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.

Mashable » Nike's Sony PlayStation-themed sneakers are so nerdy, and everyone loves it

Saturday 20 January 23:48:11 UTC 2018

Love PlayStation? Love Nike? Perfect, because these are the kicks for you — even if you don't like basketball. George Paul, small forward on the Oklahoma City Thunder, worked with Nike and Sony to create the PG-2 "PlayStation" sneakers, one of the nerdiest, tech-infused sneakers ever created.  SEE ALSO: 'Resident Evil 7' was the most attention-grabbing game of 2017 Designed … [Link]

Mashable » White House government shutdown away message is a political attack on Democrats

Saturday 20 January 23:42:34 UTC 2018

Donald Trump's White House sunk to a new level of petty on Saturday, as the United States government shutdown. Callers dialing into the publicly available White House comments line — at 202.456.1111 — are greeted with a recorded away message. An unrecognizable female voice politely explains that the government is shut down because Democrats are holding it "hostage." SEE ALSO: Michael … [Link]

Slashdot » We All Nearly Missed the Largest Underwater Volcano Eruption Ever Recorded

Saturday 20 January 23:09:00 UTC 2018

schwit1 quotes ScienceAlert: She was flying home from a holiday in Samoa when she saw it through the airplane window: a "peculiar large mass" floating on the ocean, hundreds of kilometres off the north coast of New Zealand. The Kiwi passenger emailed photos of the strange ocean slick to scientists, who realised what it was — a raft of floating … [Link]

Slashdot » Australian Birds of Prey Are Deliberately Setting Forests On Fire

Saturday 20 January 22:04:00 UTC 2018

An anonymous reader writes: If you've been counting the ways the Australian environment is trying to kill you, you can now add "arson" to the list. According to a six-year study published in The Journal of Ethnobiology, observers have confirmed what Aboriginal rangers have been observing for years: birds of prey routinely carry burning or smouldering sticks into dry grassy … [Link]

Slashdot » Apple Shuts Swift Mailing List, Migrates to Online Forum

Saturday 20 January 21:24:00 UTC 2018

An anonymous reader writes: Apple's Swift project "has completed the process of migrating to the Swift Forums as the primary method for discussion and communication!" announced a blog post on Friday. "The former mailing lists have been shut down and archived, and all mailing list content has been imported into the new forum system." While they're still maintaining a few … [Link]

Slashdot » EFF: Thousands of People Have Secure Messaging Clients Infected By Spyware

Saturday 20 January 20:59:00 UTC 2018

An anonymous reader quotes the EFF: The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and mobile security company Lookout have uncovered a new malware espionage campaign infecting thousands of people in more than 20 countries. Hundreds of gigabytes of data has been stolen, primarily through mobile devices compromised by fake secure messaging clients. The trojanized apps, including Signal and WhatsApp, function like the … [Link]

Mashable » 'The Crown' has reportedly found its new Prince Philip

Saturday 20 January 20:48:32 UTC 2018

The new Prince Philip has arrived. Paul Bettany is "being lined up" to play the famously gaffe-prone royal in Netflix's The Crown, Variety reported on Saturday.  SEE ALSO: This Instagram post contains a major clue about the next series of 'The Crown' He would replace Matt Smith, who portrayed a younger version of Philip in the show's first two seasons. Bettany … [Link]

Mashable » Apple's HomePod is probably going to launch any day now

Saturday 20 January 20:32:16 UTC 2018

Apple’s answer to the Amazon Echo and Google Home smart speakers, the HomePod, is almost ready for launch. After missing its release last year, the $350 smart speaker has now been approved for sale by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which means Apple will probably start selling it very soon. SEE ALSO: Why Apple's upcoming iPhone battery update is a bad … [Link]

Mashable » All the best signs from round 2 of the Women's March

Saturday 20 January 20:09:58 UTC 2018

One year after millions of demonstrators took to the streets in Women's Marches around the world, it's time for round two. And yes, everyone brought their finest signs — from the witty to the inspiring to the righteously mad. SEE ALSO: Nasty women (and men) to crowdsource 'marching orders' ahead of midterm elections Here are a few of the best. Real-life … [Link]

ProgrammableWeb.com » Daily API RoundUp: Cat Facts!, Bottender, Whitepages Pro

Saturday 20 January 19:54:58 UTC 2018

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 » 'New California' Movement Wants To Create a 51st State

Saturday 20 January 19:54:00 UTC 2018

PolygamousRanchKid, Ayano, and an anonymous reader all shared the same story. Tribune Media reports: A group has launched a campaign to divide California into two states. It isn't the first attempt to split California, but unlike a failed campaign in 2016 to divide California into six states, the campaign to create New California would split the state into one made … [Link]

Mashable » Fiona the hippo's first birthday party looks incredible

Saturday 20 January 18:51:37 UTC 2018

Fiona the hippo, a celebrity, will probably not be making an appearance at her first birthday party. But that's okay. It's still a very good party. Per zoo policy, hippos are only allowed to venture outdoors in temperatures above 50 degrees. So although it's pretty warm for mid-February in Cincinnati — high 40s — Fiona and her mom, Bibi, will likely … [Link]

Slashdot » New Antifungal Provides Hope in the Fight Against Superbugs

Saturday 20 January 18:49:00 UTC 2018

dryriver shares news about the ongoing war against drug-resistant fungus. ScienceDaily reports: Microscopic yeast have been wreaking havoc in hospitals around the world — creeping into catheters, ventilator tubes, and IV lines — and causing deadly invasive infection. C. auris is particularly problematic because it loves hospitals, has developed resistance to a wide range of antifungals, and once it infects … [Link]

Mashable » What to watch on Hulu in February

Saturday 20 January 18:48:28 UTC 2018

It’s an exciting time over at Hulu, land of Golden Globes and Emmys and that sweet, sweet Disney acquisition. The streaming platform continues its successful streak in 2018 with even more beloved and returning series, plus all the movies you could dream of. Here's what's coming to Hulu in February. SEE ALSO: Hulu hit 17 million subscribers in a year of … [Link]

Mashable » Download this: An app to help you get better at HQ Trivia

Saturday 20 January 18:16:23 UTC 2018

Trivia buffs now have a new way to prepare for games of HQ. Called Practice HQ Trivia, the recently released Android app challenges players to answer multiple choice trivia questions similar to what you might see in HQ and other quiz games. There are no timers, goofy animations, or charismatic hosts, but you do get an unending supply of trivia questions … [Link]

Mashable » Supreme Patty: The obnoxious Instagram star who smokes hot sauce for likes

Saturday 20 January 18:00:00 UTC 2018

Social media has leveled the playing field for stardom. Anyone with a smartphone and a strong will can find themselves with millions of followers, effectively turning their presence and content into a full-fledged business. But a following of millions often comes with a price — like lemon juice in your eyes. Supreme Patty, a 20-year-old who hails from Daytona, Florida, boasts … [Link]

Slashdot » Red Hat Reverts Spectre Patches to Address Boot Issues

Saturday 20 January 17:44:00 UTC 2018

An anonymous reader quotes BleepingComputer: Red Hat is releasing updates for reverting previous patches for the Spectre vulnerability (Variant 2, aka CVE-2017-5715) after customers complained that some systems were failing to boot. "Red Hat is no longer providing microcode to address Spectre, variant 2, due to instabilities introduced that are causing customer systems to not boot," the company said yesterday. … [Link]

Mashable » Trailer for final episodes of 'Star Wars Rebels' is here — and holy sh*t

Saturday 20 January 17:40:40 UTC 2018

We're just as sad as you are that Star Wars Rebels is coming to a close, but at least the animated series is going out with huge bang. Lucasfilm dropped the first mid-season 4 trailer for Rebels and we've already rewatched it a dozen times. There's so much to dissect and look forward to when the final episodes air Feb. … [Link]

Mashable » Michael Wolff revs up 'Fire and Fury' fan theories with hint about Trump having an affair

Saturday 20 January 17:37:42 UTC 2018

Whether you like him or not, there's no denying a simple fact about Michael Wolff: The man knows his audience. The Fire and Fury author suggested during a Friday appearance on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher that Donald Trump is having an extramarital affair now, while serving as president. It's a sensational allegation to be sure, and one that … [Link]

Slashdot » Apple Might Discontinue the iPhone X This Summer

Saturday 20 January 16:39:00 UTC 2018

BGR shares a startling prediction from Ming-Chi Kuo, the Apple analyst at KGI securities: Kuo — who we should note has an exemplary track record with respect to iPhone rumors — adds that Apple may opt to discontinue the current iPhone X entirely if sales are underwhelming. "KGI also expects a trio of iPhone models in the fall of 2018," … [Link]

Mashable » This new chat app only works when your phone's battery is under 5%

Saturday 20 January 16:32:24 UTC 2018

Die With Me is not your typical messaging app.  You can only use it when your phone has less than 5 percent battery life. And it only lets you chat up random strangers whose phones are also dying. And you thought there would never be a Great App Idea ever againHa! SEE ALSO: Why Apple's upcoming iPhone battery update is a … [Link]

Mashable » Good dog playing with ice is the best kind of winter inspo

Saturday 20 January 15:53:21 UTC 2018

This nice pup doesn't need an icebreaker. He can do it all by himself! Once you have forgiven me for that joke (feel free to return to this page in a few days), consider watching this video, in which a very good pup discovers the ASMR-y pleasure of breaking thin, crunchy sheets of ice. He runs. He jumps. He zooms. … [Link]

Slashdot » Car Manufacturers Sued Over Rodents Eating Soy-Insulated Wires

Saturday 20 January 15:34:00 UTC 2018

An anonymous reader writes about "a little-known problem plaguing many newer vehicles from the likes of Honda, Toyota, and Kia." The car makers used soy-insulated wiring to cut costs and "Go Green", but owners in rural areas are finding the local wildlife finds the wiring irresistible; thousands of dollars in damage has been done by rats and other critters eating … [Link]

Mashable » Here's Danny McBride as, uh, Crocodile Dundee's long-lost son

Saturday 20 January 15:15:36 UTC 2018

Friends, Crocodile Dundee has gone missing. And the only one who can find him is… his long-lost son? Who is… American? And played by… Danny McBride? Sure, it sounds like a Mad Lib, but Dundee the film is all too real. In fact, the out-of-left-field spinoff will be released this summer — and you can watch a supremely weird teaser … [Link]

Mashable » What we can learn about sex and power from the #MeToo backlash

Saturday 20 January 15:00:00 UTC 2018

After months of condemning pervasive sexual harassment and assault, we've arrived at the #MeToo backlash.  Back in October, when the allegations against Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey made it relatively easy to find your place on the battlefield, few could've predicted that a young woman's account of a painful sexual encounter with comedian and self-proclaimed feminist Aziz Ansari would eventually create … [Link]

Mashable » Build the next Sims or Candy Crush by learning animation and design via these online classes

Saturday 20 January 14:00:00 UTC 2018

Heads up: All products featured here are selected by Mashable's commerce team and meet our rigorous standards for awesomeness. If you buy something, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission. If you're looking to get your lucrative design career off the ground, you might consider enrolling in this design and animation bundle, a series of courses which will help you gain a deeper … [Link]

Mashable » Master Google Analytics with this course that's on sale for more than 90% off

Saturday 20 January 14:00:00 UTC 2018

Heads up: All products featured here are selected by Mashable's commerce team and meet our rigorous standards for awesomeness. If you buy something, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission. If you run your own website or help a business run theirs, you probably already know that there’s a ton of data you can get from your audience. For instance, where they … [Link]

Mashable » This drill adapter could make your handyman projects a lot less annoying

Saturday 20 January 14:00:00 UTC 2018

Heads up: All products featured here are selected by Mashable's commerce team and meet our rigorous standards for awesomeness. If you buy something, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission. Everyone has a tale of a home DIY project gone wrong and abandoned halfway through. The downfall usually comes after you’ve been working on something for hours and then get to the … [Link]

Mashable » Pentagon’s proposed nuclear strategy elevates cyberattacks to a terrifying new realm

Saturday 20 January 13:00:00 UTC 2018

It’s the fall of 2019 and America is paralyzed. A wave of cyberattacks have crippled America's banks, sent a blackout rolling across the East Coast, and disabled almost all U.S. internet infrastructure.  America's response is nuclear. A submarine off the coast of North Korea launches ballistic missiles at the tiny, reclusive country, marking the first use of nuclear weapons in battle … [Link]

Mashable » This company claims to sell the world's first odorless socks. We put them to the test

Saturday 20 January 13:00:00 UTC 2018

MeltMall is determined to take down one of humanity's most bitter enemies: stinky feet.  The Chinese company is best known for trying to solve our most pressing everyday grievances with its innovative products: It's made Lockbook, a diary that locks and unlocks with a fingerprint scanner, and Glovax, a pair of gloves that claims to protect your hands from calluses.  Now, … [Link]

Slashdot » Twitter Says It Exposed Nearly 700,000 People To Russian Propaganda During Election

Saturday 20 January 13:00:00 UTC 2018

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Verge: Twitter this evening released a new set of statistics related to its investigation on Russia propaganda efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election, including that 677,775 people were exposed to social media posts from more than 50,000 automated accounts with links to the Russian government. Many of the new accounts … [Link]

New Scientist – News » Medieval gamblers turned their back on fate and made dice fair

Saturday 20 January 11:05:51 UTC 2018

Dice from archaeological digs in the Netherlands and the UK became fairer 600 years ago – 250 years before we began to really understand probability [Link]

New Scientist – News » No, the worst-case climate change futures haven’t been ruled out

Saturday 20 January 11:05:50 UTC 2018

A single study has been hailed for narrowing the range of possible climate change scenarios, but figuring out how the world will warm is more complicated than headlines suggest [Link]

New Scientist – News » Deadly solar flares may have helped seed life on Mars and beyond

Saturday 20 January 11:05:49 UTC 2018

High-energy particles that can strip away planetary atmospheres and cause biological damage might also forge the complex organic molecules that give rise to life [Link]

New Scientist – News » Your boss not saying ‘thank you’ could be bad for your health

Saturday 20 January 11:05:47 UTC 2018

If you love your job and work hard but feel you get little recognition or reward, you could be on the road to chronic stress, burnout and other health issues [Link]

New Scientist – News » Good news: animals won’t shrink as the climate gets warmer

Saturday 20 January 11:05:46 UTC 2018

A 19th-century ‘rule’ connecting animal body size and environmental temperature has been challenged, allaying fears that animals may decrease in size as the climate gets warmer [Link]

New Scientist – News » New CRISPR method could take gene editing to the next level

Saturday 20 January 11:05:45 UTC 2018

While CRISPR is great at turning off and disabling genes, it isn’t very good at fixing faulty ones. But a powerful new method could change that [Link]

Slashdot » What a Government Shutdown Will Mean For NASA and SpaceX

Saturday 20 January 7:00:00 UTC 2018

Ars Technica reports of how the government shutdown affects federal agencies like NASA, as well as commercial companies like SpaceX: So far, NASA has been keeping quiet about this particular shutdown and has been directing all questions to the White House Office of Management and Budget, which did not respond to a request for comment. But NASA's acting administrator, Robert … [Link]

Slashdot » How To Tame the Tech Titans

Saturday 20 January 3:30:00 UTC 2018

dryriver shares an opinion piece from The Economist: Not long ago, being the boss of a big Western tech firm was a dream job. As the billions rolled in, so did the plaudits: Google, Facebook, Amazon and others were making the world a better place. Today these companies are accused of being BAADD — big, anti-competitive, addictive and destructive to … [Link]

Mashable » This new species of brittle star lived 435 million years ago

Saturday 20 January 1:53:09 UTC 2018

Scientists say the fossilized remains of a brittle star that lived 435 million years ago belong to a new species.  The fossil was named Crepidosoma doyleii, after the paleontologist who discovered it. Eamon Doyle was a Ph.D. student when he discovered the remains of the thumbnail-sized creature in the late 1980s, embedded in a layer of fossils on a hillside in … [Link]

Slashdot » Ajit Pai's FCC Can't Admit Broadband Competition Is a Problem

Saturday 20 January 1:50:00 UTC 2018

An anonymous reader quotes a report from DSLReports: While the FCC is fortunately backing away from a plan that would have weakened the standard definition of broadband, the agency under Ajit Pai still can't seem to acknowledge the lack of competition in the broadband sector. Or the impact this limited competition has in encouraging higher prices, net neutrality violations, privacy … [Link]

Mashable » Woman has perfect response when asked about incoming snow storm

Saturday 20 January 1:26:17 UTC 2018

Some people get a little nutty when there's a winter storm looming. Not Shirley Nash.  During a report on an upcoming snowstorm a reporter for WCCB out of Charlotte, North Carolina interviewed the local resident about her plans for the snowy weekend. "We'll probably sit around and cook some soups and eat bread and desserts and just get all fat … [Link]

Slashdot » Nintendo's Newest Switch Accessories Are DIY Cardboard Toys

Saturday 20 January 1:10:00 UTC 2018

sqorbit writes: Nintendo has announced a new experience for its popular Switch game console, called Nintendo Labo. Nintendo Labo lets you interact with the Switch and its Joy-Con controllers by building things with cardboard. Launching on April 20th, Labo will allow you to build things such as a piano and a fishing pole out of cardboard pieces that, once attached … [Link]

Mashable » Tom Petty’s death caused by ‘accidental overdose,' family confirms

Saturday 20 January 0:56:37 UTC 2018

Tom Petty's family confirmed the musician's death was caused by an accidental drug overdose in a statement on Friday. News broke on Oct. 2 last year that the iconic guitarist had suffered from cardiac arrest in the early morning hours in his home in Malibu. Petty was then rushed to UCLA Medical Center, but was unable to be revived. He was … [Link]

Mashable » Nasty women (and men) to crowdsource 'marching orders' ahead of midterm elections

Saturday 20 January 0:50:52 UTC 2018

This weekend marks a year since millions of nasty women (and men) marched in protest following the inauguration of Donald J. Trump.  March On, a new organization branching out from the Women's March movement, wants to take a "bottom up" approach to the resistance. SEE ALSO: Trump was a disaster for women in 2017. It may be his undoing. Founded by … [Link]

Mashable » Tide Pod craze shows there's such a thing as bad publicity

Saturday 20 January 0:36:00 UTC 2018

It’s the year 2018 and every advancement in our society has been stifled by the consumption of Tide Pods.  The desire to eat a laundry pod—specifically Tide's detergent product, packaged in plastic dissolvable packets—has taken over the internet for better or for worse. It's popped up on pizzas and been recreated as edible donuts, and tweets regarding the consumption of the … [Link]

Slashdot » Norway Will Make All Short-Haul Flights Electric By 2040

Saturday 20 January 0:30:00 UTC 2018

Norway's public operator of air transport plans to make all short-haul flights in the country entirely electric by 2040. "State-owned Avinor, which operates most of Norway's civil airports, is aiming to be the 'first in the world' to switch to electric air transport," reports The Independent. From the report: "We think that all flights lasting up to 1.5 hours can … [Link]

Mashable » 'Get Out' director Jordan Peele says he's done with the acting game

Saturday 20 January 0:20:59 UTC 2018

Well Get Out fans, we've got some bad news — and some good news. First, let's start with the bad news: In a preview for his CBS Sunday Morning interview with Tracy Smith, the comedian and Get Out director announced he was done with acting. "That’s the idea… Daniel Day-Lewis and I are both out," he said, referring to the legendary … [Link]

Mashable » Someone just created a site to make browsing Netflix easier

Saturday 20 January 0:01:38 UTC 2018

Here’s some great news just in time for the weekend: someone's created a site that makes browsing through Netflix so much easier. Reddit user CrazedEli, aka Ville Salminen, announced his creation Flixable on the r/television subreddit Friday. It's basically a search engine for Netflix and it's worth checking out; it could save you hours of wasted time. SEE ALSO: Netflix is … [Link]

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