The Stuff
- Direct download audio MP3 of LTG episode 129: "How do you use a 2Gbps broadband connection?"
In Episode 129
Thanks to the hospitality of Chai FM, we were able to broadcast Let's Talk Geek from a genuine radio studio for a few shows. We hope you enjoyed the brief stint of professionalism and punctuality. Unfortunately we noticed that the quality of our video stream was slipping and that we were letting down our regular live viewership. It should be possible to solve the problem of getting video streaming going on a laptop with 3-8 minutes of in-studio setup time, but it would mean having to spend a big chunk of money on new hardware that can handle our streaming software and the 4 USB cameras we'd like to use. That's a chunk of money we just don't have at this time. So we're back to broadcasting from our own studio, which is graciously hosted by House 4 Hack in Centurion, South Africa. In this show we talk about the crazy lengths fraudsters go to in South Africa to hack into your bank account, and Jan asks some questions of the viewers/listeners and co-hosts:- How do you use a 2Gbps broadband connection? Or more specifically: how do you get 2Gbps throughput to your computer or mobile device?
- Which content services available overseas (such as the Amazon App Store, Netflix, Hulu+) would you use if it came to SA?
Random
Iodine-129 (129I) is long-lived radioisotope of iodine which occurs naturally, but also is of special interest in the monitoring and effects of man-made nuclear fission decay products, where it serves as both tracer and potential radiological contaminant. It has a half-life of 15.7 million years. (Thank you, Wikipedia)Hosts
- Jan Vermeulen
- Tim Haak
- Johan Els
- Ani Vermeulen (not on camera)
Events
If you have a geeky event or are looking for geeky events to attend, check out stardates.co.za and add your event if it isn't already there.- UPCON
- Held at the University of Pretoria’s Conference Centre on the Main Campus in Hatfield on the weekend of the 20 April 2013.
- Entry is R30.
- The con features wargaming, cosplay, tradeable card games, anime screenings and a large variety of stalls where you can shop to your geeks’ content.
- UPCON is organised by greatgeekcollective.co.za and doors are open from 9 to 5 every day.
- (We’ve actually covered UPCON in the past, so if you’d like to see some videos you can go find them buried in our Youtube channel history. A long long time ago, in a galaxy far far away.)
- Henry Quinn, who Johan Els interviewed for Let's Talk Afrikaans won the design competition for UPCON's poster again this year.
Quick Geek
The rules of the Quick Geek are simple: 2 minutes per topic, and s/he who is the most interesting wins. Invariably we all always lose, but we try.- High speed camera grabs first 3D shots of untouched snowflakes
- http://science.slashdot.org/story/13/04/11/2223244/high-speed-camera-grabs-first-3d-shots-of-untouched-snowflakes
- http://www.inscc.utah.edu/~tgarrett/Snowflakes/Gallery/
- Udoo Android Linux Arduino in a tiny single board
- Amazon App Store coming to SA
- YouTube tape mode
- "You could be forgiven for not having the 57th anniversary of commercial videotape recording marked in your diary, but YouTube is here with a reminder." -http://www.theverge.com/2013/4/15/4225642/youtube-vcr-mode-57-year-anniversary
- Microsoft Surface gets launch window in SA
- The Mass Effect Indie Gala
- http://www.indiegala.com/
- Pay anything: Rebuild (Android); Pay at least $1: Kill Fun Yeah (Desura), Shadowgrounds (Steam), Zombie Driver HD (Steam); Beat the average: Gimbal (Desura, Steam Greenlight), Shank 2, Mass Effect 2 (Origin), Zombie Driver HD DLC + Soundtrack (Steam). Two games will unlock in second week.
What geekery is this?
- How scammers hack your bank account
- SMS Sync
- Why PC sales are declining
How to
- How do you use a 2Gbps broadband connection
Kicker
- Ancient d20 die emerges from the ashes of time
- http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57547697-1/ancient-d20-die-emerges-from-the-ashes-of-time/
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art owns what may be the world's oldest d20 die. It's made out of serpentine and looks to be in remarkably good shape for its age. The die is a little over an inch tall. The symbols carved into the die appear to be of Greek origin, in keeping with it coming from the Ptolemaic Period. The symbols for eta, theta, and epsilon can be clearly seen.
