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 » Humans Are Still Better Than AI at StarCraft

Sunday 5 November 23:13:00 UTC 2017

29-year-old professional StarCraft player Song Byung-gu won 4-0 in the world's first contest between AI systems and professional human players, writes MIT Technology Review. An anonymous reader quotes their report: One of the bots, dubbed "CherryPi," was developed by Facebook's AI research lab. The other bots came from Australia, Norway, and Korea. The contest took place at Sejong University in … [Link]

Mashable » Apple: Display 'burn-in' could also affect iPhone X

Sunday 5 November 22:47:16 UTC 2017

It turns out Apple's iPhone X display could have some of the same issues as Google's Pixel 2 XL. The iPhone X could be impacted by "burn-in" and other "visual changes" that commonly affect smartphones with OLED displays, according to a new Apple support document. SEE ALSO: Here's why some apps will look bad on the iPhone X Burn-in happens when … [Link]

Mashable » Tom Hanks adorably helps a couple get engaged during a speaking appearance

Sunday 5 November 22:12:18 UTC 2017

If there's one Hollywood star you can trust with something as important as a wedding proposal, it's America's dad, Tom Hanks. While at an appearance fir the Texas Book Festival‏, Hanks took on the important role of wedding proposal facilitator in the midst of promoting his new book, Uncommon Type: Some Stories.  SEE ALSO: Here’s the YouTube video that inspired 'SNL' … [Link]

Mashable » These dolphins learned to paint, and their work will go to a good cause

Sunday 5 November 22:05:00 UTC 2017

Dolphins at the 'Dolphins Plus Marine Mammal Responder' facility in Florida have been painting for years. Their work will be on display to improve the art market.  Read more…More about Gallery, Art, Painting, Artist, and Arts Culture And Entertainment [Link]

Slashdot » Failure of Sprint/T-Mobile Merger Means a Missed Chance To Save $30B

Sunday 5 November 21:58:00 UTC 2017

UPDATE (11/5/17): Sprint and T-Mobile confirmed Saturday that they've ended their merger talks, saying they were "unable to find mutually agreeable terms." The Kansas City Star reports that the failure "means shareholders of the two companies gave up $30 billion or more in cost savings that their managements had expected a merger to generate. "One combined wireless company would have … [Link]

Mashable » Download this: When former Insta engineers make a camera, it's all about the app

Sunday 5 November 21:18:57 UTC 2017

When two former Instagram engineers team up on a camera, unsurprisingly, it's the app that really counts.  That's the premise of Rylo, a new 360-degree camera created by two former Instagram engineers. It launched this week after two years in development.  SEE ALSO: A visual history of the iPhone's camera bump over the years At first glance, the pocket-sized camera doesn't … [Link]

Mashable » Oh, BTW, Kremlin-linked money was once invested in Facebook and Twitter, nbd

Sunday 5 November 20:53:44 UTC 2017

Facebook and Twitter both count Russian government-linked business among their former investors. The revelation, confirmed in documents obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), shows that two Russian firms, both linked to the Kremlin, made "major" investments in the social media companies through a well-known tech fund. SEE ALSO: Here's how the U.S. government could force Facebook and Google … [Link]

Mashable » Emilia Clarke and Jason Momoa's 'Game of Thrones' reunion will make you feel all the feels

Sunday 5 November 20:53:26 UTC 2017

Game of Thrones fans, rejoice!  It's been a while since we've seen Khal Drogo and Khaleesi together, but thankfully Emilia Clarke and Jason Momoa are a different story. The two actors re-connected over the weekend in London, where Momoa was promoting Justice League.   SEE ALSO: The 'Game of Thrones' concert series is back "When life is so good that your … [Link]

Slashdot » No, the Linux Desktop Hasn't Jumped in Popularity

Sunday 5 November 20:50:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes ZDNet: Stories have been circulating that the Linux desktop had jumped in popularity and was used more than macOS. Alas, it's not so… These reports have been based on NetMarketShare's desktop operating system analysis, which showed Linux leaping from 2.5 percent in July, to almost 5 percent in September. But unfortunately for Linux fans, it's not … [Link]

Mashable » Little girl lives her best life under a pile of puppies

Sunday 5 November 20:15:00 UTC 2017

One young girl bravely defended herself against the gentle forces of cute from seven furry puppies and their tiny wet kisses. But sadly, in the end, she lost the adorable battle.  Proud mom Emily Rook shared an adorable photo of her 8-year-old daughter Sofia, cuddling with a band of precious pups at their local animal shelter.  SEE ALSO: Rescue dog uses … [Link]

Mashable » Thanksgiving turkey tips from the experts at Butterball's Talk Line

Sunday 5 November 20:00:00 UTC 2017

Read more… {"player":{"descript~ gobble.","image":&qu~ Butterball turkey expert is here to dispel 5 myths about your Thanksgiving turkey","sources":[{~ video,myths,real-time,mistakes,real~ video,real time,real-time-video,real time video,kitchen,butterball,recipe,tur~ making,roasting a turkey,thanksgiving day,family gathering,cooking mistakes,butterball turkey,butterball expert,talk line,turkey talk line","sec0":null,&q~ video,myths,real-time,mistakes,real~ video,real time,real-time-video,real time video,kitchen,butterball,recipe,tur~ making,roasting a turkey,thanksgiving day,family gathering,cooking mistakes,butterball turkey,butterball expert,talk line,turkey talk line","videoSeriesName&qu~ More about Watercooler, Food, Thanksgiving, Culture, and Culture [Link]

Slashdot » Jeff Bezos Just Sold $1.1 Billion in Amazon Stock

Sunday 5 November 19:27:26 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes CNN Money: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the newly minted richest person in the world, just sold more than $1 billion worth of his stock. The sale was made public in a filing posted Friday. In total, Bezos let go of one million shares for $1,097,803,365. Exactly how Bezos plans to spend those Benjamins wasn't clear. But … [Link]

Slashdot » Mozilla Might Distrust Dutch Government Certs Over 'False Keys'

Sunday 5 November 19:15:00 UTC 2017

Long-time Slashdot reader Artem Tashkinov quotes BleepingComputer: Mozilla engineers are discussing plans to remove support for a state-operated Dutch TLS/HTTPS provider after the Dutch government has voted a new law that grants local authorities the power to intercept Internet communications using "false keys". If the plan is approved, Firefox will not trust certificates issued by the Staat der Nederlanden (State … [Link]

Mashable » Twitter's search tool is blocking photo searches of #bisexual, but not #lesbian or #gay

Sunday 5 November 18:57:52 UTC 2017

Twitter has a lot of explaining to do.  The social media platform is under scrutiny after several accounts noticed the search tool had begun to bar photos (as well as videos and news) tagged with the #bisexual hashtag — and others.  SEE ALSO: Why Twitter's 30 million bots are here to stay Today @Twitter @TwitterSupport introduced a search filter blocking photo … [Link]

Mashable » An American woman won the NYC Marathon for the first time in 40 years

Sunday 5 November 18:31:41 UTC 2017

Shalane Flanagan crossed the New York City Marathon finish line just a few minutes shy of two-and-a-half hours after she started. It was fast enough to win the women's race portion of the annual competition, making the 36-year-old runner from Portland, Oregon the first American woman to bring home a victory in 40 years. The last time that happened was in … [Link]

Mashable » The T-Mobile and Sprint merger is off — again

Sunday 5 November 18:16:36 UTC 2017

T-Mobile and Sprint won't be joining forces after all. The two companies ended a months-long negotiation to merge after failing "to find mutually agreeable terms," they said in a joint statement released early Sunday. The move marks the second time in three years that Sprint and T-Mobile have called off a deal. Talks for T-Mobile to acquire Sprint previously fell apart … [Link]

Slashdot » Hole In The Ozone Layer Smallest In 29 Years

Sunday 5 November 18:10:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes the Weather Channel: The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica is the smallest it's been since 1988, NASA said. According to a press release, the hole in the Earth's ozone layer is 1.3 million square miles smaller than last year and 3.3 million square miles smaller than 2015… This year, the hole grew to 7.6 … [Link]

Mashable » Sean 'Diddy' Combs has decided to change his name to 'Love'

Sunday 5 November 17:56:00 UTC 2017

When you turn 48 years old and already have the world at your fingertips, there's really only one thing left to do: change your name.  At least, that's what Sean Combs—now formerly known as Diddy, P. Diddy, Puff Daddy—has done. The music mogul, who turned 48 on Saturday, took a break from his weekend festivities in Mexico to share an important … [Link]

Slashdot » New Victims in the 'Billionaire War on Journalism'

Sunday 5 November 17:06:00 UTC 2017

Newsweek offers a new reminder that internet journalism can vanish in a corporate shutdown or be "sued out of existence" — so it certainly isn't permanent. Writers at the local New York City news sites DNAinfo and Gothamist — as well as Gothamist's network of city-specific sister sites, such as LAist and DCist — learned this chilling lesson on Thursday, … [Link]

Mashable » The woman who defied Italian tradition by refusing to marry her rapist

Sunday 5 November 17:00:00 UTC 2017

Franca Viola.Image: Mondadori Portfolio via Getty ImagesLast month, actress and director Asia Argento voiced her disgust with criticism from the Italian public after she came forward with rape allegations against Harvey Weinstein. “Italy is far behind the rest of the world in its view of women,” she told the press of her native country.50 years ago, Italy was rocked by one … [Link]

Slashdot » Pandora Loses 7 Million Listeners

Sunday 5 November 16:02:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes the Bay Area Newsgroup: So many listeners have turned off Pandora that Friday could have been called the day the music died for the internet radio streaming pioneer. Late Thursday, Pandora said it ended its third quarter with 73.7 million active listeners, a decline of more than 7 million listeners from the 81 million it had … [Link]

Mashable » Amazon celebrates Alexa's third birthday with these deals

Sunday 5 November 16:00:00 UTC 2017

Amazon’s voice-powered digital assistant Alexa just turned three, so the company is acknowledging its three years of existence by offering deals on the Alexa-powered devices below.  Please note: Amazon says the deals will last for just over day, starting at 9 PM PST on Nov. 5 and ending at 11:59 PM PST on Nov. 6. SEE ALSO: Amazon Echo (2017) review: … [Link]

Mashable » Mopping with this gadget actually looks fun

Sunday 5 November 16:00:00 UTC 2017

Mopnado is an all-in-one mopping system that spins your mop clean.  Every editorial product is independently selected by Mashable journalists. If you buy something featured, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps support our journalism. Read more…More about Tech, Technology, Kickstarter, Innovation, and Clean [Link]

Mashable » 'Stranger Things' Barb defends Finn Wolfhard with a few, very real tweets

Sunday 5 November 15:57:00 UTC 2017

Justice for Barb was so 2016—now, it's all about justice from Barb. Stranger Things actress Shannon Purser (who played Season 1's Barb, the breakout character with a cult-like following) came to the defense of co-star Finn Wolfhard on Saturday afternoon after fans of Wolfhard circulated a video of themselves waiting outside the 14-year-old's hotel.  Wolfhard did not stop to say hi … [Link]

Mashable » Kanye West finally makes his return to the stage at a Kid Cudi concert

Sunday 5 November 15:20:12 UTC 2017

In November 2016, Kanye West cancelled a slew of tour dates after reports surfaced that he'd been hospitalized.  On Saturday night, nearly a year after those headlines dominated the news, the Chicago native took the stage alongside longtime collaborator Kid Cudi for the first time since 2016—and people went absolutely wild.  SEE ALSO: Kim Kardashian clears up rumors that she and … [Link]

Mashable » How to build one of Earth's largest telescopes

Sunday 5 November 15:00:00 UTC 2017

Huge telescopes dot mountainsides around the world.  From Hawaii to Chile, scientists seek out the perfect site with fair weather and dark, clear skies to peer deeply into space, clocking the movements of distant stars, planets, and other objects far beyond what we can see with the naked eye. SEE ALSO: Construction Begins on One of the World's Largest Telescopes A … [Link]

Mashable » Coffee, conversation, and community: Inside NYC's vanished cafeterias

Sunday 5 November 15:00:00 UTC 2017

Image: Marcia Bricker HalperinOne frigid day in February 1975, Marcia Bricker Halperin, a budding street photographer, was shooting storefront windows on Kings Highway in Brooklyn. With her fingers practically frozen to her Pentax, she slipped into a Dubrow’s Cafeteria to defrost.I took a ticket from the man at the door and found myself looking out at a tableau of amazing faces … [Link]

Slashdot » An iOS 11.1 Glitch Is Replacing Vowels

Sunday 5 November 14:58:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes Mashable: We became privy to a new iPhone keyboard glitch after a few Mashable staffers recently started having issues with their iPhone keyboards, specifically with vowels. The issue started when iOS 11's predictive text feature began to display an odd character in the place of the letter "I," offering up "A[?] instead and autocorrecting within the … [Link]

Mashable » Larry David angered the internet with his ill-conceived Holocaust jokes on 'SNL'

Sunday 5 November 14:51:25 UTC 2017

Larry David returned to the Saturday Night Live spotlight this weekend, but things got off to a rocky start.  The Curb Your Enthusiasm comedian made some uncomfortable remarks about Jews and mounting accusations of sexual conduct by Harvey Weinstein, but he drew criticism when his stand-up monologue delved into an even thornier subject: the Holocaust. SEE ALSO: Larry David suits up … [Link]

Mashable » Larry David broke so hard on 'SNL' he just gave up and laughed openly

Sunday 5 November 14:16:37 UTC 2017

Ah, the Saturday Night Live break. When shit just gets so weird on the set of the sketch comedy series that a performer — usually, but not always, the guest host — just starts laughing. So it was with Larry David this week. The sketch itself is fine: David is a newly married rich dude whose wife — an unrecognizable … [Link]

Mashable » Meet the travel photographer who never left home

Sunday 5 November 14:00:00 UTC 2017

Jacqui Kelly suffers from a panic disorder that makes it difficult to leave her home. But that didn't stop her from seeing the world. She found beauty in the Google Streetview images and began taking screenshots. This caught the attention of thousands of people across the world, as well as Google. Read more…More about Google, Travel Leisure, Travel, Photography, and Mashable … [Link]

Mashable » Don Jr. teaching Eric Trump about Fun Dip on 'Saturday Night Live' is the best ever

Sunday 5 November 13:57:18 UTC 2017

There's a lot to like about this Weekend Update sketch on Saturday Night Live, but really, the best of it comes when Mikey Day and Alex Moffat trot out their always-hilarious impressions of Donald Trump's elder sons, Don Jr. and Eric. In related news, Fun Dip is about to be popular again. As funny as the Trump Bros are, don't … [Link]

Slashdot » Jeff Bezos's Just Sold $1.1 Billion in Amazon Stock

Sunday 5 November 13:54:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes CNN Money: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the newly minted richest person in the world, just sold more than $1 billion worth of his stock. The sale was made public in a filing posted Friday. In total, Bezos let go of one million shares for $1,097,803,365. Exactly how Bezos plans to spend those Benjamins wasn't clear. But … [Link]

Mashable » Aidy Bryant kills it on 'SNL' as Sarah Huckabee Sanders at a White House press conference

Sunday 5 November 13:37:39 UTC 2017

Saturday Night Live is lucky to have Aidy Bryant. With Sean Spicer out on his ass — and Melissa McCarthy's spot-on impersonation now a thing of the past — Bryant has stepped in on SNL as the new faux-White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders. And she's perfect. Bryant nails Sanders' southern drawl and dry wit in this White House … [Link]

Mashable » Larry David suits up again as Bernie Sanders for Celebrity Price is Right on 'SNL'

Sunday 5 November 13:20:44 UTC 2017

Look. This Saturday Night Live sketch isn't the greatest. But it does have two high points. The first is guest host Larry David, who revives his pitch-perfect Bernie Sanders impression (and makes lots of 2016 election jokes at Bernie's expense).  The second is Alec Baldwin, who pops up as an even more perfect Tony Bennett. Even better, Baldwin-as-Bennett is really … [Link]

Slashdot » Ask Slashdot: Should I Allow A 'Smart TV' To Connect To The Internet?

Sunday 5 November 10:50:00 UTC 2017

Slashdot reader GovCheese has a question: I use Roku and also the client apps on my gaming consoles for Amazon and Netflix. But it seems less prudent to allow my television, a Samsung, to connect to the internet. My Phillips Blu-ray wants to connect also. But I'd rather not. Is it illogical to allow Roku and a console to connect … [Link]

Mashable » Don't upgrade your iOS without downloading this software first

Sunday 5 November 10:00:00 UTC 2017

Just to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission. Managing all of the data on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod can be a real iPain sometimes, especially when upgrading or switching devices forces you to leave some of your files behind. (To be fair, some of those photos from St. Patrick's Day 2014 are … [Link]

Mashable » You can seriously pay what you want for more than 12,000 design assets

Sunday 5 November 10:00:00 UTC 2017

Just to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission. Whether you’re a freelancer trying to build your own website, a small business owner trying to make flyers that don’t look like they were created in MS Paint, or a designer without the means to create every single thing from scratch, chances are you’ve … [Link]

Mashable » Forget guitar lessons — this device will teach you how to play like a pro

Sunday 5 November 10:00:00 UTC 2017

Just to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission. If you've always wanted to play guitar like Jimi Hendrix but the idea of music lessons gives you high school band flashbacks, don't worry. There's an app(-enabled device) for that. SEE ALSO: Here's how you can learn to play guitar without taking expensive lessons … [Link]

Slashdot » Many US States Consider Abandoning Daylight Savings Time

Sunday 5 November 7:46:00 UTC 2017

A special Massachusetts commission recommends the state stop observing Daylight Savings TIme "if a majority of other northeast states, also possibly including New York, also do so." After a 9-to-1 vote, the head of the commission reported their conclusion after months of study: "There's no good reason why we're changing these clocks twice a year"… According to local reports, "The … [Link]

Mashable » Donald Trump and Paul Manafort take a very naked shower on 'Saturday Night Live'

Sunday 5 November 4:33:34 UTC 2017

Donald Trump took a naked shower with Paul Manafort on Saturday Night Live tonight, and yes, things got weirder from there. Kicking the episode off in classic SNL fashion, Alec Baldwin reprised his role as Trump – the real-life version of whom is on his first trip to Asia as president, the late night version of whom snuck off to … [Link]

Slashdot » Should Developers Do All Their Own QA?

Sunday 5 November 3:42:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes IT News: Fashion retailer The Iconic is no longer running quality assurance as a separate function within its software development process, having shifted QA responsibilities directly onto developers… "We decided: we've got all these [developers] who are [coding] every day, and they're testing their own work — we don't need a second layer of advice on … [Link]

Slashdot » Newspaper Obtains James Damore's Complaint Against Google

Sunday 5 November 1:38:00 UTC 2017

A Silicon Valley newspaper brings this update on fired Google engineer James Damore: California law allows employers to fire workers for virtually any reason — and the Constitutional protection of free speech doesn't apply to private company workplaces. Until now it was unclear how Damore might fight back against Google over his termination. Now, this news organization has obtained the … [Link]

Mashable » Kevin Spacey is now accused of groping Richard Dreyfuss' son

Sunday 5 November 1:13:27 UTC 2017

Harry Dreyfuss, the son of Academy Award-winning actor Richard Dreyfuss, has come forward with new allegations of sexual misconduct against Kevin Spacey. He claims that Spacey groped him in 2008, at age 18, while his father, unaware, was in the room with them. "I … see how important it is to add my voice to the people who are demanding a … [Link]

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