Geekish

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 » Scientists Consider 'Cloud Brightening' To Preserve Australia's Great Barrier Reef

Sunday 23 April 23:44:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes MIT Technology Review: A group of Australian marine scientists believe that altering clouds might offer one of the best hopes for saving the Great Barrier Reef. For the last six months, researchers at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science and the University of Sydney School of Geosciences have been meeting regularly to explore the possibility of … [Link]

Mashable » The first IMAX VR arcade is a huge hit—and I can see why

Sunday 23 April 23:23:53 UTC 2017

Virtual reality may have just got the shot of confidence it needed to break into the mainstream. On Friday, IMAX held its latest earnings conference call and it came with an unexpected bit of news: the company's virtual reality arcade experiment in Los Angeles has been a success. Of course, for anyone who has visited the facility, as I did last … [Link]

Mashable » The force was strong with these 'Star Wars' Half Marathon runners

Sunday 23 April 22:57:37 UTC 2017

“May the course be with you." Those five words are sure to pump up any of the Star Wars-loving runners who participated in runDisney's Star Wars Half Marathon – The Dark Side this weekend. SEE ALSO: More Star Wars Land details emerge and they have us freaking out The Walt Disney World Orlando Resort kicked off its out-of-this-world event — held … [Link]

Slashdot » Is Social Media Making Us Hate Each Other?

Sunday 23 April 22:44:00 UTC 2017

Nicholas Carr's book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains was a finalist for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize. Now an anonymous Slashdot reader reports on Carr's newest warning: It seems obvious: The more we learn about other people, the more we'll come to like them. The assumption underpins our deep-seated belief that communication networks, from the telephone … [Link]

Mashable » Here's what happens when you stick a Galaxy S8 in a Unicorn Frappuccino and drop it from 100 feet

Sunday 23 April 22:11:52 UTC 2017

Today in answers to questions you probably did not have: If you stick a Galaxy S8 in a Unicorn Frappuccino and drop it from 100 feet, it will survive. We now know this, thanks to YouTube's GizmoSlip channel. In this clip, two dudes submerge Samsung's latest phone in the drink du jour and drop it to the ground. And though … [Link]

Mashable » This Batman-themed pregnancy announcement is a geek couple's dream

Sunday 23 April 21:53:46 UTC 2017

For a pair of serious Batman fans, this seems like the ultimate way to announce a new addition to the family. SEE ALSO: Henry Cavill auditioning in the original 'Superman' suit is a thing of beauty In a hugely successful Reddit post that inspired more than 1,200 comments, user ocularis01 announced his wife's pregnancy with images from their super hero-themed photoshoot. … [Link]

Mashable » American Airlines in hot water after flight attendant almost gets in fight with passenger

Sunday 23 April 21:52:30 UTC 2017

Just when you thought it was safe to fly again. First, it was a United passenger being dragged off a plane. This time, it's American Airlines under scrutiny after a passenger posted a video on Facebook showing an angry confrontation between a passenger and flight attendant. Another passenger, Surain Adyanthaya, posted the video Friday afternoon and gave her explanation for what … [Link]

Slashdot » Uber Tried To Hide Its Secret IPhone Fingerprinting From Apple

Sunday 23 April 21:44:00 UTC 2017

theodp quotes today's New York Times profile of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick: For months, Mr. Kalanick had pulled a fast one on Apple by directing his employees to help camouflage the ride-hailing app from Apple's engineers. The reason? So Apple would not find out that Uber had secretly been tracking iPhones even after its app had been deleted from the … [Link]

Mashable » Computers can't grasp Icelandic. Here's why that's a big problem

Sunday 23 April 21:38:13 UTC 2017

Iceland’s mother tongue has a major tech problem. Many new computer devices do not understand Icelandic, a unique descendant of the Old Norse language filled with ultra-descriptive words such as Hundslappadrifa, or "heavy snowfall with large flakes occurring in calm wind." This omission is compounding a bigger issue on the North Atlantic island of about 340,000 people. SEE ALSO: Companies will … [Link]

Mashable » 10 things 2017 has made us do

Sunday 23 April 21:23:05 UTC 2017

Let this fact sink in: We're not even half of the way through 2017. Hasn't it kind of felt like we've been in 2017 for a million years now? There has been so much breaking (and disturbing) news so far this year that surely it will all be over soon. Right? Wrong. We still have a long way to go. And … [Link]

Slashdot » Companies Are Paying Millions For White Hat Hacking

Sunday 23 April 20:34:00 UTC 2017

White hat hackers "are in very high demand," says PwC's director of cyber investigation and breach response, in a New York Post article titled "Companies are paying millions to get hacked — on purpose." An anonymous reader quotes their report: HackerOne, a San Francisco-based "vulnerability coordination and bug bounty platform," reports that it has some 800 corporate customers who paid … [Link]

Mashable » Frank Ocean drops ANOTHER new song and people are barely keeping it together

Sunday 23 April 20:01:26 UTC 2017

Frank Ocean is back, baby, and he's not showing signs of slowing down. Since dropping his highly anticipated album Blonde back in 2016 to end a four-year hiatus, Ocean has been unstoppable. On Saturday night the R&B star released yet another new track called "Lens." SEE ALSO: Frank Ocean is blessing us with even more new music with help from friends … [Link]

Mashable » Awe-inspiring photos of Earth remind us just what's at stake

Sunday 23 April 19:51:46 UTC 2017

Millions of people came out this Earth Day to clean up and care for the planet. But space agencies and companies took a different approach, choosing to celebrate our Earth from up above. SpaceX on Saturday shared a breathtaking image captured during the recent launch of its SES-10 communications satellite. Elon Musk's private spaceflight company made history in late March when … [Link]

Slashdot » Startup Still Working On 'Immortal Avatars' That Will Live Forever

Sunday 23 April 19:34:00 UTC 2017

Startup Eternime, founded by MIT fellow Marius Ursache, is still working on "immortal avatars" that, after your death, will continue interacting with your loves ones from beyond the grave. An anonymous reader quotes CNET: Give Eternime access to your social media profiles and the startup's algorithms will scrape your posts and interactions to build a profile… The algorithms will study … [Link]

Mashable » 'The Fate of the Furious' is days away from a $1 billion box office

Sunday 23 April 19:18:52 UTC 2017

Sometime during the coming week, The Fate of the Furious will become the second billion-dollar movie in Universal's fast-cars-and-big-explosions franchise. Current weekend estimates in the United States and beyond bring the movie's global total to $908.4 million. It's already the second best worldwide box office in series history, behind the $1.5 billion earned by Furious 7 in 2015. SEE ALSO: Cool … [Link]

Mashable » This instant bowling legend rolled a perfect game in only 86.9 seconds

Sunday 23 April 19:14:41 UTC 2017

It's the dream of bowlers around the world: the perfect game. At a bowling alley in Cortland, New York, Ben Ketola realized that dream … in 86.9 seconds. The 23-year-old ran across 10 lanes, quickly hucking balls with a strange, two-handed motion, until he reached the end of the bowling alley, and ran back to the beginning to get his … [Link]

Mashable » McDonald's braces for the apocalypse with chic new uniforms

Sunday 23 April 19:04:59 UTC 2017

Hey — if the world's going to end, McDonald's at least wants its employees to look good. The fast food chain has officially chosen some dark, dismal, soul sucking new employee uniforms that really just scream: "Ba da ba ba bah, we're doomed!" SEE ALSO: Instagram bait: Why Starbucks put a unicorn meme on its menu According to a press release, … [Link]

ProgrammableWeb.com » What Hootsuite Learned from Building Their API

Sunday 23 April 18:51:13 UTC 2017

Creating an API that is easy to use and maintain is difficult. Ask Hootsuite. They took some wrong turns at early stages and have made great strides since then so that they can offer an API that’s fast, easy-to-use and easy to maintain. David Zhang over at the Hootsuite blog explains what lessons the company has learned since the early … [Link]

Mashable » Trump tweets Mexico will 'eventually' pay for the wall 'in some form' after Democrats also agree to pay for it

Sunday 23 April 18:35:30 UTC 2017

Well, this clears everything up. On Sunday, Donald Trump unveiled a lengthy, well-considered border security plan. SEE ALSO: Seth Meyers shuts down Trump's wall by exposing the inconsistencies Oops, sorry, I meant a few confusing tweets. The Democrats don't want money from budget going to border wall despite the fact that it will stop drugs and very bad MS 13 gang … [Link]

Slashdot » America's Most-Hated ISP Is Now Hated By Fewer People

Sunday 23 April 18:34:00 UTC 2017

"Comcast's customer service may actually be improving," writes an Oregon newspaper. An anonymous reader quotes their report: In the second year of Comcast's broad customer service overhaul, complaints to Oregon cable regulators are down 25%. They've also declined 40% since 2014. Complaints are falling nationally, too, according to the highly regarded American Customer Satisfaction Index. Its most recent report showed … [Link]

Mashable » Even penguins marched (well, waddled) for science

Sunday 23 April 18:22:16 UTC 2017

What’s better than clever protest signs? Protest penguins. On Saturday, as thousands of people joined the March for Science worldwide, a group of penguins waddled in solidarity at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. The aquarium shared the "March of the Penguins for Science" via Facebook Live. The post had nearly 1.7 million views by mid-afternoon on Sunday. The March for … [Link]

Mashable » Yes, of course Kenny G gave an impromptu performance mid-flight

Sunday 23 April 18:20:59 UTC 2017

In what was either a total delight, or a slight annoyance to his fellow travelers, Kenny G gave an impromptu in-air performance on his Saturday night flight from Tampa, Florida to Los Angeles. Per TMZ, Kenny promised a mid-air performance if passengers would help the in-flight crew reach its goal of raising $2,000 for Relay for Life. SEE ALSO: Turn your … [Link]

Mashable » Snack and game worry-free with this handy desktop mop

Sunday 23 April 18:00:00 UTC 2017

Greasy, crumb-covered hands are a problem of the past for gamers. The 'Wype' hand rag is a quick any easy way to clean your hands. Whether eating popcorn or potato chips, the 'Wype' lets you get back to what you were doing quickly and without leaving a mess. Read more…More about Mashable Video, Gaming Esports, Gaming Pc, Gaming Laptop, and Real … [Link]

Mashable » Please stop putting old ladders in your bathroom

Sunday 23 April 18:00:00 UTC 2017

For the love of Pinterest, please stop putting old ladders in your bathrooms, people. The rise of HGTV and quaint-as-fuck-looking homes is a welcome change to what life was like before Chip and Joanna Gaines came into our lives. Who knew a few craftily distressed pieces of furniture and some industrial touches could make a normal apartment or home feel like … [Link]

Mashable » Ms. Frizzle spotted at Science Marches across the globe

Sunday 23 April 17:53:44 UTC 2017

The Magic School Bus took some very important field trips this Earth Day, making stops at Marches for Science across the world. As science lovers joined together at more than 500 events on Saturday to get their voices heard, everyone's favorite eccentric, fictional science teacher, Ms. Frizzle, became a prominent symbol in the resistance. Dozens of science fans dressed up like … [Link]

Slashdot » Flawed Online Tutorials Led To Vulnerabilities In Software

Sunday 23 April 17:34:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes Help Net Security: Researchers from several German universities have checked the PHP codebases of over 64,000 projects on GitHub, and found 117 vulnerabilities that they believe have been introduced through the use of code from popular but insufficiently reviewed tutorials. The researchers identified popular tutorials by inputting search terms such as "mysql tutorial", "php search form", … [Link]

Mashable » Uber CEO Travis Kalanick claimed he was the 2nd best Wii Tennis player in the world

Sunday 23 April 17:03:29 UTC 2017

Buried deep within the New York Times sprawling profile of Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick is an unusual detail: he's a record-holding gamer. "In other personal pursuits," the profile reads, "[Kalanick] once held the world’s second-highest score for the Nintendo Wii Tennis video game." SEE ALSO: Tim Cook once scolded Uber's Travis Kalanick into submission Unfortunately, that's all we get. … [Link]

Mashable » Hash browns recalled due to 'extraneous golf ball materials'

Sunday 23 April 16:43:33 UTC 2017

In what might be one of the strangest reasons we've heard for a product recall, a U.S. food retailer is recalling bags of hash browns that may contain… golf balls. In a statement issued Friday from McCain Foods USA, Inc., bags of their Roundy’s Brand, 2 lb. Bag of Frozen Southern Style Hash Browns and Harris Teeter Brand, 2 lb. Bag … [Link]

Mashable » Tim Cook once scolded Uber's Travis Kalanick into submission

Sunday 23 April 16:33:18 UTC 2017

Travis Kalanick, Silicon Valley's bad boy CEO, once had a very uncomfortable confrontation with Apple CEO Tim Cook, who is a grown-up. Back in 2015, Uber tried to disguise the fact that the company was secretly "identifying and tagging" iPhones, even if the ride-hailing app had been deleted. SEE ALSO: Uber employees seem to think #Undelete is a great idea for … [Link]

Slashdot » 'Detergent' Hydroxl Molecules May Affect Methane Levels In The Atmosphere

Sunday 23 April 16:29:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes Caltech's announcement about the results of a study funded by NASA and the Department of Energy: During the early 2000s, environmental scientists studying methane emissions noticed something unexpected: the global concentrations of atmospheric methane — which had increased for decades, driven by methane emissions from fossil fuels and agriculture — inexplicably leveled off. The methane levels … [Link]

Mashable » You can probably (maybe?) trust this 'Avatar' sequel news, finally

Sunday 23 April 15:51:26 UTC 2017

There are now four planned sequels to James Cameron's Avatar in the works, with the first of those slated to arrive on Dec. 18, 2020. A new post on the official Avatar Facebook page confirms the release-date news, noting that production is underway. It also offers up a schedule for each of the subsequent planned releases, the last of which will … [Link]

Slashdot » Pioneering Researchers Track Sudden Learning 'Epiphanies'

Sunday 23 April 15:24:00 UTC 2017

wisebabo quotes Science Daily: Until now, researchers had not had a good way to study how people actually experienced what is called "epiphany learning." In new research, scientists at The Ohio State University used eye-tracking and pupil dilation technology to see what happens as people figured out how to win a strategy game on a computer. "We could see our … [Link]

Mashable » Unicorn Frappucino a 'nexus of awfulness' to Anthony Bourdain

Sunday 23 April 15:03:48 UTC 2017

Starbucks’ Unicorn Frappucino might give good photo opp, but Anthony Bourdain thinks it's trash. The inbred show-dog of Starbucks drinks was the target of Bourdain's disdain in a recent interview with Town & Country. He can't seem to comprehend how this wretched, unnaturally colorful thing exists… but he's clearly not a fan. SEE ALSO: I am the founder of Starbucks and … [Link]

Mashable » 9 incredible ways we're using drones for social good

Sunday 23 April 14:51:41 UTC 2017

When it comes to alleviating some of the world's most pressing problems, perhaps we should look to the skies. The word "drone" might inspire images of counterterrorism strikes and the future of package delivery. But quadcopters and other autonomous flying vehicles are revolutionizing the ways we tackle the biggest social and environmental issues of our time. SEE ALSO: 8 innovations helping … [Link]

Mashable » London marathoner helps struggling fellow runner cross the finish line

Sunday 23 April 14:33:08 UTC 2017

A London Marathon runner sacrificed his race time when he slowed to assist a fellow runner struggling to finish the race's final stretch. As the BBC reports, Matthew Rees came to David Wyeth's aid just short of the finish line. A clip of the moment shows Rees guiding Wyeth toward the end of the race, before a marathon volunteer comes to … [Link]

Mashable » Google's data center raises the stakes in this state's 'water wars'

Sunday 23 April 14:22:59 UTC 2017

Endless emails, map requests, web searches, and everything else we do online requires the use of energy-hungry, water-guzzling data centers. For Google, that enormous thirst for water is causing controversy near Charleston, South Carolina, where the tech giant hosts a sprawling data center complex. Google wants to draw 1.5 million gallons per day from an aquifer to help cool the servers … [Link]

Slashdot » CIA, FBI Launch Manhunt For WikiLeaks Source

Sunday 23 April 14:19:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes CBS: CBS News has learned that a manhunt is underway for a traitor inside the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA and FBI are conducting a joint investigation into one of the worst security breaches in CIA history, which exposed thousands of top-secret documents that described CIA tools used to penetrate smartphones, smart televisions and computer systems. … [Link]

Mashable » Dreamlike color images of Petra and southern Jordan in the early 20th century

Sunday 23 April 14:00:00 UTC 2017

“Petra. Oleanders in bloom with figure."Image: Library of CongressBuilt sometime around the 4th century BC, the city of Petra in southern Jordan was the capital of the Nabataean society.The Nabataeans carved elaborate and beautiful structures directly out of the raw sandstone cliffs, and devised ingenious cisterns and water conduits to make the city both a fortress and an oasis along the … [Link]

Mashable » How the hell should you use your tax refund?

Sunday 23 April 14:00:00 UTC 2017

It might be here already. Since Tax Day has already come and gone, we hope it's at least on the way. But when you finally get that sweet, sweet refund, what the hell is the best thing to do with it? If you have overdue debts to pay, or you've been putting off visiting the podiatrist or something, you'll want to … [Link]

Mashable » Instagram bait: Why Starbucks put a unicorn meme on its menu

Sunday 23 April 13:59:56 UTC 2017

To anyone who hasn't spent time on certain corners of Instagram, Starbucks' latest creation and the viral hype surrounding it might be a bit confusing. The neon "Unicorn Frappuccino" clashes hard with the coffee chain's affected faux-Italian branding. It's not the sort of drink that one imagines ordering with words like "Venti" or sipping amidst light jazz. SEE ALSO: Starbucks unicorn … [Link]

Mashable » Dogs, ranked

Sunday 23 April 13:09:48 UTC 2017

All dogs are good, but some dogs are the best. Using a unique and complex algorithm that we cannot disclose (just kidding, we picked 50 dogs from the American Kennel Club website, gave each a score out of 10, then argued with each other in the case of a tie), we have ranked 50 good dog breeds from fiftieth-best to first-best. … [Link]

Mashable » 7 activists tell us the best thing about being autistic

Sunday 23 April 13:00:00 UTC 2017

Forget what you've heard — autism isn't something to cure. In fact, it's a condition we should embrace and celebrate. About 1 in 68 people in the U.S. are autistic, meaning they communicate and experience the world in ways not typically expected. There isn't a "missing piece" to their cognitive puzzle. And they definitely don't need your pity. SEE ALSO: 8 … [Link]

Popular Science » What it's like to design catapults for the Mother of Dragons

Sunday 23 April 13:00:00 UTC 2017

Daenerys Targaryen weaponry Entertainment Game of throwns. Game of Thrones Weapons Master Tommy Dunne makes some of the biggest machines on your TV screen. Find out how. [Link]

Popular Science » Meet the man who's preserving your childhood TV memories

Sunday 23 April 11:45:00 UTC 2017

Gadgets Guy Spiller is a special kind of archivist. He's one of the few people in the world who can digitize old film reels. [Link]

Slashdot » Slashdot Asks: What Was Your First Programming Language?

Sunday 23 April 11:14:00 UTC 2017

This question was inspired by news that Stanford's computer science professor Eric Roberts will try JavaScript instead of Java in a new version of the college's introductory computer programming course. The Stanford Daily reports: When Roberts came to Stanford in 1990, CS106A was still taught in Pascal, a programming language he described as not "clean." The department adopted the C … [Link]

Mashable » Step inside an artist's painting with virtual reality

Sunday 23 April 10:15:00 UTC 2017

Virtual reality artist Teek Mach takes you into her beautiful 3D paintings. Experience a world that can only come to life in VR. After digging into this video, fly your own jetpack and take to the skies. Go on a VR journey in the latest episode of 'The Possible' by downloading the app here. Read more… More about Arts Culture … [Link]

Mashable » Why Prince Harry and Prince William are truly the millennial royals

Sunday 23 April 8:30:00 UTC 2017

For centuries, the British royal family has been watched, respected and revered from afar. The monarchy remained fiercely tight-lipped on all matters personal and private, and royal announcements were reserved for print newspapers. But the digital realm now breaks down the barriers that have long stood between the royal family and the people. Through their social sharing, the younger royals are … [Link]

Slashdot » Should Archive.org Ignore Robots.txt Directives And Cache Everything?

Sunday 23 April 8:09:00 UTC 2017

Archive.org argues robots.txt files are geared toward search engines, and now plans instead to represent the web "as it really was, and is, from a user's perspective." We have also seen an upsurge of the use of robots.txt files to remove entire domains from search engines when they transition from a live web site into a parked domain, which has … [Link]

Mashable » This British teen standing up for gender equality is our feminist hero

Sunday 23 April 7:30:00 UTC 2017

Liv Jones didn't wake up one morning and decide that she was going to be the face of teenage feminism. But with one tweet, the shy 14-year-old found herself at the forefront of an online social media movement. SEE ALSO: 13 feminists who play the Twitter game to win It began when Liv's school decided that its newly built classrooms would … [Link]

Slashdot » Linux PC Maker System76 Plans To Design And Manufacture Its Own Hardware

Sunday 23 April 4:07:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes Liliputing: System76 is one of only a handful of PC vendors that exclusively sells computers with Linux-based software. Up until now, that's meant the company has chosen hardware that it could guarantee would work well with custom firmware and the Ubuntu Linux operating system… Starting in 2018 though, you may be able to buy a System76 … [Link]

Slashdot » Microsoft Will Block Desktop 'Office' Apps From 'Office 365' Services In 2020

Sunday 23 April 2:05:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader writes: Microsoft is still encouraging businesses to rent their Office software, according to TechRadar. "In a bid to further persuade users of the standalone versions of Office to shift over to a cloud subscription (Office 365), Microsoft has announced that those who made a one-off purchase of an Office product will no longer get access to the … [Link]

New Scientist – News » On the ground in Washington at the March for Science

Sunday 23 April 0:18:00 UTC 2017

Thousands rallied and marched in the rain in the US capital to stand up for science and its place in politics [Link]

John Gordon Ross

A Man for All Reasons