Episodes
163
July 25, 2024
That Time Amazon Lied About Their Renewable Energy Use
Ned and Chris discuss Amazon’s claim that their energy use is 100% renewable. Wind Turbines Don’t Kill Birds and Amazon Doesn’t Use 100% Renewable Energy Amazon claimed to be 100% renewable, but Amazon Employees for Climate Justice argues that the company hasn't met its climate pledges, and even threatened a walkout. In this episode, Ned and Chris discuss the growing energy demands of data centers, noting that despite efficiency improvements, their power consumption is set to double by 2026. Th...
162
July 23, 2024
Tech News of the Week 07-23-24
This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris mourn the privacy of millions of AT&T customers after the company quietly announced a massive data breach, lament the failings of SAP security, celebrate the arrival of Markdown in Google Docs, and discuss NVIDIA opening up to open-source kernel modules. Links: AT&T Believes That Sharing Is Caring SAP AI Product, and the Environment its Running On, Breached Markdown In Google Docs! At Least Two People Are Thrilled! NVIDIA Open-Sourcing Kernel Mo...
161
July 18, 2024
Going Deeper into BGP with Doug Madory
Ned and Chris talk to Doug Madory about changes in BGP since the mid-1990s. The More Things Change, the More BGP Changes a Little Bit Ned and Chris dive into the evolving landscape of BGP with Doug Madory, the Director of Internet Analysis at Kentik. Despite the rapid transformation of the internet since the mid-1990s, BGP remains largely unchanged, leading to a rise in routing hijacks and user errors. Doug discusses how automated filters and cryptographic tools like RPKI ROV are mitigating mis...
160
July 16, 2024
Tech News of the Week 07-16-24
This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris unpack Microsoft’s decision to suddenly add new features to Notepad, why the Japanese government is flip-flopping on floppy disks, try to understand OpenAI’s lack of understanding of their own products, and explain how Cloudflare is using AI to fight... AI. Links: Microsoft Adding Spellcheck Features To Notepad For… Reasons? The War On Floppy Disks Concluded For Japan OpenAI To Add Accountability By.. Removing Microsoft And Apple From The Board ...
159
July 11, 2024
Behold the Superbook (Over-Overhyped Edition)
In this reissued episode (AKA the over-overhyped edition), Ned is pedantic about the term Supercloud, Chris is pedantic about everything, and we both think Halo Rise is a terrible, horrible, no good idea. Supercloud is as Supercloud Does Ned is no longer a stickler for language, but he still can't stand the term “supercloud.” In this reissued episode, we break down this term that’s been kicking around since 2016 in various guises. Ned regales us with tales from his analyst days and the dubious ...
158
July 4, 2024
Drinking from the AI Firehose at the DC AWS Summit
Ned shares his AI-focused experience at the DC AWS Summit, discussing AWS's AI portfolio and GenAI tools, but remains skeptical. Mainlining AI in Washington DC Ned shares his experience attending the DC AWS Summit, which was heavily focused on AI. This gave him the opportunity to put cognitive behavioral therapy into practice and confront his aversion to AI by attending nothing but AI-centric sessions. In this episode, Ned tells what he learned about AWS's AI portfolio, noting its key products ...
157
July 2, 2024
Tech News of the Week 07-02-24
This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris announce that NBC has gone creatively bankrupt with an AL Michaels AI, speculate on the speculative bubble of AI, have a far-out conversation about Datacenters in Space, and discuss how the power of kindness can lead to nefarious ends. Links: AL Al Will Enable NBC To Continue To Have No Idea How To Be Creative Is The AI Bubble About To Pop? A Datacenter - In SPAAAAAAAAAACE! All You Had To Do Was Ask Nicely
156
June 27, 2024
Infinitely Jesting About the Year of Quantum Science & Tech
The UN named 2025 the Year of Quantum Science, so Ned and Chris attempt to cram 2,450 years of quantum history into one episode. A Gambol Through Space and Time The United Nations has designated 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. To add to the confusion, Ned and Chris are trying to cover the history of quantum mechanics in this episode. They don’t succeed, but they still manage to cram a good 2,450 years in there, which is pretty good. They starting with ancient l...
155
June 25, 2024
Tech News of the Week 06-25-24
This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris rejoice that Voyager 1 is fully operational, remind you to update vCenter Security, ignore Dell’s demand for in-person attendance, and discuss Claude 3.5 Sonnet. Links: Interstellar Voyager 1 Fully Operational Again Critical vCenter Security Patches Released - You Know What To Do Dell’s Demand For In Person Attendance Ignored Anthropic releases Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Gradually Improving On 3.0
154
June 20, 2024
Break the Glass and Walk Away: A (VERY) Brief Overview of BGP
Ned and Chris give a very brief overview of BGP, its place in the history of the internet, and how it works today. It’s a Confusing Day in the Neighborship Sure, Kim Kardashian broke the internet that one time, but she’s not the only one capable of such a feat. In this episode, Ned and Chris recount the tale of how Verizon and a BGP optimizer took large swaths of the internet offline in 2019. This leads them into the intricacies of border gateway protocols, tracing its evolution from a temporar...
153
June 18, 2024
Tech News of the Week 06-18-24
This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris discuss how Apple is paying OpenAI in “Exposure,” ten years of Kubernetes, Sherlocking, and Raspberry Pi’s IPO. Links: Apple Is Paying OpenAI In… Exposure Kubernetes Turns Ten Stop Trying To Make Sherlocking Happen. It’s Not Going To Happen! Raspberry Pi Pops in IPO
152
June 13, 2024
Reviewing the Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit 2024
A review of a core keynote presentation at the 2024 Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit and what it means for the IT industry. One of the Good Ones: The 2024 Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit Sometimes it's worth putting pants on. In this case, it's for the 2024 Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit. Despite previous criticisms of Gartner, Chris found the conference surprisingly enjoyable. In this episode, he provides an overview of the event, which featured over 150 ses...
151
June 11, 2024
Tech News of the Week 06-11-24
This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris discuss the Snowflake Hack, some BREAKING NEWS regarding the Microsoft Spyware Enablement Tool "Recall", Luna AI’s results (evaluated using AI), and Intel’s Lunar Lake. Links: Snowflake Hack Hits TicketMaster and Santander Microsoft Spyware Enablement Tool Recall Compromised By Many People Immediately BREAKING NEWS! Luna Evaluates AI Results Using… AI Intel Releases Lunar Lake - Next Gen CPU With An Emphasis On [SIGH] AI
150
June 6, 2024
Would You Like To Play a Game (With Chris Williams’ AI Agent)?
Learn how Chris Williams used ChatGPT to create a custom AI agent that answers questions, completes certain tasks, and Rickrolls its users. There Can Be Only One (Rickrolling AI Mentor) Chris Williams joins Ned and Chris this week to discuss the AI agent he recently created using ChatGPT. Ned kicks things off by filling us in on the history of AI from the early 20th century to today. This includes how early AI systems functioned, the role of deep learning models, and the impact of transformers....
149
June 4, 2024
Tech News of the Week 06-04-24
This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris get some feedback from a listener, cover NIST’s new release, dispel some rumors about the death of tape, opine on the massive botnet takedown, and talk about an Apache project exploit. Links: NIST Releases new version of SP 800-171 The News Of Tape’s Death Is Much Exaggerated Massive Botnet Taken Down By The Treasury Department For Some Reason Some Apache Project With A Weird Name Is Being Actively Exploited
148
May 30, 2024
Deciphering the 2024 RSA Conference Keynote(s)
A review of the core keynote speeches at the 2024 RSA Conference and what they mean for IT defenders. I Didn’t Go To The RSA Conference So You Don’t Have To Didn’t make it to the 2024 RSA Conference? Well neither did Ned and Chris, but that’s not going to stop them from talking about it. This year’s theme was “The Art Of The Possible,” highlighting tech’s potential and the threats it faces. AI was a big topic with lots of talk about how both attackers and defenders are using it. The "Secure By ...
147
May 28, 2024
Tech News of the Week 05-28-24
This week on Tech News of The Week Ned and Chris talk about an AI that no one likes seeking a buyer for a ridiculous amount of money, AI for terminal emulators, the deprecation of NTLM and VBScript, and a big recall from Microsoft. Links: AI Company No One Likes Seeking Buyer For Preposterous Amount AI Is Coming For Your… Terminal Emulator?? NTLM and VBScript Are Finally Being Deprecated Microsoft Decides To Take Its Spyware Reputation To The Next Level With Recall Leave us a Voice Mail! Go to...
146
May 23, 2024
DNS: Rewinding Network Norms (Part 2)
The intricacies of DNS, exploring alternatives, and unpacking Microsoft's ZTDNS as they unravel the web of network naming. Digging Deeper Into DNS Building on their previous discussion, Ned and Chris explore lesser-known alternatives to DNS and the evolution of network security protocols. They discuss NetBIOS, a system developed by IBM for internal network communications, explaining how it handled name resolutions within smaller network segments in a noisy and often inefficient way. They also d...
145
May 21, 2024
Tech News of the Week 05-21-24
This week on Tech News of The Week Ned and Chris discuss zScaler's security status, Asahi Linux's new milestone, vulnerabilities in VPNs related to DHCP, and Congress's failure to maintain broadband discounts. Links: zScaler Wasssssssssssss.. NOT Hacked. Or Were They? I Mean Probably Not But Still Asahi Linux Reaches New Milestone VPNs Attackable Via DHCP Mechanism That Has Little To Do With VPNs Congress Still Sucks - Drops Broadband Discount Ball
144
May 16, 2024
DNS: The Backbone Of Browsing (Part 1)
Ned and Chris discuss DNS’s importance, illuminating its role in networking and the need to enhance its security. The Internet's Phonebook In this episode of Chaos Lever, Ned and Chris dive into the world of DNS—the system that acts like the internet's phonebook by translating website names into IP addresses that computers understand. They explore the origins of DNS, its role in networking, and its evolution over the years. The duo also discusses the latest advancements in DNS security and how ...
143
May 14, 2024
Tech News of The Week 05-14-24
This week on Tech News of The Week, Ned and Chris discuss zScaler's security status, Asahi Linux's new milestone, vulnerabilities in VPNs related to DHCP, and Congress's failure to maintain broadband discounts. Links: zScaler Wasssssssssssss.. NOT Hacked. Or Were They? I Mean Probably Not But Still Asahi Linux Reaches New Milestone VPNs Attackable Via DHCP Mechanism That Has Little To Do With VPNs Congress Still Sucks - Drops Broadband Discount Ball
142
May 9, 2024
Decoding Quantum Quandaries
Ned and Chris discuss the complexity and real-world implications of quantum computing. Quantum Queries In this episode of Chaos Lever, Ned and Chris explore quantum computing, unpacking the science of qubits and superpositions. They explain how quantum computers operate on principles fundamentally different from classical computers, highlighting this emerging technology's potential and limitations. Ned and Chris also tackle the excitement around quantum computing, discussing its slow progress a...
141
May 7, 2024
Tech News of The Week 05-07-24
In this week's episode of Tech News of the week, Ned and Chris discuss various IT challenges, including secure naming conventions for S3 storage, issues with Windows patch updates, new UK regulations on default passwords, and the hype around a new sudo clone. Links: Careful With Your S3 Naming Another Day, Another Disastrous Windows Patch Bundle That Breaks Everything No More Terrible Default Passwords In The UK Another Day, Another sudo Clone That Everyone Thinks Will Take Over The World
140
May 2, 2024
HashiCorp Under IBM’s Wing
Ned and Chris discuss IBM's acquisition of HashiCorp and the implications for the tech and DevOps communities. IBM’s $6.4 Billion Acquisition In this episode of Chaos Lever, Ned and Chris discuss IBM’s significant acquisition of HashiCorp, a deal valued at $6.4 billion. They look into the implications of this merger for the tech community, oversee HashiCorp's journey from Vagrant to the role of Terraform in infrastructure as code, and speculate on the future integration within IBM's ecosystem. ...