"OK, yes, there are times when modals make sense (compose new tweet comes to mind), but if the web has a bigger annoyance than this (apart, possibly, from autoplay video), I don't know what it is."
Please enjoy the irony of trying to read this article on a mobile phone while the text shifts crazily around the page to make room for the autoplay video ad.
(Published to the Fediverse as:
Drone School #etc#video Drone School - how not to fly a drone. Gluing on a camera might have affected the center of gravity.)
"Software called DeepCoder could allow non-coders to simply describe and idea for a program and let the system build it"
Coding is nothing but simply describing an idea for a program. As simply as possible but no simpler. Won't be really useful without an AI product manager.
The World Economic Forum has published a risk/reward matrix for 12 key "emerging" technologies. You'd think this would be pretty good, because:
"The report’s conclusions on risk are heavily based on its Global Risks Perception Survey, which gathers the opinions of the World Economic Forum’s multi-stakeholder communities of leaders from business, government, academia and nongovernmental and international organizations. Members of the Institute of Risk Management are also consulted."
For some reason IoT devices are the second highest risk. Ahead of biotechnology (we're all dead from an engineered virus), nanomaterials (we're all dead because we're now gray goo) and space technologies (we're all dead because we provoked a violent alien civilization).
The least benefit comes from Geoengineering. Because with Trump in power I'm sure we're going to solve Global Warming via emission cuts. There is apparently more benefit in Virtual Reality and even more in 3D Printing.
If you give a browser a cookie, it’s going to ask for local storage.
When you give it the local storage, it’ll probably ask you for a list of system fonts. When it’s finished, it’ll ask you for your screen resolution.
Then it’ll want to look to see if Flash cookies are supported. It’ll probably create a local shared object.
When it’s finished with the local shared object it’ll want more things to hash. It will hash your timezone and language. It might get carried away and hash every supported plugin. It may even end up hashing the platform and user agent.
When it’s done it’ll probably want to check out your WebGL. You’ll have to tell it your WebGL vendor and renderer. It’ll probably ask you to open a HTML5 canvas.
When it looks at the HTML5 canvas, it’ll get so excited it’ll want to draw it’s own hidden image. Then it’ll want to hash the image as well.
Looking at the image will remind it that it should store the hash somewhere. So it’ll ask for local storage.
And chances are if it asks you for local storage, it’s going to want a cookie to go with it.
(Published to the Fediverse as:
If You Give a Browser a Cookie #etc#cookies#flash#html5#tracking If You Give a Browser a Cookie, it’s going to ask for local storage. A cautionary tale about Browser Fingerprinting in the style of Laura Numeroff)
(Published to the Fediverse as:
Subscription Economics #etc#economist The Economist is offering a free cell phone charger on Facebook, I have a better idea to boost circulation.)
(Published to the Fediverse as:
Happy Storm #etc#weather#radar#earth Local weather radar shows a big smiling face off the coast of northern California.)
By Robert Ellison. Updated on Thursday, February 2, 2017.
This stupidly placed light switch has been niggling around near the bottom of my list for nearly three years. It's probably sat there with its wires exposed for closer to thirteen, since the kitchen was remodeled by the previous owners.
I could have hunted down a plate and tried to saw a bit off I guess but we got a 3D printer for Christmas and I finally fixed it:
This was easier than I thought once I discovered that this sort of switch is a Decora Duplex. I grabbed this model from user KHF on 3D Warehouse (thanks!), chopped the edge off in FlashPrint, two failed prints (glue, then hairspray, then figuring out the temperature was wrong) and only slightly sliced open my thumb removing the supports. Welcome to the future!
(Published to the Fediverse as:
3D DIY #etc#3dprint#decoraduplex 3D Printing a Decora Duplex wall plate for a badly positioned electrical socket using 3D Warehouse and FlashPrint.)
A few months ago I wrote about my cunning plan to stop Internet of Things botnets: stop them at the router.
It's just possible that these were in the works before that post but Symantec, BitDefender and Intel unveiled router level IoT security at CES this year. Not as hard core as my plan, but looks like a useful start.
(Published to the Fediverse as:
Routers to defend against rogue IoT devices #etc#iot#symantec Will Norton follow my plan to prevent IOT botnet attaches at the router?)
