John Gordon Ross

A Man for All Reasons

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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 » 'Weaponized' Twitter Bots Spread Info From French Campaign Hack

Saturday 6 May 23:14:00 UTC 2017

"The French media and public have been warned not to spread details about a hacking attack on presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron," writes Slashdot reader schwit1, with the election commission threatening criminal charges. But meanwhile, "the leaked documents have since spread like wildfire across social media, particularly on Twitter," reports Recode. Nicole Perlroth, a cybersecurity reporter with the New York Times, … [Link]

Mashable » Free Comic Book Day is now a geek family affair and here's the proof

Saturday 6 May 22:37:33 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookZounds! 'Tis Free Comic Book Day, when younglings and olds alike descend upon their local comic book merchants in search of the only nourishment that will slake their savage geek thirst: MOAR COMIC BOOKS.  But despite the feeding frenzy focused on the wonder secreted in the pages of these paper treasures, Free Comic Book Day is actually a sweet moment for … [Link]

Slashdot » Startup Offers A Chip Based On The Open Source RISC-V Architecture

Saturday 6 May 22:09:00 UTC 2017

angry tapir shared this news from Computerworld: An open-source chip project is out to break the dominance of proprietary chips offered by Intel, AMD, and ARM… A startup called SiFive is the first to make a business out of the [open source] RISC-V architecture. The company is also the first to convert the RISC-V instruction set architecture into actual silicon. … [Link]

Mashable » HoloLens system uses augmented reality to aid spinal surgery

Saturday 6 May 21:45:40 UTC 2017

Twitter Facebook Augmented reality (AR) isn't just for Pokémon Go and Snapchat masks, the technology will can have practical applications in areas like medicine, too.  At least that's the promise of the new Scopis Holographic Navigation Platform, which is designed to be used with the Microsoft HoloLens to help doctors perform spinal surgery.  The company claims that its system can use 3D … [Link]

Mashable » A delightful little raccoon is hanging out in the ceiling of the Toronto airport

Saturday 6 May 21:40:10 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookAnimals hanging out in airports are usually kept in carriers, sometimes held close on leashes. Rarely are they peering over your shoulder from a hole in the ceiling. People collecting their luggage at Toronto Pearson International Airport were greeted by an adorable little raccoon who had somehow managed to get up into the ceiling, CBC News Toronto reported. Just look at … [Link]

Mashable » Dude takes a pic with Paul Ryan, promptly enters the trolling hall of fame

Saturday 6 May 21:36:32 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookOn Saturday, Twitter user @minnysconsin tweeted a photo of himself with House Speaker Paul Ryan at a Kiwanis Club fundraiser in Wisconsin.  It seems, though, that Ryan did not notice (or just ignored) this man's T-shirt, which reads "Repeal and go f*ck yourself." (It's from the Pod Save America podcast merch page, BTW.) SEE ALSO: I am Donald Trump's history tutor … [Link]

Slashdot » After 19 Years CMU Discontinues Cyrus IMAP In Favor Of Microsoft Exchange And Gmail

Saturday 6 May 21:34:00 UTC 2017

Long-time Slashdot reader Hobart writes: The Cyrus IMAP server, created by and for Carnegie Mellon University, has lost support of its founding institution. As of last fall, they announced that student and faculty email will be run on Microsoft Exchange, or Google's Gmail suite of apps. The company FastMail seems to be the primary driver of Cyrus IMAPd software now, … [Link]

Slashdot » Red Hat And IBM Will Vote Against Java's Next Release

Saturday 6 May 21:04:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes InfoWorld: The next edition of standard Java had been proceeding toward its planned July 27 release after earlier bumps in the road over modularity. But now Red Hat and IBM have opposed the module plan. "JDK 9 might be held up by this," Oracle's Georges Saab, vice president of development for the Java platform, said late … [Link]

Mashable » Facebook's traditional TV style shows coming next month, report says

Saturday 6 May 20:47:04 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookFacebook has repeatedly told us that video is a priority for the company going forward, and now we have more details on exactly what Facebook TV will look like.  SEE ALSO: What Facebook must do to prepare its 3,000 new moderators for the trauma they'll face The social networking giant is reportedly preparing to release a line-up of television-style shows on … [Link]

Mashable » How douchebag style has evolved over the years

Saturday 6 May 20:38:20 UTC 2017

Twitter Facebook Although the term "douchebag" didn't always mean what means today, douchebags have been around forever. Ranging from the 1940s to today, the above video takes the viewer on a journey through eight decades of douchebaggery, including everything from mustaches to mullets to man buns. It's a nice little reminder that we aren't alone with our modern-day douches, and that people … [Link]

Mashable » Celebrities and normals alike sport their fanciest hats at the Kentucky Derby

Saturday 6 May 20:26:33 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookIt’s no Met Gala, but for celebrities and normals alike, Kentucky Derby hat fashion is a thing. Fine, there are no Kardashians on this red carpet, but there are a bunch of people wearing big hats and fascinators. And is that Joey Fatone from NSYNC we see? Yes, wow. Yes, it is.  Larry David is also there, but — surprise — … [Link]

Mashable » Pottermore announces the official 'Harry Potter' book club of your dreams

Saturday 6 May 20:11:33 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookHarry Potter fans, it's time to channel your inner Hermione: on Friday, Pottermore announced its official Wizarding World Book Club. The club will start in June in honor of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone's 20th anniversary.  New readers as well as seasoned superfans are welcome to join the group — the only starting requirement is that you read one Potter … [Link]

Slashdot » How The 1997 'NESticle' Emulator Redefined Retro Gaming

Saturday 6 May 19:59:00 UTC 2017

Slashdot reader martiniturbide writes: For those who lived the console emulator and retrogaming boom on the late 90's there is this interesting article about the story of NESticle posted at Motherboard. NESticle was a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) console emulator that had a huge success in the early internet era and helped to start the emulation scene. The author of … [Link]

Mashable » Modder manages to get the fabled 'Nintendo PlayStation' console working

Saturday 6 May 19:47:07 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookA super-rare prototype of the "Nintendo Playstation" — a failed Frankenstein collaboration between Nintendo and Sony from the early '90s — surfaced last summer. On Friday, tech wizard Ben Heckendorn posted a video showing that he finally managed to get it completely working. The Ben Heck Show on YouTube received a partially non-functioning prototype of the Nintendo PlayStation with the hopes … [Link]

Slashdot » New Shodan Tool Tracks Down Botnet Command-And-Control Servers

Saturday 6 May 18:54:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes The Stack: Search engine Shodan has announced a tool to help businesses hunt out and block traffic from malware command-and-control servers. The new Malware Hunter service, which has been designed in a collaborative project with threat intelligence company Recorded Future, continuously scans the internet to locate control panels for different remote access Trojans, including Gh0st RAT, … [Link]

Mashable » Nick Viall has his own men's grooming startup, of course

Saturday 6 May 18:44:46 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookNow that he probably can't appear on the Bachelor franchise again, Nick Viall needs a new career.  The four-time Bachelor, Bachelorette, and Bachelor in Paradise star has a new endeavor: a men's grooming startup called The Polished Gent.  "I'm 36 years old, and I think I look young as f*ck. And we can all agree that I've polished up over the … [Link]

Mashable » 'Get Out' as a rom-com is a little 'too' perfect, and now we're even more scared

Saturday 6 May 18:30:13 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookJordan Peele's hit movie Get Out was a terrifying ride with just the right amounts of dark humor, but what if that equation were flipped?  With the MTV Movie & TV Awards just one day away, we get to find out in this alternate universe trailer from Mashable's Cinefix team that frames Get Out, a Movie of the Year nominee at … [Link]

Mashable » Bitcoin's price breaks records, yet again

Saturday 6 May 18:02:23 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookBitcoin is still on a major upswing.  The price of the cryptocurrency broke $1,500 this week — a huge milestone for bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.  The $1,500 price put the total value of the cryptocurrency market above $40 billion, MarketWatch reported.  Bitcoin started off 2017 trading just above $1,000, which was its first time reaching that mark in three years. Then … [Link]

Slashdot » 39 Years Ago The World's First Spam Was Sent

Saturday 6 May 17:49:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader write: Wednesday was the 39th anniversary of the world's first spam, sent by Gary Thuerk, a marketer for Massachusetts' Digital Equipment Corporation in 1978 to over 300 users on Arpanet. It was written in all capital letters, and its body began with 273 more email addresses that wouldn't fit in the header. The DEC marketer "was reportedly … [Link]

Mashable » Pepe the Frog became a hate icon so his creator killed him off

Saturday 6 May 17:46:00 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookPepe the Frog is dead, killed off by his own creator after he watched Pepe turn from a wholesome meme into a symbol co-opted by neo-Nazis for the alt-right. Pepe was created by cartoonist Matt Furie back in 2006 for his comic Boy's Club, but after everything that has happened to Pepe in the last year (including its official recognition as … [Link]

Mashable » World Naked Gardening Day is a nature loving feast for the eyes

Saturday 6 May 17:38:39 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookIt’s World Naked Gardening Day, the only day of the year when exposing your private bits while hoeing around the garden is celebrated internationally.  Launched back in 2005, the unofficial event happens every first Saturday of May and encourages gardeners around the world to get out in the fields, bare ass exposed to the sun, to get dirty in the name … [Link]

Slashdot » Fedora Will Get Full Mp3 Support, As IIS Fraunhofer Terminates Mp3 Licensing Program

Saturday 6 May 16:44:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes Fedora Magazine: Both MP3 encoding and decoding will soon be officially supported in Fedora. Last November the patents covering MP3 decoding expired and Fedora Workstation enabled MP3 decoding via the mpg123 library and GStreamer… The MP3 codec and Open Source have had a troubled relationship over the past decade, especially within the United States. Historically, due … [Link]

Mashable » Cool kid who read 1 million words is a living, breathing sunglasses emoji

Saturday 6 May 16:30:32 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookFriends, if this doesn't convince you that reading is cool, we don't know what to tell you. A young scholar at Britt David Magnet Academy in Columbus, Georgia is delighting the internet this week after he got the VIP treatment at the school's annual "Millionaire Bash." To be VIPs, students must read one million words throughout the school year. SEE ALSO: … [Link]

Mashable » Microsoft HoloLens inventor says the 'phone is already dead'

Saturday 6 May 16:26:43 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookHey, did you hear? Smartphones are dead. That's according to Microsoft's Alan Kipman, better known as the inventor of the company's HoloLens augmented reality headset. SEE ALSO: Microsoft's future phones might not even look like phones "The phone is already dead," Kipman told Bloomberg. "People just haven’t realized." If the phone is dead, then, what will replace it? Kipman believes a … [Link]

Mashable » World's second richest man has high praise for world's third richest man

Saturday 6 May 15:49:41 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookWarren Buffett totally loves Jeff Bezos.  "Jeff Bezos, I do think, is the most remarkable businessperson of our age. I've said that before," Buffett said in an interview with CNBC Friday.  Buffett, the founder and CEO of the investment firm and conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, praised Amazon founder Bezos for his success in two industries at once.  Amazon runs regular Amazon, where … [Link]

Slashdot » Today is 'Free Comic Book Day'

Saturday 6 May 15:39:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader writes: "Walk into a comic shop this Saturday, May 6, and you'll get some free comic books," reports NPR. "You can find your closest shop by typing your ZIP code into the Comics Shop Locator on the Free Comic Book Day page… While you're there, buy something… The comics shops still have to pay for the 'free' … [Link]

Mashable » This week in apps: Houzz gets an AR update, Strava goes social and Spotify launches QR codes

Saturday 6 May 15:23:04 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookGmail’s massive phishing scam and Microsoft's new Surface laptop debut may have distracted you from reading about some of this week's best new apps. Don't sweat it. We got you.  SEE ALSO: Any app with human interaction needs a block button, period Each week, we round up the latest app news, along with a few of our favorite new and updated apps, … [Link]

Mashable » Everyone is sharing this comic about the 'backfire effect' … but there's a huge catch

Saturday 6 May 15:05:56 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookYou’ve probably already seen The Oatmeal comic in your social media feed several times now.  Its beautiful illustrations are paired with an elegant, clever explanation about something called the "backfire effect." Basically, it describes why people double down on their beliefs when presented with contradictory information.  SEE ALSO: What Facebook must do to prepare its 3,000 new moderators for the trauma … [Link]

Mashable » This tiny chip will make sure you'll never forget or lose anything again

Saturday 6 May 15:00:00 UTC 2017

Twitter Facebook‘Mu Tag' is a small chip that you can stick on almost anything. No longer do you need to wonder where your car or belongings are. It costs $25 and the battery lasts up to three months.  Read more…More about Gadget, Gadgets, Devices, Device, and Loss Prevention [Link]

ProgrammableWeb.com » Daily API RoundUp: Hayo, bunq, Paylocity, CGTrader

Saturday 6 May 14:57:19 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]

Mashable » Donald Trump breaks his silence on medical marijuana

Saturday 6 May 14:49:53 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookPresident Donald Trump took on the topic of medical marijuana for the first time since he took office in November, and it appears he's kind of in favor of it. Along with signing the most recent federal funding bill (the one that always brings the threat of a government shut down if it isn't passed), Trump signed an amendment to the … [Link]

Mashable » Nike's Eliud Kipchoge came very close to running a mythical sub-2 hour marathon

Saturday 6 May 14:35:46 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookNike tried to make history via livestream on Saturday, and it almost did it.  The athletic company continued its quest to be part of a world record: the first marathon finished in less than two hours.  Athletes Lelisa Desisa, Eliud Kipchoge, and Zersenay Tadese tried to make the elusive 1:59:59 finish time early Saturday morning in Italy. Kipchoge, a 32-year-old Kenyan … [Link]

Slashdot » Systemd-Free Devuan Linux Announces A Second Release Candidate

Saturday 6 May 14:34:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes The Register: Devuan Linux has released its second release candidate… A 1.0.0 release candidate emerged just under a fortnight ago and today the developers announced Devuan Jessie 1.0.0 RC2. New in this cut of the code is a systemd-free version of network-manager, new versions of reportbug, desktop-base and xfce4-panel. GNOME, KDE, and Cinnamon have been removed … [Link]

Mashable » Adele celebrates her 29th birthday with a delightful 'old lady' photoshoot

Saturday 6 May 14:26:54 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookAdele just celebrated her 29th birthday, but she also thought she'd get a head start on her older years. Why not, right? On Friday, the singer posted a delightful 'old lady' themed photoshoot to Twitter, in which she looks strikingly like Catherine Tate's "Nan" character. We are sure this is not a coincidence. SEE ALSO: 5 snacks from a galaxy far … [Link]

Mashable » Fascinating 1942 photos show the making of the New York Times, step by step

Saturday 6 May 14:00:00 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookThe sports section is assembled in the composing room.Image: Library of CongressIn September 1942, Office of War Information photographer Marjory Collins paid a visit to the offices of the New York Times, located at the iconic One Times Square and an annex on 43rd Street.There, she documented each step of the messy, physical process as news coming in over the wires … [Link]

Mashable » Watch a fleet of fluffy puppies predict the 2017 Kentucky Derby

Saturday 6 May 13:57:53 UTC 2017

Twitter Facebook Forget everything you know about sports analysis — these puppies know which horse will win the Kentucky Derby, and they can absolutely be trusted. Why else would Jimmy Fallon keep hiring them to predict major sports events? All that veering and butt-sniffing is just part of their process. Read more… More about Kentucky Derby, Jimmy Fallon, Dogs, Watercooler, and Watercooler … [Link]

Mashable » You marched for science and climate action. Now what?

Saturday 6 May 13:45:00 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookAs scientist-activists who work on climate science and renewable energy, the question we get asked the most is, “What can I do about climate change?” Here’s our evolving take – a synthesis of what we think are the three most impactful ways to contribute in the face of such an urgent and systemic problem. (To avoid catastrophic climate change, global greenhouse … [Link]

Slashdot » US To Seek Social Media Details From Certain Visa Applicants

Saturday 6 May 13:00:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Phys.Org: The State Department wants to review social media, email addresses and phone numbers from some foreigners seeking U.S. visas, as part of the Trump administration's enhanced screening of potential immigrants and visitors. The department, in a notice published Thursday in the Federal Register, said it was seeking public comment on the requirement. … [Link]

Mashable » The Resistance is now a lifestyle brand and please, don't buy it

Saturday 6 May 12:00:00 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookThere’s good news for people who want make #Dissent a daily part of their routine and do it in style: the #Resistance is now a lifestyle brand. It didn't take long after Trump's election for people to take down their Hillary signs and throw up wood-framed Resistance paintings, un-ironically tattoo #ShePersisted onto their bodies and turn a United States Senator into … [Link]

Slashdot » Amazon Leak Exposes Echo AI Device With Touch Display and FireOS

Saturday 6 May 9:00:00 UTC 2017

MojoKid writes: Today, an image of what could be a touch-screen Amazon Echo device has emerged. Like the earlier Echo Look leak, the image of the device was found on Amazon's servers, just waiting to be discovered. The new Echo device is reportedly codenamed "Knight" and will be revealed later this month. It will also take its place as the … [Link]

Mashable » 15 'Game of Thrones' actors you need to start following on Instagram

Saturday 6 May 8:30:00 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookWarning: Contains spoilers for all seasons of Game of Thrones. We've still got far, far too much time to kill before Game of Thrones Season 7 kicks off, so what better way to fill the gaps between promos than with some good old fashioned Instagram stalking? SEE ALSO: 19 photos that prove the 'Game of Thrones' cast love each other despite … [Link]

Slashdot » UAE To Drag Iceberg From Antarctica To Solve Water Shortage Set To Last 25 Years

Saturday 6 May 5:30:00 UTC 2017

schwit1 quotes a report from Daily Express: The UAE, which is among the top 10 water-scarce countries in the world, hopes to help ease the stress of a drinking water shortage by towing an iceberg from the freezing Antarctica in order to create more drinking water. The National Advisor Bureau Limited's (NABL) managing Director Abdullah Mohammad Sulaiman Al Shehi says … [Link]

Slashdot » FCC Considers Fining Stephen Colbert Over Controversial Trump Joke

Saturday 6 May 3:12:00 UTC 2017

FCC chairman Ajit Pai said on Friday his agency will be looking into complaints made against Late Show host Stephen Colbert for what some labeled a homophobic joke about President Donald Trump. From a report: On Monday's Late Show, Colbert quipped that "the only thing [Trump's] mouth is good for is being Vladimir Putin's c**k holster." The joke drew accusations … [Link]

Slashdot » Aspirin May Prevent Cancer From Spreading, New Research Shows

Saturday 6 May 2:05:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Scientific American: In recent years scientists have discovered another possible use for aspirin: stopping the spread of cancer cells in the body after an initial tumor has already formed. The research is still developing, but the findings hint that the drug could one day form the basis for a powerful addition to current … [Link]

Mashable » Let's run down the 5 (five!) end credits scenes in 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2'

Saturday 6 May 1:41:56 UTC 2017

Twitter Facebook Spoiler alert: This post contains major spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.  The reports are true: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 has a whopping 5 (five!) end-credits scenes. That's a lot to take in, even if you're the kind of diehard Marvel fan who'd give your left eye to spend your days flying around with Rocket. SEE … [Link]

Slashdot » The Apple Watch Outsold Every Other Wearable Last Quarter

Saturday 6 May 1:00:00 UTC 2017

According to Strategy Analytics, Apple has shipped 3.5 million wearables in the first quarter of 2017, which is 59 percent higher than the 2.2 million devices it did in the same period last year. Engadget reports: Cupertino captured 16 percent of the global marketshare and stole the wearables crown from Fitbit, which had a much less stellar quarter. Fitbit only … [Link]

Mashable » 'American Idol' is back from the dead, fulfilling the Ryan Seacrest prophecy

Saturday 6 May 0:50:21 UTC 2017

Twitter Facebook*Cue theme music* Thisss … is a day Ryan Seacrest knew would come. It was just over a year ago when the American Idol host, signing off the "final" (ahem) episode of the show after a 15-season run on Fox, said: "And one more time — this is so tough — we say to you from Hollywood, goodnight America." Then he … [Link]

Slashdot » BlackBerry KeyOne Review By The Verge: Part Productivity, Part Nostalgia

Saturday 6 May 0:20:00 UTC 2017

Dan Seifert reviews the new BlackBerry KeyOne flagship smartphone via The Verge. Here's an excerpt from the report: It was in about the third hour of using the new BlackBerry KeyOne, available this month for $549 unlocked, that I started to question my longtime preference for touchscreen keyboards. Because as I was pushing on the KeyOne's tiny little buttons with … [Link]

Mashable » Facebook is rolling out a new feature that'll show you strangers' posts

Saturday 6 May 0:02:34 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookFacebook is dead set on breaking through our news biases and popping our filter bubbles. Now, in a new attempt to expand our horizons, the company is taking a page out of Twitter's playbook by rolling out a new feature that'll show you posts from strangers.  SEE ALSO: What Facebook must do to prepare its 3,000 new moderators for the trauma … [Link]

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