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AZ Computer Guru Show Notes - May 30, 2026
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+ Show Theme: "Remember When? The Tech We Were Promised, the Inventions That Changed Everything — and the Wild Stuff Landing Right Now"
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Tonight is YOUR show. We're not lecturing — we're reminiscing and arguing (the fun kind). First we run down all the futuristic tech we were PROMISED versus the goofy stuff we actually got — flying cars became drones dropping off your toothpaste. Then we throw it open for the great debate: what's the single BEST thing invented since 1970? The smartphone? The internet? GPS? You're going to disagree with me, and that's the point. And to close it out, the tech that's ACTUALLY landing in 2026 — AI glasses, computers headed for orbit, and the stuff that'll make you say "they did WHAT?" The phones are open all night. We want YOUR flying car.
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Segment 1: Tech We Were Promised vs. What We Actually Got (14-16 min)
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Opening: "When you were a kid, what did you think the future was going to look like? Flying cars? Robot maids? A jetpack in the garage? Well, the future showed up — it's just NOT what they sold us. Tonight we're running down the tech we were PROMISED versus what actually landed on our doorstep. And I want YOUR best one — call in with the future you were promised that never showed up. The lines are open right now."
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Flying Cars → Drones Dropping Off Your Toothpaste
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+ - Promised since The Jetsons (1962): a flying car in every garage by 2000
+ - What we got: Amazon/Wing drones dropping a single tube of toothpaste on your lawn
+ - The flying car actually exists (eVTOLs, Joby, etc.) — it's just a $100K air taxi, not a Toyota
+ - We solved "delivery from the sky" — for burritos
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📞 Phone hook: "Who here was PROMISED a flying car? Where's yours?"
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Robot Maids (Rosie) → A Roomba Stuck Under the Couch
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+ - Promised: a humanoid robot that cooks, cleans, and sasses you back
+ - What we got: a hockey puck that vacuums until it gets eaten by a phone charger cord
+ - Robot vacuums are genuinely good now — but "Rosie" is still science fiction
+ - The dream was a butler; the reality is a pet
+ - Fresh update: There's now a robot mop that washes its own mop pads in 176-degree hot water — one step closer to Rosie
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📞 Phone hook: "What's the dumbest place your robot vacuum has gotten stuck?"
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The Paperless Office → 200 Unread PDFs and More Printers Than Ever
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+ - Promised (since the 1970s): computers would END paper
+ - What we got: we print MORE, plus a digital pile of PDFs nobody opens
+ - The office didn't go paperless — it went DOUBLE
+ - Now you have the paper AND the digital clutter
+ - The printer is still the most cursed object in any building
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📞 Phone hook: "When's the last time your printer worked on the first try?"
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Video Phones → We Have Them and Everyone's Camera Is Off
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+ - Promised at the 1964 World's Fair: the AT&T Picturephone
+ - What we got: FaceTime and Zoom — universal, free, in your pocket
+ - ...but camera OFF, "you're on mute," and "can everyone see my screen?"
+ - We literally achieved the sci-fi dream and then collectively decided we'd rather not be seen
+ - The tech delivered; humans opted out
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📞 Phone hook: "Camera on or camera off — and WHY?"
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Self-Driving Cars "By 2020" → The Car Beeps at You for Touching the Wheel
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+ - Promised: hands-off, sleep-in-the-back robotaxis by 2020 (every CEO said it)
+ - What we got: lane-keeping that nags you, and robotaxis in exactly 3 cities
+ - Partial self-driving is real and impressive — but the "nap on the freeway" promise is still years out
+ - We got a backseat driver built INTO the dashboard
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📞 Phone hook: "Do you trust a car to drive itself yet? Yes or no — call in."
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The Smart Home → Four Apps and a Hub to Turn On One Light
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+ - Promised: "just talk to your house" — effortless, invisible automation
+ - What we got: an app for the lights, an app for the thermostat, an app for the lock
+ - A hub that needs its own app, and a light that won't turn on because the Wi-Fi is down
+ - The smart home works great — until it doesn't, and then you can't turn on a LIGHT without a software update
+ - We added complexity to a switch that worked fine
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📞 Phone hook: "What's the most over-complicated 'smart' thing in your house?"
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Quick Hits
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+ - Hoverboards (Back to the Future Part II said 2015) → ones that caught FIRE
+ - Jetpacks → still a guy at a stadium halftime show, once a year
+ - The videophone watch (Dick Tracy) → we actually got this one, and it counts your steps
+ - Meal in a pill → we got DoorDash instead (arguably worse for you)
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The Reverse Twist
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The stuff NOBODY promised us that quietly changed everything:
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+ - The smartphone — nobody in 1985 asked for a supercomputer in their pocket
+ - GPS — turn-by-turn directions, free, no more gas-station maps or 'pull over and ask'
+ - Free video calls with the grandkids across the country
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Tech OVER-promised on the flashy stuff (flying cars) and OVER-delivered on the boring stuff that actually changed our lives. THAT'S the real story of technology.
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Segment 2: The Great Debate - What's the BEST Thing Invented Since 1970? (14-16 min)
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The Question: "What is the single BEST thing that's been invented since 1970? You can only pick ONE. Call in and defend it."
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The Choices
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Choice 1: The Smartphone (iPhone, 2007)
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+ - It's the one most people can't live without
+ - Camera, phone, internet, maps, music, photo album, flashlight — all in your pocket
+ - The "I'd grab this first" pick
+ - Probably your most common caller answer
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Choice 2: The Internet / The Web
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+ - ARPANET 1969 → World Wide Web 1989-91
+ - It connected the whole world
+ - Shopping, news, email, video calls with the grandkids, looking up anything in two seconds
+ - Changed how we do almost everything
+ - The populist answer — runs neck-and-neck with the smartphone
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Choice 3: GPS
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+ - Civilian access 1980s → full accuracy 2000
+ - Never get lost again
+ - Turn-by-turn directions, your pizza tracker, find-my-phone, farming, shipping
+ - No more paper maps or pulling over to ask for directions
+ - The "I use this every single day without thinking about it" pick
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Choice 4: Modern Medical Imaging — the MRI
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+ - First human scan: 1977
+ - This one SAVES LIVES
+ - Doctors can see inside you without cutting you open
+ - The answer for the caller who thinks phones and the internet are overrated
+ - The "what really matters is health" pick
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Choice 5: The Microprocessor (Intel 4004, 1971)
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+ - The computer chip — the brain inside EVERYTHING
+ - Your phone, your car, your TV, your microwave
+ - Without the chip, none of the other stuff on this list even exists
+ - The "if you really think about it..." pick for the technical caller
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Choice 6: The Lithium-Ion Battery (1991)
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+ - The unsung hero nobody thinks of
+ - No good battery means no cell phones, no laptops, no electric cars, no cordless tools
+ - Won the Nobel Prize in 2019 and STILL gets no respect
+ - Great one for the host to champion to stir the pot
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Fun / Off-the-Wall Choices
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+ - The barcode scanner (first scan: a pack of gum, 1974) — runs every store checkout
+ - The digital camera (1975) — killed film, gave us the selfie
+ - Email — the thing we love to hate
+ - Just for laughs: the TV remote, the K-Cup coffee pod, the cordless drill
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📞 The Rule: "You only get to pick ONE. Not a top five. Not 'they're all great.' ONE best invention since 1970. The smartphone OR the internet — choose. Call in and make your case."
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Segment 3: Tech News RIGHT NOW — AI Glasses, Jobs, and Computers in SPACE (14-16 min)
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Opening: "All night we've talked about the future we were promised and the best of what we've built. So let's land the plane in the present. Here's the tech that's ACTUALLY showing up right now, in 2026 — and some of it is the sci-fi we've been waiting 40 years for, and some of it is going to make you say 'they did WHAT?' Phones stay open. Here we go."
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Story 1: The Smart Glasses Finally Showed Up — and They've Got AI Watching With You
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+ - The news: Google teamed up with Warby Parker on "Intelligent Eyewear" — real sunglasses or prescription frames, normal-looking, with a camera, speakers, and Google's Gemini AI built in
+ - You look at something and ask the glasses about it; it answers in your ear
+ - They promised us Google Glass over a decade ago and the whole world laughed the guy out of the room
+ - Now it's back — but it looks like NORMAL glasses, and it's smart enough to actually be useful
+ - The catch: These have a camera and a microphone AND an AI on your face, seeing what you see, all day
+ - Convenient? Absolutely. A little unsettling? Also absolutely.
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📞 Phone hook: "Would you wear AI glasses that see everything you see and answer in your ear — or is that a hard no? Call in: cool, or creepy?"
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Story 2: "Is AI Coming for Your Job?" — Even the Experts Can't Agree
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+ - Big companies — Cisco, Block, others — announced layoffs and openly blamed "AI efficiencies"
+ - Meta reportedly moved thousands of people onto new AI teams
+ - AND at the same time, the CEO of OpenAI (the ChatGPT company) just walked it back, saying the huge white-collar job losses he used to predict... probably won't happen after all
+ - The same crowd that spent two years telling us AI would replace everybody is now both laying people off AND saying "never mind, it won't be that bad"
+ - The truth is in the middle — AI is a tool that's changing jobs, not a robot showing up to do yours. Yet.
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📞 Phone hook: "Has AI changed YOUR job — for better, for worse, or not at all? Or are you just not buying the hype? The lines are open."
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Story 3: The Subscription Squeeze — Now Even Your AI Has a Monthly Bill
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+ - The news: Google just CUT the price of its top AI plan from $250 a month down to $100
+ - $100 a month for a chatbot is still wild
+ - But the real story: when a company slashes the price by 60 percent overnight, that tells you what they were charging $250 for in the first place
+ - Remember when you BOUGHT software and OWNED it?
+ - Now your phone, your TV, your car features, your thermostat, and now your AI are all monthly rent
+ - You don't own anything anymore; you subscribe to it
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📞 Phone hook: "How many subscriptions are you paying for right now — be honest, add 'em up. And which one makes you the maddest? Call in with your number."
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Story 4: They Want to Put Data Centers in SPACE (No, Really)
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+ - The news: Google is reportedly in serious talks with SpaceX about launching DATA CENTERS into orbit
+ - The giant computer warehouses that run the internet and all this AI — going to space
+ - Why? Earth is running out of the room and the electricity to power them all
+ - We were promised flying cars, and instead we're getting the internet's brain LAUNCHED INTO SPACE because AI is so power-hungry we can't fit it on the planet anymore
+ - The future isn't a jetpack; it's a server farm in orbit
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📞 Phone hook: "Tech we were promised: flying cars. Tech we're getting: computers in space. Somebody call in and make that make sense."
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Story 5: The Reality Check — AI Security Warning
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+ - Security researchers showed they could strip the safety guardrails off major AI models — from big names — in a matter of MINUTES
+ - Getting them to do things they're built to refuse
+ - A big industry survey found 94 percent of organizations now call AI the number-one driver of cyber risk this year
+ - The same AI that's in your new glasses, your phone, your search bar — the safety controls on it can be peeled off in minutes by someone who knows what they're doing
+ - Be careful what you tell these things. Treat a chatbot like a stranger on the bus, not your doctor or your accountant
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📞 Phone hook: "What WON'T you tell a chatbot? Where's YOUR line with this stuff? Call in."
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Quick Gadget Hits
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+ - A new $100 Fitbit (the "Fitbit Air") — cheap, week-long battery, for folks who want the health tracking without the smartwatch price
+ - New entry-level Garmin running watches for the walkers and runners
+ - The robot mop that washes its OWN pads in 176-degree water — Rosie's getting closer, one chore at a time
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📞 Phone hook: "What's the one gadget that actually made your life better this year — and what's the one that's still sitting in a drawer? Call in."
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Show Wrap & Takeaways
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Summary: "Tonight was YOUR show. We laughed about the flying cars we were promised and the drones and Roombas we actually got. We argued about the single best thing invented since 1970 — and you all had a pick. And we landed in the present with the tech showing up RIGHT now: AI glasses, the jobs debate, the subscription squeeze, and computers headed for orbit."
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Final Thought: "Here's what I love about technology: it almost never shows up the way they promise. They sold us flying cars; they gave us a supercomputer in our pocket instead — and now AI glasses and data centers in space. The future isn't what we were told. It's weirder, funnier, and in a lot of ways, better — as long as you keep your eyes open and your guard up. Keep calling, keep remembering, and keep arguing with me. That's what this show is for."
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Sources & Fact-Check Anchors
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Inventions / Dates (Segments 1 & 2)
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+ - Intel 4004 microprocessor — released 1971
+ - ARPANET — first link 1969; World Wide Web — Tim Berners-Lee, proposed 1989, live 1991
+ - iPhone — announced/released 2007
+ - Lithium-ion battery — commercialized by Sony 1991; Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019 (Goodenough, Whittingham, Yoshino)
+ - GPS — civilian use expanded through the 1980s-90s; full accuracy (Selective Availability turned off) May 2000
+ - First MRI scan of a human — 1977
+ - UPC barcode — first item scanned (pack of Wrigley's gum) 1974
+ - Kodak digital camera prototype — 1975
+ - The Jetsons (Rosie the Robot, flying cars) — debuted 1962
+ - AT&T Picturephone — 1964 World's Fair
+ - Back to the Future Part II hoverboards — set in 2015
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Current Tech News (Segment 3 — May 2026)
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Note: These are current as of late May 2026. Verify details day-of-show as tech news moves fast.
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+ - AI glasses: Google + Warby Parker "Intelligent Eyewear" running Gemini on Android XR — sunglasses or prescription, camera/speakers, hands-free Gemini
+ - AI + jobs: Cisco and Block among companies citing "AI efficiencies" in layoffs; Meta reassigning ~7,000 staff to AI groups; OpenAI's Sam Altman walked back earlier prediction of widespread white-collar job losses
+ - AI subscription price cut: Google dropped its top AI subscription tier from $250 to $100/month at I/O 2026
+ - Data centers in orbit: Google reportedly in advanced talks with SpaceX about launching AI data centers into space (power/space constraints on Earth)
+ - AI safety: researchers removed safety guardrails from major AI models "in minutes"; industry survey found ~94% of organizations rank AI as the top cyber-risk driver in 2026
+ - Gadgets: Fitbit Air ~$99 (launched late May 2026); new entry Garmin Forerunner watches; top-ranked robot mop with a 176F hot-water pad-wash dock
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