Out of Commission

Adi Robertson has a thoughtful article on The Verge today called "How to fight lies, tricks, and chaos online." We break down the recommendations and add our own suggestions. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Justin Robert Young  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Chris Mancini from Comedy Film Nerds joins us to explain how the blurring of the lines between VFX in movies and fully rendered CGI cutscenes can lead to audience detachment from the content. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Chris Mancini.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

LG Electronics announces a change in CEO following its earnings report, the EU data regulator sanctions the EU parliament, and researchers demonstrate using undersea fiber optic cables as seismographs.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Twitter confirms it's testing threaded messages on Twitter.com with a potential release in 2020, TikTok unblocks account and apologies to teen with viral video critical of Chinese policy, and a US District Judge rules users impacted by Facebook's 2018 data breach can sue as a class, but not for damages.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For the second year Mozilla has published its "Privacy not included gift guide" rating gifts on a scale of Not creepy, a little creepy, somewhat creepy, very creepy and super creepy. For instance, Facebook Portal is super creepy, the Nintendo Switch, not creepy. We take a look at this gift guide and share out thoughts on effectiveness of it. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Scott Johnson, Amos  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As the gift buying season enters full swing we share our tips making sure you're online shopping experience is safe and secure. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Patrick Beja  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Robb Dunewood shares his reasons why he went to team Dell XPS after showing significant interest in Apple's newest MacBook Pro. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Robb Dunewood  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Trisha Hershberger joins us with a gamer's guide to gift giving for the holiday season! Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Len Peralta, Trisha Hershberger  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Google has rolled out an updated policy regarding political ads on the platform. We examine to see what changes were made and effect, if any, the policy will have. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Justin Robert Young  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Bill Gates's backs computer directed heat ray mirrors, Disney admits issues with Disney+ app vows to rebuild it, and a bot that reads user scanned licensing agreements and highlights possible issues including data privacy and opt outs.  Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Scott Johnson  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This Thursday Valve will announce Half-Life: Alyx a flagship VR game. To help us understand why this is such a momentous occasion Patrick Beja fill us in on the history of Half-Life. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Patrick Beja.   See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sleep is possibly one of the most important aspects of our daily routine. We look into the efficacy of sleep tracking tech and what if any useful information they can provide. Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Rob DeMillo.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Robert Heron joins us with tips on some out of sight deals on HDTV and UHDTVs! Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Robert Heron.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What is Rich Communication Service aka RCS and why is so important to the wireless telecom industry?  Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Justin Robert Young  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We take a look at the Apple's latest refresh of the MacBook Pro line, the MacBook Pro 16". Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Roger Chang, Scott Johnson  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.