Geek Bytes 5/15/15
Episode 10 – Oh what a day, what a lovely day
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Welcome to another episode of Geek Bytes Podcast. The podcast that brings you all this week’s tech and geek news.
I’m Ramon Mejia…….I’m Edgar Acosta
This Week in our news section we talk about Skype’s real time translator, why Verizon bought AOL, Windows 10 announcements, How to order food from Google, Bill Nye’s Kickstarter, the First Official Super Girl trailer, the Identity Of The New Female Thor, The Simpsons losing the voice of Ned Flanders, and much more
In Discussions we’ll talk about our review of Mad Max: Fury Road
Before we move on I wanted to announce we have our very first patreon subscriber. Someone liked the podcast enough to give us 25 cents an episode. Thanks for helping us cover the costs of the show.
We Begin our show with Geek News
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Geek News
Verizon will buy AOL for $4.4 billion
· Verizon has agreed to a deal to buy AOL for $4.4 billion.
o That's a price of $50 per share.
· Tom Marret at DTNS pointed out some reasons why Verizon may have paid so much for AOL
o AOL has an advertising platform that allows them to buy, sell, and track ads just about everywhere except mobile.
§ At the end of 2014 AOL’s global advertising revenue increased 18% to a total of $473.4 million.
o Verizon, whom has a massive mobile phone division, can fill that gap AOL has to make even more money from ad revenue.
· Since the announced acquisition many news outlets have questioned what Verizon would do with AOL content producers since Verizon has a reputation for stifling criticisms from their subsidiaries.
o AOL in the last few years has bought several major brands in online publishing such as The Huffington Post (which AOL acquired in 2011 for $315 million), Engadget, and TechCrunch.
o AOL has assured public that those outlets will maintain editorial independence but we’ll have to wait and see how the acquisition plays out.
· http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/12/8590543/verizon-aol-acquisition
Skype's real-time translator is now available for everyone to try
· Microsoft has been previewing its powerful Skype Translator for nearly six months, and the company is now ready for anyone to test the software.
· That means anyone can now use Skype Translator to translate English, Spanish, Italian, and Mandarin in real time.
$9 Powerhouse Microcomputer announced
· C.H.I.P. is a tiny computer (smaller than a credit card) with 1 Ghz processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of storage
o more powerful than the Raspberry Pi, a micro-computer popular among makers and programmers.
· You can play games, browse the Web, edit photos and videos, and save documents directly on the device. But best of all, C.H.I.P. is just $9.
· C.H.I.P. has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities, and can connect to any monitor. And thanks to Bluetooth, you can pair it with your mouse and keyboard wirelessly.
· Next Thing Co., the team behind C.H.I.P., is an Oakland, Calif-based group of programmers and artists who want to make computing affordable and accessible.
· They launched a Kickstarter to raise money to further development of the pocket-sized computer, and as of today have surpassed their goal of $50,000 and are at over $1.2 million dollars.
· http://www.dailydot.com/technology/chip-9-computer/?fb=dd
Facebook today unveiled “Instant Articles”
· Instant Articles is a program that natively hosts publishers’ content in the Facebook News Feed so users don’t have to click out and wait for websites to load.
· Instant Articles debuts today with rich-media stories from:
o The New York Times, BuzzFeed, National Geographic, and six other outlets that will be globally visible from Facebook’s iPhone app.
· http://techcrunch.com/2015/05/12/facebook-instant-articles/#.tldrvt:Gsm4
Microsoft changes script on unified Windows 10
· Microsoft has recently announced that Windows 10 will come in several flavors.
o Windows 10 Home will ship on consumer devices.
o Windows 10 Pro is meant for businesses who need to manage devices.
o Windows 10 Mobile is for phones and smaller tablets.
o Windows 10 Enterprise is for medium and large businesses with volume license.
o Windows 10 education meant for schools.
o Windows 10 Mobile Enterprise which again is for large customers with volume licenses. Oh and versions of
o There is a special Windows 10 that will be embedded in devices like ATMs and handheld terminals. OH and the Windows IoT Core. But that’s it.
· In previous marketing campaigns Microsoft has touted that Windows 10 will be “One Product, One Platform, One Store”.
· In other words Microsoft was touting that Windows 10 would be one big, free operating system that ran on everything: tablets, phones, PCs, televisions, game consoles and more.
· The real Microsoft plan seems quite different.
Walmart Challenges Amazon Prime with Its Own $50/Year Shipping Service
· The associated press has reported that Walmart is working on a shipping service to compete with Amazon.
· Their price point will be lower than Amazon at $50 per year but will only include shipping items.
· Amazon Prime also includes access to an online catalog of digital media in addition to free two day shipping.
Bill Nye launches Kickstarter to fund the LightSail solar spacecraft
· Solar Sail- Just like wind pushes the sails on a ship, energy from the sun pushes a solar sail through space.
· Way to travel through space-No fuel, much cheaper, no time limits
· The Planetary Society's LightSail spaceship is due to blast off into space on May 20th as part of its first test flight.
o However, the craft's primary mission is currently slated for 2016, and the organization needs extra funding to get it off the ground.
· To pull the feat off, Bill Nye launched a Kickstarter campaign this week to invite people to help with the launch.
o The LightSail project costs $5.45 million, most of which has already been earned from private backers.
o However, the group still needs $1.2 million in funding.
· Nye set a modest goal of $200,000 yesterday,
o with stretch goals going all the way up to $1 million to cover construction costs, testing with partners, and even a public awareness campaign to help spread their research into CubeSats and solar sailing.
· As of this writing, the Society has already recieved $350,000 on Kickstarter.
Place Food Orders straight from Google
· Life Hacker reported, that in places where food delivery services like GrubHub or Seamless are option, Google will now let you search for a restaurant and if delivery is an option let you order right there.
· No more going through multiple websites then searching for deliver options.
· Great for those gaming or movie marathons.
Games
The Verge reports on rumors that Microsoft will be releasing an Xbox One version with increased hard drive space (1TB) and DVR functionality
· Ramon: Seems like the Xbox One that was promised before a long time ago. Is this a genius plan by Microsoft to slowly roll out all the promised features slowly? Avoiding fan boy upset.
· http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/6/8559043/microsoft-xbox-one-tv-dvr-feature-rumor
· http://nerdist.com/new-xbox-one-model-with-1-tb-hard-drive-may-be-on-the-way/
Nintendo's E3 Plans Include A World Championship Comeback
· Nintendo has announced its E3 plans: the Nintendo World Championships are coming back after 25 years.
· The championships are on June 14.
· The company will also have a “Nintendo digital event” on June 16 at 9 a.m. PDT, and their Treehouse group will return with another set of all-day livestreams.
· The last championship was held in 1990, and you may remember this event helped inspire the classic 80s movie, The Wizard.
·
The Successor to Castlevania Finally Revealed
· Koji Igarashi is best known for work on countless Castlevania games.
· He’s left Konami and is now ready to work on a new game.
· The game is Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.
o 2.5D action game for consoles.
o Iga is going to enlist Inti Creates, the studio that did Mega Man 9 and are currently working on Mighty No 9, for development duties.
· Only a few days after the Kickstarter was posted it has blown past its funding goal of $500,000
o at almost $2 million dollars.
· Ramon: One of the most interesting things about this story is that Konami, who owns Castlevania, told Igarashi that they didn’t want to make this type of game anymore because no one wanted to buy it.
· https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iga/bloodstained-ritual-of-the-night/video_share
First Official Super Girl trailer
· CBS has officially released their trailer for Supergirl.
· Starring Melissa Benoist as Superman’s Kryptonian cousin, Kara Zor-El
· The series follows the iconic heroine as she makes her public debut as a fully-fledged superhero.
· She’ll star alongside Golden Globe winner Calista Flockhart as Cat Grant and Mehcad Brooks as Jimmy Olsen.
· https://youtu.be/Lm46-envrHo
New Mutants movie in the Works
· Deadline is reporting that a New Mutants movie is in the works with The Fault In Our Stars director Josh Boone.
· Boone will reportedly also co-write the film with Knate Gwatlney, with Simon Kinberg and Lauren Shuler Donner producing. No timeframe was specified for the movie's release.
· New Mutants: a group of teenaged mutant superheroes-in-training published by Marvel Comics. A spin-off of the X-Men franchise.
· http://deadline.com/2015/05/the-new-mutants-x-men-josh-boone-the-fault-in-our-stars-fox-1201425641/
·
Marvel Finally Reveals the Identity Of The New Female Thor
· Spoiler: the new God of Thunder is in fact Dr. Jane Foster — the former girlfriend of Thor Odinson, played by Natalie Portman in the movies, and currently battling cancer in the comics.
· Writer Jason Aaron on the reveal:
o “Jane Foster has been part of the Thor comics and the Thor mythology from almost the very beginning. The very act of picking up this hammer, of becoming Thor, is killing her. Where we go from here is the real story.”
The Simpsons will recast Mr. Burns, Ned Flanders, and other Harry Shearer characters
· Harry Shearer, voice of such notable Simpson’s characters as Ned Flanders and Principal Skinner, has left the show after reported failed contract negotiations.
· The Simpsons, already the longest running show on television, recently got a two year contract extension.
· CNNMoney reports that no characters will be killed off, but the Simpsons will recast the voice of those characters previously voiced by Shearer.
· http://www.theverge.com/2015/5/14/8606173/the-simpsons-al-jean-recast-harry-shearer-burns-flanders
Fox announced 7 new shows for 2015-2016 line up
· GRANDFATHERED
o https://youtu.be/1V7u8Jdo63A?list=PLXd9aCB0yKuhQ2fPkoQqlR1-UkGb5cDtp
o “John Stamos stars in a new comedy about the ultimate bachelor who discovers he’s not only a father, but a grandfather. Grandfathered is an unconventional, sophisticated comedy about coming of age – at any age.”
· THE GRINDER
o https://youtu.be/9mybEO-Hb0Y?list=PLXd9aCB0yKuhQ2fPkoQqlR1-UkGb5cDtp
o “The grinder is a new comedy about a famous TV lawyer who decides to move back home and join his family’s real law firm – despite having no formal education, no bar certification, no license to practice and no experience in an actual courtroom.”
· MINORITY REPORT
o https://youtu.be/_fLl-DMzxrk?list=PLXd9aCB0yKuhQ2fPkoQqlR1-UkGb5cDtp
o “Minority report follows the unlikely partnership between a man haunted by the future and a cop haunted by her past, as they race to stop the worst crimes of the year 2065 before they happen.”
· ROSEWOOD
o https://youtu.be/FhhYJXV508A?list=PLXd9aCB0yKuhQ2fPkoQqlR1-UkGb5cDtp
o “Meet Dr. Beaumont Rosewood Junior, The Most Brilliant Private Pathologist In Miami, Who Uses His Wildly Sophisticated Autopsy Lab, To Perform For-Hire Autopsies To Uncover Clues That The Miami Pd Can’t See.”
· THE FRANKENSTEIN CODE
o https://youtu.be/qNq25SEUTPQ?list=PLXd9aCB0yKuhQ2fPkoQqlR1-UkGb5cDtp
o “Welcome to the frankenstein code, a modern reimagining of the mary shelley classic, about a man brought back to life by two scientists playing god.”
· LUCIFER
o https://youtu.be/X4bF_quwNtw?list=PLXd9aCB0yKuhQ2fPkoQqlR1-UkGb5cDtp
o “Bored and unhappy as the lord of hell, the original fallen angel, lucifer morningstar has abandoned his throne and retired to l.a., where he owns lux, an upscale nightclub.”
· BORDERTOWN
o https://youtu.be/AjXjqC-1Kvg?list=PLXd9aCB0yKuhQ2fPkoQqlR1-UkGb5cDtp
o “New animated comedy Bordertown centers around two families living in a southwest desert town on the u.s. – mexico border, taking a satirical look at the cultural shifts occurring in america.”
Articles Submitted by the Audience
April M. submitted two news articles
· Arrow season 3 finale sets up spin off show Legends of Tomorrow
o Ray Palmer, AKA Brandon Routh, finally tested his ATOM armor after [SPOILER ALERT] being officially rejected by Felicity — who's planning on retiring with Oliver after his defeat of Ra's Al Ghul.
§ Legends of Tomorrow includes several DC heroes AND villains, including Routh, Wentworth Miller and Dominic Purcell reprising their roles as Captain Cold and Heat Wave from The Flash, Caity Lotz returning as somehow-no-longer-dead Sara Lance, Victor Garber as Martin Stein, Ciara Renée as Hawkgirl , and Doctor Who's Arthur Darvill as time traveler Rip Hunter.
§ The official description of the show is: "Having seen the future, one he will desperately try to prevent from happening, time-traveling rogue Rip Hunter (Darvill) is tasked with assembling a disparate group of both heroes and villains to confront an unstoppable threat—one in which not only is the planet at stake, but all of time itself. Can this ragtag team defeat an immortal threat unlike anything they have ever known?"
§ The show is slated to appear mid- 2016.
· Lionsgate released a special The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 2 poster for Cannes on Wednesday
o Katniss and her younger sister Primrose (Willow Shields) are posing like an Antebellum photograph, unsmiling, posing for posterity alone.
o Highlights the darker tone of the movie
For a review of the topics we covered and any of the links in show notes for this episode visit our site geekbytespodcast.com
If you have any comments or suggestions for discussion topics please e-mail us a feedback@geekbytespodcast.com
Onto our Discussion section
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Discussion
Our impressions of Mad Max: Fury Road
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD, for a spoiler free review see our website
Ramon: We saw the movie just a few hours ago
Edgar:
Recommendations
Batman: Assault On Arkham
When the government teams up a group ofsupervillains with the code name Suicide Squad andforces them to break into Arkham Asylum to bringback top secret information the Riddler has stolen,Batman soon becomes involved. But things go frombad to worse when one of the Squad (Harley Quinn) frees the Joker, who has the means to not only blowup the asylum, but most of Gotham City as well.
https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Batman_Assault_On_Arkham?id=70BO8M_nizc&hl=en
Planet Hulk
He was a monster, impossible to control, toodangerous to ignore. So Earth's mightiest heroesexiled him into outer space. But now THEINCREDIBLE HULK crash lands on the distant planetSAKAAR, ruled by the tyrannical RED KING. Sold intoslavery, Hulk becomes the planet's mightiestgladiator—but his new masters get more than theybargained for when he forges a bond of brotherhoodwith his fellow fighters: crafty insectoid Miek,
ruthless rock-man Korg, ex-shadow priest Hiroim,and the noble-born rebel Elloe. Unlike Earth, thedesperate people of Sakaar believe a monster is justwhat they need. But will the Hulk be the one to savetheir world...or destroy it?
https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Planet_Hulk?id=KldxV4rCBiA&hl=en
Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts (Not Recommended)
Batman teams up with Red Robin, Nightwing, the Flash, and Green Arrow against Killer Croc, Cheetah, Silverback, and the Penguin.
Positive: Batman Beyond art style.
Negative: The plot barely exists and feels like an extended kids tv show with Ads for new Toys.
https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Batman_Unlimited_Animal_Instincts?id=cFPsIPnJHr4&hl=en
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Thanks for listening folks. Now Go Geek out about something.
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Music Credits
"Happy Bee", "Movement Proposition", "Theme for Harold (var.3) ", "Take the Lead"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/