– What’s up, Internet? Welcome to SnapMunk’s Weekly Tech Feed. I’m Devin Greene.
– And I’m Eric Hargrove.
– And this week, we’re going to be talking about drones, Facebook Workplace, a European mission to Mars, and 3D printed guns.
– So, drones. This week the FAA put out a mandate that you cannot fly drones over sporting events with seating of 30,000 people or more and disaster relief areas. I don’t see what the really big deal is. You know, some people are upset about it. I’m personally not. I own a drone.
– I mean, we knew this was coming. We knew there was going to have to be regulations for drones. Because anybody can buy a drone. Anybody can use a drone however they want. No one on the ground knows, is there a bomb attached to that thing, or is it delivering a package? So, some regulation has to exist. I just think this is a Trojan horse. We’re mentioning disaster relief. We’re mentioning sporting events. Really, if you look at the FAA website, they say you can’t fly a drone above any unprotected person who’s not part of the operation of that drone.
– Yeah, but, who’s going to actually enforce that? Like, you’re not going to pull a drone over, and say, “Hey, you’re not supposed to be here.” So, I mean, really, I don’t see a problem. I get that there’s an issue with safety, but, honestly … enforcement’s not a big deal.
– I don’t think they’re seeing the big picture, though. I imagine in a few years, we’re going to have a whole air space dedicated to drones, where they’re buzzing around like Minority Report. We’re just really not giving them credit for how amazing this technology can be.
– Well, so, drones are evolving. They’re moving forward. I’m sure that legislation as well will move along with innovation.
So, Cody Wilson, you know, the anarchist, the gun proponent, the guy who is famous for first-time 3D printing gun receivers. The dude just came out with a new book called, “Come and Take It.”
– Yeah, this is so similar to the drone case, where you have a device — 3D printers — which, the vast majority of their applications are good. They’re going to push society forward and then one asshole can come along and turn it into a death machine. That’s where it gets murky. Do we need to regulate that?
– Absolutely. Exactly! Can you imagine a classroom of kids who’ve got 3D printers at home? They’ve 3D printed guns. They bring them all to class, and all of the sudden, there’s a shoot-out.
Definitely regulation.
– I went to a high school where a kid got expelled for bringing a butter knife to lunch.
– Yeah.
– So, yeah, the thought of an old west elementary school is terrifying. To me, it’s just the question of, are the potential benefits of a 3D printer going to be outweighed by needless regulation?
– Yeah, but, I think that regulation’s not bad. It can actually shape innovation and cause makers to rise to the occasion and figure out solutions to those problems that are currently being regulated.
– Yeah, maybe. Or it could slow one of the most exciting innovations of the last century. It could go either way.
– Yeah, we’ll find out.
So, speaking of innovation… Last week, we talked about Boeing and SpaceX’s race to get people on Mars, and this next week, the European Space Agency is going to experience their own historic Mars landing. So, why is this a story? Because we were already there first.
– That’s true. We have been on Mars since the 1970s when the Voyager mission turned into the Viking mission. More recently, we discovered that there’s water on Mars. The Opportunity mission is exploring craters and gullies to determine whether there could have been life on Mars. There’s more to be done! I mean, we need Europe in the mix. We need China in the mix. We need everybody but North Korea in the mix, essentially.
– Yep.
We could also put a Starbucks on Mars.
– We probably will.
– And we’d probably be first.
– Fair point. We won the space race, OK? Everyone, we won. Europe, lose it. But congratulations for putting a craft through the vacuum of space for a year and landing it on the Red Planet. That deserves a shout out on Weekly Tech Feed. Good job, Europe!
Alright, so back here on Earth … our final story. Facebook launches Workplace this week.
-Yes!
– You’re excited.
– I’m not. We have enough instant messaging technologies to begin with, people. OK? We don’t need another Slack, another Trello, another What’s App, another … email! Email? What’s wrong with email?
– Because instant messaging is more immediate.
– So’s a phone call!
– And convenient. You’re already on Facebook anyway.
– I mean, that’s true. Ninety-five percent of people are literally on Facebook right now at work. And the other 5% are lying.
– Right! And the other thing is, it consolidates everything, right? So, you’re not using Slack. You’re not using Trello, You’re not using Skype for video messaging. So, you’re putting it all together so you’re actually getting away from a whole bunch of apps. And, wouldn’t it be great, if your boss comes up and goes, “Hey Devin, uh, we need you to be on Facebook”?
– I’m going to need you to come in this Saturday and get on Facebook. That’d be great.
– You been holding that the entire time?
– Yes, yes I have.
– Awesome.
– Method! And that’s it for this episode of the Weekly Tech Feed.
-Thanks for watching and make sure that you like and subscribe, below.
– Quick honorable mentions this week. Soylent gave a lot of people diarrhea.
– Because it’s made of people.
– And beer waste is being used to make batteries, so that’s nice.
– Yeah.
– Yeah. Go check those out! Thank you all for watching.
– See ya!
