Short Rant, Short Episode

Every great business starts as a dream, but turning that dream into reality, that's where Shopify comes in. Shopify is proud to power many sources of UK e-commerce from brands like Mattel and Gymshark to new entrepreneurs. Worried about building a website? Shopify's ready-to-use templates help bring your brand to life. Need a hand with content? Shopify's AI tools generate product descriptions, headlines, and even enhance your images.

Struggling to get noticed? Shopify's marketing tools let you launch email and social campaigns with ease. And if you ever get stuck, Shopify's award-winning 24-7 support is always there to help. Turn those what-ifs into why nots. Turn those dreams into... And give them the best shot at success with Shopify. Sign up for your £1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.co.uk slash try. Go to shopify.co.uk slash try. A factual data creation facility production.

Recorded live from in front of a computer, it's episode 271 of the OFNT podcast. Now here's your host, a man who's grown tired of female septum piercings, Jim Schaefer. Welcome to the episode which I'm calling Short Rant, Short Episode. I have a colonoscopy appointment Monday and the prep is kicking in fully. So I'm keeping the episode short.

I have a couple of Android and Google-related stories and some Apple rumors to report on. That's followed by a little bit of tech I'm using and entertainment stuff, as well as some podcast news. I wrap it all up with a rant. You heard that right, a rant. I guess I better start before I have to run to the restroom. So, let's get moving, shall we? Oh yeah.

Tech news. Mostly giant fruit company items this week. Well, that's to be expected due to the imminent Worldwide Developers Conference. But first, here's some non-Apple news, as brief as it is. A subject I touched on last week was some of the new features Google added to Google Meet, primarily real-time language translation. Google Meet is the company's video conference future.

as evidenced by this article which appeared on 9to5google.com last week. Though Google Duo basically went away back in 2022, some of its features remained in Google Meet. mainly calling using Duo's protocols. Well, this is to be replaced by meet calls that will include in-call chat messages, live captions, screen sharing, stackable effects, add-ons.

improved tablet and foldable layouts, raise your hands, and premium features that depend on your workspace edition or level of Google One subscription. Duo features that will not make it to meet are family mode, mirror mode, knock knock, and sending emoji from the pre-call screen. Other Duo features that are going away, but...

Have workarounds are moments, which can be now done by taking a device screenshot. Low light mode replaced by video lighting adjustment and data saving mode, which is replaced by meat saver mode. Google is prompting users to export their call history and video messaging before they are removed by September. I think it's safe to say that Google is going all in on Meet as its video conferencing and chat solution. At least for...

Now. Two research companies, Counterpoint and Canalys, have come to the conclusion that the Android mobile operating system is the dominant platform in Europe. But... You probably already knew that. Yes. The two biggest hardware gainers in Europe are Huawei's Honor brand of phones and Google's Pixel brand of phones. Honor saw 20% year-on-year growth in the European market.

while Pixel saw a 43% increase in shipments. If I were to choose between the two brands, I'd go with Google's Pixel. By choosing Pixel, you'd be getting the quickest OS and security updates, and for a longer time. With Honor, besides the security problems, you wouldn't know when or if you'd be getting any updates at all. That's just my opinion for what it's worth. And now, the Apple News, or should I say Apple Rumors of the Week. MacRumors.com, who are quoting Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

Report that some features expected for Apple's delayed smart home devices have been scrapped in order to be able to release the product sooner. Has anyone asked for this product? Will anyone even purchase it? Well, I'm no Mark Gurman, but I'm not sure if anyone asked for this thing, but I am sure that some will purchase it. Not me, though. I'll be sticking with my Amazon Echoes for the time being.

The success of this product will depend on how good the upgrade to Siri goes. 9to5mac.com reports that CounterPoint Research... Again? Yes, I guess they've been busy lately. have crowned the poor person's edition of the iPhone 16 as the best-selling smartphone for the first quarter of 2025. This is the first time since 2022 that a base model iPhone has led global sales in this time period.

Besides Samsung, Xiaomi was the only other brand to make the list. The iPhone 16 Pro Max and 16 Pro came in at second and third place respectively. Perhaps this points to a better economy. As reported by various tech news outlets, Apple is rumored to be changing the way it names its operating systems. Instead of just being the number of iterations the OS has had, Apple will instead use the year.

Well, at least the last two digits of it. For example, instead of iOS 19, this year's iOS update will be called iOS 26. Hold on, why wouldn't it be called iOS 25? If I'm not mistaken, this is 2025, not 2026. Good point. I presume this is because of Apple's rumored staggered iPhone release schedule, which will see the pro and future foldable iPhones be released in the fall, which some might call autumn.

with the base models released later the following summer. Or is it the other way around? In that case, will we be getting iPhone 17s next, or will they be called iPhone 26s? Jeez, who knows? I'm sure someone does deep inside Cupertino. Myself? Call me confused. But then again, lately that seems to be my natural state. 9to5mac.com predicts that Apple will announce cross-platform end-to-end encryption for RCS messaging at this year's WWDC. Let me reword that.

Apple could announce their version of end-to-end encryption for RCS messaging at WWDC. Remember, Google already has their own end-to-end encryption protocol for RCS messaging. Wouldn't it be easier for Apple to just support Google's end-to-end encryption standard instead of creating their own? Of course it would be easier. But that's not the way it goes in tech when you have two giant companies competing against each other.

Think VHS versus beta. What? I'm showing my age here. VHS and beta were two competing standards regarding the recording and playback of consumer video. Though beta was far superior, well, that's my opinion, the VHS standard won the battle. Though I would trust Apple over Google with my privacy, it remains to be seen which one of the RCS standards the committee chooses.

Or in my sarcastic view, which tech company pays for their version to be adopted? Either way, we'll finally have some sort of encryption standard for RCS.

Tech I'm using. Or should I say tech being used on me. It's that time again for me to undergo a colonoscopy.

I'm recording this episode between trips to the restroom, which will hopefully clear out my digestive system in order for the doctor to get an unhindered view of my insides. Though the last two times I underwent this procedure... I was scolded by the physician because of the unclean state of my innards, though I had followed the pre-colinoscopy instructions to the letter on both occasions.

I've been through this procedure enough to realize that the preparation is far worse than the procedure itself. Just before being put under, I always glance around the operating room to see what brand of medical equipment is being used. You know, I'm nothing at all if I'm not a geek, no matter the situation. I can say the images obtained have really gotten better over the years. Previously, I'd kept shadowy black and white images in my report.

The last images I saw some three years ago were not only in color, but very detailed. Do we really have to continue discussing this subject here? Well, no, but I'm going to do so anyway. I have my medical records linked to my Apple Health account, and within hours I have a detailed account of the procedure along with those detailed images I described previously, much to the AI commentator's chagrin. So pardon this episode if it comes off choppy. I guess you can describe it as being crappy.

We've started the process for having a fence installed on our miniscule property last week. They came to measure the yard on Tuesday, still using that old method of wheeling around a measuring device in order to do so. You'd think that with the advances in technology these days, a better and probably more accurate way of measuring would have taken that old contraption's place. I chalked this up to, if it isn't broken, well, why fix it?

There's nothing as far as tech I'm using to talk about this week, really. Hence the filler we've just been subjected to. Why yes, at least partly. In regards to new tech, I'm really at a standstill. The only things on the horizon are the new iPhones we, I, are thinking of getting this October, an iPhone 16e for my son's birthday this August, and a 13-inch iPad Air I'm contemplating purchasing for my lovely wife.

But that will be a Christmas gift, so it's kind of a long way off. My lovely wife is using her current base model iPad almost constantly for content consumption. She watches television series from back in the old home country. Even before retiring for the evening, she watches an episode or two while in bed. I figure she can use the 13-inch iPad Air while in places other than the bedroom and continue using her current iPad before going to sleep.

I think she'd like having the larger screen, but I could be wrong. Alexa Plus is doing pretty good. I enjoy being able to have conversational interactions with that digital assistant versus having to ask a specific question while using it. I'm also back on my Logitech mechanical keyboard with my Mac Mini setup. While it was nice having Touch ID and keys which are like typing on the faces of angels,

There's just something about the clickety-clack of a mechanical keyboard. Plus, the battery life is better on the Logitech and it has backlighting for its keys, which the Apple Magic Keyboard lacks. Every great business starts as a dream, but turning that dream into reality, that's where Shopify comes in. Shopify is proud to power many sources of UK e-commerce from brands like Mattel and Gymshark to new entrepreneurs.

Worried about building a website? Shopify's ready-to-use templates help bring your brand to life. Need a hand with content? Shopify's AI tools generate product descriptions, headlines and even enhance your images. Struggling to get noticed? Shopify's marketing tools let you launch email and social campaigns with ease. And if you ever get stuck, Shopify's award-winning 24-7 support is always there to help. Turn those what-ifs into why-nots. Turn those dreams into...

And give them the best shot at success with Shopify. Sign up for your £1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.co.uk slash try. Go to shopify.co.uk slash try.

Entertainment news. I consider mainstream news media as entertainment. Hence, this story's location in this section. Both National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service are suing the current administration after President Trump signed an executive order cutting funding for both outlets. NPR, later joined by PBS, are contending that this is a First Amendment violation. In other words, a free speech matter.

And also, it violates the Charter for Public Broadcasting established by Congress in 1967. Both entities claim that the U.S. taxpayer provides only 1% of their budget. So what's the big deal here? While it's true that NPR and PBS only receive 1% of their budgets directly, keyword here being directly from the U.S. taxpayer, this fails to take into account the taxpayer money indirectly funneled to NPR and PBS.

by the non-governmental organizations, like the now-gutted USAID and others. This loss of indirect funding has put more stress on NPR and PBS, and they're not very happy about it. Besides those who reside within the coastal elite and other such enclaves, you'd be hard-pressed to find many U.S. citizens who depend on public broadcasting for entertainment and especially news. When established in 1967,

The idea behind public broadcasting was to provide radio and television service to rural areas, which were then underserved in regards to media. Like most good-intentioned government actions, Over the years, public broadcasting has grown into a self-serving, wannabe British broadcasting corporation, paying large salaries to management and staff, with studios equipped with the best money can buy.

The content supplied by public broadcasting, especially their news division, is neither impartial or factual. You see, the rest of their funding is provided via grants from large corporations, who've bought and paid for the opinions and... That's all public radio news really is these days of public radio. Heck, public radio even runs commercials. Though what they classify them as avoids using that term. These days we have the internet, which...

reaches all but the most isolated areas of the United States. For those areas, well, we have satellite these days. I believe eventually public broadcasting will lose this lawsuit. The public, which they claim to be serving, are basically against them. Perhaps public broadcasting, especially national public radio, could sell off those $5,000 Neumann microphones along with those multi-thousand-dollar audio interfaces.

and replace them with $400 Lewitt mics and interfaces. I thought their audience would be able to tell the difference in audio quality. That would save some, according to them, much-needed cash. There would be no tear shed if public broadcasting was shut down amongst the majority of people here. And that's if they even noticed its absence once it was gone.

Podcast news. Last week I decided to listen to an episode of the OFNT podcast that was recorded four years ago. Why? Well, I'll tell you why. The episode's title was 80 Hertz High Pass. This particular episode is the most downloaded of all the 270 episodes of the OFNT podcast. In fact, it still charts on my listening stats to this day.

I decided to re-listen to the episode in order to try and understand why this is the OFNT Podcast's most listened to episode. Cool story, bro. No, not really. Maybe the title has something to do with it. Perhaps it was the short length of the episode. The audio quality of the episode was okay. I was using an Electrovoice RE320 microphone, fed into an analog DBX-286S channel strip,

which handled the noise reduction and compression, which was fed into a Motu M2 audio interface. Then all that was fed into my old 2015 iMac. So nothing special there. I did have a rant which closed out the episode. That rant was concerning the treatment I was getting from mainly young white females who worked at various fast food establishments.

At the time, the George Floyd incident was fresh in everybody's mind, so I wondered if my age or skin tone had anything to do with the harsh treatment I was experiencing. I believe it at least contributed towards it. Are people listening to this episode so much because that rant struck and continues to strike a chord until this very day? Or perhaps people listened to that episode to get a snapshot on what it was like back then. I don't know.

I haven't done a rant for a very long time, so I decided to bring the rant section back just for this episode. And that's to see what happens. The subject of this upcoming rant was hinted at during the intro. Last week I brought up the fact that the open source RSS feed was capable of carrying a video signal. This seldom used capability while available certainly isn't up to modern standards.

According to an article from the Podcast Business Journal, PBJ for short, the Podcast Standards Project... Never heard of them. Who are these guys? Well, according to their website, they're a grassroots industry coalition. dedicated to create new features that improve the open podcasting ecosystem for both listeners and creators. Upon further reading, let's just say I'm glad they're out there. Anyway.

Discussions are underway within the group for a better solution for supporting video using Open RSS. The solution would overcome many of the problems with RSS's current video capability. and allow dynamically inserted video ads. This new solution would provide better consumption data and be significantly cheaper to deserve than existing methods. I'm all aboard for keeping podcasts open.

no matter what format, be it audio or video, and not letting YouTube and Spotify gain control over the podcasting ecosystem. What say you?

It's the return of the rant. Boy, it's been a while since I featured a rant on this podcast. Yes. So, here it goes. Female septum piercing. I have no idea why this so-called fashion trend has caught on and become so popular. I find this type of nose piercing to be unattractive. I know a lot of men of all ages who agree with me. Well, maybe that's the point.

Many of the women I see sporting a septum piercing have rather large noses, so why bring more attention to it? Lately I see women adding an additional piercing on each side of their noses. and connecting the two with a chain that runs over the top of their nose. I hate to think of what's next. Now when you add excessive tattoos into the mix, you're getting very close to circus freak territory here.

Is this the way young women want to present themselves to the world? For many men, a septum piercing serves as a red flag, along with the previous mentioned tattoos, especially on the neck and face. Along with the dyeing of one's hair in unnatural colors. I live in a small town and most of the young women who work in retail or the service industry sport a combination of what I've previously described. Or have all of them.

I bet these women are the first to condemn what's called passport bros, which is a term that refers to men who search for women in other countries, all in hopes of finding their future life partners. Well, can you blame them? I sure can't. I wonder what these domestic women see when they stare at themselves in the mirror. Or the countless selfies they are sure to take of themselves. Yes. This isn't me just being an old cranky guy.

Again, this is also an opinion shared by men of all ages. I've seen this distaste for piercings and the like from guys ranging from their early 20s all the way up to old forts like myself on the internet. And with those I just casually talk to if I happen to run into them while conducting my business. I guess we can call this modern era the age of women disfiguring themselves. God help us.

The music is playing on this wet southern U.S. evening. I have to go. Literally. I hope you enjoyed this episode. I sort of enjoyed making it for you. You can always reach out at me at OFNTpodcast at gmail.com. If you're so inclined, I would enjoy hearing from you. I really would. Remember, don't listen to what they say. Watch what they do. I don't think you're fond of standing around in wet grass, so get off my lawn. Stay skeptical. I'm out. See ya.

Every great business starts as a dream, but turning that dream into reality, that's where Shopify comes in. Shopify is proud to power many sources of UK e-commerce from brands like Mattel and Gymshark to new entrepreneurs. Worried about building a website? Shopify's ready-to-use templates help bring your brand to life. Need a hand with content? Shopify's AI tools generate product descriptions, headlines, and even enhance your images. Struggling to get noticed?

Shopify's marketing tools let you launch email and social campaigns with ease. And if you ever get stuck, Shopify's award-winning 24-7 support is always there to help. Turn those what-ifs into why-nots. Turn those dreams into... And give them the best shot at success with Shopify. Sign up for your £1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.co.uk slash try. Go to shopify.co.uk slash try.