Fish Eats Floppy Plane on Mac's 30th Aniversery

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Mac turns 30, XP Rebirth, Fish eats Bird, Mozilla mapping cell towers, and much more on this episode of GeekSpeak.

Our Guest Daniel Kottke talks about the Mac 30th anniversary.

Target credit card data was sent to server in Russia

In an interview with CNBC on Jan. 12, Target CEO Gregg Steinhafel confirmed that the attackers stole card data by installing malicious software on point-of-sale (POS) devices in the checkout lines at Target stores. A report published by Reuters that same day stated that the Target breach involved memory-scraping malware.

Google Buys Nest

Google Inc. announced today that it has entered into an agreement to buy Nest Labs, Inc. for $3.2 billion in cash.

Nest’s mission is to reinvent unloved but important devices in the home such as thermostats and smoke alarms. Since its launch in 2011, the Nest Learning Thermostat has been a consistent best seller—and the recently launched Protect (Smoke + CO Alarm) has had rave reviews.

US forces Silk Road to give up $28M in bitcoins

“It is the intention of the government to ultimately convert the bitcoins to U.S. currency,” said Jim Margolin, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York.

Microsoft extends updates for Windows XP security products until July 14, 2015

Microsoft today announced it will continue to provide updates to its security products (antimalware engine and signatures) for Windows XP users through July 14, 2015. Previously, the company said it would halt all updates on the same day as the end of support date for Windows XP: April 8, 2014.

Worlds ATMs till running Windows XP

Inside every ATM casing is a computer, and like all such devices, each one runs on an OS. Microsoft’s 12-year-old Windows XP dominates the ATM market, powering more than 95 percent of the world’s machines and a similar percentage in the U.S., according to Robert Johnston, a marketing director at NCR, the largest ATM supplier in the U.S.

“Actually I edit the GeekSpeak podcast on a Windows XP machine… I hate it!” – Lyle

Mozilla Is Mapping Cell Towers and WiFi Access Points

“Mozilla is building a map of publicly-observable cell tower and WiFi access points to compete with proprietary geolocation services like Google’s.”

Net Neutrality: what you need to know

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler today said the commission will take another shot at preventing abusive practices by ISPs after the commission’s Open Internet Order was vacated Tuesday by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Fish eats Bird!

“The waters of the African lake seem calm and peaceful. A few migrant swallows flit near the surface. Suddenly, leaping from the water, a fish grabs one of the famously speedy birds straight out of the air.”

Traffic Studies Use Simulation Software, Not Lane Closings

The explanation that New Jersey closed access lanes on the heavily traveled George Washington Bridge for a “traffic study” is a head scratcher for traffic engineers.

Meet COS, The Chinese Government's Contender To Battle iOS & Android

The government of China is not too fond of foreign mobile operating systems like iOS and Android, so the country cooked up its own homegrown solution: A Linux-based, open-source operating system called the COS, or China Operating System.

Intel Challenges Manufacturers To Avoid "Conflict Metals"

[Photographer Marcus Bleasdale] has spent the past decade photographing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to bring the issue to the world’s eyes: workers, including children, toiling in brutal conditions in mines overseen by militias in eastern Congo. In October National Geographic magazine published “The Price of Precious,” which featured Bleasdale’s powerful photos dramatizing the suffering of people caught in the middle of the violent, illegal grab for minerals like tin, tungsten, and gold. They’re referred to as “conflict minerals” because of the ongoing strife between army commanders and militia chiefs over control of the mines.

Americans To FCC: We Don't Want Cell Phone Calls On Planes!

“Thomas J. Burch, of Albany, New York, concluded his comment with the word “NO” followed by the letter “O” 212 times."

Our Guest Daniel Kottke

Daniel Kottke is one of the developers of a computer that changed the way we interact with technology, the Macintosh. Kottke is co-producing a celebration of the computer’s 30th anniversary next Saturday evening on the 25th at Flint Center in Cupertino, and he is with us on the line, welcome Daniel!

Hard Drive on Forklift

5 megabyte hard drive from 1956 – being loaded via forklift onto plane