POP | TECH | JAM

No summer lull for us here at PTJ HQ! This week El Kaiser breaks down the tech term “social media engagement”, as only he can, and J.D. helps us satisfy our need for (Internet) speed. They also offer up a heaping helping of technology news, seasoned with a dash of snarkiness and whole lot of silliness. Pop Tech Jam: still the best tech-themed podcast in the business!

The summer travel season has yet to hit high gear in the U.S. but delays at security lines at airports are already extensive and don’t look to get better anytime soon. This week J.D. offers up a rundown on apps and websites that can help alleviate the stress of airport travel in the 21st Century. Also on the show, El Kaiser joins J.D. for a detailed roundup of the weeks technology news. Remember, at Pop Tech Jam we’re always optimized for fun!

Memorial Day is the unofficial start of Summer here in the U.S. but the unofficial Summer Movie season kicks off around Valentine’s Day nowadays. The blockbusters have been unspooling at local multiplexes for months now but June, July and August are when the blockiest of blockbusters are unleashed upon us. This week on the podcast J.D. and El Kaiser geek out over some highly anticipated films and of course they run down all the latest tech news with their unique brand of silliness and attitude. Slather on the suntan lotion, pop in those earbuds and have a little Summer fun with PTJ this holiday weekend.

Along with our usual rundown of the latest technology news, this week El Kaiser reviews a family friendly portable speaker, connected message board and speakerphone from Invoxia. The Triby is the first non-Amazon product to feature the Alexa Voice Service. Also on the show, J.D. clues us in on why we don’t need to buy third party text-to-speech apps for our  Android or iOS devices. And if you think we skimped on the hijinks and tomfoolery, you’d be dead-wrong…

The photos you post on the Internet are telling the world more than you may want them to. El Kaiser breaks down all EXIF data in a new Tech Term segment. And if you use a point-and-shoot or even a DSLR but are looking to take more creative photos, J.D. guides us through switching out of automatic mode and exploring the manual settings of your digital camera. We also have a jam-packed news segment the usual  assortment of shenanigans and surprises. Slap on the headphones or plug us into your auxiliary jack but be careful! This episode is FIRE.

Apple’s earnings report and subsequent stock tumble last week made the headlines, despite the fact that the company was fairly accurate in its own forecasts. Even though billionaire investor Carl Icahn dumped his shares, long-time Apple watchers were not too concerned. Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, made an appearance on Jim Cramer’s Mad Money show to explain the company’s path forward into new markets. So, should Apple investors still be worried? What does it all mean? One longtime shareholder, Don Donofrio, drops by Pop Tech Jam’s studio headquarters with his thoughts on the topic, along with a roundup of analysts’ commentary and even a spreadsheet. Elsewhere in the episode, El Kaiser and J.D. also delve into the week’s tech headlines, including new patent filings for super-special contact lenses and a couple of new keyboard apps to make texting more animated.

On this week’s episode, journalist Laura M. Holson previews her upcoming story about the life of Maye Musk,  a registered dietitian-nutritionist and blogger who became a professional model in her late 60s. (Oh, and one of her kids runs SpaceX and Tesla.) El Kaiser and J.D. also trot through a week’s worth of tech news, including the government’s initial approval of the Charter Communications-Time Warner Cable merger, the data breach that’s making the Beautiful People sad and continuing squabbles over at the Unicode Consortium.

This week, a review of the IEB6 + MIC in-ear monitors from First Harmonic and the debut of a new segment we like to call “Stuff We Saw on TV”. Of course we bring you all the tech news and shenanigans you’ve come to expect from the best tech-themed podcast on this or any other galaxy.

Kicking old-school this week with a heaping helping of tech news goodness, including nuggets from Facebook’s F8 conference in San Fran and Elon Musk’s reusable rocket finally sticking the landing and a (Hopefully) Helpful Hint from J.D. explaining how one might skip logging into their computer with a password if they were so inclined. Just kick back, relax, and let the snark roll over you. You know you want to…

Ever wonder what’s being installed in those regular security patches for your devices and computers? No? Well this is awkward. Okay, then.  For those of you that are curious, J.D. tells us where we can find details of what gets installed in all those mysterious updates. Not to worry, El Kaiser joins J.D. for his weekly dose of terror! (AKA the week’s tech news round-up). Popping, teching and jamming for your listening pleasure!

The are only two type of people on this big blue marble we call Earth: those who love Star Wars and those who don’t. I think you all know which camp J.D. and El Kaiser spend their time in. This week J.D. fills us in on the goodies you’ll get in the various and sundry versions of the digital and DVD/Blu-Ray releases of the latest chapter in the space opera, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. In tech headlines, the FBI doesn’t need Apple’s help hacking into an iPhone, Instagram gives users more time, and now you can build your own Amazon Echo with help from another fruit-themed toymaker.

Ebooks are hot and romance-novel ebooks are even hotter, as the genre pulling in huge sales every year.  On this week’s episode, journalist Laura M. Holson discusses how the ebook industry has created the need for more male models to grace the digital covers of these romantic reads. Meanwhile, El Kaiser and J.D. ponder the headlines, including Apple’s week of new products and pitfalls, Amazon’s urgent warning to Kindle owners, the rolling robot that delivers pizza and the hazards of letting Internet users suggest names for large important government research ships.

It seems the FBI and the Department of Justice have set their sights on Facebook’s hugely popular WhatsApp communication platform in their ongoing battle with tech giants. Also on the episode, J.D. fills us in on phone applications that handle the job of communicating life-saving medical information when you can’t while El Kaiser breaks down the tech term “cryptography”. Don’t fret! We have tons more tech news, shenanigans and general silliness…exactly what you’ve expect from us here at POP | TECH | JAM.

Is social media totally hacking the 2016 elections? Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump is well known for his rather pointed Twitter feed, but does he show another side of himself on Instagram and Facebook? Journalist Laura M. Holson stops by Pop Tech Jam HQ to discuss how Mr. Trump and other candidates are making the most out of the Internet this election season. And as always, El Kaiser and J.D. discuss the technology news of the week — including the Federal Communication Commission’s proposed update to its Lifeline plan and Apple’s continuing ups and downs with the United States court system.

You know them, you hate them: political robocalls, telemarketers and phone scams. This week J.D. introduces us to services that help stop that flood of annoying calls and fills us in on what steps the FTC and the FCC are taking to help end the scourge. In the news, Apple wins a big one in court;  Microsoft finally puts a price on its Hololens augmented headset (and it ain’t cheap); Google’s self-driving car gets into an accident; and a long trip into space comes to an end. Of course there’s more news and lots of shenanigans, so click play and enjoy the ride!