WEBVTT - The Top Tech News Stories of 2012: Part 2 0:00:02.440 --> 0:00:05.800 Get in touch with technology with tech Stuff from how Stuff, 0:00:05.840 --> 0:00:14.480 What'stop Coming? Hello again everyone, and welcome to tech Stuff. 0:00:14.480 --> 0:00:16.439 My name is Chris Polette and I am an editor 0:00:16.480 --> 0:00:18.919 of how Stuff works dot Com. Sitting across from me 0:00:19.000 --> 0:00:22.720 as usual because we're actually splitting this episode into two parts, 0:00:22.960 --> 0:00:26.440 is senior writer Jonathan Strickland. Didn't we do this already? Yes, 0:00:26.520 --> 0:00:28.640 we did, but it turned out to be longer than 0:00:28.680 --> 0:00:32.400 we thought. Yeah, the episode about the Year in Tech 0:00:32.520 --> 0:00:34.760 for two thousand and twelve ended up Chris and I 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:39.800 ended up being chatty Cathy's and uh, I think according 0:00:39.840 --> 0:00:42.680 to Tyler, the full length episode was about an hour 0:00:42.840 --> 0:00:46.920 and seventeen or eighteen minutes long, which we thought was excessive, 0:00:47.520 --> 0:00:49.760 so we decided to split that into two. So now, 0:00:49.880 --> 0:00:52.519 without further ado, we bring you part two of the 0:00:52.640 --> 0:00:55.560 year that was the Tech of two thousand and twelve. 0:00:55.680 --> 0:00:59.600 What happened other executive shakeups? We just did a recent 0:00:59.640 --> 0:01:04.960 episode about two big names leaving big companies. Uh, we 0:01:05.000 --> 0:01:09.840 had four Stall leaving Apple. He was the fellow who 0:01:09.920 --> 0:01:13.440 was Scott four Stall, who was kind of in charge 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:17.679 of iOS and and there were several things that kind 0:01:17.680 --> 0:01:21.920 of led up to his Uh, departure from Apple, he 0:01:22.000 --> 0:01:26.200 went into an advisory position, but then would eventually leave 0:01:26.240 --> 0:01:29.440 the company. I don't think he's actually left yet, still 0:01:29.480 --> 0:01:33.440 in an advisory capacity, but UM. One of the many 0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:39.839 problems with his tenure was the Maps app for iOS. 0:01:40.520 --> 0:01:43.039 When I the iPhone five was announced in Io S 0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:48.520 six was coming out, the Maps feature was heavily promoted 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:51.680 in those releases because it was something that was It 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:56.920 was the native turn by turn map application for the iPhone, 0:01:57.480 --> 0:02:02.800 and it replaced other apps that had been supported on 0:02:02.840 --> 0:02:07.920 the iPhone previously and now we're no longer supported. Unfortunately, 0:02:07.960 --> 0:02:11.639 there was a problem. It was not always accurate. UM. 0:02:11.680 --> 0:02:14.760 Some people had real problems with the Maps app. I 0:02:14.760 --> 0:02:17.240 I only used it a couple of times. My wife 0:02:17.240 --> 0:02:19.320 has an iPhone and so we used it on her 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:21.480 device and I used at the same time, I had 0:02:22.000 --> 0:02:25.359 Google Maps running on my Android phone, and while it 0:02:25.440 --> 0:02:28.320 gave us different routes to get to the same destination, 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:32.760 in both cases the the route would have gotten us there, 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:35.280 so there wasn't any problem along those lines. We weren't 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:38.360 put on any phantom roads or sent in wild googe 0:02:38.440 --> 0:02:41.280 ghost chases or anything, but there were other reports of 0:02:42.400 --> 0:02:46.680 some pretty notable problems with the maps app, like finding 0:02:46.680 --> 0:02:49.400 out that the bridge that you need to cross is 0:02:49.440 --> 0:02:52.400 actually four miles further up the street than where you 0:02:52.480 --> 0:02:56.240 were told to turn, which could and in disaster for 0:02:56.280 --> 0:02:59.160 someone who is slavishly devoted to following the directions that 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:03.880 their phone is giving. UM. I'm not saying that they're 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:06.360 out there. I'm just saying that if they are out there, 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:10.480 they're probably buying a new car now because their old 0:03:10.520 --> 0:03:13.760 one has been washed out the sea. Yeah. The other 0:03:13.960 --> 0:03:17.560 the other guy who who made big headlines in leaving 0:03:18.360 --> 0:03:22.359 UM apparently at some kind of a mutual agreement that 0:03:22.400 --> 0:03:24.800 he was going to be leaving, at least according to 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:28.079 to the sources within the company and to him that 0:03:28.080 --> 0:03:32.000 that would be Steve Sinowski, who was instrumental at Microsoft 0:03:32.040 --> 0:03:35.160 and getting the brand new release out the door, Windows 0:03:35.160 --> 0:03:41.040 eight UM. He uh was took the stage and introduced 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:45.160 the Microsoft Surface tablet as well as Windows eight UH 0:03:45.200 --> 0:03:51.400 two to you know, decent response, UM and then UH. 0:03:51.640 --> 0:03:54.760 Within a couple of months there was the news report 0:03:54.800 --> 0:03:59.960 that he was leaving Microsoft effective immediately, which the effect 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:04.840 to immediately part suggested that perhaps it was a corporate 0:04:04.880 --> 0:04:10.320 decision to replace him, but The official word seems to 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:15.760 be that it was a decision reached by both parties. Sonovski, 0:04:15.880 --> 0:04:18.960 for his part, says that whenever you finish a project, 0:04:19.000 --> 0:04:21.680 it's natural to go ahead and think about what else 0:04:21.720 --> 0:04:25.520 would you like to do? Um, I don't know, I 0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:30.160 don't know, I don't know. The departure to me seems 0:04:30.279 --> 0:04:34.080 pretty sudden for it to be mutual. If it were mutual, 0:04:34.120 --> 0:04:36.680 I would imagine there would have been more of a 0:04:36.760 --> 0:04:42.560 gradual transition plan, something that wasn't so sudden, because when 0:04:42.560 --> 0:04:49.200 it's that fast, it sends a very sharp message to shareholders. Now, 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:51.640 if you have a transition plan and you say, all right, 0:04:51.680 --> 0:04:54.400 now that we've got Windows eight out, Sinofsky's decided he 0:04:54.440 --> 0:04:57.279 wants to pursue something else. Now we've got this transition 0:04:57.279 --> 0:05:00.599 plan in place, then you could ease sharehold is into 0:05:00.640 --> 0:05:02.800 that and it won't be quite as big as shock. 0:05:03.000 --> 0:05:07.440 That's see to me, that's the real giveaway to me. Now, 0:05:07.839 --> 0:05:11.800 I could be completely misinterpreting that, but that's how my 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:17.159 brain works, y'all. Well, another big Microsoft news they released 0:05:17.240 --> 0:05:21.400 a tablet, the Surface Tablet. Yes now now Windows eight 0:05:22.000 --> 0:05:24.960 UM runs on tablets and computers and it's got a 0:05:24.960 --> 0:05:28.159 couple of different interfaces, one of which is designed to 0:05:28.240 --> 0:05:31.960 look very much like UM its Windows Foam software. UM 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:35.080 the Surface uses a variant on this, the Windows RT, 0:05:36.120 --> 0:05:40.080 and it looks very very similar to that UM surface. 0:05:40.680 --> 0:05:42.800 UH makes news for a couple of reasons. Not only 0:05:42.839 --> 0:05:45.720 is it a brand new tablet from Windows UH for 0:05:45.839 --> 0:05:49.160 Microsoft and uses this new version of Windows, but it's 0:05:49.279 --> 0:05:55.360 it's Microsoft taking UH its hand at manufacturing hardware as 0:05:55.360 --> 0:05:59.400 well as software, not just for the Xbox gaming system, 0:05:59.480 --> 0:06:03.000 but for a tablet computer too, right, which which caused 0:06:03.000 --> 0:06:06.360 a lot of of of kerfuffle. I mean, you had 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:10.200 people asking does this mean that Microsoft is going into 0:06:10.240 --> 0:06:14.279 direct competition with its partners? Because Microsoft is really known 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:17.480 for providing the operating system and then other companies provide 0:06:17.520 --> 0:06:21.279 the hardware. And that's that's traditionally how they've done their 0:06:21.320 --> 0:06:24.360 work with computer systems. That you know, they they provide 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:27.039 the operating system, but you buy your computer from some 0:06:27.160 --> 0:06:31.080 other company. For Microsoft to get into the hardware business 0:06:31.080 --> 0:06:34.680 with tablets, that sends the message of well, now they're 0:06:34.720 --> 0:06:38.000 in the business of actually making the devices as well 0:06:38.040 --> 0:06:41.120 as the operating systems, which puts them more in a 0:06:41.240 --> 0:06:46.000 camp similar to Apples, although Microsoft still license its operating 0:06:46.000 --> 0:06:50.080 system out to everyone else, so that's different from Apple. Obviously, 0:06:50.080 --> 0:06:53.880 Apple is very much a closed system. Uh, and Microsoft 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:56.760 kind of straddling the line here. Microsoft or its part 0:06:56.839 --> 0:07:01.080 was essentially saying that the tablet was more to you know, 0:07:01.320 --> 0:07:03.200 it is a consumer device and they do plan on 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:05.920 selling it to consumers, but that it was also more 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:09.880 to show the capabilities of Windows eight so so as 0:07:09.920 --> 0:07:14.640 to get more hardware developers interested in creating devices specifically 0:07:14.640 --> 0:07:17.720 with the Windows eight operates system in mind. UM. It 0:07:17.720 --> 0:07:19.520 will be interesting to see how this plays out. I 0:07:19.560 --> 0:07:23.520 know that I was reading articles that suggests that surface 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:28.400 sales have not lived up to expectations, but without having 0:07:28.480 --> 0:07:31.960 gone into further detail, I honestly can't speak more to that. 0:07:32.040 --> 0:07:34.840 It could very well be that it was a misleading headline. 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:37.760 Often when you read these headlines, they say one thing, 0:07:37.800 --> 0:07:39.960 and then when you dive into the data, you realize 0:07:40.000 --> 0:07:46.240 that this might not be uh accurate, accurate, an accurate 0:07:46.280 --> 0:07:49.800 description of what's actually going on. I have seen similar 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:53.920 reports for both Windows eight and for the surface UM. 0:07:54.480 --> 0:07:58.480 And it may be too that what is success for 0:07:58.520 --> 0:08:02.400 a smaller company isn't success for company to size. Uh 0:08:02.400 --> 0:08:05.840 and with the clout of a Microsoft so and plus 0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:08.600 I point, um, I think part of the Windows eight 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:15.240 thing is original equipment manufacturers. Um haven't the computer sales 0:08:15.440 --> 0:08:18.160 of sales and computers have been off a little bit 0:08:18.240 --> 0:08:21.160 anyway this year, um, so I think that may have 0:08:22.160 --> 0:08:23.800 a part to play in. A Plus, we have the 0:08:23.840 --> 0:08:27.760 holiday season uh rapidly approaching as we are, we're sort 0:08:27.760 --> 0:08:29.160 of in the middle of it, but we're coming to 0:08:29.200 --> 0:08:31.280 the time when people are buying new stuff for a 0:08:31.280 --> 0:08:33.520 lot of people. And then by the time the airs 0:08:33.559 --> 0:08:37.880 will be over exactly so um, there will probably be 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:41.120 new headlines generated after that. And also keeping we have 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:43.160 to keep in mind Windows eight is such a dramatic 0:08:43.200 --> 0:08:46.400 departure from the previous versions of Windows that it could 0:08:46.400 --> 0:08:51.000 be causing some people to hesitate because it is. I mean, 0:08:51.000 --> 0:08:54.160 when you look at it looks so different from the 0:08:54.160 --> 0:08:57.199 previous versions of Windows that it can it can intimidate 0:08:57.240 --> 0:09:00.400 some people, you know. There there is a learning curve 0:09:00.480 --> 0:09:03.920 to picking up an operating system, particularly one that, at 0:09:03.960 --> 0:09:07.320 least upon first glance, is so dramatically different from the 0:09:07.320 --> 0:09:10.160 ones that you're used to. So I'm sure that's playing 0:09:10.160 --> 0:09:13.880 a role as well. Uh, if people are in general 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:17.160 having positive experiences with Windows eight, I would imagine that 0:09:17.160 --> 0:09:21.280 that would that would even out pretty quickly. Well, Plus 0:09:21.320 --> 0:09:25.960 the the the recession is still fading and it's not 0:09:26.040 --> 0:09:29.160 moving as rapidly as as a lot of people would like. 0:09:29.280 --> 0:09:33.400 And so people who are happy with their Windows XP, 0:09:33.640 --> 0:09:37.880 Windows Vista, and Windows seven computers are probably not upgrading 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:41.480 um just because they want to as quickly as they 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:44.800 might have otherwise. Now, of course, Microsoft was not the 0:09:44.800 --> 0:09:47.480 only company to release a tablet this year. The iPad 0:09:47.520 --> 0:09:53.600 many came out from from Apple. Um still confuses me, Chris, seriously, 0:09:54.640 --> 0:10:00.240 answer me. Why would Apple release a smaller verse another 0:10:00.400 --> 0:10:03.520 iPad that's priced in such a way that it ends 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:06.720 up competing with the iPod Touch, which in my mind 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:11.160 really already is a smaller version of the iPad. Well, 0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:14.560 it's gotten very confusing this year as Samsung has come 0:10:14.559 --> 0:10:19.240 out with the second version of its Note and Chris, 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:21.680 can you answer me a question, why would you create 0:10:21.760 --> 0:10:24.600 on a phone the size of a small tablet and 0:10:24.600 --> 0:10:27.760 then call it a fablet because that's just wrong? And 0:10:27.800 --> 0:10:31.600 then Google came out with the Nexus ten, which is 0:10:31.640 --> 0:10:37.079 now competing with a segment of the tablet market. Um, 0:10:37.480 --> 0:10:40.520 it was avoiding by creating the next to seven. Okay, 0:10:40.559 --> 0:10:43.959 I own a next to seven, um, which, by the way, 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:46.280 I like. I got the Next to seven early. I 0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:49.240 ordered it as soon as it became available, and I 0:10:49.280 --> 0:10:52.360 got it within a week, And um, it's nice tablet. 0:10:52.440 --> 0:10:54.720 I like it, and I don't use it as frequently 0:10:54.840 --> 0:10:57.920 as I'm sure some people use their tablets, which I 0:10:57.960 --> 0:11:03.640 think proves my my the suspicion I had, which is 0:11:03.679 --> 0:11:06.680 that tablet is just a form factor that's not really 0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:10.080 for me, because even though I love the operating system 0:11:10.080 --> 0:11:12.160 and I do enjoy using the tablet, I just don't 0:11:12.200 --> 0:11:15.560 pick it up that frequently. Um. But yeah, the NEXTUS 0:11:15.600 --> 0:11:19.120 ten is now. Well, it is interesting because now Google's 0:11:19.120 --> 0:11:22.680 competing against the iPad space and apples competing against the 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:25.720 seven inch tablet space, which is something that Steve Jobs 0:11:25.720 --> 0:11:28.560 had said he wasn't interested in doing ever that he 0:11:28.720 --> 0:11:31.839 you know, uh, he was focused mainly on iPad and 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:35.559 iPod Touch was kind of like that that was viewed 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:39.360 more as an iPhone without the phone, and the iPad 0:11:39.520 --> 0:11:42.040 was a tablet, and that there wasn't any interest to 0:11:42.040 --> 0:11:46.880 get into that seven inch tablet market. Um, obviously things change, 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:50.800 and you know, sometimes things change. Steve Jobs may very 0:11:50.800 --> 0:11:53.559 well have been fully behind the iPad many before is 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:57.720 passing because usually these these products have been in development 0:11:57.800 --> 0:12:00.680 for a couple of years before they hit the market, 0:12:01.000 --> 0:12:03.400 And it may very well be that he had changed 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:06.840 his mind but then didn't want to tip the cards 0:12:07.600 --> 0:12:09.480 when he said like, no, we're not interested in that 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:15.439 market and cannibalized sales of existing iPads. It's still confuses me. 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:18.760 It's the pricing that confuses me. It's because, I mean, 0:12:18.760 --> 0:12:21.560 the iPod Touch goes up higher than the lowest end 0:12:21.600 --> 0:12:26.760 of the iPad many, So why would you buy a 0:12:26.960 --> 0:12:30.000 high end iPod Touch when you could get a low 0:12:30.160 --> 0:12:33.160 end iPad Man, I just don't get it. And then 0:12:33.200 --> 0:12:35.920 there was the iPhone five. I mean, if only someone 0:12:35.960 --> 0:12:39.200 could explain it to me, I know, I'm not a 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:42.320 finance guy, and a new version of the iPod tuch, 0:12:42.360 --> 0:12:46.200 because I mean, who would Okay, I'm done. Um. Yeah. 0:12:46.240 --> 0:12:49.439 There were quite a few new products from from Apple, 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:51.520 many of which were in the iPad line. They had 0:12:51.520 --> 0:12:53.880 a new MacBook design that really blew a lot of 0:12:53.920 --> 0:12:57.960 people away. I read one report that essentially said they 0:12:58.320 --> 0:13:01.880 considered the MacBook, the new redesigned MacBook to be the 0:13:01.920 --> 0:13:06.480 best laptop computer on the market today, just all around 0:13:06.480 --> 0:13:10.280 the best laptop. That's that's not those aren't my words. UM, 0:13:10.320 --> 0:13:12.880 I don't own a MacBook I. The only Mac I 0:13:12.920 --> 0:13:15.840 have as an iMac. So they released a new iMac 0:13:15.920 --> 0:13:18.800 this year that's very very thin. But um in in 0:13:19.000 --> 0:13:23.920 tacking off the Mac and Apple faithful news. Um, they 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:26.880 came out with the I've had three and then only 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:29.480 a few months later it came out with the actually 0:13:29.520 --> 0:13:34.920 that was the new iPad. The new new iPad came 0:13:34.960 --> 0:13:40.360 out only months later with a completely redesigned connector, forcing 0:13:40.360 --> 0:13:44.240 people to with with equipment that used the old style 0:13:44.280 --> 0:13:47.720 connector and wanted one of these new devices. And this 0:13:47.960 --> 0:13:52.959 includes the iPhone five and the newest um iPod devices 0:13:53.440 --> 0:13:55.600 that use the new lightning connector, which is a smaller 0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:59.560 connector than the old devices used to buy adapters or 0:13:59.679 --> 0:14:01.760 that would make them work with their old equipment. We're 0:14:01.760 --> 0:14:07.400 talking alarm clocks, speaker system and some of those docking stations. 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:10.120 You can't really use an adapter on anyway. You you're 0:14:10.200 --> 0:14:14.440 essentially saying, well, unless I just use older equipment like 0:14:14.800 --> 0:14:16.840 in other words, I don't trade in my old iPod, 0:14:16.960 --> 0:14:19.600 I just keep it and just it will permanently be 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:22.520 attached to this dock from here on out. Uh, that's 0:14:22.560 --> 0:14:24.800 pretty much what you would be stuck with. But on 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:26.520 the on the flip side, the nice thing about the 0:14:26.560 --> 0:14:29.560 lightning connector was that you can plug it in either way. Like, 0:14:29.640 --> 0:14:32.120 you know, there's no wrong way to plug it in 0:14:32.120 --> 0:14:34.760 to the dock, so you don't have to worry about, oh, 0:14:34.880 --> 0:14:37.560 is this face up? Is it face down? Am I 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:39.760 gonna be am? I gonna break this by trying to 0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:41.720 plug it in this way? You don't have to worry 0:14:41.720 --> 0:14:44.720 about that anymore, which is kind of nice. But yeah, um, 0:14:44.760 --> 0:14:47.880 it was kind of a shock to iPad owners who 0:14:47.920 --> 0:14:50.280 had bought the new iPod pad when it came out 0:14:50.280 --> 0:14:52.520 in the early part of two thousand twelve, with just 0:14:53.160 --> 0:14:55.720 you know, like six or seven months later, a new 0:14:55.840 --> 0:14:59.360 new ip iPad came out and that was I heard 0:14:59.480 --> 0:15:02.280 more than a a little grumbling about that. Not But 0:15:02.360 --> 0:15:04.480 first of all, come on, you're not forced to buy 0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:08.880 these things. That's true. I can I can understand if 0:15:08.880 --> 0:15:12.200 you were, you know, if somehow you had this compulsion 0:15:12.200 --> 0:15:14.880 where you had to buy every single Apple product as 0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:18.280 soon as it came out. But really, get some therapy. 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:21.560 I mean, you know, no one is making you buy 0:15:21.600 --> 0:15:25.640 these things, so I don't know they're all I go 0:15:25.720 --> 0:15:28.200 back and forth on this one. There were also a 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:31.200 lot of people angry at Apple this year because because 0:15:31.240 --> 0:15:35.840 they were found um um for in the legal system 0:15:35.880 --> 0:15:40.280 against Samsung depending on where you are exactly, because because 0:15:40.280 --> 0:15:43.960 in other countries they found for Samsung, um yes, and 0:15:44.080 --> 0:15:47.840 this these were were patent lawsuits. Many people were angry 0:15:47.960 --> 0:15:52.760 at well actually either or both Apple and Samsung for 0:15:52.800 --> 0:15:57.920 fighting these uh what seemed to be interminable patent lawsuits 0:15:58.000 --> 0:16:03.280 over what infringed on who's patent um But this this 0:16:03.360 --> 0:16:06.280 is an ages old practice, this predates the computer industry. 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:10.200 Um and uh just there was a fresh round of 0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:15.240 this and uh things like uh the the United Kingdom 0:16:15.440 --> 0:16:19.840 forcing Apple to um to claim on its website that 0:16:20.600 --> 0:16:25.800 Apple one against Samsung because Apple's products were clearly cooler, 0:16:26.280 --> 0:16:29.080 and so they had to post on their website that 0:16:30.160 --> 0:16:34.680 obviously they weren't infringed upon because their opponents patents or 0:16:34.880 --> 0:16:38.400 products were not nearly as cool as Apples, and therefore 0:16:38.840 --> 0:16:42.080 Apple was There was a point where Apple was forced 0:16:42.120 --> 0:16:48.720 to essentially apologize. Yes, they apologized because their products were cooler, 0:16:48.800 --> 0:16:51.920 and they they tried to bury this information on the website, 0:16:51.920 --> 0:16:54.080 and the courts got angry with Apple for doing this 0:16:54.200 --> 0:16:56.720 because it was hidden at the very bottom and the 0:16:56.720 --> 0:17:01.440 foot of its page, and they wanted it displayed more prominently. Right. Yeah, 0:17:01.440 --> 0:17:04.199 it was one of those things where yeah, I just 0:17:04.240 --> 0:17:07.880 got pretty ridiculous. But essentially they the courts founded in 0:17:07.880 --> 0:17:10.000 in favor of Samsung in those cases, but in the 0:17:10.040 --> 0:17:13.160 United States it was the other way around. And um, 0:17:13.200 --> 0:17:17.240 it's it's still a very complicated mass. Patent wars often are, 0:17:17.720 --> 0:17:20.560 and uh it's you know, one of those things where 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:24.760 in one nation you could be found to be in 0:17:24.800 --> 0:17:27.359 the right and in another nation it could be the 0:17:27.400 --> 0:17:33.080 other party. And it's a mess, man. I mean, as 0:17:33.080 --> 0:17:37.200 a consumer, you just hope that what however, it turns 0:17:37.240 --> 0:17:40.240 out that you're still able to get access to the 0:17:40.280 --> 0:17:44.359 products that you like. Um, you know, because one of 0:17:44.080 --> 0:17:46.919 the things that can come out of these patent wars 0:17:47.000 --> 0:17:52.040 is that sometimes courts will support a company's claim and 0:17:52.040 --> 0:17:56.119 and uh prevent the other company from selling uh that 0:17:56.200 --> 0:17:59.800 particular product or line of products within the country. We've 0:17:59.800 --> 0:18:01.960 seen that happened in Europe a few times, particularly in 0:18:02.000 --> 0:18:06.119 places like Germany, where um, these patent wars turned really 0:18:06.200 --> 0:18:09.080 really ugly. So yeah, that was a big story throughout 0:18:09.080 --> 0:18:11.320 two thousand twelve. Was the Apple Samsung battle, which of 0:18:11.320 --> 0:18:14.640 course you know continues to this day, so I don't 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:18.359 expect that to disappear anytime soon. Oh. Another story that 0:18:18.440 --> 0:18:21.159 happened early, early, early in two thousand twelve that I 0:18:21.240 --> 0:18:23.120 meant to mention when we were talking about the shake 0:18:23.200 --> 0:18:27.920 ups Rim alright, the co founders of Rim, who were 0:18:28.000 --> 0:18:31.959 the co CEO of of Rim, this is the company 0:18:32.000 --> 0:18:36.960 that of course makes BlackBerry phones, they resigned, which was 0:18:37.000 --> 0:18:40.400 not a huge surprise because the company had been in 0:18:40.960 --> 0:18:45.840 some some trouble. Uh. They had been struggling quite a 0:18:45.880 --> 0:18:49.320 bit with their product lines and with the market share 0:18:49.400 --> 0:18:55.760 and just the public's perception of BlackBerry. The playbook tablet 0:18:55.800 --> 0:18:58.879 that came out a couple of years ago did not 0:18:59.240 --> 0:19:02.720 do well. Um, it was just it was just a 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:05.600 series of setbacks for the company. And so the co 0:19:05.840 --> 0:19:09.240 c e O s resigned in early in early two 0:19:09.280 --> 0:19:11.359 thousand and twelve. So that was a big story too, 0:19:11.800 --> 0:19:14.960 and I meant to mention that earlier. But As far 0:19:15.000 --> 0:19:17.280 as other products that came out, the only other one 0:19:17.320 --> 0:19:20.600 that I jumps out at me is Nintendo's We You Yes, 0:19:20.720 --> 0:19:24.440 because it was the first next generation console to hit 0:19:24.480 --> 0:19:27.480 the market. Depending on who you ask, is it is 0:19:27.600 --> 0:19:32.040 late this generation console. Yeah, it's kind of hard to say. 0:19:32.080 --> 0:19:34.159 I mean, like it's not like we have version numbers 0:19:34.200 --> 0:19:36.919 that we could refer to. But the WU is of 0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:41.480 course the the high definition first HD console that Nintendo 0:19:41.600 --> 0:19:46.120 has has created. Um. And it also has the crazy 0:19:46.160 --> 0:19:51.840 wacky controller with the the display incorporated directly into the controller. 0:19:52.520 --> 0:19:54.800 And um, yeah we did. We did an episode about 0:19:54.800 --> 0:19:56.119 we use, so we don't need to go into it. 0:19:56.119 --> 0:19:59.040 But that was another pretty big story um for for 0:19:59.080 --> 0:20:02.040 hackers this year. And I mean the good style the 0:20:02.160 --> 0:20:06.360 Raspberry Pie was making headlines, which is basically a computer 0:20:06.440 --> 0:20:10.280 on a board. Um and uh, you know, people are 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:12.480 really the people who came out with and intended it 0:20:12.520 --> 0:20:15.240 to be sort of an educational tool, basically an inexpensive 0:20:15.240 --> 0:20:18.800 computer that people could use to learn how to program 0:20:18.960 --> 0:20:22.760 computers from sort of from the ground up. But other people, 0:20:22.840 --> 0:20:24.960 people who like to take things apart and make new 0:20:25.000 --> 0:20:27.919 things with them. Hackers um also like it because you 0:20:27.960 --> 0:20:29.720 can do all kinds of other You can use them 0:20:29.720 --> 0:20:33.399 as very basic computers to run all kinds of different projects, 0:20:33.840 --> 0:20:37.000 things like robotics. I mean, it's it's kind of this. 0:20:37.000 --> 0:20:40.680 This along with things like the art we know UM products, 0:20:40.800 --> 0:20:44.639 as well as the connect censor, These these sort of 0:20:44.640 --> 0:20:48.440 off the shelf components are making it easier and easier 0:20:48.480 --> 0:20:51.600 for hackers to build really super cool stuff. Now in 0:20:51.640 --> 0:20:54.560 some cases the stuff is is meant for sort of 0:20:54.560 --> 0:20:59.400 an artistic expression. It's not necessarily a practical uh product 0:20:59.440 --> 0:21:02.679 that's coming out of this, but it's it's to me, 0:21:02.840 --> 0:21:06.040 it's just as relevant as any other form of artwork. 0:21:06.200 --> 0:21:09.600 It's a kind of a way to express oneself, to 0:21:09.680 --> 0:21:13.320 use creativity. Uh. There takes a certain level of skill 0:21:13.359 --> 0:21:17.280 and knowledge to be able to to create something that 0:21:17.320 --> 0:21:21.719 works and is aesthetically pleasing in some way. So I 0:21:21.760 --> 0:21:24.760 find these sort of things very exciting, both from the 0:21:24.880 --> 0:21:28.479 educational standpoint and from the artistic standpoint. I really am 0:21:28.520 --> 0:21:30.760 pleased to see more of those things come out. And 0:21:30.760 --> 0:21:34.640 we've heard about other very cheap computer on a chip 0:21:34.760 --> 0:21:38.320 systems since then as well, So that's an interesting trend 0:21:38.320 --> 0:21:40.679 and I hope we see that continue. UM I had 0:21:40.680 --> 0:21:43.320 a couple of big science stories. Oh I did too. 0:21:43.320 --> 0:21:46.640 I wanted to mention a couple of other UM companies 0:21:47.840 --> 0:21:49.680 really quickly. We don't have to get into it. We've 0:21:49.680 --> 0:21:53.320 done individual episodes about many of these things. One positive 0:21:53.359 --> 0:21:57.680 one was Google making sure that um, uh there's people 0:21:57.720 --> 0:22:01.680 of Kansas City have their daily dose of fiber um Google. Yes, 0:22:01.720 --> 0:22:04.359 they're they're rolling out, still rolling out as of the 0:22:04.400 --> 0:22:07.840 time we're recording this. UM. The Google Fiber high speed 0:22:07.880 --> 0:22:10.399 Internet access. Kansas City was one of those places that 0:22:11.000 --> 0:22:15.720 UH competed to be the first UM fiberhood and basically 0:22:15.760 --> 0:22:18.359 they had people signed up from and say this is 0:22:18.400 --> 0:22:21.480 where I live. And uh, Google chose the places that 0:22:21.560 --> 0:22:24.600 were more highly populated with potential customers as places to 0:22:24.680 --> 0:22:28.760 roll out there high speed internet access offering first for 0:22:28.760 --> 0:22:31.960 for logical reasons. They you know, it's expensive to to 0:22:32.040 --> 0:22:34.560 start this kind of networking from ground the ground up. 0:22:35.040 --> 0:22:38.639 But um, so far it seems to be a success. UM. 0:22:38.760 --> 0:22:43.040 And in more sad tech news, we've had the bankruptcy 0:22:43.080 --> 0:22:47.439 of Kodak earlier again in the year UM and uh 0:22:47.520 --> 0:22:50.480 you know the patents sell off there. UM. You know, 0:22:50.520 --> 0:22:55.520 a once mighty film camera company has just had difficulty finding. 0:22:55.600 --> 0:22:58.960 It's uh, it's niche in the new place of things. 0:22:58.960 --> 0:23:02.520 Even though digital cameras have been among its offerings. UM 0:23:02.920 --> 0:23:07.480 still not gone, but certainly has has fallen somewhat. But yes, 0:23:07.520 --> 0:23:11.840 science stories, we had the Mars rover for example. Yes, yeah, 0:23:11.920 --> 0:23:15.000 the Curiosity Rover was one of those stories that that 0:23:15.160 --> 0:23:19.200 definitely captured attention and imagination. In two thousand and twelve, 0:23:19.480 --> 0:23:23.280 I had the the honor and privilege of being invited 0:23:23.320 --> 0:23:27.960 onto this weekend text coverage live coverage of the touchdown, 0:23:28.040 --> 0:23:30.679 which meant that I was up at twelve thirty in 0:23:30.720 --> 0:23:33.679 the morning here on the East coast. But it was 0:23:33.720 --> 0:23:36.600 a small price to pay to be a part of 0:23:36.640 --> 0:23:41.000 a team that was really talking about the excitement behind 0:23:41.600 --> 0:23:45.439 this sort of exploration. One of the many things that 0:23:45.520 --> 0:23:49.239 was really cool about the Curiosity Rover landing was the 0:23:49.320 --> 0:23:52.800 way they landed the rover through using a skycrane. The 0:23:53.440 --> 0:23:56.920 if you guys don't remember, the rover weighed over a ton, 0:23:57.720 --> 0:24:01.840 and at that size, they could not use traditional methods 0:24:02.000 --> 0:24:05.879 of landing a rover on the surface of Mars without 0:24:06.119 --> 0:24:09.879 risking damage to the rover's equipment because usually what they 0:24:09.880 --> 0:24:13.160 would do is use booster rockets to slow the descent 0:24:13.280 --> 0:24:16.800