Chaos Lever Podcast - podcast cover

Chaos Lever Podcast

Ned Bellavance and Chris Haynerchaoslever.com
Chaos Lever examines emerging trends and new technology for the enterprise and beyond. Hosts Ned Bellavance and Chris Hayner examine the tech landscape through a skeptical lens based on over 40 combined years in the industry. Are we all doomed? Yes. Will the apocalypse be streamed on TikTok? Probably. Does Joni still love Chachi? Decidedly not.
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Episodes

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 mist...

Jul 18, 202437 minEp. 161

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 S...

Jul 16, 20248 minEp. 160

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 c...

Jul 11, 202444 minEp. 159

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 l...

Jul 04, 202437 minEp. 158

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...

Jul 02, 20248 minEp. 157

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 li...

Jun 27, 202436 minEp. 156

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...

Jun 25, 20249 minEp. 155

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 temporary...

Jun 20, 202437 minEp. 154

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...

Jun 18, 202411 minEp. 153

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 sess...

Jun 13, 202432 minEp. 152

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...

Jun 11, 202412 minEp. 151

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. ...

Jun 06, 202434 minEp. 150

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...

Jun 04, 202410 minEp. 149

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 D...

May 30, 202433 minEp. 148

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 h...

May 28, 202411 minEp. 147

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 de...

May 23, 202430 minEp. 146

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...

May 21, 20249 minEp. 145

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 t...

May 16, 202441 minEp. 144

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...

May 14, 20249 minEp. 143

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 an...

May 09, 202435 minEp. 142

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...

May 07, 202410 minEp. 141

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. T...

May 02, 202432 minEp. 140

Tech News of The Week 04-30-24

This week in Tech News of The Week Ned and Chris chat about generational divides in tech adoption, regulatory nods to competition, the retirement of quirky AWS hardware, and the looming uncertainty around a TikTok ban. Links: The Metaverse Is A Generational Thing, And We Ain’t That Generation FTC Agrees That Competition Is Good AWS Retires The Snowmobile Because Nothing In The World Is Fun Anymore TikTok Ban Appears Impotent, I Mean Imminent...

Apr 30, 202410 minEp. 139

Whose Space Is It Anyways? The Battle of Indents and Whitespace In Code

The contentious debate about tabs vs. spaces in coding, breaking down its historical roots and current implications. Tabs vs. spaces This Chaos Lever episode explores the surprisingly intense debate around using tabs and spaces in programming. Ned and Chris cover the historical journey of coding practices from punch cards to modern coding environments. They discuss how seemingly small choices, like whether to use tabs or spaces, have great implications for code readability, maintenance, and even...

Apr 25, 202435 minEp. 138

Tech News of The Week 04-23-24 [MTG-35]

This week in Tech News of The Week Ned and Chris discuss a variety of recent tech headlines, an influencer's negative impact on Humane AI, Google Drive's new dark mode, the controversial debut of Airchat, and the rising threat of the Latrodectus malware loader! Links: Humane AI Pin Sucks, Influencer Blamed For Killing Company Google Drive Gets Dark Mode; I’m Irrationally Excited About It Dark Reader Airchat Bursts Onto The Scene To Make Us All Dumber New Malware Loader Latrodectus Making More An...

Apr 23, 202410 minEp. 137

Tracing the Origins Of Tech Terminology

Ned and Chris explore the curious origins of everyday tech terms, like "download" and "log in," and how they became part of our digital lives. Tech Etymology This episode of Chaos Lever examines the fascinating backstory behind standard tech terms. Ned and Chris discuss how these terms evolved from practical uses in the past to the digital expressions we use daily. This episode also touches on current events in the tech world, including Redis's licensing changes and HashiCorp's legal battles, pr...

Apr 18, 202426 minEp. 136

Tech News of The Week 04-16-24 [MTG-34]

This week in Tech News of the Week we dive into a series of significant tech and cybersecurity developments: Home Depot's troubling supply chain data breach, Supermicro's controversial decision not to fix hackable BMCs, and much more! Links: Home Depot Hammered by Supply Chain Data Breach Hackable BMCs for Supermicro Won’t Be Fixed Intel Releases New AI Accelerator Chip, Looks To Keep Accelerating Google Tries To Get A Leg Up Intel With A New ARM...

Apr 16, 202410 minEp. 135

When Code Goes Rogue: The CVE-2024-3094 Saga

Ned and Chris discuss the impact of a sophisticated cybersecurity vulnerability, CVE-2024-3094, found in xz compression software by a Microsoft employee. CVE-2024-3094 In this Chaos Lever episode, Ned and Chris look into the shadowy depths of cybersecurity where a malicious code, CVE-2024-3094, lurks within the seemingly benign xz compression software. This problem was deliberately created by someone with harmful intentions and essentially allows hackers to sneakily access and manipulate data in...

Apr 11, 202435 minEp. 134

Tech News of The Week 04-09-24 [MTG-33]

This week In Tech News of The Week, headlines suggests that there are advancements in PCI 7 development, confirmed instances of problematic behavior by Facebook, potential security improvements for SS7, increasing email security requirements driven by Google and Yahoo, and much more! Links: PCI 7 Coming Along Nicely More Shitty but-only-SUSPECTED Facebook Behavior Proven Real… Again SS7 Might Finally Get Secure SMS and why it’s a security nightmare Email Security Mandates Becoming Mandat-ier Tha...

Apr 09, 202411 minEp. 133

AI’s High Speed Chase in Networking

Ned and Chris discuss the evolution of data center networking technologies, particularly focusing on the rivalry between Ethernet and InfiniBand in the context of AI and high-performance computing. Ethernet vs. InfiniBand: This episode takes listeners into the world of data center networking, as Ned and Chris dissect the critical role of Ethernet and InfiniBand technologies in AI's rapid evolution. They explore how these networking giants influence the performance and efficiency of AI workloads ...

Apr 04, 202435 minEp. 132
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