I’m convinced that, if Apple ever ceased to exist, we would have nothing to talk about. I mean, it’s not like there’s real tech news going on elsewhere, right? But that’s not the pont! iPhone OS 4.0 is here, and myself, Captain Capacitor and Mike the TV are here to lead you safely through this brave, new tech world. Or not, since we all seem to have some choice words on the matter. You’ll just have to tune your fancy old radios to our broadcast to find out.

As well, we’ve got a few science-related nuggets for you, with Morocco planning to turn half its country to solar by 2020, and Anand’s trip to see Hubble in 3D. Because, as we all know, there’s really no other way to truly view a space telescope.

Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 36:28
Close: Nausea – Beck
Download: 33.2 MB
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Savour the moment people, for this is our last week pre-iPad. The world will be very different in just a few short days. Water will taste different. Cats will become more friendly. Anand may finally be let past border security with only a light frisking. This is the hope.

But before we face the unstoppable deluge of Apple fanboyism, we’ve got some real news to talk about this week. Special guest and troubadour Brian Liu is on the show, dropping knowledge and giving us all Kindle envy. Topics of note include:

• Nintendo announced their upcoming handheld refresh, the Nintendo 3DS, in a very quiet fashion. I think the news broke in the dead of night. Did they really think we wouldn’t notice?
• Anand and Demers join forces in their hatred of Telus. Can’t say I blame them. I long for the day when we won’t speak ill of a telcom company.
• eReader prices are going down, which means us laggards might actually be able to afford one, finally. Brian, on the other hand…
• The Wall Street Journal thinks we’re going to pay $17.99 per month for a digital subscription — you know, on top of our $29.99 data plans.
• Finally, remember all that Android platform fragmentation we bitched about? That’s a big string of words, so I’ll forgive you if you don’t. Either way, Google says they’ve got a plan to fix it. Demers and about five other users care. (Zing!)

Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 31:29
Close: God of War III Overture — Gerard Marino (GOW III OST)
Download: 30.2 MB
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We seem to be on a roll here, because it’s episode 33, and we’ve got yet another guest. This time it’s columnist extraordinaire Matt Demers, who has, in fact, graced our fine podcast before on a few select episodes. His self-imposed exile is over now, however, so he joins myself and THE RAM this week for more crazy hi-jinks and shenanigans.

Things are looking pretty light this week, so here goes:

• Ars Technica is pleading you not block their ads. Apparently that – surprise – prevents online sites from earning money! Demers weighs in.
• The Oscars went down last night. We talk a few of our favourite films, and what should/shouldn’t have won – for a little while, at least. We’re still a tech podcast. For the most part.
• Is Google’s Android fragmenting its OS, and as a result, it’s market share? It’s more interesting than it sounds, I swear. At least listen for the shiny, Apple-related mention.
• In what is probably the most pressing question of this episode: how long did Frodo’s journey take in the Lord of the Rings? I wish I could entice you to listen and find out, but we didn’t know either. It’s actually three. Damn.

Listen here, or at the Not So Much News!

Length: 34:23
Close: The New Dork – Entrepreneur State of Mind
Download: 33.0 MB
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Thirteen is, in a traditional sense, know for its particularly unlucky qualities. In other cases, it refers to a balding Swedish hockey player. But in this case, it’s simply our thirteenth episode — but a special one indeed. This is the episode that we welcome our first special guest, resident pessimist and long-time dungeon master Matthew Demers — a fellow who is actually fairly lucky, and not quite balding. Yet.

The jury is still out on his Swedish roots, however.

Demers is another one of them journalistic-types, so expect a similar level of nerdishness and all-around geekery. He might even make a joke or two. But most importantly, he brings some pretty good points to the virtual round-table this week, despite all of his chronic Skype-related issues.

This week’s big topic – and one we sadly missed during our last taping – was the Bell/Telus HSPA announcement. More specifically, the two cell carriers are trading in the ‘ol clunker for a brand-spanking new HSPA-infused ride. Not only does it mean we all get the iPhone, but lots of other, cooler phones as well.

But that’s not all, folks. There’s some Wave tidbits thrown in too, along with our own Streetview musings, and even a few gaming-related tidbits from Master Demers to cap things off. Oh, and a dirty, shameless plug for the boy’s website. Which we advise you to never visit, under any circumstances. Who craves thought nowadays, anyhow?

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