There's been several long threads recently on Google's crappy info-box. Google doesn't want you to leave the Google page, so Google slurps information up and presents you an answer on the Google homepage. Here's what it typically looks like. OK, that's kinda useful. Search for a thing and get the info without clicking through. But there are times when it goes dreadfully wrong. Sometimes it gives dangerously misleading information. soft@softThe Google search summary vs the actual page…
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This is a story about how modern masculinity is killing the world, and how feminism can save it. It's a story about sex and power and trauma and resistance and persistence. It's a story about how you can track the crisis of democracy against the crisis of White masculinity, and how the far right is rising in response to both. It's a story about a social change. And at the centre of that story is one simple idea: we are in the middle of a sexual revolution. Laurie Penny charts how, in our…
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When I was a kid, I had two of my adult teeth surgically removed. As such, I still have two of my baby teeth. And, as I get older, they're starting to wear down. At every dental check-up my dentist prods them, gives them a wiggle, and sometimes takes an x-ray. "Well," they say, "They're fine for now…" The "for now" is getting closer with every visit. At my last visit, the dentist started to talk to me about "options". It looks like the best thing is implants. A hole is drilled into my jaw (…
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When I first helped get the IEC Power Symbol into Unicode - I made a promise to myself that I'd get it as a tattoo. One day. Turns out, I'm a massive wuss. How will I cope with actual needles in my flesh? And what if I don't like the placement? Or change my mind? The solution is... semi-permanent tattoos. I found Canadian company InkBox do these amazing, realistic, tattoos which bond to your epidermis for a couple of weeks. They're a high-tech version of those temporary tattoos you got free…
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lustrum lŭs′trəm A ceremonial purification of the entire ancient Roman population after the census every five years. A period of five years. Five long years ago I quit my job in the mobile industry and started working for the Civil Service. It has been an "interesting" period! On a personal level, I've gone from GDS, to NHSX, back to GDS, and transformed into CDDO. I've started an MSc as an apprentice. I've travelled the world - although somewhat less in the last 18 months! And wo…
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Computers would be so much better if they never had to deal with users, amirite?!!? I remember, years ago, working on a mobile web service which had a URl bar - so users could tap in bbc.co.uk on their T9 keypads - and a separate search bar. I thought that was pretty nifty. But it turns out, users tried searching for URls and they tried going to "http:// When is the Next Bus?". Bloody users!! Users find input bars confusing. A good example of this is Amazon's search bar. It faithfully…
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The BBC Shipping Forecast is one of those strange bits of national tradition which, somehow, bridges the gap between infrastructure and folklore. You can listen listen to the latest forecast on the BBC - read by professional newscasters. But what if we wanted a robot to read it? If our speaker is sick, bored, or too expensive - how would we automate the audio version of the Shipping Forecast? The BBC publishes the general forecast - but it's important to note that this is not what is read…
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Sitting down all day, every day, is killing me. Well, my doctor thinks it probably isn't brilliant for me and recommended trying a standing desk (as well as boring things like exercising more, drinking less, and eating fewer pies). I already have a fancy WFH desk which holds all my stuff. So I decided to get an adapter. I deliberately went with the largest I could find - while keeping the price below my employer's £150 budget. So this is the snappily named DWS28-02N. It's a chunky-monkey of a …
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David Bowie invented the NFT in 1997. The "Bowie Bond" allowed you to directly invest in an artist's catalogue and receive royalty payments based on their sales. Here's how it worked: You pay money to the artist (Bowie) Artist uses that money to buy the rights to their back catalogue Every time one of the songs from that catalogue is sold, or played on the radio, the artist gets paid Investors receive a share of that payment It's a primitive "smart" contract. Money flows back to the…
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How do you quickly insert a 💩 emoji when using your laptop? I just type ScrLck, p, o, o! What is this 🧙♀️ craft? In your keyboard settings, you should see an option like this: You can set the "Compose" key to be anything you like. Personally, I use the otherwise-useless Scroll Lock button. Now, once you press ScrLck you'll see this symbol . The next few letters you type will be "absorbed" by that symbol and combined to make something new. What's available You can see the default symbol…
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This is an offensively bad movie. It starts with a hilarious premise - what if your boyfriend broke up with you during a sky dive? The first few minutes are genuinely funny. And then it sort of descends into a TV movie about finding love. Which would be fine, I guess, if it were a poundshop DVD - but this stars Jeremy Irons and Diane Keaton! Two titans of the movie industry appearing in something that looks like it was shot on a budget of about a fiver. The script is conspicuous by its…
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Remember SlideShare? It's where we used to upload PowerPoints back in the day. It was easier than emailing them around. I think. No one really remembers. I think they got bought by LinkedIn? Anyway, they're now owned by Scribd. If someone visits one of your old slideshows and wants to download it, Scribd will charge them US$10 per month for membership! What a rip off! Of course, Scribd don't actually say how much you'll be charged after your "free trial". Because, I assume, they're a…
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