Games At Work dot Biz

Episode 338 — Flying Rabbit Ears

By Michael Martine | September 20, 2021 - 06:41 |September 19, 2021 Podcast

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jumping man in a rabbit costume — Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

conditions of carriage changes, Apple Watch chip, determining computer generated faces and TV antennas making a comeback

Michael and Michael start off with a ZD Net report about American Airline’s changes to the conditions of carriage, which spell out the contract between a passenger and the airline. The recent updates are something else.

Next up is an iMore article about the Apple Watch Series 7, and Michael R gives an interesting perspective on why it may be using the same chip as the Series 6. Continuing on this theme, a discussion on the challenges of measuring blood pressure without a cuff, and what the future may hold with smartwatches.

Then, a short post about how computer generated faces can be easily identified. The answer may surprise you. And in the continuing cat and mouse game, this particular differentiator may be rapidly corrected.

Rounding out this week’s episode is a short take on an article about Twitter Super Follows, one about why TV antennas are making a comeback now, and an advance look at the upcoming Hawkeye show.

Do you have a set of rabbit ears attached to your TV? Let us know over at @gamesatwork_biz !

Thanks for listening!

Selected Links

ZD Net article: American Airlines just made a sneaky decision that may appall customers — https://www.zdnet.com/article/american-airlines-made-a-sneaky-decision-that-may-appall-customers/

iMore article: Apple Watch Series 7 shares the same chip as the current model — don’t expect a performance bump this time around — https://www.imore.com/apple-watch-series-7-shares-same-chip-current-model-dont-expect-performance-bump-time-around

The Verge article: Why Smartwatch-Measured Blood Pressure Still Isn’t ‘Ready for Primetime’ — https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/16/22677381/smartwatch-blood-pressure-samsung-fitbit-apple

Schneier on Security post: Identifying Computer-Generated Faces — https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2021/09/identifying-computer-generated-faces.html

TechCrunch article: Twitter Super Follows has generated only around $6k+ in its first two weeks — https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/16/twitter-super-follows-has-generated-only-around-6k-in-its-first-two-weeks/

Wall Street Journal article: Why TV Antennas Are Making a Comeback in the Streaming Age — https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-tv-antennas-are-making-a-comeback-in-the-streaming-age-11631819804

Slashfilm article: Hawkeye Trailer Breakdown: Christmas Comes With a Bow And Arrow — https://www.slashfilm.com/602433/hawkeye-trailer-breakdown-christmas-comes-with-a-bow-and-arrow/

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Episode 337 – Spark AI at Home

By Michael Martine | September 13, 2021 - 06:26 |September 12, 2021 Podcast

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electric blue light going into a home — Photo by Ihor Saveliev on Unsplash

smart home technology, AI in knowledge work, reverse deepfakes, & recordings, an AR Easter egg, and sparking joy with the new KonMari and New World games

Michael and Michael start off this week’s episode with stories about how to make your home smarter and easier. First up is Home Depot’s app Hubspace which allow the user to scan the QR code on the packaging and control the devices without needing to set up a hub. Next, the co-hosts discuss the new Logitech dock, which doubles as a speakerphone in addition to being a USB hub. The Opal C1 webcam Michael M was thinking of has been added to the show notes below.

Turning to artificial intelligence, the pair have a number of articles to review. Michael R had a chance to attend the recently held UNC School of Information and Library Science symposium on AI and Knowledge work, and the link to the contents & replays may be found below. In a reverse deepfake twist, AI is used to make realistic humans out of characters from video games. During the quick hit on the Tape It app, Michael and Michael discuss Apple’s Music Memos, which will be going away in iOS 15.

Speaking of the next gen iOS, Apple’s California Streaming event is scheduled for Sept 14. While the co-hosts resist the temptation to discuss what may be announced, they do spend a little time talking about the AR Easter egg embedded in the invitation. Give it a try for yourself, following the instructions below. Continuing on the apple theme for a few more minutes, the team discusses how Samsung is using apple peels to create eco-friendly watchbands.

The co-hosts then touch briefly on a few topics: new football/soccer statistics courtesy of AWS for the Bundesliga, the iconic VW microbus coming back in electric robotaxi form, a LEGO GameBoy transformer and a trailer for the upcoming Matrix movie.

Michael M cleans up with the newly announced KonMari game, and Michael R is excited to play the New World open beta.

What are you playing? Let us know over at @gamesatwork_biz !

Thanks for listening!

Selected Links

The Verge article: Home Depot says its smart home app is for people who find the smart home space ‘intimidating’ — https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/4/22654623/home-depot-smart-home-amazon-alexa-google-home

The Verge article: Logitech’s new dock is designed for a work from home world — https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/8/22662237/logitech-logi-dock-features-pricing-release-date

Cult of Mac article: Ex-Apple and Beats designers launch premium Opal C1 webcam for Mac — https://www.cultofmac.com/752124/ex-apple-and-beats-designers-launch-premium-opal-c1-webcam-for-mac/

Opal C1 — https://opalcamera.com

UNC School of Information and Library Science AI and Knowledge Work symposium — https://tarheels.live/aikw2021/

Kotaku article: AI Gives Street Fighter Characters Human Faces — https://kotaku.com/ai-gives-street-fighter-characters-human-faces-1847594479

TechCrunch article: Tape It launches an AI-powered music recording app for iPhone — https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/08/tape-it-launches-an-a-i-powered-music-recording-app-for-iphone/

Six Colors post: Apple’s “California Streaming” next week — https://sixcolors.com/post/2021/09/apple-will-be-california-streaming-on-sept-14/

Cult of Mac article: How to see the AR Easter egg hidden in Apple’s September 14 event invite — https://www.cultofmac.com/751846/how-to-see-the-ar-easter-egg-in-apples-september-14-event-invite/

The Verge article: Samsung releases eco-friendly watchbands made from apple peel — https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/10/22666328/samsung-eco-friendly-sustainable-limited-edition-galaxy-watch-4-bands

ZDNet article: AWS bringing two new advanced statistics to German Bundesliga broadcasts for upcoming season — https://www.zdnet.com/article/aws-bringing-two-new-advanced-statistics-to-german-bundesliga-broadcasts-for-upcoming-season/

The Verge article: VW is reviving its iconic microbus as an electric robotaxi — https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/6/22659306/vw-autonomous-id-buzz-reveal-argo-iaa

The Matrix Resurrections Official Trailer 1 — https://www.whatisthematrix.com

The Nerdist article: LEGO Game Boy Robot Is One Cool Transformer — https://nerdist.com/article/lego-nintendo-game-boy-robot-transformer/

KonMari Spark Joy! — https://apps.apple.com/us/app/konmari-spark-joy/id1557213958

New World open beta — https://steamcommunity.com/app/1724660

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Episode 336 — Pancaking Robots

By Michael Martine | September 6, 2021 - 06:36 |September 5, 2021 Podcast

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robot talking about pancakes — Composite photos from 수안 최 on Unsplash & Ariana Suárez on Unsplash

cargo ship canal drifting, drones that crash & get crashed into, co-designing rooms with Pancake, NFTs and the quantum tick tocks of clocks.

Michael and Michael start of this week’s episode with an interesting game that reminded Michael M of Desert Bus. While there is nothing in the article or Steam game description of Whatever being a real time simulator, it’s fun to imagine that there might be a gameplay mode like Desert Bus. Whatever allows you to take on the role of a cargo ship captain, and chart a course through increasing difficult rivers and canals, inspired by the Ever Given.

The co-hosts then deal with drones that crash into planes, and humans that crash into robots. In the first story, a York Regional Police drone struck a Cessna coming in for a landing in Toronto. In the second story, a driver clipped a Starship Technologies autonomous delivery robot that was attempting to cross an intersection.

A listener tweet from @Lxs inspires an interesting NFT conversation. Michael R links this back to the hype cycle discussion from last week’s episode. Michael M envisions exotic financial instruments based on NFTs.

Pancake provides furniture-as-a-service, linking consumers with designers to design their space in real time. After uploading a room’s dimensions and scheduling a time, the client co-creates their space with the Pancake designer and can buy the furnishings with a single click at the end of their work.

Quanta Magazine quotes Dr. Gerard Milburn from the University of Queensland in Australia “A clock is a flow meter for entropy,” in an article outlining what clocks are, and what makes them tick (so to speak). The relationship between entropy and accuracy is intriguing, as is the the example of a clock composed of three entangled atoms.

Rounding out the episode are stories about the new Philips Hue lights and Bud Light’s new hard seltzer flavors which include pumpkin spice as well as toasted marshmallow, maple pear and apple crisp.

Do you have a favorite seltzer flavor? Let us know over at @gamesatwork_biz !

Thanks for listening!

Selected Links

Axios article: Finally, a video game about the Ever Given — https://www.axios.com/ever-given-video-game-8a884f1c-4153-47a7-858f-2c457d41e69f.html

Whatever — https://store.steampowered.com/app/1734230/WHATEVER/

Desert Bus — https://desertbus.org

MIT Technology Review — https://www.technologyreview.com/newsletter-preferences/

Persuasive Games — http://bogost.com/games/persuasive_games_1/

Episode 17 — Things are weirder than expected with Ian Bogost — https://gamesatwork.biz/2012/08/26/episode-17-things-are-weirder-than-expected/

Gizmodo article: This Touchscreen Coffee Table Makes Digital Board Games a Blast — https://gizmodo.com/this-touchscreen-coffee-table-makes-digital-board-games-1847496122

Techdirt article: Canadian Cops Blow Off Drone Operations Laws, Crash Their Drone Into A Landing Airplane — https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20210824/19471947428/canadian-cops-blow-off-drone-operation-laws-crash-their-drone-into-landing-airplane.shtml

The Verge article: The time a human-driven car ran over an autonomous robot — https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/1/22652980/starship-delivery-robot-kentucky-car-accident

@GamesAtWork_Biz could sport team tokens have been used by #BarcaFC to raise funds from supporters to retain #Messi?

Recall how Beckham’s player contract move from ManUtd to RealMadrid was deemed to have been partially funded by extra merchandise saleshttps://t.co/BkCSWakJoR
— 𝓛𝔁𝓼 / 𝔸𝕝𝕖𝕩𝕚𝕤 🏵🇪🇺💫 (@Lxs) August 31, 2021

Gizmodo article: Philips Hue Want to Put a Smart Light in Every Room in Your House — https://gizmodo.com/philips-hue-wants-to-put-a-smart-light-in-every-room-in-1847593336

Pancake aims to make customers flip for its virtual home design platform — https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/02/pancake-aims-to-make-customers-flip-for-its-virtual-home-design-platform/

Pancake — https://www.pancake.live

IKEA Place — https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ikea-place/id1279244498

Quanta Magazine article: The New Thermodynamic Understanding of Clocks — https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-new-science-of-clocks-prompts-questions-about-the-nature-of-time-20210831/

CNN Business article: Bud Light is launching a pumpkin spice spiked seltzer — https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/31/business/pumpkin-spice-bud-light-seltzer/index.html

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Episode 335 — Horsing Around

By Michael Martine | August 30, 2021 - 06:08 |August 29, 2021 Podcast

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carousel horses — Photo by Rusty Watson on Unsplash

Horses in games, HUD swim goggles, newest Gartner hype cycle, Jolla, a signature that’s not an autograph, and NC barbecue.

Michael and Michael start out with a story about how horses are misrepresented in video game designs and some possible solutions.

Michael R shares that he’s participating in the FORM Smart Swim Goggles beta. Michael M has an idea about using the HUD during a race to show each participant data on their competitors.

Then, the co-hosts have a discussion about the current emerging technology on the recently released Gartner hype cycle. This leads to a conversation about Jolla’s Sailfish OS for mobile devices. Next up, is another situation where user records are exposed, and a public service announcement to change the ADMIN password to something other than ADMIN.

Wrapping things up for the episode, Michael and Michael take on a news story about a person who requested and autograph from Steve Jobs, and instead received a letter from him saying that he doesn’t give autographs. With a signature. It is interesting that Steve Jobs signature (not an autograph) is in lower case, as is the “hello” on the unveiling of the original MacIntosh, and lends more credence to the importance of typefaces and fonts in the original MacOS.

What’s your favorite font? Let us know over at @gamesatwork_biz !

Thanks for listening!