David Prager joins us as we enjoy “Today We Fight Back” “Safer Internet Day” and the idea of an airline gate agent wearing Google Glass being a first class ticket perk.

MP3

Warning: David’s video mysteriously disappears 20 seconds into the show. David’s video after that is replaced by YOUR IMAGINATION. Use it wisely.

Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.

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A special thanks to all our Patreon supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here at the low, low cost of a nickel a day on Patreon. Thank you!

Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!

Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes

Dong Nguyen: Flappy Bird became addictive product Forbes spoke with Flappy Bird creator Dong Nguyen and got a little more info about his reasons for removing the popular game from the app stores. Nguyen said “Flappy Bird was designed to play in a few minutes when you are relaxed. But it happened to become an addictive product. I think it has become a problem. To solve that problem, it’s best to take down Flappy Bird. It’s gone forever.” Nguyen met a Forbes reporter at a hotel in Hanoi after meeting with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Duc Dam. Nguyen also said he will continue to develop games and he does not plan to remove his other games, some of which are also highly ranked.

The internet fights back against surveillance: A broad coalition of organizations, companies, and individuals joined together today to take a stance against unwarranted mass spying—over 6,000 websites have demanded reform. Some links:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2014/02/today-we-fight-back-against-mass-surveillance

https://necessaryandproportionate.org/take-action/EFF

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2014/02/11/microsoft-google-and-twitter-mark-safer-internet-day-with-privacy-awareness-initiatives/#!vhUn0

News From You

spsheridan submitted a GigaOm story about HP deciding its time to start paying for firmware upgrades. In an HP Blog post Monday, ZDNet’s Ed Bott noticed that starting Feb. 19 HP says it will “provide firmware updates through the HP Support Center only to customers with a valid warranty, Care Pack Service or support agreement.” Everybody else has to pay. The new policy applies to ProLiant system ROM and CPLD firmware. Security patches will remain free, as will upgrades to HP’s iLO server management, I/O and controller firmware.

And oh what a little competition can do. jaymz668 pointed us to this Ars Technica story about San Marcos, Texas-based Grande bringing GigaBit Internet to western parts of Austin, Texas this week, several months ahead of AT&T and Google Fiber. Grande’s President Matt Murphy told the Austin American-Statesman that the service will cost $65 per month with no contract required.

More links from the show

Lithium Technologies will acquire Klout, the ranker of popularity on the Internet

Google and Foxconn discuss building robotic manufacturing technologies

Yahoo acqui-hires company that makes Days App

Verizon says they are not throttling Netflix

Hackers launch DDoS attacks across the Bitcoin eco-system in an effort to exploit the software vulnerability known as “transaction malleability”

Sprint Q4 earnings

Two competing wireless charging standards agree to join forces

Andrea Smith joins us to lament the fate of Flappy Bird, duck drones in Dubai and get prepped for protest.

MP3

Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.

Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.

A special thanks to all our Patreon supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here at the low, low cost of a nickel a day on Patreon. Thank you!

Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!

Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes

Developer removes Flappy Bird game from Android and iOS stores Reuters reports that Dong Nguyen removed his popular app Flappy Bird from the Android and iOS App stores, this weekend. Now that it’s gone, phones with the game installed, which still works, have showed up on auction sites like eBay, some with bids in the tens of thousands of dollars. Nguyen posted on Twitter that the game’s success ruined his simple life and he couldn’t take it anymore. He says the removal was not about legal issues, and he would still make games.

Nokia to launch Android-based phone at Mobile World Congress Mashable passes along a Wall Street Journal report that Nokia will launch an Android-based phone later this month at Mobile World Congress. The device will not come with the Google Play app store and will target emerging markets. Microsoft is in the process of finalizing a deal to acquire Nokia’s handset business which predominantly makes Windows Phones.

News From You

AllanAV posted a cleantechnica article to the subreddit. The article describes a Polish Startup producing grapheme. The startup is co-owned by mining company KGHM and the Industrial Development Agency (ARP). It uses technology developed at the Institute of Electronic Materials Technology in Warsaw. That would make the company the only one commercially producing graphene. Graphene-based devices could make a big difference in solar power and energy storage among other industries.

Kylde, our self-described Subreddit janitor, submitted an article from AndroidPolice noting T-Mobile winning its lawsuit against former suitor AT&T over the color purple. A federal court in Texas has ruled that AT&T’s budget carrier AIO Wireless infringed T-Mobile’s corporate trademark magenta. Aio said it was plum not magenta.

And spsheridan and habichuelacondulce both submitted articles from geek.com and geekosystem respectively, discussing a DARPA program to develop a brain implant for soldiers to help trigger memories and overcome memory loss. The device would record and stimulate brain activity.

More links from the show

HTC to focus on low-end smartphones in an effort to boost sagging profits

Huawei to show off a smartwatch at Mobile World Congress later this month

Mt. Gox bitcoin exchange still down

Microsoft opens multi-factor authentication to all Office 365 users

Darren Kitchen joins the show to talk about NBC’s Sochi hacking report among other things, and Len Peralta illustrates the stories.

MP3

Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.

Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.

A special thanks to all our Patreon supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here at the low, low cost of a nickel a day on Patreon. Thank you!

Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!

Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes

Kill Switch legislation to be introduced in CA The LA Times reports California lawmakers led by State Senator Mark Leno plan to introduce legislation requiring devices like smartphones and tablets to be sold with a “kill switch” that would render them inoperable if stolen. Some devices, like the iPhone and the Galaxy S4, come with such features already. The carriers are lukewarm on legislating technology, but most are waiting to see the text of the bill before opposing or supporting it.

Facebook lets you Look Back at your Look Back video (and edit) TechCrunch reports Facebook has added an edit button to the “Look Back” videos it automatically created for most users in celebration of its tenth anniversary. The function lets you pick new photos and posts from a pre-populated list and no you can’t change the order. if you never got a video, then you also don’t get the edit feature.

Nokia and HTC bury the patent hatchet For all you people who complain that all we report is bad news, patent news, or both, here’s a ZDNet story for you. Nokia and HTC signed a patent and technology agreement that dismisses all patent litigation between the two companies. HTC pays a little money. The collaboration involves HTC’s LTE patent portfolio. Lawyers cash fat checks. Consumers get to buy phones. Everyone goes home happy.

NSA metadata program collects less data than you might think The Wall Street Journal has a new report, not from Edward Snowden leaks this time, that cites anonymous sources saying the NSA metadata program only collects data for 20 percent or less, because it doesn’t cover most cell phones. The Washington Post said even that smaller amount is still useful.

News From You

jaymz668 posted a story from the WSJ’s Corporate Intelligence blog, indicating that next year the US will joint the majority of the world in implementing a chip and pin system for credit cards and ditch the old signed receipts. Both MasterCard and Visa have set October 2015 as an important deadline in the switch. That’s the “liability shift” After that time liability for fraudulent transactions switches to the merchant unless they are using chip and pin.

MANAGEMIKE WHO’S ALWAYS SHOUTING HIS NAME submitted an Ars Technica story of one Ronaldo Boschulte who got a new modem form his ISP Comcast, which unbeknownst to him, doubles as a public WiFi router. Comcast started adding the modems by default in mid-2013. Comcast reassures customers that their broadband connection will be unaffected, but if they REALLY want to switch it off, they can, they just have to perform the arcane ritual of self-immolation known as calling Comcast customer support.

People in Russia may not care now, but SkyJedi does, and he submitted this coin desk post that bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox paused all withdrawals yesterday while they tracked down an issue encountered by some bitcoin withdrawals. Not only that but they promised an update Monday. At least that’s Monday Japan time. Users with bitcoin withdrawals stuck in limbo started to receive their coins back in their Mt. Gox wallets this morning.

More links from the show

Fazio Mechanical Services issued a statement Thursday saying it was the victim of a sophisticated cyber attack and is working with Target and the US Secret Service to investigate.

Amazon integrates image recognition into its iOS shopping app, no barcodes necessary

Apple buys back $14 billion of its own shares in the past two weeks for a total of $40 billion over the last 12 months

Russian officials rule that BitCoin is a money substitute and can not be used by individuals and legal entities

Brian Brushwood joins us to chat with Peter Bright about whether Verizon has started degrading Netflix traffic after they won their recent court victory over Net Neutrality. Also Sony ditches their PC business so it’s time to reassess how dead PC’s are.

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Note: The video stream (which is in beta mind you) experienced a catastrophic streaming failure. We’re hoping it pops up out of YouTube at some point and we’ll put what survives up here. In the meantime here is a post-show hangout nee encore. – Tom

Multiple versions (ogg, video etc.) of a video that’s just a still image with the audio from Archive.org.

Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.

A special thanks to all our Patreon supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.

If you enjoy the show, please consider supporting the show here at the low, low cost of a nickel a day on Patreon. Thank you!

Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!

Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!

Thanks to our mods, Kylde, TomGehrke and scottierowland on the subreddit

Show Notes

Sony to dump PC business
Recode reports Sony announced it will sell its VAIO PC business to investment fund Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) by the end of March. In the meantime Sony says it “will cease planning, design, and development of PC products,” and the Spring 2014 line launch will be its last. VAIO owners will still get support from either Sony or JIP. Sony will also make its TV division into a subsidiary and focus on high-end 4K models. All of this means about 5,000 jobs will be cut. Engadget reports Sony is also shutting down its digital bookstore in the US and Canada, transferring customers to Kobo starting in late March. Sony did have some good news, announcing a profitable 3rd quarter with $23 billion in revenue, up 24% over the same time last year on the strength of the PS4. However in a revised full-year forecast, Sony expects to lose $1.1 billion.

Verizon could be throttling Netflix and Amazon, but no actual evidence so far

News From You:

webitube posted on the subreddit a GigaOm article about an attack on an electrical substation near San Jose California. The Wall Street Journal reports snipers fired on the substation for almost 20 minutes, knocking out 17 transformers, as well as cutting nearby telephone cables. The damage took a month to repair. The attackers and their motives are still unknown.

habichuelcondulce and jaymz668 and Jose Gomez by email all sent us various links to the story of Dennis Aabo Sørensen who live science reports lost his hand as a result of a fireworks accident but now has a prosthetic hand that has a sense of touch. Electrodes embedded in Sørensen’s arm communicate with touch sensors in the prosthetic to deliver impulses to his remaining nerves. He can tell different objects by feel, according to a study detailed in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Silvestro Micera, a neural engineer at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Italy and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne in Switzerland, led the team that developed the hand.

mcfads23, who also happens to be our producer Jennie, submitted this psfk article on the subreddit, about Changefolio,at changefol.io a platform that makes it easy donate money to charities. The service connects with a user’s bank, then lets the user pick a charity. From then on, purchases can be rounded up or small percentages of purchases can be taken and automatically donated as micro-transactions. So for example you can have the service take 2% of your grocery bill every time you shop and donate it to a food bank. And of course their are graphs and achievements and the ability to post to Facebook and Twitter.