John Gordon Ross

A Man for All Reasons

John Gordon Ross header image 3

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 » Is Elon Musk Greatly Exaggerating Tesla's Battery Technology?

Saturday 25 November 23:34:00 UTC 2017

"Tesla's newest promises break the laws of batteries," writes Bloomberg. Long-time Slashdot reader rudy_wayne summarizes their report. "Elon Musk knows how to make promises. Even by his own standards, the promises made last week while introducing two new Tesla vehicles…are monuments of envelope pushing. To deliver, according to close observers of battery technology, Tesla would have to far exceed what … [Link]

Mashable » With little else to rely on, refugees turn to Twitter to detail harsh treatment

Saturday 25 November 23:01:18 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookAustralia’s offshore detention centres have long been a secretive, carefully guarded operation. For those who remain inside them, smartphones and social media have been the main way to tell stories of their plight, as governments remain reticent on who is responsible for them and journalists struggle to gain access to the sites. SEE ALSO: How one tech initiative helps Syrian refugee … [Link]

Slashdot » Flat Earther's Homemade Rocket Launcher Breaks Down in His Driveway

Saturday 25 November 22:34:00 UTC 2017

The Desert Sun has an update on the progress of 61-year-old self-taught rocket scientist 'Mad' Mike Hughes: A man who believes Earth is flat, and was ready to launch himself from a rocket in California on Saturday afternoon to prove it, has canceled his plans. At least for now. Not having the required federal permits plus mechanical problems with his … [Link]

Slashdot » Should Brokers Use 'Voice Prints' For Stock Transactions?

Saturday 25 November 21:34:00 UTC 2017

Fidelity and Charles Schwab now allow traders to use "voice prints" to authorize stock transactions. But there's more to the story, argues long-time Slashdot reader maiden_taiwan: Fidelity Investments is touting its new security feature, MyVoice, which allows a customer to access his/her financial accounts by telephone without a password. "When you call Fidelity, you'll no longer have to enter PINs … [Link]

Mashable » Joe Manganiello's Deathstroke is here to singlehandedly revive the DCEU

Saturday 25 November 21:19:01 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookIs Deathstroke the DCEU's saving grace? Well, no, because Wonder Woman – but kind of yes since Justice League was such a bust and he's played by Magic Mike alum Joe Manganiello. Manganiello took to Twitter Saturday to wordlessly reveal the first photo of himself in character as Slade Wilson (not to be confused with Wade Wilson, another sword-wielding superhuman named … [Link]

Slashdot » Google Flagged Its Own Chromebook Ad As Spam On YouTube

Saturday 25 November 20:34:00 UTC 2017

AmiMoJo quotes The Verge: It's no secret that YouTube's algorithm for automatically flagging videos can be troublesome — recent issues have seen content creators getting their videos demonetized for seemingly no reason — but Google's latest faux pas might hit the company a little closer to home. Google posted an ad for its new Chromebook Pixel that is getting flagged … [Link]

Mashable » You can still by the SNES Classic if you missed Black Friday

Saturday 25 November 20:26:52 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookBlack Friday got you down cause you missed those juicy deals? Hot-ticket products flew off virtual and physical shelves on Friday, including Nintendo's SNES Classic. Supplies were replenished at Best Buy on Saturday morning, and the coveted console will return to Toys R Us starting Nov. 27. SEE ALSO: SNES Classic is sold out everywhere, but you still have a chance … [Link]

Mashable » Trump's 'Time' tweet got better with every internet spoof

Saturday 25 November 19:36:49 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookIt’s Thanksgiving week, and you know what that means: Time for Donald Trump's annual tiff with Time magazine and it's "Person of the Year" issue.  Trump won the honor last year, which should have silenced his irritation forthwith. But because he's Donald Trump, he will not be satisfied unless he is the center of all attention always.  Time Magazine called to … [Link]

ProgrammableWeb.com » Daily API RoundUp: Twitter, ABN AMRO, Naturalis Biodiversity

Saturday 25 November 19:36:08 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]

Slashdot » Why Do Employers Require College Degrees That Aren't Necessary?

Saturday 25 November 19:34:00 UTC 2017

Slashdot reader pefisher writes: A lot of us on Slashdot have noticed that potential employers advertise for things they don't need. To the point that sometimes they even ask for things that don't exist. Like asking for ten years of experience in a technology that has only just been introduced. It's frustrating because it makes you wonder "what's this employers … [Link]

Slashdot » Bloomberg Op-Ed: The Internet 'Already Lost Its Neutrality'

Saturday 25 November 18:34:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes a new Bloomberg opinion piece on net neutrality: The internet will be filled today with denunciations of this move, threats of a dark future in which our access to content will be controlled by a few powerful companies. And sure, that may happen. But in fact, it may already have happened, led not by ISPs, but … [Link]

Mashable » 11 times brands were the greatest trolls on Twitter in 2017

Saturday 25 November 18:24:35 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookMost of the time, brands are on social media to answer your concerns. But sometimes, they can surprise you with the comeback of a lifetime.  Brands used Twitter to do more than just promote their products this year. Their platforms also produced the funniest comebacks and the most shadiest tweets to their competitors. And sure, we shouldn't really be celebrating a … [Link]

Mashable » Pakistan reportedly blocks Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube amid protest crackdowns

Saturday 25 November 18:02:57 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookPakistan has reportedly blocked Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter amid a broader crackdown on protests.  The blockages come after six people died and 200 others were injured after authorities attempted to clear Islamist protests from highways near the capital of Islamabad, according to the Associated Press.  Pakistan also instituted a media blackout, with many of its major TV stations going off the … [Link]

Mashable » There's a Netflix original horror movie you haven't heard of — and you need to watch it now

Saturday 25 November 18:00:00 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookYou’ve never heard of 2016's I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House. But you should have.  The lapse in coverage on it may come from Netflix's inability to promote its Originals, with niche art house films like this one getting buried beneath the never-ending barrage of new content. Or maybe it's because this ghost story is often categorized … [Link]

Mashable » Americans spent over $5 billion on Black Friday

Saturday 25 November 17:43:55 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookDid you buy something on Black Friday? You're not alone! Unsurprisingly, the biggest retail day of the year delivered its promised spoils for customers and companies with over $5 billion spent, according to analysis from Adobe.  According to Salesforce, digital sales rose 24 percent, with 60 percent of online traffic and 42 percent of sales coming from mobile devices. SEE ALSO: … [Link]

Slashdot » Is Sharp's Robot Vacuum Cleaner Vulnerable To Remote Take-over?

Saturday 25 November 17:34:00 UTC 2017

Slashdot reader AmiMoJo reports: Sharp's COCOROBO (heart-bot) vacuum cleaners can not just clean your house. They have cameras that can be viewed from a smart phone, and automatically take pictures of things they find under your sofa. They have microphones and voice recognition, and are able to ask how your day was when you get home from work. You can … [Link]

Mashable » Exasperated local news journalist is done with the Black Friday hype

Saturday 25 November 17:09:14 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookBlack Friday tends to be a great time for some local news coverage. Hundreds of eager shoppers lining up in early morning hours tend to make for great visuals and person-on-the-street interviews. That's what Joshua Short of WNDU in South Bend, Indiana, expected. He was sorely disappointed—and didn't mince words when he gave his report on the scene at around 5:15 … [Link]

Mashable » What to watch on Hulu in December

Saturday 25 November 17:00:00 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookBinge yourself some Runaways and then spend December browsing the extensive depths of Hulu's libraryApocalypse Now? Got it. The whole Rocky series? You bet. The inexplicable 2001 rom-com Kate and Leopold starring Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman? Hell yes – and much more. Here's what's coming to Hulu in December. SEE ALSO: Hulu's 'Runaways' is bringing a big change to the … [Link]

Slashdot » DC Fans Angry Over Rotten Tomatoes 'Justice League' Ratings

Saturday 25 November 16:34:00 UTC 2017

Rotten Tomatoes launched a new movie-review series called See It/Skip It last week — but it just made some people hate the site even more. An anonymous reader quotes Wired: Rotten Tomatoes, the review-aggregator-slash-Hollywood-a~ had irked DC fans by withholding its Justice League score until Thursday night's See It/Skip It premiere — even though a wave of reviews for the … [Link]

Mashable » All the times Donald Trump has gotten upset about Time's 'person of the year'

Saturday 25 November 16:10:48 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookThe media, Kristen Stewarts love life, and Times magazine's person of the year: These are just a few of the things that get Donald Trump fired up.  Trump has once again put himself into the middle of one a particularly inane controversy after he claimed that Time called and tried to get him to do an interview in exchange for being … [Link]

Mashable » This app hacked the best travel deals for Tuesday after Thanksgiving

Saturday 25 November 16:00:03 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookThe best day of the year for booking travel is right around the corner. After Thanksgiving, and Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, comes Travel Deal Tuesday, as revealed by data collected by the app Hopper. That sweet spot between holidays is when people like to book their winter travel, and the deals are pretty tempting. SEE ALSO: Black Friday 2017 deals … [Link]

Mashable » This mug is for the clumsy coffee lover

Saturday 25 November 16:00:00 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookMighty Mug created a mug that reportedly never spills. It uses SmartGrip Technology, where the base can grip onto smooth, flat surfaces. This mug can resist accidental knocks from any angle but can lift with ease. You can get a mug for less than $25. Bye, bye spills.  Read more…More about Desk, Coffee, Frog, Mashable Video, and Base [Link]

Mashable » 25 Wendy's tweets that served a double shade burger in 2017

Saturday 25 November 16:00:00 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookLet’s face it: 2017 was the perfect year to stress eat a Baconator and Frosty. Wendy's not only helped us feed our feelings, the mastermind behind the Wendy's Twitter account provided emotional comfort when the fourth Spicy Chicken Sandwich just didn't cut it. The fast food chain has shown no mercy when it comes to its competitors. With its witty clapbacks, … [Link]

Mashable » 13 blunt and sweary Christmas cards for your greatest frenemy

Saturday 25 November 15:40:00 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookChristmas cards are boring, aren't they? Santa. Reindeers. Trees and baubles. It's always the same, every year. We might as well just do away with all together, right? Well, maybe all hope is not lost. SEE ALSO: These alternative Christmas cards will stop you in your tracks With its gloriously blunt and sweary range of Christmas cards, UK-based family design company … [Link]

Slashdot » Bipartisan US Election Group Issues Security Tips

Saturday 25 November 15:34:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes Reuters: A bipartisan Harvard University project aimed at protecting elections from hacking and propaganda will release its first set of recommendations today on how U.S. elections can be defended from hacking attacks. The 27-page guidebook calls for campaign leaders to emphasize security from the start and insist on practices such as two-factor authentication for access to … [Link]

Mashable » Gifts ideas under $10 that people will actually like

Saturday 25 November 15:00:00 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookJust to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission. When it comes to Secret Santa or gift exchanges with a price limit, it's sometimes hard to find a genuinely good gift that's cheap and useful. Sure, you can find something under the limit pretty quickly, but does the recipient really need a pair … [Link]

Mashable » 10 things you didn't know you could do with Facebook Messenger

Saturday 25 November 14:00:00 UTC 2017

Twitter Facebook1.3 billion people use Facebook Messenger each month. But are they really making the most of it?  Since Messenger became an app of its own, Facebook has been quietly adding functionality to make it stand out. The app has a ton of neat hidden features, from GIFs to addicting games and ever-innovative ways to write and present text.  SEE ALSO: Are … [Link]

Mashable » This glowing charger makes the perfect stocking stuffer for any iPhone user on your list

Saturday 25 November 14:00:00 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookJust to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission. Maybe you're using your device as an alarm clock. Maybe it's helping you track your sleep cycle. Hey, maybe you're expecting a midnight booty call. Whatever your reason to keep your iPhone next to you as you slumber, you're going to want to keep … [Link]

Mashable » Get Cyber Monday pricing on this epic subscription service known as the 'Netflix for Games'

Saturday 25 November 14:00:00 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookJust to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission. Picture this: A gaming subscription service without overnight downloads or glitchy video streams. "Seems fake, but okay," you're probably saying to yourself right now — unless you're familiar with Jump On Demand, that is. SEE ALSO: Throw a fireball like Mario with this awesome fireshooter … [Link]

Mashable » Get a professional smartphone camera lens kit on sale for Cyber Weekend

Saturday 25 November 14:00:00 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookJust to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission. Your family holiday photo says a lot about you, so you want it to look as good as possible, but why break the budget on a professional photographer? This holiday season, you can use your smartphone to take a photo that's just as good … [Link]

Mashable » A guide to wearable fitness trackers because there are literally too many to keep track of

Saturday 25 November 14:00:00 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookJust to let you know, if you buy something featured here, Mashable might earn an affiliate commission. The world of wearable fitness has seriously blown up. No longer are hardcore athletes the only ones keeping up with there calories and mileage — these babies have been taking over our lives year by year. And with this surge to the everyday consumer, … [Link]

Mashable » 8 comforting TV shows to binge

Saturday 25 November 14:00:00 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookWe all know that Thanksgiving is a stressful time of year — maybe you're stuck in a pressure cooker of familial tension, waiting for your drunk uncle to say something political, or maybe you're home alone and feeling tempted to eat your feelings. Either way, if you're looking for a way to escape the drama, the holiday weekend is a perfect … [Link]

Slashdot » Imgur Confirms Email Addresses, Passwords Stolen In 2014 Hack

Saturday 25 November 13:00:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: Imgur, one of the world's most visited websites, has confirmed a hack dating back to 2014. The company confirmed to ZDNet that hackers stole 1.7 million email addresses and passwords, scrambled with the SHA-256 algorithm, which has been passed over in recent years in favor of stronger password scramblers. Imgur said the … [Link]

Slashdot » Lightning Can Trigger Nuclear Reactions, Creating Rare Atomic Isotopes

Saturday 25 November 10:00:00 UTC 2017

sciencehabit shares a report from Science Magazine: Rare forms of atoms, like carbon-13, carbon-14, and nitrogen-15, have long been used to figure out the ages of ancient artifacts and probe the nuances of prehistoric food chains. The source of these rare isotopes? Complicated cascades of subatomic reactions in the atmosphere triggered by high-energy cosmic rays from outer space. Now, a … [Link]

Slashdot » First AMD Ryzen Mobile Laptop Tested Shows Strong Zen-Vega Performance

Saturday 25 November 7:00:00 UTC 2017

MojoKid writes: AMD Ryzen Mobile processors are arriving now in retail laptops from the likes of HP, Lenovo and Acer. With the first CPUs to hit the market, AMD took quad-core Ryzen and coupled it with 8 or 10-core Vega GPUs on a single piece of silicon in an effort to deliver a combination of strong Ryzen CPU performance along … [Link]

Slashdot » Living In Nuclear Disaster Fallout Zone Would Be No Worse Than Living In London, Research Suggests

Saturday 25 November 3:30:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes a report from University of Bristol, England: New research suggests that few people, if any, should be asked to leave their homes after a big nuclear accident, which is what happened in March 2011 following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Professor Thomas's team used the Judgement or J-value to balance the cost of a safety measure … [Link]

Slashdot » More Than a Million Pro-Repeal Net Neutrality Comments Were Likely Faked

Saturday 25 November 2:20:00 UTC 2017

Jeff Kao from Hacker Noon used natural language processing techniques to analyze net neutrality comments submitted to the FCC from April-October 2017 and found that at least 1.3 million pro-repeal net neutrality comments were faked. From the report: NY Attorney General Schneiderman estimated that hundreds of thousands of Americans' identities were stolen and used in spam campaigns that support repealing … [Link]

Mashable » Black Friday raised Jeff Bezos' net worth to $100 billion

Saturday 25 November 1:46:39 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookJeff Bezo$ made out like Scrooge McDuck on Black Friday after rising Amazon share prices lifted his personal fortune to more than $100 billion.  That's billion, with a "b." His 78.9 million shares of Amazon got a boost thanks to investor optimism over Black Friday sales. Basically, your desire to buy cheap stuff from your couch made the richest man in … [Link]

Slashdot » Tesla's Electric Semi Trucks Are Priced To Compete At $150,000

Saturday 25 November 1:40:00 UTC 2017

Last week, Tesla unveiled its new four-motor electric Semi but left out one key detail — the price. "Now that's changed: the regular versions of the 300-mile and the 500-mile trucks will cost $150,000 and $180,000 each," reports The Verge. "There is also a 'Founders Series' which will cost $200,000 per truck." Tesla does note that the prices are "expected" … [Link]

Mashable » Trump says he turned down Time's 'Person of the Year,' and no one's buying it

Saturday 25 November 1:24:16 UTC 2017

Twitter FacebookUnless you repressed all memories of 2016 (and who could blame you), you'll remember that Time named Donald Trump "Person of the Year." Now, the president is claiming that the magazine asked him again this year but, like, urgh who can even be bothered? SEE ALSO: Sorry, Cards Against Humanity can't stop Trump's wall In a tweet Friday, the president took … [Link]

Slashdot » AT&T, Comcast Lawsuit Has Nullified a City's Broadband Competition Law

Saturday 25 November 1:00:00 UTC 2017

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: AT&T and Comcast have convinced a federal judge to nullify an ordinance that was designed to bring more broadband competition to Nashville, Tennessee. The Nashville Metro Council last year passed a "One Touch Make Ready" rule that gives Google Fiber or other new ISPs faster access to utility poles. The ordinance … [Link]

Slashdot » Tesla Completes World's Largest Battery Project In Half the Time Promised

Saturday 25 November 0:20:00 UTC 2017

Rei writes: Tesla announced the completion of the world's largest battery — a 100 MW/129 MWh wind-power backup system for 30,000 homes in South Australia. Three times more powerful than any other battery on Earth, the $50 million project had garnered press due to Elon Musk's Twitter boast that it would be completed within 100 days of the contract signing … [Link]

Slashdot » Amazon's Jeff Bezos Surpasses $100 Billion Net Worth

Saturday 25 November 0:02:00 UTC 2017

Amid optimism for Amazon's Black Friday sales, Jeff Bezos' net worth jumped above $100 billion on Friday. The Amazon CEO's fortune reportedly surged $2.4 billion to $100.3 billion, after the retailer's shares grew more than 2 percent on Black Friday. Bloomberg reports: Online purchases for the day are up 18.4 percent over last year, according to data from Adobe Analytics, … [Link]

Archive

29 Mar 2024  28 Mar 2024  27 Mar 2024  26 Mar 2024  25 Mar 2024  24 Mar 2024  23 Mar 2024  22 Mar 2024  21 Mar 2024  20 Mar 2024  19 Mar 2024  18 Mar 2024  17 Mar 2024  16 Mar 2024  15 Mar 2024  14 Mar 2024  13 Mar 2024  12 Mar 2024  11 Mar 2024  10 Mar 2024  09 Mar 2024  08 Mar 2024  07 Mar 2024  06 Mar 2024  05 Mar 2024  04 Mar 2024  03 Mar 2024  02 Mar 2024  01 Mar 2024  29 Feb 2024  28 Feb 2024  27 Feb 2024  

No Comments

0 responses so far ↓

  • There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.

You must log in to post a comment.