Geekly Update - 29 May 2013

The AskBobRankin Geekly Update

"Oh yeah? Come up HERE and say that!" Mount Everest has had cell phone coverage for several years but a recent BBC video interview, conducted via an HTC smartphone was the first from the summit. The Nepalese tourism minister called the unauthorized media event "illegal."

Remember Flickr, the photo sharing service purchased by Yahoo? It just got a major update including one TERABYTE of free storage space per user; full-resolution online display of photos; and an Android app to go with its iOS app.

Horrifying: Stephen King will not make his latest novel, “Joyland” available in digital format. King was one of the first major authors to publish an ebook-only work, in 2001, but apparently he’s had a change of heart (or royalty contract). The print version will still be available through Amazon and other online booksellers.

Forget greenhouses. Pinkhouses grow plants 20% faster and are more energy-efficient, using LEDs that emit only the red and blue light frequencies that plants use for photosynthesis. “A photon is a terrible thing to waste,” says one of the developers.

"Does this spacesuit make my lips look big?" Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield became a social media rockstar while spending five months in space. But adjusting to life on Terra Firma has been difficult.

Who has not dreamily looked for faces in the clouds? Well, now you can reverse positions and look for faces in the Earth using Onformative’s specialized search agent and Google Maps’ satellite images.

Internet Service Providers constitute the most hated industry in America, according to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Survey. Comcast was the lowest-rated ISP, below Time-Warner, CenturyLink, Charter Communications, AT&T, Cox, and Verizon. The ISP with the most satisfied customers was “all others.”

Ben Wolfinger pays $440/month for his cable service. Is it a billing error? Nope, Wolfinger loves his Comcast service, and he wouldn't have it any other way.

A commercial for Samsung’s Evolution Kit smart TV appliance is being criticized as sexist – by men who don’t appreciate being portrayed as couch-bound, comatose slobs transformed into meal-making, housecleaning “perfect husbands” by the digital device. Watch and decide...

A California man recently discovered the limits of unlimited data. He got a phone call from Verizon FIOS engineers asking why he was consuming an average of 50 Terabytes of bandwidth per month – 30,000 times the average residential customer’s usage. When he explained that he runs several video streaming servers and “a lot of VPN” for friends and family, Verizon told him to switch to business service or be cut off. “It wasn’t a super long call,” he said.

Apple has found the Holy Grail of tax avoidance. The “tax residency” gimmick shielded 30% of Apple’s worldwide net profits from taxation between 2010 and 2012. But several of its Irish subsidiaries created for tax purposes don't actually exist.

The beloved Start button is returning to Windows 8! Only it’s on the left side of a new Microsoft mouse; clicking it switches to the Start screen. $39.95, coming in June.