Dwayne Phillips ' Day Book

Items I happen to view each day. Science, Techonology, Management, Culture, and of course Writing

This is my day book for this week. I have modeled this after science fiction and computer writer Jerry Pournelle's view, or as he calls it, his Day Book. I encourage you to see Jerry Pournelle's site and subscribe to his services.

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This week: February 1-7, 2016

Summary of this week:

Monday - Tuesday - Wednesday - Thursday - Friday - Saturday - Sunday

Monday February 1, 2016

Angry Birds has been download 4billion times. Yes, that more than one per person on the planet.

Google and the UK government settled a tax matter. It seems no one knows if the number was correct and no one is happy.

France embarks on laying solar panels on 1,000Km of road.

The promise that Africa's tech sector is about to boom. We shall see.

There are more avenues for surveillance now than ever before. Snowden didn't shut it all down.

Our NSA explains to us how we should protect ourselves from our government surveillance. Not fiction.

A threat to net neutrality from some unexpected directions.

Got an extra $140,000? Take a Land Rover luxury road trip.

A LIDAR-enhanced vacuum cleaner. Something tells me that vacuuming wasn't the inspiration for laser radar.

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Tuesday February 2, 2016

The Internet of Things seems to be a great tool for governments wanting to watch their subjects or citizens as the case is in the US.

Microsoft is experimenting with submerging data centers in the ocean for cooling. Of course now the EPA will have to study the affects of warming the oceans and all that.

Alphabet (Google) passes Apple as the world's most valuable company.

Police in the Netherlands are training birds of prey to take down illegal drones. I love it. Here is a video.

Must see video of surgery on a Reese's peanut butter cup mixed with Oreo cream.

Our President wants us to spend $1billion in cancer research the next two years. My mother was wrong, money does grow on trees.

Gmail now has 1billion active accounts. That is a large number.

DIY, a Raspberry Pi monitors Comcast Internet speed and sends a complaint when it is too slow.

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Wednesday February 3, 2016

Zika is now in the US and can be spread through sexual contact.

This is a report on advances in practical exoskeletons for persons whose muscles don't work. They are still too expensive for almost everyone, but the situation is improving.

Uber changes its logo and brand. It now how something that looks like a backwards C.

Yahoo is for sale, sort of.

Yahoo will layoff over 1,000 people this year. I guess this is part of the great economic recovery in America that I read about in the papers. (not)

For those who are old enough to remember, here are some old PC fonts.

Microsoft buys SwiftKey—makers of a very popular keyboard app for smartphones.

Rumor: Amazon will open several hundred brick-and-mortar bookstores.

A Raspberry Pi on the International Space Station is running apps written by UK kids. These guys should get a Nobel Prize for the most successful and effective education project in the history of man.

Activity on Twitter is half of what it was in August 2014.

The University of California system installed security software, but many professors are unhappy with the invasion of privacy.

A new look at Apple's spaceship headquarters complex under construction.

This discriminating to end discriminating has its problems as Yahoo is sued my male employees.

Comcast progressing with GigaBit service to homes. Now if they could just put competent people on the phone for customer service.

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Thursday February 4, 2016

VirnetX wins a patent case against Apple—$625million. No, I've never heard of them.

Microsoft launches the Azure IoT Hub to collect all the data from all the IoT gadgets.

FitBit gets a little fashionable with Alta.

GoPro makes cool cameras and videos, but the business is struggling.

Microsoft recalls 2million computer chargers because of 56 faulty ones.

Google has turnover in their search chief position.

Facebook is now 12 years old. It doesn't take long for rich kids to become rich adults.

Retract Rumor: Amazon won't open brick-and-mortar bookstores.

A look inside Bose.

Google runs fiber to public housing in part of Kansas City. This is nice, but doesn't scale.

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Friday February 5, 2016

As the number of apps has exploded, it is no surprise that quality has fallen.

LinkedIn is doing poorly financially.

Bad testing, silliness, and wasted taxpayer money in the highway sign font world.

The British have growing support for leaving the EU. That little English Channel is pretty wide.

Google may switch the Qualcomm for processors for its servers, leaving Intel behind.

Former Google employee writes a kiss-and-tell "novel" that shows a lot of kissing behind the scenes at Google.

Apple wants to expand in Ireland, but there is no place for its employees to live.

The new Doom is coming May 13th.

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Saturday February 6, 2016

Our NASA says its going to Mars; space experts so NASA is being silly about the whole thing. When did those outside NASA become more expert than those inside NASA?

More idiots giving drones a bad name.

Fast foods salads are usually just as fat- and calorie-loaded as other fast foods.

India added 100 million new users to the Internet in 2015...But with another 800 million yet to be connected...Chase the customers and their money.

An Intel VP says that future processors will run slower, but will use less electrical power. This is probably a good thing as the processors in my MacBook Air run much faster than anything I want.

How one person ate on $2 per day. Nine staple foods are listed. No meat, just peanut butter.

The tech bubble has sort of leaked—not burst.

AutoDesk to layoff 10% of its workforce. Our "economic recovery" continues.

Consumer tip: don't buy inexpensive USB-C cables.

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Sunday February 7, 2016

A Canadian working in the US gives his perspective on H-1B visas. "If you are qualified, you should be able to go anywhere and work anywhere." Interesting erasure of national borders for the educated.

This is a good post on the folly of our President's $4billion computer-science-for-all-high-schools proposal. It seems to be a jobs program for those who would teach current high school teachers something somehow related to computers.

Anonymity apps can be used to do terrible things. Then again, what about when law enforcement says, "Who said that? Who are you? Identify yourself to the state."

Negative thoughts can be great inspiration for writing. There is something in them that brings energy and attention—two attributes that can fuel writing.

Some software that may help you keep focus while writing.

Interesting post on how to stop doing what everyone tells you that you should do and start doing what you want to do.

Some types of people who should not try to be freelancers. Stay with a good paying job.

Does writing slowly improve the quality? I find it a sense of timing and that is personal. I do like the suggestion of writing drafts with pencil and paper.

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