Byteside: tech + digital culture
78 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago -It's the world through the lens of technology and digital culture. How tech has come to influence everything around us. How do we make sure it's all happening for the benefit of humans? The world is dominated by all things geek and nerd today. So what happens next? We're here to work it out. Send us your input via @byteside on Twitter!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episodes
Cancelled, censored, and replaced by robots
June 10, 2020 09:37 - 42 minutes - 29.1 MBYep. It's the latest Byteside with Nic and Seamus. Get it in your earholes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Half the problem is admitting the problem
June 03, 2020 06:04 - 38 minutes - 25.9 MBThe social media problems with no easy answers keep Nic and Seamus clawing for answers. Plus pandemic and protest dilemmas for the games industry, Zoom the big winner in its latest financial reports while self-driving cars face big issues in a more hygiene-focused future than anyone was expecting. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Binge the facts
May 27, 2020 10:45 - 28 minutes - 19.6 MBReady to Binge the latest shows and movies? Or is there still a commitment issue behind Foxtel's latest streaming service? Seamus and Nic think back on Presto, Foxtel Now, Foxtel Play, Foxtel Go, and where you'll go to play now. Wait... And then they rabbithole about all the little quirks and issues they have with what all the streaming services keep getting wrong! Plus Twitter adds a 'Get the facts' link to some Trump tweets. Is it enough or too little too late? How do the socials fix the ...
Let the memes save us
May 20, 2020 09:14 - 41 minutes - 27.7 MBSeamus and Nic are loving the memes right now, and find they really do help take the edge off a tricky time. But can we please stop trying to turn everything into an industrialised meme factory? Not everything needs to be commodified! This leads to Joe Rogan's new Spotify deal, which leads to apps and tech we will definitely use differently after the 'rona times calm down a bit, which leads to Assassin's Creed telling us the next one is even bigger makes us both a little less excited for it...
Virtual Insanity
May 12, 2020 05:11 - 40 minutes - 26.8 MBA synthetic Instagram star signs with the biggest talent agency in the world? Sounds like the perfect week to get extra virtual as we deep dive on our own experiences with the HTC Vive Cosmos over recent weeks. Is VR ready for prime time yet? If not yet, when and how? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Of course Tom Cruise will make a real space movie
May 05, 2020 08:02 - 40 minutes - 27.8 MBAfter a nod to Star Wars Day letting loose some first rate indie talent in the new and expanding universe, Nic and Seamus discuss Tom Cruise really actually going into space with SpaceX to make a movie. Is it actually Mission: Impossible or just eventually improbable? Plus an extended uncomfortable examination of Elon Musk's trajectory as a person who shouts weirdly on the internet, and then an actual examination of Apple's new Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro. Just how close are we to the offic...
Oscar leaves the big screen
April 29, 2020 07:19 - 37 minutes - 25.3 MBFrom Cameo to the Academy's big announcement to let pure streamers enter the Oscars, it's an interesting time for Hollywood stars. Plus we look at the Fortnite Travis Scott event and what we thought of it and its 27.7M audience numbers, Facebook's new Messenger Rooms and whether we need more video chat options... and, yes, COVIDSafe was unavoidable. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A tracking app is just fancy contact tracing
April 21, 2020 06:03 - 39 minutes - 26.9 MBOn this week's show we talk coronavirus tracking apps and if we're going to do one we should make sure we do it right. But thankfully that doesn't dominate the show, and we get into fun stuff like digital boardgames, Minecraft getting pretty with RTX, Pac-Man at 40, and the next big Fortnite concert happens this weekend so get into it! Here's the Fortnite link to all the details - seriously, download it and experience this event: https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/news/astronomical ...
Hacks, remakes and fancy new phones
April 14, 2020 23:55 - 38 minutes - 25.9 MBWe're living up to our "tech, games, digital culture" tagline this week, with stories from every corner of the Byteside domain. From when are Zoom hacks not actually Zoom hacks, to why games seem to have a much better handle than film on the idea of doing remakes. Plus hard drives for consoles when you're running out of room, exciting new phones from LG, and even a little more Quibi and some old school Homestar Runner. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Now The Official Quibi Review Show
April 07, 2020 22:01 - 51 minutes - 34.4 MBWhen this episode started we weren't sure about Quibi. By 15 minutes in we've decided that's all the show is about from now on. Then somehow we manage to move onto other topics anyway, including Riot's Valorant being ready to take over the FPS scene, Xbox All Access deals on Telstra plans, Skype finding its mojo, and those Zoom backgrounds everyone is using. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Unsubscribe Experiment
March 31, 2020 05:23 - 45 minutes - 30.6 MBNo, don't unsubscribe from Byteside! That's not the experiment!! Seamus has been unsubscribing from all his video streaming services... but he's still using them all exactly the way he always has. Huh? How's that work? Listen to find out! Plus changing NBN plans, those CVC questions, and testing speed upgrades. And playing tabletop roleplaying games over the internet – is there a good way to do it? All that and Friday Zoom drinks, Audio Technica's microphone giveaway, and more. Hosted on...
On the Internet high wire
March 25, 2020 06:47 - 41 minutes - 27.8 MBDigital services are blowing up in all kinds of ways, whether becoming the new hotness or collapsing under the weight of all this new work from home traffic. What are we searching for? Efficient work, entertainment or a sense of real connection? All this plus random acts of kindness, esports replacing real sports, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Staying together apart: tech's role in the coronavirus crisis
March 18, 2020 18:00 - 40 minutes - 27.1 MBAs the coronavirus crisis continues to worsen, tech has a massive role to play in keeping us together while we're physically isolating ourselves to avoid the virus. We look at the places where tech can help, from education to entertainment, and where it is failing. Plus how the world will be different in the adoption of remote presence tech on the other side. Plenty of that plus a look at the new OS heading to Sonos hardware. Find Seamus on Twitter: @seamus Find Nic on Twitter: @dr_nic F...
DON'T PANIC
March 10, 2020 20:45 - 42 minutes - 28.7 MB42 years of Megadodo Publications great work, The Hitchhikers Guide, leads off the show with immortal advice for our age. From there, Nic and Seamus explore the TV adaptation of 'The Last Of Us' – Will it be good? And why do we still keep chasing the dream of game-to-filmed-entertainment crossovers when they've all been so bad? Also - should Jack Dorsey leave Twitter? Surely something has to give? Plus we look at the magic of @ Home distributed computing for good, with Folding@Home now wor...
Don't let anyone pretend 8K matters
March 03, 2020 09:09 - 50 minutes - 33.6 MBThis is the week Seamus loses it over the push to sell us 8K TVs. Don't miss it! But first, Seamus and Nic talk about whether Covid-19 will be the moment when remote working and remote presence technologies are permanently elevated beyond novelty or nuisance value. They explore the discovery of fun mobile games and the rediscovery of classic titles and the magic of playing a beloved series again back to back all the way through. Then Seamus goes spare on 8K, as a long held position based o...
Zen and the Art of a missing MWC
February 19, 2020 19:00 - 33 minutes - 22.5 MBThere might be no MWC in 2020, but it's still phones, phones, phones this week here on Byteside. Nic (@dr_nic) and Seamus (@seamus) talk folding form factors and the raw pleasure of seeing anything new, price wowsers and why phones are now more important than laptops, and a nod to the Vodafone-TPG merger news. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Melbourne + esports = $$$$$!
February 12, 2020 01:25 - 51 minutes - 34.8 MBNic and Shay talk about Melbourne stealing IEM from Sydney and why they 'get' it when no one else seems to. Plus our lack of Oscars preparation, why the NBN finally making it to Walgett feels seriously busted, how PTSD for content moderators is going to become a bigger and bigger story in coming years, and a clever Google traffic hack cum performance art piece. And some tips for Safer Internet Day! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
How long should our tech last?
January 28, 2020 05:19 - 56 minutes - 38.3 MBThis week Seamus and Nic explore ten years of iPad, how Sonos is struggling to kill old products, and the return of the Motorola Razr... all somehow revolving around questions of how our tech is meant to evolve, to last and to be the right tool for the right job. On the ten years of iPad, we think about how we both dismissed it at launch but have had very different perspectives on it in the years since. Has the tablet market grown? Have laptops changed? Seamus is a massive Sonos nerd so he...
This isn't the 2020 we remember
January 21, 2020 20:41 - 50 minutes - 34.4 MBByteside Prime is back for a new year, nay, a shiny new decade! Seamus and Nic are back together to discuss just how different this 2020 we're now living in is from the 2020 we expected in our childhoods, plus a whole lot more. The TV they watched over the holidays, the robotic limbs they don't have, and why CES is a bit confused about what we actually need in our lives and our homes. Sorry, Ballie – you're cute, but we're not your biggest fans. Plus some thoughts on where we're going next...
Streaming TV Killed The Cinema Star
December 18, 2019 08:00 - 45 minutes - 30.7 MBWhat does Xbox Series X mean for the future of consoles? And why are Michael Bay and Martin Scorsese going direct to Netflix? Does their latest work compare favourably to the greatest era of television ever - and which shows have had the best single season drops of all time? All this and more, including Nic and Shay giving a mixed bag of their biggest moments of 2019. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
From sublime TV to ridiculous fandoms
December 10, 2019 23:58 - 50 minutes - 34.2 MBNic's been watching the fantastic Watchmen while Seamus has been annoyed at just how few people will get to watch Tokyo 2020 in 4K. But then they're both annoyed at Star Wars 'fans'. Plus two happy anniversaries - RunPee at 10, and Playstation at 25! All that and another bewildered look at the Cybertruck. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Cybering the drones for a dead queen
December 03, 2019 07:32 - 42 minutes - 28.7 MBIt's a week of nuisances for our intrepid hosts this week. Nic wants to see the death of calling anything cyber again, and Seamus is bemused by Facebook's PR talking points chatbot for its workers. And do drone noise regulations need federal rules before it all gets out of hand? Plus queen conspiracies, Star Citizens and can't we get a 'just right' phone plan that doesn't apply the cinema popcorn pricing rule? Find Nic on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dr_nic Find Seamus on Twitter: https://...
Too Much Star Wars?
November 21, 2019 23:54 - 44 minutes - 30.3 MBThis week Nic and Seamus talk Minecraft Earth and get a little sidetracked reminiscing about the first days of Pokemon Go. Seamus delivers a double dose of good security hygiene with Brave browser 1.0 and Yubikey (by Yubico). Nic explores the state of subscription services in gaming, including the new Telstra deal, and the big question - is Disney giving us too much Star Wars? Find Nic on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dr_nic Find Seamus on Twitter: https://twitter.com/seamus Find Byteside:...
Death Stranding aka The Postman 2
November 14, 2019 23:23 - 43 minutes - 29.4 MBThis week we talk about why Seamus has quit Facebook (but not exactly deleted it), how Nic is preparing to automate his new home, and the Disney+ 4:3 ratio Simpsons problem. Plus we talk Outer Worlds, Death Stranding, and loving games because they exist even if we never want to play them. And some breaking news around the launch of a new 16-inch MacBook Pro. Also... while recording the show it was officially revealed that The Simpsons will indeed be on Disney+ at local launch. So ignore Sea...
From Icecrown to Icewind
November 07, 2019 22:26 - 46 minutes - 31.7 MBThis week Seamus and Nic talk about Shay's trip to BlizzCon 2019 - the games and the politics - before looking into retro RPGs on the Switch, the new Airpods Pro, and their vibes on the new Watchmen TV series. And a big shout out to Chorus: the adventure musical! Go back it now! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Ten keys to annoying Seamus
October 22, 2019 07:55 - 46 minutes - 31.9 MBNic and Seamus talk Pixel 4, Sonos Move, and the whole "Is Marvel cinema?" conundrum, plus Disney, err, Plus. Seamus also has a big problem with big gaming keyboards. Find the Fallout Five-0 here: https://www.falloutfive0.com Send us questions or comments via Twitter (@byteside), Facebook (/byteside) or via [email protected]. We're starting a lucky dip of prizes for the best comments and questions we receive! Homework: Nic wants everyone to watch at least the first episode of Watchmen befo...
The 2019 PAX Australia Edition
October 16, 2019 08:19 - 26 minutes - 18.1 MBNic and Seamus catch up face-to-face at PAX Australia in Melbourne to talk about the show and a few tangents that arise along the way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Welcome (Back?) To Byteside!
October 02, 2019 02:46 - 54 minutes - 36.9 MBSeamus Byrne and Nic Healey deliver the first ever Byteside podcast (because the Byteside from 10 years ago was never actually a podcast!) They talk about criminal trials in Fallout 76, D&D, Vampire, esports corruption, that amazingly nasty Goose Game and more. Tell us what you think about the topics, the show, and whatever else you like via [email protected]. Byteside is on Twitter: @byteside Byteside is on Instagram: @thebyteside Seamus is on Twitter: @seamus Nic is on Twitter: @dr_nic...