Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about the modern marvel that is video chat. In the news, Perplexity is using undeclared crawlers to scrape content, Samsung has a crazy Micro LED TV, real life ad block is possible, and Trump is forming the American SS.

The next GeekNights Book Club book will be The Running Man, by Richard Backman, who you may know better as Stephen King.

• Video Chat and Teleconferencing

• Video Chat and Teleconferencing

• Video Chat and Teleconferencing

• Rym - Survival food - dandelion seeds
• Scott - blahaj goes to waffle house at 3am

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss audio interfaces. Rym uses a PreSonus Studio 1810c to record GeekNights, and as his general purpose "sound card" in the studio.

In the news, the CEO of GitHub steps down, you can consider Forgejo if that worries you, Reddit will block the Internet Archive, and Trump illegally forces the National Guard to deploy to the streets of Washington DC.

• Computer Audio Interfaces

• Computer Audio Interfaces

• Computer Audio Interfaces

• Rym - Map of Queens NY, Explained
• Scott - The Pianolizer

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider why there, broadly, aren't major consumer technology developments lately. In the news, Debian reduces support for i386 and Chrome OS is combining with Android. Also we'll be live at PAX West!

• Why there's no big tech news

• Why there's no big tech news

• Why there's no big tech news

• Rym - The ‘Goal’ That Changed The NHL Forever
• Scott - Hot Spring Shark Attack

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the blinky lights and LEDs the kids are putting on everything including their computers. In the news, Windows 10 has extended security support, Broadcom is desperate to monetize VMware, and the EU forced Apple to comply, at least in the EU.

• Blinky Lights

• Blinky Lights

• Blinky Lights

• Rym - NHL: Refs Mic'd Up Part 2
• Scott - Balatro for the Nintendo E-Reader

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider toilets, washlets, and bidets. (Oh my). In the news, some context on the current Iran conflict, and Apple WWDC25 was mostly uneventful other than keeping old devices going for a while yet.

• Toilets and Bidets and Washlets

• Toilets and Bidets and Washlets

• Toilets and Bidets and Washlets

• Rym - Explaining the Most Bizarre Piano Etude of the 19th Century
• Scott - Restoring the Buran

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss capacity management. It's changed a lot over the years. In the news, evil people are trying to accelerate climate change, and a silly camera is coming.

• Capacity Management

• Capacity Management

• Capacity Management

• Rym - Lemmings: How DMA Design Redefined Puzzle Games
• Scott - What's the Longest Trip You Can Make With a MetroCard?

Tonight on GeekNights, we muse a bit on the problem of discoverability. Nearly all experience is mediated, and this includes deciding what web site to look at. In the news, Rym is back from Zenkaikon, Moon Zooz is continuing to rock it, the cosmological constant might not be, niri is a scrollable-tiling Wayland compositor, and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is a dangerous idiot.

• The Discoverability Problem

• The Discoverability Problem

• The Discoverability Problem

• Rym - I Drove to Every McDonald's in America
• Scott - FamiTracker

Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about MIDI. The Musical Instrument Digital Interface, which is still in use today. In the news, Donkey Kong ‘94 is re-released on Switch, Youtube adds translated dubbing, and Ontario (rightly) taxes Americans using their energy.

• MIDI

• MIDI

• MIDI

• Water your yard FOR FREE !!!
• Rym - Sound Blaster AWE32 2MB (MIDI bank)
• Scott - Heated Driveway in Buffalo

Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Windows 11 and the fools who refuse to upgrade. In the news, the iPhone 16e arrives, Gmail is (correctly) dropping SMS two-factor, Twitch is capping uploads for 0.5% of streamers, and Germany represents a profound realignment of global politics.

• Windows 11

• Windows 11

• Windows 11

• Rym - SS United States — finally — departs South Philly
• Scott - Dragonsweeper

Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss electronic payments. We grew up in a world where credit cards were imprinted on carbon paper and cheques were on physical paper. In the news, the Baltics have disconnected from the Russian power grid, Football Manager 25 will be skipped, and there's one weird trick to stop Google's terrible AI summaries.

• Electronic Payments

• Electronic Payments

• Electronic Payments

• Rym - Sounds between the Crowns (2020)
• Scott - Destroying and Reprogramming the Sprite Engine of Ghosts 'n Goblins