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Johnny Jet ... Home for Chrisrmas
Episode 1753
Johnny Jet says that with the vaccine rolling out, travel could bounce back in 2021. But he also thinks American travelers will travel around the country first.
Hawaii is also offering a free round trip for people staying and working for 30 days.
American Airlines is offering home covid tests for $129.
Delta announced the elimination of change fees, along with United (even for Basic Economy Class).
Cyberpunk 2077 Released & is a Huge Download. But There's an Alternative
Episode 1753
The much-anticipated video game Cyberpunk 2077 was released and even with a physical disc, expect an updated download of over 100GB. But there is an alternative. Leo bought the game through Google Stadia and was able to play the game by streaming it. The game-changer here is that it doesn't really matter what platform you play the game on, you'll be able to still play it.
Disney's Upcoming Content 80% Streaming
Episode 1753
During a four hour stream for its annual Investor Day, the Walt Disney Company executives previewed their slate of new content for Star Wars, Marvel, Disney, and National Geographic. Leo says the huge takeaway here is that Disney's upcoming slate is 80% streaming content. That's huge.
A few days later, it was reported that Disney+ streaming service will be raising its rates in 2021.
Rod Pyle ... on asteroids
Episode 1752
Our rocketman Rod Pyle joins Leo to talk about a recent Japanese probe that landed on an asteroid, scooped up a rock sample, and returned it to earth. The mission was HyaBusa 2 and it landed yesterday. The asteroid is an ancient chunk of our solar system which could contain the building blocks on how life was created on earth and what the solar system is made of.
China is also on a sample return mission, with a probe on the moon. It should bring back 5 pounds of the lunar surface in about two weeks.
What is a Good Option For Broadband in a Rural Area?
Episode 1752
Stacy fromStacy lives in rural Michigan and she has really slow internet. Leo says that broadband companies don't want to install high-speed internet into rural areas because there aren't enough customers to justify the cost. Will satellite be a good alternative? Leo says that thanks to Elon Musk's Starlink network it will be. But it's $99 a month and costs $600 in equipment. And the more satellites they put up, the faster it will get. They've only put up 10% of the satellites they want to so far.
Another option is LTE and 5G if she's close to a tower.
Did the Administration Abandon Its Assault on TikTok?
Episode 1752
The deadline for TikTok to cease operations or sell to a US investor has come and gone, leading Leo to conclude that the Trump administration has bigger fish to fry. TikTok sued, and Oracle won the bid to buy TikTok. But the deadline to complete the sale has passed as of Friday. The government has chosen to do nothing. So Leo thinks that TikTok may be in the clear. At least for now.
Meanwhile, TikTok downloads have surged during the pandemic, second only to Zoom with 23 million downloads.
Johnny Jet and the New Travel Guidelines
Episode 1751
Johnny Jet joins Leo to talk about Delta Airline's contract tracing, which will be enacted for travelers. It won't be mandatory, but Delta will pass on the information to the CDC. But Leo says as much as 70% of people lie when talking to contract tracers. So that won't work.
App of the Week ... The Travel Pass by IATA. It'll store your Covid Testing results to provide as you travel. There's also the Common Pass.
How can I encrypt an audio stream so no-one can listen without being invited?
Episode 1751
Troy fromTroy has been working with his church to stream services every week. What they need is a live stream audio solution that they can lock down and protect. A password that grants people access to the stream when invited. Leo says that in reality, there's no solution that can be used that can't be cracked. One good solution would be to require listeners to visit a portal or website first. But even that can be bypassed with a link. Byta can encrypt a stream. You could try them.
Scott Wilkinson ... One more plug
Episode 1751
This week, Scott joins Leo to talk about how Warner Brothers and Apple have upgraded the Lord of the Rings trilogy to 4K HDR and high frame rate. And the thing is, it looks too real. You can see too much detail and that means you can tell the prosthetics from the real thing. And it's really noticeable. Leo says it'll take time, but filmmakers will have to adjust how they make a movie to return the dreamy look that makes cinema so great.
Is there a future for flash?
Episode 1751
Dean fromDean wants to know if there's a future for Flash. Leo says that Flash has been steadily dying since Apple decided to abandon it a decade ago. Now almost nobody supports it anymore, especially YouTube and Google, which now uses something called HTML5. Even Adobe stopped supporting it. To use flash now would be more work, not less. And any site that is still using it is few and far between. No need to worry. Everyone is moving away from it.
