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
693: Let Them Eat Space [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:59
Fyre Fest 2 is postponed again; Automattic’s leak-hunting watermarks creep everyone out; Katy Perry’s space PR stunt flops harder than her last album; Elon Musk juggles baby mamas, GOP cash, and creepy DMs; DOGE may have…
692: Confabulation and Frivolity [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:26:41
On this episode of Grumpy Old Geeks: Fyre Fest’s con man promises a sequel; the IRS shares migrant tax info with ICE and promptly loses its commissioner; Microsoft lets OpenAI burn cash while plotting global domination;…
691: Cry Me A River (to Cool Off My AI) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:37
Protests erupt across the U.S. in a “Tesla Takedown” while Elon merges his AI and social media empires and dodges jet trackers alongside Taylor Swift; meanwhile, Signal faces government heat over military chat mishaps as…
690: An Insult to Life Itself [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:08:00
This week on Grumpy Old Geeks: Dunning-Kruger takes the spotlight, Elon’s approval sinks, TikTok tries to stay patriotic, 23andMe files for bankruptcy, and Napster rises again. Plus, AI, security chaos, and more!
689: What Would Dave Do? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:17:26
🤖 AI-generated Down syndrome influencers selling NSFW content, Cybertruck crashes into fake tunnel wall, Tesla recalls 46k trucks. Meanwhile, ICE watches 200+ locations & OpenAI keeps eating books. Tech dystopia's here—a…
688: Why, Combinator? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:42
Pi Day gets its due; Y Combinator marks 20 years of “disruption”; Americans lose $12.5B to scams thanks to AI and social media; Deliveroo posts a profit but still tanks on Wall Street; Twitter’s security remains a joke;…
687: Uncanny Spaceballs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:12
Techdirt has embraced politics as tech’s twin dumpster fire; Google’s AI Mode proves the internet is just Clippy with better PR; Billy McFarland’s Fyre Festival 2 is literally lost at sea; Tesla sales plummet as Elon’s a…
686: Not All Heroes Vibe Code [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:07
The U.S. government gets slapped for violating privacy laws; Holmes and Balwani stay locked up; Bitcoin and Trump Coin take a dive; Warner Bros. kills game studios; Google cuts jobs while AI spending skyrockets; HUD offi…
685: Bezos, Jeff Bezos [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:53
Jason and Brian tackle Elon Musk’s surreal CPAC appearance, Tesla’s anti-theft dye measures for Supercharger cables, and protests against Musk’s growing political influence; they explore NASA’s fluctuating asteroid impac…
684: Don’t Be a Dick [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:47
Jason and Brian tackle tech absurdities, financial scandals, and Elon Musk’s latest chaos, covering everything from the never-ending email unsubscribe struggle to a British IT worker’s desperate plan to reclaim lost Bitc…