107646112
submission
harrymcc writes:
The Wall Street Journalâ(TM)s Joanna Stern wrote about her MacBook Airâ(TM)s malfunctioning keyboardâ"it repeats and skips charactersâ"in a column that made her point by repeating and skipping characters. Reading it, I realized that the issues with current MacBook keyboards are eerily similar to ones suffered by Radio Shackâ(TM)s TRS-80 in the late 1970s. Back then, we called it âoekeybounce,â and Radio Shack fixed itâ"at first with software, and then with a revised keyboard design. I wrote about the parallels to Appleâ(TM)s current conundrum for Fast Company.
107336284
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harrymcc writes:
Some bad phones, like Microsoftâ(TM)s Kin and Motorolaâ(TM)s Rokr, are legends. Others, such as the Aesir AE+Y and Toshiba G450, are obscure but deserve to be rediscovered. Over at Fast Company, Jared Newman and I rounded up our 20 favorite terrible phones released since 2000, plus another five dishonorable mentions.
106125990
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harrymcc writes:
Ariel Fischman, a financial advisor in Mexico City, has been using spreadsheet software for 30 years. And in recent years heâ(TM)s been collecting it: VisiCalc, 1-2-3, Excel, Quattro, and lesser lights in their once-familiar boxes, in a dizzying array of variants stretching back to the 1970s. Last year, Guinness World Records certified that his collection is without peer. I recently spoke to him about itâ"starting with the obvious question âoeWhy spreadsheets?ââ"for Fast Company.
104203378
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harrymcc writes:
Content-distribution network Cloudflare has introduced iOS and Android versions of 1.1.1.1, a free service which helps shield you from snoops by replacing your standard DNS with its encrypted (and speedy) alternative. The mobile incarnation of the PC service it launched last April, the apps donâ(TM)t require you to do anything other than downloaded and install them, give your device permission to install a VPN, and flip a switchâ"making them approachable for the masses, not just geeks. Over at Fast Company, Sean Captain has the details.
103806843
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harrymcc writes:
The better AI gets at teaching itself to perform tasks in ways beyond the skills of mere humans, the more likely it is that it may unwittingly behave in ways a human would consider unethical. To explore ways to prevent this from happening, IBM researchers taught AI to play Pac-Manâ"without ever gobbling up the ghosts. And it did so without ever explicitly telling the software that this was the goal. Over at Fast Company, I wrote about this project and what IBM learned from conducting it.
102973482
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harrymcc writes:
On September 24, 1993, Myst debuted as a CD-ROM game for the Mac. The mysterious, puzzle-laden adventure went on to become the best-selling game title of its era, inspiring a devoted following and multiple sequels. But for all the people who loved Myst, it was disrespected by many in the gaming industry, who found it less engaging than previous adventures and even blamed it for killing of the earlier genre of more action-packed adventuring. Over at Fast Company, Benj Edwards provides an appreciation of Myst but also talks to game designers about the game's still-complex legacy.
102792780
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harrymcc writes:
The Internet Archive has a collection of thousands of pieces of direct-mail marketing materials saved by computing visionary Ted Nelson, the creator of Project Xanadu. Whether youâ(TM)re interested in vintage gadgets for their own sake or just love period graphics, the repository is a feastâ"and there are some genuinely significant items in it, like Appleâ(TM)s 1984 presskit for the original Mac. I wrote about it and shared some representative imagery over at Fast Company.
102228738
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harrymcc writes:
If you ever watched anything on videotape, you have Silicon Valley pioneer Ampexâ"which invented the technologyâ"to thank. And for years, the companyâ(TM)s vintage sign has stood alongside Highway 101 as a tribute to its historical significance. But Stanford University, which owns the land the sign sits on, is in the process of dismantling itâ"an act which the city of Redwood City could have prevented but didnâ(TM)t. I wrote about this dismaying example of cultural shortsightedness at Fast Company.
102228052
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harrymcc writes:
Normally, a totaled Tesla is worth so little that they sell for peanuts at salvage auctions. But Berkeley, California engineer Phil Sadow buys trashed Tesla cars and gets them up and running againâ"a feat which has required him to figure out how to root their software so he can run diagnostics normally unavailable to a tinkerer such as himself. Over at Fast Company, Daniel Terdiman tells the story of Sadowâ(TM)s work, which Tesla is apparently nonplussed about but has not tried to prevent.
102068216
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harrymcc writes:
Toymaker Anki, whose Cozmo robot has been a hit, has announced its next bot: Vector. Though it looks a lot like Cozmo, it packs far more computational powerâ"Cozmo relied on a phone app for smartsâ"and utilizes deep-learning tech in the interest of giving Vector a subtler, more engaging personality. Over at Fast Company, Sean Captain has a deep dive into software engineering that went into the effort.
101040772
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harrymcc writes:
One of the best things about being a member of the Boston Computer Society in the 1980s was that the biggest PC companies demoed the eraâ(TM)s most important machines at the clubâ(TM)s monthly meetings. In April 1983, Radio Shack came to Boston with the TRS-80 Model 100, its groundbreaking portable machine. The event was videotaped at the time and has now being digitized, providing fascinating documentation of the launch of the first popular laptop.
101021076
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harrymcc writes:
GoFly, a $2 million competition to design personal flying machines backed by Boeing, has announced its first round of most promising designs out of 600 entries from around the world. Proposed vehicles need to fly for at least 20 miles, at 35 miles an hour; many of the ideas look a bit like airborne motorcycles. Over at Fast Company, Sean Captain talked to some of the engineers trying to turn this idea from the stuff of sci-fi into everyday reality.
99372089
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harrymcc writes:
When technological goods are no longer of use to anyone in Silicon Valley, they end up in the WeirdStuff Warehouse--where, it turns out, there often is someone willing to pay for them. Sadly, the 32-year-old Sunnyvale store is closing forever on Sunday. I paid a final visit and, as usual, felt like I could rummage through this vast storehouse of obsolete gadgets and software forever.
99328053
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harrymcc writes:
Lots of people have fantasized about modular smartphones, but Motorola introduced oneâ"the Moto Zâ"and actually created an ecosystem of useful add-ons. Now its parent company, Lenovo, has made major cuts at Moto headquarters in Chicago, throwing the future of Moto Mods into doubt. Over at Fast Company, Jared Newman talked to some of the people who have invested energy in this modular platform about why it would be such a shame if Lenovo gave up on the idea.
98528261
submission
harrymcc writes:
If you want to play classic Nintendo games, you could buy a vintage Super NES. Or you could use an emulator. Orâ"if youâ(TM)re really seriousâ"you could use floating point gate arrays to design a new console that makes them look great on modern TVs. Over at Fast Company, Jared Newman profiles Analogue, the company that did just that, along with some of the other folks using new hardware to preserve the masterworks of the past.
