Geek Stuff category archive

ABL wonders whether Twitter likes itself them twitter stalkers.

It’s just an overpriced cell phone, folks.

Stephen Colbert takes on Apple’s new strap-on Apple watch.

Below the fold because it may autoplay, plus it has a trailer for what looks to be an instance of particularly obnoxious cinematic war-wanking* at the beginning.

Read more »

Jesse Singal explains how to game the play.

I was disappointed that the Wil Wheaton Project won’t be coming back. The 10-show “season” started slow, but I generally got at least one good laugh and several chuckles from each episode. If you DVRed it and zipped the commercials, it was a nice 20-minute break.

I found it an amusing way to keep up with geek froth, such as over-produced CGI science fiction movies I would never waste my time to see and games I have no interest in playing.

Really, it is.

Want to save money on your phone bill? Make sure you turn off the “autoplay” setting on Facebook videos.

Smartphone users are at risk of maxing out their data plans if they don’t change this default setting in the Facebook app, which otherwise will automatically start streaming videos in the News Feed window.

Learn about the wonderful world of free and open source. Learn how to use computers to do what you want, not what someone else wants you to do.

It’s not hard; it’s just different.

What: Monthly TWUUG Meeting.

Who: Everyone in TideWater/Hampton Roads with interest in any/all flavors of Unix/Linux. There are no dues or signup requirements. All are welcome.

Where: Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital in Norfolk Training Room. See directions below. (Wireless and wired internet connection available.) Turn right upon entering, then left at the last corridor and look for the open meeting room.

When: 7:30 PM till whenever (usually 9:30ish) on Thursday, September 4.

Directions:
Lake Taylor Hospital
1309 Kempsville Road
Norfolk, Va. 23502 (Map)

Pre-Meeting Dinner at 6:00 PM (separate checks)
Uno Chicago Grill
Virginia Beach Blvd. & Military Highway (Janaf Shopping Center). (Map)

Texas-sized twits.

The inventor of the pop-up ad apologizes.

Below the fold because it autoplays.

Read more »

Just listen.

Via Linux Outlaws.

I’m not sure how I feel about this:

Sharon Standifird started researching how to develop smartphone apps one day when her children refused to get back in contact with her. If a parents suspects their child is ignoring them, they have the option to lock his or her phone and it can only be unlocked with a password. To get the password, the child will have to call one of the parent-approved contacts listed in the app.

Otherwise all other apps and phone functions will be locked. However, even when the phone is locked, the child will always be able to call 911 in case of an emergency.

I’m not sure where this falls on the scale from motherly (and fatherly) concern to neurotic manipulation, but it does not awaken within me sanguine feelings.

I have lately been leaning my way around Mutt, a command line email client. It’s not my only email client–the one I use most is still Opera’s email client.

Mutt Inbox

I got there via a circuitous route. I want to improve my skills using vi and vim (“vi improved”). Vi or vim (sometimes both) are present in almost every Linux distribution and do not require a GUI to work.

Read more »

At the Roanoke Times, Dan Casey decrypts the cryptic. A nugget:

First up in the July reader mailbag is Melinda Payne, Salem’s director of planning and economic development. She once worked here at the paper but got out long ago (proof she’s a lot smarter than I). She writes:

“Someone sent me a text one time and closed with CYA. I couldn’t figure out why he was telling me to “Cover Your A–.” I finally called and asked: ‘What’s up with the cover-your-a — note?” He said … that means ‘see you’ later. Duh!”

Follow the link. You deserve a chuckle.

From El Reg:

Researchers at Dell’s SecureWorks Counter Threat Unit (CTU) have identified an exploit that can be used to steal cryptocurrency from mining pools – and they claim that at least one unknown miscreant has already used the technique to pilfer tens of thousands of dollars in digital cash.

Geeky details at the link.

Guess he forgot to check his map.

A Google Street View car that was traveling in the wrong direction on a one-way street crashed into another vehicle last night as it attempted to make a U-turn, Arkansas police report.

Learn about the wonderful world of free and open source. Learn how to use computers to do what you want, not what someone else wants you to do.

It’s not hard; it’s just different.

What: Monthly TWUUG Meeting.

Who: Everyone in TideWater/Hampton Roads with interest in any/all flavors of Unix/Linux. There are no dues or signup requirements. All are welcome.

Where: Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital in Norfolk Training Room. See directions below. (Wireless and wired internet connection available.) Turn right upon entering, then left at the last corridor and look for the open meeting room.

When: 7:30 PM till whenever (usually 9:30ish) on Thursday, August 7.

Directions:
Lake Taylor Hospital
1309 Kempsville Road
Norfolk, Va. 23502 (Map)

Pre-Meeting Dinner at 6:00 PM (separate checks)
Uno Chicago Grill
Virginia Beach Blvd. & Military Highway (Janaf Shopping Center). (Map)

My local rag has an excellent editorial on Uber and Lyft. A nugget (emphasis added):

In other words, under existing state code, taxicabs must follow the rules of both the state and the locality in which they operate. They must have insurance to protect people in the event of an accident. They must comply with identification rules. They are required to follow additional regulations to protect passengers.

And that’s the kind of red tape Uber and Lyft have fought all over America. Both because it threatens a business model that depends on the low overhead made possible by ignoring state regulations and because the ideology of the new economy demands it.