Geekly Update - 22 March 2017
What do facial recognition software and toilet paper dispensers have in common? Did a UFO really crash on a farm in Columbia? And why are so many professional basketball players confused about gravity? 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
Chinese authorities are deploying toilet paper dispensers that use facial recognition technology to limit the amount of paper that a given person can take at a popular tourist attraction. Seems like a good time to invest in Chinese companies that make Halloween masks.
A growing number of pro basketball players are joining the "flat-earther" team. Among them is Shaquille O'Neal, who says "I drive from Florida to California all the time, and it’s flat to me." If you're not sure about the shape of planet Earth or that whole gravity thing, see this article from Space News.
A New Jersey college student says her life is “a waking nightmare” because her name is Alexa Searey. “It started off at work. It would be, ‘Siri, do this, Siri do that,’ and now they do the same thing with Alexa,” she said. It’s getting very old.
Google Street View can now give you a close-up view of an erupting volcano on the island of Vanuatu, the dirt roads of Uganda, and other remote places.
What do a T-Rex, a rubber ducky and a penguin have in common? They are the newest pieces in the Monopoly board game, replacing the wheelbarrow, boot and thimble tokens. More than 4 million people voted in Hasbro's "Token Madness" campaign to select the Monopoly newcomers. Just leave me my race car and doggie tokens, please.
A UFO that crashed in a Columbian farm district turned out to be a Google high-altitude balloon, part of Project Loon’s effort to get wireless Internet into remote areas of the world.
Having trouble finding friends? Not getting along with your family? Try renting instead. A Japanese company called Family Romance lets you shop online for real humans (actors) who will hang out with you, come to your wedding, or take selfies to make your ex jealous.
Google and denim-king Levi’s have teamed up on a “smart” denim fabric to make a jacket that will let you control the volume of an Android smartphone. But it will cost $350, and every phone has a volume control. How smart is that?
Will an intelligent Universal Translator spell the end of nation-states? Aljazeera has an opinion piece arguing that it will.
Microsoft will not provide updates of Windows 7 and 8.1 on certain new Intel platforms, forcing users who want to upgrade to go with Windows 10.
The police in Edina, MN, have obtained a search warrant requiring Google to cough up “all subscriber information” of people who have searched for the name of an identity theft victim. Google is fighting the overly-broad dragnet warrant, which applies to all of Google’s data about users anywhere on Earth.
Google has come up with a JPEG compression method that produces files 25% smaller than previous methods, which will speed the loading of Web pages and reduce bandwidth costs. The downside is that the method takes longer to compress images.
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This article was posted by Bob Rankin on 22 Mar 2017
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Article information: AskBobRankin -- Geekly Update - 22 March 2017 (Posted: 22 Mar 2017)
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Most recent comments on "Geekly Update - 22 March 2017"
Posted by:
Halfshaft
22 Mar 2017
That's COLOMBIA, Bob
Posted by:
Ken Mitchel
22 Mar 2017
You noted: "Google Street View can now give you a close-up view of an erupting volcano on the island of Vanuatu, the dirt roads of Uganda, and other remote places."
There's even a "game" that you can play in Google Street View; Geoguessr.com. You're dropped somewhere on the Earth; any place that a Street View car has been. Where are you?
Posted by:
Stuart Berg
22 Mar 2017
About "Chinese authorities deploying toilet paper dispensers that use facial recognition technology": Putting cameras in bathrooms, what could possibly go wrong with that?
Posted by:
Gregbeaux
22 Mar 2017
Decades ago, pretty much anyplace you went in Asia, toilet paper was "bring-your-own." Happy to find a real toilet in a westernized hotel instead of a porcelain trench.
Posted by:
SysOp
22 Mar 2017
Yeah. I'm with Stuart Berg... Western headlines soon to scream CHINESE PRISONS OVERFLOW WITH TP MOONING PERPS.
Posted by:
Al S
22 Mar 2017
In Russia you have to bring your own toilet paper or stand in line to get some. It is almost impossible to find it in stores. A field guide to pooping in the Soviet Union-SB Nation.om
Many places in Russia they do not flush toilet paper, they provide a trash can to put it in when finished wiping. And you think public toilets in the US are disgusting?
Posted by:
RichF
22 Mar 2017
I guess the economy in China isn't as good as we're led to believe.
Posted by:
Smoky lowe
22 Mar 2017
well in regards to Microsoft no going to give updates to windows7 and 8,is just one more dictator on their part, I have not nor ever will use their widows updates and have not in the time of windows 95 to date, with no problems with my computers, all 7 run like new as I keep them clean and, a good virus program .Thank you for the warning, as I am about to dump them all together. Hate to but they have fallen apart now that Bill gates is no longer around. Thank you for the update on their pushy demand for junk windows 10. which I will never use, tried it 2 times still junk
Posted by:
jumpmanlives
23 Mar 2017
Image quality and compression format is pretty interesting but can be quite in depth and overwhelming. I found this article explains JPEG and JPEG2000 formats amongst others quite well:
http://www.bionixwallpaper.com/articles/best%20file%20format%20for%20your%20wallpapers%20or%20digital%20images/image-formats.html
Posted by:
Micky
23 Mar 2017
Microsoft stopped supporting my laptop years ago. First thing I do when reinstalling Windows 7, after installing some rogue software or just to get rid of the garbage that has accumulated in the registry and other places is to disable Windows update.
I don't have the tine or the desire to spend hours updating, only to find that gadgets and other stuff is not working
Thanks Microsoft! Leave my computer alone.
Posted by:
Kayle
23 Mar 2017
Don't you know that the flat earthers claim everyone that has been involved in space or any other field that supports a sphere earth are all conspiracy partners. They flat out call every astronaut that has been in space a liar and that there has never been anyone go to space.
Personally, I think they have been sent by Satan to deceive the people. And look how many they are able to deceive.