Geekly Update - 03 October 2018

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

An original, working Apple-I computer sold at auction for $375,000. Only about 200 were made in 1976, which sold for $666. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak estimates there are only about 15 Apple-I models still functioning. But this one went cheap; in 2014, an Apple-I was sold at auction for $905,000.

This just in from the Nana Nana Boo Boo Department: Linux developers who disagree with a new "code of conduct" policy say it's arbitrary and unnecessary, and are threatening to rescind their code, potentially destroying the Linux kernel which powers millions of websites and Android phones.

Spotify and Ancestry.com have teamed up to offer you playlists based on a sample of your DNA. Wait till you read their privacy policy!

SquareTrade tested the new iPhone Xs and Xs Max models, which Apple claims are water resistant and have "the most durable glass ever in a smartphone." The phones survived the "30 minute beer dunk test" but shattered badly in drop tests.

Dumb and Dumber: Reality Version. Thieves broke into the Roambee Corporation building in Santa Clara, and stole about 100 GPS tracking devices. While inside, they also left fingerprint and blood evidence. The signals were quickly tracked to a storage locker which contained drugs and other stolen property.

Here’s an interactive map showing ATMs where you can buy or sell Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency.

A man used his video doorbell app to speak with a delivery driver in a video call, and then used his Tesla app to open the car’s trunk to accept the delivery.

The “block universe theory" postulates that all events past, present, and future are happening simultaneously. I wrote this item in the future, while thinking about yesterday's lunch burrito. So there.

The Oculus Quest is a $399 virtual reality handset that combines the three essential traits of a next-generation VR device, according to Mark Zuckerberg whose company, Facebook, owns Oculus. He omitted the phrase “exorbitant price tag" from his talking points.

West Virginia will be the first state to test voting by smartphone, and hopefully the last.

"Apple has outright stolen Qualcomm's confidential information and trade secrets," Qualcomm charges in a lawsuit. The suit alleges that for years, Apple stole Qualcomm chip secrets and gave them to Intel, so certain iPhone components could be made cheaper.

The FCC is waging war on cities that want more than 60 days to approve 5G access point placements, or that might not want cell towers overrunning their historic landmarks. (If you run into a paywall open this link in an icognito browser.)

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