Topic: B Link

Adam Curry and Mimi Smith-Dvorak reminisce about the early days of personal computing, including building acoustic modems from Radio Shack parts and using the TRS-100. Mimi recalls visiting an early microcomputer distribution company in Berkeley where she met Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and the famous phone phreaker "Captain Crunch." She admits she initially doubted the personal computer would ever become a mainstream success.

John C. Dvorak provides a "tip of the day" regarding Balena Etcher, a tool used to create bootable live USB drives for operating systems like Linux Mint. This allows users to run a secure OS on any computer without installing it on the hard drive, which is useful for troubleshooting failing hardware like Dvorak's B-Link computer. The hosts discuss the convenience of carrying a "computer on a stick" for travel and security.

A viral video claiming two AIs developed a secret high-speed language called "Gibber Link" is debunked as a parlor trick using old ham radio protocols. The audio heard in the video is actually a low-baud digital mode, likely PSK31 or Olivia, which has been used by amateur radio operators for decades. The demonstration was a hackathon project that used simple audio-to-text processing rather than a new AI-evolved communication method.

The "Tip of the Day" highlighted Link Plus, a virtual lending library system serving California and Nevada that allows users to borrow rare and obscure books from university collections. This service provides access to physical books that are often prohibitively expensive to purchase or unavailable in digital formats.

The "Tip of the Day" features Glary Utilities, a free tool for PC optimization. The hosts discuss the nuances of defragging SSD drives and offer a Windows performance tip involving disabling visual animations in advanced settings. The episode concludes with end-of-show mixes from Clipper Stoddy and Neil Jones.

The hosts examine a poorly executed AI-generated email request for SEO link-building related to an old episode titled "Laptop Bomb." This leads to a discussion on the historical value of domain names like art.com and broadcast.com, and Adam Curry's refusal to sell curry.com.

Elon Musk's Starlink service is set to launch in Rwanda, providing high-speed internet to schools and teachers. The hosts interpret the deployment of Starlink in developing nations as a precursor to military involvement or civil unrest, noting the service's dual-use nature as "Defense Link." They suggest global powers are currently "divvying up" influence across the African continent.

John C. Dvorak describes a technical failure of his B-Link computer, which forced him to switch to a backup machine and adopt open-source software. This led to him using ODT files instead of proprietary formats. The hosts transition into the end-of-show music and producer-submitted mixes.

The hosts request that listeners send direct links rather than screenshots when submitting news items, as screenshots lack necessary context and metadata. A final round of birthday wishes is read for various "smoking hot" spouses and children of the producer community, followed by a discussion on the timing of birthdays relative to New Year's Eve.

The hosts discuss the revival of the "No Agenda Hams" amateur radio community. They are setting up an All-Star Link network based on Asterisk PBX technology, allowing listeners with inexpensive handheld radios to connect globally via internet-backhauled nodes.

Sir Donald Borosky is upgraded to the rank of Count of Eastern Washington State. He provides an update on his ham radio activities and the development of a "No Agenda Ham" network using All-Star Links.

A producer shares technical details on using powerline adapters to extend internet access across a farm in rural Nebraska. The technology allows for daisy-chaining adapters up to 1,000 meters, providing an alternative to trenching or unreliable Wi-Fi in large outdoor areas.

Adam Curry reviews specific Powerline networking hardware, including the Tenda AV1000 and the TP-Link AC750. These devices use a home's electrical wiring to transmit internet signals, providing an alternative to Wi-Fi. He highlights the benefits of "pass-through" sockets and multiple Ethernet ports for stable connections in large homes.

The European Parliament voted on a controversial copyright bill featuring Article 13 (the "meme clause") and Article 11 (the "link tax"). While the bill faced a temporary setback, critics argue it will eventually pass and stifle user-generated content. Paul McCartney's support for the bill is criticized as being based on an antiquated music industry model.

One host describes the hearing aid industry as a "protection racket" with highly inflated prices and restricted access to programming software. Despite the devices costing audiologists around $1,700, they are resold at a significant markup to cover "free" lifetime visits. The host claims to have bypassed these restrictions to gain full control over the 48-channel digital signal processing in his own devices.

The European Parliament has moved forward with a controversial copyright bill that includes a "link tax" and mandatory content filtering. In domestic news, the death of FBI agent David Rayner in a murder-suicide is linked by conspiracy theorists to his expected testimony regarding the "Fast and Furious" scandal. Additionally, a water main burst at the Mandalay Bay hotel is viewed with suspicion regarding the preservation of evidence from the Las Vegas shooting.

The European Parliament is considering a copyright directive that would require search engines to pay publishers for displaying snippets of news articles. This "link tax" is intended to support the European press but could lead to search engines removing news links entirely. The discussion compares this to the historical "switchback" of cable networks moving from paying for content to being paid to carry it.

A retrospective on early internet legal and ethical battles, including "bandwidth theft" via deep-linking to images and the practice of "framing" other websites to steal advertising revenue. These issues were prominent in the early 2000s during the rise of blogs and Slashdot.

A long list of producers contributing $50 or more is read, including Baroness Janice Kang, Aaron Uber in Tel Aviv, and Sir Brian Warden. The hosts mention "two boobs," referring to clickable links in the donation notes that typically lead to humorous or political images. They thank the "No Agenda family" for their continued financial support.

A healthcare brokerage commercial for the Affordable Care Act is noted for using high-pressure "chopper-dicer" sales techniques usually reserved for late-night infomercials. Separately, a Hyundai Blue Link advertisement demonstrates the ability of law enforcement to remotely reduce engine power or immobilize vehicles. The hosts compare these remote-kill features to science fiction scenarios of state-controlled movement.