Grumpy Old Geeks
We dissect the tech news train wrecks of the week, calling out what went wrong and who’s to blame. Think of this podcast as if Kurt Cobain threw down with Tom from MySpace, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg in a back alley brawl. No mercy, no filter—if tech had a walk of shame, this would be it.
Latest episodes
Nov 13, 2019 • 58min
392: Half Man. Half Delorean.
Disney+ growing pains; Facebook lets you tweak UI; Microsoft all in on privacy; smart TV data; Google's Project Nightingale; Apple Card sexism; YouTube owes you nothing; Instagram to hide likes; robot sneaker factories; Twitter drafts a new policy; anonymous Facebook memos; Westworld's immersive promo; Dan Carlin & Bill Bryson books; Uber CEO's whoopsie; feedback.Show notes at https://gog.show/392See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Nov 9, 2019 • 1h 26min
391: Chief Tomfoolery Officer
Fitbit is doomed; Airbnb not a platform in New Jersey anymore; Uber Ads; Bitcoin price manipulation; misleading ads; Coalfire arrests; TikTok and national security; idiot problems; Trend Micro data sales; secret consumer scores; Ring problems; Another Life; skip politics button; the Morning Show; our insider trading policy; magento lemonade; feedback.Show notes at https://gog.show/391See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Nov 2, 2019 • 1h 6min
390: I’ve Fallen and I Can't Get Up
Smart city scale back; Apple moves to more subscriptions; Gawker chaos; 3rd party content moderator calls it quits; Twitter won't take political ads, maybe; Sorkin walks and talks to Zuck; free markets; music piracy down; Will.I.Am's Wink dying; Apple Watch 5 life alerts; car security; VPNs; Echo Buds vs AirPods; cleaning the brain; vampire apocalypse. Show notes at https://gog.show/390See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Oct 30, 2019 • 1h 2min
389: Big Mac is Watching!
Big burger data; blockchain, what is it good for; same-day delivery chaos; Alphabet looking to buy Fitbit; worthless shares; Facebook employees rise; Musk to court; Flash, really; AI banking; the Mandalorian; scary movies; AirPod Pro, now with the same battery; 1.5x movies; facial recognition for porn; sports heroes; feedback. Show notes at https://gog.show/389See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Oct 26, 2019 • 1h 10min
388: Set Visibility to Death
Bezos no longer richest man; Amazon shares down; Zuck goes to congress, gets schooled; Facebook paying for news; face-scanning AI interviews; non-binary in a binary form world; drone killers; firmware hacking; Retina-X fines; SCIF show; DOH! protocol; BBC news goes dark web; life saving Apple Watch; FireTV Cube; Eero; Adobe deals; self-driving rats. Show notes at https://gog.show/388See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Oct 23, 2019 • 56min
387: Cringeworthy
NanoSpamo; WeWork devalued; Libra's continued hurdles; Facebook helping to protect the 2020 US election, no, really, ok maybe not in ads; Google wants to shut down unionization; Amazon injuries; NordVPN hacked; Air Force ditches floppies; tipping Uber; new trailers; free Apple TV+; rebooting AI; Bryson's back; Moviepass zombie charges; feedback. Show notes at https://gog.show/387See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Oct 19, 2019 • 1h 15min
386: Jobsian Slip
Windows, not so bad; Zuckerberg ret-cons Facebook origin story; Netflix misses numbers, faces competition; Amazon ditches Oracle; Zappos ridiculous breach settlement; Nest tightens rules for partners; jail time for tech execs; Samsung fingerprints problems; Fire TV cube; Iomega zip drives; stun sticks; e-rosary; Gen Z doesn't want to hear from you.Show notes at https://gog.show/386See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Oct 16, 2019 • 53min
385: Pump Up the TikTok
Dipping our feet in the UBI waters; Libra, out; Facebook refuses to take down fake ads, looking out users; Uber pink slips; Samsung stops Blue-ray production; yet another scooter company; El Camino; Lost in Space; warp speed is really slow; music, on the blockchain; AMC home streaming; Eon; Brian Grazer; Rebooting AI; SpaceX screws Texas; feedback.Show notes at https://gog.show/385See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Oct 12, 2019 • 1h 11min
384: Jeff-Luc Picard
Dead AirPods; Amazon workers watch footage you let them watch; Dominos loses ADA case; Postmates IPO delayed; Waymo driverless cars are coming, maybe; tech sabotages public safety; Bezos makes it so; Facebook fines pile up; D-link router flaws; Twitter targets ads with phone numbers; scrubbing social media; proper escalator use; Diet Coin.Show notes at https://gog.show/384See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Oct 9, 2019 • 59min
383: Gimme the Damn Coconuts!
Catalina; 23andMe making some guesses; Waymo comes to LA; Deepfakes laws; Russian hackers modify browsers; Picard & The Expanse; IT Chapter 2; Bill Gate's brain; Dead Can Dance; Ali Wong; Han Solo Carbonite Roaster; Disney+ ruins childhood memories; Debbie Harry; Felicia Day; Apple turns someone gay; the origins of Sweden; feedback loop. Show notes at https://gog.show/383See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
