Geekly Update - 17 July 2013

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

It took David Bradley about five minutes to create what is likely the most useful and popular bit of software ever. Ctrl-Alt-Delete, better known as the Three Finger Salute, came into existence back in 1981, deep in the bowels of an IBM laboratory which produced the first IBM PC.

"U R FIRED!" Jodi Jackson was fired from her job as a chef as Barducci's Italian Bistro. She and 12 co-workers got the bad news via text message on July 4th. Anxious Groupon customers are apparently distraught, as well.

"Who Wants to Be a Quadrillionaire?" Chris Reynolds sells car parts online, and accepts payment via Paypal. Imagine his surprise when his account showed that he had over 92 quadrillion dollars available for withdrawal. Unfortunately, Paypal corrected the error, even though Reynolds had the best intentions for spending his windfall.

Apple illegally conspired with e-book publishers to fix prices high and harm consumers, a federal judge ruled on July 10. The decision is expected to give their competitor Amazon.com even greater market power, which is not good for retailers of physical books.

Paranoid parents will soon get instant urine test results from smart diapers, if inventors Jennie Rubinshteyn and Yaroslav Faybishenko have their way. A reagent panel in the diaper identifies potential medical problems and sends data to a smartphone app.

Microsoft has slashed $150 from the prices of its Surface RT tablets, dropping prices to $349 or $550 depending on memory capacity. The company recently launched a $199 Surface RT program aimed at schools.

Can’t blame them for asking. “Are you for real?” is a common question Miss USA 2012, Nana Meriwether, gets when people see her photo - complete with Miss USA sash & tiara – on the dating app Tinder.

"I'm Melting!..." Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign might want to study up on the Wicked Witch of the West. They're working on technology that will dissolve in water, to ease the burden on landfills overflowing with discarded cell phones and other gadgets.

A bizarre lawsuit filed by a Tennessee attorney accuses Apple of failing to protect the “victim” from his own Internet p**n addiction. The complaint even charges Apple with facilitating “unfair competition” between a p**n star and plaintiff’s wife.

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In the “Cunning Plans Not Well Considered” category lies the Lernstift, a pen that vibrates when you make a spelling mistake. Coming soon, a smartphone that sends an electric shock when you type naughty words?

One ISP has refused hundreds of warrantless requests for customers’ data for 15 years. No, it’s not Comcast, Verizon, or any deep-pocketed Internet giant. It’s Xmission, a small ISP in Salt Lake City, Utah. “I’m willing to go to jail to protect my customers from being monitored,” says founder Pete Ashdown.

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