On this day, May 27th, 2015, the Citizens of Tech gathered to make this momentous recording. By traveling great distances (across town), and overcoming unfathomable challenges (our calendars), we screw up our courage, scratch our balding pates, and grab our microphones to record this, show #7 against the odds so firmly stacked against us. Why? We, like you, are citizens of tech, that s why! We do what we must, because we can. And you, fellow citizen, have joined us to do the needful. Let s raise a glass to one another as we discuss the Kerbal space program, waterproofing your phone without a case, Scrabble letting down humanity, IPv6 s importance to gaming according to Microsoft, light speed computing, high dynamic range TVs, liquid metal antennas, and more.

Present

Kerbal Space Program – It s not rocket science oh wait, yes it is.

https://kerbalspaceprogram.com/

Coating your phone to repel liquids

• http://www.liquipel.com/shop/treatment/treat-my-phone/
• http://www.invisiblewaterproofing.com/purchaseimpervious/

Scrabble letting in a bunch of new words

http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/22/us/scrabble-new-words/

• A fresh reason to lose faith in humanity.
• Additional 6,500 words include..
  • lotsa, twerking, lolz, emoji and ridic
  • Facetime, lolz, Bezzy, Wahh
  • sexting, blech, shizzle, cakehole

Usage of Teredo and IPv6 for P2P on Windows 10 and Xbox One

https://labs.ripe.net/Members/mirjam/usage-of-teredo-and-ipv6-for-p2p-on-windows-10-and-xbox-one

Carrier grade NAT is a multi-layered NAT scheme where not only are you NAT behind your own firewall, but the IP you re served by your carrier is NAT later on down the line. This can result in applications of all sorts being broken. CG-NAT is a way to prolong IPv4 in the face of IPv4 address space running out globally.

IPv6 is being rolled out into the industry, but the speed the deployments are happening vary regionally and by operator. For instance, IPv6 is, as yet, not offered to me by my local ISP. I checked TCPIPUTILS.com to check the AS nearest me, and no IPv6 prefixes are being announced. This is a negative impact to gaming as IPv4 continues to struggle in the global Internet.

SomaFM

http://somafm.com

Deathwatch

• Fax machines
• FM radio
• Tidal
• Pop over ads

Past

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasses

• 1st century AD – Seneca the Younger notices that letters can be seen magnified and more clearly when using a globe or glass filled with water.
• In 1021, a convex lens is noted to do the same thing ia Alhazen s Book of Optics. That book led to the invention of eyeglasses in 13th century Italy.
• Sunglasses used in the 12th century in China.
• First eyeglasses in Italy in about 1286. By 1301 there were regulations governing the sale of eyeglasses.
• In 1352, de Modena paints a portrait of a cardinal using them to read.
• Glasses were not scientifically understood until Kepler publishes the first correct explanation of why convex & concave lenses work in 1604.
• Benjamin Franklin invented bifocals – he has both hyperopia (farsightedness) and presbyopia (inability to focus on objects that are close).
• In 1825, lenses that correct astigmatism (blurred vision in different planes, i.e. clarity in the horizontal plane but not the vertical due to different curvature of the lens in different planes)
• Abbe number.
• Reduce lens thickness by reducing lens size.
• Lens materials
  • Optical crown glass. Shatters. Heavy. Still used in specialized circumstances. More likely used in telescopes and cameras.
  • Plastic (CR-39) – Safe. Cheap. Easy to make. Good optical quality. But…scratches.
  • Trivex – Blocks UV and resist shattering. Better optical quality than polycarbonate. Popular in rimless frames. Easy to tint.
  • Polycarbonate – Blocks UV and resists shattering. Scratches easily, usually coated. Bad for chromatic aberration.
  • High-index plastics (thiourethanes) – useful to make thinner lenses, but very high chromatic aberrations. Strong/shatter resistant, although not as good as polycarbonate.

Future

Light-speed computing!

http://www.networkworld.com/article/2923886/servers/utah-researchers-make-light-speed-computing-breakthrough.html#tk.twt_nww

• University of Utah Researchers
• The College of Engineering’s latest creation — an ultracompact beamsplitter on top of a silicon chip that divvies up lightwaves into separate channels — is designed to enable networks and computers to transmit data using light instead of electrons.
• Light is the fastest thing you can use to transmit information
• Converting light to electrons so it can be computed is the part that slows it down
• The vision is to do everything in light… With all light, computing can eventually be millions of times faster.
• Potentially this could enhance speeds *and* reduce power consumption drastically
• The polarization beamsplitter and the input/output waveguides can be fabricated in a single lithography step.
• Polarization of the light for 2 possible streams to allow binary transmission
• Harnessing this for computation would enable the previously mentioned light speed computing.

Dispelling the hype swirling around high dynamic range TV

http://www.techhive.com/article/2920188/dispelling-the-hype-swirling-around-high-dynamic-range-tv.html?google_editors_picks=true

• High Dynamic Range (HDR). Suddenly the discussion isn’t just about more pixels, but better pixels.
• There s no standard.
  • Samsung = Peak Illuminator Ultimate
  • LG = Ultra Luminance
  • Panasonic = Dynamic Range Remaster
  • Sony = X-tended Dynamic Range and X-tended Dynamic Range Pro
  • Vizio, Sharp, and TCL = Dolby s HDR tech, Dolby Vision
• UHD Alliance
• Of course, content is a problem. There will be selected remasters into the HDR format here and there, but no sea change yet. In addition, broadcasters aren t set up to distribute 4K content yet, which is a side issue for HDR formatted TV.
• For cord cutters, 4K in general is an interesting question due to bandwidth caps.

Scientists devising new liquid metal antennas Twice more powerful and flexible than present ones

http://www.benchmarkreporter.com/scientists-devising-new-liquid-metal-antennas-twice-more-powerful-and-flexible-than-present-ones/3571/