Grok Spock

On this freshly handcrafted episode of Pop Tech Jam, El Kaiser shares his thoughts about the past, present and future of “Doctor Who,” before jumping into the news with J.D. to discuss recent developments in streaming TV, games, shopping and aggressively priced high-fashion iPhone slings. Just press Play for Episode 388! • “Doctor Who” (BBC)• Why Disney Ditched ‘Doctor Who’ (Deadline)• Verizon to Cut About 15,000 Jobs (The Wall Street Journal)• Netflix Tries Bringing Family Game Night to Your TV (The New York Times)• Disney+ Exploring “Game-like Features” And AI-Driven, User-Generated Content In Streaming (Deadline)• MLS, Apple TV to bring games outside of extra paywall in 2026: Sources (The New York Times)• Facebook Marketplace gets new collaborative and social features, Meta AI integrations (TechCrunch)• Google will let users call stores, browse products, and check out using AI (The Verge)• Apple to Reportedly Pay Google $1 Billion a Year for Siri's Custom Gemini AI Model (CNet)• New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and AirTag Were Expected This Year — Where Are They? (MacRumors)• Introducing iPhone Pocket: a beautiful way to wear and carry iPhone (Apple)• £220 'for a cut-up sock' - Apple's new iPhone Pocket ridiculed online (BBC News)• Costly iPhone Pocket sells out nearly immediately (Apple Insider)

On this episode of Pop Tech Jam, El Kaiser and J.D.  discuss — among many other things — electronic playing-card shufflers, Oreos, A.I. slop, robot hands and “Peacemaker.” Listen in on PTJ 387!• How Hacked Card Shufflers Allegedly Enabled a Mob-Fueled Poker Scam That Rocked the NBA (Wired)• Real Estate Is Entering Its AI Slop Era (Wired)• Phony AI-Created Receipts Become Real Problem for Businesses (PYMTS.com)• OpenAI reportedly developing new generative music tool (Tech Crunch)• Oreo-maker Mondelez to use new generative AI tool to slash marketing costs (Reuters)• The ‘Hands Problem’ Holding Back the Humanoid Revolution (The Wall Street Journal)• Robot umpires approved for MLB in 2026 as part of challenge system (CNN)• Trump and Xi will ‘consummate’ TikTok deal on Thursday, treasury secretary says (TechCrunch)• TikTok may not be Chinese-owned anymore, but there still is a privacy problem (Brookings)• Exclusive: US Department of Energy forms $1 billion supercomputer and AI partnership with AMD (Reuters)• Apple Newsroom announcements• Apple Readies Its First Ever Touch-Screen MacBook (Bloomberg)• What’s Next for iPad Pro? A Vapor Chamber Like the One on the iPhone 17 Pro (Bloomberg)• Ads likely coming to Apple Maps in 2026 (Apple Insider)• New MacBook Pro Nears Mass Production, But Four Bigger Upgrades Expected Next Year (MacRumors)• Apple Shelves Vision Headset Revamp to Prioritize Meta-Like AI Glasses (Bloomberg)• Google’s “G” gets a brighter look. (Google blog)• Podcasts and News Fact Sheet (Pew Research Center)

On this episode of Pop Tech Jam, El Kaiser and J.D. dive into the ocean of Apple announcements and other recent tech news — and ponder Japanese-style 7-Eleven stores on this side of the Pacific. All this and more in Episode 386!• iPhone 17, iPhone Air, AirPods Pro 3, and everything else announced at Apple’s hardware event(TechCrunch)• Apple October Event 2025: 5 New Products Coming Soon (Gadget Hacks)• Apple still has 10 more product launches in the pipeline, here’s what’s coming (9to5Mac)• Apple’s new iPhone charger is a first of its kind (The Verge)• iPhone 17 Pro Max vs. Google Pixel 10 Pro XL: I compared both and here's the winner (ZD Net)• Google Gemini is the top free iPhone app (9to5Google)• What to expect at Meta Connect 2025: 'Hypernova' smart glasses, AI and the metaverse (Engadget)• Amazon announces fall hardware event (The Verge)• How to use ChatGPT at university without cheating: ‘Now it’s more like a study partner’ (The Guardian)• Rolling Stone Publisher Sues Google Over AI Summaries (The Wall Street Journal)• Google misled users about their privacy and now owes them $425m, says court (Malwarebytes blog)• Sizing Up A Possible Paramount-WBD Merger, Hollywood Wonders If This Episode Is A Repeat (Deadline)• Is America Ready for Japanese-Style 7-Elevens? (The New York Times)

On this episode of Pop Tech Jam, El Kaiser and J.D. discuss Google’s new Pixel 10 phones, Apple’s upcoming iPhone plans and dumb things done by artificial intelligence, all before pondering new trends related to GenZ’s growing fascination with “predigital” technology. Listen up here on Episode 385!• “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX/Hulu)• Google Pixel 10: 9 new AI features and updates (Google blog)• 10 Crazy Features Powering Google's Pixel 10 Phones (and Watch) (WIRED)• Apple’s three-year iPhone plan is a break from the boring (The Verge)• Apple is in talks to use Google’s Gemini for Siri revamp, report says (TechCrunch)• Elon Musk's xAI sues Apple and OpenAI over AI competition, App Store rankings (Reuters)• Citizen Is Using AI to Generate Crime Alerts With No Human Review. It’s Making a Lot of Mistakes (404 Media)• Wired says 'AI-written' story did not have 'proper fact-check process'  (Press Gazette)• Stephanie Shirley, Who Created a Tech World for Women, Dies at 91 (The New York Times)• Ozzy Osbourne, ‘Prince of Darkness’ Turned Reality TV Star, Dies at 76 (The New York Times)• Narrative Podcasts Are Disappearing. What Happened? (Rolling Stone)• Bluesky blocks service in Mississippi over age assurance law (TechCrunch)• 'KPop Demon Hunters' Leads Box Office Over 'Weapons' in Theatrical Debut (Variety)• Taylor Swift’s new album comes in cassette. Who is buying those? (CNN Business)• Why Gen Z Is Resurrecting the 1990s (The New York Times)

On this week’s episode, El Kaiser and J.D. wade into the river of recent news about artificial intelligence — while stopping to pour one out for the soon-to-be-discontinued AOL dial-up modem service. Hear it all (and more) with one click of the Play button for PTJ 384!• Alexa Got an A.I. Brain Transplant. How Smart Is It Now? (The New York Times)• OpenAI Brings Back Fan-Favorite GPT-4o After a Massive User Revolt (Gizmodo)• GPT-5: Overdue, overhyped and underwhelming. And that’s not the worst of it. (Gary Marcus Substack)• Apple App Intents Voice Control Feature for Siri, Apps; iOS 26 Release Timing (Bloomberg)• Apple’s new Siri may allow users to operate apps just using voice (TechCrunch) • Computer Science Grads Struggle to Find Jobs in the A.I. Age (The New York Times)• Inside the Multimillion-Dollar Gray Market for Video Game Cheats (Wired)• Reddit will block the Internet Archive (The Verge)• End of an era: AOL to discontinue its dial-up internet service after 30 years (The Guardian)

On this episode of Pop Tech Jam, El Kaiser and JD discuss expert reaction to Apple’s iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe public betas, as well as a handful of other headlines from around the tech world. The hosts also share thoughts on 2025’s crop of summer movies and streaming TV. All this and more when you click Play on PTJ 383!·      ‘Only Murders in the Building’ Sets Season 5 Premiere Date (The Hollywood Reporter)·      First Look: macOS Tahoe Public Beta (Six Colors)·      First Look: iOS 26 Public Beta (Six Colors)·      iPhone 17 Pro Launching in Two Months With These 16 New Features (MacRumors)·      iPhone 17 And iPhone 17 Air Unprecedented Design Changes Revealed in New Leak (Forbes)·      Apple rumored to release 6 new iPhone models starting next year — including iPhone Fold (Tom's Guide)·      Apple Announces 'AppleCare One' Subscription Plan for Multiple Devices (MacRumors)·      Meta will no longer accept political, election or issue ads in EU (Axios)·      Meta Unveils Wristband for Controlling Computers With Hand Gestures (The New York Times)·      DuckDuckGo becomes first browser to add AI image filter — here's what you need to know (Tom’s Guide)·      Microsoft Gets Out of the Movie and TV Business: How to Save Everything You Bought (PCMag)·      The Microsoft Store versions of Office apps are being discontinued (PCWorld)·      After Underwhelming Box Office Run, Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning Sets Digital Release Date (With Bonus Features) (CBR.com)·      James Gunn blames ‘anti-American sentiment’ for Superman’s box office haul (The Independent)·      “Wednesday” Renewed for Season 3 at Netflix (Variety)·      “Fantastic Four: First Steps” (Marvel)·      You Need to Cancel All of Your Streaming Services (Cord Cutter News)

While counting down the minutes to the new season of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” this week, El Kaiser and J.D. discuss recent developments in the tech world and reflect upon the opening-weekend box office for the latest Superman movie. Spin up PTJ 382 to listen in!Google confirms it's 'combining' Chrome OS and Android into a single platform (Android Authority)Is A.I. the Future of Web Browsing?  (The New York Times)xAI and Grok apologize for ‘horrific behavior’ (TechCrunch)After Linda Yaccarino’s Departure As X CEO, Will Elon Musk Once Again Flip Off Advertisers In Favor Of AI? (Deadline)It’s YouTube vs. Netflix as the Streaming Wars Come Down to 2 (The New York Times)“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” (Paramount+)“Superman” opens to sky-high $217 million at global box office, becoming DC's biggest premiere since “The Batman” (Entertainment Weekly)ACASIS Mac Mini M4 Workstation 8-in-1 Dual SSD 40Gbps DockDell UltraSharp 32 4K Thunderbolt Hub Monitor - U3225QEAstropad Luna Display

On this week’s episode of Pop Tech Jam, El Kaiser and JD discuss Microsoft’s recent announcement regarding changes to “the unexpected restart experience, the stack of Substacks piling up and A.I.’s effect on plant life. Apple’s new “F1” movie with Brad Pitt, the upcoming “Superman” film and El Kaiser’s belated journey with “Andor” are also part of the discussion, so listen in here on PTJ 381!PTJ 381 LINKSMicrosoft says goodbye to the Windows blue screen of death (CNBC)There is no mystery over who wrote the Blue Screen of Death, despite what some may want you to believe(Microsoft Dev Blogs)The Windows Resiliency Initiative: Building resilience for a future-ready enterprise (Windows Blogs)Substack Is Having a Moment—Again. But Time Is Running Out (Wired)AI is ruining houseplant communities online (The Verge)Kuo: Apple to release cheaper MacBook powered by iPhone processor (9to5Mac)‘F1’ Revs To $144M Opening Weekend Around The World, Brad Pitt & Apple Original Films Records; ‘M3GAN 2.0’ Powers Down At $10M+ (Deadline)Early Reactions to “Superman” Claim It’s Complete Opposite of “Man of Steel” (Yahoo)“Andor” (Disney+)

Apple’s annual World Wide Developers Conference brought its usual load of software announcements last week and El Kaiser and J.D. share some thoughts about it all — including the new Liquid Gas, er, Liquid Glass interface design. But it’s not ALL about Apple this episode, as Google and Nintendo had some announcements of their own. Spin up PTJ 380 for the commentary! LINKS ·      Apple’s World Wide Developers Conference 2025 announcements (Apple)·      Introducing Liquid Glass (Apple on YouTube)·      Apple introduces a delightful and elegant new software design (Apple)·      Liquid Glass isn’t a design failure; it is Apple’s most tactile digital future yet (UX Collective)·      Why Apple’s ‘Liquid Glass’ Design Is a Step Backward for UX (Prototypr)·      Apple's Liquid Glass is a grim portent for UX (The Product Picnic)·      Android 16 is here (Google Keyword blog)·      Separating Material 3 Expressive from Android 16 was Google's smartest move all year (Android Police)·      7 Things We Love And 4 Things We Hate About The Switch 2 (Kotaku)·      Agatha All Along (Disney+)·      Andor (Disney+)

If it's September, it must be time for an Apple Event to announce new iPhones! El Kaiser and J.D. discuss the presentation and the new fall line-up of Apple gear, and take side trips into Amazon's new Batman show and El Kaiser's dilemma about saving a high-end display. And we pour one out for James Earl Jones, who made a twisted soul sound so darn good in that galaxy far, far away. All this right here on PTJ 379!