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 » Russian Trolls Created Facebook Events Seen By More Than 300,000 Users

Sunday 28 January 23:34:00 UTC 2018

"Posing as American activists, Russian government-linked trolls created 129 Facebook events between 2015 and 2017," writes CNN. An anonymous reader quotes their report: On multiple occasions, the events prompted real Americans to take to the streets. In a written statement Facebook gave to the Senate Intelligence Committee released on Thursday, the social media network said that the events created by … [Link]

Mashable » The Rock finally lived out his childhood piano-playing dreams

Sunday 28 January 22:48:57 UTC 2018

With hard work and determination, childhood dreams do come true — just ask The Rock. No, we're not talking about The Rock growing up to be a professional wrestler, actor, or producer. We're talking about him finally learning how to play my favorite ragtime song, "The Entertainer," on the piano. SEE ALSO: The Rock just totally slammed someone who had the … [Link]

Mashable » Hat purchase on Amazon goes awry when a scorpion venom-laced drug arrives instead

Sunday 28 January 22:36:12 UTC 2018

A funny Amazon purchase for sauna hats got weird when a blue scorpion venom-based drug arrived instead. Journalist Meagan Day posted about her delivery misadventures this week when an order for jokey felt sauna hats with the word "oligarch" printed in Russian finally got delivered. SEE ALSO: Someone used Amazon's Same-Day delivery service to help the homeless But instead of hats, … [Link]

Slashdot » Apple Deprecates More Services In OS X Server

Sunday 28 January 22:34:00 UTC 2018

Long-time Slashdot reader HEMI426 writes: Long ago, Apple used to produce rack servers, and a special flavor of OS X for that hardware with extra, server-friendly features. After Apple got out of the rack server game, OS X Server soldiered on, with the occasional change in cost or distribution method. The next stop on the long, slow death march of … [Link]

Slashdot » Microsoft Issues Windows Out-of-Band Update That Disables Spectre Mitigations

Sunday 28 January 21:34:00 UTC 2018

An anonymous reader quotes BleepingComputer: Microsoft has issued on Saturday an emergency out-of-band Windows update that disables patches for the Spectre Variant 2 bug (CVE-2017-5715). The update — KB4078130 — targets Windows 7 (SP1), Windows 8.1, all versions of Windows 10, and all supported Windows Server distributions. Microsoft shipped mitigations for the Meltdown and Spectre bugs on January 3. The … [Link]

Mashable » DJ's Twitter thread about meeting Wyclef Jean is one of the best things you'll ever see

Sunday 28 January 21:10:36 UTC 2018

Oftentimes Twitter can be an overwhelmingly negative online hub for complaining, sharing controversial political beliefs, and other hell-ish 280-character vents — but behold, an exception. Today, you should sit back, relax, and read this glorious Twitter thread that details a DJ's interactions with Grammy award-winning musician and actor Wyclef Jean over the years. The mind-blowing, unexpected journey just might help restore … [Link]

Mashable » Pete Souza's here to defend Jay-Z with the Obama-era throwback pic we all needed

Sunday 28 January 20:37:29 UTC 2018

The law of present day politics is as follows: For every Donald Trump tweet there's a Pete Souza Instagram just waiting to throw shade. On Sunday, Barack Obama's official White House photographer dug into his archives to unearth this absolutely beautiful, stylish, feel-good shot of rapper Jay-Z laughing beside the former U.S. president. Say what? A post shared by Pete Souza … [Link]

Slashdot » Malwarebytes Released Two Bad Web Protection Updates

Sunday 28 January 20:35:00 UTC 2018

Malwarebytes had a bad day Saturday, pushing out an update "that gobbled up memory and CPU resources and turned off web protection," reports CSO. The company's forums lit up with complaints that the software was hogging 90 percent or more of memory and CPU resources. One thread about RAM usage currently is 37-pages long. Aware of the problem, Malwarebytes tweeted … [Link]

Mashable » Tech vlogger mixes up tampons and pads in his Amazon Go shopping trip video

Sunday 28 January 20:22:33 UTC 2018

A tech video blogger may know his routers from his modems, but when it comes to feminine hygiene products he's woefully confused. Linus Sebastian from the Vancouver-based Linus Tech Tips YouTube channel and online forum made his way to the newly opened Amazon Go store in Seattle to check out the cashier-less grocery store. His adventure included purchasing snacks, drinks, … [Link]

Slashdot » Giant Tesla Battery In Australia Earns A Million Bucks In a Few Days

Sunday 28 January 19:34:00 UTC 2018

Long-time Slashdot reader drinkypoo writes: Last week, Neoen's and Tesla's massive battery was paid up to $1000/MWh to charge itself and now it could have earned up to 1 million AUD in the last few days by selling the power back to the grid to cover a coal plant outage. Unlike other forms of power storage, battery systems can be … [Link]

Mashable » Excuse us but we can't stop wondering how Jack Pearson dies on 'This Is Us'

Sunday 28 January 19:21:33 UTC 2018

Warning: Spoilers for the first and second seasons of This Is Us ahead. After nearly two full seasons, This Is Us finally revealed how the life-changing fire at the Pearson family home started, and ever since we’ve been hardcore Randall-ing out. In Tuesday’s episode, titled "That'll Be the Day," fans learned that a finicky old Crock-Pot is to blame for the … [Link]

Slashdot » Streaming Services Must Hike Songwriter Payments Nearly 50%, Court Rules

Sunday 28 January 18:34:00 UTC 2018

An anonymous reader quotes Bloomberg: Songwriters will get a larger cut of revenue from streaming services after a court handed technology companies a big defeat. The Copyright Royalty Board ruled that songwriters will get at least a 15.1 percent share of streaming revenues over the next five years, from a previous 10.5 percent. That's the largest rate increase in CRB … [Link]

ProgrammableWeb.com » Bing Search API Tutorial

Sunday 28 January 18:05:22 UTC 2018

Bing Search APIs include specialized endpoints for the following types: [Link]

Mashable » What the hell is the 'super blue blood moon' anyway?

Sunday 28 January 17:56:20 UTC 2018

So, by now you've probably heard that a special and rare full moon will rise on Wednesday. This so-called "super blue blood moon" sounds like a big deal. But when you break it all down, what exactly makes this moon so unusual? The answer lies in its ridiculous name. SEE ALSO: How to see the very special 'super blue blood moon' … [Link]

Slashdot » Do Particles Have Consciousness?

Sunday 28 January 17:34:00 UTC 2018

An anonymous reader quotes Quartz: Consciousness permeates reality. Rather than being just a unique feature of human subjective experience, it's the foundation of the universe, present in every particle and all physical matter. This sounds like easily-dismissible bunkum, but as traditional attempts to explain consciousness continue to fail, the "panpsychist" view is increasingly being taken seriously by credible philosophers, neuroscientists, … [Link]

Mashable » Evil genius Elon Musk confirms we can all buy his super dangerous flamethrower now

Sunday 28 January 17:24:07 UTC 2018

Elon Musk has a cool new weapon for sale and TBH we should all be deeply, deeply concerned. On Saturday the tech genius (who may or may not be evil) posted photographs and video of The Boring Company's brand new flamethrower, which is apparently now for sale to the general public, and can already be pre-ordered for $500.00. Say hello to … [Link]

Slashdot » WikiLeaks' Julian Assange Asks UK Judge to Drop His Arrest Warrant

Sunday 28 January 16:34:00 UTC 2018

An anonymous reader quotes the Guardian: WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has asked a UK court to drop the arrest warrant that prevents him from leaving the Ecuadorian embassy in London, where he has been living for five and a half years. Assange, 46, skipped bail to enter the embassy in 2012 in order to avoid extradition to Sweden over allegations … [Link]

Mashable » IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad dead at age 91

Sunday 28 January 16:10:01 UTC 2018

Ingvar Kamprad, founder of the world's largest furniture retailer, IKEA, died at his home in Smaland, Sweden, on Saturday. He was 91 years old. The company shared news of Kamprad's death on Sunday morning via an online statement, calling him "one of the greatest entrepreneurs of the 20th century." The founder of IKEA and one of the greatest entrepreneurs of the … [Link]

Mashable » I'm the guy who makes quips in the elevator when no one else can fit and here's my artistic process

Sunday 28 January 16:00:00 UTC 2018

Hey. You may recognize me as the guy who makes hilarious jokes in an elevator once it reaches maximum capacity. But there's more to it than meets the eye. SEE ALSO: As an ally, I believe if I ever witness a woman being harassed I should text my girlfriend to tell her I love her This is my process. What I … [Link]

Mashable » Will Ferrell revived one of his classic 'SNL' characters for Weekend Update

Sunday 28 January 15:49:50 UTC 2018

Another week, another Weekend Update. Saturday Night Live's regular news segment had a lot of material to work with this week, including the end of the U.S. government shutdown (for now) and Donald Trump's eventually-abandoned decision to fire Robert Mueller last summer. There's also a great bit on Stephen Miller, laughable Trump stan and a man Samantha Bee recently described … [Link]

Slashdot » 'No Drones or Driverless Trucks', Demands Teamsters Labor Union

Sunday 28 January 15:34:00 UTC 2018

An anonymous reader quotes CNBC: No drones or driverless vehicles for delivering packages — that's one of the major demands from the Teamsters labor union in the big contract negotiation it's undertaking with UPS this week. The union wants to ban UPS from using such new-fangled technology, which the logistics company has been reportedly testing… The current agreement affects 260,000 … [Link]

Mashable » Someone please inform Donald Trump that it's a bad idea to come for Jay-Z on Twitter

Sunday 28 January 15:33:18 UTC 2018

Good morning and welcome to another agonizing edition of "Who will Donald Trump scold on Twitter today?" Rise and shine, Jay-Z! Yes, on the morning of the Grammy awards, one of the greatest rappers alive — also Beyoncé's husband — is Trump's next Twitter target. Somebody please inform Jay-Z that because of my policies, Black Unemployment has just been reported to … [Link]

Mashable » Perfect 'Saturday Night Live' sketch tackles the awkward Aziz Ansari convo we're all having

Sunday 28 January 15:04:29 UTC 2018

There's no getting around it: Aziz Ansari made things complicated. That's the premise of this Saturday Night Live sketch. Babe.net's lurid account of Ansari behaving horribly during a recent date turned what has seemed to many like a black-and-white situation — root out all sexual predators, wherever they may hide — into a much more nuanced conversation. Ansari's built his … [Link]

Slashdot » Should Apps Replace Title Bars with Header Bars?

Sunday 28 January 14:34:00 UTC 2018

Gnome contributor Tobias Bernard is on a crusade against title bars — "the largely empty bars at the top of some application windows [that] contain only the window title and a close button." Instead he wants to see header bars — "a newer, more flexible pattern that allows putting window controls and other UI elements in the same bar." Tobias … [Link]

Mashable » Why this artist taught herself how to build augmented reality creations

Sunday 28 January 14:00:00 UTC 2018

Cyrene Quiamco loves Snapchat. It's easy to tell by the Ghostface Chillah plush in her bedroom, the pair of Spectacles in her bag, and the fact that her current Twitter profile picture is a Snapcode. There's good reason for her to love it. The app, which was once popularized for sexting and passing notes in class, helped her quit a full-time … [Link]

Mashable » 'SNL' deodorant ad is a joke about men sweating their #TimesUp moment

Sunday 28 January 13:59:12 UTC 2018

We're living in a powerful moment right now. Sexual predators like Harvey Weinstein have been exiled from public life. #MeToo and #TimesUp are opening eyes and minds in all sectors of life. There are still plenty of sexual predators out there… but they're sweating. Enter Next: For MenSaturday Night Live's faux-deodorant ad appeals to the segment of society that has … [Link]

Mashable » Will Ferrell revives excellent George W. Bush impression on 'SNL' to remind us that George W. Bush was…not good

Sunday 28 January 13:34:57 UTC 2018

The best thing about former Saturday Night Live players returning to their old stomping grounds to host is we can bet dollars to donuts they'll revive classic characters we know and love. Former president George W. Bush we know. Love? Well, Will Ferrell has some thoughts on that. "According to a new poll my approval rating is at an all … [Link]

Mashable » Get a Bluetooth sound system on sale for 51% off

Sunday 28 January 13:00:00 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. There's no question we're experiencing an audio renaissancePlush headphones are back and we're even listening to vinyl on epic machinery that can bring a tear to Baby Boomer eyes everywhere. SEE ALSO: … [Link]

Mashable » Learn how to build 25 different websites for less than $10

Sunday 28 January 13:00:00 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 for a new way to make some extra money, you should consider becoming a web developer. Whether you’re looking to switch careers or just build some websites on the … [Link]

Slashdot » A Single Line of Computer Code Put Thousands of Innocent Turks in Jail

Sunday 28 January 12:04:00 UTC 2018

Long-time Slashdot reader kbahey writes: Can a single pixel cost you your livelihood and/or freedom? Apparently, this has already happened in Turkey to thousands of people and their relatives. It all stems from the purge by president Edrogan following a failed coupe. The result is that many innocent people lost their jobs (and source of income), their freedom, their reputation, … [Link]

Slashdot » Dutch Intelligence Agents Watched Russia Hack the DNC

Sunday 28 January 8:29:00 UTC 2018

Long-time Slashdot readers Agilulf, Sara Chan, and wiredmikey — plus an anonymous reader — all submitted the same story. Agilulf writes: Dutch hackers from AIVD (their intelligence agency) infiltrated Russian hackers, had access to their CCTV system, and followed them for more than a year, watched their attack on the DNC, provided the proof to the U.S. intelligence community that … [Link]

Slashdot » FBI Warns of Email Death Threats Demanding Bitcoin

Sunday 28 January 5:24:00 UTC 2018

An anonymous reader writes: "I will be short. I've got an order to kill you," the note said, demanding $2,800 in U.S. dollars or Bitcoin. "I switched from being upset about it to, 'I need to get the word out'," one of its targets told a local newscaster. They filed a report through the FBI's web site. "If only 1% … [Link]

Slashdot » Rocket Lab Criticized For Launching Their Own Private 'Star' Into Orbit

Sunday 28 January 2:20:00 UTC 2018

Newsweek reports: A private satellite company launched a three-foot-wide, carbon-fiber orb called the Humanity Star into the sky last week. Rocket Lab has promised the Humanity Star will be "the brightest thing in the sky," presumably other than the sun. The orb will reflect light from the sun back to Earth to achieve this effect. It's expected to orbit the … [Link]

Slashdot » Deanonymizing Tor: Your Bitcoin Transactions May Come Back To Haunt You

Sunday 28 January 0:14:00 UTC 2018

jwhyche, Slashdot reader #6,192, writes: If you bought some illegal narcotics off Silk Road or even gave money to Wikileaks. Researchers at Qatar University and Hamad Bin Khalifa University have been able to link these transactions with real world identities. They have been able to do this even if the transactions are years old. Their research shows how easy it … [Link]

John Gordon Ross

A Man for All Reasons