Crossed Wires: Recent Episodes
James Bilsbrough
A technology podcast that aims to take an ethical look at technology and computing.
crossedwires.substack.com
Apple held their 'Let Loose' event on May 7th, 2024 and not long after the 'dream team' of Crossed Wires Apple coverage gathered to discuss the new iPads, the rather confusing line up of Apple Pencils.
We also take a detour to look into why WiFI 7 not being included in the new iPads is not as big of a factor as some may think.
Finally, we discuss the powerful new features in Apple's pro apps for iPad, Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro and how these new features make iPad a powerful creative tool more than ever before.
Are you planning to buy a new iPad, are you excited by the new features of Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro on iPad? We'd love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate Promotion"Don't you people backup? I backup, and I don't even know what backing up means!" - Nicola Murray, Secretary of State for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship
If you have any kind of file that's important to you, be that a treasured family photo, your latest research paper, or just the list of the co-ordinates of your best places in Minecraft, you'll want to make sure it's kept safe, right? Well, just syncing that to the cloud isn't really enough, you need a proper backup strategy too.
Part of a good backup strategy is having a backup that isn't in the same place as your computer, and this is where a good cloud backup service is so important. Our friends at Backblaze provide simple, reliable, and affordable backup options for your Mac or Windows PCs for just $9/month. You can get a 15 day free-trial when you follow this link to sign up.
Episode Links* The Interface - Alex's fantastic tech and automative news site * Watch the Event - Apple Events * iPad Pro - Apple.com * iPad Air - Apple.com * Apple Pencil - Apple.com, including showing features and helping you see compatibility for the different pencil models. * The Case for iPad Pro - Vergecast * iOS 18 Accessibility Features - Apple Pressroom * Final Cut Pro for iPad - Apple.com * Logic Pro for iPad - Apple.com
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:04:30: The Let Loose Event 3. 00:08:17: Crushed 4. 00:16:22: iPad Air (M2) 5. 00:25:33: iPad Pro (M4) 6. 00:42:22: Apple Pencil Shuffle 7. 00:55:16: Why No WiFi 7? 8. 01:02:31: Choose An iPad 9. 01:11:36: iOS 18 Accessibility 10. 01:13:55: Pro Apps 11. 01:25:49: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
As centralised social media platforms become more and more hostile, with not only toxicity from undesirable elements but also massive privacy concerns, the Fediverse has become somewhat of a refuge for those who want to share freely and openly, without the worry of appeasing the almighty algorithms.
There are some fantastic Mastodon issues for you to join, but what if you want a bit more control, or want to build your own community, or represent your brand? You could setup your own server, assuming you have the skills and patience to do so, or you could take advantage of a service like Masto.host.
Our guest, Hugo, provides what he describes as 'Shared Hosting for Mastodon' at incredibly affordable prices and with some much appreciated transparency on infrastructure and update policies.
We talk about how things got started, his encounter with TERFs and the freedom to refuse service to anyone because of the decentralised nature of the fediverse. We also do a bit of a deep dive into the infrastructure setup for Masto.host and the measures Hugo has put in place in the aim to give everyone a great experience.
Do you have your own instance, or maybe have some stories to share of instances gone wrong? We'd love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate Promotion"Don't you people backup? I backup, and I don't even know what backing up means!" - Nicola Murray, Secretary of State for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship
If you have any kind of file that's important to you, be that a treasured family photo, your latest research paper, or just the list of the co-ordinates of your best places in Minecraft, you'll want to make sure it's kept safe, right? Well, just syncing that to the cloud isn't really enough, you need a proper backup strategy too.
Part of a good backup strategy is having a backup that isn't in the same place as your computer, and this is where a good cloud backup service is so important. Our friends at Backblaze provide simple, reliable, and affordable backup options for your Mac or Windows PCs for just $9/month. You can get a 15 day free-trial when you follow this link to sign up.
Episode Links* Masto.host - Hugo's Mastodon hosting service * Masto.host@mastodon.social - Masto.host on Mastodon * Infrastructure | Masto.host - Details of how the Masto.host infrastructure works, as Hugo describes in the episode. * Mastodon - Into the Fediverse - Our chat with James Smith of Mastodon.me.uk * Mastodon on GitHub
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:05:57: Shared Hosting for Madtodon 3. 00:11:26: Ditching Twitter 4. 00:14:43: Turfing out TERFs 5. 00:22:21: Why Have Your Own Instance? 6. 00:33:59: Infrastructure 7. 00:50:07: Masto.host Pros & Cons 8. 00:58:50: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
The hype around AI continues to grow, often muddling genuinely useful elements like machine learning, pattern recognition, and properly and ethnically trained large language models with tools like ChatGPT and generative AI tools that have questionable data sources.
With returning guests, Prof. Catherine Flick and our very own Zack, we talk about the challenges of AI in the academic space. Zack also shares his own experience of being caught using ChatGPT to complete a final essay he, by his own admission, had left until the last minute.
Are you academia, have you been tempted to use AI shortcuts or maybe are a teacher or professor who has had experience with students taking those shortcuts? We'd love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate Promotion"Don't you people backup? I backup, and I don't even know what backing up means!" - Nicola Murray, Secretary of State for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship
If you have any kind of file that's important to you, be that a treasured family photo, your latest research paper, or just the list of the co-ordinates of your best places in Minecraft, you'll want to make sure it's kept safe, right? Well, just syncing that to the cloud isn't really enough, you need a proper backup strategy too.
Part of a good backup strategy is having a backup that isn't in the same place as your computer, and this is where a good cloud backup service is so important. Our friends at Backblaze provide simple, reliable, and affordable backup options for your Mac or Windows PCs for just $9/month. You can get a 15 day free-trial when you follow this link to sign up.
Episode Links* Prof Catherine Flick - Website / Mastodon
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:05:11: Zack’s Story 3. 00:14:55: Assistive Tools vs AI 4. 00:24:38: Due Diligence & Alternative Assessments 5. 00:45:33: Generative AI 6. 00:51:45: AI Hype vs Machine Learning 7. 00:55:00: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
If you’ve ever purchased a new laptop, you’ll know only too well the pain of configuring your new system to get your dream setup. With some manufacturers, looking at you here Apple, your choice of storage and memory are there for the lifetime of the laptop.
Worst still, if you have a failed component on your laptop you’re often faced with expensive and proprietary repair options that can often cost nearly as much as the laptop itself.
Nirav Patel founded Framework to tackle these issues by creating laptops that push the boundaries of what we’d expect to be upgradable in our modern thin and light world.
What do you think about the Framework laptop, is it something that may be on your tech wish list? Do you think laptops, and tech in general, should last longer than a podcast episode? We’d love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate Promotion
“Don’t you people backup? I backup, and I don’t even know what backing up means!” – Nicola Murray, Secretary of State for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship
If you have any kind of file that’s important to you, be that a treasured family photo, your latest research paper, or just the list of the co-ordinates of your best places in Minecraft, you’ll want to make sure it’s kept safe, right? Well, just syncing that to the cloud isn’t really enough, you need a proper backup strategy too.
Part of a good backup strategy is having a backup that isn’t in the same place as your computer, and this is where a good cloud backup service is so important. Our friends at Backblaze provide simple, reliable, and affordable backup options for your Mac or Windows PCs for just $9/month. You can get a 15 day free-trial when you follow this link to sign up.
Episode Links* Framework – The Framework laptops * Framework Marketplace – See all the various components you can buy for your Framework laptop * Linux on the Framework Laptop – Details of Framework’s official support for both Ubuntu and Fedora * Dell Inspiron 9100: $4,800 Pentium 4 Laptop from 2004 – LGR (YouTube) * Checking on my Investment in Person – Framework Laptop Factory Tour – Linus Tech Tips (YouTube)
Chapter Times* 00:00:04: Introductions * 00:02:15: Right to Repair & Sustainability * 00:05:38: Upgrading a Mobile Platform * 00:08:42: The Framework Laptop * 00:11:05: Linus Drop Tips * 00:12:48: Modular IO * 00:15:52: Memory & Storage * 00:16:50: Main board and more ? * 00:18:47: Framework 16 Input Deck * 00:21:28: Reusing a Framework Mainboard * 00:23:35: Framework 16 GPU * 00:26:07: Linux Support * 00:27:53: Final Thoughts from Nirav * 00:29:30: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
It’s our pleasure to be joined again by The Iconfactory’s Gedeon Maheux, this time we’re talking less Star Trek and more Tapestry, no not that episode with Q and Picard!
Project Tapestry is their latest KickStarter project, and the goal is to create a one-stop-shop for reading the influx of things that matter to you on the web. As long as the site has an open and accessible endpoint for you to get the data, you should be able to bring that into Tapestry.
We also talk about some of the challenges of designing apps for changing design styles, different platforms, and of course take some minor course corrections into sci-fi and Apple in general.
Will you be backing Project Tapestry? At the time of posting this episode, there’s just 7 days left to go and the team have some really cool rewards still up for grabs.
What are your thoughts on how apps are designed? What’s your favourite Q appearance in The Next Generation? We’d love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate Promotion
“Don’t you people backup? I backup, and I don’t even know what backing up means!” – Nicola Murray, Secretary of State for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship
If you have any kind of file that’s important to you, be that a treasured family photo, your latest research paper, or just the list of the co-ordinates of your best places in Minecraft, you’ll want to make sure it’s kept safe, right? Well, just syncing that to the cloud isn’t really enough, you need a proper backup strategy too.
Part of a good backup strategy is having a backup that isn’t in the same place as your computer, and this is where a good cloud backup service is so important. Our friends at Backblaze provide simple, reliable, and affordable backup options for your Mac or Windows PCs for just $9/month. You can get a 15 day free-trial when you follow this link to sign up.
Episode Links* The Iconfactory – Website | Mastodon * Gedeon Maheux – Mastodon * Project Tapestry – Kickstarter * Why Tapestry? – Iconfactory Blog * Ollie, Space Karen, and an API – Gedeon’s first appearance on the show talking about the demise of the Twitter API
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:03:01: Why Kickstarter? 3. 00:05:54: What is Tapestry? 4. 00:13:47: Endpoints 5. 00:18:43: Rewards 6. 00:22:23: Looking Back at Design Trends 7. 00:30:59: An AI Tangent 8. 00:33:59: An Apple QuickTake 9. 00:41:32: Designing for New Platforms 10. 00:54:01: The Joy of Design 11. 01:02:28: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
With so many choices in browsers on desktop, mobile, and even our vehicles, it’s important to look under-the-hood to understand the differences between the engines that power your favourite browser.
Be that Chromium, WebKit, or Gecko, not all browsers are created equal and have varying features and views on the rights of their users. We’re honoured to be joined by Jon von Tetzchner, the CEO of Vivaldi, an open-source and privacy first Chromium powered browser that could replace Google Chrome.
Jon also explains why we need regulation on the increasingly scary amount of user-profiling that’s happening across the web itself, not to mention many browsers and services.
Do you remember using the early versions of Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Opera, or something equally vintage? Or, maybe you had to develop sites that required myriads of tweaks to make them work across platforms and interpretations of web standards.
We’d love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate Promotion
“Don’t you people backup? I backup, and I don’t even know what backing up means!” – Nicola Murray, Secretary of State for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship
If you have any kind of file that’s important to you, be that a treasured family photo, your latest research paper, or just the list of the co-ordinates of your best places in Minecraft, you’ll want to make sure it’s kept safe, right? Well, just syncing that to the cloud isn’t really enough, you need a proper backup strategy too.
Part of a good backup strategy is having a backup that isn’t in the same place as your computer, and this is where a good cloud backup service is so important. Our friends at Backblaze provide simple, reliable, and affordable backup options for your Mac or Windows PCs for just $9/month. You can get a 15 day free-trial when you follow this link to sign up.
Episode Links* Vivaldi – Website | Mastodon * Jon von Tetzchner – Mastodon * Mosaic – Wikipedia * Opera Mini – Wikipedia * W3C – The World Wide Web Consortium * Secure DNS – Chromium Blog * Fastmail – Privacy focussed email, get 10% off your first year with this link. * Digital Identity – Our chat with Helen Horstmann-Allen from Fastmail * Vivaldi steers in-car browsing: Now available in the all-new Ford and Lincoln infotainment system
Chapter Times1. 00:00:05: Introductions 2. 00:04:20: Why So Many Browsers? 3. 00:18:33: What Makes Vivaldi Different? 4. 00:26:24: Is Chrome Becoming IE6? 5. 00:33:06: App Stores 6. 00:38:36: User Profiling 7. 00:54:23: A Browser in Your Car? 8. 01:03:13: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Whether you work in tech, produce tech content, or just happen to use a smartphone, a single question can spark debate and an explosion of extreme views from both sides. That question is simple, iPhone or Android?
We’re joined by our Zack, one of Jae’s nephews and a longtime Android user and advocate to have an honest discussion about why we like the platforms we’ve settled on and where we see potential issues.
Our chat touches on some core issues like security updates, the challenge of a multitude of Android OEMs, cross-platform messaging, ecosystem lock-in, and the important of right to repair and the longevity of hardware.
What’s your daily driver, do you have strong feelings about the Fruit Company or the one with all the Droids? If you can keep it respectful, we’d love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate Promotion
“Don’t you people backup? I backup, and I don’t even know what backing up means!” – Nicola Murray, Secretary of State for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship
If you have any kind of file that’s important to you, be that a treasured family photo, your latest research paper, or just the list of the co-ordinates of your best places in Minecraft, you’ll want to make sure it’s kept safe, right? Well, just syncing that to the cloud isn’t really enough, you need a proper backup strategy too.
Part of a good backup strategy is having a backup that isn’t in the same place as your computer, and this is where a good cloud backup service is so important. Our friends at Backblaze provide simple, reliable, and affordable backup options for your Mac or Windows PCs for just $9/month. You can get a 15 day free-trial when you follow this link to sign up.
Episode Links* Android Open Source Project – The core of Android, that isn’t always Google powered. * iPhone Models Compatible with iOS 17 – Apple Support * Samsung Commits to Four Years of Security Updates – Samsung Newsroom (2021) * Signal – Cross platform, end-to-end encrypted messaging * iFixIt.com – Guides for device repair
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:03:43: Our Daily Drivers 3. 00:06:57: Personal Choice Matters 4. 00:12:13: Android is not Google 5. 00:15:26: Side loading: Android’s Freedom of Choice? 6. 00:33:15: Android Versions & OEMs 7. 00:42:18: An Expectation of Updates? 8. 00:47:38: Picking Your Device 9. 00:51:05: The Right to Repair 10. 01:07:34: Platform Services & Ecosystems 11. 01:18:17: Beeping iMessage 12. 01:29:01: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
You’ll have heard James and Jae wax lyrical about their love for the UniFi line of networking gear on our live streams and in past episodes with Alex, as well as with Cody from MacTelecom Networks, but this episode is a fairly deep look into why we love UniFi.
We’re joined by Alex Lowe and Evan McCann, the hosts of UI Chat, a monthly Ubiquiti focussed podcast that is definitely our go-to resource for the latest news from the UniFi maker.
We talk about some of the new products, though it’s worth mentioning that this episode was recorded in mid-December 2023 and so pre-dates the new U7 Pro and Swiss Army Knife Ultra access points, as well as the new Pro Max switches.
Have you used UniFi at home or at work, or maybe you disagree with our views and prefer [insert other brand name here] for your network. We’d love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate Promotion
“Don’t you people backup? I backup, and I don’t even know what backing up means!” – Nicola Murray, Secretary of State for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship
If you have any kind of file that’s important to you, be that a treasured family photo, your latest research paper, or just the list of the co-ordinates of your best places in Minecraft, you’ll want to make sure it’s kept safe, right? Well, just syncing that to the cloud isn’t really enough, you need a proper backup strategy too.
Part of a good backup strategy is having a backup that isn’t in the same place as your computer, and this is where a good cloud backup service is so important. Our friends at Backblaze provide simple, reliable, and affordable backup options for your Mac or Windows PCs for just $9/month. You can get a 15 day free-trial when you follow this link to sign up.
Episode Links* UI Chat on Apple Podcasts * The Interface – Alex’s great tech news site * McCann Tech – Evan’s blog with wonderful deep dives on UniFi gear * UniFi Products + Express – The new all-in-one gateway, controller, and access point that Jae now uses to replace her previous eero setup. + Dream Router – The R2D2 like gateway, switch, controller and access point that James uses + Talk – Affordable VoIP platform which has less features than a traditional PBX, but is incredibly easy to configure. * Meet UniFi (YouTube Playlist) – The Jack Quaid (aka Lt. Bradwert Boimler) UniFi ads
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:05:42: A UniFi Overview 3. 00:21:17: Routing 4. 00:25:30: No Subscriptions 5. 00:27:11: The UniFi Magic 6. 00:37:20: Switches, Switches, Switches 7. 00:38:58: WiFi Standards 8. 00:44:21: UniFi Express 9. 01:01:49: UniFi Talk & Protect 10. 01:24:26: PPSK 11. 01:26:25: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Imagine a time when internet access meant using an analogue modem to dial a phone number in order to connect to the internet at speeds of up 7 kilobytes a second! Now imagine trying to play online games such as Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, Quake, Euro 96, and even Bridge, over that connection.
Our guests this week, Phil and Stu Ashby, helped to create and run Wireplay, a dial-up based online gaming service from BT (yes, the telephone company) in the mid-nineties. We go on some really deep tangents on the workings of modems, why just enabling anonymous dial-up internet access may spark some questions, and the challenges of keeping latency in online gaming at a (for the time) remarkable 100ms over dial-up. There’s also a discussion of how having Windows Servers in your backend can be somewhat painful.
Do you remember using Wireplay, or a similar service? We’d love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate Promotion
“Don’t you people backup? I backup, and I don’t even know what backing up means!” – Nicola Murray, Secretary of State for the Department of Social Affairs and Citizenship
If you have any kind of file that’s important to you, be that a treasured family photo, your latest research paper, or just the list of the co-ordinates of your best places in Minecraft, you’ll want to make sure it’s kept safe, right? Well, just syncing that to the cloud isn’t really enough, you need a proper backup strategy too.
Part of a good backup strategy is having a backup that isn’t in the same place as your computer, and this is where a good cloud backup service is so important. Our friends at Backblaze provide simple, reliable, and affordable backup options for your Mac or Windows PCs for just $9/month. You can get a 15 day free-trial when you follow this link to sign up.
Episode Links* Do you remember Wireplay? How BT helped to pioneer online gaming around the world – BT via Archive.org * Wireplay: creating the first online gaming platform in the UK – Phil Ashby on Dev.to * Wireplay calling – hello 1996! – Ashbysoft * Half-Life: 25th Anniversary Documentary – Valve on YouTube * Wireplay invades Brisbane – AusGamers – Adam Williams on YouTube
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:05:00: BT Primer 3. 00:10:07: Internet in the 90s 4. 00:16:58: The Rise of Multiplayer Games 5. 00:29:14: The Birth of Wireplay 6. 00:53:22: The Incident 7. 01:04:08: Windows Servers In The Backend 8. 01:12:06: Half Life 9. 01:22:51: The Aftermath 10. 01:36:43: Museum Pieces 11. 01:41:23: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
In what’s starting to become a Crossed Wires tradition, James, Jae and Alex gather to discuss Apple’s latest event, which was scarily short at just over 30 mins long, making this possibly our shortest event coverage episode to date!
We unpack what the new m3 powered Macs mean in terms of performance, with Apple specifically targeting those who have yet to convert from Intel based Macs and early m1 adopters, why 8 GB of memory is probably enough for most average users.
We’re also very honoured to join our friends at The Iconfactory in celebrating 20 years of xScope. Make sure you listen to the end of the episode for a wonderful offer.
Apologies this episode has been delayed in releasing, a few family issues have meant James has been rather distracted from his editing duties. We are working to get episodes out on a more frequent schedule, but we really do thank you all for your patience and continued support of the show.
What do you think to the new m3 lineup, is there anything you think Apple should have done differently? We’d love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate PromotionOf course, if you’ve decided it’s time for a new Mac, you’ll want to make sure all your important data is kept backed up – especially when you’re on the go and maybe don’t have access to that huge external drive you use for Time Machine.
Well, may we recommend Backblaze’s cloud backup, at just $9 / month for unlimited backups your new Mac will thank you. Use this link to sign up for your free 15 day trial and help support us here at Crossed Wires.
Episode Links The Interface – Alex’s fantastic site covering tech and more! * Scary Fast – Watch the Apple event * MacBook Pro (Apple.com) * iMac (Apple.com) * Behind the scenes at Scary Fast: Apple’s keynote event shot on iPhone and edited on Mac * Happy Anniversary, xScope! – Use code XSCOPE20* through December 4th, 2023 for 60% off the regular price. Thanks to Gedeon and the team for extending this wonderful offer to our amazing listeners.
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:03:35: The Scary Fast Event 3. 00:07:13: The M3 Family 4. 00:17:21: iMac 5. 00:25:38: M3 Performance 6. 00:31:47: MacBook Pros 7. 00:48:16: Filmed on iPhone 8. 00:53:54: 20 Years of xScope 9. 00:56:01: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
When we think of programming, we may tend to think of Matrix-esque nerds sat in front of green-on-black screens absorbed in code that makes less sense than a chocolate teapot, or we may think of super-star game developers bashing out the latest GTA or similar.
The reality is that programming is very much a problem solving exercise, and languages like Ruby provide a set of tools for how to map out logic and present results to the average computer user.
Our guest this week is a long-time friend of the show, Joel Drapper, who has recently been working on some powerful new open-source Ruby libraries that can help developers speed up their work and save a lot of confusion. Joel also tells us a bit about his own journey to becoming a programmer, and points to some great resources for those who are interested to get started themselves.
We’d love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate PromotionIf you want great pricing with fantastic customer support for all your Linux based cloud computing needs, you can get $100 of free credit with Linode, cloud computing by Akamai, when you sign up here.
Episode Links* Joel Drapper: Mastodon / Naming Things / GitHub * Rooftop Ruby – Joel and Colin’s Ruby podcast. * Practical Object-Oriented Design, An Agile Primer Using Ruby – A starting guide to Ruby. * Grokking Algorithms – An illustrated guide to understanding how algorithms work. * Treehouse – A great online resource for learning Ruby and other tech stuff.
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:03:12: Self Taught 3. 00:15:00: Front-end vs backend 4. 00:18:52: Learning Resources 5. 00:26:14: Solving Problems 6. 00:28:36: Open Source Software Libraries 7. 00:51:02: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Accessibility is essential to allow everyone to enjoy experiences that they may have, in the past, missed out on due to a lack of vision, a lack of hearing, or so many other factors.
As many of you will know, both Jae and James are visually impaired, and so making one of our favourite pastimes more accessible for those with a wide range of sight conditions is a truly exciting topic for us.
So, Jae reached out to Brandon Cole, an incredibly talented and respected accessibility consultant with credits within the Forza series, not to mention his incredible work on The Last of Us games, so we could sit down and have a chat about all of the work he does as well as a discussion on why accessibility for the blind and visually impaired poses many challenges we may not have considered before.
Do you have any experience with accessibility features in games, or maybe the lack of them? We’d love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate PromotionIf you want great pricing with fantastic customer support for all your Linux based cloud computing needs, you can get $100 of free credit with Linode, cloud computing by Akamai, when you sign up here.
Episode Links* BrandonCole.net – Brandon’s website * @SuperBlindMan – Brandon on Mastodon * Last of Us Part II: Is this the most accessible game ever? – BBC News * Virtually Superior: A Playstation VR 2 review – Brandon’s PS VR2 review * Retro Collective – The Cave and Arcade Archive
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:03:36: Why is Gaming Accessibility Important? 3. 00:08:37: Blind vs Visual Impairement 4. 00:13:25: Game Studio Attitudes 5. 00:21:13: Channels of Information 6. 00:31:04: Unfair Advantage? 7. 00:36:06: Controls 8. 00:43:14: What Has Driven Accesibility Forward? 9. 00:50:26: A Good Day’s Pay 10. 00:53:19: Accesible Retro Gaming? 11. 00:58:42: What’s Missing? 12. 01:06:30: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Before we go into this week’s new episode, we’d like to thank everyone for their patience whilst both Jae and James have had what can only be described as an insanely busy (and great!) summer. We’re planning to keep new episodes coming out weekly going forward, and we really do have some great episodes already recorded.
We sat down to record with good friend of the show, Alex Lowe of The Interface, to take a look at Apple’s most recent event and their new iPhone and Watch product lines. We’ve tried to focus on the big features, rather than rattle through the entire keynote verbatim, and we really hope you enjoy our analysis.
We’d love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate Promotion: BackblazeWith macOS Sonoma recently released, in fact on the day we recorded this episode, it’s always important to remind ourselves to ensure we have good backups before any major system update.
Our friends at Backblaze make backing up your Mac, or even your Windows PC, incredibly easy with truly automated backups with simple restoration should anything happen. Their recent pricing change means that now for just $9 / month per computer everyone gets the same great unlimited storage but now with a year of file history at no extra cost.
Find out more, and get your 15 day free trial, by following this link.
Episode Links* The Interface – Podcasts, tech news, and more from Alex * Apple Event – Watch on Apple’s website
Chapter Times1. 00:00:00: Podcast Promo: Creator Spotlight 2. 00:00:30: Introductions 3. 00:03:43: What Did We Buy or Not Buy? 4. 00:06:18: Event Thoughts 5. 00:16:52: Apple Watch 6. 00:28:48: iPhone 15 / 15 Pro 7. 01:10:16: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Cloud Gaming is something you might have heard about; you may have even used a service like GeForce NOW, Xbox Cloud Gaming or even the recently departed Google Stadia.
Jae and James sat down with Jay Hamilton and Omega of Thoughtable Network to talk about OnLive and also the modern cloud gaming services. OnLive is the technology that PlayStation Now is built on and understanding the past is important to understanding the present. We wanted to look at the past to learn how it may portend to the future of cloud gaming.
Have you used OnLive? Have you used a Cloud Gaming service? What is your experience? We’d love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate PromotionInterested in launching your own cloud gaming service or any type of online service? Then you need an amazing hosting platform like Linode by 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 with Linode, cloud computing by Akamai, when you sign up here.
Episode Links* Thoughtable Network – Jay and Omega’s Network * OnLive – WikiPedia * PlayStation Now – Sony’s Cloud Gaming Platform * Google is shutting down Stadia – The Verge * GeForce NOW – nVidia’s Cloud gaming Platform * Amazon Luna – Amazons’ Cloud gaming offering, a mix of Prime games and offer subscription models * Xbox Cloud Gaming – Includes Game Pass * Boosteroid – Bring your own games streaming platform
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:04:20: Remembering OnLive 3. 00:16:37: The State of Cloud Gaming 4. 00:31:51: The Key to Cloud Gaming 5. 00:48:27: Cloud Hesitancy 6. 01:02:52: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
It's been over 6 years since Nintendo released their hybrid-console, the massively popular Switch to the world and it would be fair to say that this combination home console and portable gaming device has had a huge impact on the gaming world.
For the longest time, the Switch was my only games system (not including my iPhone and iPad of course), and the wide range of games certainly makes it an attractive system for many people. Many a family gathering has inevitably ended up in a Mario Kart Grand Prix, or a humiliating defeat at the hands of my nephew in Super Smash Brothers Ultimate.
I'm joined this week by Chris from Switch Weekly to take a look back at the last 6 years of the Switch, why it's so appealing, where there are some potential improvements, and what the future may hold for Nintendo's next system.
Do you have a Switch, have you experienced joy con drift, or maybe you've got a game recommendation from the vast eShop library! We'd love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate Promotion If you want great pricing with fantastic customer support for all your Linux based cloud computing needs, you can get $100 of free credit with Linode, cloud computing by Akamai, when you sign up here.
Episode Links * Switch Weekly: Newsletter / Mastodon * Chris Brandrick - Mastodon * overkill.wtf - Gaming news site Chris edits. * The State of Switch 2023 - Switch Weekly Survey Results * Skull & Co. Jump Gate Dock Review - Crossed Wires on YouTube * Nyxi Wizard - GameCube like joypad for Switch * Hori Split Pad Pro - Alternative joy con style controller * PXN 9607X - James' Switch Controller * Switch Online - Nintendo UK
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:03:49: The Appeal of the Switch 3. 00:12:52: Hardware 4. 00:22:07: The Joys of Joy Cons 5. 00:28:46: Other Controllers 6. 00:32:01: LABO & Mario Kart Home Circuit 7. 00:36:40: Games 8. 00:50:31: Switch Online 9. 00:58:53: The Future 10. 01:05:18: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
If you're like me and enjoy a good novel, with gripping stories, fleshed out characters, and developed worlds of intrigue then you may wonder how it all comes together into the finished product.
My guest this week is self-published author and tech nerd, Matt Gemmell. We talk about how Matt uses just his iPad to plan and write his stories, how he self-publishes his work and all the elements that need to come together to get a novel onto the bookshelves, both digital and physical.
We also talk about the importance of a good keyboard, and do a bit of a beginners guide into the world of mechanical keyboards, a hobby that has no doubt raised many a financial question in any writer's relationship!
Have you delved into the world of writing, or maybe you're a mechanical keyboard nerd who has stories to tell of your most intrepid builds? We'd love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate Promotion If you want great pricing with fantastic customer support for all your Linux based cloud computing needs, you can get $100 of free credit with Linode, cloud computing by Akamai, when you sign up here.
Episode Links * mattgemmell.scot - Matt's website including links to all his socials, podcast, and novels. * Ulysses - macOS and iOS writing app that Matt uses * Markdown - John Gruber's original documentation for the text-to-HTML language * ISBN (Wikipedia) * Mechanical Keyboard Switches Explained: Types, Colors, & More (How To Geek) * Ducky - Very popular line of mechanical keyboards * Keychron - A great range of mechanical keyboards for Mac, iOS, and Windows
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:05: Introductions 2. 00:03:31: iPad and Markdown 3. 00:21:34: The Publishing Process 4. 00:31:27: Support Your Library! 5. 00:33:49: The Importance of a Keyboard 6. 00:52:15: Wrapping Up
Credits Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
First of all, sincere apologies for the delay in getting this episode out to you all. Editing a nearly four hour recording session down really is somewhat of a mission, especially with a full-time job and live streaming in the mix. Fear not, though, we'll be back to our weekly episodes from now on, with new episodes now releasing on a Friday for your weekend pleasure!
It wouldn't be a big Apple event without gathering in a SquadCast session to dissect all of announcements and give our take on what's coming up in the next major software releases, as well as looking at the latest hardware, especially the Vision Pro. We're delighted, as always, to be joined by Alex Lowe and the occasional contribution from our live-stream chat!
What was your opinion on what Apple showed off this year? Whatever your thoughts, we'd love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate Promotion * If you want great pricing with fantastic customer support for all your Linux based cloud computing needs, you can get $100 of free credit for 60 days with Linode, cloud computing by Akamai, when you sign up here. * Thanks to our friends at SquadCast for making this epic recording session possible. If you want a great way to record your remote podcast with studio quality audio and video you can find out more here
Episode Links * The Interface - For all your tech news needs! * Crossed Wires Live - Make sure you catch our live streams on Twitch * WWDC 2023 Keynote Video - Apple Developer Website * Apple Vision Pro Impressions! - MKBHD (YouTube) * Apple adds pronoun fields with privacy focus to Contacts app on iOS 17 - 9to5 Mac * iOS and iPadOS 17 drop support for iPhone X, first iPad Pros, and other old devices - Ars Technica * macOS Sonoma drops support for another wide swath of Intel Macs - Ars Technica * Apple TV hardware will get VPN access with tvOS 17 - Android Authority * Cloud Backup & Storage - Our chat with Pat Patterson from Backblaze
Chapter Times 1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:03:28: Keynote Delivery 3. 00:06:21: 15 Years of the iOS App Store 4. 00:07:23: Vision Pro 5. 01:00:32: AFFILIATE: Grinding Coffee 6. 01:02:12: Mac Hardware 7. 01:02:58: 15” MacBook Air 8. 01:10:10: M2 Max / Ultra Mac Studio 9. 01:14:10: Mac Pro 10. 01:30:37: iOS / iPadOS 17 11. 02:35:51: mac
Over the last few months, we've been looking for a home for all of the data we generate for the whole of Crossed Wires, everything from artwork, show notes, episode plans, all of our stream layouts, and much more.
We tried iCloud shared folders, since we're both firmly in the Apple ecosystem, but to be blunt they just aren't built for large amounts of data or more flexible sharing options. We were reluctant to trust our data to Google, and we certainly didn't need all the functionality of Office 365.
Then, along came Nextcloud, an open-source, self-hosted solution that brings together so many different features like file storage across multiple storage solutions, collaborative document editing and much more.
This week, we talk with Jos Poortvliet, the co-founder and marketing director over at Nextcloud, to dig deep into the history of Nextcloud, what makes it such a compelling option and a genuinely strong alternative to things like Office 365 and Google Workspace, as well as nerding out on some of the available apps and other little gems.
Do you use a cloud service for your own data, or maybe you look after the systems for your business, big or small. Whatever your experience, we'd love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate PromotionIf you want great pricing with fantastic customer support for all your Linux based cloud computing needs, including running your very own Nextcloud instance, you can get $100 of free credit with Linode, cloud computing by Akamai, when you sign up here.
Episode Links* Nextcloud - Website * Nextcloud - Mastodon * Your Data in Nextcloud - Great details on how your data is managed * Nextcloud Ethical AI Rating - Looking at how to rate different AI solutions based on their openness
Related Episodes* Open (Source) for Business - Talking about how important Open Source is for business with Tom Lawrence * Experimenting with Linux - A chat with Nick from The Linux Experiment about all things Linux * Chatting AI Ethics - A discussion with Dr. Catherine Flick about AI
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:07:04: What is Nextcloud 3. 00:21:48: Why You May Need An Alternative to Office 365 etc. 4. 00:35:30: Monetisation of Nextcloud 5. 00:40:48: Nextcloud Hub 6. 00:45:11: Storage Backends 7. 00:51:19: Deployment Options 8. 01:04:19: Talk, Office, and File Sync 9. 01:21:59: Apps 10. 01:32:11: Nextcloud AI 11. 01:41:35: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
As many of you may know, or figured out very quickly, I'm a massive Star Trek fan, to the point that I can probably quote many episodes and movies line-for-line, with or without my dubious Shatner impression.
Growing up in the late 80s and through the 90s, there was always Trek on TV, be it re-runs of the original series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine and even Voyager.
Seeing the wealth of technology, like a computer you could talk to, devices as thin and light as a paper notebook that you could work on and view data on wherever you went. It seemed so far into the future, but yet here we are in 2023 with more voice assistants than Tribbles, iPads as far as the eye can see, and wireless communication that would make even Data jealous.
This week, my returning guest is a fellow Trek nerd and all round interface design guru, Gedeon Maheux from The Icon Factory. It was so much fun to nerd out with Gedeon, whilst narrowly avoiding Picard season 3 spoilers for you all. We dissect how technology has been inspired by Star Trek, and where we may have advances beyond some of the things we saw, certainly in earlier Trek.
Are you a Trek nerd like us, or maybe you've just seen bits of it but don't know your Warp Core from your Genesis Device? Whatever your experience of Star Trek, good or bad, we'd love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate PromotionIf you want great pricing with fantastic customer support for all your Linux based cloud computing needs, you can get $100 of free credit with Linode, cloud computing by Akamai, when you sign up here.
Episode Links* gedblog - Gedeon's Blog with links to socials * The Icon Factory - great design, apps and freebies * Ollie, Space Karen, And An API - Gedeon's first appearance on the show to talk about Twitter's API * Mike Okuda - Twitter via Nitter.net
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:02:31: A Quick Twitter Update 3. 00:05:54: Star Trek Picard Season 3 4. 00:09:32: Tech Clearly Inspired by Trek 5. 00:23:40: Communications & Voice Assistants 6. 00:36:17: Security Codes 7. 00:45:10: Reconciling TOS Tech 8. 00:52:39: The UI of LCARS 9. 01:03:33: Favourite Trek Moments 10. 01:11:52: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
As our politicians and elected officials debate the dangers of TikTok and end-to-end-encryption (E2EE), we need to look beyond the hysteria and scapegoating to the actual issues and how we have sensible discussions about what the risks of social media platforms actually are.
We're joined by Rachel Hanson, a parent and elected official herself, to try to unpack what the real issues are and why simply banning social media services can lead to far more dangerous information control by our governments that could lead to more and more marginalisation of those already in need of accurate and verified information.
We know this episode may spark some different views and discussions, and we really do want to give you space to share thoughts thoughts. As long as you can follow our community guidelines, please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate PromotionIf you want great pricing with fantastic customer support for all your Linux based cloud computing needs, you can get $100 of free credit with Linode, cloud computing by Akamai, when you sign up here.
Episode Links* Rachel Hanson - LinkTree * Montana becomes first state to ban TikTok - Gizmodo * 'TikTok bill' is far too broad and could apply to almost any tech - Ars Technica * Hands off My TikTok. Banning It Would Hurt the Most Marginalized | Opinion - Newsweek * TikTok fined £12.7m for UK data protection law breaches - The Guardian * Factsheet: Amendment to the Online Safety Bill to help tackle child sexual exploitation and abuse online - UK Home Office * Don't Scan Me - Open Rights Group
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:03:43: The Impact of TikTok 3. 00:16:08: The Negatives of TikTok 4. 00:26:56: Privacy & Consequences 5. 00:40:59: The Control of Information 6. 00:57:12: Social Media for Elected Officials 7. 01:06:24: E2EE & The Challenge of CSAM 8. 01:20:52: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
As I'm sure long time listeners will know, we use Ferrite by Wooji Juice for all of our editing here, it really has become indispensable to our production workflows. From being able to remove sections of unwanted audio with a simple swipe, quickly strip away swathes of silent audio, and easily exporting audio in the format we need to get the podcast out to you.
So, it was my great honour to sit down with Canis to talk about his developer pedigree, going all the way back to the BBC Micro and the birth of ARM, all the way through to wrangling multi-channel audio, digging through a locked filing cabinet in a disused lavatory to find details about the ALAC format, and turning what can be a frustrating experience into one of the easiest audio editing tools I've used for a very long time.
Do you have stories of audio editing nightmares, have you used Ferrite to produce audio, or maybe you've got some questions about editing audio on the iPad. Whatever your experiences, we'd love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate PromotionIf you want great pricing with fantastic customer support for all your Linux based cloud computing needs, you can get $100 of free credit with Linode, cloud computing by Akamai, when you sign up here.
Episode Links* Wooji Juice: Website / Twitter (via Nitter.net) * Ferrite - Apple App Store * Electronic Dreams: How 1980s Britain Learned to Love the Computer - Amazon UK * Steve Jobs Introduces the App Store (2008) - YouTube
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:05:05: What's in a Name? 3. 00:07:31: The First iPhone & App Store 4. 00:11:09: The Creation of Ferrite 5. 00:21:53: Recording on iOS 6. 00:37:24: Pre Production 7. 00:42:38: The Pricing Model 8. 00:47:06: Editing Experience 9. 00:58:08: Dealing with Silence 10. 00:59:47: Handy Features 11. 01:04:44: Exporting 12. 01:15:11: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
We've probably all had fun recently giving ChatGPT, or other AI chatbots from the likes of Google, Microsoft and others, what we think are fun and innocent prompts to work on, but do we stop to consider what we're actually feeding these tools and where the data they return comes from and what biasses may be in the machine learning models they've been trained on?
We're delighted to have Catherine join us again to take a deep dive into the ethics that surround the hype that is AI. We talk about the issues around copyright, data accuracy and vetting, biasses in datasets, as well as how these AI tools can never be sentient in the way that everyone's favourite artificial intelligence, Lt. Cmdr Data was shown to be in Star Trek.
What are your views on the world of AI, do you have experience using machine learning and AI models in your own work or studies? We'd love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come 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.
Affiliate PromotionIf you want great pricing with fantastic customer support for all your Linux based cloud computing needs, you can get $100 of free credit with Linode, cloud computing by Akamai, when you sign up here.
Episode Links* Catherine Flick: Website / Mastodon * ChatGPT - We are not endorsing the use of this or any LLM (Large Language Mode), simply pointing to a credible source to access ChatGPT. * Tay: Microsoft issues apology over racist chatbot fiasco - Early AI chatbot my Microsoft * Google Photos labeled black people 'gorillas' - Example of AI Messing Up * Adobe Unveils Firefly, a Family of new Creative Generative AI - Adobe merging AI together with their products * Sharing sensitive business data with ChatGPT could be risky - Example of the risk of AI and sensitive data
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:03:40: What Do We Mean By AI? 3. 00:13:55: The Failures of Narrow AI 4. 00:24:46: Where Does the Data Come From? 00:34:57: Dealing With Copyright 00:44:19: Creative AI and ML Tools 5. 00:49:12: Using AI in Work and Academia 6. 01:02:50: Feeding Personal Data 7. 01:10:57: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
We've all had those moments, when the WiFi signal drops right in the middle of our favourite episode, or in that long-overdue catch up call with a friend or family member. But, do we know why our WiFi can drop out, or do we simply refer to any internet issues as "The WiFi is down again!" when really it's a problem with the ISP and nothing to do with our home WiFi network.
Our guest, and good friend of the show, Alex has worked with wireless technologies for quite some time and kindly agreed to give a fair chunk of his time to help us explore some of the common myths around WiFi, the history of the technology, how mesh WiFi is a far better solution than the plethora of range extenders and boosters that really don't help a poor WiFi signal.
What's your experience with the wonderful world of WiFi, do you have any burning questions you want us to address, or pro tips you've found for your own setup? We'd love to hear from you, so please send us a note to podcast@crossedwires.net, or why not come join the disscussion 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.
Affiliate PromotionIf you want great pricing with fantastic customer support for all your Linux based cloud computing needs, you can get $100 of free credit with Linode, cloud computing by Akamai, when you sign up here.
Episode Links* Alex: Mastodon / The Interface * WiFi Standards Explained - Lifewire * Should I Worry About Mobile Phones - YouTube * What is Mesh WiFi - TechQuickie (YouTube) * How the Internet Saved Florida - 2 Days with the ITDRC - Crosstalk Solutions (YouTube) * UniFi Dream Router - Ubiquiti Store * TP-Link Deco - Product Page * Eero by Amazon - Product Page * Eero DFS Support - Eero Blog * Wireless ISP Starry Files for Bankruptcy - The Verge * OpenWireless.org - EFF
Chapter Times1. 00:00:01: Adopt a Listener 2. 00:01:07: Introductions 3. 00:07:27: What Does WiFi Stand For? 4. 00:08:15: History of WiFi 5. 00:14:09: WiFi 6E 6. 00:14:50: Frequencies 7. 00:19:27: WiFi Router vs Access Point 8. 00:21:21: Crowded WiFi 9. 00:23:28: HomePods and WiFi 4 10. 00:25:43: Ethernet Is Always Better 11. 00:29:41: Common WiFi Misunderstandings 12. 00:37:08: Is Wireless Dangerous? 13. 00:41:42: WiFi Extenders & Boosters 14. 00:46:37: Mesh WiFi 15. 01:00:45: Should You Replace Your ISP Router 16. 01:05:34: Subscription Features 17. 01:07:35: UniFi Dream Router Pricing 18. 01:10:18: HomeKit Routers 19. 01:13:53: WISPS 20. 01:24:49: Making The Most of Your Existing WiFi 21. 01:29:54: Understanding WiFi Channels 22. 01:35:44: Too Much Mesh? 23. 01:39:16: MU-MIMO 24. 01:40:30: “Gaming” Routers? 25. 01:43:30: Guest Networks 26. 01:49:11: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Hello it's Jae here, let me set the stage for this episode: Hop in your Delorean and travel back in time with me, to the year of our Lord 2018 when World of Warcraft was soon to be heading into its 15th year, and World of Warcraft Classic was due to come out in Summer of 2019.
Back then, I went by the name of Frazley and ran FrazlCast, which was a World of Warcraft fan podcast. I showed this episode to James, and we both thought that it would be great to bring this episode to you as our first in a series we're lovingly calling "From the Archives".
I was given the honour to sit down with John Staats, who designed and built half of Vanilla WoW's dungeons and raids. This was a lovely look into game design and the challenges that John and his team faced while building the iconic game of World of Warcraft. My friend Ali of the Dungeon Fables podcast joined me for this fun interview! I know some of you will be have been listeners of my former podcast as well! Thank you for being along for my journey.
Did you ever play World of Warcraft or Vanilla WoW? We’d love to hear from you, so please do send a note over to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or join the discussion over on our Discord server.
Support UsIf 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.
Affiliate PromotionWhilst your WoW data is nice and safe in the Blizzard cloud, you'll definitely want to make sure that your preciously crafted macros, your carefully configured add-ons and UI settings, and those all important DPS reports (Hello, Peter?) are backed up. For simple, stress free, cloud backups from just $7 per month, try our friends Backblaze for 15 days for free, and get your backups in order.
Episode Links* Dungeon Fables - Ali's podcast about the lore of the dungeons in World of Warcraft * The WoW Diary - John Staats’ book about designing and developing the World of Warcraft * Loki's Minions Capture The Flag Mod - John Staat’s Former Mod * Tabletop Board Game Cafe - A cafe in Ohio * Malted Meeple - One of John’s favourite drinks * Interviews and Articles with John about the Dev Diary - For more interviews and articles by John Staats
Credits* Intro by Brandon T. Blaylock * Outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Growing up in the late 80s and early 90s, Sega were in a console war with their fellow Japanese rivals, Nintendo. Keen to show what they could do, they created more and more add-ons for the Mega Drive (or Genesis to our North American friends) like the Mega CD and 32X. Sega were really doing what Nintendon't, for very good reasons!
As the 90s came closer to the millennium we also saw a new craze from Japan for dancing games, notably Dance Dance Revolution by arcade legends Konami, or Dancing Stage as it was known in Europe. These dance based games really saw a following and even to this day dance games are incredibly popular.
My guest this week is here to talk about both nostalgic experiences, especially as he's working on a one-quarter sized all-in-one DDR mini-Arcade build using an Intel NUC, a custom input board and more lights than Blackpool Illuminations.
We delve into lots of nerdy details on the famed 'Sega Tower of Power', as well as pondering what may have been if Sega hadn't ended their console hardware with the too-little-too-late DreamCast.
We're sure this conversation is going to spark some debate, especially as we may have trash talked more than a few rivals, so we’d love to hear from you; 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.
Affiliate PromotionIf you want great pricing with fantastic customer support for all your Linux based cloud computing needs, you can get $100 of free credit for 60-days when you sign up here with our friends Linode, cloud computing by Akamai
Episode Links* Naoki's Retro Corner - YouTube Channel * Making my own Dance Dance Revolution Cabinet - Naoki's Retro Corner (YouTube) * Exploring The Wild World of DDR Controllers - kkclue (YouTube) * Project OutFox - Rhythm game sim for the Raspberry Pi * Dance Dance Revolution - Wikipedia * MiSTerCade - JAMMA for Mister * The Sega Genesis Mini is getting its own ridiculous mini tower - Polygon * Mega CD - Wikipedia * 32X - Wikipedia * Sega Saturn - Wikipedia
Chapter Times1. 00:00:00: Adopt A Listener 2. 00:01:05: Introductions 3. 00:06:20: A Brief iMovie Chat 4. 00:09:08: Why Arcade Builds? 5. 00:13:44: Quarter Scale DDR 6. 00:36:33: Modern Dance Games 7. 00:39:32: Project Outfox 8. 00:43:02: Arcade Experience Scale 9. 00:47:11: Saga Mega Drive 10. 00:57:23: Mega CD 11. 01:09:44: 32X 12. 01:14:55: Tower of (Unstable) Power 13. 01:23:35: Saga Saturn 14. 01:38:23: Sega’s Legacy Today 15. 01:46:17: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
As we hear more stories of systems and services being compromised by malicious attackers, often simply referred to as 'hackers', we need to be aware of the basics of how these attacks work and what we should be looking out for in our daily tech lives.
We're probably all fed up of the increasing complexity of logging into our favourite websites and apps, but the reality is that passwords, multi-factor authentication and now 'passwordless' ways of proving our online identity are more important than ever.
Talking with Sascz, we try to address some of the common questions around keeping ourselves safe in a digital world, as well as wincing at some of the painful examples we've seen of bad security habits that make even 16309, 12345, or 000 Destruct 0 look like strong password choices.
This is absolutely an episode where we want to hear your feedback, your experiences, and maybe things you've learned from our discussion. Maybe you have a different viewpoint on some of the things we've raised, 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.
Affiliate PromotionIf 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 with our friends Linode here.
Episode Links* Alexander (Sascz) Hermann: Website | Twitter * Time-based one-time password (TOTP - WikiPedia * You Should be Afraid of SIM Swaps - Malicious Life * iCloud Hide My Email * Fastmail Masked Email * Free Password Generator by 1Password * Password Managers + 1Password + BitWarden + KeePass + iCloud Keychain * WSJ Journal Article: Criminals Use iPhones To Steal Digital Lives * Password Entropy: The Value of Unpredictable Passwords (Okta) * About the Security of Passkeys (Apple) * Windows Hello
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:02:16: AFFILIATE PROMO: Linode 3. 00:03:12: Guest Intro - Alexander 4. 00:08:27: An Old Problem 5. 00:11:51: Vulnerabilities 6. 00:15:10: Social Engineering 7. 00:26:38: Being Mindful of Social Media Posts 8. 00:31:44: Software Updates 9. 00:36:47: Endpoint Security 10. 00:40:15: Protecting the Average User 11. 00:47:42: Protecting Our Phones 12. 00:56:26: Whole Disk Encryption 13. 00:57:20: Multi Factor Authentication 14. 01:04:58: Passwords Matter 15. 01:10:48: Strong Passwords & Password Generation 16. 01:20:50: Corporate Authentication 17. 01:26:37: Zero Trust 18. 01:28:00: Password Managers 19. 01:38:17: Passwordless 20. 01:45:18: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
Do you remember sitting in front of your computer with a miniDV camcorder hooked up by FireWire and waiting patiently for the footage to capture to your editor of choice, possibly iMovie or Windows Movie Maker? Maybe you were a professional editor who had to log and capture hours of footage into Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro, or even AVID, and then crafting your masterpiece only to then have to render your audio separately for some random reason.
Well, Jack and Sam braved the wild west of the early days of DV cameras and editing, even using an Amiga powered NLE, to produce a video on some old film cameras for their blog. We chat about not only the experience of capturing and editing, but also talk about how sometimes the older ways of capturing moments can be more enjoyable.
Do you have any fun, or even haunting, memories of working with digital video in the pre-iPhone and SD Card era? We’d love to hear from you, so 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.
Affiliate PromotionIf 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 with our friends Linode.
Episode Links* Jack & Sam's Blog * Sam's Instagram * Cannon XL1 * Bronica EC-TL (CameraQuest) * Pentax ME Super (Wikipedia) * Digital Video Editing with a 68060 | Macrosystem Casablanca (WHAT CRAP HAVE YOU BOUGHT NOW? - YouTube) * iMovie (Wikipedia) * Apple Power Macintosh G4 1.42 DP (EveryMac.com) * Final Cut Pro (Wikipedia) * MicroMV and me - Tiny Videotape, big impact (Techmoan - YouTube)
Chapter Times1. 00:00:01: Podcast Recommendation: Art Heals All Wounds 2. 00:00:34: Introductions 3. 00:05:02: Let’s Male A Video 4. 00:10:01: Canon XL1 & Early DV 5. 00:17:06: iPhone Transfer Frustration 6. 00:19:43: Is Capturing Easier? 7. 00:21:31: FireWire 8. 00:25:10: The Attraction of Film 9. 00:30:19: Macrosystems Casablanca 10. 00:39:09: An iMac, Jamming Cameras, and a Power Mac G4 11. 00:49:17: Final Cut Woes 12. 00:57:03: Are Old Tools Better? 13. 00:59:14: The Impact of iMovie 14. 01:04:57: Wrapping Up 15. 01:17:28: PODCAST TRAILER: Art Heals All Wounds
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
It's hard to believe that we've already hit our 50th episode, but it's here and a lot of that is thanks to you, our amazing community who keep listening, subscribing, and intereacting with us across social media, email, and our Discord.
For this milestone episode, we thought you may like a bit of an insight into how each episode of the show reaches you after we record and edit it.
We reached out to Craig Hewitt the founder of Castos, our hosting provider for the podcast, and he kindly agreed to come and chat to us about what podcast hosting is, why good quality hosting is important, as well as looking at some of the challenges of distributing podcasts across so many platforms.
Are you a podcaster yourself, or maybe you'd like to learn more about Castos, or maybe you've had some fun stories with podcast hosting over the years. Whatever your experience, 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.
Affiliate PromotionAs you'll hear in the episode, we've had our own data loss incident here at Crossed Wires and if we didn't have Backblaze powering our backups we'd have had to spend hours re-exporting every MP3 we'd ever created for the podcast. They provide simple and elegant backups for just $7 a month, and because it's running in the background, you never have to worry about if your files are being safely backed up to the cloud. Sign up for your 15-day free trial here and make sure you never lose those important files again.
Episode Links* Sign up for Castos (Affiliate Link) * Craig Hewitt on LinkedIn * RSS (Wikipedia) * Castos Blog * Castos Academy * Castos Pricing * Audience - Castos Original Podcast * Dynamo by Castos - Free podcast artwork generator
Chapter Times1. 00:00:01: Podcast Recommendation: Art Heals All Wounds 2. 00:00:34: Introductions 3. 00:06:28: What Is Podcast Hosting? 4. 00:11:21: Self-Hosted vs Paid Hosting 5. 00:16:51: Seriously Simple Podcasting WordPress Plugin 6. 00:19:51: The Importance of Support 7. 00:22:09: The Unexpected RSS Feed Impact 8. 00:29:45: Analytics 9. 00:37:40: Pricing & What You Get 10. 00:43:57: Automatic Transscription 11. 00:46:08: Democratisation of Podcasts 12. 00:48:43: AFFILIATE PROMO: Backblaze 13. 00:50:46: Importing a Podcast 14. 00:53:25: Free Tools for Podcasters 15. 00:54:58: Private Podcasting 16. 01:01:09: Wrapping Up 17. 01:09:14: PODCAST TRAILER: Art Heals All Wounds
Credits* Intro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW * Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):https://uppbeat.io/t/danijel-zambo/stardustLicense code: VBAWDT54LJT6XLFW
Whilst many of us have grown up with technology being such a core part of our lives, often glued to our devices for far more of the day than we'd like to admit, the older generations have had technology thrust upon them without nearly enough though about how to make it accessible.
My guest this week is Nancy May of the Eldercare Success podcast; we have a chat about how technology can be used to help with the care of elderly relatives, how we can keep our older tech users safe online, how even the simplest gadgets can help in a care situation, and possibly most importantly we look at the concept of the accessibility of modern services which are taken over by digital payments, self-service checkouts, and ask the question if we're doing tech for tech's sake.
We'd love to hear your thoughts on how tech can be both a blessing and a problem for the older generation, especially if you have stories to share. 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
Affiliate PromotionDuring this episode, we talked a lot about keeping things simple for our older tech users. One of the most critical parts of our digital lives is ensuring we have proper backups of our treasured memories within our photos, videos, and many other documents and messages. Our friends at Backblaze provide a simple, set-and-forget, unlimited cloud-based backup solution for just $7 / month, why not start your 15-day free trial here.
Supporting the ShowIf 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* Eldecare Success Podcast - Website / Apple Podcasts * Caremanity - Twitter / Facebook * How to Survive 911 Medical Emergencies - Caremanity * Telecare (AgeUK) * Apple Watch Family Setup (Apple Support) * Using HomePods as an Intercome (Apple Support) * Power of Attorney (Wikipedia)
Chapter Times1. 00:00:00: Podcast Recommendation: Art Heals All Wounds 2. 00:00:36: Introductions 3. 00:09:24: A Quick POA Primer 4. 00:10:42: Aggressive Marketing & Scams 5. 00:28:32: Elder Care Home Hacks 6. 00:35:35: TVs & Remotes 7. 00:39:49: Smart Home & Voice Assistants 8. 00:47:08: The Problem with Wearables 9. 00:48:51: The Accessibility of Services 10. 01:05:50: Tech for Tech's Sake? 11. 01:14:04: Wrapping Up 12. 01:16:59: PODCAST TRAILER: Art Heals All Wounds
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
With more and more cloud services hosted in data centres consuming massive amounts of energy, our devices becoming ever more power-hungry, and the constant pressure to always have the latest tech, it's probably fair to say that we don't always consider what the cost of our tech ownership and usage has on the environment.
We're thrilled to have Chris Adams join us for this week's episode. We take a deep dive into how we can try to understand the impact our tech usage has on the environment, and some cool things happening across the industry to try and improve energy usage and the environmental cost of manufacturing.
What are your views on the relationship between technology and the environment? We’d love to hear from you, so please send your thoughts to podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on the post, or join the discussion over on our Discord server
PromotionAs of this episode, we've partially completed our migration to Linode because they have a bit more transparency about their green credentials. 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.
If you liked this episode or any of our content, we’d greatly appreciate any support you can throw our way over at our Ko-Fi page.
Episode Links* Chris Adams on Mastodon * ClimateAction .tech * The Green Web Foundation * Green Web Check * The Green Web Library * CO2 .js * Backblaze Rides the Nautilus Data Center Wave * A way to think about the environmental impact of streaming services like Netflix * Microsoft will soon push Xbox owners into energy-saving Shutdown mode [Ars Technica] * Greening of Streaming * Working with RIPE NCC and the IETF for a greener internet * Could Coal Waste Be Used to Make Sustainable Batteries? * Sören Enholm - How to navigate toward more sustainable digital equipment? [Green IO Podcast] * Previous Episodes Mentioned + Cloud Backup & Storage with Pat Patterson + Something, Something, Blockchain with Dr. Catherine Flick
Chapter Times1. 00:00:04: Introductions 2. 00:02:40: Crossed Wires' Green Status 3. 00:04:30: Water Usage For Cooling & Power Generation 4. 00:08:43: Solar? 5. 00:11:54: Fellowship 6. 00:14:34: Building Green Websites & Apps 7. 00:21:20: Why Should We Care? 8. 00:28:24: Gaming & Streaming Energy Savings 9. 00:36:54: The CID Model 10. 00:40:49: Green Routing? 11. 00:49:46: Vampire Usage vs. Real Change 12. 00:52:45: Batteries 13. 00:57:11: Device Cycles 14. 01:10:24: Is Smart Home Tech Worth It? 15. 01:14:57: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
We love technology, both old and new, and want to explore how it can be used in positive and ethical ways. We are James and Jaes and together we make up the Crossed Wires team. Every week we bring you a new episode focussing on a specific tech-related topic with a guest, or guests, who really know their stuff in that field. We've covered things like backing up your data, how art and technology can be used together, we've taken deep dives into Linux, explored cool hardware like the Valve Steam Deck. And if you're a bit nostalgic for the tech of your youth, we've got you covered with episodes focussed on retro computing like the Amiga, Atari ST, and even good old computing magazines. Our chats are always relaxed and we truly hope you'll find an episode you'll love and maybe even learn something new from our discussions.
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
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: Škoda reveals the all electric Enyaq iV vRS * 00:32:34: Mazda suggests that an all electric MX-5 is in the works * 00:34:00: Volvo reveals the EX90, an all-electric SUV with 360 miles range * 00:36:33: One in three UK drivers want cyclists banned from roads * 00:40:52: Vauxhall announces the new all electric Astra, complete with estate version * 00:43:25: Now confirmed, Ford is dropping the Fiesta in 2023 * 00:45:07: MG will reveal the all-electric Cyberster roadster in April * 00:46:07: Toyota has revealed the all new, fifth generation Prius * 00:48:16: Test Drive - Vauxhall Corse-e * 00:55:12: Wrapping Up
CreditsMusic from the YouTube Audio Library
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 Issue 10. 00:28:23: What Do We Mean By Privacy? 11. 00:33:04: Beware Of Metadata 12. 00:34:26: Facebook Messenger 13. 00:36:51: Telegram 14. 00:38:48: Hateful Speech Online 15. 00:40:23: The Importance Of Accountability 16. 00:42:46: Signal Benefits 17. 00:44:07: Privacy Nutrition Labels 18. 00:45:02: Cross Platform Experiences 19. 00:46:50: A Quick Viber Check 20. 00:47:00: WeChat 21. 00:48:28: Sensitive Content Needs E2EE 22. 00:52:23: iMessage, Green Bubbles, Android 23. 01:04:38: Wrapping Up
CreditsIntro and outro theme: Ace of Clubs by RoccoW
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
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
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 service, 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? I’d love to hear from you, so send those 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
-
Join Mastodon
-
Fediverse
-
Pixelfed
-
Funkwhale
-
PeerTube
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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.
Episode Links
-
Amanda Sloan’s Website
-
Amanda Sloan on Twitter
-
Geek Herring
-
Amanda Sloan on Twitch
-
5 Day VA Challenge
Chapter Times
-
00:00:04: Introductions
-
00:06:10: Freelance Copywriting
-
00:10:37: Starting Out Freelancing
-
00:15:04: Freelancing Tools
-
00:22:30: How Can Tech Hurt Freelancers
-
00:28:04: Keeping Client Logins Safe
-
00:31:44: Doing Things Differently?
-
00:36:32: Recognising Your Limitations
-
00:39:04: Dealing With Awkward Clients
-
00:46:53: Advice For New Freelancers?
-
00:51:45: Wrapping Up
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
Jae & James talk with Drew of the 'Sleep With Me' podcast about his show that, literally, puts people to sleep. We also talk about how technology can help, as well as hamper, our ability to sleep.
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
-
00:00:04: Introductions
-
00:06:29: Tech In The Bedroom
-
00:15:54: Eating Late?
-
00:20:19: What You Sleep On
-
00:30:38: The Demise Of Radio
-
00:41:24: Sleep Apps
-
00:46:24: Wrapping Up
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
Alex and I sat down to kick off our new show, which once we migrate to our new website, will have its own feed and be in our ‘everything’ feed too, 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
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
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
00:00:04: Introductions
00:02:26: Floppy RAID
00:04:29: Pushing Vintage Tech To The Limits
00:11:22: Weirdest System?
00:14:50: A Thing For PowerPC
00:18:33: The Mike Judge Connection
00:20:25: Challenges
00:23:46: Most Time-Consuming Project?
00:28:47: Getting Old Systems Online
00:39:17: Wrapping Up
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
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.
I’d love to hear your stories of how music, especially Hip Hop, has influenced your life, please do leave a comment on the post, or start a discussion over on Goodpods.
Episode Links
Manny Faces: Website / Twitter
Hip Hop Can Save America Podcast
The Get Down (Netflix)
Slip Mat (Wikipedia)
dJay by algoriddim
Serato
Chapters
00:00:04: Introductions
00:05:38: The Basic Hip Hop Tech
00:15:05: The Influence Of HIp Hop
00:27:32: Debunking The Negatives
00:36:25: Getting Into HIp Hop In 2022
00:49:09: Wrapping Up
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
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.
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.
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.
Episode Links
Nintendo Arcade 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
00:00:04: Introductions
00:06:53: The Draw Of The Arcade
00:09:43: Arcade Innovations
00:18:25: Desert Island Arcade Games
00:22:32: Sky Skipper - The Unreleased Game
00:34:11: Arcade In A Mill?
00:42:29: Collecting, Emulation & FPGA
00:48:16: Wrapping Up
00:51:40: A Switch Addendum
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
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 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. Please do keep your thoughts coming, as you’ll see one of us will reply to every comment.
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.
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
00:00:04: Introductions
00:01:52: Thoughts On The Event Itself
00:03:41: Apple & RCS
00:06:54: AirPods Pro
00:20:27: Goodbye, Series 3
00:21:24: Apple Watch Series 8
00:33:46: Watch SE
00:39:48: Watch Ultra
00:49:00: IPhones
00:53:20: Camera Improvements
00:58:07: Emergency SOS Via Satellite
01:04:01: 14 Pro & Pro Max
01:13:33: Software Updates
01:14:44: Listener Comments\
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.
I’d love to hear from you about 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?
Drop us a note at podcast@crossedwires.net, leave a comment on this post, or start a discussion over on Goodpods.
Episode Links
The Retro Hour: Website / Twitter
Dan Wood: Twitter / YouTube
Ravi Abbott: Twitter / YouTube
The Computer Chronicles (Archive.org)
Chapter Times
00:00:05: Introductions
00:03:48: The Computer Chronicles
00:10:27: Ravi’s Computing Beginnings
00:15:11: What Do We Consider Retro?
00:19:21: Why Use Retro Systems?
00:40:45: Favourite or Oddball Systems
00:49:48: Where To Start?
00:53:53: Wrapping Up
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
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, I’d love to hear from you, you can leave a comment on this post, or on the episode over on 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
00:00:05: Introductions
00:06:52: Why Vintage & Retro?
00:16:45: Vintage Mac
00:34:12: Desktop Publishing
00:46:47: The Impact Of Postscript
00:50:55: PageMaker, Quark Xpress, Photoshop
00:59:14: Pre Press
01:02:22: Printing Complexities
01:09:11: Looking Back at 90s Apple
01:22:58: Collecting Vintage Macs
01:47:46: Wrapping Up
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
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.
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
00:00:04: Introductions
00:10:21: The Sim Copter Easter Egg
00:14:23: Favourite Support Moment
00:19:36: The PC Engine
00:21:41: TurboGrafx
00:27:51: Japanese Tax & Copyright Oddities
00:29:39: CD-ROM Before PlayStation
00:30:10: Sh’m’ups
00:32:46: CD Audio
00:34:48: What Happened Next?
00:35:43: Replacement Inlays
00:47:23: Region Locking?
00:50:08: Also Available For Nintendo
00:54:19: Wrapping Up
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
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, do comment on this episode both here and on Goodpods.
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
00:00:04: Introductions
00:03:05: Accessibility In Filmmaking
00:19:13: The Importance of A Complete Story
00:22:17: The Impact of Art
00:41:05: Get Your Story Out There
00:45:12: Wrapping Up
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
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.
Episode Links
Focusrite Vocaster
Focusrite on Twitter
SquadCast (Affiliate Link)
Chapter Times
00:00:05: Introductions
00:03:21: Focusrite’s Legacy
00:04:54: The Vocaster Line
00:09:09: Auto Gain And Driving Microphones
00:13:40: Vocaster Models & Features
00:35:47: Studio Bundles
00:41:19: The RodeCaster Pro
00:44:40: Pricing & Value
00:46:59: Vocaster Hub
00:48:40: Wrapping Up
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
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.
I’d love to hear some of your HomeKit experiences, so please do leave a comment on this post or email podcast [at] crossedwires.net.
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
00:00:05: Introductions
00:02:37: HomeKit Origins
00:03:43: Why We Choose HomeKit
00:07:19: HomeKit Limitations
00:15:49: Matter
00:18:31: Cameras, Doorbells and HomeKit Secure Video
00:20:56: Synology and Plex
00:22:51: Automation and Scenes
00:29:19: Keys and Smart Locks
00:32:26: Upcoming HomeKit Devices
00:41:08: Wrapping Up
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
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 I’d love to hear from anyone with experience with electric cars in other countries and regions - leave a comment below and we can have a great little discussion.
I hope you enjoy this episode!
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
00:00:05: Introductions
00:02:05: What About Tesla?
00:05:02: Combustion Sales Ban
00:06:38: Other EV First Makers
00:09:22: The Cost Of EVs
00:10:30: Offerings From The Traditional Car Makers
00:19:55: Range & Charging
00:27:14: Affordability & Used EVs
00:30:27: The Environmental Impact
00:36:02: Wrapping Up
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
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
00:00:05: Introductions
00:04:25: The Rise of Scam Tech
00:09:50: Dissecting The Scam Tech
00:15:06: Fake Backstories
00:16:21: The StarScope Saga
00:18:53: Most Interesting Scams
00:25:49: Classic Mac Diversion
00:27:02: Scam Spotting Checklist
00:43:55: Wrapping Up
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
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 LGBTQIA+ 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.
Episode Links
Chris Angel Murphy on Twitter, Instagram
Allyship is a Verb Podcast
Gender Sexuality Info
Chapter Times
00:00:04: Introductions
00:04:21: Defining Accessibility
00:08:43: Data Capture
00:16:46: HR, Onboarding, Finance
00:23:53: When Biological Sex Is Required
00:28:21: Challenges of Changing Your Identity
00:38:02: Deadnames, Birth Names, Former Names
00:39:30: Media Representation
00:46:08: Making Mistakes And GDPR
00:50:08: Sir? Ma’am?
01:00:26: Wrapping Up
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
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. Please do leave us a comment if you’ve got any UniFi stories you’d like to share.
Enjoy!
Episode Links
Alex Lowe on Twitter
HostIFi - Website / Twitter
Ubiquiti UISP
MarzBarVlogs on YouTube
Chapter Times
00:00:05: Introductions
00:02:37: HostIfi
00:08:41: Pricing & Ubiquiti Hardware
00:12:37: Managing Updates
00:17:19: The Relationship With Ubiquiti
00:21:01: Deployment
00:33:15: Wrapping Up
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
It’s been two weeks since Apple’s 2022 WWDC keynote, so myself and our newest team member, Frazley, 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.
Episode Links
Frazley on Twitter and Twitch
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
00:00:04: Introductions
00:03:20: WWDC 2022
00:07:03: Developers!
00:12:22: The Talk Show Live
00:16:54: The M2
00:22:49: The New MacBook Air
00:28:03: Stage Manager On IPad
00:34:39: A Quick Word On Device Support
00:38:07: Safety Check
00:43:38: watchOS 9
00:44:37: Medication Reminders
00:53:19: Passkeys
01:02:46: Apple Pay and Wallet
01:13:38: Locksceen
01:20:11: Focus
01:22:28: Messages & collaboration
01:25:56: Continuity camera
01:30:44: Metal 3 and Gaming
01:35:52: CarPlay
01:43:15: Wrapping Up
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
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.
Episode Links
Paul on Twitter
The Addict Magazines
Chapter Times
00:00:05: Introductions
00:13:57: Magazine & Retail Memories
00:36:08: Pixel Addict
00:41:46: Pitching Ideas
00:46:35: The Personal Element
00:50:21: Past, Present, and Future
00:57:21: The Journey To WHSmith
01:11:50: Deadlines & Proofreading
01:19:29: Wrapping Up
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
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, please do leave a comment or drop us an email (podcast at crossedwires.net) if you’ve got any stories of accessibility, good or bad, to share.
Episode Links
Alex Dunn on Twitter
Enabled Play
XBox Adaptive Controller
Raspberry Pi
Anker USB-C Hub for iPad Air / Mini / Pro
Chapter Times
00:00:04: Introductions
00:02:03: Why Accessible Tech?
00:10:23: What Is Enabled Play?
00:13:04: On Device Processing
00:16:49: The Cost Of Accessible Tech
00:21:29: Commodity Hardware
00:22:15: Tilt & Expression Controls
00:32:23: Working With Devices
00:45:50: Pricing & Availability
00:52:51: Wrapping Up
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
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 your stories.
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
00:00:04: Introductions
00:06:02: Growth of The Channel
00:11:13: Trevor & Lord Sugar
00:13:18: The Cave
00:27:21: The Fake Retro Shop Experience
00:31:19: The MiSTer MultiSystem
00:38:00: Donations
00:41:10: Wrapping Up & Finger Gravy
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
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. Please do leave your comments below if you’ve got any network experiences you want to share, or if you want to ask any questions I’ll be glad to pass those on to Cody.
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
00:00:04: Introductions
00:03:54: YouTube Videos
00:09:33: Home Networking
00:16:04: A Slight StarLink Detour
00:18:13: Alternatives to ISP Routers
00:23:46: The UniFi Dream Router & WiFi 6
00:30:23: The Importance Of VLANs
00:32:58: UniFi Limitations & pfSense
00:38:07: Network Oddities
00:48:57: Learning Resources
00:54:36: Wrapping Up
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
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.
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
00:00:05: Introductions
00:03:09: The Challenges of Remote Recording
00:07:37: Technical Hurdles On iOS
00:08:47: Desktop Browser Support
00:10:23: The Magic of SquadCast
00:18:06: Not Just Audio
00:22:51: The Future
00:31:03: Investing In Quality
00:35:25: Closing 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
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)
Philip’s Hue
ZigBee on Wikipedia
1Password
BitWarden
Chapter Times
00:00:05: Introductions
00:08:01: Frustrations Of Windows Updates
00:17:00: The Benefits Of RMM Tools
00:20:51: Updates For Other Devices
00:28:53: Smart Home Tech
00:50:44: Thread & Matter
00:53:37: Managing Passwords
01:03:56: Corporate Two Factor
01:05:49: Security Theatre
01:13:03: Northern Cultural References
01:13:57: Wrapping Up
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
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.Appl
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.
Make sure you like, share, and of course subscribe.
Thanks for reading Crossed Wires! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
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
00:00:05: Introductions
00:02:21: The iPad For Content Creation
00:05:32: Capturing Video On iPhones
00:11:47: Stabilisation
00:16:43: Audio
00:33:37: Editing & Production Tools
00:54:27: Game Capture & Streaming
00:58:01: iPad Challenges
01:05:05: Wrap Up
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
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.
Like, subscribe, drop a comment below and do tell your friends (or even your enemies) about this show!
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
00:00:04: Introductions
00:01:54: Rees’ Atari Beginnings
00:05:40: Celebrity Modding
00:07:40: Old Consoles On Modern Displays
00:11:13: Early Atari Home Systems
00:13:46: The Atari ST Family
00:24:11: Jack Tramiel
00:25:26: The Falcon
00:28:38: Bad Influence & The Jaguar
00:35:26: Atari In The Modern Age
00:43:06: Outro
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
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, please do drop a comment with your questions, or your thoughts on app pricing and piracy. Of course, don’t forget to subscribe!
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
00:00:04: Introductions
00:02:15: Bundled Apps
00:03:52: Dealings With Pirates
00:09:23: Subscriptions & Upgrade Pricing
00:12:22: Weeding Out Genuine Requests
00:14:27: App Pricing
00:19:40: The Realities Of Support
00:21:26: Processor Transitions & App Store Only
00:31:09: Respect For Paid Software
00:35:29: WWDC & Apple Silicon
00:42:33: Plugs & Outros
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
Another episode for your audio enjoyment! 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, and of course please do leave a comment below if you have any questions or just want to let us know your thoughts on the Amiga.
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
00:00:05: Introductions
00:06:31: Original Amiga Hardware
00:13:53: Modern Upgrades
00:28:50: The Pi, Amiga ROMs, And Commodore
00:34:34: The A500 Mini
00:45:11: Amiga Favourites
00:52:01: Closing 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
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, drop a comment below!
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
00:00:00: Introduction
00:01:56: Graphics & The Amiga
00:06:58: The Graphics Of Cannon Fodder
00:15:32: The Poppy Controversy
00:21:40: The Colouring Book Of Retro Computers
00:33:14: Modern Tools
00:39:55: Reflecting On The Past
00:50:38: Obligatory Self Promotion
00:57:20: Wrap Up
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