firstnews570 – Page 20

Bezos Steps Down from Amazon, Comcastic Data Caps Delayed, and Gearbox Snapped Up

February 3, 2021 by William Mapp Leave a Comment

This segment, brought to you by Uncle Nearest. I don’t know about y’all, but I’ve had a challenging work week. It’s the unofficial start of the weekend and I’m glad to be back on with Mark Starling, Seth, John, and the First News 570 crew. This week, Bezos steps down and has a Jassy replacement, the Pennsylvania AG delays data caps, and Gearbox has been acquired. You can listen to Mark and I point and laugh while talking about the wild and crazy technology world every Thursday morning, LIVE at 6:43am Eastern.

BEZOS STEPS DOWN, JASSY RISES

This week’s big news is that Jeff Bezos will be stepping down as Amazon’s CEO. Andy Jassy, the President and co-founder for Amazon Web Services, AWS, will move in to become the new CEO. AWS powers a third of the Internet’s cloud infrastructure and is responsible for half of Amazon’s income, so the move is a no-brainer and Amazon investors thought the same. AWS is the virtual computing service Amazon sells to other companies. My company uses it, and I personally use AWS. Bezos said he’ll still be around but he wants to spend more time running his non-profit and nurturing the Washington Post. He won’t be hurtin’.

PENNSYLVANIA AG DELAYS COMCASTIC DATA CAPS

When Net Neutrality fell we all knew it was coming. Comcast had announced data caps for residential customers and will be charging $10 overage fees for every 50GB consumed over 1.2TB (terabytes). Which, I may say, my household burns up easily. Comcast’s announcement drew the ire of the Pennsylvania attorney general who raised objections that Comcast was implementing data caps in the middle of a pandemic. So instead of having customers pay more in March, the data caps will be delayed until July. Comcast will also waive early cancellation fees if you want to switch, but many people live in regions with one ISP. Of course, Comcast will be more than happy to sell you an unlimited plan. If you live in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, as well as parts of North Carolina and Ohio be prepared to watch your bill. I switched to Verizon FIOS.

LAST INDY GAME MAKER SNAPPED UP

The Swedes have picked up Gearbox. If you’re a Borderlands fan the Swedish company, Embracer has purchased Gearbox for $363 million in cash and stock, which could balloon to $1.2 billion if Gearbox meets revenue projections. The company’s employees in Texas and Quebec will become shareholders in Embracer. Embracer claims that Gearbox will operate independently. Gearbox represents the last of the major independent studios. Microsoft bought the storied Bethesda Softworks in a Zenimax acquisition last year and Codemasters was recently bought by EA. Gearbox is famously known as the license holder for Duke Nukem. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll now get a real treatment for Duke Nukem Forever.

Apple Posts Serious Security Update, El Goog’s Workers Organize, and GameStop Rises Like the Phoenix

January 27, 2021 by William Mapp Leave a Comment

I’m Never In On the Beginning of These Surges

It’s a new week with a new President and I’m glad to be back on with Mark Starling, Seth, John, and the First News 570 crew. This week, gamers rescue GameStop, Google’s employees organize in a new union, and Apple posts a security update you should really install. You can listen to Mark and I point and laugh while talking about the wild and crazy technology world every Thursday morning, LIVE at 6:43am Eastern.

APPLE POSTS SECURITY UPDATE TO FIX SERIOUS FLAWS

We’re going to start this segment off with real news. If your smartphone is made by a fruit company you should seriously consider installing the latest update. Apple is encouraging iPhone and iPad users to immediately update their devices to the latest version of iOS. Current iDevices users are susceptible to a chain of software exploits where hackers can hijack the device being able to run arbitrary code of their choosing, including downloading contacts. The latest iOS, 14.4, was released last Tuesday and can be installed by many users over the air.

WORKERS ORGANIZE UNDER THE GOOGLEPLEX

Tuesday was a busy day. Google employees from around the world have formed a coalition called Alpha Global which is made up of 13 Google employee unions from around the world. Alpha Global consists of 10 unions including the US and Canadian based union, the Alphabet Workers Union. The AWU consists of 700 workers across the United States and Canada and is a member union affiliated with the larger Communications Workers of America union. Google employees have formed these unions after high profile firings and investigations of Google employees questioning the company’s use of AI technologies.

GAMERS KEEP GAMESTOP ALIVE WITH STOCK PURCHASES

As more game consoles make downloadable content accessible and require less and less physical media, Gamestop has struggled. The company has lost hundred of millions of dollars in 2019 and 2020 and things were looking pretty bleak. Hedge fund investors have been eyeing the company in an attempt to short the stock. Over the last several weeks, the gaming faithful have banded together andused social networks to cause Gamestop stock to rally. Gamestop stock had been trading around $2.57 per share at the end of December. Yesterday, Gamestop shares have been trading at $347 per share yesterday afternoon. The only thing driving Gamestop shares now is demand as the company continues to lose lots of money.

Injury Ends Pro-Gamer’s Career, Google Investigates Another AI Ethicist, and Amazon Wants in on COVID-19 Vax Distribution

January 20, 2021 by William Mapp Leave a Comment

It’s a new week with a new President and I’m glad to be back on with Mark Starling, Seth, John, and the First News 570 crew. This week, a Call of Duty gamer has to retire early, Google investigates another AI ethicist, and Bezos and Co want to deliver your COVID-19 vaccine with a smile. You can listen to Mark and I point and laugh while talking about the wild and crazy technology world every Thursday morning, LIVE at 6:43am Eastern.

INJURY DERAILS PRO GAMER’S CAREER

Yesterday, professional video gamer, Thomas ‘ZooMaa’ Papparatto announced his retirement from the New York Subliners because of a thumb injury. The 25 year old Call of Duty gaming professional says that, “it breaks my heart to step away from a game I put my heart and soul into, every day for eight years.” ZooMaa had struggled through his thumb injury, and tried to play hurt, but needed surgery for his injury. ZooMaa is weighing his options and admitted he can’t simply walk away from the game.

EL GOOG LOCKS OUT ANOTHER AI ETHICIST

Yesterday, Axios reported that Google is investigating one of the co-leads of its Ethical AI team, Margaret Mitchell. This follows the firing of another one of its AI ethicists, Timnit Gebru. Google locked Margaret Mitchell’s corporate account because they detected that several files containing company IP were exfiltrated from Google through her credentials. Margaret Mitchell had tweeted about doing her own investigation of Timnit Gebru’s firing. Google has had a rocky time with its employees since working on Project Maven, an AI project designed to assist military drone strikes. Employees had threatened to unionize in protest of Project Maven. Firing AI ethicists don’t give confidence.

AMAZON WANTS TO LEND A HAND WITH VACCINE DISTRIBUTION

It’s no secret that COVID-19 vaccine distribution in the United States hasn’t gone well. Since a large number of Amazon’s 800,000 employees are considered essential workers, the company with the smile on the box has offered to help the Biden administration’s efforts in distributing the vaccine. They have gone as far to say that Amazon will aid the government with operational support, infrastructure, and IT support in order to meet Biden’s goal of 100 million vaccines in 100 days. I say they should take Bezos up on his offer.

Christmas Hack Done by Russians, SONY Releases Mandalorian Movie Tech, and TicketMaster Pays Uncharge to Avoid Fed Charge

January 7, 2021 by William Mapp Leave a Comment

Happy New Year!!! 2021 has gotten off to a wild start! I’m glad to be back on with Mark Starling, Seth, John, and the First News 570 crew. This week, US intelligence agencies say the Russians hacked US agencies and companies, SONY announces new movie grade displays for digital sets, and TicketMaster pays a fine for hacking. You can listen to Mark and I point and laugh while talking about the wild and crazy technology world every Thursday morning, LIVE at 6:43am Eastern.

US INTELLIGENCE SAYS CHRISTMAS HACK PERPETUATED BY RUSSIANS

In late December, computer networks hosted at US government agencies and many high profile corporations were exploited and hacked into by the Russians according to US intelligence agencies. The hack targeted a specific firmware release for a SolarWinds product called Orion. Orion is a network monitoring tool used by organizations to ironically determine if their networks are compromised and enforce security compliance. SolarWinds has advised its customers to stop using the product until patches can be validated. Microsoft has said hackers have accessed their source code as part of the hack.

EXPECT MORE MANDALORIAN LIKE VISUALS THANKS TO SONY

SONY has announced plans to sell its super bright modular displays to create digital movie sets. The displays are similar to the modular display technology built by Industrial Light and Magic and EPIC Games for The Mandalorian series. The displays are bright enough to simulate bright sunlight for many scenes and make the Mandalorian’s baskar armor shine true. The displays are designed for movie production so it’ll be a while before you install one in your living room.

TICKETMASTER ADMITS TO HACKING COMPETITOR BEFORE CLOSING ACT

It’s not enough to have a near monopoly, but you must have it all and charge consumers a 100% uncharge. TicketMaster has been ordered to pay a $10 million dollar criminal fine to defer federal prosecution for using stolen usernames and passwords to hack into competing Bay Area ticket seller, Song Kick, before they went out of business. In 2017, Song Kick filed a lawsuit alleging TicketMaster hacked their databases and months later Song Kick went out of business.

You Deserve to Drink The Best EggNog After Surviving 2020

December 17, 2020 by William Mapp Leave a Comment

For the last three or four years, I’ve been making an aged egg nog and serving it to friends at Christmas parties and holiday events. It has always been a crowd pleasing drink, and I’ve gotten a lot of requests for the recipe. I think this is the best eggnog recipe I’ve ever used, and I can’t take all the credit for it. The recipe is truly a combination of Alton Brown’s Aged Egg Nog and Martha Stewart’s Classic Egg Nog recipes. I’ve made both at various times in my nog career, and decided to remix them together. My version yields two quarts.

Eggnog with cinnamon for Cristmas and winter holidays

Martha Stewart’s nog is a heavy pour, and Alton’s is scientifically perfect. My nog is a country boy’s mashup in between. There’s enough licka in this eggnog to kill anything you might be afraid of in those yolks. Still, serve cold, and always drink responsibly. We’re in a pandemic so you shouldn’t be drinking with a bunch of people anyway and are probably at home. 🙂

The Best Eggnog You Deserve to Drink After Surviving 2020

Tools

A stand mixer
A Microplane hand held grater
A rubber spatula
A metal spoon
A glass, half-gallon sized jar with rubber seal

Ingredients

A nutmeg seed
A cinnamon stick
1 Teaspoon Real vanilla extract
7 Egg Yolks
1 Cup of Sugar
A pinch of salt
1 Pint heavy whipping cream
1 Pint half and half
1 Cup of Uncle Nearest 1856
0.5 Cups of Brandy
0.5 Cups of Cognac
1 Cup of Dark Spiced Rum

The Method

Freeze the stand mixer’s whisk attachment and bowl until they’re really cold.
In the meantime separate the yolks from the egg whites. If you don’t want to age the nog, you can whip the whites with sugar and make a meringue fluff to top the eggnog.
Using your microplane, grind the nutmeg seed until you have enough nutmeg to flavor your nog. You can grate it in a dish or bowl, or whatever you have to hold it. The nutmeg amount is a matter of preference, so grate enough to taste.
Using your microplane, grind the cinnamon stick into the same bowl or dish as the nutmeg for your flavor profile.
Take the stand mixer’s bowl and whisk attachment out of the freezer and attach them to the mixer.
Dump the egg yolks in the bowl.
Dump the sugar on top of the egg yolks.
Pinch the salt in with the yolks and sugar.
Dump the ground nutmeg and cinnamon in with the yolks and sugar.
Start the stand mixer by setting it to its lowest setting. You will cream (there’s a funny chef meme out there) the sugar and egg yolks for a long time.
Cream the sugar/yolk mix until the yellow yolky color lightens and when you stop the mixer and lift the whisk, the yolks form a ribbon like stream from the whisk. It will be speckled because you’ve whisked the yolks with nutmeg and cinnamon.
Restart the mixer and continue whisking for some more time.
Add the vanilla extract.
Increase the whisk speed to low/medium speed. The yolk mixer will thicken because more air is being added to the mix.
Stop the mixer. Using the rubber spatula scrap any excess creamed yolk from the sides of the bowl.
Restart the mixer on a low speed, we don’t want these ingredients splashing out of the bowl.
Now, add the pint of whipping cream. Let the mixer whisk for a little longer. Do not whisk for too long. You’re not trying to make eggnog fluff.
Add the half and half. The mixture should thin out now and you should be watching your eggnog mixture slosh around. It’s a little thick, this is okay. Just watch it for a moment or two.
Add the dark rum. Watch the mixture slosh around. The color will darken to a rich, eggnog like, color.
Add the cognac. Mixture is thinning some more.
Add the brandy. Mixture is even thinner.
Take a swig of the Uncle Nearest.
Pour the rest of in the bowl.
Let the mixer slosh all of the ingredients around for a bit.
Stop the mixer.
Stir the mixture using your spoon. Make sure you scrape the bottom some stand mixers find it hard to reach. Look at how your egg nog slides off of the back of the spoon.
Is your egg nog…right? Do you need more whiskey? If so, take a sip and add a sip.
Restart the mixer. Just let the stuff mix for a while. Listen to a couple of Christmas songs.
Stop the mixer, and stir using your spoon.
Empty the bowl into a glass jar with seal. Place the jar IN THE BACK OF THE FRIDGE.
Wait for Christmas.

This recipe hasn’t failed me. I always have a little left over. I froze some of the left over egg nog and used it for the wet ingredients to make waffles. Everyone in the house loved them.

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

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