POP | TECH | JAM

On this week’s very special episode of Pop tech Jam, journalist Laura M. Holson returns to the studio for a discussion about the past, present and future of fake news and how to avoid it. And while El Kaiser continues the long wait for his new Google Pixel phone, he and J.D. pass the time reviewing the week in technology news and planning to do at least an Hour of Code. Join in!

Links to This Week’s News Stories

* Partnering to help curb spread of online terrorist content (Facebook)

* Google removes ‘are Jews evil’ suggestion from autocomplete feature (The Telegraph)

* Zo is Microsoft’s latest AI chatbot (MS Power User)

* Google DeepMind makes AI training platform publicly available (Bloomberg)

* Amazon moves to cut checkout line, promoting a grab-and-go experience (The New York Times)

* Let your loved ones know you’re safe with our new personal safety app (Google Keyword blog)

* Trusted Contacts app (Google Play store)

* Leap Motion goes mobile (Leap Motion blog)

* It will soon be illegal to punish customers who criticize businesses online (Ars Technica)

* Consumer Review Fairness Act (Congress.gov)

* AT&T means business with a 5G trial at Intel (PC World)

* Fitbit beats smartwatch makers like Apple in Q3, says IDC (Fortune)

* The Apple Watch is not selling well, according to reports (Quartz)

* Apple Watch sales to cons...

Another year, another Disney-generated Star Wars movie. And, like last year’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens pre-sales, the demand for advance  Rogue One tickets Monday morning knocked over the Fandango site like an AT-AT tripped up by crafty snowspeeders. But now that you’ve got your tickets, kill some time until the movie with Carrie Fisher’s new book — or catch up the recent tech news with El Kaiser and J.D., along with this week’s discussion of video streams and spam awareness. May the Force be with you!

Links to This Week’s News Stories

* U.S. Cyber Monday sales jump, set to surpass initial estimate (Reuters)

* Amazon said to plan premium Alexa speaker with large screen (Bloomberg)

* Amazon Echo sales reach 5M in two years, research firm says, as Google competitor enters market (GeekWire)

* CNN acquires social-video startup Beme, co-founded by YouTube star Casey Neistat (CNN)

* AT&T’s DirecTV Now streaming TV service: launching November 30 (9to5Mac)

* Sling TV introduces Cloud DVR, to debut in beta for select Roku users (Sling Newsroom)

* Google fixes Dump Tower, Trump Tower glitch (San Jose Mercury News)

* Donald Trump tells Tim Cook to build iPhones in the USA (Macworld)

* The All-American iPhone (MIT Technology Review)

* Like the next iPhone, Apple’s next iPad is apparently getting a total redesign (Business Insider)

* Apple abandons development of wireless routers (Bloomberg)

* Facebook runs up against German hate speech laws (The New York Times)

* Help us keep the Archive free, accessible, and private (Internet Archive blog)

* San Francisco’s light-rail syst...

After a week off to deal with life during the week of the U.S. elections, El Kaiser and J.D. return to discuss the aftermath of the event and how Facebook and Google have been getting heat over it. Also in the news: Snapchat brings back the concept of camera-integrated glasses, there’s a new app for scanning old photos and Apple has made it easier to make those end-of-year charitable donations. Oh, and Twitter is making more of an effort to deal with abuse and harassment. All this AND MORE on this week’s episode of Pop Tech Jam — roll 212!

Links to This Week’s News Stories

* Freedom on the Net 2016 (Freedom House)

* Facebook, in cross hairs after election, is said to question its influence (The New York Times)

* Facebook’s fight against fake news was undercut by fear of conservative backlash (Gizmodo)

* Mark Zuckerberg statement

* Mark Zuckerberg is in denial (The New York Times Op-Ed)

* Renegade Facebook employees form task force to battle fake news (BuzzFeed)

* Google will ban websites that host fake news from using its ad service (The New York Times)

* Introducing the new Google Play Music (Google blog)

* Now your photos look better than ever – even those dusty old prints (Google Keyword blog)

* Google PhotoScan app (Google)

* Apple considers wearables expansion with digital glasses (Bloomberg)

* My insane adventure to buy Snap’s new spectacles (Wired)

* Snapchat Spectacles

* Microsoft will bring Visual Studio to the Mac in November (WindowsCentral)

* Secret backdoor in some U.S. phones sent data to China, analysts say (The New York Times)

* A touch of giving with Apple Pay (Apple Newsroom)

* “Thank You Friends” by Big Star

 

As promised last week, this week’s episode catches up with the latest fall announcements from Microsoft and Apple. El Kaiser and J.D. also discuss the instant popularity of Google’s new Pixel phones, the withered Vine and shopping on Instagram. Happy November!

Links to News Stories

* Microsoft October Event news (Microsoft)

* Apple unveils groundbreaking new MacBook Pro (Apple)

* Apple releases significant update to Final Cut Pro X (Apple)

* Apple unveils new TV app for Apple TV, iPhone & iPad (Apple)

* New MacBook Pros and the State of the Mac (mjtsai.com/blog)

* Google doling out $50 Play Store credits due to Pixel shipping delays (TechCrunch)

* Google Online Security Blog: Disclosing vulnerabilities to protect users (Google blog)

* Keeping the Play Store trusted: fighting fraud and spam installs (Android Developers Blog)

* Twitter cuts 9% of staff and kills off Vine app (CNN Money)

*  Shopping coming to Instagram (Instagram for Business)

*  Roku TVs can now pause live over-the-air TV (CNET)

* Study finds racial discrimination by Uber and Lyft drivers (Bloomberg)

* The Digital Transition: How the Presidential transition works in the social media age (whitehouse.gov)

Last week’s massive denial-of-service attack (and resulting Internet outage) was big news all on its own, but toss in AT&T’s latest digital land grab and you have a jam-packed few days of tech news. After the weekly discussion of the recent headlines,  J.D. explores free or cheap word processors that cut down on toolbar clutter for minimal distraction when you’re probably already procrastinating that big writing deadline anyway. Come on along for this week’s episode of Pop Tech Jam! (Also, El Kaiser gently suggests that you change all your default router and device passwords.)

Links to This Week’s News Stories

* AT&T to acquire Time Warner (AT&T)

* Regulatory microscope lies ahead for AT&T and Time Warner (New York Times)

* AT&T and Time Warner seek to mollify deal’s critics (New York Times)

* The last Time Warner deal was the worst deal in history. What is AT&T thinking? (ReCode)

* Hackers wrecked the Internet using DVRs and webcams (Popular Mechanics)

* Hacked cameras, DVRs powered today’s massive Internet outage (Krebs on Security)

* Chinese firm admits its hacked products were behind Friday’s DDOS attack (Computerworld)

* How hackers broke into John Podesta and Colin Powell’s Gmail accounts (Vice Motherboard)

* Google has quietly dropped ban on personally identifiable Web tracking (ProPublica.org)

* Jamboard — the whiteboard, reimagined for collaboration in the cloud (Google blog)

* Airbnb sues over new law regulating New York rentals (New York Times)

* PayPal enhances payment experience for Facebook and Messenger (PayPal)

* Google, Visa and Mastercard want to get rid of passwords (CNBC)

* The New York Times Company acquires The Wirecutter and The Sweethome (NYTCo)

*

It’s been a loooong campaign and Election Day is just a few weeks away. If you want to beat the crowds, J.D. has a (Hopefully) Helpful Hint on how to see if your state allows early voting — and what you need to bring to the polls. Meanwhile El Kaiser has a few new headphones to inspect. In the week’s tech news Google checks facts and flights, Samsung is still scrambling to douse the Galaxy Note 7 fires, Facebook Messenger has some suggestions for your online discourse and there is a squadron of Taunting Drones buzzing drivers south of the border. Want to find out more? Just press Play.

Headphone Review Models

• Status Audio CB-1 Closed Black Studio Monitors

• thinksound On2 Monitor Series

Links to This Week’s News Stories

* Labeling fact-check articles in Google News (Google blog)

* Google Flights will now tell you when fares will increase, help you find cheaper tickets (TechCrunch)

* Netflix subscriptions boom around world, shares jump 20 percent (Reuters)

* 40 percent now say they won’t buy another Samsung phone (CNET)

* Apple could benefit from Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fiasco (Digital Trends)

* Samsung setting up Note 7 exchange booths at airports around the world (The Consumerist)

* DOT bans all Samsung Galaxy Note7 phones from airplanes (Transporation.gov)

* Survey: Google Pixel takes a bite out of Samsung’s declining consumer base (BrandingBrand.com)

* FTC says it may be unable to regulate Comcast, Google, and Verizon (Ars Technica)

* Facebook Messenger suggests what to talk about with “Conversation Topics” feature (TechCrunch)

* Hands on with Amazon’s Spotify competitor (Fast Company)

* Amazon launches all-new Prime Photos experience with Family Vault (Amazon)

* NASA space station cargo launches from Virginia on Orbital ATK resupply mission (NASA)

The crisp fall air has returned to the Northeast, as do memories of sipping apple cider in front of a roaring fire. Unfortunately for some, the only fire around was coming from their replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones…

On this week’s episode, El Kaiser and J.D. wrangle the week’s headlines, including the latest from the aforementioned Samsung Galaxy Note 7 Inferno, a new coat for Microsoft Paint and Sprint’s efforts to close the digital divide for low-income high-school students. El Kaiser discusses proper electronics safety and J.D. has a (Hopefully) Helpful Hint on how to find out what other household products might be problematic. Now, where are those marshmallows, Hershey bars and graham crackers?

Lithium-Ion Battery Information

• Battery University

• Why Lithium Batteries Keep Catching Fire

• How Lithium-Ion Batteries Work

Links to This Week’s News Stories

* Samsung will ask all global partners to stop sales and exchanges of Galaxy Note7 while further investigation takes place (Samsung)

* Samsung ends Galaxy Note 7 production as problems mount (NYTimes.com)

* U.S. pressed to disclose secret court’s order on Yahoo email search (Reuters)

* Amid breach talk, some Yahoo users finding it hard to exit (Associated Press)

* Yahoo Turned Off E-Mail Forwarding Just When People Might Want To Leave (Consumerist)

* Verizon won’t drop Yahoo but may seek lower price (Fortune)

* Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter provided data access for a surveillance product marketed to target activists of color (ACLU of Northern California)

* Comcast to pay $2.3M fine to resolve billing complaints (FCC)

* Introducing Workplace by Facebook (Facebook Newsroom)

* Here’s a first look at Microsoft’s new Paint app for Windows 10 (The Verge)

* Microsoft is updating Paint with new features and refreshed interface (Thurrott.com)

*

“Hey, where’s all those Batmans going on 11th Avenue?” Mass Invasion maestro Janifer Cheng stops by on her way to the New York Comic Con extravaganza to share her thoughts on cosplay and other convention fun with El Kaiser and J.D. (who is moderating three panels at the expo this weekend herself). In the news segment, we discuss Google’s fancy new Pixel phones, Facebook’s Marketplace’s problems, and the fact that some nice people from the government want to talk to Yahoo about its “security” issues. Oh, and two other words: Luke Cage.

Want to know where we got these stories? Check out the links below:

* Google announces new hardware (Made by Google)

* Introducing Marketplace: Buy and Sell with Your Local Community (Facebook)

* Facebook Commerce Policy (Facebook)

* Sex. Drugs. Guns. Meet Facebook’s Marketplace (USA Today)

* Facebook says a ‘technical issue’ caused illegal listings (Business Insider)

* Microsoft pulls Band listings from its Store; admits no Band 3 this year (ZDNet)

* Apple will automatically download macOS Sierra on Macs starting today (The Verge)

* New California law allows test of autonomous shuttle with no driver (Reuters)

* Still Waiting to Hear From Yahoo (The New York Times)

* iTunes Spoken Editions lets you listen to your favorite websites (Tech Crunch)

* Dream Chaser: The Spacecraft That Will Transform Humanity’s Access to Space (Observer)

* The Hilarious Way Jessica Jones and Luke Cage Weighed In On Netflix’s Crash (CinemaBlend)

* Mission complete: Rosetta’s journey ends in daring descent to comet (ESA)

What’s your sign? It might not be what you think. Hey, don’t blame us, blame NASA. On this week’s episode the Dynamic Duo go through the week’s tech (and geek) news; J.D. fills us in on a certain bird-themed micro-blogging service that’s had quite a busy past few weeks; and El Kaiser gets his rant on.

After a week to process the big iPhone 7 announcement last week, technologist Don Donofrio returns to the show to discuss the good, the bad and the stuff Apple skipped this time around. In the news segment, El Kaiser and J.D. bring updates on the increasingly combustible Samsung Galaxy Note 7 situation, rumors of Google doing another 7-inch tablet and plenty of other non-Apple news from the geekosphere. Let’s roll the dice!