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Episode 460 – “Smart Home Hacks & Windows Update Fail”

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This week’s TechtalkRadio show is joined by Andy Taylor, Shawn DeWeerd and returning after an absence Justin Lemme.  The guys opened up with some radio war stories and how On-Air has changed in many large cities but it does open up a even bigger conversation about where broadcasting is headed—automation, “canned” shifts, and even AI DJs which has already been experimented with. That segued into a broader AI discussion: hype vs. reality (is there an “AI bubble”?). Shawn is not happy with the AI Enabled toys we should see around the holidays and questions how some can hold back kids’ creativity and also raises privacy concerns. A discussion on AI in Media continues with Shawn not a fan of the obvious AI ad spots (Coke’s holiday commercial came up). Andy and Justin seemed to feel it brought out the essence of the Holidays and Coke however Shawn shares how the AI ran over a street of crowded people which delivered a honest natural reaction from Justin. 

Justin dove into DIY smart-home tinkering: using low-cost ESP32 microcontrollers with Home Assistant to build sensors (soil moisture alerts, mmWave presence for stair lights, temperature monitoring for a garage freezer). The takeaway: you can replicate pricey off-the-shelf gadgets for a fraction of the cost and power them via USB-C, battery, or small solar. Listener Q&A covered everyday computing—when a Chromebook or budget laptop beats a custom PC if you’re mostly browsing and watching video—and a heads-up that RAM prices have spiked recently. We also hit the streaming mess (YouTube TV vs. Disney/ESPN) and why “cutting the cord” keeps getting pricier and more confusing.

A Fun group on Facebook, IT Humor and Memes Shared a post about gaming in the late 80’s which opened up a discussion on Gaming nostalgia: Making the list for Andy, Shawn and Justin were titles like Wolfenstein 3D, Command & Conquer, Diablo II, RollerCoaster Tycoon, Leisure Suit Larry, and more—plus places to play DOS classics right in your browser with a great link from Shawn. Justin flagged the Fallout 4 Anniversary Edition (bundled with expansions) and told a story about navigating parental controls with Fallout. There was also a quick troubleshooting win: an HP Omen laptop that crawled after a Windows update was fixed by rolling back recent updates—sometimes it is Windows.

We wrapped with “sites of the week.” TV Garden lets you hop around live channels worldwide (including NASA TV streams), a delightfully distracting Pong-style clock, browser-based emulation libraries for retro games, a global web SDR directory for ham-radio listening, and a quick-fix image cleanup tool. Last week’s background remover got a nod again for simple cutouts. Check out the Website TechtalkRadio.Com for Links talked about on the Show and see the Video Version on our Blog.techtalkradio.com and Subscribe!

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Episode 445 – A.I. in Your Toys? Good or Bad Idea?

Rated M for Mayhem: The True Story Behind Postal!

For this Week’s TechtalkRadio Show  – Andy, Shawn, Justin, and Matt welcome documentary filmmakers Tad Sallee and Jason Sikorsky, the creative minds behind “Going Postal: The Legacy Foretold”. This five-year passion project chronicles the rise, controversy, and legal battles of Mike J. and Vince Desi, the duo behind the infamous Postal video game series.

The filmmakers—who first met handing out Clinique samples at the University of Arizona—in  Tucson initially set out to make a short YouTube series, but the story of the Journey of Running With Scissors and Postal pulled them into a 5 years-long journey involving crowdfunded production, learning of the legal drama, and the fight for free speech in gaming. The guys discuss the cameras used to put it together ranging from Canon C100s to Red and Sony A73s, which delivered a mountain of 24TB in footage, the project evolved dramatically—especially when they migrated from Adobe Creative Suite to DaVinci Resolve for post-production to have it needed to be rebuilt. 

Over the years, Andy Taylor was able to guest Vince and Mike in the Studios while doing Morning Radio at KLPX and TechtalkRadio when it was on KTKT. TechtalkRadio also broadcast live via Ustream from the Screening of the Postal Movie which is also discussed in the Documentary.

The team dives into the technical challenges of editing a documentary full of archival footage and interviews—including chats with friends in the Radio World that provided the various voices of The Postal Dude like Rick Hunter, Corey Cruise, and Jon St. John. The film premiered to a sold-out crowd at the 2025 Phoenix Film Festival, even sharing a time slot with Platoon. Talk about epic timing!

Tad also shares insights into his production company Playtest Network, dedicated to video game specials and documentaries. With Postal done, new ideas flew fast: Justin pitched a future film on Project Zomboid, and Andy floated the idea of a History Channel-style series on video game history in America similar to The Food That Made America. 

The crew also caught up on gaming news and memories:

🎮 Justin is hunting down a Nintendo Switch 2 (but why?!)

🎮 Shawn breaks news about Mattel teaming up with OpenAI for AI-powered toys—which could be a bad idea and whether we’re raising the next-gen or dumbing them down.

🎮 Favorite Games are discussed and Matt gets nostalgic with Final Fantasy VIII and Legend of Dragoon, Justin shouts out GoldenEye and Sea of Thieves, Shawn reps Diablo II, and Andy remembers the pure joy of Intellivision Baseball with his late son .

This episode is packed with game history, tech challenges, AI toys, and some heartfelt moments that went beyond the Games.

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Available on Audacy, iHeart, Apple Podcast, Amazon Music, Google, Spotify and Spreaker!

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Episode 429 – Don’t Bake it in the Oven!

This Week on TechtalkRadio: A Flashback Tech-Fest with Andy, Shawn & Justin!

In this flashback episode of TechtalkRadio, Andy Taylor is joined by Shawn DeWeerd and Justin Lemme for a lively discussion filled with tech tips, smart gear insights, and a few cautionary tales from the world of online shopping.

Shawn kicks things off with his experience setting up Wyze lighting in his office and TV room, sharing how to configure lighting grids and create custom scenes. Andy follows with a frustrating story about ordering a product online and not receiving the full shipment, sparking a broader conversation about safe online shopping practices—especially what not to use when making a purchase. He also talks about an experiment gone wrong: ordering a $99 laptop from a sketchy vendor on social media called “BuyBest.” Spoiler alert—it turned out to be a scam. Justin admits he nearly fell for a similar trap from a site called “Nozama.”

The conversation shifts to Smart TVs, where Justin noticed a huge spike in DNS traffic on his Raspberry PiHole after hooking up his new TV—a good reminder to keep an eye on what your devices are really doing online.

Andy shares a favorite recent gadget, the Retekess V115 Portable Radio. It’s a compact AM/FM/Shortwave receiver that also plays MP3s from a TF card and can record over-the-air broadcasts—all powered by a rechargeable battery. That inspires Shawn to talk about getting into amateur radio and the helpful resources available at arrl.org and radioreference.com for exploring local repeater activity.

Andy then compares keyboard options for tablets, including a Samsung model and the versatile Logitech K480. The discussion takes a turn to the Apple ecosystem, with a look at how Mac hardware has evolved over the years. Justin brings up his SecretLabs chair, which had issues with the armrest but came with stellar customer service that left him impressed.

Thinking about upgrading his system, Justin wrestles with the choice between Intel and AMD, leading to a group discussion on what to consider when building or refreshing a PC. Shawn recommends using CPUID to learn more about your current hardware, while Justin suggests AIDA64 as another helpful tool. For motherboards, Justin shares his preference for ASRock based on his own positive experience.

Andy wraps things up with a warning about the growing trend of phishing and email harvesting, recommending a visit to haveibeenpwned.com to see if your data has been compromised. And in true TechtalkRadio fashion, the guys cap it off with a fun but serious discussion on how not to clean your PC. From dishwashers to power washers, and even wet/dry vacs, they share the dos and don’ts of keeping your rig clean—emphasizing that compressed air, while popular, still comes with its own considerations.

It’s a packed episode with practical advice, a few laughs, and real-world tech talk

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Episode #425 – Connecting to The Wu-Tang LAN

In this weeks TechtalkRadio Show, Andy, Shawn and Justin take on one of the big stories in the news with the recent drone sightings over the East Coast, with Shawn clarifying that while there are indeed drones, some of the reported sightings could be helicopters. Justin shared his concerns about the presence of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) near the US Capitol, which he believes should not be ignored. The hosts also touched on the topic of misinformation surrounding these sightings. This is course causes speculation about the possibility of extraterrestrial life, with Justin suggesting that the objects could be alien technology. Andy mentioned the possibility of drones being used for surveillance or warfare, and Shawn noted that the quality of the amateur videos was not impressive. They also discussed the military’s response to the sightings, with Justin questioning why the military was not commenting on the situation. The conversation ended with a discussion about the capabilities of larger drones, with Shawn noting that they could potentially fly for extended periods of time. Shawn also suggested that some drones could be built without GPS geofencing. Andy wondered if this could lead to changes in legislation for drone usage and the overall feeling is Yes.
The group speculated about the possibility of an elaborate prank or a serious government cover-up, and decided to keep an eye on the situation.

In last week’s Show, Justin was trying to decide on his next vehicle and shares that the purchase of a 2025 Toyota Camry XLE, a hybrid vehicle, after selling his 2017 Ford Explorer was made. He mentioned that the new car has a 12.3-inch touch screen infotainment system, HD radio, Sirius XM, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, full surround cameras, and a panoramic moonroof. Andy wondered if for long trips would he prefer the Tesla or Hybrid Camry. Justin does enjoy the convenience of self-driving features with the Tesla and traveling adds a minimal time for recharging.

A Listener question opens up a fun discussion on naming your Wi-Fi SSID. In the Segment a listener was asked by a neighbor about sharing his Wi-Fi. The group advised against it, citing potential misuse of bandwidth and exposure to legal issues. They also shared their Wi-Fi network names, with Justin’s being “The Wu-tang LAN” and Shawn’s being “Land before time”. The team also encouraged listeners to share some of the fun SSID names they have seen. Another listener question wonders about the benefits of OpenOffice as an alternative to Microsoft Office. They emphasized the benefits of open source software, such as community-driven development and potential for better support and feature requests. However, they also cautioned against downloading software from unverified sources and stressed the importance of due diligence in researching and selecting software. Shawn shared again with us a great website for finding open source software https://www.alternativeto.net

With YouTubeTV raising its Monthly Plan Cost, The team discussed their streaming services and the increasing costs associated with them. Andy mentioned that he was considering switching to YouTube TV but was hesitant due to the price increase. Shawn shared that they were sharing the cost of various streaming services among family members. The team also discussed the inconvenience of ads in some streaming services and the potential of physical media sales increasing due to internet outages. Andy, Shawn, and Justin discussed the recent launch of OpenAI’s free search feature for Chat GPT, which allows users to search for images and information.

Justin shared two websites of interest for the Website of the Week: https://www.everyhex.codes, a website that provides every color imaginable with its hexadecimal code, and https://www.openmhz.com , a website that allows users to listen to unencrypted police, fire, and EMS radio channels. They also discussed the possibility of using an SDR device to capture local radio frequencies and share them on Openmhz.com. Lastly, they shared their Christmas wishes, with Shawn wanting the High Speed Photo Scanner we shared from Epson earlier this year, The FastFoto 680 and Justin hoping for the Denver Broncos to make it to the Super Bowl!