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.

The Joy of Tech » JoT #2415: The Psychiatryst!

Sunday 7 May 23:31:41 UTC 2017

JoT thumb Couple therapy's worst nightmare. [Link]

Mashable » MashReads Podcast: Why Congressman John Lewis' memoir 'March' should be on your reading list

Sunday 7 May 23:26:54 UTC 2017

Congressman John Lewis' graphic novel March: Book One, opens with a simple yet powerful dedication: "To the past and future children of the movement." It's a fitting start — though the book is grounded in the past, the book is more timely now than ever. SEE ALSO: 7 inspiring children's books to motivate your young activist March is a graphic memoir … [Link]

Mashable » Neil deGrasse Tyson is here to destroy all your summer sci-fi dreams

Sunday 7 May 22:55:14 UTC 2017

In the last few years, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has pulled back from calling b.s. on what some sci-fi movies get wrong, but with all the new sci-fi films being released, he couldn't hold back any longer. In a short spot for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Tyson uses his familiar mix of humor and spot-on intellect to dissect … [Link]

Slashdot » WikiLeaks Reveals A CIA LAN-Attacking Tool From 'Vault 7'

Sunday 7 May 22:39:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes BetaNews: WikiLeaks continues to release revealing documents from its Vault 7 cache. This time around the organization introduces us to a CIA tool called Archimedes — previously known as Fulcrum. As before, there is little to confirm whether or not the tool is still in active use — or, indeed, if it has actually ever been … [Link]

Mashable » '13 Reasons Why' Season 2: What we want to see

Sunday 7 May 22:14:14 UTC 2017

It’s official: Netflix's 13 Reasons Why is getting a second season. While we've already listed the perils of that decision, that decision has been made. So let's look forward to what the show could do well and what it should do better. SEE ALSO: '13 Reasons Why' will get more content warnings Help for Jessica and Justin The pair that should've … [Link]

Slashdot » After Almost Two Years, The Air Force's Mysterious X-37B Space Plane Lands

Sunday 7 May 21:39:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes Space.com: The record-shattering mission of the U.S. Air Force's robotic X-37B space plane is finally over. After circling Earth for an unprecedented 718 days, the X-37B touched down Sunday at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida — the first landing at the SLF since the final space shuttle mission came back … [Link]

Mashable » Banksy claims responsibility for new Brexit mural in England

Sunday 7 May 21:15:37 UTC 2017

The mysterious street art master Banksy has stepped forward (in his own shadowy way) as the artist behind the massive European Union flag mural that appeared in Dover, England over the weekend. SEE ALSO: Banksy Sells Original Artwork for $60 in Central Park Not long after it appeared, many suspected the familiar stencil craft was the work of Banksy. And true … [Link]

Slashdot » Intel's Remote Hijacking Flaw Was 'Worse Than Anyone Thought'

Sunday 7 May 20:35:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes Ars Technica: A remote hijacking flaw that lurked in Intel chips for seven years was more severe than many people imagined, because it allowed hackers to remotely gain administrative control over huge fleets of computers without entering a password. This is according to technical analyses published Friday… AMT makes it possible to log into a computer … [Link]

Slashdot » How Psychology Today Sees Richard Stallman

Sunday 7 May 19:35:00 UTC 2017

After our article about Richard Stallman's new video interview, Slashdot reader silverjacket shared this recent profile from Psychology Today that describes Richard Stallman's quest "to save us from a web of spyware — and from ourselves." By using proprietary software, Stallman believes, we are forfeiting control of our computers, and thus of our digital lives. In his denunciation of all … [Link]

Mashable » Norway's Slow TV encounters a weird problem: TV that's too slow

Sunday 7 May 18:32:09 UTC 2017

The producers of Norway's smash-hit "Slow TV" genre have captivated audiences with videos of a 134-hour-long cruise voyage and 13 hours of people knitting. But sometimes even Slow TV can be too slow. Norway's public broadcaster NRK recently suspended a show following the progress of migratory reindeer because the animals stopped moving, The Local reported, citing Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten. SEE ALSO: … [Link]

Mashable » 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' kicks off summer blockbuster season with a big bang

Sunday 7 May 18:26:37 UTC 2017

Oh, so we're saving the summer box office a second time? Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 got the 2017 blockbuster season off to a terrific start with $145 million at the domestic box office this weekend, rocketing past the original's debut by 54% and grabbing the second-best bow of the year behind Beauty and the Beast ($174.7 million), according to … [Link]

Slashdot » Le Pen Concedes Defeat To Macron In France's Post-Hack Election

Sunday 7 May 18:22:00 UTC 2017

"France has voted for continuity," candidate Marine Le Pen said in the wake of her defeat in France's presidential election, conceding that Emmanuel Macron had a decisive lead. Reuters has ongoing coverage of Le Pen's concession phone call and reactions from world leaders. "France Rejects Far Right," read a headline at CNN, touting their own live updates and early results … [Link]

Slashdot » What NASA Found Beyond The Rings Of Saturn

Sunday 7 May 17:34:00 UTC 2017

NASA's Cassini spacecraft explored the inner edge of the rings of Saturn for the first time, and Phys.org reports that it made a surprising discovery: nothing. "Scientists have been surprised to find that not all that much — not even space dust — lies between Saturn's iconic rings." After the first pass, the NASA official managing the project described the … [Link]

Mashable » Chris Pine channels William Shatner for classic 'Star Trek' skit on 'SNL'

Sunday 7 May 16:54:40 UTC 2017

It's Kirk, but not as we know him. With Chris Pine hosting Saturday Night Live this week, the writers obviously couldn't resist the opportunity to let the Star Trek franchise's new Captain James T. Kirk channel the original iteration of the character, made famous by William Shatner. Pine did his best Shatner for a surreal sketch about the original show's … [Link]

Slashdot » Should The Government Pay For Veterans To Attend Code Schools?

Sunday 7 May 16:34:00 UTC 2017

mirandakatz writes: David Molina was finishing up his 12-year time in the army when he started teaching himself to code, and started to think that he might like to pursue it professionally once his service was done. But with a wife and family, he couldn't dedicate the four years he'd need to get an undergraduate degree in computer science — … [Link]

Mashable » Secretive military space plane lands in Florida with a sonic boom

Sunday 7 May 16:18:00 UTC 2017

A secretive space plane returned to Earth on Sunday with a sonic boom. The U.S. Air Force's unmanned, reusable vehicle landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center after spending a record 718 days in space. Powerful shock waves rippled throughout Central Florida as the mini-space shuttle returned from its mission. SEE ALSO: SpaceX's most recent rocket landing looks like something out of … [Link]

Mashable » 'The Handmaid's Tale' gets the 'SNL' treatment and dudebro Chris Pine does not understand

Sunday 7 May 16:10:11 UTC 2017

In case you hadn't heard, The Handmaid's Tale has officially put Hulu on the map in terms of critical acclaim and audience buzz, so it's no surprise that the zeitgeisty new drama got the Saturday Night Live treatment a week after its debut. (The sketch even tips its hat to the ongoing Hulu-Netflix rivalry, with a snarky voice gloating, "See, … [Link]

Slashdot » Social Media Giants Sued For Helping ISIS

Sunday 7 May 15:34:00 UTC 2017

Long-time Slashdot reader nnet quotes the Toronto Sun: Social media giants Twitter, Google and Facebook are being sued by the families of victims of the San Bernardino terror attacks. The lawsuit claims those companies aided ISIS by letting them build their online profile and bolster recruitment. Fourteen people were killed in the December 2015 attacks by twisted husband-wife Islamist extremists … [Link]

Mashable » It's official: '13 Reasons Why' picked up for Season 2

Sunday 7 May 15:33:48 UTC 2017

Netflix has renewed 13 Reasons Why for Season 2, just over a month after the buzzy teen drama premiered online. Mashable has confirmed that the show will return for 13 more episodes in 2018, and Brian Yorkey will continue to serve as showrunner. Season 2 "picks up in the aftermath of Hannah Baker's death and the start of the characters' complicated … [Link]

ProgrammableWeb.com » 8 Steps to Help Your API be Forward Compatible

Sunday 7 May 15:31:55 UTC 2017

We all know you should make your API backward-compatible as much as possible. But how about forward-compatible? That is, being careful to make sure your API design will be consistent with future changes that you don’t know you’ll make yet. Sounds impossible? Adam Bar over at the Bright Inventions blog gives you eight steps he’s learned in order to make … [Link]

Slashdot » Glaring Vulnerabilities Make Many Commercial Drones 'Insecure by Design'

Sunday 7 May 14:34:00 UTC 2017

Slashdot reader msm1267 quotes ThreatPost: Drones, many readily available on ecommerce shops such as Amazon, are plagued by vulnerabilities that could give attackers full root access, read or delete files, or crash the device. The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) published a warning about one model, the DBPOWER U818A WiFi quadcopter, last month, but according to the researcher … [Link]

Mashable » Nicki Minaj gives straight-A students a generous Twitter surprise

Sunday 7 May 14:17:04 UTC 2017

Fans of Nicki Minaj piled on with internet praise this weekend after the artist offered to pay college-related expenses for students with straight A's. Minaj responded to dozens of requests on Twitter from fans seeking hundreds or thousands of dollars to pay down student loans or cover the costs of books or online courses. SEE ALSO: Nicki Minaj's new music video … [Link]

Mashable » Gritty 1940s photos record the dark and dangerous lives of Pennsylvania coal miners

Sunday 7 May 14:00:00 UTC 2017

Image: Library of CongressIn 1942, Office of War Information photographer John Collier visited the Montour No. 4 Mine of the Pittsburgh Coal Company in Washington County, Pennsylvania.Montour No. 4 was a mine for bituminous coal, one of the most volatile forms, requiring the miners to vigilantly monitor for the presence of flammable gasesCollier followed the miners as they moved underground through … [Link]

Mashable » How 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' raises the stakes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Sunday 7 May 14:00:00 UTC 2017

Spoiler alert: Major spoilers follow for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. In a lot of ways, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 feels like familiar territory. We're back with the same old a-holes we met in the first film, listening to more classic rock tunes while they save the galaxy a second time. But Vol. 2 differs from every other … [Link]

Mashable » Dakota Access Pipeline protest movement now focuses on the money

Sunday 7 May 13:45:00 UTC 2017

It’s been a tough few months for opponents of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). First Donald Trump officially approved the $3.8 billion project. Then indigenous people were forced to clear out of the Oceti Sakowin and Sacred Stone protest camps. And with construction done, oil has now begun flowing from North Dakota to Illinois. But the opposition has not faded away. … [Link]

Slashdot » A New Use For Browser Fingerprints: Defeating Spoofing

Sunday 7 May 13:34:00 UTC 2017

AnonymousCube writes: Researchers at the University of Adelaide have found a new use for browser fingerprints: uncovering and defeating spoofing by web browsers. By using machine learning on browser fingerprints they were able to correctly guess the OS or browser family of a browser 90% of the time, and defeat operating system and browser family spoofing 76% of the time. … [Link]

Mashable » Microsoft is putting AI everywhere it can

Sunday 7 May 13:15:24 UTC 2017

Today’s AI is tomorrow’s taken for granted. It’s an insight you’d expect to hear from, maybe, Watson parent IBM, Alexa’s mom, Amazon, or even Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talking about “M.” The source, however is Microsoft Corporate VP for Microsoft AI & Research Group Andrew Shuman who was trying to set the stage for what should be some significant artificial intelligence … [Link]

Mashable » Tiny, adorable baby animal rescued from imminent doom by hero Arizonans

Sunday 7 May 12:59:28 UTC 2017

A starving, struggling otter in Arizona was nursed back to health after utility workers plucked it from a canal on the outskirts of Phoenix. The 4-week-old animal was dehydrated and covered with fleas when three heroes from Salt River Project noticed the otter struggling to escape the drying canal. "He was calling for his momma, we assumed," Craig Boggs, one of … [Link]

Mashable » How to fix your chaotic nightmare of an email inbox

Sunday 7 May 12:00:00 UTC 2017

We’ve all been there. Missing that one important email because your inbox is cluttered with garbage. But it doesn't have to be that way. SEE ALSO: The best thing you can do to protect yourself from hackers Thankfully, there are numerous tricks you can use to make sure that you see the emails you want to see, when you want to … [Link]

Slashdot » The FBI Defends Deploying Malware From A Tor Child Porn Site

Sunday 7 May 11:34:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader writes: The FBI issued a press release about the 30-year prison sentence for a 58-year-old Florida man running "the world's largest child pornography website, with more than 150,000 users around the world." But their investigation involved what Gizmodo describes as "a decision controversial to this day" — taking over the child pornography site and running it "for … [Link]

Mashable » Sex-positive YouTubers are giving kids the sex talks we wish we'd had

Sunday 7 May 8:30:00 UTC 2017

When mum and dad's "bird and the bees" talk causes you to have more questions than answers and when your school sex education classes don't seem to cover all the bases, who can you turn to? SEE ALSO: 13 feminists who play the Twitter game to win Adolescents are increasingly turning to the internet to fill in the gaps. While it's … [Link]

Slashdot » Ask Slashdot: Is ReactOS A Serious Alternative To Windows?

Sunday 7 May 8:11:00 UTC 2017

dryriver writes: So I just discovered the ReactOS 0.4.4 Alpha… It seems like this is basically a free, open source Windows replacement in the making. Does anyone have serious experience with ReactOS? Do you think that ReactOS will ever reach the point where you can basically say "bye bye" to Microsoft Windows, but keep using all your favorite Windows software … [Link]

Slashdot » HandBrake Urges Mac Users To Verify Recent Download, Says Mirror Server Was Compromised

Sunday 7 May 7:10:00 UTC 2017

HandBrake team, writing on their forum: Anyone who has downloaded HandBrake on Mac between [02/May/2017 14:30 UTC] and [06/May/2017 11:00 UTC] needs to verify the SHA1 / 256 sum of the file before running it. Anyone who has installed HandBrake for Mac needs to verify their system is not infected with a Trojan. You have 50/50 chance if you've downloaded … [Link]

Mashable » Watch Chris Pine's sexy lip sync battle on 'Saturday Night Live'

Sunday 7 May 6:13:00 UTC 2017

Saturday Night Live taught the world tonight that hunky superhero tough guy Chris Pine can sing. But apparently he can lip sync, too. SEE ALSO: This 'Wonder Woman' homemade trailer might as well be the official movie trailer Pine, Bobby Moynihan, and a few other SNL regulars play grease monkeys coming to terms with their love of RuPaul’s Drag Race. … [Link]

Mashable » 'SNL' pokes at a 'missing' Kellyanne Conway in Carmen Sandiego tribute

Sunday 7 May 5:26:50 UTC 2017

After a few media missteps, the once ubiquitous Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway has all but vanished from TV. So Saturday Night Live tasked a couple of precocious young children with answering the question, “Where in the World Is Kellyanne Conway?” Time to find Kellyanne#SNLLiveCoastToCoast pic.twitter.com/RnpKNBVAod — Saturday Night Live (@nbcsnl) May 7, 2017 SEE ALSO: CIA director mocks Kellyanne Conway … [Link]

Mashable » Chris Pine reminds us he’s not Hemsworth, Evans, or Pratt in 'SNL' monologue

Sunday 7 May 4:52:27 UTC 2017

It’s good to be a "scruffy and squinty and jacked, but in a sweet way" guy named Chris who acts in movies. But apparently not if you don’t want to be confused with the other scruffy, beefy guys named Chris who act in movies. SEE ALSO: Chris Pine somehow just found out that Wonder Woman has an invisible plane Chris … [Link]

Mashable » 'SNL' cuts the sexual tension on 'Morning Joe' with an awkward knife

Sunday 7 May 4:34:30 UTC 2017

It’s been one week on, a few weeks off for Saturday Night Live these past few months, so the writers have either been missing out on some choice pop culture moments, or a backload of current events to plumb for the show's cold open — depending how you look at it. Fortunately, there’s never a lack of political absurdity and, … [Link]

Slashdot » Swarm AI Spectacularly Fails To Predict Kentucky Derby Winners A Second Time

Sunday 7 May 3:24:00 UTC 2017

Thursday TechRepublic described the big prediction: In May 2016, a relatively unknown startup called Unanimous A.I. made big headlines when its AI-based platform used collective intelligence to create a prediction for the Kentucky Derby superfecta — the top four horses, in order of finish. It made exactly the right pick, which returned $541.10 on a $1 bet… Churchill Downs took … [Link]

Slashdot » Debian 8.8 Released

Sunday 7 May 1:19:00 UTC 2017

prisoninmate quotes Softpedia: The Debian Project announced today Debian GNU/Linux 8.8, the most advanced stable version of the Jessie series, which brings corrections for numerous packages and various security flaws discovered and patched since the release of the Debian GNU/Linux 8.7 maintenance update back in mid-January 2017… "This update mainly adds corrections for security problems to the stable release, along … [Link]

Slashdot » Facebook Closes Its Oculus VR Studio

Sunday 7 May 0:14:00 UTC 2017

puddingebola writes: Facebook has closed Oculus VR Studio. The studio was a maker of original VR films, but now will only assist other studios. This makes it official, as the studio had been shuttered since the departure of Palmer Luckey. In a blog post the company emphasized that "We're still absolutely committed to growing the VR film and creative content … [Link]

John Gordon Ross

A Man for All Reasons