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

This week, we present author and commentator Josh Centers, Managing Editor for TidBITS, and author of "Take Control of Apple TV" and other titles, who devotes a heavy portion of this segment to focus on the inconsistencies of the two HDR formats for 4K TV, HDR10 and Dolby Vision. He cites instances where it doesn't seem to work even on sets where it's supposedly compatible. Gene and Josh also disc...

On this week's episode, we feature outspoken podcaster and columnist Kirk McElhearn, who focuses heavily on his experiences with Apple's HomePod. He explains the problems he's found with the product, particularly a bassy response, and problems with Apple's Siri voice assistant. Will future software updates allow you to adjust the frequency profile of a HomePod, other than with iTunes? What about i...

On this week’s all-star episode, we present writer/editor Adam Engst, of TidBITS, both of whom talk about their different approaches to watching TV. Gene actually cares about the technology, while Adam will more or less accept anything that works. The Apple TV isn’t treated well by Gene, who suggests that at least some sets with built-in smart features are more or less just as useful. There’s also...

This week, we present a classic encore episode featuring John Martellaro, Senior Editor, Analysis & Reviews for The Mac Observer. John’s talking points include the HomePod, and whether some of the critical reviewers, including Consumer Reports magazine, were expecting too much from it. He also brings up a possible sensitivity with nearby objects, where the presence of a salt shaker close to a...

We feature commentator Russell Holly, managing editor of Mobile Nations, who focuses first on the proposals for "Right to Repair" laws in a number of states, including, most recently, California. What about giving consumers the right to buy genuine OEM parts for their tech gear, such as iPhones, and have access to service manuals? Can Apple and other companies void your warranty because you decide...

Gene and guest cohost J. Randall Murphy present Fortean/paranormal researcher Joshua Cutchin. who takes us on a fascinating journey through the nooks and crannies of the world of the paranormal, folklore and the frontiers of consciousness. Among the cases discussed, the curious UFO contact from 1961 involving chicken farmer Joe Simonton, who claims to have been presented with bad-tasting buckwheat...

In a special encore presentation, we feature cybersecurity expert Dr. Eric Cole, Ph. D., who served as Cybersecurity Commissioner for President Obama, the personal cybersecurity advisor for Bill Gates and his family, is a former Senior Vice President at McAfee, and was the Chief Scientist at Lockheed Martin, where he specialized in secure network design advising the Dept. of Defense, the FBI, and...

This week's guests include commentator John Martellaro, Senior Editor, Analysis & Reviews for The Mac Observer. John's talking points include the HomePod, and whether some of the critical reviewers, including Consumer Reports magazine, were expecting too much from it. He also brings up a possible sensitivity with nearby objects, where the presence of a salt shaker close to a HomePod seriously...

This week's guests include commentator and podcaster Kirk McElhearn. This week he focuses his discussion on reports that Apple has lost the services of a showrunner, Bryan Fuller, for its planned "Amazing Stories" reboot and whether that was due to taking an approach that's too restrained, too family friendly. Kirk and Gene agree about a possible way Apple will distribute these new shows. They als...

This week's guests include Jarrod Suffecool, Intelligence Team Lead for Binary Defense, who takes us on a fascinating journey through the Dark Web (darknet). You'll learn about the unsavory activities that include "crime-as-a-service" — professional hacking kits and criminal services (created or offered by skilled hackers) that anyone can buy or rent online, and they're often very inexpensive. Thi...

This week's guests include writer/editor Adam Engst, of TidBITS, who delivers an update on the CPU bug and Apple's ongoing fixes to "mitigate," but not eliminate the problem. Adam briefly explains the Meltdown and Spectre bugs, as Gene briefly banters about the connection of the latter name to one of the James Bond villains. There's a brief discussion of CES, which involved the usual presentation...

This week's guests include commentator and podcaster Peter Cohen, who discusses the CPU bug, involving malware dubbed Meltdown an Spectre, and why was Apple blamed by some for a problem that's existed with CPUs throughout the computing industry since 1997? Peter provides a full explanation of the problem and how it's triggered. There's also a discussion about the dispute over iPhone X sales, wheth...

This week's guests include tech journalist Josh Centers, Managing Editor for TidBITS, and author of "Take Control of Apple TV" and other titles. Josh talks at length about the notorious CPU bug and how it's impacted the computing world. Gene brings up reports that older Windows PCs will evidently suffer from performance reductions, and Josh mentions cloud services, such as gaming systems, which ar...

We feature podcaster and commentator Kirk McElhearn. The main focus is the revelation that CPU chips from Intel, AMD and other manufacturers have serious security flaws that may have existed as far back as 1997. This week Apple announced that recent iOS and macOS updates have contained "mitigations" for the Meltdown bug, and that it plans to introduce fixes for the Spectre bug that impacts browser...

We feature cybersecurity expert Dr. Eric Cole, Ph. D., who served as Cybersecurity Commissioner for President Obama, the personal cybersecurity advisor for Bill Gates and his family, is a former Senior Vice President at McAfee, and was the Chief Scientist at Lockheed Martin, where he specialized in secure network design advising the Dept. of Defense, the FBI, and the Dept. of Homeland Security. A...

On this week's all-star episode, we feature outspoken commentator/podcaster Kirk McElhearn. Front and center is the ruckus over reports that Apple was deliberately throttling performance of older iPhones. Even though Apple admitted to the practice, claiming it was only done to allow units with deteriorating batteries to function properly, several class action lawsuits have already been filed again...

On this week's all-star episode, we present tech commentator Rob Pegoraro, who writes for USA Today, Yahoo Finance, Consumer Reports, Wirecutter and other publications. During this episode, Rob will put the FCC's decision to abandon net neutrality into perspective. Will ISPs begin to prioritize net traffic, or will the possibility of negative publicity and potential lawsuits postpone — or prevent...

In a special encore presentation, we feature outspoken podcaster and commentator Kirk McElhearn. After Kirk mentions seeing a performance in a Shakespearean play by Ian McKellen, the subject turns to pop culture. Kirk isn't a fan of super heroes, well except for The Shadow, an old radio and pulp novel character featured in a 1994 movie that starred Alec Baldwin as the titular character. Gene and K...

This week's guests include J.D. Levite, senior editor of Thrifter.com. Thrifter is a consumer site focused on tracking hot deals on tech and other products, special holiday promotions, etc. This discussion focuses on finding the best deals for the holidays, including top grade 4K TVs and the key features that will maximize your enjoyment. Gene and J.D. will also discuss the top gaming consoles, me...

This week's guests include outspoken commentator Peter Cohen, who joins Gene in a brief discussion of the decision of Disney/Pixer chief John Lassiter, once a colleague of the Steve Jobs, to take a leave of absence over a possible sexual abuse scandal. What about rumors that an iPhone SE 2 will be assembled in India for distribution in that country? The discussion also focuses on the possibilities...

This week's guests include tech journalist Josh Centers, Managing Editor for TidBITS, and author of "Take Control of Apple TV" and other titles. Josh talks at length about his iPhone X, and perhaps its most controversial feature, the notch. He explains how easy it was for him to adapt to a smartphone that doesn't have the traditional Home button. As the owner of a new Nintendo Switch portable gami...

This week's guests include outspoken commentator and podcaster Kirk McElhearn. The main focus is on taxes, and whether Apple is unfairly reducing its corporate tax burden by strategic parking of its huge offshore money hoard. Apple has selected the small island of Jersey, which has ties to the UK. In a series of statements, the company claims that it pays billions of dollars in taxes every year, a...

This week's guests include outspoken columnist Jeff Butts, of The Mac Observer. During his first visit to the show, he'll explain how he first switched to the macOS when his PC failed, by converting it to a "Hackintosh," a computer hacked to run Apple's OS. He'll also explain how he modified a PC to run macOS High Sierra. Jeff will also discuss the iPhone X, which remained seriously backordered du...

This week's guests include outspoken podcaster and commentator Kirk McElhearn. After Kirk mentions seeing a performance in a Shakespearean play by Ian McKellen, the subject turns to pop culture. Kirk isn't a fan of super heroes, well except for The Shadow, an old radio and pulp novel character featured in a 1994 movie that starred Alec Baldwin as the titular character. Gene and Kirk discuss who mi...

This week's guests include outspoken podcaster and commentator Peter Cohen. This week, Peter and Gene talk about the fate of Apple's cheapest personal computer, the Mac mini, the downgraded 2014 version, and what sort of upgrade might be in the pipeline in light of positive comments from Apple CEO Tim Cook. Peter explains why he feels that Apple has taken the wrong direction with the mini. Gene an...