Not To Be Technical

We dive into the new social network called "Truth Social" created by Donald Trump. We also talk about White Castle's Flippy 2 Robots and make Anonymous Listener #1's Pet Peeves & Hot Takes into a recurring segment. Here's the breakdown: 

• Anonymous Listener #1 is back for an entire episode and has some insight about Gary.
• Nafis is doing great, but has anxiety about a dream where he received a letter in the mail.

The start of our new segment, Anonymous Listener #1's Pet  Peeves & Hot Takes:

• Pinching
• All Jordan brand shoes are ugly 
• German Shepherds are racist dogs

Poll Follow-Ups

• Results from "Would you accept $500k in exchange for never drinking, smoking or taking any recreational drugs ever again?".
• Uber now allows riders to see their history of 1 to 5 star reviews.  Results from "Who did the audience think had a better rating, Nafis or Charlie?".

 Trending Tech

• Truth Social, Donald Trump’s new social app, truthfully, it's a Twitter knock off.
• The 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games were the worst ever. 
• White Castle has 100 robot workers, known as "Flippy 2", deployed to flip burgers in 33% of their locations.
• The Amazon Astro Robot is starting to ship and maybe even into Charlie and Nafis' house. 

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The $10 a month subscription failure from 2019, MoviePass, is back, but with a different business model. We go over exactly what went down when they failed, how and why they are coming back and our recommendations for movie theatre subscriptions. But first, here's the breakdown: 

• Nafis feels relieved this week, until he recounts the worst pizza he ever had.  (1:56)
• "Force ranking" our top 3 national chain pizza brands.  (5:53)

Follow-Ups:

• Results from our NFT investment poll and if Charlie or Nafis has the better set of NFTs.  (7:55)
• An update to last episode's story on Peloton's new CEO, Barry McCarthy, and rumors of them being sold to Apple, Nike or another large company.  (10:14)

Trending Tech:

• Instagram is getting Private Story Likes that don't trigger a DM and Nafis shares his preferred way of sliding into DMs as a strapping, young man. (14:18)
• Meta (Facebook) has decided to make a massive change and rename their "News Feed" to just "Feed". We also discuss the early days of Facebook and cleaning up old posts on your wall.  (18:32)

Meaty Topic (25:31): 

• The once dead and heavily meme'd service, MoviePass, is now coming back. 
• We go over the history of MoviePass and why it originally shut down in 2019 after offering a free ticket to the movies once a day for $10 a month.  
• How CEO Stacy Spikes was fired originally and now has bought back the brand. 
• The changes with the new "MoviePass", including their facial detection software to make sure you watch their ads by tracking your eyes. 

 Other options for movie theatre subscriptions that we recommend:

• AMC Stubs A-List - $19.95 to $23.95 a month depending on your state, Up to 3x Movie Tickets a Week (39:10)
• Regal Unlimited™ Movie Subscription Pass - $18 to $23.50 a month depending on your state, Unlimited Movie Tickets (46:03)

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It's the most romantic time of the year, and we have Valentine's Day gift ideas to share. Some are tech based, some are just lame and some are just damn good ideas.  Here's the breakdown: 

• Nafis is ready for a drink, and would decline $500,000 being gifted to him in exchange to never drink alcohol or consume any illegal substances ever again. (2:20)
• Poll Follow-ups: (7:45)
  • Did you know why prescriptions are abbreviated or symbolized as "RX"? 
  • All poll results are being posted on Twitter now.

Trending Tech

• Apple's "Tap to Pay" feature which allows a customer and a business to tap their devices together for a sale. Charlie also shares insight into being a Tesla Asshole. (11:28)
• Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines announced they will merge in a $6.6 billion dollar deal that, if approved, would make the fifth-largest (and shittiest) US airline. (17:08)
• Peloton replaced CEO John Foley with former Spotify and Netflix CFO Barry McCarthy, while also firing 2,800 employees. They also decided to give the employees that were let go a free year's worth of membership. Also, there's rumors that Amazon, Nike or Apple may buy them.  (26:42)

Main Topic

• Thoughts on giving cards, how they pick gifts and how to pick gifts for guys. (37:10)
• Gifts we don't recommend for Valentine's Day. (44:56)
• Our Valentine's Day Gift Recommendations with a Tech focus:
  • Setting the mood with Phillips Hue Lightstrips, Massage Guns & Oil Diffusers (51:32)
  • Oculus Quest 2 (54:48)
  • Nintendo Switch (56:20)
  • It Takes Two (game for PC, Xbox or PlayStation) (58:00)
  • Digital Photo Frame with Slideshow of Photos  (59:39)
  • A framed GIF from Infinite Objects (1:03:05)
  • Lovebox Note Messenger (1:04:33)
  • Lego Bouquet of Flowers (1:08:40)

PSA: Do NOT get the Heart Shaped Pizza from Papa John's. It was literally the worst pizza we ever had.

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Everyone is back and we're building The Mount Rushmore of Pet Peeves on this episode. We also go over Cryptocurrency's latest dips, Facebook's new supercomputer, the new king of Spotify, Peloton's issues and more. Here's the breakdown. 

• Gary's actually back (1:07)
• Nafis has been anxious and busy , and also, ruining plans with the guys (3:35)
• Poll Follow Ups: (6:40)
  • ASUS Pronunciation - Asuss or Asoos (6:55)
  • NFT Poll coming soon (8:45)
• Gary shares why he thinks Cryptocurrency and Stocks are down right now, including very informed opinions on Russia & Ukraine from Charlie (10:00)
• Meta (Facebook) has the world's most powerful supercomputer, cleverly named AI Research SuperCluster, to rule the metaverse rolling out this year. Gary is worried, but wants a servant robot that becomes a step-stool for him to lay his feet and coffee on  (15:38)
• The Weeknd is now the most-streamed artist on Spotify with 85+ million monthly listener million monthly listeners, he is now the new King, taking the crown from Justin Bieber (22:07)
• Amazon acquired rights to the podcast “My Favorite Murder” in an attempt to compete with Spotify for podcasting (24:52)
• 7-Eleven now offers a "7Now Gold Pass, a $5.95-per-month subscription that gives free delivery of shit from their stores (30:07)
• Peloton’s has had a lot of issues this year, leading to a loss of $40 Billion in their valuation over the past year (34:48)
• The Mount Rushmore of Pet Peeves begins (41:31)

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CES 2022 (Consumer Electronics Show) happened this month and we share the most innovative, new products  coming this year, as well as a very serious COVID related condition, Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard and Netflix raising prices. Here's the breakdown: 

• Nafis is feeling better post-COVID and the guys discuss an emerging health condition called "COVID-Dick" (2:40)
• We get into some trending tech and Leonardo DiCaprio's very specific dating habits (8:45)
• Microsoft acquired video game publisher Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion amid a workplace culture scandal (10:12)
• Gaming moving towards subscription models and why this acquisition is huge for PC/Xbox Games Pass (14:18)
• Netflix is raising prices again by $1.50 for North American customers, which equates to $1.35B in new annual revenue in the US alone (18:59)
• We dive into our main topic, the best products coming out this year announced at CES 2022. (23:05)
  • ZenBook 17 Fold OLED - a laptop which sports a foldable OLED display and can be used as a tablet, big-screen laptop or mini clamshell (24:10)
  • Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 -  a 17.3-inch ultra wide main display laptop with a 21:10 aspect ratio — a first for laptops — it also sports an 8-inch secondary touchscreen display  that lives on the keyboard (29:48)
  • Clmbr - a at-home rock-climbing machine with a small footprint (34:00)
  • Google/Android Fast Pair and Audio Switching -  similar to Apple’s ecosystem seamlessly connecting iPads, Macs, iPhones, and AirPods with each other. Google’s trying to bring that same technology yo Android, Windows, and Chromebooks. (38:05)
  • Archer AXE200 Omni - a Wi-Fi 6e router with 4 robotic, nerdy antennas powered by motors that point towards the devices connected to it as they move around your home (43:00)
  • The large amount of EV Trucks being announced and the hype around it (48:05)
  • Razer Zephyr Pro - a smart mask with a steampunk-inspired design, active air filtration system and RGB lighting. (51:50)
  • PlayStation VR2 - Sony's next virtual reality headset with a display resolution of 2,000 x 2,040 for each eye, a 110-degree field of view, 4K HDR capabilities and frame rates of up to 120Hz. (55:45)
  • Noveto N1 invisible headphones -  a new concept where the device uses “smart beam” tech to send you audio that only you can hear, without the need for any headphones. (59:55)

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We're diving into Apple iMessage vs Android texting. The technology behind each, the powerful social implications to not using iMessage and why Apple is blocking a unified solution for their own gain. We also go over Nafis getting scammed while buying a NFT, GameStop getting into NFTs and crypto, Nike's insane lawsuit against Lululemon, and the same company now owning Grand Theft Auto and Farmville. Here's the rundown: 

• The guys go over how buying an NFT at its creation (minting) works, while Nafis shares how he lost $600 by failing for a phishing scam while trying to mint a fake version of a NFT (03:52)
• Poll follow ups: 
  • Were you ever jealous envious of other kids in school who got attention from having a broken limb and a cast? (16:10)
  • Are you concerned with 5G's potential effect on your health? (17:28)
• GameStop is making big moves getting into NFTs, cryptocurrency and making sure their stock is primed for the Mother of All Squeezes (MOAS) (24:03)
• Nike's ridiculous set of lawsuits against Lululemon's Mirror Home Gym based on their sports tech patents from 1983 (28:10)
• Take-Two Interactive (makers of Grand Theft Auto) agreed to buy Zynga (makers of FarmVille, Words With Friends) in a record breaking $12.7 billion deal and Nafis reminisces on his extensive Farmville days and claims middle aged women love Candy Crush (35:25)
• Differences of the technology used to power iMessage and Android text messaging (42:18)
• Apple's strategic "Walled Garden" business practice (47:18)
• Epic Games' lawsuit that led to internal documents leaking proving Apple's known blocking of a unified cross-platform texting system  (50:19)
• Data on the adoption rate of iPhones from teens/young adults from 2015 to now and the psychology behind the pressure applied by social norms (54:49)
• Facebook's research proved that Game Pigeon was/is HUGE for younger users flocking to Apple phones at a high rate (57:47)
• Apple's seamless phone setup process & messaging app vs Android's rocky process & insane amount of texting app options (01:01:32)
• If we think Apple is in the wrong for purposely closing off iMessage (01:09:28)

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It's a new year and the boys are back sharing their own version of a "2021 Wrapped". We expose data we have about YOU: our listeners' most downloaded episodes, used devices, apps, even favorite music. We also have some demographic information like gender, location and age brackets. A recap of Social Media data, too. But first,

• For the first time this year, we find out how the hell Nafis is, as he and Charlie share their experiences with COVID over the holidays (1:42)
• Our show format is explained, in case you forgot (10:07)
• Following-up on 5G cellular service rollouts destroying the airline industry (13:11)
• In November, 4.5 million US workers quit their jobs which continued to drive "The Great Resignation" (15:25)
• Supply Chain Issues have gone as far as making Ikea raise their prices by 9% (20:43)
• Apple becoming the 1st company with a $3T valuation  (23:36)
• People using Apple AirTags more and more to track others unsolicited (25:30)
• Nafis and Charlie share separate stories of retail store employees stealing a wallet with an AirTag on it and an ex girlfriend's purse while they are shopping at a store where a protest against Michael Vick was happening outside (30:34)
• Charlie is asked on the spot if he is misogynistic from a random text (42:05) & (47:34)
• Tesla's had a record-setting amount of car deliveries for sixth straight quarter in Q4 2021 and delivered 936k+ electric vehicles in 2021 (43:31)
• We share our Not To Be Technical 2021 Wrapped Stats & more  (51:28)

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On our 30th recorded episode (Ep. 28), we go over Annual Performance Reviews, 5G cellular service destroying airlines and our Mount Rushmore of Overrated Holiday Traditions, but first, 

• Gary is back, for real (1:00)
• Nafis and the guys recount his 29th birthday week (3:08)
• We build our Mount Rushmore of Overrated Holiday Traditions (12:10)
• Elon Musk paying $11B+ in taxes (31:05)
• An NFT of the world’s 1st SMS went up for auction and should sell for over $200k. It says, “Merry Christmas.” (35:00)
• The high amount of apps on Gary's phone and the ever-growing amount of streaming services (40:35)
• The record number of original series that came out in 2021, 1,923 brand new shows (48:19)
• TikTok launching a delivery-only ghost kitchen chain across the US in March, which will allow users order the food that goes viral on its platform (51:33)
• Why 5G service from phone carriers are causing huge, costly issues for airlines  (57:57)
• Other industries and products Tesla should take over (1:01:01)
• Do Annual Performance Reviews work or even matter? The guys share their own experiences with them (1:08:05)

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It's Nafis' birthday and we're going over the top passwords used in 2021, the biggest internet security risk in a decade and what people searched the most in Google this year, but first 

• We hear from Gary
• Nafis' Birthday is right now
• Tips for the Holidays about work parties, buying the right type of computer and don't be dumb and pay for Windows 11
• Follow-ups from Husky Charlie Poll, Yelp Elite Competition and Charlie vs Nafis as Hot Girls Poll 
• Instagram reaching 2 billion monthly active users and if usage of the platform is unhealthy
• The Log4j security flaw which is one of the biggest security risks this decade that could impact the entire internet
• The top passwords used in 2021
• Google's most searched queries in 2021

#FreeGaryMann

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Spicy takes are given out concerning delivery app tipping as the guys go over why delivery apps need to cater to instant needs to stay relevant, but first... 

• The guys recount their Black Friday buys, including their first week with Arlo outdoor security cameras in a populated downtownish area and the situations they've encountered so far
• Fat (Husky) Charlie content has finally been posted and if he smelled like a whopper
• Nafis and Charlie's new competition to see who can get to Yelp Elite status first
• Supply chain issues continue to effect the world and now cream cheese is effected
• Why Spotify Wrapped is one of the best campaigns/products of all time and the most listened to artists, songs and podcasts in 2021
• Other brands that should do a "wrapped", like Uber Eats and PornHub
• Delivery apps like Doordash building out infrastructures to have deliveries within 10-15 minutes by staffing people exclusively for them
• Their love of the app GoPuff, which delivers convenience store items at any time within 15 minutes for essentially no upcharge, even when Nafis takes edibles
• A spicy take on how much Nafis and Charlie tip on delivery apps by default ($2)

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