Computer Talk Radio

10/04/2025

This weeks Computer Talk Radio broadcast has been uploaded at http://computertalkradio.com/podcastCTR/?."name=ctrpodcast-2025-10-04.mp3

10/03/2025

Electronic Arts is a gaming company that’s been around since nearly the dawn of the PC. I did a quick review, and saw games from the 80’s that I loved back then, and they’ve continued forward. EA is a big massive juggernaut in the video game world, ranking #6 for last year amongst all video gaming companies. Various titles include all of the Madden games, NFL, NBA, NHL, FIFA, the Sims, Need For Speed, and many more major nameplates in and out of the sports world. This week, it was announced that the giant behemoth was being bought out in a bid to become privately owned for $55 Billion. This would be the largest leveraged buyout to date across all publically traded companies. The Saudis are leading the buyout in this, but also a few other big names are involved.

Electronic Arts, the maker of video games like “Madden NFL,” “Battlefield,” and “The Sims,” is being acquired by an investor group including Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund in the largest private equity-funded buyout in history.

Source: Video gamer Electronic Arts to be bought in largest-ever private equity buyout valued at $55 billion


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Video gamer Electronic Arts to be bought in largest-ever private equity buyout valued at $55 billion

Electronic Arts is a gaming company that's been around since nearly the dawn of the PC. I did a quick review, and saw games from the 80's that I ...

10/02/2025

Over in Britain, they are talking about a mandatory Digital ID, with the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, lobbying hard for. There’s a lot of pushback from the populace, from the political opposition there, but there’s also concern here on the other side of the pond. In the past week since Prime Minister Starmer’s announcement, I’ve had no less than 3 separate conversations diving deep into the erosion of our liberties. The fear in each of those, was that the same ideas could someday be pushed here, with the kind of reckless approaches that accompany many of these schemes. I’ve long been concerned that ideas, like China’s Social Media Score, have a chance to do more than just identify, but instead, have someone digitally disappear much like the acts of Russia’s KGB to dissidents before the Berlin Wall fell. There’s just too much to go wrong… and not enough to go right.

Sir Keir Starmer is set to announce the introduction of digital ID cards, a policy Labour says will help tackle illegal migration and modernise the UK’s identification systems.

Source: ‘A Trojan horse leading to state control’: Telegraph readers on digital ID cards


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‘A Trojan horse leading to state control’: Telegraph readers on digital ID cards

Over in Britain, they are talking about a mandatory Digital ID, with the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, lobbying hard for. There's a lot of pushback fr ...

10/02/2025

The Amazon Fall Event was this week. I debated doing some additional drill-down on the items, but it was less impressive to me than the Apple Event just weeks ago. The headline was the Color Kindle Scribe, but at $630, I’m looking at a far more capable iPad with a Kindle app. New Ring and Blink cameras included AI features like “Familiar Faces” to let you know who amongst your family and friends are coming to the door, but that could be creepy to some. There was one feature that is called Search Party, which connects to your neighbors cams to help locate your pet who managed to sneak out the door… or at least that’s the sales line, that feels creepier. Also covered at the event was a refresh to the Fire TV series, with some new price points, and Fire TV Sticks, all running on a new OS called Vega. Last, but not least, who could forget the Alexa Echo devices. Yes, the new ones all support Alexa+, but know that the price point isn’t the cheap numbers we’ve seen in the past. Look to start at $100 for an Echo Dot Max, and $180 for the Echo Show 8.

The Kindle Scribe is finally getting color. Here’s everything that was announced at Amazon’s fall hardware event including new Fire TVs, Ring cameras, and Echo speakers.

Source: Everything announced at Amazon’s fall hardware event, including a color Kindle Scribe


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Everything announced at Amazon’s fall hardware event, including a color Kindle Scribe

The Amazon Fall Event was this week. I debated doing some additional drill-down on the items, but it was less impressive to me than the Apple Event just we ...

10/02/2025

This should be no surprise. Meta, aka Facebook Etc, has announced that they will be soaking up all of the information contained within Meta AI to start driving targeted ads across all of it’s platforms. Of course, Meta is already crammed full of information in regards to things it knows about us, and things it’s fairly sure about as well. This could result in a far different experience for some people who tend to remain quiet on social media, but still take part. The announcement will be coming soon within the EULA agreements, but it is expected that the information will be sourced from the Meta AI windows on it’s platforms, as well as the new Meta Ray-Ban Display smart glasses. It also does appear that there will be no way to opt out, except by completely abandoning the Internet as we know it.

Meta plans to use data from your interactions with AI products to sell targeted ads on Facebook and Instagram.

Source: Meta plans to sell targeted ads based on data in your AI chats | TechCrunch


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Meta plans to sell targeted ads based on data in your AI chats | TechCrunch

This should be no surprise. Meta, aka Facebook Etc, has announced that they will be soaking up all of the information contained within Meta AI to start driv ...

10/02/2025

As a teenager, I dabbled in the hobby of model rockets. I think fondly of Estes Rockets, of which I probably launched about 20 or so. I don’t think much of it these days, but when I saw that Estes had released a new project, a $40 printable rocket kit, I was entranced again. This does require a 3D printer, and the kit includes a few extra parts, but the big value is the STL files that you can use to make replacement parts, model in your own colors, and more. This is a place where people are able to start merging their hobbies, and exploring the possibilities in new directions, and that makes this even more exciting than just the one. Quick notes… 41 1/2″ tall, 2 inch diameter, and 17 ounces… and many hours of hearing your 3D printer make something that will soar to the skies someday soon.

Your seat at the Additive Manufacturing Advantage awaits! Register free for AMA: Automotive & Mobility. Hobbyist products manufacturer Estes Rockets has released the Pro Series II Scorpio 3D,

Source: Estes Rockets debuts its new $40 Scorpio 3D printable rocket kit


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Estes Rockets debuts its new $40 Scorpio 3D printable rocket kit

As a teenager, I dabbled in the hobby of model rockets. I think fondly of Estes Rockets, of which I probably launched about 20 or so. I don't think m ...

10/02/2025

I’m going to cover some crazy numbers here, because Elon Musk briefly hit a new record, again. This time, he was the first to hit the 1/2 Trillion Dollar Mark. Larry Ellison of Oracle fame only has $350 Billion. Numbers 3 and 4, are Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, who combined aren’t worth as much as Elon Musk. No matter how you feel about him, this is an impressive feat, and it’s hard for us to even comprehend it. I’ll still try. Since turning 20, if he worked 12 hours daily every day, that’s about $3.3 million a day, or about $77 a second worked. Even more so, he made that last $100 Billion since last December. That bumps it up to $28 million per day, or $656 per second. Now, on Thursday, he dipped down again, but the volatility of his net worth has thrown these numbers off constantly.

The world’s richest man just got richer. Elon Musk became the first person ever with a net worth exceeding $500 billion. Here’s how he built his fortune.

Source: Elon Musk’s Net Worth Just Hit A New Record—Here’s How He Made $500 Billion


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Elon Musk’s Net Worth Just Hit A New Record—Here’s How He Made $500 Billion

I'm going to cover some crazy numbers here, because Elon Musk briefly hit a new record, again. This time, he was the first to hit the 1/2 Trillion Dol ...

09/27/2025

This weeks Computer Talk Radio broadcast has been uploaded at http://computertalkradio.com/podcastCTR/?."name=ctrpodcast-2025-09-27.mp3

09/26/2025

It’s been a long time since we talked about a new record breaking car. Let’s start this off with the manufacturer name, which most people are unaware of. BYD is a Chinese multinational manufacturing conglomerate. In 2024, it actually made twice as many electric passenger vehicles as Tesla. That’s not the news, however. They’ve built a limited release hypercar that they put on a test track in Germany for a new unofficial high speed record… 308.33 miles per hour. This beats out the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ by 4 miles per hour, set in 2019. Unofficial record, however, is the sticking point… to be official, it has to do the record in both directions, and it only did it in one. Save your money, because this will be expensive, and only 30 lucky owners will get one.

There’s a new top speed record to beat and it’s from the YangWang U9 Extreme.

Source: BYD’s all-electric hypercar, the YangWang U9 Extreme, hits a record-breaking 308mph


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BYD’s all-electric hypercar, the YangWang U9 Extreme, hits a record-breaking 308mph

It's been a long time since we talked about a new record breaking car. Let's start this off with the manufacturer name, which most people are una ...

09/26/2025

Back in 2020, I covered the purchase of the Radio Shack brand name. I recall at the time, that I thought it was a foolish venture for a brand that had all but exited the minds of the public. I didn’t expect to hear much from the idea since, but it seems that the SEC did some deep dives and uncovered a $112 million ponzi scheme. Apparently two gentlemen living in Puerto Rico, were promising investors high returns, equity, and dividends, but the reality was none of the many brands involved had profits. Some of the other big names involved were Dress Barn, Franklin Mind, Pier 1 Imports, and Stein Mart. Hundreds of investors put cash into this, and it remains to be seen how this will all unfold for them. And out of this is the sad likelihood that Radio Shack will again drift into obscurity.

RadioShack deserved better.

Source: Feds Say Company That Bought RadioShack Was Running $112 Million Ponzi Scheme


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Feds Say Company That Bought RadioShack Was Running $112 Million Ponzi Scheme

Back in 2020, I covered the purchase of the Radio Shack brand name. I recall at the time, that I thought it was a foolish venture for a brand that had all ...

09/26/2025

This week, I received an email about my Disney+ account being hiked from $20 to a new $25 a month rate. This isn’t just limited to me, however, as most people are about to see a steep price jump for Disney+. This follows a Netflix bump, and we will likely see others examining their options as well. I mention this in the second segment this week, and it would pay well for everyone to listen and consider raising your concerns if this is too unworkable or unreasonable for you to take in. Actually, I suggest an annual audit of all of your subscriptions, and decide which ones return a value to you significant enough to keep, and which ones don’t. I usually scrap two items a year, and add one, and it’s up to you and your household which ones are worth the money.

Disney+ is getting another price increase, and this time popular bundles will be impacted too, including those featuring HBO Max and Hulu.

Source: Disney+ is raising prices again, including on HBO Max, Hulu bundles – 9to5Mac


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Disney+ is raising prices again, including on HBO Max, Hulu bundles – 9to5Mac

This week, I received an email about my Disney+ account being hiked from $20 to a new $25 a month rate. This isn't just limited to me, however, as most ...