TechStuff

Did AI Write This?

11 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Figuring out if artificial intelligence wrote a block of text can be tricky. Some companies have created tools that claim to determine if text was lik...

TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Goes Transmitter Hunting - Part Two

08 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Joe McCormick and Jonathan continue their discussion about radio waves, transmitters and radio direction finding. How can you locate a transmitter and...

Tech News: A Perfect Storm Led to Microsoft's Big Breach

07 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How were hackers able to access important email systems belonging to big targets like the US Department of State? It turns out it was a perfect set of...

What is USENET?

06 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Before the World Wide Web, savvy computer users were flocking to USENET to participate in discussions on everything from the latest advance in computi...

Smart Talks with IBM - AI for Business: Multiplying the impact of AI

05 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As businesses adopt AI, a new era of problem-solving, innovation, and creative decision-making can be brought to scale. In this episode of Smart Talks...

Rerun: The Robots Are Coming for Your Job!

04 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Are robots and automated systems going to replace human workers? And if so, what then? The fear about automation has a long history and it's not an ir...

TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Goes Transmitter Hunting - Part One

01 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Joe McCormick and Jonathan continue their discussion about radio waves, transmitters and radio direction finding. How can you locate a transmitter and...

Tech News: Meta Ignores its Oversight Board

31 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Meta's Oversight Board recommended that the company suspend a Cambodian leader's account, but the company has declined to acquiesce to the request. Pl...

Why are the ice cream machines at McDonald's "always" broken?

30 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've all been there. It's a hot day and all we want is a cone of soft serve ice cream. But the person behind the cash register solemnly informs us th...

Tech News: AI Getting Armed and More Dangerous

29 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

As US Senator Chuck Schumer prepares to hold a forum on the risks and benefits of artificial intelligence, the US Army and Air Force are each seeking ...

New Season of Smart Talks with IBM Coming Soon

29 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Smart Talks with IBM returns this September 5th. This season, host Malcolm Gladwell and a team of correspondents from Pushkin Industries explore how b...

Bad Predictions in Tech

28 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It turns out that it's not easy to predict what's next to happen in tech. We look at some famously off-the-mark predictions, including some that have ...

TechStuff Classic: How Video Game Emulators Work

25 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever wanted to play classic games from old consoles or arcade machines on your computer? Then you need a video game emulator. But are they le...

Tech News: Trump's Interview on X Gets 74 Million Views. Sort of.

24 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Did Trump's interview really get 74 million views on X? (Probably not). American workers say TSMC management is to blame for delays with construction ...

TechStuff Tidbits: What is a Unicorn?

23 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 2013, venture capitalist Aileen Lee coined the term "unicorn" for startups. What makes a startup a unicorn? How rare are they? And how do investors...

Tech News: Could the US Government Take Control of TikTok?

22 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A leaked draft agreement from 2022 reveals that US government agencies seek to have extensive oversight into and control over several TikTok operation...

An Update on The Metaverse

21 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What's the state of the metaverse? In late 2021, dozens of companies started to push hard to become players in creating the metaverse. But how many st...

TechStuff Classic: Authentication Tech and You

18 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is authentication? Why is it important? And what are engineers doing to make it better?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tech News: Superconductivity and Hype Cycles and TikTok, oh my!

17 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Researchers have some disappointing news about that wonder material that appeared to be superconductive at room temperatures. Gartner says that genera...

Rerun: It's a (Crypto) Ponzi Scheme!

16 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Ponzi scheme is an old trick, but it's being used in new ways. Learn how this well worn scam is being tailored for the age of cryptocurrency, and ...

Tech News: SBF Goes to Jail

15 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A judge has revoked Sam Bankman-Fried's house arrest order and SBF will now have to go to jail to await trial. We've also got a ton of AI news to talk...

The History of Vending Machines

14 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The first vending machine in recorded history wasn't for soft drinks or snacks. It was for holy water. And how did an English radical think a vending ...

TechStuff Classic: The History of MP3 Players

11 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How did the humble MP3 player get its start? When did the iPod take over as the dominant brand? And what's the MP3 Player business like today?See omny...

Tech News: The Supreme Court Hands Epic a Setback

10 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The US Supreme Court declined a recent request from Epic regarding the company's ongoing legal battles with Apple. Disney is getting ready to hike sub...

TechStuff Tidbits: The One About APIs

09 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is an API? Where did the term come from? What does an API do, and why are they important for developers? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Tech News: AI Versus The Pope

08 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Pope Francis has called for a day of global reflection on AI. Security researchers warn of technology that can decode keystrokes just from sound alone...

Rerun: TechStuff Looks Inside the Black Box

07 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In tech, a black box is any technology that hides the processes that take input and generate output. We see what goes in, we see what comes out but wh...

TechStuff Classic: The Circuit City Story Part 2

04 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Once the Wards Company, Circuit City really established its identity decades after it was founded. How did the company grow and ultimately die, and wh...

Tech News: Microsoft vs. Hackers

03 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A security company CEO has some harsh words for Microsoft and the security it relies on for its Azure cloud platform. Microsoft itself warns that Russ...

TechStuff Tidbits: Superconductivity and LK-99

02 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What does it mean for a material to be superconductive? Did a team of South Korean researchers create a revolutionary superconductive material? And wh...

Tech News: X's Sign Becomes An Ex Sign

01 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk's X company installed an enormous, illuminated "X" sign at the company HQ, and then took it down a couple of days later. Meta is preparing t...

Machine Learning and Catastrophic Forgetting

31 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

While an elephant may never forget, the same cannot be said for artificial neural networks. What is catastrophic forgetting, how does it affect artifi...

TechStuff Classic: The Circuit City Story Part 1

28 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Do you remember the electronics superstore called Circuit City? If you shopped in the 80s and 90s, the answer is probably yes. How did it get started?...

Tech News: X Gon' Take It Away From Ya

27 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

X.com will require brands to spend at least $1,000 per month on advertising or else risk losing the verified checkmark on the platform. A city in Chin...

TechStuff Tidbits: Biometrics

26 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Amazon is rolling out palm scanner technology to Whole Foods grocery stores. What's the story on biometrics, and what are the benefits and drawbacks o...

Tech News: Elon Musk X's Out Twitter

25 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk has changed Twitter to X, and a lot of people are puzzled and unhappy about it. Plus, the ESRB wants to make sure you're old enough to play ...

Little Boy and Fat Man

24 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

With the film Oppenheimer released to theaters, it's time to talk about the tech of the atomic bombs. What set the two apart? How did they work? And h...

TechStuff Classic: How Magnetic Storage Works

21 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Learn about the amazing world of magnets and how super smart people figured out we could use them to store data. From old wire recordings to magnetic ...

Tech News: World Famous Hacker Passes Away

20 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hacker Kevin Mitnick passed away this week. Back in the 1990s, Mitnick upset a lot of powerful companies by infiltrating their computer systems and be...

TechStuff Tidbits: Perpetual Motion and Thermodynamics

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've all heard that perpetual motion machines are impossible (at least as far as our understanding of the universe goes) but why? We look at how our ...

Tech News: Microsoft Scrambles to Save Activision Deal

19 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Microsoft's contract to purchase Activision Blizzard expires today, and Reuters reports that the company is trying to get an extension on the agreemen...

Hamlet and the Apprehension of AI

17 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A developer has created an AI chatbot designed to help hackers create malicious code and content. Was this inevitable? Beyond that, the "good" version...

TechStuff Classic: Bad Computer Bugs

14 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Software bugs range from annoying to catastrophic. It's time to explore some of the most famous flaws in computer history!See omnystudio.com/listener ...

Tech News: Concerns about AI on the Rise

13 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From Hollywood to India, today's tech stories largely focus on how AI is disrupting businesses and the consequences that follow. Plus, we learn about ...

Whatever happened to RSS?

12 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Once upon a time, the RSS icon was a common sight on web pages. But these days, it's rare to see the friendly widget on the web. So what happened? Why...

Tech News: TikTok in the Crosshairs

11 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Leaders in the US and Australia continue to view TikTok critically. The US state of Massachusetts proposes a law that would make it illegal for data b...

Chaos in the Microblogging Space

10 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Meta sees Twitter's struggles as an opportunity and has launched Threads. Meanwhile, services like Mastodon, Bluesky and Hive Social have attracted fo...

TechStuff Classic: Augmenting Your Reality

07 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is AR and how does it work? Learn about augmented reality's history and future!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tech News: Meta Pulls at Twitter's Threads

07 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Twitter upsets lots of users with strange changes in process. Meta launches its Twitter competitor Threads. France passes a surveillance law that can ...

An Overview of Carbon Fiber

05 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is carbon fiber? What makes it special? Is it really stronger than steel? And what are some good (and maybe bad) applications for carbon fiber? ...

Rerun: Fireworks, Part Two

04 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Where does the color come from in fireworks? How are those giant displays choreographed? We conclude our discussion on fireworks.See omnystudio.com/li...

Rerun: TechStuff Lights Some Fireworks

03 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How do fireworks work? From the basics to fully choreographed displays, we take a look at the tech of making stuff go boom.See omnystudio.com/listener...

TechStuff Classic: The Worst Hacking Scenes from Hollywood, Part Two

01 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Shannon Morse and Jonathan continue their conversation about some of the worst hacking scenes in Hollywood history and how with a little adjustment th...

RERUN: How 3-D Glasses Work

30 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this classic episode from 2009, Chris and Jonathan talk about 3-D glasses, awful movies from the 1980s, and whether or not 3D would become the futu...

TechStuff Tidbits: What's the difference between Intel and AMD CPUs?

28 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Intel and AMD have a common history, but each company has gone its own way in chip design. Why are Intel chips and AMD chips not compatible? And is th...

TechStuff Tidbits: A Bit about Bits

27 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What makes an 8-bit system different from a 16-bit system? Or a 64-bit system? We look at what this actually means, and how a small jump in bits resul...

TechStuff Tidbits: Logic Gates and Headache Medication

26 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan is loopy, but he's also logical. Or he tries to be. Between pop culture references and dad jokes, Jonathan explains what logic gates are and ...

TechStuff Classic: The Worst Hacking Scenes from Hollywood

23 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hacking isn't as glamorous or exciting as movies and television make it seem. Shannon Morse joins the show to talk about the worst examples of hacking...

Tech News: Musk vs Zuckerberg in a Cage Match???

22 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Elon Musk called out Mark Zuckerberg to fight in a cage match, and Zuckerberg said he's down for it. Will we get a billionaire on billionaire beatdown...

TechStuff Tidbits: What does CPU architecture actually mean?

21 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What are the components that make up a CPU? What does it mean if a manufacturer used a 5 nm process to fabricate a chip? And is a multi-core processor...

Redditors Select John Oliver as Symbol of Revolution

20 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Thousands of subreddits continue to protest Reddit leaders' decisions to change API rules, and they have chosen the image of John Oliver to serve as p...

IBM and HBCUs: Fueling a New Generation of Cybersecurity Experts

19 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Education has the power to show students a path they’d never considered before. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Dr. La...

TechStuff Classic: The Pixar Story: Part 3

16 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What has Pixar been up to over the last decade? Which Pixar film has had an underwhelming performance at the box office? And what comes next?See omnys...

Tech News: Google Warns Employees Not to Use AI Chatbots (Including Google's)

15 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why are Google staff being told to avoid using AI chatbots when the company makes one? How are governments around the world tackling risks associated ...

TechStuff Tidbits: What was the first text-based adventure game?

14 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Back in my day, computer games didn't have fancy graphics or immersive sound. They just had plain old text, and we liked it! We look at the origins of...

Tech News: Reddit Goes Dark

13 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Thousands of subreddits have switched to private in protest of Reddit's recent policy change regarding its API. Plus, Twitter's new CEO attempts to ra...

Where did E3 go?

13 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The 2023 E3 event was supposed to happen this week, but like last year the event never happened. Now some are saying it may never happen again. What b...

TechStuff Classic: The Pixar Story: Part 2

09 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How did the success of Toy Story affect Pixar the company? Why was there tension between Steve Jobs and Michael Eisner? And what happens when Disney a...

The Origin and Impact of Deepfake Technology

08 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Deepfakes create a dangerous situation -- how can we trust that a recording is the real McCoy when machines can make such convincing fakes? From the h...

What was the first mp3?

07 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

When developing the mp3 compression algorithm, engineer Karlheinz Brandenburg used a specific song to tweak settings and get them just right. What was...

Tech News: Apple Shares Its (Very Expensive) Vision

07 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Yesterday, Apple finally unveiled its mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro, which will set you back $3,500 in 2024. Plus, we learn about some new cha...

The Epic Origins of Teddy Ruxpin

06 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In late 1985, a company called Worlds of Wonder introduced a new toy -- a teddy bear that could tell stories and sing. It could blink and move its mou...

TechStuff Classic: The Pixar Story: Part 1

02 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How did the Pixar studio get started? How did it evolve from a small operation to a power player in the Disney empire? And how has the company led inn...

Tech News: Why You Shouldn't Use AI Instead of People for Your Hotline

01 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

An organization in charge of a hotline to help people with eating disorders finds out that chatbots aren't a good substitute for a human operator. A j...

Getting in Touch with Touchscreens

31 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What's the difference between a capacitive and a resistive touchscreen? Which came first? And are there other types of touchscreen technologies?See om...

Tech News: ChatGPT Lands Lawyer in Legal Trouble

30 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A lawyer finds out the hard way that ChatGPT isn't a reliable legal assistant. Nvidia's CEO says that, with the help of AI, anyone can be a programmer...

TechStuff Remembers Grace Hopper

29 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Grace Hopper was a Navy officer, a teacher, a computer programmer and a legend in the tech field. We look back on her life and achievements.See omnyst...

TechStuff Classic: How Tech Could Make Better Chocolate

26 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Temple University scientists have found a new way to improve chocolate and it involves electric fields. Learn about the technology and physics behind ...

Twitter Serves as a Shaky Stage for a Presidential Campaign Announcement

25 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Twitter hit some technical snags yesterday while Presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis announced his 2024 campaign. OpenAI's CEO issues a bit of a warning...

The Sad Tale of Microsoft Zune

24 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Microsoft jumped into the mp3 player space a little late. Apple had been producing iPods for five years when the first Zune hit shelves. But that was ...

Tech News: Meta Takes a Loss on Giphy

24 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Meta sells Giphy for a fraction of what it paid just a few years ago. Spain's government has it out for end-to-end encryption. And the US Surgeon Gene...

Streaming Services that Sunk

22 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

While the streaming media landscape is crowded, it could be worse. In this episode, we look at some streaming services that didn't stand the test of t...

TechStuff Classic: How the Disney Magic Works

20 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After my recent (tenth) cruise on the Disney Cruise line, I decided to look into what makes the ship work.How does it steady itself in rough seas? How...

Tech News: Montana Bans TikTok But Will It Work?

19 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The state of Montana has said that, starting January 1st of next year, the app TikTok is banned statewide. How will the state enforce the rules? Is th...

Reflecting on Resolutions

17 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Screen resolution can be confusing. What do all those numbers mean, and is bigger necessarily better? We go over some of the more common screen resolu...

Tech News: Elon Musk Names His Twitter Successor

16 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Last week, Elon Musk revealed he had tapped Linda Yaccarino to be the next Twitter CEO. But Musk won't be leaving Twitter completely. And now Tesla sh...

The Net Neutrality War

15 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The idea behind net neutrality is pretty simple -- fair access to legal content for all consumers regardless of what ISP they use. But how do you impl...

TechStuff Classic: AI Assistants and You

12 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From Amazon to Google to Apple, companies are creating digital assistants to make our lives easier. What's the technology behind them and are they saf...

Tech News: You Got AI On My Google Search

11 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Google has announced a ton of stuff at the 2023 I/O event, including how AI will show up in future Google searches if you opt into it. We also learn h...

The Godfather of AI is Worried About AI

10 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Geoffrey Hinton recently retired from Google, saying that he wanted to be able to speak freely about his concerns regarding artificial intelligenc...

Tech News: Faking the Deepfakes

09 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Defendants in court cases are trying the deepfake defense and judges are not having it. Think twice before you commit a huge investment into AI compan...

Rerun: How the Great Movie Ride Worked

08 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Special guest Jack Pattillo joins the show to talk about the former Disney Hollywood Studios attraction, The Great Movie Ride. From immersive storytel...

TechStuff Classic: How the Kepler Telescope Works

05 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Kepler Telescope has detected hundreds of exoplanets in our galaxy. What's the story behind it and how does it work?See omnystudio.com/listener fo...

Tech News: May the Fourth be With You

04 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Sadly, we don't have any Star Wars news today. But we do have tons about AI, Meta facing governmental scrutiny, Microsoft making a questionable decisi...

TechStuff Tidbits: I Got Got

03 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Recently, I mentioned in a Tech News episode that the FBI and the FCC are warning folks to stay away from public charging stations for mobile devices....

Tech News: IBM Considers AI Over New Hires

02 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

IBM's CEO reveals that the company has paused on hiring approximately 7,800 people in order to consider AI for those roles instead. A pioneer in deep ...

The Art and Science of Designing a Car

01 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What process does Nissan follow when designing a new vehicle? We dive into the complicated process of going from concept to finished vehicle and learn...

TechStuff Classic: Shh! How Soundproofing Works

28 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Producer Noel Brown joins the show to talk about the science, theory and practice of soundproofing. How does sound work? How can you protect a room fr...

Tech News: Using ChatGPT to Win the Lottery

27 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A man in Thailand claims that, with a little coaxing, ChatGPT helped him pick winning numbers for the lottery. Plus we hear a lot of other stories abo...

TechStuff Tidbits: What the Heck is a Qubit?

26 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is a quantum bit, and how is it different from a normal bit? What kinds of problems are quantum computers good at solving? And how many dumb joke...