Wrecked By Tech

While Marc's away this week, Dan and Riley talk about a group of rural Manitoba areas banding together to build and maintain a fibre Internet network; a British hacker, once lauded as an "accidental hero," now arrested for selling malware; a sexist manifesto from a now-ex Google employee; and the ability to troll autonomous cars. Speed round: -the new Apple watch will probably have LTE -Apple AirPods shortage is starting to end -Samsung Galaxy S8 is the first bezel-less phone with military grade armour -Google wants to use AI to hide crashing Android apps on the Play Store -Microsoft is releasing a Spotify app on Xbox -Google is discounting Pixel and Pixel XL phones, plus giving free stuff with them -A Tesla driver made it over 1,000km on a single charge Recommendations Riley — 2017 Nat Geo Photographer of the Year Award Winners (https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/08/winners-of-the-2017-national-geographic-travel-photographer-of-the-year-contest/535572/?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email) Dan — Capit

Dan is away for work this week, but in his absence, Marc and Riley get into Spotlight Canada, a YouTube pilot program just for the Great White North; Rogers' Smart Drive, a device with an LTE chip that turns your car into a Wi-Fi hotspot; and Apple's unfortunate murder of the Nano and the Shuffle. Speed round: -Arcade Fire's newest album was released on a $130 USB fidget spinner -The next iPhone will have a bezel-less screen -The next iPhone will have face unlocking using infrared cameras -The next iPhone will maybe have a "biometric kit" available to devs Recommendations Riley — Exploding Kittens (https://www.amazon.ca/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=exploding+kittens&tag=googcana-20&index=aps&hvadid=208366573135&hvpos=1t1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7075980532981156628&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9001173&hvtargid=kwd-297987375091&ref=pd_sl_9tk2yhwebw_e) Marc — Artmi Credit Card Holder RFID Blocking Aluminum Business Card Holder (https://www.amazon.ca/Artmi-Blocking-Aluminum-Business-Automatic/d

This week we talk about a 25-year-old Canadian who ran the biggest market on the Dark Web; DAZN, the "Netflix of sports"; Google's fight against Canada's internet censorship, and the death of MSPaint. Speed round: -Telus and Rogers are no longer selling the Pixel, possibly in prep for the new stuff -Two Norwegian companies are attempting to make autonomous cargo ships. Recommendations Marc — Game Studio Tycoon 2 (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.msherwin.gamestudiotycoon2&hl=en) and iTunes 2 (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/game-studio-tycoon-2-next-gen-developer/id1018704225?mt=8) Dan — Plague, Inc. (http://www.ndemiccreations.com/en/22-plague-inc) Riley — engineerguy on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/user/engineerguyvideo), particularly this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUhisi2FBuw)

This week we cover a variety of topics, including whether hunting with drones is ethical (or if it's just evolution of technology); the deal Huawei and Telus struck up to start testing 5G in Canada (hint: be excited); 1Password changes and the trouble they've caused; Amazon's main reason for not bringing Alexa to Canada just yet; and an Alphabet-owned company releasing thousands of infertile mosquitoes in California. Speed round: -The next Doctor in Doctor Who is a woman -Atari is making an NES Classic -Tim Hortons to release an order-and-pay mobile app on July 27 -Amazon made an AI that creates really, really bad phone cases -AshleyMadison settles their lawsuit Recommendations Dan — Hello Weather (https://helloweatherapp.com/) Marc — Latest Cracked Podcast: How Would You Adjust If The Internet Just Went Away? (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-cracked-podcast/id689900475?mt=2) Riley — Logitech Anywhere MX 2 (https://www.logitech.com/en-ca/product/mx-anywhere2)

On this week's show, we talk about sex robots and what they'll mean to society; Android Pay, PayPal, and other popular mobile payment methods in Canada; the diversity (or lack thereof) in Canadian tech companies; and Amazon Prime Days in Canada. Speed round: -Google street view'd the largest miniature train set in the world -muting your smartphone still makes you distracted -OpenText wants to take on IBM's Watson -RED is getting into smartphones (at an extremely high cost, of course) Recommendations Dan — un-recommended Moment app (https://inthemoment.io/) Riley — Spider-Man: Homecoming (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man:_Homecoming) Marc — How to Be Miserable: 40 Strategies You Already Use (https://www.amazon.ca/How-Be-Miserable-Strategies-Already/dp/1626254060) Bonus links: CGP Grey — How to maximize misery (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO1mTELoj6o) Miniatur Wunderland, Hamburg, Germany (http://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/) Miniatur Wonderland Street View Project (https://www.google.com/maps/ab

It's been a slow week for tech news, so we put the Amazon Echo and Google Home head-to-head in Canada. Riley's had a Home since November, and Marc's been using an Echo (and a Home) for a few weeks now. Listen to find out what they both do in Canada and how well. Speed round: -Canada's top court orders Google to wipe an entire company from search results -Google gets $2.7 billion anti-trust fine from the EU -the iPhone turned 10 last week Recommendations Marc — H3H3 - The Viner Invasion of 2017 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mdi-ZdCRfBs) Riley — Just Cause 3 (https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/store/p/just-cause-3/br2f4dg4wxf8) Dan — The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phantom_Tollbooth)

This week's episode is all about Uber. In the wake of CEO Travis Kalanick's departure, we wanted to round up everything Uber has been in trouble for in Canada and the US. With the help of several Canadian media outlets and one long WIRED article, we run you through all the controversies (and a few non-issues that made headlines) since 2013. Speed round: -China and Canada officially agreed not to spy on each other for trade secrets -Apple has an "Unapologetically Canadian" section in the app store and a 3-act playlist for the top 150 Canadian songs -Apparently companies think millennials need to be paid immediately for shift work or they'll leave -Nintendo has officially announced their SNES Classic, to be released in September. Recommendations Dan — 1Blocker - Native Content Blocker for iOS & macOS (https://1blocker.com/) Marc — Celtx Script iOS (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/celtx-script/id381536091?mt=8) | Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.celtx.script&hl=en) Riley — Joby GripTig

In this week's episode, the guys cover the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications (CRTC) ban of locked phones; the OnePlus 5 and whether it'll be a contender; Amazon Echo in Canada (and how to make it think you're in the United States); and how the AI speakers will stack up against each other. Speed round: -Netflix is doing "choose your own adventure" content for kids -There's a toothbrush on Kickstarter that cleans your mouth in 10 seconds -Apple's presentation on preventing leaks got leaked -Unicode 10 is officially released with 56 new emoji (and probably coming to iOS later this year) Recommendations Marc — Guns of Boom (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gameinsight.gobandroid) Dan — Standard Ebooks: Free and liberated ebooks, carefully produced for the true book lover. (https://standardebooks.org/) Riley — Monument Valley 2 (https://www.monumentvalleygame.com/)

In this week's episode (sans Riley), Marc and Dan talk about E3, but more specifically: the Xbox One X; Minecraft and its exciting new development; and some exciting new games (like Fallout 4 VR, Doom VR, Wolfenstein 2, etc.). We also cover a few neat things Google's doing with AI, like an update to Gboard, WebVR experiments, and what our wishes are for the future of Google's "ten percent rule." Speed round: -There's an $800 edition of Assassin's Creed Origins -Age of Empires is being remastered in 4K this year -The new OnePlus 5 looks like an iPhone 7 -Android Pay is officially in Canada -There's a South Park mobile game called Phone Destroyer Recommendations Dan — Macintosh Software Emulator - Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_mac) Marc — Ultralight Hammock! (https://www.amazon.com/Newdora-Ultralight-Multifunctional-Lightweight-Backpacking/dp/B01J7BPZLQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1497323346&sr=8-2&keywords=Hammock)

In this week's episode, we run down a few of the more interesting things about Apple's WWDC conference, including new Apple watchfaces (which Riley and Dan hate); MacOS High Sierra; new Mac hardware and a new iMac Pro; a new iPad; the HomeHub speaker, which is where the fighting starts; and iOS 11. Speed round: what do you wish Apple had announced? Dan: multi-user support for the iPad. Marc: multiple, different versions of the smart speakers. Riley: that they weren't focusing so much on proprietary formats (especially their new picture/video formats — could make sharing scary). Recommendations Marc — House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski (https://www.amazon.com/House-Leaves-Mark-Z-Danielewski/dp/0375703764) Dan — Alex Honnold Climbs Yosemite's El Capitan Without a Rope (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/features/athletes/alex-honnold/most-dangerous-free-solo-climb-yosemite-national-park-el-capitan/) Riley — Pinball Map For iPhone (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/pinball-map/id359275713?mt=8) |

We're back to our old tricks in this episode — rather than one or two deep dives into a topic, this week it's a smattering of news from all over the place. That includes a Canadian startup connecting voice actors all over the world; a face filter technology that can map you to a painting or statue (bear with us — it's cool); the DJI Spark; the HTC U11; fidget spinners; the underlying tech behind Google Wifi. Speed round: -Marc Newson designed a $12,000 hourglass -Canada's going to launch a vague strategy to accelerate the adoption of EVs -Essential is coming Recommendations Marc — Anker SoundCore 2 (https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01MTB55WH/) Dan — Nuzzel news aggregator iOS (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nuzzel-news-from-your-friends/id692285770) | Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details) Riley — Instagram: The Faces of Dan (@thefacesofdan) (https://www.instagram.com/thefacesofdan/)

In this week's show, we discuss all the exciting news from Google I/O, the Google development conference. Highlights include Google Assistant, Google Home, Google Photos, Google Daydream (and other VR headsets), and Android/Android O. Speed round: -Google Maps users navigate 1 billion miles/day. Google Photos users upload 1.2 billion photos/day. -YouTube will support 360 degree video on smart TVs -Poll: 40% of people surveyed thought this year's I/O was boring -Ford replaced its CEO with its autonomous driving chief Recommendations Marc — Ken Keely Historic Newsstand Jigsaw Puzzle (https://www.amazon.com/Ceaco-Historic-Newsstand-Jigsaw-Puzzle/dp/B00J1M5OD6) Riley — YouTube Audio Library Royalty free songs (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/music) | Royalty free sound effects (https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/soundeffects) Dan — HBO Canada - Series - Silicon Valley (http://www.hbocanada.com/silicon-valley)

This week the guys talk about Microsoft Build and all the news and implications it brought, including: Timeline, a feature similar to Apple's Continuity; Fluent Design, the new visual identity; Story Remix, the sweet new answer to Movie Maker; HoloLens and a couple other "Mixed Reality" headsets; and Windows 10S. Speed round: -WannaCry ransomware -Linux is coming to Windows -Google Assistant might be coming to iOS -Microsoft wants to control Parkinsons with a wearable -Google Home is probably coming on June 26 Recommendations Marc — Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duGqrYw4usE) Riley — The best Slow Mo Guys video I’ve ever seen (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vUgGSLTtOg) Dan— FTL: Faster Than Light Steam (http://store.steampowered.com/app/212680/FTL_Faster_Than_Light/) or iOS - iPad only (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/ftl-faster-than-light/id833951143?mt=8)

In honour of BlackBerry's latest phone release, the KEYone, this week we dive deep into the history of BlackBerry: when and where it started; their phone range and what they meant to the world; the current state of the company (and what its phones are up to); and finally, Marc's review of the KEYone. Speed round: -Ecobee will sell voice switches alongside the Ecobee 4 -Canadians aren't scared tech will take their jobs -Disposable glider drones could make supply drops a lot safer -A U of Toronto professor has been hired at Uber -Harman/Kardon's smart speaker runs Cortana -Cell phones have officially killed landlines in the US and Canada Recommendations Marc — Penarium (https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/penarium/id1055603116?mt=8) (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Penarium.app) Riley — Just After Sunset by Stephen King (https://www.amazon.ca/Just-After-Sunset-Stephen-King/dp/1416586652) Dan — Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates (https://www.amazon.ca/Revolutionary-Road-Richard-Yates/dp/037570844

This week marks the start of a new format: we're going in-depth about two topics and leaving the gadget news to the speed round. Fitbit's new watch leaked, and Marc hates it. Riley doesn't mind it. Dan is neutral. Are wearables even a good idea? What's the purpose of a smartwatch? Are mechanical watches coming back because of smartwatches? Net neutrality is a big deal, especially right now. Last week FCC Chairman Ajit Pai publicly released their proposed plan for telecoms, and it's... well, it doesn't look so good. What does this mean? Does it affect Canada? Is there anything you can do about it? Speed round: -Apple might be launching a Venmo ripoff -Uber's Travis Kalanick canceled his Code Conference interview -Google Wifi is available in Canada — and it's cheaper than you'd think -Apple's probably making a smart speaker -Torrenting in North America has gone down a lot Recommendations Marc — Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.telltalegames.guardia

Dan's away this week, so Marc and Riley are left to argue about: Lyrebird, a Montreal company that can synthesize a voice with just 1 minute of speech; the rise and prevalence of contactless payments in Canada; Invest Ottawa's ploy to attract immigrant tech workers to the city; Bose headphones snooping your audio data. Speed round: -Emoji are the new gargoyles -Spotify is hiring to launch self-branded hardware -Amazon's launching a marketplace for subscriptions -April 23 was the first day Britain produced power without coal since the 1880s -Check your credit card statement if you've been to a Holiday Inn recently Recommendations Riley — Don’s Photo Walk (http://donsphoto.com/blog/2017/03/save-the-date-sunday-april-23rd/) Marc — Office Space: Idle Profits (https://itunes.apple.com/ph/app/office-space-idle-profits/id1163059158?mt=8)

On this week's episode: HP's horrendous customer service after a man in Montreal reported being hacked; Instagram stories are now beating Snapchat for number of daily active users; the now-infamous murder uploaded to Facebook — what it means for the platform, how they handled it, and what can be done; pretty much everyone is texting and driving, even though it's really bad for you. Speed round: -Ecobee 4 might have Alexa — even in Canada! -Nintendo discontinued the NES Classic -Facebook's F8 conference is this week -A guy stole 100 phones at Coachella and got caught with Find My iPhone -Princeton researchers might have killed the online ad forever -Steam is getting a competitor Recommendations Marc — Leafly (https://www.leafly.com) Riley — Meet Henry Orenstein, the Man who Changed How the World Plays (http://www.newsweek.com/2016/12/30/henry-orenstein-holocaust-survivor-transformers-toy-poker-king-533912.html?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email) Dan — Blackbox - iOS Puzzle Game (http://blackboxpuzzles.com

On this week's show: follow-up about the spies on Parliament Hill (and the RCMP's response to it); a Canadian not-for-profit that wants government to be better at technology; Internet privacy in Canada and why your data is safe; a CBC op-ed suggesting technology progress may end up hindering us; YouTube TV and what it means for would-be cable cutters. Speed round: -Tech journalist legend Walt Mossberg is retiring -Microsoft is introducing currency for Minecraft -You'll soon be able to fact-check Google search results -Jay Z pulled his music from Spotify -Twitter Lite is a thing Recommendations Dan — ScreenDrive - The Verge (http://www.theverge.com/2017/4/10/15239206/screendrive-2017-jeep-compass-limited-uconnect-carplay-android-auto-review) Riley — K&F concept lens adapters (https://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=k%26f+concept+) | The one I bought (Fuji X to Nikon G) (https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00OONK89W/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) Marc — Kingd

On this week's show: the Canadian government committed over $2.2 billion to clean energy technology investments; there are cell phone spying devices around Parliament Hill (update — as of this writing, we're pretty sure it was the RCMP); Infiniti launches first Internet of Things smart city lab in North America — based in Toronto; the Samsung S8 and S8+ and all their bells and whistles. Speed round: -Facebook is cloning GoFundMe and baking it into its platform. -Verizon is mashing AOL and Yahoo together in a new company called Oath. -Apple is refunding customers who recently purchased Workflow. -Tesla is now the most valuable car company in the world. -Android overtook Windows as most popular OS in the world. Recommendations Dan — How to Identify Outdated Apps That Might Not Be Compatible With iOS 11 (http://lifehacker.com/how-to-identify-outdated-apps-that-might-not-be-compati-1793957343) Riley — Casio DBC 30 Telememo watch (http://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?isRefine=false&_nkw=casio+dbc+30&_sop=15) Marc — Best

Upon Riley's return, we talk about: Canada's banks are building a new privacy/identity tool (and cooperating on something for the first time since 1984); IKEA is building its own smart light platform; Samsung will start selling refurbished Note 7s in certain countries, pending approval; Apple bought Workflow; Apple's latest software release. Speed round: -StarCraft Remastered is coming in the summer -Using "satnav" to get around is making you worse at directions -Elon Musk wants you to be a cyborg -You can use Cortana on the Android lock screen Recommendations Dan —iFlicks - Your Videos in iTunes (http://www.iflicksapp.com/en) Also on Setapp (https://setapp.com/) Marc — Rockband VR (https://www.vrheads.com/rock-band-vr-review) Riley — Fidget Cube (https://www.antsylabs.com/products/fidget-cube)