GeekNights Mondays: Science Technology Computing: Recent Episodes
Rym and Scott - The Front Row Crew
GeekNights Mondays is the weekly sci/tech segment of GeekNights, featuring science, technology, computing, and more. We talk Linux, Windows, gadgets, you name it.
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss data centers. Once as positive thing, they have become a blight on the Earth in the ever-growing wake of the AI bubble. Rym and Emily are back from Cedar Point and will have a couple of special episodes about it in the near future, and also have a secret VR project that's slightly less secret than it was before. In the news, the AI slop factory wants help flagging AI slop, and ZGM is an open source gaming mouse firmware.
Related LinksForum Thread* Data Centers
Discord Chat* Data Centers
Bluesky Post* Data Centers
Things of the Day* Rym - Cedar Point x Made to Thrill * Scott - Milwaukee Transit Passes
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the growing trend of seeking retro technology. From the Charmera to flip phones to audio cassettes, it's part aesthetic and part anti-consumerist anti-capitalist pushback to the ravages of modernity. In the news, Mamdani announces new Click-to-Cancel rule for New York City, workers in Acklam discover Medlar fruit trees (also known as dog's arse), and no technology is going to make exercising effectively take less time. Also, we did it.
Related LinksForum Thread* Intentionally Retro Technology
Discord Chat* Intentionally Retro Technology
Bluesky Post* Intentionally Retro Technology
Things of the Day* Rym - How the K-line got its name * Scott - MiniPCs.zip
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the current state and evolution of bicycle technology. Not all advancement in modernity is "good" advancement. In the news, delivery robots are a menace, the illegitimate and fully compromised Supreme Court's broken clock was correct on geofence warrants, climate change is killing us, and AI slop music should be demonetized.
Related LinksForum Thread* Bicycle Technology
Discord Chat* Bicycle Technology
Bluesky Post* Bicycle Technology
Things of the Day* Rym - I am a person, you are not * Scott - Dirty Little Zine
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the challenge of company-managed devices. In the news, Britain has banned the kids from all social media, Nvidia is issuing $25 Billion in corporate bonds, and Verizon screwed a guy over with MDM.
Related LinksForum Thread* Company Devices
Discord Chat* Company Devices
Bluesky Post* Company Devices
Things of the Day* Rym - Jinxxy * Scott - Anthropeum
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the evil cameras all around us. In the news, Nvidia introduces an underwhelming chip to make underwhelming PCs, the US gestapo are trying to buy advertiser datasets in a dangerous escalation of the police state, and Furality is this weekend!
Related LinksForum Thread* The Evil Cameras All Around Us
Discord Chat* The Evil Cameras All Around Us
Bluesky Post* The Evil Cameras All Around Us
Things of the Day* Rym - HD remaster of "Rejected" * Scott - Because We Feud
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the problem of spam in the current era. We last talked about spam in 2007. (Note that spam is distinct from slop. In the news, Rym is back from Hong Kong, supply chain attacks remain a major threat, the kids are booing AI people at graduations, Musk lost his lawsuit against OpenAI, deepfake software is getting better, and Meta is laying off 10% of its entire workforce.
Related LinksForum Thread* Spam in 2026
Discord Chat* Spam in 2026
Bluesky Post* Spam in 2026
Things of the Day* Rym - NASA Didn't Even Know!! * Scott - UnDUNE II: The Demaking of a Dynasty
Tonight on GeekNights, it's a Tech News Roundup! Madison Square Garden's insane surveillance machine, Github's ongoing collapse, Mac minis being hit by the ongoing RAM crisis, Ask.com is dead, a trivial-to-exploit Linux vulnerability, OpenAI won't stop talking about goblins, Apple fixes a notification vulnerability with Signal, iOS finally adds end-to-end encryption to RCS, AI slop podcasts are spreading, Roblox can't make money if kids can't sign up, and Tim Apple is replaced by John Apple.
Related LinksForum Thread* Tech News Roundup May 2026
Discord Chat* Tech News Roundup May 2026
Bluesky Post* Tech News Roundup May 2026
Things of the Day* Rym - What do other animals think of human music? * Scott - Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln in the same photo
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about the dangers of trying to mandate age verification on the Internet. In the news, Discord embarks on a disastrous age verification scheme, Anthropic is mad that other "AI" companies are using their product, and Goldman Sachs launches an AI-free index.
Related LinksForum Thread* Age Verification on the Internet
Discord Chat* Age Verification on the Internet
Bluesky Post* Age Verification on the Internet
Things of the Day* Rym - Unicode Explorer * Scott - The Sharp PC-2000 Computer Boombox from 1979
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss webcams. In the news, ICE murdered another person in broad daylight with video and witnesses, and Senate Democrats are willing to shut the government down over continued funding of ICE. Call your senators today. No funds for ICE: abolish, dismantle, and prosecute.
In other news, Europe may ban Elon Musk's nonconsensual porn machine and France is planning to build a video conferencing tool to reduce dependence on American technology.
Related LinksForum Thread* Webcams
Discord Chat* Webcams
Bluesky Post* Webcams
Things of the Day* Rym - RESOURCE: Just how advanced WERE the Maya? * Scott - Ignoring Lithium Battery Safety Warnings.. For Science!
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss tech bubbles like the Dot-com bubble. Unrelatedly here's a video by Hank Green titled The State of the AI Industry is Freaking Me Out, and a video by Adam Conover titled Sora Proves the AI Bubble Is Going to Burst So Hard. In the news, nearly 7 million Americans marched in defense of democracy, Amazon AWS went down Sunday night reminding us how fragile the Internet has become, and the end of Windows 10 shouldn't be ignored.
Related LinksForum Thread* Tech Bubbles
Discord Chat* Tech Bubbles
Bluesky Post* Tech Bubbles
Things of the Day* Rym - The Hammond A-100 Organ * Scott - Mac Source Ports
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss fitness tech like heart rate monitors and Strava and Dance Dance Revolution. In the news, Tik Tok has a dubious deal to keep operating in the US and the regime has plans for the algorithm. Also go see Perfect Blue remastered while you can. And read The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.
Related LinksForum Thread* Fitness Tech
Discord Chat* Fitness Tech
Bluesky Post* Fitness Tech
Things of the Day* Rym - KNIGHTS OF GUINEVERE: PILOT * Scott - 86box
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about specific mice. Mice we've used over the years, since the days of balls. In the news, Google dodges consequences in the US but not in the EU, Google is sued yet again for their advertising monopoly, and Google is looking to flood the phone lines of tiny businesses.
Related LinksForum Thread* Specific Mice
Discord Chat* Specific Mice
Bluesky Post* Specific Mice
Things of the Day* Rym - Ti-85 Megademo (Calculator demonstration) * Scott - The Old Robots Web Site
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about the modern marvel that is video chat. In the news, Perplexity is using undeclared crawlers to scrape content, Samsung has a crazy Micro LED TV, real life ad block is possible, and Trump is forming the American SS.
The next GeekNights Book Club book will be The Running Man, by Richard Backman, who you may know better as Stephen King.
Related LinksForum Thread* Video Chat and Teleconferencing
Discord Chat* Video Chat and Teleconferencing
Bluesky Post* Video Chat and Teleconferencing
Things of the Day* Rym - Survival food - dandelion seeds * Scott - blahaj goes to waffle house at 3am
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss audio interfaces. Rym uses a PreSonus Studio 1810c to record GeekNights, and as his general purpose "sound card" in the studio.
In the news, the CEO of GitHub steps down, you can consider Forgejo if that worries you, Reddit will block the Internet Archive, and Trump illegally forces the National Guard to deploy to the streets of Washington DC.
Related LinksForum Thread* Computer Audio Interfaces
Discord Chat* Computer Audio Interfaces
Bluesky Post* Computer Audio Interfaces
Things of the Day* Rym - Map of Queens NY, Explained * Scott - The Pianolizer
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider why there, broadly, aren't major consumer technology developments lately. In the news, Debian reduces support for i386 and Chrome OS is combining with Android. Also we'll be live at PAX West!
Related LinksForum Thread* Why there's no big tech news
Discord Chat* Why there's no big tech news
Bluesky Post* Why there's no big tech news
Things of the Day* Rym - The ‘Goal’ That Changed The NHL Forever * Scott - Hot Spring Shark Attack
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the blinky lights and LEDs the kids are putting on everything including their computers. In the news, Windows 10 has extended security support, Broadcom is desperate to monetize VMware, and the EU forced Apple to comply, at least in the EU.
Related LinksForum Thread* Blinky Lights
Discord Chat* Blinky Lights
Bluesky Post* Blinky Lights
Things of the Day* Rym - NHL: Refs Mic'd Up Part 2 * Scott - Balatro for the Nintendo E-Reader
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider toilets, washlets, and bidets. (Oh my). In the news, some context on the current Iran conflict, and Apple WWDC25 was mostly uneventful other than keeping old devices going for a while yet.
Related LinksForum Thread* Toilets and Bidets and Washlets
Discord Chat* Toilets and Bidets and Washlets
Bluesky Post* Toilets and Bidets and Washlets
Things of the Day* Rym - Explaining the Most Bizarre Piano Etude of the 19th Century * Scott - Restoring the Buran
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss capacity management. It's changed a lot over the years. In the news, evil people are trying to accelerate climate change, and a silly camera is coming.
Related LinksForum Thread* Capacity Management
Discord Chat* Capacity Management
Bluesky Post* Capacity Management
Things of the Day* Rym - Lemmings: How DMA Design Redefined Puzzle Games * Scott - What's the Longest Trip You Can Make With a MetroCard?
Tonight on GeekNights, we muse a bit on the problem of discoverability. Nearly all experience is mediated, and this includes deciding what web site to look at. In the news, Rym is back from Zenkaikon, Moon Zooz is continuing to rock it, the cosmological constant might not be, niri is a scrollable-tiling Wayland compositor, and US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is a dangerous idiot.
Related LinksForum Thread* The Discoverability Problem
Discord Chat* The Discoverability Problem
Bluesky Post* The Discoverability Problem
Things of the Day* Rym - I Drove to Every McDonald's in America * Scott - FamiTracker
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about MIDI. The Musical Instrument Digital Interface, which is still in use today. In the news, Donkey Kong ‘94 is re-released on Switch, Youtube adds translated dubbing, and Ontario (rightly) taxes Americans using their energy.
Related LinksForum Thread* MIDI
Discord Chat* MIDI
Bluesky Post* MIDI
Things of the Day* Water your yard FOR FREE !!! * Rym - Sound Blaster AWE32 2MB (MIDI bank) * Scott - Heated Driveway in Buffalo
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Windows 11 and the fools who refuse to upgrade. In the news, the iPhone 16e arrives, Gmail is (correctly) dropping SMS two-factor, Twitch is capping uploads for 0.5% of streamers, and Germany represents a profound realignment of global politics.
Related LinksForum Thread* Windows 11
Discord Chat* Windows 11
Bluesky Post* Windows 11
Things of the Day* Rym - SS United States — finally — departs South Philly * Scott - Dragonsweeper
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss electronic payments. We grew up in a world where credit cards were imprinted on carbon paper and cheques were on physical paper. In the news, the Baltics have disconnected from the Russian power grid, Football Manager 25 will be skipped, and there's one weird trick to stop Google's terrible AI summaries.
Related LinksDiscord Chat* Electronic Payments
Forum Thread* Electronic Payments
Bluesky Post* Electronic Payments
Things of the Day* Rym - Sounds between the Crowns (2020) * Scott - Destroying and Reprogramming the Sprite Engine of Ghosts 'n Goblins
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider all the ways to sell software. From shareware to software-as-a-service to "just buying it" it's evolved quite a bit over the years. In the news, CES happened, Republicans killed net neutrality, and Pornhub is blocked in the entire US south. Also we will be live at MAGFest, which is imminently about to sell out.
Related LinksForum Thread* Ways to Sell Software
Discord Chat* Ways to Sell Software
Bluesky Post* Ways to Sell Software
Things of the Day* Rym - Rondò Veneziano - La Serenissima * Scott - Blade Runner-Electric Unicorn fan release- deleted scenes
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about Terminals. From the VT100 to any modern Terminal Emulator, they are still a part of the computing world and are worth knowing about. In the news, Jimmy Carter has died at 100, Chinese state-sponsored hackers attacked the US Treasury, and a hero has defeated a fake Nintendo lawyer.
Related LinksDiscord Chat* Terminals
Forum Thread* Terminals
Bluesky Post* Terminals
Things of the Day* Rym - Line * Scott - Natural Number Game
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about drones. In the news, the common clay of the New West think they're seeing nefarious drones everywhere and we have WordPress vs WP Engine.
Related LinksForum Thread* Drones
Discord Chat* Drones
Bluesky Post* Drones
Things of the Day* Rym - 1-900-490-FREAK * Scott - Elevator Music
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider blogging. In the news, Roblox is making a closed ecosystem Discord competitor, the US gave Intel a pile of money, and Intel's CEO hit the bricks. Rym has also consolidated all of his social media into rym.social and talks about how he set up cross-posting across microblog, Mastodon, and Bluesky.
Related LinksForum Thread* Blogs
Discord Chat* Blogs
Bluesky Post* Blogs
Things of the Day* Rym - Staring at Rupees for 17 hours * Scott - The Network of Time
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about widgets. Mostly status and telemetry widgets that people like to put on their desktops or their phones. They have their uses, but are usually useless. In the news, Cloudplane is shutting down in December, Adobe's Project Turntable is stunning, and Tesla's robots were (obviously) fake.
If you are able to vote in the United States, make a plan to vote. You can't sit this one out. You can't vote for a "third party." It's frankly unethical to do anything but vote straight ticket for Democrats.
There are two power-seeking coalitions in America. Choose the one that you want setting the rules for the next election. The Democrats are the literal best option we have. Do the right thing.
Related LinksForum Thread* Widgets
Discord Chat* Widgets
Things of the Day* Rym - An undulating thrill * Scott - Asian Hockey Card Collection
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about cores and concurrency and threads and such. Also Rym and Emily fought a bear. In the news, Intel's chip instability saga has concluded, and Python 3.13.0 is pretty good.
Related LinksForum Thread* Multicore Multiprocess Concurrency and Such
Discord Chat* Multicore Multiprocess Concurrency and Such
Things of the Day* Rym - How Mei Blows Up the Game * Scott - Popular Science (May 1872)
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the evils of web trackers and analytics. They are used almost exclusively to feed the ad industry and you should block them wherever possible. Rym has installed the microcode patch for some Intel chips and you should too if you have one of them.
In the news, Microsoft is moving to a security-first posture, nostalgia accounts on social media are making up nonsense, and chatbots are intruding into and slowly ruining online social spaces.
Related LinksForum Thread* Web Trackers and Analytics
Discord Chat* Web Trackers and Analytics
Things of the Day* Rym - We Spent $20 To Achieve RCE And Accidentally Became The Admins Of .MOBI * Scott - Magician's Brick
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the sad state of the technology creeping into car dashboards. In the news, the US Supreme Court has disastrously ruled that the president is above the law in extreme and shocking complicity with authoritarian takeover. In other news, some good Python development practices and Apple cramming AI into their largely failed Vision Pro.
Related LinksForum Thread* Car Dashboard Tech
Discord Chat* Car Dashboard Tech
Things of the Day* Rym - Small BIRDS 8K ULTRA HD with Names and Sounds * Scott - Can You Make It Bigger?
Tonight on GeekNights, it's a Tech News Roundup! Mouse movers are getting people fired but are also a sign of late stage capitalism, social media is messing up the kids, don't operate your i9 at turbo voltages when it's overheating, Adobe is mostly wrong here but also read what you buy, this is a good car that will never reach the US, data breaches are getting worse as people care less and less that they happen, Wine patches bug 7955 after 17 years, the Pentax 17 is bad, Apple cancels Apple Pay Later, New York gets digital IDs (sort of), Microsoft slow rolls Recall after backlash, and Voyager 1 still lives!
Related LinksForum Thread* Tech News Roundup Summer 2024
Discord Chat* Tech News Roundup Summer 2024
Things of the Day* Rym - ZEUS, POSEIDON & HADES * Scott - TerminalTextEffects
Tonight on GeekNights, we make some technology predictions for one, five, and ten years into the future. We did this once back in 2010. In the news, Ticketmaster and Santander have massive data breaches, Google accidentally published its secret search sauce, Twitter adds pornography, and Rubin is the next generation AI chip.
Related LinksForum Thread* Tech Predictions for 2025, 2029, and 2034
Discord Chat* Tech Predictions for 2025, 2029, and 2034
Things of the Day* Rym - Balance (1989) * Scott - The Panzerbike
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss markup languages like Markdown. In the news, Rym posted an analysis of strange noises in Sportsnet NHL streams, the ship that broke Baltimore Harbor has been removed, you can read a paper exploring The consequences of generative AI for online knowledge communities, and there are new iPads.
Related LinksForum Thread* Markup Languages
Discord Chat* Markup Languages
Things of the Day* Rym - Come stay in a $40 2/10 hotel with me for an evening. * Scott - Non-Euclidean Doom:
Tonight on GeekNights we talk about when technology fails. Dead PSUs, dead hard drives, and the like. In the news, there is a vulnerability in practically all VPNs and Tesla is firing everybody after they fired a bunch of people.
Related LinksForum Thread* Technology Failures
Discord Chat* Technology Failures
Things of the Day* Rym - Why Stomping Wigglers Glitches Super Mario World * Scott - The Unique Urination of Cicadas
Tonight on GeekNights we consider what A New TV in 2024 looks like. In the news, the Stanley Cup Playoffs are underway, GameCube and Wii emulators won't work on iOS due to Apple's ban on just-in-time compilation, and Meta really makes money from all the data they collect about you.
Related LinksForum Thread* A New TV in 2024
Discord Chat* A New TV in 2024
Things of the Day* Rym - 90s computer room ✨🛰️ 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝟗𝟓 𝐧𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐚𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 🎧 extended version * Scott - MAPSCII
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the ramifications of a ridiculous Texas law being argued before the Supreme Court, and its ramifications for the imperfect but valuable Section 230. In the news, A lot of Redditors hate the Reddit IPO, Reddit is selling your data to Google for AI training, and Reddit admitted that your moderator protests are working. Also Rym has some notes on his new workstation.
Related LinksForum Thread* Moderation, Section 230, and Free Speech
Discord Chat* Moderation, Section 230, and Free Speech
Things of the Day* Rym - The Oldest Room in the House * Scott - GifCities
Tonight on GeekNights, 18 years after Rym tried to switch to Mac, Scott switches to Mac. (Except for gaming). In the news, Rym is building a new primary workstation,, Tim Sweeney calls out Apple's "malicious compliance" in light of The Digital Markets Act, and the Superb Owl went to overtime.
Related LinksForum Thread* Scott Switches to Mac
Discord Chat* Scott Switches to Mac
Things of the Day* Rym - Why It Was Almost Impossible to Make the Blue LED * Scott - No Vehicles in the Park
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss the vicious smartphone upgrade cycle. Try to use your phone for more than a year or two at least. In the news, Apple has to halt new Apple Watch sales, Adobe gives up on buying Figma, and Scott had fun on the Star Wars ride at Disneyland.
Related LinksForum Thread* The Smartphone Upgrade Cycle
Discord Chat* The Smartphone Upgrade Cycle
Things of the Day* Rym - Why do Americans Pronounce it Zee? * Scott - Battle of Cherbourg (1864)
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the the idea of remote access. In the news, here's a list of all the tech layoffs so far in 2023, and Twitch changes its simulcasting guidelines.
Related LinksForum Thread* Remote Access
Things of the Day* Rym - Star Trek + Design * Scott - Homeward
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the current state of search engines and why Google increasingly doesn't work anymore. In the news, iOS has multiple zero-day zero-interaction vulnerabilities (update your devices immediately) and Reddit is trying to embrace the worst parts of phpBB. 12 years ago we gave two short talks about how game mechanics (and UX design) literally make the communities that use them.Related LinksForum Thread* Search Engines (suck now)
Things of the Day* Rym - Imaginary Numbers Are Real * Scott - The best hockey goal in the history of Australia
Tonight on GeekNights, in light of Twitter's dying husk removing the ability to block people, we consider the concept of "blocking" in social platforms. The root problem is, as always, the twin evils of advertising and capitalism. In the news, the inability to warn the residents of Maui to the rapidly escalating wildfires requires significant government technology investment, and Dolby Atmos FlexConnect might prove interesting for home theatre setups.
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss when, how, and if you should upgrade your technology. From phones to cameras to TVs to skis, it comes mostly down to what problem you're trying to solve. In the news, Web Environment Integrity is a potentially worrying but not yet apocalyptic threat to the World Wide Web, the BBC has launched its own journalism Mastodon, and the US has a new nuclear reactor.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the surprising challenges of throttling and rate limiting. In the news, Twitter rate-limiting reading twitter and broke Tweetdeck while also blocking non-logged-in views , Norway has 100 years of phosphate rock deposits, and the US Supreme Court is wholly illegitimate.
Tonight on GeekNights, we briefly consider when and why to adopt a new technology. In the news, Apple WWDC 2023 brings a $3,500 AR/VR headset in 2024 (we've talked about AR (Augmented Reality) before), and Reddit is pulling a Twitter and possibly destroying the best third party app it has.
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about the noise that computers make. It used to be a lot worse, but most of you are probably too young to have experienced this era. In the news, Rym went to a Star Trek convention, Google supports passkeys, actually read this article and not just the headline, and Rym is running in the New York Marathon in November!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider computer fonts. In the news, the world lost a legend with the passing of Al Jaffee, why "trucks" have taken over America, and Mac sales are down 40%.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the immense challenge of archiving the Internet. This is a critical era of human history, and historians centuries from now will be desperate to know things we all think are "common knowledge" today. In the news, the Internet Archive flew too close to the sun, the emerging geopolitical blocs will likely end TikTok in America, and Nvidia (correctly) says cryptocurrencies do not "bring anything useful for society"
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider what to do about E-Waste and worthless old technology. Old cables, old smartphones, 500MB hard drives, and the like. It's OK to get rid of it (and you probably should), but don't just throw it in the garbage unless you're a bad person. In the news, new open gangway subway cars debut on the A train in New York, and Silicon Valley Bank collapsed.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the technology and ramifications of Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3) and autoregressive language models in general. We further explore other similar machine learning tools and their short and long-term ramifications for humans. In the news, Discord Stages have low bitrate limits, the US Department of Energy concludes with low confidence that COVID-19 emerged from a lab leak in China, the UK wasn't content with ruining its economy with Brexit and is also considering ruining its technology with the Online Safety Bill, and a terrifying toxic new Dust Bowl is descending on Utah.
Tonight on GeekNights, Rym is back from his ski trip, so we resume our regularly scheduled shows with a review of online advertising and adtech. In the news, the Department of Justice is seeking to break up Google in some trust busting over online advertising and tech layoffs foretell difficult times ahead.
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about everybody's favorite operating system: Microsoft Windows. In the news, Youtube contracts NFL Sunday Ticket, America is subsidizing a road at $1 Billion per mile, and it's 2023.
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss the concept of Zero Trust Security. It's a pain, and it's not necessary in all environments, but it's something you should understand. In the news, a company is suing to put profits over preventing harm to children, disgraced former president Donald Trump has been referred for criminal prosecution over his coup attempt, Apple introduces Advanced Data Protection, and Google introduces client-side encryption to paid gmail.
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss Federated Architecture in light of the collapse of Twitter. Federation is how most of the Internet works, and you should understand the ramifications of it before you dive into platforms like Mastodon. From XMPP (formerly Jabber) to ActivityPub, even the nature of an email address, federation is how the Internet was intended to be used. In the news, the FCC has a more accurate broadband map, and the rail unions are (rightly) threatening to strike over intolerable working conditions.
Tonight on GeekNights, in the shadow of Twitter's collapse at the hands of a narcissistic failure of a man, we discuss the best way to protect yourself from the inevitable collapse of every platform: the POSSE model. Publish (on your) Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere.
Tonight on GeekNights, we reveal the secrets of How to Not Suck at Smartphone Security. There is a lot of drama that can arise from mishandling your smartphone. Tonight we'll walk you through a simple set of rules that, if you follow them, will nearly guarantee such drama does not befall you.
In the news, KakaoTalk loses millions of users after a massive outage not only cuts people off from their primary means of communication but reveals sensitive personal information related to multiple profiles. This is on the heels of Google taking their cut and has now led to calls for a monopoly probe. Also Leica has a new camera for a lot of money and Scott has written about it in the forum.
Tonight on GeekNights, after a surprisingly long hiatus between Rym going to Europe for work and Rym & Emily biking 480 miles across the state of New York, we talk a bunch about IPv6 woes with Intel NICs, and happenings in the street before we get to the news that companies shouldn't spy on their employees, and the GTX 4090 is coming. Eventually, we talk a bit about web scraping and why it is noble and just.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider how to not suck at buying a new smartphone. Android or Apple, you actually do have a choice, and there are some basic things to think about. In the news, you can't park there, this program is illegally packaged in 14 distributions, BeReal is pretty cool, this is why schools are banning smartphones, and the lack of transparency in algorithmic CSAM detection is causing harm.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the humble vacuum cleaner.You definitely don't want to be in a situation where a shop vac would be the solution to your problem and you do not have a shop vac. Also these are "not a scam." In the news, necrobotic spiders are a thing, Amazon continues to rush toward being a full-on dystopian megacorb, and Netflix has 90 seconds to get your attention.
Tonight on GeekNights we discuss Software as a Service (SaaS). This is one of the most lucrative, important, and enduring ways software is created and sold. In the news, a chess robot attacked a kid, Amazon buys One Medical as we edge ever closer to cyber-capitalist dystopia, Minecraft (rightly) bans blockchain (and nothing of value was lost), and warming rivers due to human-caused climate change threaten the nuclear power that is crucial to transition us off of fossil fuels.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider refrigeration. In the news, the illegitimate Supreme Court of the United States has taken away basic human rights, Google Hangouts is shutting down, and Google is merging Meet and Duo.
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss the Google engineer who thinks the AI has come to life. It's a LaMDA, and one Blake Lemoine has made some extraordinary claims. In the news, the Rangers had a good run, Meet Web Push for Safari, New York wins a right to repair, and everybody is having fun with DALL E.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider scanners. Ancient devices used to convert paper documents and photos into files on computers, often using something called TWAIN. For many consumers, they have been replaced by "smart phones." In the news, NVIDIA releases open source GPU drivers, hell has frozen over, Russia appears to have lost custody of a relatively intact Krasukha-4.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider tech debt. Where it comes from, what it means, and what you can do about it. Rym's made a career of owning and addressing the tech debt of legacy systems, and there aren't really "correct" answers here. In the news, Microsoft is offering an Edge VPN, Ukrainian drones are shockingly effective against the Russian Navy, and you should check your home to see if it has any of these strange old holes.
Also don't forget that the GeekNights Book Club is a thing!
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about display cables. The standards can be confusing, S-Video was not that common, VGA was king for a long long time, and we grew up in the days of RF. In the news, web scraping is perfectly legal, the bad man is trying (and failing) to buy Twitter, and Rym got a 3080Ti.
Tonight on GeekNights, we revisit the topic of hosting we last covered in 2006. From simple web hosting to SaaS (Software as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service) and even Iaas (Infrastructure as a Service), a lot has changed. Amazon EC2 didn't even exist when we did that first episode. In the news, Vimeo moves further into B2B, Twitch pauses its "porn on the front page" feature, Amazon is reportedly censoring interesting words like "union" in its new internal app.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the concept of lock-in in technology. From platforms to software, app stores to physical connectors, it's actually a fairly complex topic. In the news, reason 499 not to buy a Tesla, Facebook collapses in the manner we have always expected, and Facebook is in trouble in Europe.
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about package managers. We've covered Linux package management specifically in the ancient past. In the news, Rym's gonna do the Tunnel Run once it's safe to travel again, Europe has better vaccination policies than the US, Canon reminds you that the chips in their printer ink cartridges are unnecessary, Zynga was worth $12.7 BB, a nefarious developer set off a logic bomb in two popular NPM packages, and the James Webb Space Telescope is extremely important.
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss software libraries. Most of you are probably too old to remember DLL Hell, but you probably don't want to be proving how square roots are calculated just to calculate them in your program. In the news, Amazon has had multiple outages, the log4j zero-day is a nightmare, and VR is edging into the mainstream with its first real consumer maturity milestone.
Tonight on GeekNights, we present our 2021 GeekNights holiday technology gift guide! You can refer to our recent gaming gift guide as a companion to this. In the news, COVID vaccine boosters are fantastic, take heed as the Omicron variant poses a "very high" global risk, Streamlabs agrees to rename SLOBS after public outcry, we're running out of quarters, and we're running out of Twitter CEOs.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Home HVAC: Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning. We've previously covered server room cooling, and the show is interrupted at the end by a classic. In the news, New York is taking some action on robocalls (though it's honestly too late at this point), people are upset that Microsoft is forcing Edge on Start Menu web search results, and Unity acquires Weta Digital.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider documentation. Client documentation, user guides, service runbooks, developer notes, and the like. We've previously covered Documentation Systems, as well as in a game design lecture on game rules.
In the news, Rym finally dressed up as Zed from Zardoz, Facebook's name change to "Meta" isn't fooling anyone, a theoretical unicode-based attack on compilers is being patched, Roblox had a massive outage, and the LIRR is now able to run trains into Grand Central Terminal, a feat of engineering in the making since 1963.
This is also the 16th anniversary episode of GeekNights! We started on October 31 2005, and we made "beta" episodes well before that!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider upgrades of and migrations between Operating Systems. We may need to consider that the concept of an Operating System has changed and continues to evolve as computer technology matures. In the news, Apple Day told us about new MacBook Pros and AirPods (plus how people apparently aren't actually using Siri), and a kid accidentally shot himself immediately after assembling a 3D printed gun.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the Leopard that is social media. It is difficult to summarize the myriad ways that social media has materially harmed society despite its great promise. From Orkut to Facebook to Twitter, it's been a destabilizing force. In the (possibly too on-the-nose) news, Facebook had a major global outage today (see our episode on outages), Facebook has a whistleblower revealing terrible revelations about the harm Facebook causes, a new tool can reveal who actually owns companies, and Europe is looking to (rightly) standardize on USB-C for charging electronic devices (much to Apple's discomfort).
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the archaic "computer magazine" that you may have heard old people talking about. From PC Gamer to Maximum PC to Computer Shopper, the pre-Internet was a wild time. In the news, Western Digital "My Book" users had all their data deleted in a convoluted story, Western Digital tried to trick people into buying inferior drives, Google's internal dysfunction led briefly to Google News failing for all Google Workspaces users, and Sir Clive Sinclair has passed away at 81. Also Rym was nearly attacked by a crazy driver biking from Poughkeepsie to Queens on Sunday.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider Apple, CSAM, and Privacy. Apple is under fire for its solution here, some have warned of its dangers, and other companies already do similar things. (It's worth noting that Apple is already doing this on iCloud Mail).
In the news, OnlyFans sells out its core user base, though the situation is more complex than it appears and other similar entities have complied with the rules that they ran afoul of. Meanwhile, Twitch is doing essentially nothing to curtail a massive wave of targeted attacks on minority and marginalized streamers, leaving them to use inadequate tools to solve a problem that Twitch is 100% responsible for. Join the boycott of Twitch on September 1st!
Tonight on GeekNights, we accidentally do a June tech news roundup. So, in that news, US carries share vertical location data for 911 calls, Apple adds additional safety measures to AirTags (though there are still workarounds), Facetime is (sort of) coming to the web, and there's a ton of WWDC news.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the video camera. In the news, there is drama at Freenode, Audacity won't gather telemetry data, Spotify is getting podcast transcription, and Samsung seems to have given up on upcycling.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the humble remote control. We are some of the youngest people who remember having screens and other devices without remote controls, and they changed things in more ways than you might have expected. In the news, Apple is going after Itch.io in its ongoing fight with Epic, Steam rejects some games but not others without clear rules, Facebook rejects adaptive clothing ads, Microsoft changes its old icons, and a major US fuel pipeline was shut down by ransomware.
Tonight on GeekNights, we bring you a technology news roundup for April 2021. Apple announces several things, Apple must face a lawsuit over whether or not people "buy" things, early results show promise for a new malaria vaccine, capitalism is keeping the COVID vaccines from widespread global use, Honda will stop selling combustion engines by 2040, Fujitsu software wrongly sent people to prison, Elon Musk's tunnel is worthless garbage, chip shortages are getting worse, Signal pwn3d Cellebrite, the University of Minnesota is now banned from contributing to the Linux kernel (their apology was not accepted), a driverless Tesla killed two people and burned so bardly firefighters couldn't put it out, Roku and Google are beefing (another reason why the HTPC is superior to all other streaming devices), this streaming device points a camera at you to literally spy on you, and lab-grown salmon meat is a real possibility!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the current world of laptops and tablets. The world is changing, and laptops are increasingly becoming desktop replacements or niche devices. Don't take our advice from how to buy a laptop in 2008, and internalize how long ago 2012 was. (This was Rym's first laptop). In the news, Yahoo Answers shuts down forever, destroying a treasure trove, LG exits the smartphone business, and Nvidia unveils a server-room ARM CPU.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider how multi-factor authentication works. We've previously talked about single Signon, biometrics, the levels of security & privacy, and the like, but we've never actually talked about how TOTP and other multi-factor authentication schemes work.
In the news, the ship is no longer stuck, New York opens up vaccines to everybody, fake ai-generated and fake stolen-profile-photo twitter accounts are spreading Amazon's anti-union propaganda, and the Free Software Foundation has ruined its reputation by bringing Richard Stallman back on board, with many others joining the denouncement. Also note that there is a vulnerability in 2FA keys that allows cloning them.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider cable management. From inside your computer to... outside your computer. Rack & stack to mounting a TV, cable management is more important than you might realize. In the news, maybe we can end the terror of Daylight Saving Time, Twitter banned Memphis, there's malware in your browser extensions, and Apple pulls the plug on the HomePod. Also LG is putting ads directly into your television.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the evils of cryptocurrencies. In the news, the worst social network on Earth got hacked, Fry's is no more, Twitter almost has a business model, and you can't get better at biking.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the Environmental Cost of Computing. In the news, Nintendo is replacing its multiplayer server, Sony appears to be reviving small Android phones, and Tesla has a recall problem.
Tonight on GeekNights, apropos of nothing in particular, we talk about outages. In the news, Slack started the new year with a major outage, Google employees are unionizing, and Scott found Turbo Vision. Welcome to 2021!
Tonight on GeekNights, at the end of the year they'll write songs about and the end of a decade, we consider what's changed in the last ten years. We'll be doing this for all four nights of GeekNights in the coming two weeks.
In the news, GitHub removes that annoying cookie banner in the best way possible, and the supply-chain hack of SolarWinds is a historic mess.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the longevity of technology. From computers to bikes, proper maintenance can greatly extend the life the right tool, though some more easily than others. We've talked about computer maintenance specifically before in 2006 and then in 2020.
In the news, Apple may be working on a 32-core processor, Pornhub runs into trouble with its payment processing, the Arecibo Telescope is sadly no more, and the devil cars sell their self-driving unit. Also don't forget to check out the Advent of Code this year! Scott's doing it!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider displays. LCDs, OLEDs, "Smart" TVs, and the current state of the art. We haven't talked about this since 2006, and a lot has changed in 14 years!
In the news, we've migrated our 2-Factor Auth to NFC Yubikeys, Comcast is enforcing data caps nationally, the Apple M1 is revolutionary, Fleets are here I guess, and the GIMP is 25 years old and not much better than it was 20 years ago.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the ever-present Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). Originating in the era of the World Wide Web as envisioned by Ted Nelson and Tim Berners-Lee, it is surprisingly simple. In the news, Slingbox is discontinued, and there is a better way to multiply.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the usage, potential, and ethical concerns of Facial Recognition Technology. Police are abusing it, but activists are (rightly) using it right back on them. In the news, there's water on the moon, the RIAA attacks open source software, and you absolutely have to vote for Joe Biden if you are eligible to vote in the American election.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider when devices get bricked. In the news, someone temporarily bricked their Ferrari, Spotify is working the hold your customers' data hostage angle, and SpaceX is developing military transport rockets.
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss what really happens with source code leaks. In the news, troubleshooting audio can be moderately complex, you'll die without the new Apple watch, we were correct that Firefox Send is gone forever, there are problems with the 3080s, you should learn what a "founder's edition" of a video card actually is, and IFTTT goes pro.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the humble software update, from both a developer/publisher standpoint and a user/client standpoint. In the news, Nvidia buys Arm Holdings in a move that will shake up the global computing ecosystem, the American date format is terrible, and Mozilla suspended Firefox Send over malware concerns (but claims it will return one day).
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider biometrics. Biometrics bring great power, as well as great danger, and aren't just for authentication credentials.
In the War of the Apple Store news, Apple backs down against Wordpress after a "misunderstanding," Facebook isn't allowed to tell people that Apple takes a cut, and no one can download Fortnite or Infinity Blade on an Apple device. In the non-Apple news, a clever Chromium feature to detect evil DNS servers had unforeseen consequences, and don't let a late capitalist megacorporation install hardware in your brain.
Tonight on GeekNights, we revisit a topic we covered once in 2007 to update it for current times: removable media. USB sticks and such. Rym spent some $20 for a 2GB USB stick in 2007. Times have changed. In the news, Epic Games has kicked off a massive legal battle with Apple and Google, as things continue to escalate.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the (largely unwise) idea of bug bounties, as well as the questions and concerns around responsible disclosure of bugs and exploits in software and services. We did talk about this once back in 2009, but times have changed.
In the news, Twitter was hacked for a bitcoin scam, Deep Fakes are getting dangerous quickly, and there are a lot of reasons you should avoid using TikTok.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider what it means to truly be obsolete technology. In the news, the Pixii camera is a ridiculous waste of money, Olympus exits the camera business, and the Supreme Court upholds the 1991 law that bars robocalls to cellphones.
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about CI/CD. Continuous Integration and Continuous Delivery (or sometimes Continuous Deployment). In the news, everyone hates Bill de Blasio, Vote tomorrow if you're in New York, the T-Mobile outage was not a big deal, Apple is switching to ARM (among other announcements at Apple WWDC), and Microsoft kills Mixer.
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about our computer maintenance schedules and procedures. We talked about this once back in 2006, but a lot has changed in 14 years.
In the news, Black Lives Matter. That should go without saying, but we're saying it again. Help any way you can. If nothing else consider a donation to the cause or call your local, state, and federal representatives. The protests are working, bit by bit, but we all have to keep the pressure up.
In other news, Google Currents (not the original Currents) replaces Google Plus for G Suite users, and SMITE developer Hi-Rez Studios did a full review of their chatlogs and banned over 5,000 racists. This is easy to do, and more companies should enact this kind of retroactive banning rather than relying on their communities to have to flag and report. The Internet Archive is also in danger due to lawsuits by book publishers.
Tonight on GeekNights, because we are in our late 30s, we talk about kitchen appliances. Stoves, cooktops, refrigerators, and dishwashers. In the news, Windows 10's May update has some stuff in it, twitter plans to fail to stop misinformation from spreading with their same old tricks, Apple is reported to use 12-core 5nm ARM in their coming Macs (we'll see how that goes), and cable TV is dying even faster without sports. We don't talk about washing machines or dryers or the like because we did a show on laundry a while back.
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about our RTMP streaming setup. It involves an nginx server, three OBS instances, but not this pile of garbage. In the news, beware poor performing SMR hard drives, which shouldn't be used in NAS/SAN solutions. Be sure to check any drive you may be thinking of buying. Scott bought a $300 keyboard. It's pretty good.
Our review of No Return is on youtube! We did talk about live streaming back in 2013, and again in 2018, but in this episode we're looking at a specific setup.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider PostgreSQL, the open-source relational database. It's basically the one to use. Most people just call it "postgres." If you're not sure what we're on about, check out our previous episode about relational databases. In the news, new laws mean new COBOL code, John Conway was taken from us, there's a gravity clock (sort of), and Discord is adding group video chat so you can replace Zoom. Also, Brian Swords of York has been rediscovered.
Tonight on GeekNights, we have a Tech News Roundup! In the news:
- Jupyter nNotebooks are pretty cool
- Chromium Edge is getting some features
- Broadband should be a nationalized utility
- The tech-enabled gig economy is an exploitative lie
- Sony Electronics lives again?
- Update your SSD's firmware
- Safari blocks third party cookies by default
- The Supreme Court ruled states can't be sued for copyright infringement
- 5G may use 20% more power than 4G
- Porn takes down the LA City Council
- Zoom's privacy policy is bad news
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider how to enjoy a social life during times of social distancing, when the only two tools we have are the bad screen and the good screen. In the news, GrubHub is suspending commission fees for independent restaurants, it's soon, but not yet, time for a Tech News Roundup, SETI@home is going into hibernation ending an era, and WireGuard is coming to Linux. Also, some awesome people are already doing what we keep threatening to do, but haven't really actually done! And you should donate blood if you can! Like, soon!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the Microphone. In the news, Netflix is reportedly adding a (likely-to-be-abused) 1.5x mode, Adobe got permission to continue to support the people of Venezuela, new AirPods are coming, and algorithms can definitely be racist.
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about low power modes. In the news, Facebook should be broken up for having destroyed Internet media, San Francisco explores regulating emerging technology, you probably don't care about AMP or OpenJS, and we hope you remember these things.
Tonight on GeekNights, returning from our hiatus for-real this time, we consider the wonder that is the Global Positioning System. In the news, the corrupt and treasonous president of the United States is being impeached, Richard Stallman has rightfully, finally, been pushed out of the open source movement, and you shouldn't vape any of that vape juice until it's properly regulated.
Check out our new Main Bits feed on Patreon and GeekNights Anime Reviews on youtube! We'll see you next at PAX Unplugged!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the smartwatch. What are they really, and do you really need one? In the news, Apple has brought us the expected updates, Rym is back from Europe with a story, and Scott went to a great concert. We are back from PAX West in all our glory!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the cable to rule them all: USB-C. Note that this is not the same as USB 3 (or even 3.1). In the news, Cloudflare de-platforms the hateful and vile 8chan, followed quickly by Voxility de-platforming the equally vile Epik and Bitmitigate, Amazon continues to support white supremacist hate sites, Apple iPhone rumors are probably close to the truth, and there might be an almost usable Android smartwatch.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the Dark Web. In the news, our flights were late, youtube inconsistently enforces its "policy" on "instructional" hacking videos, 7-11 Japan had an egregious security breach, that Grubhub story you heard is more nuanced than you may expect, Grubhub overall is just the same conversation as Amazon is, and the kids are falling for 90s-era phishing attacks.
Rym and Emily have launched a spinoff show on Disney theatrical animation!
Tonight on GeekNights, we reconsider a topic we talked about back in 2007 and explore the humble computer mouse. In the news, a big chunk of the Internet was down this morning, surveillance capitalism wants to make your life a living hell, and GeekNights endorses Tiffany Cabán for Queens district attorney in the Democratic primary tomorrow. (Go vote on June 25th).
Rym and Emily have started a side-show exploring Disney theatrical animation, live now for GeekNights Patreon Patrons and going public on July 4th!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the challenge, and possibly the necessity, of breaking up the major technology companies. But first, after two unrelated bridge incidents, we consider the value proposition of the new Mac Pro, and Google's conflict of interest regarding advertising revenue may end up ruining Chrome.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the Windows Subsystem for Linux, now that WSL 2 is coming. Is this the final nail in the coffin of desktop Linux? Will OSX developers start migrating back to Windows? Is WINE finally dead? Time will tell. In the news, SCOTUS is allowing consumers to sue Apple on antitrust grounds, Amazon is trying to trick employees into quitting to become subcontractors, and if you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about Phishing and how to protect yourself from it. In the news, beware the Inception Bar of phishing on mobile, Apple cracked down on dubious parental control and screen time apps, and the US measles outbreak is growing.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the humble Bookmark. They were more important back when there were more web sites, when we used to talk about things like del.icio.us. In the news, PC Part Picker launches a Bike Part Picker, Cyber insurance doesn't cover acts of war, Notre Dame has burned, Pepsi probably isn't going to advertise in space, but if they do we'll shoot them down, and Brooklyn is under a (completely justified) mandatory vaccination order.
Our Rare Game Mechanics panel from MAGFest is on youtube!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the problem of algorithmic content creation. It is increasingly leading people to extremist right wing corners of the Internet, for a variety of reasons. In the news, Twitch might have become unwatchable, the 737 MAX situation is a tragic disaster, reminding us of good old Therac-25, and Scott hates cars.
See GeekNights LIVE at Zenkaikon and PAX East! And while you're at it, join our 100% nazi-free forum community. It's even in the TOS!
Tonight on GeekNights, we have a tech news roundup! Youtube comments demonetize videos, police piracy in late capitalism, it's bots all the way down lobbying the FCC, people don't know what VPN to trust, missing the point of what "trust" means (though you can just look here (maybe)), anti-cheating software is wreaking havoc with Windows 10 previews, streaming is king in the mass-market music world, Linux 5.0 exists, W3C approves WebAuthn, and Apple closes two stores in Texas to avoid patent trolls.
Don't forget the GeekNights Book Club exists!
Tonight on GeekNights, since we already talked about Overclocking a decade ago, we talk about cheating in school with technology. It's giving rich kids an advantage, but not just for the obvious reasons. In the news, support the Internet Archive, Apple wielded its power over Google and Facebook, a bunch of coins were lost due to the grim reaper, bitcoins (usually) cost more to mine than they're worth, and you should check out past episodes of the GeekNights Book Club!
Tonight on GeekNights, we superficially cover the idea of working from home, how it's been enabled by technology for some time, and how almost no one is actually allowed to do it. But really, it's just fluff while we talk about the Apple App Store antitrust suit, designer babies, stealing bitcoins, shopping bots, and our upcoming panels at PAX Unplugged!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the reason why we have such trouble coming up with good Monday show ideas. We almost do a show about printers and printing along the way.
In the news, Rym runs fast enough to stave off the inexorable advance of age another year, Carnegie Hall doesn't have modern ticketing technology, chip-enabled credit cards in the US are about as effective as the goggles, often compromised from simple POS malware, a foldable phone appears, bikes are faster than cars, and we'll be live at PAX Unplugged!
If you want to join Rym and Scott Enforcing at PAX East, applications are open!
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about video live streaming tech. This is something we talked about back in 2013 when the landscape was radically different. In the news, IBM bought Red Hat in a move that has confused many (but not all) computer professionals, Apple is bringing the new iPads, Twitter will get worse before it gets better, Gab was (thankfully) deplatformed, Bitcoin mining is horrible, and we will be live at PAX Unplugged!
If you're sick of social media, remember that the GeekNights Forum is 100% Nazi-free, and is a chill place to hang out!
Tonight on GeekNights, we kick off October with Single Signon in light of the recent egregious Facebook security flaw. We also cover some of the news from Photokina 201, including the new Zenit M.
We'll see you soon at PAX Unplugged!
Tonight on GeekNights, back from our talk at PAX West 2018, we're talking about the coming EU copyright directive that may impact you. In the news, Apple Day was typical (though the new watch is pretty nice), the EU is killing Daylight Saving Time, "fake plays" are messing up the music charts (though this is nothing new in Korea), and Linus apologized.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the demise of Twitter APIs necessary for third party apps to work as intended, signaling the potential (perhaps inevitable) demise of all third-party apps as Twitter desperately tries to monetize itself. In similarly bleak news, Netflix is experimenting with ads, and Twitch Prime drops ad-free viewing.
In some better news, Flamecon was, as always, amazing, Nvidia is bringing the RTX2000 series of video cards with real-time raytracing for games, and Intel is getting into the GPU business.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the humble keyboard shortcut. We've previously talked about FPS keybindings and keyboards themselves. In the news, Growing Up Jobs, Microsoft dips into Windows as a managed service, Google employees resist unethical work for the second time in recent memory, and MAGFest announced dates GOGOGO! Also don't forget we'll be live at PAX West and on PAX Twitch!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider microservice architecture using Amazon product pages as an example. In the news, an EU copyright law that threatened the Internet as we know it was rejected (so far), and Valve leaked Steam game player counts in a novel way.
We can't be there this year, but if you're anywhere near Hartford Connecticut this coming weekend, you should definitely check out ConnectiCon! If you're near New York, you should hit up the Game Devs of Color Expo!
Tonight on GeekNights, having already expressed our disdain for NoSQL, we consider the humble (and foundational) relational database. SQL, ACID, and all the fun stuff in between. In the news, we're playing PUBG (badly), Adobe is using machine learning to spot photoshops, facial recognition software is not ~~ready~~ safe for use by law enforcement, and your 1440p monitor might be a 4k panel (and that's not a good thing).
If you enjoy GeekNights at all, and you're also sick of nazis in your other forums, you should really check out the GeekNights Forum! Anime, Comics, Gaming, Technology: everything. No nazis or gomergators allowed.
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about containers (like Docker). They're not the panacea for environment configuration/distribution some people make them out to be, but they have their uses and you should know about them.
In the news, after an aside about axe murder, we consider Microsoft's acquisition of GitHub, Yahoo messenger is going dark on July 17th, and Apple has deprecated OpenGL.
Tonight on GeekNights, in light of a weakening smartphone market, we consider what truly would be a step forward for these devices. In the news, Rym replaced his near-perfect Xperia Z5 compact with a brand new Xperia XZ1 Compact. It's easily the best Android smartphone on the market, particularly if you prefer a reasonable form factor. Avoid the newer, more expensive, deeply inferior XZ2 Compact: it's larger for some reason. The full story of the PC recycler Microsoft sent to jail is more nuanced than it initially appeared. Comcast is so desperate to say that people still watch traditional TV that they're requiring it to upgrade your Internet service.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the fine art of destroying data. In the news, IoT hackers use a fishtank thermometer to steal some data from a casino, T-Mobile is fined for faking ring tones for failed calls to rural phones.
We are back (mostly) from PAX East, and you can see both our 40 Tabletop Games panel and our Judge Anime By Its Cover: Spring 2018 shows on youtube!
Tonight on GeekNights, we review a number of different tech items we've purchased recently. USB Cables, the LG Style smartwatch, the Synology + Series NAS, The WD 4TB Passport Wireless Pro, various wired and wireless headphones, and some other miscellaneous tech. In the news, an Uber self-driving car killed a person, and there's a lot going on with the Cambridge Analytica/Facebook data breach.
Tonight on GeekNights, we bring you a tech news roundup for spring 2018! Coin miners are still preventing you from buying a GPU, unauthorized clients were pirating Spotify premium features, multiple LTE vulnerabilities have been announced, Youtube enables live captions, some interesting things are happening with Twitch subscriptions, Twitter's (completely justified) bot purge outraged the far right, Rhode Island wants to charge state citizens for free speech, some ridiculous drama occurred around TLS certificate security, desktop sales continue to fall, and Flash is rapidly coming to an end.
Follow Rym's Youtube and Scott's Youtube for a ton of additional GeekNights content!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the M.2 form factor and what it means for you. See also: NVMe. In the news, US states are working to protect net neutrality even if the federal government has gutted it, Uber may have sinister long term plans for self-driving car ownership, the Hawaii missile alert was more than just a bad GUI, and Best Buy was still selling CDs.
Four of our recent appearances are live on youtube! PAX Unplugged 2017 - Learn and WIN: Carcassonne, PAX South 2018 - Balance in Game Design, MAGFest 2018 - The 40 Tabletop Games you Need to Play, and Judge Anime by its Cover - Winter 2018!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the crashiness of Scott's computer. In other news, we're back from back-to-back MAGFest and PAX South (there is video from our PAX South and PAX Unplugged panels), after the longest hiatus in GeekNights history, Microsoft finally adds ssh support (RIP Putty), video cards are overpriced thanks to a pyramid scheme, the socio-tech divide grows ever wider, and there may well be no real correlation between stock price and security breaches.
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about one of the most ancient topics in our fanbase: headphones. Earbuds are also included. What kind of headphones should you buy? Are more expensive ones actually worth it? All will be revealed. For reference, Rym uses these guys as the GeekNights monitor headphones.
In the news, HP can never be trusted again thanks to bundled malware, Apple had a ridiculous and embarrassing vulnerability allowing trivial root access, and the next GeekNights Book Club book will be Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider how one should choose the right technology. Need a new NAS? Trying to decide which video card to buy? Do you really need a 4k monitor? My NAS Research and this episode can help guide you through the process. In the news, Pokemon Go killed some people, a crazy spreadsheet ostensibly models New York transit, and we'll be live at both MAGFest and PAX South 2018!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the potential dangers of IME, Intel's hidden full MINIX OS in your CPU. In light of a demonstrable exploit via JTAG over USB, it's a serious concern. In the news, Firefox Quantum is ridiculously fast and Amazon dips into ad-supported video.
You should definitely seek out the GeekNights Forum! There's stuff in there!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the humble battery. Portable power is better than it's ever been, but it has a long way to go. In the news, web sites are stealing your CPU cycles to mine cryptocurrencies and Portugal sees the true dystopia of lost net neutrality.
Tonight is also the eve of the 12th anniversary of GeekNights. From our very first public episode in 2005 to today, we have done 1,180 episodes to date. This does not include the beta episodes we created workshopping the show.
We released both our PAX West 2017 panel - The Rage of the Quitter - and our first new episode of Judge Anime By Its Cover on youtube! Notice it's two separate channels: Rym and Scott. You should subscribe to BOTH!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider how WPA is Effed in the A with the KRACK attack. In the news, there is ANOTHER crypto flaw that also broke today affecting Estonian cryptographic IDs. In actual science news, the world of astronomy is forever changed, entering a new era of discovery thanks to gravitational waves.
We'll be at PAX Unplugged, and also GaymerX East!
We released both our PAX West 2017 panel - The Rage of the Quitter - and our first new episode of Judge Anime By Its Cover on youtube! Notice it's two channels: Rym and Scott.
Tonight on spooky GeekNights, we celebrate our inaugural month back in 2005 with a month of themed episodes! Thus, scary stories of technology (whatever that means). In the news, Scott had some apples at an apple fest, helpdesk hacking, and a geekbite of the iWatch 3.
Rym made a returning appearance on Friday Night Party Line! We'll be at PAX Unplugged, but if anime is more your thing you should definitely be at Anime NYC!
We released both our PAX West 2017 panel - The Rage of the Quitter - and our first new episode of Judge Anime By Its Cover on youtube! Notice it's two channels: Rym and Scott.
Tonight on GeekNights, we planned to talk about portable electricity. Unfortunately, we went long talking about the egregious Equifax data breach affecting millions of Americans, some of the Apple news around iPhone 8/X and iWatch 3, and a shocking turn of events at the W3C over DRM.
GeekNights Forum is amazing, and you should join it! The next GeekNights book club book is The Fifth Season! Support GeekNights on Patreon Stay tuned for regularly scheduled Judge Anime By Its Cover! Watch our latest lecture on Rage Quitting from PAX West!
Tonight on GeekNights, we don't do a tech news roundup, but we basically do a tech news roundup based on suggested topics from the listener. We will possibly alter the format of the Monday show, so let us know your thoughts. In the news, Intel Launches 8th Generation Core CPUs, back up your files, and IOS 11 has a cop mode.
The GeekNights Forum is amazing, and you should join it! We will be back for our 42nd PAX Panel in a couple weeks! The next GeekNights book club book is The Fifth Season!
Support GeekNights on Patreon
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about the AV tech used in panels and other public speaking scenarios. Just in the last few years, some important things have changed (e.g., you can no longer rely on presenters OR venues having VGA).
In the news, vile people continue to plague tech company staff, Hyperloop is (rightly) held up by regulation, LastPass is raising prices, Lenovo is moving to stock Android for all its phones, and radio navigation returns to prevent a Battlestar Galactica situation.
The GeekNights Forum is rockin', and you should probably join it!
Tonight on GeekNights, in light of updated NIST guidelines for password best practices, we talk about the current state of passwords in 2017. Sure, 2-factor is important and so forth, but what about the passwords themselves? Are you using passphrases instead?
In the news, big names are backing the royalty-free AV1 codec, Pokemon GO Fest was a technological disaster (just as much as it was an event planning disaster), MS Paint is dead, Snopes might be in trouble, but it's not clear what that trouble is, an evil VC-funded firm is undermining open source projects, and the next GeekNights Book Club book after Dune is The Fifth Season!
Scott's Youtube
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GeekNights on Patreon
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about the new employee who accidentally trashed the company's (not backed up) production database, and how it is literally 100% not his fault. Separation of duties my friend. In the news, we might be coming up on the Age of Nvidia, and vaping may be just as bad as smoking.
We have a ton of our tabletop reviews up on youtube now!
Scott's Youtube
Rym's Youtube
GeekNights on Patreon
Tonight on GeekNights, we shockingly have never talked about DRM (Digital Rights Management) despite it being one of the primary things we were mad about between 1992 and 2002. The landscape is a little different these days, but Encrypted Media Extensions make it once again complicated and potentially dangerous. In the news, Amazon now offers digital subscription sales, a Tinder photo dataset raises all sorts of hell, and Turkey has banned access to the most important resource on the Internet.
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about the current state of PC cooling and a little bit of the history around it. It's a golden age, and the consumer market has got your back. In the news, Nvidia releases beta Pascal GPU drivers for hackintoshes, and cops are using GPS darts to avoid dangerous high speed chases.
Support GeekNights on Patreon! Subscribe to both Rym and Scott on Youtube! Watch our latest lecture on Quitting!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the problem of "Not Invented Here" and how to decide if you should build or buy. In the news, RAM is getting faster, Optane blurs the line, and Firefox drops support for ALSA. GeekNights will be live at Zenkaikon!
Tonight on GeekNights, it's a tech news roundup for March 2017! Cloudbleed caused a severe security breach for anyone using CloudFlare. The Internet of Things is rife in backdoors and poor security as always. CRTs are dying the true death, yet their corpses remain. There is a bill to legalize active countermeasures to cyber attacks. The FCC doing too little too late to prevent phone numbers from being entirely useless thanks to robocalls. Uber greyballed regulators to hide its shady and illegal practices. Amazon had a major outage that you probably encountered. The FBI dropped a child pornography case rather than reveal the Tor exploit it used to the court.
We are live at PAX East 2017 on Friday! Support GeekNights on Patreon!
Tonight on GeekNights, we cover a topic that we covered first in 2006: Instant Messaging. The decade that has passed brought great change, and not all for the better. Smartphones entirely altered the landscape of messaging technology, federation died before it ever truly lived, and the world of IM is a fractured mess. Join us for a look at IM 10 years later: we're curious to see how our concerns compare to those of a decade ago.
In the news, Pebble is dead, the smartwatch industry is largely moribund, and malware is fiendishly clever.
Support GeekNights on Patreon!
It's an interesting time to be buying a computer, and we're both on the verge of doing just that. Rym's rig is pretty close to Scott's, but we talk in depth about the what and why of our choices. In the news, OSX's handling of /etc/hosts is ludicrous, and ransomeware takes out SF's transit terminals.
The GeekNights Patreon is worth checking out! We'll be at MAGFest and PAX South very soon!
Tonight on GeekNights, on our 11th anniversary show, we talk about the big DDOS that hit the US while Rym was in Sydney. In the non-spoopy news, the new Macbooks are underwhelming, and you can be hacked via your microphones and speakers. Don't use OpenDNS to get around DNS DDOSes, but do listen to our show from 2011 on DNS!
We'll be live at GaymerX on Sunday talking about writing game rules, and also live at MAGFest! Support GeekNights on Patreon!
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss the disposal of old technology. Computers, phones, light bulbs, equipment, that old motherboard box you have full of the extra parts from the last computer you built: everything that you now have to get rid of. In the news, Scott reviews his iPhone 7, and the FCC wants to upgrade the new(ish) emergency alert system.
Support GeekNights on Patreon! Or watch our most recent PAX panel: The Grind!
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about tech books. As in, the ones with animals on the cover. As a reference or as a teaching aid, they're not entirely obsolete. In other news, Netflix releases its Meridian test/reference footage under the Creative Commons, the Apple II gets an update, and some good camera stuff was announced at Photokina 2016! We also streamed the production of this episode live for some reason.
Support GeekNights on Patreon!
Tonight on GeekNights, interrupted as we were by meat courtesy of the Queens Dinner Club: Mothership Meat Company, we talk about the new Intel Kaby Lake architecture and what it means for HTPCs. Android 7 Nougat is coming, but not to the Nexus 5. The Adblock Wars intensify, though we will win in the end. Also pedal hydrofoils, new bikes, and new skis.
Come see us live at PAX West 2016 with The Grind! Support us on Patreon. Follow the GeekNights Book Club and the new GeekNights Political Salon. Watch our Atari Game Design PAX lecture, and Lunch with Scott!
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about specialized input devices like drawing tablets and knobs. In other news, Sandy Hook's ferry has a weird problem, Delta's operations is crippled by bad IT, and Edward Snowden is not dead.
We're live at PAX West on Saturday! The GeekNights Book Club episode on Oryx and Crake is out! The next book club book will be Rebecca. We are on Patreon!
Tonight on GeekNights, we discuss the right to repair in a practical sense, and how there is no appetite to fix the problem. In the news, Rym got some christmas cheese, Zipcar is dead, Linux Kernel 4.7 is out I guess, Verizon bought most of what's left of Yahoo, and the EU is auditing Apache and Keepass security.
See us live at PAX West! Support us on Patreon! Buy our Shirts!
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about talking at computers with the likes of Siri, Google Glass, Amazon Echo, etc... In the news, the legendary Robert Khoo steps down from Penny Arcade and Child's play. He will be missed, and we wish him a hearty GLHF with whatever he's up to after this. Apple has WWDC 2016, where they announced some things.
The GeekNights Patreon continues! So too do the GeekNights Tshirts! And the GeekNights Forum!
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk in detail about the best reasonable PC one can buy in 2016. Based primarily on Rym's likely new rig, though cheaper cooling options might be employed in the end. Rym's back (mostly) from the flu, and we consider both Intel's potential backing away from the PC market and the data density changes over the years in Google Maps.
The GeekNights Patreon is going strong, and expect a bunch more videos in the nearing future!
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk a bit about ransomware. While you can be mostly safe from it just by having good backups, it's a problem that will only grow with time. In the news, Youtube introduces live streaming 360* video, and Alex St. John epitomizes everything wrong with the games and tech industries in a single loathsome bundle of human expression.
We're live at PAX East THIS WEEKEND! Commentary from the first remastered beta episode of GeekNights (a Patreon backer goal) is free for all! GeekNights Tshirts are on Amazon! Babymetal is performing in New York!
Tonight on GeekNights, we talk about Scott's opinions of HFS+ and case-sensitivity. In other news, del.icio.us appears to finally be on the long grim road toward death, Scott has replaced it with Pinboard, the main danger of Augmented Reality Forks is poop-flavor hacking, and the AP no longer capitalizes Internet.
The GeekNights Patreon is so close to its first goal that Rym is going to publish (soon) the first ever episode of GeekNights: before the October 31 2005 official beginning!
Tonight on GeekNights, it's a tech news roundup. We mostly talk about Apple announcements. The rumors on the small iPhone and iPad pro were spot on, and Apple gives the FBI a hearty middle finger. Some people want to bring back supersonic commercial air travel. T-Mobile pushes the line on what flies under Net Neutrality. Rym continues his specs on a new PC and talks a bit about cooling the newer high end i7s. Scott discusses what turned out not to be fountains of blood. All this and more.
Our Patreon is not only in full swing, but very close to our first goal of releasing (with commentary) all the pre-October 2005 "beta" episodes we did for our friends! Most recently, Rym and Emily reviewed Zootopia. We'll be live at Anime Boston and Zenkaikon the next two weekends! This will likely be our last Anime Boston, so if you really want us to return after 2016, let them know.
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider the issues around Apple's stand against the FBI, the dangers of crypto backdoors, etc... In the news, the machine learning revolution continues by mining social media to source food poisoning outbreaks more effectively than traditional inspections. This breakthrough joins the final end of human input into the game of Go, one of many advances in what appears to be an accelerating field. Google technically complies (the best kind of compliance) with Europe's ridiculous data censorship rules.One of our newest lectures - Designing Game Rules - is finally on youtube!
Tonight on GeekNights, we consider why Twitter is so dead set on ruining itself to make money in all the wrong ways. In the news, Rym finally bought a phone (The z5c US Edition), and also an expensive knob. Scott is looking for a good solution to the pain of an aging shell. Facebook shuts down Parse. The dangers of IaaS. Machine learning is getting scarily powerful.
Rym was on an amazing horror panel hosted by Kris Straub at PAX South. The GeekNights Patreon is nearing its first goal!
Tonight on GeekNights, in light of the recent (likely boosted fission) nuclear test by North Korea, we talk about the mechanics, science, and engineering around nuclear weapons. In the news, there are solid rumors of a small iPhone 6c or 7c, the loss of TRS jacks from the iPhone 7 seems all but certain, and your Nvidia video card is keeping your incognito tabs around.
The GeekNights Patreon is live! But you shouldn't give us money!