Geekly Update - 10 September 2015

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

“Robokiller” won the $25,000 prize in the Federal Trade Commission’s competition seeking best ways to block automated calls to mobile and landline phones. The cloud-based Robokiller app is available for iPhone now, and an Android version is coming soon.

People have been "butt dialing" for years, but apparently the linguists at Oxford Dictionaries just noticed. Other geeky words recently added to the OED include blockchain, pwnage, and spear phishing.

Drones are handy for spying on your neighbors, but there's a more practical use. Derek Klingenberg, a Kansas farmer, used his drone to catch a fish.

John Yates was pulled over by police in Maine for driving erratically. When the officer approached the driver, he was "huffing" a can of keyboard cleaner spray. Maybe he just needed to clear his head?

LG’s Rolly keyboard for mobile devices rolls up into a stick that fits neatly in a gear bag. One AAA battery powers the Bluetooth-connected device for several months.

Apple’s “Find My Mac” app helped a Wisconsin burglary victim recover his stolen iMac, wallet, bicycle, and car.

A J.D. Power survey finds that drivers aren’t all that into “smart” cars. Forty-three percent don’t use voice commands; 32 percent avoid using apps like Yelp available through their vehicles; and 20 percent used less than half of the 33 tech features in their cars.

One billion people logged in to Facebook on August 27. And apparently, they all posted a picture of what they had for lunch.

Sprint is targeting DirecTV customers with a year of free phone service. The deal includes unlimited talk and text, plus 2 GB of monthly data. After a year, the price is $50 per month.

A brand-new city complete with 35,000 homes, roads, shopping centers, and all other infrastructure, is being erected in the New Mexico desert at a cost of $1.4 billion. But no annoying humans will be allowed to live there. “City Lab,” as it’s called, will be a test ground for drone deliveries, driverless cars, and other futuristic urban tech.

“Money can’t buy you love.” Minecraft founder Markus Persson sold his game to Microsoft for $2.5 billion a year ago. But recently, he describes himself as “isolated” and “unhappy” in a series of poignant Tweets.

The Associated Press is suing the FBI, alleging that the feds wrongfully created a bogus AP Web page to snare a 15 year-old bomb threat suspect.

Crowdfunding college costs actually works, it seems. So far this year, about 130,000 “educational cost” campaigns have raised a total of more than $20 million on GoFundMe.com; and that’s just one of many crowdfunding sites for students.