Tech Gumbo

Getting out of a Cellular Contract, EU forcing longer support on for cell phones, Foldable phones, 5G in the USA

The Question of the Week- Can I get out of my cell phone contract? The EU wants to force companies to support smart phones for up to 7 years, Foldable phones may be getting better soon, and 5G in the USA- where it works the best

News & Updates- Google still tracking& releasing, NASA’s Ingenuity still going, The perfect Ransomware, Win 11 release

Google is still tracking and releasing your data to hundreds of companies, Nasa’s Ingenuity helicopter on Mars just completed it’s 12^th mission- they were only hoping for 5, Researches describe the perfect ransomware and who it is targeting, and Microsoft sets a release date for Win11

Buying Refurbished Electronics, Tesla Bot, Boston Dynamics Bots

The Question of the Week- Is it OK to buy refurbished Electronics? Important this to know and do when buy renewed and/or refurbished electronics. Telsa promises to buy a Humanoid Bot for menial task, comparing Tesla to Boston Dynamics

News & Updates- Deepfakes used by businesses, FBI Terrorist Watchlist leaked, App for Kabul, Nigerian Ransomware, Office 365 increases

Businesses are using Deepfakes to make remote sales pitches across multiple languages, the FBI Terrorist Watch list was leaked, Residents of Kabul built an App to get around the city avoiding hot spots, Bizarre Ransomware plot trying to build a Nigerian Social Media company, and Microsoft is raising the rates for Office 365

The Question of the Week- Should I switch from Microsoft to the quantum internet?

We discuss the difference between the Internet & the World Wide Web, and then we discuss what is Quantum computing

News & Updates- Hacker Returns $$$, Possible iPhone Changes, Amazon Biometrics, Zoombombing Fine, YikYak, Lamborghini Countach

Poly Network hacker returned all of the stolen money, Apple may be forced to change to the USB-C Port, Amazon One stores are storing Palm Prints in AWS, Zoom is fined for allowing Zoombombing in 2020, YikYak is trying to make a return, and Lamborghini is bringing back the Countach and it is a Hybrid that goes from 0 to 60MPH in 2.8 seconds

Guest Conner Leblanc- Do I need a new phone, Questions Concerning Technology

Our Guest Conner Leblanc joins us to answer the Question of the week- Do I need a New Phone?, 41 Questions Concerning Technology (we only answer a few)

News & Updates- Facebook shuts out NYU researchers, Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative, Biden exec order demands 50% electric cars by 2030, SpaceX, Hackers Returned Crypto Heist $256 Million

Facebook has shut down New York University researchers investigation into misinformation spread through political ads on the social network, Dept. Homeland Security & top tech companies form a new information-sharing initiative, dubbed the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative in a bid to protect critical US infrastructure from ransomware and cyberattacks, President Biden’s executive order for half of all new car sales to be either electric or plug-in hybrid by 2030, SpaceX previews ruggedized Starlink dish for vehicles, ships, and aircraft, Crypto Heist Hackers Have Reportedly Returned Stolen $256 Million

Person PC Backup Guide, Electric Cars, Autonomous Big Trucks

The Question of the Week (for a Free Mug)- For my personal computer, what is the best way to backup my data?

We go through different methods of backing up the data on a person (non-business) computer, we discuss a study that says 41% of people around the world are interested in an Electric or Hybrid Car, and talk about Big 18 Wheel trucks getting Autonomous before passenger cars

News & Updates- Russian Disinformation, Right To Repair, IT Careers, Replacing Excel, Alexa Coffee Maker

A WSJ story talks about how Russian Intelligence is trying to create chaos in the US by spreading false and/or misinformation on social media, the FTC votes to enforce Right To Repair, Top 10 high paying career is in IT, Finance Chiefs want to replace Excel with more focused financial software, and the IoT has merged Alexa and a Coffee Maker

 

Our Guest- Veneeth Iyengar from the Office of Broadband & Connectivity of the State of Louisiana

We talk with Veneeth Iyengar about the needs to get broadband Internet to the rural areas of Louisiana and what his office is tasked to do to make it happen

News & Updates- Regulating & Stealing Cryptocurrency, Win365, Spyware, Facebook Panic

Accountants & Lawmakers Want Rules on Cryptocurrency Accounting, Bitcoin Mining operation caught stealing $2Mil in Electricity, Windows 365 Desk-Top-As-A-Service, Spyware was used on Journalist & Activist, Facebook is losing Billion$$ because iOS allow users to opt out of activity tracking.

Which Processor i5, i7, or i9 and Global Chip Shortage

The Question of the Week- I’m buying a PC for child going to school, which processor should I buy, the i5, i7, or i9? And there is a Global Chip Shortage, we explain why.

News & Updates- REvil, Google & Antitrust, Sleep Tracking, and Right-To-Repair

REvil updates including what Kaseya knew, it was designed not to attack Russian computers, and now the REvil site is gone, the Google Play Store is targeted for Antitrust, FCC gave Amazon permission to track our sleep (Google Nest already had it) more updates on the Right-To-Repair your technology.

Question of the Week- Can my PC run Win11, REvil Ransomware Update, Tesla & Self Driven cars Update

A listener heard us talking about the new Windows 11 and asked, “Will Winn11 run on my computer?” and we answer the question, we discuss the largest ransomware to date, REvil’s exploitation of Kaseya, and Elon Musk admits “he didn't expect making a self-driving Tesla to be so difficult” and a few other self-driving car updates

Audacity is now Spyware, Ca. Driver Mounts a Starlink Disk, Pentagon ends JEDI, App Store is full of Scams

The Open Source audio editing software Audacity was recently purchased and turned into Spyware, A Calif. Driver mounted a Starlink Dish on the hood of his Prius and got ticketed, the Pentagon cancels the JEDI contract with Microsoft, and the App Store is full of Apps that considered “fleeceware”.

Guest Dave Johnson, Lecturer-in-Law, Stanford Law School

Dave Johnson talks about technology and the law, Silicon Valley, and talks about his upcoming book.

Starlink Updates, Virgin Galactic Greenlighted to Space, What is TPM, Texas Supreme Court rules against Facebook, Ransomware using VM’s

Starlink will have global coverage by August, the have almost 70,000 subscribers, and extreme heat shuts down the dish, FAA clears Virgin Galactic to fly paying customers to space, TPM (Trusted Platform Module) Win11 will take full advantage, Texas Supreme Court ruled that Facebook can be held liable for the conduct of people who use the platform to advance sex trafficking activities, Ransomware creating Virtual Machines on PC’s to encrypt the computer.

“Bossware” Surveillance & Employee Monitoring Software, Detailed look into Windows 11, including Microsoft CEO calling out Apple

A listener asked, “Can my boss really see what I’m doing on my work computer?” and the answer is yes, if they want to do so. We discuss what is being called “Bossware” or Employee Monitoring Software, and then Microsoft has unveiled the next generation of its market leading desktop operating system and we review the high points.

Lawmakers aiming at Big Tech, The Unsubscribe Act, SCOTUS Cheerleader ruling, Instagram losing popularity, John McAfee

Congress introduced sweeping antitrust legislation aimed at restraining the power of Big Tech and staving off corporate consolidation, US Senators Are Trying to Make Cancelling Subscriptions Easier, SCOTUS rules in favor of a Cheerleader on Snapchat, Instagram has become boring an John McAfee remembered for brilliance & eccentricities!

Don Monistere talks Cyber Security Guidelines and Cyber Security Assessments

The 3 Most Crucial parts of a Cyber Security Guideline are People, Process & Technology and Cyber Security Assessments are about Network, Vulnerabilities & Risk

Don Monistere Joins us to talk about Windows 11, Microsoft wants to banish passwords, How the FBI got the Colonial money back

Microsoft has announced an “End of Support” for Windows 10 in 2025, giving way to Windows 11, Microsoft’s CISO, Chief Information Security Officer wants to away with passwords for a number of reasons, and we discuss how the FBI clawed back the money from the Colonial Pipeline Ransomware attack

Ransomware Updates, Bitcoin Issue & FBI in action

The Director of the FBI compared Ransomware to the 9/11 Terrorist attacks, JBS Beef hit by Ransomware, but the FBI got over 50% of the ransom of Bitcoin back, which cause a huge drop in the value of Bitcoin, and the FBI sold organized crime all over the world cell phones that had the calculator app with an altered function that sent every message to the FBI first, so hundreds of high level criminals were arrested around the world.

Major Internet Website outages, Amazon Sidewalk is a Bad Idea, WhatsApp Backpedals, Apple pays Big $$ over explicit photos

Major website like the NY Times, Amazon, CNN and more experience outages because a “content delivery network” for more than an hour, Amazon launches Sidewalk that allows anyone to use your bandwidth from your Amazon Echo &/or Ring devices, WhatsApp backpedals and will not force users to accept T&C’s, and Apple paid a woman Millions of dollars because repair technicians were able to get into her phone and they uploaded explicit photos and videos to her Facebook page, of her!

Robot Lawn Mowers, Government Cybersecurity Regulations

A listener asked, “I heard there are robot lawnmowers, is this real”? And we go into detail about new Governmental agencies issuing Cybersecurity Guidelines

Google protects user history, WhatsApp Issue, Digital Life after Death, Stopping a Killer Asteroid, iPhone Benchmark Test, Fla Social Media Law

In this segment we discuss how Google is allowing users to protect their Activity History with passwords & 2FA, WhatsApp is limiting users functionality unless they agree to new terms, How to Prepare your Digital Life for after your Death, How to stop a Killer Asteroid before in crashes into Earth, the iPhone XR does better on a benchmark test than the iPhone 11 & 12, and Florida has a new law banning Social Media from blocking political candidates

PC’s vs the Human Body, Digital Detoxing, E-Mail is Miserable

A listener asked, “I spend a lot of time in front of my computer, are there things I can do?”, so we discussed what PC’s have been doing to the human body, how you need to detox from your digital screens, and how email is making people miserable.

Beavers vs. Internet in Canada, Pres. Biden calls for 2FA, Google forces 2FA, Pirated software create ransomware event, Businesses using TikTok, AG’s urging No to IG for kids

In this segment we discuss a beaver colony that chewed through a protected Internet cable, President Biden’s Executive Order for 2FA, an NTSB for Cyber Attacks, & Security-Focused labels, Google mandate 2FA, Ransomware attack because of Pirated Software, Creative businesses using TikTok videos to attract customers and 44 Attorneys General send a letter to Facebook asking to stop the idea of an “Instagram for Kids”

LSU Goes To The Moon, Facebook & Bot Farms, and iOS 14.5 has opting out feature

In this segment we get very excited about a project that LSU (professors & students) are working on that will send a device to the moon in 2022 to measure radiation and the affects it will have on humans, Facebook found a Bot Farm that generates 200K+ of Political Post designed to incite negative reactions, and Apple released iOS 14.5 which will allow you out of being tracked by Social Media companies trying to build an advertising profile on you.

Guest Don Monistere, President, General Informatics

We talk with Don Monistere, President, General Informatics, about his background and career path, the books he has written, why he chose to come back to S. Louisiana and General Informatics and his thoughts on the future of the IT Industry.

Nest vs. Ring, the EU limits AI, Win10 kills Flash, Signal ads on Facebook and the FB “Supreme Court” rules

The listener question of the week asked, “Which video doorbell is best, The EU is trying to restrict how AI is used, especially in facial recognition, Windows 10 will completely remove Flash from your PC in July, Signal gets ad campaign on Facebook gets shut down for being too specific and the FB Oversight Board rules on former President Trump’s ban from Facebook

Disney’s real Lightsaber, Chinese Rocket Problem, SpaceX Updates, Nissan.com, LA Wallet & Covid-19, Ingenuity Flies Again

On this show, we get excited that Disney has created a real Lightsaber that expands, retracts and lights up, another Chinese rocket is tumbling in a descending orbit around Earth and no one knows when &/or where it will crash, SpaceX says it will not underperform and over 500,000 people have sent in $99 to get on the waiting list, Uzi Nissan won the battle to keep Nissan.com, and the Mars helicopter Ingenuity has made its 4^th flight

Remote Computer Support, iOS 14.5 & Apple News, Instagram for Kids Is a Bad Idea!

The listener question of the week ask, “What is the best way to support another computer remotely?”, Apple announces iOS 14.5, new iPad and AirTags, and then we discuss why Instagram for Kids is a really bad idea!

Ingenuity Flies, Robocall Crackdown, Starlink Update, Facebook Oversight, LinkedIn Scam, Google Argentine Oops

In this episode, we are excited that Ingenuity has flown on Mars, once again the FCC “Cracks Down” on Robocalls, Starlink will let you connect while moving, Facebook has created an Oversight Board to appeal content, Scammers are using LinkedIn as a Phishing tool, and Google.com.ar may or may not have expired.

Recycle Electronics, Congress cracking down on Big Tech, Dragon Naturally Speaking, Coinbase goes Public, NFT’s may cause Climate Change, Crypto Crackdown Warning

The listener question of the week ask ask and we discuss, How to recycle Electronics, Microsoft buys Nuance- the maker of Dragon Naturally Speaking – emphasizing the importance of Voice Recognition software, Coinbase goes IPO, and NFT’s cause extreme usage of energy, Exchange CEO warns of pending crackdown on Cryptocurrency

Municipal ISP’s Blocked, CWA wants regulation, 3 Zettabyte Hard Drive, 6G in 2030, More SolarWinds, Capcom

In this episode we discuss local governments are blocked from competing as an ISP in 18 states, The Communications Workers of America (CWA) union is lobbying state governments to regulate Internet service providers as utilities, Seagate Shipped a 3 Zettabytes of Hard Drive, Huawei Plans to Launch 6G in 2030, US & UK officially blame Russian Government for SolarWinds cyber attack, Capcom blames an 'Old VPN Device' for a Ransomware Attack

Tech Co.’s worth more than Countries, SCOTUS rules in Google v. Oracle, Section 230

We review the fact that Apple, Microsoft & Amazon are worth more than the GDP of most every country on Earth, SCOTUS ruled that Google did not infringe on Oracle’s copyright of Java when they created the Android Operation System, and Justice Thomas comments that Section 230 needs to be “reigned in”.

 

Cryptocurrency & Taxes, Bitcoin Scam, Microsoft Edge, Chrome the Memory Hog, Facebook stops Deepfakes and Got Scaped

In this episode we discuss cryptocurrency and how you should be reporting/paying taxes on the gains and/or losses made, a man lost $1 Million on a scam App that was in the Apple Store, Microsoft Edge will block pop up videos, Google Chrome continues to be a memory hog, and Facebook goes after deepfake videos and punts on 550 million users that had their data scraped.

Prioritizing Wi-Fi, Military Grade HoloLens, Facebook News, Biden Broadband Plan

The listener “Question of the Week” is asking how to prioritize Wi-Fi networks, the we discuss Microsoft’s big contract to develop the HoloLens to be used by the US Army, Facebook Covid-19 profile frames, then the “Off-Facebook Activity” tool, and how to control your FB News Feed, and  President Biden’s plan to extend Broadband Internet Access via Fiber

ChekMarc, Google Maps, Goodbye Cortana, Win95 Easter Egg, World Backup Day, Google Gets Sued

On this episode we discuss a new Social Media platform ChekMarc which was designed for doing good, Microsoft ends Cortana on iOS & Android, the developers of Windows 95 left an Easter Egg of employees names buried in the code, Mar 31^st is World Backup Day, Google gets sued over the Incognito Mode & and also for the announcement to end 3^rd party tracking

Pandemic effecting Tech Jobs, AI & Automation replacing white collar workers, will New Tech create new jobs?, and a few stats on jobs lost to AI

We discuss how the pandemic is effecting jobs in the Tech Sector, how white collar workers should start worrying about AI & Automation replacing them, New Tech has always created new jobs but will it this time, and a few stats on job loss due to AI & Automation

UK Navy protecting the Internet, More Malware, “I’m a Mac” guy goes for a PC, Miss. Requiring CompSci in schools, Detecting Deepfakes, & not many using 5G yet

We discuss how the UK Royal Navy is building a ship to protect undersea Internet Lines, malware from “keygen” sites, the iconic “I’m a Mac” guy now endorsing an Intel PC, the state of Miss. Is requiring Computer Science in all grades K-12 starting in 2024, researchers have developed a way of spotting “Deepfake” videos with 94% accuracy, and while most of the country has access to 5G, less than 10% are actually using 5G service.

What is a non-fungible token (NFT), Netflix cracking down on password sharing, Digital Identities, and Decentralized ID’s

We discuss what a Non-fungible token, or NFT, is, Netflix is testing different methods of how people log into their accounts to prevent username & password sharing, and then we talk a lot about Digital Identities and Decentralized Identities, the good the bad and the ugly.

Tax Season Scams, Tesla Batteries & TechnoKing, iOS Updates, Apple AR & VR Socks, New Broadband Minimum, Moms using Tech for Bad

We discuss how to avoid Tax Season Scams when using online tax prep, Tesla is creating a backup battery for Texas and Elon Musk crowns himself TechnoKing, iOS security Update and iOS 14.5 extends the life of your phone, Apple VR & AR Haptic Socks, Senators want to set minimum Broadband speeds, and 2 moms using tech illegally to help their high school daughters.

Cell Phone Battery Myths, Bidens sends warning message to Big Tech, Amazon Reading your Palm, Honda’s Self Driving Car & Tesla’s not quite Self Driving Car

Debunking Myths about charging cell phone batteries, President Bide appoints to Antitrust Law Professors to prominent rolls in his administration, Amazon is reading your palm instead of your credit card, Honda releases the 1^st production Level 3 Self Driving Car and Tesla admits their cars are & will remain Level 2 for quite some time!

Keith Comeaux, Catholic High & LSU Grad and Deputy Chief Engineer, Mars 2020 Mission‬‬‬ at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Keith Comeaux  from Nasa’s JPL talks about growing up in Baton Rouge, going to LSU & Stanford and then getting to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory to be the Deputy Chief Engineer in charge of the last 2 Mars Rovers! He talks about what you need to do if you are a student and want to work for NASA, and about the Mars Helicopter on Perseverance!  

Rob Powell with Cardinal Capital

Rob Powell tells us about how Cardinal Capital helps businesses get access to capital, working with banks and other lending institutions

SolarWinds Password Fail, Chinese Hacking Exchange, Google to stop Tracking Cookies

The SolarWinds CEO blames a former intern for using the password solarwinds123 as the reason the full debacle was able to get started, Microsoft says Chinese hackers are attacking on premise Exchange servers, and Google says it is going to stop tracking Cookies and prevent 3^rd Parties from tracking Cookies and click trails as well

Eric Romero & Baton Rouge's Open Data, What’s Next After Smartphones, Augmented Reality in 2021

Eric Romero of the City of Baton Rouge Information Services department discusses International Open Data Day, March 6^th and the advances in Baton Rouge’s Open Data Platform, after almost 15 years of the smartphone, what’s next and who is going to lead, and 2021 promises to be a big ear for the Augmented Reality, AR, industry!

NASA’s Parachute Message, Facebook Re-Friends Australia, MAC Malware, Starlink Update, Microsoft Office 2021

NASA posted a cryptic message in the parachute of the Mars Rover Perseverance, Australia concedes to Facebook when FB played hardball, the Malware “Silver Sparrow” is running amok in MAC’s , Elon Musk say Starlink will double its download speed by the end of the year, and Microsoft will release it’s next version of Office later in 2021.