The Tech Night Owl LIVE — Tech Radio with a Pop Culture Twist!

Gene presents a regular, tech podcaster and commentator Kirk McElhearn, who comes aboard to talk about the impact of the outbreak of data hacks and ways to protect your stuff with strong passwords. He'll also provide a common sense if unsuspected tip in setting one up. Also on the agenda, rumors about the next Mac mini from Apple. Will it, as rumored, be a visual clone of the Apple TV, and what ar...

Gene introduces Alex Serban COO of Reflector Media. He'll talk about its decision to acquire a long-time Mac news and views site, macobserver.com. At the time of the purchase, Serban says the site had been confronting hard times and losing money. After the purchase, it has grown four times, restored to its rightful place and become one of the most read Apple-centric websites. In addition to talkin...

Gene presents a return visit from AI wizard Ed Watal. On the agenda is the troubling topic of whether AI will someday surpass human intelligence. He talks about the uncertain timeline of when this might happen, whether it’s imminent or will occur some time in the foreseeable future. In reviewing AI’s potentials, what about its limitations, such as the lack of human-like intelligence and adaptabili...

Tech commentator Kirk McElhearn joins Gene to explain the ins and outs of Apple’s Intelligence, its answer to the AI revolution. More or less. He also covers such subjects as the failures of Siri plus the Apple Watch’s health features and their value. And what about the 5G revolution? Was it all mostly a hype to bring profits to mobile phone companies? There is also a brief discussion about the va...

Gene welcomes AI guru Dev Nag, CEO of QueryPal, a leading technology company, to talk about the ethical dilemmas of generative AI. The topics include: Bias and fairness, originality and authorship when it comes to AI producing creative content, deepfakes and misinformation from malicious actors, and the future of work. In the last, is there the danger of AI replacing human workers in some fields?...

Learn the ins and outs of podcasting as Gene presents K-Town. If you really want to become what might develop into a radio star, you'll learn lots of insights into how to get started, the equipment you need, with the emphasis on affordability, and where to have it hosted to make it easily available across Planet Earth. K-Town produces several podcasts, including Mysterious Radio, Paranormal Fears,...

AI guru Ed Watal joins Gene to talk about the focus and very real shortcomings of Apple's new Apple Intelligence initiative, introduced at the June 2024 Worldwide Developer's Conference (WWDC). He discusses some of the key elements of Apple's software release and versioning strategy, and the limited launch of its AI technology, which arrived in beta, only available in U.S. English for a select few...

Digital marketing and media expert Tom Lavecchia talks to Gene about the history of search, including Yahoo and the rise and dominance of Google. He provides insights on a rapidly evolving trend that's poised to disrupt the search engine landscape: TikTok Search. With over a billion active users, TikTok's search functionality is gaining traction, and La Vecchia believes it has the potential to cha...

Gene presents a special appearance by his son, Grayson Steinberg, the original cohost for The Tech Night Owl LIVE. Grayson and Gene will bring you up to date on how they created their sci-fi book series, “Attack of the Rockoids and the various approaches of providing technology in school systems. Grayson first began to write while still in grade school, beginning with short plays performed by his...

USDA-Certified Geek™ Bryan Chaffin, a frequent guest on the original version of The Tech Night Owl LIVE over the years, is the author of SciFi thriller "Accidental Intelligence." On the menu for this episode is a review of the goings on at Apple Inc. over the past five years, and how the products have changed. And what about Bryan's Apple Vision Pro? What does he use it for? Does he use it? Does B...

In the first episode of the second generation of The Tech Night Owl LIVE, Gene brings you up to date about the tech industry with author, commentator and podcaster Kirk McElhearn. How have things changed over five years? What about the arrival of advanced AI, faster Internet, the streaming TV conundrum, the success of Apple Silicon on Mac computers? Kirk is a lapsed New Yorker living in Shakespear...

After 17 years as a pioneer in online radio and podcasting, this episode was, at the time, the final original episode of The Tech Night Owl LIVE. For this show, we gathered some of our favorite guests to reminisce and talk about the present and the near-future of or favorite fruit company, Apple Inc. It all began with the early days of the Internet, its complexities, and Apple's path from Macintos...

This week we present a special encore episode featuring Josh Centers, Managing Editor for TidBITS, and author of “Take Control of Apple TV” and other titles. This week Gene and Josh talk about the recent surprising U.S. Supreme Court ruling, in which an antitrust trial against the App Store was allowed to proceed. How would an unfavorable verdict impact Apple and the way it manages its online stor...

This week we present a very special encore episode featuring outspoken tech commentator Peter Cohen. This week, Peter talks about a pet peeve of his, that, with so many models in each Apple product line, the differences may be blurred. This harkens back to the way it was in the 1990s, where there were many Mac models under the Performa moniker that were hardly different. Peter also talks about the...

This week we present a very special encore episode featuring commentator Josh Centers, Managing Editor for TidBITS, and author of “Take Control of Apple TV” and other titles. During this episode, Josh focuses on such topics as attempts by law enforcement to unlock a suspect's iPhone. While iCloud data is readily obtained, the iPhone is encrypted and Apple has refused to create a back door for secu...

This week we present a very special encore episode featuring tech writer Andrew Orr from the The Mac Observer, Andrew covers a variety of topics from some of his recent articles, including more information about the Facebook follies, and the alleged abuses by the world’s largest social network. What about the paucity of apps that support Apple’s controversial touch bar, which is found on some mode...

This week we present a very special encore episode featuring  tech journalist Sean Aune, Editor-in-Chief of technobuffalo.com. During this segment, Sean will discuss the ongoing debate about privacy, focusing on recent issues involving Facebook. Do these incidents mean that Facebook is destined to lose its status as the world's largest social network? Will it become the next MySpace? Gene and Sean...

This week, we present a very special encore episode in which we feature outspoken tech commentator Peter Cohen. This week, Peter talks about a pet peeve of his, that, with so many models in each Apple product line, the differences may be blurred. This harkens back to the way it was in the 1990s, where there were many Mac models under the Performa moniker that were hardly different. Peter also talk...

This week we feature commentator Josh Centers, Managing Editor for TidBITS, and author of “Take Control of Apple TV” and other titles. This week Gene and Josh talk about the recent surprising U.S. Supreme Court ruling, in which an antitrust trial against the App Store was allowed to proceed. How would an unfavorable verdict impact Apple and the way it manages its online stores? Will there be lower...

This week, we present a very special encore episode featuring outspoken columnist John Martellaro, Senior Editor, Analysis & Reviews for The Mac Observer. His bill of fare this week includes Apple's March media event and its implications going forward. Were there really two few details. John also explains why suggestions that Apple buy Netflix are not viable, why things aren't what they appear...

This week we we feature a very special encore segment with commentator Josh Centers, Managing Editor for TidBITS, and author of “Take Control of Apple TV” and other titles. Gene and Josh talk about Apple’s foray into TV streaming, and its “up-front” presentation of shows and stars during a March 25, 2019 media event. With few details to go by, just how will Apple’s streaming service fare against t...

This week, we feature outspoken tech commentator Peter Cohen. This week, Peter talks about a pet peeve of his, that, with so many models in each Apple product line, the differences may be blurred. This harkens back to the way it was in the 1990s, where there were many Mac models under the Performa moniker that were hardly different. Peter also talks about the alleged "Apple Tax," where the company...

This week, we feature tech editor and commentator Bryan Chaffin, co-founder and co-publisher of The Mac Observer. Bryan, you see, is hopping mad at Apple for not paying enough attention to the Mac in recent years. He feels that product upgrades come too slowly, meaning you pay current prices for models that can be two or more years old. Bryan also speculates about the next Mac Pro workstation, whi...

This week, we feature outspoken columnist John Martellaro, Senior Editor, Analysis & Reviews for The Mac Observer. His bill of fare this week includes Apple's March media event and its implications going forward. Were there really two few details. John also explains why suggestions that Apple buy Netflix are not viable, why things aren't what they appear to be with Apple, Apple's privacy ad an...

This week we we feature commentator Josh Centers, Managing Editor for TidBITS, and author of “Take Control of Apple TV” and other titles. Gene and Josh talk about Apple’s foray into TV streaming, and its “up-front” presentation of shows and stars during a March 25, 2019 media event. With few details to go by, just how will Apple’s streaming service fare against the likes of Amazon Prime and Netfli...