Crossed Wires: All Our Shows: Recent Episodes
The Crossed Wires Team
A blog, podcasts, live streams, and YouTube channel that focuses on positive technology. All of the shows we publish will be in this 'master feed'.
James and Jae both have a family history of health problems. One of the biggest areas of concern is heart health. Family members have had heart attacks, had to have stints added, had bypass surgeries, and struggled with strokes, seizures, and more. That's why for Heart Month 2023, and every February since 2021, we have been supporting the American Heart Association on Twitch. We also plan to begin raising money for the British Foundation every September.
On this episode, James and Jae talk with Bradly of the American Heart Association. We discussed his background in charity work and the steps that the AHA has gone through as they've been embracing the medium of streaming as a charity fundraising tool.
While discussing the work that AHA does, we also talk about aspects of heart health that individuals may not realise, and some steps we can all take to improve our daily heart-health. As a fair warning, this episode contains a number of heartfelt puns from Jae.
We'd love to hear your stories and experiences with not only heart-health, but also ways in which technology may have helped you raise funds for charities. Drop us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net or come join the discussion in our Discord
Supporting Crossed WiresThis week, we'd love yout o support AHA where possible, but if you're also able to help us pay the bills around here it would be hugely appreciated. The best way to do that is to head over to our KoFi page and drop us a tip for as little as $1.
If you're looking for a home for your latest Linux based project, our friends at Linode provide top-quality servers and have been doing so since 2003. Best-of-all, their pricing is incredible! So, if you want great pricing with fantastic customer support for all your Linux-based cloud computing needs, you can get $100 of free credit when you sign up here.
Episode Links* American Heart Association + American Heart Association on Tiltify + American Heart Association Discord * Charity Fundraising Tools: + Tiltify + Twitch Charity Functionality + PayPal Giving Fund + YouTube Giving * Crossed Wires on Twitch
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:03:34: Why AHA Is So Important 3. 00:09:21: Why Fundraising? 4. 00:18:25: Streaming to Fundraise 5. 00:30:53: Incentives to Donate 6. 00:38:23: Other Ways to Give 7. 00:41:23: Hands Only CPR & FAST 8. 00:44:32: Some Closing Thoughts
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Over the years, I’ve switched operating systems many times; the big one being from Windows to macOS, but there have been many periods of time when I’ve chosen Linux as my OS of choice.
However, the term Linux can get somewhat confusing, does it refer to the underlying kernel or a specific distribution and its desktop experience? It doesn’t help that some Linux fans can become very passionate when talking about their favourite distribution and why it’s the only one you should even remotely consider.
To try and untangle this mess, I’m joined by Nick from The Linux Experiment to clarify exactly what the different parts of a Linux-based operating system are, why some people may be scared to give it a try, as well as looking at the hardware requirements, software availability, as well as taking a look at the future of Linux on ARM, and what Valve’s Steam Deck has done for gaming on Linux in general.
What’s been your experience with Linux? Do you daily drive a particular distribution that you love, or does the thought of moving away from Windows or macOS send shivers down your spine? We’d love to hear from you, so please send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or join the discussion over on our Discord server
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
PromotionSince we’re talking about Linux, and as we mentioned in the episode our website is running on a Ubuntu server which we’re in the process of moving to our new partner, Linode - now part of Akamai.
If you want great pricing with fantastic customer support for all your Linux-based cloud computing needs, you can get $100 of free credit when you sign up here.
Episode Links* The Linux Experiment - YouTube / PeerTube / Website * Nick on Mastodon * The Linux Foundation * Distributions + Fedora + Ubuntu + Linux Mint + Pop!_os + Tiny Core Linux + Puppy Linux + Asahi LInux * Desktop Environments + GNOME + KDE + Cinnamon * Software + GIMP + Audacity + KDEN Live + LIbreOffice + 1Password for LInux + BitWarden + Unofficial OneDrive Client for Linux * Videos + FRANCE BANS MS Office 365, Google Docs in schools: Linux & Open Source newsv - The LInux Experiment (YouTube) + How to use APPLE and iCloud Apps and Services on LINUX - The Linux Experiment (YouTube) + What the HECK is Hannah Montana Linux? (Yes, It’s Real) - Krazy Ken’s Tech Misadventures (YouTube)
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:06:56: What is Linux? 3. 00:11:36: Desktop Environments 4. 00:15:31: Why Switch from Windows or macOS? 5. 00:21:21: But will it run…. 6. 00:26:47: Hardware Requirements & Non Supported OSes 7. 00:30:23: What Scares People About Linux? 8. 00:43:17: Software Options 9. 00:50:14: Linux on ARM 10. 00:56:25: Gaming on Linux 11. 01:04:58: Desert Island Distro 12. 01:10:13: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
To many people, the idea of Massively Multiplayer Online RolePlaying Games (MMORPGs) can be summed up by the image of an individual sitting in their parent's basement, endlessly defeating dungeon bosses whilst consuming copious amounts of Mountain Dew and less-than-healthy snack foods.
To challenge this perception, we take the opportunity to sit down and talk with Bezerker of Unshackled Fury on aspects of MMORPGs we might not think about: How these types of games can foster a community, and how they help individuals who might not feel connected to people in the physical world.
Ethically we also talk about the dangers of MMORPGs. We tried to strike a fine balance between not having Jae, a self-confessed WoW fan-girl, talking too positively about these games and potentially risking missing the deeper intrinsic problems that these types of games create.
Have you had any experience in MMORPGs whether being a player yourself or someone whose family/friends were players? We’d love to hear from you, so please send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or join the discussion over on our Discord server.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links* Unshackled Fury Podcast * Berzerker on Twitter * World of Warcraft * Deaf community guild beats WoW Sepulcher of the First Ones
Chapter Times1. 00:00:21: Introductions 2. 00:08:22: Understanding MMORPGs 3. 00:21:45: What can you play WoW on? 4. 00:26:36: The Addiction Factor 5. 00:35:36: The Birth of Team Chat 6. 00:44:13.: The Good & Bad of The Community 7. 01:06:12: A Special Announcement 8. 01:11:48: Wrapping Up
Credits* Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW * Dialogue from South Park episode ‘Make Love, Not Warcraft’ used under fair-use. South Park and all related titles, logos and characters are trademarks of Comedy Partners.
If your experience in business IT has, like mine, been very heavily focussed on Microsoft’s ecosystem and lots of propriety systems that have a strong “Don’t look behind the curtain” vibe to them then my guest today may help shine some light on how open source solutions can be a great fit in the business.
It’s my pleasure to have Tom join us, having been a fan of his YouTube content for quite some time. He’s become one of the most recognised sources of knowledge for the wonderful open-source firewall project, pfSense, and sharing valuable insights on other projects such as XCP-ng, TrueNAS, and many more.
We take a look at what we mean by open source, why many businesses still prefer closed source solutions from big names, the security considerations of both closed and open source projects, and talk a bit about Pop!_os by System76.
What’s been your experience with open-source solutions, particularly in business, have you had any good or bad experiences you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you, so please send a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or join the discussion on our Discord server.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links* Tom Lawrence on Mastodon * Lawrence Technology Services * Lastpass December 2022 Security Incident: What Happened and What's Not Encrypted - Lawrence Systmes (YouTube) * XCP-ng * BitWarden * LibreOffice * Nextcloud * TrueNAS * Pop!_os by System76
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:07:48: What Does Open Source Actually Mean? 3. 00:16:06: A Bit On XCP NG 4. 00:19:04: The Attachment to Closed Source Solutions 5. 00:25:57: What About Google? 6. 00:31:41: Microsoft Loves Open Source? 7. 00:33:28: Cloud vs On Premise 8. 00:43:17: Software Bill of Materials 9. 00:49:14: Tech YouTubers 10. 00:51:31: A PopOS! Confession 11. 00:59:16: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
When Apple announced new M2-based Macs, a new HomePod, and the launch of Advanced Data Protection with little more than a press release and video on their site, we were caught a little off guard. Whilst we’re not a news show, per se, we wanted to chat about the impact these new systems, particularly the M2 Pro-powered Mac Mini would have on the Apple ecosystem.
Returning guest, Jeff Butts of The Mac Observer, was kind enough to join us for a discussion of not only the new products, but also a few detours into gaming on the Mac, some of Apple’s new HomeKit features, and a few thoughts on the state of the Apple Silicon transition.
Are you going to be buying any of the new M2-based systems, maybe as your first Apple Silicon Mac? Are you as happy as we are to see the HomePod return? We’d love to hear from you, so please send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or join the discussion over on our Discord server.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links* Jeff Butts on Mastodon * The Mac Observer * Apple introduces new Mac mini with M2 and M2 Pro (Apple Newsroom) * Apple unveils MacBook Pro featuring M2 Pro and M2 Max (Apple Newsroom) * 2nd Generation HomePod * How To Use Your HomePod’s Temperature and Humidity Sensors (The Mac Observer) * Apple advances user security with powerful new data protections (Apple Newsroom) * Jeff’s previous appearance ‘Green Bubbles’ * Our chat with Noah about the Steam Deck
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:03:47: Apple's Change of Announcement Style 3. 00:11:37: More M2 Chips 4. 00:11:57: Mac Mini 5. 00:22:44: Mini Goes Pro 6. 00:26:17: Gaming on the Mac 7. 00:31:58: Mini Size Changes? 8. 00:33:07: MacBook Pros 9. 00:41:27: New HomePod 10. 00:47:48: Sound Recognition for Smoke Alarms 11. 00:52:43: The Benefits of the Apple Ecosystem 12. 00:54:32: Advanced Data Protection 13. 01:06:26: How Are Apple Looking for 2023?
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Happy New Year, everyone! We’re back, a little bit later than planned, with a bunch of EV and charging news that popped up since we last spoke to you in December.
Over our Christmas break, we had a bit of a behind-the-scenes chat about how we can make these episodes better, so you’ll notice we’re running a little longer and taking more time to discuss the stories. We’d love to hear what you think about this slight change, our thinking being to try to bring more analysis to the show, rather than just a quick-fire round of news.
Do you have thoughts on the stories we’ve covered this month, or maybe some EV news you’d love to highlight? We’d love to hear from you, so please send a note over to podcast@chargingstatus.net, leave a comment on the post, or join the discussion over on our Discord server
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Chapters & Story Links1. 00:00:09: Welcome 2. 00:01:45: New Mercedes EQT is an all-electric van crossed with an MPV 3. 00:04:18: DHL orders 2,000 all-electric E-Transit vans from Ford 4. 00:08:11: All-electric Jeep Avenger now on sale in Europe for €39k, not UK yet 5. 00:11:56: Polestar 2 gets more power through a one-time paid update 6. 00:15:05: Turns out, the new VW ID Buzz is pretty darn safe 7. 00:19:16: DrivingElectric awards the MG4 EV with ‘Car of the Year’ 8. 00:24:03: New Hyundai Ioniq 6 will be priced from £46,745 in the UK 9. 00:30:05: Vauxhall updates the Mokka Electric with new battery pack and more range 10. 00:32:45: Ford killed off the Fiesta due to production capacity at Cologne factory 11. 00:34:31: All-electric Land Rover Defender coming in 2025 with 300 mile + range 12. 00:38:47: All-electric BMW i5 to launch in 2023 13. 00:40:48: Mercedes reports double EV sales in 2022, compared to the year prior 14. 00:41:38: Tesla driver in Germany fell asleep with autopilot on 15. 00:46:24: Alex's Holiday EV Car Hire 16. 00:48:26: Marks & Spencer to add 900 new chargers at its stores, thanks to a partnership with BP 17. 00:51:05: Octopus Energy has partnered with Stellantis 18. 00:55:05: Lidl opens four new charging parks in France 19. 00:57:06: Mitie to install new EV chargers at UK employment centres 20. 00:59:44: Average cost of EV-fast charging in the UK is now costly more than petrol 21. 01:02:51: New EVs Launching in 2023 22. 01:05:39: Wrapping Up
Extra Episode Links* The Late Brake Show - Jeep Avenger (YouTube) * Chasing Cars - Hyundai EV vs Petrol Race (YouTube)
CreditsMusic from the YouTube Audio Library
The last week or so has seen some extraordinary rubbish behaviour from Twitter regarding their API for third-party clients, like Twitterrific and Tweetbots. Users found themselves unable to access their timelines via anything but the official app and website, and developers had no communication to tell them what on earth was going on.
On Thursday, Twitter announced that this was intentional and that many third-party apps would no longer have API access. This caused no end of frustration for developers like Iconfactory. So it’s my pleasure to be joined by Gedeon, their principal and designer, to try to unpack what exactly happened, and the impact this has had and will continue to have on their business.
What are your memories of the good old days of Twitter, did you have a favourite third-party app you used? We’d love to hear from you, so please send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or join the discussion over on our Discord server. Of course, you can also follow us on Mastodon
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links* Gedeon Maheux on Mastodon * Iconfactory: Website / Apps / Blog * Twitter bans third-party apps (TechCrunch) * Ivory by Tapbots * Our chat with James Smith on Mastodon and the Fediverse
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:06:27: The Original Twitter App Experience 3. 00:08:55: The Last Big API Changes 4. 00:11:32: What Happened to the API? 5. 00:16:54: The Importance of 3rd Party Apps 6. 00:20:27: Moving to Mastodon? 7. 00:25:03: The Financial Impact 8. 00:35:19: Why Do We Think This Happened? 9. 00:49:34: The Core Twitter Experience Rule? 10. 00:53:12: APIs on Other Platforms? 11. 00:58:53: The Future is Mastodon 12. 01:03:35: A Done Deal 13. 01:08:07: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
For those of us who grew up with Game Boys and Game Gears, maybe even an Atari Lynx, the concept of full desktop gaming in a portable form factor has been on our wishlist for a very long time. So, the question we discuss with Noah from Steam Deck HQ can be summed up as “Has Valve’s Steam Deck made that dream come true?”.
We talk about the hardware itself, the impressive software stack built upon SteamOS, how many games perform, as well as looking at where it holds up against things like the Nintendo Switch, and the powerful emulation made possible in such a portable platform.
it’s also worth mentioning that James’ side of recoring was done entirely on the Steam Deck, and that’s in no small part due to how awesome SquadCast is.
Have you got your hands on Steam Deck, or is there something holding you. back? We’d love to hear from you, why not send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or join the discussion over on our Discord server
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Disclaimer: This episode was recorded in December 2022, before the current investigation into allegations of domestic violence made against Justin Rolland. We won’t comment on this further, but we wanted to be transparent that the episode does mention his studio’s game, ‘High on Life’. For those who, for whatever reason, want to skip any mention of the game, we talk about this between 00:29:00 and 00:31:21; we’ve marked this as a chapter in the episode.
Episode Links* Steam Deck HQ: Website / Mastodon / YouTube * Steam Deck Tech Specs (Valve) * Bugsnax (Steam) * ProtonDB * Decky - A Steam Deck plugin loader
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:06:14: Missing OLED and Game Gear Homage? 3. 00:09:17: Hardware and Verified Games 4. 00:14:57: Proton 5. 00:18:44: Price Points & Storage Options 6. 00:25:16: Controllers 7. 00:29:00: High On Life 8. 00:31:21: Software & Performance Tweaks 9. 00:37:38: Challenges with Certain Games and Launchers 10. 00:43:32: Sony Games on Steam Deck 11. 00:44:41: Nintendo, the Switch, and Emulation 12. 00:50:11: What Could Valve Have Done Better? 13. 00:55:52: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
The idea of a non-taxed, non-regulated, digital currency can sound incredibly appealing for many uses, but are cryptocurrencies all they’re cracked up to be and should we be advocating their use? That’s what we discuss with the published researcher, Dr Catherine Flick, known on BBC local radio as being able to explain Bitcoin in 15 seconds.
Catherine brought so much insight to help us understand what exactly cryptocurrencies and the blockchain are, and why they’re not as great as those involved in them think. We also dig into how NFTs got into the video game industry and of course the environmental impact of the blockchain.
We know this topic can stir up a lot of discussions, and we’d love to hear from you (as long as we can all keep things civil). So, send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or join the discussion over on our Discord server
Episode Links* Dr Catherine Flick: Mastodon / Website * WWF UK faces backlash over 'destructive' plans to sell 'eco-friendly' NFTs (Sky News) * ACM Code of Ethics * A critical professional ethical analysis of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) * The Missing Cryptoqueen: Apple Podcasts / BBC Sounds * Cross-cultural patterns in mobile playtime: an analysis of 118 billion hours of human data
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:16:05: Privacy & The Ick Factor 3. 00:24:17: What Is Blockchain? 4. 00:34:26: Lack of Financial Protection 5. 00:39:42: Regulation? 6. 00:43:15: Virtual Currences vs Proof of Work / Stake 7. 00:49:57: The Environmental Impact 8. 00:54:32: Decentralised 9. 01:00:20: NFTs & Video Games 10. 01:18:17: Solving Actual Problems 11. 01:22:40: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
As many of you know, we use SquadCast to record every episode of Crossed Wires, and indeed Charging Status. It’s been such a genuine pleasure to build a relationship, mostly thanks to Jae’s existing connection, with the team at SquadCast.
In this episode, Zachariah Moreno joins me again, this time to talk about how things have been going for them since we last spoke, including their hugely ambitious V5 launch, and what 2023 holds for the platform. We even do a bit of brain-storming on how streaming could work within SquadCast.
Up front, Zachariah and I talk about the way in which SquadCast are directly helping us here at Crossed Wires. For full transparency, in exchange for our continued feedback and testing of features, we are being kindly provided with their ‘Studio’ plan at no cost. I can’t express how grateful we are to the team, in particular Zachariah and Arielle, for their continued support and encouragement.
If you do want to check out SquadCast, please do use our affiliate link either in the links or at the bottom of our site. Our affiliate links really do help to pay the other bills around here, and one day will make it possible for Jae and I to make this our full time jobs.
Do you have any experience of remote recordings, or maybe you want to ask about some of our workflow? We’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links* Zachariah Moreno: Twitter / Website * SquadCast (Affiliate Link) * Dynamo by Castos- Podcast image generation tools * Descript * Edit Eddy by Headliner * SquadCasting - Zach’s previous appearance on the show * Zach’s video on echo cancellation (YouTube)
Chapter Times1. 00:00:05: Introductions 2. 00:01:20: Some Transparency 3. 00:05:01: SquadShots 4. 00:06:24: Pricing Simplifcation 5. 00:11:30: Backstage 6. 00:13:54: Equipment Management 7. 00:18:39: State of Play on iOS 8. 00:22:49: The V5 Launch 9. 00:30:36: Mastering with Dolby 10. 00:32:58: Beyond Podcasting 11. 00:45:23: The Importance of Quality 12. 00:49:39: Streaming? 13. 01:02:00: Fix It In Pre 14. 01:05:31: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and closing theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
With the Macintosh having such a long history, and Apple doing so much over the platform’s life I wanted to get a panel together to discuss all things Mac collecting and our thoughts on past and present.
I’m really pleased to be joined by returning guests Dan Vincent and Sean from Action Retro, as well as new guest Steve from Mac84TV. We had a truly enjoyable and insightful chat about Apple’s world-changing computer.
As well as plenty of comedic moments, our improvised ‘Desert Island Mac’ spot, and plenty of tangents, we talk about our ‘Report Cards’ for Apple in 2022 (at least at the point we recorded back in October), and what got the panel into collecting Macs.
This is a bit of a longer episode, but I really hope you enjoy this panel style episode We’ll absolutely be doing more episodes like this going forward.
-- James
Do you have memories of classic Macs, maybe you’ve been there the whole journey, or have a favourite Mac you’d love to tell us about. We’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode LinksDue to the current state of Twitter, we’re not actively promoting Twitter links where possible. Thankfully, all of our guests are on Mastodon, so please do find them there
- Dan Vincent: Userlandia/ Mastodon
- Sean (Action Retro:) YouTube/ Mastodon
- Steve (Mac84): YouTube / Mastodon / Website
- ‘Digital Identity’ - Our chat with Helen from Fastmail
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:07:17: What Got You Into Macintosh? 3. 00:17:13: A Mobile GPS Diversion 4. 00:25:13: Mac Collections 5. 00:48:27: From Beleaguered to PowerPC and Intel 6. 01:02:59: Apple's Report Card 7. 01:22:09: Desert Island Mac 8. 01:32:24: Windows Competition? 9. 01:34:52: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and closing theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Content Warning: This episode talks about the potential harm of social media in quite some detail, and whilst no details are discussed, we do make mention of people ending their lives as a result of social media. In future, we will endeavour to add such warnings to the front of any episode audio too.
The pandemic hit the theatre industry particularly hard, and my guest this week had a number of personal struggles to work through which made things more challenging for him. Andrew has been working in theatre for a long time, and is a huge Star Trek fan, so with plenty of time on his hands he discovered a talent using his iPad Pro and an Apple Pencilto recreate some of his favourite scenes from Star Trek and other shows that meant something to him.
We also talk about how technology helped the theatre industry recover from the pandemic, particularly in regards to remote auditions and virtual experiences.
However, the real depth of our chat focuses on the negative impact that social media can have on our own lives and our relationships with others. This is a really challenging discussion, and I can say I certainly took a lot of Andrew’s thoughts onboard for my own life and my own relationships.
This is such a deep and important discussion and we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links* Andrew Keates * Secret Cinema * Focus Mode and Do Not Disturb for iOS * Continuity Camera (Apple Support) * Procreate (App Store)
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:03:56: Equality of Opportunity 3. 00:08:41: Theatre In The Pandemic 4. 00:15:08: Kirk, Spock, and an iPad Pro 5. 00:22:59: Emerging From Lockdown 6. 00:32:35: Connectivity Challenges 7. 00:37:31: The Dark Side of Social Media 8. 00:46:49: Where Is Your Phone Right Now? 9. 00:56:26: Genuine Relationships 10. 01:01:55: Having Core Values 11. 01:06:01: Continuity Camera Uses 12. 01:09:59: iPad Art Tools 13. 01:14:20: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and closing theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Over the last few years, I’ve become much more of what could be considered a ‘Gamer’, being a Mac user somewhat excluded me from modern gaming and I’d play much more casual games on my iPhone and iPad. After picking up a Nintendo Switch, I started to enjoy playing mainstream titles again, and as a result became interested in the gaming industry itself.
My guest, Matthew Bliss, runs ‘The Dead Drop’ gaming podcast which is a 10-minute or less twice-weekly show focussed on concise gaming news from across the industry.
We talk about the problems with a lot of gaming journalism, the rumour mill, the attacks on developers over game features and release dates, as well as the state of game payment, content moderation, and the general state of play when it comes to gaming.
What’s your take on the current state of gaming, do you have views on micro-transactions for example? We’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links* Matthew Bills on Twitter * The Dead Drop * jPod - Book (GoodReads) / TV Series (Just Watch) * Our Chat with Stoo Cambridge from Sensible Software * NoClip Documentary on DMA Design (YouTube) * Blizzard axes Overwatch 2 phone number requirement in update on game’s rocky launch (Polygon) * Hideo Kojima Ousted from Konami (GameRant - 2015)
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:03:08: Efficiency & Quality Of Journalism 3. 00:05:10: The Curse of the Fast News Cycle 4. 00:11:36: Apple's Place In Gaming 5. 00:13:22: The Nintendo Switch Cycle 6. 00:15:59: New Players In Mobile Gaming 7. 00:23:13: Game Makers Are Humans Too 8. 00:31:56: Getting What You Pay For 9. 00:41:47: Moderation In Online Games 10. 00:53:16: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and closing theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
We have quite a fully-packed show for you this month, with a lot of new vehicles being announced or having more details revealed about them. We also have a bit of a chat about the London ULEV zone expansion, as well as cyclists and eScooters (with a little rant from James on some of the amazingly unsafe things he's seen) on UK roads after 1-in-3 surveyed drivers say cyclists should be banned from the roads and be forced to use dedicated cycle paths.
We'd really like to hear your thoughts on this episode, especially as we raise some interesting questions about the state of the EV market, the environment and things like road tax for EV owners. we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@chargingstatus.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods.
We're also very pleased to say that Charging Status now has its own feed and is part of the brand-new Crossed Wires website via our shiny new domain (chargingstatus.net). A huge thanks to our Crossed Wires co-host, Jae, for all her help getting the show submitted to virtually every podcast directory under the sun.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Chapters & Story Links* 00:00:09: Welcome * 00:01:28: New Website * 00:03:07: We Need To Talk About Elon * 00:06:54: Tesla recalls 30,000 Model X units, due to faulty airbags * 00:08:09: Tesla recalls 40,000 cars due to power steering issue * 00:09:21: Tesla is reported to be redesigning Model 3 in order to cut costs * 00:10:26: Tesla Model Y was the best selling car in Europe in September * 00:11:23: Car Shows & EVs * 00:12:53: Tesla adds some of its prototypes and unreleased vehicles to the Petersen museum * 00:13:30: All electric Abarth 500e announced with more power and new sound generator * 00:18:01: Electric vehicles in the UK will be required to pay road tax from 2025 * 00:21:12: The new London ULEZ zone will cover the entire city * 00:25:15: Amazon Rivian EDV - via Friday Adventure Club on YouTube * 00:26:33: Volkswagen ID. Buzz now rolling out to customers in Germany * 00:28:02: Ford reveals all electric Ford E-Tourneo Custom MPV * 00:28:58: Volkswagen will be making an electric Golf for the ninth generation * 00:31:29:
Over the last ten years or so, we've seen a huge growth in the number of messaging platforms. With Google recently putting massive pressure on Apple to adopt the RCS standard, I wanted to have a discussion about the security and privacy of the various platforms, especially when we compare them to plain-old SMS.
This episode came about in part due to a Twitter exchange with The Mac Observer, on the back of an article about Google's RCS push, in which the TMO team mentioned WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger as alternative messaging options. You can imagine that got me somewhat riled up, due to my very public aversion to Meta, so after a nice back and forth with Jeff we agreed to put together this episode to really explore what the various platforms have to offer and why a secure chat app may not always be a private one due to worrying metadata collection practices.
You'll notice that we focussed mostly on messaging apps, rather than chat apps like Discord or Slack, and that's really down to the nature of the discussion, as we're really focussing in on 'mobile messaging' with your contacts rather than larger community apps.
Since recording, Sunbird has come along as a way to get iMessage up and running on Android devices. We
We'd absolutely love you to chime in on this one, as I'm sure many of you have differing views on this topic. As long as those views are civil and respectful, we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links* Jeff Butts on Mastodon / Twitter * The Mac Observer: Website / Twitter * Tim Cook Makes Apple's Stance on RCS Clear - The Mac Observer * RCS End to End Encryption: Google Messages Only * Signal * What Data Do Signal Have? * How Signal Handles Contacts * Is Telegram Secure - Heimdall Security * WhatsApp Security - They label this as privacy, but as you'll hear it's actually how they secure your chats, privacy is a whole different thing. * WhatsApp Rebuked Over Contacts Storage (BBC News - 2013) * Viber * I Refuse to Sign Up to Viber, Here's Why - Hayden James
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:02:51: What’s Wrong With SMS? 3. 00:06:42: Google's Push For RCS 4. 00:11:21: Messaging App Usage Around The World 5. 00:15:20: Undesirables 6. 00:17:16: Chatting In The USA 7. 00:18:33: End To End Encryption? 8. 00:24:32: Meta's Products 9. 00:25:36: The Contact Discovery
There's a very common saying within the IT support space, that there are two types of users; those who have lost data and those who are going to. The only way to stop data loss is to make sure you have a robust backup strategy. Because backup is so important, with both Jae and James having personal experience with losing valuable data and now being Backblaze users ourselves, we go on a fanatically deep dive into both backup and cloud storage with our guest Pat Patterson, Backblaze's Chief Technical Evangelist.
We look at why backup is so important, the difference between syncing your data to a cloud service like iCloud, Dropbox, or OneDrive and actual cloud backups, as well as exploring more about cloud object storage in the form of Backblaze B2. As well as talking actual storage, we also take an important look at how our increasing need for storage can have a real environmental impact and what Backblaze are doing to try to tackle this by means of their partnership with Nautilus.
Do you have data loss horror stories, or want to share your backup strategy with us? we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods.
As a little bit of an aside, this is our first episode to be released first on our new site and hosted by Castos. We made the move sooner than planned because we found out that our previous host, Substack, had been stripping the MP3 chapters from our episodes - so sincere apologies about that.
For full disclosure, we do have an affiliate link with Backblaze (thanks to Pat for pointing us towards their affiliate program in our post-show chat). This doesn't give you any discount, but if you are considering getting setup with their cloud backup plans, using our affiliate link may just help us pay the bills around here, and that's hugely appreciated.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links* Backblaze * Pat Patterson (MetaDaddy) on Mastodon / Twitter * Backblaze Cloud Backup (Affiliate link) * Backblaze B2 * Backblaze Drive Stats - Q3 2022 * Querying a Decade of Drive Stats Data * Mat Honan Hack (WIRED) * Backblaze Rides the Nautilus Data Center Wave * CyberDuck * Forklift * Iconik
Chapter Times1. 00:00:05: Introductions 2. 00:10:29: The Importance Of Transparency 3. 00:19:30: Spinning Rust Vs SSDs 4. 00:21:20: The Importance Of Backups 5. 00:24:17: How Backblaze Works 6. 00:27:09: Local Backups Are Still Good 7. 00:27:43: Value For Money? 8. 00:29:56: How Long Deleted Files Are Retained 9. 00:31:56: Cloud Storage Vs Local Filesystem 10. 00:37:00: Extended Version History Clarification 11. 00:38:18: The Real Cost Of Losing Data 12. 00:40:54: Cloud Object Storage 13. 00:49:09: Backblaze B2 14. 01:03
As energy costs are at an all-time high, many people are looking for ways to cut costs and become more self-sufficient. When it comes to solar power, there are effectively two ways to do this, a whole-home solar setup that requires a reasonably complex installation, usually by professionals, or a more off-grid approach that isn’t wired into your home’s electrical systems. Rees made a fascinating video based on his DIY project for the latter, that video then went somewhat viral on YouTube.
It was great to chat with Rees about the actual setup involved, things he learned from this project, what going viral really feels like, and some great general discussion about solar and off-grid power.
Have you had any fun with solar power, maybe you’ve got a whole-home system or have been tinkering with an off-grid solution like Rees’, we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links
- ctrl-alt-rees: YouTube / Website / Mastodon / Twitter
- Rees’ solar videos (YouTube Playlist)
- MPPT Charge Controllers - Renewablewise
- How PoE Splitters Work - FS Community
- EcoFlow River 2 - Portable power system
Chapter Times
- 00:00:04: Introductions
- 00:01:45: Going Viral
- 00:11:30: DIY Solar Vs Whole Home
- 00:13:45: Why This Project?
- 00:15:26: Upfront Costs & Payback Time
- 00:19:53: Planning Permission?
- 00:22:52: How Much Can The Panels Generate?
- 00:27:00: Charge Controllers
- 00:28:46: Learnings From The Setup
- 00:33:02: Off Grid Phone Charging
- 00:35:42: Unexpected Cost Savings
- 00:38:07: Benefits Of PoE Or Low Voltage
- 00:42:52: Cost of Living
- 00:49:34: Wrapping Up
Credits
Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
When I first joined Twitter, I remember the excitement and intrigue over this new platform, using great third-party apps and having intelligent conversations with people. Sadly, those days look like they have already, or are soon going to be, gone and lots of people are looking for a new place for their social interactions.
Enter Mastodon, an open-source social platform powered by ActivityPub and part of the wider Fediverse. My guest this week is James Smith, an open-source developer who also happens to run the Mastodon instance I joined in the last week or so.
We chat about what precisely the Fediverse is, looking back at the early days of the internet for some context, as well as going fairly deep into the what, why, and how of Mastodon. James also shares the story of what happened to his server during the rapid ‘abandon ship’ style departure from the bird site and how one high-profile member meant a quadrupling of server costs!
One thing to be very upfront about, Jae and I have pretty much decided we won’t be active on Twitter. However, because we don’t want to cut off our amazing listeners who are still on the bird powered platform, our Twitter account is staying put, as well as our new home on Mastodon, which because of the nature of the platform means we have more scope in terms of content.
Have you jumped into the Fediverse yet, or is something holding you back? If you have comments, or have some questions about Mastodon and need some help, we’d love hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links
- James Bilsbrough on Mastodon
- James Smith on Mastodon
- Crossed Wires on Mastodon
- Join Mastodon
- Fediverse
- Pixelfed
- Funkwhale
- PeerTube
- Fedifinder - Find your Twitter contacts on Mastodon
- Debirdify - Another way to find Twitter contacts.
Chapter Times
- 00:00:04: Introductions
- 00:04:01: The Fediverse & ActivityPub
- 00:11:50: What Is Mastodon?
- 00:14:25: Mastodon Features
- 00:19:46: No Ads
- 00:21:51: Content Promotion, Rules, Timelines
- 00:26:59: Filtering The Fediverse
- 00:33:02: Equal Apportunities
- 00:37:03: The Deluge Of New Users
- 00:45:46: Server Architecture
- 00:47:34: Self-Hosting & Federation
- 00:51:33: More Than Just Mastodon
- 01:01:23: Wrapping Up
Credits
Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Yes, this is a podcast episode of a podcast with two podcasters talking about podcasting, say that as quickly as you can and you may win a prize!*
You’ll have heard Arielle’s name pop up on many episodes of this show, as she’s been such an incredible supporter of both the show and me personally as a podcaster through the SquadPod community, as well as other great resources and her energetic Twitter presence.
Whether you just listen to lots of podcasts, are already a podcaster, or are looking to start a podcast, I think you’ll find something of value in this week’s episode. It was a genuine pleasure to chat with Arielle and we’d absolutely love your thoughts on both listening to and creating podcasts, send those over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
() Please note, no actual prize is available, though if you want to send in audio clips we’ll absolutely feature the best one on our social media!*
Episode Links
- Arielle on Twitter
- Earbuds Podcast Collective
- SquadCast [Affiliate Link]
- Descript
- Headliner
- Buzzsprout
- PocketCasts
- Overcast
- Castbox
- Audio Hijack
- Ferrite
Chapter Times
- 00:00:04: Introductions
- 00:03:13: The Podcasting Community
- 00:05:42: What Are Podcasts?
- 00:09:37: Podcast App Choice
- 00:12:06: How Podcasts Get Delivered
- 00:16:37: Co-Marketing Your Show
- 00:20:54: What Makes A 'Good' Podcast?
- 00:25:51: A Bit About Descript
- 00:28:10: Transcription
- 00:33:32: Listener Engagement
- 00:39:02: Tips For New Podcasters
- 00:41:05: Being A Good Listener
- 00:43:50: Wrapping Up
Credits
Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
There’s been a lot of EV and charging news since we last recorded, so we run through all the latest UK focussed news and try to add our thoughts to the stories. Also, Alex gives his thoughts on the Mini Electric based on his 48 hour test drive earlier this year.
This is absolutely a show where we really want to hear from you, so do leave your comments below, email us at chargingstatus@crossedwires.net or start a discussion in Goodpods.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any support you can throw our way over via our Ko-Fi page.
Find us Online
- Twitter: Alex, James, Crossed Wires, The Interface
- The Interface
Chapters & Story Links
- 00:00:08: Welcome
- 00:01:58: Polestar 3
- 00:03:21: Peugeot e208
- 00:04:53: Honda’s Electric Motorbikes
- 00:06:46: Electric Mini Production Leaving The UK
- 00:08:32: First Citreon Ami Delivered In The UK
- 00:11:15: EVs Become The 2nd Most Popular Car Registered In The UK
- 00:13:43: Ford eTransit Custom
- 00:19:57: Citroen To Reward PhEV Drivers For Charging
- 00:22:32: Smart EV #1 Pricing
- 00:23:40: Tesla Semi Truck Starts Production
- 00:25:38: Jeep Avenger Announced
- 00:27:34: Wireless Charging Pilot For Taxis In Nottingham
- 00:31:22: EV Sales Impacted By Cost Of Living Crisis
- 00:34:31: Tesco To End Free Charging
- 00:38:08: Tesla Taking Votes For New Supercharger Locations
- 00:39:47: Test Drive: Mini Electric
- 00:51:23: Wrapping Up
Credits
Music from the YouTube Audio Library
When you ask most people about email, they probably show a genuine lack of interest, it’s not new and it’s not fancy. But, email still plays a hugely important part in our daily lives, and even more so in business.
We talk with Helen about the concept of your digital identity, and how owning your email domain and being the customer, not the product, can make a huge difference to your email, calendar, and contacts experience.
It was a great pleasure to have Helen join us, especially given her wealth of experience and knowledge in the email space. We really appreciate the behind-the-scenes work that went into getting this episode together, especially the willingness of Fastmail to partner with us for this episode.
What's your experience with email been like? We’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods.
To help you get started with Fastmail, they’ve very kindly set up a discount link so that you, our wonderful listeners, can get 10% off your first year of Fastmail service.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links
- Helen Horstmann-Allen on Twitter
- Fastmail acquires Pobox in 2015
- Fastmail
- Masked Email integration in 1Password
- Digital Citizen Podcast - Website / Apple Podcasts
Chapter Times
- 00:00:05: Introductions
- 00:03:47: Why Do We Still Need Email?
- 00:08:05: Email Services
- 00:18:38: A Word About Apple
- 00:19:50: Masked Email & Domains
- 00:24:09: Pricing Model & App Usage
- 00:27:06: Calendars & Contacts
- 00:33:36: Fighting For The Users
Credits
Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
As many of you know, the Amiga A600 was my childhood computer, so when I saw Ravi doing a DJ set in ‘The Cave’ with Neil a few years back, I was mesmerised. I’m not musical, but music technology has always been an interest. So it was genuinely exciting to chat with Ravi about how he uses these incredible retro systems.
Ravi also talks about the recent Amiga 37 event in Germany, DJing for a horror movie festival in the woods, as well as his rather ambitious A600 laptop build.
If you’re like me, you’ll have some fond memories of Amiga game music, and of course the tunes from the demo scene; I’d love to hear your memories of that music, maybe even your favourite tracks. Send those over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over via our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links
- Ravi on YouTube / Twitter
- Amiga A600 - Centre for Computing History
- PT1210
- Mod Files
Chapter Times
- 00:00:04: Introductions
- 00:02:02: An Amiga Laptop?
- 00:06:04: Music On The Amiga?
- 00:14:21: Hardware & Software Setup
- 00:25:19: DJing With Other Retro Game Systems
- 00:26:41: PT1210
- 00:34:46: Favourite Sets
- 00:40:17: Amiga 37
- 00:42:57: Modern Experiences
- 00:46:46: Wrapping Up
Credits
Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Amanda Sloan is a friend I’ve known for years, actually longer than I’ve known James; I’ve known both for a long time. Amanda and I first met when I replied to her tweet about a hippy village floating on the water. I once met her and her partner Thom for coffee when they came through my state; I also worked with Amanda on the podcast network Dragon Powered Studios.
Amanda co-runs Geek Herring, is a writer, does workshops and more. She also streams on Twitch in her off-hours, but gosh knows how she has the time. She also works in freelance, which is one of the reasons we asked her to come and chat to us for this episode.
We’d love to hear about your freelancing experiences or any questions you may have, so please leave a comment below, email us via podcast@crossedwires.net or start a discussion over Goodpods.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our new Ko-Fi page.
Episode Link * Amanda Sloan’s Website * Amanda Sloan on Twitter * Geek Herring * Amanda Sloan on Twitch * 5 Day VA Challenge
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:06:10: Freelance Copywriting 3. 00:10:37: Starting Out Freelancing 4. 00:15:04: Freelancing Tools 5. 00:22:30: How Can Tech Hurt Freelancers 6. 00:28:04: Keeping Client Logins Safe 7. 00:31:44: Doing Things Differently? 8. 00:36:32: Recognising Your Limitations 9. 00:39:04: Dealing With Awkward Clients 10. 00:46:53: Advice For New Freelancers? 11. 00:51:45: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
It’s my first time hosting a podcast since my 19 months hiatus from my former show. I had a great time returning to podcasting, and I believe James wasn’t too disappointed in my skills. Our guest was someone I was going to interview on my previous show but sadly didn’t have the chance to at the time due to a job change that took my time away from podcasting.
We talked with Drew Ackerman about his podcast, along with clarifying what the name means! We also discussed various things that can help our ability to sleep, but can also inhibit our ability to properly sleep. We had such a great time recording, and we believe you will enjoy listening to this one if you don’t fall asleep part way through.
We’d love to hear your sleep stories, and any apps you may find helpful, so please leave a comment below, email us via podcast@crossedwires.net or start a discussion over Goodpods.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our new Ko-Fi page. Episode Links * Sleep With Me Podcast * Sleep With Me on Twitter
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:06:29: Tech In The Bedroom 3. 00:15:54: Eating Late? 4. 00:20:19: What You Sleep On 5. 00:30:38: The Demise Of Radio 6. 00:41:24: Sleep Apps 7. 00:46:24: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Alex and I sat down to kick off our new show, focusing on the electric vehicle and charging news for the UK.
This is a show where we really want to hear from you, so do leave your comments below, email us at chargingstatus@crossedwires.net or start a discussion in Goodpods.
Episode Links
- James on Twitter
- Alex on Twitter
- Crossed Wires on Twitter
- The Interface on Twitter / Website
- Skoda’s New Fabia Sized EV
- Ford See Huge EV Growth
- Vauxhall Launch GSE Sporty EV Brand
- Volkswagen ID Buzz Expansion
Chapter Times
- 00:00:09: Welcome
- 00:02:23: The Sound And Sight Of EVs
- 00:05:05: Skoda’s New Fabia Sized EV
- 00:07:51: Ford See Huge EV Growth
- 00:10:18: Vauxhall Launch GSE Sporty EV Brand
- 00:11:56: Who’s Not Doing EV?
- 00:13:49: Volkswagen ID Buzz Expansion
- 00:17:03: Volvo EX90
- 00:21:02: Charging And The Cost Of Living Crisis
- 00:22:57: Public Charging Availability & VAT
- 00:26:45: Tesla Pass 1000 UK & Ireland Superchargers
- 00:30:05: Charging Expansion
- 00:37:01: Test Drive: Honda E
- 00:48:05: Wrapping Up
Credits
Music and sound effects from the YouTube Audio Library
One of the things that frustrate me the most about my eyesight issues, along with a few other problems, is that I can’t tinker with hardware as much as I’d like to. So, when I discovered Action Retro on YouTube, I admit I became hooked on Sean’s videos of doing unthinkable things to old Macs and many other systems.
Sean and I discuss what inspired him to get started with his channel, some of his more exciting systems to work with, as well as a slightly random detour to talk about Mike Judge’s inspiration for Office Space. Sean also shares some valuable tips for those wanting to tinker with vintage systems.
We’d love to hear your stories of crazy upgrades you’ve done to vintage tech, so please do leave a comment below, email us via podcast@crossedwires.net or start a discussion over on Goodpods.
If you liked this episode, or indeed any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our new Ko-Fi page. Episode Links * Sean (Action Retro) on Twitter / YouTube * Sean’s Floppy Raid (YouTube) * Office Space (IMDB) * 68kmla Forum * Tinker Different * Frogfind - DuckDuckGo frontend for vintage systems by Sean * 68knews - Sean’s vintage frontend for Google News
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:02:26: Floppy RAID 3. 00:04:29: Pushing Vintage Tech To The Limits 4. 00:11:22: Weirdest System? 5. 00:14:50: A Thing For PowerPC 6. 00:18:33: The Mike Judge Connection 7. 00:20:25: Challenges 8. 00:23:46: Most Time-Consuming Project? 9. 00:28:47: Getting Old Systems Online 10. 00:39:17: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
I’ll be the first to admit my music taste doesn’t usually extend to Hip Hop, beyond some very cheesy 90s Christian tracks. Still, when Manny reached out via the fantastic SquadPod community, I knew we had to chat about how technology and Hip Hop go hand in hand, and how Hip Hop has influenced so much and can have such a positive impact on the world.
It’s very clear from chatting with Manny that Hip Hop’s roots are in innovation and doing new things with existing content and technology that were never meant to be used in the way they were and still are.
Do you have stories of how music, especially Hip Hop, has influenced your life, we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * Manny Faces: Website / Twitter * Hip Hop Can Save America Podcast * The Get Down (Netflix) * Slip Mat (Wikipedia) * dJay by algoriddim * Serato
Chapters 1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:05:38: The Basic Hip Hop Tech 3. 00:15:05: The Influence Of HIp Hop 4. 00:27:32: Debunking The Negatives 5. 00:36:25: Getting Into HIp Hop In 2022 6. 00:49:09: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
A lot of my memories of being younger revolve around summer holidays to the seaside, where there was always a reasonably well stocked arcade not far away. I’d spend a lot of my summer spending money on various games, which at the time were so engaging.
This week, a chat with Alex who has a huge collection of arcade machines, and is working with Neil from RMC Retro to open a wonderful interactive arcade museum in the same mill that houses The Cave. It’s also the last ever episode of the show to be recorded in the old studio at my previous flat, I moved out literally a few days after this was recorded.
Alex and I discuss the early days of arcade, where the arcade started to decline, not to mention the amazing story of an unreleased Nintendo made game, Sky Skipper, which Alex and friends were able to lovingly re-create.
If you have fond memories of the arcade, this is absolutely an episode you’ll enjoy and I’d love to hear your stories in the comments below, on Goodpods, or just drop us an email to podcast@crossedwires.net. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * Arcade Archive on YouTube / Twitter * Pepper’s Ghost (WIkiPedia) * Alex’s Sky Skipper reveal at Arcade Club (YouTube) * Sky Skipper on the Nintendo Switch eShop
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:06:53: The Draw Of The Arcade 3. 00:09:43: Arcade Innovations 4. 00:18:25: Desert Island Arcade Games 5. 00:22:32: Sky Skipper - The Unreleased Game 6. 00:34:11: Arcade In A Mill? 7. 00:42:29: Collecting, Emulation & FPGA 8. 00:48:16: Wrapping Up 9. 00:51:40: A Switch Addendum
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
It wouldn’t be an Apple Event without every tech podcast in the world gathering to share their thoughts on what the fruit company had to announce. We’ve tried to take a bit of a different approach and share what we genuinely thought was interesting, as well as our personal views on whether you should upgrade.
Before we recorded, we opened up a little discussion thread on our original Substack site to get your thoughts about the event, and we’d like to take the chance to say a huge thank you to everyone who has already commented. If you have any thoughts about this event, we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods.
Just a quick note to say that we recorded this on 8th September, just over 24 hours after the actual event. Since we recorded, we’re aware there’s been more information come out about some of the things we talked about. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * Apple Event Video * Apple Watch Model Comparison * Apple Support - End to End Encryption * Great Article on L1, L2, L5 GPS - GIS Resources
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:01:52: Thoughts On The Event Itself 3. 00:03:41: Apple & RCS 4. 00:06:54: AirPods Pro 5. 00:20:27: Goodbye, Series 3 6. 00:21:24: Apple Watch Series 8 7. 00:33:46: Watch SE 8. 00:39:48: Watch Ultra 9. 00:49:00: iPhones 10. 00:53:20: Camera Improvements 11. 00:58:07: Emergency SOS Via Satellite 12. 01:04:01: 14 Pro & Pro Max 13. 01:13:33: Software Updates 14. 01:14:44: Listener Comments 15. 01:22:06: FInal Thoughts
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit crossedwires.substack.com
Although we’re not a retro-exclusive show, we do seem to have a lot of guests from the retro community; this week is no different as it’s my delight to be joined by Dan Wood and Ravi Abbott who make up two-thirds of The Retro Hour podcast.
Rather than looking at specific systems, we had a more broad chat about what makes retro so fascinating for us all, what some of our favourite systems are, as well as reliving some fond memories and self-incriminating confessions.
What are your views on retro? Do you disagree with what we consider to be a retro system, do you have memories about encounters with systems, or maybe you had involvement in the development of the systems themselves, or software for them? We’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * The Retro Hour: Website / Twitter * Dan Wood: Twitter / YouTube * Ravi Abbott: Twitter / YouTube * The Computer Chronicles (Archive.org)
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:05: Introductions 2. 00:03:48: The Computer Chronicles 3. 00:10:27: Ravi’s Computing Beginnings 4. 00:15:11: What Do We Consider Retro? 5. 00:19:21: Why Use Retro Systems? 6. 00:40:45: Favourite or Oddball Systems 7. 00:49:48: Where To Start? 8. 00:53:53: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Yes, it’s another retro-themed episode, but with a focus on not only vintage Macs but also the world of desktop publishing and pre-press that was shaken up by the arrival of the Macintosh and tools like Aldus PageMaker and QuarkXpress.
It was a genuine pleasure to chat with Dan, I hope you find his experience and knowledge as informative and entertaining as I did.
I’d also like to say a huge thank you to everyone all for your patience, this episode was delayed by a week due to me having to move home and all the fun and games that entails.
Do you have memories of using older PowerPC or 68k Macs, maybe you worked in print or desktop publishing. If so, we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. Episode Links * Dan Vincent on Twitter * Userlandia * Aldus PageMaker - WikiPedia * QuarkXpress - WIkiPedia * Vintage Apple * Mac84 - YouTube * Action Retro - YouTube * This Does Not Compute - YouTube * Computer Clan Rare & Retro Tech- YouTube
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:05: Introductions 2. 00:06:52: Why Vintage & Retro? 3. 00:16:45: Vintage Mac 4. 00:34:12: Desktop Publishing 5. 00:46:47: The Impact Of Postscript 6. 00:50:55: PageMaker, Quark Xpress, Photoshop 7. 00:59:14: Pre Press 8. 01:02:22: Printing Complexities 9. 01:09:11: Looking Back at 90s Apple 10. 01:22:58: Collecting Vintage Macs 11. 01:47:46: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
For those of you wondering about the title of this episode, well you’ll have to listen to figure that out. Pig eating habits aside, it was a genuine pleasure to chat with Ryan about his time supporting various Sim-related titles by Maxis, as well as hearing the rather innovative way he got the job.
We also take a look at a console that, I have to admit, I didn’t know much about until this episode. Known in Japan as the PC Engine and the TurboGrafx in North America, it was a 4th generation game console with some impressive features.
Ryan has also recently launched his own line of replacement inlays for the PC Engine / TurboGrafx and NES controllers. We chat about some of the challenges he faced in getting these made and launched.
Do you have memories of the PC Engine / TurboGrafx, or any of the Maxis games? If so, we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * GrafxGear: Website | Twitter * TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine - WikiPedia * Maxis - WikiPedia * RMC Retro: PC Engine Trash to Treasure (Pt1) - YouTube * Portable PlayStation MiniDisc Concept - IGN
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:10:21: The Sim Copter Easter Egg 3. 00:14:23: Favourite Support Moment 4. 00:19:36: The PC Engine 5. 00:21:41: TurboGrafx 6. 00:27:51: Japanese Tax & Copyright Oddities 7. 00:29:39: CD-ROM Before PlayStation 8. 00:30:10: Sh’m’ups 9. 00:32:46: CD Audio 10. 00:34:48: What Happened Next? 11. 00:35:43: Replacement Inlays 12. 00:47:23: Region Locking? 13. 00:50:08: Also Available For Nintendo 14. 00:54:19: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
With such a diverse range of stories being told online through platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and more, it’s crucial that we look at the journey to make the ability to share those stories more accessible.
It was great to chat with Pam about how things have changed so much in filmmaking over the years and get her valuable insights into why art and storytelling are so important in our digital age.
Please do make sure you check out her podcast, and of course if you have experience with digital storytelling, we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * Art Heals All Wounds Podcast: Website | Twitter * Final Cut Pro * LumaFusion * DaVinci Resolve * DJI Osmo Mobile * The Theatre Lab * Hector Armienta
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:03:05: Accessibility In Filmmaking 3. 00:19:13: The Importance of A Complete Story 4. 00:22:17: The Impact of Art 5. 00:41:05: Get Your Story Out There 6. 00:45:12: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
As I hope comes across in the episodes, great audio is something I really believe is essential for any content creator; there’s nothing worse than a great-looking YouTube video that has audio that sounds like it was recorded in the bathroom.
That’s where the new Vocaster range from Focusrite comes in, and so with the kind help of Arielle from SquadCast, I was able to arrange a chat with Dan to go a bit deeper into what Vocaster is and why it may be the right fit for podcasters, YouTubers, and many other storytellers.
I want to say a huge thanks to Dan for taking the time to chat, and for how open and honest he was when we talked about the competition. You can genuinely hear Dan’s passion for audio and Focusrite come through.
It’s worth mentioning that this isn’t a paid promotion episode, no money has changed hands and Focusrite haven’t asked for any editorial control of the episode. However, for full transparency during our chat Dan did very kindly arrange for a Vocaster One to be sent out to me at no cost, but this was not based on any conditions or content requirements.
What's your experience been with audio interfaces and recording setups? We’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * Focusrite Vocaster * Focusrite on Twitter * SquadCast (Affiliate Link)
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:05: Introductions 2. 00:03:21: Focusrite’s Legacy 3. 00:04:54: The Vocaster Line 4. 00:09:09: Auto Gain And Driving Microphones 5. 00:13:40: Vocaster Models & Features 6. 00:35:47: Studio Bundles 7. 00:41:19: The RodeCaster Pro 8. 00:44:40: Pricing & Value 9. 00:46:59: Vocaster Hub 10. 00:48:40: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
As many of our regular listeners will know, I’m a bit of a smart home addict and my platform of choice is Apple’s HomeKit. To dive a bit deeper into the platform I invited Stephen Robles from the HomeKit Insider podcast to come and chat about the good, the missing, and the frustrating parts of the HomeKit ecosystem in 2022.
What's been your HomeKit experience so far, good or bad, we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * Stephen Robles on Twitter and YouTube * HomeKit Insider podcast: Apple Podcasts / Website * Eve * Matter release delayed until Fall 2022 - Apple Insider
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:05: Introductions 2. 00:02:37: HomeKit Origins 3. 00:03:43: Why We Choose HomeKit 4. 00:07:19: HomeKit Limitations 5. 00:15:49: Matter 6. 00:18:31: Cameras, Doorbells and HomeKit Secure Video 7. 00:20:56: Synology and Plex 8. 00:22:51: Automation and Scenes 9. 00:29:19: Keys and Smart Locks 10. 00:32:26: Upcoming HomeKit Devices 11. 00:41:08: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
For someone who can’t (due to my eyesight) drive, I think it’s fair to say I’ve picked up fairly substantial interest in the future of electric vehicles, as they’re the foundation needed for fully self-driving cars that someone like me could own.
Alex kindly came back to the show, albeit in a different role, to discuss where we are in 2022 regarding electric cars. We take a look at who’s making vehicles right now, beyond the behemoth that is Tesla, as well as factors like charging accessibility, range concerns, affordability, and of course environmental impact.
I’ll admit this is very much a UK-centric episode; that’s simply because that’s the experience Alex and I have to share. That does, of course, mean that if anyone has experience with electric cars in other countries and regions we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Note from James (November 2022): This episode of Crossed Wires was the catalyst for Charging Status, so do make sure you check out those episodes where Alex and I talk more UK focussed EV news every month. Episode Links * The Interface: Website / Twitter * Elon Musk says the Tesla Cybertruck will go on sale in 2023 * Polestar announces support for Apple CarPlay * Ora Funky Cat EV will cost £30,495 in the UK when it launches later this year * Maxus announces new T90EV, first electric pickup truck to go on sale in the UK * New electric Vauxhall Astra-e to launch in 2023 * New Volkswagen ID. Buzz priced from £57,115 in the UK * Gridserve opens its second ‘Electric Forecourt’ in Norwich * Tesla to open up its Super Charger network to 3rd party EVs * EDF Energy: Electric Cars and the Environment
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:05: Introductions 2. 00:02:05: What About Tesla? 3. 00:05:02: Combustion Sales Ban 4. 00:06:38: Other EV First Makers 5. 00:09:22: The Cost Of EVs 6. 00:10:30: Offerings From The Traditional Car Makers 7. 00:19:55: Range & Charging 8. 00:27:14: Affordability & Used EVs 9. 00:30:27: The Environmental Impact 10. 00:36:02: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Suppose you’ve watched any amount of online video, particularly on YouTube. In that case, you’ll likely have seen those ads for the ‘miracle’ tech products that claim to be able to do anything from cut your power bills to turning your internet up to 11. In reality, most of these are scams and don’t meet even half of the claims they make.
That’s why I invited Krazy Ken all the way from the secret Computer Clan lair to come and talk to us about his efforts to debunk these scams on his YouTube channel.
I’ve been a fan of Ken’s content for some time, particularly his scam busing series where he not only proves these scams don’t work but actually gets into why they can’t work. It was a genuine pleasure to have Ken on the show, I’m always really grateful when ‘larger’ creators are willing to come and chat on our fledgling show.
I really hope you enjoy this episode, I’d love to hear your stories of products that may not have lived up to their marketing, or if you’ve seen blatant tech scams online. This is exactly the sort of thing we want to help educate people on, to make being online and using tech safer for everyone. Episode Links Links are little light this episode, mostly because I don’t want to give any extra traffic to any of the scam products we mention! * Ken on Twitter * Computer Clan on YouTube * Scam Tech Playlist
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:05: Introductions 2. 00:04:25: The Rise of Scam Tech 3. 00:09:50: Dissecting The Scam Tech 4. 00:15:06: Fake Backstories 5. 00:16:21: The StarScope Saga 6. 00:18:53: Most Interesting Scams 7. 00:25:49: Classic Mac Diversion 8. 00:27:02: Scam Spotting Checklist 9. 00:43:55: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
This is an episode I’m really excited to have been able to record, and I’d like to start by thanking Chris Angel for their willingness to come and talk to me so openly about the things they’ve learned as both a member of the LGBTQAI+ community and as someone who is studying UI and UX design.
Accessibility is a real passion of mine, as someone with a disability I’ve always been keen to make sure sites, apps, application forms etc are as accessible as possible. As our culture is changing, we need to make sure that that same level of accessibility is afforded to everyone, especially marginalised groups like the LGBTQIA community
I want to make it very clear that whilst we at Crossed Wires always appreciate comments and feedback on episodes, we will not tolerate any form of hate or abuse levelled at either myself, or any member of the Crossed Wires team, or our guests. Any comments we feel don’t meet that standard will be removed, and similarly, any abusive social media posts will be reported to the relevant platform.
With that out of the way, please do enjoy this episode. Let us know your experiences of accessibility, good or bad, either here or over on Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * Chris Angel Murphy on Twitter, Instagram * Allyship is a Verb Podcast * Gender Sexuality Info
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:04:21: Defining Accessibility 3. 00:08:43: Data Capture 4. 00:16:46: HR, Onboarding, Finance 5. 00:23:53: When Biological Sex Is Required 6. 00:28:21: Challenges of Changing Your Identity 7. 00:38:02: Deadnames, Birth Names, Former Names 8. 00:39:30: Media Representation 9. 00:46:08: Making Mistakes And GDPR 10. 00:50:08: Sir? Ma’am? 11. 01:00:26: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Not long after speaking with Cody from Mac Telecom Networks about all things UniFi, I reached out to Alex at HostIFi, as I’d heard about their cloud hosted UniFi controllers from several of the UniFi centric YouTubers I follow, to see if we could do a bit of a follow up.
Alex very kindly agreed and we sat down to have a chat about what HostIFi is and to understand a bit more about the use case and a typical deployment.
Networking is something that I really get excited about, even if I don’t always have the budget to afford the latest gear. If you’ve got any UniFi stories you’d like to share, we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * Alex Lowe on Twitter * HostIFi - Website / Twitter * Ubiquiti UISP * MarzBarVlogs on YouTube
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:05: Introductions 2. 00:02:37: HostIfi 3. 00:08:41: Pricing & Ubiquiti Hardware 4. 00:12:37: Managing Updates 5. 00:17:19: The Relationship With Ubiquiti 6. 00:21:01: Deployment 7. 00:33:15: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
It’s been two weeks since Apple’s 2022 WWDC keynote, so myself and our newest team member, Jae, sat down to dissect some of the key announcements and the things that really got us excited.
Because we’ve had a bit of time to do some more research on some of the new features, I hope that comes across and you enjoy our thoughts and observations.
There’s lots we just didn’t have time to cover, for example there’s some very exciting things happening with HomeKit and Matter, but you can rest assured plans are in progress to have a full ‘State of HomeKit in 2022’ style episode.
Please do share your WWDC thoughts on things you found exciting, or if you think we’re downright wrong (it does happen) in the comments, both here and over on Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * Jae on Twitter * James on Twitter * WWDC 2022 Keynote * The Talk Show Live from WWDC - YouTube / Audio Only (Overcast) * Rene Ritchie’s video ‘Why is Stage Manager M1 Only’ * Security Research on Password Best Practice - Arvind Narayanan on Twitter * WWDC Developer Session on Passkeys
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:03:20: WWDC 2022 3. 00:07:03: Developers! 4. 00:12:22: The Talk Show Live 5. 00:16:54: The M2 6. 00:22:49: The New MacBook Air 7. 00:28:03: Stage Manager On IPad 8. 00:34:39: A Quick Word On Device Support 9. 00:38:07: Safety Check 10. 00:43:38: watchOS 9 11. 00:44:37: Medication Reminders 12. 00:53:19: Passkeys 13. 01:02:46: Apple Pay and Wallet 14. 01:13:38: Locksceen 15. 01:20:11: Focus 16. 01:22:28: Messages & collaboration 17. 01:25:56: Continuity camera 18. 01:30:44: Metal 3 and Gaming 19. 01:35:52: CarPlay 20. 01:43:15: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
In this ‘bumper’ edition of the show, I sat down with Andrew and Paul from the Addict magazines, which are wonderful publications focussing on the Amiga and retro culture and technology in general.
As well as talking shop, getting some genuinely interesting behind the scenes views into what making a physical (and digital) magazine in 2022 is all about, we go for a bit of a nostalgia trip on the subject of our memories of magazines and computer and video game shops of the 90s.
I really hope you enjoy this episode, apologies for any audio issues sometimes these can’t be helped when recording remotely. Do you have memories of newsagent experiences, or a favourite tech magazine, we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * Paul on Twitter * The Addict Magazines
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:05: Introductions 2. 00:13:57: Magazine & Retail Memories 3. 00:36:08: Pixel Addict 4. 00:41:46: Pitching Ideas 5. 00:46:35: The Personal Element 6. 00:50:21: Past, Present, and Future 7. 00:57:21: The Journey To WHSmith 8. 01:11:50: Deadlines & Proofreading 9. 01:19:29: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
As someone who has a visual impairment, and therefore is technically classed as disabled, accessible technology is something that’s incredibly important to me. So, when I saw a retweet about Enabled Play I reached out to Alex Dunn, their CEO, to see if he’d like to come and chat about the technology on the show.
As you’ve probably guessed, he said yes and so we sat down to talk about how important accessible, or assistive, technology is and get a great insight into what Enabled Play is, how it works and how it can make gaming, education, and work accessible to people with a wide range of disabilities, as well as being fantastically cool new tech.
I really hope you find this episode insightful, if you’ve got any stories of accessibility, good or bad, to share we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * Alex Dunn on Twitter * Enabled Play * XBox Adaptive Controller * Raspberry Pi * Anker USB-C Hub for iPad Air / Mini / Pro
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:02:03: Why Accessible Tech? 3. 00:10:23: What Is Enabled Play? 4. 00:13:04: On Device Processing 5. 00:16:49: The Cost Of Accessible Tech 6. 00:21:29: Commodity Hardware 7. 00:22:15: Tilt & Expression Controls 8. 00:32:23: Working With Devices 9. 00:45:50: Pricing & Availability 10. 00:52:51: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
In this episode, it’s my great pleasure to chat with Neil from RMC Retro, the chief Cave Dweller himself. It would be fair to say that my biggest source of retro content has come from other cave dwellers, or those closely associated with the retro community.
Neil has built a full-time YouTube channel and now an exhibition space around ‘The Cave’ and we talk about how he started out with making YouTube videos to sell his collection, moving on to the popular ‘Trash to Treasure’ series, and of course how a colouring book brought in the much-needed funds to open the cave to the public.
I really hope you enjoy listening to our chat, it was a lot of fun to record and chat about some of our nostalgia for retro computing. Do let us know your experiences with retro tech in the comments, we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * Neil (RMC Retro) on Twitter and YouTube * The RMC Retro site * Amiga 500 Trash to Treasure (Part 1) * Visiting The Cave * Cleaning the Acorn Electron * Rob from Ressurection Retro * The MiSTer MultiSystem
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:06:02: Growth of The Channel 3. 00:11:13: Trevor & Lord Sugar 4. 00:13:18: The Cave 5. 00:27:21: The Fake Retro Shop Experience 6. 00:31:19: The MiSTer MultiSystem 7. 00:38:00: Donations 8. 00:41:10: Wrapping Up & Finger Gravy
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
In this episode, I talk with network consultant and YouTuber, Cody from MacTelecom Networks who also happens to be Canadian so is typically a nice-guy. Fair warning, there’s an absolute UniFi bias in this episode, but no-one from Ubiquiti has been involved in any part of this production.
It’s been an interesting few years for home networks, especially as more of us have been working from home and have needed a stable and reliable connection that, despite their bold claims, no ISP router can really provide. So, myself and Cody chat about what people can consider for a better experience as well as delving into the world of UniFi, particularly because of the recent release of the UniFi Dream Router.
I really hope you find this episode insightful, it was a real blast recording with Cody. If you’ve got any network experiences you want to share, we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * Cody on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram * MacTelecom Networks * UniFi Dream Router * UniFi Flex Mini * TP-Link Deco M5 on Amazon UK * TP-Link Omada * NetworkChuck on YouTube * Learn Linux TV on YouTube * CBT Nuggets * Udemy IT Certification Courses
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:03:54: YouTube Videos 3. 00:09:33: Home Networking 4. 00:16:04: A Slight StarLink Detour 5. 00:18:13: Alternatives to ISP Routers 6. 00:23:46: The UniFi Dream Router & WiFi 6 7. 00:30:23: The Importance Of VLANs 8. 00:32:58: UniFi Limitations & pfSense 9. 00:38:07: Network Oddities 10. 00:48:57: Learning Resources 11. 00:54:36: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
In this episode, I chat with SquadCast’s co-founder, Zachariah Moreno, about how things got started, what problems SquadCast aims to solve and some of the really cool behind-the-scenes technical details of how shows like Crossed Wires get recorded through their service.
I’m genuinely excited by what’s coming in the next version of SquadCast, and I’m eternally grateful to Zachariah and the team for creating such a reliable platform.
I should probably also say that I really should make local backup recordings too, I know things can go wrong with any service, my point was more that I didn’t feel as worried about not doing so with SquadCast. What's been your experience with podcast recording, particularly remotely? We’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Thanks again to Zachariah for joining me for this episode! Episode Links * Zachariah Moreno on Twitter * SquadCast * Between Two Mics: Arielle & Zach on SquadCast's Biggest Update Yet * Audio Hijack * GarageBand 3 - iChat Recording (MacWorld Review)
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:05: Introductions 2. 00:03:09: The Challenges of Remote Recording 3. 00:07:37: Technical Hurdles On iOS 4. 00:08:47: Desktop Browser Support 5. 00:10:23: The Magic of SquadCast 6. 00:18:06: Not Just Audio 7. 00:22:51: The Future 8. 00:31:03: Investing In Quality 9. 00:35:25: Closing Thoughts
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
In this episode, I’m really pleased to introduce Jack to you all. We met through the RMCRetro Discord server and after realising we shared a lot in common I invited Jack to come and join me for a discussion around some of our biggest frustrations around the complexities of tech.
We chat about the joys of keeping devices updated, the ups and downs of smart home tech, and everyone’s least favourite part of tech, passwords!
This is a bit more of a discussion episode, but I hope you enjoy it and as I mention in the show please do use the comments section to leave us your thoughts and share some of your own tech frustrations. Episode Links * Jack’s YouTube Channel * Windows 10 Release Details * Pulseway RMM * Home Assistant * HomeBridge * HomeKit over Thread (Eve) * Philips Hue * ZigBee on Wikipedia * 1Password * BitWarden
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:05: Introductions 2. 00:08:01: Frustrations Of Windows Updates 3. 00:17:00: The Benefits Of RMM Tools 4. 00:20:51: Updates For Other Devices 5. 00:28:53: Smart Home Tech 6. 00:50:44: Thread & Matter 7. 00:53:37: Managing Passwords 8. 01:03:56: Corporate Two Factor 9. 01:05:49: Security Theatre 10. 01:13:03: Northern Cultural References 11. 01:13:57: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
This week, I’m joined by Stu Little, a content creator and former photo journalist who now specialises in content around editing professional video on an iPad using apps like LumaFusion, Node Video, and other great tools.
We talk about the importance of audio in videos, and how great audio solutions don’t have to cost a huge premium, as well as doing some deeper dives into the tools Stu uses on his iPad to produce his content as well as some of the challenges he faces.
I really hope you enjoy this episode, I certainly learned a lot from Stu and will absolutely be putting some of his tips into practice for the YouTube channel. What's been your experience of working with mobile video, good or bad, we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * Stu Little on Twitter and YouTube * Apple’s iPad Air * Filmic Pro * Mark Blank-Settle on Twitter * BOYA BY-M2 iPhone lavalier microphone * DJI Osmo Mobile 5 * iMovie 3 Press Release from Apple * LumaFusion by LumaTouch * Node Video * Mojo
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:05: Introductions 2. 00:02:21: The iPad For Content Creation 3. 00:05:32: Capturing Video On iPhones 4. 00:11:47: Stabilisation 5. 00:16:43: Audio 6. 00:33:37: Editing & Production Tools 7. 00:54:27: Game Capture & Streaming 8. 00:58:01: iPad Challenges 9. 01:05:05: Wrap Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
After being accused (rightfully so) of crimes against Amiga, my guest Rees of Ctrl-Alt-Rees joins me to talk about his Atari obsession, dive deeper into some of the history of the Atari and how the Amiga very nearly became an Atari product rather than a Commodore one!
As always, a huge thanks to Rees for taking the time to chat, it was a fun episode to record and I absolutely learned some things about the Atari I didn’t know about. What are your memories of the Atari range of computers, did you have one, did you hate them? We’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * Rees (Ctril-Alt-Rees) on Twitter, YouTube * The Atari 8-Bit Machines * The Atari ST Family * The MiStR MultiSystem * Bad Influence’s Jaguar preview. * ‘Do The Math’ Jaguar ad. * Rees’ ‘Atari Show & Tell’ on RMCRetro.
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:01:54: Rees’ Atari Beginnings 3. 00:05:40: Celebrity Modding 4. 00:07:40: Old Consoles On Modern Displays 5. 00:11:13: Early Atari Home Systems 6. 00:13:46: The Atari ST Family 7. 00:24:11: Jack Tramiel 8. 00:25:26: The Falcon 9. 00:28:38: Bad Influence & The Jaguar 10. 00:35:26: Atari In The Modern Age 11. 00:43:06: Outro
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
After a bit of a Twitter exchange on the back of some app piracy frustration, I invited James Thomson (best known for his wonderful calculator app, PCalc) to come and chat about all things piracy and app pricing.
We take a few tangents down subscription pricing, app store reviews, upgrade paths and some essential discussions about the Mac Studio and M1 Ultra.
It was a real pleasure to record with James, especially given some audio challenges we had along the way. A huge shoutout to Squadcast for making the whole process painless, the issues we had didn’t come out on their local recordings and to say it saved the episode would be an understatement.
I really hope you enjoy this episode, do you have any thoughts on app pricing, the app store, or even piracy. If so, we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * James Thomson (@jamesthomson) on Twitter * PCalc Website * iMac G4 * James’ Tweet About the Pirate * Audio Hijack by Rogue Amoeba * Apple Announce WWDC 2022
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:02:15: Bundled Apps 3. 00:03:52: Dealings With Pirates 4. 00:09:23: Subscriptions & Upgrade Pricing 5. 00:12:22: Weeding Out Genuine Requests 6. 00:14:27: App Pricing 7. 00:19:40: The Realities Of Support 8. 00:21:26: Processor Transitions & App Store Only 9. 00:31:09: Respect For Paid Software 10. 00:35:29: WWDC & Apple Silicon 11. 00:42:33: Plugs & Outros
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Keeping with our retro theme, I talk with YouTuber and RetroHour host, Dan Wood, about all things Amiga.
We take a look at the costs, and risks, of purchasing original Amiga hardware today, the upgrades you could put into these original machines, as well as things to watch out for. Then, moving swiftly on we talk a bit about emulation, the mess that is the Amiga copyright and of course piracy!
Before putting Dan on the spot for his favourite Amiga games and apps, what Amiga chat could be complete in 2022 without talking about The A500 Mini as a little teaser for Dan’s fantastic video.
I really hope you enjoy this episode, a huge thanks to Dan for his time and insights. Make sure you subscribe in your podcast app of choice, tell your friends. If you have fond Amiga memories we’d love to hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * Dan Wood on YouTube * The Retro Hour Podcast * Amiga 500+ on Wikipedia * Eben Upton - Show and Tell - Amiga 600 and the Raspberry Pi * Dan’s video on the Pi400 with Amibian * Amibian: Amiga Environment for the Raspberry Pi * MiSTer Multisystem * Amiga Forever by Colanto * Dan’s full review of The A500 Mini
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:05: Introductions 2. 00:06:31: Original Amiga Hardware 3. 00:13:53: Modern Upgrades 4. 00:28:50: The Pi, Amiga ROMs, And Commodore 5. 00:34:34: The A500 Mini 6. 00:45:11: Amiga Favourites 7. 00:52:01: Closing Thoughts
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
In our first episode of the new Crossed Wires podcast, James is joined by Stoo Cambridge, most famous for his work on the iconic graphics of Cannon Fodder by Sensible Software. We also talk about the tools available back in the late 80s and early 90s, and of course The Colouring Book of Retro Computers.
I really hope you enjoy this episode, I’m so grateful to Stoo for taking the time to come and chat with me and share some wonderful little tidbits.
Make sure you subscribe to get the latest episodes straight to your podcast player of choice. If you like what you hear, please do tell your friends, family, Uber driver, dentist…
Do you have any fond memories of Cannon Fodder, or working with tools like Deluxe Paint back in the day? If so, we’d love hear from you, so send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion in Goodpods. If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any little bit of support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links * Cannon Fodder at Wikipedia * Sensible Software at Wikipedia * Deluxe Paint on Amiga - A Retrospective (Dan Wood on YouTube) * BBC Micro Live (1985) - Commodore Amiga Debut (Mike on YouTube) * The Computer Programme on archive.org * The Colouring Book of Retro Computers at RMCRetro.store * RMC Retro - The Cave on YouTube * Affinity by Serif (Designer, Photo, Publisher) * Krita - Open source digital painting software * The Design Droid - Stoo’s online store
Chapter List 1. 00:00:00: Introduction 2. 00:01:56: Graphics & The Amiga 3. 00:06:58: The Graphics Of Cannon Fodder 4. 00:15:32: The Poppy Controversy 5. 00:21:40: The Colouring Book Of Retro Computers 6. 00:33:14: Modern Tools 7. 00:39:55: Reflecting On The Past 8. 00:50:38: Obligatory Self Promotion 9. 00:57:20: Wrap Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW