This week, we have more news, and then we answer your questions about television and its current status. There is also an update on Cyberhawk and a request of our listeners who have read Cyberhawk Rise of Heroes.

Hosts: Williams, Bill Snodgrass, and Gretchen Winkler

Transcript
Speaker:

Welcome to

2

:

User Friendly 2.0 with host Bill Sikkens.

3

:

Technology architect.

4

:

And this is user friendly 2.0

I am your host Bill Sikkens.

5

:

Welcome to this week's

show. Bill. Gretchen.

6

:

Welcome, welcome. Hello. Hello there.

7

:

How are you guys doing today?

8

:

Doing all right. Hey.

9

:

So. So. Yeah.

10

:

You know, know the feeling there myself.

11

:

I can't always be happy. Cheery.

12

:

Well,

you don't have to always be happy. Cheery.

13

:

You know, it's.

14

:

And I do want to say one thing.

15

:

It's been a year now since our

co-producer, Molly Bell, left us.

16

:

And I think it's important

to remember that because she was so much

17

:

a part of this show

18

:

and addition, Bill, to being

your wife was with us since the beginning.

19

:

So just a moment to think of Molly.

20

:

All right.

21

:

What do we have in the news today?

22

:

All right.

23

:

United and Delta become latest airlines

to ban

24

:

humanoid robots from all flights.

25

:

I thought this was an interesting story.

26

:

And they're actually doing this

after southwest was the first airline

27

:

to do this, being reported on the site

called simply flying.

28

:

This was written by Jack McCarthy.

29

:

And basically what's happening here

is they're setting up a standard

30

:

that makes humanoid shaped robots

31

:

separate from other electronic devices

that you might take on a plane.

32

:

Now is to the reason

why you would do this.

33

:

This misses me a little bit.

34

:

The statements from the airlines

35

:

have included things like,

well, it's specialty equipment,

36

:

the battery packs, and various

other things like that.

37

:

However, there are any other

electronic devices that also could have

38

:

these specific problems

and they are not banned.

39

:

Are they afraid that they're going to go

Terminator on the on the airplane?

40

:

You know,

there's always that they might do it

41

:

if they're not allowed to fly.

42

:

Although if I was, you know,

43

:

since the end humanoid robot,

I just want a jetpack built in.

44

:

But that's me.

45

:

You know, legacy planes and all of that.

46

:

So the one thing

that's interesting about it

47

:

is they're saying this is a temporary ban

delta specifically.

48

:

So that does leave the door

open to them reversing this in the future.

49

:

I mean, I just, you know,

welcome to the future. Right?

50

:

I just got this vision

of getting on a plane

51

:

and have people on the plane

52

:

or humanoid robots and it's like,

no wonder I couldn't get my seat.

53

:

Talking about robots.

54

:

Curiosity.

55

:

Mars rover inspects cracked wheel.

56

:

So this is an interesting thing. So

57

:

curiosity made touch down on April

58

:th of:

and has been operating on Mars ever since.

59

:

And yes,

60

:

the Martian environment is very hazardous

and can cause electronics to break down.

61

:

In fact, this robot still operating

in of itself is kind of cool,

62

:

but they have submitted some images

that are interesting.

63

:

Looking at this or the tires on the robot

are starting

64

:

to just look like

they're caving in on themselves. Now,

65

:

the one thing that I will say, obviously

these are two different technologies.

66

:

They're both called tires,

but they're very different.

67

:

But if I had tires on my car for 15 years,

I'd probably need to replace them too.

68

:

It's just a little for me to go

to the tire shop here than it would be on

69

:

Mars.

70

:

So, you know, you have to continue working

with what you have the robot

71

:

still operating, however, it does

go slower because of these problems.

72

:

And like I said,

there isn't really a way to fix it.

73

:

So it is,

I think, a testament to the ingenuity

74

:

of the NASA engineers that this is

even still running this far after.

75

:

Yeah,

but also with those kind of problems.

76

:

Agreed.

77

:

All right.

78

:

Ryan Reynolds Comic Con surprise

backfires

79

:

as fans call appearance pure desperation.

80

:

Yeah, so this

81

:

I think we file under the category of wow,

82

:

yeah.

83

:

Blast is reporting this Yahoo

entertainment Kelly Caffrey wrote this.

84

:

And at the international Comic-Con in San

Diego, Ryan Reynolds made an appearance.

85

:

Now, reading through and looking at

what happened

86

:

there, I thought this was kind of cool.

87

:

He was doing a cosplay of Deadpool.

88

:

He plays Deadpool for anyone

that doesn't know,

89

:

and he was doing a cosplay of Deadpool

in denim, which was kind of interesting.

90

:

I was walking around and looking at it.

91

:

It's kind of a cool, you know,

twist on it, not knowing who he was.

92

:

And afterwards he appeared at a panel

and some other things like that.

93

:

And the complaints that are coming from

this are kind of interesting,

94

:

because it doesn't sound like

he did anything per se at the Comic Con.

95

:

That would be considered something

that I would think would be worth

96

:

complaining about,

but in a bigger perspective.

97

:

Marvel and Deadpool.

98

:

A lot of the fans are saying

that they're having fatigue,

99

:

not only with this actor,

but with the franchise itself.

100

:

And Deadpool will be making an appearance

101

:

in the next Marvel superhero

movie coming up.

102

:

So, you know, again,

at the end of the day,

103

:

everybody is certainly entitled

to their opinion.

104

:

But that's why there was a, quote,

controversy about this.

105

:

And again,

if you don't like his sarcastic style,

106

:

then don't watch Deadpool.

107

:

Yeah, you have that choice, right?

108

:

Yeah, I don't I don't get this complaint.

109

:

This is just, you know, just calling

it pure desperation.

110

:

It's Ryan Reynolds. He does what he wants.

111

:

Yes. Well,

and I've also watched the video.

112

:

I watched the video of him

interacting with the

113

:

with the people who were on the stage,

the Marvel actors.

114

:

And I, you know, kind of looked like

115

:

maybe it was planned,

you know, that it was supposed to happen.

116

:

And, you know, it was just fun banter.

117

:

Well, and a lot of people that do this

kind of stuff that play characters

118

:

actually do go to comic cons

as their character without being known.

119

:

What's his name from how

120

:

Jeremy did that helmet for that panel?

121

:

He did.

122

:

Oh, the helmet acting.

123

:

Oh, oh, the Mandalorian.

124

:

You're not talking about Pascal.

125

:

You know he did that show where they test

mist busters.

126

:

Oh. Oh, yes.

127

:

Okay, okay. You're talking about now.

128

:

Oh, my God, I can't. Okay,

so just some this up for our listeners.

129

:

He's a really nice guy.

130

:

He's the myth busters guy. Adam.

131

:

Adam savage.

132

:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So what's going on here?

133

:

Just for everybody on this little aside,

Jeremy, our past host.

134

:

He did a lot with cosplay.

135

:

Boy, did do a lot with cosplay.

136

:

And the San Diego

137

:

Comic-Con was having an event where

you could basically build your own helmet.

138

:

And it was a thing that they were doing

that Savage was involved in

139

:

and that type of thing,

which was really a cool project.

140

:

So that's what that goes to.

141

:

And yeah, so and there's also this

I had a I'm not going to say his name.

142

:

I had an actor

who wanted to go to Comic-Con

143

:

and not be noticed,

and I was going to build him a costume

144

:

outside of the actor's costumers Guild

145

:

because he was worried that they might,

you know, let go of the secret.

146

:

And so it's it's. Yes.

147

:

And so it's not unknown that

that actors will do that.

148

:

So yeah. Yeah.

149

:

Adam Savage he goes is like,

what is an astronaut astronaut.

150

:

He's done a couple others that he's got

as it went into that giant big round thing

151

:

that was I don't know what that creature

was, but I think it's from a manga.

152

:

Is it is it manga?

153

:

I think so, no, it's big,

giant round, fluffy looking thing.

154

:

So. All right, here's a different story.

155

:

What is a fire cloud and how have they

worsened wildfires in Europe?

156

:

Yeah.

157

:

So this is one of those things

that's happening

158

:

and it's something good to know about.

159

:

The Guardian reported this Katie Lamb

wrote it.

160

:

And basically what's been going on

is they've been having just a massive

161

:

heatwave and most of Europe

for most of the summer,

162

:

and in some cases, temperatures

hitting 40°C,

163

:

which is about 105 Fahrenheit,

which is very, very hot for that area.

164

:

Coupled with the fact

165

:

that most of the forested areas

have not received any kind of rain

166

:

since May, this sets up a setting

for disaster, basically,

167

:

and that's kind of what's happening

and creating forest fires.

168

:

So while they're not the only part

169

:

in the world

that's been suffering from this,

170

:

and this is not a new phenomenon

in recent years due to climate change,

171

:

what is happening

is something called a fire cloud.

172

:

Like you said in the headline

of the of the article here.

173

:

And basically what that is, is that fires,

when they get big enough

174

:

can produce their own weather, and

it'll create a cloud, it will create wind.

175

:

And this can cause a lot of problems

because the wind can push the fire faster.

176

:

You know, that type of a thing.

177

:

And this is worsening in Europe,

mainly because of the fact

178

:

that the heatwave

there is somewhat unprecedented

179

:

to have it for this long,

this much with as little rain

180

:

as they've had, and they're seeing

this happening more and more now.

181

:

Again, this is not unique to Europe

on the West Coast.

182

:

Here we have fires that can certainly

produce this type of thing,

183

:

and it's something that could happen

anywhere.

184

:

There's a big fire, really.

185

:

We've had fire tornadoes.

186

:

Fire tornadoes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

187

:

I mean, I guess the biggest problem is,

is they have no infrastructure

188

:

really for dealing with massive fires too.

189

:

Yeah yeah yeah, yeah.

190

:

Outside of maybe Greece

where they've had this

191

:

a lot more in the past and that area.

192

:

This is a new thing,

but we're starting to see areas that are

193

:

historic, like Germany's Black Forest,

they think might be wiped out

194

:

in the next ten years

from all these forest fires.

195

:

That kind of a thing.

196

:

Oh, dear.

197

:

And it is not a guarantee

that will happen.

198

:

Of course, we hope it doesn't,

but it is definitely a problem.

199

:

And in the past

we've seen them in the United States

200

:side, California in:

when they had the really big fires there.

201

:

Pyro

202

:

nimbus clouds.

203

:

Okay,

I don't know if I'm saying that right.

204

:

But we'll go with pyro CB

that's the shortening for it.

205

:

But Bill, like you say,

206

:

it's a new situation in France where

this is specifically coming out of that.

207

:

They just don't have the infrastructure

to deal with

208

:

simply because they haven't had to.

209

:

You know, and most of the areas

in these parts of the world are just now

210

:

getting air conditioning

because it used to not be that hot.

211

:

So this is a symptom of that problem

and is definitely something.

212

:

And it's something

interesting from this to

213

:

is this actually could eventually

have the opposite effect,

214

:

because they're starting to see

the occurrence in the Atlantic Ocean

215

:

that bring the heat up from the equator to

the north are starting to slow down.

216

:

In fact,

217

:

there's a dead zone now that appeared

this last winter where it had stopped.

218

:

And if that system completely breaks down,

we have the opposite.

219

:

There'd be no heat coming up.

220

:

So Europe would then become, you know,

a frozen area for much of the year,

221

:

kind of like maybe Alaska,

that kind of a climate.

222

:

So these things are always quite damaging.

223

:

But yeah, we're right now

we're having one side of the coin

224

:

and that's where, you know,

this argument comes up.

225

:

Climate change.

226

:

Global warming was not a good name

for that.

227

:

It is climate change.

228

:

And what can happen here

is it's not necessarily warming.

229

:

It can cause all kinds of other problems

too, as we're starting to see,

230

:

maybe we should call it climate chaos,

231

:

probably be a good, good name for it.

232

:

And, you know, in the scary thing about it

is, is there's not really a solution

233

:

in politics and stuff.

234

:

You know, there's things where, okay,

we're going to do environmental policy.

235

:

We're not going to do

environmental policy.

236

:

The one thing about it is,

is in a lot of ways, it doesn't matter.

237

:

It be better to do things

to help the environment.

238

:

I'm not saying it wouldn't,

but we're to a point

239

:

now that there's not a whole lot

we can do.

240

:

What's going to happen is going to happen.

241

:

And even if today we stopped

putting anything into the atmosphere

242

:

that creates these effects

like greenhouse effect, it wouldn't

243

:

matter for about 50 years,

you wouldn't start to see a difference.

244

:

So you know, it's a problem.

245

:

I still think we should stop throwing

junk in the ocean.

246

:

Well, all of these things would be better.

247

:

And, you know, I'll just reference

something if you want to see the

248

:

you know where that's going to end up

going,

249

:just check out cyberpunk:

Red and see what the oceans are like.

250

:

There is that's not where we're headed.

251

:

Okay, maybe this will be more fun.

252

:

Anthropic introduces Claude opus five.

253

:

So what's that about?

254

:

So this is an AI model.

255

:

Cloud opus is an AI.

256

:

Version five is the newest flagship

like ship model

257

:

that they are introducing here.

258

:

And this one focuses on something

that's very interesting

259

:

that we haven't seen before

is lowering the operating costs.

260

:

So one of the things AI's I've said this

many times are amazing and can do a lot.

261

:

I work with them on certain things

like programing, but at the end of the day

262

:

they are very power hungry and as a result

they cost a lot of money to run.

263

:

There was even a story.

264

:

I haven't researched it yet

to see the authenticity of it,

265

:

but it seems to be out there

that's being reported

266

:

that certain data centers are causing

problems in the power grid and attire.

267

:

Half of the United States in some cases,

especially when we add in the heat

268

:

and everything else.

269

:

And again, what is power

hungry is running AI.

270

:

And to fix that, in certain cases,

like Microsoft has actually bought

271

:

a nuclear power plant

to run their data center,

272

:

which would take it off the primary grid,

which would be a way to

273

:

solve that problem.

274

:

But the thing of it is, is looking at

doing this from a standpoint of lowering

275

:

the operating costs, which would mean

lowering the amount of electricity

276

:

being used in some other things due to

277

:

the programing is also another solution

that even makes more sense.

278

:

And that's kind of where

this is headed now.

279

:

Claude Opus is a competitor,

according to some sources, to chat GPT.

280

:

I did ask ChatGPT about it,

and ChatGPT told me not to worry

281

:

that it wouldn't be able to compete.

282

:

So yeah, I think we're okay on that front.

283

:

Okay.

284

:

So Viking has been on Mars for 50 years.

285

:

Yeah. It's amazing.

286

:

We just talked about curiosity

a little bit here ago, but Viking

287

:

is definitely one that is in the books

and very well should be.

288

:

There's actually two Viking landers

that have gone out.

289

:

The first one landed on

th of:

290

:

So that is what, 50 years ago now.

291

:

And the second one

just a little bit after that.

292

:

And since then

we have been getting images from Mars.

293

:

That's kind of cool.

294

:

And if you think about how much technology

has changed in 50 years

295

:

and gives you an idea

of what they were working with

296

:

when these would have been launched, it's

like the Voyager spacecraft in things.

297

:

It's amazing

that these machines were built so well

298

:

and engineered so

well that there's still operating.

299

:

And yes, there's some limitations,

but my goodness, I, you know, any computer

300

:

I have

301

:

that's 50 years old, I'm having to rebuild

if I want the thing to work again,

302

:

certainly not on another planet or out

beyond the solar system,

303

:

although maybe Commodore

64, but outside of that. So.

304

:

I mean, yeah, it is

305

:

it is a comparison

to think that, you know, Raspberry

306

:

Pi or your cell phone is more powerful

than most of the landers

307

:

and things that we have in space

that have been there for a while.

308

:

How about all. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

309

:

You know, you and you look at it

just a little aside on your,

310

:

your digital wristwatch

had more computing power

311

:

than the stuff

they used to shoot us up to the moon.

312

:

Yeah.

313

:

And that is so true.

314

:

And it's interesting

because when you think about it

315

:

from that standpoint, this is something

that's always bugged me somehow is in

316

:

restoring retro computers like Commodore,

Atari and all these kind of things.

317

:

You can't get the specialty chips anymore.

318

:

They're just not available.

319

:

And, you know, because it's been so long.

320

:

So there's a lot of projects

that are designed to replace these missing

321

:

components.

322

:

Now, a Raspberry Pi for anybody that may

not have heard of this is a small computer

323

:

microcontroller

324

:

that can do a lot of different things

and is it can even run windows.

325

:

So it's a pretty decent little computer.

326

:

So they use these to replace

like the sound chip on the Commodore 64.

327

:

So you're replacing the sound chip

because you can't get the original one

328

:

with a computer.

329

:

That's something like 10,000 times the

processing capability of the Commodore 64.

330

:

You're putting it in

just to get the sound to work.

331

:

I don't know, there's something to me

that's weird about that a little bit, but.

332

:

Some of the chips, it was

333

:

the process or the way that they were made

made the sound very unique.

334

:

Yes. And it did, and it absolutely did.

335

:

And it's very hard to replicate.

336

:

In fact, the new speaking of this,

the new Commodore 64 are ones

337

:

that have come out, the updated version,

which are actually very well done

338

:

for something that's reproducing

the original, still isn't exactly

339

:

the same, and it's because you can't

get it spot on, identical and build.

340

:

What you're saying is exactly right.

341

:

And it's not just sound, it's the way

the video works on some of these things.

342

:

You it's like Solid-State Vacuum tubes

because we can't get vacuum tubes

343

:

for old radios and televisions.

344

:

They can make it work that way,

but it doesn't work the same.

345

:

And you can tell there's a difference.

346

:

All right.

347

:

George Clooney, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep

back.

348

:

New human consent

standard for AI licensing.

349

:

So what's this about?

350

:

So being reported by The Verge, Emma

Roth wrote this.

351

:

And basically this addresses a question

that's been ongoing.

352

:

And actors strike was SAG a few years ago.

353

:

It was based on this type of a thing.

354

:

And what it comes down to is a simple

question who owns your digital self?

355

:

Okay.

356

:

So what this is referring to

is specific things.

357

:

And you know, we've

heard about this in the news a little bit.

358

:

But your face, your voice, your name,

your style, your characters, your brand

359

:

with generative AI, most

if not all of that can be reproduced now.

360

:

So what this is human consent

standard is the ability

361

:

for people to set the terms

of how AI systems can use their likeness

362

:

and their creative works,

363

:

and setting that down

as a formal situation where you would

364

:

authorize or not authorize certain things.

365

:

So that's what that's talking about.

366

:

And as something it's

something that should be addressed

367

:

as something, frankly,

that should have been addressed for,

368

:

you know,

I would think a couple of years ago.

369

:

But yeah, you know, and coming out of

370

:

that is a copyright license

that machines can understand,

371

:

or even a digital no trespassing sign

to kind of sum it up that way.

372

:

Microsoft escalates the AI

373

:

security race with project perception

and a new in-house model.

374

:

So this has been widely reported

and is something that

375

:

a lot of our listeners sent in.

Thank you for that.

376

:

And I know, Gretchen,

you found this in the news.

377

:

I'm going to go

378

:

with the reporting from Geek Wire,

but it's on a lot of different places.

379

:

Hod Bishop wrote the specific article.

380

:

And basically what's going on here is

Microsoft is creating an AI model

381

:

or actually, more accurately, a couple of

AI models to deal with security.

382

:

So this isn't like a model

where you go on like ChatGPT

383

:

where you can talk to a Gemini,

something like that.

384

:

It's something

that's actually being designed to

385

:

create a situation,

to secure things in the air.

386

:

So back at one time,

you had a group of hackers

387

:

that again, for whatever

reason, or in black cloaks in a back room.

388

:

Looking at screenshot of scenes

from The Matrix.

389

:

Obviously how a hacker works, right?

390

:

But anyway.

391

:

But what's happening now with AI is

AI can be used to scan

392

:

all of the vulnerabilities of a network,

or look at many different things

393

:

that are individual hacker

394

:

a group of hackers would never be able

to do in a timely fashion.

395

:

So in order to fight

that, you need AI to be able to fight it.

396

:

So you're fighting AI with AI in a sense

there.

397

:

And Microsoft is putting together

several teams here.

398

:

They're doing this by colors

399

:

because it's Microsoft,

and that's the way they seem to do things.

400

:

Where Red team identifies the attacks,

the blue team

401

:

will triage

and the green team will fix and remediate.

402

:

And while humans are involved in these

things, the agents, quote unquote,

403

:

are AI with a specific focus

on these different kind of categories.

404

:

So be interesting

to see where this ends up going.

405

:

But I think formalizing

this is a good thing.

406

:

And since Microsoft does not have

407

:

a great record of getting their AI's

to be used by anyone,

408

:

having a system like this

that runs on the back end

409

:

is probably a good thing

for Microsoft to focus on,

410

:

because it is something

that will fit something that we need

411

:

and is a situation

that, like their data centers

412

:

and things, actually probably would get

some market share for them.

413

:

All right.

414

:

So let's jump on to another topic

that I like to talk about.

415

:

And that's Cyber Hawk.

416

:

And Gretchen, I know you have a question

to put out here.

417

:

But first of all give us an update

on how things are going.

418

:

Well, I'm working on the second novel,

and I'm

419

:

in the editing process,

the final editing process.

420

:

And yeah, who?

421

:

And so I'd like to ask our listeners,

422

:

those who have read the first book,

Rise of Heroes.

423

:

What section of the book

would you like me to read?

424

:

And that's it. Okay, so what do you do?

425

:

Let's talk about what I'm doing.

426

:

What?

427

:

I'm well, I'm going to put we're

going to put it on the Cyber Hawk website,

428

:

and I will read that

429

:

section for our, our fans.

430

:

So basically what we need you to do

is let us know what part of the book

431

:

you would like to hear the author read

here.

432

:

Gretchen, read

and send us your suggestions on that user

433

:

friendly dot show.

434

:

Go to ask a question

and that's where you can send it in.

435

:

So I think that's kind of cool

to see what we come up with here.

436

:

I have a few ideas.

437

:

Yeah.

438

:

And I have another friend

who's offered there.

439

:

So we're going to put them all together

and see, you know, which ones we'll use.

440

:

Probably pick about 2 or 3.

441

:

So I think that sounds good.

442

:

And I think it's going to this is going

to be a fun little project to do.

443

:

I have to say,

while you're in the final editing process,

444

:

I'm in the final reading

process of Unveiled Villains,

445

:

which is the next book, and boy,

is it intense.

446

:

In some places it is well done.

447

:

I hope you're not going

to give away any spoilers,

448

:

but I'm reading through it going, okay,

you know, if Dylan's

449

:

you have some of the darker

450

:

side of things and some stuff

that's downright creepy and a boy,

451

:

do you get your

point across? Gretchen, I am.

452

:

No question about that, but

I've been having fun reading the new book.

453

:

It's I think I think you got

another winner on your hands there.

454

:

I hope so, I hope everybody enjoys it

455

:

or anybody that is listening

that hasn't checked it out.

456

:

Cyber Hawk Heroes

Comm is the website to go to.

457

:

The books are available through there.

You get them there.

458

:

You can get them on Amazon

and most other locations that sell books.

459

:

And it is definitely worth checking out.

460

:

This is user friendly 2.0.

461

:

We'll be back after the break.

462

:

He's from the future.

463

:

He's got a really big computer

464

:

and he uses it, uses it every day.

465

:

And he uses it uses it in every way.

466

:

What do you do for you know, I'm

not that sure because he is here.

467

:

Welcome back. This is user friendly 2.0.

468

:

Check out our website at User Friendly

Show.

469

:

That's where you send your questions,

your comments and everything else

470

:

we want to hear from you

because that's how we do our programing.

471

:

So check it out.

472

:

User friendly dot show.

473

:

And on that a quick programing note.

474

:

We originally were planned

to do the technology of Ukraine this week.

475

:

We are going to be doing that

in the near future here.

476

:

I will keep you updated on that.

477

:

We had a little technical problem

with the interview and an error rate.

478

:

We'll explain it

when we get to that episode.

479

:

So anyway, that we're not forgetting about

it, it is coming up.

480

:

It's just not going to be this week

as originally scheduled.

481

:

So what we are doing this week

482

:

in this part of the show

is we're going to be answering your

483

:

questions on cord cutting and television

and some of the things like that.

484

:

We've talked

about bits and pieces of this,

485

:

and we did a deep dive on this,

I think, about two years ago.

486

:

So we're going to update you a little bit

by answering your questions.

487

:

So just to kind of give a summary

of where we are with this

488

:

and what's going on here is cord cutting

refers to the idea that people are leaving

489

:

traditional cable television, Dish

Network, these type of things behind

490

:

and using over the top,

which is what they refer to as internet

491

:

streaming

video, things like Netflix and whatnot,

492

:

and how the general audience

is migrating to that.

493

:

So anyway, let's

go ahead and dive into your questions.

494

:

How has streaming matured?

495

:

So when this started out,

Lowell Company called Netflix

496

:

put together this idea of in addition

to sending us DVDs in the mail

497

:

with a subscription that you could watch

television over the internet.

498

:

That's where all of this started.

499

:And fast forward to:

pretty much the way that you did that.

500

:

You do it.

501

:

So in this day

and age, it's no longer a revolution.

502

:

It's just simply

how millions of people watch television.

503

:

And really what it comes down to

is not whether

504

:

people are cutting the cord anymore,

but what are they replacing it with.

505

:

And what we're looking at

is some of the things that have happened

506

:

in the past that caused cable television

507

:

not be very popular

or starting to creep in to streaming.

508

:

All right.

509

:

We got rid of bundles.

510

:

Are they coming back?

511

:

And that would be

why there are problems that are coming

512

:

from cable television.

513

:

So if you remember, for a very long time

514

:

you had the Great Bundle, which was

generally your internet connection,

515

:

some kind of a cable television

subscription of whatever that might be,

516

:

and your telephone and so telephone,

internet and cable television.

517

:

And if you got all three of these things

from your cable company,

518

:

you got a reasonably good deal.

519

:

If you didn't, then it cost a lot more,

and that was what you were locked into.

520

:

The problem with that is,

is this with these kind of bundles,

521

:

basically, you didn't get to choose

what you subscribed to.

522

:

Your cable TV system was whatever channels

they decided to provide,

523

:

whether you like them or not,

you still had to pay for them.

524

:

Yeah.

525

:

And when streaming first started,

that gave us a lot of choice.

526

:

But we are starting to see bundles again,

although it is a little bit different,

527

:

even with the way they're doing it

528

:

now, we still have a lot more control

over what we originally had.

529

:

So what we're seeing is Disney

bundles, Warner bundles, cable companies

530

:

bundling, streaming,

531

:

which is an interesting thing because if

you still are using cable TV services, you

532

:

now get streaming through your box

and that's bundled in with the service.

533

:

Wireless

carriers are including streaming,

534

:

and even some internet providers

now include several services together.

535

:

So it's kind of history repeating itself,

although we definitely still have

536

:

more flexibility than we did.

537

:

It was said live television was dead

due to streaming.

538

:

Is this true?

539

:

The rumors of my death

have been greatly exaggerated.

540

:

I think would be a good thing to apply

here. Yes.

541

:

This was something that over

the year, television was going to be,

542

:

you know, something of the past

because the streaming services.

543

:

But people still want life programing,

sports, breaking news, weather, election

544

:

coverage, community events, emergency

information and that type of thing

545

:

are all handled through live television.

546

:

And normally what you can do is

you can either get live television

547

:

through a streaming service like Hulu TV

or one of those type of things,

548

:

and you can do what I do

because they charge a lot for these

549

:

things, is put an antenna on the roof

and get a box

550

:

so that you can stream

551

:

the live television from your antenna

into your televisions, in your house,

552

:

and outside of the cost of the equipment,

that doesn't cost you anything.

553

:

So broadcast

television is still very much a thing,

554

:

and it does not look

like it's dying anytime soon.

555

:

What is next gen television?

556

:

We've talked a little bit about this

on the show.

557

:

Next Gen Television,

also known more formally as atSC 3.0.

558

:

AtSC 1.0 is the standard we use

for high definition television today.

559

:

So they're wanting to upgrade this

standard and in great fashion

560

:

of grading things.

561

:

We've skipped version two to go straight

into version three, and version

562

:

three is more designed around internet

technologies than simply broadcasting,

563

:

of which it is part of it.

564

:

So what this brings is better reception,

which is a little bit subjective.

565

:

I have both here, and I'm trying to decide

if I agree with that.

566

:

It has the capability to do 4K,

567

:

although I'm not aware of any broadcast

television

568

:

that's actually broadcasting in 4K

right now.

569

:

There might be,

but I just haven't been able to find them.

570

:

HDR high definition response,

Dolby Atmos audio.

571

:

This is kind of a cool thing.

572

:

And then stuff like interactive

applications, data casting,

573

:

mobile reception,

improved emergency relates interactive

574

:

things that you can do with the internet

are attained over next gen television.

575

:

Can I get next gen TV where I live?

576

:

So for reasons

we'll talk about in a little bit.

577

:

Deployment of this has been a very slow.

578

:

It has expanded significantly

over the past past few years,

579

:

and it is now available in the top 25 US

580

:

television markets

following the recent launch in Cleveland.

581

:

So it has a bigger footprint

than when rollout began,

582

:

but it is certainly not available

everywhere yet.

583

:

It's uneven

and it just depends on where you are.

584

:

Some cities have dozens of next

gen channels where they're all over

585

:

the place, others have none.

586

:

What is holding it back?

587

:

This is an interesting question,

and one that is asked in

588

:

a lot of different ways

is what's wrong with the technology?

589

:

Well, it's not the technology.

590

:

The obstacle is consumers on this one

and more specifically televisions.

591

:

So when we went to version one of this,

592

:

in other words, high definition

from standard definition television,

593

:

there was a big motivation

to buy a new TV.

594

:

It did a lot more,

I mean, you know, had a different ratio.

595

:

They were larger.

596

:

They had a much bigger picture.

597

:

But today people don't want to replace

their televisions again,

598

:

which is what would be required

to get the next tuner for this.

599

:

It's expensive.

600

:

It's expensive.

601

:

Their existing TV works perfectly.

602

:

Yeah.

603

:

It's what they call a chicken

and the egg problem.

604

:

And that with millions of compatible

televisions

605

:

not being out there in the televisions,

people do have not being compatible.

606

:

Broadcasters can't fully transition.

607

:

Now, this is not the only reason,

but this is a big part of it.

608

:

And part of this is on the broadcasters,

which we'll be covering

609

:

here in a little bit.

610

:

I've heard

there are some problems with the tuners.

611

:

Is this true.

612

:

So here is a big

part of the adoption problem.

613

:

It's improved a little bit

but this is going extremely slow.

614

:

There are a couple of manufacturers

that now sell external NextGen receivers.

615

:

So if you remember back when you went to

high definition, there was a time

616

:

where for free from the government,

you could get a converter box

617

:

that would receive a new signals

and put them on a analog television.

618

:

That's not happening now.

619

:

And if you want a receiver for version

three

620

:

or next gen television,

you have to buy it.

621

:

And some higher end

televisions are just now

622

:

starting to include these tuners,

but it raises the cost.

623

:

Now there's some products

624

:

on the market that you can use for this

that do make it a little bit easier.

625

:

HD Homerun, which is one that I use

which will receive the signal,

626

:

and then you can

basically put it on your network

627

:

and run it to through the network

to the televisions in your house.

628

:

So you're not having to run in tennis

to each TV,

629

:

which would not be something

I'd be interested in doing.

630

:

Zapper box is another one,

and there are some other things,

631

:

but go to the store

and try to find a television.

632

:

Most of what you're going to buy today

do not have these tuners yet in them.

633

:

If they do, they cost a lot more.

634

:

And you have a question problem.

635

:

Okay.

636

:

Is is it is this process

just too complicated right now for people

637

:

like they're overwhelmed?

638

:

Well, I mean,

639

:

if you don't need a new television,

you're not going to go out and buy one.

640

:

Right.

641

:

But would you just described

you did with whatever

642

:

that was that you were describing

that sounded complicated.

643

:

Well, okay,

644

:

so you're talking

about having an external tuner and yeah,

645

:

you would have to have another box

that you would hook up,

646

:

you know, to your television.

647

:

And in its most basic

648

:

thing, you'd also have to run wires

649

:

from an antenna

at each television in your house,

650

:

which is very much

something that most people

651

:

are not interested

in doing to any extent right now,

652

:

which is why the ones

that broadcasted over the system are

653

:

easier to use, like HD Homerun

and that kind of a thing that saves

654

:

that I have an antenna wire

running to one box,

655

:

and then that box connects to my network,

and that's how I do it.

656

:

Okay.

657

:

Our next question is why haven't more TV

manufacturers added tuners?

658

:

Well, again, basically economics,

659

:

additional components,

increased manufacturing costs.

660

:

Most consumers aren't asking for it.

661

:

They don't really want it.

662

:

They don't know what it is, or they really

have no incentive to to get it.

663

:

And broadcasters have now suggested

664

:

that future rules could require

next gen tuners and new televisions.

665

:

In fact,

they want to sunset the version 1.0.

666

:

So in other words,

it wouldn't work anymore,

667

:

and you'd have to get the new tuner

in order to be able to do this.

668

:

And right now,

the FCC is getting comments.

669

:

They haven't finalized the issue

as of this moment.

670

:

But there is another big reason to

that is causing some problems with that.

671

:

And that is our next question.

672

:

What is happening with DRM?

673

:

And there you go.

674

:

This is what's the big deal is

so DRM is digital rights management.

675

:

This term is not unique televisions.

676

:

This has to do

with digital content providers being able

677

:

to protect their stuff,

whether it be encryption on music,

678

:

you know, that kind of a thing

or Blu ray or whatever the case may be.

679

:

It's the idea so that illegal copies

and other things can't be made.

680

:

So what's happening here

is that the broadcasters

681

:

want to have DRM built into this standard,

which it does have at this point.

682

:

But the problem of it is, is over-the-air

683

:

television is supposed to be free, right?

684

:

And with having this kind of technology

and encrypting it, it becomes a problem.

685

:

In fact, it's the biggest controversy

around adoption of NextGen television.

686

:

So why are consumers upset?

687

:

Well, let's talk about what

this is allowed to do.

688

:

And that will answer that question

a little bit in tandem here because

689

:

broadcasters are arguing the following

live sports and other things like that.

690

:

They want to restrict

against unauthorized redistribution.

691

:

So remember with analog televisions

692

:

how you had a thing called a VCR

and you could record stuff.

693

:

That's what

they're wanting to regulate with this.

694

:

And it basically since it's

695

:

interactive television,

it allows them to be able to do that.

696

:

So why are consumers upset?

697

:

Well, again, over the air.

Television is supposed to be free.

698

:

You buy an antenna, you buy a television.

699

:

That's the entire experience.

700

:

But with broadcasters

wanting to use encryption,

701

:

this means you must receive authorization

before showing programing.

702

:

In theory,

the viewer should notice and practice.

703

:

Some have noticed it quite a bit,

because there's a whole bunch of stuff

704

:

going on with who authorizes this

and who doesn't.

705

:

And the fact that again,

706

:

you can't record necessarily

unless it's out there and authorized,

707

:

which means that in order

to get that authorization,

708

:

you have to have a device that can talk

to the internet or go through the online

709

:

with next gen television to be able

to get that authorization before it will

710

:

show the station.

711

:

What is the broadcasters take on DRM?

712

:

Well, again, they're saying that they want

to be able to control their content.

713

:

Not necessarily.

714

:

Saying that you can't,

you know, use it or record it.

715

:

But, you know, as we go down that road,

there could be certainly something

716

:

that comes up that

now you have to subscribe to over the air

717

:

television, whether or not that's allowed

is a legal thing.

718

:

But again, at the end of the day,

that's where this might be going.

719

:

What can next gen TV do better?

720

:

Well, this is a good thing

721

:

because it's not like it's

all doom and gloom here.

722

:

And there are different

723

:

technologies

that this will allow to happen.

724

:

We've talked about this a little bit, but

data casting is one of the bigger ones.

725

:

So instead of broadcast, only television

stations can broadcast data.

726

:

Things like software updates, maps,

educational contact, emergency

727

:

information, automotive data,

agricultural public safety, and on and on.

728

:

So you basically have a wireless data

network instead of

729

:

just the over-the-air television,

which is another interesting aside to me,

730

:

because in the European Union, what is now

the European Union in the 80s and 90s,

731

:

they had data casting

732

:

where you could get to a channel with news

and that kind of thing.

733

:

So this isn't exactly a new technology,

but it is a new technology for this.

734

:

And this is also one of the other things

735

:

that is controversial is

you can get better emergency alerts.

736

:

Right?

737

:

So let's say there's a tsunami.

738

:

You can get evacuation routes

because it's a digital thing

739

:

and video instructions

and that type of a thing.

740

:

But if your channel is encrypted

and your device is not authorized

741

:

to receive it,

742

:

you're not going to get the emergency

release because they're blocked.

743

:

Yeah.

744

:

And that's the that's

that's really the thing.

745

:

The whole point of having the free

television was to make sure

746

:

that people had access to information,

especially emergency information,

747

:

and they did do a test on this

where they sent out an alert, a test alert

748

:

to verify this.

749

:

And if this station was not authorized

through the DRM, the alert didn't show up.

750

:

So that is definitely a problem now.

751

:

Other improvements.

752

:

Let's move

beyond the controversy for a minute

753

:

because there are good things to this

audio improvements.

754

:

They're going to bring things

like Dolby Atmos and other

755

:

decoders and stuff like that,

which are kind of a big deal.

756

:

4K capable system.

757

:

The likelihood of stations broadcasting

and native 4K anytime soon is probably

758

:

not a thing that's going to happen,

but it is something that we could see

759

:

happening on down the road.

760

:

Okay, so what is coming up with television

in the next few years?

761

:

Well, I can see us definitely

switching standards at some point.

762

:

I think the idea of forcing a sunset

or stations to stop broadcasting

763

:

on the current standard

764

:

when they want to do it

in the next two years would be a problem.

765

:

A lot of people would react quite

natively to that

766

:

because you have your really nice 65 inch

whatever OLED television,

767

:

that's exactly what you want,

and all of a sudden it won't work.

768

:

With over the air television,

now you're using things like streaming

769

:

and all that kind of stuff

that would remain unaffected,

770

:

but you couldn't

get the local broadcast television

771

:

without additional hardware,

which you're going to have to buy.

772

:

And Gretchen, like you were saying,

there's a technical step here

773

:

of being able to set it up

and all that kind of thing.

774

:

So once we get to a point

where these issues

775

:

are a workaround, the tuners are part

of standard televisions.

776

:

There's some sort of a tuner that you can

get that's inexpensive and easy to use.

777

:

They've figured out the DRM controversy.

778

:

I think moving ahead, the technology,

what it can offer outside of what

779

:

I would call greedy component with a CRM

thing actually does benefit a lot.

780

:

So going forward,

781

:

personal opinion,

I don't see us in a situation where

782

:

I think we're going to be forced into.

783

:

It could happen.

784

:

FCC is still reviewing it,

but I don't see that happening.

785

:

I could be wrong. I hope I'm not

786

:

having this is something that

787

:

will work itself into the standard

as we go forward.

788

:

Yeah, that'll be a thing, you know,

789

:

and one of the other kind of footnotes

of all of this,

790

:

with digital television in general,

791

:

is the fact that back in the days

of analog television,

792

:

I could have my little set

and I could go anywhere

793

:

and pretty much pick up a signal.

794

:

And the idea of mobile over the air

television?

795

:

Well, I'm not sure of any equipment

that would actually work for that.

796

:

There are some things on the market

I've tried, some of them.

797

:

I've never been able

to get one to actually work properly.

798

:

What I have been able to do is get

a digital converter box set up an tenna.

799

:

By the way, a digital antenna

is the same thing as rabbit ears.

800

:

They both work just as well.

801

:

Oh, okay.

802

:

You have a set of rabbit ears that

you can use that if by a digital intent.

803

:

It's just a modern version of it.

804

:

But you set that kind of a thing up

and then you can get over the air

805

:

television on a portable television.

806

:

But you have to have

all this other equipment.

807

:

It's not exactly like

you can take that somewhere

808

:

and just turn it on and go camping

and have it work.

809

:

You would still have to set

all of these different things up now

810

:

in the UK, in some other markets

they did try digital portable television.

811

:

It is a protocol that's been talked about

and something that's been researched,

812

:

but it's never really been implemented

because with streaming capability,

813

:

nobody really wanted it.

814

:

That's why we don't see it,

you know, and that kind of a thing.

815

:

I don't know.

816

:

Let me ask you some questions.

817

:

What do you think about all this

after hearing this?

818

:

Do you think this is going to catch on, or

do you think it's going to be a problem?

819

:

Or do you think they're going

820

:

to have to get rid of DRM

in order for it to catch on?

821

:

I think some people got to get their heads

out of their butts.

822

:

Yeah, yeah I agree. Yes.

823

:

I think that procedure is probably

very important here

824

:

with the broadcasters,

you know, and that kind of thing.

825

:

I don't know today.

826

:

And Bill, you might know a little bit more

about this, but if you wanted to record

827

:

like you used to do with a VCR,

is that even possible?

828

:

I guess you could still use those.

829

:

What was it called?

830

:

It used to be for like a TiVo.

831

:

TiVo or.

832

:

That's exactly what I was thinking of.

833

:

But I don't know if you can still record

record like for your own personal use

834

:

other than through like a TiVo service

or something like that,

835

:

because HDMI has got its own DRM

836

:

through the cabling and all that,

that it causes it to.

837

:

If there's anything in the way,

it won't work.

838

:

And by that

I mean like another box in the way,

839

:

like if you tried to put your modern

equivalent of a VCR on your HDMI,

840

:

it would simply not function.

841

:

Presumably you'd be recording

in some kind of a digital capacity,

842

:

but even so, it would still be encrypted.

843

:

And there are actually different things

with that too,

844

:

because certain things like, say,

streaming your PlayStation or Xbox game

845

:

that's not encrypted,

you can actually record that.

846

:

And there's methods to do that.

847

:

But actual copyrighted content simply

would not function in that type of way.

848

:

And again, it's the idea of piracy.

849

:

But so are you saying that

those old VHS tapes

850

:

that we recorded, put, put on, recorded

our favorite shows

851

:

that would include the commercials

and all the other weird stuff that goes

852

:

on, those are now going to be

like historical and valuable

853

:

because they can't ever be reproduced.

854

:

Well, there the the equipment is actually

considered retro at this point.

855

:

Yeah.

856

:

You know,

857

:

I mean, I'm talking about the actual VCR

tapes of those, those recordings.

858

:

Well, you know, it's interesting

because the one thing about analog

859

:

is every time you duplicate it,

you lose some of the quality.

860

:

It's like making a copy of a copy.

861

:

So that is kind of a natural thing

that tends to,

862

:

you know, rope that in a little bit.

863

:

But they also did have technologies

where it would prevent you

864

:

from copying a copyrighted movie,

you know, that kind of a thing.

865

:

So you had the videotape.

866

:

If you attempted

to make a copy of the tape,

867

:

it would cause it to lose the sink

as what it did.

868

:

And so your copy, you wouldn't

be able to use it.

869

:

Now, of course,

that's not what I'm getting at.

870

:

I'm talking about the recorded tapes

that you stuffed into the TV set.

871

:

It recorded your favorite show

for an hour or two hours,

872

:

and it's got the whole deal

in there, right?

873

:

That means the commercials

and the station breaks and anything else.

874

:

Those items are now rare

and probably historical,

875

:

because you can't do that anymore

with modern equipment.

876

:

No, I suppose with a digital converter

877

:

box going out to analog,

you could record on a VCR with that.

878

:

Of course,

you wouldn't have the quality of the

879

:

HD quality of the picture or anything

because it's downgrading it to work.

880

:

It also would be four by three

instead of 16 by nine.

881

:

So you would have the wrong ratio

for the screen, but it would be technical.

882

:

But if if you're asking what I think

883

:

you're asking Gretchen, yes, this would be

something that is a unique technology

884

:

that is not easy to reproduce

with modern stuff because it's by design.

885

:

They don't want you to do it.

886

:

Because the thing is, is

my mom had some recordings that she did,

887

:

and she

888

:

she put them in the VCR that we managed

to set up, and she was playing them,

889

:

and I was hearing commercials

that I heard in the 80s.

890

:

Oh, yeah.

891

:

And it was and it was funny.

892

:

And it felt like, like a time capsule.

893

:

It had like,

like almost historical quality to it.

894

:

Not I'm not talking artistic,

but I'm talking about these things

895

:

actually happened and it's like it's

a documentation of way life was.

896

:

Yeah.

897

:

And we're not going to have this is true.

898

:

When I was in high school,

I would record shows,

899

:

you know, while I was in school,

or sometimes I was out of the country and,

900

:

you know, come back and watch them.

901

:

And I had a set of tapes

that I rotated through all of this.

902

:

And I recently found one

and got it to work again.

903

:

And it's like what you're talking about,

904

:

what is it like He-Man

and the Masters of the universe?

905

:

And boy, were some of the commercials

on that retro.

906

:

Could you remember some of the McDonald's

special order stone upset?

907

:

Da da da da da da da da.

908

:

You know, that's kind of king.

909

:

Yeah, but the point is, is

you don't hear those commercials anymore.

910

:

They came up with all these,

the where's the beef thing with Wendy's.

911

:

And I mean, it's like my generation

912

:

was brainwashed

with all this, these jingles.

913

:

Yeah.

914

:

It's like one other

thing that they don't like about that

915

:

kind of equipment is you have control

over the fast forward button, you know?

916

:

So if you don't want to,

you can hit your fast forward button.

917

:

And a lot of that's blocked off too.

918

:

But you know, it's it is interesting.

919

:

This is a completely different topic.

920

:

But there are actually YouTube channels

that specialize in retro commercials

921

:

where you can go on and watch hours

and hours of retro commercials.

922

:

It's kind of funny to look at them,

and you can tell they were taken off a VHS

923

:

tape, too,

924

:

because, you know, the picture's

a little blurry and that kind of a thing.

925

:

But yeah, definitely is a time past.

926

:

And we were compiling

some of the first gen microcomputer

927

:

commercials for like Commodore

928

:

and Atari and things, and some of them

were downright funny, you know.

929

:

Do you guys remember the agony of defeat?

930

:

For they always showed it

during the Olympics.

931

:

There was this poor man who I think he was

doing one of the ski jump competitions,

932

:

and he was always featured

when they said, the agony of defeat.

933

:

You know, this poor man goes flying.

934

:

It was awful.

935

:

Yeah, we all knew about it, you know.

936

:

You know, and as a closing thought,

I think the modern day

937

:

commercials, for the most part,

I don't get them.

938

:

You know, you're looking at going,

what just happened?

939

:

And there was a lot more creativity,

you know, back at that time.

940

:

And like what you're talking about,

941

:

you're remembering something

from like 30 years ago.

942

:

And I think a lot of people

943

:

like where's the beef as another one,

those kind of things.

944

:

And in modern era,

945

:

I'd be hard to come up with a commercial

that I even remember now.

946

:

You know, it's for the same thing.

947

:

Anyway, that's our time until next week.

948

:

This is User Friendly 2.0 keeping

you safe on the cutting edge.

949

:

User Friendly 2.0.

950

:Copyright:

951

:

by User Friendly Media Group incorporated.

952

:

All rights reserved.

953

:

The content is the opinion

of the show's participants and does

954

:

not necessarily reflect this station

or platform.

955

:

Requests for material use, interviews,

disclosures,

956

:

and other correspondence may be viewed

957

:

and submitted at UserFriendly.Show.