The Hacks

Tom and Chunga have heard from many of you about how hard it is to build and maintain real, substantive, relationships within the tech industry from the beginning of the pandemic.

Whether you prefer to work remotely or not, networking in this new environment of ours is still something that we're trying to master. Tom and Chunga are quite sure that you're all currently building relationships with great co-workers that you've never actually met in person! 

In this episode of The Hacks, Tom and Chunga have some ideas and thoughts on how you can represent yourself better while continuing to build strong, and long-lasting relationships with your superiors and co-workers in this unique industry. They also talk about whether or not virtual employment really is here to stay. Listen now!!

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It's impossible not to notice how insanely expensive video cards have become over the past few years. There's a variety of reasons for this, supply chain issues, the pandemic, etc. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons is the explosion in crypto popularity.

Over the past few weeks, cryptocurrency has taken a substantial dip in value.  This dip has also triggered a possible market correction for video card prices. AMD is now taking steps to ensure that its video cards remain at the suggested retail price to make things even more appealing for the consumer!

Will competing video card manufacturers be forced to follow suit?  Will product quality take a hit?  Listen now to find out!!

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May is mental health awareness month and in this episode of The Hacks, Tom and Chunga have a question for you--Do you have "the storm"?

The Storm is a term that Chunga uses to describe something that happens internally to some people. It's an internal urgency that creates a high level of discomfort and an almost unquenchable thirst to push yourself forward. It's especially common among people who strive to innovate, think outside the box, and create. Ultimately, the storm can be a good thing, but it can also be destructive. If it's not controlled the right way, the storm can take a heavy toll. Not only on you as an individual, but on family, friends, finances, and the very thing you're working so hard to create.

Tom and Chunga talk about the storm, how they've struggled with it, how they've learned how to deal with it, and used it to make their lives and careers better.  Join the Salt Project Community

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After a week off, Tom and Chunga are back! Tom is really excited about a new project he's getting started on. For the first time in over a decade, he's going to build his own servers! He's really interested in participating in some new networks and areas of computing. In order to do that at the level he wants, he needs some fairly powerful new servers. Sure, Tom could just head to the store or order some completed servers online, but no--that would be beneath him!

Although he's beyond thrilled to be starting on this, there's a problem, it's not going well.  In truth, it's not going well at all!  It seems that Tom is extremely rusty, the pain is real! Is Tom in over his head trying to build these servers? Is he going to need help from you and the listeners of The Hacks? Listen now to find out!

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Last week, Tom and Chunga kicked off a two-part series, that focused on everything that's wrong with Crypto. In part one, they talked about the concept of Cryptocurrency and whether or not it will stand the test of time as a legitimate form of money.

In part two, Tom and Chunga discuss the limitations of using Crypto as a utility and why that process is so slow.  It's also extremely confusing. Tom says that while speed, is one of the biggest problems people face when using Crypto, it's far from the only core problem! Listen now to learn about all of his concerns in this episode of The Hacks! Check out the brand new Idem Project!

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A few weeks ago, Tom and Chunga did a couple of episodes about CryptoCurrency. Although these shows were generalized and neutral, there were a few people that felt that The Hacks was in some way being a "shill" for crypto companies. While that couldn't have been further from the truth, the feedback did give Chunga an idea. Why not do a couple of episodes about everything that's wrong with crypto!

We all know that when it comes to NFTs, the blockchain, and various types of crypto, they have an awful lot to discuss when it comes to the negatives. In part one of this two-part series, Tom and Chunga talk about the comparisons between traditional and cryptocurrencies, and how each has had to evolve in order to maintain worth. Will crypto evolve in a way that makes it less volatile and easier to understand, or will it become the next Blockbuster Video business?  Listen now and decide for yourself!

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Chunga is asking for Tom's help. He's wondering about something and he feels like it's something that he should already know about. He's also curious to know if this is something that everyone claims to understand but in reality, experts are more like him, and they don't understand as well as they should. In this episode of The Hacks, Chunga asks "what is a botnet"?

Botnets have been mentioned a lot in the news lately. The FBI has caught and shut down two major Russian botnets just in the past week! Tom knows a ton about botnets and gives a full rundown about what they are, how they operate, and IF they're actually as dangerous as the media would have us believe. Listen now!

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Tom is hanging out in Las Vegas with Chunga! They're working on a writing project together and while they were diligently grinding away, Tom came up with a great idea. Every so often, he wants to do an episode of The Hacks that focuses on an individual that has changed the face of technology and made a massive impact on the way society works! They're going to call these special episodes the "Super Nerd Spotlight"!

For the first official episode, Tom and Chunga have selected legendary mathematician, software engineer, and cryptographer Dan Bernstein! You may not know his name, but you have definitely been a benefactor of his genius. If you have an interest in ciphers, cryptography, and cybersecurity, this is your episode!

So who is this guy and why is he so important?  Listen to this episode of The Hacks to find out!

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Tom is in the process of writing a new book and (big shock) it's about open source! More specifically, it's called "The Trinity of Open Source". So, what does that mean?

Simply Put, The Trinity of Open Source is all about the natural balance between three components that are essential to any open source project! Tom says that most corporations don't get the balance right, and because of this very few corporate-owned open source projects ever live up to their potential or become successful at all! What are these components? How do you keep them all in balance with each other? Tom and Chunga have all of the answers in this episode of The Hacks!

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Tom has wanted to do this episode for weeks! Shortly before the Ukraine conflict broke out, he read a news article announcing that AMD had passed Intel in terms of market cap and now he wants to take a victory lap. Chunga says "they'll be no shutting him up about this".

As many of you know, Tom has been an AMD "fanboy" for decades, and this news doesn't surprise him a bit. So what does all of this really mean? Does it mean AMD chips have become better than Intel chips? Does it mean Intel is on the decline and they've had their day in the sun? Listen now and find out!

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