Trends With Benefits

Amazon announced some major hardware upgrades, but what’s going on with underlying technology? The push toward more efficient AI and the Amazon Sidewalk network has us debating where the future is headed. Are you ready for everything under one umbrella?

With the ever changing stance on TikTok and WeChat, we’ll take a look at what has been happening, but more importantly, what it means for going forward. What will it mean for 100 million users in the US alone, if a major social media site gets banned? Should it be banned? We’ll give our analysis.

Can tech prevent Forest Fires? Wildfires are the worst they’ve ever been in the Western US. On this episode we take a look at how tech has changed the way we fight them, and how the tech on the horizon could prevent this kind of devastation in the future.

Would you still attend a regular convention? This would normally be the time for IFA which is one of the world’s largest tech conventions. But that’s not really happening and neither is anything else. Do we need conventions? How can we gather when we can’t actually gather? We’ll talk about tech that could make it happen.

Can robots save us all? Robotic development and adaptation has seen a huge increase during the pandemic, from Dr. Spot, to the companion named Pepper. We’ll take a look at whether the increase in robots in our lives can help save us all, or if this is the start of the fall….of Humanity...to the robots.

Can Fortnite force Apple to change the App Store? Epic Games laid down the gauntlet against both Apple and Google by baiting them into removing Fortnite from their respective app stores. But what now? Can Epic win? Or are the two tech giants too big to change?

Fun Times for Facebook. Despite an antitrust hearing, an advertising backlash, and concern of election meddling via it’s platform, Facebook continues to seemingly be….just fine! Should it be broken up? Could it even be broken up? We’ll discuss the pros and cons on this episode.

Should Amazon be broken up? It’s a question the antitrust hearings are trying to answer. However, with their record profits and control in so many industries, the correct question may be; Can Amazon be broken up?

Do you want to live on Mars? The Mars 2020 Perseverance launch is coming up soon, and on today's episode we'll talk about what they hope to accomplish. Will we find evidence of life on Mars? Also there is now a space race to get there. We'll discuss what this means for the future of Mars habitation.

On today's podcast we'll go in depth with how schools are utilizing technology to facilitate education, what is working, and what isn’t working. Will these be permanent changes? Can tech save education?

Should TikTok be banned? On today's Trends With Benefits podcast, we'll take a look at what is happening with TikTok. The app has 100s of millions of users, yet bans are being implemented, or discussed by governments worldwide. Are the concerns legitimate? Should you be wary of your privacy, or is it the same as every other platform? We'll attempt to answer those questions and more. Join us at 2:30 pm PT for our live round table podcast and let us know how you feel about TikTok.

Are you ordering more food online than you did before? Whether it's Uber Eats, Door Dash, Postmates, Grubhub, Instacart, or any of the others, the numbers show you probably are. Now that consolidation has started though, what will it mean for us going forward? We'll analyze where the state of the industry is now and what it will mean for food deliveries going forward.

It's hard to believe, but it's been 50 years since the first ever video phone call. As ubiquitous has it now seems to have this ability, it wasn't always the case. Today we'll take a look at where it all started, why it's so important during the time of a pandemic, and where it could all be headed.

How many Streaming Services do you subscribe to? The Streaming Wars have been ongoing for several years now and today we take a look at the state of the industry. From the 'Origin Story' to success stories, to some...less than successful stories, there is a lot to cover. Are there too many? What is HBO called again? We'll cover that ane more.

With protests and demonstrations happening worldwide, the importance of technology has never been more present. Smartphones provide communication, documentation, verification, and coordination of all of these efforts. On this episode we'll go through some suggestions on best practices to keep yourself and your technology safe.

The use of artificial intelligence, predictive policing technology, facial recognition software, targeted search engines and the like, have proven to be biased on many ocassions. On this episode we dig into the technological side of discrimination, and how these algorithms are being used in inappropriate ways. How did things get this way, why are they being used, and how can it be changed?

Twitter and Facebook have both made their stances known recently, when it comes to content posted on their site. This comes after the President threatened to remove protection for social media platforms via Article 230. But what would that really mean? Who should be regulating content, or should it be moderated in any way? We'll discuss the actual ramifications and what it could mean for the internet as a whole.

SpaceX will be launching the Demo-2 mission to the ISS on May 27th, marking the first time since the Space Shuttle launches, that human have been sent into orbit from the US. It's also the first time that a private entity has contracted with a governmental organization to send people up. We'll talk about what they are doing, and how it could change everything.

Long-distance phone calls used to charge money, but mobile phones have pretty much made that a thing of the past in domestic markets. The internet is available anywhere that lines are connecting computers, so why do we have data caps and tiers that cost more? On this episode we'll talk about the history of it and why it's time that ISP's change their ways.

When will you be ready to go to a theater again? That's one of the questions we'll be answering ourselves today. Something we do know as we come out of this pandemic, is that nothing is going to be quite the same again, for a long time. Today we'll take a look at tech's role in the post-pandemic world. How will our offices look? What about public transportation? Even our entertainment and definitely large events are going to change in some way. Maybe we'll all just carry about in Zorbs, wearing Daft Punk outfits.