uncrewed Flight Test for NASA – NASA

Today’s Links

admin — Thu, 19 May 2022 11:35:04 +0000

Wisconsin man celebrates 50 years of eating Big Macs every day – KCRG

‘A glowing red orb’: Wild UFO theories move from the shadows to Congress – POLITICO

Links for Today

admin — Tue, 17 May 2022 20:04:02 +0000

UFO hearing features historic testimony from Pentagon officials – Washington Post

For All Mankind sets its alternate timeline sights on Mars in S3 trailer – Ars Technica

Grubhub’s free lunch offer in NYC crashed its website and app – Engadget

Today’s Links

admin — Mon, 16 May 2022 17:26:46 +0000

This computer ran for 6 months powered by nothing but algae – BGR

Verizon Raises Administrative Fees for Consumers, Adds New Fee for Business Lines – CNET

Former NASA leaders praise Boeing’s willingness to risk commercial crew – Ars Technica

Unreal Tournament over 70cm Amateur Radio Band – Signals Everywhere

‘A Skull and Bones-type vibe’: Spy agencies grapple with how much to share at UFO hearing – POLITICO

Zoom is worth less than it was before the pandemic – Quartz

Elon Musk says he might try to renegotiate $44B Twitter deal for less – Washington Post

Today’s Links

admin — Sat, 14 May 2022 20:05:31 +0000

This Bonkers 115-Foot Submarine Was Designed to Host Parties Underwater – Yahoo Sports

Chair of First UFO Hearing Since 1960s: ‘Someone Has to Do It’ – Bloomberg

Zyxel Firewall Unauthenticated Remote Command Injection – Rapid7 Blog

Today’s Links

admin — Fri, 13 May 2022 20:46:24 +0000

From dial-up to live blogs: How ABCNews.com helped transform online news over 25 years – ABC News

Scientists grow plants in soil from the Moon for the first time – Engadget

John Romero Releases Memoir – CALL A.p.p.l.e.

Netflix’s Bad Habits Have Caught Up With It – Vulture

Ex-eBay exec pleads guilty to terrorizing couple with spiders and funeral wreaths – Guardian

Links for Today

admin — Thu, 12 May 2022 17:19:49 +0000

Why We Collect – NYTimes

Google removed this Pixel 6A feature (the headphone jack) after blasting Apple for doing the same thing – iMore

iPod Touch Completely Sold Out in Apple’s US Store Just Days After Being Discontinued – MacRumors

Unity Software loses $5 billion in market cap as privacy workaround fails – Apple Insider

Epic is going to release the Unreal Editor for Fortnite in an attempt to out-Roblox Roblox – PC Gamer

Tesla Model 3 becomes a 6-ton electric tank with giant chain tracks – Electrek

Achtung! How Wolfenstein 3D Shocked the World, 30 Years Later – How-To Geek

Norm Macdonald Shot Secret Final Netflix Stand-Up Special Before Passing – Hollywood Reporter

Elon Musk: “Overzealous DMCA Is a Plague On Humanity” – Torrent Freak

Smartphone with E-Ink Display

admin — Thu, 12 May 2022 11:09:17 +0000

Here’s an interesting smartphone – forget your fancy OLEDs how about an e-ink display? I bet the battery life on this unit will be very, very good. Just don’t expect to watch any video on it.

It’s called the Hisense A9. Read more about it at Liliputing.

Links for Today

admin — Thu, 12 May 2022 00:19:51 +0000

Federal judge says Twitter is not a website during Texas tech law appeal – iMore

Boeing clashes with key supplier ahead of Starliner spacecraft launch – Reuters

Bitcoin jumps back above $30,000 despite hot U.S. inflation report – CNBC

Coinbase admits users may lose crypto if exchange goes bankrupt – Fortune

Crypto Billionaires’ Vast Fortunes Are Destroyed in Weeks – Yahoo Finance

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby on the Upcoming Congressional UFOs Hearing – The Black Vault

Links for Today

admin — Sun, 08 May 2022 19:20:00 +0000

Xbox is recovering after the second of two outages this weekend – Engadget

Gear from Netgear, Linksys, and 200 others has unpatched DNS poisoning flaw – Ars Technica

Doom 32X ‘Resurrection’ v2.0 Update – RetroRGB

NesUEFI – A bootable NES Emulator running on UEFI – Github

Why Saudi Prince Alwaleed Reversed Course on Elon Musk’s Twitter Bid – Bloomberg

Today’s Links

admin — Sat, 07 May 2022 23:49:54 +0000

Crazy video of a car chase scene from a helicopter being filmed for an upcoming Michael Bay Film – Facebook Reels

How millions of Russians are tearing holes in the Digital Iron Curtain – Washington Post

Every ISP in the US has been ordered to block three pirate streaming services – Ars Technica

The Future of Space Tourism Is Now. Well, Not Quite. – NYtimes

A great analysis of a favorite Rush song

admin — Sat, 07 May 2022 23:46:13 +0000

This is such a fun analysis of a great song courtesy of the The Charismatic Voice on YouTube. When a familiar song is analyzed by an expert you get a whole new perspective on the music. It’s almost like hearing it for the first time.

SpaceX Recovery Crews Had a Visit from Flipper

admin — Sat, 07 May 2022 23:40:32 +0000

SpaceX engineer and mission commentator Kate Tice reports that a dolphin was swimming around the recovery crews following the splashdown of NASA’s Crew 3 mission.

The team told me later this was just a dolphin… but I still won’t be taking a night swim anytime soon https://t.co/c3opHILXMw

— kate_tice (@kate_tice) May 7, 2022

Shortwave Radiogram

admin — Sat, 07 May 2022 00:52:40 +0000

I picked up an RTL-SDR (affiliate link) Software Defined Radio dongle recently and have been having a blast with it. You can see my adventures so far with it here.

My most recent project is to discover and decode all of the digital signals transmitting through the air around me. I looked at lot of different things like the FT8 weak signal protocol, POCSAG pager decoding, and packet radio to name a few.

A viewer tipped me off to another digital signal to look for which is the Shortwave Radiogram broadcast that transmits a few days a week on shortwave frequencies. It consists of a 30 minute broadcast that transmits text and small images. Part of the challenge is to keep the signal strong enough to decode it! You can see what it looks like thanks to “Shacking Off” on YouTube.

More information can be found at the SW Radiogram website. They also have links to recordings so you can practice ahead of the next broadcast.

There’s a whole community around this too. Check out their Facebook group.

I am almost done studying for my HAM radio technician license. Just need a few more days to run through the practice exams. Stay tuned!

Today’s Links

admin — Sat, 07 May 2022 00:40:14 +0000

New High Resolution Scan of “Extraordinary” UAP Image – UAP Media UK

Everything You Need to Know About Apple’s Self Service Repair Program for iPhones – Macrumors

Mercury’s Comet-like Tail – Space Weather Archive

Teslas using Autopilot are eight times less likely to be in an accident – Teslarati

Goodwill Sold a Bust for $34.99. It’s an Ancient Roman Relic – NYTimes

Frontier Ordered to Pay Millions After Internet Speed Allegations – NBC Connecticut

Today’s Links

admin — Thu, 05 May 2022 17:03:41 +0000

Epic’s Fortnite Now Free To Play on Microsoft’s Xbox Cloud Gaming for Mobile, Desktop, Console – CNET

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is either good or it’s just so comforting that I don’t care – Ars

Tech’s new season of shrinking – Axios

Intec GBA HDMI – Another Laggy Mess – RetroRGB

Testing Out Apple’s Self Repair Program With an iPhone 12 Mini Battery Fix – Macrumors

Links for Today

admin — Wed, 04 May 2022 22:37:42 +0000

Meta announces massive hiring freeze, blames Apple for revenue slowdown – iMore

TurboTax forced to stop misleading “free, free, free” ads and pay back $141M – Ars Technica

Cameo lays off close to 90, including senior executives – Protocol

Florida Flights Face Worst Delays in Years Thanks to Private Jets and Space Launches – Yahoo News

New Obi Wan Series Trailer! – YouTube

Elon Musk Invited to Discuss Twitter Buyout With U.K. Parliamentary Committee – Variety

Humans Behind Search: Meet Matt – Google Blog

RetroRGB Roundup #303 – RetroRGB

Programmatic Product Placements?

admin — Wed, 04 May 2022 20:14:41 +0000

According to AFTVNews.com Amazon is experimenting with a new dynamic advertising method that allows for CGI product placement.

That means a bowl of Skittles for one viewer could appear as a bowl of M&M’s for another. It also allows product placement to be an ongoing source of revenue for Amazon vs. a one shot “baked in” advertising opportunity.

Google’s Fact Check Explorer

admin — Wed, 04 May 2022 12:51:01 +0000

Google set up a fact check tool that aggregates fact checking articles on various topics in the news and social media. It also features an API for connecting into other apps.

New Empire Strikes Back Game for the Commodore 64

admin — Wed, 04 May 2022 11:58:24 +0000

Just in time for “May the Fourth” retro developer Megastyle games has released a new Empire Strikes Back game for the Commodore 64!

The game play is similar to the Atari 2600 and Intellivision classic where your snow speeder is up against wave after wave of imperial walkers. This one adds AT-ST’s to the mix along with a level progression system that was lacking from the original. The graphics look great! Here’s some footage of the game courtesy of YouTuber C64.

This will run on original hardware along with emulators and the MiSTer core. They made the game available in a few different formats including cassette tape!

Links for today:

admin — Wed, 04 May 2022 11:25:04 +0000

‘I Don’t Really Have a Business Plan’: How Elon Musk Wings It – NY Times

CIA reaches out to Russians opposed to war in Ukraine (Using TOR) – CBS News

Today Show Bill Gates Interview – NBC News

How Did I Miss This Game? – Happy Console Gamer

The Secrets of Skinwalker Ranch Season 3 – History Channel

RocketLab Catches Rocket with a Helicopter!

admin — Tue, 03 May 2022 11:10:07 +0000

When we think of commercial space providers we’re often thinking of Elon Musk’s SpaceX or Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin. But there’s another company that’s successfully launching small satellites called RocketLab.

RocketLab specializes in launching small satellites on their Electron rocket. The rocket is usually ditched in the ocean after each launch but the company is working towards reusability to lower costs. While SpaceX and Blue Origin propulsively land their large rockets, RocketLab is working at plucking theirs out of the air with a helicopter!

Wach the catch here. There’s also a cool Twitter video from the helicopter’s cockpit here.

RocketLab’s CEO Peter Beck said they released the rocket shortly after catching it due to instability. It was picked up by their recovery ship shortly afterward. Still a very successful first attempt!

Facebook & Plex Exiting the Podcast Business

admin — Tue, 03 May 2022 10:58:34 +0000

iMore reports that Facebook is leaving the Podcasting business but the company doesn’t plan on telling anyone about it.

Oddly, Facebook said that it doesn’t plan to tell anyone on Facebook that podcasts are going to be removed. That responsibility will fall on podcasters to alert their audience.

I didn’t even know Facebook was doing podcasts so it looks like the feature wasn’t heavily used. Plex also recently discontinued their podcasting feature:

As part of our ongoing effort to make sure we’re spending our time and energy in ways that best serve our awesome user community, we’ve made the decision to end support for podcasts within Plex. We recognize this impacts several of you greatly, and we apologize for the inconvenience it will cause. You can continue to access your podcasts within Plex until next Friday, April 15th, 2022, at which point they will no longer be available.

I did a video recently about how nobody controls podcasting due to its decentralized nature. Check it out learn why so many social media companies struggle integrating podcasting into the apps.

Members of Congress are not Pleased with DOD’s UFO Investigation Progress

admin — Tue, 03 May 2022 10:58:09 +0000

From Politico:

Lawmakers receiving the latest secret briefings on UFOs say national security agencies still aren’t taking seriously the reports of highly advanced aircraft of unknown origin violating protected airspace.

Members of the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services committees received classified progress reports in recent weeks on a series of new data collection efforts the Pentagon and spy agencies are now required to pursue to more rigorously investigate reports of UFOs, three people with direct knowledge confirmed.

But some leading sponsors of recent legislation want more analysts and surveillance systems dedicated to determining the aircrafts’ origin — and not just more reports of their existence.

Former Pentagon official Christopher Melon, who is credited for initially breaking the story, also weighed in on Twitter:

For a start, Congress absolutely needs to know who in the executive owns the UAP issue and what they are doing to identify the mysterious ‘drones’ that have been stalking U.S. warships and disrupting training activities in military airspace.

Cable Companies Becoming Dumb (Profitable) Pipes

admin — Mon, 02 May 2022 18:50:23 +0000

Interesting article in Multichannel news about Charter Communications using Comcast’s Flex platform to deliver streaming media to customers. Charter CEO Rutledge believes most customers will end up cutting the TV cord and go IP only:

“I expect that incrementally most of our customer base will be all-IP,” Rutledge said after being asked about the JV on Charter’s Q1 earnings conference call with analysts. He added that unused video spectrum can be recaptured and used to increase broadband speeds or provide additional capacity over time.

Cable companies make far more money delivering dumb pipes vs. TV. The reason is that cable providers have to pay television networks and broadcasters per subscriber to carry the channel.

Streaming works the other way around: streamers like Netflix have to pay the cable provider for direct access to their network or face network congestion. Cable companies profit on both ends of that equation and in some cases get a portion of subscriber revenue too.

On the New Space Race

admin — Mon, 02 May 2022 15:40:19 +0000

The real space race IMHO is not US vs China but rather SpaceX vs the incumbents. I fear the incumbent’s influence may result in heavier handed regulation of SpaceX’s activities to slow them down.

If SpaceX’s Starship succeeds there is no way US taxpayers will tolerate spending billions on a rocket that gets thrown away after every launch.

A Great MiSTer News Source

admin — Mon, 02 May 2022 14:35:09 +0000

There is A LOT going on with MiSTer these days – so much so that I hope to do an update video about some of the things that I’m most excited about soon. A Sega 32X core has been added, a Playstation 1 core is close to completion, and the holy grail (for me) – the Apple IIgs – is in the works too!

RetroRGB is a great source for following the progress of the project. A contributor to the site, Lu’s Retro Source, is posting regular update videos of all that’s new and exciting in the MiSTer project. You can find Lu’s channel here.

Check out my prior MiSTer content here. Bob from RetroRGB and I have done two panel discussions of this at Retro World Expo that you can also find in the playlist.

Alternativeto.net Finds Alternatives

admin — Sun, 01 May 2022 12:15:45 +0000

One site I find myself landing on all of the time is called “Alternative To.” It does exactly what its name implies – finds alternatives to popular applications and services. It’s crowd driven and does a great job finding neat open source projects you’ve never heard about.

Calmira Makes Windows 3.1 Look Like 95

admin — Sun, 01 May 2022 12:10:45 +0000

On the topic of cool interfaces for old computers, Benj Edwards on YouTube tweeted out this screenshot of Calmira – an open source tool that makes Windows 3.1 function like Windows 95. Calmira is open source and was first released back in 2001.

Find more of my retro content here.

New Video: Yolobox Mini Review

admin — Sun, 01 May 2022 00:24:45 +0000

Buy one on Amazon (compensated affiliate link). – The Yolobox Mini combines a streaming video encoder, recorder, and monitor in a single device. It’s pricey but compared to other devices like it in the production world it’s actually pretty reasonable. See more production videos. and subscribe!

See the review here.

Apple II DeskTop Turns a II Into a Mac

admin — Sun, 01 May 2022 00:06:45 +0000

Apple II DeskTop (also known as MouseDesk) is a remarkable piece of software developed for the Apple IIe and //c way back in 1985. It replicated the look and feel of a Mac desktop on the II with surprisingly decent performance.

It is still being worked on and is now open source. It works on original hardware as well as emulators (including the MiSTer).

h/t to CALL Apple.

AirTag Anti-Stalking Alarm Updated

admin — Sat, 30 Apr 2022 05:45:45 +0000

Apple pushed an update on their Airtags product that they say will tune “the unwanted tracking sound to more easily locate an unknown AirTag.” See more on AirTags here.

Ariel School Documentary Trailer

admin — Sat, 30 Apr 2022 05:35:45 +0000

One of the most compelling UFO stories in the 2020 documentary “The Phenomenon” involved a 1994 incident at the Ariel School in Zimbabwe. There students claim to have seen a UFO and its occupants after the craft landed next to their playground. A new documentary by Randall Nickerson will focus entirely on this story, visiting the former students on how this incident impacted their lives. Definitely check out the Phenomenon if you haven’t seen it already, I talk more about this incident in this Weekly Wrapup video.

Qualcomm M1 Competitor Delayed to 2023

admin — Sat, 30 Apr 2022 05:05:45 +0000

Qualcomm’s M1 Competitor Delayed

PC World has a great scoop on the status of Qualcomm’s M1 competitor. The company says it won’t be shipping the new chip until late 2023 – putting ARM based Windows PCs further behind Apple’s Macs. The big question is how farther along will Apple be by then?

I covered the performance disparities between Windows ARM and Apple’s M1 about ten months ago.

Apple’s M1 has been on the market for almost two years now. Even their high performance variants are running off the same architecture. Apple’s updated M2 chips are rumored to be released in new Macs later this year.

AVGN on Why Contra is One of the Best Games Ever

admin — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 12:35:45 +0000

I still remember the day I bought Contra 35 (yikes!) years ago. It is one of my favorite games of all time. AVGN did a great analysis of what made this game so great : it was tough but fair.

Back in the day I managed to get to the last level until word of mouth about the “Konami code” made it to my school. I still remember the thrill of reaching the winter level on my first continue.

While so many games we thought were great don’t hold up today this one actually gets better with age.

Welcome Earthlings!

admin — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 22:45:00 +0000

Alien artifacts found on Mars. But the aliens in this case are earthlings! The Mars Rover Perseverance encountered the back shell and parachute it used to descend to the surface of the red planet. And its helicopter took an aerial photo.

Cord Cutters Top Cable & Satellite

admin — Thu, 28 Apr 2022 22:28:00 +0000

My friend Luke Bouma shared the above interesting statistic about the continuing trend of US consumers cutting the cable cord. Roku, citing Nielsen data, says that streaming TV has now surpassed legacy paid TV services like cable and satellite. What’s not clear is whether or not they factor over the top services like Sling and … Continue reading

Boeing Nears Launch of Starliner

admin — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 22:47:00 +0000

Boeing’s Starliner is back on the pad in Florida for a test flight.

The goal of commercial crew was for multiple routes to space. Boeing is as important as SpaceX in that regard. Starliner’s troubles demonstrated the strength of multiple vendors providing launch services. No disruption to the mission – just hitch another ride.

Comparing Lag and Ghosting for Every GBA handheld

admin — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 22:39:00 +0000

RetroRGB has an interesting analysis of GBA hardware differences.