The crew also discusses a travel app that automatically tells stories based on your location, the staggering first imagery from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, Kevin Mitnick’s legacy in cybersecurity and several troubling decisions from the video game industry.

Stories, Gadgets and Topics Discussed

• Katie’s Brother P-touch label maker: Katie shows how she is using built-in symbols—including cameras, computers and warning icons—to organize and identify equipment, drives and other technology.
• The Vera C. Rubin Observatory reveals an enormous view of the universe: Dave follows up on the observatory’s 3.2-gigapixel LSST camera and an image containing approximately 650,000 galaxies. The hosts discuss the astonishing detail available when zooming into tiny sections of the image, the observatory’s planned decade of data collection and how AI could help scientists examine datasets too large for humans to process manually. See the Vera C. Rubin Observatory imagery
• Wrinkles turns city exploration into a location-aware audio tour: Katie introduces Wrinkles, a travel app that automatically shares historical facts, local stories and hidden details as users walk through supported cities. The app uses AI-generated voices, but its information is drawn from curated sources such as historians, museums and local organizations. Creators and tourism groups may also be able to build their own tours and experiences. Explore the Wrinkles travel app
• A PC gamer creates physical Steam cartridges: Sorg examines a DIY project that stores individual Steam games on inexpensive 128GB, 2.5-inch SSDs. A script detects the drive when it is inserted, connects the game to the owner’s Steam library and launches the title—creating something close to a modern PC game cartridge. The discussion considers storage costs, portability and whether physical presentation can make digital collections feel more permanent. See the DIY Steam cartridge project
• Kevin Mitnick and National Social Engineering Day: Dave looks back at famed hacker-turned-security-consultant Kevin Mitnick, whose birthday on August 6 inspired National Social Engineering Day. The hosts explain how attackers can bypass strong technology by manipulating employees, customer-service representatives and other people into revealing passwords, resetting accounts or granting access. Learn about National Social Engineering Day Read Kevin Mitnick’s congressional testimony
• ChachiSays Video Game Minute—“Doubling Down on Dumb Decisions”:
  • Sony acknowledges the backlash surrounding its move away from physical PlayStation discs but plans to continue moving in that direction. Read the Sony physical-media story
  • Electronic Arts reportedly rewarded its CEO with a major compensation increase following the success of Battlefield 6 while developers responsible for the game faced layoffs. Read about the EA compensation and layoffs
  • August Interactive is working with NASA on Moonbase Y, a game designed to encourage children to plan, collaborate and invent solutions for a future lunar colony. Learn about Moonbase Y
• Xbox considers converting physical games into digital licenses: A reported Xbox disc-to-digital program could allow owners of original Xbox and Xbox 360 discs to access compatible digital copies on newer hardware or PC. The hosts discuss game preservation, license transfer, resale and whether Microsoft’s approach inspires more confidence in the long-term future of an Xbox library. Read about Xbox’s reported disc-to-digital plan
• Fitbit data can finally sync with Apple Health: Fitbit users can now consolidate more of their fitness information inside Apple Health. The hosts discuss the convenience of keeping activity, blood-pressure readings and medical information in one location, while noting that some measurements—including heart-rate variability—may not transfer yet. Learn how to sync Fitbit with Apple Health
• A SpaceX rocket stage is headed for the Moon: A roughly 9,000-pound piece of space hardware is expected to strike the lunar surface. Although the collision is accidental and likely will not be visible to the naked eye, lunar orbiters may be able to document the crater and debris, turning the impact into an unexpected scientific experiment. Read about the lunar impact
• Fruit Love Island and the strange appeal of AI reality television: Sorg introduces an AI-generated dating show starring anthropomorphic fruits and vegetables. The hosts examine its bizarre character designs, inconsistent AI visuals, audience voting, reality-show storytelling and surprisingly organized production workflow. They also debate whether projects like this are disposable “AI slop” or useful experiments in storyboarding, character consistency and accessible video production. Watch Hasan Minhaj react to Fruit Love Island Visit Fruit Love Island Watch the Fruit Love Island video

Support AwesomeCast and receive the ad-free edition at Patreon.com/AwesomeCast.

AwesomeCast is supported by Slice on Broadway, serving Pittsburgh podcasting with the perfect pepperoni pizza for more than a decade. Visit SliceOnBroadway.com.

Support AwesomeCast: Tech and Gadget Talk

Mike Pound returns to the show to join Katie Dudas and Mike Sorg as we take a look at this week's tech news topics, including:

• Katie's Awesome Thing of the Week involved an Animal Crossing New Horizons party!
• Mike Pound is sharing Its Literally Just Mowing as his Awesome Thing of the Week.
• Tired of the same-old-same-old Zoom meetings? Invite a llama or goat with Goat 2 Meeting!
• There's a new iPhone to help you keep in touch while social distancing.
• Katie is sharing the grief of trying to unlock her iPhone while wearing a mask.
• Google is adding some new features to Google Meet.
• Mike Pound is sharing how the Science of Well Being course has helped him with the transition to work-from-home.
• NASA and SpaceX are scheduled for launch on May 27th - - marking the FIRST crewed flight for SpaceX, and the first US launch in about a decade.
• Apple is releasing a new Fraggle Rock series - - filmed entirely on iPhone 11 in creators' homes.
• Lyft is launching an essential delivery service.
• Have you had a chance to check out the Steak Umm twitter account?
• Premier League football (soccer for our fellow Americans) stars face off in an eSports tournament.
• Ever picked up a Starbucks coffee with a drone?

After the show remember to:

Eat at Slice on Broadway (@Pgh_Slice) if you are in the Pittsburgh area! It is Awesome! (sliceonbroadway.com)

Want to be part of our studio audience? Hit us up at awesomecast@sorgatronmedia.com and we’ll save you a seat!

Join our AwesomeCast Facebook Group to see what we’re sharing and to join the discussion!

Follow these awesome people on Twitter: Mike Pound (@unclecrappy), Michael Sorg (@Sorgatron), and Katie Dudas (@Kdudders)

You can support the show at Patreon.com/awesomecast!

Remember to check out our friends at the The 405 Media (@The405Radio), and Postindustrial Audio (@post_industry) who replay the show on their stream throughout the week!

Also, check out sorgatronmedia.com and awesomecast.com for more entertainment; and view us livestreaming Tuesdays around 7:00 PM EST

Support AwesomeCast: Tech and Gadget Talk

Chilla and Sorg in studio to talk this week’s tech headlines, including:

• Sorg had a chance to see a SpaceX launch in Florida!
• ChromeCast could become a mini AndroidTV
• Cuss Collar turns barks into swear words
• Coronavirus Porn is big on PornHub
• Twitter testing "Fleet" temporary tweets
• Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aimé joines GameStop 
• Nintendo Sony Playstation prototype goes for $360,000 (We touched it once!)
• Call of Duty Warzone hits with free to play battle royal
• iOS 14 leaks are coming surprisingly early

After the show remember to:

Eat at Slice on Broadway (@Pgh_Slice) if you are in the Pittsburgh area! It is Awesome! (sliceonbroadway.com)

Want to be part of our studio audience?  Hit us up at awesomecast@sorgatronmedia.com and we’ll save you a seat!

Join our AwesomeCast Facebook Group to see what we’re sharing and to join the discussion!

Follow these awesome people on Twitter: John Chichilla (@chilla) and Mike Sorg (@Sorgatron)

You can support the show at Patreon.com/awesomecast!

Remember to check out our friends at the The 405 Media (@The405Radio), and Postindustrial Audio  (@post_industry) who replay the show on their stream throughout the week!

Also, check out sorgatronmedia.com and awesomecast.com for more entertainment; and view us livestreaming Tuesdays around 7:00 PM EST

Support AwesomeCast: Tech and Gadget Talk

Chilla’s Awesome Thing of the Week is England’s take on providing internet for rural communities.
Sorg’s Awesome Thing of the Week was #SJIW2018 which he helped film this weekend.
Pittsburgh is looking to adapt the Homestead steel smokestacks to light up based on healthy living initiatives. <3
Yes, there is a man who hopes to father children with his sex robot.
Le Slide adds two more screens to any laptop.
Nintendo and CAPCOM are re-releasing Mega Man legacy collections!
Amazon is using their boxes for creative reuse with their #MoreThanABox campaign.
We can’t do a podcast during the Olympics without talking about skiing robots.
Apple’s new HQ has been causing problems with employees walking into the walls.
Amazon operations in Pittsburgh are expanding on the South Side.
Do you Swype? Maybe not any more.
Mattel has Jurassic World robots. And, they’re adorably educational.
What’s more awesome than SpaceX? How about the fact that they’re launching internet satellites?
After the show remember to:

Eat at Slice on Broadway (@Pgh_Slice) if you are in the Pittsburgh area! It is Awesome! (sliceonbroadway.com)

Join our AwesomeCast Facebook Group to see what we’re sharing and to join the discussion?

Follow these awesome people on Twitter: John Chichilla (@chilla) and Sorg (@Sorgatron)

Have you seen our AwesomeTips videos?

You can support the show at Patreon.com/awesomecast!

Remember to check out our friends at River’s Edge (@RiversEdgePGH) and The 405 Media who replay the show on their stream throughout the week!

Also, check out sorgatronmedia.com and awesomecast.com for more entertainment; and view us livestreaming Tuesdays around 7:00 PM EST!

Support AwesomeCast: Tech and Gadget Talk