Podcasts about Ethernet

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 19:15:00 GMT http://relay.fm/connected/613 http://relay.fm/connected/613 Long-Distance Ethernet Cable 613 Federico Viticci, Stephen Hackett, and Myke Hurley This week: App Store madness and TestFlight chaos, Federico has a new favorite app, and Myke is bringing news about a potential precursor to the folding iPhone. This week: App Store madness and TestFlight chaos, Federico has a new favorite app, and Myke is bringing news about a potential precursor to the folding iPhone. clean 4352 This week: App Store madness and TestFlight chaos, Federico has a new favorite app, and Myke is bringing news about a potential precursor to the folding iPhone. This episode of Connected is sponsored by: Fitbod: Get stronger, faster with a fitness plan that fits you. Get 25% off your membership. Backblaze: Unlimited, easy data protection. Try it for free today and get 20% off with code connected20. Links and Show Notes: Get 15% off a new annual Connected Pro subscription (or reactivate an expired one!) with coupon code tinyheads15 between now and July 31. Get Connected Pro: Preshow, postshow, no ads. Submit Feedback TestFlight: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back - MacStories App Store Chaos - MacStories Open Minis Is the iOS Agent I Wish Siri AI Could Be - MacStories Open Minis — Your Private On-Device AI Agent Samsung Z Fold 8 (Wide) Impressions: Better Than I Thought! - MKBHD - YouTube Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 8 is a fun new shape for foldables | The Verge The Short Samsung Fo

Send us Fan MailTwo competitors deciding to stop fighting and build together always raises one question: what changes for the customers the next morning. We start with the BT and Verizon International joint venture and dig into what a shared global network footprint could mean across SD-WAN, MPLS, Ethernet and cloud connectivity, including the uncomfortable parts like orchestration changes, duplicated POPs and the possibility of forced migrations. If you run global sites, this is the kind of deal that can quietly reshape your WAN roadmap.Then we shift to the money and physics behind the cloud: Virginia's new per kilowatt-hour data center electricity tax. It sounds small until you apply it to hyperscale consumption, and the inclusion of self-generated power closes an obvious workaround. We talk through why Northern Virginia's data center corridor matters, how policy spreads state to state, and why the “they'll just pass the cost on” argument is less theory than a pricing strategy you eventually see in your cloud bill.From there, it's security and governance: the White House post-quantum cryptography executive order and the accelerating reality of quantum risk, including “harvest now, decrypt later.” We connect PQC deadlines to refresh cycles, vendor readiness, and the practical work of migrating both infrastructure and applications. We also hit identity head-on with Cisco's plan to bring identity lifecycle security into Splunk's agentic SOC, because non-human identities and AI agents are changing what least privilege even means.We close with the growing pattern of government intervention in frontier AI models and what it does to businesses building on specific model capabilities. If you found this useful, subscribe, share the show with a friend and leave a review so more people can find it.Check out the Monthly Cloud Networking Newshttps://docs.google.com/document/d/1fkBWCGwXDUX9OfZ9_MvSVup8tJJzJeqrauaE6VPT2b0/Visit our website and subscribe: https://www.cables2clouds.com/Follow us on BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/cables2clouds.comFollow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@cables2clouds/Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cables2cloudsMerch Store: https://store.cables2clouds.com/Join the Discord Study group: https://artofneteng.com/iaatj

Sporlan S3C, Comm Loops, Fireman's Dump Line, Brett's Retiring, and Noodling Episode 528Fishing Fails, Target Startup Nightmares & Chicago Fireman's Dump Lines | Advanced Refrigeration PodcastBrett Wetzel and Kevin Compass open with fishing stories and then jump into a rough Target CO2 startup plagued by miswired comm loops, mixed case-control hardware, and constant walking in a multi-level downtown layout. They discuss troubleshooting methods for crisscrossed MODbus wiring, common causes of shorts and opens, and an electrician mistake that blew an XM controller apart. The hosts explain Chicago's “fireman's dump line” code requirement and how piping it off the bottom of a suction header can trap oil and cause recurring low-oil issues. They also flag a backwards high-pressure control/relay setup on a Target backup CO2 unit, share practical tips for S3C/Corelink/CC200 case controllers, Ethernet jumpers, termination, protecting solid-state outputs, transducer orientation, and water-damaged controllers from case washing.

Fishing Fails, Target Startup Nightmares & Chicago Fireman's Dump Lines | Advanced Refrigeration PodcastBrett Wetzel and Kevin Compass open with fishing stories and then jump into a rough Target CO2 startup plagued by miswired comm loops, mixed case-control hardware, and constant walking in a multi-level downtown layout. They discuss troubleshooting methods for crisscrossed MODbus wiring, common causes of shorts and opens, and an electrician mistake that blew an XM controller apart. The hosts explain Chicago's “fireman's dump line” code requirement and how piping it off the bottom of a suction header can trap oil and cause recurring low-oil issues. They also flag a backwards high-pressure control/relay setup on a Target backup CO2 unit, share practical tips for S3C/Corelink/CC200 case controllers, Ethernet jumpers, termination, protecting solid-state outputs, transducer orientation, and water-damaged controllers from case washing.

Si parla di batteria e funzioni bloccate di iOS, lettori RSS e piccole chicche da Mac, LackRack e video della settimana, workflow tra YouTube e Todoist, Octopus Energy in Home Assistant, irrigazione smart, screenshot lunghi e limiti dello sviluppo su iOS.

This show has been flagged as Clean by the host. This series is dedicated to exploring little-known—and occasionally useful—trinkets lurking in the dusty corners of UNIX-like operating systems. In UNIX Curio #8 ( HPR episode 4657 ), I talked about using standard utilities to compare files. Left unmentioned, however, was a method commonly used today—the hash function. As I've stated in previous entries, while I am an engineer, I don't have a background in computer science, so my understanding of the mathematics is limited. But I can give a practical description of what a hash function does. It takes an input, performs a set of calculations on it, and produces an output. As hash functions are practically used, the input is a set of bytes, such as a file or another piece of data like a password. The output is a numerical value in a fixed range—most often, expressed as hexadecimal characters. Because this "hash value" can always be represented in a certain number of bytes, its length as printed is usually a constant number of characters, padded with leading zeros if necessary. This episode will not cover the use of hashes in programming, focusing instead on using them to validate data. A hash function, or more specifically, a cryptographic hash function, has an additional property. It should be very difficult to predict what changes to the input would be required to produce a specific change in the output. An older, related concept is called a "checksum". While these are designed to vary when the input data is damaged or digits are transposed, they do not necessarily have that last property mentioned for cryptographic hashes. You have probably already encountered a checksum, even if you didn't recognize it. On a 16-digit number assigned to a Mastercard or Visa 1 credit or debit card, the first six digits identify the card issuer (such as a bank), the next nine digits are assigned to you by the issuer, and the last digit is a check digit. The check digit is calculated using the values of the previous 15 digits, and it is a simple way to avoid typos in entering a card number. In another example, every Ethernet frame that your devices send or receive includes a checksum 2 to help ensure that the contents weren't scrambled in transit. This is 32 bits long and is called a cyclical redundancy check, commonly referred to as a CRC. A CRC is also used in many other places—for example, the .zip file format includes one for each archive member, and this allows a program extracting files from the archive to identify if any were damaged. Our UNIX Curio for today is another example, the cksum utility 3 . It generates a 32-bit CRC based on the Ethernet algorithm. It operates on either a named file or standard input and outputs the CRC value, the length of the input, and the pathname if a file was given as an argument. Unlike most modern hashing programs, the checksum is printed as a decimal integer and is not padded, so it can be anywhere from one to ten digits long. The length value is the number of bytes in the input (actually specified as the number of octets , as systems could potentially use a byte that isn't eight bits long), also expressed as a decimal integer. There are two major ways that one could use cksum to check the validity of a file. First, if you are transferring a file from one UNIX-like system to another, you could run cksum against it on both systems and check that the CRC and length are the same. The utility can also be given multiple filenames as arguments, which would generate a list that can then be compared. The second way would be for someone publishing a file or set of files to also publish the CRC values, lengths, and names so that people downloading them could verify that they match. However, I don't think the practice of publishing lists like this really started until more recent hash functions like MD5 and SHA-1 came about so it is unlikely that anyone would publish CRC values instead. The advantage of these tools should be pretty obvious in comparison to cmp , one of the utilities discussed in UNIX Curio #8. To verify a file using cmp , you need two files to compare—if you're trying to check a large file you downloaded, you would need to spend the time and bandwidth to download a second copy. And if they didn't match, you would have no idea which of the two, if either, was correct. By contrast, cksum is quicker to run, doesn't require downloading a massive amount of excess data, and if run against the original file, makes clear what the correct value is. This utility is a follow-on from a program called sum , which operated very much the same. I had a bit of trouble tracking down the exact development history, but what seems clear is that two different variants 4 were popular: a BSD version and a System V version. Both output 16-bit checksums, but used different algorithms so they didn't give the same results. Also, the BSD version printed the length of the input data as the number of 1,024-byte blocks, while the System V version instead gave a count of 512-byte blocks. (Some sources claim that System V sum generates a 32-bit checksum 5 , which could possibly be true internal to the algorithm, but I have tested several independent implementations of the utility and all of them output a 16-bit value for both the System V and BSD algorithms.) From what I can tell, the BSD version 6,7 came first; it was in 3BSD but probably appeared even earlier. An identical copy of BSD's sum was included with UNIX/32V 8,9 , which was AT&T's 1979 port of Seventh Edition UNIX to the VAX and became one of the ancestors of System III. The divergence seems to have started with System III, released in 1980; its version of the sum utility 10,11 changed to a new default algorithm, though it could be made to use the BSD algorithm via the -r option. System V looks to have kept the same behavior as System III. It's not clear to me why this algorithm is universally called the "System V algorithm" rather than the "System III algorithm"; perhaps it is because System V saw much more widespread use. Instead of trying to reconcile these differences, the POSIX committee decided to create a new utility with a unique name, use a separate algorithm entirely, and avoid the block-length dispute by printing the length in octets instead of blocks. I should point out that POSIX states that the CRC algorithm for cksum does not strictly meet the mathematical definition of a "checksum". I don't know enough to say exactly why it doesn't qualify or to say whether either of the sum algorithms do. However, in less-formal usage the term "checksum" has gathered the meaning of any value used to represent or validate a set of data, so I am fine with using it no matter the technical details of the algorithm. When two different inputs produce the same checksum or hash value, this is called a "collision". Because the output value has a limited range, there are an infinite number of possible inputs that could produce a collision. From a practical standpoint the possibilities are more limited—the majority of these inputs are larger than the number of atoms in the universe, which can't fit on any machine. Unlike a cryptographic hash algorithm, the CRC is not specifically designed to resist an attacker crafting a malicious input that would cause a collision. However, it should be sufficient to detect accidental damage. Programs implementing more modern cryptographic hash algorithms are superior to the checksum utilities in avoiding collisions (whether malicious or accidental), but there are still three advantages that the older programs have. First, a system running a historical operating system might not have the hash programs available, but is more likely to have cksum or sum already included. Second, the checksum values are much shorter than the hashes output by the newer programs, making them easier for a user to compare by looking at them. This advantage is not as great as it might appear at first, because a common way to check a hash these days is to save a list of hashes and filenames—the hash programs can use that and do the comparison themselves, sparing the user from having to validate it character by character. The third advantage is that cksum prints the input length in bytes. This greatly limits the number of inputs that could be maliciously crafted to create a collision. I did a moderate amount of research on implementations of modern cryptographic hash algorithms and found that some, such as MD5, SHA-1, and SHA-2, do use the length of the input (often termed "message length" in the literature) as part of the material fed in to the algorithm, but none of the hashing utilities present this length to the user as part of its output. There are two possible reasons for this that seem evident to me. First, if one is hashing a password, you would certainly not want to give a clear indication of its length—that would give any attacker a massive head start on guessing the password. However, that doesn't explain why one would avoid printing the input length for a file that is made publicly available. Second, it is convenient in many contexts, such as database entries or in software (such as git ), for the hash to be a fixed length. Including an extra value that can be of variable length would complicate those use cases. However, the length value could simply be dropped and they would be no worse off than they are currently. Historically on UNIX, password hashing was treated differently from checksumming files— the crypt() function 12 was used for passwords while sum and later cksum were used to confirm a file's integrity. So even rather early on, these two use cases employed algorithms with different properties, but I haven't dived into the history deeply enough to know how intentional this was. My discussion in this episode focuses on the file use case, so understand that I'm largely avoiding the topic of password hashing. Digital signatures are yet another use case, one that I'm ignoring entirely. Every few years, some security researcher declares a particular hash algorithm to be "broken" and that everyone should move over to a new one, which generally has a longer hash. While the larger hash space certainly reduces the opportunity for collisions, this disrupts workflows, such as publishing information about software releases by e-mail, which still tends to observe a 78-character limit on each line 13 , making it harder to include a list of hashes with filenames next to them. This is in addition to the work of modifying software and scripts to use the new algorithm and managing how to treat past data. It seems to me that publishing the input length along with the hash would make it far more difficult to craft a malicious input that matches both, but I haven't found discussion of that during my investigation. (See the Appendix for a possible implementation.) Perhaps someone listening can record a response episode for HPR explaining that. References: Payment card number https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payment_card_number Ethernet frame: Frame check sequence https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethernet_frame#Frame_check_sequence Cksum specification https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009695399/utilities/cksum.html GNU coreutils manual: sum https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/html_node/sum-invocation.html FreeBSD 15.0 sum manual page https://man.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=sum&sektion=1&manpath=FreeBSD+15.0-RELEASE+and+Ports 3BSD sum manual page https://www.tuhs.org/cgi-bin/utree.pl?file=3BSD/usr/man/man1/sum.1 3BSD sum source https://www.tuhs.org/cgi-bin/utree.pl?file=3BSD/usr/src/cmd/sum.c UNIX/32V sum manual page https://www.tuhs.org/cgi-bin/utree.pl?file=32V/usr/man/man1/sum.1 UNIX/32V sum source https://www.tuhs.org/cgi-bin/utree.pl?file=32V/usr/src/cmd/sum.c System III sum manual page https://www.tuhs.org/cgi-bin/utree.pl?file=SysIII/usr/src/man/man1/sum.1 System III sum source https://www.tuhs.org/cgi-bin/utree.pl?file=SysIII/usr/src/cmd/sum.c Crypt specification https://pubs.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009695399/functions/crypt.html RFC 2822: Internet Message Format: Line Length Limits https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2822#section-2.1.1 OpenSSH 10.1 released https://lwn.net/ml/all/dd12623ae86aa5eb@cvs.openbsd.org/ Appendix The MD5 hash algorithm was (and still is) widely used, but many people characterize it as being "broken" and discourage its use. Let us imagine a variant of this, called MD5.L, where the normal MD5 hash is followed by a "." character and the input length expressed as a hexadecimal number. Take, for example, the e-mail message announcing the release of OpenSSH 10.1 14 . At the bottom, it includes an SHA-1 hash and an SHA-2 256-bit hash for the available gzipped tar files. That longer hash is encoded with Base64 because if it were given as a hexadecimal number, it would make the line longer than 78 bytes. The MD5.L hash of the file would be one character shorter than the SHA-1 hash, as shown below. (The extra length of the name makes them both consume the same number of characters. The hashes shown are for the "portable" version of OpenSSH.) Some people claim SHA-1 is also broken, seeking to have people use newer and longer hash functions. For an attacker to compromise MD5.L in this example, they would not only have to create a valid tar file compressed with gzip containing a malicious payload having the right MD5 hash, that file would have to be exactly 1,972,831 bytes long (the decimal equivalent of 1e1a5f). While there are still many possible inputs that could be tried (256 1972831 , to be exact*), this is far fewer than the infinite possibilities for plain MD5, SHA-1, or SHA-2. If for some reason it is super important to have a fixed hash length, let's imagine another variation called MD5+L. In this one, instead of L being the input length, it is the input length modulo one terabyte (2 40 bytes), which can be represented by 10 hexadecimal characters, left-padded with zeros. While this approach substantially increases the number of possible inputs an attacker could try, it is likely that an intended victim would notice that the file they downloaded is larger (or smaller) than expected by that much. The MD5+L hash is longer than a SHA-1 hash, but still shorter than a 256-bit SHA-2 hash. SHA1 (openssh-10.1p1.tar.gz) = 7fd17b99d1beffb47cd380d64079e920bb0bd91f SHA256 (openssh-10.1p1.tar.gz) = ufx6K4JXlGem8vQ+SoHI4d/aYU3bT5slWq/XAgu/B1g= MD5.L (openssh-10.1p1.tar.gz) = 80dd9bb00a86519934710d05903fdf07.1e1a5f MD5+L (openssh-10.1p1.tar.gz) = 80dd9bb00a86519934710d05903fdf07+00001e1a5f Of course, if MD5 is considered to be too weak even with the inclusion of the length, one could produce a ".L" or "+L" version of any hash function. However, longer hashes will end up running into the 78-character limit. *This is a number with 4.75 million digits that the bc utility on my laptop took almost 5 minutes to calculate. Provide feedback on this episode.

Big thank you to DeleteMe for sponsoring this video. Use my link https://joindeleteme.com/Bombal to receive a 20% discount or use the QR Code in the video. Also, a Big thanks to Cisco for sponsoring my trip to Cisco Live Vegas 2026. Do you really need Cat 8 Ethernet for your home network in 2026? And what actually happens when you touch the end of a fiber optic cable? We break it all down with hands-on demos. At Cisco Live, I caught up with Jim from Fluke Networks to dive deep into the physical layer of networking. We strip away the marketing hype and look at the real-world performance of both copper and glass. In this video, we cover everything from the crucial safety reasons why you should never look into a fiber cable, to a microscope demonstration showing how a single speck of dirt or finger oil can cause frame errors and take down your SFP modules. We also run a live cable certification test on Cat 6 vs Cat 8 to show you exactly why Cat 6A is all you actually need for your home network, and how pros use an OTDR to find exact breaks in long fiber runs. If you want to build or troubleshoot networks effectively, you need to understand the physical layer. // Jim Davis from Fluke Networks SOCIAL // LinkedIn: / jimdavisflukenetworks Website: https://www.flukenetworks.com/ // David's SOCIAL // Discord: discord.com/invite/usKSyzb Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbombal Instagram: www.instagram.com/davidbombal LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidbombal Facebook: www.facebook.com/davidbombal.co TikTok: tiktok.com/@davidbombal YouTube: / @davidbombal Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3f6k6gE... SoundCloud: / davidbombal Apple Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... // MY STUFF // https://www.amazon.com/shop/davidbombal // SPONSORS // Interested in sponsoring my videos? Reach out to my team here: sponsors@davidbombal.com // MENU // 0:00 - Coming up 0:31 - Introduction 1:31 - Don't touch fiber optic cables! 04:53 - Single vs Multi-mode fiber 08:04 - Don't look directly into a fiber optic cable! 09:13 - DeleteMe sponsor segment 11:03 - How to find a break in a cable 16:01 - Can ethernet copper cables get dirty? 18:12 - How to test ethernet cables 20:00 - The future of ethernet 21:45 - Conclusion Please note that links listed may be affiliate links and provide me with a small percentage/kickback should you use them to purchase any of the items listed or recommended. Thank you for supporting me and this channel! Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only. #fluke #fiberoptics #ethernetcable

Copper twisted pair cabling serves as a fundamental component of Ethernet infrastructure and Ethan and Holly are here to break down how it works. They discuss the technical differences between cabling categories, how wire twisting cancels out electromagnetic interference, and share practical guidance on installation standards and testing methodologies. Episode Links: Watch this episode on... Read more »

Copper twisted pair cabling serves as a fundamental component of Ethernet infrastructure and Ethan and Holly are here to break down how it works. They discuss the technical differences between cabling categories, how wire twisting cancels out electromagnetic interference, and share practical guidance on installation standards and testing methodologies. Episode Links: Watch this episode on... Read more »

Big thanks to NTT DATA for sponsoring this video and to Cisco for sponsoring my trip to Cisco Live Vegas. For more information about NTT DATA and Cisco's partnership, click here https://services.global.ntt/en-us/abo... 1000W touch safe power sounds impossible, but Class 4 Fault Managed Power is changing how we think about power delivery for AI data centers, buildings, networking, and IT infrastructure. In this interview, we look at how Cisco, NTT, and Panduit are approaching the next generation of energy networking systems. Traditional Power over Ethernet is useful for endpoints like access points, cameras, sensors, and phones, but PoE tops out around 100 watts. Fault Managed Power introduces a new class of power delivery that can deliver much higher wattage while intelligently shutting down when it detects a fault, short circuit, or unsafe condition. The conversation explains why this matters now. AI is driving massive demand for data center compute, but that compute requires more power, more cooling, and more efficient infrastructure. The guests explain how AC-to-DC conversion losses add up across multiple power conversion stages, how transmission and distribution losses waste energy before it even reaches the building, and why many legacy data centers spend a large amount of energy on cooling and non-useful power. A key example from the discussion: an average 5 megawatt, air-cooled data center moving to direct liquid cooling and fault managed power could save 75% of its energy cost. That same energy profile could also translate into 2.3x the compute for the same amount of energy. We also discuss touch-safe DC power up to 400V, why DC-to-DC power matters for data centers, how this technology could reduce material and labor complexity, and why network engineers, electricians, data center operators, and IT professionals should understand Class 4 Fault Managed Power. This is not just about sustainability. It is about energy cost, AI infrastructure, safer power delivery, faster deployment, data center efficiency, retrofits, new builds, and the future of networking. // Stephen Kelly SOCIAL // LinkedIn: / stephen-kelly-70737a9 // Denise Lee SOCIAL // LinkedIn: / deniseleeyeh // Website REFERENCE // https://www.nttdata.com/global/en/ // David's SOCIAL // Discord: discord.com/invite/usKSyzb Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbombal Instagram: www.instagram.com/davidbombal LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidbombal Facebook: www.facebook.com/davidbombal.co TikTok: tiktok.com/@davidbombal YouTube: / @davidbombal Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3f6k6gE... SoundCloud: / davidbombal Apple Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... // MY STUFF // https://www.amazon.com/shop/davidbombal // SPONSORS // Interested in sponsoring my videos? Reach out to my team here: sponsors@davidbombal.com // MENU // 0:00 - Coming up 0:53 - New cables 02:22 - Fault-Managed Power System explained 03:18 - Cisco & NTT DATA partnership 04:39 - Advantages of the new cables 08:57 - Sustainability 11:26 - AC vs DC 13:14 - Easy to install // Free training 14:50 - How new cables fit into old buildings 17:44 - Embrace the new 19:35 - Will electricians be replaced? 20:49 - Summary 21:50 - Free training and learning 23:09 - Stay connected // Conclusion Please note that links listed may be affiliate links and provide me with a small percentage/kickback should you use them to purchase any of the items listed or recommended. Thank you for supporting me and this channel! Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only. #poe #class4 #ntt

Make a Logo on Fiverr The Nearity 360 Alien is not your typical conference camera. Instead of sitting at the front of the room like a traditional webcam or PTZ camera, this tall, table-mounted system is designed to sit in the middle of the action and capture nearly everyone around it. With four built-in cameras, AI framing, multiple meeting modes and optional wireless connectivity, the Nearity 360 Alien is built for boardrooms, hybrid meetings, presentations and conference setups where one camera needs to do the work of several. A Conference Camera Built for the Middle of the Table The Nearity 360 Alien is a 4K wireless camera system designed to capture a room from the center of the table. It uses four cameras to create a panoramic meeting view, then relies on AI to identify speakers and keep people framed. That makes it especially useful for rooms where people are seated around a table instead of lined up in front of a screen. Rather than forcing everyone to crowd around a laptop webcam, the Nearity 360 Alien gives remote participants a clearer view of who is speaking and where they are in the room. The Design Is Big, But That Works in Its Favor The first thing you notice about the Nearity 360 Alien is its size. This is not a tiny puck camera. It is tall, noticeable and built to sit above the table surface. That height is actually a benefit. A smaller conference camera can end up shooting people from too low of an angle, especially in a boardroom. The taller body helps the camera capture faces more naturally, and the built-in quarter-inch mount means you can also place it on a tripod if you need a better eye-level shot. There is one physical limitation: despite the 360 branding, there is a small dead spot where the cameras do not overlap. In most rooms, that will not be a major issue if you position that side toward a wall, monitor or unused side of the table. What Comes in the Box Inside the box, the Nearity 360 Alien includes the main camera unit, power adapter, remote control, USB-A to USB-C cable and a wired microphone puck with a mute button. The microphone connects directly to the camera, and a second mic can be added for larger table setups. The remote is one of the more useful accessories. It lets you change views, adjust modes, mute audio, mute video and control settings without needing to sit next to the computer. That is a big plus if the camera is being used in a meeting room where the laptop or production system is not within easy reach. Ports and Connectivity The Nearity 360 Alien includes DC power, USB-C, Ethernet, HDMI and microphone ports. The HDMI port is full-size, which is a welcome detail because it avoids the need for micro-HDMI or mini-HDMI adapters. USB-C can connect the camera to a computer for Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, OBS, vMix, Wirecast or other video software. HDMI can send video directly to a recorder, switcher or display setup. Ethernet can be used for network configuration, while the optional NA20 wireless dongle allows the camera to connect wirelessly to a computer. That wireless option is one of the stronger parts of the system. Once paired, the NA20 shows up as a wireless video and audio source, letting you use the Nearity 360 Alien in meeting apps or production software without running a USB cable across the table. Meeting Modes: Discussion, Presentation and Global The Nearity 360 Alien includes three main modes: Discussion Mode, Presentation Mode and Global Mode. Discussion Mode Discussion Mode is the best choice for meetings with multiple people talking around the table. The camera identifies faces and can show multiple participants in framed sections, while still keeping the panoramic view visible. In testing, the system was able to recognize more than one person in the room and place them into the split layout. When someone speaks, the system can highlight or shift attention toward that person, helping remote attendees follow the conversation. Presentation Mode Presentation Mode is meant for a meeting where one person is leading the discussion. This mode keeps the presenter as the focus while still letting the room remain visible. For lectures, board updates, demos or hybrid presentations, this is probably the mode most people will use. Global Mode Global Mode gives a broader room view. It is useful when you want everyone visible and do not need the AI to focus tightly on individual speakers. Video Quality and AI Framing The Nearity 360 Alien uses a Starvis CMOS sensor and offers USB 4K output, with HDMI output up to 1080p. The camera also includes image controls such as brightness, saturation, contrast, hue, white balance, HDR and regional frequency settings. In a well-lit room, the image looks clean and usable for meetings. Studio lighting looked especially good, and the camera handled face framing well. In a real meeting environment, it did a solid job following the conversation and keeping speakers visible. Lighting matters, though. Like most conference cameras, the Nearity 360 Alien performs best when the room is evenly lit. In darker or more complicated environments, such as a stage or band-meeting setup with speakers and instruments in the background, the AI can occasionally get confused. Audio: Built-In Mics, Speaker and External Mic Pucks The camera has built-in microphones on top, along with a speaker near the bottom. The included external microphone puck adds more flexibility because it can be placed closer to the person speaking or moved toward the center of the conversation. There is also a mute button on the mic puck, which is useful in a meeting where people need quick local control. Adding a second mic gives the system better coverage on both sides of a larger table. One practical tip: place the camera or mic puck on a soft surface like a mouse pad if the table picks up vibration. That can help reduce thumps, glass clinks and table noise before the audio processing has to clean it up. Software and Controls The Nearity software gives access to device settings, firmware updates, image controls, mode selection, network settings and options like flipping the image or enabling a watermark. The app is not the only way to use the camera. One of the best parts of the Nearity 360 Alien is that it can work directly over HDMI or USB without making the setup feel overly complicated. The remote also gives quick access to many of the key controls. Wireless Setup With the NA20 Dongle The NA20 wireless dongle is what turns the Nearity 360 Alien into a more flexible 4K wireless camera solution. After plugging the dongle into a computer and pairing it with the camera, it appears as a camera and audio source in meeting software. That means you can bring it into Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, OBS, vMix or other tools as a video source. Once it is working wirelessly, the only cable that still needs to remain attached to the camera is power. For conference rooms where cable clutter is a problem, that is a major win. Pros The Nearity 360 Alien does a strong job replacing a small multi-camera meeting setup with one device. It captures the room, identifies speakers, offers several useful layouts and works with common meeting and production apps. The HDMI output is convenient, the remote control is genuinely useful, the mic puck adds flexibility and the wireless dongle makes the system easier to deploy in rooms where you do not want cables running across the table. It also works well for hybrid meetings where people in the room and people online both need to feel included. Cons The main downside is the small dead spot behind the camera. It is not a true edge-to-edge 360-degree view, so placement matters. The camera is also fairly large, which may not fit every table setup. And while the AI tracking works well in normal meeting conditions, more chaotic environments with multiple visual distractions can make it less reliable. Is the Nearity 360 Alien the Best Wireless Conference Camera? The Nearity 360 Alien makes a strong case for itself if you need a conference camera that can handle real meeting rooms, not just one person sitting in front of a laptop. It is especially useful for boardrooms, team meetings, hybrid presentations, nonprofit meetings, training rooms and any space where multiple people need to be seen and heard clearly. The combination of 4K USB output, HDMI, AI framing, external mic support, meeting modes and optional wireless connectivity makes it more flexible than a standard webcam. It is not perfect, and the small blind spot means you need to think about placement. But for a room where one conference camera needs to cover almost everyone, the Nearity 360 Alien is an impressive option. Get this Conference Camera here! Check out the Geekazine Merch, including "I AM AI " T-Shirt.  Thanks for reading! Don't forget to subscribe to Geekazine: RSS Feed - YouTubeTwitter - Facebook Tip Me via Paypal.me Send a Tip via Venmo RSS Bandwidth by Cachefly Get a 14 Day Trial Be a Patreon: Part of the Sconnie Geek Nation! Reviews: Geekazine gets products in to review. Opinions are of Geekazine.com. Sponsored content will be labeled as such. Read all policies on the Geekazine review page.  Reviews: Geekazine is also an affiliate of Amazon Last Updated on June 25, 2026 5:01 pm by Jeffrey PowersThe post Nearity 360 Alien Review: Best Wireless Conference Camera? appeared first on Geekazine.

MACsec (IEEE 802.1AE) encrypts Ethernet frames hop-by-hop at Layer 2 — before traffic even hits IP — making it one of the strongest protections you can put on wire. It’s been in the standards for years, hardware support is widespread, and yet most organizations aren’t running it. JJ and Drew dig into why: the hardware... Read more »

MACsec (IEEE 802.1AE) encrypts Ethernet frames hop-by-hop at Layer 2 — before traffic even hits IP — making it one of the strongest protections you can put on wire. It’s been in the standards for years, hardware support is widespread, and yet most organizations aren’t running it. JJ and Drew dig into why: the hardware... Read more »

Send us Fan MailInfoComm can sound like “an AV show,” but if you pull cable for a living, it's really a massive showcase of where low voltage work is headed next. We sit down with Bob Neyens, VP at Vertical Cable and a long-time InfoComm regular, to translate the pro AV world into plain English and show exactly why structured cabling installers, project foremen, project managers, and designers can get real value from attending.We talk about what you'll actually find at InfoComm: professional audio video for commercial spaces like boardrooms, houses of worship, bars, stadiums, and even hospitals, with tons of crossover into IP networks and familiar infrastructure like Cat 6, Cat 6A, fiber, racks, and connectors. Bob shares practical exhibit hall tactics for first-timers, including how to avoid the most chaotic day, when to schedule booth conversations, and how manufacturer events and networking work after hours.Then we get specific about skills and career growth: AVIXA training, CTS certifications like CTS-I and CTS-D, and why the show floor can teach you what a classroom can't by letting you see complete systems running together. We also dig into tech that matters for 2026, including the move from Cat 6 to Cat 6A for higher bandwidth and distance, plus Power over Ethernet and why copper quality matters as current loads increase. If you want a new revenue stream that stays close to your current skill set, this is the roadmap.Subscribe for more conversations that connect the low voltage community, and if this helps, share it with a tech who's been curious about pro AV and leave us a rating or review.Support the showKnowledge is power!  Make sure to stop by the webpage to buy me a cup of coffee or support the show at https://linktr.ee/letstalkcabling .  Also if you would like to be a guest on the show or have a topic for discussion send me an email at chuck@letstalkcabling.com Chuck Bowser RCDD TECH#CBRCDD #RCDD

Send us Fan MailWe catch up on what we've been doing lately, from gardening plans and convention runs to building skills for cybersecurity and digital forensics. Then we go full hobby mode as we debate music takes, break down the biggest gaming showcases, and vent about why some studios keep missing the moment. • figuring out where to plant sun-heavy flowers and bonsai seeds without squirrels ruining them • quick MomoCon stop that still turns into merch, shirts, and glassware • starting an ethical hacking class and aiming long-term at digital forensics • upgrading to multi-gig internet and fixing bottlenecks with the right Ethernet gear • planning a home network with VLANs, firewalling, access points, and a NAS media library • weighing whether to cancel streaming and build a personal Blu-ray rip collection • arguing Childish Gambino's catalog deserves a bigger spotlight • reacting to Summer Game Fest reveals and the rising cost of gaming hardware • calling out Bethesda for the lack of Elder Scrolls VI and meaningful new announcements • comparing publisher habits to Bungie and Destiny 2 live service fatigue • getting hyped for Nintendo Direct highlights and the return of arcade nostalgia • noticing World Cup teams struggling with U.S. heat • talking upcoming cons and swapping stories about Atlanta mishaps  Support the showhttps://www.carolinaotakus.com/

Industrial network protocols decide whether a machine talks or stays silent. Chuck from Horner Automation breaks down how they win, fade, and converge.Chuck has spent 36 years at Horner Automation and lived through what the industry once called the fieldbus wars. Before Horner became known for its all in one controllers, it spent a decade building specialty IO modules for GE Fanuc during the era of DeviceNet, SDS, InterBus S, PROFIBUS, and CANopen. His core argument is that most of those early protocols were technically fine. The ones that became standards won on the commercial weight of the companies backing them, not on superior specifications, with EtherCAT a rare exception that succeeded largely on technical merit.Trust is the recurring theme. Industry adopts slowly, and for years Ethernet was dismissed as too unreliable and not deterministic enough for control until Ethernet/IP, PROFINET, and Modbus TCP proved themselves. Today the market has settled around a big four set of protocols, and Chuck does not expect it to narrow further. For high speed motion he points to EtherCAT and PROFINET IRT as the implementations he most respects, since both step away from standard Ethernet at the device level to reach submillisecond timing.The episode is also a reality check on building your own hardware. Chuck and Dave describe how custom development routinely costs teams hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, and how the real trap is obsolescence and maintenance rather than the first build. On the product side, the standout is FPD-Link, a serialization technology borrowed from automotive that carries video, touch, and power over one coaxial cable. Working with Safe Fleet, a maker of ambulances and fire trucks, Horner now mounts rugged displays up to seven meters from the PLC while still programming everything as one device.Looking ahead, Chuck argues that every PLC should now be treated as a data device first, because digitizing the process is the prerequisite for doing anything useful with AI. He also flags cybersecurity as the next burden for application engineers, with new mandates forcing both manufacturers and integrators to implement protections that were once optional. At Automate, Horner is showing HMI Connect and a 300 dollar CPU 151 that packs 18 IO points, wireless connectivity, and edge capability into a micro PLC.About Chuck and Horner AutomationChuck is a technical brand ambassador at Horner Automation, where he has spent 36 years across applications, product management, and education. An electrical engineer who started in the automotive industry, he now produces in depth tutorials on industrial protocols for the Horner APG YouTube channel. Horner Automation is a privately held controls manufacturer best known for its all in one PLC and HMI controllers, edge ready PLCs, and rugged hardware for industrial and mobile applications.Timestamps0:00 Introduction2:20 Chuck's Background and 36 Years at Horner Automation9:20 End User Engineer vs OEM Manufacturer Perspective13:20 New at Automate: HMI Connect and the CPU 151 Edge PLC21:30 The Fieldbus Wars and the History of Industrial Protocols24:20 What It Takes to Implement a Protocol Stack29:30 Why Protocols Win: Commercial Force vs Technical Merit32:40 Will Industrial Protocols Ever Converge?40:30 High Speed Motion: EtherCAT, PROFINET IRT, and Ethernet/IP44:40 FPD-Link: Rugged Remote HMI for Ambulances and Fire Trucks55:00 PLCs as Data Devices and the Push Toward AI1:02:40 Cybersecurity Mandates Coming for Application EngineersReferencesHorner Automation: https://www.hornerautomation.comAbout Your HostsVladimir Romanov is a co-host of The Manufacturing Hub Podcast and the founder of Joltek, an independent manufacturing and industrial automation consulting firm specializing in modernization strategy, digital transformation, and workforce development. Joltek works with manufacturers and investors to de-risk modernization and build the internal capability to sustain results.Connect with Vlad: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vladromanov/Want to go deeper? Vlad and the team at Joltek have covered related topics here:Understanding Plant Networks: https://www.joltek.com/blog/understanding-plant-networks-how-industrial-connectivity-evolvedIndustrial Ethernet Reliability: https://www.joltek.com/blog/industrial-ethernet-reliabilityDave Griffith is a co-host of The Manufacturing Hub Podcast and founder of Capelin Solutions, an industrial automation firm helping manufacturers adopt smart manufacturing technology. He brings 15 years of experience in industrial automation and digital transformation.Connect with Dave: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davegriffith23/Subscribe to Manufacturing Hub: https://www.manufacturinghub.liveLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/manufacturing-hub-networkYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ManufacturingHub

Send us Fan MailPerfect-looking terminations and clean certification results can still hide the interference that slows networks weeks later. We break down EMI, RFI, and crosstalk in plain terms, then lay out the practical install rules that protect performance and your reputation. • why EMI is invisible but disruptive to Ethernet signals • common EMI sources on job sites, from lights to motors to transformers • the real cost of downtime and why customers only remember performance • how crosstalk differs from EMI and where it comes from • near-end, far-end, power sum, and alien crosstalk explained • termination mistakes that create marginal passes and failures • Cat 6A, higher frequencies, and the cable combing debate • prevention rules: separation, preserving twists, pathway fill, and bend limits • cable tray and bundling tips, including PoE heat concerns • shielding done right with proper bonding and grounding If you're watching this show on YouTube, would you mind hitting the subscribe button and the bell button to be notified when new content's being produced? If you're listening to us on one of the audio podcast platforms, would you mind leaving us a five-star rating? I'd love to hear from you in the comments below what's the worst EMI or crosstalk issue that you've ever encountered in a project. Drop your story in the comments below. Support the showKnowledge is power!  Make sure to stop by the webpage to buy me a cup of coffee or support the show at https://linktr.ee/letstalkcabling .  Also if you would like to be a guest on the show or have a topic for discussion send me an email at chuck@letstalkcabling.com Chuck Bowser RCDD TECH#CBRCDD #RCDD

Sun, 31 May 2026 15:00:00 GMT http://relay.fm/mpu/851 http://relay.fm/mpu/851 I Have Contraband 851 David Sparks and Stephen Robles David and Stephen answer listener feedback: rebuilding Apple Home with Aqara power-over-Ethernet cameras, smart scales, raw photo editing, connecting AI to email, off-site backups, the new TRMNL X display, and DEVONthink's MCP server. David and Stephen answer listener feedback: rebuilding Apple Home with Aqara power-over-Ethernet cameras, smart scales, raw photo editing, connecting AI to email, off-site backups, the new TRMNL X display, and DEVONthink's MCP server. clean 4580 David and Stephen answer listener feedback: rebuilding Apple Home with Aqara power-over-Ethernet cameras, smart scales, raw photo editing, connecting AI to email, off-site backups, the new TRMNL X display, and DEVONthink's MCP server. This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by: Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code MPU. 1Password: Never forget a password again. Links and Show Notes: Credits The Mac Power Users Stephen Robles David Sparks The Editor Jim Metzendorf The Fixer Kerry Provanzano More Power Users: Ad-free episodes with regular bonus segments Submit Feedback Robot Assistant Field Guide Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro Aqara Doorbell Camera G400 Robin Home HomePass for HomeKit & Matter HomeCam for HomeKit HomePaper for HomeKit Multi-State Sensor P100 – Aqara LLC Tailwind iQ3 Smart Garage Door Controller iSmartgate MINI THIRDREALITY Smart Garage Door Opener Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro Govee Smart Cordless Table Lamp Classic IKEA launches new smart home range with Matter 5 Smart Home Upgrades I Should've Done Sooner - YouTube Aqara UWB Smart Lock U400 WITHINGS Body Smart Scale Immich Spokenly Introducing Shortcuts Playground - MacStories AI Built These Shortcuts - YouTube Stream Deck + XL | Elgato Prompter XL | Elgato MPU Timestamp Shortcut Audio Hijack Script Canisteo Motorized Blinds Roller Shade TRMNL | ePaper Dashboard DEVONthink 4.3 Herschel Menuwhere · Many Tricks Short Run — Sindre Sorhus DJI Osmo Pocket 4 Creator Combo DJI Mic 3 Bundle Shure MV7+ KU XIU Qi2.2 25W Magnetic Wireless Charger Anker Prime 3-in-1 Charging Station StealthTech Living Room Sound System | Lovesac Pixelmator Pro MacWhisper Fastmail MCP Server Superhuman DEVONthink TRMNL X Supercharge Elgato Stream Deck Elgato Key Light Air BetterTouchTool Keyboard Maestro Audio Hijack Bear Backblaze Parachute Carbon Copy Cloner Tailscale Snazzy Labs Hollyland Lark Wireless Mics Ulanzi RODECaster Pro 2

Sun, 31 May 2026 15:00:00 GMT http://relay.fm/mpu/851 http://relay.fm/mpu/851 David Sparks and Stephen Robles David and Stephen answer listener feedback: rebuilding Apple Home with Aqara power-over-Ethernet cameras, smart scales, raw photo editing, connecting AI to email, off-site backups, the new TRMNL X display, and DEVONthink's MCP server. David and Stephen answer listener feedback: rebuilding Apple Home with Aqara power-over-Ethernet cameras, smart scales, raw photo editing, connecting AI to email, off-site backups, the new TRMNL X display, and DEVONthink's MCP server. clean 4580 David and Stephen answer listener feedback: rebuilding Apple Home with Aqara power-over-Ethernet cameras, smart scales, raw photo editing, connecting AI to email, off-site backups, the new TRMNL X display, and DEVONthink's MCP server. This episode of Mac Power Users is sponsored by: Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code MPU. 1Password: Never forget a password again. Links and Show Notes: Credits The Mac Power Users Stephen Robles David Sparks The Editor Jim Metzendorf The Fixer Kerry Provanzano More Power Users: Ad-free episodes with regular bonus segments Submit Feedback Robot Assistant Field Guide Aqara Camera Hub G5 Pro Aqara Doorbell Camera G400 Robin Home HomePass for HomeKit & Matter HomeCam for HomeKit HomePaper for HomeKit Multi-State Sensor P100 – Aqara LLC Tailwind iQ3 Smart Garage Door Controller iSmartgate MINI THIRDREALITY Smart Garage Door Opener Govee Permanent Outdoor Lights Pro Govee Smart Cordless Table Lamp Classic IKEA launches new smart home range with Matter 5 Smart Home Upgrades I Should've Done Sooner - YouTube Aqara UWB Smart Lock U400 WITHINGS Body Smart Scale Immich Spokenly Introducing Shortcuts Playground - MacStories AI Built These Shortcuts - YouTube Stream Deck + XL | Elgato Prompter XL | Elgato MPU Timestamp Shortcut Audio Hijack Script Canisteo Motorized Blinds Roller Shade TRMNL | ePaper Dashboard DEVONthink 4.3 Herschel Menuwhere · Many Tricks Short Run — Sindre Sorhus DJI Osmo Pocket 4 Creator Combo DJI Mic 3 Bundle Shure MV7+ KU XIU Qi2.2 25W Magnetic Wireless Charger Anker Prime 3-in-1 Charging Station StealthTech Living Room Sound System | Lovesac Pixelmator Pro MacWhisper Fastmail MCP Server Superhuman DEVONthink TRMNL X Supercharge Elgato Stream Deck Elgato Key Light Air BetterTouchTool Keyboard Maestro Audio Hijack Bear Backblaze Parachute Carbon Copy Cloner Tailscale Snazzy Labs Hollyland Lark Wireless Mics Ulanzi RODECaster Pro 2

PHP Podcast – May 28, 2026 Hosts: Eric Van Johnson & John Congdon Links from the show: PHP barely avoided disaster – YouTube CVE-2026-45793: Anatomy of a 14-Hour PHP Supply-Chain Near-Miss · graycoreio/github-actions-magento2 · Discussion #261 · GitHub An Update on Composer & Packagist Supply Chain Security PHP Tek: A Homecoming by Ben Ramsey Tek Roundup – Roave Speaking at PHP Tek 2026! #tech – YouTube PHP Tek is behind us, the ballroom is cleaned up, and we’re back to talk about all of it. Here’s what we covered: RIP Archie Bot After a long fight to keep him alive, Eric has officially retired Archie — the Discord bot built on OpenClaw that handled team standups, monitored PHP Architect’s Twitter/X group for join requests, and did a surprising amount of background work for the consulting team. When Anthropic shut down the OpenClaw API, Eric tried every model and service he could find to bring Archie back to form, but nothing got him all the way there. After a month of “almost working,” the call was made. He’s dead. Eric hasn’t ruled out revisiting it eventually — maybe with Claude Cowork — but for now, the bot is gone and the starting-soon link in Discord is broken because of it. Reviving a Six-Year-Old Codebase A client PHP Architect Consulting worked with from 2018 to 2021 has come back. The project — a reimagining of their app — was killed off when COVID hit and the CEO couldn’t align with the team’s vision. The last commit was six years ago. Now the client wants to bring it back, and Eric is spending the next few days analyzing what it’ll take to get it running again. Outdated packages, an old PHP version, and the general entropy of time are all on the checklist. Eric has genuine affection for this codebase — it was one of the first projects where he felt like the team was truly operating as a team, not just as an extension of him. Now it’s time to dust it off. Partner Spotlight: PHP Score → Our CVEs The PHP Score sponsor read may be getting a refresh — the folks at Artisan Build, who built PHP Score, have a new product they’re excited about: ourCVEs.com. It monitors your codebase’s Composer and NPM packages — and optionally your servers via a lightweight agent — for exposure to open CVEs, and alerts you when something needs attention. Pricing is generous: free forever for open source projects, $17/month for solo devs, $83/month for teams (or $1,000/year), with server monitoring scaling at $1 per server above 50. Ed from Artisan Build was at PHP Tek and made a strong impression. Go check it out at ourcves.com. How PHP Barely Avoided a Supply Chain Disaster Brent Roose released a 22-minute video covering a near-miss in the PHP ecosystem involving GitHub and Composer. The short version: GitHub changed their token format and briefly released it before Composer was ready to handle it. Composer was logging the token when the format check failed — meaning GitHub tokens were ending up in CI logs. In GitHub Actions, depending on how your action is configured, that container (and its token) might stick around for a while, giving an attacker a window to act. An alert developer caught the issue, used Claude to help research it, then did responsible disclosure — contacting the Composer maintainers and reaching out to Taylor Otwell, Vincent Pontier, and others in the ecosystem to disable their actions until the fix was in place. Update your Composer. GitHub rolled back the new token format but won’t keep it rolled back forever. Packagist MFA and Account Security Following up on the supply chain theme: Nils and Igor (Composer/Packagist maintainers) released a blog post on what they’re doing to improve supply chain security. The immediate ask for anyone publishing packages is to enable MFA on your Packagist account — it’s not required yet, but it will be. Eric went to check his own account, found MFA was already on, but noticed his username was still “diegodev” and he was using an old email. While updating it, he noted that Packagist didn’t require him to re-authenticate or confirm the change via the old email — a gap worth flagging if you have popular packages and someone ever gets into your session. PHP Tek 2026 Recap — The Good PHP Tek 2026 in Chicago is done, and despite everything (see below), the team is proud of how it went. Some highlights: Holly (CodeLorax) built a conference mobile app from scratch, released on both Google Play and the Apple App Store within 24 hours of the conference opening. The app let attendees build their own schedule, detected conflicting talk selections, sent push notifications when talks moved rooms, and even included a vendor lead-scanning feature where vendors could scan attendee QR codes to capture contacts. It was a genuine game-changer for the event. Eric and John named the conference elephant after Holly in appreciation — she also changed a trailer tire during setup, which sealed the deal. Clayton Kendall sponsored and produced the conference shirts and bags on an extremely tight timeline — shirts two weeks out, bags just one week before the event. Both were a hit. Attendees at the conference were getting questions about the rainbow PHP Architect shirt in particular. A job fair ran for the first time, with four companies represented. One hiring manager showed up even though they already had 1,400 applicants — because they knew that conference attendees are exactly the kind of motivated, self-improving developers they want. Attendees got to ask questions directly, including the real-world stuff like remote vs. office. Eric would love feedback on how to make it better next year. JS Tech debuted as a fourth track alongside the three PHP tracks, bringing in fresh faces from the JavaScript community. Eric came away energized by the cross-pollination — different people, different approaches to similar problems. Ben Ramsey and James Tickham (Rove) both wrote great blog posts about the conference. Ben’s will be featured in the magazine. Diana Pham also put together a video recap. Links in the show notes. PHP Tek 2026 Recap — The Incident On Monday during final setup, a hotel employee had a medical incident while walking through the main ballroom — leaving a trail that required hazmat-suited cleanup crews and forced the team to quarantine the ballroom, the hallway leading to it, and the adjacent bathroom. The person is okay and was back at the hotel by Friday, which was a relief. But in the moment, nobody knew what was happening or how long the room would be unavailable. The team had to rebuild the entire conference footprint overnight. The keynote moved, the JS Tech track went into the quiet room, vendors moved to the atrium, and the hotel staff — to their enormous credit — cleared their own furniture and accommodated every ask without complaint. Attendees were equally patient; once they understood the situation, there was no drama, just “tell us where to go.” The incident also took out the streaming setup for day one, compounding an already-difficult start. The solution that eventually worked — plugging the Ethernet into a hub before the streaming equipment — wasn’t tried until day three. Eric is mad at himself for thinking of it and not doing it sooner. PHP Tek 2027 — Save the Date (TBD) Planning for next year is already underway. The current target is April 2027 — away from the May timing that caused Eric to miss two of his kid’s band performances this year. Nothing is locked yet, but they’re working through venue and date options and hope to have an announcement soon. Links from the show: ourCVEs.com — Daily security audit on autopilot PHPScore — Technical debt monitoring for PHP Brent Roose — “How PHP Barely Avoided Disaster” (YouTube) Packagist — Enable MFA on your account PHP Architect Discord PHP Architect Merch Store PHP Architect YouTube Host: Eric Van Johnson X: @shocm Mastodon: @eric@phparch.social Bluesky: @ericvanjohnson.bsky.social PHPArch.me: @eric John Congdon X: @johncongdon Mastodon: @john@phparch.social Bluesky: @johncongdon.bsky.social PHPArch.me: @john Streams: Youtube Channel Twitch Connect & Hire PHP Architect Website Twitter/X Mastodon Hire PHP Developers Looking to hire PHP developers? Email support@phparch.com – Joe and the team are available for consulting, infrastructure work, Ansible playbooks, and code review. Partner This podcast is made a little better thanks to our partners Displace Infrastructure Management, Simplified Automate Kubernetes deployments across any cloud provider or bare metal with a single command. Deploy, manage, and scale your infrastructure with ease. https://displace.tech/ PHPScore Put Your Technical Debt on Autopay with PHPScore CodeRabbit Cut code review time & bugs in half instantly with CodeRabbit. Music Provided by Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com/ Join Us Live Next Week Youtube Channel Got feedback? Join us on Discord at discord.phparch.com The post The PHP Podcast 2026.05.28 appeared first on PHP Architect.

“When you need these systems, they have to work 100% of the time,” says Jake Jacoby, CEO of TELCLOUD. “Our solution doesn't just meet the old copper standard — it exceeds it.” In part 35 of the TELCLOUD POTS and Shots Podcast Series, Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, speaks with Jacoby about the hardware architecture powering modern POTS replacement and why reliability remains the most important requirement for life-safety communications. The discussion focuses on TELCLOUD's purpose-built POTScast 8 and POTScast 2 devices, which support eight and two analog lines respectively. Designed specifically for POTS replacement, the units support applications including fire alarms, elevators, emergency phones, security systems, fax lines, SCADA systems, and other legacy communications still dependent on analog connectivity. Jacoby explains that traditional copper phone lines historically delivered both dial tone and power directly from the carrier's central office, making them highly reliable during outages. TELCLOUD's approach replaces that infrastructure with a more resilient, modern design featuring battery backup, multiple WAN paths, LTE and 5G connectivity, and remote monitoring capabilities. Each POTScast unit includes a built-in 24-hour battery backup with optional expansion capability, along with support for multiple WAN connections including fiber, satellite, and cellular. TELCLOUD also supports Power over Ethernet deployments, allowing cellular routers from providers including Digi and ATEL to be placed up to 250 feet away from telecom closets where signal strength is stronger. Jacoby noted that TELCLOUD originally relied on existing analog telephone adapters but ultimately engineered its own hardware platform after determining that available solutions did not meet the company's performance standards for mission-critical deployments. “These devices are designed to sit in that telco room for the next 20 years,” Jacoby said. The episode also explores how TELCLOUD combines hardware, platform services, monitoring, field services, and channel support into a fully managed POTS replacement offering delivered through reseller partners globally. The “Shots” segment of the podcast featured Casa 1560 Private Selection Extra Añejo, a tequila aged more than three years in oak barrels and described by Jacoby as having notes of dark chocolate, dried fruit, and oak. For more information, visit telcloud.com or call 844-900-2270.

Simon Swords bootstrapped Fundipedia for nearly 20 years before selling to FE fundinfo in May 2025. He started in a garden shed with an Ethernet cable and a VoIP phone, ran three businesses at once for years, and eventually landed clients like HSBC, Barclays, and Legal & General. He negotiated the entire life-changing exit himself with his chairman and a ChatGPT subscription, without a corporate broker.In this episode, Simon and I go deep on what it actually costs to play the long game. We talk about the childhood that wired him to push through anything, why he says he would rather have died than given up, and why he cried the day the deal closed.We also get into why he sought therapy after the business was successful, not during the struggle. And why he thinks once you have the money, you're no longer allowed to be sad.This is a conversation about whether the exit actually sets you free, or whether the real work starts after. If you're playing the long game, this one's for you._______(02:00) Why bootstrapping for 20 years was the making of him(07:31) Cumulative childhood trauma and growing up in Dagenham(11:30) Anxiety as a superpower in business(12:59) "I would have rather died than given up"(15:38) Thinking he was having a heart attack on an onboarding call(18:30) His chairman buying him out for a million pounds(20:12) Waking up with the money and the anxiety still there(21:52) The dragon he was chasing for 30 years(23:30) Why most of his therapy came after success, not during(28:30) Running the exit himself with ChatGPT(32:31) What the cry on closing day was really about(34:56) Why once you have money, you're not allowed to be sad(38:30) The friends who anchor him to reality(42:23) The panic attack that made him stop(45:30) His 2026 plan to fill the space the business used to occupy(48:05) What he's most proud ofShow notes:Find show notes of each episode on ProfitLed.fm. Connect with our host:Follow Melissa on LinkedIn where she shares stories & lessons from her founder journey weekly.Connect with Melissa at melissakwan.com and subscribe to  'your founder next door', Melissa's weekly newsletter on what it's like to build a company without an abundance of resources and friends in high places.Follow @themelissakwan on Instagram and YouTube where she shares short videos of business advice and other truth-bomb sound bites.This podcast was brought to you by eWebinar:Find out how you can turn pre-recorded videos into interactive experiences with chat so you can run your demos, onboarding calls, and training sessions on autopilot, 24/7, without being there. Hop into a demo at eWebinar.com, no salesperson required.

Join me for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour of Cisco's purpose-built $20 million AI data center lab in San Jose. AI is revolutionizing the tech industry, but running massive 10,000 GPU clusters can cost up to $175 million a year—and a mere 5% network bottleneck can flush $8 million down the drain. In this video, we break down the hardware, software, and networking topologies required to build, secure, and scale massive AI data centers. I sit down with Cisco engineers to explore scale-up domains with NVIDIA H200 and AMD MI350X servers, scale-out rail-optimized topologies, and the massive Cisco Silicon One G300 ASIC delivering 102.4 Terabits per second with innovative liquid cooling. We also dive into the Ethernet vs. InfiniBand debate for scaling to 100,000 GPUs, the power of Linear Pluggable Optics (LPO) to reduce power draw, and how Cisco used AI to safely refactor 500,000 lines of legacy code. Whether you are building an AI network today or upgrading your engineering skills for the future, this is video can help you learn. Big thanks to Cisco for sponsoring my trip to Cisco Data Center and Operational Control Center in San Jose. // Will Eatherton SOCIAL // LinkedIn: / willeatherton Newsroom: https://newsroom.cisco.com/c/r/newsro... // Rakesh Kumar SOCIAL // LinkedIn: / rakesh-kumar-78559b // Richard Licon SOCIAL // LinkedIn: / rlicon75 // Ram Gandikota // LinkedIn: / ramgandikota // Faraz Taifehesmatian SOCIAL // LinkedIn: / faraztaifeh // YouTube video REFERENCE // • The 100Tbps AI Switch: Inside the Beast / David's SOCIAL // Discord: discord.com/invite/usKSyzb Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbombal Instagram: www.instagram.com/davidbombal LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/davidbombal Facebook: www.facebook.com/davidbombal.co TikTok: tiktok.com/@davidbombal YouTube: / @davidbombal Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/3f6k6gE... SoundCloud: / davidbombal Apple Podcast: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... // MY STUFF // https://www.amazon.com/shop/davidbombal // SPONSORS // Interested in sponsoring my videos? Reach out to my team here: sponsors@davidbombal.com // MENU // 0:00 - The power of AI data centers 0:51 - Cost and challenges of AI data centers 02:35 - How to connect GPUs in an AI cluster 05:23 - The future of data centers 08:45 - NeoCloud infrastructure in Australia 10:28 - The right components matter 16:32 - Testing to avoid failures 21:43 - Ethernet vs InfiniBand 23:27 - Cisco security services 26:14 - Future of speeds in the data center 27:23 - Conclusion Please note that links listed may be affiliate links and provide me with a small percentage/kickback should you use them to purchase any of the items listed or recommended. Thank you for supporting me and this channel! Disclaimer: This video is for educational purposes only. #ai #network #datacenter

Signal integrity engineers working on high-speed serial links, Ethernet, USB, PCI Express, and DDR memory interfaces need powerful simulation tools, but commercial software licenses can be cost-prohibitive. In this episode of the Altium OnTrack Podcast, host Zach Peterson sits down with David Banas, Solutions Engineer at Keysight, to explore three open-source Python packages that are transforming how engineers approach serial link simulation, IBIS-AMI model testing, and channel operating margin analysis. David walks through PyBERT, his most popular tool, demonstrating live how it handles eye diagrams, bathtub curves, jitter analysis, and equalization techniques like CTLE, DFE, and TX de-emphasis.   The pair explore PyIBIS, a Python tool for IBIS-AMI model developers, demonstrating its capabilities in analyzing signal transmission parameters. They look at how it helps debug models and apply equalization techniques to address signal distortion. Understanding this tool is crucial for effective data transmission analysis and ensuring signal integrity, especially when working with complex designs in Altium Designer or Cadence Design Systems.  

From Double-Wide Racks to "Deep Space RISC-V" - HPE Juniper Broadcom AMD Helios - OCP Open Rack Wide - Sale-up on Ethernet, UALoE - China signals strength - China's Jiuzhang 4.0 photonic quantum computer - High Availability and "Rad-Hard” chips in space - NASA's New Radiation-Hardened AI Processor [audio mp3="https://orionx.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/HPCNB_20260518.mp3"][/audio] The post HPC News Bytes – 20260518 appeared first on OrionX.net.

Wendy is back from hauling robots to Texas and getting ready to drive another one to California, so the crew leans hard into life on the road with Linux. Bill talks about moving his systems over to Bazzite, tells the story of an overworked NVIDIA 1080 that literally ate into another GPU, and explains how HomeBridge 2.0 keeps his smart‑home world humming. Nate shares his first impressions of Tux Manager, a Linux clone of the classic Windows Task Manager, and walks through the Framework‑plus‑Flip‑Go combo that makes his roaming setup feel like CubicleLabs away from home. From Steam Decks and One X Players to UniFi travel routers and noise‑canceling headphones, everyone opens their travel bags and talks about the gear they actually trust when Wi‑Fi is sketchy and power outlets are rare. Wendy also geeks out over her new MOVA V50 robot vacuum, complete with a dedicated “Sentinels” Wi‑Fi SSID, and how little self‑hosted comforts make a hotel room feel just a bit more like a homelab. Along the way, there are jokes about Ethernet‑cable hair, data having weight, and why the best layover is the one where your SSH tunnel actually connects. If you're curious about the recent Linux vulnerabilities and the ABCs of CVEs, don't miss SUDO Show 76, where they break it all down in a fun and informative way. Connect with the Hosts on Discord: Matt – @Dark1ltg Wendy – @Wendy.sh Nate – CubicleNate.com @CubicleNate Bill – @ctlinux on Mastodon Special Guest: Bill.

“These are purpose-built devices,” says Jake Jacoby, CEO of TELCLOUD. “They're UL listed, certified, tested, and designed specifically for this business.” In the latest episode of the TELCLOUD POTS and Shots Podcast Series, Doug Green, Publisher of Technology Reseller News, speaks with Jacoby about the hardware that makes modern POTS replacement possible. Jacoby showcases two TELCLOUD devices: the POTScast 8 LTE PC228 LTE, which supports eight analog lines, and the POTScast 2 LTE PC222 LTE, which supports two. Both are designed to support legacy and life-safety systems such as elevators, fire alarms, security systems, fax lines, SCADA applications, modems, and emergency phones as copper lines are phased out. The POTScast platform combines analog support with modern LTE and WAN connectivity, including broadband, Wi-Fi as WAN, satellite, and cellular. Each device includes 24-hour battery backup, helping ensure that critical communications continue even when building power fails. Jacoby also explains TELCLOUD's modular design. Because cellular signal is often weak inside telecom rooms, TELCLOUD supports Power over Ethernet, allowing routers from partners such as Ericsson, Peplink, Digi, InHand, ATEL, and Seego to be placed up to 250 feet away for better reception. The episode closes with the Shots segment, featuring Herencia Historico Grand Reserve Extra Añejo, a five-year-aged, small-batch tequila from Jalisco presented in a distinctive handcrafted bottle. For more information, visit telcloud.com or call 844-900-2270.

- Nvidia, Corning, big optical fiber deal - Optical computing - New MRC RDMA on Ethernet fabrics - MRC vs RoCEv2 and Infiniband - AMD strengths in GPUs and CPUs - Ocean wave energy for data centers [audio mp3="https://orionx.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/HPCNB_20260511.mp3"][/audio] The post HPC News Bytes – 20260511 appeared first on OrionX.net.

Make a Logo on Fiverr Blackmagic Brings Fairlight Into the Live Audio World Blackmagic Design has been steadily building Fairlight into its larger production ecosystem, and at NAB 2026, the company showed off a major step forward: Blackmagic Fairlight Live, a standalone audio mixing system built for live production. Fairlight has long been known as the audio engine inside DaVinci Resolve, giving editors and post-production teams tools for mixing, EQ, compression, gating and audio cleanup. But this new version pulls Fairlight out of Resolve and gives it a dedicated live workflow, designed for people who need to mix audio during events, broadcasts, houses of worship, livestreams and video productions. It Looks Like a Console, But the Mac Does the Heavy Lifting The big thing to understand about Blackmagic Fairlight Live is that the hardware panel is a controller. The actual processing runs on a computer, with Blackmagic showing the system running through a Mac at NAB. That means the console itself is not a traditional all-in-one audio mixer with every input and output built directly into the back. Instead, your audio I/O connects through the computer using interfaces, virtual sound cards or networked audio workflows. The Fairlight Live panel then gives you hands-on control of the mix. That approach may feel different from a traditional soundboard, but it also makes the system more flexible. If your venue already has audio running over Ethernet, Dante Virtual Soundcard, AES, USB, Thunderbolt or another digital audio interface, Fairlight Live can fit into that existing setup without requiring a completely new wiring plan. Built for ATEM and Blackmagic Video Workflows While Fairlight Live can operate as a standalone audio mixer, Blackmagic is clearly positioning it as part of a larger live production chain. The system can pair with ATEM switchers, allowing a dedicated audio operator to control audio separately from the video switcher. That could be a big advantage for churches, live music venues, schools, conference rooms and production teams already using Blackmagic ATEM hardware. Instead of forcing one person to manage both video switching and audio control from the same panel, Fairlight Live gives the audio side its own dedicated surface. 10, 20 and 40 Channel Panels Blackmagic showed multiple Fairlight Live hardware options at NAB, including 10-channel, 20-channel and 40-channel panels. The larger models include multiple screens, giving operators direct access to processing tools and master controls. Those screens can show channel strips, EQ, compression, gates, expanders and other controls, making it feel closer to a traditional digital mixing console. Multiple banks also allow users to layer deeper channel counts beyond the physical faders in front of them. Plugins, Effects and Live Processing Because Fairlight Live runs its processing on the computer, the available CPU power matters. Blackmagic suggested that a newer Mac mini would be a professional baseline, while something like a Mac Studio would offer far more headroom. The system supports the same kind of audio processing users may already know from DaVinci Resolve's Fairlight page. That includes Blackmagic's built-in effects as well as AU and VST plugins from third-party manufacturers. For live production, that means common tools like reverb, delay, EQ and dynamics processing should be available inside the Fairlight workflow. More demanding plugins could introduce latency, so the computer and plugin choices will matter for larger productions. A Possible Replacement for Traditional Live Soundboards For venues already using compact digital mixers, Blackmagic audio workflows could become a serious option. Fairlight Live is designed to replace a traditional soundboard, but with one important caveat: you still need a computer and an audio interface or network audio system to bring signals in and out. The back of the panel includes features like XLR talkback inputs, XLR monitor outputs, Ethernet connections and USB for updates. But the main audio I/O is handled outside the console. That makes Fairlight Live less like a self-contained mixer and more like a control surface for a computer-based live audio system. Remote Control and Flexible Setups Blackmagic also noted that the system can be controlled remotely, including from an iPad. That opens the door for operators to adjust audio from different locations in a room, stage or production space. For live events, that could be especially useful. A venue could have the main Fairlight Live surface at front of house, while another operator or technician checks levels from another position. Release Timing and Platform Support At NAB 2026, Blackmagic said the Fairlight Live software beta was already available on its website, and the hardware panels were expected around the July to August timeframe. The system was shown running on Mac, and while Blackmagic's broader software ecosystem often supports Mac, Windows and Linux, the final platform support for Fairlight Live was still being worked on at the time of the NAB demo. Why Fairlight Live Matters The biggest takeaway is that Blackmagic Fairlight Live brings Blackmagic's audio tools into the same live production conversation as ATEM switchers, 2110 workflows and modern networked production systems. For creators, venues and live production teams already using Blackmagic gear, this could become a more integrated way to manage blackmagic audio without relying on a separate traditional console. It is not just an audio mixer in the old-school sense. It is a computer-powered, software-driven live mixing system with dedicated hardware control — and for Blackmagic users, that could make Fairlight Live one of the most interesting NAB 2026 announcements. Last Updated on June 9, 2026 5:16 pm by Jeffrey PowersThe post Blackmagic Fairlight Live: Standalone Audio Mixing System (NAB 2026) appeared first on Geekazine.

On this week's show a listener asks for some help with keeping his audio in sync with his video. We also discuss how to turn off the ACR on your Smart TV. But first we read your emails and take a look at the week's news. News: Here's What's Coming in the 2026 Apple TV Roku's Howdy Streaming Service Reaches an Estimated 1 Million Users Deal Alert! 65" TV for $238 Audio Sync in a Home Theater Byron's request for answers to some specific questions on audio sync: I'd appreciate it if you guys could provide some "guiding principles" on syncing audio in a home theater setup. I have four questions: 1. Should the AVR be the ONLY place to mess with syncing settings (when everything runs through it, including ARC)? Yes, in most cases—this is the recommended approach. Start with AVR settings at zero or Auto, enable Auto Lip Sync if available, and adjust the manual audio delay there. Avoid adjusting on the TV or sources unless you have a specific reason like a stubborn source that bypasses the AVR. Changing multiple devices creates conflicts and makes troubleshooting harder. 2. If AVR is the main adjustment point, do sources automatically stay in sync after setting it once?  Often yes, especially with Auto Lip Sync enabled and consistent sources. The AVR's delay setting (or per-input memory) applies across similar content. However: Different video formats, resolutions, SDR vs. HDR/Dolby Vision,  60Hz vs. 24p or processing modes can introduce varying delays. Some AVRs store audio delay per input, so one good setting per source/input often suffices.  3. For Fire TV Sticks, Apple TV, etc.: Do sync settings apply across all apps, or per-app? Fire TV Stick: The AV Sync Tuning (under Settings > Display & Sounds > Audio) is generally a device-wide offset. It should hold across apps for the HDMI output. Individual apps might have minor internal variations, but a global tweak usually covers most cases. Reboot the stick if sync drifts. Apple TV: No built-in manual per-app delay slider in standard settings. There's a Wireless Audio Sync calibration that uses the iPhone for measurement, which is more global. Different apps (e.g., Netflix vs. others) can sometimes show varying sync due to their decoding/processing—users often report needing AVR tweaks when switching apps. Match Frame Rate and consistent audio formats help stability.  In both cases, rely on the AVR for the heavy lifting. 4. Do higher-end AVRs allow different sync settings per input? Yes! Many mid-to-high-end models store audio delay/lip sync per input source. Examples include Denon models with "Master Audio Delay" or similar, where you can set and recall different ms offsets (often 0–500ms) for each HDMI input. This is a big convenience for multiple devices. Check your AVR manual for "Audio Delay," "Lip Sync," or "per input" settings. Additional Best Practices Minimize variables: Disable unnecessary video processing (motion smoothing, noise reduction) on the TV and AVR to reduce video latency. Use "Game" or "Pure Direct" modes where possible for lower lag. HDMI/ARC specifics: Ensure high-quality HDMI cables. eARC is better than ARC for bandwidth and sync negotiation. Power cycle everything (unplug) after big changes. Order of troubleshooting: AVR Auto Lip Sync → Manual AVR delay → Source device tweaks → TV audio delay (last). Test tools: Use built-in sync tests on your devices or YouTube "lip sync test" videos. The Most Effective ways to Circumvent Smart TV Spying Last week we talked about how your TV was spying on what you are watching. This week we discuss how to prevent that from happening. The following are the most effective ways to circumvent smart TV spying and related data collection, ranked from easiest/quickest to most thorough. These also help limit proxy network enrollment in shady apps. 1. Disable ACR Directly in TV Settings (Quickest First Step) Most brands let you turn off Automatic Content Recognition (and related ad/personalization features) without losing core picture quality. Do this on every TV: Samsung: Home button → Sidebar menu → Privacy Choices → Terms & Conditions / Privacy Policy → Uncheck Viewing Information Services (and Interest-Based Ads if present). LG: Settings → General → System → Additional Settings (or Advanced) → Turn Live Plus OFF → Also enable Limit Ad Tracking. Sony: Settings → Initial Setup → Disable Samba Interactive TV. Vizio: System → Reset & Admin → Turn Viewing Data OFF. Roku TV / Roku-based: Settings → Privacy → Smart TV Experience → Uncheck Use Info from TV Inputs. Hisense / TCL: Settings → System or Privacy → Disable Smart TV Experience or Use Info from TV Inputs. Amazon Fire TV: Preferences → Privacy Settings → Turn off data tracking options. After changing, restart the TV. Check the setting again after any software update, as it can reset. Also disable voice assistants, microphones, and cameras (cover them physically if needed). 2. Block Internet Access to the TV (Highly Effective) The simplest long-term fix: Prevent the TV from phoning home at all. Don't connect it to Wi-Fi or Ethernet in the first place. Or, on your router: Create a guest Wi-Fi just for the TV, then use firewall rules, parental controls, or MAC address blocking to stop all outbound internet traffic (while allowing local network access if you stream from a NAS/Plex/Jellyfin). Advanced: Use a tool like Pi-hole or AdGuard Home on your network to block known tracking domains. Pro tip: Many people report the TV works fine (or even faster) for HDMI inputs and local streaming when fully offline. External streaming devices handle all internet needs. 3. Use the TV as a "Dumb" Display Only Treat your smart TV like a big monitor: Connect all content via HDMI from a more private device (never use the TV's built-in apps). Recommended external boxes (in order of privacy-friendliness): Apple TV — Clean interface, minimal tracking, no aggressive ads. NVIDIA Shield or other local-media-focused devices.  Raspberry Pi or HTPC running Kodi/Plex for full local control. This bypasses the TV's OS almost entirely. 4. Go Fully "Dumb" (Most Private Long-Term Solution) Buy a true dumb TV or large computer monitor (no smart features, no Wi-Fi, no ACR). Options exist in smaller sizes or from brands like Westinghouse for basic panels. Pair it with an external streamer or your own computer/laptop via HDMI. Many privacy-focused users prefer this setup over any "smart" panel. Important reality check: Disabling ACR and blocking internet stops most viewing-data collection, but no method is 100% foolproof against every firmware trick or future update. The nuclear option—keeping the TV completely offline and HDMI-only—remains the gold standard for privacy.  

Whoops!  How did this get missed?!  Is 12vHPWR really that bad? Why aren't you mad enough about DDR and SSD pricing?!  Nvidia is BUYING ... well it's not HP.  All that "Don't track me bro" stuff is for naught, Sony sells you less and you'll buy it, and Linux stops being able to be loaded on just about anything.  You cannot wait for the segment on Ethernet cables, I know.  All that and more!0:00 Intro0:35 Patreon2:10 Food with Josh3:57 Yes, DDR5 and SSD prices are still insane7:30 NVIDIA is not buying Dell or HP9:40 Also, NVIDIA warranty payments up 1000 percent in 202512:23 NVIDIA N1 engineering board leak14:15 Desktop CPU sales tank for some strange reason17:19 Sorry, you are still being tracked21:24 Sony Bravia TVs losing some OTA functionality23:13 Copper Clad Aluminum27:57 Linux drops 486 support!30:20 MacBook Neo almost sold out34:12 (In)Security Corner44:50 Gaming Quick Hits48:50 Picks of the Week1:02:58 Outro ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

Take a Network Break! We commence with a red alert on FastMCP, and then debate whether Anthropic’s Project Glasswing is a marketing stunt or a reasonable response to the growing ability of AI models to find and exploit software vulnerabilities. Iran targets US OT networks, startup Aria Networks unveils Ethernet switches purpose-built for AI factories,... Read more »

Take a Network Break! We commence with a red alert on FastMCP, and then debate whether Anthropic’s Project Glasswing is a marketing stunt or a reasonable response to the growing ability of AI models to find and exploit software vulnerabilities. Iran targets US OT networks, startup Aria Networks unveils Ethernet switches purpose-built for AI factories,... Read more »

Take a Network Break! We commence with a red alert on FastMCP, and then debate whether Anthropic’s Project Glasswing is a marketing stunt or a reasonable response to the growing ability of AI models to find and exploit software vulnerabilities. Iran targets US OT networks, startup Aria Networks unveils Ethernet switches purpose-built for AI factories,... Read more »

Make a Logo on Fiverr A Serious Upgrade for Thunderbolt Setups The WavLink 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 dock is built for users pushing modern workflows—especially those running a Mac Thunderbolt Dock or PC thunderbolt dock setup. With Thunderbolt 5 bandwidth starting at 80Gbps and boosting up to 120Gbps in certain scenarios, this dock isn't just about adding ports—it's about unlocking serious throughput for storage, displays, and peripherals. Right out of the box, the dock feels substantial. The all-metal design, solid weight, and ventilation signal this isn't a budget accessory—it's meant to sit at the center of a high-performance desk setup. Ports, Power, and Expandability This 12-in-1 dock delivers a wide spread of connectivity: Four Thunderbolt 5 ports USB-A ports (10Gbps) SD 4.0 and microSD 4.0 card slots 2.5Gb Ethernet Headphone/mic combo jack High-power USB-C with up to 140W output Power is a standout here. The included 230W power supply means you can run the dock, charge laptops, and power multiple devices simultaneously without bottlenecks. That's key for creators juggling cameras, drives, and displays. There's also a clever USB-C locking mechanism—rare but useful—keeping your connection secure during heavy transfers or if the dock gets moved around. Built for Speed (and It Shows) Hooked up to Thunderbolt 5 storage, the performance is exactly what you'd expect from next-gen bandwidth. Real-world tests showed: Up to ~4600 MB/s write speeds on high-end NVMe Strong read performance near 3800+ MB/s depending on drive type Even when stepping down to Thunderbolt 4, the dock remains highly capable, though naturally capped at lower speeds. It's forward-compatible in a way that makes sense—buy now, and it scales with your next machine. Display Support Without HDMI One thing that might catch people off guard: no HDMI or DisplayPort. Instead, all video runs through Thunderbolt/USB-C. That means: Up to 8K (7680×4320) at 144Hz for single display Dual and triple display configurations supported Mac-specific limits (like 6K displays) still apply If you need HDMI, you'll need an adapter—but the tradeoff is cleaner bandwidth management and fewer limitations at high resolutions. Mac and PC Compatibility This dock plays well with both Mac and PC—but there are a few caveats: Works best with Thunderbolt 5 systems Fully compatible with Thunderbolt 4 (reduced speeds) Not compatible with Thunderbolt 3 Paired with an M4 Mac Mini or similar system, it becomes a central hub for storage arrays, networking, and multi-display setups. Design and Cooling Thermals are handled well thanks to the aluminum chassis and venting. Even under load, the unit stays relatively cool to the touch. No cheap plastics here—this is a premium build meant for long sessions. Real-World Use Cases This WavLink Thunderbolt 5 dock fits right into: Video editing workflows with high-speed NVMe storage Multi-network environments (dual Ethernet setups) Desktop replacement setups for laptops High-refresh-rate multi-monitor configurations It's especially compelling if you're building toward a Thunderbolt 5 ecosystem and want something that won't be outdated in a year. The Bottom Line The WavLink dock checks a lot of boxes: strong build, serious bandwidth, and flexible expansion. The lack of native display ports might frustrate some, but for anyone already invested in USB-C/Thunderbolt workflows, it's a non-issue. For creators, editors, and power users, this is one of those docks that actually earns its desk space. Check it out at https://geni.us/wavlinktbt5 Check out the Geekazine Merch, including "I AM AI " T-Shirt.  Thanks for reading! Don't forget to subscribe to Geekazine: RSS Feed - YouTubeTwitter - Facebook Tip Me via Paypal.me Send a Tip via Venmo RSS Bandwidth by Cachefly Get a 14 Day Trial Be a Patreon: Part of the Sconnie Geek Nation! Reviews: Geekazine gets products in to review. Opinions are of Geekazine.com. Sponsored content will be labeled as such. Read all policies on the Geekazine review page.  Reviews: Geekazine is also an affiliate of Amazon Last Updated on April 15, 2026 12:50 pm by Jeffrey PowersThe post This 12-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Dock from WavLink Is Actually Solid — First Look appeared first on Geekazine.

Lenny Giuliano, Sr. Distinguished Systems Engineer at HPE Juniper Networks, joins Holly and Ethan for another round of multicast. Part two helps fill in details not covered in episode 50. They cover how multicast traffic also affects Ethernet frame addressing, and the key differences between IPv4 and IPv6 multicast. They also explain new hybrid multicast... Read more »

Lenny Giuliano, Sr. Distinguished Systems Engineer at HPE Juniper Networks, joins Holly and Ethan for another round of multicast. Part two helps fill in details not covered in episode 50. They cover how multicast traffic also affects Ethernet frame addressing, and the key differences between IPv4 and IPv6 multicast. They also explain new hybrid multicast... Read more »

On this week's episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah answers a listener's question about which connection method — Thunderbolt, 10GbE Ethernet, or a USB-C to 10GbE Ethernet dongle — offers the best performance and reliability for video editing with network-attached storage. Don't forget to send in your questions for Mikah to answer during the show! hot@twit.tv Host: Mikah Sargent Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord. Sponsor: joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT

Worum geht's? Im ersten Teil unserer Folge zu PC-Netzwerken haben Henner und Gunnar von der Entstehung des Ethernet berichtet und die kommerziellen und technischen Grundlagen aus der grauen Vorzeit hergeleitet. In diesem Teil geht es um die praktische Anwendung dieser Technologien für das vernetzte Spielen, vor allem das Spielen in einem lokalen Netzwerk, einem LAN. Produktions-Credits: Sprecher, Redaktion: Henner Thomsen, Gunnar Lott Audioproduktion: Sascha Blach, Christian Schmidt Titelgrafik: Johannes DuBois

On this week's episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah answers a listener's question about which connection method — Thunderbolt, 10GbE Ethernet, or a USB-C to 10GbE Ethernet dongle — offers the best performance and reliability for video editing with network-attached storage. Don't forget to send in your questions for Mikah to answer during the show! hot@twit.tv Host: Mikah Sargent Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord. Sponsor: joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT

On this week's episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah answers a listener's question about which connection method — Thunderbolt, 10GbE Ethernet, or a USB-C to 10GbE Ethernet dongle — offers the best performance and reliability for video editing with network-attached storage. Don't forget to send in your questions for Mikah to answer during the show! hot@twit.tv Host: Mikah Sargent Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord. Sponsor: joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT

On this week's episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah answers a listener's question about which connection method — Thunderbolt, 10GbE Ethernet, or a USB-C to 10GbE Ethernet dongle — offers the best performance and reliability for video editing with network-attached storage. Don't forget to send in your questions for Mikah to answer during the show! hot@twit.tv Host: Mikah Sargent Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord. Sponsor: joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT

On this week's episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah answers a listener's question about which connection method — Thunderbolt, 10GbE Ethernet, or a USB-C to 10GbE Ethernet dongle — offers the best performance and reliability for video editing with network-attached storage. Don't forget to send in your questions for Mikah to answer during the show! hot@twit.tv Host: Mikah Sargent Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord. Sponsor: joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT

On this week's episode of Hands-On Tech, Mikah answers a listener's question about which connection method — Thunderbolt, 10GbE Ethernet, or a USB-C to 10GbE Ethernet dongle — offers the best performance and reliability for video editing with network-attached storage. Don't forget to send in your questions for Mikah to answer during the show! hot@twit.tv Host: Mikah Sargent Download or subscribe to Hands-On Tech at https://twit.tv/shows/hands-on-tech Join Club TWiT for Ad-Free Podcasts! Support what you love and get ad-free audio and video feeds, a members-only Discord, and exclusive content. Join today: https://twit.tv/clubtwit Club TWiT members can discuss this episode and leave feedback in the Club TWiT Discord. Sponsor: joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT

Achtung: Dies ist Folge 1 von 2, Teil 2 erscheint in einer Woche. Worum geht's? In den frühen 1970er Jahren war ein Computer noch eine Rechenmaschine: hochspezialisiert, raumfüllend und keineswegs dazu gedacht, mit anderen Maschinen zu kommunizieren. Dass aus dieser Ausgangslage ein weltweites Netz entstehen konnte, verdankt sich einer Reihe von klugen Köpfen, glücklichen Zufällen und einer Technik namens Ethernet, die bis heute die Grundlage der meisten lokalen Netzwerke bildet – und damit auch der LAN-Party. Henner und Gunnar erzählen die Entstehungsgeschichte der Computernetzwerke: vom ALOHANet der Universität Hawaii, das Terminals auf mehreren Inseln per Funk verband, bis hin zu den Forschungslabors von Xerox PARC, wo Robert Metcalf Anfang der 1970er Jahre die Idee zu Ethernet entwickelte, inspiriert durch einen nächtlichen Zufallsfund im Bücherregal eines Kollegen. Sie sprechen über die verschiedenen Netzwerktopologien (Bus, Stern, Ring), über Koaxialkabel und den Vampire Tap, über den Namen Ethernet und seine Herkunft aus der griechischen Mythologie und vieles mehr. Der zweite Teil der Folge widmet sich dann dem, womit alles begann: der LAN-Party. Produktions-Credits: Sprecher, Redaktion: Henner Thomsen, Gunnar Lott Audioproduktion: Matthias Kuhlmann, Christian Schmidt Titelgrafik: Johannes DuBois

On this week's show we take a walk down memory lane and look at how the Set Top Boxes we all take for granted evolved from niche Netflix-focused or iTunes-centric devices to broad ecosystems. We also read your emails and take a look at the week's news. News: Hisense TVs Force Owners to Watch Intrusive Ads TCL now can't call some of its TVs 'QLED' TCL launches two new 163-inch 4K microLED TVs in China, starting at $36,000 Short-form video dominates Gen Z digital consumption Other: 9 Brilliant Hi-Fi "Failures" | Awesome Disasters! Set Top Boxes - From Niche Devices to Major Ecosystems Here's a chronological timeline of major set-top streaming boxes: Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Google (Chromecast, Android TV/Google TV devices).  These devices evolved from basic media extenders to full smart platforms with app stores, 4K/HDR support, voice remotes, and integration with services like Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, and more. 2007–2008: Early Pioneers 2007 (January announcement, March release): Apple TV (1st generation) — Apple's first set-top box, initially focused on syncing content from iTunes (40GB/160GB HDD models), supporting up to 720p. It was more of a media extender than a pure streamer at launch. 2008 (May): Roku (1st generation, originally "Roku Netflix Player" or DVP N1000) — The first dedicated streaming box, launched in partnership with Netflix for its "Watch Instantly" service. It marked the start of affordable, channel-based streaming. 2010–2012: Maturing Platforms 2010 (September): Apple TV (2nd generation) — Major shift to a smaller, puck-like design running a variant of iOS, focused on streaming from iTunes and rentals (no HDD, app-like interface). 2012 (March): Apple TV (3rd generation) — Updated model with 1080p support; a minor refresh (Rev A) came in 2013. 2013–2014: Dongle Era and Amazon Enters 2013 (July): Google Chromecast (1st generation) — Revolutionary low-cost HDMI dongle ($35) for casting from phones/tablets/browsers; simple, no full interface or remote. 2014 (April): Amazon Fire TV (1st generation) — Amazon's entry as a set-top box with voice remote, Alexa integration potential, and app ecosystem (initially focused on Prime Video). 2015–2016: Upgrades and 4K 2015 (September): Google Chromecast (2nd generation) — Improved design and performance; also launched Chromecast Audio (audio-only variant, later discontinued). 2015 (October): Apple TV (4th generation, later called Apple TV HD) — Big leap to tvOS with App Store, Siri Remote, games, and third-party apps. 2016 (November): Google Chromecast Ultra — First 4K/HDR-capable Chromecast. 2017–2018: 4K Becomes Standard 2017 (September): Apple TV 4K (1st generation) — Added 4K, HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos. 2017 (October): Amazon Fire TV (3rd generation set-top box) — 4K model with Alexa Voice Remote. 2018 (June): Amazon Fire TV Cube (1st generation) — Hands-free Alexa speaker-integrated set-top box. 2018 (October): Google Chromecast (3rd generation) — Updated HD model. 2019–2020: Android TV/Google TV Shift 2019–2020: Various Amazon Fire TV Stick iterations (4K models in 2018/2019/2020) dominate budget streaming. 2020 (September): Chromecast with Google TV (4K) — Major change: full Google TV interface (based on Android TV), voice remote, app store; moved away from pure casting dongle. 2021–2022: Refinements 2021 (May): Apple TV 4K (2nd generation) — A15 Bionic chip, improved remote (no clickpad issues), more storage options. 2022 (September): Chromecast with Google TV (HD) — Budget 1080p version of the 2020 model. 2022 (November): Apple TV 4K (3rd generation) — HDMI 2.1, Thread support, faster performance. 2023–2024/2025: Current Era and Google Rebrand 2023–2024: Ongoing Amazon Fire TV updates (e.g., Fire TV Cube 3rd gen in 2022/2023, new Sticks). 2024: Roku Ultra (2024 model) — Latest high-end Roku with improved processing. 2024: Google TV Streamer (4K) — Replaced the Chromecast name; full set-top box form factor with Google TV, Ethernet, more storage, and smart home hub features (ending the classic Chromecast dongle line after 11 years and 100M+ units sold). This timeline shows the progression from niche (Netflix-focused or iTunes-centric) to broad ecosystems competing on apps, performance, voice control, and integration. Roku emphasized neutral channel access, Apple focused on the premium ecosystem, Amazon on Prime/Alexa, and Google on casting then full smart TV interface. By 2025–2026, most support 4K/HDR, Dolby Atmos, and thousands of apps.

From installing network cards as a teenager to navigating four successful exits across decades of tech evolution, Raj Singh shares lessons on acquisition timing, building buyer relationships, and the emotional journey founders experience after selling. Raj Singh is VP of Product at Mozilla, leading new zero-to-one product initiatives. He joined Mozilla in 2022 via acquisition of his startup Pulse (AI meeting summarization). Previously, he co-founded Tempo AI (acquired by Salesforce 2015), All the Cooks (acquired by CookPad), and served as VP of Business Development at Skyfire (acquired by Opera). WHAT YOU'LL LEARN You'll discover why exit windows matter more than plans, how to build relationships with potential acquirers years in advance, the four emotional stages after selling, why 80-85% of acquisitions are CEO-driven, and how founder fatigue is the number two reason startups fail. RAJ'S JOURNEY Raj's entrepreneurial instincts showed up early. Before college, he installed network cards in friends' computers for students heading to dorms. Desktop computers didn't have Ethernet ports back then, so he bought cards from Fry's Electronics, installed them, set up drivers, and charged for the service. His first substantive deal came during the dot-com crash, a net-zero acquisition in the early video codec era around 2000. He's since navigated four exits across radically different market conditions: the dot-com crash, 2008 financial crisis, COVID, and today's landscape. Each taught him something different about timing, negotiation, and integration. "What worked yesterday doesn't work today." THE SERIAL EXIT OPERATOR Raj's perspective comes from exiting companies during each major market cycle, giving him pattern recognition most founders never develop. At Mozilla, he's thrived leading products like Mozilla Solo (AI website builder) and Postful (social media management), finding ways to keep learning within a larger organization. KEY INSIGHTS Exit windows exist and close. Miss one, and the next might not emerge for 3-8 years. Founder fatigue is the number two reason startups fail. The hardest question: can you push through for another five years? Build acquisition relationships years in advance. Identify your 10 most likely buyers on day one. Check in every six months with no intent to sell. Acquisitions are about timing. If your timing doesn't align with a buyer's executive off-site decision, you could be off by six months and it won't happen. The emotional journey: relief when the deal closes, regret within days, inspired to make it the best acquisition ever, then acceptance it's not your company anymore. FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE https://www.coreykupfer.com/blog/rajsingh FOR MORE ON RAJ SINGH LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajansingh/ Email: raj@rajansingh.com Twitter/X: @rajansingh Threads: @rajansingh FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFER https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/ https://www.coreykupfer.com/ Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast. Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders converge, share insights and challenges, and success stories. Equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support necessary to navigate the complex yet rewarding world of dealmaking. Dive into the world of deal-driven growth today! Episode Highlights with Timestamps:[00:06:37] - Introduction: Raj Singh's bio and background [00:08:28] - Childhood computer interest and early entrepreneurial instincts [00:08:54] - First side hustle: Installing network cards for college students [00:12:07] - First substantive deal during dot-com crash [00:13:30] - Evolution of startup ecosystem: from Chamber of Commerce books to today [00:21:24] - Journey to Mozilla via Pulse acquisition [00:24:03] - Why staying at Mozilla works: continuous learning and challenge [00:32:10] - All the Cooks exit during Y Combinator three-day decision window [00:35:53] - Tempo AI monetization struggles and Salesforce acquisition [00:39:23] - Four emotional stages after acquisition: relief, regret, inspired, acceptance [00:43:07] - Exit windows and why timing matters more than plans [00:43:32] - Founder fatigue as number two reason startups fail [00:48:19] - Building relationships with 10 potential acquirers from day one [00:50:42] - When incumbents enter your category (market acceleration) [00:51:05] - Enterprise multiple winners versus consumer winner-take-all [00:51:31] - Current work at Mozilla: Solo and Postful products [00:52:53] - What freedom means: choosing where to spend time Guest Bio: Raj Singh is VP of Product at Mozilla, leading zero-to-one product initiatives. He joined via acquisition of Pulse (AI meeting tools) in 2022. Previously: co-founder/CEO Tempo AI (acquired by Salesforce 2015), co-founder All the Cooks (acquired by CookPad), VP Business Development at Skyfire (acquired by Opera). BS in computer engineering from Cal Poly. Host Bio: Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker with more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast. Show Description: Do you want your business to grow faster? The DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer reveals how successful entrepreneurs and business leaders use strategic deals to accelerate growth. From large mergers and acquisitions to capital raising, joint ventures, strategic alliances, real estate deals, and more, this show discusses the full spectrum of deal-driven growth strategies. Get the confidence to pursue deals that will help your company scale faster. Related Episodes:Episode 328 - Richard Manders: Serial Acquisitions and Scaling Through M&A Episode 350 - Tom Dillon: Understanding Business Valuation and Exit Planning Realities Episode 325 - Kelly Finnell: Using ESOPs in Ownership Succession Planning Episode 330 - Pete Mohr: Building Enterprise Value and Exit Readiness Episode 339 - Equitizing Key Employees and Succession Planning Strategies Social Media: Follow DealQuest Podcast: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/ https://www.coreykupfer.com/ Follow Raj Singh: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajansingh/ Twitter/X: @rajansingh Threads: @rajansingh Keywords/Tags:startup exits, M&A timing, acquisition strategy, multiple exits, founder fatigue, exit windows, serial entrepreneur, Salesforce acquisition, Mozilla products, Tempo AI, enterprise versus consumer, building acquisition relationships, CEO-driven acquisitions, emotional journey after exit, strategic buyer relationships, All the Cooks, CookPad acquisition, Pulse acquisition, tech evolution, startup integration, venture capital, exit readiness, founder burnout, M&A strategy, tech acquisitions

On this week's show we have a shootout between four set top boxes and we try to determine which one is best for you. We also read your email and take a look at the week's email. News: Netflix Walks With A Cool $2.8 Billion Breakup Fee: Who Gets What In New Paramount-WBD Merger Proposal Viewers Continue To 'Struggle' With Sports Program Discovery Samsung Wallet's 'Digital Home Key' lets me use my phone to open my doors Set Top Box Shootout  On last week's show, in response to a news story,  Ara asked why would someone use a FireTV set top box over ones from Apple, Google, or Roku. So for this week we decided to do a comparison of them all and try to identify who each product would benefit the most.  For this comparison we looked at the Apple TV 4K (latest 3rd-gen model from 2022, still current), Google TV Streamer (the modern successor to Chromecast with Google TV), Roku (focusing on high-end like Roku Ultra or Streaming Stick 4K), and Amazon Fire TV (focusing on popular models like Fire TV Stick 4K Max or Cube). All support 4K HDR streaming including Dolby Vision, major apps (Netflix, Disney+, etc.), and voice remotes. In a nutshell, the differences come down to your ecosystem, interface, performance, ads, and price. Apple TV 4K Price range: ~$129–$149 (64GB Wi-Fi or 128GB Wi-Fi + Ethernet). Key specs: A15 Bionic chip (fast/smooth), Wi-Fi 6, optional Ethernet, Dolby Vision/Atmos/HDR10+, Thread smart home hub, USB-C Siri Remote. Pros: Premium, ad-free high performance interface with fast app loading. Excellent integration with Apple ecosystem (iPhone, iPad, Mac, AirPlay, Apple TV+, Fitness+, Arcade). Superior picture/audio quality, privacy focus (less tracking), and acts as a smart home hub. Great for gaming (Apple Arcade) and high-end home theater setups. Cons: Most expensive option. Less neutral—prioritizes Apple content/services. Fewer "free/ad-supported" channels compared to rivals. Best for: Apple users and those wanting a premium, ad free experience. Google TV Streamer  Price range: ~$90–$100 (Buy Now). Key specs: Powerful processor (faster than old Chromecast), 32GB storage, Wi-Fi 6, Ethernet, Dolby Vision/Atmos, Google Home/Matter smart home support, hands-free options in some setups. Pros: Intuitive, personalized interface with excellent content discovery/search across services. Strong Google ecosystem integration (YouTube, Nest, Google Assistant, synced watchlists). Good performance/speed, supports cloud gaming, and broad app support. Balanced neutral approach. Cons: Some ads and recommendations can feel cluttered. More expensive than basic sticks but cheaper than Apple. Interface may prioritize Google content slightly. Best for: Google/Android users or those wanting smart recommendations and smart home features. Roku (Ultra or Streaming Stick 4K) Price range: ~$30–$100 (Buy Now). Key specs: Fast quad-core processor (in Ultra), Wi-Fi 6, Ethernet (Ultra), Dolby Vision/Atmos/HDR10+, rechargeable Voice Remote Pro (Ultra), broad smart home compatibility. Pros: Simple, neutral, user-friendly interface with huge app/channel selection (including tons of free/ad-supported content). No heavy ecosystem bias—treats all services equally. Often the most affordable high-quality options; great search/universal watchlist. Compatible with Alexa, Google, Apple Home; highly popular among cord-cutters. Cons: Can feel slower on lower-end models compared to premium rivals. Some ads on home screen. Less "smart home hub" depth than Apple/Google. Best for: Most people—especially beginners or those wanting value and neutrality. Amazon Fire TV (Fire TV Stick 4K Max or Cube) Price range: ~$25–$60 Sticks (Buy Now) to ~$100+ Cube (Buy Now). Key specs: Fast processor/Wi-Fi 6E (Max), Dolby Vision/Atmos, Alexa voice, Ambience mode, Ethernet (Cube). Pros: Very affordable, especially on sale. Quick performance and deep Amazon Prime integration (Prime Video priority). Excellent Alexa/smart home control (Ring, Echo, etc.). Good app support and features like live TV guides. Cons: Heavy ads and Prime content promotion (can feel pushy/cluttered). Interface prioritizes Amazon ecosystem over neutrality. Privacy concerns with more tracking. Best for: Amazon Prime members or Alexa/Echo households on a budget. Overall, Roku wins for broad appeal and value, while we give the nod to the Apple TV 4K for premium quality, and the Google TV Streamer excels for smart features. Choose based on your ecosystem (Apple/Google/Amazon) or if you want neutral/no-fuss just go with Roku. 

Welcome back to Episode 314: “A Bunch of Tommys” — a chaotic, hilarious, glitchy, rain-soaked adventure of a livestream where Daniel and Luis dive into everything from Vegas off-roading to Island Boys encounters to Fallout conventions, friendship loyalty, Tommy-style oversleeping, Melody's birthday drama, and the art of being a “cooler crew.”In this episode:• Daniel fights OBS, rain, and Ethernet gremlins• Luis breaks down his Vegas rainy-day world• The “Adrenaline Mountain” guides are full-blown Tommy energy• Island Boys are tiny in person (but friendly!)• Fallout superfans take over Goodsprings• Rich, Spot, Covino talkbacks and behind-the-scenes laughs• Melody's birthday vs Sick New World — the teen loyalty battle• Holding grudges, being spiteful, and knowing who's “really your friend”• Nostalgia, Toy Story 5, Dexter rewatches, and bootleg streaming hacks• The Above Ground Pool Boys vs Hot Tub Boys showdown• AI Rich memes, Spot the Animator, and how visuals can power the showThis one's funny, messy, random, honest, and turns into a real conversation about friendships, loyalty, childhood toys, family dynamics, and why Tommy was up all night gaming again.If you're into Covino & Rich culture, Vegas stories, humor, nostalgia, and unfiltered conversation — this is your episode.

*The air you breathe, the light you see, and the water you drink have all been quietly sabotaged by modern life—here's how to fight back without ripping your house apart.* Episode Summary In this episode, we shift from last week's hormesis deep-dive to the second weapon in your ancestral mismatch arsenal: your environment. You'll discover how degraded air quality, flickering LED lights, contaminated water, and invisible EMFs are silently wrecking your sleep, fogging your brain, and loading you with toxins—then get a practical, budget-friendly environmental audit you can start this weekend. Question of the Day