Technology Distilled

By Surfacesmiths

Technology Distilled is the third incarnation of the Surfacesmiths podcast.

The podcast that takes the torrent of complex technology issues and news, mashes it up and and distills it into a smooth s... more

4.9

1616 ratings

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FAQs about Technology Distilled:

How many episodes does Technology Distilled have?

The podcast currently has 120 episodes available.

Technology Distilled episodes:

March 15, 2016Episode 029 - vBrisket
00:00 - Intro
Welcome to the Show
We are part of the Tech Podcast Network
Word of the Week is "Support"
01:30 - Tip of the Week – Saving Battery
Lower brightness, disable radios not being used like WiFi and Bluetooth
Disable Turbo-boost
02:45 – New of the Week
Microsoft pushes back Windows 10 'Redstone' 2 to Spring 2017 to line up with new Microsoft device wave
Microsoft is buying mobile tool vendor Xamarin
Microsoft to start shipping $3,000 HoloLens developer kits on March 30
Microsoft expands Cortana support, features in new Windows 10 'Redstone' build
Microsoft hones MVP program to focus on developers, IT pros
Microsoft releases Class Notebook add-in for OneNote 2016, brings new distribution methods
Microsoft needs to fix whatever is going on with Windows 10 Mobile right now
HP just made the 'Surface Phone' and it's called the Elite x3Correction: Phone does not contain an Intel Atom processor, rather a Qualcomm Snapdragon
Surface Pro 4 Type Cover with Fingerprint ID now available for pre-order in 26 regions – Including Canada
15:00 – Interview Clint Wyckoff @ClinkWyckoff
Technical Evangelist for Veeam Software
Podcast vBrisket – smoke meat and virtualization
Free backup system from Veeam
30:00 – Matt
Matt is leaving the podcast to spend more time with his new band! Bandcamp Site
30:02 – Catching Up with David
Had fun in Japan
Surface Book released in Japan
Brought Back Whisky from Japan!
35:00 – RANT – Microsoft Support Failure!
It took 4 weeks to replace broken Surface Book
The replacement Surface Book was broken – Tablet battery didn't work
They can't send me a replacement because they haven't received my Surface Book back – yet they had!
Escalated to "Microsoft Customer Advocacy"
If David had bought a Mac in November – would he have had to wait a month for a replacement?
Update: My Surface Book as replaced with a new one – it works perfectly!
43:00 – RANT – PARTY BUS
TV and Power Didn't work
Blew 2 tires
Brakes failed
46:00 - Outro - Call for your help with the podcast, please…
Follow and Re-tweet, @SurfaceSmiths
Facebook www.facebook.com/SurfaceSmithsPodcast
Listen www.SurfaceSmiths.com
Email [email protected]
Purchase Amazon A Store
48:00 - Whiskey of the Week
Another Japanese Whiskey
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1h 1min
February 25, 2016Episode 028 - Mostly Marius
Episode 028 – Mostly Marius

Account The Surface Smiths Podcast

For this episode, Colin is alone in the studio
The Word of the Week is “Technology”
02:00 News of the Week
Microsoft finally fixes power woes on Surface Book and Surface Pro 4
May introduce new issues for some

Surface Book Firmware Manual Installer Download

You can now purchase Microsoft's Surface Book in the UK and Europe

Surface Pro 4 wins Best Mobile Tablet at Mobile World Congress 2016

Surface Hub makes news studio debut with Seattle's KING 5 news
Also used at Ferrari’s F1 press conference

Surface tablets and Surface Book are now certified for use by U.S. Department of Defense

New Microsoft patent filing shows a stylus with a tip that can 'sense' colors

Redditor modded Surface with a Lego plate and can attach accessories to it. Will try to get him on the show

06:35 Tip of the Week
Using Surface Pro 3 with a Pro 4 type cover or Surface Book
Two finger tap = right click.
Three finger tap = Cortana.
Four finger tap = Action Center

07:25 Clip from Learning Patience

Learning Patience
A quick demo written to showcase some new 8dio libraries I picked up — you're hearing the new 1928 Steinway Scoring Piano as well as…
soundcloud.com

08:41 Interview Marius Masalar

Marius is a photographer, Tech Journalist and composer.
Marius and Colin discussed many aspects of mobile technology and spent quite a bit of time discussing Marius’ current go to device – His iPad Pro.
42:21 Clip from These are the Voyages

These Are The Voyages
Marius Masalar is a Toronto-based game and film music composer. He dreams of travel, plays video games, loves life, and laughs frequently.
soundcloud.com

44:49 Whiskey of the Week

David contributed this WotW segment from the top of a mountain in an Airstream trailer in Japan – Note: The audio quality is poor on this segment
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50min
February 10, 2016 Episode 027 - Skypedelic
Introduction
Who's in the studio - David, Colin, Matt and special guests Kyran and Kaz. News
2:50 - X86 and ARM64 version of Windows Mobile
6:15 - Ignite registration is open
11:00 - Microsoft Invents a New Rechargeable Pen & Docking System that could end-up Integrated into a Future Surface Book
12:30 - Is it okay that Joe Belfiore is using an iPhone?
14:00 - Microsoft says it's not the Surface's fault your team lost
15:45 - Microsoft to include TripAdvisor in Windows 10: Microsoft to Pre-Install other apps
17:40 - New data: Apple's iPad Pro outsells Microsoft Surface tablets in debut quarter
21:30 - email from listener – Ali Qushery
Topics
38:00 - What's new in Windows 8" tablets - Kyran
44:10 - Rant on the Surface Book 4 - David
51:45 – Product Review- Accell UltraAV Docking Station

First Impressions
5
Portability
3
Build Quality
4
iExpected Reliability
3
Ease of Use
2
Value
5
Gets Surface Ethos
2
Overall Score
3.4
1:06:10 - Kyran Pimps vBrisket Prime Cuts Podcast
1:07:35 - MVP Days East - Registration s still open!
1:14:45 - Whiskey of the Week - Skate

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1h 22min
January 15, 2016Episode 026 - Rhymes with Visio
Special Guest – John Marshall
0:00 – Introduction
3:15 – Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Updates
John Marshall Visio MVP
Sean Kearney PowerShell MVP
Colin Smith Dual MVP – Enterprise Mobility (System Center Configuration Manager) / Windows and Devices for IT
8:00 Word of the week is Visio
8:45 John Marshall interview
News of the Week
16:30 CES News – Acer Jade Primo
18:00Alcatel Lucent One Touch fierce XL
18:30Google will be using Oracle’s java API for the next android.
19:45Microsoft & Cyanogen announced the integration of Cortana into Android
21:15Remix OS
22:45Microsoft discontinues Windows 8 support
24:15Transatel & Microsoft join to sell universal SIMs
26:15 Updated Surface App for Surface Pro 4
29:00 MVP Days Feb 28 Toronto March 2 Ottawa March 4 Montreal
30:00 Colin switches to iPhone 6sPlus
47:15 New Year’s Prognostications
51:45 Studio renovation update
55:10Powershell Saturday #10, March 19 in Tampa. Florida- Sean will be there
55:45Raspberry Pi Zero.
58:30 Listener Swag – Juiced Systems USB hubs
WOTW – Whiskey of the Year Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye
WOTW
...more
1h 13min
December 23, 2015Episode 025 - A Festivus for the Rest of SurfaceNation
Basic show notes for now. Complete Show notes coming before the New Year
Intro
Tech Podcast Network
Ask Colin about Aluminum Pole
Festivus - December 23rd - We have the rights to use the song https://youtu.be/6nAaYubpBgI
Airing of Grievances
Skylake Shortage
MS Apology http://uk.businessinsider.com/microsoft-a8pologies-to-surface-owners-2015-12
OneDrive Reversal
Peter Henry Lumia
Feats of Strength
Dell Latitude Tough
Urban armour gear rogue
Festivus Miracle
MS Sales Revenue October outpaced iPad http://uk.businessinsider.com/microsoft-makes-progress-against-ipad-2015-12
Crossover - 12 Surface Tips for the 12 days of Christmas
Swipe from the left to list open applications
Train your surface to recognize your handwriting better
Win+P for Presentation mode - PH
How Do I use CTRL+Fn keys like I do on a normal keyboard? Press the Fn key at the same time as the function keys to have them act as normal function keys. You can also toggle them between special/normal by pressing Fn and CapsLock.
Enable Double touch and drag on touchpad - Open 'Settings > Devices > Mouse & Touchpad': Allow double-tap and drag.
Make a recovery disk
Launch Recovery menu by holding CTRL while restarting Surface
Pair your phone with Bluetooth and your surface can enable your hotspot - works with Win10 Phone
SP3 supports the new pen with the eraser. Just replace your Pen with a SP4 pen
Get a bluetooth mouse
If you don't have a Hello compatible device try a PIN or a Picture password
Use sleep study to understand what is consuming your battery and adjust
Stocking stuffers
Run the Get Started App to learn more about Windows 10
Run the Surface App to learn more about the surface
A Christmas Barrel - A Holiday Radio Drama
Show theme by Rob from the Failed Musicians Podcast
Special thanks to Tea with Warriors, Ashley Paramore and Rishi Srivastava for musical contributions. I'm sorry I couldn't give you all shoutouts during the episode but we recorded before we had permission to use your music and we added it in post production. Shoutouts next episode for sure.
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56min
December 09, 2015 Episode 024 - A Podcast, Eh!
A Frankenstein Episode

Show notes coming
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39min
December 02, 2015 Episode 023 - Surface Labs
Show Notes coming soon
...more
55min
November 23, 2015 Bonus Track - SurfaceNation Vacation
While David, Matt and Sean were busy recording episode 22, Colin recorded a segment in Barbados but it never made it into the episode.
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11min
November 20, 2015 Episode 022 - What Did Dave bring to Show and Tell?
00:00 – Introductions – The Surface Smiths Podcast is a member of the TechPodcast Network. Word of the week is Lappable. Colin is still away so this week Sean Kearney is a guest host and Matt is here to help out
01:25 – David asks and Sean explains about the MVP Summit
03:56 – Discussion of extended warranties
05:40 – Is a tub of rice as good as an extended warranty?
06:55 – Be nice to you Tech Support and don’t lie to them
07:33 – Dave unveils the Latitude Rugged Tablet military spec device that Dell has lent to us for evaluation. It even has a stealth mode for covert operations. The boys talk about the unit and the use cases it serves.
15:25 – Dave is looking for ideas to really put the Dell Latitude Rugged Tablet to the test and make a video. Please send your suggestions to us.
16:20 – Matt tells us about the SlowMo Guys on YouTube
18:55 – David unveils his Surface Book – Here is Sean’s
20:50 – Dave addresses the lapability issues with the Surface Book among other issues
22:05 – Ejecting the clipboard and using it without the keyboard – pros and cons
25:38 – Surface Book ports
28:52 – Microsoft Bob on the Surface Book
29:55 – Comparing Surface Book with Surface Pro
31:21 – Sean the human soundboard
33:30 – How impressed was Dave’s wife with the Surface Book?
34:09 – Surface book reduces IT support costs?
34:50 – The Surface Book has no Kensington Lock slot but the docking station does
38:05 – The Surface Book should have LTE for security purposes – it prevent s people from using insecure hotspots
39:25 – Sean is not as portable as an LTE SOC
40:40 – No Lumia 950XL updates
41:45 – There’s no whiskey in the studio this week so the boys are heading out for drinks. Abrupt Stop
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42min
November 09, 2015 Episode 021 – Colin is away – We will play
Episode 021 – Colin is away – We will play

00:00 Intro
• Welcome to the show
• Special guest star Peter Henry
• Word of the Week is “Peter”
• Hands on with the Surface Book 4
• Colin reports fromRedmond
• Interview with Peter
• We are part of the Tech Podcast Network.
• Recorded onsite at Murphy Studios in downtown Ottawa.
01:30 Hands on with Surface Book
• David had about 10 minutes with a Surface Book this week
• Thought the hinge would be an issue – but it worked great
• You have to push a button on the keyboard to separate the screen from the keyboard
• Screen mounts forwards and backwards
• OMG it looks like a Macbook!
• Has Colin ordered or received his Surface Book yet – we don’t know!
• If you have a Surface Book – you won’t need a tablet!

07:00 Interview with Peter
• First job was pumping gas
• Does Peter have an opinion on the topic “Is Windows Phone Dead”
• Running Android apps on Windows Phone
• The “Glance and Go” features of Windows Phone
• What will keep Windows Phone here for 1 and 5 years?
• Couldn’t https://xamarin.com/ allow Windows apps to run on Android?
• Blackberry now has an Android phone – what does this mean for the future of Windows Phone
41:00 Colin – Still talking Lapable
• Colin just toured Surface Labs
• He was in Vegas, but doesn’t remember much about it!
• Is the Surface Book without a GPU too light to be lapable?
• Pennies for the Podcast Sir? - Our Amazon store has been expanded – buy your tech through our link and we’ll earn a few penny
• Samsung Q2U Microphone is both a USB and a standard Microphone!

41:00 Windows Mobile 10 Beta
• Windows Beta – doesn’t crash, battery lasts
• External display, keyboard and mouse works great
• David wonders – why buy a Lumia 950 XL when he already has a Nokia 1520 and a Surface Pro 3?
• Should David trade in his Surface Pro 3 and add $1,000 or keep his SP3 and buy a Lumia 950 XL for about $1,000 (Canadian including docking station and tax)
• Dave has a crush on Continuum
• The Lumia 550 is $150 (US), but can’t do continuum – but you can go to Cuba with the money you save!
• Peter and David wine about what a poorly written program iTunes is!
55:00 Outro – Call for your help with the podcast, please…
• Follow and re-tweet @SurfaceSmiths
• Listen www.SurfaceSmiths.com
• Email [email protected]
• Purchase Amazon A Store
• Follow Peter on Twitter @PeterHenry999
56:00 Whiskey of the Week – Alberta Premium Rye Whiskey
• Visit your liquor store or the distillery http://www.beamsuntory.com/brands/alberta-premium
• Tastes great out of old Jam Jars!

...more
59min

FAQs about Technology Distilled:

How many episodes does Technology Distilled have?

The podcast currently has 120 episodes available.