Geekly Update - 16 June 2021

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee is auctioning off the original source code for the Web as an NFT. The Sotheby’s of London auction titled “This Changed Everything” — will be run from June 23-30, with bidding starting at US$1,000.

CNet wants to challenge your thinking on Chromebooks. Even though it can’t run Windows or Mac apps, will it do everything you need a laptop for? This writer says that because of the abundance of Web-based productivity apps, the ability to run Android apps, and the option to play PC games via streaming services, the answer for most people is yes.

John McAfee, founder of the antivirus software firm that bears his name, is fighting extradition from Spain to the United States. He is wanted on cryptocurrency fraud and tax evasion charges that could land the controversial 75-year-old entrepreneur in prison for the rest of his life.

Security journalist Brian Krebs says some ransomware strains can be thwarted by installing a Russian or Ukrainian virtual keyboard. Russian-made malware has code that checks for these keyboards to prevent it from being installed in countries which are members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which includes Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, and several others.

Can you build a working typewriter using only Lego blocks? Sort of… the $200 Lego Typewriter kit has 2079 blocks that you can assemble into a replica of company founder Ole Kirk Kristiansen’s actual working typewriter.

Apple positions itself as a protector of the "human right" of privacy. But in order to do business in China, where most of the company's products as made, Apple has to make some significant privacy concessions to the Chinese government.

TikTok has announced they will begin to collect biometric data on users, including faceprints and voiceprints. TikTok says they will seek required permissions "where required by law," but only five U.S. states (Illinois, Washington, California, Texas and New York) have biometric privacy laws. Users in other states would not have to be informed about the data collection.

Voilà is popular new app that uses AI to transform a photo of your face into a cartoon character that looks kind of like you. Wired Magazine’s headline implores you to “consider the risks to your data” before installing Voilà. Eleven paragraphs follow, implying various possible privacy pitfalls, before stating in the final paragraph that “there’s no evidence that Voilà specifically is doing any shady data collection.” You can do better, Wired.

Benjamin Franklin mused that “in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” A study that included researchers from 42 institutions across 14 countries has agreed in part, concluding that human death is inevitable. Study leader Fernando Colchero says “No matter how many vitamins we take, how healthy our environment is or how much we exercise, we will eventually age and die.” In other news, see how billionaires plan to live forever, and how billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett pay little or no income tax.

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