SMRPodcast

Episode #261 of the SMRpodcast is online and ready for download. Robb and Rod are out this week, so Chris starts a minion takeover of the show. Guest hosts this week are Kevin Wheeler and Joel Rushworth two of the SMRpodcast Minions who are on to help talk about the imminent release of Windows 10. Unfortunately, the timing is off as Microsoft announced layoffs in the Windows Phone divisions which leads to a bit of irresponsible reporting. The hosts take some time to talk about the upcoming release of Windows 10 discussing some early options to get it for free as well as what the latest Beta releases have been like. There is also discussions around what features to look for and which have changed. One of our very own Minions, Tim, uncovered a big feature change for Microsoft which is the rebranding of Xbox Music to Groove. His catch rippled through the internet and we take some time to talk about the change and give props to our friend. This episode also includes thoughts on the very cool Microsoft Band update adding Golf range finding capabilities as well as some fun vacation stories. We've got all this, our picks, and more in episode #261 of the SMRpodcast   Listen Now Show Information     Hosts: Chris Ashley — @bigchrisashley Joel Rushworth - @gwydionjhr Kevin Wheeler - @_KevinWheeler Picks: Charge Only Cable -- Faster phone charging Waze -- Crowd sourced GPS application Quizup - Fun Quiz app

Episode #260 of the SMRpodcast is online and ready for download.   It's just Robb and Rod this week, as, the big fella is on vacation. There really wasn't a lot of tech news this week, as, the week before the 4th of July usually pretty slow.  Rod did manage to get his Nest Cam completely set up in his garage before figuring how rididuloulsy expensive the cloud sevice is and returning it.   The camera itself works just fine, but, the $10 per month service fee to store video in the clould is excessive compared to other motion actived web cams. Microsoft made a few headlines this week.  The company is selling Bing Maps to Uber and sending about 100 staff to Uber along with the sale.  Microsoft also struck a deal with AOL that will shift the company's display, mobile, and video advertising over to AOL. Facebook has finally rolled out the Facebook Messenger payment system nationwide.  U.S. based Facebook users who add their debit card information to Facebook Messenger can now send payments to other Facebook users in a similar way to rivals Venmo and Paypal. The Cell Phone Kill Switch goes live in California, Android is grabbing back market share in the U.S., Donald Trump porperties are being targeted by hackers, and, you can now run Android Apps on Mac with the new Bluestacks Android Player for Mac.  We've got all this, our picks, and more in episode #260 of the SMRpodcast. Show Information     Hosts: Chris Ashley — @bigchrisashley Robb Dunewood — @RobbDunewood Rod Simmons — @RodSimmons Picks: JBL S400 Soundbar -- Soundbar with wirelss subwoofer Periscope --  Mobile live streaming app from Twitter

SMRpodcast episode #258 is online and ready for download. This week we recorded a bit early to accommodate Allison’s schedule and as such, Robb could not make it. No need to fear, an excellent show is still at hand. To start the show we have a quick update and clarification on the new Google Photos feature from Rod and Allison offers her opinion on the new capabilities. Allison gives us a more thorough review of the Apple’s announcements from WWDC and also provides us with context around many of the features that were announced. On a gaming note E3 is this week and Microsoft has started the week off with a bang. Announcing Oculus Headsets will ship with Xbox One controllers, 100 Xbox 360 titles will be compatible on the Xbox One, Game Streaming is now available on the Windows 10 Beta and much more. Chris takes time to mention all announcements that came out on day one and which ones have him the most excited. Finally, we take some time to discuss the recent data breach that occurred with password vault company LastPass. We discuss how much you should be worried about the breach as well as provide a few links to help you with your passwords. We've got all this, our picks, and more in episode #258 of the SMRpodcast. Helpful Password Links Check your password strength Generate Secure passwords Should you worry about the Lastpass breach Show Information     Hosts: Chris Ashley — @bigchrisashley Robb Dunewood — @RobbDunewood Rod Simmons — @RodSimmons Guest Host: Allison Sheridan -- @podfeet Picks: Lie to Me on Netflix -- TV Series available on Netflix 12 inch MacBook -- Laptop

SMRpodcast episode #257 is online and ready for download.  It's just the two big fellas this week, so Chris and Robb hit you with Chicken Wings and Beer, Part 32. Before we get to the tech news of the week, we start the show off with talk of the NBA finals.  Chris isn't paying much attention, but, Robb is a pretty big Cleveland fan. WWDC is taking place this week.  We get more into the details on next week's episode but the big annoucements were Apple Music, iOS 9, Proactive Siri, and El Capitan. Robb and Chris are both into a new Netflix Original Series called Sense8, Facebook Messenger has added games, Xbox One is soon to come in a 1 Terabyte configuration, and Google Maps now offers Push Notifications to iOS.  We've got all this, our picks, and more in episode #257 of the SMRpodcast. Show Information     Hosts: Chris Ashley — @bigchrisashley Robb Dunewood — @RobbDunewood Rod Simmons — @RodSimmons   Picks: Turtle Beach Ear Force XO One Gameing Headset -- Headset for Xbox One Google Keep --  Light weight Note and Reminder app for Android and Chrome.

Episode #256 of the SMRpodcast is online and ready for dowload.  This week the Long Lost Host, a.k.a., Rod Simmons, joins Chris and Robb to talk tech events over the last week. Before we jump into tech, we start the show off with talks of Rod's most recent trip and what its like to deal with TSA the week after a report comes out stating that they didn't discover 95% of the auditors who came through security lines with bomb-like materials. Google has decoupled Photos from Google Plus, added a few ridiculous features, and, now have arguably the best cloud based photo storage service in existence.  It is Google and free never truly means free, however, Google Photos is ridiculously good and Android and iOS users notopposed to Google's terms of service might want to check it out. Google has announced Android Pay.  The crew ponders if Google noticed that their name is very similar to Apple Pay...  Especially with the features of Google Pay like loading up credit cards to your Android phone and using a fingerprint to authenticate being so similar to features in Apple Pay.  It's probably just a conicendence... Amazon to offer free shipping in small items, SSH is coming to Windows, Macs are vulnerable to EFI Zero-day, and Tesla loses fight to sell direct in Texas without going through a dealership.  We've got all this, our picks, and, more in episode #256 of the SMRpodcast. Show Information     Hosts: Chris Ashley — @bigchrisashley Robb Dunewood — @RobbDunewood Rod Simmons — @RodSimmons   Picks: Google Photos -- Cloud based photo locker for all your photos and free storage on images 16MB or less. Trivia Crack -- // parseFloat(a))?String(d):a})();!D("Android")||L()||D("Firefox")||J();L();function R(){this.g=[];this.c=[];this.f={};this.a=null;this.b=[]}var ca="undefined"!=typeof navigator&&/iPhone|iPad|iPod/.test(navigator.userAgent),S=String.prototype.trim?function(a){return a.trim()}:function(a){return a.replace(/^\s+/,"").replace(/\s+$/,"")},da=/\s*;\s*/;function ea(a,d){return function(b){var c;c=d;var e;"click"==c&&(G&&b.metaKey||!G&&b.ctrlKey||2==b.which||null==b.which&&4==b.button||b.shiftKey)&&(c="clickmod");var n=b.srcElement||b.target,q=T(c,b,n,"",null),k,P;for(e=n;e&&e!=this;e=e.__owner||e.parentNode){k=P=e;var Q=c,l=k.__jsaction;if(!l){var r=U(k,"jsaction");if(r){l=E[r];if(!l){for(var l={},x=r.split(da),y=0,w=x?x.length:0;y(0,window.parseFloat)(a))?String(c):a}();Fb={}; _.L=function(a){return Fb[a]||(Fb[a]=0=a)};Ib=_.m.document;Jb=Db();Gb=!Ib||!_.K||!Jb&&qb()?void 0:Jb||("CSS1Compat"==Ib.compatMode?(0,window.parseInt)(_.Eb,10):5); _.Kb=!_.K||_.Hb(9);_.Lb=!_.ub&&!_.K||_.K&&_.Hb(9)||_.ub&&_.L("1.9.1");_.Mb=_.K&&!_.L("9");_.Nb=_.K||_.tb||_.vb;_.Ob=Ca("area base br col command embed hr img input keygen link meta param source track wbr".split(" "));_.Qb=function(){this.b="";this.o=_.Pb};_.Qb.prototype.ub=!0;_.Pb={};_.Qb.prototype.mb=function(){return this.b};_.Rb=function(a){var c=new _.Qb;c.b=a;return c};_.Sb=_.Rb("");_.Ub=function(){this.b="";this.w=_.Tb;this.o=null};_.Ub.prototype.yd=!0;_.Ub.prototype.Wb=function(){return this.o};_.Ub.prototype.ub=!0;_.Ub.prototype.mb=function(){return this.b};_.Tb={};_.Vb=function(a,c){var d=new _.Ub;d.b=a;d.o=c;return d};_.Vb("",0);_.Wb=_.Vb("",0); var Xb,Zb,$b,bc; _.Yb=function(a,c,d,e,f,g){_.G.call(this);this.H=c;this.Y=f;this.F=g;this.O=!1;this.w={"":!0};this.T={"":!0};this.A=[];this.B=[];this.V=["//"+_.D(_.z(a,2)),"og/_/js","k="+_.D(_.z(a,3)),"rt=j","t=zcms"];this.L=""==_.D(_.z(a,14))?null:_.z(a,14);this.K=["//"+_.D(_.z(a,2)),"og/_/ss","k="+_.D(_.z(a,13))];this.D=""==_.D(_.z(a,15))?null:_.z(a,15);this.R=_.C(_.z(a,1))?"?host=www.gstatic.com&bust="+_.D(_.z(a,16)):"";this.N=_.C(_.z(a,1))?"?host=www.gstatic.com&bust="+1E11*Math.random():"";this.o=d;_.z(a,19); a=null!=_.z(a,17)?_.z(a,17):1;this.b=_.E(a,1);a=0;for(c=e[a];a

Episode #242 of the SMRpodcast is online and ready for download. Rod is out, but, Chris and Robb are joined by Brent Harman. This week we start the show off with something Robb has been itching to say for over two years.  "I told you so" when it comes to Microsoft's Surface RT, which was taken out back behind the barn on Tuesday and put out of its misery.  Although many people, like Chris, loved RT, the price, lack of apps, confusion it caused, and the fact that Microsoft had to write down over a $1 billion worth of unsold inventory lead to an unceremonious end to RT. Outlook for Android and iOS came out this week.  Brent is not a big fan of it because of its lack folder support.  Robb loves it because of its calendar integration and the way it handles meeting invites.  If you use and Android or iOS device and connect to a corporate Exchange network, you may want to give it test and see if you like it. iOS, for the first time since 2012, has outsold Android in the U.S taking 47.6 percent market share beating Android by a tenth of a percent which has 47.5% share.  Apple's percentage share of iOS falls right in line with the it having the most profitable quarter ever for any company in any industry. We touch self configuring wifi routers, butane powered fuel cells, custom made Xbox One controllers, and, The Unofficial Apple Weblog TUAW shutting down.  We've got all this, our picks, and more in episode #242 of the SMRpodcast. Hosts: Chris Ashley -- @bigchrisashley Robb Dunewood -- @robbdunewood Brent Harman -- @jbharman Picks: AOC e1659Fwu 16" Monitor -- Portable USB 3 powered LCD/LED monitor Viggle -- Gamified media consumption app that gives you rewards for watching TV and movies The Fall -- Original series crime drama on Netflix

SMRpodcast episode #241 is online and ready for download.  We've got a full crew this week and Robb, Rod, and Chris, jump right into tech news of the week. We start off with positive quarterly earnings reports from both Apple and Microsoft.  To say that iPhone sales were strong would be the understatement of 2015.  For the entirety of its fiscal year 2015 quarter 1 which ended Dec. 27th, Apple sold an estimated 38,000 iPhones per hour every hour of everyday in the quarter. Microsoft had a really good quarter as well as the company's cloud strategy did extremely well.  Microsoft's mobile strategy, however, is still a questionable one in the eyes of many analysts, and, even though only a small part of the overall company, it still anchor's the ship, so to speak. Google Project Zero program doesn't play favorites when it comes to releasing vulnerability information to the public 90 days after disclosing it the affected company.  The company took a little heat a couple of weeks ago for releasing a Microsoft vulnerability even though MS requested that Google wait two days until Microsoft's monthly patch came out which addressed the issue.  Google, however, released three bugs found in OS X exactly 90 days after notifying Apple about them. Robb thinks Marshawn Lynch should start playing the"Meow Game" when being interviewed, Rod ponders using an HDMI switch or Xbox One HDMI pass through to address too few HDMI ports on TV, and, Chris says Microsoft better announce a new high end Windows Phone at Mobile World Congress. We've got all this, our picks, and more in episode #241 of the SRMpodcast. Hosts: Chris Ashley -- @bigchrisashley Robb Dunewood -- @robbdunewood Rod Simmons -- @rodsimmons Picks: WhatsApp Messenger -- Cross platform IM client new with a Chrome based web app for non-iOS devices. NeatGear AC750 Network Extender -- Optimize your existing WiFi network and extend it to hard-to-reach places. Destiny Public Events --Timing system for Public Events in Destiny.  

SMRpodcast episode #240 has been recorded, posted online, and, is ready for download.  Rod is on the road this week, but, Chris and Robb are joined by Brent Harman who always adds aura of respectability to the show. This week we discuss Paul Thurrott leaving SuperSite for Windows, but, are a bit baffled by the site re-branding as Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows after his departure. Borderlands 2 and Borderlands The Pre-Sequel are coming to Xbox One.  Robb owes Chris punch to the liver because he convinced Robb to purchase The Pre-Sequel as a digital download on on the 360 and he cannot resell the packaged game on eBay. T-Mobile saw it's customer base grow by 29% and is proving that its "uncarrier" strategy is working, as AT&T, Sprint, and even Verizon end up offering similar packages after T-Mobile disrupts the market. Brent gets a new Nexus 6 and loves it, Chris contemplates testing out an iPhone or new Android device, and the whole crew has a lively debate on the right to be forgotten.  We've got all this, our picks, and more in episode #240 of the SMRpodcast. This Week's Picks Brent Harmon -- Manual Camera:  This app takes full advantage of Lollipop's Camera2 API Chris Ashley --  Podcast+ Pro:  Podcast Player for Windows Phone Robb Dunewood -- Turtle Beach Earforce XO Seven Premium Headset: Xbox One Gaming Headset

SMRpodcast episode #239 has been recorded, posted online, and is ready for download.  We've got a full crew and Robb, Rod, and Chris cover a bit of tech news from the preceding week.  The big topics were Rod's new Dell Venue Android tablet, which, he didn't know the specs of, whether or not Microsoft would be announcing a new high end Windows Phone at their event next week, and, if Google was wrong for announcing a Microsoft vulnerability two days before Microsoft patched it even though Microsoft requested giving a bit more time. We've got all this, our picks, and much much more in episode #239 of the SMRpodcast.

SMRpodcast episode #238 has been recorded, posted online, and is ready for download.  You've got a full crew for our first show of the year.  Robb, Rod, and Chris have come of vacation and have come out of the coma's induced by all the food we've been eating.  We eventually even get to a bit of tech after we reminiscence a bit about smoked meats off the Big Green Egg.

Just wanted to let you know we would have wished everyone Merry Christmas before Christmas in episode #237 of the SMRpodcast, but a technical difficulty prevented us from posting the show. That being said, we wish you a Very Merry Belated Christmas and Happy New Year!

SMRpodcast episode #236 is online and ready for download.  The crew tried something a little different this week with a call for show topics from the minions via Instagram hashtag #SMRpodcast.  We cover the defection of a couple of prominent Windows Phone users to other platforms, more fallout from the Sony hacking debacle, Skype Translator, and, much, much more.  Check out the full show notes and our picks of the week after the jump. Microsoft has released Skype Translator into beta and is taking registrations for users that want to test it out.  You simply set up a Skype Video or Voice call with a person that speaks another language and start talking.  Translator is currently available in English and Spanish and other languages are coming. Prominent Windows Phone users Ed Bot and Tom Warren recently announced that they would be switching from Windows Phone to other smartphone platforms.  Ed's biggest complaint, as he explains in his blog post, is the lack of carrier support for firmware updates to Windows Phone hardware.  Tom Warren cites lack of application support as his biggest reason for switching away from Windows Phone. The Sony hack, also known as the biggest security breach in private sector corporate history is still dominating headlines.  Hackers are continuing to release terabytes of stolen data and have promised some of their juiciest leaks yet to come out on Christmas day.  The crew talks about both the tech aspect of the hack and the social and legal ramifications for Sony and news outlets reporting on the leaked information. Google pulls Google News out of Spain, Tech Giants rally behind Microsoft in its fight against the U.S. on cloud computing, Apple found not guilty in the iPod anti-trust suit, and Rod really like the movie Sex Tape.  We've got all this, our picks, and more in episode #236 of the SMRpodcast.  

SMRpodcast episode #235, after an unplanned hiatus last week, has been recorded, is online, and ready for download.  We've got a full crew with Robb, Rod, and Chris this week and we waste little time jumping into the top tech stories over the last 10 days or so.  This isn't a Chicken Wings and Beer episode, but, we do go off on a non tech tangent or two that you are sure to enjoy. We kick this weeks' episode off the story of a different kind of police encounter than what we've  hearing about lately.  Trying to describe it doesn't do it justice so you'll just have to listen. The big tech news over the last week or so is the massive security breach at Sony, which, at least for right now, may be the largest (that we've heard of) to date.  Hackers with a seemingly personal vendetta against Sony broke into the network and apparently took "Whatever They Like".  This breach was so massive that it is arguably  easier answer questions about  what the hackers didn't get as compared to what they got. Destiny got a new expansion pack titled "The Dark Below" which adds and new story line to the console based mmorpg/fps.  Chris has already put time in on the expansion and says that it is awesome.  Robb plans to check it out when he has down time over the holiday season. Robb gets a new Cable Modem and DVR, Rod is in search of the perfect 7 to 8 inch tablet, Chris is on a mission to acquire every $99 Windows Tablet on the market.  We've got all this, our picks, and more in episode#235 of the SMRpodcast.

SMRpodcast episode #234 has been recored, is online, and ready for download. We've got a full crew this week, but, less Robb's janky internet connection, there really wasn't a lot of tech news to talk about.  Needless to say, this show was probably looser than many of our CWB episodes. What we talked about this week: Rod got the biggest snowblower at Lowe's... Chris got a battery powered snow blower. Odell Beckham makes arguably the greatest touchdown catch in the history of the NFL. Uber's Emil Michael's comments may not have been as bad as previously reported. We ponder if the connect is essentially dead tech as far as games go.   This weeks picks Windows Phone Keyboard tip -- Chris Ashley Hootsuite:  Social media management service -- Robb Dunewood Duolingo:  Free language learning app -- Rod Simmons  

SMRpodcast episode #233 is online and ready for download.  Rod Simmons is on the road this week,  but, Chris and Robb are joined by Mr. Brent Harmon, who always adds calm, logic, and rationality to the show. We start this week off with talk about how Uber VP of Business, Emil Michael, completely lost his mind and ethics when he suggested, in detail, how it would make sense to invest $1 million in a research team to anonymously  attack journalists, namely Sarah Lacey of Pando Daily, who write negative stories that harm the company.  Uber CEO Travis Kalanick took to Twitter denounce the statements, but, Michael would remain with the company. Microsoft releases an emergency security update to patch a gaping hole in security with Kerberos which allows an attacker to elevate domain user account privileges to those of the domain administrator accounts. Verizon changes Early Termination Fee policy for customers looking to get out of their contracts with the nations largest wireless carrier.  Starting with contracts signed after Nov. 14th, the $350 ETF won't decrease in price by $10 per month until after month 8.  This is in contrast to the ETFs that decline after the first month for customer who signed up before The 14th. Nokia, in partnership with Foxconn, has announced an 8-inch Android tablet that will first go on sale in China.  The new hardware came a as a bit of a surprise to some analyst who thought Nokia would focus more enterprise services while embargoed from making smartphones until late 2015. Facebook launches a new Groups app, Uber and Spotify team up on a deal to allow customers to listen to music while in the car, and Elon Musk and Robb are worried about artificial intelligence.  We've got all this, our picks, and more in episode #233 of the SMRpodcast.    This weeks picks Jabra Speak410  (USB Speakerphone) Chris Ashley Robb's Pick for Android --Robb Dunewood Ditto Bluetooth Device (Wearable Bluetooth Device) Brent Harmon