Podcast - This Is Only a Test

Episode 156 – My Two Dads – 1/31/2013

Will and Gary join Norm to talk about babies, sacs, Blackberry’s new phones, quarterly report season, the future of Netflix, and a whole lot more. All that plus what we’ve been testing and a very hungry edition of fake outtakes.

Comments (54)

54 thoughts on “Episode 156 – My Two Dads – 1/31/2013

  1. I love you guys but I’m about to rage:

    You talk about the ins and outs of Apple finances for forever (which I liked fine. I honestly don’t find it as boring. I like tech finances.). But you couldn’t be bothered to even look into Office 2013 at all before talking about it?

    Office 365 (the yearly sub model) is one of 4 skus for the new version. The other 3 are all one time retail purchases.

    Seriously just go to Office.com and glance at it for 30 seconds. On top of that Office 365 is for 5 PCs not one.

    Source: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/store/?CTT=97

  2. Yeah, there is no way a $100/year for 1 computer license makes sense to anyone. Norm should have taken a 10 second glance at that site before Will went off on how bananas that (false) premise was for the next ten minutes:p

  3. I can’t believe more people are excited about Gary than Will being back. Oh man Norm talking about Stay Tuned! wow.

  4. My girlfriend and I constantly come up with our dog’s inner monologue. Good to know others in the world do it as well.

  5. I love you guys but I’m about to rage:

    You talk about the ins and outs of Apple finances for forever (which I liked fine. I honestly don’t find it as boring. I like tech finances.). But you couldn’t be bothered to even look into Office 2013 at all before talking about it?

    Office 365 (the yearly sub model) is one of 4 skus for the new version. The other 3 are all one time retail purchases.

    Seriously just go to Office.com and glance at it for 30 seconds. On top of that Office 365 is for 5 PCs not one.

    Source: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/store/?CTT=97

    Sorry, I haven’t been keeping up with news over the last few weeks. $100/year for 5PCs makes sense for a family. I still think $140/PC is crazy expensive for a retail release, especially if the license still excludes business use on the Home & Student version. And yes, Office Live is free, but it left quite a bit to be desired, at least for me.

    The Markets changing around Microsoft. Google and Open Source software (more google I think) are eating Microsoft’s lunch.

    I forgot about Live Docs, mostly because I feel like they’re only doing that to compete with Google Docs and as a companion to full retail software. Google Docs is still far superior to Live Docs.

    Anger only lasted a few seconds. By the time you guys started to talk about Sim City 5 all was right with the world.

    Still though, sometimes fact checking doesn’t kill the whole podcast.

  6. Stay Tuned getting a mention right at the start? I thought I was the only guy who remembered that movie!

    Welcome back guys!

  7. Two more comments to add now that I’ve finished the podcast. I work for a hospital system and Philips is one of our bigger vendors, both server side and the actual healthcare hardware. And over here on the east coast, short of making one yourself, Chipotle is one of the better burrito options.

  8. I can’t believe more people are excited about Gary than Will being back. Oh man Norm talking about Stay Tuned! wow.

    Gary’s been gone for a longer time though. I was getting worried there, I need Tested to live!

  9. two things :

    DadCAST – very exciting idea, please do.

    the day my first child was born was the most incredible day of my life. Sharing in the creation of a human being is by far the highest experience I have ever had.

  10. A couple of things I thought about listening to this:

    First, even though I’m too young to remember this, my grandmother told me about the diapers they had to use in the Soviet era (I’m from Lithuania). They did use cloth diapers, that they had to wash. And at the time washing machines were not as prolific as they are today. So it was all a HUGE hassle. So disposable single use diapers were a fucking REVELATION. I was a baby during the so called blockade era (when Russia was not exporting to my country, right after we got independence, and it was hard to buy things), so it was extra hard for my mom to get baby stuff for me and my sister.

    The first brand of disposable diapers that was available was Pampers. It was so prolific it became the substitute word for diapers, pretty much like Kleenex or Xerox, for their respective markets. Diapers are pretty much called Pampers to this day.

    Second, is Dave Snider going to be a father soon? I think this is the first place I heard about it, and that’s great news!

    Third, I think you underestimate how incredibly huge Android is in some second world (although that’s no longer the correct term) countries. There are some iPhones around, but they are vastly outnumbered by Samsung, HTC, maybe LG android phones. In the US it may be iPhones all the way, but here it’s Android, and in second place – probable feature phones from Nokia. Can’t really speak for the whole of Europe, but at least the eastern part of it. There are quite a few Windows phones as well.

    As to Norm’s question. I use Excel for really big, complex spreadsheets (med school student research stuff), that later go into SPSS for data interpretation. I also use Word, I suppose Google Docs would suffice, but it’s just force of habit. Everyone seems to have Microsoft Office, except maybe people who use Open Office out of principle. Of course, piracy is rampant around, and only a minority of installs (I suspect) are legit.

    Also, Volition and the Saints Row IP was bought by Koch media’s publishing arm Deep Silver (publishers of Dead Island). But you probably know that by now.

    Edit: Also, Origin has had preloading since at least Mass Effect 3 – because I remember preloading that.

  11. A couple of things I thought about listening to this:

    First, even though I’m too young to remember this, my grandmother told me about the diapers they had to use in the Soviet era (I’m from Lithuania). They did use cloth diapers, that they had to wash. And at the time washing machines were not as prolific as they are today. So it was all a HUGE hassle. So disposable single use diapers were a fucking REVELATION. I was a baby during the so called blockade era (when Russia was not exporting to my country, right after we got independence, and it was hard to buy things), so it was extra hard for my mom to get baby stuff for me and my sister.

    The first brand of disposable diapers that was available was Pampers. It was so prolific it became the substitute word for diapers, pretty much like Kleenex or Xerox, for their respective markets. Diapers are pretty much called Pampers to this day.

    Second, is Dave Snider going to be a father soon? I think this is the first place I heard about it, and that’s great news!

    Third, I think you underestimate how incredibly huge Android is in some second world (although that’s no longer the correct term) countries. There are some iPhones around, but they are vastly outnumbered by Samsung, HTC, maybe LG android phones. In the US it may be iPhones all the way, but here it’s Android, and in second place – probable feature phones from Nokia. Can’t really speak for the whole of Europe, but at least the eastern part of it. There are quite a few Windows phones as well.

    As to Norm’s question. I use Excel for really big, complex spreadsheets (med school student research stuff), that later go into SPSS for data interpretation. I also use Word, I suppose Google Docs would suffice, but it’s just force of habit. Everyone seems to have Microsoft Office, except maybe people who use Open Office out of principle. Of course, piracy is rampant around, and only a minority of installs (I suspect) are legit.

    Also, Volition and the Saints Row IP was bought by Koch media’s publishing arm Deep Silver (publishers of Dead Island). But you probably know that by now.

    Edit: Also, Origin has had preloading since at least Mass Effect 3 – because I remember preloading that.

    I never had that experience myself (having been born and raised in the US) but I can absolutely confirm that Pampers being synonymous with diapers is totally the case in Romania as well. Cloth diapers are still the too poor to afford Pampers alternative for some families but I think nowadays its much less prevalent than even the immediate post Communist days.

    Either way, I enjoyed reading about the experience/lifeworld from another Eastern European/former soviet bloc country.

  12. I still primarily use Office (2010). Google docs is superior for sharing and editing documents. The simultaneous editting is great and everyone has a gmail account. But, Excel and Powerpoint are FARRRR superior to the Google doc counterparts. For work, Word is essential as well, because reference managers integrate well with it. As far as I know Google docs has no place for plugins.

    edit: added more emphasis to “FARRRR”, not because Excel and Powerpoint are a dream to use, but because the Google doc versions are just so shitty.

  13. I love having the video and audio on one page. I use the audio one for slightly better audio, and just sync em up.

    And I synced em’ PERFECTLY today, it was awesome FUCK SHOCKWAVE FUCKING CRASHED. WHY DOES THAT KEEP HAPPENING.

  14. I don’t see Blackberry surviving for much longer. It seems like there are 3 major players in the smartphone market – iOS, Android, Windows – and not much room for a company like Blackberry to come in and profit from.

    All 3 of the other companies have alternative means of operation. Blackberry isn’t doing much else. The Alicia Keys decision must be a sign of desperation.

    Also, Microsoft is doing more than what was said on the podcast. I still think Office 365 should have more options for single users, but y’all are getting mad at incorrect information.

    Netflix is very much taking a risk with their in house distribution model. I am very interested in seeing how this new model turns out because I think that people are used to the way shows air now and may not pick up the all at once model so easily. Perhaps it would work better if Netflix offered the shows in bundles. First half of the season at one point and then the 2nd half at a later date. Alternatively, Netflix could advertise the crap out of their in-house shows within their interface.

  15. Everybody’s back!

    I’ve been using Google Docs and Open Office (and its variants, ie. LibreOffice) for years now. No need for Office these days.

  16. re: installed base of current gen consoles, It’s only really North America where the 360 has a lead as far as I am aware. Maybe the UK & Ireland too.

    In Japan the 360 is a niche product and in Europe the PS3 is almost certainly ahead, Sony still advertise heavily over here, especially their long running sponsorship of The Champions League, a football/soccer tournament which gets bigger viewing figures than the Superbowl at the business end of the competition.

    http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/PressRelease/uefa/UEFAMedia/83/86/32/838632_DOWNLOAD.pdf

    http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/33842/GameStop_Details_Europe_US_Installed_Base_For_Consoles.php#.UQxLcGSSLgc

  17. I don’t understand why you guys feel Windows Phone is dead in the water. I bought an HTC Mozart 7 and I’ve been extremely happy with it so far. I think you guys disregard the market niche for budget smartphones that still work nicely. I don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on an iPhone because I still really just want a phone that calls and texts and maybe goes online a bit, but does it more efficiently and provides a nicer user experience than current Go Phone alternatives. It’s silly to think that everyone wants or needs a phone like an iPhone.

    I think Microsofts platform of having tiered hardware, but a phone experience that is guaranteed to work well regardless of which tier you buy into is a great strategy that hasn’t been adopted by anyone else yet. Google sort of tried but the disparity between the end-user experience on Android depending on which hardware tier you buy into makes it a failed venture in my mind.

  18. Netflix is very much taking a risk with their in house distribution model. I am very interested in seeing how this new model turns out because I think that people are used to the way shows air now and may not pick up the all at once model so easily. Perhaps it would work better if Netflix offered the shows in bundles. First half of the season at one point and then the 2nd half at a later date. Alternatively, Netflix could advertise the crap out of their in-house shows within their interface.

    That sounds stupid to me. Netflix could be assholes and spread the episodes out over a few months so that you have to subscribe for more than one month to see the show. As a consumer, this is the best thing they could have done.

    I get what you are saying, that people are dumb and might not “get” the new model. I really hope that people aren’t that dumb because this is the best thing Netflix could have done for us consumers.

    Edit:

    Also, since no one on the podcast gives a fuck about the rest of the world. This is totally awesome and I’m not sure it has ever happened before. A show released on the same day in the US and Europe! Amazing.

  19. Yeesh! What’s up with the audio quality? Will is always harsh when it comes to user question audio quality…

  20. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s realized this but if you got Gary on to Still Untitled or Adam on to tested we’d have a W.A.N.G podcast again.

    You asked who still uses an office type suite and why. Where I work use multiple different word/spreadsheet programs. The majority of the people use Open office. Since mainly the service and sales crew need to be able to have a local copy they can access anywhere. It’s been a while since I’ve used google docs so I’m not sure what the syncing is like now so I’m not sure how well it would work. Some of the sites I’ve been to directions are described in Lat and Long and I’m surprised if there is an analog phone signal there. However our admin staff generally uses the MS office suite due to how it integrates in to the different software we have. Whether it’s the accounting or certification or safety management stuff. We generally only upgrade our MS office when the other programs force us too.

  21. When talking about Gabe’s comment about Apple, you only mentioned that in relation to Apple entering Valve’s space, not the other way around.

    I don’t really mean to say that Valve is going to start distibusting TV shows and movies, but the Steam box could no doubt allow you access to Netflix and Hulu, ect. which would make it a Apple TV or whatever competitor.

  22. On top of that, the way I understand it is that it can be on 5 PCs at once. But, you can easily activate/change those machines. For example, if I’m visiting friends but have to do some work, I can log in to Office 365 and download my copy of Excel and use it on their machine. Then when done, remove/deactivate it and move on.

  23. Office 365 also includes extra skydrive space & skype credits

    so at the very least you’d want to also compare it to the extra money you’d shell out for dropbox/google drive

  24. Glad to see both Gary and Will back on the podcast. Congrats on your baby Will! Also Norm really needs to get over being uncomfortable about baby stuff. It’s an essential part of human existence, get over it!

  25. Maybe I am just not familiar enough with the situation in the USA nowadays. I’m a college kid and I could never afford a smartphone while I lived in the USA. I’m currently studying in England for a year, where they don’t have all this required data plan nonsense, and I was able to buy my Mozart 7 new and unlocked for a little under $150. It’s got an 8MP camera that’s just a little worse than the iPhone 4S in my experience, 8GB internal storage, a nice screen, and a snappy OS that does everything I want it to (as you guys have been saying, the 10 or so big apps that I actually care about are on the Marketplace, I don’t care about the other millions that I can only get on the app store). If I were to buy an unlocked iPhone it would cost me at least $550, and I can tell you that while my Mozart isn’t as top-of-the-line as an iPhone, the difference sure doesn’t feel like $400. This is the niche I am talking about…maybe it just doesn’t exist in the USA, because I can understand your point about the data plan. In my experience though, I couldn’t be happier with the value for money I am getting with my Windows Phone.

  26. There’s a reason why people moved to the manufactured diapers, and those cloth diaper manufacturers supplement their product line by repackaging the plain cotton cloth diapers as car detail cloths

    Also Norm!

    It’s called OpenOffice, it’s 100% free, the GUI is the same as old Office, and it has all of the bells and whistles of Windows Office. You can save to any format and even set it to save files in the office format. Easy, Simple, Free

  27. DADcast. Great idea.

    I’m surprised by Norm being surprised by the fact that the Xbox has only achieved parity with the Playstation. I didn’t realize the perception was that in favor of Microsoft.

  28. What you’re saying makes total sense in that case. Looking at it mathematically, at least. As far as the Windows Phone 7 experience goes…I hope it’s not dead in the water. I love my windows phone but I can understand that if you’re going to spend that much money on a smartphone you might as well get the best one. I just hope Microsoft succeeds in improving Windows Phone, as the basic experience seems really nice. I had an Android tablet for a while and I enjoy using this much more. It’s intuitive and it stands out in a way that I like. Just not as much polish as the competition but I guess that is to be expected given the relative release dates of each platform.

  29. Guys, for the love of all that is holy, if you don’t know something mid podcast and it’s important enough that you are talking about it for 10 minutes please take the 30 seconds to do a factcheck, the office discussion almost made me drive off the road on the way to work this morning.

    If you think 140 is too much for 1 machine with no commercial use, that’s great, I would love to hear about that in the podcast, but the amount of misinformation about office 2013/365 this week was just staggering.

  30. I’m surprised how off you guys were on Office 365. It’s a decent product, especially if you need Access or Publisher. Also, Outlook is my mail client of choice, so I really like that. Plus, 5 Devices (Add iOS platform and Android Tablet) and it’s a great buy!

    Congrats on fatherhood Will!

  31. Going back to listen to some old podcasts.
    in Jan 2016, Gary was correct with the Xbox one backwards compatibility. I absolutely love the newborn talks, well done on a successful “bunch of dad’s” series, want to see and hear lots more.

    It’s funny listening to the stuff you guys were so passionate about at the time but couldn’t give a toss about now, or have in a recent podcast contradicted yourself.

    It’s so awesome to see the change in Will. From the exhaustion I see in this episode to the maturity he has a few years on.

    Lastly, I was watching in hope that when you flashed the phone to Norm at the end of the show, that you’d also flash a single frame in the video of the image. That would be comedy gold!

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