Episode 227 – Video Killed the Audio Star

Starting with the heartwarming story about how Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive Controller allows everyone to play games, Michael and Michael begin a show full of video, audio and security/privacy themes.

A variety of video themes surface in this episode of Games at Work, including the business of video games, a conclusion on the Group FaceTime bug, background blurring in Skype and means for watching end users interact with mobile apps.  

The audio subject started off with a discussion of how Amazon is bringing choose your own adventure games to Alexa.  Michael M remembered that they had a show about choose your own adventure games, and sure enough, it was episode 35 from way back in 2013, when he actually created a game using Twine.  You can still play the Games at Work Podcast Game.  And there’s been some updates to Twine since 2013 — follow @twinethreads for all the details or enter the maze of twisty little passages, all alike.

There are several links & stories related to user security and privacy in this episode, everything from the transparency Facebook is instituting for describing why an ad is being presented, to GDPR.  The episode concludes with some excitement about a Raspberry Pi store, which could be an awesome maker space.  Have a listen, and join in the conversation here or on Twitter at @gamesatwork_biz ! 

Selected Links

Microsoft Super Bowl Commercial 2019: We All Win (Extended Version)

Bloomberg article: The Flops Are Piling Up for Video-Game Titans — https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-02-07/video-game-titans-suffer-deepening-slump-as-flops-pile-up?srnd=premium 

TechCrunch article: Apple to compensate teenager who found Group FaceTime eavesdrop bug — https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/07/apple-group-facetime-fix/ 

TechCrunch article: Amazon’s Audible brings Choose Your Own Adventure stories to Alexa devices — https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/04/amazons-audible-brings-choose-your-own-adventure-stories-to-alexa-devices/ 

Games at Work Episode 35: Pirates of Pizzazz — https://gamesatwork.biz/2013/02/03/episode-35-pirates-of-pizzazz/ 

Games at Work Podcast Choose Your Own Adventure Game — https://gamesatwork.biz/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Games-at-Work-Podcast-Game1.html 

TechCrunch article: Skype can now blur the background during video calls — https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/06/skype-video-call-blur/ 

TechCrunch article: Facebook will reveal who uploaded your contact info for ad targeting — https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/06/why-am-i-seeing-this-ad/ 

General Data Protection Regulation — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Data_Protection_Regulation 

MacRumors article: Some Popular iPhone Apps Secretly Record Your Screen for Analytics Purposes — https://www.macrumors.com/2019/02/06/iphone-apps-screen-recordings-analytics/ 

Glassbox — https://www.glassboxdigital.com 

TechCrunch article: The Raspberry Pi store is much cooler than an Apple Store — https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/07/the-raspberry-pi-store-is-much-cooler-than-an-apple-store/

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:10 — 15.8MB) | Embed

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