What's New is Old

Mark and Wes at the Saigon Bistro Restaurant in Concord,CA.

In this show, they talk about the release of Mac OSX, 32gig Micro SD card, world fair in SF, jet packs, space shuttle tiles, paying for iPhone app reviews, no more 4-track cassette recorders, the simon electronic game from 1978 and Mark chooses to lose his jailbreak.

Be sure to visit http://www.slurpcast.com to check-out the current show notes!

Mark and Wes at Szechwan Chinese Restaurant in Orinda,CA.

In this show, they talk about IPEVO Mini Nas, Facial Recognition, Picasa, Fart App Removal, Big Trak, Atari, Productive Music, Drumming Robots, Linux Sampler, and other tech news.

 

Be sure to visit http://www.slurpcast.com to check-out the current show notes!

Mark and Wes at the Bulgogi House Restaurant in Concord,CA.

In this show, they talk about the Acer 1610, iPad Pie Placemat, Wifi SSID Personification, Al Bernay Stories, Polaroid Instant Camera Photography, William Shatner will play the Dad in the 'Shit My Dad Says' TV show deal, and classified UFO documents get released.

 

Be sure to visit http://www.slurpcast.com to check-out the current show notes!

Mark and Wes at Monsoon Masala in Pleasant Hill,CA.

In this show, they talk about Mr. Edison's Kindle, 8-bit sound, iPad features, 8-track tapes, the Zilog Z80 processor, and a method to fake out DNA tests.

 

Be sure to visit http://www.slurpcast.com to check-out the current show notes!

Mark and Wes at Chef Chao's restaurant in Rheem, CA.

Sites of Interest:

MadTV made this video about the iPad before it was announced.

History of the Apple Newton.

Apple hired back one of the developers of the Newton.

Details of the new Apple iPad.

Haiti Earthquake Survivor Calls iPhone a Life Saver.

Haiti Earthquake Relief: How You Can Help.

AT&T Seeks to Phase Out Landline service.

Spike Jonze video about robots in love.

Online fan club for the other Spike Jones.

NEC’s “Battery-Less” Remote Control Could Be The Future Of Gadget Power.

The famous Dan Brown novel that Mark couldn't think of was The DaVinci Code.

The Plastic Logic QUE ebook reader.

YouTube Redesigned With Films, User Uploads in Mind.

YouTube's Next Venture: Movie Rentals.

Home page for the legitimate uses of BitTorrent.

The Texas Instruments watch we discussed in a previous show is being used to unlock doors.

ATM Card Skimmers Are Getting Frighteningly Sophisticated.

Speaker system for pregnant women.

Watch Any Vimeo Video in Freaky ASCII-O-Vision.

Interview with the father of videogames, Ralph Baer.

You should buy an iPhone instead of any other platform so you can run essential applications like these: SafeCab, Voice Band (video of it), Anti-Aging, Boobs and Sneezes, and Werewolf Me.

Mark's iPhone Application of the week:

PetSnap -- With 32 different sounds and useful features, PetSnap could easily attract your pet’s attention and assist you creating wonderful pets’ photos!

Mark and Wes at Bo's BBQ in Lafayette,CA.

Sites of Interest:

New Google "near me now" features for iPhone and Android.

Google takes a new approach with China.

China is now the largest importer of cars.

2010 Will Be the Year of 3D TV.

How different types of 3D glasses work.

3D without glasses, works very much like the 3D postcards you see in souvenir shops.

Nvidia 3D vision card and glasses for 3D on your home PC. Mark was wrong in being skeptical about this. He was assuming 3D would need polarization on the display screen and forgot the technology where the glasses have electronic filters that turn each eye's lens transparent and opaque in sequence to match the left and right pictures blinking alternatively on the display.

TV goggles exist, but never seem to be good enough.

The director of Avatar and Titanic made a 3D IMAX documentary called Ghosts of the Abyss about finding the wreck of the Titanic and exploring it with mini submarines containing IMAX cameras.

Interview with James Cameron about the technology used to film Avatar.

Good video of the Sony Aibo robot dog in action, including interaction with a cat.

Video of Bigdog, a Military robot that look like a double-sided dog.

Video of the Manoi Go break-dancing robot.

Digital Mobile TV meant for portable devices.

Sugar-powered phone, pour coca cola into it.

Free Photoshop Online.

The Sony Dash can run Chumby applications as well as other multimedia functions.

SBSettings for jailbroken iPhones Offers Faster Method to Manage iPhone Settings.

Article critical of the Sound Exchange website.

Touch the Future with Light Blue Optics.

New Sony eBook readers have touchscreens and free cellular network access for downloading books and periodicals.

Philip K. Dick Estate Sends Google Cease And Desist Over Nexus One Name.

Pacman re-written for the 1976 Fairchild VES/Channel F/System II.

"Demo apps" people used to write to show off their programming skill.

The jailbreak ProSwitcher does multitasking on the iPhone looking just like the Palm Pre.

Please don't make the mistake of buying an Androd phone, Blackberry, or Windows Mobile. Only the iPhone can run amazing and essential applications like these: Mr. Dumb - Toilet, Marco Popo, iThong, Pet Snap, Nude-it, and Drunk Dialer.

Wes' iPhone Applications of the week:

Labyrinth 2 --The creators of the original iPhone Labyrinth game bring you Labyrinth 2 - the groundbreaking game taken to the next level.

GoodReader -- Read huge PDF, or TXT files, flawless performance with files over 1 gig in size, and re-flows the text to fit the iPhone screen.

Mark's iPhone Applications of the week:

HuffingtonPost.com -- Take the Huffington Post with you, and get the latest news and opinion --even when you are on the go.

Dragon Dictation -- Voice recognition application powered by Dragon NaturallySpeaking that allows you to easily speak and instantly see your text.

Mailme Voice -- The quickest way to get all those things that you need to remember straight to your e-mail inbox.

Mark, Wes, and guest Frankie at the Swad restaurant in Lafayette, CA

Sites of Interest:

The little-known Jewish holiday of Christmas Eve.

Most Bay Area cellphone carriers now work in the BART Transbay tube. That article shows problems at first, but the service seems to be good now.

Comparison of prepaid cell phone plans, including unlimited plans that compete with Metro PCS.

If you aren't familiar with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's personality, please watch this video first so you will understand the context, then watch this Video of a guy who says Steve Ballmer personally fired him because he wasn't enthusiastic enough about the word "Bing!"

Mark's puppy is a Bichon Frise.

Nettop computers are miniature desktop machines that use basically notebook components so they are very small and use little electric power. Mark got an Acer Aspire Revo 1600 for $200 and is happy with it for the price.

Taffic and runway lights with incandescent bulbs are being replaced with LED lights because they last far longer and use less electricity, however because they run so much cooler, they create a hazard in the winter.

World Climate Report, a blog skeptical about global warming.

If you are truly concerned about global warming, the best thing you can do personally to save the planet, is to eat your pets

Here are the pictures Wes took of his trip to Thailand.

San Francisco mayor backs mandatory cell phone radiation labels.

Inform 7 is a design system for interactive fiction based on natural language.

USB Hourglass random number generator and random number generators based on radiation.

Twitter co-founder starts a new company, Square, that lets individuals and small businesses accept credit cards for payment using a tiny cube accessory that plugs into the audio jack of iPhones and other cell phones. See a video here.

Mark sees a similarity between Square and the beginnings of PayPal, which started as a way to beam money from one Palm Pilot owner to another.

Google goggles is an Android app that lets you take a photo of a product or building and lookup information about it by matching your photo to others of the same object that Google knows about. Google says Goggles will eventually be implemented on the iPhone.

Wes saw the Rama IX Bridge in Bangkok, which was dedicated to King Bhumibol Adulyadej on his 60th birthday.

The latest rumors about an Apple Tablet device.

Reference manuals for the Apple Newton including a scripting language for end-users

Be sure to buy an iPhone, not a Blackberry or Android device so you can run fine applications like these: iboobOrButt, Bing, Pull Santa's Finger, iLust, Stool Scanner (Fingerprint Test), ISOCK-the talking sock!, Assassin FPS, and Pie Fight.

Wes' iPhone Applications of the week:

RacerCoaster -- race a powerful racing buggy over roller-coaster-like race tracks?

Mark and Wes, at the California Pizza Kitchen on Van Ness in San Francisco.

Sites of Interest:

Fertility treatment may produce fewer baby boys.

Why we know from genetics that grandmothers play favorites.

This is the blood thinning drug that Mark is taking that requires a lot of testing to get the right dosage

Twitter to make money in 2010 with non-traditional advertising

What is the President and his staff looking at?

Wes mentioned this EZ430 sports watch and development platform. Mark ordered one from here for only $49 which includes the watch and all the tools. The ordering website didn't actually work to complete the order, so Mark ended up calling the phone number listed in the error message page and ordered it by phone.

Buffalo USB 3.0 hard drive now on sale and also a USB 3.0 PCI adapter card.

Mark bought Wes one of these for Bah Humbug day.

Darpa’s Simulated Cat Brain Project a ‘Scam’?

Tesla Motors IPO coming 'any day' now

Changes to Sarbanes-Oxley to ease costs for small firms

Mark explains why you should only buy an iPhone, not a Blackberry or Android phone or Windows Mobile, because seriously only iPhones can run these essential apps: Balloon Boys, Banjo Hoedown, CatPaint, and Sexy Fruit.

Geohot's jailbreak for latest iPhones and ipod Touch's including ones with the latest firmware. But note that the very latest models currently being sold by Apple have a serious problem with this: you must connect the device to a computer and re-do part of the jailbreak every time you reboot the device. This is a serious issue for an iPhone because if you are out and away from your computer and something happensto force you to restart your phone, you will be without a phone until you can get to a computer to do the "tethered boot".

Wes' iPhone Applications of the week:

iTimeZone -- World time clock that lets you enter a past or future date and time as well as the current time and see the corresponding date/time in other cities.

TripIt--That link will take you to search page which shows several apps that interface with the tripit.com website.

Mark's iPhone Applications of the week:

Blower Real Air -- Simulates an air blower on the screen, including making a special sound that somehow causes a tiny stream of air to blow out of the speaker port!

Crazy Text -- Lets you create messages in inverse and upside-down text.

Mark and  Wes at the Le Chaval restaurant in Walnut Creek CA

Sites of interest:

- David Pogue on how the Motorola Droid is a "manly" phone.

- Apple tablet rumors again.

- How to build a Hackintosh.

- Apple Mac OSx updates flipflop on support for Atom processor.

- Recovery.gov and Layar app layer.

- Acer Liquid handheld with Android OS 1.6.

- Second Canadian cellphone carrier gets iPhone, but has to switch to GSM to do it.

- Microsoft will drop Spot watch technology in 2012.

- inPulse SmartWatch for Blackberry.

- This is probably the digital ink watch Wes was talking about.

- US losing domain name registry and non English characters for domain names.

- The Motoroa Droid in the U.S. doesn't do multi-touch.

- Hybrid cars in 1901! by Ferdinand Porsch.

- Good article for starting out with Google Wave, once you get your invitation code and a complete eBook reference guide.

- Microsoft Comic Chat stilll lives and can still be installed.

- Typeface Inspired by Comic Books Has Become a Font of Ill Will.

- At prankdial, you can send prank phone calls to your friends for free! Just select the type of prank, enter the victims phone number, and send away.

- It's very important that you get an iPhone because Blackberry, Android, and Windows Mobile can't run these apps: Metrognome, Monkey Sheep poop fight, Furious George,  Swine Flute, Mega Fart, Bed bug identifier.

- New Comcast bandwidth throttling scheme.

We had to cut off the show early at this point because the recorder battery was going dead.

Mark, Wes, and Wes's dad at the Hotel Mac in Pt. Richmond, CA.

Sites of Interest:

Bully Sticks are NOT tendons or processed meat strips, no!  Bully Sticks are 100% ____ _______.

History of the PC bus standards: ISA, Micro Channel, PCI.

New eBook reader from Barnes and Noble, the Nook.  Mark thought this was the vaporware Plastic Logic reader that we talked about on a previous show because the announcements for that one months ago said it would be for B&N. It turns out the Plastic Logic Que announcements were true, but their reader will be a competitor to the Nook that will also be displayed in B&N stores and also use their eBook library.

Mark's speculations were wrong, Sir Alan Michael Sugar did not invent sugar or the Sugar OS on OLPC devices.  But he did have a part in computer history.

Will Linux take over from Windows on the desktop?  Probably not, but it is used a lot on server machines, along with FreeBSD, another open-source OS based on UNIX.

How Algol and PL/I relate to other computer languages.

Mark's memory was totally wrong about the Apricot computer; it had nothing to do with the Apple II and was more of a PC clone, but not quite.

Very funny: Conan O'Brien interviews the REAL Intel employee rock star who co-invented the USB bus, not the fake actor in the TV commercials.

Google drops Tele Atlas as their provider of U.S. maps, now creating their own maps with the help of crowdsourcing.

Google Maps asks the public to help design models of the buildings around them.

Details of the Google Book Search Settlement.

Wes' dad used to wear a Timex Datalink watch that loaded data from a PC by watching a sequence of rapidly flashing bars on a CRT monitor or a flashing LED.  He now wears the later USB version of such a watch.

WikiReader, the complete Wikipedia in a handheld device.

AT&T officer kind of admits US iPhone exclusivity may end.

The ARCHOS 5 internet tablet is unusual because it's not a cellphone, yet uses the Android OS.  Here is a video demonstration of the device.

Warning, you'd better buy an iPhone because BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Android, and WebOS phones cannot run essential applications like these: Virtual Kelli, Cry Translator, Hoax Factory, Prankster Kit, Chicken Kazoo, Sexy GrandMa, and Sexy GrandPa.

Mark thinks this would make a great iPhone app: http://hotchicksplungingtheirtoilets.com.

Justin Halpern is 29, lives at home with his mom and awsome 73-year-old dad, writes down the shit his dad says, and tweets the best ones every day on twitter account @shitmydadsays.  (You don't need to be a twitter user; just click on that link to see his tweets.)  Here is an interview with Justin.

Wes' iPhone Applications of the week:

Net Scan - Scans the WiFi network your iPhone is connected to, discovers Mac and PC hosts along with any other (even hidden) network servers and devices, shows related network information and services they run. .

Tweetie 2 - Wes' favorite iPhone app for reading and sending tweets.

Mark's iPhone Applications of the week:

iNet - Same idea as Net Scan mentioned above.

Best Camera - App for taking and editing photos.  The name comes from the author's book The Best Camera is the One With You; i.e. your cellphone.