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Installing Jekyll on macOS (OSX) 10.11+
A description of how I installed Jekyll on MacOS 10.11+, including how to get past some of the errors I encountered.
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Problems with p0f after reboot or upgrade
How to fix the 'p0f appears to be down' message that sometimes occurs on CPanel systems after an upgrade or reboot.
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CSF problems after EasyApache 4 upgrade
How to fix CSF (ConfigServer Firewall) after upgrading your CPanel system from EasyApache 3 to EasyApache 4.
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My GTD (Getting Things Done) software — still searching for the Holy Grail of GTD
A description of my GTD process, which currently incorporates native MacOS apps along with OmniFocus and Ulysses. I still want to find a Holy Grail of GTD though.
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Adding Exchange aliases on macOS (High) Sierra
How to add Microsoft Exchange aliases to MacOS mail so that you can send email from multiple address via your Apple computer.
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Bear Writer review - a gorgeous notes app
A review of Bear Writer, a markdown-based note-taking application from Shiny Frog. It supports tags and has multiple import and export options.
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Why use Jekyll as a blogging platform?
Why I chose to use Jekyll, a static blog generation app, to power this site rather than something like Wordpress.
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Five years after switching from Windows to Apple
My thoughts about Apple computers five years after switching to the platform from Windows. Would I now switch back to Windows again?
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CPanel AutoSSL renewal problems
If you use CPanel's AutoSSL facility and you get problems after adding a new domain, this might just be the answer. It could be your htaccess file causing problems.
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The main reason we have digital piracy
Why do we have digital piracy? I suspect the main reason is down to the prices charged by the digital media companies themselves.
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Multi-factor authentication - an argument against it
I think multi-factor authentication can often be less secure than single-factor authentication - i.e. a single password - and in this article I explain why.
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CSF/LFD reports virtual memory size exceeded
If you get reports from CSF/LFD telling you various limits have been exceeded, there are a couple of ways to fix them. Here I show you two of those ways.
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Switching from a MacBook Pro to an iPad Pro
I have decided to switch from using a MacBook Pro to using an iPad Pro as my main computer. I'm planning to document my progress and this is the first article on the subject where I assess my requirements and make my purchase.
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Adding Exchange aliases on iOS 11+
There's no easy way to add Microsoft Exchange aliases on iOS like there is on MacOS. In this article I present an ugly but effective workaround.
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Reconfiguring Jekyll processes for iOS
This article describes how I went about changing the way I used Jekyll to support moving from a MacOS MacBook Pro as main computer to using an iOS iPad Pro instead.
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Apple iPad Pro 12.9 Inch - unboxing and first impressions
I received a brand new 12.9 inch iPad Pro and accessories. In this article I explain the unboxing process, my first impressions and some of the initial tasks I needed to do.
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Why Zuckerberg's 14-Year apology tour hasn't fixed Facebook
An article from Wired about Mark Zuckerberg's approach to privacy on Facebook over the years.
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MoneyWiz review - macOS/iOS personal accounting software
A review of MoneyWiz personal accounting software, which is a cross-platform app compatible with MacOS, iOS, Windows and Android. Over all, it's a pretty good package backed with good support.
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Ulysses review - the best writing app for macOS and iOS?
A Ulysses review. I think this is currently the best writing app available for MacOS and iOS and I present my justifications in this review.
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Bear Writer revisited - transferring from Ulysses
Moving from Ulysses to Bear Writer for article writing. How to manage the transfer and tag articles appropriately, emulating Ulysses categories in Bear.
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How to actually get work done on an iPad
An article from Gizmodo about iPod productivity. It claims an iPad is not a laptop replacement.
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Zuckerberg wants good privacy for Facebook, as long as it doesn’t affect profits
An article from the BBC about how Facebook is trying to dodge new EU privacy regulations.
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How social media has changed the internet
A look at how social media has lessened the need for things like site identity and a home page. But is it wise to make social media your only 'home' on the internet?
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A monkey can’t sue. Surprised?
A monkey can't sue for copyright, which ought to be common sense. Unfortunately a less intelligent species than monkeys became involved - lawyers.
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Facebook profits and revenues up despite privacy scandal
A New York Times article shows that Facebook has been largely unaffected by the privacy scandal in terms of its profits and revenues.
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Amazon review system rigged
A BBC article about how Amazon and Trustpilot reviews can be bought by unscrupulous vendors.
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Yohann iPad Stand review
A review of the Yohann iPad stand for a 12.9 inch iPad Pro. It's an attractive-looking wooden stand that serves both form and function very well.
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Bear Writer update - version 1.5 released
The Bear Writer team have released a new update, version 1.5. This includes tweaks to TagCons, more default tags and export to ePub, amongst other things.
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Medium demonstrates why you should publish independently
An article from TechCrunch about the Medium blogging platform and how it has changed the rules, screwing some publishers in the process.
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How to survive social media
After a short foray into Twitter, I produce my recommendations about how to survive social media. Avoid the politics, essentially.
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Google Chrome to flag insecure websites
ArseTechnica article about how Chrome will flag insecure websites rather than secure ones.
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The importance of backing up your computer
Why must you back up your computer? Because you will need it one day and it's far better than losing important photographs, letters and other documents. Backups are essential.
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How did Google get so big?
A CBS News article about Google's search and search advertising dominance. An anti-trust lawyer is interviewed about this situation.
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Tech companies should have more email support
The big tech companies rarely have genuine email support, which I think discriminates against the hard of hearing. Not only that, email is the most efficient way to provide support in most cases.
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Washington Post doesn’t quite get GDPR right
The Washington Post seems to charge people extra if they want GDPR compliance. This is wrong but with a little more thought the Washington Post could probably correct that.
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Infernal Windows 10 updates
Windows 10 updates are complete mess. There's no control over when they'll run and, when they do run, they often fail, leaving you with the 'solution' being that you must reinstall the OS.
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Apple WWDC 2018 summary
The Next Web's summary of Apple's 2018 WWDC. Quite a few things were announced that probably interest many people, although I'm a little nonplussed.
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Filemaker 17, briefly
A quick look at Filemaker 17 and a couple of the new features I find most interesting, along with a couple of my criticisms in general.
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Phone v email - which was the better invention?
A comparison between phone and email as communications protocols and some very personal conclusions about which I think is the better.
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Flying cars are as likely as flying pigs in the UK
A BBC article announces that Larry Page's flying car company is now training people how to fly them.
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I get the tags-only nature of Bear Writer now
I used to want categories as well as tags for Bear Writer but after using it for a number of months I now see how tags alone works fine.
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Clamp down on fake news, says MP
An article by the BBC about the prevalence of fake news. Some MPs are calling for greater regulation to combat this, particularly online.
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Controlling your own creative content and IndieWeb
Why you should maintain control of your creative content on the internet via your own website and the blueprint provided by IndieWeb.
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Google plans to comply with Chinese censorship
The BBC reports that Google is planning a search-like app that complies with Chinese censorship laws despite withdrawing from China in 2010 on 'free speech' grounds.
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Bullshit web indeed
Nick Heer's excellent article highlights much of what's wrong with the web today. Well worth a read.
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OmniFocus review
A review of OmniFocus 2 for macOS and 3 for iPad, the popular list taking, project management and GTD app. In particular, version 3 of OmniFocus for iOS finally brings genuine iPad support.
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Advertising accurate broadband speeds in the UK
ArsTechnica reports that ISPs now advertise up to 41% slower speeds after new regulations in the UK make ISPs advertise more accurate broadband speeds.
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Why reading beats video for information and instruction
An argument in favour of written articles for imparting instruction and information (help texts, how-to articles etc.) rather than videos or podcasts.
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Skunk, waffle and onion amongst emoji candidates for version 12
Emoji candidates for inclusion in Emoji Version 12, which will be released in March 2019.
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The Infowars debate and a website's whims
What expectations should you have when it comes to influencing a privately-owned website's content? None at all, I argue.
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Twitter finally takes some (minimal) action against Infowars
TechCrunch reports Twitter has dropped Infowars into the sin bin for seven days for a tweet that allegedly broke their terms of use.
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Twitter flips API, cripples many third-party apps
MacStories reports the Twitter API changes due today and some of the effects those changes are having on third-party apps.
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Final Cut X will not import AVCHD file
How to get around the problem where Final Cut Pro X refuses to import an AVCHD file from a camcorder.
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What's the point of Launchpad?
If you've ever wondered why we have Launchpad you're in good company. However, Zac Hall at 9To5Mac describes a way it can be made a bit more useful.
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Instagram face and the quest for perfection
An interesting article by Alexandra Jones on the BBC about 'Instagram face'. I'm more interested in how this reflects on society in general, if indeed it does at all.
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Facebook’s ’trustworthiness’ score comes under fire
In their attempt to deal with fake news, Facebook has introduced a 'trustworthiness' score. This score has its critics though.
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Corbyn's plans for Big Tech
Gizmodo takes a look at Jeremy Corbyn's plans to promote journalism by levying a windfall tax on big tech. There are some problems with this plan.
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Trump blustering on about Google
Donald Trump now thinks Google Search is biased agains him and blusters on about it, threatening consequences. Google issued denial.
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Dark Sky Weather review
A review of the Dark Sky Weather app, which I tested for seven days. It's quite accurate although it had one or two interface problems.
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Medium stops supporting custom domains
Medium deprecates custom domain support, which is just another way to maintain control of your content in my opinion.
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Phone addiction
An article on the Huffington Post looks at how some of their staff handle an evening’s TV without a phone. The results concern me.
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How I use Jekyll on both macOS and iOS
Whereas Jekyll will run on macOS, it won't run on iOS, so I had to install it on my Linux server. This is the cross-platform process I use to publish articles via Jekyll.
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Apple's 12 September 2018 event
A short article on Recode about Apple's 12 September 2018 event. It's mainly watch and phone stuff.
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Tim Berners-Lee aims to give people more control of their personal data, possibly
A look at Solid, which is Tim Berners-Lee's latest project. It is intended to give people more control of their personal data.
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PHP 7 sessions timing out too soon
Fixing PHP sessions, which seem to be timing out too soon since PHP 7. The problem lies with where the sessions are saved.
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Coda review - nearly the perfect code editor
A review of Panic's Coda, which is a code editor, FTP and terminal app for macOS and iOS. It's basically very good but suffers from one or two drawbacks.
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Schema.org for a blog
How I use schema.org markup on a blog. A combination of WebSite, Blog, Article and BlogPosting, and things like Product and Review to generate rich snippets.
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Companion phone released by Japanese firm NTT Docomo
A Japanese firm has released a credit card-sized phone to act as a 'companion' to one's main phone.
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Are Apple products worth the money?
Are Apple products now too expensive? I add my own comments on the back of an article by Bradley Chambers at 9To5Mac.
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Apple's Reminders app needs two features
A very brief review of Apple's Reminders app which lacks two key features as far as I am concerned. The addition of these features would make it truly useful.
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The hellish Netflix work environment
An article at Gizmodo describes the working environment at Netflix, which seems to operate by ensuring employees are scared to death.
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Tenda Nova Mesh WiFi review
A review of the Tenda Nova Mesh WiFi system, specifically the MW6 version which is the one I used to penetrate the thick walls where I live.
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Helm Personal Email Server overview
An excellent ArsTechnica overview (and tutorial) of Helm Personal Email Server, which provides the hardware and services you need to easily host your own email.
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Siri or Skynet?
My HomePod seems to have a mind of its own sometimes and I think about that in this article, which also serves as a very brief review of the device.
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People are nuts about Fortnite
The BBC looks at the world of Fortnite hackers, but I tend to think a better sense of perspective is necessary.
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Technical frippery
Just some musings on some of the pointless technology produced these days, which I inevitably end up buying
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Avoid big tech silos for your services
Colin Devroe warms of the dangers of using big tech silos for your services, specifically in relation to Verizon in this case.
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Ong’s Hat - a fascinating conspiracy game from the early internet
An article on Gizmodo tells the story of Ong's Hat, which became one of the internet's early conspiracy theories.
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Facebook's fan subscription model for creators
Facebook plans a fan subscription model to compete with Patreon. TechCrunch pick holes in it and ask whether Facebook can be trusted with creators' content.
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Zuckerberg suddenly embraces privacy
Mark Zuckerberg appears to have had a change of heart and now wants a privacy-focussed Facebook, according to an article on the BBC.
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Will GPS give us another Y2K situation on 6 April?
Due to the way they store the number of weeks, legacy GPS systems will end an epoch on 6 April 2019. Is this another Y2K situation?
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Today is Pi Day
To celebrate pi day one of Google's employees calculated its value to 31,415,926,535,897 digits.
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Panic to release Coda replacement
Panic have announced that they intend to replace Coda, their web development software, with something entirely new.
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AI tricks reCAPTCHA, but why do we have these things anyway?
Wired reports that AI has managed to trick (some of) Google's reCAPTCHA, bot-protection mechanism. I ask why we have to put up with them anyway.
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Apple’s March 2019 event uninspiring
Apple's March 2019 announcements left me flat. TV channels, news and gaming subscriptions and a credit card aren't my thing.
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What I’d like to see in iOS 13 (or 14 or 15) for the iPad
What I would like to see in iOS 13 for the iPad. Mouse support, filesystem access and xCode, essentially.
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The UK’s Online Harms white paper - summary
A summary of the UK's Online Harms White Paper, which aims to prevent 'online harm' by regulating certain internet-based companies.
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Creating safe passwords
Inspired by an article I saw on Microsoft's TechNet, I post my summary of how to create safe, difficult to crack passwords.
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Using schema @IDs
How to use schema @ids to avoid repeating yourself when you want to define complex schemas. It's easier than you might think.
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Schema markup for a blog (Part 2)
My (revised) version of how to markup a blog with schema so that the relevant properties and relationships are properly defined.
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Why would anyone post a good blog on Facebook?
A post on Dave Winer's Scripting News site demonstrates why posting a good blog on Facebook is stupid.
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How to use the PHP built-in web server
A brief example of how to use the PHP built-in web server for testing and development purposes.
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Galactic currency proposed
The University of Cambridge has proposed a new form of currency that could be the future of stellar financial transactions.
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Safari inspect element CSS problem
How to fix a problem with Safari's 'Inspect Element' where the DOM tree seems to bounce all over the place.
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Panic to make a gaming console called Playdate
Panic Software are breaking into hardware with a handheld games console due for release in early 2020.
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OmniFocus 3 for macOS - tags make everything better
An update to my earlier review to take account of the new features in OmniFocus 3 for macOS.
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Privacy policies are still far too long
There has been some legal tightening of privacy protections in the last few years with things like GDPR, but the privacy policies of many sites are still too impenetrable.
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Porn troll gets 14 years
Prenda Law's copyright troll Paul Hansmeier finally gets his comeuppance and gets sentenced to 14 years.
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Ransom fees paid to hackers
A BBC article reports the increasing number of ransomware victims who are paying off their hackers.
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This 5G nonsense
I'm hearing lots about 5G these days, which is intensely frustrating as I get 0G most of the time.
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Installing Python and Django on macOS
How to install Python and Django on macOS via Homebrew and pip. Includes installation of the Python virtual environment.
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I am not a robot
Is there a better way than those currently in common use to check if a website visitor is a robot?
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Priti Patel pushes for weakened encryption
Priti Patel mirrors a lot of the world's governments as she wants backdoors into end-to-end encryption. The trouble is, most governments have no idea what they're doing.
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macOS Mojave Exchange email account stuck ‘moving messages’
How to sort out macOS Mohave when the Mail app gets stuck 'moving messages', specifically when connected to a Microsoft Exchange server.
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How should the internet be moderated?
The Cloudflare/8chan situation raises questions about how the internet should be moderated. With a bit of prelude I link to Ben Thompson's ideas about this.
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The Tumblr acquisition
An interview with Automattic's CEO about their takeover of the Tumblr microblogging platform.
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Zen Internet review after 9 years
A review of Zen Internet's broadband packages, which I've now been using for nine years.
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Google's private web proposals
Google is proposing a way to change online tracking so it allegedly better respects user privacy.
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Publishers, advertisers and advertising networks need to solve the online advertising problem
Why publishers, advertisers and advertising networks need to get together to ensure advertising is acceptable to users.
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A default set of rules for online advertising and privacy
The rules I'd like to see governing online advertising and privacy therein. Something like this will happen. Privacy breaches and onerous advertising will force it.
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Donkey Kong court case
Billy Mitchell takes Guinness and Twin Galaxies to court after they remove his high score. ArsTechnica reports.
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iPhone 11 decisions — upgrading my old iPhone 6
The thought process behind my decision to upgrade from my iPhone 6 to an iPhone 11.
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Moving to an iPhone 11 from an older iPhone (an iPhone 6 in my case)
My experiences transferring from a plain iPhone 6 to a standard iPhone 11.
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Google proves quantum supremacy — world still safe
Google's quantum computer performs a task in a few minutes that would take a supercomputer 10,000 years.
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iPhone 11 review by someone who hates phones
Yet another iPhone 11 review, this time by someone who typically dislikes any and all phones but was persuaded to purchase Apple's latest offering.
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Apple Reminders on iOS 13, iPadOS 13 and macOS Catalina — much improved
A review of Apple’s Reminders app under macOS Catalina, iPadOS 13 and iOS 13. It’s now a genuinely useful GTD app.
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Tenda Nova MW-6 — add new Nova unit to network
How to add a new Nova unit to an existing Tenda Nova MW-6 wireless mesh network.
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Zuckerberg gets roasted in Congress
Zuckerberg doesn't fare well in front of Congress's House Financial Services Committee. He's held to account for his many sins alongside his plans for Libra.
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Wordpress 5.3 critical error
How to fix, or at least debug, a critical error after upgrading to Wordpress 5.3.
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Motorola to bring out new Razr flip phone
Motorola will be releasing a new Razr flip phone in December 2019. It'll have a 6.2in foldable screen.
A review of Bear Writer, a markdown-based note-taking application from Shiny Frog. It supports tags and has multiple import and export options.
A review of MoneyWiz personal accounting software, which is a cross-platform app compatible with MacOS, iOS, Windows and Android. Over all, it's a pretty good package backed with good support.