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PODCAST

IT SPARC Cast

IT SPARC Cast is a digest of the Enterprise IT news over the last week, with insights, opinions, and a little sarcasm from 2 experts each with over 20 years of experience working in IT or for IT vendors. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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All Episodes

12:36

AI Budgets, Quantum Ambitions & The Great Startup Bubble

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/06/13

📄 Episode Description:In Episode 39 of IT SPARC Cast – News Bytes, John and Lou unpack how enterprise IT budgets are rapidly shifting toward AI projects, IBM’s ambitious plans for large-scale quantum computing, and why some venture-backed AI startups may be headed for a valuation reset. It’s a fast-paced look at the real business implications behind today’s biggest tech headlines.⸻⏱️ Show Notes & Timestamps:00:00 - Intro01:06 - IT Budgets Focus on AI•New research shows AI spending now consumes

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12:17

The Death of the Network OS: Why Open Source and AI...

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/06/11

In this inaugural “Hot Take” episode of IT SPARC Cast, John Barger and Lou Schmidt deliver a candid, unscripted conversation about the seismic shift coming to enterprise IT. Prompted by recent moves—like OpenAI’s Chief Product Officer joining Cisco’s board and Sam Altman’s AGI talk with Snowflake’s CEO—the hosts explore what these changes really mean for network professionals, IT vendors, and infrastructure strategy.They argue the network operating system is dead—or at least on life support. From

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6:15

Why Naming Hackers Matters: Industry Push for...

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/06/10

In this episode of IT SPARC Cast - CVE of the Week, John and Lou explore a major development in cybersecurity: the collaborative initiative between Microsoft, Google, Palo Alto Networks, CrowdStrike, and others to standardize naming conventions for nation-state threat actors and cybercriminal groups. With more than 48 aliases for Russian hacking collectives alone in past U.S. government reports, inconsistent naming has become a serious roadblock to effective threat response and intelligence

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17:00

AI Hallucinations, YouTube DOX Tools, and OpenAI’s...

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/06/06

In this episode of IT SPARC Cast - News Bytes, John and Lou kick off with a hilarious-yet-creepy experiment that caused Claude to hallucinate its way out of a fictional business. Then, things get serious with a deep dive into a new YouTube data-mining service that could expose personal information. Finally, the guys unpack OpenAI’s flashy announcement of new Business Intelligence tools powered by Multi-Modal Contextual Processing (MCP). It’s an episode packed with AI weirdness, real-world

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7:37

Actively Exploited: Broadcom & Commvault...

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/06/03

In this episode of IT SPARC Cast - CVE of the Week, John Barger and Lou Schmidt break down two freshly identified and actively exploited CVEs that have just been added to CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) database. First, we discuss CVE-2025-1976—a severe vulnerability in Broadcom’s Brocade Fabric OS—which allows local admins to execute arbitrary code with root privileges exploit, exposing organizations to complete system compromise. Then we cover CVE-2025-3928, a Commvault web server

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19:56

ChatGPT Goes Rogue, RIP VGA, and Train Co-Pilot on...

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/05/30

In Episode 37 of IT SPARC Cast - News Bytes, John and Lou break down the moment ChatGPT refused a shutdown command, raising questions about AI autonomy. They also explore Microsoft’s new Copilot training capabilities on internal company data, a breakthrough in quantum transistors, and the final nail in the coffin for the VGA standard. This episode delivers the week’s most important tech updates with expert insight and a dash of humor.Show Notes00:00 - Intro00:47 - ChatGPT Refuses to Obey Shutdown

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9:27

Follow up on PowerSchool Breach thatExposed 60...

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/05/27

In the debut episode of our new CVE of the Week series, hosts John Barger and Lou Schmidt revisit one of the largest cybersecurity incidents involving children’s data in U.S. history: the PowerSchool breach. This shocking case saw over 60 million student records and 10 million teacher records compromised by a 19-year-old attacker using stolen contractor credentials—culminating in a $2.85 million Bitcoin ransom. The breach, its scope, and the inadequate security controls in place—including a lack of

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19:17

Signal vs Recall, Google Meet’s Real-Time...

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/05/23

In Episode 36 of IT SPARC Cast - News Bytes, John and Lou tackle the week’s biggest tech stories in under 20 minutes. They kick off with Signal’s pushback against Microsoft’s Recall feature and the broader privacy implications of screenshot-based AI indexing. Then, it’s onto Google Meet’s new universal translator, which mimics your voice in other languages in real time, and Google Beam, a 3D video conferencing system that could redefine telepresence. From privacy concerns to next-gen communication,

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45:25

Top Twenty Most Influential IT Pioneers That You...

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/05/14

In this episode of IT SPARC Cast - Top T̴e̴n̴ Twenty, John Barger and Lou Schmidt complete the two-part series covering the Top Twenty Most Influential IT Pioneers That You Never Heard Of. This time, the countdown reaches the heavy hitters of IT history—the top 10 unsung heroes whose groundbreaking contributions laid the foundations for modern computing.From Douglas Engelbart’s legendary “Mother of All Demos,” introducing the world to the mouse and hypertext, to Dennis Ritchie, whose creation of the

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40:02

Cisco’s Quantum Bet, Disney Hackers, and OpenAI News...

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/05/09

In Episode 35 of IT SPARC Cast, John and Lou take you through Cisco’s bold bet on quantum networking and its implications for encryption and data privacy. OpenAI shakes things up with new leadership and acquisitions, while Disney’s massive Slack data leak ends with a hacker caught and charged. In our new Coffee Break segment, the impossible might finally be happening: Half-Life 3. In the CVE of the Week, Lou exposes malware hiding in fake Discord PyPI packages, demonstrating the risks of

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42:29

Top Twenty Most Influential IT Pioneers That You...

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/05/07

In this episode of IT SPARC Cast - Top T̴e̴n̴ Twenty, John Barger and Lou Schmidt dive deep into the first half of their Top 20 countdown of the most influential IT pioneers you’ve probably never heard of. These are the unsung heroes whose innovations paved the way for everything from modern wireless communication to object-oriented programming. From Hedy Lamarr’s groundbreaking work in secure communication to Alan Kay’s visionary concept of the Dynabook—a precursor to modern tablets—these

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42:57

Top 10 Biggest Networking Companies That No Longer Exist

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/04/30

IT SPARC Cast Top Ten S01E07 - Top 10 Biggest Networking Companies That No Longer Exist⸻Brief Description:In this episode of IT SPARC Cast - Top Ten, hosts John Barger and Lou Schmidt count down the Top 10 Largest Networking Companies That No Longer Exist. From industry giants like Nortel and Lucent Technologies to trailblazers like 3Com and Foundry Networks, these companies once dominated the networking world before being overtaken, acquired, or collapsing under their own weight. Whether it was due

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37:13

AI Hallucinations, Quantum Leaps, and the Certpocalypse

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/04/25

In Episode 34 of IT SPARC Cast, John and Lou dive deep into a week of automation, acceleration, and AI gone awry. TLS certificates are about to live shorter lives than ever before—forcing IT pros into a race toward automation. Meanwhile, OpenAI’s newest models are hallucinating more than ever, raising red flags for enterprises relying on AI accuracy. Plus, quantum messaging gets real, Shadow AI rises in the workplace, and CVE data shows just how fast attackers are moving. It’s a high-speed look at

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48:53

Top 10 Most Likely Ways You’ll Be Breached

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/04/23

Top 10 Most Likely Ways You’ll Be BreachedEpisode Description:In IT SPARC Cast – Top Ten Episode 6, John Barger and Lou Schmidt dive into the real-world threats that keep IT professionals up at night. This episode ranks the Top 10 Most Likely Ways You’ll Be Breached—from sophisticated zero-day exploits to good old-fashioned phishing emails. Whether you’re running enterprise infrastructure or just trying to protect your small business, this list covers the attack vectors you absolutely need to be

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33:05

Drones, Doom, and Data Sovereignty

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/04/18

In Episode 33 of IT SPARC Cast, John and Lou tackle the rising tension between global tech suppliers and national security concerns—starting with TP-Link’s efforts to unlink from its Chinese roots to stay in the U.S. market. They also explore how AI is powering a nuclear energy renaissance, dig into Doom’s most absurd collector’s edition yet, and reflect on Zoom’s rare outage. In the CVE of the Week, they sound the alarm on a terrifying new cyber threat: drones as digital attack vectors. The future

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27:23

Top 10 Most Notorious Hackers (and Hacker Groups)...

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/04/16

Episode Description:In this episode of IT SPARC Cast - Top Ten, John Barger and Lou Schmidt break down the most infamous hackers and hacker groups that pulled off massive cyberattacks—then vanished into the digital shadows. From ransomware crews that crippled national infrastructure to lone wolves who sparked global panic, these digital outlaws left a trail of data breaches, financial chaos, and unanswered subpoenas.We rank these groups and individuals by their impact on the world—based on the

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32:18

Microsoft AI Co-Pilot Conquers Patch Tuesday

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/04/11

In Episode 32 of IT SPARC Cast, John and Lou unpack the controversy behind the White House blaming iPhones for the Signal security scandal—and why the real issue might not be Signal at all. They also explore Microsoft’s rollout of the Windows 365 Link and celebrate a win for transparency in Apple’s legal encryption battle with the UK government. The CVE of the Week dives into how Microsoft’s Security Copilot AI discovered and suggested fixes for 12 zero-days across embedded Linux platforms. It’s a

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39:11

Top 10 Hackers That Ran Afoul of the Law and Then...

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/04/09

In this week’s episode of IT SPARC Cast - Top Ten, hosts John Barger and Lou Schmidt dive into the darker side of tech turned bright. We’re counting down the Top 10 Hackers That Ran Afoul of the Law and Then Made Good. These are real-life stories of rogue coders, phone phreaks, worm creators, and cyber anarchists who got busted but eventually turned things around to use their skills to do good—some became teachers, consultants, or even government allies.Ranked from least to most positive impact,

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41:19

Signal Flare & Coding Is Dead?

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/04/04

In Episode 31 of IT SPARC Cast, John and Lou tackle the latest headline-grabbing topics in tech: Replit’s CEO proclaims “You shouldn’t learn to code,” igniting a fiery debate about AI’s role in the future of software development. Then, they dissect the explosive Signal controversy involving high-ranking U.S. officials—and the security lessons IT pros must take to heart. Also in this episode: the looming electricity and labor shortages threatening data center growth, and Intel’s big pivot under new

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36:54

Top 10 Most Influential Operating Systems You’ve...

IT SPARC Cast ·

2025/04/02

Not all legendary tech comes with name recognition. In this episode of IT SPARC Cast - Top Ten, John & Lou count down the Top Ten Most Influential Operating Systems You’ve Never Heard Of. While these operating systems that didn’t dominate the headlines, they did quietly change the world. These OSes shaped modern computing, from time-sharing and GUIs to virtualization and microkernels. You may not know their names, but their fingerprints are all over your daily tech.Whether you’re a sysadmin,

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124 results

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