Microsoft gave it a try in 1999 and failed. The same tantalizing possibility returns every few years: a single place to communicate rather than an ever-expanding cacophony of apps, each with its own quirks. Are we any closer to this hope a quarter century later?
The Humane Pin has died and HP has killed it. The burial of last year’s tech darling, DOA as its concept was from the get-go, isn’t that important in itself, but continues the troubling trend of things we buy dying unnatural deaths.
Last week, I praised Meta’s move from censoring information to using Community Notes to provide transparent, crowdsourced accountability. This swift reversal is encouraging, but its speed and decisiveness warn of the dangers of centralized social media like Facebook, X and even Bluesky.
Meta’s decision to roll back its Big Brother approach to censoring speech will help the battle against misinformation far more than its more Orwellian efforts ever could. Counterintuitively as it may seem, this is the way to cultivate a culture of truth.
I never intended to become Archie Bunker. But, he had a point: the old LeSalle ran great. Things of the past did, because they were easily repairable. In an age of disposable everything, working with something old is a reminder of that.
Sometimes I just need to actually accomplish something. Even if that something is esoteric and not particularly necessary. That is how I spent the last few weeks contemplating computer file systems.
Every muscle was tight and trembling, like a thoroughbred in the starting gate, steaming and snorting and eager to unleash its immense pent-up power.
Two years ago, a mysterious package arrived on my porch. It contained a computer keyboard from a company I had never heard of and with no sign of where it came from. Keyboards do not usually show up unannounced.
Does this make me sound old? I don’t really care. The U.S. TikTok ban is spot on and the Brazilian X ban is not. No “back in my day” speech required.
If you’ve read my columns over the last few years, you know I’ve been far less pessimistic about Elon Musk’s Twitter (err, “X”) than many, even when he’s made inexplicable decisions. Officially supporting pornographic publishing on X, though, is a line crossed and a good time to consider the best alternative.