In a single 90 minute presentation, Douglas Englebart showcased technologies that would eventually find their way into nearly every computer you've ever used. And he did it in 1968.

Featuring Tom Merritt.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Passkeys use something called public key cryptography. They have your public key. And because it’s public, it doesn’t matter if anyone gets it. That public key and your private key combine to validate who you are. 

But how does that work? Wouldn’t they have to know something besides the public key that’s unique to you? No. That’s the brilliance of it.

Featuring Tom Merritt.

Link to show notes here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We update the history of Section 230 in light of the recent Supreme Court decisions. What it is, what it isn't and how those decisions affected or didn't affect the future of the "safe harbor" law in the US.

Featuring Tom Merritt.

Full episode transcript here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

By 1998 the US had passed its Digital Millennium Copyright Act. And partly because the US generates so much copyrightable material, and partly just because it’s the US and is a little pushy on the world stage, the DMCA became the de facto way of handling copyright protections on the internet around the world.

But what is it? Why did we need the DMCA or the WIPO copyright treaty at all?

Let's help you Know a Little more about the DMCA

Featuring Tom Merritt.

Full episode transcript available here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Taiwan is at once one of the most vexing political situations on the globe and one of the most important to the world of technology.

But few people understand how it got to be either. And understanding that is essential to understanding what might happen next and how that matters a LOT for the technology industry.

Let's help you Know a Little More about Taiwan.

Featuring Tom Merritt.

This episode has been updated to correctly name the original four members of the United Nations Security Council.

Full episode transcript here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's a lot of fear uncertainty and doubt being spread about OpenAI. So let's help you straighten out what it is and what it isn't.

Featuring Tom Merritt.

Full transcript here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You may have heard that using text messages  as a second factor or 2FA code to protect your logins is less secure than other forms like apps or keys. You may even know this is because of something called SIM Swapping. Are there any legitimate uses/functions to swapping/cloning?

Featuring Tom Merritt.

Full episode transcript here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could an open source alternative finally spell the end of Twitter's short-form bulletin board style postings? It's been tried before, but now there's perhaps the best contender for the Twitter throne yet: Mastodon.

Featuring Tom Merritt.

Full episode transcript here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Algorithms are a hot topic, especially among those concerned about how information is spread. Social networks like Instagram and TikTok famously use "algorithms" to decide what content to show you. Facial recognition algorithms famously fail, especially if you aren't light skinned. But ... What is an algorithm anyway? Is it really at fault for all of this?

Featuring Tom Merritt.

Full episode transcript here.

Thank you to Biocow, Mrs. Biocow, ZoeBringsBacon, and Stargate Pioneer for contributing their voices!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.