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 » Ask Slashdot: How Does Your Team Track And Manage Bugs In Your Software?

Sunday 4 June 23:30:00 UTC 2017

Slashdot reader jb373 is a senior software engineer whose team's bug-tracking methodology is making it hard to track bugs. My team uses agile software methodologies, specifically scrum with a Kanban board, and adds all bugs we find to our Kanban board. Our Kanban board is digital and similar to Trello in many regards and we have a single list for … [Link]

Mashable » Yup, Ariana Grande performing 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' at Manchester benefit will make you cry

Sunday 4 June 23:20:10 UTC 2017

The One Love Manchester benefit concert Sunday took on new urgency and poignancy following the deadly terrorist attack in London the day before. While the whole show — which featured Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and more — was obviously emotional for both the artists and the fans, perhaps no one moment had more tears flowing than Ariana Grande's … [Link]

Mashable » Trump Twitter bot reminds us that all his tweets are coming from the White House

Sunday 4 June 23:07:30 UTC 2017

The often flippant, emotional stream of tweets from President Trump never ceases to amaze, particularly since it is, for all intents and purposes, filled with official messages from the White House. Now, thanks to one clever Twitter user, we can view those often bombastic, poorly worded, and downright trivial tweets in their proper context: official White House statements. SEE ALSO: The … [Link]

Mashable » This artist turned Trump's tweets into something beautiful

Sunday 4 June 22:47:06 UTC 2017

Imagine if President Trump's tweets provoked calm and beauty rather than rage and fury. Such a realm really exists, though you'll have to slink beneath New York City to find it. A subterranean exhibition in Manhattan's Midtown neighborhood features hundreds of lavender plants and a lighting system powered by Twitter streams. When @realDonaldTrump or @POTUS fires off an early-morning musing, the … [Link]

Slashdot » Putin Now Argues Russia Could've Been Framed For Election Meddling By The CIA

Sunday 4 June 22:30:00 UTC 2017

In a news magazine show premiering tonight, Megyn Kelly reports that Russian president Vladimir Putin "has denied Russian involvement in the hacking and interference with our U.S. presidential eletion for some time. That changed earlier this week, and the story appears to be evolving yet again." An anonymous reader shared two articles from NBC: "Hackers can be anywhere. They can … [Link]

Mashable » Golden State Warriors deny listening to Rihanna in the locker room

Sunday 4 June 22:26:38 UTC 2017

Rihanna who? Never heard of her. Star player Steph Curry and other members of the warriors have gone to great lengths to deny a taste for RiRi, probably, most people think, because the she's expertly trolling them from courtside seats, living her best life as a mega-LeBron James fan. Curry was asked if the team listens to Rihanna in the locker … [Link]

Mashable » Ariana Grande comforts Manchester high school choir singer during emotional performance

Sunday 4 June 21:50:42 UTC 2017

The Manchester benefit concert led by Ariana Grande not only came off without a hitch, it delivered one of the most heartwarming live moments between a fan and a star we've seen all year. SEE ALSO: Heartwarming photos and messages from Ariana Grande's hospital visit During Grande's performance with the Parrs Wood High School Choir from Manchester, the choir's 12 year-old … [Link]

Slashdot » A Lake On Mars May Once Have Teemed With Life

Sunday 4 June 21:30:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes The Verge: Once upon a time on Mars, there was a crater that had a massive lake that may have hosted life. Now researchers are saying that a whole variety of organisms could have flourished there. Sure, that life was probably just microbial, but this is another exciting step toward understanding just how habitable Mars may … [Link]

Slashdot » Jean Sammet, Co-Designer of COBOL, Dies at 89

Sunday 4 June 20:30:00 UTC 2017

theodp writes: A NY Times obituary reports that early software engineer and co-designer of COBOL Jean Sammet died on May 20 in Maryland at age 89. "Sammet was a graduate student in math when she first encountered a computer in 1949 at the Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign," the Times reports. While Grace Hopper is often called the "mother of … [Link]

Slashdot » OpenELEC 8.0.4 Kodi-Focused Linux Distro Now Available

Sunday 4 June 19:57:00 UTC 2017

BrianFagioli writes: Unfortunately, Kodi is not its own operating system, meaning it has to be run on top of an OS. Sure, you could use Windows 10, but that is overkill if you only want to run Kodi. Instead, a lightweight Linux distribution that only serves to run the media center is preferable. One of the most popular such distros … [Link]

Mashable » U.S. mayors and governors defy Trump, will stick to Paris agreement anyway

Sunday 4 June 19:38:04 UTC 2017

Cities and states across the U.S. will keep fighting climate change, despite President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the country from the Paris Climate Agreement. Local leaders from across the country say they're not backing down from America's commitments under the historic climate accord. In recent days governors and nearly 200 mayors — from small towns to megacities — have vowed … [Link]

Slashdot » SGI Desktop Clone Gets A New Version On Fedora

Sunday 4 June 19:24:00 UTC 2017

Silicon Graphics workstations used the IRIX Interactive Desktop (formerly called Indigo Magic Desktop) for its IRIX operating system (based on UNIX System V with BSD extensions). "Anyone who remembers working on a SGI machine probably has fond memories of the Magic Desktop for IRIX," remembered one Slashdot reader in 2002. At the time a project called 5Dwm was working on … [Link]

Mashable » Man fleeing London attack with beer in hand becomes unlikely symbol of London pride

Sunday 4 June 19:16:25 UTC 2017

A young man who fled yesterday's terrorist attacks with a pint of beer in hand has become something of an internet hero. The photo, which has been retweeted over 28,000 times, features the man fleeing from the scene with a pint of beer in hand. For some, the photo provided a moment of profoundly dark comedy on a day otherwise entirely … [Link]

Mashable » Miley Cyrus joins Pharrell for 'Happy' at One Love Manchester

Sunday 4 June 19:08:32 UTC 2017

Pharrell Williams got serious with the One Love Manchester crowd after a rousing, Daft Punk-free rendition of 2013's song of the summer, "Get Lucky." "You know, I'm bowing…" he said after bending low in front of the cheering crowd, "…I'm bowing because despite all the things that have been going on in this place, I don't feel or smell or … [Link]

Mashable » 'Broad City' Season 4 trailer says 'f*ck you' to Trump

Sunday 4 June 18:51:31 UTC 2017

Abbi and Ilana are back on Aug. 23 and here's a Broad City Season 4 trailer to give you a peek at some of the shenanigans they'll get up to and celebrities they'll cross paths with. As fans have no doubt come to expect from the Comedy Central series, sex, and drugs are front-and-center here. But in the midst of … [Link]

Mashable » 'Veep' creator tells Trump to 'shut the **** up' after misleading London tweet

Sunday 4 June 18:23:30 UTC 2017

In a single, Sunday morning tweet, Donald Trump stooped to the level of perennial Veep loser, Jonah Ryan. Armando Iannucci, creator of the hit HBO series and a U.K. native, took to Twitter after 45 directed a misleading tweet at the Mayor of London in the aftermath of Saturday evening's terror attacks. Iannucci's sage advice? "Sit the shit down and shut … [Link]

Slashdot » New Threat To Traditional Sports Leagues: Millennials Prefer Watching eSports

Sunday 4 June 18:19:00 UTC 2017

Professional sports leagues "officially have a millennial problem," writes VentureBeat, citing some interesting findings from L.E.K. Consulting. 40% of millennials prefer watching esports to traditional sports26% of millennial eSports enthusiasts reported a significant uptick in eSports viewing over the past year61% of esports followers said they spent less time watching TV over the past 12 months, and 45% said they … [Link]

Mashable » When is Apple WWDC 2017 and how do I watch it?

Sunday 4 June 18:02:50 UTC 2017

Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference is back. We're expecting to hear about Siri, Augmented Reality and more. Here's what you need to know: SEE ALSO: Apple WWDC 2017: What to expect When is Apple WWDC 2017? The conference will take place June 5 – 9 at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California. The event kicks off at 10 am … [Link]

Mashable » 15 best items for those who are obsessed with outer space

Sunday 4 June 18:00:00 UTC 2017

Outer space is a polarizing concept. Some people are terrified, while others can't get enough. Consider this a little tribute to those of you who are mesmerized by both the stars and the science behind those stars, by those distant unknown planets out there that may contain frozen water, and by detailed images of Saturn's rings. Show your passion for the … [Link]

Mashable » Prophets of Rage pay tribute to Chris Cornell, with help from Serj Tankian

Sunday 4 June 17:59:05 UTC 2017

System of a Down lead singer Serj Tankian joined the Prophets of Rage in Germany on Saturday for a cover of "Like A Stone." It was a tribute to Chris Cornell, who fronted both the song and the band associated with it — Audioslave — on their self-titled 2002 debut. The supergroup matched the Soundgarden lead singer up with three … [Link]

Mashable » Incredibly polite Shiba Inus wait for their human's okay to eat

Sunday 4 June 17:52:42 UTC 2017

Even the the most polite pups lose self-control when it comes to a dish full of delicious dehydrated kibbles. These Shiba Inus are a rare exception. Watch how these rule-abiding pups wait until their hoomin issues the command for them to start eating. Most of us are lucky if our dogs are trained enough to not crap on the carpet. … [Link]

Slashdot » Insecure Hadoop Servers Expose Over 5 Petabytes of Data

Sunday 4 June 17:14:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes the security news editor at Bleeping Computer: Improperly configured HDFS-based servers, mostly Hadoop installs, are exposing over five petabytes of information, according to John Matherly, founder of Shodan, a search engine for discovering Internet-connected devices. The expert says he discovered 4,487 instances of HDFS-based servers available via public IP addresses and without authentication, which in total … [Link]

Mashable » Live blog: Apple's 2017 WWDC keynote

Sunday 4 June 17:00:00 UTC 2017

FOLLOW US LIVE ON THE GROUNDApple's Worldwide Developers Conference is for developers. Hence the name. But the keynote, which Apple CEO Tim Cook will deliver on June 5 at 10 a.m. PDT in San Jose, California, is really for everyone.Apple knows that even as developers wait for word of all the new coding and feature opportunities available in iOS, macOS, TVOS … [Link]

Mashable » 'Wonder Woman' $100 million box office is the best opening for a female director

Sunday 4 June 16:29:17 UTC 2017

Patty Jenkins is a star. Wonder Woman banked an estimated $100.5 million in domestic ticket sales, making it the largest-ever opening for a film directed by a woman — that's Jenkins. It's also the most critically acclaimed DC Extended Universe to date by a wide margin, with a "fresh" rating that almost exceeds the combined "rotten" ratings of its three predecessors. … [Link]

Slashdot » Ubuntu Touch Mobile OS Now Maintained By UBports

Sunday 4 June 16:09:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes Phoronix: UBports continues to be the leading community project for trying to let Ubuntu Touch live on and evolve under their direction… Among their recent achievements were acquiring more sponsors, all devices that were sold with Ubuntu Touch can now run with UBports' builds, they are working on their own version of Mozilla's AGPS Location Service … [Link]

Mashable » Colorful 1970 photos take you inside Canadian vocational schools

Sunday 4 June 16:00:00 UTC 2017

These images were taken as part of a campaign by the Alberta Public Affairs Bureau to show off the myriad courses and trades available to students at the Canadian province’s vocational schools.Now in the collections of the Provincial Archives of Alberta, the photos capture students training not only in classrooms and workshops, but in colorful simulacra of their future workplaces.Vermilion Agricultural … [Link]

Mashable » Remember when House Republicans went after Socks the cat?

Sunday 4 June 16:00:00 UTC 2017

Republicans seem a bit investigation-shy these days, don't they? Well, as you might remember from election season, that wasn't always the case. During Bill Clinton's administration, House Republicans even called for an inquiry into Socks, the First Cat. Socks was a fairly normal cat, and by most accounts, he seemed to be a good and cute boy. Adopted by Chelsea Clinton … [Link]

Mashable » President Trump admits his executive order is a ban and somewhere, his lawyers are crying

Sunday 4 June 15:49:16 UTC 2017

After Saturday's terrorist attacks in London left seven dead and 48 injured, President Trump responded to the tragedy by immediately politicizing it. On Saturday evening, Trump renewed his call for his "Travel Ban" on Twitter as an "extra level of safety." It wasn't exactly the wisest choice of words for the President, whose administration is currently arguing that the his executive … [Link]

Slashdot » What To Do If the Laptop Ban Goes Global

Sunday 4 June 15:04:00 UTC 2017

"The U.S. is reportedly seriously considering a greatly expanded ban on laptops in airplane cabins," writes Slashdot reader mirandakatz — sharing some advice from Dan Gillmor. If the government still allows laptops to be checked in with luggage, "the priority will be to discourage tampering and mitigate the risks associated with theft," he writes, envisioning that "If I have to … [Link]

Mashable » Get a good leg workout while doing laundry with this portable washing machine

Sunday 4 June 15:00:00 UTC 2017

Drumi is a portable washing machine that doesn't require any electricity to use. It can wash your clothes anywhere in under 10 minutes. It's small enough to be stored away and is easy to clean, too. Drumi retails for $239. Read more…More about Clothing, Portable, Clothes, Clean, and Laundry [Link]

Mashable » Meet the 15-year-old developer making a difference one app at a time

Sunday 4 June 14:30:58 UTC 2017

Like many developers about to attend their first major developer conference, Amanda Southworth is looking forward to the week-long event. Besides Monday's keynote, when Apple will unveil the next version of iOS, MacOS and maybe even some new hardware, there will be deep dives into new developer tools and countless networking opportunities. That's enough for any developer to get excited about, … [Link]

Mashable » Theresa May renews her call for internet regulation following the London Bridge attack

Sunday 4 June 14:13:43 UTC 2017

Following the London Bridge terrorist attacks, Prime Minister Theresa May has called for foreign leaders to consider regulating the internet as a means to prevent terrorism. May delivered her remarks in a speech outside 10 Downing Street on Sunday morning. By regulating the internet more strenuously, the Prime Minister suggested, countries could help "deprive the extremists of their safe spaces online." … [Link]

Mashable » '13 Reasons Why' Season 2 isn't losing Hannah, and that's important

Sunday 4 June 14:04:53 UTC 2017

13 Reasons Why isn't stopping at just 13 reasons. Netflix's hit drama — based on Jay Asher's bestselling book of the same name — is already in production on its second season. Showrunner Brian Yorkey is venturing into completely new territory with the show's sophomore outing, having no source material to follow, since the first season covered Asher's book in its … [Link]

Mashable » J.K Rowling on the London attacks: 'Don't confuse grief with lack of courage'

Sunday 4 June 14:00:30 UTC 2017

J.K. Rowling had some choice words to share with her followers in the wake of Saturday's cowardly terrorist attack on London citizens. She was tweeting in response to a New York Times post that characterized the United Kingdom as "reeling" in the wake of its second terror attack in two weeks. Saturday's incident followed a May 22 suicide bombing at an … [Link]

Mashable » This 1938 Louisiana rice festival was the most fun rice-related activity of the year

Sunday 4 June 14:00:00 UTC 2017

Image: Library of CongressOne day in 1937, former Louisiana governor Richard Leche was watching photographers setting up photos to promote local agricultural products, with one shoot featuring a woman in a rice costume. At that moment, he sprang up and shouted, “Let’s have a rice festival!”That October, Acadia Parish’s Rice Carnival was combined with the town of Crowley’s Golden Jubilee — … [Link]

Slashdot » After London Attack, PM Calls For Internet Regulation To Fight Terrorists

Sunday 4 June 13:59:00 UTC 2017

CNN reports that "At least seven people were killed in a short but violent assault that unfolded late Saturday night in the heart of the capital, the third such attack to hit Britain this year." An anonymous reader quotes their follow-up report: Prime Minister Theresa May has called for closer regulation of the internet following a deadly terror attack in … [Link]

Mashable » Look at how these journalists have aged since they started covering Trump

Sunday 4 June 13:49:37 UTC 2017

It’s only been four months since Trump officially took office, but for the journalists forced to cover him for the past two years, it has been centuries. Take a look at how some of America's most telegenic pundits and personalities have aged since the election. The president's war on the media has been successful in one key aspect: he is slowly … [Link]

Mashable » A big, beautiful collection of Sean Spicer’s most WTF moments

Sunday 4 June 13:23:13 UTC 2017

Throughout President Trump's brief time in office, an MVP has stood out in the administration like a head emerging from some neatly trimmed bushes: Sean Michael Spicer. In just a few months, Trump's White House Press Secretary has distinguished himself as America's very own court jester, distracting from the political chaos by providing the nation with an unpredictable trove of inadvertently … [Link]

Mashable » London attacks imbue One Love Manchester benefit with a defiant sense of purpose

Sunday 4 June 13:06:59 UTC 2017

Saturday’s horrific terror attacks in London — the U.K.'s second in two weeks — won't derail the planned One Love Manchester benefit concert set up after the first attack two weeks ago. Quite the contrary, in fact. A statement released in the hours after the incident reaffirmed plans to go on with the show. One Love was originally conceived as a … [Link]

Slashdot » When Sentencing Criminals, Should Judges Use Closed-Source Algorithms?

Sunday 4 June 11:54:00 UTC 2017

Some judges in America have recently started using a closed-source algorithm that predicts how likely convicts are to commit another crime. Mosquito Bites shared an article by law professor Frank Pasquale raising concerns about the algorithms: They may seem scientific, an injection of computational rationality into a criminal justice system riddled with discrimination and inefficiency. However, they are troubling for … [Link]

Slashdot » ESR Shares A Forgotten 'Roots Of Open Source' Moment From 1984

Sunday 4 June 7:49:00 UTC 2017

Eric S. Raymond recently documented one of the first public calls for free software, which happened immediately after AT&T's fateful decision commercialize Unix: [I]n October 1984 I was in a crowd of people watching a presentation by a woman from Bell Labs describing the then-new getopt(3) library, written by AT&T as a way to regularize the processing of command-line arguments … [Link]

Slashdot » Ask Slashdot: Is There a Way To Write Working Code By Drawing Flow Charts?

Sunday 4 June 4:44:00 UTC 2017

Slashdot reader dryriver writes: There appear to be two main ways to write code today. One is with text-based languages ranging from BASIC to Python to C++. The other is to use a flow-based or dataflow programming-based visual programming language where you connect boxes or nodes with lines. What I have never (personally) come across is a way to program … [Link]

Slashdot » Bruce Perens Explains That 'GPL Is A Contract' Court Case

Sunday 4 June 1:39:00 UTC 2017

Bruce Perens co-founded the Open Source Initiative with Eric Raymond — and he's also Slashdot reader #3,872. Bruce Perens writes: There's been a lot of confusion about the recent Artifex v. Hancomcase, in which the court found that the GPL was an enforceable contract. I'm going to try to explain the whole thing in clear terms for the legal layman. … [Link]

John Gordon Ross

A Man for All Reasons