Scripting News: Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Getting back on track podcast-wise after our brief brush with politics. I explain in this 25-minute cast what I'm doing here and why I value the connection with Doc. It's all about creating a groove with smart people so we can keep innovating. We used to call it (as I'm sure Doc remembers) "users and developers party together." I thrive off collaboration with people such as Doc. I provide examples of other times I've benefited from the insights of others to create new uses for networks. #

Doc's mission is Customer Commons. #

The nightly email is available as an RSS feed. However I'm sure it's going to look pretty awful because, unlike email, RSS readers don't allow us to include styles. I could of course add the style definitions to the source namespace, where I've put my customizations. If you're an RSS user, give it a try and let me know. #

I was spooked last night by how much Jeffries conveys "Obama." The 8th Congressional District of New York. #

Brilliant. Kids are swapping AirPods in class then using text to speech to talk without talking.#

This is amazing. I read a story at the NY Post saying Fairway is filing for Chapter 7. It's a much-loved grocery chain in NYC. I posted a link on Facebook, because I know a few people who go there and got a link to a Twitter post from the company saying they're fine, no plans to shut down. Can't wait to find out what happened here. #

Last night's emails went out late. Sorry. A glitch in the system. This time it was my software, not detecting an error and re-trying. It may be time for a revision to the mail-sending software. #

How your iPhone will enslave you#

First the government insists that Apple help police to access the data on encrypted phones. This is already underway. Then, the next steps:#

A new app from the US government manages your identity and social credit. It's like a passport and wallet in one.#
You can't quit or uninstall it.#
You can't turn off location services or its access to the microphone and camera.#
You will use it to vote. #
It's required that you carry it at all times. Charged.#

The new luxury accommodations will be in the rare parts of the world where there is no internet access. You can go to these places to rendezvous with forbidden friends and lovers.#
The new national anthem: Back in the USSR. 💥#

Last update: Wednesday January 22, 2020; 5:43 PM EST.

You know those obnoxious sites that pop up dialogs when they think you're about to leave, asking you to subscribe to their email newsletter? Well that won't do for Scripting News readers who are a discerning lot, very loyal, but that wouldn't last long if I did rude stuff like that. So here I am at the bottom of the page quietly encouraging you to sign up for the nightly email. It's got everything from the previous day on Scripting, plus the contents of the linkblog and who knows what else we'll get in there. People really love it. I wish I had done it sooner. And every email has an unsub link so if you want to get out, you can, easily -- no questions asked, and no follow-ups. Go ahead and do it, you won't be sorry! :-)