The Impromptu - Insightful Tech Analysis

Synopsis: CES 2019 is here, and The Impromptu breaks down the most interesting news from the event and figures out what it all means for consumers.

By the way, our podcast is now available in video format. Please check it out and subscribe on YouTube!

Make sure to signup for Audible today to get your FREE audio book and 30-day trial.

Please support our podcast by making a sustaining monthly donation.

Please also check out our GoFundMe campaign as we're trying to raise enough money to help cover our studio build costs.

Duration: 56:18:00

Present: Michael Norton, Alex Knight

• Everything you need to know about CES 2019

• @ZeroDistraction
• @ZenImpulse
• @TheImpromptu
• @HologramRadio for updates on other interesting podcasts

• Get The Impromptu on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, or via RSS.

Download: Episode 171: CES 2019

Synopsis: What went wrong with iPhone last year? Is Apple's recently disclosed earnings loss a sole reflection of the price increases, or is it a more complicated picture, factoring in China's economy and its relations with the United States?

By the way, our podcast is now available in video format. Please check it out and subscribe on YouTube!

Make sure to signup for Audible today to get your FREE audio book and 30-day trial.

Please support our podcast by making a sustaining monthly donation.

Please also check out our GoFundMe campaign as we're trying to raise enough money to help cover our studio build costs.

Duration: 01:06:48

Present: Michael Norton, Alex Knight

• Letter from Tim Cook to Apple investors
• Apple's Precarious and Pivotal 2019

• @ZeroDistraction
• @ZenImpulse
• @TheImpromptu
• @HologramRadio for updates on other interesting podcasts

• Get The Impromptu on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, or via RSS.

Download: Episode 170: The Economics of The Smartphone Market

Synopsis: Happy New Year! We are launching 2019 with our tech predictions for the year, from Microsoft to Apple, Sony, and more. Also, will Facebook get hit with a massive GDPR fine for the countless screw ups it was responsible for in 2018? And lastly, a deep dissection of how Facebook moderates its platform as we try to understand where it's gone wrong.

By the way, our podcast is now available in video format. Please check it out and subscribe on YouTube!

Make sure to signup for Audible today to get your FREE audio book and 30-day trial.

Please support our podcast by making a sustaining monthly donation.

Please also check out our GoFundMe campaign as we're trying to raise enough money to help cover our studio build costs.

Duration: 01:06:24

Present: Michael Norton, Alex Knight

• Inside Facebook's Secret Rulebook for Global Political Speech
• Alex Stamos Twitter thread
• Max Fisher Twitter thread
• Steve Troughton Smith Twitter thread on Marzipan

• @ZeroDistraction
• @ZenImpulse
• @TheImpromptu
• @HologramRadio for updates on other interesting podcasts

• Get The Impromptu on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, or via RSS.

Download: Episode 169: 2019 Tech Predictions

Synopsis: In our final episode of 2018, we are joined by Jason DeFillippo of the Grumpy Old Geeks podcast. We review the 2018 year in tech, issue a report card to social media companies, contemplate whether we're becoming desensitized to online privacy erosion, and also throw in some fun Sci-Fi book recommendations.

By the way, our podcast is now available in video format. Please check it out and subscribe on YouTube!

Make sure to signup for Audible today to get your FREE audio book and 30-day trial.

Please support our podcast by making a sustaining monthly donation.

Please also check out our GoFundMe campaign as we're trying to raise enough money to help cover our studio build costs.

Duration: 1:22:00

Present: Michael Norton, Alex Knight, Guest Jason DeFillippo

• "Grumpy Old Geeks" podcast
• @GOGPodcast
• Follow @JPDEF Jason DeFillippo on Twitter
• Apple abandons Connect on Apple Music
• 2018's tech trends and tribulations in 14 charts
• Facebook bug exposed up to 6.8M users' unposted photos to apps

• @ZeroDistraction
• @ZenImpulse
• @TheImpromptu
• @HologramRadio for updates on other interesting podcasts

• Get The Impromptu on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, or via RSS.

Download: Episode 168: 2018 Year in Review, with Guest Jason DeFillippo

Synopsis: This week on The Impromptu, we unpack what exactly it means to have Huawei, a giant technology company, have influence in countries all around the world. With Huawei's CFO arrested in Vancouver, questions are being asked about how much we can trust a company that has major involvement in contributing to Canada's 5G infrastructure. North America is in a very difficult position, with its reliance on China for manufacturing and its history of trying to extract secrets from what lies behind our own firewalls.

By the way, our podcast is now available in video format. Please check it out and subscribe on YouTube!

Make sure to signup for Audible today to get your FREE audio book and 30-day trial.

Please support our podcast by making a sustaining monthly donation.

Please also check out our GoFundMe campaign as we're trying to raise enough money to help cover our studio build costs. Duration: 1:04:00 Present: Michael Norton, Alex Knight

• CFO of Chinese tech giant Huawei arrested in Vancouver, sought by U.S. for extradition

• @ZeroDistraction
• @ZenImpulse
• @TheImpromptu
• @HologramRadio for updates on other interesting podcasts

• Get The Impromptu on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, or via RSS.

Download: Episode 167: Can We Trust Any Tech Products Made in China?

Synopsis: This week on The Impromptu, we pose a question: should Facebook be treated like a utility and be broken up? Instead of a social media company, it becomes a social service.

By the way, our podcast is now available in video format. Please check it out and subscribe on YouTube!

Make sure to signup for Audible today to get your FREE audio book and 30-day trial.

Please support our podcast by making a sustaining monthly donation.

Please also check out our GoFundMe campaign as we're trying to raise enough money to help cover our studio build costs.

Duration: 56:33:00

Present: Michael Norton, Alex Knight

• CBC Front Burner podcast: Should we breakup Facebook?

• @ZeroDistraction
• @ZenImpulse
• @TheImpromptu
• @HologramRadio for updates on other interesting podcasts

• Get The Impromptu on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, or via RSS.

Download: Episode 166: The Horrible Cycle of Human Misery

Synopsis: This week on The Impromptu, we reflect on the rampant consumerism that is Black Friday admit to our own buying habits, have a larger discussion about how people love buying cheap crap, and wrap up with some privacy and security news regarding Facebook and a recent LinkedIn snafu.

Make sure to signup for Audible today to get your FREE audio book and 30-day trial.

Please support our podcast by making a sustaining monthly donation.

Please also check out our GoFundMe campaign as we're trying to raise enough money to help cover our studio build costs.

Duration: 1:02:00

Present: Michael Norton, Alex Knight

• Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg rejects request to testify in front of seven countries' lawmakers — but a lower-level official will appear
• LinkedIn processed 18 million email addresses of non-users for targeted advertising
• Amazon staff in Europe protest to coincide with Black Friday

• @ZeroDistraction
• @ZenImpulse
• @TheImpromptu
• @HologramRadio for updates on other interesting podcasts

• Get The Impromptu on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, or via RSS.

Download: Episode 165: Black Friday: There's No Happiness Here

Synopsis: This week on The Impromptu, we unpack the news from last week's Facebook exposé at The New York Times. And as a bit of miscellany, Pokémon: Let's Go, Sony pulls out from E3, and the inscrutable Death Stranding.

Make sure to signup for Audible today to get your FREE audio book and 30-day trial.

Please support our podcast by making a sustaining monthly donation.

Please also check out our GoFundMe campaign as we're trying to raise enough money to help cover our studio build costs.

Duration: 39:16:00

Present: Michael Norton, Alex Knight

• Delay, Deny and Deflect: How Facebook's Leaders Fought Through Crisis
• Yes, Facebook made mistakes in 2016. But we weren't the only ones.
• Pokémon: Let's Go

• @ZeroDistraction
• @ZenImpulse
• @TheImpromptu
• @HologramRadio for updates on other interesting podcasts

• Get The Impromptu on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, or via RSS.

Download: Episode 164: The Facebook Exposé

Synopsis: This week on The Impromptu, a quick highlight and hands-on with the new 2018 iPad, what iOS 13 needs to full realize the hardware's potential, Samsung's folding phone, and a sleek new Android UI for Samsung phones.

Make sure to signup for Audible today to get your FREE audio book and 30-day trial.

Please support our podcast by making a sustaining monthly donation.

Please also check out our GoFundMe campaign as we're trying to raise enough money to help cover our studio build costs.

Duration: 1:08:00

Present: Michael Norton, Alex Knight

• This is Samsung's foldable smartphone
• Samsung's new One UI software will make giant phones much easier to use

• @ZeroDistraction
• @ZenImpulse
• @TheImpromptu
• @HologramRadio for updates on other interesting podcasts

• Get The Impromptu on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, or via RSS.

Download: Episode 163: iPad Hardware Is Only Half The Picture

Synopsis: This week on The Impromptu, a big event happened: Apple announced a redesigned MacBook Air, Mac Mini (yay!), and new iPads. Join us with guest, Harry Marks, as we unpack the details.

Make sure to signup for Audible today to get your FREE audio book and 30-day trial.

Please support our podcast by making a sustaining monthly donation.

Please also check out our GoFundMe campaign as we're trying to raise enough money to help cover our studio build costs.

Duration: 1:30:00

Present: Michael Norton, Alex Knight, Harry Marks

• Highlights from Apple's keynote event
• All-new MacBook Air takes flight
• New Mac mini packs a huge punch
• New iPad Pro with all-screen design is most advanced, powerful iPad ever

• @ZeroDistraction
• @ZenImpulse
• @TheImpromptu
• @HologramRadio for updates on other interesting podcasts

• Get The Impromptu on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, or via RSS.

Download: Episode 162: New MacBook, Mac Mini, and iPads 2018, with Guest Harry Marks