678: Stop Doing That!

678: Stop Doing That!

Author: Jason DeFillippo & Brian Schulmeister with Dave Bittner December 21, 2024 Duration: 1:20:46
WordPress has officially jumped the pineapple, forcing users to agree that pineapple belongs on pizza to log in. Critics call it a kindergarten move, especially when serious feature requests are ignored. Meanwhile, the crypto world is celebrating its new political allies, but experts warn we’re inching toward a financial apocalypse that taxpayers will be stuck cleaning up. On the East Coast, people are mistaking stars for drones while pilots dodge lasers in what’s shaping up to be the plot of a bad sci-fi movie. Oh, and crop circles? Yeah, they’re back because why the hell not? Elsewhere, TikTok’s battle for survival heads to the Supreme Court, and Character.ai faces backlash for hosting chatbots based on school shooters. Meta’s EU drama escalates over its failure to tackle terrorist content, and Arizona is ditching teachers for AI because who needs humans when you’ve got algorithms? On the media front, we break down the Star Trek: Lower Decks finale, geek out over Silo’s two-season endgame, and get hyped for Dune: Prophecy and a fresh Superman teaser. Tech talk includes Temu dominating app downloads, Microsoft killing passwords in favor of passkeys, and Spotify pulling a fast one with “ghost artists” to dodge royalties. On the Dark Side with Dave, we explore the cooler corners of ham radio, AI’s chokehold on creativity, and how surveillance turns your brain into mush. Meanwhile, Amazon’s return-to-office disaster has employees ready to riot, and sci-fi fans can gear up for Peter Cawdron’s Minotaur, the next big hit in his First Contact series.

There’s a certain flavor of chaos that defines the technology industry each week, and Grumpy Old Geeks serves as your brutally honest guide through the wreckage. Hosted by Jason DeFillippo, Brian Schulmeister, and Dave Bittner, this isn't a polite roundtable discussion. Instead, it feels like grabbing a drink with friends who have seen it all and have absolutely no patience left for corporate spin or broken promises. They pick apart the biggest tech news stories with a seasoned, cynical eye, always asking the messy questions about what actually went wrong and who should be held accountable. Listening to this podcast is like getting the unfiltered post-mortem from veterans who remember when the internet felt different. The tone is sharp, often funny, and deliberately irreverent-picture a conversation that’s equal parts informed critique and cathartic venting about the state of digital life. You’ll hear them dissect the moves of figures like Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg not as distant celebrities, but as players in a ongoing saga of power and missteps. It’s a weekly ritual for anyone who loves technology but is deeply frustrated by the direction it often takes, offering analysis that’s as informed as it is impatient. If you’re tired of sanitized tech commentary and want a take that pulls no punches, this is the place.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Grumpy Old Geeks
Podcast Episodes
703: None More Black [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:43
ICE raids and FuckLAPD.com highlight America’s surveillance circus; a Norwegian tourist gets booted over a JD Vance meme; Big Balls lands at Social Security; Tesla robotaxis need adult supervision; judges can’t decide if…
702: TikTaco [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:24:51
Trump punts the TikTok ban again; Tesla mows down dummies and dumps Cybertrucks like yard sale junk; AI kills jobs, fries budgets, and melts brains; Microsoft and Wikipedia pump the brakes; Altman wants your electricity;…
701: Dancing in the Streets [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:19
We light a candle for legends and torch bad takes; Molly White says truth still matters as apathy and flaming Waymos rise; “No Kings” protests erupt while Elon licks Trump’s boots; Uber reinvents the worse bus, Tesla del…
700: Going Antiquing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:28
Elon and Trump’s feud torches billions while launching a sketchy crypto wallet; DOGE fires someone for praising government efficiency; Ukraine weaponizes open source code in a drone blitz; U.S. states fumble social media…
699: TACO 2025 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:31
AI asks if it’s 2025 and proves it’s not; Facebook’s violence spikes after policy changes; Trump Media dives into Bitcoin and DJT dives with it; Texas wants teens off social media; Germany eyes a Big Tech tax; Anthropic…
698: Watch Out for That Tree! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:20:32
Elon Musk melts down mid-interview and calls the reporter an NPC; 23andMe auctions off your DNA to Regeneron; Coinbase insiders leak customer data; OpenAI buys Jony Ive’s studio while planning spy-wearables; Klarna flip-…
697: Office of Defects [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:16
This week on Grumpy Old Geeks: Trump hawks crypto for $2 million a plate; Elon tunnels into taxpayer wallets; NFTs get nonprofit’d into irrelevance; Microsoft axes more staff while Metaverse washouts DoorDash from traile…
696: Googliearchs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:03
Crypto bros drain Kuwait’s grid; Celsius founder lands 12 years; Apple ethics on trial; DoorDash devours Deliveroo; Google gives Gemini to tweens; Tesla’s “Robotaxi” is too basic; Grok goes streaking; AI ghosts your gran…
695: Mad Hatter [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:10:16
On this episode of Grumpy Old Geeks: Staingate delamination gets messy; Trump’s meme coin gets government domains; Elon wears two hats to a Trump meeting; DOGE hands housing laws to AI; MoviePass launches crypto box offi…
694: Hammers Don’t Hallucinate [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:43
Fyre Festival reboots as a music app; Amazon and Microsoft hit pause on AI infrastructure; Google’s AI hallucinates confidently; Kevin Roose wants us to feel bad for Skynet Jr.; OpenAI wants Chrome despite being broke; P…