John Siracusa and Dan Benjamin discuss Amazon's new Kindle and Kindle Fire products.  Is Amazon Apple's most dangerous competitor, or are the two companies not really in competition at all?  Who is Amazon's ideal customer?  Finally, John and Dan make their predictions for next week's Apple press event.

Links for this episode:Amazon shows off Kindle Fire HD with 4G LTE for $499, WiFi for $299 - Ars TechnicaKindle Fire’s 4G package offers 250MB of data a month for $50 a year - Ars TechnicaAmazon’s new $119 Kindle Paperwhite e-reader comes with front-lit screen - Ars TechnicaKindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G - Amazon.comKindle Fire HD 8.9" - Amazon.comKindle Fire HD - Amazon.comKindle Fire - Amazon.comKindle Paperwhite - Amazon.comKindle - Amazon.comHow to Store Batteries - Battery UniversityHow to Prolong Lithium-based Batteries - Battery UniversityAmazon FreeTime Gives Parents More Control Over What Kids WatchiOS Version History ChartVolume of the iPhone 4S vs. the (rumored) iPhone 5 - iamconcise.comLive Updates From Amazon's Press Event - NYTimes.comIMDb: Internet Movie Database - WikipediaSponsored by Hover (use coupon DANSENTME for 10% off), Squarespace (use coupon DANSENTME9 for 10% off), and Sourcebits

Episode 84: 84: Spared No Expense

A weekly talk show ruminating on exactly what is wrong in the world of Apple and related technologies and businesses.  Nothing is so perfect that it can't be complained about. Hosted by John Siracusa & Dan Benjamin.

Tech News

Technology

News

John Siracusa and Dan Benjamin end the Hypercritical podcast with a discussion of the show itself, followed by a final Q&A; where Dan asks the questions and John attempts to provide sensible answers.  Many thanks to all the listeners and the folks in the 5by5 chat room.  The journey was the reward.

Links for this episode:"I modded my GameCube pad into a Wii Classic Controller", by gummowned - RedditAddress Resolution Protocol - WikipediaBasic guide to mod a GameCube controller with a Wii Classic Controller PCB - GummoHypercritcal (Song A Day #1450) - YouTubeJonathan MannSong a Day: The AlbumWii RetroPad Adapter 2 - Sparrow's Domain"If you liked our Bad At High School episode, …" - @theincomparableHypercritical - Ars TechnicaJerry Maguire - WikiquoteMore Hypercritical Length Analysis - Super Jeffective

Episode 100: 100: Metacritical

John Siracusa and Dan Benjamin follow up on iTunes 11 and Apple's continuing failure to grok online services, then discuss the Wii U, starting with the painful setup process and continuing on to New Super Mario Bros. U, Nintendo Land, and, inevitably, the Wii U GamePad controller.

Links for this episode:Order of authors on publications - Academia Stack ExchangeDoes your brain really have the power to see the world upside-down?Dropbox: The Linchpin - Daring FireballDropbox: The Linchpin - Michael TsaiHow Nintendo DRM trapped $400 of downloaded games on my failing Wii - Ars TechnicaThe long, frustrating road to recovering my Wii downloads - Ars TechnicaThe incredibly true story of how I bricked my Wii U - The PA ReportWii U GamePad battery compartment - iFixItNew Super Mario Bros. U - Amazon.comWii U - NintendoNintendo Land - Amazon.comSponsored by Hover (use code DANSENTME for 10% off), Shutterstock (use code DANSENTME12 for 30% off), and Sourcebits.

Episode 99: 99: New Siracusa County Bros. U

John Siracusa and Dan Benjamin follow up on taping out silicon chips, Apple's seemingly bottomless silicon ambitions, and the pitfalls of labeling people, then discuss Twitterrific 5, the new Google maps app on iOS, iTunes 11, Tim Cook's national news tour, and Apple's upcoming "Made in the USA" Mac.

Links for this episode:How to use rlwrap to get a command history in sql*plus - Lutz HartmannHow To Tell People They Sound Racist - YouTubeInnovation is a Fight - Rands In ReposeRands - WikipediaHow I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Discussing Race - TEDxHampshireCollegeA comment on The new age of Capital Intensity - Asymco.comNBC's Rock Center interview with Tim Cook - Part 1NBC's Rock Center interview with Tim Cook - Part 2Google Maps for iPhone shows Apple how to do mapping right - Ars TechnicaiTunes 11 review: Simple is as simple does - Ars TechnicaiTunes through the ages - Ars TechnicaApple CEO Tim Cook to Brian Williams: “Don’t bet against us.” - Ars TechnicaTim Cook's Freshman Year: The Apple CEO Speaks - BusinessweekOpenStreetMapTwitterrific 5Jeff FosterKitsune: Efficient, General-purpose Dynamic Software Updating for C (PDF)Muir Island - WikipediaKremlinology - WikipediaHypercritical T-Shirt PollFor Apple, change could be a good sign - Jason SnellText of Steve Jobs' Stanford commencement address (2005)Apple CEO Steve Jobs at D8: The Full, Uncut Interview - AllThingsDApple's "Made in USA" computer likely to be Mac Pro - Philip Elmer-DeWittThe Pipeline #23: John SiracusaThe Setup / John Siracusa

Episode 98: 98: Hardware Machismo

John Siracusa and Dan Benjamin follow up on silicon chip making and misogyny in geek culture, then dive into Hypercritical's first—and likely only—listener Q&A; show.  All questions entertained!  Some questions answered!

Links for this episode:No Movie for Old MenOn Dickwolves, Ethics, and Why I'm Not Attending PAX East - arthur-ignThe Pratfall of Penny Arcade - A TimelineFive Geek Social Fallacies - Michael Suileabhain-WilsonRaymond Chandler's Private Dick - The AtlanticInternational maritime signal flags - WikipediaBlue Peter Frequently Asked Questions - BBCJohn Scalzi - WikipediaThe Way Games Work - Wii U GamePad - YouTubeBare Bones Software: BBEdit 10.5BBEdit 10.5 Release NotesQuicken Mac 2007 - IntuitWho Gets To Be a Geek? Anyone Who Wants to Be - John ScalziThe AnandTech PodcastBono - WikipediaLarry Elmore: The Complete Elmore Artbook - KickstarterPerceptual adaptation - WikipediaLarry Elmore, Fantasy ArtistJonathan Coulton - WikipediaDan Moren's Boston Globe article (mostly behind a paywall, unfortunately)Macworld: The Best Mac EverThe Flop HouseRoderick on the LineFresh AirThis American LifeSponsored by Shutterstock (use code DANSENTME12 for 30% off), Squarespace (use code DANSENTME12 for 10% off), Hover (use code DANSENTME for 10% off), and Prop 'n Go (use the code DANSENTME for 17% off).

Episode 97: 97: Idle Doodles

John Siracusa and Dan Benjamin reveal John's Wii U in transit, then talk more about Apple, Intel, ARM, and silicon chip fabrication, and finally, the Fake Geek Girl meme, misogyny, and problems with Geek Culture in general.

Links for this episode:Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software, by Charles PetzoldFrom NAND to Tetris: The Elements of Computing Systems - nand2tetris.orgCabel's tweet about The Wii U GamePadIf Samsung doesn't supply Apple's processors, who will? - FortuneNative Client: Technical Overview - GoogleNative Client: A Sandbox for Portable, Untrusted x86 Native Code (PDF)Ring (computer security) - WikipediaBroadwell (microarchitecture) - WikipediaLand grid array - WikipediaIndium gallium zinc oxide - WikipediaBlue Peter - WikipediaMultiply–accumulate operation - WikipediaTransactional memory going mainstream with Intel Haswell - Ars TechnicaIntel's Haswell CPU Microarchitecture - RealWorldTechHaswell has on-die voltage regulator - fudzilla.comIdiot Nerd Girl - Know Your MemeFake Geek Girl Meme - The Mary SueThe Incomparable #28: Bad at High SchoolRBC: Intel in talks with Apple to build iPhone processors - FortuneHypercritical - Ars TechnicaWyld Stallyns #1 : Be Excellent To Each Other - YouTubeMoore's law - WikipediaOS X 10.8.3 beta supports Radeon HD 7900-series chipsets - MacNNWild Speculation: Why a $2B AMD purchase would be a puzzle piece fit for Apple - 9to5MacIntel kills off the desktop, PCs go with it - SemiAccurateNerds: Stop hating women, please - New StatesmanOn the “Fake” Geek Girl - The Mary SueDear Fake Geek Girls: Please Go Away - ForbesForget the Sixaxis - the Wii U’s GamePad has nine-axis control - VentureBeatApple may tap TSMC to move A-series mobile chips to 28nm process - Ars TechnicaWho Gets To Be a Geek? Anyone Who Wants to Be - John ScalziSponsored by Shutterstock (use code DANSENTME11 for 30% off), Koku, and Sourcebits.

Episode 84: 84: Spared No Expense

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