Computer Talk Radio

12/06/2025

This weeks Computer Talk Radio broadcast has been uploaded at http://computertalkradio.com/podcastCTR/?."name=ctrpodcast-2025-12-06.mp3

12/04/2025

Even as people are touting Artificial Intelligence as the best thing since the printed word, there are continuing signs that excitement is slowing. Even at a division at Microsoft, that was pushing hard for sales, has noted they’ve had to dial back quotas. Don’t take that headline wrong… they were probably optimistic with a 50% growth in a year, but dropping quotas back to 25% shows that item that optimism couldn’t show. It also shows that there are promises and ideas about AI that aren’t being met, and people aren’t getting returns on investments that they thought they would. I’m loath to call it a bubble, but I’m more willing to state that this innovation has some realistic issues that are going to hamper things and slow growth even in places other than Microsoft.



Report: Microsoft declared “the era of AI agents” in May, but enterprise customers aren’t buying.

Source: Microsoft drops AI sales targets in half after salespeople miss their quotas


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Microsoft drops AI sales targets in half after salespeople miss their quotas

Even as people are touting Artificial Intelligence as the best thing since the printed word, there are continuing signs that excitement is slowing. Even at ...

12/04/2025

The idea of AI powered anything is alluring. As people are heading to the stores during this holiday season, multiple groups are pointing out that AI toys are not safe for youth. To me, this seems obvious, as any AI out there is a potential for tracking, but also as AI is not known for keeping good boundaries. One AI powered teddy bear was found to give details on how to find and light matches. Others do facial and voice recognition, which seems harmless at first, but then one has to wonder what more lies beneath, as parents and kids are encouraged to start to share more information. One of the AI robot toys is marketed as being “built to be your new best friend”. If that doesn’t concern you or creep you out, I’m not sure what will. Building an artificial relationship, as I’ve said before, is never going to go well.



The child advocacy nonprofit Fairplay issued an advisory warning people against buying AI toys this holiday season. It’s not the only group.

Source: AI toys are not safe, say consumer and child advocacy reports : NPR


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AI toys are not safe, say consumer and child advocacy reports : NPR

The idea of AI powered anything is alluring. As people are heading to the stores during this holiday season, multiple groups are pointing out that AI toys ...

12/04/2025

One of the oddest bits of news came this week, when Micron, the owners of Crucial memory, drives, etc… announced they were shutting down the Crucial brand. I’ve long been a fan of Crucial, and have probably referenced them at least one a year for the almost 18 years that we’ve been broadcasting. The decision was attributed to something I’ve been less fond of, the demand and draw of AI companies for more resources. The announcement was that Crucial will continue shipping products until the end of February, and provide continued warranty and support, but I’m not sure how a lifetime warranty works for a brand that no longer exists. Just another indication that our world is changing in ways that we don’t like or want.

Another blow to PC gaming.

Source: Crucial is shutting down — because Micron wants to sell its RAM and SSDs to AI companies instead


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Crucial is shutting down — because Micron wants to sell its RAM and SSDs to AI companies instead

One of the oddest bits of news came this week, when Micron, the owners of Crucial memory, drives, etc... announced they were shutting down the Crucial bran ...

12/02/2025

The state of New York has launched new disclosure requirements for businesses that use your personal data and history to charge you more. I applaud this start. The idea of charging any class of people more because they can afford it, or more because they need essentials, or less in either case, is unconscionable. I’ve talked about personalized pricing in the past, and it’s becoming more clear that it is predatory pricing, choosing who gets a price cut, or boost, for no other reason than who they are, or where they live, or how much they make. This practice is showing up everywhere and it’s rude. Where I am saddened, is that more agencies and states aren’t showing up and enforcing pricing standards and laws across the board. New York only requires that you see a little note that says (in my own translation)… “you may pay more because you can’t afford to shop elsewhere” or “you may pay more because you live in a mansion”.



Businesses that use personalized pricing are now required to tell customers, “This price was set by an algorithm using your personal data.”

Source: New York state law takes aim at personalized pricing | TechCrunch


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New York state law takes aim at personalized pricing | TechCrunch

The state of New York has launched new disclosure requirements for businesses that use your personal data and history to charge you more. I applaud this st ...

12/02/2025

Tech doesn’t always allow us to keep the things that we find useful and beneficial. For some, what follows may be nothing, or a minor annoyance, but for those who travel with smartphones and want to watch TV with Netflix, it could be bigger. We used to have the ability to use our Netflix in hotels and elsewhere, streaming on the smartphone, to a TV without giving the smart TV our information, or hooking up strange cables. I’ve used this option in the past, and it was surprisingly easy and felt secure. Netflix has now quietly killed this option, and the “cast” option has been disappearing from the apps, and now we are stuck. I lament that without any given reason, or notice, it’s gone, like many great features we’ve had in the past. Netflix is big enough, and this feature is small enough, that the negative impact on them will be negligible… so it just remains a small sad loss to us, the users.

Netflix has quietly removed the ability to cast content from its mobile apps to most modern TVs and streaming devices, including newer Chromecast models and the Google TV Streamer.

Source: Netflix Kills Casting From Its Mobile App to Most Modern TVs


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Netflix Kills Casting From Its Mobile App to Most Modern TVs

Tech doesn't always allow us to keep the things that we find useful and beneficial. For some, what follows may be nothing, or a minor annoyance, but f ...

12/01/2025

Russia already has the idea of mandatory apps on their smartphones, and now India is giving all smartphone companies 90 days to install a government mandated cyber security app that can’t be deleted. The requirements are allegedly meant to provide security for the users, preventing cyber-crime and fraud, and inform about government initiatives. It does also require tracking functionality, and likely a host of other things they aren’t talking about. Imagine having to install an app on your phone that gives access to your every location and more. Don’t think that will never happen here, and as you might think, it’ll be all about helping you. I’m reminded of the famous line from many years ago… “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.'”.

India is requiring smartphone makers like Apple and Samsung to preload devices sold in the country with a state-owned cyber security app that can’t be deleted, reports Reuters. The Department of Communications in India is giving smartphone companies 90 days to begin preinstalling the Sanchar Saathi government app on all new devices that are sold.

Source: India Orders Apple to Preinstall Government Security App on All iPhones


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India Orders Apple to Preinstall Government Security App on All iPhones

Russia already has the idea of mandatory apps on their smartphones, and now India is giving all smartphone companies 90 days to install a government mandate ...

11/29/2025

This weeks Computer Talk Radio broadcast has been uploaded at http://computertalkradio.com/podcastCTR/?."name=ctrpodcast-2025-11-29.mp3

11/22/2025

This weeks Computer Talk Radio broadcast has been uploaded at http://computertalkradio.com/podcastCTR/?."name=ctrpodcast-2025-11-22.mp3

11/21/2025

For a number of years, I provided a buying guide for PCs and Laptops each year around this time. I evolved from specific machines, to basic guidelines, to just saying buy within your budget, sticking with brand names. It’s been a couple of years, but this year, I do bring one bit of buying advice that tracks with the news of component pricing in the past 6 months. The price of RAM is climbing seriously fast, with SSDs showing a similar potential increase. Combined with Intel’s stated intent of backing off cheaper CPUs, this is something to heed. If you are looking for replacing an aging computer, or simply upgrade, this may be the best time to be purchasing. Quick tip: Buy now (within your budget), and start increasing your savings for your next purchase to be a higher price point than it’s been in years.

Here are the Black Friday deals you can expect (or not) in CPUs, DRAM, SSDs, and graphics cards. Bottom line? You’d better buy now than later.

Source: ‘I don’t see any relief in sight’: Black Friday may be your last chance for PC deals, experts warn


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‘I don’t see any relief in sight’: Black Friday may be your last chance for PC deals, experts warn

For a number of years, I provided a buying guide for PCs and Laptops each year around this time. I evolved from specific machines, to basic guidelines, to ...

11/21/2025

As we rely on the Internet more and more, the big outages are hurting us each time we turn around. In the last month, we saw outages to Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and now Cloudflare. Each of these outages had an impact that was significant to businesses, users, and daily life. Each of these was widespread due to the level of reliance that we have on each of these. This Cloudflare issue was attributed to a configuration file that grew too large, crashing their system. The previous ones were rumored to be as a result of a change for one, and a system code bug in the other. No matter the cause, it’s important to know that these things do happen, and will continue to happen. Always have a contingency plan for your internet based needs, whatever they are, from business to personal.



CTO blames bot mitigation bug triggered by routine config change.

Source: Cloudflare’s CTO apologizes after error takes huge chunk of the internet offline — ‘we failed our customers and the broader internet’


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Cloudflare’s CTO apologizes after error takes huge chunk of the internet offline — ‘we failed our customers and the broader internet’

As we rely on the Internet more and more, the big outages are hurting us each time we turn around. In the last month, we saw outages to Amazon Web Services ...

11/21/2025

“Don’t blindly trust what AI tells you”. Strong words coming from anyone. It’s something that I’ve said for a while, and extends to everything on the internet. This quote, however, was dropped by Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of Alphabet, aka Google. It bears even more weight when you consider how much that Google has invested on the Artificial Intelligence front. Even moreso when you consider how much flack they’ve received for bad information in their products. This also comes the week that Gemini 3.0 was unveiled, a new release to one of the biggest AI platforms out there. I will admit that I use AI, but only to speed things in my life, and I proofread and crosscheck all that I can, because it may be good, but it’s still artificial and hardly intelligent.



Sundar Pichai candidly acknowledged concerns about inaccurate answers generated by Google’s models.

Source: Don’t blindly trust what AI tells you, Google boss tells BBC


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Don’t blindly trust what AI tells you, Google boss tells BBC

"Don't blindly trust what AI tells you". Strong words coming from anyone. It's something that I've said for a while, and extends ...