Geek Stuff category archive

I think the notion of an overt Google-Clinton conspiracy theory is a bit over the top, but it is true that search engines filter the results of your searches according to their conclusions about what you would like based on your search history. Accordingly, I think this is worth a listen for the larger message.

Afterthought:

I have noticed that, as the Democratic Convention gets closer and Sanders is not gaining (despite the results of this week’s primaries–look at the numbers), some Sanders fans are joining the hysterical party. I say this as someone who would quite happily support Sanders, were he to be the nominee.

Your inbox is so secure you’ll never know it’s there.

The town that must not be.

The Finnish Chainsaw Massacre.

El Reg tries to explain encryption in layman’s terms.

If you want a better understanding of the FBI-Apple kerfuffle, follow the link.

I see Henry and Elly whenever I go out for a meal. Persons sitting at a table, ignoring real each others while deep in their digital ephemera.

We are a society of stupid.

The lottery is a mug’s game. Meet some mugs.

Six people have been charged with exploiting a bug in lottery terminals to print off winning tickets on demand.

Connecticut prosecutors say the group conspired to manipulate automated ticket dispensers to run off “5 Card Cash” tickets that granted on-the-spot payouts in the US state.

Research says, “Don’t go there.“

For all that it’s been throwing its weight around since the earliest days of the browser wars, Microsoft has never really gotten a handle on how this internet thingy works.

A syntax error in your ~/.procmailrc can just ruin your whole day.

Ads gone wild.

Via Bruce Schneier.

James McWillians recounts the experience of one person who ditched his smartphone for a year. It was not pretty. Here’s a bit:

But if Miller became more present-minded, nobody else around him did. “People felt uncomfortable talking to me because they knew I wasn’t doing anything else,” he said. Communication without gadgets proved to be a foreign concept in his peer world. Friends and colleagues—some of whom thought he might have died—misunderstood or failed to appreciate Miller’s experiment. Plus, given that he had effectively consigned himself to offline communications, all they had to do to avoid him was to stay online. None of this behavior was overtly hostile, all of it was passive, but it was still a social burden reminding Miller that his identity didn’t thrive in a vacuum. His quality of life eventually suffered.