[SPEAKER_01]: a factual data creation facility production.
[SPEAKER_01]: Recorded Live, which is preferable to the alternative, it's the O-F-N-T podcast.
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, here's your host, the thankfully one and only Jim Shaffer.
[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome to the OF&T podcast episode 298, which I'm calling Quad Fold.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, we now have mobile phones in the Flip Fold format, bookfold format, and now the Tri-fold format.
[SPEAKER_00]: Can Quad Fold be far behind?
[SPEAKER_00]: Until these foldable phones, especially the book and new tri-fold versions, become affordable for the normal, not so well-heeled consumer, I believe they'll remain niche.
[SPEAKER_00]: What do you think about that?
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm thinking that I should start the episode right now.
[SPEAKER_00]: Three, two, one.
[SPEAKER_00]: Tech News The big story from this past week was a Samsung introducing their long rumored Galaxy Z tri-fold phone.
[SPEAKER_00]: The some reason I had previously reported that this phone would be introduced on December 6th.
[SPEAKER_00]: I must have either gotten some wrong information or I misinterpreted that information.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm leaning towards the latter.
[SPEAKER_00]: Me too.
[SPEAKER_00]: I first became aware that the Galaxy Z tri-fold had been deduced via a video from the Mr. Who's the boss channel on YouTube last Monday evening.
[SPEAKER_00]: My first impressions from the video were positive.
[SPEAKER_00]: Much better than Huawei's take on the tri-fold form factor, and I'm sure Samsung's version of it is of a much higher quality.
[SPEAKER_00]: The Huawei Trifold has to be fully opened in order to make and receive phone calls, which is, unwieldly and looks ridiculous.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, there are still visible creases in the screens, which are really apparent if the lighting catches them just right.
[SPEAKER_00]: 95 Google has an article that runs down the specs of the Galaxy Z-Try Fold, which are, the inner display folds out to a whopping 10 inches across.
[SPEAKER_00]: While the outer screen is a respectable 6.5 inches, powered by a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, has 16 gigs of RAM and a very large 5600mAh battery.
[SPEAKER_00]: The camera set up includes a 200 megapixel main camera, a 12 megapixel ultra wide shooter, and a 10 megapixel telephoto lens.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're tri-fold-phone that a Galaxy Z tri-fold is pretty thin, but it's heavy.
[SPEAKER_00]: The phone will only be available in the color black, and is expected to cost $2,800.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, what the hell?
[SPEAKER_00]: You could buy a heck of a lot of computer for that price.
[SPEAKER_00]: Samsung has confirmed a U.S. launched some time in early 2026.
[SPEAKER_00]: I must admit, I was sort of impressed with what little I saw this phone, with Mr. Who's a Boss video showing him setting up the phone like a computer using Samsung's decks.
[SPEAKER_00]: However, the price of Samsung's engineering triumph will ensure it's kept out of the hands of the people who would most benefit from it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Who are these people you ask?
[SPEAKER_00]: They're those whose phone is their main and or only computing device.
[SPEAKER_00]: After the Galaxy Z tri-fold, hogged the Android Tip presses attention for about well, about 15 minutes, it was onto Samsung's upcoming regular non-fold being Galaxy S26 series, which is due out real soon now.
[SPEAKER_00]: predicted upgrades for the basic S26R, a larger 6.3 is display, a slightly larger battery, and a Snapdragon 8 Elite Generation 5 or Exynos chip, depending on the reaching
[SPEAKER_00]: Storage may double from 128GB to 256GB, but so far that's only a guess.
[SPEAKER_00]: The S26 Plus, oh that's right, no more edge model.
[SPEAKER_00]: Correct.
[SPEAKER_00]: What Rock A6.7 is display?
[SPEAKER_00]: The same camera as the regular S26, and a slightly better battery.
[SPEAKER_00]: It'll be, better but heavier, have the same chipset, and start with 256GB of internal
[SPEAKER_00]: The S26 Ultra is basically the same as last year's model, but the display which will remain at 6.9 inches will get a better panel.
[SPEAKER_00]: The phone will be slimmer and also lighter this time.
[SPEAKER_00]: This all from 9 to 5 Google, who was quoting a so-called leaker name, Universal, I think is Universal, Universal CE actually on X.
[SPEAKER_00]: Many Samsung fans express disappointment with this leak, claiming the Upperates are minor
[SPEAKER_00]: But I gotta ask, how much more do you expect at this time?
[SPEAKER_00]: These specs ensure that the next Galaxy phones will be fast enough and run everything you could possibly throw at them with ease.
[SPEAKER_00]: The main thing here is software optimization, and that's what Samsung appears to be prioritizing this coming year.
[SPEAKER_00]: Unlike Apple, Samsung has to wait and see what Google comes up with for the latest version of the Android operating system before optimizing.
[SPEAKER_00]: So the company is forced to be more reactive than proactive.
[SPEAKER_00]: While applicant optimized both the operating system and software at the same time, during the development phase.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, it's a shame Samsung's ties in OS never took hold.
[SPEAKER_00]: Nine to five Google also had an article about a video Samsung put up on YouTube last week, which teases the next generation of Exynos chips.
[SPEAKER_00]: Of course Exynos is a Samsung's competitor to Qualcomm Snapdragon 1 to put mobile CPUs, and has been steadily losing market share to it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I remember the time when an Exynos powered phone was preferable to a Qualcomm powered device.
[SPEAKER_00]: Really?
[SPEAKER_00]: When was this?
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, this was back at a time, many people referred to as being.
[SPEAKER_00]: But day, I'd say more like ancient times.
[SPEAKER_00]: As far as smartphones go, well, it was ancient times.
[SPEAKER_00]: Both Qualcomm ships and modems have been performing Samsung's offerings over the last several years, and by a lot.
[SPEAKER_00]: After Google decided on switching from Samsung to TSMC for the manufacturer of its
[SPEAKER_01]: You mean upsetting their bottom line?
[SPEAKER_00]: Sure, but I think this which was a blow to Samsung's pride.
[SPEAKER_00]: Being an Asian-based conglomerate, Samsung probably considered this as a loss of face.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's a big deal in Korean other Eastern Asian countries.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm sure Hits rolled and people were fired or reassigned as Samsung reorganized their chip, fabrication unit.
[SPEAKER_00]: The video began with the words, in silence we listened.
[SPEAKER_00]: We refined at the core and optimized at every level.
[SPEAKER_00]: Very dramatic.
[SPEAKER_00]: Then it went on to reveal the new Exynos 2600.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now according to rumors, this new chip will perform both Qualcomm's and Apple's latest silicon.
[SPEAKER_01]: Ha!
[SPEAKER_01]: Seeing is believing, as the cool kids want to say.
[SPEAKER_01]: No.
[SPEAKER_00]: True.
[SPEAKER_00]: But as I stated in the last story, software optimization is key here.
[SPEAKER_00]: Sure, the Exynos 2600 chip may outperform all the others, but if the software which runs on it isn't optimized, well it really doesn't matter.
[SPEAKER_00]: This next story comes from Android Police, and it's a tutorial on how to copy and paste text between an Android phone and a laptop.
[SPEAKER_01]: I've just realized that you've started the tech news section with Android news stories.
[SPEAKER_01]: Usually you'd start with news about Apple.
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, how about that?
[SPEAKER_01]: Call me cookie.
[SPEAKER_01]: I also would like to add that if you're within the Apple ecosystem, you can accomplish this quite easily.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, you can.
[SPEAKER_00]: And between all Apple computing devices.
[SPEAKER_00]: But this feature was just added fairly recently.
[SPEAKER_00]: I think Microsoft had already conquered this problem with the company's phone link feature, which probably spurred Apple to bring this function to the Apple ecosystem.
[SPEAKER_00]: The article does briefly mention it in Microsoft's link, but describes two other methods of doing this.
[SPEAKER_00]: Android Police recommends using Google Docs or Microsoft Swift Key Keyboard.
[SPEAKER_00]: Of course Google Docs saves everything you do to the cloud before or off describing the data I wonder.
[SPEAKER_00]: Most likely both.
[SPEAKER_00]: So whatever you type will be available across any device you use Google Drive on.
[SPEAKER_00]: When using SwiftKey, you can enable the clipboard cloud-sinking feature.
[SPEAKER_00]: That allows you to copy a pace between devices.
[SPEAKER_00]: Both methods are not as seamless as apples, but at least there's a way to do it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm pretty sure you can, currently copy and paste between your Android phone and a computer running Chrome seamlessly.
[SPEAKER_00]: And if Google's Aluminium Project hits it out of the park, this may be another reason for consumers to switch from Windows to Android computer OS.
[SPEAKER_00]: The big thing here, though, is gaming.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I'm sure Microsoft is regretting discontinuing Windows Phone more and more as time goes by.
[SPEAKER_00]: Are you still upset about that?
[SPEAKER_00]: You bet I am.
[SPEAKER_00]: After the holiday season progresses, the rumors about the next E-series iPhone.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, your favorite iPhone.
[SPEAKER_00]: are heating up.
[SPEAKER_00]: Apple Insider, quoting a supply chain, analytic outfit called VLEC.
[SPEAKER_00]: Flames at next year's iPhone 17E will practically inherit the same display as this year's base model iPhone 17.
[SPEAKER_00]: But with one caveat, these displays will be manufactured by China's B.O.E.
[SPEAKER_02]: What?
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh, no, not them again.
[SPEAKER_00]: I guess we'll see if B.O.E.
[SPEAKER_00]: can finally live up to Apple's standards without having to modify the original Apple design.
[SPEAKER_00]: The article goes on to say, though, that the display will be reused from the iPhone 16E.
[SPEAKER_00]: Wait.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm confused.
[SPEAKER_01]: Didn't you just say that the 17th e will use the same display as this year's base model iPhone?
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, I did, but upon more carefully reading the article's headline, the word practically stands out.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I guess that would be two caveats.
[SPEAKER_00]: Apparently, the 17e's display will reuse the 16e's display, but it will be modified to have thinner vessels.
[SPEAKER_00]: The thing that's becoming clearer the closer we get to the iPhone 17e's launches, that if Apple's reusing the 16e screen for the upcoming 17e, the dreaded notch will remain.
[SPEAKER_00]: So I guess it'll be no dynamic island on the 17e after all.
[SPEAKER_00]: Another rumor about the upcoming 17e was that the phone would support Pro-motion, while this report shuts that rumor down.
[SPEAKER_00]: While the new e-series phone will get the A19 chip, it'll still be using the 16e's chassis, which really isn't a bad thing.
[SPEAKER_00]: The new model was also supposed to be adding in enhanced center stage selfie camera.
[SPEAKER_00]: To sum things up, the new 17e will not be as much of an upgrade from the 16e as it
[SPEAKER_00]: On the bright side, at least I won't feel as bad about just purchasing a 16E for my daughter.
[SPEAKER_00]: Knowing today, newer model was inbound just a few months later.
[SPEAKER_00]: Like just about everybody that uses Apple's phones and computers, I'm looking forward to the day to companies pioneering personal digital assistant, Siri, achieve some sort of parity with his competitors.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, like Amazon's Alexa and Google's Gemini.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's be frank here, serious, a dumbness of the lot, and most Apple users don't even bother using it.
[SPEAKER_00]: The simplest task, like asking for the weather, can turn it to a bout of frustration.
[SPEAKER_00]: Will the Virgil's reporting that Apple's AI chief, John, John, and Dreha, is quote stepping down from his position.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can translate that as him being fired.
[SPEAKER_00]: His replacement, Amar Subramanya, previously spent 16 years at Google before joining Microsoft's AI division as VP of AI.
[SPEAKER_00]: Hopefully this change will allow Apple to close the gap in the AI race.
[SPEAKER_00]: Any improvement would be welcome, as Apple is currently holding last place in this race.
[SPEAKER_00]: Apple is set to introduce this new and improved Siri this spring, but they're so behind the company had to fork over billions of dollars to arch rival Google, in order to use Gemini as the backbone of Siri's new intelligence.
[SPEAKER_00]: You know, I just want a series that can handle basic queries and tasks without being referred to another source or other device.
[SPEAKER_00]: My wish-misters Subramanya success with this new position.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, good luck with that, bro.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_00]: Good luck with that, bro.
[SPEAKER_00]: What let's pour out one for the original iPhone SE?
[SPEAKER_00]: According to Mac Roomers, Apple has just put the first generation SE on its obsolete list.
[SPEAKER_00]: This model, which was based on the iPhone 5, was released way back in 2016.
[SPEAKER_00]: Heck, that's almost 10 years ago now.
[SPEAKER_00]: Apple usually deems a device obsolete after seven years.
[SPEAKER_00]: So yes, there's still a bunch of people still using it out there.
[SPEAKER_00]: Putting the original iPhone SE on the obsolete list means Apple will no longer repair it.
[SPEAKER_00]: However, depending on the number of original SE's still in use, Apple will most likely still send out security updates for it.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you still want a simple small form factor iPhone, you're not suggesting an E-series phone, are you?
[SPEAKER_00]: No night yet, there's still the second and third generation iPhone SE's, which are based on the iPhone 8.
[SPEAKER_00]: The both models are, discontinued, they're readily available used or even better as new old stock.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'd recommend getting the third generation, which is more plenifull and was released in 2022.
[SPEAKER_00]: This phone probably won't be declared obsolete until 2029 at the earliest.
[SPEAKER_00]: Second generation was released back in 2020 and Apple could declare it obsolete in 2027.
[SPEAKER_00]: From 9 to 5 Mac, Russia blocks FaceTime in the country, citing use in terrorist attacks reads the headline.
[SPEAKER_00]: According to the article as of last Thursday, FaceTime users in Russia receiving user unavailable messages while attempting to place FaceTime calls.
[SPEAKER_00]: The reason given for this outright ban is that criminals and terrorists have used FaceTime for planning and coordinating their on-savory activities.
[SPEAKER_00]: This latest action comes after the Russian government block what's app and telegram within the country.
[SPEAKER_01]: Both of those apps are capable of video calling.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, I do.
[SPEAKER_00]: There are plenty of other video chat apps out there, like Meta Messenger, IMO, Kick, Viber, and it's just so I can think of off the top of my head.
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's not forget Zoom.
[SPEAKER_00]: Those Zoom is supposedly a US company.
[SPEAKER_00]: They're ties to China are deep, and I've reported on that before.
[SPEAKER_00]: I believe Zoom has the bulk of their workforce based in China.
[SPEAKER_00]: Either Zoom lets the Russian government monitor video call traffic, or because the Chinese government who's supporting Russia in the country's war with Ukraine would take a fence to the banning of the app.
[SPEAKER_00]: If Zoom eventually becomes banned in Russia, then perhaps it is all about crime and terrorism.
[SPEAKER_00]: I will tell.
[SPEAKER_00]: A new MVNO has recently debuted in the United States.
[SPEAKER_00]: It'll let you sign up for servers using just your postal zip code.
[SPEAKER_02]: What?
[SPEAKER_00]: Not only that, but the company does not store names, addresses, or even payment details.
[SPEAKER_00]: Perhaps you should explain what an MVNO actually is.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's a good idea.
[SPEAKER_00]: NVNL stands for Mobile Virtual Network Operator.
[SPEAKER_00]: These are companies which lease cellular service from the big three cellular providers in this country.
[SPEAKER_00]: Those being AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile and reselling that service to their own customers.
[SPEAKER_00]: There are plenty of these MVNOs in the U.S. market, but this one is building itself as a privacy first network.
[SPEAKER_00]: The name of the company is Freely, and that's spelled P-H-R-E-E-L-I.
[SPEAKER_00]: The company can let you sign up in pay-for-it service without all of your details because it uses an encrypted blockchain-based payment system that uses transparent to the customer.
[SPEAKER_00]: Meaning you pay freely the way you'd pay any other service.
[SPEAKER_00]: This limits the cell service provided by freely to prepaid only.
[SPEAKER_00]: If you must have a physical SIM card, you can provide a company with an email or an address.
[SPEAKER_00]: But doing that sort of defeats the whole purpose of freely, doesn't it?
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.
[SPEAKER_00]: Otherwise, you'd download an eSIM directly through a tour hosted website.
[SPEAKER_00]: The founder of the company, Nicholas Merrill, is famous for not turning over a customer list from his company after fighting off an FBI surveillance order.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is an interesting business idea.
[SPEAKER_00]: No service prices were given within the article, so I assume it won't be the cheapest to use.
[SPEAKER_01]: Do you think that it's possible that people who sign up for this service will come under greater government scrutiny?
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh yeah, that's how it works.
[SPEAKER_00]: Remember you're still using T-Mobile cell towers for freely service, so that's an in for snoopers right there.
[SPEAKER_00]: Heck, I'm using, am I continuing effort to replace the late great weather app, Dark Sky?
[SPEAKER_00]: I've become aware of a newly launched weather app called DUM Weather.
[SPEAKER_00]: You heard that correctly, the app is actually named DUM Weather.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't recall where I heard about the app, but I can recall when and where I first downloaded Dark Sky from my Android phone.
[SPEAKER_00]: Is this an example of early dementia settling in?
[SPEAKER_00]: I certainly hope not, dumb weather promises only the basics, temperature, chance of precipitation, high-low temperature, wind speeds sunrise and sunset times.
[SPEAKER_00]: Also a 10-day forecast along with widgets sounds a bit more than the basics to me, but you don't get with dumb weather or notifications.
[SPEAKER_00]: I guess that's why the apps creators are seeing it has just the basics.
[SPEAKER_00]: So did you check dumb weather out?
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, of course I did.
[SPEAKER_00]: After all, it's a weather app.
[SPEAKER_00]: For the first year, the app is free to use.
[SPEAKER_00]: After that year is over, it'll be $5 per month.
[SPEAKER_00]: I feel that's a little bit too much to ask for a self-described basic weather app.
[SPEAKER_00]: So far, dumb weather appears to be a nice little weather app.
[SPEAKER_00]: I like the simple graphics and all the info it provides.
[SPEAKER_00]: which is nicely displayed all in one place.
[SPEAKER_00]: Unfortunately, the app's weather data mirrors that of the built-in Apple Weather app.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's because dumb weather uses Apple Weather as its source and doesn't allow you to select any other sources.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now, compare this to Forca, which does all that dumb weather does and much more for $3.50 per year.
[SPEAKER_00]: At least I can use dumb weather for a year-grad is, but I can't see myself paying five bucks per month after that year is over.
[SPEAKER_00]: On our previous episode, I reported that Apple had released firmware updates for its Magic Keyboard, as well as other items that don't usually receive those kind of updates.
[SPEAKER_00]: The only common denominators these devices have is that they were all considered to be accessories, and all connect via USB-C.
[SPEAKER_00]: Being that I'm a man of my word, or at least I try to be, I switched out my Logitech
[SPEAKER_00]: I did this so I could get the firmware update.
[SPEAKER_00]: I didn't get the update after a couple of days, but continued using the Magic Keyboard for almost two weeks after.
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm back on the MX keyboard now, but I didn't enjoy the time I spent using the Apple keyboard.
[SPEAKER_01]: But apparently not enough to keep using the Magic Keyboard though.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, the Magic Keyboard does have some advantages over the MX.
[SPEAKER_00]: It has Touch ID, which allows you to log into your computer, apps, and websites without having to type in your passwords.
[SPEAKER_00]: But if you're wearing an Apple watch, you can do the same no matter what keyboard you're using.
[SPEAKER_00]: Typing on a Magic Keyboard is a wonderful experience, especially for my somewhat arthritis ridden old Fort Fingers.
[SPEAKER_00]: The Magic Keyboard takes up less space and is much lighter and weight than my MX Keyboard.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know what the reason for this is, but I suspect it's the spacing between the individual keys, which seem larger on the Magic Keyboard than they are on the MX.
[SPEAKER_00]: The MX also has backlit keys, which the Magic Keyboard doesn't.
[SPEAKER_00]: I don't know why Apple doesn't make a detached keyboard with backlit keys for their computers that require them.
[SPEAKER_00]: The detachable magic keyboard for the iPad Pro has backlit keys.
[SPEAKER_00]: And finally there, just something about the, look at the black noise of a mechanical keyboard makes while typing the Gizmian nice and comfy feeling.
[SPEAKER_02]: Okay, boomer.
[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I've got your boomer hanging.
[SPEAKER_00]: Entertainment News, over the years we've seen consolidation within various industries.
[SPEAKER_00]: The first which I remember was the automobile manufacturing business that occurred a long time ago.
[SPEAKER_00]: In more modern times, we've seen this consolidation happen to the computer, cell phone, news, and broadcast radio industries.
[SPEAKER_00]: I guess it's the entertainment and streaming industry's turn now.
[SPEAKER_00]: What a brother's merge with the discovery not too long ago, and now according to a report from the verge, Netflix has just agreed to purchase Warner Bros.
[SPEAKER_00]: So what does this mean?
[SPEAKER_00]: The first thing is that with Amazon purchasing MGM and now Netflix buying Warner Bros, it appears that tech companies are now in control of not only the news and information we get, but also entertainment content.
[SPEAKER_00]: Can you say monopoly?
[SPEAKER_00]: But just think, the world was up in arms about Microsoft being a monopoly not very long ago.
[SPEAKER_00]: These recent acquisitions and mega mergers make Microsoft look a small fry.
[SPEAKER_00]: Anyway, Netflix beat out Comcast, Paramount, Amazon, and Apple to purchase Warner Bros.
[SPEAKER_00]: The price Netflix is going to pay for Warner Bros. ranges between 72 to 87 billion dollars, depending on the new source.
[SPEAKER_00]: Include it for this price, or the Warner Bros. movie studios, are the right to the brand Harry Potter and DC Comics, and of course the jewel of WV HBO Max.
[SPEAKER_00]: Now I can see why Netflix would pull the trigger on this deal.
[SPEAKER_00]: The company started out streaming content by leasing it from multiple studios.
[SPEAKER_00]: When streaming started taking off, these studios pull back their content from Netflix and order to start their own streaming services, leaving Netflix star for content.
[SPEAKER_00]: Though Netflix started producing their own content, it was a hit or miss situation.
[SPEAKER_00]: Mostly miss in my opinion.
[SPEAKER_00]: With this acquisition, Netflix gains a proper movie and television production studio that has a decent track record, and most importantly, industry contacts and know-how.
[SPEAKER_00]: HBO Max brings instant content to Netflix because of its large back catalog.
[SPEAKER_00]: Though I feel that HBO Max's heyday is behind them, there's still some good new series on the service.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's why I can't understand why Apple wasn't more aggressive here.
[SPEAKER_00]: The fledgling Apple TV service could have used a shot in the arm.
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe Tim Cook has decided to go to the original route of Netflix and attempt to lease content instead of producing it themselves.
[SPEAKER_00]: Asone is the only major studio that I know of, the least is content to Netflix, so with
[SPEAKER_00]: perhaps else switched to leasing content to Apple?
[SPEAKER_00]: Who knows?
[SPEAKER_00]: I've seen some articles that are celebrating the Warner Bros. purchase by Netflix, posting that in the future the price of streaming content will probably come down.
[SPEAKER_00]: Wrong!
[SPEAKER_00]: The logic here is that instead of having to pay for HBO Max and Netflix separately, you'll only be paying for one streaming service after the acquisition completes.
[SPEAKER_00]: From with that theory is that Netflix will have to make up for all the billions of dollars that spent buying Warner Bros.
[SPEAKER_00]: In the short term, how do you think they're going to do that?
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, by racing the price of the subscription to the new and improved Netflix, that's how.
[SPEAKER_00]: With all these murders and acquisitions, this leaves less competition and choice.
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's not good for those within the entertainment industry and especially for the consumer.
[SPEAKER_00]: Notice you never hear Google being interested in buying movie studios in the like.
[SPEAKER_00]: That's because they own YouTube.
[SPEAKER_00]: YouTube has become the most watch streaming service at the old Fort households.
[SPEAKER_00]: YouTube basically has it all.
[SPEAKER_00]: Movies, television series, just about anything you would like to watch.
[SPEAKER_00]: And with the added bonus of content produced by independent creators, I believe that YouTube is the future.
[SPEAKER_00]: ArtCast News Wow, there really hasn't been anything newsworthy happening in the world of artcasting for a while So why don't you just talk about your favorite podcasting subject?
[SPEAKER_01]: Audio interfaces
[SPEAKER_00]: Great idea.
[SPEAKER_01]: Wait, I was only joking.
[SPEAKER_00]: Then the jokes on you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I got brave enough to switch up my microphone this week.
[SPEAKER_00]: I decided to sideline my Electrofoys R820 in favor of the still proudly made in the USA HighlPR-40.
[SPEAKER_00]: Though the R20 is legendary, and expensive, I just don't like the way my voice sounds on it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I prefer the Hile, which has gotten a bad rap over the years.
[SPEAKER_00]: This bad reputation prevented me from purchasing one for years.
[SPEAKER_00]: I've noticed that legendary broadcasters like the late art bell in podcasts like Leel
[SPEAKER_00]: Sirius XM switched from Sure Microphones to HighlPR-40s also.
[SPEAKER_00]: Art Bill and Leo LePort both have, or in Art Bell's case had, low-dee voices.
[SPEAKER_00]: People have described my voice as being low-end-dee ball-cell.
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe that's why I prefer the way I sound when using the HighlPR-40.
[SPEAKER_00]: Over the coming months, I'll be experimenting with a Neuminatealm102, a Road NT1, and maybe a RoadPod Mike.
[SPEAKER_01]: I thought you were going to talk about audio interfaces.
[SPEAKER_00]: Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me, trats!
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm considering doing voice of the work as a side hustle.
[SPEAKER_00]: In order to do this, I need to become proficient at it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Mostly the acting part of it.
[SPEAKER_00]: I've got the mic, technique, and reading scripts downpad, I think.
[SPEAKER_00]: But I have no experience with acting.
[SPEAKER_00]: Unless you consider acting the fool, that I have plenty of experience doing.
[SPEAKER_00]: Well, I have plenty of audio interfaces around the use, not have the voice-over pedigree I desire.
[SPEAKER_00]: Most of the famous VO artists use Universal Audio gear, but I just can't justify dropping the big bucks for one.
[SPEAKER_00]: Remember, this is going to be a side hustle.
[SPEAKER_00]: The audio interface of choice for the B team of VO artists who might not be as well known but who get most of the work is the solid state logic SSL Mark II.
[SPEAKER_00]: The interface is larger than it should be, looks like it was designed in the 1980s, but according to reviewers everywhere, it has the best sounding preamps.
[SPEAKER_00]: The SSL is only a quarter of the cost of a comparable universal audio Apollo interface, but has no onboard digital signal processing.
[SPEAKER_00]: Solid state logic is based in Oxford, England, and that's the city I once lived just outside of, and spent some time partying in during my misguided youth.
[SPEAKER_00]: I just may consider purchasing one.
[SPEAKER_00]: The music is playing on this uneasually Sunday evening.
[SPEAKER_00]: Episode 298 of the OF&T podcast is nearing its end.
[SPEAKER_00]: Help you enjoy this episode.
[SPEAKER_00]: I enjoyed making it for you.
[SPEAKER_00]: Do you like what you heard?
[SPEAKER_00]: You can make a donation using the link in the show notes.
[SPEAKER_00]: Any and all donations will be greatly appreciated.
[SPEAKER_00]: You can always reach me at ofntpodcast at gmail.com and that's only if you're so inclined.
[SPEAKER_00]: I did joy hearing from you.
[SPEAKER_00]: I really would.
[SPEAKER_00]: Remember, don't listen to what they say.
[SPEAKER_00]: Watch what they do.
[SPEAKER_00]: The way you enjoy your company will, to a point.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's time for you to get off my lawn.
[SPEAKER_00]: Stay skeptical.
[SPEAKER_00]: Ah, uh, Mount.
[SPEAKER_00]: Stay up.
[SPEAKER_01]: And that folks is the end of the show.