TechStuff

Alfred Loomis created the long range navigation system called LORAN. How did it work? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do toilets work? What's the secret behind using a Japanese toilet? And can you enter a toilet race? Josh Clark joins the show. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listener Kris asked that I do a profile on Alfred Lee Loomis, an inventor and philanthropist who had a huge impact on world history and the funding of scientific research. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listener Carter asked us to take a look at the technology behind the humble baseball bat. Is it just a stick or is there more to it? From manufacturing to the regulations that define a bat's performance, we find out. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A century after its founding, the Finnish company Nokia entered the world of electronics. How did Nokia come to dominate the cellular phone industry and why did it lose enough ground to sell off its mobile division to Microsoft? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Marcus asked me to look into Nokia, and so this episode is about how the company started and grew over several decades. Did you know Nokia is more than 100 years old? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Holly Frey from Stuff You Missed in History Class joins the show to talk about the sewing machine and how it shaped patent law. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

By the 1960s, Gibson was well established as a premier electric guitar manufacturing company. But the following decades brought strife to Gibson, and in 2018 the company declared bankruptcy. What went wrong? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From a humble luthier in Kalamzoo michigan to the introduction of the Les Paul signatue guitar, we take a look at the early days of Gibson. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How does a speaker generate sound? What does an amplifier do and how does it work? We learn more about the science and tech behind our audio equipment. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where did the loudspeaker come from? How did we go from acoustic horns to electronic speakers? We learn about the inventors who made speakers possible. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did the Death Star's superlaser work? Is such a weapon even possible? And what the heck was up with that ventilation shaft? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Recently, a year-long isolation experiment simulating a mission to Mars concluded. What were the results? And why did it happen in Hawaii? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From its propulsion systems to artificial gravity, we explore the greatest weapon in the galaxy. May the 4th be with you! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In part three of our series, we explore what kept the database software company called Oracle busy between 2000 and 2018. Learn about the acquisitions, the executive shuffling and the controversies! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the early 1990s, Oracle found itself teetering on the edge of disaster. What nearly sunk the company and how did it recover? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has earned himself a flamboyant reputation among the tech elite. How did a self-taught programmer help start the second-biggest software company in the world? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How does a computer program decide which bits of an audio file to keep and which to ditch during compression? We learn about the mp3 algorithm and Jonathan talks about math a lot. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where did NetSuite come from and what does it do? We look at the story behind the world's first cloud computing company. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TechStuff Listener Gellert asked that I cover DJ tech in an episode. That includes a lot of stuff, so today's episode is specifically about turntables. Where did they come from and how have they changed? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What are some of the modern uses for cloud computing? How safe is it? And who owns all that data anyway? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What exactly is cloud computing? We trace the development of cloud computing from the days of mainframes to the modern Internet. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From phonautographs to the early record players, we take a look at the birth of the turntable as an entertainment device. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

An anonymous listener wanted to know more about end to end encryption. How is it possible to encrypt information across the Internet so that only the right person can read it? We explore the world of cryptology. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How is audio recorded digitally? In this first episode on a series about mp3 and digital audio, Jonathan breaks down how we convert sound into 0s and 1s. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is MIDI and how does it work? We answer a request from listener Jesse and take a look at the history and evolution of MIDI and what it is (and is not). Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sometimes, I get requests for topics that aren't quite robust enough for a full episode. Here I'll cover several requests and give shortish answers to them. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been two years since we last detailed the course of Nintendo. What has the company been up to since April 2016? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

IBM was known for its business-to-business operations. So when the corporate giant decided to get into the home computer market, people took notice. How did IBM establish the PC as the de facto standard in home computing? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After introducing the Macintosh computer, Apple struggled a bit to ensure its future. As it continued to rely upon the sturdy Apple II platform, the company tried to forge a new path. How did it go? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1976, two Steves got together and created a startup company called Apple. Their computers ushered in an era of home computers. But the journey didn't always go smoothly. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We know about Macs and PCs, but there used to be a lot of other personal computers on the market. This is an episode about those machines and what happened to them. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did investigators unravel the truth behind Stuxnet? And exactly how clever was this piece of malware? We take a closer look at the first documented evidence of a cyber warfare weapon. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn about the presentations Neil deGrasse Tyson, Michio Kaku and Tanmay Bakshi gave at IBM's Think2018 conference. From space to artificial intelligence to using chatbots as therapists, these talks dive into cutting edge ideas and technologies. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What exactly is quantum computing? How does it relate to quantum mechanics? And what sort of problems could quantum computing solve in the future? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have simple forms of AI right now like image recognition and natural language processing. In the future, we may have artificial intelligence that can think the way humans do. But what is going to happen in between? Presenters at IBM's Think2018 conference talk about the use of AI in general and Watson in particular. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2010, a computer virus targeting specialized equipment at an Iranian nuclear facility made world news. What was Stuxnet and what did it have to do with uranium enrichment centrifuges? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At IBM's science slam at Think2018, three more scientists explain their work and how it impacts the world. We learn about a 3D microscope that can observe plankton in the open sea, how we can make sure that the AI we create in the future is unbiased and how quantum computers are poised to fuel a new computer revolution. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At IBM's Think2018 conference, several scientists got up to give short presentations on groundbreaking work they are pursuing that could shape our world in the years to come. In this episode, we learn about crypto anchors and lattice-based cryptography for a post quantum computing world. Science! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the earliest two-wheeled, human-powered vehicles to today's racing bicycles, we look at how the humble bike was invented and how it evolved over the decades. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jonathan attends the Think 2018 conference in Las Vegas, where IBM showcases the latest in technologies ranging from AI to quantum computing. Hear about what he plans to explore while there. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Back in 2011, TechStuff did an episode about why we needed to switch to the IPv6 protocol. Where are we at now, and why exactly is it necessary? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How were contact lenses invented? Who came up with the idea? How were they first made? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How did Naughty Dog follow up the smash hit of Crash Bandicoot? And how did the departure of the two co-founders affect the company? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Naughty Dog is the company behind games like Crash Bandicoot and the Uncharted series. What's the story behind the games? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How deleted is deleted? What does it take to truly eradicate digital data? And are deleted messages completely beyond retrieval? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the early 2000s, a company called Infinium Labs promised to revolutionize gaming with a console called The Phantom. It never materialized. What happened? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You've seen the video of a man kicking a four legged robot. But what's the story behind the robotics company that built it? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The way we consume traditional media continues to evolve. The age of the DVR ushered in time-shifting viewing habits. But now with services like Sling TV we also have place-shifting opportunities. We talk with Sling TV to learn more. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The creators of Homestar Runner hop on TechStuff to talk about their pioneering work in web series production and how StrongBad is going to catch up on that huge email backlog. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.