F5 Live: Refreshing Technology (Video)

F5 Live: Refreshing Technology (Video) is a live tech news show where Scott Ertz and Avram Piltch work through stories about gadgets, gaming, streaming and the companies behind them. It is recorded on Sunday nights. A chat room stays open during the recording, and the audience is invited to give feedback on each topic as the hosts discuss it. Episodes open with a quick rundown. One lists Elon Musk selling perfume, Netflix setting up shop in New Jersey and Apple reportedly withholding benefits from union workers. Another runs from Panos Panay leaving Microsoft for Amazon to the FTC suing Amazon and the end of the WGA strike. The same companies keep coming back. Apple appears for seemingly ignoring a court order and for doubts about the future of Apple Card. Netflix comes up through its ads, its New Jersey move and Grand Theft Auto arriving on Netflix Games. Meta is in a privacy mess in one episode and defending its acquisitions in another. Browsers and search get room as well, with gaming improving in Microsoft Edge and results improving in Brave Search. The framing is often dry. A Steam hack is called pointless, and WB is described as proud of its courageous cancellations. Sometimes the hosts catch up with each other before the news, and that is where the hands-on side comes through. Avram Piltch has appeared with two 3D printers behind him after what he called a 3D printing kind of week, and he has described spending a few weeks back on Linux after a few years away. That tinkering carries into the discussion. In one hardware conversation, a computer played 1080p video smoothly but turned jerky once the screen resolution went up. The verdict was that it suits robots and maker projects better than everyday work, and that a cheap Chromebook is the better choice for handing out affordable computers. The buying advice is just as concrete. It notes how a Samsung SSD and a WD Black SSD swapped places on price around Black Friday. It also warns flatly against any laptop with only 8GB of RAM or a 256GB SSD, with a joke about joining the family of anyone generous enough to buy a distant cousin a laptop. The hosts also share the microphone. A three-part run of special joint episodes with GNC Week in Review features Kirk Corliss alongside them, with stories like a first-generation iPhone selling for more than $39,000. F5 Live belongs to the Tech Podcast Network and the PLUGHITZ Live family, and the closing plugs point to unboxings and how-tos on the PLUGHITZ Live website. Sign-offs have come on behalf of 'the staff that's not here', followed by a quick 'ciao'. For the labor and legal thread, 'Strikes and Lawsuits Affecting Your Life - Episode 656' is a natural place to start. For competition and privacy, try 'Market Dominance and User Privacy - Episode 675'.