IT SPARC Cast

In Episode 36 of IT SPARC Cast - News Bytes, John and Lou tackle the week’s biggest tech stories in under 20 minutes. They kick off with Signal’s pushback against Microsoft’s Recall feature and the broader privacy implications of screenshot-based AI indexing. Then, it’s onto Google Meet’s new universal translator, which mimics your voice in other languages in real time, and Google Beam, a 3D video...

In this episode of IT SPARC Cast - Top T̴e̴n̴ Twenty , John Barger and Lou Schmidt complete the two-part series covering the Top Twenty Most Influential IT Pioneers That You Never Heard Of. This time, the countdown reaches the heavy hitters of IT history—the top 10 unsung heroes whose groundbreaking contributions laid the foundations for modern computing. From Douglas Engelbart’s legendary “Mother...

In Episode 35 of IT SPARC Cast, John and Lou take you through Cisco’s bold bet on quantum networking and its implications for encryption and data privacy. OpenAI shakes things up with new leadership and acquisitions, while Disney’s massive Slack data leak ends with a hacker caught and charged. In our new Coffee Break segment, the impossible might finally be happening: Half-Life 3. In the CVE of th...

In this episode of IT SPARC Cast - Top T̴e̴n̴ Twenty , John Barger and Lou Schmidt dive deep into the first half of their Top 20 countdown of the most influential IT pioneers you’ve probably never heard of. These are the unsung heroes whose innovations paved the way for everything from modern wireless communication to object-oriented programming. From Hedy Lamarr’s groundbreaking work in secure co...

IT SPARC Cast Top Ten S01E07 - Top 10 Biggest Networking Companies That No Longer Exist ⸻ Brief Description: In this episode of IT SPARC Cast - Top Ten, hosts John Barger and Lou Schmidt count down the Top 10 Largest Networking Companies That No Longer Exist . From industry giants like Nortel and Lucent Technologies to trailblazers like 3Com and Foundry Networks , these companies once dominated th...

In Episode 34 of IT SPARC Cast, John and Lou dive deep into a week of automation, acceleration, and AI gone awry. TLS certificates are about to live shorter lives than ever before—forcing IT pros into a race toward automation. Meanwhile, OpenAI’s newest models are hallucinating more than ever, raising red flags for enterprises relying on AI accuracy. Plus, quantum messaging gets real, Shadow AI ri...

Top 10 Most Likely Ways You’ll Be Breached Episode Description: In IT SPARC Cast – Top Ten Episode 6 , John Barger and Lou Schmidt dive into the real-world threats that keep IT professionals up at night. This episode ranks the Top 10 Most Likely Ways You’ll Be Breached —from sophisticated zero-day exploits to good old-fashioned phishing emails. Whether you’re running enterprise infrastructure or j...

In Episode 33 of IT SPARC Cast, John and Lou tackle the rising tension between global tech suppliers and national security concerns—starting with TP-Link’s efforts to unlink from its Chinese roots to stay in the U.S. market. They also explore how AI is powering a nuclear energy renaissance, dig into Doom’s most absurd collector’s edition yet, and reflect on Zoom’s rare outage. In the CVE of the We...

Episode Description: In this episode of IT SPARC Cast - Top Ten , John Barger and Lou Schmidt break down the most infamous hackers and hacker groups that pulled off massive cyberattacks—then vanished into the digital shadows. From ransomware crews that crippled national infrastructure to lone wolves who sparked global panic, these digital outlaws left a trail of data breaches, financial chaos, and...

In Episode 32 of IT SPARC Cast, John and Lou unpack the controversy behind the White House blaming iPhones for the Signal security scandal—and why the real issue might not be Signal at all. They also explore Microsoft’s rollout of the Windows 365 Link and celebrate a win for transparency in Apple’s legal encryption battle with the UK government. The CVE of the Week dives into how Microsoft’s Secur...

In this week’s episode of IT SPARC Cast - Top Ten , hosts John Barger and Lou Schmidt dive into the darker side of tech turned bright. We’re counting down the Top 10 Hackers That Ran Afoul of the Law and Then Made Good . These are real-life stories of rogue coders, phone phreaks, worm creators, and cyber anarchists who got busted but eventually turned things around to use their skills to do good—s...

In Episode 31 of IT SPARC Cast, John and Lou tackle the latest headline-grabbing topics in tech: Replit’s CEO proclaims “You shouldn’t learn to code,” igniting a fiery debate about AI’s role in the future of software development. Then, they dissect the explosive Signal controversy involving high-ranking U.S. officials—and the security lessons IT pros must take to heart. Also in this episode: the l...

Not all legendary tech comes with name recognition. In this episode of IT SPARC Cast - Top Ten , John & Lou count down the Top Ten Most Influential Operating Systems You’ve Never Heard Of.  While these operating systems that didn’t dominate the headlines, they did quietly change the world. These OSes shaped modern computing, from time-sharing and GUIs to virtualization and microkernels. Y...

In Episode 30 of IT SPARC Cast, John and Lou dig into Microsoft’s aggressive push to retire Windows 10 and what it means for your enterprise refresh cycle. They spotlight an open-source project that could revolutionize container security, and celebrate France rejecting a dangerous encryption backdoor proposal. But the real eye-opener? This week’s CVE of the Week dives into how a breach at 23andMe...

Not every operating system is a winner—and some are unforgettable failures. In this episode of IT SPARC Cast - Top Ten , hosts John Barger and Lou Schmidt count down the Top 10 Biggest Operating System Flops of All Time . From Microsoft’s infamous Windows ME to IBM’s billion-dollar misstep with OS/2, we dive into the technical misfires, strategic blunders, and head-scratching decisions that doomed...

In Episode 29 of IT SPARC Cast, John and Lou take on the confusion surrounding “AI agents,” cut through the marketing hype, and put a stake in the ground with a clear definition. They explore NVIDIA’s bold leap into generalist robotics, Google’s AI “co-scientist” solving a decade-old superbug mystery in 48 hours, and Zillow’s CEO clapping back at Return-to-Office mandates with proof that remote wo...

IT SPARC Cast - Top Ten: Technologies Older Than You Think Episode Description Think that cutting-edge tech is brand new? Think again. In this episode of IT SPARC Cast - Top Ten , John Barger and Lou Schmidt count down the Top Ten Technologies That Are Older Than You Think . From the humble computer mouse to AI-powered neural networks, you’ll be shocked to discover just how far back these innovati...

In Episode 28 of IT SPARC Cast , John and Lou uncover the latest PowerSchool student data breach , exposing security failures in K-12 education. They also dive into Ubiquiti’s new 10Gig WiFi 7 access points , Google and HP’s 3D video calling breakthrough , and Broadcom’s profit surge after acquiring VMware . In the CVE of the Week , they dissect a shocking backdoor in ESP32 Bluetooth chips , affec...

Governments worldwide are ramping up efforts to undermine data privacy, and the UK is leading the charge with its Investigatory Powers Act (IPA). In this explosive IT SPARC Cast - Deep Dive , we dissect Apple’s quiet resistance against the UK’s demand for a backdoor into encrypted iCloud data, the global trends in encryption regulation, and what this means for businesses and individuals alike. Are...

In Episode 27 of IT SPARC Cast , John and Lou break down Ubiquiti’s misleading WiFi 7 marketing , revealing why some so-called WiFi 7 access points lack 6GHz radios . They also discuss Google’s new Free Space Optics (FSO) technology , how employers are tracking employees in ways you may not realize , and Microsoft’s final goodbye to Skype . In the CVE of the Week , they expose the real danger of o...

In Episode 26 of IT SPARC Cast , John and Lou cover Bird’s surprising exit from the EU , Microsoft’s new free ad-supported Office suite , and Google & Qualcomm’s commitment to 8 years of Android updates . They also delve into how disgruntled employees are weaponizing AI to overwhelm legal teams and discuss a shocking CVE of the Week where a Disney employee’s AI tool download led to personal an...

In this episode of IT SPARC Cast - Deep Dive , John and Lou analyze Jamie Dimon’s fiery rant against remote work , where the JP Morgan CEO blames work-from-home policies for inefficiency, lack of creativity, and poor decision-making at his company. They dissect his arguments , revealing that the real issue might not be remote work but rather management and cultural problems within JP Morgan. From...

In this episode of IT SPARC Cast , John and Lou dive into AI’s legal pitfalls , discussing how AI hallucinations in court documents are causing trouble for lawyers. They also explore the quantum computing leap with Microsoft’s Majorana 1 chip , and dissect the draconian reorganization at Lloyds Bank . In the CVE of the Week , they break down the Palo Alto Networks firewall vulnerability and why pa...

In this episode of IT SPARC Cast , John and Lou cover the EU’s massive $200 billion AI investment , the UK and US refusing to sign an international AI regulation pact , and Workday’s bold move into AI agent management . They also break down TikTok’s sideloading strategy on Android , and in the CVE of the Week , they go ballistic on the UK government’s demand for backdoor access to iCloud —a move t...

In this episode of IT SPARC Cast , John and Lou cover Adobe Acrobat’s AI-powered contract analysis , Sam Altman’s admission that OpenAI has been on the wrong side of history , and Rackspace’s move away from VMware amid skyrocketing costs. They also discuss Stanford’s new $50 AI model and its potential to disrupt AI training. In the CVE of the Week , they expose DeepSeek’s massive security breach ,...