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.

Slashdot » College Network Attacked With Its Own Insecure IoT Devices

Saturday 11 February 23:34:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader writes:An attacker compromised over 5,000 IoT devices on a campus network — including vending machines and light sensors — and then used them to attack that same network. "In this instance, all of the DNS requests were attempting to look up seafood restaurants," reports ZDNet, though the attack was eventually blocked by cybersecurity professionals. Verizon's managing principal … [Link]

Mashable » NBA star Russell Westbrook uses 'Any Given Sunday' to put Kevin Durant on notice

Saturday 11 February 22:52:42 UTC 2017

In case anyone was wondering whether NBA star Russell Westbrook was taking the return of his former teammate, Kevin Durant, to Oklahoma City seriously, his pregame wardrobe just removed all doubt.  SEE ALSO: Steph Curry burns Trump after president gets praise from Under Armour CEO Strolling into the Chesapeake Energy Arena hours before the 8:30 p.m. ET tip-off, Westbrook sported a … [Link]

Slashdot » Mission Possible: Self-Destructing Phones Are Now a Reality

Saturday 11 February 22:34:00 UTC 2017

drunkdrone quotes the International Business Times: Self-destructing gadgets favored by the likes of James Bond and Mission: Impossible's Ethan Hunt have taken one step closer to reality. Researchers in Saudi Arabia have developed a mechanism that, when triggered, can destroy a smartphone or other electronic device in as little as 10 seconds. The self-destruct mechanism has been created by electrical … [Link]

Mashable » This cosplayer might be the most convincing Taylor Swift lookalike yet

Saturday 11 February 21:56:43 UTC 2017

Meet the woman who looks so much like Taylor Swift, you'll want to ask her who she voted for. The internet loves a good doppelgänger, and it's found one in April Gloria, a cosplayer who's nailed Taylor Swift's cat-eyed, red lipsticked signature look. SEE ALSO: Ariana Grande lookalike has certainly mastered the high ponytail Yes, friends, it's true: this is not … [Link]

Slashdot » Four of Iceland's Main Volcanoes Are All Preparing For Eruption

Saturday 11 February 21:34:00 UTC 2017

Vulcanologists always watch Iceland carefully — it's the one exposed place on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, with 130 different volcanoes — and something big may be brewing. Applehu Akbar writes: Now that four of Iceland's largest volcanoes are showing signs of impending eruption, the world may be in for another summer of ash. Katla, Hecla, Bárðarbunga and Grímsvötn have all had … [Link]

Mashable » One newspaper accidentally used photo of Alec Baldwin instead of President Trump

Saturday 11 February 21:14:29 UTC 2017

Sometimes it's not easy separating life from art. The Dominican newspaper El Nacional learned that the hard way on Friday, after it accidentally published a photo of Alec Baldwin instead of President Donald Trump. Baldwin has made headlines for his spot-on impression of the former reality star.  But it was a mistake. Image: twitter/screengrabThe paper on Saturday issued a clarification on … [Link]

Slashdot » Oracle Refuses To Accept Android's 'Fair Use' Verdict, Files Appeal

Saturday 11 February 20:34:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes the Wall Street Journal: The seven-year legal battle between tech giants Google and Oracle just got new life. Oracle on Friday filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that seeks to overturn a federal jury's decision last year… The case has now gone through two federal trials and bounced around … [Link]

Mashable » The internet bands together to help Chrissy Teigen get Fun Dip off her hands

Saturday 11 February 20:11:44 UTC 2017

Chrissy Teigen is going to the Grammys on Sunday. Exciting! Unfortunately, her fingers are stained green with Fun Dip, and she needs it to come off before the show. Luckily, the internet is here to help. And do weird jokes. SEE ALSO: Chrissy Teigen had a very Chrissy Teigen response to her Super Bowl nip slip This is why the internet … [Link]

Mashable » Starting Sunday, you can stream Prince's music almost everywhere

Saturday 11 February 19:59:31 UTC 2017

Get ready for a #PurpleSunday. After several months of speculation, Prince's biggest hits will be available to stream on a number of streaming services — including Spotify, Pandora, Napster and Amazon Music —  starting Sunday. Prince, a prolific artist who died of an accidental overdose of the opioid fentanyl in April of 2016, removed his music from the major streaming services … [Link]

Slashdot » The City Of Munich Now Wants To Abandon Linux And Switch Back to Windows

Saturday 11 February 19:34:00 UTC 2017

"The prestigious FOSS project replacing the entire city's administration IT with FOSS based systems, is about to be cancelled and decommissioned," writes long-time Slashdot reader Qbertino. TechRepublic reports: Politicians at open-source champion Munich will next week vote on whether to abandon Linux and return to Windows by 2021. The city authority, which made headlines for ditching Windows, will discuss proposals … [Link]

Mashable » Yogi dressed in white powerfully defies period shame on Instagram

Saturday 11 February 19:20:17 UTC 2017

Yoga instructor Steph Gongora did something bold this week. Dressed in white, she got onto her mat and filmed herself in various poses that revealed a red stain from her period.  Then she put the clip on Instagram, where she now has more than 258,000 followers.  SEE ALSO: When the trolls come at you over birth control coverage, here's what to … [Link]

Mashable » Apple's Tim Cook speaks out against immigration ban during UK visit

Saturday 11 February 18:54:33 UTC 2017

Apple and several of the top tech companies in Silicon Valley have spoken out against President Trump’s controversial immigration ban, but not many tech CEOs have aired their views on camera, until now.  Earlier this week, during a visit to the University of Glasgow in Scotland to receive an honorary degree, Tim Cook opened up about his feelings on the … [Link]

Slashdot » PayPal's 'Policy Update' Includes Price Hikes

Saturday 11 February 18:34:00 UTC 2017

"Buying and selling items on the internet is about to get a bit more expensive if you use PayPal to transfer money," reports MLive, noting that some of PayPal's fees will be increasing on March 29. Slashdot reader turbotalon also complains PayPal is disguising news of the price hikes as a "policy update". Roughly one quarter of the "policy changes" … [Link]

Mashable » Transgender teen activist Jazz Jennings will soon get her own doll

Saturday 11 February 18:04:17 UTC 2017

New York doll maker Tonner Doll Co. will soon release a doll based on teen activist and TV personality Jazz Jennings — a doll believed to be the first doll based on a transgender person to hit the market. Jennings, who stars in the TLC series I Am Jazz, posted a photo of the doll on Instagram on Friday. "This is … [Link]

ProgrammableWeb.com » Daily API RoundUp: AdStage, KIDOZ, Plesk

Saturday 11 February 17:53:50 UTC 2017

Every day, the ProgrammableWeb team is busy, updating its three primary directories for APIs, clients (language-specific libraries or SDKs for consuming or providing APIs), and source code samples. [Link]

Slashdot » Ford Just Invested $1 Billion In Self-Driving Cars

Saturday 11 February 17:34:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quote USA Today: Ford Motor is betting $1 billion on the world's self-driving car future. The Detroit automaker announced Friday that it would allocate that sum over five years to a new autonomous car startup called Argo AI, which is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., and will have offices in Michigan and California. Ford's financial outlay is part … [Link]

Mashable » A neurologist captured these bizarre and creepy images to study the physics of human expression

Saturday 11 February 17:00:00 UTC 2017

“This expression must be that of the damned.”Image: Metropolitan Museum of ArtIn 1862, French neurologist Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne de Boulogne published The Mechanism of Human Facial Expression, a scientific and aesthetic text on the ways in which the muscles of the face create various expressions — a dictionary, so to speak, of what he believed was a universal, God-given language.Duchenne had previously … [Link]

Mashable » Bet you never thought you'd see Keanu Reeves ask Jamie Dornan about 'Fifty Shades' sex scenes

Saturday 11 February 16:52:19 UTC 2017

Here's one to check off your bucket list: watching Keanu Reeves, Whoopi Goldberg and Jamie Dornan discuss the finer points of sex scenes on The Graham Norton Show.  Dornan — who, of course, stars in the not good Fifty Shades franchise — has quite a bit of intel on the subject, including that adding one's own sound effects really lightens … [Link]

Slashdot » TeraHertz Transmitter Can Push 100Gbps+ Wireless Speeds Via a Single Channel

Saturday 11 February 16:34:00 UTC 2017

Mark.JUK writes: A team of Japanese scientists working jointly for Hiroshima University and Panasonic have managed to develop a TeraHertz (THz) transmitter that is capable of transmitting digital data at a rate of 105 Gbps (gigabits per second) over a single channel using the frequency range from 290GHz to 315GHz. Previously it was only possible to achieve such speeds by … [Link]

Mashable » 14 texts to not send your ex on Valentine's Day

Saturday 11 February 16:30:00 UTC 2017

Valentine’s Day is around the corner, which means it's everyone's least favorite time of the year: reminiscing on V-Days past. With memories of former flames making their annual resurgence, it is essential to remember one thing: do. not. text. your. exes. Don't text these people. It isn't good for you, it isn't good for them and it definitely isn't good for … [Link]

Mashable » Pinterest's visual search, WhatsApp's new security: all the app news you need to know

Saturday 11 February 16:27:01 UTC 2017

With even more iPhone rumors (stretchy screens and touch-sensitive backsides, anyone) and more bizarre robots than we can keep track of, you may have lost track of some of the best new apps. Luckily, we're keeping score for you for you. Each week, we round up the latest app news, along with a few of our favorite new and updated apps, … [Link]

Mashable » 4 solutions to the iPhone 7's dongle crisis

Saturday 11 February 16:00:00 UTC 2017

If you've got an iPhone 7, you're probably pretty pleased with yourself. What you're probably less pleased about is the removal of the 3.5mm headphone port.  While Apple has bundled a Lightning to 3.5mm headphone jack adapter with the iPhone 7 (and sells a replacement for $9) this official doodad hogs the single port.  SEE ALSO: 8 easy ways to guard … [Link]

Slashdot » Hundreds of Stonehenge-Like Monuments Found In The Amazon Rainforest

Saturday 11 February 15:34:00 UTC 2017

turkeydance quotes The Telegraph: Hundreds of ancient earthworks resembling those at Stonehenge were built in the Amazon rainforest, scientists have discovered after flying drones over the area. The findings prove for the first time that prehistoric settlers in Brazil cleared large wooded areas to create huge enclosures meaning that the 'pristine' rainforest celebrated by ecologists is actually relatively new. The … [Link]

Mashable » J.K. Rowling calls out Piers Morgan after he claims he's never read 'Harry Potter'

Saturday 11 February 15:23:02 UTC 2017

Piers Morgan, a man who has always had trouble with criticism, responded to a brutal Saturday burn from J.K. Rowling by saying he's "never read a single word of Harry Potter." But, Piers, what about that opinion piece, hm? It all started when Rowling declared her joy at seeing Piers Morgan decimated on live TV by Jim Jefferies on Real Time … [Link]

Mashable » Bulgarian cat walks again with the help of bionic legs

Saturday 11 February 15:00:00 UTC 2017

Pooh, a one-year-old cat from Bulgaria was found without his hind legs. But a local animal shelter raised funds to have him fitted with prosthetics legs The Bulgarian vet who performed Pooh's surgery also fitted three more cats. The procedure was first performed in the U.K. but this is the first in Europe. Read more…More about Mashable Video, Stray Cats, Real … [Link]

Mashable » Katy Perry's 'Chained to the Rhythm' is cotton candy political pop

Saturday 11 February 14:46:17 UTC 2017

"Chained to the Rhythm" is a new kind of Katy Perry song, certainly. "Are we tone deaf / Keep sweeping it under the mat / Thought we could do better than that / I hope we can," Perry sings. "So comfortable, we're living in a bubble, bubble / So comfortable, we cannot see the trouble, trouble." Still, the song's lyric … [Link]

Mashable » A new database holds the faces of the guards who oversaw the atrocities at Auschwitz

Saturday 11 February 14:00:00 UTC 2017

Joseph Hefner, former student merchant. Joined SS in 1942 as a Sturmmann (Stormtrooper).Image: Institute of National RemembranceFollowing the invasion of Poland by Germany in September 1939, construction began on a complex of camps to house thousands of Polish political prisoners — Auschwitz.The first prisoners began to arrive in the spring of 1940. The camp rapidly expanded and was repurposed into one … [Link]

Mashable » When the trolls come at you over birth control coverage, here's what to say

Saturday 11 February 13:00:00 UTC 2017

If you're a woman who, on the internet, has tried to defend widely accessible and affordable birth control, you probably know all the counterarguments by heart: "Why should my tax dollars make it easy for you to have sex?" "I don't want to pay for what you do in the bedroom""Don't have sex if you can't afford to get pregnant".  SEE … [Link]

Slashdot » Senators Push Trump Administration For Clarity On Privacy Act Exclusions

Saturday 11 February 13:00:00 UTC 2017

Trailrunner7 quotes a report from On the Wire: A group of influential lawmakers, including Sen. Ed Markey and Sen. Ron Wyden, are pressing the Trump administration for answers about how an executive order that includes changes to the Privacy Act will affect non-U.S. persons and whether the administration plans to release immigrants' private data. The letter comes from six senators … [Link]

Mashable » This 1979 Stephen King novel is a chilling prediction of Donald Trump's rise

Saturday 11 February 10:30:00 UTC 2017

“The man is a clown. He goes charging around the speaking platform, like that at every rally […] He's a clown, so what? […] So people want a giggle or two. Even more, they want to thumb their noses at a political establishment that doesn't seem able to solve anything." It would be easy to mistake that as an old quote … [Link]

Slashdot » Valve Is Shutting Down Steam's Greenlight Community Voting System

Saturday 11 February 10:00:00 UTC 2017

Valve's crowdsourced Greenlight submission program, which let the gaming community select which games get chosen for distribution via Steam, is shutting down after nearly five years. It will be replaced with a new system called Steam Direct that will charge developers a fee for each title they plan to distribute. The Verge reports: Steam Greenlight was launched in 2012 as … [Link]

Mashable » 11 Valentine's gifts for your f*ck buddy

Saturday 11 February 9:53:45 UTC 2017

The assumption goes that splashing out on Valentine's Day is fine if you're in a deep and committed relationship. But, what about the fuck buddies of the world, for whom casual sex abounds and relationship statuses remain nebulous?  Don't they deserve gifts too? The answer is simple: Of course they do! SEE ALSO: 13 perfect Galentine's Day gifts for your forever … [Link]

Slashdot » Nanorods Emit and Detect Light, Could Lead To Displays That Communicate Via Li-Fi

Saturday 11 February 7:00:00 UTC 2017

schwit1 quotes a report from IEEE Spectrum: Ever since 2015 Consumer Electronics Show, quantum dots have been in a market struggle to displace light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as a backlight source for liquid crystal displays (LCDs). Now an advance by a team of researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute in South Korea and … [Link]

Slashdot » First Gene Drive In Mammals Could Aid Vast New Zealand Eradication Plan

Saturday 11 February 3:30:00 UTC 2017

wisebabo writes: Say goodbye to our little whiskered friends! There is an effort to wipe out not just any species, (there's been discussions to wipe out the mosquitos that carry Malaria), but a mammal. Specifically the house mouse which, along with other invasive species introduced by Westerners, have ravaged New Zealand's ecosystem. (Amongst other things they've rendered extinct many of … [Link]

Mashable » 'Infinity War' teaser puts Avengers, Spider-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy together at last

Saturday 11 February 3:14:57 UTC 2017

Marvel has thrown down the gauntlet. Avengers: Infinity War has started production at Pinewood Studios in Atlanta, where Robert Downey Jr., Tom Holland and Chris Pratt, standing on the same set, have finally begun to bring it all together. Or as Kevin Feige puts it, "the culmination of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe as started in May of 2008 with the … [Link]

Mashable » Magic Leap photo leak claims to show first look at mixed reality device

Saturday 11 February 2:37:48 UTC 2017

The multibillion-dollar-valued vaporware (so far) known as Magic Leap has been wrestling with a PR nightmare over the past few months. That nightmare may be about to get a lot more vivid thanks to a leaked photo. On Friday evening, a photo emerged in a report from Business Insider that shows what the publication claims is at least one iteration of … [Link]

Mashable » Officer and pup partner enforce the law and look good doing it

Saturday 11 February 2:11:24 UTC 2017

What a good boy! Levi Knach, a law enforcement officer with Indiana's Department of Natural Resources, took a portrait with his partner — which normally wouldn't be too exciting.  But his partner happens to be one adorable pup. In a series of photos posted to the department's Facebook page, Kenobi broke the character of a tough police dog and showed his … [Link]

Slashdot » Excessive Radiation Inside Fukushima Fries Clean-Up Robot

Saturday 11 February 2:05:00 UTC 2017

"A remotely-controlled robot sent to inspect and clean a damaged reactor at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant had to be pulled early when its onboard camera went dark, the result of excess radiation," reports Gizmodo. "The abbreviated mission suggests that radiation levels inside the reactor are even higher than was reported last week — and that robots are going to have … [Link]

Mashable » Tim Cook thinks augmented reality is a 'big idea like the smartphone'

Saturday 11 February 1:40:00 UTC 2017

It’s no secret Apple CEO Tim Cook is bullish on augmented reality. He has shared his belief that AR, and not VR, has the potential to change the world. In a new interview with The Independent, Cook reiterated his optimism on augmented reality's future, even going as far to say it's a "big idea like the smartphone." SEE ALSO: Future iPhones … [Link]

Slashdot » Amputees Control Virtual Prosthetic Arm Using Nerve Signals

Saturday 11 February 1:25:00 UTC 2017

CanadianRealist writes: Current prosthetic arms are usually controlled by detecting signals from the user twitching muscles in the shoulder or arm. This allows only a limited number of possible movements, such as grasp and release. Researchers have developed a new technique that interprets signals from motor neurons in the spinal cord, allowing for a greater range of control of an … [Link]

Geek Culture » Talented Robot Delivery Ostrich!

Saturday 11 February 1:09:26 UTC 2017

[Link]

Mashable » Listen to Bruce Springsteen's rejected 'Harry Potter' song because even The Boss couldn't get into Hogwarts

Saturday 11 February 0:50:29 UTC 2017

Some are born to run and some born to save magical people from the jerk who killed their parents. You'd think there would be more crossover, but nope.  So the song Bruce Springsteen wrote for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone never made it into the film. Now you can finally listen to "I'll Stand By You Always" and maybe tear … [Link]

Slashdot » Spammer Faces Decades In Prison For Sending More Than 1 Million Spam Emails

Saturday 11 February 0:45:00 UTC 2017

mi quotes a report from Chicago Sun-Times: A man has been indicted on federal fraud charges for allegedly sending more than a million spam emails. The indictment charges 36-year-old Michael Persaud of Scottsdale, Arizona, with 10 counts of wire fraud and seeks the forfeiture of four computers, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office. The indictment was returned … [Link]

Mashable » Leaked photos show just how sexy Samsung's Galaxy S8 could look

Saturday 11 February 0:39:59 UTC 2017

Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy S8 is shaping up to be one helluva flagship Android smartphone.  Though we already got a glimpse of what the S8 will supposedly look like last month, newly leaked photos give us a closer look at the front glass panels — and depending on your taste, it's either going to be the hottest phone ever created or the … [Link]

Mashable » Cheating boyfriend is found out via Burger King Instagram comments, of all places

Saturday 11 February 0:11:02 UTC 2017

Thanks to social media, secrets have no place to hide. SEE ALSO: The online stalking rabbit hole: How far down have you gone? One unfortunate boyfriend found this out after he made what he thought was an innocuous comment on a Burger King Instagram photo. He felt the need to share the story of his drive-through experience with his "girl" to … [Link]

Slashdot » Russia Considers Sending Snowden Back To US As a 'Gift' To Trump

Saturday 11 February 0:05:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes a report from NBC News: U.S. intelligence has collected information that Russia is considering turning over Edward Snowden as a "gift" to President Donald Trump — who has called the NSA leaker a "spy" and a "traitor" who deserves to be executed. That's according to a senior U.S. official who has analyzed a series of highly … [Link]

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