800 Episodes Later: Tech Got Weird | AwesomeCast 800

Episode 39238 · October 13th, 2026 · 1 hr 5 mins

About this Episode

Eight hundred episodes later, technology is somehow getting more ridiculous—and AwesomeCast is still here to talk about it.

Sorg, Katie Dudas and Dave Podnar celebrate AwesomeCast 800 with a mix of brand-new gadgets, weird apps, AI-powered software experiments and a trip through more than 16 years of tech history. From Google Glass and Pebble to vibe-coded Adobe alternatives and an Apple Watch that literally points toward Taco Bell, this episode is both a look back at where we’ve been and a pretty accurate snapshot of where technology is heading next.

Vibe Coding Comes for Adobe—and Maybe Microsoft

Sorg takes ArtCraft for a spin, looking at its collection of creative tools, simplified video editing and AI integrations. The bigger conversation is about what happens when an experienced developer uses AI-assisted coding to recreate pieces of expensive subscription software.

The hosts discuss:

  • ArtCraft’s simplified creative and video tools

  • AI generation integrations and credit-based pricing

  • Whether tools like this could fill the gap left by simpler editors such as Adobe Rush

  • The difference between casually prompting an app into existence and having enough development experience to actually finish and maintain one

  • The creator’s reported interest in building alternatives to Microsoft Office-style apps and possibly other subscription software

  • Subscription fatigue and whether smaller AI-assisted competitors can put pressure on Adobe, Microsoft and other established software companies

  • Sorg’s own experiments using AI coding tools to build internal project-management software

ArtCraft / FilmCraft:
https://getartcraft.com/apps/filmcraft

Background:
https://gizmodo.com/someone-vibe-coded-a-free-knockoff-of-adobe-creative-suite-2000823322

Microsoft Office alternatives:
https://www.tomshardware.com/software/microsoft-office/creator-of-free-adobe-clones-unveils-open-source-microsoft-office-excel-powerpoint-and-word-replications-autodesk-tools-and-other-subscription-based-services-may-come-next

Apple HomeView: Who Is the $299 Smart Display For?

Dave breaks down Apple’s new home-focused announcements, including updates involving Apple TV, HomePod mini, Siri AI and the new Apple HomeView.

The HomeView discussion focuses on its square display, Apple-style interface, home placement, FaceTime functionality and ability to recognize different household members. That last feature leads to one of the episode’s best practical questions: if a shared HomeView can know who is looking at it, why can’t a family iPad do the same thing?

The bigger question is price. At $299 before some mounting options, does HomeView solve enough problems to become a normal household device—or is this mostly for families already deep inside Apple’s ecosystem?

https://9to5mac.com/2026/10/13/apple-homeview-announced-features-price-release-date/

Katie Finally Discovers Where All Those Dropout Clips Come From

Katie’s Awesome Thing is Dropout, the independent streaming service behind shows she had already been discovering through social clips.

The crew talks about Game Changer, Smarty Pants, Dimension 20, the service’s CollegeHumor roots and why some of the programming works almost as well as an audio experience as it does on video.

For Katie, the revelation was basically: “This is where these shows come from.”

https://www.dropout.tv

800 Episodes of Awesome History

Then it’s time to look backward.

AwesomeCast traces its history to 2010, which means the show has lived through an absurd number of supposedly world-changing technologies.

Among the flashbacks:

  • Sorg’s Google Glass era

  • Talking about 3D printing in the earliest days of the show

  • Google Stadia and wondering whether Google would eventually abandon it

  • Debating Netflix, Roku and cord cutting back in 2011

  • Pebble before smartwatches became normal

  • Early ChatGPT and Midjourney experiments

  • Meerkat and Periscope before live video became another button inside every social platform

  • The chaos of Google+

  • Vine creators and the short-form video era before TikTok

  • Apple Vision discussions

  • Old AwesomeCast clips that continue collecting views and comments years later

The retrospective also turns into a reminder that changes feel incremental while they are happening. Look back across 800 episodes, however, and the difference is enormous.

ChachiSays Video Game Minute

Chachi returns with three quick gaming stories:

Point Your Wrist at Tacos

The T-Bell Compass might be one of the most specifically useful Apple Watch apps AwesomeCast has ever encountered.

Its job is simple: show you the direction of the nearest Taco Bell.

Sorg demonstrates it in the studio, immediately inspiring requests for an In-N-Out version and possibly an entire Pittsburgh Taco Bell rating system.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tbell-compass/id6761598622

“I Need to Collect That Cat”

Cat Collector turns spotting neighborhood cats into a real-world collecting game.

Photograph cats you encounter, add them to the map, see what other cats people have discovered nearby and even turn your finds into iMessage stickers.

Naturally, Sorg has already found himself pulling over because there was a cat he needed to collect.

https://catcollector.app/

Normal Tools: A Site Full of Tiny Useful Things

Normal Tools is basically a digital junk drawer where everything is actually labeled.

The hosts browse tools for image conversion, CSV viewing, QR codes, aspect ratios, projectors, building calculations, game controllers, screens, batteries and much more.

The appeal is straightforward: find the little utility you need, use it, and move on.

https://www.normaltools.com/

Pittsburgh International Airport Keeps Experimenting

The episode closes locally with another look at technology being tested through Pittsburgh International Airport’s innovation efforts.

The hosts discuss robotics that can potentially help monitor terminal conditions—including passenger flow, cleanliness and environmental conditions—along with analytics intended to give airline teams better information during boarding.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1527880259386316&set=pcb.1527880329386309

Supporting Pittsburgh podcasting with the perfect pepperoni pizza:
www.SliceonBroadway.com