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 » Android Wear Is Getting Killed, and It's All Qualcomm's Fault

Saturday 10 February 23:32:00 UTC 2018

The death of Android Wear is all Qualcomm's fault, largely due to the fact that the company "has a monopoly on smartwatch chips and doesn't seem interested in making any smartwatch chips," writes Ars Technica's Ron Amadeo. This weekend marks the second birthday of Qualcomm's Snapdragon Wear 2100 SoC, which was announced in February 2016 and is the "least awful … [Link]

Mashable » The Leslie Jones Winter Olympics live-tweeting has officially begun!

Saturday 10 February 22:53:26 UTC 2018

Every two years, for a few weeks, we all get to enjoy a global phenomenon that brings many countries together: Leslie Jones live-tweeting the Olympics. Since the Opening Ceremony kicked off the Winter Games yesterday, the Saturday Night Live comedian has returned to Twitter with her enthusiasm, her jokes, and her sheer patriotism. It is a joy. SEE ALSO: The Netherlands … [Link]

Mashable » How to switch back to the old version of Snapchat (before it sucked)

Saturday 10 February 22:48:34 UTC 2018

All is not well for Snapchat. The app has ticked off its most loyal users with its latest redesign which merges your friends' snap messages with their Stories. It's the app's first major #facepalm. But good news! There's a way to switch back to the old Snapchat, and we're gonna show you how do it. But it does come with one … [Link]

Slashdot » Researchers Are Developing An Algorithm That Makes Smartphones Child-Proof

Saturday 10 February 22:21:00 UTC 2018

An anonymous reader quotes a report from MIT Technology Review: Researchers at the University of South Carolina and China's Zhejiang University have created an algorithm that can spot whether your kid is accidentally trying to, say, order from Amazon without your knowing. There are already plenty of activity-monitoring apps that aim to control what kids do on phones, but parents … [Link]

ProgrammableWeb.com » Daily API RoundUp: i18next, Launch BI, OpenUV, Urban Jungle

Saturday 10 February 21:57:44 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]

Mashable » Facebook ban on cryptocurrency ads curbs education. Bad actors still thrive.

Saturday 10 February 21:26:26 UTC 2018

What’s the difference between BITCOIN and BITC0IN? Well, using latter might help you reach millions of people thanks to Facebook's poorly enforced rules of advertising cryptocurrencies. SEE ALSO: Facebook bans cryptocurrency ads due to frequent fraud Facebook announced last month that it would begin prohibiting ads promoting "financial products and services that are frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices, … [Link]

Slashdot » Ask Slashdot: What Is Missing In Tech Today?

Saturday 10 February 21:10:00 UTC 2018

dryriver writes: There is so much tech and gadget news pouring out of the internet every day that one might think "everything tech that is needed already exists." But of course, people thought precisely that at various points in human history, and then completely new tools, technologies, processes, designs, devices and innovations came along soon after and changed everything. Sometimes … [Link]

Mashable » Download this: Like, the music video app that lets you create 'music magic'

Saturday 10 February 20:44:15 UTC 2018

There’s a new music video app taking over the App Store. It's called Like, and it combines Musical.ly-like videos with augmented reality effects, to create what the app's creators call "music magic." SEE ALSO: Why Facebook and Instagram should kill the Like button On its surface, the app is a lot like Muscial.ly or Dubsmash or number of other social music … [Link]

Mashable » The Netherlands celebrated their Winter Olympics win by trolling Trump

Saturday 10 February 20:37:11 UTC 2018

The 2018 Pyeongchang Games are officially underway and now it's a race to see which country scores the most golds and overall medals in the next two weeks. On Saturday, The Netherlands pulled off a medals sweep in the women's 3,000-meter speed skating event, making them the first country to collect gold, silver, and bronze medals for this round of games. … [Link]

Slashdot » US Transportation Department Calls For 'Summit' On Autonomous Cars

Saturday 10 February 19:59:00 UTC 2018

Auto manufacturers, technology companies, road safety advocates and policy makers will attend a March 1 conference over potential government actions that could speed the rollout of autonomous cars, the U.S. Transportation Department said on Friday. Reuters reports: Next month's "summit" is to help "identify priority federal and non-federal activities that can accelerate the safe rollout" of autonomous vehicles, the department … [Link]

Mashable » MoviePass somehow just got even cheaper

Saturday 10 February 19:46:41 UTC 2018

If you've ignored all of your friends and still haven't subscribed for MoviePass, because you're convinced that the absurdly low price will drop even further. Well, you clever bastard, you were right. MoviePass has a new limited time offer that drops the staggeringly low price of their service from $10 per month to $7.95 per month (with a $19.95 processing fee). … [Link]

Mashable » These portals to Elon Musk's space Tesla and 'Rick and Morty' are going viral on Snapchat

Saturday 10 February 19:14:15 UTC 2018

Elon Musk probably won't send you into space anytime soon, but if you want to see what it would like to be up close and personal with Starman and his Tesla, there's always Snapchat. SEE ALSO: SpaceX just launched the Falcon Heavy, its most powerful rocket, and landed 2 boosters A new Snapchat lens appears as a portal to space. Users … [Link]

Mashable » 4 reasons why you should be using VLC 3.0, the best media player ever

Saturday 10 February 18:56:24 UTC 2018

VLC, the world's best open-source media player (it plays like virtually every format), just reached a big milestone in its 17-year history. The free app's been updated to version 3.0 "Vetinari" and with it comes a hefty list of new features like the ability to natively play 360-degree videos and HDR content. You can find the full list of detailed feature … [Link]

Slashdot » Hackers Manage To Run Linux On a Nintendo Switch

Saturday 10 February 18:48:00 UTC 2018

Romain Dillet reports via TechCrunch: Hacker group fail0verflow shared a photo of a Nintendo Switch running Debian, a distribution of Linux. The group claims that Nintendo can't fix the vulnerability with future firmware patches. According to fail0verflow, there's a flaw in the boot ROM in Nvidia's Tegra X1 system-on-a-chip. When your console starts, it reads and executes a piece of … [Link]

Slashdot » Budget Deal Has Tax Credit Extensions For Nuclear, Fuel Cells, Carbon Capture

Saturday 10 February 17:37:00 UTC 2018

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: A two-year budget deal was approved by the House and the Senate this morning and signed by President Trump a few hours later. The budget (PDF) included a slew of tax credit extensions that will affect how the energy industry plans its next two years. Most notably, the deal extended a … [Link]

Mashable » Grab a beer and throw an axe at this indoor axe-throwing range

Saturday 10 February 17:00:00 UTC 2018

If you've ever wanted to throw an axe like a pro, 'Kick Axe Throwing' is the place to go. The Brooklyn-based throwing range lets guests participate in various axe-throwing games led by trained 'Axeperts'. The indoor range also offers a full bar so you can sit back and drink a cold one in between your axe-hurling. Read more…More about Sports, Games, … [Link]

Mashable » Trump's tweet defending Rob Porter sets off a fiery backlash

Saturday 10 February 16:57:19 UTC 2018

While the Olympics games kicked off, the stock market sinks, and a day after a government shutdown, President Trump tweeted in defense of an accused serial abuser. The story of now-former aide Rob Porter has dominated much of the news cycle this week. After physical abuse allegations surfaced from two of his ex wives, Chief of Staff John Kelly sent out … [Link]

Slashdot » Rejoice: Samsung's Next Flagship Smartphone Looks To Keep the Headphone Jack Alive

Saturday 10 February 16:26:00 UTC 2018

Notorious smartphone leaker Evan Blass has leaked a couple press images of the Galaxy S9, giving us the first indication that it will still have a headphone jack. "The full information spill today is actually focused on a new Samsung DeX Pad, which appears to be an evolution of last year's DeX dock for the Galaxy S8," reports The Verge. … [Link]

Mashable » Crumbling national parks mired in $11 billion backlog, but experts scoff at jacking up fees

Saturday 10 February 16:00:00 UTC 2018

Three years ago, the National Park Service banned trucks and buses heavier than 10 tons from crossing over the Arlington Memorial Bridge, a major transportation artery connecting Virginia to Washington D.C. And there's speculation that the U.S. Secret Service now refuses to cross the 82-year-old concrete span, though the agency would not confirm whether this was the case. From afar, the … [Link]

Mashable » The best dating sites to find a connection this weekend

Saturday 10 February 16:00:00 UTC 2018

Every product here is independently selected by Mashable journalists. If you buy something featured, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps support our work. Ah, online dating. If you've dated in the past 20 years, you've likely encountered one – or all – of the myriad dating sites in some form. And as we've increasingly moved our lives online, digital … [Link]

Mashable » Mike and Karen Pence 'took a seat' to protest North and South Korean unity of all things

Saturday 10 February 15:55:30 UTC 2018

When North and South Korean athletes walked out together during the Pyeonchang Winter Olympics opening ceremony Friday, most people present cheered it as a sign of possible peace during a tumultuous time. But not Vice President Mike Pence. Pence and his wife Karen were in attendance for the Parade of Nations as competing athletes of the world filed in. Athletes from … [Link]

Mashable » Repairing HomePod costs nearly as much as the damn thing itself

Saturday 10 February 15:45:34 UTC 2018

Did you just pick up Apple's new HomePod smart speaker? Better pray it doesn't break, because it's expensive AF to repair it. Apple's published service and repair details for HomePod on its website and — holy sh*t — it'll cost HomePod owners a whopping $280 to repair or replace the dang thing if they don't have AppleCare+. SEE ALSO: 10 things … [Link]

Slashdot » Detroit Decides Against Banning Airbbnb — For Now

Saturday 10 February 15:15:00 UTC 2018

Building officials say they will not enforce an apparent city ban of some Airbnb rentals until there is a legal review of an ordinance that went into effect this week. Detroit News reports: The ordinance, approved by the Detroit City Council in November, prohibits an owner-occupied-unit to be used for paid overnight guests. According to information listed online in the … [Link]

Mashable » Internet nostalgia: Revisiting the meme-filled music video for Weezer's 'Pork And Beans'

Saturday 10 February 15:00:00 UTC 2018

I remember cringing when the video for Weezer's song "Pork and Beans" came out in 2008. Now, I look back on it with nostalgia for a simpler time on the internet. Lead singer Rivers Cuomo wrote the tune after meeting with the band's label, Geffen. According to Rolling Stone, the band was asked during the meeting to produce more "commercial-sounding … [Link]

Mashable » I just don't understand these cheesy virtual reality movie 'experiences'

Saturday 10 February 14:00:00 UTC 2018

I’ve always believed that virtual reality has huge potential as an entertainment platform, and clearly some directors are still with me. Oculus supported five "experiences" that premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival, one of which landed a seven-figure deal. The experiences are innovative and interesting — but they're suffering from an identity crisis. SEE ALSO: Someone had a seizure in … [Link]

Slashdot » Maine Dairy Company Settles Lawsuit Over Oxford Comma

Saturday 10 February 13:00:00 UTC 2018

Daniel Victor reports via The New York Times: Ending a case that electrified punctuation pedants, grammar goons and comma connoisseurs, Oakhurst Dairy settled an overtime dispute with its drivers that hinged entirely on the lack of an Oxford comma in state law. The dairy company in Portland, Me., agreed to pay $5 million to the drivers (Warning: source may be … [Link]

Mashable » Stop trying to remember passwords and use this app that will auto-fill them all instead

Saturday 10 February 12:00:00 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. Creating a strong password requires a complex combo of letters, numbers, and special characters. Oh, and you should be able to remember it. Of course, that’s the hard part. Most of us … [Link]

Slashdot » 'Sinking' Pacific Nation Tuvalu Is Actually Getting Bigger

Saturday 10 February 10:00:00 UTC 2018

mi shares a report from Phys.Org: The Pacific nation of Tuvalu — long seen as a prime candidate to disappear as climate change forces up sea levels — is actually growing in size, new research shows. A University of Auckland study examined changes in the geography of Tuvalu's nine atolls and 101 reef islands between 1971 and 2014, using aerial … [Link]

New Scientist – News » Dark matter could be produced by twisted gravitational waves

Saturday 10 February 9:39:50 UTC 2018

If gravitational waves – ripples in space time – have a handedness, primordial particles could interact with them to form a dark matter superfluid that spreads through the cosmos [Link]

New Scientist – News » This record-breaking photo was taken from 6 billion km away

Saturday 10 February 9:39:48 UTC 2018

New Horizons is one of the furthest spacecraft from Earth. It sent back pictures of two objects in the Kuiper belt, the most distant photographs ever taken [Link]

New Scientist – News » Birds ‘dream sing’ by moving their vocal muscles in their sleep

Saturday 10 February 9:39:47 UTC 2018

Zebra finches sing during the day, and at night while they sleep their vocal organs act out the motions of singing, a bit like a sleepwalking person [Link]

New Scientist – News » We should use nukes to deflect asteroids, says astro algorithm

Saturday 10 February 9:39:46 UTC 2018

We've never had to deflect an incoming asteroid before it hits Earth, so how do we know the best way to do it? An algorithm says nuclear weapons are the most effective [Link]

Mashable » These startups pitch in freezing water to get sweet, sweet funding

Saturday 10 February 8:30:00 UTC 2018

You’ve likely heard of an elevator pitch, but have you heard of an ice hole pitch? SEE ALSO: Everything you need to understand the Uber-Waymo legal battle Polar Bear Pitching, as it’s called, is perhaps the most extreme form of startup pitch competitions. Participants withstand snow, ice, and sub-zero temperatures for an opportunity to win €10,000, among other prizes. There is … [Link]

Slashdot » Mayfair Games Shuts Down After 36 Years of Board Games

Saturday 10 February 7:00:00 UTC 2018

damnbunni writes: Longtime board game publisher Mayfair Games (English-language publisher for Settlers of Catan, Agricola, and many more) has shut down after 36 years. All of their games have been sold to Asmodee, who also owns Fantasy Flight Games, Z-Man Games, Rebel, Edge Entertainment, and a host of other board game companies they've picked up over the years. "As of … [Link]

Mashable » Drones set a Guinness World Record at the Winter Olympics

Saturday 10 February 4:00:00 UTC 2018

More than 1,200 drones lit up the sky at the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics. That's a Guinness World Record for the most unmanned drones flown simultaneously, beating the previous record of 500 in Germany in 2016. Both records involved Intel's Shooting Star drones. The 1,218-drone light show in South Korea was pre-recorded. Still, 300 of them made a live … [Link]

Slashdot » First Human Eggs Grown In Laboratory

Saturday 10 February 3:30:00 UTC 2018

An anonymous reader quotes a report from the BBC: Human eggs have been grown in the laboratory for the first time, say researchers at the University of Edinburgh. The team say the technique could lead to new ways of preserving the fertility of children having cancer treatment. It is also an opportunity to explore how human eggs develop, much of … [Link]

Mashable » Olympic organizers hit with hack during opening ceremony

Saturday 10 February 2:15:18 UTC 2018

International unity be damned. The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony was an opportunity for athletes around the world to proudly wave their nation's flag and welcome the start of a time-honored tradition of peaceful competition. Oh, and it was also a chance for another highly skilled subset of the planet's population to strut their stuff — specifically, hackers. SEE ALSO: All … [Link]

Slashdot » YouTube Will Remove Ads, Downgrade Discoverability of Channels Posting Offensive Videos

Saturday 10 February 2:05:00 UTC 2018

Earlier today, YouTube barred Logan Paul from serving ads on his video channel in response to a "recent pattern of behavior" from him. Now, YouTube has announced a more formal and wider set of sanctions it's prepared to level on any creator that starts to post videos that are harmful to viewers, others in the YouTube community, or advertisers. TechCrunch … [Link]

Slashdot » Android Messages May Soon Let You Text From the Web

Saturday 10 February 1:25:00 UTC 2018

Android Police dug into the code for the latest version of Android Messages and found two very intriguing features: Rich Communication Services (RCS) support and support for all the popular web browsers. From the report: Google is developing a web interface to run on a desktop or laptop, and it will pair with your phone for sending messages. Internally, the … [Link]

Mashable » The new Salem from 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' reboot looks exactly like you'd expect

Saturday 10 February 0:59:24 UTC 2018

Although Netflix's reboot of Sabrina the Teenage Witch doesn't have a release date yet, we got a peek at the new Salem on Thursday. SEE ALSO: A dark 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' TV show is in the works at The CW Riverdale showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa tweeted the first photo of the reboot's Salem on Thursday: Ladies and gentlemen, meet #Greendale’s latest … [Link]

Slashdot » Should GitHub Allow Username Reuse?

Saturday 10 February 0:45:00 UTC 2018

Jesse Donat argues via Donut Studios why GitHub should never allow usernames to be valid again once they are deleted. He provides an example of a user who deleted his GitHub account and personal domain with a popular tool used for embedding data files into Go binaries. "While this is within his rights to do, this broke a dependency many … [Link]

Mashable » Valentine's Day hearts made by AI are weird as hell, CHERT FACE

Saturday 10 February 0:36:13 UTC 2018

In honor of the upcoming Hallmark holiday, research scientist Janelle Shane decided to let artificial intelligence write its own heartfelt candy heart messages. The results were pleasantly weird. After collecting all the short love notes Shane could find, such as "LOVE YOU" or "CALL ME," she fed them into a neural network to see what it would create. SEE ALSO: What's … [Link]

Slashdot » Hackers In Equifax Breach Accessed More Personal Information Than Previously Disclosed

Saturday 10 February 0:03:00 UTC 2018

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Wall Street Journal (Warning: source may be paywalled; alternative source): Equifax said, in a document submitted to the Senate Banking Committee and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, that cyberthieves accessed records across numerous tables in its systems that included such data as tax identification numbers, email addresses and drivers' license information … [Link]

John Gordon Ross

A Man for All Reasons