AwesomeCast: Tech and Gadget Talk

The Minions made a Wi-Fi router — and somehow it’s actually good. Sorg, Katie Dudas, and Dave Podnar are back for AwesomeCast 798 with a wonderfully strange collection of tech, gaming, nostalgia and Pittsburgh stories. Sorg discovers Solitaire Alone Together, a browser experience that recreates Windows 98-era Solitaire while letting you watch people around the world play alongside you. Katie unbox...

Sorg and Dave Podnar dive into Apple Shortcuts’ increasingly powerful automation tools, including a shortcut that can generate Instagram captions and hashtags from a photo and prepare the post for sharing. Then Sorg brings stories back from California: a visit to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pizzeria in Santa Monica, a wild experience aboard Universal Studios Hollywood’s new Fast & Furious...

Michael Sorg and Katie Dudas are joined by Sam Eitzen, CEO of Snapbar , for a deep dive into how artificial intelligence is changing experiential marketing, trade shows, conferences, brand activations, and the humble photo booth. Sam explains how Snapbar evolved from physically hauling hundreds of photo booths to events into building a web-based platform that lets brands create interactive experie...

Katie Dudas visits Pittsburgh Robotics & AI Discovery Day 2026 and catches up with Trevor Sibley, Marketing Manager at Pittsburgh-based HEBI Robotics , to meet a robot with a very Pittsburgh story. When the NFL Draft came to Pittsburgh, HEBI had the opportunity to appear on the main stage alongside Carnegie Mellon University. Naturally, they decided their robot needed a local upgrade: “PLAY RE...

Apple finally gave the tech world its foldable iPhone, and the biggest question on AwesomeCast 796 isn’t whether it looks impressive. It’s whether anyone needs a $1,999 phone. Sorg, Katie Dudas and Dave Podnar spend this week’s episode looking at where Apple is going next, while also catching up on Nintendo, MapQuest, Pittsburgh technology and some unusually revealing internet analytics. Siri Gets...

Xbox cloud gaming limits are changing Sorg’s living-room setup, MapQuest is turning navigation into a pixel-art adventure, and a rooster alarm app wants you to work for your snooze button. On AwesomeCast 795, Michael Sorg, Katie Dudas, and Dave Podnar explore gaming news, gadgets, apps, and geek culture from Pittsburgh. • Xbox Cloud Gaming limits: Sorg explains why he moved his Xbox Series S back...

How do you preserve physical video games in a world increasingly designed around downloads? How much would you pay for a really good keyboard? And what exactly happens when you sort the Nintendo Switch store from cheapest to most expensive? Those questions—and several much stranger ones—come up on AwesomeCast 794 with Sorg, Katie Dudas, and Dave Podnar. Xbox Finds a New Use for the Game Disc One o...

Sorg, Katie Dudas, and Dave Podnar are back for another round of geeky tech, gadgets, games, collectibles, and Pittsburgh happenings. The episode opens on a somber note with a tribute to Dolly Parton and the impact of her philanthropy, including her work supporting childhood literacy. Then the crew gets into everything from simulated RC racing and Apple’s latest Macs to a life-size Grogu, Linux hi...

Sorg, Katie Dudas, and Dave Podnar explore an AI pocket pet that grows up with its owner, clues pointing toward camera-equipped Apple AirPods, TikTok’s concerning voice-call feature, robots building electric vehicles, changes to YouTube view counts, retro Mario experiments, and more technology news from Pittsburgh. This week’s stories and gadgets: Pittsburgh Shootout preview: Sorg and Katie prepar...

Sorg and Dave Podnar are back for another AwesomeCast packed with Pittsburgh tech, gaming, streaming, photography, AI, retro media, and a surprisingly practical app for finding a bathroom when you really need one. The episode starts locally with Dave highlighting Stormfreak , a Pittsburgh-area weather enthusiast who has built a following on Reddit by offering practical, level-headed forecasts with...

What happens when a PC gamer turns downloadable Steam games into physical cartridges? Sorg, Katie Dudas and Dave Podnar explore that inventive project alongside an AI-generated reality show starring romantic fruits, Xbox’s possible plan for preserving physical game collections, Fitbit’s long-awaited Apple Health support and a 9,000-pound rocket stage headed for the Moon. The crew also discusses a...

What happens when drones go somewhere they’re not supposed to go? In this AwesomeChat, Sorg talks with Logan Harris, CEO of Spotter Global , about the technology being developed to detect drones, track their operators, protect critical infrastructure, and give security teams a better picture of what is happening across large areas. Spotter Global began by shrinking ground-surveillance radar techno...

Can AI make you better at Photoshop instead of replacing Photoshop? Sorg, Katie Dudas, and Dave Podnar explore that question on AwesomeCast 789 as Sorg shares a workflow for turning AI-generated concepts into editable graphics while keeping control of the final design. The crew also gets into Pittsburgh technology history with plans to preserve Westinghouse’s Atom Smasher, the impressive Commercia...

This week on AwesomeCast 788 , Sorg, Katie Dudas, and Dave Podnar explore the growing appeal of retro technology, screen-free devices, customizable gadgets, and digital tools that give users more control. Katie begins with Mama’s Night Off , a browser game inspired by Dungeon Crawler Carl and the Maeve Chocolate Dirty Shirley bar. Dave introduces Garmin’s new screenless fitness tracker, an alterna...

AwesomeCast 787 gets practical, futuristic and increasingly strange as Sorg, Katie Dudas and Dave Podnar explore family-safe phones, connected health gadgets, USB-C mysteries, robotic limbs, Instagram’s latest AI privacy controversy and Fortnite’s revealing new take on the DC Universe. Sorg also begins downloading the iOS 27 public beta during the show, despite Katie’s warnings and a few concerns...

AwesomeChat welcomes Frédéric Guitton of iTargetGolf to talk about the future of interactive golf technology and how driving ranges are becoming more social, competitive, and game-like. Frédéric explains how iTargetGolf uses interactive targets, animated lights, in-bay feedback, and integrations with systems like Toptracer, TrackMan, and Inrange to make golf practice feel more like a real-life vid...

This week on AwesomeCast 786, Sorg, Katie Dudas, and Dave Podnar talk practical gadgets, game streaming, refurbished tech, digital ownership, and the weird future of transportation. Katie brings a larger, easier-to-open pill organizer that solves real daily medication frustrations. Dave recommends Dell Refurbished for affordable business-class computers, and Sorg shares how Aeroplay brings NVIDIA...

This week on AwesomeCast 785, Sorg and Dave Podnar get geeky with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory’s massive 3,200-megapixel digital camera, Red Bull’s world’s fastest filming drone chasing a Formula 1 car, and the tech legacy of Martine Rothblatt for Pride Month. The hosts also dig into digital game ownership, GTA VI’s physical copy controversy, Nintendo-style game key cards, Sorg’s new AI video exp...

This week on AwesomeCast , Sorg is joined by Dave Podnar while Katie is on assignment. The crew digs into practical tech, gaming platforms, open-source operating systems, sports broadcast innovation, retro-inspired phones, and one very funny automated social media mistake involving DoorDash, soccer, and T-Pain. Stories and gadgets discussed: Dave’s Awesome Thing of the Week: Shokz OpenRun Pro 2 he...

Sorg and Katie are back on the road in Michigan, Dave Podnar joins from the Pod Cave, and Missy keeps the studio running from Pittsburgh for this travel-heavy episode of AwesomeCast. This week, the crew talks about Niagara Falls adventures, World Cup watch parties, international visitors discovering American mega-stores, the Strong Museum of Play, Nerdvana, Google Gemini Pro, electric vehicle camo...

Sorg and Dave Podnar break down a packed tech week on AwesomeCast 782, including Apple’s WWDC announcements, new Apple Intelligence features, child safety updates, and how Siri may finally become more useful across devices. The show also dives into He-Man movie nostalgia, Nintendo Direct news, video game preservation laws, and practical podcast lighting gear. Stories & Gadgets Discussed Apple...

This week on AwesomeCast 781, Sorg, Katie, and Podnar are recording from the road in Ann Arbor, Michigan, while covering the AutoDrive Challenge and breaking down a packed week in tech, gaming, AI, gadgets, and local Pittsburgh creativity. Stories & Gadgets Discussed: He-Man movie excitement and Denny’s tie-in menu https://www.dennys.com/promotions/he-man-movie Sorg and Katie talk Masters of t...

Sorg and Dave Podnar are back for AwesomeCast 780 with a packed tech talk covering retro cameras, AI announcements, accessibility breakthroughs, gaming news, and a little 1986 Transformers nostalgia. This week, Sorg dives into the new Dungeon Crawler Carl graphic novel release and how the series has become a multi-format obsession across audiobooks, print books, Webtoon, and comics. Dave shares Da...

Sorg is on the road in Michigan for Wrestling Mayhem Show 1004, joined by Rizz, Mad Mike, and Producer Missy for a chaotic week in pro wrestling. The crew breaks down WWE Backlash, Asuka’s possible farewell, Danhausen and Minihausen’s breakout WWE moment, Lil Yachty’s surprisingly great wrestling energy, the John Cena Classic announcement, WWE/TKO roster cuts, creator reaction-stream takedowns, an...