John Gordon Ross

Anyone who works as a freelancer these days has to be at least a bit familiar with techie things. But it isn’t just that. When I was a kid and those vaguely SF puppet shows were on the television and all the other kids wanted to be Greg Gogetem or Steve Savetheuniverse, I wanted to be the guy in a white coat and glasses called Doc or Brains. Here are some technology-related feeds I find useful and/or entertaining.

Mashable » First-time VR users open a new reality on Christmas and start freaking out

Sunday 25 December 23:47:12 UTC 2016

The year 2016 may have been the year when virtual reality didn't quite hit the mainstream, but that's mostly because most people didn't have a VR headset.  That all changed on Sunday, as so many woke up on Christmas morning to discover a VR headset under the tree.  SEE ALSO: Oculus Medium hands-on: Now everyone gets to be a 3D artist … [Link]

Slashdot » You're An Adult, But Your Brain Might Not Be, Researchers Say

Sunday 25 December 23:39:00 UTC 2016

"The human brain reaches its adult volume by age 10, but the neurons that make it up continue to change for years after that," reports the New York Times, citing a new paper by neuroscience researchers that questions when "adulthood" really begins. An anonymous reader writes: One of the paper's authors — an associate psychology professor at Harvard — tells … [Link]

Mashable » Pop music idol George Michael dies at 53

Sunday 25 December 23:18:30 UTC 2016

George Michael, pop idol whose fame and influence put him alongside Madonna, Michael Jackson and Prince in the pantheon of 1980s music superstars, died peacefully at his home on Sunday at 53, the BBC reported, citing his publicist. The British singer came to prominence with the male pop duo Wham!, before embarking on a successful solo career which began with singles … [Link]

Mashable » 'Doctor Who' Season 10 trailer arrives just in time for Christmas

Sunday 25 December 22:14:12 UTC 2016

The Doctor Who Christmas Special is just hours away from airing in the U.S., but there's one more festive surprise for all you Whovians out there: a Season 10 trailer. The minute-long sneak peek is narrated by Pearl Mackie, in character as the Doctor's new companion, Bill Potts. She was first revealed back in April, in a clip that featured … [Link]

Slashdot » Facing Layoff, An IT Employee Makes A Bold Counteroffer

Sunday 25 December 22:05:00 UTC 2016

ComputerWorld reports: In early December, Carnival Corp. told about 200 IT employees that the company was transferring their work to Capgemini, a large IT outsourcing firm. The employees had a choice: Either agree to take a job with the contractor or leave without severance. The employees had until the week before Christmas to make a decision about their future with … [Link]

Mashable » Bring Olaf from 'Frozen' to life with this DIY tutorial

Sunday 25 December 22:00:00 UTC 2016

Want to build a snowman? In this episode of Homemade How-to, we show you how to bring your favorite talking snowman, Olaf, to life—no magical powers required. Subscribe to CineFix for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/c/cinefix&#~ Read more…More about Mashable Video, Diy, Olaf, Frozen, and Homemade [Link]

Mashable » Carrie Fisher's mom shares health update after heart attack

Sunday 25 December 20:44:41 UTC 2016

Carrie Fisher is in "stable condition" after suffering a heart attack Friday, according to a tweet posted by her mother, actress Debbie Reynolds on Sunday.  The tweet was the first notice from family regarding the Star Wars actress' condition since news of her heart attack broke on Friday. SEE ALSO: Carrie Fisher's Star Wars family shows love after she's rushed to … [Link]

Slashdot » FreeDOS 1.2 Is Finally Released

Sunday 25 December 19:56:00 UTC 2016

Very long-time Slashdot reader Jim Hall — part of GNOME's board of directors — has a Christmas gift. Since 1994 he's been overseeing an open source project that maintains a replacement for the MS-DOS operating system, and has just announced the release of the "updated, more modern" FreeDOS 1.2! [Y]ou'll find a few nice surprises. FreeDOS 1.2 now makes it … [Link]

Mashable » With the queen out sick for Christmas, everyone is wishing her well

Sunday 25 December 19:04:51 UTC 2016

The queen of England's Christmas plans were thrown off by a cold and everyone is worried about her. Queen Elizabeth II was unable to join the royal family at her traditional Christmas morning services near their country estate outside of Norwich, England. The 90-year-old queen was staying inside to recover from what Buckingham Palace called a "heavy cold," but was planning … [Link]

Mashable » 'Fuller House' Season 3 confirmed in an appropriately cheesy Instagram

Sunday 25 December 19:02:57 UTC 2016

Did you really think Season 2 — which came to Netflix on Dec. 9 — would be the end of Fuller House? No way, Jose. After delivering a double-whammy of nostalgia with two seasons in 2016, the Netflix-produced revival of the hit '90s sitcom Full House will return in 2017.  SEE ALSO: Netflix's 'Fuller House' Mr. Bear toy is the shared-viewing … [Link]

Mashable » J.K. Rowling tweeted this heartwarming Christmas message to her fans

Sunday 25 December 18:58:02 UTC 2016

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling is spreading some Christmas joy and realness on Twitter this holiday season. Rowling dedicated part of her Christmas Eve to tweeting about the difficulties of the holiday season as represented on social media.  SEE ALSO: There's a hidden easter egg on J.K. Rowling's new website Instead of simply sharing a family photo and wishing her fans … [Link]

Slashdot » Flickering Lights May Illuminate A Path To Alzheimer's Treatment

Sunday 25 December 18:57:00 UTC 2016

Slashdot reader rpavlicek writes, "Research done by MIT late this year has shown that light signals can improve the brain's neuron gamma frequency which can reverse the effects of Alzheimer's disease (by removing brain plaque). Beneficial effects were found in both intercranial and optical stimuli." The Los Angeles Times reports: New research demonstrates that, in mice whose brains are under … [Link]

Mashable » Being a human is rough, so here is my application to be a dog

Sunday 25 December 18:00:00 UTC 2016

To Whom it May Concern: Hello! I am writing to express my interest in transforming my human self into that of a dog. I was thrilled to come across the opening you advertised and am confident I would be an excellent choice for this position. First, I am a longtime fan of dogs, and have been very impressed with the dozens … [Link]

Mashable » Snapchat pushing for more AR with latest reported purchase

Sunday 25 December 17:57:02 UTC 2016

If the reports are true, your next Snapchat filter could include an even better dose of augmented reality — and might make online shopping even easier. An Israeli business news site, Calcalist, reported on Christmas Day that Israel-based start-up Cimagine Media has been purchased by the disappearing photo app in a $30- to $40 million acquisition. Cimagine uses AR in the … [Link]

Slashdot » The Recent Changes In Earth's Magnetic Field

Sunday 25 December 17:55:00 UTC 2016

Europe's Swarm constellation of satellites have documented bigger-than-expected changes that have been occurring in the Earth's magnetic field. Earlier this year SpaceWeather.com reported that the data show clearly that "the field has weakened by about 3.5% at high latitudes over North America, while it has strengthened about 2% over Asia. The region where the field is at its weakest — … [Link]

Mashable » Super Typhoon Nock-Ten hammers Philippines

Sunday 25 December 16:07:39 UTC 2016

This is not the Christmas gift people in the Philippines were hoping for. Super Typhoon Nock-Ten slammed into the eastern parts of Luzon on Christmas Day with 155-mile-per-hour sustained winds, becoming the strongest such storm to make landfall there so late in the year.  This is not the first typhoon to hit the disaster-prone nation on Christmas, but it is the … [Link]

Slashdot » Did Google.org Steal the Christmas Spirit?

Sunday 25 December 16:02:00 UTC 2016

Google.org gives nonprofits roughly $100 million each year. But now the Register argues that festive giving "has become a 'Googlicious' sales push." Among other things, The Register criticizes the $30 million in grant funding that Google.org gave this Christmas "to nonprofits to bring phones, tablets, hardware and training to communities that can benefit from them most," some of which utilized … [Link]

Mashable » The latest Run the Jewels album is out now, three weeks early

Sunday 25 December 15:53:53 UTC 2016

Years from now, we'll look back on this year and think, "Ok fine, 2016 wasn't all bad." First it was Chance the Rapper and Jeremih's Christmas mixtape, and now it's Run the Jewels — the hip hop duo featuring El-P and Killer Mike — with a surprise early release for their latest album, Run the Jewels 3. The album was originally … [Link]

Mashable » These 4-year-olds learning to share is too real

Sunday 25 December 15:00:00 UTC 2016

If you've ever had to deal with a young child, you'd know about how it can be a challenging task trying to teach them how to share. But it does make for good — albeit slightly cruel — television. SEE ALSO: All parents of troublemakers will love this dangerous Christmas card Just look at this clip from British TV show The … [Link]

Mashable » Xenomorphs are back in the first trailer for 'Alien: Covenant'

Sunday 25 December 14:42:06 UTC 2016

Start your Christmas off right: with blood spatter and alien murder. Fox delivered the gift of an Alien: Covenant trailer late on Christmas Eve. After teasing audiences with a return to the Alien universe in 2012's Prometheus, director Ridley Scott appears to be going all-in this time.  There's a hatching egg, a facehugger, and yes, a brief glimpse of the … [Link]

Mashable » This is the best city for job seekers in 2017

Sunday 25 December 14:00:00 UTC 2016

If your goal for 2017 is to find a high-paying job in an affordable city, you may want to start your search in Texas or North Carolina. Each state boasts two of the best U.S. cities for job seekers, according to a new study. NerdWallet found the top 10 cities for job seekers by identifying the places where Americans will find … [Link]

Mashable » This brilliant iPhone device projects bedtime stories to your kids

Sunday 25 December 14:00:00 UTC 2016

Moonlite is a clip-on reel that uses your iPhone's flash to project bedtime stories. Read more…More about Mashable Video, Iphone Accessories, Kickstarter, Invention, and Projector [Link]

Mashable » In Australia, a traveler's Christmas is spent down at the beach

Sunday 25 December 13:50:00 UTC 2016

The holidays are meant to be about spending time with your loved ones. But if you're thousands of miles away from your family at this time of year, that affection is better off turned to the beach.  SEE ALSO: Someone mistakenly put a 2Pac song in a Christmas hymnal There's plenty of them around Australia's endless coast, and matched with the … [Link]

Slashdot » China 'Smart Restaurant' Uses Facial Recognition To Make Meal Suggestions

Sunday 25 December 12:34:00 UTC 2016

An anonymous reader quotes TechCrunch's report about Baidu's newest project: The search giant sometimes referred to as the 'Google of China' partnered with KFC to open a new "smart restaurant" in Beijing, which employs facial recognition to make recommendations about what customers might order, based on factors like their age, gender and facial expression… image recognition hardware installed at the … [Link]

Mashable » 12 brutally honest answers to those awkward family questions about your love life

Sunday 25 December 9:30:00 UTC 2016

LONDON — Happy holidays one and all. Tis the season for spending time with your lovely but mildly irritating family and distant relatives you haven't seen all year. They want to hear all your news. Seriously, ALL of your news. You know, your job, your wellbeing, your home, and — naturally — your relationship status. Cool.  Unfortunately, unless you're coupled up … [Link]

Slashdot » Voice Is the Next Big Platform, But Amazon Already Owns It

Sunday 25 December 8:34:00 UTC 2016

Six million homes already have an Amazon device with it Alexa voice assistant — about 5% of all households. But Backchannel argues that Amazon is already dominating the race to become the operating system for future voice-activated devices, with Forrester tech analyst James McQuivey pointing out that "having microphones in your environment is a lot more convenient than pulling out … [Link]

Slashdot » Are Airlines Intentionally Overbooking Their Flights?

Sunday 25 December 4:34:00 UTC 2016

"if you sell one seat to two different people, and only one of them shows up, you get extra money," explains an article in Popular Mechanics shared by schwit1. Citing a recent TED-Ed video, they argue that the airlines' strategy for booking flights "makes perfect sense, just not for you." The most frustrating part? This math could be tuned to … [Link]

Slashdot » 'Star Wars' Actress Carrie Fisher 'Stable' After In-Flight Heart Attack

Sunday 25 December 2:10:00 UTC 2016

Best-known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars trilogy and The Force Awakens, actress Carrie Fisher is recovering from a "cardiac event" Friday. An anonymous reader quotes ABC: Her brother, Todd Fisher, told The Associated Press that she was "out of emergency" and stabilized at a Los Angeles hospital Friday afternoon… The 60-year-old "Star Wars" star experienced medical trouble … [Link]

Mashable » Someone mistakenly put a 2Pac song in a Christmas hymnal

Sunday 25 December 1:51:20 UTC 2016

Remember that scene out of The Simpsons where Bart Simpson changes one of the hymns to Iron Butterfly's hard rock classic "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" and the whole church sung along to it? Well, it's happened for real apparently, but during a Christmas carols event called "Joy To The World" in Colombo, Sri Lanka.  SEE ALSO: Here's the 'cat rapper' freestyling to his cat … [Link]

Mashable » Chewbacca singing 'Silent Night' is what you need right now

Sunday 25 December 0:18:09 UTC 2016

We'll pretty much see anything that features our favourite Wookie from Star Wars, Chewbacca, in it. Anything. But this video of Chewie singing "Silent Night" is all you need, proving that beneath all that fur he has a beautiful voice to share. The video is actually a very clever edit by the folks at YouTube channel How It Should Have … [Link]

Slashdot » Store Adds Donald Trump's Picture To $150,000 Gold-Encased iPhones

Sunday 25 December 0:04:00 UTC 2016

An anonymous reader quotes CNN's report about an iPhone 7 "encased in solid gold, encrusted with diamonds and bearing the face of Donald Trump." Priced around $151,000, it's just one example of the mind-blowing bling sold by Goldgenie, a store in the United Arab Emirates where the super rich do their shopping. "There are very wealthy, high-net-worth individuals all over … [Link]

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