Book Review ebook · 200 words
Fire gave us power. Farming made us hungry for more. Money gave us purpose. Science made us deadly. This is the thrilling account of our extraordinary history – from insignificant apes to rulers of the world. Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it: us. Where did we come from? How did we get here? Where are we going? …
Continue reading →Book Review ebook · 200 words
When a recklessly idealistic girl in a dystopian future society dares to test the perimeters of her tightly controlled world, she is punished by being sent back in time to a region of North America Wainscotia, Wisconsin’ that existed eighty years before. Cast adrift in time in this idyllic Midwestern town, she is set upon a course of rehabilitation. I have mixed feelings about this book. It f…
Continue reading →audio av drm hdmi media tv · 3 comments · 850 words · Viewed ~3,126 times
I decided to treat myself to an upgraded home cinema experience. But mandatory copy-protection has meant I've spend the weekend trying and failing to get things working, rather than watching glorious 4K HDR 10 bit movies. Here's the problem: Why am I getting the error "This content can not be displayed because your TV does not support HDCP 2.2."? I have four pieces of kit in the mix, all of…
Continue reading →Book Review ebook Kate Mascarenhas · 200 words
In 1967, four female scientists worked together to build the world’s first time machine. But just as they are about to debut their creation, one of them suffers a breakdown, putting the whole project—and future of time travel—in jeopardy. To protect their invention, one member is exiled from the team—erasing her contributions from history. What a delight! This is a classic murder-mystery wrapp…
Continue reading →meta WeekNotes work · 450 words · Viewed ~499 times
What kind of utter muppet leaves their comfort zone? It's comfortable! That's the whole flipping point! If someone said "do you want to stay on the comfy sofa or would you rather change over to a really painful chair?" - how would you reply? The Department of Health and Social Care have stolen me away from my old job. I loved my role at GDS. I worked with brilliant people - and after two…
Continue reading →Book Review ebook · 300 words
This New York Times bestseller about the 1MDB scandal exposes how a "modern Gatsby" swindled over $5 billion with the aid of Goldman Sachs in "the heist of the century. This book is unbelievable. I have no doubt it all happened - but each page left me agog at the audacity of the characters. This is the story of how billions of dollars were embezzled from Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund. …
Continue reading →Book Review ebook · 200 words
Far from being a misery memoir, Was this in the Plan? Is a frank, open and no-holds-barred account of how a family was determined not just to survive but to thrive when the odds were against them. It will make you question your own attitude to life and how you choose to respond when unexpected events throw you off course. My colleague, Stephanie Nimmo, gave me a gentle ribbing for using the…
Continue reading →github privacy security · 2 comments · 350 words · Viewed ~638 times
Code-sharing site GitHub automatically sends email notifications to users. If you've commented on an issue, you'll get an email each time there's an update. That's pretty handy. It also allows users to reply by email. The reply is then automatically posted in the issue thread. Also handy. But a little dangerous. Lots of people have email signatures which contain personal details. When these…
Continue reading →meta nhs open standards regeneration standards work · 1 comment · 450 words · Viewed ~1,288 times
A mysterious woman, with a non-London accent and blonde hair, reached out her hand. She asked me a simple, yet terrifying, question - "Do you want to come on an adventure?" Sadly, Hadley Beeman does not have a TARDIS (Well, as far as any of us can tell...). What she does have is an interesting new job for me. Take a deep breath, because it's a heck of a long title: Senior Technology Advisor…
Continue reading →Annalee Newitz Book Review ebook Sci Fi · 200 words
Earth, 2144. Jack is an anti-patent scientist turned drug pirate, traversing the world in a submarine as a pharmaceutical Robin Hood, fabricating cheap scrips for poor people who can’t otherwise afford them. But her latest drug hack has left a trail of lethal overdoses. Hot on her trail, an unlikely pair: Eliasz, a brooding military agent, and his robotic partner. Oh, but this is a cracking r…
Continue reading →Bug Bounty email hack Responsible Disclosure security · 1 comment · 450 words · Viewed ~659 times
There's a new bug bounty provider in town! The Belgian company Intigriti. This is a quick write-up of how I found a trivial bug in their own system. The EU has announced that it is providing funding for bug bounties on critical open source projects. They've split the programme between HackerOne and Intigriti. I signed up to Intigriti, and instantly received a confirmation email. Can you…
Continue reading →a11y accessibility google rant · 7 comments · 350 words · Viewed ~3,349 times
I was in need of a new laptop, so I bought a cheap ChromeBook - mostly because Amazon could deliver it the same day. Sadly, the trackpad was broken. Before I sent it back, I thought I'd try using a mouse with it. That's when I discovered that accessibility is very much a second thought for all the young and healthy people Google employ. I have RSI and use a vertical mouse. After decades of…
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