SciTech Culture

In what could turn out to be one of the biggest tech acquisitions to date, Microsoft recently announced that they would be acquiring Activision Blizzard, a deal which would see a stable of high profile game franchises come to Microsoft and possibly be incorporated in to their Xbox gaming platform. Steve and Ben examine the announcement of this acquisition, and the reported coverage that this deal is just as much about gaining a foothold in the current metaverse discussion as it is about bolstering Microsoft's place in the gaming space. Steve and Ben also discuss the new Netflix film, Don't Look Up, and what it represents in terms of cinematic and box office success when it comes to films exclusively premiering to streaming platforms.

Ghostbusters Afterlife and The Matrix Resurrections both represent the fourth entries in their respective franchises and both rely on audience nostalgia for their original entries for their respective successes. With Hollywood not only exclusively green lighting endless sequels and existing intellectual property, but also re-making old content, will this endless pursuit of unoriginal content harm it long term success? Steve and Ben examine Hollywood’s current focus on exploiting audience nostalgia for profit. Steve and Ben also discuss how social media influencers are starting to take the place of celebrities within the broader culture, and how being a celebrity is not as glamorous a goal to achieve in society as it once was.

2022 has kicked off in a wave of pandemic uncertainty with the Omicron wave of outbreaks around the world accelerating at breakneck speed, and governments attempting to find ways to navigate through it now that populations have been vaccinated. Steve and Ben discuss how the Omicron wave is impacting the world and any attempt to establish post-pandemic certainty. They also discuss their impressions of the iPhone 13 mini, Netflix raising its monthly subscription fees, the January 6 capitol attack anniversary and Trump’s 2024 presidential run, and the latest from CES 2022 including the new Dell XPS 13 Plus.

It’s October again and as is custom for this time of the year, there’s plenty of tech news to cover. Facebook appears to be positioning itself for a re-branding of its core business, the Microsoft Surface Duo 2 is making the rounds to mixed reactions, Google finally released it’s new high-end Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro phones with two tone colour options and exclusive Android 12 features, and Apple announced the MacBooks that Pros all over have been waiting for, the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros that can be configured with either the new M1 Pro or M1 Max chips that promise to deliver unprecedented levels of performance. Steve and Ben discuss all of these big tech stories in this week’s episode of SciTech Culture.

Recent metrics out of the UK and US suggest that TikTok is fast encroaching on YouTube’s dominance in the video platform stakes, with its mobile-first, short-form content platform pulling in hundreds of millions of users across the globe, forcing YouTube to start offering its own short-form content option. Steve and Ben discuss the competition between TikTok and YouTube, as well as the longer term impacts on content creation. Steve and Ben also discuss YouTube’s announcement that they will be pulling all anti-vaccination misinformation videos of its platform.

Victoria experienced an extraordinary week of events. With metropolitan Melbourne still in lockdown, ongoing protests that became violent exploded on to the city streets in the past week, and to top it all off, a 5.9 magnitude earthquake was registered at the height of this activity. Steve and Ben examine Victoria’s extraordinary, anxiety-fuelled week, as well as Microsoft’s unveiling of new Surface devices, the announcement by Netflix of a Tiger King sequel, and the creation of coronavirus statistics website, CovidBaseAU, by three industrious teenagers.

Steve and Ben cover a range of topics this week, from Microsoft saying no to Windows On Arm Support on M1 Macs, Apple unveiling its latest iPhones and more at its annual September launch event, the latest Indiana Jones film production being derailed by a virus outbreak that is not COVID related, SpaceX launching a rocket capsule in to Earth Orbit with an all civilian crew, and the UN calling for an immediate halt to the use of facial recognition technology until the impacts on human rights are fully understood from its use.

Faith in the mainstream media is at an all time low, with social media and other alternative platforms providing voices with different narratives on the truth. Steve and Ben examine the impacts of how the centralised mainstream media model is crumbling under the weight of decentralised platforms online, while also discussing the impacts of blockchain technologies as a new system to provide accountability and regulation in a decentralised world, that current centralised institutions set up last century are having trouble managing. Steve and Ben also provide an update on Windows 11 compatibility issues they covered last week with M1 Macs, as well as their reflections on the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

Arguably the biggest podcaster in the world, Joe Rogan, recently announced that he had contracted the coronavirus. Media outlets carrying the story called attention to some of his controversial COVID comments on his podcast, and to his diagnosis and treatment, given the potential impact on his millions of listeners who follow his podcast. Steve and Ben discuss Rogan’s announcement in light of online commentary around COVID. They also discuss ABBA’s virtual reunion concert, Microsoft’s announcement of Windows 11 availability on October 5 and issues with incompatible PCs and virtual machines, as well as the alluring mysteries of black holes, and the amazing work that physicists have done over time to try and understand these mysterious objects in our universe at a deeper level.

Exploding from nowhere as a short term social media phenomenon is the milk crate challenge, where people attempt to walk over scaled milk crates, mostly with mixed success and causing injury. Where and why did this online activity come from and start? Steve and Ben examine the milk crate challenge and attempts by people to up their online view counts. Steve and Ben also discuss the case of the exploding phone battery of a Samsung Galaxy A21 on an Alaska Airlines flight, and they also discuss the increased focus on children being affected in the coronavirus pandemic thanks to the rapid advance of the Delta Variant, which is infecting a lot more children compared to the initial waves of spread of the coronavirus.

Boston Dynamics recently demonstrated its Atlas Robots successfully navigating a parkour obstacle course with remarkable dexterity and fluidity after much trial and effort from its engineers and development team. Is this the beginning of true, fully functional robots that can interact with us just as we do with each other? Steve and Ben examine this remarkable development, as well as Google’s announcement of the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro adopting a high-end smartphone design, and modelling in Australia that is being relied on to open up the country once COVID vaccination rates reach levels as outlined by the Doherty Institute.

The long term effects of having COVID-19 are being studied as more people who have been infected have reported that they are still dealing with symptoms and lingering effects after having had the disease. Studies have focused on the long-term effects on the brain, and while it appears the virus itself does not infect brain cells, the associated inflammatory response does cause longer term problems. Steve and Ben re-examine long COVID, as well as the recent announcement of Canberra and the ACT going in to a seven day lockdown, New Zealand’s recently announced strategy on vaccination and strategy for opening their borders to international travellers, and Samsung’s latest foldable phones, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3.

The Delta Variant is continuing to cause problems in Australia across its three largest states, leading to newly announced national vaccination targets, and a rolling lockdown policy, becoming the established approach to fighting the coronavirus. This has led to new waves of anti-lockdown protests, which have surprising similarities to behaviours that occurred during the Spanish Flu pandemic a century earlier. Steve and Ben examine these similarities and the recently announced vaccination targets. They also cover a letter Ben received in the mail which leverages the anxiety produced by the pandemic as an attempt to convert any receiver of this type of letter to the sender’s ideology.

The Tokyo Olympics have finally commenced after a controversial lead up with most of the Japanese public sharing their angst and protest against running the games in the middle of a global pandemic and rising case numbers in Tokyo. Steve and Ben discuss the Tokyo Olympics, as well as their current experiences in lockdown in both Melbourne and Adelaide. They also discuss the achievement of Wally Funk finally achieving her dream of space travel through Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space trip, as well as a fun story about how clever cockatoos have been observed teaching each other tips and tricks such as opening rubbish bin lids to forage for food.

Australia is once again facing lockdowns to prevent the spread of the delta strain of the coronavirus, with Melbourne entering a snap lockdown to contain an outbreak that spread from Sydney, a city which itself is in a protracted lockdown to prevent its own outbreak. Steve and Ben discuss the recent outbreaks and its impact on almost half the population of Australia, the importance of vaccinations, and the recent chatter about what constitutes herd immunity. Steve and Ben also discuss Richard Branson's trip to space and the seemingly controversial story of his bike ride to the launchpad being faked, as well as a continuing discussion on Microsoft Windows with the tech giant announcing Windows 365 and a new update for Windows 10 in Version 21H2.

The Delta strain of the coronavirus has gained a foothold in New South Wales, particularly in metropolitan areas with numbers continuing to increase despite rapidly increasing lockdown restrictions imposed by the state government. The outbreak, and recent smaller outbreaks in other states in Australia, has reignited issues around complacency, with escalating calls for vaccination rates to be dramatically increased. Steve and Ben examine the fallout of the Delta outbreak in New South Wales, have a discussion around side effects of vaccines and their own experiences, as well as a discussion on how powerful and fast do you really need your computer to be.

Windows 11 is now official, having been announced at Microsoft’s recently streamed even on the future of Windows. Sporting a new look and promising to be the platform for those that want choice and openness, Windows 11 appears to be an attempt to re-focus Microsoft’s perennial operating system for the 2020s. Steve and Ben discuss the interesting new focus for Windows with this latest release. Steve and Ben also discuss the advent of space balloons for space tourism, and Friendlyjordies, a YouTube channel focusing on political content, that recently made headlines when one of its creators was arrested for stalking the Deputy Premier of New South Wales.

Whether intentionally or not, Microsoft’s upcoming late June event that was due to cover the future of its perennial operating system, Windows, was spoiled by a leaked build of what is purported to be Windows 11, featuring a centred icon taskbar and an overhauled visual look. As usual, the internet exploded with conversation about the leak, with many users installing the build and trying it out. Steve and Ben discuss the Windows 11 leaked build, and if a true build, its implications for the future of Windows. Steve and Ben also discuss the appeal of misinformation and fake news, and discuss HBO’s documentary series, Q In To The Storm.

Smartphones, tablets, laptops, and mobile devices in general, have become a ubiquitous part of our lives with many having multiple devices in their tech setups. Having so many mobile devices has necessitated consideration of how to charge them, not only in keeping them charged up to ensure they are functional for daily use, but also to ensure the batteries that power these devices last for as long as possible, both in the daily cycle, and across the lifespan of those batteries. Steve and Ben discuss the best ways to charge your devices and to ensure longevity of the batteries that power them. Steve and Ben also discuss the pervasiveness of sensational content on the internet, and how content creators are incentivised to be more and more sensational, as this is a guaranteed route to attract more eyeballs and the flow on revenue that comes from those viewers.

The state of Victoria in Australia has once again entered lockdown with a new cluster of coronavirus cases spreading through the community following a breach in hotel quarantine. Authorities are concerned as the outbreak involves one of the Indian variants of the virus which is more transmissible. With the state now entering its fourth lockdown in a year, the shift has focused to vaccination strategies and getting shots in to people’s arms as quickly as possible to avoid future possible lockdowns. Steve and Ben discuss the latest coronavirus outbreak in Victoria, as well as the arrival of Apple’s new re-designed, 24-inch iMac, and the impressive performance results it is producing when compared to much more expensive machines.