Y. Karp? Why Not!

Episode 39: Virtual Reality Goggles

August 04, 2018 21:24 - 22 minutes - 24.6 MB

Yossi tries VR goggles and gives you a blow-by-blow description of the experience.

Episode 38: Working for Free

July 14, 2018 22:10 - 15 minutes - 18.4 MB

We've all worked for free at some point. Why do we do it? Should we do it? Why do we work unpaid overtime hours and feel good about it?

Episode 37: Best Kept Secrets to Healthy Modern Living

June 30, 2018 21:16 - 47 minutes - 42.8 MB

Our modern lifestyle can be toxic. Listen to this mind-blowing interview with Dr. Reuven Rosenberg - it will change the way you live for the better. Learn several easy things that you can do that will have a profound impact on your health today and in years to come. This is the real deal.

Episode 36: Welcome to the Postliterate Society

June 10, 2018 20:06 - 15 minutes - 17.7 MB

What is a postliterate society and are we living in one? I dive into this question and include some of your thoughts on this in this episode of Y. Karp? Why Not!

Episode 35: Sleep Tech

June 02, 2018 22:27 - 12 minutes - 13.8 MB

Getting the right amount of sleep, and good quality sleep is so important for your mental and physical well-being. The only way to know how to fix our sleep habits is to first measure them. Luckily, there’s a lot you can do at home with consumer sleep tech.

Episode 34: You're Fired!

May 26, 2018 22:25 - 15 minutes - 17.1 MB

When you work for someone else, you never really know if when you get to work, the boss will call you into his office and tell you that you’re being let go. It can happen to anyone. Here are some of your stories about being fired.

Episode 33: The Google Duplex Fallout

May 12, 2018 21:47 - 15 minutes - 18.5 MB

The unveiling of Google’s Duplex technology at Google I/O last week was so amazing and so controversial, I can’t stop thinking about it. Here's my take and how it might affect you.

Episode 32: We Have Your Personally Identifying Information

May 05, 2018 22:42 - 15 minutes - 18.1 MB

Hacking attempts occur all the time. Are you protecting your customer's personal information? Does your business comply with GDPR? As a consumer, how do you minimize the risk of long-term damage caused by data breaches?

Episode 31: Giving Up

April 28, 2018 21:10 - 11 minutes - 13.2 MB

What kind of motivation is good for you? What's the difference between motivation and manipulation? Is giving up always a bad thing? How do tech companies motivate and manipulate us?

Episode 30: In the Zone

April 07, 2018 22:17 - 13 minutes - 15.1 MB

Completely immersing yourself in a task or activity can be difficult - but satisfying, and a little unnerving. What goes on in your brain when you concentrate and how can you train yourself to concentrate better? The answer will surprise you!

Episode 29: Inventions to Drive You Crazy

April 01, 2018 08:05 - 12 minutes - 14.6 MB

From the buggy whip to interstellar travel, we are always thinking of new, different, and faster ways to get places. So here are four transportation-related inventions that didn’t quite make it into mainstream life.

Episode 28: Soft Skills Aren't Hard

March 25, 2018 00:00 - 13 minutes - 15.1 MB

If some of the most important skills you need to be a professional are not your core technical skills, what are they?

Episode 27: Show Me the Money!

March 18, 2018 00:12 - 11 minutes - 12.5 MB

Money makes the world go 'round. The cashless society is upon us, but what's in it for you?

Episode 26: Cue the Qubits

March 11, 2018 00:16 - 10 minutes - 11.9 MB

What is quantum computing and why do we need it?

Episode 25: Mars: A Review

March 04, 2018 00:00 - 10 minutes - 11.4 MB

"Mars" is the title of a TV series that dramatizes the challenges of colonizing the Red Planet, mixed with true-to-life interviews with experts in the field. This is my review of National Geographic's "Mars".

Episode 24: I Unplugged Myself

February 25, 2018 00:00 - 12 minutes - 13.7 MB

We live in a face-down generation where everyone seems to be addicted to their phones. I tested myself to see how I would manage without my smartphone on a three-day vacation. How did I fare?

Episode 23: Is Seven Really the Lucky Number?

February 19, 2018 00:00 - 9 minutes - 9.46 MB

"The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two" is a psychology paper by George Miller published in 1956. It contends that the human brain can only store up to seven chunks of information at a time. Therefore, says the theory, all information design must be based around this rule. Fact or fiction?

Episode 22: Bio Hacking

February 11, 2018 00:00 - 12 minutes - 15 MB

There are times that you really want technology to step in and improve your life. Bio-Hacking isn’t something new. In fact, augmenting the body with technology has been around for centuries: Captain Hook’s hook, for example, or prosthetic limbs, eyeglasses and pacemakers. But would I implant a chip into my body for something other than medical reasons?

Episode 21: Look Who's Talking

February 04, 2018 00:00 - 8 minutes - 8.67 MB

What's next in text-to-speech? In December 2017, Google presented a paper that showed a new technological advance in text-to-speech. Until now, Google says, pre-recorded words stitched together doesn’t do the trick. The computerized voice comes off sounding fake. No kidding. The new approach that Google took resulted in Tacotron 2 - a new method of parsing text to speech that can replicate many of the nuances of human speech.

Episode 20: The Family Business

January 28, 2018 00:00 - 11 minutes - 13.4 MB

The problem with money is that it affects everything in our lives - from the food we eat, to the clothes w e wear, to the places we visit, and to the education we get. So I think that the truth is: Without a plan, you’re sunk. Here's a plan that just might help.

Episode 19: The Supervillain of Hacks

January 21, 2018 00:00 - 10 minutes - 12 MB

Months ago, researchers discovered two exploits that affect billions of computers, tablets, and mobile phones. These vulnerabilities were only recently announced. Find out about the two supervillains of hacks: Meltdown and Spectre.

Episode 18: It's a Kodak Moment

January 15, 2018 22:20 - 12 minutes - 13.9 MB

Kodak announced at the recent CES exhibition that they are getting into the cryptocurrency game. It’s hard to know if this initiative by Kodak to ride the wave of cryptocurrency frenzy will drag the company back into the modern era, but they just might be getting some of their once-enviable mojo back. Here's the story of George Eastman, inventor, innovator, and founder of Kodak.

Episode 17: Goodnight Sweetheart

January 07, 2018 00:00 - 10 minutes - 12.2 MB

Do you stay up late? There’s always something interesting to do or important to take care of that you convince yourself has to be done right now. There’s that tweet that you have to read before it gets washed away. Facebook calls you to react to a post, and there are those videos of stupid people falling over that you need to watch so that you can be grateful that you aren’t one of them. All of these fascinating reasons for staying up far too late are seriously damaging to you and your brain.

Episode 16: Thank You, Siri

December 31, 2017 00:00 - 13 minutes - 15.4 MB

Should we be polite to our digital assistants? It’s a question that has become more and more important to answer as artificial intelligence continues to become a large part of our daily lives. This episode features special contributions from some of our listeners!

Episode 15: What it Takes to be a Great Technical Writer

December 24, 2017 08:35 - 11 minutes - 13.8 MB

How do you turn technical writing from a necessary evil into a valuable asset? This is where we separate out the very average technical writers from the best ones.

Episode 14: A Bit About Bitcoin

December 17, 2017 00:00 - 10 minutes - 11.7 MB

Now that Bitcoin has reached astronomical value (over $19,000 per coin as of today) the entire idea of cryptocurrencies - decentralized digital currencies - is once again a hot topic. Here's a bit about the most famous of all cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin.

Episode 13: Cold Beer and Hot Sun

December 10, 2017 00:00 - 12 minutes - 12.8 MB

The one-hour challenge: Write a short story in one hour or less and then narrate it. I did, and here it is! Cold Beer and Hot Sun. Enjoy.

Episode 12: The One Job That Will Never Disappear

December 03, 2017 00:00 - 8 minutes - 9.72 MB

Which jobs will still be around in 50 to 100 years? It’s really hard to know. Almost every profession out there has a technological doppelganger. Writers, coders, technicians, drivers, construction workers, you name it. But what's the one profession that will absolutely never disappear?

Episode 11: What's the Deal With Tech in Schools?

November 26, 2017 00:00 - 9 minutes - 10.6 MB

Today I want to explore the idea of bringing modern technology into classrooms. It would seem that in the modern world, where Internet, computers, and connectedness are growing as important parts of our lives, we would want to give our children a head start and gear-up their schools with technology. Is that what we really want for our kids?

Episode 10: 4 Things You Need to Know About Time Travel

November 19, 2017 00:00 - 7 minutes - 8.41 MB

One of my favorite science fiction themes is time travel. There’s something fascinating about being able to travel through time. So, as a self-proclaimed expert in time-travel, basically, from watching way too many sci-fi flicks, here’s my community service to the entire timeline: 4 things you absolutely need to know about time travel.

Episode 9: Will AI Kill Us All?

November 12, 2017 00:00 - 12 minutes - 13.8 MB

Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking have come out strongly in favor of regulating artificial intelligence R&D. Their main fear is that we’ll create autonomous weapons that will become self-aware and eventually destroy all of humanity. So today we are going to scratch the surface of the huge subject of AI and figure out whether or not this technology is going to kill us all.

Episode 8: Interview with App Developer Gershon Kagan

November 07, 2017 00:00 - 58 minutes - 63 MB

If you are thinking of writing your own app, engaging a developer to write an app for you, or if you have ever used an app, you’ll love this super-interesting interview with app developer Gershon Kagan. Our conversation takes you on an inside look into developing apps for iOS and Android. We discuss the development process, the differences between developing for iOS and Android, tools, testing methods, how to get your app into the AppStore, and how to make money from your app.

Episode 7: The future of IoT

November 05, 2017 00:00 - 11 minutes - 12.5 MB

Technologists are already wondering what’s next - what technology is being developed now that is on the cusp of changing our lives? Many agree that the Internet of Things - networked devices that send and receive data (like your internet connected fridge, doorbell, baby monitor, thermostat or family car) - is the next big thing. Imagine a world where all of your devices are connected to each other and to the Internet. The possibilities are almost endless.

Episode 6: Silent Music

October 29, 2017 00:00 - 11 minutes - 11.9 MB

Akai came out with an affordable electronic saxophone called Ewi that connects to a computer. You blow into it, much like any woodwind instrument, and you can set the keys to mimic those from a flute, saxophone, clarinet, and many other instruments. You could also play a large number of sounds - trumpet, saxophone, violin, clarinet, and so on. The best part was that since it was completely electronic, I could plug in headphones and nobody would even know that I was practicing.

Interview with author Shaul Behr

October 24, 2017 00:00 - 52 minutes - 51.1 MB

This is a special episode featuring my interview with author Shaul Behr. During our conversation, Shaul dropped a number of really good hints and tips for getting through the entire novel-writing process, from inspiration to finished book. His book-writing journey is fascinating.

Episode 4: I gave my kid a funny haricut on purpose

October 22, 2017 16:47 - 10 minutes - 12.6 MB

When I was growing up, my grandfather used to cut my hair. I had no concept of fashion or style, of course, but I’m sure he did a good job of it. At least for a while when I was a kid, my grandfather used to cut my hair and it was alright for me. So when my boys were born and needed haircuts, I had no trouble getting out the electric hair trimmer and cutting their hair.

Episode 2: Out There Somewhere

October 08, 2017 07:53 - 7 minutes - 8.24 MB

Welcome to the Y Karp? Why Not! Podcast. This is episode 2: Out There Somewhere. With the recent launch of the new Star Trek television series “Discovery”, my mind has been wandering again to the idea of whether we are actually alone in the universe. My family will tell you that this is one of my favorite topics because I just can’t believe that out of the 200 billion star systems in this galaxy alone, that there is no other life out there.

Episode 3 Tech Companies Will Rule the World

October 08, 2017 00:14 - 7 minutes - 7.89 MB

As the world becomes more and more technology-centric, we become more and more reliant on tech companies to bring us the goods and services that we think we need. Tech companies will rule the world.

Episode 1: Unboxing the Podcast

October 01, 2017 22:52 - 7 minutes - 6.54 MB

Technology, writing, gadgets, gizmos, and the stuff of life that makes it interesting!

Episodes

Books