Podcast - This Is Only a Test

Episode 158 – Remember Me – 2/14/2013

This week, Loyd Case joins Norm and Gary to talk next-gen console graphics, board game discoveries, and the controversy over New York Times’ Tesla test failure. The gang also learns about the origins of the modern day telephone system and discusses virtual reality’s potential. All that, plus another edition of fake outtakes.

Comments (35)

35 thoughts on “Episode 158 – Remember Me – 2/14/2013

  1. Where’s Verlin?! After his appearance in the Not-so-Quick Look for the NEX-5R I was hoping he’d host the podcast.

    Norm is Sun Tzu? Gary you racist.

    My god, Gary’s mic is way louder than everyone and Norms is way too low. If only Verlin was here.

  2. A propper racing sim optimized for the rift would probably be the most awesome thing ever, combined with a decent racing wheel.

    Yeah, I imagine flight sims and racing games wouldn’t have the same control weirdness that FPSs would have.

  3. Yes, Norm is very low in the audio levels compared to the others.

    In regards to the Tesla story: I think it makes an interesting case for journalism on both sides. However, until Tesla provides the raw data there is no side to take here.

  4. I actually like Windows 8 on a desktop. It’s all optional after all but I do like the multi-tasking feature for example.

    Something that I didn’t hear Loyd or anyone else talk about is the digitizer in the Surface Pro. As a student this is really interesting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuO-FrDpZAU and I’m not sure that the Lenovo laptops have this feature…

    It is a weird product right now, in the middle ground between a laptop and a tablet. It does sound really cool to be able to take it with you, use it for school, then have a tablet that’s way faster than any tablet on the market, support for all the programs you are used to, etc.

  5. Enjoyed the podcast, but struggled to hear Norm. Anyone else have audio problems?

    yup. audio levels seem to be fluctuating a bit for each person

  6. I’m a big supporter of you Gary, but come on, don’t insult Baltimore! It’s one of the best cities and has some wonderful people with a great culture. It’s a bit different than SF and NYC but that’s what makes it great. Lots of great stuff too.

  7. Re: faxes, I agree they are horrible and archaic, but you may be surprised how prevalent they still are, at least in certain fields. In the legal sector they are still (in my jurisdiction at least) the most prevalent way of submitting documents to court, the other side, etc. However, emails are definitely catching up. We will get there eventually.

  8. You don’t think that Apple and others making phones lighter and thinner affects battery life? I would rather that the iPhone 5 was thicker but had a bigger battery.

    Great podcast guys! Always enjoy Loyd and I hope Gary is back fulltime now.

  9. I have to go with Gary here. There must be overlap, but I can’t imagine people are routinely just HBO fans watching everything on it regardless of interest. That no mention of say Boardwalk Empire was made sorta points to the fact that while some might watch disparate shows, maybe even more than I suspect as Norm says, they ain’t gonna watch everything or even most, otherwise the viewership would be the same for just about everything.

  10. Enjoyed the podcast, but struggled to hear Norm. Anyone else have audio problems?

    yup. audio levels seem to be fluctuating a bit for each person

    At least the actual audio sounds ok beyond some level issues, the last couple of podcasts were uncomfortable to listen to.

  11. Good episode, guys, although audio levels were a bit all over the place. Now I really want an episode with Loyd and Brad!

  12. So, Stop with the “Midwest is in the stone age” BS, Its a common thing to see iphones, ipads, Blackberry, Android Tablets and phones coffee shops and restaurants throughout the Midwest. Teenagers usually have a iphone 4 or 4s or dumb phones with ipod touches. The misconception of the tech nerds are only in coastal cities is pretty short sighted and it really needs to stop.

    We might not have 4G LTE but my area has decent coverage of 3G enough for the little crap i do on my phone that isn’t covered with some type of WiFi its enough.

  13. So, let me get this straight… you don’t want to live in a city because “everyone in a city” feels that “everyone not in a city” feel a certain way? That’s funny.

  14. To get some real world tech right as well: Tesla has licensed their drivetrain tech to Toyota for their Rav4 EV. It still costs way too much and has too short a range, but hopefully they’ll have more and better models coming up.

    And I loved how the only comment on the whole (very different) Android OS was how it’s cool that you can download apps from the PC. But it’s fine, I just know Tested is definitely not the place to go for Android coverage.

  15. Great show as always

    and by the way Tesla lost the court case against Top Gear & BBC

    the reason the script was wrtten when the car was delivered to the top gear track

    is because top gear did have prior access to the car before the filming of the episode

    so the review was basically already written and they just needed the car to film the episode.

  16. I had to create an account just to comment on Loyd Case’s comment about the electric screwdriver. I did a search to see which model he was referring too and to my surprise it is the model that I have 4 of. I own a computer shop and 3 of these 4 screwdrivers have been in use since 1995. The 4th unit was purchased so I could get another spare battery and charger. It sits in a drawer as a backup. At lease once a week someone is in the shop and uses one of them, then makes a comment about how great they are. If you haven’t seen which one he is talking about, do a web search and check it out. One of the best tools I own for sure.

  17. Looking forward to PS4 talk on the next podcast though it’ll be a bummer if Gary just sits and complains the whole time like he did on Twitter

    And hopefully Will be back, I recovered pretty quickly after having my appendix taken out

  18. Can we please stop with this notion that the Midwest somehow exists in 1993? It makes you sound snobby and elitist and really adds nothing to the conversation. It alienates your audience while also sounding really, really dumb. We have all the technology you have, it’s time to quit acting like everyone who lives between California and New York is a bumbling moron who still thinks the Earth is flat.

  19. Weren’t they talking specifically about the Nexus phone and LTE? Fact of the matter is a ton of people don’t have LTE, which obviously doesn’t mean that people who don’t aren’t interested in the technology.

    The dicsussion was really about Norm saying he would choose the Nexus over an LTE enabled alternative. IIRC he then, when challenged, said that he just recently got LTE and could manage just fine before. That makes sense, if Norm feels that the Nexus is good enough to negate the lack of speed.

    He then said that a lot of people don’t have LTE now either, which sent Gary off into a mini-rant about “who cares, unless you’re one of those people who don’t” (which kinda makes sense from a tech-journalist perspective, you can’t ignore a feature on the basis of it not being available to all users).

    Now, the guys go over the top when talking about almost any topic on the podcast and there is really no reason to get upset. No one was saying that product reviews should be aimed at the mid-west, ignoring features that aren’t available in that area, but that is kinda what Gary was arguing against. He probably doesn’t *really* believe that the Mid-West is a tech-vacuum.

    Still, the fact is that new network technologies and features are more relevant to buyers in metropolitan areas, and as a result those people are the *main* audience for reviews and articles on that topic, even if people elsewhere are *also* interested.

    I sense a bit of comedic effect or lighthearted trolling during that segment.

  20. Loyd really needs to do a regular boardgame column here!

    Or a video series of him presenting new games. Or of you guys playing a game. Come on guys, having fun while creating content for the site, that’s right in your wheelhouse 🙂

  21. No direct quotes, it appeared as if you spoke against one generalization by applying another one… which I found funny. If I misread you, sorry about that.

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