Grumpy Old Geeks - podcast cover

Grumpy Old Geeks

Jason DeFillippo & Brian Schulmeister with Dave Bittnergog.show

We dissect the tech news train wrecks of the week, calling out what went wrong and who’s to blame. Think of this podcast as if Kurt Cobain threw down with Tom from MySpace, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg in a back alley brawl. No mercy, no filter—if tech had a walk of shame, this would be it.

Episodes

692: Confabulation and Frivolity

This episode of Grumpy Old Geeks dives into the absurdities of modern tech and politics, from Fyre Fest 2's impending doom to AI-driven surveillance and the Justice Department's retreat from crypto fraud. The hosts explore the latest developments in AI, including ChatGPT's memory feature and the UK's AI-powered crime prediction, while also reviewing new media like Black Mirror and Tron: Ares. Listen for a grumpy yet insightful take on the chaotic state of the digital world.

Apr 11, 20251 hr 27 minEp. 692

691: Cry Me A River (to Cool Off My AI)

This episode of Grumpy Old Geeks covers a range of tech and political issues, including protests against Tesla, privacy concerns with private jets, and the latest developments in AI. The hosts also discuss the implications of Trump's executive order on data silos, review media content, and share updates on Apple's upcoming products. Dave Bittner shares the passing of his father.

Apr 04, 20251 hr 20 minEp. 691

690: An Insult to Life Itself

This episode of Grumpy Old Geeks dives into the week's tech and news fails, from government officials' security blunders to AI's shortcomings and ethical concerns. They explore the Dunning-Kruger effect in action, discuss the latest crypto scams, and review media like Severance and hacker documentaries. The hosts also touch on listener feedback, highlighting their community's engagement and diverse opinions.

Mar 28, 20251 hr 8 minEp. 690

689: What Would Dave Do?

The Grumpy Old Geeks discuss AI's dark side, Tesla's woes, government surveillance, and more tech news. They delve into copyright issues, streaming services, and listener feedback. Dave Bittner joins to share his insights on cybersecurity and current events, while the hosts debate the merits of clicky keyboards.

Mar 21, 20251 hr 17 minEp. 689

688: Why, Combinator?

Pi Day gets its due; Y Combinator marks 20 years of “disruption”; Americans lose $12.5B to scams thanks to AI and social media; Deliveroo posts a profit but still tanks on Wall Street; Twitter’s security remains a joke; Pinterest steals user content for AI; and a rogue developer gets busted for a kill switch scheme. Severance Season 2 costs $20M per episode; Ted Lasso returns despite ending; Waymo’s driverless taxis rack up parking tickets; and Apple plans to turn AirPods into live translators. ...

Mar 14, 20251 hr 24 minEp. 688

687: Uncanny Spaceballs

This episode of Grumpy Old Geeks dives into the dystopian reality of technology and politics, discussing Techdirt's shift to political coverage, Google's failing AI search, the ongoing Fyre Festival scam, and the backlash against Elon Musk's Tesla. The hosts also explore AI's limitations, Russian propaganda in chatbots, Trump's crypto hype, and the struggles of indie artists, offering a humorous yet critical perspective on current events.

Mar 07, 20251 hr 5 minEp. 687

686: Not All Heroes Vibe Code

This episode covers a wide range of tech and internet topics, from government data privacy violations and crypto market fluctuations to AI mishaps and media industry news. It critiques Musk's influence, discusses the rise of AI-generated content, and analyzes the changing landscape of streaming services and social media. The hosts also delve into controversies surrounding meme coins, Fyre Festival 2, and the Washington Post's shift in editorial focus.

Feb 28, 20251 hrEp. 686

685: Bezos, Jeff Bezos

Jason and Brian dive into a whirlwind of tech chaos, cultural absurdities, and dystopian developments. They kick things off with a nostalgic nod to the internet's past, highlighting the 88x31 GIF collection and quirky single-use websites like "Trump Golf Track" and "Are We Doomed Yet?" The asteroid 2024 YR4 briefly raises existential dread as NASA’s odds of a 2032 Earth impact fluctuate wildly, but relief follows as updated calculations show a near-zero chance of collision. Meanwhile, Elon Musk ...

Feb 22, 20251 hr 5 minEp. 685

684: Don’t Be a Dick

In this episode of Grumpy Old Geeks, Jason and Brian dive headfirst into the latest tech absurdities, financial scandals, and Elon Musk's ongoing chaos. We start with the annual frustration of unsubscribing from an email list that just won’t quit before jumping into the latest gem from Musk himself: "Some of the things that I say will be incorrect." Meanwhile, British IT worker James Howells is back with his ongoing quest to unearth his lost Bitcoin fortune—this time with a plan to buy the entir...

Feb 15, 20251 hr 26 minEp. 684

683: There IS a Spoon!

This week, Jason and Brian dive into the chaos surrounding Elon Musk’s growing influence in government tech, with young engineers playing key roles in his takeover. DOGE employees are being ordered off Slack, USAID is crumbling, and Musk’s war with U.S. officials rages on. Meanwhile, AI takes center stage with the EU banning high-risk systems, DeepSeek’s security concerns, and Amazon throwing down $100 billion on AI advancements. Big Tech moves are equally absurd—Google is now open to AI-powered...

Feb 08, 20251 hr 21 minEp. 683

682: We’re Gonna Need a Bigger Luigi

Brian and Jason kick things off with a look at why Gen Z grads are getting fired just months after landing jobs and a curiously viral declassified CIA sabotage guide. Speaking of sabotage, U.S. students are struggling with their lowest reading scores in decades, raising questions about the future workforce. Meanwhile, Google Maps’ controversial renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America” for U.S. users has sparked some amusing geopolitical tit-for-tats. In the AI wars, OpenAI is fuming o...

Feb 01, 20251 hr 27 minEp. 682

681: Trough of Disillusionment

In this episode, Brian and Jason kick things off by highlighting the troubling state of the gaming industry, with 11% of developers laid off in 2024, according to a GDC survey. Meanwhile, Elon Musk finds a new way to perplex us all by admitting he pays people to play video games for him. They then unpack a whirlwind of news, including Trump’s controversial pardon of Silk Road creator Ross Ulbricht and his ongoing crusade against perceived social media bias. Elon Musk’s antics take center stage a...

Jan 25, 20251 hr 23 minEp. 681

680: Failed Up

This week on Grumpy Old Geeks , Jason and Brian dissect the latest tech and cultural news, starting with a TikTok tempest. The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a law potentially banning the app in the U.S. leaves the ball in Trump’s court, while TikTok’s CEO plans to attend his inauguration. As users flock to alternative Chinese apps and RedNote scrambles to hire English-speaking moderators, it seems the tech world is in chaos. Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg faces lawsuits over using pirated mater...

Jan 18, 20251 hr 4 minEp. 680

679: Set Sanity to Zero

In Episode 679 of Grumpy Old Geeks, titled "Set Sanity to Zero," Brian and Jason discuss the latest developments in tech, culture, and innovation. The episode opens with a look at Watch Duty, a wildfire-tracking app that has surpassed ChatGPT to take the top spot on the App Store amid California’s wildfire crisis. They also cover local news, including the arrest of an arson suspect in Woodland Hills, CA, and tech entrepreneur Kevin Rose’s home in the Palisades that is making headlines. The hosts...

Jan 11, 20251 hr 24 minEp. 679

678: Stop Doing That!

WordPress has officially jumped the pineapple, forcing users to agree that pineapple belongs on pizza to log in. Critics call it a kindergarten move, especially when serious feature requests are ignored. Meanwhile, the crypto world is celebrating its new political allies, but experts warn we’re inching toward a financial apocalypse that taxpayers will be stuck cleaning up. On the East Coast, people are mistaking stars for drones while pilots dodge lasers in what’s shaping up to be the plot of a ...

Dec 21, 20241 hr 21 minEp. 678

677: What’s in the Bag?!

In this episode, Jason DeFillippo and Brian Schulmeister dig into the Hawk Tuah meme coin disaster and where influencer-driven crypto schemes go off the rails, leaving chaos in their wake. They unpack WP Engine’s big win against Automattic in a high-stakes WordPress legal battle and take a closer look at Waymo’s rapid rise to match Lyft’s market share in San Francisco. The discussion heats up with GM’s decision to shut down its troubled Cruise robotaxi brand, Amazon’s bold move into the car-sell...

Dec 14, 202457 minEp. 677

676: Gay Nuclear Frogs

We dive into the TikTok ban drama, Elon Musk’s Tesla pay controversy, and a Chinese ship crew allegedly sabotaging undersea cables. In the news, the former Celsius CEO pleads guilty, Canadian media takes on OpenAI, and Elon Musk wants to rein in ChatGPT. Plus, drug smugglers with Starlink, Meta’s nuclear ambitions, and Apple spying allegations. For media candy, we’ve got Dune: Prophecy , Rings of Power shake-ups, and a Harry Potter baking showdown. In apps & doodads, Spotify’s CEO is richer ...

Dec 07, 20241 hr 15 minEp. 676

675: A Thanksgiving Blast from the Past with Tim Ferriss

Welcome to our Thanksgiving Weekend Blast from the Past! This is a cleaned-up replay of our very first Thanksgiving with Tim Ferriss. We hope you enjoy and we’ll be back next week in all of our Grumpy Glory! This week, author Tim Ferriss is our special guest. Tim sat with us for an hour, and we talked about his new show on HLN, his fantastic new book club, cool stuff about the quantified self, sleep hacking, and more. We even got a story that wasn't in the books! Sponsors: Mint Mobile - Get a ne...

Nov 30, 20241 hr 7 minEp. 675

675: Your Own Personal Jesus

In this episode of Grumpy Old Geeks , we dive into the wild, wacky, and often worrying world of tech, media, and everything in between. From a Swiss church using AI to preach the gospel to OpenAI facing a copyright conundrum, and a DNA testing company ghosting its customers, the news is packed with surprises. We also explore Neuralink’s Canadian trials, bizarre domain drama between Alex Jones and The Onion , and why Google might be forced to part ways with Chrome. Plus, a study reveals Tesla’s t...

Nov 23, 20241 hr 20 minEp. 675

674: Welcome to DOGE! The Department of Grumpy Entertainment

In this episode of Grumpy Old Geeks , we break down the latest chaos in tech, pop culture, and humanity’s never-ending quest to out-stupid itself. Hackers are raiding Ticketmaster accounts (again), and Chegg is circling the drain after ChatGPT obliterated its business model. Meanwhile, Amazon is hawking boner pills that tanked Hims’ stock, 23andMe is laying off nearly half its staff, and Bluesky is quietly stealing users who’ve had it with Elon’s dumpster fire over at X. Driverless Waymo cars ta...

Nov 16, 20241 hr 20 minEp. 674

673: Copyright Win for OpenAI, Internet Shock for North Koreans, and much more...

Just Some of the Topics Covered in this Episode: Copyright Lawsuit Dismissal : A federal judge dismissed a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI, filed by news outlets claiming misuse of their content in AI model training. Truth Social’s Stock Drop : Despite a political victory for Donald Trump, shares in his media platform, Truth Social, have plummeted by 22%, leaving investors wary of its future value. Layoffs Roundup : Mozilla Foundation reduces its workforce by 30%, affecting advocacy and global ...

Nov 09, 20241 hr 10 minEp. 673

672: Elon or Not?

Cash App class action; Tesla camera-based FSD questioned; Trump Media stock swings; standing desks are the new eggs; Dropbox layoffs; OpenAI Whisper invents parts of transcriptions, frequently; ChatGPT search; post scarcity AI BS; AI coding ouroboros of confusion; Musk crypto scams; Underworld; The Cure; A Man on the Inside; the Diplomat; Instagram throttles video quality; META to fill feeds with more AI; SetApp; Echoes of Extinction; Polostan; the Cube Rule of food identification; Disney hack; ...

Nov 02, 20241 hr 12 minEp. 672

671: Lorum Ipsum Is My Sister

San Fran embracing self-driving cars; not-Bitcoin creator in hiding; i h8 ai; anti-AI artist open letter; X updates their policies; more people leave OpenAI; SynthID; 23andMe and your genetic data; no more fake online reviews; private equity acquires Squarespace; right to repair; Tesla Blade Runner AI ripoff; Star Trek frogs; the Riker Maneuver; de-extinction; a whole slew of great new shows dropping - Star Trek, Dune, Silo & more; Good Omens season 3 now just a movie; Cruel World and nostal...

Oct 26, 20241 hr 8 minEp. 671

670: Just Buy the Thing!

More Wordpress & WPEngine shots fired; hate mail; European road organizations reject the Cybertruck; EU fines against X; civil rights commission pans FART (facial recognition technology); FCC looking into broadband caps; NYT tells Perplexity to stop using its content; AI writing police reports; Instagram becoming Myspace; TikTok knows damn well how bad their product is; Google, Amazon go nuclear for their AI; the Diplomat; Lincoln Lawyer; Shrinking; Silo; Apple digital car keys; new Amazon k...

Oct 19, 20241 hr 12 minEp. 670

669: HamFest

The beginning of the end for Wordpress; open source, or not; police Cybertrucks; Apple Intelligence rolling out; dystopian AI text summaries; X sends money to the wrong bank, argues that Twitter ceased to exist; Internet Archive attacked; Instagram, Threads moderation out of control; the Penguin; Beetlejuice; Salem's Lot; Joker; Kaos cancelled; Bitcoin doc; Green Day demastered; Roblox; Megalopolis; Tesla's Cybercab; is Elon a modern PT Barnum, or worse; ham radios, HamFests, TRS-80, cameras, Di...

Oct 12, 20241 hr 14 minEp. 669

668: Weaponized Puffery

OpenAI training data, dynamic pricing & digital IDs; Elon's good week; dockworkers strike over robots averted, for now; more AI models; some AI training techniques make AI better at deceiving humans; weaponizing DMCA takedowns; Cruise fined for omitting details; Cybertruck gets FSD; EV Jeeps catching fire; Neumann back doing workspaces; COVID-19 affected the moon; the Diplomat; Wolfs; The Traitors Canada; The Rings of Power; more Prime Video ads; Juicebox quits the US; facial recognition &am...

Oct 05, 20241 hr 18 minEp. 668

667: Nuclear Recall

Sam Altman stands alone at OpenAI; Gen Z employees not impressing bosses; X complies with Brazil's Supreme Court, but kill blocking; former FTX Exec given light sentence; Microsoft to reopen Three Mile Island nuclear plant to power AI; banning Chinese smart cars; Click to cancel bill passed into law in California; The Cure, Underworld new albums; Bad Monkey; Culinary Class Wars; BBC sound effect library; Duolingo piano; Wordpress vs WP Engine; Jony Ive working on a new AI device startup; AI play...

Sep 28, 202457 minEp. 667

666: The Episode of the Beast

Fun 666 Facts; Notebook AI follow up; Moviepass fraud; 23andMe settlement, disappearing board; Elon's deleted tweet; AI laws in California; Trump cryptocurrency; Amazon returns to work 5 days a week; new Moderna cancer vaccine; Rebel Ridge; The Grand Tour's last ride; Jane's Addiction & the Cure; social media posting apps; iOS 18; Apple frustrations; Snap's Spectacles; Echoes of Extinction; In My Time of Dying; OnlyBots; iPhone deliveries; more Overcast; pagers & walkie-talkie speculatio...

Sep 21, 20242 hr 30 minEp. 666

665: Human Referees

Gaiman & Good Omens; Waymo means Uber drivers are cooked; local muggers; EU not messing around with Apple, Google; DOJ after Google as well; another genetic testing company with security breach disasters; META scraping Australian users' accounts to train AI; banning social media for children; AI to determine unemployment benefits; Lower Decks; Hope Solo vs US Soccer; Alan Cumming; the Perfect Couple; KAOS; Tears for Fears; FruitJuice; iPhone 16 pre-ordering process; AirPods Pro 2 as hearing ...

Sep 14, 20241 hr 18 minEp. 665

664: I Love It When a Ding Dong Comes Together

SEC AI crackdown; Starlink & X vs Brazil; Navy's STINKY Wi-Fi; Microsoft tool for deepfake scrubbing on Bing; Clearview fines for violating GDPR; Bitcoin ATM scams; mobile phones not linked to brain cancer; NaNoWriMo AI kerfuffle; the Rings of Power; Ticketmaster Oasis dynamic pricing, explained; Sunny; Jesus Jones; Talk Tuah; No Such Podcast; Russian-funded influencers; AI streaming heist; Minecraft Movie; Claude AI powered Alexa; Fantasy Hike; Reeder; Disneyland wrap-up; the high cost of L...

Sep 07, 20241 hr 23 minEp. 664