Geekly Update - 03 June 2020

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

The 1984 song titled "It's The Eighties So Where's Our Rocket Packs?" asked that very question, and wondered why we didn't yet have cars without tires, robots running the vacuum, and a pill to eat instead of dinner. Thirty-five years later, we still don't have flying cars, teleportation devices, or hoverboards. Check out this list of sci-fi gadgets that have yet to become reality.

Microsoft ditched their own code for the Edge browser, and rewrote it using the open-source Chromium codebase, which is also used by Google Chrome and Apple's Safari browsers. The new Chromium-based Edge browser is now rolling out to Windows 10 users via Windows Update.

Was this headline written by a human or a robot? "Microsoft lays off journalists to replace them with AI... Microsoft News and MSN is increasingly being run by robots"

The editors at Popular Mechanics been reviewing gadgets and tech gear for decades, so they've come up with a list of 20 products that’ll make perfect Father’s Day gifts.

This $20 car gadget diagnoses automotive error codes, and translates it into plain English. Plug the FIXD sensor into your car's OBD2 port and it will transmit a report to your smartphone.

A $5 billion class action lawsuit accuses Google of tracking internet use even when browsers are set to "Incognito Mode". The suit alleges that Google continues to "intercept, track, and collect communications" even when people use the private browsing option. HOWEVER, Google makes no such promise of privacy, and displays a message when you activate Incognito Mode which says "other people who use this device won't see your activity," and "Your activity might still be visible to: Websites you visit, Your employer or school, Your internet service provider."

A new Facebook feature lets you delete embarassing posts you've made in the past. The “Manage Activity” option lets users select old, dated, or ill-considerd posts in bulk.

Microsoft notched a first place finish in the 2020 RESCUECOM Computer Reliability Report, with an A+ rating. Lenovo and Apple, received marks of A- and B+, respectively. Samsung, HP and Dell all got C's on their hardware reliability report cards, while Asus and Acer got D's.

Cloud service provider Backblaze has over 132,000 hard drives in service, so they know a thing or two about hard drive failure rates. Their latest Hard Drive Stats report has plenty of interesting insights and observations.

This past weekend, a SpaceX rocket carried NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the International Space Station. If you missed it, you can see scenes of SpaceX launching into orbit, moment by moment.

Your thoughts on these topics are welcome! Post your comment or question below...