Here’s a newspaper site with 3 annoying pop-ups when I first visited their page.
It will be out of business soon.
Category: internet
Tunnel Bear VPN
TunnelBear by software security software giant McAfee is one of the best FREE Virtual Private Networks.
Like many others it has both free and paid versions.
I got a free month of the paid version last October because I needed it while traveling internationally.
Cancelled before the deadline. … And months later found they were still billing me though I hadn’t used the service.
After complaining online to Tunnel Bear customer support they did refund those payments. Good customer service.
I found it very confusing to cancel, by the way.
When you cancel any paid service online be sure to check you got the confirmation email.
World Press Freedom Day
Notoriously poor and cheap, I normally take advantage of FREE — ad supported — news on the internet.
Obviously that’s not sustainable over the long term.
For years I’ve donated to ad free Wikipedia.
For years I’ve paid for Economist.
And for the second time I’m paying for the Washington Post. They hold Trump to account better than any other site.
Today May 3rd is World Press Freedom Day. WaPo is only $25 / year today.
important film – Minority Report 2002
Minority Report is a 2002 American neo-noir science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg and loosely based on the short story “The Minority Report” by Philip K. Dick. …
The film’s central theme is the question of free will versus determinism. …
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
offline in Patagonia
I expect to be (mostly) offline cycling & hiking with only irregular internet access from mid-January through mid-March 2019.
First up is a bikepacking trip of up to 4 weeks, around 1500km.
If you email me I’ll reply at earliest opportunity.
The Innovators by Walter Isaacson (2014)
Yet another great Isaacson book. I recommend it to one and all.
The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution
Isaacson begins the adventure with Ada Lovelace, Lord Byron’s daughter, who pioneered computer programming in the 1840s.
He explores the fascinating personalities that created our current digital revolution, such as Vannevar Bush, Alan Turing, John von Neumann, J.C.R. Licklider, Doug Engelbart, Robert Noyce, Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, Tim Berners-Lee, and Larry Page.
One of his key themes is that innovation comes from collaboration, not just the few great names we know.
He tries to provide background on how people like Turing made their breakthroughs.
It’s dense. I might just read it again in order to better follow the flow of technology.
limited internet Jan-Mar 2019
I’ll be mostly offline from about January 13th through early March 2019 while cycling and hiking southern Patagonia.
BEST ways to reduce misinformation online
There has always been misinformation. Older, less-educated men have always been grumpy as their privileged lives eroded. #curmudgeons
The internet gives voice to their wrongheadedness. Businesses like FOX News found a way to make money off them. The Republican Party and others around the world found ways to motivate them to vote.
Axios CEO Jim VandeHei offers 4 ways to reduce #FakeNews:
- Politicians … Stop using the term “fake news.”
- Media … Ban your reporters from doing anything on social media — especially Twitter — beyond sharing stories. Snark, jokes and blatant opinion makes people skeptical of your factual stories.
- Social Media companies … Radically self-regulate, or allow government regulation to stanch, the flow of disinformation …
- One thing is for sure: The current self-policing isn’t cutting it.
- YOU … Quit sharing stories without even reading them. Quit tweeting your every outrage. Quit clicking on garbage. Spend a few minutes to verify the trustworthiness of what you read.
working online while traveling
I met Leon Nikoosimaitak at a hostel in Casablanca. He’s a Motion Graphic Designer / Illustrator.
In London he might spend 4000€ / month. In Casablanca it’s a tiny fraction of that.
He works online. Takes breaks to go surfing every day.
Click PLAY or watch samples of his work on Vimeo.
Earlier in the trip I met Anika from Houston. She spent 3 weeks hiking the Appalachian Trail this year … while sneaking off trail once in a while to work online.
recommended – Halt and Catch Fire
I watched all 4 seasons of Halt and Catch Fire. It’s certainly one of the very best series I’ve seen.
… the series depicts a fictionalized insider’s view of the personal computer revolution of the 1980s and later the growth of the World Wide Web in the early 1990s. …
The cast is all excellent. In season 4 I was won over by newcomer Susanna Skaggs who played a brilliant but socially confused teenager perfectly.
Very believable.
If you hate technology don’t be dissuaded. This series truly isn’t about TECH.
“Computers aren’t the thing,” … “They’re the thing that gets you to the thing.”
I hate football. Yet loved Friday Night Lights. This series is similarly excellent.
I agree with a number of reviewers who felt season 4 was best. And that season 4 tied the story together very well.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
related – NY Times review – How Failure Made ‘Halt and Catch Fire’ Great
Rick McCharles 