Wise Guys on WHO Radio - January 30, 2016

Brian Gongol


The WHO Radio Wise Guys airs on WHO Radio in Des Moines, Iowa on 1040 AM or streaming online at WHORadio.com. The show airs from 1 to 2 pm Central Time on Saturday afternoons. A podcast of show highlights is also available. Leave comments and questions on the Wise Guys Facebook page or e-mail them to wiseguys@whoradio.com.


Please note: These show notes may be in various stages of completion -- ranging from brainstormed notes through to well-polished monologues. Please excuse anything that may seem rough around the edges, as it may only be a first draft of a thought and not be fully representative of what was said on the air.

In the news this week

Broadcasting Free iTunes Radio is over

You can still pay to get it

News The Navy's intelligence chief can't see classified documents

What a bizarre circumstance and a pretty obvious violation of common sense

Business and Finance Apple is seeing "extreme conditions"

Everywhere the global manufacturer looks, it sees signs of pending or imminent economic trouble

Computers and the Internet Apple says iPhone sales are slowing down

Smartphones have reached a near-saturation point among the economies where they are plausible and affordable. That forces Apple to look for "what's next", which is the curse of technology giants: It takes a lot of good decisions to stay in the lead, and it's very hard to build long streaks of good decisions when operating on the cutting edge.

Broadcasting Live365 is closing down

Streaming audio still has trouble going up against terrestrial or hybrid terrestrial/streaming competitors

Security update

Computers and the Internet "The threats and the attacks are bigger than they've ever been"

White House cybersecurity strategist says we need better ways of developing software that are more rigorous than current standards

Street-smart social media

Be on alert: There are lots of fraudulent Facebook friend requests going around right now. Don't accept them from people you don't know.

Technically funny

Computers and the Internet New algorithm proves 85% effective at detecting sarcasm

That might actually beat the recognition rates of a lot of credulous human beings

Dispatches from the flying-car future

Aviation News Google drone crashes after wing breaks

They're practicing to deliver Internet access to far-flung users

Politics of technology

Voter targeting is growing ever more sophisticated -- which is why I was surprised by a very poorly-targeted visit from a campaign volunteer yesterday.

Iowa Sanders campaign wants its own caucus count

The Iowa Republican and Democratic parties got together to set up an accountable method of collecting caucus results -- it's unfortunate the campaign wants to opt out of a good-faith arrangement that shows the parties can actually work together.

Brian's Big Picture

Please don't let the increasing complexity of virtually everything in modern life frighten you into the arms of simpletons who want to take high office. High levels of complexity call for sophisticated leaders, not dunces who think everything can be reduced to the absurd. There are some outrageously dumb people running for President and other high offices right now -- that, or they're playing dumb, which is just as bad. Don't let them win.

Jargon alert

Internet of Things (IoT): The idea that practically everything can be connected to the Internet and integrated with related things

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