Tech Tho(ugh)ts

Okay, the Apple in the title is just rubbing it in their faces- this minisode is about USB-C! It’s a compact connector you may have seen on your smartphone (if you don’t have an iPhone), laptop, and/or tablet. And just recently… well okay, Apple’s been making a fuss.

Sources:

Older Ports:

• ComputingHistory.org.uk, Accessed: 7 October 2021, “IBM PS/2 Model 30 286”
• Wikipedia.org, Accessed: 7 October 2021, “Game port”

USB History:

• Ars Technica, 17 August 2014, “A brief history of USB, what it replaced, and what has failed to replace it“
• MemorySuppliers.com, 15 May 2019, Accessed: 7 October 2021, “The Differences Between Mini USB, Micro USB, and USB-C Explained”
• TrippLite.com, Accessed: 7 October 2021, “USB: Port Types and Speeds Compared”
• JuicedSystems.com, 19 February 2020, Accessed: 7 October 2021, “Know Your USB: A Practical Guide to the Universal Serial Bus”

USB Superposition:

• How-To Geek, 16 February 2021, “The USB Paradox: Why Do USB Connections Need Three Tries?“

Lightning Connector:

• ipitaka.com, 26 March 2020, Accessed: 7 October 2021, “USB-C vs. Lightning: Which is the Future?”
• The Verge 17 September 2012, “Apple’s new Lightning connector sends shockwaves through the accessory market“

EU Parliament on Common Charging Port:

• European Parliament, 13 March 2014, “MEPs push for common charger for all mobile phones“
• The New York Times, 17 January 2020, “A Common Charger for All Phones? The E.U. Is on the Case“
• CNBC, 23 September 2021, “EU plans to make common charger mandatory for Apple iPhones and other devices“
• The New York Times, 23 September 2021, “In a setback for Apple, the European Union seeks a common charger for all phones.“

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Meta… like the concept? Meta, like metaphysical? Meta… like… a Facebook rebrand. Well, you know them, you know we don’t love them, but let’s talk about all of the changes that have come with this rebrand.

Sources:

Meta Name Controversy:

• [QUESTIONABLE] “MetaCompany”
  • SlashGear, 4 November 2021, “Meta Company lashes out at Facebook over name change in public letter”
  • GamesIndustry.biz, 5 November 2021, ‘Meta Company alleges Facebook infringed upon its name”
• CNBC, 28 October 2021, “Facebook changes company name to Meta”

Facebook’s Metaverse Buildout:

• Facebook Portal
• Ray Ban Stories

Positive changes:

• The New York Times, 12 November 2021, “Facebook, Citing Societal Concerns, Plans to Shut Down Facial Recognition System“
• UploadVR, 29 October 2021, “Quest Users Unlinking Facebook Account Keep Their Purchases, Meta Confirms“

The Facebook Files: (The Wall Street Journal Link):

• The Wall Street Journal, 15 September 2021, “Facebook Tried to Make Its Platform a Healthier Place. It Got Angrier Instead.“
• The Wall Street Journal, 13 September 2021, “Facebook Says Its Rules Apply to All. Company Documents Reveal a Secret Elite That’s Exempt.“

The Verge, 16 November 2021, “Meta Goes Into Lockdown”

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Getting right into it, it’s been a while since we’ve ragged on a company for making something explicitly.. well, planned-to-be-obsolete. So we’re gonna talk… Samsung.

• Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 Pricing @ Samsung.com
• The Verge, 24 August 2021, “Samsung will let you unlock your Z Fold 3’s bootloader, but at the cost of your cameras“
• Hugh Jeffreys @ Youtube.com, 11 September 2021, “Samsung Z Fold 3 Disables Cameras After…”

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We interrupt your regularly-scheduled gaming-arc to bring you BREAKING NEWS: Apple– no wait hold on- we complain about Apple a lot, but (this time especially) we have a point. Apple’s been touting itself as the best choice for privacy for.. quite a while. They’ve even been vocal about rejecting a government backdoor! …So are they really buckling?

Apple’s Privacy Friendly Past:

• CNBC, 16 January 2020, “Apple’s fight with Trump and the Justice Department is about more than two iPhones“
• WIRED, 16 April 2019, “The FBI Wanted a Back Door to the iPhone. Tim Cook Said No“
• 9to5Mac, 5 January 2019, “Ahead of CES, Apple touts ‘what happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone’ with privacy billboard in Las Vegas“
• The New York Times, 22 April 2016, “U.S. Opens Another iPhone, This Time With the Keycode“
• Apple.com, Customer Letter on Government Request

Reuters, 21 January 2020, “Exclusive: Apple dropped plan for encrypting backups after FBI complained – sources“

Apple On-Device Scanning (NeuralHash):

• Wccftech, 6 August 2021, “No Longer Concerned About Privacy? Apple Opens Backdoors to iPhones to Detect CSAM“
• Electronic Frontier Foundation, 5 August 2021, “Apple’s Plan to “Think Different” About Encryption Opens a Backdoor to Your Private Life“

Hash Collision:

• The Verge, 23 February 2017, “Google just cracked one of the building blocks of web encryption (but don’t worry)“
• ThisHashCollisionIsNotPorn.com
• Roboflow Blog, 19 August 2021, “ImageNet contains naturally occurring NeuralHash collisions”
• The Verge, 18 August 2021, “Apple says collision in child-abuse hashing system is not a concern“

Opinions:

• Edward Snowden’s Blog, 25 August 2021, “The All-Seeing “i”: Apple Just Declared War on Your Privacy”

The idea that parents are safe people for teens to have conversations about sex or sexting with is admirable, but in many cases, not true. (And as far as I can tell, this stuff doesn't just apply to kids under the age for 13.)

• WIRED, 3 September 2021, “Apple Backs Down on Its Controversial Photo-Scanning Plans“

Electronic Frontier Foundation, 7 January 2015, “Sorry iPhone Users: Apple’s Dev Agreement Means No EFF Mobile App for iOS“

EFF Petition, “Tell Apple: Don’t Scan Our Phones”

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[Home Networks Extension]

We’ve talked about home networks at length, and even why you should try to stick to wired connections when possible. When you don’t have a clear way to route that cable, do you switch to WiFi? Or do you try… ….power…line? What?

Tech Advisor.com, 8 December 2019, “What is Powerline?“

How Powerline Works:

• Digital Trends, 22 Marach 2021, “Is Wi-Fi too unreliable? Powerline networking may be what you need“
• Lifewire.com, Updated; 15 April 2020, Accessed: 24 September 2021, “What Is a Powerline Adapter?”
• (Home Network Solutions Berkshire) hns-berks.co.uk, 23 February 2018, “Power Line Adapters pros and cons”
• TPLink.com, Accessed: 24 September 2021, “What is Powerline?”
• International Powerline Communications Forum (ipcf.org), Accessed: 24 September 2021

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[Gaming Arc 4/6]

Arcade Cabinets? They might seem a little… niche, but some people have even been putting them in their homes as of late! Come along with us for a little journey into some (light) history, and more importantly.. how you can get the arcade experience in your home!

Sources:

First Arcade Cabinet (Computer Space):

• Engadget, 9 July 2014, “The world’s first video game arcade machine is a glittery fiberglass wonder“
• Bespoke-Arcades.co.uk, Accessed: 15 September 2021, “The History of Arcade Machines from 1971”

Nintendo-Related Arcade Machines:

• System 16, Accessed: 15 September 2021, “Nintendo Vs. Hardware”
• Nesdev Wiki, Accessed: 15 September 2021, “Vs. System”
• Nerdly Pleasures Blog, 6 July 2015, Accessed: 15 September 2021, “Nintendo’s Vs. System – Just Like at Home?”
• Arcade Otaku Wiki, Accessed: 15 September 2021, “Triforce”

Sega-Related Arcade Machines:

• Sega Retro Wiki, Accessed: 15 September 2021, “Sega NAOMI”
• Arcade Otaku Wiki, Accessed: 15 September 2021, “Sega NAOMI”

Arcade Cabinet Acquisition:

• Linus Tech Tips @ Youtube.com, 10 July 2017, “The ULTIMATE DIY Arcade Machine Guide”
• Arcade1Up.com, Officially Licensed Cabinets

DDR @ Home:

• StepMania Repository @ Github.com
• Pads:
  • mario Cazares @ Youtube.com, 4 September 2015, “DDR Soft Pad Modification Tutorial”
  • CobaltFlux.org
  • L-TEK Pad @ Maty-Taneczne.pl
  • StepManiaX.com
  • Cobalt Flux DIY Kit @ DDRPad.com
  • Reflex.Dance (DIY StepManiaX Style Pad)

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[Gaming Arc Minisode Extension]

The venerable handheld video game console is officially a dying breed. The term “portable” has been stretched to mean bigger and bigger devices, and “true” handheld portable consoles are, seemingly, disappearing. So, let’s give them a little sendoff.

Sources:

• Nintendo Life, 1 January 2021, “Feature: How Nintendo’s Game & Watch Took “Withered Technology” And Turned It Into A Million-Seller“
• National Museum of American History, Accessed: 14 September 2021, “Game Boy”
• Tom’s Guide, 27 August 2021, “Nintendo Switch Review”
• Official Nintendo Site, Accessed 14 September 2021, “Technical Specs – Nintendo Switch”
• NintendoSoup, 11 July 2019, “Here’s A Size And Weight Comparison Of Nintendo Switch Lite And Nintendo 3DS Systems
• Steampowered.com, Accessed 14 September 2021, “Steam Deck”

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[Gaming Arc 3/6]

We finish off our (very not) short history lesson, starting with the Seventh Generation of game consoles! Included in this episode: the Wii, Xbox 360, PS4, and mountains of complaints.

Sources:

• Seventh Generation of Game Consoles:
  • Microsoft Xbox 360:
    • XBLAFans.com, 2013, Accessed: 23 August 2021, “Red Ring of Death: Xbox pathologist explains the plague”
    • Business Insider, 2 September 2015, “How Microsoft spent $1 billion on a simple mistake with the Xbox 360“
  • Sony Playstation 3:
    • Gadgets 360, 11 July 2018, “PS3 Launch Price Was a Mistake: Sony Studios Boss“
    • IGN, 27 July 2016, “PlayStation 3 Launch Price a ‘Total Shock’ to Microsoft – IGN Unfiltered“
  • Microsoft’s Kinect:
    • CNET, 18 November 2021, “Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect review“
• Eighth Generation of Game Consoles:
  • Nintendo Wii U:
    • The Guardian, 3 February 2017, “RIP Wii U: Nintendo’s glorious, quirky failure“
    • CNET, 23 October 2016, “Nintendo Wii U review“
    • Engadget, 5 August 2014, “The Wii U name is still hurting Nintendo“
    • TechRadar, 16 May 2014, “Nintendo Wii U review“
  • Playstation VR (PSVR):
    • TechRadar, 17 June 2021, “PlayStation VR review“
  • Nintendo Switch:
    • Tom’s Guide, 5 May 2021, “Nintendo Switch review“
    • Joycon Controversy:
      • IGN, 16 February 2021, “All the Lawsuits Nintendo Is Facing Over Joy-Con Drift“
      • The Verge, 13 July 2021, “The Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Con drift problem, explained“
      • GameRant, 26 July 2021, “Nintendo Has Possibly Solved Joy-Con Drift Issues“
  • PS4 Pro:
    • PS4 Pro Page, Playstation.com
• Ninth Generation of Game Consoles:
  • Xbox Series X & PS5:
    • Windows Central, 15 June 2021, “Xbox Series X review: Six months later, the Xbox Series X is proving its worth“
    • Tom’s Guide, 18 August 2021, “PS5 review: The future of console gaming is here“
    • Digital Trends, 19 April 2021, “Xbox Series X vs. PS5“

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[Intel & AMD Duopoly Mini-Arc]

We’ve yelled at Intel, now we’ll yell at AMD to be fair. AMD has been innovating left and right in the PC space: their Ryzen CPUs have been displacing Intel’s hold of the market, and their (RDNA2-based) GPUs have been giving NVIDIA a kick in the pants for their pricing. …So wait, why are we complaining about them?

Sources:

• Ars Technica, 10 August 2021, “AMD RX 6600XT review: A sad trombone noise of a “$379” 2021 GPU“
• PCMag, 10 June 2021, “Inside the GPU Shortage: Why You Still Can’t Buy a Graphics Card“
• ExtremeTEch, 12 May 2021, “AMD’s Market Share Surges on Steam and in Servers, Shrinks Overall“
• PC Gamer, 27 January 2021, “AMD says CPU and GPU supply will be tight until second half of 2021“
• TechRadar, 5 January 2021, “AMD overtakes Intel in desktop CPU market share for the first time in 15 years“
• PCMag, 18 November 2020, “AMD’s Radeon RX 6800 Cards Sell Out Instantly, Sparking Cries of ‘Paper Launch’“
• PC Gamer, 9 October 2020, “Ryzen 5000 pricing shows that AMD isn’t the cheap alternative anymore“

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[Gaming Arc 2/6]

The video game crash of 1983 nearly destroyed the video game market, so how did we get to a world where the latest consoles are always in high-demand? Find out as we continue our history lesson, starting with the third generation of video game consoles!

Sources:

• All Generations:
  • BBC Archive, Accessed: 23 August 2021, “The 8 Generations of Video Game Consoles”
• Third Generation of Consoles:
  • University of Michigan Library (CVGA Disassembled), Accessed: 23 August 2021, “Third Generation (1983-1990)
  • VGLegacy.com, Accessed: 23 August 2021, “3rd Generation of Video Game Consoles”
  • Sega SG-1000:
    • SegaRetro.org, Accessed: 23 August 2021, “SG-1000”
  • Nintendo Famicom/NES:
    • Nintendo Life, 16 July 2013, “Feature: The History Of The Famicom, The Console That Changed Nintendo’s Fortunes“
  • SegaRetro.org, Accessed: 23 August 2021, “Sega Master System”
• Fourth Generation of Consoles:
  • VGLegacy.com, Accessed: 23 August 2021, “TurboGrafx-16”
  • Wikipedia.org, Accessed: 23 August 2021, “Satellaview”
  • Venturebeat, 28 November 2015, “The art and legacy of the ’90s console war“
• Fifth Generation of Consoles:
  • Medium.com, 7 September 2020, Accessed: 23 August 2021, “Nintendo 64: Architecture and History”
  • IGN, 24 September 2011, Accessed: 23 August 2021, “Nintendo 64: Launching a Legacy“
  • University of Michigan (CVGA Assembled), Accessed: 23 August 2021, “Fifth Generation (1993-2001)”
• Sixth Generation of Consoles:
  • CNET, Accessed: 23 August 2021, “Sega Dreamcast Specs”
  • University of Michigan (CVGA Assembled), Accessed: 23 August 2021, “Sixth Generation (1998-2009)“
  • The Guardian, 4 March 2020, “PlayStation 2 at 20: the console that revealed the future of gaming“
  • PCMag, 26 October 2020, “20 Years Ago, the PS2 Launched With Terrible Games But Still Won the Generation“
  • The Verge, 21 May 2020, “Xbox and Windows NT 3.5 source code leaks online“

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