Media & Entertainment

Snapchat will launch on December 18 a new feature called Cameo that will allow you to put your face onto short looping videos. This is a "shallowfake," meaning that you know it's fake, and so does everyone else who is watching. There is no attempt to fool anyone. It's basically a better version of Elf Yourself. Continue Reading →

The word "hoax" has come into sharp focus recently and it has caused more than a few of my friends and colleagues to assert that the mainstream news media is "rigged." This is not a new subject, but it is newly relevant because of the current political climate. I'm not going to defend the MSM. But I am happy to explain why a certain famous media critic likes to say, "The media is rigged. Big League." Continue Reading →

In engineering parlance, getting closer to the "edge" means bringing computational resources closer to the user. To do that, you need a bunch of stuff to line up. In an ideal world, you'd combine powerful cloud resources and a low-latency high bandwidth network. That's exactly what Amazon and Verizon plan to do. Continue Reading →

Cyber Monday is supposed to be an awesome online shopping day. It is. I've seen estimates as high as $9 Billion for today. However, I've also seen estimates from NBC News and Radware that as much as 97 percent of online traffic today will be bot traffic. Continue Reading →

In honor of the holidays – and the beginning of ski season – I decided to cut the cord, cancel my Comcast cable package, and go internet-only in VT. There are some lessons learned – some serious, some not so much. Continue Reading →

TikTok is insanely popular. If you haven't downloaded the app yet, here's a warning: Be prepared! TikTok is wildly addictive. No matter your age, your stage, how jaded you are, resistance is futile. You will become addicted to TikTok within minutes. But then... the app will begin its symbiotic relationship with your brain, and then... it's over. You will become a full-fledged TikTok addict and, as far as I know, there is no cure. Continue Reading →

Episode 4 of Think About This with Shelly Palmer & Ross Martin is online! In this episode we explore the marvels of human achievement that get no love. Did a drone from a spaceship just deliver your pizza? Did a sugar pill just take away all of your pain? How many trees could you plant in a day? How many ear wiggles could you do in 30 seconds? You may win a lot of cash if you stay off your smartphone for a year, but how would you get through dinner with your mom and dad? Continue Reading →

Disney+ launched to great fanfare (with a few technical glitches) and people are talking. There is the usual chatter about "a new service," and the "transformation of the television business," but something far more interesting is happening. People are talking about episode one of The Mandalorian and you know what they're saying? "I can't wait for episode two." Continue Reading →

Adam Mosseri, who runs Instagram, is about to change the world. Like it or not, Instagram is going to make “like” counts private. This is a bold, (but well tested) move. The company has previously hidden likes in Canada, Japan, Brazin, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and Italy. Now, Instagram will expand its testing to the US. Continue Reading →

How long does a digital file last? It depends how and where you save it. On a hard drive? It will last longer than 5 years, but less than 30 years. On a commercial CD, maybe 100 years, no one really knows. On a recordable CD or DVD? Less than 10 years for sure. On magnetic tape? More than 10 years, less than 100 depending upon how the tapes are stored. Sit with 100 digital archivists and you will get 100 different opinions about how to save digital files for future generations. Continue Reading →