• Ep. 296 - Singularity Rising Author James Miller

    TOPIC:  The coming AI singularity - that point when the growth of non-human intelligence surpasses our ability to control (even understand it) is coming.  Do you know how it will affect you, and what you can do about it?  This week we have a fantastic conversation with author James Miller about his new book Singularity Rising ... tune in to find out if you should be excited, afraid, or both! Jay Garmon hits us up ...
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  • Ep. 217 - Facebook for Old Folks!

    TOPIC:  Dave and Mike have a GREAT time with return victim ... errm, guest that is, Mike Miller!  He talks to us about his new book Facebook for Grownups (or as I like to call it - "Facebook for Old Folks"). This wouldn't really be TechTalk without our good friend Jay Garmon as he asks us this toughy: What classic board game was used by the Allies to help rescue POW's during WWII? We wind up with just enough t...
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  • Ep. 230 - Transhuman Much?

    TOPIC:  Just Mike this week, but in addition to all his regular junk he manages to squeeze in a fascinating interview with  Braden Allenby and David Sarewitz, authors of the book "The Techno-Human Condition." Jay Garmon finally joins us again and regains our trust with some awesome geek trivia (as usual)! Why will the final shuttle mission in July have only 4 crew members? We have such a great conversation we d...
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  • Ep. 195 - Mark Frauenfelder's "Made by Hand"

    TOPIC:  You may have seen him on "The Colbert Show," but you'll actually get to listen to him on TechTalk!  We explore some of the deeper avenues of what it means to be DIY, why it's happening now, and what part Mark Frauenfelder, former engineer and founder of boingboing.net is playing in it today. It's a true "don't-miss" interview for the TechTalk guys, and Mark's newest book "Made by Hand: Searching for M...
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  • Ep. 298 - PBS American Experience's "Silicon Valley" Filmmaker...

    TOPIC:  Fabulous show this week, as we get a sneak peek and in-depth discussion about the upcoming documentary "Silicon Valley."  Randall MacLowry gives us his take on the genesis of not only the technologies and hardware we depend on every day, but also the innovations to culture and business that men like Robert Noyce (founder of Intel) heralded.  The show comes out February 5th on your local PBS station, so set yo...
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  • Ep. 223 - Nextworth's Robert Wesley!

    TOPIC:  Dave's back and just in time for us to have a great show!  Not only does Mike get in a nice rant on how not worth living life is without a smart phone, but Robert Wesley of NextWorth.com joins us for a fantastic discussion of what you should do with all that old - or gently used - tech ... including finding out if any of it is really worth anything at all! Of course we're able to find time for Jay Garmon w...
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  • Episode 114 - Matt Richtel and Your Email Footprint

    TOPIC: August 16th, 2008 (A CLASSIC FROM OUR ARCHIVES) - This week's geek trivia winner receives a copy of Matt Richtel's "Hooked", and then we talk to the author himself about the craziness of a monkey-style brain trying to recreate it's arboreal roots via electronic stimulation. No, really. And yes, it does make sense! Of course we've got our awesome cool sites of the week - www.criminalsearches.com will expose...
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  • Ep. 288 - Alexandre Montagu on Intellectual Property

    TOPIC:  Alexandre Montagu, founder of MontaguLaw - a leading intellectual property law firm - joins us to talk about all things IP!  Did you know that the color red can be considered intellectual property, and sued over?  We don't stick with fashion, but have a very interesting and in-depth discussion about what IP is and how it affects you and the technologies you use every day.  We even have time to freewheel some ...
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  • Ep. 235 - Matt Richtel's Idle Hands!

    TOPIC:  Pulitzer prize winning journalist and author Matt Richtel comes on-air to discuss his newest book and the fate of our brains, on tech!  Plus, Jay Garmon gives us another zinger with this geek trivia question: How many mommies and daddies did Dolly, the famous cloned sheep have? We would've like to spend more time with Matt and Jay, but don't mind getting one coolsite in anyways: Intel's Museum of Me - I...
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  • Ep. 291 - Do Facts Have a Half-Life? Sam Arbesman Says "Yes!"

    TOPIC:  We have a great interview today with the author of the book "The Half-Life of Facts," Sam Arbesman!  It's a fascinating and deep book, and Sam does a wonderful job of explaining how all of the "facts" we know are constantly being overturned ... and that this is occurring at a mathematically definable rate.  If that scares you, don't worry, we also spend a lot of time talking about Popeye, astronomy, and who e...
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  • 9algorithms

    Ep. 257 - 9 Algorithms That Changed the Future

    TOPIC:     Dave and Mike have a great time, joined by John MacCormick discussing his new book "9 Algorithms That Changed the Future"!  John breaks down the basics of everything from Euclid's algorithm to modern day cryptography, web search and compression and somehow makes it accessible and easy to understand.  If you've ever been mystified and impressed by all the goings-on that must be happening in that electronic ...
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  • Ep. 249 - Klout Exec Megan Berry

    TOPIC:     Wondering what your true impact in the (online) world is?  Don't know how "social" you are?  Klout exec Megan Berry is here to clear up any confusion you may have and help elevate you to 50+ Klout ranking overnight!  OK, maybe not - even the guys at TechTalk can't seem to get higher than mid 40's - but Megan does a fantastic job of explaining what all the fuss is about and why you should be interested in i...
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Posts tagged anonymous

Ep. 263 – The War on Porn!

Mar 13th

Posted by TechTalk in mike and dave

No comments

War on Porn [ 1:02:56 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (130)

TOPIC:  Between your favorite porn site storing all passwords and credit card numbers in clear text and PayPal trying to take a bite out of e-book porn, it’s been a rough week for those in the rough trade … not only that but our favorite nemesis Anonymous becomes not quite so anonymous anymore (and with a Chicago connection to boot!).

Jay Garmon attempts to pull us out of the sludge with a great conversation on the relative merits of tablets, and gives us this fantastic trivia question:

Who got lucky (and wealthy) because the  US Air Force recovered a hydrogen bomb on St. Patrick’s day – March 17 – 1966?

Dave kicks off our coolsites of the week this week with a great one, and Mike adds a few of his own:

  • Unblock-US – Pass your IP through to pretend you’re linking in from another country (great for our repressed friends from those nasty countries with restrictive firewalls!) … note that this may have a fee associated depending on the usage.
  • Universal Scale – Lets you dive down from Planck length all the way up to universe sized glimpses, in a beautifully put together and interactive flash app!
  • Jelli Radio – A great alternative to the other major streaming radio stations, plus a direct hit into all the best SXSW performers!  Both the web and the mobile versions give you social control of the music too … very cool stuff!

The podcast only song of the week is “Always Something” by Cage the Elephant.

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Ep. 241 – Let the tablet wars begin!

Sep 6th

Posted by TechTalk in mike and dave

1 comment

The start of the tablet wars [ 1:01:11 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (59)

TOPIC:  Both Dave and Mike get to opine about their individual idea of where the tablet wars will go, and have fun discussing the differences between geeks, nerds, and ne’er-do-wells!  Plus Dave shares his ongoing love (and deep fear) of the hacking group Anonymous!

Jay Garmon leaves us for Dragoncon, though we’re sure we’ll talk to him again soon.  That still leaves us time for a couple of cool cool sites this week:

  • Plan B – Lost your phone?  Forgot to install tracking stuff on it?  No worries, go for plan B!
  • Runkeeper Importer – Bring that Nike+ data straight into Runkeeper if you’re ready to make the switch like I was!

The podcast only song of the week is “One way ticket to the moon” by Dave Stewart!

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