Geekly Update - 10 May 2018

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

C|net proves it shills like a boss with an article that adeptly spins Facebook’s loss of one in four users’ trust and patronage into “User loyalty remains high with users of the social network…” Reminds me of those magazine ads where doctors recommended the health benefits of cigarettes.

Now you can have the full power of the Windows command line at your fingertips; but boy, are your fingertips going to get sore! Microsoft has released a PDF reference guide to more than 250 command-line commands, including the syntax for all switches, arguments, and other command modifiers. That’s why the document is 948 pages long. The reference guide’s download page also makes a good place to hang an ad for Surface laptops.

You need the specs of your spectacles in order to shop for new eyeglasses online. If you are satisfied with your current prescription, Glasses USA can scan your current eyeglasses to decipher its specifications; then you have the numbers you need to buy online. The app won’t work with bifocals, progressives, and other complex prescriptions, but on basic glasses it’s as accurate as an in-person eye exam - and free!

Nimbus Screenshot and Screen Video Recorder us a very handy Chrome extension for anyone who ever wants to save a copy of what’s showing in their browser. Nimbus is dead simple to install and use, but also very customizable for the geek who has to capture everything.

Eight more long-standing security holes have been found in Intel’s CPUs. Pundits are calling the news “Spectre 2.” Real smart-alecks are calling it “Spectre 2 through 9.”

“It’s to protect you from fake accounts that steal your face!” That’s what Facebook says in efforts to get users to consent to the use of facial-recognition tech. But the company is so bad at taking down imposter accounts that it disabled the real account of one victim four times.

Your car’s speaker system may soon disappear, and be replaced by vibrating door panels and other interior features. Somehow, I doubt that parts designed to be silent will make good speakers.

Cambridge Analytica, the data analytics firm that ignited Facebook’s current dumpster fire, “shocked” the media by announcing the firm is shutting down and liquidating its assets. Shock soon turned to amusement when public records revealed Cambridge is merely changing its name to something less infamous: Emerdata.

An American got a UK privacy regulator to order Cambridge Analytica to turn over all data the firm has on him, opening the door for 50 million other Americans to seek justice from the country their ancestors revolted against to escape injustice. That’s rich in something but it’s not “irony.”

Facebook’s artificial intelligence tech helps the company delete “millions of fake accounts every day” and removed 99% of ISIS and Al Qaeda hate speech in Q4 2017. Still, the AI will let some harmful content remain on Facebook. That’s why 20,000 human “abuse investigators” are being hired and trained.

Warrantless searches of Americans’ data by the NSA increased by 42% during 2017 to include 7,512 searches of Americans' calls and messages. That comes as no surprise given the current administration. What is surprising is that the NSA itself is revealing stats on its domestic spying.

Twitter urged all users to change their passwords on May 5, and revealed that a “bug” had left some user paswords exposed in plain text on a server accessible by anyone. The bug is fixed and this should not happen again, says the company. Go here to change your Twitter password.

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