TechStuff

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...

Tech News: The Blue Badge of Dishonor

25 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In less than a week, Twitter's blue checkmark went from a desired status symbol to a mark people want to avoid at all costs. What happened? Plus, news...

Hallucinating with AI

24 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is an AI hallucination? What causes a chatbot to go off script and invent stuff? And is AI's tendency to rewrite history a bug or a feature?See o...

TechStuff Classic: The Problem With Ads Part Two

21 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Jonathan and Ben continue their conversation about online ads. Is it wrong to use ad blockers? Or is it wrong to block people who block ads?See omnyst...

Tech News: SpaceX's Starship Gets Off the Ground, Then Explodes

20 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The test launch of SpaceX's Starship was a success despite the fact that the launch vehicle later exploded high above the Gulf of Mexico. There are mo...

The Rebirth of Vinyl

20 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Vinyl sales were on the decline from the 1980s to the mid 2000s, but since 2006 sales have been on the rise. What's the history of vinyl, and what mak...

Tech News: The AI Headlines Keep On Coming

18 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Is Elon Musk working on a kinder, gentler AI? Could Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI take a huge chunk out of Google? And how do artists protect th...

What Are Zero Day Attacks?

17 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Over the weekend, Google rolled out a patch to Google Chrome. It addresses a zero-day vulnerability. But what are zero-day vulnerabilities and zero-da...

TechStuff Classic: The Problem with Ads Part One

14 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Online advertising has been a bit of a problem for a long time. Join Jonathan and Ben as they talk about ads, ad blockers and malware.See omnystudio.c...

Tech News: China Tells AI to Tow the Party Line

14 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

China's Cyberspace Administration recommends regulations that would prevent AI from upsetting the country's political apple cart. Plus, why did Elon M...

TechStuff Tidbits: CPU Basics

12 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What does a CPU do? What is clock speed? What does it mean to overclock a CPU? And are FLOPS a good thing?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...

Tech News: All a Twitter about Tech News

11 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've got stories about top secret US documents showing up on Discord servers and how Meta's verification system is putting people in danger, but to b...

Dark Rides 101

10 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is a dark ride? What's the oldest dark ride still in operation? How do dark rides use technology to tell stories? And whatever happened to the Tu...

TechStuff Classic: Hacking for Dollars

07 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Hak5 Host Shannon Morse joins the show to talk about hacking as a profession. From white hats to black hats, how do hackers make money?See omnystudio....

Tech News: Meta is working on an AI to make ads better

06 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Meta has plans to launch a commercialized AI product by the end of this year. Apple might have picked the wrong year to get into XR. Binance closes de...

Razer's Concepts and Vaporware

06 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Razer makes pretty much everything, but this episode is about some of the concepts, prototypes and (arguably) vaporware the company has teased that ne...

Tech News: Is ChatGPT Talking About You Behind Your Back?

04 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Germany looks to block ChatGPT out of privacy concerns. Samsung Semiconductor adjusts its own stance on ChatGPT as employees share a bit too much info...

April Fools' in 2023 Was Pretty Quiet

03 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Not that long ago, tech companies would fall over themselves to participate in gags and jokes on April 1st. Things have calmed down a bit over the las...

TechStuff Classic: The Great Google Car Crash of 2016

31 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

CarStuff's Scott Benjamin comes on to talk about Google's self-driving car causing its first car accident. What happened? And how will Google prevent ...

Tech News: Advocates Say We Should Pump the Brakes on AI

30 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A pair of letters signed by more than 1,000 people (maybe) argue that we need to slow down before developing more advanced artificial intelligence mod...

Spotlight on Gordon Moore

29 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Gordon Moore, the man behind Moore's Law, passed away on March 24, 2023. We look at his life and contributions to tech.See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Tech News: Is TikTok's Fate Sealed?

28 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

An analyst predicts that there's a 90% chance the US will ban TikTok unless there are drastic changes at the company. A legend in the tech industry pa...

Rerun: How Medieval Warfare Led to the Lawnmower

27 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We learn who invented the lawnmower, how lawnmowers evolved, and why we even have lawns in the first place. Hint: it has to do with castles in the Mid...

TechStuff Classic: Weather Tech, Part 2

24 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How are weather predictions made? How does the tech used in meteorology work? And can we control the weather?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

Tech News: Google's AI Admits it Plagiarizes

23 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Google Bard admitted that it took data from an article in Tom's Hardware without attribution. ChatGPT and Bard both prove they can't tell the differen...

TechStuff Tidbits: How Tech Startups Get Funding

22 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How do tech entrepreneurs go from having an idea to turning it into a successful business? We look at the process of funding a tech startup and what m...

Tech News: Samsung Vulnerabilities and Drastic Measures

21 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Vulnerabilities in Samsung-produced chipsets may require you to remove the phone from your smartphone. Plus we learn about a bunch of new AI stories, ...

Thought Experiments and Philosophical Problems in Tech

20 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From a pair of generals paralyzed by bad communication to a trolley hurtling out of control, we look at some classic thought experiments and how they ...

TechStuff Classic:Weather Tech, Part 1

17 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How are weather predictions made? How does the tech used in meteorology work? And can we control the weather?  See omnystudio.com/listener for privac...

Tech News: OpenAI's New GPT Won't Destroy The World. Probably.

16 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There's a new version of GPT out in the wild and it has some interesting new features (and familiar problems). Chinese company Baidu's version of a ch...

TechStuff Tidbits: The First Flight Simulator

15 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

While modern flight simulators can be incredibly complicated and rely on powerful computer systems, the very first flight simulator didn't have any co...

Tech News: Happy Pi Day! Let's Catch Up

14 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've got a lot of updates for ongoing news stories in tech. Meta plans more layoffs, New South Wales debates banning TikTok on government devices, So...

What Was SVB And Why Did It Fail?

13 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Silicon Valley Bank, or SVB, was a financial pillar in the tech sector. So how did a company that helped countless startups launch fail in less than t...

TechStuff Classic: How Solar Towers Work

11 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What are solar towers? How do they generate electricity? What's the future of solar power?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tech News: Tech Knows Where You Are

10 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Senators show concern about how the FBI collected geolocation data without going through normal procedures. Google pays out a large settlement relatin...

Love the internet? Thank women!

08 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bridget Todd host of There Are No Girls on the Internet steps in for Jonathan to celebrate women in tech for International Women's Day.See omnystudio....

Tech News: Is TikTok's Clock Running Down in the US?

07 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The US Senate introduces a bill that could give the President the power to ban TikTok (and other foreign tech products and services). Microsoft introd...

Revisiting Crypto Ponzi Schemes

06 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Ponzi scheme is a classic high-stakes con game that can net a scammer a lot of money, but at considerable risk. We take a look at the Terraform La...

TechStuff Classic: Apple vs the FBI

04 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What does the FBI want Apple to do and why do so many tech experts oppose it? Ben Bowlin joins the show to talk about it.See omnystudio.com/listener f...

Tech News: AI is Either Dumb or it is Changing the World or Both

02 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

There seems to be a lack of consensus regarding whether or not AI is about to change everything or if it's more hype than substance. We explore severa...

Strange Stuff We Sent To Space

01 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Getting into space is hard, which is why it might surprise you to learn about some of the weird, wild and goofy stuff we've sent up there. From action...

Tech News: You Got AI in my Tech News

28 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've got a ton of stories relating to AI to talk about today. Plus, VW's Car-Net service refuses to help detectives track down a stolen car (with a t...

Up And Away In My Beautiful Spy Balloon

27 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In early February, 2023, the US shot down a Chinese balloon. The US says the balloon was gathering intelligence while the Chinese claimed it was a wea...

TechStuff Classic: How LIGO Works

24 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is LIGO and how did it detect gravitational waves? We explain!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tech News: The Supreme Court Nopes Out on Judging Section 230

23 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The US Supreme Court admits it isn't qualified to make a judgment call on Section 230, which provides protection to online platforms regarding user co...

Anonymous and the SovereignDAO

22 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Listener Nathan asked me to explain why the hacktivist group Anonymous would promote SovereignDAO, so in this epic episode we learn about the origins ...

Tech News: A Bad PR Week for AI

21 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We've got a bunch of AI-related stories to chat about today, and most of them are bad. From AI deciding who gets laid off to a university leaning on A...

Rerun: How 3D Audio Works

20 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the late 19th century, a French experiment demonstrated the power of stereo sound. A century later, experiments in binaural audio would help create...

TechStuff Classic: High Tech at High Speed

17 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Scott Benjamin from CarStuff joins the show to talk about some of the latest tech making its way into cars. What does he think of autonomous vehicles ...

Tech News: Bing Gets Frisky

16 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Are you ready for a Bing fling? Journalists report that Microsoft's AI-boosted Bing service can get a little weird. Or a lot weird. From gaslighting t...

Riding the Hype Cycle With Web3

15 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It's time once again to revisit the hype cycle and figure out where along the path we might find Web3. And what is Web3? And what the heck is it suppo...

Smart Talks with IBM: 355 Days in Space: Finding Meaning with Astronaut Mark Vande Hei

14 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After a historic 355 days in orbit, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth on March 30, 2022, breaking the record for the longest single spac...

100% Invisible

13 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Invisibility cloaks have long been featured in science fiction, but where are we when it comes to science fact? We look at the science behind bending ...

TechStuff Classic: The MOOG Story: Part Two

10 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is a MOOG synthesizer? How does it work? And did people really say synthesizers didn't make real music?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

Tech News: Google Bard Hits a Wrong Note

09 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Microsoft and Google went head to head with their AI-powered chatbot demonstrations, and Google stumbled. No, Google Bard, the James Webb Space Telesc...

TechStuff Tidbits: A Profile On Alessandro Volta

08 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

We credit Alessandro Volta with the invention of the battery, the man who identified electromotive force, and a dude who was interested in swamp bubbl...

Tech News: The Chatbot Wars are Coming

07 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It sounds like Microsoft is about to throw down the chatbot gauntlet and Google is responding with its own AI-powered chat program. China isn't going ...

The SxSW Interactive Story

06 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How did a music festival become one of the biggest tech events in the US? We look at the history of SxSW, explore some of the notable (and sometimes d...

TechStuff Classic: The MOOG Story (Part One)

03 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What is a MOOG synthesizer? How does it work? And did people really say synthesizers didn't make real music?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

Tech News: US Senator Asks Apple and Google to Ditch TikTok

02 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Senator Michael Bennet is asking Google and Apple to dump TikTok from their app stores. Snap and Meta held their Q4 2022 earnings calls this week with...

TechStuff Tidbits: Ben Franklin and the Glass Armonica

01 Feb 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Only Benjamin Franklin would listen to a musician playing wine glasses and think "I bet I could use technology to make this easier." And he did by inv...

Tech News: A Big Week for Big Tech

31 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Several of the major tech companies have earnings calls this week, which will tell us more about how they're doing and where we go from here. Plus, we...

Rerun: Spoofing and Caller ID

31 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How do scam artists disguise their phone numbers when setting up robocalls? We look at Caller ID and spoofing and learn how companies and government a...

TechStuff Classic: The Philips Story: Part Two

28 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What happened to the Philips company during World War II? How did Philips diversify over the decades? What's next for the company?See omnystudio.com/l...

Tech News: AI Blunders and a Liquid-Metal Robot

26 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

An academic publisher says that it will not publish academic papers written by ChatGPT. Futurism uncovers more problems with CNET's use of AI to write...

TechStuff Tidbits: What is a diode?

25 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Diodes are key components in modern electronics, but what are they and what do they do? We take a few minutes to describe diodes and their function.Se...

Tech News: A Chatbot Earns an MBA (Not Really)

24 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A business school professor says that ChatGPT passed the final exam needed to earn an MBA. Microsoft announces a commitment to a multi-year, multibill...

The Story of OpenAI

24 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

With ChatGPT in the news, I thought it was high time we take a look at OpenAI -- the company behind the controversial chatbot. From its founding in 20...

TechStuff Classic: The Philips Story: Part One

21 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Who founded the electronics company Philips? Why did it nearly go bankrupt in less than five years? And who saved it?See omnystudio.com/listener for p...

Tech News: Commanding Chatbots to Make Malware

20 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Cybersecurity researchers discover that, with a little bullying, they could convince ChatGPT to make some nasty malware. Plus workers in Kenya suffere...

Apple Indefinitely Shelves it's AR Glasses Project

19 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Faced with challenging engineering problems, Apple has reportedly shelved its augmented reality glasses project. We look at the history and evolution ...

Tech News: Artists Versus Artificial Intelligence

18 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Artists, musicians and even stock photography companies are starting to fire shots at generative artificial intelligence systems. Will we see lawmaker...

RERUN: Copyright and Fair Use

16 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode from 2021, we look at the thorny issues of copyright and how fair use isn't some proactive safety play to avoid those pesky copyright ...

TechStuff Classic: The Evils of Data Tracking

13 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Codebreaker's Ben Johnson joins the show to talk about data tracking. What is it used for? What's the best case scenario? And what happens when it goe...

Tech News: A Corrupted File Grounded All US Aircraft Yesterday

12 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A corrupt file in the FAA's systems forced all flights in the US to hold, leading to thousands of delays and hundreds of cancellations. Plus, CNET has...

TechStuff Tidbits: An Update on Right to Repair

11 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 2022, Apple rolled out a self repair service shop. New York state passed a bill meant to give consumers more options when repairing their tech. And...

Tech News: AI Makes Headlines in Early 2023

10 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Artificial intelligence is going to be a big topic this year, and we have several stories to prove it. Plus, more about some of the stuff shown off at...

Rerun: Start Ups and Shut Downs

10 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The world of startups is already a risky one, but it gets even worse when the "move fast and break things" philosophy extends to the law. We cover som...

TechStuff Classic: How Satellites Work

06 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

How did Sputnik change the world? What do satellites do? And what keeps them in orbit?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tech News: The News Out of CES 2023

05 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From Sony’s electric vehicle to Alienware’s new 500 Hz gaming monitor, we look at a few of the early announcements out of CES. Plus an update on h...

TechStuff Tidbits: ChatGPT and Natural Language Processing

04 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Just like parents, machines just don't understand. At least, not without first compiling data into 0s and 1s. So how can systems like ChatGPT seemingl...

Tech News: TikTok's Time May Be Running Out

03 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Could the US government issue a ban on TikTok? A landlord sues Twitter for failing to pay rent. Nearly 80% of all new car sales in Norway last year we...

RERUN: The CES Products That Never Made It

02 Jan 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode from the distant past of 2021, Jonathan goes over some of the products that companies showed off at the CES trade show that never made...

TechStuff Classic: How the Industrial Revolution Worked, Part Three

30 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In the conclusion of our series on the Industrial Revolution, we'll look at other industries that changed along with iron and textiles. We'll also lea...

TechStuff Looks Ahead to 2023

29 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

When is a predictions episode not a predictions episode? When Jonathan says so! We look at some of the things we expect to see happen in tech next yea...

The Big Tech Stories of 2022: To Space and BEYOND!

28 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

NASA launched Artemis I, the James Webb Space Telescope is already sending back phenomenal astronomical images, and Russia's hostilities in Ukraine fo...

The Big Tech Stories of 2022: Tech and Politics

27 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

From the war in Ukraine to tech companies encountering challenges in China, we look at how global politics and tech intersected and conflicted in 2022...

Rerun: Lighting Up the Holidays

26 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We look at the history of incorporating lights in winter holidays like Christmas and Hanukkah and how electricity changed things dramatically. We'll a...

TechStuff Classic: How the Industrial Revolution Worked, Part Two

23 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As we continue to explore the Industrial Revolution, we look at how iron helped shape the modern world. It's time to explore iron, steam engines and m...

The Big Tech Stories of 2022: Twitter Descends into Chaos

22 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Twitter tells Meta "Hold my beer" as the company has a dramatic, chaotic year thanks to the former world's richest man, Elon Musk. From corporate mane...

The Big Tech Stories of 2022: Meta Had a Very Bad Year

21 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

2022 was a tough year for Meta. From historic earnings calls to increased regulatory scrutiny to skepticism surrounding the metaverse, the company has...

The Big Tech Stories of 2022: The Crypto Winter

20 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Cryptocurrencies (and blockchain and NFTs and Web3) had a rough year. Things started with a boom and then went bust. What happened? What led to the co...

The Big Tech Stories of 2022: The World vs Big Tech

19 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We're going to look back over the big stories in tech this past year, and we're starting off with the trend of governments and regulators pushing back...

TechStuff Classic: How the Industrial Revolution Worked, Part One

17 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The Industrial Revolution transformed the world. Cities grew, new jobs were created and technology transformed the world. In part one, we take a close...

Tech News: US Senate Takes Stand Against TikTok

15 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Senators voted to ban federal employees from loading TikTok on government-owned devices -- the vote now goes to the US House of Representatives. Plus ...

The History of Social Networks: Twitching, Yakking and Gabbing

14 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We conclude the epic series of episodes about the history of social networks by rushing through 2011 to present day. We look at Google+ and its failur...

Tech News: FTX Co-Founder Arrested!

13 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Sam Bankman-Fried, the co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, has been arrested in the Bahamas. It turns out a lot of people are very interested i...

The History of Social Networks: Pinterest to Snapchat

12 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

After the wave of microblogs, social networks started turning to some interesting places. You had image-oriented networks like Pinterest and Instagram...

TechStuff Classic: The Comcast Story: Part Two

09 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

How did Comcast become such a huge, powerful company? What happened with the doomed Time Warner deal? And where does the company go next?See omnystudi...

Tech News: The FBI Gets Mad at Apple

08 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Apple's security plans have upset the FBI. The EU rules that Google is legally obligated to remove links to sites if users can prove the sites host mi...