Topic 1: Fusion Energy Will Save The World (Eventually) The most successful nuclear fusion test shows impressive progress and potential at the JET tokamak reactor in the UK. Link: https://www.science.org/content/article/european-fusion-reactor-sets-record-sustained-energy Topic 2: Monitoring vs Observability We are quickly moving into a new era when it comes to monitoring technology. In fact, we need distinctions between observining, monitoring, and responding. Where do we draw the new lines? Li...
Mar 01, 2022•31 min
Topic 1: Nike Sues StockX for NFT Sale of Their shoes Follow this story if you can. Strictly speaking, an NFT is simply a blockchain receipt that you own a specific thing. StockX sells NFTs that are actually fungible. You can trade you NFT for a physical shoe they hold in a locker for you. Google Nike StockX NFT and you’ll see ads from StockX that use the Nike name and images. But they are not an authorized Nike retailer. StockX says they’re not selling Nikes, only tokens. Trademark law is confu...
Feb 22, 2022•31 min
Topic 1: $3.6 Bil in Stolen Bitcoin Recovered $900,000,000 still missing. Bad news: blockchain doesn’t stop people from stealing your stuff. Good news: Once the government finds it, they can prove exactly where it was stolen. Surprisingly normal money laundering techniques. - https://www.barrons.com/articles/bitcoin-hack-cryptocurrency-justice-department-51644340993 Topic 2: Do we have a trust deficit? Our comments on an article in the Atlantic. A serious follow-on to the "zero trust" of crypto ...
Feb 15, 2022•31 min
Topic 1: The “Antiwork” movements, The Great Resignation, and the stupidest movement in America You've seen the movement. But you may have missed the Reddit page. Did you miss the anti-work interview gone wrong? Check out https://mashable.com/article/antiwork-subreddit-fox-news-interview With some counterpoints on loyalty: https://www.businessinsider.com/companies-loyalty-employers-workers-employees-great-resignation-jobs-quits-2022-1 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2022-01-24/amazon-...
Feb 08, 2022•32 min
Topic 1: Is 2022 the Year to Embrace the Grind? Is this your year to take on big challenges, set the cruise control, or something else? This topic was inspired by our friend TC Doyle at Channelnomics. “Not every year or period is destined to be a transformative one. For every 1945, 1989, or 2001, there are plenty of 1913s, 1953s, and 2005s.” https://channelnomics.com/2022/01/embrace-the-grind-thats-2022/ Topic 2: Mark Cuban Takes on Walmart. Is he disrupting anything? What about basic strategy? ...
Feb 01, 2022•31 min
Recorded as "Killing IT Live" - and then we picked out these three topics. Sponsor Memo: Cisco Did you know Cisco helps Managed Services Providers directly? Know about the Cisco Partner Program? Focused on helping partners combine managed services expertise and service creation with innovative Cisco technology and proven go-to-market resources, there’s a program option for you. With provider pricing, MDF, and marketing resources coupled with Cisco’s leading technologies including Meraki, Duo, an...
Jan 25, 2022•31 min
Announcement: Do not miss Killing IT Live! next Wednesday. Register at https://www.killingitlive.com . Topic 1: Sonos Patent Infringement Sonos has a major win against Google in their patent infringement. We this to launch into a discussion of patents (use and abuse) in the technology industries. Link: https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/6/22871121/sonos-google-patent-itc-ruling-decision-import-ban Topic 2: McDonalds sees massive recycling and carbon neutrality Is this the future of building? The fu...
Jan 18, 2022•31 min
Reminder: Killing IT Live is January 19th Register now http://killingitlive.com/ ----- Topic 1: A Dose Of Reality: Big Promises vs. Small Results in Emerging Tech Money makes innovation possible. But there seems to be a disconnect between big, big investments and successful innovations. We look at the failure of big market growth through actual, tangible products. How do we reconcile this divide? https://www.fastcompany.com/90708339/were-living-in-an-age-of-big-tech-promises-and-small-results --...
Jan 11, 2022•32 min
Note: Don't miss Killing IT Live - January 19th at 9am Pacific - Register now at https://killingitlive.com Topic 1: The “Cyberdemic” will continue, according to Experian. Record breaking number on cyber breaches. Many elements conspire against us. What can you do? Link: https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2021-12-06/the-cyberdemic-will-continue-according-to-the-2022-experian-data-breach-industry-forecast Topic 2: OpenSource and the internet. Solid code, to a point. Should we have a way to h...
Jan 04, 2022•32 min
Note: Don't miss Killing IT Live - January 19th at 9am Pacific - Register now at https://killingitlive.com Topic 1: Is troubleshooting possible when complicated becomes complex? If no one person can make a technology, can anyone fix it? What does complexity mean for our industry? Will we need to change our troubleshooting practices going forward? Give us your feedback. Link: https://thenewstack.io/why-intuitive-troubleshooting-has-stopped-working-for-you/ Topic 2: Can the corner store get digita...
Dec 28, 2021•31 min
Topic 1: Fake Fake news . . . Birds Aren’t Real Birds Aren’t Real, or Are They? Inside a Gen Z Conspiracy Theory. Links: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/09/technology/birds-arent-real-gen-z-misinformation.html https://birdsarentreal.com/ Topic 2: China uses American influencers to promote their version of reality Links: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/12/13/technology/china-propaganda-youtube-influencers.html https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VBULHi6E_rGV2gjygFFPzYpEFXAYXcfW/view?usp=sha...
Dec 21, 2021•32 min
Topic 1: F.T.C. Sues to Stop Blockbuster Chip Deal Between Nvidia and Arm Arm provides technology that other chip makers need. Does this give Nvidia an unfair advantage? And is the merger a completely unnecessary move prompted by the need for investors to show a profit? What is the channel takeaway? Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/02/technology/ftc-nvidia-arm-deal.html Topic 2: What will smartphones be like in ten years? We actually come to a consensus on this for a variety of reasons. We ...
Dec 14, 2021•28 min
Topic 1: China mucking around with Iran and Israel China attacks Israel and makes it look like Iran did it. Meanwhile, Iran really is attacking Israel. And now Israel is attacking Irananian fuel supplies and Iran is exposing personal dating profiles of Israelis. It looks like Israel is attacking Iranian train systems, and Iran is attacking Israeli water systems. Attacks against citizens are causing political unrest in both countries. Links: https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/08/10/1031622/chi...
Dec 07, 2021•32 min
Topic 1: Apple goes after the NSO Group Apple takes companies to court to prevent them from cracking into Apple phones. This touches on privacy as well as treating huge corporations as nation-states. Science fiction or reality? Links: https://www.protocol.com/newsletters/sourcecode/taking-down-pegasus https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/23/22798917/apple-nso-group-spyware-pegasus-cybersecurity-research Topic 2: McDonald’s and the ice cream machine - update We covered the "right to repair" issue reg...
Nov 30, 2021•27 min
Topic 1: New Fad - Work from Work Wednesdays Zooming from the office is what the NYT calls the “Worst of both worlds.” https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/16/business/return-to-office-hybrid-work.html Topic 2: Apple has killer deals with several State DMVs Apple having states pay for their tech rollout -- how much is their responsibility, when Apple controls the tech? https://www.theverge.com/2021/11/14/22781570/apple-making-states-pay-digital-id-service Topic 3: Electric Vehicles are super hot - in...
Nov 23, 2021•32 min
Topic 1: Skimpflation: Will this affect us? Aside from basic inflation, will the labor shortage cause this for IT services? https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2021/10/26/1048892388/meet-skimpflation-a-reason-inflation-is-worse-than-the-government-says-it-is Topic 2: China’s Privacy Law China's new policy looks "western" at first, but is used for strick tracking of citizens. The Personal Information Protection Law allows the government to blacklist companies, including those outside the country. ...
Nov 16, 2021•32 min
Topic 1: Looking at Tech Companies as nation states When one organization has so much money and does so many things that they "compete" with nation states, should we begin to treat them that way? Note that one article is from Foreign Affairs magazine. Links: https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-login-0e7854d2-2b30-44e4-921a-e78b4e2db256.html?chunk=1&utm_term=emshare#story1 https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/world/2021-10-19/ian-bremmer-big-tech-global-order See also the book: The Big...
Nov 09, 2021•31 min
Topic 1: Trolls Are Born, Not Made While self esteem is a factor, Internet trolls don’t have low self esteem. They have a high tendency to sadism. When mixed with high self esteem, you get a troll. Who are these people and how did they become trolls. Research gives us some insights. https://theconversation.com/new-research-shows-trolls-dont-just-enjoy-hurting-others-they-also-feel-good-about-themselves-145931 Topic 2: Async Business Collaboration Models One of Karl's favorite topics! Let's focus...
Nov 02, 2021•32 min
This special edition of The Killing IT Podcast was recorded before a live audience in a special presentation made possible by Cisco. If you missed the “Live” portion, register at killingitlive.com to listen to the bonus topic and receive announcements about the next Killing IT Live broadcast. -- -- -- Topic 1: After much fanfare, what’s up with The Contract for the Web two years later? Sir Tim Berners-Lee's project - The Contract for the Web - promised to encourage governments to ensure access a...
Oct 26, 2021•34 min
Interesting tidbit of the day: Statistics Don't forget to join us for Killing IT Live - October 20th - https://www.killingitlive.com Topic 1: Slack upended the workplace -- and gave power to the employees Slack (and other technologies) are revealing some inner turmoil at companies such as Apple. Is this something caused by the technology, or merely revealed by the technology? We discuss culture and more. Link: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/11/slack-office-trouble/620173/ Topi...
Oct 19, 2021•31 min
Fun question of the day . . . If you were offered the position of mayor of your city, would you take it? . . . wherein two of our hosts determine that they are two halves of a politician. -- -- -- Promo: Join Us for Killing IT Live - October 20th Info and registration at killingitlive.com No editing. No second takes. Join hosts Dave Sobel, Ryan Morris, and Karl Palachuk for this special live event. You’ll see behind the curtains as we prep and produce a live show. PLUS, we’ll stick around and an...
Oct 12, 2021•31 min
Question of the Day: What was your first W2 job? Topic 1: Vendors Selling Around their Partners Listener Lucy asks: "Why the **** do vendors keep overlooking the sales rep who owns the customer in their Channel program?" There's natural tension between vendors and their solution provider partners. Why do we have to keep revisiting this topic? (Also, she agrees with Dave that a sandwich requires two pieces of bread.) Topic 2: Thoughts on taking UI to government activities Dominos (and other) have...
Oct 05, 2021•32 min
Question of the Day: What is a photo? Topic 1: When AI Breaks Bad Once again we address the question of ethics and AI. From Axios: "A new report about artificial intelligence and its effects warns AI has reached a turning point and its negative effects can no longer be ignored." Have we reached the point where we should automatically look for the negative effects first? Link: https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-future-0a5d2e2c-acd8-422b-a37c-1fc93f78a76f.html Topic 2: Let’s look at CISA . . ...
Sep 28, 2021•30 min
Question of the day: What is a sandwich? Topic 1: Apple Pay . . . Again The headline says Apple lost … but the article makes it clear that Epic is the one who is disappointed and is appealing. Let see: Epic violated their agreement and owes Apply $3.5 Million. But Apply can’t have those kinds of agreements going forward. And Apple’s not a monopoly. Seems confusing, but it does mean there will be other options to pay for in-app purchases on AppStore apps to work around Apple. But Epic still doesn...
Sep 21, 2021•31 min
Topic 1: CISA Guidelines for MSP Clients Like it or not, the US Government has defined Managed Services, and published guidelines for your clients and prospects to evaluate you! We expect a lot of heat - and maybe some light - to come out of this document. Related Links: - https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ncas/current-activity/2021/09/03/cisa-insights-risk-considerations-managed-service-provider - https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/publications/cisa-insights_risk-considerations-for-msp-customers_5...
Sep 14, 2021•32 min
Topic 1: Gartner's Latest Hype Cycle - Emerging Technology How can you use Gartner's research in your business? Does it matter if truly useful changes are at least two years out? Gartner Hype cycle graphic: https://www.techrepublic.com/article/gartner-identifies-3-themes-to-watch-for-in-emerging-technologies/ Topic 2: AI for Changing Accents Is this cool? What are the best uses for it? And, as always, we dig into the ethical use of AI. There are clearly some benefits for folks with hearing issue...
Sep 07, 2021•32 min
Topic 1: Change the storage to change ransomware? Can you create storage that cannot be changed? Is ransomware-free data storage possible . . . and right around the corner? Related Link: https://www.protocol.com/newsletters/protocol-enterprise/cloud-storage-ransomware-zero-trust Topic 2: Shadow IT: Is it Real? Not real? Are you the shadow IT? Does it really just mean outsourced IT? And that leads us to ask, is the conversation about shadow IT really just a conversation for really large companies...
Aug 31, 2021•33 min
Topic 1: Apple Privacy Revisited We talked about this last week. Well, so did everyone else. Apple introduced a new technology to screen for child pornography . . . and a spirited debate has ensued. Last week the Killing IT guys weighed in on the topic and now we want to revisit the ongoing debate and address some of the concerns about the “slippery slope” and the “permission” to access data on personal devices. Including some new twists on CSAM Screening Technology. https://www.nytimes.com/2021...
Aug 24, 2021•31 min
Topic 1: Drones.. May not be coming. We've been ushering drones for years. But where are they? Why in the age of the drone advancing so slowly? Amazon is slowing things down a bit. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/amazon-drone-delivery-prime-air Topic 2: What should the penalty be for data misuse? Data misuse is a growing topic. In addition to the recent Supreme Court case, we're seeing companies make pre-emptive moves to make sure employees are not accessing data they have access to. This is a p...
Aug 17, 2021•33 min
Topic 1: The Disconnect Between Marketing, AI, and Reality AI is awesome . . . until it's not. We look at the need for transparency with AI data. How do you challenge AI bias in court? Should IA data be used in legal cases? Most importantly, how do YOU make money helping your clients with AI? https://www.vice.com/en/article/qj8xbq/police-are-telling-shotspotter-to-alter-evidence-from-gunshot-detecting-ai Topic 2: Board Incentives and Cybersecurity How should (could) boards of directors stay up t...
Aug 10, 2021•29 min
