TechtalkRadio

This week's TechtalkRadio Show kicked off with a hilarious tale of two climates, pitting Andy Taylor's sunny Arizona desert against Shawn DeWeerd's brutal, snowy reality near South Bend, Indiana. Shawn described his location as a literal "frozen tundra," buried under nearly a foot of snow, which he generously offered viewers a real-time peek at via an EarthCam feed.

The most epic cold-weather story involved a collegiate rugby championship at Notre Dame, where players bravely battled a massive blizzard for hours in shorts, proving that some athletes are simply built differently (and that their tech gear is, thankfully, heated!). This extreme weather made Shawn the resident expert on staying prepared—and served as a stern reminder for everyone in snowy climates: always brush the snow off your car!

Shawn and Andy then navigated the chaotic landscape of modern media and tech. They dove into the bizarre viral frenzy surrounding the latest Coca-Cola commercial, debating whether the oddly animated people and the controversial ending were a genuine AI mistake or a brilliant-if-cynical guerrilla marketing play to get everyone talking. On a much lighter note, they celebrated the joy of the Comedy Wildlife Photo Contest, which captures animals in hilariously awkward poses and is a must-see. The show then gave listeners the inside track on creative tools, with Andy praising the powerful new features of Adobe Premiere and introducing OpenShot as a great, free option for video editing beginners, while Shawn gave a shout-out to the enduring favorite, DaVinci Resolve.

Finally, the discussion turned to the ever-evolving world of digital consumption and convenience. They raised eyebrows at the newest, and arguably most irritating, advertising trend: "pause ads," which ambush viewers with a static commercial the moment they hit the pause button on their streaming service. Despite this, Shawn expressed his enthusiasm for the community of hobbyists who are dedicated to tracking down and restoring abandoned Redbox kiosks—a fun bit of tech nostalgia. To cap off the show, they covered Microsoft’s launch of the App Pack, a new tool that seems to be directly competing with the beloved, time-saving app installer, Ninite, offering Windows users an easy way to set up a new computer.

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This week’s TechtalkRadio show is joined by Andy Taylor, Shawn DeWeerd and returning after an absence Justin Lemme.  The guys opened up with some radio war stories and how On-Air has changed in many large cities but it does open up a even bigger conversation about where broadcasting is headed—automation, “canned” shifts, and even AI DJs which has already been experimented with. That segued into a broader AI discussion: hype vs. reality (is there an “AI bubble”?). Shawn is not happy with the AI Enabled toys we should see around the holidays and questions how some can hold back kids’ creativity and also raises privacy concerns. A discussion on AI in Media continues with Shawn not a fan of the obvious AI ad spots (Coke’s holiday commercial came up). Andy and Justin seemed to feel it brought out the essence of the Holidays and Coke however Shawn shares how the AI ran over a street of crowded people which delivered a honest natural reaction from Justin. 

Justin dove into DIY smart-home tinkering: using low-cost ESP32 microcontrollers with Home Assistant to build sensors (soil moisture alerts, mmWave presence for stair lights, temperature monitoring for a garage freezer). The takeaway: you can replicate pricey off-the-shelf gadgets for a fraction of the cost and power them via USB-C, battery, or small solar. Listener Q&A covered everyday computing—when a Chromebook or budget laptop beats a custom PC if you’re mostly browsing and watching video—and a heads-up that RAM prices have spiked recently. We also hit the streaming mess (YouTube TV vs. Disney/ESPN) and why “cutting the cord” keeps getting pricier and more confusing.

A Fun group on Facebook, IT Humor and Memes Shared a post about gaming in the late 80's which opened up a discussion on Gaming nostalgia: Making the list for Andy, Shawn and Justin were titles like Wolfenstein 3D, Command & Conquer, Diablo II, RollerCoaster Tycoon, Leisure Suit Larry, and more—plus places to play DOS classics right in your browser with a great link from Shawn. Justin flagged the Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition (bundled with expansions) and told a story about navigating parental controls with Fallout. There was also a quick troubleshooting win: an HP Omen laptop that crawled after a Windows update was fixed by rolling back recent updates—sometimes it is Windows.

We wrapped with “sites of the week.” TV Garden lets you hop around live channels worldwide (including NASA TV streams), a delightfully distracting Pong-style clock, browser-based emulation libraries for retro games, a global web SDR directory for ham-radio listening, and a quick-fix image cleanup tool. Last week’s background remover got a nod again for simple cutouts. Check out the Website TechtalkRadio.Com for Links talked about on the Show and see the Video Version on our Blog.techtalkradio.com and Subscribe!

This Week's TechtalkRadio Show kicks off with Shawn and Andy looking back on last weeks show and discussing a couple of Web Distractions such as TV.Garden only to find out from some viewers to the Social Media Video Post also had a site to share, Radio.Garden. This Site features Radio stations from around the globe, now including KGVY. Shawn adds WebSDR.org for listening to live amateur radio signals worldwide. That rolls into a hands-on ham segment: GMRS nostalgia, the FCC’s clamp-down on internet-linked repeaters. Shawn points to ARRL for licensing paths and local clubs, plus practical directories like RepeaterBook, RadioReference, and HamStudy to get started.

Andy dusts off the DJI Mini 3 to shoot footage of classic control-line airplanes for a friends project and decides it is time to take a look at the Part 107 study options, and but realizes  licensing delays amid the federal shutdown discussion. Then it’s OS philosophies—Windows 11’s Copilot and bloat vs. the “clean” feel of Linux—before a deep dive on data recovery: Shawn resurrects photos from a 2007 Toshiba drive using free TestDisk/PhotoRec, while Andy revisits using OnTrack in past recoveries and budget-friendlier EaseUS. A wild case study: investigators recovered images from the OceanGate submersible camera’s SanDisk memory.

Shawn tells us about a site he found which first we remind of caution -  OldVersion.com for legacy software. This tied in nicely with Andy's daughter asking for a Windows XP rig with the old games installed. A possible alternative could be the website Good Old Games for classic game purchases. For video editing without subscriptions, DaVinci Resolve shines for Andy’s 4K drone footage, and OpenShot gets a nod as a friendly, open-source starter. Quick creative helpers include Remove.bg for instant background cuts and a reminder to support open-source tools that earn a spot in the toolbox.

A Listener wants to know about silencing Spam Calls. Andy shares the recommendation to use Do Not Disturb with “contacts only,” Silence Unknown Callers on iPhone, and accept that voicemail may still catch strays. Security talk covers the rumored Gmail credential chatter and a practical audit with HaveIBeenPwned, followed by password hygiene best practices: unique, long passwords and strong picks like Apple Passwords or 1Password—optionally paired with hardware keys for the ultra-cautious. The show wraps with a family-friendly pick—Scholastic’s new free streaming app (Clifford, Goosebumps, Magic School Bus)—and a quick note that Fedora is formally embracing AI-assisted contributions on the development side, signaling how open-source projects are adapting behind the scenes.

Got a question for the show? Email [email protected], and catch more at techtalkradio.com.


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We kick off with the Oct 20, 2025 AWS outage (US-EAST-1)—why “Amazon” going down can break apps you use daily (Reddit, Coinbase, Snapchat, Roku, even some smart-home gear). Shawn explains how DNS resolution at scale works and why a failure there feels like the internet lost its street map. We also touch on a real-world consequence: some Eight Sleep smart beds overheated or got stuck until the company shipped an “outage mode.

That leads us straight into streaming vs. physical media. Prices, ad tiers, and licensing whiplash have many folks rebuilding local libraries. We share practical tools for ripping and transcoding discs you own (MakeMKV for Blu-ray, HandBrake for format/size control) and talk Plex for organizing and streaming your files at home.

Quick tip of the week: WinGet, Microsoft’s built-in Windows Package Manager, can bulk-update your desktop apps from the command line. Shawn runs it live and finds half his studio stack out of date! 

Anne in Green Valley sent us a Question about Windows 11 S Mode—who it’s for (locked-down, Store-only installs) and why most power users eventually exit S Mode (you can’t go back). Andy also shares a save-the-day studio story: repairing a Windows 10 install from DVD to keep legacy Adobe CS5.5 running offline for production work.

Shawn goes full kid-in-a-candy-store with TV.garden—a globe you spin to drop into live channels from around the world, no login or subscription. He liked how fast it is to discover niche stuff (he even pulled up MavTV–style motorsports and low-production Supercross feeds while we were talking), how you can browse by country or category, and how it’s perfect for “have-it-on-in-the-background” viewing. It’s free, click-and-watch, and the 3D globe UI makes it feel like channel-surfing planet-wide

Got a question for the show? Email [email protected], and catch more at techtalkradio.com.

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Windows 10’s end-of-support dominated this week’s show, as Andy, Shawn, and Justin tackled the panic, the realities, and the options. From Microsoft’s ESU path ($30 for Home, $60 for Pro) to the confusing OneDrive “free” backup catch (that 5GB cap!), the crew broke down who really needs to move now and who can safely plan. They also dug into the TPM 2.0 / Secure Boot debate—why game anti-cheat systems are driving requirements, how tools like Rufus can help on older hardware, and the real risk of kernel-level hooks. Along the way, Andy shared a cautionary tale about flipping BIOS/UEFI settings, MBR vs. GPT, and why documenting changes (and cloning that SSD first!) can save a weekend.

Not ready for new hardware? The guys mapped out sane alternatives: when a legit Windows 7→10 key will still activate Windows 11 on supported gear, and when a friendly Linux distro (Ubuntu, Mint, etc.) is the better retirement plan for a beloved PC. Shawn even previewed Ubuntu’s whimsically named future release, “Resolute Raccoon,” and the team answered a listener’s webcam question—ultimately reminding iPhone families that FaceTime across phones, Macs, and iPads is still the simplest way to video chat without extra gadgets.

Andy revisited Driver Easy after a wave of online skepticism, sharing clean scans with Malwarebytes and real-world stability gains when Windows Update missed drivers. Shawn flagged a Corsair DDR4/DDR5 memory-speed class-action notice (proof that keeping receipts pays), and Justin gave an enthusiastic update on his new enclosed 3D printer: faster prints, auto-leveling, built-in filtration for ABS, and easy project ideas from MakerWorld and Thingiverse—all with filament costs that make practical prints (and holiday décor) surprisingly affordable. Justin's Newest 3D Printer comes from FlashForge 

Wrapping up, Justin sounded off on Microsoft again—this time over the Xbox Game Pass price hike—while Shawn noted reports that some existing, auto-renewing subscribers may see delayed increases depending on market. Whether you’re planning your Windows 11 migration, eyeing Linux, tuning a printer, or trimming subscriptions, this episode is packed with field-tested advice, hard-won lessons, and a few laughs from the TechtalkRadio bench.

In This week’s Flashback episode of TechtalkRadio, The Show kicks off with a laugh, as Justin recounts how YouTube flagged his video simply for having Monday Night Football faintly visible in the background. What started as a minor annoyance turned into a deep dive into the quirks of copyright enforcement online—especially when compared with Twitch streamers who manage to broadcast live sports disguised as gameplay. The crew joked about how even a Mountain Dew can or a MacBook box might get them flagged, highlighting the ever-watchful eyes of content algorithms.

The conversation shifted into new tech purchases and experiments. Matt shared his decision to buy a brand-new 14-inch MacBook Pro with Apple’s M3 Pro chip, not out of Apple loyalty but as the best platform to run Kali Linux for cybersecurity training. This led into a broader discussion on cutting-edge laptops and even the newly announced “Spacetop,” a screenless laptop that uses AR glasses as the display. The crew debated whether augmented reality machines are the future of computing or just a passing gimmick, with plenty of comparisons to Apple’s pricey Vision Pro headset.

Industry news took center stage as the hosts examined reports of Qualcomm eyeing Intel for a takeover. The panel dug into Intel’s struggles with its 13th and 14th generation processors, which have been plagued by overheating and reliability issues, along with looming lawsuits and declining stock. They contrasted Intel’s woes with AMD’s strong comeback, recalling the history of dual-core development and AMD’s Ryzen resurgence. The talk underscored how quickly fortunes can shift in the chip wars—and whether Intel is truly “too big to fail.”

On the lighter side, the team went full-nerd over Warhammer 40K—from Shawn’s first tabletop skirmishes to Henry Cavill’s obsession with the franchise and its upcoming Amazon series. The show wrapped with Shawn’s hands-on tale of reinstalling Windows 11, troubleshooting endless drivers, and finally discovering the time-saving installer tool NiNite. The guys closed with a reminder of why patience and persistence are key in tech, and a promise to tackle more listener questions next week.

Andy, Shawn, and Justin open with Justin’s recent DDoS nightmare and use it to explore how IoT botnets form, why firmware updates and password changes are essential, and why cheap “set it and forget it” devices can be ticking time bombs. They compare off-the-shelf routers like ASUS, Netgear, and Linksys with more advanced options such as UniFi and the open-source pfSense (“PF-chance,” as Justin puts it), which can turn an old PC into a powerful firewall/router—perfect for those willing to tinker. Tips include scanning with Fing, segmenting devices on VLANs, and avoiding ISP-provided routers.

Listener Q&A shifts the discussion to Windows 11: Home vs. Pro, and the frustration that Remote Desktop is missing in Home. Andy shares his Rufus experiment installing Windows 11 on unsupported hardware, while the team stresses the importance of BIOS and driver updates. The highlight is Shawn’s story about Driver Easy, which rescued a high-end transcoding PC that Windows updates had slowed to a crawl—finding 15+ outdated drivers and restoring its performance instantly. Justin explains how techs can use short-term Driver Easy licenses to fix customer machines without constant overhead.

But the big highlight comes from Justin’s own Reolink security camera: it captured a shocking moment when a car slammed into his neighbor’s $100K Nissan GT-R while it was being loaded for transport. The video proves why quality security cameras matter, and sparks a bigger conversation about Wyze vs. Reolink setups, VLAN security, and why having your own footage is worth every penny.

They wrap up with cool new tools — from DJI’s latest drones to lightningmaps.org, a live weather tracker that shows real-time lightning strikes. Whether you’re into gadgets, gaming, or just want smarter home security, this episode is packed with stories you don’t want to miss.

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This week on TechtalkRadio, Andy Taylor and Shawn DeWeerd unpack iOS 26 after Apple’s recent wave of updates. Shawn—who’s been living on the beta—explains why the OS now feels “built for two-handed use,” with core actions and search shifting to the bottom of the screen. For anyone returning from Android or upgrading older iPhones, it’s less about flashy features and more about retraining muscle memory: new-message buttons, close icons, and search live where your thumbs naturally are.

From there, the conversation widens to the state of AI. Andy contrasts the speed and usefulness of Google’s Gemini for quick studio lookups with Siri’s slower responses, while both hosts wrestle with where AI is genuinely helpful versus where it still feels off. Practical wins include Lightroom’s AI noise reduction, using AI to wrangle manuals and code snippets, and Google’s NotebookLM—now with interactive “ask-as-you-listen” study sessions. On the flip side: AI-generated images still struggle with fine details and text, and accuracy gaps make “AI slop” risky for mission-critical work.

In smart home talk, Shawn revisits Wyze’s value gear—cameras, bulbs, and a new palm-vein recognition lock—plus the subscription math behind Cam Plus. He argues for a simple but powerful upgrade: first-class RTSP so users can record to their own NAS and keep footage off the cloud by default. Listener Q&A rolls through texting mysteries (blue vs. green bubbles and how RCS now bridges some features with Android), and the looming Windows 10 end-of-support date. They weigh Extended Security Updates versus buying new machines, and when Rufus can help install Windows 11 on borderline hardware—while warning that not every system will make the cut. Andy shares a great story at ZDNet from Past Guest on the Show Ed Bott on steps to install Windows 11.

To cap it off, the guys look at Roku’s first projector (1080p with Roku OS, auto-focus/keystone, Bluetooth private listening), share a handy tip for listening through headphones via the Roku app, and flag a recent Plex security incident—change your password and be cautious with the latest Roku Plex app update if you’re seeing stutters or crashes.

Got a question for the show? Email [email protected], and catch more at techtalkradio.com.

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For this Week's TechtalkRadio Show, Andy and Shawn kick off with Apple’s September hardware drop Titled "Awe Dropping"

Shawn shared the announcements from the new AirPods Pro 3 (better ANC, on-bud heart-rate monitoring, and live translation via “Apple Intelligence”), three Apple Watch tiers (SE as the budget health watch, Series 11 adding hypertension and deeper sleep tracking, and Ultra 3 with satellite messaging and up to 72-hour battery)

Shawn also tells us about the Announced New iPhone 17 family. Highlights include a super-thin iPhone Air (~5.3mm, ceramic-coated glass, 120Hz), across-the-line 48MP cameras, Pro/Pro Max video chops (4K/120, ProRes RAW, timecode/Genlock via accessory), bigger batteries (Apple touts ~27–32 hrs video playback), a rechargeable MagSafe pack.  The crew debates whether any of it is a must-upgrade and notes Apple’s limited AI story beyond translation. Vision/VR? Likened to 3D TV—cool demo, niche daily use.

Justin jumps in to compare live-translate (Pixel’s had versions for years), rave about Pixel zoom demos, and spotlight Denver’s newly announced high-tech retractable-roof stadium plan. The guys also cover the viral “Baseball Karen” meme saga (“the internet never loses”) and drop a nostalgia gem as Website of the Week: BigBoxCollection.com—gorgeous 3D scans of classic big-box PC games.

Also Covered in this Weeks Show:

Listener Q&A:

• “McAfee” pop-ups without McAfee installed = likely malware or a rogue browser extension. Solution: review/remove extensions, run Malwarebytes (ideally from a clean USB), and avoid calling scam numbers.

• Ripping CDs at home: Windows Media Player or VLC still do it; then back up to cloud + an external drive (practice the 3-2-1 rule).

Production note: Andy shares why the show moved to Riverside FM—clean local tracks, transcripts/teleprompter, smart editing—and a jaw-dropper: AI profanity replacement that sounds like the host. Justin closes by unboxing plans for a new enclosed, auto-leveling 3D printer and what he’ll make first.

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This week on TechtalkRadio, Andy Taylor, Matt Jones, and Justin Lemme take listeners on a ride through pop culture, tech nostalgia, and the latest gadgets. We kick things off with Netflix’s surprise mega-hit K-Pop Demon Hunters, which has quickly become one of the most streamed films on the platform. The guys explore how the movie’s catchy soundtrack, unique animation style, and unexpected global success are reshaping both the music and movie industries.

From there, the conversation shifts to the future of movie theaters. Justin shares a hilarious yet frustrating story about his AMC theater experience, while Matt explains why premium theaters like Alamo Drafthouse are thriving. The team debates whether streaming at home with services like YouTube TV is now a better option than overpriced tickets, flat sodas, and broken popcorn machines. Listener Steve from Tucson also sparks a great discussion on whether cutting the cord for YouTube TV is worth it.

On the tech front, Matt details his new AI-powered home lab, complete with Reolink 4K cameras and custom video analytics that can detect pets, license plates, and even track family members around the house. Justin, meanwhile, shares his return to the ambitious (and still in alpha) Star Citizen, a space sim that has raised nearly a billion dollars from fans and continues to evolve.

Of course, no trip down memory lane would be complete without celebrating 30 years of Windows 95. The guys reminisce about floppy disks, DOS gaming, and the long list of Windows versions that shaped the modern PC era. They also explain the term doom-scrolling for listeners who might be hearing it for the first time.

Finally, Matt previews the brand-new Google Pixel 10 XL, fresh from Google’s “Made by Google” event. He’s already pre-ordered the device and will share a hands-on review in next week’s episode.

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