Geekly Update - 04 October 2017
Can you build your own telephone network with cow fencing? What is Bill Gates biggest regret about the Windows operating system? And what should you do if the Internet decides to appropriate your face for its own purposes? Get answers in today's Geekly Update -- it's jam-packed with the latest tech news. This issue is guaranteed to make you 146% smarter -- you'll see why. Read, think, and, comment! |
The AskBobRankin Geekly Update
Did you know...? In the 19th Century, rural homesteaders created their own telephone systems using barbed wire fences to transmit signals, and it worked pretty well.
An Omaha woman took a selfie every day for 365 days. Eight years later, she found that those photos were being used in a variety of ways she never imagined or intended. Read the interesting story of how Elisabeth Percival got memed, and became the face of Cool Girl Callie.
How far would you go to get free WiFi? A man from Plymouth, England set up his 32-inch TV and a PlayStation 4 gaming rig inside a local McDonald's restaurant. The manager didn't seem to mind, but asked only that he refrain from playing Grand Theft Auto.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg Business, billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates said he regrets the Ctrl-Alt-Delete "three-finger salute" was necessary to restart a computer. If he could do it over, the reset key would be a one-finger operation.
Microsoft Excel is about to get a lot smarter and more powerful. New data types will better interpret what your input means in the context of a worksheet, and be able to pull additional info from the Internet.
"More is Less." Twitter plans to double the length of Tweets to 280 characters, apparently forgetting that the original idea was to limit quantity to improve quality.
AT&T is expanding its rural wireless Internet program to nine more states.
Former Google engineer and accused trade secrets thief Anthony Levandowski has founded a church whose god is an AI bot. The "Way of the Future" was ostensibly organized to “develop and promote the realization of a Godhead based on Artificial Intelligence.” Or is it just a tax dodge?
Tiny metal robots controlled by magnets scurry about and use origami techniques to change their tool sets.
Swarms of half-milimeter robots can build large structures that are sturdier than 3D-printed shapes.
Your thoughts on these topics are welcome. Post your comment or question below...
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This article was posted by Bob Rankin on 4 Oct 2017
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Article information: AskBobRankin -- Geekly Update - 04 October 2017 (Posted: 4 Oct 2017)
Source: https://askbobrankin.com/geekly_update_04_october_2017.html
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Most recent comments on "Geekly Update - 04 October 2017"
Posted by:
RichF
04 Oct 2017
With all the phones around now a days it's good that technology has advanced. Imagine having to deal with barbed wire coming off all the phones today. Haha.
Posted by:
Jay Daniels
04 Oct 2017
thank you! had read an article in pop sci as a kid referring to this idea. We are a crazy, inventive people.
Posted by:
Darcetha Manning
04 Oct 2017
http://www.atlasobscura.com/
Did you know...? In the 19th Century, rural homesteaders created their own telephone systems using barbed wire fences to transmit signals, and it worked pretty well.
Thanks Bob. Read the whole article at the above link. It's interesting and fascinating to know, just how humans can adapt to different situations.
Posted by:
Bill
04 Oct 2017
With regard to the barb wire telephony, they only used one wire to save money. They drove a metal rod into the ground to take care of the return path. Worked quite well, and the community telephony systems were called Mutuals.
Posted by:
Joe
04 Oct 2017
Is it really a bad thing that it takes more than a single key press to restart a computer? I don't think so. There's plenty in the world of computers that Bill Gates should regret, but Ctrl-Alt-Del is pretty low on the list.
Posted by:
bb
05 Oct 2017
Sorry, you got the control-alt-delete story wrong. Gates regrets that combination was needed to *login* to Windows NT - not to reset it.
I definitely would *not* like any simple or one-key operation to reset the computer. I have enough trouble remembering to click the save button every once in a while. Just imagine the chaos if some easily hit special key reset the computer without further notice.
Posted by:
train
05 Oct 2017
Without regard to whether the C-A-D article referred to login or reset, a single keystroke for either would be probably receive significantly more coarse language then the 3 finger one does. Imagine the number of accidental activations which would have occurred to this point.
Posted by:
rocketride
05 Oct 2017
It's just as well that the reset command has always been the simultaneous pressing of three buttons. Consider how much fun we have with 'Caps Lock'.
Posted by:
RandiO
09 Oct 2017
I have no problems with the 3-finger salute that has been re-purposed in later releases of Windows OS.
I am not the SHOUTING type; so, I do hate the CapsLock key and usually disable it(keyboard remap) in all my keyboards.
[FYI: I think Microsoft has changed the default boot-up behavior for NumLock keypad]