Stay ConnectedTechnology podcast that both experts and novices can enjoy.
Pop culture you love. Tech you dream about.
Shelly Palmer and Seth Everett cover topics that mean a lot to those in the tech space and those who just love tech.
Learn what’s new, what’s next, and what it means for you and your business.
Could Batman’s toys exist in the real world? Is Star Trek still science fiction, or has it become science fact?
Copyright: © 2021
The NFL is planning full stadiums. The U.S. Open is planning to have fans. Broadway is sold out for the next, say, three decades. Movie theaters, though, have struggled in their return. Even before COVID-19, movie theaters were in a difficult situation. Now, with the added implications of the pandemic, the ask is even greater and the economics are even direr. We're taking a look at the current state of the movie theater, the changes in theatrical release windows, and the immense level of technological innovation we've seen since March 2020. Why would Netflix want to buy AMC? How will theaters win back attendees with an ever-shortening theatrically exclusive window? What did Shelly think of Jungle Cruise? We answer all the hardest-hitting questions on this week's episode.
Apple will soon start scanning your iPhone for child pornography and other illegal content. Should you be worried? We discuss the Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) database, what Apple is looking for with its scans, and (perhaps more importantly) what it is *not* looking for. We discuss the two sides to this argument and issue, what (exactly) Apple's commitment to protecting you really means, and whether or not Apple is likely to make a mistake, along with the lessons Apple could (or should) learn from BlackBerry.
We've got all the Pym Particles we need and we're ready to get really small as we talk about one of the most important discoveries of all time… if it's real. We do a quick rundown of the laws of thermodynamics to help everyone comprehend the fact that one of these may no longer be true. The reason? Time crystals. It's sci-fi in the real world. It's on the level of shapeshifting, teleportation, and the rest of the wild stuff you only see in Marvel movies. Everything about everything we think we know about the world could be out the window. The only question: did these scientists at Google (and a few prestigious universities) really discover what they think they discovered? Well, there are other questions, too. How dangerous is it? Can we trust humanity with this technology? Are we going to be able to make the Infinity Gauntlet?
Take the difficulties of a 13-hour time difference between Tokyo and New York City, add the wrinkle of a global pandemic, and sprinkle in a dash of having every Olympic event "spoiled" on social media before it airs in primetime in the U.S., and it's easy to see why this is the most challenging Olympic Games for broadcasters and journalists. But for viewers, it's never been better! With the games viewable over-the-air (with exquisite NBC packaging) and on Peacock and Hulu (including one-click recording options to record all Olympics content), these may be the best Olympic Games yet. But will you have the time to watch the Olympics this year? We do a media roundup of some of the rest of the new-release entertainment available now, like Black Widow, Masters of the Universe: Revelation, and even “boring baseball.” Spoiler warning: major events from the first episode of Masters of the Universe: Revelation are spoiled in this episode.
If you love music (and stories about music), the past few weeks have provided a wealth of great new documentaries to watch, including Summer of Soul and 1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything, which looks back at a bygone era of music. Now, there's a new era of music. For just a few bucks a month, we suddenly have access to (just about) the entire history of recorded music. It's amazing for the consumer, but is it a net positive? We talk about the concepts of "access" vs. "ownership," the lack of a “hunt” (and the anticipation) in discovering new music, and how exactly we wound up here.
On July 11, 2021, Richard Branson ushered in the era of private space travel by flying to the edge of space in a "space plane" designed and built by his company. In a few weeks, Jeff Bezos will surpass Branson's accomplishment by flying above the Karman Line (an altitude of 100 kilometers), the internationally recognized boundary for space, in a "rocket ship" designed and built by his company. While Elon Musk has not been a passenger in one of his own spacecrafts, SpaceX (his company) put people in space in August 2020. We discuss these accomplishments, the new space race (and how it's different from the original space race), and what it means for the next generation of Edisons and Teslas. Also, stay tuned for the very cool connection Seth has with Richard Branson, plus a sneak preview of a handful of topics coming soon to future episodes!
A lot has been written about the socio-techno divide (also known as the digital divide) and how the less affluent lack equal access to modern necessities like high-speed internet. The issue (and the access) goes much deeper than that. We talk about why high-speed internet is so hard to come by in certain places, plus solutions (like Starlink, mophie, and eero) that could help make access a bit easier for some people. We also discuss the risks of being single-threaded and why the necessary solution is much bigger than simply "access."
It's hot outside… it's so hot, in fact, that you might think the government just published an official report about UFOs… sorry, UAPs: unidentified aerial phenomena. Wait… they are? We talk about the latest Pentagon report and the likelihood of aliens visiting earth. From there, we talk about the time that Will Smith battled aliens (and the time he battled a giant mechanical spider) before discussing the films of Quentin Tarantino (Are Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2 great films?) and the right way to watch the Star Wars movies.
Bitcoin crashed hard this past weekend, and the selloff doesn't seem to be turning around too quickly. The crypto markets have been unusually volatile recently, and there are a few factors at play. We dive into what's going on with the cryptocurrency market, as well as some long-term things to think about and understand so that you're not surprised. If you've been a Techstream listener since the start, you'll know there hasn't been a lot of good news in the crypto market since the show began. If you're looking for good news, stay tuned; we'll give you reasons to stay excited and optimistic about the world of decentralized finance.
Video games and gaming are a hotter industry than they've ever been. Console gaming (like Xbox and PlayStation) is great, but PC gaming is greater. Over the past 18 months, we've seen tremendous enhancements with new advancements like ray tracing and the absolute booming viewership numbers on platforms like Twitch. Is new tech all that's behind the recent uptick in interest around gaming? Is there a "mystery" behind why people watch gamers play (or practice) on Twitch? The biggest question of all: why hasn't the rest of the world caught up? Looking to get started buying (or building) a high-end ("gaming") PC? We offer tips on what to buy and (more importantly!) what not to buy, no matter your use case: gaming, mining, AI modeling, or anything else imaginable.
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