Nerd News Tracker

If you've got a spare $100k hanging around, and want the latest in high tech OFF ROAD warrior items, the Hummer is back with an EV version. Edition 1 is decked out with a lot of features including blazing from 0-60 in 3 seconds, more horsepower than some supercars,...

Following on the heels of Amazon Prime Day, Walmart had a Big Save event, and announced THREE Black Friday type events for November. The 4th, 11th, and the 25th (presumably through Cyber Monday). Still, make sure you follow my advice and stick to the deals that you...

Following on the heels of Amazon Prime Day, Walmart had a Big Save event, and announced THREE Black Friday type events for November. The 4th, 11th, and the 25th (presumably through Cyber Monday). Still, make sure you follow my advice and stick to the deals that you...

Barnes and Noble has spent years playing second fiddle to Amazon. Now an attack has hampered them further, hitting them by crippling the ability to download or purchase new books on the tablets, but then moving to the cash registers in the stores. Customer info is...

Barnes and Noble has spent years playing second fiddle to Amazon. Now an attack has hampered them further, hitting them by crippling the ability to download or purchase new books on the tablets, but then moving to the cash registers in the stores. Customer info is...

Twitter blocked the White House Press Secretary, as well as the official TeamTrump campaign from posting tweets in the last few weeks before the election. This type of censorship is reprehensible, no matter what you feel about the candidate. The best way to approach...

Twitter blocked the White House Press Secretary, as well as the official TeamTrump campaign from posting tweets in the last few weeks before the election. This type of censorship is reprehensible, no matter what you feel about the candidate. The best way to approach...

This is a major problem for everyone. A newspaper prints a story, and immediately censorship flies from Twitter and Facebook. The problem is that the censorship started before anyone even fact checked it. It came in the form of slowing it down, something that Facebook...

This is a major problem for everyone. A newspaper prints a story, and immediately censorship flies from Twitter and Facebook. The problem is that the censorship started before anyone even fact checked it. It came in the form of slowing it down, something that Facebook...

I think Holocaust deniers are the scum of the earth. I think it's horrible for them to deny the death of 6 million Jews, 5.7 million Russian citizens, and 3 million Russian POWs, 2 million Polish, and so forth. For anyone including Facebook, to censor the deniers is...

I think Holocaust deniers are the scum of the earth. I think it's horrible for them to deny the death of 6 million Jews, 5.7 million Russian citizens, and 3 million Russian POWs, 2 million Polish, and so forth. For anyone including Facebook, to censor the deniers is...

I'm sure that they've done the numbers and realized that it wasn't a good payoff. By now, it's not like there's a lot of a need for free trial of the number one video streaming company out there. People either know the product, or they aren't going to buy into it. The...

I'm sure that they've done the numbers and realized that it wasn't a good payoff. By now, it's not like there's a lot of a need for free trial of the number one video streaming company out there. People either know the product, or they aren't going to buy into it. The...

Coinbase, a cryptocurrency company, has made a bold statement about not being political at work. Their approach of focus, and not taking political stands that are "unrelated to their core mission" is good business sense. Many companies delve into areas, claiming to be...

Another Apple Event next Tuesday. No surprise, as Apple does this in most Octobers. Keith will follow the event and give his own comments on next week's broadcast. Apple is expected to debut several new iPhone models supporting 5G wireless networks at the Oct. 13...

Cybercrime is big business, but the fines for paying up the ransom could be worse. Apparently the US Treasury has latched on to penalties for paying State Sanctioned entities, so if you pay money to North Korean hackers, it may be funding their government. Your...

Rather than fix a feature that allowed spam in close captions, YouTube shut down the ability for the hearing to contribute to the deaf community. Worse yet was the timing... at the end of the International Week of the Deaf. Predictably, I don't think that...

I'm not sure that I like the idea of a machine reading biometrics and deciding to charge my account based on that. This doesn't seem like the best idea, especially as we struggle with hacking, identity theft, and more... with outages of 911 and Microsoft Outlook this...

Without getting too political, I commend Mark Hammill for his perfect comment on the debate this past week. "That debate was the worst thing I've ever seen & I was in The Star Wars Holiday Special." I fear that we are doomed to more sequels of the bad kind,...

Microsoft's Surface Laptop range has the Laptop Go available now for budget buyers. I'm not impressed by the hardware, nor the idea that it's likely Windows S, instead of something more powerful. Still, if you need something lower end, it might be a viable option......

This isn't the first time that we've seen efforts to prevent your data from disappearing due to hard drive failures. While this is a commendable idea, I fear it will cause users to trust the warning system far more than they should. Always have a backup, and keep it...

It's not surprising that Google launched some new hardware this past week. Their timing was better than other companies. Chromecast is now ready for the television as they rebrand it Google TV. Nest Audio builds upon the previous version. And the new Pixel 4a 5G and...

TikTok, Snapchat, and other's are pushing hard with their own brand of voting promotion. It's interesting to note that they are also all providing various ballot guides in self-serving fashion. I'm good with encouraging voters, but when a company run by the Chinese...

I've been aware of this term for a while... doomscrolling. It's going online, to websites, social media, or more, and after a lot of time, you are feeling depressed or helpless. This is finally being recognized by mental experts enough to garner attention from the...

Is it all that surprising that Facebook is going to censor... I mean restrict people... if the election does not go well for them? They are now stating plans to "restrict the circulation of content" under a number of various outcomes. This is disturbing, and yet,...

Microsoft's purchase of Bethesda is a massive big deal. Bethesda has long been one of the bigger names within the gaming world, reaching back to the 1980's with Wayne Gretzky Hockey. Since then, they have provided The Elder Scrolls, many Terminator games, Fallout, and...

With people looking to save money where they can, cable TV is a viable spot. The content available on Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu is exciting and interesting. On the other side, many people are abandoning sports, news, and other live draws that have been the mainstay of...

I'm a long time proponent for dual-screens, having had two screens for nearly 20 years now. Imagine seeing your students on one screen, and your presentation on the other. A vision is being promoted for enabling teachers, with the non-profit organization Two Screens...

An interesting bill to allow common laws across all states governing your Tesla, Volvo, or other self-driving car. So many states, counties, cities, forget that when we are travelling, their laws may be cumbersome, or abusive. I like the idea of increased inclusion...

Facebook also had a new hardware announcement this week. Somehow I'm not as thrilled by Facebook's hardware. Another 3D set. More Augmented / Virtual Reality items. Their approach to announcing Wednesday, like it would steal Apple's thunder from Tuesday, was weak, and...

If you ignore Keith's suggestions to not upgrade yet... if you can't resist the future... if you're a risk taker on the edge... You need these instructions to safely go to iOS and iPadOS 14. Apple just released the latest operating systems for your iPhone and iPad,...

It's an interesting take on the learning situation. The experience for schooling at home (as opposed to home schooling) is going to have to be shifted, experimented, and twisted into what works. Youth aren't going to be happy for a while, unless they are used to the...

I'm not following the TikTok saga closely, but to turn down Microsoft, in favor of Oracle, seems like a bad decision. They have very little time to make a deal, and now that they are turning down deals, they will be left with whatever they get. Oracle is the only...

Let's be honest. You could watch the entire hour of the event. It's an infomercial with commercials within. Instead, catch our show this weekend, where Keith and I will spend some time deconstructing what we liked and didn't like about the new Apple Watch Series 6,...

If Keith wasn't drowning in the Apple eco-system, I know that he'd consider this update to the Motorola Razr. It's a distinct update from years long ago, and even their more recent offerings. But is it worth the $1400 for a folding phone? I doubt it. The new Motorola...

I'm interested in this feature, no matter how much we think that Alexa is following our every spoken word. There's a lot of printers available for this, and it's a neat feature to have if you're using the device to keep track of lists, or many other things. Of course,...

The brand Gateway was decent 2 decades ago. Then, they made some bad decisions in retail, pricing, and support. After being purchased by Acer for the name value only, the brand then faded and has been missing for a decade. Now Walmart is using it to provide mediocre...

A key quote: "AI should not waste time trying to understand the viewpoints of people who distrust artificial intelligence for a living." I don't distrust AI. I just realize that the message from a being that can do no harm, will be to say it intends no harm. The...

In answer to your question as to if Apple respects your privacy, they are watching what you're looking at online. If you're reading news online, Apple will try to push you to their version of the truth... I mean article on that same website, but through the News+ app....

One of the nice things about social media was sharing some items with large groups of your friends. Not exactly social media if you can't be social. In an effort to prevent viral misinformation, Messenger is now limited to forwarding messages to five people at a time....

Mark Zuckerberg announced he gave $300 million to a left-wing "claimed as non-partisan" organization for protecting the election. Facebook announced they will add tools and rules of their own design to ensure "fair elections". I don't have a dog in this fight......

Apple knows about violating privacy. It has had a part in doing so over the years. From tracking us, to sharing data with third parties, they are not blameless. They have improved, and there's something to say for them about that. Still, being the least bad smartphone...

While I missed last weeks press event with Musk, I'm concerned that he's really listening to too much Pink Floyd. He demonstrated implants in a pig. Yes, a combination of dystopic brain implants, placed into a pig before he brainwashes... I mean puts brain implants in...

I'm not sure if I'm going to jump into the Walmart+ service at this time. They do offer same-day delivery, and it may also provide the delivery of food, which Amazon is not doing as well at. The same day delivery offer is also something that Amazon has slacked off on....

Yes, you may have seen the notice on Facebook. It's not a crazy censorship thing (but it is too...)... it's simply stating that they are really changing their rules again, to allow them to remove or block content to avoid regulatory risk. Hasn't stopped them in the...

In a shameful approach to transparency, Twitter is continuing to censor a legitimate candidate for Congress. She is banned on many other platforms as well, so this means that Rep. Lois Frankel has a distinct and unfair advantage in the social media space. If her...

This new feature for Microsoft Word is amazing. I've seen other dictation and transcribing packages, and have demo'ed them since as early as 1998. The history has been spotty at best, but I feel that if Microsoft is doing this, then they may bring this to new levels....

Following up from last week: AI vs human in simulated airplane dogfights wound up with the AI winning in 5 separate fights... and the experienced fighter pilot with over 2000 hours in an F-16... didn't score a single hit. In other news, the long awaited Skynet comes...

Splitting the decision was wise of the judge on this. Epic Games can be stopped from doing what they did wrong, but should not be stopped from other areas where they did not act. I wonder if Apple's play to threaten the development tool access was intentional to force...

I can't report on the actual demonstration this week, but I'll report that it creeps me out. I am extending this out through it's inevitable conclusion, of course, but it will include a new variation on racism, where the chipped person will be preferred for their...

An amazing journey, from a small time web reseller of books, to the first modern $200 Billion man. That places him about the 15th richest man of all time. Henry Ford, in weighted dollars was worth about as much. William the Conqueror, Andrew Carnegie, John D...

The idea of a "kill switch" for the internet, or Facebook, seems ominous. This article warns of Donald Trump, but would this power be used the same way if Biden were to dispute election results? I find it shameful whenever any political voices are squeezed out of the...

A scary thought up front, Microsoft locking down Defender to keep you from removing it. Fortunately, their antivirus software does step out of the way when anyone else shows up, and plays nice. I think the approach is halfway decent, and ensures that people will have...

Filed under "water is wet", it's no surprise that most people believe that the social media platforms are censoring political viewpoints. Most Americans say it's very (37%) or somewhat (36%) likely that social media platforms intentionally censor political viewpoints...

While billed as a way to inform the youth, this new service comes from "NowThis", a highly biased and manipulative organization that spins a good yarn. I'm fine with organizations that do this for adults. I'm more concerns when it contributes to indoctrination of...

Keith will have the details on this advancement on this weeks news, but then will return to listing his grievances with Apple later in the show. It comes only two years after it reached a $1 trillion valuation. See full story on Apple becomes first U.S. company worth...

I'll close out this week with commentary on the pricing of computers being higher, and supplies being down. This article examines just one of the many aspects. Supply and demand: U.S. laptop sales began surging in March, as the pandemic caused both kids and adults to...

Your next car may upload data on all of your driving habits. It's being sold as a way to improve your life, and change your insurance premiums. I don't see this changing your insurance for the better, however. I see this also as one of many different ways that things...

Imagine a cubicle for your home. It's design is an undersized 3'x3' claustrophobic space for making you feel oppressed. I looked over this $835 Komoru desk from Panasonic, and realized that Ikea will have better options with larger space, and probably half of the...

In a strange twist, on Tuesday, Twitter helped build the following the TheBabylonBee. They blocked and tried to kill the account, for some crazy reason. Just before, the wonderfully satirical site had 550,000 followers. Twitter restored it, but not before wiping out...

How unfortunate, that in order to be educated, that you must give up your privacy. Further, this is a form of a digital house arrest, where the students must stay on school grounds, under threat of suspension. Sounds more like a stay at a minimum security prison....

In another bizarre attack on political speech, we find that the former press secretary for Kamala Harris, is part of the censorship staff at Twitter. It's said that he only does the announcement, but it sounds strange to me. Friends, I fear that our soap box, our...

Google also pulled Fortnite, for the exact same reason. They want their money too. This will be ugly. Fortnite maker Epic sues Apple after the tech giant removed the game. See full story on Fortnite pulled from Apple and Google app stores - CNETFound at www.cnet.com

Apple and Epic Games are going head-to-head, and there will be lawyers all over this. The problem for Epic that I see, is that Apple rarely backs down from a fight. 350 million users of Fortnite may still not be enough to change Apple's mind, as Epic's revenues will...

Microsoft is trying to buy TikTok, Twitter is too. The President of the US is pushing hard to remove China's influence. It's going to sell for more than it should. None of these make this interesting. Why? Both companies have purchased others, only to shutter them....

Soon Google Chrome will only show you the website, and hide the rest of the information about the page. computertalkradio.com/podcastCTR will now be simply computertalkradio.com. This is an effort to highlight the site you are on, and fight back against people who use...

Post anything political, or about voting, and apparently Facebook will hijack your message to direct everyone to "authoritative information about the upcoming presidential election". George Orwell didn't see this coming... and this scares me. Why? Because we've seen...

I don't like government interference in any business. I am concerned that due to the competition amongst the studios, that if you want to see Marvel movies, you'll have to see them at a different theater than the DC movies, and in some remote areas that's difficult....

I didn't think that I would get into the mask debate in all of this. No tech. No computers. But somehow, someone made the connection... that attendees to meetings on Zoom should wear masks, even if at home alone, for "the safety and health of others". To say that I'm...

I've owned more Toshiba laptops over the years than all other brands combined. I admit they lost their way about 10 years back, and refused to change with the marketplace, until it was far too late. Their overall approach on the Toshiba Business Solutions was no...

The T-Mobile merger with Sprint has moved them up in the world. Now just shy of 120 million customers, they have a long way to beat Verizon at 120 million. Beating AT&T was expected, and this will shake up the mobile world a little. I wonder how Verizon will...